thumb

Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.

And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering:

And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot:

And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:

But when the guards had produced wheels, and joint-dislocators, and racks, and bone-crushers, and catapults, and cauldrons, and braziers, and thumb-screws, and iron claws, and wedges, and branding irons, the tyrant spoke again and said:

And behold, when the Temple of the city of Jerusalem was being built, and the artificers were working thereat, Ornias the demon came among them toward sunset; and he took away half of the pay of the chief-deviser's little boy, as well as half his food. He also continued to suck the thumb of his right hand every day. And the child grew thin, although he was very much loved by the king.

But the child said to the king: "I pray thee, O king. Listen to what has befallen all that thy child hath. After we are all released from our work on the Temple of God, after sunset, when I lie down to rest, one of the evil demons comes and takes away from me one half of my pay and one half of my food. Then he also takes hold of my right hand and sucks my thumb. And lo, my soul is oppressed, and so my body waxes thinner every day."

Originally anyone who wished to remove [the ashes from] the altar did so. When they were many, they would run up the ramp [of the altar] and he that came first within four cubits won the privilege. If two were even, the officer would say to them [all:] raise the finger! And how many did they put out? One or two but one does not put out a thumb in the Temple.

If one knocks his ankles [against each other, in walking] or rubs his legs [against each other]; a ba’al pikah and an ikkel. What is an ikkel? One whose knees do not touch each other when he puts his feet together. If he has a lump protruding from his thumb, or if his heel projects backward, or if his feet are wide like those of a goose. Or if his fingers lie one above the other. If they are webbed up to the joint, he is fit, if below the root, if he cuts it, he is also fit. If he has an additional finger and he cut it off, if there was a bone in it, he is unfit, but if not, he is fit. If he has additional fingers and additional toes, on each hand and foot six fingers and six toes, [making altogether] twenty-four [fingers and toes]: Rabbi Judah declares him fit, But the sages declare him unfit. One who has equal strength in both hands: Rabbi declares him unfit; But the sages declare him fit. A kushi, a gihur, a lavkan, a kippeah, a dwarf, a deaf-mute, an imbecile, one intoxicated, or afflicted with plague marks which are clean – [these defects] disqualify in human beings but not in animals. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: a mad animal is not a choice sacrifice. Rabbi Eliezer says: also those afflicted with dangling warts they are unfit in human beings but are fit in animals.

One who makes a new light hole, its minimum size is that of a hole made by the large drill of the Temple chamber. The remains of a light-hole [the size is] two fingerbreadths high by a thumb-breadth broad. The following is considered the remains of a light-hole: a window that a person had blocked up but had not been able to finish [being blocked up]. [A hole] that was bored by water, or by reptiles or eaten away by salt: the minimum size is that of a fist. If he intended to use it, its minimum size is one handbreadth square; For lighting its minimum size is that of a hole made by the drill. The holes in grating or lattice-work may be joined together to form [an opening] the size of a hole made by the drill, according to the opinion of Bet Shammai. Bet Hillel says: unless there is a hole of the size made by the drill in one place. [The above applies] for purposes of allowing the uncleanness to come in or to go out. Rabbi Shimon says: only for allowing the uncleanness to come in; but for allowing the uncleanness to go out [the minimum size] is one handbreadth square.

[The metzora] put in his head inside and [the priest] applied [the blood] to the tip of his ear; [He put in] his hand and [the priest] applied [the blood] to the thumb of his hand. [He put in] his foot and [the priest] applied [the blood] to the big toe of his foot. Rabbi Judah says: he put in all three at the same time. If he had no thumb on his hand or no big toe on his foot or no right ear he could never become clean. Rabbi Eliezer says: [the blood] is applied to the place where they were. Rabbi Shimon says: if he applied it to the left side, the obligation has been fulfilled.

[The metzora] put in his head inside and [the priest] applied [the blood] to the tip of his ear; [He put in] his hand and [the priest] applied [the blood] to the thumb of his hand. [He put in] his foot and [the priest] applied [the blood] to the big toe of his foot. Rabbi Judah says: he put in all three at the same time. If he had no thumb on his hand or no big toe on his foot or no right ear he could never become clean. Rabbi Eliezer says: [the blood] is applied to the place where they were. Rabbi Shimon says: if he applied it to the left side, the obligation has been fulfilled.

There, we have stated: “He enters his head and he puts on his ear’s cartilage, his hand and he gives on his thumb, his foot,” etc. Rebbi Jehudah’s argument is inverted. There he says, it is forbidden to act craftily, but here he says that it is permitted. There that he should not enter with his head and most of his body and be punishable by extirpation. But here it is because of bringing impure implements on the Sabbath. The argument of the rabbis is inverted. There they say, it is permitted to act craftily, but here they say, it is forbidden to act craftily. There that he should not defile himself three times, but here it is a known impurity inside; it is possible for it to be removed immediately. Without impurity? He told him, it is better to violate a prohibition that was not caused by him than a prohibition which will come before him.

MISHNAH: Originally, anybody who wanted to remove the ashes from the altar could remove them. If they were many of them, they ran up the ramp; he who was first within four cubits got the right to do it. If two were at equal times, the overseer used to say to them, show fingers. What do they hold up? One or two; but one does not show a thumb in the Temple. It happened that two were equally running up the ramp when one pushed the other who broke his leg. When the court saw that they might come into danger they enacted that they should remove the ashes from the altar only by lottery. There were four lotteries, and this was the first of them.

“One does not show a thumb in the Temple,” because of the tricksters. One does not say from whom in the Temple, but the overseer lifts the cap of one of them and they know that the lottery (proceeds) [starts] from there. Should we not worry, maybe for a friend or a relative? They formed a snail. How was the lottery proceeding, to the right or to the left? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, since we did state, the one winning the incense says to the one on his right side, you are with me with the pan, this implies that it proceeded to the right. The students of Rebbi Jonah in the name of Rebbi Hilfai: It is as follows. The lottery proceeds to the left, the winner adds to the right. It is preferable that one should win over whom the lottery passed twice, rather than one over whom the lottery passed only once.

“Hugdas ben Levi for the song.” Rebbi Aḥa said, he knew a special melody. When he put his thumb in his mouth he produced all kinds of sounds and the heads of his fellow Levites were taken aback.

Ben Yehoṣadaq was priding himself for his vaulting. They said about Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel that he was dancing with eight golden torches and neither of them touched (the ground) [any other.] When he was bowing down to his shinbone he thrust his thumb into the ground, bowed down to his shinbone, and immediately stood up. What is bowing down to one’s shinbone and what is kneeling? The great Rebbi Ḥiyya showed bowing down to his shinbone before Rebbi, [became lame] and was healed. Levi ben Sisi showed kneeling before Rebbi, became lame and was not healed.

It is written: David returned to bless his house when Mikhal, Saul’s daughter, came towards him, etc. Who is one of the empty ones? Abba bar Cahana said, the most empty one, that is the dancer. She told him, today the honor of my father’s house became obvious. One said about the family of Saul that one never saw a heel or a thumb of them. That is what is written: He came to the sheep fences along the road and there was a cave. Rebbi Abun in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: That was a fence inside a fence. Saul came to spread his feet. He saw him how he lifted a little and covered a little. [David] said, how could one touch such a righteous body. That is what he told him, behold, what your eyes saw today which today gave me in your hand in the cave and I could have killed you, etc. Is it not written “I had mercy on you” but it had mercy on you, your modesty had mercy on you. David told Michal, before the Eternal Who chose me over your father, etc. And I was still humbler than this and I was lowly in my eyes, and with the servant girls you mentioned, with them I shall be honored, for they are not servant girls but mothers. How was she punished? Michal, Saul’s daughter, had no child until the day of her death. But is it not written: The sixth Yitre`am, of his wife Calf. She mooed like a calf and died.

Rebbi Ze`ira, Rav Ḥananel in the name of Rav: Its sewing is practice of Moses from Sinai. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac: the knots of Tefillin are practice of Moses from Sinai. A Tefillin strip of Rebbi Jeremiah broke; he asked Rebbi Abba bar Mamal who said to him, and you stall tie them, even simple tying. Rebbi Ze`ira’s wall of the strip broke. He asked Rav Huna and Rav Qatina, and they permitted him. It broke a second time and they permitted him, not from what they had learned. Rebbi Abba the son of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: The practice is that he who sews must leave space on top and bottom so it should not tear. They hit him on the skull, if it is practice why “should not tear”? And if “should not tear” why practice? It is practice of Moses from Sinai that one write on leather, and write with ink, and rule with a ruler, and ties with hair, and patches with a patch, and glues with glue, and sews with sinews. As he sews, he has to sew this stitch. One needs to leave between line and line the width of a line, between word and word the width of a letter, between letter and letter something, between column and column a thumb-width. If he made the end of the column equal to its beginning he disqualified it. One must leave on the top of the scroll {a margin of} two finger-breadths and at the bottom three. Rebbi says, in the Torah at the top three and at the bottom a hand-breadth. Between book and book one has to leave four lines empty, in the Twelve Prophets three. One has to end in the middle of a column and start in its middle; but for a Prophet he ends at the bottom and starts at the top; but for the Twelve Prophets it is forbidden. One makes no sheet less than three columns and none more than eight. That you are saying, at the start. But at the end even a little; and for parchment the Sages did not give any size.

It is written: David turned. Who are the “empty ones”? Rebbi Abba bar Cahana said, the most empty one, that is the dancer. She told him, today the honor of my father’s house became obvious. One said about the family of Saul that one never saw a heel or a thumb of them. That is what is written: He came to the sheep fences. Rebbi Abun ben Rebbi Eleazar: That was a fence inside a fence. Saul came to spread his feet. He saw him how he lifted a little and covered a little. He said, one who would touch such modesty would be cursed. That is what he told him, behold, what your eyes saw today, etc. Is it not written “I had mercy on you” but it had mercy on you, your modesty had mercy on you. David told Michal, etc. With the servant girls you mentioned, with them I shall be honored, for they are not servant girls but mothers. How was she punished? Michal, Saul’s daughter, had no child, But is it not written: The sixth Yitreˋam, of his wife Calf. She mood like a calf and died.

The next commenced and said : He who enters a town and is afraid of the Evil Eye, let him take his right thumb in his left hand and his left thumb in his right hand and say the following: "I, A the son of B, come from the seed of Joseph against whom the Evil Eye had no power ; as it is said, 'Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain' (Gen. xlix. 22). Read not 'ale 'ayin 'by a fountain' but 'ole 'ayin 'overcoming the [Evil] Eye'." R. Jose b. R. Hannina said : It may be derived from the verse : "And let them grow [weyidgu] into a multitude in the midst of the earth" (ibid, xlviii. 16) ; i.e. as the fishes [dagim] in the sea are covered by the water and the Evil Eye cannot have power over them, in similar manner the Evil Eye has no power over the seed of Joseph. Should he, however, be afraid of his own Evil Eye, let him gaze upon the wing of his left nostril.

The next commenced and said : He who enters a town and is afraid of the Evil Eye, let him take his right thumb in his left hand and his left thumb in his right hand and say the following: "I, A the son of B, come from the seed of Joseph against whom the Evil Eye had no power ; as it is said, 'Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain' (Gen. xlix. 22). Read not 'ale 'ayin 'by a fountain' but 'ole 'ayin 'overcoming the [Evil] Eye'." R. Jose b. R. Hannina said : It may be derived from the verse : "And let them grow [weyidgu] into a multitude in the midst of the earth" (ibid, xlviii. 16) ; i.e. as the fishes [dagim] in the sea are covered by the water and the Evil Eye cannot have power over them, in similar manner the Evil Eye has no power over the seed of Joseph. Should he, however, be afraid of his own Evil Eye, let him gaze upon the wing of his left nostril.

R. Eleazar b. Pedat was greatly distressed by poverty. One day he was bled, and after the operation had nothing to eat. He found some garlic and swallowed it, whereupon he fainted. Some of the Rabbis went to visit him and noticed that he was weeping and laughing, and that a ray of light proceeded from his forehead. When he awoke, they asked him: "Why did you weep and laugh, and why did a ray of light proceed from your forehead?" "I saw the Shekinah," he replied, "and complained before her, saying, 'how long shall I continue to live in this poverty?' and the Shekinah replied to me: 'Would it be acceptable to thee that I should destroy the world and create it anew? Perhaps thou wilt then be born in an hour that will betoken plenty for thee.' I said, 'So much trouble for a mere perhaps?' [I further said: 'Is the time which I have already lived greater than the time I am yet to live, or the reverse?' I was told: 'The time thou hast lived is greater.' 'If so,' said I, 'I do not care to be reborn.'] I then asked: 'What wilt thou give me in the world to come?' 'Thou wilt be given,' the answer was, 'thirteen rivers flowing with balsam oil, in which thou wilt find pleasure.' Said I, 'Is that all?' [The Shekinah replied: 'What am I to give to thy fellowmen if thou takest everything?' But I said: 'Do I ask it of one who is not in a position to give?']. I was then struck on my forehead by the snapping of a thumb and was asked: 'Eleazar my son, do my arrows irritate thee?'"