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Text Excerpt
עורפילא — אפילו לפרצידא דתותי קלא מהניא ליה. מאי עורפילא — עורו פילי. ואמר רבא: האי צורבא מרבנן דמי לפרצידא דתותי קלא, דכיון דנבט — נבט.
and drizzle [urpila] is even beneficial to a seed [partzida] under a clod of earth, as it can reach anywhere without causing any harm. The Talmud asks: What is the meaning of the word drizzle? The Talmud explains: It is a contraction of the phrase: Arise, furrows [uru pilei]. And the Talmud cites another saying in which Rava uses the same imagery. Rava said: This Torah scholar [tzurva] is like a seed under a clod of earth, as once he sprouts and begins to develop, he continues to sprout and his greatness increases.
ואמר רבא: האי צורבא מרבנן דרתח — אורייתא הוא דקא מרתחא ליה, שנאמר: ״הלוא כה דברי כאש נאם ה׳״, ואמר רב אשי: כל תלמיד חכם שאינו קשה כברזל — אינו תלמיד חכם, שנאמר: ״וכפטיש יפצץ סלע״.
§ And, incidentally, the Talmud relates that which Rava said: This Torah scholar who grows angry, it can be presumed that it is his Torah study that angers him. Therefore, he must be given the benefit of the doubt, as it is stated: “Is not my word like fire, says YHWH” (Jeremiah 23:29). And similarly, Rav Ashi said: Any Torah scholar who is not as hard as iron, but is indecisive and wavers, he is not a Torah scholar, as it is stated in the same verse: “And as a hammer that breaks rock in pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29).
אמר ליה רבי אבא לרב אשי: אתון, מהתם מתניתו לה. אנן, מהכא מתנינן לה, דכתיב: ״ארץ אשר אבניה ברזל״, אל תקרי ״אבניה״, אלא בוניה. אמר רבינא: אפילו הכי, מיבעי ליה לאיניש למילף נפשיה בניחותא, שנאמר: ״והסר כעס מלבך וגו׳״.
R' Abba said to Rav Ashi: You learned the proof for this idea from that verse there; we learned it from here, as it is written: “A land whose stones [avaneha] are iron” (Deuteronomy 8:9). Do not read this phrase as “whose stones [avaneha],” rather, read it as whose builders [boneha], since Torah scholars build the land spiritually and are as tough as iron. With regard to these statements praising the toughness of a Torah scholar, Ravina said: And even so, one is required to teach himself to act gently, as it is stated: “And remove anger from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh” (Ecclesiastes 11:10).