וּמִן אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל טוּרָנוּסְרוֹפוּס, וּמִן קְטִיעָא בַּר שָׁלוֹם.

And Rabbi Akiva also grew wealthy from the wife of Turnus Rufus, who converted and gave him her money, and from Ketia bar Shalom, a Roman minister who bequeathed his fortune to him.

רַב גַּמְדָּא יָהֵיב אַרְבָּעָה זוּזֵי לְסִפּוּנָאֵי לְאַתּוּיֵי בְּהוֹן מִידַּעַם, לָא אַשְׁכָּחוּ. אַתְיוּהּ לֵיהּ בְּהוֹן קוֹפָא. אִישְׁתַּמֵּיט, עַל לְחַרְתָּא, חָפְרוּ בַּתְרֵיהּ, אַשְׁכַּחוּהּ דִּרְבִיעַ עַל מַרְגַלִּיָיתָא, אַיְיתִינוּן לֵיהּ כּוּלְּהוֹן.

§ The Gemara relates a similar incident: Rav Gamda gave four dinars to sailors to bring him something from overseas in exchange for them. However, they did not find anything of worth, so they bought him a monkey with the coins and brought it to him. The monkey escaped and entered a hole. When they dug after it to retrieve it, they found it crouching over pearls, and they brought all of the pearls to Rav Gamda.

אָמְרָה לֵיהּ בַּת קֵיסָר לְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן חֲנַנְיָה: תּוֹרָה מְפוֹאָרָה בִּכְלִי מְכוֹעָר! אֲמַר לָהּ: לִמְדִי מִבֵּית אֲבוּךְ, בַּמֶּה מַנִּיחִין יַיִן? אָמְרָה לֵיהּ: בְּמָאנֵי דְּפַחְרָא. אֲמַר לָהּ: כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא בְּפַּחְרָא וְאַתּוּן בְּמָאנֵי דְּפַחְרָא?! אַתּוּן אַחִיתּוּן בְּמָאנֵי דְּכַסְפָּא וְדַהֲבָא!

The daughter of the emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: You are the epitome of magnificent Torah, but it is stored in an ugly vessel, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya was an unattractive man. He said to her: You may learn the answer to your statement from your father’s house. In what container do you place wine? She said to him: In earthenware vessels. He said to her: Is it conceivable that everyone stores their wine in earthenware vessels, and you also store it in earthenware vessels? Is there no distinction between the emperor and ordinary people? You should place your wine in vessels of silver and gold.

אָזְלַתְּ וּרְמַתְּ חַמְרָא בְּמָאנֵי דְּכַסְפָּא וְדַהֲבָא, וּסְרִי. אֲמַר לָהּ: אַף אוֹרַיְיתָא כֵּן. וְהָאִיכָּא שַׁפִּירִין וּגְמִירִין! אֲמַר לָהּ: אִי הָווּ סְנוּ – הָווּ גְּמִירִין טְפֵי.

She went and placed the wine in vessels of silver and gold, and it spoiled. Rabbi Yehoshua said to her: The same is also true of the Torah. It spoils if it is contained in a handsome person. She asked him: But are there not people who are both good looking and learned in Torah? He said to her: If they were ugly they would be even more learned.

הַהִיא דְּאָתְיָא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַב יְהוּדָה מִנְּהַרְדְּעָא לְדִינָא, וְאִיתְחַיְּיבַתְּ מִן דִּינָא. אָמְרָה לֵיהּ: שְׁמוּאֵל רַבְּךָ הָכִי דָּנַן?! אֲמַר לָהּ: יָדְעַתְּ לֵיהּ? אָמְרָה לֵיהּ: אִין. גּוּצָא, וְרַבָּה כְּרֵיסֵיהּ, אוּכָּם וְרַבָּה שִׁינֵּיהּ. אֲמַר לָהּ: לְבַזוּיֵיהּ קָאָתֵית? תֶּיהֱוֶי הַהִיא אִתְּתָא בְּשַׁמְתָּא! פָּקְעָה וּמֵתָה.

A certain woman came before Rav Yehuda of the city of Neharde’a for judgment, and she was found guilty in the judgment of her case. She said to him: Would Shmuel your teacher have judged me in this manner? He said to her: Did you know him? She said to him: Yes. He was short and potbellied. He was dark and his teeth were large. He said to her: Did you come here to disparage him by describing him in this manner? Let that woman be in a state of excommunication. After he excommunicated her, her belly split open and she died, as a punishment for having disparaged a Torah scholar.

״וּמוּתָּר בְּבֵיצָה טוּרְמִיטָא״. מַאי בֵּיצָה טוּרְמִיטָא? אֲמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: עַבְדָּא דְּעָבֵיד לָהּ שָׁוֵי אַלְפָא דִּינָרֵי, וּמְעַיֵּיל לָהּ אַלְפָא זִימְנֵי בְּמַיָּא חֲמִימֵי, וְאַלְפָא זִימְנֵי בְּמַיָּא קְרִירִי, עַד דִּמִתְזוּטְרָא כִּי הֵיכִי דִּבְלָעִיתָהּ. וְאִם אִית כִּיבָא – סְרִיךְ עֲלָהּ, וְכַד נָפְקָא וְאָתְיָא – יָדַע אָסְיָא מַאי סַמָּא מִתְבָּעֵי לֵיהּ וּבְמַאי מִתַּסֵּי.

§ The mishna teaches that if one said: Cooked food is konam for me, and for that reason I will not taste it, he is prohibited from tasting a loose cooked food but is permitted to taste a thick one, and he is likewise permitted to eat a turemita egg. The Gemara asks: What is a turemita egg? Shmuel said: A slave who knows how to prepare it is worth a thousand dinars. And this is how one prepares it: He insets it into hot water a thousand times and in cold water a thousand times, until it shrinks enough so that it can be swallowed whole. And if there is a lesion in one’s intestines, part of the lesion adheres to the egg, and when the egg emerges the doctor knows what medicine the patient requires and with what he can be healed. It is therefore an important dish for medicinal purposes.

שְׁמוּאֵל הֲוָה בָּדֵיק נַפְשֵׁיהּ בְּקוּלְחָא עַד דִּמְסַתְּרִין אֱינָשֵׁי בֵּיתֵיהּ עֲלֵיהּ שַׂעֲרֵיהוֹן.

The Gemara relates: Shmuel would examine himself with a stalk that he would swallow for this purpose. This would weaken his body and cause him to look faint to such an extent that the members of his household would tear their hairs out for him in grief, as they would think he was dying.

תְּנַן הָתָם: הָיָה עוֹשֶׂה בִּכְלוֹפָּסִין – לֹא יֹאכַל בִּבְנוֹת שֶׁבַע, בִּבְנוֹת שֶׁבַע – לֹא יֹאכַל בִּכְלוֹפָּסִין. מַאי כְּלוֹפָּסִין? מִינָא דִּתְאֵינֵי דְּעַבְדִין מִנְּהוֹן לִפְדֵי.

Besides vows, there are other areas of halakha where there is a distinction between different varieties of the same food. We learned in a mishna there ( Ma’asrot 2:8): A hired worker who was working with keloppasin , a type of fig, may not partake of benot sheva , a different species of fig, during his work. A worker may partake only of the fruit that he is handling at the time (see Deuteronomy 23:25–26). Similarly, if he was working with benot sheva he may not partake of keloppasin . The Gemara asks: What are keloppasin ? The Gemara answers: A type of fig from which compote [ lifdei ] is made.

הַהוּא גַּבְרָא דִּיהַב עַבְדָּא לְחַבְרֵיהּ לְאַגְמוּרֵיהּ אַלְפָא מִינֵי לִפְדֵי, אַגְמָרֵיהּ תַּמְנֵי מֵאָה. אַזְמְנֵיהּ לְדִינָא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי. אָמַר רַבִּי: אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אָמְרוּ ״נָשִׁינוּ טוֹבָה״, אָנוּ אֲפִילּוּ בְּעֵינֵינוּ לֹא רָאִינוּ.

The Gemara relates: There was a certain man who gave a slave to his friend so that the friend would teach him how to prepare a thousand varieties of compote from figs. However, he taught him only eight hundred. He therefore brought his friend for judgment before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Our forefathers said: We have forgotten prosperity (see Lamentations 3:17). They forgot the opulence they enjoyed in better times, but they at least experienced it. By contrast, we have not even seen it with our eyes. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi had not imagined that so many types of compote could be prepared from figs.

רַבִּי עֲבַד לֵיהּ הִלּוּלָא לְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בְּרַבִּי. כְּתַב עַל בֵּית גְּנָנָא: עֶשְׂרִין וְאַרְבָּעָה אַלְפִין רִיבּוֹאִין דִּינָרִין נְפַקוּ עַל בֵּית גְּנָנָא דֵּין, וְלָא אַזְמְנֵיהּ לְבַר קַפָּרָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אִם לְעוֹבְרֵי רְצוֹנוֹ כָּךְ – לְעוֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה. אַזְמְנֵיהּ, אֲמַר: לְעוֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה כָּךְ – לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.

§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi made a wedding for Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. wrote on the canopy: 24,000 myriad dinars were expended on this canopy, and nevertheless Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi did not invite bar Kappara to the wedding. The insulted bar Kappara said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: If to those who transgress God’s will, i.e., you who act improperly, their reward is such, as Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was very wealthy, all the more so those who perform His will are to be rewarded. Upon hearing his reaction, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi invited him. Bar Kappara then said: If to those who perform His will their reward is such in this world, all the more so will they be rewarded in the World-to-Come.

יוֹמָא דִּמְחַיֵּיךְ בֵּיהּ רַבִּי, אָתְיָא פּוּרְעֲנוּתָא לְעָלְמָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ לְבַר קַפָּרָא: לָא תְּבַדִיחָן, וְיַהֵיבְנָא לָךְ אַרְבְּעִין גְּרִיוֵי חִיטֵּי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לֵיחֲזִי מָר

The Gemara relates additional incidents that occurred between the two scholars. On a day when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would laugh, calamity would befall the world, as Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s sufferings would atone for the sins of the Jewish people. He therefore said to bar Kappara: Do not cause me to laugh, and I will give you forty se’a of wheat in return. Bar Kappara said to him: The Master will see