Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 5, scan section 4

the poor and needy, and in the night he becometh like the thief.' Now, if the latter part of the passage states ' in the night he becometh like the thief,' then the first part must certainly mean to state, that at break of day the murderer slayeth those that pass by, while at night he robbeth houses like the thief. Whence we see that * Or' means day?" The passage means to say the following: " If it is as clear as day to thee that the murderer cometh to slay thee, thou mayest slay him in self- defence ; but if it is doubtful to thee whether he comes to slay thee or not, thou shouldst treat him as an ordinary' thief and try not to slay him." Another objection was made: "It is written [Job iii. 9]: * Let the stars of its twilight be darkened ; let it hope for light, and there be none.' Thence we see that by light (Or) is meant day ? " The passage means to infer, that Job when cursing his fate, said also, that the man who announced his birth should hope for light and not be able to find it. Another objection was made: " It is written [Psalms cxxxix. II]: 'Surely darkness shall enshroud me, and into night be turned the Or (light) about me.' Whence we see, that by light (Or) is meant day ? " In this passage David means to express the following: I thought, that in the Avorld to come, which is equal to daylight, darkness will enshroud me, and now I find that even on this earth (which compared to the world to come is as night) it has also become light for me. Yet another objection was made: " We learn further on in the Mishna: R. Jehudah said: ' Leaven should be searched for " Or" on the fourteenth, and in the morning of the fourteenth and at the time when the leaven is about to be burned.' If then k. Jehudah says, that on the morning of the fourteenth TRACT PESACHIM (PASSOVER). 3 leaven should be searched for, and preceding that he says ' Or * on the fourteenth, 'Or' must certainly mean 'night'?" Therefore we must say, that it is not as was presumed at the first glance to be the case, that R. Huna differed with R. Jehudah concerning the time of searching for leaven, but that both agreed upon twilight as being the proper time for that purpose, and by " Or" is meant " night," but the case was simply this: At the place where R. Jehudah resided twilight was called night, while in R. Huna's place of abode twilight was still called (day)light. If this is so, why did the Tana of our Mishna commence with the word " Or" ? Could he not have said plainly " on the eve "? He wished to commence the Mishna with a pleasing word and not with one suggesting darkness, and this is as R. Jehoshua ben Levi said elsewhere : At no time should a man allow an ill-sounding word to escape from his mouth ; for the following verse used eight superfluous letters in order to circum- vene the use of one ill-sounding word, as it is written [Gen. vii.]: "Of the clean beasts, and of the beasts that are not clean." Thus instead of using the word unclean (Hatmeah), it is written " that are not clean," which makes a difference of eight letters.* Now if the question concerning the word " Or" has been finally decided and "Or" is supposed to mean " twilight," let us see why leaven must be searched for at night. Both accord- ing to R. Jehudah and R. Meir (as will be seen further on) it is prohibited to eat leavened bread from the sixth hour, and further, of the fourteenth of Nissan, let the time for searching com- mence at that hour. If the claim be made, that pious men seek to fulfil a religious duty even before the specified time, let them commence to search for leavened bread at sunrise on the four- teenth; but why at night? Said R. Na'hman bar Itz'hak; " This was ordained, because at twilight the men are generally in the house and the light of a candle at that time is the best means by which to search for leavened bread." Said Abayi: Therefore a young scholar should not commence his study at twilight on the thirteenth of Nissan, as he might become engrossed in the ordinances and forget to search for leaven. t * There is a difference of eight letters in the Hebrew original, and by a strange coincidence there is the same difference in English. f These last two paragraphs are in the old edition, contained on page 4 a. 4 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. The master said: "A man should not allow an improper word to escape his lips." Two disciples sat before Rabh : One of them said to him: " To-day's study of the ordinances made me as tired as a hog." The other one said: " To-day's study made me as tired as a tired goat." From that day on Rabh did not speak to the first of these disciples. Two disciples (also) sate before Hillel, and one of them was R. Johanan ben Zakai. According to another version: Two disciples sate before Rabbi and one of them was R. Johanan. One of them asked: " Why must wine be pressed with clean utensils and olives do not require clean utensils ?" The other disciple at some other time inquired: "Why must wine be pressed with clean utensils whereas for oil unclean utensils may be used?" Whereupon the master remarked: " I am certain that the one who put the former query to me will very shortly be empowered to decide legal questions in Israel." As a matter of fact, it was not long after when this came to pass. There were three priests. One of them said: " My share (of the showbreads) was about the size of a bean." The other said : ' ' My share was about the size of an olive. ' ' And the third one said: " My share was about the size of a lizard's tail." When the language of the last was heard, an investigation was made, and it was found that he was not a genuine priest. There was a certain Aramaean who was wont to come to Jerusalem every Passover and, representing himself to be an Israelite, would partake of the paschal lamb. When he came back home in the city of Nisibis, he said to R. Jehudah ben Bathyra: " In your Law it is written [Exod. xii. 48]: ' But no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.' Yet I go to Jerusalem every year and eat of the best of the paschal lamb." Said R. Jehudah ben Bathyra to him: " Did they then give thee some of the fat of the tail ? " and he answered : " Nay." So R. Jehudah advised him when he should go there again to ask for it. When the Aramasan came to Jerusalem the following year, he asked that he be given some of the fat of the tail. Said they to him: " Who told thee that thou couldst have it ? Is not the fat of the tail sacrificed on the altar?" and he answered them: " R. Jehudah ben Bathyra told me." Said they: " What does this mean?" (Surely R. Jehudah knoweth that this cannot be.) Accordingly an investigation was made and it was found out that the man was an Aramaean, and not an Israelite, and he was pun-