One of the students of Rabbi Yoḥanan was sitting before him. [Rabbi Yoḥanan] explained [the lesson] to him but he did not understand it. [Rabbi Yoḥanan] said to him: ‘Why do you not understand?’ He said to him: ‘I saw three harsh matters last night and I do not know what they mean.’ He said: ‘Tell me what they were.’ He said to him: ‘I saw in my dream that they were saying to me: In Adar you will die, you will not see Nisan, and you will sow but you will not reap.’ He said to him: ‘All three of them are good. You will die in Adar – you will die with the glory of Torah <meaning, you will exert great effort>.43You will attain glory [hadar] due to your accomplishments in Torah, and it will last your entire life. Alternatively, death is interpreted here as meaning that he will toil with all his effort in Torah study (see Berakhot 63b). You will not see Nisan – you will not see ordeals [nisyonin]. You will sow but you will not reap – what you begat, you will not bury.’ Another said to him: ‘I saw in my dream that there were no breeches on my legs.’ He said to him: ‘As you live, that is not bad, but rather it is good. The festival will come and this man will not have anything.’44The man would not have any troubles (Yefe Anaf). Alternatively, he would not have enough money for food or clothing, but that was not especially bad news, as the man was already destitute. The good news was that he would be alive (Etz Yosef). From where did Rabbi Yoḥanan understand this? The word for leg [regel] is also the word for pilgrimage festival [regel].
One of the students of Rabbi Yoḥanan was sitting before him
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team
·