MISHNAH: m.Meg.3.2A Synagogue may not be sold save with the stipulation that it may be bought back [by the sellers] whenever they desire. So R. Meir [T4]. The Sages, however, say that it may be sold in perpetuity, save for four purposes-for a bath, for a tannery, for a ritual bath, or for a laundry. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] says: it may be sold for [turning into] a courtyard, and the purchaser may do what he likes with it.
GEMARA: On R. Meir`s [T4] ruling, how do people live in it? [The rent they pay] would be interest! R. Johanan [PA2] replied: R. Meir [T4] gave this ruling on the basis of the view of R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y], who said that interest which is only contingent is permitted, as it has been taught: `If a man lent another a maneh and the latter made a [conditional] sale to him of his field, if the vendor takes the produce, this is permitted, but if the purchaser takes the produce, it is forbidden. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] said that even if the purchaser takes the produce it is permitted. Said R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] further: It happened once that Boethus b. Zunin [T2] made a sale of his field with the permission of R. Eleazar b. Azariah [T2], and the purchaser took the produce. They said to him: Do you cite that as a proof? It was in fact the vendor who took the produce and not the purchaser`. On what point of principle did they differ? On the question of contingent interest; one authority [R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y]] held that contingent interest is permitted, and the other held that it is forbidden. Raba [BA4] said: All authorities agree that contingent interest is forbidden, and the point at issue is the taking of interest on condition of returning it. One authority [R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y]] held that to take interest on condition of returning it [when the principal is returned] is permitted, while the other held that it is forbidden. The Sages say he may sell it in perpetuity etc. Rab Judah [BA2] said in the name of Samuel [BA1]: It is permitted to a man to make water within four cubits of where prayers have been said. Said R. Joseph [BA3]: What has he told us? We have already learnt it: R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] says: it may be sold for use as a courtyard, and the purchaser may do what he likes in it; And even the Rabbis did not forbid save in the synagogue itself, since its sanctity is permanent, but for the four adjoining cubits, the sanctity of which is not permanent, they did not make such a rule. A Tanna recited in the presence of R. Nahman: One who has just said prayers may go a distance of four cubits and make water, and one who has made water may go a distance of four cubits and pray. He said to him: I grant you that one who has made water may go four cubits and pray; this we have learnt: `How far should he remove from it and from excrement? Four cubits`. But why should one who has prayed remove four cubits before making water? If that is the rule, you have sanctified all the streets of Nehardea! Say, `should wait` [the time it takes to go four cubits]. [Is that so?] I grant you that one who has made water should wait till he can go four cubits, on account of drippings [on his clothes]. But why should one who has just prayed wait long enough to go four cubits? R. Ashi [BA6] replied: Because for the time it takes to go four cubits his mouth is still full of his prayer and his lips are still muttering it. (Mnemonic z`l`p`n`). R. Zaccai was asked by his disciples: In virtue of what have you reached such a good old age? He replied: Never in my life have I made water within four cubits of a place where prayers have been said, nor have I given an opprobrious epithet to my fellow, nor have I omitted [to perform] the sanctification of the [Sabbath] day. I had a grandmother who once sold her headdress so as to bring me [wine for] the sanctification of the day. It was taught: When she died she left him three hundred barrels of wine, and when he died he left his sons three thousand barrels.
R. Huna [BA2 or PA4] once came before Rab [BA1] girded with a string. He said to him, What is the meaning of this? He replied: I had no [wine for] sanctification, and I pledged my girdle so as to get some. He said: May it be the will of heaven that you be [one day] smothered in robes of silk. On the day when Rabbah [BA3] his son was married, R. Huna [BA2 or PA4], who was a short man, was lying on a bed and his daughters and daughters-in-law stripped [clothes] from themselves and threw them on him until he was smothered in silks. When Rab [BA1] heard he was chagrined and said, Why when I blessed you did you not say, The same to you, Sir? R. Eleazar b. Shammua [T4] was asked by his disciples: In virtue of what have you reached such a good old age? He replied: Never in my life have I made a short cut through a synagogue, nor have I stepped upon the heads of the holy people, nor have I lifted my hands [to say the priestly blessing] without reciting a blessing.
R. Peridah was asked by his disciples: In virtue of what have you reached such a good old age? He replied: Never in my life have I allowed anyone to be before me at the house of study b.Meg.28a , nor have I said grace before a kohen, nor have I eaten of a beast from which the priestly dues have not been given, as R. Isaac [T5 or PA3] said in the name of R. Johanan [PA2]: It is forbidden to eat from an animal from which the priestly dues have not been given; and R. Isaac [T5 or PA3] further said: To eat from an animal from which the priestly dues have not been given is like eating tebel. The law, however, is not as stated by him. `Nor did I say grace before a kohen`. This implies that this is a meritorious action. But has not R. Johanan [PA2] said: `If a talmid hakam allows even a high priest who is all ignoramus to say grace before him, that talmid hakam commits a mortal offence, as it says, All that hate me [mesanne`ai] love death; read not mesanne`ai [that hate me], but masni`ai [that make me hated]`? When R. Johanan [PA2] made this remark, he was thinking of equals. R. Nehunia b. ha-Kaneh was asked by his disciples: In virtue of what have you reached such a good old age? He replied: Never in my life have I sought respect through the degradation of my fellow, nor has the curse of my fellow gone up with me upon my bed, and I have been generous with my money. `I have not sought respect through the degradation of my fellow`, as illustrated by R. Huna [BA2 or PA4] who once was carrying a spade on his shoulder when R. Hana b. Hanilai wanted to take it from him, but he said to him, If you are accustomed to carry in your own town, take it, but if not, I do not want to be paid respect through your degradation. `Nor did the curse of my fellow go up on my bed with me`. This is illustrated by Mar Zutra [BA6], who, when he climbed into his bed said, I forgive all who have vexed me. `I have been generous with my money`, as a Master has said, `Job was generous with his money; he used to leave with the shopkeeper a perutah of his change`. R. Akiba [T3] asked R. Nehunia the great: In virtue of what have you reached such a good old age? His attendants came and beat him, so he went and sat on the top of a date tree, and said to him: Rabbi, seeing that it says `a lamb`, why does it also say `one`? Thereupon he [R. Nehunia] said, He is a rabbinical student, leave him alone. He then answered his question, saying, `One` means `unique in its flock`. Then he said to him: Never in my life have I accepted presents, nor have I insisted on retribution [when wronged], and I have been generous with my money. `I have not accepted presents`, as illustrated by R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3], who, when presents were sent to him from the Prince would not accept them and when he was invited there would not go. He said to them: Do you not want me to live, since it says, He that hateth gifts shall live? R. Zera [PA3], when presents were sent to him from the Prince, would not accept them, but when he was invited there he used to go, saying, They derive honour from my presence. `Nor did I insist on retribution`, as Raba [BA4] said: `He who waives his right to retribution is forgiven all his sins, as it says, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by transgression. Whose iniquity is forgiven? The iniquity of him who passes by transgression. Rabbi [T5] asked R. Joshua b. Korha [T4]: In virtue of what have you reached such a good old age? He said to him: Do you begrudge me my life? Said Rabbi [T5] to him: This is [a point of] Torah, and it is important for me to learn. He replied: Never in my life have I gazed at the countenance of a wicked man; for so R. Johanan [PA2] said: It is forbidden to a man to gaze at the form of the countenance of a wicked man, as it says, Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee nor see thee. R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] said: His eyes become dim, as it says, And it came to pass that when Isaac was old that his eyes were dim, so that he could not see; because he used to gaze at the wicked Esau. But was that the cause? Has not R. Isaac [T5 or PA3] said: Let not the curse of an ordinary person ever seem of small account to thee, for Abimelech cursed Sarah, and it was fulfilled in her seed, as it says, Behold he is for thee a covering [kesuth] of the eyes. Read not `kesuth` but `kesiyath` [blinding]? Both caused the affliction. Raba [BA4] said. We learn it from here, It is not good to respect the person of the wicked. When he was about to depart life, Rabbi [T5] said to him, Bless me. He said to him: May it be heaven`s will that you attain to half my days. Not to their whole length [he exclaimed]? Shall those who succeed you, [he replied] pasture cattle?
Abbuha b. Ihi and Minyamin b. Ihi [both left sayings on this subject]. One said: May I be rewarded because I have never gazed at a Cuthean, and the other said, May I be rewarded because I have never gone into partnership with a Cuthean. R. Zera [PA3] was asked by his disciples: In virtue of what have you reached such a good old age? He replied: Never in my life have I been harsh with my household, nor have I stepped in front of one greater than myself, nor have I meditated on the Torah in filthy alleys, nor have I gone four cubits without Torah and Tefillin, nor have I slept in the beth ha-midrash, either a long or a short sleep, nor have I rejoiced in the downfall of my fellow, nor have I called my fellow by his nickname, (or, as some report, `family nickname`).
MISHNAH: m.Meg.3.3R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] said further: if a Synagogue has fallen into ruins, it is not right to deliver funeral orations therein nor to wind ropes nor to spread nets nor to lay out produce on the roof [to dry] nor to use it as a short cut, as it says, and I will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, [which implies that] their holiness remains even when they are desolate. If grass comes up in them, it should not be plucked, so as to excite compassion.
GEMARA: Our Rabbis taught: `Synagogues must not be treated disrespectfully. It is not right to eat or to drink in them b.Meg.28b , nor to dress up in them, nor to stroll about in them, nor to go into them in summer to escape the heat and in the rainy season to escape the rain, nor to deliver a private funeral address in them. But it is right to read [the Scriptures] in them and to repeat the Mishnah and to deliver public funeral addresses. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] said: When is this? When they are still in use; but when they are abandoned, grass is allowed to grow in them, and it should not be plucked, so as to excite compassion`. Who was speaking about grass? There is an omission, and the statement should read thus: `They should be swept and watered so that grass should not grow in them. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] said: When is this? When they are in use; but when they are abandoned, grass is allowed to grow in them; if grass does grow, it is not plucked, so that it may excite compassion
R. Assi [BA1 or PA3] said: The synagogues of Babylon have been built with a stipulation, and even so they must not be treated disrespectfully. What [for instance] is this? Doing calculations [for business purposes] in them. R. Assi [BA1 or PA3] said: A synagogue in which people make calculations is used for keeping a dead body in over night. You actually think it is used for keeping a dead body in? Is there no way otherwise? But [say] in the end a meth mizwah will be kept there over night. `Nor to dress up in it`. Raba [BA4] said: The Sages and their disciples are permitted since R. Joshua b. Levi [PA1] has said: What is the meaning of `Be Rabbanan`? The Rabbis` house. `Nor to go into them in summer to escape the heat and in the rainy season to escape the rain`. For instance, Rabina [BA6] and R. Ada b. Mattenah were once standing and asking questions of Raba [BA4] when a shower of rain came on. They went into the synagogue, saying, Why we have gone into the synagogue is not because of the rain, but because the discussion of a legal point requires clarity, like a clear day. R. Aha [PA4] the son of Raba [BA4] asked R. Ashi [BA6]: If a man has occasion to call another out of synagogue, what is he to do? He replied: If he is a rabbinical student, let him say some Halachah; if he is a Tanna, let him repeat a Mishnah; if he is a Kara, let him say a verse of Scripture; if none of these, let him say to a child, `Repeat me the last verse you have learnt`; or else let him stay a little while and then get up. `To deliver public funeral addresses in them`. What is meant by a public funeral address? R. Hisda [BA3] gave as an example, For instance, a funeral address at which R. Shesheth [BA3] is present. R. Shesheth [BA3] mentioned as an example: For instance, a funeral address at which R. Hisda [BA3] is present. Rafram had a funeral address delivered for his daughter-in-law in the synagogue, saying, To pay honour to me and to the dead all the people will come.
R. Zera [PA3] delivered a funeral address for a certain rabbinicai student in the synagogue, saying, Whether to pay honour to me or to pay honour to the dead, all the public will come. Resh Lakish [PA2] delivered a funeral address for a certain rabbinical student who frequented the Land of Israel and who used to repeat halachoth before twenty-four rows [of disciples]. He said: Alas! The Land of Israel has lost a great man. [On the other hand] there was a certain man who used to repeat halachoth, Sifra and Sifre and Tosefta, and when he died they came and said to R. Nahman, Sir, will you deliver a funeral oration for him, and he said, How are we to deliver over him an address: Alas! A bag full of books has been lost! Observe now the difference between the rigorous scholars of the Land of Israel and the saints of Babylon. We have learnt in another place: `Whoever makes use of a crown, passeth away [from the world]` and Resh Lakish [PA2] commented: This applies to one who accepts service from one who can repeat halachoth, and `Ulla [BA3] said: A man may accept service from one who can repeat the four [orders of the Mishnah] but not from one who can [also] teach them. This is illustrated by the following story of Resh Lakish [PA2], he was once traveling along a road when he came to a pool of water, and a man came up and put him on his shoulders and began taking him across. He said to the man: Can you read the Scriptures? He answered, I can. Can you repeat the Mishnah? [He replied], I can repeat four orders of the Mishnah. Resh Lakish [PA2] thereupon said: You have hewn four rocks, and you carry Resh Lakish [PA2] on your shoulder? Throw the son of Lakisha into the water! He replied: I would sooner that your honour tell me something. If so, he replied, learn from me this dictum which was enunciated by R. Zera [PA3]: `The daughters of Israel imposed spontaneously upon themselves the restriction that if they saw [on their garments] a spot of blood no bigger than a mustard seed, they waited for seven days without issue [before taking a ritual bath].
It was taught in the Tanna debe Eliyyahu: `Whoever repeats halachoth may rest assured that he is destined for the future world, as it says, His goings [halikoth] are to eternity. Read not halikoth but halachoth`. Our Rabbis taught: b.Meg.29a The study of the Torah may be suspended for escorting a dead body to the burying place and a bride to the canopy. It was recorded of R. Judah b. Ila`i that he used to suspend the study of the Torah for escorting a dead body to the burying place and a bride to the canopy. When does this rule [regarding the dead] apply? When there are not present sufficient numbers [to pay him due honour]; but if sufficient numbers are available, [the study of the Torah] is not suspended. What numbers are sufficient?-R. Samuel b. Inia said in the name of Rab: Twelve thousand and [in addition] six thousand trumpets, or, as according to another version, twelve thousand men of whom six thousand have trumpets. Ulla [BA3] said: Enough to make a procession extending from the burying ground to the town gate. R. Shesheth [BA3] said: The withdrawal of the Torah should correspond to its delivery: as its delivery was in the presence of sixty myriads, so its withdrawal should be accompanied by sixty myriads. This applies to one who knew by heart Scripture and Mishnah; but for one who [also] taught the Mishnah there is no limit.
It has been taught: R. Simon b. Yohai said: Come and see how beloved are Israel in the sight of God, in that to every place to which they were exiled the Shechinah went with them. They were exiled to Egypt and the Shechinah was with them, as it says, Did I reveal myself unto the house of thy father when they were in Egypt. They were exiled to Babylon, and the Shechinah was with them, as it says, for your sake I was sent to Babylon. And when they will be redeemed in the future, the Shechinah will be with them, as it says, Then the Lord thy God will return [with] thy captivity. It does not say here we-heshib [and he shall bring back] but we-shab [and he shall return]. This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, will return with them from the places of exile. Where [is the Shechinah] in Babylon?-Abaye [BA4] said: In the synagogue of Huzal and in the synagogue of Shaf-weyathib in Nehardea. Do not, however, imagine that it is in both places, but it is sometimes in one and sometimes in the other. Said Abaye [BA4]: May I be rewarded because whenever I am within a parasang I go in and pray there.
The father of Samuel [BA1] and Levi were sitting in the synagogue which `moved and settled` in Nehardea. The Shechinah came and they heard a sound of tumult and rose and went out. R. Shesheth [BA3] was once sitting in the synagogue which `moved and settled` in Nehardea, when the Shechinah came. He did not go out, and the ministering angels came and threatened him. He turned to him and said: Sovereign of the Universe, if one is afflicted and one is not afflicted, who gives way to whom? God thereupon said to them: Leave him. Yet have I been to them as a little sanctuary. R. Isaac [T5 or PA3] said: This refers to the synagogue and houses of learning in Babylon. R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] says: This refers to the house of our teacher in Babylon.
Raba [BA4] gave the following exposition: What is the meaning of the verse, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling [ma`on] place? This refers to synagogues and houses of learning. Abaye [BA4] said: Formerly I used to study at home and pray in the synagogue, but when I noticed the words of David, O Lord, I love the habitation [me`on] of thy house, I began to study also in the synagogue.
It has been taught: R. Eleazar ha-Kappar [T5] says: The synagogues and houses of learning in Babylon will in time to come be planted in Eretz Israel, as it says, For as Tabor among the mountains and as Carmel by the sea came. Now can we not draw an inference here a fortiori: Seeing that Carmel and Tabor which came only on a single occasion to learn the Torah are implanted in Eretz Israel, how much more must this be the case with the synagogues and houses of learning where the Torah is read and expounded!
Bar Kappara [T6] gave the following exposition: What is the meaning of the verse, Why look ye askance [terazedun], ye mountains of peaks. A bath kol went forth and said to them: Why do ye desire litigation [tirzu din] with Sinai? Ye are all full of blemishes as compared with Sinai. It is written here gabnunim [with peaks], and it is written elsewhere or crookbacked [gibben] or a dwarf. R. Ashi [BA6] observed: You can learn from this that if a man is arrogant, this is a blemish in him. It should not be used as a short cut [kapandria]. What is kapandria? Raba [BA4] said: Kapandria is as its name implies. What does its name imply? As if one were to say, Instead of going round the block [`makifna adare], I will go through here. R. Abbahu [PA3] said: If a road passed through there originally, it is permitted. R. Nahman b. Isaac said: If one goes in without any intention of using it as a short cut, he may afterwards use it as a short cut. And R. Helbo said in the name of R. Huna [BA2 or PA4]: If one enters a synagogue to pray, he may afterwards use it as a short cut, as it says, But when, the people of the land shall come before the Lord at the appointed seasons, he that entereth by way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by way of the south gate. if grass has grown in it, it should not be plucked, so as to excite compassion. But it has been taught: `It should not be plucked and given as food [to cattle], but it may be plucked and left there`? The statement in our Mishnah also refers to plucking and giving for food. Our Rabbis taught: `Burying grounds must not be treated disrespectfully. Cattle should not be fed in them, nor should a watercourse be turned through them, nor should grass be plucked in them, and if it is plucked, it should be burnt on the spot, out of respect for the dead`. To what do these last words apply? Shall I say, to the last clause? If it is burnt on the spot, what respect does this show for the dead? It must be then to the preceding clauses.