Eruvin 28B

בדגנונייתא.

he was referring to the garden variety, which is commonly eaten.

זרע גרגיר. למאי חזי? אמר רבי יוחנן: שכן ראשונים שלא היה להן פלפלין, שוחקין אותו ומטבילין בו את הצלי.

Having mentioned arugula seeds, the Talmud asks: For what are they suitable? Generally, only the plant’s leaves are eaten. R' Yoḥanan said: The earlier generations, who had no pepper, would crush these seeds and dip their roasted meat in them. Therefore, arugula seeds are also eaten, even though this is not their typical use.

רבי זירא כי הוה חליש מגרסיה, הוה אזיל ויתיב אפיתחא דרב יהודה בר אמי, אמר: כי נפקי ועיילי רבנן ⁠— איקום מקמייהו ואקבל בהו אגרא.

The Talmud relates that when R' Zeira was exhausted from his studies, he would go and sit at the entrance to the academy of Rav Yehuda bar Ami, and say: When the rabbis go in and out, I should stand up before them and receive reward for honoring them, as it is a mitzva to honor Torah scholars. Too tired to engage in actual Torah study, he sought a way to rest while fulfilling a different mitzva at the same time.

נפק אתא ינוקא דבי רב, אמר ליה: מאי אגמרך רבך? אמר ליה: כשות ״בורא פרי האדמה״, חזיז ״שהכל נהיה בדברו״. אמר ליה: אדרבה, איפכא מיסתברא, האי ⁠— מארעא קא מרבי, והאי ⁠— מאוירא קא מרבי.

Once, a young school child was leaving the study hall. R' Zeira said to him: What did your teacher teach you today? He said to him: The proper blessing for dodder is: Who creates the fruit of the ground; the proper blessing for green grain is: By Whose word all things came to be. R' Zeira said to him: On the contrary, the opposite is more reasonable, as this, the green grain, derives nourishment from the ground, whereas that, the dodder, derives nourishment from the air, and it is fitting to recite a blessing over each item in accordance with its source of nourishment.