Study Bava Metzia folio 85B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמרו חכמים ולא פירשוהו, אמרו נביאים ולא פירשוהו, עד שפירשו הקדוש ברוך הוא בעצמו, שנאמר: ״ויאמר ה׳ על עזבם את תורתי אשר נתתי לפניהם״. אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: שלא ברכו בתורה תחילה.
was stated by the rabbis, i.e., the wise man mentioned in the verse, and yet they could not explain it. It was stated by the prophets, i.e., those to whom the mouth of YHWH has spoken, and yet they could not explain it, until God Himself explained it, as it is stated in the next verse: “And YHWH says: Because they have forsaken My Torah which I set before them” (Jeremiah 9:12). Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: This does not mean that the Jewish people ceased Torah study altogether; rather, they did not recite a blessing on the Torah prior to its study, as they did not regard Torah study as a sacred endeavor.
אמר רב חמא: מאי דכתיב ״בלב נבון תנוח חכמה ובקרב כסילים תודע״, ״בלב נבון תנוח חכמה״ – זה תלמיד חכם בן תלמיד חכם, ״ובקרב כסילים תודע״ – זה תלמיד חכם בן עם הארץ. אמר עולא: היינו דאמרי אינשי: אסתירא בלגינא קיש קיש קריא.
Rav Ḥama says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “In the heart of him that has discernment wisdom rests; but in the inward part of fools it makes itself known” (Proverbs 14:33)? “In the heart of him who has discernment wisdom rests”; this is a Torah scholar, son of a Torah scholar. “But in the inward part of fools it makes itself known”; this is a Torah scholar, son of an am ha'aretz, as his wisdom stands out in contrast to the foolishness of the rest of his family. Ulla said: This explains the adage that people say: A small coin in an empty jug calls: Kish, kish, i.e., it rattles loudly, whereas a coin in a jug full of coins is not heard.
אמר ליה רבי ירמיה לרבי זירא: מאי דכתיב ״קטן וגדול שם הוא ועבד חפשי מאדניו״? אטו לא ידעינן דקטן וגדול שם הוא? אלא כל המקטין עצמו על דברי תורה בעולם הזה – נעשה גדול לעולם הבא, וכל המשים עצמו כעבד על דברי תורה בעולם הזה – נעשה חפשי לעולם הבא.
R' Yirmeya said to R' Zeira: What is the meaning of that which is written with regard to the World-to-Come: “The humble and great are there; and the servant is free from his master” (Job 3:19)? Is that to say that we do not know that the humble and the great are there in the World-to-Come? Rather, this is the meaning of the verse: Anyone who humbles himself over matters of Torah in this world becomes great in the World-to-Come; and anyone who establishes himself as a servant over matters of Torah in this world becomes free in the World-to-Come.