(א) וסי' לפשוטה פקדו ופסחו - ולמעוברת, סגרו ופסחו - מנו ועצרו - צומו וצלו - קומו ותקעו
(כג) וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן אֶל־ה' בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא לֵאמֹֽר׃ (כד) אדונ-י ה' אַתָּ֤ה הַֽחִלּ֙וֹתָ֙ לְהַרְא֣וֹת אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶ֨ת־גָּדְלְךָ֔ וְאֶת־יָדְךָ֖ הַחֲזָקָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר מִי־אֵל֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם וּבָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה כְמַעֲשֶׂ֖יךָ וְכִגְבוּרֹתֶֽךָ׃ (כה) אֶעְבְּרָה־נָּ֗א וְאֶרְאֶה֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַטּוֹבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּעֵ֣בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן הָהָ֥ר הַטּ֛וֹב הַזֶּ֖ה וְהַלְּבָנֽוֹן׃ (כו) וַיִּתְעַבֵּ֨ר ה' בִּי֙ לְמַ֣עַנְכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א שָׁמַ֖ע אֵלָ֑י וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ה' אֵלַי֙ רַב־לָ֔ךְ אַל־תּ֗וֹסֶף דַּבֵּ֥ר אֵלַ֛י ע֖וֹד בַּדָּבָ֥ר הַזֶּֽה׃
(23) I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, (24) “O Lord GOD, You who let Your servant see the first works of Your greatness and Your mighty hand, You whose powerful deeds no god in heaven or on earth can equal! (25) Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country, and the Lebanon.” (26) But the LORD was wrathful with me on your account and would not listen to me. The LORD said to me, “Enough! Never speak to Me of this matter again!
(א) נַחֲמ֥וּ נַחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י יֹאמַ֖ר אֱלֹקֵיכֶֽם׃
(1) Comfort, oh comfort My people, Says your God.
"דרש ר' חיננא בר פפא מאי דכתיב (תהלים לג, א) רננו צדיקים בה' לישרים נאוה תהלה אל תקרי נאוה תהלה אלא נוה תהלה זה משה ודוד שלא שלטו שונאיהם במעשיהם"
her face becomes sallow after drinking the bitter water; she painted her eyes for her paramour, therefore her eyes bulge after she drinks; she braided her hair for her paramour, therefore a priest unbraids her hair and makes it disheveled; she indicated to her paramour with a finger that he should come to her, therefore her fingernails fall off; she girded herself for her paramour with a ribbon as a belt, therefore a priest brings an Egyptian rope and ties it for her above her breasts; she extended her thigh for her paramour, therefore her thigh falls away after drinking. She received her paramour upon her stomach, therefore her stomach swells; she fed him delicacies of the world, therefore her offering is animal food, as it is from oats; she gave him fine wine to drink in fine cups, therefore a priest gives her bitter water in an earthenware mekeida, a simple clay vessel, to drink. She acted in secret; therefore, God, referred to in the verse “Who dwell in secret, with the Most High” (Psalms 91:1), turns His face to her, as it is stated: “The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying: No eye shall see me; and the Hidden Face will turn” (Job 24:15). The adulterer acts in the twilight of the night to act in secrecy, and therefore God, Who is concealed, arranges that the matter is revealed in public. Alternatively, she acted in secret, and therefore the Omnipresent revealed it in the open, as it is stated: “Though his hatred be concealed with deceit, his wickedness shall be revealed before the congregation” (Proverbs 26:26), i.e., concealed acts of sin are ultimately revealed in public. § The Gemara questions the need for two verses to indicate that small transgressions are addressed through one significant punishment. And since Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi derives that small transgressions are combined and punished together from: “Behold, this have I found, says Koheleth, adding one thing to another, to find out the account” (Ecclesiastes 7:27), why do I need the verse: “For every boot stamped with fierceness” (Isaiah 9:4)? The Gemara answers: This verse serves to teach that even small transgressions are punished by the measure, i.e., with a punishment appropriate to the transgression. The Gemara asks: And since he derives it from “for every boot stamped with fierceness,” why do I need “in full measure, when you send her away, you contend with her” (Isaiah 27:8)? The Gemara answers: This verse serves to teach the statement as taught by Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa, for Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not punish a nation deserving of punishment until its time to be banished, i.e., until the time of its final eradication from the world, as it is stated: “In full measure, when you send her away, you contend with her” (Isaiah 27:8). Is that so? But didn’t Rava say: Why are there specifically three cups of misfortune that are stated with regard to Egypt in the dream of its chief butler (see Genesis 40:11–13)? They are an allusion to three cups of misfortune that would later befall Egypt: One that it drank in the days of Moses during the ten plagues and the Exodus; one that it drank in the days of Pharaoh Neco, the king of Egypt who was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar; and one that it will drink in the future with its companions, i.e., the other nations, when they are punished during the days of the Messiah. This indicates that nations can be punished several times, not only when they are eradicated. And if you would say that those ancient Egyptians, have gone, and these later Egyptians are different ones, but isn’t it taught in a baraita in the Tosefta (Kiddushin 4:3): Rabbi Yehuda said: Minyamin, an Egyptian convert, was a friend of mine from among the students of Rabbi Akiva, and Minyamin the Egyptian convert said: After I converted I was a first-generation Egyptian convert, and so I married another first-generation Egyptian convert. I will marry off my son, who is a second-generation Egyptian convert, to another second-generation Egyptian convert, in order that my son’s son will be permitted to enter into the congregation. The Torah prohibits Egyptian converts before the third generation to enter into the congregation (see Deuteronomy 23:8–9). By Minyamin’s observance of this prohibition even during the time of Rabbi Akiva, it indicates that Egypt during the tannaitic period was still viewed as biblical Egypt. Rather, if anything was stated with regard to the delay of punishment, it was stated like this: Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not punish a sinful king until his time to be banished, as it is stated: “In full measure, when you send her away, you contend with her” (Isaiah 27:8). Ameimar teaches that statement of Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa with regard to this: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For I the Lord change not; and you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6)? “For I the Lord change [shaniti] not” is interpreted to mean: I did not strike a nation and repeat [shaniti] striking it, as a stricken nation never recovers from the initial strike. “And you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed,” is interpreted to mean: Despite the fact that I strike you many times for your sins, I do not let you perish. This is the same as that which is written: “I will heap evils upon them; I will consume My arrows upon them” (Deuteronomy 32:23), which is interpreted to mean: My arrows are consumed and used up, and they, the Jewish people, are not consumed but will continue to endure despite the many calamities that will befall them. Rav Hamnuna says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not punish a person until his se’a, the measure that is suitable for him, is filled, as it is stated: “In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; the hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him” (Job 20:22). In other words, when the sufficient measure of sin has been reached, then the trouble will overtake him. Having mentioned Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa, the Gemara quotes another of his interpretations. Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa interpreted a verse homiletically: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, praise is comely for the upright [nava tehilla]” (Psalms 33:1)? Do not read the conclusion of the verse as: Praise is comely [nava]; rather, read it as: A house [naveh] of praise. This is referring to Moses and David, whose enemies did not rule over their achievements, as they each built a naveh, a house for the Lord, and this house remained in existence. With regard to David, the citadel that housed his home and city, was not destroyed, as it is written: “Her gates are sunk into the ground” (Lamentations 2:9), as the gates of Jerusalem built by David were not destroyed by enemies, but sunk into the ground and were buried there. This is also so with regard to Moses, as the Master said: When the first Temple was built, the Tent of Meeting was sequestered, including its boards, its clasps, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets. The Gemara asks: Where is it sequestered? Rav Ḥisda says that Avimi says: Beneath the tunnels of the Sanctuary. § The Sages taught in a baraita in the Tosefta (4:16–19): The sota placed her eyes, fixed her gaze, on one who is unfit for her, i.e., another man, so this is her punishment: That which she desired, i.e., to be with her paramour, is not given to her, as she becomes forbidden to him forever. And that which she had, i.e., her husband, was taken away from her, as she is now forbidden to him as well. This teaches that anyone who places his eyes on that which is not his is not given what he desires, and that which he had is taken from him.
(א) מִזְמ֗וֹר לְאָ֫סָ֥ף אֱֽלֹהִ֡ים בָּ֤אוּ גוֹיִ֨ם ׀ בְּֽנַחֲלָתֶ֗ךָ טִ֭מְּאוּ אֶת־הֵיכַ֣ל קָדְשֶׁ֑ךָ שָׂ֖מוּ אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֣ם לְעִיִּֽים׃ (ב) נָֽתְנ֡וּ אֶת־נִבְלַ֬ת עֲבָדֶ֗יךָ מַ֭אֲכָל לְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם בְּשַׂ֥ר חֲ֝סִידֶ֗יךָ לְחַיְתוֹ־אָֽרֶץ׃ (ג) שָׁפְכ֬וּ דָמָ֨ם ׀ כַּמַּ֗יִם סְֽבִ֘יב֤וֹת יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם וְאֵ֣ין קוֹבֵֽר׃ (ד) הָיִ֣ינוּ חֶ֭רְפָּה לִשְׁכֵנֵ֑ינוּ לַ֥עַג וָ֝קֶ֗לֶס לִסְבִיבוֹתֵֽינוּ׃ (ה) עַד־מָ֣ה ה' תֶּאֱנַ֣ף לָנֶ֑צַח תִּבְעַ֥ר כְּמוֹ־אֵ֝֗שׁ קִנְאָתֶֽךָ׃ (ו) שְׁפֹ֤ךְ חֲמָתְךָ֨ אֶֽל־הַגּוֹיִם֮ אֲשֶׁ֪ר לֹא־יְדָ֫ע֥וּךָ וְעַ֥ל מַמְלָכ֑וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּ֝שִׁמְךָ֗ לֹ֣א קָרָֽאוּ׃ (ז) כִּ֭י אָכַ֣ל אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְֽאֶת־נָוֵ֥הוּ הֵשַֽׁמּוּ׃ (ח) אַֽל־תִּזְכָּר־לָנוּ֮ עֲוֺנֹ֪ת רִאשֹׁ֫נִ֥ים מַ֭הֵר יְקַדְּמ֣וּנוּ רַחֲמֶ֑יךָ כִּ֖י דַלּ֣וֹנוּ מְאֹֽד׃ (ט) עָזְרֵ֤נוּ ׀ אֱלֹ֘קֵ֤י יִשְׁעֵ֗נוּ עַל־דְּבַ֥ר כְּבֽוֹד־שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וְהַצִּילֵ֥נוּ וְכַפֵּ֥ר עַל־חַ֝טֹּאתֵ֗ינוּ לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֶֽךָ׃ (י) לָ֤מָּה ׀ יֹאמְר֣וּ הַגּוֹיִם֮ אַיֵּ֪ה אֱֽלֹהֵ֫יהֶ֥ם יִוָּדַ֣ע בגיים [בַּגּוֹיִ֣ם] לְעֵינֵ֑ינוּ נִ֝קְמַ֗ת דַּֽם־עֲבָדֶ֥יךָ הַשָּׁפֽוּךְ׃ (יא) תָּ֤ב֣וֹא לְפָנֶיךָ֮ אֶנְקַ֪ת אָ֫סִ֥יר כְּגֹ֥דֶל זְרוֹעֲךָ֑ ה֝וֹתֵ֗ר בְּנֵ֣י תְמוּתָֽה׃ (יב) וְהָ֘שֵׁ֤ב לִשְׁכֵנֵ֣ינוּ שִׁ֭בְעָתַיִם אֶל־חֵיקָ֑ם חֶרְפָּ֘תָ֤ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר חֵרְפ֣וּךָ אדושם׃ (יג) וַאֲנַ֤חְנוּ עַמְּךָ֨ ׀ וְצֹ֥אן מַרְעִיתֶךָ֮ נ֤וֹדֶ֥ה לְּךָ֗ לְע֫וֹלָ֥ם לְדֹ֥ר וָדֹ֑ר נְ֝סַפֵּ֗ר תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
(1) A psalm of Asaph. O God, heathens have entered Your domain, defiled Your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins. (2) They have left Your servants’ corpses as food for the fowl of heaven, and the flesh of Your faithful for the wild beasts. (3) Their blood was shed like water around Jerusalem, with none to bury them. (4) We have become the butt of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. (5) How long, O LORD, will You be angry forever, will Your indignation blaze like fire? (6) Pour out Your fury on the nations that do not know You, upon the kingdoms that do not invoke Your name, (7) for they have devoured Jacob and desolated his home. (8) Do not hold our former iniquities against us; let Your compassion come swiftly toward us, for we have sunk very low. (9) Help us, O God, our deliverer, for the sake of the glory of Your name. Save us and forgive our sin, for the sake of Your name. (10) Let the nations not say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes let it be known among the nations that You avenge the spilled blood of Your servants. (11) Let the groans of the prisoners reach You; reprieve those condemned to death, as befits Your great strength. (12) Pay back our neighbors sevenfold for the abuse they have flung at You, O Lord. (13) Then we, Your people, the flock You shepherd, shall glorify You forever; for all time we shall tell Your praises.
אמר רבי אבהו כגון אבימי ברי קיים מצות כיבוד חמשה בני סמכי הוה ליה לאבימי בחיי אביו וכי הוה אתא רבי אבהו קרי אבבא רהיט ואזיל ופתח ליה ואמר אין אין עד דמטאי התם יומא חד אמר ליה אשקיין מיא אדאייתי ליה נמנם גחין קאי עליה עד דאיתער איסתייעא מילתיה ודרש אבימי (תהלים עט, א) מזמור לאסף
Rabbi Abbahu said: One such as Avimi, my son, properly fulfilled the mitzva of honoring his parents. The Gemara relates: Avimi had five sons during his father’s lifetime who were ordained to issue halakhic rulings, and he too was ordained. And yet when Rabbi Abbahu, his father, came and called at the gate to enter, Avimi would himself run and go to open the door for him. And before he arrived there, he would already say: Yes, yes, so that his father would not think that he was being ignored. One day Rabbi Abbahu said to Avimi his son: Give me water to drink. Before he brought him the water, Rabbi Abbahu dozed off. Avimi bent over and stood over him until his father awoke. The performance of this mitzva aided him, i.e., as a reward God helped him in his studies, and Avimi succeeded in homiletically interpreting the psalm: “A song to Asaph” (Psalms 79).
איסתייא מילתא - בעודו גחין לפניו שהבין ודרש מזמור לאסף אלקים באו גוים בנחלתך שלא היה מבין בו מקודם לכן ודרשו - מזמור לאסף קינה לאסף מיבעי' ליה ודרש שאמר אסף שירה על שכילה הקב"ה חמתו על העצים ועל האבנים שבביתו ומתוך כך הותיר פליטה מישראל שאלמלא כך לא נשתייר משונאי ישראל שריד ופליט"
"He received support for the matter" - While he was bent over him, he understood and expounded "A song for Asaf; God, the gentiles have entered Your inheritance." For he could not understand it before this and expound it. And some explain that just this verse itself [and not the chapter] did he expound, "It should not be 'Song' for Asaf, rather 'Lamentation' for Asaf! And he expounded that Asaf sang for the fact that God spent His anger on sticks and stones of His house, and thus allowed Israel to survive. For if not for that, he would not have allowed even one Israelite (lit. the enemies of Israel) to survive. And so, the verse states [in Lamentation] "God spent His anger and a fire went out in Zion." So explains Rashi. But there is a Midrash that Asaf said song because the gates sank into the ground. It is compared to a maidservant who went to draw water from the well and whose pitcher fell into the well. She became distraught and began to cry - until the king’s maidservant came to draw water carrying a golden pitcher, and it too, fell into the well. At which point the first maidservant began to sing. ‘Till now’, she exclaimed, I didn’t think that anybody would retrieve my cheap earthenware pitcher from the well. But now, whoever retrieves the golden pitcher, will retrieve mine as well!’ In the same way, when the sons of Korach, who were swallowed up inside the earth, saw how the gates of the Temple sunk into the ground, proclaimed ‘Whoever rescues the gates will also rescue us!’ That explains why Asaf, who was from the family of Korach, said ‘Mizmor.’
אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״כִּי אַתָּה אָבִינוּ כִּי אַבְרָהָם לֹא יְדָעָנוּ וְיִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יַכִּירָנוּ אַתָּה ה׳ אָבִינוּ גּוֹאֲלֵנוּ מֵעוֹלָם שְׁמֶךָ״
לְעָתִיד לָבֹא יֹאמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְאַבְרָהָם: בָּנֶיךָ חָטְאוּ לִי. אֹמֵר לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, יִמָּחוּ עַל קְדוּשַּׁת שְׁמֶךָ.
אָמַר: אֵימַר לֵיהּ לְיַעֲקֹב דַּהֲוָה לֵיהּ צַעַר גִּידּוּל בָּנִים, אֶפְשָׁר דְּבָעֵי רַחֲמֵי עֲלַיְיהוּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: בָּנֶיךָ חָטְאוּ. אֹמֵר לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, יִמָּחוּ עַל קְדוּשַּׁת שְׁמֶךָ.
אָמַר לָא בְּסָבֵי טַעְמָא וְלָא בְּדַרְדַּקֵּי עֵצָה.
אֹמֵר לוֹ לְיִצְחָק: בָּנֶיךָ חָטְאוּ לִי. אֹמֵר לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, בָּנַי וְלֹא בָּנֶיךָ?!
בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִקְדִּימוּ לְפָנֶיךָ ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״ קָרָאתָ לָהֶם ״בְּנִי בְכוֹרִי״, עַכְשָׁיו בָּנַי וְלֹא בָּנֶיךָ?!
וְעוֹד, כַּמָּה חָטְאוּ? כַּמָּה שְׁנוֹתָיו שֶׁל אָדָם — שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה.
דַּל עֶשְׂרִין דְּלָא עָנְשַׁתְּ עֲלַיְיהוּ — פָּשׁוּ לְהוּ חַמְשִׁין.
דַּל עֶשְׂרִין וְחַמְשָׁה דְּלֵילָוָתָא — פָּשׁוּ לְהוּ עֶשְׂרִין וְחַמְשָׁה.
דַּל תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי וּפַלְגָא דְּצַלּוֹיֵי וּמֵיכַל וּדְבֵית הַכִּסֵּא — פָּשׁוּ לְהוּ תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי וּפַלְגָא, אִם אַתָּה סוֹבֵל אֶת כּוּלָּם — מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — פַּלְגָא עֲלַי וּפַלְגָא עֲלָיךְ.
וְאִם תִּמְצָא לוֹמַר כּוּלָּם עָלַי — הָא קָרֵיבִית נַפְשִׁי קַמָּךְ.
פּוֹתְחִין וְאוֹמְרִין: ״כִּי אַתָּה אָבִינוּ״.
אֹמֵר לָהֶם יִצְחָק: עַד שֶׁאַתֶּם מְקַלְּסִין לִי, קַלְּסוּ לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וּמַחְוֵי לְהוּ יִצְחָק לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא בְּעֵינֵיהּ.
מִיָּד נוֹשְׂאִים עֵינֵיהֶם לַמָּרוֹם וְאוֹמְרִים: ״אַתָּה ה׳ אָבִינוּ גּוֹאֲלֵנוּ מֵעוֹלָם שְׁמֶךָ״.
because the Jewish people were fruitful [paru] and multiplied in it; the Sinai Desert, because hatred descended upon the nations of the world on it, on the mountain on which the Jewish people received the Torah. And what is the mountain’s true name? Horeb is its name. And that disputes the opinion of Rabbi Abbahu, as Rabbi Abbahu said: Mount Sinai is its name. And why is it called Mount Horeb? It is because destruction [ḥurba] of the nations of the world descended upon it. We learned in the mishna: From where is it derived that one ties a scarlet strip of wool to the scapegoat? As it says: “If your sins be like scarlet [kashanim], they will become white like snow” (Isaiah 1:18). The Gemara wonders at this: Why does the verse use the plural form: Kashanim? It should have used the singular form: Kashani. Rabbi Yitzḥak said that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Jewish people: Even if your sins are as numerous as those years [kashanim] that have proceeded continuously from the six days of Creation until now, they will become white like snow. Rava taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Go please and let us reason together, the Lord will say” (Isaiah 1:18)? Why does the verse say: Go please? It should have said: Come please. And why does the verse say: The Lord will say? The prophet’s message is based on something that God already said. Therefore, the verse should have said: God said. Rather, the explanation of this verse is that in the future that will surely come, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will say to the Jewish people: Go please to your Patriarchs, and they will rebuke you. And the Jewish people will say before Him: Master of the Universe, to whom shall we go? Shall we go to Abraham, to whom You said: “Know certainly that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13), and he did not ask for mercy on our behalf? Or perhaps we should go to Isaac, who blessed Esau and said: “And it shall come to pass when you shall break loose, that you shall shake his yoke from off your neck” (Genesis 27:40), and he did not ask for mercy on our behalf. Or perhaps we should go to Jacob, to whom You said: “I will go down to Egypt with you” (Genesis 46:4), and he did not ask for mercy on our behalf. And if so, to whom shall we go? Shall we go to our Patriarchs, who do not have mercy on us? Rather, now God Himself says what punishment we deserve. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: Since you made yourselves dependent on Me, “If your sins be like scarlet, they will become white like snow.” Apropos the Jewish people assessing their forefathers, the Gemara cites a related teaching. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For You are our Father; for Abraham knows us not, and Israel does not acknowledge us; You, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer, everlasting is Your name” (Isaiah 63:16). In the future that will surely come, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will say to Abraham: Your children have sinned against Me. Abraham will say before Him: Master of the Universe, if so, let them be eradicated to sanctify Your name. God said: I will say it to Jacob. Since he experienced the pain of raising children, perhaps he will ask for mercy on their behalf. He said to Jacob: Your children have sinned. Jacob said before Him: Master of the Universe, if so, let them be eradicated to sanctify Your name. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: There is no reason in elders and no wisdom in youth. Neither Abraham nor Jacob knew how to respond properly. He said to Isaac: Your children have sinned against Me. Isaac said before Him: Master of the Universe, are they my children and not Your children? At Sinai, when they accorded precedence to “We will do” over “We will listen” before You, didn’t You call them, “My son, My firstborn son Israel” (Exodus 4:22)? Now that they have sinned, are they my children and not Your children? And furthermore, how much did they actually sin? How long is a person’s life? Seventy years. Subtract the first twenty years of his life. One is not punished for sins committed then, as in heavenly matters, a person is only punished from age twenty. Fifty years remain for them. Subtract twenty-five years of nights, and twenty-five years remain for them. Subtract twelve and a half years during which one prays and eats and uses the bathroom, and twelve and a half years remain for them. If You can endure them all and forgive the sins committed during those years, excellent. And if not, half of the sins are upon me to bear and half upon You. And if You say that all of them, the sins of all twelve and a half years that remain, are upon me, I sacrificed my soul before You and You should forgive them due to my merit. The Jewish people began to say to Isaac: You are our father. Only Isaac defended the Jewish people as a father would and displayed compassion toward his children. Isaac said to them: Before you praise me, praise the Holy One, Blessed be He. And Isaac points to the Holy One, Blessed be He, before their eyes. Immediately they lifted their eyes to the heavens and say: “You, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer, everlasting is Your name.” And since the Gemara mentioned Jacob’s descent to Egypt, the Gemara cites that which Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Our father Jacob should have gone down to Egypt in iron chains as would an exile against his will, as decreed by God and related to Abraham. However, his merit caused him to descend without suffering, as it is written: “I drew them with cords of man, with bands of love, and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I fed them gently” (Hosea 11:4). MISHNA: After an extended digression for a discussion of matters unrelated to the halakhot of Shabbat, this mishna resumes treatment of the halakhot of carrying from domain to domain on Shabbat. One who carries out wood on Shabbat is liable for a measure equivalent to the amount of wood necessary to cook an easily cooked egg. The measure that determines liability for carrying out spices is equivalent to that which is used to season an easily cooked egg. And all types of spices join together with one another to constitute the measure for liability. The measure that determines liability for carrying out nutshells, pomegranate peels, safflower, and madder, which are used to produce dyes, is equivalent to the amount that is used to dye a small garment placed atop a woman’s hairnet. The measure that determines liability for carrying out urine, natron, and borit, cimolian earth [Kimoleya], and potash, all of which are abrasive materials used for laundry, is equivalent to the amount that is used to launder a small garment placed atop a woman’s hairnet. And Rabbi Yehuda says: The measure that determines liability for these materials is equivalent to that which is used to remove a stain. GEMARA: With regard to the measure of wood, the Gemara asks: Didn’t we already learn it once? As we learned in a mishna: The measure that determines liability for carrying out a reed is equivalent to that which is used to make a quill. And if the reed was thick and unfit for writing, or if it was fragmented, the measure that determines its liability is equivalent to that which is used to cook an egg most easily cooked, one that is already beaten and placed in a stew pot. The measure of firewood is clearly delineated. The Gemara answers: Still, this mishna is necessary. You might have said: There, the measure of the crushed reed reflects the fact that it is not suitable for anything other than kindling. However, regarding wood that is suitable to be used as a tooth of a key [aklida], the measure that determines its liability should be even any small amount. Therefore, it teaches us that wood is typically designated for burning, and that determines the measure for liability for carrying out wood on Shabbat. We learned in the mishna that all types of spices join together with one another to constitute the measure equivalent to that which is used to season an easily cooked egg. The Gemara raises a contradiction from that which we learned elsewhere: Spices, which are prohibited due to two or three different prohibitions, e.g., one is prohibited due to orla, and one due to the prohibition of untithed produce, and they were all of a single species (Tosafot), or if they were of three different species, are prohibited, and they join together with each other to constitute a complete measure. And Ḥizkiya said: