Between Heaven and Earth: The Tale of Shmuel and the Orphans’ Money (Berakhot 18b)
Appendix - Agricultural Foreknowledge From the Dead: A Pious Man Learns Seasonal Decrees of Hail and Blight by Overhearing Spirits in a Cemetery (Berakhot 18b)
Intro
The talmudic story involves the major talmudic sage Shmuel, who faced a predicament after his father, Abba bar Abba, a custodian of orphan's money, passed away without revealing the location of the funds. Accusations arose against Shmuel, branding him as the "One who consumes the money of orphans" because he couldn't return the money, not knowing where it was stored.
In an attempt to resolve this issue, Shmuel visited his father's grave, seeking guidance from the deceased. In a surreal dialogue in the cemetery, Shmuel struggled initially to find his father among the many deceased named Abba bar Abba, and eventually, he is told that his father is in the Heavenly Yeshiva.1
During this encounter, Shmuel also sees his friend Levi (mostly likely Levi ben Sisi), who was excluded from the Heavenly Yeshiva due to his not honoring R’ Afes enough.
When Shmuel finally communicates with his father, Shmuel's father expresses mixed emotions of sadness and joy — sadness because Shmuel would join him in the afterlife sooner than expected, and joy over Shmuel's esteemed status in the earthly realm.
Shmuel uses his standing to advocate for Levi's admission into the spiritual yeshiva, which was granted.
Shmuel’s father reveals that the orphan's money was stored in a millhouse (אמתא דרחיא), sandwiched between his own money to protect it from theft or loss — a strategic decision that reflected his father's careful guardianship. Shmuel's father explained that if thieves came, they would likely take the visible top layer (his money), and if any loss occurred due to natural causes, it would affect the bottom layer (also his money), thereby safeguarding the orphan's assets in the middle.
Outline
The Search for the Orphans’ Money
Conversations in the Afterlife, looking for his father
Speaking to His Friend Levi
Speaking to his father
Unveiling the Hidden Money
Appendix - Agricultural Foreknowledge From the Dead: A Pious Man Learns Seasonal Decrees of Hail and Blight by Overhearing Spirits in a Cemetery (Berakhot 18b)
A pious man who gives a poor person a dinar on the eve of Rosh HaShana during years of drought; After his wife annoys about him about it, he sleeps in a cemetery and overhears two spirits speaking
The spirits discuss going “behind the curtain” to learn what calamity will befall the world; One cannot go because she is buried in a mat of reeds; the other goes
The spirit returns and reports that those who sow in the first rainfall period will be struck by hail
The following year, the same scene repeats
This time, the decree is that those who sow in the second rainfall period will suffer blight
Again, the man adjusts his behavior, and again only his crops survive
When his wife presses him for an explanation, he recounts the story
A quarrel breaks out between his wife and the mother of the buried girl, during which the secret of the mat of reeds becomes public
The next year, the spirits refuse to speak freely, saying that their private words have already been heard among the living
The Passage
The Search for the Orphans' Money
Shmuel, entrusted with the safekeeping of orphans' money by his father, finds himself unable to locate it after his father's death. Lacking knowledge of its location, he earns a negative reputation. In a desperate move, Shmuel visits the cemetery (חצר מות)2 to speak with the deceased, hoping to find his father and learn where the money is hidden.
[...]
אבוה דשמואל הוו קא מפקדי גביה זוזי דיתמי.
כי נח נפשיה, לא הוה שמואל גביה.
הוו קא קרו ליה: ״בר אכיל זוזי דיתמי״.
אזל אבתריה לחצר מות.
They would deposit the money of orphans with Shmuel’s father for safekeeping.
When Shmuel’s father died, Shmuel was not with him, and did not learn from him the location of the money.
Since he did not return it, Shmuel was called: “One who consumes the money of orphans”.3
Shmuel went after his father to the cemetery
Conversations in the Afterlife, looking for his father
At the cemetery, in an ascent to the afterlife, Shmuel speaks to various spirits, looking for his father.
אמר להו:
בעינא “אבא”!
אמרו ליה: “אבא” טובא איכא הכא.
!אמר להו: בעינא “אבא בר אבא”!
אמרו ליה: “אבא בר אבא” נמי טובא איכא הכא.
אמר להו: בעינא “אבא בר אבא, אבוה דשמואל”! היכא?
אמרו ליה סליק למתיבתא דרקיעא.
and said to the dead:
I want “Abba”!
The dead said to him: There are many “Abbas” here.
He told them: I want “Abba bar Abba”!
They said to him: There are also many people named “Abba bar Abba” here.
He told them: I want “Abba bar Abba, the father of Shmuel”! Where is he?
They replied: Ascend to the Heavenly Yeshiva.
Speaking to His Friend Levi
He speaks to his old friend Levi, and finds out that he had been barred from the Heavenly Yeshiva due to his earthly actions.
אדהכי, חזייה ללוי דיתיב אבראי.
אמר ליה:
אמאי יתבת אבראי?
מאי טעמא לא סלקת?
אמר ליה:
דאמרי לי:
כל כי הנך שני דלא סליקת למתיבתא דרבי אפס,
ואחלישתיה לדעתיה,
לא מעיילינן לך למתיבתא דרקיעא.
Meanwhile (אדהכי),4 he saw his friend Levi sitting outside the yeshiva, away from the rest of the deceased.
He asked him:
Why do you sit outside?
Why did you not ascend to the yeshiva?
He replied:
Because they tell me that
for all those years that you didn’t enter the yeshiva of R’ Afes,
and thereby upset him,
we will not grant you entry to the yeshiva on high.
Speaking to his father
When Shmuel finally speaks with his father, he learns about his own impending death and his significant impact on the world, prompting him to successfully advocate for Levi's entry into the Heavenly Yeshiva.
אדהכי והכי, אתא אבוה,
חזייה דהוה קא בכי ואחיך.
אמר ליה: מאי טעמא קא בכית?
אמר ליה: דלעגל קא אתית.
מאי טעמא אחיכת?
דחשיבת בהאי עלמא טובא.
אמר ליה: אי חשיבנא — נעיילוה ללוי.
ועיילוהו ללוי.
Meanwhile, Shmuel’s father came
and Shmuel saw that he was crying and laughing.
Shmuel said to his father: Why are you crying?
His father replied: Because you will come here soon.
Shmuel continued and asked: Why are you laughing?
His father replied: Because you are extremely important in this world.
Shmuel said to him: If I am important, then let them grant Levi entry to the yeshiva.
And so it was that they granted Levi entry to the yeshiva.
Unveiling the Hidden Money
Shmuel's father reveals the money's clever hiding place in the millhouse, explaining the strategic placement to protect it from theft and natural disasters.
(This revelation resolves the mystery and vindicates Shmuel, allowing him to return the orphans’ money and restore his reputation.)
אמר ליה: זוזי דיתמי היכא?
אמר ליה:
זיל שקלינהו באמתא דרחיא.
עילאי ותתאי —
דידן,
ומיצעי —
דיתמי.
אמר ליה: מאי טעמא עבדת הכי?
אמר ליה:
אי גנבי גנבי —
מגנבו מדידן,
אי אכלה ארעא —
אכלה מדידן.
Shmuel said to his father: Where is the orphans’ money?
He said to him:
Go and retrieve it from the millhouse,
where you will find
the uppermost and the lowermost money —
is ours,
and the money in the middle —
belongs to the orphans.
Shmuel said to him: Why did you do that?
He replied:
If thieves stole —
they would steal from our money on top, which the thief would see first.
If the earth swallowed up any of it —
it would swallow from our money, on the bottom.
Appendix - Agricultural Foreknowledge From the Dead: A Pious Man Learns Seasonal Decrees of Hail and Blight by Overhearing Spirits in a Cemetery (Berakhot 18b)
A pious man gives a poor person a dinar on the eve of Rosh HaShana during a drought; After his wife annoys about him about it, he sleeps in a cemetery and overhears two spirits speaking
[…]
תניא:
מעשה בחסיד אחד
שנתן דינר לעני בערב ראש השנה בשני בצורת,
והקניטתו אשתו,
והלך ולן בבית הקברות.
ושמע שתי רוחות שמספרות זו לזו
[…]
taught in a baraita:
There was an incident involving a pious man (חסיד - hasid)
who gave a poor man a dinar on the eve of Rosh HaShana during drought (בצורת) years,
and his wife annoyed him (הקניטתו) for giving so large a sum at so difficult a time
And in order to escape her incessant mockery, he went and slept in the cemetery.
he heard two spirits (רוחות) conversing with each other.
The spirits discuss going “behind the curtain” to learn what calamity will befall the world; One cannot go because she is buried in a mat of reeds; the other goes
אמרה חדא לחברתה:
חברתי!
בואי ונשוט בעולם,
ונשמע מאחורי הפרגוד
מה פורענות בא לעולם
אמרה לה חברתה:
איני יכולה,
שאני קבורה במחצלת של קנים.
אלא לכי את,
ומה שאת שומעת אמרי לי.
הלכה היא
ושטה
ובאה.
One said to the other:
My friend!
let us roam (נשוט) the world
and hear from behind the heavenly curtain [pargod], which separates the Shekhina from the world,
what calamity will befall the world.
The other spirit said to her:
I cannot go with you,
as I am buried in a mat of reeds,
but you go,
and tell me what you hear.
She went,
and roamed,
and came back.
The spirit returns and reports that those who sow in the first rainfall period will be struck by hail
ואמרה לה חברתה:
חברתי!
מה שמעת מאחורי הפרגוד?
אמרה לה:
שמעתי שכל הזורע ברביעה ראשונה —
ברד מלקה אותו
The other spirit said:
My friend!
what did you hear from behind the heavenly curtain?
She replied:
I heard that anyone who sows during the first rainfall period (רביעה) of this year —
hail will fall and strike his crops.
The man sows in the second rainfall period, and only his crops are spared
הלך הוא
וזרע ברביעה שניה.
של כל העולם כולו —
לקה,
שלו —
לא לקה.
Hearing this, the pious man went
and sowed his seeds during the second rainfall period.
Ultimately,
the crops of the entire world —
were stricken by hail
and his crops —
were not stricken.
The following year, the same scene repeats
לשנה האחרת
הלך ולן בבית הקברות,
ושמע אותן שתי רוחות שמספרות זו עם זו.
The following year,
on the eve of Rosh HaShana, the same pious man went and slept in the cemetery at his own initiative,
and again he heard the two spirits conversing with each other.
אמרה חדא לחברתה:
בואי ונשוט בעולם
ונשמע מאחורי הפרגוד
מה פורענות בא לעולם.
אמרה לה:
חברתי!
לא כך אמרתי לך,
איני יכולה שאני קבורה במחצלת של קנים?!
אלא לכי את,
ומה שאת שומעת בואי ואמרי לי.
הלכה
ושטה
ובאה.
One said to the other:
Let us roam the world
and hear from behind the heavenly curtain
what calamity will befall the world.
She said to her:
My friend!
have I not already told you that I cannot,
as I am buried in a mat of reeds?!
Rather,
you go,
and tell me what you hear.
She went,
and roamed,
and returned.
This time, the decree is that those who sow in the second rainfall period will suffer blight
ואמרה לה חברתה:
חברתי!
מה שמעת מאחורי הפרגוד?
אמרה לה:
שמעתי שכל הזורע ברביעה שניה —
שדפון מלקה אותו.
The other spirit said to her:
My friend!
what did you hear from behind the curtain?
She said to her:
I heard that those who sow during the second rainfall period —
blight (שדפון) will strike his crops.
Again, the man adjusts his behavior, and again only his crops survive
הלך וזרע ברביעה ראשונה,
של כל העולם כולו —
נשדף
ושלו —
לא נשדף.
That pious man went and sowed during the first winter.
Since everyone else sowed during the second winter, ultimately,
the crops of the entire world —
were blighted
and his crops —
were not blighted.
When his wife presses him for an explanation, he recounts the story
אמרה לו אשתו:
מפני מה
אשתקד
של כל העולם כולו
לקה
ושלך
לא לקה,
ועכשיו
של כל העולם כולו
נשדף
ושלך ל
א נשדף?
סח לה כל הדברים הללו.
The pious man’s wife said to him:
Why is it that
last year,
the crops of the entire world
were stricken
and yours
were not stricken,
and now this year,
the crops of the entire world
were blighted
and yours
were not blighted?
He related to her the entire story.
A quarrel breaks out between his wife and the mother of the buried girl, during which the secret of the mat of reeds becomes public
אמרו:
לא היו ימים מועטים עד שנפלה קטטה
בין אשתו של אותו חסיד
ובין אמה של אותה ריבה.
אמרה לה:
לכי ואראך בתך
שהיא קבורה במחצלת של קנים.
They said:
It was not even a few days later that a quarrel (קטטה) fell between
the pious man’s wife
and the mother of the young woman (ריבה) who was buried there.
The pious man’s wife said to her scornfully:
Go and I will show you your daughter,
and you will see that she is buried in a mat of reeds.
The next year, the spirits refuse to speak freely, saying that their private words have already been heard among the living
לשנה האחרת
הלך ולן בבית הקברות
ושמע אותן רוחות שמספרות זו עם זו.
אמרה לה:
חברתי!
בואי ונשוט בעולם
ונשמע מאחורי הפרגוד
מה פורענות בא לעולם.
אמרה לה:
חברתי!
הניחיני!
דברים שביני לבינך כבר נשמעו בין החיים
The following year,
he again went and slept in the cemetery,
and heard the same spirits conversing with each other.
One said to the other:
My friend!
let us roam the world
and hear from behind the heavenly curtain
what calamity will befall the world.
She said to her:
My friend!
leave me alone (הניחיני)!
as words that we have privately exchanged between us have already been heard among the living.
מתיבתא דרקיעא - an institution mentioned a number of times in the Talmud.
This is the only place in the Talmud that this term appears to refer to a “cemetery”. The term appears twice in the Bible, as a proper name for a person, see Wikipedia, “Hazarmaveth“ and “Hadhramaut“.
Not “Son of him who consumes the money of orphans” (my bolding and italicizing), as Steinzaltz translates. Bar X in this context (as in many other contexts) means “the one with the attribute of X”, not “son of X”.
See Wiktionary, “בר, sense #2“:
having a certain trait, -able
מַזָּל (mazál, “luck”) → בַּר־מַזָּל (bár-mazál, “lucky”)
הַשָּׂגָה (hasagá, “achieving”) → בַּר־הַשָּׂגָה (bár-hasagá, “achievable”)
דַּעַת (dá'at, “knowledge”) → בַּר־דַּעַת (bár-dá'at, “knowledgeable”)
See similarly Hebrew Wiktionary, “בר, sense #2“, with many additional examples, including from Late Biblical Hebrew (in Book of Mishlei):
שותף לתכונה או לעניין מסויים.
”מַה־בְּרִי, וּמַה־בַּר-בִּטְנִי, וּמֶה בַּר־נְדָרָי.“ (משלי לא, פסוק ב)
בר אוריין
בר בי רב
בר מצווה
בר פלוגתא
בר סמכא
בר פלוגתא
בר נש
בר הכי
The Aramaic word "אדהכי" (adahachi) and its extended form "אדהכי והכי" (adahachi vehachi) are often used in Talmudic stories to signal a transition or segue to a new section or part of the narrative.
In English, a rough equivalent of "אדהכי" would be "thereupon" (see Wiktionary, https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/thereupon, especially sense #3) or "at this point." These phrases similarly function to move the narrative forward by indicating a shift in the story or the introduction of new information or developments. These are used to transition from one part of a story to another.
For more on this, in general, see Wikipedia, “Discourse marker“.
Hi, on ״בר אכיל זוזי דיתמי״, you wrote that it means "one who" and not "son of one who". Please note that not only Steinzaltz translates as "son of". So does the more tranditional Artscroll and an even more traditional edition (Oz vHadar?, not sure). I did not find older commentaries that relate to tbis phrase one way or the other, but I did not look very hard. But your proof that it means "one who" is questionable, because all the examples you show are בר followed by a noun, whereas here בר is followed by a verb.