| 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. b is there any matter that we are unable to perform and our agents are able to perform? /b 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: b This is what they say to him: We administer an oath to you according to our understanding and the understanding of the court, /b 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, b he would leave /b them b and cry and they would leave /b him b and cry. /b The Gemara explains: b He turned aside and cried /b due to the indignity b that they suspected him /b of being b a Sadducee; and they turned aside and cried, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who suspects the innocent /b of indiscretion b is afflicted in his body. /b The High Priest might in fact be beyond reproach and they may have suspected him falsely.,The Gemara asks: b And why /b were the Elders b so /b insistent that the High Priest take an oath? The Gemara explains: So that b he would not prepare /b the incense and light it b outside /b in the Sanctuary, before entering the Holy of Holies, b and bring /b the coal pan with the incense already burning on it b into /b the Holy of Holies b in the manner /b that b the Sadducees did. /b 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., b The Sages taught /b in the i Tosefta /i : There was b an incident involving a /b certain b Sadducee /b who was appointed as High Priest, b who prepared the incense outside /b and then b brought /b it into the Holy of Holies. b Upon his emergence he was overjoyed /b that he had succeeded. b The father of /b that Sadducee b met him and said to him: My son, although we are Sadducees /b and you performed the service in accordance with our opinion, b we fear the Pharisees /b and do not actually implement that procedure in practice. The son b said to his /b father: b All my days I have been troubled over this verse: “For I will appear in the cloud above the Ark cover” /b (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. b I said: When will /b the opportunity b become available to me, and I will fulfill it /b according to the Sadducee interpretation? b Now that /b the opportunity b has become available to me, /b will b I not fulfill it? /b ,The Sages b said: Not /b even b a few days /b passed b until he died and was laid out in the garbage /b dump, b and worms were coming out of his nose /b in punishment for his actions. b And some say /b that b he was struck /b as soon b as he emerged /b from the Holy of Holies, b as Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: A type of sound was heard in the /b Temple b courtyard, as an angel came and struck him in the face. And his fellow priests came in /b to remove him from there b and they found the likeness of a footprint of a calf between his shoulders. /b That is the mark left by an angel striking, b as it is stated /b with 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” /b (Ezekiel 1:7).,§ It was taught in the mishna that b Rabbi Zekharya ben Kevutal /b says: Many times I read before the High Priest from the book of Daniel. b Rav Ḥa bar Rava taught this to Ḥiyya bar Rav before Rav /b in the following manner: b Rabbi Zekharya bar Kefutal said, and Rav demonstrated with his hand /b that the name should be pronounced b Kevutal. /b The Gemara asks: Why did Rav demonstrate his point with a gesture? b Let him /b simply b say it. /b The Gemara answers: Rav b was reciting i Shema /i /b at that moment and could not interrupt i Shema /i by speaking.,The Gemara asks: b And is /b interrupting in a manner b of that sort, /b by gesturing, b permitted /b during i Shema /i ? b Didn’t Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Shmuel bar Marta say: One who is reciting i Shema /i should neither make allusions with his eyes, nor open and close /b his mouth b with his lips /b to convey a message, b nor gesture with his fingers? And it was taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Rabbi Elazar Ḥisma says: Concerning one who recites i Shema /i and makes allusions with his eyes, or opens and closes /b his mouth b with his lips, or gestures with his fingers, the verse says: “And you did not call out to Me, O Jacob” /b (Isaiah 43:22). By signaling while reciting i Shema /i he behaves contemptuously toward God, and it is tantamount to not having recited i Shema /i before Him. How, then, could Rav gesture while reading i Shema /i ?,The Gemara answers: This is b not difficult. This /b prohibition to interrupt one’s recitation of i Shema /i with a gesture applies b in /b the course of reciting the b first paragraph /b of i Shema /i , which is more fundamental; b that /b case where Rav gestured was b in /b the course of reciting the b second paragraph /b of i Shema /i , where gesturing to convey a significant message is permitted.,Apropos interruptions in the course of reciting i Shema /i , the Gemara cites a i baraita /i in which b the Sages taught: /b “And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently unto your children, b and you shall talk of them /b when 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 b of /b reciting b them, /b the study of Torah and the recitation of i Shema /i , it is permitted to interrupt to state a significant matter, b but not /b in the course b of /b reciting the i Amida /i b prayer, /b which may not be interrupted for any kind of speech. Another interpretation of the verse is: b And you shall talk of them /b is to emphasize that b it is permitted /b to interrupt i Shema /i b to speak these matters /b of Torah, but not to speak b other matters /b that may lead to levity., b Rabbi Aḥa says: Talk of them /b means one must b render them, /b the words of Torah, b a permanent /b fixture, b and not render them a temporary /b exercise. b Rava said: One who engages in idle chatter /b without Torah or any particular purpose b violates /b a b positive /b commandment, b as it is stated: And you shall talk of them; /b talk b of them and not of other matters. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: /b Furthermore, b one /b even b violates a negative /b commandment, b as it is stated: “All these matters are wearisome; no man can ever state them” /b (Ecclesiastes 1:8). The phrase: No man can ever state them, is understood as a prohibition against engaging in idle chatter., strong MISHNA: /strong If the High Priest b sought to sleep /b at night, b the young priests /b would b snap the middle [ i tzerada /i ] finger /b against the thumb b before him, and they /b would b say to him /b every so often: b My Master, High Priest. Stand /b from your bed b and chill /b yourself b once on the floor /b and overcome your drowsiness. b And they /b would b engage him /b in various ways b until the time would arrive to slaughter the /b daily offering., strong GEMARA: /strong The Gemara asks: b What /b is the b i tzerada /i /b finger mentioned in the mishna? b Rav Yehuda said: It is the rival [ i tzara /i ] of that [ i da /i ] /b one. Which finger b is it? /b i Tzerada /i is the rival of b the thumb; /b 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. b Rav Huna demonstrated /b the loud noise that could be achieved by snapping with the middle finger, and b the sound traveled throughout Rav’s study hall. /b The sound created was loud enough to keep the High Priest awake.,It was taught in the mishna that b they said to him: My Master, High Priest. /b Stand from your bed and b chill /b yourself b once on the floor /b and overcome your drowsiness. b Rav Yitzḥak said /b that they said to the High Priest: b Introduce something new. /b The Gemara asks: b What is it /b that they asked him to introduce? b They say to him: Demonstrate /b how to perform the ceremonial b bowing /b [ b i kidda /i ]. /b 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: b And they /b would b engage him /b in different ways b until the time to slaughter the /b daily offering b would arrive. /b It was b taught: They would not occupy him with a harp or a lyre, /b which may not be played on a Festival, b but /b would sing b with /b their b mouths. And what would they say? /b They would say this verse: b “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain on it; /b 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 b the prominent /b men b of Jerusalem would not sleep the entire night /b but instead engaged in Torah study, b so that /b the b High Priest would hear /b the b sound of noise /b in the city b and sleep would not overcome him /b in the silence of the sleeping city. b It was taught /b in a i baraita /i that b Abba Shaul said: They would do so even in the outlying areas /b and stay awake all night b in acknowledgment of the Temple; however, /b the result was b that they would sin, /b as the men and women would participate in games together to pass the time, leading to transgression., b Abaye said, and some say /b it was b Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak /b who said: b Interpret /b that statement as referring to b Neharde’a, as Elijah /b the Prophet b said to Rav Yehuda, brother /b of b Rav Salla Ḥasida: You have said /b and wondered: b Why has the Messiah not come? /b Why is that surprising? b Isn’t today Yom Kippur, and relations were had with several virgins in Neharde’a, /b as the men and women stayed awake all night and that led to promiscuity? Rav Yehuda b said to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, say /b about those sins committed by the Jewish people? b He said: /b This is what God said: |
