Nedarim 50
דַּלִּי צִיפְּתָא וַאֲמַר לֵיהּ לִשְׁלוּחָא: חֲזִי מַאי אִיכָּא. מִיהוּ, לָא נִיחָא לִי דְּאִיתְהֲנֵי בְּהָדֵין עָלְמָא.
He lifted the mat [tzifeta] upon which he was sitting and said to the messenger: See what there is here. The place was miraculously filled with gold dinars. This demonstrated that Rabbi Yehuda could have had plenty of money if he had so desired. He explained: However, it is not amenable to me to derive benefit in this world.
רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אִיתְקַדַּשַׁת לֵיהּ בְּרַתֵּיה (דְּבַר) דְּכַלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ. שְׁמַע (בַּר) כַּלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ, אַדְּרַהּ הֲנָאָה מִכׇּל נִכְסֵיהּ. אֲזַלָא וְאִיתְנְסִיבָה לֵיהּ.
§ In connection to the above incident concerning the poverty of scholars and their potential to become wealthy through remarkable circumstances, the Gemara relates an incident: Rabbi Akiva became betrothed to the daughter of bar Kalba Savua. When bar Kalba Savua heard about their betrothal, he took a vow prohibiting her from eating all of his property. Despite this, she went ahead and married Rabbi Akiva.
בְּסִיתְוָא הֲוָה גָּנוּ בֵּי תִיבְנָא, הֲוָה קָא מְנַקֵּיט לַיהּ תִּיבְנָא מִן מַזְּיַיהּ. אֲמַר לַהּ: אִי הֲוַאי לִי, רָמֵינָא לִיךְ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם דְּדַהֲבָא. אֲתָא אֵלִיָּהוּ אִידְּמִי לְהוֹן כֶּאֱנָשָׁא וְקָא קָרֵי אַבָּבָא. אֲמַר לְהוּ: הַבוּ לִי פּוּרְתָּא דְתִיבְנָא דִּילֵדַת אִתְּתִי, וְלֵית לִי מִידַּעַם לְאַגְנוֹיַהּ. אֲמַר לַהּ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא לְאִנְתְּתֵיהּ: חֲזִי גַּבְרָא דַּאֲפִילּוּ תִּיבְנָא לָא אִית לֵיהּ.
In the winter they would sleep in a storehouse of straw, and Rabbi Akiva would gather strands of straw from her hair. He said to her: If I had the means I would place on your head a Jerusalem of Gold, a type of crown. Elijah the prophet came and appeared to them as a regular person and started calling and knocking on the door. He said to them: Give me a bit of straw, as my wife gave birth and I do not have anything on which to lay her. Rabbi Akiva said to his wife: See this man, who does not even have straw. We should be happy with our lot, as we at least have straw to sleep on.
אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: זִיל הֱוֵי בֵּי רַב. אֲזַל תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנִין קַמֵּי דְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. לְמִישְׁלַם תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנִין קָא אֲתָא לְבֵיתֵיהּ, שְׁמַע מִן אֲחוֹרֵי בֵּיתֵיהּ דְּקָאָמַר לַהּ חַד רָשָׁע לִדְבֵיתְהוּ: שַׁפִּיר עָבֵיד לִיךְ אֲבוּךְ חֲדָא דְּלָא דָּמֵי לִיךְ. וְעוֹד: [שַׁבְקִךְ] אַרְמְלוּת חַיּוּת כּוּלְּהוֹן שְׁנִין. אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: אִי צָאֵית לְדִילִי — לֶיהֱוֵי תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנִין אַחְרָנְיָיתָא. אָמַר: הוֹאִיל וִיהַבַת לִי רְשׁוּתָא, אֶיהְדַּר לַאֲחוֹרַי. הֲדַר אֲזַל הֲוָה תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנֵי אַחְרָנְיָיתָא.
She said to him: Go and be a student of Torah. He went and studied Torah for twelve years before Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. At the completion of the twelve years, he was coming home when he heard from behind his house that one wicked person was saying to his wife: Your father behaved well toward you. He was right to disinherit you. One reason is that your husband is not similar to you, i.e., he is not suitable for you. And furthermore, he has left you in widowhood in his lifetime all these years. She said to him: If he listens to me, he should be there for another twelve years. Rabbi Akiva said: Since she has given me permission through this statement, I will go back and study more. He turned back and went to the study hall, and he was there for another twelve years.
אֲתָא בְּעֶשְׂרִין וְאַרְבְּעָה אַלְפִין זוּגֵי תַלְמִידֵי. נְפוּק כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא לְאַפֵּיהּ, וְאַף הִיא קָמַת לְמִיפַּק לְאַפֵּיהּ. אֲמַר לַהּ הַהוּא רַשִּׁיעָא: וְאַתְּ לְהֵיכָא? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: ״יוֹדֵעַ צַדִּיק נֶפֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּוֹ״. אֲתָת לְאִיתְחֲזוֹיֵי לֵיהּ, קָא מְדַחִן לַהּ רַבָּנַן. אֲמַר לְהוֹן: הַנִּיחוּ לָהּ, שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלָּכֶם שֶׁלָּהּ הוּא. שְׁמַע (בַּר) כַּלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ, אֲתָא וְאִיתְּשִׁיל עַל נִידְרֵיהּ וְאִשְׁתְּרַיי, וְאִשְׁתְּרִי.
Eventually he came back accompanied by 24,000 pairs of students. Everyone went out to greet him, as he was by then a renowned teacher, and she too arose to go out to greet him. That wicked person said to her: And to where are you going? As she was excessively poor, she was not dressed in a grand manner, as fit for the wife of one so esteemed. She said to him: “A righteous man regards the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10); he knows that I am in this state as a result of my dedication to him. She came to present herself before Rabbi Akiva, but the Sages tried to fend her off, as they were unaware of her identity. He said to them: Leave her. Both my Torah knowledge and yours are hers. When bar Kalba Savua heard that the famous man was his son-in-law, he came before halakhic authorities and requested the dissolution of his vow, and it was dissolved.
מִן שֵׁית מִילֵּי אִיעַתַּר רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא: מִן כַּלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ, מִן אַיָּלָא דִסְפִינְתָּא. דְּכֹל סְפִינָתָא עָבְדִין לֵיהּ מִין עָינָא. זִימְנָא חֲדָא אַנְשְׁיוּהּ עַל כֵּיף יַמָּא אֲתָא הוּא, אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ.
The Gemara adds: Rabbi Akiva became wealthy from six things. First, from the money he received from Kalba Savua after his vow was dissolved. Second, he gained money from the ram of a ship [eila disfineta], as craftsmen would fashion a sculpture of a type of sheep for every ship, which would be placed on its bow, and which would be used to conceal money. On one occasion, the sailors forgot this ram on the seashore, and Rabbi Akiva came and found it with the money stored inside.
וּמִן גְּווֹזָא, דְּזִימְנָא חֲדָא יְהֵיב אַרְבָּעָה זוּזֵי לְסָפוֹנָאֵי, אֲמַר לְהוּ: אַיְיתֵי לִי מִדַּעַם, וְלָא אַשְׁכַּחוּ אֶלָּא גְּווֹזָא עַל כֵּיף יַמָּא. אַתְיוּהּ לֵיהּ. אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: עֲבֵיד מָרַנָא עֲלֵיהּ, אִישְׁתְּכַח דַּהֲוָה מְלֵי דִּינָרֵי. דְּזִימְנָא חֲדָא טְבַעַת סְפִינְתָּא, וְכוּלֵּי עִיסְקָא הֲוָה מַחֵית בְּהָהוּא גְּווֹזָא, וְאִישְׁתְּכַח בְּהָהוּא זִימְנָא.
And third, he became wealthy from a log [gavza] of wood, as on one occasion he gave four dinars to sailors and said to them: Bring me something worthwhile. And they found only a log of wood on the seashore. They brought it to him and said to him: May our master wait with this until we bring a more worthy item. He found that the log was full of dinars, as on one occasion a ship sunk and all the merchandise, i.e., the money, owned by the people on the ship was placed in that log, and it was found on that occasion by the sailors.
דְּמִן דִּסְרוּקִיתָא, וּמִן מַטְרוֹנִיתָא,
Rabbi Akiva became wealthy from a convoy of Ishmaelites [Serukita]. And he became wealthy from a certain lady. Rabbi Akiva borrowed money from a lady and said that God would be his guarantor. When it came time to return the loan, the king’s daughter became insane and threw a purse of jewelry into the sea, which was found by that lady. She told Rabbi Akiva that his guarantor had paid his debt and she allowed him to keep the loan.
וּמִן אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל טוֹרָנוּסְרוּפוּס, וּמִן קְטִיעָא בַּר שָׁלוֹם.
And Rabbi Akiva also grew wealthy from the wife of Turnus Rufus, who converted and gave him her money, and from Ketia bar Shalom, a Roman minister who bequeathed his fortune to him.
רַב גַּמָּדָא יְהֵיב אַרְבָּעָה זוּזִי לְסָפוֹנָאֵי לְאֵתוֹיֵי בְּהוֹן מִידַּעַם. לָא אַשְׁכַּחוּ, אַתְיוּהּ לֵיהּ בְּהוֹן קוֹפָא. אִישְׁתְּמִיט עַל לְחָרְתָא, חֲפַרוּ בָּתְרֵיהּ, אַשְׁכְּחוּהּ דִּרְבִיעַ עַל מַרְגָּלְיָיתָא, אַיְּיתִינּוּן לֵיהּ כּוּלְּהוֹן.
§ The Gemara relates a similar incident: Rav Gamda gave four dinars to sailors to bring him something from overseas in exchange for them. However, they did not find anything of worth, so they bought him a monkey with the coins and brought it to him. The monkey escaped and entered a hole. When they dug after it to retrieve it, they found it crouching over pearls, and they brought all of the pearls to Rav Gamda.
אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ בַּת קֵיסָר לְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן חֲנַנְיָה: תּוֹרָה מְפוֹאָרָה, בִּכְלִי מְכוֹעָר. אֲמַר לַהּ: לִמְדִי מִבֵּית אֲבוּךְ, בַּמֶּה מַנִּיחִין יַיִן? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: בְּמָאנֵי דְפַחְרָא. אֲמַר לַהּ: כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא בְּפַחְרָא, וְאַתּוּן בְּמָאנֵי דְפַחְרָא?! אַתּוּן אַחִיתוּן בְּמָאנֵי דְּכַסְפָּא וְדַהֲבָא!
The daughter of the emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: You are the epitome of magnificent Torah, but it is stored in an ugly vessel, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya was an unattractive man. He said to her: You may learn the answer to your statement from your father’s house. In what container do you place wine? She said to him: In earthenware vessels. He said to her: Is it conceivable that everyone stores their wine in earthenware vessels, and you also store it in earthenware vessels? Is there no distinction between the emperor and ordinary people? You should place your wine in vessels of silver and gold.
אֲזַלַת וּרְמָת חַמְרָא בְּמָאנֵי דְּכַסְפָּא וְדַהֲבָא, וּסְרִי. אֲמַר לַהּ: אַף אוֹרָיְיתָא כֵּן. וְהָאִיכָּא שַׁפִּירִין וּגְמִירִין! אֲמַר לַהּ: אִי הֲווֹ סְנוּ, הֲווֹ גְּמִירִין טְפֵי.
She went and placed the wine in vessels of silver and gold, and it spoiled. Rabbi Yehoshua said to her: The same is also true of the Torah. It spoils if it is contained in a handsome person. She asked him: But are there not people who are both good looking and learned in Torah? He said to her: If they were ugly they would be even more learned.
הָהִיא דְּאָתְיָא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַב יְהוּדָה מִנְּהַרְדְּעָא לְדִינָא וְאִיתְחַיַּיבַת מִן דִּינָא. אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: שְׁמוּאֵל רַבָּךְ הָכִי דָּנַן?! אֲמַר לַהּ: יָדְעַתְּ לֵיהּ? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: אִין, גּוּצָּא וְרַבָּה כְּרֵיסֵיהּ אוּכָּם וְרַבָּה שִׁינֵּיהּ. אֲמַר לַהּ: לְבַזּוֹיֵיהּ קָאָתֵית? תֶּיהְוֵי הַהִיא אִתְּתָא בְּשַׁמְתָּא. פְּקַעָה וּמִתָה.
A certain woman came before Rav Yehuda of the city of Neharde’a for judgment, and she was found guilty in the judgment of her case. She said to him: Would Shmuel your teacher have judged me in this manner? He said to her: Did you know him? She said to him: Yes. He was short and potbellied. He was dark and his teeth were large. He said to her: Did you come here to disparage him by describing him in this manner? Let that woman be in a state of excommunication. After he excommunicated her, her belly split open and she died, as a punishment for having disparaged a Torah scholar.
וּמוּתָּר בְּבֵיצָה טוֹרְמִיטָא. מַאי בֵּיצָה טוֹרְמִיטָא? אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: עַבְדָּא דְּעָבֵיד לַהּ שָׁוֵי אַלְפָּא דִּינָרֵי, וּמְעַיֵּיל לַהּ אַלְפָּא זִימְנֵי בְּמַיָּא חַמִּימֵי וְאַלְפָּא זִימְנֵי בְּמַיָּא קָרִירֵי עַד דְּמִתְזוּטְרָא כִּי הֵיכִי דְּבָלַע יָתַהּ, וְאִם אִית כֵּיבָא — סָרֵיךְ עֲלַהּ, וְכַד נָפְקָא וְאָתְיָא, יָדַע אָסְיָא מַאי סַמָּא מִתְבְּעֵי לֵיהּ וּבְמַאי מִתַּסִּי.
§ The mishna teaches that if one said: Cooked food is konam for me, and for that reason I will not taste it, he is prohibited from tasting a loose cooked food but is permitted to taste a thick one, and he is likewise permitted to eat a turemita egg. The Gemara asks: What is a turemita egg? Shmuel said: A slave who knows how to prepare it is worth a thousand dinars. And this is how one prepares it: He inserts it into hot water a thousand times and in cold water a thousand times, until it shrinks enough so that it can be swallowed whole. And if there is a lesion in one’s intestines, part of the lesion adheres to the egg, and when the egg emerges the doctor knows what medicine the patient requires and with what he can be healed. It is therefore an important dish for medicinal purposes.
שְׁמוּאֵל הֲוָה בָּדֵיק נַפְשֵׁיהּ בְּקוּלְחָא, עַד דִּמְסַתְּרִין אִינָשֵׁי בֵּיתֵיהּ עֲלֵיהּ שַׂעְרֵיהוֹן.
The Gemara relates: Shmuel would examine himself with a stalk that he would swallow for this purpose. This would weaken his body and cause him to look faint to such an extent that the members of his household would tear their hairs out for him in grief, as they would think he was dying.
תְּנַן הָתָם: הָיָה עוֹשֶׂה בִּכְלוּפְסִין — לֹא יֹאכַל בִּבְנוֹת שֶׁבַע. בִּבְנוֹת שֶׁבַע — לֹא יֹאכַל בִּכְלוּפְסִין. מַאי כְּלוּפְסִין? מִינָא דִתְאֵינֵי דְּעָבְדִין מִנְּהוֹן לַפְדֵי.
Besides vows, there are other areas of halakha where there is a distinction between different varieties of the same food. We learned in a mishna there (Ma’asrot 2:8): A hired worker who was working with keloppasin, a type of fig, may not partake of benot sheva, a different species of fig, during his work. A worker may partake only of the fruit that he is handling at the time (see Deuteronomy 23:25–26). Similarly, if he was working with benot sheva he may not partake of keloppasin. The Gemara asks: What are keloppasin? The Gemara answers: A type of fig from which compote [lifdei] is made.
הָהוּא גַּבְרָא דִּיהַב עַבְדָּא לְחַבְרֵיהּ לְאַגְמוֹרֵיהּ אַלְפָּא מִינֵי לַפְדֵי, אַגְמְרֵיהּ תַּמְנֵי מְאָה. אַזְמְנֵיהּ לְדִינָא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי. אָמַר רַבִּי: אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אָמְרוּ ״נָשִׁינוּ טוֹבָה״, אָנוּ אֲפִילּוּ בְּעֵינֵינוּ לֹא רָאִינוּ.
The Gemara relates: There was a certain man who gave a slave to his friend so that the friend would teach him how to prepare a thousand varieties of compote from figs. However, he taught him only eight hundred. He therefore brought his friend for judgment before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Our forefathers said: We have forgotten prosperity (see Lamentations 3:17). They forgot the opulence they enjoyed in better times, but they at least experienced it. By contrast, we have not even seen it with our eyes. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi had not imagined that so many types of compote could be prepared from figs.
רַבִּי עֲבַד לֵיהּ הִלּוּלָא לְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בְּרַבִּי, כְּתַב עַל בֵּית גְּנָנָא: עֶשְׂרִין וְאַרְבְּעָה אַלְפִין רִיבּוֹאִין דִּינָרִין נְפַקוּ עַל בֵּית גְּנָנָא דֵּין, וְלָא אַזְמְנֵיהּ לְבַר קַפָּרָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אִם לְעוֹבְרֵי רְצוֹנוֹ כָּךְ — לְעוֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה. אַזְמְנֵיהּ, אֲמַר: לְעוֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה כָּךְ — לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.
§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi made a wedding for Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. Someone wrote on the canopy: 24,000 myriad dinars were expended on this canopy, and nevertheless Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi did not invite bar Kappara to the wedding. The insulted bar Kappara said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: If to those who transgress God’s will, i.e., you who act improperly, their reward is such, as Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was very wealthy, all the more so those who perform His will are to be rewarded. Upon hearing his reaction, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi invited him. Bar Kappara then said: If to those who perform His will their reward is such in this world, all the more so will they be rewarded in the World-to-Come.
יוֹמָא דִּמְחַיֵּיךְ בֵּיהּ רַבִּי, אָתְיָא פּוּרְעָנוּתָא לְעָלְמָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ לְבַר קַפָּרָא: לָא תְּבַדְּיחַן וְיָהֵיבְנָא לָךְ אַרְבְּעִין גְּרִיוֵי חִיטֵּי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לִיחְזֵי מָר
The Gemara relates additional incidents that occurred between the two scholars. On a day when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would laugh, calamity would befall the world, as Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s sufferings would atone for the sins of the Jewish people. He therefore said to bar Kappara: Do not cause me to laugh, and I will give you forty se’a of wheat in return. Bar Kappara said to him: The Master will see
