Pt3 From Verse to Aphorism: Tracing the Biblical Basis of Rabbinic and Popular Sayings (Bava Kamma 92a-93a)

This is the third and final part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

Aphorism #12 - “If you call your friend and he does not answer, throw a large wall at him”

אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי,

מנא הא מילתא דאמרי אינשי:

קרית חברך ולא ענך,

רמי גודא רבה – שדי ביה?

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

From where is this matter derived whereby people say:

If you called to your friend and he did not answer you,

throw a large wall (גודא) and cast it at him,

i.e., do not attempt to help him anymore?

Rabba bar Mari’s source - God says that after failed purification, Israel will not be purified again until wrath is spent - Ezekiel 24:13

אמר ליה:

״יען טהרתיך ולא טהרת

מטמאתך לא תטהרי עוד״.

Rabba bar Mari said to him that

the source is as it is written: “Because I have purged you and you were not purged,

you shall not be purged from your impurity anymore,

until I have satisfied My fury upon you” (Ezekiel 24:13).

Aphorism #13 - “Do not throw a stone into a well from which you drank”

אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי,

מנא הא מילתא דאמרי אינשי:

בירא דשתית מיניה –

לא תשדי ביה קלא?

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

From where is this matter derived whereby people say:

If there is a well that you drank from,

do not throw a stone into it?

Rabba bar Mari’s source - Do not abhor Egypt, because Israel sojourned there - Deuteronomy 23:8

אמר ליה:

דכתיב:

• ״לא תתעב אדמי –

  • כי אחיך הוא,

• ולא תתעב מצרי –

  • כי גר היית בארצו״.

Rabba bar Mari said to him that

the source is as it is written:

• “You shall not abhor an Edomite,

  • for he is your brother;

• you shall not abhor an Egyptian,

  • because you were a stranger in his land” (Deuteronomy 23:8).

Since you dwelled in their lands, you may not cause them harm.

Aphorism #14 - “If you lift with me, I will lift; if not, I will not”

אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי,

מנא הא מילתא דאמרי אינשי:

• אי דלית דורא –

  • דלינא,

• ואי לא –

  • לא דלינא?

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

From where is this matter derived whereby people say:

• If you lift (דלית) the load (דורא) with me --

  • I will lift it,

• and if you will not lift it with me --

  • I won’t lift it?

Rabba bar Mari’s source - Barak tells Deborah - if you go with me, I will go; if not, I will not go - Judges 4:8

אמר ליה:

דכתיב:

״ויאמר אליה ברק:

• אם תלכי עמי –

  • והלכתי,

• ואם לא תלכי עמי –

  • לא אלך״.

Rabba bar Mari said to him that

the source is as it is written with regard to Barak and Deborah concerning the war of Sisera:

“And Barak said to her:

• If you will go with me,

  • then I will go;

• but if you will not go with me,

  • I will not go” (Judges 4:8).

Aphorism #15 - “When we were small, we were treated as men; now that we are old, as children”

(See footnote).¹

אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי,

מנא הא מילתא דאמרי אינשי:

• כד הוינן זוטרי –

  • לגברי,

• השתא דקשישנא –

  • לדרדקי?

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

From where is this matter derived whereby people say:

• When we were small (זוטרי),

  • we were considered to be men (גברי);

• now that we are old,

  • we are considered to be children [le-dardekei]?

Rabba bar Mari’s source - At first God Himself led Israel; later He sends an angel - Exodus 13:21, 23:20

אמר ליה:

• מעיקרא כתיב:

  • ״וה׳ הולך לפניהם יומם בעמוד ענן, לנחתם הדרך, ולילה בעמוד אש, להאיר להם״,

• ולבסוף כתיב:

  • ״הנה אנכי שלח מלאך לפניך,

  • לשמרך בדרך״.

Rabba bar Mari said to him that

the source is that

• Initially, it is written with regard to the Jewish people traveling in the wilderness:

  • “And YHWH went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light” (Exodus 13:21). God Himself guarded over the Jewish people.

• But at the end, after some time passed and it would be expected that the Jewish people were considered more important, it is written:

  • “Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way” (Exodus 23:20), indicating that an angel was sent in place of God to guard the Jewish people.

Aphorism #16 - “Drag wood after a property owner”

אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי,

מנא הא מילתא דאמרי אינשי:

בתר מרי ניכסי –

ציבי משך?

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

From where is this matter derived whereby people say:

after a property owner —

drag wood

In other words, help out a wealthy man even in a small way, as this may lead to your benefiting from him.

Rabba bar Mari’s source - Lot prospered by accompanying Abram - Genesis 13:5

אמר ליה:

דכתיב:

״וגם ללוט

ההלך את אברם

היה

1. צאן

2. ובקר

3. ואהלים״.

Rabba bar Mari said to him that

the source is as it is written:

“And Lot also,

who went with Abram,

had

1. flocks,

2. and herds,

3. and tents” (Genesis 13:5).

Appendix 1 - Joseph’s Five Brothers Before Pharaoh and Moses’ Prayer for Judah’s Admission to the Heavenly Academy (Bava Kamma 92a-93a)

This passage opens with a close reading of Genesis 47:2, where Joseph selects five of his brothers to present before Pharaoh. Rava asks Rabba bar Mari to identify these five brothers. Rabba bar Mari, citing R’ Yoḥanan, answers that they were the brothers whose names are “repeated”.²

Rava challenges this identification from Judah, whose name also appears in Moses’ blessing. If repetition marks weakness, Judah should also be included. Rabba bar Mari answers that Judah’s repetition serves a different purpose. It is not part of the pattern that identifies the weaker brothers, but introduces a separate aggadic tradition about Judah’s posthumous fate and Moses’ prayer on his behalf.

That tradition, transmitted by R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani in the name of R’ Yonatan, reads Deuteronomy 33:6–7 as a connected unit. The blessing to Reuben, “Let Reuben live and not die,” is followed immediately by “And this for Judah.” The juxtaposition is interpreted to mean that Judah was responsible for Reuben’s rehabilitation. Reuben confessed his sin (of sleeping with his father Jacob’s concubine Bilhah) because Judah first confessed in the matter of Tamar. Since Judah enabled Reuben’s confession, Moses invokes Reuben’s restoration as grounds to pray for Judah.

The sugya then interprets each phrase in Moses’ blessing to Judah as a successive stage in Judah’s own restoration. During the forty years in the wilderness, Judah’s bones were not properly joined in his coffin. Moses prayed, “Hear, YHWH, the voice of Judah,” and Judah’s limbs reassembled. Yet Judah was still not admitted into the Heavenly Academy, so Moses prayed, “And bring him in unto his people.” Once admitted, Judah still could not understand or debate the Torah discussions there, so Moses prayed, “May his hands fight on his behalf.” Finally, although he could participate in debate, he could not reach correct halakhic conclusions, so Moses prayed, “And You shall be a help against his adversaries.”

The passage thus moves from a narrow exegetical problem in Genesis to an extended interpretation of Deuteronomy. It distinguishes between two kinds of name repetition in Moses’ blessings: one repetition identifies the weaker brothers whom Joseph brought before Pharaoh, while Judah’s repetition introduces a separate drama of confession, merit, prayer, bodily restoration, admission to the heavenly academy, intellectual competence, and halakhic success.

Deuteronomy 33:6–7

Deuteronomy 33:6–7:

יחי ראובן ואל ימת

ויהי מתיו מספר

Let Re’uven live, and not die;

and let not his men be few.

וזאת ליהודה:

ויאמר:

שמע יהוה קול יהודה

ואל עמו תביאנו

ידיו רב לו

ועזר מצריו תהיה

And this is the blessing of Yehuda:

and He said:

Hear, YHWH, the voice of Yehuda,

and bring him to his people:

let his hands be sufficient for him;

and be you a help to him from his enemies.

The Passage

From Bava_Kamma/92a#19 thru #23

Rabba bar Mari citing R’ Yoḥanan - Joseph presented to Pharaoh the five weaker brothers, identified as those whose names are repeated in Moses’ blessings: Dan, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Naftali - Genesis 47:2; Deuteronomy 33

אמר ליה רבא לרבה בר מרי:

כתיב:

״ומקצה אחיו לקח חמשה אנשים״

מאן נינהו חמשה?

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari:

It is written with regard to Joseph:

“And from among his brothers he took 5 men, and presented them to Pharaoh” (Genesis 47:2).

Who are these 5 men?

אמר ליה:

הכי אמר רבי יוחנן:

אותן שהוכפלו בשמות.

Rabba bar Mari said to him:

This is what R’ Yoḥanan says:

Those whose names were repeated (הוכפלו - literally: “doubled") in the blessings with which Moses later blessed the 12 tribes.

They are Dan, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, and Naftali (see Deuteronomy 35). Since they were weak, Joseph brought them before Pharaoh.

יהודה נמי איכפולי מיכפל!

Rava said:

Judah also had his name repeated in the blessings,

and he was strong.

R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani citing R’ Yonatan - Judah’s repeated name in Moses’ blessing - Deuteronomy 33:6–7

אמר ליה:

למילתיה הוא דאיכפל.

דאמר רבי שמואל בר נחמני, אמר רבי יונתן,

מאי דכתיב:

״יחי ראובן ואל ימת,

ויהי מתיו מספר

Rabba bar Mari said to him:

Judah’s name was repeated for his own matter,

as R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that R’ Yonatan said:

What is the meaning of that which is written concerning Reuben and Judah in Moses’ blessing of the tribes at the end of his life:

“Let Reuben live and not die

in that his men become few” (Deuteronomy 33:6),

וזאת ליהודה״?

and immediately afterward in the following verse it states:

“And this for Judah,

and he said: Hear YHWH, the voice of Judah, and bring him in unto his people; may his hands fight on his behalf, and You shall be a help against his adversaries” (Deuteronomy 33:7)?

What is the connection between the blessing of Reuben and that of Judah, juxtaposed with the conjunction “and”?

כל אותן ארבעים שנה שהיו ישראל במדבר --

היו עצמותיו של יהודה מגולגלין בארון;

R’ Yoḥanan said:

All those 40 years that the Jewish people were in the desert --

the bones of Judah, which the Jewish people took with them from Egypt along with the bones of his brothers, were rolling around in the coffin,

... is because Moses prayed for Judah’s posthumous restoration

עד שבא משה ובקש רחמים

אמר לפניו:

רבונו של עולם!

מי גרם לראובן שיודה?

יהודה!

until Moses came and asked for mercy on Judah’s behalf.

Moses said before God:

God!

who served as the impetus for Reuben that he should confess his sin of sleeping with his father Jacob’s concubine Bilhah (see Genesis 35:22), which allowed him to merit a blessing and not be excluded from the count of the 12 sons of Jacob?

It was Judah,

as Reuben saw him confess his sin, and thereby did the same.

Judah’s bones reassembled

מיד:

״שמע ה׳ קול יהודה״ –

על איבריה לשפא.

Immediately after Moses prayed, the verse states:

“Hear, YHWH, the voice of Judah” (Deuteronomy 33:7).

His bones then entered their sockets [le-shafa],

and his skeleton became attached.

Entry to the Heavenly Academy

לא הוו קא מסקי [ליה] למתיבתא דרקיעא,

״ואל עמו תביאנו״.

The angels still did not elevate him into the heavenly study hall³

Moses then prayed: “And bring him in unto his people” (Deuteronomy 33:7),

i.e., bring him to those in the heavenly study hall.

Ability to understand and argue

לא הוה ידע מאי קאמרי רבנן,

ולמשקל ומיטרח בהדי רבנן,

״ידיו רב לו״.

This prayer was accepted,

but he still did not know what the rabbis were saying,

and he was unable to deliberate (למשקל ומיטרח) in Torah matters with the rabbis.

Moses then prayed: “May his hands fight on his behalf” (Deuteronomy 33:7),

meaning that he should have the ability to contend with them in study.

Ability to decide halakhically

לא הוה סליק ליה שמעתתא אליבא דהלכתא,

״ועזר מצריו תהיה״.

But still he was unable to draw conclusions from his discussion (שמעתתא) in accordance with the halakha.

Moses then prayed: “And You shall be a help against his adversaries” (Deuteronomy 33:7).

Appendix 2 - Analysis of the sugya’s aphorisms from the perspective of modern psychology

From a modern psychology perspective, these aphorisms can be read as compact observations about social cognition, coping, shame, status, reciprocity, and group behavior. They are folk-psychological claims: short sayings that summarize patterns people notice in ordinary life. The sugya’s distinctive move is to anchor these sayings in biblical scenes, thereby treating everyday social insight as something already anticipated in canonical narrative and law.

Reciprocity and prosocial behavior

One major cluster concerns reciprocity and prosocial behavior. “One who prays for another while needing the same thing is answered first” can be read psychologically as a claim about other-focused concern. The person who is also in need does not become trapped in self-preoccupation, but can still attend to someone else’s need. Modern psychology often treats gratitude and prosociality as socially binding emotions and behaviors: gratitude can strengthen relationships and promote further helping behavior. The Talmudic version frames this religiously: Abraham prays for Abimelech’s household, and Sarah is then remembered. Psychologically, the aphorism values the capacity to act beyond one’s own deprivation.

The saying “The wine belongs to the owner, but gratitude goes to the pourer” also belongs here. It recognizes that people often attach gratitude to the visible intermediary rather than the ultimate source. In social psychology terms, this reflects the salience of the immediate agent: people respond emotionally to the person through whom benefit is concretely received. Moses receives credit for Joshua’s wisdom because he laid hands on him, even though the wisdom itself comes from God.

Stigma, shame, and self-disclosure

Another cluster concerns stigma, shame, and self-disclosure. “If your friend calls you a donkey, put a saddle on your back” and “A shameful matter in you, say it first” both assume that a person may reduce conflict or embarrassment by acknowledging a socially inferior label before others weaponize it. Modern psychology treats stigma as involving public attitudes that can be internalized, sometimes producing harmful self-stigma. But the Talmudic sayings recommend strategic acknowledgment. Hagar accepts the angel’s description of her as Sarai’s slave; Eliezer introduces himself as Abraham’s servant. In both cases, the speaker controls the framing by naming the status directly.

This is close to what might be called preemptive self-disclosure.⁴ When a vulnerable or socially lowering fact is already visible or likely to emerge, stating it first can reduce uncertainty and prevent others from using it as a surprise attack. The risk, from a modern perspective, is that this can become excessive self-abasement. The useful form is controlled disclosure; the harmful form is internalizing contempt.

Cumulative disadvantage; “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”

Several sayings describe cumulative disadvantage. “Poverty follows the poor” is psychologically sharp.⁵ It observes that disadvantage often compounds: the poor not only lack resources, but are placed in systems where they lose more. The Mishnah’s poor first-fruit bringer loses the basket along with the produce; the metzora suffers the affliction and must also publicly announce impurity. In modern terms, the saying points to secondary burdens: shame, administrative difficulty, public exposure, and additional costs that attach to an already difficult condition. It is about how vulnerability attracts further vulnerability.

A related aphorism is “The cabbage is struck together with the thorn.” This describes collateral damage. Innocent people may suffer because they are located near guilty or harmful actors. Psychologically, this fits group-level judgment and collective blame: individuals are often evaluated through the group, household, institution, or category to which they belong. The sugya’s proof from Moses being included in a plural rebuke after the manna violation captures precisely that problem: collective address can absorb even the non-offender.

Social comparison and envy

A third cluster concerns social comparison and envy. “Sixty pains reach the teeth of one who hears another eating and does not eat” is a vivid description of deprivation sharpened by comparison. The pain is hunger in the presence of someone else’s satisfaction. Modern social comparison theory studies how people evaluate themselves relative to others, and research continues to treat comparison as a major mechanism in self-evaluation and emotional response. The Talmudic examples are Nathan being excluded from Adonijah’s feast, and Abraham remarrying after Isaac’s marriage. In both, another person’s enjoyment or advancement activates awareness of one’s own exclusion or lack.

“The goose walks bent over, but its eyes look far away” belongs to the same social-cognitive world, but with a different emphasis. It describes outward humility combined with strategic long-range attention. Abigail speaks submissively to David, but also inserts a future-oriented request: “remember your maidservant.” Psychologically, this reflects impression management. A person may adopt a low-status posture while still pursuing future benefit.

Coping, agency, and giving up

Another group concerns coping, agency, and giving up. “If you call your friend and he does not answer, throw a large wall at him” means that after repeated failed attempts to reach or correct someone, one may stop trying. Modern psychology’s concept of learned helplessness describes passivity that can follow repeated experiences where action seems not to affect outcomes. The proverb is not exactly learned helplessness, because it does not describe a person losing all agency. Rather, it marks a boundary: if the other party remains unresponsive, continued effort may be futile. The psychologically healthy version is boundary-setting; the unhealthy version would be premature withdrawal.

“If you lift with me, I will lift; if not, I will not” is about cooperative agency. Barak will go only if Deborah goes with him. Psychologically, the saying recognizes that people often act when support, shared responsibility, or co-presence reduces the burden.

Status reversal and perceived decline

The saying “When we were small, we were treated as men; now that we are old, as children” captures status reversal and perceived decline. Earlier, Israel is led directly by God; later, by an angel. The emotional structure is familiar: people often experience aging, institutional change, or altered relationships as a loss of direct attention and importance. The proverb expresses the bitterness of diminished status: maturity does not always bring greater honor.

Affiliation and similarity

Several aphorisms concern affiliation and similarity. “A bad palm tree goes to a grove of barren trees” means that like seeks like. The sugya supports this with Esau going to Ishmael, worthless men gathering to Yiftah, Ben Sira’s “every bird with its kind,”⁶ and rabbinic statements about impurity and species. Psychologically, this resembles homophily: people often associate with those who resemble them in status, values, behavior, or reputation. The aphorism’s negative form focuses on deviant or harmful association, but the broader principle is neutral: similarity organizes social networks.

“Drag wood after a property owner” describes attachment to power or wealth. Lot prospers by accompanying Abram. Psychologically, this reflects status-seeking and network advantage. People often invest effort in relationships with high-resource individuals because proximity to resources can produce opportunity. The saying is socially realistic: small acts of service toward the powerful may yield later benefit.

Embodied psychology

Finally, some sayings describe basic embodied psychology. “Eat early in the morning” reflects the idea that bodily preparation affects resilience to environmental stress. The sugya’s version is medicalized through bile, bread with salt, and water. Modern psychology would translate the general intuition more cautiously: physical state affects mood, stamina, attention, and stress tolerance. The ancient medical theory is not modern physiology, but the behavioral point is recognizable: hunger and bodily depletion make people more vulnerable.

“A hungry dog swallows even dung” is the harshest version of this. It says that deprivation lowers standards. Proverbs phrases it more generally: “To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” Psychologically, acute need narrows evaluation. When a person lacks food, security, affection, or status, things otherwise rejected can become acceptable. The saying can be applied materially, socially, or morally: desperation changes preference.

Overall, the aphorisms assume that human beings are highly responsive to need, shame, comparison, group belonging, and visible benefit. They repeatedly observe that people act from hunger, embarrassment, gratitude, resentment, dependence, proximity, and status pressure. In modern terms, the sugya is a catalogue of folk psychology: it identifies recurring patterns in human behavior, then reads them back into biblical verses and narratives.

1. Compare my piece on tractate Shabbat for an aggadic discussion of the practical and social aspects of aging: “Snowy Mountains and Three Legs: Aphorisms and Metaphorical Portraits of Aging in the Talmud (Shabbat 152a)”, final part: Pt2.

2. I.e., repeated in Moses’ blessings to the tribes in Deuteronomy 33: Dan, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, and Naftali. The sugya assumes that Joseph chose the physically weaker brothers, so that Pharaoh would not appoint the stronger ones to royal service. The repeated names in Deuteronomy are treated as a textual marker identifying those weaker brothers.

3. מתיבתא דרקיעא.

On this institution, see the initial note in my “Between Heaven and Earth: The Tale of Shmuel and the Orphans’ Money (Berakhot 18b)“.

4. Compare Wikipedia, “Stigma management”.

5. Compare Wikipedia, “Matthew effect”; “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”.

6. Interestingly, a major related modern English expression is quite similar to the sugya’s, and may even have the same source, see Wiktionary, “birds of a feather flock together“, section “Etymology“:

The expression appears to have surfaced in the 16th century, allegedly a literal translation of Plato’s Republic […]

One can, however, also compare the expression to Ecclesiasticus (Sirach [=Ben Sira]) 27:9: “Birds resort unto their like.”