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Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles: the Lessons of the Hanukkah Miracle Marjorie Lehman, Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS

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Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles: the Lessons of the Hanukkah Miracle Marjorie Lehman, Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS JTS Hanukkah webinar for rabbis Dr. Marjorie Lehman 5779 | 2018 [email protected] Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles: The Lessons of the Hanukkah Miracle Marjorie Lehman, Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS BAVLI TA’ANIT 20B וכן עיר שיש בה דבר או מפולת A. The mishna taught: And likewise, if a city is afflicted by כו': pestilence or collapsing buildings, public fasts are declared for כי ההיא אשיתא רעועה דהואי .these calamities בנהרדעא דלא הוה חליף רב B. The Gemara relates an aggadic story: This is like that ושמואל תותה אע"ג דקיימא dilapidated wall that was in Neharde’a [a city in Bavel], under באתרה תליסר שנין יומא חד which Rav and Shmuel would not pass, although it stood in איקלע רב אדא בר אהבה להתם place thirteen years. One day Rav Adda bar Ahava happened אמר ליה שמואל לרב ניתי מר ,to come there and walked with them. As they passed the wall נקיף אמר ליה לא צריכנא ,Shmuel said to Rav: Come, Master, let us circumvent this wall האידנא דאיכא רב אדא בר so that we do not stand beneath it. Rav said to him: It is not אהבה בהדן דנפיש זכותיה ולא ,necessary to do so today, as Rav Adda bar Ahava is with us מסתפינא whose merit is great, and therefore I am not afraid of its רב הונא הוה ליה ההוא חמרא .collapse בההוא ביתא רעיעא ובעי C. The Gemara relates another aggadic story: Rav Huna had a לפנוייה עייליה לרב אדא בר quantity of אהבה להתם משכי' בשמעתא certain wine in a certain dilapidated house and he עד דפנייה בתר דנפק נפל ביתא wanted to move it, but he was afraid that the building would collapse upon his entry. He brought Rav Adda bar Ahava to ארגיש רב אדא בר אהבה איקפד there, and he dragged out a discussion with him concerning a matter of halakha until they had removed all the wine. As soon as they exited, the building collapsed. Rav Adda bar Ahava realized what had happened and became angry. סבר לה כי הא דאמר רבי ינאי לעולם אל יעמוד אדם במקום D. The Gemara explains: Rav Adda bar Ahava holds in סכנה ויאמר עושין לי נס שמא accordance with this statement, as Rabbi Yannai said: A person אין עושין לו נס should never stand in a place of danger and say: A miracle will be performed for me, and I will escape unharmed, lest a miracle is not performed for him. ואם תימצי לומר עושין לו נס And if you say that a miracle will be performed for him, they מנכין לו מזכיותיו אמר רב חנן will deduct it from his merits. Rav Ḥanan said: What is the מאי קרא דכתיב (בראשית לב, verse that alludes to this idea? As it is written: “I have become יא) קטנתי מכל החסדים ומכל small from all the mercies and all the truth that You have האמת showed Your servant” (Genesis 32:11). In other words, the more benevolence one receives from God, the more **his merit is reduced. [**His=the giver or the receiver?] page 1 of 3 JTS Hanukkah webinar for rabbis Dr. Marjorie Lehman 5779 | 2018 [email protected] מאי הוה עובדיה דרב אדא בר E. After recounting stories that reflect Rav Adda bar Ahava’s אהבה כי הא דאתמר שאלו great merit, the Gemara asks: What were the exceptional deeds תלמידיו (את רבי זירא ואמרי of Rav Adda bar Ahava? As it is stated: The students of Rabbi לה) לרב אדא בר אהבה במה Zeira asked him, and some say that the students of Rav Adda הארכת ימים אמר להם מימי לא ?bar Ahava asked him: To what do you attribute your longevity הקפדתי בתוך ביתי ולא צעדתי He said to them: In all my days I did not become angry with my בפני מי שגדול ממני ולא household, and I never walked before someone greater than הרהרתי במבואות המטונפות myself; Rav Adda bar Ahava continued: And I did not think ולא הלכתי ד' אמות בלא תורה about matters of Torah in filthy alleyways; and I did not walk ובלא תפילין ולא ישנתי בבית four cubits without engaging in Torah and without donning המדרש לא שינת קבע ולא שינת ,phylacteries; and I would not fall asleep in the study hall עראי ולא ששתי בתקלת חברי neither a deep sleep nor a brief nap; and I would not rejoice in ולא קראתי לחבירי בהכינתו the mishap of my colleague; and I would not call my colleague ואמרי לה בחניכתו by his nickname. And some say that he said: I would not call my colleague by his derogatory family name. § אמר ליה רבא לרפרם בר פפא F. The Gemara relates another story about the righteous deeds of לימא לן מר מהני מילי מעלייתא the Sages involving a dilapidated wall. Rava said to Rafram bar דהוה עביד רב הונא אמר ליה Pappa: Let the Master tell us some of those fine deeds that בינקותיה לא דכירנא בסיבותיה Rav Huna performed. He said to him: I do not remember what דכירנא דכל יומא דעיבא הוו he did in his youth, but the deeds of his old age I remember. As מפקין ליה בגוהרקא דדהבא on every cloudy day they would take him out in a golden וסייר לה לכולה מתא וכל carriage [guharka], and he would survey the entire city. And he אשיתא דהוות רעיעתא הוה would command that every unstable wall be torn down, lest it סתר לה אי אפשר למרה בני לה fall in the rain and hurt someone. If its owner was able to build ואי לא אפשר בני לה איהו another, Rav Huna would instruct him to rebuild it. And if he was מדידיה unable to rebuild it, Rav Huna would build it himself with his וכל פניא דמעלי שבתא הוה .own money משדר שלוחא לשוקא וכל ירקא G. Rafram bar Pappa further relates: And every Shabbat eve, in דהוה פייש להו לגינאי זבין ליה the afternoon, Rav Huna would send a messenger to the ושדי ליה לנהרא marketplace, and he would purchase all the vegetables that were left with the gardeners who sold their crops, and throw them into the river. וליתביה לעניים H. The Gemara asks: But why did he throw out the vegetables? Let him give them to the poor. זמנין דסמכא דעתייהו ולא אתו I. The Gemara answers: If he did this, the people might rely on למיזבן the fact that Rav Huna would hand out vegetables, and they would not come to purchase any. This would ruin the gardeners’ livelihood. page 2 of 3 JTS Hanukkah webinar for rabbis Dr. Marjorie Lehman 5779 | 2018 [email protected] ולשדייה לבהמה J. The Gemara further asks: And let him throw them to the animals. קסבר מאכל אדם אין מאכילין K.The Gemara answers: He holds that human food may not be לבהמה .fed to animals, as this is a display of contempt for the food L. The Gemara objects: But if Rav Huna could not use them in ולא ליזבניה כלל .any way, he should not purchase the vegetables at all M. The Gemara answers: If nothing is done, you would have נמצאת מכשילן לעתיד לבא been found to have caused a stumbling block for them in the future. If the vegetable sellers see that some of their produce is left unsold, the next week they will not bring enough for Shabbat. Therefore, Rav Huna made sure that the vegetables were all bought, so that the sellers would continue to bring them. כי הוה ליה מילתא דאסותא הוי מלי כוזא דמיא ותלי ליה בסיפא N. Another custom of Rav Huna was that when he had a new דביתא ואמר כל דבעי ליתי medicine, he would fill a water jug with the medicine and hang it ולישקול from the doorpost of his house, saying: All who need, let him come and take from this new medicine. O. And there are those who say: He had a remedy against the ואיכא דאמרי מילתא דשיבתא demon Shivta that he knew by tradition, that one must wash his הוה גמיר והוה מנח כוזא דמיא hands for protection against this evil spirit. And to this end, he ודלי ליה ואמר כל דצריך ליתי would place a water jug and hang it by the door, saying: Anyone וליעול דלא לסתכן who needs, let him come to the house and wash his hands, so that he will not be in danger. כי הוה כרך ריפתא הוה פתח ,P.The Gemara further relates: When Rav Huna would eat bread לבביה ואמר כל מאן דצריך ליתי ,he would open the doors to his house, saying: Whoever needs וליכול .let him come in and eat אמר רבא כולהו מצינא מקיימנא ,Q. Rava said: I can fulfill all these customs of Rav Huna לבר מהא דלא מצינא למיעבד except for this one, which I cannot do, due to the fact that משום דנפישי בני חילא דמחוזא there are many soldiers in the city of Meḥoza, and if I let them all eat, they will take all the food I own. page 3 of 3.
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