Pt2 Bloodletting, Recovery, and Regimens of Risk: Fires, Food, Wine, Timing, Exposure, and Practical Precautions of Babylonian Amoraim (Shabbat 129a-b)

This is the second and final part of a two-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1 .

Rav and Shmuel - A person should not sit in a windy place after bloodletting, lest the wind worsen the loss of blood and create danger

רב ושמואל דאמרי תרוייהו:

האי מאן דעביד מילתא —

לא ליתיב היכא דכריך זיקא,

דילמא שפי ליה אומנא

ומוקים ליה ארביעתא,

ואתי זיקא

ושאיף מיניה,

ואתי לידי סכנה.

Similarly, it was Rav and Shmuel who both said:

One who performs the practice of bloodletting

should not sit where the wind is blowing¹

due to the concern that perhaps the blood letter let too much blood from him

and established the amount of remaining blood at 1/4th of a log.

And there is concern the wind will come

and draw out a little more blood from him,

and he will be endangered.

Anecdote re Shmuel - He used to let blood only in a heavily walled house; once, he felt weak, and discovered that half a brick missing from the wall thickness had let in enough chill to harm him

שמואל הוה רגיל דעביד מילתא

בביתא דשב לבני וארחא.

יומא חדא עבד,

וארגיש בנפשיה.

בדק

וחסר חד ארחא.

The Talmud relates:

Shmuel would customarily perform the practice of bloodletting

in a house whose walls were 7½ bricks² thick

One day he performed bloodletting

and felt himself weakened.

He examined

and discovered that one half-brick was lacking from the thickness of the walls.

The resultant chill caused his weakness.

Rav and Shmuel - After bloodletting, one should taste something before going outside

רב ושמואל דאמרי תרוייהו:

האי מאן דעביד מילתא —

ליטעום מידי

והדר ליפוק.

It was Rav and Shmuel who both said:

One who performs the practice of bloodletting —

should taste something

and only afterwards go outside,

... because otherwise, encounters with a corpse, a murderer, or a pig can cause serious harm

דאי לא טעים מידי,

1. אי פגע בשכבא —

   1. ירקי אפיה.

2. אי פגע במאן דקטל נפשא —

   1. מית.

3. אי פגע בדבר אחר —

   1. קשה לדבר אחר.

since if he does not taste anything,

1. if he encounters a corpse,

   1. his face will turn green.

2. If he encounters one who murdered a person,

   1. he will die.

3. If he encounters something else (דבר אחר), a euphemism for a pig,

   1. it is harmful with regard to something else, a euphemism for tzara’at.

Rav and Shmuel - After bloodletting, one should wait a bit before standing

רב ושמואל דאמרי תרוייהו:

האי מאן דעביד מילתא —

לישהי פורתא

והדר ליקום

It was Rav and Shmuel who both said:

With regard to one who performs the practice of bloodletting —

let him wait a bit

and only then let him rise

... since standing immediately after the following activities bring a person close to death -- eating, drinking, sleeping, bloodletting, and sex

דאמר מר:

חמשה דברים קרובין למיתה יותר מן החיים,

ואלו הן:

1. אכל ועמד,

2. שתה ועמד,

3. ישן ועמד,

4. הקיז דם ועמד,

5. שימש מטתו ועמד.

as the Master said:

There are 5 matters that render one closer to death than life,

and they are these:

1. If one ate and immediately rose,

2. if one drank and rose,

3. if one slept and immediately rose,

4. if one let blood and rose,

5. if one had sex and rose.

Shmuel - The normal interval for bloodletting is every thirty days, but one should reduce the frequency in middle age and again in old age

אמר שמואל:

1. פורסא דדמא —

   1. כל תלתין יומין.

2. ובין הפרקים —

   1. ימעט,

3. ובין הפרקים --

   1. יחזור וימעט.

Shmuel said:

1. The interval³ for letting blood --

   1. is every 30 days.

2. And during the middle periods (פרקים) of one’s life --

   1. he should decrease the frequency of bloodletting;

3. and during the later periods --

   1. he should decrease its frequency again.

Shmuel - Bloodletting is suitable on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, but not on Monday or Thursday

ואמר שמואל:

פורסא דדמא —

1. חד בשבתא,

2. ארבעה,

3. ומעלי שבתא,

אבל

1. שני

2. וחמישי —

לא.

And Shmuel said:

The times for letting blood are

1. Sunday⁴

2. Wednesday

3. and Friday.

However,

1. on Monday

2. and Thursday

No, one should not let blood,

... because Monday and Thursday are days of heavenly and earthly judgment

דאמר מר:

מי שיש לו זכות אבות --

יקיז דם בשני ובחמישי,

שבית דין של מעלה ושל מטה שוין כאחד.

[...]

as the Master said:

Only one who has the merit of his ancestors⁵ --

should let blood on Monday and Thursday

as the court on High, in the heavens, and the court below are equal.⁶

[...]

Shmuel - Certain Wednesdays are especially dangerous for bloodletting: when Wednesday falls on the 4th, 14th, or 24th of the month, or when fewer than four days remain in the month (= ~25th of the month and on)

אמר שמואל:

1. ארבע דהוא ארבע,

2. ארבע דהוא ארביסר,

3. ארבע דהוא עשרים וארבעה,

4. ארבע דליכא ארבע בתריה —

סכנתא.

Similarly, Shmuel says:

1. On Wednesday⁷ that is the 4th day of the month;

2. on Wednesday that is the 14th of the month;

3. on Wednesday that is the 24th of the month;

4. and Wednesday after which there are not 4 days remaining in the month --

it is dangerous to let blood.

Bloodletting on the 1st or 2nd of the month causes weakness, and on the 3rd of the month is dangerous; Bloodletting on the eve of a festival causes weakness; Bloodletting on the eve of Shavuot is dangerous

1. ראש חודש ושני לו —

   1. חולשא.

2. שלישי לו —

   1. סכנה.

3. מעלי יומא טבא —

   1. חולשא.

4. מעלי יומא דעצרתא —

   1. סכנתא.

1. Bloodletting on the 1st⁸ and on the 2nd day of the month

   1. causes weakness;

2. bloodletting on the 3rd day of the month

   1. leads to danger.

3. Bloodletting on the eve of a Festival

   1. causes weakness;

4. bloodletting on the eve of the festival of Shavuot

   1. leads to danger.

Bloodletting on the eve of all Festivals is prohibited due to the festival of Shavuot; The danger of the eve of Shavuot is tied to the destructive spirit Tivuah, which would have slaughtered Israel had they not accepted the Torah

וגזרו רבנן אכולהו מעלי יומא טבא

משום יומא (טבא) דעצרתא,

דנפיק ביה זיקא ושמיה ״טבוח״,

דאי לא קבלו ישראל תורה —

הוה טבח להו לבשרייהו ולדמייהו.

And the rabbis issued a decree prohibiting bloodletting on the eve of every Festival

due to the festival of Shavuot.

On Shavuot, an evil spirit⁹ named Tibbuaḥ (טבוח), from the Hebrew word meaning “slaughter”, emerges,

as had the Jewish people not accepted the Torah on the festival of Shavuot --

Tibbuaḥ would have slaughtered (טבח) their flesh and their blood.

Consequently, it remains a dangerous day.

Shmuel - If one ate wheat and then let blood, the bloodletting is ineffective for medical treatment, because the wheat replaced what was removed

אמר שמואל:

אכל חטה והקיז דם —

לא הקיז אלא לאותה חטה.

[...]

Shmuel said:

If one ate wheat and afterward let blood —

he only let that wheat.

The bloodletting was ineffective as the wheat replaced any blood that was let.

[...]

After bloodletting one should drink immediately, but delay eating until the time needed to walk half a mil

המקיז דם,

1. שתייה —

   1. לאלתר.

2. אכילה —

   1. עד חצי מיל.

[...]

One who lets blood

1. should engage in drinking

   1. immediately;

2. he should not engage in eating

   1. until the time that it takes to walk half a mil has elapsed.

[...]

Anecdote - Rav announced fixed prices for bloodletting and haircutting, but said moustache grooming is effectively free and worthless work

מכריז רב:

1. מאה קרי

   1. בזוזא,

2. מאה רישי

   1. בזוזא,

3. מאה שפמי

   1. ולא כלום.

Rav would announce:

1. 100 bloodlettings (קרי)

   1. for a zuz;

2. cutting the hair on 100 heads (רישי)

   1. for a zuz;

3. grooming 100 moustaches (שפמי)

   1. does not cost anything (ge’onim).

Blood letters typically served as barbers as well and did not charge for grooming a moustache. If 100 men happened to arrive one day to have their moustaches groomed, the barber would work all day without receiving any pay.

Rav Yosef’s anecdote about Rav Huna’s school - When the rabbis were sluggish in study, they called it “the moustaches day”, and only later did Rav Yosef understand that they meant a day without productive value

אמר רב יוסף:

כי הוינן בי רב הונא,

יומא דמפגרי ביה רבנן,

אמרי:

האידנא יומא דשפמי הוא,

ולא ידענא מאי קאמרי.

Rav Yosef said:

When we were students in Rav Huna’s school,

on a day when the rabbis were sluggish (מפגרי) in their studies,

they would say:

“Today is the day of the moustaches (שפמי)”,

and I did not know what they were saying.

Now that I heard Rav’s statement, I understand that they meant that it was “a day without purpose”.

Appendix - Summary lists of things considered good and bad in the context of bloodletting, according to the sugya

Good for bloodletting / after bloodletting:

1. Warmth; making a fire if chilled

2. A substantial restorative meal

3. Meat

4. Wine, especially aged wine

5. Cooked spleen

6. Tasting/drinking wine if one cannot afford a meal

7. Seven black dates

8. Oil on the temples

9. Lying in the sun on the day of bloodletting

10. Staying in a sheltered, thick-walled place

11. Tasting something before going outside

12. Waiting a bit before standing up

13. Doing it at proper intervals

14. Doing it on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday

15. Drinking immediately afterward

16. Delaying eating for a short while afterward

Bad for bloodletting / after bloodletting:

1. Becoming chilled

2. Wind / sitting in a draft

3. Neglecting the post-bloodletting meal

4. Going outside before tasting something

5. Standing up immediately afterward

6. Doing it too frequently

7. Doing it on Monday or Thursday

8. Doing it on Wednesdays that fall on the 4th, 14th, 24th, or last four days of the month

9. Doing it on the 1st, 2nd, or especially 3rd of the month

10. Doing it on the eve of a festival

11. Doing it on the eve of Shavuot

12. Eating wheat before bloodletting

13. Eating too soon afterward

14. Exposure to a corpse, murderer, or pig after bloodletting

1. כריך זיקא.

In this context, the meaning of the Aramaic zika is closer to “draft/gust of wind”.

On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), זִיקָא I, sense #2:

זִיקָא I

Aramaic same

[…]

2) blast, wind, draught (spirit).

• Targum Jonathan on Leviticus 16:22 - רוח זיקא.

• Aramaic Targum to Job 4:15; and elsewhere.

• Avodah Zarah 28b:5 - ויזדהר מזיקא - “and let him beware of exposing his ear to a draft”

• Berakhot 40b:17 - תמרי זיקא - “dates blown down by the wind”

• Nedarim 28b:4 - איכא זיקא נפישא - “a strong wind is blowing” (threatening to mow down the standing crop).

• Esther Rabbah 3:14 - פח זיקא וכ׳ blow a blast into his belly (arouse his anger).

• Taanit 24a:16 - נשב זיקא (not נשא) a wind arose (gathering clouds);

  • Taanit 25b:15;

  • Bava Metzia 85b:12;

  • and elsewhere.

• Shabbat 129a:22 - היכא דכריך זיקא - “in a room where the air is turned around”, i.e. in a draft.

• Bereishit Rabbah 50, beginning (referring to כמראה הבזק, Ezekiel 1:14) -כרוחא לזיקא - “as the wind drives the sparks at a conflagration”; [commentaries: as the wind shakes the suspended leather-hose, see next word];

• ibid. - כזיקא לעננא - “as the wind scatters the clouds”

• Berakhot 59a:7 - כזיקא על פום דני - “like the rumbling sound produced by blowing into wine vessels”

• and frequently.

2. שב לבני וארחא.

On these terms, see my note in “Talmudic Interpretations of the Book of Esther: Esther 8:16-10:3 (Megillah 16b)“, on section “The Structure of Biblical Songs: Layout Typically ‘Staggered Like Bricks’, Except for the listing of Haman’s Sons and the Canaanite Kings, Whose ‘Collapsing’ Layout Symbolizes Their Irrevocable Downfall“.

3. פורסא.

On this word, see Jastrow (modernized):

פּוּרְסָא

(פְּרַס I) division, arrangement, order, proper time (compare קֵץ).

• Shabbat 129b:3 - פורסא דדמא כל וכ׳ - “the order (proper period) for blood-letting is every thirty days”

• פורסא דדמא חד וכ׳ - “the order (proper day) for blood-letting is the first day of the week etc.”

• Gittin 37a:1 (explaining פרוסבול) - פורסא דמילתא - “the arrangement (institution) of a measure”

4. חד בשבתא - literally: “the first of Shabbat”, i.e. the first day of the week.

5. זכות אבות.

See my discussion of this recurring Talmudic term, in “Pt1 Power, Pedagogy, and Internal Rabbinic Politics: The Deposition of Rabban Gamliel, the Appointment of R’ Elazar ben Azarya, and Eventual Reconciliation (Berakhot 27b-28a)“, on section “Deliberating a Successor: Criteria and Candidates; Disqualifying R’ Yehoshua and R’ Akiva“. I summarize that section there:

Several candidates are rejected: R’ Yehoshua is involved in the incident (בעל מעשה); R’ Akiva lacks ancestral merit.

6. Steinsaltz explains:

The courts in the cities convene on Mondays and Thursdays, as does the heavenly court. Letting blood on a day of judgment is dangerous. If one is judged unfavorably, all his blood could flow out.

That courts convene on Mondays and Thursdays is stated in Mishnah Ketubot 1:1:

בתולה נשאת ליום הרביעי

ואלמנה ליום החמישי

A virgin is married on Wednesday

and a widow on Thursday.

שפעמים בשבת בתי דינין יושבין בעיירות

ביום השני וביום החמישי,

שאם היה לו טענת בתולים —

היה משכים לבית דין.

The reason for the former is that twice a week courts convene in the towns,

on Monday and Thursday,

so that if the husband had a claim concerning the bride’s virginity when consummating the marriage on Wednesday night —

he would go early the next day to court and make his claim.

That courts should convene on Mondays and Thursdays is attributed in the Talmud to Ezra; see Bava_Kamma/82a#3, list item #3 (literally: “they judge on [day] two and three”):

עשרה תקנות תיקן עזרא:

1. שקורין במנחה בשבת;

2. וקורין בשני ובחמישי;

3. ודנין בשני ובחמישי;

4. ומכבסים בחמישי בשבת;

5. ואוכלין שום בערב שבת;

6. ושתהא אשה משכמת ואופה;

7. ושתהא אשה חוגרת בסינר;

8. ושתהא אשה חופפת וטובלת;

9. ושיהו רוכלין מחזירין בעיירות;

10. ותיקן טבילה לבעלי קריין.

§ A baraita states that Ezra the Scribe instituted 10 ordinances:

1. He instituted that communities read the Torah on Shabbat in the afternoon;

2. and they also read the Torah on every Monday and Thursday;

3. and the courts convene and judge every Monday and Thursday;

4. and one does laundry on Thursday;

5. and one eats garlic on Friday.

6. And Ezra further instituted that a woman should rise early and bake bread on those days when she wants to bake;

7. and that a woman should don a breechcloth (סינר);

8. and that a woman should first comb (חופפת) her hair and only then immerse in a mikveh after being ritually impure;

9. and that peddlers (רוכלין) of cosmetics and perfumes should travel around through all the towns.

10. And Ezra further instituted the requirement of immersion for those who experienced a seminal emission (בעלי קריין - keri).

7. ארבע - literally: “four”, i.e. the 4th day of the week, Wednesday.

8. ראש חודש - literally: “beginning of the month”.

9. זיקא - literally: “wind”; see my earlier note. As in Hebrew and Latin, “wind” takes on the sense of “(supernatural) spirit”.