The tractate of Taanit, chapter 21, is dedicated by the Jamal boys—Norman, Joseph, and Jacob—in memory of their grandparents, Sally and Norman Jamal, and Vicky and Joseph Beyda, may they rest in peace and may the spirit of God grant them repose in Gan Eden, Amen. Today's page is being studied for the elevation of the souls of Shaul ben Bahya, may the spirit of God grant him repose in Gan Eden, Amen, and Natan ben Ester. We begin today's page on chapter 21, starting right on the top line.
The Gemara recounts a story: Ilfa and Rabbi Yochanan were studying Torah, but they faced severe financial hardship. They said to each other, "Let us go out and engage in business to earn some money, and thereby fulfill the verse, 'There should be no poor among you.' We are poor, so we need to work." They went and sat by a dilapidated wall, eating bread. Two ministering angels appeared. Rabbi Yochanan heard one angel say to the other, "Let us topple this wall upon them and kill them both, for they are abandoning the life of the World to Come (Torah study) to engage in temporary worldly matters like business." The other angel replied, "Leave them alone, for one of them is destined for greatness, and therefore it is not his time to die yet."
Rabbi Yochanan heard this, but Ilfa did not. Rabbi Yochanan asked Ilfa, "Did you hear anything?" Ilfa replied, "No, I heard nothing." Rabbi Yochanan then reasoned, "Since I heard it and Ilfa did not, it must be that my time for greatness has come." Rabbi Yochanan told Ilfa, "I am returning to the Yeshiva, and I will fulfill in myself the other verse, 'For the poor will never cease from the earth.' I will be one of those poor people." Rabbi Yochanan returned, but Ilfa did not. By the time Ilfa eventually returned to the Yeshiva, Rabbi Yochanan had already been appointed head of the Yeshiva.
The people said to Ilfa, "If you had stayed and continued to learn in the Yeshiva, Rabbi Yochanan would not have become the head of the Yeshiva; you would have instead." Ilfa, wishing to demonstrate that he was still a great Torah scholar, despite having left, went and balanced himself on the mast of a ship, in a high place. He declared, "If anyone asks me a question about a Baraita from the collections of Rabbi Chiya or Rabbi Oshaya, and I cannot show its source from a Mishnah—for every Baraita has a source in some Mishnah—I will allow myself to fall off the mast and drown in the sea." This was, of course, an exaggeration.
An old man then came and quoted a Baraita: "If someone said, 'Give a shekel to my son weekly' (for his expenses), and they are actually worthy of receiving a sela (a larger sum), then we give them a sela. This is because his intention was to provide them with what they truly need for support. However, if he explicitly said, 'Give them only a shekel,' then they are given only a shekel, even if it is insufficient. Furthermore, if he stated, 'If they die, others will inherit in their place,' then regardless of whether he said 'give a shekel' or 'give only a shekel,' only a shekel is given. This is because since the estate is already designated to affect others, the administrator has no right to give more to the immediate family than the minimum allotment."
Rashi explains that when Rabbi Yochanan was appointed head of the Yeshiva, it was customary to make the head of the Yeshiva wealthy, so he would not have to worry about his livelihood and could focus on preparing lessons with a clear mind. This custom, unfortunately, does not exist today. The people told Ilfa that if he had remained, he would have been appointed head of the Yeshiva because he was even more learned than Rabbi Yochanan. Ilfa's act of balancing on the mast was to demonstrate that even though he had engaged in business, he still surpassed Rabbi Yochanan in learning. The collections of Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya were compilations of Baraitot based on the teachings of Rebbi, the author of the Mishnah. Ilfa claimed he could trace any of their Baraitot back to a Mishnah.
The Baraita regarding the shekel and sela explains that if the testator merely said "give a shekel," but the family needs a sela, the administrator gives a sela. The testator's intention was to provide for them, and he only mentioned a shekel to incentivize them to work and not be lazy, as is discussed in Ketubot. However, if he explicitly said "only a shekel," then only that amount is given. And if he introduced other inheritors, then even if he just said "give a shekel" (without "only"), only a shekel is given, because he wanted to preserve the estate for the subsequent inheritors. Ilfa responded to the old man, "This Baraita follows the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who states that it is a commandment to fulfill the words of the deceased." Rashi clarifies that if it were not for this commandment, the family would receive everything they needed, as the entire estate is theirs, and the other inheritors have no claim until after their death and only to any surplus. But because the testator explicitly mentioned other inheritors, we limit the initial inheritance to preserve the estate for those others, fulfilling the deceased's instruction.
Now we turn to the famous story of Nachum Ish Gamzu. Some say he was called "Ish Gamzu" because he always said, "This too is for the good." Others, like Rabbeinu Chananel, say Gamzu was the name of his hometown. It was said about him that he was blind in both eyes, missing both hands, missing both legs, and his entire body was covered with boils. He lay in a dilapidated house, with the legs of his bed placed in pails of water to prevent ants from crawling up to him, as he could not swat them away without hands. One time, his disciples wished to move his bed out of the dilapidated house, and then remove the other furniture. He told them, "My children, first remove the furniture, and then remove my bed, for I assure you that as long as I am in the house, the house will not fall." They removed the furniture, and then his bed. The moment he left the house, it collapsed.
His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, since you are such a complete righteous person, why have these afflictions come upon you?" He replied, "My children, I brought this upon myself. Once, I was traveling to my father-in-law's house with a load of three donkeys: one with food, one with drink, and one with various delicacies. A poor man approached me on the road and said, 'Rabbi, sustain me.' I told him, 'Wait until I unload from the donkey.' I did not manage to unload from the donkey before, God forbid, his soul departed; he died of hunger. I went and fell upon his face, and I said, 'My eyes, which did not have mercy on your eyes, should go blind. My hands, which did not have mercy on your hands (to open and give charity immediately), should be cut off. My legs, which did not have mercy on your legs (to run quickly to help you), should be cut off.' And I did not have peace of mind until I declared, 'My entire body should be covered with boils.'" His disciples said to him, "Woe to us that we have seen you in such a state!" He replied, "Woe to me if you had not seen me in such a state!"