(53a:1)It was so bright that a woman would be able to sort wheat by the light of the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.
(53a:2)חסידים ואנשי מעשה כו': ת"ר יש מהן אומרים אשרי ילדותנו שלא ביישה את זקנותנו אלו חסידים ואנשי מעשה ויש מהן אומרים אשרי זקנותנו שכפרה את ילדותנו אלו בעלי תשובה אלו ואלו אומרים אשרי מי שלא חטא ומי שחטא ישוב וימחול לו
(53a:2)§ The mishna continues: The pious and the men of action would dance before the people who attended the celebration. The Sages taught in the Tosefta that some of them would say in their song praising God: Happy is our youth, as we did not sin then, that did not embarrass our old age. These are the pious and the men of action, who spent all their lives engaged in Torah and mitzvot. And some would say: Happy is our old age, that atoned for our youth when we sinned. These are the penitents. Both these and those say: Happy is he who did not sin; and he who sinned should repent and God will absolve him.
(53a:3)תניא אמרו עליו על הלל הזקן כשהיה שמח בשמחת בית השואבה אמר כן אם אני כאן הכל כאן ואם איני כאן מי כאן הוא היה אומר כן למקום שאני אוהב שם רגלי מוליכות אותי אם תבא אל ביתי אני אבא אל ביתך אם אתה לא תבא אל ביתי אני לא אבא אל ביתך שנאמר (שמות כ, כד) בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי אבא אליך וברכתיך
(53a:3)It is taught in the Tosefta: They said about Hillel the Elder that when he was rejoicing at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water he said this: If I am here, everyone is here; and if I am not here, who is here? In other words, one must consider himself as the one upon whom it is incumbent to fulfill obligations, and he must not rely on others to do so. He would also say this: To the place that I love, there my feet take me, and therefore, I come to the Temple. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: If you come to My house, I will come to your house; if you do not come to My house, I will not come to your house, as it is stated: “In every place that I cause My name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you” (Exodus 20:21).
(53a:4)אף הוא ראה גלגולת אחת שצפה על פני המים אמר לה על דאטפת אטפוך ומטיפיך יטופון אמר רבי יוחנן רגלוהי דבר איניש אינון ערבין ביה לאתר דמיתבעי תמן מובילין יתיה
(53a:4)The Gemara cites another statement of Hillel the Elder. Additionally, he saw one skull that was floating on the water and he said to it: Because you drowned others, they drowned you, and those that drowned you will be drowned. That is the way of the world; everyone is punished measure for measure. Apropos following one’s feet, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The feet of a person are responsible for him; to the place where he is in demand, there they lead him.
(53a:5)The Gemara relates with regard to these two Cushites who would stand before Solomon: “Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha” (I Kings 4:3), and they were scribes of Solomon. One day Solomon saw that the Angel of Death was sad. He said to him: Why are you sad? He said to him: They are asking me to take the lives of these two Cushites who are sitting here. Solomon handed them to the demons in his service, and sent them to the district of Luz, where the Angel of Death has no dominion. When they arrived at the district of Luz, they died.
(53a:6)למחר חזיא מלאך המות דהוה קבדח א"ל אמאי בדיחת א"ל באתר דבעו מינאי תמן שדרתינהו מיד פתח שלמה ואמר רגלוהי דבר איניש אינון ערבין ביה לאתר דמיתבעי תמן מובילין יתיה
(53a:6)The following day, Solomon saw that the Angel of Death was happy. He said to him: Why are you happy? He replied: In the place that they asked me to take them, there you sent them. The Angel of Death was instructed to take their lives in the district of Luz. Since they resided in Solomon’s palace and never went to Luz, he was unable to complete his mission. That saddened him. Ultimately, Solomon dispatched them to Luz, enabling the angel to accomplish his mission. That pleased him. Immediately, Solomon began to speak and said: The feet of a person are responsible for him; to the place where he is in demand, there they lead him.
(53a:7)תניא אמרו עליו על רבן שמעון בן גמליאל כשהיה שמח שמחת בית השואבה היה נוטל שמנה אבוקות של אור וזורק אחת ונוטל אחת ואין נוגעות זו בזו וכשהוא משתחוה נועץ שני גודליו בארץ ושוחה ונושק את הרצפה וזוקף ואין כל בריה יכולה לעשות כן וזו היא קידה
(53a:7)§ It is taught in a baraita: They said about Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel that when he would rejoice at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, he would take eight flaming torches and toss one and catch another, juggling them, and, though all were in the air at the same time, they would not touch each other. And when he would prostrate himself, he would insert his two thumbs into the ground, and bow, and kiss the floor of the courtyard and straighten, and there was not any other creature that could do that due to the extreme difficulty involved. And this was the form of bowing called kidda performed by the High Priest.
(53a:8)לוי אחוי קידה קמיה דרבי ואיטלע והא גרמא ליה והאמר רבי אלעזר לעולם אל יטיח אדם דברים כלפי מעלה שהרי אדם גדול הטיח דברים כלפי מעלה ואיטלע ומנו לוי הא והא גרמא ליה
(53a:8)The Gemara relates: Levi demonstrated a kidda before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and strained his thigh and came up lame. The Gemara asks: And is that what caused him to be lame? But didn’t Rabbi Elazar say: One should never speak impertinently toward God above; as a great person once spoke impertinently toward God above, and even though his prayers were answered, he was still punished and came up lame. And who was this great person? It was Levi. Apparently his condition was not caused by his bow. The Gemara answers: There is no contradiction. Both this and that caused him to come up lame; because he spoke impertinently toward God, he therefore was injured when exerting himself in demonstrating kidda.
(53a:9)Apropos the rejoicing of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, the Gemara recounts: Levi would walk before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi juggling with eight knives. Shmuel would juggle before King Shapur with eight glasses of wine without spilling. Abaye would juggle before Rabba with eight eggs. Some say he did so with four eggs. All these were cited.
(53a:10)תניא אמר ר' יהושע בן חנניה כשהיינו שמחים שמחת בית השואבה לא ראינו שינה בעינינו כיצד שעה ראשונה תמיד של שחר משם לתפלה משם לקרבן מוסף משם לתפלת המוספין משם לבית המדרש משם לאכילה ושתיה משם לתפלת המנחה משם לתמיד של בין הערבים מכאן ואילך לשמחת בית השואבה
(53a:10)It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said: When we would rejoice in the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, we did not see sleep in our eyes the entire Festival. How so? In the first hour of the day, the daily morning offering was sacrificed and everyone came to watch. From there they proceeded to engage in prayer in the synagogue; from there, to watch the sacrifice of the additional offerings; from there, to the synagogue to recite the additional prayer. From there they would proceed to the study hall to study Torah; from there to the eating and drinking in the sukka; from there to the afternoon prayer. From there they would proceed to the daily afternoon offering in the Temple. From this point forward, they proceeded to the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.
(53a:11)איני והאמר רבי יוחנן שבועה שלא אישן שלשה ימים מלקין אותו וישן לאלתר אלא הכי קאמר לא טעמנו טעם שינה דהוו מנמנמי אכתפא דהדדי:
(53a:11)The Gemara wonders: Is that so? But didn’t Rabbi Yoḥanan say: One who took an oath that I will not sleep three days, one flogs him immediately for taking an oath in vain, and he may sleep immediately because it is impossible to stay awake for three days uninterrupted. Rather, this is what Rabbi Yehoshua is saying: We did not experience the sense of actual sleep, because they would merely doze on each other’s shoulders. In any case, they were not actually awake for the entire week.
(53a:12)חמש עשרה מעלות: אמר ליה רב חסדא לההוא מדרבנן דהוי קמסדר אגדתא קמיה א"ל שמיע לך הני חמש עשרה מעלות כנגד מי אמרם דוד א"ל הכי אמר רבי יוחנן בשעה שכרה דוד שיתין קפא תהומא ובעי למשטפא עלמא אמר דוד חמש עשרה מעלות והורידן אי הכי חמש עשרה מעלות יורדות מיבעי ליה
(53a:12)§ The mishna continues: The musicians would stand on the fifteen stairs that descend from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, corresponding to the fifteen Songs of the Ascents in Psalms. Rav Ḥisda said to one of the Sages who was organizing aggada before him: Did you hear with regard to these fifteen Songs of Ascents in Psalms, corresponding to what did David say them? He said to him that this is what Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At the time that David dug the drainpipes in the foundation of the Temple, the waters of the depths rose and sought to inundate the world. Immediately, David recited the fifteen Songs of the Ascents and caused them to subside. Rav Ḥisda asked: If so, should they be called fifteen Songs of the Ascents? They should have been called Songs of the Descents.
(53a:13)אמר ליה הואיל ואדכרתן (מלתא) הכי אתמר בשעה שכרה דוד שיתין קפא תהומא ובעא למשטפא עלמא אמר דוד מי איכא דידע אי שרי למכתב שם
(53a:13)Rav Ḥisda continued and said to him: Since you reminded me of this matter, this is what was originally stated: At the time that David dug the drainpipes, the waters of the depths rose and sought to inundate the world. David said: Is there anyone who knows whether it is permitted to write the sacred name
(53b:1)אחספא ונשדיה בתהומא ומנח ליכא דקאמר ליה מידי אמר דוד כל דידע למימר ואינו אומר יחנק בגרונו נשא אחיתופל ק"ו בעצמו ומה לעשות שלום בין איש לאשתו אמרה תורה שמי שנכתב בקדושה ימחה על המים לעשות שלום לכל העולם כולו על אחת כמה וכמה אמר ליה שרי
(53b:1)on an earthenware shard? If it is permitted, we will write it and throw it into the depths, and they will subside. There was no one who said anything to him. David said: Anyone who knows what to say and does not say anything may he be strangled in his throat. Then Ahithophel raised an a fortiori argument on his own and said: And just as in order to make peace between a man and his wife in the case of sota, when the husband suspects his wife of having committed adultery, the Torah said: My Name that was written in sanctity will be erased on the water to establish peace for the whole world in its entirety, all the more so it is permitted. He said to David: It is permitted.
(53b:2)כתב שם אחספא ושדי לתהומא ונחית תהומא שיתסר אלפי גרמידי כי חזי דנחית טובא אמר כמה דמידלי טפי מירטב עלמא אמר חמש עשרה מעלות ואסקיה חמיסר אלפי גרמידי ואוקמיה באלפי גרמידי אמר עולא ש"מ סומכא דארעא אלפי גרמידי והא חזינן דכרינן פורתא ונפקי מיא אמר רב משרשיא ההוא מסולמא דפרת:
(53b:2)He wrote the sacred name on an earthenware shard and cast it into the depths, and the waters in the depths subsided sixteen thousand cubits. When he saw that they subsided excessively, he said: The higher the waters in the aquifers, the moister and more fertile the soil of the world. He recited the fifteen Songs of the Ascents and elevated them fifteen thousand cubits, and established them at a depth of one thousand cubits. Ulla said: Learn from here that the thickness of the earth above the waters of the depths is one thousand cubits. The Gemara asks: But don’t we see that when we dig a little, significantly less than one thousand cubits, water emerges? Rav Mesharshiyya said: That is from the ascent of the Euphrates River, which flows at a higher altitude than do other rivers. The water flows up through underground passages to reach the river. That is why water emerges when one digs in the hills of Babylonia.
(53b:3)ועמדו כהנים בשער העליון שיורד כו': בעי ר' ירמיה למעלה עשירית דנחית חמשה וקאי אעשרה או דלמא דנחית עשרה וקאי אחמשה תיקו
(53b:3)§ The mishna continues: And two priests stood with two trumpets at the Upper Gate that descends from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, and when those drawing the water reached the tenth stair they sounded the trumpets. Rabbi Yirmeya raised a dilemma: Does the phrase reached the tenth stair mean that he would descend five stairs and stand on the tenth from the bottom? Or perhaps it means that he would descend ten stairs and stand on the fifth from the bottom? The Gemara notes: The dilemma shall stand unresolved.
(53b:4)תנו רבנן ממשמע שנאמר (יחזקאל ח, טז) ופניהם קדמה איני יודע שאחוריהם אל היכל ה'
(53b:4)The mishna describes: When they reached the gate through which one exits to the east, they turned from facing east to facing west toward the Holy of Holies, and said: Our ancestors who were in this place during the First Temple period did not conduct themselves appropriately and stood “with their backs toward the Sanctuary of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east” (Ezekiel 8:16), and we, our eyes are to God. The Sages taught: By inference, from the fact that it is stated: “And their faces toward the east,” don’t I know that “their backs were toward the Sanctuary of the Lord”? The Sanctuary was to the west.
(53b:5)אלא מה תלמוד לומר אחוריהם אל היכל ה' מלמד שהיו פורעין עצמן ומתריזין כלפי מטה:
(53b:5)Rather, to what purpose does the verse state: “Their backs toward the Sanctuary of the Lord”? It is an allusion to the fact that in addition to turning their backs on the Sanctuary of the Lord, they performed an additional evil. It teaches that they would expose themselves and defecate downward, a euphemism for the direction of the Divine Presence.
(53b:6)אנו ליה וליה עינינו כו': איני והאמר רבי זירא כל האומר שמע שמע כאילו אמר מודים מודים אלא הכי אמרי המה משתחוים קדמה ואנו ליה (אנחנו מודים) ועינינו ליה מיחלות:
(53b:6)The mishna continues: In the Second Temple period they would say: We are to God, and to God are our eyes. The Gemara asks: Is that so? May one pray in that manner? Didn’t Rabbi Zeira say: One who repeats himself while reciting Shema and says: Listen, listen, is like one who says: We give thanks, we give thanks, and he is silenced, as it appears that he is worshipping two authorities. How then did they recite God’s name twice, consecutively? Rather, this is what they said: They bow toward the east, while we give thanks to God, and our eyes turn in hope to God, so that they would not recite God’s name consecutively.
(53b:7)מתני׳ אין פוחתין מעשרים ואחת תקיעות במקדש ואין מוסיפין על ארבעים ושמנה בכל יום היו שם עשרים ואחת תקיעות במקדש שלש לפתיחת שערים ותשע לתמיד של שחר ותשע לתמיד של בין הערבים ובמוספין היו מוסיפין עוד תשע
(53b:7)MISHNA: One sounds no fewer than twenty-one trumpet blasts in the Temple, and one sounds no more than forty-eight. The mishna elaborates: Each day there were twenty-one trumpet blasts in the Temple: Three blasts were sounded for the opening of the gates in the morning, nine for the daily morning offering, and nine for the daily afternoon offering, totaling twenty-one. And on a day when the additional offerings were sacrificed, e.g., the New Moon, with the additional offerings they would add nine additional blasts.
(53b:8)ובערב שבת היו מוסיפין שש שלש להבטיל את העם ממלאכה ושלש להבדיל בין קדש לחול
(53b:8)And on Shabbat eve they would add six blasts sounded adjacent to the onset of Shabbat: Three to stop the people from their labor, as the blasts inform the people that Shabbat is approaching and they stop working, and three at the onset of Shabbat to demarcate between sacred and profane.
(53b:9)ערב שבת שבתוך החג היו שם ארבעים ושמנה שלש לפתיחת שערים שלש לשער העליון ושלש לשער התחתון ושלש למילוי המים ושלש על גבי מזבח תשע לתמיד של שחר ותשע לתמיד של בין הערבים ותשע למוספין שלש להבטיל את העם מן המלאכה ושלש להבדיל בין קודש לחול:
(53b:9)On Shabbat eve during the festival of Sukkot, there were forty-eight blasts. How so? Three in the morning for the opening of the gates; three for the upper gate; and three for the lower gate; and three for the filling of the vessel with water, as described in the sequence of the ritual of drawing the water for the water libation (48b); and three when pouring the water libation upon the altar; nine for the daily morning offering; and nine for the daily afternoon offering; and nine for the additional offerings; three to stop the people from work; and three more to demarcate between sacred and profane, totaling forty-eight blasts.
(53b:10)גמ׳ מתניתין דלא כרבי יהודה דתניא ר"י אומר הפוחת לא יפחות משבע והמוסיף לא יוסיף על שש עשרה במאי קא מיפלגי ר"י סבר תקיעה תרועה תקיעה אחת היא ורבנן סברי תקיעה לחוד ותרועה לחוד
(53b:10)GEMARA: The Gemara notes: The mishna is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, as it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda says: The one who seeks to minimize the number of blasts shall not minimize their number to fewer than seven blasts. And one who seeks to add to the number of blasts shall not add beyond sixteen. The Gemara asks: With regard to what do they disagree? The Gemara explains that Rabbi Yehuda holds: A series of blasts consisting of tekia, terua, tekia is counted as one blast. And the Rabbis hold: A tekia is counted separately and a terua is counted separately. They agree with regard to the sequence and the number of the blasts, and disagree only with regard to how the blasts are tallied.
(53b:11)מ"ט דרבי יהודה אמר קרא (במדבר י, ה) ותקעתם תרועה וכתיב תרועה יתקעו הא כיצד תקיעה ותרועה אחת היא ורבנן ההוא לפשוטה לפניה ולאחריה הוא דאתא ור' יהודה לפניה ולאחריה מנליה נפקא ליה משנית
(53b:11)The Gemara asks: What is the rationale for the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda? It is as the verse states: “And you shall sound [utkatem] a terua” (Numbers 10:5), and it is written: “A terua they will sound [yitke’u]” (Numbers 10:6). How is it that the Torah uses a verb from the root of tekia to describe the sounding of a terua? Apparently, a tekia and a terua together compose one blast. And how do the Rabbis interpret these verses? This comes to teach that each terua blast is accompanied by a plain unembellished blast, a tekia, preceding it and following it. The Gemara asks: And from where does Rabbi Yehuda derive that each terua must be accompanied by a tekia preceding it and following it? The Gemara explains: He derives it from the verse when it says: “And you shall sound [utkatem] a terua a second time” (Numbers 10:6), indicating an additional tekia.
(53b:12)ורבנן מאי טעמייהו דכתיב (במדבר י, ז) ובהקהיל את הקהל תתקעו ולא תריעו ואי ס"ד תקיעה תרועה אחת היא אמר רחמנא פלגא דמצוה עביד ופלגא לא עביד ור' יהודה ההוא לסימנא בעלמא הוא דאתא
(53b:12)The Gemara asks: And what is the rationale for the opinion of the Rabbis? It is as it is written: “And when congregating the people you shall sound a tekia and shall not sound a terua” (Numbers 10:7). And if it enters your mind that a tekia and a terua are considered one blast, would the Merciful One say to perform half a mitzva and not to perform the other half of the mitzva? Apparently, each is a separate mitzva. The Gemara asks: And how does Rabbi Yehuda interpret the verse? The Gemara answers: That single tekia mentioned in the context of congregating the people came merely as a signal to the camps and was not for the purpose of fulfilling the mitzva, which, in Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion, always comes in groups of three.
(53b:13)ורבנן סימנא הוא ורחמנא שויה מצוה כמאן אזלא הא דאמר רב כהנא אין בין תקיעה לתרועה ולא כלום כמאן כרבי יהודה אי רבי יהודה פשיטא
(53b:13)And how do the Rabbis counter that assertion? They say: Indeed, it is a signal to assemble the people; however, the Merciful One rendered it a mitzva. Therefore, one can derive that a single tekia blast is a distinct mitzva. The Gemara asks: In accordance with whose opinion is this statement of Rav Kahana: There is no pause between a tekia and a terua at all and they are sounded in one continuous blast? In accordance with whose opinion is it? It is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda. The Gemara asks: If Rav Kahana’s statement is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda; that is obvious. Why was it necessary for the Gemara to raise the matter at all?
