Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Nedarim

Folio 51a

Bar Kappara [once] said to Rabbi's daughter. 'Tomorrow I will drink wine to your father's dancing and your mother's singing.'²

Ben Eleasa, a very wealthy man, was Rabbi's son-in-law, and he was invited to the wedding of R. Simeon b. Rabbi. [At the wedding] Bar Kappara asked Rabbi, What is meant by to'ebah?³  Now, every explanation offered by Rabbi was refuted by him, so he said to him, 'Explain it yourself.' He replied. 'Let your housewife come and fill me a cup.' She came and did so, upon which he said to Rabbi, 'Arise, and dance for me, that I may tell it to you.' Thus saith the Divine Law, 'to'ebah': to'eh attah bah.⁴  At his second cup he asked him, 'What is meant by tebel?'⁵  He replied in the same manner as before, [until] he remarked, 'Do [something] for me, and I will tell you.' On his complying, he said 'tebel hu' means: Is there tablin [perfume] in it [the animal]? Is intimacy therewith sweeter than all other intimacies?⁶  Then he further questioned, 'And what is meant by zimmah?'⁷  'Do as before, [and I will tell you.'] When he did so, he said, 'zimmah' means zu mah hi'.⁸  Now, Ben Eleasa could not endure all this, so he and his wife left.

What is [known of] Ben Eleasa? — It was taught: Ben Eleasa did not disburse his money for nothing, but that he might achieve thereby the High Priest's style of hair-dressing, as it is written, They shall only poll their heads.⁹  It was taught: [That means] in the Lulian fashion.¹⁰  What was the Lulian style? — Rab Judah said: A unique style of hairdressing. How is that? — Raba said: The end [of one row of hair] reaching the roots of the other, and such was the hairdressing fashion of the High Priest.¹¹

AND REMUZIAN CUCUMBERS [DELA'ATH HA-REMUZAH]. What is DELA'ATH HA-REMUZAH? — Samuel said, Karkuz pumpkins.¹²  R. Ashi said, cucumbers baked in ashes. Rabina objected to R. Ashi: R. Nehemiah said: Syrian cucumbers, i.e., Egyptian cucumbers, are kil'ayim¹³  in respect of Greek and Remuzian [cucumbers!]¹⁴  This refutation is unanswerable.

MISHNAH. HE WHO VOWS [ABSTINENCE] FROM FOOD PREPARED IN A POT IS FORBIDDEN ONLY BOILED DISHES. BUT IF ONE SAYS, 'KONAM, IF I TASTE AUGHT THAT DESCENDS INTO A POT', HE IS FORBIDDEN EVERYTHING PREPARED IN A POT.¹⁵ 

GEMARA. It was taught: He who vows [abstinence] from what goes into a boiling pot, may not eat of what goes into a stew pot, because it has already entered the boiling pot before going into the stew pot; from what goes into a stew pot, he may eat of what goes into a boiling pot; from what is [wholly] prepared in a boiling pot, he may eat of what is prepared in a stew pot; from what is wholly prepared in a boiling pot, he may eat what is [partially] prepared in a stew pot. If he vows [abstinence] from what goes into an oven, only bread is forbidden him. But if he declares, 'Everything made in an oven be forbidden me,' he is forbidden everything that is made in an oven.

1. That it should retain the the wheat.
2. Jast. lit., 'croaking', connecting [H] with [H] the croaking of frogs. Asheri, Rosh and Tosaf: 'in the rounds', perhaps connecting it with [G] circus. (Goldschmidt). Rash: when she fills my clip.
3. Abomination. Lev. XX, 13, referring to unnatural vice.
4. Thou errest in respect of her, i.e., by forsaking the permitted and indulging in the forbidden.
5. Disgrace. Lev. XVIII, 23, referring to bestiality: E.V.: 'confusion'.
6. Lit., 'different from'. That thou leavest thine own kind for it.
7. Wickedness, Ibid. 17, referring to incest with a wife's daughter.
8. Who is she, i.e., through promiscuous intercourse the parentage is unknown, and thus a father might marry his daughter.
9. Ezek. XLI, 20.
10. Lulianus was a popular corruption of Julianus. V. Sanh. (Sonc. ed.) p. 128 n. 2.
11. Eleasa expended huge sums to have his hair so dressed. Presumably it was a costly process known only to a few experts.
12. That do not improve in cooking [H]. Obermeyer. op. cit. pp. 35f., identifies it with Circesium on the Euphrates. some 73 parasangs from Pumbeditha on the way to Palestine.
13. V. Glos.
14. And mayest be sown together with them, v. Deut. XXII, 9, which applies to all diverse species, cf Kil. I, 5. — This Baraitha proves that remuzah indicates the place of origin, not the manner of its preparation. Obermeyer a.l. regards [H] as a form of [H] the river Hirmas which rises by Nisibis.
15. This is repeated exactly in VI, 1. From Ran it would appear that it was absent in VI, 1, in his edition its correct place being here. Rashi, on the other hand, comments upon it in both places. It is possible that the words MISHNAH and GEMARA should be deleted, the whole being a quotation from the first Mishnah serving as a caption for the discussion in the Gemara (Marginal Gloss to Wilna ed.). — As to the difference between 'boiled dishes' and 'food prepared in a pot', the first term applies to dishes completely boiled therein, the second to food only partially prepared therein and finished elsewhere.

MISHNAH. [IF HE VOWS ABSTINENCE] FROM THE PRESERVE, HE IS FORBIDDEN ONLY PRESERVED VEGETABLES;¹  [IF HE SAYS, 'KONAM,] IF I TASTE PRESERVE', HE IS FORBIDDEN ALL PRESERVES. 'FROM THE SEETHED,' HE IS FORBIDDEN ONLY SEETHED MEAT; 'KONAM, IF I TASTE SEETHED HE IS FORBIDDEN EVERY THING SEETHED.

GEMARA. R. Aha the son of R. Awia asked R. Ashi: If one said, 'That which is preserved,' 'that which is roasted,' 'that which is salted', what do these terms imply?²  — This remains a problem.

MISHNAH. [IF ONE VOWS ABSTINENCE] 'FROM THE ROAST,' HE IS FORBIDDEN ONLY ROAST MEAT: THIS IS R. JUDAH'S OPINION. '[KONAM,] IF I TASTE ROAST', HE IS FORBIDDEN [TO PARTAKE] OF ALL FORMS OF ROAST. 'FROM THE SALTED, HE IS FORBIDDEN ONLY SALTED FISH; '[KONAM, IF I TASTED SALTED [FOOD].' HE IS FORBIDDEN [TO PARTAKE] OF EVERYTHING PRESERVED IN SALT. '[KONAM,] IF I TASTE FISH OR FISHES,'³  HE IS FORBIDDEN [TO EAT] THEM, BOTH LARGE AND SMALL, SALTED AND UNSALTED, RAW AND COOKED. YET HE MAY EAT HASHED TERITH,⁴  BRINE, AND FISH PICKLE.⁵  HE WHO VOWS [ABSTINENCE] FROM ZAHANAH.⁶  IS FORBIDDEN HASHED TERITH, BUT MAY PARTAKE OF BRINE AND FISH PICKLE. HE WHO VOWS [ABSTINENCE] FROM HASHED TERITH MAY NOT⁷  PARTAKE OF BRINE AND FISH PICKLE.

GEMARA. It was taught: R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: [If he vows] '[Konam. If I taste] fish [day],' he is forbidden large ones but permitted small ones '[Konam] if I taste dagah,'⁸  he is forbidden small ones, but permitted large ones. '[Konam,] if I taste dag [and] dagah,' he is forbidden both large and small ones. R. Papa said to Abaye: How do we know that '[Konam, If I taste] dag' implies large ones only? because it is written, Now the Lord had prepared a great fish dag] to swallow up Jonah?⁹  But is it not written, Then Jonah prayed onto the Lord his God out of the fish's [dagah] belly?¹⁰  — This is no difficulty: perhaps he was vomited forth by the large fish and swallowed again by a smaller one. But [what of the verse] And the fish [dagah] that was in the river died?¹¹  did only the small fish die, not the Iarge? — Hence dagah implies both large and small, but in vows human speech is followed.¹²

HE WHO VOWS [ABSTINENCE] FROM ZAHANAH. etc. Rabina asked R. Ashi: What if one says. 'Zihin be forbidden me'?¹³  The problem remains.

MISHNAH. HE WHO VOWS [ABSTINENCE] FROM MILK MAY PARTAKE OF CURD.¹⁴  BUT R. JOSE FORBIDS IT. 'FROM CURD,' HE IS PERMITTED MILK. ABBA SAUL SAID: HE WHO VOWS [TO ABSTAIN] FROM CHEESE, IS INTERDICTED THEREFROM, WHETHER SALTED OR UNSALTED. FROM MEAT,'

1. The use of the def. art. limits the vow to the most common form of preserve.
2. Are they the equivalent of the definite art, and so limited, or not?
3. 'Fish' refers to large ones, 'fishes' to small, which are sold in quantities.
4. A certain fish. This is sold in slices, whereas his vow related to is hole ones only.
5. This is absent from cur. edd., but is inserted by BaH.
6. Mud-fish, small fish preserved in brine, similar to terith (Jast.).
7. This is the reading of Rashi and Asheri. Other editions, likewise Ran, read 'may'.
8. Fem. of dag used in the collective.
9. Jon. II, 1.
10. Ibid. 2, shewing that dagah too refers to large fish.
11. Ex. VII, 21.
12. In general usage, dag refers to large fish, dagah to small.
13. Zihin, a preparation of small fish, is analogous to zahanah. The problem is whether he is allowed brine and fish pickle (muries).
14. Maim: whey.