Bava Batra 181

Chapter 181

א מהיפרכיא להיפרכיא
1 from one province [on the border of Palestine and Syria] to [an adjacent] province [in Syria].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] [G], 'provincial government', 'province'. ');"><sup>1</sup></span> Our Rabbis taught:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Tosef. A.Z. ibid. ');"><sup>2</sup></span>
ב ת"ר אין משתכרים בארץ ישראל בדברים שיש בהן חיי נפש כגון יינות שמנים וסלתות
2 In Palestine it is not permitted to make a profit [as middleman]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The producer must sell direct to the consumer. ');"><sup>3</sup></span> in things which are life's necessaries, such as, for instance, wines, oils and the various kinds of flour. It has been said about R. Eleazar b. Azariah that he used to make a profit in wine and oil. In [the case of] wine he held the same opinion as R. Judah;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' R. Judah b. Bathyra who allowed profiting in wine because by raising its price, consumption and consequent levity are diminished. ');"><sup>4</sup></span>
ג אמרו עליו על ר' אלעזר בן עזריה שהיה משתכר ביין ושמן ביין סבר לה כר"י בשמן באתריה דר' אלעזר בן עזריה שכיח מישחא
3 in [the case of] oil? — In the place of R. Eleazar b. Azariah oil was plentiful.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And there was no fear that prices would rise in consequence. ');"><sup>5</sup></span> Our Rabbis taught: It is not permitted to make a profit in eggs twice. [As to the meaning of 'twice',] Mari b. Mari said: Rab and Samuel are in dispute. One says: Two for one.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Selling for two shekels, for instance, that which was bought for one. ');"><sup>6</sup></span>
ד ת"ר אין משתכרין פעמים בביצים אמר מרי בר מרי פליגי בה רב ושמואל חד אמר על חד תרי וחד אמר תגר לתגרא
4 And the other says: [Selling] by a dealer to a dealer.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'Twice' means 'selling to two dealers'. This is forbidden because a double profit is thus made, and prices are raised. ');"><sup>7</sup></span> Our Rabbis taught: Public prayers<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'to sound the alarm', by the institution of intercessory prayers with or without the blowing of the shofar. ');"><sup>8</sup></span>
ה ת"ר מתריעין על פרקמטיא ואפי' בשבת
5 are offered for goods [which have become dangerously<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The falling prices endanger the existence of the trading section of the community. ');"><sup>9</sup></span> cheap], even on the Sabbath. R. Johanan said: For instance linen garments in Babylon and wine and oil in Palestine. R. Joseph said: This [is only so] when [these have become so] cheap that ten are sold at [the price of] six.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., a drop of 40%. ');"><sup>10</sup></span>
ו א"ר יוחנן כגון כלי פשתן בבבל ויין ושמן בארץ ישראל אמר רב יוסף והוא דזל וקם עשרה בשיתא
6 Our Rabbis taught:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Tosef. ibid. ');"><sup>11</sup></span> It is not permitted to go forth from Palestine<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Certain precepts can be performed in Palestine only. One should not, therefore, depart from it unless there is no other alternative. ');"><sup>12</sup></span>
ז ת"ר אין יוצאין מארץ לחו"ל אא"כ עמדו סאתים בסלע א"ר שמעון אימתי בזמן שאינו מוצא ליקח אבל בזמן שמוצא ליקח אפי' עמדה סאה בסלע לא יצא
7 to a foreign country unless two se'ahs<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Se'ah of produce. ');"><sup>13</sup></span> are sold for one <i>sela'</i>. R. Simeon said: [This is permitted only] when one cannot find [anything] to buy, but when one is able [to find something] to buy. even if a <i>se'ah</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Se'ah of produce. ');"><sup>13</sup></span>
ח וכן היה ר"ש בן יוחאי אומר אלימלך מחלון וכליון גדולי הדור היו ופרנסי הדור היו ומפני מה נענשו מפני שיצאו מארץ לחוצה לארץ שנאמר (רות א, יט) ותהם כל העיר עליהן ותאמרנה הזאת נעמי מאי הזאת נעמי א"ר יצחק אמרו חזיתם נעמי שיצאת מארץ לחו"ל מה עלתה לה
8 cost a <i>sela'</i> one must not depart. And so said R. Simeon b. Yohai: Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion were [of the] great men of their generation, and they were [also] leaders of their generation. Why, then, were they punished? Because they left Palestine for a foreign country; for it is written, <i>And all the city was astir concerning them, and the women said: 'Is this Naomi?'</i> What [is meant by] 'Is this Naomi?' — R. Isaac said: They said, 'Did you see what befell Naomi who left Palestine for a foreign country?' R. Isaac further stated: On the very day, when Ruth the Moabitess came to Palestine, died the wife of Boaz. This is why people say, 'Before a person dies, the master of his house is appointed'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ruth married Boaz. V. Ruth IV, 13. ');"><sup>14</sup></span>
ט וא"ר יצחק אותו היום שבאת רות המואביה לארץ ישראל מתה אשתו של בעז והיינו דאמרי אינשי עד דלא שכיב שיכבא קיימא מנו בייתיה
9 Rabbah, son of R. Huna, said in the name of Rab: Ibzan<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' One of the judges of Israel. Cf. Judg. XII, 8. ');"><sup>15</sup></span> is Boaz. What does he come to teach us [by this statement]? — The same<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. p. 376, n. 5. ');"><sup>16</sup></span>
י אמר רבה בר רב הונא אמר רב אבצן זה בעז מאי קמ"ל כי אידך דרבה בר רב הונא דאמר רבה בר רב הונא אמר רב מאה ועשרים משתאות עשה בעז לבניו שנאמר (שופטים יב, ט) ויהי לו שלשים בנים ושלשים בנות שלח החוצה ושלשים בנות הביא לבניו מן החוץ וישפט את ישראל שבע שנים
10 that Rabbah son of R. Huna [taught elsewhere]. For Rabbah, son of R. Huna, said in the name of Rab: Boaz made for his sons a hundred and twenty wedding feasts, for it is said, And he [Ibzan]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., Boaz. ');"><sup>17</sup></span> had thirty sons, and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons; and he judged Israel seven years;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 9. ');"><sup>18</sup></span>
יא ובכל אחת ואחת עשה שני משתאות אחד בבית אביו ואחד בבית חמיו ובכולן לא זימן את מנוח אמר כודנא עקרה במאי פרעא לי
11 and in the case of everyone [of these] he made two wedding feasts, one in the house of the father and one in the house of the father-inlaw. To none of them did he invite Manoah,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. Ibid. XIII, 2ff. ');"><sup>19</sup></span> [for] he said, 'Whereby will the barren mule repay me?'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Manoah, before the birth of Samson, had no children to whose wedding feasts he could extend invitations. Cf. Ibid. ');"><sup>20</sup></span>
יב תאנא וכולן מתו בחייו והיינו דאמרי אינשי בחייך דילדת שיתין שיתין למה ליך איכפל ואוליד חד דמשיתין זריז
12 All these died in his lifetime. It is [in relation to such a case as] this that people say: 'Of what use to you are sixty; the sixty that you beget for your lifetime?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., children that do not survive you. ');"><sup>21</sup></span> [Marry] again<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As Boaz (Ibzan) married Ruth in his later life. Cf. p. 375, n. 6. ');"><sup>22</sup></span>
יג (סי' מלך אברהם עשר שנים שנפטר נתנשא לבדו) אמר רב חנן בר רבא אמר רב אלימלך ושלמון ופלוני אלמוני ואבי נעמי כולן בני נחשון בן עמינדב הן מאי קמ"ל שאפי' מי שיש לו זכות אבות אינה עומדת לו בשעה שיוצא מארץ לחוצה לארץ
13 and beget [one] brighter<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' David, King of Israel, who descended from Boaz and Ruth. Cf. Ruth IV, 21-22. ');"><sup>23</sup></span> than sixty.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' This statement in the name of Rab, which can only be intelligible if it is assumed that Boaz and Ibzan are one and the same person, must be read in conjunction with the previous one, also made in the name of Rab. ');"><sup>24</sup></span>
יד ואמר רב חנן בר רבא אמר רב אמיה דאברהם אמתלאי בת כרנבו אמיה דהמן אמתלאי בת עורבתי וסימניך טמא טמא טהור טהור
14 (Mnemonic sign: <i>King Abraham, the ten years when he passed away he was exalted alone.</i>)<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The mnemonic consists of key words in the following paragraphs. ');"><sup>25</sup></span> R. Hanan b. Raba said in the name of Rab: Elimelech and Salmon<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. Ruth IV, 20. ');"><sup>26</sup></span>
טו אמיה דדוד נצבת בת עדאל שמה אמיה דשמשון צללפונית ואחתיה נשיין למאי נפקא מינה לתשובת המינים
15 and such a one<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] Peloni Almoni (Ruth IV, 1), the unnamed kinsman of Naomi. ');"><sup>27</sup></span> and the father of Naomi all were the sons of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. Ex. VI, 23; Num. X, 14. ');"><sup>28</sup></span>
טז ואמר רב חנן בר רבא אמר רב עשר שנים נחבש אברהם אבינו שלש בכותא ושבע בקרדו ורב דימי מנהרדעא מתני איפכא אמר רב חסדא עיברא זעירא דכותא זהו אור כשדים
16 What does he come to teach us [by this statement]? — That even the merit of one's ancestors is of no avail<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As evidenced by the tragic end of Elimelech and his sons. ');"><sup>29</sup></span> when one leaves the land [of Palestine] for a foreign country.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] 'outside the land'. V. p. 375, n. 4. ');"><sup>30</sup></span>
יז ואמר רב חנן בר רבא אמר רב אותו היום שנפטר אברהם אבינו מן העולם עמדו כל גדולי אומות העולם בשורה ואמרו אוי לו לעולם שאבד
17 R. Hanan b. Raba further stated in the name of Rab: [The name of] the mother of Abraham [was] Amathlai the daughter of Karnebo;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' From Kar, [H] 'lamb', [H] ('Mount of) Nebo'. ');"><sup>31</sup></span> [the name of] the mother of Haman was Amathlai, the daughter of 'Orabti;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' From Oreb [H] 'raven'. ');"><sup>32</sup></span> and your mnemonic [may be], 'unclean [to] unclean, clean [to] clean'.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Haman's grandmother was named after an unclean animal (raven, cf. Lev. XI, 15. Deut. XIV, 14); but Abraham's grandmother bore the name of a clean animal. (V. n. 12, supra.) ');"><sup>33</sup></span> The mother of David was named Nizbeth the daughter of Adael. The mother of Samson [was named] Zlelponith, and his sister, Nashyan. In what [respect] do [these names] matter?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit. 'is the outcome'. ');"><sup>34</sup></span> — In respect of a reply to the heretics.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Minim (sing. [H]), applied especially to Jew-Christians. Should the minim ask why the names of the mothers of these important figures are not given in the Bible narrative, they can be answered that these had been handed down by oral tradition. [V. Herford, Christianity, p. 326.] ');"><sup>35</sup></span> R. Hanan b. Raba further stated in the name of Rab: Abraham our father was imprisoned for ten years. 'Three in Kutha,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. II Kings, XVII, 24. ');"><sup>36</sup></span> and seven in Kardu. But R. Dimi of Nehardea taught [in the reverse [order]. R. Hisda said: The small side of Kutha<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [There were two Kuthas situated on a Euphrates' Canal — The great and the little Kutha. V. Obermeyer op. cit. 279.] ');"><sup>37</sup></span> is Ur of the Chaldees.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Abraham's birthplace. Gen. Xl, 31. ');"><sup>38</sup></span> R. Hanan b. Raba further said in the name of Rab: On the day when Abraham our father passed away from the world all the great ones of the nations of the world, stood in a line<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' It was the custom for those who came to offer comfort to mourners to stand in a line. ');"><sup>39</sup></span> and said: Woe to the world that has lost
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