involuntary

Moreover, ye were all distinguished by humility, and were in no respect puffed up with pride, but yielded obedience rather than extorted it, and were more willing to give than to receive. Content with the provision which God had made for you, and carefully attending to His words, ye were inwardly filled with His doctrine, and His sufferings were before your eyes. Thus a profound and abundant peace was given to you all, and ye had an insatiable desire for doing good, while a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit was upon you all. Full of holy designs, ye did, with true earnestness of mind and a godly confidence, stretch forth your hands to God Almighty, beseeching Him to be merciful unto you, if ye had been guilty of any involuntary transgression. Day and night ye were anxious for the whole brotherhood, that the number of God’s elect might be saved with mercy and a good conscience. Ye were sincere and uncorrupted, and forgetful of injuries between one another. Every kind of faction and schism was abominable in your sight. Ye mourned over the transgressions of your neighbours: their deficiencies you deemed your own. Ye never grudged any act of kindness, being “ready to every good work.” Adorned by a thoroughly virtuous and religious life, ye did all things in the fear of God. The commandments and ordinances of the Lord were written upon the tablets of your hearts.

And all the rapine of passion of this time is turning into involuntary death, And every passion of the lusts of this time is turning into a judgment of torment.

You who has formerly said by Your holy prophets to those that be initiated, Wash and become clean, and hast appointed spiritual regeneration by Christ, do Thou now also look down upon these that are baptized, and bless them, and sanctify them, and prepare them that they may become worthy of Your spiritual gift, and of the true adoption of Your spiritual mysteries, of being gathered together with those that are saved through Christ our Saviour; by whom glory, honour, and worship be to You, in the Holy Ghost, forever. Amen. And let the deacon say: Go out, you that are preparing for illumination. And after that let him proclaim: You penitents, pray; let us all earnestly pray for our brethren in the state of penitence, that God, the lover of compassion, will show them the way of repentance, and accept their return and their confession, and bruise Satan under their feet suddenly, and redeem them from the snare of the devil, and the ill-usage of the demons, and free them from every unlawful word, and every absurd practice and wicked thought; forgive them all their offenses, both voluntary and involuntary, and blot out that handwriting which is against them, and write them in the book of life; cleanse them from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and restore and unite them to His holy flock. For He knows our frame. For who can glory that he has a clean heart? And who can boldly say, that he is pure from sin? For we are all among the blameworthy. Let us still pray for them more earnestly, for there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, that, being converted from every evil work, they may be joined to all good practice; that God, the lover of mankind, will suddenly accept their petitions, will restore to them the joy of His salvation, and strengthen them with His free Spirit; that they may not be any more shaken, but be admitted to the communion of His most holy things, and become partakers of His divine mysteries, that appearing worthy of His adoption, they may obtain eternal life. Let us all still earnestly say on their account: Lord, have mercy upon them. Save them, O God, and raise them up by Your mercy. Rise up, and bow your heads to God through His Christ, and receive the blessings. Let the bishop then add this prayer:—

Let us pray for our brethren that are at rest in Christ, that God, the lover of mankind, who has received his soul, may forgive him every sin, voluntary and involuntary, and may be merciful and gracious to him, and give him his lot in the land of the pious that are sent into the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, with all those that have pleased Him and done His will from the beginning of the world, whence all sorrow, grief, and lamentation are banished. Let us arise, let us dedicate ourselves and one another to the eternal God, through that Word which was in the beginning. And let the bishop say: O You who is by nature immortal, and has no end of Your being, from whom every creature, whether immortal or mortal, is derived; who made man a rational creature, the citizen of this world, in his constitution mortal, and added the promise of a resurrection; who did not suffer Enoch and Elijah to taste of death: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, who art the God of them, not as of dead, but as of living persons: for the souls of all men live with You, and the spirits of the righteous are in Your hand, which no torment can touch; for they are all sanctified under Your hand: do Thou now also look upon this Your servant, whom You have selected and received into another state, and forgive him if voluntarily or involuntarily he has sinned, and afford him merciful angels, and place him in the bosom of the patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and of all those that have pleased You from the beginning of the world, where there is no grief, sorrow, nor lamentation; but the peaceable region of the godly, and the undisturbed land of the upright, and of those that therein see, the glory of Your Christ; by whom glory, honour, and worship, thanksgiving, and adoration be to You, in the Holy Spirit, forever. Amen. And let the deacon say: Bow down, and receive the blessing. And let the bishop give thanks for them, saying as follows: O Lord, save Your people, and bless Your inheritance, which You have purchased with the precious blood of Your Christ. Feed them under Your right hand, and cover them under Your wings, and grant that they may fight the good fight, and finish their course, and keep the faith immutably, unblameably, and unreprovably, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, with whom glory, honour, and worship be to You and to the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

But now, when Agrippa and Herod were in Ionia, a great multitude of Jews, who dwelt in their cities, came to them, and laying hold of the opportunity and the liberty now given them, laid before them the injuries which they suffered, while they were not permitted to use their own laws, but were compelled to prosecute their law-suits, by the ill usage of the judges, upon their holy days, and were deprived of the money they used to lay up at Jerusalem, and were forced into the army, and upon such other offices as obliged them to spend their sacred money; from which burdens they always used to be freed by the Romans, who had still permitted them to live according to their own laws. When this clamor was made, the king desired of Agrippa that he would hear their cause, and assigned Nicolaus, one of his friends, to plead for those their privileges. Accordingly, when Agrippa had called the principal of the Romans, and such of the kings and rulers as were there, to be his assessors, Nicolaus stood up, and pleaded for the Jews, as follows: "It is of necessity incumbent on such as are in distress to have recourse to those that have it in their power to free them from those injuries they lie under; and for those that now are complainants, they approach you with great assurance; for as they have formerly often obtained your favor, so far as they have even wished to have it, they now only entreat that you, who have been the donors, will take care that those favors you have already granted them may not be taken away from them. We have received these favors from you, who alone have power to grant them, but have them taken from us by such as are no greater than ourselves, and by such as we know are as much subjects as we are; and certainly, if we have been vouchsafed great favors, it is to our commendation who have obtained them, as having been found deserving of such great favors; and if those favors be but small ones, it would be barbarous for the donors not to confirm them to us. And for those that are the hinderance of the Jews, and use them reproachfully, it is evident that they affront both the receivers, while they will not allow those to be worthy men to whom their excellent rulers themselves have borne their testimony, and the donors, while they desire those favors already granted may be abrogated. Now if any one should ask these Gentiles themselves, which of the two things they would choose to part with, their lives, or the customs of their forefathers, their solemnities, their sacrifices, their festivals, which they celebrated in honor of those they suppose to be gods? I know very well that they would choose to suffer any thing whatsoever rather than a dissolution of any of the customs of their forefathers; for a great many of them have rather chosen to go to war on that account, as very solicitous not to transgress in those matters. And indeed we take an estimate of that happiness which all mankind do now enjoy by your means from this very thing, that we are allowed every one to worship as our own institutions require, and yet to live [in peace]; and although they would not be thus treated themselves, yet do they endeavor to compel others to comply with them, as if it were not as great an instance of impiety profanely to dissolve the religious solemnities of any others, as to be negligent in the observation of their own towards their gods. And let us now consider the one of these practices. Is there any people, or city, or community of men, to whom your government and the Roman power does not appear to be the greatest blessing? Is there any one that can desire to make void the favors they have granted? No one is certainly so mad; for there are no men but such as have been partakers of their favors, both public and private; and indeed those that take away what you have granted, can have no assurance but every one of their own grants made them by you may be taken from them also; which grants of yours can yet never be sufficiently valued; for if they consider the old governments under kings, together with your present government, besides the great number of benefits which this government hath bestowed on them, in order to their happiness, this is instead of all the rest, that they appear to be no longer in a state of slavery, but of freedom. Now the privileges we desire, even when we are in the best circumstances, are not such as deserve to be envied, for we are indeed in a prosperous state by your means, but this is only in common with others; and it is no more than this which we desire, to preserve our religion without any prohibition; which as it appears not in itself a privilege to be envied us, so it is for the advantage of those that grant it to us; for if the Divinity delights in being honored, it must delight in those that permit them to be honored. And there are none of our customs which are inhuman, but all tending to piety, and devoted to the preservation of justice; nor do we conceal those injunctions of ours by which we govern our lives, they being memorials of piety, and of a friendly conversation among men. And the seventh day we set apart from labor; it is dedicated to the learning of our customs and laws, we thinking it proper to reflect on them, as well as on any [good] thing else, in order to our avoiding of sin. If any one therefore examine into our observances, he will find they are good in themselves, and that they are ancient also, though some think otherwise, insomuch that those who have received them cannot easily be brought to depart from them, out of that honor they pay to the length of time they have religiously enjoyed them and observed them. Now our adversaries take these our privileges away in the way of injustice; they violently seize upon that money of ours which is owed to God, and called sacred money, and this openly, after a sacrilegious manner; and they impose tributes upon us, and bring us before tribunals on holy days, and then require other like debts of us, not because the contracts require it, and for their own advantage, but because they would put an affront on our religion, of which they are conscious as well as we, and have indulged themselves in an unjust, and to them involuntary, hatred; for your government over all is one, tending to the establishing of benevolence, and abolishing of ill-will among such as are disposed to it. This is therefore what we implore from thee, most excellent Agrippa, that we may not be ill-treated; that we may not be abused; that we may not be hindered from making use of our own customs, nor be despoiled of our goods, nor be forced by these men to do what we ourselves force nobody to do; for these privileges of ours are not only according to justice, but have formerly been granted us by you. And we are able to read to you many decrees of the senate, and the tables that contain them, which are still extant in the capitol, concerning these things, which it is evident were granted after you had experience of our fidelity towards you, which ought to be valued, though no such fidelity had been; for you have hitherto preserved what people were in possession of, not to us only, but almost to all men, and have added greater advantages than they could have hoped for, and thereby your government is become a great advantage to them. And if any one were able to enumerate the prosperity you have conferred on every nation, which they possess by your means, he could never put an end to his discourse; but that we may demonstrate that we are not unworthy of all those advantages we have obtained, it will be sufficient for us, to say nothing of other things, but to speak freely of this king who now governs us, and is now one of thy assessors; and indeed in what instance of good-will, as to your house, hath he been deficient? What mark of fidelity to it hath he omitted? What token of honor hath he not devised? What occasion for his assistance of you hath he not regarded at the very first? What hindereth; therefore, but that your kindnesses may be as numerous as his so great benefits to you have been? It may also perhaps be fit not here to pass over in silence the valor of his father Antipater, who, when Cæsar made an expedition into Egypt, assisted him with two thousand armed men, and proved inferior to none, neither in the battles on land, nor in the management of the navy; and what need I say any thing of how great weight those soldiers were at that juncture? or how many and how great presents they were vouchsafed by Cæsar? And truly I ought before now to have mentioned the epistles which Cæsar wrote to the senate; and how Antipater had honors, and the freedom of the city of Rome, bestowed upon him; for these are demonstrations both that we have received these favors by our own deserts, and do on that account petition thee for thy confirmation of them, from whom we had reason to hope for them, though they had not been given us before, both out of regard to our king's disposition towards you, and your disposition towards him. And further, we have been informed by those Jews that were there with what kindness thou camest into our country, and how thou offeredst the most perfect sacrifices to God, and honoredst him with remarkable vows, and how thou gavest the people a feast, and acceptedst of their own hospitable presents to thee. We ought to esteem all these kind entertainments made both by our nation and to our city, to a man who is the ruler and manager of so much of the public affairs, as indications of that friendship which thou hast returned to the Jewish nation, and which hath been procured them by the family of Herod. So we put thee in mind of these things in the presence of the king, now sitting by thee, and make our request for no more but this, that what you have given us yourselves you will not see taken away by others from us."

He continues in this strain: “If he had determined upon these things, and underwent chastisement in obedience to his Father, it is manifest that, being a God, and submitting voluntarily, those things that were done agreeably to his own decision were neither painful nor distressing.” But he did not observe that here he was at once contradicting himself. For if he granted that He was chastised because He had determined upon these things, and had submitted Himself to His Father, it is clear that He actually suffered punishment, and it was impossible that what was inflicted on Him by His chastisers should not be painful, because pain is an involuntary thing. But if, because He was willing to suffer, His inflictions were neither painful nor distressing, how did He grant that “He was chastised?” He did not perceive that when Jesus had once, by His birth, assumed a body, He assumed one which was capable both of suffering pains, and those distresses incidental to humanity, if we are to understand by distresses what no one voluntarily chooses. Since, therefore, He voluntarily assumed a body, not wholly of a different nature from that of human flesh, so along with His body He assumed also its sufferings and distresses, which it was not in His power to avoid enduring, it being in the power of those who inflicted them to send upon Him things distressing and painful. And in the preceding pages we have already shown, that He would not have come into the hands of men had He not so willed. But He did come, because He was willing to come, and because it was manifest beforehand that His dying upon behalf of men would be of advantage to the whole human race.

Rebbi Simon said, just as sacrifices atone, so the garments atone, shirt, trousers, turban, and vest. The shirt was atoning for [wearers of kilaim There are those who want to say,] for spillers of blood, as you are saying, they dipped the shirt in blood. The trousers were atoning for uncovering nakedness, as you are saying, make for them linen trousers to cover the fleshof nakedness. The turban was atoning for haughtiness, as you are saying, he put the turban on his head. The belt was atoning for [thieves; but some are saying, for] the crooked ones. Rebbi Levi said, it was 32 cubits and he wound it around on both sides. The breast plate was atoning for those who bend the law, as you are saying, you shall make a breast-plate of judgment. The vest was atoning for idol worshippers, as you are saying, without vest and household-gods. The coat. Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Jonathan of Bet-Guvrin: For two things there was no atonement but the Torah established atonement for them. These are those: one who spreads slander, and the involuntary homicide. For him who spreads slander there was no atonement, but the Torah fixed atonement for them, the bells of the coat: it shall be on Aaron in service, and its sound be heard. The sound may come to atone for the sound. For the involuntary manslaughter there was no atonement but the Torah established atonement for them, the death of the High Priest. He shall dwell there until the High Priest’s death

Rebbi Simon said, just as sacrifices atone, so the garments atone, shirt, trousers, turban, and vest. The shirt was atoning for [wearers of kilaim There are those who want to say,] for spillers of blood, as you are saying, they dipped the shirt in blood. The trousers were atoning for uncovering nakedness, as you are saying, make for them linen trousers to cover the fleshof nakedness. The turban was atoning for haughtiness, as you are saying, he put the turban on his head. The belt was atoning for [thieves; but some are saying, for] the crooked ones. Rebbi Levi said, it was 32 cubits and he wound it around on both sides. The breast plate was atoning for those who bend the law, as you are saying, you shall make a breast-plate of judgment. The vest was atoning for idol worshippers, as you are saying, without vest and household-gods. The coat. Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Jonathan of Bet-Guvrin: For two things there was no atonement but the Torah established atonement for them. These are those: one who spreads slander, and the involuntary homicide. For him who spreads slander there was no atonement, but the Torah fixed atonement for them, the bells of the coat: it shall be on Aaron in service, and its sound be heard. The sound may come to atone for the sound. For the involuntary manslaughter there was no atonement but the Torah established atonement for them, the death of the High Priest. He shall dwell there until the High Priest’s death

Rebbi Jehudah ben Pazi said, why did Scripture put the incest chapter next to the holiness chapter? To teach you that every one who shies away from incest is called “holy”. In this sense, the woman of Shunem said to her husband: “ Lo, I know that he is a holy man of God”. Rebbi Jonah said, “he is holy”, but not his student. Rebbi Abin said, that he never looked at her. But the rabbis say that he he never had an involuntary emission. {The slave girl of Rebbi Samuel ben Rav Isaac said, I never saw a bad thing on my master’s garments.} It is written “Geḥazi drew near to push her away”. What is לְהָדְפָהּ? Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, he put his hand on her beauty spot, between her breasts.

Dissolute in sexual matters. For the woman of Shunem said to her husband: Lo, I know that he is a holy man of God. Rebbi Jonah said, he is holy, but his student is not holy. Rebbi Abun said, because he never looked at her. But the rabbis of Caesarea say, he never had an involuntary emission. The slave girl of Rebbi Samuel ben Rav Isaac said, I was washing my master’s garments. I never saw a bad thing on my master’s garments. It is written: Geḥazi drew near to push her away. What is לְהָדְפָהּ? Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, he put his hand on her beauty spot, between her breasts.

MISHNAH: Where are they exiled to? To the cities of refuge. To the three in Transjordan and the three in the Land of Canaan, as it is said: Three cities you shall designate in Transjordan, etc. As long as those in the Land of Israel had not been selected, those in Transjordan were not receiving, as it is said, there shall be six cities of refuge, not until all six were receiving together. Roads were maintained from one to the other, as it is said: Maintain the road for yourselves, and divide the domain of your Land into three parts. One sends with them two scholars lest he kill him on the road, to argue with him. Rebbi Meïr says, he may argue for himself as it is said, this is the word of the homicide. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, at the start both the involuntary and the voluntary [homicide] go to the city of refuge; the court sends and brings them back from there. If one is found guilty by a death sentence, they execute him. If he is found not guilty in a capital case, he is freed. If he is found guilty to be exiled they return him to his place as it is said, the community shall return him to his city of refuge. Not only a [High Priest] anointed with the anointing oil, but also one wearing the many vestments, and one deposed from his office. Rebbi Jehudah says, also the one anointed for war returns the homicide. Therefore, the mothers of the [High] Priests support them with food and clothing, so they should not pray for the death of their sons. If sentence had been passed when the High Priest died, he is not exiled. If sentence had not yet been passed when the High Priest died, and sentence was passed after a successor had been appointed, he returns after the death of the second. If sentence was passed when there was no High Priest, or one who killed a High Priest, or a High Priest who killed, can never leave from there. He cannot leave from there, neither for a testimony of obligation, nor a testimony in a civil suit, nor a testimony in a criminal suit, not even if Israel needs him like Joab ben Ṣeruya, he cannot ever leave from there, as it is said there. There shall be his dwelling, there he shall die, there he shall be buried. Just as the city grants asylum, so does its domain grant asylum. If a murderer left the domain and was found by the avenger of the blood, Rebbi Yose the Galilean says, it is the obligation of the avenger of the blood and the right of everybody. Rebbi Aqiba says, it is the right of the avenger of the blood and nobody would be liable because of him. If a tree stands inside the domain but its crown is outside the domain, or the tree stands outside the domain but its crown is inside the domain, everything follows the crown. If somebody killed in one of these cities, he is exiled from quarter to quarter; but a Levite who killed is exiled from one city to another. Similarly, a homicide exiled to a city of refuge whom the citizens of the town wanted to honor, should say to them, I am a homicide. If they tell him, anyway, he should accept, for it is said, this is the word of a homicide.

Abbai said : Ezra ordained forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary and nine Kabs for a healthy person when it was involuntary. Then came the Amoraim and differed as to a person indelicate health. Some were of the opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like the healthy man whose emission was voluntary [and requires forty Saot], and the delicate person when it was involuntary like the healthy man when it was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs]. Others, however, were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like a healthy man whose emission was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs], and the delicate person when it was involuntary is exempt therefrom altogether.

Abbai said : Ezra ordained forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary and nine Kabs for a healthy person when it was involuntary. Then came the Amoraim and differed as to a person indelicate health. Some were of the opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like the healthy man whose emission was voluntary [and requires forty Saot], and the delicate person when it was involuntary like the healthy man when it was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs]. Others, however, were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like a healthy man whose emission was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs], and the delicate person when it was involuntary is exempt therefrom altogether.

Abbai said : Ezra ordained forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary and nine Kabs for a healthy person when it was involuntary. Then came the Amoraim and differed as to a person indelicate health. Some were of the opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like the healthy man whose emission was voluntary [and requires forty Saot], and the delicate person when it was involuntary like the healthy man when it was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs]. Others, however, were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like a healthy man whose emission was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs], and the delicate person when it was involuntary is exempt therefrom altogether.

Abbai said : Ezra ordained forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary and nine Kabs for a healthy person when it was involuntary. Then came the Amoraim and differed as to a person indelicate health. Some were of the opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like the healthy man whose emission was voluntary [and requires forty Saot], and the delicate person when it was involuntary like the healthy man when it was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs]. Others, however, were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like a healthy man whose emission was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs], and the delicate person when it was involuntary is exempt therefrom altogether.

Abbai said : Ezra ordained forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary and nine Kabs for a healthy person when it was involuntary. Then came the Amoraim and differed as to a person indelicate health. Some were of the opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like the healthy man whose emission was voluntary [and requires forty Saot], and the delicate person when it was involuntary like the healthy man when it was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs]. Others, however, were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary is like a healthy man whose emission was involuntary [and requires nine Kabs], and the delicate person when it was involuntary is exempt therefrom altogether.

Raba said : Granted that Ezra instituted immersion ; did he, then, institute the pouring of water? For lo, the teacher said, "Ezra instituted immersion for those who are Ba'al Keri" ! But, said Raba, Ezra instituted immersion in forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary, and then the Rabbis came and instituted [the pouring of] nine Kabs for a healthy man when it was involuntary. After that the Amoraim came and differed as to what was to be done to a person in delicate health. Some were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary was like a healthy man when it was voluntary [and required immersion], and a delicate person when it was involuntary like a healthy person when it was involuntary [and required pouring]. Others, however, were of opinion that the healthy person when it was voluntary required forty Saot ; and the delicate person when it was voluntary, like the healthy man when it was involuntary, required nine Kabs; but a delicate person whose emission was involuntary was exempt therefrom altogether.

Raba said : Granted that Ezra instituted immersion ; did he, then, institute the pouring of water? For lo, the teacher said, "Ezra instituted immersion for those who are Ba'al Keri" ! But, said Raba, Ezra instituted immersion in forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary, and then the Rabbis came and instituted [the pouring of] nine Kabs for a healthy man when it was involuntary. After that the Amoraim came and differed as to what was to be done to a person in delicate health. Some were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary was like a healthy man when it was voluntary [and required immersion], and a delicate person when it was involuntary like a healthy person when it was involuntary [and required pouring]. Others, however, were of opinion that the healthy person when it was voluntary required forty Saot ; and the delicate person when it was voluntary, like the healthy man when it was involuntary, required nine Kabs; but a delicate person whose emission was involuntary was exempt therefrom altogether.

Raba said : Granted that Ezra instituted immersion ; did he, then, institute the pouring of water? For lo, the teacher said, "Ezra instituted immersion for those who are Ba'al Keri" ! But, said Raba, Ezra instituted immersion in forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary, and then the Rabbis came and instituted [the pouring of] nine Kabs for a healthy man when it was involuntary. After that the Amoraim came and differed as to what was to be done to a person in delicate health. Some were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary was like a healthy man when it was voluntary [and required immersion], and a delicate person when it was involuntary like a healthy person when it was involuntary [and required pouring]. Others, however, were of opinion that the healthy person when it was voluntary required forty Saot ; and the delicate person when it was voluntary, like the healthy man when it was involuntary, required nine Kabs; but a delicate person whose emission was involuntary was exempt therefrom altogether.

Raba said : Granted that Ezra instituted immersion ; did he, then, institute the pouring of water? For lo, the teacher said, "Ezra instituted immersion for those who are Ba'al Keri" ! But, said Raba, Ezra instituted immersion in forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary, and then the Rabbis came and instituted [the pouring of] nine Kabs for a healthy man when it was involuntary. After that the Amoraim came and differed as to what was to be done to a person in delicate health. Some were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary was like a healthy man when it was voluntary [and required immersion], and a delicate person when it was involuntary like a healthy person when it was involuntary [and required pouring]. Others, however, were of opinion that the healthy person when it was voluntary required forty Saot ; and the delicate person when it was voluntary, like the healthy man when it was involuntary, required nine Kabs; but a delicate person whose emission was involuntary was exempt therefrom altogether.

Raba said : Granted that Ezra instituted immersion ; did he, then, institute the pouring of water? For lo, the teacher said, "Ezra instituted immersion for those who are Ba'al Keri" ! But, said Raba, Ezra instituted immersion in forty Saot for a healthy person whose emission was voluntary, and then the Rabbis came and instituted [the pouring of] nine Kabs for a healthy man when it was involuntary. After that the Amoraim came and differed as to what was to be done to a person in delicate health. Some were of opinion that the delicate person whose emission was voluntary was like a healthy man when it was voluntary [and required immersion], and a delicate person when it was involuntary like a healthy person when it was involuntary [and required pouring]. Others, however, were of opinion that the healthy person when it was voluntary required forty Saot ; and the delicate person when it was voluntary, like the healthy man when it was involuntary, required nine Kabs; but a delicate person whose emission was involuntary was exempt therefrom altogether.

Raba said : The Halakah is — Both the healthy man and the delicate person when it is voluntary require forty Saot ; the healthy man when it is involuntary requires nine Kabs; but the delicate person when it is involuntary is exempt therefrom altogether.

Raba said : The Halakah is — Both the healthy man and the delicate person when it is voluntary require forty Saot ; the healthy man when it is involuntary requires nine Kabs; but the delicate person when it is involuntary is exempt therefrom altogether.

R. Johanan and R. Joshua b. Levi, and R. Eleazar and R. Jose b. R. Hannina—one of the first pair is at variance with one of the second pair on the interpretation of the first part of this teaching. One says : The statement, "Of what does this speak? [If he wishes to study Torah] for himself; but [if he wishes to teach it] to others, forty Saot are necessary" is intended to apply only to a delicate person whose emission was voluntary, but nine Kabs suffice him when it was involuntary. The other says : Whoever [wishes to teach Torah] to others, even if he be a delicate person whose emission was involuntary, [cannot be regarded as clean] until there have been forty Saot.

R. Johanan and R. Joshua b. Levi, and R. Eleazar and R. Jose b. R. Hannina—one of the first pair is at variance with one of the second pair on the interpretation of the first part of this teaching. One says : The statement, "Of what does this speak? [If he wishes to study Torah] for himself; but [if he wishes to teach it] to others, forty Saot are necessary" is intended to apply only to a delicate person whose emission was voluntary, but nine Kabs suffice him when it was involuntary. The other says : Whoever [wishes to teach Torah] to others, even if he be a delicate person whose emission was involuntary, [cannot be regarded as clean] until there have been forty Saot.

It is quite right that there is no difficulty in the matter of belching or yawning, for here it was an involuntary act and [the denunciation just quoted] refers to one who does it deliberately ; but there is a difficulty