1. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 19.6 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 19.6. וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ־לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר תְּדַבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ | 19.6. and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.’" |
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2. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 12.22 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 12.22. And now that we have learned this, please write us concerning your welfare; |
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3. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 1.3, 1.19, 1.25-1.26, 4.44, 14.5 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.3. May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. 1.19. For when our fathers were being led captive to Persia, the pious priests of that time took some of the fire of the altar and secretly hid it in the hollow of a dry cistern, where they took such precautions that the place was unknown to any one.' 1.25. who alone art bountiful, who alone art just and almighty and eternal, who dost rescue Israel from every evil, who didst choose the fathers and consecrate them,' 1.26. accept this sacrifice on behalf of all thy people Israel and preserve thy portion and make it holy. 4.44. When the king came to Tyre, three men sent by the senate presented the case before him.' 14.5. But he found an opportunity that furthered his mad purpose when he was invited by Demetrius to a meeting of the council and was asked about the disposition and intentions of the Jews. He answered: |
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4. Septuagint, Judith, 14.6-14.8 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE)
| 14.6. So they summoned Achior from the house of Uzziah. And when he came and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the men at the gathering of the people, he fell down on his face and his spirit failed him. 14.7. And when they raised him up he fell at Judith's feet, and knelt before her, and said, "Blessed are you in every tent of Judah! In every nation those who hear your name will be alarmed. 14.8. Now tell me what you have done during these days." Then Judith described to him in the presence of the people all that she had done, from the day she left until the moment of her speaking to them. |
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5. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 12.103, 12.138-12.146, 13.301, 13.357-13.364, 13.373, 14.12, 14.74, 14.82-14.83, 14.157, 14.163-14.164, 14.166-14.184, 14.417-14.419, 15.171-15.172, 17.173-17.176, 18.93, 18.240-18.255, 19.294, 19.330-19.334, 20.200-20.202, 20.216-20.217 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 12.103. Accordingly, when three days were over, Demetrius took them, and went over the causeway seven furlongs long: it was a bank in the sea to an island. And when they had gone over the bridge, he proceeded to the northern parts, and showed them where they should meet, which was in a house that was built near the shore, and was a quiet place, and fit for their discoursing together about their work. 12.138. “King Antiochus To Ptolemy, Sendeth Greeting. /p“Since the Jews, upon our first entrance on their country, demonstrated their friendship towards us, and when we came to their city [Jerusalem], received us in a splendid manner, and came to meet us with their senate, and gave abundance of provisions to our soldiers, and to the elephants, and joined with us in ejecting the garrison of the Egyptians that were in the citadel 12.139. we have thought fit to reward them, and to retrieve the condition of their city, which hath been greatly depopulated by such accidents as have befallen its inhabitants, and to bring those that have been scattered abroad back to the city. 12.141. And these payments I would have fully paid them, as I have sent orders to you. I would also have the work about the temple finished, and the cloisters, and if there be any thing else that ought to be rebuilt. And for the materials of wood, let it be brought them out of Judea itself and out of the other countries, and out of Libanus tax free; and the same I would have observed as to those other materials which will be necessary, in order to render the temple more glorious; 12.142. and let all of that nation live according to the laws of their own country; and let the senate, and the priests, and the scribes of the temple, and the sacred singers, be discharged from poll-money and the crown tax and other taxes also. 12.143. And that the city may the sooner recover its inhabitants, I grant a discharge from taxes for three years to its present inhabitants, and to such as shall come to it, until the month Hyperberetus. 12.144. We also discharge them for the future from a third part of their taxes, that the losses they have sustained may be repaired. And all those citizens that have been carried away, and are become slaves, we grant them and their children their freedom, and give order that their substance be restored to them.” 12.145. 4. And these were the contents of this epistle. He also published a decree through all his kingdom in honor of the temple, which contained what follows: “It shall be lawful for no foreigner to come within the limits of the temple round about; which thing is forbidden also to the Jews, unless to those who, according to their own custom, have purified themselves. 12.146. Nor let any flesh of horses, or of mules, or of asses, he brought into the city, whether they be wild or tame; nor that of leopards, or foxes, or hares; and, in general, that of any animal which is forbidden for the Jews to eat. Nor let their skins be brought into it; nor let any such animal be bred up in the city. Let them only be permitted to use the sacrifices derived from their forefathers, with which they have been obliged to make acceptable atonements to God. And he that transgresseth any of these orders, let him pay to the priests three thousand drachmae of silver.” 13.301. 1. Now when their father Hyrcanus was dead, the eldest son Aristobulus, intending to change the government into a kingdom, for so he resolved to do, first of all put a diadem on his head, four hundred eighty and one years and three months after the people had been delivered from the Babylonish slavery, and were returned to their own country again. 13.357. Yet did not this misfortune terrify Alexander; but he made an expedition upon the maritime parts of the country, Raphia and Anthedon, (the name of which king Herod afterwards changed to Agrippias,) and took even that by force. 13.358. But when Alexander saw that Ptolemy was retired from Gaza to Cyprus, and his mother Cleopatra was returned to Egypt, he grew angry at the people of Gaza, because they had invited Ptolemy to assist them, and besieged their city, and ravaged their country. 13.359. But as Apollodotus, the general of the army of Gaza, fell upon the camp of the Jews by night, with two thousand foreign and ten thousand of his own forces, while the night lasted, those of Gaza prevailed, because the enemy was made to believe that it was Ptolemy who attacked them; but when day was come on, and that mistake was corrected, and the Jews knew the truth of the matter, they came back again, and fell upon those of Gaza, and slew of them about a thousand. 13.361. but it happened that before he came Apollodotus was slain; for his brother Lysimachus envying him for the great reputation he had gained among the citizens, slew him, and got the army together, and delivered up the city to Alexander 13.362. who, when he came in at first, lay quiet, but afterward set his army upon the inhabitants of Gaza, and gave them leave to punish them; so some went one way, and some went another, and slew the inhabitants of Gaza; yet were not they of cowardly hearts, but opposed those that came to slay them, and slew as many of the Jews; 13.363. and some of them, when they saw themselves deserted, burnt their own houses, that the enemy might get none of their spoils; nay, some of them, with their own hands, slew their children and their wives, having no other way but this of avoiding slavery for them; 13.364. but the senators, who were in all five hundred, fled to Apollo’s temple, (for this attack happened to be made as they were sitting,) whom Alexander slew; and when he had utterly overthrown their city, he returned to Jerusalem, having spent a year in that siege. 13.373. At this he was in a rage, and slew of them about six thousand. He also built a partition-wall of wood round the altar and the temple, as far as that partition within which it was only lawful for the priests to enter; and by this means he obstructed the multitude from coming at him. 14.12. And the same speeches he perpetually made to Hyrcanus; and told him that his own life would be in danger, unless he guarded himself, and got shut of Aristobulus; for he said that the friends of Aristobulus omitted no opportunity of advising him to kill him, as being then, and not before, sure to retain his principality. 14.12. And as he came back to Tyre, he went up into Judea also, and fell upon Taricheae, and presently took it, and carried about thirty thousand Jews captives; and slew Pitholaus, who succeeded Aristobulus in his seditious practices, and that by the persuasion of Antipater 14.74. and he made Jerusalem tributary to the Romans, and took away those cities of Celesyria which the inhabitants of Judea had subdued, and put them under the government of the Roman president, and confined the whole nation, which had elevated itself so high before, within its own bounds. 14.82. 2. Some time after this, when Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, made an incursion into Judea, Gabinius came from Rome into Syria, as commander of the Roman forces. He did many considerable actions; and particularly made war with Alexander, since Hyrcanus was not yet able to oppose his power, but was already attempting to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, which Pompey had overthrown 14.83. although the Romans which were there restrained him from that his design. However, Alexander went over all the country round about, and armed many of the Jews, and suddenly got together ten thousand armed footmen, and fifteen hundred horsemen, and fortified Alexandrium, a fortress near to Coreae, and Macherus, near the mountains of Arabia. 14.157. for that if they would be of Hyrcanus’s side, they would live happily, and lead their lives without disturbance, and in the enjoyment of their own possessions; but if they were addicted to the hopes of what might come by innovation, and aimed to get wealth thereby, they should have him a severe master instead of a gentle governor, and Hyrcanus a tyrant instead of a king, and the Romans, together with Caesar, their bitter enemies instead of rulers, for that they would never bear him to be set aside whom they had appointed to govern. And when Antipater had said this to them, he himself settled the affairs of this country. 14.163. 3. But now the principal men among the Jews, when they saw Antipater and his sons to grow so much in the good-will the nation bare to them, and in the revenues which they received out of Judea, and out of Hyrcanus’s own wealth, they became ill-disposed to him; 14.164. for indeed Antipater had contracted a friendship with the Roman emperors; and when he had prevailed with Hyrcanus to send them money, he took it to himself, and purloined the present intended, and sent it as if it were his own, and not Hyrcanus’s gift to them. 14.166. But do not thou suffer these things to be hidden from thee, nor do thou think to escape danger by being so careless of thyself and of thy kingdom; for Antipater and his sons are not now stewards of thine affairs: do not thou deceive thyself with such a notion; they are evidently absolute lords; 14.167. for Herod, Antipater’s son, hath slain Hezekiah, and those that were with him, and hath thereby transgressed our law, which hath forbidden to slay any man, even though he were a wicked man, unless he had been first condemned to suffer death by the Sanhedrim yet hath he been so insolent as to do this, and that without any authority from thee.” 14.168. 4. Upon Hyrcanus hearing this, he complied with them. The mothers also of those that had been slain by Herod raised his indignation; for those women continued every day in the temple, persuading the king and the people that Herod might undergo a trial before the Sanhedrim for what he had done. 14.169. Hyrcanus was so moved by these complaints, that he summoned Herod to come to his trial for what was charged upon him. Accordingly he came; but his father had persuaded him to come not like a private man, but with a guard, for the security of his person; and that when he had settled the affairs of Galilee in the best manner he could for his own advantage, he should come to his trial, but still with a body of men sufficient for his security on his journey, yet so that he should not come with so great a force as might look like terrifying Hyrcanus, but still such a one as might not expose him naked and unguarded [to his enemies.] 14.171. But when Herod stood before the Sanhedrim, with his body of men about him, he affrighted them all, and no one of his former accusers durst after that bring any charge against him, but there was a deep silence, and nobody knew what was to be done. 14.172. When affairs stood thus, one whose name was Sameas, a righteous man he was, and for that reason above all fear, rose up, and said, “O you that are assessors with me, and O thou that art our king, I neither have ever myself known such a case, nor do I suppose that any one of you can name its parallel, that one who is called to take his trial by us ever stood in such a manner before us; but every one, whosoever he be, that comes to be tried by this Sanhedrim, presents himself in a submissive manner, and like one that is in fear of himself, and that endeavors to move us to compassion, with his hair dishevelled, and in a black and mourning garment: 14.173. but this admirable man Herod, who is accused of murder, and called to answer so heavy an accusation, stands here clothed in purple, and with the hair of his head finely trimmed, and with his armed men about him, that if we shall condemn him by our law, he may slay us, and by overbearing justice may himself escape death. 14.174. Yet do not I make this complaint against Herod himself; he is to be sure more concerned for himself than for the laws; but my complaint is against yourselves, and your king, who gave him a license so to do. However, take you notice, that God is great, and that this very man, whom you are going to absolve and dismiss, for the sake of Hyrcanus, will one day punish both you and your king himself also.” 14.175. Nor did Sameas mistake in any part of this prediction; for when Herod had received the kingdom, he slew all the members of this Sanhedrim, and Hyrcanus himself also, excepting Sameas 14.176. for he had a great honor for him on account of his righteousness, and because, when the city was afterward besieged by Herod and Sosius, he persuaded the people to admit Herod into it; and told them that for their sins they would not be able to escape his hands:—which things will be related by us in their proper places. 14.177. 5. But when Hyrcanus saw that the members of the Sanhedrim were ready to pronounce the sentence of death upon Herod, he put off the trial to another day, and sent privately to Herod, and advised him to fly out of the city, for that by this means he might escape. 14.178. So he retired to Damascus, as though he fled from the king; and when he had been with Sextus Caesar, and had put his own affairs in a sure posture, he resolved to do thus; that in case he were again summoned before the Sanhedrim to take his trial, he would not obey that summons. 14.179. Hereupon the members of the Sanhedrim had great indignation at this posture of affairs, and endeavored to persuade Hyrcanus that all these things were against him; which state of matters he was not ignorant of; but his temper was so unmanly, and so foolish, that he was able to do nothing at all. 14.181. but his father Antipater, and his brother [Phasaelus], met him, and hindered him from assaulting Jerusalem. They also pacified his vehement temper, and persuaded him to do no overt action, but only to affright them with threatenings, and to proceed no further against one who had given him the dignity he had: 14.182. they also desired him not only to be angry that he was summoned, and obliged to come to his trial, but to remember withal how he was dismissed without condemnation, and how he ought to give Hyrcanus thanks for the same; and that he was not to regard only what was disagreeable to him, and be unthankful for his deliverance. 14.183. So they desired him to consider, that since it is God that turns the scales of war, there is great uncertainty in the issue of battles, and that therefore he ought of to expect the victory when he should fight with his king, and him that had supported him, and bestowed many benefits upon him, and had done nothing of itself very severe to him; for that his accusation, which was derived from evil counselors, and not from himself, had rather the suspicion of some severity, than any thing really severe in it. 14.184. Herod was persuaded by these arguments, and believed that it was sufficient for his future hopes to have made a show of his strength before the nation, and done no more to it—and in this state were the affairs of Judea at this time. 14.417. He also pressed upon his enemies, and pursued them as far as the river Jordan, though they ran away by different roads. So he brought over to him all Galilee, excepting those that dwelt in the caves, and distributed money to every one of his soldiers, giving them a hundred and fifty drachmae apiece, and much more to their captains, and sent them into winter quarters; 14.418. at which time Silo came to him, and his commanders with him, because Antigonus would not give them provisions any longer, for he supplied them for no more than one month; nay, he had sent to all the country about, and ordered them to carry off the provisions that were there, and retire to the mountains, that the Romans might have no provisions to live upon, and so might perish by famine. 14.419. But Herod committed the care of that matter to Pheroras, his youngest brother, and ordered him to repair Alexandrium also. Accordingly, he quickly made the soldiers abound with great plenty of provisions, and rebuilt Alexandrium, which had been before desolate. 15.171. So he took his kindness in good part, and bid him besides do what he had already done, that is, go on in serving him, by rolling up the epistle and sealing it again, and delivering it to Malchus, and then to bring back his letter in answer to it; for it would be much better if he could know Malchus’s intentions also. 15.172. And when Dositheus was very ready to serve him in this point also, the Arabian governor returned back for answer, that he would receive Hyrcanus, and all that should come with him, and even all the Jews that were of his party; that he would, moreover, send forces sufficient to secure them in their journey; and that he should be in no want of any thing he should desire. 17.173. and he also gave a great deal to their commanders, and to his friends, and came again to Jericho, where he grew so choleric, that it brought him to do all things like a madman; and though he were near his death, he contrived the following wicked designs. 17.174. He commanded that all the principal men of the entire Jewish nation, wheresoever they lived, should be called to him. Accordingly, they were a great number that came, because the whole nation was called, and all men heard of this call, and death was the penalty of such as should despise the epistles that were sent to call them. And now the king was in a wild rage against them all, the innocent as well as those that had afforded ground for accusations; 17.175. and when they were come, he ordered them to be all shut up in the hyppodrome, and sent for his sister Salome, and her husband Alexas, and spake thus to them: “I shall die in a little time, so great are my pains; which death ought to be cheerfully borne, and to be welcomed by all men; but what principally troubles me is this, that I shall die without being lamented, and without such mourning as men usually expect at a king’s death.” 17.176. For that he was not unacquainted with the temper of the Jews, that his death would be a thing very desirable, and exceedingly acceptable to them, because during his lifetime they were ready to revolt from him, and to abuse the donations he had dedicated to God 18.93. The like to what Herod did was done by his son Archelaus, who was made king after him; after whom the Romans, when they entered on the government, took possession of these vestments of the high priest, and had them reposited in a stone-chamber, under the seal of the priests, and of the keepers of the temple, the captain of the guard lighting a lamp there every day; 18.241. She was therefore grieved and much displeased at so great a mutation of his affairs; and chiefly when she saw him marching among the multitude with the usual ensigns of royal authority, she was not able to conceal how miserable she was, by reason of the envy she had towards him; but she excited her husband, and desired him that he would sail to Rome, to court honors equal to his; 18.242. for she said that she could not bear to live any longer, while Agrippa, the son of that Aristobulus who was condemned to die by his father, one that came to her husband in such extreme poverty, that the necessaries of life were forced to be entirely supplied him day by day; and when he fled away from his creditors by sea, he now returned a king; while he was himself the son of a king, and while the near relation he bare to royal authority called upon him to gain the like dignity, he sat still, and was contented with a privater life. 18.243. “But then, Herod, although thou wast formerly not concerned to be in a lower condition than thy father from whom thou wast derived had been, yet do thou now seek after the dignity which thy kinsman hath attained to; and do not thou bear this contempt, that a man who admired thy riches should be in greater honor than thyself, nor suffer his poverty to show itself able to purchase greater things than our abundance; nor do thou esteem it other than a shameful thing to be inferior to one who, the other day, lived upon thy charity. 18.244. But let us go to Rome, and let us spare no pains nor expenses, either of silver or gold, since they cannot be kept for any better use than for the obtaining of a kingdom.” 18.245. 2. But for Herod, he opposed her request at this time, out of the love of ease, and having a suspicion of the trouble he should have at Rome; so he tried to instruct her better. But the more she saw him draw back, the more she pressed him to it, and desired him to leave no stone unturned in order to be king; 18.246. and at last she left not off till she engaged him, whether he would or not, to be of her sentiments, because he could no otherwise avoid her importunity. So he got all things ready, after as sumptuous a manner as he was able, and spared for nothing, and went up to Rome, and took Herodias along with him. 18.247. But Agrippa, when he was made sensible of their intentions and preparations, he also prepared to go thither; and as soon as he heard they set sail, he sent Fortunatus, one of his freed-men, to Rome, to carry presents to the emperor, and letters against Herod, and to give Caius a particular account of those matters, if he should have any opportunity. 18.248. This man followed Herod so quick, and had so prosperous a voyage, and came so little after Herod, that while Herod was with Caius, he came himself, and delivered his letters; for they both sailed to Dicearchia, and found Caius at Bairn 18.249. which is itself a little city of Campania, at the distance of about five furlongs from Dicearchia. There are in that place royal palaces, with sumptuous apartments, every emperor still endeavoring to outdo his predecessor’s magnificence; the place also affords warm baths, that spring out of the ground of their own accord, which are of advantage for the recovery of the health of those that make use of them; and, besides, they minister to men’s luxury also. 18.251. as a demonstration of which he alleged, that he had armor sufficient for seventy thousand men ready in his armory. Caius was moved at this information, and asked Herod whether what was said about the armor was true; 18.252. and when he confessed there was such armor there, for he could not deny the same, the truth of it being too notorious, Caius took that to be a sufficient proof of the accusation, that he intended to revolt. So he took away from him his tetrarchy, and gave it by way of addition to Agrippa’s kingdom; he also gave Herod’s money to Agrippa, and, by way of punishment, awarded him a perpetual banishment, and appointed Lyons, a city of Gaul, to be his place of habitation. 18.253. But when he was informed that Herodias was Agrippa’s sister, he made her a present of what money was her own, and told her that it was her brother who prevented her being put under the same calamity with her husband. 18.254. But she made this reply: “Thou, indeed, O emperor! actest after a magnificent manner, and as becomes thyself in what thou offerest me; but the kindness which I have for my husband hinders me from partaking of the favor of thy gift; for it is not just that I, who have been made a partner in his prosperity, should forsake him in his misfortunes.” 18.255. Hereupon Caius was angry at her, and sent her with Herod into banishment, and gave her estate to Agrippa. And thus did God punish Herodias for her envy at her brother, and Herod also for giving ear to the vain discourses of a woman. 19.294. on which account he ordained that many of the Nazarites should have their heads shorn. And for the golden chain which had been given him by Caius, of equal weight with that iron chain wherewith his royal hands had been bound, he hung it up within the limits of the temple, over the treasury, that it might be a memorial of the severe fate he had lain under, and a testimony of his change for the better; that it might be a demonstration how the greatest prosperity may have a fall, and that God sometimes raises up what is fallen down: 19.331. Accordingly, he loved to live continually at Jerusalem, and was exactly careful in the observance of the laws of his country. He therefore kept himself entirely pure; nor did any day pass over his head without its appointed sacrifice. 19.332. 4. However, there was a certain man of the Jewish nation at Jerusalem, who appeared to be very accurate in the knowledge of the law. His name was Simon. This man got together an assembly, while the king was absent at Caesarea, and had the insolence to accuse him as not living holily, and that he might justly be excluded out of the temple, since it belonged only to native Jews. 19.333. But the general of Agrippa’s army informed him that Simon had made such a speech to the people. So the king sent for him; and as he was sitting in the theater, he bid him sit down by him, and said to him with a low and gentle voice, “What is there done in this place that is contrary to the law?” 19.334. But he had nothing to say for himself, but begged his pardon. So the king was more easily reconciled to him than one could have imagined, as esteeming mildness a better quality in a king than anger, and knowing that moderation is more becoming in great men than passion. So he made Simon a small present, and dismissed him. 20.201. but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Aus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; 20.202. nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Aus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent. 20.216. 6. Now as many of the Levites, which is a tribe of ours, as were singers of hymns, persuaded the king to assemble a sanhedrim, and to give them leave to wear linen garments, as well as the priests for they said that this would be a work worthy the times of his government, that he might have a memorial of such a novelty, as being his doing. 20.217. Nor did they fail of obtaining their desire; for the king, with the suffrages of those that came into the sanhedrim, granted the singers of hymns this privilege, that they might lay aside their former garments, and wear such a linen one as they desired; |
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6. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 1.18, 1.154, 1.177, 1.202-1.215, 1.307-1.308, 1.537, 1.659-1.660, 1.666, 2.56, 2.94, 2.181-2.183 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.18. But then, where the writers of these affairs and our prophets leave off, thence shall I take my rise and begin my history. Now, as to what concerns that war which happened in my own time, I will go over it very largely, and with all the diligence I am able; but for what preceded mine own age, that I shall run over briefly. 1.18. 9. But now Cassius, after Crassus, put a stop to the Parthians, who were marching in order to enter Syria. Cassius had fled into that province, and when he had taken possession of the same, he made a hasty march into Judea; and, upon his taking Taricheae, he carried thirty thousand Jews into slavery. He also slew Pitholaus, who had supported the seditious followers of Aristobulus; and it was Antipater who advised him so to do. 1.154. Now, among the captives, Aristobulus’s father-in-law was taken, who was also his uncle: so those that were the most guilty he punished with decollation; but rewarded Faustus, and those with him that had fought so bravely, with glorious presents, and laid a tribute upon the country, and upon Jerusalem itself. 1.177. hereupon Gabinius was afraid (for he was come back already out of Egypt, and obliged to come back quickly by these tumults), and sent Antipater, who prevailed with some of the revolters to be quiet. However, thirty thousand still continued with Alexander, who was himself eager to fight also; accordingly, Gabinius went out to fight, when the Jews met him; and as the battle was fought near Mount Tabor, ten thousand of them were slain, and the rest of the multitude dispersed themselves, and fled away. 1.202. but that in case they hearkened to such as had some frigid hopes by raising new troubles to get themselves some gain, they should then find him to be their lord instead of their procurator; and find Hyrcanus to be a tyrant instead of a king,—and both the Romans and Caesar to be their enemies, instead of rulers; for that they would not suffer him to be removed from the government, whom they had made their governor. 1.203. And at the same time that he said this, he settled the affairs of the country by himself, because he saw that Hyrcanus was inactive, and not fit to manage the affairs of the kingdom. So he constituted his eldest son, Phasaelus, governor of Jerusalem, and of the parts about it; he also sent his next son, Herod, who was very young, with equal authority into Galilee. 1.204. 5. Now Herod was an active man, and soon found proper materials for his active spirit to work upon. As therefore he found that Hezekias, the head of the robbers, ran over the neighboring parts of Syria with a great band of men, he caught him and slew him, and many more of the robbers with him; 1.205. which exploit was chiefly grateful to the Syrians, insomuch that hymns were sung in Herod’s commendation, both in the villages and in the cities, as having procured their quietness, and having preserved what they possessed to them; on which occasion he became acquainted with Sextus Caesar, a kinsman of the great Caesar, and president of Syria. 1.206. A just emulation of his glorious actions excited Phasaelus also to imitate him. Accordingly, he procured the goodwill of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, by his own management of the city affairs, and did not abuse his power in any disagreeable manner; 1.207. whence it came to pass that the nation paid Antipater the respects that were due only to a king, and the honors they all yielded him were equal to the honors due to an absolute lord; yet did he not abate any part of that goodwill or fidelity which he owed to Hyrcanus. 1.208. 6. However, he found it impossible to escape envy in such his prosperity; for the glory of these young men affected even Hyrcanus himself already privately, though he said nothing of it to anybody; but what he principally was grieved at was the great actions of Herod, and that so many messengers came one before another, and informed him of the great reputation he got in all his undertakings. There were also many people in the royal palace itself who inflamed his envy at him; those, I mean, who were obstructed in their designs by the prudence either of the young men, or of Antipater. 1.209. These men said, that by committing the public affairs to the management of Antipater and of his sons, he sat down with nothing but the bare name of a king, without any of its authority; and they asked him how long he would so far mistake himself, as to breed up kings against his own interest; for that they did not now conceal their government of affairs any longer, but were plainly lords of the nation, and had thrust him out of his authority; that this was the case when Herod slew so many men without his giving him any command to do it, either by word of mouth, or by his letter, and this in contradiction to the law of the Jews; who therefore, in case he be not a king, but a private man, still ought to come to his trial, and answer it to him, and to the laws of his country, which do not permit anyone to be killed till he had been condemned in judgment. 1.211. However, Sextus Caesar was in fear for the young man, lest he should be taken by his enemies, and brought to punishment; so he sent some to denounce expressly to Hyrcanus that he should acquit Herod of the capital charge against him; who acquitted him accordingly, as being otherwise inclined also so to do, for he loved Herod. 1.212. 8. But Herod, supposing that he had escaped punishment without the consent of the king, retired to Sextus, to Damascus, and got everything ready, in order not to obey him if he should summon him again; whereupon those that were evil-disposed irritated Hyrcanus, and told him that Herod was gone away in anger, and was prepared to make war upon him; and as the king believed what they said, he knew not what to do, since he saw his antagonist was stronger than he was himself. 1.213. And now, since Herod was made general of Celesyria and Samaria by Sextus Caesar, he was formidable, not only from the goodwill which the nation bore him, but by the power he himself had; insomuch that Hyrcanus fell into the utmost degree of terror, and expected he would presently march against him with his army. 1.214. 9. Nor was he mistaken in the conjecture he made; for Herod got his army together, out of the anger he bare him for his threatening him with the accusation in a public court, and led it to Jerusalem, in order to throw Hyrcanus down from his kingdom; and this he had soon done, unless his father and brother had gone out together and broken the force of his fury, and this by exhorting him to carry his revenge no further than to threatening and affrighting, but to spare the king, under whom he had been advanced to such a degree of power; and that he ought not to be so much provoked at his being tried, as to forget to be thankful that he was acquitted; nor so long to think upon what was of a melancholy nature, as to be ungrateful for his deliverance; 1.215. and if we ought to reckon that God is the arbitrator of success in war, an unjust cause is of more disadvantage than an army can be of advantage; and that therefore he ought not to be entirely confident of success in a case where he is to fight against his king, his supporter, and one that had often been his benefactor, and that had never been severe to him, any otherwise than as he had hearkened to evil counselors, and this no further than by bringing a shadow of injustice upon him. So Herod was prevailed upon by these arguments, and supposed that what he had already done was sufficient for his future hopes, and that he had enough shown his power to the nation. 1.307. 3. But Herod followed them, and slew them as he followed them, and destroyed a great part of them, till those that remained were scattered beyond the river [Jordan]; and Galilee was freed from the terrors they had been under, excepting from those that remained, and lay concealed in caves, which required longer time ere they could be conquered. 1.308. In order to which Herod, in the first place, distributed the fruits of their former labors to the soldiers, and gave every one of them a hundred and fifty drachmae of silver, and a great deal more to their commanders, and sent them into their winter quarters. He also sent to his youngest brother Pheroras, to take care of a good market for them, where they might buy themselves provisions, and to build a wall about Alexandrium; who took care of both those injunctions accordingly. 1.537. o he wrote back to him, and appointed him to have the power over his sons; but said withal, that he would do well to make an examination into this matter of the plot against him in a public court, and to take for his assessors his own kindred, and the governors of the province. And if those sons be found guilty, to put them to death; but if they appear to have thought of no more than flying away from him, that he should moderate their punishment. 1.659. 6. He then returned back and came to Jericho, in such a melancholy state of body as almost threatened him with present death, when he proceeded to attempt a horrid wickedness; for he got together the most illustrious men of the whole Jewish nation, out of every village, into a place called the Hippodrome, and there shut them in. 1.666. Now, before the soldiers knew of his death, Salome and her husband came out and dismissed those that were in bonds, whom the king had commanded to be slain, and told them that he had altered his mind, and would have every one of them sent to their own homes. When these men were gone, Salome, told the soldiers [the king was dead], and got them and the rest of the multitude together to an assembly, in the amphitheater at Jericho 2.56. In Sepphoris also, a city of Galilee, there was one Judas (the son of that arch-robber Hezekias, who formerly overran the country, and had been subdued by king Herod); this man got no small multitude together, and broke open the place where the royal armor was laid up, and armed those about him, and attacked those that were so earnest to gain the dominion. 2.56. and as they had them already cooped up together in the place of public exercises, which they had done out of the suspicion they had of them, they thought they should meet with no difficulty in the attempt; yet did they distrust their own wives, which were almost all of them addicted to the Jewish religion; 2.94. But as to the other half, he divided it into two tetrarchies, and gave them to two other sons of Herod, the one of them to Philip, and the other to that Antipas who contested the kingdom with Archelaus. 2.181. 6. But when Caius was made Caesar, he released Agrippa from his bonds, and made him king of Philip’s tetrarchy, who was now dead; but when Agrippa had arrived at that degree of dignity, he inflamed the ambitious desires of Herod the tetrarch 2.182. who was chiefly induced to hope for the royal authority by his wife Herodias, who reproached him for his sloth, and told him that it was only because he would not sail to Caesar that he was destitute of that great dignity; for since Caesar had made Agrippa a king, from a private person, much more would he advance him from a tetrarch to that dignity. 2.183. These arguments prevailed with Herod, so that he came to Caius, by whom he was punished for his ambition, by being banished into Spain; for Agrippa followed him, in order to accuse him; to whom also Caius gave his tetrarchy, by way of addition. So Herod died in Spain, whither his wife had followed him. |
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7. New Testament, Acts, 5.21, 5.27-5.40, 22.30, 23.6, 23.20, 23.28 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 5.21. When they heard this, they entered into the temple about daybreak, and taught. But the high priest came, and those who were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 5.27. When they had brought them, they set them before the council. The high priest questioned them 5.28. saying, "Didn't we strictly charge you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood on us. 5.29. But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. 5.30. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree. 5.31. God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. 5.32. We are His witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. 5.33. But they, when they heard this, were cut to the heart, and determined to kill them. 5.34. But one stood up in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to take the apostles out a little while. 5.35. He said to them, "You men of Israel, be careful concerning these men, what you are about to do. 5.36. For before these days Theudas rose up, making himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nothing. 5.37. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the enrollment, and drew away some people after him. He also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad. 5.38. Now I tell you, refrain from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown. 5.39. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God! 5.40. They agreed with him. Summoning the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 22.30. But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them. 23.6. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged! 23.20. He said, "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring down Paul tomorrow to the council, as though intending to inquire somewhat more accurately concerning him. 23.28. Desiring to know the cause why they accused him, I brought him down to their council. |
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8. New Testament, John, 11.47 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 11.47. The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, "What are we doing? For this man does many signs. |
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9. New Testament, Luke, 22.66 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 22.66. As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away into their council, saying |
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10. New Testament, Mark, 14.55, 15.1 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 14.55. Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witnesses against Jesus to put him to death, and found none. 15.1. Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate. |
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11. New Testament, Matthew, 2.22, 5.22, 26.59 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.22. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee 5.22. But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna. 26.59. Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death; |
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12. Palestinian Talmud, Berachot, None (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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13. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 29a. והשקיף בה שתים ושלש שעות ולא העלוהו,אמאי לא העלוהו והאמר רב יהודה אמר רב טעה בכל הברכות כלן אין מעלין אותו בברכת הצדוקים מעלין אותו חיישינן שמא מין הוא,שאני שמואל הקטן דאיהו תקנה,וניחוש דלמא הדר ביה אמר אביי גמירי טבא לא הוי בישא,ולא והכתיב (יחזקאל יח, כד) ובשוב צדיק מצדקתו ועשה עול ההוא רשע מעיקרו אבל צדיק מעיקרו לא,ולא והא תנן אל תאמין בעצמך עד יום מותך שהרי יוחנן כ"ג שמש בכהונה גדולה שמנים שנה ולבסוף נעשה צדוקי,אמר אביי הוא ינאי הוא יוחנן רבא אמר ינאי לחוד ויוחנן לחוד ינאי רשע מעיקרו ויוחנן צדיק מעיקרו הניחא לאביי אלא לרבא קשיא,אמר לך רבא צדיק מעיקרו נמי דלמא הדר ביה אי הכי אמאי לא אסקוהו,שאני שמואל הקטן דאתחיל בה דאמר רב יהודה אמר רב ואיתימא רבי יהושע בן לוי לא שנו אלא שלא התחיל בה אבל התחיל בה גומרה:,הני שבע דשבתא כנגד מי א"ר חלפתא בן שאול כנגד שבעה קולות שאמר דוד על המים,הני תשע דר"ה כנגד מי א"ר יצחק דמן קרטיגנין כנגד תשעה אזכרות שאמרה חנה בתפלתה דאמר מר בראש השנה נפקדה שרה רחל וחנה,הני עשרים וארבע דתעניתא כנגד מי א"ר חלבו כנגד כ"ד רננות שאמר שלמה בשעה שהכניס ארון לבית קדשי הקדשים אי הכי כל יומא נמי נמרינהו אימת אמרינהו שלמה ביומא דרחמי אנן נמי ביומא דרחמי אמרי להו:,רבי יהושע אומר מעין שמנה עשרה: מאי מעין שמנה עשרה רב אמר מעין כל ברכה וברכה ושמואל אמר הביננו ה' אלהינו לדעת דרכיך ומול את לבבנו ליראתך ותסלח לנו להיות גאולים ורחקנו ממכאובינו ודשננו בנאות ארצך ונפוצותינו מארבע תקבץ והתועים על דעתך ישפטו ועל הרשעים תניף ידיך וישמחו צדיקים בבנין עירך ובתקון היכלך ובצמיחת קרן לדוד עבדך ובעריכת נר לבן ישי משיחך טרם נקרא אתה תענה ברוך אתה ה' שומע תפלה,לייט עלה אביי אמאן דמצלי הביננו,אמר רב נחמן אמר שמואל כל השנה כולה מתפלל אדם הביננו חוץ ממוצאי שבת וממוצאי ימים טובים מפני שצריך לומר הבדלה בחונן הדעת,מתקיף לה רבה בר שמואל ונימרה ברכה רביעית בפני עצמה מי לא תנן ר"ע אומר אומרה ברכה רביעית בפני עצמה ר' אליעזר אומר בהודאה,אטו כל השנה כולה מי עבדינן כר' עקיבא דהשתא נמי נעביד כל השנה כולה מאי טעמא לא עבדינן כר"ע תמני סרי תקון תשסרי לא תקון הכא נמי שבע תקון תמני לא תקון,מתקיף לה מר זוטרא ונכללה מכלל הביננו ה' אלהינו המבדיל בין קדש לחול קשיא:,אמר רב ביבי בר אביי כל השנה כולה מתפלל אדם הביננו חוץ מימות הגשמים מפני שצריך לומר שאלה בברכת השנים מתקיף לה מר זוטרא ונכללה מכלל ודשננו בנאות ארצך ותן טל ומטר,אתי לאטרודי אי הכי הבדלה בחונן הדעת נמי אתי לאטרודי,אמרי התם כיון דאתיא בתחלת צלותא לא מטריד הכא כיון דאתיא באמצע צלותא מטריד,מתקיף לה רב אשי ונימרה בשומע תפלה דא"ר תנחום אמר רב אסי טעה ולא הזכיר גבורות גשמים בתחיית המתים מחזירין אותו שאלה בברכת השנים אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה בשומע תפלה והבדלה בחונן הדעת אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה על הכוס טעה שאני:,גופא א"ר תנחום אמר רב אסי טעה ולא הזכיר גבורות גשמים בתחיית המתים מחזירין אותו שאלה בברכת השנים אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה בשומע תפלה והבדלה בחונן הדעת אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה על הכוס,מיתיבי טעה ולא הזכיר גבורות גשמים בתחיית המתים מחזירין אותו שאלה בברכת השנים מחזירין אותו והבדלה בחונן הדעת אין מחזירין אותו מפני שיכול לאומרה על הכוס,ל"ק הא ביחיד הא בצבור,בצבור מ"ט לא משום דשמעה משליח צבור אי הכי האי מפני שיכול לאומרה בשומע תפלה מפני ששומע משליח צבור מיבעי ליה,אלא אידי ואידי ביחיד ול"ק הא דאדכר קודם שומע תפלה | 29a. band scrutinized it,in an attempt to remember the blessing for btwo or three hours, and they did not remove himfrom serving as prayer leader.,The Gemara asks: bWhy did they not remove him? Didn’t Rav Yehuda saythat bRav said:One who was serving as the prayer leader before the congregation and berred inreciting bany of the blessings, they do not remove himfrom serving as the prayer leader. However, one who erred while reciting bthe blessing of the heretics they remove him,as bwe suspect that perhaps he is a hereticand intentionally omitted the blessing to avoid cursing himself. Why, then, did they not remove Shmuel HaKatan?,The Gemara answers: bShmuel HaKatan is different because he institutedthis blessing and there is no suspicion of him.,The Gemara continues: bLet us suspectthat bperhaps he reconsideredand, although he had been righteous, he had a change of heart? bAbaye said: We learnedthrough tradition that a bgoodperson bdoes not become wicked. /b,The Gemara challenges this: bAnddoes he bnotbecome wicked? bIsn’t itexplicitly bwritten: “And when the righteous one returns from his righteousness and does wickedlike all of the abominations that the wicked one has done, will he live? All of the righteous deeds that he has done will not be remembered given the treachery that he has carried out, and in his sin that he has transgressed, for these he shall die” (Ezekiel 18:24)? Abaye responds: bThatverse refers to a righteous individual who was binitially wickedand repented, but ultimately returned to his evil ways. bHowever, one who is initially righteousdoes bnotbecome wicked.,The Gemara asks: bAnddoes he bnotbecome wicked? bDidn’t we learnin a mishna: bDo not be sure of yourself until the day you die, as Yoḥa the High Priest served in the High Priesthood for eighty years and ultimately became a Sadducee.Even one who is outstanding in his righteousness can become a heretic., bAbaye responded: He is Yannai he is Yoḥa.In other words, from its inception, the entire Hasmonean dynasty had the same positive attitude toward the Sadducees, and there was no distinction between Yoḥa Hyrcanus and Alexander Yannai. Yoḥa the High Priest had Sadducee leanings from the outset. bRava said: Yannai is distinct and Yoḥa is distinct.They did not share the same position in this regard. bYannai was wicked from the outset and Yoḥa was righteous from the outset.If so, bit works out well according to Abaye’sopinion; bhowever, according to Rava’sopinion, bit is difficult.How could Yoḥa, a righteous individual, have changed and turned wicked?,The Gemara responds: bRavacould have bsaid to you:There is balsoroom for concern bthat one who is righteous from the outset will perhaps reconsiderand turn wicked, as was the case with Yoḥa the High Priest. bIf so,the original question is difficult: bWhy did they not removeShmuel HaKatan from serving as the prayer leader?,The Gemara answers: The case of bShmuel HaKatan is different, as he beganreciting the blessing of the heretics and while reciting it he became confused and forgot the end of the blessing. Consequently, he was not suspected of heretical leanings. Indeed, bRav Yehuda saidthat bRav, and some saythat bRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, said: They only taughtthat one who errs while reciting the blessing of the heretics is removed in a case bwhere he did not beginreciting bit. Butif he bbeganreciting bit,then we allow him to collect his thoughts band finishreciting bit. /b,To this point, the Gemara discussed allusions to the nineteen blessings that constitute the weekday iAmidaprayer. The Gemara asks: bCorresponding to whatwere bthese sevenblessings bofthe bShabbat iAmidaprayer instituted? The Gemara answers: bRabbi Ḥalafta ben Shaul said: Corresponding to the seven “voices” which David mentioned on the waters;in other words, the seven times that “the voice of God” is mentioned in Psalms 29, which served as the source for the weekday prayer.,The Gemara asks further: bCorresponding to whatwere bthese nineblessings bofthe bRosh HaShanaadditional prayer instituted? bRabbi Yitzḥak of Kartignin said:They bcorrespond to the nine mentions of God’s name that Hannah said in her prayer(I Samuel 2:10). The connection between Hannah’s prayer and Rosh HaShana is based on what bthe Master said: On Rosh HaShana, Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were rememberedand the divine decree that they would conceive their sons was issued.,The Gemara continues: bCorresponding to whatwere bthese twenty-fourblessings bofthe iAmidaprayer of bthe fastdays instituted? bRabbi Ḥelbo said:They bcorrespond to the twenty-four “songs” that Solomon said when he brought the ark into the Holy of Holiesduring the dedication of the Temple, as there are twenty-four expressions of song, prayer, and supplication there (I Kings 8). The Gemara asks: bIf so, then let us say thesetwenty-four blessing bevery day.The Gemara answers: bWhen did Solomon say them? On a day ofsupplication for bmercy. We, too, say them on a day ofsupplication for bmercy. /b,We learned in the mishna that bRabbi Yehoshua saysthat each day one recites ban abridgedversion of the prayer of beighteen blessings.The Gemara asks: bWhatis the babridgedversion of the prayer of beighteen blessings?There are different opinions. bRav said:One recites ban abridgedversion bof each and every blessing. Shmuel said:An abridged version of the prayer of eighteen blessings refers to a blessing composed specifically to be recited in place of the thirteen middle blessings. It contains references to each of the thirteen middle blessings. The formula for that blessing is: bGrant us understanding, Lord our God, to know Your ways, and sensitize our hearts so that we may revere You, and forgive us so that we may be redeemed, and keep us far from our suffering, and satisfy us with the pastures of Your land, and gather our scatteredpeople bfrom the fourcorners of the earth, band those who go astray shall be judged according to Your will, and raise Your hand against the wicked, and may the righteous rejoice in the rebuilding of Your city, and the restoration of Your Sanctuary, and in the flourishing of Your servant David, and in establishing a light for Your Messiah, son of Yishai. Before we call, may You answer. Blessed are You, Lord, Who listens to prayer.” /b,Although Shmuel mentioned this abridged prayer, bAbaye would curse anyone who recitedthe prayer: bGrant us understanding,as he held that one may recite it only in exigent circumstances (Rabbi Ḥael, iMe’iri /i).,The Gemara further restricts the occasions when one may recite the abridged prayer. bRav Naḥman saidthat bShmuel said: One may recite: Grant us understanding throughout the entire year, except forin the evening prayer at bthe conclusion of Shabbat and at the conclusion of Festivals, because he must recitethe prayer of bdistinction [ ihavdala /i] inthe blessing: bWho graciously grants knowledge. /b, bRabba bar Shmuel strongly objects to this:After reciting the three initial blessings, blet us say ihavdala bas an independent fourth blessing,and afterwards recite the prayer of bGrant us understanding.This is feasible. bDidn’t we learnin a mishna that bRabbi Akiva says: He says ihavdala bas an independent fourth blessing? Rabbi Eliezer says:He says ihavdala binthe blessing of bthanksgiving. /b,The Gemara responds: bDo we practice in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Akiva throughout the entire yearregarding this issue, bthat we will also practicethis way bnow? Throughout the entire year, what is the reason that we do not practice in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Akiva?Because bthey instituted eighteenblessings, bthey did not institute nineteen. Here too, they instituted sevenblessings, bthey did not institute eight.Therefore, the possibility to recite ihavdalaas an independent fourth blessing is rejected., bMar Zutra strongly objects to this: Let us include ihavdalain the bframeworkof the abridged blessing: bGrant us understanding, Lord our God, Who distinguishes between sacred and profane.No response was offered to this objection, and it remains bdifficult. /b, bRav Beivai bar Abaye said:There is an additional restriction that applies to the abridged prayer. bOne may recite Grant us understanding throughout the entire year, except during the rainy season, because he must recite the requestfor rain bin the blessing of the years. Mar Zutra strongly objects to this: Let us includethe request for rain in the bframeworkof the abridged blessing: bAnd satisfy us with the pastures of Your land, and grant dew and rain. /b,The Gemara responds: That is unfeasible, as he will bbecome confusedby introducing a new element to the standard formula of the blessing. The Gemara asks: bIf so, byintroducing ihavdalainthe framework of the abridged blessing in the section alluding to the blessing, bWho graciously grants knowledge,he will balso become confused.Why did the Gemara fail to respond to Mar Zutra’s strong objection with regard to ihavdalain that manner?,The Gemara answers: bThey saythat these cases are different: bThere,regarding ihavdala /i, bsincethe introduction of the new element bcomes at the beginning of the prayer, he will notbecome bconfused. Here, sincethe request for rain bcomes in the middle of the prayer, he willbecome bconfused. /b, bRav Ashi strongly objects to this:If so, blet us saythe request for rain binthe framework of the abridged blessing in the section alluding to the blessing bWho listens to prayer. As Rabbi Tanḥum saidthat bRav Asi said: One who erred and did not mention the might of the rainsin the blessing on bthe revival of the dead, we require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. However, one who erred and failed to recite bthe requestfor rain binthe ninth blessing of the iAmida /i, bthe blessing of the years, we do not require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it bbecause he can recite it inthe blessing bWho listens to prayer. Andone who erred and failed to recite ihavdalainthe blessing bWho graciously grants knowledge, we do not require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, bas he can recite ihavdala bover the cupof wine. One can ask for rain in the blessing Who listens to prayer, and, consequently, can introduce it at the end of the abridged blessing without becoming confused. The Gemara responds: bOne who erred is different,and only then does he have the option to ask for rain in the blessing Who listens to prayer. iAb initio /i, the request for rain may not be inserted there.,The statement that Rabbi Tanḥum said that Rav Asi said was incidental to the previous discussion. The Gemara attempts to understand bthe matter itself. Rabbi Tanḥum saidthat bRav Asi said: One who erred and did not mention the might of the rainsin the blessing on bthe revival of the dead, we require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. However, one who erred and failed to recite bthe requestfor rain bin the blessing of the years, we do not require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it bbecause he can recite it inthe blessing bWho listens to prayer. Andone who erred and failed to recite ihavdalainthe blessing bWho graciously grants knowledge, we do not require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, bas he can recite ihavdala bover the cupof wine.,The Gemara braised an objectionbased on what was taught in the iTosefta /i: bOne who erred and did not mention the might of the rainsin the blessing on bthe revival of the dead, we require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. One who erred and failed to recite bthe requestfor rain bin the blessing of the years, we require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it. However, one who erred and failed to recite ihavdalainthe blessing bWho graciously grants knowledge, we do not require him to returnto the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, bas he can recite ihavdala bover the cupof wine. The iToseftacontradicts the statement of Rabbi Tanḥum with regard to one who erred and failed to recite the request for rain in the blessing of the years.,The Gemara responds: bThis is not difficult. Thiscase, where we require him to return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, refers to a situation where he is praying bas an individual.While bthatcase, where we do not require him to return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, refers to a situation where he is praying baspart of ba congregation. /b,The Gemara raises a difficulty: When praying baspart of ba congregation, what is the reasonthat he need bnotneed return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it? bBecausehe can fulfill his obligation bwhen he hears it from the communal prayer leaderin the repetition of the iAmidaprayer. bIf so,Rabbi Tanḥum’s formulation is imprecise. bThatwhich he said that he need not return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it bbecause he can recite it inthe blessing: bWho listens to prayer, should have been: Because he hears it from the communal prayer leader.This proves that the attempt to rebuff the challenge from the iToseftato Rabbi Tanḥum was incorrect.,Rather, both bthisstatement of Rabbi Tanḥum band thatstatement in the iToseftarefer to one praying bas an individual, and it is,nevertheless, bnot difficult. Thiscase, where we do not require him to return to the beginning of the prayer and repeat it, refers to a case where bhe recallshis error bbeforehe reaches the blessing: bWho listens to prayer,in which case he can ask for rain in that blessing. |
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14. Babylonian Talmud, Gittin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 55b. ומה טעם אמרו נודעה אינה מכפרת שלא יאמרו מזבח אוכל גזילות,בשלמא לעולא היינו דקתני חטאת אלא לרב יהודה מאי איריא חטאת אפי' עולה נמי,לא מיבעיא קאמר לא מיבעיא עולה דכליל היא אלא אפי' חטאת נמי דחלב ודם הוא דסליק לגבי מזבח ואידך כהנים אכלי ליה אפי' הכי גזור שלא יאמרו מזבח אוכל גזילות,תנן על חטאת הגזולה שלא נודעה לרבים שהיא מכפרת מפני תיקון המזבח בשלמא לעולא ניחא אלא לרב יהודה איפכא מיבעי ליה,הכי נמי קאמר לא נודעה מכפרת נודעה אינה מכפרת מפני תיקון המזבח,מתיב רבא גנב והקדיש ואחר כך טבח ומכר משלם תשלומי כפל ואינו משלם תשלומי ארבעה וחמשה ותני עלה בחוץ כי האי גוונא ענוש כרת ואי אמרת יאוש כדי לא קני כרת מאי עבידתיה,אמר רב שיזבי כרת מדבריהם אחיכו עליה כרת מדבריהם מי איכא אמר להו רבא גברא רבה אמר מילתא לא תחוכו עלה כרת שעל ידי דבריהן באתה לו אוקמוה רבנן ברשותיה כי היכי דליחייב עלה,אמר רבא הא וודאי קא מיבעיא לי כי אוקמוה רבנן ברשותיה משעת גניבה או משעת הקדישה למאי נפקא מינה לגיזותיה וולדותיה מאי הדר אמר רבא מסתברא משעת הקדישה שלא יהא חוטא נשכר:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big לא היה סיקריקון ביהודה בהרוגי מלחמה מהרוגי המלחמה ואילך יש בה סיקריקון כיצד לקח מסיקריקון וחזר ולקח מבעל הבית מקחו בטל מבעל הבית וחזר ולקח מסיקריקון מקחו קיים,לקח מן האיש וחזר ולקח מן האשה מקחו בטל מן האשה וחזר ולקח מן האיש מקחו קיים זו משנה ראשונה,ב"ד של אחריהם אמרו הלוקח מסיקריקון נותן לבעלים רביע אימתי בזמן שאין בידן ליקח אבל יש בידן ליקח הן קודמין לכל אדם,רבי הושיב בית דין ונמנו שאם שהתה בפני סיקריקון שנים עשר חדש כל הקודם ליקח זכה אבל נותן לבעלים רביע:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big השתא בהרוגי המלחמה לא היה בה סיקריקון מהרוגי מלחמה ואילך יש בה סיקריקון,אמר רב יהודה לא דנו בה דין סיקריקון קאמר דאמר רבי אסי ג' גזירות גזרו גזרתא קמייתא כל דלא קטיל ליקטלוהו מציעתא כל דקטיל לייתי ארבע זוזי בתרייתא כל דקטיל ליקטלוהו הלכך קמייתא ומציעתא כיון דקטלי אגב אונסיה גמר ומקני,בתרייתא אמרי האידנא לישקול למחר תבענא ליה בדינא:,אמר רבי יוחנן מאי דכתיב (משלי כח, יד) אשרי אדם מפחד תמיד ומקשה לבו יפול ברעה אקמצא ובר קמצא חרוב ירושלים אתרנגולא ותרנגולתא חרוב טור מלכא אשקא דריספק חרוב ביתר,אקמצא ובר קמצא חרוב ירושלים דההוא גברא דרחמיה קמצא ובעל דבביה בר קמצא עבד סעודתא אמר ליה לשמעיה זיל אייתי לי קמצא אזל אייתי ליה בר קמצא,אתא אשכחיה דהוה יתיב אמר ליה מכדי ההוא גברא בעל דבבא דההוא גברא הוא מאי בעית הכא קום פוק אמר ליה הואיל ואתאי שבקן ויהיבנא לך דמי מה דאכילנא ושתינא | 55b. bAnd what is the reasonthat the Sages bsaidthat if bit is knownthat the sin-offering was obtained through robbery, bit does not effect atonement?It is so that people bnot saythat bthe altar consumes stolen property. /b,The Gemara attempts to clarify the two explanations. bGranted,according to the opinion of bUlla,that the concern stems from the fact that the priests will be distraught, bthis is the reason thatthe itanna bteachesthe ihalakhawith regard to ba sin-offering:The priests partake of the meat of a sin-offering. If they find out that they ate an animal that was forbidden to them, i.e., an offering slaughtered counter to ihalakha /i, they are likely to become distraught. bBut according tothe opinion of bRav Yehuda,that the concern is about the honor of the altar, bwhydoes the mishna mention bspecificallythe case of ba sin-offering;shouldn’t the same concern apply to ba burnt-offering, as well,as it too is burned on the alter?,The Gemara answers: The mishna bis speakingutilizing the style of: bIt is not necessary,and the mishna should be understood as follows: bIt is not necessaryto teach the ihalakhain the case of ba burnt-offering, which is entirelyconsumed on the altar. In that case, people will certainly say that the altar consumes stolen property. bBut evenin the case of ba sin-offering, whereonly bthe fat and the blood go upto be consumed bon the altar and the rest is consumed by the priests, even so they issued a decreeand said that the stolen sin-offering does not effect atonement, bsothat people bshould not saythat bthe altar consumes stolen property. /b,The Gemara further clarifies the two understandings: bWe learnedin the mishna: Rabbi Yoḥa ben Gudgeda testified babout a sin-offering thathad been obtained bthrough robberybut bthat is not publicly knownto have been obtained in that manner, and said bthat it effects atonementfor the robber who sacrifices it, bfor the benefit of the altar. Granted, according tothe opinion of bUlla,it bworks out well,as he understands that the Sages instituted that if it was not publicly known that the sin-offering was obtained through robbery, it does effect atonement. bBut according tothe opinion of bRav Yehuda, it should havestated just bthe opposite,namely, that if it was publicly known that the sin-offering was obtained through robbery, it does not effect atonement.,The Gemara answers: bThat is also whatthe mishna bis saying:If bit is not knownthat the sin-offering was obtained through robbery, bit effects atonement,but if this bis known, it does not effect atonement, for the benefit of the altar. /b, bRava raises an objectionfrom what was learned in a mishna ( iBava Kamma74a): If bone stolean animal band consecratedit, band afterward he slaughtered or soldit, bhe pays double paymentlike a thief (see Exodus 22:3), bbut he does not pay fourfold or fivefold payment,as one must ordinarily pay when he slaughters or sells an ox or a sheep that he stole from another person (Exodus 21:37). bAnd it is taughtin a ibaraita bwith regard tothis mishna: If one slaughtered an animal boutsidethe Temple bin a case like this,he is bpunishable by ikaret /ifor having sacrificed an offering outside the Temple. bAnd if you saythat the owner’s bdespairof recovering an item that was stolen from him bdoes not by itselfenable the thief to bacquirethe stolen item, bwhat is the relevance ofmentioning ikaret /i?The punishment of ikaretshould not apply, as the thief cannot consecrate an animal that does not belong to him., bRav Sheizevi said:This means that he is liable to receive ikaretby rabbinic law.Those who heard this blaughed at him. Is theresuch a thing as ikaretby rabbinic law? Rava said to them: A great man has spoken, do not laugh at him.What Rav Sheizevi means is ikaretthat comes to him through the wordsof the Sages, who declared that the thief’s consecration is valid. It is bthe Sageswho bplacedthe animal bin his possession, so that he would become liable for it. /b, bRava said:Although I agree with Rav Sheizevi, bthismatter bis certainly a dilemma for me. When the Sages placedthe animal bin his possession,did they do so bfrom the time of the theft or from the time of the consecration? What is the differencebetween these possibilities? There is a difference bwith regard to its wool and with regard to its offspring.If the animal was placed in his possession from the time of the theft, the wool that it grows and the offspring that it births are his, and he is not required to return them to the animal’s owner. But if the animal becomes his only when he consecrates it, he is required to return them. bWhatis the ihalakha /i? bRava then said,in answer to his own question: bIt stands to reasonthat the Sages placed the animal in his possession bfrom the time of the consecration.This is bso that the sinner not profitfrom his crime. Otherwise, the thief would benefit from the rabbinic decree that was instituted to increase his liability., strongMISHNA: /strong The law of bSicarii [ iSikarikon /i] did notapply bin Judea in thetime that bpeople were being killed in the war. Fromthe time that bpeople were being killed in the war and onward,the law of bSicarii didapply bthere. Whatis this law of Sicarii? If bonefirst bpurchasedland bfrom a Sicarius,who extorted the field from its prior owners with threats, bandafterward the buyer breturned and purchasedthe same field a second time bfrom theprior blandowner, his purchase is void.The prior owner of the field can say that he did not actually mean to sell him the field. By contrast, if he first acquired the field bfrom theprior bowner andafterward bhe returned and purchasedthe same field bfrom a Sicarius, his purchase stands. /b,Similarly, if bonefirst bpurchased from the husbandthe rights to use a field belonging to his wife, bandafterward bhe returned and purchasedthe same field bfrom the wife,so that if the husband were to predecease or divorce her, the purchaser would then own it fully, bhis purchase is void.The woman can claim that she did not wish to quarrel with her husband and to object to the transaction but that in truth she did not agree to the sale. By contrast, if he first acquired the field bfrom the wife, andafterward bhe returned and purchasedthe same field bfrom the husband, his purchase stands. Thisis the binitialversion of this bmishna. /b,Later, bthe court of thosewho came bafterthe Sages who composed that mishna bsaid:With regard to bone who purchaseda field bfrom a Sicarius, he must give theprior bowner one-fourthof the field’s value. bWhendoes this apply? bAt a time whenthe prior owner bis unable to purchasethe field himself. bBut if he is able to purchaseit himself, bhe precedes anyoneelse., bRabbiYehuda HaNasi later bconvened a court, and they countedtheir votes and determined bthat ifthe field bremained before,i.e., in the possession of, bthe Sicariusfor btwelve months, whoever first purchasesthe field bacquires possessionof it, bbut he must give theprior bowner one-fourthof the field’s value., strongGEMARA: /strong The Gemara challenges the mishna’s assertion that the law of Sicarii did not apply in Judea in the time that people were being killed in the war: bNowif binthe time that bpeople were being killed in the war, there were no Sicariistealing land, is it possible that bfromthe time that bpeople were being killed in the war and onward there were Sicarii? /b, bRav Yehuda said:The mishna bis sayingthat in the time that people were being killed in the war bthey did not apply the law of Sicarii,but rather they would confirm the purchases of land made from the Sicarii. The reason for this is in accordance with what bRabbi Asi said:The gentile authorities bissued three decreesduring and in the aftermath of the war that ended in the destruction of the Temple. The bfirst decreewas that banyone who does not killa Jew bshouldhimself bbe killed.The bseconddecree was that banyone who killsa Jew bshould pay four dinarsas a fine. The blastdecree was that banyone who killsa Jew bshouldhimself bbe killed. Therefore,during the time of the bfirst and seconddecrees, the time when people were being killed in the war, bsincethe gentile bwould killJews, then the owner of the field, bowing to the dangerposed to his life, bwould fully transfer ownershipof his field to the Sicarius.,Then, during the time of bthe lastdecree, after the time when people were being killed in the war, anybody whose field was stolen by a Sicarius would bsayto himself: bNow let him takethe field; btomorrow I will claim it from him in court.Although the gentile had the advantage and could force the owner to give him the field, the assumption is that the owner did not fully transfer possession of the field to him, as he thought that he would still be able to recover it in court.,§ Apropos the war that led to the destruction of the Second Temple, the Gemara examines several aspects of the destruction of that Temple in greater detail: bRabbi Yoḥa said: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “Happy is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart shall fall into mischief”(Proverbs 28:14)? bJerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza and bar Kamtza.The place known as bthe King’s Mountain was destroyed on account of a rooster and a hen.The city of bBeitar was destroyed on account of a shaft from a chariot [ irispak /i]. /b,The Gemara explains: bJerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza and bar Kamtza.This is basthere was ba certain man whose friendwas named bKamtza and whose enemywas named bbar Kamtza. Heonce bmadea large bfeastand bsaid to his servant: Go bring memy friend bKamtza.The servant bwentand mistakenly bbrought himhis enemy bbar Kamtza. /b,The man who was hosting the feast bcame and foundbar Kamtza bsittingat the feast. The host bsaid tobar Kamtza. bThat man is the enemy [ iba’al devava /i] of that man,that is, you are my enemy. bWhatthen bdo you want here? Ariseand bleave.Bar Kamtza bsaid to him: Since I havealready bcome, let me stay and I will give you moneyfor bwhatever I eat and drink.Just do not embarrass me by sending me out. |
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15. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 107b. בחברון מלך שבע שנים ובירושלים מלך שלשים ושלש שנים וכתיב (שמואל ב ה, ה) בחברון מלך על יהודה שבע שנים וששה חדשים וגו' והני ששה חדשים לא קחשיב ש"מ נצטרע,אמר לפניו רבש"ע מחול לי על אותו עון מחול לך (תהלים פו, יז) עשה עמי אות לטובה ויראו שונאי ויבושו כי אתה ה' עזרתני ונחמתני א"ל בחייך איני מודיע אבל אני מודיע בחיי שלמה בנך,בשעה שבנה שלמה את בית המקדש ביקש להכניס ארון לבית קדשי הקדשים דבקו שערים זה בזה אמר עשרים וארבעה רננות ולא נענה אמר (תהלים כד, ז) שאו שערים ראשיכם והנשאו פתחי עולם ויבא מלך הכבוד מי זה מלך הכבוד ה' עזוז וגבור ה' גבור מלחמה ונאמר (תהלים כד, ט) שאו שערים ראשיכם ושאו פתחי עולם ויבא מלך הכבוד וגו' ולא נענה,כיון שאמר (דברי הימים ב ו, מב) ה' אלהים אל תשב פני משיחך זכרה לחסדי דויד עבדך מיד נענה באותה שעה נהפכו פני שונאי דוד כשולי קדירה וידעו כל ישראל שמחל לו הקב"ה על אותו העון,גחזי דכתיב וילך אלישע דמשק להיכא אזל א"ר יוחנן שהלך להחזיר גחזי בתשובה ולא חזר אמר לו חזור בך אמר לו כך מקובלני ממך החוטא ומחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה,מאי עבד איכא דאמרי אבן שואבת תלה לחטאת ירבעם והעמידה בין שמים לארץ ואיכא דאמרי שם חקק בפיה והיתה מכרזת ואומרת אנכי ולא יהיה לך,וא"ד רבנן דחה מקמיה שנאמר (מלכים ב ו, א) ויאמרו בני הנביאים אל אלישע הנה [נא] המקום אשר אנחנו יושבים שם לפניך צר ממנו מכלל דעד השתא לא הוו (פיישי) [צר],תנו רבנן לעולם תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת לא כאלישע שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידים [ולא כרבי יהושע בן פרחיה שדחפו ליש"ו בשתי ידים],גחזי דכתיב (מלכים ב ה, כג) ויאמר נעמן הואל וקח ככרים (ויפצר) [ויפרץ] בו ויצר ככרים כסף וגו' ויאמר אליו אלישע מאין גחזי ויאמר לא הלך עבדך אנה ואנה ויאמר אליו לא לבי הלך כאשר הפך איש מעל מרכבתו לקראתך העת לקחת את הכסף ולקחת בגדים וזיתים וכרמים וצאן ובקר ועבדים ושפחות ומי שקל כולי האי כסף ובגדים הוא דשקל,אמר רבי יצחק באותה שעה היה אלישע יושב ודורש בשמונה שרצים נעמן שר צבא מלך ארם היה מצורע אמרה ליה ההיא רביתא דאישתבאי מארעא ישראל אי אזלת לגבי אלישע מסי לך כי אתא א"ל זיל טבול בירדן א"ל אחוכי קא מחייכת בי אמרי ליה הנהו דהוו בהדיה מאי נפקא לך מינה זיל נסי אזל וטבל בירדנא ואיתסי אתא אייתי ליה כל הני דנקיט לא צבי לקבולי מיניה גחזי איפטר מקמיה אלישע אזל שקל מאי דשקל ואפקיד,כי אתא חזייה אלישע לצרעת דהוה פרחא עילויה רישיה א"ל רשע הגיע עת ליטול שכר שמנה שרצים וצרעת נעמן תדבק בך ובזרעך עד עולם ויצא מלפניו מצורע כשלג: (מלכים ב ז, ג) וארבעה אנשים היו מצורעים פתח השער אמר ר' יוחנן גחזי ושלשה בניו,[הוספה מחסרונות הש"ס: רבי יהושע בן פרחיה מאי הוא כדקטלינהו ינאי מלכא לרבנן אזל רבי יהושע בן פרחיה ויש"ו לאלכסנדריא של מצרים כי הוה שלמא שלח לי' שמעון בן שטח מני ירושלים עיר הקודש ליכי אלכסנדרי' של מצרים אחותי בעלי שרוי בתוכך ואנכי יושבת שוממה,קם אתא ואתרמי ליה ההוא אושפיזא עבדו ליה יקרא טובא אמר כמה יפה אכסניא זו אמר ליה רבי עיניה טרוטות אמר ליה רשע בכך אתה עוסק אפיק ארבע מאה שיפורי ושמתיה,אתא לקמיה כמה זמנין אמר ליה קבלן לא הוי קא משגח ביה יומא חד הוה קא קרי קריאת שמע אתא לקמיה סבר לקבולי אחוי ליה בידיה הוא סבר מידחא דחי ליה אזל זקף לבינתא והשתחוה לה אמר ליה הדר בך אמר ליה כך מקובלני ממך כל החוטא ומחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה ואמר מר יש"ו כישף והסית והדיח את ישראל:],תניא א"ר שמעון בן אלעזר יצר תינוק ואשה תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת,ת"ר ג' חלאים חלה אלישע אחד שגירה דובים בתינוקות ואחד שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידים ואחד שמת בו [שנא' (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו וגו'],עד אברהם לא היה זקנה כל דחזי לאברהם אמר האי יצחק כל דחזי ליצחק אמר האי אברהם בעא אברהם רחמי דליהוי ליה זקנה שנאמר (בראשית כד, א) ואברהם זקן בא בימים עד יעקב לא הוה חולשא בעא רחמי והוה חולשא שנאמר (בראשית מח, א) ויאמר ליוסף הנה אביך חולה עד אלישע לא הוה איניש חליש דמיתפח ואתא אלישע ובעא רחמי ואיתפח שנא' (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו אשר ימות בו:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big דור המבול אין להם חלק לעוה"ב ואין עומדין בדין שנא' (בראשית ו, ג) לא ידון רוחי באדם לעולם לא דין ולא רוח דור הפלגה אין להם חלק לעולם הבא שנאמר (בראשית יא, ח) ויפץ ה' אותם משם על פני כל הארץ (וכתיב ומשם הפיצם) ויפץ ה' אותם בעוה"ז ומשם הפיצם ה' לעולם הבא אנשי סדום אין להם חלק לעולם הבא שנא' (בראשית יג, יג) ואנשי סדום רעים וחטאים לה' מאד רעים בעולם הזה וחטאים לעולם הבא אבל עומדין בדין,ר' נחמיה אומר אלו ואלו אין עומדין בדין שנאמר (תהלים א, ה) על כן לא יקומו | 107b. bin Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years”(I Kings 2:11). bAnd it is written: “In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six monthsand in Jerusalem he reigned for thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah” (II Samuel 5:5). bAnd those six months,the prophet bdid not tallythem as part of the forty years of King David’s reign. bConclude from itthat there were six months that he was not considered king because he bwas afflicted with leprosy. /b,David bsaid before Himafter this: bMaster of the Universe, pardon me for this sin.God said to him: bIt is forgiven for you.David requested: b“Perform on my behalf a sign for good, that they that hate me may see it and be put to shame”(Psalms 86:17); show me a sign in my lifetime so that everyone will know that You have forgiven me. God bsaid to him: In your lifetime I will not makeit bknownthat you were forgiven, bbut I will makeit bknown in the lifetime of your son, Solomon. /b,The Gemara explains: bWhen Solomon built the Templeand bsought to bring the Ark into the Holy of Holies,the bgates clung togetherand could not be opened. Solomon buttered twenty-four songsof praise, bandhis prayer bwas not answered. He said: “Lift up your heads, you gates, and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle”(Psalms 24:7–8). bAnd it is stated: “Lift up your heads, you gates, yea, lift them up, you everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in.Who then is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts; He is the King of glory. Selah” (Psalms 24:9–10), band he was not answered. /b, bOnce he said: “O Lord God, turn not away the face of Your anointed; remember the good deeds of David Your servant”(II Chronicles 6:42), bhe was immediately answered,and the gates opened (II Chronicles 7:1). bAt that moment, the faces of all of David’s enemies turneddark blike thecharred bbottom of a pot. And all of the Jewish people knew that the Holy One, Blessed be He, had forgiven him for that sin,as it was only by David’s merit that Solomon’s prayer was answered.,§ The mishna states that bGehazi,the attendant of Elisha, has no share in the World-to-Come. The Gemara explains that this is bas it is written: And Elisha went to Damascus(see II Kings 8:7). bWhere did he go,and for what purpose? bRabbi Yoḥa says: He went to cause Gehazi to repent, but he did not repent.Elisha bsaid to him: Repent.Gehazi bsaid to him: Thisis the tradition that bI received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. /b, bWhat did he dothat caused the masses to sin? bThere arethose bwho saythat bhe hung a magnetic rock on Jeroboam’s sin,i.e., on the golden calf that Jeroboam established as an idol, so that bhe suspended it between heaven and earth,i.e., he caused it to hover above the ground. This seemingly miraculous occurrence caused the people to worship it even more devoutly than before. bAnd there arethose bwho say: He engravedthe sacred bnameof God bon its mouth, and it would declare and say: “I amthe Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2), band: “You shall not haveother gods” (Exodus 20:3). The idol would quote the two prohibitions from the Ten Commandments that prohibit idol worship, causing the people to worship it even more devoutly than before., bAnd there arethose bwho say:Gehazi bpushed the Sagesaway bfromcoming bbefore him,i.e., he prevented them from learning from Elisha, bas it is stated: “And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, behold this place where we are staying before you is too cramped for us”(II Kings 6:1). It may be derived bby inference that until now they were not numerousand the place was not bcrampedfor them, as Gehazi would turn people away., bThe Sages taught: Always have the lefthand bdrivesinners baway and the right drawthem bnear,so that the sinner will not totally despair of atonement. This is bunlike Elisha, who pushed away Gehazi with his two handsand caused him to lose his share in the World-to-Come, band unlike Yehoshua ben Peraḥya, who pushed away Jesus the Nazarene with his two hands. /b,Elisha drove bGehaziaway, bas it is written: “And Naaman said: Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silverin two bags, with two changes of garments” (II Kings 5:23). Naaman offered Gehazi payment for the help Elisha had given him. The verse states: b“And Elisha said to him: Where from, Gehazi? And he said: Your servant went nowhere at all. And he said to him: Went not my heart with you, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it the time to receive silver and to receive garments, and olive groves, and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and menservants and maidservants?”(II Kings 5:25–26). The Gemara asks: bAnd didGehazi btake all that? It ismerely bsilver and garments that he took. /b, bRabbi Yitzḥak says:This was the incident involving Gehazi: bAt that moment, Elisha was sitting and teachingthe ihalakhotof the beightimpure bcreeping animals.Now bNaaman, the general of the army of Aram, was a leper. A certain young Jewish woman who had been taken captive from Eretz Yisrael said to him: If you go to Elisha, he will heal you. WhenNaaman bcameto him, Elisha bsaid to him: Go immerse in the Jordan.Naaman bsaid to him: Are you mocking meby suggesting that this will cure me? bThosecompanions bwho were withNaaman bsaid to him: What is the difference to you? Go, tryit. Naaman bwent and immersed in the Jordan and was healed.Naaman bcameand bbrought toElisha ball thoseitems bthat he hadtaken with him from Aram, and Elisha bdid not agree to receivethem bfrom him. Gehazi took leave from before Elishaand bwentand btookfrom Naaman bwhat he took, andhe bdepositedthem., bWhenGehazi bcame, Elisha saw the leprosy that had grown onGehazi’s bhead.Elisha bsaid to him: Wicked one! The time has arrived to takeyour breward forstudying the matter of bthe eight creeping animals.Since the silver Gehazi received was his reward for studying the matter of the eight creeping animals, Elisha enumerated eight items that Gehazi sought to purchase with the silver that he took. Then Elisha said to Gehazi: b“The leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your seed forever. And he went out of his presence a leper as white as snow”(II Kings 5:27). With regard to the verse: b“And there were four men afflicted with leprosy at the entrance of the gate”(II Kings 7:3), bRabbi Yoḥa says:These were bGehazi and his three sons,as he and his descendants were cursed.,§ bWhat isthe incident involving bYehoshua ben Peraḥya?The Gemara relates: bWhen King Yannai was killing the Sages, Yehoshua ben Peraḥya and Jesus,his student, bwent to Alexandria of Egypt. When there was peacebetween King Yannai and the Sages, bShimon ben Shataḥ senta message btoYehoshua ben Peraḥya: bFrom me, Jerusalem, the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt: My sister, my husband is located among you and I sit desolate.The head of the Sages of Israel is out of the country and Jerusalem requires his return.,Yehoshua ben Peraḥya understood the message, barose, came, and happenedto arrive at ba certain innon the way to Jerusalem. bThey treated him with great honor.Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bsaid: How beautiful is this inn.Jesus, his student, bsaid to him:But bmy teacher, the eyes ofthe innkeeper’s wife bare narrow [ iterutot /i].Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bsaid to him: Wicked one!Do byou involve yourself with regard to thatmatter, the appearance of a married woman? bHe produced four hundred ishofarotand ostracized him. /b,Jesus bcame beforeYehoshua ben Peraḥya bseveral timesand bsaid to him: Accept our,i.e., my, repentance. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya btook no notice of him. One dayYehoshua ben Peraḥya bwas reciting iShema /iand Jesus bcame before himwith the same request. Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bintended to accept hisrequest, and bsignaled him with his handto wait until he completed his prayer. Jesus did not understand the signal and bthought: He is driving me away. He wentand bstood a brickupright to serve as an idol band he bowed to it.Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then bsaid toJesus: bRepent.Jesus bsaid to him: Thisis the tradition that bI received from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. And the Master says: Jesus performed sorcery, incitedJews to engage in idolatry, band led Israel astray.Had Yehoshua ben Peraḥya not caused him to despair of atonement, he would not have taken the path of evil., bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Shimon ben Elazar says:With regard to the evil binclination,to ba child, andto ba woman, have the lefthand bdrivethem baway and the right drawthem bnear.Total rejection of the evil inclination will lead to inaction, unlike channeling its power in a positive direction. One should not draw them too near, lest they lead him to sin, but one should not drive his wife or his child away completely, lest he cause them to abandon the path of righteousness., bThe Sages taught: Elisha fell ill with three illnesses: Oneillness was due to the fact bthat he incited bears toattack and eat bchildren(see II Kings 2:24–25); band onewas due to the fact bthat he pushed Gehazi away with two handsand caused him to despair of atonement; band onewas the illness bfrom which he died, as it is stated: “And Elisha was fallen ill of his illnessfrom which he was to die” (II Kings 13:14), indicating that he had previously suffered other illnesses.,Apropos the death of Elisha, the Gemara says: bUntilthe time of bAbraham there was no aging,and the old and the young looked the same. bAnyone who saw Abraham said: That is Isaac,and banyone who saw Isaac said: That is Abraham. Abraham prayed for mercy, that he would undergo aging, as it is stated: “And Abraham was old, well stricken in age”(Genesis 24:1). There is no mention of aging before that verse. bUntilthe time of bJacob there was no weakness,i.e., illness. Jacob bprayed for mercy and there was weakness, as it is stated: “And one said to Joseph: Behold, your father is ill”(Genesis 48:1). bUntilthe time of bElisha, there was no ill person who recovered, and Elisha came and prayed for mercy and recovered, as it is stated: “And Elisha was fallen ill of his illness from which he was to die”(II Kings 13:14). That is the first mention of a person who was ill and who did not die from that illness.,mishna The members of bthe generation of the flood have no share in the World-to-Come and will not stand in judgmentat the end of days, bas it is stated: “My soul shall not abide [ iyadon /i] in man forever”(Genesis 6:3); bneitherwill they stand in bjudgment [ idin /i] norshall their bsoulsbe restored to them. The members of bthe generation of the dispersion have no share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And the Lord scattered them from there upon the face of all the earth”(Genesis 11:8), band it is written: “And from there did the Lord scatter themupon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:9). b“And the Lord scattered them”indicates bin this world; “and from there did the Lord scatter them”indicates bfor the World-to-Come. The people of Sodom have no share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly”(Genesis 13:13). b“Wicked”indicates bin this world; “and sinners”indicates bfor the World-to-Come. But they will stand in judgmentand they will be sentenced to eternal contempt., bRabbi Neḥemya says:Both bthese,the people of Sodom, band those,the members of the generation of the flood, bwill not stand in judgment, as it is stated: “Therefore the wicked shall not stand /b |
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16. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 47a. רב ושמואל חד אמר נס וחד אמר נס בתוך נס מאן דאמר נס יער הוה דובים לא הוו מ"ד נס בתוך נס לא יער הוה ולא דובים הוו וליהוי דובים ולא ליהוי יער דבעיתי,אמר רבי חנינא בשביל ארבעים ושנים קרבנות שהקריב בלק מלך מואב הובקעו מישראל ארבעים ושנים ילדים איני,והאמר רב יהודה אמר רב לעולם יעסוק אדם בתורה ובמצות ואע"פ שלא לשמה שמתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה שבשכר ארבעים ושנים קרבנות שהקריב בלק מלך מואב זכה ויצתה ממנו רות שיצא ממנו שלמה שכתוב ביה (מלכים א ג, ד) אלף עולות יעלה שלמה ואמר רבי יוסי בן חוני רות בתו של עגלון בנו של בלק היתה תאותו מיהא לקללה הוי,(מלכים ב ב, יט) ויאמרו אנשי העיר אל אלישע הנה נא מושב העיר טוב כאשר אדוני רואה וגו' וכי מאחר דמים רעים וארץ משכלת אלא מה טובתה אמר רבי חנין חן מקום על יושביו אמר רבי יוחנן שלשה חינות הן חן מקום על יושביו חן אשה על בעלה חן מקח על מקחו,תנו רבנן שלשה חלאין חלה אלישע אחד שגירה דובים בתינוקות ואחד שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידים ואחד שמת בו שנאמר (מלכים ב יג, יד) ואלישע חלה את חליו אשר ימות בו,תנו רבנן לעולם תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת לא כאלישע שדחפו לגחזי בשתי ידיו ולא כיהושע בן פרחיה שדחפו [להנוצרי] (לאחד מתלמידיו) בשתי ידיו,אלישע מאי היא דכתיב (מלכים ב ה, כג) ויאמר נעמן הואל קח ככרים וכתיב ויאמר אליו לא לבי הלך כאשר הפך איש מעל מרכבתו לקראתך העת לקחת את הכסף ולקחת בגדים וזיתים וכרמים וצאן ובקר ועבדים ושפחות,ומי שקיל כולי האי כסף ובגדים הוא דשקיל אמר ר' יצחק באותה שעה היה אלישע עוסק בשמנה שרצים אמר לו רשע הגיע עת ליטול שכר שמנה שרצים וצרעת נעמן תדבק בך ובזרעך לעולם (מלכים ב ז, ג) וארבעה אנשים היו מצורעים אמר רבי יוחנן זה גחזי ושלשת בניו,(מלכים ב ח, ז) וילך אלישע דמשק למה הלך אמר ר' יוחנן שהלך להחזירו לגחזי בתשובה ולא חזר אמר לו חזור בך אמר לו כך מקובלני ממך כל מי שחטא והחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה,מאי עבד איכא דאמרי אבן שואבת תלה לו לחטאת ירבעם והעמידו בין שמים לארץ ואיכא דאמרי שם חקק לה אפומה והיתה אומרת אנכי ולא יהיה לך,ואיכא דאמרי רבנן דחה מקמיה דכתיב (מלכים ב ו, א) ויאמרו בני הנביאים אל אלישע הנה נא המקום אשר אנחנו יושבים שם לפניך צר ממנו מכלל דעד האידנא לא הוה דחיק,יהושע בן פרחיה מאי היא כדהוה קא קטיל ינאי מלכא לרבנן שמעון בן שטח אטמינהו אחתיה ר' יהושע בן פרחיה אזל ערק לאלכסנדריא של מצרים כי הוה שלמא שלח ליה שמעון בן שטח מני ירושלים עיר הקודש לך אלכסנדריא של מצרים אחותי בעלי שרוי בתוכך ואני יושבת שוממה אמר ש"מ הוה ליה שלמא,כי אתא אקלע לההוא אושפיזא קם קמייהו ביקרא שפיר עבדי ליה יקרא טובא יתיב וקא משתבח כמה נאה אכסניא זו א"ל (אחד מתלמידיו) רבי עיניה טרוטות א"ל רשע בכך אתה עוסק אפיק ארבע מאה שפורי ושמתיה כל יומא אתא לקמיה ולא קבליה,יומא חד הוה קרי קרית שמע אתא לקמיה הוה בדעתיה לקבוליה אחוי ליה בידיה סבר מדחא דחי ליה אזל זקף לבינתא פלחא אמר ליה חזור בך א"ל כך מקובלני ממך כל החוטא ומחטיא את הרבים אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה דאמר מר [יש"ו] כישף והסית והדיח והחטיא את ישראל,תניא רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר יצר תינוק ואשה תהא שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big נמצא ההורג עד שלא נערפה העגלה תצא ותרעה בעדר משנערפה העגלה תקבר במקומה שעל ספק באתה מתחילתה כיפרה ספיקה והלכה לה נערפה העגלה ואחר כך נמצא ההורג הרי זה יהרג,עד אחד אומר ראיתי את ההורג ועד אחד אומר לא ראית אשה אומרת ראיתי ואשה אומרת לא ראית היו עורפין עד אחד אומר ראיתי ושנים אומרים לא ראית היו עורפין שנים אומרים ראינו ואחד אומר להן לא ראיתם לא היו עורפין,משרבו הרוצחנין בטלה עגלה ערופה משבא אליעזר בן דינאי ותחינה בן פרישה היה נקרא חזרו לקרותו בן הרצחן,משרבו המנאפים פסקו המים המרים ורבי יוחנן בן זכאי הפסיקן שנאמר (הושע ד, יד) לא אפקוד על בנותיכם כי תזנינה ועל כלותיכם כי תנאפנה כי הם וגו',משמת יוסי בן יועזר איש צרידה ויוסי בן יהודה איש ירושלים בטלו האשכלות שנאמר (מיכה ז, א) אין אשכול לאכול בכורה אותה נפשי יוחנן כהן גדול העביר הודיית המעשר אף הוא בטל את המעוררין ואת הנוקפין | 47a. bRav and Shmuelhad a dispute with regard to this episode. bOne saysthere was ba miracle, and one saysthere bwas a miracle within a miracle.The Gemara explains: bThe one who saysthere was ba miracleclaims that bthere wasalready ba forestin that place but bthere were no bears,and the miracle was the appearance of bears. bThe one who saysit was ba miracle within a miracleclaims bthat neither was there a forest nor were there bearsin that area. The Gemara asks with regard to the second opinion: Why was a double miracle required? bAnd let there be bears and no forest;the forest served no role in the story, so why was it created? The Gemara explains: The forest was necessary, basbears bare frightenedto venture into open areas but will attack people in their natural habitat, a forest., bRabbi Ḥanina says: Due to forty-two offerings that Balak, king of Moab, broughtwhen he tried to have Balaam curse the Jewish people, bforty-two children were broken off from Israel,in that incident involving Elisha. The Gemara asks: bIs that so?Was that the reward for his offerings?, bBut didn’t Rav Yehuda saythat bRav says: A person should always engage in Torahstudy bandin performance of bmitzvot, evenif he does so bnot for their own sake, as throughsuch acts performed bnot for their own sake,one will bcometo perform them bfor their own sake.He proves the value of a mitzva done not for its own sake: bAs in reward for the forty-two offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought, he merited that Ruth descended from him, from whomKing bSolomon descended, about whom it is writtenthat he brought many offerings: b“A thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer up”(I Kings 3:4). bAnd Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥonisimilarly bsays: Ruth was the daughter of Eglon, son of Balak.These Sages state that Balak’s reward was to have Ruth descend from him, not that a number of Jewish people perish. The Gemara answers: bHis desire, in any event, was to cursethe Jewish people, and his reward for sacrificing his offerings was that the curse was fulfilled in the incident involving Elisha, as well.,The Gemara returns to discussing the incident involving Elisha: b“And the men of the city said to Elisha: Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees,but the water is bad and the land miscarries” (II Kings 2:19). The Gemara asks: bBut if the water is bad and the land causes women to miscarry, what is pleasantabout bit? Rabbi Ḥanin says: The grace of a place is upon its inhabitants,i.e., people are fond of their hometown despite its shortcomings. bRabbi Yoḥa says: There are three gracesthat have a similar impact: bThe grace of a place upon its inhabitants; the grace of a woman upon her husband,despite her faults; and bthe grace of a purchaseditem bupon its buyer,as one who has bought something views it in a positive light.,§ bThe Sages taught: Elisha fell ill three times. Onewas a punishment bfor incitingthe bbears toattack bthe children; and onewas a punishment bfor pushing Gehaziaway bwith both hands,without leaving him the option to return; band onewas the sickness bfrom which he died, asan expression of illness bis statedthree times in the verse about Elisha: b“And Elisha became sick [ iḥala /i] with his illness [ iḥolyo /i] from which he would die”(II Kings 13:14). The root iḥet /i, ilamed /i, iheh /i, which indicates illness, is used twice in this verse, and it is stated once that Elisha will die., bThe Sages taught: It should always bethe bleft,weaker, hand that bpushesanother away bandthe bright,stronger, hand that bdrawshim bnear.In other words, even when a student is rebuffed, he should be given the opportunity to return. This is bnot like Elisha, who pushed Gehaziaway bwith both hands, and not like Yehoshua ben Peraḥya, who pushed Jesus the Nazarene,one bof his students,away bwith both hands. /b,The Gemara specifies: bWhat wasthat incident with bElisha? As it is written: “And Naaman said: Pray, take talents”(II Kings 5:23). Naaman offered Gehazi payment for the help Elisha had given him, bandwhen the verse recounts Elisha’s words to Gehazi, it bis written: “And he said to him: Did not my heart go, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to take money, and to take garments, and olives, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and servants, and maidservants?”(II Kings 5:26). Here Elisha criticizes Gehazi for taking the payment.,The Gemara clarifies the criticism: bAnd did he take all that?But bit wasonly bmoney and garments that he took. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: At that time, Elisha was engaged inthe study of the topic of the beightimpure bcreeping animals. He saidto Gehazi: bWicked one, it is timefor you bto receivenow, in this temporal world, bthe rewardfor studying the topic of the beightimpure bcreeping animals.This is why the verse lists eight items. The Gemara adds parenthetically that Elisha also said to Gehazi: b“And the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your descendants forever”(II Kings 5:27), and that the verse later states: b“Now there were four leprous men”(II Kings 7:3), about whom bRabbi Yoḥa says: This isreferring to bGehazi and his three sons. /b,The verse states: b“And Elisha came to Damascus”(II Kings 8:7). The Gemara asks: bFor whatpurpose did bhe gothere? bRabbi Yoḥa says: He went to help Gehazi in repentance, butGehazi bwould notagree to brepentfrom his evil ways. Elisha bsaid to him: Return from yoursins. Gehazi bsaid to him: This isthe tradition that bI received from you: Whoever sins and caused the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent. /b,The Gemara asks: bWhat didGehazi bdothat caused the masses to sin? bThere arethose bwho saythat bhe hung a magnetic rock on Jeroboam’s calf,the golden calf that Jeroboam established as an idol, and used a magnet to pull the calf off the ground so that bhe suspended it between heaven and earth,i.e., caused it to hover above the ground. This seemingly miraculous occurrence caused the people to worship it even more devoutly. bAnd there arethose bwho say: He engravedthe sacred bname on its mouth, and it would say: “I amthe Lord your God” band: “You shall not haveother gods” (Exodus 20:2). The idol would quote the two prohibitions from the Ten Commandments against idol worship, causing people to worship it even more devoutly., bAnd there arethose bwho say:Gehazi bpushed the Sagesaway bfromcoming bbefore him,preventing them learning from Elisha, bas it is written,after the aforementioned incident: b“And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, behold this place where we are staying before you is too cramped for us”(II Kings 6:1). This proves bby inference that until that timethe place bwas not cramped,as Gehazi would turn people away.,The Gemara returns to the incident in which bYehoshua ben Peraḥyaturned away Jesus the Nazarene: bWhat isthis incident? bWhen King Yannai was killing the Sages, Shimon ben Shataḥ was hidden by his sister,Yannai’s wife, while bRabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya wentand bfled to Alexandria of Egypt. When peace was madebetween Yannai and the Sages, bShimon ben Shataḥ sent himthe following letter: bFrom myself, Jerusalem the holy city, to you, Alexandria of Egypt. My sister, my husband dwells within you, and I am sitting desolate.Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bsaid:I can blearn from it that there is peace,and I can return., bWhen he cameback to Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Yehoshua barrived at a certain inn.The innkeeper bstood before him, honoring him considerably,and overall bthey accorded him great honor.Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya then bsat and was praisingthem by saying: bHow beautiful is this inn. Jesus the Nazarene,one of his students, bsaid to him: My teacher,but the beyesof the innkeeper’s wife bare narrow [ iterutot /i].Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bsaid to him: Wicked one, is this what you are engaged in,gazing at women? bHe brought out four hundred ishofarotand excommunicated him. Every dayJesus bwould come before him, but he would not accept hiswish to return., bOne day,Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bwas reciting iShema /iwhen Jesus bcame before him. He intended to accept himon this occasion, so bhe signaled to him with his handto wait. Jesus bthought he was rejecting himentirely. He therefore bwent and stood up a brickand bworshipped itas an idol. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Peraḥya bsaid to him: Return from yoursins. Jesus bsaid to him: This isthe tradition that bI received from you: Anyone who sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent.The Gemara explains how he caused the masses to sin: bFor the Master said: Jesus the Nazarene performed sorcery, and he incitedthe masses, band subvertedthe masses, band caused the Jewish people to sin. /b, bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Shimon ben Elazar says:With regard to the evil binclination,to ba child, andto ba woman, the lefthand bshould reject and the righthand should bwelcome.If one pushes too forcefully, the damage might be irreversible., strongMISHNA: /strong bIf the killer is found before the heifer’s neck was broken,the heifer bshall go out and graze among the herd.It is not considered sacred at all, and it may rejoin the other animals. If the killer is found bfromthe time bwhen the heifer’s neck was broken,even if the rest of the ritual has not yet been performed, it is prohibited to benefit from the animal, despite the killer having been found; it bshould be buried in its place.This is bbecausethe heifer binitially came for uncertainty,as the killer was unknown, and bit atonedfor bits uncertainty and left,i.e., it fulfilled its purpose of bringing atonement and is considered a heifer whose neck is broken in all regards. If bthe heifer’s neck was broken and afterward the killer was found, he is killed.The ritual does not atone for him.,If bone witness says: I saw the killer, and oneother bwitness says: You did not seehim; or if ba woman says: I saw, andanother bwoman says: You did not see, they would break the neckof the heifer, as without clear testimony about the identity of the killer the ritual is performed. Similarly, if bone witness says: I sawthe killer, band twowitnesses bsay: You did not see, they would break the neckof the heifer, as the pair is relied upon. If btwowitnesses bsay: We sawthe killer, band onewitness bsays to them: You did not see, they would not break the neckof the heifer, as there are two witnesses to the identity of the killer.,The mishna further states: bFromthe time bwhen murderers proliferated, theritual of the bheifer whose neck is broken was nullified.The ritual was performed only when the identity of the murderer was completely unknown. Once there were many known murderers, the conditions for the performance of the ritual were no longer present, as the probable identity of the murderer was known. bFromthe time bwhen Eliezer ben Dinai, who wasalso bcalled Teḥina ben Perisha, came, they renamed him: Son of a murderer.This is an example of a publicly known murderer.,The mishna teaches a similar occurrence: bFromthe time bwhen adulterers proliferated,the performance of the ritual of bthe bitter waters was nullified;they would not administer the bitter waters to the isota /i. bAndit was bRabbi Yoḥa ben Zakkaiwho bnullified it, asit bis stated: “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for theyconsort with lewd women” (Hosea 4:14), meaning that when the husbands are adulterers, the wives are not punished for their own adultery., bFromthe time bwhen Yosei ben Yo’ezer of Tzereida and Yosei ben Yehuda of Jerusalem died, the clusters ceased,i.e., they were the last of the clusters, as explained in the Gemara, basit bis stated: “There is no cluster to eat; nor first-ripe fig that my soul desires”(Micah 7:1). The mishna continues in the same vein: bYoḥa the High Priest took away the declaration of the tithe.After his time, no one recited the passage about the elimination of tithes that had previously been said at the end of a three-year tithing cycle. bHe also nullifiedthe actions of bthe awakeners and the strikersat the Temple. |
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17. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 61a. קברי עובדי כוכבים אינן מטמאין באהל שנא' (יחזקאל לד, לא) ואתן צאני צאן מרעיתי אדם אתם אתם קרויין אדם ואין העובדי כוכבים קרויין אדם,מיתיבי (במדבר לא, מ) ונפש אדם ששה עשר אלף משום בהמה,(יונה ד, יא) אשר יש בה הרבה משתים עשרה רבוא אדם אשר לא ידע בין ימינו לשמאלו (ובהמה רבה) משום בהמה,(במדבר לא, יט) כל הורג נפש וכל נוגע בחלל תתחטאו דלמא איקטיל חד מישראל ורבנן לא נפקד ממנו איש ור' שמעון בן יוחי לא נפקד ממנו איש לעבירה,רבינא אמר נהי דמעטינהו קרא מאטמויי באהל דכתיב (במדבר יט, יד) אדם כי ימות באהל ממגע ומשא מי מעטינהו קרא:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big אירס את האלמנה ונתמנה להיות כהן גדול יכנוס ומעשה ביהושע בן גמלא שקדש את מרתא בת ביתוס ומנהו המלך להיות כה"ג וכנסה שומרת יבם שנפלה לפני כהן הדיוט ונתמנה להיות כה"ג אע"פ שעשה בה מאמר הרי זה לא יכנוס:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big ת"ר מנין שאם אירס את האלמנה ונתמנה להיות כהן גדול שיכנוס ת"ל (ויקרא כא, יד) יקח אשה א"ה שומרת יבם נמי אשה ולא יבמה:,מעשה ביהושע וכו': מנהו אין נתמנה לא אמר רב יוסף קטיר קחזינא הכא דאמר רב אסי תרקבא דדינרי עיילה ליה מרתא בת ביתוס לינאי מלכא עד דמוקי ליה ליהושע בן גמלא בכהני רברבי:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big כהן גדול שמת אחיו חולץ ולא מייבם:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big קא פסיק ותני לא שנא מן האירוסין ולא שנא מן הנשואין בשלמא מן הנשואין עשה ולא תעשה הוא ואין עשה דוחה ל"ת ועשה אלא מן האירוסין יבא עשה וידחה את לא תעשה,גזירה ביאה ראשונה אטו ביאה שניה:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big כהן הדיוט לא ישא אילונית אלא א"כ יש לו אשה ובנים רבי יהודה אומר אע"פ שיש לו אשה ובנים לא ישא אילונית שהיא זונה האמורה בתורה וחכמים אומרים אין זונה אלא גיורת ומשוחררת ושנבעלה בעילת זנות:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big א"ל ריש גלותא לרב הונא מ"ט משום פריה ורביה אפריה ורביה כהנים הוא דמפקדי וישראל לא מפקדי אמר ליה משום דקא בעי למיתני סיפא רבי יהודה אומר אע"פ שיש לו אשה | 61a. bThe graves of gentiles do not renderitems bimpure though a tent, as it is stated: “And you My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are men [ iadam /i]”(Ezekiel 34:31), from which it is derived that byou,the Jewish people, bare called men [ iadam /i] but gentiles are not called men [ iadam /i].Since the Torah introduces the ihalakhaof ritual impurity of a tent with the words: “When a man [ iadam /i] dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14), this ihalakhaapplies only to corpses of Jews but not those of gentiles.,The Gemara braises an objectionbased upon the verse with regard to captives taken during the war against Midian: b“And the persons [ inefesh adam /i] were sixteen thousand”(Numbers 31:40), which indicates that gentiles are also referred to as iadam /i. The Gemara answers: They are given this title bdue tothe need to distinguish the people taken captive from the banimalsthat were taken as spoils of war.,The Gemara raises another difficulty based upon a verse with regard to the city of Nineveh: b“Wherein are more than one hundred and twenty thousand men [ iadam /i] that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle”(Jonah 4:11). The Gemara answers: There, too, the gentiles are given this title bdue tothe need to distinguish them from the banimalsmentioned in the verse.,The Gemara continues to question Rabbi Shimon’s ruling based upon a verse pertaining to the war against Midian: b“Whoever has killed anyone, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves”(Numbers 31:19). This indicates that gentile corpses convey ritual impurity. The Gemara answers: bPerhaps a Jew was killed,and the concern was for impurity caused by his corpse. bAnd the Rabbisreply that the verse attests: b“Not one man of us is missing”(Numbers 31:49). No Jewish soldiers fell in battle, and therefore the concern for impurity must have been due to the corpses of gentiles. bAnd Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥairesponds: The intent of that verse is that bnot one man of us is missingdue to btransgression,i.e., none of them sinned., bRavina saidthat the explanation above is unnecessary: bGranted, the verse excludedgentiles bfrom renderingitems bimpure through a tent, as it is written: “When a man [ iadam /i] dies in a tent”(Numbers 19:14); but bdid the verse exclude them fromrendering items impure via btouching and carrying?Since gentile corpses convey impurity in these ways, they could have rendered impure the Jews involved in the war with Midian, even according to Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai., strongMISHNA: /strong If a priest bbetrothed a widow and wassubsequently bappointed to be High Priest, he may marryher. bAndthere was ban incident with Yehoshua ben Gamla, who betrothed Marta bat Baitos,a widow, band the kingsubsequently bappointed him to be High Priest, andhe nevertheless bmarried her.Conversely, in the case of ba widow waiting for her iyavamwho happened before a common priest,i.e., the priest was her iyavam /i, band he wassubsequently bappointed to be High Priest,then beven if hehad already bperformed levirate betrothal with her, he may not marry her,because she is a widow., strongGEMARA: /strong bThe Sages taught: From whereis it derived bthat ifa priest bbetrothed a widow and wassubsequently bappointed to be High Priest, that he may marryher? bThe verse states: “Shall he take for a wife”(Leviticus 21:14), an inclusive phrase that indicates that he may marry her in this situation despite the general prohibition for a High Priest to marry a widow. The Gemara asks: bIf so, a widow waiting for her iyavam /ishould balsobe permitted to a High Priest. The Gemara answers: The word b“wife”indicates that this does bnotinclude ba iyevama /i,who was not initially his wife but his brother’s.,The mishna related ban incident with Yehoshuaben Gamla. The Gemara notes that the mishna states that the king bappointed him, yes,but bnotthat he bwasworthy of being bappointed. Rav Yosef said: I see a conspiracy here,as this was clearly not a proper appointment by the priests and the Sanhedrin but rather a political appointment, bas Rav Asi said: Marta bat Baitos broughta vessel the size of ba half- ise’a[ itarkav /i]full bof dinars to King Yannai until he appointed Yehoshua ben Gamla High Priest. /b, strongMISHNA: /strong bA High Priest whose brother diedwithout children bperforms iḥalitzaand he does not perform levirate marriage,as he may not marry a widow., strongGEMARA: /strong The Gemara comments: The mishna bteachesthis ihalakha bcategorically,indicating that bit is no differentif she is his brother’s widow bfrom betrothal, and it is no differentif she is his widow bfrom marriage.The Gemara analyzes this ihalakha /i: bGranted,she is forbidden to him if she was widowed bfrom marriage, as,if he were to marry her, bitwould be a violation of both the bpositive mitzvathat the High Priest marry a virgin bandthe bprohibitionfor him to marry a widow. bAnd a positive mitzva,i.e., levirate marriage, bdoes not override a prohibition and a positivemitzva together. bHowever,if she was a widow bfrom betrothaland is therefore still a virgin, bthe positive mitzvaof levirate marriage bshould come and override the prohibitionfor a High Priest to marry a widow.,The Gemara answers: By Torah law, levirate marriage is permitted in this case. However, there is a rabbinic bdecreeprohibiting their bfirstact of bintercourse due totheir bsecondact of bintercourse.After they have engaged in intercourse once, they have fulfilled the mitzva of levirate marriage, and any subsequent act of intercourse would constitute a violation of the prohibition without the fulfillment of a mitzva., strongMISHNA: /strong bA common priest may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman [ iaylonit /i],who is incapable of bearing children, bunless healready bhas a wife and children. Rabbi Yehuda says: Evenif bhe has a wife and children, he may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman, as she is the izona /iabout whom it is bstated in the Torahthat a priest may not marry her. Intercourse with her is considered a licentious act because she is incapable of bearing children. bAnd the Rabbis say: The onlywomen in the category of izona /i,who are therefore forbidden to a priest, are ba female convert, a freedmaidservant, bandany woman bwho engaged in licentious sexual intercoursewith a man she is prohibited from marrying., strongGEMARA: /strong bThe Exilarch said to Rav Huna: What is the reasonfor the ihalakhathat a priest may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman? It is bbecausehe is obligated to fulfill the mitzva to bbe fruitful and multiply. Is itonly bpriests who were commanded to be fruitful and multiply, but Israelites were not commanded?Why does the mishna specify that a priest may not marry a sexually underdeveloped woman? Rav Huna bsaid to him:This ihalakhadoes in fact apply even to Israelites, and the itannamentions priests bbecause he wants to teachit in a way that would parallel bthe latter clauseof the mishna, which states that bRabbi Yehuda says: Evenif bhe has a wife /b |
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18. Babylonian Talmud, Yoma, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 18a. ומאי ארבע או חמש לרבנן דאמרי נכנס נוטל שש ויוצא נוטל שש ושכר הגפת דלתות לא משתים עשרה בעי מיפלג בציר חדא מפלגא חמש שקיל,לר' יהודה דאמר נכנס נוטל שבע שתים בשכר הגפת דלתות ויוצא נוטל חמש מעשר בעי מיפלג בציר חדא מפלגא ושקיל ארבע,רבא אמר כולה רבי היא וסבר לה כר' יהודה ואלא מאי ארבע הא חמש בעי למשקל,לא קשיא הא דאיכא משמר המתעכב הא דליכא משמר המתעכב,אי איכא משמר המתעכב משמנה בעי למפלג ושקיל ארבע אי ליכא משמר המתעכב מעשר בעי למפלג ושקיל חמש,אי הכי מאי רבי אומר לעולם חמש קשיא, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big מסרו לו זקנים מזקני בית דין וקורין לפניו בסדר היום ואומרים לו אישי כהן גדול קרא אתה בפיך שמא שכחת או שמא לא למדת ערב יום כפורים שחרית מעמידין אותו בשער מזרח ומעבירין לפניו פרים ואילים וכבשים כדי שיהא מכיר ורגיל בעבודה כל שבעת הימים לא היו מונעין ממנו מאכל ומשתה ערב יוה"כ עם חשיכה לא היו מניחין אותו לאכול הרבה מפני שהמאכל מביא את השינה, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big בשלמא שמא שכח לחיי אלא שמא לא למד מי מוקמינן כי האי גוונא,והתניא (ויקרא כא, י) והכהן הגדול מאחיו שיהא גדול מאחיו בכח בנוי בחכמה ובעושר אחרים אומרים מנין שאם אין לו שאחיו הכהנים מגדלין אותו ת"ל והכהן הגדול מאחיו גדלהו משל אחיו,אמר רב יוסף לא קשיא כאן במקדש ראשון כאן במקדש שני דאמר ר' אסי תרקבא דדינרי עיילא ליה מרתא בת בייתוס לינאי מלכא על דאוקמיה ליהושע בן גמלא בכהני רברבי,ערב יום הכפורים שחרית וכו' תנא אף השעירים ותנא דידן מאי טעמא לא תנא שעירים כיון דעל חטא קא אתו חלשא דעתיה,אי הכי פר נמי על חטא הוא דאתי פר כיון דעליו ועל אחיו הכהנים הוא דאתי באחיו הכהנים אי איכא איניש דאית ביה מילתא מידע ידע ליה ומהדר ליה בתשובה בכולהו ישראל לא ידע,אמר רבינא היינו דאמרי אינשי אי בר אחתיך דיילא הוי חזי בשוקא קמיה לא תחליף,כל שבעת הימים לא היו מונעין וכו' תניא רבי יהודה בן נקוסא אומר מאכילין אותו סלתות וביצים כדי למסמסו אמרו לו כל שכן שאתה מביאו לידי חימום,תניא סומכוס אמר משום ר' מאיר אין מאכילין אותו לא אב"י ואמרי לה לא אבב"י ויש אומרים אף לא יין לבן לא אב"י לא אתרוג ולא ביצים ולא יין ישן ואמרי לה לא אבב"י לא אתרוג ולא ביצים ולא בשר שמן ולא יין ישן ויש אומרים אף לא יין לבן מפני שהיין לבן מביא את האדם לידי טומאה,תנו רבנן זב תולין לו במאכל וכל מיני מאכל אלעזר בן פנחס אומר משום רבי יהודה בן בתירא אין מאכילין אותו לא חגב"י ולא גב"ם ולא כל דברים המביאין לידי טומאה לא חגב"י לא חלב ולא גבינה ולא ביצה ולא יין ולא גב"ם מי גריסין של פול ובשר שמן ומרייס,ולא כל דברים המביאין לידי טומאה לאתויי מאי לאתויי הא דת"ר חמשה דברים מביאים את האדם לידי טומאה ואלו הן השום | 18a. bAnd whatis the meaning of bfour or five;i.e., when does the High Priest take four loaves and when does he take five? According bto the Rabbis, who say:The priestly watch that is bincomingon Shabbat btakes sixof the loaves, bandthe boutgoingwatch btakes six, andthe incoming watch receives bnogreater portion as bpayment for closing the doors,it is bfrom twelveloaves that the High Priest bmust divideand take his share, but he receives bhalfof the loaves bless one,meaning that bhe takes five.According to the Rabbis, the High Priest receives less than half; however, since it is inappropriate to give him a piece of a loaf, less than half is five whole loaves.,According bto Rabbi Yehuda, who said:The priestly watch that is bincomingon Shabbat btakes sevenof the loaves, btwoof which bare payment for closing the doors;and the boutgoingwatch btakes fiveloaves, it is bfrom tenthat bhe must dividethe loaves. Those two of the twelve loaves are a separate payment and are not factored into the tally of those designated for distribution. bSubtract one from halfof that total, as subtracting less than one loaf would lead to a situation where the High Priest receives a piece of a loaf, which is inappropriate. bAndtherefore, the High Priest btakes four. /b, bRava saidthat the ibaraitashould be explained differently. The bentire ibaraita bisin accordance with the opinion of bRabbiYehuda HaNasi, band he holdsin accordance with the opinion of bRabbi Yehudathat only ten loaves are divided. bRather, whatthen is the meaning of the statement that the High Priest takes bfourloaves? According to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, bdoesn’t he need to take five? /b,The Gemara answers: This is bnot difficult. This ihalakhathat the High Priest takes four loaves is in a case bwhere there is a watch that is detained.When the start of a Festival occurs on a Sunday night and one of the priestly watches was forced to arrive before Shabbat to ensure that they would arrive in time for the Festival; or, alternatively, if the Festival ended on a Thursday and one of the priestly watches was detained until the conclusion of Shabbat and only then departed, that priestly watch takes two loaves. bThat ihalakhathat the High Priest takes five loaves is in a case bwhere there is not a watch that is detained,and the shewbread in divided only between the watch that concludes its service that Shabbat and the watch that begins its service that Shabbat., bIf there is a watch that is detained,that detained watch takes two loaves, and the outgoing watch takes two loaves as payment for closing the doors. Therefore, it is bfrom eightthat the High Priest bmust dividethe loaves, and he btakes four. If there is not a watch that is detained,it is bfrom tenthat bhe must dividethe loaves and the High Priest btakes five. /b,The Gemara asks: bIf so,that even the middle statement of the ibaraitais attributed to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and it is referring to a watch that is detained, bwhatis the meaning of the last clause in the ibaraita /i: bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bsays:The High Priest balwaystakes bfiveloaves? That statement indicates that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi disagrees with the middle clause, while according to Rava’s interpretation Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi concedes that in certain circumstances the High Priest takes only four loaves. The Gemara concludes: Indeed, it is bdifficultto reconcile Rava’s interpretation with the language of the ibaraita /i., strongMISHNA: /strong The Sages bprovidedthe High Priest bwith Eldersselected bfrom the Elders of the court, and theywould bread before him the orderof the service bof the dayof Yom Kippur. bAnd theywould bsay to him: My Master, High Priest. Readthe order of the service bwith your own mouth,as bperhaps you forgotthis reading bor perhaps you did not learnto read. bOn Yom Kippur evein the bmorning,the Elders bstand him atthe beastern gateof the courtyard band pass before him bulls and rams and sheep so that he will be familiarwith the animals bandgrow baccustomed to the service,as these were the animals sacrificed on Yom Kippur. Throughout ball the seven daysthat the High Priest was in the iParhedrinchamber, bthey would not withhold from himany bfood or drinkthat he desired. However, bon Yom Kippur eve at nightfall, they would not allow him to eat a great deal because food induces sleepand they did not allow him to sleep, as will be explained., strongGEMARA: /strong The Gemara wonders about the depiction in the mishna of the Elders questioning the High Priest as to whether he forgot this reading or perhaps did not learn to read. bGranted, perhaps he forgot,that is bfine,as it is conceivable that he is not accustomed to reading the Torah and might have forgotten this portion. bHowever,is it conceivable that bperhapsthe High Priest bdid not learnto read? bDo we appointa High Priest bof that sortwho never learned the Bible?, bBut wasn’t it taughtin a ibaraitathat it is stated: b“And the priest who is greater than his brethren”(Leviticus 21:10); this teaches bthat hemust bbe greater than hispriestly bbrethren in strength, in beauty, in wisdom, and in wealth. iAḥerimsay:Wealth is not a prerequisite for selecting a High Priest, but bfrom whereis it derived bthat if he does not haveproperty of his own bthat his brethren the priests elevate himand render him wealthy from their own property? bThe verse states: “And the priest who is greater [ ihaggadol /i] than his brethren”; elevate him [ igaddelehu /i] fromthe property bof his brethren.In any event, there is a consensus that wisdom is a prerequisite for his selection., bRav Yosef said:This is bnot difficult. There,the ibaraitathat lists wisdom among the attributes of the High Priest is referring to bthe First Temple,where this ihalakhawas observed and the High Priests possessed those attributes listed. bHere,the mishna is referring to bthe Second Temple,where this ihalakhawas not observed, so a situation where the High Priest was not well-versed in the Bible was conceivable. bAs Rav Asi said:The wealthy bMarta, daughter of Baitos, brought a half- ise’aof dinars in to King Yannai forthe fact bthat he appointed Yehoshua ben Gamla as High Priest.This is an example of the appointment of High Priests by means of bribery and gifts. Since that was the practice, a totally ignorant High Priest could have been appointed.,§ It was taught in the mishna: bOn Yom Kippur evein the bmorning,the elders pass different animals before the High Priest. A itanna btaughtin the iTosefta /i: bEven goatswere brought before him. The Gemara asks: bAnd the itanna /iof bourmishna, bwhat is the reasonthat bhe did not teachthat bgoatswere among the animals that passed before the High Priest? The Gemara answers: bSincegoats bcomeas atonement bfor sins,passing them before the High Priest will evoke transgressions and he will bbecome distraught. /b,The Gemara asks: bIf so, a bullshould not be passed before him, bas it too comesto atone bfor sin.The Gemara answers that there is a difference in the case of ba bull, sinceit is to atone bfor hissins band forthe sins of bhis brethren the priests that it comes; among his brethren the priests, if there is a person who has asinful bmatter,the High Priest bwould knowabout it bandlead bhim back tothe path of righteousness bthrough repentance.Therefore, passing a bull before the High Priest will not render him distraught, as it will merely remind him of his responsibility toward his priestly brethren. On the other hand, bwith regard to the entire Jewish people, he does not knowof their sinful matters and is unable to facilitate their repentance. Passing goats before the High Priest will evoke their sins as well as his inability to correct the situation, leaving him distraught.,Apropos the High Priest being privy to the sinful behavior of his fellow priests, bRavina saidthat bthisexplains the folk saying bthat people say: Ifthe beloved bson of yourbeloved bsister becomes a policeman [ idayyala /i], seeto it that bin the marketplace you do not pass before him.Be wary of him because he knows your sins.,§ We learned in the mishna: Throughout ball the seven daysthat the High Priest was in the iParhedrinchamber, bthey would not withholdfrom him any food or drink that he desired. bIt was taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Yehuda ben Nekosa says:On Yom Kippur eve bthey feed him fine flour and eggs in order to loosen hisbowels, so that he will not need to relieve himself on Yom Kippur. bThey said toRabbi Yehuda ben Nekosa: In feeding him those foods, ball the more so that you bring him to a state of arousal.Feeding him those foods is antithetical to the efforts to prevent the High Priest from becoming impure, as they are liable to cause him to experience a seminal emission., bIt was taughtin a ibaraitathat bSumakhos said in the name of Rabbi Meir: One does not feed himfoods represented by the acrostic: iAlef /i, ibeit /i, iyod /i; and some saythat one does bnotfeed him foods represented by the acrostic: iAlef /i, ibeit /i, ibeit /i, iyod /i; and some say neitherdoes one feed him bwhite wine.The Gemara elaborates: bNot ialef /i, ibeit /i, iyod /imeans bneither ietrog /i, nor eggs [ ibeitzim /i], nor old wine [ iyayin /i]. And some say: Not ialef /i, ibeit /i, ibeit /i, iyod /imeans bneither ietrog /i, nor eggs [ ibeitzim /i], nor fatty meat [ ibasar /i], nor old wine [ iyayin /i]. And some say neitherdoes one feed him bwhite wine because white wine bringsa bman tothe bimpurityof a seminal emission.,Similarly, bthe Sages taught:If a man experienced an emission that could render him ba izav /i, one attributesthe emission not to his being a izavbut perhaps to a different cause, e.g., bto food, or to all kinds of food,i.e., he may have eaten too much food, which could have caused the emission. bElazar ben Pineḥas says in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira:During the days that a izavis examining himself to determine whether or not he is impure, bone feeds him neitherfoods represented by the acrostic: iḤet /i, igimmel /i, ibeit /i, iyod /i, norfoods represented by the acrostic: iGimmel /i, ibeit /i, imem /i, nor anyfood bitems thatmight bbring him to impuritycaused by an emission. The Gemara explains: bNot iḥet /i, igimmel /i, ibeit /i, iyod /imeans bneither milk [ iḥalav /i], nor cheese [ igevina /i], nor egg [ ibeitza /i], nor wine [ iyayin /i]. And not igimmel /i, ibeit /i, imem /imeans bneither soup of pounded beans [ imei gerisin /i], nor fatty meat [ ibasar /i], norsmall bfishpickled bin brine [ imuryas /i]. /b,The Gemara asks about the phrase: bNor anyfood bitems thatmight bbring him to impurity; what does itcome bto include? Itcomes bto include that which the Sages taught: Fivefood bitems bringa bman toa state of bimpuritydue to emission. bAnd these are: Garlic, /b |
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19. Anon., Letter of Aristeas, 301
| 301. Three days later Demetrius took the men and passing along the sea-wall, seven stadia long, to the island, crossed the bridge and made for the northern districts of Pharos. There he assembled them in a house, which had been built upon the sea-shore, of great beauty and in a secluded situation, and invited them to carry out the work of translation, since everything that they needed for the purpose |
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20. Papyri, P.Yadin, 28
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21. Strabo, Geography, 13.1.3, 16.2.40
| 13.1.3. But the later authors do not give the same boundaries, and they use their terms differently, thus allowing us several choices. The main cause of this difference has been the colonizations of the Greeks; less so, indeed, the Ionian colonization, for it was farther distant from the Troad; but most of all that of the Aeolians, for their colonies were scattered throughout the whole of the country from Cyzicene to the Caicus River, and they went on still farther to occupy the country between the Caicus and Hermus Rivers. In fact, the Aeolian colonization, they say, preceded the Ionian colonization by four generations, but suffered delays and took a longer time; for Orestes, they say, was the first leader of the expedition, but he died in Arcadia, and his son Penthilus succeeded him and advanced as far as Thrace sixty years after the Trojan War, about the time of the return of the Heracleidae to the Peloponnesus; and then Archelaus the son of Penthilus led the Aeolian expedition across to the present Cyzicene near Dascylium; and Gras, the youngest son of Archelaus, advanced to the Granicus River, and, being better equipped, led the greater part of his army across to Lesbos and occupied it. And they add that Cleues, son of Dorus, and Malaus, also descendants of Agamemnon, had collected their army at about the same time as Penthilus, but that, whereas the fleet of Penthilus had already crossed over from Thrace to Asia, Cleues and Malaus tarried a long time round Locris and Mt. Phricius, and only later crossed over and founded the Phryconian Cyme, so named after the Locrian mountain. 16.2.40. When Judaea openly became subject to a tyrannical government, the first person who exchanged the title of priest for that of king was Alexander. His sons were Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. While they were disputing the succession to the kingdom, Pompey came upon them by surprise, deprived them of their power, and destroyed their fortresses, first taking Jerusalem itself by storm. It was a stronghold, situated on a rock, well fortified and well supplied with water within, but externally entirely parched with drought. A ditch was cut in the rock, 60 feet in depth, and in width 250 feet. On the wall of the temple were built towers, constructed of the materials procured when the ditch was excavated. The city was taken, it is said, by waiting for the day of fast, on which the Jews were in the habit of abstaining from all work. Pompey [availing himself of this], filled up the ditch, and threw bridges over it. He gave orders to raze all the walls, and he destroyed, as far as was in his power, the haunts of the robbers and the treasure-holds of the tyrants. Two of these forts, Thrax and Taurus, were situated in the passes leading to Jericho. Others were Alexandrium, Hyrcanium, Machaerus, Lysias, and those about Philadelphia, and Scythopolis near Galilee. |
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