Pt1 Hallel: Scope, Significance, and Related Aggadic Teachings (Pesachim 118a-b)

This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline of the series is below. Chag Same’ach!

Intro

This sugya explores the definition, scope, and theological significance of Hallel.¹

Part 1

It opens with three Amoraic views on where the “Great Hallel” (הלל הגדול) begins and ends. All agree it includes Psalm 136 (up until--and not including--Psalm 137:1 - “By the rivers of Babylon”), but differ on the starting point: R’ Yehuda from Psalm 136:1 (“Give thanks”), R’ Yoḥanan from Psalm 134:1 (“A song of ascents”), and Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov from Psalm 135:4 (“For YHWH has chosen Jacob”). R’ Yoḥanan explains its title “Great Hallel” as stemming from the inclusion of Psalm 136:25 (“Who gives food to all flesh”), which affirms God’s universal providence.

From there, the Talmud interlaces theological and ethical teachings about divine sustenance. R’ Yehoshua ben Levi links the psalm’s 26 “Hodu” refrains to the 26 pre-Sinai generations maintained solely through God’s mercy. Rav Ḥisda interprets “Give thanks… for He is good” to mean that God metes out loss proportionally to a person’s means—removing an ox from the wealthy, a sheep from the poor, an egg from an orphan, a chicken from a widow.

R’ Yoḥanan declares that earning a living is more difficult than childbirth and even redemption. R’ Yehoshua ben Levi recounts Adam’s fear of sharing a trough with animals until reassured that human toil would yield bread; R’ Shimon ben Lakish notes that humanity never fully escaped the “herbs of the field” decree. Rav Sheizvi and R’ Elazar ben Azarya compare the challenge of securing food to the splitting of the Red Sea; R’ Elazar adds that the difficulty of relieving oneself can equal death itself. Rav Sheshet, citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya, equates disparaging festivals with idolatry and says slanderers deserve to be cast to the dogs.

Part 2

The Talmud asks why the regular Hallel (Psalms 113–118) is recited in addition to the Great Hallel; the answer is that it contains five key themes: the Exodus, the Splitting of the Red Sea, the Giving of the Torah, the Resurrection of the Dead, and the pangs of the Messiah. Other explanations include allusions to deliverance from Gehenna, the fiery furnace of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and further midrashim involving Gabriel, Abraham’s rescue, the Red Sea and Kishon River episodes, and the sea creatures’ praise.

National and eschatological motifs surface in R’ Yishmael ben Yosei’s teachings: future tribute to the Messiah will be accepted from Egypt and Kush but rejected from Rome, which is condemned for hypocrisy and cruelty. Vivid imagery describes Rome’s vast markets and food reserves, said to be destined for Torah scholars, with “stately clothing” understood either as guarding or revealing divine secrets. The sugya closes with reflections on God’s joy at being “defeated” in judgment (R. Yishmael ben Yosei) and the image of God’s hand beneath the ḥayyot, ever-ready to receive penitents (R. Shimon ben Lakish via R’ Yishmael ben Yosei).

Outline

Intro

1. Part 1

2. Part 2

The Passage - Hallel: Scope, Significance, and Related Aggadic Teachings (Pesachim 118a-119a)

1. Rav Yehuda, R’ Yoḥanan, and Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov - Three Amoraic opinions on the exact extent of Hallel - Psalms 134-136

2. R’ Yoḥanan - It’s called “Great Hallel” because it includes “Who gives food to all flesh” - Psalms 136:25

3. R’ Yehoshua ben Levi - 26 verses in Psalms 136 correspond to 26 pre-Sinai generations sustained by divine mercy

4. Rav Ḥisda - God punishes each person proportionally to their means - Psalms 136:1

5. R’ Yoḥanan - Earning a living is more difficult than childbirth - Genesis 3:16-17

6. R’ Yoḥanan - Earning a living is more difficult than redemption - Genesis 48:15-16

7. R’ Yehoshua ben Levi - Adam feared eating herbs like animals until reassured by “In the sweat of your brow” - Genesis 3:18–19

8. R’ Shimon ben Lakish - We never escaped the original decree—we still eat herbs today - Genesis 3:18

9. Rav Sheizvi citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya - Earning food is as hard as splitting the sea - Psalms 136:13, 25

10. R’ Elazar ben Azarya - Defecation is as difficult as death and splitting the sea - Isaiah 51:14-15

11. Rav Sheshet citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya - One who disparages festivals is like an idol worshipper - Exodus 34:17–18

12. Rav Sheshet citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya - Slanderers deserve to be thrown to the dogs - Exodus 22:30, 23:1

Appendix - Juxtaposition as Justification: David’s Flight from Absalom and Saul (Berakhot 10a)

1. A heretic confronts R’ Abbahu with a chronological inconsistency in Psalms - Psalms 3:1 vs. Psalms 57:1

2. R’ Abbahu’’s Response: Juxtaposition (‘semukhin‘) Method

3. R’ Yoḥanan - prooftext for this method - Psalms 111:7–8

4. The Thematic Connection: Absalom and Gog

Part 2

1. R’ Yoḥanan - Hallel (Psalms 113–118) is recited because it includes Exodus, Splitting of the Red Sea, Torah, Resurrection, and messianic suffering - Psalms 114:1-4, 116:9, 115:1

2. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak - Hallel recalls deliverance of the righteous from Gehenna - Psalms 116:4

3. Ḥizkiya - Hallel recounts the fiery furnace ordeal of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah - Psalms 115:1, 117:1–2

4. Gabriel Recited “And the truth of YHWH…” after saving Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah - Psalms 117:2

5. R’ Natan - The fish of the sea said “And the truth of YHWH…” after Red Sea and Sisera episodes - Psalms 117:2; Judges 5:20–21

6. R’ Shimon ben Lakish - Israel is like a rat in the cellar, pushed to the margins by its children - Psalms 113:9

7. Rava - Israel is beloved to God when it prays, even if they lack mitzvot - Psalms 116:1, 116:6

8. R’ Yishmael ben Yosei - Nations praise God for His acts toward Israel; Egypt and Kush’s gifts to the Messiah are accepted - Psalms 117:1; Psalms 68:30–32

9. R’ Ḥiyya bar Abba citing R’ Yoḥanan - “Rebuke the beast” refers to Rome’s hypocrisy and cruelty - Psalms 68:31; Psalms 80:14

10. Rav Yosef - Isaiah 23:18

11. R’ Elazar - Food stores are for Torah scholars who know each other’s seats or greet one another; Clothing refers to one who conceals or reveals divine secrets - Isaiah 23:18

12. Rav Kahana citing R’ Yishmael ben Yosei - God rejoices when defeated in judgment by Moses or others - Psalms 106:23; Psalms 13:1

13. Rav Kahana citing R’ Yishmael ben Yosei citing R’ Shimon ben Lakish citing R’ Yehuda Nesia - God’s hand is under the ḥayyot to receive penitents - Ezekiel 1:8

The Passage

Pesachim.118a.2-119a.5

Rav Yehuda, R’ Yoḥanan, and Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov - Three Amoraic opinions on the exact extent of Hallel - Psalms 134-136

1. R’ Yehuda - from “Give thanks” to “By the rivers of Babylon” - Psalms 136:1 – 137:1

2. R’ Yoḥanan - from “A song of ascents” to “By the rivers of Babylon” - Psalms 134:1 – 137:1

3. Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov - “For YHWH has chosen Jacob” to “By the rivers of Babylon” - Psalms 135:4 – 137:1

מהיכן הלל הגדול?

1. רבי יהודה אומר:

   1. מ״הודו״

   2. עד ״נהרות בבל״.

2. ורבי יוחנן אומר:

   1. מ״שיר המעלות״

   2. עד ״נהרות בבל״.

3. רב אחא בר יעקב אמר:

   1. מ״כי יעקב בחר לו יה״

   2. עד ״נהרות בבל״.

The Talmud asks: From where does the “Great Hallel” begin and where does it end?

1. R’ Yehuda says:

   1. From “Give thanks” (Psalms 136:1)

   2. until “The rivers of Babylon” (Psalms 137:1).

2. And R’ Yoḥanan says:

   1. From “A song of ascents” (Psalms 134:1)

   2. until “The rivers of Babylon.”

3. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said:

   1. From “For YHWH has chosen Jacob for Himself” (Psalms 135:4)

   2. until “The rivers of Babylon.”

R’ Yoḥanan - It’s called “Great Hallel” because it includes “Who gives food to all flesh” - Psalms 136:25

ולמה נקרא שמו הלל הגדול?

אמר רבי יוחנן:

מפני שהקדוש ברוך הוא יושב ברומו של עולם

ומחלק מזונות לכל בריה.

The Talmud asks: And why is this section called the “Great Hallel”?

R’ Yoḥanan said:

Because this passage states that God sits in the heights of the universe (רומו של עולם)

and dispenses food to every creature.

The whole world praises God for His kindness through the great hallel, which includes the verse: “Who gives food to all flesh” (Psalms 136:25).

R’ Yehoshua ben Levi - 26 verses in Psalms 136 correspond to 26 pre-Sinai generations sustained by divine mercy

(See footnote.)²

אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי:

הני עשרים וששה ״הודו״, כנגד מי?

כנגד עשרים וששה דורות שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו

ולא נתן להם תורה,

וזן אותם בחסדו.

R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said:

These 26 mentions of the word hodu, give praise, in this hallel (Psalms 136), to what do they correspond?

He explains: They correspond to the 26 generations that God created in His world,

and to whom He did not give the Torah.³

And why did these generations survive, despite the fact that they did not learn Torah or perform mitzvot?

They survived only because God sustained them through His mercy, even though they were undeserving.

Rav Ḥisda - God punishes each person proportionally to their means - Psalms 136:1

אמר רב חסדא:

מאי דכתיב ״הודו לה׳ כי טוב״?

הודו לה׳

שגובה חובתו של אדם בטובתו:

1. עשיר —

   1. בשורו,

2. ואת עני —

   1. בשיו,

3. יתום —

   1. בביצתו,

4. אלמנה —

   1. בתרנגולתה.

Rav Ḥisda said:

What is the meaning of that which is written: “Give thanks to YHWH for He is good” (Psalms 136:1)?

It means give thanks to YHWH

who exacts one’s debt, the punishment for a person’s sins and wickedness, in accordance with the goodness of each individual. God punishes each person based on his means.

1. He punishes a wealthy person —

   1. by taking his ox,

2. and He punishes a poor person —

   1. by means of his sheep.

3. He punishes the orphan —

   1. by taking away his egg,

4. and He punishes the widow —

   1. by means of her chicken.

God punishes each person based on his ability to endure deprivation, and He does not punish people with more than they can handle.

R’ Yoḥanan - Earning a living is more difficult than childbirth - Genesis 3:16-17

(See footnote.)⁴

אמר רבי יוחנן:

קשין מזונותיו של אדם כפליים כיולדה,

• דאילו ביולדה —

  • כתיב: ״בעצב״,

• ובמזונות —

  • כתיב ״בעצבון״.

With regard to the praise due to God for sustaining the world, the Talmud cites a statement that R’ Yoḥanan said:

The task of providing a person’s food (מזונותיו של אדם) is twice as difficult as the suffering endured by a woman in childbirth.

• While, with regard to a woman in childbirth —

  • it is written: “In pain [be’etzev] you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16),

• with regard to food —

  • it is written: “In toil [be’itzavon] you shall eat of it, all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:17).

Itzavon is a superlative form of etzev, which indicates that it is more difficult to support oneself than to give birth.

R’ Yoḥanan - Earning a living is more difficult than redemption - Genesis 48:15-16

ואמר רבי יוחנן:

קשין מזונותיו של אדם יותר מן הגאולה,

• דאילו בגאולה —

  • כתיב: ״המלאך הגואל אותי מכל רע״, מלאך בעלמא,

• ואילו במזונות —

  • כתיב: ״האלהים הרועה אתי״.

And R’ Yoḥanan said:

The task of providing a person’s food is more difficult than the redemption

• While, with regard to the redemption —

  • it is written: “The angel who has redeemed me from all evil” (Genesis 48:16), indicating that a mere angel is sufficient to protect a person from all evil;

• whereas, with regard to sustenance —

  • it is written: “The God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day” (Genesis 48:15).

This verse implies that only God can help one who is struggling to earn a living.

R’ Yehoshua ben Levi - Adam feared eating herbs like animals until reassured by “In the sweat of your brow” - Genesis 3:18–19

אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי:

בשעה שאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לאדם ״וקוץ ודרדר תצמיח לך״

זלגו עיניו דמעות,

אמר לפניו:

רבונו של עולם!

אני וחמורי נאכל באבוס אחד?!

כיון שאמר לו: ״בזעת אפך תאכל לחם״,

נתקררה דעתו.

The Talmud cites a similar statement.

R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said:

When God said to Adam: “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field” (Genesis 3:18),

his eyes streamed with tears.

Adam said before Him:

God!

will my donkey and I eat from one trough?!

After God said to him: “In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread” (Genesis 3:19),

his mind was settled, assured that if he toils he will be able to eat bread, unlike the donkey.

R’ Shimon ben Lakish - We never escaped the original decree—we still eat herbs today - Genesis 3:18

אמר רבי שמעון בן לקיש:

אשרינו אם עמדנו בראשונה,

ועדיין לא פלטינן מינה,

דקא אכלינן עיסבי דדברא.

R’ Shimon ben Lakish said:

We would have been fortunate (אשרינו) had we remained under the first decree and were still able to eat the herbs of the field.

And we still have not entirely escaped (פלטינן) from this decree,

as we sometimes eat the grass of the field, in the form of vegetables and leaves.

Rav Sheizvi citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya - Earning food is as hard as splitting the sea - Psalms 136:13, 25

(See footnote.)⁵

אמר רב שיזבי, משמיה דרבי אלעזר בן עזריה:

קשין מזונותיו של אדם כקריעת ים סוף,

• דכתיב:

  • ״נותן לחם לכל בשר״, .

• וסמיך ליה:

  • ״לגוזר ים סוף לגזרים״.

Rav Sheizvi said, citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya:

The task of providing a person’s food is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea,

• as it is written:

  • “He gives food to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever” (Psalms 136:25),

• and juxtaposed to it is the verse:

  • “To Him who divided the Red Sea in sunder, for His mercy endures forever” (Psalms 136:13).

The reiteration of the last part of the verse indicates that the two praises are to a certain extent equivalent.

R’ Elazar ben Azarya - Defecation is as difficult as death and splitting the sea - Isaiah 51:14-15

אמר רבי אלעזר בן עזריה:

קשין נקביו של אדם כיום המיתה וכקריעת ים סוף,

• שנאמר:

  • ״מהר צועה להפתח״,

• וכתיב בתריה:

  • ״רוגע הים, ויהמו גליו״.

Likewise, R’ Elazar ben Azarya said:

A person’s orifices (נקביו), when he cannot properly relieve himself, are as difficult for him as the day of death and the splitting of the Red Sea,

• as it is stated:

  • “He who is bent down (צועה) shall speedily be loosed; and he shall not go down dying into the pit, neither shall his bread fail” (Isaiah 51:14). The phrase “dying into the pit” indicates that the opening of the orifices is similar to a rescue from death.

• And afterward it is written:

  • “Who stirs up the sea, that its waves roar” (Isaiah 51:15), which compares the previous matter to the splitting of the sea.

Rav Sheshet citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya - One who disparages festivals is like an idol worshipper - Exodus 34:17–18

ואמר רב ששת, משום רבי אלעזר בן עזריה:

כל המבזה את המועדות —

כאילו עובד עבודה זרה,

• שנאמר:

  • ״אלהי מסכה לא תעשה לך״,

• וכתיב בתריה:

  • ״את חג המצות תשמור״.

After citing a statement of R’ Elazar ben Azarya that was transmitted by amora’im, the Talmud quotes additional expositions attributed to him.

And Rav Sheshet said, citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya:

Anyone who disparages (מבזה) the Festivals⁶ —

it is considered as though he engages in idol worship.

This, too, is derived from the juxtaposition of verses,

• as it is stated:

  • “You shall make yourself no molten gods” (Exodus 34:17),

• and afterward it is written:

  • “The Festival of matzot you shall keep” (Exodus 34:18), from which it can be inferred that anyone who does not observe the Festivals properly is likened to one who fashions idols.

Rav Sheshet citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya - Slanderers deserve to be thrown to the dogs - Exodus 22:30-23:1

ואמר רב ששת, משום רבי אלעזר בן עזריה:

1. כל המספר לשון הרע,

2. וכל המקבל לשון הרע,

3. וכל המעיד עדות שקר בחבירו —

ראוי להשליכו לכלבים,

• שנאמר:

  • ״לכלב תשליכון אותו״,

• וכתיב בתריה:

  • ״לא תשא שמע שוא״,

  • וקרי ביה: ״לא תשיא״.

And Rav Sheshet further said, citing R’ Elazar ben Azarya:

1. Anyone who speaks slander (לשון הרע),

2. and anyone who accepts and believes the slander he hears,

3. and anyone who testifies falsely about another --

it is fitting to throw him to the dogs,

• as it is stated:

  • “And you shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field, you shall cast it to the dogs” (Exodus 22:30),

• and afterward it is written:

  • “You shall not utter [tisa] a false report; put not your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness” (Exodus 23:1). Uttering rumors is here equated to delivering false testimony.

  • Furthermore, read into the verse as though it stated: Do not cause a false report to be accepted [tasi], i.e., do not lead others to accept your false reports.

Appendix - Juxtaposition as Justification: David’s Flight from Absalom and Saul (Berakhot 10a)

Berakhot.10a.8-11

A heretic confronts R’ Abbahu with a chronological inconsistency in Psalms - Psalms 3:1 vs. Psalms 57:1

A heretic confronts R’ Abbahu with a chronological inconsistency in Psalms. Psalm 3 is titled “when David fled from Absalom,” while Psalm 57 refers to his earlier flight from Saul. The heretic asks why the later episode appears first.

אמר ליה ההוא מינא לרבי אבהו:

• כתיב:

  • ״מזמור לדוד בברחו מפני אבשלום בנו״,

• וכתיב:

  • ״לדוד מכתם בברחו מפני שאול במערה״.

הי מעשה הוה ברישא?

מכדי:

מעשה שאול הוה ברישא —

לכתוב ברישא.

In explaining passages from Psalms, the Talmud relates another instance of a response to the question of a heretic:

A certain heretic said to Rabbi Abbahu:

• it is written:

  • “A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son, Absalom” (Psalms 3:1),

• and similarly it is said:

  • “To the chief musician, al tashḥet, a mikhtam of David when fleeing from Saul into the cave” (Psalms 57:1).

Which event was first?

Since the event with Saul was first —

it would have been appropriate to write it first.

R’ Abbahu’s Response: Juxtaposition (‘semukhin‘) Method

R’ Abbahu replies that for someone who doesn’t apply the method of juxtaposition (semukhin), the ordering is indeed puzzling. But those who do employ this interpretive tool see no difficulty.

אמר ליה:

• אתון --

  • דלא דרשיתון סמוכין —

    • קשיא לכו,

• אנן --

  • דדרשינן סמוכים —

    • לא קשיא לן.

Rabbi Abbahu said to him:

• For you,

  • who do not employ the homiletic method of juxtaposition of verses,

    • it is difficult.

• But for us,

  • who employ the homiletic method of juxtaposition of verses,

    • it is not difficult,

as the Sages commonly homiletically infer laws and moral lessons from the juxtaposition of two verses.

R’ Yoḥanan - prooftext for this method - Psalms 111:7–8

R’ Yoḥanan supports this hermeneutic by citing Psalms 111:7–8, where God’s laws are described as “adjoined forever.” The term “semukhim” is taken as license to interpret adjacent biblical passages in relation to one another.

דאמר רבי יוחנן:

סמוכין מן התורה מנין?

שנאמר:

״סמוכים לעד לעולם

עשוים באמת וישר״.

Regarding the juxtaposition of verses, R’ Yoḥanan said:

From where in the Bible is it derived that one may draw homiletical inferences from the juxtaposition of verses?

As it is said:

“The works of His hands in truth and justice, all His commandments are sure. Adjoined forever and ever,

made in truth and uprightness” (Psalms 111:7–8).

Conclude from here that it is appropriate to draw inferences from the juxtaposition of God’s commandments.

The Thematic Connection: Absalom and Gog

R’ Abbahu then explains the placement: Psalm 3 (Absalom) is placed immediately after Psalm 2, which depicts the eschatological rebellion of Gog and Magog (“Why are the nations in an uproar?”). The juxtaposition implies a parallel: just as it is not absurd to imagine a ben rebelling against his father (as Absalom did), it is also not absurd to posit that people might rebel against God.

Thus, the ordering is not chronological but rhetorical. It anticipates a theological objection to Psalm 2 and preempts it by appealing to a real historical precedent.

למה נסמכה פרשת אבשלום לפרשת גוג ומגוג?

• שאם יאמר לך אדם:

  • כלום יש עבד שמורד ברבו?!

• אף אתה אמור לו:

  • כלום יש בן שמורד באביו?!

• אלא

  • הוה,

• הכא נמי

  • הוה.

Accordingly, David’s fleeing from Absalom is situated where it is in order to juxtapose it to the next chapter, which mentions the war of Gog and Magog; the second chapter of Psalms opens: “Why are the nations in an uproar?”

Why was the chapter of Absalom juxtaposed with the chapter of Gog and Magog?

• They are juxtaposed so that if a person should say to you, expressing doubt with regard to the prophecy of the war of Gog and Magog “against YHWH and against His anointed”:

  • Is there a slave who rebels against his master?! Is there someone capable of rebelling against God?!

• You too say to him:

  • Is there a son who rebels against his father and severs the relationship with the one who brought him into the world and raised him?!

• Yet, nevertheless,

  • there was such a son, Absalom,

• and so too

  • there can be a situation where people will seek to rebel against God.

1. See my two-part series on the Talmud’s discussion of Hallel a few pages earlier in the chapter: “Expressions of praise in the Book of Psalms and the Origin of the Hallel Prayer (Pesachim 117a)”, final part here.

2. R’ Yehoshua ben Levi is referring to the fact that Psalm 136 contains 26 verses. The first verse states:

הודו ליהוה

כי טוב,

כי לעולם חסדו

Give thanks to YHWH,

for He is good,

for His mercy endures forever.

Each verse concludes with “for His mercy endures forever”; the Talmud refers to this as the 26 “hodu”s.

See the breakdown of the 26 verses--with the refrains--in the table in Wikipedia, “Psalm 136”, section “Text”. Screenshot of the first 10 rows, columns ‘Hebrew’ and ‘English’:

3. Steinsaltz explains:

There were

1. 10 generations from Adam to Noah,

2. another 10 from Noah to Abraham,

3. and 6 generations from Abraham to Moses and the revelation at Sinai, i.e.,

   1. Isaac,

   2. Jacob,

   3. Levi,

   4. Kehat,

   5. Amram,

   6. and Moses.

The explanation ties the number 26 to the 26 generations from Creation until the giving of the Torah at Sinai, when humanity received God’s kindness purely by grace (חסד), before the mitzvot were given.

On these 26 generations, compare my “Humanity’s Deserving of the Torah on Trial: Moses Convincingly Argues That the Ten Commandments Are Irrelevant For Angels (Shabbat 88b-89a)”, section “The angels objected, arguing that Torah should remain in heaven (Psalms 8:2,5)”:

אמרו לפניו:

חמדה גנוזה

שגנוזה לך תשע מאות ושבעים וארבעה דורות קודם שנברא העולם,

אתה מבקש ליתנה לבשר ודם?!

The angels said before Him [=God]:

The Torah is a hidden treasure

that was concealed by You 974 generations before the creation of the world,

and You seek to give it to flesh and blood?!

Ed. Steinsaltz ibid. explains:

As it is stated: “The word which He commanded to a thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8). Since the Torah, the word of God, was given to the 26th generation after Adam, the first man, the remaining 974 generations must have preceded the creation of the world.

And compare also my “Pt1 Aggadic Lists of Ten, Seven, Four, and Two Items in Tractate Avot Chapter 5 (Avot 5:1-19)”, section “Genealogy - 10 generations (Adam–Noah, Noah–Abraham) - These illustrate God’s patience—In both cases, all provoked God until Noah/Abraham emerged as the deserving recipient of reward (5:2)”

4. The next few statements are about the difficulty of earning a living - מזונותיו של אדם - literally: “a person’s food / sustenance”. See the similar assertion in my “Sustenance and the Strange: Grotesque Talmudic Accounts of Miracles, Deformity, and Domestic Survival (Shabbat 53b)“, section “The difficulty of earning a livelihood”, where I summarize:

Rav Yehuda commented that it is so hard to earn a livelihood (מזונותיו) that changing nature (in the anecdote cited previously in that sugya) was easier than providing financial support.

Rav Naḥman reinforced this by noting that although miracles occur (מתרחיש), food is never created miraculously.

5. The next four statements have juxtapositions as prooftexts (as well as all being citations from R’ Elazar ben Azarya). The formula used is:

Rav Sheizvi / Sheshet said in the name of (משום) R’ Elazar ben Azarya:

[aggadic statement]

as it is stated (שנאמר):

[biblical verse]

And afterward it is written (כתיב בתריה / סמיך ליה):

[subsequent verse]

Compare Hebrew Wikipedia, “סמיכות פרשיות“. And see the appendix at the end of this piece: “Appendix - Juxtaposition as Justification: David’s Flight from Absalom and Saul (Berakhot 10a)“.

6. מועדות.

This phrase (המבזה את המועדות - “one who despises/denigrates the festivals“) is Mishnaic, see my “Tannaitic Aphorisms (Avot 3:2-12)“, section “R’ Elazar haModai - One who profanes sacred things, shames others in public, or distorts Torah—even if learned and pious—has no share in the World-to-come (3:11)“:

רבי אלעזר המודעי אומר:

[…]

והמבזה את המועדות,

[…]

אף על פי שיש בידו תורה ומעשים טובים,

אין לו חלק לעולם הבא

R’ Elazar of Modiin said:

[…]

and one who despises the festivals

[…]

even though he has to his credit [knowledge of the] Torah and good deeds,

he has not a share in the World-to-Come.