Study Eruvin folio 56A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
פת קיבר ושכר חדש וירק. לא קשיא: הא — בתומי וכרתי, הא — בשאר ירקי. כדתניא: שום — ירק, כרישין — חצי ירק, נראה צנון — נראה סם חיים.
coarse bread, made from coarse flour that has not been thoroughly sifted, new beer, and vegetables. This indicates that vegetables are harmful to one’s well-being. The Talmud answers: This is not difficult. This statement of Rav Huna is referring to garlic and leeks, which are beneficial; that baraita is referring to other vegetables, which are harmful. As it was taught in a baraita: Garlic is a healthy vegetable; leeks are a half-vegetable, meaning they are half as healthful. If radish has been seen, an elixir of life has been seen, as it is very beneficial to the body.
והא תניא: נראה צנון — נראה סם המות! לא קשיא: כאן — בעלין, כאן — באמהות. כאן — בימות החמה, כאן — בימות הגשמים.
The Talmud asks: Wasn’t it taught in a different baraita: If radish has been seen, a lethal drug has been seen? The Talmud answers: This is not difficult. Here, in the baraita that deprecates radish, it is referring to its leaves; there, in the baraita that praises radish, it is referring to the roots. Alternatively, here it is referring to the summer, when radish is beneficial; there, it is referring to the winter, when it is harmful.
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: כל עיר שיש בה מעלות ומורדות, אדם ובהמה שבה מתים בחצי ימיהן. מתים סלקא דעתך? אלא אימא: מזקינים בחצי ימיהן. אמר רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע: הני מולייתא דבי בירי ודבי נרש אזקנון.
On the topic of the attributes of different locations, Rav Yehuda also said that Rav said: In any city that has many ascents and descents, which can be taxing to the body, people and animals die at half their days, meaning half of their life expectancy. The Talmud expresses surprise: Can it enter your mind that Rav really meant to say that they die prematurely? Even in such cities they are known to have a regular life expectancy. Rather, say: They grow old at half their days, i.e., they age prematurely due to the strain of climbing up and down the inclines. Similarly, Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: The ascents and descents between Beit Biri and Beit Neresh, my place of residence, made me grow old prematurely.