Study Shabbat folio 118B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
נחלת יעקב אביך וגו׳״. לא כאברהם, שכתוב בו ״קום התהלך בארץ לארכה וגו׳״. ולא כיצחק, שכתוב בו ״כי לך ולזרעך אתן את כל הארצות האל״. אלא כיעקב, שכתוב בו ״ופרצת ימה וקדמה וצפונה ונגבה״.
on the inheritance of Jacob your father, as the mouth of God has spoken” (Isaiah 58:13–14). The reward for delighting in Shabbat is specifically the portion of Jacob. Not that of Abraham, about whom it is written, “Rise, walk through the land through its length and its width because I have given it to you” (Genesis 13:17), i.e., only this land alone in its borders. And not that of Isaac, about whom it is written, “reside in this land and I will be with you and I will bless you because I will give all of these lands to you and your offspring” (Genesis 26:3), meaning these lands and no others. Rather, that of Jacob, about whom it is written, “And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all of the families of the land will be blessed through you and your offspring” (Genesis 28:14). There are no boundaries for Jacob’s portion.
רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר: ניצול משעבוד גליות. כתיב הכא: ״והרכבתיך על במתי ארץ״, וכתיב התם: ״ואתה על במותימו תדרוך״. אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: כל המענג את השבת נותנין לו משאלות לבו, שנאמר: ״והתענג על ה׳ ויתן לך משאלות לבך״. עונג זה איני יודע מהו. כשהוא אומר ״וקראת לשבת עונג״ — הוי אומר זה עונג שבת. במה מענגו? רב יהודה בריה דרב שמואל בר שילת משמיה דרב אמר: בתבשיל של תרדין ודגים גדולים וראשי שומין. רב חייא בר אשי אמר רב: אפילו דבר מועט, ולכבוד שבת עשאו — הרי זה עונג. מאי היא? אמר רב פפא: כסא דהרסנא.
Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: One who delights in Shabbat is rescued from the oppression of exile. He derives it by means of a verbal analogy. It is written here, with regard to Shabbat: “And I will cause you to ride on the heights [bamotei] of the world” (Isaiah 58:14), and it is written there: “You are fortunate Israel, who is like you? A nation redeemed by God, the shield that aids you and the sword of your triumph. Your enemies will try to defeat you and you will trample their high places [bamoteimo]” (Deuteronomy 33:29). Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: With regard to anyone who delights in the Shabbat, God grants him his heart’s desires, as it is stated: “And you should delight in God and He will grant you your heart’s desires” (Psalms 37:4). This delight in God, which is mentioned in the verse, I do not know what it is. When it says: “And you should call the Shabbat delight,” one must say: It is the delight of Shabbat. The Talmud asks: With what does one delight in the day of Shabbat? Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat, said in the name of Rav: With a dish of beets, and large fish, and heads of garlic. Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi said that Rav said: Even with regard to a small item and one prepared it in deference to Shabbat, it is a delight. The Talmud asks: What is the small item mentioned? Rav Pappa said: Small fried fish.