First Steps in the Talmud

5 The Talmud’s Massive Miscellanies

I. WHAT IS A MASSIVE MISCELLANY?

The most difficult task facing the student of the Bavli is to take command of the program of the document, to discern in the mass of superficially random writings a program and a purpose, And that brings us to the massive miscellanies that the Bavli contains. Beginners commonly commence with the first tractate, Berakhot, and on that account plunge into a long and tedious miscellaneous collection of scriptural and theological problems and ad hoc solutions to them. They consequently find implausible any claim for the coherence and structural logic of the Bavli. The Talmud has no starting point, and it does not end up at some obvious stopping place And scattered throughout are miscellaneous collections of this and that, No wonder students of the Talmud find the mass of writing confusing, What are we to make of the massive miscellanies, which do not conform to the patterns of topical analysis we have found to dominate the Bavli.

Two conflicting characteristics mark the Bavli. It is, first, a disciplined and well-organized, carefully crafted piece of writing. Most of the document is formulated in accord with a few simple rules, so that it is well-organized and easily followed. The Bavli, viewed whole, is carefully set forth as a commentary to the Mishnah, and the vast majority of its composites are put together so as to elucidate the statements of the Mishnah.

But in the pages of the Bavli we observe, second, very large composites, not formed into Mishnah-commentaries at all. These composites do not follow the rules that govern the formation of the composites that serve as commentaries to the Mishnah. The miscellanies go from this to that to the other thing, and it is not easy to explain why one thing is joined to some other, or why one passage is presented before, or after, some other. That fact puzzles the discerning reader and imparts to the Bavli a miscellaneous quality: this, that, the other thing, with no clear pattern or purpose much in evidence.

These massive miscellanies—composites that on first glance seem to follow no clear rules of composition at all—are made up of a substantial number of free-standing compositions. They in no way serve the paramount purpose of the Bavli, which demonstrably is to explain the Mishnah. Whoever put the miscellanies together had a different program in mind.

Most of the Bavli is made up of extended exercises of Mishnah-exegesis and amplification, with, first, exegesis of the Mishnah’s language, rules, sources, and authority; and, second, secondary discussions of laws and principles of laws pertinent to a given Mishnah-paragraph. These sustained passages, running on for many pages at a time, are remarkably cogent. Even though made up of diverse materials, ready made and rarely recast or rewritten for the occasion, nearly everything in a given composite will relate in some way or another to the purpose of the composite as a whole; will contribute facts; will provide examples; will address secondary or subsidiary issues; or will otherwise carry forward the analytical, and even propositional, program of Mishnah-exegesis that is realized in the entire composite.

II. THE COMPOSITION AND THE COMPOSITE

The Talmud of Babylonia is made up of large-scale composites of already-completed compositions. To begin with, the document draws upon the already-completed writing, the Mishnah, being organized to present the appearance of a commentary to that writing. Second, it cites passages of another already-completed piece of writing, the Tosefta. Third, very commonly we are able to identify a single cogent statement, with its own beginning, middle, and end, and furthermore we readily distinguish that statement from a larger framework in which, whole and complete, it is set to serve some larger purpose. When I say that the Bavli is made up of composites of compositions, I mean that for the most part, the framers of the whole have made use of (some) already completed pieces of writing, setting them out in such a way as to serve a purpose not contemplated by the author(s) of the original compositions but rather a purpose clearly dictated by the analytical and propositional program of the framers of the Bavli itself.

What is a composition and what is a composite? A composition is a fully- articulated, cogent statement, which contains everything we need to understand what the author of the writing wishes to say to us. A composite is a collection of such completed pieces of writing, worked out in such a way as to make the point that the framer of the composite, not the authors of the compositions that he uses, wishes to make. The author of a composition sets forth a proposition of his own, while the framer of a composite may make use of a variety of such compositions to make the quite different point that he has in mind.

With this simple distinction in mind, have, also, carefully to distinguish between glosses, such as—in the example to follow—are found at 2.B, D-E, and free-standing compositions that are utilized for a purpose other than that for which, on the face of it, they were written. What illustrates the classification, composition, in the sample at hand? The statement of Hisda, F, has been set down in its own terms. It is adduced to prove the point of E. So F is a composition, E-F a composite put together to clarify D, itself a gloss of C. Another example of the same is at W, glossed by X. X on its own makes good sense without reference to W or even to the purpose, signaled at X (But how can they present such an argument, since), that links Yohanan’s statement to the context in which it now occurs. The same is to be said at DD, the gloss of AA-CC, which cites an already-completed composition, with its own beginning, middle, and end, of DD, Joseph’s statement. Another composition placed into the composite before us is at GG. Still a third is NN-OO. Simeon’s statement, 00, is a free-standing one; but the compositor has introduced it as a footnote for the foregoing, NN. Another excellent example of a composition formulated in its own terms and then introduced here for the purposes of the compositor of the whole is at AAA-FFF. GGG contains a fine composition, Judah’s citation of Rab, joined by “is this really so” to the larger composite. A still finer instance of the composite is at No. 3, the whole of which is worked out in a framework entirely autonomous of the larger composite in which No. 3 is now positioned. The same may be said of No. 4.

BAVLI ABODAH ZARAH 1:1 I.1

2. A. R. Hanina bar Pappa, and some say, R. Simlai, gave the following exposition [of the verse, “They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things shall not profit, and their own witnesses see not nor know” (Is. 44:9)]: “In the age to come the Holy One, blessed be he, will bring a scroll of the Torah and hold it in his bosom and say, ‘Let him who has kept himself busy with it come and take his reward. ‘Then all the gentiles will crowd together: ‘All of the nations are gathered together ‘(Is. 43:9). The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘Do not crowd together before me in a mob. But let each nation enter together with [2B] its scribes, ‘and let the peoples be gathered together’ (Is. 43:9), and the word ‘people’ means ‘kingdom:’ ‘and one kingdom shall be stronger than the other’ (Gen. 25:23).”

B. But can there be a mob-scene before the Holy One, blessed be he? Rather, it is so that from their perspective they not form a mob, so that they will be able to hear what he says to them.

C. [Resuming the narrative of A:] “The kingdom of Rome comes in first.”

D. How come? Because they are the most important. How do we know on the basis of Scripture they are the most important? Because it is written, “And he shall devour the whole earth and shall tread it down and break it into pieces” (Gen. 25:23), and said R. Yohanan, “This Rome is answerable, for its definition [of matters] has gone forth to the entire world [Mishcon: ‘this refers to Rome, whose power is known to the whole world’].”

E. And how do we know that the one who is most important comes in first? It is in accord with that which R. Hisda said.

F. For said R. Hisda, “When the king and the community [await judgment], the king enters in first for judgment: ‘That he maintain the case of his servant [Solomon] and [then] the cause of his people Israel’ (1 Kgs. 8:59).” . . .

W. “They will say to him, ‘Lord of the world, in point of fact, did you actually give it to us and we did not accept it?’ ”

X. But how can they present such an argument, since it is written, “The Lord came from Sinai and rose from Seir to them, he shined forth from Mount Paran” (Dt. 33:2), and further, “God comes from Teman” (Hab. 3:3). Now what in the world did he want in Seir, and what was he looking for in Paran? Said R. Yohanan, “This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be he, made the rounds of each and every nation and language and none accepted it, until he came to Israel, and they accepted it.”

Y. Rather, this is what they say, “Did we accept it but then not carry it out?”

Z. But to this the rejoinder must be, “Why did you not accept it anyhow!”

AA. Rather, “this is what they say before him, ‘Lord of the world, Did you hold a mountain over us like a cask and then we refused to accept it as you did to Israel, as it is written, “And they stood beneath the mountain” (Ex. 19:17).’ ”

BB. And [in connection with the verse, “And they stood beneath the mountain” (Ex. 19:17),] said R. Dimi bar Hama, “This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be he, held the mountain over Israel like a cask and said to them, ‘If you accept the Torah, well and good, and if not, then there is where your grave will be.’ ”

CC. “Then the Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘Let us make known what happened first: “Let them announce to us former things” (Is. 43:9). As to the seven religious duties that you did accept, where have you actually carried them out?’ ”

DD. And how do we know on the basis of Scripture that they did not carry them out? R. Joseph formulated as a Tannaite statement, “ ‘He stands and shakes the earth, he sees and makes the nations tremble’ (Hab. 3:6): what did he see? He saw the seven religious duties that the children of Noah accepted upon themselves as obligations but never actually carried them out. Since they did not carry out those obligations, he went and remitted their obligation.”

EE. But then they benefited—so it pays to sin!

FF. Said Mar b. Rabina, [3A] “What this really proves is that even they carry out those religious duties, they get no reward on that account.”

GG. And they don’t, don’t they? But has it not been taught on Tannaite authority: R. Meir would say, “How on the basis of Scripture do we know that, even if it is a gentile, if he goes and takes up the study of the Torah as his occupation, he is equivalent to the high priest? Scripture states, ‘You shall therefore keep my statues and my ordinances, which, if a human being does them, one shall gain life through them’ (Lev. 18:5). What is written is not ‘priests’ or ‘Levites’ or ‘Israelites,’ but rather, ‘a human being.’ So you have learned the fact that, even if it is a gentile, if he goes and takes up the study of the Torah as his occupation, he is equivalent to the high priest.”

HH. Rather, what you learn from this [DD] is that they will not receive that reward that is coming to those who are commanded to do them and who carry them out, but rather, the reward that they receive will be like that coming to the one who is not commanded to do them and who carries them out anyhow.

II. For said R. Hanina, “Greater is the one who is commanded and who carries out the religious obligations than the one who is not commanded but nonetheless carries out religious obligations.”

NN. “They will say before him, ‘Lord of the world, The heaven and earth have a selfish interest in the testimony that they give: ‘If not for my covenant with day and with night, I should not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth’ (Jer. 33:25).’ ”

OO. For said R. Simeon b. Laqish, “What is the meaning of the verse of Scripture, ‘And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day ‘(Gen. 1:31)? This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be he, made a stipulation with all of the works of creation, saying to them, ‘If Israel accepts my Torah, well and good, but if not, I shall return you to chaos and void.’ That is in line with what is written: ‘You did cause sentence to be heard from heaven, the earth trembled and was still’ (Ps. 76:9). If ‘trembling’ then where is the stillness, and if stillness, then where is the trembling? Rather, to begin with, trembling, but at the end, stillness.”

PP. [Reverting to MM-NN:] “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them,’ Some of them may well come and give testimony concerning Israel that they have observed the entirety of the Torah. Let Nimrod come and give testimony in behalf of Abraham that he never worshipped idols. Let Laban come and give testimony in behalf of Jacob, that he never was suspect of thievery. Let the wife of Potiphar come and give testimony in behalf of Joseph, that he was never suspect of’sin. ‘Let Nebuchadnezzar come and give testimony in behalf of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, that they never bowed down to the idol. Let Darius come and give testimony in behalf of Daniel, that he did not neglect even the optional prayers. Let Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite and Eliphaz the Temanite and Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite come and testify in behalf of Israel that they have observed the entirety of the Torah: “Let the nations bring their own witnesses, that they may be justified” (Is. 43:9).’

PP. “They will say before him, ‘Lord of the world, Give it to us to begin with, and let us carry it out.’

QQ. “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘World-class idiots! He who took the trouble to prepare on the eve of the Sabbath [Friday] will eat on the Sabbath, but he who took no trouble on the even of the Sabbath—what in the world is he going to eat on the Sabbath! Still, [I’ll give you another chance.] I have a rather simple religious duty, which is called “the tabernacle.” Go and do that one.’ ”

RR. But can you say any such thing? Lo, R. Joshua b. Levi has said, “What is the meaning of the verse of Scripture, ‘The ordinances that I command you this day to do them’ (Dt. 7:11)? Today is the day to do them, but not tomorrow; they are not to be done tomorrow; today is the day to do them, but not the day on which to receive a reward for doing them.”

SS. Rather, it is that the Holy One, blessed be he, does not exercise tyranny over his creatures.

TT. And why does he refer to it as a simple religious duty? Because it does not involve enormous expense [to carry out that religious duty].

UU. “Forthwith every one of them will take up the task and go and make a tabernacle on his roof. But then the Holy, One, blessed be he, will come and make the sun blaze over them as at the summer solstice, and every one of them will knock down his tabernacle and go his way: ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us’ (Ps. 23:3).”

VV. But lo, you have just said, “it is that the Holy One, blessed be he, does not exercise tyranny over his creatures”!

WW. It is because the Israelites too—sometimes [3B] the summer solstice goes on to the Festival of Tabernacles, and therefore they are bothered by the heat!

XX. But has not Raba stated, “One who is bothered [by the heat] is exempt from the obligation of dwelling in the tabernacle”?

YY. Granting that one may be exempt from the duty, is he going to go and tear the thing down?

ZZ. [Continuing from UU:] “Then the Holy One, blessed be he, goes into session and laughs at them: ‘He who sits in heaven laughs’ (Ps. 2:4).”

AAA. Said R. Isaac, “Laughter before the Holy One, blessed be he, takes place only on that day alone.”

BBB. There are those who repeat as a Tannaite version this statement of R. Isaac in respect to that which has been taught on Tannaite authority:

CCC. R. Yosé says, “In the coming age gentiles will come and convert.”

DDD. But will they be accepted? Has it not been taught on Tannaite authority: Converts will not be accepted in the days of the Messiah, just as they did not accept proselytes either in the time of David or in the time of Solomon?

EEE. Rather, “they will make themselves converts, and they will put on phylacteries on their heads and arms and fringes on their garments and a mezuzah on their doors. But when they witness the war of Gog and Magog, he will say to them, ‘How come you have come?’ They will say, “ ‘Against the Lord and against his Messiah.” ‘For so it is said, ‘Why are the nations in an uproar and why do the peoples mutter in vain’ (Ps. 2:1). Then each one of them will rid himself of his religious duty and go his way: ‘Let us break their bands asunder’ (Ps. 2:3). Then the Holy One, blessed be he, goes into session and laughs at them: ‘He who sits in heaven laughs’ (Ps. 2:4).”

FFF. Said R. Isaac, “Laughter before the Holy One, blessed be he, takes place only on that day alone.”

GGG. But is this really so? And has not R. Judah said Rab said, “The day is made up of twelve hours. In the first three the Holy One, blessed be he, goes into session and engages in study of the Torah; in the second he goes into session and judges the entire world. When he realizes that the world is liable to annihilation, he arises from the throne of justice and takes up a seat on the throne of mercy. In the third period he goes into session and nourishes the whole world from the horned buffalo to the brood of vermin. During the fourth quarter he laughs [and plays] with leviathan: ‘There is leviathan, whom you have formed to play with’ (Ps. 104:26).” [This proves that God does laugh more than on that one day alone.]

HHH. Said R. Nahman bar Isaac, “With his creatures he laughs [everyday], but at his creatures he laughs only on that day alone.”

3. A. Said R. Aha to R. Nahman bar Isaac, “From the day on which the house of the sanctuary, the Holy One blessed be he has had no laughter.

B. “And how on the basis of Scripture do we know that he has had none? If we say that it is because it is written, ‘And on that day did the Lord, the god of hosts, call to weeping and lamentation’ (Is. 22:12), that verse refers to that day in particular. Shall we then say that that fact derives from the verse, ‘If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you’ (Ps. 137:5-6)? That refers toforgetfulness, not laughter. Rather, the fact derives from this verse: ‘1 have long held my peace, I have been still, I have kept in, now I will cry’ (Is. 42:14).”

4. A. [Referring to the statement that during the fourth quarter he laughs [and plays] with leviathan,] [nowadays] what does he do in the fourth quarter of the day?

B. He sits and teaches Torah to kindergarten students: “Whom shall one teach knowledge, and whom shall one make understand the message? Those who are weaned from the milk? (Is. 28:19).

C. And to begin with [prior to the destruction of the Temple, which ended his spending his time playing with leviathan], who taught them?

D. If you wish, I shall say it was Metatron, and if you wish, I shall say that he did both [but now does only one].

E. And at night what does he do?

F. If you wish, I shall say that it is the sort of thing he does by day;

G. and if you wish, I shall say, he rides his light cherub and floats through eighteen thousand worlds: “The chariots of God are myriads, even thousands and thousands [Shinan] (Ps. 868:48). Read the letters translated as thousands, Shinan, as though they were written, she-enan, meaning, that are not [thus: “the chariots are twice ten thousand less two thousand, eighteen thousand (Mishcon)].

H. And if you wish, I shall say, he sits and listens to the song of the Living Creatures [hayyot]: “By the day the Lord will command his loving kindness and in the night his song shall be with me” (Ps. 42:9).

I.1 begins with a systematic inquiry into the correct reading of the Mishnah’s word-choices. The dispute is fully articulated in balance, beginning to end. No. 2 then forms a footnote to No. 1. No. 3 then provides a footnote to the leitmotif of No. 2, the conception of God’s not laughing. No. 4 returns us to the exposition of No. 2, at III. Nos. 5, 6 are tacked on—a Torah-study anthology—because they continue the general theme of Torah-study every day, which formed the main motif of No. 2—the gentiles did not accept the Torah, study it, or carry it out. So that theme accounts for the accumulation of sayings on Torah-study in general, a kind of appendix on the theme. Now that the definition of a composition and composite has been amply illustrated, let us go on to the anomaly of the miscellany. The visual commentary shows its worth in a case such as this.

III. THE BAVLI’S MASSIVE MISCELLANIES: THE PROBLEM OF AGGLUTINATIVE DISCOURSE

To understand what I mean by a “miscellany” in the context of the Bavli, let me now set forth the traits of the document that, over all, classify the writing as anything but miscellaneous. Whatever the Bavli’s writers wished to say, they said in a single way. A fixed rhetorical pattern and a limited program of logical inquiry governs throughout. Whatever authors wish to say, they say within a severely restricted repertoire of rhetorical choices, and the intellectual initiatives they are free to explore everywhere dictate one set of questions and problems and not any other.

Why do I claim that the document may be read as a single coherent statement? The reason is that the document as a whole is cogent, doing some few things over and over again; it conforms to a few simple rules of rhetoric, including choice of languages for discrete purposes, and that fact attests to the coherent viewpoint of the authorship at the end—the people who put it all together as we have it—because it speaks, over all, in a single way, in a uniform voice. It is not merely an encyclopedia of information, but a sustained, remarkably protracted, uniform inquiry into the logical traits of passages of the Mishnah or of Scripture. Most of the Talmud deals with the exegesis and amplification of the Mishnah’s rules or of passages of Scripture. Wherever we turn, that labor of exegesis and amplification, without differentiation in topics or tractates, conforms to a few simple rules in inquiry, repeatedly phrased, implicitly or explicitly, in a few simple rhetorical forms or patterns.

The Talmud of Babylonia is made up of large-scale composites—completed units of discourse, with a beginning, middle, and end, which supply all of the data a reader (or listener) requires to understand the point that the framer of that composite wishes to make. A composite commonly draws upon available information, made available in part by prior and completed composites, e.g., Scripture, the Mishnah, the Tosefta, and in part by compositions worked out entirely within their own limits, which we might compare with a paragraph of a chapter; or a freestanding composition of a few lines. By “rules of composition” I mean the laws that dictated to the framers of a cogent and coherent composites—such as I allege comprise the whole of the Talmud of Babylonia—precisely how to put together whatever they wished to say, together with the supporting evidence as well as argument, in the composition that they proposed to write. Here, then, “rules of composition” govern how people formed composites that comprise the Bavli: how they are classified, how they are ordered.

Recognizing the orderly character of the Bavli, we may now turn to the agglutinative composites that do not conform to the norms of rhetorical form and logical cogency that impart to the Bavli its wonderful cogency. Forthwith, let us turn to a sample of what I characterize as a miscellany. It is given in Bavli Baba Batra Chapter Five, starting at 72B, with the further page numbers signified in the text.

BAVLI BABA BATRA 72B

2.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	He who sells a ship has sold the wooden implements and the water tank on it.
	C.	R. Nathan says, “He who sells a ship has sold its rowboat.”
	D.	Sumkhos says, “He who has sold a ship has sold its lighter” [T.B.B. 4:1A-C].
3.	A.	Said Raba, “The rowboat and the lighter are pretty much the same thing. But R. Nathan, who was a Babylonian, uses the word familiar to him, as people use that word in Babylonia when referring to the rowboat that is used at the shallows, and Sumkhos, who was from the Land of Israel, used the word that is familiar to him, as people say in the verse, ‘And your residue shall be taken away in lighters ‘ (Amos 4:2).”
4.	A.	Said Rabbah, “Sailors told me, ‘The wave that sinks a ship appears with a white froth of fire at the crest, and when stricken with clubs on which is incised, “I am that I am, Yah, the Lord of Hosts, Amen, Amen, Selah,” it will subside [and not sink the ship].‘ “
5.	A.	Said Rabbah, “Sailors told me, ‘Between one wave and another there is a distance of three hundred parasangs, and the height of the wave is the same three hundred parasangs. Once, when we were on a voyage, a wave lifted us up so high that we could see the resting place of the smallest star, and there was a flash, as if one shot forty arrows of iron; and if it had lifted us up any higher, we would have been burned by the heat. And one wave called to the next, “Friend, have you left anything in the world that you did not wash away? I’ll go and wipe it out.” And the other said, “Go see the power of the master, by whose command I must not pass the sand of the shore by even so much as the breadth of a thread: ‘Fear you not me? says the Lord? Will you not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it cannot pass ‘ (Jer. 5:22).” ‘ “
6.	A.	Said Rabbah, “I personally saw Hormin, son of Lilith, running on the parapet of the wall of Mahoza, and a rider, galloping below on horseback, could not catch up with him. Once they put a saddle for him two mules, which [73B] stood on two bridges of the Rognag, and he jumped from one to the other, backward and forward, holding two cups of wine in his hands, pouring from one to the other without spilling a drop on the ground. It was a stormy day: ‘they that go down to the sea in ships mounted up to he heaven, they went down to the deeps ‘ (Ps. 107:27). Now when the state heard about this, they killed him.”
7.	A.	Said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “I personally saw a day-old antelope as big as Mount Tabor. How big is Mount Tabor? Four parasangs. Its neck was three parasangs long, and his head rested on a spot a parasang and a half. Its ball of shit blocked up the Jordan River.”
8.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “I personally saw a frog as big as the Fort of Hagronia—how big is that? sixty houses!—and a snake came along and swallowed the frog; a raven came along and swallowed the snake; and perched on a tree. So you can just imagine how strong was the tree.”
	B.	Said R. Pappa bar Samuel “If I weren’t ‘t there on the spot, I would never have believed it!”
9.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and we saw a fish [whale] in the nostrils of which a mud-eater had entered. The water cast up the fish and threw it on the shore. Sixty towns were destroyed by it, sixty towns got their food from it, and sixty towns salted the remnants, and from one of its eyeballs three hundred kegs of oil were filled. Coming back twelve months later, we saw that they were cutting rafters from the skeleton and rebuilding the towns.”
10.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and we saw a fish the back of which was covered with sand out of which grass was growing. We thought it was dry land so we went up and baked and cooked on the back of the fish. When the back got hut, it rolled over, and if the ship hadn ‘t been nearby, we would have drowned.”
11.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and the ship sailed between one fin of a fish and the other for three days and three nights; the fish was swimming upwards and we were floating downwards [with the wind].”
	B.	Now, should you suppose that the ship did not sail fast enough, when R. Dimi came, he said, “It covered sixty parasangs in the time that it takes to heat a kettle of water. And when a cavalryman shot an arrow, the ship outstripped the arrow.”
	C.	R. Ashi said, “That was one of the small sea monsters, the ones that have only two fins.”
12.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and we saw a bird standing in the water only up to its ankles, with its head touching the sky. So we thought the water wasn’t very deep, and we thought of going down to cool ourselves, but an echo called out, ‘Don’t go down into the water here, for a carpenter’s axe dropped into this water seven years ago, and it hasn’t yet reached the bottom. ‘And it was not only deep but also rapidly flowing.”
	B.	Said R. Ashi, “The bird was the wild cock, for it is written, ‘And the wild cock is with me [with God in heaven]’ (Ps 50:11).”.
13.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling in the desert, and we saw geese whose feathers fell out because they were so fat, and streams offat flowed under them. I said to them, ‘May we have a share of your meat in the world to come? One of them lifted a wing, the other a leg [showing me what my portion would be]. When I came before R. Eleazar, he said to me, ‘Israel will be called to account on account of these geese. ‘ “[Slotki: the protracted suffering of the geese caused by their growing fatness is due to Israel’s sins, which delay the coming of the Messiah.]
14.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling in the desert, and a Tai-Arab joined us, who could pick up sand and smell it and tell us which was the road to one place and which to another. We said to him, ‘How far are we from water? ‘ He said to us, ‘Give me sand.’ We gave him some, and he said to us, ‘Eight parasangs. ‘ When we gave him some sand later, he told us that we were three parasangs off. ‘I had changed the sand, but I was not able to confuse him.
	B.	“He said to me, ‘Come on, and I’ll show you the dead of the wilderness [Num. 14:32ff.]. I went with him and saw them. They looked as though they were exhilarated. [74A] They slept on their backs and the knee of one of them was raised. The Arab merchant passed under the knee, riding on a camel with a spear on high and did not touch it. I cut off one corner of the purpose blue cloak of one of them, but we could not move away. He said to me, ‘If you‘ve taken something from them, return it, for we have a tradition that if anybody takes something from them, he cannot move away. ‘ I went and returned it and then we could move away.
	C.	“When I came before rabbis, they said to me, ‘Every Abba is an ass, and every son of Bar Hana is an idiot. What did you do that for? Was it to find out whether the law accords with the House of Shammai or the House of Hillel? You could have counted the threads and the joints [to find out the answer to your question].‘
	D.	“He said to me, ‘Come and I will show you Mount Sinai. ‘ I went and saw scorpions surrounding it, and they stood like white asses. A heard an echo saying, ‘Woe is me that I have taken an oath, and now that I have taken the oath, who will release me from it? ‘ When I came before rabbis, they said to me, ‘Every Abba is an ass, and every son of Bar Hana is an idiot. You should have said, ‘It is released for you. ‘ But I was thinking that perhaps it was an oath in connection with the flood [which favored humanity].”
	E.	And rabbis?
	F.	If so, what need is there for the language, “woe is me”?
	G.	“He said to me, ‘Come and I will show you those who were associated with Korah who were swallowed up [Num. 16:32ff.]. I saw two cracks that emitted smoke. I took a piece of clipped wool and soaked it in water, put it on the point of a spear, and pushed it in there. When I took it out, it was singed. He said to me, ‘Listen closely to what you will hear. ‘ and i heard them say, ‘Moses and his Torah are truth, and we are liars. ‘ He said to me, ‘ Every thirty days Gehenna causes them to turn over as one rotates meat in a pot, and this is what they say: “Moses and his Torah are truth and we are liars.” ‘ “
	H.	“He said to me, ‘Come and I will show you where heaven and earth meet. ‘ I took my basket it and put it in a window of heaven. When I finished saying my prayers, I looked for it but did not find it. I said to him, ‘Are there thieves here?” He said to me, ‘It is the result of the wheel of heaven turning, wait here until tomorrow, and you will find it.‘ “
15.	A.	R. Yohanan told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a fish that raised its head from the sea. Its eyes were like two moons, and water streamed from its nostrils like the two rivers of Sura.”
16.	A.	R. Safra told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a fish that raised its head from the sea. It had horns on which was engraved: ‘I am a lesser creature of the sea. I am three hundred parasangs long, and I am going into the mouth of Leviathan. ‘ “
	B.	Said R. Ashi, “That was a sea goat that searches for food, and has horns.”
17.	A.	R. Yohanan told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a chest in which were set jewels and peals, surrounded by a kind of fish called a Karisa-fish. A diver went down [74B] to bring up the chest, but the wished realized it and was about to wrench his thigh. He poured on it a bottle of vinegar, and it sank. An echo came forth, saying to us, ‘What in the world have you got to do with the best of the wife ofR. Hanina, b. Dosa, who is going to store in it the purple-blue for the righteous in the world to come.’ ”
18.	A.	R. Judah the Hindu told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a jewel with a snake wrapped around it. A diver went down to bring up the jewel. The snake drew near, to swallow the ship. A raven came and bit off its head. The waters turned to blood. Another snake and took the head of the snake and attached it to the body again, and it revived. The snake again came to swallow the ship. A bird again came and cut off its head. The diver seized the jewel and threw it into the ship. We had salted birds. We put the stone on them, and they took it up and flew away with it.”
19.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	There was the case involving R. Eliezer and R. Joshua, who were traveling on a ship. R. Eliezer was sleeping, and R. Joshua was awake. R. Joshua shuddered and R. Eliezer woke up. He said to him, “What’s wrong, Joshua? How come you trembled?”
	C.	He said to him, “I saw a great light on the sea.”
	D.	He said to him, “It might have been the eye of Leviathan that you saw, for it is written, ‘His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning ‘ (Is. 27:1).”
20.	A.	Said R. Ashi, “Said to me Huna bar Nathan, ‘Once we were traveling in the desert, and we had taken with us a leg of meat. We cut it open, picked out [what we are not allowed to eat] and put it on the grass. While we were going to get some wood, the leg returned to its original form, and we roasted it. When we came back after twelve months, we saw the coals still glowing. When I presented the matter to Amemar, he said to me, ‘The grass was an herb that can unite severed parts, and the coals were broom [which burns a long time inside, while the surface is extinguished].”
21.	A.	“And God created the great sea monsters” (Gen. 1:21):
	B.	Here this is interpreted, “the sea gazelles.”
	C.	R. Yohanan said, “This refers to Leviathan, [Slotki:] the slant serpent, and Leviathan the tortuous serpent: ‘In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the slant serpent and Leviathan the tortuous serpent ‘ (Is. 27:1).”
22.	A.	Said R. Judah said Rab, “Whatever the Holy One, blessed be he, created in his world did he create male and female, and so too, the Leviathan the slant serpent and Leviathan the tortuous serpent he created male and female, and if they had mated with one another, they would have destroyed the whole world.
	B.	“What did the Holy One, blessed be he, do? He castrated the male and killed the female and salted it for the righteous in the world to come: ‘And he will slay the dragon that is in the sea ‘ (Is. 27:1).
	C.	“And also Behemoth on a thousand hills [Ps. 50:10) he created male and female, and if they had mated with one another, they would have destroyed the whole world.
	D.	“What did the Holy One, blessed be he, do? He castrated the male and quick-froze the female and preserved her for the righteous in the world to come: ‘Lo, now his strength is in his loins ‘ (Job 40:16) speaks of the male, ‘and his force is in the stays of his body ‘ (Job 40:16) speaks of the female.”
	E.	In that other case, too, while castrating the male, why did he not simply quick-freeze the female [instead of killing it]?
	F.	Fish is dissolute [and cooling would not have sufficed].
	G.	Why not do it in reverse order?
	H.	If you wish, I shall say that the female fish preserved in salt tastes better, and if you wish, I shall say, “Because it is written, ‘There is Leviathan whom you have formed to sport with ‘ (Ps. 104;26), and with the female that would not be seemly.
	I.	Here too, in the case of the Behemoth, why not preserve the female in salt?
	J.	Salted fish tastes good, salted meat doesn’t ‘t.
23.	A.	And said R. Judah said Rab, “When the Holy One, blessed be he, proposed to create the world, he said to the prince of the sea, ‘Open your mouth, and swallow all the water in the world. ‘
	B.	“He said to him, ‘Lord of the world, it is enough that I stay in my own territory. ‘
	C.	“So on the spot he hit him with his foot and killed him: ‘Hew stirs up the sea with his power and by his understanding he smites through Rahab ‘ (Job 26:12).”
	D.	Said R. Isaac, “That bears the implication that the name of the prince of the sea is Rahab.”
	E.	[Rab continues,] “And had the waters not covered him over, no creature could stand because of his stench: ‘They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain . . . as the waters cover the sea ‘ (Is. 11:9). Do not read ‘they cover the sea ‘ but ‘they cover the angel of the sea.‘ “
24.	A.	And said R. Judah said Rab, “The Jordan issues from the cave of Paneas.”
	B.	So too it has been taught on Tannaite authority:
	C.	The Jordan issues from the cave of Paneas.
	D.	And it goes through the Lake of Sibkay and the Lake of Tiberias and rolls down into the great sea, and from there it rolls onward until it rushes into the mouth of Leviathan: “He is confident because the Jordan rushes forth to his mouth” (Job 40:23).
	E.	Objected Raba bar Ulla, “This verse speaks of Behemoth on a thousand hills.”
	F.	Rather, said Raba bar Ulla, “When is Behemoth on a thousand years confident? When the Jordan rushes into the mouth of Leviathan.” [Slotki: so long as Leviathan is alive, Behemoth also is safe.]
25.	A.	When R. Dimi came, he said R. Yohanan said, “What is the meaning of the verse, ‘For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods ‘ (Ps. 24:2)? This refers to the seven seas and four rivers that surround the land of Israel. And what are the seven seas? The sea of Tiberias, the sea of Sodom, the sea of Helath, the sea of Hiltha, the sea of Sibkay, the sea of Aspamia, and the Great sea. And what are the four rivers? The Jordan, the Yarmuk, the Keramyhon, and the Pigah.”
26.	A.	When R. Dimi came, he said R. Yohanan said, “Gabriel is destined to organize a hunt [75A] for Leviathan: ‘Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord ‘ (Job 40:25). And if the Holy One, blessed be he, does not help him, he will never be able to prevail over him: ‘He only that made him can make his sword approach him ‘ (Job 40:19).”
27.	A.	When R. Dimi came, he said R. Yohanan said, “When Leviathan is hungry, he sends out fiery breath from his mouth and boils all the waters of the deep: ‘He makes the deep to boil like a pot ‘ (Job 41:23). And if he did not put his head into the Garden of Eden, no creature could endure his stench: ‘he makes the sea like a spiced broth ‘ (Job 41:23). And when he is thirsty, he makes the sea into furrows: ‘He makes a path to shine after him ‘ (Job 41:24).”
	B.	Said R. Aha bar Jacob, “The great deep does not recover its strength for seventy years: ‘One thinks the deep to be hoary ‘ (Job 41:24), and hoary old age takes seventy years.”
28.	A.	Rabbah said R. Yohanan said, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to make a banquet for the righteous out of the meat of Leviathan: ‘Companions will make a banquet of it ‘ (Job 40:30). The meaning of ‘banquet’ derives from the usage of the same word in the verse, ‘And he prepared for them a great banquet and they ate and drank ‘ (2 Kgs. 6:23).
	B.	“ ‘Companions ‘ can refer only to disciples of sages, in line with this usage: ‘You that dwells in the gardens, the companions hearken for your voice, cause me to hear it ‘ (Song 8:13). The rest of the creature will be cut up and sold in the markets of Jerusalem: ‘They will part him among the Canaanites ‘ (Job 40:30), and ‘Canaanites ‘ must be merchants, in line with this usage: ‘As for the Canaanite, the balances of deceit are in his hand, he loves to oppress ‘ (Hos. 12:8). If you prefer: ‘Whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth ‘ (Is. 23:8).”
29.	A.	Rabbah said R. Yohanan said, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to make a tabernacle for the righteous out of the hide of Leviathan: ‘Can you fill tabernacles with his skin ‘ (Job 40:31). If someone has sufficient merit, a tabernacle is made for him; if he does not have sufficient merit, a mere shade is made for him: ‘And his head with a fish covering ‘ (Job 40:31). If someone has sufficient merit, a shade is made for him, if not, then a mere necklace is made for him: ‘And necklaces about your neck ‘ (Prov. 1:9). If someone has sufficient merit, a necklace is made for him; if not, then an amulet: ‘And you will bind him for your maidens ‘ (Job 40:29).
	B.	“And the rest of the beast will the Holy One, blessed be he, spread over the walls of Jerusalem, and the glow will illuminate the world from one end to the other: ‘And nations shall walk at your light, and kings at the brightness of your rising ‘ (Is. 60:3).”
30.	A.	“And I will make your pinnacles of rubies” (Is. 54:12):
	B.	Said R. Samuel bar Nahmani, “There is a dispute between two angels in the firmament, Gabriel and Michael, and some say, two Amoraim in the West, and who might they be? Judah and Hezekiah, sons of R. Hiyya.
	C.	“One said, ‘The word translated rubies means onyx . . . ‘
	D.	“The other said, ‘It means jasper. ‘
	E.	“Said to them the Holy One, blessed be he, ‘Let it be in accord with both this opinion and that opinion. ‘ “
31.	A.	“And your gates of carbuncles” (Is. 60:3):
	B.	That is in line with what was said when R. Yohanan went into session and expounded as follows: “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to bring jewels and pearls that are thirty cubits by thirty and will cut out openings from them ten cubits by twenty, setting them up at the gates of Jerusalem.”
	C.	A certain disciple ridiculed him, “Well, jewels even the size of the egg of a dove are not available, so will jewels of such dimensions be found?”
	D.	After a while his ship went out to sea. He saw ministering angels engaged in cutting up jewels and pearls thirty cubits by thirty, on which were engravings ten by twenty. He said to him, “He said to him, “For whom are these?”
	E.	They said to him, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to set them up at the gates of Jerusalem.”
	F.	The man came before R. Yohanan. He said to him, “Give your exposition, my lord. It is truly fitting for you to give an exposition. For just as you said, so I myself have seen.”
	G.	He said to him, “Empty-headed idiot! If you had not seen, you would not have believed! So you ridicule the teachings of sages.” He set his eye on him and the student turned into a heap of bones.
32.	A.	An objection was raised:
	B.	“And I will lead you upright” (Lev. 26:13) —
	C.	[Since the word for “upright” can be read to mean, at twice the normal height], R. Meir says, “That means, two hundred cubits, twice the height of the First Man.”
	D.	R. Judah says, “A hundred cubits, the height of the temple and its walls: ‘We whose sons are as plants grown up in their youth, whose daughters are as corner pillars carved after the fashion of the temple ’ (Ps. 144:12).” [Slotki: how then in view of their increase to a hundred cubits in height, requiring correspondingly high gates, can Yohanan say that the gates were only twenty cubits in height?]
	E.	When R. Yohanan made that statement, it was with reference only to [Slotki:] ventilation windows.
33.	A.	And said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to make seven canopies for every righteous person: ‘And the Lord will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for over all the glory shall be a canopy ‘ (Is. 4:5). This teaches that for every one will the Holy One create a canopy in accord with the honor that is due him.”
	B.	Why is smoke needed for the canopy?
	C.	Said R. Hanina, “It is because everyone who treats disciples of sages in a niggardly way in this world will have his eyes filled with smoke in the world to come.”
	D.	Why is fire needed in a canopy?
	E.	Said R. Hanina, “This teaches that each one will be burned by [envy for] the canopy of the other. Woe for the shame, woe for the reproach!”
34.	A.	Along these same lines you may say: “And you shall put some of your honor upon him” (Num. 27:20)—but not of your honor.
	B.	The elders of that generation said, “The face of Moses glows like the face of the sun, the face of Joshua like the face of the moon.
	C.	“Woe for the shame, woe for the reproach!”
35.	A.	Said R. Hama bar Hanina, “Ten canopies did the Holy One, blessed be he, make for the First Man in the garden of Eden: ‘You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the cornelian, the topaz, the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, and the emerald and gold ‘ (Ez. 28:13).”
	B.	Mar Zutra said, “Eleven: ‘every precious stone.‘ “
	C.	Said R. Yohanan, “The least of them all was gold, since it was mentioned last.”
36.	A.	What is the meaning of “by the work of your timbrels and holes” (Ez. 28:13)?
	B.	Said R. Judah said Rab, “Said the Holy One, blessed be he, to Hiram, king of Tyre, ‘I looked at you [for your arrogance] when I created the excretory holes of human beings.”
	C.	And some say that this is what he said to him, “I looked at you [75B] when I decreed the death penalty against the first Man.”
37.	A.	What is the meaning of “and over her assemblies” (Is. 4:5)?
	B.	Said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “Jerusalem in the age to come will not be like Jerusalem in this age. To Jerusalem in this age anyone who wants to go up may go up. But to Jerusalem in the age to come only those who are deemed worthy of coming will go up.”
38.	A.	And said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “The righteous are destined to be called by the name of the Holy One, blessed be he: ‘Every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, I have formed him, yes, I have made him’ (Is. 43:7).”
39.	A.	Said R. Samuel bar Nahmani said R. Yohanan, “There are three who are called by the name of the Holy One, blessed be he, and these are they: the righteous, the Messiah, and Jerusalem.
	B.	“The righteous, as we have just said.
	C.	“The Messiah: ‘And this is the name whereby he shall be called, the Lord is our righteousness’ (Jer. 23:6).
	D.	“Jerusalem: ‘It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about, and the name of the city from that day shall be, “the Lord is there” (Ez. 48:35). Do not read ‘there ‘ but ‘its name.‘ “
40.	A.	Said R. Eleazar, “The time will come when ‘holy ‘ will be said before the name of the righteous as it is said before the name of the Holy One, blessed be he: ‘And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion and he that remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy’ (Is. 4:3).”
41.	A.	And said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to lift up Jerusalem to a height of three parasangs: ‘And she shall be lifted up and be settled in her place ‘ (Is. 4:3). ‘. . . in her place’ means ‘like her place ‘ [Slotki: Jerusalem will be lifted up to a height equal to the extent of the space it occupies].”
42.	A.	So how do we know that the place that Jerusalem occupied was three parasangs?
	B.	Said Rabbah, “Said to me a certain elder, ‘I myself saw the original Jerusalem, and it filled up three parasangs.‘ “
43.	A.	And lest you suppose that there will be pain in the ascension, Scripture states, “Who are these that fly as a cloud and as the doves to their cotes” (Is. 60:8).
	B.	Said R. Pappa, “You may derive from that statement the fact that a cloud rises to a height of three parasangs.”
44.	A.	Said R. Hanina bar Pappa, “The Holy One blessed be he wanted to give Jerusalem a fixed size: ‘Then said I, Whither do you go? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length ‘ (Zech. 2:6).
	B.	“Said the ministering angels before the Holy One, blessed be he, ‘Lord of the world, you have created in your world any number of cities for the nations of the earth, and you did not fix the measurements of their length or breadth. So are you going to fix measurements for Jerusalem, in the midst of which are your name, sanctuary, and the righteous?‘
	C.	“Then: ‘an angel said to him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, for the multitude of men and cattle therein ‘ (Zech. 2:8).”
45.	A.	Said R. Simeon b. Laqish, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to add to Jerusalem [Slotki:] a thousand gardens, a thousand towers, a thousand palaces, a thousand mansions. And each one of these will be as vast as Sepphoris in its hour of prosperity.”
46.	A.	It has been taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	Said R. Yosé, “I saw Sepphoris in its hour of prosperity, and in it were one hundred and eighty thousand markets for those who sold pudding [alone].”
47.	A.	“And the side chambers were one over another, three and thirty times” (Ez. 41:6):
	B.	What is the meaning of three and thirty times?
	C.	Said R. Pappi in the name of R. Joshua of Sikni, “If there will be three Jerusalems, each building will contain thirty dwellings piled up on top of one another; if there will be thirty Jerusalems, then each building will contain three apartments on top of one another.”

From the viewpoint of the Bavli overall, the anomalous traits of the conglomerate are clear: once we have left behind us the Tannaite complement to the Mishnah, there is no clear purpose or point established in what follows, No. 3 provides a talmud to No. 2, that is to say, a well-crafted expansion, in this instance explaining the word-choices of the prior item. But then we have a sequence of units that have only the most tenuous connection to the fore-going. No. 2-3 have spoken of ships, and No. 4 speaks of a ship. No. 4 does not continue No. 3 (nor does any following unit); it is parachuted down because of a shared subject, that alone. But even the subject is not a substantial point in common, since No. 4 wants to talk about ships that sink and how God participates in the matter, and nothing could be further from the frame of reference of No. 3.

What, then, are the units that do coalesce in the conglomerate that follows? Clearly, Nos. 4, 5 talk about the supernatural in connection with ships that founder at sea. No. 6 runs along the same lines, but its connection to No. 5 is not much tighter than that of No. 4 to No. 3. No. 7, however, is another matter; it shares the “1 personally saw”-formula, and not only so, but what the master personally saw is a quite extraordinary thing. So we can see how the compositions at Nos. 6, 7, 8 were formed into a piece; obviously, there is no explanation for why one is prior, another later, in the sequence; but there is a tight connection among the three items. Another such set begins at No. 9: “once we were traveling and . . . ,” which is the recurrent formula through Nos. 10-18+19. Now why have Nos. 9-18+19 been linked to Nos., 6-8? No. 8 speaks of “I personally saw” a frog as big as . . . , and the next, “Once we were traveling and we saw a fish . . . as big as . . . .” So the shift is from one rhetorical formula to another, but the subject matter remains the same. That strikes me as rather deft composite-making indeed.

The following items, Nos. 10-12, conform to the same pattern, talking about wonders of nature that a sage saw. No. 13 then marks another shift, however, since while the wonders of nature go forward, the fat geese are not really of the same order as the amazingly huge fish; and the lesson is a different once, namely, “Israel will be called to account . . . .” That this is the commencement of a new topic, joined with the prior form, is shown at No. 14. Here we retain the “once we were traveling”-formula; but we drop the sustaining theme, big fish and the like, and instead, we pick up the new motif, which is, God’s judgment of Israel, now: the dead raised by Ezekiel, No. 14; and the same story repeats the new motif, now the theme of God’s judgment of Israel in connection with the oath of Sinai. What follows at No. 15 is yet another formula: “X told this story; once we were traveling . . . ,” and now we revert to the theme of the wonders of nature. Have we really lost the immediately-prior theme? Not at all, for now our natural wonders turn out to concern Leviathan, and, later on, that theme is explicitly joined to the judgment of Israel: the righteous will get invited to the banquet at which Leviathan will form the main course. So Nos. 15-17 (and much that follows) turn out to link the two distinct themes that have been joined, and, we see, the movement is quite deft. We have a rhetorical device to link a variety of compositions on a given subject, we retain that rhetorical device but shift the subject, then we shift the rhetorical device but retain the same subject, and, finally, we join the two distinct subjects. The theme of Leviathan holds together Nos., 21-22+23. No., 24 is tacked on because Leviathan plays a role, and the same is to be said for Nos. 30. The general interest in the restoration of Israel moves from the messianic meal to Jerusalem, Nos. 31-45+46, 47. So there is a clear topical program, and while we have a variety of subunits, these are put together in a way that we can explain without stretching.

Abbreviating appropriately, let me now repeat the entire composite, this time clearly distinguishing not the rhetorical but the topical (even propositional) components. I simply set forth in a single column everything I take to form a single large scale composite, distinct from everything fore and aft thereof.

4.	A.	Said Rabbah, “Sailors told me, ‘The wave that sinks a ship appears with a white froth offire at the crest, and when stricken with clubs on which is incised, “I am that I am, Yah, the Lord of Hosts, Amen, Amen, Selah,” it will subside [and not sink the ship].‘ “.
5.	A.	Said Rabbah, “Sailors told me, ‘Between one wave and another there is a distance of three hundred parasangs, and the height of the wave is the same three hundred parasangs. Once, when we were on a voyage, a wave lifted us up so high that we could see the resting place of the smallest star, and there was a flash, as if one shot forty arrows of iron; and if it had lifted us up any higher, we would have been burned by the heat. And one wave called to the next, “Friend, have you left anything in the world that you did not wash away? I’ll go and wipe it out.” And the other said, “Go see the power of the master, by whose command I must not pass the sand of the shore by even so much as the breadth of a thread: ‘Fear you not me? says the Lord? Will you not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it cannot pass ‘ (Jer. 5:22).” ‘ “
6.	A.	Said Rabbah, “I personally saw Hormin, sonofLilith, running on the parapet of the wall of Mahoza, and a rider, galloping below on horseback, could not catch up with him. Once they put a saddle for him two mules, which [73B] stood on two bridges of the Rognag, and he jumped from one to the other, backward and forward, holding two cups of wine in his hands, pouring from one to the other without spilling a drop on the ground. It was a stormy day: ‘they that go down to the sea in ships mounted up to he heaven, they went down to the deeps ‘ (Ps. 107:27). Now when the state heard about this, they killed him.”
7.	A.	Said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “I personally saw a day-old antelope as big as Mount Tabor. How big is Mount Tabor? Four parasangs. Its neck was three parasangs long, and his head rested on a spot a parasang and a half. Its ball of shit blocked up the Jordan River.”
8.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “I personally saw a frog as big as the Fort of Hagronia—how big is that? sixty houses!—and a snake came along and swallowed the frog; a raven came along and swallowed the snake; and perched on a tree. So you can just imagine how strong was the tree.”
9.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and we saw a fish [whale] in the nostrils of which a mud-eater had entered. The water cast up the fish and threw it on the shore. Sixty towns were destroyed by it, sixty towns got their food from it, and sixty towns salted the remnants, and from one of its eyeballs three hundred kegs of oil were filled. Coming back twelve months later, we saw that they were cutting rafters from the skeleton and rebuilding the towns.”
10.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and we saw a fish the back of which was covered with sand out of which grass was growing. We thought it was dry land so we went up and baked and cooked on the back of the fish. When the back got hut, it rolled over, and if the ship had’t been nearby, we would have drowned.”
11.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and the ship sailed between one fin of a fish and the other for three days and three nights; the fish was swimming upwards and we were floating downwards [with the wind].”
12.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling on a ship, and we saw a bird standing in the water only up to its ankles, with its head touching the sky. So we thought the water wasn’t very deep, and we thought of going down to cool ourselves, but an echo called out, ‘Don’t go down into the water here, for a carpenter’s axe dropped into this water seven years ago, and it hasn’t yet reached the bottom. ‘And it was not only deep but also rapidly flowing.”
13.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling in the desert, and we saw geese whose feathers fell out because they were so fat, and streams of fat flowed under them. I said to them, ‘May we have a share of your meat in the world to come? One of them lifted a wing, the other a leg [showing me what my portion would be]. When I came before R. Eleazar, he said to me, ‘Israel will be called to account on account of these geese.’ ” [Slotki: the protracted suffering of the geese caused by their growing fatness is due to Israel’s sins, which delay the coming of the Messiah.]
14.	A.	And said Rabbah bar bar Hannah, “Once we were traveling in the desert, and a Tai-Arab joined us, who could pick up sand and smell it and tell us which was the road to one place and which to another. We said to him, ‘How far are we from water?’ He said to us, ‘Give me sand.’ We gave him some, and he said to us, ‘Eight parasangs. ‘When we gave him some sand later, he told us that we were three parasangs off.’ I had changed the sand, but I was not able to confuse him.
15.	A.	R. Yohanan told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a fish that raised its head from the sea. Its eyes were like two moons, and water streamedfrom its nostrils like the two rivers of Sura.”
16.	A.	R. Safra told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a fish that raised its head from the sea. It had horns on which was engraved: I am a lesser creature of the sea. I am three hundred parasangs long, and I am going into the mouth of Leviathan.’ ”
17.	A.	R. Yohanan told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a chest in which were set jewels and peals, surrounded by a kind offish called a Karisa-fish. A diver went down [74B] to bring up the chest, but the wished realized it and was about to wrench his thigh. He poured on it a bottle of vinegar, and it sank. An echo came forth, saying to us, ‘What in the world have you got to do with the best of the wife of R. Hanina, b. Dosa, who is going to store in it the purple-blue for the righteous in the world to come.‘ “
18.	A.	R. Judah the Hindu told this story: “Once we were traveling along on a ship, and we saw a jewel with a snake wrapped around it. A diver went down to bring up the jewel. The snake drew near, to swallow the ship. A raven came and bit off its head. The waters turned to blood. Another snake and took the head of the snake and attached it to the body again, and it revived. The snake again came to swallow the ship. A bird again came and cut off its head. The diver seized the jewel and threw it into the ship. We had salted birds. We put the stone on them, and they took it up and flew away with it.”
19.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	There was the case involving R. Eliezer and R. Joshua, who were traveling on a ship. R. Eliezer was sleeping, and R. Joshua was awake. R. Joshua shuddered and R. Eliezer woke up. He said to him, “What’s wrong, Joshua? How come you trembled?”
20.	A.	Said R. Ashi, “Said to me Huna bar Nathan, ‘Once we were traveling in the desert, and we had taken with us a leg of meat. We cut it open, picked out [what we are not allowed to eat] and put it on the grass. While we were going to get some wood, the leg returned to its original form, and we roasted it. When we came back after twelve months, we saw the coals still glowing. When I presented the matter to Amemar, he said to me, ‘The grass was an herb that can unite severed parts, and the coals were broom [which burns a long time inside, while the surface is extinguished],”
21.	A.	“And God created the great sea monsters” (Gen. 1:21): R. Yohanan said, “This refers to Leviathan, [Slotki:] the slant serpent, and Leviathan the tortuous serpent: ‘In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the slant serpent and Leviathan the tortuous serpent’ (Is. 27:1).”
22.	A.	Said R. Judah said Rab, “Whatever the Holy One, blessed be he, created in his world did he create male and female, and so too, the Leviathan the slant serpent and Leviathan the tortuous serpent he created male and female, and if they had mated with one another, they would have destroyed the whole world.
23.	A.	And said R. Judah said Rab, “When the Holy One, blessed be he, proposed to create the world, he said to the prince of the sea, ‘Open your mouth, and swallow all the water in the world.’
24.	A.	And said R. Judah said Rab, “The Jordan issues from the cave of Paneas.”
25.	A.	WhenR. Dimicame, he saidR. Yohanan said, “What is the meaning of the verse, ‘For he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods’ (Ps. 24:2)? This refers to the seven seas and four rivers that surround the land of Israel. And what are the seven seas? The sea of Tiberias, the sea of Sodom, the sea of Helath, the sea of Hiltha, the sea of Sibkay, the sea of Aspamia, and the Great sea. And what are the four rivers? The Jordan, the Yarmuk, the Keramyhon, and the Pigah.”
26.	A.	When R. Dimi came, he said R. Yohanan said, “Gabriel is destined to organize a hunt [75A] for Leviathan: ‘Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord’ (Job 40:25). And if the Holy One, blessed be he, does not help him, he will never be able to prevail over him: ‘He only that made him can make his sword approach him’(Job 40:19).”
27.	A.	When R. Dimi came, he said R. Yohanan said, “When Leviathan is hungry, he sends out fiery breath from his mouth and boils all the waters of the deep: ‘He makes the deep to boil like a pot’ (Job 41:23). And if he did not put his head into the Garden of Eden, no creature could endure his stench: ‘he makes the sea like a spiced broth ‘ (Job 41:23). And when he is thirsty, he makes the sea into furrows: ‘He makes a path to shine after him ‘ (Job 41:24).”
28.	A.	Rabbah said R. Yohanan said, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to make a banquet for the righteous out of the meat of Leviathan: ‘Companions will make a banquet of it’ (Job 40:30). The meaning of ‘banquet’ derives from the usage of the same word in the verse, ‘And he prepared for them a great banquet and they ate and drank’ (2 Kgs. 6:23).
29.	A.	Rabbah said R. Yohanan said, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to make a tabernacle for the righteous out of the hide of Leviathan: ‘Can you fill tabernacles with his skin’ (Job 40:31). If someone has sufficient merit, a tabernacle is made for him; if he does not have sufficient merit, a mere shade is made for him: ‘And his head with a fish covering’ (Job 40:31). If someone has sufficient merit, a shade is made for him, if not, then a mere necklace is made for him: ‘And necklaces about your neck’ (Prov. 1:9). If someone has sufficient merit, a necklace is made for him; if not, then an amulet: ‘And you will bind him for your maidens’ (Job 40:29).
30.	A.	“And I will make your pinnacles of rubies” (Is. 54:12):
	C.	“One said, ‘The word translated rubies means onyx . . . ’
	D.	“The other said, ‘It means jasper.’
	E.	“Said to them the Holy One, blessed be he, ‘Let it be in accord with both this opinion and that opinion.’ ”
31.	A.	“And your gates of carbuncles” (Is. 60:3):
	B.	That is in line with what was said when R. Yohanan went into session and expounded as follows: “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to bring jewels and pearls that are thirty cubits by thirty and will cut out openings from them ten cubits by twenty, setting them up at the gates of Jerusalem.”
32.	A.	An objection was raised:
	B.	“And I will lead you upright” (Lev. 26:13) —
	C.	[Since the word for “upright” can be read to mean, at twice the normal height], R. Meir says, “That means, two hundred cubits, twice the height of the First Man.”
33.	A.	And said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to make seven canopies for every righteous person: ‘And the Lord will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night, for over all the glory shall be a canopy’ (Is. 4:5). This teaches that for every one will the Holy One create a canopy in accord with the honor that is due him.”
34.	A.	Along these same lines you may say: “And you shall put some of your honor upon him” (Num. 27:20)—but not of your honor.
	B.	The elders of that generation said, “The face of Moses glows like the face of the sun, the face of Joshua like the face of the moon.
35.	A.	Said R. Hama bar Hanina, “Ten canopies did the Holy One, blessed be he, make for the First Man in the garden of Eden: ‘You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the cornelian, the topaz, the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the carbuncle, and the emerald and gold’ (Ez. 28:13).”
36.	A.	What is the meaning of “by the work of your timbrels and holes” (Ez. 28:13)?
	B.	Said R. Judah said Rab, “Said the Holy One, blessed be he, to Hiram, king of Tyre, ‘I looked at you [for your arrogance] when I created the excretory holes of human beings.”
	C.	And some say that this is what he said to him, “I looked at you [75B] when I decreed the death penalty against the first Man.”
37.	A.	What is the meaning of “and over her assemblies” (Is. 4:5)?
	B.	Said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “Jerusalem in the age to come will not be like Jerusalem in this age. To Jerusalem in this age anyone who wants to go up may go up. But to Jerusalem in the age to come only those who are deemed worthy of coming will go up.”
38.	A.	And said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “The righteous are destined to be called by the name of the Holy One, blessed be he: ‘Every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, I have formed him, yes, I have made him’ (Is. 43:7).”
39.	A.	Said R. Samuel bar Nahmani said R. Yohanan, “There are three who are called by the name of the Holy One, blessed be he, and these are they: the righteous, the Messiah, and Jerusalem.
	B.	“The righteous, as we have just said.
	C.	“The Messiah: ‘And this is the name whereby he shall be called, the Lord is our righteousness’ (Jer. 23:6).
	D.	“Jerusalem: ‘It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about, and the name of the city from that day shall be, “the Lord is there” (Ez. 48:35). Do not read ‘there’ but ‘its name.’ ”
40.	A.	Said R. Eleazar, “The time will come when ‘holy’ will be said before the name of the righteous as it is said before the name of the Holy One, blessed be he: ‘And it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion and he that remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy’ (Is. 4:3).”
41.	A.	And said Rabbah said R. Yohanan, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to lift up Jerusalem to a height of three parasangs: ‘And she shall be lifted up and be settled in her place’ (Is. 4:3). ‘. . . inherplace’ means ‘like her place’ [Slotki: Jerusalem will be lifted up to a height equal to the extent of the space it occupies].”
42.	A.	So how do we know that the place that Jerusalem occupied was three parasangs?
	B.	Said Rabbah, “Said to me a certain elder, ‘I myself saw the original Jerusalem, and it filled up three parasangs.’ ”
43.	A.	And lest you suppose that there will be pain in the ascension, Scripture states, “Who are these that fly as a cloud and as the doves to their cotes” (Is. 60:8).
44.	A.	Said R. Hanina bar Pappa, “The Holy One blessed be he wanted to give Jerusalem a fixed size: ‘Then said I, Whither do you go? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length’ (Zech. 2:6).
	B.	“Said the ministering angels before the Holy One, blessed be he, ‘Lord of the world, you have created in your world any number of cities for the nations of the earth, and you did not fix the measurements of their length or breadth. So are you going to fix measurements for Jerusalem, in the midst of which are your name, sanctuary, and the righteous?’
45.	A.	Said R. Simeon b. Laqish, “The Holy One, blessed be he, is destined to add to Jerusalem [Slotki:] a thousand gardens, a thousand towers, a thousand palaces, a thousand mansions. And each one of these will be as vast as Sepphoris in its hour of prosperity.”
46.	A.	It has been taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	Said R. Yosé, “I saw Sepphoris in its hour of prosperity, and in it were one hundred and eighty thousand markets for those who sold pudding [alone].”
47.	A.	“And the side chambers were one over another, three and thirty times” (Ez. 41:6):
	B.	What is the meaning of three and thirty times?
	C.	Said R. Pappi in the name of R. Joshua of Sikni, “If there will be three Jerusalems, each building will contain thirty dwellings piled up on top of one another; if there will be thirty Jerusalems, then each building will contain three apartments on top of one another.”

Here is another visual commentary. There is a very clear and simple topical program before us. We treat three subjects, and the order in which they are treated is the only possible order. By that I mean, had we dealt with the third topic first, it would have had no context for, nor would it have supplied a context to, the first and second. The same is to be said with respect to the second; if it came first, then the first sequence would have made no sense at all. So the first sequence prepares the way for the second, the second, for the third. Within each set of compositions, there are some clear points of connection and not mere intersection, let alone formal coherence through a shared topic. Obviously, the triptych can be represented as propositional in only the most general terms. But, equally obviously, we have much more than just this, that, and the other thing, all thrown together: a miscellany. What we have, rather, is a different mode of agglutination of compositions into composites, and small composites into big composites, from the mode that is familiar to us throughout approximately 85-=90% of the Bavli. Our task in the next three chapters is to find out [1] just what principles do explain how one thing is joined to the next, [2] why many things are joined all together, and [3] what all this has to do with the Mishnah.

I have validated these conclusions:

1. In the miscellany before us, do we identify the first-class, cogent exposition of a proposition? Not at all. Is there the sustained consideration of a given problem? No again.

2. But is it a mere miscellany—disorganized, pointless, a scrap book of one thing and another? Hardly.

Well, then, if not exactly a miscellany, also not a composite of the kind that predominates in the Bavli in its exposition of the Mishnah, then what do we have? This brief account has raised more questions than it has settled. The main point must not be lost. The Bavli contains important composites that differ in their redactional, rhetorical, topical, and logical traits from its paramount composites. Compared to the dominant type of composite, the one that serves as Mishnah- commentary and amplification, these other composites exhibit a miscellaneous quality. The real issue is whether or not before us are anomalies, and for that purpose, we shall have to ask not only whether we deal with miscellanies, viewed in their own terms, but whether or not we confront anomalies, viewed in the context of the chapters that contain them. So let us examine important composites and see [1] how they hold together, and [2] what place they make for themselves in the context of the chapters in which they occur, and [3] how, if at all, the composites or miscellaneous type of composite proposes to exp[and our understanding of the Mishnah.

IV. TRAITS OF AGGLUTINATIVE DISCOURSE

It is now very simple to define agglutinative discourse in the context of the Bavli. The Talmud of Babylonia makes use of two distinct principles for the formation of large-scale composites of distinct compositions, and the framers of the document very rarely set forth a composition on its own, standing without clear ties to a larger context. Ordinarily, they brought together distinct and free-standing compositions in the service of Mishnah-exegesis and amplification of law originating in a Mishnah-paragraph under analysis. For that purpose they would then draw upon already-written compositions, which would be adduced as cases, statements of principles, fully-exposed analyses, inclusive of debate and argument, in the service of that analysis. So all of the compositions in a given composite would serve the governing analytical or propositional purpose of the framer of the composite. Where a composition appears to shade over into a direction of its own, that very quickly is seen to serve as a footnote or even an appendix to the composite at hand.

We have now seen that in addition to propositional and even analytical composites, the framers of the Bavli also formed compositions into thematic composites, and on the face of it, this second type of composite presents the appearance of a miscellany. But far from forming a mere rubbish heap of this and that, this other type of composite proves not at all miscellaneous. Clear, governing, and entirely predictable principles allow us to explain how one composition is joined to another. Ordinarily, a sizable miscellany will tell us more about a subject that the Mishnah addresses or richly illustrate a principle that the Mishnah means to set forth through its cases and examples. In that sense, the miscellaneous kind of composite is set forth as Mishnah-commentary of a particular kind. As we have seen, an agglutinative composite may be formed by appeal to a common theme, ordinarily stated by the Mishnah or at least suggested by its contents, and several closely- related themes will then come under exposition in a massive miscellany. One common theme will be a passage of Scripture, systematically examined. A subordinate principle of agglutination will join composites attributed to the same authority or tradent, though it would be unusual for the compositions so joined to deal with entirely unrelated topics. So the principal point of differentiation between propositional composites and agglutinative ones is that the form analyze a problem, the latter illustrate a theme or even a proposition.

It follows that two modes of forming composites serve the framers of the Bavli, the paramount, propositional and analytical mode, and the subordinate, agglutinative sort. The one joins together a variety of distinct compositions into a propositional statement, commonly enriched with analytical initiatives, and frequently bearing a burden of footnotes and appendices. The other combines distinct compositions into a thematic composite, the proposition of which is ordinarily rather general and commonplace. A second principle of agglutinative composite-making appeals to common attributions, though when two or more compositions are joined into a composite because they are assigned to the same authority or tradental chain, they very likely will also bear in common an interest in a single theme, if not in a uniform proposition in connection with that theme.

Since all of the miscellanies we have examined concern theological or exegetical subjects, none focusing upon a problem of law, we should be tempted to propose that agglutinative discourse governs the treatment of one type of subject matter, theology or exegesis, but not another, the more prominent, and generally held, normative one, of law. To demonstrate that the distinction between lore and law (Aggadah and Halakhah) makes no difference in whether or not compositions will be linked into composites by appeal to propositional-analytical or merely agglutinative principles of formation, let me give a fine example of an agglutinative legal (“Halakhic”) passage, which shows beyond any doubt that there is no important point of distinction, so far as agglutinative discourse is concerned, between compositions and sub-composites of one kind and of the other. We find in both types of subject-matter precisely the same literary traits of composite-making. Here the compositions are joined agglutinatively, by reference to a common subject- matter; but the composite that results does not make a point, e.g. of proposition, analysis, or argument. Rather, it serves to illustrate a theme. We deal with Bavli Baba Batra chapter Five.

BAVLI BABA BATRA 5:11

	A.	Said Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel, “Under what circumstances?
	B.	“In the case of liquid measures.
	C.	“But in the case of dry measures, it is not necessary”
	D.	[88B] And [a shopkeeper] is liable to let the scales go down by a handbreadth [to the buyer’s advantage].
	E.	[If] he was measuring out for him exactly, he has to give him an overweight —
	F.	one part in ten for liquid measure,
	G.	one part in twenty for dry measure.
	H.	In a place in which they are accustomed to measure with small measures, one must not measure with large measures;
	I.	with large ones, one must not measure with small;
	J.	[in a place in which it is customary] to smooth down [what is in the measure], one should not heap it up;
	K.	to heap it up, one should not smooth it down.

III.1	A.	In a place in which they are accustomed to measure with small measures, one must not measure with large measures; with large ones, one must not measure with small; in a place in which it is customary to smooth down what is in the measure, one should not heap it up; to heap it up, one should not smooth it down:
	B.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	C.	How on the basis of Scripture do we know that in a place in which it is customary to smooth down what is in the measure, one should not heap it up; to heap it up, one should not smooth it down? Scripture says, “A perfect measure” (Dt. 25:15). [Slotki: deviating from the usual practice the buyer or the seller may defraud or mislead others.]
	D.	And how do we know that if one said, “Lo, where it is customary to heap up, I will level it off, and reduce the price, ‘or, in a place where they level, I will heap it up, and raise the price,” they do not listen to him [he may not do so]?
	E.	Scripture says, “A perfect and just measure you shall have” (Dt. 25:15).
2.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	How on the basis of Scripture do we know that in a place where the practice is to allow an overweight, they do not give the exact weight, and in a place in which they give an exact weight, they do not give an overweight?
	C.	Scripture says, “A perfect weight” (Dt. 25:15).
	D.	And how on the basis of Scripture do we know that if one said in a place in which they give an overweight, “Lo, I shall give an exact weight and charge him less,” or in a place in which they give an exact weight, “Lo, I shall give him an overweight and add to the price,” they do not listen to him?
	E.	Scripture says, “A perfect weight and a just one” (Dt. 25:15).
	F.	Said R. Judah of Sura,” ‘You shall not have anything in your house’ (Dt. 25:14). Why? Because of your ‘diverse weights’ (Dt. 25:13). But if you keep ‘a perfect and just weight,’ ‘you shall have’ (Dt. 25:15) things, ‘if a perfect and just measure, you shall have . . . .’ ”

There is no problem in explaining why No. 2 is tacked on to No. 1. The proposition is the same, so is the form. But what follows is another matter, since we are now going to entertain a different proposition altogether.

3.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	“You shall have . . . :” this teaches that they appoint market supervisors to oversee measures, but they do not appoint market supervisors to control prices.

No. 4 will now illustrate the foregoing.

4.	A.	The household of the patriarch appointed market supervisors to oversee measures and to control prices. Said Samuel to Qarna, “Go, repeat the Tannaite rule to them: they appoint market supervisors to oversee measures, but they do not appoint market supervisors to control prices.
	B.	He went out and instructed them: “They appoint market supervisors to oversee measures and to control prices.”
	C.	He said to him, “What do they call you? Qarna [horn]? Let a horn grow out of your eye.” A horn grew out of his eye.
	D.	And as for Qarna, in accord with what authority did he reach this conclusion?
	E.	It was in accord with what Rammi bar Hama said R. Isaac said, “They appoint market supervisors to oversee measures and to control prices, on account of crooks.”

Now we have a miscellany, meaning, a set of compositions, each standing on its own foundation, all making clearly-articulated points, none related except in a shared theme to what stands fore or aft. What we shall also observe is sub-sets, clearly joined to one another, but connected to the larger context only by the general theme. These subsets do not require explicit specification, being obvious on the face of it.

5.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	If somebody ordered a litra, he should measure out a litra; if he ordered a half-litra, he should measure out for him a half litra; a quarter-litra, he should measure out a quarter.
	C.	So what does that passage tell us?
	D.	It is that we provide weights in these denominations.
6.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	If someone ordered three quarters of a litra, he should not say to him, “Weigh out for me three quarters of a litra one by one,” but he should say to him, “Weight out a litra for me but leave out a quarter-litra with the meat” [Slotki: on the other scale].
7.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	If someone wanted to order ten litras, he should not say to him, “Weigh them out for me one by one and allow an overweight for each,” but all of them are weighed together, with one overweight covering the whole order [cf. T. B.B. 5:9B-I]
8.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	[Slotki:] The hollow handle in which the tongue of the balance rests must be suspended in the air three handbreadths [removed from the roof from which the balance hangs], and it must be three handbreadths above the ground.
	C.	The beam and the rope that goes with it should be twelve handbreadths, and the balances of wool dealers and glass ware dealers must be suspended two handbreadths in the air from the ceiling and two above the ground. The beams and ropes that go with them must be nine handbreadths in length. The balance of a shopkeeper and a householder must be suspended a handbreadth in the air from above and a handbreadth above the ground. The beam and ropes that go with them must be six handbreadths. A gold balance must be suspended three fmgerbreadths in the air from above and three above the ground. I don ’t know the length of the beam and the cords.
	D.	What kind of balance is the one mentionedfirst [before the specific rulings for those of the wool dealers, glass ware dealers, and so on]?
	E.	[89B] Said R. Pappa, “The one used for heavy pieces of metal.”
9.	A.	Said R. Mani bar Patish, “Just as they have specified certain restrictions with regard to disqualifying balances for commercial purposes, so they have laid down disqualifications with regard to their constituting utensils for the purpose of receiving cultic uncleanness.”
	B.	What does he tell us that we do not learn from the following: The cord of the scales of the storekeepers and [or] of householders—[to be susceptible to uncleanness must be in length at least] a handbreadth. A handle of the ax at its front—a handbreadth. The projection of the shaft of a pair of compasses—a handbreadth. The shaft of a stonemason’s chisel—a handbreadth A cord of the balances of wool dealers and of glass weighers—two handbreadths. The shaft of a millstone chisel—two handbreadths. The battle ax of the legions—two handbreadths. The goldsmith’s hammer—two handbreadths. And of the carpenters—three handbreadths] [M. Kel. 29:5- 6]/ [Slotki: since this restriction has been applied to one kind of balance, are not the other kinds of balance to be implied?]
	C.	The statement that he made is necessary to deal with the sizes of the beam and cords [that are not dealt with at the parallel].

A subset now follows, Nos. 10-13, glossed by No. 14.

10.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	They make weights out of neither tin or led or alloy but of stone or glass.
11.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	They make the strike not out of a board, because it is light, nor out of metal, because it is heavy, but out of olive, nut, sycamore, or box wood.
12.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	They do not make the strike thick on one side and thin on the other.
	C.	They do not make the strike with a single quick movement, because striking in that way brings loss to the seller and advantage to the buyer, nor very slowly, since this is a loss to the buyer but a benefit to the seller.
	D.	In regard to all of these shady practices, said Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai, “Woe is me if I speak, woe is me if I do not speak. If I speak, then sharpies will learn from me, and if I don ‘t speak, then the sharpers will say,’ The disciples of sages haven ‘t got the slightest idea what we are doing.’”
13.	A.	The question was raised: “So did he speak of them or didn’t he?”
	B.	Said R. Samuel bar R. Isaac, “He did speak of them: ‘For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just walk in them; but transgressors stumble therein’ (Hos. 14:10).”
14.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	“You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in surveying, weight, or in measure” (Lev. 19:35):
	C.	“in surveying:” these refers to surveying the real estate, meaning, one should not measure for one party in the dry season and another in the rainy season.
	D.	“weight:” one should not keep one’s weights in salt.
	E.	“in measure” (Lev. 19:35): one should not make the liquid form a head.
	F.	And that yields an argument a fortiori: if with reference to a mere “measure” [Lev. 19:35), which is merely one sixth of a log, the Torah demanded meticulous attention, how much the more so must one give meticulous case in measuring out a hin, half a hin, a third of a hin, a quarter of a hin, a log, a half a log, a quarter of a log, a toman, half a toman, and an uqla.
15.	A.	Said R. Judah said Rab, “It is forbidden for someone to keep in his house a measure that is either smaller or larger than the norm, even for the purpose of a piss pot.”
	B.	Said R. Pappa, “But we have stated that rule only in a place where measures are not properly marked with a seal, but where they are properly sealed, they are permitted, since, if the purchaser sees no mark, he is not going to accept their use. And even in a place where measures are not properly marked with a seal, we have stated that rule only in a case in which they are not supervised [by administrative officers of the market], but if they are ordinarily supervised, we should have no objection.”
	C.	But that is not the case, for sometimes the buyer may come by at twilight and may happen to take a faulty measure. And so too that has been taught on Tannaite authority: It is forbidden for someone to keep in his house a measure that is either smaller or larger than the norm, even for the purpose of a piss pot. But he may make a seah measure, a tarqab, a half tarqab, a qab, a half qab, a quarter qab, a toman, [90B] and an ukla measure. How much is an uqla- measure? It is a fifth of a quarter of a qab. In the case of liquid measures, one may make a hin, a half hin, third hin, quarter hin, log, half log, quarter log, eighth log, and eight of an eighth, which is a qortob.
	D.	So why shouldn’t someone also make a double-qab measure?
	E.	It might be confused with a tarqab.
	F.	Therefore people may err by as much as a third.
	G.	If so, then a qab also people should not make, since they might confused it with a half tarqab. Rather, as to a double qab, this is the reason that one is not to make it, specifically, that one will confused it with a half tarqab.
	H.	And this proves that one may err by a quarter.
	I.	If so, a half toman and an ukla measure are things people should not make. [Slotki: the difference between a half toman, a sixteen qab, and an ukla, a twentieth qab, is only one eightieth of a qab, which is a fifth of the half toman, less than a quarter, so that these two measures could certainly be mistaken for one another.]
	J.	Said R. Pappa,” With small measures people are quite expert.”
	K.	What about a third of a hin and a fourth of a hin—shouldn’t people be forbidden to make these?
	L.	Since these were utilized in the sanctuary, rabbis made no decree in their regard.
	M.	Well, shouldn ’t there be a precautionary decree with respect to the sanctuary?
	N.	The priests are meticulous in their work.
16.	A.	Said Samuel, “They may not increase the size of the measures [whether or not people concur] by more than a sixth, nor the coins by more than a sixth, and he who makes a profit must not profit by more than a sixth.”
	B.	What is the operative consideration for the first of these three rulings?
	C.	If we say that it is because the market prices will rise, then for that same consideration, it should not be permitted to increase the size of the measures even by a sixth. And if the operative consideration is overreaching, so that the transaction should not have to be annulled, did not Raba say, “One can retract from an agreement that involves fraud in measure, weight, or number, even though it is less than the standard, a sixth, of overreaching.” And if the operative consideration is that the dealer may not incur any loss, then is the whole purpose of the law to guard him from loss? Is he not entitled to make a profit? But “buy and sell at no profit, merely to be called a merchant!”
	D.	Rather, said R. Hisda, “Samuel identified a verse of Scripture and interpreted it, ‘And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs, twenty sheqels, twenty-five sheqels, ten and five sheqels shall be your maneh’ (Ez. 45:12). [90B] Now was the maneh to be two hundred forty denars? [But it is supposed to be twenty five sheqels or a hundred denars (Cashdan).] But three facts are to be inferredfrom this statement: [1] the maneh used in the sanctuary is worth double what the maneh is usually worth; [2] they may not increase the size of the measures [whether or not people concur] by more than a sixth, and [3] the sixth is added over and above the original [so to add a sixth, the original is divided into five parts and another part of equal value, making a sixth one, then is added to it, so the maneh consisted of 240 denars (Cashdan, Menahot)].”
17.	A.	R. Pappa bar Samuel ordained a measure of three qepizi. They said to him, “Lo, said Samuel, ‘They may not increase the size of the measures [whether or not people concur] by more than a sixth’!”
	B.	He said to them, “What I am ordaining is an entirely new measure.” He sent it to Pumbedita, and they did not adopt it. He sent it to Papunia and they adopted it, naming it the Pappa-measure.

Any doubt that we are dealing with a miscellany is removed by what follows, which in no way pertains to the foregoing in any detail. And yet it is introduced for a very clear purpose, which is to make a point about a common theme and proposition: fair-dealing in the market, giving and getting true value.

18.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	Concerning those who store up produce, lend money on usury, falsify measures, and price-gouge, Scripture says, “Saying, when will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we may set forth grain? Making the ephah small and the shekel great and falsifying the balances of deceit” (Amos 8:5). And in their regard, Scripture states, “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob, surely I will never forget any of their works” (Amos 8:7).
	C.	What would be an example of those who store up produce?
	D.	Said R. Yohanan, “Like Shabbetai the produce-hoarder.”
19.	A.	The father of Samuel would sell produce at the early market price when the early market price prevailed [that is, cheap, so keeping prices down through the year (Slotki)]. Samuel his son held the produce back and sold it when the late market prices prevailed, but at the early market price.
	F.	They sent word from there, “The father is better than the son. How come? Prices that have been held down remain down.”
20.	A.	Said Rab, “Someone may store up his own produce” [but may not hoard for trading purposes (Slotki)].
	B.	So too it has been taught on Tannaite authority:
	C.	[Following Tosefta’s version:] They do not hoard in the Land of Israel things upon which life depends, for example, wine, oil, fine flour, and produce. But things upon which life does not depend, for instance, cumin and spice, lo, this is permitted. And they put things in storage for three years, the eve of the seventh year, the seventh year itself, and the year after the seventh year.
	D.	Under what circumstances.
	E.	In the case of that which one purchases in the market.
	F.	But in the case of what one puts aside from what he himself has grown, even for a period of ten years it is permitted.
	G.	But in a year of famine even a qab of carobs one should not put into storage, because he brings a curse on the prices [by forcing them upward through artificial demand] [T. A.Z. 4:1A-G].
21.	A.	Said R. Yose b. R. Hanina to Puga his servant, “Go, store up fruit for me for the next three years: the eve of the Sabbatical year, the Sabbatical year, and the year after the Sabbatical year.”
22.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	They do not export from the Land of Israel to Syria things upon which life depends, for example, wine, oil, and fine flour.
	C.	R. Judah b. Batera says, “I say that they export wine to Syria, because in doing so, one diminishes silliness [in the Land of Israel].”
	D.	Just as they do not export to Syria, so they do not export from one hyparchy to another.
	E.	And R. Judah permits doing so [91A] from one hyparchy to another [T.A.Z. 4:2].
23.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	They are not to make a profit in the land of Israel from the necessities of life, for instance, wine, oil, and flour.
	C.	They said concerning R. Eleazar b. Azariah that he would make a profit from wine and oil all his life [T. A.Z. 4:1H-J].
	D.	In the matter of wine, he concurred with the view of R. Judah [b. Batera], and in the matter of oil, as it happens, in the place where R. Eleazar b. Azariah lived, oil was abundant.
24.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	People are not to profit from eggs twice.
	C.	Said Mari bar Mari, “There was a dispute between Rab and Samuel. One says, Two for one ‘[selling for two what was bought for one], and the other said, ‘Selling by a dealer to a dealer’ [making two profits on the same object].”
25.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	They sound the alarm on account of a collapse in the market in trading goods even on the Sabbath.
	C.	Said R. Yohanan, “For instance, linen clothing in Babylonia and wine and oil in the Land of Israel.”
	D.	Said R. Joseph, “But that is the case when these are so cheap that ten go for the price of six.”
26.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	A person is not allowed to emigrate from the Land of Israel unless wheat goes at the price of two seahs for a sela.
	C.	Said R. Simeon, “Under what circumstances? Only in a case in which he does not find any to buy even at that price. But if he finds some to buy at that price, even if a seah of grain goes for a sela, he should not emigrate.”
	D.	And so did R. Simeon bar Yohai say, “Elimelech, Machlon and Kilion were the great men of his time, and one of those who sustained the generation. But because he went abroad, he and his sons died in famine. But all the Israelites were able to survive on their own land, as it is said, ‘and when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them’ (Ruth 1:19). This teaches that all of the town had survived, but he and his sons had died in the famine” [T. A.Z. 4:4A-H].
27.	A.	“and when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women said, Ts this Naomi’ ” (Ruth 1:19):
	B.	What is the meaning of the phrase, “Is this Naomi”?
	C.	Said R. Isaac, “They said, ‘Did you see what happened to Naomi, who emigrated from the Land for a foreign country?’ ”
28.	A.	And said R. Isaac, “The day that Ruth the Moabite emigrated from the Land to a foreign land, the wife of Boaz died. That is in line with what people say: ‘Before a person dies, his successor as master of the house is appointed.’ ”
29.	A.	Said Rabbah bar R. Huna said Rab, “Isban is the same as Boaz.”
	B.	So what in the world does that mean?
	C.	It is in line with what Rabbah b. R. Huna further said, for said Rabbah bar R. Huna said Rab, “Boaz made for his sons a hundred and twenty wedding banquets: ‘And Isban had thirty sons and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought from abroad for his sons, and he judged Israel seven years’ (Judges 12:9). For each one of them he made two wedding feasts, one in the household of the father, the other in the household of the father in law. But to none of them did he invite Manoah, for he said, ‘How will that barren mule ever repay my hospitality? ‘And all of them died in his lifetime. That is in line with what people say, ‘In your lifetime you begot sixty? What good are the sixty? Marry again and get another one, brighter than all sixty’ ”.
30.	A.	Said R. Hanan bar Raba said Rab, “Elimelech and Salmon and ‘such a one’ [Ruth 4:1) and the father of Naomi were all sons of Nahshon b. Amminadab [Ex. 6:23, Num. 10:14].”
	B.	So what in the world does that mean?
	C.	It is that even one who has a substantial store of unearned merit gained from his answers, it will serve him no good when he emigrates from the Land to a foreign land.”
31.	A.	And said R. Hanan bar Raba said Rab, “The mother of Abraham was named Amathelai, daughter of Karnebo; the name of the mother of Haman was Amatehilai, daughter of Orabti; and the mnemonic will be, ‘unclean to the unclean, clean to the clean.’ The mother of David was Nizbeth daughter ofAdael, the mother of Samson was Zlelponit, and his sister was Nasyan.”
	B.	So what?
	C.	For answering heretics.
32.	A.	And said R. Hanan bar Raba said Rab, “For ten years our father, Abraham, was kept in prison, three in Kuta, seven in Kardu.”
	B.	And R. Dimi of Nehardea repeats the matter in reverse order.
	C.	Said R. Hisda, “The lesser Kuta is the same as Ur of the Chaldeans [Gen. 11:31].”
33.	A.	And said R. Hanan bar Raba said Rab, “The day on which our father, Abraham, died, all of the principal authorities of the nations of the world formed a line and said, ‘Woe is the world that has lost [91B] its leader, woe to the ship that has lost its helmsman.’ ”
34.	A.	“And you are exalted as head above all” (1 Chr. 29:11):
	B.	Said R. Hanan bar Raba said Rab, “Even the superintendent of the water supply is appointed by Heaven.”
35.	A.	Said R. Hiyya bar Abin said R. Joshua b. Qorhah, “God forbid! Even if [Elimelech and his family] had found bran, they would never have emigrated. So why were they punished? Because they should have besought mercy for their generation but filed to do so: ‘When you cry, let them that you have gathered deliver you’ (Is. 57:13).”
36.	A.	Said Rabbah bar bar Hannah said R. Yohanan, “This [prohibition against emigration] has been taught only when money is cheap [and abundant] and produce expensive, but when money is expensive [and not to be found, there being no capital], even if four seahs cost only a sela, it is permitted to emigration.”
	B.	Said R. Yohanan, “I remember when four seahs of grain cost a sela and many died of starvation in Tiberias, not having an issar for bread.”
	C.	And said R. Yohanan, “I remember when workmen wouldn’t agree to work on the east side of town, where workers were dying because of the scent of bread [which they could not afford to buy].”
37.	A.	And said R. Yohanan, “I remember when a child would break open a carob pod and a line of honey would run over both his arms.”
	B.	And said R. Eleazar, “I remember when a raven would grab a piece of meat and a line of oil would run down from the top of the wall to the ground.”
	C.	And said R. Yohanan, “I remember when boys and girls would promenade in the market at the each of sixteen or seventeen and not sin.”
	D.	And said R. Yohanan, “I remember when they would say in the house of study, ‘Who agrees with them falls into their power, who trusts in them—what is his becomes theirs.”
38.	A.	It is written, “Machlon and Chili on” (Ruth 1:2) and it is written “Joash and Seraph” (1 Chr. 4:22)!
	B.	Rab and Samuel —
	C.	One said, “Their names really were Machlon and Chili on, and why were they called Joash? Because they despaired hope of redemption [the words for Joash and despair using the same letters], and Seraph? because they become liable by the decree of the Omnipresent to be burned.”
	D.	And the other said, “Their names really were Joash and Seraph, but they were called Machlon and Chili on, Machlon, because they profaned their bodies [the words for Machlon and profane using the same letters], and Chili on, because they were condemned by the Omnipresent to destruction [the words for destruction and Chili on using the same letters].”
	E.	It has been taught on Tannaite authority in accord with the view of him who said that their names really were Machlon and Chili on. For it has been taught on Tannaite authority: What is the meaning of the verse, “And Joke and the men of Kozeba and Joash and Seraph, who had dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem, and the things are ancient”? 1 Chr. 4:22)?
	F.	“Joke:” this refers to Joshua, who kept his oath to the men of Gibeon [Josh. 9:15, 26].
	G.	“and the men of Kozeba:” these are the men of Gibeon who lied to Joshua [the words for lie and Kozeba using the same letters] [Josh. 9:4].
	H.	“and Joash and Seraph:” Their names really were Machlon and Chili on, and why were they called Joash? Because they despaired hope of redemption [the words for Joash and despair using the same letters], and Seraph? because they become liable by the decree of the Omnipresent to be burned.
	I.	“who had dominion in Moab:” they married wives of the women of Moab.
	J.	“and Jashubilehem:” this refers to Ruth of Moab, who had returned [using letters that are shared with Jashub] and remained in Bethlehem of Judah.
	K.	“and the things are ancient:” these things were stated by the Ancient of Days.
39.	A.	“These were the potters and those that dwelt among plantations and hedges; there they dwelt occupied in the kings work” (1 Chr. 4:23):
	B.	“These were the potters:” this refers to the sons of Jonadab, son of Rahab, who kept the oath of their father [Jer. 35:6].
	C.	“and those that dwelt among plantations:” this speaks of Solomon, who in his rule was like a fecund plant.
	D.	“and hedges:” this refers to the Sanhedrin, who hedged in the breaches in Israel.
	E.	“there they dwelt occupied in the kings work:” this speaks of Ruth of Moab, who lived to see the rule of Solomon, her grandson’s grandson: “And Solomon caused a throne to be set up for the king’s mother” (1 Kgs. 2:19), in which connection R. Eleazar said, “For the mother of the dynasty.”
40.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	“And you shall eat of the produce, the old store” (Lev. 25:22)—without requiring preservatives.
	C.	What is the meaning of without requiring preservatives?
	D.	R. Nahman said, “Without grain worms.”
	E.	And R. Sheshet said, “Without blast.”
	F.	It has been taught on Tannaite authority in accord with the view of R. Sheshet, and it has been taught on Tannaite authority in accord with the view of R. Nahman.
	G.	It has been taught on Tannaite authority in accord with the view of R. Nahman:
	H.	“And you shall eat the old store” (Lev. 25:22)—might one suppose that the sense is that the Israelites will be eager for the new produce because last year’s has been destroyed [by the grain worm]? Scripture says, “until her produce came in,” that is, until the produce will come on its own [without an early, forced harvest (Slotki)].
	I.	It has been taught on Tannaite authority in accord with the view of R. Sheshet:
	J.	“And you shall eat of the produce, the old store” (Lev. 25:22)—might one suppose that the sense is that the Israelites will be eager for the new produce because last year’s has been spoiled [Slotki: by the blast]? Scripture states, “until her produce came in,” that is, until the new crop will come in the natural way.
41.	A.	Our rabbis have taught on Tannaite authority:
	B.	“And you shall eat old store long kept” (Lev. 26:10)—whatever is of an older vintage than its fellow is better in quality than its fellow.
	C.	I know that that is so only of things that are ordinarily aged. What about things that are not ordinarily aged?
	D.	Scripture is explicit: “old store long kept” (Lev. 26:10)—in all cases.
42.	A.	“And you shall bring forth the old from before the new” (Lev. 26:10) —
	B.	this teaches that the storehouses will be full of last year’s crop, and the threshing floors, this year’s crop, and the Israelites will say, “How are we going to remove the one before the other?”
	C.	Said R. Pappa, “Everything is better when aged, except for dates, beer, and fish-hash.”

III.1, III.2 provide a scriptural basis for the rule and principle of the Mishnah. The key-verse of No. 2 accounts for the inclusion of No. 3, which carries in its wake No. 4. Further Tannaite thematic supplements are at Nos. 5-8. No. 8 is glossed by No. 9, and then Nos. 10-12+13, 14 continue the Tannaite supplement. Carrying forward the general theme at hand, Nos. 15-42 form a miscellany built around the general theme before us. I see no formal differences between the miscellany at hand and those we have already examined. The only difference is sub- ject-matter—but not classification of subject-matter.

Is it possible, then, to state the propositions of the subsets of the miscellany? These seem to me to state the paramount proposals:

1. People are to employ honest measures and when selling, to give accurate and honest measures: Nos. 5-17.

2. People are not to take advantage of shortages nor create shortages: Nos. 18-25.

3. If there are shortages, people are to try to remain in the Land of Israel if they possibly can: Nos. 26-28+29-36, 37-40.

One might argue that the combination of the set yields the syllogism that honesty in buying and selling the necessities of life is what makes possible Israel’s possession of the Holy Land, but that does not seem to me a plausible proposal. I see here only a thematic composite, all the numbered items addressed to that single theme, perhaps, furthermore, with a number of cogent propositions joining some of compositions as well.

The conclusion may be stated very simply. We have now formed a hypothesis that quite random compositions, each with its own focus, will be formed into a composite on the basis of one of three theories of linkage: [1] topic, [2] attribution, or [3] sequence of verses of a passage of Scripture. The agglutination of topically-coherent compositions predominates. And this leads to a further theory on the miscellany. The conglomerates of random compositions formed into topical composites ordinarily serve as an amplification of a topic treated in the Mishnah, or are joined to a composite that serves in that way, so that, over all, the miscellanies are made to extend and amplify the statements of the Mishnah, as much as, though in a different way from, the commonplace propositional, analytical, and syllogistic composite.

On the basis of that hypothesis, which has to be tested against the evidence of all of the other miscellanies of the Bavli, I should be prepared to propose the further hypothesis that the Bavli contains no important or sizable sequences of compositions that are entirely unrelated to one another, that is, nothing we should classify as a mere miscellany at all. Faced with miscellanies, we have come to the conclusion that what appears to be a random hodgepodge of this and that and the other thing in fact forms a considered and even crafted composite, the agglutinative principles of which we may readily discern. In fact what we have in the miscellany is nothing more than a Mishnah-commentary of a peculiar sort, itself extended and spun out, as the more conventional Mishnah-commentaries of the Bavli tend to be extended and spun out. The miscellany may be defined, therefore, in a very simple way: it is, specifically, a composite that has been compiled so as to present for the Mishnah a commentary intending to provide information on topics introduced by the Mishnah,—that, and not much more than that. True, the miscellany is not propositional, and it is certainly not analytical. But it is very much a composite in the sense in which I have defined that literary structure in the present contexts purposeful, coherent, and I think, elegant.

These are the principles of agglutination: [1] common authority; [2] common theme; [3] common passage of Scripture, sequentially expounded. In the next chapter we shall discern precisely the same principles of agglutination, the most important being a common theme, less important, common authority, least important, common passage of Scripture (except where a given theme is treated, e.g., a scriptural personality). Not only so, but the themes will be supplied by the Mishnah, so, as a matter of fact, the order of the themes too. It will then be transparent that the miscellany serves as Mishnah-commentary, but not the same kind of Mishnah- commentary as the propositional, analytical, and syllogistic one that predominates throughout most of the Bavli.

V. A CASE OF AGGLUTINATIVE DISCOURSE: MISHNAH BERAKHOT 1:1

To understand how the redactors have arranged a vast array of materials, let us divide matters up among Mishnah-sentences, to see the points at which the units of discourse take up the exegesis or amplification of the Mishnah Berakhot Chapter One.1

M. 1:1A-B: From what time . . . from the hour that the priest . . .

I-V

M. 1:1C: Until the end of the first watch, so Eliezer.

M. 1:1D: Sages say, “Until dawn.”

XVII-XVIII

M. 1:1E-N: Gamaliel “Until dawn.”

LXXVII-LXXXI

Clearly, several very large blocks of materials have been collected and inserted without regard to the requirements of either close exegesis or secondary amplification of the Mishnah passage at hand. These are three: VII-XVI, XIX-LXXVI, and LXXXIII-LXXXVI.

If we begin with the shortest set, we see that the attached constructions deal with the redemption from Egypt, to which the immediately preceding unit of discourse is addressed. So it is a thematic amplification. Why the passage on Abbahu is tacked on (since it has already occurred) I cannot say.

Moving then to the second shortest, VII-XVI, we find the following topics:

VII: The night has three watches, ending “Woe to the children”

VIII: Do not pray in a ruin, ending “Woe to the children”

IX: Do not go into a ruin.

X: The night has three watches or four watches.

XI: Continues X K

XII: Continues X K

XIII: Continues established theme, David, study at midnight

XIV: David’s prayer. Mephiboshet.

XV: Mephiboshet.

XVI: Continues foregoing

Accordingly, what we have is really an effort to complement materials directly relevant to the Mishnah-passage. Secondary continuation of discussion of the materials introduced for Mishnah-expansion is added. Thus VII-XVI have in common the single theme of the watches of the night (VIII is tacked on because of sharing the key-phrase, and IX then complements VIII), and, finally, the issue of David’s conduct during the night and secondary amplifications of that theme. The person who gathered and organized these materials followed a rather simple plan. Explain the Mishnah-passage, expand upon it, then expand upon the expansions, in sequence and very systematically.

This brings us to the much more complicated mass of material, XIX-LXXVI, an amazingly protracted discussion of many things. Can we account for this unit, which would form about the third of the volume of a small Talmud-tractate? Let us begin by outlining the topics, then see how we may group the topics into a set of large thematic constructions:

XIX: PS. 145 XX: Ps. 145	Joined to XVIII because of interest in who belongs to the world to come, in-including one who recites Ps. 145.

XXI: Michael and Gabriel	No clear connection.

XXII: Reciting the Shema in bed	Yohanan at XVIII has insisted one should say the Shema in the evening. Now we stress that it must be done, in addition in bed. Proof-text: Ps. 4:5.

XXIII: Ps. 4:5	Continues discourse on proof-text.

XXIV: Reciting the Shema in bed	Continues XXII. Proof-text: Ps. 4:2. keeps demons away.

XXV: Ps. 4:2	Continues discourse on proof-text.

XXVI: Causes of suffering	XXIV has referred to the suffering of someone who could study Torah but does not do so. This leads to the notion that study of Torah keeps one from suffering.

XXVII: Suffering brought on by God’s love.	Continues foregoing theme.

XXVIII: God gave Israel gifts through suffering.	Continues foregoing theme.

XXIX: He who studies Torah or does acts of loving kindness or buries his children is forgiven all his sins.	Continues foregoing theme.

XXX: Suffering brought on by skin- ailments is a sign of God’s love.	Continues foregoing theme.

XXXI: Stories of sick rabbis.	Continues foregoing theme.

XXXII: Stories of sick rabbis.	Continues foregoing theme.

XXXIII: Stories of rabbi’s loss of property.	Continues foregoing theme.

XXXIV: Say a prayer before one’s north-south axis.	Now begins a new theme: bed, place bed on rules on where and how to say prayers. Abba Benjamin.

XXXV: If two people pray together they should stay together until both have finished.	Rules on praying. Abba Benjamin.

XXXVI: Demons are numerous.	Abba Benjamin. Same authority, new topic.

XXXVII: Prayer of a person is heard only in the synagogue.	Rules on praying. Abba Benjamin.

XXXVIII: Rules on phylacteries. God puts them on.	Rules on phylacteries. Abin bar Ada/ Isaac.

XXXIX: Rules on phylacteries: What is in God’s phylacteries?	Nahman bar Isaac to Hiyya bar Abin on theme of phylacteries.

XL: Importance of praying in synagogue.	Rules on praying. Rabin bar Ada/Isaac.

XLI: God is angry when he finds fewer than ten in a synagogue.	Continues the foregoing.

XLII: Set up a regular place in which to pray.	Rules on praying. Helbo, Huna.

XLIII: Reward for attending a immediately preceding item, on running to hear a discourse on law.	This continues the lesson, etc.

XLIV: Not praying behind a synagogue.	Rules on praying, Huna.

XLV: Attentive at afternoon prayer.	Helbo, Huna.

XLVI: Felicitate bridal couple.	Helbo, Huna. Same authority, new topic.

XLVII: Heaven hears words of one who fears heaven.	Rules on praying. Helbo, Huna.

XLVIII: One should greet his friend without waiting to be greeted.	Helbo, Huna. Same authority, new topic.

XLIX: God says prayers.	New topic, related to the theme of praying. Now we speak of God saying prayers. Yohanan/Yosé. Continues foregoing.

L: God’s prayer.	Continues foregoing.

LI: God’s anger.	Continues theme begun at XLIX.

LII: Importance of mercy.	Continues foregoing.

LIII: God’s anger.	Continues foregoing.

LIV: Person should reproach himself.	New theme, same authorities, Yohanan/ Yose.

LV: God gave Moses three things that he asked for.	New theme, same authorities, Yohanan/ Yose.

LVI: Expansion on one of the things Moses asked for, with reference to Ex. 33:20.	Continues foregoing theme.

LVII: Expansion on the theme of Moses’ requests.	Continues foregoing theme.

LVIII: God never retracted a conditional promise to do good for Israel.	New theme, same authorities, Yohanan/ Yose.

LIX: Abraham was the first to call God “Lord.”	New theme, same authority, now Yohanan/ Simeon b. Yohai.

LX: How do we know not to appease someone when he is angry?	New theme, same authority, now Yohanan/ Simeon b. Yohai.

LXI: Leah was the first to praise God.	Same theme as LIX, same authorities, Yohanan/Simeon b. Yohai.

LXII: Bringing up a child badly is worse than war of Gog and Magog.	New theme, same authorities, Yohanan/ Simeon b. Yohai.

LXIII: One may contend with the wicked in this world.	New theme, same authorities, Yohanan/ Simeon b. Yohai.

LXIV: Anyone who has a regular place for praying vanquishes his enemies.	New theme, same authorities, Yohanan/ Simeon b. Yohai.

LXV: Personal service to a sage more important than studying with him.	New theme, same authorities, Yohanan/ Simeon b. Yohai.

LXVI: Importance of saying prayers with the community, not by self.	New theme: rules for saying prayers with the community.

LXVII: One who does not say prayers with the community is a bad neighbor.	Rules for saying prayers with the community.

LXVIII: People live long who say prayers with the community.	As above.

LXIX: Praying at the right time.	Meaning of “the right time.” But this “right time” is now interpreted as having to do with something other than praying. It stands at the head of a series on what is more important than praying.

LXX: God loves study of law more than praying.	Continues established theme.

LXXI: Greater is one who works for his own living than one who fears heaven.	No clear relationship to foregoing. Saying of Hiyya bar Ami/Ulla.

LXXII: Person should live where his master does.	No clear relationship to foregoing. Saying of Hiyya bar Ami/Ulla.

LXXIII: One should not leave synagogue when Torah is being read.	New topic: importance of reading the Torah along with the community.

LXXIV: One should read the same Scripture at home that the community is reading in the synagogue.	Continues established topic. Ends with Joshua b. Levi’s advice to his children.

LXXV: Raba’s advice to his children.	I take it the connection is that Raba accords with a statement that Joshua b. Levi has made. But it is not the same that occurs at LXXIV.

LXXVI: Reasons for admiring Medes, Persians.	I see no connection to the foregoing.

If we now seek to group the foregoing, we find the following principles of conglomeration and organization:

1. Common theme, spelled out over a number of distinct units of discourse on aspects of the one theme: 21.

XIX-XX; XXI-XXXIII; LXVI-LXX; LXXIII

2. Common authorities behind a number of statements on discrete topics: 37.

Abba Benjamin: XXXIV-XXXVII; Abin bar Ada/Isaac: XXXVIII-XLI; Helbo-Huna, XLII-XLVIII; Yohanan/Yose, XLIX-LVIII; Yohanan/Simeon b. Yohai, LIX-LXV; Hiyya bar Ami/Ulla, LXX-LXXII; Joshua b. Levi, LXXIV-LXXV

3. No clear explanation: 2.

XXI; LXXVI

The upshot is that there were two principles for the redaction of large conglomerates of materials, [1] the one, thematic, the other, [2] the name of the authority and tradent (X says Y says). In this second principle, the tradent’s name will predominate, thus Yohanan/Yosé and Yohanan/Simeon b. Yohai materials are grouped, XLIX-LXIX, 21 units of discourse, to which we should attach Ulla’s set, added because Ulla’s name occurs in the foregoing composite.

Can we then rigidly differentiate thematic or topical compositions, e.g., rules on public prayer or on praying in synagogues, from tradental compositions, e.g., sayings in the name of a given tradent and authority? Yes and no. What all topical compositions have in common, of course, is focus on a given topic. But some tradental compositions are arranged around a single topic, and in most a given subject will predominate, even though tangentially or not-at-all related topics will enter. So while we may say that all topical compositions as a group differ from all tradental ones, we may not rigidly distinguish tradental compositions from topical ones. What we have to recognize as the distinctive trait of the tradental composition is the predominance of a given tradent’s name, which will explain the insertion of a thematically irrelevant (or, at best, neutral) item.

It follows that the Talmud of Babylonia is made up, so far as our protracted sample is concerned, of four types of material: Mishnah-exegesis, expansion of Mishnah-exegesis, topical compositions in some way relevant to the largest themes of the Mishnah-tractate, or the Mishnah-paragraph, at hand, and tradental compositions possibly relevant in the same way, possibly not. What proportion of the chapter is occupied by the materials before us? The entire chapter covers approximately 189,000 bytes; the miscellanies run approximately 86,000, thus approximately 45% of the entirety of the chapter.

ENDNOTES

1I present the texts discussed here for Bavli Berakhot in my The Bavli s Massive Miscellanies. The Problem of Agglutinative Discourse in the Talmud of Babylonia. Atlanta, 1992: Scholars Press for South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism.