Study Ketubot folio 104A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
which is situated at a high altitude and whose air is scented.
§ It is related that on the day that R' Yehuda HaNasi died, the rabbis decreed a fast, and begged for divine mercy so that he would not die. And they said: Anyone who says that R' Yehuda HaNasi has died will be stabbed with a sword.
The female slave of R' Yehuda HaNasi ascended to the roof and said: The upper realms are requesting the presence of R' Yehuda HaNasi, and the lower realms are requesting the presence of R' Yehuda HaNasi. May it be the will of God that the lower worlds should impose their will upon the upper worlds.
And the rabbis, meanwhile, would not be silent, i.e., they would not refrain, from begging for mercy so that R' Yehuda HaNasi would not die. So she took a jug [kuza] and threw it from the roof to the ground. Due to the sudden noise, the rabbis were momentarily silent and refrained from begging fo
The rabbis said to bar Kappara: Go and ascertain the condition of R' Yehuda HaNasi. He went and found that R' Yehuda HaNasi had died. He tore his clothing and reversed them so that the tear would be behind him and not be noticed. When he returned to the rabbis he opened his remarks and said: The an