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THE GOAT USED FOR HEALING

ת״ר מעשה בחסיד אחד שהיה גונח מלבו ושאלו לרופאים ואמרו אין לו תקנה עד שינק חלב רותח משחרית לשחרית והביאו לו עז וקשרו לו בכרעי המטה והיה יונק ממנה משחרית לשחרית לימים נכנסו חביריו לבקרו כיון שראו אותה העז קשורה בכרעי המטה חזרו לאחוריהם ואמרו לסטים מזויין בביתו של זה ואנו נכנסין אצלו ישבו ובדקו ולא מצאו בו אלא אותו עון של אותה העז ואף הוא בשעת מיתתו אמר יודע אני שאין בי עון אלא עון אותה העז שעברתי על דברי חברי׃

Translation: Our Rabbis taught in a Beraisa: There was a story of a certain pious person who groaned from the pain in his heart. They asked the doctors what to do, and the doctors said that he will have no remedy unless he suckles hot milk every morning. They brought him a goat, and tied it to the legs of the bed, and he would suckle from it every morning. As days passed, his friends came to visit him. When they saw that goat tied to the legs of the bed, they turned back, and said: There is an armed bandit in this man's house, (as goats tend to graze on other people's pastures, thereby stealing from the public) and we should go in to visit him? They sat down and looked into it, but they only found this one sin in him, about that goat. And at the time of his death, even he said: I know that there is no sin in me except the sin of that goat, when I transgressed the words of my friends.

(a)

What was so terrible about the sin of this Chasid that the Chachamim did not wish to visit him? Was he not doing it purely to heal himself?

Maharsha: It could be that he was not in mortal danger, so he should have refrained from doing that which the Chachamim had prohibited.

Ben Yehoyada: Despite not being in mortal danger, he permitted himself to do it since Chazal do not apply their decrees in cases of illness. However, the Chachamim viewed it as a sin since he was an important person and people might mistakenly learn to do this even without illness.

Meiri: Even though he was in mortal danger and almost all prohibitions are waived to save a person's life, if something was prohibited as a decree of Chazal because of concern for loss to others, one must be extremely strict with it, so he should not have used the goat.

(b)

What was the purpose of 'sitting down and looking into it' and how could they know if he had done other sins in private?

Kovetz Shiurim: It could be that they investigated him through Ruach Hakodesh. When visiting the sick, one must inspire and awaken them to Teshuva, to repent. To do so, they needed to know if he had any other sins for which to repent.

THE CHACHAMIM WENT TO A CELEBRATION

רב ושמואל ורב אסי איקלעו לבי שבוע הבן ואמרי לה לבי ישוע הבן

Translation: Rav, Shmuel and Rav Asi went to the house of a Shavua ha'Ben and some say the house of a Yeshua ha'Ben.

(a)

What is the meaning of Shavua ha'Ben and Yeshua ha'Ben?

Rashi: Shavua ha'Ben is a Bris Milah which takes place after a week (Shavua) has passed. A Yeshua ha'Ben is the banquet made for a Pidyon ha'Ben - a redemption of a firstborn, as Yeshua is translated as redemption.

Maharsha: Rashi explains that Shavua is the Milah itself, but he describes Yeshua as the banquet for a Pidyon ha'Ben. This implies that there is an obligation to make a Seudah only for a Pidyon ha'Ben, but not for a Bris Milah.

R' Tam: A Yeshua ha'Ben refers to a celebration for the birth of a boy, as the baby was saved (Yeshua) and escaped its mother's womb.

Mateh Moshe: The celebration (of Yeshua ha'Ben) mentioned by R' Tam is customarily done nowadays on the first Friday night after the baby is born. People come to the baby's home and taste something as a Seudas Mitzvah. (It must be a Seudas Mitzvah as Rav was a guest and he would only eat food from a Seudas Mitzvah - as stated in Chulin 95b.)

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