איך מפצחים את המדרש?

without support, standing with a support, i.e. an object against which one can lean, is better than it. And so too, the brothers said to Rabba: Yitzḥak, Shimon, and Oshaya all said the same statement: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda with regard to female mules. As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda says: With regard to a female mule in heat, one may not mate a horse or a donkey with her, due to the prohibition against crossbreeding of livestock. Rather, one mates her with one of her kind, another mule. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said, in explanation of this last statement of Rabba’s brothers: Yitzḥak is to be identified with Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa; Shimon is Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi. And some say that he is Reish Lakish, i.e., Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish. Oshaya is Rabbi Oshaya the Distinguished. § Rabbi Elazar said: The common, uneducated people will not come alive in the future, as it is stated: “The dead live not” (Isaiah 26:14). In other words, those who were already considered dead in their lifetimes will not come back to life afterward either. This idea is also taught in a baraita: “The dead live not”; one might have thought that this is referring to everyone, i.e., none of the dead will live again. Therefore, the verse states: “The shades [refa’im] rise not” (Isaiah 26:14). This teaches that the verse is speaking of one who weakens [merapeh] himself from matters of Torah. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Rabbi Elazar: Their master, i.e. God, is not pleased that you say this of ordinary Jews. Rather, that verse is written about one who weakens himself and succumbs to idol worship. Those who commit this great sin do not merit to be resurrected in the future. Rabbi Elazar said to him: I teach it from a different verse, as it is written: “For Your dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to life the shades” (Isaiah 26:19). Rabbi Elazar explains: Anyone who uses the light of Torah, which is called the dew of light, the light of Torah will revive him; and anyone who does not use the light of Torah, the light of Torah will not revive him. Since Rabbi Elazar saw that Rabbi Yoḥanan was grieved over the distress of common, uneducated people, he said to him: My teacher, I have found for them a remedy from the Torah so that they will merit life in the World-to-Come, as it states: “But You who cleave to the Lord your God, are alive every one of you this day” (Deuteronomy 4:4). But is it possible to cleave to the Divine Presence? Isn’t it written: For the Lord your God is a devouring fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24)? Rather, this verse teaches that anyone who marries his daughter to a Torah scholar, and one who conducts business [perakmatya] on behalf of Torah scholars, by investing their money, and one who utilizes his wealth to benefit Torah scholars with his property in some other way, the verse ascribes him credit as though he is cleaving to the Divine Presence. On a similar note, you say: The verse states: “To love the Lord your God, to hearken to His voice, and to cleave to Him” (Deuteronomy 30:20). But is it possible for a person to cleave to the Divine Presence? Rather, anyone who marries his daughter to a Torah scholar, and one who conducts business on behalf of Torah scholars, and one who utilizes his wealth to benefit Torah scholars with his property, the verse ascribes him credit as though he is cleaving to the Divine Presence. § Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Yosef said: In the future, at the time of the resurrection of the dead, the righteous will burst forth and arise in Jerusalem, as it is stated: “And may they blossom out of the city like the grass of the earth” (Psalms 72:16), and the term “city” means nothing other than Jerusalem, as it is stated: “For I will defend this city” (II Kings 19:34). And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Yosef said: In the future the righteous will stand up from their graves in their clothes. This is derived by an a fortiori inference from the example of wheat: Just as wheat, which is buried naked, i.e., the seed alone is planted, and yet it emerges from the ground with several layers of garb, including straw and chaff, in the case of the righteous, who are buried fully clothed, all the more so do they come out of the ground properly dressed. And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Yosef further said: In the future Eretz Yisrael will produce cakes [geluskaot] and fine wool clothing [meilat] that will grow from the ground, as it is stated: “Let abundant [pissat] grain [bar] be in the land” (Psalms 72:16). The term pissat is interpreted in a similar manner to ketonet passim, Joseph’s valuable clothing of many colors, while bar can mean bread. § The Sages taught the following with regard to the verse “Let abundant [pissat] grain be in the land upon the top of the mountains” (Psalms 72:16). They said: In the future, wheat will rise up, and grow tall like a palm tree, and ascend to the top of the mountains. And lest you say that if wheat will grow this tall its reaper will suffer discomfort, the same verse states: “May his fruit rustle like Lebanon.” The Holy One, Blessed be He, will bring a wind from His treasury and blow across, and this will thereby induce the flour to fall from the stalks of wheat, and a person will go out to the field and bring back a palmful [pissat] of flour, from which he will provide his livelihood and the livelihood of the members of his household. It is stated: “With the kidney-fat of wheat” (Deuteronomy 32:14). The Sages said: In the future, each and every kernel of wheat will be as big as the two kidneys of the large ox. And do not be surprised that this is possible, as there was an incident involving a fox that nested inside a turnip, and they weighed this turnip, and they discovered that even discounting the space dug out by the fox, it still weighed sixty litra, as measured by the litra of Tzippori. Similarly, it is taught in a baraita that Rav Yosef said: There was an incident which occurred in the village of Shiḥin, in Eretz Yisrael, involving one whose father had left him three branches of mustard, one of which broke. And they discovered on this one branch alone nine kav of mustard. And with the wood of its large branches they roofed a booth for artisans. Similarly, Rabbi Shimon ben Taḥlifa said: Father left us a cabbage stalk and we would go up and down on it with a ladder, due to its great height. § It is stated: “And from the blood of the grape you drank foaming wine” (Deuteronomy 32:14). The Sages said: The World-to-Come is not like this world. In this world there is suffering involved in picking grapes and in pressing them. By contrast, in the World-to-Come one will bring one grape in a wagon or on a boat and set it down in a corner of his house and supply from it enough to fill about the amount of a large jug [pitus], and with its wood one will kindle a fire under a cooked dish. And every grape you have will produce no less than thirty full jugs of wine, each with the capacity of a se’a. As it is stated: “And from the blood of the grape you drank foaming wine [ḥamer].” Do not read this term as ḥamer; rather, read it as ḥomer, which is a measure equaling thirty se’a. § When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Binding his foal to the vine” (Genesis 49:11), which is interpreted as a prophecy for the future? It means that every grapevine you have in Eretz Yisrael requires a foal to carry the load of its harvest. The verse continues: “And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine [soreka].” The Gemara explains: Every barren [serak] tree you have in Eretz Yisrael will produce sufficient fruit in the future to load upon two donkeys. And lest you say that these trees do not contain wine, the same verse states: “He washes his garments in wine.” And lest you say that the wine is not red, the verse states: “And from the blood of the grape you drank foaming wine” (Deuteronomy 32:14). And lest you say that this wine does not inebriate those who drink it, the verse states: “And his vesture [suto] in the blood of grapes” (Genesis 49:11). This verse indicates that these wines will induce [mesit] a state of drunkenness. And lest you say that this wine has no flavor, the verse states: “His eyes shall be red [ḥakhlili] with wine” (Genesis 49:12). This unusual term is read homiletically as follows: Each palate [ḥeikh] that tastes it says: This is for me, for me [li li]. And lest you say that the wine is good for the young but it is not good for the old, the verse states: “And his teeth white [leven shinayim] with milk” (Genesis 49:12). Do not read this expression as leven shinayim; rather, read it as leven shanim, one of years, i.e., an elderly person. The Gemara asks: To what does the plain meaning of the aforementioned verse refer? When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said: The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe: Hint with Your eyes a love that is sweeter than wine, and show me Your teeth through a smile that is sweeter than milk. The Gemara comments: This interpretation supports the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan. As Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One who whitens his teeth to his friend by smiling at him is better than one who gives him milk to drink, as it is stated: “And his teeth white [leven shinayim] with milk” (Genesis 49:12). Do not read this expression as leven shinayim; rather, read it as libbun shinayim, the whitening of teeth. Likewise, the phrase: With milk, can be read as: Than milk. § The Gemara relates further stories concerning the great bounty of Eretz Yisrael. Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda was a school teacher of Reish Lakish. On one occasion, Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda was delayed for three days and did not come to teach the children. When he finally came, Reish Lakish said to him: Why were you delayed? Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda said to him: Father left me one branch of a grape vine, and I harvested from it on the first day three hundred grape clusters, and each cluster yielded a quantity of wine enough to fill a jug. On the second day I harvested another three hundred grape clusters, and every two clusters yielded enough wine to fill a jug. On the third day I once again harvested three hundred grape clusters, and every three clusters yielded enough to fill a jug, and I declared ownerless more than half of it. Reish Lakish said to him: Had you not delayed and thereby disrupted the Torah study of children, each grape cluster would have produced more wine. Due to your cancellation of Torah study, each cluster yielded progressively less. § Rami bar Yeḥezkel happened to come to Benei Berak. He saw those goats that were grazing beneath a fig tree, and there was honey oozing from the figs and milk dripping from the goats, and the two liquids were mixing together. He said: This is the meaning of the verse “A land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). Rabbi Ya’akov ben Dostai said: There are three mil from Lud to Ono. Once I rose early in the morning and I walked in ankle-deep honey oozing from fig trees. Reish Lakish said: I myself saw a region called: The place flowing with milk and honey by Tzippori, and it was an area that covered sixteen by sixteen mil, 256 square mil. Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: I myself saw the region flowing with milk and honey of all Eretz Yisrael,

One day Rabbi Yosei bar Avin heard Rav Ashi studying and reciting the following statement. Shmuel said: With regard to one who removes a fish from the sea on Shabbat, when an area on the skin of the fish the size of a sela coin has dried up, he is liable for violating the prohibition against slaughtering an animal on Shabbat. A fish in that condition cannot survive, and therefore one who removed it from the water is liable for killing it. Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to Rav Ashi: And let the Master say that this is the case provided that the skin that dried is between its fins. Rav Ashi said to him: And doesn’t the Master maintain that Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Avin said this ruling? Why didn’t you state it in his name? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: I am he. Rav Ashi said to him: And didn’t the Master sit before and frequent the study hall of Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: Yes. Rav Ashi said to him: And what is the reason that the Master left him and came here? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: I was concerned and departed because he is so severe and unforgiving. He is a man who has no mercy on his own son, and no mercy on his daughter. How, then, could he have mercy on me? The Gemara asks: What is the incident involving his son? One day Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat hired day laborers to work his field. It grew late and he did not bring them food. The workers said to the son of Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat: We are starving. They were sitting under a fig tree, so the son said: Fig tree, fig tree. Yield your fruits, so that my father’s workers may eat. The fig tree yielded fruit, and they ate. In the meantime, his father came and said to the workers: Do not be angry with me for being late, as I was engaged in a mitzva, and until just now I was traveling for that purpose and could not get here any sooner. They said to him: May the Merciful One satisfy you just as your son satisfied us and gave us food. He said to them: From where did he find food to give you? They said: Such-and-such an incident occurred. Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat said to his son: My son, you troubled your Creator to cause the fig to yield its fruit not in its proper time, so too, you will die young. And indeed, his son died before his time. The Gemara asks: What is the incident involving his daughter? He had a very beautiful daughter. One day Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat saw a certain man piercing a hole in the hedge surrounding his property and looking at his daughter. Rabbi Yosei said to him: What is this? The man said to him: My teacher, if I have not merited taking her in marriage, shall I not at least merit to look at her? Rabbi Yosei said to her: My daughter, you are causing people distress. Return to your dust, and let people no longer stumble into sin due to you. § The Gemara relates another story involving Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat. He had a certain donkey that people hired each day for work. In the evening they would send it back with the money for its hire on its back, and the animal would go to its owner’s house. But if they added or subtracted from the appropriate sum, the donkey would not go. One day someone forgot a pair of sandals on the donkey, and it did not move until they removed the sandals from its back, after which it went off. The Gemara cites more stories about miracles that occurred to righteous individuals. Whenever the charity collectors would see Elazar of the village of Birta, they would hide from him, as any money Elazar had with him he would give them, and they did not want to take all his property. One day, Elazar went to the market to purchase what he needed for his daughter’s dowry. The charity collectors saw him and hid from him. He went and ran after them, saying to them: I adjure you, tell me, in what mitzva are you engaged? They said to him: We are collecting money for the wedding of an orphan boy and an orphan girl. He said to them: I swear by the Temple service that they take precedence over my daughter. He took everything he had with him and gave it to them. He was left with one single dinar, with which he bought himself wheat, and he then ascended to his house and threw it into the granary. Elazar’s wife came and said to her daughter: What has your father brought? She said to her mother: Whatever he brought he threw into the granary. She went to open the door of the granary, and saw that the granary was full of wheat, so much so that it was coming out through the doorknob, and the door would not open due to the wheat. The granary had miraculously been completely filled. Elazar’s daughter went to the study hall and said to her father: Come and see what your He Who loves You, the Almighty, has performed for you. He said to her: I swear by the Temple service, as far as you are concerned this wheat is consecrated property, and you have a share in it only as one of the poor Jews. He said this because he did not want to benefit from a miracle. The Gemara returns to the topic of fasting for rain. Rabbi Yehuda Nesia decreed a fast and prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. He said, lamenting: How great is the difference between the prophet Samuel of Rama, for whom rain fell even when he prayed for it in summer, and myself, Yehuda ben Gamliel. Woe to the generation that is stuck with this leadership; woe to him in whose days this has occurred. He grew upset, and rain came. The Gemara relates another story involving a Nasi’s decree of a fast for rain. In the house of the Nasi a fast was declared, but they didn’t inform Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish of the fast the day before. In the morning they informed them. Reish Lakish said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: What are we to do? We did not accept this fast upon ourselves the evening before, and a fast must be accepted in the afternoon service of the day preceding the fast. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: We are drawn after the community, and therefore, when the Nasi declares a public fast there is no need for an individual to accept it upon himself the day before. The Gemara further states that on another occasion, a fast was declared in the house of the Nasi, but rain did not come. Oshaya, the youngest member of the group of Sages, taught them a baraita. It is written: “Then it shall be, if it shall be committed in error by the congregation, it being hidden from their eyes” (Numbers 15:24). This verse indicates that the leaders are considered the eyes of the congregation. Oshaya continued: There is a parable that illustrates this, involving a bride who is in her father’s home and has not yet been seen by her bridegroom. As long as her eyes are beautiful, her body need not be examined, as certainly she is beautiful. However, if her eyes are bleary [terutot], her entire body requires examination. So too, if the leaders of the generation are flawed, it is a sign that the entire generation is unworthy. By means of this parable, Oshaya was hinting that rain was withheld from the entire nation due to the evil committed by the household of the Nasi. The servants of the Nasi came and placed a scarf around his neck and tormented him as punishment for insulting the house of the Nasi. His townsmen said to them: Let him be, as he also causes us pain with his harsh reproof, but since we see that all his actions are for the sake of Heaven we do not say anything to him and let him be. You too should let him be. § The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi declared a fast but rain did not come. Ilfa descended to lead the service before him, and some say it was Rabbi Ilfi. He recited: He Who makes the wind blow, and the wind indeed blew. He continued to recite: And Who makes the rain come, and subsequently, the rain came. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: What are your good deeds, in the merit of which your prayers are answered so speedily? He said to him: I live in an impoverished city, in which there is no wine for kiddush or havdala. I go to the effort of bringing the residents wine for kiddush and havdala, and I thereby enable them to fulfill their duty. In reward for this mitzva, my prayers for rain were answered. The Gemara relates a similar incident. Rav happened to come to a certain place where he decreed a fast but rain did not come. The prayer leader descended to lead the service before him and recited: He Who makes the wind blow, and the wind blew. He continued and said: And Who makes the rain fall, and the rain came. Rav said to him: What are your good deeds? He said to him: I am a teacher of children, and I teach the Bible to the children of the poor as to the children of the rich, and if there is anyone who cannot pay, I do not take anything from him. And I have a fishpond, and any child who neglects his studies, I bribe him with the fish and calm him, and soothe him until he comes and reads. The Gemara further relates: Rav Naḥman decreed a fast, prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. In his misery, he said: Take Naḥman and throw him from the wall to the ground, as the fast he decreed has evidently had no effect. He grew upset, and rain came. The Gemara relates: Rabba decreed a fast. He prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. They said to him: But when this Rav Yehuda decreed a fast, rain would come. He said to them: What can I do? If the difference between us is due to Torah study, we are superior to the previous generation, as in the years of Rav Yehuda all of their learning