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

Sanhedrin 45

When we think of someone being stoned to death (okay, potheads, I’m talking about the biblical punishment) we tend to think of everyone hurling stones. Like this depiction of the Catholica St Stephen

But, the Talmud imagines stoning in a totally different way:

The place of stoning from which the condemned man is pushed to his death is a platform twice the height of an ordinary person. He is made to stand at the edge of the platform, and then one of the witnesses who testified against him pushes him down by the hips, so that he falls face up onto the ground. If he turned over onto his chest, with his face downward, the witness turns him over onto his hips. And if he dies through this fall to the ground, the obligation to stone the transgressor is fulfilled. And if the condemned man does not die from his fall, the second witness takes the stone that has been prepared for this task and places, i.e., casts, it on his chest. And if he dies with the casting of this first stone, the obligation to stone the transgressor is fulfilled. And if he does not die with the casting of this stone, then his stoning is completed by all of the Jewish people, i.e., by all the people who assembled for the execution, as it is stated: “The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people” (Deuteronomy 17:7).

Yep. It’s more like pushing someone off the diving board with no water. . . then rolling a boulder onto them. We learn the height of the platform has to be 2-3x the height of a man (so either 12 or 18 ft.) and it takes TWO men to move the boulder.

So, what do we learn? These Christian depictions are not based on Jewish law! So, Jewish courts didn’t do it. Just saying.

Sanhedrin 44

We all mess up, but some messes are bigger than others. On our add today, the rabbis discuss a few of Joshua’s failures. And, in seeing Gods reaction, we learn a lesson in priority.

The verse states: “And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, a man stood over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: And Joshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? And he said: No, but I am captain of the host of the Lord; I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down” (Joshua 5:13–14). . .

The Gemara understands the words of the angel that Joshua encountered as a rebuke for some offense Joshua committed: The angel said to Joshua: Yesterday, in the afternoon, you neglected sacrificing the daily afternoon offering because you were engaged in warfare, and now, when it is dark, you neglected Torah study. Joshua asked him: For which of these sins have you come to reprove me? The angel said to him: “I have now come,” i.e., the fact that I did not come before, but waited until now, when it is dark, indicates that the sin of neglecting Torah study is the more severe one. Joshua immediately acted to rectify the matter by deciding that he must devote more time to Torah study, as it is stated: “And Joshua lodged that night” (Joshua 8:9) “into the midst of the valley [ha’emek]” (Joshua 8:13). And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This teaches that he lodged all night in the depth [be’omekah] of halakha, thereby atoning for his previous neglect of Torah study.

So, Joshua failed to offer sacrifices and then he failed to study Torah. What do we learn?

Shmuel bar Unya says in the name of Rav: Torah study is greater than the sacrificing of the daily offerings, as it is stated: “I have now come,” demonstrating that the neglect of Torah study is a more serious offense than the neglect of the daily offerings.

The rabbis clearly believe that Torah study is paramount. If we take the words of Torah seriously, and not just study for entertainment, but study to let it change us, Torah study will lead to us doing mitzvot and being good people.

Sanhedrin 43

Why is it so hard to pick just one gem? There are two on today’s daf that I just can’t pass up. The first tells us that when a person is convicted of a capital offense, that the entire town must hear about it so any evidence that may pardon the convicted individual will come forward. The second set of gems applies to us all and are not about killing an evil person, but about killing the evil within each of us.

MISHNA: If, after the condemned man is returned to the courthouse, the judges find a reason to acquit him, they acquit him and release him immediately. But if they do not find a reason to acquit him, he goes out to be stoned. And a crier goes out before him and publicly proclaims: So-and-so, son of so-and-so, is going out to be stoned because he committed such and such a transgression. And so-and-so and so-and-so are his witnesses. Anyone who knows of a reason to acquit him should come forward and teach it on his behalf. GEMARA: Abaye says: And the crier must also publicly proclaim that the transgression was committed on such and such a day, at such and such an hour, and at such and such a place, as perhaps there are those who know that the witnesses could not have been in that place at that time, and they will come forward and render the witnesses conspiring witnesses.

How far will they go for justice?! And I think of all the people who have served jail time or even have been killed for crimes they did not commit. . .

This next one is for all of us:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: With regard to anyone who slaughters his evil inclination after it has tempted him to sin, if he repents and confesses his sin, the verse ascribes him credit as though he had honored the Holy One, Blessed be He, in two worlds, this world and the World-to-Come, as it is written: “Whoever slaughters a thanks-offering [toda] honors Me [yekhabdaneni]” (Psalms 50:23), which can also be read as: Whoever slaughters his evil inclination and confesses [mitvadeh] honors Me, and the two instances of the letter nun in the word yekhabdaneni allude to the two worlds.

Within this discussion of capital crimes we get this gem that teaches us all that we can change. The power of tushuvah (repenence). But to really change, we need to be humble.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi also says: When the Temple is standing, if a person sacrifices a burnt-offering, he has the reward given for bringing a burnt-offering, and if he sacrifices a meal-offering, he has the reward given for bringing a meal-offering. But as for one whose spirit is humble, the verse ascribes him credit for his prayer as though he has sacrificed all the offerings, as it is stated: “The offerings of God are a broken spirit” (Psalms 51:19), which teaches that a broken spirit is equivalent to the offerings to God, in the plural. And moreover, his prayer is not rejected, as it is stated in the continuation of that verse: “A broken and contrite heart, God, You will not despise.”

Sanhedrin 42

We get a great little gem on today’s daf.

Being shamed by oneself is not comparable to being shamed by others.

Oh I love self-deprecating humor! And it also reminds me of when my husband and I first started dating and I thought he was idealizing me . . . so I gave him a list of my flaws, pointing out things it would take him years to notice.

It is true, it’s easier to point out your own flaws then to have others tell them to you – even if you knw what they are.

But, we all have blind spots. So, while I may have enumerated the flaws I saw, I am sure I missed a ton.

Sanhedrin 41

What are witnesses asked during a trial? We know that, in American jurist prudence every witness is asked to state their names and swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. But there are lots of questions that are specific to THAT trial (and not others). We learn on our daf that this is the difference between ḥakirot (interrogations), and bedikot (examinations).

The Mishna on yesterday’s daf, gave us 7 specific ḥakirot (interrogations). These are asked of every witness, no matter what. If they cannot answer one of these questions, their testimony is thrown out!

Today, we learn about bedikot (examinations). These are specific to the case and, if a witness cannot answer one of these questions, their testimony is still valid.

The Gemara suggests: Come and hear proof from the mishna: An incident occurred, and ben Zakkai examined the witnesses about the stems of figs.

Can you imagine? You’re going to testify about a crime in which the punishment is the death penalty, and the judge asks you: This fig tree about which you are testifying, were its stems thin or were its stems thick? Were the figs on it black or were the figs white?

Lucky for those of us who don’t notice things like the thickness of fig stems – there is only one rabbi who would toss out your testimony for not remembering such a detail, Yochanan ben Zakkai. For everyone else, we can say we don’t remember and our testimony is still listened to.

Makes me wonder if Yochanan ben Zakkai was just so attuned to details he expected that of everyone else, or if maybe, just maybe, he was against the death penalty and trying to find ways to ensure it was never issued.

Sanhedrin 40

Today’s gem is the promotion of a student to sit amongst the judges, all in a display of how far the court will go to acquit someone accused to a capital offense.

They open the deliberations with an appeal to anyone who can find a reason to acquit the accused. If one of the witnesses said: I can teach a reason to acquit him, or if one of the students sitting before the judges said: I can teach a reason to deem him liable, the judges silence him, i.e., both the witness and the student. The reason is that these people are not allowed to offer information such as this. But if one of the students said: I can to teach a reason to acquit him, they raise him to the seat of the court and seat him among them, and he would not descend from there the entire day, but would sit and participate in their deliberations. If the statement of that student has substance, the court listens to him. And if even the accused says: I can teach a reason to acquit me, the court listens to him and considers his statement, provided that his statement has substance.

Two true gems. The first is that they will listen to anyone and everyone if they can help find someone innocent. The second is the elevation of a student. May we all be so open to learning from others.

Sanhedrin 39

A beautiful lesson in humility today as the Roman Emperor challenges Rabban Gamliel, trying to argue that our God is nothing special.

The Roman emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: Your God is a thief, as it is written: “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and he slept; and He took one of his sides, and closed up the place with flesh instead” (Genesis 2:21).

So, first Emperor argues that God is a theif as God stole Adam’s rib. But, it’s not the Rabbi who will come to the rescue – but the Emperor’s own daughter!

The daughter of the emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: Leave him, as I will respond to him. She said to her father: Provide one commander [dukhus] for me to avenge someone’s wrongdoing. The emperor said to her: Why do you need him? She said to him: Armed bandits came to us this past night, and took a silver jug [kiton] from us, and left a golden jug for us. The emperor said to her: If so, would it be that armed bandits such as these would come to us every day. She said to him: And was it not similarly good for Adam the first man that God took a side from him and gave him a maidservant to serve him?

God took a rib and gave him a partner!! Not a bad deal indeed.

The emperor said to her: This is what I was saying: But if it is good for Adam, let God take his side from him in the open, not during the time of his deep sleep, like a thief.

If it’s so good, why did God do it at night?

She said to him: Bring me a slice of raw meat. They brought it to her. She placed it under the embers, and removed it after it was roasted. She said to him: Eat from this meat. The emperor said to her: It is repulsive to me. Although he knew that this is how meat is prepared, seeing the raw meat made it repulsive to him. She said to him: With regard to Adam the first man as well, had God taken her from him in the open, she would have been repulsive to him. Therefore God acted while Adam was asleep.

Got to love this young woman teaching her dad! Fabulous example of jus tone of the amazing women in the Talmud.

Now, the EMperor has another challenge.

The emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: I know your God, what He does and where He sits. Meanwhile, the emperor was moaning and groaning. Rabban Gamliel said to him: What is this? Why are you in distress? The emperor said to him: I have one son in the cities overseas and I miss him. Rabban Gamliel said to him: I want you to show him to me. The emperor said: Do I know where he is? Rabban Gamliel said to him: If you do not know that which is on earth, is it possible that you do know that which is in the heavens?

The conversation with the Emperor continues. Another highlight:

Some say that this is what the emperor said to him: I have counted the stars. Rabban Gamliel said to him: Tell me how many teeth and incisors you have. The emperor put his hand in his mouth and was counting them. Rabban Gamliel said to him: You do not know what is in your mouth, but you do know what is in the firmament?

I love these answers. So often the questions asked about God do not come from a genuine place of curiosity, but from an accusatory one (like the first) or an arrogant one (like the latter). We think we know so much that there can’t be a God (I’m looking at you Neil Degrasse Tyson), but we don’t that much.

Sanhedrin 38

Another fabulous daf! While every word is amazing, I will give you two great one liners and then the real gem: Why were people created right before Shabbat (and last of all God’s creations)?

Your first one liner: When wine enters, secrets emerge.

And your second: It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Meir would say: One person is different from another in three ways: In voice, in appearance, and in thought.

And the gem, why were we created on the eve of Shabbat?

So that if a person becomes haughty, God can say to him: The mosquito preceded you in the acts of Creation, as you were created last.

Boom! Think you’re special? A mosquito was created before you. It continues:

Alternatively, he was created on Shabbat eve in order that he enter into the mitzva of observing Shabbat immediately. Alternatively, he was created on Shabbat eve, after all of the other creations, in order that he enter into a feast immediately, as the whole world was prepared for him.

Now we get a story.

This is comparable to a king of flesh and blood, who first built palaces [palterin] and improved them, and prepared a feast and afterward brought in his guests.

One of my favorite rabbinic answers to the question “how do we know there is a God if we can’t see God?” is derived from this. We usually tell it this way:

Imagine you enter a banquet hall. The tables are set with beautiful linens, china, silver, crystal glasses. The center pieces are beautiful bouquets of flowers that all compliment one anther. There are chairs for everyone and the food – it’s abundant, delicious and beautifully plated.

Who set the tables? Made the food? Someone . . .

So too it is with the world. We are born into this beautiful place with all we need. So, there must be someone who made it so.

Sanhedrin 37

One of the most incredible, fabulous, wonderful dapim we’ve had! It begins with Rabbi Zeira befriending “hooligans.” The rest of the rabbis judge him for dong so but they all repent because of him. And . . . it ends with: It is learned as a tradition that a woman does not conceive when she is standing during sexual intercourse, and yet, the mother of Shealtiel conceived while standing.

Can it get any better? In fact, the middle is one of the best sections of Talmud, one I have taught many times.

First, you must know that the first couple, Adam and Eve, originally had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain killed his brother Abel.

As we found with Cain, who killed his brother, it is stated: “The voice of your brother’s blood [demei] cries out to Me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). The verse does not state: Your brother’s blood [dam], in the singular, but rather: “Your brother’s blood [demei],” in the plural. This serves to teach that the loss of both his brother’s blood and the blood of his brother’s offspring are ascribed to Cain.

So, when Cain killed Abel, he also killed all the future generations that were to come from Abel.

Therefore, Adam the first man was created alone, to teach you that with regard to anyone who destroys one soul, i.e., kills one person, the verse ascribes him blame as if he destroyed an entire world, as Adam was one person, from whom the population of an entire world came forth. And conversely, anyone who sustains one soul, the verse ascribes him credit as if he sustained an entire world.

Save a life, save a world. Already, the best of the best, but there is more!

The mishna cites another reason Adam the first man was created alone: And this was done due to the importance of maintaining peace among people, so that one person will not say to another: My father is greater than your father.

We are all one family. We are all equal, and yet – none of us are the same:

And this serves to tell of the greatness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as when a person stamps several coins with one seal, they are all similar to each other. But the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, stamped all people with the seal of Adam the first man, as all of them are his offspring, and not one of them is similar to another. Therefore, since all humanity descends from one person, each and every person is obligated to say: The world was created for me, as one person can be the source of all humanity, and recognize the significance of his actions.

Each of us is the same and each of us is infinitely special. Each of us is an entire world. you are, I am, we are, precious.

Sanhedrin 36

Today, the Talmud gives us a lesson on how to make sure every voice is heard and every opinion accounted for.

The mishna teaches that in cases of capital law, the judges commence issuing their opinions from the side benches, where the least significant judges sit. The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? Rav Aḥa bar Pappa says: The verse states: “Neither shall you answer in a cause [al riv]” (Exodus 23:2), and the Sages interpret: Neither shall you answer after the Master [al rav], i.e., do not dispute the opinion of the greatest among the judges. Therefore, were the judges to commence issuing their opinions from the greatest of them, and he would say that the accused is liable, no judge would acquit him.

Often, leaders might genuinely want others’ opinions and insights, but power dynamics are a real thing. People don’t want to (nor do they often feel safe to) disagree with their superiors. So, one way to make sure every voice is heard is to follow the model given by the Talmud of having the lower ranking individuals voice their take on the situation first.

We can see in the highest offices how leaders can sometimes surround themselves with people who won’t contradict them. But the value of listening to others is paramount. One good way to hear what people really think is to let them speak first.