Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 6, scan section 53

be fished for immediately ; and the sooner one does this, the more praiseworthy one is ; and no permission from Beth Din is to be taken for it, even when he will take up in the net at the same time game fish. If one has seen a child fall into a pit, he may remove a piece of earth to save it the sooner. The more quickly he does it, the more praiseworthy he is, and though he forms by this means a staircase, he need not take license from Beth Din. If he saw a child enter, behind which the door got locked, he should break open the door immediately, and the sooner the better ; and he need not take permission from Beth Din, even when by this means he breaks it for kindling. If he has perceived a fire kindled on Sabbath, he should extinguish it immediately ; and the sooner the better, and even when the coals he saves from consumption will be used by him later for roasting meat. '■' If a building tumble down.'' How is it to be understood? It is meant to say, that not only when it is doubtful whether one is there, and lives, or is not there ; but even when the uncer- tainty is whethe*, being there, he lives, or is dead, nevertheless the ruins are to oe removed. If he is found alive, the ruins are entirely cleared. Is this not self-evident ? The Mishna means to say, when it is known that he is dying, still the ruins are to be removed. If he is dead, he is to be left. Is not this also TRACT YOMAH (DAY OF ATONEMENT). 131 self-evident? This is to teach us that it is not according to R. Jehudah b. Lakish of the following Boraitha: Sabbath is not superseded to save a corpse from fire. R. Jehudah b. Lakish, however, said : I have heard, a corpse may be saved from fire, even on Sabbath. But even according to R. Jehudah b. Lakish, a corpse is to be saved only from fire ; because otherwise he to whom the corpse is dear will extinguish the fire. But in this case, even when the dead body is dear to him, what can he do (to violate the Sabbath) ? The rabbis taught : When the body under the ruins seems dead, what members are to be brought to light and examined ? As far as the nose. Others say, as far as the heart. When it does not beat, he is taken to be dead. But if one has commenced with examining the head and heart, and found them defunct, one should nevertheless bring to light the other parts, and examine them. As it happened, that the upper parts were dead, and yet the lower had still some life, said R. Papa: The sages differ when one has commenced the examination from below upwards ; but from above downwards, that is, when the nose has been found to have ceased breathing, no further ex- amination is needed, as it is written [Gen. vii. 22] : " All in whose nostrils was the breath of life." It happened long ago that R. Ishmael, R. Aqiba, and R. Eliezer b. Azariah were on the road ; and Levi, the Sadar, or Sarad,* and R. Ishmael the son of R. Eliezer b. Azariah followed them. They were asked the following question : How is it known that, when life is in danger. Sabbath may be violated ? R. Ishmael answered: It is written [Ex. xxii. 2]: "If a thief be found while breaking in and be smitten so that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him." We can deduce, a fortiori, from this: If in this case, when it is doubtful whether he had come to steal only, or to murder, yet taking his life is permitted, although bloodshed defiles the land and causes the Shekhina to remove from Israel, how much more is violation of the Sabbath (less important than bloodshed) per- mitted to save a human life. R. Jonathan b. Joseph says : From the following verse : Of Sabbath it is written [Ex. xxxi. 14] : " For it is holy unto you." Unto you : The Sabbath is for you, but not you for the Sabbath. R. Simeon b. Menasseh says : It is written [ibid. 16] : " And the * According to one " Aruch," it is the maker of the clothes of service (Bigde S'rad). 132 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath." The Torah enjoins thus: Violate one Sabbath, that ye may keep many Sabbaths. R. Jehudah said : Samuel has said : If I had been there, I would have said a thing better than this ; namely, it is written [Lev. xviii. 5] : "Ye shall keep my statutes . . . which, if a man do, he shall live by them." He shall live by them, but not die. Said Rabba : All the verses from which they have deduced it may be questioned, but to Samuel's nothing can be objected. Rabbina, and according to others R. Na'hman b. Itz'hak, has said of this : One grain of pungent pepper is better than a whole basket of cucumbers. MISHNA: Sin-offerings and trespass-offerings atone. Death and the Day of Atonement, if one is penitent, atone. Penitence atones for slight breaches of positive or negative command- ments ; for grave sins, it effects a suspension, till the Day of Atonement completes the atonement. To him who says : *' I will sin, repent, sin again, and repent again," is not given the opportunity to repent. For him who thinks, " I will sin ; the Day of Atonement will atone for my sins," the Day of Atone- ment does not atone. A sin towards God, the Day of Atone- ment atones for ; but a sin towards his fellowman is not atoned for by the Day of Atonement so long as the wronged fellowman is not righted. R. Eliezer b. Azariah lectured : It is written [Lev. xvi. 30] : " From all your sins before the Lord shall ye be clean." (This is our tradition.) The sin towards God, the Day of Atonement atones for ; but sins toward man, the Day of Atonement cannot atone for till the neighbor has been appeased. Said R. Aqiba : Happy are ye, O Israel. Before whom do ye cleanse yourselves, and who cleanses you ? Your Father who is in Heaven. For it is written [Ezek. xxxvi. 25] : " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean " ; and it is also written : " The Migveh (hope, or legal bath) of Israel is the Lord." As a legal diving-bath purifies the unclean, so does the Holy One, blessed be He, cleanse Israel. GEMARA : " Death and the Day of Atonement,'' etc. Only when one is penitent, but otherwise they do not atone ? Shall we assume that the Mishna is not in accordance with Rabbi, in the following Boraitha : " Rabbi says : All sins mentioned in the Bible, whether one is penitent or not, are atoned by the Day of Atonement, except throwing off the yoke (of God), expounding the Torah falsely, and abolition of circumcision (and mocking a fellowman). These sins are atoned for by the Day of Atone- TRACT YOMAH (DAY OF ATONEMENT). 133 ment, if one is penitent, but not otherwise." It may be said even that the Mishna is in accordance with Rabbi : Penitence is supplemented by the Day of Atonement or Death, but the Day of Atonement does atone alone.