Talmud sobre II Reyes 2:28

It is stated⁶We have three versions of this formulation, in the Yerushalmi, the Babli (Berakhot 31a), and the Tosephta (3:21). The main difference in formulation is between the Tosephta and the Talmudim, since the Tosephta requires that one start prayer מתיך דברים של חכמה. In Mishnaic Hebrew, as in Modern Sephardic Hebrew usage, the Ḥakham is the rabbi, and dibrē ḥokhmāh are halakhic rulings; as in the following paragraph, practices universally accepted and not subject to doubt or discussion. From the order of the Yerushalmi it seems that in practice the text of the Yerushalmi should be interpreted as implying the statement of the Tosephta. The tradition of the Babli is uncertain; see Diqduqe Soferim, Berakhot, p. 160, note ר. The Venice print of the Babli requires that one start prayer “out of joy over commandments”. Rashi, the Munich manuscript of the Babli, Halakhot Gedolot and the students of Rabbenu Jonah have simply “out of joy.” The Koronel manuscript and Menorat Hamaör have “out of joy of Torah”, parallel to the Yerushalmi. A Florence manuscript that is typically Sephardic has “out of joy of Halakhah”, directly parallel to the Tosephta. Rabbenu Asher ben Yeḥiel (Rosh) has “out of words of joy”; the insistence on “words” is parallel to Yerushalmi and Tosephta. While the Babli in the printed version would refer to the state of mind required for the Amidah, as implied in the two rulings preceding this Tosephta in the Yerushalmi, the Tosephta and the Yerushalmi require the correct state of mind before one starts with the preparatory sections of prayer, even preceding the recitation of Shema‘. This seems also to be confirmed by the preparatory prayer reported later by R. Ḥizqiah in the name of R. Abbahu. Most of the variants of the Babli text would demand an interpretation similar to that of the Tosephta. All three versions agree that one should start afternoon prayers with a word of Torah or Halakhah directly before the Amidah.: “One should pray neither out of conversation, nor out of jokes, nor out of frivolities, nor out of idle occupations, but out of words of Torah. Similarly, one should not take leave from one’s friend either out of conversation, or out of jokes, or out of frivolities, or out of idle occupations, but out of words of Torah, since we find that the earlier prophets were closing their words with expressions of praise and consolation.” Rebbi Eleazar said, except for Jeremiah who closed with words of reprobation. Rebbi Yoḥanan said to him, still he closed with words of consolation and said (Jer. 51:64) “So Babylon shall sink.” Because Jeremiah continued to prophesy about the Temple. One could think that he closed with the destruction of the Temple, but the verse states (Jer. 51:64) “So far the words of Jeremiah,” he finished with the downfall of its destroyers, he did not close with words of reprobation⁷The last chapter of the book of Jeremiah is not attributed by the Talmud to Jeremiah; it is a historical addition by the editor, Barukh ben Neriah.. But is it not written (Is. 66:24): “They will be a horror for all flesh?⁸Last verse in Isaiah.” That verse deals with Gentiles. But is it not written (Lament. 5:22): “But You much despised us⁹Last verse of Lamentations. A possible interpretation of the statement is that the last two verses of the book, chapter 5, were considered as one; then the book ends with a prayer.”? (Lament. 5:21) “Make us return” replaces “But You much despised us”. Also Elijah did take leave from Elisha only out of words of Torah, (2Kings 2:11) “they walked talking.” What did they talk of? Rebbi Aḥawa the son of Rebbi Zeïra¹⁰In the Babli, his name is R. Ahavah, son of Rebbi Zera, son of the famous Rebbi Zeïra. He was Tanna, a memorizer of tannaitic material, in his father’s Yeshivah. The entire section is a digression induced by the ancillary statements of the Tosephta. said, they discussed the recitation of Shema‘, (Deut. 6:7) “you should talk about them.” Rebbi Judah ben Pazi said, they were discussing Creation, (Ps. 33:6) “through the word of the Eternal the heavens were made.” Rebbi Yudan, the son of Rebbi Ayvu¹¹Rebbi Ayvu was one of the main promoters of Aggadah in the third generation of Amoraïm. He learned from all Galilean Amoraïm of the second generation. His son Rebbi Yudan might be the Rebbi Yudan who otherwise is quoted without mention of his father’s name., said, they were occupied with the consolations of Jerusalem, as you say (Is. 40:2) “Speak to Jerusalem’s heart.” But the rabbis say, they were occupied with the Divine Chariot, as you say (2Kings 2:11) “behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire, etc.”

BARAITHA. ¹With the Baraithoth of this chapter, cf. DEZ III.Judge your words before you let them come forth from your mouth. Plan your deeds in accordance with good manners and so add to the furtherance of your progress.²lit. ‘reward to your steps’. Always accept with resignation the verdict against you and refrain from grumbling. Judge your fellow-man in the scale of merit and do not judge him in the scale of guilt. Rejoice in your portion; be content³lit. ‘suited’. with the little you have and do not hate him who reproves you. Be small in your eyes so that your portion may be blessed for ever. Regard everyone with a good eye and a considerate soul. Teach your tongue to say, ‘I do not know’ lest you be induced to tell a falsehood and be caught.⁴Ber. 4a (Sonc. ed., p. 10). If you are slack in the performance of one precept⁵Reading miẓwah for Mishnah. in the end you will neglect another like it. If you feel impelled⁶The text of V is corrupt. For the meaning given here, cf. DEZ II (ed. Higger, p. 89) to make light of it in the end you will make light of another like it, and you will have no reward for your trouble. If you have taken what is not yours, then what is yours will be taken from you. Be careful with sacred foods both in the eating and disposing of them. Be submissive and beloved when answering those whom you know.⁷Here, too, the text of V is corrupt; cf. DEZ III. Be submissive towards all men and towards the members of your household more than to all men.
The beginning of vows is the door to folly; the beginning of impurity [in conduct] is the door to idolatry; levity with women is the door to immorality. If you become surety, it is on the condition that you will have to pay; if you borrow, it is on the condition that you will pay back; if you lend, it is on the condition [that there is a possibility of] not being paid back. Hasten to settle your account.⁸The text is corrected in agreement with DEZ III. One who gains a good name gains it for himself. The shamefaced cannot learn, the impatient cannot teach, the ‘am ha-’areẓ cannot be pious, the empty-headed cannot be God-fearing, and who is engaged over much in business cannot acquire wisdom.⁹Aboth II, 6 (Sonc. ed., II, 5, p. 13).
GEMARA. ‘Judge [your words]’: so that a man may consider what to answer and what answer might be given to him.
‘Accept with resignation’: [Admit that the judge] has given a correct judgment, that he has rightly condemned, that he has judged well.
‘Refrain from grumbling’: But this has already been taught!¹⁰Cf. III, 24. There it speaks of matters concerning himself, here of matters relating to the Holy One, blessed be He.
‘Judge your fellow-man’, etc.: when the matter is known to you.
‘Do not judge him in the scale of guilt’: by not abiding by the verdict when he wins it.
‘Rejoice in your portion’: That is [in your] wife; for Scripture declares, For what would be the portion of God from above?¹¹Job 31, 2. and it further states, House and riches are the inheritance of fathers; but a prudent wife is from the Lord.¹²Prov. 19, 14. ‘Be content with the little you have’—in the matter of food. ‘Hate the “how much?” ’¹³Reading המה בכך for V’s המברך. This clause has apparently fallen out from the present Baraitha. But this has already been taught in a previous chapter!¹⁴In III, 20. There it refers to general matters; here [it means that] one should not say, ‘How much [I would like to be the husband of] So-and-so’s daughter if she were unmarried!’
‘Be small in your eyes.’ As it is written, In whose eyes a vile person is despised.¹⁵Ps. 15, 4. ‘So that your portion may be blessed.’ As it is written, Let thy fountain be blessed.¹⁶Prov. 5, 18. ‘Regard everyone with a good eye.’ As it is written, He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed.¹⁷ibid. XXII, 9. ‘And a considerate soul.’ As it is written, And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry.¹⁸Isa. 58, 10. ‘Teach your tongue.’ As it is written of Ahimaaz.¹⁹Cf. 2 Sam. 18, 29. In reply to a question by David, he answered, But I knew not what it was. ‘If you are slack.’ As it is written, If thou faint in the day of adversity.²⁰Prov. 24, 10. ‘Be submissive and beloved’—but this has already been taught!²¹In III, 3. There²²H reads ‘here’; but in both references the context relates to human beings. it certainly refers to being so before the All-present.
‘The beginning of vows … levity with women.’ It is not necessary [to mention this] except in connection with one’s wife. ‘If you become surety.’ As it is written, Take [leḳaḥ] his garment that is surety for a stranger.²³Prov. 20, 16. Here it is written leḳaḥ and in another verse it is written ḳaḥ: Take [ḳaḥ] his garment that is surety for a stranger!²⁴ibid. XXVII, 13. [It indicates] that whoever is surety for another and does not repay [if called upon to do so] is regarded as though he incurred the debt and did not repay. If you borrowed with the intention to repay, all is well; but if you lent with the intention not to demand it,²⁵Reading with H lithbo‘a. then ‘split’.²⁶i.e. grin and bear the loss. If so, the consequence is that the money is lost! We deal here with the disciples of the wise who will not transgress [the teaching of Scripture], The wicked borroweth, and payeth not; but the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth.²⁷Ps. 37, 21.
‘Hasten to settle your account.’ This is good advice offered to the disciples of the wise, that when they have business deals with men of the world not to be neglectful and incur one loss after another.
‘One who gains a good name.’ As it is written, If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself.²⁸Prov. 9, 12. ‘The empty-headed man cannot be God-fearing.’ Since he is ignorant of the Torah, he does not know how to keep away from sin. ‘The ’am ha-’areẓ cannot be pious.’ Why? Since he has not learnt the words of the Torah, the verse is applied to him, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.²⁹ibid. XXVIII, 9. ‘The shamefaced cannot learn, the impatient cannot teach.’ This is self-evident! No, [it was necessary to mention it to make clear that it holds good] even in matters of behaviour.
Father³⁰A term of endearment suggested perhaps by Elisha’s cry, my father my father, when Elijah was translated to heaven (2 Kings 2, 12). The phrase ‘Father Elijah’ occurs in Sanh. 113a (Sonc. ed., p. 780). Elijah, may his memory be for good, said, ‘The knowledge of the Torah cannot be spread except by one who is not impatient. I, too, will not reveal myself except to one who is not impatient’. Happy is the man who met [Elijah] and sat with him, for he is assured of being a son of the World to Come.

Mishnah: “If there is a doubt whether it is dark or not dark,” etc. ²²⁶A different version is in the Babli, Sanhedrin 68a, and Avot dR. Natan A, Chapter 25. It happened that Rebbi Eliezer was dying on a Friday when it got dark. His son Hyrcanus entered to remove his phylacteries²²⁷Which are worn neither during nighttime nor on the Sabbath.. He told him, my son, you neglected the commandment of the light which is for the Sabbath and for which one incurs extirpation and you came to remove phylacteries which is only rabbinical and is only a [positive] commandment²²⁸The translation of the technical terms which in the Babli are read as רְשׁוּת “voluntary act”, שְׁבוּת “rabbinic Sabbath prohibition”, and מִצְוָה “commandment” follows S. Lieberman in Tarbiz 5 (1934) pp. 97–99.. He left crying and said, woe to me that my father has lost his mind. He told him, your mind is lost, my mind is not lost. When his students saw that he answered him wisely they entered to him and started asking him. He answered on the impure impure and the pure pure; at the end he said “pure” and his soul vanished. They said, it is clear that our teacher is pure. Rebbi Mana said, it still is clear. Rebbi Joshua entered, removed his phylacteries, was embracing him, and kissing him, and crying, and said, my teacher, my teacher, the vow has been dissolved²²⁹The ban imposed on R. Eliezer for his refusal to accept a majority decision was at variance with his traditions.; my teacher, chariot of Israel and its riders²³⁰2K. 2:12..

For his father, and for his mother, and for his teacher who taught him wisdom, from where? And Elisa saw, and he cried ‘my father, my father, chariot of Israel and its charioteers’²⁸⁹2K. 2:12. The verse ends: he got hold of his garments and tore them into two tears.. Rebbi Mattun asked before Rebbi Joḥanan: May one infer instruction from Elisa²⁹⁰Since Eliahu did not die, nothing should be inferred from Elisha’s actions. Babli 26a, Sanhedrin 60b.? He said to him Mattun, Mattun, just as a dead person from the moment he is deceased cannot see him, so also from the moment he disappeared he did not see him. In the same way one tears for the Sages so one tears for their students. Who is a student of the Sages²⁹¹Qualified that the public should mourn for him. From here on to the end of the Tractate the text is written twice by the scribe. The second text is only partial, the remainder has been filled in by the corrector. The scribe’s second text is noted “2” in the variant readings; the corrector’s mostly has been disregarded.? Ḥizqiah said, any who has studied practices up to the Torah²⁹²For any rabbinic or biblical rule he can explain the origin and its development.. Rebbi Yose said to him, that you are saying for earlier ones. But today only practices²⁹³It is enough that he knows all the rules.. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Any who neglects his business for his learning. It was stated: Any whom one asks and he answers. Rebbi Hoshaia said, for example, we, since our instructors supervise us and we answer them²⁹⁴The baraita could have been interpreted to mean that a Student of the Sages must be able to answer any question in rabbinic learning. This is now qualified that he only has to pass the examinations which qualify for ordination.. Rebbi Abba bar Mamal said, any who can explain his Mishnah. But as relates to us, even our teachers are not wise to explain our Mishnah²⁹⁵He denies that the rules of Students of the Sages apply to anybody nowadays..

For a Sage who died³M.Ḳ. 22b (Sonc. ed., pp. 143f). one bares the right [shoulder]; for an ’Ab Beth Din who died one bares the left [shoulder]; for a Nasi’ who died one bares both shoulders.⁴lit. ‘hands’. It is related⁵Sanh. 68a (Sonc. ed., pp. 463f). that when R. Eliezer died, R. ‘Aḳiba bared both shoulders and kept on beating his heart⁶For ‘heart’ Sanh. reads ‘his flesh’. until the blood flowed, and he cried out, ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!’⁷2 Kings 2, 12.

When Rabbi Eliezer became sick, (they say) it was the eve of the Sabbath. Rabbi Akiva and his companions came in to visit him. He was sleeping in his room, so they sat in the entrance hall. His son Hyrcanus went in to take off his father’s tefillin,¹It was right before the Sabbath, and tefillin are not worn on the Sabbath. but his father would not let him, and began to cry. Hycanus came out and said to the sages: My masters, it seems to me that my father is confused. But his father called out: My son, I am not confused – you are confused! For you have not lit the Sabbath candles, for which you can be sentenced to death by divine decree. But I was just wearing tefillin, which is forbidden [to be worn on the Sabbath] only by rabbinic practice. When the sages saw that he was of clear mind (they went in) and sat before him, at a distance of four cubits. They said to him: Rabbi, a circular cushion, a ball, a mannequin, an amulet, and a torn prayer box – what is their status (with regard to whether they can become impure)? He said to them: They can become impure, and you should immerse them in water just as they are. Be very careful to do this, because these are important laws that were said to Moses on Mount Sinai. So they continued asking about ritual purity and impurity, and immersions. They would say: Rabbi, what about this? And he would say: Impure. What about that? And he would say: Pure. In this way he answered all their questions about what was pure and what was impure.
Afterward, Rabbi Eilezer said to the sages: I wonder if the students of this generation will be punished by death at the hands of Heaven. They replied: Rabbi, why? He said to them: Because they have not come and apprenticed with me.
Then he said to Akiva ben Yosef: Akiva, why did you not come to apprentice with me? Rabbi Akiva said: I did not have any time to come. He replied: I wonder if you will die a natural death.
Some say they never said any of this; rather, when Rabbi Eliezer first said this about the students, Akiva’s blood started racing inside of him, and he said: And Rabbi, how will I die? And Rabbi Eliezer said: (Rabbi) Akiva, your death will be the worst of all. Then Rabbi Akiva went and sat before him and said: Rabbi, teach me. Rabbi Eliezer began by teaching him three hundred laws about impure white patches of skin [baheret]. Then Rabbi Eliezer raised both of his arms and lay them on his chest, and said: Oy, these two arms of mine are like two Torah scrolls that will vanish from the world! For if all the seas were ink, and all the reeds were quills, and every person was a scribe, they still could not write down everything that I have read and taught. I apprenticed with the sages in the academy and did not forget (a thing I witnessed), not even a drop out of the sea. I never ceased learning except to dip my quill into ink. I could teach three hundred laws just on the verse, “Do not let a witch live” (Exodus 22:17) – and some say it was three thousand laws! – But no one ever asked me about them except for Akiva ben Yosef, who once said, Rabbi, teach me how they plant squash [through witchcraft], (and how we uproot them). And I answered, With one word, the whole field is filled with squash. So he said to me, Rabbi, you have taught me about how they are planted; now teach me about how they are uprooted. And I said, With one word, they can all be gathered together into one place.
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said to him: Rabbi, what about a sandal on a mannequin’s leg? He answered: Pure. In this way he kept answering questions about what was pure and what was impure, until his soul departed in a state of purity. Immediately, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah tore his clothes and wept. Then he went out and said the sages: My Masters, come and see Rabbi Eliezer, who will be pure in the World to Come (because) his soul left in a state of purity.
After the Sabbath, Rabbi Akiva came and found Rabbi Eliezer being taken in a coffin from Caesarea to Lod. Immediately, he tore his clothes and pulled at his hair until blood began to come out and drip onto the ground. And he screamed and cried and said: Woe is me, my master, for I have lost you! Woe is me, my master, for I have lost you! My master, you have left this whole generation like an orphan! At the head of his funeral line, he said, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and all its horsemen!” (II Kings 2:12). You have left money for me, and I have no table [i.e., money changer] to exchange them.