מפת הסוגיא — יומא ע״וSugya map — Yoma 76

מעשה: ר׳ טרפון, ר׳ ישמעאל וזקנים עסקו בפרשת המן, ור׳ אלעזר המודעי ישב ביניהם. אמר ר׳ אלעזר: המן שירד לישראל היה גבוה ששים אמה. הקשה לו ר׳ טרפון: מודעי, עד מתי אתה מגבב דברים חסרי יסוד ומביא עלינו?

§ It is told: Rabbi Tarfon, and Rabbi Yishmael, and the Elders were sitting and discussing the passage about the manna and Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i was sitting among them. Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i responded and said: The manna that fell for the Jewish people was sixty cubits high. Rabbi Tarfon said to him: Moda’i, how long will you collect words and bring upon us teachings that have no basis?

השיב לו: רבי, מקרא אני דורש. נאמר במבול ״חמש עשרה אמה מלמעלה גברו המים ויכוסו ההרים״. וכי המים עמדו חמש עשרה אמה בעמק, וחמש עשרה בהר, כשורות־שורות? והרי גם התיבה לא הייתה יכולה לעבור. אלא: ״נבקעו כל מעיינות תהום רבה״ עד שהשתוו המים לגובה ההרים, ורק אז ״חמש עשרה אמה מלמעלה גברו המים״.

He said to him: Rabbi, I am interpreting a verse. How so? It states about the Flood: “Fifteen cubits above did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered” (Genesis 7:20). Is it possible that it would be fifteen cubits high from a valley, fifteen cubits from the plain, and fifteen cubits from the mountains? Did the water stand as though in layers, conforming to the height of the land below it? Furthermore, how could the Ark travel over water that was at different levels? Rather: “On the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up” (Genesis 7:11), until the water rose and was level with the mountains. Afterward, the verse states that “fifteen cubits above did the waters prevail.”

ר׳ אלעזר ממשיך: איזו מידה מרובה, מידה טובה או מידת פורענות? הוי אומר: מידה טובה מרובה. במידת פורענות (המבול) נאמר ״וארבות השמים נפתחו״ — ארובות בלבד; ובמידה טובה (המן) נאמר ״ויצו שחקים ממעל ודלתי שמים פתח וימטר עליהם מן לאכֹל ודגן שמים נתן למו״ — דלתות, ולא רק ארובות.

Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i continues: But which attribute is greater, the attribute of goodness or the attribute of retribution? One must say the attribute of goodness is greater than the attribute of retribution. With regard to the attribute of retribution, in the case of the Flood, the verse states: “And the windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11), which indicates that there were only windows. Whereas, with regard to the attribute of goodness, in the case of the manna, the verse states: “He commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them heavenly grain” (Psalms 78:23–24).

חשבון: כמה ארובות יש בדלת? ארבע. ושתי דלתות — שמונה ארובות, ואילו במבול נאמרו רק שתי ארובות. נמצא שהמן ירד פי ארבעה מן המבול: המבול חמש עשרה אמה, והמן ששים אמה.

Based on this, the Gemara calculates: The area of how many windows are in a door? Four. A door is equivalent to four windows in size. One adds another four for the second door, as the verse uses the plural “doors,” which implies that there were two doors. This equals the area of eight windows. If the depth of water in the Flood is based on the phrase “windows of heaven,” implying two windows, then the manna fell at a rate four times that of the water of the Flood. Since the water of the Flood reached a depth of fifteen cubits, it turns out that the manna that fell for the Jewish people was sixty cubits high, i.e., four times as high.

כיוצא בזה (ברייתא): איסי בן יהודה אומר — המן היה מתגבר ועולה עד שכל מלכי מזרח ומערב רואים אותו, שנאמר ״תערוך לפני שלחן נגד צוררי… כוסי רויה״. אמר אביי: שמע מינה — כוסו של דוד לעולם הבא מחזיק רכ״א (221) לוג, שכן ״רויה״ בגימטריה כך עולה.

Similarly, it was taught in a baraita that Isi ben Yehuda said: The manna that fell for the Jewish people would accumulate and ascend until all the kings of the East and West could see it, as it is stated: “You prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anointed my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Psalms 23:5). God prepared food for the Jewish people, so that their enemies would see their greatness over the world. “My cup runs over [revaya]”; Abaye said: We learn from this that the cup of David in the next world holds 221 log, since it is stated: “My cup runs over,” and the word revaya has that numerical value.

קושיא: השוואת המבול למן אינה מדויקת! שם המים עלו חמש עשרה אמה בארבעים יום, וכאן ירד המן בשעה אחת ביום; ושם המבול לכל העולם, וכאן המן לישראל בלבד — ואם כן היה צריך לרדת הרבה יותר. תירוץ: ר׳ אלעזר המודעי למד בגזירה שווה ״פתיחה״ (המן) מ״פתיחה״ (המבול) — ולכן השיעור שווה.

The Gemara asks how Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i can compare the depth of the Flood waters with the amount of manna that fell in the desert: This is not similar, and the calculation is inaccurate. There, in the case of the Flood, the water rose fifteen cubits in forty days; but here, in the case of the manna, it took only one hour every day to fall. Conversely, there the Flood was for everyone and covered the whole world; whereas here the manna was for the Jewish people alone. And there would be much more manna for them than sixty cubits, which is the measurement put forth by Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i. The Gemara answers: Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i derived “opening” in the verse: “He commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven” (Psalms 78:23), from “opening” in the verse: “And the windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11). He used a verbal analogy that teaches that the skies opened in both instances in the same way.

המשנה אסרה אכילה ושתייה ביום הכיפורים. שואלת הגמרא: חמשת העינויים כנגד מי נאמרו? רב חסדא: כנגד חמש פעמים שהוזכר העינוי בתורה — ״ובעשור״, ״אך בעשור״, ״שבת שבתון״ (פעמיים), ו״והיתה לכם״.

§ The mishna taught that as per the five prohibited activities on Yom Kippur it is prohibited to engage in eating and in drinking, and in bathing, and in smearing the body with oil, and in wearing shoes, and in conjugal relations. The Gemara asks: These five afflictions of Yom Kippur, to what do they correspond? Where is the Torah source or allusion to them? Rav Ḥisda said: They are based on the five times that the afflictions of Yom Kippur are mentioned in the Torah. It is stated: (1) “And on the tenth of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall afflict your souls” (Numbers 29:7); (2) “But on the tenth of this seventh month is the day of atonement, it shall be a holy convocation for you and you shall afflict your souls” (Leviticus 23:27); (3) “It shall be for you a Shabbat of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls (Leviticus 23:32); (4) “It is a Shabbat of solemn rest [shabbaton] for you, and you shall afflict your souls” (Leviticus 16:31); (5) “And it shall be a statute for you forever, in the seventh month on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls” (Leviticus 16:29).

קושיא: רב חסדא מנה חמישה, ואנו שנינו במשנה שישה עינויים (אכילה, שתייה, רחיצה, סיכה, תשמיש, נעילת הסנדל)! תירוץ: שתייה בכלל אכילה היא, ולכן נחשבות לאחת. שאמר ריש לקיש: מנין ששתייה בכלל אכילה? ״ואכלת לפני ה׳… תירושך״ — ותירוש הוא יין, וקראו הכתוב ״ואכלת״.

The Gemara asks: Are these five the only afflictions? We learn in the mishna that there are six: Eating, drinking, bathing, smearing oil, conjugal relations, and wearing shoes. The Gemara answers: Drinking is included in the prohibition of eating; both together are considered a single affliction. As Reish Lakish said: From where do we derive that drinking is included in the concept of eating? As it is stated: “And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your wine [tirosh], and of your oil” (Deuteronomy 14:23). Tirosh is wine, yet the verse calls the drinking of wine eating with the phrase “and you shall eat,” meaning that eating also refers to drinking.

דחייה: מניין שתירוש כאן נשתה? שמא נאכל בתוך תבשיל ״אניגרון״! שאמר רבה בר שמואל: אניגרון — מי תרד (סלק), אכסיגרון — מי כל הירקות השלוקים. ואם כן אפשר שהיין נאכל ולא נשתה, ואין ראיה.

The Gemara rejects this answer: From where do you draw this conclusion? Perhaps the wine was eaten as anigron, a sauce made of oil, beet juice, and garum mixed with wine. As Rabba bar Shmuel said: Anigron is beet juice and wine mixed together. Akhsigron is water that comes from boiled vegetables that have wine mixed into them. The vegetables are mixed with the wine and eaten. It is possible for wine to literally be eaten. Therefore, the verse does not prove that drinking is included in eating.

תירוץ: אלא אמר רב אחא בר יעקב — ראיה מכאן: ״ונתתה הכסף בכל אשר תאוה נפשך בבקר ובצאן ביין ובשכר״ (והכתוב מסיים ״ואכלת״). שכר הוא משקה, ובכל זאת קראו הכתוב ״ואכלת״ — הרי ששתייה בכלל אכילה.

Rather, Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a proof as the verse states: “And you shall spend that money on all that your soul desires, on oxen, or on sheep, or on wine, or on strong drink [sheikhar] or whatever your soul desires, and you shall eat” (Deuteronomy 14:26). Strong drink is a drink, but the Merciful One calls its consumption eating, in the phrase “and you shall eat.”

דחייה ויישוב: שמא גם כאן השכר נאכל באניגרון? תשובה: ״שכר״ כתיב — דבר המשכר, וביין מהול אין שכרות. ושמא ״שכר״ אינו יין אלא מאכל המשכר, כדבלה קעילית? שנינו בברייתא: כהן שאכל דבלה קעילית או שתה דבש וחלב ונשתכר ונכנס למקדש —

The Gemara rejects this proof: From where do you draw this conclusion? Perhaps here too it was eaten as anigron? The Gemara rejects this: Here that answer is insufficient because the verse writes “strong drink [sheikhar],” meaning something that intoxicates. Beverages that generally intoxicate do not do so when they are in a mixture. The Gemara asks: Perhaps sheikhar does not refer to wine but to a food that causes intoxication, such as a sweet dried fig from Keilah. As it was taught in a baraita: A priest who ate a sweet dried fig from Keilah or drank honey or milk, thereby becoming intoxicated, and entered the Temple to serve

— חייב, על שום ״יין ושכר אל תשת״. אם כן ״שכר״ עשוי להתפרש כדבלה קעילית, ולא דווקא יין.

is liable for violating the prohibition: “Drink no wine nor strong drink [sheikhar]” (Leviticus 10:9). Consequently, the term sheikhar in the text can be understood here as the sweet dried fig.

תירוץ: אלא לומדים גזירה שווה ״שכר״-״שכר״ מנזיר — כשם ששם ״שכר״ הוא יין, אף כאן ״שכר״ הוא יין (ולא דבלה). וחוזר הדין: שכר הוא משקה, ונקרא ״ואכלת״.

Rather, the Gemara rejects this and states: It is derived through a verbal analogy of “sheikhar” and “sheikhar” stated in the verses of the nazirite (Numbers 6:3). Just as there, in the case of the nazirite, sheikhar means strong wine, so too, here, it means strong wine and not sweet dried figs.

בירור צדדי: וכי תירוש הוא יין? והרי שנינו: הנודר מן התירוש אסור בכל מיני מתיקה (פירות מתוקים) ומותר ביין — משמע שתירוש אינו יין! ומאידך — וכי אינו יין? והרי כתוב ״ותירוש ינובב בתולות״ (מלשון ניב — דיבור). תשובה: דבר הבא מן התירוש (יין) הוא ש״ינובב בתולות״, אך תירוש עצמו הוא ענבים מתוקים.

The Gemara returns to the meaning of the word tirosh: Is tirosh wine? Isn’t it taught in a baraita: One who vows not to benefit from tirosh is not allowed sweet foods, e.g., sweet fruits, but is allowed wine. Therefore, tirosh is not wine but sweet food. The Gemara rejects this: And is tirosh not wine? But isn’t it written: “Tirosh shall make the young women flourish [yenovev]” (Zechariah 9:17). The word yenovev comes from the word niv, speech. Consequently, tirosh is a food that tempts the heart and mouth of the drinker, even of virgins, who are modest and reticent. Since sweet foods do not have this effect, tirosh must be wine. The Gemara replies: This is not a proof, since we could explain it otherwise: Something that comes from tirosh, such as wine, causes virgins to come forth; tirosh itself means sweet grapes. Perhaps wine is called tirosh only by extension because it is made from tirosh.

המשך הבירור: והרי כתוב ״ותירוש יקביך יפרצו״ — משמע שהתירוש שבייקב הוא יין! תשובה: גם זו אינה ראיה — דבר הבא מן התירוש (יין) הוא ש״יקביך יפרצו״, אך תירוש עצמו פירות מתוקים.

The Gemara challenges this: But isn’t it written: “And your vats shall overflow with tirosh” (Proverbs 3:10). This description implies that tirosh is wine rather than sweet grapes. The Gemara answers: This too is not a proof that tirosh means wine. We could say that the vats shall overflow with something that comes from tirosh, i.e., wine; yet tirosh itself means sweet fruits.

מסקנה: והרי כתוב ״זנות ויין ותירוש יקח לב״ — שתירוש מסיר את הלב, ובוודאי יין. אלא: לכולי עלמא תירוש שבמקרא הוא יין, ובנדרים הולכים אחר לשון בני אדם — שבזמנם ״תירוש״ פירושו פירות מתוקים.

The Gemara objects: But it is written: “Harlotry, and wine, and tirosh take away the heart” (Hosea 4:11). Since tirosh leads the heart astray, it is clear that it is wine. Therefore, the Gemara accepts that tirosh means wine. Rather, according to everyone, the word tirosh in the Bible refers to wine, but vows follow colloquial language. During the time of the Mishna, tirosh meant sweet fruits; the term included grapes but not wine. When dealing with vows, the intention of the speaker is what must be determined, but no inference can be drawn from colloquial language to the biblical definition of the word.

דרשת שמות: ולמה נקרא ״יין״ ולמה ״תירוש״? ״יין״ — שמביא יללה (ייסורים) לעולם, שעל ידו רבים החטאים. ״תירוש״ — שכל המתגרה בו (שותהו לשכרון) נעשה רש (עני).

The Gemara asks: And if so, why does the Bible call it wine and why does it call it tirosh? The Gemara explains: “Wine” suggests that it brings lament to the world because drunkenness causes most sins. There is a phonetic resemblance between the yayin, wine, and ta’aniya va’aniya, sorrow and howling, which Rashi (on Job 2:5) explains as lament. “Tirosh” shows that those who indulge in it become poor [rash].

רב כהנא דורש: כתיב ״תירש״ (חסר) וקורים ״תירוש״ — זכה נעשה ראש, לא זכה נעשה רש. וכן רבא: כתיב ״ישמח״ (בשי״ן) וקורים ״ישמח״ (בסי״ן) — זכה היין משמחו, לא זכה משוממו. והיינו שאמר רבא: ״חמרא וריחני פקחין״ — יין וריח טוב מפקחים את הדעת (למי שראוי).

Rav Kahana raised a contradiction: It is written as tirash but we read it tirosh. This should be understood as follows: If one merits and drinks appropriately, he is made a head [rosh]; if one does not merit and does not drink appropriately, he is made poor [rash]. The Gemara comments: This is the same as what Rava said, as Rava raised a contradiction: It is written: “And wine that makes glad [yishamaḥ] the heart of man” (Psalms 104:15) with a shin, but we read it yisamaḥ with a sin. This teaches: If one merits, wine makes him happy [same’aḥ]; if one does not merit, it makes him confounded [shamem]. This is the same as what Rava said: Wine and good scents make me wise, meaning that wine benefits one who deserves it.

שואלת הגמרא: מנין שרחיצה וסיכה נקראות עינוי? שכתוב בדניאל ״לחם חמודות לא אכלתי ובשר ויין לא בא אל פי וסוך לא סכתי״ (התנהג כמתענה). ומהו ״לחם חמודות לא אכלתי״? רב יהודה בריה דרב שמואל בר שילת: אפילו לחם מחיטים נקיות לא אכל, אלא פת קיבר.

§ The Gemara asks: From where do we derive that abstaining from bathing and smearing oil on oneself is called affliction? The Gemara answers: As it is written “I ate no pleasant bread, neither did meat nor wine enter my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all” (Daniel 10:3). The Gemara explains the verse: What is the meaning of “I ate no pleasant bread”? Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat, said: He did not eat even bread made from refined wheat; he ate only wheat mixed with bran.

ומנין שהתנהגות דניאל זו חשובה עינוי? שכתוב ״ויאמר אלי אל תירא דניאל כי מן היום הראשון אשר נתת את לבך להבין ולהתענות לפני אלהיך נשמעו דבריך ואני באתי בדבריך״ — הרי שנקראה ״ולהתענות״.

The Gemara continues to show that abstaining from smearing oil on oneself is considered an affliction: And from where do we derive that abstaining from the activities that Daniel describes is considered affliction? As it is written: “Then he said to me: Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to afflict yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come due to your words” (Daniel 10:12). “For you are greatly loved” (Daniel 9:23).

מצאנו מקור לסיכה; רחיצה מנין? רב זוטרא בר׳ טוביה: ״ותבא כמים בקרבו וכשמן בעצמותיו״ — כשם שהשמן (סיכה) עינוי, כך המים (רחיצה). דחייה: ואימא שהמים הם שתייה! תשובה: דומיא דשמן — מה שמן מבחוץ, אף מים מבחוץ (רחיצה ולא שתייה).

We have found proof that abstaining from smearing oil on oneself is considered affliction; from where do we derive that abstaining from bathing is also called affliction? Rav Zutra, son of Rabbi Toviya, said: The verse states: “And it came into his innards like water, and like oil into his bones” (Psalms 109:18). This means that the water with which one bathes and the oil with which one smears himself are absorbed into the body. Just as abstaining from smearing oil is considered an affliction, so too, abstaining from bathing is considered an affliction. The Gemara objects: But say that “came into his innards like water” is referring to drinking rather than smearing oil. The Gemara rejects this: It is similar to oil. Just as the oil described in the verse is smeared from outside the body and not drunk, so too, the water mentioned in the verse is used for bathing from the outside. It is not drunk.

קושיא: והרי התנא דרש את הפסוק להפך — ששנינו: מנין שסיכה כשתייה ביום הכיפורים? ״ותבא כמים בקרבו וכשמן בעצמותיו״ (משמע שהמים הם שתייה)! אלא אמר רב אשי: רחיצה נלמדת מגוף הפסוק בדניאל — ״וסוך לא סכתי״, שכולל גם רחיצה.

The Gemara asks: But the tanna took the opposite meaning, as we learned in a mishna: From where do we derive that smearing oil is like drinking on Yom Kippur? Although there is no explicit proof of the matter from the Bible, there is an allusion to the matter from the verse, as it is stated: “And it came into his innards like water, and like oil into his bones” (Psalms 109:18), meaning that oil on the body is like water within it. Therefore, the phrase “and it came into his innards like water” is referring to the act of drinking water. Rather, Rav Ashi said: Bathing is derived from the same verse cited above, as it is written: “Neither did I anoint myself at all” (Daniel 10:3). This teaches that Daniel did not do any anointing, including bathing. Consequently, the same source prohibits both of these activities.

מהו ״ואני באתי בדבריך״? כתוב ביחזקאל ״ושבעים איש מזקני בית ישראל… ואיש מקטרתו בידו ועתר ענן הקטורת עֹלה״ — שראה יחזקאל את זקני ישראל עובדים עבודה זרה. ״וישלח תבנית יד ויקחני בציצית ראשי… ותבא אותי ירושלימה במראות אלהים אל פתח שער הפנימית הפונה צפונה״.

Apropos the verses from Daniel, the Gemara asks: What did the angel mean when he said to Daniel: “And I have come due to your words” (Daniel 10:12)? From this, it seems that the angel was able to come only because of Daniel. The Gemara answers: This is as it is written: “And there stood before them seventy men of the Elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, standing in the midst of them, each man with his censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up” (Ezekiel 8:11). Ezekiel saw the Elders of the house of Israel worshipping foreign gods. “And the form of a hand was put forth, and I was taken by a lock of my head; and a spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the gate of the inner court that faces northward where

המשך הפסוק: ״שם מושב סמל הקנאה המקנה״; ״ויבא אותי אל חצר בית ה׳ הפנימית… כעשרים וחמשה איש אחֹריהם אל היכל ה׳ ופניהם קדמה והמה משתחוים קדמה לשמש״. דרשה: ממה שנאמר ״ופניהם קדמה״ ידוע שאחוריהם להיכל; ומה ת״ל ״אחֹריהם אל היכל ה׳״? מלמד שהיו פורעים עצמם ומתריזים (מתפנים) כלפי מטה — כלפי השכינה.

there was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes jealousy” (Ezekiel 8:3). “And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s House, and behold at the opening of the Entrance Hall of the Sanctuary of God, between the porch and the altar were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the Temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, and they worshipped the sun toward the east” (Ezekiel 8:16). The Gemara explains: From the fact that it is stated “and their faces toward the east,” is it not clear that their backs were to the Sanctuary, which is in the west? Rather, what is the meaning when the verse states “their backs toward the Temple of the Lord”? This teaches that they would uncover themselves and defecate downward, toward the Divine Presence. The verse used a euphemism to refrain from vulgar language.

אמר הקב״ה למיכאל (שׂרם של ישראל): מיכאל, סרחה אומתך! אמר לפניו: ריבונו של עולם, די לטובים שבהם (שיינצלו בזכותם). אמר לו: אשרוף אותם ואת הטובים שבהם (שלא מיחו). מיד נצטווה לבוש הבדים (גבריאל) ״בוא… ומלא חפניך גחלי אש… וזרֹק על העיר״, והכרוב נתן את הגחלים בחפניו.

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Michael, the ministering angel of the Jewish people: Michael, your nation has sinned (see Daniel 10:21). He replied: Master of the Universe, may it be enough for the good people among them to save them from destruction. He said to him: I will burn them and the good among them because the good do not rebuke the wicked. Immediately, God spoke to Gabriel: “He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said: Go in between the wheelwork and beneath the cherub, and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubs, and scatter them over the city; and he came before my eyes” (Ezekiel 10:2). Immediately: “And the cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubs into the fire that was between the cherubs, and took and put it into the hands of him that was clothed in linen, who took it and went out” (Ezekiel 10:7).

רב חנא בר ביזנא בשם ר׳ שמעון חסידא: אלמלא נצטננו הגחלים בעת שעברו מיד הכרוב ליד גבריאל (שעיכב מעט) — לא היה נשתייר מישראל (״שונאיהן״ לשון נקייה) שריד ופליט. הצינון מיעט את הפורענות.

Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said: If it were not for the fact that the embers cooled as they were passed from the hand of the cherub to the hand of Gabriel, instead of Gabriel taking the embers directly himself as he had been told, not a remnant or a refugee of the enemies of the Jewish people, a euphemism for the Jewish people themselves, would have survived. The cooling of the embers limited the punishment.

וכתוב ״והנה האיש לבוש הבדים… משיב דבר לאמר עשיתי כאשר צויתני״. אמר ר׳ יוחנן: באותה שעה הוציאו את גבריאל מאחורי הפרגוד והכוהו שישים פולסי דנורא (מכות אש). אמרו לו: אם לא עשית — לא עשית, ואם עשית — מדוע לא כפי שצֻוית? ועוד: אחר שעשית, לא ידעת ש״אין משיבין על הקלקלה״ (אין למסור דין־וחשבון מפורט על שליחות של חורבן)?

The Gemara continues. And it is written: “And behold, the man clothed in linen with the slate by his side, reported the matter saying: I have done as You have commanded me” (Ezekiel 9:11). Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At that moment, they cast out Gabriel from behind the curtain [pargod], where the inner angels reside, and they struck him with sixty blows [pulsei] of fire. They said to him: If you did not do it, you did not do it; if you did do it, why did you not do it according to what you were commanded but deviated from what you were instructed to do? Moreover, after you already did it, do you not have knowledge of the principle: One should not deliver a report about destruction? If one is sent on a mission of destruction, he should not deliver a detailed report of its success but should only hint at it.

הביאו את דובִיאל שׂרם של פרסיים והעמידוהו במקום גבריאל, ושימש עשרים ואחד יום. וזהו ״ושר מלכות פרס עומד לנגדי עשרים ואחד יום… ואני נותרתי שם אצל מלכי פרס״. בשכר אותם ימים נתנו לו עשרים ואחת מלכויות ונמל מַשְׁהִיג.

They then brought Dubiel, the ministering angel of the Persians and put him in the place of [baḥarikei] Gabriel and he served for twenty-one days. As it is written: “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood opposed to me for twenty-one days, but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me and I remained there beside the kings of Persia” (Daniel 10:13). Corresponding to those twenty-one days, they gave him, the ministering angel of Persia, twenty-one kings who ruled and the seaport of Mashhig.

אמר דובִיאל: כתבו לי שישראל ישלמו מס (כרגא) לפרס. כתבו לו. כתבו לי שגם החכמים ישלמו מס. כתבו לו. בשעה שביקשו לחתום, עמד גבריאל מאחורי הפרגוד ואמר את הפסוק ״שוא לכם משכימי קום… כן יתן לידידו שנא״ — לימוד זכות על תלמידי חכמים ונשותיהם, ולא השגיחו עליו.

The ministering angel of the Persians said: Write for me that the Jews must pay taxes [akarga] to the Persians. They wrote it for him as he asked. He said: Write for me that the Sages must pay taxes. They wrote this for him. When they wanted to sign the documents, Gabriel stood from behind the curtain and said: “It is vain for you who rise early who sit up late to eat the bread of sorrow, for He gives His beloved sleep” (Psalms 127:2). What does “for He gives His beloved sleep” mean? Rav Yitzḥak said: These are the wives of Torah scholars who disturb their sleep in this world by staying up waiting for their husbands, who rise early and return late from learning Torah, and they thereby merit the World-to-Come. Gabriel asked: Is this the reward they deserve, to pay more taxes? They did not listen to Gabriel.

המשיך גבריאל: ריבונו של עולם! אם כל חכמי אומות העולם בכף מאזניים, ודניאל איש חמודות בכף שנייה — הלא יכריע את כולם! אמר הקב״ה: מי זה שמלמד זכות על בני? אמרו: גבריאל. אמר: יבוא — שנאמר ״ואני באתי בדבריך״ (זכה גבריאל להיכנס בזכות שהזכיר דניאל). אמר: ליעול, והכניסוהו.

He said before Him: Master of the Universe, if all the wise men of other nations were placed on one side of the scale, and Daniel the beloved man were on the other side, would he not outweigh them? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Who is the one who teaches the virtue of My children? They said to Him: Master of the Universe, it is Gabriel. He said to them: Let him come from behind the partition, as it is stated: “And I have come due to your words” (Daniel 10:12), meaning that Gabriel was permitted to enter from behind the partition because he mentioned Daniel’s name. God then said to the other angels: Let him ascend. They brought him up.

בא גבריאל ומצא את דובִיאל אוחז את האיגרת (גזירת המס) בידו. ביקש להוציאה ממנו, ודובִיאל בלעהּ. יש אומרים: כתובה הייתה אך לא חתומה; ויש אומרים: אף חתומה, ובבליעה נמחק החותם. וזהו שבמלכות פרס יש המשלם מס ויש שאינו משלם. ״ואני יוצא והנה שר יון בא״ — צעק גבריאל שלא תמלוך יון על ישראל, ולא השגיחו בו.

He came and found Dubiel the ministering angel of the Persians holding the letter in his hand. Gabriel wanted to take the letter from him, but Dubiel swallowed it. Some say the letter was written, but it was not signed. Some say it was also signed, but when he swallowed it, the signature was erased. The Gemara comments: This is why, in the kingdom of Persia, there are those who pay taxes and there are those who do not pay taxes, as the decree was not finalized. It also states there: “And when I depart from him, the prince of Greece comes” (Daniel 10:20). Gabriel screamed and screamed that the kings of Greece should not rule over the Jews, but no one listened to him.