Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 3, scan section 53

VOL. III. — 9 13° THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. he that lieth with any manner of beast." Why is this so? Said Ula: Because they have no bathhouses (and when the men go away to some distant bathhouse no one is left to take care of the women). R. Johanan said: " Because, when the women go to take their ritual bath, they are afraid to go alone so long a distance ; hence they go in company with other women and are followed by evil men who lead them astray." What is the point of difference between Ula and R. Johanan ? If there is a lake in the vicinity, the statement of R. Johanan falls to the ground, but according to Ula even then, the women, if left alone by their husbands, are led to sin. R. Hunasaid:" In a town where there are no herbs, a scholar should not live (because herbs are cheap and good food and a scholar can thus live economically)." Shall we assume, that herbs are such a good thing ? Have we not learned in a Borai- tha, that three things cause much waste, cause a man's body to stoop, and deprive a man of one five-hundredth of his eye- sight ? Those three things are: coarse bread, newly brewed beer, and herbs ? This presents no difHculty: R. Huna refers to onions, garlic, and fine herbs, which are necessary, while the Boraitha refers to bad herbs. R. Jehudah said in the name of Rabh: In a town that is hilly and where there are many steps to ascend and descend, both man and beast become prematurely aged. Said R. Huna bar R. Jehoshua: " The towns of Bebiri and Benaresh, two adjoin- ing cities, that had may hills between them caused their inhabi- tants to become prematurely aged." The Rabbis taught: " If one comes to make a town square, he must make it as the square of the earth, i.e., the north must be towards the north of the earth, the south towards the south, and his signs shall be: the zodiac of the Capricorn in the north and that of the scorpion in the south." Said R. Jose: If he does not understand how to make it as the square of the earth, he should be guided by the equinox. How so ? Where the sun rises during the long days and sets during the long days, it is north of the equator, and during the short days, where it rises and sets it is south of the equator, but during the Nissan and the Tishri equinox, it rises half {i.e., directly) east and sets half {i.e., directly) west, as it is written [Ecclesiastes i. y~\: " Going toward the south " during the day, " and turning around toward the north " during the night " the wind moveth round about con- tinually," meaning east and west; at times it goes through them TRACT ERUBIN. 131 and at other times it passes them. Said R. Mesharshia: All these rules are of no account, for we have learned in a Boraitha that the sun never rose in the northeast nor set in the northwest and the sun never rose in the southeast nor set in the south- west. Samuel said : The equinox of Nissan can only take place dur- ing one of the four quarters of a day, either at sunrise, sunset, noon, or midnight, and the equinox of Tamuz cannot take place except at one and one-half hours after sunrise or sunset or seven and one-half hours after either. The equinox of Tishri takes place only at three or at nine hours after either sunrise or sunset, and the equinox of Tebeth takes place only four and one-half hours or ten and one-half hours after either sunrise or sunset. There is not more than ninety-one days seven and one-half hours between each equinox, and they occur in the first and second half of the same hour respectively.* The Rabbis taught : One who comes to measure the city should first make it square in the form of a board. Afterwards he makes another square of the legal distance of two thousand ells also in the form of a board. When he comes to measure the legal limits from the town, he should not commence at the centre of a side because then he would lose the corner, for, if the diagonal distance from one corner to another is two thousand ells the distance from the one side to the opposite will be 1,428 ells. Hence he should make the square two thousand ells from one opposite side to the other, and in that event he will gain four hundred ells on each side. Then the two legal limits together will gain eight hundred ells on each side, and, in conse- quence, the town together with the limits will gain twelve hun- dred ells on each side. Said Abayi: " This can be proven by calculating on a city exactly two thousands ells square." MISHNA: An allowance of seventy and two-thirds ells of space must be made to the town. Such is the dictum of R. Meir; but the sages hold, that such an allowance is to be made * This is calculated by the ancient astronomers as follows : There are seven planets, which change with every hour ; e.g., in the first hour we have the planet Mer- cury, in the second the Moon, in the third Saturn, in the fourth Jupiter, in the fifth Mars, in the sixth the Sun, and in the seventh Venus. Thus at the end of the 91 days and 7i hours of the first equinox (of Nissan), if Mercury is in the ascendant the second equinox (that of Tamuz) will fall in the second half-hour of the planet Mer- cury, the third equinox (of Tishri) will occur in the first half-hour of the Moon, and the last equinox (of Tebeth) will fall in the second half-hour of the Moon, etc. 132 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. only if two towns be so close to each other, that each only requires seventy and two-thirds ells to bring them within the legal limits ; in that case an allowance is made to both, so that they become as one. Thus also, if three villages form a trian- gle, and the two outer ones require 141^ ells, a double allowance to bring them within legal distance of each other, the middle one between the two makes all one, so that the three villages become as one. GEMARA: Whence do we adduce, that an allowance should be made to the town ? Said Rabha : Because it is written [Numbers xxxv. 4] : " From the wall of the city and outward," which implies, first leave a part outward and then commence to measure. ''But the sages hold,'' etc. It was taught: R. Huna said: An allowance should be made to each of the two cities, and R, Hyya bar Rabh said: " Only one allowance is made for both." We have learned in the Mishna, however, that the sages hold, such an allowance is to be made only, etc., whence we see that only one allowance is spoken of and this would be contradic- tory to R. Huna ? R. Huna may say, that by the allowance is meant the law of the allowance, and if the law of allowance is given at all, it should be given to each of the two cities. It seems to us, that the explanation of R. Huna is correct, because further on the Mishna states, that each only requires seventy and two-thirds, i.e., one town requires seventy and two-thirds