20b: A Great Line

More great stories! This massechet is the Aesop's Fables of the Talmud.

The story about the very meritorious R. Adda bar Ahava is great. I love that R. Huna (who is pretty meritorious himself, as we learn further down the amud) used the great merit of his friend to keep a house standing while he got his stuff out. I mean, is that putting virtue to work for you or what?

But the best item that comes out of the narrative is R. Adda's anger, and his quote from R. Yannai, "A person should not stand in a place of danger and say, 'a miracle will be done for me.' Perhaps a miracle will not occur for him. And if it does happen that a miracle should occur, his merit will be reduced." As they say in the blogosphere, italics mine.

You get a certain amount of merit chips; you spend them to get miracles, and then, of course, you have fewer. You don't want to spend your chips in silly ways. Save 'em 'till you need 'em. Such a mechanical universe R. Yannai is imagining: you put your merit chip in the slot, and then you get your miracle. And if a miracle doesn't happen for you? You obviously didn't have enough chips.

I should stop learning Torah in dirty allies. It's hurting my cred.