2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day.

Sanhedrin 96

Today’s daf has a loud and clear message not to judge! It’s a beauty.

Rabbi Zeira says: Even though Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira sent a statement from Netzivin: Be vigilant with regard to treating with deference an elder who forgot his studies due to circumstances beyond his control, and be vigilant with regard to cutting the jugular veins when slaughtering an animal in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, and be vigilant with regard to treating with respect the children of ignoramuses, as from some of them Torah will emerge, we inform them of a message like this matter.

Gorgeous. Treat others with respect. Don’t judgmental. Respect all living beings and if you eat meat slaughter it with care.

But it gets much harder by the end of the daf – telling us that great people have descended from the worst of the worst!!

Before you read, you need to know that Nebuzaradan worked for Nebuchadnezzar- the evil ruler who destroyed the Temple. But here we see him in a different light:

(Nebuzaradan) He deserted his army and dispatched a last will to his house and converted.

He converts!

The Sages taught in a baraita: Naaman the Aramean (see II Kings, chapter 5) was a ger toshav, meaning that he accepted upon himself to refrain from idol worship but did not convert to Judaism. Nebuzaradan was a completely righteous convert. Among the descendants of Sisera (see Judges, chapter 4) were those who studied Torah in Jerusalem. Among the descendants of Sennacherib were those who taught Torah in public. The Gemara asks: And who are they? The Gemara answers: They were Shemaya and Avtalyon.

These are the leaders of the Jewish people!! It continues:

The baraita continues: Among the descendants of Haman were those who studied Torah in Bnei Brak.

Wow! So the worst of the worst of Jew haters either fell in love with Judaism or had descendants who did.

So, what do we learn? Not to judge. Redemption is always possible. And flowers grow from manure.

May flowers sprout from this crappy time.

Sanhedrin 95

The famous story of David sleighing the giant Goliath has been captured in art and told and retold. But did you know that Goliath had a brother?

On our daf today, we meet a family of giants! We also see a strange negotiation between God and David – apparently, even kings are held accountable for their actions.

“And Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass; and he was girded with new armor and planned to slay David” (II Samuel 21:16). This passage from II Samuel says that David grew weary in battle against the Philistines and that this person tried to kill him (after this the warriors ask David not to battle with them so they don’t risk losing him). It further read, “But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid; he attacked the Philistine and killed him.” The daf gets to that story – and it’s a wild one! But first:

The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of Ishbibenob? Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: This is a man [ish] who came to punish David over matters of Nov.

So, now we need to know why God would allow David to be punished for what happened in Nov.

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to David: Until when will this sin be concealed in your hand without punishment? Through your actions the inhabitants of Nov, the city of priests, were massacred, and through your actions, Doeg the Edomite was banished from the World-to-Come, and through your actions Saul and his three sons were killed. God said to David: Your arrival in Nov and your misleading Ahimelech the priest generated the chain of events, and therefore you must be punished.

Uh oh. But David gets to pick his punishment.

Is it your desire that your descendants will cease to exist or that you will be handed to the enemy?

Lose lose here.

David said before Him: Master of the Universe, it is preferable that I will be handed to the enemy and my descendants will not cease to exist.

So, he picks. Now we get the run in with Ishbibenob.

One day David went to hunt with a falcon [liskor bazzai]. Satan came and appeared to him as a deer. He shot an arrow at the deer, and the arrow did not reach it. Satan led David to follow the deer until he reached the land of the Philistines. When Ishbibenob saw David he said: This is that person who killed Goliath, my brother!

Uh Oh.

He bound him, doubled him over, and placed him on the ground, and then he cast him under the beam of an olive press to crush him. A miracle was performed for him, and the earth opened beneath him so he was not crushed by the beam. That is the meaning of that which is written: “You have enlarged my steps beneath me, that my feet did not slip” (Psalms 18:37).

So, David is in the land of the Philistines narrowly escaping death. Where are his men?Getting ready for Shabbat:

The Gemara relates: That day at dusk on Shabbat eve, Abishai ben Zeruiah shampooed his hair with four jugs of water in preparation for Shabbat. He saw four bloodstains. There are those who say: A dove came and fluttered its wings before him. Abishai said: The congregation of Israel is likened to a dove, as it is stated: “You shall shine as the wings of a dove covered with silver and her pinions with yellow gold” (Psalms 68:14); conclude from it that David, king of Israel, is in a state of distress. He came to David’s house and did not find him.

So, washing his hair and he gets a premonition that things aren’t right with David, then he can’t find him.

Abishai said that we learned in a mishna (22a): One may not ride on the king’s horse, and one may not sit on his throne, and one may not use his scepter. In a period of danger, what is the halakha? He came and asked in the study hall what the ruling is in that situation. They said to him: In a period of danger one may well do so. He mounted the king’s mule and arose and went to the land of the Philistines.

So, he takes David’s horse and sets out to find him. But how will he get there before Shabbat?!

The land miraculously contracted for him and he arrived quickly.

Haleluya!

As he was progressing he saw Orpah, Ishbibenob’s mother, who was spinning thread with a spindle. When she saw him, she removed her spindle and threw it at him, intending to kill him. After failing to do so, she said to Abishai: Young man, bring me my spindle. He threw the spindle and struck her at the top of her brain and killed her.

So, a giantess killed. Now, the Jews have killed this guys brother AND mother.

When Ishbibenob saw him, he said: Now they are two, David and Abishai, and they will kill me. He threw David up in the air, and stuck his spear into the ground. He said: Let David fall upon it and die.

Uh oh – but wait!

Abishai recited a sacred name of God and suspended David between heaven and earth so that he would not fall. The Gemara asks: And let David himself recite the name of God and save himself. Why did he need Abishai? The Gemara answers: A prisoner does not release himself from a prison but requires someone else to release him. Similarly, one in danger is incapable of rescuing himself.

(Love that.)

Abishai said to David: What do you seek here and why did you fall into Ishbibenob’s hands? David said to him: This is what the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to me, and this is what I responded to Him;

David recounts to Abishai that he picked that he would be handed to his enemies as punishment rather then have his descendants killed off. (That’s at the top of this blog.)

Abishai said to him: Reverse your prayer and pray that your descendants will cease to exist rather than that you will be handed to the enemy, in accordance with the adage that people say: Let your son’s son be a poor peddler and sell wax, and you will not suffer. Do not limit your expenses to leave an inheritance for your descendants.

Okay, time out. Wow. A little “you can’t take it with you” with a little make your kids od their own work.

David said to him: If so, help me. That is the meaning of that which is written: “And Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to his aid, and smote the Philistine and killed him” (II Samuel 21:17). Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: This means that he came to his aid in prayer. Abishai recited another sacred name of God and caused David to land safely after being suspended between heaven and earth, and they fled. Ishbibenob pursued them, intending to kill them. . . They said to Ishbibenob: Go find Orpah, your mother, in the grave. When they mentioned his mother’s name to him and told him she died, his strength diminished, and they killed him. The Gemara notes: It is after this that it is written: “Then David’s men took an oath to him saying: You shall not go with us to war anymore and you will not douse the lamp of Israel” (II Samuel 21:17).

Wow! What a crazy story. God’s name, suspension in mid-air, a family of giants, signs from shampoo – it’s really got it all.

Maybe Michaelangelo should have done a statue of Abishai washing his hair?think people would line up for days to see it?

Sanhedrin 94

Ever just get a feeling? Like something is telling you to do something? (Or not to do something?). It might be your angel. (If you’re not a prophet who God talks to directly.

Apropos Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Gemara notes: In certain respects, the latter three were greater than Daniel, and in certain respects, Daniel was greater than the latter three. They were greater than he, as they were prophets and he was not a prophet. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were designated to transmit their visions of God to the Jewish people, but Daniel was not designated to share his visions with others. And he was greater than they, as he saw this vision, and they did not see this vision. The Gemara asks: And since they did not see the vision, what is the reason that they were frightened? The Gemara answers: Although they did not see the vision, their guardian angels saw it, and they were overcome with fear and fled. Ravina said: Conclude from it that in the case of this person who becomes frightened with no apparent cause, although he does not see what causes his fear, his guardian angel sees it.

Good looking out angels!!

Sanhedrin 93

Have Jews ever believed the Messiah had arrived? Yes. And I am not talking about Jesus.

Today we are introduced to someone the Gemara calls “Bar Koziva” which means son of falsehood. This name gives away the end. He is not the true messiah. However, none other than Rabbi Akiva had called him “Bar Kokheva” meaning son of the star. He believed this man WAS the messiah. What was his real name? In letters unearthed in archaeological excavations we learn that he signed his name Shimon bar Kosba and the other names were plays off his real name. Here is our passage.

The Gemara relates: Bar Koziva, i.e., bar Kokheva, ruled for two and a half years. He said to the Sages: I am the Messiah. They said to him: With regard to the Messiah it is written that he is able to smell and judge, so let us see ourselves whether he, bar Kokheva, is able to smell and judge. Once they saw that he was not able to smell and judge, the gentiles killed him.

Now this makes it sound like the Rabbi are the ones who killed him. But in fact, he staged a revolt against the Romans. Rabbi Akiva, and many others joined him in the revolt. He truly believed that it was the messianic time. Our Daft tells us that he ruled for 2 1/2 years and declared himself the Messiah. It does tell us that the sages didn’t believe him. But as they say, hindsight is 20/20. We know for a fact that the sagest of all sages died because he did believe. It is those who opposed the revolt, and those who saw that he clearly wasn’t the Messiah after the failed rebellion who called him Bar Koziva – “the son of falsehood.”

So, have Jews ever believed the Messiah had come? Yes. This is not the first time nor was it the last. But next time the person who fools even wise rabbis will have a good sense of smell.

Sanhedrin 92

You know how Forest Gump always quotes his momma saying, “Momma says” and then says pearls of wisdom? We get a whole section on today’s daf of “Rabbi Elazar says” with pearls of wisdom. My favorite is this: And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to anyone who amends the truth in his speech, it is as though he worships idols.

Yes! Lies and bending the truth denies reality. He has other good ones as well.

And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to any person in whom there is knowledge, it is as though the Temple was built in his days . . . And Rabbi Elazar says: Any person in whom there is knowledge ultimately becomes wealthy. . . And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to any person in whom there is no knowledge, it is prohibited to have mercy upon him, as it is stated: “For it is a people of no understanding; therefore its Maker will have no mercy on them, and its Creator will show them no favor” (Isaiah 27:11). If God has no mercy upon them, all the more so should people not show them mercy. And Rabbi Elazar says: Any person in whom there is no knowledge is ultimately exiled. . . And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to any house in which there are no matters of Torah heard at night, the fire of Gehenna consumes it . . . And Rabbi Elazar says: Anyone who does not benefit Torah scholars from his property never sees a sign of blessing. . .

And my final favorite:

And Rabbi Elazar says: Forever be in the dark, i.e., anonymous, and you will continue to exist.

What does that mean? Rabbi Zeira sheds some light on it (that’s a pun, you’ll see):

Rabbi Zeira says: We learn a similar idea in a mishna as well (Nega’im 2:3): In a dark house, one does not open windows to illuminate it in order to see whether or not its blemish is leprosy, and the house retains the presumptive status of ritual purity. Those matters that are obscured are allowed to continue. The Gemara affirms: Conclude from that mishna that this is so.

So, it’s a “don’t ask if you really don’t want to know” kind of a thing. A version of “better to remain silent and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt” kind of a thing.

Loving Elezar says.

Sanhedrin 91

This rarely happens. I have referenced two passages on our daf today this week! The first, one of my Bat Mitzvah students is teaching in her Bat Mitzvah Thursday and the second I referenced today subbing for a University of Miami Jewish law class! So, of course I want to share both.

The first that I will highlight on our daf, the Bat mitzvah girl is sharing because after she learned about the building of the mishkan (the traveling sanctuary our ancestors built and took with them through their wanderings in the wilderness), she wanted to now where these run away slaves got all the materials to build something so grand! The answer is that we got the materials from the Egyptians who we took gold and silver from before we fled Egypt. Was it stealing? Do we need to pay them back? Well, at the time of Alexander the Great, Egypt tried to argue that we owed them.

The people of Egypt came to judgment with the Jewish people before Alexander of Macedon. The Egyptian people said to Alexander: It says in the Torah: “And the Lord gave the people favor in the eyes of Egypt, and they lent them” (Exodus 12:36). Give us the silver and gold that you took from us; you claimed that you were borrowing it and you never returned it. Geviha ben Pesisa said to the Sages: Give me permission and I will go and deliberate with them before Alexander of Macedon. If they will defeat me, say to them: You have defeated an ordinary person from among us, and until you overcome our Sages, it is no victory. And if I will defeat them, say to them: The Torah of Moses, our teacher, defeated you, and attribute no significance to me. The Sages gave him permission, and he went and deliberated with them. Geviha ben Pesisa said to them: From where are you citing proof that you are entitled to the silver and gold? They said to him: From the Torah. Geviha ben Pesisa said to them: I too will cite proof to you only from the Torah, as it is stated: “And the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years” (Exodus 12:40), during which they were enslaved to Egypt, engaged in hard manual labor. Give us the wages for the work performed by the 600,000 men above the age of twenty (see Exodus 12:37) whom you enslaved in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years. Alexander of Macedon said to the people of Egypt: Provide Geviha ben Pesisa with a response to his claims. They said to him: Give us time; give us three days to consider the matter. The emperor gave them the requested time and they examined the matter and did not find a response to the claims. Immediately, they abandoned their fields when they were sown and their vineyards when they were planted, and fled.

Reparations baby. They got off cheap if you think about it.

The second was in response to a question about if our body and souls are judged together:

Antoninos, the Roman emperor, said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: The body and the soul are able to exempt themselves from judgment for their sins. How so? The body says: The soul sinned, as from the day of my death when it departed from me, I am cast like a silent stone in the grave, and do not sin. And the soul says: The body sinned, as from the day that I departed from it, I am flying in the air like a bird, incapable of sin. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: I will tell you a parable. To what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to a king of flesh and blood who had a fine orchard, and in it there were fine first fruits of a fig tree, and he stationed two guards in the orchard, one lame, who was unable to walk, and one blind. Neither was capable of reaching the fruit on the trees in the orchard without the assistance of the other. The lame person said to the blind person: I see fine first fruits of a fig tree in the orchard; come and place me upon your shoulders. I will guide you to the tree, and we will bring the figs to eat them. The lame person rode upon the shoulders of the blind person and they brought the figs and ate them. Sometime later the owner of the orchard came to the orchard. He said to the guards: The fine first fruits of a fig tree that were in the orchard, where are they? The lame person said: Do I have any legs with which I would be able to walk and take the figs? The blind person said: Do I have any eyes with which I would be able to see the way to the figs? What did the owner of the orchard do? He placed the lame person upon the shoulders of the blind person just as they did when they stole the figs, and he judged them as one. So too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, brings the soul on the day of judgment and casts it back into the body, as they were when they sinned, and He judges them as one, as it is stated: “He calls to the heavens above and to the earth that He may judge His people” (Psalms 50:4). “He calls to the heavens above”; this is the soul, which is heavenly. “And to the earth that He may judge His people”; this is the body, which is earthly.

We are one, body and soul together.

Two fabulous gems today!

Sanhedrin 90

Today’s daf is all about the resurrection of the dead! There is much that is fascinating as any conversation about what happens after we die is so interesting. But my gem comes from the end of our daf today as this conversation extends to both Queen Cleopatra and the Roman Emperor and his daughter.

The Gemara relates: Queen Cleopatra asked Rabbi Meir a question. She said: I know that the dead will live, as it is written: “And may they blossom out of the city like grass of the earth” (Psalms 72:16). Just as grass grows, so too, the dead will come to life. But when they arise, will they arise naked or will they arise with their garments? Rabbi Meir said to her: It is derived a fortiori from wheat. If wheat, which is buried naked, meaning that the kernel is sown without the chaff, emerges with several garments of chaff, all the more so will the righteous, who are buried with their garments, arise with their garments.

Okay, you have to love this – Cleopatra quoting bible, talking to Rabbi Meir, and the illustration! Good to know we will have clothes when the resurrection comes.

The Roman emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: You say that the dead will live. Aren’t they dust? And does dust come to life? The daughter of the emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: Leave him, and I will respond to him with a parable. She said: There are two craftsmen in our city; one fashions vessels from water, and one fashions vessels from mortar. Which is more noteworthy? The emperor said to her: It is that craftsman that fashions vessels from water. His daughter said to him: If he fashions a vessel from the water, all the more so is it not clear that he can fashion vessels from mortar? By the same token, if God was able to create the world from water, He is certainly able to resurrect people from dust.

Brilliant.

What do we learn? Well, we may not know exactly what happens after we die – but we shouldn’t let our imaginations limit us, because God is beyond the limits of our imagination.

Sanhedrin 89

Today we have a passage of Talmud studied by all rabbis and leaders of the High Holy Days. On Rosh haShana, we read of the binding of Isaac, when God calls upon Abraham to sacrifice his son. There are so many questions surrounding that scene. Our daf answers a few of them:

Apropos the binding of Isaac, the Gemara elaborates: It is written: “And it came to pass after these matters [hadevarim] that God tried Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). The Gemara asks: After what matters? How does the binding of Isaac relate to the preceding events?

(Our first question.)

Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: This means after the statement [devarav] of Satan, as it is written: “And the child grew, and was weaned, and Abraham prepared a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” (Genesis 21:8). Satan said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, this old man, you favored him with a product of the womb, i.e., a child, at one hundred years of age. From the entire feast that he prepared, did he not have even one dove or one pigeon to sacrifice before You as a thanks-offering? God said to Satan: Did Abraham prepare the feast for any reason but for his son? If I say to him: Sacrifice your son before Me, he would immediately slaughter him. Immediately, after these matters, the verse states: “And God tried Abraham.”

The daf gives another reason God tested Abraham in this way:

Rabbi Levi says: This means after the statement of Ishmael to Isaac, during an exchange between them described in the verse: “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar…mocking” (Genesis 21:9). Ishmael said to Isaac: I am greater than you in the fulfillment of mitzvot, as you were circumcised at the age of eight days, without your knowledge and without your consent, and I was circumcised at the age of thirteen years, with both my knowledge and my consent. Isaac said to Ishmael: And do you provoke me with one organ? If the Holy One, Blessed be He, were to say to me: Sacrifice yourself before Me, I would sacrifice myself. Immediately, God tried Abraham, to confirm that Isaac was sincere in his offer to give his life.

Two explanations for why THIS test of all the trials. But why so many trials?

The Torah continues: “And He said: Take, please [na], your son” (Genesis 22:2). Rabbi Shimon bar Abba says: The word na is nothing other than an expression of entreaty. Why did God request rather than command that Abraham take his son? The Gemara cites a parable of a flesh-and-blood king who confronted many wars. And he had one warrior fighting for him, and he overcame his enemies. Over time, there was a fierce war confronting him. The king said to his warrior: I entreat you, stand firm for me in this war, so that others will not say: There is no substance in the first victories, and you are not a true warrior. Likewise, the Holy One, Blessed be He, also said to Abraham: I have tried you with several ordeals, and you have withstood them all. Now, stand firm in this ordeal for Me, so that others will not say: There is no substance in the first ordeals. God said to Abraham: “Please take your son, your only, whom you love, Isaac” (Genesis 22:2).

There is also a passage, Gen. 22:2, where God says, ““Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Why not just say “Isaac”?

When God said: “Your son,” Abraham said: I have two sons. When God said: “Your only,” Abraham said: This son is an only son to his mother, and that son is an only son to his mother. When God said: “Whom you love,” Abraham said: I love both of them. Then God said: “Isaac.” And why did God prolong His command to that extent? Why did He not say Isaac’s name from the outset? God did so, so that Abraham’s mind would not be confused by the trauma.

Beautiful. We see Abraham loves both his sons, and the daf acknowledges how traumatic this request is.

I leave you with one more little gem, it’s what Abraham says to Satan who is standing in his path to Moriah, “this is the punishment of the liar, that even if he speaks the truth, others do not listen to him. Therefore, I do not believe you and will fulfill that which I was commanded to perform.”

We may not always get the “why” in life, but we can learn a lesson from all that happens.

Sanhedrin 88

Who is Rav Ulla b. Abba?

Who is the one destined to receive a place in the World-to-Come? It is one who is modest and humble, who bows and enters and bows and exits, and who studies Torah regularly, and who does not take credit for himself. The Sages cast their eyes on Rav Ulla bar Abba, as they perceived him as the embodiment of all these characteristics.

This may be one of my favorite gems. Why? This is the only Rav Ulla b. Abba appears in the Talmud. (There is another Ulla who appears, but he is ben Ishmael.) This guy is clearly modest and did not take credit for himself – he isn’t quoted in the entire Talmud! Yet, his peers hear of who is the person who gets into heaven and it describes him to a T.

Rav Ulla b. Abba, we do not know much of you, but I hope you’re enjoying Olam HaBah.

Sanhedrin 87

“Then you shall arise” from the court where he sits as a judge. “And ascend”; this teaches that the Temple is higher than the rest of Eretz Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael is higher than all the other lands. Therefore, the language of ascent is employed with regard to travel to Eretz Yisrael.

We know that Jerusalem is not the highest point on the globe, but we still use the language of “ascension” as we rise spiritually when we go to this Holy land.