## Berakhot Daf 18b

###### Berakhot 18b:1
[Berakhot 18b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:1)

״בֶּן אִישׁ חַי״: אַטּוּ כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא בְּנֵי מֵתֵי נִינְהוּ? אֶלָּא: ״בֶּן אִישׁ חַי״ — שֶׁאֲפִילּוּ בְּמִיתָתוֹ קָרוּי חַי. ״רַב פְּעָלִים מִקַּבְצְאֵל״ — שֶׁרִיבָּה וְקִבֵּץ פּוֹעֲלִים לַתּוֹרָה. ״וְהוּא הִכָּה אֵת שְׁנֵי אֲרִאֵל מוֹאָב״ — שֶׁלֹּא הִנִּיחַ כְּמוֹתוֹ לֹא בְּמִקְדָּשׁ רִאשׁוֹן וְלֹא בְּמִקְדָּשׁ שֵׁנִי.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
He was referred to in the verse as **son of a living man.** The Gemara wonders: **Is that to say,** the fact that the Bible referred to him with that appellation, **that all others are children of the dead? Rather,** the verse should be explained as follows: **The son of a living man** who lives forever, **who even in death is referred to as living. Man of Kabze’el who had done mighty deeds, as he accumulated and gathered many workers for** the sake of the **Torah. Who killed the two lion-hearted men [*Ariel*] of Moab, as** after his death **he left no one his equal, in either the First Temple or the Second Temple** periods, as the Temple is called *Ariel* (see Isaiah 29:1), and the two *Ariel* refers to the two Temples.


###### Berakhot 18b:2
[Berakhot 18b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:2)

״וְהוּא יָרַד וְהִכָּה אֶת הָאֲרִי בְּתוֹךְ הַבּוֹר בְּיוֹם הַשָּׁלֶג״, אִיכָּא דְאָמְרִי: דְּתַבַּר גְּזִיזֵי דְבַרְדָּא, וּנְחַת וּטְבַל. אִיכָּא דְאָמְרִי: דִּתְנָא סִיפְרָא דְבֵי רַב בְּיוֹמָא דְסִיתְוָא.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Sages disagreed over the interpretation of the rest of the verse: **“And who descended and slew the lion in the pit on the snowy day.” Some say** that this means **that he broke blocks of hail and descended and immersed himself** in the water to purify himself. **Others say that he learned** all of **the *Sifra*,** the *halakhic* midrash on the book of Leviticus **of the school of Rav,** on a **winter’s day.**


###### Berakhot 18b:3
[Berakhot 18b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:3)

״וְהַמֵּתִים אֵינָם יוֹדְעִים מְאוּמָה״ — אֵלּוּ רְשָׁעִים, שֶׁבְּחַיֵּיהֶן קְרוּיִין ״מֵתִים״, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְאַתָּה חָלָל רָשָׁע נְשִׂיא יִשְׂרָאֵל״. וְאִי בָּעֵית אֵימָא, מֵהָכָא: ״עַל פִּי שְׁנַיִם עֵדִים אוֹ עַל פִּי שְׁלֹשָׁה עֵדִים יוּמַת הַמֵּת״, חַי הוּא! אֶלָּא, הַמֵּת מֵעִיקָּרָא.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
In contrast to the righteous, who are referred to as living even after their death, the verse states explicitly: **“The dead know nothing.” These are the wicked, who** even **during their lives are called dead, as** the prophet Ezekiel **said** in reference to a king of Israel who was alive: **“And you are a slain, wicked prince of Israel”** (Ezekiel 21:30). **And if you wish, say** instead that the proof is **from here: “At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses the dead shall be put to death”** (Deuteronomy 17:6). This is puzzling. As long as the accused has not been sentenced to death, he **is alive. Rather,** this person who is wicked is considered **dead from the outset.**


###### Berakhot 18b:4
[Berakhot 18b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:4)

בְּנֵי רַבִּי חִיָּיא נְפוּק לְקִרְיָיתָא. אִייַּקַּר לְהוּ תַּלְמוּדַיְיהוּ. הֲווֹ קָא מִצַּעֲרִי לְאִדְּכוֹרֵיהּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ חַד לְחַבְרֵיהּ: יָדַע אֲבוּן בְּהַאי צַעֲרָא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִידַּךְ: מְנָא יָדַע? וְהָא כְּתִיב: ״יִכְבְּדוּ בָנָיו וְלֹא יֵדָע״.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara relates a story on this topic: **The sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya went out to the villages** to oversee the laborers. **They forgot what they had learned and were struggling to recall it. One** of them **said to the other:** Does **our** deceased **father know of** our **anguish? The other said to him: From where would he know? Isn’t it written: “His sons are honored yet he shall not know it,** they come to sorrow and he shall not understand them” (Job 14:21)? The dead do not know.


###### Berakhot 18b:5
[Berakhot 18b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:5)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִידַּךְ: וְלָא יָדַע? וְהָא כְּתִיב: ״אַךְ בְּשָׂרוֹ עָלָיו יִכְאָב וְנַפְשׁוֹ עָלָיו תֶּאֱבָל״. וְאָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: קָשָׁה רִמָּה לַמֵּת כְּמַחַט בַּבָּשָׂר הַחַי!

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
**The other said** back **to him: And** do the dead truly **not know? Isn’t it written: “Only in his flesh does he feel pain, in his soul does he mourn”** (Job 14:22)? Based on this verse **Rabbi Yitzḥak said:** Gnawing **maggots are as excruciating to the dead as** the stab of **a needle to the flesh of the living.** The dead must have the capacity to feel and know.


###### Berakhot 18b:6
[Berakhot 18b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:6)

אָמְרִי: בְּצַעֲרָא דִידְהוּ — יָדְעִי, בְּצַעֲרָא דְאַחֲרִינָא — לָא יָדְעִי.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
In order to reconcile this contradiction **they said:** They **know of their own pain but do not know of the pain of others.**


###### Berakhot 18b:7
[Berakhot 18b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:7)

וְלָא? וְהָתַנְיָא: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּחָסִיד אֶחָד שֶׁנָּתַן דִּינָר לְעָנִי בְּעֶרֶב רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה בִּשְׁנֵי בַצּוֹרֶת, וְהִקְנִיטַתּוּ אִשְׁתּוֹ, וְהָלַךְ וְלָן בְּבֵית הַקְּבָרוֹת. וְשָׁמַע שְׁתֵּי רוּחוֹת שֶׁמְסַפְּרוֹת זוֹ לָזוֹ. אָמְרָה חֲדָא לַחֲבֶרְתָּהּ: חֲבֶרְתִּי, בּוֹאִי וְנָשׁוּט בָּעוֹלָם, וְנִשְׁמַע מֵאֲחוֹרֵי הַפַּרְגּוֹד מַה פּוּרְעָנוּת בָּא לָעוֹלָם? אָמְרָה לָהּ חֲבֶרְתָּהּ: אֵינִי יְכוֹלָה, שֶׁאֲנִי קְבוּרָה בְּמַחְצֶלֶת שֶׁל קָנִים. אֶלָּא לְכִי אַתְּ, וּמַה שֶּׁאַתְּ שׁוֹמַעַת אִמְרִי לִי. הָלְכָה הִיא וְשָׁטָה וּבָאָה. וְאָמְרָה לָהּ חֲבֶרְתָּהּ: חֲבֶרְתִּי, מַה שָּׁמַעְתְּ מֵאֲחוֹרֵי הַפַּרְגּוֹד? אָמְרָה לָהּ: שָׁמַעְתִּי שֶׁכָּל הַזּוֹרֵעַ בִּרְבִיעָה רִאשׁוֹנָה בָּרָד מַלְקֶה אוֹתוֹ. הָלַךְ הוּא וְזָרַע בִּרְבִיעָה שְׁנִיָּה. שֶׁל כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ לָקָה, שֶׁלּוֹ — לֹא לָקָה.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara challenges this: **And** is it so that the dead do **not** know of the pain of others? **Wasn’t it taught** in a *baraita*: There was **an incident involving a pious man who gave a poor man a dinar on the eve of Rosh HaShana during drought years, and his wife mocked him** for giving so large a sum at so difficult a time? **And** in order to escape her incessant mockery, **he went and slept in the cemetery.** That night in his dream (Ritva, *HaKotev*, Maharsha), **he heard two spirits conversing with each other. One said to the other: My friend, let us roam the world and hear from behind the heavenly curtain [*pargod*],** which separates the Divine Presence from the world, **what calamity will befall the world. The other spirit said to her:** I **cannot** go with you, **as I am buried in a mat of reeds, but you go, and tell me what you hear. She went, and roamed, and came** back. **The other spirit said: My friend, what did you hear from behind the heavenly curtain? She replied: I heard that anyone who sows during the first rainy season** of this year, **hail** will fall and **strike his** crops. Hearing this, the pious man **went and sowed** his seeds **during the second rainy season.** Ultimately, the crops of **the entire world were stricken** by hail **and his** crops **were not stricken.**


###### Berakhot 18b:8
[Berakhot 18b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:8)

לַשָּׁנָה הָאַחֶרֶת הָלַךְ וְלָן בְּבֵית הַקְּבָרוֹת, וְשָׁמַע אוֹתָן שְׁתֵּי רוּחוֹת שֶׁמְסַפְּרוֹת זוֹ עִם זוֹ. אָמְרָה חֲדָא לַחֲבֶרְתָּהּ: בּוֹאִי וְנָשׁוּט בָּעוֹלָם וְנִשְׁמַע מֵאֲחוֹרֵי הַפַּרְגּוֹד מַה פּוּרְעָנוּת בָּא לָעוֹלָם. אָמְרָה לָהּ: חֲבֶרְתִּי, לֹא כָּךְ אָמַרְתִּי לָךְ, אֵינִי יְכוֹלָה שֶׁאֲנִי קְבוּרָה בְּמַחְצֶלֶת שֶׁל קָנִים?! אֶלָּא לְכִי אַתְּ, וּמַה שֶּׁאַתְּ שׁוֹמַעַת בּוֹאִי וְאִמְרִי לִי. הָלְכָה וְשָׁטָה וּבָאָה. וְאָמְרָה לָהּ חֲבֶרְתָּהּ: חֲבֶרְתִּי, מַה שָּׁמַעְתְּ מֵאֲחוֹרֵי הַפַּרְגּוֹד? אָמְרָה לָהּ: שָׁמַעְתִּי שֶׁכָּל הַזּוֹרֵעַ בִּרְבִיעָה שְׁנִיָּה שִׁדָּפוֹן מַלְקֶה אוֹתוֹ. הָלַךְ וְזָרַע בִּרְבִיעָה רִאשׁוֹנָה, שֶׁל כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ נִשְׁדַּף וְשֶׁלּוֹ לֹא נִשְׁדַּף.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
**The following year,** on the eve of Rosh HaShana, the same pious man **went and slept in the cemetery** at his own initiative, and again **he heard the two spirits conversing with each other. One said to the other: Let us roam the world and hear from behind the heavenly curtain what calamity will befall the world. She said to her: My friend, have I not** already **told you** that **I cannot, as I am buried in a mat of reeds? Rather, you go, and tell me what you hear. She went, and roamed, and returned. The other** spirit **said to her: My friend, what did you hear from behind the curtain? She said to her: I heard that those who sow during the second rainy season blight will strike his** crops. That pious man **went and sowed during the first rainy season.** Since everyone else sowed during the second rainy season, ultimately, the crops **of the entire world were blighted and his** crops **were not blighted.**


###### Berakhot 18b:9
[Berakhot 18b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:9)

אָמְרָה לוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ: מִפְּנֵי מָה אֶשְׁתָּקַד שֶׁל כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ לָקָה וְשֶׁלְּךָ לֹא לָקָה, וְעַכְשָׁיו שֶׁל כָּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ נִשְׁדַּף וְשֶׁלְּךָ לֹא נִשְׁדַּף? סָח לָהּ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הַלָּלוּ. אָמְרוּ: לֹא הָיוּ יָמִים מוּעָטִים עַד שֶׁנָּפְלָה קְטָטָה בֵּין אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ חָסִיד וּבֵין אִמָּהּ שֶׁל אוֹתָהּ רִיבָה. אָמְרָה לָהּ: לְכִי וְאַרְאֵךְ בִּתֵּךְ שֶׁהִיא קְבוּרָה בְּמַחְצֶלֶת שֶׁל קָנִים.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The pious man’s **wife said to him: Why is it that last year,** the crops **of the entire world were stricken and yours were not stricken, and now** this year, the crops **of the entire world were blighted and yours were not blighted? He related to her the entire story. They said: It was not** even **a few days** later that **a quarrel fell between the pious man’s wife and the mother of the young woman** who was buried there. The pious man’s wife **said to her** scornfully: **Go and I will show you your daughter,** and you will see that **she is buried in a mat of reeds.**


###### Berakhot 18b:10
[Berakhot 18b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:10)

לַשָּׁנָה הָאַחֶרֶת הָלַךְ וְלָן בְּבֵית הַקְּבָרוֹת וְשָׁמַע אוֹתָן רוּחוֹת שֶׁמְסַפְּרוֹת זוֹ עִם זוֹ. אָמְרָה לָהּ: חֲבֶרְתִּי, בּוֹאִי וְנָשׁוּט בָּעוֹלָם וְנִשְׁמַע מֵאֲחוֹרֵי הַפַּרְגּוֹד מַה פּוּרְעָנוּת בָּא לָעוֹלָם. אָמְרָה לָהּ: חֲבֶרְתִּי, הֲנִיחִינִי, דְּבָרִים שֶׁבֵּינִי לְבֵינֵךְ כְּבָר נִשְׁמְעוּ בֵּין הַחַיִּים. אַלְמָא יָדְעִי.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
**The following year, he** again **went and slept in the cemetery, and heard the same spirits conversing with each other. One said** to the other: **My friend, let us roam the world and hear from behind the heavenly curtain what calamity will befall the world. She said to her: My friend, leave me** alone, as **words that** we have privately exchanged **between us have already been heard among the living. Apparently,** the dead **know** what transpires in this world.


###### Berakhot 18b:11
[Berakhot 18b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:11)

דִּילְמָא אִינִישׁ אַחֲרִינָא שָׁכֵיב, וְאָזֵיל וְאָמַר לְהוּ.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara responds: This is no proof; **perhaps another person,** who heard about the conversation of the spirits secondhand, **died and** he **went and told them** that they had been overheard.


###### Berakhot 18b:12
[Berakhot 18b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:12)

תָּא שְׁמַע: דִּזְעֵירִי הֲוָה מַפְקֵיד זוּזֵי גַּבֵּי אוּשְׁפִּיזְכָתֵיהּ. עַד דְּאָתֵי וְאָזֵיל לְבֵי רַב, שְׁכִיבָה. אֲזַל בָּתְרַהּ לַחֲצַר מָוֶת, אֲמַר לַהּ: זוּזֵי הֵיכָא? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: זִיל שַׁקְלִינְהוּ מִתּוּתֵי צִנּוֹרָא דְּדָשָׁא בְּדוּךְ פְּלָן, וְאֵימָא לַהּ לְאִימָּא, תְּשַׁדַּר לִי מַסְרְקַאי וְגוּבְתַּאי דְּכוּחְלָא בַּהֲדֵי פְּלָנִיתָא דְּאָתְיָא לִמְחַר. אַלְמָא יָדְעִי!

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
With regard to the deceased’s knowledge of what transpires, **come** and **hear** a proof, as it is told: **Ze’iri would deposit** his **dinars with his innkeeper. While he was going and coming to** and from **the school of Rav, she died,** and he did not know where she had put the money. **So he went after her to** her grave in **the cemetery and said to her: Where are the dinars? She replied: Go and get them from beneath the hinge of the door in such and such a place, and tell my mother** that **she should send me my comb and a tube of eyeshadow with such and such a woman who will** die **and come here tomorrow. Apparently,** the dead **know** what transpires in this world.


###### Berakhot 18b:13
[Berakhot 18b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:13)

דִּלְמָא דּוּמָה קָדֵים וּמַכְרֵיז לְהוּ.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara rejects this proof: **Perhaps** the angel **Duma,** who oversees the dead, **comes beforehand and announces to them** that a particular individual will arrive the next day, but they themselves do not know.


###### Berakhot 18b:14
[Berakhot 18b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:14)

תָּא שְׁמַע: דַּאֲבוּהּ דִּשְׁמוּאֵל הֲווֹ קָא מַפְקְדִי גַּבֵּיהּ זוּזֵי דְיַתְמֵי. כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ לָא הֲוָה שְׁמוּאֵל גַּבֵּיהּ. הֲווֹ קָא קָרוּ לֵיהּ: ״בַּר אָכֵיל זוּזֵי דְיַתְמֵי״. אֲזַל אַבָּתְרֵיהּ לַחֲצַר מָוֶת. אֲמַר לְהוּ: בָּעֵינָא אַבָּא! אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: אַבָּא טוּבָא אִיכָּא הָכָא. אֲמַר לְהוּ: בָּעֵינָא אַבָּא בַּר אַבָּא. אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: אַבָּא בַּר אַבָּא נָמֵי טוּבָא אִיכָּא הָכָא. אֲמַר לְהוּ: בָּעֵינָא אַבָּא בַּר אַבָּא אֲבוּהּ דִּשְׁמוּאֵל הֵיכָא? אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ סְלֵיק לִמְתִיבְתָּא דִּרְקִיעָא. אַדְּהָכִי חַזְיֵיהּ לְלֵוִי דְּיָתֵיב אַבָּרַאי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אַמַּאי יָתְבַתְּ אַבָּרַאי? מַאי טַעְמָא לָא סָלְקַתְּ? אֲמַר לֵיהּ, דְאָמְרִי לִי: כָּל כִּי הָנָךְ שְׁנֵי דְּלָא סְלֵיקְתְּ לִמְתִיבְתָּא דְּרַבִּי אַפָּס וְאַחְלֵישְׁתֵּיהּ לְדַעְתֵּיהּ, לָא מְעַיְּילִינַן לָךְ לִמְתִיבְתָּא דִרְקִיעָא.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
The Gemara cites another proof: **Come** and **hear,** as it is told: **They would deposit the money of orphans with Shmuel’s father** for safekeeping. **When Shmuel’s father died, Shmuel was not with him,** and did not learn from him the location of the money. Since he did not return it, Shmuel was called: **Son of** him who **consumes the money of orphans.** Shmuel **went after** his father **to the cemetery and said to** the dead: **I want Abba.** The dead **said to him: There are many Abbas here. He told them: I want Abba bar Abba. They said** to him: **There are also many people named Abba bar Abba here. He told them: I want Abba bar Abba, the father of Shmuel. Where** is he? **They replied: Ascend to the yeshiva on high. Meanwhile, he saw** his friend **Levi sitting outside** the yeshiva, away from the rest of the deceased. **He asked him: Why do you sit outside? Why did you not ascend** to the yeshiva? **He replied: Because they tell me** that for **all those years** that **you didn’t enter the yeshiva of Rabbi Afes, and** thereby **upset him, we will not grant you entry to the yeshiva on high.**


###### Berakhot 18b:15
[Berakhot 18b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:15)

אַדְּהָכִי וְהָכִי אֲתָא אֲבוּהּ, חַזְיֵיהּ דַּהֲוָה קָא בָכֵי וְאַחֵיךְ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מַאי טַעְמָא קָא בָכֵית? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: דְּלַעֲגָל קָא אָתֵית. מַאי טַעְמָא אַחֵיכְתְּ? דַּחֲשִׁיבַתְּ בְּהַאי עָלְמָא טוּבָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אִי חֲשִׁיבְנָא — נְעַיְּילוּהּ לְלֵוִי. וְעַיְּילוּהוּ לְלֵוִי.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
**Meanwhile,** Shmuel’s **father came** and Shmuel **saw that he was crying and laughing.** Shmuel **said to** his father: **Why are you crying?** His father **replied:** Because **you will come here soon.** Shmuel continued and asked: **Why are you laughing?** His father replied: Because **you are extremely important in this world.** Shmuel **said to him: If I am important, then let them grant Levi entry** to the yeshiva. **And** so it was **that they granted Levi entry** to the yeshiva.


###### Berakhot 18b:16
[Berakhot 18b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:16)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: זוּזֵי דְיַתְמֵי הֵיכָא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: זִיל שַׁקְלִינְהוּ בְּאַמְתָא דְרִחְיָא. עִילָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי — דִּידַן, וּמִיצְעֵי דְּיַתְמֵי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מַאי טַעְמָא עֲבַדְתְּ הָכִי? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אִי גָּנְבִי גַּנָּבֵי — מִגַּנְבוּ מִדִּידַן. אִי אָכְלָה אַרְעָא — אָכְלָה מִדִּידַן. אַלְמָא דְּיָדְעִי! — דִּילְמָא שָׁאנֵי שְׁמוּאֵל, כֵּיוָן דַּחֲשִׁיב קָדְמִי וּמַכְרְזִי: פַּנּוּ מָקוֹם.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
Shmuel **said to** his father: **Where is the orphans’ money? He said to him: Go** and **retrieve it from the millhouse,** where you will find **the uppermost and the lowermost** money **is ours, and** the money **in the middle** belongs to **the orphans.** Shmuel **said to him: Why did you do that? He replied: If thieves stole, they would steal from our** money on top, which the thief would see first. **If the earth swallowed up** any of it, it would swallow **from our** money, on the bottom. **Apparently,** the dead, in this case Shmuel’s father, **know** when others will die. Since Shmuel did not die the next day, clearly the angel Duma could not have informed them (*Tosafot*). The Gemara responds: **Perhaps Shmuel is different,** and **because he is so important they announce beforehand: Clear place** for his arrival.


###### Berakhot 18b:17
[Berakhot 18b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Berakhot/r/18b:17)

וְאַף רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן הֲדַר בֵּיהּ, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: מִנַּיִן לַמֵּתִים שֶׁמְסַפְּרִים זֶה עִם זֶה — שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֵלָיו זֹאת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב לֵאמֹר״. מַאי ״לֵאמֹר״? — אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמֹשֶׁה: לֵךְ אֱמוֹר לָהֶם לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב: שְׁבוּעָה שֶׁנִּשְׁבַּעְתִּי לָכֶם כְּבָר קִייַּמְתִּיהָ לִבְנֵיכֶם.

**Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921:**
In any case, with regard to the crux of the issue, **Rabbi Yonatan also reconsidered** his opinion, **as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said** that **Rabbi Yonatan said: From where** is it derived **that the dead converse with each other? As it is stated: “And the Lord said to him, this is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying:** I will give it to your offspring” (Deuteronomy 34:4). **What is** the meaning of **“saying”?** It means that **God told Moses: Go and tell Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,** that **the oath that I swore to you I have already fulfilled for your descendants.**