Study Eruvin folio 55A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
והיינו דאמר אבדימי בר חמא בר דוסא, מאי דכתיב: ״לא בשמים היא ולא מעבר לים היא״. ״לא בשמים היא״, שאם בשמים היא — אתה צריך לעלות אחריה, ואם מעבר לים היא — אתה צריך לעבור אחריה.
And this idea, that one must exert great effort to retain one’s Torah knowledge, is in accordance with what Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Dosa said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “It is not in heaven…nor is it beyond the sea” (Deuteronomy 30:12–13)? “It is not in heaven” indicates that if it were in heaven, you would have to ascend after it, and if it were beyond the sea, you would have to cross after it, as one must expend whatever effort is necessary in order to study Torah.
רבא אמר: ״לא בשמים היא״ — לא תמצא במי שמגביה דעתו עליה כשמים, ולא תמצא במי שמרחיב דעתו עליה כים.
Expounding the verse differently, Rava said: “It is not in heaven” means that Torah is not to be found in someone who raises his mind over it, like the heavens, i.e., he thinks his mind is above the Torah and he does not need a teacher; nor is it to be found in someone who expands his mind over it, like the sea, i.e., he thinks he knows everything there is to know about the topic he has learned.
רבי יוחנן אמר: ״לא בשמים היא״ — לא תמצא בגסי רוח, ״ולא מעבר לים היא״ — לא תמצא לא בסחרנים ולא בתגרים.
R' Yoḥanan said: “It is not in heaven” means that Torah is not to be found in the haughty, those who raise their self-image as though they were in heaven. “Nor is it beyond the sea” means that it is not to be found among merchants or traders who are constantly traveling and do not have the time to study Torah properly.
תנו רבנן: כיצד מעברין את הערים? ארוכה — כמות שהיא. עגולה — עושין לה זויות. מרובעת — אין עושין לה זויות. היתה רחבה מצד אחד וקצרה מצד אחר — רואין אותה כאילו היא שוה.
After the lengthy aggadic digression, the Talmud returns to the topic of the Mishnah, extending the outskirts of a city. A baraita states in the Tosefta: How does one extend the boundaries of cities? If the city is long, in the shape of a rectangle, the Shabbat limit is measured from the boundary as it is. If the city is round, one creates simulated corners for it, rendering it square, and the Shabbat limit is measured from there. If it is square, one does not create additional corners for it. If the city was wide on one side and narrow on the other side, one regards it as though the two sides were of equal length, adding to the narrow side to form a square.