The Talmud- a treasure of inspiring stories
The Talmud has been mistaken by many to be a mere Halachic source, dedicated to an in depth study of the Jewish laws and to the ping-pong like debates revolving unusual incidents such as “How will a man who got stuck in the desert and forgot what day it is know when Shabbat is due”. Even though these debates can be fascinating even for those who are not tightly observant of the Jewish laws, they usually seem as passages that concern only the strictly religious people and irrelevant to anyone else.
The Talmud – Much more than a Halachic text
In recent years people in Israel and also abroad began to discover the Talmud anew, finding there striking wisdom, intense drama, heart warming moments and also entertaining humor. Many people who has just started diving in the Talmud say that once they laid their eyes on a single Talmudic story for the first time, the wish to read and learn more increased and kept increasing with each new story they studied. Talmudic courses in the university have also expanded and now offer the students courses that focus only on the non-Halachic parts, which represent the beliefs, theological themes and educational lessons of the time.
We’d like to present you with one story of this kind, which will hopefully be your own entering gate to the Talmud’s unceasing magic. [ More to come. . .]
Ilfa and Rabi Yochanan
Ilfa and Rabi Yochanan learned Torah in great poverty. When their condition became unbearable they said: “Let’s engage in some business so that we will abide the Torah verse “There shall be no poor amongst you” (Deutronomy, 15:4).They went afterward to sit under a rickety wall and eat some bread. Then came two angels. Rabi Yochanan heard one of them telling the other: “Let’s cast this wall over them and kill them, for they chose to leave the life of the next world (studying the Torah) , in order to pursue material earthly life.”
The other angel said: “Let them be. One of them is meant to succeed greatly.”
Rabi Yochanan heard it all whereas Ilfa didn’t.
Rabbi Yochanan asked Ilfa: “Have you heard anything?”
“No” Ilfa answered.
Rabi Yochanan thought to himself “If I heard it and Ilfa didn’t, it means that it is me who is going to succeed”
Then he said to Ilfa: “I shall return home [to the 'yeshiva'], and fulfill there the verse, “There will not cease to be paupers [poor people] amongst you.” [--> notice this is the exact opposite of the first verse mentioned above]
Rabi Yochanan returned, Ilfa didn’t. By the time Ilfa has returned from his business journies, Rabi Yochanan had become the head of the Yeshiva.
The students said to Ilfa: “If you continued learning here, you could have been the head of the Yeshiva.”
Ilfa then climbed and hung on a tall ship’s mast.
Ilfa said: “If there is someone who can ask me anything of Rabi Chiya or Rabi Oshiya’s studying that I wouldn’t be able to answer, I shall throw myself from this mast and drown.”
An old man came, and asked a question [...] Ilfa answered correctly.
[for those of you who can read Hebrew, you can download the source here]
Some guiding questions for the story:
~ Why did Rabi Yochanan return after hearing the angels’ conversation?
~ Why did he choose another verse to fulfill when he spoke to Ilfa of his wish to return to the Yeshiva?
~ After reading the whole story – who do you think the angels talked about? Is there really only one who succeeds in the story? If both are successful, what does it teach us of the ability of man to change his fate?
~ What does it mean that Ilfa answered correctly in the end of the story? What two ways of life does this story approve?
– feel free to discuss it on our comments box!
The Steinsaltz Talmud edition:
Rav Steinsalz did the unbelievable and translated the whole Talmud, which is written mostly in the Aramaic language, to Hebrew. This monumental effort allows even those who are not enrolled in a yeshiva studying Aramaic on a daily basis to understand and study the Talmud, which until now remained unreachable for all the others, closed between the four walls of the Yeshiva.
Steinsalz has finished translating and clarifying the Talmud this year after dedicating half his life to this extremely important work. If you enjoy stories of great wisdom, you should get yourself a copy of the Steinsalz Talmud edition. You can either buy a separate tractate (Ta’anit, Ketubot etc.) or you can buy the whole set, which is a true asset to every Jewish home. The Talmud has been taught and studied for thousands of years and is a rich source of knowledge and inspiration which will never go to waste and will also pass on to your future generations.
If we are to recommend where you shall begin, we advise you begin with Ta’anit tractate, which is sold in two volumes:
You are also free to choose any other tractate (‘Masechet’) or get all the volumes at once.
A great companion to the Talmud is Steinsaltz’s introduction book: “The Essential Talmud“, which will slide you in your Talmud experience very smoothly.
Now all you have to do is clear some space on your bookshelves… 
