Megillah, Daf Gimmel, Part 3

 

Introduction

The end of yesterday’s section alluded to the prohibition of translating the Writings because there are verses in the book of Daniel that reveal the end of time. Today’s section opens with a verse from Daniel. Furthermore, today’s section contains another statement by R. Jeremiah and some say R. Hiyya b. Abba, the same amoraim whose statements were at the focus of the previous sections.

 

וראיתי אני דניאל לבדי את המראה והאנשים אשר היו עמי לא ראו את המראה אבל חרדה גדלה נפלה עליהם ויברחו בהחבא (דניאל י:ז)

מאן נינהו אנשים? – אמר רבי ירמיה ואיתימא רבי חייא בר אבא: זה חגי זכריה ומלאכי, אינהו עדיפי מיניה, ואיהו עדיף מינייהו. אינהו עדיפי מיניה – דאינהו נביאי, ואיהו לאו נביא. איהו עדיף מינייהו – דאיהו חזא ואינהו לא חזו. –

 

"And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision; for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves" (Daniel 10:7).  

Who were these "men"?

R. Jeremiah — or some say, R. Hiyya b. Abba — said: These were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. They were superior to him [in one way], and he was superior to them [in another]. They were superior to him, because they were prophets and he was not a prophet. He was superior to them, because he saw [on this occasion] and they did not see.

 

In this verse, Daniel sees a vision (seems to be a vision of God, but I do recommend reading the verses) but the other men with him do not see the vision. R. Jeremiah identifies these other men as Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the prophets that operated at the end of the Babylonian exile and as the Jews returned to the land of Israel. They were superior to Daniel because they were prophets. But Daniel is not really a prophet, sent by God to deliver messages to Israel, as were the classic prophets. However, on this occasion, Daniel was superior for he saw the vision and they did not.

 

וכי מאחר דלא חזו מאי טעמא איבעיתו? אף על גב דאינהו לא חזו – מזלייהו חזו.

 

But if they did not see, why were they frightened?

Although they themselves did not see, their star saw.

 

If the prophets didn’t see why were they afraid? The Talmud claims that while the prophets themselves did not see the vision, their "star (mazal)" did see. Rashi explains that each person has a "mazal" in the heavens who (I guess) represents him above. It seems that whatever the "mazal" experiences, the person also experiences.  

 

אמר רבינא: שמע מינה, האי מאן דמיבעית – אף על גב דאיהו לא חזי מזליה חזי.

מאי תקנתיה? ליקרי קריאת שמע.

ואי קאים במקום הטנופת – לינשוף מדוכתיה ארבע גרמידי, ואי לא – לימא הכי: עיזא דבי טבחי שמינא מינאי.

 

Ravina said: We learn from this that if a man is seized with fright though he sees nothing, [the reason is that] his star sees.

What is his remedy? He should recite the Shema.  

If he is in a place which is foul, he should move away from it four cubits.

If he cannot do this, he should say this formula: "The goat at the butcher’s is fatter than I am."

 

Ravina uses the previous explanation of the verse in Daniel to conclude that if a sudden fright comes across a person it must be because his "star" saw something up above. The remedy for this fright is recite the Shema. Perhaps reciting a text so familiar will calm the person’s nerves. Alternatively, the holy text of the Shema will work as some sort of incantation, protecting him from the frightening sight witnessed by the "star." It is forbidden to recite the Shema in a dirty place, so if he experiences such a frightful experience near a dirty place he should move away four cubits. Finally, if he’s really stuck in a foul place he should let the demon frightening his star know that there are fatter goats to pick on at the butcher’s.

While we did not encounter many such "demon"-oriented text while learning Sukkah, there are many such texts in the Babylonian Talmud. People in the ancient world, including many rabbis, believed in the existence of demons, and developed all sorts of means to protect themselves from them. While today most of us find such passages somewhat "distasteful" "pagan" or "primitive" they are a part of our Jewish/Talmud (and human) heritage.