Study Sukkah folio 26B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ואינו אוחז בקציצה, דברי רבי יעקב. וחכמים אומרים: ישן אדם בתפילין שינת עראי, אבל לא שינת קבע. וכמה שינת עראי — כדי הילוך מאה אמה.
and does not grip the box of the tefillin, which he may not touch while impure. This is the statement of R' Ya’akov. And the Rabbis say: A person may take a brief nap with his tefillin, but substantial sleep is not permitted, and he will thereby avoid a seminal emission while donning tefillin. And how long is the duration of a brief nap? It is equivalent to the time required for walking 100 cubits.
אמר רב: אסור לאדם לישן ביום יותר משינת הסוס. וכמה שינת הסוס — שיתין נשמי.
Apropos the duration of a brief nap, the Talmud cites that Rav said: It is prohibited for a person to sleep during the day longer than the duration of the sleep of a horse. One who sleeps for longer is derelict in the study of Torah. And how long is the duration of the sleep of a horse? It is 60 breaths long.
Abaye said: The sleep of the Master, Rabba, is like that of Rav, and that of Rav is like the sleep of R' Yehuda HaNasi. And that of R' Yehuda HaNasi is like that of King David, and that of King David is like that of a horse. And that of a horse is 60 breaths.
אביי הוה ניים כדמעייל מפומבדיתא לבי כובי. קרי עליה רב יוסף: ״עד מתי עצל תשכב מתי תקום משנתך״.
The Talmud relates: Abaye would sleep during the day for a period equivalent to the time it takes to enter from Pumbedita to Bei Kuvei. Rav Yosef read the following verse as pertaining to Abaye: “How long will you sleep, sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?” (Proverbs 6:9). Rav Yosef considered this dereliction in the study of Torah.