Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 2, scan section 38

even if she says she must have it done, the Sabbath must not be violated by Israelites, but it may be done by Gentiles. This is according to R. Ula the son of R. Ilai, who says, that everj^- thing which must be done for a sick person on the Sabbath should be done by Gentiles, and also according to R. Hamnuna, w^ho said, that all things which are to be done for a person who is not dangerously ill, should be ordered done by a Gentile. As it happened with the daughter of R. Hisda (the wife of Rabba), who took a bath in her husband's absence, before the thirty days were up, and caught cold, and friends were compelled to bring her, still lying in bed, to Rabba in Pumbaditha. Said R. Jehudah in the name of Samuel: " A woman lying in should be given thirty days." For what law should she be given thirty days ? The men of Neherdai said, for bathing (that is, she should not bathe for thirty days, in order that she may not catch cold). Said Rabha: This rule applies to women whose husbands are not at hom.e, for when the husband is at home, he can take care of his wife and prevent any bad conse- quences. R. Jehudah in the name of Samuel said again : One may kindle a fire for a woman lying in, on the Sabbath, and not only for a woman lying in, but also for a sick person ; not only in the winter but also in the summer-time, as R. Hyya bar Abhin said in the name of Samuel, that one, who was bled and caught cold, may have a fire made for him on Sabbath not only in the winter, but also in the summer-time. Samuel once was bled and caught cold, so a chair made of elm-wood was chopped up and a fire made for him (on Sabbath). The same thing happened to TRACT SABBATH. 285 R, Jehudah ; so a table of cedar- wood was chopped up and a fire made for him. Rabba had the same experience and a stool was used to make a fire, and when told by Abayi that he was guilty of destroying a useful article said: " My personal wel- fare is dearer to me than the article." Said R. Jehudah in the name of Rabh : " A man should sell even the roof of his house and buy shoes for himself if in need of them ; but if he had recently been bled and feels hungry, he should sell even these shoes and buy food with the proceeds." What kind of food should he purchase ? Rabh said meat, and Samuel, wine. Rabh said meat, as being a substitute for flesh lost through bleeding, and Samuel said (red) wine, as a substi- tute for (red) blood. When Samuel had himself bled, a dish made of milt was prepared for him, and R. Johanan would drink wine until it could be smelt through his ears. R. Na'hman would drink wine until his spleen would float in wine. R. Joseph would drink wine until his veins would swell so that the lancet would be forced out, and Rabha would drink only wine that was three years old. Said R. Na'hman bar Itz'hak to his disciples: I beg of you, that on the day on which you have yourselves bled, you should go home and say that Na'hman will come to visit you. (In con- sequence a good meal and wine will be prepared, and you can partake of it.) Deceit is not permitted under any circumstances, but those mentioned as follows: One who is bled, and has not the money to buy wine, should take a mutilated Zuz and go to seven wine-dealers. When ask- ing for wine he will be given some to taste, and when offering his money, it will be rejected. He will then proceed to another dealer, and keep on until he will have drunk a quarter of a lug. One who cannot even do this, should eat at least seven black dates and should put oil on his temples, then lie down in the sun and go to sleep. Abhlat (a Persian oflficial) found Samuel sleeping in the sun and said to him: "Thou leader of Jews! Can a good thing emanate from a bad one?" Samuel answered: "This is my bleeding-day." In reality this was not so, but there are days when sleeping in the sun is healthful ; for instance, on the day when the Tamuz (July) equinox falls, but Samuel, who was a physician, would not tell this to Abhlat. Rabh and Samuel both said: " The man who eats a light VOL. II. — 7 286 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. meal on the day when he is bled, has light earnings decreed for him in heaven for the following year, because if he himself has no pity for his own body, he is not worthy of being pitied by the heavenly host." The same two authorities also said, that one who was bled should not sit where the wind blows; for it may be that the surgeon who bled him allowed too much blood to escape, and the wind might force still more blood from him, and thus become dangerous. Samuel was always bled in a house the walls of which were of seven bricks' thickness, and at one time it happened that he felt weak ; he looked up, and noticed that a brick was missing from the wall. Rabh and Samuel also said, that a man who was bled should not go out into the street without having partaken of some- thing. If he does and meets a corpse, his face turns yellow, and if he should happen to meet a murderer he will die himself, and if he meets a pig he will become scabby. They also said, that after bleeding a man should not rise immediately, but should rest a while and then get up ; for the master said, that five things are more conducive to death than to life. They are : Eating and arising immediately, drinking and arising, sleeping and arising, being bled and arising, and having sexual inter- course and arising immediately afterwards. Samuel said: "A young man should be bled every thirty days until he is forty years of age. From forty to sixty he should be bled every two months, and after sixty he should be bled every three or four months." Samuel said again : The fourth day of the week, if falling on the fourth, fourteenth, or twenty-fourth day of the month, or if it is a Wednesday after which there are less than four days to the end of the month, is a dangerous day for bleeding. Bleed- ing on the first and second of every month produces weakness, and on the third day it is dangerous. Bleeding on the eve of any biblical festival produces weakness, and on the eve of Pen- tecost it is dangerous, in consequence of which the rabbis insti- tuted the precautionary measure, that no man should be bled on the eve of a festival, for fear that he might have it done on the eve of Pentecost. Again Samuel said : " One who had eaten heartily of wheaten food is not wholly benefited by being bled, but is simply eased for the time being." This means to say, then, that one who has a heavy feeling can ease himself temporarily by being bled after a meal, but is not permanently benefited thereby. After being TRACT SABBATH. 287 bled one may drink immediately, but should not eat until the time in which he could walk half a mile had elapsed.