Talmud su Geremia 9:78

³⁴⁵From here on there exists another Genizah fragment edited by Ginzberg (G). Cf. also Seder Olam Chap. 27 (in the author’s edition p. 234), Babli Šabbat 145b. It was stated: Rebbi Yose says, for 52 years no bird was flying in the Land of Israel. What is the reason? From the bird <of the sky> to the domesticated animal, they moved, they went away³⁴⁶Jer. 9:9.. Rebbi Ḥanina said, 40 years before Israel was exiled to Babylonia they planted date palms in Babylonia, so they should be ardent after sweets since this accustoms the tongue to Torah³⁴⁷Babli Pesaḥim 87b/88a.. Rebbi Ḥanina the son of Rebbi Abbahu said, 700 kinds of pure fish and 800 kinds of pure locusts and innumerable birds all were exiled with Israel to Babylonia; and when they returned, all of them returned, except the fish called turbot. How did fish migrate? Rebbi Ḥuna (bar Joseph) <in the name of rav joseph>³⁴⁸Since no R. Huna bar Joseph is otherwise known, prefer the reading of <g>. said, they went into exile through the abyss end returned through the abyss.

GEMARA. ‘R. Meir said’: The Rabbis have taught:⁶⁴The story is not found elsewhere in Talmudic literature. R. Meir once went to a certain place where an old man asked him, ‘Why is it written, It is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord,⁶⁵e.g. Ex. 29, 18. [and elsewhere it is written, An offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord]?’⁶⁶e.g. Num. 29, 13. The words within brackets are not in V but added by H. He was not in possession [of the answer], so he went to the Beth Hammidrash and inquired. They told him, ‘The one passage refers to those who occupy themselves with the study of the Torah for its own sake, and the other to those who occupy themselves not for its own sake’.⁶⁷Where the motive is disinterested the study of the Torah is a sweet savour first and an offering made by fire second; otherwise it is reversed. For the comparison of the Torah to fire, cf. Deut. 33, 2, a fiery law. As for R. Meir who taught: ‘Whoever occupies himself with the Torah for its own sake’, etc.,⁶⁸At the beginning of the Baraitha. was he not in possession of what R. Joḥanan⁶⁹This name varies in the sources, e.g. R. Isaac and R. Abba. said: [It is written,] And the Lord saith: Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, etc.⁷⁰Jer. 9, 12.: The Holy One, blessed be He, said [54b], ‘I have exiled Israel not because of idolatry, immorality and murder, but because they forsook My law; as it is stated, And have forsaken Me, and have not kept My law⁷¹ibid. XVI, 11.—if they forsook Me why did they not keep My law?’⁷²j.Ḥag. I, 7, 76C. Hence the Sages declared:⁷³Pes. 50b (Sonc. ed., p. 245). Let a man ever occupy himself with the Torah even not for its own sake; because from doing it not for its own sake, he will come to do it for its own sake.
[R. Meir] made his statement on the principle of R. ‘Aḳiba, for it has been taught: R. ‘Aḳiba said: Whoever reads [the Torah] not for its own sake, it were better for him that he had died at birth;⁷⁴lit. ‘it would have been better for him had the afterbirth been turned on his face’. for it is stated, And ye shall keep My commandments, and do them.⁷⁵Lev. 22, 31. The purpose of studying the precepts of the Torah is to do them. But whoever reads [the Torah] for its own sake, Scripture accounts it to him as though he had fulfilled [the precepts], as it is stated, And do them.⁷⁶Cf. Sanh. 99b (Sonc. ed., p. 675). The following was quoted in refutation of R. Joḥanan’s statement: What was the cause of the first destruction of Jerusalem? Idolatry. And of the second destruction? Causeless hatred;⁷⁷Tosiftha Men. XIII, 22 (ed. Zuckermandel, p. 533) cites this in the name of R. Joḥanan b. Torthah. so were there not two causes?⁷⁸R. Joḥanan gives only one cause for the first destruction and one for the second destruction. R. Joḥanan can reply: It is the Holy One, blessed be He, Who spoke thus: They have forsaken Me. Why? Because they have not kept My law;⁷⁹One cause was the effect of the other, and so there were not two causes. consequently if they had kept My law they would not have forsaken Me. And as to your question on [the destruction of] the Second Temple, causeless hatred is different because it is more grievous than idolatry.⁸⁰Hence one cause sufficed. Whence do we know this? For it is written, Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone:⁸¹Hosea 4, 17. As long as they are joined together even [to worship] their idols, leave them alone;⁸²So long as there was unity among the people, even for a base purpose, God would not punish them. [and it is written,] Their heart is divided; now shall they bear their guilt.⁸³ibid. X, 2. Only when the people are divided through enmity they suffer divine punishment. If so, what [was the cause of] the first destruction? With the First Temple it was different; He deferred the punishment from the days of Rehoboam. Or if you wish I can say that the First Temple was also destroyed for the reason their heart is divided.
The Rabbis have taught:⁸⁴This statement is not found in the Talmudic sources. Whoever hates another is as though he were his murderer, as it is stated, But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die⁸⁵Deut. 19, 11. Hatred may lead to murder. Cf. Sifrë, Deut., §§186f. (ed. Friedmann, p. 108b).—were it in his power he would kill him.

When R. ‘Aḳiba was executed in Caesarea and the news reached R. Judah b. Baba and R. Ḥanina b. Teradion, they arose, girded themselves in sackcloth, rent their garments and exclaimed, ‘Our brethren, hearken unto us! R. ‘Aḳiba was not executed for robbery or because he did not labour in the Torah with all his strength. He has only been put to death as a sign,³³Of great misfortunes to come. as it is stated, Thus shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do; when this cometh, then shall ye know that I am the Lord God.³⁴Ezek. 24, 24; verses 15-27 describe the symbols of Ezekiel’s bereavement. Within a short while there will be no place found in the land of Israel where no [slain] will be cast forth, as it is stated, Speak: Thus saith the Lord—And the carcasses of men fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, which none gathereth’.³⁵Jer. 9, 21. It is reported that it was not long before war came and disturbed the world, and within twelve months the municipalities³⁶Heb. bula’oth, the Greek for ‘senate, city-council’. Büchler, The Economic Conditions of Judaea, p. 28, n. 2, defines the term as ‘open places as opposed to fortified towns’. in Judea ceased; as it is stated, Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye confident ones:³⁷Isa. 32, 11. Ye women that are at ease refers to the municipalities in Judea, ye confident ones refers to the fortified towns.³⁸Cf. Büchler, loc. cit. Confident ones is nothing else than a term for walled cities.³⁹Heb. ṭeraksin which Jastrow takes to be a corruption of kerakim, ‘walled cities’. [The sentence is apparently a marginal note, and it is difficult to see how a common word should have been misread as an unusual one. Krauss, Lehnwörter, pp. 274f more probably ‘enclosures’.] It is reported that twelve months had not passed before what had been said was fulfilled.

MISHNAH: On New Moons, Ḥanukkah and Purim³⁸⁸Which are holidays but on a much lower level than the intermediate days of biblical holidays. they wail in chorus and clap their hands, but in neither case they recite dirges. After the deceased was buried they neither wail in chorus nor clap their hands. What is wailing in chorus? They all recite together. A dirge, if one speaks and all repeat after her, as it is said³⁸⁹Jer.9:19., and teach your daughters wailing and a woman her friend dirge. ³⁹⁰Missing in G. But in the Future World what does it say³⁹¹Is. 25:5.? He swallowed up Death forever, and the Eternal, God, wiped tears from all faces, etc.

MISHNAH: A qônām that I shall not enjoy from the uncircumcized, he is permitted uncircumcized Jews and forbidden circumcized peoples of the world. That I shall not enjoy from the circumcized, he is forbidden uncircumcized Jews and permitted circumcized peoples of the world, since the prepuce is simply a name for Gentiles as it was said¹⁴⁹Jer. 9:25.: “For all Gentiles are uncircumcized and all the House of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
Rebbi Ismael says, circumcision is great, for its covenant was concluded thirteenfold. Rebbi Yose says, circumcision is great, for it pushes aside the stringencies of the Sabbath. Rebbi Joshua ben Qorḥa says, circumcision is great, for it was not suspended even one hour for Moses the Just. Rebbi Neḥemiah says, Rebbi Yose says, circumcision is great, for it pushes aside skin disease¹⁵⁵The Halakhah will explain the Mishnah..
Rebbi says, circumcision is great, for with all the commandments which Abraham fulfilled he was not called whole until he circumcized himself as it is written¹⁵⁶Gen. 17:1.: “Walk before me and be perfect.”
Another word: Circumcision is great, for without it the Holy One, praise to Him, would not have created his world as it is said¹⁵⁷Jer. 33:25. In the Babli, this is mostly explained as referring to the Torah (which has to be studied day and night, Jos. 1:8) as blueprint for the world; 32a, Pesaḥim 68b; Avodah zarah3a. A similar text is in Tosephta 2:7.: “So says the Eternal, if it were not for my covenant day and night, I would not have put in place the laws of heaven and earth.” ¹⁵⁸This addition is not in the Babylonian Mishnah; it is in Tosephta 2:6. Another word: Circumcision is great, for it is weighty corresponding to all other commandments of the Torah, as it is said¹⁵⁹Ex. 24:8. This verse speaks about the Sinaitic covenant; it is used here because in rabbinic and modern Hebrew the word בְּרִית “covenant” is synonymous with “circumcision”.: “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Eternal concluded with you about all these words.”

If her father says, ‘She is not to be buried by my side’ and her husband says, ‘She is not to be buried by my side’, she is buried by the side of her husband because her husband has the obligation to support her, redeem her [from captivity],¹⁵Cf. Keth. 46b (Sonc. ed., p. 266). bury her and provide all that is necessary¹⁶So GRA. for her funeral, [for example,] a bier, pipers¹⁷To play at the funeral; cf. B.M. VI, 1 (Sonc. ed., p. 437, n. 3). and wailing women.¹⁸Cf. M.Ḳ. III, 9 (Sonc. ed., p. 185). They are mentioned in Jer. 9, 16. Where it is customary to have a memorial address, he has a memorial address delivered over his wife. If her husband does not attend to her [burial, her father] attends to it and the expenses are recovered from [the husband] by force.