[152a - 51 lines; 152b - 48 lines]
1)[line 7]בי אבידןBEI AVEIDAN- the meeting places of early Christians where religious disputations were held (lit. the place of their ruin)
2)[line 8]טור תלגTUR TELAG- (lit. the mountain is snowy) my hair is white
3)[line 8]סחרוני גלידיןSACHARUNI GELIDIN- (lit. the mountain is encircled with icicles) my mustache and beard have also turned white
4)[line 8]כלבוהי לא נבחיןKALBOHI LO NAVCHIN- (lit. my dogs do not bark) my voice is becoming inaudible
5)[line 9]טחנוהיTACHANOHI- (lit. my mills) my teeth
6)[line 9]אדלא אבידנא בחישנאAD'LO AVIDNA BACHISHNA- (lit. I am looking for something that I have not lost) I now walk stooped over and I move about as if I am looking for a lost item
7)[line 11]טבא תרי מתלתTAVA TEREI MI'TELAS- two are better than three (i.e. two legs and a cane)
8)[line 11]ווי לה לחדא דאזלא ולא אתיאVAI LAH L'CHADA D'AZLA V'LO ASYA- it is a pity that there is one thing that goes away and does not come back
9)[line 13]כלילא דוורדאKELILA D'VARDA- a crown of roses
10a)[line 14]סבותאSAVUSA- old age
b)[line 14]כלילא דחילפאKELILA D'CHILFA- a crown of thorns
11)[line 15]דוק בככי ותשכח בניגריDOK B'KACHEI V'SISHKACH B'NIGREI- (lit. use your teeth to chew and you will see the results in your footsteps) if you eat well you will have energy
12)[line 16]"[כי עשה נעשה את כל הדבר אשר יצא מפינו לקטר למלכת השמים והסיך לה נסכים כאשר עשינו אנחנו ואבותינו מלכינו ושרינו בערי יהודה ובחצות ירושלם] ונשבע לחם ונהיה טובים ורעה לא ראינו""[KI ASOH NA'ASEH ES KOL HA'DAVAR ASHER YATZA MI'PINU, L'KATER LI'MLECHES SHAMAYIM V'HASECH LAH NESACHIM, KA'ASHER ASINU ANACHNU VA'AVOSEINU, MELACHEINU V'SAREINU, B'AREI YEHUDAH UV'CHUTZOS YERUSHALAYIM;] VA'NISBA LECHEM VA'NIHEYEH TOVIM V'RA'AH LO RA'INU." - "[But we will do all that we said we would, to burn incense to the queen of the heavens and to pour out libations to her, just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officers, did in the cities of Yehudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim;] where we were sated with food, lived well, and saw no misfortune." (Yirmeyahu 44:17) (THE PEOPLE DEFY YIRMEYAHU)
(a)Yirmeyahu ha'Navi addressed the large contingent of men and women who had gathered to hear what he had to say.
(b)Following the murder of Gedalyah ben Achikam, many people moved to Egypt despite Yirmeyahu's stern warning against returning there, adding that they would not succeed there and they would be destroyed.
(c)It was not long before the people living in Egypt reverted to the evil ways that had brought about the destruction of Yerushalayim, and now Yirmeyahu confronted them, warning them that unless they mended their ways, they would suffer the same fate as Yerushalayim. Unless they stopped worshipping the hosts of the heaven, they would all fall by the sword and suffer pangs of hunger. He further warned them that their dreams of returning to Yerushalayim would not materialize, and that in fact only two refugees would return. Those two refugees, the Midrash explains, were Yirmeyahu himself and his disciple Baruch ben Neriyah, whom Nevuchdnetzar sent there after conquering Egypt.
(d)The above verse (preceded by a statement that what Yirmeyahu had just spoken in the name of HaSh-m did not interest them) was the people's brazen response to Yirmeyahu's warning. In fact, they argued, to the contrary - all of their suffering had come upon them when they stopped sacrificing to the queen of the heavens. That was why they had now reverted to their former ways. Moreover, the women said defiantly, it was with their husbands' consent that they indulged in their idolatrous practices, and Yirmeyahu's attempt at getting those same husbands to rebuke them and to put a stop to their idolatry was futile.
(e)Yirmeyahu replied by reiterating what he had said earlier, stressing that the troubles in Eretz Yisrael culminating in the Galus were the result of their sacrificing to false gods and of their refusal to obey HaSh-m's Mitzvos. He warned them that Nevuchadnetzar, the king of Bavel, was about to defeat Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, just as he had defeated Tzidkiyahu, the king of Yehudah, and that they, together with the Egyptians, would fall by the sword and suffer pangs of hunger, as he had told them earlier.
13)[line 17]שיננאSHINENA- well-learned person
14)[line 17]שרי שקיךSHARI SAKICH- open your mouth
15)[line 19]גוזאהGAVZA'AH- eunuch
16)[line 20]מהכא לקרחינא כמה הויME'HACHAH L'KARCHINA KAMAH HEVEI- (a) What is the distance from here to the baldy? (RASHI); (b) What standing and significance do you have as compared to me, you bald person? (MAHARSHA)
17)[line 21]ברחא קרחא בארבעהBARCHA KARCHA B'ARBA'AH- (a) a bald goat (or ram) sells for [the low price of] four Zuz! (goats are bald when compared to wooly sheep) (RASHI); (b) you are worth only as much as a bald goat (MAHARSHA)
18)[line 22]עיקרא שליפא בתמניאIKARA SHELIFA B'TEMANYA- (a) a castrated sheep sells for eight Zuz! (RASHI); (b) (sarcastically) you are surely of higher standing than I, since a castrated sheep is tastier than a goat (MAHARSHA)
19)[line 23]לא סיים מסאניהLO SAYIM MESA'ANEI- that he was not wearing shoes. It may have been Yom Kippur or Tish'ah b'Av, when wearing shoes is prohibited. The Tzeduki was lax in his observance of Mitzvos, and made fun of Rebbi Yehoshua ben Korchah for his meticulous observance. (MAHARSHA)
20)[line 25]הא דחפיר וקביר טב מיניהHA D'CHAFIR V'KAVIR TAV MINEI- a dead man is better than him
21)[line 29]קרחא מצויינאKARCHA METZUYANA- (a) Hey baldy, do you want to start a fight? (RASHI); (b) You have a Mum (defect), in that you are balding in an abnormal way, which is one of the Mumim that the Chachamim list in Bechoros 43a (MAHARSHA)
22)[line 29]עיקרא שליפא תוכחהIKARA SHELIFA TOCHACHAH- (a) You eunuch, you started the argument by calling me names (RASHI); (b) The rebuke that I am giving you should not be confused with a fight (RABEINU CHANANEL); (c) Being castrated is a greater Mum, which is even listed in the Torah (Vayikra 21:20). Baldness, however, is not a Mum with regard to very old people. (MAHARSHA)
23)[line 33]קורקבןKURKEVAN- usually the gizzard (the second stomach of a bird). In this context it appears to refer to the stomach and the intestines.
24)[line 35]שוחהSHUCHAH- (a) as if they were mere talk (Sichah), and not song or music; (b) as if they were coming from a pit (Shichah)
25)[line 35]דעותןDEI'OSAN- their reason and understanding
26)[line 35]מתרפטותMISRAPTOS- crack
27)[line 37]"בן שמנים שנה אנכי היום; האדע בין טוב ורע? ...""'BEN SHEMONIM SHANAH ANOCHI HAYOM; HA'EIDA BEIN TOV L'RA? [IM YIT'AM AVDECHA ES ASHER OCHAL V'ES ASHER ESHTEH? IM ESHMA B'KOL SHARIM V'SHAROS? V'LAMAH YIHEYEH AVDECHA OD L'MASA EL ADONI HA'MELECH?']" - "'I am eighty years old today! Can I distinguish good from bad? [Is your servant able to taste what I eat or drink? Can I still hear the sound of male or female singers? Why then should your servant continue to be a burden on my master, the king?']" (Shmuel II 19:36) (BARZILAI HA'GIL'ADI)
(a)Following David's defeat of Avshalom, Barzilai ha'Gil'adi - who had aged prematurely due to his lecherous behavior, came to meet the king at the Jordan River when the king was returning to Yerushalayim to take back his throne.
(b)Barzilai, who had been extremely wealthy, had sustained David during his short stay in Machanayim. Out of gratitude, David now offered to sustain the old man in Yerushalayim. Barzilai declined the offer since, as the verse clearly states, due to his advanced age the pleasures of the royal court meant nothing to him. Besides, even if the king intended to appoint him as one his advisors, he was unable to act in that capacity.
(c)Accordingly, his request to return to live out his final years in his home town was granted.
28)[line 38]שקראSHAKARA- a liar
29)[line 38]והות טעמא קידראV'HAVAS TA'AMA KIDRA- and she would taste the food in the pot
30)[line 39]שטוף בזמהSHATUF B'ZIMAH- steeped in immorality
31)[line 43]קליבוסתKALIBOSES- the hip bone
32)[line 44]נגיד ואתנחNAGID V'ASNACH- he became faint and sighed
33)[line 45]ופיהPIHA- (lit. her mouth) a euphemism for the vaginal opening (MAHARSHA)
34)[line 46]מדורMADOR- (lit. a dwelling place) a level of Olam ha'Ba based upon his merits
35)[line 49]רימהRIMAH- the worm in a grave
152b----------------------------------------152b
36)[line 1]הוה דברHAVAH DAVAR- he would lead
37)[line 5]עד שיסתם הגוללAD SHE'YISASEM HA'GOLEL- (a) until the top of the coffin is closed (RASHI); (b) until the tombstone is erected (TOSFOS)
38)[line 8]עד שיתעכל הבשרAD SHE'YIS'AKEL HA'BASAR- until the flesh decomposes
39)[line 13]תנה לוTENAH LO- give her (the soul) [back] to Him
40)[line 18]מגוהציןMEGUHATZIN- ironed
41)[line 25]"והיתה נפש אדוני ...""V'HAYESAH NEFESH ADONI ..." - "[A man (Naval) has risen up to pursue you and to seek your life.] May the soul of my lord (King David) be bound in the bond of life with HaSh-m your G-d, and may He hurl the soul of your enemies [as one hurls a stone] out of a slingshot." (Shmuel I 25:29) (AVIGAYIL PREVENTS DAVID HA'MELECH FROM SINNING)
(a)Shmuel ha'Navi had just died, and David, a fugitive from Shaul, found himself and his band of 600 men not far from Carmel, where an extremely rich man by the name of Naval ha'Carmeli lived. Naval, who was a descendant of Kalev ben Yefunah, and who was related to David, was a man of evil deeds, a base man (as his name suggests and as the story will illustrate), and was difficult to get along with. When David heard that Naval was about to sheer his sheep, an occasion that was generally accompanied by extensive festivities, he sent some of his men to Naval with greetings and with a request for badly needed provisions. Naval, who seems to have known that David had already been crowned king, bluntly refused, insulting David's emissaries in the process and referring to David as a slave who rebelled against his master - even though David had helped him out with a favor on an earlier occasion.
(b)David considered this an act of treason and prepared to attack him with 400 men, while 200 men remained to guard the camp. Meanwhile, a servant informed Avigayil, Naval's wise and beautiful wife (who was also one of the seven prophetesses), all that had transpired. He stressed how good David and his men had been to Naval and his workers when, for a short while, they had worked together in the field, and how Naval had repaid bad for good. Finally, he warned her of the impending danger.
(c)Without delay, Avigayil took 200 loaves of bread, two large casks of wine, five prepared sheep, five Se'ah of parched ears of corn, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of dried figs, which she loaded onto donkeys. Without telling her husband, she issued orders to her servants to take the gift to David, and she would follow.
(d)Upon meeting David, she succeeded in convincing him to cancel the attack. She blessed David, and even managed, before leaving, to put in a personal request that David should not forget her (a hint that, after the death of her husband, which she foresaw, he should marry her, which he later did).
(e)The following morning, after Naval had become sober from the previous night's festivities, Avigayil informed him of all the above events. The news shocked him, and his heart froze (either out of fear, because he thought that David was about to attack him, or out of his miserliness, on account of the losses that he had just sustained in the form of the gift that his wife had given David).
(f)In any event, HaSh-m struck him down, and after ten days he died. The commentaries ascribe the ten days to the seven days of mourning for Shmuel, who had just died, plus three days of suffering from the plague. Furthermore, Chazal attribute them to the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, then ten days between Rosh Hashanah, when the illness struck, and Yom Kippur, during which time he had the opportunity to do Teshuvah for what he had done, but did not do Teshuvah. A third opinion attributes the ten days of grace to the ten gulps of wine that Naval offered David's emissaries.
42)[line 29]יקלענהYEKAL'ENAH- shall be shot [out of a slingshot]
43)[line 29]כף הקלעKAF HA'KELA- slingshot
44)[line 31]זוממות והולכותZOMEMOS V'HOLCHOS- will be imprisoned
45)[line 33]איכא שכיבנאIKA SHECHIVNA- If I would have died [before you asked this question, you would never know this important teaching. It is good that you asked me now.]
46)[line 34]דומהDUMAH- the Angel appointed over the spirits
47)[line 36]קפולאיKEFULA'EI- ditch-diggers
48)[line 36]נחר בןNACHAR BO- snorted at him
49)[line 39]מני מרי? דלא ידענא ליהMANI MARI? D'LO YADANA LEI- who is Mari? I have never heard of him (and I do not have to abide by his teachings - RASHI)
50)[line 40]"... רקב עצמות קנאה.""… U'REKAV ATZAMOS KIN'AH."- "[A sound heart is the life of the flesh;] but envy is the rottenness of the bones." (Mishlei 14:30) - Rebbi Achai bar Yoshiyah learned from this verse that only envy causes the bones to rot.
51)[line 42]גששיהGESHASHEI- he (Rav Nachman) felt him (Rav Achai)
52)[line 42]מששאMESHASHA- substance
53)[line 46]אובא טמיאUVA TAMYA- a Ba'alas Ov, a woman who practices the witchcraft of Ov
54)[line 46]"וידעתם כי אני ה' בפתחי את קברותיכם ...""VI'YDATEM KI ANI HASH-M, B'FISCHI ES KIVROSEICHEM ..."- "And you will know that I am HaSh-m, when I open your graves [and raise you up from your graves, My people.]" (Yechezkel 37:13)
55)[line 47]נגידאNEGIDA- the Aramaic name for the witchcraft of Ov