Pt1 From Sodomite Salt to Demonic Gutters: The Hidden Truths Behind Talmudic Eating Practices (Chullin 105b-106a)
Eight instances where Abaye provides explanations for practices related to meals
This is the first installment of a two-part series. Outline is below.
This sugya give eight instances where Abaye provides explanations for practices related to meals. The typical structure of each is that at first Abaye thought that the reason for a certain custom relating to meals was for a simple, practical reason. Subsequently, he was told that the true reason is due to some supernatural danger.
The structure of each instance follows this pattern:
אמר אביי:
מריש הוה אמינא,
האי דלא X,
משום Y
אמר לי מר: משום Z
Abaye said:
“At first, I thought
that the reason one does not [X]
was because of [Y].
But my teacher informed me that it is actually due to [Z].”
Outline
Reason for the obligation to wash hands after a meal: danger
The true reason for not washing one's hands with final waters over the ground: danger
The true reason for not taking an item from the table when someone is holding a cup: danger
The true reason for why people collect bread crumbs after meals: crumbs cause poverty; story of a man pursued by “the angel of poverty”
The true reason for not drinking the foam from a beverage: danger
The true reason for not eating vegetables from a gardener's tied bundle: witchcraft; story of incantations of a matron, Rav Ḥisda, and Rabba bar Rav Huna on a boat
The true reason for not eating vegetables that fell on the table: bad breath
The true reason for not sitting under gutters: demons; story of demon and Mar bar Rav Ashi
The true reason for pouring water from a pitcher: bad water; story of the demon servant of Rav Pappa
Stories showing the importance of washing hands
The Passage
Reason for the obligation to wash hands after a meal: danger
A baraita states that washing hands after a meal1 is obligatory.
Rav Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya (רב יהודה בריה דרבי חייא), explains that this is because of salt of Sedom (מלח סדומית), which can cause blindness if it contacts the eyes, might be present.
Abaye adds that this dangerous salt is found in tiny amounts within large quantities of regular salt.
אמר רב יהודה בריה דרבי חייא:
מפני מה אמרו מים אחרונים חובה?
שמלח סדומית יש, שמסמא את העינים
אמר אביי: ומשתכח כי קורטא בכורא
[...]
The baraita further teaches that final waters are an obligation.
Rav Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya, says:
For what reason did the Sages say that final waters are an obligation?
It is because Sodomite salt is sometimes present, a small amount of which blinds the eyes. Since Sodomite salt could remain on one’s hands, one must wash them after eating.
Abaye said: And this type of dangerous salt is present in the proportion of a pinch [korta] in an entire kor of regular salt.
[...]
The true reason for not washing one's hands with final waters over the ground: danger
Abaye initially believed that the custom of avoiding rinsing hands after a meal directly onto the ground was driven by practical concerns over cleanliness.
However, “Mar” (understood to be referring to his teacher Rabba) informed him that the real reason is that an evil spirit (רוח רעה) rests on the water, which could harm passersby.
אמר אביי:
מריש הוה אמינא,
האי דלא משו מיא בתראי על ארעא,
משום זוהמא
אמר לי מר: משום דשריא רוח רעה עלייהו
Abaye said:
At first I would say
that this halakha that one may not wash his hands with final waters over the ground
is due to messiness.
But the Master, Rabba, said to me that it is because an evil spirit rests upon the water and passersby are liable to be afflicted.
The true reason for not taking an item from the table when someone is holding a cup: danger
Abaye initially thought the Sages prohibited taking an item from the table when someone is holding a cup to prevent mishaps, such as the person choking in anger if they wanted the item but couldn’t speak.
However, he later learned that this practice is prohibited because it’s harmful to health, potentially causing a migraine (רוח צרדא).
ואמר אביי:
מריש הוה אמינא,
האי דלא שקיל מידי מפתורא, כי נקיט איניש כסא למשתי
שמא יארע דבר קלקלה בסעודה
אמר לי מר: משום דקשי לרוח צרדא
[...]
And Abaye also said:
At first I would say
that the reason for this statement of the Sages that one should not take anything from the table when a person is holding a cup to drink,
is lest a mishap occur at the meal, i.e., the one holding the cup might have wanted the item that was taken, and since he is unable to speak he will choke in his anger.
But the Master subsequently said to me that it is because it is bad for one’s health, causing a spirit of pain in half his head, i.e., a migraine.
[...]
The true reason for why people collect bread crumbs after meals: crumbs cause poverty; story of a man pursued by “the angel of poverty”
Abaye initially thought that people collected bread crumbs (כנשי נשווראה) after meals for cleanliness. However, he later learned that it was to avoid increasing vulnerability to poverty.
The Talmud tells a story of a man who was pursued by “the angel of poverty” (שרא דעניותא) but remained unaffected because he was meticulous about collecting crumbs. One day, he dropped crumbs among grass but uprooted the grass and threw it into the river. The angel of poverty lamented that the man had “removed me from my house”,2 indicating the man's continued avoidance of poverty through his actions.
ואמר אביי:
מריש הוה אמינא
האי דכנשי נשווראה, משום מנקירותא
אמר לי מר: משום דקשי לעניותא
ההוא גברא, דהוה מהדר עליה שרא דעניותא
ולא הוה יכיל ליה, דקא זהיר אנשוורא טובא
יומא חד, כרך ליפתא איבלי
אמר: השתא ודאי נפל בידאי
בתר דאכיל, אייתי מרא, עקרינהו ליבלי, שדינהו לנהרא
שמעיה דקאמר: ווי דאפקיה ההוא גברא מביתיה
And Abaye further said:
At first I would say
that this practice that people collect the crumbs of bread after a meal is due to cleanliness.
But the Master subsequently said to me that it is because leaving them is bad for, i.e., it can increase, a person’s vulnerability to poverty.
The Gemara relates: There was a certain man who was pursued by the ministering angel of poverty,
but the angel was unable to impoverish him, as he was exceptionally careful with regard to crumbs.
One day that man broke his bread over grass, and some crumbs fell among the blades of grass.
The angel said: Now he will certainly fall into my hands, as he cannot collect all the crumbs.
After the man ate, he brought a hoe, uprooted the grass, and threw it into the river.
He subsequently heard the ministering angel of poverty say: Woe is me, as that man has removed me from my house, i.e., my position of comfort.
The true reason for avoiding drinking the foam from a beverage: danger
Initially, Abaye thought people avoided drinking the foam from a beverage because it was repulsive, but he was informed that it was due to its harmful effects, particularly its potential to cause a buildup of mucus.3
The Talmud adds that different ways of removing the foam—blowing it off, removing it by hand, or drinking it—each have their own negative consequences, such as head pains or poverty. The only safe method is to sink the foam into the beverage before drinking.
Additionally, it suggests treatments for catarrh depending on the beverage: beer for wine-induced catarrh, water for beer-induced catarrh, but no remedy exists for catarrh caused by water, which reflects the saying that “Poverty follows the poor”:4 Not only does a pauper have nothing to drink other than water, but there also is no treatment for the disease caused by his beverage.
ואמר אביי:
מריש הוה אמינא
האי דלא שתי אופיא, משום מאיסותא
אמר לי מר: משום דקשי לכרסם
מישתיה -- קשה לכרסם,
מינפח ביה -- קשיא לרישא
מדחייה -- קשיא לעניותא
מאי תקנתיה?
לשקעיה שקועי
לכרסם דחמרא -- שיכרא
דשיכרא -- מיא
דמיא -- לית ליה תקנתא
והיינו דאמרי אינשי: בתר עניא אזלא עניותא
And Abaye said:
At first I would say that
this practice that people do not drink the foam from the top of a beverage is followed because it is repulsive.
But the Master said to me that it is followed because it is bad for one’s vulnerability to catarrh.
The Gemara comments: Drinking it is bad for catarrh,
while blowing off the foam from the drink is bad for head pains,
and removing it with one’s hand is bad for poverty.
If so, what is its remedy? How may one drink?
He should sink the foam inside the beverage and then drink it.
The Gemara notes:
The treatment for catarrh caused by the foam of wine is beer;
the treatment for catarrh caused by the foam of beer is water;
and for catarrh caused by the foam of water there is no remedy.
And this is in accordance with the adage that people say: Poverty follows the poor. Not only does a pauper have nothing to drink other than water, but there also is no treatment for the disease caused by his beverage.
מים אחרונים - literally: “final/last waters”.
שמעיה דקאמר: ווי דאפקיה ההוא גברא מביתיה.
Compare another talmudic story with the same concluding lament by an antagonistic supernatural being, in that case Satan, in Gittin.52a.14:
הנהו בי תרי דאיגרי בהו שטן, דכל בי שמשי הוו קא מינצו בהדי הדדי.
איקלע רבי מאיר להתם, עכבינהו תלתא בי שמשי, עד דעבד להו שלמא.
שמעיה דקאמר: ווי, דאפקיה רבי מאיר לההוא גברא מביתיה.
There were two people who, incited by Satan, would argue with each other every Friday afternoon at twilight.
R’ Meir happened to come to the place where they argued. He stopped them from fighting three Friday afternoons at twilight, until finally he made peace between them.
He then heard Satan say: Woe, that R’ Meir removed that man, Satan, from his house.
Compare Wikipedia, “Matthew effect”:
The Matthew effect of accumulated advantage, sometimes called the Matthew principle, is the tendency of individuals to accrue social or economic success in proportion to their initial level of popularity, friends, and wealth. It is sometimes summarized by the adage or platitude "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer". The term was coined by sociologists Robert K. Merton and Harriet Zuckerman in 1968 and takes its name from the Parable of the Talents in the biblical Gospel of Matthew […]
The concept is named according to two of the parables of Jesus in the synoptic Gospels (Table 2, of the Eusebian Canons).
The concept concludes both synoptic versions of the parable of the talents:
For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
I tell you, that to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.