1. Hebrew Bible, Song of Songs, 2.6, 2.8-2.14, 2.16, 5.2, 6.1, 6.3 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 2.6. שְׂמֹאלוֹ תַּחַת לְרֹאשִׁי וִימִינוֹ תְּחַבְּקֵנִי׃ 2.8. קוֹל דּוֹדִי הִנֵּה־זֶה בָּא מְדַלֵּג עַל־הֶהָרִים מְקַפֵּץ עַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת׃ 2.9. דּוֹמֶה דוֹדִי לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים הִנֵּה־זֶה עוֹמֵד אַחַר כָּתְלֵנוּ מַשְׁגִּיחַ מִן־הַחֲלֹּנוֹת מֵצִיץ מִן־הַחֲרַכִּים׃ 2.11. כִּי־הִנֵּה הסתו [הַסְּתָיו] עָבָר הַגֶּשֶׁם חָלַף הָלַךְ לוֹ׃ 2.12. הַנִּצָּנִים נִרְאוּ בָאָרֶץ עֵת הַזָּמִיר הִגִּיעַ וְקוֹל הַתּוֹר נִשְׁמַע בְּאַרְצֵנוּ׃ 2.13. הַתְּאֵנָה חָנְטָה פַגֶּיהָ וְהַגְּפָנִים סְמָדַר נָתְנוּ רֵיחַ קוּמִי לכי [לָךְ] רַעְיָתִי יָפָתִי וּלְכִי־לָךְ׃ 2.14. יוֹנָתִי בְּחַגְוֵי הַסֶּלַע בְּסֵתֶר הַמַּדְרֵגָה הַרְאִינִי אֶתּ־מַרְאַיִךְ הַשְׁמִיעִינִי אֶת־קוֹלֵךְ כִּי־קוֹלֵךְ עָרֵב וּמַרְאֵיךְ נָאוֶה׃ 2.16. דּוֹדִי לִי וַאֲנִי לוֹ הָרֹעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים׃ 5.2. אֲנִי יְשֵׁנָה וְלִבִּי עֵר קוֹל דּוֹדִי דוֹפֵק פִּתְחִי־לִי אֲחֹתִי רַעְיָתִי יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי שֶׁרֹּאשִׁי נִמְלָא־טָל קְוֻּצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה׃ 6.1. אָנָה הָלַךְ דּוֹדֵךְ הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים אָנָה פָּנָה דוֹדֵךְ וּנְבַקְשֶׁנּוּ עִמָּךְ׃ 6.1. מִי־זֹאת הַנִּשְׁקָפָה כְּמוֹ־שָׁחַר יָפָה כַלְּבָנָה בָּרָה כַּחַמָּה אֲיֻמָּה כַּנִּדְגָּלוֹת׃ 6.3. אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי הָרֹעֶה בַּשׁוֹשַׁנִּים׃ | 2.6. Let his left hand be under my head, And his right hand embrace me. 2.8. Hark! my beloved! behold, he cometh, Leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. 2.9. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart; Behold, he standeth behind our wall, He looketh in through the windows, He peereth through the lattice. 2.10. My beloved spoke, and said unto me: ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 2.11. For, lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone; 2.12. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing is come, And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 2.13. The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, And the vines in blossom give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. 2.14. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, Let me see thy countece, let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countece is comely.’ 2.16. My beloved is mine, and I am his, That feedeth among the lilies. 5.2. I sleep, but my heart waketh; Hark! my beloved knocketh: ‘Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.’ 6.1. ’Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither hath thy beloved turned him, That we may seek him with thee?’ 6.3. I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine, That feedeth among the lilies.’ |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 3.25, 5.6, 6.4-6.5, 7.3, 11.14 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 3.25. אֶעְבְּרָה־נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן הָהָר הַטּוֹב הַזֶּה וְהַלְּבָנוֹן׃ 5.6. אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים׃ 6.4. שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃ 6.5. וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶךָ׃ 7.3. וְלֹא תִתְחַתֵּן בָּם בִּתְּךָ לֹא־תִתֵּן לִבְנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ לֹא־תִקַּח לִבְנֶךָ׃ 11.14. וְנָתַתִּי מְטַר־אַרְצְכֶם בְּעִתּוֹ יוֹרֶה וּמַלְקוֹשׁ וְאָסַפְתָּ דְגָנֶךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ׃ | 3.25. Let me go over, I pray Thee, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill-country, and Lebanon.’" 5.6. I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 6.4. HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE." 6.5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." 7.3. neither shalt thou make marriages with them: thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son." 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." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 11.4, 11.6, 12.2, 12.11, 12.29, 15.2, 15.14-15.17, 20.2, 21.10 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 11.4. וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה כַּחֲצֹת הַלַּיְלָה אֲנִי יוֹצֵא בְּתוֹךְ מִצְרָיִם׃ 11.6. וְהָיְתָה צְעָקָה גְדֹלָה בְּכָל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר כָּמֹהוּ לֹא נִהְיָתָה וְכָמֹהוּ לֹא תֹסִף׃ 12.2. כָּל־מַחְמֶצֶת לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ בְּכֹל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם תֹּאכְלוּ מַצּוֹת׃ 12.2. הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים רִאשׁוֹן הוּא לָכֶם לְחָדְשֵׁי הַשָּׁנָה׃ 12.11. וְכָכָה תֹּאכְלוּ אֹתוֹ מָתְנֵיכֶם חֲגֻרִים נַעֲלֵיכֶם בְּרַגְלֵיכֶם וּמַקֶּלְכֶם בְּיֶדְכֶם וַאֲכַלְתֶּם אֹתוֹ בְּחִפָּזוֹן פֶּסַח הוּא לַיהוָה׃ 12.29. וַיְהִי בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיְלָה וַיהוָה הִכָּה כָל־בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבְּכֹר פַּרְעֹה הַיֹּשֵׁב עַל־כִּסְאוֹ עַד בְּכוֹר הַשְּׁבִי אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵית הַבּוֹר וְכֹל בְּכוֹר בְּהֵמָה׃ 15.2. עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ׃ 15.2. וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן אֶת־הַתֹּף בְּיָדָהּ וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל־הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ בְּתֻפִּים וּבִמְחֹלֹת׃ 15.14. שָׁמְעוּ עַמִּים יִרְגָּזוּן חִיל אָחַז יֹשְׁבֵי פְּלָשֶׁת׃ 15.15. אָז נִבְהֲלוּ אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם אֵילֵי מוֹאָב יֹאחֲזֵמוֹ רָעַד נָמֹגוּ כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי כְנָעַן׃ 15.16. תִּפֹּל עֲלֵיהֶם אֵימָתָה וָפַחַד בִּגְדֹל זְרוֹעֲךָ יִדְּמוּ כָּאָבֶן עַד־יַעֲבֹר עַמְּךָ יְהוָה עַד־יַעֲבֹר עַם־זוּ קָנִיתָ׃ 15.17. תְּבִאֵמוֹ וְתִטָּעֵמוֹ בְּהַר נַחֲלָתְךָ מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ יְהוָה מִקְּדָשׁ אֲדֹנָי כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ׃ 20.2. אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים׃ 20.2. לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן אִתִּי אֱלֹהֵי כֶסֶף וֵאלֹהֵי זָהָב לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם׃ | 11.4. And Moses said: ‘Thus saith the LORD: About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt;" 11.6. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor shall be like it any more." 12.2. ’This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you." 12.11. And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste—it is the LORD’s passover." 12.29. And it came to pass at midnight, that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle." 15.2. The LORD is my strength and song, And He is become my salvation; This is my God, and I will glorify Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him." 15.14. The peoples have heard, they tremble; Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia." 15.15. Then were the chiefs of Edom affrighted; The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them; All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away." 15.16. Terror and dread falleth upon them; By the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone; Till Thy people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over that Thou hast gotten." 15.17. Thou bringest them in, and plantest them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, The place, O LORD, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established." 20.2. I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." 21.10. If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment, and her conjugal rights, shall he not diminish." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 1.11, 21.12 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 1.11. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים תַּדְשֵׁא הָאָרֶץ דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע עֵץ פְּרִי עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי לְמִינוֹ אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ עַל־הָאָרֶץ וַיְהִי־כֵן׃ 21.12. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־אַבְרָהָם אַל־יֵרַע בְּעֵינֶיךָ עַל־הַנַּעַר וְעַל־אֲמָתֶךָ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר תֹּאמַר אֵלֶיךָ שָׂרָה שְׁמַע בְּקֹלָהּ כִּי בְיִצְחָק יִקָּרֵא לְךָ זָרַע׃ | 1.11. And God said: ‘Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.’ And it was so." 21.12. And God said unto Abraham: ‘Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall seed be called to thee." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Hosea, 3.2, 3.5 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 3.2. וָאֶכְּרֶהָ לִּי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר כָּסֶף וְחֹמֶר שְׂעֹרִים וְלֵתֶךְ שְׂעֹרִים׃ 3.5. אַחַר יָשֻׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִקְשׁוּ אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְאֵת דָּוִד מַלְכָּם וּפָחֲדוּ אֶל־יְהוָה וְאֶל־טוּבוֹ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים׃ | 3.2. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley;" 3.5. afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall come trembling unto the LORD and to His goodness in the end of days." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 15.37-15.41, 25.1-25.9 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 15.37. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר׃ 15.38. דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם צִיצִת עַל־כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם לְדֹרֹתָם וְנָתְנוּ עַל־צִיצִת הַכָּנָף פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת׃ 15.39. וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְצִיצִת וּרְאִיתֶם אֹתוֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֺת יְהוָה וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם וְלֹא־תָתֻרוּ אַחֲרֵי לְבַבְכֶם וְאַחֲרֵי עֵינֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּם זֹנִים אַחֲרֵיהֶם׃ 15.41. אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃ 25.1. וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר׃ 25.1. וַיֵּשֶׁב יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּשִּׁטִּים וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת אֶל־בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב׃ 25.2. וַתִּקְרֶאןָ לָעָם לְזִבְחֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶן וַיֹּאכַל הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ לֵאלֹהֵיהֶן׃ 25.3. וַיִּצָּמֶד יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר וַיִּחַר־אַף יְהוָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ 25.4. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה קַח אֶת־כָּל־רָאשֵׁי הָעָם וְהוֹקַע אוֹתָם לַיהוָה נֶגֶד הַשָּׁמֶשׁ וְיָשֹׁב חֲרוֹן אַף־יְהוָה מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל׃ 25.5. וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־שֹׁפְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִרְגוּ אִישׁ אֲנָשָׁיו הַנִּצְמָדִים לְבַעַל פְּעוֹר׃ 25.6. וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּא וַיַּקְרֵב אֶל־אֶחָיו אֶת־הַמִּדְיָנִית לְעֵינֵי מֹשֶׁה וּלְעֵינֵי כָּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהֵמָּה בֹכִים פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד׃ 25.7. וַיַּרְא פִּינְחָס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן וַיָּקָם מִתּוֹךְ הָעֵדָה וַיִּקַּח רֹמַח בְּיָדוֹ׃ 25.8. וַיָּבֹא אַחַר אִישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־הַקֻּבָּה וַיִּדְקֹר אֶת־שְׁנֵיהֶם אֵת אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת־הָאִשָּׁה אֶל־קֳבָתָהּ וַתֵּעָצַר הַמַּגֵּפָה מֵעַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ 25.9. וַיִּהְיוּ הַמֵּתִים בַּמַּגֵּפָה אַרְבָּעָה וְעֶשְׂרִים אָלֶף׃ | 15.37. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:" 15.38. ’Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue." 15.39. And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray;" 15.40. that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God." 15.41. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.’" 25.1. And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab." 25.2. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods." 25.3. And Israel joined himself unto the Baal of Peor; and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel." 25.4. And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up unto the LORD in face of the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.’" 25.5. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel: ‘Slay ye every one his men that have joined themselves unto the Baal of Peor.’" 25.6. And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting." 25.7. And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand." 25.8. And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel." 25.9. And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand." |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 3.27 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 3.27. אַל־תִּמְנַע־טוֹב מִבְּעָלָיו בִּהְיוֹת לְאֵל ידיך [יָדְךָ] לַעֲשׂוֹת׃ | 3.27. Withhold not good from him to whom it is due, When it is in the power of thy hand to do it. |
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8. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 68.13 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 68.13. מַלְכֵי צְבָאוֹת יִדֹּדוּן יִדֹּדוּן וּנְוַת בַּיִת תְּחַלֵּק שָׁלָל׃ | 68.13. Kings of armies flee, they flee; And she that tarrieth at home divideth the spoil." |
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9. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 2.2 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 2.2. הָלֹךְ וְקָרָאתָ בְאָזְנֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם לֵאמֹר כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה זָכַרְתִּי לָךְ חֶסֶד נְעוּרַיִךְ אַהֲבַת כְּלוּלֹתָיִךְ לֶכְתֵּךְ אַחֲרַי בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא זְרוּעָה׃ 2.2. כִּי מֵעוֹלָם שָׁבַרְתִּי עֻלֵּךְ נִתַּקְתִּי מוֹסְרֹתַיִךְ וַתֹּאמְרִי לֹא אעבד [אֶעֱבוֹר] כִּי עַל־כָּל־גִּבְעָה גְּבֹהָה וְתַחַת כָּל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן אַתְּ צֹעָה זֹנָה׃ | 2.2. Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the LORD: I remember for thee the affection of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." |
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10. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 20.33 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 20.33. חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה אִם־לֹא בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבְחֵמָה שְׁפוּכָה אֶמְלוֹךְ עֲלֵיכֶם׃ | 20.33. As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I be king over you;" |
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11. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Abraham, 276, 3-6, 275 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 275. Thus much is sufficient to say on this subject. But God, adding to the multitude and magnitude of the praises of the wise man one single thing as a crowning point, says that "this man fulfilled the divine law, and all the commandments of God," not having been taught to do so by written books, but in accordance with the unwritten law of his nature, being anxious to obey all healthful and salutary impulses. And what is the duty of man except most firmly to believe those things which God asserts? |
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12. Philo of Alexandria, On The Creation of The World, 2-3, 1 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1. of other lawgivers, some have set forth what they considered to be just and reasonable, in a naked and unadorned manner, while others, investing their ideas with an abundance of amplification, have sought to bewilder the people, by burying the truth under a heap of fabulous inventions. |
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13. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 2.48 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.48. for he was not like any ordinary compiler of history, studying to leave behind him records of ancient transactions as memorials to future ages for the mere sake of affording pleasure without any advantage; but he traced back the most ancient events from the beginning of the world, commencing with the creation of the universe, in order to make known two most necessary principles. First, that the same being was the father and creator of the world, and likewise the lawgiver of truth; secondly, that the man who adhered to these laws, and clung closely to a connection with and obedience to nature, would live in a manner corresponding to the arrangement of the universe with a perfect harmony and union, between his words and his actions and between his actions and his words. |
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14. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 1.18-1.23, 10.277-10.278, 13.297 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.18. 4. But because almost all our constitution depends on the wisdom of Moses, our legislator, I cannot avoid saying somewhat concerning him beforehand, though I shall do it briefly; I mean, because otherwise those that read my book may wonder how it comes to pass, that my discourse, which promises an account of laws and historical facts, contains so much of philosophy. 1.18. where Melchisedec, king of the city Salem, received him. That name signifies, the righteous king: and such he was, without dispute, insomuch that, on this account, he was made the priest of God: however, they afterward called Salem Jerusalem. 1.19. The reader is therefore to know, that Moses deemed it exceeding necessary, that he who would conduct his own life well, and give laws to others, in the first place should consider the divine nature; and, upon the contemplation of God’s operations, should thereby imitate the best of all patterns, so far as it is possible for human nature to do, and to endeavor to follow after it: 1.19. He also told her, that if she disobeyed God, and went on still in her way, she should perish; but if she would return back, she should become the mother of a son who should reign over that country. These admonitions she obeyed, and returned to her master and mistress, and obtained forgiveness. A little while afterwards, she bare Ismael; which may be interpreted Heard of God, because God had heard his mother’s prayer. 1.21. Now when Moses was desirous to teach this lesson to his countrymen, he did not begin the establishment of his laws after the same manner that other legislators did; I mean, upon contracts and other rights between one man and another, but by raising their minds upwards to regard God, and his creation of the world; and by persuading them, that we men are the most excellent of the creatures of God upon earth. Now when once he had brought them to submit to religion, he easily persuaded them to submit in all other things: 1.21. He also entreated him to be at peace with him, and to make God propitious to him; and that if he thought fit to continue with him, he should have what he wanted in abundance; but that if he designed to go away, he should be honorably conducted, and have whatsoever supply he wanted when he came thither. 1.22. for as to other legislators, they followed fables, and by their discourses transferred the most reproachful of human vices unto the gods, and so afforded wicked men the most plausible excuses for their crimes; 1.22. 4. When the lad was grown up, he married a wife, by birth an Egyptian, from whence the mother was herself derived originally. of this wife were born to Ismael twelve sons; Nabaioth, Kedar, Abdeel, Mabsam, Idumas, Masmaos, Masaos, Chodad, Theman, Jetur, Naphesus, Cadmas. 1.23. but as for our legislator, when he had once demonstrated that God was possessed of perfect virtue, he supposed that men also ought to strive after the participation of it; and on those who did not so think, and so believe, he inflicted the severest punishments. 1.23. Accordingly thou, my son, wilt now die, not in any common way of going out of the world, but sent to God, the Father of all men, beforehand, by thy own father, in the nature of a sacrifice. I suppose he thinks thee worthy to get clear of this world neither by disease, neither by war, nor by any other severe way, by which death usually comes upon men 10.277. All these things did this man leave in writing, as God had showed them to him, insomuch that such as read his prophecies, and see how they have been fulfilled, would wonder at the honor wherewith God honored Daniel; and may thence discover how the Epicureans are in an error 10.278. who cast Providence out of human life, and do not believe that God takes care of the affairs of the world, nor that the universe is governed and continued in being by that blessed and immortal nature, but say that the world is carried along of its own accord, without a ruler and a curator; 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. |
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15. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 2.165 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.165. and they say, that to act what is good, or what is evil, is at men’s own choice, and that the one or the other belongs so to every one, that they may act as they please. They also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades. |
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16. Mishnah, Avot, 1.13 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 1.13. He [also] used to say: one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed; one who does not add [to his knowledge] causes [it] to cease; one who does not study [the Torah] deserves death; on who makes [unworthy] use of the crown [of learning] shall pass away." |
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17. Mishnah, Berachot, 1.5, 2.2, 9.5 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 1.5. They mention the Exodus from Egypt at night. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: \"Behold, I am almost a seventy-year old man and I have not succeeded in [understanding why] the Exodus from Egypt should be mentioned at night, until Ben Zoma explained it from a verse (Deuteronomy 16:3): ‘In order that you may remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life.’ ‘The days of your life’ refers to the days. ‘All the days of your life’ refers to the nights. And the sages say: ‘the days of your life’ refers to this world. ‘All the days of your life’ includes the days of the Messiah." 2.2. These are the breaks between the sections: between the first blessing and the second, between the second and “Shema,” between “Shema” and “And it shall come to pass if you listen” between “And it shall come to pass if you listen” and “And the Lord said” and between “And the Lord said” and “Emet veYatziv” (true and firm). Rabbi Judah says: between “And the Lord said” and “Emet veYatziv” one should not interrupt. Rabbi Joshua ben Korhah said: Why was the section of “Shema” placed before that of “And it shall come to pass if you listen”? So that one should first accept upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven and then take upon himself the yoke of the commandments. Why does the section of “And it shall come to pass if you listen” come before that of “And the Lord said”? Because “And it shall come to pass if you listen” is customary during both day and night, whereas [the section] “And the Lord said” is customary only during the day." 9.5. One must bless [God] for the evil in the same way as one blesses for the good, as it says, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). “With all your heart,” with your two impulses, the evil impulse as well as the good impulse. “With all your soul” even though he takes your soul [life] away from you. “With all your might” with all your money. Another explanation, “With all your might” whatever treatment he metes out to you. One should not show disrespect to the Eastern Gate, because it is in a direct line with the Holy of Holies. One should not enter the Temple Mount with a staff, or with shoes on, or with a wallet, or with dusty feet; nor should one make it a short cut, all the more spitting [is forbidden]. All the conclusions of blessings that were in the Temple they would say, “forever [lit. as long as the world is].” When the sectarians perverted their ways and said that there was only one world, they decreed that they should say, “for ever and ever [lit. from the end of the world to the end of the world]. They also decreed that a person should greet his fellow in God’s name, as it says, “And behold Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, ‘May the Lord be with you.’ And they answered him, “May the Lord bless you’” (Ruth 2:. And it also says, “The Lord is with your, you valiant warrior” (Judges 6:12). And it also says, “And do not despise your mother when she grows old” (Proverbs 23:22). And it also says, “It is time to act on behalf of the Lord, for they have violated Your teaching” (Psalms 119:126). Rabbi Natan says: [this means] “They have violated your teaching It is time to act on behalf of the Lord.”" |
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18. Mishnah, Sanhedrin, 4.1, 4.5, 10.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.1. Both non-capital and capital cases require examination and inquiry [of the witnesses], as it says, “You shall have one manner of law” (Lev. 24:22). How do non-capital cases differ from capital cases? Non-capital cases [are decided] by three and capital cases by twenty three. Non-capital cases may begin either with reasons for acquittal or for conviction; capital cases begin with reasons for acquittal and do not begin with reasons for conviction. In non-capital cases they may reach a verdict of either acquittal or conviction by the decision of a majority of one; in capital cases they may reach an acquittal by the majority of one but a verdict of conviction only by the decision of a majority of two. In non-capital cases they may reverse a verdict either [from conviction] to acquittal or [from acquittal] to conviction; in capital cases they may reverse a verdict [from conviction] to acquittal but not [from acquittal] to conviction. In non-capital cases all may argue either in favor of conviction or of acquittal; in capital cases all may argue in favor of acquittal but not all may argue in favor of conviction. In non-capital cases he that had argued in favor of conviction may afterward argue in favor of acquittal, or he that had argued in favor of acquittal may afterward argue in favor of conviction; in capital cases he that had argued in favor of conviction may afterward argue in favor of acquittal but he that had argued in favor of acquittal cannot afterward argue in favor of conviction. In non-capital cases they hold the trial during the daytime and the verdict may be reached during the night; in capital cases they hold the trial during the daytime and the verdict also must be reached during the daytime. In non-capital cases the verdict, whether of acquittal or of conviction, may be reached the same day; in capital cases a verdict of acquittal may be reached on the same day, but a verdict of conviction not until the following day. Therefore trials may not be held on the eve of a Sabbath or on the eve of a Festival." 4.5. How did they admonish witnesses in capital cases? They brought them in and admonished them, [saying], “Perhaps you will say something that is only a supposition or hearsay or secondhand, or even from a trustworthy man. Or perhaps you do not know that we shall check you with examination and inquiry? Know, moreover, that capital cases are not like non-capital cases: in non-capital cases a man may pay money and so make atonement, but in capital cases the witness is answerable for the blood of him [that is wrongfully condemned] and the blood of his descendants [that should have been born to him] to the end of the world.” For so have we found it with Cain that murdered his brother, for it says, “The bloods of your brother cry out” (Gen. 4:10). It doesn’t say, “The blood of your brother”, but rather “The bloods of your brother” meaning his blood and the blood of his descendants. Another saying is, “The bloods of your brother” that his blood was cast over trees and stones. Therefore but a single person was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single life to perish from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had caused a whole world to perish; and anyone who saves a single soul from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had saved a whole world. Again [but a single person was created] for the sake of peace among humankind, that one should not say to another, “My father was greater than your father”. Again, [but a single person was created] against the heretics so they should not say, “There are many ruling powers in heaven”. Again [but a single person was created] to proclaim the greatness of the Holy Blessed One; for humans stamp many coins with one seal and they are all like one another; but the King of kings, the Holy Blessed One, has stamped every human with the seal of the first man, yet not one of them are like another. Therefore everyone must say, “For my sake was the world created.” And if perhaps you [witnesses] would say, “Why should we be involved with this trouble”, was it not said, “He, being a witness, whether he has seen or known, [if he does not speak it, then he shall bear his iniquity] (Lev. 5:1). And if perhaps you [witnesses] would say, “Why should we be guilty of the blood of this man?, was it not said, “When the wicked perish there is rejoicing” (Proverbs 11:10).]" 10.1. All Israel have a portion in the world to come, for it says, “Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for ever; They are the shoot that I planted, my handiwork in which I glory” (Isaiah 60:2. And these are the ones who have no portion in the world to come: He who maintains that resurrection is not a biblical doctrine, that the torah was not divinely revealed, and an epikoros. Rabbi Akiva says: “Even one who reads non-canonical books and one who whispers [a charm] over a wound and says, “I will not bring upon you any of the diseases whichbrought upon the Egyptians: for I the lord am you healer” (Exodus 15:26). Abba Shaul says: “Also one who pronounces the divine name as it is spelled.”" |
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19. Mishnah, Yadayim, 3.5 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 3.5. A scroll on which the writing has become erased and eighty-five letters remain, as many as are in the section beginning, \"And it came to pass when the ark set forward\" (Numbers 11:35-36) defiles the hands. A single sheet on which there are written eighty-five letters, as many as are in the section beginning, \"And it came to pass when the ark set forward\", defiles the hands. All the Holy Scriptures defile the hands. The Song of Songs and Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) defile the hands. Rabbi Judah says: the Song of Songs defiles the hands, but there is a dispute about Kohelet. Rabbi Yose says: Kohelet does not defile the hands, but there is a dispute about the Song of Songs. Rabbi Shimon says: [the ruling about] Kohelet is one of the leniencies of Bet Shammai and one of the stringencies of Bet Hillel. Rabbi Shimon ben Azzai said: I have received a tradition from the seventy-two elders on the day when they appointed Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah head of the academy that the Song of Songs and Kohelet defile the hands. Rabbi Akiba said: Far be it! No man in Israel disputed that the Song of Songs [saying] that it does not defile the hands. For the whole world is not as worthy as the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the writings are holy but the Song of Songs is the holy of holies. If they had a dispute, they had a dispute only about Kohelet. Rabbi Yoha ben Joshua the son of the father-in-law of Rabbi Akiva said in accordance with the words of Ben Azzai: so they disputed and so they reached a decision." |
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20. New Testament, Acts, 23.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 23.8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess all of these. |
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21. New Testament, Apocalypse, 3.20 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me. |
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22. New Testament, Galatians, 4.21-5.1, 4.24 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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23. Tosefta, Kiddushin, 1.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 1.5. A ship is acquired with drawing (meshikhah). Rabbi Natan says: A ship and documents are acquired with drawing and with a contract. Which is drawing? Whether he drew [the animal], whether he drove [it], whether he called to it and it came after him—this is drawing. Which is handing over (mesirah)? Anyone who handed over to him the halter and he took it—this is handing over. In what cases did they say that moveable property is acquired with drawing? In the public road or in a courtyard which doesn't belong to either [party in the transaction]. On the property of the buyer, whenever he accepts it, he acquires. On the property of the seller, when he lifts it or until he takes it out of the owner's property. On the property of the one with whom he deposited [the animal], until he [the bailee] accepts it [the responsibility of looking after the item for the buyer] or until he [the buyer] rents the place [where the item is stored with the bailee]." |
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24. Tosefta, Qiddushin, 1.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 1.5. A ship is acquired with drawing (meshikhah). Rabbi Natan says: A ship and documents are acquired with drawing and with a contract. Which is drawing? Whether he drew [the animal], whether he drove [it], whether he called to it and it came after him—this is drawing. Which is handing over (mesirah)? Anyone who handed over to him the halter and he took it—this is handing over. In what cases did they say that moveable property is acquired with drawing? In the public road or in a courtyard which doesn't belong to either [party in the transaction]. On the property of the buyer, whenever he accepts it, he acquires. On the property of the seller, when he lifts it or until he takes it out of the owner's property. On the property of the one with whom he deposited [the animal], until he [the bailee] accepts it [the responsibility of looking after the item for the buyer] or until he [the buyer] rents the place [where the item is stored with the bailee]." |
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25. Tosefta, Sanhedrin, 4.1, 12.10 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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26. Anon., Qohelet Rabba, 5.11 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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27. Anon., Genesis Rabba, 1.2, 46.10, 56.2 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 1.2. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ דְּסִכְנִין בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי פָּתַח (תהלים קיא, ו): כֹּחַ מַעֲשָׂיו הִגִּיד לְעַמּוֹ לָתֵת לָהֶם נַחֲלַת גּוֹיִם, מַה טַּעַם גִּלָּה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל מַה שֶּׁנִּבְרָא בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן, וּמַה שֶּׁנִּבְרָא בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי, מִפְּנֵי עוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים וּמַזָּלוֹת, שֶׁלֹא יִהְיוּ מוֹנִין אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאוֹמְרִין לָהֶם הֲלֹא אֻמָּה שֶׁל בְּזוּזִים אַתֶּם, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל מְשִׁיבִין אוֹתָן וְאוֹמְרִין לָהֶם, וְאַתֶּם הֲלֹא בְּזוּזָה הִיא בְּיֶדְכֶם, הֲלֹא (דברים ב, כג): כַּפְתֹּרִים הַיֹּצְאִים מִכַּפְתֹּר הִשְׁמִידֻם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם, הָעוֹלָם וּמְלוֹאוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, כְּשֶׁרָצָה נְתָנָהּ לָכֶם, וּכְשֶׁרָצָה נְטָלָהּ מִכֶּם וּנְתָנָהּ לָנוּ, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב: לָתֵת לָהֶם נַחֲלַת גּוֹיִם וגו', הִגִּיד לָהֶם אֶת כָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת. 56.2. אָמַר לְיִצְחָק, בְּנִי, רוֹאֶה אַתָּה מַה שֶּׁאֲנִי רוֹאֶה, אָמַר לוֹ הֵן. אָמַר לִשְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו, רוֹאִים אַתֶּם מַה שֶּׁאֲנִי רוֹאֶה, אָמְרוּ לוֹ לַאו. אָמַר הוֹאִיל וַחֲמוֹר אֵינוֹ רוֹאֶה וְאַתֶּם אֵין אַתֶּם רוֹאִים (בראשית כב, ה): שְׁבוּ לָכֶם פֹּה עִם הַחֲמוֹר. וּמִנַּיִין שֶׁהָעֲבָדִים דּוֹמִין לִבְהֵמָה, מֵהָכָא, שְׁבוּ לָכֶם פֹּה עִם הַחֲמוֹר, עַם הַחֲמוֹר. רַבָּנָן מַיְתֵי לֵיהּ מֵהָכָא מִמַּתַּן תּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כ, ט י): שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ כָּל מְלַאכְתֶּךָ וגו' אַתָּה וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ וְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ וּבְהֶמְתֶּךָ, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק עָתִיד הַמָּקוֹם לִרָחֵק מִבְּעָלָיו, וּלְעוֹלָם, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר (תהלים קלב, יד): זֹאת מְנוּחָתִי עֲדֵי עַד פֹּה אֵשֵׁב, לִכְשֶׁיָּבוֹא אוֹתוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ (זכריה ט, ט): עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל חֲמוֹר. (בראשית כב, ה): וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה, אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי נֵלֵךְ וְנִרְאֶה מַה יִּהְיֶה בְּסוֹפוֹ שֶׁל כֹּה. (בראשית כב, ה): וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם, בִּשְֹּׂרוֹ שֶׁהוּא חוֹזֵר מֵהַר הַמּוֹרִיָה בְּשָׁלוֹם. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק הַכֹּל בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, וְאַבְרָהָם לֹא חָזַר מֵהַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה בְּשָׁלוֹם אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם. יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא נִגְאֲלוּ אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות ד, לא): וַיַּאֲמֵן הָעָם וגו' וַיִקְדּוּ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ. הַתּוֹרָה לֹא נִתְּנָה אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כד, א): וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם מֵרָחֹק. חַנָּה לֹא נִפְקְדָה אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמואל א א, כח): וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ שָׁם לַה': הַגָּלֻיּוֹת אֵינָן מִתְכַּנְסוֹת אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה כז, יג): וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל וגו' וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַה' בְּהַר הַקֹּדֶשׁ בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם. בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לֹא נִבְנָה אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים צט, ט): רוֹמְמוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְהַר קָדְשׁוֹ. הַמֵּתִים אֵינָן חַיִּין אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּת הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים צה, ו): בֹּאוּ נִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנִכְרָעָה נִבְרְכָה לִפְנֵי ה' עֹשֵׂנוּ. | 1.2. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin in the name of Rabbi Levi opened [with the verse (Tehillim 111:6),] \"The power of His works he told to His people [Yisrael].\" Why did Hashem reveal to Yisrael that which was created on the first day, and the second day [and so forth]? Because of the idolaters - so that they will not embitter Yisrael and say to them, \"Are you not a nation of thieves?\" And Yisrael would reply to them, saying, \"Aren't your own lands stolen? Didn't (Devarim 2:23) 'The Caphtorim emerge from Caphtor and destroy [the Aviyim] and settle in their stead?' [Furthermore,] the entire world belongs to Hashem; thus, when it pleased Him, He gave it to you, and when it pleased Him, He took it from you and gave it to us.\" As it is written (Tehillim 111:6), \"[In order] to give them an inheritance of the nations,\" He told [Yisrael] all of the generations." 56.2. He then said to him [Itzchak]: ‘Itzchak, my son do you what I see?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. He said to his two servants: ‘Do you see what I see?’ ‘No,’ they answered. ‘Since you do not see it, “stay here with the donkey,” (Gen. 22:5), he bade them, because you are like the donkey, it follows that slaves are like cattle. The Rabbis proved [it from this verse spoken at] the Revelation: Six days you shall labor, and do all your work … you, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle (Ex. 20:10). R. Itzchak said: This place shall one day be alienated from its Owner. For ever? [No], for it is stated, “This is My resting-place forever; here will I dwell for I have desired it” (Ps. 132:14) — when he comes of whom it is written, “Lowly, and riding upon a donkey” (Zech. 1:9). “And I and the lad will go just there” — Ad Koh. Said R. Joshua b. Levi: We will go and see what is to be the eventual outcome of Koh. “And we will worship, and we will come back to you.” He informed him [through these words] that he [Itzchak] would return safely from Mount Moriah. R. Itzchak said: Everything happened as a reward for worshipping. Abraham returned in peace from Mount Moriah only as a reward for worshipping. “And we will worship, and we will come back to you.” Israel were redeemed only as a reward for worshipping: “And the people believed … then they bowed their heads and worshipped” (Ex. 4:31). The Torah was given only as a reward for worshipping: “And worship y’all afar off” (Ex. 24:1). Hannah was remembered only as a reward for worshipping: “And they worshipped before the Lord” (I Sam. 1:19). The exiles will be reassembled only as a reward for worshipping: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great horn shall be blown; and they shall come that were lost … and that were dispersed … and they shall worship Ad-nai in the holy mountain at Jerusalem” (Isa. 27:13). The Temple was built only as a reward for worshipping: “Exalt y’all Ad-nai our God, and worship at His holy mountain” (Ps. 99:9). The dead will come to life again only as a reward for worshipping: “O come, let us worship and bend the knee; let us kneel before Ad-nai our Maker (Ps 95:6)." |
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28. Anon., Leviticus Rabba, 9.3, 20.2 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 9.3. דָּבָר אַחֵר, וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ, אָמַר רַבִּי יַנַּאי וְשָׁם כְּתִיב דְּשָׁיֵם אָרְחֵיהּ, סַגֵּי שָׁוֵי, מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי יַנַּאי שֶׁהָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְרָאָה אָדָם אֶחָד שֶׁהָיָה מְשֻׁפַּע בְּיוֹתֵר, אֲמַר לֵיהּ מַשְׁגַּח רַבִּי מִתְקַבְּלָא גַבָּן, אֲמַר לוֹ אִין, הִכְנִיסוֹ לְבֵיתוֹ הֶאֱכִילוֹ וְהִשְׁקָהוּ, בְּדָקוֹ בְּמִקְרָא וְלֹא מְצָאוֹ, בְּמִשְׁנָה וְלֹא מְצָאוֹ, בְּאַגָּדָה וְלֹא מְצָאוֹ, בְּתַלְמוּד וְלֹא מְצָאוֹ, אֲמַר לֵיהּ סַב בְּרִיךְ, אֲמַר לֵיהּ יְבָרֵךְ יַנַּאי בְּבֵיתֵיהּ, אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִית בָּךְ אֲמַר מַה דַּאֲנָא אֲמַר לָךְ, אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִין, אֲמַר לֵיהּ אֱמֹר אָכוֹל כַּלְבָּא פִּיסְתְּיָא דְּיַנַּאי, קָם תַּפְסֵיהּ אֲמַר לֵיהּ יְרוּתָתִי גַבָּךְ דְּאַתְּ מוֹנֵעַ לִי, אֲמַר לֵיהּ וּמַה יַרְתּוּתָךְ גַבִּי, אֲמַר לֵיהּ חַד זְמַן הֲוֵינָא עָבַר קַמֵּי בֵּית סִפְרָא, וּשְׁמָעִית קָלְהוֹן דְּמֵנִיקַיָא אָמְרִין (דברים לג, ד): תּוֹרָה צִוָּה לָנוּ משֶׁה מוֹרָשָׁה קְהִלַּת יַעֲקֹב, מוֹרָשָׁה קְהִלַּת יַנַּאי אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא קְהִלַּת יַעֲקֹב. אֲמַר לֵיהּ לָמָּה זָכִיתָ לְמֵיכְלָא עַל פְּתוֹרִי, אֲמַר לוֹ מִיּוֹמַי לָא שְׁמָעִית מִילָא בִּישָׁא וְחִזַּרְתִּי לְמָרַהּ, וְלָא חָמֵית תְּרֵין דְּמִתְכַּתְּשִׁין דֵּין עִם דֵּין וְלָא יְהַבִית שְׁלָמָא בֵּינֵיהוֹן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ כָּל הֲדָא דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ גַּבָּךְ וְקָרִיתָךְ כַּלְבָּא, קָרָא עֲלֵיהּ שָׁם דֶּרֶךְ, דְּשָׁיֵם אָרְחֵיהּ סַגֵּי שָׁוֵי, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בַּר רַב נַחְמָן עֶשְׂרִים וְשִׁשָּׁה דוֹרוֹת קָדְמָה דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית ג, כד): לִשְׁמֹר אֶת דֶּרֶךְ עֵץ הַחַיִּים, דֶּרֶךְ, זוֹ דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, וְאַחַר כָּךְ עֵץ הַחַיִּים, זוֹ תּוֹרָה. אַרְאֶנּוּ בְּיֵשַׁע אֱלֹהִים, אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ זֶה אֶחָד מִן הַמִּקְרָאוֹת שֶׁיְשׁוּעָתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא יְשׁוּעָתָן שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל (תהלים פ, ג): וּלְכָה לִישֻׁעָתָה לָּנוּ. 20.2. דָּבָר אַחֵר, אַחֲרֵי מוֹת, רַבִּי לֵוִי פָּתַח (תהלים עה, ה): אָמַרְתִּי לַהוֹלְלִים אַל תָּהוֹלוּ, לַהוֹלְלִים, לִמְעַרְבְּבַיָּא, אֵלּוּ שֶׁלִּבָּם מָלֵא עֲלֵיהֶם חַלְחוֹלִיּוֹת רָעוֹת, רַבִּי לֵוִי הֲוָה צָוַח לְהוֹן אַלְלַיָיא, שֶׁמְבִיאִין אַלְלַי לָעוֹלָם. (תהלים עה, ה): וְלָרְשָׁעִים אַל תָּרִימוּ קָרֶן, אָמַר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לָרְשָׁעִים, הַצַּדִּיקִים לֹא שָׂמְחוּ בְּעוֹלָמִי וְאַתֶּם מְבַקְּשִׁין לִשְׂמֹחַ. רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן מְנַסְיָא אָמַר תַּפּוּחַ עֲקֵבוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן הָיָה מַכְּהֶה גַּלְגַּל חַמָּה, קְלַסְתֵּר פָּנָיו עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה, וְאַל תִּתְמַהּ, בְּנֹהַג שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם אָדָם עוֹשֶׂה דִיסְקָרִי, אֶחָד לוֹ וְאֶחָד לְבֵיתוֹ, שֶׁל מִי עוֹשֶׂה נָאֶה לֹא אֶת שֶׁלּוֹ, כָּךְ אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן נִבְרָא לְתַשְׁמִישׁ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְגַלְגַּל חַמָּה לְתַשְׁמִישָׁן שֶׁל בְּרִיּוֹת. אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי חָמָא בַּר חֲנִינָא, שְׁלשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה חֻפּוֹת קָשַׁר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּגַן עֵדֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל כח, יג): בְּעֵדֶן גַּן אֱלֹהִים הָיִיתָ כָּל אֶבֶן יְקָרָה מְסֻכָתֶךָ אֹדֶם פִּטְדָה וְיַהֲלֹם תַּרְשִׁישׁ שֹׁהַם וְיָשְׁפֵה סַפִּיר נֹפֶךְ וּבָרְקַת וְזָהָב מְלֶאכֶת תֻּפֶּיךָ וּנְקָבֶיךָ בָּךְ בְּיוֹם הִבָּרַאֲךָ כּוֹנָנוּ. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ אָמַר חַד עֲשַׂר, וְרַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי עֲשַׂר, וְלָא פְּלִיגֵי מַאן דַעֲבַד לְהוֹן תְּלַת עֲשַׂר עָבֵיד כָּל אֶבֶן יְקָרָה מְסֻכָתֶךָ תְּלַת, מַאן דַּעֲבַד לְהוֹן חַד סַר, עֲבֵיד לְהוּ חָדָא, מַאן דַעֲבַד לְהוֹן עֲשָׂרָה לָא עֲבֵיד חַד מִנְהוֹן, וְאַחַר כָּל הַשֶּׁבַח הַזֶּה (בראשית ג, יט): כִּי עָפָר אַתָּה וְאֶל עָפָר תָּשׁוּב. אַבְרָהָם לֹא שָׂמַח בְּעוֹלָמִי וְאַתֶּם מְבַקְּשִׁים לִשְמֹחַ. נוֹלַד לוֹ בֵּן לְמֵאָה שָׁנָה וּבַסּוֹף אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא (בראשית כב, ב): קַח נָא אֶת בִּנְךָ, וְהָלַךְ אַבְרָהָם מַהֲלַךְ שְׁלשֶׁת יָמִים, לְאַחַר שְׁלשָׁה יָמִים רָאָה עָנָן קָשׁוּר עַל גַּב הָהָר, אָמַר לוֹ בְּנִי רוֹאֶה אַתָּה מַה שֶּׁאֲנִי רוֹאֶה, אָמַר לֵיהּ הֵן, מָה אַתָּה רוֹאֶה אָמַר לֵיהּ עָנָן קָשׁוּר עַל גַּב הָהָר אֲנִי רוֹאֶה, אָמַר לְיִשְׁמָעֵאל וְלֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר רוֹאִים אַתֶּם כְּלוּם, אָמְרוּ לֵיהּ לָאו, אָמַר לָהֶם הוֹאִיל וְאֵינְכֶם רוֹאִים כְּלוּם וַחֲמוֹר זֶה אֵינוֹ רוֹאֶה (בראשית כב, ה): שְׁבוּ לָכֶם פֹּה עִם הַחֲמוֹר, עַם הַדּוֹמִים לַחֲמוֹר. נָטַל אֶת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ וְהֶעֱלָהוּ הָרִים וְהוֹרִידוֹ גְּבָעוֹת, הֶעֱלָהוּ עַל אֶחָד מִן הֶהָרִים וּבָנָה מִזְבֵּחַ וְסִדֵּר עֵצִים וְעָרַךְ מַעֲרָכָה וְנָטַל אֶת הַסַּכִּין לְשָׁחֲטוֹ, וְאִלּוּלֵי שֶׁקְּרָאוֹ מַלְאָךְ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם כְּבָר הָיָה נִשְׁחָט. תֵּדַע שֶׁכֵּן, שֶׁחָזַר יִצְחָק אֵצֶל אִמּוֹ, וְאָמְרָה לוֹ אָן הָיִיתָ בְּרִי, אָמַר לָהּ נְטָלַנִּי אָבִי וְהֶעֱלַנִי הָרִים וְהוֹרִידַנִּי גְבָעוֹת וכו', אָמְרָה וַוי עַל בְּרִי דְרֵיוָתָא, אִלּוּלֵי הַמַּלְאָךְ כְּבָר הָיִיתָ שָׁחוּט, אָמַר לָהּ אִין. בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה צָוְחָה שִׁשָּׁה קוֹלוֹת כְּנֶגֶד שִׁשָּׁה תְּקִיעוֹת, אָמְרוּ לֹא הִסְפִּיקָה אֶת הַדָּבָר עַד שֶׁמֵּתָה, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית כג, ב): וַיָּבֹא אַבְרָהָם לִסְפֹּד לְשָׂרָה וְלִבְכֹּתָהּ, וּמֵהֵיכָן בָּא, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶּן רַבִּי סִימוֹן אָמַר מֵהַר הַמּוֹרִיָה בָּא, וְהָיָה אַבְרָהָם מְהַרְהֵר בְּלִבּוֹ וְאוֹמֵר שֶׁמָּא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם נִמְצָא בּוֹ פְּסוּל וְלֹא נִתְקַבֵּל קָרְבָּנוֹ, יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאוֹמֶרֶת לוֹ (קהלת ט, ז): לֵךְ אֱכֹל בְּשִׂמְחָה לַחְמֶךָ. יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׂמְחוּ בְּעוֹלָמִי, שָׂמַח יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֹשָׂיו אֵינוֹ אוֹמֵר אֶלָּא (תהלים קמט, ב): יִשְׂמַח, עֲתִידִין הֵן לִשְׂמֹחַ בְּמַעֲשָׂיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא. כִּבְיָכוֹל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לֹא שָׂמַח בְּעוֹלָמוֹ, שָׂמַח ה' בְּמַעֲשָׂיו אֵינוֹ אוֹמֵר, אֶלָּא (תהלים קד, לא): יִשְׂמַח, עָתִיד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לִשְׂמֹחַ בְּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא. אֱלִישֶׁבַע בַּת עֲמִינָדָב לֹא שָׂמְחָה בָּעוֹלָם, שֶׁרָאֲתָה חֲמִשָּׁה כְּתָרִים בְּיוֹם אֶחָד, יְבָמָהּ מֶלֶךְ, אָחִיהָ נָשִׂיא, בַּעֲלָהּ כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, שְׁנֵי בָּנֶיהָ שְׁנֵי סְגָנֵי כְּהֻנָּה, פִּנְחָס בֶּן בְּנָהּ מְשׁוּחַ מִלְחָמָה, כֵּיוָן שֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ בָּנֶיהָ לְהַקְרִיב וְנִשְׂרְפוּ, נֶהְפְּכָה שִׂמְחָתָהּ לְאֵבֶל, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: אַחֲרֵי מוֹת שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן. | 9.3. Another opinion regarding the verse (Ps. 50:23) “And there is a path, I will show him the salvation of God”- Rabbi Yanai said: the it is written the one who puts a path[with a sin and not a shin], meaning that two ways are similar [in bringing one to salvation] Rabbi Yannai was once walking along the road, and saw a man who was extremely well dressed. Rabbi Yannai said to him: Would you like to come over to my house? The man replied: Yes. Rabbi Yannai brought him into his home, and gave him food and drink. As they were eating and drinking together, he examined him in his knowledge of Bible, and found out that he had none; examined his knowledge of Mishnah, and realized that he had none; his knowledge of legends, and saw that he had none; his knowledge of Talmud and saw he had none. Rabbi Yannai then told him: Wash and recite grace. Said the guest: Let Yannai recite grace in his own home. Seeing that he could not even recite a blessing, Yannai told him: Can you at least repeat what I say? Said he: Yes. Said Rabbi Yannai: repeat the following: 'A dog has eaten Yannai's bread.' offended, the man stood up, and grabbed Rabbi Yannai by the coat! He then said: My inheritance is with you, and you are withholding it from me! Said Rabbi Yannai with puzzlement: What legacy of yours is there with me? He replied: Once I passed by a school, and I heard the voices of the little children saying: 'Moses gave us the Torah, the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.' They did not say 'the inheritance of the congregation of Yannai,' but the 'congregation of Jacob.' Rabbi Yannai asked, “How then are you worthy to eat at my table?” The guest replied, “Never have I heard an evil word spoken against me and returned to argue with the person who spoke it. Never have I seen two people arguing without making peace between them.” Rabbi Yannai then said, “you have so much Derech Eretz and I called you a dog.” On him rabbi Yanai said the verse “And there is a path” – meaning not one, but two paths take you to salvation – since rabbi Ishmael son of rav Nachman said: Derech eretz precedes Torah by 26 generations, since it is written “and to guard the way to the Tree of Life” (Genesis 3). “Way” is the derech eretz, and only after that comes “Tree of Life” which is Torah. [Back to the verse in question, Ps 50:23] I will show him the salvation of God, said rabbi Abahu: this is one of the sources for the idea that God’s salvation is Israel’s salvation (Ps. 80:3) “and come and save us”" |
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29. Anon., Mekhilta Derabbi Yishmael, kaspa 20 (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
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30. Anon., Sifre Deuteronomy, 343, 41, 157 (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
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31. Anon., Sifre Numbers, 160, 117 (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
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32. Justin, Dialogue With Trypho, 96.2, 137.2 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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33. Palestinian Talmud, Berachot, 2.8 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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34. Palestinian Talmud, Hagigah, 2.1 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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35. Palestinian Talmud, Betzah, 60c (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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36. Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah, 17a, 18a, 22b, 10b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 10b. ולימא ליה מימר [בהדיא] אמר שמעי (בי) חשובי רומי ומצערו ליה ולימא ליה בלחש משום דכתיב (קהלת י, כ) כי עוף השמים יוליך את הקול,הוה ליה ההוא ברתא דשמה גירא קעבדה איסורא שדר ליה גרגירא שדר ליה כוסברתא שדר ליה כרתי שלח ליה חסא,כל יומא הוה שדר ליה דהבא פריכא במטראתא וחיטי אפומייהו אמר להו אמטיו חיטי לרבי אמר [ליה רבי] לא צריכנא אית לי טובא אמר ליהוו למאן דבתרך דיהבי לבתראי דאתו בתרך ודאתי מינייהו ניפוק עלייהו,ה"ל ההיא נקרתא דהוה עיילא מביתיה לבית רבי כל יומא הוה מייתי תרי עבדי חד קטליה אבבא דבי רבי וחד קטליה אבבא דביתיה א"ל בעידנא דאתינא לא נשכח גבר קמך,יומא חד אשכחיה לר' חנינא בר חמא דהוה יתיב אמר לא אמינא לך בעידנא דאתינא לא נשכח גבר קמך א"ל לית דין בר איניש א"ל אימא ליה לההוא עבדא דגני אבבא דקאים וליתי,אזל ר' חנינא בר חמא אשכחיה דהוה קטיל אמר היכי אעביד אי איזיל ואימא ליה דקטיל אין משיבין על הקלקלה אשבקיה ואיזיל קא מזלזלינן במלכותא בעא רחמי עליה ואחייה ושדריה אמר ידענא זוטי דאית בכו מחיה מתים מיהו בעידנא דאתינא לא נשכח איניש קמך,כל יומא הוה משמש לרבי מאכיל ליה משקי ליה כי הוה בעי רבי למיסק לפוריא הוה גחין קמי פוריא א"ל סק עילואי לפורייך אמר לאו אורח ארעא לזלזולי במלכותא כולי האי אמר מי ישימני מצע תחתיך לעולם הבא,א"ל אתינא לעלמא דאתי א"ל אין א"ל והכתיב (עובדיה א, יח) לא יהיה שריד לבית עשו בעושה מעשה עשו,תניא נמי הכי לא יהיה שריד לבית עשו יכול לכל ת"ל לבית עשו בעושה מעשה עשו,א"ל והכתיב (יחזקאל לב, כט) שמה אדום מלכיה וכל נשיאיה א"ל מלכיה ולא כל מלכיה כל נשיאיה ולא כל שריה,תניא נמי הכי מלכיה ולא כל מלכיה כל נשיאיה ולא כל שריה מלכיה ולא כל מלכיה פרט לאנטונינוס בן אסוירוס כל נשיאיה ולא כל שריה פרט לקטיעה בר שלום,קטיעה בר שלום מאי הוי דההוא קיסרא דהוה סני ליהודאי אמר להו לחשיבי דמלכותא מי שעלה לו נימא ברגלו יקטענה ויחיה או יניחנה ויצטער אמרו לו יקטענה ויחיה,אמר להו קטיעה בר שלום חדא דלא יכלת להו לכולהו דכתיב (זכריה ב, י) כי כארבע רוחות השמים פרשתי אתכם מאי קאמר אלימא דבדרתהון בד' רוחות האי כארבע רוחות לארבע רוחות מבעי ליה אלא כשם שא"א לעולם בלא רוחות כך א"א לעולם בלא ישראל ועוד קרו לך מלכותא קטיעה,א"ל מימר שפיר קאמרת מיהו כל דזכי (מלכא) שדו ליה לקמוניא חלילא כד הוה נקטין ליה ואזלין אמרה ליה ההיא מטרוניתא ווי ליה לאילפא דאזלא בלא מכסא נפל על רישא דעורלתיה קטעה אמר יהבית מכסי חלפית ועברית כי קא שדו ליה אמר כל נכסאי לר"ע וחביריו יצא ר"ע ודרש (שמות כט, כח) והיה לאהרן ולבניו מחצה לאהרן ומחצה לבניו,יצתה בת קול ואמרה קטיעה בר שלום מזומן לחיי העוה"ב בכה רבי ואמר יש קונה עולמו בשעה אחת ויש קונה עולמו בכמה שנים,אנטונינוס שמשיה לרבי אדרכן שמשיה לרב כי שכיב אנטונינוס א"ר נתפרדה חבילה כי שכיב אדרכן אמר רב | 10b. The Gemara asks: bButwhy not blet him sayhis advice bexplicitly?Why did Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi answer in such a circumspect way, which could have been interpreted incorrectly? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaidto himself: If I answer openly, bthe important Romansmight bhear me and will causeme banguish.The Gemara asks: bButwhy not blet him sayhis advice bquietly?The Gemara explains: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was still worried that they might hear what he had said, bbecause it is written:“Curse not the king, no, not in your thought, and curse not the rich in your bedchamber, bfor a bird of the air shall carry the voice”(Ecclesiastes 10:20).,The Gemara relates: Antoninus bhad a certain daughter whose name was Gira,who bperformed a prohibited action,i.e., she engaged in promiscuous intercourse. Antoninus bsent a rocket plant [ igargira /i] toRabbi Yehuda HaNasi, to allude to the fact that Gira had acted promiscuously [ igar /i]. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsent him coriander [ ikusbarta /i],which Antoninus understood as a message to kill [ ikos /i] his daughter [ ibarta /i], as she was liable to receive the death penalty for her actions. Antoninus bsent him leeks [ ikarti /i]to say: I will be cut off [ ikaret /i] if I do so. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi then bsent him lettuce [ iḥasa /i],i.e., Antoninus should have mercy [ iḥas /i] on her.,The Gemara relates: bEvery dayAntoninus bwould send toRabbi Yehuda HaNasi bcrushed gold in large sacks, with wheat in the opening ofthe sacks. bHewould bsay tohis servants: bBringthis bwheat to RabbiYehuda HaNasi, and they did not realize that the bags actually contained gold. bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bsaid toAntoninus: bI do not needgold, as bI have plenty.Antoninus bsaid:The gold bshould be for those who will come after you, who will give it to the last ones who come after you. And those who descend from them will bring forththe gold that I now give you, and will be able to pay taxes to the Romans from this money.,The Gemara relates anther anecdote involving Antoninus. Antoninus bhad a certainunderground bcavefrom which there was a tunnel bthat went from his house to the house of RabbiYehuda HaNasi. bEvery day he would bring two servantsto serve him. bHe would kill one at the entrance of the house of RabbiYehuda HaNasi, band would killthe other bone at the entrance of his house,so that no living person would know that he had visited Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. bHe said toRabbi Yehuda HaNasi: bWhen I cometo visit, blet no man be found before you. /b, bOne day,Antoninus bfound that Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama was sittingthere. bHe said: Did I not tell youthat bwhen I cometo visit, blet no man be found before you?Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaid to him: This is not a human being;he is like an angel, and you have nothing to fear from him. Antoninus bsaid toRabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama: bTell that servant who is sleeping at the entrance that he should rise and come. /b, bRabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama wentand bfound thatthe servant Antoninus referred to bhad been killed. He saidto himself: bHow shall I act? If I go and tellAntoninus bthat he was killed,this is problematic, as one should bnot report distressingnews. If bI leave him and go,then I would be btreating the king with disrespect. He prayed forGod to have bmercy and revivedthe servant, band he sent himto Antoninus. Antoninus bsaid: I knowthat even bthe least among youcan brevive the dead; but when I cometo visit blet no man be found before you,even one as great as Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama.,The Gemara relates: bEvery dayAntoninus bwould minister to RabbiYehuda HaNasi; bhe would feed himand bgive him to drink. When RabbiYehuda HaNasi bwanted to ascend to his bed,Antoninus bwould bend down in front of the bedand bsay to him: Ascend upon me to your bed.Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaidin response: It is bnot proper conduct to treat the king with this much disrespect.Antoninus bsaid: Oh, that I were set as a mattress under you in the World-to-Come! /b,On another occasion, Antoninus bsaid toRabbi Yehuda HaNasi: Will bI enter the World-to-Come?Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaid to him: Yes.Antoninus bsaid to him: But isn’t it written: “And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau”(Obadiah 1:18)? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi answered: The verse is stated bwith regard tothose who bperform actionssimilar to those bofthe wicked bEsau,not to people like you., bThis is also taughtin a ibaraita /i: From the verse: b“And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau,”one bmighthave thought that this applies bto everyonedescended from Esau, irrespective of an individual’s actions. Therefore, bthe verse states: “of the house of Esau,”to indicate that the verse is stated only bwith regard tothose who continue in the way of Esau, and bperform actionssimilar to those bof Esau. /b,Antoninus bsaid toRabbi Yehuda HaNasi: bBut isn’t it writtenin the description of the netherworld: b“There is Edom, her kings and all her leaders”(Ezekiel 32:29)? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaid to him:The verse states: b“Her kings,” but not: All of her kings,and likewise it states: b“All her leaders,” but not: All of her officers.Some of them will merit the World-to-Come., bThis is also taughtin a ibaraita /i: The verse states: b“Her kings,” but not: All of her kings,and: b“All her leaders,” but not: All of her officers.The inference learned from the wording of the verse: b“Her kings,” but not: All of her kings,serves bto exclude Antoninus the son of Asveirus;and the inference from the wording: b“All her leaders,” but not: All of her officers,serves bto excludethe Roman officer bKetia, son of Shalom. /b,The Gemara asks: bWhat is itthat occurred involving bKetia, son of Shalom? As there was a certainRoman bemperor who hated the Jews. He said to the importantmembers bof the kingdom:If bone had an ulcerous sore [ inima /i] rise on his foot, should he cut it off and live, or leave it and suffer? They said to him: He should cut it off and live.The ulcerous sore was a metaphor for the Jewish people, whom the emperor sought to eliminate as the cause of harm for the Roman Empire., bKetia, son of Shalom, said to them:It is unwise to do so, for two reasons. bOneis bthat you cannotdestroy ball of them, as it is written: “For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven,says the Lord” (Zechariah 2:10). He clarified: bWhat is it saying? Shall we say thatthe verse means that God has bscattered them to the four windsof the world? If so, bthisphrase: b“As the four winds,”is inaccurate, since bit should havesaid: bTo the four winds. Rather,this is what the verse is saying: bJust as the world cannotexist bwithout winds, so too, the world cannotexist bwithout the Jewish people,and they will never be destroyed. bAnd furthermore,if you attempt to carry out the destruction of the Jews, bthey will call you the severed kingdom,as the Roman Empire would be devoid of Jews, but Jews would exist in other locations.,The emperor bsaid toKetia: bYou have spoken welland your statement is correct; bbut they throw anyone who defeats the kingin argument binto a house full of ashes [ ilekamonya ḥalila /i],where he would die. bWhen they were seizingKetia band goingto take him to his death, ba certain matron [ imatronita /i] said to him: Woe to the ship that goes withoutpaying the btax.Ketia bbent down over his foreskin, severed it,and bsaid: I gave my tax; Iwill bpass and enter. When they threw himinto the house of ashes, bhe said: All of my propertyis given bto Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues.How was this inheritance to be divided? The Gemara relates: bRabbi Akiva went out and taughtthat the verse: b“And it shall be for Aaron and his sons”(Exodus 29:28), means bhalf to Aaron and half to his sons.Here too, as Rabbi Akiva is mentioned separately, he should receive half, while his colleagues receive the other half.,The Gemara returns to the story of Ketia. bA Divine Voice emerged and said: Ketia, son of Shalom, is destined for life in the World-to-Come.When bRabbiYehuda HaNasi heard this, bhe wept, saying: There isone who bacquires hisshare in the bWorld /b-to-Come bin one moment, and there isone who bacquires hisshare in the bWorld /b-to-Come only bafter many yearsof toil.,The Gemara relates: bAntoninus would attend to RabbiYehuda HaNasi, and similarly the Persian king bAdrakan would attend to Rav. When Antoninus died, RabbiYehuda HaNasi bsaid: The bundle is separated. When Adrakan died, Ravlikewise bsaid: /b |
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37. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra, 8a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 8a. אלו ת"ח ור"ל סבר לה כדדרש רבא (שיר השירים ח, י) אני חומה זו כנסת ישראל ושדי כמגדלות אלו בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות,רב נחמן בר רב חסדא רמא כרגא ארבנן א"ל רב נחמן בר יצחק עברת אדאורייתא ואדנביאי ואדכתובי,אדאורייתא דכתיב (דברים לג, ג) אף חובב עמים כל קדושיו בידך אמר משה לפני הקב"ה רבונו של עולם אפילו בשעה שאתה מחבב עמים כל קדושיו יהיו בידך והם תכו לרגלך תני רב יוסף אלו תלמידי חכמים שמכתתים רגליהם מעיר לעיר וממדינה למדינה ללמוד תורה ישא מדברותיך לישא וליתן בדבורותיו של מקום,אדנביאי דכתיב (הושע ח, י) גם כי יתנו בגוים עתה אקבצם ויחלו מעט ממשא מלך ושרים אמר עולא פסוק זה בלשון ארמית נאמר אי תנו כולהו עתה אקבצם ואם מעט מהם יחלו ממשא מלך ושרים,אדכתובי דכתיב (עזרא ז, כד) מנדה בלו והלך לא שליט למרמא עליהם ואמר רב יהודה מנדה זו מנת המלך בלו זו כסף גולגלתא והלך זו ארנונא,רב פפא רמא כריא חדתא איתמי א"ל רב שישא בריה דרב אידי לרב פפא ודילמא לא מידויל אמר ליה מישקל שקילנא מנייהו אי מידויל מידויל ואי לא מהדרנא לה ניהלייהו,אמר רב יהודה הכל לאגלי גפא אפילו מיתמי אבל רבנן לא צריכי נטירותא הכל לכריא פתיא אפילו מרבנן ולא אמרן אלא דלא נפקי באכלוזא אבל נפקי באכלוזא רבנן לאו בני מיפק באכלוזא נינהו:,רבי פתח אוצרות בשני בצורת אמר יכנסו בעלי מקרא בעלי משנה בעלי גמרא בעלי הלכה בעלי הגדה אבל עמי הארץ אל יכנסו דחק רבי יונתן בן עמרם ונכנס אמר לו רבי פרנסני אמר לו בני קרית אמר לו לאו שנית אמר לו לאו אם כן במה אפרנסך [אמר לו] פרנסני ככלב וכעורב פרנסיה,בתר דנפק יתיב רבי וקא מצטער ואמר אוי לי שנתתי פתי לעם הארץ אמר לפניו ר' שמעון בר רבי שמא יונתן בן עמרם תלמידך הוא שאינו רוצה ליהנות מכבוד תורה מימיו בדקו ואשכח אמר רבי יכנסו הכל,רבי לטעמיה דאמר רבי אין פורענות בא לעולם אלא בשביל עמי הארץ כההוא דמי כלילא דשדו אטבריא אתו לקמיה דרבי ואמרו ליה ליתבו רבנן בהדן אמר להו לא אמרו ליה ערוקינן [אמר להו] ערוקו ערקו פלגיהון דליוה פלגא,אתו הנהו פלגא קמי דרבי א"ל ליתבו רבנן בהדן אמר להו לא ערוקינן ערוקו ערקו כולהו פש ההוא כובס שדיוה אכובס ערק כובס פקע כלילא א"ר ראיתם שאין פורענות בא לעולם אלא בשביל עמי הארץ:,וכמה יהא בעיר ויהא כאנשי העיר וכו': ורמינהי החמרת והגמלת העוברת ממקום למקום ולנה בתוכה והודחה עמהן הן בסקילה וממונן פלט,ואם נשתהו שם שלשים יום הן בסייף וממונן אבד,אמר רבא לא קשיא הא לבני מתא הא ליתובי מתא כדתניא המודר הנאה מאנשי העיר כל שנשתהא שם שנים עשר חדש אסור ליהנות ממנו פחות מכאן מותר מיושבי העיר כל שנשתהא שם שלשים יום אסור ליהנות ממנו פחות מכאן מותר ליהנות ממנו,ולכל מילי מי בעינן י"ב חדש והתניא שלשים יום לתמחוי שלשה חדשים לקופה ששה לכסות תשעה לקבורה שנים עשר לפסי העיר אמר ר' אסי אמר ר' יוחנן כי תנן נמי מתניתין שנים עשר חדש לפסי העיר תנן:,וא"ר אסי אמר ר' יוחנן הכל לפסי העיר ואפי' מיתמי אבל רבנן לא דרבנן לא צריכי נטירותא אמר רב פפא לשורא ולפרשאה ולטרזינא אפילו מיתמי אבל רבנן לא צריכי נטירותא כללא דמילתא כל מילתא דאית להו הנאה מיניה אפילו מיתמי,רבה רמא צדקה איתמי דבי בר מריון א"ל אביי והתני רב שמואל בר יהודה אין פוסקין צדקה על היתומים אפילו לפדיון שבוים אמר ליה אנא לאחשובינהו קא עבידנא,איפרא הורמיז אימיה דשבור מלכא שדרה ארנקא דדינרי לקמיה דרב יוסף אמרה ליהוי למצוה רבה יתיב רב יוסף וקא מעיין בה מאי מצוה רבה א"ל אביי מדתני רב שמואל בר יהודה אין פוסקין צדקה על היתומים אפילו לפדיון שבוים שמע מינה | 8a. bthese are Torah scholars,and towers do not require additional protection? The Gemara comments: bAnd Reish Lakish,who did not cite this verse, bholdsin accordance with the way that bRava expoundedthe verse: b“I am a wall”; thisis referring to bthe Congregation of Israel. “And my breasts are like towers”; these are the synagogues and study halls. /b,It is similarly related that bRav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisdaonce bim-posedpayment of bthepoll btax [ ikarga /i]even bon the Sages. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to him: You have transgressedthe words of bthe Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. /b,You have transgressed the words of bthe Torah, as it is written: “Even when He loves the peoples, all His holy ones are in Your hand”(Deuteronomy 33:3), which is understood to mean that bMoses said to the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, even when You hold theother bnations dearand grant them dominion over Israel, let b“all His holy ones,”meaning the Torah scholars, bbeexclusively bin Your handand free from the authority of the nations, and therefore be exempt from pay-ing taxes. The continuation of that verse can also be understood as referring to Torah scholars, as it states: b“And they sit [ itukku /i] at Your feet,receiving Your words” (Deuteronomy 33:3), and bRav Yosef teaches: These are Torah scholars who pound [ imekhatetim /i] their feet from city to city and from country to country to study Torah; “receiving [ iyissa /i] Your words,” to discuss [ ilissa velitten /i] the utterances of God. /b,And you have transgressed the words of bthe Prophets, as it is written: “Though they have hired lovers [ iyitnu /i] among the nations, now I will gather them, and they will begin to be diminished by reason of the burden of kings and princes”(Hosea 8:10). With regard to this verse, bUlla says:Part of bthis verse is stated in the Aramaic language;the word iyitnushould be understood here in its Aramaic sense: To learn. And the verse should be interpreted as follows: bIf allof Israel blearnsTorah, bI will gather themalready bnow; and ifonly ba few of themlearn Torah, bthey will be excused from the burdenimposed bby kings and princes.This indicates that those who study Torah should not be subject to paying taxes.,And furthermore, you have transgressed the words of bthe Writings, as it is written: “It shall not be lawful to impose tribute, impost or toll upon them”(Ezra 7:24), i.e., upon the priests and Levites who serve in the Temple. This ihalakhawould apply to Torah scholars as well. bAnd Rav Yehuda says: “Tribute”; thisis referring to bthe king’s portion,a tax given to the king. b“Impost”; thisis referring to bthe head tax. “Toll”; thisis referring to ba tax [ iarnona /i]paid with property that was imposed from time to time.,It is related that bRav Pappaonce bimposeda tax for bthe digging of a newcistern even bon orphans. Rav Sheisha, son of Rav Idi, said to Rav Pappa: Perhapsthey will dig, but in the end bthey will not drawany bwaterfrom there, and it will turn out that the money will have been spent for nothing. The rest of the townspeople can relinquish their rights to their money, but orphans who are minors cannot do so. Rav Pappa bsaid to him: I shall collectmoney bfromthe orphans; bif they drawwater, btheywill bdrawwater, band if not, I will returnthe money btothe orphans., bRav Yehuda says: Allof the city’s residents must contribute btothe building and upkeep of bthe city gates [ ile’aglei gappa /i],and for this purpose money is collected beven from orphans. But the Sages do not require protectionand are therefore exempt from this payment. bAllof the city’s residents must contribute bto the digging of cisterns [ ilekarya patya /i],and for this purpose money is collected beven from the Sages,since they too need water. The Gemara comments: bAnd we saidthis bonly whenthe people are bnotrequired to bgo out en masse [ ibe’akhluza /i]and do the actual digging, but are obligated merely to contribute money for that purpose. bBut ifthe people are required to bgo out en masseand actually dig, bthe Sagesare bnotexpected to bgo outwith them ben masse,but rather they are exempt from such labor.,It is related that bRabbiYehuda HaNasi once bopenedhis bstorehousesto distribute food bduring years of drought. He said: Masters of Bible, masters of Mishna, masters of Talmud, masters of ihalakha /i, masters of iaggadamay enterand receive food from me, bbut ignoramuses should not enter. Rabbi Yonatan ben Amram,whom Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi did not know, bpushedhis way in, band entered,and bsaid to him: RabbiYehuda HaNasi, bsustain me.Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaid to him: My son, have you readthe Bible? Rabbi Yonatan ben Amram bsaid to him,out of modesty: bNo.Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi continued: bHave you studiedMishna? Once again, Rabbi Yonatan ben Amram bsaid to him: No.Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi then asked him: bIf so, by whatmerit bshould I sustain you?Rabbi Yonatan ben Amram bsaid to him: Sustain me like a dog and like a raven,who are given food even though they have not learned anything. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was moved by his words and bfed him. /b, bAfterRabbi Yonatan bleft, RabbiYehuda HaNasi bsat, and was distressed, and said: Woe is me, that I have given my bread to an ignoramus.His son, bRabbi Shimon bar RabbiYehuda HaNasi, bsaid to him: Perhaps he was your disciple Yonatan ben Amram, who never in his life wanted tomaterially bbenefit from the honorshown to the bTorah? They investigatedthe matter band foundthat such was the case. bRabbiYehuda HaNasi then bsaid: Let everyone enter,as there may also be others who hide the fact that they are true Torah scholars.,Commenting on Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s opinion, the Gemara notes that bRabbiYehuda HaNasi conformed bto hisstandard line of breasoning,as bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bsays: Suffering comes to the world only due to ignoramuses.This is blikethe incident of bthe crown tax [ ikelila /i] that was imposed onthe residents of the city of bTiberias.The heads of the city bcame before RabbiYehuda HaNasi band said to him: The Sages should contributealong bwith us.Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaid to them: No,the Sages are exempt. bThey said to him:Then bwe will run awayand the entire burden will fall on the Torah scholars. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaid to them: Run awayas you please. bHalfof the city’s residents bran away.The authorities then bwaived halfthe sum that they had initially imposed on the city., bThe halfof the population that remained in the city then bcame before RabbiYehuda HaNasi, and bsaid to him: The Sages should contributealong bwith us.Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi bsaid to them: No,the Sages are exempt. They said to him: Then bwetoo bwill run away.Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to them: bRun awayas you please. bThey all ran away,so that only bone launderer was leftin the city. The authorities bimposedthe entire tax bon the launderer. The laundererthen bran awayas well. bThe crown tax wasthen bcanceledin its entirety. bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bsaid: You seefrom this bthat suffering comes to the world only due to ignoramuses,for as soon as they all fled from the city, the crown tax was completely canceled.,§ The mishna teaches: bAnd how longmust one live bin the city to beconsidered blikeone of bthe people of the city?Twelve months. bAnd we raise a contradictionfrom what is taught in a ibaraita /i: In the case of ba donkey caravan or a camel caravan that was journeying from place to place, and it lodged insidean idolatrous city, band itsmembers bwere led astrayalong bwiththe other residents of the city, and they too engaged in idol worship, bthey,the members of the caravan, are liable to death bby stoninglike ordinary individual idolaters, band their property escapesdestruction, i.e., they are not treated like the residents of an idolatrous city, who are liable to death by the sword and whose property is destroyed.,The ibaraitacontinues: bAnd ifthe caravan members bhad remainedin that city for bthirty days, theyare liable to death bby the sword and their property is destroyed,just as it is for the rest of the residents of the city. This seems to indicate that once an individual has lived in a city for thirty days, he is already considered one of its residents., bRava said:This is bnot difficult. Thisperiod, i.e., twelve months, is required in order to be considered one of the bmembers of the city;and bthatperiod, i.e., thirty days, suffices in order to be considered one of the bresidents of the city. As it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOne who is prohibited by a vow from deriving benefit from the people of aparticular bcityis bprohibited from deriving benefit from anyone who has stayed therefor btwelve months,but it is permitted for him to derive benefit from anyone who has stayed there for blesstime bthan that.By contrast, if he prohibited himself by way of a vow from deriving benefit bfrom the residents of aparticular bcity,he is bprohibited from deriving benefit from anyone who has stayed therefor bthirty days,but bit is permitted for him to derive benefit fromanyone who has stayed there for blesstime bthan that. /b,The Gemara asks: bAnd do we requirethat one live in a city for btwelve months for all matters? But isn’t it taughtin a ibaraita /i: If one lives in city for bthirty days,he must contribute btothe bcharity platterfrom which food is distributed to the poor. If he lives there for bthree months,he must contribute btothe charity bbox.If he lives there for bsixmonths, he must contribute btothe bclothingfund. If he lives there for bninemonths, he must contribute btothe bburialfund. If he lives there for btwelvemonths, he must contribute btothe bcolumns of the city [ ilepassei ha’ir /i],i.e., for the construction of a security fence. bRabbi Asi saidthat bRabbi Yoḥa said: When we learned twelve months in the mishna, we learnedthat with regard to contributing btothe bcolumns of the city,money used for protecting and strengthening the city, but not for other matters., bAnd Rabbi Asi saysthat bRabbi Yoḥa says: Allare required to contribute btothe bcolumns of the city, andmoney is collected for that purpose beven from orphans. But the Sagesare bnotrequired to contribute, bsince the Sages do not need protection. Rav Pappa said:Money is collected beven from orphans for thecity bwall, for thecity bhorseman, and for the guard [ iuletarzina /i]of the city armory, bbut the Sages do not require protection. The principle of the matteris: Money is collected beven from orphansfor banything from which theyderive bbenefit. /b,It is reported that bRabba imposeda contribution to a certain bcharity on the orphans of the house of bar Maryon. Abaye said to him: But didn’t Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda teach: One does not impose a charityobligation bon orphans even forthe sake of bredeeming captives,since they are minors and are not obligated in the mitzvot? Rabba bsaid to him: I did this to elevate themin standing, i.e., so that people should honor them as generous benefactors; not in order that the poor should benefit.,Incidental to this story, the Gemara relates that bIfera Hurmiz, the mother of King Shapur,king of Persia, bsent a purse [ iarneka /i]full bof dinars to Rav Yosef. She saidto him: bLetthe money be used bfor a great mitzva. Rav Yosef sat and consideredthe question: bWhatdid Ifera Hurmiz mean when she attached a condition to the gift, saying that it should be used for ba great mitzva? Abaye said to him: From what Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda taught,that bone does not impose a charityobligation bon orphans even forthe sake of bredeeming captives, learn from this /b |
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38. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia, 85a, 84a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 84a. כי האי מעשה לידיה פגע ביה אליהו,אמר ליה עד מתי אתה מוסר עמו של אלהינו להריגה אמר ליה מאי אעביד הרמנא דמלכא הוא אמר ליה אבוך ערק לאסיא את ערוק ללודקיא,כי הוו מקלעי ר' ישמעאל ברבי יוסי ור' אלעזר בר' שמעון בהדי הדדי הוה עייל בקרא דתורי בינייהו ולא הוה נגעה בהו,אמרה להו ההיא מטרוניתא בניכם אינם שלכם אמרו לה שלהן גדול משלנו כל שכן איכא דאמרי הכי אמרו לה (שופטים ח, כא) כי כאיש גבורתו איכא דאמרי הכי אמרו לה אהבה דוחקת את הבשר,ולמה להו לאהדורי לה והא כתיב (משלי כו, ד) אל תען כסיל כאולתו שלא להוציא לעז על בניהם,א"ר יוחנן איבריה דר' ישמעאל [בר' יוסי] כחמת בת תשע קבין אמר רב פפא איבריה דרבי יוחנן כחמת בת חמשת קבין ואמרי לה בת שלשת קבין דרב פפא גופיה כי דקורי דהרפנאי,אמר רבי יוחנן אנא אישתיירי משפירי ירושלים האי מאן דבעי מחזי שופריה דרבי יוחנן נייתי כסא דכספא מבי סלקי ונמלייה פרצידיא דרומנא סומקא ונהדר ליה כלילא דוורדא סומקא לפומיה ונותביה בין שמשא לטולא ההוא זהרורי מעין שופריה דר' יוחנן,איני והאמר מר שופריה דרב כהנא מעין שופריה דרבי אבהו שופריה דר' אבהו מעין שופריה דיעקב אבינו שופריה דיעקב אבינו מעין שופריה דאדם הראשון ואילו ר' יוחנן לא קא חשיב ליה שאני ר' יוחנן דהדרת פנים לא הויא ליה,ר' יוחנן הוה אזיל ויתיב אשערי טבילה אמר כי סלקן בנות ישראל מטבילת מצוה לפגעו בי כי היכי דלהוו להו בני שפירי כוותי גמירי אורייתא כוותי,אמרו ליה רבנן לא מסתפי מר מעינא בישא אמר להו אנא מזרעא דיוסף קאתינא דלא שלטא ביה עינא בישא דכתיב (בראשית מט, כב) בן פורת יוסף בן פורת עלי עין ואמר ר' אבהו אל תקרי עלי עין אלא עולי עין,ר' יוסי בר חנינא אמר מהכא (בראשית מח, טז) וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ מה דגים שבים מים מכסים אותם ואין העין שולטת בהן אף זרעו של יוסף אין העין שולטת בהן,יומא חד הוה קא סחי ר' יוחנן בירדנא חזייה ריש לקיש ושוור לירדנא אבתריה אמר ליה חילך לאורייתא אמר ליה שופרך לנשי א"ל אי הדרת בך יהיבנא לך אחותי דשפירא מינאי קביל עליה בעי למיהדר לאתויי מאניה ולא מצי הדר,אקרייה ואתנייה ושוייה גברא רבא יומא חד הוו מפלגי בי מדרשא הסייף והסכין והפגיון והרומח ומגל יד ומגל קציר מאימתי מקבלין טומאה משעת גמר מלאכתן,ומאימתי גמר מלאכתן רבי יוחנן אמר משיצרפם בכבשן ריש לקיש אמר משיצחצחן במים א"ל לסטאה בלסטיותיה ידע אמר ליה ומאי אהנת לי התם רבי קרו לי הכא רבי קרו לי אמר ליה אהנאי לך דאקרבינך תחת כנפי השכינה,חלש דעתיה דרבי יוחנן חלש ריש לקיש אתאי אחתיה קא בכיא אמרה ליה עשה בשביל בני אמר לה (ירמיהו מט, יא) עזבה יתומיך אני אחיה עשה בשביל אלמנותי אמר לה (ירמיהו מט, יא) ואלמנותיך עלי תבטחו,נח נפשיה דר' שמעון בן לקיש והוה קא מצטער ר' יוחנן בתריה טובא אמרו רבנן מאן ליזיל ליתביה לדעתיה ניזיל רבי אלעזר בן פדת דמחדדין שמעתתיה,אזל יתיב קמיה כל מילתא דהוה אמר רבי יוחנן אמר ליה תניא דמסייעא לך אמר את כבר לקישא בר לקישא כי הוה אמינא מילתא הוה מקשי לי עשרין וארבע קושייתא ומפריקנא ליה עשרין וארבעה פרוקי וממילא רווחא שמעתא ואת אמרת תניא דמסייע לך אטו לא ידענא דשפיר קאמינא,הוה קא אזיל וקרע מאניה וקא בכי ואמר היכא את בר לקישא היכא את בר לקישא והוה קא צוח עד דשף דעתיה [מיניה] בעו רבנן רחמי עליה ונח נפשיה | 84a. bElijahthe prophet bencountered him /b,and bsaid to him: Until whenwill byou inform on the nation of our Godto be sentenced bto execution?Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, bsaid toElijah: bWhat should I do? It is the king’s edictthat I must obey. Elijah bsaid to him:Faced with this choice, byour father fled to Asia. Youshould bflee to Laodicearather than accept this appointment.,§ With regard to these Sages, the Gemara adds: bWhen Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, would meet each other,it was possible for ba pair of oxen to enterand fit bbetween them,under their bellies, bwithout touching them,due to their excessive obesity., bA certainRoman bnoblewoman [ imatronita /i]once bsaid to them: Your children are notreally byour own,as due to your obesity it is impossible that you engaged in intercourse with your wives. bThey said to her: Theirs,i.e., our wives’ bellies, bare larger than ours.She said to them: bAll the more soyou could not have had intercourse. bThere arethose bwho saythat bthis is what they said to her: “For as the man is, so is his strength”(Judges 8:21), i.e., our sexual organs are proportionate to our bellies. bThere arethose bwho saythat bthis is what they said to her: Love compresses the flesh. /b,The Gemara asks: bAnd why did they respond to heraudacious and foolish question? After all, bit is written: “Answer not a fool according to his folly,lest you also be like him” (Proverbs 26:4). The Gemara answers: They answered her bin order not to cast aspersions onthe lineage of btheir children. /b,The Gemara continues discussing the bodies of these Sages: bRabbi Yoḥa said:The borgan of Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei,was the size bof a jug of nine ikav /i. Rav Pappa said:The borgan of Rabbi Yoḥawas the size bof a jug of five ikav /i, and some sayit was the size of a jug bof three ikav /i. Rav Pappa himselfhad a belly blike the baskets [ idikurei /i]made bin Harpanya. /b,With regard to Rabbi Yoḥa’s physical features, the Gemara adds that bRabbi Yoḥa said: Ialone bremain of the beautifulpeople bof Jerusalem.The Gemara continues: bOne who wishes to seesomething resembling bthe beauty of Rabbi Yoḥa should bringa new, shiny bsilver goblet from the smithy and fill itwith bred pomegranate seeds [ ipartzidaya /i] and place a diadem of red roses uponthe blipof the goblet, band position it between the sunlight and shade. That lusteris ba semblance of Rabbi Yoḥa’s beauty. /b,The Gemara asks: bIs that so?Was Rabbi Yoḥa so beautiful? bBut doesn’t the Master say: The beauty of Rav Kahanais ba semblance of the beauty of Rabbi Abbahu; the beauty of Rabbi Abbahuis ba semblance of the beauty of Jacob, our forefather;and bthe beauty of Jacob, our forefather,is ba semblance of the beauty of Adam the firstman, who was created in the image of God. bAnd yet Rabbi Yoḥa is not includedin this list. The Gemara answers: bRabbi Yoḥais bdifferentfrom these other men, bas he did not have a beauty of countece,i.e., he did not have a beard.,The Gemara continues to discuss Rabbi Yoḥa’s beauty. bRabbi Yoḥa would go and sit by the entrance to the ritual bath. He saidto himself: bWhen Jewish women come up fromtheir bimmersionfor the sake bof a mitzva,after their menstruation, bthey should encounter mefirst, bso that they have beautiful children like me,and sons blearned in Torah like me.This is based on the idea that the image upon which a woman meditates during intercourse affects the child she conceives., bThe Rabbis said toRabbi Yoḥa: bIsn’t the Master worried aboutbeing harmed by bthe evil eyeby displaying yourself in this manner? Rabbi Yoḥa bsaid to them: I come from the offspring of Joseph, over whom the evil eye does not have dominion, as it is written: “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain [ ialei ayin /i]”(Genesis 49:22); band Rabbi Abbahu says: Do not readthe verse as saying: b“By a fountain [ ialei ayin /i]”; rather,read it as: bThose who rise abovethe evil beye [ iolei ayin /i].Joseph’s descendants are not susceptible to the influence of the evil eye., bRabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina saidthat this idea is derived bfrom here: “And let them grow [ iveyidgu /i] into a multitude in the midst of the earth”(Genesis 48:16). bJust aswith regard to bfish [ idagim /i] in the sea, the water covers them and theevil beyetherefore bhas no dominion over them,as they are not seen, bso too,with regard to bthe offspring of Joseph, theevil beye has no dominion over them. /b,The Gemara relates: bOne day, Rabbi Yoḥa was bathing in the JordanRiver. bReish Lakish saw him and jumped into the Jordan, pursuing him.At that time, Reish Lakish was the leader of a band of marauders. Rabbi Yoḥa bsaid toReish Lakish: bYour strengthis fit bfor Torahstudy. Reish Lakish bsaid to him: Your beautyis fit bfor women.Rabbi Yoḥa bsaid to him: If you returnto the pursuit of Torah, bI will give you my sisterin marriage, bwho is more beautiful than I am.Reish Lakish baccepted upon himselfto study Torah. Subsequently, Reish Lakish bwanted to jump backout of the river bto bringback bhis clothes, but he was unable to return,as he had lost his physical strength as soon as he accepted the responsibility to study Torah upon himself.,Rabbi Yoḥa btaughtReish Lakish bBible, and taught him Mishna, and turned him into a great man.Eventually, Reish Lakish became one of the outstanding Torah scholars of his generation. bOne daythe Sages bof the study hall were engaging in a disputeconcerning the following ibaraita /i: With regard to bthe sword, the knife, the dagger [ ivehapigyon /i], the spear, a hand sickle, and a harvest sickle, from when are they susceptible to ritual impurity?The ibaraitaanswers: It is bfrom the time of the completion of their manufacture,which is the ihalakhawith regard to metal vessels in general.,These Sages inquired: bAnd when is the completion of their manufacture? Rabbi Yoḥa says:It is bfrom when one firesthese items bin the furnace. Reish Lakish said:It is bfrom when one scours them in water,after they have been fired in the furnace. Rabbi Yoḥa bsaid toReish Lakish: bA bandit knows about his banditry,i.e., you are an expert in weaponry because you were a bandit in your youth. Reish Lakish bsaid toRabbi Yoḥa: bWhat benefit did you provide meby bringing me close to Torah? bThere,among the bandits, bthey called me: Leaderof the bandits, and bhere,too, bthey call me: Leaderof the bandits. Rabbi Yoḥa bsaid to him: I provided benefit to you, as I brought you closeto God, bunder the wings of the Divine Presence. /b,As a result of the quarrel, bRabbi Yoḥa was offended,which in turn affected bReish Lakish,who bfell ill.Rabbi Yoḥa’s bsister,who was Reish Lakish’s wife, bcame cryingto Rabbi Yoḥa, begging that he pray for Reish Lakish’s recovery. bShe said to him: Dothis bfor the sake of my children,so that they should have a father. Rabbi Yoḥa bsaid to herthe verse: b“Leave your fatherless children, I will rear them”(Jeremiah 49:11), i.e., I will take care of them. She said to him: bDoso bfor the sake of my widowhood. He said to herthe rest of the verse: b“And let your widows trust in Me.” /b,Ultimately, bRabbi Shimon ben Lakish,Reish Lakish, bdied. Rabbi Yoḥa was sorely pained overlosing bhim. The Rabbis said: Who will go to calmRabbi Yoḥa’s bmindand comfort him over his loss? They said: bLet Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat go, as his statements are sharp,i.e., he is clever and will be able to serve as a substitute for Reish Lakish.,Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat bwent and sat beforeRabbi Yoḥa. With regard to bevery matter that Rabbi Yoḥa would say,Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat would bsay to him:There is a ruling which bis taughtin a ibaraita bthat supports youropinion. Rabbi Yoḥa bsaidto him: bAre youcomparable bto the son of Lakish?In my discussions with bthe son of Lakish, when I would state a matter, he would raise twenty-four difficulties against mein an attempt to disprove my claim, band I would answer him with twenty-four answers, and the ihalakhaby itself would become broadenedand clarified. bAndyet byou sayto me: There is a ruling which bis taughtin a ibaraita bthat supports youropinion. bDo I not know that what I say is good?Being rebutted by Reish Lakish served a purpose; your bringing proof to my statements does not.,Rabbi Yoḥa bwent around, rending his clothing, weeping and saying: Where are you, son of Lakish? Where are you, son of Lakish?Rabbi Yoḥa bscreamed until his mind was taken from him,i.e., he went insane. bThe Rabbisprayed and brequestedfor God to have bmercy on himand take his soul, bandRabbi Yoḥa bdied. /b |
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39. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Qamma, 81b, 49a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 49a. א"כ משהאשה יולדת משבחת אלא שמין את הולדות כמה הן יפין ונותן לבעל ואם אין לה בעל נותן ליורשיו,היתה שפחה ונשתחררה או גיורת פטור:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big טעמא דמתכוין לחבירו הא מתכוין לאשה משלם דמי ולדות לימא תיהוי תיובתא דרב אדא בר אהבה דאמר רב אדא בר אהבה שוורים שנתכוונו לאשה פטורים מדמי ולדות,אמר לך רב אדא בר אהבה הוא הדין דאפי' נתכוונו לאשה נמי פטורים מדמי ולדות והא דקתני שור שהיה מתכוין לחבירו איידי דקא בעי למיתנא סיפא אדם שהיה מתכוין לחבירו דהכי כתיב קרא קתני רישא נמי שור שהיה מתכוין לחבירו,אמר רב פפא שור שנגח את השפחה ויצאו ילדיה משלם דמי ולדות מאי טעמא חמרתא מעברתא בעלמא הוא דאזיק דאמר קרא (בראשית כב, ה) שבו לכם פה עם החמור עם הדומה לחמור:,כיצד משלם דמי ולדות: דמי ולדות שבח ולדות מיבעי ליה הכי נמי קאמר כיצד משלם דמי ולדות ושבח ולדות שמין את האשה כמה היא יפה עד שלא ילדה וכמה היא יפה משילדה:,אמר רשב"ג א"כ משהאשה יולדת משבחת: מאי קאמר אמר רבה ה"ק וכי אשה משבחת קודם שתלד יותר מלאחר שתלד והלא אשה משבחת לאחר שתלד יותר מקודם שתלד אלא שמין את הולדות ונותנין לבעל,תניא נמי הכי וכי אשה משבחת קודם שתלד יותר מלאחר שתלד והלא אשה משבחת לאחר שתלד יותר מקודם שתלד אלא שמין את הולדות ונותנין לבעל,רבא אמר הכי קתני וכי אשה למי שיולדת משבחת ואין לעצמה בשבח ולדות כלום אלא שמין את הולדות ונותנין לבעל ושבח ולדות חולקין,תניא נמי הכי אמר רשב"ג וכי אשה למי שיולדת משבחת ואין לעצמה בשבח ולדות כלום אלא שמין נזק בפני עצמו וצער בפני עצמו ושמין את הולדות ונותנין לבעל ושבח ולדות חולקין,קשיא דרשב"ג אדרשב"ג,ל"ק כאן במבכרת כאן בשאינה מבכרת,ורבנן דאמרי שבח ולדות נמי לבעל מאי טעמא כדתנן ממשמע שנאמר (שמות כא, כב) ויצאו ילדיה איני יודע שהיא הרה מה ת"ל הרה לומר לך שבח הריון לבעל,ורשב"ג האי הרה מאי דריש ביה מבעי ליה לכדתניא ר"א בן יעקב אומר לעולם אינו חייב עד שיכנה כנגד בית ההריון אמר רב פפא לא תימא כנגד בית הריון ממש אלא כל היכא דסליק ביה שיחמא לולד לאפוקי יד ורגל דלא:,היתה שפחה ונשתחררה או גיורת פטור: אמר רבה לא שנו אלא שחבל בה בחיי הגר ומת הגר דכיון דחבל בה בחיי הגר זכה בהו גר וכיון דמת הגר זכה בהו מן הגר אבל חבל בה לאחר מיתת הגר זכיא לה איהי בגוייהו ומיחייב לשלומי לה לדידה,א"ר חסדא מרי דיכי אטו ולדות צררי נינהו וזכיא בהו אלא איתיה לבעל זכה ליה רחמנא ליתיה לבעל לא,מיתיבי הכה את האשה ויצאו ילדיה נותן נזק וצער לאשה ודמי ולדות לבעל אין הבעל נותן ליורשיו אין האשה נותן ליורשיה היתה שפחה ונשתחררה או גיורת זכה,אמרי ומי עדיפא ממתניתין דאוקימנא שחבל בה בחיי הגר ומת הגר הכא נמי שחבל בה בחיי הגר ומת הגר ואיבעית אימא לאחר מיתת הגר | 49a. bIf so,the consequences would be absurd, as bwhen a woman gives birthher value bincreases. Rather,the court bappraises how much the offspring are worth, andthe one liable for the damage bgivesthat amount bto the husband. And if she does not have a husband,e.g., her husband died, he bgivesthe money bto his heirs. /b,If the pregt woman bwasa Canaanite bmaidservant andthen bshe was emancipated, or a convert,and she was married to an emancipated Canaanite slave or to a convert who died without any heirs, the one who caused the damage is bexemptfrom pay-ing compensation for miscarried offspring. This is because this payment is made specifically to the husband, not to the woman., strongGEMARA: /strong The first clause of the mishna indicates that bthe reasonthe owner is exempt from paying compensation for the offspring when an ox unintentionally gores a pregt woman is specifically bthat it was intending togore banotherox. By inference, if it bwas intending togore bthe woman,the owner bpays compensation formiscarried boffspring. Shall we saythat this bshould be a conclusive refutationof the opinion bof Rav Adda bar Ahava, as Rav Adda bar Ahava says:With regard to boxen that intended togore ba womanand then did so, the owners are bexemptfrom paying bcompensation formiscarried boffspring? /b,The Gemara answers that bRav Adda bar Ahavacould have bsaid to you: The same is true, that evenif the oxen bintended togore bthe woman,the owners are balso exempt frompaying bcompensation formiscarried boffspring.As for bthat which is taughtin the mishna: bAn ox that was intending togore banotherox, it bistaught this way bsince it wants to teach the latter clause: A person that was intending toinjure banotherperson, bas thiscase is bwrittenexplicitly in bthe verse:“And if men struggle and hurt a pregt woman and her offspring emerge” (Exodus 21:22). In the case in the verse, the assailant intended to injure another person but injured the woman instead. Therefore, the mishna balso teaches the first clausein that style: bAn ox that was intending togore banotherox., bRav Pappa says:In the case of ban ox that goreda Canaanite bmaidservant, and her offspring emergeddue to miscarriage, the owner bpays compensation formiscarried boffspring. What is the reason?The ox binjured a mere pregt donkey.With regard to the matter of compensation for offspring, who would be the property of the master were they to be born, a Canaanite slave is considered property of the master. bAsthe bverse statesthat Abraham addressed Eliezer, who was a Canaanite, by saying: b“You remain here with [ iim /i] the donkey”(Genesis 22:5), on which the Sages expound that he was alluding to the idea that Eliezer is of ba people [ iam /i] that is similar to a donkey.Therefore, the case of an ox goring a Canaanite maidservant is not included in the Torah’s exemption from paying compensation for miscarried offspring.,§ The mishna teaches: bHow does he pay compensation formiscarried boffspring?The court appraises how much the value of the woman increased due to the offspring. The Gemara asks: Would this be a correct interpretation of the term: bCompensation formiscarried boffspring?If this is how the sum is calculated, the mishna bshould havestated: How does he pay bthe increasein value due to bthe offspring?The Gemara answers: bThat is also whatthe itanna bis saying: How does he pay compensation formiscarried boffspring and the increasein value due to bthe offspring?In other words, apart from evaluating the compensation for the miscarried offspring, the court also bappraisesthe value bof the womanby calculating how much shewould be bworthif sold as a maidservantbefore giving birth, and how much shewould be bworth after giving birth. /b,he mishna teaches: bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: If so,the consequences would be absurd, as bwhen a woman gives birthher value bincreases.The Gemara asks: bWhat isRabban Shimon ben Gamliel bsaying? Rabba said: This iswhat he bis saying: But isthe monetary value of ba woman higher before she gives birth than after she gives birth? But isn’tthe opposite true, that the monetary value of ba womanis bhigher after giving birth than before giving birth,since the concern for her dying during childbirth, which lowers her monetary value prior to giving birth, is no longer a concern? bRather,the court bappraisesthe value of bthe fetuses and givesthat amount bto the husband. /b, bThisexplanation of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel’s statement bis also taughtin a ibaraita /i: bBut isthe monetary value of ba woman higher before she gives birth than after she gives birth? But isn’tthe opposite true, that the monetary value of ba womanis bhigher after giving birth than before giving birth? Rather,the court bappraisesthe value of bthe fetuses and givesthat amount bto the husband. /b, bRava said: This is whatRabban Shimon ben Gamliel bis teaching: But isthe value of bthe woman higheronly bfor the one for whom she gives birth,i.e., her husband, band she herself does not have any increasein value bat alldue to the boffspring?A pregt woman’s monetary value is increased on account of her pregcy, beyond the monetary value of the offspring. bRather,the court bappraisesthe value of bthe offspring and givesit bto the husband. Andin addition, bthehusband and wife bdivide the increasein her value due to the boffspring. /b, bThisexplanation of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel’s opinion bis also taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: But isthe value of bthe woman higheronly bfor the one for whom she gives birth,i.e., her husband, band she herself does not have any increasein value bat alldue to the boffspring? Rather,the court bappraises damage by itself and pain by itself, and appraisesthe value of bthe offspring and givesit bto the husband, and thehusband and wife bdivide the increasein her value due to the boffspring. /b,The Gemara asks: The opinion bof Rabban Shimon ben Gamlielin the first ibaraita /i, that the woman’s value decreases because of pregcy, poses ba difficulty for that of Rabban Shimon ben Gamlielin the second ibaraita /i, that it increases.,The Gemara answers: This is bnot difficult,since each ibaraitais referring to a different case: bHere,the first ibaraita /i, which stated that the woman’s value increases after giving birth, is referring btoa woman bgiving birth toher bfirstborn.Her value decreases prior to birth out of concern that she might die in childbirth. bThere,the second ibaraita /i, which stated that her value increases due to pregcy, is referring btoa woman bwho is not giving birth toher bfirstborn. /b,The Gemara asks: bAnd what is the reasonof bthe Rabbisin the second ibaraita /i, bwho say: The increasein her value due to bthe offspringis balsogiven bto the husband?The Gemara answers: They derive it from a redundancy in a verse, bas we learnedin a ibaraita /i: The verse states: “And hurt a pregt woman and her offspring emerge” (Exodus 21:22). bFrom the fact that it is stated: “And her offspring emerge,” don’t I knowby inference bthat she was pregt?If so, bwhatis the meaning when bthe verse states: “A pregtwoman,” and not just “a woman”? bTo inform youthat even the bincreasein her value due to bthe pregcyis given bto the husband. /b,The Gemara asks: bAnd what ihalakha bdoes Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel expound on thisextra word b“pregt”?The Gemara answers: bHe requires it for that which is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov saysthat one who injures a woman bis never liableto pay compensation for miscarried offspring bunless he strikes her opposite the womb,i.e., on the abdomen. bRav Pappa said: Do not saythat it must be bliterally opposite the womb. Rather,he is liable if she was struck banywhere that the wound’simpact could breach the offspring,i.e., any part of the torso, bto excludea wound to her bhand or foot, for whichhe is bnotliable, since it could be argued that it was not the wound to the hand or foot that caused the miscarriage.,§ The mishna teaches: If the pregt woman bwas a maidservant andthen bshe was emancipated, or a convert,he is bexemptfrom the payment of damages for miscarried offspring. bRabba says: They taughtthis ihalakha bonlyin a case bwhere one injured her during the lifetime of the convert,i.e., her husband, band the convert diedbefore the payment was given. The reason for this is bthat sincethe assailant binjured her during the lifetime of the convert, the convert acquiresthe money, although it is still in the possession of the one liable for the damage. bAnd once the convert dieswithout heirs, the money is ownerless. Therefore, the assailant bacquires it from the convert.Since anyone can assume ownership of ownerless property, the assailant, who already possesses the money, becomes the owner. bBut if he injured her after the convert had died, she acquiresthe money, band he must pay the woman herself. /b, bRav Ḥisda saidin amazement: bMaster of this ruling! Is that to saythat compensation for the boffspring islike bbundlesof money, band she acquires themwhen her husband dies? Rabba seems to understand that the pregt woman assumes ownership of the offspring by virtue of being in possession of them when the husband dies, and therefore has the right to compensation for them. That is not the case. bRather,if bthe husband is present, the Merciful One grantscompensation for the offspring bto him,but if bthe husband is notalive, the Torah does bnotgrant compensation to anyone else.,The Gemara braises an objectionagainst the opinion of Rabba from the following: If the assailant bstruck the woman and her offspring emergeddue to miscarriage, bhe givescompensation for bdamage and pain to the woman and compensation formiscarried boffspring to the husband.If bthe husband is notalive, bhe givesthe compensation for the offspring bto his heirs.If bthe woman is notalive, bhe givesthe payment owed to her bto her heirs.If bshe was a maidservant andthen bshe was emancipated, or a convert,the assailant bacquiresthe money. This indicates that if the husband is no longer alive, the woman doesn’t receive anything.,The Sages bsaidin response to this: bBut isthe ibaraita bpreferable to the mishna, which we interpretedas a referring to case bwhere he injured her during the lifetime of the convert, and the convertthen bdied? Here also,it must be explained bthat he injured her during the lifetime of the convert, and the convertthen bdied. And if you wish, sayinstead that he injured her even bafter the death of the convert. /b |
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40. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, 23a, 28b, 43b, 14b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
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(ירמיהו י, י) וה' אלהים אמת,חוזר ואומר אמת או אינו חוזר ואומר אמת,א"ר אבהו א"ר יוחנן חוזר ואומר אמת רבה אמר אינו חוזר ואומר אמת ההוא דנחית קמיה דרבה שמעיה רבה דאמר אמת אמת תרי זימני אמר רבה כל אמת אמת תפסיה להאי,אמר רב יוסף כמה מעליא הא שמעתתא דכי אתא רב שמואל בר יהודה אמר אמרי במערבא ערבית דבר אל בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם אני ה' אלהיכם אמת,אמר ליה אביי מאי מעליותא והא אמר רב כהנא אמר רב לא יתחיל ואם התחיל גומר וכי תימא ואמרת אליהם לא הוי התחלה והאמר רב שמואל בר יצחק אמר רב דבר אל בני ישראל לא הוי התחלה ואמרת אליהם הוי התחלה,אמר רב פפא קסברי במערבא ואמרת אליהם נמי לא הויא התחלה עד דאמר ועשו להם ציצית,אמר אביי הלכך אנן אתחולי מתחלינן דקא מתחלי במערבא וכיון דאתחלינן מגמר נמי גמרינן דהא אמר רב כהנא אמר רב לא יתחיל ואם התחיל גומר,חייא בר רב אמר אמר אני ה' אלהיכם צריך לומר אמת לא אמר אני ה' אלהיכם אינו צ"ל אמת,והא בעי לאדכורי יציאת מצרים,דאמר הכי מודים אנחנו לך ה' אלהינו שהוצאתנו מארץ מצרים ופדיתנו מבית עבדים ועשית לנו נסים וגבורות על הים ושרנו לך:,אמר ר' יהושע בן קרחה למה קדמה פרשת שמע וכו':,תניא ר"ש בן יוחי אומר בדין הוא שיקדים שמע לוהיה אם שמוע שזה ללמוד וזה ללמד והיה אם שמוע לויאמר שזה ללמוד וזה לעשות,אטו שמע ללמוד אית ביה ללמד ולעשות לית ביה והא כתיב ושננתם וקשרתם וכתבתם ותו והיה אם שמוע ללמד הוא דאית ביה ולעשות לית ביה והא כתיב וקשרתם וכתבתם,אלא הכי קאמר בדין הוא שתקדם שמע לוהיה אם שמוע שזה ללמוד וללמד ולעשות והיה אם שמוע לויאמר שזה יש בה ללמד ולעשות ויאמר אין בה אלא לעשות בלבד,ותיפוק ליה מדרבי יהושע בן קרחה חדא ועוד קאמר חדא כדי שיקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים תחלה ואח"כ יקבל עליו עול מצות ועוד משום דאית בה הני מילי אחרנייתא.,רב משי ידיה וקרא ק"ש ואנח תפילין וצלי והיכי עביד הכי והתניא החופר כוך למת בקבר פטור מק"ש ומן התפלה ומן התפילין ומכל מצות האמורות בתורה הגיע זמן ק"ש עולה ונוטל ידיו ומניח תפילין וקורא ק"ש ומתפלל,הא גופא קשיא רישא אמר פטור וסיפא חייב,הא לא קשיא סיפא בתרי ורישא בחד,מ"מ קשיא לרב רב כרבי יהושע בן קרחה סבירא ליה דאמר עול מלכות שמים תחלה ואח"כ עול מצות,אימר דאמר רבי יהושע בן קרחה להקדים קריאה לקריאה קריאה לעשיה מי שמעת ליה,ותו מי סבר ליה כרבי יהושע בן קרחה והאמר רב חייא בר אשי זמנין סגיאין הוה קאימנא קמיה דרב ומקדים ומשי ידיה ומברך ומתני לן פרקין ומנח תפילין והדר קרי ק"ש וכ"ת בדלא מטא זמן ק"ש א"כ מאי אסהדתיה דרב חייא בר אשי,לאפוקי ממ"ד למשנה אין צריך לברך קמ"ל דאף למשנה נמי צריך לברך,מ"מ קשיא לרב שלוחא הוא דעוית:,אמר עולא כל הקורא ק"ש בלא תפילין כאילו מעיד עדות שקר בעצמו א"ר חייא בר אבא א"ר יוחנן כאילו הקריב עולה בלא מנחה וזבח בלא נסכים:,ואמר רבי יוחנן הרוצה שיקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים שלמה | 14b. b“And the Lord, God, is True”(Jeremiah 10:10).,After the conclusion of the final paragraph of iShemaalong with the first word of the subsequent blessing, with the words: “The Lord, your God, is True [ iHashem Eloheikhem emet /i],” the question is posed: bDoes one repeat iemet /iwhen he begins the blessing of iemet veyatziv /i, bor does he not repeat iemet /i? /b, bRabbi Abbahu saidthat bRabbi Yoḥa said: He repeats iemet /i. Rabba said: He does not repeat iemet /i.The Gemara relates: bThis person who descendedto lead the service bbefore Rabba, Rabba heard that he said iemet /i, iemettwice. Rabbamocked him and bsaid: Every iemet /i, iemethas caught this one;he must be passionate about the pursuit of truth., bRav Yosef said: How excellent is this traditionthat I heard, bas when Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda camefrom Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia he said: bIn Eretz Yisrael, at the evening prayerthey do not recite the entire third portion of iShema /i, which deals with ritual fringes, as there is no obligation to wear ritual fringes at night. Rather, bthey saya condensed version of that portion that includes an excerpt from the beginning and an excerpt from the end: b“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them…I am the Lord, your God, True”(Numbers 15:38, 41)., bAbaye said to him: What is excellentabout this tradition? bDidn’t Rav Kahana saythat bRav said: Oneshould bnot beginto recite the portion of ritual fringes at night, bbut if he does begin, he completesit? bAnd if you say that:Speak to the children of Israel band say to them, is not considered the beginningof the portion of ritual fringes, bdidn’t Rav Shmuel bar Yitzḥak saythat bRav said: Speak to the children of Israel, is notconsidered ba beginningof the portion of ritual fringes, as many passages in the Torah begin this way; band say to them, isconsidered ba beginning. /b, bRav Pappa said: In Eretz Yisrael, they holdthat band say to them, is notconsidered ba beginning, until he said: And make for them ritual fringes. /b, bAbaye said: Therefore, we beginto recite the portion of ritual fringes, bsince they beginto recite it bin Eretz Yisrael. And once we beginto recite it, bwe complete it as well, as Rav Kahana saidthat bRav said: Oneshould bnot beginto recite the portion of ritual fringes at night, bbut if he does begin, he completesit., bḤiyya bar Rav said: Ifin the evening bone recitedthe portion of ritual fringes concluding with: bI am the Lord, your God, he must recite: Trueand Faithful [iemet /i ive’emuna /i], and the entire blessing of redemption. However, bif he did not recite: I am the Lord, your God, he need not recite iemet /i ive’emuna /i.,The Gemara asks: bIsn’t he required to mention the exodus from Egyptat night as well?,The Gemara responds: In place of reciting iemet ve’emuna bhe said the followingshorter passage: bWe give thanks to You, Lord, our God, Who took us out from Egypt and redeemed us from the house of bondage, and performed miracles and mighty deeds on our behalf on the sea, and we sang unto You,as this formula includes all of the content comprising iemet ve’emuna /i.,We learned in the mishna: bRabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Why did the portion of iShemaprecedethat of iVeHaya im Shamoa /i? So that one will first accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven and only then accept upon himself the yoke of the mitzvot., bIt was taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Shimon ben Yoḥaioffers a different explanation for the order of the portions of iShema /i. He bsays: By right, iShemashould precede iVeHaya im Shamoabecausethe iShemaincludes the directive bto learn, while iVeHaya im Shamoaincludes the directive bto teach.Similarly, iVeHaya im Shamoa /ishould precede iVaYomer /i,the final paragraph of iShema /i, because iVeHaya im Shamoaincludes the directive bto teach, whilethe portion of ritual fringes includes the directive bto perform. /b,The Gemara asks: bIs that to say thatthe portion of iShemacontainsthe directive bto learnbut bit does not containthe directive bto teach and perform? Isn’t it written: “And you shall teach themto your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7), a directive to teach, as well as: b“And you shall bind themas a sign upon your arm” (Deuteronomy 6:8) and: b“And write themon your door posts of your house” (Deuteronomy 6:9), directives to perform? bFurthermore, does iVeHaya im Shamoacontainthe directive bto teachbut bit does not containthe directive bto perform? Isn’t it written: “And you shall bind themas a sign upon your arm” (Deuteronomy 11:18), a directive to perform?, bRather,Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai bsaid as follows: By right,the portion of iShemashould precede iVeHaya im Shamoabecausethe portion of iShemaincludes the directives bto learn, to teach, and to perform,while iVeHaya im Shamoaincludes the directives to teach and to perform. iVeHaya im Shamoashould precede iVaYomerbecause iVeHaya im Shamoaincludes the directives bto teach and to perform, while iVaYomer bonlyincludes the directive bto perform. /b,The Gemara asks: bLet him derive this,that the portion of iShemais recited first, bfromthe statement of bRabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa.The Gemara responds: bHe stated onereason band another.Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai does not disagree with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa; he simply suggested as additional explanation as follows: bOnereason the portion of iShemais recited first is bso that one will first accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven upon himself and afterward the yoke of the mitzvot; andthe second reason is bbecausethe portion of iShema bcontains these other elementsas well.,The Gemara relates: bRav washed his hands, recited iShema /i, donned phylacteries, and prayedin that order. The Gemara asks: bHow could he do that? Wasn’t it taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOne who digs a grave for the deadin the wall of the family burial cave bis exempt from the recitation of iShema /i, from prayer, from phylacteries, and from all mitzvot mentioned in the Torah.When btheappointed btime for the recitation of iShemaarrives, he emergesfrom the cave, bwashes his hands, dons phylacteries, recites iShema /i, and prays. /b,Before clarifying the problem, the Gemara comments: bThis ibaraita bitself is difficult;it appears to be contradictory. bThe first clauseof the ibaraita bstatedthat one digging a grave bis exemptfrom the recitation of iShema /i, band the latter clausestated that bhe is obligatedto emerge and recite iShema /i,The Gemara responds: bThat is not difficult. The latter clauseof the ibaraitarefers to a case bof twoindividuals digging the grave together; one pauses to recite iShemawhile the other continues digging. bThe first clauseof the ibaraitarefers to a case bof oneindividual digging alone, who may not stop., bIn any case, this ibaraita bcontradicts Ravin terms of the order in which the mitzvot are performed. The Gemara responds: bRav holds in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa, who saidthat the acceptance of bthe yoke of the kingdom of Heaventakes precedence and should bcome first, followed bythe acceptance of bthe yoke of the mitzvot.Therefore, Rav first recited iShema /i, and only then donned phylacteries.,The Gemara challenges: bSaythat bRabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa saidto bgive precedence to recitationof the portion concerning the acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven over brecitationof other portions. But bdid you hear himsay the ihalakhagives precedence to brecitation over performance? /b, bAnd furthermore, doesRav breally hold in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa? But didn’t Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi say: Many times I stood before Rav, and he first washed his hands, recited a blessing, taught us our lesson, donned phylacteries, and then recited iShema /i. And if you say:This was when bthe time for the recitation of iShemahad notyet barrivedand that is why he donned his phylacteries first, bthen what isthe point of bthe testimony of Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi? /b,The Gemara responds: Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi’s story comes bto excludethe opinion of bthe one who said that one need not recite the blessingon Torah study bforthe study of bmishna. It teaches us that even for mishna, one must recite a blessing. /b, bIn any casethis ibaraita bis difficult for Rav.The Gemara responds: bThe messenger was at faultand brought Rav his phylacteries late, so Rav recited iShemaat its appropriate time and later donned phylacteries.,With regard to the recitation of iShemawithout phylacteries, bUlla said: Anyone who recites iShemawithout phylacteries, it is as if he has borne false testimony against himself,as in iShema /i, he mentions his obligation to don phylacteries and in this case fails to don them himself ( iTalmidei Rabbeinu Yona /i). bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba saidthat bRabbi Yoḥa said:One who recites iShemawithout phylacteries, bit is as if he has offered a burnt-offering without a meal-offering or a peace-offering without libations.Despite the fact that he fulfilled his obligation, his offering is incomplete., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa said: One who seeks to accept upon himself the complete yoke of the kingdom of Heaven /b |
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41. Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah, 15a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 15a. יכול אני לבעול כמה בעילות בלא דם או דלמא דשמואל לא שכיחא אמר להו דשמואל לא שכיח וחיישינן שמא באמבטי עיברה,והאמר שמואל כל שכבת זרע שאינו יורה כחץ אינו מזרעת מעיקרא נמי יורה כחץ הוה,ת"ר מעשה ברבי יהושע בן חנניה שהיה עומד על גב מעלה בהר הבית וראהו בן זומא ולא עמד מלפניו אמר לו מאין ולאין בן זומא אמר לו צופה הייתי בין מים העליונים למים התחתונים ואין בין זה לזה אלא שלש אצבעות בלבד שנאמר (בראשית א, ב) ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים כיונה שמרחפת על בניה ואינה נוגעת אמר להן רבי יהושע לתלמידיו עדיין בן זומא מבחוץ,מכדי ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים אימת הוי ביום הראשון הבדלה ביום שני הוא דהואי דכתיב (בראשית א, ו) ויהי מבדיל בין מים למים וכמה אמר רב אחא בר יעקב כמלא נימא ורבנן אמרי כי גודא דגמלא מר זוטרא ואיתימא רב אסי אמר כתרי גלימי דפריסי אהדדי ואמרי לה כתרי כסי דסחיפי אהדדי,אחר קיצץ בנטיעות עליו הכתוב אומר (קהלת ה, ה) אל תתן את פיך לחטיא את בשרך מאי היא חזא מיטטרון דאתיהבא ליה רשותא למיתב למיכתב זכוותא דישראל אמר גמירא דלמעלה לא הוי לא ישיבה ולא תחרות ולא עורף ולא עיפוי שמא חס ושלום ב' רשויות הן,אפקוהו למיטטרון ומחיוהו שיתין פולסי דנורא א"ל מ"ט כי חזיתיה לא קמת מקמיה איתיהיבא ליה רשותא למימחק זכוותא דאחר יצתה בת קול ואמרה (ירמיהו ג, יד) שובו בנים שובבים חוץ מאחר,אמר הואיל ואיטריד ההוא גברא מההוא עלמא ליפוק ליתהני בהאי עלמא נפק אחר לתרבות רעה נפק אשכח זונה תבעה אמרה ליה ולאו אלישע בן אבויה את עקר פוגלא ממישרא בשבת ויהב לה אמרה אחר הוא,שאל אחר את ר"מ לאחר שיצא לתרבות רעה א"ל מאי דכתיב (קהלת ז, יד) גם את זה לעומת זה עשה האלהים אמר לו כל מה שברא הקב"ה ברא כנגדו ברא הרים ברא גבעות ברא ימים ברא נהרות,אמר לו ר"ע רבך לא אמר כך אלא ברא צדיקים ברא רשעים ברא גן עדן ברא גיהנם כל אחד ואחד יש לו ב' חלקים אחד בגן עדן ואחד בגיהנם זכה צדיק נטל חלקו וחלק חברו בגן עדן נתחייב רשע נטל חלקו וחלק חברו בגיהנם,אמר רב משרשיא מאי קראה גבי צדיקים כתיב (ישעיהו סא, ז) לכן בארצם משנה יירשו גבי רשעים כתיב (ירמיהו יז, יח) ומשנה שברון שברם,שאל אחר את ר"מ לאחר שיצא לתרבות רעה מאי דכתיב (איוב כח, יז) לא יערכנה זהב וזכוכית ותמורתה כלי פז אמר לו אלו דברי תורה שקשין לקנותן ככלי זהב וכלי פז ונוחין לאבדן ככלי זכוכית אמר לו ר"ע רבך לא אמר כך אלא מה כלי זהב וכלי זכוכית אע"פ שנשברו יש להם תקנה אף ת"ח אע"פ שסרח יש לו תקנה אמר לו אף אתה חזור בך אמר לו כבר שמעתי מאחורי הפרגוד שובו בנים שובבים חוץ מאחר,ת"ר מעשה באחר שהיה רוכב על הסוס בשבת והיה רבי מאיר מהלך אחריו ללמוד תורה מפיו אמר לו מאיר חזור לאחריך שכבר שיערתי בעקבי סוסי עד כאן תחום שבת א"ל אף אתה חזור בך א"ל ולא כבר אמרתי לך כבר שמעתי מאחורי הפרגוד שובו בנים שובבים חוץ מאחר,תקפיה עייליה לבי מדרשא א"ל לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקך אמר לו (ישעיהו מח, כב) אין שלום אמר ה' לרשעים עייליה לבי כנישתא אחריתי א"ל לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקך אמר לו (ירמיהו ב, כב) כי אם תכבסי בנתר ותרבי לך בורית נכתם עונך לפני עייליה לבי כנישתא אחריתי א"ל | 15a. bI can engage in intercourse several times without blood.In other words, I can have relations with a woman while leaving her hymen intact. If this is so, it is possible that the assumed virgin had intercourse in this manner and is forbidden to the High Priest. bOr, perhapsa person who can act like bShmuel is not commonand the ihalakhais not concerned with this case. bHe said to them:One like bShmuel is not common, and we are concerned that she may have conceived in a bath.Perhaps she washed in a bath that contained a man’s semen, from which she became impregnated while remaining a virgin.,The Gemara asks: How could she possibly become pregt in such a manner? bDidn’t Shmuel say: Any semen that is not shot like an arrow cannot fertilize?The Gemara answers: This does not mean that it must be shot like an arrow at the moment of fertilization. Even if binitially,when released from the male, bit was shot as an arrow,it can balsofertilize a woman at a later moment.,With regard to the fate of ben Zoma, bthe Sages taught: There was once an incident with regard to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥaya, who was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and ben Zoma saw him and did not stand before himto honor him, as he was deep in thought. Rabbi Yehoshua bsaid to him: From wheredo you come band where are you going, ben Zoma,i.e., what is on your mind? bHe said to him:In my thoughts bI was looking uponthe act of Creation, at the gap bbetween the upper waters and the lower waters, as there is onlythe breadth of ba mere three fingers between them, as it is stated: “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters”(Genesis 1:2), blike a dove hovering over its young without touchingthem. bRabbi Yehoshua said to his studentswho had overheard this exchange: bBen Zoma is still outside;he has not yet achieved full understanding of these matters.,The Gemara explains: bNow,this verse: b“And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters,” when wasit stated? bOn the first day,whereas bthe divisionof the waters boccurred on the second day, as it is written: “And let it divide the waters from the waters”(Genesis 1:6). How, then, could ben Zoma derive a proof from the former verse? The Gemara asks: bAnd how much,in fact, is the gap between them? bRav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Like the thickness of a thread; and the Rabbis said: Likethe gap between bthe boards of a bridge. Mar Zutra, and some sayit was bRav Asi, said: Like two robes spread one over the other,with a slight gap in between. bAnd some said: Like two cups placed one upon the other. /b,§ The Gemara stated earlier that iAḥerchopped down the saplings,becoming a heretic. bWith regard to him, the verse states: “Do not let your mouth bring your flesh into guilt”(Ecclesiastes 5:5). The Gemara poses a question: bWhat wasit that led him to heresy? bHe sawthe angel bMitatron, who was granted permission to sit and write the meritsof bIsrael. He said:There is ba traditionthat in the world babove there is no sitting; no competition; noturning one’s bback before Him,i.e., all face the Divine Presence; band no lethargy.Seeing that someone other than God was seated above, bhe said: Perhaps,the Gemara here interjects, bHeaven forbid, there are two authorities,and there is another source of power in control of the world in addition to God. Such thoughts led iAḥerto heresy.,The Gemara relates: bThey removed Mitatronfrom his place in heaven band smote himwith bsixty rods [ ipulsei /i] of fire,so that others would not make mistake that iAḥermade. bThey saidto the angel: bWhat is the reasonthat bwhen you sawElisha ben Avuya byou did not stand before him?Despite this conduct, since Mitatron was personally involved, he bwas granted permission to erase the merits of iAḥer /iand cause him to stumble in any manner. bA Divine Voice went forth saying: “Return, rebellious children”(Jeremiah 3:22), bapart from iAḥer /i. /b,Upon hearing this, Elisha ben Avuya bsaid: Since that man,meaning himself, bhas been banished from that world, let him go out and enjoy this world. iAḥerwent astray. He wentand bfound a prostituteand bsolicited herfor intercourse. bShe said to him: Andare byou not Elisha ben Avuya?Shall a person of your stature perform such an act? bHe uprooted a radish from a patchof radishes bon Shabbat and gave it to her,to demonstrate that he no longer observed the Torah. The prostitute bsaid: He is otherthan he was. He is not the same Elisha ben Avuya, he is iAḥer /i, other.,The Gemara relates: iAḥerasked Rabbi Meira question, bafter he had gone astray. He said to him: What isthe meaning of that bwhich is written: “God has made even the one as well as the other”(Ecclesiastes 7:14)? Rabbi Meir bsaid to him: Everything that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created, He createda similar creation bcorresponding to it. He created mountains, He created hills; He created seas, He created rivers. /b, iAḥer bsaid to him: Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, butexplained the verse as follows: Everything has its opposite: bHe created the righteous, He created the wicked; He created the Garden of Eden, He created Gehenna. Each and everyperson bhas two portions, one in the Garden of Eden and one in Gehenna.If he bmeritsit, by becoming brighteous, he takes his portion and the portion of hiswicked bcolleague in the Garden of Eden;if he is found bculpableby becoming bwicked, he takes his portion and the portion of his colleague in Gehenna. /b, bRav Mesharshiyya said: What is the versefrom which it is derived? bWith regard to the righteous, it is stated: “Therefore in their land they shall possess double”(Isaiah 61:7); whereas bwith regard to the wicked, it is stated: “And destroy them with double destruction”(Jeremiah 17:18); therefore, each receives a double portion.,iAḥerasked Rabbi Meiranother question, again bafter he had gone astray. What isthe meaning of that bwhich is written: “Gold and glass cannot equal it; neither shall its exchange be vessels of fine gold”(Job 28:17)? If it is referring to the praise and honor of the Torah, it should have compared it only to gold, not to glass. bHe said to him:This is referring to bwords of Torah, which are as difficult to acquire as gilded vessels and vessels of fine gold but are as easy to lose as glass vessels. iAḥer bsaid to him: Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, buttaught as follows: bJust as golden vessels and glass vessels have a remedy even when they have broken,as they can be melted down and made into new vessels, bso too a Torah scholar, although he has transgressed, has a remedy.Rabbi Meir bsaid to him:If so, byou too, returnfrom your ways. bHe said to him: I have already heardthe following declaration bbehind thedividing bcurtain,which conceals God from the world: b“Return, rebellious children,”(Jeremiah 3:22) bapart from iAḥer /i. /b,The Gemara cites a related story: bThe Sages taught: There was once an incident involving iAḥer /i, who was riding on a horse on Shabbat, and Rabbi Meir was walking behind him to learn Torah from him.After a while, iAḥer bsaid to him: Meir, turn back, for I have already estimatedand measured baccording to the steps of my horsethat bthe Shabbat boundary ends here,and you may therefore venture no further. Rabbi Meir bsaid to him: You, too, returnto the correct path. bHe said to him: But have I not already told youthat bI have already heard behind thedividing bcurtain: “Return, rebellious children,” apart from iAḥer /i? /b,Nevertheless, Rabbi Meir btook hold of himand bbrought him to the study hall. iAḥer bsaid to a child,by way of divination: bRecite your versethat you studied today bto me. He recitedthe following verse bto him: “There is no peace, said the Lord, concerning the wicked”(Isaiah 48:22). bHe brought him to another study hall. iAḥer bsaid to a child: Recite your verse to me. He recited to him: “For though you wash with niter, and take for you much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me”(Jeremiah 2:22). bHe brought him to another study hall. iAḥer bsaid to /b |
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42. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah, 15a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 15a. בשלמא אינהו מיפרשי אלא אבהתייהו מנלן,כדעולא דאמר עולא כל מקום ששמו ושם אביו בנביאות בידוע שהוא נביא בן נביא שמו ולא שם אביו בידוע שהוא נביא ולא בן נביא שמו ושם עירו מפורש בידוע שהוא מאותה העיר שמו ולא שם עירו בידוע שהוא מירושלים,במתניתא תנא כל שמעשיו ומעשה אבותיו סתומין ופרט לך הכתוב באחד מהן לשבח כגון (צפניה א, א) דבר ה' אשר היה אל צפניה בן כושי בן גדליה בידוע שהוא צדיק בן צדיק וכל שפרט לך הכתוב באחד מהן לגנאי כגון (ירמיהו מא, א) ויהי בחדש השביעי בא ישמעאל בן נתניה בן אלישמע בידוע שהוא רשע בן רשע,אמר רב נחמן מלאכי זה מרדכי ולמה נקרא שמו מלאכי שהיה משנה למלך מיתיבי ברוך בן נריה ושריה בן מעשיה ודניאל ומרדכי בלשן וחגי זכריה ומלאכי כולן נתנבאו בשנת שתים לדריוש תיובתא,תניא אמר רבי יהושע בן קרחה מלאכי זה עזרא וחכ"א מלאכי שמו אמר רב נחמן מסתברא כמאן דאמר מלאכי זה עזרא דכתיב בנביאות מלאכי (מלאכי ב, יא) בגדה יהודה ותועבה נעשתה בישראל ובירושלם כי חלל יהודה קדש ה' אשר אהב ובעל בת אל נכר,ומאן אפריש נשים נכריות עזרא דכתיב (עזרא י, ב) ויען שכניה בן יחיאל מבני עילם ויאמר לעזרא אנחנו מעלנו באלהינו ונושב נשים נכריות,תנו רבנן ארבע נשים יפיפיות היו בעולם שרה (ואביגיל רחב) ואסתר ולמאן דאמר אסתר ירקרוקת היתה מפיק אסתר ומעייל ושתי,תנו רבנן רחב בשמה זינתה יעל בקולה אביגיל בזכירתה מיכל בת שאול בראייתה אמר רבי יצחק כל האומר רחב רחב מיד ניקרי א"ל רב נחמן אנא אמינא רחב רחב ולא איכפת לי אמר ליה כי קאמינא ביודעה ובמכירה,ומרדכי ידע את כל אשר נעשה מאי אמר רב אמר גבה המן מאחשורוש ושמואל אמר גבר מלכא עילאה ממלכא תתאה,ותתחלחל המלכה מאי ותתחלחל אמר רב שפירסה נדה ור' ירמיה אמר שהוצרכה לנקביה,ותקרא אסתר להתך אמר רב התך זה דניאל ולמה נקרא שמו התך שחתכוהו מגדולתו ושמואל אמר שכל דברי מלכות נחתכין על פיו,לדעת מה זה ועל מה זה אמר רבי יצחק שלחה לו שמא עברו ישראל על חמשה חומשי תורה דכתיב בהן (שמות לב, טו) מזה ומזה הם כתובים,ויגידו למרדכי את דברי אסתר ואילו איהו לא אזל לגביה מכאן שאין משיבין על הקלקלה,לך כנוס את כל היהודים וגו' עד אשר לא כדת אמר רבי אבא שלא כדת היה שבכל יום ויום עד עכשיו באונס ועכשיו ברצון וכאשר אבדתי אבדתי כשם שאבדתי מבית אבא כך אובד ממך,ויעבור מרדכי אמר רב שהעביר יום ראשון של פסח בתענית ושמואל אמר דעבר ערקומא דמיא,ויהי ביום השלישי ותלבש אסתר מלכות בגדי מלכות מיבעי ליה אמר רבי אלעזר אמר רבי חנינא מלמד שלבשתה רוח הקדש כתיב הכא ותלבש וכתיב התם (דברי הימים א יב, יט) ורוח לבשה את עמשי,ואמר רבי אלעזר אמר ר' חנינא לעולם אל תהי ברכת הדיוט קלה בעיניך שהרי שני גדולי הדור ברכום שני הדיוטות ונתקיימה בהן ואלו הן דוד ודניאל דוד דברכיה ארונה דכתיב (שמואל ב כד, כג) ויאמר ארונה אל המלך וגו' דניאל דברכיה דריוש דכתיב (דניאל ו, יז) אלהך די אנת פלח ליה בתדירא הוא ישיזבינך,ואמר רבי אלעזר אמר ר' חנינא אל תהי קללת הדיוט קלה בעיניך שהרי אבימלך קלל את שרה (בראשית כ, טז) הנה הוא לך כסות עינים ונתקיים בזרעה (בראשית כז, א) ויהי כי זקן יצחק ותכהין עיניו,ואמר רבי אלעזר אמר ר' חנינא בא וראה שלא כמדת הקב"ה מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם אדם שופת קדרה ואח"כ נותן לתוכה מים אבל הקב"ה נותן מים ואחר כך שופת הקדרה לקיים מה שנאמר (ירמיהו י, יג) לקול תתו המון מים בשמים,ואמר ר"א אמר רבי חנינא כל האומר דבר בשם אומרו מביא גאולה לעולם שנאמר ותאמר אסתר למלך בשם מרדכי,ואמר ר"א אמר רבי חנינא צדיק אבד לדורו אבד משל לאדם שאבדה לו מרגלית כל מקום שהיא מרגלית שמה לא אבדה אלא לבעלה,וכל זה איננו שוה לי אמר רבי אלעזר אמר רבי חנינא בשעה שראה המן את מרדכי יושב בשער המלך אמר כל זה אינו שוה לי כדרב חסדא דאמר רב חסדא זה בא בפרוזבולי וזה בא | 15a. The Gemara asks in reference to the eight prophets descended from Rahab: bGranted,with regard to bthem, it is explicit,i.e., the four sons recorded in the list were certainly prophets, as the Bible states this explicitly: Jeremiah was a prophet, his student Baruch was one of the sons of the prophets, his cousin Hanamel came to him at the word of God (see Jeremiah, chapter 32), and Seraiah was his student. bBut as for their fathers,Hilkiah, Neriah, Shallum, and Mahseiah, bfrom where do we derivethat they were prophets?,The Gemara answers: bAstaught by bUlla, as Ulla said: Wherever one’s name and his father’s nameare mentioned bwith regard to prophecy, it is known that he was a prophet the son of a prophet,and therefore his father’s name is also mentioned. And wherever bhis nameis mentioned bbut not his father’s name, it is known that he was a prophet but not the son of a prophet.Similarly, wherever bhis name and the name of his city are specified, it is known that he was from thatparticular bcity,and wherever bhis nameis mentioned bbut not the name of his city, it is known that he was from Jerusalem. /b, bIt was taught in a ibaraita /i:With regard to banyone whose actions and the actions of his ancestors are obscuredand not explained, band the verse mentioned one of them favorably, for example,the way in which Zephaniah the prophet is introduced: b“The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah”(Zephaniah 1:1), bit is known thatnot only bwas he a righteous man,he was also bthe son of a righteous man. Andconversely, bwhenever the verse mentioned one of them unfavorably, for example,in the verse that introduces Ishmael as the one who killed Gedaliah, which states: b“And it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama”(Jeremiah 41:1), bit is known thatnot only bwas he a wicked man,he was also bthe son of a wicked man. /b, bRav Naḥman said: Malachithe prophet bisin fact bMordecai, and why was he called Malachi?To indicate bthat he was second to the king [ imelekh /i],as Mordecai was appointed such, as is recorded at the end of the Megilla. The Gemara braises an objectionfrom the following ibaraita /i: bBaruch, the son of Neriah; Seraiah, the son of Mahseiah; Daniel; Mordecai; Bilshan; Haggai; Zechariah; and Malachi; all prophesied in the second year ofthe reign of bDarius.The fact that the ibaraitamentions Mordecai and Malachi separately indicates that they were two different people. The Gemara concludes: This is indeed ba conclusive refutation. /b, bIt is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: Malachi isin fact bEzra. And the Rabbis sayotherwise: bMalachi was hisreal bname,and it was not merely another name for Ezra or another prophet. bRav Naḥman said:It bstands to reasonthat indeed, they are one and the same person, blikethe opinion of bthe one who said that Malachi is Ezra,since there is a similarity between them, bas it is stated in Malachi’s prophecy: “Judah has dealt treacherously, and a disgusting thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctity of the Lord which he loved, and has married the daughter of a strange god”(Malachi 2:11)., bAnd whowas the one that bremoved the foreign womenwho were married to Jews? It was bEzra, as it is written: “And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra: We have broken faith with our God, and have married foreign womenof the peoples of the land” (Ezra 10:2). It therefore appears that Malachi was one of Ezra’s names, as the Bible describes them both as confronting an intermarriage epidemic.,To complete the discussion about the prophetesses, the Gemara cites a ibaraitain which bthe Sages taught: There were four women of extraordinary beauty in the world: Sarah, and Abigail, Rahab, and Esther. And according to the one who saidthat bEsther was greenishin color, lacking natural beauty, only that a cord of divine grace was strung around her, bremove Estherfrom the list band insert Vashtiin her place, for she was indeed beautiful., bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRahab aroused impure thoughts by her name,i.e., the mere mention of her name would inspire lust for her; bYael, by her voice; Abigail, by remembering her; Michal, the daughter of Saul, by her appearance.Similarly, bRabbi Yitzḥak said: Anyone who says Rahab, Rahab, immediately experiences a seminal emissiondue to the arousal of desire caused by Rahab’s great beauty. bRav Naḥman said to him: I say: Rahab, Rahab, and it does not affect me.Rabbi Yitzchak bsaid toRav Naḥman: bWhen I said this,I was specifically referring bto one who knows herpersonally band recognizes herbeauty. Only for one who has met Rahab in person is the mere mention of her name capable of arousing lust.,§ The Gemara returns to its explanation of the verses of the book of Esther. The verse states: b“When Mordecai perceived all that was done,Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry” (Esther 4:1). The Gemara asks: bWhat didMordecai bsaywhen he cried out? bRav said:He said that bHaman has risen above Ahasuerus,for he saw that Haman had become even stronger than Ahasuerus himself, and that he controlled all affairs of the empire. bAnd Shmuel said: The upper King has prevailed over the lower king,saying this euphemistically and insinuating just the opposite. In other words, it would appear that Ahasuerus, the lower king, has prevailed over the higher King, God in Heaven, Who desires good for the Jewish people.,The verse states: b“Then the queen was exceedingly distressed” [ ivatitḥalḥal /i](Esther 4:4). The Gemara asks: bWhat isthe meaning of ivatitḥalḥal /i? Rav said:This means bthat she began to menstruateout of fear, as the cavities, iḥalalim /i, of her body opened. bAnd Rabbi Yirmeya said: Her bowels were loosened,also understanding the verse as referring to her bodily cavities.,The verse states: b“Then Esther called for Hathach,one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her” (Esther 4:5). bRav said: Hathach isin fact the prophet bDaniel. And why was he called Hathach? Because he was cut down [ iḥatakh /i] from his greatnessduring Ahasuerus’s reign, as he was demoted from his high position. Previously he had served as a senior minister, and now he had become Esther’s steward. bAnd Shmuelexpounded the name Hathach as derived from iḥatakhin the opposite sense, as he bsaid:Daniel was called Hathach bbecause all the affairs of the kingdom were decided [ ineḥtakhin /i] by his word. /b,The verse continues to relate that Esther sent Hathach to Mordecai after hearing about the decree: b“To know what this [ izeh /i] was, and why it [ izeh /i] was”(Esther 4:5). bRabbi Yitzḥak saidthat Esther bsenta message btoMordecai, saying: bPerhaps the Jews have transgressed the five books of the Torah, as it is writtenwith regard to the two tablets: b“On this [ izeh /i] side and on the other [ izeh /i] side were they written”(Exodus 32:15).,The verse states: b“And they told Esther’s words to Mordecai”(Esther 4:12), bbut he,Hathach himself, bdid not go totell bhimdirectly. The Gemara explains: bFrom herewe see that bone does not bring back a sad report.If one has nothing positive to say, it is best for him to remain silent. This explains why Hathach himself did not report the information to Mordecai, and Esther’s words had to be delivered by other messengers.,Esther sent a message to Mordecai: b“Go, gather together all the Jewswho are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night and day; I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I go in to the king, bnot according to the custom”(Esther 4:16). bRabbi Abba said: It will not be according tomy usual bcustom, for every day until nowwhen I submitted myself to Ahasuerus it was bunder compulsion, but nowI will be submitting myself to him bof myown free bwill.And Esther further said: b“And if I perish, I perish”(Esther 4:16). What she meant was: bJust as I was lost to my father’s houseever since I was brought here, bso too, shall I be lost to you,for after voluntarily having relations with Ahasuerus, I shall be forever forbidden to you.,There is a dispute with regard to the meaning of the verse: b“So Mordecai passed [ ivaya’avor /i]”(Esther 4:17). bRav said:This means bthat he passed the first day of Passover as a fast day,understanding the word ivaya’avorin the sense of sin [ iaveira /i], as by doing so he transgressed the obligation to rejoice on the Festival. bAnd Shmuel said:It means bthat he crossed over [ iavar /i] a streamin order to bring the message to all.,The verse states: b“And it came to pass on the third day, that Esther clothed herself in royalty”(Esther 5:1). The Gemara asks: bIt should have said:Esther clothed herself in broyal garments. Rabbi Elazar saidthat bRabbi Ḥanina said: This teaches that she clothed herself witha bdivinespirit of binspiration,as bit is written here: “And she clothed herself,” and it is written elsewhere: “And the spirit clothed Amasai”(I Chronicles 12:19). Just as there the reference is to the spirit of divine inspiration, so too here, the term royalty is referring to the spirit of divine inspiration.,Apropos a statement that Rabbi Elazar said that Rabbi Ḥanina said, the Gemara records other such statements: bAnd Rabbi Elazarfurther bsaidthat bRabbi Ḥanina said: One should never regard the blessing of an ordinary person [ ihedyot /i] as light in your eyes, as twoof the bgreat men oftheir bgenerations received blessings from ordinary people andthose blessings bwere fulfilled in them. And they were David and Daniel. David, for Araunah blessed him, as it is written: “And Araunah said to the king,May the Lord your God accept you” (II Samuel 24:23), and it was fulfilled. bDaniel, for Darius blessed him, as it is written: “Your God Whom you serve continually, He will rescue you” ( /bDaniel 6:17), and this too was fulfilled when Daniel was saved from the lions’ den., bAnd Rabbi Elazarfurther bsaidthat bRabbi Ḥanina said: One should not regard the curse of an ordinary person as light in your eyes, for Abimelech cursed Sarah,saying: b“Behold, it is to you a covering of the eyesto all that are with you” (Genesis 20:16), bandindeed bthis was fulfilled in her descendant,as it is stated: b“And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim,so that he could not see” (Genesis 27:1). Abimelech’s curse of covered eyes was fulfilled through her son Isaac’s blindness., bAnd Rabbi Elazarfurther bsaidthat bRabbi Ḥanina said: Come and see that the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is unlike the attribute ofa man of bflesh and blood; forit is bthe attribute of flesh and bloodthat ba man places the pot on the fire and then puts in the water. However, the Holy One, Blessed be He,first bputs in the water and then places the pot on the fire, to fulfill that which is stated: “At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens”(Jeremiah 10:13), which he explains as follows: First God set the multitudes of water in place, and afterward He created the heavens to hold the water., bAnd Rabbi Elazarfurther bsaidthat bRabbi Ḥanina said: Whoever reports a saying in the name of he who said it brings redemption to the world. As it is statedwith respect to the incident of Bigthan and Teresh: b“And Esther reported it to the king in the name of Mordecai”(Esther 2:22), and this eventually brought redemption, as Mordecai was later rewarded for saving the king’s life, paving the way for the miraculous salvation., bAnd Rabbi Elazarfurther bsaidthat bRabbi Ḥanina said:When ba righteous manpasses from this earth and is blost,he bis lostonly bforthe rest of bhis generation,who is now deprived of him, not for the righteous individual himself. This is bsimilar to a man who has lost a pearl.The pearl does not care if it is lost, as bwherever it isfound, bit isstill ba pearl; it is lost only to its owner. /b,Haman said: b“Yet all this avails me nothing”(Esther 5:13). bRabbi Elazar saidthat bRabbi Ḥanina said: When Haman saw Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate he said: Yet all this avails me nothing.This may be understood baswas suggested bby Rav Ḥisda, for Rav Ḥisda said: This one,Mordecai, bcame asone with the heritage of ba rich man [ iperozebuli /i],whereas bthat one,Haman, bcame /b |
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43. Babylonian Talmud, Menachot, 44a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 44a. is bmore lowlythan a woman, and therefore it is appropriate to recite an additional blessing on not having been born a slave.,§ bThe Sages taught: This iḥilazon /i,which bisthe source of the sky-blue dye used in ritual fringes, has the following characteristics: bIts body resembles the sea, its form resemblesthat of ba fish, it emerges once in seventy years, and with its blood one dyeswool bsky-bluefor ritual fringes. It is scarce, and btherefore it is expensive. /b,It bis taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Natan says: There is no mitzva,however bminor, that is written in the Torah, for which there is no reward given in this world; and in the World-to-Come I do not know how muchreward is given. bGo and learn fromthe following incident concerning bthe mitzva of ritual fringes. /b,There was ban incident involving a certain man who was diligent about the mitzva of ritual fringes.This man bheard that there was a prostitute inone of bthe cities overseas who took four hundred gold coins as her payment. He sent her four hundred gold coins and fixed a time tomeet with bher. When his time came, he came and sat at the entranceto her house., bThe maidservant ofthat prostitute bentered and said to her: That man who sent you four hundred gold coins came and sat at the entrance. She said: Let him enter. He entered. She arranged seven beds for him, six of silver and one of gold. Between each and every oneof them there was ba laddermade bof silver, and the topbed was the one that was made bof gold. /b, bShe went up and sat naked on the topbed, band he too went upin order bto sit naked facing her.In the meantime, bhis four ritual fringes came and slapped him on his face. He dropped down and sat himself on the ground, and she also dropped down and sat on the ground. She said to him:I take an oath by the igappaof Rome that I will not allow youto go buntil you tell me what defect you saw in me. /b, bHe said to her:I take an oath by bthe Templeservice bthat I never saw a woman as beautiful as you. Butthere is bone mitzvathat bthe Lord, our God, commanded us, and its name is ritual fringes, and inthe passage where bitis commanded, bit is written twice: “I am the Lord your God”(Numbers 15:41). The doubling of this phrase indicates: bI am the one who will punishthose who transgress My mitzvot, band I am the one who will rewardthose who fulfill them. bNow,said the man, the four sets of ritual fringes bappeared to me asif they were bfour witnesseswho will testify against me., bShe said to him: I will not allow youto go buntil you tell me: What is your name, and what is the name of your city, and what is the name of your teacher, and what is the name of the study hall in which you studied Torah? He wrotethe information band placedit bin her hand. /b, bShe arose and divided all of her property,giving bone-thirdas a bribe bto the government, one-third to the poor, and she took one-thirdwith her bin her possession, in addition to those bedsof gold and silver., bShe came to the study hall of Rabbi Ḥiyyaand bsaid to him: My teacher, instructyour students bconcerning me andhave them bmake me a convert.Rabbi Ḥiyya bsaid to her: My daughter, perhaps you set your sights on one of the studentsand that is why you want to convert? bShe tookthe bnotethe student had given her bfrom her hand and gave it toRabbi Ḥiyya. bHe said to her: Go take possession of your purchase. /b, bThose beds that she had arranged for him in a prohibitedfashion, bshenow barranged for him in a permittedfashion. The Gemara completes its point about the reward of mitzvot and points out how this story illustrates the concept: bThis is the reward given to him in this world, andwith regard bto the World-to-Come, I do not know how muchreward he will be given.,§ bRav Yehuda says:In the case of ba borrowed cloak, forthe first bthirty days it is exempt from ritual fringes; from then onit is bobligated. /b,The Gemara notes: bThatdistinction bis also taughtin a ibaraita /i: In the case of bone who resides in a guesthouse [ ipundaki /i] in Eretz Yisrael, or one who rents a house outside of Eretz Yisrael, forthe first bthirty dayshe is bexempt from themitzva of imezuza /i; from then onhe is bobligated. But one who rents a house in Eretz Yisraelmust baffix a imezuzaimmediately, due tothe bsettlement of Eretz Yisrael. /b,§ The mishna teaches: Absence of the bphylacteries ofthe barm does not preventfulfillment of the mitzva of the phylacteries of the head, and absence of the phylacteries of the head does not prevent fulfillment of the mitzva of the phylacteries of the arm. bRav Ḥisda said: They taughtthis bonlyin a case bwhere one hasthe other phylacteries, but they are not with him or he is unable to wear them for some reason. bButif bhe does not havethe other phylacteries at all, then their absence bdoes preventthe fulfillment of the mitzva to don the phylacteries that he has.,Later on, the students bsaid to him:Do byoustill bsaythat? Rav Ḥisda bsaid to them: No, ratherI would say the opposite: Concerning bone who does not havethe ability to fulfill btwo mitzvot, should he also not performthe bone mitzvathat he does have the ability to fulfill? The Gemara asks: bAnd what did he hold initiallywhen he said not to don one of the phylacteries in the absence of the other? The Gemara answers: He held that it was due to a rabbinic bdecree, lest he be negligentand not try to acquire the phylacteries that he lacks., bRav Sheshet says: Anyone who does not don phylacteries violates eight positive mitzvot.This is referring to the mitzva to don phylacteries of the arm and head, each of which is mentioned in four different passages (Exodus 13:9; Exodus 13:16; Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:18)., bAnd anyone who does not have ritual fringes on his garments violates five positive mitzvot.This is because the mitzva of ritual fringes is stated four times in the primary passage concerning ritual fringes in Numbers: “That they prepare for themselves strings…and they shall put on the fringe of the corner a sky-blue thread. And it shall be to you for a fringe that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord” (Numbers 15:38–39). An additional command appears in the verse: “You shall prepare yourself twisted cords” (Deuteronomy 22:12)., bAnd any priest who does not ascend the platformto recite the Priestly Benediction bviolates three positive mitzvotexpressed in the verses: “So you shall bless the children of Israel; you shall say to them” (Numbers 6:23), and: “And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel” (Numbers 6:27)., bAnyone who does not have a imezuzain his doorway violates two positive mitzvot,stated in the verses: b“And you shall write themon the doorposts of your house” (Deuteronomy 6:9), and: b“And you shall write themon the doorposts of your house” (Deuteronomy 11:20)., bAnd Reish Lakish says: Anyone who dons phylacteries livesa blong life, as it is stated: /b |
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44. Babylonian Talmud, Niddah, 31a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 31a. מאי קרא (תהלים עא, ו) ממעי אמי אתה גוזי מאי משמע דהאי גוזי לישנא דאשתבועי הוא דכתיב (ירמיהו ז, כט) גזי נזרך והשליכי,ואמר רבי אלעזר למה ולד דומה במעי אמו לאגוז מונח בספל של מים אדם נותן אצבעו עליו שוקע לכאן ולכאן,תנו רבנן שלשה חדשים הראשונים ולד דר במדור התחתון אמצעיים ולד דר במדור האמצעי אחרונים ולד דר במדור העליון וכיון שהגיע זמנו לצאת מתהפך ויוצא וזהו חבלי אשה,והיינו דתנן חבלי של נקבה מרובין משל זכר,ואמר רבי אלעזר מאי קרא (תהלים קלט, טו) אשר עשיתי בסתר רקמתי בתחתיות ארץ דרתי לא נאמר אלא רקמתי,מאי שנא חבלי נקבה מרובין משל זכר זה בא כדרך תשמישו וזה בא כדרך תשמישו זו הופכת פניה וזה אין הופך פניו,תנו רבנן שלשה חדשים הראשונים תשמיש קשה לאשה וגם קשה לולד אמצעיים קשה לאשה ויפה לולד אחרונים יפה לאשה ויפה לולד שמתוך כך נמצא הולד מלובן ומזורז,תנא המשמש מטתו ליום תשעים כאילו שופך דמים מנא ידע אלא אמר אביי משמש והולך (תהלים קטז, ו) ושומר פתאים ה',תנו רבנן שלשה שותפין יש באדם הקב"ה ואביו ואמו אביו מזריע הלובן שממנו עצמות וגידים וצפרנים ומוח שבראשו ולובן שבעין אמו מזרעת אודם שממנו עור ובשר ושערות ושחור שבעין והקב"ה נותן בו רוח ונשמה וקלסתר פנים וראיית העין ושמיעת האוזן ודבור פה והלוך רגלים ובינה והשכל,וכיון שהגיע זמנו להפטר מן העולם הקב"ה נוטל חלקו וחלק אביו ואמו מניח לפניהם אמר רב פפא היינו דאמרי אינשי פוץ מלחא ושדי בשרא לכלבא,דרש רב חיננא בר פפא מאי דכתיב (איוב ט, י) עושה גדולות עד אין חקר ונפלאות עד אין מספר בא וראה שלא כמדת הקב"ה מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם נותן חפץ בחמת צרורה ופיה למעלה ספק משתמר ספק אין משתמר ואילו הקב"ה צר העובר במעי אשה פתוחה ופיה למטה ומשתמר,דבר אחר אדם נותן חפציו לכף מאזנים כל זמן שמכביד יורד למטה ואילו הקב"ה כל זמן שמכביד הולד עולה למעלה,דרש רבי יוסי הגלילי מאי דכתיב {תהילים קל״ט:י״ד } אודך (ה') על כי נוראות נפליתי נפלאים מעשיך ונפשי יודעת מאד בא וראה שלא כמדת הקב"ה מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם אדם נותן זרעונים בערוגה כל אחת ואחת עולה במינו ואילו הקב"ה צר העובר במעי אשה וכולם עולין למין אחד,דבר אחר צבע נותן סמנין ליורה כולן עולין לצבע אחד ואילו הקב"ה צר העובר במעי אשה כל אחת ואחת עולה למינו,דרש רב יוסף מאי דכתיב (ישעיהו יב, א) אודך ה' כי אנפת בי ישוב אפך ותנחמני במה הכתוב מדבר,בשני בני אדם שיצאו לסחורה ישב לו קוץ לאחד מהן התחיל מחרף ומגדף לימים שמע שטבעה ספינתו של חבירו בים התחיל מודה ומשבח לכך נאמר ישוב אפך ותנחמני,והיינו דאמר רבי אלעזר מאי דכתיב (תהלים עב, יח) עושה נפלאות (גדולות) לבדו וברוך שם כבודו לעולם אפילו בעל הנס אינו מכיר בנסו,דריש רבי חנינא בר פפא מאי דכתיב (תהלים קלט, ג) ארחי ורבעי זרית וכל דרכי הסכנת מלמד שלא נוצר אדם מן כל הטפה אלא מן הברור שבה תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל משל לאדם שזורה בבית הגרנות נוטל את האוכל ומניח את הפסולת,כדרבי אבהו דרבי אבהו רמי כתיב (שמואל ב כב, מ) ותזרני חיל וכתיב (תהלים יח, לג) האל המאזרני חיל אמר דוד לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע זיריתני וזרזתני,דרש רבי אבהו מאי דכתיב (במדבר כג, י) מי מנה עפר יעקב ומספר את רובע ישראל מלמד שהקב"ה יושב וסופר את רביעיותיהם של ישראל מתי תבא טיפה שהצדיק נוצר הימנה,ועל דבר זה נסמית עינו של בלעם הרשע אמר מי שהוא טהור וקדוש ומשרתיו טהורים וקדושים יציץ בדבר זה מיד נסמית עינו דכתיב (במדבר כד, ג) נאם הגבר שתום העין,והיינו דאמר רבי יוחנן מאי דכתיב (בראשית ל, טז) וישכב עמה בלילה הוא מלמד שהקב"ה סייע באותו מעשה שנאמר (בראשית מט, יד) יששכר חמור גרם חמור גרם לו ליששכר,אמר רבי יצחק אמר רבי אמי אשה מזרעת תחילה יולדת זכר איש מזריע תחילה יולדת נקבה שנאמר (ויקרא יג, כט) אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר,תנו רבנן בראשונה היו אומרים אשה מזרעת תחילה יולדת זכר איש מזריע תחלה יולדת נקבה ולא פירשו חכמים את הדבר עד שבא רבי צדוק ופירשו (בראשית מו, טו) אלה בני לאה אשר ילדה ליעקב בפדן ארם ואת דינה בתו תלה הזכרים בנקבות ונקבות בזכרים,(דברי הימים א ח, מ) ויהיו בני אולם אנשים גבורי חיל דורכי קשת ומרבים בנים ובני בנים וכי בידו של אדם להרבות בנים ובני בנים אלא מתוך | 31a. bWhat is the versefrom which it is derived that a fetus is administered an oath on the day of its birth? “Upon You I have relied from birth; bYou are He Who took me out [ igozi /i] of my mother’s womb”(Psalms 71:6). bFrom where mayit bbe inferred that thisword: b“ iGozi /i,” is a term of administering an oath? As it is written: “Cut off [ igozi /i] your hair and cast it away”(Jeremiah 7:29), which is interpreted as a reference to the vow of a nazirite, who must cut off his hair at the end of his term of naziriteship., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: To what is a fetus in its mother’s womb comparable?It is comparable bto a nut placed in a basinfull bof water,floating on top of the water. If ba person puts his finger on top ofthe nut, bit sinkseither bin this direction or in that direction. /b,§ bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: During bthe first three monthsof pregcy, the bfetus resides in the lower compartmentof the womb; in the bmiddlethree months, the bfetus resides in the middle compartment;and during the blastthree months of pregcy the bfetus resides in the upper compartment. And once its time to emerge arrives, it turns upside down and emerges; and this iswhat causes blabor pains. /b,With regard to the assertion that labor pains are caused by the fetus turning upside down, the Gemara notes: bAnd this isthe explanation for bthat which we learnedin a ibaraita /i: bThe labor pains experienced bya woman who gives birth to ba female are greater thanthose bexperienced bya woman who gives birth to ba male.The Gemara will explain this below., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: What is the versefrom which it is derived that a fetus initially resides in the lower part of the womb? b“When I was made in secret, and I was woven together in the lowest parts of the earth”(Psalms 139:15). Since it bis not stated: I residedin the lowest parts of the earth, bbut rather: “I was woven togetherin the lowest parts of the earth,” this teaches that during the initial stage of a fetus’s development, when it is woven together, its location is in the lower compartment of the womb.,The Gemara asks: bWhat is differentabout bthe labor pains experienced bya woman who gives birth to ba female,that they bare greater than those experienced bya woman who gives birth to ba male?The Gemara answers: bThisone, a male fetus, bemerges in the manner in which it engages in intercourse.Just as a male engages in intercourse facing downward, so too, it is born while facing down. bAnd thatone, a female fetus, bemerges in the manner in which it engages in intercourse,i.e., facing upward. Consequently, bthatone, a female fetus, bturns its face aroundbefore it is born, bbut thisone, a male fetus, bdoes not turn its face aroundbefore it is born.,§ bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: During bthe first three monthsof pregcy, bsexual intercourse is difficultand harmful bfor the woman and is also difficult for the offspring.During the bmiddlethree months, intercourse is bdifficult for the woman but is beneficial for the offspring.During the blastthree months, sexual intercourse is bbeneficial for the woman and beneficial for the offspring; as a result of it the offspring is found to be strong and fair skinned. /b,The Sages btaughtin a ibaraita /i: With regard to bone who engages in intercoursewith his wife bon the ninetieth dayof her pregcy, bit is as though he spillsher bblood.The Gemara asks: bHow does one knowthat it is the ninetieth day of her pregcy? bRather, Abaye says: One should go ahead and engage in intercoursewith his wife even if it might be the ninetieth day, bandrely on God to prevent any ensuing harm, as the verse states: b“The Lord preserves the simple”(Psalms 116:6).,§ bThe Sages taught: There are three partners inthe creation of ba person: The Holy One, Blessed be He, and his father, and his mother. His father emits the white seed, from whichthe following body parts are formed: The bbones,the bsinews,the bnails,the bbrain that is in its head, andthe bwhite of the eye. His mother emits red seed, from whichare formed the bskin,the bflesh,the bhair, andthe bblack of the eye. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, inserts into him a spirit, a soul,his bcountece [ iukelaster /i], eyesight, hearing of the ear,the capability of bspeechof bthe mouth,the capability of bwalkingwith bthe legs, understanding, and wisdom. /b, bAnd whena person’s btime to depart from the world arrives, the Holy One, Blessed be He, retrieves His part, and He leaves the part ofthe person’s bfather and mother before them. Rav Pappa said: Thisis in accordance with the adage bthat people say: Remove the saltfrom a piece of meat, bandyou may then btoss the meat to a dog,as it has become worthless.,§ bRav Ḥina bar Pappa taught: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “Who does great deeds beyond comprehension, wondrous deeds without number”(Job 9:10)? bCome and see that the attribute of flesh and blood is unlike the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He. The attribute of flesh and bloodis that if one bputs an article in a flask,even if the flask is btied and its openingfaces bupward, it is uncertain whetherthe item bis preservedfrom getting lost, band it is uncertain whether it is not preservedfrom being lost. bBut the Holy One, Blessed be He, forms the fetus in a woman’s open womb, and its openingfaces bdownward, andyet the fetus bis preserved. /b, bAnother matterthat demonstrates the difference between the attributes of God and the attributes of people is that when ba person places his articles on a scaleto be measured, bthe heavierthe item bis,the more bit descends. Butwhen bthe Holy One, Blessed be He,forms a fetus, bthe heavier the offspring gets,the more bit ascends upwardin the womb., bRabbi Yosei HaGelili taught: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and that my soul knows very well”(Psalms 139:14)? bCome and see that the attribute of flesh and blood is unlike the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He. The attribute of flesh and bloodis that when ba person plants seedsof different species binone bgarden bed, each and every oneof the seeds bemergesas a grown plant baccording to its species. But the Holy One, Blessed be He, forms the fetus in a woman’s womb, and all ofthe seeds, i.e., those of both the father and the mother, bemergewhen the offspring is formed bas onesex., bAlternatively,when ba dyer puts herbs in a cauldron [ ileyora /i], they all emerge as one colorof dye, bwhereas the Holy One, Blessed be He, forms the fetus in a woman’s womb,and beach and every oneof the seeds bemerges as its own type.In other words, the seed of the father form distinct elements, such as the white of the eye, and the seed of the mother forms other elements, such as the black of the eye, as explained above., bRav Yosef taught: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written:“And on that day you shall say: bI will give thanks to You, Lord, for You were angry with me; Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me”(Isaiah 12:1)? bWith regard to whatmatter bis the verse speaking? /b,It is referring, for example, bto two people who lefttheir homes to go bon a businesstrip. bA thorn penetratedthe body bof one of them,and he was consequently unable to go with his colleague. bHe started blaspheming and cursingin frustration. bAfter a period of time, he heard that the ship of the otherperson bhad sunk in the sea,and realized that the thorn had saved him from death. He then bstarted thankingGod band praisingHim for his delivery due to the slight pain caused to him by the thorn. This is the meaning of the statement: I will give thanks to You, Lord, for You were angry with me. bTherefore, it is statedat the end of the verse: b“Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.” /b, bAnd thisstatement bisidentical to bthat which Rabbi Elazar said: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written:“Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, bWho does wondrous things alone; and blessed be His glorious name forever”(Psalms 72:18–19)? What does it mean that God “does wondrous things alone”? It means that beven the one for whom the miracle was performed does not recognize the miraclethat was performed for bhim. /b, bRabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa taught: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “You measure [ izerita /i] my going about [ iorḥi /i] and my lying down [ iriv’i /i], and are acquainted with all my ways”(Psalms 139:3)? This verse bteaches that a person is not created from the entire dropof semen, bbut from its clearpart. iZeritacan mean to winnow, while iorḥiand iriv’ican both be explained as references to sexual intercourse. Therefore the verse is interpreted homiletically as saying that God separates the procreative part of the semen from the rest. bThe school of Rabbi Yishmael taught a parable:This matter is comparable bto a person who winnowsgrain bin the granary; he takes the food and leaves the waste. /b,This is bin accordance witha statement bof Rabbi Abbahu, as Rabbi Abbahu raises a contradiction: It is writtenin one of King David’s psalms: b“For You have girded me [ ivatazreni /i] with strength for battle”(II Samuel 22:40), without the letter ialefin ivatazreni /i; band it is writtenin another psalm: b“Who girds me [ ihame’azreni /i] with strength”(Psalms 18:33), with an ialefin ihame’azreini /i. What is the difference between these two expressions? bDavid said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You selected me [ izeiritani /i],i.e., You separated between the procreative part and the rest of the semen in order to create me, band You have girded me [ izeraztani /i] with strength. /b, bRabbi Abbahu taught: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is writtenin Balaam’s blessing: b“Who has counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered the stock [ irova /i] of Israel”(Numbers 23:10)? The verse bteaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and counts the times that the Jewish people engage in intercourse [ irevi’iyyoteihem /i],anticipating the time bwhen the drop from which the righteous person will be created will arrive. /b, bAndit was bdue to this matterthat bthe eye of wicked Balaam went blind. He said: ShouldGod, bwho is pure and holy, and whose ministers are pure and holy, peek at this matter? Immediately his eye was blindedas a divine punishment, bas it is written: “The saying of the man whose eye is shut”(Numbers 24:3)., bAnd thisstatement bisthe same as that bwhich Rabbi Yoḥa said: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written,with regard to Leah’s conceiving Issachar: b“And he lay with her that night”(Genesis 30:16)? The verse bteaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, contributed to that act.The manner in which God contributed to this act is derived from another verse, bas it is stated: “Issachar is a large-boned [ igarem /i] donkey”(Genesis 49:14). This teaches that God directed Jacob’s bdonkeytoward Leah’s tent so that he would engage in intercourse with her, thereby bcausing [ igaram /i]Leah’s conceiving bIssachar. /b,§ bRabbi Yitzḥak saysthat bRabbi Ami says:The sex of a fetus is determined at the moment of conception. If the bwoman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male,and if the bman emits seed first, she gives birth to a female, as it is stated: “If a woman bears seed and gives birth to a male”(Leviticus 12:2)., bThe Sages taught: At first,people bwould saythat if the bwoman emits seed first she gives birth to a male,and if the bman emits seed first, she gives birth to a female. But the Sages did not explainfrom which verse this bmatteris derived, buntil Rabbi Tzadok came and explainedthat bitis derived from the following verse: b“These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah”(Genesis 46:15). From the fact that the verse battributes the males to the females,as the males are called: The sons of Leah, bandit attributes bthe females to the males, /bin that Dinah is called: His daughter, it is derived that if the woman emits seed first she gives birth to a male, whereas if the man emits seed first, she bears a female.,This statement is also derived from the following verse: b“And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and had many sons and sons’ sons”(I Chronicles 8:40). bIs it in a person’s power to have many sons and sons’ sons? Rather, because /b |
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45. Babylonian Talmud, Qiddushin, 68a, 22b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 22b. אילו נאמר אזנו בדלת הייתי אומר ידקור כנגד אזנו בדלת דלת אין אזנו לא ואזן לא והכתיב (שמות כא, ו) ורצע אדוניו את אזנו במרצע,אלא הייתי אומר ירצענה לאזן מאבראי ויניחנה על הדלת וידקור כנגד אזנו בדלת תלמוד לומר באזנו ובדלת הא כיצד דוקר והולך עד שמגיע אצל דלת,דלת שומע אני בין עקורה בין שאינה עקורה ת"ל מזוזה מה מזוזה מעומד אף דלת נמי מעומד,רבן יוחנן בן זכאי היה דורש את המקרא הזה כמין חומר מה נשתנה אזן מכל אברים שבגוף אמר הקב"ה אזן ששמעה קולי על הר סיני בשעה שאמרתי (ויקרא כה, נה) כי לי בני ישראל עבדים ולא עבדים לעבדים והלך זה וקנה אדון לעצמו ירצע,ור"ש ב"ר היה דורש את המקרא הזה כמין חומר מה נשתנה דלת ומזוזה מכל כלים שבבית אמר הקב"ה דלת ומזוזה שהיו עדים במצרים בשעה שפסחתי על המשקוף ועל שתי המזוזות ואמרתי כי לי בני ישראל עבדים ולא עבדים לעבדים והוצאתים מעבדות לחירות והלך זה וקנה אדון לעצמו ירצע בפניהם:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big עבד כנעני נקנה בכסף ובשטר ובחזקה וקונה את עצמו בכסף על ידי אחרים ובשטר על ידי עצמו דברי רבי מאיר וחכמים אומרים בכסף ע"י עצמו ובשטר ע"י אחרים ובלבד שיהא הכסף משל אחרים:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big מנלן דכתיב (ויקרא כה, מו) והתנחלתם אותם לבניכם אחריכם לרשת אחוזה הקישן הכתוב לשדה אחוזה מה שדה אחוזה נקנה בכסף בשטר ובחזקה אף עבד כנעני נקנה בכסף בשטר ובחזקה,אי מה שדה אחוזה חוזרת לבעלים ביובל אף עבד כנעני חוזר לבעלים ביובל תלמוד לומר (ויקרא כה, מו) לעולם בהם תעבודו,תנא אף בחליפין ותנא דידן מילתא דליתא במטלטלין קתני מילתא דאיתא במטלטלין לא קתני,אמר שמואל עבד כנעני נקנה במשיכה כיצד תקפו ובא אצלו קנאו קראו ובא אצלו לא קנאו,בשלמא לתנא דידן מילתא דאיתא במטלטלי לא קתני דליתא במטלטלי קתני אלא לתנא ברא ניתני משיכה כי קתני מילתא דאיתא בין במקרקעי בין במטלטלי משיכה דבמטלטלי איתא במקרקעי ליתא לא קתני,כיצד תקפו ובא אצלו קנאו קראו ובא אצלו לא קנאו וקראו לא והתניא כיצד במסירה אחזה בטלפה בשערה באוכף שעליה בשליף שעליה בפרומביא שבפיה ובזוג שבצוארה קנאה,כיצד במשיכה קורא לה והיא באה או שהכישה במקל ורצתה לפניו כיון שעקרה יד ורגל קנאה רבי אסי ואמרי לה ר' אחא אומר עד שתהלך לפניו מלא קומתה,אמרי בהמה אדעתא דמרה אזלה עבד אדעתיה דנפשיה קאזיל אמר רב אשי עבד קטן כבהמה דמי,תנו רבנן כיצד בחזקה התיר לו מנעלו או הוליך כליו אחריו לבית המרחץ הפשיטו הרחיצו סכו גרדו הלבישו הנעילו הגביהו קנאו אמר ר' שמעון לא תהא חזקה גדולה מהגבהה שהגבהה קונה בכל מקום מאי קאמר,אמר רב אשי הגביהו הוא לרבו קנאו הגביהו רבו לו לא קנאו אמר רבי שמעון לא תהא חזקה גדולה מהגבהה שהגבהה קונה בכל מקום,השתא דאמרת הגביהו הוא לרבו קנאו אלא מעתה שפחה כנענית תקנה בביאה כי קאמרינן זה נהנה וזה מצטער הכא זה נהנה וזה נהנה הוא,שלא כדרכה מאי איכא למימר אמר רב אחיי [בר אדא] דמן אחא מאן לימא לן דלאו הנאה אית להו לתרוייהו ועוד משכבי אשה כתיב הקישה הכתוב כדרכה לשלא כדרכה,ר' יהודה הנדואה גר שאין לו יורשין הוה חלש על מר זוטרא לשיולי ביה חזייה דתקיף ליה עלמא טובא אמר ליה לעבדיה שלוף לי מסנאי ואמטינהו לביתא איכא דאמרי גדול הוה | 22b. bHadthe verse bstated: His ear to the door, I would say: He should pierce, opposite his ear, into the dooralone. In other words, with regard to bthe door, yes,it should be pierced, but bhis earitself, bno,it should not be pierced. The Gemara asks: bButhow could it even be suggested that bhis earshould bnotbe pierced? bBut isn’t it written: “And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl”(Exodus 21:6)?, bRather, I would saythat the master bshould pierce his ear outside,i.e., not at the door, band he should place itafterward bon the door, andthen bhe should pierce opposite his ear on the door.Therefore, bthe verse states:“And you shall take the awl and place it bthrough his ear and into the door”(Deuteronomy 15:17). bHow so? He bores throughhis ear buntil he reaches the door. /b,The ibaraitaadds: Since the verse states b“door,” Iwould bderivethat this applies to any door, regardless of bwhetherit is bdetachedfrom its doorpost or bwhether it is not detached.Therefore, bthe verse states:“Then his master shall bring him to the court, and shall bring him to the door, or to the bdoorpost”(Exodus 21:6): bJust as a doorpost is uprightand attached, bso too, a doormust be buprightand attached to the doorpost., bRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai would expound this verse as a type of decorative wreath [ iḥomer /i],i.e., as an allegory: bWhy is the ear different from all the other limbs in the body,as the ear alone is pierced? bThe Holy One, Blessed be He, said:This bear heard My voice on Mount Sinai when I said: “For to Me the children of Israel are slaves”(Leviticus 25:55), which indicates: bAndthey should bnotbe bslaves to slaves. Andyet bthisman bwent andwillingly bacquired a master for himself.Therefore, bletthis ear bbe pierced. /b, bAnd Rabbi Shimon bar RabbiYehuda HaNasi bwouldlikewise bexpound this verse as a type of decorative wreath: Why are the door and a doorpost different from all other objects in the house,that the piercing is performed with them? bThe Holy One, Blessed be He, said: The door and the doorpost were witnesses in Egypt when I passed over the lintel andwhen I passed bover the two doorpostsof houses in which there were Jews (Exodus, chapter 12), band I said: “For to Me the children of Israel are slaves,” andthey should bnotbe bslaves to slaves. And I delivered themat that time bfrom slavery to freedom, andyet bthisman bwent and acquired a master for himself.Therefore, blet him be pierced before them,as they are witnesses that he violated God’s will., strongMISHNA: /strong bA Canaanite slave is acquired bymeans of bmoney, bymeans of ba document, or bymeans of the master btaking possessionof him. bAnd he can acquire himself,i.e., his freedom, bbymeans of bmoneygiven bby others,i.e., other people can give money to his master, band bymeans of ba billof manumission if he accepts it bby himself.This is bthe statement of Rabbi Meir. And the Rabbis say:The slave can be freed bbymeans of bmoneygiven bby himself, and bymeans of ba billof manumission if it is accepted bby others, provided that the moneyhe gives bbelongs to others,not to him. This is because the slave cannot possess property, as anything owned by a slave is considered his master’s., strongGEMARA: /strong The Gemara asks: bFrom where do wederive that these are the modes by which a slave can be acquired? The Gemara answers: bAs it is writtenwith regard to Canaanite slaves: b“And you shall bequeath them to your children as an ancestral inheritance”(Leviticus 25:46). bThe verse juxtaposesCanaanite slaves bto an ancestral field: Just as an ancestral field can be acquired bymeans of bmoney, bymeans of ba document, or bymeans of the owner btaking possessionof it, bso too, a Canaanite slave can be acquired bymeans of bmoney, bymeans of ba document, or bymeans of the master btaking possessionof him.,The Gemara asks: bIfso, perhaps one can interpret this juxtaposition differently: bJust as an ancestral field returns to its owners in the JubileeYear, bso too a Canaanite slave returns to hisprior bowners in the JubileeYear. Therefore, bthe verse states: “of them you may take your slaves forever”(Leviticus 25:46), which indicates that the sale is permanent.,A Sage btaughtin a ibaraitathat a Canaanite slave can balsobe acquired bbymeans of symbolic bexchange,i.e., a ipro formaact of acquisition performed by the giving of an item, usually a kerchief, effecting the transfer of ownership of an article. The Gemara asks: bAndwhy doesn’t bthe itannaof ourmishna mention acquisition through symbolic exchange? The Gemara answers: He bteachesonly the effectiveness of bmodesof acquisition bwhich are noteffective in transferring the ownership bof movable property,as it is a novelty that these are effective, as one may have thought that a slave can be acquired only in the same manner as movable property is acquired. He does bnot teachthe effectiveness of bmodesof acquisition bwhich areeffective in transferring the ownership bof movable property,as it is not a novelty that a slave can be acquired in that manner., bShmuel says: A Canaanite slave can be acquired bymeans of bpulling,as can movable property. bHowis pulling performed in the case of a slave? If the master btook him by force andthe slave bcame to him, he hasthereby bacquired him.But if the master bcalled him and he came to himwillingly, bhe has not acquired him. /b,The Gemara comments: bGranted, according tothe opinion of bthe itannaof ourmishna, it is clear why he did not list pulling as a mode of acquisition, as bhedoes bnot teachthe effectiveness of bmodesof acquisition bthat areeffective in transferring the ownership bof movable property;he bteachesonly the effectiveness of bmodesof acquisition bthat are noteffective in transferring the ownership bof movable property.Pulling is effective with movable property. bBut according tothe opinion of bthe itannaof the ibaraita /i,who taught the mode of symbolic exchange, blet him teach pullingas well. The Gemara answers: bWhen he teacheshis ibaraita /i, which includes acquisition through symbolic exchange, he teaches the effectiveness of bmodesof acquisition bthat areeffective in transferring the ownership of bboth land and movable property. He does not teachthe effectiveness of bpulling, which iseffective in transferring the ownership bof movable propertybut bis noteffective in transferring the ownership bof land. /b,The Gemara returns to analyze Shmuel’s statement: bHowdoes one acquire a slave through pulling? If the master btook him by force and he came to him,he has bacquired him.If bhe called him and he came to him,he has bnot acquired him.The Gemara asks: bAndhas he bnotacquired him if bhe called him? But isn’t it taughtin a ibaraita /i: bHowis an animal acquired bthrough passing?If bhe grabbed it by its hoof,or bby its hair,or bby the saddle on it,or bby the load [ ishalif] on it,or bby the bit [ ibifrumbiya /i] in its mouth,or bby the bell on its neck, he has acquired it. /b, bHowis an animal acquired bby pulling?If bhe calls it and it comes, or heif bhits it with a stick and it runs before him, once it lifts a foreleg and a hind legfrom where it was standing, he bacquires it. Rabbi Asi, and some say Rabbi Aḥa, says:It is not enough if the animal lifts its feet. Rather, one does not acquire it buntil it walksthe distance of bits full height in the presence ofthe one acquiring it. In any event, this indicates that calling is an effective use of the mode of pulling.,The Sages bsayin response that there is a difference between the acquisition of a slave and that of an animal. bAn animal walks by the will of its owner,as it is domesticated and follows the orders of its master. Consequently, if it comes when called it is as though it was pulled. By contrast, ba slave walks by his own will.Consequently, even if a slave comes when called, this cannot be considered acquisition through pulling, as the master has performed no act of acquisition. bRav Ashi said: A slave who is a minor is considered like an animal.Since he has no will of his own, he can be acquired through calling, like an animal.,§ bThe Sages taught( iTosefta1:5): bHowdoes one acquire a slave bthough possession?If the slave bremovesthe master’s bshoe,or bcarries his garments after him to the bathhouse,or bundresses him,or bbathes him,or banoints him,or bscrubsthe oil off him, or bdresses him,or bputs on his shoes, or lifts him,the master bacquires him. Rabbi Shimon says:Acquisition through the mode of bpossession should not be considered greater thanacquisition using the mode of blifting, as lifting acquiresproperty bin any situation.With regard to this last statement the Gemara asks: bWhat isRabbi Shimon bsayinghere? The first itannaalso said that a slave can be acquired by lifting., bRav Ashi saysthat one can infer from the statement of the first itanna /i: If a slave blifts his master,the master bacquires him,as he is performing labor for the master. But if bhis master liftsthe slave, the master bdoes not acquire him,as the slave has not performed labor for his master. With regard to this bRabbi Shimon says:Acquisition through bpossession should not be greater thanacquisition through blifting, as lifting acquiresproperty bin any situation.Consequently, one can acquire a slave even by lifting him.,The Gemara asks: bNow that you saidthat if a slave blifts his master,the master bacquires him,consider the following ramification of this ruling: bIf that is so, let a Canaanite maidservant be acquired bymeans of bsexual intercoursewith the master, as it is possible to claim she lifts him during the act of intercourse. The Gemara answers: bWhen we saythat one acquires a slave through the labor the slave performs for him, that applies to a situation where bthismaster bbenefits and thatslave bsuffers.In this manner the master exercises his authority over the slave. bHere,with regard to sexual intercourse, bit isa case where bthismaster bbenefits and thisCanaanite maidservant likewise bbenefits.Since both sides derive benefit, it cannot be seen as an act of acquisition.,The Gemara asks: If he engages in intercourse bin an atypical manner,i.e., anal intercourse, with her, bwhat can be said?In that case the woman does not benefit from the intercourse. bRav Aḥai bar Adda ofthe place called bAḥa said: Who will tell us,i.e., it is not obvious, bthat there is no benefit for both of them,i.e., there is benefit only for the man, when they engage in intercourse in an atypical manner? bAnd furthermore, it is written: “Lyings with a woman”(Leviticus 18:22). The plural form indicates that there are two ways of engaging in sexual intercourse with a woman: In this manner bthe verse compares typicalsexual intercourse btointercourse in ban atypical manner. /b,§ The Gemara relates: bRabbi Yehuda from India was a convert who had no heirs.When bhe became ill Mar Zutra entered to askabout his health. When he bsaw that his condition intensified,i.e., that he was about to die, Mar Zutra bsaid toRabbi Yehuda’s bslave: Remove my shoes and take them to my house.He wanted to acquire the slave upon the death of his master, as when a convert without heirs dies, the first person to claim his property acquires it. The Gemara comments: bThere arethose bwho saythat this slave bwas an adult man, /b |
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46. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, 97a, 92a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 92a. יקבוהו לאום ואין לאום אלא עוברין שנאמר (בראשית כה, כג) ולאום מלאום יאמץ ואין קבה אלא קללה שנאמר (במדבר כג, ח) מה אקב לא קבה אל ואין בר אלא תורה שנאמר (תהלים ב, יב) נשקו בר פן יאנף,עולא בר ישמעאל אומר מנקבין אותו ככברה כתיב הכא (משלי יא, כו) יקבוהו לאום וכתיב התם (מלכים ב יב, י) ויקב חור בדלתו ואמר אביי כי אוכלא דקצרי,ואם למדו מה שכרו אמר רבא אמר רב ששת זוכה לברכות כיוסף שנאמר (משלי יא, כו) וברכה לראש משביר ואין משביר אלא יוסף שנאמר (בראשית מב, ו) ויוסף הוא [השליט על הארץ הוא] המשביר לכל עם הארץ,אמר רב ששת כל המלמד תורה בעוה"ז זוכה ומלמדה לעולם הבא שנאמר (משלי יא, כה) ומרוה גם הוא יורה,אמר רבא מניין לתחיית המתים מן התורה שנאמר (דברים לג, ו) יחי ראובן ואל ימות יחי ראובן בעולם הזה ואל ימות לעולם הבא רבינא אמר מהכא (דניאל יב, ב) ורבים מישני אדמת עפר יקיצו אלה לחיי עולם ואלה לחרפות לדראון עולם רב אשי אמר מהכא (דניאל יב, יג) ואתה לך [לקץ] ותנוח ותעמוד לגורלך לקץ הימין,אמר רבי אלעזר כל פרנס שמנהיג את הצבור בנחת זוכה ומנהיגם לעוה"ב שנאמר (ישעיהו מט, י) כי מרחמם ינהגם ועל מבועי מים ינהלם,וא"ר אלעזר גדולה דעה שניתנה בין שתי אותיות שנאמר (שמואל א ב, ג) כי אל דעות ה',וא"ר אלעזר גדול מקדש שניתן בין שתי אותיות שנאמר (שמות טו, יז) פעלת ה' מקדש ה' כוננו ידיך מתקיף לה רב אדא קרחינאה אלא מעתה גדולה נקמה שניתנה בין שתי אותיות דכתיב (תהלים צד, א) אל נקמות ה' אל נקמות הופיע,אמר ליה למילתיה הכי נמי כדעולא דאמר עולא שתי הופעיות הללו למה אחת למדת טובה ואחת למדת פורענות,ואמר ר' אלעזר כל אדם שיש בו דעה כאילו נבנה בית המקדש בימיו שזה ניתן בין שתי אותיות וזה ניתן בין שתי אותיות,ואמר ר' אלעזר כל אדם שיש בו דעה לסוף מתעשר שנאמר (משלי כד, ד) ובדעת חדרים ימלאו כל הון יקר ונעים,ואמר ר' אלעזר כל אדם שאין בו דעה אסור לרחם עליו שנאמר (ישעיהו כז, יא) כי לא עם בינות הוא על כן לא ירחמנו עושהו ויוצרו לא יחוננו,וא"ר אלעזר כל הנותן פיתו למי שאין בו דעה יסורין באין עליו שנאמר (עובדיה א, ז) לחמך ישימו מזור תחתיך אין תבונה בו ואין מזור אלא יסורין שנאמר (הושע ה, יג) וירא אפרים את חליו ויהודה את מזורו,ואמר ר' אלעזר כל אדם שאין בו דעה לסוף גולה שנאמר (ישעיהו ה, יג) לכן גלה עמי מבלי דעת,ואמר ר"א כל בית שאין דברי תורה נשמעים בו בלילה אש אוכלתו שנאמר (איוב כ, כו) כל חשך טמון לצפוניו תאכלהו אש לא נופח ירע שריד באהלו אין שריד אלא ת"ח שנאמר (יואל ג, ה) ובשרידים אשר ה' קורא,ואמר ר' אלעזר כל שאינו מהנה תלמידי חכמים מנכסיו אינו רואה סימן ברכה לעולם שנאמר (איוב כ, כא) אין שריד לאכלו על כן לא יחיל טובו אין שריד אלא תלמידי חכמים שנאמר ובשרידים אשר ה' קורא,ואמר רבי אלעזר כל שאינו משייר פת על שלחנו אינו רואה סימן ברכה לעולם שנאמר אין שריד לאכלו על כן לא יחיל טובו,והאמר רבי אלעזר כל המשייר פתיתים על שלחנו כאילו עובד ע"ז שנאמר (ישעיהו סה, יא) העורכים לגד שלחן והממלאים למני ממסך לא קשיא הא דאיכא שלימה בהדיה הא דליכה שלימה בהדיה,ואמר רבי אלעזר כל המחליף בדבורו כאילו עובד ע"ז כתיב הכא (בראשית כז, יב) והייתי בעיניו כמתעתע וכתיב התם (ירמיהו י, טו) הבל המה מעשה תעתועים,ואמר רבי אלעזר כל המסתכל בערוה קשתו ננערת שנאמר (חבקוק ג, ט) עריה תעור קשתך,ואמר רבי אלעזר לעולם הוי קבל וקיים אמר רבי זירא אף אנן נמי תנינא בית אפל אין פותחין לו חלונות לראות נגעו ש"מ,אמר ר' טבי אמר ר' יאשיה מאי דכתיב (משלי ל, טז) שאול ועוצר רחם ארץ לא שבעה מים וכי מה ענין שאול אצל רחם אלא לומר לך מה רחם מכניס ומוציא אף שאול מכניס ומוציא,והלא דברים קל וחומר ומה רחם שמכניסין בו בחשאי מוציאין ממנו בקולי קולות שאול שמכניסין בו בקולות אינו דין שמוציאין ממנו בקולי קולות מיכן תשובה לאומרין אין תחיית המתים מן התורה,תנא דבי אליהו צדיקים שעתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להחיותן אינן חוזרין לעפרן שנאמר (ישעיהו ד, ג) והיה הנשאר בציון והנותר בירושלים קדוש יאמר לו כל הכתוב לחיים בירושלים מה קדוש לעולם קיים אף הם לעולם קיימין | 92a. bthe people [ ileom /i] shall curse him [ iyikkevuhu /i],but blessing shall be upon the head of one who provides” (Proverbs 11:26). bAndthe term ileom /iis referring to bnothing other than fetuses, as it is stated:“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your bowels; band the one ileomshall overcome the other ileom /i”(Genesis 25:23). bAnd ikabbo /iis referring to bnothing other than curse, as it is statedin the statement of Balaam: b“How can I curse one who is not cursed [ ikabbo /i] by God?”(Numbers 23:8). bAnd ibar /iis referring to bnothing other than Torah, as it is stated: “Pay homage to ibarlest He be angry”(Psalms 2:12), i.e., observe the Torah to avoid God’s wrath., bUlla bar Yishmael says: One perforates like a sievea person who withholds ihalakhafrom a student. bIt is written here:“He who withholds ibar /i, bthe people iyikkevuhu /i”(Proverbs 11:26), band it is written there: “And he bored [ ivayyikkov /i] a hole in its lid of it”(II Kings 12:10). bAnd Abaye says:One perforates him blike a launderers’ utensilused for sprinkling water on garments., bAnd if one teachesthe student ihalakharather than withholding it, bwhat is his reward? Rava saysthat bRav Sheshet says: He is privilegedto receive bblessings like Joseph, as it is statedat the end of that verse: b“But blessing shall be upon the head of one who provides [ imashbir /i]”(Proverbs 11:26). bAnd imashbir /iis referring to bnoone bother than Joseph, as it is stated: “And Joseph was the governor of the land, and he was the provider [ ihamashbir /i] to all the people of the land”(Genesis 42:6)., bRav Sheshet says: Anyone who teaches Torah in this world is privileged and teaches it in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And he who satisfies abundantly [ iumarveh /i] shall be satisfied himself [ iyoreh /i]”(Proverbs 11:25). Rav Sheshet interprets the verse homiletically: By transposing the letters of the word imarveh /i: iMem /i, ireish /i, ivav /i, iheh /i, one arrives at the word imoreh /i, meaning teaches. The verse means that one who teaches [ imoreh /i] will teach [ iyoreh /i] in the future as well.,The Gemara returns to the topic of the source for resurrection in the Torah. bRava says: From whereis bresurrection of the deadderived bfrom the Torah?It is derived from a verse, bas it is stated: “Let Reuben live and not die,in that his men become few” (Deuteronomy 33:6). This is interpreted: b“Let Reuben live” in this world “and not die” in the World-to-Come. Ravina saysthat resurrection is derived bfrom here: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awaken, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting disgrace”(Daniel 12:2). bRav Ashi saysproof is derived bfrom here: “But go you your way until the end be; and you shall rest, and arise to your lot at the end of days”(Daniel 12:13).,§ bRabbi Elazar says: Any communal leader who leads the community calmly,without anger and honestly, bis privileged and leads them in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “For he that has compassion upon them will lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them”(Isaiah 49:10). Just as he led them in this world, so too will he guide them in the World-to-Come.,The Gemara proceeds to cite additional statements of Rabbi Elazar relating to recommended conduct. bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: Great is knowledge, as it was placed between two letters,two names of God, bas it is stated: “For a God of knowledge is the Lord”(I Samuel 2:3)., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: Great is the Holy Temple, as ittoo bwas placed between two letters,two names of God, bas it is stated:“The place in which to dwell that bYou have made, Lord, the Temple, Lord, which Your hands have prepared”(Exodus 15:17). bRav Adda Karḥina’a objects tothe explanation that being placed between two names of God accords significance. bIf that is so,the same should hold true for vengeance. Shall one say: bGreatis bvengeance, as it was placed between two letters, as it is written: “God of vengeance, Lord, God of vengeance shine forth”(Psalms 94:1)?,Rabbi Elazar bsaid to him: In its context, indeed,vengeance is great, bin accordance withthe statement bof Ulla. As Ulla sayswith regard to bthese two appearances:“O Lord, God to Whom vengeance belongs; God to Whom vengeance belongs, appear” (Psalms 94:1), and: “He appeared from Mount Paran” (Deuteronomy 33:2), bwhyare both necessary? bOne,the second verse, is necessary bfor the attribute ofdivine bgood,with which God gave the Torah at Sinai, band one,the first verse, is necessary bfor the attribute ofdivine bpunishment,with which God exacts vengeance against the enemies and oppressors of the Jewish people., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says:With regard to bany person in whom there is knowledge,it is bas though the Temple was built in his days, as this,knowledge, bwas placed between two letters and that,the Temple, bwas placed between two letters. /b, bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: Any person in whom there is knowledge ultimately becomes wealthy, as it is stated: “And by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant riches”(Proverbs 24:4)., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says:With regard to bany person in whom there is no knowledge, it is prohibited to have mercy upon him, as it is stated: “For it is a people of no understanding; therefore its Maker will have no mercy on them, and its Creator will show them no favor”(Isaiah 27:11). If God has no mercy upon them, all the more so should people not show them mercy., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says:With regard to banyone who gives his bread to one without knowledge, afflictions befall him, as it is stated: “They who eat your bread will place imazorunder you, in whom there is no discernment”(Obadiah 1:7). bAnd imazor /imeans bnothing other than afflictions,based on the parallel with another verse, bas it is stated: “And Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound [ imezoro /i]”(Hosea 5:13). This indicates that one who gives his bread to one without discernment will ultimately fall ill., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: Any person in whom there is no knowledge is ultimately exiled, as it is stated: “Therefore my people are exiled, for lack of knowledge”(Isaiah 5:13)., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says:With regard to bany house in which there are no matters of Torah heard at night, the fireof Gehenna bconsumes it, as it is stated: “All darkness is laid up for his treasures, a fire not fanned shall consume him; it shall go ill with a isaridin his tent”(Job 20:26). iSarid /iis referring to bnoone bbut a Torah scholar, as it is stated: “And among the iseridim /i, those whom the Lord shall call”(Joel 3:5). A house that is dark at night and in which no Torah is heard will be consumed by a fire that does not require fanning with a bellows, the fire of Gehenna., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: Anyone who does not benefit Torah scholars from his property never sees a sign of blessing, as it is stated: “None of his food shall remain [ isarid /i]; therefore his prosperity shall not endure”(Job 20:21). iSarid /iis referring to bnoone bbut Torah scholars, as it is stated: “And among the iseridim /i, those whom the Lord shall call.”No prosperity will come to one who does not share his food with a Torah scholar., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: Anyone who does not leave bread on his tableat the end of his meal indicating his gratitude to God for providing him more than enough bnever sees a sign of blessing, as it is stated: “None of his food shall remain; therefore his prosperity shall not endure.” /b,The Gemara asks: bBut doesn’t Rabbi Elazar say:With regard to banyone who leaves piecesof bread bon his table, it is as if he worships idols, as it is stated: “Who prepare a table for Fortune [ iGad /i] and offer blended wine for Destiny”(Isaiah 65:11). The people would leave pieces of bread on the table as an offering to the constellation iGad /i, which they believed influences the fortune of the home. This practice was a form of idol worship. The Gemara answers: This apparent contradiction is bnot difficult: Thiscase, where leaving pieces of bread is a form of idol worship, applies bwhen there is a wholeloaf together bwiththe pieces, as the addition of the pieces is clearly for idol worship; bthatcase, where failure to leave bread on the table is criticized, applies bwhen there is no wholeloaf together bwiththe pieces., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says:With regard to banyone who amendsthe truth bin his speech, it is as though he worships idols.As, bit is written here,in the verse where Jacob sought to resist taking his father’s blessing from Esau: b“And I shall seem to him a deceiver [ imetate’a /i]”(Genesis 27:12), band it is written therewith regard to idol worship: b“They are vanity, the work of deception [ itatuim /i]”(Jeremiah 10:15)., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says:With regard to banyone who looks at nakedness [ ierva /i], his bow is emptied,i.e., he will be robbed of his potency, bas it is stated: “Your bow is stripped bare [ ierya /i]”(Habakkuk 3:9)., bAnd Rabbi Elazar says: Forever be in the dark,i.e., anonymous, bandyou will continue to bexist. Rabbi Zeira says: We learna similar idea in a mishna bas well( iNega’im2:3): In ba dark house, one does not open windows toilluminate bitin order bto seewhether or not bitsblemish is bleprosy,and the house retains the presumptive status of ritual purity. Those matters that are obscured are allowed to continue. The Gemara affirms: bConclude fromthat mishna that this is so.,§ The Gemara returns to the topic of the source for resurrection in the Torah. bRabbi Tavi saysthat bRabbi Yoshiya says: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written:“There are three that are never satisfied… bthe grave, and the barren womb, and earth that does not receive sufficient water”(Proverbs 30:15–16)? bAnd what does a grave have to do with a womb? Rather,they are juxtaposed bto say to you: Just as a womb takes in and gives forth, so too a grave takes in andalso bgives forth,with the resurrection of the dead., bAnd arethese bmatters notinferred ia fortiori /i: Ifwith regard to ba womb, into which one introducesthe embryo bin secret, one removesthe baby bfrom itaccompanied bbythe bloud soundsof the woman crying out during childbirth, then with regard to bthe grave, into which one introducesthe corpse bwith soundsof wailing and mourning the dead, bis it not right that one removesfrom it the resurrected dead accompanied bbythe bloud soundsof the resurrected multitudes? bFrom herethere is ba response tothose who bsay: There is no resurrection of the deadderived bfrom the Torah. /b, bThe school of Eliyahu taught: The righteous whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, is destined to resurrect do not return to their dust, as it is stated: “And it shall come to pass, that he who remains in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, anyone who is written unto life in Jerusalem”(Isaiah 4:3). bJust asthe bHoly One exists forever, so too will they exist forever. /b |
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47. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 88b, 31a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 31a. שהמרו זה את זה אמרו כל מי שילך ויקניט את הלל יטול ד' מאות זוז אמר אחד מהם אני אקניטנו אותו היום ע"ש היה והלל חפף את ראשו הלך ועבר על פתח ביתו אמר מי כאן הלל מי כאן הלל נתעטף ויצא לקראתו אמר לו בני מה אתה מבקש א"ל שאלה יש לי לשאול א"ל שאל בני שאל מפני מה ראשיהן של בבליים סגלגלות א"ל בני שאלה גדולה שאלת מפני שאין להם חיות פקחות,הלך והמתין שעה אחת חזר ואמר מי כאן הלל מי כאן הלל נתעטף ויצא לקראתו אמר לו בני מה אתה מבקש א"ל שאלה יש לי לשאול א"ל שאל בני שאל מפני מה עיניהן של תרמודיין תרוטות אמר לו בני שאלה גדולה שאלת מפני שדרין בין החולות,הלך והמתין שעה אחת חזר ואמר מי כאן הלל מי כאן הלל נתעטף ויצא לקראתו א"ל בני מה אתה מבקש א"ל שאלה יש לי לשאול א"ל שאל בני שאל מפני מה רגליהם של אפרקיים רחבות א"ל בני שאלה גדולה שאלת מפני שדרין בין בצעי המים,אמר לו שאלות הרבה יש לי לשאול ומתירא אני שמא תכעוס נתעטף וישב לפניו א"ל כל שאלות שיש לך לשאול שאל א"ל אתה הוא הלל שקורין אותך נשיא ישראל א"ל הן א"ל אם אתה הוא לא ירבו כמותך בישראל א"ל בני מפני מה א"ל מפני שאבדתי על ידך ד' מאות זוז א"ל הוי זהיר ברוחך כדי הוא הלל שתאבד על ידו ד' מאות זוז וד' מאות זוז והלל לא יקפיד:,ת"ר מעשה בנכרי אחד שבא לפני שמאי אמר לו כמה תורות יש לכם אמר לו שתים תורה שבכתב ותורה שבעל פה א"ל שבכתב אני מאמינך ושבעל פה איני מאמינך גיירני ע"מ שתלמדני תורה שבכתב גער בו והוציאו בנזיפה בא לפני הלל גייריה יומא קמא א"ל א"ב ג"ד למחר אפיך ליה א"ל והא אתמול לא אמרת לי הכי א"ל לאו עלי דידי קא סמכת דעל פה נמי סמוך עלי:,שוב מעשה בנכרי אחד שבא לפני שמאי א"ל גיירני ע"מ שתלמדני כל התורה כולה כשאני עומד על רגל אחת דחפו באמת הבנין שבידו בא לפני הלל גייריה אמר לו דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד זו היא כל התורה כולה ואידך פירושה הוא זיל גמור.,שוב מעשה בנכרי אחד שהיה עובר אחורי בית המדרש ושמע קול סופר שהיה אומר (שמות כח, ד) ואלה הבגדים אשר יעשו חושן ואפוד אמר הללו למי אמרו לו לכהן גדול אמר אותו נכרי בעצמו אלך ואתגייר בשביל שישימוני כהן גדול בא לפני שמאי אמר ליה גיירני על מנת שתשימני כהן גדול דחפו באמת הבנין שבידו בא לפני הלל גייריה,א"ל כלום מעמידין מלך אלא מי שיודע טכסיסי מלכות לך למוד טכסיסי מלכות הלך וקרא כיון שהגיע (במדבר א, נא) והזר הקרב יומת אמר ליה מקרא זה על מי נאמר א"ל אפי' על דוד מלך ישראל נשא אותו גר קל וחומר בעצמו ומה ישראל שנקראו בנים למקום ומתוך אהבה שאהבם קרא להם (שמות ד, כב) בני בכורי ישראל כתיב עליהם והזר הקרב יומת גר הקל שבא במקלו ובתרמילו על אחת כמה וכמה,בא לפני שמאי א"ל כלום ראוי אני להיות כהן גדול והלא כתיב בתורה והזר הקרב יומת בא לפני הלל א"ל ענוותן הלל ינוחו לך ברכות על ראשך שהקרבתני תחת כנפי השכינה לימים נזדווגו שלשתן למקום אחד אמרו קפדנותו של שמאי בקשה לטורדנו מן העולם ענוותנותו של הלל קרבנו תחת כנפי השכינה:,אמר ר"ל מאי דכתיב (ישעיהו לג, ו) והיה אמונת עתיך חוסן ישועות חכמת ודעת וגו' אמונת זה סדר זרעים עתיך זה סדר מועד חוסן זה סדר נשים ישועות זה סדר נזיקין חכמת זה סדר קדשים ודעת זה סדר טהרות ואפ"ה (ישעיהו לג, ו) יראת ה' היא אוצרו,אמר רבא בשעה שמכניסין אדם לדין אומרים לו נשאת ונתת באמונה קבעת עתים לתורה עסקת בפו"ר צפית לישועה פלפלת בחכמה הבנת דבר מתוך דבר ואפ"ה אי יראת ה' היא אוצרו אין אי לא לא משל לאדם שאמר לשלוחו העלה לי כור חיטין לעלייה הלך והעלה לו א"ל עירבת לי בהן קב חומטון א"ל לאו א"ל מוטב אם לא העליתה,תנא דבי ר"י מערב אדם קב חומטון בכור של תבואה ואינו חושש:,אמר רבה בר רב הונא כל אדם שיש בו תורה ואין בו | 31a. bwho wagered with each otherand bsaid: Anyone who will go and aggravate Hillelto the point that he reprimands him, bwill take four-hundred izuz /i. bOne of them said: I will aggravate him. That daythat he chose to bother Hillel bwas Shabbat eve, and Hillel was washingthe hair on bhis head. He went and passed the entrance toHillel’s bhouseand in a demeaning manner bsaid: Who here is Hillel, who here is Hillel?Hillel bwrapped himselfin a dignified garment band went out to greet him. He said to him: My son, what do you seek? He said to him: I have a question to ask.Hillel bsaid to him: Ask, my son, ask.The man asked him: bWhy are the heads of Babylonians oval?He was alluding to and attempting to insult Hillel, who was Babylonian. bHe said to him: My son, you have asked a significant question.The reason is bbecause they do not have clever midwives.They do not know how to shape the child’s head at birth.,That man bwent and waited one hour,a short while, breturnedto look for Hillel, band said: Who here is Hillel, who here is Hillel?Again, Hillel bwrapped himself and went out to greet him.Hillel bsaid to him: My son, what do you seek?The man bsaid to him: I have a question to ask. He said to him: Ask, my son, ask.The man asked: bWhy are the eyes of the residents of Tadmor bleary [ iterutot /i]?Hillel bsaid to him: My son, you have asked a significant question.The reason is bbecause they live among the sandsand the sand gets into their eyes.,Once again the man bwent, waited one hour, returned, and said: Who here is Hillel, who here is Hillel?Again, bhe,Hillel, bwrapped himself and went out to greet him. He said to him: My son, what do you seek? He said to him: I have a question to ask. He said to him: Ask, my son, ask.The man asked: bWhy do Africans have wide feet?Hillel bsaid to him: You have asked a significant question.The reason is bbecause they live in marshlandsand their feet widened to enable them to walk through those swampy areas.,That man bsaid to him: I have manymore bquestions to ask, but I am afraid lest you get angry.Hillel bwrapped himself and sat before him,and bhe said to him: All ofthe bquestions that you have to ask, askthem. The man got angry and bsaid to him: Are you Hillel whom they callthe iNasiof Israel? He said to him: Yes. He said to him: Ifit bis you,then bmay there not be many like you in Israel.Hillel bsaid to him: My son, for whatreason do you say this? The man bsaid to him: Because I lost four hundred izuzbecause of you.Hillel bsaid to him: Be vigilant of your spiritand avoid situations of this sort. bHillel is worthy of having you lose four hundred izuzandanother bfour hundred izuzon his account, and Hillel will not get upset. /b, bThe Sages taught:There was ban incident involving one gentile who came before Shammai.The gentile bsaid to Shammai: How many Torahs do you have? He said to him: Two, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah.The gentile bsaid to him:With regard to bthe WrittenTorah, bI believe you, butwith regard to bthe OralTorah, bI do not believe you. Convert me on condition that you will teach meonly the bWritten Torah.Shammai bscolded him and cast him out with reprimand.The same gentile bcame before Hillel,who bconverted himand began teaching him Torah. bOn the first day, heshowed him the letters of the alphabet and bsaid to him: iAlef /i, ibet /i, igimmel /i, idalet /i. The next day he reversedthe order of the letters and told him that an ialefis a itavand so on. The convert bsaid to him: But yesterday you did not tell me that.Hillel bsaid to him:You see that it is impossible to learn what is written without relying on an oral tradition. bDidn’t you rely on me?Therefore, you should balso rely on mewith regard to the matter bof the OralTorah, and accept the interpretations that it contains.,There was banother incident involving one gentile who came before Shammaiand bsaid toShammai: bConvert me on condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot.Shammai bpushed himaway bwith the builder’s cubit in his hand.This was a common measuring stick and Shammai was a builder by trade. The same gentile bcame before Hillel. He converted himand bsaid to him:That bwhich is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study. /b,There was banother incident involving one gentile who was passing behind the study halland bheard the voice of a teacher who wasteaching Torah to his students and bsayingthe verse: b“And these are the garments which they shall make: A breastplate, and an iefod, /iand a robe, and a tunic of checkered work, a mitre, and a girdle” (Exodus 28:4). bThe gentile said: Thesegarments, bfor whom are theydesignated? The students bsaid to him: For the High Priest. The gentile said to himself: I will go and convert so that they will install me as High Priest. He came before Shammaiand bsaid to him: Convert me on condition that you install meas High Priest. Shammai bpushed him with the builder’s cubit in his hand. He came before Hillel; he converted him. /b,Hillel bsaid to him,to the convert: bIs it notthe way of the world that bonly one who knows the protocols [ itakhsisei /i]of royalty bis appointed king? Goand blearn the royal protocolsby engaging in Torah study. bHe went and readthe Bible. bWhen he reachedthe verse which says: b“And the common man that draws near shall be put to death”(Numbers 1:51), the convert bsaid toHillel: bWith regard to whom is the verse speaking?Hillel bsaid to him: Even with regard to David, king of Israel. The convert reasoned an ia fortioriinference himself: If the Jewish people are called God’s children, and due to the love that God loved them he called them: “Israel is My son, My firstborn”(Exodus 4:22), and nevertheless bit is written about them: And the common man that draws near shall be put to death; a mere convert who camewithout merit, bwithnothing more than bhis staff and traveling bag, all the more sothat this applies to him, as well.,The convert bcame before Shammaiand btold himthat he retracts his demand to appoint him High Priest, saying: bAm I at all worthy to be High Priest? Is it not written in the Torah: And the common man that draws near shall be put to death? He came before Hilleland bsaid to him: Hillel the patient, may blessings rest upon your head as you brought me under the wings of the Divine Presence.The Gemara relates: bEventually, the threeconverts bgathered togetherin bone place,and bthey said: Shammai’s impatience sought to drive us from the world; Hillel’s patience brought us beneath the wings of the Divine Presence. /b,The Gemara continues discussing the conduct of the Sages, citing that bReish Lakish said: Whatis the meaning of bthat which is written: “And the faith of your times shall be a strength of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge,the fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isaiah 33:6)? bFaith; that is the order of iZera /i’ iim /i, Seeds,in the Mishna, because a person has faith in God and plants his seeds (Jerusalem Talmud). bYour times; that is the order of iMoed /i, Festival,which deals with the various occasions and Festivals that occur throughout the year. bStrength; that is the order of iNashim /i, Women. Salvations; that is the order of iNezikin /i, Damages,as one who is being pursued is rescued from the hands of his pursuer. bWisdom; that is the order of iKodashim /i, Consecrated Items. And knowledge; that is the order of iTeharot /i, Purity,which is particularly difficult to master. bAnd evenif a person studies and masters all of these, b“the fear of the Lord is his treasure,”it is preeminent.,With regard to the same verse, bRava said:After departing from this world, bwhen a person is brought to judgmentfor the life he lived in this world, bthey say to himin the order of that verse: Did byou conduct business faithfully?Did byou designate times for Torahstudy? Did byou engage in procreation? Did you await salvation? Did you engagein the dialectics of bwisdomor understand bone matter from another? And, nevertheless,beyond all these, bif the fear of the Lord is his treasure, yes,he is worthy, and bif not, no,none of these accomplishments have any value. There is ba parablethat illustrates this. bA person who said to his emissary: Bring a ikorof wheat up to the attic for meto store there. The messenger bwent and brought it up for him. He said to the emissary:Did byou mix a ikavof iḥomton /i,a preservative to keep away worms, binto it for me? He said to him: No. He said to him:If so, it would have been bpreferable had you not brought it up.of what use is worm-infested wheat? Likewise, Torah and mitzvot without the fear of God are of no value.,On a related note, the Gemara cites a ihalakhathat was btaughtin bthe schoolof bRabbi Yishmael: A personwho sells wheat bmay, iab initio /i, bmix a ikavof iḥomtoninto a ikorof grain and need not be concernedthat by selling it all at the price of grain he will be guilty of theft, as the ikavof iḥomtonis essential for the preservation of the wheat., bRabba bar Rav Huna said: Any person who has Torah in him but does not have /b |
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48. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah, 10a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 10a. הוחל שבועתו של אבימלך דכתיב (בראשית כא, כג) אם תשקר לי ולניני ולנכדי,(שופטים יג, כד) ויגדל הנער ויברכהו ה' במה ברכו אמר רב יהודה אמר רב שברכו באמתו אמתו כבני אדם וזרעו כנחל שוטף,(שופטים טז, כח) ויקרא שמשון אל ה' ויאמר ה' אלהים זכרני נא וחזקני נא אך הפעם הזה ואנקמה נקם אחת משתי עיני מפלשתים אמר רב אמר שמשון לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע זכור לי עשרים (ושתים) שנה ששפטתי את ישראל ולא אמרתי לאחד מהם העבר לי מקל ממקום למקום,(שופטים טו, ד) וילך שמשון וילכד שלש מאות שועלים מאי שנא שועלים אמר רבי איבו בר נגדי א"ר חייא בר אבא אמר שמשון יבא מי שחוזר לאחוריו ויפרע מפלשתים שחזרו בשבועתן,תניא א"ר שמעון החסיד בין כתיפיו של שמשון ששים אמה היה שנאמר (שופטים טז, ג) וישכב שמשון עד חצי הלילה ויקם בחצי הלילה ויאחז בדלתות שער העיר ובשתי המזוזות ויסעם עם הבריח וישם על כתיפיו וגמירי דאין דלתות עזה פחותות מששים אמה,(שופטים טז, כא) ויהי טוחן בבית האסורים א"ר יוחנן אין טחינה אלא לשון עבירה וכן הוא אומר (איוב לא, י) תטחן לאחר אשתי מלמד שכל אחד ואחד הביא לו את אשתו לבית האסורים כדי שתתעבר הימנו אמר רב פפא היינו דאמרי אינשי קמי דשתי חמרא חמרא קמי רפוקא גרידיא דובלא,וא"ר יוחנן כל המזנה אשתו מזננת עליו שנאמר (איוב לא, ט) אם נפתה לבי על אשה ועל פתח רעי ארבתי וכתיב תטחן לאחר אשתי ועליה יכרעון אחרין והיינו דאמרי אינשי איהו בי קארי ואיתתיה בי בוציני,וא"ר יוחנן שמשון דן את ישראל כאביהם שבשמים שנאמר (בראשית מט, טז) דן ידין עמו כאחד וגו' וא"ר יוחנן שמשון על שמו של הקב"ה נקרא שנאמר (תהלים פד, יב) כי שמש ומגן ה' אלהים וגו' אלא מעתה לא ימחה אלא מעין שמו של הקב"ה מה הקב"ה מגין על כל העולם כולו אף שמשון מגין בדורו על ישראל,וא"ר יוחנן בלעם חיגר ברגלו אחת היה שנאמר (במדבר כג, ג) וילך שפי שמשון חיגר בשתי רגליו היה שנאמר (בראשית מט, יז) שפיפן עלי ארח,ת"ר חמשה נבראו מעין דוגמא של מעלה וכולן לקו בהן שמשון בכחו שאול בצוארו אבשלום בשערו צדקיה בעיניו אסא ברגליו,שמשון בכחו דכתיב (שופטים טז, יט) ויסר כחו מעליו,שאול בצוארו דכתיב (שמואל א לא, ד) ויקח שאול את החרב ויפל עליה,אבשלום בשערו כדבעינן למימר קמן צדקיה בעיניו דכתיב (מלכים ב כה, ז) ואת עיני צדקיהו עור ,אסא ברגליו דכתיב (מלכים א טו, כג) רק לעת זקנתו חלה את רגליו ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב שאחזתו פדגרא א"ל מר זוטרא בריה דרב נחמן לרב נחמן היכי דמי פדגרא א"ל כמחט בבשר החי מנא ידע איכא דאמרי מיחש הוה חש ביה ואיכא דאמרי מרביה שמע ליה וא"ד (תהלים כה, יד) סוד ה' ליראיו ובריתו להודיעם,דרש רבא מפני מה נענש אסא מפני שעשה אנגריא בתלמידי חכמים שנאמר (מלכים א טו, כב) והמלך אסא השמיע את כל יהודה אין נקי מאי אין נקי אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אפילו חתן מחדרו וכלה מחופתה,כתיב (שופטים יד, א) וירד שמשון תמנתה וכתיב (בראשית לח, יג) הנה חמיך עולה תמנתה א"ר אלעזר שמשון שנתגנה בה כתיב ביה ירידה יהודה שנתעלה בה כתיב ביה עליה,ר' שמואל בר נחמני אמר שתי תמנאות היו חדא בירידה וחדא בעליה,רב פפא אמר חדא תמנה הואי דאתי מהאי גיסא ירידה ודאתי מהאי גיסא עליה כגון ורדוניא ובי בארי ושוקא דנרש,(בראשית לח, יד) ותשב בפתח עינים א"ר אלכסנדרי מלמד שהלכה וישבה לה בפתחו של אברהם אבינו מקום שכל עינים צופות לראותו ר' חנין א"ר מקום הוא ששמו עינים וכן הוא אומר (יהושע טו, לד) תפוח והעינם,ר' שמואל בר נחמני אמר שנתנה עינים לדבריה כשתבעה אמר לה שמא נכרית את אמרה ליה גיורת אני שמא אשת איש את אמרה ליה פנויה אני שמא קיבל בך אביך קידושין אמרה ליה יתומה אני שמא טמאה את אמרה ליה טהורה אני,(בראשית כא, לג) ויטע אשל בבאר שבע אמר ריש לקיש מלמד שעשה פרדס ונטע בו כל מיני מגדים,רבי יהודה ורבי נחמיה חד אמר פרדס וחד אמר פונדק בשלמא למ"ד פרדס היינו דכתיב ויטע אלא למ"ד פונדק מאי ויטע כדכתיב (דניאל יא, מה) ויטע אהלי אפדנו וגו',ויקרא שם בשם ה' אל עולם אמר ריש לקיש אל תיקרי ויקרא | 10a. Samson’s parents were being told that bthe oath of Abimelech,king of the Philistines, bwas negated, as it is writtenthat Abimelech said to our forefather Abraham: “Now therefore swear unto me here by God bthat you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son;but according to the kindness that I have done unto you, you shall do to me, and to the land wherein you have sojourned” (Genesis 21:23). The oath of the descendants of Abraham was no longer binding since the Philistines broke their oath by subjugating the Jewish people.,The verse states: “And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; band the child grew, and the Lord blessed him”(Judges 13:24). The Gemara asks: bWith what did He bless him? Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says:It means bthat He blessed him with regard to his penis,that despite his youth bhis penisshould function blikethat of physically mature bmen, andthat bhis seedshould be blike an overflowing river. /b,Prior to Samson’s death, the verse states: b“And Samson called unto the Lord, and said: Lord God, remember me, I pray to You, and strengthen me, I pray to You, only this once,O God, bthat I may be this once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes”(Judges 16:28). bRav saidthat bSamson said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, rememberon bmybehalf the btwenty-two years that I judged the Jewish peoplewithout receiving any reward, band I did noteven bsay to any one of them: Move a stick for me fromone bplace toanother bplace. /b,The verse states earlier: b“And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes,and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between every two tails” (Judges 15:4). The Gemara asks: bWhat is differentabout bfoxesthan any other animal, that he chose them for this purpose? bRabbi Aivu bar Nagdi saysthat bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says: Samson said: Letthe animal bthat goes in reversewhen it tries to escape, i.e., the fox, bcome and exact punishment from the Philistines, who reneged on their oaththat Abimelech swore to Abraham., bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Shimon the Pious said:The width bbetween the shoulders of Samson was sixty cubits, as it is stated: “And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and grabbed hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders,and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron” (Judges 16:3). The verse indicates that the width of the gate of the city of Gaza was equal to the width of Samson’s shoulders, band it is learnedas a tradition bthat doorsof the gate bof Gaza were no less than sixty cubitswide.,With regard to Samson’s capture, the verse states: “And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; band he did grind in the prison-house”(Judges 16:21). bRabbi Yoḥa says: Grinding is nothing otherthan ba language of a transgressionof sexual intercourse, band sothe verse bsays: “Then let my wife grind unto another man”(Job 31:10). This bteaches that each and everyPhilistine man bbrought his wife to the prison in order that she should be impregnated bySamson. bRav Pappa said: Thisis an example of the folk saying bthat people say: Before a wine drinker,bring bwine; before one who digs in the ground,bring bfigs.So too, Samson, who married Philistine women, was brought more Philistine women while in prison., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says:With regard to banyone who commits adultery, his wife commits adultery against him, as it is stated: “If my heart has been enticed unto a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door”(Job 31:9), band it is written: “Then let my wife grind unto another man and may strangers kneel over her”(Job 31:10). bAnd thisexplains the folk saying bthat people say: He isfound bamong the pumpkins [ ikarei /i] and his wife among the zucchinis [ ibutzinei /i],which are similar types of vegetables. In other words, she acts the same way that he does., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says: Samson judged the Jewish people as their Father in Heavendoes, with complete justice, bas it is stated: “Dan shall judge his people, as oneof the tribes of Israel” (Genesis 49:16), which is interpreted to mean that Samson, from the tribe of Dan, judges his people just as God, Who is “One.” bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says: Samson [ iShimshon /i] is called by the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “For the Lord God is a sun [ ishemesh /i] and a shield”(Psalms 84:12). The Gemara comments: bIf that is so,then his name bshould not be erasedjust like other sanctified names are not erased. bRather,he is not called by the name of God but his name bis akin to the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He,for bjust as the Holy One, Blessed be He, protects the entire world, so too Samson, in his generation, protected all the Jewish people. /b, bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says: Balaam was lame in one of his legs, as it is statedwith regard to him: b“And he went, limping [ ishefi /i]”(Numbers 23:3). bSamson was lame inboth of bhis two legs, as it is statedthat when Jacob mentioned the tribe of Dan in the prophecy that pertained to Samson, he referred to him as: “Dan shall be a serpent in the way, ba horned snake [ ishefifon /i] in the path”(Genesis 49:17), which is double ishefi /i, i.e., doubly lame.,§ bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bFiveindividuals bwere createdwith a characteristic that is bakin to a representation of theOne on bHigh, and they were all stricken by thatcharacteristic. bSamsonwas glorified bin his strength, Saul in his neck(see I Samuel 9:2), bAbsalom in his hair, Zedekiah in his eyes,and bAsa in his feet. /b,The Gemara clarifies: bSamsonwas stricken bby his strength,which led to his demise, bas it is written:“And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man and had the seven locks of his head shaved off; and she began to afflict him, band his strength went from him”(Judges 16:19)., bSaulwas smitten bin his neck, as it is written:“Then said Saul to his armor-bearer: Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and make a mock of me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. bTherefore, Saul took his sword and fell upon it”(I Samuel 31:4); he fell with his neck upon the sword., bAbsalomwas stricken bin his hair, as we will state later. Zedekiahwas stricken bin his eyes, as it is written:“And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, band put out the eyes of Zedekiah,and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon” (II Kings 25:7)., bAsawas stricken bin his feet, as it is written:“Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? bBut in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet”(I Kings 15:23). bAnd Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says:This indicates bthat gout [ ipadagra /i] grabbed hold of him. Mar Zutra, son of Rav Naḥman, said to Rav Naḥman: What are the circumstancesof bgout?What pain does it involve? bHe said to him:It feels blike a needleinserted binto living flesh.The Gemara asks: bFrom where did he know this?The Gemara answers: bSome saythat he himself bsuffered from thiscondition, band some saythat bhe heard it from his teacher, and some saythat he knew it through divine inspiration, as it stated: b“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and His covet, to make them know it”(Psalms 25:14)., bRava taught: For whatreason was bAsa punishedin his feet? bBecause he made Torah scholars perform forced labor [ iangarya /i], as it is stated: “Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted;and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timber thereof, with which Baasa had built, and King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah” (I Kings 15:22). The superfluous expression “unto all” indicates that the proclamation was issued to beveryone, includingTorah scholars. The Gemara asks: bWhatis the meaning of the next phrase in the verse: b“None was exempted [ iein naki /i]”? Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says:This includes beven a bridegroom from his chamber and a bride from her canopy,as the verse states with regard to a bridegroom: “He shall be free [ inaki /i] for his house one year” (Deuteronomy 24:5).,§ bIt is writtenwith regard to Samson: b“And Samson went down to Timnah,and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines” (Judges 14:1), band it is writtenin the Torah passage concerning the incident of Judah and Tamar: “And it was told to Tamar, saying: bBehold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnahto sheer his sheep” (Genesis 38:13). The verses contain an apparent contradiction as to whether Timnah was a place to which one must descend or a place to which one must ascend. bRabbi Elazar says:These terms do not refer to the manner of traveling to Timnah but are used figuratively. Concerning bSamson, who was disgraced therein Timnah, the term indicating bdescent is written with regard to hisjourney. Concerning bJudah, who was elevated there,the term indicating bascent is written with regard to hisjourney., bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani saysdifferently: bThere were twocities named bTimnah, onewas reached bby descentinto a valley, band onewas reached bby ascent. /b, bRav Pappa saiddifferently: bThere was one Timnah,and it was located on the slope of a mountain. One bwho came from this sidereached it by bdescent, andone bwho came from that sidereached it by bascent.The Gemara presents examples of such cities: bFor example: Vardonia, and Bei Varei, and the market of Neresh. /b,The verse states with regard to Tamar: “And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, band sat in the entrance of Enaim [ ibefetaḥ einayim /i],which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife” (Genesis 38:14). The iamora’imdispute the meaning of the word ieinayim /i. bRabbi Alexandri says:This bteaches that she went and she sat at the entranceof the home bof Abraham our forefather, a place that all eyes hope to see it,as she was certain that Judah would pass there. bRabbi Ḥaninsays that bRav says:It is ba place called Enaim, and similarlythe verse bstatesin the list of cities in Eretz Yisrael in the portion of Judah: b“Tappuah and Enam”(Joshua 15:34)., bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says: She provided eyes [ ieinayim /i] for her statements,i.e., with her words she provided an opening [ ipetaḥ /i] for Judah to solicit her. bWhenJudah bsolicited herto engage in sexual intercourse with him, bhefirst attempted to verify her status and bsaid to her:Are byou perhaps are a gentile? She said to him: I am a convert.He asked: bPerhaps you are a married woman? She said to him: I am an unmarried woman.He asked: bPerhaps your father accepted betrothal for youand you are unaware of it? bShe said to him: I am an orphan.He asked: bMaybe you are impure? She said to him: I am pure. /b,The Gemara discusses Abraham’s house: It is written: b“And he planted an ieshelin Beersheba,and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33). bReish Lakish says:This bteaches thatAbraham bmade an orchard and planted in it all kinds of sweet things. /b,The tanna’im bRabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemyadisagree as to the meaning of the word “ ieshel /i.” bOne saidthat it means ban orchard [ ipardes /i], and one saidthat it means ban inn [ ipundak /i].The Gemara continues: bGranted, according to the one who saidthat it means ban orchard, this is what is written: “And he planted,”and this is suitable language for an orchard. bBut according to the one who saidthat he opened ban inn, what isthe meaning of the phrase b“and he planted”?The Gemara answers: bAs it is written: “And he shall plant [ ivayitta /i] the tents of his palacebetween the seas and the beauteous holy mountain; and he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (Daniel 11:45), indicating that the word vayitta, and he planted, is also used to indicate pitching tents.,The verse there states: “And he planted an ieshelin Beersheba, band called there [ ivayyikra /i] on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God”(Genesis 21:33). bReish Lakish said: Do not readthis word literally as b“ ivayyikra /i,”and he called |
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49. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, 61a, 24b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 24b. למאי הלכתא לגריעותא מה בכור אינו נוטל בראוי כבמוחזק אף האי אינו נוטל בראוי כבמוחזק:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big הנטען על השפחה ונשתחררה או על העובדת כוכבים ונתגיירה הרי זה לא יכנוס ואם כנס אין מוציאין מידו הנטען על אשת איש והוציאוה מתחת ידו אע"פ שכנס יוציא:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big הא גיורת מיהא הויא ורמינהי אחד איש שנתגייר לשום אשה ואחד אשה שנתגיירה לשום איש וכן מי שנתגייר לשום שולחן מלכים לשום עבדי שלמה אינן גרים דברי ר' נחמיה,שהיה רבי נחמיה אומר אחד גירי אריות ואחד גירי חלומות ואחד גירי מרדכי ואסתר אינן גרים עד שיתגיירו בזמן הזה,בזמן הזה ס"ד אלא אימא כבזמן הזה,הא איתמר עלה א"ר יצחק בר שמואל בר מרתא משמיה דרב הלכה כדברי האומר כולם גרים הם,אי הכי לכתחלה נמי משום דרב אסי דאמר רב אסי (משלי ד, כד) הסר ממך עקשות פה ולזות שפתים וגו',ת"ר אין מקבלין גרים לימות המשיח כיוצא בו לא קבלו גרים לא בימי דוד ולא בימי שלמה א"ר אליעזר מאי קרא (ישעיהו נד, טו) הן גור יגור אפס מאותי מי גר אתך עליך יפול אבל אידך לא:,הנטען על אשת איש וכו': אמר רב ובעדים,אמר רב ששת אמינא כי ניים ושכיב רב אמר להאי שמעתתא דתניא הנטען על אשת איש והוציאוה על ידו ונתגרשה מתחת ידי אחר אם כנס לא יוציא,ה"ד אי דאיכא עדים כי אתא אחר ואפסקיה לקלא מאי הוי אלא לאו דליכא עדים וטעמא דאתא אחר ואפסקיה לקלא הא לאו הכי מפקינן,אמר לך רב הוא הדין דאע"ג דלא אתא אחר ואפסקיה לקלא אי איכא עדים מפקינן אי ליכא עדים לא מפקינן והכי קאמר דאע"ג דאתא אחר ואפסקיה לקלא לכתחלה לא יכנוס,מיתיבי בד"א כשאין לה בנים אבל יש לה בנים לא תצא ואם באו עדי טומאה אפילו יש לה כמה בנים תצא,רב מוקי לה למתניתין ביש לה בנים ויש לה עדים ומאי דוחקיה דרב לאוקמי למתניתין ביש לה בנים ויש לה עדים וטעמא דאיכא עדים מפקינן ואי ליכא עדים לא מפקינן לוקמה בשאין לה בנים אע"ג דליכא עדים,אמר רבא מתניתין קשיתיה מאי איריא דתני הוציאוה ליתני הוציאה אלא כל הוציאוה בבית דין ובית דין בעדים הוא דמפקי,ואי בעית אימא הני מתנייתא רבי היא דתניא רוכל יוצא ואשה חוגרת בסינר אמר רבי הואיל ומכוער הדבר תצא רוק למעלה מן הכילה אמר רבי הואיל ומכוער הדבר תצא | 24b. bWith regard to what ihalakha /iwas that word written in the Torah? bThis is in order to limitthe inheritance. bJust as a firstborn does not takein inheritance property bdue ashe does property bpossessed,but instead receives a double inheritance only from that property already in actual possession of their father, bso too, thisone who enters levirate marriage, whether firstborn or younger, bdoes not takein inheritance property bdue ashe does property bpossessed. /b, strongMISHNA: /strong bOne suspectedby others of engaging in sexual relations bwith aCanaanite bmaidservant and she waslater bset free, orone suspected of relations bwith a gentile woman and shesubsequently bconverted, may not marrythat woman, since this will strengthen the suspicions against him. bBut if he did marry her, they,the judges of the court, bdo not removeher bfrom him,i.e., they do not require him to divorce her. With regard to bone who is suspected ofillicit relations with ba married woman and they,the judges of the court, bremoved her fromher husband, i.e., required them to divorce due to this, beven ifthe man suspected of the illicit relations subsequently bmarriedher, bhe must divorceher., strongGEMARA: /strong The mishna teaches that one who is suspected of relations with a gentile woman who later converted may never marry her. bThisimplies that bshe is, however, a convert,although it appears that she converted only in order that he might marry her. The Gemara braises a contradictionfrom a ibaraita /i: bBoth a man who converted for the sake of a woman and a woman who converted for the sake of a man, and similarly, one who converted for the sake of the king’s table,so that he could serve in a prestigious capacity, or bfor the sake of Solomon’s servants,who were also considered prestigious, in all of these cases bthey are not converts;this is bthe statement of Rabbi Neḥemya. /b, bAs Rabbi Neḥemya would say:With regard to bconvertsby blions,i.e., forced converts such as the Samaritans [ iKutim /i] described in II Kings (17:24–25); band convertswho convert based on their bdreams; and converts ofthe time of bMordecai and Estherdescribed in the verse, “And many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon them” (Esther 8:17); all of these bare not converts until they are converted at thispresent btime. /b,The Gemara clarifies the meaning of the words: Could it benter your mindto say only bat thispresent btime?Since he mentioned the converts of Mordecai and Esther, who were deceased before Rabbi Neḥemya made this statement, he therefore cannot possibly mean this phrase literally. bRather, say: Like at thispresent btime,when the Jewish people are in exile and there is no material benefit to conversion.,Returning to the question above: How could a woman who converted for the sake of a man be considered a true convert? The Gemara answers: But bwasn’t it stated with regard tothat ibaraitathat bRav Yitzḥak bar Shmuel bar Marta said in the name of Rav:The ihalakhaisin accordance with bthe statement of the one who says that they are all converts. /b,The Gemara asks: bIf so,why is one suspected of relations with such a woman not permitted to enter into marriage with her iab initioas well?The Gemara answers: The reason for the prohibition is bdue tothe following statement bof Rav Asi. As Rav Asi saidwith regard to such cases: b“Put away from yourself a twisted mouth, and perverse lipsput far from you” (Proverbs 4:24). If they were to marry, they would give substance to the prior suspicions., bThe Sages taught: Converts are not accepted in the days of the Messiah. Similarly, they did not accept converts in the days ofKing bDavid or in the days ofKing bSolomon. Rabbi Eliezer said: What is the versethat hints at this ihalakha /i? b“Behold, they may gather together [ igor yagur /i], but without Me; whosoever shall gather together [ igar /i] with you shall fall on yours”(Isaiah 54:15). The word igorimplies that only a convert [ iger /i] who becomes part of the Jewish people when the Jews are living in exile, at a time when God is not clearly revealed, i.e., “without Me,” are considered part of the Jewish people. bBut anotherwho wishes to convert in a time when God is clearly revealed shall bnotbe accepted.,§ The mishna states that bone who was suspected ofrelations with ba married womanmay not marry her even after she divorces her husband. Even if they marry without permission, they must divorce. bRav said: This isonly in a case when there were bwitnessesto her infidelity, and because of their testimony the court required her first husband divorce her. However, if her first husband divorced her due to suspicion and rumors but without witnesses, her second husband would not be obligated to divorce her., bRav Sheshet said: I saythat bwhen Rav was dozing or sleeping he said that ihalakha /i,and it is mistaken. bAs it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: With regard to bone who was suspected ofadultery with ba married woman andas a result the court requires her husband to bdivorce her,and later she married someone else band was then divorced by this other, ifthe one who had been suspected of illicit relations with her then bmarriedher, bhe need not divorceher.,The Gemara clarifies this: bWhat are the circumstancesof this case? bIfit is referring to a case where bthere are witnessesto their adultery, bwhen another came and put an end to the rumorof her misconduct by marrying her, bwhat of it?If there were witnesses, the adulterers may never marry each other. bRather, is it notreferring to a case bwhere there were no witnessesto the adultery, band the reasonshe does not have to be divorced from her third husband, with whom she committed adultery while married to her first husband, is specifically bbecause another cameand, by marrying her, bput an end to the rumor? Thisimplies that bwere it not so,i.e., had she not married someone else before marrying the man suspected of committing adultery with her, the court bwould have removedher from him and required them to divorce, even without witnesses to their adultery. This contradicts Rav’s statement above that they must divorce only if there were witnesses to the infidelity.,The Gemara responds: bRavcould have bsaid to youthat bthe same is true even if another did not come and put an end to the rumorby marrying her. The same principle applies: bIf there were witnessesto the adultery the court bremoves herand requires them to divorce, but bif there were no witnesses,the court bdoes not remove her. And this is whatthe ibaraita bis saying:The novelty in this ibaraitais bthat even though another came and put an end to the rumorby marrying her, nevertheless, the suspected adulterer may bnot marry her iab initio /idue to the original suspicions.,The Gemara braises an objectionfrom a different ibaraitathat qualifies the previous one: bIn whatcase bis this statement,that the court removes her from the suspected adulterer, bsaid?It is bwhen she has no childrenfrom her first husband. bBut if she has childrenfrom him, bshe is notrequired to be bdivorcedfrom the suspected adulterer. On the contrary, if they were required to divorce, it could strengthen the original rumor and others might suspect that her children are imamzerim /i. bHowever, if witnesses toher bimpurity,i.e., her adultery, bcameand testified that she had relations with this man while she was married, then beven if she has several childrenfrom the first husband, bshe isrequired to be bdivorced.This implies that a woman without children from her first husband must separate from a man suspected of illicit relations with her on strength of suspicion alone.,The Gemara answers and explains that bRav establishes the mishnaas referring only to a case bwhere she has childrenby her first husband band there are witnessesto her adultery. In such a situation, she and the adulterer must divorce, but without witnesses they are not required to divorce. The Gemara asks: bWhat forced Rav to establish the mishnaas referring to a case bwhere she has children and there are witnessesand explain that bthe reason thatthe court bremoves herfrom the suspected adulterer bis because there were witnesses, but that if there were no witnesses they do not remove her?Why does he not bestablishthe mishna as referring to a case bwhere there were no childrenand that they must divorce beven if there were no witnesses? /b, bRava said:The language of bthe mishnawas bdifficult for him;due to that he deemed it necessary to interpret it as he did. bWhy doesthe itanna bspecifically teach: They remove herfrom him b[ ihotziuha /i]? Let it teach: He divorces her [ ihotziah /i]in the singular. bRather, every timethe plural form: bThey remove her,is used, it is referring btothe judges of the bcourt. And a court removesa woman from her suspected adulterer only bif there were witnesses,and not due to suspicion alone., bIf you wish, saya different answer for Rav’s explanation: bThose ibaraitot /ithat require the wife and the suspected adulterer to divorce even without witnesses to the adultery are taught in accordance with the opinion of bRabbiYehuda HaNasi. bAs it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: With regard to a case where a husband saw ba peddler leavingthe house, bandwhen he entered he found his bwife retying her smock [ isinar /i],i.e., putting her clothes back on, bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bsaid: Since this is a distasteful matterbecause it looks as though she committed adultery with the peddler, bshemust be bdivorcedby her husband. Alternatively, if the husband entered after the peddler had left and found bsaliva above the netting of the bed,implying that someone had lain on the bed and spit upward, although no actual act was witnessed, bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bsaid: Since this is a distasteful matter, shemust be bdivorced. /b |
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50. Anon., Avot Derabbi Nathan A, 2, 12 (6th cent. CE - 8th cent. CE)
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51. Anon., Avot Derabbi Nathan B, 3 (6th cent. CE - 8th cent. CE)
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