Fifteen Sequential Reflections of Rabbi Yosei on His Life and Values (Shabbat 118b): Aspirations and Personal Conduct in His Own Words
Regarding Shabbat; Prayer; Death; Study; Charity; Reputation; and Modesty
Illustration by Dall-E. Description: “A historic scene from ancient Israel, depicting Rabbi Yosei, a Talmudic sage, in a traditional Jewish study hall. Rabbi Yosei, with a beard and wearing a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl), is engaged in deep study and discussion with other scholars. Around them are scrolls and books, indicative of a learning environment. The study hall is simple, with stone walls and minimalistic wooden furniture, reflecting the humble yet focused nature of Talmudic study. The scene should convey a sense of reverence, wisdom, and the rich tradition of Jewish learning.”
The Talmudic Passage
This sugya is notable for the high number of statements in a row by a single sage (fifteen statements), and for the highly formulaic literary style of the statements. The first nine statements start with “May my portion be among those who [X]” (יהא חלקי מ), and the last five statements start with “In all my days, I did not [X]” (מימי לא).
Presumably, the “Rabbi Yosei” here is Rabbi Yosei ben Halafta. Wikipedia, in his entry, write that he “was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. Of the many Rabbi Yose's in the Talmud, Yose Ben Halafta is the one who is simply referred to as Rabbi Yose.”
I added numbering.
I’ll start with the passage, and then provide a summary, and grouping into broader categories based on their themes.
Shabbat 118b (sections #5-12)):
אמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי מאוכלי שלש סעודות בשבת.
אמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי מגומרי הלל בכל יום [...]
אמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי מהמתפללין עם דמדומי חמה [...]
ואמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי ממתי בחולי מעיים [...]
ואמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי ממתים בדרך מצוה.
ואמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי ממכניסי שבת בטבריא, וממוציאי שבת בצפורי.
ואמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי מיושבי בית המדרש, ולא ממעמידי בית המדרש.
ואמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי מגבאי צדקה, ולא ממחלקי צדקה.
ואמר רבי יוסי: יהא חלקי ממי שחושדין אותו ואין בו [...]
אמר רבי יוסי: חמש בעילות בעלתי, ונטעתי חמשה ארזים בישראל [...]
אמר רבי יוסי: מימי לא קריתי לאשתי ״אשתי״ ולשורי ״שורי״, אלא לאשתי — ״ביתי״, ולשורי — ״שדי״.
אמר רבי יוסי: מימי לא נסתכלתי במילה שלי.
ואמר רבי יוסי: מימי לא ראו קורות ביתי אמרי חלוקי.
ואמר רבי יוסי: מימי לא עברתי על (דעת) [דברי] חברי, יודע אני בעצמי שאיני כהן, אם אומרים לי חברי: עלה לדוכן, אני עולה.
ואמר רבי יוסי: מימי לא אמרתי דבר, וחזרתי לאחורי.
Ed. Steinzaltz translation and explanation, with slight adjustments (and ellipses for the Talmud’s discussion of the statements):
Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who eat three meals on Shabbat.
Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who complete hallel every day [...]
And furthermore, Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who pray the morning and afternoon prayers with the reddening of the sun, i.e., the morning prayer at sunrise and the afternoon prayer adjacent to nightfall [...]
And Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who die from intestinal disease [...]
And Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who die on the path to perform a mitzva.
And Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who accept Shabbat in Tiberias, which is in a valley where day turns to evening earlier, and among those who see Shabbat out in Tzippori, which is located on a mountain top where the sun is visible for longer, and Shabbat ends later.
And Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among those who seat others in the study hall, i.e., who cause others to come sit and study, and not among those who cause others to stand in the study hall, i.e., who announce that it is time to leave the study hall and go to eat.
And Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be among the collectors of charity and not the distributors of charity. One who collects charity collects fixed amounts, whereas distributors may inadvertently fail to give the poor person enough to cover his needs.
And Rabbi Yosei said: May my portion be with one whom others suspect of sin and there is no basis for suspecting him [...]
Furthermore, Rabbi Yosei said: I engaged in relations five times, and I planted five cedars in Israel [...]
Furthermore, Rabbi Yosei said that he always spoke euphemistically: In all my days, I did not call my wife, my wife, nor my ox, my ox. Rather, I called my wife, my home, because she is the essence of the home, and my ox, my field, because it is the primary force in the fields.
Rabbi Yosei said: In all my days, due to modesty, I never looked at my circumcision [...]
And Rabbi Yosei said: In all my days, the walls of my house never saw the seams of my robe due to modesty, as he would only undress under his bed sheets.
And Rabbi Yosei said: In all my days I never violated the words of my friends. I know about myself that I am not a priest, and nevertheless, if my friends say to me: Go up to the platform with the priests, I go up.
And Rabbi Yosei said: In all my days I never said something and then retreated from it. Rabbi Yosei never said something positive or negative about a specific person and then denied it.
Summary, and grouping into categories
Rabbi Yosei's fifteen statements can be grouped into a few categories.
Shabbat:
Eating three meals on Shabbat (#1)
Accepting Shabbat early in Tiberias and ending it late in Tzippori (#6)
Prayer:
Completing the full Hallel daily (#2)
Timing of morning and afternoon prayers with sunrise and sunset (#3)
Death:
Aspiration to die from intestinal disease (#4)
Desire to die while on the path to performing a mitzvah (#5)
Study:
Preferring to be one who studies in the study hall, over causing interruptions (ma’amidim - מעמידי - can also mean a ‘supporter [of the study hall’, as opposed to someone actively studying, paralleling #8) (#7)
Charity:
Preferring to be among the collectors (gabbai - גבאי) of charity rather than the distributors (#8)
Reputation:
Any suspicion of sin should be without basis (#9)1
Completely following the instructions of colleagues, even where it leads to incorrect behavior (#14)
Consistency in speech, not retracting words once spoken (#15)
Modesty:
Almost completely refraining from sex, only having sex five times, each of which led to the birth of a son (#10)
Euphemistic speech regarding his wife and ox (#11)
Extreme modesty in personal habits: never looking at his “circumcision” (#12 - mila - מילה - a euphemism for penis) and “keeping the seams of his robe concealed” (#13), meaning, undressing under his bed sheets.
Suspicion of sexual indiscretion in that period is a major theme in the Talmud. Compare my piece on R' Meir's Suspicious Brushes with Sexual Indiscretions. See also Berakhot 60a (section # 24), where R’ Yosei is cited as saying that “One should never open his mouth to Satan” (Satan, by default, is sexual temptation, see my piece there):
אמר ריש לקיש, וכן תנא משמיה דרב יוסי: לעולם אל יפתח אדם פיו לשטן.
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said and as it was taught in a baraita in the name of Rabbi Yosei: One should never open his mouth to Satan […]