Shabbat 152A

ושל בית הכסא ⁠— רעות. של סם ושל שחוק ושל פירות ⁠— יפות.

and from pain in the latrine are bad for the eyes. Tears that come from medicinal drugs, and from laughter, and from sharp produce are good for the eyes.

״ביום שיזועו שומרי הבית והתעותו וגו׳״. ״ביום שיזועו שומרי הבית״⁠ — אלו הכסלים והצלעות. ״והתעותו אנשי החיל״⁠ — אלו שוקים. ״ובטלו הטוחנות״⁠ — אלו שינים. ״וחשכו הרואות בארובות״⁠ — אלו עינים.

The Talmud continues to interpret verses from the Book of Ecclesiastes. The verse states: “On the day when the keepers of the house should tremble, and the strong men should bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out the windows should be dimmed” (Ecclesiastes 12:3). “On the day when the keepers of the house should tremble”; this is referring to the flanks and ribs that surround and protect a person’s internal organs. “And the strong men should bow themselves”; these are the thighs, which support a person’s strength. “And the grinders cease”; these are the teeth, which decay and fall out. “And those that look out the windows should be dimmed”; these are the eyes, which become dimmer.

אמר ליה קיסר לרבי יהושע בן חנניה: מאי טעמא לא אתית לבי אבידן? אמר ליה: טור תלג סחרנוהי גלידין. כלבוהי לא נבחין. טחנוהי לא טחנין. בי רב אמרי: אדלא אבידנא, בחישנא.

The Talmud relates: The Roman emperor said to R' Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: What is the reason you did not come to the House of Avidan? This was a place in which dialogues and debates were conducted. R' Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to him enigmatically: The snowy mountain is surrounded with ice, meaning that his hair had turned white; his dogs do not bark, meaning that his voice could no longer be heard; his grinders have ceased grinding, meaning that his teeth had fallen out. In the school of Rav they say that he added: I am searching for that which I have not lost, because an old man walks bent over and appears to be searching for something.