1merely teaches us proper etiquette, even though no prohibition is involved.
2§ The Sages teach proper manners unconnected to any prohibition, as it is taught in a baraita : A person should not eat garlic or onions from the side of its head, i.e., its roots, but rather from the side of its leaves. And if he did eat in that manner, he gives the appearance of being a glutton. Similarly, a person should not drink his cup of wine all at once, and if he did drink in this manner, he gives the appearance of being a greedy drinker. The Sages taught in this regard: One who drinks his cup all at once is a greedy drinker; if he does so in two swallows, this is proper etiquette; in three swallows, he is of haughty spirit, as he presents himself as overly delicate and refined.
3Apropos the previous discussion, the Gemara notes that Rami bar Abba also said: The sea squill, a plant from the lily family whose roots project deep into the ground, will cut off the feet of the wicked in the future on the Day of Judgment. It was customary to plant sea squill on the edges of fields as boundary markers because their roots grow straight down without spreading out. Those who overstepped boundaries and infringed upon their neighbor’s property should have heeded the markers and desisted.
4Similarly, young trees will cut off the feet of butchers and those who have relations with menstruating women. After a tree is planted, one must wait three years before eating its fruit. This should serve as a lesson for those butchers who hasten to eat of the animal’s meat before removing its hide, and for those who have relations with their menstruating wives and do not wait for them to achieve ritual purification.
5The lupine [ turmus ], an extremely bitter legume that is edible only after an extensive process, will cut off the feet of the enemies of the Jewish people, a euphemism for the Jewish people themselves. As it is stated: “And the children of Israel continued to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, and served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram and the gods of Zidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the children of Ammon and the gods of the Philistines, and they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him” (Judges 10:6).
6By inference from that which is stated: “And they forsook the Lord,” do I not know that they did not serve Him? Rather, for what purpose does the verse state the seemingly unnecessary words “and did not serve Him”? Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: My children did not treat Me even like this lupine, which, because it is inedible as it is, must be cooked in water seven times in order to temper its bitter taste and is eventually made so sweet that one eats it as a dessert after a meal. They worshipped all seven types of idolatry listed in the verse, and even after I punished them for each and every one of them, they still refused to repent from their evil ways. Instead, they remained rebellious and did not serve Me.
7The Gemara considers another aspect of the character of the Jewish people. It is taught in a baraita in the name of Rabbi Meir: For what reason was the Torah given to the Jewish people? It is because they are impudent, and Torah study will weaken and humble them. A Sage of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught the following with regard to the verse: “From His right hand went a fiery law for them” (Deuteronomy 33:2); The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Based on their nature and character, these people, the Jews, are fit to be given a fiery law, a hard and scorching faith. Some say a different version of this baraita : The ways and nature of these people, the Jews, are like fire, as, were it not for the fact that the Torah was given to the Jewish people, whose study and observance restrains them, no nation or tongue could withstand them.
8And this is the same as what Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: There are three impudent ones: The Jewish people among the nations; the dog among animals; and the rooster among birds. And some say: Also the goat among small cattle. And some say: Also the caper bush among trees.
9§ It is taught in the mishna: If one slaughtered an animal on a Festival in the field, he may not bring it to his house on a pole, as this appears similar to a weekday activity. The Sages taught in a baraita : A blind person may not go out on a Festival with his cane, nor a shepherd with his satchel. And one may not go out on a chair borne on poles by other people, neither a man nor a woman. All of these are considered weekday activities, the performance of which would display disrespect for the Festival.
10The Gemara asks: Is that so? But didn’t Rabbi Ya’akov bar Idi send the following halakha from Eretz Yisrael: There was an old man in our neighborhood who would go out on a Festival in his litter [ gelodki ], and they came and asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, the preeminent authority of the time, whether this was permitted. And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to them: If many people need the man to come and lecture them on Torah matters, it is permitted to transport him to the study hall in that manner.
11Similarly, our Sages relied on the statement of Aḥi Shakkaya, who said: I once brought Rav Huna on a Festival from the town of Hinei to the town of Shilei and from Shilei back to Hinei on a chair of this kind. And Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: I once brought Mar Shmuel on such a seat on a Festival from the sun into the shade and from the shade into the sun. All of these incidents indicate that it is in fact permitted to use such a chair on a Festival. The Gemara answers: These cases pose no difficulty, as there, it is in accordance with the reason that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi stated: If many people need him, it is permitted. However, one who is not needed by the public may not go out in such a chair.
12Rav Naḥman said to Ḥama bar Adda, emissary of the talmudic academies in Zion, who would regularly travel back and forth from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia: When you go up there, to Eretz Yisrael, take a roundabout route, i.e., do not travel by the shortest path; and go to the Ladder of Tyre, and go to Rabbi Ya’akov bar Idi, who lives in Tyre, and raise this dilemma before him: What do you say with regard to a chair borne on poles; may one go out in such a chair on a Festival?
13By the time he arrived there, Rabbi Ya’akov bar Idi had already passed away. However, when he went up to Eretz Yisrael he found Rabbi Zerika and said to him: What do you say with regard to a chair borne on poles; what is your opinion on this topic? He said to him: Rabbi Ami said as follows: It is permitted provided that he is not carried on the shoulders, on the chair. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of: Provided that he is not carried on the shoulders? Rav Yosef, son of Rabba, said: It means on poles [ alunkei ] that are used to carry burdens on the shoulders of two people. This mode of transportation is highly conspicuous and has the appearance of a weekday activity, the performance of which displays disrespect for the Festival. Instead, the poles on which the chair is borne should be held in the bearers’ hands, so the seat will be closer to the ground and less noticeable.
14The Gemara asks: Is that so? But didn’t Rav Naḥman permit his wife Yalta to go out on a Festival on a chair borne on poles that rested on the shoulders of the bearers? The Gemara answers: Yalta is different, as she was afraid of falling and therefore required this special arrangement.
15The Gemara relates that Ameimar and Mar Zutra would be carried to their places in the study hall on the shoulders of their students for the public lecture delivered on the Shabbat of the Festival. They would be carried in that manner due to their fear of falling. And some say the reason was due to the pushing of the crowd, as these Sages were afraid of being crushed by the large number of people attending the lecture.
16MISHNA: A male firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats belonging to a Jew is sanctified from birth and must be given to a priest to be sacrificed on the altar in the Temple. If a firstborn animal acquired a physical blemish that disqualifies it from being sacrificed as an offering, it still must be given to a priest, but it may be redeemed, slaughtered, and eaten as non-sacred meat. If a firstborn animal fell into a cistern on a Festival, and there is concern that it might die there, Rabbi Yehuda says: An expert in these matters goes down into the cistern and examines the animal.