1. Hebrew Bible, Song of Songs, 1.6 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 1.6. אַל־תִּרְאוּנִי שֶׁאֲנִי שְׁחַרְחֹרֶת שֶׁשֱּׁזָפַתְנִי הַשָּׁמֶשׁ בְּנֵי אִמִּי נִחֲרוּ־בִי שָׂמֻנִי נֹטֵרָה אֶת־הַכְּרָמִים כַּרְמִי שֶׁלִּי לֹא נָטָרְתִּי׃ | 1.6. Look not upon me, that I am swarthy, That the sun hath tanned me; My mother’s sons were incensed against me, They made me keeper of the vineyards; But mine own vineyard have I not kept.’ |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 6.13 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 6.13. אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא וְאֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד וּבִשְׁמוֹ תִּשָּׁבֵעַ׃ | 6.13. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; and Him shalt thou serve, and by His name shalt thou swear." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 21.35, 30.18-30.21 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 21.35. וְכִי־יִגֹּף שׁוֹר־אִישׁ אֶת־שׁוֹר רֵעֵהוּ וָמֵת וּמָכְרוּ אֶת־הַשּׁוֹר הַחַי וְחָצוּ אֶת־כַּסְפּוֹ וְגַם אֶת־הַמֵּת יֶחֱצוּן׃ 30.18. וְעָשִׂיתָ כִּיּוֹר נְחֹשֶׁת וְכַנּוֹ נְחֹשֶׁת לְרָחְצָה וְנָתַתָּ אֹתוֹ בֵּין־אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּבֵין הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְנָתַתָּ שָׁמָּה מָיִם׃ 30.19. וְרָחֲצוּ אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת־יְדֵיהֶם וְאֶת־רַגְלֵיהֶם׃ 30.21. וְרָחֲצוּ יְדֵיהֶם וְרַגְלֵיהֶם וְלֹא יָמֻתוּ וְהָיְתָה לָהֶם חָק־עוֹלָם לוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ לְדֹרֹתָם׃ | 21.35. And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, so that it dieth; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it; and the dead also they shall divide." 30.18. ’Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, whereat to wash; and thou shalt put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein." 30.19. And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat;" 30.20. when they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to cause an offering made by fire to smoke unto the LORD;" 30.21. so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.’" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Leviticus, 11.24 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 11.24. וּלְאֵלֶּה תִּטַּמָּאוּ כָּל־הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּנִבְלָתָם יִטְמָא עַד־הָעָרֶב׃ | 11.24. And by these ye shall become unclean; whosoever toucheth the carcass of them shall be unclean until even." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 19.16 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 19.16. וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־יִגַּע עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה בַּחֲלַל־חֶרֶב אוֹ בְמֵת אוֹ־בְעֶצֶם אָדָם אוֹ בְקָבֶר יִטְמָא שִׁבְעַת יָמִים׃ | 19.16. And whosoever in the open field toucheth one that is slain with a sword, or one that dieth of himself, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings, 23, 22 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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7. Hebrew Bible, Ezra, 7.12-7.26 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 7.12. אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא מֶלֶךְ מַלְכַיָּא לְעֶזְרָא כָהֲנָא סָפַר דָּתָא דִּי־אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא גְּמִיר וּכְעֶנֶת׃ 7.13. מִנִּי שִׂים טְעֵם דִּי כָל־מִתְנַדַּב בְּמַלְכוּתִי מִן־עַמָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכָהֲנוֹהִי וְלֵוָיֵא לִמְהָךְ לִירוּשְׁלֶם עִמָּךְ יְהָךְ׃ 7.14. כָּל־קֳבֵל דִּי מִן־קֳדָם מַלְכָּא וְשִׁבְעַת יָעֲטֹהִי שְׁלִיחַ לְבַקָּרָא עַל־יְהוּד וְלִירוּשְׁלֶם בְּדָת אֱלָהָךְ דִּי בִידָךְ׃ 7.15. וּלְהֵיבָלָה כְּסַף וּדְהַב דִּי־מַלְכָּא וְיָעֲטוֹהִי הִתְנַדַּבוּ לֶאֱלָהּ יִשְׂרָאֵל דִּי בִירוּשְׁלֶם מִשְׁכְּנֵהּ׃ 7.16. וְכֹל כְּסַף וּדְהַב דִּי תְהַשְׁכַּח בְּכֹל מְדִינַת בָּבֶל עִם הִתְנַדָּבוּת עַמָּא וְכָהֲנַיָּא מִתְנַדְּבִין לְבֵית אֱלָהֲהֹם דִּי בִירוּשְׁלֶם׃ 7.17. כָּל־קֳבֵל דְּנָה אָסְפַּרְנָא תִקְנֵא בְּכַסְפָּא דְנָה תּוֹרִין דִּכְרִין אִמְּרִין וּמִנְחָתְהוֹן וְנִסְכֵּיהוֹן וּתְקָרֵב הִמּוֹ עַל־מַדְבְּחָה דִּי בֵּית אֱלָהֲכֹם דִּי בִירוּשְׁלֶם׃ 7.18. וּמָה דִי עליך [עֲלָךְ] וְעַל־אחיך [אֶחָךְ] יֵיטַב בִּשְׁאָר כַּסְפָּא וְדַהֲבָה לְמֶעְבַּד כִּרְעוּת אֱלָהֲכֹם תַּעַבְדוּן׃ 7.19. וּמָאנַיָּא דִּי־מִתְיַהֲבִין לָךְ לְפָלְחָן בֵּית אֱלָהָךְ הַשְׁלֵם קֳדָם אֱלָהּ יְרוּשְׁלֶם׃ 7.21. וּמִנִּי אֲנָה אַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא מַלְכָּא שִׂים טְעֵם לְכֹל גִּזַּבְרַיָּא דִּי בַּעֲבַר נַהֲרָה דִּי כָל־דִּי יִשְׁאֲלֶנְכוֹן עֶזְרָא כָהֲנָה סָפַר דָּתָא דִּי־אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא אָסְפַּרְנָא יִתְעֲבִד׃ 7.22. עַד־כְּסַף כַּכְּרִין מְאָה וְעַד־חִנְטִין כֹּרִין מְאָה וְעַד־חֲמַר בַּתִּין מְאָה וְעַד־בַּתִּין מְשַׁח מְאָה וּמְלַח דִּי־לָא כְתָב׃ 7.23. כָּל־דִּי מִן־טַעַם אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא יִתְעֲבֵד אַדְרַזְדָּא לְבֵית אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא דִּי־לְמָה לֶהֱוֵא קְצַף עַל־מַלְכוּת מַלְכָּא וּבְנוֹהִי׃ 7.24. וּלְכֹם מְהוֹדְעִין דִּי כָל־כָּהֲנַיָּא וְלֵוָיֵא זַמָּרַיָּא תָרָעַיָּא נְתִינַיָּא וּפָלְחֵי בֵּית אֱלָהָא דְנָה מִנְדָּה בְלוֹ וַהֲלָךְ לָא שַׁלִּיט לְמִרְמֵא עֲלֵיהֹם׃ 7.25. וְאַנְתְּ עֶזְרָא כְּחָכְמַת אֱלָהָךְ דִּי־בִידָךְ מֶנִּי שָׁפְטִין וְדַיָּנִין דִּי־לֶהֱוֺן דאנין [דָּאיְנִין] לְכָל־עַמָּה דִּי בַּעֲבַר נַהֲרָה לְכָל־יָדְעֵי דָּתֵי אֱלָהָךְ וְדִי לָא יָדַע תְּהוֹדְעוּן׃ 7.26. וְכָל־דִּי־לָא לֶהֱוֵא עָבֵד דָּתָא דִי־אֱלָהָךְ וְדָתָא דִּי מַלְכָּא אָסְפַּרְנָא דִּינָה לֶהֱוֵא מִתְעֲבֵד מִנֵּהּ הֵן לְמוֹת הֵן לשרשו [לִשְׁרֹשִׁי] הֵן־לַעֲנָשׁ נִכְסִין וְלֶאֱסוּרִין׃ | 7.12. ’Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, and so forth. And now" 7.13. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, that are minded of their own free will to go with thee to Jerusalem, go." 7.14. Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king and his seven counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand;" 7.15. and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem," 7.16. and all the silver and gold that thou shalt find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;" 7.17. therefore thou shalt with all diligence buy with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal-offerings and their drink-offerings, and shalt offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem." 7.18. And whatsoever shall seem good to thee and to thy brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do ye after the will of your God." 7.19. And the vessels that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem." 7.20. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure-house." 7.21. And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers that are beyond the River, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence," 7.22. unto a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much." 7.23. Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?" 7.24. Also we announce to you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, impost, or toll, upon them." 7.25. And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God that is in thy hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye him that knoweth them not." 7.26. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.’ ." |
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8. Dead Sea Scrolls, Damascus Covenant, 14.18-14.22 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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9. Dead Sea Scrolls, (Cairo Damascus Covenant) Cd-A, 14.18-14.22 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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10. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 2.41-2.42 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 2.41. On which account, even to this very day, there is every year a solemn assembly held and a festival celebrated in the island of Pharos, to which not only the Jews but a great number of persons of other nations sail across, reverencing the place in which the first light of interpretation shone forth, and thanking God for that ancient piece of beneficence which was always young and fresh. 2.42. And after the prayers and the giving of thanks some of them pitched their tents on the shore, and some of them lay down without any tents in the open air on the sand of the shore, and feasted with their relations and friends, thinking the shore at that time a more beautiful abode than the furniture of the king's palace. |
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11. Philo of Alexandria, Hypothetica, 11.3, 11.14-11.17 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
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12. Philo of Alexandria, That Every Good Person Is Free, 76-77, 89-91, 75 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 75. Moreover Palestine and Syria too are not barren of exemplary wisdom and virtue, which countries no slight portion of that most populous nation of the Jews inhabits. There is a portion of those people called Essenes, in number something more than four thousand in my opinion, who derive their name from their piety, though not according to any accurate form of the Grecian dialect, because they are above all men devoted to the service of God, not sacrificing living animals, but studying rather to preserve their own minds in a state of holiness and purity. |
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13. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 13.288-13.298, 13.311, 13.372-13.374, 18.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 13.288. 5. However, this prosperous state of affairs moved the Jews to envy Hyrcanus; but they that were the worst disposed to him were the Pharisees, who were one of the sects of the Jews, as we have informed you already. These have so great a power over the multitude, that when they say any thing against the king, or against the high priest, they are presently believed. 13.289. Now Hyrcanus was a disciple of theirs, and greatly beloved by them. And when he once invited them to a feast, and entertained them very kindly, when he saw them in a good humor, he began to say to them, that they knew he was desirous to be a righteous man, and to do all things whereby he might please God, which was the profession of the Pharisees also. 13.291. a man of an ill temper, and delighting in seditious practices. This man said, “Since thou desirest to know the truth, if thou wilt be righteous in earnest, lay down the high priesthood, and content thyself with the civil government of the people,” 13.292. And when he desired to know for what cause he ought to lay down the high priesthood, the other replied, “We have heard it from old men, that thy mother had been a captive under the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. “ This story was false, and Hyrcanus was provoked against him; and all the Pharisees had a very great indignation against him. 13.293. 6. Now there was one Jonathan, a very great friend of Hyrcanus’s, but of the sect of the Sadducees, whose notions are quite contrary to those of the Pharisees. He told Hyrcanus that Eleazar had cast such a reproach upon him, according to the common sentiments of all the Pharisees, and that this would be made manifest if he would but ask them the question, What punishment they thought this man deserved? 13.294. for that he might depend upon it, that the reproach was not laid on him with their approbation, if they were for punishing him as his crime deserved. So the Pharisees made answer, that he deserved stripes and bonds, but that it did not seem right to punish reproaches with death. And indeed the Pharisees, even upon other occasions, are not apt to be severe in punishments. 13.295. At this gentle sentence, Hyrcanus was very angry, and thought that this man reproached him by their approbation. It was this Jonathan who chiefly irritated him, and influenced him so far 13.296. that he made him leave the party of the Pharisees, and abolish the decrees they had imposed on the people, and to punish those that observed them. From this source arose that hatred which he and his sons met with from the multitude: 13.297. but of these matters we shall speak hereafter. What I would now explain is this, that the Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducees reject them, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers. 13.298. And concerning these things it is that great disputes and differences have arisen among them, while the Sadducees are able to persuade none but the rich, and have not the populace obsequious to them, but the Pharisees have the multitude on their side. But about these two sects, and that of the Essenes, I have treated accurately in the second book of Jewish affairs. 13.311. But here one may take occasion to wonder at one Judas, who was of the sect of the Essenes, and who never missed the truth in his predictions; for this man, when he saw Antigonus passing by the temple, cried out to his companions and friends, who abode with him as his scholars, in order to learn the art of foretelling things to come? 13.372. 5. As to Alexander, his own people were seditious against him; for at a festival which was then celebrated, when he stood upon the altar, and was going to sacrifice, the nation rose upon him, and pelted him with citrons [which they then had in their hands, because] the law of the Jews required that at the feast of tabernacles every one should have branches of the palm tree and citron tree; which thing we have elsewhere related. They also reviled him, as derived from a captive, and so unworthy of his dignity and of sacrificing. 13.373. At this he was in a rage, and slew of them about six thousand. He also built a partition-wall of wood round the altar and the temple, as far as that partition within which it was only lawful for the priests to enter; and by this means he obstructed the multitude from coming at him. 13.374. He also maintained foreigners of Pisidiae and Cilicia; for as to the Syrians, he was at war with them, and so made no use of them. He also overcame the Arabians, such as the Moabites and Gileadites, and made them bring tribute. Moreover, he demolished Amathus, while Theodorus durst not fight with him; 18.21. and neither marry wives, nor are desirous to keep servants; as thinking the latter tempts men to be unjust, and the former gives the handle to domestic quarrels; but as they live by themselves, they minister one to another. 18.21. that it turned greatly to the advantage of his son among all; and, among others, the soldiery were so peculiarly affected to him, that they reckoned it an eligible thing, if need were, to die themselves, if he might but attain to the government. |
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14. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 1.1-1.2, 1.78, 2.119-2.121, 2.123, 2.129, 2.137-2.145, 2.149-2.151, 2.160-2.161 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.1. 1. Whereas the war which the Jews made with the Romans hath been the greatest of all those, not only that have been in our times, but, in a manner, of those that ever were heard of; both of those wherein cities have fought against cities, or nations against nations; while some men who were not concerned in the affairs themselves have gotten together vain and contradictory stories by hearsay, and have written them down after a sophistical manner; 1.1. For that it was a seditious temper of our own that destroyed it; and that they were the tyrants among the Jews who brought the Roman power upon us, who unwillingly attacked us, and occasioned the burning of our holy temple; Titus Caesar, who destroyed it, is himself a witness, who, during the entire war, pitied the people who were kept under by the seditious, and did often voluntarily delay the taking of the city, and allowed time to the siege, in order to let the authors have opportunity for repentance. 1.1. But still he was not able to exclude Antiochus, for he burnt the towers, and filled up the trenches, and marched on with his army. And as he looked upon taking his revenge on Alexander, for endeavoring to stop him, as a thing of less consequence, he marched directly against the Arabians 1.2. and while those that were there present have given false accounts of things, and this either out of a humor of flattery to the Romans, or of hatred towards the Jews; and while their writings contain sometimes accusations, and sometimes encomiums, but nowhere the accurate truth of the facts 1.2. as also how our people made a sedition upon Herod’s death, while Augustus was the Roman emperor, and Quintilius Varus was in that country; and how the war broke out in the twelfth year of Nero, with what happened to Cestius; and what places the Jews assaulted in a hostile manner in the first sallies of the war. 1.2. These honorary grants Caesar sent orders to have engraved in the Capitol, that they might stand there as indications of his own justice, and of the virtue of Antipater. 1.78. 5. And truly anyone would be surprised at Judas upon this occasion. He was of the sect of the Essenes, and had never failed or deceived men in his predictions before. Now, this man saw Antigonus as he was passing along by the temple, and cried out to his acquaintance (they were not a few who attended upon him as his scholars) 2.119. 2. For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees; and the third sect, which pretends to a severer discipline, are called Essenes. These last are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater affection for one another than the other sects have. 2.121. They do not absolutely deny the fitness of marriage, and the succession of mankind thereby continued; but they guard against the lascivious behavior of women, and are persuaded that none of them preserve their fidelity to one man. 2.123. They think that oil is a defilement; and if anyone of them be anointed without his own approbation, it is wiped off his body; for they think to be sweaty is a good thing, as they do also to be clothed in white garments. They also have stewards appointed to take care of their common affairs, who every one of them have no separate business for any, but what is for the use of them all. 2.129. After this every one of them are sent away by their curators, to exercise some of those arts wherein they are skilled, in which they labor with great diligence till the fifth hour. After which they assemble themselves together again into one place; and when they have clothed themselves in white veils, they then bathe their bodies in cold water. And after this purification is over, they every one meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it is not permitted to any of another sect to enter; while they go, after a pure manner, into the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple 2.137. 7. But now, if anyone hath a mind to come over to their sect, he is not immediately admitted, but he is prescribed the same method of living which they use, for a year, while he continues excluded; and they give him also a small hatchet, and the fore-mentioned girdle, and the white garment. 2.138. And when he hath given evidence, during that time, that he can observe their continence, he approaches nearer to their way of living, and is made a partaker of the waters of purification; yet is he not even now admitted to live with them; for after this demonstration of his fortitude, his temper is tried two more years; and if he appear to be worthy, they then admit him into their society. 2.139. And before he is allowed to touch their common food, he is obliged to take tremendous oaths, that, in the first place, he will exercise piety towards God, and then that he will observe justice towards men, and that he will do no harm to any one, either of his own accord, or by the command of others; that he will always hate the wicked, and be assistant to the righteous; 2.141. that he will be perpetually a lover of truth, and propose to himself to reprove those that tell lies; that he will keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful gains; and that he will neither conceal anything from those of his own sect, nor discover any of their doctrines to others, no, not though anyone should compel him so to do at the hazard of his life. 2.142. Moreover, he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise than as he received them himself; that he will abstain from robbery, and will equally preserve the books belonging to their sect, and the names of the angels [or messengers]. These are the oaths by which they secure their proselytes to themselves. 2.143. 8. But for those that are caught in any heinous sins, they cast them out of their society; and he who is thus separated from them does often die after a miserable manner; for as he is bound by the oath he hath taken, and by the customs he hath been engaged in, he is not at liberty to partake of that food that he meets with elsewhere, but is forced to eat grass, and to famish his body with hunger, till he perish; 2.144. for which reason they receive many of them again when they are at their last gasp, out of compassion to them, as thinking the miseries they have endured till they came to the very brink of death to be a sufficient punishment for the sins they had been guilty of. 2.145. 9. But in the judgments they exercise they are most accurate and just, nor do they pass sentence by the votes of a court that is fewer than a hundred. And as to what is once determined by that number, it is unalterable. What they most of all honor, after God himself, is the name of their legislator [Moses], whom, if anyone blaspheme, he is punished capitally. 2.149. after which they put the earth that was dug out again into the pit; and even this they do only in the more lonely places, which they choose out for this purpose; and although this easement of the body be natural, yet it is a rule with them to wash themselves after it, as if it were a defilement to them. 2.151. They are long-lived also, insomuch that many of them live above a hundred years, by means of the simplicity of their diet; nay, as I think, by means of the regular course of life they observe also. They condemn the miseries of life, and are above pain, by the generosity of their mind. And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they esteem it better than living always; 2.161. However, they try their spouses for three years; and if they find that they have their natural purgations thrice, as trials that they are likely to be fruitful, they then actually marry them. But they do not use to accompany with their wives when they are with child, as a demonstration that they do not marry out of regard to pleasure, but for the sake of posterity. Now the women go into the baths with some of their garments on, as the men do with somewhat girded about them. And these are the customs of this order of Essenes. |
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15. Josephus Flavius, Life, 337-339, 336 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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16. Mishnah, Avot, 1.1-1.2, 1.16, 2.8-2.10, 3.2, 3.9-3.10 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 1.1. Moses received the torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah." 1.2. Shimon the Righteous was one of the last of the men of the great assembly. He used to say: the world stands upon three things: the Torah, the Temple service, and the practice of acts of piety." 1.16. Rabban Gamaliel used to say: appoint for thyself a teacher, avoid doubt, and do not make a habit of tithing by guesswork." 2.8. Rabban Yoha ben Zakkai received [the oral tradition] from Hillel and Shammai.He used to say: if you have learned much torah, do not claim credit for yourself, because for such a purpose were you created. Rabban Yoha ben Zakkai had five disciples and they were these: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Joshua ben Haiah, Rabbi Yose, the priest, Rabbi Shimon ben Nethaneel and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach. He [Rabbi Joha] used to list their outstanding virtues: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is a plastered cistern which loses not a drop; Rabbi Joshua ben Haiah happy is the woman that gave birth to him; Rabbi Yose, the priest, is a pious man; Rabbi Simeon ben Nethaneel is one that fears sin, And Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach is like a spring that [ever] gathers force. He [Rabbi Yoha] used to say: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the other scale, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus also with them, and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach on the other scale, he would outweigh them all." 2.9. He [Rabban Yoha] said unto them: go forth and observe which is the right way to which a man should cleave? Rabbi Eliezer said, a good eye; Rabbi Joshua said, a good companion; Rabbi Yose said, a good neighbor; Rabbi Shimon said, foresight. Rabbi Elazar said, a good heart. He [Rabban Yoha] said to them: I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, for in his words your words are included. He [Rabban Yoha] said unto them: go forth and observe which is the evil way which a man should shun? Rabbi Eliezer said, an evil eye; Rabbi Joshua said, an evil companion; Rabbi Yose said, an evil neighbor; Rabbi Shimon said, one who borrows and does not repay for he that borrows from man is as one who borrows from God, blessed be He, as it is said, “the wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous deal graciously and give” (Psalms 37:21). Rabbi Elazar said, an evil heart. He [Rabban Yoha] said to them: I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, for in his words your words are included." 2.10. They [each] said three things:Rabbi Eliezer said: Let the honor of your friend be as dear to you as your own; And be not easily provoked to anger; And repent one day before your death. And [he also said:] warm yourself before the fire of the wise, but beware of being singed by their glowing coals, for their bite is the bite of a fox, and their sting is the sting of a scorpion, and their hiss is the hiss of a serpent, and all their words are like coals of fire." 3.2. Rabbi Hanina, the vice-high priest said: pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear it inspires, every man would swallow his neighbor alive. R. Haiah ben Teradion said: if two sit together and there are no words of Torah [spoken] between them, then this is a session of scorners, as it is said: “nor sat he in the seat of the scornful…[rather, the teaching of the Lord is his delight]” (Psalms 1:1); but if two sit together and there are words of Torah [spoken] between them, then the Shekhinah abides among them, as it is said: “then they that feared the Lord spoke one with another; and the Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name” (Malachi 3:16). Now I have no [scriptural proof for the presence of the Shekhinah] except [among] two, how [do we know] that even one who sits and studies Torah the Holy One, blessed be He, fixes his reward? As it is said: “though he sit alone and [meditate] in stillness, yet he takes [a reward] unto himself” (Lamentations 3:28)." 3.9. Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa said: anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom is enduring, but anyone whose wisdom precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom is not enduring. He [also] used to say: anyone whose deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom is enduring, but anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, his wisdom is not enduring." 3.10. He used to say: one with whom men are pleased, God is pleased. But anyone from whom men are displeased, God is displeased. Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas said: morning sleep, midday wine, children’s talk and sitting in the assemblies of the ignorant put a man out of the world." |
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17. Mishnah, Berachot, 5.5 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 5.5. One who is praying and makes a mistake, it is a bad sign for him. And if he is the messenger of the congregation (the prayer leader) it is a bad sign for those who have sent him, because one’s messenger is equivalent to one’s self. They said about Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa that he used to pray for the sick and say, “This one will die, this one will live.” They said to him: “How do you know?” He replied: “If my prayer comes out fluently, I know that he is accepted, but if not, then I know that he is rejected.”" |
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18. Mishnah, Demai, 2.2-2.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.2. One who accepts upon himself to be trustworthy (ne’eman), must tithe whatever he eats and whatever he sells and whatever he buys, and he may not be the guest of an am haaretz. Rabbi Judah says: even one who is the guest of an am haaretz can still be considered trustworthy. They said to him: He is not trustworthy in respect of himself! How can he be considered trustworthy in respect of others?" 2.3. One who takes upon himself to become a “chaver” may not sell to an am haaretz either moist or dry [produce], nor may he buy from him moist [produce], nor may he be the guest of an am haaretz, nor may he host an am haaretz as a guest while [the am haaretz] is wearing his own garment. Rabbi Judah says: he may not also raise small animals, nor may make a lot of vows or merriment, nor may he defile himself by contact with the dead. Rather he should be an attendant at the house of study. They said to him: these [requirements] do not come within the general rule [of being a chaver]. |
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19. Mishnah, Eruvin, 6.1-6.2 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 6.1. One who lives in a courtyard with a non-Jew or with one who does not acknowledge the [principle of] eruv, behold this one restricts him [from making use of the eruv], the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: one can never restrict another [from making use of the eruv] unless there are two Jews who restrict each other." 6.2. Rabban Gamaliel said: A Sadducee once lived with us in the same alley in Jerusalem and father told us: “Hurry up and carry out all vessels into the alley before he carries out his and thereby restricts you”. Rabbi Judah said [the instruction was given] in different language: “Hurry up and perform all of your needs in the alley before he carries out his and thereby restricts you”." |
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20. Mishnah, Hagigah, 2.2, 2.6-2.7 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.2. Yose ben Yoezer says that [on a festival] the laying of the hands [on the head of a sacrifice] may not be performed. Yosef ben Joha says that it may be performed. Joshua ben Perahia says that it may not be performed. Nittai the Arbelite says that it may be performed. Judah ben Tabai says that it may not be performed. Shimon ben Shetah says that it may be performed. Shamayah says that it may be performed. Avtalyon says that it may not be performed. Hillel and Menahem did not dispute. Menahem went out, Shammai entered. Shammai says that it may not be performed. Hillel says that it may be performed. The former [of each] pair were patriarchs and the latter were heads of the court." 2.6. If he immersed for unconsecrated [food], and was presumed to be fit to eat unconsecrated [food], he is prohibited from [eating second] tithe. If he immersed for [second] tithe, and was presumed to be fit to eat [second] tithe, he is prohibited from [eating] terumah. If he immersed for terumah, and was presumed to be fit to eat terumah, he is prohibited from [eating] holy things. If he immersed for holy things, and was presumed to be fit to eat holy things he is prohibited from [touching the waters of] purification. If one immersed for something possessing a stricter [degree of holiness], one is permitted [to have contact with] something possessing a lighter [degree of holiness]. If he immersed but without special intention, it is as though he had not immersed." 2.7. The garments of an am haaretz possess midras-impurity for Pharisees. The garments of Pharisees possess midras-impurity for those who eat terumah. The garments of those who eat terumah possess midras-impurity for [those who eat] sacred things. The garments of [those who eat] sacred things possess midras-impurity for [those who occupy themselves with the waters of] purification. Yose ben Yoezer was the most pious in the priesthood, yet his apron was [considered to possess] midras-impurity for [those who ate] sacred things. Yoha ben Gudgada all his life used to eat [unconsecrated food] in accordance with the purity required for sacred things, yet his apron was [considered to possess] midras-impurity for [those who occupied themselves with the water of] purification." |
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21. Mishnah, Maaser Sheni, 5.15 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 5.15. Yoha the high priest stopped [the recitation] of the confession of the tithes. He also abolished the “wakers” and the “strikers.” Until his days the hammer used to beat in Jerusalem. And in his days one did not have to ask about demai." |
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22. Mishnah, Makkot, 1.6 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 1.6. Perjuring witnesses are not to be put to death until [after] the end of the trial. Because the Sadducees say: “[Perjurers were put to death] only after the accused had [actually] been executed, as it says, “ A life for a life” (Deuteronomy 19:21). The [Pharisaic] Sages said to them: “But has not it already been said “You shall do to him as he schemed to do to his fellow” (Deuteronomy 19:19) which implies when his brother is still alive? If so, why does it say “A life for life”? For it might have been that perjurers are liable to be put to death from the moment their testimony had been taken, therefore the Torah states “A life for a life” that is to say that they are not executed until [after] the termination of the trial." |
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23. Mishnah, Menachot, 10.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 10.3. How would they do it [reap the omer]?The agents of the court used to go out on the day before the festival and tie the unreaped grain in bunches to make it the easier to reap. All the inhabitants of the towns near by assembled there, so that it might be reaped with a great demonstration. As soon as it became dark he says to them: “Has the sun set?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Has the sun set?” And they answer, “Yes.” “With this sickle?” And they answer, “Yes.” “With this sickle?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Into this basket?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Into this basket?” And they answer, “Yes.” On the Sabbath he says to them, “On this Sabbath?” And they answer, “Yes.” “On this Sabbath?” And they answer, “Yes.” “Shall I reap?” And they answer, “Reap.” “Shall I reap?” And they answer, “Reap.” He repeated every matter three times, and they answer, “yes, yes, yes.” And why all of this? Because of the Boethusians who held that the reaping of the omer was not to take place at the conclusion of the [first day of the] festival." |
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24. Mishnah, Niddah, 4.2 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.2. The daughters of the Sadducees, so long as they are accustomed to walking in the paths of their fathers, are to be regarded as Samaritan women. If they left those paths to walk in the paths of Israel, they are to be regarded as Israelite women. Rabbi Yose says: they are always regarded as Israelite women unless they leave the paths of Israel to walk in the paths of their fathers." |
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25. Mishnah, Oholot, 2.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.3. The following defile by contact and carriage but not by overshadowing: A bone of barleycorn size, Earth from a foreign country, A bet peras, A limb of a corpse, or a limb [severed] from a living person which has no longer its appropriate flesh, A spine or a skull which is deficient. How much is [considered] a deficiency in the spine? Bet Shammai say: two vertebrae, But Bet Hillel say: even one vertebra. And in the skull? Bet Shammai say: [the size of a] hole [made] by a drill, But Bet Hillel say: as much as would be taken from a living person and he would die. of what drill did they speak? of the small one [used] by physicians, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: of the large one in the Temple-chamber." |
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26. Mishnah, Parah, 3.5, 3.7 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 3.5. If they did not find the residue of the ashes of the seven [red cows] they performed the sprinkling with those of six, of five, of four, of three, of two or of one. And who prepared these? Moses prepared the first, Ezra prepared the second, and five were prepared from the time of Ezra, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: seven from the time of Ezra. And who prepared them? Shimon the Just and Yoha the high priest prepared two; Elihoenai the son of Ha-Kof and Hanamel the Egyptian and Ishmael the son of Piabi prepared one each." 3.7. If the cow refused to go out, they may not take out with it a black one lest people say, \"They slaughtered a black cow\" nor another red [cow] lest people say, \"They slaughtered two.\" Rabbi Yose says: it was not for this reason but because it is said \"And he shall bring her out\" by herself. The elders of Israel used to go first by foot to the Mount of Olives, where there was a place of immersion. The priest that was to burn the cow was (deliberately) made unclean on account of the Sadducees so that they should not be able to say, \"It can be done only by those on whom the sun has set.\"" |
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27. Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah, 4.1-4.4 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.1. If Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbat, they would blow the shofar in the Temple but not in the country. After the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Yoha ben Zakai decreed that it should be blown [on Shabbat] in every place where there was a court. Rabbi Eliezer said: Rabban Yoha ben Zakai decreed for Yavneh only. They said to him: both Yavneh and any place where there is a court." 4.2. There was another way in which Jerusalem was greater than Yavneh, that in every city which could see [Jerusalem] and hear and was near and could get to Jerusalem, they used to blow [on Shabbat], whereas in Yavneh they used to blow in the court only." 4.3. In earlier times the lulav was taken for seven days in the Temple, and in the provinces for one day only. When the temple was destroyed, Rabbi Yoha ben Zakkai decreed that the lulav should be taken in the provinces for seven days in memory of the Temple, [He also decreed] that on the whole of the day of waving it be forbidden [to eat the new produce]." 4.4. Originally they used to accept testimony with regard to the new moon during the whole day. On one occasion the witnesses were late in arriving, and the Levites went wrong in the daily hymn. They therefore decreed that testimony should be accepted only until the afternoon [sacrifice]. If witnesses came after the afternoon sacrifice that day should be kept as holy and also the next day. After the destruction of the temple Rabban Yoha ben Zakkai decreed that testimony with regard to the new moon should be received during the whole day. Rabbi Joshua ben Korha said: this further did Rabbi Yoha ben Zakkai decree, that not matter where the head of the court might be, the witnesses should have to go only to the place of the assembly." |
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28. Mishnah, Sanhedrin, 10.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 10.1. All Israel have a portion in the world to come, for it says, “Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for ever; They are the shoot that I planted, my handiwork in which I glory” (Isaiah 60:2. And these are the ones who have no portion in the world to come: He who maintains that resurrection is not a biblical doctrine, that the torah was not divinely revealed, and an epikoros. Rabbi Akiva says: “Even one who reads non-canonical books and one who whispers [a charm] over a wound and says, “I will not bring upon you any of the diseases whichbrought upon the Egyptians: for I the lord am you healer” (Exodus 15:26). Abba Shaul says: “Also one who pronounces the divine name as it is spelled.”" |
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29. Mishnah, Shevuot, 4.13 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.13. [If he said]: \"I adjure you\"; \"I command you\"; \"I bind you\"; they are liable. \"By heaven and earth!\", they are exempt. \"By Alef Daleth\"; \"By Yod He\"; \"By God Almighty\"; \"By The Lord of Hosts; \"By the Merciful and Gracious one\"; \"By the Long Suffering One\"; \"By the One Abounding in Kindness\"; or by any of the substitutes [for the name], they are liable. He who blasphemes by any of them is liable, according to the words of Rabbi Meir. And the Sages exempt him. He who curses his father or mother by any of them is liable according to the words of Rabbi Meir. And the Sages exempt him. He who curses himself or his neighbor by any of them transgresses a negative precept. [If he said,] \"May God smite you\"; or \"Yea, may God smite you\"; this is the curse written in the Torah. \"May [God] not smite you\"; or \"May he bless you\"; Or \"May he do good unto you [if you bear testimony for me]\": Rabbi Meir makes [them] liable, and the Sages exempt [them]." |
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30. Mishnah, Sotah, 3.4, 9.10 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 3.4. She had barely finished drinking when her face turns yellow, her eyes protrude and her veins swell. And [those who see her] exclaim, “Remove her! Remove her, so that the temple-court should not be defiled”. If she had merit, it [causes the water] to suspend its effect upon her. Some merit suspends the effect for one year, some merit suspends the effects for two years, and some merit suspends the effect for three years. Hence Ben Azzai said: a person must teach his daughter Torah, so that if she has to drink [the water of bitterness], she should know that the merit suspends its effect. Rabbi Eliezer says: whoever teaches his daughter Torah teaches her lasciviousness. Rabbi Joshua says: a woman prefers one kav (of food) and sexual indulgence to nine kav and sexual separation. He used to say, a foolish pietist, a cunning wicked person, a female separatist, and the blows of separatists bring destruction upon the world." 9.10. Yoha the high priest brought to an end the confession made at the presentation of the tithe. He also discontinued the wakers and the knockers Up to his days the hammer used to strike in Jerusalem, And in his days there was no need to inquire about doubtfully tithed produce." |
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31. Mishnah, Sukkah, 4.9 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.9. How was the water libation [performed]? A golden flask holding three logs was filled from the Shiloah. When they arrived at the water gate, they sounded a teki'ah [long blast], a teru'ah [a staccato note] and again a teki'ah. [The priest then] went up the ascent [of the altar] and turned to his left where there were two silver bowls. Rabbi Judah says: they were of plaster [but they looked silver] because their surfaces were darkened from the wine. They had each a hole like a slender snout, one being wide and the other narrow so that both emptied at the same time. The one on the west was for water and the one on the east for wine. If he poured the flask of water into the bowl for wine, or that of wine into that for water, he has fulfilled his obligation. Rabbi Judah says: with one log he performed the ceremony of the water-libation all eight days. To [the priest] who performed the libation they used to say, “Raise your hand”, for one time, a certain man poured out the water over his feet, and all the people pelted him with their etrogs." |
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32. Mishnah, Taanit, 2.1, 3.8 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.1. What is the order [of service] for fast days?They take the ark out to the open space of the city. And they put ashes on the ark and on the head of the Nasi and on the head of the head of the court (av bet. And everyone [else] puts ashes on his own head. The elder among them says in front of them words of admonition, “Brothers, it does not say of the people of Nineveh, ‘And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting,’ but, ‘And God saw their deeds, for they turned from their evil way. (Jonah 3:10)’ And in the prophets it says, ‘And rend your heart and not your garments” (Joel 2:13)." 3.8. For every trouble that should not come upon the community they sound a blast except on account of too much rain. It happened that they said to Honi the circle drawer: “Pray for rain to fall.” He replied: “Go and bring in the pesah ovens so that they do not dissolve.” He prayed and no rain fell. What did he do? He drew a circle and stood within it and exclaimed before Him: “Master of the universe, Your children have turned their faces to me because I am like one who was born in Your house. I swear by Your great name that I will not move from here until You have mercy upon Your children.” Rain then began to drip, and he exclaimed: “I did not request this but rain [which can fill] cisterns, ditches and caves. The rain then began to come down with great force, and he exclaimed: “I did not request this but pleasing rain of blessing and abudance.” Rain then fell in the normal way until the Jews in Jerusalem had to go up Temple Mount because of the rain. They came and said to him: “In the same way that you prayed for [the rain] to fall pray [now] for the rain to stop.” He replied: “Go and see if the stone of people claiming lost objects has washed away.” Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah sent to him: “Were you not Honi I would have excommunicated you, but what can I do to you, for you are spoiled before God and he does your will like a son that is spoiled before his father and his father does his request. Concerning you it is written, “Let your father and your mother rejoice, and let she that bore you rejoice” (Proverbs 23:25)." |
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33. Mishnah, Yoma, 3.8, 4.2, 6.2 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 3.8. He came to his bull and his bull was standing between the Ulam and the altar, its head to the south and its face to the west. And the priest stands on the eastside facing the west. And he lays both his hands upon it and confesses. And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house. Please, ‘Hashem’! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, I and my house, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30). And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”" 4.2. He bound a thread of crimson wool on the head of the goat which was to be sent away, and he placed it at the gate where it was later to be sent away, and on the goat that was to be slaughtered [he placed a thread of crimson wool on its neck] at the place of the slaughtering. He came to his bull a second time, pressed his two hands upon it and made confession. And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people. Please, ‘Hashem’! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30). And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”" 6.2. He then came to the scapegoat and laid his two hands upon it and he made confession. And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! They have done wrong, they have transgressed, they have sinned before You, Your people the House of Israel. Please, in the name of Hashem (Bashem)! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which your people, the House of Israel, have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30). And the priests and the people standing in the courtyard, when they would hear God’s name explicated coming out of the high priest’s mouth, would bend their knees, bow down and fall on their faces and say “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”" |
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34. Mishnah, Yadayim, 4.5, 4.7-4.8 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.5. The Aramaic sections in Ezra and Daniel defile the hands. If an Aramaic section was written in Hebrew, or a Hebrew section was written in Aramaic, or [Hebrew which was written with] Hebrew script, it does not defile the hands. It never defiles the hands until it is written in the Assyrian script, on parchment, and in ink." 4.7. The Sadducees say: we complain against you, Pharisees, that you declare an uninterrupted flow of a liquid to be clean. The Pharisees say: we complain against you, Sadducees, that you declare a stream of water which flows from a burial-ground to be clean? The Sadducees say: we complain against you, Pharisees, that you say, my ox or donkey which has done injury is liable, yet my male or female slave who has done injury is not liable. Now if in the case of my ox or my donkey for which I am not responsible if they do not fulfill religious duties, yet I am responsible for their damages, in the case of my male or female slave for whom I am responsible to see that they fulfill mitzvot, how much more so that I should be responsible for their damages? They said to them: No, if you argue about my ox or my donkey which have no understanding, can you deduce from there anything concerning a male or female slave who do have understanding? So that if I were to anger either of them and they would go and burn another person's stack, should I be liable to make restitution?" 4.8. A Galilean min said: I complain against you Pharisees, that you write the name of the ruler and the name of Moses together on a divorce document. The Pharisees said: we complain against you, Galilean min, that you write the name of the ruler together with the divine name on a single page [of Torah]? And furthermore that you write the name of the ruler above and the divine name below? As it is said, \"And Pharoah said, Who is the Lord that I should hearken to his voice to let Israel go?\" (Exodus 5:2) But when he was smitten what did he say? \"The Lord is righteous\" (Exodus 9:27)." |
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35. New Testament, Acts, 5.34 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 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. |
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36. New Testament, Luke, 10.25 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 10.25. Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? |
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37. New Testament, Mark, 3.6, 8.15, 12.23 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.6. The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. 8.15. He charged them, saying, "Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod. 12.23. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife. |
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38. New Testament, Matthew, 3.7, 5.20, 6.2, 6.5, 22.23-22.33, 22.35 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 5.20. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. 6.2. Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don't sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most assuredly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6.5. When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most assuredly, I tell you, they have received their reward. 22.23. On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him 22.24. saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed for his brother.' 22.25. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no seed left his wife to his brother. 22.26. In like manner the second also, and the third, to the seventh. 22.27. After them all, the woman died. 22.28. In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her. 22.29. But Jesus answered them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. 22.30. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God's angels in heaven. 22.31. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven't you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying 22.32. 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 22.33. When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. 22.35. One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. |
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39. Tosefta, Berachot, 3.25 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 3.25. Eighteen Berachot (blessings) that the Sages have established [for the prayer of Shemoneh Esreh have been established] corresponding to eighteen mentionings [of God’s name] that are in [the chapter of Tehillim that begins with] “Ascribe to God, children of princes…” (Tehillim 29) And [a person] should include [the Beracha against] the heretics into [the Beracha] for the Rabbinical Jews, and [the Beracha] for the converts into [the Beracha] for the elders, and [the Beracha] for [King] David into [the Beracha] for [the rebuilding of] Jerusalem. But if he said each one of them separately he has fulfilled his obligation [of praying Shemoneh Esreh]." |
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40. Tosefta, Hagigah, 3.35 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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41. Tosefta, Nedarim, 1.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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42. Tosefta, Niddah, 5.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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43. Tosefta, Parah, 3.7-3.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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44. Tosefta, Rosh Hashanah, 1.15 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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45. Tosefta, Sanhedrin, 2.6, 6.6 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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46. Tosefta, Shabbat, 1.15 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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47. Tosefta, Sotah, 13.1, 15.11 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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48. Tosefta, Sukkah, 3.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 3.1. The lulav suspends the Sabbath in the beginning of its duty, and the willow in the end of its duty. There is a story that some Boethusians once hid the willows under some great stones on the Sabbath eve; but when this had become known to the common people they came and dragged them out from under the stones on the Sabbath, for the Boethusians do not acknowledge that the beating of the willow suspends the Sabbath." |
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49. Tosefta, Kippurim, 1.1, 1.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 1.1. Why do they separate the Kohen Gadol from his household to Lishkat Parhedrin. The explanation of Rabbi Yehuda Ben Betira is that he may be with his wife, and there is a doubt as to whether she is a Niddah and he would become impure in the seven days before Yom Kippur. There was another reading that he was taken to Lishkat Barvatan." |
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50. Tosefta, Yadayim, 2.9, 2.12-2.14, 2.20 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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51. Anon., Sifre Numbers, 112 (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
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52. Justin, Dialogue With Trypho, 80.3-80.4 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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53. Palestinian Talmud, Sotah, 3.4 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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54. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 115b. הא כיצד נחלה ממשמשת והולכת עד ראובן ולימא עד יעקב אמר אביי גמירי דלא כלה שבטא,אמר רב הונא אמר רב כל האומר תירש בת עם בת הבן אפילו נשיא שבישראל אין שומעין לו שאינן אלא מעשה צדוקין דתניא בארבעה ועשרים בטבת תבנא לדיננא שהיו צדוקין אומרין תירש הבת עם בת הבן,נטפל להן רבן יוחנן בן זכאי אמר להם שוטים מנין זה לכם ולא היה אדם שהחזירו דבר חוץ מזקן אחד שהיה מפטפט כנגדו ואומר ומה בת בנו הבאה מכח בנו תירשנו בתו הבאה מכחו לא כל שכן,קרא עליו את המקרא הזה (בראשית לו, כ) אלה בני שעיר החורי יושבי הארץ לוטן ושובל וצבעון וענה וכתיב (בראשית לו, כד) אלה בני צבעון ואיה וענה אלא מלמד שבא צבעון על אמו והוליד ענה,ודלמא תרי ענה הוו אמר רבה אמינא מלתא דלא אמרה שבור מלכא ומנו שמואל איכא דאמרי אמר רב פפא אמינא מלתא דלא אמרה שבור מלכא ומנו רבה אמר קרא (בראשית לו, כד) הוא ענה הוא ענה דמעיקרא,אמר ליה רבי בכך אתה פוטרני אמר לו שוטה | 115b. The Gemara asks: bHow so,i.e., how is the investigation performed when he has no offspring at all? The Gemara answers: The family lineage that determines the binheritance is successively examined up to Reuben,son of Jacob, i.e., the heirs are determined by investigating the family genealogy, and that investigation can extend all the way to Reuben, son of our forefather Jacob. The Gemara asks: bAnd letit bsay: Until Jacobhimself, rather than until Reuben, since if none of Reuven’s descendants survive, one would have to examine Jacob’s descendants. bAbaye saidin reply: It bis learnedas a tradition bthat a tribe will not be eliminatedentirely, and some descendants will always remain.,§ bRav Huna saysthat bRav says:With regard to banyone who saysthat ba daughterof the deceased bshould inheritthe estate of her father along bwith the daughter of the sonof the deceased, bevenif he is ba prince of the Jewish people,one bshould not listen to him, as this is nothing other than an act of the Sadducees,and runs counter to the ruling of the mishna that the descendants of a son inherit before a daughter. bAs it is taughtin a ibaraitain iMegillat Ta’anit /i, which describes various minor holidays on which it is forbidden to fast or eulogize: bOn the twenty-fourth of Tevet, we returned to our law,i.e., the ihalakhawas reestablished in accordance with the opinion of the Sages after having been dictated by the Sadducees. bAs the Sadducees would say: A daughter should inheritthe estate of her father along bwith the daughter of the sonof the deceased.,The ibaraitacontinues: bRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai joined themto discuss their ruling, and bsaid to them: Imbeciles, from wheredo byouderive bthisruling? bAnd there was no person that answered him anything, except for one oldman bwho was chattering at him and sayingthat it is an ia fortioriinference: bAnd just as a daughter ofthe deceased’s bson, who comesto claim her inheritance from her grandfather bby virtue of his son, inheritsher grandfather’s property, so too, with regard to the deceased’s own bdaughter, who comesto inherit bby virtue ofthe deceased, ball the more sois it bnotclear that she should inherit his property?,Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai brecited this verse about him: “These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah”(Genesis 36:20), band it is written: “And these are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah”(Genesis 36:24). The first verse portrays Zibeon and Anah as brothers, while the second states that they are father and son. bRather,this bteaches that Zibeon engaged in sexual intercourse with his mother and begot Anah,so that he was both Anah’s father and his brother. From the fact that the first verse equates Zibeon and Anah by referring to both of them as Seir’s sons despite Anah being a grandson of Seir, it is clear that grandchildren are equal to children, contrary to the Sadducees’ assertion.,The Gemara interrupts the recounting of the ibaraitaand questions Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai’s inference: bBut perhaps there were twopeople named bAnah,so that one Anah was Zibeon’s son, and the other his brother? bRabba said: I will state a matterthat even bKing Shapur did not state. And who isthis King Shapur? This cannot be a reference to Shapur, king of Persia; rather, it must be a moniker for someone else. He is bShmuel,whose legal rulings were accepted by the public like the edicts of a king by his subjects. bSome statea different version, that it was bRav Pappawho bsaid: I will state a matterthat even bKing Shapur did not state. And who isthis King Shapur? He is bRabba. The versegoes on to bstate: “This is Anah”(Genesis 36:24), indicating that bhe isthe same bAnahmentioned binitially,earlier in the verse. Accordingly, there was only one Anah, who was both Zibeon’s brother and Zibeon’s son.,The ibaraitacontinues: The Sadducee bsaid toRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai: bMy teacher, you dismiss me with thisretort? I agree that the son of a son precedes a daughter, as the verse you quoted suggests; I am asserting that a daughter inherits together with the daughter of a son, and the verse you quoted has no bearing on that claim. Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him: Imbecile, /b |
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55. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 19a. ואי ס"ד דלא ידעי כי אמר להו מאי הוי אלא מאי דידעי למה לי' למימר להו לאחזוקי ליה טיבותא למשה,אמר רבי יצחק כל המספר אחרי המת כאלו מספר אחרי האבן איכא דאמרי דלא ידעי ואיכא דאמרי דידעי ולא איכפת להו,איני והא אמר רב פפא חד אישתעי מילתא בתריה דמר שמואל ונפל קניא מטללא ובזעא לארנקא דמוחיה,שאני צורבא מרבנן דקודשא בריך הוא תבע ביקריה,אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי כל המספר אחר מטתן של תלמידי חכמים נופל בגיהנם שנא' (תהלים קכה, ה) והמטים עקלקלותם יוליכם ה' את פועלי האון שלום על ישראל אפילו בשעה ששלום על ישראל יוליכם ה' את פועלי האון,תנא דבי ר' ישמעאל אם ראית תלמיד חכם שעבר עבירה בלילה אל תהרהר אחריו ביום שמא עשה תשובה שמא סלקא דעתך אלא ודאי עשה תשובה והני מילי בדברים שבגופו אבל בממונא עד דמהדר למריה:,ואמר ר' יהושע בן לוי בכ"ד מקומות בית דין מנדי' על כבוד הרב וכולן שנינו במשנתנו אמר ליה ר' אלעזר היכא אמר ליה לכי תשכח,נפק דק ואשכח תלת המזלזל בנטילת ידים והמספר אחר מטתן של תלמידי חכמי' והמגיס דעתו כלפי מעלה,המספר אחר מטתן של תלמידי חכמים מאי היא דתנן הוא היה אומר אין משקין לא את הגיורת ולא את המשוחררת וחכמים אומרים משקין ואמרו לו מעשה בכרכמית שפחה משוחררת בירושלים והשקוה שמעיה ואבטליון ואמר להם דוגמא השקוה ונדוהו ומת בנדויו וסקלו בית דין את ארונו,והמזלזל בנטילת ידים מאי היא דתנן א"ר יהודה חס ושלום שעקביא בן מהללאל נתנדה שאין עזרה ננעלת על כל אדם בישראל בחכמה ובטהרה וביראת חטא כעקביא בן מהללאל אלא את מי נדו את אלעזר בן חנוך שפקפק בנטילת ידים וכשמת שלחו בית דין והניחו אבן גדולה על ארונו ללמדך שכל המתנדה ומת בנדויו ב"ד סוקלין את ארונו,המגיס דעתו כלפי מעלה מאי היא דתנן שלח לו שמעון בן שטח לחוני המעגל צריך אתה להתנדות ואלמלא חוני אתה גוזרני עליך נדוי אבל מה אעשה שאתה מתחטא לפני המקום ועושה לך רצונך כבן שמתחטא לפני אביו ועושה לו רצונו ועליך הכתוב אומר (משלי כג, כה) ישמח אביך ואמך ותגל יולדתך,ותו ליכא והא איכא דתני רב יוסף תודוס איש רומי הנהיג את בני רומי להאכילן גדיים מקולסין בלילי פסחים שלח ליה שמעון בן שטח אלמלא תודוס אתה גוזרני עליך נדוי שאתה מאכיל את ישראל קדשים בחוץ,במשנתנו קאמרינן והא ברייתא היא,ובמתני' ליכא והא איכא הא דתנן חתכו חוליות ונתן חול בין חוליא לחוליא ר' אליעזר מטהר וחכמים מטמאים וזהו תנורו של עכנאי,מאי עכנאי אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל מלמד שהקיפוהו הלכות כעכנאי זה וטמאוהו,ותניא אותו היום הביאו כל טהרות שטיהר ר"א ושרפום לפניו ולבסוף ברכוהו,אפילו הכי נדוי במתני' לא תנן אלא בכ"ד מקומות היכא משכחת לה ר' יהושע בן לוי מדמה מילתא למילתא ור' אלעזר לא מדמה מילתא למילתא:, נושאי המטה וחלופיהן: ת"ר אין מוציאין את המת סמוך לק"ש ואם התחילו אין מפסיקין איני והא רב יוסף אפקוהו סמוך לק"ש אדם חשוב שאני:,שלפני המטה ושלאחר המטה: ת"ר העוסקים בהספד בזמן שהמת מוטל לפניהם נשמטין אחד אחד וקורין אין המת מוטל לפניהם הן יושבין וקורין והוא יושב ודומם הם עומדים ומתפללין והוא עומד ומצדיק עליו את הדין ואומר רבון העולמים הרבה חטאתי לפניך ולא נפרעת ממני אחד מני אלף יהי רצון מלפניך ה' אלהינו שתגדור פרצותינו ופרצות כל עמך בית ישראל ברחמים,אמר אביי לא מבעי ליה לאינש למימר הכי דארשב"ל וכן תנא משמיה דרבי יוסי לעולם אל יפתח אדם פיו לשטן,ואמר רב יוסף מאי קראה שנאמר (ישעיהו א, ט) כמעט כסדום היינו מאי אהדר להו נביא שמעו דבר ה' קציני סדום:,קברו את המת וחזרו וכו': אם יכולים להתחיל ולגמור את כולה אין אבל פרק אחד או פסוק אחד לא ורמינהו קברו את המת וחזרו אם יכולין להתחיל ולגמור אפילו פרק אחד או פסוק אחד,הכי נמי קאמר אם יכולין להתחיל ולגמור אפי' פרק אחד או אפילו פסוק אחד עד שלא יגיעו לשורה יתחילו ואם לאו לא יתחילו | 19a. bAnd if it should enter your mind thatthe dead bdo not know, then what of it if he tells them?The Gemara rejects this: bRather whatwill you say, bthatthey bknow?Then bwhy does heneed bto tell them?The Gemara replies: This is not difficult, as he is telling them so that bthey will give credit to Moses. /b,On this subject, bRabbi Yitzḥak said: Anyone who speaksnegatively bafter the deceased it is as ifhe bspeaks after the stone.The Gemara offers two interpretations of this: bSome saythis is because the dead bdo not know, and some saythat bthey know,but bthey do not carethat they are spoken of in such a manner.,The Gemara asks: bIs that so? Didn’t Rav Pappa say:There was once bsomeone who spokedisparagingly bafterthe death of bMar Shmuel and a reed fell from the ceiling, fracturing his skull?Obviously, the dead care when people speak ill of them.,The Gemara rejects this: This is no proof that the dead care. Rather, a bTorah scholar is different, as GodHimself bdemandsthat bhis honorbe upheld.,Rabbi Yehoshua bben Levi saidsimilarly: bOne who speaksdisparagingly bafter the biers of Torah scholarsand maligns them after their death will bfall in Gehenna, as it is stated: “But those who turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity; peace be upon Israel”(Psalms 125:5). bEvenif he speaks ill of them bwhen there is peace upon Israel,after death, when they are no longer able to fight those denouncing them ( iTosafot /i); nevertheless bthe Lord will lead them away with the workers of iniquity,to Gehenna.,On a similar note, bit was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: If you saw aTorah bscholar transgress a prohibition at night, do not thinkbadly bof him during the day; perhaps he has repentedin the meantime. The Gemara challenges this: bDoes it enter your mindthat only bperhapshe has repented? Shouldn’t he be given the benefit of the doubt? bRather, he has certainly repented.The Gemara notes: bThe ideathat one must always give a Torah scholar the benefit of the doubt and assume that he has repented refers specifically to bmattersaffecting bhimself, but,if one witnesses a Torah scholar committing a transgression binvolving the propertyof another, one is not required to give him the benefit of the doubt. Rather, he should not assume that he has repented buntilhe sees him breturnthe money to bits owner. /b,Since matters relating to the respect due Torah scholars were raised, the Gemara continues, citing bRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi,who bsaid: There are twenty-four places in which the court ostracizes overmatters of brespectdue bthe rabbi, and we learned them all in our Mishna. Rabbi Elazar said to him: Whereare those cases to be found? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi bsaid to him: Whenyou look, byouwill bfindthem., bHe went out, analyzed, and found threeexamples: bOne who demeansthe ritual of bwashing of the hands, one who speaksdisparagingly bafter the bier of Torah scholars, and one who is arrogant vis-à-vis Heaven.The Gemara cites sources for each of these cases., bWhat isthe source for bone who speaksdisparagingly bafter the biers of Torah scholars? As we learnedin the mishna: Akavya ben Mahalalel bwould say:In the case of a woman whose husband suspects her of adultery, who was warned by her husband not to seclude herself with another man and she did not listen (see Numbers 5), the court bdoes not administerthe bitter water potion of a isotato ba convert or an emancipatedmaidservant. bAnd the Rabbis say:The court badministersthe bitter water potion to them. bAndthe Rabbis bsaid to himas proof: bThere is the story of Kharkemit, an emancipated maidservant in Jerusalem, and Shemaya and Avtalyon administered herthe bitter waters. Akavya ben Mahalalel bsaid tothe Sages: That is no proof. Shemaya and Avtalyon, who were also from families of converts, required the maidservant bto drinkthe potion because she was blike them [ idugma /i]. Andsince Akavya ben Mahalalel cast aspersion on the deceased Torah scholars, bhe was ostracized and diedwhile bhewas still under the ban of bostracism. Andin accordance with the ihalakhawith regard to one who dies while under a ban of ostracism, the court bstoned his coffin.Apparently, one who deprecates a deceased Torah scholar is sentenced to ostracism.,And bwhat isthe source for bone who demeansthe ritual of bwashing of the hands? We learnedlater in the same mishna: bRabbi Yehuda said:That story related with regard to the ostracism of Akavya ben Mahalalel is completely untrue; bGod forbid that Akavya ben Mahalalel was ostracized, as the Temple courtyard is not closed on any Jew,meaning that even when all of Israel made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, when each of the three groups that gathered to offer the Paschal lamb filled the courtyard, leading the Temple administration to close the courtyard, there was no one there as perfect bin wisdom, purity and fear of sin as Akavya ben Mahalalel. Rather, whom did they excommunicate? Elazar ben Ḥanokh,because he bdoubtedand demeaned the rabbinic ordice of bwashing of the hands. And when he died, the court sentinstructions band they placed a large rock upon his coffinin order bto teach you that one who is ostracized and dies ina state of bostracism, the court stones his coffin,as if symbolically stoning him. Apparently, one who makes light of the ritual of washing of the hands is sentenced to ostracism., bWhat isthe source for the third case, bone who is arrogant vis-à-vis Heaven?The mishna relates that Ḥoni HaMe’aggel, the circle-drawer, drew a circle and stood inside it, and said that he would not leave the circle until it rained, and he went so far as to make demands in terms of the manner in which he wanted the rain to fall. After it rained, bShimon ben Shataḥ,the iNasiof the Sanhedrin, relayed to bḤoni HaMe’aggel:Actually, byou should be ostracizedfor what you said, band if you were not Ḥoni, I would have decreed ostracism upon you, but what can I do? You nag God and He does your bidding, like a son who nags his father andhis father bdoes his biddingwithout reprimand. After all, the rain fell as you requested. bAbout you, the verse states: “Your father and mother will be glad and she who bore you will rejoice”(Proverbs 23:25). Apparently, one who is arrogant vis-à-vis Heaven would ordinarily merit excommunication.,The Gemara challenges this: bAnd are there no morecases of excommunication or threats of excommunication? bSurely there areadditional cases like the one in the ibaraita btaught by Rav Yosef:It is told that bTheodosius of Rome,leader of the Jewish community there, binstituted the custom for the RomanJews bto eat whole kids,young goats roasted with their entrails over their heads, as was the custom when roasting the Paschal lamb, bon the eve of Passover,as they did in the Temple. bShimon ben Shataḥ senta message bto him: If you were not Theodosius,an important person, bI would have decreed ostracism upon you, asit appears as if byou are feeding Israel consecrated food,which may only be eaten in and around the Temple itself, boutsidethe Temple.,The Gemara responds: This case should not be included, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that there were twenty-four cases bin our Mishna,and bthis ismerely ba ibaraita /i. /b,The Gemara asks: bAnd are there none in the Mishna? Isn’t there that which we learnedin the mishna: bOnewho bcutan earthenware oven horizontally bintoring-shaped bpieces and put sand between the pieces, Rabbi Eliezer deemsthe oven britually pure,i.e., it is no longer susceptible to ritual impurity. He holds that, although the fragments of the oven were pieced together, it is not considered an intact vessel but, rather, as a collection of fragments, and a broken earthenware vessel cannot become ritually impure. bAnd the Rabbis deem it ritually impure.Since the oven continues to serve its original function, it is still considered a single entity and a whole vessel despite the sand put between the pieces. bAnd this iscalled bthe oven of iakhnai /i, snake. /b,The Gemara asks: bWhat isthe meaning of oven of the bsnake? Rav Yehuda saidthat bShmuel said:It is called snake bto teach thatthe Rabbis bsurroundedRabbi Eliezer bwith ihalakhotand proofs blike a snakesurrounds its prey, band declaredthe oven and its contents britually impure. /b, bAnd it was taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOn that day, they gathered allof bthe ritually purefood items that had come into contact with the oven bthat Rabbi Eliezer had declared ritually pure, and burned them before him,and because he did not accept the decision of the majority, bin the end they “blessed,”a euphemism for ostracized, bhim.This is another case that ended in ostracism.,The Gemara answers: bEven so, we did not learnthe ruling with regard to his bostracism in the mishna.The Gemara asks: Then bwhere do you findthe btwenty-four placesmentioned in Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s statement? The Gemara responds: bRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi likens one matter to anothersimilar bmatter.Whenever he would encounter a case in a mishna where one of the Sages expressed himself inappropriately in reference to other Sages, he concluded that they should have been excommunicated. bRabbi Elazar does not liken one matter to anothersimilar bmatter,and therefore located only three explicit cases of ostracism.,We learned in the mishna that bthe pallbearers and their replacementsare exempt from the recitation of iShema /i. On this subject, the Gemara cites that which the bSages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bThe deceased may not be taken outto be buried badjacent tothe time for bthe recitation of iShema /i,but should be buried later. bAnd if theyalready bstartedto take him out, bthey need not stopin order to recite iShema /i. The Gemara challenges: bIs that so? Didn’t they take Rav Yosef outto be buried badjacent tothe time for bthe recitation of iShema /i?The Gemara resolves this contradiction: The case of ban important person is different,and they are more lenient in order to honor him at his burial.,In the mishna, we learned the ihalakhawith regard to the pallbearers and their obligation to recite iShema /i, and a distinction was made between those bwho are before the bier andthose bafter the bier. Our Rabbis taughtin a ibaraita /i: bThose involved in eulogy must slip awayfrom the eulogy bone by one while the deceased is laid out before them and recite iShemaelsewhere. And bif the deceased is not laid out before them,the eulogizers must bsit and recite iShema bwhilethe bereaved bsits silently. They stand and pray and he stands and justifies God’s judgment, saying: Master of the Universe, I have sinned greatly against You, and You have not collected even one one-thousandthof my debt. bMay it be Your will, Lord our God, to mercifully repair the breaches in ourfence band the breaches of Your nation, the House of Israel. /b, bAbaye said: A person should not say that, as Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said, and it was also taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: One must never open his mouth to the Satan,i.e., one must not leave room for or raise the possibility of disaster or evil. This formula, which states that the entire debt owed due to his transgressions has not been collected, raises the possibility that further payment will be exacted from him., bAnd Rav Yosef said: What is the versefrom which bitis derived? bAs it is stated: “We should have almost been as Sodom,we should have been like unto Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9), after which bwhat didthe prophet breply to them? “Hear the word of the Lord, rulers of Sodom;give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10).,We learned in the mishna that, in a case when bthey buried the deceased and returned,if they have sufficient time to begin to recite iShemaand conclude before they arrive at the row formed by those who came to console the bereaved, they should begin. Here, the Gemara clarifies: This is the case only bif they can begin and completerecitation of iShema bin its entirety. However,if they can only complete bone chapter or one verse,they should bnotstop to do so. The Gemara braises a contradictionfrom that which we learned in the ibaraita /i: After bthey buried the deceased and returned, if they can beginthe recitation of iShema band finish even a single chapter or verse,they should begin.,The Gemara responds: bThat is also whatthe itannaof the mishna bsaidand this is the conclusion drawn from his statement: bIf one can begin and conclude even one chapter or one verse before they arrive at the rowof consolers, bthey should begin. And if not, they should not begin. /b |
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56. Babylonian Talmud, Gittin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 56b. איברא מלכא את דאי לאו מלכא את לא מימסרא ירושלים בידך דכתיב (ישעיהו י, לד) והלבנון באדיר יפול ואין אדיר אלא מלך דכתיב (ירמיהו ל, כא) והיה אדירו ממנו וגו' ואין לבנון אלא ביהמ"ק שנאמר (דברים ג, כה) ההר הטוב הזה והלבנון ודקאמרת אי מלכא אנא אמאי לא קאתית לגבאי עד האידנא בריוני דאית בן לא שבקינן,אמר ליה אילו חבית של דבש ודרקון כרוך עליה לא היו שוברין את החבית בשביל דרקון אישתיק קרי עליה רב יוסף ואיתימא רבי עקיבא (ישעיהו מד, כה) משיב חכמים אחור ודעתם יסכל איבעי ליה למימר ליה שקלינן צבתא ושקלינן ליה לדרקון וקטלינן ליה וחביתא שבקינן לה,אדהכי אתי פריסתקא עליה מרומי אמר ליה קום דמית ליה קיסר ואמרי הנהו חשיבי דרומי לאותיבך ברישא הוה סיים חד מסאני בעא למסיימא לאחרינא לא עייל בעא למשלפא לאידך לא נפק אמר מאי האי,אמר ליה לא תצטער שמועה טובה אתיא לך דכתיב (משלי טו, ל) שמועה טובה תדשן עצם אלא מאי תקנתיה ליתי איניש דלא מיתבא דעתך מיניה ולחליף קמך דכתיב (משלי יז, כב) ורוח נכאה תיבש גרם עבד הכי עייל אמר ליה ומאחר דחכמיתו כולי האי עד האידנא אמאי לא אתיתו לגבאי אמר ליה ולא אמרי לך אמר ליה אנא נמי אמרי לך,אמר ליה מיזל אזילנא ואינש אחרינא משדרנא אלא בעי מינאי מידי דאתן לך אמר ליה תן לי יבנה וחכמיה ושושילתא דרבן גמליאל ואסוותא דמסיין ליה לרבי צדוק קרי עליה רב יוסף ואיתימא רבי עקיבא (ישעיהו מד, כה) משיב חכמים אחור ודעתם יסכל איבעי למימר ליה לשבקינהו הדא זימנא,והוא סבר דלמא כולי האי לא עביד והצלה פורתא נמי לא הוי,אסוותא דמסיין ליה לרבי צדוק מאי היא יומא קמא אשקיוה מיא דפארי למחר מיא דסיפוקא למחר מיא דקימחא עד דרווח מיעיה פורתא פורתא,אזל שדריה לטיטוס ואמר (דברים לב, לז) אי אלהימו צור חסיו בו זה טיטוס הרשע שחירף וגידף כלפי מעלה,מה עשה תפש זונה בידו ונכנס לבית קדשי הקדשים והציע ספר תורה ועבר עליה עבירה ונטל סייף וגידר את הפרוכת ונעשה נס והיה דם מבצבץ ויוצא וכסבור הרג את עצמו שנאמר (תהלים עד, ד) שאגו צורריך בקרב מועדיך שמו אותותם אותות,אבא חנן אומר (תהלים פט, ט) מי כמוך חסין יה מי כמוך חסין וקשה שאתה שומע ניאוצו וגידופו של אותו רשע ושותק דבי רבי ישמעאל תנא (שמות טו, יא) מי כמוכה באלים ה' מי כמוכה באלמים,מה עשה נטל את הפרוכת ועשאו כמין גרגותני והביא כל כלים שבמקדש והניחן בהן והושיבן בספינה לילך להשתבח בעירו שנאמר (קהלת ח, י) ובכן ראיתי רשעים קבורים ובאו וממקום קדוש יהלכו וישתכחו בעיר אשר כן עשו אל תיקרי קבורים אלא קבוצים אל תיקרי וישתכחו אלא וישתבחו,איכא דאמרי קבורים ממש דאפילו מילי דמטמרן איגלייא להון,עמד עליו נחשול שבים לטובעו אמר כמדומה אני שאלהיהם של אלו אין גבורתו אלא במים בא פרעה טבעו במים בא סיסרא טבעו במים אף הוא עומד עלי לטובעני במים אם גבור הוא יעלה ליבשה ויעשה עמי מלחמה יצתה בת קול ואמרה לו רשע בן רשע בן בנו של עשו הרשע בריה קלה יש לי בעולמי ויתוש שמה,אמאי קרי לה בריה קלה דמעלנא אית לה ומפקנא לית לה,עלה ליבשה ותעשה עמה מלחמה עלה ליבשה בא יתוש ונכנס בחוטמו ונקר במוחו שבע שנים יומא חד הוה קא חליף אבבא דבי נפחא שמע קל ארזפתא אישתיק אמר איכא תקנתא כל יומא מייתו נפחא ומחו קמיה לנכרי יהיב ליה ארבע זוזי לישראל אמר ליה מיסתייך דקא חזית בסנאך עד תלתין יומין עבד הכי מכאן ואילך כיון דדש דש,תניא אמר רבי פנחס בן ערובא אני הייתי בין גדולי רומי וכשמת פצעו את מוחו ומצאו בו כצפור דרור משקל שני סלעים במתניתא תנא כגוזל בן שנה משקל שני ליטרין,אמר אביי נקטינן פיו של נחושת וצפורניו של ברזל כי הוה קא מיית אמר להו ליקליוה לההוא גברא ולבדרי לקיטמיה אשב ימי דלא לשכחיה אלהא דיהודאי ולוקמיה בדינא,אונקלוס בר קלוניקוס בר אחתיה דטיטוס הוה בעי לאיגיורי אזל אסקיה לטיטוס בנגידא אמר ליה מאן חשיב בההוא עלמא אמר ליה ישראל מהו לאידבוקי בהו אמר ליה מילייהו נפישין ולא מצית לקיומינהו זיל איגרי בהו בההוא עלמא והוית רישא דכתיב (איכה א, ה) היו צריה לראש וגו' כל המיצר לישראל נעשה ראש אמר ליה דיניה דההוא גברא במאי א"ל | 56b. bin truth, you are a king,if not now, then in the future. bAs if you are not a king, Jerusalem will not be handed over into your hand, as it is written: “And the Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one”(Isaiah 10:34). bAnd “mighty one”means bonly a king, as it is written: “And their mighty one shall be of themselves,and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them” (Jeremiah 30:21), indicating that “mighty one” parallels “ruler.” bAnd “Lebanon”means bonly the Temple, as it is stated: “That good mountain and the Lebanon”(Deuteronomy 3:25). bAndas for bwhat you saidwith your second comment: bIf I am a king why didn’t you come to me until now, there are zealots among uswho bdid not allow usto do this.,Understanding that Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai was prepared to ask him not to destroy the Temple, Vespasian bsaid to him: Ifthere is ba barrel of honey and a snake [ iderakon /i] is wrapped around it, wouldn’t they break the barrel in order tokill bthe snake?In similar fashion, I am forced to destroy the city of Jerusalem in order to kill the zealots barricaded within it. Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bwas silentand did not answer. In light of this, bRav Yoseflater breadthe following verse babout him, and some saythat it was bRabbi Akivawho applied the verse to Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai: “I am the Lord… bWho turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolish”(Isaiah 44:25). As Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bshould have saidthe following btoVespasian in response: In such a case, bwe take tongs, remove the snake, and kill it, andin this way bwe leave the barrelintact. So too, you should kill the rebels and leave the city as it is., bIn the meantime,as they were talking, ba messenger [ iferistaka /i] arrived from Rome,and bsaid to him: Rise, for the emperor has died, and the noblemen of Rome plan to appoint you astheir bleaderand make you the next emperor. At that time Vespasian bwas wearingonly bone shoe,and when bhe tried to put on the other one, it would not go onhis foot. bHethen btried to remove the othershoe that he was already wearing, but bit would not come off. He said: What is this? /b,Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him: Be not distressedor troubled, for bgood tidings have reached you, as it is written: “Good tidings make the bone fat”(Proverbs 15:30), and your feet have grown fatter out of joy and satisfaction. Vespasian said to him: bBut what is the remedy?What must I do in order to put on my shoe? Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him: Have someone with whom you are displeased come and pass before you, as it is written: “A broken spirit dries the bones”(Proverbs 17:22). bHe did this, andhis shoe bwent onhis foot. Vespasian bsaid to him: Since you are so wise, why didn’t you come tosee bme until now?Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him: But didn’t Ialready btell you?Vespasian bsaid to him: I also told youwhat I had to say.,Vespasian then bsaid toRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai: bI will be goingto Rome to accept my new position, band I will send someone elsein my place to continue besieging the city and waging war against it. bButbefore I leave, bask something of me that Ican bgive you.Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai bsaid to him: Give me Yavne and its Sagesand do not destroy it, bandspare bthe dynasty of Rabban Gamlieland do not kill them as if they were rebels, bandlastly give me bdoctors to heal Rabbi Tzadok. Rav Yosef readthe following verse babout him, and some saythat it was bRabbi Akivawho applied the verse to Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai: “I am the Lord… bWho turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolish”(Isaiah 44:25), as bhe should have said to him to leavethe Jews alone bthis time. /b, bAndwhy didn’t Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai make this request? bHe maintainedthat Vespasian bmight not do that muchfor him, band there would not be even a smallamount of bsalvation.Therefore, he made only a modest request, in the hope that he would receive at least that much.,The Gemara asks: bWhatwas he requesting when he asked for bdoctors to heal Rabbi Tzadok?How did they heal him? bThe first day they gave him water to drinkthat contained bbran [ iparei /i]. The nextday they gave him bwatercontaining bflour mixed with bran [ isipuka /i]. The following daythey gave him bwatercontaining bflour.In this way they slowly restored his ability to eat, allowing bhis stomach to broaden little by little. /b,§ Vespasian bwentback to Rome and bsent Titusin his place. The Gemara cites a verse that was expounded as referring to Titus: b“And he shall say: Where is their God, their rock in whom they trusted?”(Deuteronomy 32:37). bThis is the wicked Titus, who insulted and blasphemed God on High. /b, bWhat didTitus bdowhen he conquered the Temple? bHe took a prostitute with his hand, and entered the Holy of Holieswith her. bHethen bspread out a Torah scrollunderneath him band committed a sin,i.e., engaged in sexual intercourse, bon it.Afterward bhe took a sword and cut into the curtainseparating between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. bAnd a miracle was performed and blood spurted forth.Seeing the blood, bhemistakenly bthoughtthat bhe had killed himself.Here, the term himself is a euphemism for God. Titus saw blood issuing forth from the curtain in God’s meeting place, the Temple, and he took it as a sign that he had succeeded in killing God Himself. bAs it is stated: “Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place; they have set up their own signs for signs”(Psalms 74:4)., bAbba Ḥa says:The verse states: b“Who is strong like You, O Lord?”(Psalms 89:9). bWho is strong and indurate like You, as You hear the abuse and the blasphemy of that wicked man and remain silent.Similarly, bthe school of Rabbi Yishmael taughtthat the verse: b“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods [ ielim /i]”(Exodus 15:11), should be read as: bWho is like You among the mute [ iilmim /i],for You conduct Yourself like a mute and remain silent in the face of Your blasphemers., bWhatelse did Titus bdo? He took the curtain and formed it like a large basket, and brought all of thesacred bvessels of the Temple and placed them in it. And he put them on a ship to go and be praised in his citythat he had conquered Jerusalem, bas it is stated: “And so I saw the wicked buried, and come to their rest; but those that had done right were gone from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city; this also is vanity”(Ecclesiastes 8:10). bDo not readthe word bas “buried [ ikevurim /i].” Rather,read it as bcollected [ ikevutzim /i].And bdo not readthe word bas “and were forgotten [ iveyishtakeḥu /i].” Rather,read it as: bAnd they were praised [ iveyishtabeḥu /i].According to this interpretation, the verse speaks of those who will gather and collect items “from the holy place,” the Temple, and be praised in their city about what they had done., bThere arethose bwho saythat the verse is to be read as written, as it is referring to items that were bactually buried.This is because beven items that had been buried were revealed to them,i.e., Titus and his soldiers, as they found all of the sacred vessels.,It is further related about Titus that he was once traveling bat seaand ba wave rose up against himand threatened bto drown him.Titus bsaid: It seems to me that their God,the God of Israel, bhas power only in water. Pharaoh roseagainst them and bHe drowned him in water. Sisera roseagainst them and bHe drowned him in water.Here btoo, He has risen up against me to drown me in water. If He isreally bmighty, let Him go up on dry land andthere bwage war against me. A Divine Voice issued forth and said to him: Wicked one, son of a wicked one, grandson of Esau the wicked,for you are among his descendants and act just like him, bI have a lowly creature in My world and it is called a gnat. /b,The Gemara interjects: bWhy is it called a lowly creature?It is called this bbecause it has an entrancefor taking in food, bbut it does not have an exitfor excretion.,The Gemara resumes its story about Titus. The Divine Voice continued: bGo up on dry land and make war with it. He went up on dry land,and ba gnat came, entered his nostril, and picked at his brain for seven years.Titus suffered greatly from this until bone day he passed by the gate of a blacksmith’s shop.The gnat bheard the sound of a hammerand bwas silentand still. Titus bsaid:I see that bthere is a remedyfor my pain. bEvery day they would bring a blacksmith who hammered before him. He would give four dinarsas payment bto a gentileblacksmith, and bto a Jew he wouldsimply bsay: It is enough for you that you see your enemyin so much pain. bHe did this for thirty daysand it was effective until then. bFrom thatpoint bforward, sincethe gnat bbecame accustomedto the hammering, bit became accustomedto it, and once again it began to pick away at Titus’s brain., bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Pineḥas ben Arova said: I wasat that time bamong the noblemen of Rome, and whenTitus bdied they split open his head and foundthat the gnat had grown to bthe size of a sparrow weighing two isela /i. It was taught inanother ibaraita /i:It was blikea one- byear-old pigeon weighing two ilitra /i. /b, bAbaye said: We have a traditionthat bits mouthwas made bof copper and its claws werefashioned of biron. WhenTitus bwas dying, he said tohis attendants: bBurn that man,i.e., me, band scatter his ashes across the seven seas, so that the God of the Jews should not find me and stand me for judgment. /b,§ The Gemara relates: bOnkelos bar Kalonikos, the son of Titus’s sister, wanted to convertto Judaism. bHe wentand braised Titusfrom the grave bthrough necromancy,and bsaid to him: Who ismost bimportant in that worldwhere you are now? Titus bsaid to him: The Jewish people.Onkelos asked him: bShould Ithen battachmyself bto themhere in this world? Titus bsaid to him: Their commandments are numerous, and you will not be able to fulfill them.It is best that you do as follows: bGoout and bbattle against them in that world, and you will become the chief, as it is written: “Her adversaries [ itzareha /i] have become the chief”(Lamentations 1:5), which means: bAnyone who distresses [ imeitzer /i] Israel will become the chief.Onkelos bsaid to him: What is the punishment of that man,a euphemism for Titus himself, in the next world? Titus bsaid to him: /b |
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57. Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 14b. הא בדברי תורה הא במשא ומתן בדברי תורה הוו במשא ומתן לא הוו.,ת"ר מעשה ברבן יוחנן בן זכאי שהיה רוכב על החמור והיה מהלך בדרך ור' אלעזר בן ערך מחמר אחריו אמר לו רבי שנה לי פרק אחד במעשה מרכבה אמר לו לא כך שניתי לכם ולא במרכבה ביחיד אלא א"כ היה חכם מבין מדעתו אמר לו רבי תרשיני לומר לפניך דבר אחד שלמדתני אמר לו אמור,מיד ירד רבן יוחנן בן זכאי מעל החמור ונתעטף וישב על האבן תחת הזית אמר לו רבי מפני מה ירדת מעל החמור אמר אפשר אתה דורש במעשה מרכבה ושכינה עמנו ומלאכי השרת מלוין אותנו ואני ארכב על החמור מיד פתח ר"א בן ערך במעשה המרכבה ודרש וירדה אש מן השמים וסיבבה כל האילנות שבשדה פתחו כולן ואמרו שירה,מה שירה אמרו (תהלים קמח, ז) הללו את ה' מן הארץ תנינים וכל תהומות עץ פרי וכל ארזים הללויה נענה מלאך מן האש ואמר הן הן מעשה המרכבה עמד רבן יוחנן ב"ז ונשקו על ראשו ואמר ברוך ה' אלהי ישראל שנתן בן לאברהם אבינו שיודע להבין ולחקור ולדרוש במעשה מרכבה יש נאה דורש ואין נאה מקיים נאה מקיים ואין נאה דורש אתה נאה דורש ונאה מקיים אשריך אברהם אבינו שאלעזר בן ערך יצא מחלציך,וכשנאמרו הדברים לפני ר' יהושע היה הוא ורבי יוסי הכהן מהלכים בדרך אמרו אף אנו נדרוש במעשה מרכבה פתח רבי יהושע ודרש ואותו היום תקופת תמוז היה נתקשרו שמים בעבים ונראה כמין קשת בענן והיו מלאכי השרת מתקבצין ובאין לשמוע כבני אדם שמתקבצין ובאין לראות במזמוטי חתן וכלה,הלך רבי יוסי הכהן וסיפר דברים לפני רבן יוחנן בן זכאי ואמר אשריכם ואשרי יולדתכם אשרי עיני שכך ראו ואף אני ואתם בחלומי מסובין היינו על הר סיני ונתנה עלינו בת קול מן השמים עלו לכאן עלו לכאן טרקלין גדולים ומצעות נאות מוצעות לכם אתם ותלמידיכם ותלמידי תלמידיכם מזומנין לכת שלישית,איני והתניא ר' יוסי בר' יהודה אומר שלשה הרצאות הן ר' יהושע הרצה דברים לפני רבן יוחנן בן זכאי ר"ע הרצה לפני ר' יהושע חנניא בן חכינאי הרצה לפני ר"ע ואילו ר"א בן ערך לא קא חשיב דארצי וארצו קמיה קחשיב דארצי ולא ארצו קמיה לא קא חשיב והא חנניא בן חכינאי דלא ארצו קמיה וקא חשיב דארצי מיהא קמיה מאן דארצי.,ת"ר ארבעה נכנסו בפרדס ואלו הן בן עזאי ובן זומא אחר ורבי עקיבא אמר להם ר"ע כשאתם מגיעין אצל אבני שיש טהור אל תאמרו מים מים משום שנאמר (תהלים קא, ז) דובר שקרים לא יכון לנגד עיני,בן עזאי הציץ ומת עליו הכתוב אומר (תהלים קטז, טו) יקר בעיני ה' המותה לחסידיו בן זומא הציץ ונפגע ועליו הכתוב אומר (משלי כה, טז) דבש מצאת אכול דייך פן תשבענו והקאתו אחר קיצץ בנטיעות רבי עקיבא יצא בשלום,שאלו את בן זומא מהו לסרוסי כלבא אמר להם (ויקרא כב, כד) ובארצכם לא תעשו כל שבארצכם לא תעשו שאלו את בן זומא בתולה שעיברה מהו לכ"ג מי חיישינן לדשמואל דאמר שמואל | 14b. bThiscase is referring bto words of Torah,while bthatcase is referring bto commerce. With regard to words of Torah, they weretrustworthy; bwith regard to commerce, they were not. /b,§ The Gemara returns to the topic of the Design of the Divine Chariot. bThe Sages taught: An incidentoccurred binvolving Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai, who was riding on a donkey and was traveling along the way, andhis student, bRabbi Elazar ben Arakh, was riding a donkey behind him.Rabbi Elazar bsaid to him: My teacher, teach me one chapter in the Design of theDivine bChariot. He said to him:Have bI not taught you: And one may notexpound the Design of the Divine Chariot bto an individual, unless he is a Sage who understands on his own accord?Rabbi Elazar bsaid to him: My teacher, allow me to say before you one thing that you taught me.In other words, he humbly requested to recite before him his own understanding of this issue. bHe said to him: Speak. /b, bImmediately, Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai alighted from the donkey, and wrappedhis head in his cloak in a manner of reverence, band sat on a stone under an olive tree.Rabbi Elazar bsaid to him: My teacher, for what reason did you alight from the donkey? He said:Is it bpossible thatwhile byou are expounding the Design of theDivine bChariot, and the Divine Presence is with us, and the ministering angels are accompanying us, that I should ride on a donkey? Immediately, Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh beganto discuss bthe Design of theDivine bChariot and expounded, and fire descended from heaven and encircled all the trees in the field, and allthe trees bbegan reciting song. /b, bWhat song did they recite? “Praise the Lord from the earth, sea monsters and all depths…fruit trees and all cedars…praise the Lord”(Psalms 148:7–14). bAn angel responded from the fire, saying: This is the very Design of theDivine bChariot,just as you expounded. bRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai stood and kissedRabbi Elazar ben Arakh bon his head, and said: Blessed be God, Lord of Israel, who gave our father Abraham a sonlike you, bwho knowshow bto understand, investigate, and expound the Design of theDivine bChariot. There are some who expoundthe Torah’s verses bwell but do not fulfillits imperatives bwell,and there are some bwho fulfillits imperatives bwell but do not expoundits verses bwell,whereas byou expoundits verses bwell and fulfillits imperatives bwell. Happy are you, our father Abraham, that Elazar ben Arakh came from your loins. /b,The Gemara relates: bAnd whenthese bmatters,this story involving his colleague Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh, bwere recounted before Rabbi Yehoshua, he was walking along the way with Rabbi Yosei the Priest. They said: We too shall expound the Design of theDivine bChariot. Rabbi Yehoshua began expounding. And that was the day of the summer solstice,when there are no clouds in the sky. Yet the bheavens became filled with clouds, and there was the appearance of a kind of rainbow in a cloud. And ministering angels gathered and came to listen, like people gathering and coming to see the rejoicing of a bridegroom and bride. /b, bRabbi Yosei the Priest went and recitedthese bmatters before Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai,who bsaidto him: bHappy areall of byou, and happy arethe mothers bwho gave birth to you; happy are my eyes that saw this,students such as these. bAs for you and I,I saw bin my dreamthat bwe were seated at Mount Sinai, and a Divine Voice came to us from heaven: Ascend here, ascend here,for blarge halls[iteraklin/b] band pleasant couches are made up for you. You, your students, and the students of your students are invited tothe bthird group,those who will merit to welcome the Divine Presence.,The Gemara poses a question: bIs that so? But isn’t it taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: There are three lectures.In other words, there are three Sages with regard to whom it states that they delivered lectures on the mystical tradition: bRabbi Yehoshua lecturedon these bmatters before Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai; Rabbi Akiva lectured before Rabbi Yehoshua;and bḤaya ben Ḥakhinai lectured before Rabbi Akiva. However, Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh was not includedin the list, despite the testimony that he lectured before Rabban Yoḥa. The Gemara explains: Those bwho lectured and werealso blectured to were included;but those bwho lectured and were not lectured to were not included.The Gemara asks: bBut wasn’tthere bḤaya ben Ḥakhinai, who was not lectured to, andyet bhe is included?The Gemara answers: Ḥaya ben Ḥakhinai bactually lectured before one who lecturedin front of his own rabbi, so he was also included in this list.,§ bThe Sages taught: Four entered the orchard [ ipardes /i],i.e., dealt with the loftiest secrets of Torah, band they are as follows: Ben Azzai; and ben Zoma; iAḥer /i,the other, a name for Elisha ben Avuya; band Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva,the senior among them, bsaid to them: When,upon your arrival in the upper worlds, byou reach pure marble stones, do not say: Water, water,although they appear to be water, bbecause it is stated: “He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before My eyes”(Psalms 101:7).,The Gemara proceeds to relate what happened to each of them: bBen Azzai glimpsedat the Divine Presence band died. And with regard to him the verse states: “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His pious ones”(Psalms 116:15). bBen Zoma glimpsedat the Divine Presence band was harmed,i.e., he lost his mind. bAnd with regard to him the verse states: “Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you become full from it and vomit it”(Proverbs 25:16). iAḥerchopped down the shootsof saplings. In other words, he became a heretic. bRabbi Akiva came out safely. /b,The Gemara recounts the greatness of ben Zoma, who was an expert interpreter of the Torah and could find obscure proofs: bThey asked ben Zoma: What isthe ihalakhawith regard to bcastrating a dog?The prohibition against castration appears alongside the sacrificial blemishes, which may imply that it is permitted to castrate an animal that cannot be sacrificed as an offering. bHe said to them:The verse states “That which has its testicles bruised, or crushed, or torn, or cut, you shall not offer to God, nor bshall you do so in your land”(Leviticus 22:24), from which we learn: With regard to banyanimal bthat is in your land, you shall not dosuch a thing. bTheyalso basked ben Zoma:A woman considered bto be a virgin who became pregt, what isthe ihalakha /i? bA High Priestmay marry only a virgin; is he permitted to marry her? The answer depends on the following: bAre we concerned forthe opinion of bShmuel? Shmuel says: /b |
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58. Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 66a. bYour ox was usedby a man bfor an act of bestialityand is therefore unfit for an offering, band the other,the owner of the ox, bis silent,the witness is bdeemed credible. And the itanna /iof the mishna also btaught( iBekhorot41a): bAndwith regard to an animal bthat was used for a transgressionor bthat killed,if this is attested to bby one witness or by the owner,he is bdeemed credible.The Gemara clarifies this case: bWhat are the circumstancesof bthiscase of the mishna, where the knowledge is established bby one witness? If the owner admitsto the claim, bthis isthe same as: bBy the owner. Rather, is it notreferring to a case bwherethe owner remains bsilent? /b,The Gemara comments: bAndeach of these statements of Abaye is bnecessary. As, had he taught usonly bthat firstcase, where the witness said someone ate forbidden fat, one might have said that he is deemed credible for the following reason: bWere it notfor the fact bthat he himselfwas bconvinced that he had committeda transgression, bhe would notcommit the transgression of bbringing a non-sacredanimal btothe Temple bcourtyardon the basis of the testimony of one witness. Consequently, his silence is evidently an admission., bButif the witness said: bYour ritually purefoods bwere rendered ritually impure,and the accused was silent, bwe would say:The reason bthathe is bsilentand refrains from denying the claim is bthat he thinkshe is not suffering any significant loss, as the food bis fit for himto eat bon his days of ritual impurity,because he is not required to destroy ritually impure foods., bAnd hadAbaye btaught usonly the case of: Your ritually pure food was rendered ritually impure, one might have said that the reason bthiswitness is deemed credible is bthat he causes him a loss on his days of ritual impurity,and therefore his silence is tantamount to a confession. bButin the case of: bHis ox was usedby a man bfor an act of bestiality,the owner of the ox bcan saywith regard to his animal: bNot all the oxen standready to be sacrificed basan offering on the baltar.Perhaps one would think that the owner does not bother denying the claim because he merely forfeits the possibility of sacrificing his ox as an offering, which he considers an inconsequential matter. It is only if there were two witnesses to the act that the animal is put to death, whereas here there was only one witness. It is therefore bnecessaryfor Abaye to specify all these cases.,§ bA dilemma was raised beforethe Sages: If a husband is told bby one witnessthat bhis wife committed adultery, andthe husband remains bsilent, what isthe ihalakha /i? bAbaye said:The witness is bdeemed credible. Rava said: He is not deemed credible.Why not? Because bit is a matter involving forbidden relations, and there is no matterof testimony bfor forbidden sexual relationsthat can be attested to by bfewer than twowitnesses., bAbaye said: From where do I saythis claim of mine? It happened bthatthere was ba certain blind man who would review imishnayotbefore Mar Shmuel. One daythe blind man bwas late for him and was not arriving.Mar Shmuel bsent a messenger after himto assist him. bWhilethe bmessenger was goingto the blind man’s house bby one way,the blind man barrivedat the house of study bby a differentroute, and therefore the messenger missed him and reached his house. bWhenthe bmessenger cameback, bhe saidthat he had been to the blind man’s house and saw that bhis wife committed adultery.The blind man bcame before Mar Shmuelto inquire whether he must pay heed to this testimony. Mar Shmuel bsaid to him: Ifthis messenger bis trusted by you, goand bdivorce her, but if not, do not divorceher.,Abaye comments: bWhat, is it notcorrect to say that this means that bif he is trusted by you that he is not a thiefbut is a valid witness, you must rely on him? This would prove that a single witness can testify in a case of this kind. bAnd Ravaexplains that Mar Shmuel meant: bIfhe bis trusted by you like twowitnesses, bgoand bdivorce her, but if not, do not divorceher. Consequently, Rava maintains that this episode affords no proof., bAnd Abaye said: From where do I saythis claim of mine? bAs it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bAn incidentoccurred bwith King Yannai, who went tothe region of bKoḥalit in the desert and conquered sixty cities there. And upon his return he rejoicedwith ba great happinessover his victory. bAnd hesubsequently bsummoned all the Sages of the Jewish peopleand bsaid to them: Our ancestorsin their poverty bwould eat salty foods when they were busy with the building of the Temple; we too shall eat salty foods in memory of our ancestors. And they brought salty food on tables of gold, and ate. /b, bAnd there was oneperson bpresent, a scoffer,a man of ban evil heart and a scoundrel called Elazar ben Po’ira. And Elazar ben Po’ira said to King Yannai: King Yannai, the hearts of the Pharisees,the Sages, bare against you.In other words, they harbor secret resentment against you and do not like you. The king replied: bAnd what shall I doto clarify this matter? Elazar responded: bHave them stand bywearing bthe frontplate between your eyes.Since the frontplate bears the Divine Name, they should stand in its honor. Yannai, who was a member of the priestly Hasmonean family, also served as High Priest, who wears the frontplate. bHe hadthe Pharisees bstand bywearing bthe frontplate between his eyes. /b,Now bthere was a certain elder present called Yehuda ben Gedidya, and Yehuda ben Gedidya said to King Yannai: King Yannai, the crown of the monarchy suffices for you,i.e., you should be satisfied that you are king. bLeave the crown of the priesthood for the descendants of Aaron.The Gemara explains this last comment: bAs they would saythat Yannai’s bmother was taken captive in Modi’in,and she was therefore disqualified from marrying into the priesthood, which meant that Yannai was a iḥalal /i. bAnd the matter was investigated and was not discovered,i.e., they sought witnesses for that event but none were found. bAnd the Sages of Israel were expelled inthe king’s brage,due to this rumor., bAnd Elazar ben Po’ira said to King Yannai: King Yannai, such is the judgment of a common person in Israel.In other words, merely expelling a slanderer is appropriate if the subject of the slander is a commoner. bBut you are a king and a High Priest.Is bthis your judgmentas well? Yannai replied: bAnd what should I do?Elazar responded: bIf you listen to my advice, crush them.Yannai countered: bBut what will become of the Torah?He retorted: bBehold,it bis wrapped and placed in the corner. Anyone who wishes to study can come and study.We have no need for the Sages.,The Gemara interjects: bRav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says: Immediately, heresy was injected intoYannai, bas he should have saidto Elazar ben Po’ira: This bworks out wellwith regard to bthe Written Torah,as it can be studied by all on their own, but bwhatwill become of bthe Oral Torah?The Oral Torah is transmitted only by the Sages. The ibaraitacontinues: bImmediately, the evilarose and bcaught fire through Elazar ben Po’ira, and all the Sages of the Jewish people were killed. And the world was desolateof Torah buntil Shimon ben Shataḥ came and restored the Torah to its formerglory. This completes the ibaraita /i.,Abaye asks: bWhat are the circumstancesof this case? How did those who conducted the investigation refute the rumor that Yannai’s mother had been taken captive? bIf we say that twowitnesses bsaidthat bshe was taken captive, and twoothers bsaidthat bshe was not taken captive, what did you see that you rely on thesewho said that she was not taken captive? Instead, brely on thesewho said that she was taken captive. In such a scenario, one cannot say definitively that the matter was investigated and found to be false., bRather,it must be referring bto one witnesswho testified she was taken captive, and two testified that she was not taken captive. bAnd the reasonthat the lone witness is not deemed credible is only bthat he is contradicted by theother btwo,from which it may be inferred that bif not for thatfact, bhe would be deemed credible.This supports Abaye’s claim that an uncontested lone witness is deemed credible in a case of this kind., bAnd Ravacould reply that this incident affords no proof, for the following reason: bActually,one can say that there were btwowitnesses who testified that she was captured band twowho testified that she was not, bandthe case was decided bin accordance with thatwhich bRav Aḥa bar Rav Minyumi saysin a different context, that it is referring bto conspiring witnesses.The second pair of witnesses did not contradict the testimony of the first pair but established them as liars by stating that the first pair were not there to witness the event. This serves to disqualify the testimony of the first pair altogether. bHere too,it is referring btowitnesses who rendered the first set bconspiring witnesses. /b, bAnd if you wish, saythat this is bin accordance withthe version of the story stated bby Rabbi Yitzḥak, as Rabbi Yitzḥak says: They replacedYannai’s mother bwith a maidservant.The first witnesses saw that Yannai’s mother was about to be taken captive, but the second pair revealed that she had actually been replaced with a maidservant, thereby negating the testimony of the first set., bRava says: /b |
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59. Babylonian Talmud, Menachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 65a. bAnd this is as we learnedin a mishna ( iShekalim13b): bPetaḥyawas responsible bfor the nestsof birds, i.e., the doves or pigeons brought by a izav /i, a izava /i, a woman after childbirth, and a leper. These individuals would place the appropriate sum of money into the horn designated for this purpose, and each day Petaḥya oversaw the purchase of birds from that money and their sacrifice in the proper manner. bThisSage bis Mordekhai;and bwhy was he called Petaḥya,which resembles the word for opening [ ipetaḥ /i]? The reason is bthat he would open,i.e., elucidate, difficult btopics and interpret themto the people, bandbecause bhe knewall bseventy languagesknown in that region at the time.,The Gemara asks: What was unique about Petaḥya? bAllof the members of the bSanhedrin also knowall bseventy languages. As Rabbi Yoḥa says:They bplace on theGreat bSanhedrin onlymen bof wisdom, and ofpleasant bappearance, and ofhigh bstature, and ofsuitable bageso that they will be respected. bAndthey must also be bmasters of sorcery,i.e., they know the nature of sorcery, so that they can judge sorcerers, bandthey must bknowall bseventy languagesin order bthat the Sanhedrin will notneed to bheartestimony bfrom the mouth of a translatorin a case where a witness speaks a different language.,The Gemara answers: bRather,Petaḥya was unique bashe not only knew all seventy languages, but also had the ability to bcombinevarious blanguages and interpretthem. bThis isthe meaning of that bwhich is written with regard to Mordekhai: “Bilshan”(Nehemiah 7:7). Bilshan is interpreted as another name for Mordekhai, as he would combine [ ibalil /i] languages [ ilashon /i]., strongMISHNA: /strong bHow would they performthe rite of the harvest of the iomer /i? bEmissaries of the courtwould bemerge on the eve of the festivalof Passover band fashionthe stalks of barley into bsheaves whilethe stalks were still battached to the ground, so that it would be convenient to reapthem. The residents of ball the towns adjacent tothe site of the harvest bwould assemble there, so that it would be harvested with great fanfare. /b, bOnce it grew dark,the court emissary bsays tothose assembled: bDid the sun set?The assembly bsaysin response: bYes.The emissary repeats: bDid the sun set?They again bsay: Yes.The court emissary next says to those assembled: Shall I reap the sheaves with bthis sickle?The assembly bsaysin response: bYes.The emissary repeats: With bthis sickle?The assembly bsays: Yes.The court emissary then says to those assembled: Shall I place the gathered sheaves in bthis basket?The assembly bsaysin response: bYes.The emissary repeats: In bthis basket?The assembly bsays: Yes. /b,If the sixteenth of Nisan occurs bon Shabbat,the court emissary bsays tothe assembled: Shall I cut the sheaves on bthis Shabbat?The assembly bsaysin response: bYes.The emissary repeats: On bthis Shabbat?The assembly bsays: Yes.The court emissary says to those assembled: bShall I cutthe sheaves? bAnd they say to himin response: bCut.The emissary repeats: bShall I cutthe sheaves? bAnd they sayto him: bCut. /b,The emissary asks bthree times with regard to each and every matter, andthe assembly bsays to him: Yes, yes, yes.The mishna asks: bWhy do Ineed those involved to publicize each stage of the rite bto that extent?The mishna answers: It is bdue to the Boethusians, as theydeny the validity of the Oral Law and bwould say: There is no harvest of the iomerat the conclusion of thefirst bFestivalday of Passover unless it occurs at the conclusion of Shabbat. The publicity was to underscore that the sixteenth of Nisan was the proper time for the iomerharvest., strongGEMARA: /strong bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bThese are the days on which fasting is prohibited, and on some of them eulogizing is prohibitedas well: bFrom the New Moon of Nisan until the eighth ofthe month, the proper sacrifice of bthe daily offering was established,and therefore it was decreed bnot to eulogizeon these dates. bAndfurthermore, bfrom the eighth ofNisan buntil the end of the festivalof Passover, the correct date for the bfestival of iShavuotwas restored,and it was similarly decreed bnot to eulogizeduring this period.,The Gemara discusses the ibaraita /i: bFrom the New Moon of Nisan until the eighth ofthe month the proper sacrifice of bthe daily offering was established,and therefore it was decreed bnot to eulogizeon these dates. The Gemara explains bthat the Sadducees would say: An individual may donate and bringthe bdaily offering,in opposition to the accepted tradition that the daily offering must be brought from communal funds. bWhatverse did the Sadducees bexpound? “The one lamb shall you offer [ ita’aseh /i] in the morning, and the other lamb shall you offer in the afternoon”(Numbers 28:4). Since the verse is in the singular form, the Sadducees maintained that even an individual may donate the daily offering.,The Gemara asks: bWhatdid the Sages breplyto refute the argument of the Sadducees? They cited the verse: “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: bMy food that is presented to Me for offerings made by fire,of a pleasing aroma unto Me, byou shall observe [ itishmeru /i]to offer to Me in its due season” (Numbers 28:2). The term: “You shall observe” is in the plural form, which indicates that ball of thedaily offerings bshould come from collection of theTemple treasury bchamber.Since during that period, between the New Moon of Nisan and the eighth of Nisan, the Sages overruled the Sadducees, it was established as a period of rejoicing, and it was prohibited to eulogize on those dates.,The Gemara discusses the next period listed in the ibaraita /i: bFrom the eighth ofNisan buntil the end of the festivalof Passover, the correct date for the bfestival of iShavuotwas restored,and it was similarly decreed bnot to eulogizeduring this period. bAs the Boethusians would saythat the festival of iShavuot /ialways occurs bafter Shabbat,on a Sunday. Their reasoning was that the verse states, with regard to the iomeroffering and the festival of iShavuotthat follows seven weeks later: “And you shall count for you from the morrow after the day of rest [ ihashabbat /i], from the day that you brought the sheaf [ iomer /i] of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete” (Leviticus 23:15). Disregarding the oral tradition, the Boethusians interpreted the phrase “from the morrow after the day of rest [ ihashabbat /i]” literally, as referring to Shabbat, not the Festival day.,At the time, bRabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai joinedthe discussion with the Boethusians band said to them: Fools! From wherehave byouderived this? bAnd there was no man who answered him, except for one elderly man who was prattling [ imefatpet /i] at him, and he said: Moses, our teacher, was a lover of the Jewish people and he knew that iShavuotisonly bone day.Therefore, bhe arose and established it after Shabbat, in order that the Jewish people would enjoy themselves for two days.Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai brecited this versein response btothat old man: b“It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the way of Mount Seir”(Deuteronomy 1:2). |
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60. Babylonian Talmud, Niddah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 33b. או דילמא נוגעת היתה ולא סתרה,אמר רבא לפום חורפא שבשתא נהי נמי דסתרה כמה תסתור תסתור שבעה דיה כבועלה,תסתור יום אחד (ויקרא טו, כח) ואחר תטהר אמר רחמנא אחר אחר לכולן שלא תהא טומאה מפסקת ביניהם,וליטעמיך זב גופיה היכי סתר לטהרתו אמר רחמנא שלא תהא טומאה מפסקת ביניהן,אלא מאי אית לך למימר שלא תהא טומאת זיבה מפסקת ביניהן הכא נמי שלא תהא טומאת זיבה מפסקת ביניהן,ואין חייבין עליהן על ביאת מקדש וכו' רב פפא איקלע לתואך אמר אי איכא צורבא מרבנן הכא איזיל אקבל אפיה אמרה ליה ההיא סבתא איכא הכא צורבא מרבנן ורב שמואל שמיה ותני מתניתא יהא רעוא דתהוי כוותיה,אמר מדקמברכי לי בגוויה ש"מ ירא שמים הוא אזל לגביה רמא ליה תורא רמא ליה מתני' אהדדי תנן אין חייבין עליהן על ביאת מקדש ואין שורפין עליהן את התרומה מפני שטומאתה ספק אלמא מספיקא לא שרפינן תרומה,ורמינהי על ששה ספקות שורפין את התרומה על ספק בגדי עם הארץ,אמר רב פפא יהא רעוא דלתאכיל האי תורא לשלמא הכא במאי עסקינן בכותי חבר,כותי חבר בועל נדה משוית ליה,שבקיה ואתא לקמיה דרב שימי בר אשי אמר ליה מאי טעמא לא משנית ליה בכותי שטבל ועלה ודרס על בגדי חבר ואזלו בגדי חבר ונגעו בתרומה,דאי משום טומאת עם הארץ הא טביל ליה ואי משום בועל נדה ספק בעל בקרוב ספק לא בעל בקרוב,ואם תמצי לומר בעל בקרוב ספק השלימתו ירוק ספק לא השלימתו והוי ספק ספיקא ואספק ספיקא לא שרפינן תרומה,ותיפוק ליה משום בגדי עם הארץ דאמר מר בגדי עם הארץ מדרס לפרושין אמר ליה בכותי ערום, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big בנות צדוקין בזמן שנהגו ללכת בדרכי אבותיהן הרי הן ככותיות פרשו ללכת בדרכי ישראל הרי הן כישראלית רבי יוסי אומר לעולם הן כישראלית עד שיפרשו ללכת בדרכי אבותיהן, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big איבעיא להו סתמא מאי ת"ש בנות צדוקין בזמן שנוהגות ללכת בדרכי אבותיהן הרי הן ככותיות הא סתמא כישראלית אימא סיפא פרשו ללכת בדרכי ישראל הרי הן כישראלית הא סתמא ככותיות אלא מהא ליכא למשמע מיניה,ת"ש דתנן ר' יוסי אומר לעולם הן כישראלית עד שיפרשו ללכת בדרכי אבותיהן מכלל דת"ק סבר סתמא ככותיות ש"מ,תנו רבנן מעשה בצדוקי אחד שספר עם כהן גדול בשוק ונתזה צנורא מפיו ונפלה לכהן גדול על בגדיו והוריקו פניו של כהן גדול וקדם אצל אשתו,אמרה לו אף על פי שנשי צדוקים הן מתיראות מן הפרושים ומראות דם לחכמים,אמר רבי יוסי בקיאין אנו בהן יותר מן הכל והן מראות דם לחכמים חוץ מאשה אחת שהיתה בשכונתינו שלא הראת דם לחכמים ומתה,ותיפוק ליה משום צנורא דעם הארץ אמר אביי בצדוקי חבר אמר רבא צדוקי חבר בועל נדה משוית ליה אלא אמר רבא | 33b. bOr perhapsit is because bshe was touchingthe semen, bandif so bshe has notthereby bnegatedher count, just as a izavdoes not negate his count if he touches semen., bRava says: Commensurate with the sharpnessof Rami bar Ḥama is the extent of his berror,as this is not a dilemma at all, since bevenif one could suggest bthata izavawho discharges semen has bindeed negatedher count, one must ask: bHow much should she negate?If one suggests bshe should negateall bsevendays of her counting, this is untenable, as bit is enough for herthat she should negate her count blikethe man who bengages in intercourse with her,i.e., like a izavwho discharges semen, who negates only one day.,And if one suggests that bshe should negate one dayalone, this too is untenable, as bthe Merciful One states:“But if she is purified from her izivathen she shall count to herself seven days, band after that she shall be pure”(Leviticus 15:28). The word b“after”indicates that she shall be pure only bafter all of them,i.e., after seven consecutive clean days, such bthat there should be no impurity separating between them.If so, there cannot be a situation where a izavanegates a single day, and consequently it cannot be that a izavawho discharges semen negates any part of her count.,The Gemara rejects Rava’s response: bAnd according to your reasoning, how does a izavhimself negateonly one day from his count due to a seminal emission? After all, bthe Merciful One states:“And when the izavis purified of his iziva /i, then he shall count for himself seven days for his purification, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and he shall be pure” (Leviticus 15:13). The phrase: “Seven days bfor his purification,”indicates bthat there should be no impurity separating between them. /b, bRather, what have you to say?The verse means only bthat there should not be an impurity of izivaseparating between them. Here too,with regard to a izava /i, the verse means only bthat there should not be an impurity of izivaseparating between them;a discharge of semen is not included in this restriction. It is therefore possible that a discharge of semen from a izavanegates only one day from her count. Accordingly, the dilemma raised by Rami bar Ḥama remains in place.,§ The mishna teaches: bButone who enters the Temple while wearing bthosegarments upon which a Samaritan had lain bis not liableto bring an offering bfor entering the Temple,nor does one burn iterumathat came into contact with those garments, because their impurity is uncertain. In connection to these ihalakhot /i, the Gemara relates that bRav Pappa happenedto come btothe city of bTavakh. He said: If there is a Torah scholar here I will go and greet him. A certain elderly woman said to him: There is a Torah scholar here and Rav Shmuel is his name, and he teaches imishnayot /i; may it beGod’s bwill that you should be like him. /b,Rav Pappa bsaidto himself: bFromthe fact bthat they bless me throughthis Rav Shmuel that I should be like him, I may bconclude from itthat bhe is a God-fearingindividual. Rav Pappa bwent tovisit bhim,and Rav Shmuel braised a bull for him,i.e., he slaughtered a bull in honor of Rav Pappa, and he also braiseda difficulty between two imishnayot /ithat apparently contradict bone another: We learnin the mishna: One who enters the Temple while wearing bthosegarments upon which a Samaritan had lain is bnot liableto bring an offering bfor entering the Temple, nor does one burn iteruma /ithat came into contact with bthosegarments, bbecause their impurity is uncertain. Evidently, we do not burn iterumadue to uncertainimpurity., bAndone can braise a contradictionfrom another mishna ( iTeharot4:5): bFor sixcases of buncertainimpurity bone burns the iteruma /iif it came into contact with them, or if a person came into contact with them and subsequently touched the iteruma /i. One of these is bfor the uncertaincase bof the garments of one who is unreliable with regard to ritual impurity [ iam ha’aretz /i].Such garments impart impurity through contact and through carrying, due to a concern that the wife of the iam ha’aretzmight have sat on them while she was menstruating. Evidently, one burns iterumadue to uncertain impurity., bRav Pappabegan his response with a supplication and bsaid: May it beGod’s bwill that this bull shall be eaten peacefully,i.e., that I will provide a satisfactory resolution of this contradiction. Since the bull was slaughtered in my honor, failing to resolve the contradiction might spoil the meal. Rav Pappa continued: bHere we are dealing with a Samaritanwho is bdevoted to the meticulous observance of mitzvot, especially ihalakhotof ritual purity, iteruma /i, and tithes [ iḥaver /i].There is therefore less concern with regard to his ritual purity than that of an iam ha’aretz /i. Consequently, the mishna here states that iterumais not burned on account of him.,Rav Shmuel rejected this response: Since the mishna is referring to men who engage in intercourse with menstruating women, bare you equating a Samaritan iḥaver /iwith a man who bengages in intercourse with a menstruating woman? /b,Rav Pappa bleftRav Shmuel in embarrassment band came before Rav Shimi bar Ashi,to whom he related this incident. Rav Shimi bar Ashi bsaid to him: What is the reasonthat byou did not respond to himthat the ruling of the mishna is stated bwith regard to a Samaritan who immersedin a ritual bath band arosefrom his impure status, bandsubsequently btrod on the garments of a iḥaver /i,which means they are now considered the bedding of the Samaritan, bandthen those bgarments ofthe iḥaverwent and touched iteruma /i?In such a case one does not burn the iteruma /i., bAs, ifone would say to burn it bdue to the impurity of an iam ha’aretz /i, hehas bimmersedin a ritual bath. bAnd ifone were to suggest that it should be burned bbecausethe Samaritan is one who bengages in intercourse with a menstruating woman,this too is an unsatisfactory reason. This is because it is buncertainwhether bhe recently engaged in intercoursewith his wife, in which case his immersion does not remove his impurity; and it is buncertainwhether bhe did not recently engage in intercoursewith his wife, in which case he is in fact pure., bAndeven bif you saythat bhe recently engaged in intercoursewith his wife, another uncertainty remains: It is buncertainwhether his wife began counting seven days from an emission of green blood and ignored any subsequent emission of red blood and bcompletedher count for the bgreenblood, which would mean that she was in fact a menstruating woman when she engaged in sexual intercourse with her husband; and it is buncertainwhether bshe did not completea count of seven days from the emission of the green blood, rather from the emission of red blood, in which case she was not a menstruating woman when her husband engaged in intercourse with her. bAndtherefore bthis is a compound uncertainty, andthere is a principle that bone does not burn iterumaonaccount of ba compound uncertainty. /b,Rav Pappa raised an objection to Rav Shimi bar Ashi: bAnd letone bderivethat the garments of the iḥaverare impure bbecausethey came into contact with the bgarments of an iam ha’aretz /i. As the Master said:The bgarments of an iam ha’aretz /iare considered impure with the ritual impurity imparted by the btreadingof a izav /i, which means they impart impurity to people and to garments, bfor individuals who are scrupulous with regard to impurity [ iperushin /i].Rav Shimi bar Ashi bsaid toRav Pappa: The mishna is referring bto a naked Samaritan.Consequently, none of his garments came into contact with the garments of the iḥaver /i., strongMISHNA: /strong With regard to bSadducee girls, when they were accustomed to follow in the ways of theirSadducee bancestors theirstatus bis likethat of bSamaritan women,whose ihalakhawas discussed in the previous mishna. If the Sadducee women babandonedthe customs of their ancestors in order bto follow in the ways of the Jewish peopletheir status bis likethat of ba Jewish woman. Rabbi Yosei says: Theirstatus bis always likethat of ba Jewish woman, until they will abandonthe ways of the Jewish people in order bto follow in the ways of theirSadducee bancestors. /b, strongGEMARA: /strong bA dilemma was raised beforethe Sages: bWhatis the ihalakhain ban unspecifiedcase, i.e., when the custom of a Sadducee woman is unknown? The Gemara suggests: bComeand bhearevidence from the mishna: With regard to bSadducee girls, when they are accustomed to follow in the ways of theirSadducee bancestors theirstatus bis likethat of bSamaritan women.It can be inferred from the mishna bthatin ban unspecifiedcase their status bis likethat of ba Jewish woman.The Gemara rejects this suggestion: bSay the latter clause:If the Sadducee women babandonedthe customs of their ancestors in order bto follow in the ways of the Jewish people theirstatus bis likethat of ba Jewish woman.One may infer from this bthatin ban unspecifiedcase their status bis likethat of bSamaritan women. Rather, noinference is bto be learned from thismishna.,The Gemara suggests: bComeand bhearthe last clause of the mishna, bas we learnedin the mishna that bRabbi Yosei says: Theirstatus bis always likethat of ba Jewish woman, until they will abandonthe ways of the Jewish people in order bto follow in the ways of theirSadducee bancestors. By inference,one may conclude bthat the first itannaholdsthat in ban unspecifiedcase their status bis likethat of bSamaritan women.The Gemara affirms: bConclude from itthat this is the case.,§ bThe Sages taught:There was ban incident involving a certain Sadducee who was conversing with the High Priest in the marketplace, andas he was speaking, bsaliva [ itzinora /i] sprayed from his mouth and fell onto the garments of the High Priest. And the face of the High Priest turned green,as he feared that his garments had been rendered ritually impure. bAnd he rushed tothe Sadducee’s bwifeto inquire whether she properly observed the ihalakhotof menstruation, in which case his garments were not rendered impure by the saliva of her husband, as he is not considered one who engages in intercourse with a menstruating woman., bShe said to him: Even thoughwomen such as myself bare the wives of Sadducees,who do not follow in the ways of the iperushim /i, bthey are scared of the iperushimand they showtheir bblood to the Sageswhen an uncertainty arises. The garments of the High Priest are therefore pure, as the Sadducee wives properly observe the ihalakhotof menstruation., bRabbi Yosei says: We are familiar with thewives of Sadducees bmore so than everyoneelse, as they are our neighbors, bandI can testify that btheyall bshowtheir bblood to the Sages, except for a certain woman who wasliving bin our neighborhood who did not showher bblood to the Sages, and she died,as a punishment for her behavior.,The Gemara objects: bAnd letthe High Priest bderivethat his garments are impure bdue to the saliva of an iam ha’aretz /i,which imparts impurity. bAbaye said:That case involved ba Sadducee iḥaver /i,who was particular with regard to the ihalakhotof ritual purity. bRava said: Are you equating a Sadducee iḥaver /iwith a man who bengages in intercourse with a menstruating woman?After all, the High Priest was initially concerned that the Sadducee might engage in intercourse with his wife while she is still menstruating. bRather, Rava said: /b |
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61. Babylonian Talmud, Qiddushin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 66a. שורך נרבע והלה שותק נאמן ותנא תונא ושנעבדה בו עבירה ושהמית על פי עד אחד או ע"פ הבעלים נאמן האי ע"פ עד אחד היכי דמי אי דקא מודו בעלים היינו ע"פ הבעלים אלא לאו דשתיק,וצריכא דאי אשמעינן הך קמייתא אי לאו דקים ליה בנפשיה דעבד חולין בעזרה לא הוה מייתי,אבל נטמאו טהרותיך מימר אמרינן האי דשתיק דסבר חזי ליה בימי טומאתו,ואי אשמעינן הא משום דקא מפסיד ליה בימי טהרתו אבל שורו נרבע מימר אמר כל השוורים לאו לגבי מזבח קיימי צריכא,איבעיא להו אשתו זינתה בעד אחד ושותק מהו אמר אביי נאמן רבא אמר אינו נאמן הוי דבר שבערוה ואין דבר שבערוה פחות משנים,אמר אביי מנא אמינא לה דההוא סמיא דהוה מסדר מתנייתא קמיה דמר שמואל יומא חד נגה ליה ולא הוה קאתי שדר שליחא אבתריה אדאזיל שליח בחדא אורחא אתא איהו בחדא כי אתא שליח אמר אשתו זינתה אתא לקמיה דמר שמואל א"ל אי מהימן לך זיל אפקה ואי לא לא תפיק,מאי לאו אי מהימן עלך דלאו גזלנא הוא ורבא אי מהימן לך כבי תרי זיל אפקה ואי לא לא תפקה,ואמר אביי מנא אמינא לה דתניא מעשה בינאי המלך שהלך לכוחלית שבמדבר וכיבש שם ששים כרכים ובחזרתו היה שמח שמחה גדולה וקרא לכל חכמי ישראל אמר להם אבותינו היו אוכלים מלוחים בזמן שהיו עסוקים בבנין בית המקדש אף אנו נאכל מלוחים זכר לאבותינו והעלו מלוחים על שולחנות של זהב ואכלו,והיה שם אחד איש לץ לב רע ובליעל ואלעזר בן פועירה שמו ויאמר אלעזר בן פועירה לינאי המלך ינאי המלך לבם של פרושים עליך ומה אעשה הקם להם בציץ שבין עיניך הקים להם בציץ שבין עיניו,היה שם זקן אחד ויהודה בן גדידיה שמו ויאמר יהודה בן גדידיה לינאי המלך ינאי המלך רב לך כתר מלכות הנח כתר כהונה לזרעו של אהרן שהיו אומרים אמו נשבית במודיעים ויבוקש הדבר ולא נמצא ויבדלו חכמי ישראל בזעם,ויאמר אלעזר בן פועירה לינאי המלך ינאי המלך הדיוט שבישראל כך הוא דינו ואתה מלך וכהן גדול כך הוא דינך ומה אעשה אם אתה שומע לעצתי רומסם ותורה מה תהא עליה הרי כרוכה ומונחת בקרן זוית כל הרוצה ללמוד יבוא וילמוד,אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק מיד נזרקה בו אפיקורסות דהוה ליה למימר תינח תורה שבכתב תורה שבעל פה מאי מיד ותוצץ הרעה על ידי אלעזר בן פועירה ויהרגו כל חכמי ישראל והיה העולם משתומם עד שבא שמעון בן שטח והחזיר את התורה ליושנה,היכי דמי אילימא דבי תרי אמרי אישתבאי ובי תרי אמרי לא אישתבאי מאי חזית דסמכת אהני סמוך אהני,אלא בעד אחד וטעמא דקא מכחשי ליה בי תרי הא לאו הכי מהימן,ורבא לעולם תרי ותרי וכדאמר רב אחא בר רב מניומי בעדי הזמה הכא נמי בעדי הזמה,ואיבעית אימא כדרבי יצחק דאמר רבי יצחק שפחה הכניסו תחתיה,אמר רבא | 66a. bYour ox was usedby a man bfor an act of bestialityand is therefore unfit for an offering, band the other,the owner of the ox, bis silent,the witness is bdeemed credible. And the itanna /iof the mishna also btaught( iBekhorot41a): bAndwith regard to an animal bthat was used for a transgressionor bthat killed,if this is attested to bby one witness or by the owner,he is bdeemed credible.The Gemara clarifies this case: bWhat are the circumstancesof bthiscase of the mishna, where the knowledge is established bby one witness? If the owner admitsto the claim, bthis isthe same as: bBy the owner. Rather, is it notreferring to a case bwherethe owner remains bsilent? /b,The Gemara comments: bAndeach of these statements of Abaye is bnecessary. As, had he taught usonly bthat firstcase, where the witness said someone ate forbidden fat, one might have said that he is deemed credible for the following reason: bWere it notfor the fact bthat he himselfwas bconvinced that he had committeda transgression, bhe would notcommit the transgression of bbringing a non-sacredanimal btothe Temple bcourtyardon the basis of the testimony of one witness. Consequently, his silence is evidently an admission., bButif the witness said: bYour ritually purefoods bwere rendered ritually impure,and the accused was silent, bwe would say:The reason bthathe is bsilentand refrains from denying the claim is bthat he thinkshe is not suffering any significant loss, as the food bis fit for himto eat bon his days of ritual impurity,because he is not required to destroy ritually impure foods., bAnd hadAbaye btaught usonly the case of: Your ritually pure food was rendered ritually impure, one might have said that the reason bthiswitness is deemed credible is bthat he causes him a loss on his days of ritual impurity,and therefore his silence is tantamount to a confession. bButin the case of: bHis ox was usedby a man bfor an act of bestiality,the owner of the ox bcan saywith regard to his animal: bNot all the oxen standready to be sacrificed basan offering on the baltar.Perhaps one would think that the owner does not bother denying the claim because he merely forfeits the possibility of sacrificing his ox as an offering, which he considers an inconsequential matter. It is only if there were two witnesses to the act that the animal is put to death, whereas here there was only one witness. It is therefore bnecessaryfor Abaye to specify all these cases.,§ bA dilemma was raised beforethe Sages: If a husband is told bby one witnessthat bhis wife committed adultery, andthe husband remains bsilent, what isthe ihalakha /i? bAbaye said:The witness is bdeemed credible. Rava said: He is not deemed credible.Why not? Because bit is a matter involving forbidden relations, and there is no matterof testimony bfor forbidden sexual relationsthat can be attested to by bfewer than twowitnesses., bAbaye said: From where do I saythis claim of mine? It happened bthatthere was ba certain blind man who would review imishnayotbefore Mar Shmuel. One daythe blind man bwas late for him and was not arriving.Mar Shmuel bsent a messenger after himto assist him. bWhilethe bmessenger was goingto the blind man’s house bby one way,the blind man barrivedat the house of study bby a differentroute, and therefore the messenger missed him and reached his house. bWhenthe bmessenger cameback, bhe saidthat he had been to the blind man’s house and saw that bhis wife committed adultery.The blind man bcame before Mar Shmuelto inquire whether he must pay heed to this testimony. Mar Shmuel bsaid to him: Ifthis messenger bis trusted by you, goand bdivorce her, but if not, do not divorceher.,Abaye comments: bWhat, is it notcorrect to say that this means that bif he is trusted by you that he is not a thiefbut is a valid witness, you must rely on him? This would prove that a single witness can testify in a case of this kind. bAnd Ravaexplains that Mar Shmuel meant: bIfhe bis trusted by you like twowitnesses, bgoand bdivorce her, but if not, do not divorceher. Consequently, Rava maintains that this episode affords no proof., bAnd Abaye said: From where do I saythis claim of mine? bAs it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bAn incidentoccurred bwith King Yannai, who went tothe region of bKoḥalit in the desert and conquered sixty cities there. And upon his return he rejoicedwith ba great happinessover his victory. bAnd hesubsequently bsummoned all the Sages of the Jewish peopleand bsaid to them: Our ancestorsin their poverty bwould eat salty foods when they were busy with the building of the Temple; we too shall eat salty foods in memory of our ancestors. And they brought salty food on tables of gold, and ate. /b, bAnd there was oneperson bpresent, a scoffer,a man of ban evil heart and a scoundrel called Elazar ben Po’ira. And Elazar ben Po’ira said to King Yannai: King Yannai, the hearts of the Pharisees,the Sages, bare against you.In other words, they harbor secret resentment against you and do not like you. The king replied: bAnd what shall I doto clarify this matter? Elazar responded: bHave them stand bywearing bthe frontplate between your eyes.Since the frontplate bears the Divine Name, they should stand in its honor. Yannai, who was a member of the priestly Hasmonean family, also served as High Priest, who wears the frontplate. bHe hadthe Pharisees bstand bywearing bthe frontplate between his eyes. /b,Now bthere was a certain elder present called Yehuda ben Gedidya, and Yehuda ben Gedidya said to King Yannai: King Yannai, the crown of the monarchy suffices for you,i.e., you should be satisfied that you are king. bLeave the crown of the priesthood for the descendants of Aaron.The Gemara explains this last comment: bAs they would saythat Yannai’s bmother was taken captive in Modi’in,and she was therefore disqualified from marrying into the priesthood, which meant that Yannai was a iḥalal /i. bAnd the matter was investigated and was not discovered,i.e., they sought witnesses for that event but none were found. bAnd the Sages of Israel were expelled inthe king’s brage,due to this rumor., bAnd Elazar ben Po’ira said to King Yannai: King Yannai, such is the judgment of a common person in Israel.In other words, merely expelling a slanderer is appropriate if the subject of the slander is a commoner. bBut you are a king and a High Priest.Is bthis your judgmentas well? Yannai replied: bAnd what should I do?Elazar responded: bIf you listen to my advice, crush them.Yannai countered: bBut what will become of the Torah?He retorted: bBehold,it bis wrapped and placed in the corner. Anyone who wishes to study can come and study.We have no need for the Sages.,The Gemara interjects: bRav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says: Immediately, heresy was injected intoYannai, bas he should have saidto Elazar ben Po’ira: This bworks out wellwith regard to bthe Written Torah,as it can be studied by all on their own, but bwhatwill become of bthe Oral Torah?The Oral Torah is transmitted only by the Sages. The ibaraitacontinues: bImmediately, the evilarose and bcaught fire through Elazar ben Po’ira, and all the Sages of the Jewish people were killed. And the world was desolateof Torah buntil Shimon ben Shataḥ came and restored the Torah to its formerglory. This completes the ibaraita /i.,Abaye asks: bWhat are the circumstancesof this case? How did those who conducted the investigation refute the rumor that Yannai’s mother had been taken captive? bIf we say that twowitnesses bsaidthat bshe was taken captive, and twoothers bsaidthat bshe was not taken captive, what did you see that you rely on thesewho said that she was not taken captive? Instead, brely on thesewho said that she was taken captive. In such a scenario, one cannot say definitively that the matter was investigated and found to be false., bRather,it must be referring bto one witnesswho testified she was taken captive, and two testified that she was not taken captive. bAnd the reasonthat the lone witness is not deemed credible is only bthat he is contradicted by theother btwo,from which it may be inferred that bif not for thatfact, bhe would be deemed credible.This supports Abaye’s claim that an uncontested lone witness is deemed credible in a case of this kind., bAnd Ravacould reply that this incident affords no proof, for the following reason: bActually,one can say that there were btwowitnesses who testified that she was captured band twowho testified that she was not, bandthe case was decided bin accordance with thatwhich bRav Aḥa bar Rav Minyumi saysin a different context, that it is referring bto conspiring witnesses.The second pair of witnesses did not contradict the testimony of the first pair but established them as liars by stating that the first pair were not there to witness the event. This serves to disqualify the testimony of the first pair altogether. bHere too,it is referring btowitnesses who rendered the first set bconspiring witnesses. /b, bAnd if you wish, saythat this is bin accordance withthe version of the story stated bby Rabbi Yitzḥak, as Rabbi Yitzḥak says: They replacedYannai’s mother bwith a maidservant.The first witnesses saw that Yannai’s mother was about to be taken captive, but the second pair revealed that she had actually been replaced with a maidservant, thereby negating the testimony of the first set., bRava says: /b |
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62. Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 18b. דאמר רב חנא בר ביזנא אמר ר"ש חסידא מאי דכתיב (זכריה ח, יט) כה אמר ה' צבאות צום הרביעי וצום החמישי וצום השביעי וצום העשירי יהיה לבית יהודה לששון ולשמחה קרי להו צום וקרי להו ששון ושמחה בזמן שיש שלום יהיו לששון ולשמחה אין שלום צום,אמר רב פפא הכי קאמר בזמן שיש שלום יהיו לששון ולשמחה יש גזרת המלכות צום אין גזרת המלכות ואין שלום רצו מתענין רצו אין מתענין,אי הכי ט"ב נמי אמר רב פפא שאני ט' באב הואיל והוכפלו בו צרות דאמר מר בט' באב חרב הבית בראשונה ובשניה ונלכדה ביתר ונחרשה העיר,תניא אמר ר"ש ארבעה דברים היה ר"ע דורש ואני אין דורש כמותו צום הרביעי זה ט' בתמוז שבו הובקעה העיר שנאמר (ירמיהו נב, ו) (ברביעי) בתשעה לחדש ויחזק הרעב בעיר ולא היה לחם לעם הארץ ותבקע העיר ואמאי קרי ליה רביעי רביעי לחדשים,צום החמישי זה תשעה באב שבו נשרף בית אלהינו ואמאי קרי ליה חמישי חמישי לחדשים צום השביעי זה ג' בתשרי שבו נהרג גדליה בן אחיקם ומי הרגו ישמעאל בן נתניה הרגו ללמדך ששקולה מיתתן של צדיקים כשריפת בית אלהינו ואמאי קרי ליה שביעי שביעי לחדשים,צום העשירי זה עשרה בטבת שבו סמך מלך בבל על ירושלים שנאמר (יחזקאל כד, א) ויהי דבר ה' אלי בשנה התשיעית בחדש העשירי בעשור לחדש לאמר בן אדם כתב לך את שם היום את עצם היום הזה סמך מלך בבל אל ירושלם ואמאי קרי ליה עשירי עשירי לחדשים והלא היה ראוי זה לכתוב ראשון ולמה נכתב כאן כדי להסדיר חדשים כתיקנן,ואני איני אומר כן אלא צום העשירי זה חמשה בטבת שבו באת שמועה לגולה שהוכתה העיר שנאמר (יחזקאל לג, כא) ויהי בשתי עשרה שנה בעשירי בחמשה לחדש לגלותנו בא אלי הפליט מירושלם לאמר הוכתה העיר ועשו יום שמועה כיום שריפה,ונראין דברי מדבריו שאני אומר על ראשון ראשון ועל אחרון אחרון והוא אומר על ראשון אחרון ועל אחרון ראשון אלא שהוא מונה לסדר חדשים ואני מונה לסדר פורעניות,איתמר רב ורבי חנינא אמרי בטלה מגילת תענית רבי יוחנן וריב"ל אמרי לא בטלה מגילת תענית,רב ורבי חנינא אמרי בטלה מגילת תענית הכי קאמר בזמן שיש שלום יהיו לששון ולשמחה אין שלום צום והנך נמי כי הני,רבי יוחנן ורבי יהושע בן לוי אמרי לא בטלה מגילת תענית הני הוא דתלינהו רחמנא בבנין בהמ"ק אבל הנך כדקיימי קיימי,מתיב רב כהנא מעשה וגזרו תענית בחנוכה בלוד וירד ר"א ורחץ ורבי יהושע וסיפר ואמרו להם צאו והתענו על מה שהתעניתם,א"ר יוסף שאני חנוכה דאיכא מצוה א"ל אביי ותיבטיל איהי ותיבטל מצותה,אלא אמר רב יוסף שאני חנוכה דמיפרסם ניסא,מותיב רב אחא בר הונא בתלתא בתשרי בטילת אדכרתא מן שטרייא שגזרה מלכות יון גזרה שלא להזכיר שם שמים על פיהם וכשגברה מלכות חשמונאי ונצחום התקינו שיהו מזכירין שם שמים אפילו בשטרות וכך היו כותבים בשנת כך וכך ליוחנן כהן גדול לאל עליון,וכששמעו חכמים בדבר אמרו למחר זה פורע את חובו ונמצא שטר מוטל באשפה וביטלום ואותו היום עשאוהו יו"ט ואי סלקא דעתך בטלה מגילת תענית קמייתא בטול אחרנייתא מוסיפין,הכא במאי עסקינן בזמן שבית המקדש קיים | 18b. bAs Rav Ḥana bar Bizna saidthat bRabbi Shimon Ḥasida said: What isthe meaning of that bwhich is written: “Thus said the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall become times of joy and gladness,and cheerful seasons, bto the house of Judah”(Zechariah 8:19). bIt calls themdays of b“fast” and it calls them“times of bjoy and gladness.”How so? bWhen there is peacein the world, bthey will betimes of bjoy and gladness,on which eulogies and fasting are forbidden; but when bthere is no peace,they are days of bfasting.In a time when there is no peace, why are messengers not sent out also for the fourth and tenth months, so that people can know when to observe the fasts?, bRav Pappa saidthat bthis is what it is saying: When there is peacein the world and the Temple is standing, these days bwill betimes of bjoy and gladness;when bthere is persecutionand troubles for the Jewish people, they are days of bfasting;and when bthere is no persecution butstill bno peace,neither particular troubles nor consolation for Israel, the ihalakhais as follows: If people bwish, they fast,and if bthey wish, they do not fast.Since there is no absolute obligation to fast, messengers are not sent out for these months.,The Gemara asks: bIf so, the Ninth of Avshould balsobe like the other fast days, that sometimes it is observed and sometimes not, depending upon the wishes of the community at the time. Why does the mishna state that messengers go out for the month of Av? bRav Pappa said: The Ninth of Av is different, since the calamitiesthat occurred on that day bwere multiplied. As the Master said: On the Ninth of Av the Temple was destroyed,both bthe firstone band the secondone; on this day the city of bBeitar was captured;and on this day bthe cityof Jerusalem bwas plowedover by the enemies of the Jewish people, as a sign that it would never be rebuilt. Consequently, the fast of the Ninth of Av is obligatory, and not optional like the other fasts. Messengers are consequently sent out so that people will know when to fast.,§ The Sages disagreed about the fasts alluded to in the words of the prophet, as bit is taughtin a ibaraita /i. bRabbi Shimon said: Rabbi Akiva would expound four verses, but I would not expoundthe texts bas he did.One of the disputes relates to the fasts mentioned by Zechariah. Rabbi Akiva would expound the verse as follows: b“The fast of the fourth,” this is the ninth of Tammuz, on which the cityof Jerusalem bwas breached, as it is stated: “And in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then the city was breached”(Jeremiah 52:6–7). bAnd why doesthe prophet bcall itthe fast of the bfourth?Because it is in Tammuz, bthe fourth of the monthswhen counting from Nisan., b“The fast of the fifth,” this is the Ninth of Av, on which the Temple of our Lord was burnt. And why does he call itthe fast of the bfifth?Because it falls in the bfifth of the months. “The fast of the seventh,” this is the third of Tishrei, on which Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, was killed. And who killed him? Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, killed him(see II Kings 25:25; Jeremiah, chapter 41). The Sages established a fast to commemorate Gedaliah’s death bto teach you that the death of the righteous is equivalent to the burning of the Temple of our Lord. And why didthe prophet bcall itthe fast of the bseventh?Because Tishrei is the bseventh of the months. /b, b“The fast of the tenth,” This is the tenth of Tevet, on which the king of Babylonia laid siege to Jerusalem, as it is stated: “And in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, write the name of the day, of this same day: The king of Babylonia has laid siege to Jerusalem on this very day”(Ezekiel 24:1–2). bAnd why did he call itthe fast of the btenth?Because it is in Tevet, which is bthe tenth of the months. Wouldn’t it have been fitting to writethis fast bfirst,as the series of events began with the laying of the siege. bWhy wasit bwritten hereat the end of the list? This was done bin order to list the months intheir bproperorder, as the prophet began with the fourth month and ended with the tenth month. This is the statement of Rabbi Akiva.,Rabbi Shimon disagreed and said: bI do not say this, but ratherI expound the verse as follows: b“The fast of the tenth,” this is the fifth of Tevet, on which the report reached the Diaspora that the city had been smitten, as it is stated: “And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying: The city is smitten”(Ezekiel 33:21); band they made the day of the reportof the destruction blike the day of theactual bburningand decreed a fast on that day.,And Rabbi Shimon added: bAnd my statement seemsmore convincing bthan his statement, as I say about the firstfast mentioned by the prophet that it marks the event that took place bfirst, and about the lastfast that it marks the event that took place blast.According to Rabbi Shimon, the fasts are listed in accordance with the chronological order of the events. bBut he,Rabbi Akiva, bsays about the firstfast mentioned by the prophet that it marks the event that took place blast, and about the lastfast mentioned that it marks the event that took place bfirst, only that he liststhe fasts bin the order of the months, whereas I listthem also bin the order of the calamitiesthat they mark.,§ bIt was statedthat the Sages disagreed about the following matter: bRav and Rabbi Ḥaninaboth bsay: iMegillat Ta’anit /i,a listing of days on which fasting and eulogizing are forbidden, bhas been nullified,as in the present period of exile there is no reason to celebrate the joyous events that these days commemorate. bRabbi Yoḥa and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi say: iMegillat Ta’anithas not been nullified. /b,The Gemara explains: bRav and Rabbi Ḥanina saythat iMegillat Ta’anithas been nullified. This is whatthe prophet bis saying: At a time when there is peacein the world, the dates listed bwill betimes of bjoy and gladness,on which eulogies and fasting are forbidden; but when bthere is no peace,they are days of bfasting. And thosedays mentioned in iMegillat Ta’anit bare also like thesedays of fasting, that is to say, the days of joy listed in iMegillat Ta’anitare also nullified when there is no peace., bRabbi Yoḥa and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi saythat iMegillat Ta’anithas not been nullified,and they reason as follows: bIt was thosefast days mentioned in the Bible bthat the Merciful One makes contingent on the building of the Temple, but thesefestive days listed in iMegillat Ta’anit bremain as they wereand have not been nullified., bRav Kahana raised an objectionagainst Rav and Rabbi Ḥanina from a ibaraita /i: bThere was an incident andthe Sages bdecreed a fast on Hanukkah in Lod, and Rabbi Eliezer went downon that day band bathedin the bathhouse band Rabbi Yehoshua went down and cuthis hair to show that they did not accept the fast. Furthermore, these two Sages bsaid tothe others: bGo out and fastanother fast as an act of penitence bfor what you havealready bfasted,as the days of Hanukkah are days of joy, on which fasting is forbidden. Hanukkah is one of the Festivals listed in iMegillat Ta’anit /i. Even after the destruction of the Temple Hanukkah is celebrated, demonstrating that iMegillat Ta’anithas not been nullified., bRav Yosef said: Hanukkah is different, as there is the mitzvaof lighting candles, and so, unlike the other days listed in iMegillat Ta’anit /i, the festival of Hanukkah was not nullified. bAbaye said to him:What is this argument? bLetHanukkah bitself be nullified, and let its mitzvaof lighting candles bbe nullifiedwith it., bRather, Rav Yosefretracted his previous explanation and bsaid: Hanukkah is different, as its miracle is well known,and it has become so widely accepted by all the Jewish people that it would be inappropriate to nullify it., bRav Aḥa bar Huna raised an objection:It is stated in iMegillat Ta’anit /i: bOn the third of Tishrei theordice requiring the bmentionof God’s name binlegal bdocuments was abolished,and on that day fasting is forbidden. bFor the kingdom of Greece had issued a decreeagainst the Jews bforbidding them to mention the name of Heaven on their lips. When the Hasmonean kingdom became strong and defeatedthe Greeks, bthey instituted that people should mention the name of Heaven even in theirlegal bdocuments. And therefore they would write: In year such and such of Yoḥa the High Priest of the God Most High. /b, bAnd when the Sages heard about this they said: Tomorrow this one,the borrower, bwill repay his debt,the lender will no longer need to save the loan document, bthe document will be cast on a dunghill,and the name of Heaven written there will come to disgrace. bAndso bthey annulledthe ordice to mention God’s name in documents, band they made that day into a Festival. And if it enters your mindto say that iMegillat Ta’anithas been nullified,can you say that bthe firstprohibitions against fasting bthey annulled, andthen blaterones bwere added? /b,The Gemara answers: bWith what are we dealing here?This is referring to a time bwhen the Temple was standingand all the days listed in iMegillat Ta’anitwere in force. From time to time new days of commemoration were added. When the iamora’imstated that iMegillat Ta’anitwas nullified they were referring to the time after the destruction of the Temple. |
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63. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 11b. תקיפאי קדמאי לעינוותני בתראי,דתניא מעשה ברבן גמליאל שהיה יושב על גב מעלה בהר הבית והיה יוחנן סופר הלז עומד לפניו ושלש איגרות חתוכות לפניו מונחות,אמר לו טול איגרתא חדא וכתוב לאחנא בני גלילאה עילאה ולאחנא בני גלילאה תתאה שלומכון יסגא מהודעין אנחנא לכון דזמן ביעורא מטא לאפרושי מעשרא ממעטנא דזיתא וטול איגרתא חדא וכתוב לאחנא בני דרומא שלומכון יסגא מהודעין אנחנא לכון דזמן ביעורא מטא לאפרושי מעשרא מעומרי שיבליא,וטול איגרתא חדא וכתוב לאחנא בני גלוותא בבבל ולאחנא דבמדי ולשאר כל גלוותא דישראל שלומכון יסגא לעלם מהודעין אנחנא לכון דגוזליא רכיכין ואימריא ערקין וזמנא דאביבא לא מטא ושפרא מילתא באנפאי ובאנפי חביריי ואוסיפית על שתא דא יומין תלתין דילמא בתר דעברוהו:,תנו רבנן על שלשה דברים מעברין את השנה על האביב ועל פירות האילן ועל התקופה על שנים מהן מעברין ועל אחד מהן אין מעברין,ובזמן שאביב אחד מהן הכל שמחין רבי שמעון בן גמליאל אומר על התקופה איבעיא להו על התקופה שמחין או על התקופה מעברין תיקו:,ת"ר על שלשה ארצות מעברין את השנה יהודה ועבר הירדן והגליל על שתים מהן מעברין ועל אחת מהן אין מעברין ובזמן שיהודה אחת מהן הכל שמחין שאין עומר בא אלא מיהודה,ת"ר אין מעברין את השנים אלא ביהודה ואם עיברוה בגליל מעוברת העיד חנניה איש אונו אם עיברוה בגליל אינה מעוברת א"ר יהודה בריה דרבי שמעון בן פזי מאי טעמא דחנניה איש אונו אמר קרא (דברים יב, ה) לשכנו תדרשו ובאת שמה כל דרישה שאתה דורש לא יהיו אלא בשכנו של מקום,ת"ר אין מעברין את השנה אלא ביום ואם עיברוה בלילה אינה מעוברת ואין מקדשין את החדש אלא ביום ואם קידשוהו בלילה אינו מקודש א"ר אבא מאי קרא (תהלים פא, ד) תקעו בחדש שופר בכסה ליום חגנו איזהו חג שהחדש מתכסה בו הוי אומר זה ראש השנה וכתיב כי חוק לישראל הוא משפט לאלהי יעקב מה משפט ביום אף קידוש החדש ביום,ת"ר אין מעברין את השנה | 11b. bthe earlier, sternauthorities band the later, humbleauthorities, for although Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel was known as particularly humble, his proclamation was written with less modesty than that of his father, Rabban Gamliel, who was known to be particularly stern., bAs it is taughtin a ibaraita( iTosefta2:6): There was ban incident involving Rabban Gamliel, who was sitting on a step on the Temple Mount, and Yoḥa, that scribe, was standing before him, and threeblank bdocuments cutfrom parchment and ready for writing bwere set before him. /b,Rabban Gamliel bsaid tothe scribe: bTake one document, and write: To our brothers, the people of the Upper Galilee, and to our brothers, the people of the Lower Galilee, may your peace increase. We are informing you that the time has comefor beradicationof tithes that had been separated from produce but not yet given to their designated recipients, as is to be done in the fourth and seventh years of the Sabbatical-Year cycle, bto separate the tithe from the vat of olives,because most of the local olives were grown in the Galilee. Rabban Gamliel continued, instructing the scribe: bAnd take one document, and write: To our brothers, the people of the South,meaning the area of Judea and its environs, bmay your peace increase. We are informing you that the time has comefor beradication, to separate the tithe from the mounds of stalksof grains, because most of the local grain was grown in the Judea region.,Rabban Gamliel continued to instruct the scribe: bAnd take one document, and write: To our brothers, the people of the Diaspora in Babylonia, and to our brothers who are in Medea, and to the rest of the entire Jewish Diaspora, may your peace increase forever. We are informing you that the fledglings are tender, and the lambs are thin, and time for the spring has not come. Andconsequently, bthe matter is good before me and before my colleagues,i.e., in our estimation, band I haveconsequently badded thirty days to this year.The third letter indicates that evidently Rabban Gamliel included others in his decision. The Gemara rejects this, and explains: bPerhapsthis incident occurred bafter they deposedRabban Gamliel from his position as iNasi /i. When he was reinstated, he shared his office with Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya. Therefore, he wrote the decision in the name of his colleagues as well.,§ bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita( iTosefta2:2): The court bmay intercalate the year for three matters: For the ripening of the grain,if it is not yet time for the barley to ripen; bfor the fruit of the trees,if they have not yet ripened; band for the equinox,i.e., to ensure that the autumnal equinox will precede iSukkot /i. If btwo ofthese concerns apply, the court bintercalatesthe year even if the third factor does not apply; bbut foronly bone of themthe court bdoes not intercalatethe year.,The ibaraitacontinues: bAnd when the ripening of the grainis bone of the concerns, everyone is happy.Since the grain is not yet ripe, the people do not mind waiting an extra month for Nisan. If the grain is already ripe, however, the extra month would simply prolong the period during which the grain may not be eaten due to the prohibition of the new crop, as the new crop may be harvested and eaten only after the sacrifice of the iomeroffering on the sixteenth of Nisan (see Leviticus 23:14). bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: For the equinox.The Gemara seeks to clarify this statement: bA dilemma was raised beforethe Sages. When he said: bFor the equinox,did he mean this is the reason that everyone is bhappy, ordid he mean that only bfor the equinoxmay the court bintercalatethe year? The dilemma bshall standunresolved., bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita( iTosefta2:2): The court bmay intercalate the year for threeregional blandsof Eretz Yisrael, meaning that the court considers the agricultural situation in three regions: bJudea, and Transjordan, and the Galilee.If there is a concern babout two of them,the court bintercalatesthe year even if the third region does not need it, bbutif there is a concern baboutonly bone of themthe court bdoes not intercalatethe year. bAnd when Judea is one of them, everyone is happy, because the iomer /ioffering bcomes only from Judea.If the court therefore ensures that the crops in Judea ripen just before the iomeris brought, the crops will certainly be ripe in the other regions as well, and there will be no complications with the prohibition of the new crop.,§ bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita( iTosefta2:2): The court bmay intercalate the years onlywhen located bin Judea. And if they intercalated itwhen located bin the Galilee,the year is nevertheless bintercalated. Ḥaya of Ono testified:Even bifthe court already formally bintercalatedthe year when located bin the Galilee, it is not intercalated. Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, says: What is the reasoning of Ḥaya of Ono? The verse states:“But to the place that the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, bto His abode shall you seek, and there you shall come”(Deuteronomy 12:5). This is interpreted as: bEvery pursuit that you shall pursuein the area of ihalakha bmust be only in the abode of the Omnipresent,in close proximity to Jerusalem, i.e., in Judea., bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita( iTosefta2:7): The court bmay intercalate the year only during the day; and ifthe court bintercalated it at night, it is not intercalated. Andthe court bmay sanctify the month only during the day; and ifthe court bsanctified it at night, it is not sanctified. Rav Abba says: What is the versefrom which this ihalakhais derived? b“Sound the shofar at the New Moon, at the concealed time for our Festival day”(Psalms 81:4). On bwhich Festival is the new moon concealed? You must say it is Rosh HaShana,which occurs on the first of the month, before the moon is visible, whereas the moon is visible during the other Festivals, which occur later in the month. bAnd it is writtenin the next verse: b“For it is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob”(Psalms 81:5). bJust asall civil bjudgment isdone bduring the day, so too isthe sanctification of Rosh HaShana, and bthe sanctification of the monthin general, done bduring the day. /b, bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita( iTosefta2:5): The court bdoes not intercalate the year /b |
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64. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 146a. שבא נחש על חוה הטיל בה זוהמא ישראל שעמדו על הר סיני פסקה זוהמתן עובדי כוכבי' שלא עמדו על הר סיני לא פסקה זוהמתן א"ל רב אחא בריה דרבא לרב אשי גרים מאי א"ל אע"ג דאינהו לא הוו מזלייהו הוו דכתיב (דברים כט, יד) את אשר ישנו פה עמנו עומד היום לפני ה' אלהינו ואת אשר איננו פה וגו',ופליגא דר' אבא בר כהנא דא"ר אבא בר כהנא עד שלשה דורות לא פסקה זוהמא מאבותינו אברהם הוליד את ישמעאל יצחק הוליד את עשו יעקב הוליד י"ב שבטים שלא היה בהן שום דופי:, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big שובר אדם את החבית לאכול הימנה גרוגרות ובלבד שלא יתכוין לעשות כלי ואין נוקבין מגופה של חבית דברי ר' יהודה וחכמים מתירין ולא יקבנה מצדה ואם היתה נקובה לא יתן עליה שעוה מפני שהוא ממרח אמר ר' יהודה מעשה בא לפני רבן יוחנן בן זכאי בערב ואמר חוששני לו מחטאת:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big א"ר אושעיא ל"ש אלא דרוסות אבל מפורדות לא ומפורדות לא,מיתיבי ר' שמעון בן גמליאל אומר מביא אדם את החבית של יין ומתיז ראשה בסייף ומניחה לפני האורחים בשבת ואינו חושש ההיא רבנן מתני' רבי נחמיה היא,ומאי דוחקיה דרבי אושעיא לאוקמי מתניתין כרבי נחמיה ובדרוסות לוקמה במפורדות ורבנן אמר רבא מתני' קשיתיה מאי איריא דתני גרוגרות ליתני פירות אלא ש"מ בדרוסות,תניא חדא חותלות של גרוגרות ושל תמרים מתיר ומפקיע וחותך ותניא אידך מתיר אבל לא מפקיע ולא חותך לא קשיא הא רבנן הא ר' נחמיה דתניא ר' נחמיה אומר אפי' תרווד ואפילו טלית ואפילו סכין אין ניטלין אלא לצורך תשמישן,בעו מיניה מרב ששת מהו למיברז חביתא בבורטיא בשבתא לפיתחא קמיכוין ואסיר או דילמא לעין יפה קמיכוין ושרי א"ל לפיתחא קא מכוין ואסיר,מיתיבי רשב"ג אומר מביא אדם חבית של יין ומתיז ראשה בסייף התם ודאי לעין יפה קמיכוין הכא אם איתא דלעין יפה קמיכוין לפתוחי מיפתח:,אין נוקבין מגופה וכו': אמר רב הונא מחלוקת למעלה אבל מן הצד דברי הכל אסור והיינו דקתני לא יקבנה מצדה ורב חסדא אמר מחלוקת מן הצד אבל על גבה דברי הכל מותר והא דקתני לא יקבנה מצדה התם בגופה דחבית,תנו רבנן אין נוקבין נקב חדש בשבת ואם בא להוסיף מוסיף ויש אומרים אין מוסיפין ושוין שנוקבין נקב ישן לכתחילה ותנא קמא מאי שנא מנקב חדש דלא דקא מתקן פיתחא אוסופי נמי קא מתקן פיתחא,אמר רבה דבר תורה כל פתח שאינו עשוי להכניס ולהוציא אינו פתח ורבנן הוא דגזור משום לול של תרנגולין דעביד לעיולי אוירא ולאפוקי הבלא ואם בא להוסיף מוסיף אוסופי ודאי בלול של תרנגולים לא אתי לאוסופי | 146a. bthe snake came upon Eve,i.e., when it seduced her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, bit infected her withmoral bcontamination,and this contamination remained in all human beings. When the bJewish people stood at Mount Sinai, their contamination ceased,whereas bgentiles did not stand at Mount Sinai,and btheir contamination never ceased. Rav Aḥa, the son of Rava, said to Rav Ashi: Whatabout bconverts?How do you explain the cessation of their moral contamination? Rav Ashi bsaid to him: Even though theythemselves bwere notat Mount Sinai, btheir guardian angels werepresent, bas it is written:“It is not with you alone that I make this covet and this oath, but bwith he that stands here with us today before the Lord our God, and with he that is not herewith us today” (Deuteronomy 29:13–14), and this includes converts.,The Gemara points out that this opinion bdisagrees with Rabbi Abba bar Kahana, as Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Until three generationspassed, the moral bcontamination did not cease from our forefathers: Abraham fathered Ishmael,who was of lowly moral stature; bIsaac fathered Esau;finally, bJacob fathered twelve tribes in whom there was no flaw.Rabbi Abba bar Kahana holds that the moral contamination ceased in the Patriarchs long before the Revelation at Sinai., strongMISHNA: /strong bA person may break a barrelon Shabbat in order bto eat dried figs from it, provided he does not intend to make a vessel. And one may not perforate the plug of a barrelto extract wine from it; rather, one must remove the plug entirely to avoid creating a new opening for the barrel. This is bthe statement of Rabbi Yehuda. And the Rabbis permitpuncturing the plug, but they too restrict this leniency and say that bone may not perforatethe plug of the barrel bon its side. And if it wasalready bperforated, one may not apply wax to itto seal the hole, bbecausein doing so bhe spreadsthe wax evenly on the barrel and thereby violates the prohibited labor of smoothing. bRabbi Yehuda said: An incidentof that kind bcame before Rabban Yoḥa ben Zakkai inthe city of bArav, and he said: I am concerned for him,because he may be liable btobring ba sin-offeringas a result of this., strongGEMARA: /strong bRabbi Oshaya said: They only taughtthat it is permitted to break open a barrel when the figs were bpressedtogether. This is because in that case it is permissible to use a utensil to separate the figs, that utensil may also be utilized to break open the barrel. bHowever,if the figs were already bseparated,it is bnotpermitted to handle a utensil for the sole purpose of breaking the barrel. The Gemara asks: bAndis it bnotpermitted to break the barrel for bseparatedfigs?,The Gemara braises an objectionbased on a ibaraita /i: bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: A person may bring a barrel of wine and cut offthe btopof the barrel bwith a sword and place it before the guests on Shabbat without concernthat it is prohibited to move the sword or that doing so constitutes the creation of a new vessel, which is prohibited. Apparently, it is permitted to move a sword in order to open a barrel on Shabbat even if it is not needed to cut the contents of the barrel. The Gemara answers for Rabbi Oshaya: bThat ibaraita /i, which cites the opinion of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, is in accordance with the opinion of bthe Rabbis,whereas bour mishna isin accordance with the opinion of bRabbi Neḥemya,who said that it is prohibited to move any utensil on Shabbat for any purpose other than that for which the utensil is designated.,The Gemara asks: bAnd what forced Rabbi Oshaya to establish the mishna in accordance withthe minority opinion of bRabbi Neḥemyaand to say that it is referring only btothe case of a bpresseddried figs? bLet him establishthat the mishna is referring even bto separatedfigs bandis in accordance with the opinion of bthe Rabbis. Rava said: The mishnaposed a bdifficulty for him; why didthe itanna bteach particularlyabout bdried figs? Let him teacha more general ihalakhawith regard to bfruit. Rather, learn from here thatthe mishna is referring specifically to bpresseddried figs, and it is because one requires a utensil to separate them that he may use it to open the barrel as well., bIt was taught in one ibaraita /i: If one has sealed, wicker bbaskets of dried figs or of dates, one may untiethe basket’s knot on Shabbat, and bunbraidthe basket band cutit open. bAnd it was taught in another ibaraita /i: bOne may untiethe knot, bbut one may not unbraid or cutthe basket. There is a contradiction between these two ibaraitot /i. The Gemara resolves this contradiction: This is bnot difficult. This ibaraita /i, which permits all of these actions, is in accordance with the opinion of bthe Rabbis. That ibaraita /i, which prohibits unbraiding and cutting, is in accordance with the opinion of bRabbi Neḥemya. As it was taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Neḥemya says: Even a large spoon and even a cloak and even a knife may only be takenon Shabbat bfor theirdesignated buse,and it is therefore prohibited to take a knife to cut open baskets of fruit.,The students braised a dilemma before Rav Sheshet: What isthe ihalakhawith regard to whether or not it is permitted bto perforate a barrel with a spear [ iburtiya /i] on Shabbat?Is the assumption that bone intends tomake ban openingin the barrel bandit is therefore bprohibited, or perhapsis the assumption that bonemerely bintends todisplay bgenerosity and it is permitted?Rav Sheshet bsaid to them: He intends tomake ban openingin the barrel band it is prohibited. /b,The Gemara braises an objectionbased on that which was taught in the ibaraitathat bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: One may bring a barrel of wineon Shabbat band cut off its top with a sword.This contradicts Rav Sheshet’s opinion that opening a barrel with a spear is prohibited? He answered them: bThere,in the case of the sword, since one essentially destroys the barrel by cutting off its top, bhe certainly intends todisplay bgenerosityby breaking the barrel open in his guests’ honor. However, bhere,in the case of spearing a hole in the barrel, bif it weretrue that bhe intendsto display bgenerosity, let him openthe top of the barrel by removing its plug. By perforating the barrel, he indicates that he specifically wants there to be a small hole.,We learned in the mishna: bAnd one may not perforate the plugof a barrel; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda, and the Rabbis permit it. bRav Huna said:This bdisputeis only with regard to a case where one seeks to make a perforation bon topof the plug; bhowever,if he seeks to perforate it bfrom the side, everyone agrees that it is prohibited,because people sometimes puncture a barrel beneath the plug in this way. bAnd that iswhat the mishna bis teaching: One may not perforate it on its side.Whereas bRav Ḥisda said:This bdisputeis with regard to a case where one seeks to perforate it bfrom the side; however,if one seeks to perforate it bon top, everyone agrees that it is permitted, andwith regard to bthat whichthe mishna bis teaching: One may not perforate it on its side, thereit is referring to perforating bthe barrel itself,not the plug., bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOne may not create a new holein a vessel bon Shabbat. And if one seeks to addto and widen an already existing hole, bone may addto it; band some saythat bone may noteven baddto an already existing hole. bAndall opinions, even those who generally prohibit creating new holes, agree bthat one may perforatethe seal over ban old hole,even iab initio /i. Andwith regard to the opinion of bthe first itanna /i,the Gemara asks: bWhat is differentabout perforating the seal over an old hole that makes it permitted, whereas bcreating a new hole is notpermitted? Is it because in creating the new hole bhe is creating an opening?If so, by baddingto an already existing hole bhe is also creating an opening. /b, bRabba said:Actually, even creating a new hole is not prohibited, because bby Torah law, any opening that is not made toboth binsert and to remove is notconsidered ban opening,and a hole that one perforates in a barrel is intended exclusively to remove the contents of the barrel. bAnd it was the Sages who issued a decreethat one may not perforate a vessel bbecauseit is similar to perforating ba chicken coop,which is designated for use in both directions, e.g., bto let in air and to let out heat,and it is therefore prohibited by Torah law. bAndtherefore we learned that bif one seeks to addto an existing hole bone may addto it. There is no reason to prohibit this due to concern that one may do so in a chicken coop, because bone will certainly not come to add toan already existing hole bin a chicken coop, /b |
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65. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 21b. אומר בן עזאי חייב אדם ללמד את וכו' ר' אליעזר אומר כל המלמד את בתו תורה מלמדה תיפלות תיפלות ס"ד אלא אימא כאילו למדה תיפלות,א"ר אבהו מ"ט דר"א דכתיב (משלי ח, יב) אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה כיון שנכנסה חכמה באדם נכנסה עמו ערמומית,ורבנן האי אני חכמה מאי עבדי ליה מיבעי ליה לכדרבי יוסי בר' חנינא דא"ר יוסי בר' חנינא אין דברי תורה מתקיימין אלא במי שמעמיד עצמו ערום עליהן שנאמר אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה א"ר יוחנן אין דברי תורה מתקיימין אלא במי שמשים עצמו כמי שאינו שנאמר (איוב כח, יב) והחכמה מאין תמצא,רבי יהושע אומר רוצה אשה וכו' מאי קאמר הכי קאמר רוצה אשה בקב ותיפלות עמו מתשעת קבין ופרישות,הוא היה אומר חסיד שוטה כו' היכי דמי חסיד שוטה כגון דקא טבעה איתתא בנהרא ואמר לאו אורח ארעא לאיסתכולי בה ואצולה,היכי דמי רשע ערום אמר רבי יוחנן זה המטעים דבריו לדיין קודם שיבא בעל דין חברו ר' אבהו אומר זה הנותן דינר לעני להשלים לו מאתים זוז דתנן מי שיש לו מאתים זוז לא יטול לקט שכחה ופאה ומעשר עני היה לו מאתים חסר דינר אפילו אלף נותנין לו כאחת הרי זה יטול,רבי אסי אמר רבי יוחנן זה המשיא עצה למכור בנכסים מועטין דאמר רבי אסי א"ר יוחנן יתומים שקדמו ומכרו בנכסים מועטין מה שמכרו מכרו,אביי אמר זה המשיא עצה למכור בנכסים כרבן שמעון בן גמליאל דתניא נכסי לך ואחריך לפלוני וירד הראשון ומכר ואכל השני מוציא מיד הלקוחות דברי רבי רשב"ג אומר אין לשני אלא מה ששייר ראשון,רב יוסף בר חמא אמר רב ששת זה המכריע אחרים באורחותיו רבי זריקא אמר רב הונא זה המיקל לעצמו ומחמיר לאחרים עולא אמר זה | 21b. § The mishna states: From here bben Azzai states: A person is obligated to teachhis daughter Torah, so that if she drinks and does not die immediately, she will know that some merit of hers has delayed her punishment. bRabbi Eliezer says: Anyone who teaches his daughter Torah is teaching her promiscuity.The Gemara asks: Could it benter your mindto say that teaching one’s daughter Torah is actually teaching her bpromiscuity? Rather, say:It is considered bas if he taught her promiscuity. /b, bRabbi Abbahu says: What is the reason for Rabbi Eliezer’sstatement? It is bas it is written: “I, wisdom, dwell with cunning”(Proverbs 8:12), which indicates that bonce wisdom enters into a person, cunning enters with it.Rabbi Eliezer fears that the woman will use the cunning she achieves by learning the wisdom of the Torah to engage in promiscuous behavior.,The Gemara asks: bAnd the Rabbiswho disagree with him, bwhat do they do with thisverse: b“I, wisdom,dwell with cunning [ iorma /i]”; how do they interpret it? The Gemara responds: bHe requires thatverse bfor that which Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina,states, interpreting the word “ iorma /i” as nakedness rather than cunningness, bas Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: The matters of Torah do not endure except in one who stands naked for them, as it is stated: “I, wisdom, dwell with nakedness [ iorma /i]”(Proverbs 8:12). This means that wisdom dwells only in one who is prepared to give away all of his possessions for the sake of Torah study. bRabbi Yoḥa says: The matters of Torah do not endure except in one who considers himself as one who does notexist, bas it is stated: “But wisdom, it can be found in nothingness”(Job 28:12).,§ The mishna states that bRabbi Yehoshua says: A woman desiresto receive the amount of a ikavof food and a sexual relation-ship rather than to receive nine ikavof food and abstinence. The Gemara asks: bWhat is he saying? This is whatRabbi Yehoshua bis saying: A woman desires toreceive the amount of ba ikav /iof food band with it a sexual relationship,i.e., her husband’s availability to fulfill her sexual desires, rather bthan nine ikav /iof food bandwith it babstinence,and since her desires are of a sexual nature, it is undesirable for her to study Torah.,§ The mishna continues: bHe,Rabbi Yehoshua, bwould say: A foolish man of piety,and a conniving wicked person, and an abstinent woman, and those who injure themselves out of false abstinence; all these are people who erode the world. The Gemara asks: bWho is considered a foolish man of piety? For example,it is one who sees bthat a woman is drowning in a river, and he says:It is bnot proper conduct to look at herwhile she is undressed band save her. /b,The Gemara asks: bWho is considered a conniving wicked person? Rabbi Yoḥa says: This is one who presents his statement to the judge before the other litigant comesand thereby prejudices the judge in his favor. bRabbi Abbahu says: Thisis referring to bone who gives a dinar to a poor manin order bto completethe sum of btwo hundred dinars for him,so that he will no longer be entitled to receive charity, bas we learnedin a mishna ( iPe’a8:8): bOne who has two hundred dinars may not collect gleanings, forgottensheaves, ipe’a /i, andthe bpoor man’s tithe,since he is not defined as poor. However, if bhe has two hundred lessone bdinar, evenif bhe is given one thousanddinars bat once, he may collect. /b, bRabbi Asisays that bRabbi Yoḥa says:A conniving wicked person is bone who provides adviceto male orphans bto sell from the small quantity of propertyleft to them by their father, before it is appropriated by the court for the purpose of providing for the daughters, who do not inherit property. This causes the daughters to lose their right to sustece, because although it is improper to do so, the sale is valid, bas Rabbi Asi saysthat bRabbi Yoḥa says:With regard to male borphans who preemptively soldthe property bfrom a small estate, that which they sold, they sold,and the sons retain the money., bAbaye says:A conniving wicked person bis one who provides advice to sell property in accordance withthe ruling of bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel, as it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: With regard to one who said: bMy propertyis given bto you, and after youdie, bto so-and-so, and the firstbeneficiary benteredthe property band soldit band consumedthe profits, bthe secondbeneficiary brepossessesthe property bfrom the purchasers,as the property belongs to him after the death of the first beneficiary; bthis is the statement of RabbiYehuda HaNasi. bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The secondbeneficiary receives bonly that which the firstbeneficiary bleft,since his sale is valid. However, it is not permitted to sell the property iab initio /i, since the giver intended for the second beneficiary to receive the property., bRav Yosef bar Ḥamasays that bRav Sheshet says:A conniving wicked person is bone who persuades others with his ways,convincing others to mimic his seemingly righteous behavior, in order to hide his faults. bRabbi Zerikasays that bRav Huna says:A conniving wicked person is bone who is lenientin the ihalakha bfor himself and strict for others. Ulla says: This /b |
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66. Babylonian Talmud, Taanit, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 23a. בעתם בלילי רביעיות ובלילי שבתות,שכן מצינו בימי שמעון בן שטח שירדו להם גשמים בלילי רביעיות ובלילי שבתות עד שנעשו חטים ככליות ושעורים כגרעיני זיתים ועדשים כדינרי זהב וצררו מהם דוגמא לדורות להודיע כמה החטא גורם שנאמר (ירמיהו ה, כה) עונותיכם הטו אלה וחטאתיכם מנעו הטוב מכם,וכן מצינו בימי הורדוס שהיו עוסקין בבנין בהמ"ק והיו יורדין גשמים בלילה למחר נשבה הרוח ונתפזרו העבים וזרחה החמה ויצאו העם למלאכתן וידעו שמלאכת שמים בידיהם:,מעשה ששלחו לחוני המעגל וכו': ת"ר פעם אחת יצא רוב אדר ולא ירדו גשמים שלחו לחוני המעגל התפלל וירדו גשמים התפלל ולא ירדו גשמים עג עוגה ועמד בתוכה כדרך שעשה חבקוק הנביא שנאמר (חבקוק ב, א) על משמרתי אעמדה ואתיצבה על מצור וגו',אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם בניך שמו פניהם עלי שאני כבן בית לפניך נשבע אני בשמך הגדול שאיני זז מכאן עד שתרחם על בניך התחילו גשמים מנטפין אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי ראינוך ולא נמות כמדומין אנו שאין גשמים יורדין אלא להתיר שבועתך,אמר לא כך שאלתי אלא גשמי בורות שיחין ומערות ירדו בזעף עד שכל טפה וטפה כמלא פי חבית ושיערו חכמים שאין טפה פחותה מלוג אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי ראינוך ולא נמות כמדומין אנו שאין גשמים יורדין אלא לאבד העולם,אמר לפניו לא כך שאלתי אלא גשמי רצון ברכה ונדבה ירדו כתיקנן עד שעלו כל העם להר הבית מפני הגשמים אמרו לו רבי כשם שהתפללת שירדו כך התפלל וילכו להם אמר להם כך מקובלני שאין מתפללין על רוב הטובה,אעפ"כ הביאו לי פר הודאה הביאו לו פר הודאה סמך שתי ידיו עליו ואמר לפניו רבש"ע עמך ישראל שהוצאת ממצרים אינן יכולין לא ברוב טובה ולא ברוב פורענות כעסת עליהם אינן יכולין לעמוד השפעת עליהם טובה אינן יכולין לעמוד יהי רצון מלפניך שיפסקו הגשמים ויהא ריוח בעולם מיד נשבה הרוח ונתפזרו העבים וזרחה החמה ויצאו העם לשדה והביאו להם כמהין ופטריות,שלח לו שמעון בן שטח אלמלא חוני אתה גוזרני עליך נידוי שאילו שנים כשני אליהו שמפתחות גשמים בידו של אליהו לא נמצא שם שמים מתחלל על ידך,אבל מה אעשה לך שאתה מתחטא לפני המקום ועושה לך רצונך כבן שמתחטא על אביו ועושה לו רצונו ואומר לו אבא הוליכני לרחצני בחמין שטפני בצונן תן לי אגוזים שקדים אפרסקים ורמונים ונותן לו ועליך הכתוב אומר (משלי כג, כה) ישמח אביך ואמך ותגל יולדתך,תנו רבנן מה שלחו בני לשכת הגזית לחוני המעגל (איוב כב, כח) ותגזר אומר ויקם לך ועל דרכיך נגה אור,ותגזר אומר אתה גזרת מלמטה והקדוש ברוך הוא מקיים מאמרך מלמעלה ועל דרכיך נגה אור דור שהיה אפל הארת בתפלתך,כי השפילו ותאמר גוה דור שהיה שפל הגבהתו בתפלתך ושח עינים יושיע דור ששח בעונו הושעתו בתפלתך ימלט אי נקי דור שלא היה נקי מלטתו בתפלתך ונמלט בבור כפיך מלטתו במעשה ידיך הברורין,אמר ר' יוחנן כל ימיו של אותו צדיק היה מצטער על מקרא זה (תהלים קכו, א) שיר המעלות בשוב ה' את שיבת ציון היינו כחולמים אמר מי איכא דניים שבעין שנין בחלמא,יומא חד הוה אזל באורחא חזייה לההוא גברא דהוה נטע חרובא אמר ליה האי עד כמה שנין טעין אמר ליה עד שבעין שנין אמר ליה פשיטא לך דחיית שבעין שנין אמר ליה האי [גברא] עלמא בחרובא אשכחתיה כי היכי דשתלי לי אבהתי שתלי נמי לבראי,יתיב קא כריך ריפתא אתא ליה שינתא נים אהדרא ליה משוניתא איכסי מעינא ונים שבעין שנין כי קם חזייה לההוא גברא דהוה קא מלקט מינייהו אמר ליה את הוא דשתלתיה א"ל בר בריה אנא אמר ליה שמע מינה דניימי שבעין שנין חזא לחמריה דאתיילידא ליה רמכי רמכי,אזל לביתיה אמר להו בריה דחוני המעגל מי קיים אמרו ליה בריה ליתא בר בריה איתא אמר להו אנא חוני המעגל לא הימנוהו אזל לבית המדרש שמעינהו לרבנן דקאמרי נהירן שמעתתין כבשני חוני המעגל דכי הוי עייל לבית מדרשא כל קושיא דהוו להו לרבנן הוה מפרק להו אמר להו אנא ניהו לא הימנוהו ולא עבדי ליה יקרא כדמבעי ליה חלש דעתיה בעי רחמי ומית אמר רבא היינו דאמרי אינשי או חברותא או מיתותא,אבא חלקיה בר בריה דחוני המעגל הוה וכי מצטריך עלמא למיטרא הוו משדרי רבנן לגביה ובעי רחמי ואתי מיטרא זימנא חדא איצטריך עלמא למיטרא שדור רבנן זוגא דרבנן לגביה למבעי רחמי דניתי מיטרא אזול לביתיה ולא אשכחוהו אזול בדברא ואשכחוהו דהוה קא רפיק יהבו ליה שלמא | 23a. b“In their season”means bon Wednesday eves,i.e., Tuesday nights, band on Shabbat eves,i.e., Friday nights, because at these times people are not out in the streets, either due to fear of demonic forces that were thought to wander on Tuesday nights or due to the sanctity of Shabbat., bAs we foundin bthe days of Shimon ben Shetaḥ that raininvariably bfell for them on Wednesday eves and on Shabbat eves, until wheat grewas big bas kidneys, and barleyas big bas olive pits, and lentils as golden dinars. And they tiedup some bofthese crops as ban example [ idugma /i] forfuture bgenerations, to conveyto them bhow muchdamage bsin causes, as it is stated:“The Lord our God, Who gives rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in its season that keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest. bYour iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld the good from you”(Jeremiah 5:24–25)., bAnd we likewise foundthat bin the days of Herodthat bthey were occupied in the building of the Temple, and rain would fall at night. And the next day the wind would blow, the clouds would disperse, the sun would shine, and the people would go out to their work. Andas rain would fall only at a time when it would not interfere with their labor, the nation bknewthat bthe work of Heavenwas being performed bby their hands. /b,§ The mishna taught: bAn incidentoccurred in bwhichthe people bsenta message bto Ḥoni HaMe’aggel.This event is related in greater detail in the following ibaraita /i. bThe Sages taught: Once, most ofthe month of bAdar had passed but rain hadstill bnot fallen. They sentthis message bto Ḥoni HaMe’aggel: Pray, and rain will fall. He prayed, but no rain fell. He drew a circlein the dust band stood inside it, in the manner that the prophet Habakkuk did, as it is stated: “And I will stand upon my watch and set myself upon the tower,and I will look out to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved” (Habakkuk 2:1). This verse is taken to mean that Habakkuk fashioned a kind of prison for himself where he sat.,Ḥoni bsaid beforeGod: bMaster of the Universe, Your children have turned their faces toward me, as I am like a member of Your household.Therefore, bI take an oath by Your great name that I will not move from here until you have mercy upon Your childrenand answer their prayers for rain. bRain began to trickledown, but only in small droplets. bHis students said to him: Rabbi, we have seenthat byoucan perform great wonders, bbutthis quantity of rain is not enough to ensure that bwe will not die. It appears to us thata small amount of brain is falling onlyto enable you bto dissolve your oath,but it is not nearly enough to save us.,Ḥoni bsaidto God: bI did not ask for this, butfor brain tofill the bcisterns, ditches, and caves.Rain bbegan to fall furiously, until each and every dropwas as big bas the mouth of a barrel, and the Sages estimated that no drop was less than a ilog /iin size. bHis students said to him: Rabbi, we have seenthat byoucan call on God to perform miracles band we will not die,but now bit appears to us that rain is falling only to destroy the world. /b,Ḥoni again bsaid beforeGod: bI did not ask for thisharmful rain either, bbutfor brain of benevolence, blessing, and generosity.Subsequently, the rains bfell in their standard manner, until all of the peoplesought higher ground and bascended to the Temple Mount due to the rain. They said to him: Rabbi, just as you prayed thatthe rains bshould fall, so too, pray that they should stop. He said to them: This isthe tradition that bI received, that one does not pray over an excess of good. /b,Ḥoni continued: bNevertheless, bring me a bull.I will sacrifice it as ba thanks-offeringand pray at the same time. bThey brought him a bullfor ba thanks-offering. He placed his two hands on itshead band said beforeGod: bMaster of the Universe, Your nation Israel, whom You brought out of Egypt, cannotbear beither an excess of good or an excess of punishment. You grew angry with themand withheld rain, band they are unable to bearit. bYou bestowed upon themtoo much bgood, and they werealso bunable to bearit. bMay it be Your will that the rain stop and that there be relief for the world. Immediately, the wind blew, the clouds dispersed, the sun shone, and everyone went out to the fields and gathered for themselves truffles and mushroomsthat had sprouted in the strong rain., bShimon ben Shetaḥ relayed toḤoni HaMe’aggel: bIf you were not Ḥoni, I would have decreed ostracism upon you. For werethese byears like the years of Elijah, when the keys of rainwere entrusted bin Elijah’s hands,and he swore it would not rain, bwouldn’t the name of Heaven have been desecrated by youroath not to leave the circle until it rained? Once you have pronounced this oath, either yours or Elijah’s must be falsified., bHowever, what can I do to you, as you nag God and He does your bidding, like a son who nags his father andhis father bdoes his bidding. Andthe son bsays tohis father: bFather, take me to be bathed in hot water; wash me with cold water; give me nuts, almonds, peaches, and pomegranates. Andhis father bgives him. About you, the verse states: “Your father and mother will be glad and she who bore you will rejoice”(Proverbs 23:25)., bThe Sages taught: Whatmessage did bthe members of the Chamber of the Hewn Stone,the Great Sanhedrin, bsend to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel?About you, the verse states: b“You shall also decree a matter, and it shall be established for you; and the light shall shine upon your ways.When they cast down, you will say: There is lifting up, for He saves the humble person. He will deliver the one who is not innocent and he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands” (Job 22:28–30).,They interpreted: b“You shall also decree a matter”; you,Ḥoni, bdecree from below, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, fulfills your statement from above. “And the light shall shine upon your ways”; a generation that was in darkness, you have illuminatedit bwith your prayer. /b, b“When they cast down, you will say: There is lifting up”; a generation that was cast down, you lifted it up with your prayer. “For He saves the humble person”; a generation that was humble in its transgression, you saved it through your prayer. “He will deliver the one who is not innocent”; a generation that was not innocent, you have delivered it through your prayer. “And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands”; you have deliveredan undeserving generation bthrough the clean work of your hands. /b,§ The Gemara relates another story about Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. bRabbi Yoḥa said: All the daysof the life bof that righteous man,Ḥoni, bhe was distressed overthe meaning of bthis verse: “A song of Ascents: When the Lord brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream”(Psalms 126:1). bHe saidto himself: bIs therereally a person bwho can sleep and dream for seventy years?How is it possible to compare the seventy-year exile in Babylonia to a dream?, bOne day, he was walking along the roadwhen bhe saw a certain man planting a carob tree.Ḥoni bsaid to him: Thistree, bafter how many yearswill it bbearfruit? The man bsaid to him:It will not produce fruit buntil seventy yearshave passed. Ḥoni bsaid to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years,that you expect to benefit from this tree? bHe said to him: That manhimself bfound a worldfull bof carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants. /b,Ḥoni bsat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and he slept. A cliff formed around him, and he disappeared from sight and slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a certain man gatheringcarobs from that tree. Ḥoni bsaid to him:Are byou the one who plantedthis tree? The man bsaid to him: I am his son’s son.Ḥoni bsaid to him:I can blearn from this that Ihave bslept for seventy years,and indeed bhe saw that his donkey had sired several herdsduring those many years.,Ḥoni bwent home and said tothe members of the household: bIs the son of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel alive? They said to him: His son is nolonger with us, but bhis son’s son isalive. bHe said to them: I am Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. They did not believe him. He went to the study hall,where he bheard the Sages sayabout one scholar: bHis ihalakhotare as enlighteningand as clear bas in the years of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel, for whenḤoni HaMe’aggel bwould enter the study hall he would resolve for the Sages any difficulty they had.Ḥoni bsaid to them: I am he, but they did not believe him and did not pay him proper respect.Ḥoni bbecame very upset, prayed for mercy, and died. Rava said: Thisexplains the folk saying bthat people say: Either friendship or death,as one who has no friends is better off dead.,§ The Gemara relates another story, this time about Ḥoni HaMe’aggel’s descendants, who were also renowned for their righteous deeds. bAbba Ḥilkiyya was the son of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel’s son. And when the world was in need of rain they would send Sages to him, and he would pray for mercy, and rain would fall. Once the world was in need of rain,and bthe Sages sent a pair of Sages to himso bthat he would pray for mercy and rain would fall. They went to his house but they did not find himthere. bThey went to the field and found him hoeingthe ground. bThey greeted him, /b |
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67. Babylonian Talmud, Yoma, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 19b. מי איכא מידי דאנן לא מצינן למעבד ושלוחי דידן מצו עבדי הכי קאמרי ליה משביעין אנו עליך על דעתינו ועל דעת בית דין,הוא פורש ובוכה והן פורשין ובוכין וכו' הוא פורש ובוכה שחשדוהו צדוקי והם פורשין ובוכין דא"ר יהושע בן לוי כל החושד בכשרים לוקה בגופו,וכל כך למה שלא יתקן מבחוץ ויכניס כדרך שהצדוקין עושין,ת"ר מעשה בצדוקי אחד שהתקין מבחוץ והכניס ביציאתו היה שמח שמחה גדולה פגע בו אביו אמר לו בני אף על פי שצדוקין אנו מתיראין אנו מן הפרושים אמר לו כל ימי הייתי מצטער על המקרא הזה (ויקרא טז, ב) כי בענן אראה על הכפורת אמרתי מתי יבוא לידי ואקיימנו עכשיו שבא לידי לא אקיימנו,אמרו לא היו ימים מועטין עד שמת והוטל באשפה והיו תולעין יוצאין מחוטמו ויש אומרים ביציאתו ניגף דתני רבי חייא כמין קול נשמע בעזרה שבא מלאך וחבטו על פניו ונכנסו אחיו הכהנים ומצאו ככף רגל עגל בין כתפיו שנאמר (יחזקאל א, ז) ורגליהם רגל ישרה וכף רגליהם ככף רגל עגל,א"ר זכריה בן קבוטל וכו' מתני ליה רב חנן בר רבא לחייא בר רב קמיה דרב א"ר זכריה בן קפוטל ומחוי ליה רב בידיה קבוטל ונימא ליה מימר ק"ש הוה קרי,וכי האי גוונא מי שרי והא"ר יצחק בר שמואל בר מרתא הקורא את שמע לא ירמוז בעיניו ולא יקרוץ בשפתותיו ולא יורה באצבעותיו ותניא רבי אלעזר חסמא אומר הקורא את שמע ומרמז בעיניו ומקרץ בשפתותיו ומראה באצבעו עליו הכתוב אומר (ישעיהו מג, כב) ולא אותי קראת יעקב,לא קשיא הא בפרק ראשון הא בפרק שני,ת"ר (דברים ו, ז) ודברת בם בם ולא בתפלה ודברת בם בם יש לך רשות לדבר ולא בדברים אחרים,רבי אחא אומר ודברת בם עשה אותן קבע ואל תעשם עראי אמר רבא השח שיחת חולין עובר בעשה שנאמר ודברת בם בם ולא בדברים אחרים רב אחא בר יעקב אמר עובר בלאו שנאמר (קהלת א, ח) כל הדברים יגעים לא יוכל איש לדבר, big strongמתני׳ /strong /big בקש להתנמנם פרחי כהונה מכין לפניו באצבע צרדא ואומרים לו אישי כ"ג עמוד והפג אחת על הרצפה ומעסיקין אותו עד שיגיע זמן השחיטה, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big מאי צרדא אמר רב יהודה צרתה דדא מאי היא גודל מחוי רב הונא ואזל קלא בכולי בי רב,ואומרים לו אישי כ"ג הפג אחת על הרצפה וכו' אמר רב יצחק על חדת מאי היא אמרי ליה אחוי קידה,ומעסיקין אותו עד שיגיע זמן שחיטה (וכו') תנא לא היו מעסיקין אותו לא בנבל ולא בכנור אלא בפה ומה היו אומרין (תהלים קכז, א) אם ה' לא יבנה בית שוא עמלו בוניו בו,מיקירי ירושלים לא היו ישנין כל הלילה כדי שישמע כ"ג קול הברה ולא תהא שינה חוטפתו תניא אבא שאול אמר אף בגבולין היו עושין כן זכר למקדש אלא שהיו חוטאין,אמר אביי ואיתימא ר"נ בר יצחק תרגומא נהרדעא דא"ל אליהו לרב יהודה אחוה דרב סלא חסידא אמריתו אמאי לא אתי משיח והא האידנא יומא דכיפורי הוא ואבעול כמה בתולתא בנהרדעא אמר ליה הקב"ה מאי אמר אמר ליה | 19b. bis there any matter that we are unable to perform and our agents are able to perform?The role of the agent is to perform a task on behalf of the one who commissioned him. The agent cannot perform a task that the one who commissioned him is unable to perform. Since it is prohibited for Israelites to enter the priests’ courtyard and to perform the sacrificial rites, clearly the priests are not agents representing the Israelites. The language of the mishna in which the court Elders address the High Priest as their agent apparently contradicts that understanding. The Gemara answers: bThis is what they say to him: We administer an oath to you according to our understanding and the understanding of the court,cautioning him that he cannot rationalize violating the oath by claiming that he took the oath based on his own interpretation. He is bound by the understanding of the court. The mishna does not address the nature of the High Priest’s agency.,§ The mishna continues: After this oath, bhe would leavethem band cry and they would leavehim band cry.The Gemara explains: bHe turned aside and crieddue to the indignity bthat they suspected himof being ba Sadducee; and they turned aside and cried, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who suspects the innocentof indiscretion bis afflicted in his body.The High Priest might in fact be beyond reproach and they may have suspected him falsely.,The Gemara asks: bAnd whywere the Elders bsoinsistent that the High Priest take an oath? The Gemara explains: So that bhe would not preparethe incense and light it boutsidein the Sanctuary, before entering the Holy of Holies, band bringthe coal pan with the incense already burning on it bintothe Holy of Holies bin the mannerthat bthe Sadducees did.Since the High Priest is alone inside the Sanctuary and there is no way to ascertain whether he is in fact performing the service in the proper manner, the Elders insisted that he take an oath to perform it according to their instructions., bThe Sages taughtin the iTosefta /i: There was ban incident involving acertain bSadduceewho was appointed as High Priest, bwho prepared the incense outsideand then bbroughtit into the Holy of Holies. bUpon his emergence he was overjoyedthat he had succeeded. bThe father ofthat Sadducee bmet him and said to him: My son, although we are Sadduceesand you performed the service in accordance with our opinion, bwe fear the Phariseesand do not actually implement that procedure in practice. The son bsaid to hisfather: bAll my days I have been troubled over this verse: “For I will appear in the cloud above the Ark cover”(Leviticus 16:2). The Sadducees interpreted this verse to mean that God will appear above the Ark cover, i.e., will enter the Holy of Holies, only after the incense cloud is already there. bI said: When willthe opportunity bbecome available to me, and I will fulfill itaccording to the Sadducee interpretation? bNow thatthe opportunity bhas become available to me,will bI not fulfill it? /b,The Sages bsaid: Noteven ba few dayspassed buntil he died and was laid out in the garbagedump, band worms were coming out of his nosein punishment for his actions. bAnd some saythat bhe was struckas soon bas he emergedfrom the Holy of Holies, bas Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: A type of sound was heard in theTemple bcourtyard, as an angel came and struck him in the face. And his fellow priests came into remove him from there band they found the likeness of a footprint of a calf between his shoulders.That is the mark left by an angel striking, bas it is statedwith regard to angels: b“And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot”(Ezekiel 1:7).,§ It was taught in the mishna that bRabbi Zekharya ben Kevutalsays: Many times I read before the High Priest from the book of Daniel. bRav Ḥa bar Rava taught this to Ḥiyya bar Rav before Ravin the following manner: bRabbi Zekharya bar Kefutal said, and Rav demonstrated with his handthat the name should be pronounced bKevutal.The Gemara asks: Why did Rav demonstrate his point with a gesture? bLet himsimply bsay it.The Gemara answers: Rav bwas reciting iShema /iat that moment and could not interrupt iShemaby speaking.,The Gemara asks: bAnd isinterrupting in a manner bof that sort,by gesturing, bpermittedduring iShema /i? bDidn’t Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Shmuel bar Marta say: One who is reciting iShemashould neither make allusions with his eyes, nor open and closehis mouth bwith his lipsto convey a message, bnor gesture with his fingers? And it was taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Elazar Ḥisma says: Concerning one who recites iShemaand makes allusions with his eyes, or opens and closeshis mouth bwith his lips, or gestures with his fingers, the verse says: “And you did not call out to Me, O Jacob”(Isaiah 43:22). By signaling while reciting iShemahe behaves contemptuously toward God, and it is tantamount to not having recited iShemabefore Him. How, then, could Rav gesture while reading iShema /i?,The Gemara answers: This is bnot difficult. Thisprohibition to interrupt one’s recitation of iShemawith a gesture applies binthe course of reciting the bfirst paragraphof iShema /i, which is more fundamental; bthatcase where Rav gestured was binthe course of reciting the bsecond paragraphof iShema /i, where gesturing to convey a significant message is permitted.,Apropos interruptions in the course of reciting iShema /i, the Gemara cites a ibaraitain which bthe Sages taught:“And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently unto your children, band you shall talk of themwhen you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you arise” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7). This means that in the course bofreciting bthem,the study of Torah and the recitation of iShema /i, it is permitted to interrupt to state a significant matter, bbut notin the course bofreciting the iAmida bprayer,which may not be interrupted for any kind of speech. Another interpretation of the verse is: bAnd you shall talk of themis to emphasize that bit is permittedto interrupt iShema bto speak these mattersof Torah, but not to speak bother mattersthat may lead to levity., bRabbi Aḥa says: Talk of themmeans one must brender them,the words of Torah, ba permanentfixture, band not render them a temporaryexercise. bRava said: One who engages in idle chatterwithout Torah or any particular purpose bviolatesa bpositivecommandment, bas it is stated: And you shall talk of them;talk bof them and not of other matters. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said:Furthermore, boneeven bviolates a negativecommandment, bas it is stated: “All these matters are wearisome; no man can ever state them”(Ecclesiastes 1:8). The phrase: No man can ever state them, is understood as a prohibition against engaging in idle chatter., strongMISHNA: /strong If the High Priest bsought to sleepat night, bthe young priestswould bsnap the middle [ itzerada /i] fingeragainst the thumb bbefore him, and theywould bsay to himevery so often: bMy Master, High Priest. Standfrom your bed band chillyourself bonce on the floorand overcome your drowsiness. bAnd theywould bengage himin various ways buntil the time would arrive to slaughter thedaily offering., strongGEMARA: /strong The Gemara asks: bWhatis the itzerada /ifinger mentioned in the mishna? bRav Yehuda said: It is the rival [ itzara /i] of that [ ida /i]one. Which finger bis it? iTzeradais the rival of bthe thumb;it is the middle finger. The middle finger would be strongly positioned against the thumb, and when one separates them, the finger hits the palm, creating a sound. bRav Huna demonstratedthe loud noise that could be achieved by snapping with the middle finger, and bthe sound traveled throughout Rav’s study hall.The sound created was loud enough to keep the High Priest awake.,It was taught in the mishna that bthey said to him: My Master, High Priest.Stand from your bed and bchillyourself bonce on the floorand overcome your drowsiness. bRav Yitzḥak saidthat they said to the High Priest: bIntroduce something new.The Gemara asks: bWhat is itthat they asked him to introduce? bThey say to him: Demonstratehow to perform the ceremonial bbowing[ikidda /i].This was a form of bowing that was difficult to perform, in which the High Priest was expert. The thought was that the exercise would keep him awake.,The mishna continues: bAnd theywould bengage himin different ways buntil the time to slaughter thedaily offering bwould arrive.It was btaught: They would not occupy him with a harp or a lyre,which may not be played on a Festival, bbutwould sing bwiththeir bmouths. And what would they say?They would say this verse: b“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain on it;unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman keeps vigil in vain” (Psalms 127:1). The message to the High Priest was that his service must be performed for the sake of Heaven for it to be accepted by God; otherwise his efforts would be in vain.,The Gemara relates that bthe prominentmen bof Jerusalem would not sleep the entire nightbut instead engaged in Torah study, bso thatthe bHigh Priest would hearthe bsound of noisein the city band sleep would not overcome himin the silence of the sleeping city. bIt was taughtin a ibaraitathat bAbba Shaul said: They would do so even in the outlying areasand stay awake all night bin acknowledgment of the Temple; however,the result was bthat they would sin,as the men and women would participate in games together to pass the time, leading to transgression., bAbaye said, and some sayit was bRav Naḥman bar Yitzḥakwho said: bInterpretthat statement as referring to bNeharde’a, as Elijahthe Prophet bsaid to Rav Yehuda, brotherof bRav Salla Ḥasida: You have saidand wondered: bWhy has the Messiah not come?Why is that surprising? bIsn’t today Yom Kippur, and relations were had with several virgins in Neharde’a,as the men and women stayed awake all night and that led to promiscuity? Rav Yehuda bsaid to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, sayabout those sins committed by the Jewish people? bHe said:This is what God said: |
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68. Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah, None
| 18a. הוגה את השם באותיותיו והיכי עביד הכי והתנן אלו שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא האומר אין תורה מן השמים ואין תחיית המתים מן התורה אבא שאול אומר אף ההוגה את השם באותיותיו,להתלמד עבד כדתניא (דברים יח, ט) לא תלמד לעשות אבל אתה למד להבין ולהורות,אלא מאי טעמא אענש משום הוגה את השם בפרהסיא דהוי ועל אשתו להריגה דלא מיחה ביה מכאן אמרו כל מי שיש בידו למחות ואינו מוחה נענש עליו,ועל בתו לישב בקובה של זונות דאמר ר' יוחנן פעם אחת היתה בתו מהלכת לפני גדולי רומי אמרו כמה נאות פסיעותיה של ריבה זו מיד דקדקה בפסיעותיה והיינו דאמר ר' שמעון בן לקיש מאי דכתיב (תהלים מט, ו) עון עקבי יסבני עונות שאדם דש בעקביו בעולם הזה מסובין לו ליום הדין,בשעה שיצאו שלשתן צדקו עליהם את הדין הוא אמר (דברים לב, ד) הצור תמים פעלו [וגו'] ואשתו אמרה (דברים לב, ד) אל אמונה ואין עול בתו אמרה (ירמיהו לב, יט) גדול העצה ורב העליליה אשר עיניך פקוחות על כל דרכי וגו' אמר רבי [כמה] גדולים צדיקים הללו שנזדמנו להן שלש מקראות של צדוק הדין בשעת צדוק הדין,תנו רבנן כשחלה רבי יוסי בן קיסמא הלך רבי חנינא בן תרדיון לבקרו אמר לו חנינא אחי (אחי) אי אתה יודע שאומה זו מן השמים המליכוה שהחריבה את ביתו ושרפה את היכלו והרגה את חסידיו ואבדה את טוביו ועדיין היא קיימת ואני שמעתי עליך שאתה יושב ועוסק בתורה [ומקהיל קהלות ברבים] וספר מונח לך בחיקך,אמר לו מן השמים ירחמו אמר לו אני אומר לך דברים של טעם ואתה אומר לי מן השמים ירחמו תמה אני אם לא ישרפו אותך ואת ספר תורה באש אמר לו רבי מה אני לחיי העולם הבא,אמר לו כלום מעשה בא לידך אמר לו מעות של פורים נתחלפו לי במעות של צדקה וחלקתים לעניים אמר לו אם כן מחלקך יהי חלקי ומגורלך יהי גורלי,אמרו לא היו ימים מועטים עד שנפטר רבי יוסי בן קיסמא והלכו כל גדולי רומי לקברו והספידוהו הספד גדול ובחזרתן מצאוהו לרבי חנינא בן תרדיון שהיה יושב ועוסק בתורה ומקהיל קהלות ברבים וס"ת מונח לו בחיקו,הביאוהו וכרכוהו בס"ת והקיפוהו בחבילי זמורות והציתו בהן את האור והביאו ספוגין של צמר ושראום במים והניחום על לבו כדי שלא תצא נשמתו מהרה אמרה לו בתו אבא אראך בכך אמר לה אילמלי אני נשרפתי לבדי היה הדבר קשה לי עכשיו שאני נשרף וס"ת עמי מי שמבקש עלבונה של ס"ת הוא יבקש עלבוני,אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי מה אתה רואה אמר להן גליון נשרפין ואותיות פורחות אף אתה פתח פיך ותכנס בך האש אמר להן מוטב שיטלנה מי שנתנה ואל יחבל הוא בעצמו,אמר לו קלצטונירי רבי אם אני מרבה בשלהבת ונוטל ספוגין של צמר מעל לבך אתה מביאני לחיי העולם הבא אמר לו הן השבע לי נשבע לו מיד הרבה בשלהבת ונטל ספוגין של צמר מעל לבו יצאה נשמתו במהרה אף הוא קפץ ונפל לתוך האור,יצאה בת קול ואמרה רבי חנינא בן תרדיון וקלצטונירי מזומנין הן לחיי העולם הבא בכה רבי ואמר יש קונה עולמו בשעה אחת ויש קונה עולמו בכמה שנים,ברוריא דביתהו דר' מאיר ברתיה דר' חנינא בן תרדיון הואי אמרה לו זילא בי מלתא דיתבא אחתאי בקובה של זונות שקל תרקבא דדינרי ואזל אמר אי לא איתעביד בה איסורא מיתעביד ניסא אי עבדה איסורא לא איתעביד לה ניסא,אזל נקט נפשיה כחד פרשא אמר לה השמיעני לי אמרה ליה דשתנא אנא אמר לה מתרחנא מרתח אמרה לו נפישין טובא (ואיכא טובא הכא) דשפירן מינאי אמר ש"מ לא עבדה איסורא כל דאתי אמרה ליה הכי,אזל לגבי שומר דידה א"ל הבה ניהלה אמר ליה מיסתפינא ממלכותא אמר ליה שקול תרקבא דדינרא פלגא פלח ופלגא להוי לך א"ל וכי שלמי מאי איעביד א"ל אימא אלהא דמאיר ענני ומתצלת א"ל | 18a. bpronounce theineffable bnameof God bwithall of bits letters,i.e., as it is spelled. The Gemara asks: bAnd how could he do that? But didn’t we learnin the mishna ( iSanhedrin90a): bTheseare the people bwho have no share in the World-to-Come: One who saysthat bthe Torah is not from Heaven orthat bthere is nosource bfrom the Torahfor bthe resurrection of the dead. Abba Shaul says: Also one who pronounces theineffable bnameas it is written, bwithall of bits letters,has no share in the World-to-Come.,The Gemara answers: Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bdid it to teach himself, as it is taughtin a ibaraitawith regard to the prohibition against sorcery: b“You shall not learn to do”(Deuteronomy 18:9); this indicates: bBut you may learn to understand and to teach.In other words, certain prohibitions do not apply when one is acting only in order to acquire knowledge of the subject.,The Gemara asks: bRather, what is the reasonthat bhe was punished?The Gemara answers: He was punished bbecause he would pronounce theineffable bnameof God bin public,instead of privately. bAnd his wifewas condemned bto executionby decapitation bbecause she did not protest hisdoing so. bFrom herethe Sages bstated: Anyone who has the capability to protesteffectively the sinful conduct of another band does not protest is punished forthat person’s sin.,The Gemara asks: bAndwhy was bhis daughtercondemned bto sit in a brothel? As Rabbi Yoḥa says: Once, the daughter ofRabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bwas walking before the nobles of Rome,and they bsaidto each other: bHow pleasant are the steps of this young woman.Upon hearing this, bshe immediately took careto keep walking in such a fashion that bher stepswould continue to be pleasing to them. bAnd this isthe same as that bwhich Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: Whatis the meaning of that bwhich is written: “The iniquity of my heel encircles me”(Psalms 49:6)? It means that bthe sins that a person tramples with one’s heel in this world,i.e., dismisses and pays no attention to them as they seem to lack importance, e.g., the way that one walks, come and bencircle him on the Day of Judgment. /b,The Gemara relates: bWhen the three of them went outafter being sentenced, bthey accepted thejustice of God’s bjudgment.Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid: “The Rock, His work is perfect;for all His ways are justice” (Deuteronomy 32:4). bAnd his wife saidthe continuation of the verse: b“A God of faithfulness and without iniquity.” His daughter said: “Great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the waysof the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways” (Jeremiah 32:19). bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bsaid: How great are these righteous people, thatthese bthree verses,which speak bofthe bacceptance ofGod’s bjudgment, occurred to them at the time of accepting therighteousness of His bjudgment. /b,§ bThe Sages taught: When Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma fell ill, Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon went to visit him.Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma bsaid to him: Ḥanina my brother, do you not know that this nation has been given reign bya decree from bHeaven?The proof is bthatRome has bdestroyedGod’s bTemple, and burned His Sanctuary, and killed His pious ones, and destroyed His best ones, and it still exists.Evidently, all of this is by Divine decree. bAndyet bI heard about you that you sit and engage in Torahstudy, band convene assemblies in public, and havea Torah bscroll placed in your lap,thereby demonstrating complete disregard for the decrees issued by the Romans.,Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid to him: Heaven will have mercyand protect me. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma bsaid to him: I am saying reasonable matters to you, and you say to me: Heaven will have mercy? I wonder ifthe Romans bwill not burnboth byou andyour bTorah scroll by fire.Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid to him: My teacher, whatwill become of bme?Am I destined bfor life in the World-to-Come? /b,Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma bsaid to him: Did anyspecial bincident occur to youwhich might serve as an indication? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid to him: I confusedmy own bcoinsthat I needed bforthe festivities of bPurim with coins of charity, and I distributed themall bto the poorat my own expense. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma bsaid to him: Ifthat is bso, may my portion be of your portion, and may my lot be of your lot. /b,The Sages bsaid: Noteven ba few dayspassed bbefore Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma diedof his illness, band all of the Roman notables went to bury him, andthey beulogized himwith ba great eulogy. And upon their return, they found Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon, who was sitting and engaging in Torahstudy band convening assemblies in public, with a Torah scroll placed in his lap. /b, bThey brought himto be sentenced, band wrapped him in the Torah scroll, and encircled him with bundles of branches, and they set fire to it. And they brought tufts of wool and soaked them in water, and placed them on his heart, so that his soul should not leavehis body bquickly,but he would die slowly and painfully. bHis daughter said to him: Father, must I see you like this?Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid to her: If I alone were being burned, it would be difficult for me,but bnow that I am burning along with a Torah scroll, He who will seekretribution for bthe insultaccorded bto the Torah scroll will also seekretribution for bthe insultaccorded bto me. /b, bHis students said to him:Our bteacher, what do you see?Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid to them:I see the bparchment burning, butits bletters are flyingto the heavens. They said to him: bYou too should open your mouth and the fire will enter you,and you will die quickly. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid to them: It is preferable that He who gaveme my soul bshould take it away, and one should not harm oneselfto speed his death., bThe executioner [ ikaltzatoniri /i] said to him: My teacher, if I increase the flame and take off the tufts of wool from your heart,so that you will die sooner and suffer less, bwill you bring me to the life of the World-to-Come?Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon bsaid tothe executioner: bYes.The executioner said: bTake an oath for me,that what you say is true. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon btookthe boath for him,and the executioner bimmediately increased the flame and took off the tufts of wool from his heart,causing bhis soulto bleavehis body bquickly.The executioner btoo leaped and fell into the fireand died., bA Divine Voice emerged and said: Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon and the executioner are destined for the life of the World-to-Come.Upon hearing this, bRabbiYehuda HaNasi bwept and said: There isone who bacquires hisshare in the bWorld /b-to-Come bin one moment,such as the executioner, band there isone who bacquires hisshare in the bWorld /b-to-Come only bafter many yearsof toil, such as Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon.,§ The Gemara relates: bBerurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir, was a daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon. She said toRabbi Meir: bIt is a disrespectful matter for me that my sister is sitting in a brothel;you must do something to save her. Rabbi Meir btook a vessel [ itarkeva /i]full bof dinars and went. He saidto himself: bIf no transgression was committed with her, a miracle will be performedfor her; bif she committed a transgression, no miracle will be performed for her. /b,Rabbi Meir bwent and dressed asa Roman bknight,and bsaid to her: Accede to mywishes, i.e., engage in intercourse with me. bShe said to him: I am menstruating [ idashtana /i]and cannot. bHe said to her: I will wait. She said to him: There are manywomen in the brothel, band there are manywomen bhere who are more beautiful than I. He saidto himself: I can bconclude fromher responses that bshe did not commit a transgression,as bshepresumably bsaid this to all who come. /b, bRabbi Meir went over to her guard,and bsaid to him: Give herto me. The guard bsaid to him: I fearthat if I do so, I will be punished bby the government.Rabbi Meir bsaid to him: Takethis bvesselfull bof dinars; give half to the government as a bribe, band half will be for you.The guard bsaid to him: But whenthe money bis finished, what shall I do?Rabbi Meir bsaid to him: Say: God of Meir answer me! And you will be saved.The guard bsaid to him: /b |
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