The extraordinary righteousness of Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir, which led him, among other things, to refuse to dine in the house of another, left its mark even on his animal, which refused to eat food from which tithes had not been taken. Moreover, when Rabbi Pinhas set out to fulfill the will of the Creator, the world subjugated itself before him.

Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir was going to fulfill the mitzva of the redemption of captives. He encountered the Ginai River.

He said to the river: Ginai, part your water for me and I will pass through you. The river said to him: You are going to perform the will of your Maker and I am going to perform the will of my Maker [to flow in my course, as I was created to do]. Concerning you, it is uncertain whether you will succeed in performing His will or whether you will not succeed in performing His will. I will certainly succeed in performing His will. Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir responded to the river: If you do not part, I will decree upon you that water will never flow through you. The river parted for him.

There was a certain man who was carrying wheat for the preparation of matza for the festival of Passover. Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir said to the river: Part for this man too, as he is engaged in a mitzva. The river parted for him. There was an Arab who was accompanying them. Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir said to the river: Part for that man too, so that he will not say: Is that any way to treat one who is accompanying him? The river parted for him too.

Rav Yosef said: How much greater is this man, Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir, than Moses and the six hundred thousand Israelites who left Egypt. As there [at the Red Sea], the waters parted once, yet here the waters parted three times. The Talmud challenges: But perhaps here too, the waters parted only once [and all three of them passed through the parted river before it began to flow again]. Rather, he was the equivalent of Moses and the six hundred thousand [but not greater].

Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir happened by a certain inn. His hosts cast barley before his donkey but it did not eat. They sifted the barley, but it did not eat. They separated the chaff from the grain, but it did not eat. Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir said to them: Perhaps the barley is not tithed [and that is why the donkey refuses to eat the barley]. They tithed it, and the donkey ate it. Rabbi Pinhas ben Ya’ir said: This wretched beast is going to perform the will of its Maker, and you are feeding it untithed produce? (Ĥullin 7a–b)