Pesachim 87

מתני׳ האשה בזמן שהיא בבית בעלה שחט עליה בעלה ושחט עליה אביה תאכל משל בעלה הלכה רגל ראשון לעשות בבית אביה שחט עליה אביה ושחט עליה בעלה תאכל במקום שהיא רוצה

MISHNA: A woman, when she is living in her husband’s house, if her husband slaughtered the Paschal lamb on her behalf and her father also slaughtered the Paschal lamb on her behalf, she should eat from her husband’s lamb because it is assumed that the wife intended to be included in her husband’s group. However, if, as was often customary, she went on the first Festival following her marriage to observe the Festival in her father’s house, then, if both her husband slaughtered the Paschal lamb on her behalf and her father also slaughtered the Paschal lamb on her behalf, she may eat in whichever place she wishes, since it is not obvious with whose group she intended to be included.

יתום ששחטו עליו אפוטרופסין יאכל במקום שהוא רוצה עבד של שני שותפין לא יאכל משל שניהן מי שחציו עבד וחציו בן חורין לא יאכל משל רבו:

In the case of an orphan with multiple guardians, if each of his guardians [apotropsin] slaughtered a Paschal lamb on his behalf, intending that he be included in their group, he may eat in whichever place he wishes. A slave jointly owned by two partners may not eat from the lamb of either of them, unless it was stipulated beforehand from whose lamb he will partake. One who is half slave and half free man may not eat from his master’s lamb. It is assumed that the master did not intend to allow this person’s free half to partake of the lamb, and therefore the master did not slaughter the lamb with him in mind. Consequently, the half slave is not included among those registered for his master’s offering unless he was explicitly included.

גמ׳ שמעת מינה יש ברירה מאי רוצה בשעת שחיטה

GEMARA: The mishna states that in certain cases one partakes of the lamb of whichever group he desires. One’s inclusion in a group requires that he be registered with that group from the outset, before the lamb is slaughtered. The Gemara suggests: You learn from it that there is retroactive clarification. One’s ultimate decision as to which group he wishes to be part of retroactively indicates that, from the outset, he was registered in that group. This is problematic, as no halakhic conclusion has been reached in the matter of retroactive clarification. The Gemara therefore rejects this suggestion: What is the meaning of the phrase: She may eat in whichever place she wishes? It is referring to a case where a woman has already expressed her choice before the time of slaughter. Therefore, this case does not relate to the principle of retroactive clarification, and no conclusion concerning it may be drawn from it.

ורמינהו אשה רגל הראשון אוכלת משל אביה מכאן ואילך רוצה אוכלת משל אביה רוצה משל בעלה

The Gemara raises a contradiction between the ruling in the mishna and a parallel ruling in a baraita. The baraita states: A woman, on the first Festival following her marriage, eats from her father’s Paschal lamb. From here on, if she wishes, she eats from her father’s lamb, and if she wishes, she eats from her husband’s lamb. Whereas the mishna teaches that after the first Festival, she eats exclusively with her husband, the baraita teaches that she may continue to choose.

לא קשיא כאן ברדופה לילך כאן בשאינה רדופה

This is not difficult. There, the baraita is referring to the case of a woman who eagerly hurries as one pursued to go to her father’s house. It is therefore reasonable that, even after the first year of her marriage, she wishes to be included in her father’s group. However, here the mishna is referring to the case of a woman who does not eagerly hurry as one pursued to go to her father’s house, and it is therefore presumed she wishes to be included in her husband’s group.

דכתיב אז הייתי בעיניו כמוצאת שלום ואמר רבי יוחנן ככלה שנמצאת שלימה בבית חמיה ורדופה לילך להגיד שבחה בבית אביה כדכתיב והיה ביום ההוא נאם ה׳ תקראי אישי ולא תקראי לי עוד בעלי אמר רבי יוחנן ככלה בבית חמיה ולא ככלה בבית אביה

There is a homiletic interpretation of verses that conveys a similar idea, as it is written: “I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers; then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace” (Song of Songs 8:10). And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: She is like a bride who was found perfect. She was warmly received in her father-in-law’s house. And she eagerly hurries, as one pursued, to go to tell of her praise, i.e., her warm welcome, in her father’s house. As it is written: “And it shall be at that day, says the Lord, that you shall call Me: My Husband, and shall call Me no more: My Master” (Hosea 2:18), of which Rabbi Yoḥanan said: She shall be like a bride in her father-in-law’s house, where she experiences a close relationship with her husband. And she shall not be like a bride still in the betrothal period and living in her father’s house, during which time her relationship with her husband has still not developed.

אחות לנו קטנה ושדים אין לה אמר רבי יוחנן זו עילם שזכתה ללמוד ולא זכתה ללמד

Apropos the verse from Song of Songs cited previously, the Gemara homiletically interprets an adjacent verse: “We have a little sister, and she has no breasts” (Song of Songs 8:8). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This is an allusion to the Jewish community of Eilam, which was privileged to study Torah and become Torah scholars, but was not privileged to teach and influence the masses.

אני חומה ושדי כמגדלות אמר רבי יוחנן אני חומה זו תורה ושדי כמגדלות אלו תלמידי חכמים ורבא אמר אני חומה זו כנסת ישראל ושדי כמגדלות אלו בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות

The Gemara interprets another verse: “I am a wall and my breasts are like towers” (Song of Songs 8:10). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “I am a wall”; this is a reference to the Torah. “And my breasts are like towers”; these are the Torah scholars, who, by disseminating their Torah and influencing the masses protect them like watchtowers. And Rava said: “I am a wall”; this is the Congregation of Israel. “And my breasts are like towers”; these are the synagogues and study halls in which the Congregation of Israel is nurtured by the Torah, from which it draws its spiritual strength.

אמר רב זוטרא בר טוביה אמר רב מאי דכתיב אשר בנינו כנטעים מגדלים בנעוריהם בנותינו כזוית מחטבות תבנית היכל

Rav Zutra bar Toviya said that Rav said a homiletic interpretation of another verse in praise of Israel: What is the meaning of that which is written: “We whose sons are as plants grown up in their youth; whose daughters are as corner pillars carved after the fashion of a palace” (Psalms 144:12)?

אשר בנינו כנטעים אלו בחורי ישראל שלא טעמו טעם חטא בנותינו כזוית אלו בתולות ישראל שאוגדות פתחיהן לבעליהן וכן הוא אומר ומלאו כמזרק כזוית מזבח איבעית אימא מהכא מזוינו מלאים מפיקים מזן אל זן

The Gemara interprets each phrase of this verse: “We whose sons are as plants” indicates they are healthy and undamaged; these are the young men of Israel who have not tasted the taste of sin. “Whose daughters are as corner pillars” indicates that they are filled and sealed; these are the virgins of Israel, who bind and seal their openings exclusively for their husbands. And similarly, another verse demonstrates that a corner refers to something full: It is stated: “And they shall be filled like the basins, like the corners of the altar” (Zechariah 9:15). If you wish, say an alternative support for this idea from here: “Our corners are full, affording all manner of store” (Psalms 144:13).

מחטבות תבנית היכל אלו ואלו מעלה עליהן הכתוב כאילו נבנה היכל בימיהן

The Gemara returns and interprets the final phrase of the verse: “Carved after the fashion of a palace”; the verse ascribes to both these and those, the young men and women who vigilantly preserve their modesty, as though the Sanctuary were built in their days.

דבר ה׳ אשר היה אל הושע וגו׳ בימי עזיהו יותם אחז יחזקיה מלך יהודה בפרק אחד נתנבאו ארבעה נביאים וגדול שבכולן הושע שנאמר תחלת דבר ה׳ בהושע וכי בהושע דבר תחלה והלא ממשה עד הושע כמה נביאים אמר רבי יוחנן תחלה לארבעה נביאים שנתנבאו באותו הפרק ואלו הן הושע ישעיה עמוס ומיכה

Apropos the verse from Hosea, the Gemara interprets additional verses there: “The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judea, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1). The Sages explained: Four prophets prophesied in one era and the oldest of them was Hosea, as it is stated: “When the Lord spoke at first with Hosea” (Hosea 1:2), indicating that Hosea was the first of these prophets. If not, the question arises: And was it with Hosea that the Lord spoke first of all the prophets? Weren’t there several prophets who lived and prophesied during the period from Moses until Hosea? Rather, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He was the first of the four prophets who prophesied during that period, and these are they: Hosea, Isaiah, Amos, and Micah.

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא להושע בניך חטאו והיה לו לומר בניך הם בני חנוניך הם בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב גלגל רחמיך עליהן לא דיו שלא אמר כך אלא אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם כל העולם שלך הוא העבירם באומה אחרת

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Hosea: Your sons, the Jewish people, have sinned. Hosea should have said to God in response: But they are Your sons; they are the sons of Your beloved ones, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Extend Your mercy over them. Not only did he fail to say that, but instead he said before Him: Master of the Universe, the entire world is Yours; since Israel has sinned, exchange them for another nation.

אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא מה אעשה לזקן זה אומר לו לך וקח אשה זונה והוליד לך בנים זנונים ואחר כך אומר לו שלחה מעל פניך אם הוא יכול לשלוח אף אני אשלח את ישראל שנאמר ויאמר ה׳ אל הושע לך קח לך אשת זנונים וילדי זנונים וכתיב וילך ויקח את גמר בת דבלים גמר אמר רב שהכל גומרים בה בת

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: What shall I do to this Elder who does not know how to defend Israel? I will say to him: Go and take a prostitute and bear for yourself children of prostitution. And after that I will say to him: Send her away from before you. If he is able to send her away, I will also send away the Jewish people. This deliberation provides the background of the opening prophecy in Hosea, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Hosea: Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and children of prostitution” (Hosea 1:2). And then it is written: “So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim” (Hosea 1:3), and the Sages interpreted her name homiletically. “Gomer”; Rav said she was so called because everyone would finish [gomerim] having relations with her and satisfy their desires with her. “The daughter of

דבלים דבה רעה בת דבה רעה ושמואל אמר שמתוקה בפי הכל כדבלה ורבי יוחנן אמר שהכל דשין בה כדבלה

Diblaim”; the name Diblaim can be taken as the dual form of the word dibba, ill repute. It suggests that she was a woman of ill repute, daughter of a woman of ill repute. And Shmuel said: The name Diblaim is the plural of the word deveila, a cake of pressed figs, indicating that she was as sweet as a cake of pressed figs, and therefore everyone used her services. Rabbi Yoḥanan, based on a similar derivation, said the name signifies that everyone would tread [dashin] upon her, a euphemism for sexual relations, like a cake of pressed figs.

דבר אחר גומר אמר רבי יהודה שבקשו לגמר ממונן של ישראל בימיה רבי יוחנן אמר בזזו וגמרו שנאמר כי אבדם מלך ארם וישמם כעפר לדש

Alternatively, with regard to the name Gomer, Rav Yehuda said: The name can be understood as deriving from the root gamar, to finish. It alludes to the fact that the gentiles sought to finish the money of the Jewish people in her days. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They did not just seek to do so, but were successful. They plundered and finished it, as it is stated: “For the king of Aram destroyed them and made them like the dust in threshing” (II Kings 13:7).

ותהר ותלד לו בן ויאמר ה׳ אליו קרא שמו יזרעאל כי עוד מעט ופקדתי את דמי יזרעאל על בית יהוא והשבתי ממלכות בית ישראל ותהר עוד ותלד בת ויאמר לו קרא שמה לא רחמה כי לא אוסיף עוד ארחם את בית ישראל כי נשא אשא להם ותהר ותלד בן ויאמר (ה׳ אליו) קרא שמו לא עמי כי אתם לא עמי ואנכי לא אהיה לכם

The passage in Hosea continues: “And she conceived, and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him: Call his name Jezreel; for soon I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will obliterate the kingdom of the house of Israel…And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And He said to him: Call her name Lo-ruhamah, for I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel that I should bear them…And she conceived, and bore a son. And He said: Call his name Lo-ammi; for you are not My people, and I will not be yours” (Hosea 1:3–9).

לאחר שנולדו [לו] שני בנים ובת אחת אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא להושע לא היה לך ללמוד ממשה רבך שכיון שדברתי עמו פירש מן האשה אף אתה בדול עצמך ממנה אמר לו רבונו של עולם יש לי בנים ממנה ואין אני יכול להוציאה ולא לגרשה

After two sons and one daughter had been born to him, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Hosea: Shouldn’t you have learned from the example of your master Moses, who, once I spoke with him, separated from his wife? You too, separate yourself from your wife. He said to Him: Master of the Universe, I have sons from her and I am unable to dismiss her or to divorce her.

אמר ליה הקדוש ברוך הוא ומה אתה שאשתך זונה ובניך [בני] זנונים ואין אתה יודע אם שלך הן אם של אחרים הן כך ישראל שהן בני בני בחוני בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב אחד מארבעה קנינין שקניתי בעולמי

In response to Hosea’s show of loyalty to his family, the Holy One, Blessed be He, rebuked him and said to him: Just as you, whose wife is a prostitute and your children from her are children of prostitution, and you do not even know if they are yours or if they are children of other men, despite this, you are still attached to them and will not forsake them, so too, I am still attached to the Jewish people, who are My sons, the sons of My faithful who withstood ordeals, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are so special that they are one of the four acquisitions that I acquired in My world.

תורה קנין אחד דכתיב ה׳ קנני ראשית דרכו שמים וארץ קנין אחד דכתיב קנה שמים וארץ בית המקדש קנין אחד דכתיב הר זה קנתה ימינו ישראל קנין אחד דכתיב עם זו קנית ואתה אמרת העבירם באומה אחרת

The Gemara proceeds to enumerate all four: Torah is one acquisition, as it is written: “The Lord acquired me as the beginning of His way” (Proverbs 8:22). Heaven and earth are one acquisition [kinyan], as it is written: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator [koneh] of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19). The Holy Temple is one acquisition, as it is written: “And He brought them to His sacred border, to this mountain, which His right hand had acquired” (Psalms 78:54). The Jewish people are one acquisition, as it is written: “The nation that You have acquired” (Exodus 15:16). And you, Hosea, said that I should replace them with another nation?

כיון שידע שחטא עמד לבקש רחמים על עצמו אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא עד שאתה מבקש רחמים על עצמך בקש רחמים על ישראל שגזרתי עליהם שלש גזירות בעבורך

Once Hosea realized that he had sinned, he got up to request that God have compassion upon him for having spoken ill of the Jewish people. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Before you request compassion upon yourself, first request compassion upon the Jewish people, since I have already decreed upon them three harsh decrees on your account, in response to your condemnation of them. There is an allusion to these three decrees in the names of the children born of the prostitute. Jezreel is an allusion to a decree for Jehu’s actions in the Jezreel Valley (see II Kings 9–10). Lo-ruhamah, one that had not received compassion, suggests that God will no longer have compassion for the Jewish people. Lo-ammi, not My people, indicates that the Jewish people will no longer be considered God’s people.

עמד ובקש רחמים ובטל גזירה והתחיל לברכן שנאמר והיה מספר בני ישראל כחול הים וגו׳ והיה במקום אשר יאמר להם לא עמי אתם יאמר להם בני אל חי ונקבצו בני יהודה ובני ישראל יחדו וגו׳ וזרעתיה לי בארץ ורחמתי את לא רחמה ואמרתי ללא עמי עמי אתה

Hosea stood and requested compassion upon the Jewish people and nullified the decree. God responded and began to bless them, as it is stated: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered. And it will be that instead of that which was said to them: You are not My people, it shall be said to them: You are the children of the living God. And the children of Judea and the children of Israel shall be gathered together” (Hosea 2:1). And I will sow her to Me in the land; and I will have compassion upon her that had not received compassion; and I will say to them that were not My people: You are My people” (Hosea 2:25).

אמר רבי יוחנן אוי לה לרבנות שמקברת את בעליה שאין לך כל נביא ונביא שלא קיפח ארבעה מלכים בימיו שנאמר חזון ישעיהו בן אמוץ אשר חזה על יהודה וירושלים וגו׳

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Woe to authority, which shortens the life and buries its holders. This is evident from the fact that you don’t have any prophet who did not outlast four kings in his lifetime, as the kings’ positions of authority caused them to die young. A prophet outliving four kings is demonstrated in the opening verses of Hosea, and similarly, as it is stated with regard to Isaiah: “The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judea and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judea” (Isaiah 1:1).

אמר רבי יוחנן מפני מה זכה ירבעם בן יואש מלך ישראל להמנות עם מלכי יהודה מפני שלא קבל לשון הרע על עמוס

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Due to what reason was the less than righteous Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, privileged to be counted in the verse together with the righteous kings of Judea? It is due to the fact that he did not accept slander about Amos.

מנלן דאימני דכתיב דבר ה׳ אשר היה אל הושע בן בארי בימי עזיה יותם אחז יחזקיה מלכי יהודה ובימי ירבעם בן יואש מלך ישראל

The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that he was counted together with the righteous kings of Judea? As it is written: “The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judea, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1).

ומנלן דלא קיבל לשון הרע דכתיב וישלח אמציה כהן בית אל אל ירבעם מלך ישראל לאמר קשר עליך וגו׳ וכתיב כי כה אמר עמוס בחרב ימות ירבעם וגו׳ אמר חס ושלום אמר אותו צדיק כך ואם אמר מה אעשה לו שכינה אמרה לו

And from where do we derive that he did not accept slander? As it is written: “Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-El sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel” (Amos 7:10). And it is written: “For thus said Amos: Jeroboam shall die by the sword and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land” (Amos 7:11). Jeroboam said: Heaven forfend that that righteous person, Amos, said this, that I will die by the sword; and if he indeed said it, what shall I do to him and why should I punish him? The Divine Presence said it to him, and he is required to transmit his prophecy.

אמר רבי אלעזר אפילו בשעת כעסו של הקדוש ברוך הוא זוכר את הרחמים שנאמר כי לא אוסיף עוד ארחם את בית ישראל רבי יוסי בר רבי חנינא אמר מהכא כי נשא אשא להם

Rabbi Elazar said: Even at the time of the anger of the Holy One, Blessed be He, He remembers the attribute of compassion, as it is stated: “For I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel” (Hosea 1:6). Even when implementing His attribute of justice, God still mentions His attribute of compassion. Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Ḥanina said that this is also indicated from here, from the continuation of the verse, which states: “That I should bear them,” indicating that God promised to eventually bear Israel’s sins and pardon them.

ואמר רבי אלעזר לא הגלה הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל לבין האומות אלא כדי שיתוספו עליהם גרים שנאמר וזרעתיה לי בארץ כלום אדם זורע סאה אלא להכניס כמה כורין

And Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, exiled Israel among the nations only so that converts would join them, as it is stated: “And I will sow her to Me in the land” (Hosea 2:25). Does a person sow a se’a of grain for any reason other than to bring in several kor of grain during the harvest? So too, the exile is to enable converts from the nations to join the Jewish people.

ורבי יוחנן אמר מהכא ורחמתי את לא רחמה

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said that this idea may be derived from here: “And I will have compassion upon her that had not received compassion; and I will say to them that were not My people: You are My people” (Hosea 2:25). Even those who were initially “not My people,” i.e., gentiles, will convert and become part of the Jewish nation.

אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי מאי דכתיב אל תלשן עבד אל אדוניו פן יקללך ואשמת וכתיב דור אביו יקלל ואת אמו לא יברך משום דאביו יקלל ואת אמו לא יברך אל תלשן

Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Slander not a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be found guilty” (Proverbs 30:10), and it is then written in the next verse: “There is a generation that curses its father, and does not bless its mother” (Proverbs 30:11). Is it because they curse their father and do not bless their mother that you should not slander them? Clearly that is absurd.

אלא אפילו דור שאביו יקלל ואת אמו לא יברך אל תלשן עבד אל אדוניו מנלן מהושע

Rather, the juxtaposition serves to emphasize that even in a wicked generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother, one should not slander a servant to his master. From where do we derive this? From Hosea, whose criticism of the Jewish people, God’s servants, to God, their master, aroused His ire, despite the fact that it was a wicked generation.

אמר רבי אושעיא מאי דכתיב צדקת פרזונו בישראל צדקה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא בישראל שפזרן לבין האומות והיינו דאמר ליה ההוא מינא לרבי חנינא אנן מעלינן מינייכו כתיב בכו כי ששת חדשים ישב שם וגו׳ ואלו אנן איתינכו גבן כמה שני ולא קא עבדינן לכו מידי אמר לו רצונך יטפל לך תלמיד אחד

Rabbi Oshaya said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The righteous acts of His rulers [pirzono] in Israel” (Judges 5:11)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, performed a charitable deed toward Israel in that He scattered them [pizran] among the nations; had He exiled them to one place, they could have all been destroyed at once. And this concept is that which a certain apostate said to Rabbi Ḥanina: We gentiles are superior to you Jews in that we have patience. It is written of you: “For Joab and all Israel remained there six months until he had cut off every male in Edom” (I Kings 11:16), whereas we, although you have been with us for several years, are not doing anything to you. He said to him: With your consent, let one student deal with your assertion and answer you.

נטפל ליה רבי אושעיא אמר ליה משום דלא ידעיתו היכי תעבדו תכלינן כולהו ליתנהו גבייכו מאי דאיכא גבייכו קרי לכו מלכותא קטיעתא אמר ליה גפא דרומאי בהא נחתינן ובהא סלקינן:

Rabbi Oshaya dealt with his assertion and said to him: This is not a sign of your righteousness but is simply because you do not know how to do it, to destroy us. If you seek to destroy all of the Jewish people, you cannot because they are not all with you in your kingdom. If you destroy only those Jews who are with you in your kingdom, you will be called a severed kingdom for murdering part of its own population. The apostate said to him: I swear by Gappa, god of the Romans, with this problem we lie down and with this problem we rise up, for we are constantly struggling with the dilemma of how to eliminate the Jewish people.

תני רבי חייא מאי דכתיב אלהים הבין דרכה והוא ידע את מקומה יודע הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל שאינן יכולין לקבל גזירות של רומיים לפיכך הגלה אותם לבבל ואמר רבי אלעזר לא הגלה הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל לבבל אלא מפני שעמוקה כשאול שנאמר מיד שאול אפדם ממות אגאלם רבי חנינא אמר מפני שקרוב לשונם ללשון תורה

Rabbi Ḥiyya teaches: What is the meaning of that which is written: “God understands its ways and He knows its place” (Job 28:23)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, knows the Jewish people, who are unable to withstand the harsh decrees of the Romans. Therefore, He exiled them to Babylonia, whose people are less cruel. And Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, exiled Israel to Babylonia only due to the fact it is a land as deep as the netherworld, i.e., it is a land of plains and valleys, which alludes to that which is stated: “I shall ransom them from the power of the netherworld, I shall redeem them from death” (Hosea 13:14). Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is due to the fact that their language, Aramaic, is similar to the language of the Torah, which enables the Jews who live there to study Torah.

רבי יוחנן אמר מפני ששיגרן לבית אמן משל לאדם שכעס על אשתו להיכן משגרה לבית אמה

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is due to the fact that He sent them to their mother’s house, i.e., the birthplace of the forefathers of the Jewish people, who lived in Aram-Nahara’im, which is in Babylonia. This is comparable to a man who is angry at his wife; to where does he send her? He sends her to her mother’s house.

והיינו דרבי אלכסנדרי דאמר שלשה חזרו למטעתן אלו הן ישראל כסף מצרים וכתב לוחות ישראל הא דאמרן כסף מצרים דכתיב ויהי בשנה החמישית למלך רחבעם עלה שישק מלך מצרים על ירושלים וגו׳ כתב הלוחות דכתיב ואשברם לעיניכם תנא לוחות נשברו ואותיות פורחות

And this is expressed in the statement of Rabbi Alexandri, who said: There are three that returned to their points of origin, and these are they: The Jewish people, the money of Egypt, and the writing on the Tablets of the Covenant. The Jewish people; that which we just said, they returned to Babylonia. The money of Egypt; as it is written: “And it came to pass in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem; and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything” (I Kings 14:25–26). The writing on the Tablets of the Covenant; as it is written: “And I took hold of the two tablets, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes” (Deuteronomy 9:17). And it was taught in the Tosefta: The tablets were broken and the letters are flying and returning to their point of origin.

עולא אמר כדי שיאכלו

Ulla said that Israel was exiled to Babylonia in order to enable them to eat