The Oral Talmud with Benay Lappe and Dan Libenson Episode 167

From now, in a place where there is a House of Study one should not read, at a place where there is no House of Study one should read. You only have what Rebbi Neḥemiah stated, as Rebbi Neḥemiah stated, why may one only read sacred writings after afternoon prayers? Because of persons’ documents. Because if you were telling him that it is permitted, then he would say, there is nothing wrong if I would occupy myself with my documents. Since you are telling him that it is forbidden, then he will say, since sacred writings are forbidden, so much more private documents. This implies that Mishnah has precedence over Bible. This supports what Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai stated, as Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai stated, he who studies the written Torah does himself good that is not so good; he who studies Mishnah is occupied in an endeavor which deserves reward; he who studies Talmud could not endeavor anything greater than this, always a person should pursue Mishnah more than Talmud. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, this was before Rebbi incorporated most of the Mishnah in the Talmud, but since Rebbi incorporated most of the Mishnah in the Talmud, a person should pursue Talmud more than Mishnah.

And thus is it written (Deuteronomy 29:9) "You are standing this day, all of you, before the Lord your God, your heads of your tribes, your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel." If not for (all of) these, who stood and fulfilled Torah in Israel, would Torah not have been forgotten in Israel? And if Shafan had not arisen in his time (viz. II Kings 22) and Ezra in his time and R. Akiva in his time, would Torah not have been forgotten in Israel? And it is written (Proverbs 15:23) "A word in its time — how good!" The word that this one (i.e., each one of those in his time) said is over and against all!

...[W]hen Torah was forgotten from Israel, Ezra ascended from Babylonia and established it. It was again forgotten, and Hillel the Babylonian ascended and established it. It was again forgotten, and Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons ascended and established it.

...Rabbi Akiva stated a principle: Any prohibited labor required for the offering of the sacrifice that can be performed on the eve of Shabbat does not override Shabbat; slaughter, which cannot be performed on the eve of Shabbat, overrides Shabbat.

GEMARA: The Sages taught a baraita with regard to the basic halakha governing the eve of Passover that occurs on Shabbat: This law was forgotten by the sons of Beteira, who were the leaders of their generation. The fourteenth of Nisan once occurred on Shabbat, and they forgot and did not know whether the Paschal lamb overrides Shabbat or not.

They said: Is there any person who knows whether the Paschal lamb overrides Shabbat or not? They said to them: There is a certain man in Jerusalem who came up from Babylonia, and Hillel the Babylonian is his name. At one point, he served the two most eminent scholars of the generation, Shemaya and Avtalyon, and he certainly knows whether the Paschal lamb overrides Shabbat or not.

The sons of Beteira sent messengers and called for him. They said to him: Do you know whether the Paschal lamb overrides Shabbat or not? He said to them: Have we but one Paschal lamb during the year that overrides Shabbat? Do we not have many more than two hundred Paschal lambs, i.e., sacrifices, during the year that override Shabbat? They said to him: From where do you know this? He said to them: “Its appointed time” is stated with regard to the Paschal lamb and “its appointed time” is also stated with regard to the daily offering, for the verse says: “Command the children of Israel and say to them, My offering, the provision of My sacrifice made with fire, for a sweet savor to Me, shall you observe to offer Me at its appointed time” (Numbers 28:2). From here we learn that the daily offering is brought even on Shabbat. Thus, the daily morning and afternoon offerings are brought on more than fifty Shabbatot over the course of the year, and two sheep are offered every Shabbat as additional offerings, for a total of more than two hundred sacrifices a year that override Shabbat. Just as the expression “its appointed time,” which is stated with regard to the daily offering, indicates that it overrides Shabbat, so too “its appointed time,” which is stated with regard to the Paschal lamb, indicates that it overrides Shabbat. And furthermore, it is an a fortiori inference: If the daily offering, the neglect of which is not punishable by karet, overrides Shabbat, is it not right that the Paschal lamb, the neglect of which is punishable by karet, should override Shabbat?

After Hillel brought these proofs, they immediately seated him at the head and appointed him Nasi over them, and he expounded the laws of Passover that entire day. He began rebuking them with words. He said to them: What caused this to happen to you, that I should come up from Babylonia and become Nasi over you? It was the laziness in you that you did not serve the two most eminent scholars of the generation, Shemaya and Avtalyon.

They said to Hillel: Our teacher, if one forgot and did not bring a knife on the eve of Shabbat and cannot slaughter his Paschal lamb, what is the law? He said to them: I once heard this halakha but I have forgotten it. But leave it to the Jewish people; if they are not prophets, they are the sons of prophets.

The next day, on Shabbat that was the eve of Passover, one whose Paschal offering was a lamb took the knife and stuck it in its wool; and one whose Paschal offering was a goat, which does not have wool, stuck it between its horns. Hillel saw the incident and remembered the halakha that he had once learned and said: This is the tradition I received from the mouths of Shemaya and Avtalyon.

Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Blessed Holy One sitting and tying crowns on the letters. He said before Him: Master of the Universe, who is holding You back? He said to him: There is a man who is destined to be after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he is destined to derive from each and every thorn mounds upon mounds of halakhot. He said before Him: Master of the Universe, show him to me. He said to him: Return behind you. He went and sat at the end of the eighth row and did not understand what they were saying. He felt faint. When he arrived at one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? He said to them: It is a halakha to Moses from Sinai. His mind was put at ease. He returned and came before the Holy Blessed One, and said before Him: Master of the Universe, You have a man like this and You give the Torah through me?! He said to him: Be silent; this is what arose in My mind. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, You have shown me his Torah, now show me his reward. He said to him: Return. He went back and saw that they were weighing his flesh in a butcher shop [bemakkulin]. He said before Him: Master of the Universe, this is Torah and this is its reward? He said to him: Be silent; this is what arose in My mind.

The sons of Beteira -- as the Master said -- seated him at the head and appointed him Nasi over them...

The sons of Beteira also saw that Hillel was greater than they...

Once Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi arrived at the place of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon. He said to them: Does that righteous person have a son? They said to him: He has a son, and any prostitute who hires herself for two coins hires him for eight. He brought him back with him, ordained him as a rabbi, and gave him over to Rabbi Shimon ben Isi ben Lakonya, the brother of his mother, to complete him. Each day, he would say: I am going back to my town. He said to him: You have been made wise, and a golden cloak has been spread over you, and you are called Rabbi, and yet you say: I am going back to my town? He said to him: I vow that this thought is abandoned. When he matured, he came and sat in the academy of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi heard his voice and said: This voice is similar to the voice of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon. They said to him: It is his son. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi read the verse about him: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that is wise wins souls” (Proverbs 11:30). “The fruit of the righteous,” this is referring to Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, who was the son of a righteous individual and became a great scholar in his own right. When the verse states: “And he that is wise wins souls,” this is Rabbi Shimon ben Isi ben Lakonya, who successfully helped Rabbi Yosei reach his potential.

When Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Ḥiyya would debate, Rabbi Ḥanina would say to Rabbi Ḥiyya: Do you think you can debate with me? Heaven forbid! If the Torah were forgotten from the Jewish people, I could restore it with my analyses. Rabbi Ḥiyya said to Rabbi Ḥanina: Do you think you can debate with me, for what I do ensures that the Torah will not be forgotten by the Jewish people in the first place! What do I do? I go and sow flax seeds, and I weave nets with the flax, and I hunt deer and feed their meat to orphans. I create parchment from their hides, and I write the five books of the Torah on them. I go to a town and teach five children the five books, and I teach six children the six orders of the Mishna, and I say to them: Until I return and come back, teach each other the Torah and teach each other the Mishna. And that's what I do to ensure that the Torah will not be forgotten by the Jewish people.