Welcome to The Oral Talmud!
Here are some questions to ask yourself and/or a chevruta as you encounter this conversation:
- How do we find our paths to Talmud?
- What is Talmud doing that gives the sense of the Divine?
- What does it mean to “read against grain,” and how can it help us expand our perspective?
- What can the story Ruth brings teach us about how the Rabbis thought of approaching death?
- Who do we see in this relationship with Death now?
מכריז רבי יוחנן הזהרו מזבובי של בעלי ראתן רבי זירא לא הוה יתיב בזיקיה רבי אלעזר לא עייל באהליה רבי אמי ורבי אסי לא הוו אכלי מביעי דההיא מבואה
ריב"ל מיכרך בהו ועסיק בתורה אמר (משלי ה, יט) אילת אהבים ויעלת חן אם חן מעלה על לומדיה אגוני לא מגנא
כי הוה שכיב אמרו ליה למלאך המות זיל עביד ליה רעותיה אזל איתחזי ליה א"ל אחוי לי דוכתאי אמר ליה לחיי א"ל הב לי סכינך דלמא מבעתת לי באורחא יהבה ניהליה כי מטא להתם דלייה קא מחוי ליה שוור נפל לההוא גיסא
נקטיה בקרנא דגלימיה א"ל בשבועתא דלא אתינא אמר קודשא בריך הוא אי איתשיל אשבועתא ניהדר אי לא לא ניהדר אמר ליה הב לי סכינאי לא הוה קא יהיב ליה נפקא בת קלא ואמרה ליה הב ניהליה דמיתבעא לברייתא מכריז אליהו קמיה פנו מקום לבר ליואי
Rabbi Yoḥanan would announce: Be careful of the flies found on those afflicted with ra’atan, as they are carriers of the disease. Rabbi Zeira would not sit in a spot where the wind blew from the direction of someone afflicted with ra’atan. Rabbi Elazar would not enter the tent of one afflicted with ra’atan, and Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi would not eat eggs from an alley in which someone afflicted with ra’atan lived.
Conversely, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would attach himself to them and study Torah, saying as justification the verse: “The Torah is a loving hind and a graceful doe” (Proverbs 5:19). If it bestows grace on those who learn it, does it not protect them from illness?
When Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi was on the verge of dying, they said to the Angel of Death: Go and perform his bidding, as he is a righteous man and deserves to die in the manner he sees fit. The Angel of Death went and appeared to him. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to him: Show me my place in paradise. He said to him: Very well. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to him: Give me your knife that you use to kill mortals, lest you frighten me on the way. He gave it to him. When he arrived there, in paradise, he lifted Rabbi Yehoshua so he could see his place, and he showed it to him. Rabbi Yehoshua jumped and fell into that other side, thereby escaping into paradise.
The Angel of Death grabbed him by the corner of his cloak. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to him: I swear that I will not come with you. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If he ever in his life requested dissolution concerning an oath he had taken, he must return to this world with the Angel of Death, as he can have his oath dissolved this time also. If he did not ever request dissolution of an oath, he need not return. Since Rabbi Yehoshua had in fact never requested dissolution of an oath, he was allowed to stay in paradise. The Angel of Death said to him: At least give me my knife back. However, he did not give it to him, as he did not want any more people to die. A Divine Voice emerged and said to him: Give it to him, as it is necessary to kill the created beings; death is the way of the world. Elijah the Prophet announced before him: Make way for the son of Levi, make way for the son of Levi.