Pt3 Talmudic Odyssey: Giant Creatures, Cosmic Wonders, and Other Tales (Bava Batra 73a-74a)
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.
R’ Yoḥanan - Chest of pearls
Sees chest filled with pearls, guarded by sharks
רבי יוחנן משתעי:
זימנא חדא
הוה קא אזלינן בספינתא;
וחזינן ההיא קרטליתא,
דהוו קא מקבעי בה אבנים טובות ומרגליות,
והדרי לה מיני דכוורי
דמקרי כרשא.
R' Yoḥanan relates:
Once
we were traveling on a ship
and we saw a certain crate [kartalita]
in which precious stones and pearls were set,
and encircling it was a species of fish
called “sharks” (כרשא)
Diver tries to retrieve it; bat kol says it belongs to wife of R’ Ḥanina b. Dosa for World-to-Come
נחית בר אמוראי לאתויה,
ורגש
ובעי לשמטיה לאטמיה,
ושדא זיקא דחלא
ונחת.
נפק בת קלא אמר לן:
״מאי אית לכו בהדי קרטליתא דדביתהו דרבי חנינא בן דוסא?!
דעתידה דשדיא תכלתא בה לצדיקי לעלמא דאתי!״
A diver [bar amoraei] descended into the water to bring up this chest,
and the fish became angry1
and sought to sever his thigh,
but the diver threw upon it a flask (זיקא) of vinegar2
and they descended and swam away.
A bat kol emerged and said to us:
“What right do you have to touch the crate of the wife of R' Ḥanina ben Dosa?!
as she is destined to insert tekhelet in it to be used in the ritual fringes of the righteous in the World-to-Come!”3
Rav Yehuda of India - Precious stone and the sea creature
Rav Yehuda from India recounts a voyage where he and others saw a precious stone encircled by a sea creature.4 A diver descended in an attempt to retrieve it.
Sees precious stone guarded by sea creature (‘tanin’); diver descends
רב יהודה הינדוא משתעי:
זימנא חדא
הוה אזלינן בספינתא,
וחזינן ההוא אבן טבא
דהוה הדיר לה תנינא.
נחית בר אמוראי לאתויה
Rav Yehuda from India relates:
Once
we were traveling in a ship
and we saw a certain precious stone
that was encircled by a snake (תנינא)
A diver descended to bring it up
Ravens cut off snakes’ heads; stone briefly retrieved but carried off by birds
The sea creature tried to swallow the ship, but a raven cut off its head. The sea turned to blood (due to the sea creature’s enormity).
אתא תנינא
קא בעי למבלע לה לספינתא.
אתא פישקנצא
פסקיה לרישיה,
אתהפיכו מיא והוו דמא.
and the snake came
and sought to swallow the ship.
A raven came
and cut off its head,
and the water turned into blood due to the enormousness of the snake.
Another sea creature arrived, took the precious stone, and placed it on the dead sea creature, reviving it.
The revived sea creature again attacked the ship, but another bird struck it down and placed the stone on the vessel.
אתא תנינא חבריה,
שקלה
ותליה ליה
וחיה.
הדר אתא קא בעי בלעא לספינתא,
הדר אתא ציפרא פסקיה לרישיה.
שקלוה לההיא אבן טבא
שדיוה לספינתא
Another snake came,
took the precious stone,
and hung it on the dead snake,
and it recovered.
It returned and again sought to swallow the ship,
and yet again a bird came and cut off its head,
took that precious stone,
and threw it onto the ship.
Travelers placed the stone on salted birds they had with them. The birds were revived, and flew off with the stone.
הוה הני ציפרי מליחי בהדן,
אותבינהו עלייהו;
שקלוה
ופרחו להו בהדה.
We had with us these salted birds;
we placed the stone on them,
and they took the stone
and flew away with it.
R’ Eliezer & R’ Yehoshua - Leviathan’s eyes
R’ Eliezer & R’ Yehoshua on ship
תנו רבנן:
מעשה ברבי אליעזר ורבי יהושע
שהיו באין בספינה,
והיה
רבי אליעזר ישן
ורבי יהושע נעור.
נזדעזע רבי יהושע,
וננער רבי אליעזר.
§ Apropos the stories of large sea creatures, the Talmud discusses the large sea creatures mentioned in the Bible.
A baraita states:
There was an incident involving R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua,
who were traveling on a ship,
and
R' Eliezer was sleeping
and R' Yehoshua was awake.
R' Yehoshua trembled,
and R' Eliezer awoke.
R’ Yehoshua sees great light; R’ Eliezer explains it may have been Leviathan’s eyes
אמר לו:
מה זה יהושע?!
מפני מה נזדעזעת?!
אמר לו: מאור גדול ראיתי בים.
אמר לו:
שמא עיניו של לויתן ראית
דכתיב: ״עיניו כעפעפי שחר״.
R' Eliezer said to him:
What is this, Yehoshua?!
for what reason did you tremble?!
R' Yehoshua said to him: I saw a great light in the sea.
R' Eliezer said to him:
Perhaps you saw the eyes of the Leviathan,
as it is written: “And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning” (Job 41:10).
Rav Ashi citing Huna bar Natan - Self-healing meat
In desert, thigh of meat regenerates after being cut
אמר רב אשי,
אמר לי הונא בר נתן:
זימנא חדא
הוה קא אזלינן במדברא,
והואי אטמא דבשרא בהדן.
Rav Ashi said:
Huna bar Natan said to me:
Once
we were traveling in the desert,
and we had a thigh (אטמא) of meat with us.
פתחנא,
ונקירנא,
ואנחנא אעשבי.
אדמייתינן ציבי,
חלם אטמא,
וטוינן.
We cut open the thigh
and tore5 off the sciatic nerve and the forbidden fat
and put it on the grass.
By the time that we brought wood (ציבי),
the thigh had repaired itself,
and we roasted it.
A year later coals still glowing; identified as ‘samterei’ and broom coals
כי הדרן לבתר תריסר ירחי שתא,
חזינהו להנהו גומרי דהוו קא מלחשי.
כי אתאי לקמיה דאמימר,
אמר לי:
ההוא עישבא סמתרי הוה;
הנהו גומרי דריתמא הוו.
When we returned to that place after 12 months of the year had passed,
we saw that those coals (גומרי) were still glowing.
When I came before Ameimar,
he said to me:
That grass was “a drug of life” [samterei],
Appendix - Rabba bar bar Ḥana - Arab guide in the desert
An Arab guide demonstrates uncanny abilities by smelling dust to determine directions and distances
ואמר רבה בר בר חנה:
זימנא חדא
הוה קא אזלינן במדברא,
ואיתלוי בהדן ההוא טייעא
דהוה שקיל עפרא
ומורח ליה,
ואמר:
הא אורחא לדוכתא פלן,
והא אורחא לדוכתא פלן.
And Rabba bar bar Ḥana said:
Once
we were traveling in the desert
and we were accompanied by a certain Arab
who would take dirt
and smell it
and say:
This is the road to such-and-such (פלן) a place,
and that is the road to such-and-such a place.
אמרינן ליה: כמה מרחקינן ממיא?
ואמר לן: הבו לי עפרא.
יהבינן ליה,
ואמר לן: תמני פרסי.
תנינן ויהבינן ליה,
אמר לן דמרחקינן תלתא פרסי.
אפכית ליה,
ולא יכילית ליה.
We said to him: How far are we from water?
And he said to us: Bring me dirt.
We brought it to him,
and he said: 8 parasangs.
Later, we said this a second time, and gave him dirt,
and he said to us that we are at a distance of 3 parasangs.
I switched the type of dirt to test him,
but I could not confuse him, as he was an expert in this matter.
The Arab shows giant corpses of Exodus generation
אמר לי: תא אחוי לך מתי מדבר.
אזלי,
חזיתינהו
ודמו כמאן דמיבסמי,
וגנו אפרקיד.
והוה זקיפא ברכיה דחד מינייהו,
ועיל טייעא תותי ברכיה כי רכיב גמלא,
וזקיפא רומחיה
ולא נגע ביה.
That Arab said to me: Come, I will show you the dead of the wilderness (מדבר), i.e., the Jewish people who left Egypt and died in the wilderness.
I went
and saw them;
and they had the appearance of one who is intoxicated (מיבסמי),
and they were lying on their backs (פרקיד).
And the knee of one of them was elevated,
and he was so enormous that the Arab entered under his knee while riding a camel
and with his spear upright,
and he did not touch him.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana cuts a corner of tzitzit, cannot move until returned
פסקי חדא קרנא דתכלתא דחד מינייהו,
ולא הוה מסתגי לן.
אמר לי:
דלמא שקלת מידי מינייהו?
אהדריה,
דגמירי:
דמאן דשקיל מידי מינייהו —
לא מסתגי ליה.
אזלי אהדרתיה,
והדר מסתגי לן.
I cut one corner of the tekhelet of one of them,
and we were unable to walk.
The Arab said to me:
Perhaps you took something from them?
Return it,
as we know by tradition that
one who takes something from them —
cannot walk.
I then returned the corner of the garment,
and then we were able to walk.
Rabbis rebuke him for folly—he could have counted threads
כי אתאי לקמיה דרבנן,
אמרו לי:
כל ״אבא״ –
חמרא,
וכל ״בר בר חנה״ –
סיכסא
למאי הלכתא עבדת הכי?!
למידע
אי כבית שמאי
אי כבית הלל?!
איבעי לך
למימני חוטין
ולמימני חוליות.
When I came before the rabbis,
they said to me in rebuke:
Every “Abba”
is a donkey,
and every “bar bar Ḥana”
is an idiot (סיכסא)
For the purpose of clarifying what halakha did you do that?!
If you wanted to know whether the halakha is
in accordance with the opinion of Beit Shammai
or in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel,6
in that case there was no need to take anything with you, as you should have simply
counted the threads
and counted the joints7
Arab shows Mount Sinai encircled by scorpions; bat kol laments God’s oath with no annulment
The Arab guide shows Sinai encircled by giant scorpions.
A bat kol laments God’s oath, asking who can annul it.
אמר לי: תא אחוי לך הר סיני.
אזלי,
חזאי דהדרא ליה עקרבא,
וקיימא כי חמרי חוורתי.
שמעתי בת קול שאומרת:
״אוי לי שנשבעתי;
ועכשיו שנשבעתי –
מי מפר לי?״.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana continues his account.
That Arab also said to me: Come, I will show you Mount Sinai.
I went and saw that scorpions were encircling it,
and they were standing as high as white donkeys.
I heard a bat kol saying:
“Woe is Me that I took an oath;
and now that I took the oath --
who will nullify it for me?”
Rabbis rebuke him for folly
The rabbis fault Rabba bar bar Ḥana for not responding to God’s oath that “it is nullified (מופר)”.
כי אתאי לקמיה דרבנן,
אמרו לי:
כל ״אבא״ –
חמרא,
כל ״בר בר חנה״ –
סיכסא
היה לך לומר ״מופר לך״
[…]
When I came before the rabbis,
they said to me in rebuke:
Every “Abba”
is a donkey,
and every “bar bar Ḥana”
is an idiot.
You should have said: Your oath is nullified
[…]
Arab shows fissures of Korah’s rebels; smoke, scorched wool, voices cry “Moses and his Torah are true, we are liars” every 30 days
אמר לי: תא אחוי לך בלועי דקרח.
חזאי תרי ביזעי,
והוו קא מפקי קוטרא.
שקל גבבא דעמרא
ואמשינה במיא,
ודעציתה בראשה דרומחא
ועייליה התם,
וכי אפיק —
הוה איחרך איחרוכי.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana continues his account.
The Arab also said to me: Come, I will show you those who were swallowed by the earth due to the sin of Korah.8
I saw two rifts (ביזעי) in the ground
that were issuing smoke.
The Arab took a shearing of wool,
and dipped it in water,
and inserted it on the head of a spear,
and placed it in there.
And when he removed the wool —
it was scorched.
From within, voices cry: “Moses and his Torah are true; we are liars.”
Every 30 days Gehenna stirs them like meat in a pot.
אמר לי: אצית מאי שמעת,
ושמעית דהוו אמרין:
״משה ותורתו אמת,
והן בדאין״.
אמר לי:
כל תלתין יומי
מהדר להו גיהנם להכא
כבשר בקלחת,
ואמרי הכי:
״משה ותורתו אמת,
והן בדאין״.
He said to me: Listen to what you hear;
and I heard that they were saying:
“Moses and his Torah are true,
and they, i.e., we in the earth, are liars”
The Arab further said to me:
Every thirty days
Gehenna returns them to here,
like meat in a pot (קלחת) that is moved around by the boiling water as it cooks.
And every time they say this:
“Moses and his Torah are true,
and they, i.e., we in the earth, are liars”
Arab shows boundary of the firmament (=sky) and earth; he places basket in a “window” of the firmament, but it vanishes with the rotation of the sphere
Rabba bar bar Ḥana reaches the place where the firmament (רקיעא) and earth meet.
He places his basket in a window of the the firmament but loses it, told that the celestial sphere rotates.
אמר לי: תא אחוי לך היכא דנשקי ארעא ורקיעא אהדדי.
שקלתא לסילתאי,
אתנחתא בכוותא דרקיעא.
אדמצלינא,
בעיתיה ולא אשכחתה.
This Arab also said to me: Come, I will show you the place where the earth and the firmament touch each other.
I took my basket
and placed it in a window (כוותא) of the firmament.
After I finished praying,
I searched for it but did not find it.
אמינא ליה: איכא גנבי הכא?
אמר לי:
האי גלגלא דרקיעא הוה דהדר,
נטר עד למחר הכא –
ומשכחת לה.
I said to him: Are there thieves here?
He said to me:
This is the sphere (גלגלא) of the firmament that is turning around;
wait here until tomorrow
and you will find it.
רגש - “agitated, excited”.
חלא.
Alternatively, this mean “sand”; he threw sand at the sea creature.
The sale of tzitzit dyed with tekhelet was frequently managed by rabbis’ wives; compare my “Kosher Chronicles: Six Talmudic Tales of Fish, Spice, and the Quest for Techelet (Avodah Zarah 39a)“, section “Story of Buying Tekhelet from Rav Amram the Pious’s Wife“.
תנינא - ‘tanin’, see my note earlier on this creature.
As to whether there are 4 or 3 threads and joints in ritual fringes (tzitzit), referring to the dispute cited in Menachot.41b.12 (=Bekhorot.39b.14):
תנו רבנן
כמה חוטין הוא נותן?
בית שמאי אומרים: ארבעה
ובית הלל אומרים: שלשה
§ The Sages taught in a baraita:
How many strings does one place on a garment, for tzitzit?
Beit Shammai say: 4 strings are inserted into the hole in the garment, so that there are 8 strings hanging down altogether,
and Beit Hillel say: 3 strings are inserted into the garment.
חוליות - “vertebrae”, i.e. knots of the tzitzit.