א"ר פפא
This supports R'Eleazar. For R'Eleazar said: A man is forbidden to dip his finger in water on the Ninth of Ab, just as he is forbidden to dip his finger in water on the Day of Atonement. An objection is raised: There is no difference between the Ninth of Ab and a public fast except that on one work<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'the doing of work'.');"><sup>22</sup></span> is forbidden, while on the other work is permitted, where it is customary. This [implies that] in all [other] matters they are both alike; whereas in respect to a public fast it was taugh When they [the Sages] ruled, Bathing is forbidden, they spoke only of the whole body, but not of a man's face, hands, and feet?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which shows that on the Ninth of Ab washing of face and hands and feet is permitted.');"><sup>23</sup></span> - Said R'Papa:
Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael
(Exodus 16:31) "And it was like coriander seed, white ('gad')": I do not know (from this) what it was like. R. Yehoshua says: It was like coriander seed. (But then I would think:) Just as coriander seed is red, so, this. It is, therefore, written "white." R. Eliezer says: It was like "haggadah" (from "gad"), which "pulls" a person's heart. Others say: It testifies ("maggid," from "gad") about itself that it is manna, for it falls neither on Sabbath, or festival, or Yom Kippur. R. Yossi says: Just as the prophet reveals ("maggid," like "gad") what is hidden, so, did the manna reveal it. How so? (see Yoma 75a) (Exodus 16:31) "and its taste was like dough fried in honey": R. Yehoshua says: like stewed eskriti. R. Eliezer says: Like fine flour floated on a sieve and kneaded with honey. (16:32) "And Moses said: This is the thing, etc.": I might think that Aaron placed it there in the fortieth year. It is, therefore, written (Ibid. 34) "And Aaron placed it before the (ark of) testimony." When was the ark made? In the second year (of the exodus). Thus, Aaron placed it there in the second year. And this is one of the ten things created on Sabbath eve (of the creation) at twilight: the rainbow, the manna, the staff (with which the signs were performed), the writing, (the form of the letters carved on the tablets), the shamir (a miraculous stone-cutting worm), the tablets, the opening of the mouth of the earth to swallow up the wicked, the opening of the mouth of (Bilam's) ass, the grave of Moses, and the cave where Moses and Eliyahu stood. Others say: Also the vestments of the first man and the staff of Aaron, its almonds and blossoms. Seven things are concealed from the eyes of man: the day of death, the day of consolation, the depth of judgment, the source of his livelihood, what is in the heart of his neighbor, the restoration of the kingdom of the house of David, and the uprooting of the kingdom of the "liable one" (i.e., Rome).
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