ההוא גברא דהוה בעי אחוויי אתיבנא דחבריה אתא לקמיה דרב א"ל לא תחוי ולא תחוי א"ל מחוינא ומחוינא יתיב רב כהנא קמיה דרב שמטיה לקועיה מיניה קרי רב עילויה (ישעיהו נא, כ) בניך עולפו שכבו בראש כל חוצות כתוא מכמר מה תוא זה כיון שנפל במכמר אין מרחמין עליו אף ממון של ישראל כיון שנפל ביד עובדי כוכבים אין מרחמין עליו א"ל רב כהנא עד האידנא הוו פרסאי דלא קפדי אשפיכות דמים והשתא איכא יוונאי דקפדו אשפיכות דמים ואמרי מרדין מרדין קום סק לארעא דישראל וקביל עלך דלא תקשי לרבי יוחנן שבע שנין אזיל אשכחיה לריש לקיש דיתיב וקא מסיים מתיבתא דיומא לרבנן אמר להו ריש לקיש היכא אמרו ליה אמאי אמר להו האי קושיא והאי קושיא והאי פירוקא והאי פירוקא אמרו ליה לריש לקיש אזל ריש לקיש א"ל לרבי יוחנן ארי עלה מבבל לעיין מר במתיבתא דלמחר למחר אותבוה בדרא קמא קמיה דר' יוחנן אמר שמעתתא ולא אקשי שמעתתא ולא אקשי אנחתיה אחורי שבע דרי עד דאותביה בדרא בתרא א"ל רבי יוחנן לר"ש בן לקיש ארי שאמרת נעשה שועל אמר יהא רעוא דהני שבע דרי להוו חילוף שבע שנין דאמר לי רב קם אכרעיה א"ל נהדר מר ברישא אמר שמעתתא ואקשי אוקמיה בדרא קמא אמר שמעתתא ואקשי ר' יוחנן הוה יתיב אשבע בסתרקי שלפי ליה חדא בסתרקא מתותיה אמר שמעתתא ואקשי ליה עד דשלפי ליה כולהו בסתרקי מתותיה עד דיתיב על ארעא רבי יוחנן גברא סבא הוה ומסרחי גביניה אמר להו דלו לי עיני ואחזייה דלו ליה במכחלתא דכספא חזא דפרטיה שפוותיה סבר אחוך קמחייך ביה חלש דעתיה ונח נפשיה למחר אמר להו רבי יוחנן לרבנן חזיתו לבבלאה היכי עביד אמרו ליה דרכיה הכי על לגבי מערתא חזא דהוה
A certain man who wanted to show another man's straw [to be confiscated by Roman authorities] appeared before Rav, who said to him: 'Don't show it! Don't show it!' He retorted: 'I will show it! I will show it!' R. Kahana was then sitting before Rav, and he tore [that man's] windpipe out of him. Rav then quoted: Your sons have fainted, they lie at the heads of all the streets as a wild bull in a net (Is. 51:20) just as when a 'wild bull' falls into a 'net' no one has mercy upon it, so with the property of an Israelite, as soon as it falls into the hands of heathen oppressors no mercy is exercised towards it/him. Rav said to him: 'Kahana, until now the Greeks[Parthians] who did not take much notice of bloodshed were [in control of this are and had sway, but] now the Persians [Sassanians] who are particular regarding bloodshed are here, and they will certainly say, "Murder, murder!" [a sign of rebellion perhaps]. Arise therefore and go up to the Land of Israel, but take it upon yourself that you will not point out any difficulty to R. Yochanan for the next seven years. When he arrived there he found Resh Lakish sitting and going over the lecture of the day for [the younger of] the Rabbis. He thereupon said to them: 'Where is Resh Lakish?' They said to him: 'Why do you ask?' He replied: 'This point [in the lecture] is difficult and that point is difficult, but this could be given as an answer and that could be given as an answer.' When they mentioned this to Resh Lakish, Resh Lakish went and said to R. Yochanan: 'A lion has come up from Babylon; let the Master therefore look very carefully into tomorrow's lecture.' On the morrow R. Kahana was seated on the first row of disciples before R. Yochanan, but as the latter made one statement and the former did not raise any difficulty, another statement, and the former raised no difficulty, R. Kahana was put back through the seven rows until he remained seated upon the very last row. R. Yochanan thereupon said to R. Simeon b. Lakish: 'The lion you mentioned turns out to be a [mere] fox.' R. Kahana thereupon whispered [in prayer]: 'May it be the will [of Heaven] that these seven rows be in the place of the seven years mentioned by Rab.' He thereupon immediately stood on his feet and said to R. Yochanan: 'Will the Master please start the lecture again from the beginning.' As soon as the latter made a statement [on a matter of law], R. Kahana pointed out a difficulty, and so also when R. Yochanan subsequently made further statements, for which he was placed again on the first row. R. Johanan was sitting upon seven cushions. Whenever he made a statement against which a difficulty was pointed out, one cushion was pulled out from under him, [and so it went on until] all the cushions were pulled out from under him and he remained seated upon the ground. As R. Yochanan was then a very old man and his eyelashes were overhanging he said to them, 'Lift up my eyes for me as I want to see him.' So they lifted up his eyelids with silver pincers. He saw that R. Kahana's lips were parted and thought that he was laughing at him. He felt aggrieved and in consequence the soul of R. Kahana went to rest. On the next day R. Yochanan said to our Rabbis, 'Have you noticed how the Babylonian was making [a laughing-stock of us]?' But they said to him, 'This was his natural appearance.' He thereupon went to the cave [of R. Kahana's grave] and saw
הדרא ליה עכנא א"ל עכנא עכנא פתח פומיך ויכנס הרב אצל תלמיד ולא פתח יכנס חבר אצל חבר ולא פתח יכנס תלמיד אצל הרב פתח ליה בעא רחמי ואוקמיה א"ל אי הוה ידענא דדרכיה דמר הכי לא חלשא דעתי השתא ליתי מר בהדן א"ל אי מצית למיבעי רחמי דתו לא שכיבנא אזילנא ואי לא לא אזילנא הואיל וחליף שעתא חליף תייריה אוקמיה שייליה כל ספיקא דהוה ליה ופשטינהו ניהליה היינו דאמר ר' יוחנן דילכון אמרי דילהון היא:
a snake coiled round it. He said: 'Snake, snake, open your mouth and let the Master go in to the disciple.' But the snake did not open its mouth. He then said: 'Let the colleague go in to [his] associate!' But it still did not open [its mouth, until he said,] 'Let the disciple enter to his Master,' when the snake did open its mouth. He then prayed for mercy and raised him. He said to him, 'Had I known that the natural appearance of the Master was like that, I should never have taken offense; now, therefore let the Master go with us.' He replied, 'If you are able to pray for mercy that I should never die again [through causing you any annoyance], I will go with you, but if not I am not prepared to go with you. For later on you might change again.' R. Yochanan thereupon completely awakened and restored him and he used to consult him on doubtful points, R. Kahana solving them for him. This is implied in the statement made by R. Yochanan: 'What I had believed to be yours was In fact theirs.'
Necessary background:
1. The more general sugya is talking about how one becomes liable to have stolen the property of a fellow Jew in times of confiscation of property by authorities. The bottom line is that if the person who is forced to tattletale regarding another's property just shows it, they are off the hook and do not have to pay back the property - they just showed where it was, and took no part in the robbery itself - they are saving their lives through someone else's property. However, if they do help the thieves to bring the property out, s/he is liable, given that they acquired the property first - ie, robbed their fellow Jew by uprooting the property from its original place.
2. Greeks/Sassanians/Persians/Parthians - The reference is to the Parthians whose sway over Babylon came to an end in 266, when they were defeated by the Sassanians. Ardeshir, the first of the Sassanian kings, deprived the Jews of the right they had exercised under the Parthians of capital punishment.
3. Rabbi Yochanan was great in his place, and did see his colleagues in Babylonia as smaller in learning - Shmuel has to prove himself to be as good as Rav. Chullin 95b.
Points to ponder for a first run through:
1. Be aware: the presence of number seven.
Verbal violence and lack of respect can and does physical violence and even death many stories of the Talmud.
2. Notice what anger does to Kahana - what are the consequences?
3. Kahana begins being sitted on the first row, and ends in the seventh - because he does not ask.
4. Notice the interplay of Kahana's actions and him being called Lion / Fox. Notice also his appearance - how does the appearance of Kahana's lips reflect both a lion and a snake?
5. What do you make of the eyelashes/eyebrows image of Rabi Yochanan?
6. The snake is coiled / with its tail in its mouth. What do you make of this image?
7. What do you make of the reversal of the master/disciple roles?