## Taanit Daf 21b

###### Taanit 21b:1
[Taanit 21b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:1)

בְּיוֹם אֶחָד אוֹ בְּאַרְבָּעָה יָמִים — אֵין זֶה דֶּבֶר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
If all three died **on one day or over four days,** this is not a plague of **pestilence.**


###### Taanit 21b:2
[Taanit 21b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:2)

דְּרוֹקֶרֶת, עִיר הַמּוֹצִיאָה חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת רַגְלִי הֲוַאי, וְיָצְאוּ מִמֶּנָּה שְׁלֹשָׁה מֵתִים בְּיוֹם אֶחָד. גְּזַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר רַב חִסְדָּא תַּעֲנִיתָא. אֲמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק: כְּמַאן — כְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
In explanation of the counterintuitive ruling that many deaths in one day is not indicative of a plague, the Gemara relates: **Drokart** was a city that **sent out five hundred infantrymen, and three dead were removed from it on one day. Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda decreed a fast** on account of the plague. **Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: In accordance with whose opinion** did you declare this fast? It must be **in accordance with** the opinion of **Rabbi Meir.**


###### Taanit 21b:3
[Taanit 21b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:3)

דְּאָמַר: רִיחֵק נְגִיחוֹתָיו — חַיָּיב, קֵירַב נְגִיחוֹתָיו — לֹא כׇּל שֶׁכֵּן?!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
This is related to the definition of a forewarned ox, an animal that has gored enough times to be considered a dangerous beast that requires careful supervision, **as** Rabbi Meir **said:** The owner of an ox is **liable** to pay full damages if **its** acts of **goring were separated,** i.e., if it gored three times on three consecutive days, as claimed by the Rabbis. If **its** acts of **goring were near** each other, performed on a single day, is it **not all the more so** that this animal should be classified as a forewarned ox? However, Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak continued, this represents a minority opinion. Just as Rabbi Meir’s reasoning is rejected for *halakha* in the case of an ox, so too it is rejected with regard to a plague.


###### Taanit 21b:4
[Taanit 21b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:4)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב נַחְמָן בַּר רַב חִסְדָּא לְרַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק: לֵיקוּם מָר לֵיתֵי לְגַבַּן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: תְּנֵינָא, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: לֹא מְקוֹמוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם מְכַבְּדוֹ, אֶלָּא אָדָם מְכַבֵּד אֶת מְקוֹמוֹ. שֶׁכֵּן מָצִינוּ בְּהַר סִינַי, שֶׁכׇּל זְמַן שֶׁהַשְּׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה עָלָיו, אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה: ״גַּם הַצֹּאן וְהַבָּקָר אַל יִרְעוּ אֶל מוּל הָהָר הַהוּא״, נִסְתַּלְּקָה שְׁכִינָה מִמֶּנּוּ, אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה: ״בִּמְשֹׁךְ הַיֹּבֵל הֵמָּה יַעֲלוּ בָהָר״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Upon hearing this impressive argument, **Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda said to Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak: Let the Master arise and come** to live **with us** as our community leader. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak **said to him: We** already **learned** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Yosei says:** It is **not the place of a person** that **honors him; rather,** the **person honors his place, as we found with regard to Mount Sinai, that as long as the Divine Presence rested upon it, the Torah said: “Neither let the flocks nor the herds feed before that mount”** (Exodus 34:3). Once **the Divine Presence departed from** the mountain, **the Torah said: “When the *shofar* sounds long they shall come up to the mount”** (Exodus 19:13). This indicates that the sanctity was not inherent to the place but was due to the Divine Presence resting there.


###### Taanit 21b:5
[Taanit 21b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:5)

וְכֵן מָצִינוּ בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד שֶׁבַּמִּדְבָּר, שֶׁכׇּל זְמַן שֶׁהוּא נָטוּי אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה: ״וִישַׁלְּחוּ מִן הַמַּחֲנֶה כׇּל צָרוּעַ״, הוּגְלְלוּ הַפָּרוֹכוֹת — הוּתְּרוּ זָבִין וּמְצוֹרָעִים לִיכָּנֵס שָׁם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And we likewise found with regard to the Tent of Meeting that was in the wilderness, that whenever it was erected, the Torah said: “That they put out of the camp every leper”** (Numbers 5:2). Once **the curtain was rolled up** and the Tent of Meeting was prepared for travel, ***zavim* and lepers were permitted to enter** the place where it had stood. The place itself had no intrinsic sanctity; rather, it was sacred only because the Divine Presence was there. Accordingly, Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak maintained that there is no reason for him to move places to receive honor.


###### Taanit 21b:6
[Taanit 21b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:6)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אִי הָכִי, נֵיקוּם אֲנָא לְגַבֵּי מָר. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מוּטָב יָבֹא מָנֶה בֶּן פְּרָס אֵצֶל מָנֶה בֶּן מָנֶה, וְאַל יָבֹא מָנֶה בֶּן מָנֶה אֵצֶל מָנֶה בֶּן פְּרָס.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda **said to** Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak: **If so, let me arise** and come **to the Master,** to learn Torah from you. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak **said to him:** It is **better** that **one hundred dinars** that is the **son of a *peras*,** fifty dinars, **should come to one hundred dinars** that is the **son of one hundred dinars; but one hundred dinars** that is the **son of one hundred dinars, should not come to one hundred dinars** that is the **son of a *peras*.** In other words, although Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak was a learned scholar, comparable to one hundred dinars, it was nevertheless more appropriate for him to come to Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda. Whereas Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak was the son of a *peras*, an ordinary man, Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda was the son of a scholar.


###### Taanit 21b:7
[Taanit 21b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:7)

בְּסוּרָא הֲווֹת דְּבַרְתָּא, בְּשִׁיבָבוּתֵיהּ דְּרַב לָא הֲווֹת דְּבַרְתָּא. סְבוּר מִינַּהּ, מִשּׁוּם זְכוּתֵיהּ דְּרַב דִּנְפִישׁ. אִיתְחֲזִי לְהוּ בְּחֶילְמָא: רַב דִּנְפִישָׁא זְכוּתֵיהּ טוּבָא — הָא מִילְּתָא זוּטְרָא לֵיהּ לְרַב. אֶלָּא, מִשּׁוּם הָהוּא גַּבְרָא דִּמְשַׁיֵּיל מָרָא וּזְבִילָא לִקְבוּרָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates another story involving a plague: Once **there was** a plague of **pestilence in Sura,** but **in the neighborhood of Rav there was no pestilence.** The people **therefore thought** that this was **due to Rav’s great merit.** However, **it was revealed to them in a dream** that **Rav’s merit was too great** and **this matter too small for** the merit of **Rav** to be involved. **Rather,** his neighborhood was spared **due to** the acts of kindness of **a certain man, who** would **lend his hoe [*mara*] and shovel [*zevila*]** to prepare sites **for burial.**


###### Taanit 21b:8
[Taanit 21b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:8)

בִּדְרוֹקֶרֶת הֲווֹת דְּלֵיקְתָּא, וּבְשִׁיבָבוּתֵיהּ דְּרַב הוּנָא לָא הֲווֹת דְּלֵיקְתָּא. סְבוּר מִינַּהּ, בִּזְכוּתָא דְּרַב הוּנָא דִּנְפִישׁ. אִיתְחֲזִי לְהוּ בְּחֶילְמָא: הַאי זוּטְרָא לֵיהּ לְרַב הוּנָא, אֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם הָהִיא אִיתְּתָא דִּמְחַמְּמָא תַּנּוּרָא וּמְשַׁיְּילָא לְשִׁיבָבוּתַיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates a similar incident. **In Drokart there was a fire, but in the neighborhood of Rav Huna there was no fire.** The people **therefore thought** that this was **due to Rav Huna’s great merit. It was revealed to them in a dream** that **this** matter was **too small for** the merit of **Rav Huna** to have played a role. **Rather,** it was **due to a certain woman who heats her oven and lends it,** i.e., the use of her oven, **to her neighbors.**


###### Taanit 21b:9
[Taanit 21b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:9)

אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ לְרַב יְהוּדָה: אֲתוֹ קַמְצֵי. גְּזַר תַּעֲנִיתָא. אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: לָא קָא מַפְסְדָן. אֲמַר לְהוּ: זְווֹדֵא אַיְיתוֹ בַּהֲדַיְיהוּ?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**They said to Rav Yehuda: Locusts have come** to our region. Rav Yehuda **decreed a fast. They said to him: They are not destroying** anything, as they are eating only a little. **He said to them: Have they brought provisions with them,** that they have something else to eat? Even if they are not damaging your crops now, they will certainly eat them soon.


###### Taanit 21b:10
[Taanit 21b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:10)

אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ לְרַב יְהוּדָה: אִיכָּא מוֹתָנָא בַּחֲזִירֵי. גְּזַר תַּעֲנִיתָא. נֵימָא קָסָבַר רַב יְהוּדָה מַכָּה מְשׁוּלַּחַת מִמִּין אֶחָד מְשׁוּלַּחַת מִכׇּל הַמִּינִין? לָא, שָׁאנֵי חֲזִירֵי — דְּדׇמְיָין מְעַיְיהוּ לִבְנֵי אִינָשֵׁי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
On another occasion, **they said to Rav Yehuda: There is pestilence among the pigs. Rav Yehuda decreed a fast.** The Gemara asks: **Let us say** that **Rav Yehuda maintains** that **a plague affecting one species** will come to **affect all species,** and that is why he decreed a fast. The Gemara answers: **No,** in other cases there is no cause for concern. However, **pigs are different, as their intestines are similar to** those of **humans.** Consequently, their disease might spread to people.


###### Taanit 21b:11
[Taanit 21b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:11)

אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ לִשְׁמוּאֵל: אִיכָּא מוֹתָנָא בֵּי חוֹזָאֵי. גְּזַר תַּעֲנִיתָא. אָמְרִי לֵיהּ: וְהָא מְרַחַק! אֲמַר: לֵיכָּא מַעְבָּרָא הָכָא דְּפָסֵיק לֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**They said to Shmuel: There is pestilence in** the region of **Bei Ḥozai,** which is quite a distance from Babylonia. Shmuel **decreed a fast. They said to him: But it is far** from here. **He said: There is no crossing here that will stop** the pestilence, and therefore there is cause for concern that it will reach us.


###### Taanit 21b:12
[Taanit 21b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:12)

אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ לְרַב נַחְמָן: אִיכָּא מוֹתָנָא בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. גְּזַר תַּעֲנִיתָא אֲמַר: אִם גְּבִירָה לוֹקָה, שִׁפְחָה לֹא כׇּל שֶׁכֵּן!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**They said to Rav Naḥman: There is pestilence in Eretz Yisrael. Rav Naḥman decreed a fast** in Babylonia, **saying: If the lady** of the house, i.e., Eretz Yisrael, **is afflicted,** is it **not all the more so** that **the maidservant,** Babylonia, will be afflicted?


###### Taanit 21b:13
[Taanit 21b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:13)

טַעְמָא דִּגְבִירָה וְשִׁפְחָה, הָא שִׁפְחָה וְשִׁפְחָה — לָא. וְהָא אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ לִשְׁמוּאֵל: אִיכָּא מוֹתָנָא בֵּי חוֹזָאֵי, גְּזַר תַּעֲנִיתָא! שָׁאנֵי הָתָם, כֵּיוָן דְּאִיכָּא שַׁיָּירָתָא דְּלַוִּוי וְאָתְיָא בַּהֲדֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: The **reason** for this ruling is apparently only because Eretz Yisrael is **a lady** in comparison to the Diaspora, which is likened to **a maidservant.** It may be inferred from this that in a case involving **a maidservant and a maidservant,** i.e., two places in the Diaspora, there is no reason to fast. **But** in the previous story, when **they said to Shmuel: There is pestilence in** the region of **Bei Ḥozai, he decreed a fast** in Neharde’a, despite the fact that Neharde’a is not considered a lady with respect to Bei Ḥozai. The Gemara answers: It **is different there. Since there are caravans** that regularly travel from Bei Ḥozai to Neharde’a, the pestilence **will join and accompany** them **in** the caravans.


###### Taanit 21b:14
[Taanit 21b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:14)

אַבָּא אוּמָּנָא הֲוָה אָתֵי לֵיהּ שְׁלָמָא מִמְּתִיבְתָּא דִּרְקִיעָא כֹּל יוֹמָא, וּלְאַבָּיֵי כֹּל מַעֲלֵי יוֹמָא דְּשַׁבְּתָא, לְרָבָא כֹּל מַעֲלֵי יוֹמָא דְכִיפּוּרֵי. הֲוָה קָא חָלְשָׁא דַּעְתֵּיהּ דְּאַבָּיֵי מִשּׁוּם דְּאַבָּא אוּמָּנָא. אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: לָא מָצֵית לְמִיעְבַּד כְּעוֹבָדֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ Apropos the above stories that deal with the merits of ordinary people, the Gemara relates: **Abba the Bloodletter would receive greetings from the yeshiva on High every day, and Abaye would receive** these greetings **every Shabbat eve, and Rava would receive** greetings only once a year **on Yom Kippur eve.** Abaye **was distressed due to Abba the Bloodletter,** as he did not understand why Abba received greater honor than he did. **They said to him: You are unable to perform what he does,** and therefore you do not merit the same honor.


###### Taanit 21b:15
[Taanit 21b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:15)

וּמַאי הֲווֹ עוֹבָדֵיהּ דְּאַבָּא אוּמָּנָא — דְּכִי הֲוָה עָבֵיד מִילְּתָא, הֲוָה מַחֵית גַּבְרֵי לְחוֹד וְנָשֵׁי לְחוֹד, וְאִית לֵיהּ לְבוּשָׁא דְּאִית בֵּיהּ קַרְנָא דַּהֲווֹת בְּזִיעָא כִּי כוּסִילְתָּא. כִּי הֲווֹת אָתְיָא לֵיהּ אִיתְּתָא, הֲוָה מַלְבֵּישׁ לָהּ כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלָא נִיסְתַּכַּל בָּהּ. וְאִית לֵיהּ דּוּכְתָּא דִּצְנִיעָא דְּשָׁדֵי בֵּיהּ פְּשִׁיטֵי דְּשָׁקֵיל, דְּאִית לֵיהּ — שָׁדֵי בֵּיהּ, דְּלֵית לֵיהּ — לָא מִיכְּסִיף.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And what were these** righteous **deeds of Abba the Bloodletter?** The Gemara explains **that when he would perform a matter** of bloodletting, **he would bring in men separately from women,** for reasons of modesty. **And he had** a special **garment** that **had a slit in the place of the incision [*kusilta*]** where the bloodletting instrument was inserted. **When a woman came to him, he would** have **her dress in that garment, so that he would not see her** exposed. **And** furthermore, **he had a hidden place** where he worked, **where** customers **would place the coins [*peshitei*] that he would take** as his fee. In this manner, **one who had** money **would throw** it **there,** while **one who did not have money was not embarrassed.**


###### Taanit 21b:16
[Taanit 21b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/21b:16)

כִּי הֲוָה אִתְרְמֵי לֵיהּ צוּרְבָּא מֵרַבָּנַן, אַגְרָא מִינֵּיהּ לָא שָׁקֵיל. וּבָתַר דְּקָאֵי, יָהֵיב לֵיהּ פְּשִׁיטֵי וַאֲמַר לֵיהּ: זִיל אַבְרִי נַפְשָׁךְ. יוֹמָא חַד שַׁדַּר אַבָּיֵי זוּגָא דְרַבָּנַן לְמִיבְדְּקֵיהּ. אוֹתְבִינְהוּ וְאֹכְלִינְהוּ וְאַשְׁקִינְהוּ וּמָךְ לְהוּ בִּיסְתַּרְקִי בְּלֵילְיָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**When a Torah scholar came to him** for bloodletting, **he would take no pay from him, and after** the scholar **arose,** Abba **would give him money and say to him: Go** and purchase food with this money **to heal yourself,** as it is important to eat healthy food after bloodletting. **One day, Abaye sent a pair of Sages to investigate** the extent of Abba the Bloodletter’s righteousness. Abba the Bloodletter **sat them down, and gave them** food **to eat, and gave them** something **to drink. And at night he spread out mats [*bistarkei*] for them** to sleep on.