Sniffing the Jar: Metaphor and Body in the Story of the Encounter between Shmuel and Rav

Abstract

Abstract: This article analyzes the talmudic story of the first encounter between Rav and Shmuel (b. Shabbat 108a). It focuses on the structural difficulties of the plot, particularly the relationship between Rav’s interview at the beginning of the story and the aggressive medical treatment he undergoes at the end. A new interpretation of Shmuel’s request of his student Karna to “sniff Rav’s jar” can solve these problems. The request is here understood as a play on words, which concretizes the metaphorical idiom. This interpretation enables a new reading of the entire story, as one that centers on the relationship between metaphor and reality and, by extension, between the Torah and the body of the immigrant sage.