תּלמוד אויף עמוס 4:13

“Nor the Creation to two.” Rebbi Abba in the name of Rav Jehudah: This is Rebbi Aqiba’s, but following Rebbi Ismael one investigates what happened. Since Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi was sitting and explaining that originally the world was water in water; this implies that practice follows Rebbi Ismael. Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi was preaching⁹The original meaning of דרש “to investigate” has been changed into the later Amoraic-Medieval “to preach” and the interpretation of the Mishnah changed accordingly.: Originally the world was water in water. What is the reason? God’s wind was hovering over the water¹⁰Gen. 1:2.. Then He turned it into snow, He throws his ice like small breads¹¹Ps. 147:17.. Then He turned it into land, for He will tell the snow, be land¹²Job 37:6.. And the land stands on water, to Him Who spreads the earth over the water¹³Ps. 136:6. Babli 12b.. And the water stands on mountains, on mountains shall the water stand¹⁴Ps. 104:6.. And the mountains stand on wind, behold the Maker of mountains and Creator of wind¹⁵Am. 4:13.. And the wind depends on storm, the wind storm executes His word¹⁶Ps. 148:3. And the Holy One, praise to Him, turned storm into a kind of amulet and hung it on His arm, as it is said, and below eternal arms¹⁷Deut. 33:27..

Rebbi Ḥanina the son of Rebbi Abbahu said, Rebbi Meïr’s reason is that “shaping” is written for them as for humans⁴⁰In the Babli, 22b, this is attributed to Rav Jehudah in the name of Samuel.. “The Eternal God shaped man as dust from the earth.⁴¹Gen. 2:7.” Rebbi Immi asked, because “shaping” is written for them as for animals, “the Eternal God shaped from the earth all animals of the field and the birds of the sky⁴²Gen. 2:19. The masoretic text is slightly different from the text quoted.”? But is it not written “for behold the Shaper of mountains and Creator of wind⁴³Am. 4: 13. The same question is asked in the Babli, 23a.”? Then, if she has a miscarriage in the shape of a mountain, she should be impure because of birth! There is a difference, for shaping is not written for them in the Creation story. Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Because they look forward as humans do. Abba bar bar Ḥana said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Because they walk forward as humans do⁴⁴In the Babli, 23a, Rabba bar bar Ḥana in the name of R. Joḥanan gives the explanation attributed here to R. Yasa.. Rebbi Abun bar Ḥiyya objected: Did we not state, “if his eyeball is round like that of a human,” is that not a defect⁴⁵Mishnah Bekhorot 6:8. A firstling whose eyes look human is not acceptable as sacrifice.? Rebbi Yose said, did we not state, look forward; did we not state, walk⁴⁶R. Joḥanan only spoke about functions, not about looks. (But human eyes are forward looking as eyes of predators; the eyes of kosher animals are sideways looking eyes of prey. In the Babli, 23a, Abbai restricts the rule of R. Meïr about birds to owls who have forward-looking quasi-human eyes.)? What about it⁴⁷Which features make animal eyes a bodily defect by being like human eyes?? Human eyeballs are round, animal eyeballs are elongated. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, human eyes have more white than black, animal eyes have more black than white.

R. Iyla was going up the ladder of the house of Rabbah bar Shela. He heard a child who was reading, (Amos 4:13) "For, behold, He that forms the mountains and creates the wind, and tells man what his discussion is." He said, A slave, whose master tells him his discussion, is there any help for him? What is, "what his discussion is"? Rav said, Even the superfluous talk between a husband and his wife is told to a man at the time of his death.