Talmud - Bava Kamma 92b בבא קמא צ״ב ב׳

The verse states with regard to one diagnosed with leprosy: “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and he shall cry: Unclean, unclean” (Leviticus 13:45). Not only must the leper suffer from the leprosy itself; he must undergo further embarrassment by publicizing his condition. This is akin to the aphorism that poverty follows the poor.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby the Sages stated: Awaken early and eat, in the summer due to the heat and in the winter due to the cold. And similarly, people say: Sixty runners run and do not reach the man who ate in the morning. Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written: “They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them” (Isaiah 49:10), indicating that one who is not hungry or thirsty will not be affected by the weather.

Rava said to him: You said the proof from there, from a verse in the Prophets, and I say the proof from here, from a verse in the Torah. The verse states: “And you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you” (Exodus 23:25). Rava explicates: “And you shall serve the Lord your God”; this is referring to the recitation of Shema and prayer. “And He will bless your bread and your water”; this is referring to bread dipped in salt, and a flask of water drunk after the bread, in the mornings. From this point forward the remainder of the verse applies: “And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.”

And it is taught in a baraita: “Sickness”; this is referring to bile. And why is its name called sickness [maḥala]? It is called this since there are eighty-three sicknesses in bile. The letters spelling the word maḥala, i.e., mem, ḥet, lamed, heh, have that numerical value of eighty-three. And with regard to all of those sicknesses, eating bread dipped in salt in the morning and drinking a flask of water afterward negates them.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby the Sages stated: If your friend calls you a donkey, prepare a saddle for your back, i.e., do not contest his statement? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written in the conversation between the angel and Hagar: “And he said: Hagar, maidservant of Sarai, from where did you come and to where are you going? And she said: I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai” (Genesis 16:8). Though Hagar was no longer the maidservant of Sarai, since the angel referred to her as such, she responded in kind.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: If you are aware of a derogatory matter that is found in you, say it first before others say it about you? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written with regard to Eliezer: “And he said: I am Abraham’s servant” (Genesis 24:34), immediately proclaiming that he is a servant.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: The goose stoops its head as it goes along, but its eyes look afar to find food for itself? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written with regard to Abigail’s statement to David: “And when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant” (I Samuel 25:31). Although Abigail spoke with humility in her request that David spare her husband’s life, she made reference to deriving future benefit from David.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: Sixty discomforts come to the teeth [lekhakha] of one who hears the sound of another eating and does not eat? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written with regard to what Nathan the prophet said concerning the coronation banquet of Adonijah, to which he was not invited: “For he is gone down this day, and has slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons…But me, even me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not called” (I Kings 1:25–26).

Rava said to him: You said the proof from there, from a verse in the Prophets, and I say the proof from here, from a verse in the Torah. As it is written: “And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted for his mother” (Genesis 24:67). And it is written immediately afterward: “And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah” (Genesis 25:1). After seeing his son marry, Abraham was disquieted by the fact he was not married. This is akin to one who sees another eating and does not eat.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: While the wine belongs to its owner, the gratitude is given to the one who pours it? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written with regard to God commanding Moses to transfer his authority to Joshua: “And the Lord said unto Moses: Take you Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lay your hand upon him…that all the congregation of the children of Israel may hearken” (Numbers 27:18–20). And it is written: “And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses” (Deuteronomy 34:9). Although the spirit of God was not given to Joshua by Moses, as Moses was only a conduit, he was given credit for it.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: A dog, in its hunger, swallows even dung? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written: “The full soul loathes a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet” (Proverbs 27:7).

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: A bad palm tree strolls and goes to be among a grove of barren trees, i.e., bad people seek out other bad people? Rabba bar Mari said to him: This matter is written in the Torah, repeated in the Prophets, and triplicated in the Writings, and we learned it in a mishna, and we learned it in a baraita.

Rabba bar Mari explains each of the sources. It is written in the Torah, as it is written: “And so Esau went to Ishmael” (Genesis 28:9). It is repeated in the Prophets, as it is written: “And there were gathered vain fellows to Yiftah, and they went out with him” (Judges 11:3). And it is triplicated in the Writings, as it is written: All fowl will live with its kind, and men with those like him (Book of Ben Sira 13:17). We learned it in a mishna (Kelim 12:2): All that is attached to that which is ritually impure is ritually impure; all that is attached to that which is ritually pure is ritually pure. And we learned it in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: Not for naught did the starling go to the raven but because it is its kind, as it too is a non-kosher bird.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: If you called to your friend and he did not answer you, throw a large wall and cast it at him, i.e., do not attempt to help him anymore? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written: “Because I have purged you and you were not purged, you shall not be purged from your impurity anymore, until I have satisfied My fury upon you” (Ezekiel 24:13).

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: If there is a well that you drank from, do not throw a stone into it? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written: “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land” (Deuteronomy 23:8). Since you dwelled in their lands, you may not cause them harm.

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: If you lift the load with me I will lift it, and if you will not lift it with me I won’t lift it? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is as it is written with regard to Barak and Deborah concerning the war of Sisera: “And Barak said to her: If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go” (Judges 4:8).

Rava said to Rabba bar Mari: From where is this matter derived whereby people say: When we were small, we were considered to be men; now that we are old, we are considered to be children [ledardekei]? Rabba bar Mari said to him that the source is that initially, it is written with regard to the Jewish people traveling in the wilderness: “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light” (Exodus 13:21). God Himself guarded over the Jewish people. But at the end, after some time passed and it would be expected that the Jewish people were considered more important, it is written:

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

BavaKamma 92b explores the shame of the leper's public affliction and the Sages' teaching on eating early to guard against illness and hunger.