[58a - 56 lines; 58b - 57 lines]
*********************GIRSA SECTION*********************
We recommend using the textual changes suggested by the Bach and the marginal notes of the Vilna Shas. This section is devoted to any other important corrections that Acharonim have pointed out in the Gemara, Rashi and Tosfos.
[1] Gemara 58a [line 31]:
"Chalif Telisa'i, Ki Ka Shaskah" חליף תליתאי כי קא שתקא
(According to the Parisian manuscript, there were three times when a loud noise was heard, and not just the two mentioned in our text. This parallels the verses in Melachim I 19:11-12 cited in our Sugya.)
[2] Gemara 58a [line 36]:
"Ika d'Amrei Chavarohi Kachalinhu l'Einei" איכא דאמרי חברוהי כחלינהו לעיניה
The Girsa of the Aruch (Erech Batat) is:
"Amar Milsa v'Nafak Butisa d'Nura v'Nachbinhu l'Einei" אמר מלתא ונפק בוטיתא דנורא ונכבינהו לעיניה
This is also the Girsa of Dikdukei Sofrim #400 and Beis Nasan.
[3] Gemara 58a [line 45]:
"Nisa l'Shakarei Hachi" ניסא לשקרי הכי
The word "Hachi" is unnecessary and does not appear in Dikdukei Sofrim #6.
[4] Hagahos ha'Gra 58a #2:
"l'Vasar v'Dam" לבשר ודם
This is also the Girsa of Dikdukei Sofrim #70 and of all the early printings of the Gemara.
[5] Gemara 58b [line 50]:
"me'Hai Gisa d'Chisla v'Chazi Lei Chavrei" מהאי גיסא דכסלא וחזי ליה חבריה
The word "Chavrei" is found neither in Beis Nasan nor in the Parisian manuscript.
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1)[line 4]"ושמתיה למורש קפוד ואגמי מים""V'SAMTIHA L'MORASH KIPOD V'AGMEI MAYIM"- "I will also make it a possession for wild birds and [a desolate land covered with] pools of water" (Yeshayah 14:23) - The prophet describes HaSh-m's promise to destroy Bavel.
2)[line 6]"לעי השדה""… L'IY HA'SADEH"- "… as hills in the fields" (Michah 1:6) - The prophet describes the destruction of Shomron, comparing the heaps of rubble from the houses that will be demolished to an uneven field full of hillocks.
3)[line 7]הרואה אוכלוסי ישראלHA'RO'EH UCHLUSEI YISRAEL- This Berachah is mentioned here since we are dealing with Berachos that apply in unusual situations and are said only from time to time.
4)[line 8]חכם הרזיםCHACHAM HA'RAZIM- the wise One who knows all secrets
5a)[line 15]גזזGAZAZ- he sheared [wool]
b)[line 15]לבןLIBEN- he washed it
c)[line 15]נפץNAFATZ- he beat it (to separate individual strands)
d)[line 15]טוהTAVAH- he spun
e)[line 15]ארגARAG- he wove
6)[line 18]גלוסקאותGELUSKA'OS- delicate breads made from fine white flour
7)[line 20]"זכור כי תשגיא פעלו אשר שוררו אנשים""ZECHOR KI SASGI FA'ALO, ASHER SHORERU ANASHIM"- "Remember that you magnify His work, which men behold" (Iyov 36:24) - Elihu exhorts Iyov to remember all the great kindnesses of HaSh-m, and to praise Him for them. This corresponds to the conscientious guest who praises the host, saying that the host did everything for him. (MAHARSHA)
8)[line 21]"[ודוד בן איש אפרתי הזה מבית לחם יהודה ושמו ישי ולו שמנה בנים] והאיש בימי שאול זקן בא באנשים""[V'DAVID BEN ISH EFRASI HA'ZEH MI'BEIS LECHEM YEHUDAH, U'SHMO YISHAI, V'LO SHEMONAH BANIM,] VEHA'ISH BI'YEMEI SHA'UL ZAKEN BA BA'ANASAHIM" - "[And David was the son of a certain man from (the district of) Efras, from Beis Lechem in Yehudah, who had eight sons,] and the man in the days of Shaul was old, and he would come [at the head of many] men" (Shmuel I 17:12) (DAVID VISITS THE CAMP OF ISRAEL)
(a)Although David was currently serving as Shaul's minstrel, playing before him when he was needed and returning home to his father Yishai when he was not, he was not conscripted since he was the youngest of Yishai's eight sons. (Evidently, it was customary to conscript only the oldest sons from each family.)
(b)It came about that David's father, Yishai, sent David to take provisions to his brothers who were serving in Shaul's army, which was encamped opposite the Pelishti camp, and to inquire about their wellbeing.
(c)He arrived just in time to hear the Pelishti champion, Golyas (Goliath), challenging any man (as he had been doing for the past month) from the Jewish camp to single combat, stipulating that the side of whoever lost the dual would be subservient to the side of the winner. The verse relates how, besides wearing a copper shield on his legs and a neck-guard between his shoulders, the handle of Golyas' spear was as thick as a weaver's beam, while its blade weighed 600 iron Shekalim.
(d)David was perturbed at the insults hurled by Golyas at the ranks of the army of the HaSh-m's people. After making inquiries as to what reward the Jewish champion could expect should he win, David decided to take on the challenge.
(e)In reply to Shaul's attempt to dissuade him from actually fighting the Pelishti, he replied that it was not in vain that he had recently attacked a lion and a bear that had taken a lamb from the flock and had killed them both, which he now saw as a clear sign from Heaven that he would win here as well.
(f)Shaul dressed David in his clothes, and he placed a copper helmet on his head, and he dressed him in a suit of armor. David discarded it, preferring to attack the giant wearing his regular clothes and armed with no more than a sling and a few pebbles. He discarded the armor, he explained to Shaul, because he was simply not used to it and found it too cumbersome, although the real reason may have been because of the Ayin ha'Ra that Shaul gave him. Chazal explain that although Shaul was a head and shoulders taller than any other man in the country, his clothes fit David perfectly, since David was destined to become king in his place. When Shaul realized that, he gave David an Ayin ha'Ra, which David noticed. Presumably, this was the real reason why he felt safer not wearing Shaul's clothes and armor.
9)[line 28]חצבי לנהרא כגני לייא?CHATZAVEI L'NAHARA; KAGANEI LAYA?- literally, "Whole pitchers are brought to the river; where are broken pitchers taken?" That is, people who can see come to see the king; you are blind, so why are you coming to see the king?
10)[line 29]גונדאGUNDA- troop
11)[line 29]אוושאAVSHA- made noise
12)[line 33]"[ויאמר] צא ועמדת בהר לפני ה' והנה ה' עבר ורוח גדולה וחזק מפרק הרים ומשבר סלעים לפני ה' לא ברוח ה' ואחר הרוח רעש לא ברעש ה'. ואחר הרעש אש לא באש ה' ואחר האש קול דממה דקה""[VA'YOMER:] 'TZEI V'AMADTA VA'HAR LIFNEI HASH-M, V'HINEH HASH-M OVER.' V'RU'ACH GEDOLAH V'CHAZAK MEFAREK HARIM U'MESHABER SELA'IM LIFNEI HASH-M; LO VA'RU'ACH HASH-M. V'ACHAR HA'RU'ACH RA'ASH; LO VA'RA'ASH HASH-M. V'ACHAR HA'RA'ASH ESH; LO VA'ESH HASH-M. V'ACHAR HA'ESH KOL DEMAMAH DAKAH" - "[And He said,] 'Go and stand on the mountain before HaSh-m, and behold HaSh-m will pass.' And behold a great and powerful wind uprooting mountains and smashing rocks before HaSh-m; but HaSh-m was not in the wind. After that an earthquake passed; but HaSh-m was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was fire; but HaSh-m was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was a quiet, thin Sound" (Melachim I 19:11-12) (HASH-M IN THE SILENT THIN SOUND)
(a)Following Eliyahu's spectacular demonstration on Har ha'Karmel which culminated in the capture and execution of the 450 prophets of Ba'al, the evil wife of Achav, Izevel, threatened to kill him the very next day, and Eliyahu was forced to flee. Leaving his servant in Be'er Sheva, he entered Midbar Yehudah, where he requested to die. He had lived long (over a thousand years, according to those who say that he was Pinchas) and did not understand why he had to live longer than all his contemporaries. He was particularly frustrated by the widespread idolatry in Yisrael, and now had become a fugitive.
(b)He then lied down to sleep. He had barely fallen asleep when an angel touched him and woke him up, instructing him to eat. Beside his head, he found a cake and a jar of water, which he ate, and then fell asleep again. Awakening him a second time, the angel instructed him to eat again, since he had a long journey ahead of him, and there was no food in his destination. So he ate again, and the food that he ate miraculously took forty days and forty nights to digest (like Moshe Rabeinu on Har Sinai).
(c)Arriving in the cave in Midbar Sinai in which Moshe stood when the Shechinah passed, he stayed there overnight. When HaSh-m appeared to him and asked him what he was doing there, he explained that he was zealous for HaSh-m, in that the people had forsaken the covenant that He had made with them, demolished His Mizbe'ach and killed the true prophets. He was the only surviving Navi, he concluded, and now they were pursuing him to kill him.
(d)The approach of the Shechinah is described in this verse. The description apparently was intended to teach Eliyahu a lesson. While certain circumstances demand that one be zealous, as Eliyahu taught when he was known as Pinchas, now circumstances changed, and the call of the day was Tefilah and the defense of Klal Yisrael (rather than harsh, accusatory words). Hence, the verse says that "HaSh-m was not in the wind" or "in the earthquake" or "in the fire." Where, then, was He? He was "in the quiet, thin Sound."
13)[line 36]כחלינהו לעיניהKACHLINHU L'EINEI- gouged out his eyes (RASHI; see Girsa section #2)
14)[line 38]אכל ביה קורציACHAL BEI KURTZEI- he told Lashon ha'Ra about Rav Shila to the Roman Emperor. (See Rashi to Vayikra 19:16 for an explanation of this expression.)
15)[line 38]הרמנא דמלכאHARMENA D'MALKA- royal appointment
16)[line 39]פריסתקאPERISTEKA- messenger
17)[line 44]רחמי דינאRACHAMEI DINA- you are devoted to upholding law and order
18)[line 44]קולפאKULFA- a strap with an iron weight on the end
19)[line 50]"ויז נצחם על בגדי""V'YEZ NITZCHAM AL BEGADAI"- "and their blood was sprinkled on my garments" (Yeshayah 63:3) - HaSh-m describes the downfall and destruction of Rome in this chapter.
20)[line 50]"וידם השמש וירח עמד [עד יקם גוי אויביו הלא היא כתובה על ספר הישר ויעמד השמש בחצי השמים ולא אץ לבוא כיום תמים]""VA'YIDOM HA'SHEMESH V'YARE'ACH AMAD [AD YIKOM GOI OYVAV, HA'LO HI CHESUVAH AL SEFER HA'YASHAR, VA'YA'AMOD HA'SHEMESH BA'CHATZI HA'SHAMAYIM, V'LO ATZ LA'VO K'YOM TAMIM]" - "... the sun was silent and the moon stood still [until a nation took revenge from its enemies. This is written in Sefer ha'Yashar (i.e. Sefer Bereishis). And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky for a whole day, and it did not hasten to set" (Yehoshua 10:13) (THE DAY THE SUN STOOD STILL)
(a)Adoni-Tzedek, the Emorite king of Shalem (Yerushalayim), heard how Yehoshua captured Ai and its king, just as he had captured Yericho and its king, and that the men of Giv'on (who were all mighty warriors) had made a peace-treaty with Yisrael and joined forces with them, thereby weakening the resolve of the remaining Canaanites to fight against Yisrael. Gripped with fear, he sent a message to four other major kings in the region (every major city in Eretz Kena'an was ruled by a king) asking them to join forces with him and attack Giv'on.
(b)When the men of Giv'on suddenly found themselves under attack from this vast army, they sent an urgent message to Yehoshua to come to their aid. Yehoshua immediately mobilized the troops. After an assurance from HaSh-m that he would defeat Adoni-Tzedek and his army, Yehoshua's army marched all night from Gilgal and caught the enemy by surprise. Yehoshua defeated them, as HaSh-m had assured him, to the point that not one man remained.
(c)This was the famous battle in which Yehoshua ordered the sun to stand still until the victory was complete.
(d)The verse earlier relates how the enemy subsequently fled from before Bnei Yisrael, and how, in their flight, they reached the slopes of Beis Choron, where HaSh-m caused large stones to rain down upon them "from the heavens until they reached Azeikah, and they died; there were more that died through the hailstones than those that Yisrael killed by the sword." The verses go on to describe how the army of Yisrael chased and killed all those who were not killed by the stones, and how they captured and humiliated the five kings (who had hidden in a cave) before putting them to death and hanging their bodies until the evening.
21)[line 52]מלחמת סיסראMILCHEMES SISRA
(a)After the death of the Shofet Ehud ben Geira, Bnei Yisrael became lax in their observance of Torah and Mitzvos. In order to prompt them to do Teshuvah, HaSh-m caused King Yavin of Chatzor to attack and subjugate them. After twenty years of subjugation under the cruel general Sisra, Bnei Yisrael finally repented and cried out to HaSh-m to save them.
(b)Since they were now worthy of redemption, HaSh-m told Devorah the prophetess that if Bnei Yisrael wage war against Sisra, they will be successful. She and Barak ben Avino'am led Bnei Yisrael to victory, with the help of HaSh-m, who caused a flash flood in Nachal Kishon that wiped out much of Sisra's army and all of his 900 iron chariots. The account of this battle and the glorious Song of Devorah that it inspired are recorded in Shoftim 4-5.
22)[line 53]מלחמת גוג ומגוגMILCHEMES GOG U'MAGOG
(a)Magog is first mentioned among the sons of Yefes, son of Noach, in Bereishis 10:2. The prophet Yechezkel (chapters 38-39) describes a cataclysmic war lead by Gog of the land of Magog, where many nations combine forces to wage war against the land of Yisrael. The prophecy assures Gog that HaSh-m Himself will ruin the war effort and will destroy all of his multitudes. It is traditionally assumed that this war will take place at the end of days, preceding the revelation of HaSh-m as Master of His world.
(b)The suffering of all of the people involved in the war of Gog u'Magog will be unprecedented. The phrase "Milchemes Gog u'Magog" has become Chazal's archetype for unusual misery and affliction.
23)[line 54]"הנני אליך גוג נשיא ראש משך ותובל""HINENI ELECHA GOG, NESI ROSH MESHECH V'SUVAL"- "Behold, I am against you, Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tuval" (Yechezkel 38:3).
24)[line 55]ריש גרגיתאREISH GARGISA- well-digger
58b----------------------------------------58b
25)[line 2]מציבMATZIV- establish; renew
26)[line 4]"בֵּית גֵּאִים יִסַּח ה'""BEIS GE'IM YISACH HASH-M"- "HaSh-m shall uproot the house of the arrogant" (Mishlei 15:25).
27)[line 7]נגדNAGAD- he became weak (ARUCH)
28)[line 8]אתנחISNACH- he sighed
29)[line 13]אפייתאAFYASA- baked goods; alt. baked fish
30)[line 17]כפיןKEFEIN- hungry
31)[line 19]בתלאB'TALA- in a heap
32)[line 21]"בָּתִּים רַבִּים לְשַׁמָּה יִהְיוּ""BATIM RABIM L'SHAMAH YIH'YU"- "many houses will become desolate" (Yeshayah 5:9).
33)[line 34]בהדי דחזינךBAHADEI D'CHAZINACH- upon seeing you
34)[line 38]הבהקניםHA'BAHAKANIM- (O.F. lentillos) a person full of white spots
35)[line 39]הגיחורHA'GICHOR- (O.F. ros) a person with a very red complexion
36)[line 39]הלווקןHA'LAVKAN- an albino
37)[line 40]הקפחHA'KIPEI'ACH- (a) a person with such a large stomach that he looks much shorter than he really is; (b) a tall, hunchbacked person
38)[line 40]הננסHA'NANAS- (a) a midget; (b) a dwarf
39)[line 40]הדרניקוסHIDRANIKOS- (a) a person with warts; (b) a person whose mouth is crooked
40)[line 41]הקטעHA'KITEI'A- a person whose hands have been cut off
41)[line 41]פתויי הראשPESUYEI HA'ROSH- people whose hair is matted together
42)[line 41]המוכה שחיןMUKAH SHECHIN- (a) a person who is stricken with boils; (b) a person with Tzara'as
43)[line 46]כוכבא דשביטKOCHVA D'SHAVIT- (a) a shooting star (RASHI, ARUCH); (b) a comet (RAMBAM)
44)[line 47]כסלאKESILA- Orion
45)[line 48]זיויהZIVEI- its radiance
46)[line 48]מתחזיMISCHAZEI- it appears
47)[line 49]וילוןVILON- The lowest of the seven firmaments ("Reki'im"). The one above is called Raki'a. According to Rashi to Chagigah 12b, Vilon hides the light of the sun at night.
48)[line 51]מיבעיתMIV'IS- the person watching it is scared (because he thought that the event took place in Kesil, and not behind it)
49a)[line 51]עשASH- (a) either Aldeberan, which is a red star in the head of Taurus (the eye of the bull), or the Pleiades (the Seven Sisters) which is a large cluster of stars not far from Aldeberan (GEMARA, RASHI); (b) the Big Dipper (also known by some as the Great Bear (IBN EZRA to Amos Chapter 5, Iyov Chapters 9 and 38 - the Ibn Ezra also mentions that according to some it is the Pleiades)
b)[line 51]כימהKIMAH- (a) a cluster of more than 100 stars in Aries (RASHI); (b) Spica, a large star in the constellation of Akrav (Scorpio) (MAHARSHA); (c) the Pleiades (IBN EZRA)
c)[line 51]כסילKESIL- (a) In modern Hebrew, Orion (the Hunter). (Perhaps this is also the intent of our Gemara, although there is no clear evidence either way); (b) Spica (IBN EZRA)
50)[line 53]עוקצא דעקרבאUKTZA D'AKRABA- the tail/stinger of Akrav (acc. to Rashi, a part of the constellation Aries, the lamb. According to the Maharsha, the constellation Scorpio)
51)[line 53]נהר דינורNEHAR DINUR- the River of Fire
52)[line 54]טריקאTERIKA- sting
53)[line 54]"התקשר מעדנות כימה או מושכות כסיל תפתח""HA'SEKASHER MA'ADANOS KIMAH, O MOSHECHOS KSIL TEFATE'ACH"- "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?" (Iyov 38:31). (See above, entry #49.)
54a)[line 55]מכנפיMECHANFEI- they are gathered together
b)[line 56]מבדרןMEVADRAN- they are scattered
55)[line 56]זנב טלהZANAV TALEH- the tail of Aries