Pt2 Eretz Yisrael’s Miraculous Agricultural Fertility: Past, Present, and Future (Ketubot 111b-112a)
This is the second part of a two-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.
Part 2: Anecdotes of Contemporary (Talmudic) Eretz Yisrael demonstrating its past and current miraculous agricultural fertility
Anecdote of Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda, teacher of Reish Lakish’s sons
רב חייא בר אדא מקרי דרדקי דריש לקיש הוה.
איפגר תלתא יומי ולא אתא.
כי אתא, אמר ליה: אמאי איפגרת?
§ The Talmud relates further stories concerning the great bounty of Eretz Yisrael.
Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda was a school teacher of Reish Lakish.
On one occasion, Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda was delayed (איפגר) for 3 days and did not come to teach the children.
When he finally came, Reish Lakish said to him: Why were you delayed?
Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda spent 3 days harvesting from a single vine branch that produced hundreds of clusters daily
אמר ליה:
דלית אחת הניח לי אבא
ובצרתי ממנה
יום ראשון
שלש מאות אשכולות
אשכול לגרב,
יום שני
בצרתי שלש מאות אשכולות
שתי אשכולות לגרב,
יום שלישי
בצרתי ממנה שלש מאות אשכולות
שלש אשכולות לגרב,
והפקרתי יותר מחציה.
Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda said to him:
Father left me one branch (דלית) of a grape vine,
and I harvested (בצרתי) from it
on the 1st day
300 grape clusters,
and each cluster yielded a quantity of wine enough to fill a jug.
On the 2nd day
I harvested another 300 grape clusters,
and every 2 clusters yielded enough wine to fill a jug.
On the 3rd day
I once again harvested 300 grape clusters,
and every 3 clusters yielded enough to fill a jug,
and I declared ownerless (הפקרתי - hefker) more than half of it.
Reish Lakish interprets the diminishing yield as a divine punishment for not showing up to teach Reish Lakish’s sons
אמר ליה:
אי לאו דאיפגרת --
הוה עבדא טפי.
Reish Lakish said to him:
Had you not delayed and thereby disrupted the Torah study of children --
each grape cluster would have produced more wine.
Due to your cancellation of Torah study, each cluster yielded progressively less.
Anecdote - Rami bar Yeḥezkel saw literal land “flowing with milk and honey” at Benei Berak - Exodus 3:8
Rami b. Yeḥezkel saw goats under fig trees at Benei Berak where fig honey and goat milk flowed together, interpreting this as the verse’s fulfillment.
רמי בר יחזקאל איקלע לבני ברק,
חזנהו להנהו עיזי
דקאכלן תותי תאיני
וקנטיף דובשא מתאיני
וחלבא טייף מנייהו
ומיערב בהדי הדדי.
אמר: היינו: ״זבת חלב ודבש״.
§ Rami bar Yeḥezkel happened to come to Benei Berak.
He saw those goats
that were grazing beneath a fig tree,
and there was honey oozing from the figs
and milk dripping from the goats,
and the two liquids were mixing together.
He said: This is the meaning of the verse “A land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8).1
Anecdotes of R’ Yaakov b. Dostai; Reish Lakish; Rabba b. bar Ḥana - Each reported witnessing vast areas flowing with milk and honey
Other rabbis reported wading in ankle-deep honey or seeing vast expanses producing milk and honey.
R’ Yaakov b. Dostai - agriculturally fertile area in the area between Lod and Ono (Jaffa region)
אמר רבי יעקב בן דוסתאי:
מלוד לאונו שלשה מילין,
פעם אחת
קדמתי בנשף
והלכתי עד קרסוליי בדבש של תאינים.
R’ Ya’akov ben Dostai said:
There are 3 mil from Lod to Ono.2
Once
I rose early in the morning
and I walked in ankle-deep honey oozing from fig trees.
Reish Lakish - a large agriculturally fertile area (256 square Roman miles) in Tzippori (Galilee region)
אמר ריש לקיש:
לדידי חזי לי
״זבת חלב ודבש״ של צפורי,
והוי שיתסר מילין אשיתסר מילין.
Reish Lakish said:
I myself saw
a region called: The place flowing with milk and honey by Tzippori,
and it was an area that covered 16 by 16 mil, 256 square mil.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana (2,112 square Roman miles)
אמר רבה בר בר חנה:
לדידי חזי לי
״זבת חלב ודבש״ של כל ארץ ישראל,
והויא כמבי מיכסי עד אקרא דתולבנקי,
עשרין ותרתין פרסי אורכא
ופותיא שיתא פרסי.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana said:
I myself saw
the region flowing with milk and honey of all Eretz Yisrael,
and it was the same in area as that which stretches from the city of Bei Mikhsei until the fortress (אקרא) of Tulbanki:
Its length 22 parasangs
and its width 6 parasangs,
132 square parasangs, which is 2,112 square mil.
Anecdote of enormous peach
R’ Ḥelbo, R’ Avira, and R’ Yosei b. Ḥanina saw a single peach the size of a 5 se’a pot, divided into thirds for eating, animals, and hefker
רבי חלבו
ורבי עוירא
ורבי יוסי בר חנינא
איקלעו לההוא אתרא.
אייתו קמייהו אפרסקא דהוה כאילפס כפר הינו.
ואילפס כפר הינו כמה הוי?
חמש סאין.
אכלו שליש,
והפקירו שליש,
ונתנו לפני בהמתן שליש.
§ The Talmud relates that
R’ Ḥelbo,
R’ Avira,
and R’ Yosei bar Ḥanina
happened to come on one occasion to a certain place.
The locals brought before these rabbis a peach [afarseka]3 that was as large as a stewpot [ilpas]4 of Kefar Hino.
The Talmud asks: And how big is a stewpot of Kefar Hino? The Talmud answers: It has a capacity of five se’a.
They ate one-third of it,
they declared ownerless one-third of it,
and they placed before their animals one-third of it.
The following year, R’ Elazar saw it diminished due to sin - Psalms 107:34
לשנה איקלע רבי אלעזר להתם
ואייתו לקמיה
(נקטו) [נקטיה] בידיה,
ואמר:
״ארץ פרי למלחה
מרעת יושבי בה״.
In the following year, R’ Elazar happened to come to that same place,
and they brought a peach before him.
He held it in his hand, as the peach was small enough for him to grasp in one hand,
and he said, in reference to the change in size of the fruit from the previous year:
“A fruitful land into a salt waste (מלחה),
from the wickedness (רעת) of they who dwell there” (Psalms 107:34),
i.e., their sins caused the drastic change in the yield of the produce.
R’ Yehoshua b. Levi & R’ Ḥiyya - Saw in Gabala (in Syria/Lebanon) grape clusters the size of calves and goats; Yehoshua cursed the land to cease producing for non-Jews
In Gabala,5 R’ Yehoshua b. Levi mistook grape clusters the size of calves for animals. He then poetically cursed the land not to produce abundantly for non-Jews.
רבי יהושע בן לוי איקלע לגבלא,
חזנהו להנהו קטופי דהוו קיימי כי עיגלי,
אמר: עגלים בין הגפנים?!
אמרו ליה: קטופי נינהו.
אמר:
ארץ ארץ!
הכניסי פירותייך!
למי את מוציאה פירותייך?!
לגוים הללו שעמדו עלינו בחטאתינו?!
§ Once R’ Yehoshua ben Levi happened to come to Gavla, and he saw those clusters (קטופי) of vines that were standing as large as calves.
He said to the locals: Calves are standing between the grapevines and you are not concerned that they will cause damage?
They said to him: They are clusters
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi said:
O earth, O earth!
Gather in your fruit!
For whom do you produce your fruit?!
For these non-Jews who stand over us in our sins?!
It would be preferable if you did not produce such large fruit.
The next year, R’ Ḥiyya found them the size of goats, reflecting diminished yield
לשנה איקלע רבי חייא להתם,
חזנהו דהוו קיימי כעיזי,
אמר: עזים בין הגפנים?!
אמרו ליה:
זיל!
לא תעביד לן כי חברך.
The following year, R’ Ḥiyya happened to come to that same place,
and he saw clusters that were standing as large as goats.
He said: Goats are standing between the grapevines?!
They said to him:
Go away!
do not do to us what your colleague has done.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi’s curse was already fulfilled, as the fruit had shrunk from the previous year.
Comparing the Fertility of Eretz Yisrael’s worst land (Hebron) vs. Egypt’s best land (Zoan)
A baraita notes that in blessed years, one beit se’a in Israel produces 50,000 kor, far exceeding Egypt’s best land (Zoan).
תנו רבנן:
בברכותיה של ארץ ישראל —
בית סאה עושה חמשת ריבוא כורין,
בישיבתה של צוען —
בית סאה עושה שבעים כורין.
§ A baraita states:
In years of blessings of Eretz Yisrael,
an area of land measuring one beit se’a produces 50,000 kor.
By way of comparison, when Zoan, a fertile region in Egypt, was settled,
one beit se’a there would produce only 70 kor.
R’ Meir - Beit She’an Valley’s agricultural output—70 kor produce per beit se’a of land
דתניא,
אמר רבי מאיר:
אני ראיתי בבקעת בית שאן --
בית סאה עושה שבעים כורין.
As it is taught in a baraita that
R’ Meir said:
I saw in Beit She’an Valley (בקעת בית שאן) —
that one beit se’a produced 70 kor,
which teaches that the soil of a good-quality and irrigated stretch of land outside the borders of Eretz Yisrael will naturally yield this quantity of produce.
Prooftext - Even Hebron’s rocky soil yielded seven times Zoan’s produce, showing Eretz Yisrael’s superiority - Genesis 13:10; Isaiah 30:4
ואין לך מעולה בכל ארצות יותר מארץ מצרים,
שנאמר: ״כגן ה׳ כארץ מצרים״.
ואין לך מעולה בכל ארץ מצרים יותר מצוען —
דהוו מרבו בה מלכים,
דכתיב: ״כי היו בצוען שריו״.
ואין לך טרשים בכל ארץ ישראל יותר מחברון,
דהוו קברי בה שיכבי.
And you have no more outstanding earth among all the lands other than the land of Egypt,
as it is stated: “Like the garden of YHWH, like the land of Egypt” (Genesis 13:10).
And you have no more outstanding region in all of the land of Egypt than Zoan.
The superior quality of Zoan is derived from the fact that they would raise kings there,
as it is written: “For his princes are at Zoan” (Isaiah 30:4).
And you have no rockier terrain in all of Eretz Yisrael than Hebron,
as people would bury their dead there, e.g., the Patriarchs in the Cave of Machpelah, because the land was not arable.
ואפילו הכי, חברון מבונה על אחת משבעה בצוען,
דכתיב: ״וחברון שבע שנים נבנתה לפני צוען מצרים״,
מאי ״נבנתה״?
אילימא נבנתה ממש,
אפשר אדם בונה בית לבנו קטן קודם שיבנה לבנו גדול?!
שנאמר:
״ובני חם:
כוש
ומצרים
ופוט
וכנען״
אלא
שמבונה על אחת משבעה בצוען
And even so, Hebron was more developed, i.e., more fertile, than Zoan by sevenfold,
as it is written: “Now Hebron was built [nivneta] seven years before Zoan in Egypt” (Numbers 13:22).
What is the meaning of the term: “nivneta”, in this verse?
If we say it means literally that Hebron was built before Zoan,
would a person build a house [=Hebron] for his younger son [=Canaan] before building one [=Zoan] for his older son [=Mizraim/Egypt]?!
As it is stated:
“And the sons of Ham:
Cush,
and Mizraim,
and Put,
and Canaan” (Genesis 10:6),
which indicates that Egypt [=Mizraim], was older than Canaan, in whose territory Hebron was located.
Rather, the meaning of the verse is that
Hebron was more developed and more fertile than Zoan by sevenfold,
which means that Hebron produced 490 kor, seven times more than the seventy kor of regular fertile land, as stated above.
והני מילי בטרשים,
אבל שלא בטרשים — חמש מאה.
והני מילי שלא בברכותיה,
אבל בברכותיה, כתיב: ״ויזרע יצחק בארץ ההיא וגו׳״.
And this applies only to the rocky terrain of Eretz Yisrael, e.g., Hebron,
whereas those parts of Eretz Yisrael that were not rocky produced even more, up to 500 kor.
And this applies only to a year when Eretz Yisrael is not blessed.
However, with regard to a year when it was blessed, it is written: “And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold” (Genesis 26:12).
Isaac’s field produced 100 times the normal yield, which according to the above calculations is 50,000 kor, as stated in the baraita.
R’ Yosei - A single se’a of wheat in Judea region would produce five se’a of flour—one se’a each of regular flour, fine flour, bran, coarse bran, and inferior flour
תניא,
אמר רבי יוסי:
סאה ביהודה היתה עושה חמש סאין:
סאה קמח,
סאה סלת,
סאה סובין,
סאה מורסין,
וסאה קיבוריא.
§ It is taught in a baraita that
R’ Yosei said:
A se’a of wheat in Judea would produce five se’a.
How so?
It would yield a se’a of flour;
a se’a of fine flour (סלת);
a se’a of bran (סובין) fiber, from the outer layer of the grain;
a se’a of coarse bran (מורסין), i.e., flour mixed with bran fiber;
and a se’a of cibarium [kiburaya],6 inferior flour.
Anecdote of Sadducee & R’ Ḥanina - a single beit se’a of land in Eretz Yisrael produced oil, wine, produce, and legumes, and provided pasture
אמר ליה ההוא צדוקי לרבי חנינא:
יאה משבחיתו בה בארעכון.
בית סאה אחת הניח לי אבא,
ממנה משח,
ממנה חמר,
ממנה עיבור,
ממנה קיטניות,
ממנה רועות מקנתי.
A certain Sadducee said to R’ Ḥanina:
You have done well in praising your land;
my father left me one beit se’a of land in Eretz Yisrael
and from it I am able to produce oil (משח),
from it I produce wine (חמר),
from it I grow produce (עיבור),
from it I grow legumes (קיטניות),
and from it I provide pasture from which my livestock (מקנתי) graze.
Anecdote of the Aramaean - 120 kor of dates from a single date tree near the Jordan River
אמר ליה ההוא בר אמוראה לבר ארעא דישראל:
האי [תאלתא] דקיימא אגודא דירדנא --
כמה גדריתו מינה?
אמר ליה: שיתין כורי.
אמר ליה:
אכתי לא עייליתו בה
אחריבתוה,
אנן מאה ועשרים כורי הוה גזרינן מינה.
אמר ליה:
אנא נמי --
מחד גיסא קאמינא לך.
A certain Aramaean once said to a resident of Eretz Yisrael:
That palm tree which stands on the banks (גודא) of the Jordan --
how many dates are you able to pick (גדריתו) from it?
He said to him: 60 kor.
The Aramaean said to him:
You have not yet fully entered Eretz Yisrael
and yet you have already succeeded in destroying it.
We would pick off that tree 120 kor.
The resident said to him:
I too --
am speaking to you about only one side of the tree, as I have not yet picked the fruit off the other side.
Rav Ḥisda - Eretz Yisrael compared to deer: cannot contain produce, ripens faster - Jeremiah 3:19; Exodus 3:8
Eretz Yisrael is likened to a deer: just as a deer’s skin cannot contain its flesh, the land cannot contain its produce.
אמר רב חסדא,
מאי דכתיב:
״ואתן לך ארץ חמדה
נחלת צבי״,
למה ארץ ישראל נמשלה לצבי?
לומר לך:
מה צבי זה --
אין עורו מחזיק בשרו,
אף ארץ ישראל --
אינה מחזקת פירותיה.
§ Rav Ḥisda said:
What is the meaning of that which is written:
“And give you a pleasant land,
the goodliest [tzvi] heritage” (Jeremiah 3:19)?
Why is Eretz Yisrael likened to a deer [tzvi]?7
This comparison comes to tell you that
just as with regard to this deer,
its skin cannot contain its meat once it has been skinned,
so too, Eretz Yisrael
cannot contain its fruit once it has been picked, due to the great quantity of the produce.
Alternative interpretation - like the swift deer, Eretz Yisrael's fruits ripen quickly
דבר אחר:
מה צבי זה --
קל מכל החיות,
אף ארץ ישראל --
קלה מכל הארצות לבשל את פירותיה.
Alternatively,
just as this deer --
is swifter8 than all the other beasts,
so too Eretz Yisrael --
is swifter to ripen (לבשל) its fruit than all the other countries.
To counter the idea that quick ripening means poor quality, the verse “flowing with milk and honey” affirms the richness of the produce
אי
מה צבי זה --
קל
ואין בשרו שמן —
אף ארץ ישראל --
קלה לבשל
ואין פירותיה שמנים,
תלמוד לומר: ״זבת חלב ודבש״,
שמנים מחלב
ומתוקים מדבש
The Talmud asks: If so, one can suggest the following comparison:
Just as this deer
is swift
and its meat is not fatty,
so too, Eretz Yisrael
is swift to ripen its fruit
but its fruit is not fat and juicy.
The Talmud explains: For this reason the verse states: “Flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8),
to say that its fruit is
fatter and juicier than milk
and sweeter than honey.
זבת חלב ודבש.
See Hebrew Wikipedia, “ארץ זבת חלב ודבש“, section “זיהוי החלב והדבש“, my translation:
According to many [scholars], the “honey” in the metaphorical phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” refers to fruit honey—the natural sweetness of fruits—since Canaan was known for its fertility and fruit produce, particularly dates (from which date honey, or silan, was made), figs, and grapes, all mentioned in the Bible as sources of honey.
Some interpret “honey” as referring specifically to the juice of dates and grapes, while others include bee honey as well.Honey appears many times in the Bible as a symbol of the sweetness and richness of the land’s fruits, such as in the biblical description of the Land of Israel as blessed with the Seven Species:
“A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey.”
It is also mentioned alongside other agricultural products in Rabshakeh’s praise of the fertility of the Land of Israel:
“A land of olive oil and honey.”
The Talmud [=our sugya] also recounts stories of Amoraim who saw in the Land of Israel goats standing under fig trees, with milk dripping from their udders mixing with honey oozing from the figs, and they associated this with the biblical phrase “flowing with milk and honey”, seeing it as a literal illustration of the verse.
The entry then cites Mekhilta_DeRabbi_Shimon_Ben_Yochai.13.4, my translation:
R’ Elazar says:
“Milk” — this refers to the milk of fruits.
“Honey” — this refers to date honey.R’ Akiva says:
“Milk” — this is literal milk. As it is said:“And it shall come to pass on that day, that the mountains shall drip with new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk.” [Joel 4:18]
“Honey” — this is forest (יערות) honey. As it is said:
“And the people came into the forest, and behold, there was flowing honey.” [1 Samuel 14:25]
Modern-day greater Tel Aviv area.
קיבוריא - from Latin cibarius: “pertaining to, or suitable for food“.
See Jastrow (modernized):
קיבר
(cibarium) the coarser meal which remains after the fine wheat flour, shorts.
Jerusalem Talmud Peah 7:3:10 סאה ארבלית … סולת … קמח סאה וכ׳ one se’a of Arbel wheat yielded one se’a pollen, one first flour, one cibarium etc.
Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 1:8:9; (insert סאה סולת);
Midrash Tanḥuma Tetzaveh 13;
Ketubot 112a קיבוריא (read: קִיבָרְיָא cibaria);
and elsewhere.
פת קיבר (panis cibarius) black bread.
Mishnah Makhshirin 2:8 אוכלי פת קיבר the class of eaters of black bread (slaves, poor men etc.).
Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 6:1:25 bottom of page פת קיבר, opp. פת נקייה.
Jerusalem Talmud Challah 4:1:2 נקי וקיבר (substitute for: פת) two women baking together, one white bread, and the other black bread.
Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:6:4 (referring to Jeremiah 37:21 מחוץ האפים, changed to לאפים) מחוץ לאופים … זו פת קיבר שנמכרת חוץ לפלטיר וכ׳ (not לפלטיא) ‘outside of the bakers’, … that is, common bread which is sold outside of the bakershops, and which is darker than the seconds of barley flour;
Yalkut ibid. 982.
Transferred sense: (see Lat. Dict. under the word cibarius) common.
Bereishit Rabbah 48 (referring to חמאה וחלב, Genesis 18:8) המעולה … הבינוני … והקיבר אחד ועשרים the uppermost (cream) is one sixtieth portion of a given quantity of milk, the middle (milk) is one fortieth, and the common (remainder) contains 5 percent. milk substance.
Homiletically playing on the Hebrew word ‘tzvi’ (צבי), which in the Bible can also have the sense of “beauty, glory” (and this is the plain meaning in the verse), but in later Hebrew only retained the sense of “deer”.
קל - literally: “light”, meaning here “fast, swift”.