Talmud - Hullin 7a חולין ז׳ א׳

Rather, it must be that in not eradicating the serpent, his ancestors left Hezekiah room through which to achieve prominence [lehitgader]. I too can say that my ancestors left me room through which to achieve prominence by permitting untithed produce from Beit She’an.

The Gemara adds: From here one learns with regard to a Torah scholar who states a new matter of halakha that one does not move [meziḥin] him from his position; and some say: One does not disregard [mazniḥin] him; and some say: One does not attribute his innovative statement to his conceit [mazḥiḥin].

The Gemara explains: With regard to the one who says meziḥin, it is as that which is written: “And the breastplate shall not be loosed [yizaḥ] from the ephod” (Exodus 28:28). And with regard to the one who says: One does not disregard [mazniḥin], it is as it is written: “For the Lord will not abandon [yizaḥ] forever” (Lamentations 3:31). And with regard to the one who says mazḥiḥin, it is as we learned in a baraita (Tosefta, Sota 14:9): From the time that those with conceited [zeḥuḥei] hearts proliferated, dispute proliferated among the Jewish people.

Yehuda, son of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, objects to the basic halakha: And is there anyone who says that Beit She’an is not part of Eretz Yisrael? But isn’t it written: “And Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth She’an and its towns, nor of Taanach and its towns” (Judges 1:27).

The Gemara answers: That which Rabbi Shimon ben Elyakim says in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat, who says in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua, escaped the attention of Yehuda: Many cities were conquered by those who ascended from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael, led by Joshua, son of Nun, and were not conquered by those who ascended from Babylonia to Eretz Yisrael in the return to Zion led by Ezra. Among those cities was Beit She’an.

And Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi holds: The initial consecration with which Eretz Yisrael was sanctified during the era of Joshua, son of Nun, in terms of the obligation to fulfill land-based mitzvot, sanctified Eretz Yisrael for its time but did not sanctify it forever. Rather, the obligation lapsed with the exile to Babylonia. When those who ascended from Babylonia returned to Eretz Yisrael and sanctified the land, they left certain places unsanctified, so that the poor would rely upon them for sustenance during the Sabbatical Year, when produce is not plentiful. Since these areas were not sanctified, it is permitted to sow crops there during the Sabbatical Year, and the poor will not go hungry. Once Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi discovered that Beit She’an was one of those cities, he exempted it from land-based mitzvot.

Rabbi Yirmeya said to Rabbi Zeira: How did Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi rely on the testimony of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Zeruz to exempt from terumot and tithes produce that grows in Beit She’an? But wasn’t it merely a leaf that Rabbi Meir ate? It is permitted to eat untithed produce incidentally, not in the framework of a meal. Rabbi Zeira said to him: He ate the leaf from a bundle, and we learned in a mishna (Ma’asrot 1:5): With regard to a vegetable that is typically bound in a bundle, one is obligated to separate teruma and tithes from the moment that it is bound. From that point, one may not eat from it even incidentally before tithing.

Rabbi Yirmeya said to Rabbi Zeira: And perhaps it was not on Rabbi Meir’s mind, and his attention was diverted when he ate the leaf. Rabbi Zeira answered: Now, since even with regard to the animals of the righteous, the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not generate mishaps through them, is it not all the more so true that the righteous themselves would not experience mishaps?

Rabbi Yirmeya asked: And perhaps Rabbi Meir tithed those leaves from produce in another place. Rabbi Zeira answered: Ḥaverim are not suspected of separating teruma from produce that is not proximate to the produce for which it is being separated. Rabbi Yirmeya asked: And perhaps Rabbi Meir set his sight on this side of the vegetable with the intent of separating teruma and tithes, and ate a leaf on the other side. Rabbi Zeira said to him: See who the great man is who is testifying about Rabbi Meir. Certainly a man of the stature of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Zeruz accurately observed and reported Rabbi Meir’s actions.

§ The Gemara asks: What is the reference to animals of the righteous, about whom it is stated that God does not generate mishaps through them? It is based on the incident where Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir was going to engage in the redemption of captives, and he encountered the Ginai River.

He said to the river: Ginai, part your water for me and I will pass through you. The river said to him: You are going to perform the will of your Maker and I am going to perform the will of my Maker, to flow in my path. With regard to you, it is uncertain whether you will perform His will successfully, and it is uncertain whether you will not perform His will successfully. I will certainly perform His will successfully. Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir said to the river: If you do not part, I will decree upon you that water will never flow through you. The river parted for him.

There was a certain man who was carrying wheat for the preparation of matza for Passover. Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir said to the river: Part your waters for that person too, as he is engaged in the performance of a mitzva. The river parted for him. There was a certain Arab [taya’a] who was accompanying them. Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir said to the river: Part your waters for that person too, so that he will not say: Is that what one does to a person who accompanies him? The river parted for him.

Rav Yosef said: How great is this man, Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir, greater than Moses and the six hundred thousand who left Egypt, as there, at the Red Sea, the waters parted one time, and here the waters parted three times. The Gemara asks: And perhaps here too, the waters parted one time, and the river began to flow again only after all three of them passed. Rather, this man was as great as Moses and the six hundred thousand children of Israel.

After crossing the river, Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir happened to come to a certain inn [ushpiza]. His hosts cast barley before his donkey for him to eat. The donkey did not eat it.

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Chullin 7a explores King Hezekiah's legacy through Beit She'an's tithing status and the halakhic principle protecting scholars who introduce original rulings.