Talmud for Sotah 9:2

נִמְצָא טָמוּן בְּגַל, אוֹ תָלוּי בְּאִילָן, אוֹ צָף עַל פְּנֵי הַמַּיִם, לֹא הָיוּ עוֹרְפִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם) בָּאֲדָמָה, וְלֹא טָמוּן בְּגַל. נֹפֵל, וְלֹא תָלוּי בְּאִילָן. בַּשָּׂדֶה, וְלֹא צָף עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם. נִמְצָא סָמוּךְ לַסְּפָר, אוֹ לְעִיר שֶׁרֻבָּהּ נָכְרִים, אוֹ לְעִיר שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ בֵּית דִּין, לֹא הָיוּ עוֹרְפִין. אֵין מוֹדְדִין אֶלָּא מֵעִיר שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ בֵּית דִּין. נִמְצָא מְכֻוָּן בֵּין שְׁתֵּי עֲיָרוֹת, שְׁתֵּיהֶן מְבִיאוֹת שְׁתֵּי עֲגָלוֹת, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. וְאֵין יְרוּשָׁלַיִם מְבִיאָה עֶגְלָה עֲרוּפָה:

If [the corpse] was found buried underneath a heap of stones, or hanging on a tree, or floating on the surface of the water, they would not break [the heifer’s neck], as it says: “In the earth” — and not buried underneath a heap of stones, "fallen" not hanging on a tree; “In a field” —and not floating on the surface of the water. If it was found near the border, or a city whose majority of inhabitants were non-Jews, or a city in which there is no court, they would not break [the heifer's neck]. They measure the distance only from a city in which there is a court. If [the corpse] was found exactly between two cities, both of them would bring two heifers [between them], the words of Rabbi Eliezer; And Jerusalem does not bring a heifer whose neck is to be broken.

Jerusalem Talmud Peah

When Rav descended there⁷⁸“There” always means Babylonia; going to Babylonia is “descending,” going to the Land of Israel is “ascending.” The story appears in the same context in Babli Sotah 45a, the actor being Abbaie, three generations after Rav; the Yerushalmi version is also in Sota 9:2., he declared: I am this place’s Ben Azai⁷⁹Ben Azai, one of the most outstanding students of Rebbi Aqiba, was a walking encyclopedia and used to stroll through the markets of Tiberias, ready to immediately answer any question of Jewish learning. He died during mystical studies before he could marry R. Aqiba’s daughter. In the Talmudim, several sages are reported to have tried to imitate Ben Azai but all of them were quickly confronted with a question for which they gave the wrong answer or did not know any answer at all. The story is inserted here because a few paragraphs down hidden sheaves will be discussed.. There came an old man and asked him, two slain people, one on top of the other⁸⁰This refers to Deut. 21:1–9, about the purification ceremony when a person is found murdered and the murderer is not found. Then a calf’s neck is broken in a ravine not used for agriculture.? Rav was of the opinion that one breaks the neck. He told him, one does not break the neck. He asked him, why? He said to him, not the lower one for he is hidden⁸¹The relevant verse is Deut. 21:1: “If a corpse is found on the land the Eternal, your God, gives to you.…” The lower body is not “found”; he is only discovered when the other body is removed. The upper body is not found on the land., not the upper one because he floats. When he ascended here, he came to Rebbi, who told him: He told you correctly, “if he is found,” and not “if they are found.”

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Jerusalem Talmud Makkot

HALAKHAH: ¹³⁹The text in brackets is from G. Here starts the discussion of Mishnah 15. The text in parentheses is from the Leiden ms. The correct quote of the Mishnah is in G.[They⁶⁸The feminine form of the verb is confirmed by the readings of Maimonides and Rashi, as well as the Munich ms. of the Babli. In the Babli, the question is raised whether the homicide (reading מעלים) pays rent or his hometown (reading מעלות) pays indemnity to the Levites in either the city of refuge or the 42 additional Levitic cities which also serve as cities of asylum. Since neither Sifry nor the Yerushalmi mention this, it seems that the Yerushalmi recognizes only the six cities of refuge as proper places of asylum. were paying rent to the Levites.] ¹⁴⁰Maˋaser Šeni 5:8, Notes 165–167. The question is whether individual houses in Levitic cities were private or tribal property, as explained there. Even though three sources (the Leiden ms. here and in Maˋaser Šeni and G here) confirm the text “R. Yose said, they were given as dwellings” one must read “R. Meïr”, as shown. R. Yose holds with R. Jehudah in Mishnah Maˋaser Šeni 5:9. In the Babli (13a) it is held that the six cities of refuge were tribal property; for the other 42 Levitic cities the dispute is not resolved. It was stated: Rebbi Jehudah says, they were given to be distributed. Rebbi Yose said, they were given as dwellings. It turns out that Rebbi Yose holds with Rebbi Jehudah, and Rebbi Meïr follows his own opinion as we have stated: “They⁶⁸The feminine form of the verb is confirmed by the readings of Maimonides and Rashi, as well as the Munich ms. of the Babli. In the Babli, the question is raised whether the homicide (reading מעלים) pays rent or his hometown (reading מעלות) pays indemnity to the Levites in either the city of refuge or the 42 additional Levitic cities which also serve as cities of asylum. Since neither Sifry nor the Yerushalmi mention this, it seems that the Yerushalmi recognizes only the six cities of refuge as proper places of asylum. were paying rent to the Levites, the words of Rebbi (Meïr) [Jehudah]. Rebbi (Jehudah) [Meïr] said, they were not paying rent to the Levites.”

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