כִּי מָטוּ אַגִּישְׁרָא קָמוּ גְּמָלֵּי. אֲמַר לְהוּ הַהוּא טַיָּיעָא: מַאי הַאי? אֲמָרוּ לֵיהּ: רַבָּנַן דְּקָא עָבְדִי יְקָרָא אַהֲדָדֵי. מָר אֲמַר: מָר נֵיעוּל בְּרֵישָׁא, וּמָר אֲמַר: מָר נֵיעוּל בְּרֵישָׁא. אֲמַר: דִּינָא הוּא דְּרַבָּה בַּר הוּנָא לֵיעוּל בְּרֵישָׁא. חֲלִיף גְּמָלֵּיהּ דְּרַבָּה בַּר הוּנָא, נְתוּר כָּכֵיהּ וְשִׁנֵּיהּ דְּהַהוּא טַיָּיעָא.

When they reached a bridge that could be crossed only in single file, the camels carrying the two Sages stood in their places and would not cross the bridge. A certain Arab [ Tayya’a ] said to them: What is this phenomenon that the camels have stopped moving? They said to him: The deceased Sages are showing honor to each other. It is as if one Sage is saying: The Master should go and cross the bridge first, while at the same time the other Sage is saying: The Master should go and cross first. The Arab said: By law Rabba bar Huna should go first, since he is the son of a great man, and the camel carrying Rabba bar Huna then passed first. Shortly thereafter, the molars and other teeth of that Arab fell out due to the disrespect he showed Rav Hamnuna.

פְּתַח עֲלֵיהּ הַהוּא יָנוֹקָא: ״גֶּזַע יְשִׁישִׁים עָלָה מִבָּבֶל וְעִמּוֹ סֵפֶר מִלְחָמוֹת. קָאָת וְקִפּוֹד הוּכְפָּלוּ, לִרְאוֹת בְּשׁוֹד וְשֶׁבֶר הַבָּא מִשִּׁנְעָר. קָצַף עַל עוֹלָמוֹ וְחָמַס מִמֶּנּוּ נְפָשׁוֹת, וְשָׂמַח בָּהֶם כְּכַלָּה חֲדָשָׁה. רוֹכֵב עֲרָבוֹת שָׂשׂ וְשָׂמַח בְּבֹא אֵלָיו נֶפֶשׁ נָקִי וְצַדִּיק״.

When they reached Tiberias a certain child opened his eulogy saying as follows: The shoot of an ancient line, i.e., Rabba bar Rav Huna, who was the descendant of great people, has ascended from Babylonia, and with him is the book of wars, i.e., Rav Hamnuna, who was great in Torah, which is referred to as the book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers 21:14). The curses of the pelican and the bittern, which are symbols of the destruction of the Temple (Isaiah 34:11), have been doubled, to see the ruin and brokenness that has come from Shinar, i.e., Babylonia. The Lord became angry with His world and seized souls from it, and He rejoices over them when they come to Him like a new bride. God who rides upon the clouds is joyous and happy when an innocent and righteous soul comes to Him.

כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ דְּרָבִינָא פְּתַח עֲלֵיהּ הַהוּא סַפְדָּנָא: ״תְּמָרִים הָנִיעוּ רֹאשׁ עַל צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר, נָשִׂים לֵילוֹת כְּיָמִים״ – עַל מֵשִׂים לֵילוֹת כְּיָמִים.

§ The Gemara continues recounting other famous eulogies. When Ravina passed away, a certain eulogizer opened his eulogy for him with the following words: Date-palms, hang your heads in sadness over the righteous man who may be likened to a date-palm. Women, make your nights like days in weeping, over a man who made his nights like days studying the Torah.

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב אַשִׁי לְבַר קִיפּוֹק: הַהוּא יוֹמָא מַאי אָמְרַתְּ? אֲמַר לֵיהּ, אָמִינָא: אִם בַּאֲרָזִים נָפְלָה שַׁלְהֶבֶת – מַה יַּעֲשׂוּ אֵיזוֹבֵי קִיר, לִוְיָתָן בְּחַכָּה הוֹעֲלָה – מַה יַּעֲשׂוּ דְּגֵי רְקָק, בְּנַחַל שׁוֹטֵף נָפְלָה חַכָּה – מַה יַּעֲשׂוּ מֵי גֵּבִים.

The Gemara relates that prior to Ravina’s death, Rav Ashi said to bar Kippok, who was a famous eulogizer: On that day when Ravina will die, what will you say? He said to him: I shall begin my eulogy and say as follows: If the cedars went up in flame, what shall the hyssop of the wall do? If the leviathan was lifted by a hook, what shall the tiny fish of the marsh do? If a fish hook was cast into the flowing river, what can the water of the puddles do?

אֲמַר לֵיהּ בַּר אָבִין: חַס וְשָׁלוֹם דְּחַכָּה וְשַׁלְהֶבֶת בְּצַדִּיקֵי אָמִינָא. וּמַאי אָמְרַתְּ? אָמִינָא: בְּכוּ לַאֲבֵלִים וְלֹא לַאֲבֵידָה, שֶׁהִיא לִמְנוּחָה וְאָנוּ לַאֲנָחָה.

Bar Avin, who was also a eulogizer, said to him: God forbid that the words hook and flame should be said with regard to the righteous, as these are not expressions of honor. Rav Ashi asked him: And what will you say? He said to him: I shall say: Cry for the mourners and not for that which was lost, as that which was lost, i.e., the soul of Ravina, has gone to its eternal rest, while we, the mourners, are left with our sighs.

חֲלַשׁ דַּעְתֵּיהּ עֲלַיְיהוּ, וְאִתְהַפּוּךְ כַּרְעַיְיהוּ. הַהוּא יוֹמָא לָא אָתוּ לְאַסְפּוּדֵיהּ. וְהַיְינוּ דְּאָמַר רַב אַשִׁי: לָא בַּר קִיפּוֹק חָלֵיץ, וְלָא בַּר אָבִין חָלֵיץ.

Rav Ashi was offended by them, as their words of praise for Ravina might have been understood as a show of disrespect to Rav Ashi, since they likened Ravina to a cedar and the other Sages, Rav Ashi included, to hyssops of the wall. Due to Rav Ashi’s anger, their feet turned inward and became crooked. On that day when Ravina actually died, neither of them came to eulogize him. This is what Rav Ashi said using a metaphor to describe this incident: Neither bar Kippok can perform ḥalitza , nor can bar Avin perform ḥalitza , because their feet are crooked and so their shoes cannot be removed from their feet in the proper manner.

רָבָא, כִּי הֲוָה אֲתָא לְדִגְלַת אֲמַר לֵיהּ לְבַר אָבִין: קוּם אֵימָא מִילְּתָא. קָאֵי וְאָמַר: בָּאוּ רוֹב שְׁלִישִׁית בַּמַּיִם, זְכוֹר וְרַחֵם. תָּעִינוּ מֵאַחֲרֶיךָ כְּאִשָּׁה מִבַּעֲלָהּ, אַל תַּזְנִיחֵנוּ כְּאוֹת מֵי מָרָה.

When Rava once came to the Tigris River, and he was concerned that he might be swept away by the water, he said to bar Avin: Rise and say a prayer on our behalf. He rose and said: Most of the third, a poetic reference to the Jewish people (Isaiah 19:24), has come in the water, implying that Rava was equal in importance to the majority of the Jewish people. Remember then and have mercy on us. Although we have strayed from you like an unfaithful woman strays from her husband, do not forsake and punish us like the sign of the bitter water, with which a woman suspected of adultery is tested. That is to say, do not punish us with water.

חָנִין יוֹחָנָן זֵירָא אַבָּא יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵי שְׁמוּאֵל חִיָּיא מְנַחֵם – סִימָן.

Apropos eulogies for righteous men, the Gemara presents the names: Ḥanin, Yoḥanan, Zeira, Abba, Ya’akov, Yosei, Shmuel, Ḥiyya, and Menaḥem; this is a mnemonic device for the stories that follow.

רַבִּי חָנִין חֲתָנֵיהּ דְּבֵי נְשִׂיאָה הֲוָה. לָא קָא הָווּ לֵיהּ בָּנֵי, בְּעָא רַחֲמִי וְהָווּ לֵיהּ. הַהוּא יוֹמָא דַּהֲוָה לֵיהּ – נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ. פְּתַח עֲלֵיהּ הַהוּא סַפְדָּנָא: ״שִׂמְחָה לְתוּגָה נֶהֶפְכָה, שָׂשׂוֹן וְיָגוֹן נִדְבָּקוּ, בְּעֵת שִׂמְחָתוֹ נֶאֱנַח, בְּעֵת חֲנִינָתוֹ אָבַד חֲנִינוֹ״. אַסִּיקוּ לֵיהּ חָנָן עַל שְׁמֵיהּ.

It was related that Rabbi Ḥanin was a son-in-law in the house of the Nasi . At first he did not have any children, but he prayed that God have mercy on him, and then had a child. On the same day that a son was born to him, he himself passed away. A certain eulogizer opened his eulogy for him with the following words: Happiness has been turned into sorrow; joy and suffering have become joined together. At the moment of his happiness he sighed his dying breath. At the moment he was graced with a son, his own grace was lost. And they named the child Ḥanan after his father.

כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן פְּתַח עֲלֵיהּ רַבִּי יִצְחָק בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר: קָשֶׁה הַיּוֹם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּיוֹם בֹּא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בַּצָּהֳרַיִם, דִּכְתִיב: ״וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְהֵבֵאתִי הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בַּצָּהֳרָיִם״. וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: זֶה יוֹמוֹ שֶׁל יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ.

When Rabbi Yoḥanan passed away, Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Elazar opened his eulogy for him as follows: Today is as difficult for the Jewish people as the day that the sun set at noon, as it is written: “And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day. And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day” (Amos 8:9–10). And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This was the day on which King Josiah was killed (see II Chronicles 35:20–24). This demonstrates that the most righteous person of the generation is described as the sun.

כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן יְתֵיב רַבִּי אַמִי שִׁבְעָה וּשְׁלֹשִׁים. אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא: רַבִּי אַמִי דַּעֲבַד – לְגַרְמֵיהּ הוּא דַּעֲבַד. דְּהָכִי אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: אֲפִילּוּ רַבּוֹ שֶׁלִּימְּדוֹ חָכְמָה – אֵינוֹ יוֹשֵׁב עָלָיו אֶלָּא יוֹם אֶחָד.

It was further related that when Rabbi Yoḥanan passed away, Rabbi Ami sat in mourning for him for seven days and for thirty days as though he had lost a close relative. Rabbi Abba, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, said: What Rabbi Ami did, he did on his own, but this practice does not reflect the halakha . For Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said as follows: Even for the death of his teacher who taught him wisdom, one sits in mourning over him for only one day and no more.

כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ דְּרַבִּי זֵירָא, פְּתַח עֲלֵיהּ הַהוּא סַפְדָּנָא: ״אֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר הָרָה וְיָלְדָה אֶרֶץ צְבִי גִּידְּלָה שַׁעֲשׁוּעֶיהָ. אוֹי נָא לָהּ אָמְרָה רַקַת, כִּי אִבְּדָה כְּלִי חֶמְדָּתָהּ״.

The Gemara tells of another incident about a eulogy: When Rabbi Zeira died, a certain eulogizer opened his eulogy for him saying: The land of Shinar conceived and gave birth to him, as he was originally Babylonian, but the land of beauty, i.e., Eretz Yisrael, raised the darling of Babylonia, as he later moved to Eretz Yisrael and grew up there. Woe to her, said Rakkath, a poetic name for Tiberias, for her dearest vessel has been lost.

כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ דְּרַבִּי אַבָּהוּ אַחִיתוּ עַמּוּדֵי דְּקִסָרִי מַיָּא; דְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי – שָׁפְעוּ מַרְזְבֵי דְּצִיפּוֹרִי דְּמָא; דְּרַבִּי יַעֲקֹב – אִתְחַמִיאוּ כּוֹכָבֵי בִּימָמָא; דְּרַבִּי אַסִי – אִיעַקְּרוּ כָּל אִילָנַיָא; דְּרַבִּי חִיָּיא – נְחִיתוּ כֵּיפֵי דְּנוּרָא מֵרְקִיעָא; דְּרַבִּי מְנַחֵם בְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי – אִישְׁתָּעוּ צַלְמָנַיָיא וְהָווּ לְמֶחְלָצַיָיא;

The Gemara continues to discuss the death of the righteous: When Rabbi Abbahu passed away, the pillars of Caesarea, his city, ran with water as if they were shedding tears over him. When Rabbi Yosei passed away, the gutters of Tzippori, his city, flowed with blood. When Rabbi Ya’akov passed away, the stars were visible during the day. When Rabbi Asi passed away, all the trees were uprooted in a storm. When Rabbi Ḥiyya passed away, fiery stones fell from the sky. When Rabbi Menaḥem, son of Rabbi Yosei, passed away, the faces of the statues became smooth as if they had been smoothed with a plasterer’s trowel [ meḥlatzaya ].

דְּרַבִּי תַּנְחוּם בַּר חִיָּיא – אִיתְקַצְּצוּ כָּל אַנְדַרְטַיָא; דְּרַבִּי אֶלְיָשִׁיב – אִיחַתְּרוּ שִׁבְעִין מַחְתַּרְתָּא בִּנְהַרְדְּעָא; דְּרַב הַמְנוּנָא – נְחִיתוּ כֵּיפֵי דְבַרְדָּא מֵרְקִיעָא; דְּרַבָּה וְרַב יוֹסֵף – נְשׁוּק כֵּיפֵי דִּפְרָת אַהֲדָדֵי; דְּאַבַּיֵי וְרָבָא – נְשׁוּק כֵּיפֵי דְּדִגְלַת אַהֲדָדֵי; כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ דְּרַבִּי מְשַׁרְשְׁיָא טְעוּן דִּיקְלֵי שִׁיצֵי.

When Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥiyya passed away, every statue [ andartaya ] of the king were mutilated. When Rabbi Elyashiv passed away, seventy tunnels of thieves were dug in Neharde’a, because as long as he was alive there were no thieves in the town due to his merit. When Rav Hamnuna passed away, hail stones fell from the sky. When Rabba and Rav Yosef passed away, the tops of the bridges of the Euphrates collapsed and touched each other. When Abaye and Rava passed away, the tops of the bridges of the Tigris collapsed and touched each other. When Rabbi Mesharshiyya passed away, the palm trees became laden with thorns [ shitzei ].

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן:

§ The Gemara returns to the subject of tearing garments in mourning: The Sages taught the following baraita :