Chagigah 5a
Dates for the Road
View Mode
Passage Content
One day Rabbi Yochanan was walking along the road, and he
saw a certain man who was picking figs in an unusual manner:
He left the ones that had reached the stage of ripeness
and took those that had not yet reached that state.
saw a certain man who was picking figs in an unusual manner:
He left the ones that had reached the stage of ripeness
and took those that had not yet reached that state.
| Yochanan: | Aren’t these ripe ones much better? |
| Man: | I need these dates for the road;
these that are not yet ripe will be preserved, and these that are already ripe will not be preserved. |
| Yochanan: | This is the same as is written:
Behold He puts no trust in His sacred ones. |
| There are righteous people whom God takes
from this world before their time, as He knows that in the future they will stumble. | |