Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 2, scan section 60

ing day. The same R. Jacob said: " A man on whose account another man has been punished, either through divine or human judg- ment, is not admitted into the abode of the Holy One, blessed be He." Whence is this adduced ? Shall we assume that it is from the verses [I Kings xxii. 20-22]: "And the Lord said, Who will persuade Achab, that he may go up and fall at Ram- oth-gil'ad ? And one said. In this manner, and another said. In that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and placed him- self before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith ? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said. Thou wilt persuade him, and also prevail: go forth and * From the Greek nvfieia = dice. The above prohibition is a precautionary measure against the possibiHty of casting lots degenerating into a game of hazard. 346 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. do so." And it was asked who the spirit was, and R. Johanan said, it was the spirit of Naboth ; and Rabh said that by saying, " Go forth," the Lord meant to expel the spirit from within His abode. Perhaps the reason for expelling the spirit was because it is written [Psalms ci. /]: " He that speaketh falsehoods shall not succeed before my eyes." Therefore we must say that the basis for R. Jacob is the following. It is written [Proverbs xvii. 26]: " To punish the just with a fine even is not good." (This is explained to signify, that even punishment through a just man is not good.) What is not good is certainly evil, and it is writ- ten [Psalms V. 5]: " For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: evil cannot abide with thee"; and this means, that " because Thou, God, art righteous, evil cannot remain in Thy abode." They may draw lots,'' etc. How do we know that the word " Choloshim " * means lots? It is written [Isaiah xiv. 12]: " How art thou fallen from heaven, O morning-star, son of the dawn ! how art thou hewn down to the ground, crusher of na- tions! " (" Crusher" is expressed by the word " Cholesh," and the inference is made from the supposition that lots were cast which nation was to be crushed first.) It is written [Daniel iv. 33]: " And additional greatness was added unto me." What was that additional greatness ? Said R. Jehudah in the name of R. Jeremiah bar Aba: " From this we can infer, that he (Nebuchadnezzar) rode a male lion and twisted a snake round the lion's head, to verify what is written [Jeremiah xxvii. 6]: 'And also the beasts of the field have I given him to serve him.' " MISHNA: One must not hire laborers on the Sabbath, nor may he commission another man to hire them for him. One must not stand at the extreme limit of the " techoom " f and wait for dusk (the end of Sabbath), in order to hire laborers (beyond the techoom), or gather fruit beyond it ; but if watching fruit beyond the techoom, he may await the dusk at its extreme limit, and in that case bring the fruit back with him. Abba Saul laid down the rule: " Whatever I am permitted to prepare for the day following the Sabbath, on the Sabbath, I may get ready for at dusk." * The term " casting lots" is expressed in the Mishna by the word " Choloshim" and the root of the word " Choloshim " is " Cholosh," and has a variety of meanings. f By " techoom " is meant the distance of 2,000 ells which a man may traverse on the Sabbath, and refers to the limits of that distance. TRACT SABBATH. 347 GEMARA: What is the difference between a man and his neighbor? The Mishna teaches he should not hire laborers on Sabbath nor commission another man to hire them for him? Is this not self-evident ? His neighbor is also a Jew. Said R. Papa: " That refers to a Gentile neighbor." R. Ashi opposed this, and said: " The prohibition to commission a Gentile to do something on a Sabbath is merely rabbinical, for the sake of the Sabbath rest (Shbhuth),* and to hire laborers on the Sabbath is also prohibited only by rabbinical law. How then can one rab- binical law be supplemented by another of the same character? Hence I may say, that the Mishna refers to a Jewish neighbor and should be explained thus: A man must not commission him to hire laborers on Sabbath, but he may say to him, ' Come to me after dusk and we will do something together.' The Mishna is in accordance with the opinion of R. Jehoshua ben Kar'ha, as we have learned elsewhere: A man must not say to his neighbor, ' I would like to see thee after dusk for the purpose of talking business,' and R. Jehoshua ben Kar'ha says he may do so, and Rabba bar bar Hana in the name of R. Johanan taught, that the Halakha prevails according to R. Jeshoshua ben Kar'ha." Rabba bar bar Hana in the name of R. Johanan said again: " What reason did R. Jehoshua ben Kar'ha have for saying so? Because it is written [Isaiah Iviii. 13]: ' By not following thy own business, and speaking vain words.' It is not allowed to speak, but surely thinking is permitted! " R. A'ha bar R. Huna asked Rabha concerning the following contradiction: " How can we say, R. Johanan states, that though it is not allowed to speak it is allowed to think ; did not Rabba bar bar Hana say in the name of R. Johanan, that everywhere it is allowed to think, excepting in a bathhouse and a toilet- room, for where it is not allowed to speak of the Law it is also not allowed to think of it ? " " In that case it is different, for it is written [Deuteronomy xxiii. 15]: 'Therefore shall thy camp be holy,' and a bathhouse and a toilet-room cannot be holy; hence thinking of the Law in those places is not allowed," Speaking of other things except the Law is not permitted (on Sabbath). Did not R. Hisda and R. Hamnuna both say, that it is allowed to count up charitable disbursements on Sabbath; and R. Elazar say, that one may figure out amounts to be dis- tributed among the poor (on Sabbath); and R. Jacob bar Idi say * See Introduction to Tract Sabbath, p. xxii. 348 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. in the name of R. Johanan, that all things pertaining to the sav- ing of human beings or the affairs of the community may be discussed on Sabbath, and that it is allowed to go to the school- houses and call meetings for deliberation upon the community's business; and R. Samuel bar Nahmeni say in the name of R. Johanan, that even halls may be visited for the purpose of call- ing business meetings together; and the disciples of Menasseh say, that betrothal of daughters may be discussed and the advis- ability of choosing a profession for a child may be deliberated upon, on the Sabbath ? The passage cited in the Law states, that" following thy business" is prohibited, but affairs sanc- tioned by Heaven may be discussed (and all the above affairs