חולין דף ס

חזינא ליה. אזל אוקמיה להדי יומא בתקופת תמוז, אמר ליה: איסתכל ביה. אמר ליה: לא מצינא. אמר ליה: יומא, דחד משמשי דקיימי קמי דקודשא בריך הוא

I wish to see Him. Rabbi Yehoshua went and stood the emperor facing the sun in the season of Tammuz, i.e., summer. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Look at it. The emperor said to him: I cannot. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Now, if with regard to the sun, which is only one of the servants that stand before the Holy One, Blessed be He, you say: I cannot look at it, is it not all the more so with regard to the Divine Presence?

אמרת לא מצינא לאיסתכלא ביה, שכינה לא כל שכן.

אמר ליה קיסר לרבי יהושע בן חנניה: בעינא דאיצבית ליה נהמא לאלהיכו. אמר ליה: לא מצית. אמאי? נפישי חילוותיה. אמר ליה: איברא. אמר ליה:

§ The Gemara recounts: The Roman emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: I desire to arrange bread, i.e., a meal, for your God. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: You cannot. The emperor asked him: Why? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: His hosts are too great. The emperor said to him: Truly, I wish to do it. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Go out and arrange a meal on the shore of the great sea [dirvita], where there is a wide open space. The emperor worked all the six months of summer to accomplish this. A wind came and swept it all into the sea.

פוק צבית לגידא דרביתא, דרויח עלמא. טרח שיתא ירחי קייטא, אתא זיקא כנשיה לימא.

טרח שיתא ירחי דסיתוא, אתא מיטרא טבעיה בימא. אמר ליה: מאי האי? אמר ליה: הני כנושאי זלוחאי דאתו קמיה. אמר ליה: אי הכי לא מצינא.

The emperor worked to arrange another meal all the six months of winter. Rain came and sank it all in the sea. The emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua: What is this? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: These are only the sweepers and floor washers that wait on Him, and they alone have eaten everything. The emperor said to him: If so, I cannot arrange a meal before Him.

אמרה ליה בת קיסר לרבי יהושע בן חנניה: אלהיכון נגרא הוא, דכתיב ״המקרה במים עליותיו״. אימא ליה דנעביד לי חדא מסתוריתא. אמר: לחיי, בעא רחמי עלה ואינגעה.

§ The Gemara recounts: The daughter of the Roman emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: Your God is a carpenter, as it is written: “Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters” (Psalms 104:3). Tell Him to make for me a distaff, a simple tool used in spinning. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said: Very well. He prayed for mercy for her and she was stricken with leprosy. She sat in the Roman market, and they gave her a distaff, since it was their custom to give a distaff to anyone stricken with leprosy in Rome, and the leper would sit in the market and untangle bunches of wool, so that people would see and pray for mercy on him.

אותבה בשוקא דרומי ויהבי לה מסתוריתא, דהוו נהיגי דכל דמנגע ברומי יהבו ליה מסתוריתא, ויתיב בשוקא וסתר דוללי, כי היכי דליחזו אינשי וליבעי רחמי עליה.

יומא חד הוה קא חליף התם, הות יתבא וסתרה דוללי בשוקא דרומאי, אמר לה: שפירתא מסתוריתא דיהב ליך אלהי. אמרה ליה:

One day Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya was passing there, and he saw that she was sitting and untangling bunches of wool in the Roman market. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to her: Is the distaff my God gave you pleasing? She said to him: Tell your God to take back what He has given me. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to her: Our God gives, but does not take.

אימא ליה לאלהיך לשקול מאי דיהב לי. אמר לה: אלהא דידן מיהב יהיב, משקל לא שקיל.

אמר רב יהודה: שור כרסתן ופרסתן, רב רישיה ורב גנובתיה, וחילופא בחמרא. למאי נפקא מינה? למקח וממכר.

§ Rav Yehuda says: A bull has a large paunch and large hooves. Its head is large, and its tail is large. And the opposite is true for a donkey. The Gemara explains: What is the practical difference that results from such a statement? It is relevant for purposes of buying and selling. One who agrees to sell a bull must provide the buyer with one that fits this description, and the opposite for a donkey.

ואמר רב יהודה: שור שהקריב אדם הראשון, קרן אחת היתה לו במצחו, שנאמר: ״ותיטב לה׳ משור פר מקרין מפריס״ – מקרין תרתי משמע! אמר רב נחמן: ״מקרן״ כתיב.

And Rav Yehuda says: The bull that Adam, the first man, sacrificed as a thanks offering for his life being spared had a single horn on its forehead, as it is stated: “And it shall please the Lord better than a bullock that has horns [makrin] and hoofs” (Psalms 69:32). The Gemara comments: On the contrary, the word makrin indicates two horns. Rav Naḥman said: Although it is vocalized in the plural, makran is written in the verse, without the letter yod, to indicate that it had only a single horn.

ואמר רב יהודה: שור שהקריב אדם הראשון, קרניו קודמות לפרסותיו, שנאמר: ״ותיטב לה׳ משור פר מקרין מפריס״ – מקרין ברישא, והדר מפריס.

And Rav Yehuda says: With regard to the bull that Adam, the first man, sacrificed, its horns preceded its hooves. It was not born of a cow, but rose fully formed out of the earth such that its head emerged first, as it is stated: “And it shall please the Lord better than a bullock that has horns and hoofs.” The phrase “has horns” comes first, and only afterward the word “hoofs.”

מסייע ליה לרבי יהושע בן לוי, דאמר רבי יהושע בן לוי: כל מעשה בראשית בקומתן נבראו, בדעתן נבראו, בצביונם נבראו, שנאמר ״ויכלו השמים והארץ וכל צבאם״,

And this supports the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: All items created during the acts of Creation were created with their full stature, immediately fit to bear fruit; they were created with their full mental capacities; they were created with their full form. As it is stated: “And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Genesis 2:1). Do not read it as: “The host of them [tzeva’am]”; rather, read it as: Their form [tzivyonam].

אל תקרי ״צבאם״ אלא ״צביונם״.

דרש רבי חנינא בר פפא: ״יהי כבוד ה׳ לעולם ישמח ה׳ במעשיו״, פסוק זה שר העולם אמרו, בשעה שאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא ״למינהו״ באילנות,

§ Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa taught: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; let the Lord rejoice in His works” (Psalms 104:31). This verse was stated by the minister of the world, i.e., the angel charged with overseeing the world. When the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: “Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind” (Genesis 1:11), the grasses drew an a fortiori inference with regard to themselves.

נשאו דשאים קל וחומר בעצמן:

אם רצונו של הקדוש ברוך הוא בערבוביא, למה אמר ״למינהו״ באילנות? ועוד קל וחומר: ומה אילנות שאין דרכן לצאת בערבוביא, אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא ״למינהו״ – אנו

They reasoned: If the Holy One, Blessed be He, wishes the mixing of species, why did he say: After its kind, with regard to the trees? And furthermore, let us draw an a fortiori inference: If with regard to trees, which do not naturally grow mixed, as they are large and distinct from one another, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: “After its kind,” all the more so with regard to us, since grass naturally grows mixed.

על אחת כמה וכמה!

מיד כל אחד ואחד יצא למינו, פתח שר העולם ואמר: ״יהי כבוד ה׳ לעולם ישמח ה׳ במעשיו״.

Immediately, every kind of grass emerged after its kind, as it is stated: “And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind” (Genesis 1:12). The minister of the world began to speak and said: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; let the Lord rejoice in His works,” who do His will even when not explicitly instructed.

בעי רבינא: הרכיב שני דשאים זה על גב זה

With regard to the above description, Ravina raises a dilemma: If one grafted two species of grass onto one another, as is done with trees,

לרבי חנינא בר פפא מהו? כיון דלא כתב בהו ״למינהו״ לא מיחייב, או דילמא כיון דהסכים אידיהו – כמאן דכתיב בהו ״למינהו״ דמיא? תיקו.

what is the halakha according to Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa? Shall one say that since the phrase “after its kind” is not written as a mitzva with regard to them, one is not liable for transgressing the prohibition against mixing diverse kinds? Or perhaps, since God agreed with them after the fact, as the verse states: “Let the Lord rejoice in His works,” it is as if the mitzva “after its kind” is written with regard to them. The Gemara responds: The dilemma shall stand unresolved.

רבי שמעון בן פזי רמי: כתיב ״ויעש אלהים את שני המארת הגדלים״, וכתיב ״את המאור הגדול ואת המאור הקטן״. אמרה ירח לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא: רבונו של עולם,

§ Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi raises a contradiction between two verses. It is written: “And God made the two great lights” (Genesis 1:16), and it is also written in the same verse: “The greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night,” indicating that only one was great. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi explains: When God first created the sun and the moon, they were equally bright. Then, the moon said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, is it possible for two kings to serve with one crown? One of us must be subservient to the other. God therefore said to her, i.e., the moon: If so, go and diminish yourself.

אפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד? אמר לה: לכי ומעטי את עצמך.

אמרה לפניו: רבונו של עולם, הואיל ואמרתי לפניך דבר הגון, אמעיט את עצמי?! אמר לה: לכי ומשול ביום ובלילה. אמרה ליה: מאי רבותיה?

She said before Him: Master of the Universe, since I said a correct observation before You, must I diminish myself? God said to her: As compensation, go and rule both during the day along with the sun and during the night. She said to Him: What is the greatness of shining alongside the sun? What use is a candle in the middle of the day? God said to her: Go; let the Jewish people count the days and years with you, and this will be your greatness. She said to Him: But the Jewish people will count with the sun as well, as it is impossible that they will not count seasons with it, as it is written: “And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14). God said to her: Go; let righteous men be named after you. Just as you are called the lesser [hakatan] light, there will be Ya’akov HaKatan, i.e., Jacob our forefather (see Amos 7:2), Shmuel HaKatan the tanna, and David HaKatan, i.e., King David (see I Samuel 17:14).

דשרגא בטיהרא מאי אהני? אמר לה: זיל לימנו בך ישראל ימים ושנים. אמרה ליה: יומא נמי אי אפשר דלא מנו ביה תקופתא, דכתיב ״והיו לאתת ולמועדים ולימים ושנים״.

זיל ליקרו צדיקי בשמיך: ״יעקב הקטן״, ״שמואל הקטן״, ״דוד הקטן״.

חזייה דלא קא מיתבא דעתה, אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: הביאו כפרה עלי שמיעטתי את הירח! והיינו דאמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש:

God saw that the moon was not comforted. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Bring atonement for me, since I diminished the moon. The Gemara notes: And this is what Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: What is different about the goat offering of the New Moon, that it is stated with regard to it: “For the Lord” (Numbers 28:15)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: This goat shall be an atonement for Me for having diminished the size of the moon.

מה נשתנה שעיר של ראש חדש שנאמר בו ״לה׳״? אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: שעיר זה יהא כפרה על שמיעטתי את הירח.

רב אסי רמי, כתיב: ״ותוצא הארץ דשא״ (בתלת) [בתלתא] בשבא, וכתיב: ״וכל שיח השדה טרם יהיה בארץ״ במעלי שבתא, מלמד שיצאו דשאים ועמדו על פתח קרקע,

§ Rav Asi raises a contradiction between two verses. It is written: “And the earth brought forth grass” (Genesis 1:12), on the third day of the week of Creation. And it is also written: “No shrub of the field was yet in the earth” (Genesis 2:5), on Shabbat eve, the sixth day of Creation, immediately before Adam was created. Rav Asi explains: This teaches that the grasses emerged on the third day and stood at the opening of the ground, but they did not grow until Adam, the first man, came and prayed for mercy upon them, and rain came, and they sprouted. And this is meant to teach you that the Holy One, Blessed be He, desires the prayers of the righteous.

עד שבא אדם הראשון ובקש עליהם רחמים, וירדו גשמים וצמחו, ללמדך שהקדוש ברוך הוא מתאוה לתפלתן של צדיקים.

רב נחמן בר פפא הויא ליה ההיא גינתא, שדי ביה ביזרני ולא צמח. בעא רחמי, אתא מיטרא וצמח. אמר: היינו דרב אסי.

The Gemara recounts: Rav Naḥman bar Pappa had a certain garden. He planted seeds but they did not sprout. He prayed for mercy, and rain came, and they sprouted. He said: This is what is meant by the statement of Rav Asi, that the Holy One, Blessed be He, desires the prayers of the righteous.

אמר רב חנן בר רבא: ״השסועה״ בריה בפני עצמה היא, שיש לה שני גבין ושני שדראות. וכי משה רבינו קניגי היה או בליסטרי היה?

§ In one of the passages discussing kosher and non-kosher animals, the Torah states: “Nevertheless, these you shall not eat of them that only chew the cud, or of them that have split hooves that are cloven [hashesua]: The camel, and the hare, and the hyrax” (Deuteronomy 14:7). Rav Ḥanan bar Rava said: “Hashesua” is not a redundant description of the split hooves but a distinct creature, which has two backs and two spines and therefore looks like an entirely cloven animal. One might ask: But was Moses our teacher a hunter, or was he an archer, who was familiar with the most exotic animals? Rather, from here there is a refutation to those who say that the Torah is not from Heaven, since Moses could not have known of the existence of such an animal save by divine revelation.

מכאן תשובה לאומר אין תורה מן השמים.

אמר ליה רב חסדא לרב תחליפא בר אבינא: זיל כתוב ״קניגי ובליסטרי״ באגדתיך, ופרשה.

Rav Ḥisda said to Rav Taḥlifa bar Avina: Go write this statement about the hunter [kinnigi] and the archer [ballisteri] in your book of aggada, and explain those two words, since some are unfamiliar with them.

״ואת חמשת סרני פלשתים העזתי והאשדודי האשקלוני הגתי והעקרוני והעוים״, אמר חמשה וחשיב שיתא! אמר רבי יונתן: ארונקי שלהן חמשה. אמר ליה רב חסדא לרב תחליפא בר אבינא:

The Gemara relates another statement. The verse states: “The five lords of the Philistines: The Gazite, and the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, and the Ekronite; also the Avvim” (Joshua 13:3). The verse is difficult, since it first said there are five lords of the Philistines, but it then lists six. Rabbi Yonatan said: There were in fact six lords, but the greatest of them were only five. Rav Ḥisda said to Rav Taḥlifa bar Avina: Write this statement about the greatest [arunekei] in your book of aggada, and explain that word. The Gemara notes: And this statement disagrees with the opinion of Rav, as Rav says: The Avvim were not Philistines; rather, they came from Teiman.

כתוב ״ארונקי״ באגדתיך ופרשה. ופליגא דרב, דאמר רב: עוים מתימן באו.

תניא נמי הכי: עוים מתימן באו, ולמה נקרא שמן עוים? שעיותו את מקומן. דבר אחר: עוים, שאיוו לאלהות הרבה. דבר אחר: עוים, שכל הרואה אותם אוחזתו עוית.

This is also taught in a baraita: The Avvim came from Teiman. And why were they called Avvim and not Teimanim? Because they corrupted [ivvetu] and destroyed their place of origin when they left. Alternatively, they were called Avvim since they desired [ivvu] many deities. Alternatively, they were called Avvim since they were so fearsome that all who saw them were seized by convulsions [avit]. Rav Yosef said: And each one of them has sixteen rows of teeth.

אמר רב יוסף: ואית להו שיתסרי דרי שיני לכל חד וחד.

אמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש: הרבה מקראות שראויין לשרוף כספרי מינין, והן הן גופי תורה. ״והעוים הישבים בחצרים עד עזה״ – מאי נפקא לן מינה?

The Gemara cites another statement related to the Avvim: Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: There are many verses that are seemingly fit to be burned as books of the heretics, since they appear redundant or frivolous, and yet they are themselves the essence of Torah. For example, the verse states: “And the Avvim, that dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, that came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead” (Deuteronomy 2:23). What practical difference does this make for us?

מדאשבעיה אבימלך לאברהם ״אם תשקר לי ולניני ולנכדי״, אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: ליתו כפתורים ליפקו מעוים, דהיינו פלשתים, וליתו ישראל ליפקו מכפתורים.

The verse teaches the following: Since Abimelech, king of the Philistines, administered an oath to Abraham: “That you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my grandson” (Genesis 21:23), the Jewish people were prohibited from conquering the land of the Philistines until four generations had passed. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Let the Caphtorim come and remove the land from the Avvim, who are the same as the Philistines, and let Israel come and remove it from the Caphtorim, circumventing the prohibition.

כיוצא בדבר אתה אומר: ״כי חשבון עיר סיחן מלך האמרי הוא והוא נלחם במלך מואב וגו׳״. מאי נפקא מינה? דאמר להו הקדוש ברוך הוא לישראל:

Similarly, you say with regard to another apparently unnecessary verse, describing a city that the Israelites conquered: “For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand” (Numbers 21:26). What is the practical difference in knowing this information? It teaches that since the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel: “Be not at enmity with Moab” (Deuteronomy 2:9), the Jewish people were prohibited from conquering the land of Moab. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Let Sihon come and remove the land from Moab, and let Israel come and remove it from Sihon. The Gemara notes: And this is what Rav Pappa says: The lands of Ammon and Moab were purified by Sihon, i.e., rendered permitted for conquest.

״אל תצר את מואב״. אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: ליתי סיחון ליפוק ממואב, וליתו ישראל וליפקו מסיחון. והיינו דאמר רב פפא: עמון ומואב טיהרו בסיחון.

״צידנים יקראו לחרמון שרין״, תנא: שניר ושריון מהרי ארץ ישראל, מלמד שכל אחד ואחד מאומות העולם הלך ובנה לו כרך גדול לעצמו,

The Gemara cites another seemingly superfluous verse, describing Mount Hermon: “Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir” (Deuteronomy 3:9). A Sage taught: Senir and Sirion are mountains of Eretz Yisrael. The verse teaches that every one of the nations of the world went and built itself a great city on Mount Hermon, and named it after one of the mountains of Eretz Yisrael, teaching you that even the mountains of Eretz Yisrael are beloved by the nations of the world.

והעלה לו על שם הרי ארץ ישראל, ללמדך שאפילו הרי ארץ ישראל חביבין על אומות העולם.

כיוצא בו: ״ואת העם העביר אתו לערים״, מאי נפקא מינה? דלא ליקרו לאחיו גלוותא.

Similarly, a difficult verse describes Joseph’s treatment of the Egyptians: “And as for the people, he removed them city by city” (Genesis 47:21). What is the practical difference of this information? It teaches Joseph’s love for his brothers, as he transferred the entire Egyptian population so that they would not call his brothers exiles.

סימני העוף לא נאמרו, ולא? והתניא: ״נשר״,

§ The mishna states: The signs of the kosher bird were not explicitly stated in the Torah. The Gemara asks: And is it true that they were not stated in the Torah? But isn’t it taught in a baraita: “The nesher” (Leviticus 11:13) is a non-kosher bird.