Between Heaven and Earth: The Tale of Shmuel and the Orphans’ Money (Berakhot 18b)

The Search for the Orphans' Money; Conversations in the Afterlife, looking for his father, speaking to Levi; Speaking to his father; Unveiling the Hidden Money

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.

The Passage

Berakhot.18b.14-16

Part 1: 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

Part 2: 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:

1. בעינא “אבא”! אמרו ליה: “אבא” טובא איכא הכא. 

2. !אמר להו: בעינא “אבא בר אבא”! אמרו ליה: “אבא בר אבא” נמי טובא איכא הכא. 

3. אמר להו: בעינא “אבא בר אבא, אבוה דשמואל”! היכא? אמרו ליה סליק למתיבתא דרקיעא.

and said to the dead:

1. I want “Abba”! The dead said to him: There are many “Abbas” here. 

2. He told them: I want “Abba bar Abba”! They said to him: There are also many people named “Abba bar Abba” here. 

3. He told them: I want “Abba bar Abba, the father of Shmuel”! Where is he? They replied: Ascend to the Heavenly Yeshiva. 

Part 3: speaking to 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 Rabbi Afes, and thereby upset him, we will not grant you entry to the yeshiva on high.

Part 4: 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.

Part 5: 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. 

1. מתיבתא דרקיעא - an institution mentioned a number of times in the Talmud.

2. 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“.

3. 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)

1. בר אוריין

2. בר בי רב

3. בר מצווה

4. בר פלוגתא

5. בר סמכא

6. בר פלוגתא

7. בר נש

8. בר הכי

4. 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“.