Siyyum for the First Born - Masekhet Gittin

Give me Yavneh and her Sages and the line of Rabban Gamliel

The line of Rabban Gamliel: That he was of the family of the Nasi (prince/President) of the Sanhedrin, and that this line should not be killed or consumed, as they were the descendants of the House of David who were destined to rule Israel.

It happened that Rabban Gamliel and the Elders were reclining in the house of Beitos ben Zunin in Lud, and they were involved with the laws of Pesach the whole night until the call of the rooster. Their students raised the covering of the window from in front of them, and they then convened and went to the house of study.

There was a story of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak. They were telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt throughout that night, until their students came and said to them: Our masters! The time has come to read the morning Shema!

We have been taught: One may not register simultaneously for two paschal lambs. Yet it once happened that the king and queen instructed their servants, "Go out and slaughter a paschal offering on our behalf." However, the servants [on their own] slaughtered two offerings [a lamb and a goat]. When they went to ask the king [which one he desired], he answered, "Go ask the queen." When they went to ask the queen, she said, "Go ask Rabban Gamaliel." They went and asked Rabban Gamaliel, who said, "The king and queen, who [having much food] are not greatly concerned [and therefore cannot be said to have committed themselves], may eat the first animal slaughtered; but [in a similar case] we may eat neither the first nor the second."

On another occasion, a lizard was found in the slaughterhouse of the palace, and they were ready to declare the entire repast about to be served unclean. They went and asked the king, who answered, "Go and ask the queen." When they went and asked the queen, she said, "Go and ask Rabban Gamaliel." So they went and asked Rabban Gamaliel, who said, "Was the lizard lying in hot water or in cold water?" "In hot water." "Then pour a glass of cold water over it" They poured a glass of cold water over it, and it began to to stir. At that, Rabban Gamaliel declared the entire repast clean.

Thus, the king was dependent upon the queen, and the queen was dependent upon Rabban Gamaliel. Hence the entire repast [for the king and queen], all of it, was dependent on Rabban Gamaliel.

(4) Proklos son of Plosfos asked Rabban Gamliel [a question] in Akko, while he was bathing in the bathhouse of Aphrodite. He said to him: "It is written in your Torah (Deuteronomy 13:18): 'And let none of the condemned cling to your hand;' why then are you bathing in the bathhouse of Aphrodite? He said to him: one does not respond [to halakhic questions] in the bathhouse. When he left, he said to him: "I did not come into her territory; she came into my territory. They did not say [when they built this bathhouse]: 'Let us make a beautiful bathhouse for Aphrodite.' Rather, they said: 'Let us make Aphrodite for the beauty of the bathhouse.' Another reason: [even] if they gave you a lot of money, you would not enter before your idolatry naked and defiled and urinating in front of it. Yet she stands on the sewer pipe and the entire nation urinates in front of her. The verse (Deuteronomy 12:3) only applies to "their gods;" that which he treats like a god is prohibited, and that which he does not treat like a god is permitted."

AND THAT NOBODY SHOULD TEACH HIS SON GREEK. Our Rabbis taught: When the kings of the Hasmonean house fought one another, Hyrcanus was outside and Aristobulus within. Each day they used to let down denarii in a basket, and haul up for them [animals for] the continual offerings. An old man there, who was learned in Greek wisdom, spoke with them in Greek, saying: "As long as they carry on the Temple-service, they will never surrender to you."

On the morrow they let down denarii in a basket, and hauled up a pig. When it reached half way up the wall, it stuck its claws [into the wall] and the land of Israel was shaken over a distance of four hundred parasangs. At that time they declared, — "Cursed be a man who rears pigs and cursed be a man who teaches his son Greek wisdom!"

Concerning that year we learnt that it happened that the omer had to be supplied from the gardens of Zarifim and the two loaves from the valley of En-Soker. But it is not so! For Rabbi said: Why use the Syrian language in the land of Israel? Either use the holy tongue or Greek! And R. Joseph said: Why use the Syrian language in Babylon? Either use the holy tongue or Persian! — The Greek language and Greek wisdom are distinct.

But is Greek philosophy forbidden? Behold Rab Judah declared that Samuel said in the name of Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel, "What means that which is written: 'My eyes have brought me grief over all the maidens of my city' (Lamentations 3:51)? There were a thousand pupils in my father's house; five hundred studied Torah and five hundred studied Greek wisdom, and of these there remained only I here and the son of my father's brother in Assia! — It was different with the household of Rabban Gamaliel because they had close associations with the Government; for it has been taught: To trim the hair in front is of the ways of the Amorites; but they permitted Abtilus b. Reuben to trim his hair in front because he had close associations with the Government. Similarly they permitted the household of Rabban Gamaliel to study Greek wisdom because they had close associations with the Government.

(6) [Rabban Gamliel] washed on the first night after his wife died. His students said to him: Didn't you teach us, our teacher, that a mourner is forbidden to wash? He said to them: I am not like other people. I am delicate.

There is a story about Rabban Gamliel, that he recited the Shema on his wedding night. His students said to him: Didn't you teach us, our teacher, that a groom is exempt from reciting Shema on the wedding night? He said to them: I will not listen to you, to remove the kingdom of heaven from me for even one hour.

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Rabban Gamliel was accustomed to say, Anyone who has not said these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are them: the Pesach sacrifice, matsa and marror.

The Pesach [passover] sacrifice that our ancestors were accustomed to eating when the Temple existed, for the sake of what [was it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the homes of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 12:27); "And you shall say: 'It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for that He passed over the homes of the Children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and our homes he saved.’ And the people bowed the head and bowed."

He holds the matsa in his hand and shows it to the others there.

This matsa that we are eating, for the sake of what [is it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that our ancestors' dough was not yet able to rise, before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed [Himself] to them and redeemed them, as it is stated (Exodus 12:39); "And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt into matsa cakes, since it did not rise; because they were expelled from Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they made for themselves provisions."

He holds the marror in his hand and shows it to the others there.

This marror [bitter greens] that we are eating, for the sake of what [is it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 1:14); "And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor."

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8); "For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt." Not only our ancestors did the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem, but rather also us [together] with them did he redeem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23); "And He took us out from there, in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers."

As Rabbi Elezar stated: The one who divorces his first wife - even the altar sheds tears for him as it is written in Malakhi 2:13: "And this further you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that He does not regard the offering anymore, nor does He receive it with goodwill from your hand. Yet you say: what for? Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant."