וְאוֹמֵר וּבָאתָ אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם וְאֶל הַשֹּׁפֵט אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְכִי תַּעֲלֶה עַל דַּעְתְּךָ שֶׁאָדָם הוֹלֵךְ אֵצֶל הַדַּיָּין שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה בְּיָמָיו הָא אֵין לְךָ לֵילֵךְ אֶלָּא אֵצֶל שׁוֹפֵט שֶׁבְּיָמָיו וְאוֹמֵר אַל תֹּאמַר מֶה הָיָה שֶׁהַיָּמִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים הָיוּ טוֹבִים מֵאֵלֶּה:
And it further says: “And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days” (Deuteronomy 17:9). But can it enter your mind that a person can go to a judge that is not alive in his days? What, then, is the meaning of the phrase “in those days”? It teaches that you need to go only to the judge in one’s days, i.e., he is authorized to judge and decide matters. And it also says: “Do not say: How was it that the former days were better than these? For it is not out of wisdom that you inquire concerning this” (Ecclesiastes 7:10). Instead, one must accept the rulings of the leaders of his generation.
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בשעה שעלה משה למרום מצאו להקב"ה שיושב וקושר כתרים לאותיות אמר לפניו רבש"ע מי מעכב על ידך אמר לו אדם אחד יש שעתיד להיות בסוף כמה דורות ועקיבא בן יוסף שמו שעתיד לדרוש על כל קוץ וקוץ תילין תילין של הלכות אמר לפניו רבש"ע הראהו לי אמר לו חזור לאחורך הלך וישב בסוף שמונה שורות ולא היה יודע מה הן אומרים תשש כחו כיון שהגיע לדבר אחד אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי מנין לך אמר להן הלכה למשה מסיני נתיישבה דעתו חזר ובא לפני הקב"ה אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם יש לך אדם כזה ואתה נותן תורה ע"י אמר לו שתוק כך עלה במחשבה לפני אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם הראיתני תורתו הראני שכרו אמר לו חזור [לאחורך] חזר לאחוריו ראה ששוקלין בשרו במקולין אמר לפניו רבש"ע זו תורה וזו שכרה א"ל שתוק כך עלה במחשבה לפני
§ Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, who is preventing You from giving the Torah without these additions? God said to him: There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these crowns mounds upon mounds of halakhot. It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said to him: Return behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned, as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva said to them: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease, as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive. Moses returned and came before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him: Master of the Universe, You have a man as great as this and yet You still choose to give the Torah through me. Why? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, You have shown me Rabbi Akiva’s Torah, now show me his reward. God said to him: Return to where you were. Moses went back and saw that they were weighing Rabbi Akiva’s flesh in a butcher shop [bemakkulin], as Rabbi Akiva was tortured to death by the Romans. Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, this is Torah and this is its reward? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me.
וּכְמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ בְּמשֶׁה (מנחות כט), כְּשֶׁשָּׁאַל עַל מִיתַת רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא: זוֹ תּוֹרָה וְזֶה שְׂכָרָהּ, הֵשִׁיבוּ לוֹ: שְׁתֹק, כָּךְ עָלָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה. הַיְנוּ שֶׁאַתָּה צָרִיךְ לִשְׁתֹּק, וְלִבְלִי לִשְׁאֹל תְּשׁוּבָה וְתֵרוּץ עַל קֻשְׁיָא זוֹ, כִּי כָּךְ עָלָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה, שֶׁהוּא לְמַעְלָה מִן הַדִּבּוּר, עַל־כֵּן אַתָּה צָרִיךְ לִשְׁתֹּק עַל שְׁאֵלָה זוֹ, כִּי הוּא בִּבְחִינוֹת עָלָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה, שֶׁאֵין שָׁם דִּבּוּר לְיַשֵּׁב אוֹתָהּ. וּכְמוֹ כֵן אֵלּוּ הַקֻּשְׁיוֹת וְהַמְּבוּכוֹת שֶׁבָּאִים מֵחָלָל הַפָּנוּי, שֶׁאֵין שָׁם דִּבּוּר וְלֹא שֵׂכֶל כַּנַּ"ל, עַל־כֵּן הֵם בִּבְחִינַת שְׁתִיקָה, וְצָרִיךְ רַק לְהַאֲמִין וְלִשְׁתֹּק שָׁם. וְעַל־כֵּן אָסוּר לִכְנֹס וּלְעַיֵּן בְּדִבְרֵי הָאֶפִּיקוֹרְסוּת וְהַמְּבוּכוֹת אֵלּוּ כִּי־אִם צַדִּיק שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת מֹשֶׁה, כִּי מֹשֶׁה הוּא בְּחִינַת שְׁתִיקָה, בִּבְחִינוֹת שֶׁנִּקְרָא כְּבַד פֶּה (שמות ד׳:י׳), בְּחִינַת שְׁתִיקָה, שֶׁהוּא לְמַעְלָה מִן הַדִּבּוּר. וְעַל־כֵּן הַצַּדִּיק שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינוֹת מֹשֶׁה, בְּחִינוֹת שְׁתִיקָה, יָכוֹל לְעַיֵּן בְּדִבְרֵי הַמְּבוּכוֹת אֵלּוּ, שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינוֹת שְׁתִיקָה כַּנַּ"ל, וְצָרִיךְ דַּוְקָא לְעַיֵּן, כְּדֵי לְהַעֲלוֹת הַנְּשָׁמוֹת שֶׁנָּפְלוּ לְשָׁם כַּנַּ"ל:
This is analogous to what we find of Moshe: When he asked regarding the death of Rabbi Akiva, “Is this the Torah, and is this its reward?” they answered him, “Be silent! Thus has it arisen in thought” (Menachot 29b). That is, you must be silent and not ask for an answer and solution for this question. This is because “thus has it arisen in thought,” which is more exalted than speech. Therefore, you must keep silent regarding this question, because it is in the aspect of “arisen in thought,” where there is no speech to answer it. The same is true of the questions and conundrums that stem from the Vacated Space, where there is no spoken word or intellect, as explained above. They are thus in the aspect of silence; one must simply believe and keep silent there. This is why it is forbidden for anyone other than the tzaddik who is the aspect of Moshe to enter and delve into these words of heresy and the conundrums. For Moshe is the aspect of silence, in the aspect that is called “heavy of speech” (Exodus 4:10), the aspect of a silence more exalted than speech. Therefore, the tzaddik who is the aspect of Moshe, the aspect of silence, is capable of delving into these perplexing words, which are the aspect of silence, as explained above. He should especially delve into [them], in order to elevate the souls that fell into there, as explained above.
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן כׇּל יָמָיו שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ צַדִּיק הָיָה מִצְטַעֵר עַל מִקְרָא זֶה שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת בְּשׁוּב ה׳ אֶת שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים אָמַר מִי אִיכָּא דְּנָיֵים שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין בְּחֶלְמָא יוֹמָא חַד הֲוָה אָזֵל בְּאוֹרְחָא חַזְיֵיהּ לְהָהוּא גַּבְרָא דַּהֲוָה נָטַע חָרוּבָא אֲמַר לֵיהּ הַאי עַד כַּמָּה שְׁנִין טָעֵין אֲמַר לֵיהּ עַד שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין אֲמַר לֵיהּ פְּשִׁיטָא לָךְ דְּחָיֵית שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין אֲמַר לֵיהּ הַאי גַּבְרָא עָלְמָא בְּחָרוּבָא אַשְׁכַּחְתֵּיהּ כִּי הֵיכִי דִּשְׁתַלוּ לִי אֲבָהָתִי שְׁתַלִי נָמֵי לִבְרָאִי יָתֵיב קָא כָּרֵיךְ רִיפְתָּא אֲתַאי לֵיהּ שִׁינְתָּא נִים אַהְדַּרָא לֵיהּ מְשּׁוּנִּיתָא אִיכַּסִּי מֵעֵינָא וְנִים שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין כִּי קָם חַזְיֵיהּ לְהָהוּא גַּבְרָא דְּהוּא קָא מְלַקֵּט מִינַּיְיהוּ אָמַר לֵיהּ אַתְּ הוּא דִּשְׁתַלְתֵּיהּ אֲמַר לֵיהּ בַּר בְּרֵיהּ אֲנָא אֲמַר לֵיהּ שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ דִּנְיַימִי שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין חֲזָא לַחֲמָרְ[תֵּ]יהּ דְּאִתְיְילִידָא לַיהּ רַמְכֵי רַמְכֵי אֲזַל לְבֵיתֵיהּ אֲמַר לְהוּ בְּרֵיהּ דְּחוֹנִי הַמְעַגֵּל מִי קַיָּים אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ בְּרֵיהּ לֵיתֵאּ בַּר בְּרֵיהּ אִיתֵאּ אֲמַר לְהוּ אֲנָא חוֹנִי הַמְעַגֵּל לָא הֵימְנוּהוּ אֲזַל לְבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ שַׁמְעִינְהוּ לְרַבָּנַן דְּקָאָמְרִי נְהִירָן שְׁמַעְתָּתִין כְּבִשְׁנֵי חוֹנִי הַמְעַגֵּל דְּכִי הָוֵי עָיֵיל לְבֵית מִדְרְשָׁא כֹּל קוּשְׁיָא דַּהֲווֹ לְהוּ לְרַבָּנַן הֲוָה מְפָרֵק לְהוּ אָמַר לְהוּ אֲנָא נִיהוּ וְלָא הֵימְנוּהוּ וְלָא עָבְדִי לֵיהּ יְקָרָא כִּדְמִבְּעֵי לֵיהּ חֲלַשׁ דַּעְתֵּיהּ בְּעָא רַחֲמֵי וּמִית אָמַר רָבָא הַיְינוּ דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי אוֹ חַבְרוּתָא אוֹ מִיתוּתָא
§ The Gemara relates another story about Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the days of the life of that righteous man, Ḥoni, he was distressed over the meaning of this verse: “A song of Ascents: When the Lord brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream” (Psalms 126:1). He said to himself: Is there really a person who can sleep and dream for seventy years? How is it possible to compare the seventy-year exile in Babylonia to a dream? One day, he was walking along the road when he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. Ḥoni said to him: This tree, after how many years will it bear fruit? The man said to him: It will not produce fruit until seventy years have passed. Ḥoni said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, that you expect to benefit from this tree? He said to him: That man himself found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants. Ḥoni sat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and he slept. A cliff formed around him, and he disappeared from sight and slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a certain man gathering carobs from that tree. Ḥoni said to him: Are you the one who planted this tree? The man said to him: I am his son’s son. Ḥoni said to him: I can learn from this that I have slept for seventy years, and indeed he saw that his donkey had sired several herds during those many years. Ḥoni went home and said to the members of the household: Is the son of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel alive? They said to him: His son is no longer with us, but his son’s son is alive. He said to them: I am Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. They did not believe him. He went to the study hall, where he heard the Sages say about one scholar: His halakhot are as enlightening and as clear as in the years of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel, for when Ḥoni HaMe’aggel would enter the study hall he would resolve for the Sages any difficulty they had. Ḥoni said to them: I am he, but they did not believe him and did not pay him proper respect. Ḥoni became very upset, prayed for mercy, and died. Rava said: This explains the folk saying that people say: Either friendship or death, as one who has no friends is better off dead.
בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג), וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם.
In each and every generation a person must view himself as though he personally left Egypt, as it is stated: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of this which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8). In every generation, each person must say: “This which the Lord did for me,” and not: This which the Lord did for my forefathers.
Bet Yaakov, Vayikra Bechukotai 2
“The thing that I set up with you when you left Egypt. And My spirit stands in your midst; fear not. (Chaggai 2:5)” This refers to the Dibrot which were said to said to Am Yisrael at Sinai stand always in the heart of Israel to remind them and they do not cease, God forbid. For the words of Hashem are eternal, and from Hashem’s perspective, there is no differentiation between the time of Matan Torah and after. For the Dibrot are being said always, as it says (Devarim 5), “A great sound that does not increase,” which is translated (by Onkelos) as “does not cease.” And as it says in the Holy Zohar (Vayikra 11b) “Ten utterances for the creation of the world, and ten for the giving of the Torah.” Just as Hashem is constantly bringing the world into being with ceasing, so too, He is speaking the Dibrot constantly, without ceasing.
ואמר רבא באו שנים ואמרו בסורא בצפרא בחד בשבתא הרג פלוני את הנפש ובאו שנים ואמרו בפניא בחד בשבתא עמנו הייתם בנהרדעא חזינן אי מצפרא לפניא מצי אזיל מסורא לנהרדעא לא הוו זוממין ואי לאו הוו זוממין פשיטא מהו דתימא ליחוש לגמלא פרחא קמ"ל
And Rava says: If two witnesses came and said: So-and-so killed a person in Sura in the morning on Sunday, and two other witnesses came to court and said to the first set: In the evening on Sunday you were with us in Neharde’a, we see: If one is able to travel from Sura to Neharde’a from morning until evening they are not conspiring witnesses, as conceivably they could have witnessed the murder in Sura and traveled to Neharde’a by evening. And if it is not possible to travel that distance in that period of time, they are conspiring witnesses. The Gemara asks: Isn’t that obvious? The Gemara answers: Lest you say: Let us be concerned about the possibility that these witnesses traveled on a flying camel, i.e., one that runs so quickly that it enabled them to traverse the distance faster than the typical person. Therefore, Rava teaches us that one need not take that possibility into account.
ההוא גיטא דאשתכח בסורא וכתיב ביה הכי בסורא מתא אנא ענן בר חייא נהרדעא פטרית ותרכית פלונית אנתתי ובדקו רבנן מסורא ועד נהרדעא ולא הוה ענן בר חייא אחרינא לבר מענן בר חייא מחגרא דהוה בנהרדעא ואתו סהדי ואמור דההוא יומא כי איכתב ההוא גיטא ענן בר חייא מחגרא גבן הוה אמר אביי אף לדידי דאמינא חיישינן הכא לא חיישינן דהא קאמרי סהדי דבנהרדעא הוה מאי בעא בסורא אמר רבא אף לדידי דלא חיישינן הכא חיישינן דלמא בגמלא פרחא אזל אי נמי בקפיצה אי נמי מילי מסר כדאמר להו רב לספרי וכן אמר להו רב הונא לספרי כי איתנכו בשילי כתובו בשילי אע"ג דמימסרן מילי בהיני וכי איתנכו בהיני כתובו בהיני אע"ג דמימסרן מילי בשילי
The Gemara relates: There was a certain bill of divorce that was found in the city of Sura and the following was written in it: In the city of Sura, I, Anan bar Ḥiyya of Neharde’a, excused and sent away and divorced my wife, so-and-so. And the Sages examined the area from Sura to Neharde’a, throughout almost all of Babylonia, and there was no other Anan bar Ḥiyya than the one they knew, apart from an Anan bar Ḥiyya of Ḥagra who was in Neharde’a. And yet witnesses came and said that on that day, when that bill of divorce was written: Anan bar Ḥiyya of Ḥagra was with us in Neharde’a, not in Sura. Abaye said: Even according to my opinion, by which I say that generally we are concerned about the possibility of someone else with the same name, here we are not concerned. The reason is that the witnesses say the other Anan bar Ḥiyya was in Neharde’a; what, then, is he doing in Sura? Consequently, there is no concern that the bill of divorce was written by the Anan bar Ḥiyya of Ḥagra. Rava said: Even according to my opinion, in which I say that we are not concerned in general, here, when it is established that there definitely is another man by the same name, we are concerned. As for the apparently contradictory testimony, perhaps he went by a flying camel, an extremely fast means of transportation, and was able to travel from Neharde’a to Sura in one day. Alternatively, he might have arrived by a miraculous shortcut. Alternatively, he might have given verbal instructions beforehand for them to write the bill of divorce in a place where he was not physically located. This last answer is as Rav said to the court scribes, and likewise Rav Huna said to the scribes: When you are in a place called Shili, write that the contract was written in Shili, even when the instructions are given to you in a different place called Hini. And likewise, when you are in Hini, write that it was written in Hini, even when the instructions are given to you in Shili.
קְפִיצָה f. (קָפַץ) 1) leaping. Midr. Till. to Ps. XXII אותה ק׳ ed. Bub. (ed. הקְפָצָה), v. קָפַץ; Yalk. ib. 687.—Pl. קְפִיצוֹת. Y. Succ. V, 55ᶜ top היה … בקְפִיצוֹתָיו prided himself on his leaping performances. —2) miraculous translation from place to place. Erub. 43ᵃ רקאזיל בק׳ he traversed a large distance by miraculous flight; Yeb. 116ᵃ —3) skipping, intermission. Nidd. 11ᵃ בלא ק׳ regularly.—Pl. as ab. Ib.; a. e. —4) [closing of lips,] mimic intimation of, or to a deaf and dumb person.—Pl. as ab. Gitt. 71ᵃ לא הלכו … ואחר קפיצותיו וכ׳ we follow his intimations by hints or motions of the lips or by writing only in the disposal of chattel, but not for letters of divorce.
מַתְנִי׳ מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁבָּאוּ שְׁנַיִם וְאָמְרוּ רְאִינוּהוּ שַׁחֲרִית בַּמִּזְרָח וְעַרְבִית בַּמַּעֲרָב אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בֶּן נוּרִי עֵדֵי שֶׁקֶר הֵם כְּשֶׁבָּאוּ לְיַבְנֶה קִיבְּלָן רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל וְעוֹד בָּאוּ שְׁנַיִם וְאָמְרוּ רְאִינוּהוּ בִּזְמַנּוֹ וּבְלֵיל עִיבּוּרוֹ לֹא נִרְאָה וְקִיבְּלָן רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל
MISHNA: There was an incident in which two witnesses came to testify about the new moon, and they said: We saw the waning moon in the morning in the east, and that same day we saw the new moon in the evening in the west. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri said: They are false witnesses, as it is impossible to see the new moon so soon after the last sighting of the waning moon. However, when they arrived in Yavne, Rabban Gamliel accepted them as witnesses without concern. And there was another incident in which two witnesses came and said: We saw the new moon at its anticipated time, i.e., on the night of the thirtieth day of the previous month; however, on the following night, i.e., the start of the thirty-first, which is often the determinant of a full, thirty-day month, it was not seen. And nevertheless Rabban Gamliel accepted their testimony and established the New Moon on the thirtieth day.
תָּא שְׁמַע, אָמַר לָהֶן רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: וּמָה בִּמְקוֹם שֶׁאֵין מֵיפֵר נִדְרֵי עַצְמוֹ מִשֶּׁנָּדַר, מֵיפֵר נִדְרֵי עַצְמוֹ עַד שֶׁלֹּא יָדוּר. מְקוֹם שֶׁמֵּפֵר נִדְרֵי אִשְׁתּוֹ מִשֶּׁתִּדּוֹר, אֵינוֹ דִּין שֶׁיָּפֵר נִדְרֵי אִשְׁתּוֹ עַד שֶׁלֹּא תִּדּוֹר?
Come and hear a baraita from the Tosefta (Nedarim 6:5): Rabbi Eliezer said to them: And just as in a situation where he cannot nullify his own vows once he has vowed, he can nullify his own vows before he vows by stipulating beforehand that the vows he takes should not take effect, all the more so in a situation where he can nullify his wife’s vows even after she vows, is it not logical that he should be able to nullify his wife’s vows before she vows?