adda

Rab Isaac b. Adda (another version : Rab Isaac b. Rab Iddi) said : What Scriptural authority is there for the story of David's harp? "Awake, my glory ; awake, psaltery and harp; I will awake the dawn" (Ps. lvii. 9).

It happened to Rab Huna that four hundred flasks of wine turned sour. There visited him Rab Judah the brother of Rab Sala Hasida and other Rabbis. (Another version : Rab Adda b. Ahaba and other Rabbis.) They said to him, "The master should look into his actions." He answered them, "Have I aroused suspicion in your eyes?" They retorted, "Is the Holy One, blessed be He, to be suspected of passing an unjust judgment?"

Rabin b. Adda said in the name of R. Isaac : Whence is it that the Holy One, blessed be He, is found in the Synagogue ? As it is said, "God standeth in the godly congregation " (Ps. Ixxxii. 1 ).

Rab Abin b. Rab Adda said in the name of R. Isaac : Whence is it that the Holy One, blessed be He, lays Tefillin ? As it is said, "The Lord hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength" (Is. Ixii. 8).

Rabin b. Rab Adda said in the name of R. Isaac : If one is accustomed to attend the Synagogue regularly and absents himself one day, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes inquiry about him ; as it is said, "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light?" (Is. 1. 10).

R. Adda b. Ahabah said : What Scriptural authority is there for this ? "And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field" (Gen. xxxi. 4).

He replied : Our predecessors jeopardised their lives for the sanctification of the Name, but we do not. As it once happened with Rab Adda b. Ahabah who noticed a heathen woman wearing a karbalta in the street; thinking that she was an Israelite, he went up to her and tore it from off her. It was then discovered that she was a heathen, and they fined him four hundred Zuzim. He said to her, "What is thy name ?" She replied, "Matun." He said, "Matun, Matun, is worth four hundred Zuzim."

Rab Adda b. Ahabah said : Women are under the obligation to recite the Sanctitication of the [Sabbath] day by the ordinance of the Torah. But why, since it is a command the observance of which is dependent upon a certain point of time, and women are exempt from all commands of this class ! Abbai answered : [The Sanctification by women] is a Rabbinical ordinance.

Rab said to him : But lo, [Rab Adda] mentioned it was "by the ordinance of the Torah" ! And further, let us make all commands [of this class] obligatory upon women by Rabbinic authority !

Then let him read some other chapter ! Rab Adda b. Ahabah replied : With that wherewith the Community is engaged [should he like-wise be engaged].

And similarly said Rab Adda b. Ahabah : Whence is it that the individual does not say the "Sanctification"? As it is said, "But I will be hallowed among the children of Israel" (Lev. xxii. 32) — i.e. anything which comes under the heading of "Sanctification" cannot be without a minimum of ten.

Rab Hisda asked him, "Is it then right to have immersion in warm water ?" He replied, "Rab Adda b. Ahabah is of the same opinion as thou."

The question was raised : May a man, wearing his Tefillin, enter a regular privy for the purpose of urinating? Rabina permitted it; Rab Adda b. Mattena prohibited it. The question was put to Raba, and he replied : It is forbidden, because we are afraid that he may relieve himself otherwise while wearing them. Another version is : [We are afraid] that he may break wind while wearing them.

R. Assi said : [Of him the Scriptures state], "Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity" (Is. v. 18). Rab Adda b. Ahabah said : From the following, "Because he hath despised the word of the Lord" (Num. xv. 31).

Rab Pappa the son of Rab Aha b. Adda said : The statement "If he had concluded the Tefillah, he must recommence it" only applies should he have moved his feet ; but if he has not done so, he returns to the sixteenth benediction.

What means "rejoice with trembling"? Rab Adda b. Mattena said in the name of Rabbah: Where there is rejoicing let there be trembling.

Rab Adda b. Ahabah stood up,

Rab Adda b. Ahabah said: Over costum the benediction is "...Who createst fragrant woods," but not over the oil in which it is steeped. Rab Kahana said : [That is the benediction] even for the oil in which it is steeped, but not the oil with which it is ground. The men of Nehardea said : [That is the benediction] even for the oil in which it is ground.

"Bless ye also"; but in any case "We will bless" is preferable. But Rab Adda b. Ahabah declared : The school of Rab say : We have the teaching: Six people [who eat together] should divide themselves up, and so up to ten.

Nor may one enter the Temple Mount with his staff"...; nor may he use it as a short cut [koppendaria]. What means koppendaria? Raba said : A short cut, as the word implies. But Rab Hanna b. Adda said in the name of Rab Samma b. R. Mari: It is as people say, "Instead of going round the row of houses, I will go through it" Rab Nahman said in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha: If one enters a Synagogue not for the purpose of making it a short cut, he may use it in that manner.

Rab Pappa said to Raba (other versions : Rabina to Raba ; Rab Adda b. Mattena to Raba) : Why should one derive it [by analogy] from a shoe ; let him derive it from the short cut !

Rav allowed R. Aha Bardela to sleep in a canopy bed in a Sukkah in order [to keep out] the gnats. Rava allowed R. Aha b. Adda to sleep outside the Sukkah on account of the stink of the plaster.

to whom his studies are as tough as iron, it is because his lesson is not properly ordered in his mind, as it is said, "and one do not whet the edge." What is his remedy? He should attend more diligently the sessions of the scholars, as it is said, "then must he put to more strength, but wisdom is profitable to direct," the latter part of which means to say that increased diligence will prove still more profitable if the scholar's studies have always been well ordered. Resh Laḳish used to arrange his studies in proper order forty times, corresponding to the forty days during which the Torah was given to Israel, before he appeared before R. Johanan. R. 'Adda b. 'Ahabah used to arrange his lessons in proper order twenty-four times, corresponding to the number of the books of the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Hagiographa, before he appeared before Raba.

R. Judah said, he does not have to recite the Zikronot and the Shofarot, etc. Said R. 'Adda of Joppa: What is R. Judah's reason? He is of the opinion that Zikronot and Shofarot

There was a ruinous wall in Nehardea near which Rab and Samuel would not pass, although it had stood on its place for thirteen years. One day R. 'Adda b. 'Ahabah came to that place. On their way Samuel said to Rab, "Let us go roundabout," to which the latter replied: "Now it is not necessary, as we have R. Adda b. 'Ahabah with us, whose merits are very great (and will protect us), hence I am not afraid."

There was a ruinous wall in Nehardea near which Rab and Samuel would not pass, although it had stood on its place for thirteen years. One day R. 'Adda b. 'Ahabah came to that place. On their way Samuel said to Rab, "Let us go roundabout," to which the latter replied: "Now it is not necessary, as we have R. Adda b. 'Ahabah with us, whose merits are very great (and will protect us), hence I am not afraid."

R. Huna had wine in a ruinous house and wanted to remove it. He therefore engaged R. Adda b. 'Ahabah in a learned discussion until the wine was removed. As soon as they left the house, it fell in. When R. Adda b. 'Ahabah noticed that he was used for such a purpose, he became angry, saying, "Is not this an instance with regard to which R. Jannai said, one should never stay in a place of danger and say, I shall be saved by a miracle, for it might be that no miracle will be performed for him, and even if one should be performed, such performance would be charged against his merits?" Said R. Hanan, where is the biblical verse to prove it? "I am not worthy of all the mercies, and of all the truth" (Gen., 32. 11).

R. Huna had wine in a ruinous house and wanted to remove it. He therefore engaged R. Adda b. 'Ahabah in a learned discussion until the wine was removed. As soon as they left the house, it fell in. When R. Adda b. 'Ahabah noticed that he was used for such a purpose, he became angry, saying, "Is not this an instance with regard to which R. Jannai said, one should never stay in a place of danger and say, I shall be saved by a miracle, for it might be that no miracle will be performed for him, and even if one should be performed, such performance would be charged against his merits?" Said R. Hanan, where is the biblical verse to prove it? "I am not worthy of all the mercies, and of all the truth" (Gen., 32. 11).

What were the meritorious deeds of R. Adda b. 'Ahabah? They are as follows: R. Adda b. 'Ahabah's pupils once asked him, "Through what merits was such long life granted you?" He replied to them: I never lost my temper in my house, never walked in front of one who was my superior in learning, never thought of sacred subjects in filthy alleys, never walked four ells without meditating about the Torah or without the phylacteries, never slept or took a nap in the house of learning, never rejoiced in the misfortune of a fellow-man, and never called my neighbor by an opprobrious surname, which I gave him. Some say R. Adda said, "which others gave him."

What were the meritorious deeds of R. Adda b. 'Ahabah? They are as follows: R. Adda b. 'Ahabah's pupils once asked him, "Through what merits was such long life granted you?" He replied to them: I never lost my temper in my house, never walked in front of one who was my superior in learning, never thought of sacred subjects in filthy alleys, never walked four ells without meditating about the Torah or without the phylacteries, never slept or took a nap in the house of learning, never rejoiced in the misfortune of a fellow-man, and never called my neighbor by an opprobrious surname, which I gave him. Some say R. Adda said, "which others gave him."

What were the meritorious deeds of R. Adda b. 'Ahabah? They are as follows: R. Adda b. 'Ahabah's pupils once asked him, "Through what merits was such long life granted you?" He replied to them: I never lost my temper in my house, never walked in front of one who was my superior in learning, never thought of sacred subjects in filthy alleys, never walked four ells without meditating about the Torah or without the phylacteries, never slept or took a nap in the house of learning, never rejoiced in the misfortune of a fellow-man, and never called my neighbor by an opprobrious surname, which I gave him. Some say R. Adda said, "which others gave him."

R. Ḥanina b. Dosa once travelled on the road, when it began to rain. Said he: "Master of the world! The whole world is at ease, but Ḥanina alone is in distress!" The rain stopped. When he came home, he said again: "Master of the world! The whole world is in distress, while Ḥanina alone is at ease!" The rain came again. Said R. Joseph, what good did the prayer of the high priest do if R. Ḥanina could make it to naught? For we read in a Mishnah that the high priest used to recite a short prayer in the outer hall. What was the prayer? R. 'Abin b. R. 'Adda and Raba b. R. 'Adda said, both in the name of R. Judah, the prayer ran thus: "May it be Thy will, Lord our God, that this year be one of heat and rain." Is a hot year of any benefit? On the contrary, it is a calamity! But the prayer read thus: "If the year is to be hot, let it also be blessed with ample rain, and may the prayers of travellers find no hearing before Thee." R. Aḥa the son of Raba reported in the name of R. Judah the following conclusion (of the prayer): "May the rulership never depart from the house of Judah and may Thy people Israel never be in need of supporting one another or of assistance from other people."

R. Ḥanina b. Dosa once travelled on the road, when it began to rain. Said he: "Master of the world! The whole world is at ease, but Ḥanina alone is in distress!" The rain stopped. When he came home, he said again: "Master of the world! The whole world is in distress, while Ḥanina alone is at ease!" The rain came again. Said R. Joseph, what good did the prayer of the high priest do if R. Ḥanina could make it to naught? For we read in a Mishnah that the high priest used to recite a short prayer in the outer hall. What was the prayer? R. 'Abin b. R. 'Adda and Raba b. R. 'Adda said, both in the name of R. Judah, the prayer ran thus: "May it be Thy will, Lord our God, that this year be one of heat and rain." Is a hot year of any benefit? On the contrary, it is a calamity! But the prayer read thus: "If the year is to be hot, let it also be blessed with ample rain, and may the prayers of travellers find no hearing before Thee." R. Aḥa the son of Raba reported in the name of R. Judah the following conclusion (of the prayer): "May the rulership never depart from the house of Judah and may Thy people Israel never be in need of supporting one another or of assistance from other people."

“And Parshandata . . . the ten sons of Haman” (Esther 9:7-10). R. Adda from Yaffo said: The ten sons of Haman and the word “ten” [which follows] should be said in one breath. What is the reason? Because they all died in one breath. R. Yohanan said: The vav of Vaizata must be lengthened like a boat-pole of the river Librut. What is the reason? Because they were all strung on one pole.

GEMARA: Rabbi Yochanon says, Rabbi Chananya ben Gamliel's colleagues disputed what he had said. Rav Adda bar Ahava said in the name of the school of Rav, "We learned in a Mishna, there is no difference between Shabbos and Yom Kippur besides for that one is punishable by man and one is punishable with kares" Now if this is true [that malkus works in place of kares] then both are punishable by man?

Rav Adda bar Ahava says in the name of Rav, The halacha is like Rabbi Chanania ben Gmaliel. Rav Yosef asked, Who went up to heaven, returned and said this? Abaye responded, rather it's like that which Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, Three things that Beis Din shel mattah [court] did that Beis din shel malleh [the heavenly court] agreed to. Who ascended returned and told us? Rather we expounded verses, so too here we expound verses.