(Fol. 64b) R. Jochanan said in the name of R. Simon b. Jochai: "Wherever you find the words nitzim, or nitzabim [written in the Pentatuch,] it refers to no one but Dathan and Abiram." If so, then how will you explain the passage (Ex. 4, 19) For the men are dead, etc., referring to Dathan and Abiram, and yet on occasions which happened many years later the words nitzim and nitzabim are found mentioned in the Torah? Resh Lakish therefore explained that they became poor." Resh Lakish said: "A man who has no children is accounted as dead, as it is said (Gen. 30, 1) Give me children or else die, and we are taught in a Baraitha that four are accounted as dead: — The pauper, the leper, the blind man, and he who is childless. That a pauper is accounted as dead we derive from the above quoted passage: For the men are dead; the leper, we derive from the following passage (Num. 12, 12) Let her not be as a dead-born child; That a blind one is accounted as dead we derive from this passage (Lam. 3, 6) In dark places hath He set me to dwell, like the dead of olden times; and that one who is childless is accounted as dead we infer from the passage. Give me children or else I die."
(Fol. 65) We are taught in a Baraitha: whoever makes a vow prohibiting his neighbor to enjoy anything of him cannot get a nullification of that vow except in the presence of the man who was involved in that vow. Whence do we learn this? Said Rab Nachman, and according to others R. Jochanan: "It is written (Ex. 4,19) And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, etc.; i.e., the Lord said unto him: 'In Midian hast thou made a vow and in Midian go and nullify the vow,' as it is written (Ib. 2, 21) And Moses was content (Yoel) to dwell with the man, and the word, yoel [which is the origin of Alla] refers to nothing else but an oath, as it is written (Ez. 17, 13) And bound him with an oath (Alla); and again it is written (Chr. 36, 13) And he also rebelled against King Nebauchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God." What was Zedekiah's rebellion? Zedekiah found Nebuchadnezzar eating a live hare. [Abashed by his action] Nebuchadnezzar said to Zedekiah: "Swear unto me that thou wilt not reveal this against me, so that thou wilt not belittle me [in the eyes of the people."] The latter swore unto him. At the end Zedekiah felt sorry and asked that his oath be nullified. When he revealed the entire incident, Nebuchadnezzar was informed that the sages had disgraced him. Whereupon he sent and brought the Sanhedrin together with Zedekiah, and said to them: "Have you seen what Zedekiah has done? Did he not swear in the name of Heaven that he would not reveal the incident?" Whereupon the Rabbis replied: "He asked for annulment of his oath." Nebuchadnezzar then said to them: "Is it proper to ask for an annulment of an oath?" "Yea," they replied to him. "Is it not necessary that such an annulment should be asked in the presence of him who is involved in the vow?" Nebuchadnezzar asked. "Of course, in his presence," replied the Sanhedrin. "If so, then what have you done? Why have you not told Zedekiah [that he has to get an annulment in my presence]?" Immediately following this (Lam. 2, 10) The elders of the daughters of Zion sit upon the ground, they keep silence. Whereupon R. Isaac said: "From this it might be inferred that they removed the pillows from under their seats."