Gemara Clarity

Bava Basra 16b

בבא בתרא ט״ז ע״ב

Bava Batra 16b

Learn Bava Basra 16b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bava Basra 16b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

הקב״ה's precision and איוב's words and friends, איוב's daughters, the meaning of אברהם's blessing 'בכל', עשו's sins and ישמעאל's תשובה

Overview

This amud finishes the גמרא's reading of הקב״ה's answer to איוב: He times the eagle that catches the mountain goat's kid and the snake that helps the hind give birth to the exact moment, so He would never confuse איוב with אויב. רבא settles two פסוקים that seem to disagree about איוב's words: a person is not held responsible for what he says in pain. The גמרא then describes איוב's three friends, who lived far apart yet came in through one gate together, and רבא praises friendship like theirs. רבי יוחנן and ריש לקיש argue whether the birth of daughters brought growth or fighting into the world, and איוב's daughters were doubled in beauty, as their names show. A story about רבי, his son and בר קפרא leads to a dispute among תנאים over what 'בכל' means in אברהם's blessing. Among the answers, עשו did not rebel and ישמעאל did תשובה in אברהם's lifetime. Along the way the גמרא explains why mourners eat lentils, lists עשו's five sins on the day אברהם died, and proves ישמעאל's תשובה from the order of names at אברהם's burial. The amud ends by opening a ברייתא about three people who were given a taste of עולם הבא in this world.

Opening lines

לָלֶדֶת, עוֹלָה לְרֹאשׁ הָהָר

to give birth, she goes up to the top of the mountain

כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּפּוֹל מִמֶּנָּה וְיָמוּת;

so that it (the baby) will fall from her and die;

וַאֲנִי מַזְמִין לָהּ נֶשֶׁר

and I send her an eagle

שֶׁמְּקַבְּלוֹ בִּכְנָפָיו וּמַנִּיחוֹ לְפָנֶיהָ,

that catches it on its wings and places it before her,

The steps (48)

  1. ResponseThe mountain goat and the eagle: perfect timing
  2. ResponseThe hind and the snake: another example of perfect timing
  3. ChallengeTwo פסוקים disagree about איוב's words
  4. Resolutionרבא: a person in pain is not held responsible for his words
  5. QuestionWhat does 'ויועדו יחדו' mean?
  6. Responseרב: they all entered through one gate
  7. StatementA ברייתא: the friends lived three hundred פרסאות apart
  8. QuestionHow did the friends know?
  9. ResponseA crown or trees gave them the sign
  10. StatementA friend like איוב's friends, or death
  11. StatementWhat came into the world when daughters were born
  12. ChallengeWhy weren't איוב's daughters doubled?
  13. ResolutionDoubled in beauty, not in number
  14. StatementThe meaning of the first two names
  15. StatementThird name: like the horn of a קרש
  16. RejectionIn the West they laughed at that
  17. Statementרב חסדא: like the finest garden saffron
  18. Statementרבי comforts his son over the birth of a daughter
  19. Rejectionבר קפרא calls the comfort empty
  20. ProofThe ברייתא: the world needs both, but some roles are better
  21. StatementA dispute among תנאים: was אברהם blessed with no daughter or with a daughter?
  22. StatementOthers: אברהם's daughter was named בכל
  23. Statementרבי אלעזר המודעי: אברהם's wisdom in the stars
  24. Statementרבי שמעון בן יוחי: אברהם's healing stone
  25. Proofאביי: the popular saying about sickness and daylight
  26. StatementTwo more explanations: עשו did not rebel, and ישמעאל did תשובה
  27. QuestionHow do we know עשו did not rebel in אברהם's lifetime?
  28. ResponseThe day עשו came in tired was the day אברהם died
  29. QuestionWhy lentils for a mourner?
  30. ResponseA lentil has no mouth, and neither does a mourner
  31. StatementA lentil is round, and mourning comes around to everyone
  32. QuestionWhat is the difference between the two reasons?
  33. ResponseThe difference: comforting a mourner with eggs
  34. Statementעשו's five sins on that day
  35. ProofSource for the sin with a betrothed young woman
  36. ProofSource for killing a person
  37. ProofSource for denying God
  38. ProofSources for denying resurrection and scorning the birthright
  39. QuestionHow do we know ישמעאל repented?
  40. Questionרבינא asks about the word 'גויעה'
  41. ChallengeThe generation of the flood
  42. ResolutionOnly 'גויעה' together with 'אסיפה'
  43. ChallengeBut ישמעאל has both words
  44. Resolutionרבא wakes up: ישמעאל repented
  45. ChallengeMaybe the order is by wisdom
  46. RejectionThe burial of יצחק shows the Torah does not list by wisdom
  47. Conclusionישמעאל let יצחק lead, so he did תשובה
  48. StatementA ברייתא begins: three who tasted the World to Come in this world