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Shabbos 152a

שבת קנ״ב ע״א

Shabbat 152a

Learn Shabbos 152a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Shabbos 152a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Old age in קהלת and in stories of the חכמים, the value of youth, and teachings about death and mourning

Overview

This amud is mostly about old age and what comes after it. The גמרא reads the last chapter of קהלת phrase by phrase as a picture of the aging body: ribs, legs, teeth, eyes, stomach, sleep, hearing, and desire. Stories bring the verses to life. רבי יהושע בן חנניה tells the emperor in a riddle that he is too old to debate, and רבי שמעון בן חלפתא tells רבי that rocks now seem tall and his two legs have become three. Sayings about youth teach that it is precious and never returns, and that one should eat well while young. In between, רבי יהושע בן קרחה answers a mocking eunuch insult for insult. ברזילי's words to דוד add more signs of aging. רב says ברזילי was lying, and רבא says he really aged early. A ברייתא teaches that Torah scholars grow wiser with age. The amud ends with death: each צדיק gets his own place in the next world, the soul mourns for seven days, and רב יהודה rules that ten people sit in place of mourners for someone who has none. That story continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְשֶׁל בֵּית הַכִּסֵּא — רָעוֹת.

And those (tears) of the bathroom are bad.

שֶׁל סַם וְשֶׁל שְׂחוֹק

Those from medicine and those from laughter,

וְשֶׁל פֵּירוֹת — יָפוֹת.

and those from (sharp) produce are good.

״בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיָּזוּעוּ שׁוֹמְרֵי הַבַּיִת

"On the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,

The steps (36)

  1. StatementWhich tears hurt the eyes and which help them
  2. Statementקהלת's verse explained as the aging body
  3. QuestionThe emperor asks why the sage stopped coming
  4. ResponseThe riddle: the snowy mountain
  5. Statementבי רב adds: searching for what I never lost
  6. StatementTwo is better than three
  7. QuestionWhat is the thing that never returns?
  8. Responseרב חסדא: it is youth
  9. StatementA crown of roses and a crown of thorns
  10. StatementChew well and your legs will be strong
  11. Statementשמואל: eat while young, drink when older
  12. StatementThe eunuch asks a mocking question about distance
  13. StatementBald goat versus castrated goat
  14. StatementThe eunuch mocks the רבי for walking barefoot
  15. StatementThe רבי answers three insults with three of his own
  16. StatementFinal jabs: who is fit to argue or rebuke
  17. Questionרבי asks why רבי שמעון בן חלפתא stopped visiting
  18. ResponseOld age in four short images
  19. StatementShut doors and the quiet mill: body openings and the stomach
  20. StatementLight sleep and lost joy in music
  21. Statementברזילי's words show how old age affects the mind, mouth, and ears
  22. Statementרב says ברזילי was lying, since a 92-year-old maid could still taste food
  23. Statementרבא says ברזילי spoke truthfully but aged early because of immoral behavior
  24. StatementTorah scholars grow wiser with age; ignorant people grow more foolish
  25. Statementקהלת's 'fear of heights' and 'terrors on the road' describe an old person walking
  26. StatementThe almond, grasshopper, and caper berry stand for the hip, buttocks, and desire
  27. Statementרב sighs at the verse, and רב כהנא understands that רב's desire has ended
  28. Statementרב כהנא: God's word created the drive for a wife and children
  29. StatementDesire draws people even past what is physically unappealing
  30. StatementEach righteous person gets a home that fits his honor
  31. StatementParable of the king and his servants entering a city
  32. StatementDeeds of youth darken a person's face in old age
  33. StatementWorms hurt the dead like a needle hurts the living
  34. StatementThe soul mourns for the person for seven days
  35. StatementIf a dead person has no mourners, ten people sit in his place
  36. StatementA man died near רב יהודה with no mourners