Shavuot 25a ~ How Long Can You Go Without Sleep?

שבועות כו, א

והא"ר יוחנן שבועה שלא אישן שלשה ימים מלקין אותו וישן לאלתר

...Rabbi Yochanan said "An oath that I will not sleep for three days" - we lash him [since he took an oath in vain] and he may sleep immediately...(Shavuot 26b)

How long can you go without sleep? If you are like me, staying awake for just one night can be very challenging.  I worked my share of night shifts in the emergency department for over fifteen years (amounting to hundreds of overnight shifts) but it never got any easier with time. We all push ourselves when we need to, but is there a physiological limit to the amount of time that you can stay awake? Rabbi Yochanan ruled that it was impossible to remain awake for more that three days. What does science have to say?

The World Record for Staying Awake

The world record for staying awake is an amazing eleven days. Eleven days – that’s 264 hours (and 24 minutes to be precise) without sleep. It was set in 1965 by Randy Gardner, who was then seventeen years old. Gardner seems to have suffered little if any harm by his marathon period of sleep deprivation. But don’t try and beat the record. The Guinness Book of Records no longer has an entry for staying awake – because it is considered too dangerous an ordeal to undertake. (You can hear a review of sleep deprivation stunts in general and a wonderful interview with Gardner himself here.)

The Health Risks of Sleep Deprivation

A 1970 study of four volunteers who stayed awake for 205 hours (that’s eight and a half days!) noted some differences in how the subjects slept once they were allowed to do so, but follow-up testing of the group conducted 6-9 months after the sleep deprivation showed that their sleep patterns were similar to the pre-deprivation recordings.

Although Randy Gardner and these four volunteers seem to have suffered no long-term health consequences of staying awake for over a week, scientists have long noted that sleep deprivation is rather bad for the body. Or to be more precise, the bodies of unfortunate laboratory rats who are not allowed to sleep. In these animals, prolonged sleep deprivation causes the immune system to malfunction. This results in infection and eventual lethal septicemia. The physiologist who kept these rats awake noted that there are “far-reaching physical implications resulting from alterations in immune status [which] may explain why sleep deprivation effects are risk factors for disease and yet are not well defined or specifically localized.” In other words, sleep deprivation makes rats really sick, but we don’t know how, or why…

One possible explanation was suggested in a 2013 by a group from the University of Rochester Medical Center. They demonstrated that during sleep, the space between the cells of the brain (the interstitial space) increased by up to 60%, allowing toxic metabolites to be cleared. This raises the question of whether the brain sleeps in order to expel these toxic chemicals, or rather it is the chemicals themselves that drive the brain to switch into a sleep state.

The extracellular (interstitial) space in the cortex of the mouse brain, through which cerebral spinal fluid moves, increases from 14% in the awake animal to 23% in the sleeping animal, an increase that allows the faster clearance of metabolic waste products and toxins. From Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Sleep it out. Science 2013: 342; 316

Not having any sleep is bad for your health - but so too is going without enough sleep. Chronic restriction of sleep to six hours or less per night can produce cognitive performance deficits equivalent to up to two nights of total sleep deprivation. So be sure to get a full night's rest.

How long did the Vilna Gaon stay awake?

In his book on the Vilna Gaon, Eli Stern reviewed an episode in which the Gaon (d. 1797) was jailed on charges of kidnapping. (It’s a long story, but the Vilna Gaon was involved in the kidnapping of a young Jewish man who had converted to Christianity.) This episode occurred in January 1788, after which the Gaon was arrested and held for over a month.  The case was later tried, and on September 15, 1789 (sic) the Gaon of Vilna (together with others involved in the kidnapping) was sentenced to twelve weeks in jail.  Although it is unclear how long he was imprisoned, he was there over Sukkot, and the Lithuanian authorities were hardly in the practice of providing imprisoned Jews with a sukkah.  But since one is not permitted to sleep outside of the sukkah, what was the Gaon to do?  Simple.  He’d stay awake, and by doing so he would not transgress the prohibition of sleeping outside the sukkah.  Here’s how the episode is described in the work Tosefet Ma’aseh Rav published in 1892. 

Our Leader, teacher and Rabbi may he rest in peace, when he was imprisoned on Sukkot, tried with all his strength, and walked from one place to another, and held his eyelids open, and made an extraordinary effort not to sleep outside the sukkah – not even a brief nap – until the authorities released him to a sukkah.

We don’t know for how long the sixty-nine year-old Elijah stayed awake, but any suggestion that he was awake for the entire holiday of Sukkot seems to be far fetched (though as we have seen, not entirely impossible).

Hard, But Not Impossible

In today’s daf, Rabbi Yochanan ruled that since it impossible to stay awake for more than three days, any vow to do so is considered to have been a vow made in vain – and punishment follows swiftly.  Here is how the ArtScroll Talmud explains this ruling, (based on the explanation of the Ran).

Since it is impossible for a person to go without sleep for three days, the man has uttered a vain oath. Hence, he receives lashes for violating the prohibition (Exodus 20:7): לא תשא את שם ה׳ אלוקיך לשוה, You shall not take the Name of Hashem, your God, in vain. And since the oath -being impossible to fulfill -has no validity, he is not bound by it at all and may sleep immediately.

We have seen however, that while it’s not a good idea to do so on any kind of regular basis, it is certainly possible to stay up for longer than three days. (Back in the 1970s, some volunteers would even do so for as little as $100). Maimonides codified this law and also assume that it is impossible to stay awake for three consecutive days. 

רמב"ם הלכות שבועות פרק ה הלכה כ

נשבע שלא יישן שלשת ימים, או שלא יאכל כלום שבעת ימים וכיוצא בזה שהיא שבועת שוא, אין אומרין יעור זה עד שיצטער ויצום עד שיצטער ולא יהיה בו כח לסבול ואח"כ יאכל או יישן אלא מלקין אותו מיד משום שבועת שוא ויישן ויאכל בכל עת שירצה

Based on what we've reviewed, Rabbi Yochanan was incorrect when he stated that it was impossible to stay awake for three days. It's certainly not impossible, but that hardly means it's a good idea to try. 

This may explain the teaching of Rabbi Chaninah ben Chachina'i in Masechet Avot  (3:4) who taught that one who stays awake at night "will forfeit with his life."  Now that's a warning to heed.

רבי חנינא בן חכינאי אומר הנעור בלילה ... הרי זה מתחייב בנפשו 

“Sleep deprivation reduces learning, impairs performance in cognitive tests, prolongs reaction time, and is a common cause of seizures. In the most extreme case, continuous sleep deprivation kills rodents and flies within a period of days to weeks. In humans, fatal familial or sporadic insomnia is a progressively worsening state of sleeplessness that leads to dementia and death within months or years. ”

— Lulu Xie et al. Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain. Science 2013. 342.317

[Repost from NedariM 15]

Shavout 18b ~ The Regularity of the Menstrual Cycle

שבועות יח, ב

ת"ר "והזרתם את בני ישראל מטומאתם" אמר רבי יאשיה מיכן אזהרה לבני ישראל שיפרשו מנשותיהן סמוך לוסתן וכמה אמר רבה עונה 

Our Rabbis taught: "You shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness"[Lev. 15:31]; R.
Yoshiah said: From this we deduce a warning to the children of Israel that they should separate from
their wives near their periods. And how long before? Rabbah said: One ‘onah [either the whole day or the whole night].

From here.

On today’s page of Talmud, Rabbah (~270-330 CE), who lived in Babylonia, ruled that a couple must refrain from intercourse if menstruation is expected to begin within a twelve hour window.  This ruling is included in the Shulchan Aruch, the code of Jewish Law, as the required Jewish practice:

שולחן ערוך יורה דעה קפד, ב

בִּשְׁעַת וִסְתָּהּ, צָרִיךְ לִפְרֹשׁ מִמֶּנָּהּ עוֹנָה אַחַת, וְלֹא מִשְּׁאָר קְרִיבוּת אֶלָּא מִתַּשְׁמִישׁ . אִם הוּא בַּיּוֹם, פּוֹרֵשׁ מִמֶּנָּהּ אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם כֻּלּוֹ אֲפִלּוּ אִם הַוֶּסֶת בְּסוֹפוֹ, וּמֻתָּר מִיָּד בַּלַּיְלָה שֶׁלְּאַחֲרָיו, וְכֵן אִם הוּא בִּתְחִלָּתוֹ, פּוֹרֵשׁ כָּל הַיּוֹם וּמֻתָּר כָּל הַלַּיְלָה שֶׁלְּפָנָיו

During her veset, [the expected onset of menstruation, her husband] must separate from her for one onah, not from all contact but only from marital relations. If her period is expected in the daytime, separate from her for that entire day, even if the veset is at the end of the day, and it is permitted [to have marital relations] immediately the following evening. Similarly, if [the veset] is at the beginning, separate the whole day and it is permitted the entire preceding evening...

This ruling suggests that women can predict when the onset of menses will be. How often is that in fact the case? Well, for the half of you who are men, it might surprise you to learn that this ability to predict the onset is less common than you would think. Women, I am sure, already know this.  

How Regular is Regular?

In a 2011 review paper "The normal menstrual cycle in women," the authors point out that the 28 day"text-book" length of the menstrual cycle in young healthy women is in fact highly variable. Even between similarly aged women the cycle may range from 25 to 34 days. More to our topic, there are many women in whom the cycle length changes. In those aged around twenty, about 47% of women have a variation by as much as 14 days annually.  

Variation of menstrual cycle length as a function of age in the woman. This graph shows mean cycle length and the range (5th and 95th percentile) reported in 4 studies. yrs = years, d = days. Triangles indicate the age group in which the indicated percentage of women shows more than 14 days variation in cycle length annually. From M. Mihma, S. Gangooly, S. Muttukrishnab. The normal menstrual cycle in women. Animal Reproduction Science 124 (2011) 229–236.

Another study on the variability of menstrual length from one cycle to the next comes from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the University of Pittsburgh.  They asked 130 women to keep menstrual diaries and record their menstrual flow for at least four menstrual cycles and for as long as 30 weeks. 

“Participants prospectively recorded their menses for up to 30 weeks. Each subject’s estimated cycle length was compared to the average of her actual cycle lengths and the range and variability in each individual’s cycle length was calculated. A total of 786 cycles from 130 women who recorded 4 or more cycles were analyzed.”

They found that 46% of all subjects had a cycle range of 7 days or more, and 20% had a cycle range of 14 days or more. In other words, almost half of the women had a cycle-to-cycle change of at least a week, and one in five had a change of two weeks or more.  "Therefore" they wrote, "one out of every five subjects who reported that they had regular cycles were experiencing periods that occurred 1 week away from the expected date."

Irregularity in Jewish Law

For those who wish to learn more, there is a long section in the Shulchan Aruch (יורה דעה הל׳ נידה  קפט) that addresses the complicated issue of irregular menses and the required time for a husband and wife to refrain from intercourse. This long section is needed because for many (?most) women, the length of the menstrual cycle changes from one period to the next. R. Yoshiah's ruling that a couple must refrain from marital relations "סמוך לוסתן"  - at the expected time of menstruation -  turns out to be a rather complicated thing to do.  

“This study establishes that “regular” menstrual cycles are quite variable from cycle to cycle. The inherent variability in menstrual cycle length, which is likely a function of when ovulation occurs, must be studied prospectively to understand its full impact on contraceptive research trials and pregnancy-related care.”

— Crenin, M.D. Keverline, S. Meyen, L.A. How regular is regular? An analysis of menstrual cycle regularity. Contraception 2004:70;289-292

Shavuot 15b ~ The Forgotten Havdalah of Rabbi Akiva

In a Mishnah that we learned two days ago, we read that any additions to the area of either Jerusalem or the Temple Courtyard had to be accompanied by certain attendees and specific offerings:

משנה שבועות יד, א

שֶׁאֵין מוֹסִיפִין עַל הָעִיר וְעַל הָעֲזָרוֹת אֶלָּא בְּמֶלֶךְ וְנָבִיא וְאוּרִים וְתוּמִּים וְסַנְהֶדְרִין שֶׁל שִׁבְעִים וְאֶחָד, וּבִשְׁתֵּי תּוֹדוֹת וּבְשִׁיר

Additions can be made to the city of Jerusalem or to the Temple courtyards only by a special body comprising the king, a prophet, the Urim VeTummim, and the Sanhedrin of seventy-one judges, and with two thanks-offerings and with a special song.

On today’s page of Talmud we learn more from a Baraita about the identity of that “special song.”

שבועות טו, ב

וּבְשִׁיר. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שִׁיר שֶׁל תּוֹדָה – בְּכִנּוֹרוֹת וּבִנְבָלִים וּבְצֶלְצֶלִים עַל כל פִּינָּה וּפִינָּה וְעַל כל אֶבֶן גְּדוֹלָה שֶׁבִּירוּשָׁלַיִם, וְאוֹמֵר ״אֲרוֹמִמְךָ ה׳ כִּי דִלִּיתָנִי וְגוֹ׳״, וְשִׁיר שֶׁל פְּגָעִים, וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִין שִׁיר שֶׁל נְגָעִים

The Sages taught in a Baraita: They sang the song of thanksgiving, (Ps. 100, which begins: “A psalm of thanksgiving,)” accompanied by harps, lyres, and cymbals, at every corner and upon every large stone in Jerusalem. And they also recited (Ps. 30 which begins): “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,” and the song of evil spirits, (Ps. 91, which begins: “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High.)” And some say that this psalm is called the song of plagues.

Psalm 91 - The Song of Plagues

In Jewish traditions, (including those of Ashkenaz, Yemen, Sefarad and North Africa) Psalm 91 is recited on several occasions. On Shabbat and Chagim in the morning service, it is added to the psalms of praise (פסוקי דזימרה). It is part of the prayers recited before sleep, and at Ma’ariv on Saturday night. It is also chanted at a Jewish burial. (You can hear many of the different ways in which various communities chant this Psalm on a charming website from the Jewish National Library here). But why does the Baraita call it The Song of Evil Spirits or The Song of Plagues?

Psalm 91 lists a number of dangers and tragedies that the psalmist faced. Snares and night terrors, “the arrow that flies at day, the plague that stalks in the darkness, and the scourge that rages at noon.” “In all likelihood” wrote the biblical scholar Robert Alter in his 2007 work (The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary (322),

..the setting evoked is a raging epidemic in which vast numbers of people all around are fatally stricken. The image of martial danger, however, introduced by the flying arrow of verse 5 and the shield and buckler of verse 4, is superimposed on the image of danger from the plague, life imagined as a battlefield fraught with dangers.” But for those who trust in God, wrote the psalmist “no harm will befall you, nor will affliction draw near to your tent.”

Here is the full text of Psalm 91, so you get a sense of what Alter is talking about:

יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי יִתְלוֹנָן׃

O you who dwell in the shelter of the Most High
and abide in the protection of Shaddai—

אֹמַר לַיהֹוָה מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אֱלֹהַי אֶבְטַח־בּוֹ׃

I say of the LORD, my refuge and stronghold,
my God in whom I trust,

כִּי הוּא יַצִּילְךָ מִפַּח יָקוּשׁ מִדֶּבֶר הַוּוֹת׃

that He will save you from the fowler’s trap,
from the destructive plague.

בְּאֶבְרָתוֹ  יָסֶךְ לָךְ וְתַחַת־כְּנָפָיו תֶּחְסֶה צִנָּה וְסֹחֵרָה אֲמִתּוֹ׃

He will cover you with His pinions;
you will find refuge under His wings;
His fidelity is an encircling shield.

לֹא־תִירָא מִפַּחַד לָיְלָה מֵחֵץ יָעוּף יוֹמָם׃

You need not fear the terror by night,
or the arrow that flies by day,

מִדֶּבֶר בָּאֹפֶל יַהֲלֹךְ מִקֶּטֶב יָשׁוּד צהֳרָיִם׃

the plague that stalks in the darkness,
or the scourge that ravages at noon.

יִפֹּל מִצִּדְּךָ  אֶלֶף וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ אֵלֶיךָ לֹא יִגָּשׁ׃

A thousand may fall at your left side,
ten thousand at your right,
but it shall not reach you.

רַק בְּעֵינֶיךָ תַבִּיט וְשִׁלֻּמַת רְשָׁעִים תִּרְאֶה׃

You will see it with your eyes,
you will witness the punishment of the wicked.

כִּי־אַתָּה יְהֹוָה מַחְסִי עֶלְיוֹן שַׂמְתָּ מְעוֹנֶךָ׃

Because you took the LORD—my refuge,
the Most High—as your haven,

לֹא־תְאֻנֶּה אֵלֶיךָ רָעָה וְנֶגַע לֹא־יִקְרַב בְּאהֳלֶךָ׃

no harm will befall you,
no disease touch your tent.

כִּי מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה־לָּךְ לִשְׁמרְךָ בְּכל־דְּרָכֶיךָ׃

For He will order His angels
to guard you wherever you go.

עַל־כַּפַּיִם יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ פֶּן־תִּגֹּף בָּאֶבֶן רַגְלֶךָ׃

They will carry you in their hands
lest you hurt your foot on a stone.

עַל־שַׁחַל וָפֶתֶן תִּדְרֹךְ תִּרְמֹס כְּפִיר וְתַנִּין׃

You will tread on cubs and vipers;
you will trample lions and asps.
כִּי בִי חָשַׁק וַאֲפַלְּטֵהוּ אֲשַׂגְּבֵהוּ כִּי־יָדַע שְׁמִי׃

“Because he is devoted to Me I will deliver him;
I will keep him safe, for he knows My name.

יִקְרָאֵנִי  וְאֶעֱנֵהוּ עִמּוֹ־אָנֹכִי בְצָרָה אֲחַלְּצֵהוּ וַאֲכַבְּדֵהוּ׃

When he calls on Me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress;
I will rescue him and make him honored;

אֹרֶךְ יָמִים אַשְׂבִּיעֵהוּ וְאַרְאֵהוּ בִּישׁוּעָתִי׃ 
I will let him live to a ripe old age,
and show him My salvation.” 

Because of these references, the psalm was called an “amulet psalm,” although on today’s daf the Talmud refers to it as a Song [to Ward Away] Evil Spirits (shir shel pega’im) or a Song [to Ward Away] Plagues (shir shel nega’im).[ii] In it, plague – dever - is personified. It moves unseen and is therefore unstoppable; in its wake “a thousand fall.” Then something extra happened; by reciting it, the psalm took on magical properties, as we read on today’s daf:

רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי אָמַר לְהוּ לְהָנֵי קְרָאֵי, וְגָאנֵי

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would recite these verses to protect himself from evil spirits during the night and fall asleep while saying them.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi (c. 220-250 CE), a talmudic sage from the village of Lod would say the psalm as he fell asleep at night, despite objections from his colleagues that it was forbidden to use words of scripture as protection. And according to the Midrash, Moses himself recited this amulet psalm when he ascended Mount Sinai, “because he feared evil spirits”:

במדבר רבה 12:3

וְנֶגַע לֹא יִקְרַב בְּאָהֳלֶךָ, אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן, עַד שֶׁלֹא הוּקַם הַמִּשְׁכָּן הָיוּ הַמַּזִּיקִין מִתְגָּרִין בָּעוֹלָם לַבְּרִיּוֹת, וּמִשֶּׁהוּקַם הַמִּשְׁכָּן שֶׁשָּׁרָה הַשְּׁכִינָה לְמַטָּה, כָּלוּ הַמַּזִּיקִין מִן הָעוֹלָם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וְנֶגַע לֹא יִקְרַב בְּאָהֳלֶךָ, זֶה אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד. אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ מַה לְּךָ אֵצֶל סֵפֶר תְּהִלִּים, וַהֲלֹא בִּמְקוֹמוֹ אֵינוֹ חָסֵר (במדבר ו, כד): יְבָרֶכְךָ ה' וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ, מִן הַמַּזִּיקִין, אֵימָתַי, וַיְהִי בְּיוֹם כַּלּוֹת משֶׁה, מַהוּ בְּיוֹם כַּלּוֹת, שֶׁכָּלוּ הַמַּזִּיקִין מִן הָעוֹלָם

And no plague will come near your tent” (Psalms 91:10) – Rabbi Yochanan said: Until the Tabernacle was erected, the demons would provoke people in the world. When the Tabernacle was erected, when the Divine Presence rested below, the demons were eliminated from the world. That is what is written: “And no plague will come near your tent” – this is the Tent of Meeting. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Why must you go to the book of Psalms? In its place it is not lacking: “May the Lord bless you and protect you” (Numbers 6:24). When? “It was on the day that Moses concluded.” What is “the day that [Moses] concluded [kalot]’? It means that all the demons were eliminated [shekalu] from the world.

Rabbi Yehoshua’s custom spread in the period following the final editing of the Talmud, an era roughly from 590-1040 C.E. and known as the period of the Ge’onim. It was sometime during this period that Psalm 91 was incorporated into a prayer that is now completely forgotten: Havdala de Rabbi Akiva.

The Forgotten Havdalah of Rabbi Akiva

The composition is a lengthy addendum to the traditional brief prayer, the havdala, said over wine, a candle and spices at the end of the Sabbath and Chagim. The Havdala de Rabbi Akiva was part prayer and part incantation, whose purpose was to ward off witchcraft and evil spirits for the week that lay ahead. Although not recited today, the Havdala de Rabbi Akivah spread from Babylonia to Italy and Spain, and from there to the Jewish communities of Ashkenaz living in the Rhineland. In it, Psalm 91 was recited in its entirety, with the names of God and several angels additionally woven into each verse.

The full text of the Havdalah of Rabbi Akiva can be found in several Hebrew manuscripts, although they differ in many places. This one, from the collection of the Vatican (ebr. 228 93r-98v), is dated 1426-1500:

Havdala de Rabbi Akiva, Vat. ebr. 228.

Another version of the text is held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. It is catalogued as Bodleian Library MS. Michael 9. (Gershon Scholem and others referred to it simply as Oxford MS 1531, when they are referring to what they should have referenced as Neubauer 1531.) The manuscript dates to the early 1300s and is described as “Ashkenazic cursive script, most probably by one hand over a long period.” It contains kabbalistic and Hekhalot texts, the latter being collections of mystical literature, mostly about entering heaven alive, written in late antiquity through to the early Middle Ages. Here is the opening page:

Bodleian Library MS. Michael 9. 137a.

This forgotten Jewish prayer is mentioned in several texts. Rabbi Avraham ben Azriel cites it in his perush on the piyyutim called ערוגת הבושם (Arugot Bosem) written around 1230, and the kabbalist Rabbi Naphtali Hertz of Treves (1473-1540), mentions it in his siddur. (In a long paper on the Havdalah of Rabbi Akiva, that was published posthumously by Gershon Scholem, he notes several other medieval and early modern texts that mention the prayer.) It was also mentioned by the rabbis of Sepharad, such as Shlomo ibn Aderet (1235–1310) known as the Rashba who refers to it in one of his responsa.

The full text is very, very long (Scholem broke it down into 15 sections). You can find it here, and the only attempt of an English translation of which I am aware is here.

זו היא הבדלה דרבי אקיבא

לבטל הכשפים לבטל הכשפים ולניזוק מרוח רעה ולמי שאסור מאשתו ולפתיחת לב
הרוצה להזכיר במוצאי שבת צריך לרחוץ במים וללבוש בגדים נקיים ולישב במקום טהור או בבית הכנסת ויהיו ידיו טהורות. וכשיבא לאומרה ישים לפניו כלי נקי וישפוך אחד על ידיו מים טהורים

השופך יאמר ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר. והמקבל יאמר הָבָה לָּנוּ עֶזְרָת מִצָּר וְשָׁוְא תְּשׁוּעַת אָדָם. באלה’ים נעשה חיל והוא יבוס צרינו. ויהיו המים שמורים לפניו עד שישלים לומר כל ההבדלה. וצריך להדיח ולשטוף כוס נקי ולמלאותו מיין טוב מקנקן מלא. ולא ידבר המוזג עד שיתנהו ביד הקורא

This is the Havdalah of Rabbi Akiba to defend against witchcrafts and against injury from an evil spirit, or for [one] who his woman is forbidden him, or to open a heart. The one who desires to remember at the end of Shabbat needs to wash in water and to dress in clean clothes and sit in a pure place or in a synagogue. He will have pure hands. When he is about to recite it, he will place before him a clean vessel and he will pour pure water once upon his hands. The one pouring will recite, “To Jews let there be light, celebration, joy, and dignity,” while the recipient [of the water] will say, “Bring to us help from distress and falsehood; the deliverance of humanity. Through God may we do virtue and may He trample our enemies. And they will be keep the water in front of him until he completes reciting the entire havdalah. And he needs to wash and rinse a cup clean and fill it from a full pitcher of good wine. But the wine-pourer is not to speak until the cup is given in to the hand of the one reciting [the ritual].

And what of Psalm 91, יושב בסתר? Well, it appears, but not in its usual form. Instead, interspersed within the traditional text are a several mystical words, some of which are the names of angels, some of which are names sound like angels. Here it is

יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן ביאו בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי יִתְלוֹנָן צבאות׃ אֹמַר לַיהֹוָה מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי מיכאל. אֱלֹהַי אֶבְטַח־בּוֹ גבריאל׃ כִּי הוּא יַצִּילְךָ מִפַּח יָקוּשׁ מלטיאל מִדֶּבֶר הַוּוֹת יהוה ׃ בְּאֶבְרָתוֹ  יָסֶךְ לָךְ אימיאל וְתַחַת־כְּנָפָיו תֶּחְסֶה עמניאל צִנָּה וְסֹחֵרָה אֲמִתּוֹ אבאל׃ לֹא־תִירָא מִפַּחַד לָיְלָה נתנאל מֵחֵץ יָעוּף יוֹמָם אנאל׃ מִדֶּבֶר בָּאֹפֶל יַהֲלֹךְ יהיאל מִקֶּטֶב יָשׁוּד צהֳרָיִם סוריאל׃ יִפֹּל מִצִּדְּךָ  אֶלֶף צוריאל וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ אֵלֶיךָ לֹא יִגָּשׁ סמאל׃ רַק בְּעֵינֶיךָ תַבִּיט גדיאל וְשִׁלֻּמַת רְשָׁעִים תִּרְאֶה אזאל׃ כִּי־אַתָּה יְהֹוָה מַחְסִי י’י צבאות עֶלְיוֹן שַׂמְתָּ מְעוֹנֶךָ ירבאתה׃ לֹא־תְאֻנֶּה אֵלֶיךָ רָעָה צדעיאל וְנֶגַע לֹא־יִקְרַב בְּאהֳלֶךָ אזקיאל חזקיאל׃ כִּי מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה־לָּךְ שומריאל לִשְׁמרְךָ בְּכל־דְּרָכֶיךָ שלהיאל סרתיאל׃ עַל־כַּפַּיִם יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ מלאכי השרת פֶּן־תִּגֹּף בָּאֶבֶן רַגְלֶךָ אדוניאל׃ עַל־שַׁחַל וָפֶתֶן תִּדְרֹךְ אדריאל תִּרְמֹס כְּפִיר וְתַנִּין מלכיאל׃ כִּי בִי חָשַׁק וַאֲפַלְּטֵהוּ אבראות אֲשַׂגְּבֵהוּ כִּי־יָדַע שְׁמִי חי אכתריאל׃ יִקְרָאֵנִי  וְאֶעֱנֵהוּ יה פתי?וה עִמּוֹ־אָנֹכִי בְצָרָה מטטרון אֲחַלְּצֵהוּ וַאֲכַבְּדֵהוּ רחום זיותאל זכוריאל׃ אֹרֶךְ יָמִים אַשְׂבִּיעֵהוּ רוח פיסקונית וְאַרְאֵהוּ בִּישׁוּעָתִי ברחמים׃

Makkot 21a ~ Tattoos

In today’s page of Talmud we read this Mishnah:

מכות כא, א

הַכּוֹתֵב כְּתוֹבֶת קַעֲקַע. כָּתַב וְלֹא קִעֲקַע, קִעֲקַע וְלֹא כָּתַב – אֵינוֹ חַיָּיב, עַד שֶׁיִּכְתּוֹב וִיקַעְקַע (בְּיָדוֹ) [בִּדְיוֹ] וּבִכְחוֹל וּבְכל דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא רוֹשֵׁם. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יְהוּדָה מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר: אֵינוֹ חַיָּיב עַד שֶׁיִּכְתּוֹב שֵׁם אֶת הַשֵּׁם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע לֹא תִתְּנוּ בָּכֶם אֲנִי ה׳״

From here.

One who imprints a tattoo, by inserting a dye into recesses carved in the skin, is also liable to receive lashes. If one imprinted on the skin with a dye but did not carve the skin, or if one carved the skin but did not imprint the tattoo by adding a dye, he is not liable; he is not liable until he imprints and carves the skin, with ink, or with kohl [keḥol], or with any substance that marks. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Shimon: He is liable only if he writes the name of the idol there, as it is stated: “And a tattoo inscription you shall not place upon you, I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:28).

As Rashi notes, the Talmud explains that the prohibition is to tattoo the name of an idol onto the skin:

את השם - מפרש בגמרא דשם עבודת כוכבים קאמר

The Rambam includes this prohibition in his Mishnah Torah:

משנה תורה, הלכות עבודה זרה וחוקות הגויים י״ב:י״א

כְּתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע הָאֲמוּרָה בַּתּוֹרָה הוּא שֶׁיִּשְׂרֹט עַל בְּשָׂרוֹ וִימַלֵּא מְקוֹם הַשְּׂרִיטָה כָּחל אוֹ דְּיוֹ אוֹ שְׁאָר צִבְעוֹנִים הָרוֹשְׁמִים. וְזֶה הָיָה מִנְהַג הָעַכּוּ"ם שֶׁרוֹשְׁמִין עַצְמָן לַעֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים כְּלוֹמַר שֶׁהוּא עֶבֶד מָכוּר לָהּ וּמֻרְשָׁם לַעֲבוֹדָתָהּ. וּמֵעֵת שֶׁיִּרְשֹׁם בְּאֶחָד מִדְּבָרִים הָרוֹשְׁמִין אַחַר שֶׁיִּשְׂרֹט בְּאֵי זֶה מָקוֹם מִן הַגּוּף בֵּין אִישׁ בֵּין אִשָּׁה לוֹקֶה. כָּתַב וְלֹא רָשַׁם בְּצֶבַע אוֹ שֶׁרָשַׁם בְּצֶבַע וְלֹא כָּתַב בִּשְׂרִיטָה פָּטוּר עַד שֶׁיִּכְתֹּב וִיקַעֲקֵעַ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא יט כח) "וּכְתֹבֶת קַעֲקַע". בַּמֶּה דְּבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בְּכוֹתֵב אֲבָל זֶה שֶׁכָּתְבוּ בִּבְשָׂרוֹ וְקִעְקְעוּ בּוֹ אֵינוֹ חַיָּב אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן סִיֵּעַ כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂה. אֲבָל אִם לֹא עָשָׂה כְּלוּם אֵינוֹ לוֹקֶה

The tattooing which the Torah forbids involves making a cut in one's flesh and filling the slit with eye-color, ink, or with any other dye that leaves an imprint. This was the custom of the idolaters, who would make marks on their bodies for the sake of their idols, as if to say that they are like servants sold to the idol and designated for its service…

If a person wrote and did not dye, or dyed without writing by cutting [into his flesh], he is not liable. [Punishment is administered] only when he writes and dyes, as [Leviticus 19:28] states: "[Do not make] a dyed inscription [on yourselves]…

Of course we do not have any images that show how these tattoos appeared in Talmudic times, but we do have examples of these kinds of images in our own culture. Here are a few:

Anubis

Anubis is the Egyptian god of funerary rites and a guide to the underworld. In ancient Egypt he is displayed as having the head of a jackal and the body of a man. Like the image on the left, shown from the Tomb of Horemheb; 1323-1295 BCE, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Anubis, from the Tomb of Horemheb; 1323-1295 BCE, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

And here is how he is depicted on a contemporary tattoo:

From here.

Sekhmet

Sekhmet, the daughter of sun god Ra, is an Egyptian goddess who could breathe fire, cause plagues (which were described as being her servants or messengers), and, if you were lucky, ward off disease and heal the sick. Here she is depicted on the Temple of Kom Ombo in Egypt, from around 180 BCE:

From here.

And here she is, tattooed:

From here.

Shiva

Shiva is the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration. Here he is in the 6th century Elephanta caves in Maharashtra, India

Shiva, carved into rock and about 20 feet heigh. From here.

Shiva is a popular god for tattoo artists (and it is they who have the injunction mentioned in the Mishnah. The person being tattooed does not violate any prohibition according to the Rambam, unless she helps the one drawing the tattoo - וְקִעְקְעוּ בּוֹ אֵינוֹ חַיָּב אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן סִיֵּעַ כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂה).

Shiva

Another Shiva, created by this tattoo parlor.

What about Tattooing the name of our God?

On a delightful sunny day in August 2012 I was enjoying a refreshing Coke with my family at a quiet coffee shop in Toledo, Spain, where we were on vacation. Near us was man enjoying his own refreshment, and I could not help notice the tattoo on his left arm.

And then I noticed the tattoo on his right arm. Eloheynu - “Our God.”

Unfortunately there was a language barrier that prevented us from having what would have been, I am sure, a most interesting little chat. I might even have shared with this nice man with a gentle smile the ruling from the Talmud in Yoma:

יומא ח, א

הֲרֵי שֶׁהָיָה שֵׁם כָּתוּב עַל בְּשָׂרוֹ — הֲרֵי זֶה לֹא יִרְחַץ וְלֹא יָסוּךְ וְלֹא יַעֲמוֹד בִּמְקוֹם הַטִּנּוֹפֶת. נִזְדַּמְּנָה לוֹ טְבִילָה שֶׁל מִצְוָה — כּוֹרֵךְ עָלָיו גֶּמִי וְטוֹבֵל. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: יוֹרֵד וְטוֹבֵל כְּדַרְכּוֹ, וּבִלְבַד שֶׁלֹּא יְשַׁפְשֵׁף

It was taught in a baraita: With regard to one who had a sacred name of God written on his flesh, he may neither bathe, nor smear oil on his flesh, nor stand in a place of filth. If an immersion by means of which he fulfills a mitzva happened to present itself to him, he wraps a reed over God’s name and then descends and immerses, allowing the water to penetrate so that there will be no interposition between him and the water. Rabbi Yossi says: Actually, he descends and immerses in his usual manner, and he need not wrap a reed over the name, provided that he does not rub the spot and erase the name.

Rabbi Yossi implies that the name of God was literally written on the skin, rather than tattooed. And this is how Rashi explains the Talmud:

לא ירחץ – שלא ימחקנו. ואזהרה למוחק את השם "ואבדתם את השם" וסמיך ליה "לא תעשון ן וגו'

He may not bathe - to prevent it from being erased…

This was codified by Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah:

רמב’ם משנה תורה הל׳ יסידי התורה 6:6

וְכֵן אִם הָיָה שֵׁם כָּתוּב עַל בְּשָׂרוֹ הֲרֵי זֶה לֹא יִרְחַץ וְלֹא יָסוּךְ וְלֹא יַעֲמֹד בִּמְקוֹם הַטִּנֹּפֶת. נִזְדַּמְּנָה לוֹ טְבִילָה שֶׁל מִצְוָה כּוֹרֵךְ עָלָיו גֶּמִי וְטוֹבֵל. וְאִם לֹא מָצָא גֶּמִי מְסַבֵּב בִּבְגָדָיו וְלֹא יְהַדֵּק כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יָחֹץ. שֶׁלֹּא אָמְרוּ לִכְרֹךְ עָלָיו אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאָסוּר לַעֲמֹד בִּפְנֵי הַשֵּׁם כְּשֶׁהוּא עָרֹם

…If one had a Name written upon his flesh, he shall not wash, anoint himself or remain in unclean places; if he must undergo a mandatory immersion, he shall cover it with a leaf or, when no leaf is to be found, with part of his garments, yet must he not fasten it lest it be obstructive to the immersion, because the only reason it was said to cover the tattoo is because it is forbidden to remain naked in the Presence of the God’s Name.

But it is also possible that the Talmud is referring to a more extreme form of writing on the skin: tattooing. On that sunny day in Spain I was surprised to find that God’s Hebrew name was something people would tattoo on themselves. But I should not have been. As the Talmud in Yoma makes clear, people have been writing God’s name on themselves for a long time. And so here, for your viewing delight are some other examples of this phenomenon.

Let’s start with one that is not the name of God, but a common word associated with good luck. It is the Hebrew word חי chai, meaning life.

From here

Ok, the next one doesn’t count. It is a poor transliteration of the four letter name of God י–ה–ו–ה written in English as “Yahweh.”

From here.

But this one is unmistakably God’s ineffable name. Or it will be once the thing is finished and someone colors in the letters.

From here.

Not sure what is going on here. This Hebrew tattoo means “But God [Elohim].” But God what?

From here.

Here is another one using the word Elohim. (This image was rotated 90 degrees to enable you to read the words easily.)

It is a quote from Psalms 46:11 הַרְפּ֣וּ וּ֭דְעוּ כִּי־אָנֹכִ֣י אֱלֹהִ֑ים אָר֥וּם בַּ֝גּוֹיִ֗ם אָר֥וּם בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ “Desist! Realize that I am God! I dominate the nations; I dominate the earth.”

From here.

Same verse. Only smaller. And this one has the advantage that when immersing in a Mikveh [ritual bath], it may easily be covered with a sock.

From here.

Next, “God is King.” Possibly the winner in the category “Largest Hebrew Name-of God Tattoo.”

From here.

Another example of the four letter name of God tattooed. Twice. And another winner, this time in the category of “I forgot my prayer book - what are the words?” It is Psalm 23. All of it.

From here.

The Jewish Prohibition against Tattooing

Jews are forbidden to get a tattoo. The origin of this prohibition is found in the Torah (Lev. 19:28)

וְשֶׂ֣רֶט לָנֶ֗פֶשׁ לֹ֤א תִתְּנוּ֙ בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֔ם וּכְתֹ֣בֶת קַֽעֲקַ֔ע לֹ֥א תִתְּנ֖וּ בָּכֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃

You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.

Maimonides is clear:

משנה תורה, מצוות לא תעשה מ״א

שלא לכתוב בגוף כעובדי עבודה זרה, שנאמר "וכתובת קעקע, לא תיתנו בכם" (ויקרא יט,כח)

Mishneh Torah, Negative Mitzvot 41

Not to tattoo the body, like the idolaters, as it is said, “…. nor shall ye print any marks upon you” (Lev. 19:28).

And here is the Sefer HaChinuch, an important anonymous work written in Spain sometime in the 13th-century. It details the 613 commandments and explains the reasons behind them.

Sefer HaChinukh 253:1

That we not imprint an imprinted tattoo into our flesh:

To not imprint an imprinted tattoo into our flesh, as it is stated (Leviticus 19:28), "and an imprinted tattoo you shall not put into your flesh." And the content is like that which the Yishmaelites do today, as they imprint an imprint that is inscribed and stuck into their flesh, such that it is never erased. And the liability is only with an imprint that is inscribed and impressed with ink or blue dye or with other colors that make an impression. And so did they say in Makkot 21a, "[If] he tattooed, but did not imprint" - meaning to say, he did not make an impression with color - "[if] he imprinted, but did not tattoo" - meaning to say that he did make an impression [on] his flesh with a color, but he did not make a marking in his flesh - " he is not liable, until he imprints, and tattoos with ink, or with blue dye or with anything that makes an impression."

Still, the Torah ruling is specific: “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead.” But what if the gashes are not made “for the dead”? As a 2008 article from the New York Times made clear, many contemporary Jews grapple with the prohibition.

Andy Abrams, a filmmaker, has spent five years making a documentary called “Tattoo Jew.” In his interviews with dozens of Jews with body art, he’s noticed the prevalence of Jewish-themed tattoos from Stars of David to elaborate Holocaust memorials, surprising since one reason Jewish culture opposes tattoos is that Jews were involuntarily marked in concentration camps.

And that thing you’ve heard that a Jew with a tattoo cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery? Nonsense. An urban legend. As The New York Times noted:

But the edict [against a Jew with a tattoo being buried in a Jewish cemetery] isn’t true. The eight rabbinical scholars interviewed for this article, from institutions like the Jewish Theological Seminary and Yeshiva University, said it’s an urban legend, most likely started because a specific cemetery had a policy against tattoos. Jewish parents and grandparents picked up on it and over time, their distaste for tattoos was presented as scriptural doctrine.

What is remarkable about the Talmud in Yoma is that there is no comment made about how a Jewish person could ever be in the position of having to cover a tattoo. It just took it for granted that such a case could occur. Perhaps the person transgressed the prohibition, and now want to bathe in the cleansing waters of the ritual mikveh.

“It’s difficult to know exactly how many young Jews are being tattooed, because no organization tracks these numbers. But a pro-tattoo community is emerging online. Christopher Stedman, a 23-year-old student in Rohnert Park, Calif., started a MySpace group called “Jews with Tattoos” in 2004, after noticing more Jewish friends being tattooed. The group now has 839 members.”

— The New York Times, "For Some Jews, It Only Sounds Like ‘Taboo’." July 17, 2008.

Why Tattoo?

In his fascinating book Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed, Carl Zimmer wrote that scientists get tattoos (and many of them do, judging from this book) “in order to mark themselves with an aspect of the world that has marked them deeply within. It is not simply the thing in the tattoo that matters…tattoos are a tribal marking: they display a membership with the universe itself.” And for those with the proclivity, what better way is there to remember the God (or gods) who got the whole thing rolling than by tattooing of his name. Just be sure that you choose the right god.

Two beautiful equations on the arms of Adam Simpson, who worked at the National Center for Computational Sciences. “I got the tattoos because it’s amazing to me how just a few characters can impact the world so much, and I want others to know that.” From Carl Zimmer, Science Ink; Tattoos of the Science Obsessed. New York. Sterling 2011. p28.