I’m not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text.
Whether you’re studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you’ll make a few minutes of my Torah part of your week.
This week, I'm all about cucumbers. This humble vegetable, which the Talmud calls a delicacy of kings, became an internet craze a few years ago when Macka B released his "Cucumber Rap."
The Talmud has a lot to say about cucumbers, including a discussion about whether or not they're good for your body, even if they did grace the table of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. In the end, they opt for a compromise, and all of it is driven by one line in this week's Torah portion, about the pain Rebekah experiences in her womb as she carries Esau and Jacob, each the father of a great nation destined to quarrel throughout time.
This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac pleaded with יהוה on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and יהוה responded to his plea, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of יהוה, and יהוה answered her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two separate peoples shall issue from your body;
One people shall be mightier than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.” When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau. Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
Similarly, the Gemara says: All types of metal utensils are auspicious signs for a dream, except for a hoe, a chisel, and an axe, as these are instruments of destruction. The Gemara notes that this applies specifically when they are seen on their handles. On a similar note, the Gemara says: All kinds of fruit are auspicious signs for a dream except for unripe dates. All kinds of vegetables are auspicious signs for a dream except for turnip heads. The Gemara challenges: Didn’t Rav say: I did not become wealthy until I saw turnip heads in my dream? Apparently turnip heads are a good omen. The Gemara responds: When Rav saw them, he saw them on their stems; if one sees turnip heads already picked, it is a bad omen.
The words: The body, the body, microcosm, ease, and comfort are mnemonics for matters that the Gemara will discuss, each of which represents a list with shared qualities, similar to the lists cited above. The Gemara says: Three food items enter the body yet the body does not benefit from them: Cherries, bad dates, and unripe dates.
In contrast, there are ten matters that cause a sick person who has recovered to suffer a relapse of his illness, and his illness is even more severe, and they are: Eating ox meat, eating fatty meat in general, eating roasted meat, eating poultry, eating a roasted egg, shaving, eating cress, drinking milk, eating cheese, and bathing in a bathhouse. And some say eating nuts, and some say even eating cucumbers.
It was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: Why are they called cucumbers [kishu’im]? Because they are as harmful [kashim] to the body as swords. The Gemara asks: Is that really so? Is it not written: “And the Lord said unto her: Two nations [goyim] are in your womb” (Genesis 25:23) and the Gemara says: Do not read it as goyim, rather read it as gayim, proud ones. And Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: This verse was fulfilled in these two great individuals who descended from Rebecca: Antoninus and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, whose tables, because of their wealth, never lacked for radish, lettuce or cucumbers, neither in summer nor in the rainy season. Apparently, cucumbers are good and are even a delicacy of kings. The Gemara resolves: This is not difficult. This that says they are harmful to the body refers to large ones, while this that says they were always served on the table of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Antoninus refers to small ones.
Often mentioned together in the Talmud as being intimate friends. Antoninus is often identified with Marcus Aurelias. See J. E. I. pp. 656 f. The latest and most exhaustive investigation of the material is by Krauss, Antoninus und Rabbi, who identifies him with Avidius Cassius, a famous general of Marcus Aurelius and Procurator of Judea.