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The Bold Print is the original translation, plain print is explanation and annotation

Fish stories

A Little Fish Story

From the Talmud: Baba Bathra Ch 5.

Translated by Rabbi J.Markel

Rabba Bar Bar Chanah said: Once we were going in a ship and the fish travelled between the two backfins of as fish for three days and three nights. And he was going upwind and we were going downwind. And if you say "That ship didn't sail very fast", (I'll answer you) when Rav Dimi came he said "In the time it takes to boil a pot of water it would travel sixty parasangs (parasang=appr. 2.6 miles) And if an archer would shoot an arrow, it (the ship) would beat it. Rav Ashi said that is the Gildan of the ocean which has two backfins.

Rashi: Gildan of the ocean: the name of a little fish meaning this was one of the smallest fish in the ocean.

A Big Fish Story

On the fifth day G-d created the Big Serpents and the fish and the birds.

The Big Serpents are Leviathan and his mate - the Straight Serpent and the Crooked Serpent.

G-d realized that if they would procreate they would devour the whole world so he killed the female and froze her (other opinions - salted her) for the righteous in the world to come. And the male He spayed and left alive.

Leviathan is so big that he can jump from the lower waters to the upper waters above the firmament and he can go to the utmost depths, i.e. to the lower depths in the lower waters and to the upper depths in the upper waters.

When Moshiach (the Messiah) comes, Leviathan will have a fight with Shor Habar - The Wild Bull (a giant bull called Behemoth). Leviathan shall slaughter Shor Habar with his fins and Shor HAbar will kill Leviathan with his horns. And they will be used for the big Feast that Moshiach will make for the righteous.

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The material in this series is copyrighted by Rabbi Yossi Markel