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Text Excerpt
תמרים ויעסקו בתורה. עולא איקלע לפומבדיתא, קריבו ליה טירינא דתמרי. אמר להו: כמה כי הני בזוזא? אמרו ליה: תלת בזוזא. אמר: מלא צנא דדובשא בזוזא, ובבלאי לא עסקי באורייתא.
the dates that grow there plentifully, which gave them strength and allowed them to engage in Torah study. The Talmud records a related incident: Ulla visited Pumbedita, and his hosts brought him a basket [tirina] of dates. He said to them: How many baskets of dates like these can one purchase for a zuz? They said to him: One can purchase 3 for a zuz. He said: How can it be that it is possible to purchase a basketful of date honey for just a single zuz, and yet the Babylonians do not engage in Torah study more extensively? Since the cost of food is so low and they do not need to work hard to support themselves, the Babylonians should be more extensively engaged in Torah study.
That night, the dates he ate afflicted him and he suffered from indigestion. In light of this, Ulla retracted his original assessment of the Babylonians and instead praised them and said: A basketful of lethal poison, i.e., the dates that cause indigestion, sells for a zuz in Babylonia, and despite the fact that they suffer its effects the Babylonians still engage in Torah study.
ואמר רבי אלעזר, מאי דכתיב: ״והלכו עמים רבים ואמרו לכו ונעלה אל הר ה׳ אל בית אלהי יעקב וגו׳״. אלהי יעקב, ולא אלהי אברהם ויצחק?
The Talmud returns to its discussion of prophecies of consolation that are related to those in the book of Hosea. And R' Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And many peoples should go and say: Go and let us go up to the mountain of YHWH, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths” (Isaiah 2:3)? The Talmud notes that Jacob is the only Patriarch mentioned and asks: Is He the God of Jacob and not the God of Abraham and Isaac?