Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Tosefta for Eruvin 128:21

אמר רב ששת משום רבי אלעזר בן עזריה

he 'that speaketh' a vow deserves to be pierced by the sword,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because he might not be able to fulfil his obligations.');"><sup>41</sup></span> 'but the tongue of the wise<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That of the Sage who grants absolution.');"><sup>42</sup></span> is health'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' He restores the sinner to a healthy moral condition. With this exposition R. Gamaliel was able to convince the man of his folly and to make his express his sincere regrets for ever having made his vow.');"><sup>43</sup></span> The Master said that 'eatables may not be passed by'. R'Johanan laid down in the name of R'Simeon B'Yohai: This applies only to the earlier generations when the daughters of Israel did not freely indulge<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'broken through'.');"><sup>44</sup></span> in witchcraft, but in the later generations when the daughters of Israel freely indulged in witchcraft one may pass them by. A Tanna taught: Whole loaves<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since witchcraft may be suspected.');"><sup>45</sup></span> may be passed by but not crumbs. Said R'Assi to R'Ashi: But do they not practise witchcraft with crumbs? Is it not in fact written in Scripture: And ye have profaned Me<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By the practice of witchcraft (v. Rashi) .');"><sup>46</sup></span> among My People for handfuls of barley and for crumbs of bread?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. XIII, 19.');"><sup>47</sup></span> - These<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The 'crumbs' mentioned by Ezekiel.');"><sup>48</sup></span> they received as a fee.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For their services in the art of witchcraft. With these crumbs, however, no witchcraft was performed.');"><sup>49</sup></span> R'Shesheth citing R'Eleazar B'Azariah observed:

Tosefta Pesachim

It so happened with Rabban Gamaliel that he was travelling from Akko to Cheziv [with Rabbi Ilai after Passover] and he found a loaf [of bread] on the road. He said to his servant Tabi, "Take this loaf." Thereafter, he saw a Gentile [and] he said to him, "Mabgai, take this loaf." Rabbi Ilai ran after him [and] said to him, "Where are you from?" He said to him, "From the guard-tower villages" (see Y. Avodah Zarah I.9.3, Guggenheimer tr.). He said to him, "What is your name?" He said to him, "Magbai," He said to him, "Do you happen to know Rabban Gamaliel?" He said to him, "No." From this we learned that Rabban Gamaliel was directed by the Holy Spirit. We learned three things: We learned that the chametz of a Gentile is permitted immediately after Passover, and that one should never pass by food [without picking it up], and that we follow after the majority of the travelers on the roads. They arrived in Cheziv, and someone came and asked him about [annulling] his vow. He said to the one who was with him (i.e., Rabbi Ilai), "Did we not drink a quarter-log of Italian wine?" He said to him, "Yes." He said to him (i.e., the one seeking dissolution of his vow), "In that case, come walk with us until the wine dissipates inside of us." He walked with them until the Ladder of Tyre. Once they had arrived at the Ladder of Tyre, [Rabban Gamaliel] dismounted from his donkey, wrapped himself [in his cloak], and sat down, and dissolved his vow. And we learned many things on that day. We learned that a quarter-log of wine make one drunk, and that walking dissipates [the effect of] wine, and that one who has drunk wine should not provide instruction, and that vows are not dissolved while riding or while walking or while standing, but only while wrapped [in a cloak] and sitting.
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