Yoma 38B

ומשלך יתנו לך. אין אדם נוגע במוכן לחבירו. ואין מלכות נוגעת בחברתה אפילו כמלא נימא.

and from your own they should give you. Everyone has a portion designated for him by God, and the individual is privileged to receive what is coming to him, as was the case with the House of Avtinas. The principle is: No person may touch that which is prepared for another by God; everyone receives what is designated for him. And one reign does not overlap with another and deduct from the time allotted it even a hairbreadth. When the time comes for one kingdom to fall, its successor takes over immediately, as no king rules during the time designated for another.

הוגרס בן לוי וכו׳. תניא: כשהוא נותן קולו בנעימה, מכניס גודלו לתוך פיו, ומניח אצבעו בין הנימין, עד שהיו אחיו הכהנים נזקרים בבת ראש לאחוריהם.

§ The Mishnah related that Hugras ben Levi knew a lesson in the art of music and he did not want to teach it to others. It was taught in a baraita: When Hugras ben Levi projects his voice in a sweet melody, he places his thumb into his mouth and places his finger between the strings of a lyre and sings. This produced a sound so sweet that his brothers the priests were abruptly taken aback.

תנו רבנן: בן קמצר לא רצה ללמד על מעשה הכתב. אמרו עליו שהיה נוטל ארבעה קולמוסין בין אצבעותיו, ואם היתה תיבה של ארבע אותיות היה כותבה בבת אחת. אמרו לו: מה ראית שלא ללמד? כולן מצאו תשובה לדבריהם, בן קמצר לא מצא תשובה לדבריו. על הראשונים נאמר: ״זכר צדיק לברכה״, ועל בן קמצר וחביריו נאמר: ״ושם רשעים ירקב״.

A baraita states: Ben Kamtzar did not want to teach others a special technique of writing. What was that technique? They said about him that he would take 4 quills between his fingers, and if there was a word consisting of 4 letters that he wanted to write, he could write it simultaneously. They said to him: What did you see that led you not to teach that technique? All the others with unique skills came up with a response to questions about the matter of their conduct, claiming that they sought to prevent their technique from being used in idol worship. However, ben Kamtzar did not come up with a response to questions about the matter of his conduct, and it was clear that his only motivation in preventing his skill from being disseminated was his own personal honor. With regard to the first people listed, it is stated: “The memory of the righteous should be for a blessing” (Proverbs 10:7); and about ben Kamtzar and his counterparts it is stated: “But the name of the wicked should rot” (Proverbs 10:7).