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Text Excerpt
שאין לך דבר שמביא יללה לאדם אלא יין. רבי יהודה אומר: חטה היה, שאין התינוק יודע לקרוא אבא ואימא עד שיטעום טעם דגן. רבי נחמיה אומר: תאנה היה, שבדבר שקלקלו בו נתקנו, שנאמר: ״ויתפרו עלה תאנה״.
as, even today, nothing except wine brings wailing and trouble upon a person; most sins are caused by drunkenness. R' Yehuda says: The Tree of Knowledge was the wheat plant. This is proven by the fact that, even today, an infant does not know how to call out to his father or mother until he tastes the taste of grain, and for this reason wheat is called “the Tree of Knowledge.” R' Neḥemya says: The Tree of Knowledge was a fig tree, because it was with the matter with which they sinned that they were rehabilitated, as it is stated: “And they sewed together fig leaves, and made for themselves loincloths” (Genesis 3:7).
״דברי למואל מלך משא אשר יסרתו אמו״. אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי: מלמד שכפאתו אמו על העמוד ואמרה לו, ״מה ברי ומה בר בטני ומה בר נדרי״. ״מה ברי״ – הכל יודעים שאביך ירא שמים הוה, עכשיו יאמרו אמו גרמה לו.
§ The Talmud continues its discussion of wine. Referring to the verse that states: “The words of King Lemuel, the burden with which his mother corrected him” (Proverbs 31:1), R' Yoḥanan says in the name of R' Shimon ben Yoḥai: This teaches that when Solomon’s mother Bathsheba saw Solomon engaged in excessive drinking, she bound him to a pillar to have him flogged. And she said to him: “What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?” (Proverbs 31:2). She meant: “What, my son?” Everyone knows that your father, David, was a God-fearing man, and now, when they see you sin, they will all say that his mother caused him to drink, i.e., that you engage in these behaviors because you are my son.
״ומה בר בטני״ – כל הנשים של בית אביך, כיון שמתעברות, שוב אינן רואות פני המלך. ואני דחקתי ונכנסתי, כדי שיהא לי בן מזורז ומלובן.
“And what, son of my womb?” That is to say: With regard to all of the women of your father’s house, once they conceive they no longer see the face of the king, but I pushed myself in and entered the king’s chamber while I was pregnant, so that I might have a son who is strong and fair-skinned. There are times during a woman’s pregnancy when sex is beneficial for the development of the fetus. Bathsheba was telling Solomon: I did my utmost to ensure that you have extra strength and beauty, and now you use that strength and appeal to pursue drink.