1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 11.14, 33.11 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139, 205| 11.14. "וְנָתַתִּי מְטַר־אַרְצְכֶם בְּעִתּוֹ יוֹרֶה וּמַלְקוֹשׁ וְאָסַפְתָּ דְגָנֶךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ׃", 33.11. "בָּרֵךְ יְהוָה חֵילוֹ וּפֹעַל יָדָיו תִּרְצֶה מְחַץ מָתְנַיִם קָמָיו וּמְשַׂנְאָיו מִן־יְקוּמוּן׃", | 11.14. "that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.", 33.11. "Bless, LORD, his substance, And accept the work of his hands; Smite through the loins of them that rise up against him, And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.", |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Leviticus, 10.1-10.5, 16.12-16.13 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 63| 10.1. "וּלֲהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַקֹּדֶשׁ וּבֵין הַחֹל וּבֵין הַטָּמֵא וּבֵין הַטָּהוֹר׃", 10.1. "וַיִּקְחוּ בְנֵי־אַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וַיִּתְּנוּ בָהֵן אֵשׁ וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלֶיהָ קְטֹרֶת וַיַּקְרִבוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֵשׁ זָרָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוָּה אֹתָם׃", 10.2. "וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה וַתֹּאכַל אוֹתָם וַיָּמֻתוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה׃", 10.2. "וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה וַיִּיטַב בְּעֵינָיו׃", 10.3. "וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־אַהֲרֹן הוּא אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר יְהוָה לֵאמֹר בִּקְרֹבַי אֶקָּדֵשׁ וְעַל־פְּנֵי כָל־הָעָם אֶכָּבֵד וַיִּדֹּם אַהֲרֹן׃", 10.4. "וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה אֶל־מִישָׁאֵל וְאֶל אֶלְצָפָן בְּנֵי עֻזִּיאֵל דֹּד אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם קִרְבוּ שְׂאוּ אֶת־אֲחֵיכֶם מֵאֵת פְּנֵי־הַקֹּדֶשׁ אֶל־מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה׃", 10.5. "וַיִּקְרְבוּ וַיִּשָּׂאֻם בְּכֻתֳּנֹתָם אֶל־מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה׃", 16.12. "וְלָקַח מְלֹא־הַמַּחְתָּה גַּחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה וּמְלֹא חָפְנָיו קְטֹרֶת סַמִּים דַּקָּה וְהֵבִיא מִבֵּית לַפָּרֹכֶת׃", 16.13. "וְנָתַן אֶת־הַקְּטֹרֶת עַל־הָאֵשׁ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְכִסָּה עֲנַן הַקְּטֹרֶת אֶת־הַכַּפֹּרֶת אֲשֶׁר עַל־הָעֵדוּת וְלֹא יָמוּת׃", | 10.1. "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.", 10.2. "And there came forth fire from before the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.", 10.3. "Then Moses said unto Aaron: ‘This is it that the LORD spoke, saying: Through them that are nigh unto Me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ And Aaron held his peace.", 10.4. "And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them: ‘Draw near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.’", 10.5. "So they drew near, and carried them in their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.", 16.12. "And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil.", 16.13. "And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the ark-cover that is upon the testimony, that he die not.", |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 16.16-16.17, 16.38, 17.2-17.5, 17.11-17.13 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 63| 16.16. "וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־קֹרַח אַתָּה וְכָל־עֲדָתְךָ הֱיוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אַתָּה וָהֵם וְאַהֲרֹן מָחָר׃", 16.17. "וּקְחוּ אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וּנְתַתֶּם עֲלֵיהֶם קְטֹרֶת וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתַיִם מַחְתֹּת וְאַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ׃", 17.2. "וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אֶבְחַר־בּוֹ מַטֵּהוּ יִפְרָח וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִי מֵעָלַי אֶת־תְּלֻנּוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הֵם מַלִּינִם עֲלֵיכֶם׃", 17.2. "אֱמֹר אֶל־אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן וְיָרֵם אֶת־הַמַּחְתֹּת מִבֵּין הַשְּׂרֵפָה וְאֶת־הָאֵשׁ זְרֵה־הָלְאָה כִּי קָדֵשׁוּ׃", 17.3. "אֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַחַטָּאִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּנַפְשֹׁתָם וְעָשׂוּ אֹתָם רִקֻּעֵי פַחִים צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ כִּי־הִקְרִיבֻם לִפְנֵי־יְהוָה וַיִּקְדָּשׁוּ וְיִהְיוּ לְאוֹת לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃", 17.4. "וַיִּקַּח אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן אֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר הִקְרִיבוּ הַשְּׂרֻפִים וַיְרַקְּעוּם צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ׃", 17.5. "זִכָּרוֹן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִקְרַב אִישׁ זָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִזֶּרַע אַהֲרֹן הוּא לְהַקְטִיר קְטֹרֶת לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה כְקֹרַח וְכַעֲדָתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה לוֹ׃", 17.11. "וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־אַהֲרֹן קַח אֶת־הַמַּחְתָּה וְתֶן־עָלֶיהָ אֵשׁ מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְשִׂים קְטֹרֶת וְהוֹלֵךְ מְהֵרָה אֶל־הָעֵדָה וְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי־יָצָא הַקֶּצֶף מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה הֵחֵל הַנָּגֶף׃", 17.12. "וַיִּקַּח אַהֲרֹן כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה וַיָּרָץ אֶל־תּוֹך הַקָּהָל וְהִנֵּה הֵחֵל הַנֶּגֶף בָּעָם וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־הַקְּטֹרֶת וַיְכַפֵּר עַל־הָעָם׃", 17.13. "וַיַּעֲמֹד בֵּין־הַמֵּתִים וּבֵין הַחַיִּים וַתֵּעָצַר הַמַּגֵּפָה׃", | 16.16. "And Moses said unto Korah: ‘Be thou and all thy congregation before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow;", 16.17. "and take ye every man his fire-pan, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his fire-pan, two hundred and fifty fire-pans; thou also, and Aaron, each his fire-pan.’", 17.2. "‘Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the fire-pans out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are become holy;", 17.3. "even the fire-pans of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar—for they are become holy, because they were offered before the LORD—that they may be a sign unto the children of Israel.’", 17.4. "And Eleazar the priest took the brazen fire-pans, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,", 17.5. "to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no common man, that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before the LORD; that he fare not as Korah, and as his company; as the LORD spoke unto him by the hand of Moses.", 17.11. "And Moses said unto Aaron: ‘Take thy fire-pan, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from the LORD: the plague is begun.’", 17.12. "And Aaron took as Moses spoke, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people; and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.", 17.13. "And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.", |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 30.34-30.38 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 63| 30.34. "וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה קַח־לְךָ סַמִּים נָטָף וּשְׁחֵלֶת וְחֶלְבְּנָה סַמִּים וּלְבֹנָה זַכָּה בַּד בְּבַד יִהְיֶה׃", 30.35. "וְעָשִׂיתָ אֹתָהּ קְטֹרֶת רֹקַח מַעֲשֵׂה רוֹקֵחַ מְמֻלָּח טָהוֹר קֹדֶשׁ׃", 30.36. "וְשָׁחַקְתָּ מִמֶּנָּה הָדֵק וְנָתַתָּה מִמֶּנָּה לִפְנֵי הָעֵדֻת בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר אִוָּעֵד לְךָ שָׁמָּה קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם׃", 30.37. "וְהַקְּטֹרֶת אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה בְּמַתְכֻּנְתָּהּ לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם קֹדֶשׁ תִּהְיֶה לְךָ לַיהוָה׃", 30.38. "אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂה כָמוֹהָ לְהָרִיחַ בָּהּ וְנִכְרַת מֵעַמָּיו׃", | 30.34. "And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; sweet spices with pure frankincense; of each shall there be a like weight.", 30.35. "And thou shalt make of it incense, a perfume after the art of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.", 30.36. "And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with thee; it shall be unto you most holy. .", 30.37. "And the incense which thou shalt make, according to the composition thereof ye shall not make for yourselves; it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.", 30.38. "Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereof, he shall be cut off from his people.’", |
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5. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 50.1-50.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 63 | 50.1. The leader of his brethren and the pride of his people was Simon the high priest, son of Onias,who in his life repaired the house,and in his time fortified the temple. 50.1. like an olive tree putting forth its fruit,and like a cypress towering in the clouds. 50.2. He laid the foundations for the high double walls,the high retaining walls for the temple enclosure. 50.2. Then Simon came down, and lifted up his hands over the whole congregation of the sons of Israel,to pronounce the blessing of the Lord with his lips,and to glory in his name; 50.3. In his days a cistern for water was quarried out,a reservoir like the sea in circumference. 50.4. He considered how to save his people from ruin,and fortified the city to withstand a seige. 50.5. How glorious he was when the people gathered round him as he came out of the inner sanctuary! 50.7. like the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High,and like the rainbow gleaming in glorious clouds; 50.8. like roses in the days of the first fruits,like lilies by a spring of water,like a green shoot on Lebanon on a summer day; 50.9. like fire and incense in the censer,like a vessel of hammered gold adorned with all kinds of precious stones; 50.11. When he put on his glorious robe and clothed himself with superb perfection and went up to the holy altar,he made the court of the sanctuary glorious. 50.12. And when he received the portions from the hands of the priests,as he stood by the hearth of the altar with a garland of brethren around him,he was like a young cedar on Lebanon;and they surrounded him like the trunks of palm trees, 50.13. all the sons of Aaron in their splendor with the Lords offering in their hands,before the whole congregation of Israel. 50.14. Finishing the service at the altars,and arranging the offering to the Most High, the Almighty, 50.15. he reached out his hand to the cup and poured a libation of the blood of the grape;he poured it out at the foot of the altar,a pleasing odor to the Most High, the King of all. 50.16. Then the sons of Aaron shouted,they sounded the trumpets of hammered work,they made a great noise to be heard for remembrance before the Most High. 50.17. Then all the people together made haste and fell to the ground upon their faces to worship their Lord,the Almighty, God Most High. 50.18. And the singers praised him with their voices in sweet and full-toned melody. 50.19. And the people besought the Lord Most High in prayer before him who is merciful,till the order of worship of the Lord was ended;so they completed his service. 50.21. and they bowed down in worship a second time,to receive the blessing from the Most High. 50.22. And now bless the God of all,who in every way does great things;who exalts our days from birth,and deals with us according to his mercy. 50.23. May he give us gladness of heart,and grant that peace may be in our days in Israel,as in the days of old. 50.24. May he entrust to us his mercy!And let him deliver us in our days! |
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6. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 11.302-11.347, 13.277-13.279, 13.288-13.298, 13.301-13.319, 13.324, 13.335, 13.373, 13.398-13.432, 14.158-14.160, 14.163-14.184, 14.490-14.491, 15.3-15.4, 15.37, 15.425, 17.149-17.163, 17.165-17.166, 17.173-17.181, 17.193, 19.294, 19.330-19.334, 20.34-20.35, 20.38-20.45, 20.179-20.181, 20.205-20.207, 20.213-20.221, 20.262, 20.267 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus •babylonian talmud (bt), reliance on josephus •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 8, 12, 62, 63, 123, 139, 140, 193, 206, 208, 209 | 11.302. 2. Now when John had departed this life, his son Jaddua succeeded in the high priesthood. He had a brother, whose name was Manasseh. Now there was one Sanballat, who was sent by Darius, the last king [of Persia], into Samaria. He was a Cutheam by birth; of which stock were the Samaritans also. 11.303. This man knew that the city Jerusalem was a famous city, and that their kings had given a great deal of trouble to the Assyrians, and the people of Celesyria; so that he willingly gave his daughter, whose name was Nicaso, in marriage to Manasseh, as thinking this alliance by marriage would be a pledge and security that the nation of the Jews should continue their good-will to him. 11.304. 1. About this time it was that Philip, king of Macedon, was treacherously assaulted and slain at Egae by Pausanias, the son of Cerastes, who was derived from the family of Oreste, 11.305. and his son Alexander succeeded him in the kingdom; who, passing over the Hellespont, overcame the generals of Darius’s army in a battle fought at Granicum. So he marched over Lydia, and subdued Ionia, and overran Caria, and fell upon the places of Pamphylia, as has been related elsewhere. 11.306. 2. But the elders of Jerusalem being very uneasy that the brother of Jaddua the high priest, though married to a foreigner, should be a partner with him in the high priesthood, quarreled with him; 11.307. for they esteemed this man’s marriage a step to such as should be desirous of transgressing about the marriage of [strange] wives, and that this would be the beginning of a mutual society with foreigners, 11.308. although the offense of some about marriages, and their having married wives that were not of their own country, had been an occasion of their former captivity, and of the miseries they then underwent; so they commanded Manasseh to divorce his wife, or not to approach the altar, 11.309. the high priest himself joining with the people in their indignation against his brother, and driving him away from the altar. Whereupon Manasseh came to his father-in-law, Sanballat, and told him, that although he loved his daughter Nicaso, yet was he not willing to be deprived of his sacerdotal dignity on her account, which was the principal dignity in their nation, and always continued in the same family. 11.310. And then Sanballat promised him not only to preserve to him the honor of his priesthood, but to procure for him the power and dignity of a high priest, and would make him governor of all the places he himself now ruled, if he would keep his daughter for his wife. He also told him further, that he would build him a temple like that at Jerusalem, upon Mount Gerizzini, which is the highest of all the mountains that are in Samaria; 11.311. and he promised that he would do this with the approbation of Darius the king. Manasseh was elevated with these promises, and staid with Sanballat, upon a supposal that he should gain a high priesthood, as bestowed on him by Darius, for it happened that Sanballat was then in years. 11.312. But there was now a great disturbance among the people of Jerusalem, because many of those priests and Levites were entangled in such matches; for they all revolted to Manasseh, and Sanballat afforded them money, and divided among them land for tillage, and habitations also, and all this in order every way to gratify his son-in-law. 11.313. 3. About this time it was that Darius heard how Alexander had passed over the Hellespont, and had beaten his lieutets in the battle at Granicum, and was proceeding further; whereupon he gathered together an army of horse and foot, and determined that he would meet the Macedonians before they should assault and conquer all Asia. 11.314. So he passed over the river Euphrates, and came over Taurus, the Cilician mountain, and at Issus of Cilicia he waited for the enemy, as ready there to give him battle. 11.315. Upon which Sanballat was glad that Darius was come down; and told Manasseh that he would suddenly perform his promises to him, and this as soon as ever Darius should come back, after he had beaten his enemies; for not he only, but all those that were in Asia also, were persuaded that the Macedonians would not so much as come to a battle with the Persians, on account of their multitude. 11.316. But the event proved otherwise than they expected; for the king joined battle with the Macedonians, and was beaten, and lost a great part of his army. His mother also, and his wife and children, were taken captives, and he fled into Persia. 11.317. So Alexander came into Syria, and took Damascus; and when he had obtained Sidon, he besieged Tyre, when he sent an epistle to the Jewish high priest, to send him some auxiliaries, and to supply his army with provisions; and that what presents he formerly sent to Darius, he would now send to him, and choose the friendship of the Macedonians, and that he should never repent of so doing. 11.318. But the high priest answered the messengers, that he had given his oath to Darius not to bear arms against him; and he said that he would not transgress this while Darius was in the land of the living. Upon hearing this answer, Alexander was very angry; 11.319. and though he determined not to leave Tyre, which was just ready to be taken, yet as soon as he had taken it, he threatened that he would make an expedition against the Jewish high priest, and through him teach all men to whom they must keep their oaths. 11.320. So when he had, with a good deal of pains during the siege, taken Tyre, and had settled its affairs, he came to the city of Gaza, and besieged both the city and him that was governor of the garrison, whose name was Babemeses. 11.321. 4. But Sanballat thought he had now gotten a proper opportunity to make his attempt, so he renounced Darius, and taking with him seven thousand of his own subjects, he came to Alexander; and finding him beginning the siege of Tyre, he said to him, that he delivered up to him these men, who came out of places under his dominion, and did gladly accept of him for his lord instead of Darius. 11.322. So when Alexander had received him kindly, Sanballat thereupon took courage, and spake to him about his present affair. He told him that he had a son-in-law, Manasseh, who was brother to the high priest Jaddua; and that there were many others of his own nation, now with him, that were desirous to have a temple in the places subject to him; 11.323. that it would be for the king’s advantage to have the strength of the Jews divided into two parts, lest when the nation is of one mind, and united, upon any attempt for innovation, it prove troublesome to kings, as it had formerly proved to the kings of Assyria. 11.324. Whereupon Alexander gave Sanballat leave so to do, who used the utmost diligence, and built the temple, and made Manasseh the priest, and deemed it a great reward that his daughter’s children should have that dignity; 11.325. but when the seven months of the siege of Tyre were over, and the two months of the siege of Gaza, Sanballat died. Now Alexander, when he had taken Gaza, made haste to go up to Jerusalem; 11.326. and Jaddua the high priest, when he heard that, was in an agony, and under terror, as not knowing how he should meet the Macedonians, since the king was displeased at his foregoing disobedience. He therefore ordained that the people should make supplications, and should join with him in offering sacrifice to God, whom he besought to protect that nation, and to deliver them from the perils that were coming upon them; 11.327. whereupon God warned him in a dream, which came upon him after he had offered sacrifice, that he should take courage, and adorn the city, and open the gates; that the rest should appear in white garments, but that he and the priests should meet the king in the habits proper to their order, without the dread of any ill consequences, which the providence of God would prevent. 11.328. Upon which, when he rose from his sleep, he greatly rejoiced, and declared to all the warning he had received from God. According to which dream he acted entirely, and so waited for the coming of the king. 11.329. 5. And when he understood that he was not far from the city, he went out in procession, with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The procession was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other nations. It reached to a place called Sapha, which name, translated into Greek, signifies a prospect, for you have thence a prospect both of Jerusalem and of the temple. 11.330. And when the Phoenicians and the Chaldeans that followed him thought they should have liberty to plunder the city, and torment the high priest to death, which the king’s displeasure fairly promised them, the very reverse of it happened; 11.331. for Alexander, when he saw the multitude at a distance, in white garments, while the priests stood clothed with fine linen, and the high priest in purple and scarlet clothing, with his mitre on his head, having the golden plate whereon the name of God was engraved, he approached by himself, and adored that name, and first saluted the high priest. 11.332. The Jews also did all together, with one voice, salute Alexander, and encompass him about; whereupon the kings of Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done, and supposed him disordered in his mind. 11.333. However, Parmenio alone went up to him, and asked him how it came to pass that, when all others adored him, he should adore the high priest of the Jews? To whom he replied, “I did not adore him, but that God who hath honored him with his high priesthood; 11.334. for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians; 11.335. whence it is that, having seen no other in that habit, and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision, and the exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own mind.” 11.336. And when he had said this to Parmenio, and had given the high priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high priest’s direction, and magnificently treated both the high priest and the priests. 11.337. And when the Book of Daniel was showed him wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended. And as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present; but the next day he called them to him, and bid them ask what favors they pleased of him; 11.338. whereupon the high priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers, and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He granted all they desired. And when they entreated him that he would permit the Jews in Babylon and Media to enjoy their own laws also, he willingly promised to do hereafter what they desired. 11.339. And when he said to the multitude, that if any of them would enlist themselves in his army, on this condition, that they should continue under the laws of their forefathers, and live according to them, he was willing to take them with him, many were ready to accompany him in his wars. 11.340. 6. So when Alexander had thus settled matters at Jerusalem, he led his army into the neighboring cities; and when all the inhabitants to whom he came received him with great kindness, the Samaritans, who had then Shechem for their metropolis, (a city situate at Mount Gerizzim, and inhabited by apostates of the Jewish nation,) seeing that Alexander had so greatly honored the Jews, determined to profess themselves Jews; 11.341. for such is the disposition of the Samaritans, as we have already elsewhere declared, that when the Jews are in adversity, they deny that they are of kin to them, and then they confess the truth; but when they perceive that some good fortune hath befallen them, they immediately pretend to have communion with them, saying that they belong to them, and derive their genealogy from the posterity of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh. 11.342. Accordingly, they made their address to the king with splendor, and showed great alacrity in meeting him at a little distance from Jerusalem. And when Alexander had commended them, the Shechemites approached to him, taking with them the troops that Sanballat had sent him, and they desired that he would come to their city, and do honor to their temple also; 11.343. to whom he promised, that when he returned he would come to them. And when they petitioned that he would remit the tribute of the seventh year to them, because they did not sow thereon, he asked who they were that made such a petition; 11.344. and when they said that they were Hebrews, but had the name of Sidonians, living at Shechem, he asked them again whether they were Jews; and when they said they were not Jews, “It was to the Jews,” said he, “that I granted that privilege; however, when I return, and am thoroughly informed by you of this matter, I will do what I shall think proper.” And in this manner he took leave of the Shechenlites; 11.345. but ordered that the troops of Sanballat should follow him into Egypt, because there he designed to give them lands, which he did a little after in Thebais, when he ordered them to guard that country. 11.346. 7. Now when Alexander was dead, the government was parted among his successors, but the temple upon Mount Gerizzim remained. And if any one were accused by those of Jerusalem of having eaten things common or of having broken the Sabbath, or of any other crime of the like nature, 11.347. he fled away to the Shechemites, and said that he was accused unjustly. About this time it was that Jaddua the high priest died, and Onias his son took the high priesthood. This was the state of the affairs of the people of Jerusalem at this time. 13.277. who came readily to their assistance, but was beaten by Aristobulus; and when he was pursued as far as Scythopolis by the two brethren, he got away. So they returned to Samaria, and shut them again within the wall, till they were forced to send for the same Antiochus a second time to help them, 13.278. who procured about six thousand men from Ptolemy Lathyrus, which were sent them without his mother’s consent, who had then in a manner turned him out of his government. With these Egyptians Antiochus did at first overrun and ravage the country of Hyrcanus after the manner of a robber, for he durst not meet him in the face to fight with him, as not having an army sufficient for that purpose, but only from this supposal, that by thus harassing his land he should force Hyrcanus to raise the siege of Samaria; 13.279. but because he fell into snares, and lost many of his soldiers therein, he went away to Tripoli, and committed the prosecution of the war against the Jews to Callimander and Epicrates. 13.288. 5. However, this prosperous state of affairs moved the Jews to envy Hyrcanus; but they that were the worst disposed to him were the Pharisees, who were one of the sects of the Jews, as we have informed you already. These have so great a power over the multitude, that when they say any thing against the king, or against the high priest, they are presently believed. 13.289. Now Hyrcanus was a disciple of theirs, and greatly beloved by them. And when he once invited them to a feast, and entertained them very kindly, when he saw them in a good humor, he began to say to them, that they knew he was desirous to be a righteous man, and to do all things whereby he might please God, which was the profession of the Pharisees also. 13.290. However, he desired, that if they observed him offending in any point, and going out of the right way, they would call him back and correct him. On which occasion they attested to his being entirely virtuous; with which commendation he was well pleased. But still there was one of his guests there, whose name was Eleazar, 13.291. a man of an ill temper, and delighting in seditious practices. This man said, “Since thou desirest to know the truth, if thou wilt be righteous in earnest, lay down the high priesthood, and content thyself with the civil government of the people,” 13.292. And when he desired to know for what cause he ought to lay down the high priesthood, the other replied, “We have heard it from old men, that thy mother had been a captive under the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. “ This story was false, and Hyrcanus was provoked against him; and all the Pharisees had a very great indignation against him. 13.293. 6. Now there was one Jonathan, a very great friend of Hyrcanus’s, but of the sect of the Sadducees, whose notions are quite contrary to those of the Pharisees. He told Hyrcanus that Eleazar had cast such a reproach upon him, according to the common sentiments of all the Pharisees, and that this would be made manifest if he would but ask them the question, What punishment they thought this man deserved? 13.294. for that he might depend upon it, that the reproach was not laid on him with their approbation, if they were for punishing him as his crime deserved. So the Pharisees made answer, that he deserved stripes and bonds, but that it did not seem right to punish reproaches with death. And indeed the Pharisees, even upon other occasions, are not apt to be severe in punishments. 13.295. At this gentle sentence, Hyrcanus was very angry, and thought that this man reproached him by their approbation. It was this Jonathan who chiefly irritated him, and influenced him so far, 13.296. that he made him leave the party of the Pharisees, and abolish the decrees they had imposed on the people, and to punish those that observed them. From this source arose that hatred which he and his sons met with from the multitude: 13.297. but of these matters we shall speak hereafter. What I would now explain is this, that the Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducees reject them, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers. 13.298. And concerning these things it is that great disputes and differences have arisen among them, while the Sadducees are able to persuade none but the rich, and have not the populace obsequious to them, but the Pharisees have the multitude on their side. But about these two sects, and that of the Essenes, I have treated accurately in the second book of Jewish affairs. 13.301. 1. Now when their father Hyrcanus was dead, the eldest son Aristobulus, intending to change the government into a kingdom, for so he resolved to do, first of all put a diadem on his head, four hundred eighty and one years and three months after the people had been delivered from the Babylonish slavery, and were returned to their own country again. 13.302. This Aristobulus loved his next brother Antigonus, and treated him as his equal; but the others he held in bonds. He also cast his mother into prison, because she disputed the government with him; for Hyrcanus had left her to be mistress of all. He also proceeded to that degree of barbarity, as to kill her in prison with hunger; 13.303. nay, he was alienated from his brother Antigonus by calumnies, and added him to the rest whom he slew; yet he seemed to have an affection for him, and made him above the rest a partner with him in the kingdom. Those calumnies he at first did not give credit to, partly because he loved him, and so did not give heed to what was said against him, and partly because he thought the reproaches were derived from the envy of the relaters. 13.304. But when Antigonus was once returned from the army, and that feast was then at hand when they make tabernacles to [the honor of God,] it happened that Arlstobulus was fallen sick, and that Antigonus went up most splendidly adorned, and with his soldiers about him in their armor, to the temple to celebrate the feast, and to put up many prayers for the recovery of his brother, 13.305. when some wicked persons, who had a great mind to raise a difference between the brethren, made use of this opportunity of the pompous appearance of Antigonus, and of the great actions which he had done, and went to the king, and spitefully aggravated the pompous show of his at the feast, 13.306. and pretended that all these circumstances were not like those of a private person; that these actions were indications of an affectation of royal authority; and that his coming with a strong body of men must be with an intention to kill him; and that his way of reasoning was this: That it was a silly thing in him, while it was in his power to reign himself, to look upon it as a great favor that he was honored with a lower dignity by his brother. 13.307. 2. Aristobulus yielded to these imputations, but took care both that his brother should not suspect him, and that he himself might not run the hazard of his own safety; so he ordered his guards to lie in a certain place that was under ground, and dark; (he himself then lying sick in the tower which was called Antonia;) and he commanded them, that in case Antigonus came in to him unarmed, they should not touch any body, but if armed, they should kill him; 13.308. yet did he send to Antigonus, and desired that he would come unarmed; but the queen, and those that joined with her in the plot against Antigonus, persuaded the messenger to tell him the direct contrary: how his brother had heard that he had made himself a fine suit of armor for war, and desired him to come to him in that armor, that he might see how fine it was. 13.309. So Antigonus suspecting no treachery, but depending on the good-will of his brother, came to Aristobulus armed, as he used to be, with his entire armor, in order to show it to him; but when he was come to a place which was called Strato’s Tower, where the passage happened to be exceeding dark, the guards slew him; 13.310. which death of his demonstrates that nothing is stronger than envy and calumny, and that nothing does more certainly divide the good-will and natural affections of men than those passions. 13.311. But here one may take occasion to wonder at one Judas, who was of the sect of the Essenes, and who never missed the truth in his predictions; for this man, when he saw Antigonus passing by the temple, cried out to his companions and friends, who abode with him as his scholars, in order to learn the art of foretelling things to come? 13.312. “That it was good for him to die now, since he had spoken falsely about Antigonus, who is still alive, and I see him passing by, although he had foretold that he should die at the place called Strato’s Tower that very day, while yet the place is six hundred furlongs off, where he had foretold he should be slain; and still this day is a great part of it already past, so that he was in danger of proving a false prophet.” 13.313. As he was saying this, and that in a melancholy mood, the news came that Antigonus was slain in a place under ground, which itself was called also Strato’s Tower, or of the same name with that Caesarea which is seated at the sea. This event put the prophet into a great disorder. 13.314. 3. But Aristobulus repented immediately of this slaughter of his brother; on which account his disease increased upon him, and he was disturbed in his mind, upon the guilt of such wickedness, insomuch that his entrails were corrupted by his intolerable pain, and he vomited blood: at which time one of the servants that attended upon him, and was carrying his blood away, did, by Divine Providence, as I cannot but suppose, slip down, and shed part of his blood at the very place where there were spots of Antigonus’s blood, there slain, still remaining; 13.315. and when there was a cry made by the spectators, as if the servant had on purpose shed the blood on that place, Aristobulus heard it, and inquired what the matter was; and as they did not answer him, he was the more earnest to know what it was, it being natural to men to suspect that what is thus concealed is very bad: 13.316. o upon his threatening, and forcing them by terrors to speak, they at length told him the truth; whereupon he shed many tears, in that disorder of mind which arose from his consciousness of what he had done, and gave a deep groan, and said, “I am not therefore, I perceive, to be concealed from God, in the impious and horrid crimes I have been guilty of; but a sudden punishment is coming upon me for the shedding of the blood of my relations. 13.317. And now, O thou most impudent body of mine, how long wilt thou retain a soul that ought to die, in order to appease the ghosts of my brother and my mother? Why dost thou not give it all up at once? And why do I deliver up my blood drop by drop to those whom I have so wickedly murdered?” In saying which last words he died, having reigned a year. 13.318. He was called a lover of the Grecians; and had conferred many benefits on his own country, and made war against Iturea, and added a great part of it to Judea, and compelled the inhabitants, if they would continue in that country, to be circumcised, and to live according to the Jewish laws. 13.319. He was naturally a man of candor, and of great modesty, as Strabo bears witness, in the name of Timagenes; who says thus: “This man was a person of candor, and very serviceable to the Jews; for he added a country to them, and obtained a part of the nation of the Itureans for them, and bound them to them by the bond of the circumcision of their genitals.” 13.324. 2. When Alexander Janneus had settled the government in the manner that he judged best, he made an expedition against Ptolemais; and having overcome the men in battle, he shut them up in the city, and sat round about it, and besieged it; for of the maritime cities there remained only Ptolemais and Gaza to be conquered, besides Strato’s Tower and Dora, which were held by the tyrant Zoilus. 13.335. and promising to give him four hundred talents of silver, he desired that, by way of requital, he would take off Zoilus the tyrant, and give his country to the Jews. And then indeed Ptolemy, with pleasure, made such a league of friendship with Alexander, and subdued Zoilus; 13.373. At this he was in a rage, and slew of them about six thousand. He also built a partition-wall of wood round the altar and the temple, as far as that partition within which it was only lawful for the priests to enter; and by this means he obstructed the multitude from coming at him. 13.398. 5. After this, king Alexander, although he fell into a distemper by hard drinking, and had a quartan ague, which held him three years, yet would not leave off going out with his army, till he was quite spent with the labors he had undergone, and died in the bounds of Ragaba, a fortress beyond Jordan. 13.399. But when his queen saw that he was ready to die, and had no longer any hopes of surviving, she came to him weeping and lamenting, and bewailed herself and her sons on the desolate condition they should be left in; and said to him, “To whom dost thou thus leave me and my children, who are destitute of all other supports, and this when thou knowest how much ill-will thy nation bears thee?” 13.400. But he gave her the following advice: That she need but follow what he would suggest to her, in order to retain the kingdom securely, with her children: that she should conceal his death from the soldiers till she should have taken that place; 13.401. after this she should go in triumph, as upon a victory, to Jerusalem, and put some of her authority into the hands of the Pharisees; for that they would commend her for the honor she had done them, and would reconcile the nation to her for he told her they had great authority among the Jews, both to do hurt to such as they hated, and to bring advantages to those to whom they were friendly disposed; 13.402. for that they are then believed best of all by the multitude when they speak any severe thing against others, though it be only out of envy at them. And he said that it was by their means that he had incurred the displeasure of the nation, whom indeed he had injured. 13.403. “Do thou, therefore,” said he, “when thou art come to Jerusalem, send for the leading men among them, and show them my body, and with great appearance of sincerity, give them leave to use it as they themselves please, whether they will dishonor the dead body by refusing it burial, as having severely suffered by my means, or whether in their anger they will offer any other injury to that body. Promise them also that thou wilt do nothing without them in the affairs of the kingdom. 13.404. If thou dost but say this to them, I shall have the honor of a more glorious funeral from them than thou couldst have made for me; and when it is in their power to abuse my dead body, they will do it no injury at all, and thou wilt rule in safety.” So when he had given his wife this advice, he died, after he had reigned twenty-seven years, and lived fifty years within one. 13.405. 1. So Alexandra, when she had taken the fortress, acted as her husband had suggested to her, and spake to the Pharisees, and put all things into their power, both as to the dead body, and as to the affairs of the kingdom, and thereby pacified their anger against Alexander, and made them bear goodwill and friendship to him; 13.406. who then came among the multitude, and made speeches to them, and laid before them the actions of Alexander, and told them that they had lost a righteous king; and by the commendation they gave him, they brought them to grieve, and to be in heaviness for him, so that he had a funeral more splendid than had any of the kings before him. 13.407. Alexander left behind him two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, but committed the kingdom to Alexandra. Now, as to these two sons, Hyrcanus was indeed unable to manage public affairs, and delighted rather in a quiet life; but the younger, Aristobulus, was an active and a bold man; and for this woman herself, Alexandra, she was loved by the multitude, because she seemed displeased at the offenses her husband had been guilty of. 13.408. 2. So she made Hyrcanus high priest, because he was the elder, but much more because he cared not to meddle with politics, and permitted the Pharisees to do every thing; to whom also she ordered the multitude to be obedient. She also restored again those practices which the Pharisees had introduced, according to the traditions of their forefathers, and which her father-in-law, Hyrcanus, had abrogated. 13.409. So she had indeed the name of the regent, but the Pharisees had the authority; for it was they who restored such as had been banished, and set such as were prisoners at liberty, and, to say all at once, they differed in nothing from lords. However, the queen also took care of the affairs of the kingdom, and got together a great body of mercenary soldiers, and increased her own army to such a degree, that she became terrible to the neighboring tyrants, and took hostages of them: 13.410. and the country was entirely at peace, excepting the Pharisees; for they disturbed the queen, and desired that she would kill those who persuaded Alexander to slay the eight hundred men; after which they cut the throat of one of them, Diogenes; and after him they did the same to several, one after another, 13.411. till the men that were the most potent came into the palace, and Aristobulus with them, for he seemed to be displeased at what was done; and it appeared openly, that if he had an opportunity, he would not permit his mother to go on so. These put the queen in mind what great dangers they had gone through, and great things they had done, whereby they had demonstrated the firmness of their fidelity to their master, insomuch that they had received the greatest marks of favor from him; 13.412. and they begged of her, that she would not utterly blast their hopes, as it now happened, that when they had escaped the hazards that arose from their [open] enemies, they were to be cut off at home by their [private] enemies, like brute beasts, without any help whatsoever. 13.413. They said also, that if their adversaries would be satisfied with those that had been slain already, they would take what had been done patiently, on account of their natural love to their governors; but if they must expect the same for the future also, they implored of her a dismission from her service; for they could not bear to think of attempting any method for their deliverance without her, but would rather die willingly before the palace gate, in case she would not forgive them. 13.414. And that it was a great shame, both for themselves and for the queen, that when they were neglected by her, they should come under the lash of her husband’s enemies; for that Aretas, the Arabian king, and the monarchs, would give any reward, if they could get such men as foreign auxiliaries, to whom their very names, before their voices be heard, may perhaps be terrible; 13.415. but if they could not obtain this their second request, and if she had determined to prefer the Pharisees before them, they still insisted that she would place them every one in her fortresses; for if some fatal demon hath a constant spite against Alexander’s house, they would be willing to bear their part, and to live in a private station there. 13.416. 3. As these men said thus, and called upon Alexander’s ghost for commiseration of those already slain, and those in danger of it, all the bystanders brake out into tears. But Aristobulus chiefly made manifest what were his sentiments, and used many reproachful expressions to his mother, [saying,] 13.417. “Nay, indeed, the case is this, that they have been themselves the authors of their own calamities, who have permitted a woman who, against reason, was mad with ambition, to reign over them, when there were sons in the flower of their age fitter for it.” So Alexandra, not knowing what to do with any decency, committed the fortresses to them, all but Hyrcania, and Alexandrium, and Macherus, where her principal treasures were. 13.418. After a little while also, she sent her son Aristobulus with an army to Damascus against Ptolemy, who was called Menneus, who was such a bad neighbor to the city; but he did nothing considerable there, and so returned home. 13.419. 4. About this time news was brought that Tigranes, the king of Armenia, had made an irruption into Syria with five hundred thousand soldiers, and was coming against Judea. This news, as may well be supposed, terrified the queen and the nation. Accordingly, they sent him many and very valuable presents, as also ambassadors, and that as he was besieging Ptolemais; 13.420. for Selene the queen, the same that was also called Cleopatra, ruled then over Syria, who had persuaded the inhabitants to exclude Tigranes. So the Jewish ambassadors interceded with him, and entreated him that he would determine nothing that was severe about their queen or nation. 13.421. He commended them for the respects they paid him at so great a distance, and gave them good hopes of his favor. But as soon as Ptolemais was taken, news came to Tigranes, that Lucullus, in his pursuit of Mithridates, could not light upon him, who was fled into Iberia, but was laying waste Armenia, and besieging its cities. Now when Tigranes knew this, he returned home. 13.422. 5. After this, when the queen was fallen into a dangerous distemper, Aristobulus resolved to attempt the seizing of the government; so he stole away secretly by night, with only one of his servants, and went to the fortresses, wherein his friends, that were such from the days of his father, were settled; 13.423. for as he had been a great while displeased at his mother’s conduct, so he was now much more afraid, lest, upon her death, their whole family should be under the power of the Pharisees; for he saw the inability of his brother, who was to succeed in the government; 13.424. nor was any one conscious of what he was doing but only his wife, whom he left at Jerusalem with their children. He first of all came to Agaba, where was Galestes, one of the potent men before mentioned, and was received by him. 13.425. When it was day, the queen perceived that Aristobulus was fled; and for some time she supposed that his departure was not in order to make any innovation; but when messengers came one after another with the news that he had secured the first place, the second place, and all the places, for as soon as one had begun they all submitted to his disposal, then it was that the queen and the nation were in the greatest disorder, 13.426. for they were aware that it would not be long ere Aristobulus would be able to settle himself firmly in the government. What they were principally afraid of was this, that he would inflict punishment upon them for the mad treatment his house had had from them. So they resolved to take his wife and children into custody, and keep them in the fortress that was over the temple. 13.427. Now there was a mighty conflux of people that came to Aristobulus from all parts, insomuch that he had a kind of royal attendants about him; for in a little more than fifteen days he got twenty-two strong places, which gave him the opportunity of raising an army from Libanus and Trachonitis, and the monarchs; for men are easily led by the greater number, and easily submit to them. And besides this, that by affording him their assistance, when he could not expect it, they, as well as he, should have the advantages that would come by his being king, because they had been the occasion of his gaining the kingdom. 13.428. Now the eiders of the Jews, and Hyrcanus with them, went in unto the queen, and desired that she would give them her sentiments about the present posture of affairs, for that Aristobulus was in effect lord of almost all the kingdom, by possessing of so many strong holds, and that it was absurd for them to take any counsel by themselves, how ill soever she were, whilst she was alive, and that the danger would be upon them in no long time. 13.429. But she bid them do what they thought proper to be done; that they had many circumstances in their favor still remaining, a nation in good heart, an army, and money in their several treasuries; for that she had small concern about public affairs now, when the strength of her body already failed her. 13.430. 6. Now a little while after she had said this to them, she died, when she had reigned nine years, and had in all lived seventy-three. A woman she was who showed no signs of the weakness of her sex, for she was sagacious to the greatest degree in her ambition of governing; and demonstrated by her doings at once, that her mind was fit for action, and that sometimes men themselves show the little understanding they have by the frequent mistakes they make in point of government; 13.431. for she always preferred the present to futurity, and preferred the power of an imperious dominion above all things, and in comparison of that had no regard to what was good, or what was right. However, she brought the affairs of her house to such an unfortunate condition, that she was the occasion of the taking away that authority from it, and that in no long time afterward, which she had obtained by a vast number of hazards and misfortunes, and this out of a desire of what does not belong to a woman, and all by a compliance in her sentiments with those that bare ill-will to their family, and by leaving the administration destitute of a proper support of great men; 13.432. and, indeed, her management during her administration while she was alive, was such as filled the palace after her death with calamities and disturbance. However, although this had been her way of governing, she preserved the nation in peace. And this is the conclusion of the affairs of, Alexandra. 14.158. 2. And seeing that Hyrcanus was of a slow and slothful temper, he made Phasaelus, his eldest son, governor of Jerusalem, and of the places that were about it, but committed Galilee to Herod, his next son, who was then a very young man, for he was but fifteen years of age. 14.159. But that youth of his was no impediment to him; but as he was a youth of great mind, he presently met with an opportunity of signalizing his courage; for finding that there was one Hezekiah, a captain of a band of robbers, who overran the neighboring parts of Syria with a great troop of them, he seized him and slew him, as well as a great number of the other robbers that were with him; 14.160. for which action he was greatly beloved by the Syrians; for when they were very desirous to have their country freed from this nest of robbers, he purged it of them. So they sung songs in his commendation in their villages and cities, as having procured them peace, and the secure enjoyment of their possessions; and on this account it was that he became known to Sextus Caesar, who was a relation of the great Caesar, and was now president of Syria. 14.163. 3. But now the principal men among the Jews, when they saw Antipater and his sons to grow so much in the good-will the nation bare to them, and in the revenues which they received out of Judea, and out of Hyrcanus’s own wealth, they became ill-disposed to him; 14.164. for indeed Antipater had contracted a friendship with the Roman emperors; and when he had prevailed with Hyrcanus to send them money, he took it to himself, and purloined the present intended, and sent it as if it were his own, and not Hyrcanus’s gift to them. 14.165. Hyrcanus heard of this his management, but took no care about it; nay, he rather was very glad of it. But the chief men of the Jews were therefore in fear, because they saw that Herod was a violent and bold man, and very desirous of acting tyrannically; so they came to Hyrcanus, and now accused Antipater openly, and said to him, “How long wilt thou be quiet under such actions as are now done? Or dost thou not see that Antipater and his sons have already seized upon the government, and that it is only the name of a king which is given thee? 14.166. But do not thou suffer these things to be hidden from thee, nor do thou think to escape danger by being so careless of thyself and of thy kingdom; for Antipater and his sons are not now stewards of thine affairs: do not thou deceive thyself with such a notion; they are evidently absolute lords; 14.167. for Herod, Antipater’s son, hath slain Hezekiah, and those that were with him, and hath thereby transgressed our law, which hath forbidden to slay any man, even though he were a wicked man, unless he had been first condemned to suffer death by the Sanhedrim yet hath he been so insolent as to do this, and that without any authority from thee.” 14.168. 4. Upon Hyrcanus hearing this, he complied with them. The mothers also of those that had been slain by Herod raised his indignation; for those women continued every day in the temple, persuading the king and the people that Herod might undergo a trial before the Sanhedrim for what he had done. 14.169. Hyrcanus was so moved by these complaints, that he summoned Herod to come to his trial for what was charged upon him. Accordingly he came; but his father had persuaded him to come not like a private man, but with a guard, for the security of his person; and that when he had settled the affairs of Galilee in the best manner he could for his own advantage, he should come to his trial, but still with a body of men sufficient for his security on his journey, yet so that he should not come with so great a force as might look like terrifying Hyrcanus, but still such a one as might not expose him naked and unguarded [to his enemies.] 14.170. However, Sextus Caesar, president of Syria, wrote to Hyrcanus, and desired him to clear Herod, and dismiss him at his trial, and threatened him beforehand if he did not do it. Which epistle of his was the occasion of Hyrcanus delivering Herod from suffering any harm from the Sanhedrim, for he loved him as his own son. 14.171. But when Herod stood before the Sanhedrim, with his body of men about him, he affrighted them all, and no one of his former accusers durst after that bring any charge against him, but there was a deep silence, and nobody knew what was to be done. 14.172. When affairs stood thus, one whose name was Sameas, a righteous man he was, and for that reason above all fear, rose up, and said, “O you that are assessors with me, and O thou that art our king, I neither have ever myself known such a case, nor do I suppose that any one of you can name its parallel, that one who is called to take his trial by us ever stood in such a manner before us; but every one, whosoever he be, that comes to be tried by this Sanhedrim, presents himself in a submissive manner, and like one that is in fear of himself, and that endeavors to move us to compassion, with his hair dishevelled, and in a black and mourning garment: 14.173. but this admirable man Herod, who is accused of murder, and called to answer so heavy an accusation, stands here clothed in purple, and with the hair of his head finely trimmed, and with his armed men about him, that if we shall condemn him by our law, he may slay us, and by overbearing justice may himself escape death. 14.174. Yet do not I make this complaint against Herod himself; he is to be sure more concerned for himself than for the laws; but my complaint is against yourselves, and your king, who gave him a license so to do. However, take you notice, that God is great, and that this very man, whom you are going to absolve and dismiss, for the sake of Hyrcanus, will one day punish both you and your king himself also.” 14.175. Nor did Sameas mistake in any part of this prediction; for when Herod had received the kingdom, he slew all the members of this Sanhedrim, and Hyrcanus himself also, excepting Sameas, 14.176. for he had a great honor for him on account of his righteousness, and because, when the city was afterward besieged by Herod and Sosius, he persuaded the people to admit Herod into it; and told them that for their sins they would not be able to escape his hands:—which things will be related by us in their proper places. 14.177. 5. But when Hyrcanus saw that the members of the Sanhedrim were ready to pronounce the sentence of death upon Herod, he put off the trial to another day, and sent privately to Herod, and advised him to fly out of the city, for that by this means he might escape. 14.178. So he retired to Damascus, as though he fled from the king; and when he had been with Sextus Caesar, and had put his own affairs in a sure posture, he resolved to do thus; that in case he were again summoned before the Sanhedrim to take his trial, he would not obey that summons. 14.179. Hereupon the members of the Sanhedrim had great indignation at this posture of affairs, and endeavored to persuade Hyrcanus that all these things were against him; which state of matters he was not ignorant of; but his temper was so unmanly, and so foolish, that he was able to do nothing at all. 14.180. But when Sextus had made Herod general of the army of Celesyria, for he sold him that post for money, Hyrcanus was in fear lest Herod should make war upon him; nor was the effect of what he feared long in coming upon him; for Herod came and brought an army along with him to fight with Hyrcanus, as being angry at the trial he had been summoned to undergo before the Sanhedrim; 14.181. but his father Antipater, and his brother [Phasaelus], met him, and hindered him from assaulting Jerusalem. They also pacified his vehement temper, and persuaded him to do no overt action, but only to affright them with threatenings, and to proceed no further against one who had given him the dignity he had: 14.182. they also desired him not only to be angry that he was summoned, and obliged to come to his trial, but to remember withal how he was dismissed without condemnation, and how he ought to give Hyrcanus thanks for the same; and that he was not to regard only what was disagreeable to him, and be unthankful for his deliverance. 14.183. So they desired him to consider, that since it is God that turns the scales of war, there is great uncertainty in the issue of battles, and that therefore he ought of to expect the victory when he should fight with his king, and him that had supported him, and bestowed many benefits upon him, and had done nothing of itself very severe to him; for that his accusation, which was derived from evil counselors, and not from himself, had rather the suspicion of some severity, than any thing really severe in it. 14.184. Herod was persuaded by these arguments, and believed that it was sufficient for his future hopes to have made a show of his strength before the nation, and done no more to it—and in this state were the affairs of Judea at this time. 14.490. in case he had himself offended the Romans by what he had done. Out of Herod’s fear of this it was that he, by giving Antony a great deal of money, endeavored to persuade him to have Antigonus slain, which if it were once done, he should be free from that fear. And thus did the government of the Asamoneans cease, a hundred twenty and six years after it was first set up. This family was a splendid and an illustrious one, both on account of the nobility of their stock, and of the dignity of the high priesthood, as also for the glorious actions their ancestors had performed for our nation; 14.491. but these men lost the government by their dissensions one with another, and it came to Herod, the son of Antipater, who was of no more than a vulgar family, and of no eminent extraction, but one that was subject to other kings. And this is what history tells us was the end of the Asamonean family. 15.3. But Pollio the Pharisee, and Sameas, a disciple of his, were honored by him above all the rest; for when Jerusalem was besieged, they advised the citizens to receive Herod, for which advice they were well requited. 15.4. But this Pollio, at the time when Herod was once upon his trial of life and death, foretold, in way of reproach, to Hyrcanus and the other judges, how this Herod, whom they suffered now to escape, would afterward inflict punishment on them all; which had its completion in time, while God fulfilled the words he had spoken. 15.37. that she was now overcome by his benefits, and thankfully accepted of this honor showed by him to her son, and that she would hereafter be entirely obedient. And she desired him to excuse her, if the nobility of her family, and that freedom of acting which she thought that allowed her, had made her act too precipitately and imprudently in this matter. 15.425. It is also reported, that during the time that the temple was building, it did not rain in the daytime, but that the showers fell in the nights, so that the work was not hindered. And this our fathers have delivered to us; nor is it incredible, if any one have regard to the manifestations of God. And thus was performed the work of the rebuilding of the temple. 17.149. 2. There was one Judas, the son of Saripheus, and Matthias, the son of Margalothus, two of the most eloquent men among the Jews, and the most celebrated interpreters of the Jewish laws, and men wellbeloved by the people, because of their education of their youth; for all those that were studious of virtue frequented their lectures every day. 17.150. These men, when they found that the king’s distemper was incurable, excited the young men that they would pull down all those works which the king had erected contrary to the law of their fathers, and thereby obtain the rewards which the law will confer on them for such actions of piety; for that it was truly on account of Herod’s rashness in making such things as the law had forbidden, that his other misfortunes, and this distemper also, which was so unusual among mankind, and with which he was now afflicted, came upon him; 17.151. for Herod had caused such things to be made which were contrary to the law, of which he was accused by Judas and Matthias; for the king had erected over the great gate of the temple a large golden eagle, of great value, and had dedicated it to the temple. Now the law forbids those that propose to live according to it, to erect images or representations of any living creature. 17.152. So these wise men persuaded [their scholars] to pull down the golden eagle; alleging, that although they should incur any danger, which might bring them to their deaths, the virtue of the action now proposed to them would appear much more advantageous to them than the pleasures of life; since they would die for the preservation and observation of the law of their fathers; since they would also acquire an everlasting fame and commendation; since they would be both commended by the present generation, and leave an example of life that would never be forgotten to posterity; 17.153. ince that common calamity of dying cannot be avoided by our living so as to escape any such dangers; that therefore it is a right thing for those who are in love with a virtuous conduct, to wait for that fatal hour by such behavior as may carry them out of the world with praise and honor; 17.154. and that this will alleviate death to a great degree, thus to come at it by the performance of brave actions, which bring us into danger of it; and at the same time to leave that reputation behind them to their children, and to all their relations, whether they be men or women, which will be of great advantage to them afterward. 17.155. 3. And with such discourses as this did these men excite the young men to this action; and a report being come to them that the king was dead, this was an addition to the wise men’s persuasions; so, in the very middle of the day, they got upon the place, they pulled down the eagle, and cut it into pieces with axes, while a great number of the people were in the temple. 17.156. And now the king’s captain, upon hearing what the undertaking was, and supposing it was a thing of a higher nature than it proved to be, came up thither, having a great band of soldiers with him, such as was sufficient to put a stop to the multitude of those who pulled down what was dedicated to God; so he fell upon them unexpectedly, and as they were upon this bold attempt, in a foolish presumption rather than a cautious circumspection, as is usual with the multitude, and while they were in disorder, and incautious of what was for their advantage; 17.157. o he caught no fewer than forty of the young men, who had the courage to stay behind when the rest ran away, together with the authors of this bold attempt, Judas and Matthias, who thought it an ignominious thing to retire upon his approach, and led them to the king. 17.158. And when they were come to the king, and he asked them if they had been so bold as to pull down what he had dedicated to God, “Yes, (said they,) what was contrived we contrived, and what hath been performed we performed it, and that with such a virtuous courage as becomes men; for we have given our assistance to those things which were dedicated to the majesty of God, 17.159. and we have provided for what we have learned by hearing the law; and it ought not to be wondered at, if we esteem those laws which Moses had suggested to him, and were taught him by God, and which he wrote and left behind him, more worthy of observation than thy commands. Accordingly we will undergo death, and all sorts of punishments which thou canst inflict upon us, with pleasure, since we are conscious to ourselves that we shall die, not for any unrighteous actions, but for our love to religion.” 17.160. And thus they all said, and their courage was still equal to their profession, and equal to that with which they readily set about this undertaking. And when the king had ordered them to be bound, he sent them to Jericho, and called together the principal men among the Jews; 17.161. and when they were come, he made them assemble in the theater, and because he could not himself stand, he lay upon a couch, and enumerated the many labors that he had long endured on their account, 17.162. and his building of the temple, and what a vast charge that was to him; while the Asamoneans, during the hundred and twenty-five years of their government, had not been able to perform any so great a work for the honor of God as that was; 17.163. that he had also adorned it with very valuable donations, on which account he hoped that he had left himself a memorial, and procured himself a reputation after his death. He then cried out, that these men had not abstained from affronting him, even in his lifetime, but that in the very day time, and in the sight of the multitude, they had abused him to that degree, as to fall upon what he had dedicated, and in that way of abuse had pulled it down to the ground. They pretended, indeed, that they did it to affront him; but if any one consider the thing truly, they will find that they were guilty of sacrilege against God therein. 17.165. Now it happened, that during the time of the high priesthood of this Matthias, there was another person made high priest for a single day, that very day which the Jews observed as a fast. 17.166. The occasion was this: This Matthias the high priest, on the night before that day when the fast was to be celebrated, seemed, in a dream, to have conversation with his wife; and because he could not officiate himself on that account, Joseph, the son of Ellemus, his kinsman, assisted him in that sacred office. 17.173. and he also gave a great deal to their commanders, and to his friends, and came again to Jericho, where he grew so choleric, that it brought him to do all things like a madman; and though he were near his death, he contrived the following wicked designs. 17.174. He commanded that all the principal men of the entire Jewish nation, wheresoever they lived, should be called to him. Accordingly, they were a great number that came, because the whole nation was called, and all men heard of this call, and death was the penalty of such as should despise the epistles that were sent to call them. And now the king was in a wild rage against them all, the innocent as well as those that had afforded ground for accusations; 17.175. and when they were come, he ordered them to be all shut up in the hyppodrome, and sent for his sister Salome, and her husband Alexas, and spake thus to them: “I shall die in a little time, so great are my pains; which death ought to be cheerfully borne, and to be welcomed by all men; but what principally troubles me is this, that I shall die without being lamented, and without such mourning as men usually expect at a king’s death.” 17.176. For that he was not unacquainted with the temper of the Jews, that his death would be a thing very desirable, and exceedingly acceptable to them, because during his lifetime they were ready to revolt from him, and to abuse the donations he had dedicated to God 17.177. that it therefore was their business to resolve to afford him some alleviation of his great sorrows on this occasion; for that if they do not refuse him their consent in what he desires, he shall have a great mourning at his funeral, and such as never had any king before him; for then the whole nation would mourn from their very soul, which otherwise would be done in sport and mockery only. 17.178. He desired therefore, that as soon as they see he hath given up the ghost, they shall place soldiers round the hippodrome, while they do not know that he is dead; and that they shall not declare his death to the multitude till this is done, but that they shall give orders to have those that are in custody shot with their darts; and that this slaughter of them all will cause that he shall not miss to rejoice on a double account; that as he is dying, they will make him secure that his will shall be executed in what he charges them to do; and that he shall have the honor of a memorable mourning at his funeral. 17.179. So he deplored his condition, with tears in his eyes, and obtested them by the kindness due from them, as of his kindred, and by the faith they owed to God, and begged of them that they would not hinder him of this honorable mourning at his funeral. So they promised him not to transgress his commands. 17.180. 6. Now any one may easily discover the temper of this man’s mind, which not only took pleasure in doing what he had done formerly against his relations, out of the love of life, but by those commands of his which savored of no humanity; 17.181. ince he took care, when he was departing out of this life, that the whole nation should be put into mourning, and indeed made desolate of their dearest kindred, when he gave order that one out of every family should be slain, although they had done nothing that was unjust, or that was against him, nor were they accused of any other crimes; while it is usual for those who have any regard to virtue to lay aside their hatred at such a time, even with respect to those they justly esteemed their enemies. 17.193. 2. But then Salome and Alexas, before the king’s death was made known, dismissed those that were shut up in the hippodrome, and told them that the king ordered them to go away to their own lands, and take care of their own affairs, which was esteemed by the nation a great benefit. 19.294. on which account he ordained that many of the Nazarites should have their heads shorn. And for the golden chain which had been given him by Caius, of equal weight with that iron chain wherewith his royal hands had been bound, he hung it up within the limits of the temple, over the treasury, that it might be a memorial of the severe fate he had lain under, and a testimony of his change for the better; that it might be a demonstration how the greatest prosperity may have a fall, and that God sometimes raises up what is fallen down: 19.330. But Agrippa’s temper was mild, and equally liberal to all men. He was humane to foreigners, and made them sensible of his liberality. He was in like manner rather of a gentle and compassionate temper. 19.331. Accordingly, he loved to live continually at Jerusalem, and was exactly careful in the observance of the laws of his country. He therefore kept himself entirely pure; nor did any day pass over his head without its appointed sacrifice. 19.332. 4. However, there was a certain man of the Jewish nation at Jerusalem, who appeared to be very accurate in the knowledge of the law. His name was Simon. This man got together an assembly, while the king was absent at Caesarea, and had the insolence to accuse him as not living holily, and that he might justly be excluded out of the temple, since it belonged only to native Jews. 19.333. But the general of Agrippa’s army informed him that Simon had made such a speech to the people. So the king sent for him; and as he was sitting in the theater, he bid him sit down by him, and said to him with a low and gentle voice, “What is there done in this place that is contrary to the law?” 19.334. But he had nothing to say for himself, but begged his pardon. So the king was more easily reconciled to him than one could have imagined, as esteeming mildness a better quality in a king than anger, and knowing that moderation is more becoming in great men than passion. So he made Simon a small present, and dismissed him. 20.34. 3. Now, during the time Izates abode at Charax-Spasini, a certain Jewish merchant, whose name was Aias, got among the women that belonged to the king, and taught them to worship God according to the Jewish religion. 20.35. He, moreover, by their means, became known to Izates, and persuaded him, in like manner, to embrace that religion; he also, at the earnest entreaty of Izates, accompanied him when he was sent for by his father to come to Adiabene; it also happened that Helena, about the same time, was instructed by a certain other Jew and went over to them. 20.38. 4. And when he perceived that his mother was highly pleased with the Jewish customs, he made haste to change, and to embrace them entirely; and as he supposed that he could not be thoroughly a Jew unless he were circumcised, he was ready to have it done. 20.39. But when his mother understood what he was about, she endeavored to hinder him from doing it, and said to him that this thing would bring him into danger; and that, as he was a king, he would thereby bring himself into great odium among his subjects, when they should understand that he was so fond of rites that were to them strange and foreign; and that they would never bear to be ruled over by a Jew. 20.40. This it was that she said to him, and for the present persuaded him to forbear. And when he had related what she had said to Aias, he confirmed what his mother had said; and when he had also threatened to leave him, unless he complied with him, he went away from him, 20.41. and said that he was afraid lest such an action being once become public to all, he should himself be in danger of punishment for having been the occasion of it, and having been the king’s instructor in actions that were of ill reputation; and he said that he might worship God without being circumcised, even though he did resolve to follow the Jewish law entirely, which worship of God was of a superior nature to circumcision. 20.42. He added, that God would forgive him, though he did not perform the operation, while it was omitted out of necessity, and for fear of his subjects. So the king at that time complied with these persuasions of Aias. 20.43. But afterwards, as he had not quite left off his desire of doing this thing, a certain other Jew that came out of Galilee, whose name was Eleazar, and who was esteemed very skillful in the learning of his country, persuaded him to do the thing; 20.44. for as he entered into his palace to salute him, and found him reading the law of Moses, he said to him, “Thou dost not consider, O king! that thou unjustly breakest the principal of those laws, and art injurious to God himself, [by omitting to be circumcised]; for thou oughtest not only to read them, but chiefly to practice what they enjoin thee. 20.45. How long wilt thou continue uncircumcised? But if thou hast not yet read the law about circumcision, and dost not know how great impiety thou art guilty of by neglecting it, read it now.” 20.179. 8. About this time king Agrippa gave the high priesthood to Ismael, who was the son of Fabi. 20.180. And now arose a sedition between the high priests and the principal men of the multitude of Jerusalem; each of which got them a company of the boldest sort of men, and of those that loved innovations about them, and became leaders to them; and when they struggled together, they did it by casting reproachful words against one another, and by throwing stones also. And there was nobody to reprove them; but these disorders were done after a licentious manner in the city, as if it had no government over it. 20.181. And such was the impudence and boldness that had seized on the high priests, that they had the hardiness to send their servants into the threshing-floors, to take away those tithes that were due to the priests, insomuch that it so fell out that the poorest sort of the priests died for want. To this degree did the violence of the seditious prevail over all right and justice. 20.205. But as for the high priest, Aias he increased in glory every day, and this to a great degree, and had obtained the favor and esteem of the citizens in a signal manner; for he was a great hoarder up of money: he therefore cultivated the friendship of Albinus, and of the high priest [Jesus], by making them presents; 20.206. he also had servants who were very wicked, who joined themselves to the boldest sort of the people, and went to the thrashing-floors, and took away the tithes that belonged to the priests by violence, and did not refrain from beating such as would not give these tithes to them. 20.207. So the other high priests acted in the like manner, as did those his servants, without any one being able to prohibit them; so that [some of the] priests, that of old were wont to be supported with those tithes, died for want of food. 20.213. And now Jesus, the son of Gamaliel, became the successor of Jesus, the son of Damneus, in the high priesthood, which the king had taken from the other; on which account a sedition arose between the high priests, with regard to one another; for they got together bodies of the boldest sort of the people, and frequently came, from reproaches, to throwing of stones at each other. But Aias was too hard for the rest, by his riches, which enabled him to gain those that were most ready to receive. 20.214. Costobarus also, and Saulus, did themselves get together a multitude of wicked wretches, and this because they were of the royal family; and so they obtained favor among them, because of their kindred to Agrippa; but still they used violence with the people, and were very ready to plunder those that were weaker than themselves. And from that time it principally came to pass that our city was greatly disordered, and that all things grew worse and worse among us. 20.215. 5. But when Albinus heard that Gessius Florus was coming to succeed him, he was desirous to appear to do somewhat that might be grateful to the people of Jerusalem; so he brought out all those prisoners who seemed to him to be the most plainly worthy of death, and ordered them to be put to death accordingly. But as to those who had been put into prison on some trifling occasions, he took money of them, and dismissed them; by which means the prisons were indeed emptied, but the country was filled with robbers. 20.216. 6. Now as many of the Levites, which is a tribe of ours, as were singers of hymns, persuaded the king to assemble a sanhedrim, and to give them leave to wear linen garments, as well as the priests for they said that this would be a work worthy the times of his government, that he might have a memorial of such a novelty, as being his doing. 20.217. Nor did they fail of obtaining their desire; for the king, with the suffrages of those that came into the sanhedrim, granted the singers of hymns this privilege, that they might lay aside their former garments, and wear such a linen one as they desired; 20.218. and as a part of this tribe ministered in the temple, he also permitted them to learn those hymns as they had besought him for. Now all this was contrary to the laws of our country, which, whenever they have been transgressed, we have never been able to avoid the punishment of such transgressions. 20.219. 7. And now it was that the temple was finished. So when the people saw that the workmen were unemployed, who were above eighteen thousand and that they, receiving no wages, were in want because they had earned their bread by their labors about the temple; 20.220. and while they were unwilling to keep by them the treasures that were there deposited, out of fear of [their being carried away by] the Romans; and while they had a regard to the making provision for the workmen; they had a mind to expend these treasures upon them; for if any one of them did but labor for a single hour, he received his pay immediately; so they persuaded him to rebuild the eastern cloisters. 20.221. These cloisters belonged to the outer court, and were situated in a deep valley, and had walls that reached four hundred cubits [in length], and were built of square and very white stones, the length of each of which stones was twenty cubits, and their height six cubits. This was the work of king Solomon, who first of all built the entire temple. 20.262. And I am so bold as to say, now I have so completely perfected the work I proposed to myself to do, that no other person, whether he were a Jew or foreigner, had he ever so great an inclination to it, could so accurately deliver these accounts to the Greeks as is done in these books. 20.267. with which accounts I shall put an end to these Antiquities, which are contained in twenty books, and sixty thousand verses. And if God permit me, I will briefly run over this war again, with what befell us therein to this very day, which is the thirteenth year of the reign of Caesar Domitian, and the fifty-sixth year of my own life. |
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7. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 1.3, 1.65, 1.105-1.119, 1.203-1.205, 1.208-1.211, 1.648-1.655, 1.659-1.660, 1.666 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus •babylonian talmud (bt), reliance on josephus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 8, 12, 63, 123, 139, 140, 193 | 1.3. I have proposed to myself, for the sake of such as live under the government of the Romans, to translate those books into the Greek tongue, which I formerly composed in the language of our country, and sent to the Upper Barbarians; I, Joseph, the son of Matthias, by birth a Hebrew, a priest also, and one who at first fought against the Romans myself, and was forced to be present at what was done afterward [am the author of this work]. 1.65. They also invited Antiochus, who was called Cyzicenus, to come to their assistance; whereupon he got ready, and complied with their invitation, but was beaten by Aristobulus and Antigonus; and indeed he was pursued as far as Scythopolis by these brethren, and fled away from them. So they returned back to Samaria, and shut the multitude again within the wall; and when they had taken the city, they demolished it, and made slaves of its inhabitants. 1.105. He also demolished Golan, and Seleucia, and what was called the Valley of Antiochus; besides which, he took the strong fortress of Gamala, and stripped Demetrius, who was governor therein, of what he had, on account of the many crimes laid to his charge, and then returned into Judea, after he had been three whole years in this expedition. And now he was kindly received of the nation, because of the good success he had. So when he was at rest from war, he fell into a distemper; 1.106. for he was afflicted with a quartan ague, and supposed that, by exercising himself again in martial affairs, he should get rid of this distemper; but by making such expeditions at unseasonable times, and forcing his body to undergo greater hardships than it was able to bear, he brought himself to his end. He died, therefore, in the midst of his troubles, after he had reigned seven and twenty years. 1.107. 1. Now Alexander left the kingdom to Alexandra his wife, and depended upon it that the Jews would now very readily submit to her, because she had been very averse to such cruelty as he had treated them with, and had opposed his violation of their laws, and had thereby got the goodwill of the people. 1.108. Nor was he mistaken as to his expectations; for this woman kept the dominion, by the opinion that the people had of her piety; for she chiefly studied the ancient customs of her country, and cast those men out of the government that offended against their holy laws. 1.109. And as she had two sons by Alexander, she made Hyrcanus the elder high priest, on account of his age, as also, besides that, on account of his inactive temper, no way disposing him to disturb the public. But she retained the younger, Aristobulus, with her as a private person, by reason of the warmth of his temper. 1.110. 2. And now the Pharisees joined themselves to her, to assist her in the government. These are a certain sect of the Jews that appear more religious than others, and seem to interpret the laws more accurately. 1.111. Now, Alexandra hearkened to them to an extraordinary degree, as being herself a woman of great piety towards God. But these Pharisees artfully insinuated themselves into her favor by little and little, and became themselves the real administrators of the public affairs: they banished and reduced whom they pleased; they bound and loosed [men] at their pleasure; and, to say all at once, they had the enjoyment of the royal authority, whilst the expenses and the difficulties of it belonged to Alexandra. 1.112. She was a sagacious woman in the management of great affairs, and intent always upon gathering soldiers together; so that she increased the army the one half, and procured a great body of foreign troops, till her own nation became not only very powerful at home, but terrible also to foreign potentates, while she governed other people, and the Pharisees governed her. 1.113. 3. Accordingly, they themselves slew Diogenes, a person of figure, and one that had been a friend to Alexander; and accused him as having assisted the king with his advice, for crucifying the eight hundred men [before mentioned]. They also prevailed with Alexandra to put to death the rest of those who had irritated him against them. Now, she was so superstitious as to comply with their desires, and accordingly they slew whom they pleased themselves. 1.114. But the principal of those that were in danger fled to Aristobulus, who persuaded his mother to spare the men on account of their dignity, but to expel them out of the city, unless she took them to be innocent; so they were suffered to go unpunished, and were dispersed all over the country. 1.115. But when Alexandra sent out her army to Damascus, under pretense that Ptolemy was always oppressing that city, she got possession of it; nor did it make any considerable resistance. 1.116. She also prevailed with Tigranes, king of Armenia, who lay with his troops about Ptolemais, and besieged Cleopatra, by agreements and presents, to go away. Accordingly, Tigranes soon arose from the siege, by reason of those domestic tumults which happened upon Lucullus’s expedition into Armenia. 1.117. 4. In the meantime, Alexandra fell sick, and Aristobulus, her younger son, took hold of this opportunity, with his domestics, of which he had a great many, who were all of them his friends, on account of the warmth of their youth, and got possession of all the fortresses. He also used the sums of money he found in them to get together a number of mercenary soldiers, and made himself king; 1.118. and besides this, upon Hyrcanus’s complaint to his mother, she compassionated his case, and put Aristobulus’s wife and sons under restraint in Antonia, which was a fortress that joined to the north part of the temple. It was, as I have already said, of old called the Citadel; but afterwards got the name of Antonia, when Antony was lord [of the East], just as the other cities, Sebaste and Agrippias, had their names changed, and these given them from Sebastus and Agrippa. 1.119. But Alexandra died before she could punish Aristobulus for his disinheriting his brother, after she had reigned nine years. 1.203. And at the same time that he said this, he settled the affairs of the country by himself, because he saw that Hyrcanus was inactive, and not fit to manage the affairs of the kingdom. So he constituted his eldest son, Phasaelus, governor of Jerusalem, and of the parts about it; he also sent his next son, Herod, who was very young, with equal authority into Galilee. 1.204. 5. Now Herod was an active man, and soon found proper materials for his active spirit to work upon. As therefore he found that Hezekias, the head of the robbers, ran over the neighboring parts of Syria with a great band of men, he caught him and slew him, and many more of the robbers with him; 1.205. which exploit was chiefly grateful to the Syrians, insomuch that hymns were sung in Herod’s commendation, both in the villages and in the cities, as having procured their quietness, and having preserved what they possessed to them; on which occasion he became acquainted with Sextus Caesar, a kinsman of the great Caesar, and president of Syria. 1.208. 6. However, he found it impossible to escape envy in such his prosperity; for the glory of these young men affected even Hyrcanus himself already privately, though he said nothing of it to anybody; but what he principally was grieved at was the great actions of Herod, and that so many messengers came one before another, and informed him of the great reputation he got in all his undertakings. There were also many people in the royal palace itself who inflamed his envy at him; those, I mean, who were obstructed in their designs by the prudence either of the young men, or of Antipater. 1.209. These men said, that by committing the public affairs to the management of Antipater and of his sons, he sat down with nothing but the bare name of a king, without any of its authority; and they asked him how long he would so far mistake himself, as to breed up kings against his own interest; for that they did not now conceal their government of affairs any longer, but were plainly lords of the nation, and had thrust him out of his authority; that this was the case when Herod slew so many men without his giving him any command to do it, either by word of mouth, or by his letter, and this in contradiction to the law of the Jews; who therefore, in case he be not a king, but a private man, still ought to come to his trial, and answer it to him, and to the laws of his country, which do not permit anyone to be killed till he had been condemned in judgment. 1.210. 7. Now Hyrcanus was, by degrees, inflamed with these discourses, and at length could bear no longer, but he summoned Herod to take his trial. Accordingly, by his father’s advice, and as soon as the affairs of Galilee would give him leave, he came up [to Jerusalem], when he had first placed garrisons in Galilee; however, he came with a sufficient body of soldiers, so many indeed that he might not appear to have with him an army able to overthrow Hyrcanus’s government, nor yet so few as to expose him to the insults of those that envied him. 1.211. However, Sextus Caesar was in fear for the young man, lest he should be taken by his enemies, and brought to punishment; so he sent some to denounce expressly to Hyrcanus that he should acquit Herod of the capital charge against him; who acquitted him accordingly, as being otherwise inclined also so to do, for he loved Herod. 1.648. 2. There also now happened to him, among his other calamities, a certain popular sedition. There were two men of learning in the city [Jerusalem], who were thought the most skillful in the laws of their country, and were on that account held in very great esteem all over the nation; they were, the one Judas, the son of Sepphoris, and the other Matthias, the son of Margalus. 1.649. There was a great concourse of the young men to these men when they expounded the laws, and there got together every day a kind of an army of such as were growing up to be men. Now when these men were informed that the king was wearing away with melancholy, and with a distemper, they dropped words to their acquaintance, how it was now a very proper time to defend the cause of God, and to pull down what had been erected contrary to the laws of their country; 1.650. for it was unlawful there should be any such thing in the temple as images, or faces, or the like representation of any animal whatsoever. Now the king had put up a golden eagle over the great gate of the temple, which these learned men exhorted them to cut down; and told them, that if there should any danger arise, it was a glorious thing to die for the laws of their country; because that the soul was immortal, and that an eternal enjoyment of happiness did await such as died on that account; while the mean-spirited, and those that were not wise enough to show a right love of their souls, preferred death by a disease, before that which is the result of a virtuous behavior. 1.651. 3. At the same time that these men made this speech to their disciples, a rumor was spread abroad that the king was dying, which made the young men set about the work with greater boldness; they therefore let themselves down from the top of the temple with thick cords, and this at midday, and while a great number of people were in the temple, and cut down that golden eagle with axes. 1.652. This was presently told to the king’s captain of the temple, who came running with a great body of soldiers, and caught about forty of the young men, and brought them to the king. 1.653. And when he asked them, first of all, whether they had been so hardy as to cut down the golden eagle, they confessed they had done so; and when he asked them by whose command they had done it, they replied, at the command of the law of their country; and when he further asked them how they could be so joyful when they were to be put to death, they replied, because they should enjoy greater happiness after they were dead. 1.654. 4. At this the king was in such an extravagant passion, that he overcame his disease [for the time], and went out and spake to the people; wherein he made a terrible accusation against those men, as being guilty of sacrilege, and as making greater attempts under pretense of their law, and he thought they deserved to be punished as impious persons. 1.655. Whereupon the people were afraid lest a great number should be found guilty and desired that when he had first punished those that put them upon this work, and then those that were caught in it, he would leave off his anger as to the rest. With this the king complied, though not without difficulty, and ordered those that had let themselves down, together with their Rabbins, to be burnt alive, but delivered the rest that were caught to the proper officers to be put to death by them. 1.659. 6. He then returned back and came to Jericho, in such a melancholy state of body as almost threatened him with present death, when he proceeded to attempt a horrid wickedness; for he got together the most illustrious men of the whole Jewish nation, out of every village, into a place called the Hippodrome, and there shut them in. 1.660. He then called for his sister Salome, and her husband Alexas, and made this speech to them:—“I know well enough that the Jews will keep a festival upon my death; however, it is in my power to be mourned for on other accounts, and to have a splendid funeral, if you will but be subservient to my commands. Do you but take care to send soldiers to encompass these men that are now in custody, and slay them immediately upon my death, and then all Judea, and every family of them, will weep at it, whether they will or no.” 1.666. Now, before the soldiers knew of his death, Salome and her husband came out and dismissed those that were in bonds, whom the king had commanded to be slain, and told them that he had altered his mind, and would have every one of them sent to their own homes. When these men were gone, Salome, told the soldiers [the king was dead], and got them and the rest of the multitude together to an assembly, in the amphitheater at Jericho, |
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8. Mishnah, Maaser Sheni, 5.15 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 205| 5.15. "יוֹחָנָן כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל הֶעֱבִיר הוֹדָיוֹת הַמַּעֲשֵׂר. אַף הוּא בִּטֵּל אֶת הַמְעוֹרְרִים, וְאֶת הַנּוֹקְפִים. וְעַד יָמָיו הָיָה פַטִּישׁ מַכֶּה בִירוּשָׁלָיִם, וּבְיָמָיו אֵין אָדָם צָרִיךְ לִשְׁאוֹל עַל הַדְּמָאי: \n", | |
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9. Tosefta, Sotah, 13.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62| 13.1. "עד ימיו היה פטיש מכה בירושלים בחולו של מועד אף הוא גזר על הודאי וביטל את הדמאי לפי ששלח [לכל עיירות ישראל מצאן שאין מפרישין אלא תרומה גדולה בלבד מעשר ראשון ומעשר שני מקצתן מפרישין ומקצתן אין מפרישין אמר להם יוחנן כהן גדול הואיל ותרומה גדולה עון מיתה ותרומת מעשר טבל עון מיתה יהא אדם קורא שם לתרומה תרומת מעשר ונותנן לכהן ומעשר שני מחללו על המעות והשאר מעשר ומעשר עני] המוציא מחבירו עליו הראיה. ", 13.1. "משנבנה בית ראשון נגנז אוהל מועד ונגנז עמו [קרסיו] קרשיו ובריחיו ועמודיו ואדניו [ואעפ\"כ] שלא היו משתמשין אלא בשלחן שעשה משה ומנורה שעשה משה לא היתה צריכה שמן המשחה שקדושה הראשונה קדשה לשעתה וקדשה לעתיד לבא.", | |
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10. Mishnah, Sotah, 9.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62, 205| 9.1. "עֶגְלָה עֲרוּפָה, בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים כא) כִּי יִמָּצֵא חָלָל בָּאֲדָמָה וְגוֹ' וְיָצְאוּ זְקֵנֶיךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶיךָ, שְׁלשָׁה מִבֵּית דִּין הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁבִּירוּשָׁלַיִם הָיוּ יוֹצְאִין. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר חֲמִשָּׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר זְקֵנֶיךָ, שְׁנַיִם, וְשֹׁפְטֶיךָ, שְׁנַיִם, וְאֵין בֵּית דִּין שָׁקוּל, מוֹסִיפִין עֲלֵיהֶן עוֹד אֶחָד: \n", | 9.1. "[The declaration over] the heifer whose neck is to be broken must be in the holy tongue; as it is said, “If a corpse is found slain on the land … then your elders and judges shall go out” (Deuteronomy 21:1-2)--three used to go out from the high court in Jerusalem. Rabbi Judah says: five, as it is said, “Your elders” two, “and your judges” two, and there cannot be a court of an even number, they add one more.", |
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11. Mishnah, Yoma, 1.4 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 193| 1.4. "כָּל שִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים לֹא הָיוּ מוֹנְעִין מִמֶּנּוּ מַאֲכָל וּמִשְׁתֶּה, עֶרֶב יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים עִם חֲשֵׁכָה, לֹא הָיוּ מַנִּיחִים אוֹתוֹ לֶאֱכֹל הַרְבֵּה, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהַמַּאֲכָל מֵבִיא אֶת הַשֵּׁנָה: \n", | 1.4. "All seven days they did not withhold food or drink from him. On the eve of Yom HaKippurim near nightfall they would not let him eat much because food brings about sleep.", |
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| 12. Mishnah, Zevahim, 11.16 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 193 |
13. Mishnah, Yadayim, 4.6 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62, 205| 4.6. "אוֹמְרִים צְדוֹקִים, קוֹבְלִין אָנוּ עֲלֵיכֶם, פְּרוּשִׁים, שֶׁאַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים, כִּתְבֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ מְטַמְּאִין אֶת הַיָּדַיִם, וְסִפְרֵי הוֹמֵרִיס אֵינוֹ מְטַמֵּא אֶת הַיָּדַיִם. אָמַר רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, וְכִי אֵין לָנוּ עַל הַפְּרוּשִׁים אֶלָּא זוֹ בִלְבָד. הֲרֵי הֵם אוֹמְרִים, עַצְמוֹת חֲמוֹר טְהוֹרִים וְעַצְמוֹת יוֹחָנָן כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל טְמֵאִים. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, לְפִי חִבָּתָן הִיא טֻמְאָתָן, שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם עַצְמוֹת אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ תַּרְוָדוֹת. אָמַר לָהֶם, אַף כִּתְבֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ לְפִי חִבָּתָן הִיא טֻמְאָתָן, וְסִפְרֵי הוֹמֵרִיס, שֶׁאֵינָן חֲבִיבִין, אֵינָן מְטַמְּאִין אֶת הַיָּדָיִם: \n", | 4.6. "The Sadducees say: we complain against you, Pharisees, because you say that the Holy Scriptures defile the hands, but the books of Homer do not defile the hands. Rabban Yoha ben Zakkai said: Have we nothing against the Pharisees but this? Behold they say that the bones of a donkey are clean, yet the bones of Yoha the high priest are unclean. They said to him: according to the affection for them, so is their impurity, so that nobody should make spoons out of the bones of his father or mother. He said to them: so also are the Holy Scriptures according to the affection for them, so is their uncleanness. The books of Homer which are not precious do not defile the hands.", |
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14. Mishnah, Parah, 3.5 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62, 205| 3.5. "לֹא מָצְאוּ מִשֶּׁבַע, עוֹשִׂין מִשֵּׁשׁ, מֵחָמֵשׁ, מֵאַרְבַּע, מִשָּׁלשׁ, מִשְּׁתַּיִם וּמֵאֶחָת. וּמִי עֲשָׂאָם. הָרִאשׁוֹנָה עָשָׂה משֶׁה, וְהַשְּׁנִיָּה עָשָׂה עֶזְרָא, וְחָמֵשׁ, מֵעֶזְרָא וָאֵילָךְ, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, שֶׁבַע מֵעֶזְרָא וָאֵילָךְ. וּמִי עֲשָׂאָן. שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק וְיוֹחָנָן כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל עָשׂוּ שְׁתַּיִם שְׁתַּיִם, אֶלְיְהוֹעֵינַי בֶּן הַקּוֹף וַחֲנַמְאֵל הַמִּצְרִי וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן פִּיאָבִי עָשׂוּ אַחַת אֶחָת: \n", | 3.5. "If they did not find the residue of the ashes of the seven [red cows] they performed the sprinkling with those of six, of five, of four, of three, of two or of one. And who prepared these? Moses prepared the first, Ezra prepared the second, and five were prepared from the time of Ezra, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: seven from the time of Ezra. And who prepared them? Shimon the Just and Yoha the high priest prepared two; Elihoenai the son of Ha-Kof and Hanamel the Egyptian and Ishmael the son of Piabi prepared one each.", |
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| 15. Mishnah, Menachot, 13.18-13.21 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 193 |
| 16. Palestinian Talmud, Berachot, None (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 123, 139 |
| 17. Palestinian Talmud, Sotah, None (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62, 206 |
| 18. Palestinian Talmud, Maaser Sheni, None (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 206 |
| 19. Palestinian Talmud, Nazir, None (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 123, 139 |
| 20. Palestinian Talmud, Yoma, None (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 193 |
| 21. Anon., Qohelet Rabba, 7.24 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139 |
22. Anon., Genesis Rabba, 91.4 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139| 91.4. וְיוֹסֵף הוּא הַשַּׁלִּיט וגו' (בראשית מב, ו), שָׁלשׁ גְּזֵרוֹת גָּזַר, שֶׁלֹא יִכָּנֵס עֶבֶד לְמִצְרַיִם, וְשֶׁלֹא יִכָּנֵס אָדָם בִּשְׁנֵי חֲמוֹרִים, וְשֶׁלֹא יוֹלִיכוּ חֲמָרִים תְּבוּאָה מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם, שֶׁלֹא יִכָּנֵס אָדָם עַד שֶׁלֹא יִכְתֹּב שְׁמוֹ וְשֵׁם אָבִיו וְשֵׁם זְקֵנוֹ. וַהֲוָה תַּמָּן מְנַשֶּׁה קָאֵים מְקַבֵּל פִּתְקִין, אָמְרִין נֵעוֹל וְנֶחֱמֵי אִי אַשְׁכְּחָן יָתֵיהּ טָעוּן לָן בְּמַדָּיו דְּמִכְסָא, הָא טַב, וְאִם לָאו בְּצַפְרָא נֶחֱמֵי מַה נַּעֲבֹד. | |
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23. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 123| 133b. ההוא דאמר ליה לחבריה נכסי לך ואחריך לפלוני וראשון ראוי ליורשו הוה שכיב ראשון אתא שני קא תבע,סבר רב עיליש קמיה דרבא למימר שני נמי שקיל א"ל דייני דחצצתא הכי דייני לאו היינו דשלח רב אחא בר רב עויא,אכסיף קרי עליה (ישעיהו ס, כב) אני ה' בעתה אחישנה:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big הכותב את נכסיו לאחרים והניח את בניו מה שעשה עשוי אלא אין רוח חכמים נוחה הימנו רשב"ג אומר אם לא היו בניו נוהגים כשורה זכור לטוב:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big איבעיא להו מי פליגי רבנן עליה דרשב"ג או לא,ת"ש דיוסף בן יועזר היה לו בן שלא היה נוהג כשורה הוה ליה עיליתא דדינרי קם אקדשה אזיל נסיב בת גאדיל כלילי דינאי מלכא אולידה דביתהו זבין לה ביניתא קרעה אשכח בה מרגליתא,אמרה ליה לא תמטייה למלכא דשקלי לה מינך בדמי קלילי זיל אמטייה לגבי גזברי ולא תשיימה את דאמירתו לגבוה כמסירתו להדיוט אלא לשיימוה אינהו,אמטייה שמוה בתליסרי עליאתא דדינרי אמרי ליה שבע איכא שית ליכא אמר להו שבע הבו לי שית הרי הן מוקדשות לשמים,עמדו וכתבו יוסף בן יועזר הכניס אחת ובנו הכניס שש ואיכא דאמרי יוסף בן יועזר הכניס אחת ובנו הוציא שבע,מדקא אמרי הכניס מכלל דשפיר עבד אדרבה מדקא אמרי הוציא מכלל דלאו שפיר עבד אלא מהא ליכא למשמע מינה,מאי הוי עלה ת"ש דאמר ליה שמואל לרב יהודה שיננא לא תיהוי בי עבורי אחסנתא ואפילו מברא בישא לברא טבא וכ"ש מברא לברתא,ת"ר מעשה באדם אחד שלא היו בניו נוהגין כשורה עמד וכתב נכסיו ליונתן בן עוזיאל מה עשה יונתן בן עוזיאל מכר שליש והקדיש שליש והחזיר לבניו שליש,בא עליו שמאי במקלו ותרמילו א"ל שמאי אם אתה יכול להוציא את מה שמכרתי ומה שהקדשתי אתה יכול להוציא מה שהחזרתי | 133b. There was b a certain /b person b who said to another: My property /b is given b to you, and after you, to so-and-so, and the first one was fit to inherit /b from b him. /b After b the first died, the second came and claimed /b the property., b Rav Ilish, /b who was b in the presence of Rava, thought to say /b that b the second also takes /b a share of the property; he divides it with the heirs of the first. Rava b said to him: Judges of compromise, /b who as a matter of course divide disputed property between the parties, b rule in this manner. /b But b isn’t this /b identical to the case concerning b which Rav Aḥa bar Rav Avya sent /b a ruling that the second receives nothing?,Rav Ilish b was embarrassed /b by his mistake. To comfort him, Rav b read /b the following verse b about him: “I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time” /b (Isaiah 60:22), as if to say: It was due to Divine Providence that I was here to correct you before your mistaken ruling was implemented., strong MISHNA: /strong With regard to b one who wrote /b a document granting b his property to others /b as a gift b and left his sons /b with nothing, b what he did is done, /b i.e., it takes effect; b but the Sages are displeased with him. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: If /b he did so because b his sons were not acting properly, he is remembered positively. /b , strong GEMARA: /strong b A dilemma was raised before /b the Sages: b Do the Rabbis disagree with Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, /b maintaining that depriving one’s children of their inheritance is inappropriate in any event, b or not? /b ,The Gemara suggests: b Come /b and b hear, as Yosef ben Yo’ezer had a son who was not acting properly. /b Yosef ben Yo’ezer b had a vessel [ i illiyyata /i ] /b full b of dinars, /b and b he arose and consecrated it /b to the Temple treasury, depriving his son of his inheritance. His son b went and married the daughter of King Yannai’s crown weaver. /b After the son’s b wife gave birth, he bought her a fish [ i binita /i ]. He tore its /b stomach open and b found a pearl in it. /b He decided to sell it.,His wife b said to him: Do not bring it to /b the treasury of b the king /b to sell it, b as they will take it from you for an insignificant /b sum of b money. /b Rather, b go bring it to the /b Temple b treasurers. And do not appraise it yourself, as declaration to the Most High is equivalent to transfer to an ordinary /b person, and if you offer to sell it for an amount less than its worth, you will not be able to change your mind. b Rather, let them appraise it. /b , b He brought it /b to the Temple treasury, and b they appraised it as /b having the value of b thirteen vessels [ i illiyyata /i ] /b full b of dinars. /b The treasurers b said to him: There are seven /b i illiyyata /i of dinars at our disposal to pay you for the pearl, but b there are not /b an additional b six. He said to /b the treasurers: b Give me /b the b seven /b in exchange for the pearl, and as for the additional b six /b that you owe me, b they are hereby consecrated to Heaven. /b ,The treasurers b arose and wrote: Yosef ben Yo’ezer bestowed one /b i illiyyata /i to the Temple treasury, b and his son bestowed six. And there are /b those b who say /b that they wrote: b Yosef ben Yo’ezer bestowed one /b i illiyyata /i to the Temple treasury, b and his son removed seven, /b which he received for the pearl.,The Gemara infers: b From /b the fact b that they said /b approvingly that Yosef ben Yo’ezer’s son b bestowed /b seven, b by inference, he acted well /b when he left him out of his inheritance. The Gemara responds: b On the contrary; from /b the fact b that /b according to the second account, b they said /b disparagingly that he b removed /b seven, b by inference, /b Yosef ben Yo’ezer b did not act well /b when he left him out of his inheritance, as he caused money to be removed from the Temple treasury. b Rather, no /b inference is b to be learned from this /b story with regard to the dilemma as to whether the Rabbis agree with the opinion of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, as the two accounts contradict each other on this matter.,The Gemara asks: b What /b halakhic conclusion b was /b reached b about /b this matter? b Come /b and b hear, as Shmuel said to Rav Yehuda: i Shina /i , do not be in a house where inheritance is transferred /b away from its rightful heir, b even /b if it is transferred b from a wicked son to a good son, and all the more so /b if it is transferred b from a son to a daughter. /b Evidently, the Rabbis hold that inheritance should not be transferred in any case.,§ b The Sages taught: /b There was b an incident involving one man whose children did not act properly. He arose and wrote /b a document transferring all b his property to Yonatan ben Uzziel, /b one of the Sages, as a gift. b What did Yonatan ben Uzziel do? He sold a third /b of the property for his needs, b and consecrated a third /b of the property, b and returned /b the remaining b third to /b the man’s b children. /b , b Shammai came to /b Yonatan ben Uzziel b with his staff and traveling bag /b to protest his giving part of the property to the man’s children against the deceased’s wishes. Yonatan ben Uzziel b said to him: Shammai, if you can repossess /b the property b that I sold /b from the purchasers b and /b the property b that I consecrated /b from the Temple treasury, b you can repossess what I returned /b to the man’s children as well; |
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24. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62, 123, 206| 29a. והשקיף בה שתים ושלש שעות ולא העלוהו,אמאי לא העלוהו והאמר רב יהודה אמר רב טעה בכל הברכות כלן אין מעלין אותו בברכת הצדוקים מעלין אותו חיישינן שמא מין הוא,שאני שמואל הקטן דאיהו תקנה,וניחוש דלמא הדר ביה אמר אביי גמירי טבא לא הוי בישא,ולא והכתיב (יחזקאל יח, כד) ובשוב צדיק מצדקתו ועשה עול ההוא רשע מעיקרו אבל צדיק מעיקרו לא,ולא והא תנן אל תאמין בעצמך עד יום מותך שהרי יוחנן כ"ג שמש בכהונה גדולה שמנים שנה ולבסוף נעשה צדוקי,אמר אביי הוא ינאי הוא יוחנן רבא אמר ינאי לחוד ויוחנן לחוד ינאי רשע מעיקרו ויוחנן צדיק מעיקרו הניחא לאביי אלא לרבא קשיא,אמר לך רבא צדיק מעיקרו נמי דלמא הדר ביה אי הכי אמאי לא אסקוהו,שאני שמואל הקטן דאתחיל בה דאמר רב יהודה אמר רב ואיתימא רבי יהושע בן לוי לא שנו אלא שלא התחיל בה אבל התחיל בה גומרה:,הני שבע דשבתא כנגד מי א"ר חלפתא בן שאול כנגד שבעה קולות שאמר דוד על המים,הני תשע דר"ה כנגד מי א"ר יצחק דמן קרטיגנין כנגד תשעה אזכרות שאמרה חנה בתפלתה דאמר מר בראש השנה נפקדה שרה רחל וחנה,הני עשרים וארבע דתעניתא כנגד מי א"ר חלבו כנגד כ"ד רננות שאמר שלמה בשעה שהכניס ארון לבית קדשי הקדשים אי הכי כל יומא נמי נמרינהו אימת אמרינהו שלמה ביומא דרחמי אנן נמי ביומא דרחמי אמרי להו:,רבי יהושע אומר מעין שמנה עשרה: מאי מעין שמנה עשרה רב אמר מעין כל ברכה וברכה ושמואל אמר הביננו ה' אלהינו לדעת דרכיך ומול את לבבנו ליראתך ותסלח לנו להיות גאולים ורחקנו ממכאובינו ודשננו בנאות ארצך ונפוצותינו מארבע תקבץ והתועים על דעתך ישפטו ועל הרשעים תניף ידיך וישמחו צדיקים בבנין עירך ובתקון היכלך ובצמיחת קרן לדוד עבדך ובעריכת נר לבן ישי משיחך טרם נקרא אתה תענה ברוך אתה ה' שומע תפלה,לייט עלה אביי אמאן דמצלי הביננו,אמר רב נחמן אמר שמואל כל השנה כולה מתפלל אדם הביננו חוץ ממוצאי שבת וממוצאי ימים טובים מפני שצריך לומר הבדלה בחונן הדעת,מתקיף לה רבה בר שמואל ונימרה ברכה רביעית בפני עצמה מי לא תנן ר"ע אומר אומרה ברכה רביעית בפני עצמה ר' אליעזר אומר בהודאה,אטו כל השנה כולה מי עבדינן כר' עקיבא דהשתא נמי נעביד כל השנה כולה מאי טעמא לא עבדינן כר"ע תמני סרי תקון תשסרי לא תקון הכא נמי שבע תקון תמני לא תקון,מתקיף לה מר זוטרא ונכללה מכלל הביננו ה' אלהינו המבדיל בין קדש לחול קשיא:,אמר רב ביבי בר אביי כל השנה כולה מתפלל אדם הביננו חוץ מימות הגשמים מפני שצריך לומר שאלה בברכת השנים מתקיף לה מר זוטרא ונכללה מכלל ודשננו בנאות ארצך ותן טל ומטר,אתי לאטרודי אי הכי הבדלה בחונן הדעת נמי אתי לאטרודי,אמרי התם כיון דאתיא בתחלת צלותא לא מטריד הכא כיון דאתיא באמצע צלותא מטריד,מתקיף לה רב אשי ונימרה בשומע תפלה דא"ר תנחום אמר רב אסי טעה ולא הזכיר גבורות גשמים בתחיית המתים מחזירין אותו שאלה בברכת השנים אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה בשומע תפלה והבדלה בחונן הדעת אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה על הכוס טעה שאני:,גופא א"ר תנחום אמר רב אסי טעה ולא הזכיר גבורות גשמים בתחיית המתים מחזירין אותו שאלה בברכת השנים אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה בשומע תפלה והבדלה בחונן הדעת אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה על הכוס,מיתיבי טעה ולא הזכיר גבורות גשמים בתחיית המתים מחזירין אותו שאלה בברכת השנים מחזירין אותו והבדלה בחונן הדעת אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה על הכוס,ל"ק הא ביחיד הא בצבור,בצבור מ"ט לא משום דשמעה משליח צבור אי הכי האי מפני שיכול לאומרה בשומע תפלה מפני ששומע משליח צבור מיבעי ליה,אלא אידי ואידי ביחיד ול"ק הא דאדכר קודם שומע תפלה | 29a. b and scrutinized it, /b in an attempt to remember the blessing for b two or three hours, and they did not remove him /b from serving as prayer leader.,The Gemara asks: b Why did they not remove him? Didn’t Rav Yehuda say /b that b Rav said: /b One who was serving as the prayer leader before the congregation and b erred in /b reciting b any of the blessings, they do not remove him /b from serving as the prayer leader. However, one who erred while reciting b the blessing of the heretics they remove him, /b as b we suspect that perhaps he is a heretic /b and intentionally omitted the blessing to avoid cursing himself. Why, then, did they not remove Shmuel HaKatan?,The Gemara answers: b Shmuel HaKatan is different because he instituted /b this blessing and there is no suspicion of him.,The Gemara continues: b Let us suspect /b that b perhaps he reconsidered /b and, although he had been righteous, he had a change of heart? b Abaye said: We learned /b through tradition that a b good /b person b does not become wicked. /b ,The Gemara challenges this: b And /b does he b not /b become wicked? b Isn’t it /b explicitly b written: “And when the righteous one returns from his righteousness and does wicked /b like all of the abominations that the wicked one has done, will he live? All of the righteous deeds that he has done will not be remembered given the treachery that he has carried out, and in his sin that he has transgressed, for these he shall die” (Ezekiel 18:24)? Abaye responds: b That /b verse refers to a righteous individual who was b initially wicked /b and repented, but ultimately returned to his evil ways. b However, one who is initially righteous /b does b not /b become wicked.,The Gemara asks: b And /b does he b not /b become wicked? b Didn’t we learn /b in a mishna: b Do not be sure of yourself until the day you die, as Yoḥa the High Priest served in the High Priesthood for eighty years and ultimately became a Sadducee. /b Even one who is outstanding in his righteousness can become a heretic., b Abaye responded: He is Yannai he is Yoḥa. /b In other words, from its inception, the entire Hasmonean dynasty had the same positive attitude toward the Sadducees, and there was no distinction between Yoḥa Hyrcanus and Alexander Yannai. Yoḥa the High Priest had Sadducee leanings from the outset. b Rava said: Yannai is distinct and Yoḥa is distinct. /b They did not share the same position in this regard. b Yannai was wicked from the outset and Yoḥa was righteous from the outset. /b If so, b it works out well according to Abaye’s /b opinion; b however, according to Rava’s /b opinion, b it is difficult. /b How could Yoḥa, a righteous individual, have changed and turned wicked?,The Gemara responds: b Rava /b could have b said to you: /b There is b also /b room for concern b that one who is righteous from the outset will perhaps reconsider /b and turn wicked, as was the case with Yoḥa the High Priest. b If so, /b the original question is difficult: b Why did they not remove /b Shmuel HaKatan from serving as the prayer leader?,The Gemara answers: The case of b Shmuel HaKatan is different, as he began /b reciting the blessing of the heretics and while reciting it he became confused and forgot the end of the blessing. Consequently, he was not suspected of heretical leanings. Indeed, b Rav Yehuda said /b that b Rav, and some say /b that b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, said: They only taught /b that one who errs while reciting the blessing of the heretics is removed in a case b where he did not begin /b reciting b it. But /b if he b began /b reciting b it, /b then we allow him to collect his thoughts b and finish /b reciting b it. /b ,To this point, the Gemara discussed allusions to the nineteen blessings that constitute the weekday i Amida /i prayer. The Gemara asks: b Corresponding to what /b were b these seven /b blessings b of /b the b Shabbat /b i Amida /i prayer instituted? The Gemara answers: b Rabbi Ḥalafta ben Shaul said: Corresponding to the seven “voices” which David mentioned on the waters; /b in other words, the seven times that “the voice of God” is mentioned in Psalms 29, which served as the source for the weekday prayer.,The Gemara asks further: b Corresponding to what /b were b these nine /b blessings b of /b the b Rosh HaShana /b additional prayer instituted? b Rabbi Yitzḥak of Kartignin said: /b They b correspond to the nine mentions of God’s name that Hannah said in her prayer /b (I Samuel 2:10). The connection between Hannah’s prayer and Rosh HaShana is based on what b the Master said: On Rosh HaShana, Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were remembered /b and the divine decree that they would conceive their sons was issued.,The Gemara continues: b Corresponding to what /b were b these twenty-four /b blessings b of /b the i Amida /i prayer of b the fast /b days instituted? b Rabbi Ḥelbo said: /b They b correspond to the twenty-four “songs” that Solomon said when he brought the ark into the Holy of Holies /b during the dedication of the Temple, as there are twenty-four expressions of song, prayer, and supplication there (I Kings 8). The Gemara asks: b If so, then let us say these /b twenty-four blessing b every day. /b The Gemara answers: b When did Solomon say them? On a day of /b supplication for b mercy. We, too, say them on a day of /b supplication for b mercy. /b ,We learned in the mishna that b Rabbi Yehoshua says /b that each day one recites b an abridged /b version of the prayer of b eighteen blessings. /b The Gemara asks: b What /b is the b abridged /b version of the prayer of b eighteen blessings? /b There are different opinions. b Rav said: /b One recites b an abridged /b version b of each and every blessing. Shmuel said: /b An abridged version of the prayer of eighteen blessings refers to a blessing composed specifically to be recited in place of the thirteen middle blessings. It contains references to each of the thirteen middle blessings. The formula for that blessing is: b Grant us understanding, Lord our God, to know Your ways, and sensitize our hearts so that we may revere You, and forgive us so that we may be redeemed, and keep us far from our suffering, and satisfy us with the pastures of Your land, and gather our scattered /b people b from the four /b corners of the earth, b and those who go astray shall be judged according to Your will, and raise Your hand against the wicked, and may the righteous rejoice in the rebuilding of Your city, and the restoration of Your Sanctuary, and in the flourishing of Your servant David, and in establishing a light for Your Messiah, son of Yishai. Before we call, may You answer. Blessed are You, Lord, Who listens to prayer.” /b ,Although Shmuel mentioned this abridged prayer, b Abaye would curse anyone who recited /b the prayer: b Grant us understanding, /b as he held that one may recite it only in exigent circumstances (Rabbi Ḥael, i Me’iri /i ).,The Gemara further restricts the occasions when one may recite the abridged prayer. b Rav Naḥman said /b that b Shmuel said: One may recite: Grant us understanding throughout the entire year, except for /b in the evening prayer at b the conclusion of Shabbat and at the conclusion of Festivals, because he must recite /b the prayer of b distinction [ i havdala /i ] in /b the blessing: b Who graciously grants knowledge. /b , b Rabba bar Shmuel strongly objects to this: /b After reciting the three initial blessings, b let us say /b i havdala /i b as an independent fourth blessing, /b and afterwards recite the prayer of b Grant us understanding. /b This is feasible. b Didn’t we learn /b in a mishna that b Rabbi Akiva says: He says /b i havdala /i b as an independent fourth blessing? Rabbi Eliezer says: /b He says i havdala /i b in /b the blessing of b thanksgiving. /b ,The Gemara responds: b Do we practice in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Akiva throughout the entire year /b regarding this issue, b that we will also practice /b this way b now? Throughout the entire year, what is the reason that we do not practice in accordance with /b the opinion of b Rabbi Akiva? /b Because b they instituted eighteen /b blessings, b they did not institute nineteen. Here too, they instituted seven /b blessings, b they did not institute eight. /b Therefore, the possibility to recite i havdala /i as an independent fourth blessing is rejected., b Mar Zutra strongly objects to this: Let us include /b i havdala /i in the b framework /b of the abridged blessing: b Grant us understanding, Lord our God, Who distinguishes between sacred and profane. /b No response was offered to this objection, and it remains b difficult. /b , b Rav Beivai bar Abaye said: /b There is an additional restriction that applies to the abridged prayer. b One may recite Grant us understanding throughout the entire year, except during the rainy season, because he must recite the request /b for rain b in the blessing of the years. Mar Zutra strongly objects to this: Let us include /b the request for rain in the b framework /b of the abridged blessing: b And satisfy us with the pastures of Your land, and grant dew and rain. /b ,The Gemara responds: That is unfeasible, as he will b become confused /b by introducing a new element to the standard formula of the blessing. The Gemara asks: b If so, by /b introducing b i havdala /i in /b the framework of the abridged blessing in the section alluding to the blessing, b Who graciously grants knowledge, /b he will b also become confused. /b Why did the Gemara fail to respond to Mar Zutra’s strong objection with regard to i havdala /i in that manner?,The Gemara answers: b They say /b that these cases are different: b There, /b regarding i havdala /i , b since /b the introduction of the new element b comes at the beginning of the prayer, he will not /b become b confused. Here, since /b the request for rain b comes in the middle of the prayer, he will /b become b confused. /b , b Rav Ashi strongly objects to this: /b If so, b let us say /b the request for rain b in /b the framework of the abridged blessing in the section alluding to the blessing b Who listens to prayer. As Rabbi Tanḥum said /b that b Rav Asi said: One who erred and did not mention the might of the rains /b in the blessing on b the revival of the dead, we require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. However, one who erred and failed to recite b the request /b for rain b in /b the ninth blessing of the i Amida /i , b the blessing of the years, we do not require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it b because he can recite it in /b the blessing b Who listens to prayer. And /b one who erred and failed to recite b i havdala /i in /b the blessing b Who graciously grants knowledge, we do not require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, b as he can recite /b i havdala /i b over the cup /b of wine. One can ask for rain in the blessing Who listens to prayer, and, consequently, can introduce it at the end of the abridged blessing without becoming confused. The Gemara responds: b One who erred is different, /b and only then does he have the option to ask for rain in the blessing Who listens to prayer. i Ab initio /i , the request for rain may not be inserted there.,The statement that Rabbi Tanḥum said that Rav Asi said was incidental to the previous discussion. The Gemara attempts to understand b the matter itself. Rabbi Tanḥum said /b that b Rav Asi said: One who erred and did not mention the might of the rains /b in the blessing on b the revival of the dead, we require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. However, one who erred and failed to recite b the request /b for rain b in the blessing of the years, we do not require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it b because he can recite it in /b the blessing b Who listens to prayer. And /b one who erred and failed to recite b i havdala /i in /b the blessing b Who graciously grants knowledge, we do not require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, b as he can recite /b i havdala /i b over the cup /b of wine.,The Gemara b raised an objection /b based on what was taught in the i Tosefta /i : b One who erred and did not mention the might of the rains /b in the blessing on b the revival of the dead, we require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. One who erred and failed to recite b the request /b for rain b in the blessing of the years, we require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. However, one who erred and failed to recite b i havdala /i in /b the blessing b Who graciously grants knowledge, we do not require him to return /b to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, b as he can recite /b i havdala /i b over the cup /b of wine. The i Tosefta /i contradicts the statement of Rabbi Tanḥum with regard to one who erred and failed to recite the request for rain in the blessing of the years.,The Gemara responds: b This is not difficult. This /b case, where we require him to return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, refers to a situation where he is praying b as an individual. /b While b that /b case, where we do not require him to return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, refers to a situation where he is praying b as /b part of b a congregation. /b ,The Gemara raises a difficulty: When praying b as /b part of b a congregation, what is the reason /b that he need b not /b need return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it? b Because /b he can fulfill his obligation b when he hears it from the communal prayer leader /b in the repetition of the i Amida /i prayer. b If so, /b Rabbi Tanḥum’s formulation is imprecise. b That /b which he said that he need not return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it b because he can recite it in /b the blessing: b Who listens to prayer, should have been: Because he hears it from the communal prayer leader. /b This proves that the attempt to rebuff the challenge from the i Tosefta /i to Rabbi Tanḥum was incorrect.,Rather, both b this /b statement of Rabbi Tanḥum b and that /b statement in the i Tosefta /i refer to one praying b as an individual, and it is, /b nevertheless, b not difficult. This /b case, where we do not require him to return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, refers to a case where b he recalls /b his error b before /b he reaches the blessing: b Who listens to prayer, /b in which case he can ask for rain in that blessing. |
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25. Babylonian Talmud, Gittin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 123| 57a. במאי דפסיק אנפשיה כל יומא מכנשי ליה לקיטמיה ודייני ליה וקלו ליה ומבדרו אשב ימי,אזל אסקיה לבלעם בנגידא אמר ליה מאן חשיב בההוא עלמא א"ל ישראל מהו לאידבוקי בהו א"ל (דברים כג, ז) לא תדרוש שלומם וטובתם כל הימים א"ל דיניה דההוא גברא במאי א"ל בשכבת זרע רותחת,אזל אסקיה [ליש"ו] בנגידא (לפושעי ישראל) א"ל מאן חשיב בההוא עלמא א"ל ישראל מהו לאדבוקי בהו א"ל טובתם דרוש רעתם לא תדרוש כל הנוגע בהן כאילו נוגע בבבת עינו,א"ל דיניה דההוא גברא במאי א"ל בצואה רותחת דאמר מר כל המלעיג על דברי חכמים נידון בצואה רותחת תא חזי מה בין פושעי ישראל לנביאי אומות העולם עובדי ע"ז,תניא אמר רבי אלעזר בא וראה כמה גדולה כחה של בושה שהרי סייע הקב"ה את בר קמצא והחריב את ביתו ושרף את היכלו:,אתרנגולא ואתרנגולתא חריב טור מלכא דהוו נהיגי כי הוו מפקי חתנא וכלתא מפקי קמייהו תרנגולא ותרנגולתא כלומר פרו ורבו כתרנגולים,יומא חד הוה קא חליף גונדא דרומאי שקלינהו מינייהו נפלו עלייהו מחונהו אתו אמרו ליה לקיסר מרדו בך יהודאי אתא עלייהו הוה בהו ההוא בר דרומא דהוה קפיץ מילא וקטיל בהו שקליה קיסר לתאגיה ואותביה אארעא אמר ריבוניה דעלמא כוליה אי ניחא לך לא תמסריה לההוא גברא לדידיה ולמלכותיה בידיה דחד גברא,אכשליה פומיה לבר דרומא ואמר (תהלים ס, יב) הלא אתה אלהים זנחתנו ולא תצא אלהים בצבאותינו דוד נמי אמר הכי דוד אתמוהי קא מתמה,על לבית הכסא אתא דרקונא שמטיה לכרכשיה ונח נפשיה אמר הואיל ואיתרחיש לי ניסא הא זימנא אישבקינהו שבקינהו ואזל איזדקור ואכלו ושתו ואדליקו שרגי עד דאיתחזי בליונא דגושפנקא ברחוק מילא אמר מיחדא קא חדו בי יהודאי הדר אתא עלייהו,א"ר אסי תלת מאה אלפי שליפי סייפא עיילו לטור. מלכא וקטלו בה תלתא יומי ותלתא לילוותא ובהך גיסא הלולי וחנגי ולא הוו ידעי הני בהני,(איכה ב, ב) בלע ה' ולא חמל את כל נאות יעקב כי אתא רבין אמר רבי יוחנן אלו ששים רבוא עיירות שהיו לו לינאי המלך בהר המלך דאמר רב יהודה אמר רב אסי ששים רבוא עיירות היו לו לינאי המלך בהר המלך וכל אחת ואחת היו בה כיוצאי מצרים חוץ משלש שהיו בהן כפלים כיוצאי מצרים,אלו הן כפר ביש כפר שיחליים כפר דכריא כפר ביש דלא יהבי ביתא לאושפיזא כפר שיחליים שהיתה פרנסתן מן שחליים כפר דכריא אמר רבי יוחנן שהיו נשותיהן יולדות זכרים תחלה ויולדות נקבה באחרונה ופוסקות,אמר עולא לדידי חזי לי ההוא אתרא ואפילו שיתין ריבוותא קני לא מחזיק אמר ליה ההוא צדוקי לרבי חנינא שקורי משקריתו אמר ליה (ירמיהו ג, יט) ארץ צבי כתיב בה מה צבי זה אין עורו מחזיק את בשרו אף ארץ ישראל בזמן שיושבין עליה רווחא ובזמן שאין יושבין עליה גמדא,רב מניומי בר חלקיה ורב חלקיה בר טוביה ורב הונא בר חייא הוו יתבי גבי הדדי אמרי אי איכא דשמיע ליה מילתא מכפר סכניא של מצרים לימא,פתח חד מינייהו ואמר מעשה בארוס וארוסתו שנשבו לבין העובדי כוכבים והשיאום זה לזה אמרה לו בבקשה ממך אל תגע בי שאין לי כתובה ממך ולא נגע בה עד יום מותו,וכשמת אמרה להן סיפדו לזה שפטפט ביצרו יותר מיוסף דאילו ביוסף לא הוה אלא חדא שעתא והאי כל יומא ויומא ואילו יוסף לאו בחדא מטה והאי בחדא מטה ואילו יוסף לאו אשתו והא אשתו,פתח אידך ואמר מעשה ועמדו ארבעים מודיות בדינר נחסר השער מודיא אחת ובדקו ומצאו אב ובנו שבאו על נערה מאורסה ביום הכפורים והביאום לבית דין וסקלום וחזר השער למקומו,פתח אידך ואמר מעשה באדם אחד שנתן עיניו באשתו לגרשה והיתה כתובתה מרובה מה עשה הלך וזימן את שושביניו והאכילן והשקן שיכרן והשכיבן על מיטה אחת והביא לובן ביצה והטיל ביניהן והעמיד להן עדים ובא לבית דין,היה שם זקן אחד מתלמידי שמאי הזקן ובבא בן בוטא שמו אמר להן כך מקובלני משמאי הזקן לובן ביצה סולד מן האור ושכבת זרע דוחה מן האור בדקו ומצאו כדבריו והביאוהו לב"ד והלקוהו והגבוהו כתובתה ממנו,א"ל אביי לרב יוסף ומאחר דהוו צדיקים כולי האי מאי טעמא איענוש א"ל משום דלא איאבול על ירושלים דכתיב (ישעיהו סו, י) שמחו את ירושלם וגילו בה כל אוהביה שישו אתה משוש כל המתאבלים עליה:,אשקא דריספק חריב ביתר דהוו נהיגי כי הוה מתיליד ינוקא שתלי ארזא ינוקתא שתלי תורניתא וכי הוו מינסבי קייצי להו ועבדו גננא יומא חד הוה קא חלפא ברתיה דקיסר אתבר שקא דריספק קצו ארזא ועיילו לה אתו נפול עלייהו מחונהו אתו אמרו ליה לקיסר מרדו בך יהודאי אתא עלייהו:,(איכה ב, ג) גדע בחרי אף כל קרן ישראל א"ר זירא א"ר אבהו א"ר יוחנן אלו שמונים [אלף] קרני מלחמה שנכנסו לכרך ביתר בשעה שלכדוה והרגו בה אנשים ונשים וטף עד שהלך דמן ונפל לים הגדול שמא תאמר קרובה היתה רחוקה היתה מיל,תניא רבי אליעזר הגדול אומר שני נחלים יש בבקעת ידים אחד מושך אילך ואחד מושך אילך ושיערו חכמים שני חלקים מים ואחד דם במתניתא תנא שבע שנים בצרו עובדי כוכבים את כרמיהן מדמן של ישראל בלא זבל | 57a. b That which he decreed against himself, /b as he undergoes the following: b Every day his ashes are gathered, and they judge him, and they burn him, and they scatter him over the seven seas. /b ,Onkelos then b went and raised Balaam /b from the grave b through necromancy. He said to him: Who is /b most b important in that world /b where you are now? Balaam b said to him: The Jewish people. /b Onkelos asked him: b Should I /b then b attach /b myself b to them /b here in this world? Balaam b said to him: You shall not seek their peace or their welfare all the days /b (see Deuteronomy 23:7). Onkelos b said to him: What is the punishment of that man, /b a euphemism for Balaam himself, in the next world? Balaam b said to him: /b He is cooked b in boiling semen, /b as he caused Israel to engage in licentious behavior with the daughters of Moab.,Onkelos then b went /b and b raised Jesus the Nazarene /b from the grave b through necromancy. /b Onkelos b said to him: Who is /b most b important in that world /b where you are now? Jesus b said to him: The Jewish people. /b Onkelos asked him: b Should I /b then b attach /b myself b to them /b in this world? Jesus b said to him: Their welfare you shall seek, their misfortune you shall not seek, /b for b anyone who touches them is /b regarded b as if he were touching the apple of his eye /b (see Zechariah 2:12).,Onkelos b said to him: What is the punishment of that man, /b a euphemism for Jesus himself, in the next world? Jesus b said to him: /b He is punished b with boiling excrement. As the Master said: Anyone who mocks the words of the Sages will be sentenced to boiling excrement. /b And this was his sin, as he mocked the words of the Sages. The Gemara comments: b Come /b and b see the difference between the sinners of Israel and the prophets of the nations of the world. /b As Balaam, who was a prophet, wished Israel harm, whereas Jesus the Nazarene, who was a Jewish sinner, sought their well-being.,To conclude the story of Kamtza and bar Kamtza and the destruction of Jerusalem, the Gemara cites a i baraita /i . It b is taught: Rabbi Elazar says: Come and see how great is the power of shame, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, assisted bar Kamtza, /b who had been humiliated, b and /b due to this humiliation and shame b He destroyed His Temple and burned His Sanctuary. /b ,§ It was previously mentioned (55b) that the place known as b the King’s Mountain [ i Tur Malka /i ] was destroyed on account of a rooster and a hen. /b The details of what happened are as follows: b It was customary /b in that place b that when they would lead a bride and groom /b to their wedding, b they would take out a rooster and a hen before them, /b as if b to say /b in the manner of a good omen: b Be fruitful and multiply like chickens. /b , b One day a troop [ i gunda /i ] of Roman /b soldiers b passed by /b there while a wedding was taking place b and took /b the rooster and hen b from them. /b The residents of the city b fell upon them and beat them. /b The soldiers b came and said to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. /b The emperor then b came against them /b in war. Among the residents of the King’s Mountain b there was a certain man /b named b bar Deroma who could jump /b the distance of b a i mil /i , and he killed /b many of the Romans, who were powerless to stand up against him. b The emperor /b then b took his crown and set it on the ground /b as a sign of mourning. b He said: Master of the Universe, if it is pleasing to You, do not give over that man, /b a euphemism for himself, b and his kingdom into the hands of /b only b one man. /b ,In the end it was the words issuing from b his /b own b mouth /b that b caused bar Deroma to stumble, as he uttered /b this verse in complaint against God: b “Have You not rejected us, O God, so that You go not forth, O God, with our hosts?” /b (Psalms 60:12). The Gemara asks: But did not b David also say this? /b The Gemara answers: b David uttered /b these words b as a question, /b wondering whether they were true, whereas bar Deroma pronounced them as a statement of fact.,The Gemara recounts what happened to bar Deroma: b He entered an outhouse, a snake came /b and b eviscerated him, and he died. /b The emperor b said: Since a miracle was performed for me, /b as I had no part in bar Deroma’s death, b I will let /b the rest of the people b be this time /b and take no further action against them. b He let them be and went /b on his way. b They leapt /b about, b ate, drank, and lit /b so many b candles /b in celebration b that the image [ i bilyona /i ] /b imprinted b on a seal [ i gushpanka /i ] was visible from a distance of a i mil /i . /b The emperor then b said: The Jews are rejoicing over me. /b So b he went back /b and b came against them. /b , b Rav Asi says: Three hundred thousand men with drawn swords entered the King’s Mountain and massacred /b its inhabitants b for three days and three nights. And /b at the same time b on /b the other b side /b of the mountain, b weddings and /b other b festivities /b continued to be celebrated, b and they did not know about each other, /b owing to the enormous size of the place.,§ Concerning the verse: b “The Lord has swallowed up without pity all the habitations of Jacob” /b (Lamentations 2:2), it is related that b when Ravin came /b from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia b he /b said that b Rabbi Yoḥa says: This /b is referring to the b six hundred thousand cities /b that b King Yannai had in the King’s Mountain. /b As b Rav Yehuda says /b that b Rav Asi says: King Yannai had six hundred thousand cities in the King’s Mountain, and each of them /b had a population as great b as /b the number of b those who left Egypt, except for three /b of those cities, the population of which b was double /b the number of b those who left Egypt. /b , b These /b are b those /b three cities: b Kefar Bish, Kefar Shiḥalayim, and Kefar Dikhrayya. /b The Gemara explains the meaning of these place-names. b Kefar Bish, /b Evil Town, was called by that name because its inhabitants b would not open /b their b houses to guests. Kefar Shiḥalayim /b was referred to by that name because b their livelihood was /b derived b from /b the cultivation of b cress [ i shaḥalayim /i ]. /b As for b Kefar Dikhrayya, /b Town of Males, b Rabbi Yoḥa says: Their women would first give birth to boys, and afterward give birth to girls, and /b then b they would stop /b having children., b Ulla said: I myself saw that place, and it could not hold even six hundred thousand reeds, /b all the more so that number of people. b A certain heretic said to Rabbi Ḥanina: You lie /b with your exorbitant exaggerations. Rabbi Ḥanina b said to him: With regard to /b Eretz Yisrael b it is written: Land of the deer /b (see Jeremiah 3:19). b Just as the skin of a deer cannot hold its flesh, /b for after the animal is skinned, its hide shrinks, b so too, /b with regard to b Eretz Yisrael, when it is settled, it expands, but when it is not settled, it contracts. /b This explains how a place that is so small today could have been so highly populated prior to the Temple’s destruction.,§ The Gemara relates that b Rav Minyumi bar Ḥilkiya, Rav Ḥilkiya bar Toviya, and Rav Huna bar Ḥiyya were /b once b sitting together. They said: If there is someone who has heard anything about Kefar Sekhanya of Egypt, /b which was in that region, b let him relate /b it., b One of them began /b the discussion b and said: /b There was b an incident involving a betrothed man and woman /b from there b who were taken captive by gentiles and /b the latter b married them off to each other. /b The woman b said to /b the man: b Please do not touch me, as I do not have a marriage contract from you, /b and it is prohibited for us to live together without one. b And until /b the day of b his death /b the man b did not touch /b the woman., b And when he died /b without having touched her, the woman b said to /b the Sages: b Eulogize this /b man b who conquered [ i shepitpet /i ] his passion [ i beyitzro /i ] more than Joseph. As /b in the case of b Joseph it was only for a short time /b that he had to overpower his inclination and resist Potiphar’s wife (see Genesis, chapter 39), b whereas this /b man struggled with his passion b each and every day. /b Furthermore, b Joseph /b was b not in one bed /b with Potiphar’s wife, b whereas this /b man was b in one bed /b with his wife. In addition, with b Joseph /b the woman was b not his wife, whereas /b with b this /b man she was b his wife, /b as she was already betrothed to him., b Another /b Sage b began /b his remarks b and said: It once happened that /b the market price of b forty i se’a /i /b of grain b stood at one dinar. /b And then b the rate went down one i se’a /i [ i modeya /i ], /b so that only thirty-nine i se’a /i were sold for a dinar. b And they checked /b to see what sin had caused this, b and they found a father and son who had engaged in sexual intercourse with a betrothed young woman on Yom Kippur. They brought /b the offenders b to court and stoned them, and the rate returned to its /b former b level. /b ,Yet b another /b Sage b began /b his remarks b and said: /b There was b an incident /b there b involving a man who set his eyes upon his wife to divorce her, but her marriage contract was large /b and he wished to avoid having to pay it. b What did he do? He went and invited his friends, gave them food and drink, made them drunk, and lay /b his friends and his wife b in one bed. He /b then b brought the white of an egg, /b which has the appearance of semen, b and placed it /b on the sheet b between them. He /b then b stood witnesses over them /b so that they could offer testimony, b and went to court /b claiming that his wife had committed adultery., b A certain Elder of the disciples of Shammai the Elder was there, and Bava ben Buta /b was b his name. He said to them: This is /b the tradition that b I received from Shammai the Elder: Egg white /b on a bedsheet b contracts /b and hardens when heated b by fire, whereas semen is absorbed /b into the sheet b by the fire. They checked /b the matter b and found in accordance with his statement /b that the substance on the sheet was not semen but egg white. b They /b then b brought /b the husband b to court, administered lashes to him, and made him pay /b his wife’s b marriage contract /b in full., b Abaye said to Rav Yosef: But since /b those in the city b were so righteous, what is the reason that they were punished /b and destroyed? Rav Yosef b said to him: /b It is b because they did not mourn for Jerusalem, as it is written: “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you that love her, rejoice with joy with her, all you that did mourn for her” /b (Isaiah 66:10). The verse teaches that one who mourns for Jerusalem will rejoice in its rebuilding, and one who fails to mourn for Jerusalem is destroyed.,§ It was stated earlier that the city of b Beitar was destroyed on account of a shaft from a carriage. /b The Gemara explains that b it was customary /b in Beitar that b when a boy was born they would plant a cedar /b tree and when b a girl /b was born they b would plant a cypress [ i tornita /i ]. And when they would /b later b marry /b each other b they would cut /b down these trees b and construct /b a wedding b canopy /b for them with their branches. b One day the emperor’s daughter passed by /b there and b the shaft of the carriage /b in which she was riding b broke. /b Her attendants b chopped down a cedar /b from among those trees b and brought it to her. /b Owing to the importance that they attached to their custom, the residents of Beitar b came /b and b fell upon them and beat them. /b The attendants b came /b and b said to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. /b The emperor then b came against them /b in war.,It was in connection with the war that ensued that the Sages expounded the following verse: b “He has cut off in His fierce anger all the horn of Israel” /b (Lamentations 2:3). b Rabbi Zeira says /b that b Rabbi Abbahu says /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa says: These are the eighty thousand /b officers bearing b battle trumpets /b in their hands, b who entered the city of Beitar when /b the enemy b took it and killed men, women, and children until their blood flowed into the Great Sea. Lest you say /b that the city b was close /b to the sea, know that b it was a i mil /i away. /b , b It is /b similarly b taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: There are two rivers in the Yadayim Valley /b in that region, b one flowing one way and one flowing the other way. And the Sages estimated /b that in the aftermath of this war these rivers were filled with b two parts water to one part blood. /b Likewise, b it was taught in a i baraita /i : For seven years the gentiles harvested their vineyards /b that had been soaked b with the blood of Israel without /b requiring any additional b fertilizer. /b |
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26. Babylonian Talmud, Keritot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139, 193| 28b. בקינוח סעודה אמרו כל ימיו לא היה נותר בעזרה,צווחה שלישית שאו שערים ראשיכם ויכנס אלישמע בן פיכאי תלמידו של פנחס וישמש בכהונה גדולה,צווחה רביעית פתחו שערים והוציאו יששכר איש כפר ברקאי שמכבד עצמו ומבזה קדשי שמים מאי הוי עביד הוה כריך שיראי על ידיה והוה עביד עבודה,מאי סליקא ליה ינאי מלכא ומלכתא הוו יתבין מלכא אמר גדיא יאי ומלכתא אמרה אימרא יאי אמרו נשייליה ליששכר איש כפר ברקאי דכהן גדול הוא וקים ליה קדירה,שיילוהו א"ל אי גדיא יאי ייסק לתמידא בהדי דאמר אחוי בידיה אמר להון מלכא הואיל ואחוי בידיה קוצו לידיה דימינא יהיב שוחדא קציוה לידיה שמאלא שמע מלכא אמר ליקצו נמי לידיה דימינא אמר רב יוסף בריך רחמנא דשקליה ליששכר איש כפר ברקאי למטרפסיה,אמר רב אשי ולא הוה תני ליה דתנן כבשים קודמין לעזים בכל מקום יכול מפני שמובחרין ת"ל (ויקרא ד, לב) ואם כבש מלמד ששניהן שקולין כאחת,רבינא אמר אפילו מקרא נמי לא קרא דכתיב (ויקרא ג, ז\יב) אם כבש אם עז:,א"ר אלעזר א"ר חנינא תלמידי חכמים מרבים שלום בעולם שנאמר (ישעיהו נד, יג) וכל בניך למודי ה' ורב שלום בניך:, br br big strongהדרן עלך המביא אשם וסליקא לה מסכת כריתות /strong /big br br | |
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27. Babylonian Talmud, Menachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 193 | 109b. as by slaughtering the idolatrous offering intentionally b he became a servant of idol worship. /b , b Rav Naḥman said: From where do I say /b that even a priest who intentionally slaughters an idolatrous offering is nevertheless fit to serve in the Temple if he repents? b As it is taught /b in a i baraita /i : With regard to b a priest who served /b in b idol worship and repented, his offering /b in the Temple b is an aroma pleasing /b to the Lord and is acceptable.,Rav Naḥman clarifies: b In what /b manner did he serve in idol worship? b If we say /b that he served in idol worship b unwittingly, what /b does the i baraita /i mean when it says: b And repented? He is already repentant, /b as he never intended to sin in the first place. b Rather, /b it is b obvious /b that the i baraita /i is referring to a case b of intentional /b idol worship. b And if /b the i baraita /i is referring b to sprinkling /b the blood of an idolatrous offering, b when he repents, what of it? Hasn’t he performed /b idolatrous b service, /b thereby disqualifying himself from serving in the Temple in any event? b Rather, is it not /b referring b to /b the b slaughter /b of an idolatrous offering? Evidently, even if the priest slaughtered it intentionally, once he repents he is fit to serve in the Temple., b And /b as for b Rav Sheshet, he /b could have b said to you /b that b actually /b the i baraita /i is referring b to unwitting /b slaughter. b And this /b is what the i baraita /i b is saying: If /b the priest b is repentant from the outset, as when he served /b in idol worship b he served unwittingly, /b then b his offering is an aroma pleasing /b to the Lord and is acceptable. b But if not, /b i.e., he slaughtered an idolatrous offering intentionally, b his /b subsequent b offering /b in the Temple is b not an aroma pleasing /b to the Lord.,§ The Gemara lists other similar disagreements between Rav Naḥman and Rav Sheshet. In a case where a priest b bowed to /b an object of b idol worship, Rav Naḥman says: /b If he subsequently repents and serves in the Temple, b his offering is an aroma pleasing /b to the Lord. b And Rav Sheshet says: His offering is not an aroma pleasing /b to the Lord. In a case where a priest b acknowledges /b an object of b idol worship /b as a divinity, b Rav Naḥman says: /b If he subsequently repents and serves in the Temple, b his offering is an aroma pleasing /b to the Lord. b And Rav Sheshet says: His offering is not an aroma pleasing /b to the Lord.,Having listed four similar disputes between Rav Naḥman and Rav Sheshet, namely, with regard to a priest who unwittingly sprinkled the blood of an idolatrous offering, a priest who intentionally slaughtered an idolatrous offering, a priest who bowed to an idol, and a priest who acknowledged an idol as a divinity, the Gemara explains: b And /b it was b necessary /b to teach the dispute with regard to all four cases. b As, had /b the Sages b taught us /b only b this first /b case, where a priest sprinkles the blood of an idolatrous offering unwittingly, one might have thought that only b in that /b case b Rav Sheshet says /b that the priest’s subsequent service in the Temple is disqualified, b because he performed a service for /b idolatry that is considered a sacrificial rite in the Temple. b But /b in a case where the priest merely performed b slaughter, since he did not perform a service for /b idolatry that is a sacrificial rite in the Temple, there is room to b say /b that Rav Sheshet b concedes to /b the opinion of b Rav Naḥman. /b , b And had /b the Sages b taught us /b only the dispute with regard to a priest intentionally performing b slaughter /b for an idolatrous offering, one might have thought that Rav Sheshet says that the priest’s subsequent service in the Temple is disqualified b because he performed /b a sacrificial b rite for /b idolatry. b But /b if he merely b bowed /b to the idol, b since he did not perform /b a sacrificial b rite for /b idolatry, there is room to b say /b that Rav Sheshet does b not /b disqualify the priest’s subsequent service in the Temple. Therefore, it was b necessary /b to teach this case as well., b And had /b the Sages b taught us /b only the case of a priest b bowing /b to an idol, one might have thought that in this case Rav Sheshet says that the priest’s subsequent service in the Temple is disqualified b because he performed an action for /b idolatry. b But /b if he only b acknowledged /b the idol as a divinity, b which is mere speech, /b there is room to b say /b that Rav Sheshet does b not /b disqualify the priest’s subsequent service in the Temple. The Gemara concludes: Therefore, it was b necessary /b to teach this case as well.,§ The mishna teaches: b And needless to say, /b if priests served for b something else, /b a euphemism for idolatry, they are disqualified from service in the Temple. The Gemara comments: b From /b the fact b that it says: Needless to say, /b if they served for b something else, by inference, the temple of Onias is not /b a temple of b idol worship, /b but rather a temple devoted to the worship of God., b It is taught /b in a i baraita /i b like the one who says /b that b the temple of Onias is not /b a temple of b idol worship. As it is taught: /b During b the year in which Shimon HaTzaddik died, he said to /b his associates: b This year, he will die, /b euphemistically referring to himself. b They said to him: From where do you know? /b ,Shimon HaTzaddik b said to them: /b In previous years, b every Yom Kippur, /b upon entering the Holy of Holies, I had a prophetic vision in which b I would be met by an old man /b who was b dressed in white, and /b his head was b wrapped in white, and he would enter /b the Holy of Holies b with me, and he would leave with me. /b But b this year, I was met by an old man /b who was b dressed in black, and /b his head was b wrapped in black, and he entered /b the Holy of Holies b with me, but he did not leave with me. /b Shimon HaTzaddik understood this to be a sign that his death was impending.,Indeed, b after the pilgrimage festival /b of i Sukkot /i , b he was ill for seven days and died. And his fellow priests refrained from reciting the /b Priestly b Benediction with the /b ineffable b name /b of God., b At the time of his death, he said to /b the Sages: b Onias, my son, will serve /b as High Priest b in my stead. Shimi, /b Onias’ b brother, became jealous /b of him, b as /b Shimi b was two and a half years older than /b Onias. Shimi b said to /b Onias treacherously: b Come and I will teach you the order of the service /b of the High Priest. Shimi b dressed /b Onias b in a tunic [ i be’unkeli /i ] and girded him with a ribbon [ i betziltzul /i ] /b as a belt, i.e., not in the vestments of the High Priest, and b stood him next to the altar. /b Shimi b said to his fellow priests: Look what this /b man b vowed and fulfilled for his beloved, /b that he had said to her: b On the day that I serve in the High Priesthood I will wear your tunic and gird your ribbon. /b , b The fellow priests of /b Onias b wanted to kill him /b because he had disgraced the Temple service with his garments. Onias b ran /b away b from them and they ran after him. He went to Alexandria in Egypt and built an altar there, and sacrificed /b offerings b upon it for the sake of idol worship. When the Sages heard of the matter they said: If this /b person, Shimi, b who did not enter /b the position of High Priest, acted with b such /b jealousy, b all the more so /b will b one who enters /b a prestigious position rebel if that position is taken away from him. This is b the statement of Rabbi Meir. /b According to Rabbi Meir, the temple of Onias was built for idol worship., b Rabbi Yehuda said to him: /b The b incident was not like this. Rather, Onias did not accept /b the position of High Priest b because his brother Shimi was two and a half years older than him, /b so Shimi was appointed as High Priest. b And even so, /b even though Onias himself offered the position to Shimi, b Onias was jealous of his brother Shimi. /b Onias b said to /b Shimi: b Come and I will teach you the order of the service /b of the High Priest. b And /b Onias b dressed /b Shimi b in a tunic and girded him in a ribbon and stood him next to the altar. /b Onias b said to his fellow priests: Look what this /b man, Shimi, b vowed and fulfilled for his beloved, /b that he had said to her: b On the day that I serve in the High Priesthood I will wear your tunic and gird your ribbon. /b , b His fellow priests wanted to kill /b Shimi. Shimi then b told them the entire incident, /b that he had been tricked by his brother Onias, so the priests b wanted to kill Onias. /b Onias b ran /b away b from them, and they ran after him. /b Onias b ran to the palace of the king, and they ran after him. Anyone who saw him would say: This is him, this is him, /b and he was not able to escape unnoticed. Onias b went to Alexandria in Egypt and built an altar there, and sacrificed /b offerings b upon it for the sake of Heaven. As it is stated: “In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border, to the Lord” /b (Isaiah 19:19). According to Rabbi Yehuda, the temple of Onias was dedicated to the worship of God., b And when the Sages heard of the matter they said: If this one, /b Onias, b who fled from /b the position of High Priest and offered it to his brother, still was overcome with b such /b jealousy to the point where he tried to have Shimi killed, b all the more so /b will b one who wants to enter /b a prestigious position be jealous of the one who already has that position.,§ As a corollary to the statement of the Sages with regard to one who is jealous and wants the position of another, b it is taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya said: Initially, /b in response to b anyone who would say /b to me: b Ascend to /b the position of i Nasi /i , b I would tie him up and place him in front of a lion /b out of anger for his suggestion. b Now /b that I have become the i Nasi /i , in response to b anyone who tells me to leave /b the position, b I /b would b throw a kettle [ i kumkum /i ] of boiling /b water b at him /b out of anger at his suggestion.,It is human nature that after one ascends to a prestigious position he does not wish to lose it. b As /b evidence of this principle, b Saul /b initially b fled from /b the kingship, as he did not wish to be king, as stated in the verse: “When they sought him he could not be found…Behold he has hidden himself among the baggage” (I Samuel 10:21–22). b But when he ascended /b to the kingship b he tried to kill David, /b who he thought was trying to usurp his authority (see I Samuel, chapters 18–27).,§ b Mar Kashisha, son of Rav Ḥisda, said to Abaye: What does Rabbi Meir do with this verse of Rabbi Yehuda? /b Since Rabbi Meir holds that the temple of Onias was dedicated to idol worship, how does he explain the verse in Isaiah?,Abaye answered Mar Kashisha and said that Rabbi Meir uses this verse b for that which is taught /b in a i baraita /i : b After the downfall of Sennacherib, /b the king of Assyria who besieged Jerusalem (see II Kings, chapters 18–19), King b Hezekiah emerged /b from Jerusalem b and found the /b gentile b princes /b Sennacherib had brought with him from his other conquests, b sitting in carriages [ i bikronot /i ] of gold. He made them vow that they would not worship idols, /b and they fulfilled their vow, b as it is stated /b in Isaiah’s prophecy about Egypt: b “In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan /b |
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28. Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139, 193| 57a. נימא תלתא תנאי הוו לא תרי תנאי הוו ותנא קמא דר' שמעון היינו ר' יוסי ותנא קמא דר' יוסי היינו ר' שמעון ומאי אף אקמייתא,ת"ר בן בוהיין נתן פיאה לירק ובא אביו ומצאן לעניים שהיו טעונין ירק ועומדין על פתח הגינה אמר להם בני השליכו מעליכם ואני נותן לכם כפליים במעושר לא מפני שעיני צרה אלא מפני שאמרו חכמים אין נותנין פיאה לירק,למה ליה למימרא להו לא מפני שעיני צרה כי היכי דלא לימרו דחויי קא מדחי לן,ת"ר בראשונה היו מניחין עורות קדשים בלשכת בית הפרוה לערב היו מחלקין אותן לאנשי בית אב והיו בעלי זרועות נוטלין אותן בזרוע התקינו שיהיו מחלקין אותן מערב שבת לע"ש דאתיין כולהו משמרות ושקלן בהדדי,ועדיין היו גדולי כהונה נוטלין אותן בזרוע עמדו בעלים והקדישום לשמים,אמרו לא היו ימים מועטים עד שחיפו את ההיכל כולו בטבלאות של זהב שהן אמה על אמה כעובי דינר זהב ולרגל היו מקפלין אותן ומניחין אותן על גב מעלה בהר הבית כדי שיהו עולי רגלים רואין שמלאכתם נאה ואין בה דלם,תנא אבא שאול אומר קורות של שקמה היו ביריחו והיו בעלי זרועות נוטלין אותן בזרוע עמדו בעלים והקדישום לשמים,עליהם ועל כיוצא בהם אמר אבא שאול בן בטנית משום אבא יוסף בן חנין אוי לי מבית בייתוס אוי לי מאלתן אוי לי מבית חנין אוי לי מלחישתן אוי לי מבית קתרוס אוי לי מקולמוסן אוי לי מבית ישמעאל בן פיאכי אוי לי מאגרופן שהם כהנים גדולים ובניהן גיזברין וחתניהם אמרכלין ועבדיהן חובטין את העם במקלות,תנו רבנן ארבע צווחות צוחה עזרה ראשונה צאו מכאן בני עלי שטימאו היכל ה' ועוד צווחה צא מיכן יששכר איש כפר ברקאי שמכבד את עצמו ומחלל קדשי שמים דהוה כריך ידיה בשיראי ועביד עבודה,ועוד צווחה העזרה שאו שערים ראשיכם ויכנס ישמעאל בן פיאכי תלמידו של פנחס וישמש בכהונה גדולה ועוד צווחה העזרה שאו שערים ראשיכם ויכנס יוחנן בן נרבאי תלמידו של פנקאי וימלא כריסו מקדשי שמים,אמרו עליו על יוחנן בן נרבאי שהיה אוכל ג' מאות עגלים ושותה ג' מאות גרבי יין ואוכל ארבעים סאה גוזלות בקינוח סעודה אמרו כל ימיו של יוחנן בן נרבאי לא נמצא נותר במקדש מאי סלקא ביה ביששכר איש כפר ברקאי אמרי מלכא ומלכתא הוו יתבי מלכא אמר גדיא יאי ומלכתא אמרה אימרא יאי אמרו מאן מוכח כהן גדול דקא מסיק קרבנות כל יומא אתא איהו | 57a. b Let us say /b that b there are three i tanna’im /i /b who dispute this point: The two unattributed opinions, each of which is referring to two vegetables, and the opinion common to Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon that includes all three vegetables. The Gemara rejects this: b No, there are /b only b two i tanna’im /i /b who dispute the point, b and the first i tanna /i /b whose opinion appears before the opinion of b Rabbi Shimon is Rabbi Yosei. And the first i tanna /i /b whose opinion appears before the opinion of b Rabbi Yosei is Rabbi Shimon. And what /b is the meaning of the word b even /b in both their statements? They agree with regard to b the first /b vegetable, turnips; however, they disagree with regard to the second, and replace it with another vegetable.,The Gemara cites an episode from the i Tosefta /i . b The Sages taught: The son /b of a man named b Bohayan designated /b for the poor b the /b produce in the b corner /b in a garden b of vegetables, and his father /b Bohayan b found the poor laden /b with b vegetables and standing at the opening of the garden /b on their way out. b He said to them: My sons, cast /b the vegetables that you have gathered b from upon yourselves and I will give you twice /b the amount in b tithed /b produce, and you will be no worse off. b Not because I begrudge /b you what you have taken. b Rather, it is because the Sages say: One does not designate /b for the poor b the /b produce in the b corner /b in a garden b of vegetables. /b Therefore, the vegetables that you took require tithing.,The Gemara asks: b Why /b was it necessary b for him to say to them: Not because I begrudge /b you what you have taken? It would have been sufficient to offer them tithed produce. The Gemara answers that he said it b so they would not say: He is putting us off, /b taking what we collected now, but later he will not fulfill his commitment.,Apropos the people of Jericho, the Gemara relates that powerful people would steal wood from them. b The Sages taught: Initially, /b the priests b would place the hides /b that were flayed from animals b consecrated /b as offerings of the most sacred order, which were given to the priests, b in the Parva chamber. In the evening, they would distribute them to the members of the family /b of priests serving in the Temple that day. b And the powerful /b priests among them would b take them by force /b before they could be distributed. The Rabbis b decreed that they would distribute them each Shabbat eve, /b because then b all the /b families of both priestly b watches came and took /b their part b together. /b All the families from both the watch that was beginning its service and the one ending its service were together when they divided the hides. The powerful priests were unable to take the hides by force., b Yet still the prominent priests /b by virtue of their lineage b would take them by force. /b Due to their prominence, the members of the rest of the watch dared not challenge them. When they realized that there was no equitable distribution, b the owners /b of the sacrifices ( i Me’iri /i ) b arose and consecrated /b the hides b to Heaven /b so the priests could not take them.,The Sages b said: Not a few days passed before they had plated the entire sanctuary with golden tablets /b with the proceeds from the redemption and sale of the hides. These plates b were one cubit by one cubit and as thick as a golden dinar. And /b when the people assembled b for the /b Festival b pilgrimage they would remove /b the tablets b and place them on a stair of the Temple Mount so that the pilgrims would see that the craftsmanship /b of the tablets b was beautiful and without flaw [ i dalam /i ]. /b Afterward they replaced the tablets in the Sanctuary., b It was /b similarly b taught /b that b Abba Shaul says: There were sycamore tree trunks in Jericho, and powerful people would take them /b from their owners b by force. The owners stood and consecrated /b these trunks b to Heaven. /b It was with regard to these trunks and the branches that grew from them that the residents of Jericho acted against the will of the Sages., b With regard to /b the prominent priests b and those like them, Abba Shaul ben Batnit said in the name of Abba Yosef ben Ḥanin: Woe is me due to /b the High Priests of b the house of Baitos, woe is me due to their clubs. Woe is me due to /b the High Priests of b the house of Ḥanin; woe is me due to their whispers /b and the rumors they spread. b Woe is me due to /b the High Priests of b the house of Katros; woe is me due to their pens /b that they use to write lies. b Woe is me due to /b the servants of the High Priests of b the house of Yishmael ben Piakhi; woe is me due to their fists. /b The power of these households stemmed from the fact b that /b the fathers b were High Priests, and their sons were /b the Temple b treasurers, and their sons-in-law were /b Temple b overseers [ i amarkalin /i ]. And their servants strike the people with clubs, /b and otherwise act inappropriately.,Apropos the critique of several prominent priests, the Gemara relates that b the Sages taught: /b The people in b the /b Temple b courtyard /b all b cried four cries, /b as they were in agreement over various issues ( i Pardes Rimonim /i ). The b first /b cry was: b Leave here, sons of Eli, who defiled God’s Sanctuary /b (see I Samuel 2:22). Subsequently the priesthood was transferred to the house of Zadok. b And an additional cry: Leave here, Yissakhar of Kfar Barkai, who honors himself and desecrates /b the items b consecrated /b to b Heaven. /b Due to his delicate nature and his disrespect for the Temple service, he would b wrap /b his hands b in silk [ i shirai /i ] and perform the service. /b This would invalidate the service because the silk was an interposition between his hands and the Temple vessels. Furthermore, his conduct demeaned the Temple service, as he demonstrated that he was unwilling to dirty his hands for it., b And /b the people in b the /b Temple b courtyard cried additionally: Lift your heads, O gates, and let /b the righteous b Yishmael ben Piakhi, the student of Pinehas /b ben Elazar the priest, b enter and serve as High Priest, /b although the members of this family were violent. b And /b the people in b the /b Temple b courtyard cried additionally: Lift your heads, O gates, and let Yoḥa ben Narbbai, the student of Pinkai, enter and fill his belly with /b meat b of offerings /b consecrated to b Heaven, /b as he is worthy to eat offerings., b They said about Yoḥa ben Narbbai that he /b and his household b would eat three hundred calves, and drink three hundred jugs of wine, and eat forty i se’a /i of doves for dessert. They said: /b Throughout b all the days of Yoḥa ben Narbbai there was no leftover /b sacrificial meat b in the Temple, /b as he would make certain that someone ate it. The Gemara asks: b What /b ultimately b happened to Yissakhar of Kfar Barkai? They said: The king and the queen were sitting /b and talking. b The king said /b that b goat /b meat b is better /b food, b and the queen said lamb /b meat is b better /b food. b They said: Who can prove /b which one of us is correct? b The High Priest /b can, b as he offers sacrifices all day /b and tastes their meat. The High Priest had the right to take a portion from any sacrifice offered in the Temple, and therefore was well acquainted with the tastes of different meat. Yissakhar of Kfar Barkai b came, /b and when they asked him this question, |
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29. Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on john hyrcanus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62, 205| 18b. דאמר רב חנא בר ביזנא אמר ר"ש חסידא מאי דכתיב (זכריה ח, יט) כה אמר ה' צבאות צום הרביעי וצום החמישי וצום השביעי וצום העשירי יהיה לבית יהודה לששון ולשמחה קרי להו צום וקרי להו ששון ושמחה בזמן שיש שלום יהיו לששון ולשמחה אין שלום צום,אמר רב פפא הכי קאמר בזמן שיש שלום יהיו לששון ולשמחה יש גזרת המלכות צום אין גזרת המלכות ואין שלום רצו מתענין רצו אין מתענין,אי הכי ט"ב נמי אמר רב פפא שאני ט' באב הואיל והוכפלו בו צרות דאמר מר בט' באב חרב הבית בראשונה ובשניה ונלכדה ביתר ונחרשה העיר,תניא אמר ר"ש ארבעה דברים היה ר"ע דורש ואני אין דורש כמותו צום הרביעי זה ט' בתמוז שבו הובקעה העיר שנאמר (ירמיהו נב, ו) (ברביעי) בתשעה לחדש ויחזק הרעב בעיר ולא היה לחם לעם הארץ ותבקע העיר ואמאי קרי ליה רביעי רביעי לחדשים,צום החמישי זה תשעה באב שבו נשרף בית אלהינו ואמאי קרי ליה חמישי חמישי לחדשים צום השביעי זה ג' בתשרי שבו נהרג גדליה בן אחיקם ומי הרגו ישמעאל בן נתניה הרגו ללמדך ששקולה מיתתן של צדיקים כשריפת בית אלהינו ואמאי קרי ליה שביעי שביעי לחדשים,צום העשירי זה עשרה בטבת שבו סמך מלך בבל על ירושלים שנאמר (יחזקאל כד, א) ויהי דבר ה' אלי בשנה התשיעית בחדש העשירי בעשור לחדש לאמר בן אדם כתב לך את שם היום את עצם היום הזה סמך מלך בבל אל ירושלם ואמאי קרי ליה עשירי עשירי לחדשים והלא היה ראוי זה לכתוב ראשון ולמה נכתב כאן כדי להסדיר חדשים כתיקנן,ואני איני אומר כן אלא צום העשירי זה חמשה בטבת שבו באת שמועה לגולה שהוכתה העיר שנאמר (יחזקאל לג, כא) ויהי בשתי עשרה שנה בעשירי בחמשה לחדש לגלותנו בא אלי הפליט מירושלם לאמר הוכתה העיר ועשו יום שמועה כיום שריפה,ונראין דברי מדבריו שאני אומר על ראשון ראשון ועל אחרון אחרון והוא אומר על ראשון אחרון ועל אחרון ראשון אלא שהוא מונה לסדר חדשים ואני מונה לסדר פורעניות,איתמר רב ורבי חנינא אמרי בטלה מגילת תענית רבי יוחנן וריב"ל אמרי לא בטלה מגילת תענית,רב ורבי חנינא אמרי בטלה מגילת תענית הכי קאמר בזמן שיש שלום יהיו לששון ולשמחה אין שלום צום והנך נמי כי הני,רבי יוחנן ורבי יהושע בן לוי אמרי לא בטלה מגילת תענית הני הוא דתלינהו רחמנא בבנין בהמ"ק אבל הנך כדקיימי קיימי,מתיב רב כהנא מעשה וגזרו תענית בחנוכה בלוד וירד ר"א ורחץ ורבי יהושע וסיפר ואמרו להם צאו והתענו על מה שהתעניתם,א"ר יוסף שאני חנוכה דאיכא מצוה א"ל אביי ותיבטיל איהי ותיבטל מצותה,אלא אמר רב יוסף שאני חנוכה דמיפרסם ניסא,מותיב רב אחא בר הונא בתלתא בתשרי בטילת אדכרתא מן שטרייא שגזרה מלכות יון גזרה שלא להזכיר שם שמים על פיהם וכשגברה מלכות חשמונאי ונצחום התקינו שיהו מזכירין שם שמים אפילו בשטרות וכך היו כותבים בשנת כך וכך ליוחנן כהן גדול לאל עליון,וכששמעו חכמים בדבר אמרו למחר זה פורע את חובו ונמצא שטר מוטל באשפה וביטלום ואותו היום עשאוהו יו"ט ואי סלקא דעתך בטלה מגילת תענית קמייתא בטול אחרנייתא מוסיפין,הכא במאי עסקינן בזמן שבית המקדש קיים | 18b. b As Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said /b that b Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said: What is /b the meaning of that b which is written: “Thus said the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall become times of joy and gladness, /b and cheerful seasons, b to the house of Judah” /b (Zechariah 8:19). b It calls them /b days of b “fast” and it calls them /b “times of b joy and gladness.” /b How so? b When there is peace /b in the world, b they will be /b times of b joy and gladness, /b on which eulogies and fasting are forbidden; but when b there is no peace, /b they are days of b fasting. /b In a time when there is no peace, why are messengers not sent out also for the fourth and tenth months, so that people can know when to observe the fasts?, b Rav Pappa said /b that b this is what it is saying: When there is peace /b in the world and the Temple is standing, these days b will be /b times of b joy and gladness; /b when b there is persecution /b and troubles for the Jewish people, they are days of b fasting; /b and when b there is no persecution but /b still b no peace, /b neither particular troubles nor consolation for Israel, the i halakha /i is as follows: If people b wish, they fast, /b and if b they wish, they do not fast. /b Since there is no absolute obligation to fast, messengers are not sent out for these months.,The Gemara asks: b If so, the Ninth of Av /b should b also /b be like the other fast days, that sometimes it is observed and sometimes not, depending upon the wishes of the community at the time. Why does the mishna state that messengers go out for the month of Av? b Rav Pappa said: The Ninth of Av is different, since the calamities /b that occurred on that day b were multiplied. As the Master said: On the Ninth of Av the Temple was destroyed, /b both b the first /b one b and the second /b one; on this day the city of b Beitar was captured; /b and on this day b the city /b of Jerusalem b was plowed /b over by the enemies of the Jewish people, as a sign that it would never be rebuilt. Consequently, the fast of the Ninth of Av is obligatory, and not optional like the other fasts. Messengers are consequently sent out so that people will know when to fast.,§ The Sages disagreed about the fasts alluded to in the words of the prophet, as b it is taught /b in a i baraita /i . b Rabbi Shimon said: Rabbi Akiva would expound four verses, but I would not expound /b the texts b as he did. /b One of the disputes relates to the fasts mentioned by Zechariah. Rabbi Akiva would expound the verse as follows: b “The fast of the fourth,” this is the ninth of Tammuz, on which the city /b of Jerusalem b was breached, as it is stated: “And in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then the city was breached” /b (Jeremiah 52:6–7). b And why does /b the prophet b call it /b the fast of the b fourth? /b Because it is in Tammuz, b the fourth of the months /b when counting from Nisan., b “The fast of the fifth,” this is the Ninth of Av, on which the Temple of our Lord was burnt. And why does he call it /b the fast of the b fifth? /b Because it falls in the b fifth of the months. “The fast of the seventh,” this is the third of Tishrei, on which Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, was killed. And who killed him? Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, killed him /b (see II Kings 25:25; Jeremiah, chapter 41). The Sages established a fast to commemorate Gedaliah’s death b to teach you that the death of the righteous is equivalent to the burning of the Temple of our Lord. And why did /b the prophet b call it /b the fast of the b seventh? /b Because Tishrei is the b seventh of the months. /b , b “The fast of the tenth,” This is the tenth of Tevet, on which the king of Babylonia laid siege to Jerusalem, as it is stated: “And in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, write the name of the day, of this same day: The king of Babylonia has laid siege to Jerusalem on this very day” /b (Ezekiel 24:1–2). b And why did he call it /b the fast of the b tenth? /b Because it is in Tevet, which is b the tenth of the months. Wouldn’t it have been fitting to write /b this fast b first, /b as the series of events began with the laying of the siege. b Why was /b it b written here /b at the end of the list? This was done b in order to list the months in /b their b proper /b order, as the prophet began with the fourth month and ended with the tenth month. This is the statement of Rabbi Akiva.,Rabbi Shimon disagreed and said: b I do not say this, but rather /b I expound the verse as follows: b “The fast of the tenth,” this is the fifth of Tevet, on which the report reached the Diaspora that the city had been smitten, as it is stated: “And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying: The city is smitten” /b (Ezekiel 33:21); b and they made the day of the report /b of the destruction b like the day of the /b actual b burning /b and decreed a fast on that day.,And Rabbi Shimon added: b And my statement seems /b more convincing b than his statement, as I say about the first /b fast mentioned by the prophet that it marks the event that took place b first, and about the last /b fast that it marks the event that took place b last. /b According to Rabbi Shimon, the fasts are listed in accordance with the chronological order of the events. b But he, /b Rabbi Akiva, b says about the first /b fast mentioned by the prophet that it marks the event that took place b last, and about the last /b fast mentioned that it marks the event that took place b first, only that he lists /b the fasts b in the order of the months, whereas I list /b them also b in the order of the calamities /b that they mark.,§ b It was stated /b that the Sages disagreed about the following matter: b Rav and Rabbi Ḥanina /b both b say: i Megillat Ta’anit /i , /b a listing of days on which fasting and eulogizing are forbidden, b has been nullified, /b as in the present period of exile there is no reason to celebrate the joyous events that these days commemorate. b Rabbi Yoḥa and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi say: i Megillat Ta’anit /i has not been nullified. /b ,The Gemara explains: b Rav and Rabbi Ḥanina say /b that b i Megillat Ta’anit /i has been nullified. This is what /b the prophet b is saying: At a time when there is peace /b in the world, the dates listed b will be /b times of b joy and gladness, /b on which eulogies and fasting are forbidden; but when b there is no peace, /b they are days of b fasting. And those /b days mentioned in i Megillat Ta’anit /i b are also like these /b days of fasting, that is to say, the days of joy listed in i Megillat Ta’anit /i are also nullified when there is no peace., b Rabbi Yoḥa and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi say /b that b i Megillat Ta’anit /i has not been nullified, /b and they reason as follows: b It was those /b fast days mentioned in the Bible b that the Merciful One makes contingent on the building of the Temple, but these /b festive days listed in i Megillat Ta’anit /i b remain as they were /b and have not been nullified., b Rav Kahana raised an objection /b against Rav and Rabbi Ḥanina from a i baraita /i : b There was an incident and /b the Sages b decreed a fast on Hanukkah in Lod, and Rabbi Eliezer went down /b on that day b and bathed /b in the bathhouse b and Rabbi Yehoshua went down and cut /b his hair to show that they did not accept the fast. Furthermore, these two Sages b said to /b the others: b Go out and fast /b another fast as an act of penitence b for what you have /b already b fasted, /b as the days of Hanukkah are days of joy, on which fasting is forbidden. Hanukkah is one of the Festivals listed in i Megillat Ta’anit /i . Even after the destruction of the Temple Hanukkah is celebrated, demonstrating that i Megillat Ta’anit /i has not been nullified., b Rav Yosef said: Hanukkah is different, as there is the mitzva /b of lighting candles, and so, unlike the other days listed in i Megillat Ta’anit /i , the festival of Hanukkah was not nullified. b Abaye said to him: /b What is this argument? b Let /b Hanukkah b itself be nullified, and let its mitzva /b of lighting candles b be nullified /b with it., b Rather, Rav Yosef /b retracted his previous explanation and b said: Hanukkah is different, as its miracle is well known, /b and it has become so widely accepted by all the Jewish people that it would be inappropriate to nullify it., b Rav Aḥa bar Huna raised an objection: /b It is stated in i Megillat Ta’anit /i : b On the third of Tishrei the /b ordice requiring the b mention /b of God’s name b in /b legal b documents was abolished, /b and on that day fasting is forbidden. b For the kingdom of Greece had issued a decree /b against the Jews b forbidding them to mention the name of Heaven on their lips. When the Hasmonean kingdom became strong and defeated /b the Greeks, b they instituted that people should mention the name of Heaven even in their /b legal b documents. And therefore they would write: In year such and such of Yoḥa the High Priest of the God Most High. /b , b And when the Sages heard about this they said: Tomorrow this one, /b the borrower, b will repay his debt, /b the lender will no longer need to save the loan document, b the document will be cast on a dunghill, /b and the name of Heaven written there will come to disgrace. b And /b so b they annulled /b the ordice to mention God’s name in documents, b and they made that day into a Festival. And if it enters your mind /b to say that b i Megillat Ta’anit /i has been nullified, /b can you say that b the first /b prohibitions against fasting b they annulled, and /b then b later /b ones b were added? /b ,The Gemara answers: b With what are we dealing here? /b This is referring to a time b when the Temple was standing /b and all the days listed in i Megillat Ta’anit /i were in force. From time to time new days of commemoration were added. When the i amora’im /i stated that i Megillat Ta’anit /i was nullified they were referring to the time after the destruction of the Temple. |
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30. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 12, 123, 208| 19a. ואין עשה דוחה לא תעשה ועשה אלא מן האירוסין אמאי יבא עשה וידחה לא תעשה,גזירה ביאה ראשונה אטו ביאה שניה,תניא נמי הכי אם קדמו ובעלו ביאה ראשונה קנו ואסור לקיימן בביאה שניה:,מת לו מת כו': ת"ר (ויקרא כא, יב) ומן המקדש לא יצא לא יצא עמהן אבל יוצא הוא אחריהן כיצד הן נכסין והוא נגלה הן ניגלין והוא נכסה:,ויוצא עד פתח כו': שפיר קאמר ר' יהודה,אמר לך רבי מאיר אי הכי לביתו נמי לא אלא ה"ק מן המקדש לא יצא מקדושתו לא יצא וכיון דאית ליה הכירא לא אתי למינגע,ורבי יהודה אגב מרריה דילמא מקרי ואתי ונגע:,כשהוא מנחם: ת"ר כשהוא עובר בשורה לנחם את אחרים סגן ומשוח שעבר בימינו וראש בית אב ואבלים וכל העם משמאלו וכשהוא עומד בשורה ומתנחם מאחרים סגן מימינו וראש בית אב וכל העם משמאלו,אבל משוח שעבר לא אתי גביה מ"ט חלשא דעתיה סבר קא חדי בי א"ר פפא ש"מ מהא מתניתא תלת שמע מינה היינו סגן היינו ממונה ושמע מינה אבלים עומדין וכל העם עוברין ושמע מינה אבלים לשמאל המנחמין הן עומדין,ת"ר בראשונה היו אבלים עומדין וכל העם עוברין והיו ב' משפחות בירושלים מתגרות זו בזו זאת אומרת אני עוברת תחלה וזאת אומרת אני עוברת תחלה התקינו שיהא העם עומדין ואבלים עוברין:,(חזר והלך וסיפר סימן):,אמר רמי בר אבא החזיר רבי יוסי את הדבר ליושנו בציפורי שיהיו אבלים עומדין וכל העם עוברין ואמר רמי בר אבא התקין רבי יוסי בציפורי שלא תהא אשה מהלכת בשוק ובנה אחריה משום מעשה שהיה ואמר רמי בר אבא התקין ר' יוסי בציפורי שיהיו נשים מספרות בבית הכסא משום ייחוד,אמר רב מנשיא בר עות שאילית את רבי יאשיה רבה בבית עלמין דהוצל ואמר לי אין שורה פחותה מעשרה בני אדם ואין אבלים מן המנין בין שאבלים עומדין וכל העם עוברין בין שאבלים עוברין וכל העם עומדין:,כשהוא מתנחם כו': איבעיא להו כי מנחם הוא אחריני היכי אמר להו ת"ש והוא אומר תתנחמו היכי דמי אילימא כי מנחמי אחריני לדידיה אמר להו איהו תתנחמו נחשא קא רמי להו אלא כי מנחם לאחריני אמר להו תתנחמו ש"מ:,מלך לא דן כו': אמר רב יוסף לא שנו אלא מלכי ישראל אבל מלכי בית דוד דן ודנין אותן דכתיב (ירמיהו כא, יב) בית דוד כה אמר ה' דינו לבקר משפט ואי לא דיינינן ליה אינהו היכי דייני והכתיב (צפניה ב, א) התקוששו וקושו ואמר ר"ל קשט עצמך ואחר כך קשט אחרים,אלא מלכי ישראל מ"ט לא משום מעשה שהיה דעבדיה דינאי מלכא קטל נפשא אמר להו שמעון בן שטח לחכמים תנו עיניכם בו ונדוננו שלחו ליה עבדך קטל נפשא שדריה להו שלחו לי' תא אנת נמי להכא (שמות כא, כט) והועד בבעליו אמרה תורה יבא בעל השור ויעמוד על שורו,אתא ויתיב א"ל שמעון בן שטח ינאי המלך עמוד על רגליך ויעידו בך ולא לפנינו אתה עומד אלא לפני מי שאמר והיה העולם אתה עומד שנאמר (דברים יט, יז) ועמדו שני האנשים אשר להם הריב וגו' אמר לו לא כשתאמר אתה אלא כמה שיאמרו חבריך | 19a. b and /b there is a principle that b a positive mitzva /b by itself b does not override /b both b a prohibition and a positive mitzva. But /b as for the ruling that he does not consummate levirate marriage with a widow b from betrothal, why /b not? The b positive mitzva /b to consummate levirate marriage should b come and override the prohibition. /b ,The Gemara answers: The b first /b act of b intercourse /b is prohibited by rabbinic b decree due to /b the likelihood of b a second /b act of b intercourse. /b Although the first act of intercourse would fulfill the positive mitzva of consummating levirate marriage, which would override the prohibition against a High Priest’s engaging in intercourse with a widow, any further intercourse would not be in fulfillment of a mitzva, and would not override the prohibition. Therefore, due to the possibility that the High Priest and the i yevama /i would engage in intercourse a second time, the Sages decreed that even the first act is forbidden.,The Gemara comments: b This is also taught /b in a i baraita /i : b If /b the High Priest or one whose i yevama /i is forbidden to him b went ahead and engaged in a first /b act of b intercourse /b with her, b he acquired /b her as a wife, b but it is prohibited to retain /b that woman as a wife b for a second /b act of b intercourse. /b ,§ The mishna teaches with regard to the High Priest that if a relative b of his died, /b he does not follow the bier carrying the corpse. b The Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i : The verse concerning the High Priest, which states: b “And from the Temple he shall not emerge” /b (Leviticus 21:12), means: b He shall not emerge with them /b as they escort the bier, b but he emerges after them. How so? /b Once b they are concealed /b from sight by turning onto another street, b he is revealed /b on the street they departed, and when b they are revealed, /b then b he is concealed. /b ,The mishna teaches Rabbi Meir’s opinion, that in the manner just described to escort the deceased, the High Priest b emerges with them until the entrance /b of the gate of the city, which is contrasted with Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion that he does not leave the Temple at all. The Gemara comments: b Rabbi Yehuda is saying well, /b and his statement is consistent with the straightforward meaning of the verse: “And from the Temple he shall not emerge” (Leviticus 21:12).,The Gemara responds: b Rabbi Meir /b could have b said to you: If so, /b that you understand the verse so narrowly, he should b not /b go out b to his house as well /b but should be required to stay in the Temple. b Rather, this /b is what b it is saying: “And from the Temple [ i hamikdash /i ] he shall not emerge” /b means: b From his sanctity [ i mikedushato /i ] he shall not emerge /b by contracting ritual impurity, b and since he has a distinctive indicator /b in that he does not walk together with those accompanying the bier, b he will not come to touch /b the bier and contract impurity.,The Gemara asks: b And /b how would b Rabbi Yehuda /b respond? The Gemara explains: There is still cause for concern that b on account of his bitterness /b due to the death of his loved one, b perhaps it will happen that he comes and touches /b the bier. Therefore, a more restrictive regimen of separation is necessary.,The mishna teaches: And b when he consoles /b others in their mourning when they return from burial, the way of all the people is that they pass by one after another and the mourners stand in a line and are consoled, and the appointed person stands in the middle, between him and the people. b The Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i ( i Tosefta /i 4:1) in a more detailed manner: b When /b the High Priest b passes by in the line to console others, the deputy /b High Priest b and /b the b former anointed /b High Priest, who had served temporarily and then stepped down, are b on his right. And the head of the patrilineal family /b appointed over the priestly watch performing the sacrificial rites that day in the Temple; b and the mourners; and all the people /b are b on his left. And when he is standing in the line /b among the other mourners b and is consoled by others, the deputy /b High Priest is b on his right, and the head of the patrilineal family and all the people /b are b on his left. /b ,The Gemara infers: b But /b the b previously anointed one does not come before him. What is the reason? /b The High Priest b will become distraught. He will think: He is happy about me /b in my bereaved state. b Rav Pappa said: Learn from it, from this i baraita /i , three /b matters. b Learn from it /b that b the deputy /b High Priest b is /b the same as the b appointed /b person, as the i baraita /i is referring to the deputy High Priest in the same function described by the mishna as the appointed one. b And learn from it /b that the way of consoling in a line is that b the mourners stand and all the people pass by /b and console them. b And learn from it /b that the custom is that the b mourners stand to the left of the consolers. /b , b The Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i : b Initially the mourners would stand, and all the people would pass by /b one after another and console them. b And there were two families in Jerusalem who would fight with each other, /b as b this /b one b would say: We pass by first /b because we are more distinguished and important, b and that /b one b would say: We pass by first. /b Consequently, b they decreed that the people should stand and /b the b mourners pass by, /b and disputes would be avoided.,The Gemara presents b a mnemonic /b for the following discussion: b Returned; and walk; and converse. /b , b Rami bar Abba says: Rabbi Yosei returned the matter to its former /b custom b in Tzippori /b his city, b that the mourners would stand and all the people would pass. And Rami bar Abba says: Rabbi Yosei instituted /b an ordice b in Tzippori that a woman should not walk in the market and /b have b her son /b following b behind her; /b rather, he should walk in front of her, b because of an incident that happened /b in which bandits abducted a child and assaulted the mother when she came searching for him in his place of captivity. b And Rami bar Abba says: Rabbi Yosei instituted /b an ordice b in Tzippori that women should converse in the bathroom, because of /b the restrictions on women being b secluded /b with men. Since the public bathrooms there were outside the city a man might enter to take advantage of a woman, but he would be warded off by the women’s conversation., b Rav Menashya bar Ute says: I asked /b a question of b Rabbi Yoshiya the Great in the cemetery of Huzal, and he said /b this i halakha /i b to me: There is no line /b for consoling mourners with b fewer than ten people, and /b the b mourners are not /b included in the b count. /b This minimum number of consolers applies b whether the mourners stand and all the people pass by, or the mourners pass by and all the people stand. /b ,§ The mishna teaches: And b when he is consoled /b by others in his mourning, all the people say to him: We are your atonement. And he says to them: May you be blessed from Heaven. b A dilemma was raised before /b the Sages: b When /b the High Priest b consoles others, what /b should b he say to them? Come /b and b hear /b an answer from a i baraita /i : b And he says: May you be consoled. /b The Gemara asks: b What are the circumstances /b in which he says this? b If we say that when others console him /b in his mourning b he says to them: May you be consoled, /b this does not make sense, because b he /b would be b throwing a curse at them /b by saying that they too will need to be consoled. b Rather, /b it must mean: b When he consoles others, he says to them: May you be consoled. Learn from /b the i baraita /i that this is what he says to console others.,§ The mishna teaches: b A king does not judge /b and is not judged. b Rav Yosef says: They taught /b this i halakha /i b only /b with regard to b the kings of Israel, /b who were violent and disobedient of Torah laws, b but /b with regard to b the kings of the house of David, /b the king b judges and is judged, as it is written: “O house of David, so says the Lord: Execute justice in the morning” /b (Jeremiah 21:12). b If they do not judge him, how can he judge? But isn’t it written: “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together [ i hitkosheshu vakoshu /i ]” /b (Zephaniah 2:1), b and Reish Lakish says: /b This verse teaches a moral principle: b Adorn [ i kashet /i ] yourself /b first, b and then adorn others, /b i.e., one who is not subject to judgment may not judge others. Since it is understood from the verse in Jeremiah that kings from the Davidic dynasty can judge others, it is implicit that they can also be judged.,The Gemara asks: b But what is the reason /b that others b do not /b judge b the kings of Israel? /b It is b because of an incident that happened, as the slave of Yannai the king killed a person. Shimon ben Shataḥ said to the Sages: Put your eyes on him and let us judge him. They sent /b word b to /b Yannai: b Your slave killed a person. /b Yannai b sent /b the slave b to them. They sent /b word b to /b Yannai: b You also come here, /b as the verse states with regard to an ox that gored a person to death: b “He should be testified against with his owner” /b (Exodus 21:29). b The Torah stated: The owner of the ox should come and stand over his ox. /b ,The Gemara continues to narrate the incident: Yannai b came and sat down. Shimon ben Shataḥ said to him: Yannai the king, stand on your feet and /b witnesses b will testify against you. And /b it is b not before us /b that b you are standing, /b to give us honor, b but /b it is b before the One Who spoke and the world came into being /b that b you are standing, as it is stated: “Then both the people, between whom the controversy is, shall stand /b before the Lord, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days” (Deuteronomy 19:17). Yannai the king b said to him: /b I will b not /b stand b when you /b alone b say /b this to me, b but according to what your colleagues say, /b and if the whole court tells me, I will stand. |
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31. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 200| 21b. אין זקוק לה ומותר להשתמש לאורה א"ר זירא אמר רב מתנה ואמרי לה א"ר זירא אמר רב פתילות ושמנים שאמרו חכמים אין מדליקין בהן בשבת מדליקין בהן בחנוכה בין בחול בין בשבת א"ר ירמיה מאי טעמא דרב קסבר כבתה אין זקוק לה ואסור להשתמש לאורה,אמרוה רבנן קמיה דאביי משמיה דר' ירמיה ולא קיבלה כי אתא רבין אמרוה רבנן קמיה דאביי משמיה דר' יוחנן וקיבלה אמר אי זכאי גמירתיה לשמעתיה מעיקרא והא גמרה נפקא מינה לגירסא דינקותא,וכבתה אין זקוק לה ורמינהו מצותה משתשקע החמה עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק מאי לאו דאי כבתה הדר מדליק לה לא דאי לא אדליק מדליק וא"נ לשיעורה:,עד שתכלה רגל מן השוק ועד כמה אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר ר' יוחנן עד דכליא ריגלא דתרמודאי:,ת"ר מצות חנוכה נר איש וביתו והמהדרין נר לכל אחד ואחד והמהדרין מן המהדרין ב"ש אומרים יום ראשון מדליק שמנה מכאן ואילך פוחת והולך וב"ה אומרים יום ראשון מדליק אחת מכאן ואילך מוסיף והולך,אמר עולא פליגי בה תרי אמוראי במערבא ר' יוסי בר אבין ור' יוסי בר זבידא חד אמר טעמא דב"ש כנגד ימים הנכנסין וטעמא דב"ה כנגד ימים היוצאין וחד אמר טעמא דב"ש כנגד פרי החג וטעמא דבית הלל דמעלין בקדש ואין מורידין,אמר רבה בר בר חנה א"ר יוחנן שני זקנים היו בצידן אחד עשה כב"ש ואחד עשה כדברי ב"ה זה נותן טעם לדבריו כנגד פרי החג וזה נותן טעם לדבריו דמעלין בקדש ואין מורידין,ת"ר נר חנוכה מצוה להניחה על פתח ביתו מבחוץ אם היה דר בעלייה מניחה בחלון הסמוכה לרה"ר ובשעת הסכנה מניחה על שלחנו ודיו,אמר רבא צריך נר אחרת להשתמש לאורה ואי איכא מדורה לא צריך ואי אדם חשוב הוא אע"ג דאיכא מדורה צריך נר אחרת:,מאי חנוכה דתנו רבנן בכ"ה בכסליו יומי דחנוכה תמניא אינון דלא למספד בהון ודלא להתענות בהון שכשנכנסו יוונים להיכל טמאו כל השמנים שבהיכל וכשגברה מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום בדקו ולא מצאו אלא פך אחד של שמן שהיה מונח בחותמו של כהן גדול ולא היה בו אלא להדליק יום אחד נעשה בו נס והדליקו ממנו שמונה ימים לשנה אחרת קבעום ועשאום ימים טובים בהלל והודאה,תנן התם גץ היוצא מתחת הפטיש ויצא והזיק חייב גמל שטעון פשתן והוא עובר ברשות הרבים ונכנסה פשתנו לתוך החנות ודלקה בנרו של חנוני והדליק את הבירה בעל הגמל חייב הניח חנוני את נרו מבחוץ חנוני חייב,רבי יהודה אומר בנר חנוכה פטור אמר רבינא (משום דרבה) זאת אומרת נר חנוכה מצוה להניחה בתוך עשרה דאי ס"ד למעלה מעשרה לימא ליה היה לך להניח למעלה מגמל ורוכבו ודילמא אי מיטרחא ליה טובא אתי לאימנועי ממצוה:,אמר רב כהנא דרש רב נתן בר מניומי משמיה דרבי תנחום | 21b. b one is not bound /b to attend b to it. /b Therefore, there is no reason to make certain from the outset to light it with materials that burn well, as even if it is extinguished, he is not required to relight it. However, he also holds that b it is permitted to use its light. /b As a result, he must ensure that the wick burns well on Shabbat; if not, he is liable to come to adjust the flame in order to use its light. The third opinion is that which b Rabbi Zeira said /b that b Rav Mattana said, and others say /b that b Rabbi Zeira said /b that b Rav said: The wicks and oils with which the Sages said one may not light on Shabbat, one may, /b nevertheless, b light with them on Hanukkah, both during the week and on Shabbat. Rabbi Yirmeya said: What is Rav’s reason? He holds /b that if b it is extinguished, one is not bound /b to attend b to it /b and relight it, b and it is prohibited to use its light. /b Therefore, even on Shabbat, there is no concern lest he come to adjust the wick, as it is prohibited to utilize its light.,The Gemara relates that b the Sages said this /b i halakha /i b before Abaye in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya and he did not accept it, /b as he did not hold Rabbi Yirmeya in high regard. However, subsequently, b when Ravin came /b from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, b the Sages said /b this i halakha /i b before Abaye in the name of Rabbi Yoḥa, and he accepted it. /b Then Abaye b said /b regretfully: b Had I merited, I would have learned this i halakha /i from the outset. /b The Gemara wonders: b Didn’t he /b ultimately b learn it /b and accept it? What difference does it make from whom and at what point he learned it? The Gemara answers: b The practical difference /b is with regard to b knowledge /b acquired in one’s b youth, /b which is better remembered.,With regard to the opinion that one need not rekindle the Hanukkah light if it is extinguished, the Gemara asks: b And /b is it true that if the Hanukkah light b is extinguished one is not bound /b to attend b to it? /b The Gemara b raises a contradiction /b from that which was taught in a i baraita /i : b The mitzva /b of kindling the Hanukkah lights b is from sunset until traffic in the marketplace ceases. Does that not /b mean b that if /b the light b is extinguished, he /b must b rekindle it /b so that it will remain lit for the duration of that period? The Gemara answers: b No, /b the i baraita /i can be understood otherwise: b That if one did not /b yet b light /b at sunset, b he /b may still b light /b the Hanukkah lights until traffic ceases. b Alternatively, /b one could say that this is referring to the matter of b its measure. /b One must prepare a wick and oil sufficient to burn for the period lasting from sunset until traffic ceases. If he did so, even if the light is extinguished beforehand, he need not relight it.,The expression b until traffic in the marketplace ceases /b is mentioned here, and the Gemara asks: b Until when /b exactly is this time? b Rabba bar bar Ḥana said /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa said: Until /b the b traffic of /b the people of b Tadmor [ i tarmoda /i ’ i ei /i ] ceases. /b They sold kindling wood and remained in the marketplace later than everyone else. People who discovered at sunset that they had exhausted their wood supply could purchase wood from them., b The Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i : b The /b basic b mitzva of Hanukkah /b is each day to have b a light /b kindled by b a person, /b the head of the household, for himself b and his household. And the i mehadrin /i , /b i.e., those who are meticulous in the performance of mitzvot, kindle b a light for each and every one /b in the household. b And the i mehadrin min hamehadrin /i , /b who are even more meticulous, adjust the number of lights daily. Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagree as to the nature of that adjustment. b Beit Shammai say: /b On b the first day one kindles eight /b lights and, from b there on, gradually decreases /b the number of lights until, on the last day of Hanukkah, he kindles one light. b And Beit Hillel say: /b On b the first day one kindles one /b light, and from b there on, gradually increases /b the number of lights until, on the last day, he kindles eight lights., b Ulla said: /b There were b two i amora /i ’ i im /i in the West, /b Eretz Yisrael, who b disagreed /b with regard to b this /b dispute, b Rabbi Yosei bar Avin and Rabbi Yosei bar Zevida. One said /b that b the reason /b for b Beit Shammai’s /b opinion is that the number of lights b corresponds to the incoming days, /b i.e., the future. On the first day, eight days remain in Hanukkah, one kindles eight lights, and on the second day seven days remain, one kindles seven, etc. b The reason /b for b Beit Hillel’s /b opinion is that the number of lights b corresponds to the outgoing days. /b Each day, the number of lights corresponds to the number of the days of Hanukkah that were already observed. b And one said /b that b the reason /b for b Beit Shammai’s /b opinion is that the number of lights b corresponds to the bulls of the festival /b of i Sukkot /i : Thirteen were sacrificed on the first day and each succeeding day one fewer was sacrificed (Numbers 29:12–31). b The reason /b for b Beit Hillel’s /b opinion is that the number of lights is based on the principle: b One elevates /b to a higher level b in /b matters of b sanctity and one does not downgrade. /b Therefore, if the objective is to have the number of lights correspond to the number of days, there is no alternative to increasing their number with the passing of each day., b Rabba bar bar Ḥana said /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa said: There were two Elders in Sidon, /b and b one /b of them b acted /b in accordance with the opinion of b Beit Shammai, and one /b of them b acted in accordance with /b the opinion of b Beit Hillel. /b Each provided a reason for his actions: b One gave a reason for his actions: /b The number of lights b corresponds to the bulls of the Festival. And one gave a reason for his actions: /b The number of lights is based on the principle: b One elevates /b to a higher level b in /b matters of b sanctity and one does not downgrade. /b , b The Sages taught /b in a i baraita /i : b It is a mitzva to place the Hanukkah lamp at the entrance to one’s house on the outside, /b so that all can see it. b If he lived upstairs, he places it at the window adjacent to the public domain. And in a time of danger, /b when the gentiles issued decrees to prohibit kindling lights, b he places it on the table and /b that is b sufficient /b to fulfill b his /b obligation., b Rava said: /b One b must /b kindle b another light /b in addition to the Hanukkah lights b in order to use its light, /b as it is prohibited to use the light of the Hanukkah lights. b And if there is a bonfire, he need not /b light an additional light, as he can use the light of the bonfire. However, b if he is an important person, /b who is unaccustomed to using the light of a bonfire, b even though there is a bonfire, he must /b kindle b another light. /b ,The Gemara asks: b What is Hanukkah, /b and why are lights kindled on Hanukkah? The Gemara answers: b The Sages taught /b in i Megillat Ta /i ’ i anit /i : b On the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the days of Hanukkah are eight. One may not eulogize on them and one may not fast on them. /b What is the reason? b When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary they defiled all the oils that were in the Sanctuary /b by touching them. b And when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame /b them b and emerged victorious over them, they searched and found only one cruse of oil that was placed with the seal of the High Priest, /b undisturbed by the Greeks. b And there was /b sufficient oil b there to light /b the candelabrum for b only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit /b the candelabrum b from it eight days. The next year /b the Sages b instituted /b those days b and made them holidays with /b recitation of b i hallel /i and /b special b thanksgiving /b in prayer and blessings., b We learned there /b in a mishna with regard to damages: In the case of b a spark that emerges from under a hammer, and went out /b of the artisan’s workshop, b and caused damage, /b the one who struck the hammer is b liable. /b Similarly, in the case of b a camel that is laden with flax and /b it b passed /b through b the public domain, and its flax entered into a store, and caught fire from the storekeeper’s lamp, and set fire to the building, the camel owner is liable. /b Since his flax entered into another’s domain, which he had no permission to enter, all the damages were caused due to his negligence. However, if the b storekeeper placed his lamp outside /b the store and it set fire to the flax, b the storekeeper is liable, /b as he placed the lamp outside his domain where he had no right to place it., b Rabbi Yehuda says: /b If the flax was set on fire b by the /b storekeeper’s b Hanukkah lamp /b that he placed outside the entrance to his store, b he is not liable, /b as in that case, it is permitted for the storekeeper to place his lamp outside. b Ravina said in the name of Rabba: That is to say /b that it is a b mitzva to place /b the b Hanukkah lamp within ten /b handbreadths of the ground. b As if it should enter your mind /b to say that he may place it b above ten handbreadths, /b why is the storekeeper exempt? b Let /b the camel owner b say to /b the storekeeper: b You should have placed /b the lamp b above /b the height b of a camel and its rider, /b and then no damage would have been caused. By failing to do so, the storekeeper caused the damage, and the camel owner should not be liable. The Gemara rejects this: b And perhaps /b one is also permitted to place the Hanukkah lamp above ten handbreadths, and the reason Rabbi Yehuda exempted the storekeeper was due to concern for the observance of the mitzva of kindling Hanukkah lights. He held that b if you burden /b one b excessively, he will come to refrain from /b performing the b mitzva /b of kindling Hanukkah lights. Since the storekeeper placed the Hanukkah lamp outside at the behest of the Sages, the storekeeper should not be required to take extra precautions.,With regard to the essence of the matter b Rav Kahana said /b that b Rav Natan bar Manyumi taught in the name /b of b Rabbi Tanḥum: /b |
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32. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 123, 206| 47a. רב ושמואל חד אמר נס וחד אמר נס בתוך נס מאן דאמר נס יער הוה דובים לא הוו מ"ד נס בתוך נס לא יער הוה ולא דובים הוו וליהוי דובים ולא ליהוי יער דבעיתי,אמר רבי חנינא בשביל ארבעים ושנים קרבנות שהקריב בלק מלך מואב הובקעו מישראל ארבעים ושנים ילדים איני,והאמר רב יהודה אמר רב לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצות ואע"פ שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה שבשכר ארבעים ושנים קרבנות שהקריב בלק מלך מואב זכה ויצתה ממנו רות שיצא ממנו שלמה שכתוב ביה (מלכים א ג, ד) אלף עולות יעלה שלמה ואמר רבי יוסי בן חוני רות בתו של עגלון בנו של בלק היתה תאותו מיהא לקללה הוי,(מלכים ב ב, יט) ויאמרו אנשי העיר אל אלישע הנה נא מושב העיר טוב כאשר אדוני רואה וגו' וכי מאחר דמים רעים וארץ משכלת אלא מה טובתה אמר רבי חנין חן מקום על יושביו אמר רבי יוחנן שלשה חינות הן חן מקום על יושביו חן אשה על בעלה חן מקח על מקחו,תנו רבנן שלשה חלאין חלה אלישע אחד שגירה דובים בתינוקות ואחד שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידים ואחד שמת בו שנאמר (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו אשר ימות בו,תנו רבנן לעולם תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת לא כאלישע שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידיו ולא כיהושע בן פרחיה שדחפו [להנוצרי] (לאחד מתלמידיו) בשתי ידיו,אלישע מאי היא דכתיב (מלכים ב ה, כג) ויאמר נעמן הואל קח ככרים וכתיב ויאמר אליו לא לבי הלך כאשר הפך איש מעל מרכבתו לקראתך העת לקחת את הכסף ולקחת בגדים וזיתים וכרמים וצאן ובקר ועבדים ושפחות,ומי שקיל כולי האי כסף ובגדים הוא דשקיל אמר ר' יצחק באותה שעה היה אלישע עוסק בשמנה שרצים אמר לו רשע הגיע עת ליטול שכר שמנה שרצים וצרעת נעמן תדבק בך ובזרעך לעולם (מלכים ב ז, ג) וארבעה אנשים היו מצורעים אמר רבי יוחנן זה גחזי ושלשת בניו,(מלכים ב ח, ז) וילך אלישע דמשק למה הלך אמר ר' יוחנן שהלך להחזירו לגחזי בתשובה ולא חזר אמר לו חזור בך אמר לו כך מקובלני ממך כל מי שחטא והחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה,מאי עבד איכא דאמרי אבן שואבת תלה לו לחטאת ירבעם והעמידו בין שמים לארץ ואיכא דאמרי שם חקק לה אפומה והיתה אומרת אנכי ולא יהיה לך,ואיכא דאמרי רבנן דחה מקמיה דכתיב (מלכים ב ו, א) ויאמרו בני הנביאים אל אלישע הנה נא המקום אשר אנחנו יושבים שם לפניך צר ממנו מכלל דעד האידנא לא הוה דחיק,יהושע בן פרחיה מאי היא כדהוה קא קטיל ינאי מלכא לרבנן שמעון בן שטח אטמינהו אחתיה ר' יהושע בן פרחיה אזל ערק לאלכסנדריא של מצרים כי הוה שלמא שלח ליה שמעון בן שטח מני ירושלים עיר הקודש לך אלכסנדריא של מצרים אחותי בעלי שרוי בתוכך ואני יושבת שוממה אמר ש"מ הוה ליה שלמא,כי אתא אקלע לההוא אושפיזא קם קמייהו ביקרא שפיר עבדי ליה יקרא טובא יתיב וקא משתבח כמה נאה אכסניא זו א"ל (אחד מתלמידיו) רבי עיניה טרוטות א"ל רשע בכך אתה עוסק אפיק ארבע מאה שפורי ושמתיה כל יומא אתא לקמיה ולא קבליה,יומא חד הוה קרי קרית שמע אתא לקמיה הוה בדעתיה לקבוליה אחוי ליה בידיה סבר מדחא דחי ליה אזל זקף לבינתא פלחא אמר ליה חזור בך א"ל כך מקובלני ממך כל החוטא ומחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה דאמר מר [יש"ו] כישף והסית והדיח והחטיא את ישראל,תניא רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר יצר תינוק ואשה תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big נמצא ההורג עד שלא נערפה העגלה תצא ותרעה בעדר משנערפה העגלה תקבר במקומה שעל ספק באתה מתחילתה כיפרה ספיקה והלכה לה נערפה העגלה ואחר כך נמצא ההורג הרי זה יהרג,עד אחד אומר ראיתי את ההורג ועד אחד אומר לא ראית אשה אומרת ראיתי ואשה אומרת לא ראית היו עורפין עד אחד אומר ראיתי ושנים אומרים לא ראית היו עורפין שנים אומרים ראינו ואחד אומר להן לא ראיתם לא היו עורפין,משרבו הרוצחנין בטלה עגלה ערופה משבא אליעזר בן דינאי ותחינה בן פרישה היה נקרא חזרו לקרותו בן הרצחן,משרבו המנאפים פסקו המים המרים ורבי יוחנן בן זכאי הפסיקן שנאמר (הושע ד, יד) לא אפקוד על בנותיכם כי תזנינה ועל כלותיכם כי תנאפנה כי הם וגו',משמת יוסי בן יועזר איש צרידה ויוסי בן יהודה איש ירושלים בטלו האשכלות שנאמר (מיכה ז, א) אין אשכול לאכול בכורה אותה נפשי יוחנן כהן גדול העביר הודיית המעשר אף הוא בטל את המעוררין ואת הנוקפין | 47a. b Rav and Shmuel /b had a dispute with regard to this episode. b One says /b there was b a miracle, and one says /b there b was a miracle within a miracle. /b The Gemara explains: b The one who says /b there was b a miracle /b claims that b there was /b already b a forest /b in that place but b there were no bears, /b and the miracle was the appearance of bears. b The one who says /b it was b a miracle within a miracle /b claims b that neither was there a forest nor were there bears /b in that area. The Gemara asks with regard to the second opinion: Why was a double miracle required? b And let there be bears and no forest; /b the forest served no role in the story, so why was it created? The Gemara explains: The forest was necessary, b as /b bears b are frightened /b to venture into open areas but will attack people in their natural habitat, a forest., b Rabbi Ḥanina says: Due to forty-two offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought /b when he tried to have Balaam curse the Jewish people, b forty-two children were broken off from Israel, /b in that incident involving Elisha. The Gemara asks: b Is that so? /b Was that the reward for his offerings?, b But didn’t Rav Yehuda say /b that b Rav says: A person should always engage in Torah /b study b and /b in performance of b mitzvot, even /b if he does so b not for their own sake, as through /b such acts performed b not for their own sake, /b one will b come /b to perform them b for their own sake. /b He proves the value of a mitzva done not for its own sake: b As in reward for the forty-two offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought, he merited that Ruth descended from him, from whom /b King b Solomon descended, about whom it is written /b that he brought many offerings: b “A thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up” /b (I Kings 3:4). b And Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥoni /b similarly b says: Ruth was the daughter of Eglon, son of Balak. /b These Sages state that Balak’s reward was to have Ruth descend from him, not that a number of Jewish people perish. The Gemara answers: b His desire, in any event, was to curse /b the Jewish people, and his reward for sacrificing his offerings was that the curse was fulfilled in the incident involving Elisha, as well.,The Gemara returns to discussing the incident involving Elisha: b “And the men of the city said to Elisha: Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, /b but the water is bad and the land miscarries” (II Kings 2:19). The Gemara asks: b But if the water is bad and the land causes women to miscarry, what is pleasant /b about b it? Rabbi Ḥanin says: The grace of a place is upon its inhabitants, /b i.e., people are fond of their hometown despite its shortcomings. b Rabbi Yoḥa says: There are three graces /b that have a similar impact: b The grace of a place upon its inhabitants; the grace of a woman upon her husband, /b despite her faults; and b the grace of a purchased /b item b upon its buyer, /b as one who has bought something views it in a positive light.,§ b The Sages taught: Elisha fell ill three times. One /b was a punishment b for inciting /b the b bears to /b attack b the children; and one /b was a punishment b for pushing Gehazi /b away b with both hands, /b without leaving him the option to return; b and one /b was the sickness b from which he died, as /b an expression of illness b is stated /b three times in the verse about Elisha: b “And Elisha became sick [ i ḥala /i ] with his illness [ i ḥolyo /i ] from which he would die” /b (II Kings 13:14). The root i ḥet /i , i lamed /i , i heh /i , which indicates illness, is used twice in this verse, and it is stated once that Elisha will die., b The Sages taught: It should always be /b the b left, /b weaker, hand that b pushes /b another away b and /b the b right, /b stronger, hand that b draws /b him b near. /b In other words, even when a student is rebuffed, he should be given the opportunity to return. This is b not like Elisha, who pushed Gehazi /b away b with both hands, and not like Yehoshua ben Peraḥya, who pushed Jesus the Nazarene, /b one b of his students, /b away b with both hands. /b ,The Gemara specifies: b What was /b that incident with b Elisha? As it is written: “And Naaman said: Pray, take talents” /b (II Kings 5:23). Naaman offered Gehazi payment for the help Elisha had given him, b and /b when the verse recounts Elisha’s words to Gehazi, it b is written: “And he said to him: Did not my heart go, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to take money, and to take garments, and olives, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and servants, and maidservants?” /b (II Kings 5:26). Here Elisha criticizes Gehazi for taking the payment.,The Gemara clarifies the criticism: b And did he take all that? /b But b it was /b only b money and garments that he took. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: At that time, Elisha was engaged in /b the study of the topic of the b eight /b impure b creeping animals. He said /b to Gehazi: b Wicked one, it is time /b for you b to receive /b now, in this temporal world, b the reward /b for studying the topic of the b eight /b impure b creeping animals. /b This is why the verse lists eight items. The Gemara adds parenthetically that Elisha also said to Gehazi: b “And the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your descendants forever” /b (II Kings 5:27), and that the verse later states: b “Now there were four leprous men” /b (II Kings 7:3), about whom b Rabbi Yoḥa says: This is /b referring to b Gehazi and his three sons. /b ,The verse states: b “And Elisha came to Damascus” /b (II Kings 8:7). The Gemara asks: b For what /b purpose did b he go /b there? b Rabbi Yoḥa says: He went to help Gehazi in repentance, but /b Gehazi b would not /b agree to b repent /b from his evil ways. Elisha b said to him: Return from your /b sins. Gehazi b said to him: This is /b the tradition that b I received from you: Whoever sins and caused the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. /b ,The Gemara asks: b What did /b Gehazi b do /b that caused the masses to sin? b There are /b those b who say /b that b he hung a magnetic rock on Jeroboam’s calf, /b the golden calf that Jeroboam established as an idol, and used a magnet to pull the calf off the ground so that b he suspended it between heaven and earth, /b i.e., caused it to hover above the ground. This seemingly miraculous occurrence caused the people to worship it even more devoutly. b And there are /b those b who say: He engraved /b the sacred b name on its mouth, and it would say: “I am /b the Lord your God” b and: “You shall not have /b other gods” (Exodus 20:2). The idol would quote the two prohibitions from the Ten Commandments against idol worship, causing people to worship it even more devoutly., b And there are /b those b who say: /b Gehazi b pushed the Sages /b away b from /b coming b before him, /b preventing them learning from Elisha, b as it is written, /b after the aforementioned incident: b “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, behold this place where we are staying before you is too cramped for us” /b (II Kings 6:1). This proves b by inference that until that time /b the place b was not cramped, /b as Gehazi would turn people away.,The Gemara returns to the incident in which b Yehoshua ben Peraḥya /b turned away Jesus the Nazarene: b What is /b this incident? b When King Yannai was killing the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ was hidden by his sister, /b Yannai’s wife, while b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya went /b and b fled to Alexandria of Egypt. When peace was made /b between Yannai and the Sages, b Shimon ben Shataḥ sent him /b the following letter: b From myself, Jerusalem the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt. My sister, my husband dwells within you, and I am sitting desolate. /b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya b said: /b I can b learn from it that there is peace, /b and I can return., b When he came /b back to Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Yehoshua b arrived at a certain inn. /b The innkeeper b stood before him, honoring him considerably, /b and overall b they accorded him great honor. /b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then b sat and was praising /b them by saying: b How beautiful is this inn. Jesus the Nazarene, /b one of his students, b said to him: My teacher, /b but the b eyes /b of the innkeeper’s wife b are narrow [ i terutot /i ]. /b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya b said to him: Wicked one, is this what you are engaged in, /b gazing at women? b He brought out four hundred i shofarot /i and excommunicated him. Every day /b Jesus b would come before him, but he would not accept his /b wish to return., b One day, /b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya b was reciting i Shema /i /b when Jesus b came before him. He intended to accept him /b on this occasion, so b he signaled to him with his hand /b to wait. Jesus b thought he was rejecting him /b entirely. He therefore b went and stood up a brick /b and b worshipped it /b as an idol. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya b said to him: Return from your /b sins. Jesus b said to him: This is /b the tradition that b I received from you: Anyone who sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. /b The Gemara explains how he caused the masses to sin: b For the Master said: Jesus the Nazarene performed sorcery, and he incited /b the masses, b and subverted /b the masses, b and caused the Jewish people to sin. /b , b It is taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: /b With regard to the evil b inclination, /b to b a child, and /b to b a woman, the left /b hand b should reject and the right /b hand should b welcome. /b If one pushes too forcefully, the damage might be irreversible., strong MISHNA: /strong b If the killer is found before the heifer’s neck was broken, /b the heifer b shall go out and graze among the herd. /b It is not considered sacred at all, and it may rejoin the other animals. If the killer is found b from /b the time b when the heifer’s neck was broken, /b even if the rest of the ritual has not yet been performed, it is prohibited to benefit from the animal, despite the killer having been found; it b should be buried in its place. /b This is b because /b the heifer b initially came for uncertainty, /b as the killer was unknown, and b it atoned /b for b its uncertainty and left, /b i.e., it fulfilled its purpose of bringing atonement and is considered a heifer whose neck is broken in all regards. If b the heifer’s neck was broken and afterward the killer was found, he is killed. /b The ritual does not atone for him.,If b one witness says: I saw the killer, and one /b other b witness says: You did not see /b him; or if b a woman says: I saw, and /b another b woman says: You did not see, they would break the neck /b of the heifer, as without clear testimony about the identity of the killer the ritual is performed. Similarly, if b one witness says: I saw /b the killer, b and two /b witnesses b say: You did not see, they would break the neck /b of the heifer, as the pair is relied upon. If b two /b witnesses b say: We saw /b the killer, b and one /b witness b says to them: You did not see, they would not break the neck /b of the heifer, as there are two witnesses to the identity of the killer.,The mishna further states: b From /b the time b when murderers proliferated, the /b ritual of the b heifer whose neck is broken was nullified. /b The ritual was performed only when the identity of the murderer was completely unknown. Once there were many known murderers, the conditions for the performance of the ritual were no longer present, as the probable identity of the murderer was known. b From /b the time b when Eliezer ben Dinai, who was /b also b called Teḥina ben Perisha, came, they renamed him: Son of a murderer. /b This is an example of a publicly known murderer.,The mishna teaches a similar occurrence: b From /b the time b when adulterers proliferated, /b the performance of the ritual of b the bitter waters was nullified; /b they would not administer the bitter waters to the i sota /i . b And /b it was b Rabbi Yoḥa ben Zakkai /b who b nullified it, as /b it b is stated: “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for they /b consort with lewd women” (Hosea 4:14), meaning that when the husbands are adulterers, the wives are not punished for their own adultery., b From /b the time b when Yosei ben Yo’ezer of Tzereida and Yosei ben Yehuda of Jerusalem died, the clusters ceased, /b i.e., they were the last of the clusters, as explained in the Gemara, b as /b it b is stated: “There is no cluster to eat; nor first-ripe fig that my soul desires” /b (Micah 7:1). The mishna continues in the same vein: b Yoḥa the High Priest took away the declaration of the tithe. /b After his time, no one recited the passage about the elimination of tithes that had previously been said at the end of a three-year tithing cycle. b He also nullified /b the actions of b the awakeners and the strikers /b at the Temple. |
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33. Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 221| 53a. אשה היתה בוררת חטים לאור של בית השואבה:,חסידים ואנשי מעשה כו': ת"ר יש מהן אומרים אשרי ילדותנו שלא ביישה את זקנותנו אלו חסידים ואנשי מעשה ויש מהן אומרים אשרי זקנותנו שכפרה את ילדותנו אלו בעלי תשובה אלו ואלו אומרים אשרי מי שלא חטא ומי שחטא ישוב וימחול לו,תניא אמרו עליו על הלל הזקן כשהיה שמח בשמחת בית השואבה אמר כן אם אני כאן הכל כאן ואם איני כאן מי כאן הוא היה אומר כן למקום שאני אוהב שם רגלי מוליכות אותי אם תבא אל ביתי אני אבא אל ביתך אם אתה לא תבא אל ביתי אני לא אבא אל ביתך שנאמר (שמות כ, כד) בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי אבא אליך וברכתיך,אף הוא ראה גלגולת אחת שצפה על פני המים אמר לה על דאטפת אטפוך ומטיפיך יטופון אמר רבי יוחנן רגלוהי דבר איניש אינון ערבין ביה לאתר דמיתבעי תמן מובילין יתיה,הנהו תרתי כושאי דהוו קיימי קמי שלמה (מלכים א ד, ג) אליחרף ואחיה בני שישא סופרים דשלמה הוו יומא חד חזייה למלאך המות דהוה קא עציב א"ל אמאי עציבת א"ל דקא בעו מינאי הני תרתי כושאי דיתבי הכא מסרינהו לשעירים שדרינהו למחוזא דלוז כי מטו למחוזא דלוז שכיבו,למחר חזיא מלאך המות דהוה קבדח א"ל אמאי בדיחת א"ל באתר דבעו מינאי תמן שדרתינהו מיד פתח שלמה ואמר רגלוהי דבר איניש אינון ערבין ביה לאתר דמיתבעי תמן מובילין יתיה,תניא אמרו עליו על רבן שמעון בן גמליאל כשהיה שמח שמחת בית השואבה היה נוטל שמנה אבוקות של אור וזורק אחת ונוטל אחת ואין נוגעות זו בזו וכשהוא משתחוה נועץ שני גודליו בארץ ושוחה ונושק את הרצפה וזוקף ואין כל בריה יכולה לעשות כן וזו היא קידה,לוי אחוי קידה קמיה דרבי ואיטלע והא גרמא ליה והאמר רבי אלעזר לעולם אל יטיח אדם דברים כלפי מעלה שהרי אדם גדול הטיח דברים כלפי מעלה ואיטלע ומנו לוי הא והא גרמא ליה,לוי הוה מטייל קמיה דרבי בתמני סכיני שמואל קמיה שבור מלכא בתמניא מזגי חמרא אביי קמיה (דרבא) בתמניא ביעי ואמרי לה בארבעה ביעי,תניא אמר ר' יהושע בן חנניה כשהיינו שמחים שמחת בית השואבה לא ראינו שינה בעינינו כיצד שעה ראשונה תמיד של שחר משם לתפלה משם לקרבן מוסף משם לתפלת המוספין משם לבית המדרש משם לאכילה ושתיה משם לתפלת המנחה משם לתמיד של בין הערבים מכאן ואילך לשמחת בית השואבה,איני והאמר רבי יוחנן שבועה שלא אישן שלשה ימים מלקין אותו וישן לאלתר אלא הכי קאמר לא טעמנו טעם שינה דהוו מנמנמי אכתפא דהדדי:,חמש עשרה מעלות: אמר ליה רב חסדא לההוא מדרבנן דהוי קמסדר אגדתא קמיה א"ל שמיע לך הני חמש עשרה מעלות כנגד מי אמרם דוד א"ל הכי אמר רבי יוחנן בשעה שכרה דוד שיתין קפא תהומא ובעי למשטפא עלמא אמר דוד חמש עשרה מעלות והורידן אי הכי חמש עשרה מעלות יורדות מיבעי ליה,אמר ליה הואיל ואדכרתן (מלתא) הכי אתמר בשעה שכרה דוד שיתין קפא תהומא ובעא למשטפא עלמא אמר דוד מי איכא דידע אי שרי למכתב שם | 53a. It was so bright that b a woman would /b be able to b sort wheat by the light of the /b Celebration of the b Place of the Drawing /b of the Water.,§ The mishna continues: b The pious and the men of action /b would dance before the people who attended the celebration. b The Sages taught /b in the i Tosefta /i that b some of them would say /b in their song praising God: b Happy is our youth, /b as we did not sin then, b that did not embarrass our old age. These are the pious and the men of action, /b who spent all their lives engaged in Torah and mitzvot. b And some would say: Happy is our old age, that atoned for our youth /b when we sinned. b These are the penitents. /b Both b these and those say: Happy is he who did not sin; and he who sinned should repent and /b God b will absolve him. /b , b It is taught /b in the i Tosefta /i : b They said about Hillel the Elder that when he was rejoicing at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing /b of the Water b he said this: If I am here, everyone is here; and if I am not here, who is here? /b In other words, one must consider himself as the one upon whom it is incumbent to fulfill obligations, and he must not rely on others to do so. b He would /b also b say this: To the place that I love, there my feet take me, /b and therefore, I come to the Temple. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, says: b If you come to My house, I will come to your house; if you do not come to My house, I will not come to your house, as it is stated: “In every place that I cause My name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you” /b (Exodus 20:21).,The Gemara cites another statement of Hillel the Elder. b Additionally, he saw one skull that was floating on the water /b and b he said to it: Because you drowned /b others, b they drowned you, and those that drowned you will be drowned. /b That is the way of the world; everyone is punished measure for measure. Apropos following one’s feet, b Rabbi Yoḥa said: The feet of a person are responsible for him; to the place where he is in demand, there they lead him. /b ,The Gemara relates with regard to b these two Cushites who would stand before Solomon: “Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha” /b (I Kings 4:3), and b they were scribes of Solomon. One day /b Solomon b saw that the Angel of Death was sad. He said to him: Why are you sad? He said to him: They are asking me /b to take the lives of b these two Cushites who are sitting here. /b Solomon b handed them to the demons /b in his service, b and sent them to the district of Luz, /b where the Angel of Death has no dominion. b When they arrived at the district of Luz, they died. /b , b The following day, /b Solomon b saw that the Angel of Death was happy. He said to him: Why are you happy? He replied: In the place that they asked me /b to take them, b there you sent them. /b The Angel of Death was instructed to take their lives in the district of Luz. Since they resided in Solomon’s palace and never went to Luz, he was unable to complete his mission. That saddened him. Ultimately, Solomon dispatched them to Luz, enabling the angel to accomplish his mission. That pleased him. b Immediately, Solomon began /b to speak b and said: The feet of a person are responsible for him; to the place where he is in demand, there they lead him. /b ,§ b It is taught /b in a i baraita /i : b They said about Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel that when he would rejoice at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing /b of the Water, b he would take eight flaming torches and toss one and catch another, /b juggling them, b and, /b though all were in the air at the same time, b they would not touch each other. And when he would prostrate himself, he would insert his two thumbs into the ground, and bow, and kiss the floor /b of the courtyard b and straighten, and /b there was b not any /b other b creature /b that b could do that /b due to the extreme difficulty involved. b And this was the /b form of bowing called b i kidda /i /b performed by the High Priest.,The Gemara relates: b Levi demonstrated a i kidda /i before Rabbi /b Yehuda HaNasi and strained his thigh b and came up lame. /b The Gemara asks: b And is that what caused him /b to be lame? b But didn’t Rabbi Elazar say: One should never speak impertinently toward /b God b above; as a great person /b once b spoke impertinently toward /b God b above, /b and even though his prayers were answered, he was still punished b and came up lame. And who /b was this great person? It was b Levi. /b Apparently his condition was not caused by his bow. The Gemara answers: There is no contradiction. Both b this and that caused him /b to come up lame; because he spoke impertinently toward God, he therefore was injured when exerting himself in demonstrating i kidda /i .,Apropos the rejoicing of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, the Gemara recounts: b Levi would walk before Rabbi /b Yehuda HaNasi juggling b with eight knives. Shmuel /b would juggle b before King Shapur with eight glasses of wine /b without spilling. b Abaye /b would juggle b before Rabba with eight eggs. Some say /b he did so b with four eggs. /b All these were cited., b It is taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥaya said: When we would rejoice /b in b the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing /b of the Water, b we did not see sleep in our eyes /b the entire Festival. b How so? /b In the b first hour /b of the day, b the daily morning offering /b was sacrificed and everyone came to watch. b From there /b they proceeded b to /b engage in b prayer /b in the synagogue; b from there, to /b watch the sacrifice of b the additional offerings; from there, /b to the synagogue b to /b recite b the additional prayer. From there /b they would proceed b to the study hall /b to study Torah; b from there to the eating and drinking /b in the i sukka /i ; b from there to the afternoon prayer. From there /b they would proceed b to the daily afternoon offering /b in the Temple. b From this /b point b forward, /b they proceeded b to the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing /b of the Water.,The Gemara wonders: b Is that so? But didn’t Rabbi Yoḥa say: /b One who took b an oath that I will not sleep three days, one flogs him /b immediately for taking an oath in vain, b and he /b may b sleep immediately /b because it is impossible to stay awake for three days uninterrupted. b Rather, this is what /b Rabbi Yehoshua b is saying: We did not experience the sense of /b actual b sleep, because they would /b merely b doze on each other’s shoulders. /b In any case, they were not actually awake for the entire week.,§ The mishna continues: The musicians would stand on the b fifteen stairs /b that descend from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, corresponding to the fifteen Songs of the Ascents in Psalms. b Rav Ḥisda said to one of the Sages who was organizing i aggada /i before him: Did you hear /b with regard to b these fifteen /b Songs of b Ascents /b in Psalms, b corresponding to what did David say them? He said to him /b that b this /b is what b Rabbi Yoḥa said: At the time that David dug the drainpipes /b in the foundation of the Temple, the waters of b the depths rose and sought to inundate the world. /b Immediately, b David recited the fifteen /b Songs of the b Ascents and caused them to subside. /b Rav Ḥisda asked: b If so, /b should they be called b fifteen /b Songs of the b Ascents? They should have been /b called Songs of the b Descents. /b ,Rav Ḥisda continued and b said to him: Since you reminded me /b of this b matter, this is /b what b was /b originally b stated: At the time that David dug the drainpipes, /b the waters of b the depths rose and sought to inundate the world. David said: Is there anyone who knows whether it is permitted to write the /b sacred b name /b |
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34. Babylonian Talmud, Taanit, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139| 23a. בעתם בלילי רביעיות ובלילי שבתות,שכן מצינו בימי שמעון בן שטח שירדו להם גשמים בלילי רביעיות ובלילי שבתות עד שנעשו חטים ככליות ושעורים כגרעיני זיתים ועדשים כדינרי זהב וצררו מהם דוגמא לדורות להודיע כמה החטא גורם שנאמר (ירמיהו ה, כה) עונותיכם הטו אלה וחטאתיכם מנעו הטוב מכם,וכן מצינו בימי הורדוס שהיו עוסקין בבנין בהמ"ק והיו יורדין גשמים בלילה למחר נשבה הרוח ונתפזרו העבים וזרחה החמה ויצאו העם למלאכתן וידעו שמלאכת שמים בידיהם:,מעשה ששלחו לחוני המעגל וכו': ת"ר פעם אחת יצא רוב אדר ולא ירדו גשמים שלחו לחוני המעגל התפלל וירדו גשמים התפלל ולא ירדו גשמים עג עוגה ועמד בתוכה כדרך שעשה חבקוק הנביא שנאמר (חבקוק ב, א) על משמרתי אעמדה ואתיצבה על מצור וגו',אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם בניך שמו פניהם עלי שאני כבן בית לפניך נשבע אני בשמך הגדול שאיני זז מכאן עד שתרחם על בניך התחילו גשמים מנטפין אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי ראינוך ולא נמות כמדומין אנו שאין גשמים יורדין אלא להתיר שבועתך,אמר לא כך שאלתי אלא גשמי בורות שיחין ומערות ירדו בזעף עד שכל טפה וטפה כמלא פי חבית ושיערו חכמים שאין טפה פחותה מלוג אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי ראינוך ולא נמות כמדומין אנו שאין גשמים יורדין אלא לאבד העולם,אמר לפניו לא כך שאלתי אלא גשמי רצון ברכה ונדבה ירדו כתיקנן עד שעלו כל העם להר הבית מפני הגשמים אמרו לו רבי כשם שהתפללת שירדו כך התפלל וילכו להם אמר להם כך מקובלני שאין מתפללין על רוב הטובה,אעפ"כ הביאו לי פר הודאה הביאו לו פר הודאה סמך שתי ידיו עליו ואמר לפניו רבש"ע עמך ישראל שהוצאת ממצרים אינן יכולין לא ברוב טובה ולא ברוב פורענות כעסת עליהם אינן יכולין לעמוד השפעת עליהם טובה אינן יכולין לעמוד יהי רצון מלפניך שיפסקו הגשמים ויהא ריוח בעולם מיד נשבה הרוח ונתפזרו העבים וזרחה החמה ויצאו העם לשדה והביאו להם כמהין ופטריות,שלח לו שמעון בן שטח אלמלא חוני אתה גוזרני עליך נידוי שאילו שנים כשני אליהו שמפתחות גשמים בידו של אליהו לא נמצא שם שמים מתחלל על ידך,אבל מה אעשה לך שאתה מתחטא לפני המקום ועושה לך רצונך כבן שמתחטא על אביו ועושה לו רצונו ואומר לו אבא הוליכני לרחצני בחמין שטפני בצונן תן לי אגוזים שקדים אפרסקים ורמונים ונותן לו ועליך הכתוב אומר (משלי כג, כה) ישמח אביך ואמך ותגל יולדתך,תנו רבנן מה שלחו בני לשכת הגזית לחוני המעגל (איוב כב, כח) ותגזר אומר ויקם לך ועל דרכיך נגה אור,ותגזר אומר אתה גזרת מלמטה והקדוש ברוך הוא מקיים מאמרך מלמעלה ועל דרכיך נגה אור דור שהיה אפל הארת בתפלתך,כי השפילו ותאמר גוה דור שהיה שפל הגבהתו בתפלתך ושח עינים יושיע דור ששח בעונו הושעתו בתפלתך ימלט אי נקי דור שלא היה נקי מלטתו בתפלתך ונמלט בבור כפיך מלטתו במעשה ידיך הברורין,אמר ר' יוחנן כל ימיו של אותו צדיק היה מצטער על מקרא זה (תהלים קכו, א) שיר המעלות בשוב ה' את שיבת ציון היינו כחולמים אמר מי איכא דניים שבעין שנין בחלמא,יומא חד הוה אזל באורחא חזייה לההוא גברא דהוה נטע חרובא אמר ליה האי עד כמה שנין טעין אמר ליה עד שבעין שנין אמר ליה פשיטא לך דחיית שבעין שנין אמר ליה האי [גברא] עלמא בחרובא אשכחתיה כי היכי דשתלי לי אבהתי שתלי נמי לבראי,יתיב קא כריך ריפתא אתא ליה שינתא נים אהדרא ליה משוניתא איכסי מעינא ונים שבעין שנין כי קם חזייה לההוא גברא דהוה קא מלקט מינייהו אמר ליה את הוא דשתלתיה א"ל בר בריה אנא אמר ליה שמע מינה דניימי שבעין שנין חזא לחמריה דאתיילידא ליה רמכי רמכי,אזל לביתיה אמר להו בריה דחוני המעגל מי קיים אמרו ליה בריה ליתא בר בריה איתא אמר להו אנא חוני המעגל לא הימנוהו אזל לבית המדרש שמעינהו לרבנן דקאמרי נהירן שמעתתין כבשני חוני המעגל דכי הוי עייל לבית מדרשא כל קושיא דהוו להו לרבנן הוה מפרק להו אמר להו אנא ניהו לא הימנוהו ולא עבדי ליה יקרא כדמבעי ליה חלש דעתיה בעי רחמי ומית אמר רבא היינו דאמרי אינשי או חברותא או מיתותא,אבא חלקיה בר בריה דחוני המעגל הוה וכי מצטריך עלמא למיטרא הוו משדרי רבנן לגביה ובעי רחמי ואתי מיטרא זימנא חדא איצטריך עלמא למיטרא שדור רבנן זוגא דרבנן לגביה למבעי רחמי דניתי מיטרא אזול לביתיה ולא אשכחוהו אזול בדברא ואשכחוהו דהוה קא רפיק יהבו ליה שלמא | 23a. b “In their season” /b means b on Wednesday eves, /b i.e., Tuesday nights, b and on Shabbat eves, /b i.e., Friday nights, because at these times people are not out in the streets, either due to fear of demonic forces that were thought to wander on Tuesday nights or due to the sanctity of Shabbat., b As we found /b in b the days of Shimon ben Shetaḥ that rain /b invariably b fell for them on Wednesday eves and on Shabbat eves, until wheat grew /b as big b as kidneys, and barley /b as big b as olive pits, and lentils as golden dinars. And they tied /b up some b of /b these crops as b an example [ i dugma /i ] for /b future b generations, to convey /b to them b how much /b damage b sin causes, as it is stated: /b “The Lord our God, Who gives rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in its season that keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest. b Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld the good from you” /b (Jeremiah 5:24–25)., b And we likewise found /b that b in the days of Herod /b that b they were occupied in the building of the Temple, and rain would fall at night. And the next day the wind would blow, the clouds would disperse, the sun would shine, and the people would go out to their work. And /b as rain would fall only at a time when it would not interfere with their labor, the nation b knew /b that b the work of Heaven /b was being performed b by their hands. /b ,§ The mishna taught: b An incident /b occurred in b which /b the people b sent /b a message b to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. /b This event is related in greater detail in the following i baraita /i . b The Sages taught: Once, most of /b the month of b Adar had passed but rain had /b still b not fallen. They sent /b this message b to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel: Pray, and rain will fall. He prayed, but no rain fell. He drew a circle /b in the dust b and stood inside it, in the manner that the prophet Habakkuk did, as it is stated: “And I will stand upon my watch and set myself upon the tower, /b and I will look out to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved” (Habakkuk 2:1). This verse is taken to mean that Habakkuk fashioned a kind of prison for himself where he sat.,Ḥoni b said before /b God: b Master of the Universe, Your children have turned their faces toward me, as I am like a member of Your household. /b Therefore, b I take an oath by Your great name that I will not move from here until you have mercy upon Your children /b and answer their prayers for rain. b Rain began to trickle /b down, but only in small droplets. b His students said to him: Rabbi, we have seen /b that b you /b can perform great wonders, b but /b this quantity of rain is not enough to ensure that b we will not die. It appears to us that /b a small amount of b rain is falling only /b to enable you b to dissolve your oath, /b but it is not nearly enough to save us.,Ḥoni b said /b to God: b I did not ask for this, but /b for b rain to /b fill the b cisterns, ditches, and caves. /b Rain b began to fall furiously, until each and every drop /b was as big b as the mouth of a barrel, and the Sages estimated that no drop was less than a i log /i /b in size. b His students said to him: Rabbi, we have seen /b that b you /b can call on God to perform miracles b and we will not die, /b but now b it appears to us that rain is falling only to destroy the world. /b ,Ḥoni again b said before /b God: b I did not ask for this /b harmful rain either, b but /b for b rain of benevolence, blessing, and generosity. /b Subsequently, the rains b fell in their standard manner, until all of the people /b sought higher ground and b ascended to the Temple Mount due to the rain. They said to him: Rabbi, just as you prayed that /b the rains b should fall, so too, pray that they should stop. He said to them: This is /b the tradition that b I received, that one does not pray over an excess of good. /b ,Ḥoni continued: b Nevertheless, bring me a bull. /b I will sacrifice it as b a thanks-offering /b and pray at the same time. b They brought him a bull /b for b a thanks-offering. He placed his two hands on its /b head b and said before /b God: b Master of the Universe, Your nation Israel, whom You brought out of Egypt, cannot /b bear b either an excess of good or an excess of punishment. You grew angry with them /b and withheld rain, b and they are unable to bear /b it. b You bestowed upon them /b too much b good, and they were /b also b unable to bear /b it. b May it be Your will that the rain stop and that there be relief for the world. Immediately, the wind blew, the clouds dispersed, the sun shone, and everyone went out to the fields and gathered for themselves truffles and mushrooms /b that had sprouted in the strong rain., b Shimon ben Shetaḥ relayed to /b Ḥoni HaMe’aggel: b If you were not Ḥoni, I would have decreed ostracism upon you. For were /b these b years like the years of Elijah, when the keys of rain /b were entrusted b in Elijah’s hands, /b and he swore it would not rain, b wouldn’t the name of Heaven have been desecrated by your /b oath not to leave the circle until it rained? Once you have pronounced this oath, either yours or Elijah’s must be falsified., b However, what can I do to you, as you nag God and He does your bidding, like a son who nags his father and /b his father b does his bidding. And /b the son b says to /b his father: b Father, take me to be bathed in hot water; wash me with cold water; give me nuts, almonds, peaches, and pomegranates. And /b his father b gives him. About you, the verse states: “Your father and mother will be glad and she who bore you will rejoice” /b (Proverbs 23:25)., b The Sages taught: What /b message did b the members of the Chamber of the Hewn Stone, /b the Great Sanhedrin, b send to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel? /b About you, the verse states: b “You shall also decree a matter, and it shall be established for you; and the light shall shine upon your ways. /b When they cast down, you will say: There is lifting up, for He saves the humble person. He will deliver the one who is not innocent and he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands” (Job 22:28–30).,They interpreted: b “You shall also decree a matter”; you, /b Ḥoni, b decree from below, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, fulfills your statement from above. “And the light shall shine upon your ways”; a generation that was in darkness, you have illuminated /b it b with your prayer. /b , b “When they cast down, you will say: There is lifting up”; a generation that was cast down, you lifted it up with your prayer. “For He saves the humble person”; a generation that was humble in its transgression, you saved it through your prayer. “He will deliver the one who is not innocent”; a generation that was not innocent, you have delivered it through your prayer. “And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands”; you have delivered /b an undeserving generation b through the clean work of your hands. /b ,§ The Gemara relates another story about Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. b Rabbi Yoḥa said: All the days /b of the life b of that righteous man, /b Ḥoni, b he was distressed over /b the meaning of b this verse: “A song of Ascents: When the Lord brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream” /b (Psalms 126:1). b He said /b to himself: b Is there /b really a person b who can sleep and dream for seventy years? /b How is it possible to compare the seventy-year exile in Babylonia to a dream?, b One day, he was walking along the road /b when b he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. /b Ḥoni b said to him: This /b tree, b after how many years /b will it b bear /b fruit? The man b said to him: /b It will not produce fruit b until seventy years /b have passed. Ḥoni b said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, /b that you expect to benefit from this tree? b He said to him: That man /b himself b found a world /b full b of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants. /b ,Ḥoni b sat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and he slept. A cliff formed around him, and he disappeared from sight and slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a certain man gathering /b carobs from that tree. Ḥoni b said to him: /b Are b you the one who planted /b this tree? The man b said to him: I am his son’s son. /b Ḥoni b said to him: /b I can b learn from this that I /b have b slept for seventy years, /b and indeed b he saw that his donkey had sired several herds /b during those many years.,Ḥoni b went home and said to /b the members of the household: b Is the son of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel alive? They said to him: His son is no /b longer with us, but b his son’s son is /b alive. b He said to them: I am Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. They did not believe him. He went to the study hall, /b where he b heard the Sages say /b about one scholar: b His i halakhot /i are as enlightening /b and as clear b as in the years of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel, for when /b Ḥoni HaMe’aggel b would enter the study hall he would resolve for the Sages any difficulty they had. /b Ḥoni b said to them: I am he, but they did not believe him and did not pay him proper respect. /b Ḥoni b became very upset, prayed for mercy, and died. Rava said: This /b explains the folk saying b that people say: Either friendship or death, /b as one who has no friends is better off dead.,§ The Gemara relates another story, this time about Ḥoni HaMe’aggel’s descendants, who were also renowned for their righteous deeds. b Abba Ḥilkiyya was the son of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel’s son. And when the world was in need of rain they would send Sages to him, and he would pray for mercy, and rain would fall. Once the world was in need of rain, /b and b the Sages sent a pair of Sages to him /b so b that he would pray for mercy and rain would fall. They went to his house but they did not find him /b there. b They went to the field and found him hoeing /b the ground. b They greeted him, /b |
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35. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 123| 61a. קברי עובדי כוכבים אינן מטמאין באהל שנא' (יחזקאל לד, לא) ואתן צאני צאן מרעיתי אדם אתם אתם קרויין אדם ואין העובדי כוכבים קרויין אדם,מיתיבי (במדבר לא, מ) ונפש אדם ששה עשר אלף משום בהמה,(יונה ד, יא) אשר יש בה הרבה משתים עשרה רבוא אדם אשר לא ידע בין ימינו לשמאלו (ובהמה רבה) משום בהמה,(במדבר לא, יט) כל הורג נפש וכל נוגע בחלל תתחטאו דלמא איקטיל חד מישראל ורבנן לא נפקד ממנו איש ור' שמעון בן יוחי לא נפקד ממנו איש לעבירה,רבינא אמר נהי דמעטינהו קרא מאטמויי באהל דכתיב (במדבר יט, יד) אדם כי ימות באהל ממגע ומשא מי מעטינהו קרא:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big אירס את האלמנה ונתמנה להיות כהן גדול יכנוס ומעשה ביהושע בן גמלא שקדש את מרתא בת ביתוס ומנהו המלך להיות כה"ג וכנסה שומרת יבם שנפלה לפני כהן הדיוט ונתמנה להיות כה"ג אע"פ שעשה בה מאמר הרי זה לא יכנוס:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big ת"ר מנין שאם אירס את האלמנה ונתמנה להיות כהן גדול שיכנוס ת"ל (ויקרא כא, יד) יקח אשה א"ה שומרת יבם נמי אשה ולא יבמה:,מעשה ביהושע וכו': מנהו אין נתמנה לא אמר רב יוסף קטיר קחזינא הכא דאמר רב אסי תרקבא דדינרי עיילה ליה מרתא בת ביתוס לינאי מלכא עד דמוקי ליה ליהושע בן גמלא בכהני רברבי:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big כהן גדול שמת אחיו חולץ ולא מייבם:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big קא פסיק ותני לא שנא מן האירוסין ולא שנא מן הנשואין בשלמא מן הנשואין עשה ולא תעשה הוא ואין עשה דוחה ל"ת ועשה אלא מן האירוסין יבא עשה וידחה את לא תעשה,גזירה ביאה ראשונה אטו ביאה שניה:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big כהן הדיוט לא ישא אילונית אלא א"כ יש לו אשה ובנים רבי יהודה אומר אע"פ שיש לו אשה ובנים לא ישא אילונית שהיא זונה האמורה בתורה וחכמים אומרים אין זונה אלא גיורת ומשוחררת ושנבעלה בעילת זנות:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big א"ל ריש גלותא לרב הונא מ"ט משום פריה ורביה אפריה ורביה כהנים הוא דמפקדי וישראל לא מפקדי אמר ליה משום דקא בעי למיתני סיפא רבי יהודה אומר אע"פ שיש לו אשה | 61a. b The graves of gentiles do not render /b items b impure though a tent, as it is stated: “And you My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are men [ i adam /i ]” /b (Ezekiel 34:31), from which it is derived that b you, /b the Jewish people, b are called men [ i adam /i ] but gentiles are not called men [ i adam /i ]. /b Since the Torah introduces the i halakha /i of ritual impurity of a tent with the words: “When a man [ i adam /i ] dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14), this i halakha /i applies only to corpses of Jews but not those of gentiles.,The Gemara b raises an objection /b based upon the verse with regard to captives taken during the war against Midian: b “And the persons [ i nefesh adam /i ] were sixteen thousand” /b (Numbers 31:40), which indicates that gentiles are also referred to as i adam /i . The Gemara answers: They are given this title b due to /b the need to distinguish the people taken captive from the b animals /b that were taken as spoils of war.,The Gemara raises another difficulty based upon a verse with regard to the city of Nineveh: b “Wherein are more than one hundred and twenty thousand men [ i adam /i ] that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle” /b (Jonah 4:11). The Gemara answers: There, too, the gentiles are given this title b due to /b the need to distinguish them from the b animals /b mentioned in the verse.,The Gemara continues to question Rabbi Shimon’s ruling based upon a verse pertaining to the war against Midian: b “Whoever has killed anyone, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves” /b (Numbers 31:19). This indicates that gentile corpses convey ritual impurity. The Gemara answers: b Perhaps a Jew was killed, /b and the concern was for impurity caused by his corpse. b And the Rabbis /b reply that the verse attests: b “Not one man of us is missing” /b (Numbers 31:49). No Jewish soldiers fell in battle, and therefore the concern for impurity must have been due to the corpses of gentiles. b And Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai /b responds: The intent of that verse is that b not one man of us is missing /b due to b transgression, /b i.e., none of them sinned., b Ravina said /b that the explanation above is unnecessary: b Granted, the verse excluded /b gentiles b from rendering /b items b impure through a tent, as it is written: “When a man [ i adam /i ] dies in a tent” /b (Numbers 19:14); but b did the verse exclude them from /b rendering items impure via b touching and carrying? /b Since gentile corpses convey impurity in these ways, they could have rendered impure the Jews involved in the war with Midian, even according to Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai., strong MISHNA: /strong If a priest b betrothed a widow and was /b subsequently b appointed to be High Priest, he may marry /b her. b And /b there was b an incident with Yehoshua ben Gamla, who betrothed Marta bat Baitos, /b a widow, b and the king /b subsequently b appointed him to be High Priest, and /b he nevertheless b married her. /b Conversely, in the case of b a widow waiting for her i yavam /i who happened before a common priest, /b i.e., the priest was her i yavam /i , b and he was /b subsequently b appointed to be High Priest, /b then b even if he /b had already b performed levirate betrothal with her, he may not marry her, /b because she is a widow., strong GEMARA: /strong b The Sages taught: From where /b is it derived b that if /b a priest b betrothed a widow and was /b subsequently b appointed to be High Priest, that he may marry /b her? b The verse states: “Shall he take for a wife” /b (Leviticus 21:14), an inclusive phrase that indicates that he may marry her in this situation despite the general prohibition for a High Priest to marry a widow. The Gemara asks: b If so, a widow waiting for her i yavam /i /b should b also /b be permitted to a High Priest. The Gemara answers: The word b “wife” /b indicates that this does b not /b include b a i yevama /i , /b who was not initially his wife but his brother’s.,The mishna related b an incident with Yehoshua /b ben Gamla. The Gemara notes that the mishna states that the king b appointed him, yes, /b but b not /b that he b was /b worthy of being b appointed. Rav Yosef said: I see a conspiracy here, /b as this was clearly not a proper appointment by the priests and the Sanhedrin but rather a political appointment, b as Rav Asi said: Marta bat Baitos brought /b a vessel the size of b a half- i se’a /i [ i tarkav /i ] /b full b of dinars to King Yannai until he appointed Yehoshua ben Gamla High Priest. /b , strong MISHNA: /strong b A High Priest whose brother died /b without children b performs i ḥalitza /i and he does not perform levirate marriage, /b as he may not marry a widow., strong GEMARA: /strong The Gemara comments: The mishna b teaches /b this i halakha /i b categorically, /b indicating that b it is no different /b if she is his brother’s widow b from betrothal, and it is no different /b if she is his widow b from marriage. /b The Gemara analyzes this i halakha /i : b Granted, /b she is forbidden to him if she was widowed b from marriage, as, /b if he were to marry her, b it /b would be a violation of both the b positive mitzva /b that the High Priest marry a virgin b and /b the b prohibition /b for him to marry a widow. b And a positive mitzva, /b i.e., levirate marriage, b does not override a prohibition and a positive /b mitzva together. b However, /b if she was a widow b from betrothal /b and is therefore still a virgin, b the positive mitzva /b of levirate marriage b should come and override the prohibition /b for a High Priest to marry a widow.,The Gemara answers: By Torah law, levirate marriage is permitted in this case. However, there is a rabbinic b decree /b prohibiting their b first /b act of b intercourse due to /b their b second /b act of b intercourse. /b After they have engaged in intercourse once, they have fulfilled the mitzva of levirate marriage, and any subsequent act of intercourse would constitute a violation of the prohibition without the fulfillment of a mitzva., strong MISHNA: /strong b A common priest may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman [ i aylonit /i ], /b who is incapable of bearing children, b unless he /b already b has a wife and children. Rabbi Yehuda says: Even /b if b he has a wife and children, he may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman, as she is the i zona /i /b about whom it is b stated in the Torah /b that a priest may not marry her. Intercourse with her is considered a licentious act because she is incapable of bearing children. b And the Rabbis say: The only /b women in the category of b i zona /i , /b who are therefore forbidden to a priest, are b a female convert, a freed /b maidservant, b and /b any woman b who engaged in licentious sexual intercourse /b with a man she is prohibited from marrying., strong GEMARA: /strong b The Exilarch said to Rav Huna: What is the reason /b for the i halakha /i that a priest may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman? It is b because /b he is obligated to fulfill the mitzva to b be fruitful and multiply. Is it /b only b priests who were commanded to be fruitful and multiply, but Israelites were not commanded? /b Why does the mishna specify that a priest may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman? Rav Huna b said to him: /b This i halakha /i does in fact apply even to Israelites, and the i tanna /i mentions priests b because he wants to teach /b it in a way that would parallel b the latter clause /b of the mishna, which states that b Rabbi Yehuda says: Even /b if b he has a wife /b |
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36. Babylonian Talmud, Yoma, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 206| 9a. לפי ששלח בכל גבולי ישראל וראה שאין מפרישין אלא תרומה גדולה בלבד,מעשר ראשון ומעשר עני נמי לא המוציא מחבירו עליו הראיה אלא מעשר שני נפרשו ונסקו וניכלוהו בירושלם,אמר עולא מתוך שפרהדרין הללו חובטין אותן כל י"ב חדש ואומרים להן מכרו בזול מכרו בזול לא אטרחונהו רבנן מאי פרהדרין פורסי,אמר רבה בר בר חנה א"ר יוחנן מאי דכתיב (משלי י, כז) יראת ה' תוסיף ימים ושנות רשעים תקצרנה יראת ה' תוסיף ימים זה מקדש ראשון שעמד ארבע מאות ועשר שנים ולא שמשו בו אלא י"ח כהנים גדולים,ושנות רשעים תקצרנה זה מקדש שני שעמד ד' מאות ועשרים שנה ושמשו בו יותר משלש מאות כהנים צא מהם מ' שנה ששמש שמעון הצדיק ושמונים ששמש יוחנן כהן גדול עשר ששמש ישמעאל בן פאבי ואמרי לה י"א ששמש ר' אלעזר בן חרסום מכאן ואילך צא וחשוב כל אחד ואחד לא הוציא שנתו,א"ר יוחנן בן תורתא מפני מה חרבה שילה מפני שהיו בה שני דברים גלוי עריות ובזיון קדשים גלוי עריות דכתיב (שמואל א ב, כב) ועלי זקן מאד ושמע את כל אשר יעשון בניו לכל ישראל ואת אשר ישכבון את הנשים הצובאות פתח אהל מועד ואע"ג דאמר ר' שמואל בר נחמני א"ר יוחנן כל האומר בני עלי חטאו אינו אלא טועה מתוך | 9a. This is b because /b Yoḥa the High Priest b sent /b emissaries b throughout all the /b areas located within the b borders of /b i Eretz b Yisrael /b /i to assess the situation b and saw that /b the people b were separating only i teruma gedola /i /b and were neglecting to separate tithes. Therefore, he issued a decree that anyone who purchases produce from an i am ha’aretz /i must be concerned about the possibility that it was not tithed and is required to tithe it. Since even an i am ha’aretz /i separates i teruma gedola /i , the bakers who purchased grain from them were not required to do so.,And granted, bakers need not separate b first tithe and poor man’s tithe /b due to the principle: b The burden of proof rests upon the claimant. /b Neither first tithe, given to Levites, nor poor man’s tithe, given to the poor, is sacred. It is merely the property of the Levite and the pauper, respectively. Since with regard to doubtfully tithed produce, by definition, there is no certainty that one is actually required to tithe it, if the Levite or the pauper should seek to take possession of the gifts, they must first prove that in fact the produce was not tithed. b However, /b with regard to b second tithe, /b why are the bakers exempt? b Let them separate /b second-tithe from the produce, b take it up /b to Jerusalem, b and eat it in Jerusalem, /b which is the i halakha /i with regard to anyone else who purchases doubtfully tithed produce., b Ulla said: /b It is b because these i parhedrin /i , /b government appointees, b beat /b the bakers throughout the b entire twelve months /b of their tenure b and tell them: Sell /b your baked goods b cheaply, sell /b them b cheaply. /b Since the officers insist that the bakers refrain from raising their prices, b the Sages did not /b further b burden them /b with the exertion of separating second tithe from a large quantity of grain and taking it to Jerusalem, as they would be unable to raise their prices to cover the cost of the lost grain and the trip to Jerusalem. Since the presumptive status of the grain is that it was tithed, and the obligation to tithe doubtfully tithed produce is a stringency, the Sages exempted the baker from the obligation to do so. b What /b is the meaning of b i parhedrin /i ? /b These are royal b appointees [ i pursei /i ] /b charged with performance of different tasks.,§ Apropos the Second Temple period, when High Priests were frequently replaced, the Gemara cites that b Rabba bar bar Ḥana said /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa said: What is /b the meaning of that b which is written: “The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened” /b (Proverbs 10:27)? b The fear of the Lord prolongs days; that /b is a reference to the b First Temple, which stood /b for b four hundred and ten years and in /b which b only eighteen High Priests served, /b as is written in the lists of the genealogy of the priests in the Bible., b But the years of the wicked will be shortened; that /b is a reference to the b Second Temple, which stood /b for b four hundred and twenty years and in /b which b over three hundred High Priests served. /b In calculating the tenures of the High Priests, b deduct from /b the figure of four hundred and twenty years b forty years that Shimon HaTzaddik served, and eighty /b years b that Yoḥa the High Priest served, ten /b years b that Yishmael ben Pavi served, and some say eleven /b years b that Rabbi Elazar ben Ḥarsum served. /b These men were all righteous and were privileged to serve extended terms. After deducting those one hundred and thirty or one hundred and forty-one years, b go out and calculate from this /b point b forward /b and conclude: b Each and every one /b of the remaining High Priests b did not complete his year /b in office, as the number of remaining High Priests is greater than the number of years remaining.,§ Apropos the sins of the High Priests in the Second Temple, the Gemara cites that b Rabbi Yoḥa ben Torta said: Due to what /b reason b was /b the Tabernacle in b Shiloh destroyed /b in the time of the prophet Samuel? It was destroyed b due to /b the fact b that there were two matters /b that existed b in /b the Tabernacle: b Forbidden sexual relations and degradation /b of b consecrated items. /b There were b forbidden sexual relations, as it is written: “Now Eli was very old and he heard what his sons were doing to all of Israel, how they lay with the women who did service at the opening of the Tent of Meeting” /b (I Samuel 2:22). b And although Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said /b that b Rabbi Yoḥa said: Anyone who says that the sons of Eli sinned /b by engaging in forbidden sexual relations b is nothing other than mistaken, /b even according to the alternative interpretation of the verse that it was b due to /b the fact |
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| 37. Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q471 (4Qpolemical Text), None Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 6, 209 |
| 39. Halakhic Midrash, Sifre Numbers, 131 Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on the zimri legend Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 151 |
| 40. Halakhic Midrash, Sifre Deuteronomy, 42 Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139 |
| 41. Halakhic Midrash, Sifra, None Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139 |
| 42. Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q332, None Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139 |
| 43. Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q331, None Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on janneuss wife Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139 |
| 44. Megillat Ta‘Anit (Scroll of Fasting), Scholion P, None Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 62, 205 |
| 45. Megillat Ta‘Anit (Scroll of Fasting), Scroll, None Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 63 |
47. Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah, None Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt), on king janneus Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 123| 50b. מותרות ישראל שהביא אבנים מן המרקוליס וחיפה בהן דרכים וסרטיאות אסורות ולית נגר ולא בר נגר דיפרקינה,אמר רב ששת אנא לא נגר אנא ולא בר נגר אנא ופריקנא ליה מאי קושיא ליה דרב גידל בעינא כעין פנים וליכא,אמר רב יוסף בר אבא איקלע רבה בר ירמיה לאתרין ואתא ואייתי מתניתא בידיה מתליעין ומזהמין בשביעית ואין מתליעין ומזהמין במועד,כאן וכאן אין מגזמין וסכין שמן לגזום בין במועד בין בשביעית ולית נגר ולא בר נגר דיפרקינה,אמר רבינא אנא לא נגר אנא ולא בר נגר אנא ומפרקינא לה מאי קא קשיא ליה אילימא מועד אשביעית קא קשיא ליה מאי שנא שביעית דשרי ומ"ש מועד דאסור מי דמי שביעית מלאכה אסר רחמנא טירחא שרי מועד אפי' טירחא נמי אסור,ואלא זיהום אגיזום קא קשיא ליה מ"ש זיהום דשרי ומ"ש גיזום דאסור מי דמי זיהום אוקומי אילנא ושרי גיזום אברויי אילנא ואסור,ואלא זיהום אזיהום קא קשיא ליה דקתני מתליעין ומזהמין בשביעית ורמינהי מזהמין את הנטיעות וכורכין אותן וקוטמין אותן ועושין להם בתים ומשקין אותן עד ר"ה עד ר"ה אין בשביעית לא,ודלמא כדרב עוקבא בר חמא דאמר רב עוקבא בר חמא תרי קשקושי הוו חד לאברויי אילנא ואסור וחד לסתומי פילי ושרי ה"נ תרי זיהמומי הוי חד לאוקומי אילני ושרי וחד לאברויי אילני ואסור,ואלא סיכה אסיכה קא קשיא ליה דקתני סכין שמן לגזום בין במועד ובין בשביעית ורמינהי סכין את הפגין ומנקבין ומפטמין אותן עד ר"ה עד ר"ה אין בשביעית לא,מי דמי הכא אוקומי אילנא ושרי התם פטומי פירא ואסור,א"ל רב סמא בריה דרב אשי לרבינא בר ירמיה סיכה דמועד אזיהום דמועד קא קשיא ליה מכדי האי אוקומי והאי אוקומי מאי שנא האי דשרי ומאי שנא האי דאסור היינו דקא"ל לית נגר ולא בר נגר דיפרקינה,אמר רב יהודה אמר רב עבודת כוכבים שעובדין אותה במקל שבר מקל בפניה חייב זרק מקל בפניה פטור א"ל אביי לרבא מאי שנא שבר דהוה ליה כעין זביחה זרק נמי הוה ליה כעין זריקה אמר ליה בעינא זריקה משתברת וליכא,איתיביה ספת לה צואה או שנסך לפניה עביט של מימי רגלים | 50b. b they are permitted, /b as the gentile nullified their prohibited status. In the case of b a Jew who brought stones from /b a pile dedicated to b Mercury and paved paths and streets with them, they are prohibited. And there is neither a carpenter [ i naggar /i ] nor a son of a carpenter who can resolve this, /b i.e., no one can resolve the difficulty inherent in this statement, not a Torah scholar, and not even a scholar who is the son of a scholar., b Rav Sheshet said: /b As for b me, I am not a carpenter, nor am I /b the b son of a carpenter, and /b yet b I will resolve /b the difficulty. b What is the difficulty /b that Rabba bar Yirmeya finds in the i baraita /i ? The i baraita /i is difficult because of the statement b of Rav Giddel, /b that the prohibited status of offerings brought in idol worship can never be revoked. This is not difficult, as in order for idol worship to prohibit an offering b I require /b the offering to be b like /b those offerings sacrificed b inside /b the Temple, b and there is no /b a parallel offering of stones in the Temple.,§ b Rav Yosef bar Abba said: Rabba bar Yirmeya happened /b to come b to our locale, and /b when b he came he brought /b the following b i baraita /i with him: /b One b may remove worms /b from a tree b and place manure /b on a cut in a tree b during the Sabbatical /b Year, b but /b one b may not remove worms or place manure /b on a cut b during /b the intermediate days of b the Festival. /b ,The i baraita /i continues: Both b here, /b in the case of the Sabbatical Year, b and there, /b in the case of the intermediate days of the Festival, one b may not prune /b the trees. b But /b one b may smear oil on the /b previously b pruned /b tree on the place where one pruned it in order to prevent the tree from being damaged, b both during /b the intermediate days of b the Festival and during the Sabbatical /b Year. b And there is neither a carpenter nor a son of a carpenter who can resolve this. /b , b Ravina said: /b As for b me, I am not a carpenter, nor am I /b the b son of a carpenter, and /b yet b I will resolve /b the difficulty. b What is the difficulty /b that Rabba bar Yirmeya finds in the i baraita /i ? b If we say /b that the difference b between /b the intermediate days of the b Festival /b and b the Sabbatical /b Year poses b a difficulty to him, /b this cannot be so. One cannot explain that Rabba bar Yirmeya is asking b what is different /b about the b Sabbatical /b Year b that /b one is b permitted /b to remove worms and place manure on a cut, b and what is different /b about the intermediate days of the b Festival that /b it is b prohibited /b to do so, as this is not a valid question. b Are /b they b comparable? /b With regard to the b Sabbatical /b Year, b the Merciful One prohibited /b only agricultural b labor, /b whereas other forms of b exertion /b are b permitted. /b With regard to the intermediate days of the b Festival, even /b other forms of b exertion /b are b prohibited. /b ,Ravina suggests: b Rather, /b perhaps the difference b between placing manure /b and b pruning /b poses b a difficulty to him. What is different /b about b placing manure that /b it is b permitted /b during the Sabbatical Year, b and what is different /b about b pruning that /b it is b prohibited? /b Ravina rejects this suggestion: This is also not a valid question. b Are /b they b comparable? /b The purpose of b placing manure /b is to b preserve the tree, and /b therefore it is b permitted, /b whereas the purpose of b pruning /b is to b enhance the tree, and /b therefore it is b prohibited. /b ,Ravina suggests: b Rather, /b perhaps the contradiction b between /b the aforementioned i baraita /i with regard to b placing manure /b and another mishna with regard to b placing manure /b poses b a difficulty to him, as /b the i baraita /i b teaches: /b One b may remove worms /b from a tree b and place manure /b on a cut in a tree b during the Sabbatical /b Year. b And /b one may b raise a contradiction /b from a mishna ( i Shevi’it /i 2:4): One b may place manure on the saplings, and /b one b may bind their /b branches to the trunk so that they grow upright. b And /b one b may lop off their /b tops to promote their growth, b and make shelters for them /b to shield them from the sun, b and water them. /b All these actions are permitted b until Rosh HaShana /b of the Sabbatical Year. One can infer that b until Rosh HaShana, yes, /b one may place manure on the tree; but b during the Sabbatical /b Year itself one may b not /b do so.,Ravina rejects this suggestion: b But perhaps /b one can account for the apparent contradiction in b a similar /b fashion to the explanation b of Rav Ukva bar Ḥama, as Rav Ukva bar Ḥama says: There are two /b types of b hoeing [ i kishkushei /i ]. /b The purpose of b one /b type is b to enhance the tree’s /b health, b and /b it is therefore b prohibited. And /b the purpose of b one /b type is b to close up cracks /b in the ground, which is b permitted, /b as it is done only to prevent the trees from dying and not to enhance their growth. b So too, /b one may suggest that b there are two /b types of b placing manure: One /b type whose purpose is b to preserve the trees, and /b is therefore b permitted, and one /b type whose purpose is b to enhance the trees, and /b is therefore b prohibited. /b ,Ravina suggests: b Rather, /b perhaps the contradiction b between /b the i halakha /i in the i baraita /i with regard to b smearing /b oil and the i halakha /i in another mishna with regard to b smearing /b oil poses b a difficulty for him, as /b the i baraita /i b teaches: /b One b may smear oil on the /b previously b pruned /b tree, on the place where one pruned it, b both during /b the intermediate days of b the Festival and during the Sabbatical /b Year. b And /b one may b raise a contradiction /b from the mishna ( i Shevi’it /i 2:5): One b may smear /b oil on b the unripe figs /b in the sixth year of the Sabbatical cycle in order to accelerate their ripening, b and /b similarly one b may pierce /b them b and fill /b the cut b with oil /b to facilitate their ripening b until Rosh HaShana. /b One can infer that b until Rosh HaShana, yes, /b one may smear; but b during the Sabbatical /b Year itself one may b not /b do so.,Ravina rejects this suggestion: That is also not a valid question. b Are /b they b comparable? Here, /b the purpose of smearing oil on the place where the tree was pruned is to b preserve the tree, and /b therefore it is b permitted. There, /b the purpose of smearing oil on the unripe figs is to enhance and b enlarge the fruit and /b is therefore b prohibited. /b , b Rav Samma, son of Rav Ashi, said to Ravina: /b The contradiction b between /b the i halakha /i with regard to b smearing /b oil b during /b the intermediate days of the b Festival /b and the i halakha /i with regard to b placing manure during /b the intermediate days of the b Festival /b poses b a difficulty for /b Rabba b bar Yirmeya. Since /b the purpose of b this /b action is to b preserve /b the tree, b and /b the purpose of b that /b action is to b preserve /b the tree, b what is different /b in b this /b case b that /b it is b permitted, and what is different /b in b that /b case b that /b it is b prohibited? This is /b the reason b that /b Rabba bar Yirmeya b said to him: There is neither a carpenter nor a son of a carpenter who can resolve this. /b ,§ b Rav Yehuda says /b that b Rav says: /b In the case of an object of b idol worship that is worshipped by /b means of b a stick, /b e.g., by beating a stick on another object in order to produce noise, if one b broke a stick before it, /b he is b liable. /b If he b threw a stick before it, /b he is b exempt. Abaye said to Rava: What is different /b about the case where one b broke /b a stick? In this case one is liable b because it is similar to slaughtering /b an offering, which is a rite performed in the Temple; so b too, /b in the case where one b threw /b a stick, b it is similar to /b the b sprinkling /b of the blood on the altar. Rava b said to /b Abaye: In order for a sacrificial rite to be similar to the sprinkling of blood, b I require /b a form of b throwing /b that b scatters /b the offering, b and /b that is b not /b the case here.,Abaye b raised an objection to /b Rava’s explanation from a i baraita /i : One who b fed [ i safat /i ] /b an idol b excrement, or who poured a chamber pot of urine before /b it b as a libation, /b |
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| 48. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Deuteronomy, 33.11 Tagged with subjects: •babylonian talmud (bt) Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 205 |
| 49. Megillat Ta‘Anit (Scroll of Fasting), Scholion O, None Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Noam (2018), Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, 139, 208 |
