rabbah

And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;

Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages:

And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.

And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.

Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

But David was under no consternation at this confederacy, nor at the forces of the Ammonites; and putting his trust in God, because he was going to war in a just cause, on account of the injurious treatment he had met with, he immediately sent Joab, the captain of his host, against them, and gave him the flower of his army, who pitched his camp by Rabbah, the metropolis of the Ammonites; whereupon the enemy came out, and set themselves in array, not all of them together, but in two bodies; for the auxiliaries were set in array in the plain by themselves, but the army of the Ammonites at the gates over against the Hebrews. When Joab saw this, he opposed one stratagem against another, and chose out the most hardy part of his men, and set them in opposition to the king of Syria, and the kings that were with him, and gave the other part to his brother Abishai, and bid him set them in opposition to the Ammonites; and said to him, that in case he should see that the Syrians distressed him, and were too hard for him, he should order his troops to turn about and assist him; and he said that he himself would do the same to him, if he saw him in the like distress from the Ammonites. So he sent his brother before, and encouraged him to do every thing courageously and with alacrity, which would teach them to be afraid of disgrace, and to fight manfully; and so he dismissed him to fight with the Ammonites, while he fell upon the Syrians. And though they made a strong opposition for a while, Joab slew many of them, but compelled the rest to betake themselves to flight; which, when the Ammonites saw, and were withal afraid of Abishai and his army, they staid no longer, but imitated their auxiliaries, and fled to the city. So Joab, when he had thus overcome the enemy, returned with great joy to Jerusalem to the king.

This defeat did not still induce the Ammonites to be quiet, nor to own those that were superior to them to be so, and be still, but they sent to Chalaman, the king of the Syrians, beyond Euphrates, and hired him for an auxiliary. He had Shobach for the captain of his host, with eighty thousand footmen, and ten thousand horsemen. Now when the king of the Hebrews understood that the Ammonites had again gathered so great an army together, he determined to make war with them no longer by his generals, but he passed over the river Jordan himself with all his army; and when he met them he joined battle with them, and overcame them, and slew forty thousand of their footmen, and seven thousand of their horsemen. He also wounded Shobach, the general of Chalaman's forces, who died of that stroke; but the people of Mesopotamia, upon such a conclusion of the battle, delivered themselves up to David, and sent him presents, who at winter time returned to Jerusalem. But at the beginning of the spring he sent Joab, the captain of his host, to fight against the Ammonites, who overran all their country, and laid it waste, and shut them up in their metropolis Rabbah, and besieged them therein.

But Joab sorely distressed the Ammonites in the siege, by cutting off their waters, and depriving them of other means of subsistence, till they were in the greatest want of meat and drink, for they depended only on one small well of water, and this they durst not drink of too freely, lest the fountain should entirely fail them. So he wrote to the king, and informed him thereof; and persuaded him to come himself to take the city, that he might have the honor of the victory. Upon this letter of Joab's, the king accepted of his good-will and fidelity, and took with him his army, and came to the destruction of Rabbah; and when he had taken it by force, he gave it to his soldiers to plunder it; but he himself took the king of the Ammonites' crown, whose weight was a talent of gold; and it had in its middle a precious stone called a sardonyx; which crown David ever after wore on his own head. He also found many other vessels in the city, and those both splendid and of great price; but as for the men, he tormented them, and then destroyed them; and when he had taken the other cities of the Ammonites by force, he treated them after the same manner.

Rabbah b. Rab Shela answered : In that case the text should have read weyithar ; what means wetaher? The day is clean [of light]; as people commonly say, "When the sun has set, the day is cleansed."

In the West, this explanation of Rabbah b. Rab Shela had not been heard by them, and they raised the question: The phrase "When the sun is down" means the [complete] setting of the sun, and the phrase "It is clean" means the day is clean ; but perhaps the former signifies the setting of its light, and the latter the man shall be clean !

R. Johanan said : "In the time of finding" refers to burial. R. Hannina said: What is the Scriptural authority for this? "Who rejoice unto exultation and are glad, when they can find the grave" (Job iii. 22). Rabbah b. Rab Shela said : Hence the popular saying : "Let a man pray for peace even to the last shovelful of earth."

How is it understood that this verse speaks of the day of death? Rabbah b. Rab Shela answered : From the continuation ; as it is written, "Thou hidest Thy face, they vanish ; Thou withdrawest their breath, they perish, and return to the dust" (ibid. v. 29).

Rabbah b. Rab Huna thought to establish it in Sura ; but Rab Hisda told him it had been previously abolished because of the murmuring of the Minim.

But since Rabbah b. 'Ulla has declared : "The purpose is to mention the characteristic of day at night and the characteristic of night in the day," having uttered the benediction and the reference to the Divine Kingship from the commencement, he said them of both.

Rabbah b. Hinnana the Elder said in the name of Rab : Whoever does not recite "True and firm" in the morning and "True and trustworthy" in the evening has not fulfilled his obligation ; as it is said, "To declare Thy lovingkindness in the morning and Thy faithfulness in the night-seasons" (Ps. xcii. 3).

Rabbah b. Hinnana [the Elder] also said in the name of Rab : When one prays [the Tefillah] and has to bow, he should bow at the word "Blessed" ; and when returning to the erect position, he should do so on mentioning the Divine Name.

Rabbah b. Hinnana the Elder also said in the name of Rab : During the whole year, one should in the Tefillah use the phrases "The holy God" and "King Who lovest righteousness and judgment" ; except during the ten days from the New Year until the Day of Atonement, when he should substitute "The holy King" for the former and "King of judgment" for the latter.

Rab Joseph declared : "The holy God" and "King Who lovest righteousness and judgment" should be said: Rabbah declared: "The holy King" and "King of judgment" should be said ; and the Halakah is in accord with Rabbah's view.

Rabbah b. Hinnana the Elder also said in the name of Rab : Whoever has it in his power to pray" on behalf of his neighbour and fails to do so is called a sinner ; as it is said, "Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you" (I Sam. xii. 23).

Rabbah b. Hinnana the Elder also said in the name of Rab : Whoever commits a transgression and is filled with shame thereby, all his sins are forgiven him; as it is said, "That thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame; when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God" (Ezek. xvi. 63).

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan: The Halakah is in accord with R. 'Akiba.

There are some who connect [the statement of Rabbah b. Bar Hannah] with the following. There is a teaching : Who recites the Shema' must direct his heart thereto. R. Aha says in the name of R. Judah : If one directed his heart in the first paragraph, it is no longer necessary [in the succeeding paragraphs]. Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : The Halakah is in accord with the view of R. Aha which he reported in the name of R. Judah.

There are some who connect [the statement of Rabbah b. Bar Hannah] with the following. There is a teaching : Who recites the Shema' must direct his heart thereto. R. Aha says in the name of R. Judah : If one directed his heart in the first paragraph, it is no longer necessary [in the succeeding paragraphs]. Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : The Halakah is in accord with the view of R. Aha which he reported in the name of R. Judah.

and R. Johanan hereby follows out his opinion [expressed in the statement ;] Rabbah b. Rab Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : The Halakah is in accord with the view of R. Aha which he reported in the name of R. Judah.

He replied : One may interrupt, and there is nothing in that [point you raise]. Rabbah said : On those days when the individual completes the Hallel, he may interrupt between the paragraphs, but in the middle of a paragraph he may not interrupt ; and on the days when the individual does not complete the Hallel, he may interrupt even in the middle of a paragraph.

R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Johanan: He must repeat the word "true." Rabbah said : He does not repeat it. Somebody descended in the presence of Rabbah ; and when the latter heard him say emit "true" twice, He [Rabbah] exclaimed, "Every emet has seized hold of this fellow !"

R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Johanan: He must repeat the word "true." Rabbah said : He does not repeat it. Somebody descended in the presence of Rabbah ; and when the latter heard him say emit "true" twice, He [Rabbah] exclaimed, "Every emet has seized hold of this fellow !"

R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Johanan: He must repeat the word "true." Rabbah said : He does not repeat it. Somebody descended in the presence of Rabbah ; and when the latter heard him say emit "true" twice, He [Rabbah] exclaimed, "Every emet has seized hold of this fellow !"

R. Hiyya b. Abba said in the name of R. Johanan : Whoever has evacuation, washes his hands, lays Tefillin, reads the Shema' and offers his prayers, the Scriptures ascribe it to him as though he had erected an altar and brought a sacrifice thereon ; as it is written, "I will wash my hands in cleanliness ; so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord" (Ps. xxvi. 6). Rabbah said to him : Does not the master think that it is as though he had bathed his whole body? [Yes]; for it is written, "I will wash [in cleanliness]" not simply "I will cause [mine hands] to be washed."

Rab Judah also said in the name of Samuel : If a man was standing in the Tefillah and recollected that he had already said it, he must stop even in the middle of a benediction. But it is not so ! For lo, Rab Nahman has said : When we were at the school of Rabbah b. Abbuha we asked him, "How is it with those young disciples who made a mistake and said the week-day Tefillah on the Sabbath, should they finish it?" And he replied, "They should finish the whole of that benediction" !

If a man was reciting the Tefillah and found excrement where he was standing, Rabbah said : Even if he himself was responsible for it, his Tefillah is valid. Raba retorted : But lo [it is written], "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination" (Prov. xxi. 27)! Therefore, said Raba, since he is responsible [for the excrement], although he has uttered the prayer, his Tefillah is an abomination.

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : During the day he rolls them up like a kind of book and places them in his hand opposite his heart, but at night he makes for them a kind of bag, a handbreadth in size, and places them therein.

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah also said : At the time that we were following R. Johanan, on desiring to enter a privy, if he carried a book of Aggadta, he handed it to us; but if he carried Tefillin, he did not hand them to us. He said, "Since the Rabbis permit it,

Another version is : Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi : If one is walking in filthy courtways, he should place his hand over his mouth and read the Shema'. Rab Hisda said to him, "By God ! if R. Joshua b. Levi had told me that himself, I would not have listened to him !"

And did R. Johanan really say what is attributed to him? For lo, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah has said in the name of R. Johanan : One is permitted to meditate anywhere upon words of Torah except the bath-house and privy ! And shouldest thou urge that here also one refers to standing and the other to walking, it cannot be so ; because R. Abbahu once followed R. Johanan and he was reading the Shema', but when he reached the filthy courtways he lapsed into silence. He said to R. Johanan, "Where should I resume [my prayer] ?" He replied, "If thou hast waited sufficient time to finish the whole, return to the commencement" !

Where it is certain [that urine is present], how long [must one wait before it is allowed to read the Shema' there] ? Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel : As long as the ground is sufficiently wet to moisten. The same reply is given by Rabbah b. Bar Hannah in the name of R. Johanan [As long as the ground is sufficiently wet to moisten] and by 'Ulla. [As long as the ground is sufficiently wet to moisten] Geniba said in the name of Rab : As long as the trace thereof can be recognised.

Abbai said to him : What seest thou that thou reliest upon this; rely upon that which Rabbah b. Rab Huna said in the name of Rab : It is forbidden [to read the Shema' near] excrement even when it is like earthenware.

What means excrement like earthenware? Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan; When one can throw it to the ground without its crumbling to pieces. Others say : When one can roll it without its crumbling to pieces.

Rabbah b. Samuel objected : Let him, then, say the fourth benediction separately ! Have we not the Mishnaic teaching : R. 'Akiba says : One may say the fourth benediction by itself ; R. Eliezer says : [One can say the "Division"] in the benediction of thanksgiving?

R. Eliezer says : If one makes his prayer a fixed task [keba'], his prayer is not supplication. What means keba'? R. Jacob b. Iddi said in the name of R. Osha'ya : Anyone whose prayer seems to him a burden. The Rabbis say : Anyone who does not recite it in language of supplication. Rabbah and Rab Joseph both said : Anyone who is not able to add something new thereto.

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

Abbai was sitting in the presence of Rabbah, and noticed that he was very merry. He said to him, "It is written, 'Rejoice with trembling'!"

It has been likewise reported : Rabbah and Rab Joseph both declare : He who pronounces the "Division" in the Tefillah must do it again over the cup of wine.

A certain man went down [to the Ark] in the presence of Rabbah and said, "Thou hast compassion on a bird's nest ; do Thou have compassion and mercy upon us." Rabbah exclaimed, "How this Rabbinical scholar knows how to find favour with his Lord!" Abbai said to him, "Lo, we have learnt in the Mishnah: We silence him!"

A certain man went down [to the Ark] in the presence of Rabbah and said, "Thou hast compassion on a bird's nest ; do Thou have compassion and mercy upon us." Rabbah exclaimed, "How this Rabbinical scholar knows how to find favour with his Lord!" Abbai said to him, "Lo, we have learnt in the Mishnah: We silence him!"

But Rabbah merely wished to test Abbai.

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah stated that R. Johanan said in the name of R. Judah b. R. El'ai : Come and see that the later generations are not like the former generations. The former generations made their Torah their principal concern and their work only occasional, and both flourished in their hand ; whereas the later generations made their work their principal concern and their Torah only occasional and neither flourished in their hand.

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah also stated that R. Johanan said in the name of R. Judah b. R. El'ai : Come and see that the later generations are not like the former generations. The former generations used to bring their fruits home by way of the kitchen-garden in order to make them liable to the tithe ; whereas the later generations bring their fruits home by way of the roof, or courts, or enclosures in order to exempt them from the tithe. For R. Jannai has said : Produce is not subject to the tithe until it sees the face of the house ; as it is said, "I have put away the hallowed things out of my house" (Deut. xxvi. 13).

But [perhaps it is here meant that] he eats it together with bread. If so, the bread is the principal food and the oil is only accessory ; and we have the Mishnaic teaching : This is the general rule : In the case of a food which is the principal thing and together with it something accessory, the benediction is to be uttered over the former, and there is no necessity for a benediction over the latter ! But [perhaps what is meant is] he drinks it with elaiogaron. (Rabbah b, Samuel said : Elaiogaron is the juice of beets ; oxygaron is the juice

But it is not so ! For Rab Nahman has said in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha : The calyces surrounding dates are forbidden because of 'Orlah, since they are the protection of the fruit ; and when are they the protection of the fruit? In the early stages [of the fruit's growth], then are they called the protection of the fruit !

Shitin, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are a species of figs. Rimin are lote. 'Uzradin are crab-apples. Benot Shuah, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are white figs. Benot Shikmah, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are sycamore-figs. Gofnin are late grapes. Nispah is the caper-bush. Nobelot Temarah — R. El'a and R. Zera [differ in their explanation] — One says "Fruit scorched by the sun" ; the other says "Dates blown from the tree by the wind."

Shitin, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are a species of figs. Rimin are lote. 'Uzradin are crab-apples. Benot Shuah, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are white figs. Benot Shikmah, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are sycamore-figs. Gofnin are late grapes. Nispah is the caper-bush. Nobelot Temarah — R. El'a and R. Zera [differ in their explanation] — One says "Fruit scorched by the sun" ; the other says "Dates blown from the tree by the wind."

Shitin, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are a species of figs. Rimin are lote. 'Uzradin are crab-apples. Benot Shuah, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are white figs. Benot Shikmah, Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan, are sycamore-figs. Gofnin are late grapes. Nispah is the caper-bush. Nobelot Temarah — R. El'a and R. Zera [differ in their explanation] — One says "Fruit scorched by the sun" ; the other says "Dates blown from the tree by the wind."

GEMARA Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : The teaching applies only to Sabbaths and Festivals, for then a man arranges his meal with wine; but on other days of the year, a benediction is to be said over each cup of wine.

It has been similarly reported : Rabbah b. Mari said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi : The teaching applies only to Sabbaths and Festivals and the time when one comes from the bath-house and the meal after blood-letting, for then a man arranges his meal with wine; but on the other days of the year, a benediction is to be said over each cup of wine.

Rabbah b. Mari visited the house of Raba on a week-day, and noticed him pronounce the benediction [over the wine] before the meal and again after it ; and he said to him, "That is correct, and so also said R. Joshua b. Levi."

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said : At the time we were following R. Johanan to eat the fruits of Gennesareth, when we were a hundred in number we used each to take ten for him, and when we were ten we used each to take a hundred for him ; and a basket of the capacity of three Saot could not hold a hundred of them. But he ate them all and swore that he had tasted no food. No food, dost imagine? But say, [He meant that he had eaten no] satisfying meal.

Rabbah b. Mari said in the name of R. Joshua b. Levi : Over any food belonging to the seven species, before partaking thereof one says the benediction "...Who createst the fruit of the tree," and afterwards one benediction which is an abstract of three.

Nay, it is to be concluded that it was R. Johanan who said above, "If they wish to have Zimmun, they may not" ; for Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : If two ate together, one of them may comply with the requirements of the law by means of the Grace said by the other ;

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah was marrying his son into the family of Rab Samuel b. Rab Kattina. He sat beforehand and taught his son : He who is to break the bread is not permitted to do so until the response "Amen" has been completed by all. Rab Hisda said : By the majority.

Abbai and Raba were sitting in the presence of Rabbah. He asked them, "To Whom do we say Grace?" They replied, "The All-merciful." "And where does the All-merciful dwell?" Raba pointed upwards to the ceiling ; Abbai went outside and pointed towards the heavens. Rabbah said to them, "Both of you are Rabbis ; for that is what the proverb says, 'Every pumpkin is known by its stem'."

Abbai and Raba were sitting in the presence of Rabbah. He asked them, "To Whom do we say Grace?" They replied, "The All-merciful." "And where does the All-merciful dwell?" Raba pointed upwards to the ceiling ; Abbai went outside and pointed towards the heavens. Rabbah said to them, "Both of you are Rabbis ; for that is what the proverb says, 'Every pumpkin is known by its stem'."

Rabbah b. Rab Huna visited the house of the Exilarch. [When saying Grace,] the latter opened with one and concluded with two. Rab Hisda asked: What advantage is there in concluding with two? Moreover there is a teaching : Rabbi says : We should not conclude with two !

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : The benediction "Who art kind and dealest kindly" requires a reference to the Kingship. What does he intend to tell us — that a benediction which contains no reference to the Kingship has not the name of benediction ? But R. Johanan has already told us this once ! R. Zera said : He means to say that it needs two references to the Kingship, one for its own sake and one for "Who...rebuildest Jerusalem."

Rabbah Tospaah said : If three were dining together, and one finishing before the others says Grace for himself, they fulfil the obligation of Zimmun with him, but not he with them ; because the Zimmun cannot be retrospective.

Rabbah b. Bar Hannah was journeying with a caravan ; he ate but forgot to say Grace. He said [to himself], "How shall I act ? If I tell them I have forgotten to say Grace, they will answer, 'Say it now ; for wherever thou utterest a benediction it is to the All-merciful thou dost utter it.' It is better that I tell them I have lost a golden dove." He said to them, "Wait for me, because I have lost a golden dove." He went back, said Grace and found a golden dove. Why exactly a dove ? Because the Community of Israel is likened to a dove ; for it is written,

Hiyya b. Rab said: refers to a man] who has not eaten with them. Similarly said Rab Nahman in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha : It refers to a man who has eaten with them. Rab said to his son Hiyya, "My son, snatch [the cup of wine] and say Grace" ; and similarly said Rab Huna to his son Rabbah, "Snatch [the cup of wine] and say Grace."

Hiyya b. Rab said: refers to a man] who has not eaten with them. Similarly said Rab Nahman in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha : It refers to a man who has eaten with them. Rab said to his son Hiyya, "My son, snatch [the cup of wine] and say Grace" ; and similarly said Rab Huna to his son Rabbah, "Snatch [the cup of wine] and say Grace."

Rab Hisda said : [There is no reality in] any dream without a fast. Rab Hisda also said : An uninterpreted dream is like an unread letter. Rab Hisda also said : Neither a good nor a bad dream is fulfilled in every detail. Rab Hisda also said : A bad dream is preferable to a good dream. Rab Hisda also said : When a dream is bad, the pain it causes is sufficient [to prevent its fulfilment], and when the dream is good, the joy it brings is sufficient. Rab Joseph said : As for a good dream, even in my own case, its cheerfulness frustrates it [so that it is not realised]. Rab Hisda also said : A bad dream is worse than scourging ; as it is said, "God hath so made it that men should fear before Him" (Eccles. 3:14), and Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : This refers to a bad dream.

Rabbah had bricks set up for him facing East and West. Abbai went and put them facing North and South ; but Rabbah proceeded to put them right, exclaiming, "Who is it that is troubling me ? I agree with R. 'Akiba's view when he declared that it is prohibited in all circumstances."

Rabbah had bricks set up for him facing East and West. Abbai went and put them facing North and South ; but Rabbah proceeded to put them right, exclaiming, "Who is it that is troubling me ? I agree with R. 'Akiba's view when he declared that it is prohibited in all circumstances."

Why should we not wipe with the right hand but only with the left? Raba said : Because the Torah was given with the right hand ; as it is said, "At His right hand was a fiery law unto them" (Deut. xxxiii. 2). Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said : Because it is near the mouths. R. Simeon b. Lakish said : Because he binds the Tefillin with it. Rab Nahman b. Isaac said: Because he points to the accents of the Torah with it.

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.

R. Abin the Levite[4] said : Whoever forces fate[5], fate will force him; but whoever yields to fate, fate yields to him. So was it with Rabbah and Rab Joseph ;

for Rab Joseph [was nicknamed] "Sinai[6]" and Rabbah "the uprooter of mountains[7]. "The time needed them[8]; so [the electors] sent [a message] there[9], "Of 'Sinai' and 'the uprooter of mountains,' which should be given preference?" They returned answer, "'Sinai' should be preferred, because all stand in need of an owner of wheat[10]." Nevertheless Rab Joseph did not accept the offer, because the Chaldeans[11] told him, "Thou wilt reign only two years[12]."

Rabbah ruled two and twenty years[13], and then Rab Joseph two and a half;

but all the years that Rabbah ruled he never called a cupper to his house[14].

Rabbah answered: Scripture says, "That your generations will know that I caused the children of Israel to dwell in sukkot" (Leviticus 23:43). Up to twenty cubits [high] one knows that he is dwelling in a sukkah, but with one higher than twenty cubits he does not ‘know’ that he is dwelling in a sukkah, since his eye does not catch sight of it.

Everybody did not say like Rabbah, [because] that is knowledge through the generations.

Whose ruling is followed in the statement made by R. Chanan b. Rabbah in the name of Rav that the difference of opinion is only where [the Sukkah] can contain [only] a person's head, the greater part of his body, and his table, but where it is larger than this [both agree] that even if it is higher than twenty amos it is Kosher. Whose ruling is followed? No one's.

It is understandable that R. Yoshia disagrees with R. Huna and with R. Chanan b. Rabbah, since they lay down a [minimum] measurement in the extent [of the Sukkah] while he does not lay down a minimum measurement as to the extent [thereof];

but [as regards] R. Huna and R. Chanan b. Rabbah,can we say that they differ on [what minimum of extent constitutes] the kashrus of the Sukkah the former, holding the opinion that the kashrus of the Sukkah [depends upon its being a minimum of] four amos [square] while the latter holds that The kashrus of the Sukkah [depends, upon its capacity of] containing his head, the greater part of his body, and his table?

because of ventilation; but according to the ruling who states that they differed only in the case of a small’ Sukkah, is it then customary for a queen to sit in a small Sukkah? Rabbah bar Ada answered: The ruling was necessary only in the case of a Sukkah constructed with many recesses.

The traditional law comes [to teach] concerning one's hair, in agreement with a statement of Rabbah b. Bar Hana, or Rabbah b. Bar Hana stated: One knotted hair constitutes an interposition, three hairs do not, but I do not know [the law in the case of] two.

The traditional law comes [to teach] concerning one's hair, in agreement with a statement of Rabbah b. Bar Hana, or Rabbah b. Bar Hana stated: One knotted hair constitutes an interposition, three hairs do not, but I do not know [the law in the case of] two.

R. Hisda and Rabbah son of R. Huna say: Four [handbreadths], since we do not find a place of any [legal] importance to be less than four [handbreadths]. And Shmuel says,

It was stated: The decorations of a Sukkah which are removed four [handbreadths from the skhakh] R. Nahman declares them valid, valid, And R. Hisda and Rabbah son of R. Huna declare them invalid.

R. Hisda and Rabbah son of R. Huna once came to the house of the exilarch, And R. Nahman sheltered them in a Sukkah whose decorations were separated four handbreadths [from the skhakh]. They were silent and they didn't say a word to him. He said to them, ‘Have our rabbis retracted their teaching’? They answered him: We are messengers performing a mitzvah, and [therefore] we are free from the obligation of the Sukkah.

Rabbah bar R. Huna expounded, It is permitted to sleep in a canopied bed [in a Sukkah] even though it has a roof and even though it is ten [handbreadths] high According to whom [does he hold]? According to R. Judah who said that a temporary tent cannot nullify a permanent, tent as we have learned: R. Judah said, We were accustomed to sleep under a bed in the presence of the elders.

Rabbah b. Bar Hana said in the name of R. Yohanan: ‘If one covered a Sukkah with flax-stalks that had been soaked and baked, it is invalid; with flax stalks in their natural state it is valid; with flax-stalks in an intermediate stage of preparation, I do not know [whether it is valid or not]’.

It was stated: If he placed the planks on their sides: R. Huna declared it invalid, and R. Hisda and Rabbah son of R. Huna declared it valid.

R. Nahman once came to Sura. R. Hisda and Rabbah son of R. Huna came in to him and asked: If he placed them on their sides, what is the law? He said to them: It is invalid, since they are regarded as metal spits.