אמר רב ענן אמר שמואל מבואות המפולשין לרה"ר ובקשו בני מבואות להעמיד להן דלתות בני רה"ר מעכבין עליהן
R. 'Anan said in the name of Samuel: If the residents of alleyways which open out on to the public thoroughfare desire to set up doors at the entrance, the public [who use the thoroughfares] can prevent them. It was thought that this right extended only to a distance of four cubits [from the public thoroughfare], in accordance with what R. Zera said in the name of R. Nahman, that the four cubits [in the alley-way] adjoining the public thoroughfare are on the same footing as the public thoroughfare. This, however, is not the case. For R. Nahman's rule applies only to the matter of uncleanness,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If there is a suspicion of uncleanness in the four cubits up the alley-way it is treated as if it occurred in a public place and is deemed clean. Toh. IV, II.
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Sefer HaYashar
The eighth—The soul of the prophet is not worthy of attaining the perfection of prophecy until it becomes pure and very lofty, being drawn with all strength to sublime matters. Therefore, the soul of the prophet is near the Creator, blessed be He. Due to the excellence of its thoughts, there is no curtain separating soul and prophecy from the Creator, blessed be He; since the soul of the prophet is so very lofty and while it is still within the body, it can elevate itself and join with superior persons. We know that it can go twice as high when it separates from the body, for the body holds it back from rising with all its power, just as a bird whose wings have been clipped cannot fly with all of its power until its feathers grow again. The power which united the soul of the prophet with the spirit of prophecy still unites them even after it separates itself from the body, and the ascent of the soul becomes easier. A similar process occurs with the souls of the pious and the wise. Our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Baba Batra 12a), “A wise man is superior even to a prophet.”
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