Fingers, Forks, and Faces: Tales of R' Yehuda (Nedarim 49b-50a)
Debating Etiquette, Appearance, and Poverty with R' Yehuda
Outline
Rav eating with hands vs with utensil
Argument between R' Yosei and R' Yehuda about eating from shared bowl with fingers vs with utensil
R' Yehuda's unusual complexion
Comment by R' Tarfon - “bright”
Comment by a matrona - “You teach while drunk?!”
Comment by a heretic - “Your face is similar either to usurers or to pig breeders”
The importance of physical exertion; R' Yehuda's cloak
Story of R’ Yehuda and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel - fast day
The Passage
Rav eating with hands vs with utensil
Rabba, son of Rav Huna, observed his father Rav Huna eating porridge with his fingers and questioned this method. Rav Huna explained that Rav had taught that porridge tastes better when eaten with the fingers, stating that the flavor enhances with the use of more fingers, making it more enjoyable to eat by hand.
רבה בר רב הונא אשכחיה לרב הונא, דקאכיל דייסא באצבעתיה.
אמר ליה: אמאי קאכיל מר בידיה?
אמר ליה: הכי אמר רב: דייסא באצבעתא בסים, וכל דכן בתרתין, וכל דכן בתלת.
[...]
Rabba, son of Rav Huna, found Rav Huna eating porridge with his fingers.
He said to him: Why is the Master eating with his hands?
Rav Huna said to him: This is what Rav said: Porridge eaten with a finger is tasty, and all the more so if it is eaten with two fingers, and all the more so with three. It is more enjoyable to eat porridge with your hands.
[...]
Argument between R' Yosei and R' Yehuda about eating from shared bowl with fingers vs with utensil
The tannaim R' Yosei and R' Yehuda had a disagreement while eating porridge from a shared bowl; one preferred eating porridge with his fingers, while the other used a leaf (הוצא).
They criticized each other's methods: The one who ate porridge with his fingers, was accused by the other of “feeding me your filth”.1 In response, the second accused the first of “feeding me your spit”.
רבי יוסי ורבי יהודה, חד אכיל דייסא באצבעתיה, וחד אכיל בהוצא.
אמר ליה דאכיל בהוצא לדאכיל באצבעתיה: עד מתי אתה מאכילני צואתך?!
אמר ליה דאכיל באצבעתיה לדאכיל בהוצא: עד מתי אתה מאכילני רוקך?!
[...]
The Gemara relates more incidents: R' Yosei and R' Yehuda dined together. One of them ate porridge with his fingers, and the other one ate with a fork [hutza].
The one who was eating with a fork said to the one who was eating with his fingers: For how long will you keep feeding me your filth? Must I keep eating off of your dirty fingernails?
The one who was eating with his fingers said to the one who was eating with a fork: For how long will you keep feeding me your spittle, as you eat with a fork which you then put back in the common bowl.
[...]
R' Yehuda's unusual complexion
The Talmud recounts three stories of people commenting on R' Yehuda's unusual complexion. R' Tarfon commented that his face was “bright” (צהובין); a matrona commented that he looked drunk; and a heretic commented that his complexion looked like that of a usurer or a raiser of pigs.
Comment by R' Tarfon - “bright”
R' Yehuda's complexion2 was noticed by R' Tarfon, to which R' Yehuda attributed to eating beets (תרדין) without salt.
רבי יהודה הוה יתיב קמיה דרבי טרפון.
אמר ליה רבי טרפון: היום פניך צהובין.
אמר ליה: אמש יצאו עבדיך לשדה, והביאו לנו תרדין, ואכלנום בלא מלח.
ואם אכלנום במלח — כל שכן שהיו פנינו צהובין.
R' Yehuda was sitting before R' Tarfon.
R' Tarfon said to him: Your face today is ruddy, i.e., a rosy, healthy color.
R' Yehuda said to him: Last night your servants, i.e., we students, went out to the field, and beets were brought to us, and we ate them without salt.
This is the reason for our healthy complexion. And had we eaten them with salt, all the more so would our faces have been ruddy.
Comment by a matrona - “You teach while drunk?!”
A Roman noblewoman3 questioned R' Yehuda's unusual complexion, suspecting he was drunk.
R' Yehuda responded by asserting his sobriety, stating he only drank wine for religious ceremonies: kiddush, havdala (these two are rituals where wine is drunk, at the beginning and end of Shabbat respectively), and the four cups at the Passover seder.4
He also mentioned that wine in fact causes him headaches (presumably, hangovers), and he ties his temples (חוגרני צידעי) from Passover to Shavuot to alleviate his headaches from drinking the the four cups at the Passover seder.
He defended his complexion by citing a verse from Ecclesiastes, "A man’s wisdom makes his face to shine," attributing his complexion to wisdom rather than alcohol.
אמרה ההיא מטרוניתא לרבי יהודה: מורה ורוי?!
אמר לה: הימנותא בידא דההיא איתתא, אי טעימנא אלא קידושא, ואבדלתא, וארבעה כסי דפסחא,
וחוגרני צידעי מן הפסח עד העצרת,
אלא: ״חכמת אדם תאיר פניו״.
The Gemara cites related incidents: A certain gentile lady [matronita] said to R' Yehuda, whose face was ruddy: How can one teach the Jews and be a drunk at the same time?!
He said to her: I place my integrity in the hands of this woman and should no longer be deemed credible if I ever taste any wine except for that of kiddush, havdala, and the four cups of Passover.
And after I drink those four cups I tie my temples from Passover to Shavuot, as wine gives me a headache.
Rather, my complexion is explained by the verse “A man’s wisdom makes his face to shine” (Ecclesiastes 8:1).
Comment by a heretic - “Your face is similar either to usurers or to pig breeders”
A heretic (מינא) compared R' Yehuda's complexion to that of usurers or pig breeders.
R' Yehuda defended himself by noting that both occupations are forbidden to Jews. He explained his complexion was due to frequent defecation in 24 bathrooms5 between his home and the study hall, positing that regular defecation were the cause of his unusual complexion.
אמר ליה ההוא מינא לרבי יהודה: פניך דומין אי כמלוי רבית אי כמגדלי חזירין.
אמר ליה: ביהודאי תרוייהו אסירן.
אלא — עשרים וארבעה בית הכסא אית לי מן ביתא עד בי מדרשא, וכל שעה ושעה אני נכנס לכל אחד ואחד.
A certain heretic said to R' Yehuda: Your face is similar either to usurers or to pig breeders. These people would earn a good living without expending much energy, which gave them plump, healthy complexions.
R' Yehuda said to him: Both of these occupations are prohibited to Jews.
Rather, my face is ruddy because I have twenty-four bathrooms on the way from my home to the study hall, and all the time I enter each and every one of them. He did not suffer from constipation, which had a beneficial effect on his complexion.
The importance of physical exertion; R' Yehuda's cloak
R' Yehuda carried a pitcher to the study hall to sit on, emphasizing the honor labor brings to the laborer. Similarly, R' Shimon carried a basket for the same reason.
Additionally, R' Yehuda’s wife collected wool and made a thick cloak. They shared this cloak: She used it when going to the market, and R' Yehuda used it for prayer, blessing God for the cloak when he wore it.
רבי יהודה כד אזיל לבי מדרשא שקיל גולפא על כתפיה, אמר: גדולה מלאכה שמכבדת את בעליה.
רבי שמעון שקיל צנא על כתפיה, אמר: גדולה מלאכה שמכבדת את בעליה.
דביתהו דרבי יהודה נפקת, נקטת עמרא, עבדה גלימא דהוטבי.
כד נפקת לשוקא, מיכסיא ביה,
וכד נפיק רבי יהודה לצלויי, הוה מכסי ומצלי.
וכד מיכסי ביה, הוה מברך ״ברוך שעטני מעיל״.
The Gemara relates: When R' Yehuda would go to the study hall he would carry a pitcher [gulefa] on his shoulder to sit on, saying: Labor is great, as it brings honor to the laborer who performs it. It brought him honor by enabling him to avoid sitting on the floor of the study hall.
Similarly, R' Shimon would carry a basket on his shoulder, saying: Labor is great, as it brings honor to the laborer who performs it.
The Gemara further relates: R' Yehuda’s wife went out to the market, collected wool, and made a thick [hutevei] cloak.
When she would go out to the market she would cover herself with it,
and when R' Yehuda would go out to pray he would cover himself with the cloak and pray.
And when he would cover himself with it he would recite the blessing: Blessed is He who wrapped me in a coat, as he took much pleasure in it.
Story of R’ Yehuda and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel - fast day
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the Nasi, once decreed a fast6 and R' Yehuda did not attend the gathering. The people explained that R' Yehuda avoided public events because he lacked a dignified garment.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel sent him a cloak, but R' Yehuda refused it. Instead, he lifted the mat he was sitting on, revealing a pile of money. He explained that he voluntarily chose not to derive benefit from this world.
זימנא חדא, גזר רבן שמעון בן גמליאל תעניתא,
רבי יהודה לא אתא לבי תעניתא.
אמרין ליה: לא אית ליה כסויא.
שדר ליה גלימא, ולא קביל.
דלי ציפתא, ואמר ליה לשלוחא: חזי מאי איכא.
מיהו, לא ניחא לי דאיתהני בהדין עלמא.
On one occasion Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the Nasi, decreed a fast.
R' Yehuda did not come to the house of the fast, where everyone gathered.
The people said to Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel: R' Yehuda does not have a dignified garment to cover himself with, and therefore he shies away from public events.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel sent him a cloak of his own, but R' Yehuda did not accept this gift.
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 R' 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.
פניך צהובין - a Talmudic idiom found elsewhere as well; this likely means “bright”, not “ruddy”, as Steinzaltz translates. A good idiomatic modern English equivalent is “his face beamed".
מטרוניתא - from Latin matrona; for another place where this term is used a number of times, see my previous piece here.
For another discussion of variation in frequency of drinking wine, see my previous piece here, in the context of a widow’s stipend for wine.
בית הכסא - literally: “house of the seat”; likely some sort of public bathroom, such as a Pit latrine or outhouse. See my recent discussion of Talmudic “bathrooms” here.