Study Bava Metzia folio 85A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
the sons of Beteira; and Yonatan, son of Saul. The Talmud discusses each case: The incident revealing the modesty of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is that which we just said, as he referred to himself modestly as a fox. The sons of Beteira were exceptionally modest, as they served in the position of N
The Talmud asks: From where do we know that the aforementioned men were truly modest? Perhaps Yonatan, son of Saul, relinquished his rights to the kingship not due to modesty, but because he saw that the world, i.e., the masses, were drawn after David, and he felt he had no other recourse. With re
§ The Talmud returns to the previous incident. When he heard that the greatness of R' Elazar, son of R' Shimon, was due to his suffering, R' Yehuda HaNasi said to himself: Afflictions are evidently precious. He accepted 13 years of afflictions upon himself; 6 years of stones in the kidneys and 7 yea
The Talmud relates: The stableman [ahuriyareih] of the house of R' Yehuda HaNasi was wealthier than King Shapur of Persia, due to R' Yehuda HaNasi’s abundant livestock. When the stableman would place fodder before the livestock, the sound of their lowing would travel the distance of 3 mil. He would
The Talmud says: But even so, the afflictions of R' Elazar, son of R' Shimon, were greater than those of R' Yehuda HaNasi. The reason is that whereas the afflictions of R' Elazar, son of R' Shimon, came upon him out of love, and left him out of love, i.e., they were solely the result of his own req