Yesterday, the Talmud asserted that kosher fish lay eggs while non-kosher fish gestate their young. Today, the Talmud continues discussing gestation in various species, a discussion that leads to a rollicking story of riddles, mayhem and rabbinic wisdom. I can only share part of it here; I recommend you turn to the Talmud to read it in full.
The emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananya: A snake, after how long a period of gestation does it give birth?
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananya said to him: After seven years.
The emperor said to him: But the elders of the school of Athens bred snakes and they gave birth after three.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananya responded: Those snakes were pregnant from beforehand for four years.
The emperor asked: But they engaged in intercourse!
Rabbi Yehoshua responded: Snakes also engage in intercourse like people.
Notice that sages are presumed experts on many subjects — even by the Roman emperor. Here a rabbi is called in by one unnamed Roman emperor to consult on questions of zoology, based on the wisdom of the Torah. But Rabbi Yehoshua is not the first sage the emperor has consulted on this matter. Previously, he consulted the “elders of the school of Athens,” a phrase that evokes the great philosophers of antiquity: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Their knowledge is not based on Torah, but empirical observation.
We might expect the empirical scholars to win in matters of science. But in his audience with the emperor, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananya cleverly notes (in the days before medical imaging) that it is impossible to know if the snakes you’ve collected are pregnant when you’ve collected them. And since snakes, like people, engage in intercourse for reasons beyond procreation, seeing them engage in that act isn’t proof that they are not currently pregnant. As it turns out, he’s not bad at empiricism.
It takes guts to disagree with the pre-eminent scholars of the empire. And even more guts when their expertise is upheld by the Roman emperor himself. Sensing his advantage, Rabbi Yehoshua sets out to prove that Jewish wisdom surpasses Greek wisdom:
The emperor said: But aren’t they wise?
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananya responded: We are wiser than they.
The emperor said: If you are wiser, then go defeat them in debate and bring them to me.
Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: How many are there?The emperor answered: Sixty men.
After demanding the emperor supply him with a 60-room ship, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananya sails to Athens, where he tricks a local butcher into revealing where its 60 scholars sit and study. In a scene straight out of an action movie, he engineers the death of every guard at its entrance and infiltrates the study house to do intellectual battle. Against all odds, he finds himself before all 60 august scholars of Athens:
Rabbi Yehoshua said: Greetings to you.
They said to him: What are you doing here?
Rabbi Yehoshua said to them: I am a sage of the Jews, and I desire to learn wisdom from you.
They said to him: If so, we will ask you questions.
Rabbi Yehoshua said to them: Very well. If you win, you may do to me anything you wish, and if I defeat you, eat with me on my ship.
Despite his initial disingenuous statement that he simply wishes to learn at their feet, the elders of Athens immediately understand that Rabbi Yehoshua is there to challenge them. They pose a series of riddles designed to humiliate the interloping rabbi. But Rabbi Yehoshua adeptly handles each challenge — and even cinematically levitates through one of them. Let’s look at two of the riddles he solves:
The sages of Athens said: When salt is spoiling, with what does one salt it (to preserve it)?
Rabbi Yehoshua said to them: With the placenta of a mule.
They said to him: But is there a placenta of a mule?
Rabbi Yehoshua said to them: And does salt spoil?
Similarly, my favorite:
The sages of Athens said: With what does one harvest a field of knives?
Rabbi Yehoshua answered: With the horn of a donkey.
They said to him: But is there such an item as a horn of a donkey?
He said to them: But is there such a thing as a field of knives?
Ultimately, the rabbi wins by highlighting the absurdity of the Athens sages’ “impossible” riddles. He proves himself clearsighted not only about Torah, but also about how the world actually works. He then tricks them into boarding his ship and hauls them back to Rome where (as we will learn on tomorrow’s daf) they are thoroughly disgraced and the rabbi emerges an undisputed champion.
This is basically the talmudic equivalent of a superhero movie, starring a rabbinic sage. With this story, which stretches across two pages, the rabbis hyperbolically assert their intelligence and authority in multiple arenas, while simultaneously betraying their anxiety about achieving recognition and respect among their peers in the empire. And they share some fun riddles along the way.
Read all of Bekhorot 8 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on September 25, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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