In the midst of a discussion about being meticulous about the legal documents we produce, the Talmud takes advantage of an opportunity on today’s daf to remind us that the rabbis felt the same way about how we speak about one another.
There was a certain tied document that came before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: There is no date on this document, so it is not valid.
Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, said to him: Perhaps the date is hidden between its tied folds.
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi opened it and saw the date.
An ordinary rabbinic document is unfolded so all of its details are in plain sight. But, as we learned recently, the rabbis also permitted folded documents that hid many details. Without opening this particular folded document, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi declared it dateless, and therefore invalid. In contrast to the Mishnah (which he compiled) and the majority of his colleagues, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi did not approve of folded documents. This anecdote makes clear why: The date can be difficult to discern without unsealing the document.
Afterward, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi looked at his son disapprovingly. His son said to him: I did not write it; Rabbi Yehuda Hayyata wrote it. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to his son: Turn away from uttering this kind of malicious speech (lashon hara).
To his father’s disapproving look, Rabbi Shimon responds defensively, distancing himself from the folded document. This only upsets his father further. There was no need for Rabbi Shimon to throw Rabbi Yehuda Hayyata under the bus, and his father lets him know it.
This is not the only time in the Talmud that Rabbi Shimon gets in trouble for fingering Rabbi Yehuda Hayyata, and the Gemara takes advantage of this moment to tell us about others:
Rabbi Shimon was sitting before his father and reciting a section of the book of Psalms. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: How straight and neat is this writing in this book from which you are reading. Rabbi Shimon said to him: I did not write it; Yehuda Hayyata wrote it. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi told his son: Turn away from uttering this kind of malicious speech.
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi praises the work of the scribe who produced the scroll from which his son is reading, whereupon Rabbi Shimon credits Rabbi Yehuda Hayyata who produced this fine work. For doing so, he is rebuked in the same way he was before.
Wait just a minute, you might be thinking. In the first case, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi is displeased with the folded document and by naming Rabbi Yehuda Hayyata as the one who produced it, Rabbi Shimon sheds a negative light upon him. A clear case of lashon hara. But in the second case, Rabbi Shimon is giving credit to Rabbi Yehuda for his talent as a scribe — so why does he warrant the same rebuke? The Gemara explains:
Rav Dimi, the brother of Rav Safra, teaches: A person should never speak the praises of another, as out of the praise spoken about him someone may come to speak to his detriment.
It might be true that Rabbi Yehuda Hayyata had excellent penmanship and was a great scribe. Even so, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi warns his son, praising him provides an opportunity for others to disagree and disparage him. In this way, even words of praise can become lashon hara.
Read all of Bava Batra 164 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on December 6, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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