#abaye

So, Rav Dimi of Neharde’a went to sell his dried figs in a different city. Now, there's a rule that says that if a student of the Torah comes to a city to sell stuff, the market is put on hold to help him sell. Naturally, a person can't just claim this privilege without proof. So Rava, one of the most significant rabbis of the time, was tasked with testing Rav Dimi. In turn, he chose to send his student, Rav Ada bar Aba. Rav Ada comes to Rav Dimi's ship, then, and starts questioning him about Halacha. More specifically, he asks him: if an elephant swallowed a wicker basket, and then said basket came out of his back side with the refuse, what's to be done with it?

Well, Rav Dimi had zero idea what the correct answer was. Not because he didn't know why that might matter - it's related to the rules of ritual cleanliness - but because this is a topic he didn't study, for the very good reason that these laws aren't relevant. Not because elephants don't produce wicker baskets in their refuse, but because no one can keep the rules of ritual cleanliness nowadays. So naturally, Rav Dimi asks: "hey, are you Rava?" Because everyone knows Rava, Rava is one of the greatest rabbis of the generation and he's a very learned man, so this person asking hard questions must be him, right? Rav Ada, in return, hit Rav Dimi's sandal with his cane and told him "there's a lot between me and Rava. But whether you like it or not, I'm your rabbi, and Rava is your rabbi's rabbi."

As a result of this exchange, Rav Dimi wasn't considered a Torah student, and his dried figs didn't sell, resulting in monetary loss on his side. So he went to Rav Yosef, who was probably his teacher (and Rava's teacher as well, IIRC. He was also blind, which might account for why he didn't describe him to Rav Dimi), and complained on that. Rav Yosef then said: "He who has not suffered the humiliation of the king of Edom will not suffer yours!" And then Rav Ada bar Aba died. And now comes the fun part.

You see, for reasons unclear there is a whole list of Amora'im who claim responsibility to his death. By "responisibility" I generally mean that they thought their anger with him caused G-d to decide to kill him, so it's not a murder mystery or anything. But when you read each of their reasons, you start to realise that whether or not these Amora'im are regretful for supposedly causing his death... Rav Ada wasn't the nicest person. So, let's begin:

First to claim the kill was Rav Yosef. Plain and simple: he cursed the guy. But next comes Rav Dimi, claiming that hey, he was the one humiliated here and suffered loss. That's on me. Abaye, who was Rava's friendly rival in Torah study and teaching, then came forth and said: nope, it's actually on me. This guy kept telling people that studying with Rava is better than studying under me, liking studying with me to eating bare bones and studying with Rava to eating fat meat. Then Rava himself came forth and said: nope, it's actually on me! And by now you think, oh dear, but didn't he like Rava? Well, apparently not enough to not cut in line to the butcher in front of his servant. Why? No clue. Then comes Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak, who ends up "winning" this context.

This story isn't too egregious, really. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak was responsible for teaching the Torah lecture during Yarḥei Calla. Which basically means teaching a lot of people who aren't that expert in studying, but I'm not too sure. Anyway, Rav Ada bar Aba used to always come talk to him before he started. One day, a couple of other Amora'im caught Rav Ada before he got there. Those two have missed on something Rava said lately, so they went to ask Rav Ada what it was. So he stayed there and taught them. Meanwhile, Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak has been waiting for him and he didn't come. So the people asked Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak what the hell he's waiting for - and he answered he was waiting for Rav Ada bar Aba's deathbed, because he must be dead if he didn't come.

Rav Ada bar Aba died soon after.

Monday 7/11, Ketubot 5: Sex Math

Oh daf yomi, I did miss you. I'm definitely going to write a thriller someday titled The Calculated Mitzva.

I have to say it was a tossup today between this and the inadvertent searing hot take that the fate of the Jewish people is often decided at the circus:

Tuesday 2/28, Nazir 36: Anomalous Conduct

Friday 9/8, Ketubot 65: Lock It Down

Holy shit, that took a turn for the dramatic! I love it when something unexpected happens in a dry tractate. 

I especially like that Rava was like “Hey baby....baby...” and his wife was like “WHO DID THIS TO YOU” and then took off with a makeshift weapon to make some noise. 

Monday 1/10, Megillah 29: Let's just go

I feel like there may be some context missing from the simple statement, "They heard a loud sound."

Thursday 4/22, Yoma 11: On Her Majesty’s Shabbat Service

It really isn’t funny, especially since this is far from the first time we’ve encountered Talmudic discussion of what you should and shouldn’t do because of Gentiles Who Want Us All Dead (and also Gentiles Who Want To Worship Our Trees For Some Reason). The witchcraft thing in particular has been pervasive for thousands of years, and is linked to blood libel. And even the spy thing plays into a lot of ugly and insanely long-lived stereotypes.

Friday 10/15, Rosh Hashanah 6: Ladies’ Choice

I struggle frequently with the way both the Torah and the Talmud treat gender, trying to balance an understanding of long tradition with a nuanced view of gender and its social roles, but I’m always sort of delighted when I see a passage like this, where a person isn’t centered or decentered by gender. 

It’s a lovely idea, the concept of being responsible for making one’s partner joyful, but people aren’t punchcard machines, that’s not really how this works or is meant to work. Making a person responsible for her own performance of a mitzvah and holding her accountable for doing otherwise, while perhaps not as romantic, rings much truer to me in the sense of offering self-determinism to everyone, regardless of gender.