[Avodah] Distractions?

[Micha Berger]

RJR's quote of Ben Azzai from https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.22a.16-17
got mangled by the digest software anyway. You can find it at that link,
though. Here is a translation of mmore of the gemara than that quote,
because I need more for my response:

    The Sages taught: One who experienced a seminal emission who had
    nine kav of water poured over him, [is thereby] tahor. Nachum Ish
    Gam Zo whispered [this halakhah] to Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Akiva
    whispered it to Ben Azzai, and Ben Azzai went out and taught it to
    his students in the marketplace.

    Two amoraim in the West, Rabbi Yosei bar Avin and Rabbi Yosei
    bar Zevida, disagreed One taught: taught it [normally]. And the other
    taught: Ben Azzai whispered it

I am taking the Israeli traditions as in concert with the beraisa. One
is saying Ben Azzai taught it in public as he would teach anything else.
And the other agreeing that was in public, and not just the one-to-one
that we saw until now. But, he whispered it trusting his students not
to spread it further.

    The who who taught that it was taught [normally] held that it was
    due to [concern about] Bitul Torah, and due to [concern about]
    Bitul Piryah veRivyah.

    And the [one] who taught [that ben Azzai] whispered, held that
    it was in order that Torah scholars would not be with their wives
    like roosters.

On Tue, Jul 29, 2025 at 07:46:44PM -0400, Joel Rich via Avodah wrote:
> Any ideas what changed/happened that triggered this concern?

Regardless os what "in a whisper" means, the fact is we have LESS
indication that Ben Azzai's generation needed protection from abusing
this din, not more.

But I still don't know what triggered a change.

Maybe it was Ben Azzzai himself. In Yevamos 63a, a numer of tannaim
explain how bad neglecting Piryah veRivyah is. BA compbines the two
prior opinions, saying it is like both shefichas damim and reducing
the Demus [Elokim].

BA himself never got married. He had eiruin with R Aqiva's daughter,
but after years, called it off. (Kesuvos 63a) She tried what her mother
had, but her simple man got too into learning to want to spend time
with marriage.

When R Elazar ben Azaryah asks BA about his own celebecy compare to
what he taught, he answers, "What shall I do? Chashqah nafshi beTorah,
and the world will be preserved through others." So perhaps this is
part of that delegation to others.

A fanciful guess:
Maybe after the plague and the Hadrianic Persecutions (assuming those are
two different things), he wanted there to be more children of Talmidei
Chakhamim to restock the world. Whereas R Aqiva died during Hadrian's
persecution, and didn't live through the reconstruction period.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 Zion will be redeemed through justice,
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   and her returnees, through righteousness.
Author: Widen Your Tent
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF