## Pesachim Daf 56a

###### Pesachim 56a:1
[Pesachim 56a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:1)

וְאוֹכְלִין מִתַּחַת הַנְּשָׁרִים בְּשַׁבָּת, וְנוֹתְנִין פֵּאָה לַיָּרָק. וּמִיחוּ בְּיָדָם חֲכָמִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**and** they would **eat** fallen fruit **from beneath** palm **trees that shed fruit** that had fallen **on Shabbat; and they** would **designate** the produce in the **corner** for the poor in a field of **vegetables,** which is exempt from this obligation even by rabbinic law. **And the Sages reprimanded** the people of Jericho for doing these three things.


###### Pesachim 56a:2
[Pesachim 56a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:2)

**גְּמָ׳** תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שִׁשָּׁה דְבָרִים עָשָׂה חִזְקִיָּה הַמֶּלֶךְ, עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה הוֹדוּ לוֹ, וְעַל שְׁלֹשָׁה לֹא הוֹדוּ לוֹ: גֵּירַר עַצְמוֹת אָבִיו עַל מִטָּה שֶׁל חֲבָלִים — וְהוֹדוּ לוֹ. כִּיתַּת נְחַשׁ הַנְּחשֶׁת — וְהוֹדוּ לוֹ. גָּנַז סֵפֶר רְפוּאוֹת — וְהוֹדוּ לוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** Apropos the people of Jericho, who were reprimanded for some of their actions and not reprimanded for others, the Gemara cites a similar *baraita*. **The Sages taught: King Hezekiah performed six actions. With regard to three** of them, the Sages of his generation **conceded to him; and with regard to three** of them, the Sages **did not concede to him.** Due to King Hezekiah’s father’s wickedness, **he dragged the bones of his father** Ahaz **on a bier of ropes** and did not afford him the respect due to a king, **and** the Sages **conceded to him. He ground the copper snake** that Moses fashioned in the desert because Israel worshipped it, **and** the Sages **conceded to him. He suppressed the Book of Cures, and they conceded to him.**


###### Pesachim 56a:3
[Pesachim 56a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:3)

וְעַל שְׁלֹשָׁה לֹא הוֹדוּ לוֹ: קִיצֵּץ דְּלָתוֹת שֶׁל הֵיכָל וְשִׁיגְּרָן לְמֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר — וְלֹא הוֹדוּ לוֹ. סָתַם מֵי גִיחוֹן הָעֶלְיוֹן — וְלֹא הוֹדוּ לוֹ. עִיבֵּר נִיסָן בְּנִיסָן — וְלֹא הוֹדוּ לוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And with regard to three** actions, the Sages **did not concede to him. He cut off the doors of the Sanctuary and sent them to the King of Assyria, and they did not concede to him** because he thereby demeaned the Temple. **He sealed the waters of the upper Gihon** stream, diverting its water into the city by means of a tunnel, **and they did not concede to him,** because he harmed the local populace in the process and should have relied upon God (*Me’iri*). **He intercalated** the year, delaying the advent of the month **of Nisan during Nisan, and they did not concede to him.** The Gemara explains that he declared the first of Nisan to be the thirtieth of Adar and only then intercalated the year (see II Chronicles 30:2).


###### Pesachim 56a:4
[Pesachim 56a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:4)

מַרְכִּיבִין דְּקָלִים כׇּל הַיּוֹם וְכוּ׳. הֵיכִי עָבְדִי? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: מַיְיתֵי אָסָא דָּרָא וְשִׁיכְרָא דְּדַפְנָא וְקִימְחָא דִשְׂעָרֵי דִּרְמֵי בְּמָנָא דְּלָא חָלְפִי עֲלֵיהּ אַרְבְּעִין יוֹמִין, וּמַרְתְּחִי לְהוּ, וְשָׁדוּ לְהוּ לְדִיקְלָא בְּלִיבֵּיהּ, וְכׇל דְּקָאֵי בְּאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת דִּידֵיהּ, אִי לָא עָבְדִי לֵיהּ הָכִי — צָאוֵי לְאַלְתַּר. רַב אַחָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבָא אָמַר: מַנְּחִי כּוּפְרָא דִּיכְרָא לְנוּקְבְּתָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
We learned in the mishna: **They** would **graft palm trees the entire day** of the fourteenth of Nisan. The Gemara asks: **How did they perform** this grafting? **Rabbi Yehuda said: They brought fresh myrtle, strong beer** made **from the** fruit of the **laurel tree, and barley flour that was cast into a vessel, and forty days has not passed** since it was ground. **They boiled them** together **and poured** the mixture **into the core of the palm tree.** And for **any** tree **standing within four cubits of that** tree, **if they did not perform this** treatment with it, **it would immediately wither** because the tree that received the treatment would grow faster at the expense of the surrounding trees. **Rav Aḥa, son** of **Rava, said: They placed a branch of a male palm tree on the female,** and by doing so the female tree would yield fruit.


###### Pesachim 56a:5
[Pesachim 56a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:5)

וְכוֹרְכִין אֶת שְׁמַע. הֵיכִי עָבְדִי? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: אוֹמְרִים ״שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה׳ אֶחָד״, וְלֹא הָיוּ מַפְסִיקִין. רָבָא אָמַר: מַפְסִיקִין הָיוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים ״הַיּוֹם עַל לְבָבֶךָ״, דְּמַשְׁמַע: הַיּוֹם עַל לְבָבֶךָ, וְלֹא מָחָר עַל לְבָבֶךָ. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: כֵּיצַד הָיוּ כּוֹרְכִין אֶת שְׁמַע? אוֹמְרִים ״שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה׳ אֶחָד״, וְלֹא הָיוּ מַפְסִיקִין, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: מַפְסִיקִין הָיוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים ״בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
We learned in the mishna that the residents of Jericho would **bundle *Shema*.** The Gemara asks: What does it mean that they bundled *Shema*? **How did they do** so? **Rabbi Yehuda said** that **they recited: “Hear Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is One**” (Deuteronomy 6:4), **and they would not pause** between words. **Rava said: They** would **pause** between words, **but** instead of reciting this verse in the proper manner: “That which I command you today, shall be on your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5), pausing after the word today; **they would say: Today shall be on your heart,** inferring: **Today it will be on your heart, and tomorrow it will not be on your heart. The Sages taught** in the *Tosefta*: **How would they bundle *Shema*? They recited: “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God the Lord is One,” without pausing;** this is **the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: They paused, but they would not recite: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.**


###### Pesachim 56a:6
[Pesachim 56a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:6)

וַאֲנַן, מַאי טַעְמָא אָמְרִינַן לֵיהּ? כִּדְדָרֵישׁ רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **What is the reason that we recite** that passage: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever, even though it does not appear in the Torah? The Gemara answers: We recite it **in accordance with** that **which Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish interpreted homiletically.**


###### Pesachim 56a:7
[Pesachim 56a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:7)

דְּאָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ: ״וַיִּקְרָא יַעֲקֹב אֶל בָּנָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם״. בִּיקֵּשׁ יַעֲקֹב לְגַלּוֹת לְבָנָיו קֵץ הַיָּמִין, וְנִסְתַּלְּקָה מִמֶּנּוּ שְׁכִינָה. אָמַר: שֶׁמָּא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם יֵשׁ בְּמִטָּתִי פְּסוּל, כְּאַבְרָהָם שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנּוּ יִשְׁמָעֵאל, וְאָבִי יִצְחָק שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנּוּ עֵשָׂו? אָמְרוּ לוֹ בָּנָיו: ״שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה׳ אֶחָד״. אָמְרוּ: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאֵין בְּלִבְּךָ אֶלָּא אֶחָד, כָּךְ אֵין בְּלִבֵּנוּ אֶלָּא אֶחָד. בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה פָּתַח יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ וְאָמַר: ״בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said** that it is written: **“And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather around and I will tell you** what will occur to you in the end of days” (Genesis 49:1). **Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons** when the complete redemption would arrive at **the end of days** (see Daniel 12:13), **but the Divine Presence abandoned him,** rendering him unable to prophesy. **He said: Perhaps** the Divine Presence has abandoned me because, **Heaven forfend, one of my descendants is unfit, as** was the case with my grandfather **Abraham, from whom Ishmael emerged, and** like **my father Isaac, from whom Esau emerged. His sons said to him: Hear Israel,** our father, **the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. They said: Just as there is only one** God **in your heart, so too, there is only one in our hearts. At that moment Jacob our father said** in praise: **Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever,** as all his children were righteous.


###### Pesachim 56a:8
[Pesachim 56a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:8)

אָמְרִי רַבָּנַן: הֵיכִי נַעֲבֵיד? נֵאמְרֵיהּ, לֹא אֲמָרוֹ מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ. לָא נֵאמְרֵיהּ, אֲמָרוֹ יַעֲקֹב. הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁיְּהוּ אוֹמְרִים אוֹתוֹ בַּחֲשַׁאי. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק, אָמְרִי דְּבֵי רַבִּי אַמֵּי: מָשָׁל לְבַת מֶלֶךְ שֶׁהֵרִיחָה צִיקֵי קְדֵירָה. אִם תֹּאמַר — יֵשׁ לָהּ גְּנַאי. לֹא תֹּאמַר — יֵשׁ לָהּ צַעַר. הִתְחִילוּ עֲבָדֶיהָ לְהָבִיא בַּחֲשַׁאי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**The Rabbis said: What should we do? Shall we recite** this verse? But **Moses our teacher did not say it** in the Torah as part of *Shema*. **Shall we not recite it?** But **Jacob said it.** In order to resolve this dilemma **they established that** this passage **should be recited surreptitiously. Rabbi Yitzḥak said** that **the school of Rabbi Ami said:** This is **analogous to the daughter of a king who smelled** the fragrance of the dried **spices** stuck to the bottom of **the pot** and craved to eat them. What can she do? **If she tells** her servants to give it to her, **she will be disgraced,** as the dried spices are a contemptible food. However, if **she does not say** she wants to eat them, **she will** endure **suffering. Her servants began to bring** them to her **surreptitiously.** One should conduct himself in that manner in similar cases of uncertainty.


###### Pesachim 56a:9
[Pesachim 56a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:9)

אָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁיְּהוּ אוֹמְרִים אוֹתוֹ בְּקוֹל רָם, מִפְּנֵי תַּרְעוֹמֶת הַמִּינִין. וּבִנְהַרְדְּעָא, דְּלֵיכָּא מִינִין, עַד הַשְׁתָּא אָמְרִי לַהּ בַּחֲשַׁאי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Abbahu said:** The Sages **instituted that** the people **should recite it aloud due to the grievance of the heretics.** It was instituted to prevent the heretics from claiming that the Jews are surreptitiously reciting inappropriate statements. The Gemara adds: **In Neharde’a, where there are no heretics, they recite it surreptitiously even now.**


###### Pesachim 56a:10
[Pesachim 56a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:10)

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שִׁשָּׁה דְּבָרִים עָשׂוּ אַנְשֵׁי יְרִיחוֹ, שְׁלֹשָׁה בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים, וּשְׁלֹשָׁה שֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים. וְאֵלּוּ בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים: מַרְכִּיבִין דְּקָלִים כׇּל הַיּוֹם, וְכוֹרְכִין אֶת שְׁמַע, וְקוֹצְרִין לִפְנֵי הָעוֹמֶר. וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים: גּוֹדְשִׁין לִפְנֵי הָעוֹמֶר, וּפוֹרְצִין פְּרָצוֹת בְּגַנּוֹתֵיהֶן וּבְפַרְדְּסוֹתֵיהֶן לְהַאֲכִיל נֶשֶׁר לַעֲנִיִּים בִּשְׁנֵי בַצּוֹרֶת בְּשַׁבָּתוֹת וְיָמִים טוֹבִים, וּמַתִּירִין גַּמְזִיּוֹת שֶׁל הֶקְדֵּשׁ שֶׁל חָרוּב וְשֶׁל שִׁקְמָה, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**The Sages taught** a related matter in the *Tosefta*: **The people of Jericho performed six actions, three** in keeping **with the will of the Sages and three against the will of the Sages. And these** are what they did in keeping **with the will of the Sages: They** would **graft palm trees the entire day** of the fourteenth of Nisan; **and they** would **bundle *Shema*; and they** would **harvest** grain **before the *omer*** offering was brought. **And these** are what they did **against the will of the Sages: They** would **pile** the harvest **before the *omer*; and they** would **make breaches in** the walls of **their gardens and their orchards to feed fallen** fruit **to the poor during drought years,** so that the poor could take the fruit that had fallen **on Shabbat and Festivals; and they** would **permit** the use of **consecrated branches of carob and of sycamore** trees. This is **the statement of Rabbi Meir.**


###### Pesachim 56a:11
[Pesachim 56a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:11)

אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי יְהוּדָה: אִם בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים הָיוּ עוֹשִׂין, יְהוּ כׇּל אָדָם עוֹשִׂין כֵּן. אֶלָּא: אֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ שֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים הָיוּ עוֹשִׂין, עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה מִיחוּ בְּיָדָם, וְעַל שְׁלֹשָׁה לֹא מִיחוּ בְּיָדָם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yehuda said to him:** It is inaccurate to formulate it in that manner, as **if they acted** in keeping **with the will of the Sages, all people would do so,** not only the residents of Jericho. **Rather,** formulate it in this manner: Both **these** three acts **and those** three **were performed against the will of the Sages. With regard to three** the Sages **reprimanded them; and with regard to three** the Sages **did not reprimand them.** Since one could contend that the latter are permitted and the people of Jericho had already performed them, the Sages chose not to reprimand them.


###### Pesachim 56a:12
[Pesachim 56a:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:12)

וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁלֹּא מִיחוּ בְּיָדָם: מַרְכִּיבִין דְּקָלִים כׇּל הַיּוֹם, וְכוֹרְכִין אֶת שְׁמַע, וְקוֹצְרִין וְגוֹדְשִׁין לִפְנֵי הָעוֹמֶר. וְאֵלּוּ שֶׁמִּיחוּ בְּיָדָם: מַתִּירִין גַּמְזִיּוֹת שֶׁל הֶקְדֵּשׁ שֶׁל חָרוּב וְשֶׁל שִׁקְמָה, וּפוֹרְצִין פְּרָצוֹת בְּגַנּוֹתֵיהֶן וּפַרְדְּסֵיהֶן לְהַאֲכִיל נֶשֶׁר לַעֲנִיִּים בְּשַׁבָּתוֹת וְיָמִים טוֹבִים בִּשְׁנֵי בַצּוֹרֶת, נוֹתְנִין פֵּיאָה לַיָּרָק, וּמִיחוּ בְּיָדָם חֲכָמִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And these** are what they did for which the Sages **did not reprimand them: They** would **graft palm trees the entire day; and they** would **bundle *Shema*; and they** would **harvest and pile** grain **before the *omer*** offering was brought. **And these** are what they did for which the Sages **reprimanded them: They** would **permit** the use of **consecrated branches of carob and of sycamore** trees; **they** would **make breaches in** the walls of **their gardens and orchards on Shabbat and Festivals, in order to feed the poor fallen fruit during drought years; and they** would **designate** for the poor **the** produce in the **corner** in a field of **vegetables. And the Sages reprimanded them** for those actions.


###### Pesachim 56a:13
[Pesachim 56a:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Pesachim/r/56a:13)

וְסָבַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה קְצִירָה שֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים הִיא? וְהָתְנַן: אַנְשֵׁי יְרִיחוֹ קוֹצְרִין לִפְנֵי הָעוֹמֶר בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים, וְגוֹדְשִׁין לִפְנֵי הָעוֹמֶר שֶׁלֹּא בִּרְצוֹן חֲכָמִים, וְלֹא מִיחוּ בְּיָדָם חֲכָמִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And** does **Rabbi Yehuda maintain** that this **harvest** performed by the residents of Jericho **was against the will of the Sages? Didn’t we learn** in a mishna: **The people of Jericho** would **harvest before the *omer*,** in keeping **with the will of the Sages, and they** would **pile** the grain **before the *omer*, against the will of the Sages, but the Sages did not reprimand them?**