העושה סיג לדבריה/ו

דיבור וחוסר דיבור, דוגמאות להגדרת גבולות לדיבור. Spoken and unspoken.

גְּדוֹלָה תוֹרָה יוֹתֵר מִן הַכְּהֻנָּה וּמִן הַמַּלְכוּת, שֶׁהַמַּלְכוּת נִקְנֵית בִּשְׁלֹשִׁים מַעֲלוֹת, וְהַכְּהֻנָּה בְּעֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבַּע, וְהַתּוֹרָה נִקְנֵית בְּאַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמֹנָה דְבָרִים. וְאֵלוּ הֵן, בְּתַלְמוּד, בִּשְׁמִיעַת הָאֹזֶן, בַּעֲרִיכַת שְׂפָתַיִם, בְּבִינַת הַלֵּב, בְּשִׂכְלוּת הַלֵּב, בְּאֵימָה, בְּיִרְאָה, בַּעֲנָוָה, בְּשִׂמְחָה, בְּטָהֳרָה, בְּשִׁמּוּשׁ חֲכָמִים, בְּדִקְדּוּק חֲבֵרִים, וּבְפִלְפּוּל הַתַּלְמִידִים, בְּיִשּׁוּב, בַּמִּקְרָא, בַּמִּשְׁנָה, בְּמִעוּט סְחוֹרָה, בְּמִעוּט דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, בְּמִעוּט תַּעֲנוּג, בְּמִעוּט שֵׁינָה, בְּמִעוּט שִׂיחָה, בְּמִעוּט שְׂחוֹק, בְּאֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם, בְּלֵב טוֹב, בֶּאֱמוּנַת חֲכָמִים, וּבְקַבָּלַת הַיִּסּוּרִין, הַמַּכִּיר אֶת מְקוֹמוֹ, וְהַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ, וְהָעוֹשֶׂה סְיָג לִדְבָרָיו, וְאֵינוֹ מַחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לְעַצְמוֹ, אָהוּב, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַמָּקוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַצְּדָקוֹת, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַמֵּישָׁרִים, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַתּוֹכָחוֹת, מִתְרַחֵק מִן הַכָּבוֹד, וְלֹא מֵגִיס לִבּוֹ בְתַלְמוּדוֹ, וְאֵינוֹ שָׂמֵחַ בְּהוֹרָאָה, נוֹשֵׂא בְעֹל עִם חֲבֵרוֹ, מַכְרִיעוֹ לְכַף זְכוּת, מַעֲמִידוֹ עַל הָאֱמֶת, וּמַעֲמִידוֹ עַל הַשָּׁלוֹם, מִתְיַשֵּׁב לִבּוֹ בְתַלְמוּדוֹ, שׁוֹאֵל וּמֵשִׁיב, שׁוֹמֵעַ וּמוֹסִיף, הַלּוֹמֵד עַל מְנָת לְלַמֵּד וְהַלּוֹמֵד עַל מְנָת לַעֲשׂוֹת, הַמַּחְכִּים אֶת רַבּוֹ, וְהַמְכַוֵּן אֶת שְׁמוּעָתוֹ, וְהָאוֹמֵר דָּבָר בְּשֵׁם אוֹמְרוֹ, הָא לָמַדְתָּ שֶׁכָּל הָאוֹמֵר דָּבָר בְּשֵׁם אוֹמְרוֹ מֵבִיא גְאֻלָּה לָעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (אסתר ב) וַתֹּאמֶר אֶסְתֵּר לַמֶּלֶךְ בְּשֵׁם מָרְדֳּכָי:

Pirkei Avot 6:6

Greater is learning Torah than the priesthood and than royalty, for royalty is acquired by thirty stages, and the priesthood by twenty-four, but the Torah by forty-eight things. By study, Attentive listening, Proper speech, By an understanding heart, By an intelligent heart, By awe, By fear, By humility, By joy, By attending to the sages, By critical give and take with friends, By fine argumentation with disciples, By clear thinking, By study of Scripture, By study of mishnah, By a minimum of sleep, By a minimum of chatter, By a minimum of pleasure, By a minimum of frivolity, By a minimum of preoccupation with worldly matters, By long-suffering, By generosity, By faith in the sages, By acceptance of suffering. [Learning of Torah is also acquired by one] Who recognizes his place, Who rejoices in his portion, Who makes a fence about his words, Who takes no credit for himself, Who is loved, Who loves God, Who loves [his fellow] creatures, Who loves righteous ways, Who loves reproof, Who loves uprightness, Who keeps himself far from honors, Who does not let his heart become swelled on account of his learning, Who does not delight in giving legal decisions, Who shares in the bearing of a burden with his colleague, Who judges with the scales weighted in his favor, Who leads him on to truth, Who leads him on to peace, Who composes himself at his study, Who asks and answers, Who listens [to others], and [himself] adds [to his knowledge], Who learns in order to teach, Who learns in order to practice, Who makes his teacher wiser, Who is exact in what he has learned, And who says a thing in the name of him who said it. Thus you have learned: everyone who says a thing in the name of him who said it, brings deliverance into the world, as it is said: “And Esther told the king in Mordecai’s name” (Esther 2:22).

סוכה כ״ז ב:י׳-כ״ח א:ג׳

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר שֶׁשָּׁבַת בַּגָּלִיל הָעֶלְיוֹן בְּסוּכָּתוֹ שֶׁל יוֹחָנָן בְּרַבִּי אִלְעַאי בְּקֵיסָרִי, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ בְּקֵיסָרְיוֹן, וְהִגִּיעַ חַמָּה לַסּוּכָּה. אָמַר לוֹ: מַהוּ שֶׁאֶפְרוֹשׂ עָלֶיהָ סָדִין? אָמַר לוֹ: אֵין לְךָ כׇּל שֵׁבֶט וְשֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁלֹּא הֶעֱמִיד מִמֶּנּוּ שׁוֹפֵט. הִגִּיעַ חַמָּה לַחֲצִי הַסּוּכָּה, אָמַר לוֹ: מַהוּ שֶׁאֶפְרוֹשׂ עָלֶיהָ סָדִין? אָמַר לוֹ: אֵין לְךָ כׇּל שֵׁבֶט וְשֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁלֹּא יָצְאוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נְבִיאִים. שֵׁבֶט יְהוּדָה וּבִנְיָמִין הֶעֱמִידוּ מְלָכִים עַל פִּי נְבִיאִים. הִגִּיעַ חַמָּה לְמַרְגְּלוֹתָיו שֶׁל רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, נָטַל יוֹחָנָן סָדִין וּפֵירַשׂ עָלֶיהָ, הִפְשִׁיל רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר טַלִּיתוֹ לַאֲחוֹרָיו וְיָצָא. לֹא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִפְלִיגוֹ בִּדְבָרִים, אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר דָּבָר שֶׁלֹּא שָׁמַע מִפִּי רַבּוֹ לְעוֹלָם. הֵיכִי עָבֵיד הָכִי? וְהָאָמַר רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: אֵין יוֹצְאִין מִסּוּכָּה לְסוּכָּה! רֶגֶל אַחֵר הֲוַאי. וְהָאָמַר רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: מְשַׁבֵּחַ אֲנִי אֶת הָעַצְלָנִין שֶׁאֵין יוֹצְאִין מִבָּתֵּיהֶן בָּרֶגֶל! שַׁבָּת הֲוַאי. וְתִיפְשׁוֹט לֵיהּ מִדִּידֵיהּ דִּתְנַן: פְּקַק הַחַלּוֹן, רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר: בִּזְמַן שֶׁקָּשׁוּר וְתָלוּי — פּוֹקְקִין בּוֹ, וְאִם לָאו — אֵין פּוֹקְקִין בּוֹ. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים: בֵּין כָּךְ וּבֵין כָּךְ פּוֹקְקִין. הָתָם הוּא דִּמְבַטֵּל, אֲבָל הָכָא דְּלָא מְבַטֵּל — לָא. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר שֶׁשָּׁבַת בַּגָּלִיל הָעֶלְיוֹן, וּשְׁאָלוּהוּ שְׁלֹשִׁים הֲלָכוֹת בְּהִלְכוֹת סוּכָּה, שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אָמַר לָהֶם: שָׁמַעְתִּי, שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה אָמַר לָהֶם: לֹא שָׁמַעְתִּי. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בְּרַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, חִילּוּף הַדְּבָרִים: שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה אָמַר לָהֶם: שָׁמַעְתִּי, שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה אָמַר לָהֶם: לֹא שָׁמַעְתִּי. אָמְרוּ לוֹ: כׇּל דְּבָרֶיךָ אֵינָן אֶלָּא מִפִּי הַשְּׁמוּעָה! אָמַר לָהֶם: הִזְקַקְתּוּנִי לוֹמַר דָּבָר שֶׁלֹּא שָׁמַעְתִּי מִפִּי רַבּוֹתַי. מִיָּמַי לֹא קְדָמַנִי אָדָם בְּבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ, וְלֹא יָשַׁנְתִּי בְּבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ לֹא שֵׁינַת קֶבַע וְלֹא שֵׁינַת עֲרַאי, וְלֹא הִנַּחְתִּי אָדָם בְּבֵית הַמִּדְרָשׁ וְיָצָאתִי, וְלֹא שַׂחְתִּי שִׂיחַת חוּלִּין, וְלֹא אָמַרְתִּי דָּבָר שֶׁלֹּא שָׁמַעְתִּי מִפִּי רַבִּי מֵעוֹלָם.

Sukkah 27b:10-28a:3

§ The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer, who stayed in the Upper Galilee in the sukka of Yoḥanan, son of Rabbi Elai, in Caesarea; and some say that it did not occur in Caesarea but in Caesarion. And the sun reached a point over the roofing of the sukka, rendering it uncomfortable to remain in the sukka. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: What is the halakha; may I spread a sheet over the roofing? Is it permitted, since it is only adding to a temporary tent or is it prohibited? Rabbi Eliezer evaded the question and said to him: There is no tribe of Israel from which a judge did not emerge. In the meantime, the sun reached directly over the midpoint of the roofing of the sukka. Once again, Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: What is the halakha; may I spread a sheet over it? Rabbi Eliezer again evaded the question and said to him: There is no tribe of Israel from which prophets did not emerge. And the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were unique because they established kings according to prophets, as Saul and David were anointed by the prophet Samuel. At that point, the light of the sun reached the feet of Rabbi Eliezer. Yoḥanan took a sheet and spread it over the sukka. Rabbi Eliezer slung his cloak over his shoulder behind him and emerged from the sukka because he did not want to permit doing so. The Gemara comments: Rabbi Eliezer conducted himself in that manner not because he was seeking to avoid answering by diverting his attention with his words, but because Rabbi Eliezer never said a matter that he did not hear from his teacher. The Gemara asks: How did Rabbi Eliezer do so? How did he stay in a sukka in the Upper Galilee on the festival of Sukkot? Didn’t Rabbi Eliezer himself say: One may not depart from one sukka to another sukka? The Gemara answers: The incident was on a different Festival and not the festival of Sukkot, and they were in the sukka merely for the fresh air. The Gemara asks from a different perspective: But didn’t Rabbi Eliezer say: I praise the lazy, who do not leave their houses on the Festival? That apparently applies to all Festivals. The Gemara answers: The incident did not take place on a Festival at all. It was on Shabbat, and Rabbi Yoḥanan’s question was with regard to the prohibited labor of building on Shabbat. The Gemara asks: If so, resolve the matter and conclude that it is not permitted from his own opinion, as we learned in a mishna: With regard to a window shutter on Shabbat, Rabbi Eliezer says: When it is tied to and hanging from the window, i.e., it is not touching the ground, one may shutter the window with it, because that is not considered building; and if not, i.e., if it is touching the ground, one may not shutter the window with it. And the Rabbis say: Both in this case and in that case one may shutter with it. From the fact that if it is not hanging from the window, Rabbi Eliezer prohibits shuttering the window, he also prohibits adding to a temporary tent. The Gemara answers: There is a difference between the case of the shutter and the case of the sheet. There, in the case of the shutter, where he negates it by shuttering the window, it is considered part of the building and it is therefore prohibited. However, here, in the case of the sheet, where he does not negate it, as he plans on removing it, no, it is not necessarily prohibited. The Gemara relates a similar incident. The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer, who stayed in the Upper Galilee, and the people there asked him thirty halakhot in the halakhot of sukka. In response to twelve, he said to them: I heard an answer from my teachers, and he related what he heard. In response to the other eighteen, he said to them: I did not hear an answer. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: It was the reverse of these matters. In response to eighteen he said to them: I heard an answer; in response to the other twelve he said to them: I did not hear an answer. They said to him: Are all the matters that you know only from what you heard? Don’t you say any matters on your own? He said to them: Now you forced me to say a matter that I did not hear from my teachers, as I must describe my character traits and the manner in which I conduct myself. In all my days, no person ever preceded me into the study hall, as I am always first to arrive; and I never slept in the study hall, neither substantial sleep nor a brief nap; and I never left anyone in the study hall and exited, as I was always last to leave; and I never engaged in idle conversation; rather, I discussed only necessary matters or matters of Torah; and I never said anything that I did not hear from my teacher. That is why he did not answer those questions that his teacher did not address.

משנה שביעית ח׳:ט׳-י׳

(ט) עוֹר שֶׁסָּכוֹ בְּשֶׁמֶן שֶׁל שְׁבִיעִית, רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, יִדָּלֵק. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, יֹאכַל כְּנֶגְדּוֹ. אָמְרוּ לִפְנֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אוֹמֵר הָיָה רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, עוֹר שֶׁסָּכוֹ בְשֶׁמֶן שֶׁל שְׁבִיעִית, יִדָּלֵק. אָמַר לָהֶם, שְׁתֹקוּ, לֹא אוֹמַר לָכֶם מַה שֶּׁרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר בּוֹ:

(י) וְעוֹד אָמְרוּ לְפָנָיו, אוֹמֵר הָיָה רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר, הָאוֹכֵל פַּת כּוּתִים כְּאוֹכֵל בְּשַׂר חֲזִיר. אָמַר לָהֶם, שְׁתֹקוּ, לֹא אוֹמַר לָכֶם מַה שֶּׁרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר בּוֹ:

Mishnah Sheviit 8:9-10

(9) A hide which they oiled with seventh year oil: Rabbi Eliezer says: it must be burnt; But the sages say: he must [buy and] eat [food] for its equivalent. They said in front of Rabbi Akiba: Rabbi Eliezer used to say, A hide which they smeared with seventh year oil must be burnt. He replied: Silence! I won’t tell you what Rabbi Eliezer actually said in this connection.

(10) They also said in front of him: Rabbi Eliezer use to say: “Whoever eats bread [baked] by Samaritans is like one who eats the flesh of a pig.” He replied: Silence! I won’t tell you what Rabbi Eliezer actually said in this connection.

תלמוד ירושלמי שביעית ח׳:ח׳:ד׳-ה׳

עוֹר שֶׁסָּכוֹ בְּשֶׁמֶן מַה אָמַר בּוֹ רִבִּי לִיעֶזֶר. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי עַצְמוֹתָיו שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ יִשְׂרֹפוּ. רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא אָמַר מוּתָּר. וְעוֹד אָֽמְרוּ לְפָנָיו. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי זֹאת אוֹמֶרֶת שֶׁאָסוּר לְחָבֵר לִיקַּח בִּתּוֹ שֶׁל עַם הָאָרֶץ. רִבִּי חִזְקִיָּה בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא מַתִּיר הָיָה רִבִּי לִיעֶזֶר חֲמֵיצָן שֶׁל כּוּתִּים לְאַחַר הַפֶּסַח מִיַּד.

Jerusalem Talmud Sheviit 8:8:4-5

What does Rebbi Eliezer say about him who oiled leather? Rebbi Yose said, that man’s bones should be burned. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: It is permitted. “They also said before him.” Rebbi Yose said, this implies that a fellow is forbidden to marry the daughter of a vulgar. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: Rebbi Eliezer used to permit the leavened matter of a Samaritan immediately after Passover.

Avigayil Halpern, Approaching, Ki Tisa: Our Ancestors' Silence
Plaskow argues, in the very first sentence of Standing Again at Sinai, that “[t]he need for a feminist Judaism begins with hearing silence,”(1). Feminist Judaism springs up from those who are not mentioned in the text realizing this and feeling the pain of it -- as Plaskow asks, “How can we ever hope to fill the silence that shrouds Jewish women’s past?” (26) — and looking around to see where we can find ourselves and what we can make....
...But what if this silence itself can be Torah? What if our women ancestors’ absence from a story is itself thick with meaning?...
...Here, women start out invisible. Much as Plaskow points out about the command Moses gives to the Jewish people before the theophany at Sinai, “The gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters” is a sentence addressed to an audience of only men. But this absence, teaches Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, does not reflect an oversight or a failure to address women: it reflects women’s refusal to participate in the construction of the Golden Calf. This midrash reads women’s silence as deeply significant.
But what does that silence mean? What could it look like to inherit a legacy of women’s silence and learn power from it, learn how to move forward?...
...Plaskow writes that “to start with the certainty of our membership in our own people is to be forced to re-member and recreate its history, to reshape Torah,” (28). We have remembered ourselves as the descendants of those who built the Calf. The women who refused have not been a central part of our remembered history. But what would it mean for us, the Jews, to not be only the descendants of those who built the Golden Calf, but equally the descendants of those who refused to? What if we, like Bnot Tzlofchad, could take the absence, silence, and refusal of our ancestors and hold that as part of who we are, as a well of strength that informs who we are and what we know we can demand?

Yב

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