כִּי אֲתָא רַב דִּימִי, אָמַר: מָשָׁל לְצַיָּיד שֶׁצָּד צִפֳּרִים, אִם רִאשׁוֹן רִאשׁוֹן מְשַׁבֵּר כְּנָפָיו — מִשְׁתַּמֵּר, וְאִם לָאו — אֵין מִשְׁתַּמֵּר.
When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said: This is comparable to a hunter who is hunting birds; if he breaks the wings of the birds one by one as he captures them so that they will be unable to fly off again, his prey will be secured, and if not, they will not be secured. According to this explanation, the word rammai is interpreted as cunning rather than deceitful. A cunning hunter secures his prey; similarly, a cunning student reviews each lesson and thereby retains that which he learns.
וְעוֹד אָמַר רַבִּי מַתְיָא: רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן חָשׁ בְּצַפְדִּינָא. אֲזַל גַּבַּהּ דְּהַהִיא מַטְרוֹנִיתָא, עֲבַדָא לֵיהּ מִלְּתָא חַמְשָׁא וּמַעֲלֵי שַׁבְּתָא. אֲמַר לַהּ: בְּשַׁבָּת מַאי? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: לָא צְרִיכַתְּ. אִי מִצְטְרִיכְנָא מַאי? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: אִישְׁתְּבַע לִי דְּלָא מְגַלֵּית, אִישְׁתְּבַע: לֵאלָהָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל לָא מְגַלֵּינָא. נְפַק דַּרְשַׁהּ בְּפִירְקָא.
§ The mishna said: And furthermore, Rabbi Matya ben Ḥarash said: With regard to one who suffers pain in his throat, one may place medicine inside his mouth on Shabbat, although administering a remedy is prohibited on Shabbat. The Gemara discusses a related incident: Rabbi Yoḥanan suffered from the illness tzefidna, which first affects the teeth and gums and then the intestines. He went to a certain gentile matron [matronita] who was a well-known healer. She prepared a medicine for him on Thursday and Friday. He said to her: What shall I do on Shabbat, when I cannot come to collect the medicine from you? She said to him: You will not need it. He asked her: If I do need it, what shall I do? She said to him: Swear to me that you will not reveal the remedy; then I will tell you, and you can prepare it yourself should you need it. He swore: To the God of the Jews, I will not reveal it. She told him the remedy. Rabbi Yoḥanan then went out and taught it publicly, revealing the secret of the remedy.
וְהָא אִישְׁתְּבַע לַהּ! לֵאלָהָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל לָא מְגַלֵּינָא. הָא לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל — מְגַלֵּינָא. וְהָא אִיכָּא חִלּוּל הַשֵּׁם! דִּמְגַלֵּי לַהּ מֵעִיקָּרָא.
The Gemara is surprised at this: But he swore to her that he would not reveal it. The Gemara answers that in his vow he declared: I will not reveal it to the God of the Jews. However, his words imply: I will reveal it to His people, the Jews. The Gemara asks: Still, there is a desecration of God’s name, as the matron now thinks that a great man of Rabbi Yoḥanan’s stature broke his vow. The Gemara answers: He revealed it to her at the outset. As soon as she revealed the remedy to him, he told her that his vow would not prevent him from publicizing the remedy.
אֶלָּא מַאי, מִשּׁוּם זִילוּתָא? אֲפִילּוּ שׁוֹטֶה נָמֵי! אָמְרִי: שׁוֹטֶה – אֵין לְךָ בּוֹשֶׁת גְּדוֹלָה מִזּוֹ.
The Gemara rejects this suggestion: Rather, what do you mean by stating that the compensation is due to disgrace? If compensation is granted due to disgrace, then an imbecile should receive compensation as well. The Sages say in response: With regard to an imbecile, you can have no greater humiliation than this. It is impossible to degrade him further.
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בִּשְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם שֶׁנִּשְׁבּוּ בְּהַר הַכַּרְמֶל, וְהָיָה שַׁבַּאי מְהַלֵּךְ אַחֲרֵיהֶם.
The Sages taught in a baraita: There was an incident involving two Jewish people who were taken captive on Mount Carmel, and their captor was walking behind them.
אָמַר לוֹ אֶחָד מֵהֶם לַחֲבֵירוֹ: גָּמָל שֶׁמְהַלֶּכֶת לְפָנֵינוּ סוֹמָא בְּאַחַת מֵעֵינֶיהָ, וּטְעוּנָה שְׁתֵּי נוֹדוֹת, אַחַת שֶׁל יַיִן וְאַחַת שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן, וּשְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם הַמַּנְהִיגִים אוֹתָהּ, אֶחָד יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶחָד גּוֹי. אָמַר לָהֶן [שַׁבַּאי]: עַם קְשֵׁה עוֹרֶף! מֵאֵין אַתֶּם יוֹדְעִין?
One of the captives said to the other: The camel that is walking ahead of us is blind in one of its eyes and laden with two wineskins, one filled with wine and one filled with oil. And two people are driving the camel, one a Jew and one a gentile. The captor said to them: Stiff-necked people, from where do you know these matters that you cannot see?
אָמְרוּ לוֹ: גָּמָל מֵעֲשָׂבִים שֶׁלְּפָנֶיהָ, מִצַּד שֶׁרוֹאָה אוֹכֶלֶת, מִצַּד שֶׁאֵינָהּ רוֹאָה אֵינָהּ אוֹכֶלֶת. וּטְעוּנָה שְׁתֵּי נוֹדוֹת, אַחַת שֶׁל יַיִן וְאַחַת שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן; שֶׁל יַיִן מְטַפְטֵף וְשׁוֹקֵעַ, וְשֶׁל שֶׁמֶן מְטַפְטֵף וְצָף. וּשְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם הַמַּנְהִיגִים אוֹתָהּ, אֶחָד גּוֹי וְאֶחָד יִשְׂרָאֵל; גּוֹי נִפְנֶה לַדֶּרֶךְ, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל נִפְנֶה לִצְדָדִין.
They said to him: We know that the camel is blind from the grass that is before it, as from the grass on the side that it sees, it eats, and from the grass on the side that it does not see, it does not eat, i.e., it eats grass from only one side. And we know that it is laden with two wineskins, one filled with wine and one filled with oil, as wine drips and sinks into the ground and oil drips and floats on the surface, and we see the difference on the ground. And we know that two people are driving the camel, one a Jew and one a gentile, as the gentile defecates on the road and the Jew, in the interests of modesty, goes to the sides of the road to defecate.
רָדַף אַחֲרֵיהֶם וּמָצָא כְּדִבְרֵיהֶם. בָּא וּנְשָׁקָן עַל רֹאשָׁן, וֶהֱבִיאָן לְבֵיתוֹ וְעָשָׂה לָהֶן סְעוּדָה גְּדוֹלָה. וְהָיָה מְרַקֵּד לִפְנֵיהֶם וְאָמַר: בָּרוּךְ שֶׁבָּחַר בְּזַרְעוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם וְנָתַן לָהֶם מֵחׇכְמָתוֹ, וּבְכׇל מָקוֹם שֶׁהֵן הוֹלְכִין נַעֲשִׂין שָׂרִים לַאֲדוֹנֵיהֶם. וּפְטָרָן [וְהָלְכוּ] לְבָתֵּיהֶם לְשָׁלוֹם.
The captor pursued the camel and its drivers to determine whether the statements of the captives were accurate, and found that the reality was in accordance with their statements. He came and respectfully kissed them on their head, and brought them to their house and prepared a great feast for them. And he was dancing before them and said: Blessed is He who chose the descendants of Abraham and granted of His wisdom to them, and in every place that they go they become princes to their lords. And he released them and they went to their houses in peace.