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Text Excerpt
כטרפא דטריף. והאי דאזלא בתרה, דאמרה לה: הב לי בני. שבשעה שהקדוש ברוך הוא בקש להביא מבול לעולם נטל שני כוכבים מכימה והביא מבול לעולם. וכשבקש לסתמה, נטל שני כוכבים מעיש וסתמה.
as if it was appended onto it. The Talmud explains: And the fact that Ursa Major follows Pleiades, it is as if Ursa Major is saying to Pleiades: Give me back my children, my two stars. As it is related: When God sought to bring a flood into the world, He took two stars from Pleiades and brought the Flood upon the world. And afterward, when He wished to fill the void, He took two stars from Ursa Major and filled the void with them. Consequently, the constellation of Ursa Major attempts to persuade Pleiades, seeking to get its stars back.
וליהדר לה? אין הבור מתמלא מחוליתו. אי נמי — אין קטיגור נעשה סניגור.
The Talmud asks: And return it, why did God not restore the original two stars to Pleiades? The Talmud answers: A pit cannot be filled by its own earth; when a pit is excavated, the earth that was excavated from it is insufficient to refill it. Alternatively, one could say that a prosecutor cannot become an advocate; since these stars caused the Flood it is not appropriate that they facilitate the end of the Flood.
וליברי לה תרי ככבי אחריני! ״אין כל חדש תחת השמש״. אמר רב נחמן: עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להחזירן לה, שנאמר: ״ועיש על בניה תנחם״.
The Talmud argues: Then God should have created two other new stars for Pleiades. The Talmud responds: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Rav Naḥman said: In the future, God will restore those same stars to Ursa Major, as it is stated: “Or can you guide [tanḥem] Ursa Major with her sons?” (Job 38:32), which is interpreted homiletically in the sense of consolation [tanḥumim] apparently due to the restoration of those stars.