Ketubot 77: Social Pressure to Divorce, Male Blemishes, Diseases & Remedies

What about the men?  When are men forced to divorce their wives?  Men who have boils, men who have polyps (those with unusually bad odour emitting from their nose or mouth), men who have lost both feet or both hands - major blemishes.  The rabbis consider whether the blemishes can be repaired or not.  They consider whether or not their wives find the blemishes acceptable; whether the blemishes are life-threatening or otherwise blocking men from fulfilling mitzvot.

One of the many interesting details of today's daf is a discussion of how to force a man to divorce his wife.  Are community members to use words to convince him?  Or rods?  If they use rods, when does that happen?  In all cases, even those where women are willing to remain married with supervision in the home to ensure that they are not secluded?  Or only in those cases where a Torah-forbidden relationship is ongoing?

The rabbis describe both boils and ra'atan, another disease that may weaken or eventually kill a person who has sexual intercourse.  They speak of the symptoms of ra'atan in a child: eyes, nose and mouth running.  It is thought that ra'atan refers to a a parasite in the brain.  The cure is a mixture of a number of plants, described in detail.  The child is taken to a sealed, marble room - or, if that is not available, a sealed room with walls seven bricks plus one small brick deep.  The mixture is poured over the child's head until the skin is soft and then - believe it or not - the skull is torn and the insect's feet are lifted from the child's brain.  If the insect is not burned, it will return.

The flies that land on this child, the rabbis say, carry the disease to others.  Different rabbis describe the precautions that they take to avoid catching ra'atan.  However, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi explains that he sits with afflicted people and learns Torah, for "The Torah is a loving hand and a graceful doe" (Proverbs 5:19).   The Gemara then shares a story about Rabbi Yehoshua when he faced death.  He tricked the Angel of Death into leading him to the world-to-come.  He tried to keep the Angel of Death's knife, but a Divine Voice said that the knife was needed to remove people from the earth.  Even Eliahu HaNavi announced Rabbi Yehoshua's presence.  

Once in Paradise, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, sitting on thirteen golden stools, asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi if he had seen a rainbow during his lifetime.  When the answer was yes, Rabbi Shimon was disappointed.  If Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi was truly a righteous man, there would be no visible rainbow during his lifetime.  This is because rainbows show us that the world deserves to be destroyed by a flood.  What Rabbi Shimon did not know was that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi had lied -- he had never seen a rainbow, but he did not wish to announce that he was a righteous man.

A similar tale is told of the death of Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa, who ended up dying beside a pillar of flame.  He was friends with the Angel of Death, and he delayed his own death through negotiation.  However, the Angel of Death reminded Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa that he had not learned Torah with those afflicted with ra'atan, and thus he was not righteous enough to enter the world-to-come alive.

Finally, we learn that people of Babylonia were not afflicted with ra'atan.  Why not?  Because they ate beets and drank beer, say the rabbis.  And the people of Babylonia were not afflicted with leprosy.  Why not?  Because they ate beets, drank beer, and bathed in the Euphrates river.

There is incredible information in today's daf regarding ancient attitudes toward affliction, blemishes, positive and negative social pressure, contagion, remedies, and preventative medicine.