Shabat 129a: Not endorsed by the Red Cross

The Rabbis of the Talmud used bloodletting for medical reasons.  Some were big believers in drinking wine after such a procedure:

After bloodletting... Rav Yosef would drink wine until the smell came out of his ears....

All forms of trickery are forbidden, save for the following case.  If one underwent bloodletting and cannot afford wine for recovery, he should take worn out coins, and come and go among the stores up to the point he has consumed a revi'it (Talumdic measure - a cup more or less) of wine.

Rashi explains that it was customary for wine sellers to give customers a taste of wine before buying.  One should go to a wine shop, pretend to be about to buy, take a taste, then offer to pay with a worn out coin.  After the wine shop owner refuses to accept such a coin as payment, one should continue on to the next wine shop, and repeat until the tastes sum up to the measure of wine required to heal from the bloodletting.  

Megilla 25a. One can always put on or take off sweater!

It's been way too long since I posted.  I plead a couple of circumstances - I've been pretty busy plus I haven't come across many sources that have left me feeling inspired to write here.  But it feels good to be back.  I would have been learning Megila tonight with my study partner A. but he is sick.  This is dedicated to a quick and rapid healing for him!

The Gemara states a famous line on the top of the page:  'All is in Heaven's power, except for awe of Heaven.'  It always gives me a little shiver when I read something famous in context.  Tosafot, medieval commentators, have an interesting take on it:

This is a difficult statement, as it written on Page 30a of Tractate Ketubot: 'All is in Heaven's power, except for heat and cold.'  (The unspoken question is: Which is it that is under our control:  awe or heat/cold?)  It appears that the statement in Megilla relates to a person's inheritance, if they will be wise or dumb, rich or poor, strong or weak.   All of these things are decreed, as it is written (Jeremiah, 9) 'The rich person should not take pride in his riches, nor the mighty in his might, but only about this should one brag:  to brag of wisdom and knowing Me' (that is, knowing G-d).   In Ketubot, the statement relates to a person's future situation, things that occur after they are born, for all such circumstances are also under Heaven's control, save for heat and cold.  

There is no contradiction between this statement and Scripture's statement (Psalms 147), 'Who can withstand His cold?' for this refers to G-d sending forth all his cold at once, as it says at the beginning of the psalm, 'He sends forth his cold like crumbs of bread.'  [OK I have to admit I didn't totally get that last paragraph...]   One also need not be troubled by the statement (Psalms 19)  'There is no shelter from His heat,' for Psalms here speaks of travelers, while a person at home can always find shelter from heat.