Pt2 “Endless Water”: Eight Stories of Uncertain Drowning of a Husband in the Context of Remarriage (Yevamot 121a-b)
Story of someone who drowned in “the lake of Samkei”, and Rav Sheila; Story of Two people fishing on the Jordan River; and R' Yehuda HaNasi; Story from Rabban Gamliel
Part two of a three-part series. First part here. This part contains stories #4-6 (see the outline in previous part). A future series will be about a further Eleven Stories Regarding the Reliability and Validity of Gentile Testimony (Yevamot 121b-122a).
Story of someone who drowned in “the lake of Samkei”, and Rav Sheila allowed his wife to marry
In this story, Rav Sheila (1st generation Babylonian amora) initially allowed a woman to remarry based on the testimony of witnesses who saw her husband enter “the lake of Samkei” (אגמא דסמקי) and not return. Concerned about the propriety of this decision, Rav proposed excommunicating1 Rav Sheila. Shmuel, however, suggested they first seek clarification from Rav Sheila regarding his reasoning.
Upon inquiry, Rav Sheila acknowledged that the lake of Samkei was an "endless" body of water, where the edges are not visible from all sides, which halachically means the wife should not remarry. Admitting his error in allowing the remarriage, Rav Sheila recognized his mistake in judgement.
ההוא גברא דטבע באגמא דסמקי,
אנסבה רב שילא לדביתהו.
אמר ליה רב לשמואל, תא נשמתיה.
אמר ליה: נשלח ליה ברישא.
שלחו ליה: מים שאין להם סוף, אשתו אסורה או מותרת?
שלח להו: אשתו אסורה.
ואגמא דסמקי — מים שיש להם סוף, או מים שאין להם סוף?
שלח להו: מים שאין להם סוף הוא.
ומר, מאי טעמא עבד הכי?
מיטעא טעינא,
[...]
There was a certain man who drowned in the lake in a place called Samkei. Rav Sheila allowed his wife to marry based on the testimony of witnesses who saw that he entered the water and did not emerge.
Rav said to Shmuel: Come, let us excommunicate him for having issued this ruling.
Shmuel said to him: Let us first send him a message and clarify whether he had a sufficient reason to issue this ruling.
They sent him the following question: When a man disappears in an endless body of water, is his wife a forbidden or a permitted woman, i.e., may she remarry?
He sent back to them: His wife is forbidden.
They asked him further: Is the lake of Samkei a body of water with a visible end or an endless body of water?
He sent a response to them: It is an endless body of water, since one cannot see the water’s edge on every side.
They then asked him: If so, what is the reason that the Master, i.e., Rav Sheila, acted this way, allowing the wife to remarry?
He answered them: I erred in my reasoning.
[...]
Story of Two people fishing on the Jordan River and R' Yehuda HaNasi
In this story recounted by R' Yehuda HaNasi, two individuals were fishing with nets on the Jordan River. One of them ventured into a cave by the shore, which contained a pond of fish. As the sun set, this man could not locate the exit of the cave and was trapped inside overnight, leading his friend to believe he had drowned. The friend, assuming the worst, informed the trapped man's household of his apparent death, leading to mourning and eulogizing at home.
However, the next morning, when the sun rose, the man in the cave was able to see the opening and successfully exited the cave. Upon returning home, he was met with the unexpected scene of his own eulogy.
תניא, אמר רבי:
מעשה בשני בני אדם מכמרין מכמורין בירדן,
ונכנס אחד מהם למחילה של דגים,
ושקעה חמה,
ולא ראה פתחה של מחילה,
ושהה חברו כדי שתצא נפשו,
ובא והודיע בתוך ביתו.
למחר,
זרחה חמה,
והכיר פתחה של מחילה,
ובא ומצא הספד גדול בתוך ביתו.
[...]
It is taught in a baraita that R' Yehuda HaNasi said:
An incident occurred involving two people who were fishing with nets on the Jordan River,
and one of them entered a cave containing a pond of fish next to the shore.
Meanwhile, the sun set
and the one who had entered the cave could not see the cave’s opening and did not exit, so his friend thought he had drowned.
His friend waited long enough for his soul to have departed
and came and notified the man’s household that he had drowned.
The following day
the sun rose,
and the man in the cave recognized the opening of the cave and exited through it.
And he came and found profuse eulogizing in his house.
[...]
Story from Rabban Gamliel - ship that sank, survivor later appeared in front of him
In this baraita, Rabban Gamliel recounts a remarkable incident during a sea journey. He witnessed another boat shattering and sinking, which greatly distressed him because he believed a Torah scholar aboard (identified by a gloss of the anonymous Talmud as R' Akiva), had perished. However, upon reaching land, Rabban Gamliel was surprised to find this scholar alive and well, ready to engage in halakhic discussions.
When questioned about his survival, the scholar explained that he had clung to a plank from the wrecked boat. To survive the relentless waves, he strategically bent his head for each one, preventing the waves from washing him away, ultimately enabling him to safely reach the shore.
תניא,
אמר רבן גמליאל:
פעם אחת הייתי מהלך בספינה,
וראיתי ספינה אחת שנשברה.
והייתי מצטער על תלמיד חכם שבה,
ומנו —
רבי עקיבא.
וכשעליתי ביבשה,
בא, וישב, ודן לפני בהלכה.
אמרתי לו: בני, מי העלך?
אמר לי: דף של ספינה נזדמן לי,
וכל גל וגל שבא עלי — נענעתי לו ראשי.
[...]
It is taught in a baraita:
Rabban Gamliel said:
Once I was traveling on a boat,
and from a distance I saw a boat that shattered and sank.
And I was grieved over the apparent death of the Torah scholar who was on board.
And who was it?
R' Akiva.
But when I disembarked onto dry land, he came, and sat, and deliberated before me about halakha.
I said to him: My son, who brought you up from the water?
He said to me: A plank from the boat came to me,
and I bent my head before each and every wave that came toward me. The waves did not wash me off of the board, and I reached the shore.
[...]