Taanit 5B

שקולה כשתים, ומאי ניהו ⁠— עבודה זרה, דכתיב: ״כי שתים רעות עשה עמי אתי עזבו מקור מים חיים לחצב להם בארות בארות נשברים״, וכתיב בהו: ״כי עברו איי כתיים וראו וקדר שלחו והתבוננו מאד וגו׳ ההימיר גוי אלהים והמה לא אלהים ועמי המיר כבודו בלוא יועיל״.

equivalent to two. And what is this sin? Idol worship, as it is written: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns” (Jeremiah 2:13), and it is written about the Jewish people: “For pass over the isles of the Kittim and see; and send to Kedar and observe carefully, and see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation exchanged its gods, although they are no gods? But My people has exchanged its glory for that which does not profit” (Jeremiah 2:10–11).

תנא: כותיים עובדים לאש, וקדריים עובדין למים, ואף על פי שיודעים שהמים מכבין את האש ⁠— לא המירו אלהיהם, ״ועמי המיר כבודו בלוא יועיל״.

It is taught in a baraita with regard to this verse: Kittites, i.e., the people of the isles of Kittim, worship fire and the people of Kedar worship water, and even though they know that water extinguishes fire, nevertheless they have not exchanged their god: “But My people has exchanged its glory for that which does not profit.”

ואמר ליה רב נחמן לרבי יצחק, מאי דכתיב: ״ויהי כאשר זקן שמואל״, ומי סיב שמואל כולי האי? והא בר חמישים ושתים הוה, דאמר מר: מת בחמישים ושתים שנה, זהו מיתתו של שמואל הרמתי.

And Rav Naḥman said to R' Yitzḥak: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And it came to pass when Samuel was old” (I Samuel 8:1)? And did Samuel really grow so old? But he was only 52 years old when he died, as the Master said in a baraita that deals with the Divine punishment of karet: One who dies at the age of 52 years is not considered to have suffered the premature death of karet, as this is the age of the death of Samuel of Rama. This shows that Samuel died at the relatively young age of 52.