סנהדרין דף לח

והיא נתעברה מעומד. דבר אחר: שלתיאל – שנשאל על אלתו אל. זרובבל – שנזרע בבבל. ומה שמו? נחמיה בן חכליה שמו.

and the mother of Shealtiel conceived while standing. Alternatively, “Shealtiel” is interpreted as meaning that God [El ] requested [nishal ] dissolution of His oath, as it were, and allowed Jeconiah to father a child. In the continuation of that passage in Chronicles, where the verse refers to the grandson of Jeconiah, Zerubbabel [Zerubavel ], the Gemara interprets that his name teaches that he was sown [nizra], i.e., conceived, in Babylonia [Bavel]. And what was his true name? Nehemiah, son of Hachaliah, was his true name.

יהודה וחזקיה בני רבי חייא הוו יתבי בסעודתא קמי רבי, ולא הוו קא אמרי ולא מידי. אמר להו:

Having mentioned the sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya, the Gemara relates: Yehuda and Ḥizkiyya, sons of Rabbi Ḥiyya, were sitting at a meal before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, and they were not saying anything. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to his servants: Add more wine for the young men, so that they will say something. Once they were inebriated, they loosened their tongues and said: The son of David, i.e., the Messiah, will not come until two fathers’ houses are destroyed from Israel, as those two families are preventing the redemption. And they are the head of the exile who is in Babylonia, i.e., the family of the Exilarch, and the Nasi who is in Eretz Yisrael, i.e., the family of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (see 5a), as it is stated in reference to the Messiah: “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel” (Isaiah 8:14).

אגברו חמרא אדרדקי כי היכי דלימרו מילתא. כיון דאיבסום, פתחו ואמרו: אין בן דוד בא עד שיכלו שני בתי אבות מישראל, ואלו הן:

ראש גולה שבבבל ונשיא שבארץ ישראל, שנאמר: ״והיה למקדש ולאבן נגף ולצור מכשול לשני בתי ישראל״.

אמר להם: בניי, קוצים אתם מטילין לי בעיניי? אמר לו רבי חייא: רבי, אל ירע בעיניך. ״יין״ ניתן בשבעים אותיות, ו״סוד״ ניתן בשבעים אותיות.

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to them: My children, do you throw thorns in my eyes? How can you say this in the presence of the Nasi himself? Rabbi Ḥiyya said to him: My teacher, do not view their behavior in a negative light. Wine [yayin] is given in letters of seventy, i.e., the numerical value of the letters in the word yayin is seventy, and secret [sod ] is given in letters of seventy, i.e., the numerical value of the letters in the word sod is seventy. When wine enters, secrets emerge.

נכנס יין – יצא סוד.

אמר רב חסדא אמר מר עוקבא, ואמרי לה אמר רב חסדא: דרש מרי בר מר, מאי דכתיב: ״וישקד ה׳ על הרעה ויביאה עלינו כי צדיק ה׳ אלהינו״?

Apropos the discussion of exile, Rav Ḥisda says that Mar Ukva says, and some say that Rav Ḥisda says that Mari bar Mar taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And so the Lord has hastened the evil, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all His works He has done” (Daniel 9:14)? Is it because “the Lord our God is righteous” that “the Lord has hastened the evil, and brought it upon us”? He explains: Yes, because it was a righteous act that the Holy One, Blessed be He, performed for the Jewish people by hastening the exile of Zedekiah while the Jews who had been exiled in the exile of Jeconiah, which preceded it, were still alive, as the wise people among those exiled with Jeconiah were able to instruct those exiled with Zedekiah.

משום דצדיק ה׳ – ״וישקד ה׳ על הרעה ויביאה עלינו״? אין, צדקה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא עם ישראל שהקדים גלות צדקיהו ועוד גלות יכניה קיימת.

דכתיב ביה בגלות יכניה: ״החרש והמסגר אלף״. חרש – כיון שפותחין, הכל נעשו כחרשין. מסגר – כיון שסוגרין בהלכה, שוב אין פותחין. וכמה היו? אלף.

This is as it is written concerning the exile of Jeconiah: “And all the men of might, seven thousand, and the craftsmen [heḥarash] and the smiths [vehammasger] one thousand” (II Kings 24:16). The Gemara interprets: The term “ḥarash,” which can be read as ḥeresh, deaf-mute, is referring to Torah scholars, as when they open their mouths to teach Torah, all the others become as though they were deaf-mutes, as they would listen quietly to the one teaching Torah. The term “masger,” which is related to saggur, meaning closed, teaches that when they close, i.e., finish, teaching the halakha, they do not reopen the discussion, as all has been clarified. And how many were these Torah scholars? One thousand.

עולא אמר: שהקדים שתי שנים ל״ונושנתם״.

Ulla says: The righteous act that the Lord performed, referred to in the verse in Daniel, was that He hastened the exile by two years of venoshantem. Moses taught: “When you shall have children, and children’s children, and you shall have remained long [venoshantem] in the land, and shall deal corruptly, and make a carved idol, the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord your God, to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land into which you go over the Jorden to possess it; you shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed” (Deuteronomy 4:25–26). The numerical value of the letters of the word “venoshantem” is 852, and the Jewish people were exiled in the 850th year after entering Eretz Yisrael. Since they were exiled early, not all of the curses enumerated in the verse would be fulfilled.

אמר רב אחא בר יעקב: שמע מינה, ״מהרה״ דמרי עלמא תמני מאה וחמשין ותרתין הוו.

Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov says: Learn from it that for the Master of the World, the term soon is referring to 852 years, as the verse states: “You shall soon utterly perish,” and the intended time until the exile was 852 years.

לפיכך כו׳. תנו רבנן: אדם יחידי נברא, ומפני מה? שלא יהו מינים אומרין ״הרבה רשויות בשמים״. דבר אחר: מפני הצדיקים ומפני הרשעים,

§ The mishna teaches: Therefore, Adam the first man was created alone. The Sages taught in a baraita: Adam was created alone, and for what reason? So that the heretics will not say: There are many authorities in Heaven, and each created a different person. Alternatively, Adam was created alone due to the righteous and due to the wicked. It was so that the righteous will not say: We are the children of the righteous, and righteousness is natural for us, so there is no need for us to exert ourselves to be righteous, and so that the wicked will not say: We are the children of the wicked and cannot change our ways.

שלא יהו הצדיקים אומרים ״אנו בני צדיק״, ורשעים אומרים ״אנו בני רשע״.

דבר אחר: מפני המשפחות, שלא יהו משפחות מתגרות זו בזו. ומה עכשיו שנברא יחיד מתגרות, נבראו שנים – על אחת כמה וכמה! דבר אחר: מפני הגזלנין ומפני החמסנין.

The baraita continues: Alternatively, he was created alone due to the families, so that the families will not quarrel with each other, each one boasting of the heritage of their progenitor. And if now that Adam was created alone, families still quarrel and each family claims superiority, if there were two people created initially, all the more so would they do this. Alternatively, he was created alone due to the robbers and due to those who take by force that which is not theirs, as the feeling of fraternity among all people, having descended from the same forefather, will limit crime. And if now that Adam was created alone, criminals still rob and take by force that which is not theirs, if there were two people created initially, all the more so would this be the case.

ומה עכשו שנברא יחידי גוזלין וחומסין, נבראו שנים – על אחת כמה וכמה!

ולהגיד גדולתו כו׳. תנו רבנן, להגיד גדולתו של מלך מלכי המלכים הקדוש ברוך הוא, שאדם טובע כמה מטבעות בחותם אחד וכולן דומין זה לזה,

The mishna teaches: 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 are his offspring, and not one of them is similar to another. The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 8:5): The fact that Adam the first man was created alone serves to declare the greatness of the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, as a person stamps several coins with one seal, and they are all similar to each other. But the Holy One, Blessed be He, stamps all people with the seal of Adam the first man, and not one of them is similar to another. As it is stated: “It is changed like clay under the seal and they stand as a garment” (Job 38:14). The verse describes people as being created “under the seal,” but their external appearance is different, just as garments can differ in appearance.

אבל הקדוש ברוך הוא טובע כל אדם בחותמו של אדם הראשון ואין אחד מהן דומה לחבירו, שנאמר: ״תתהפך כחמר חותם ויתיצבו כמו לבוש״.

ומפני מה אין פרצופיהן דומין זה לזה? שלא יראה אדם דירה נאה ואשה נאה ויאמר: ״שלי היא״. שנאמר: ״וימנע מרשעים אורם וזרוע רמה תשבר״.

The baraita asks: And for what reason are their faces not similar to one another? The baraita answers: It is so that a man will not see a beautiful home or a beautiful woman and say: She is mine. If all people looked the same, no one could contradict him. As it is stated in the following verse: “And from the wicked their light is withheld and the high arm shall be broken” (Job 38:15), indicating that the reason people look different from one another is to prevent the wicked from succeeding in their plans.

תניא, היה רבי מאיר אומר: בשלשה דברים אדם משתנה מחבירו: בקול, במראה, ובדעת. בקול ובמראה – משום ערוה, ובדעת – מפני הגזלנין והחמסנין.

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. The differences in voice and appearance are due to a woman forbidden to him, so that people will not exchange spouses one with another. And the differences in thought are due to the robbers and those who take by force that which is not theirs, as, if everyone thought in a similar way, criminals could take advantage of others because they would understand where they keep their valuables.

תנו רבנן: אדם נברא בערב שבת, ומפני מה? שלא יהו מינים אומרים: שותף היה לו להקדוש ברוך הוא במעשה בראשית. דבר אחר: שאם תזוח דעתו עליו, אומר לו:

The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 8:7): Adam the first man was created on Shabbat eve at the close of the six days of Creation. And for what reason was this so? So that the heretics will not be able to say that the Holy One, Blessed be He, had a partner, i.e., Adam, in the acts of Creation. Alternatively, he was created on Shabbat eve 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. Alternatively, he was created on Shabbat eve in order that he enter into the mitzva of observing Shabbat immediately.

יתוש קדמך במעשה בראשית. דבר אחר: כדי שיכנס למצוה מיד.

דבר אחר: כדי שיכנס לסעודה מיד. משל למלך בשר ודם שבנה פלטרין ושיכללן, והתקין סעודה, ואחר כך הכניס אורחין. שנאמר: ״חכמות בנתה ביתה חצבה עמודיה שבעה.

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. 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. As it is stated: “Wisdom has built her house, and she has hewn out her seven pillars. She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine; she has also furnished her table. She has sent forth her maidens; she calls upon the top of the highest places of the city” (Proverbs 9:1–3).

טבחה טבחה מסכה יינה אף ערכה שלחנה. שלחה נערתיה תקרא על גפי מרמי קרת.״

״חכמות בנתה ביתה״ – זו מידתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, שברא את כל העולם כולו בחכמה. ״חצבה עמודיה שבעה״ – אלו שבעת ימי בראשית.

The baraita explains: “Wisdom has built her house”; this is referring to the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who created the entire world with wisdom. “She has hewn out her seven pillars”; these pillars are referring to the seven days of Creation, in which the world was established. “She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine; she has also furnished her table”; these are referring to the seas and rivers and all the necessities of the world that were created. “She has sent forth her maidens; she calls”; this is referring to Adam and Eve, who were created at the end of Creation.

״טבחה טבחה מסכה יינה אף ערכה שלחנה״ – אלו ימים ונהרות וכל צורכי עולם. ״שלחה נערתיה תקרא״ – זה אדם וחוה.

״על גפי מרמי קרת״ – רבה בר בר חנה רמי: כתיב ״על גפי״, וכתיב ״על כסא״. בתחלה – על גפי, ולבסוף – על כסא.

The verses continue: “Upon the top of the highest places of the city.” Rabba bar bar Ḥana raises a contradiction: It is written: “Upon the top of the highest places,” and it is written afterward: “For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city” (Proverbs 9:14). Is she at the top or on a seat? He explains: Initially, Adam was alone upon the top of a high place, and ultimately, Adam was on a seat that is set for a bridegroom, when Eve was paired with him.

״מי פתי יסר הנה חסר לב אמרה לו״. אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: מי פיתהו לזה? אשה אמרה לו. דכתיב: ״נאף אשה חסר לב״.

The verse states in that passage: “Whoever is thoughtless, let him turn in here; as for him that lacks understanding, she tells him” (Proverbs 9:4). The Gemara explains: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Who lured this man to sin? The woman told him to sin. An allusion to the interpretation that one who is lured to sin by a woman is called one “that lacks understanding” is as it is written: “He who commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding” (Proverbs 6:32).

תניא, היה רבי מאיר אומר: אדם הראשון מכל העולם כולו הוצבר עפרו, שנאמר: ״גלמי ראו עיניך״, וכתיב: ״כי ה׳ עיניו משטטות בכל הארץ״.

It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir would say: The dust that served to form Adam the first man was gathered from the entire world, as it is stated: “When I was made in secret and wrought in the lowest places of the earth, Your eyes did see my unshaped flesh” (Psalms 139:15–16), and it is written: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (II Chronicles 16:9), indicating that this figure was formed from the whole earth, the place within the view of the Lord’s eyes. Rav Oshaya says in the name of Rav: With regard to Adam the first man,

אמר רב אושעיא משמיה דרב: אדם הראשון

גופו מבבל, וראשו מארץ ישראל, ואבריו משאר ארצות. עגבותיו, אמר רב אחא: מאקרא דאגמא.

his torso was fashioned from dust taken from Babylonia, and his head was fashioned from dust taken from Eretz Yisrael, the most important land, and his limbs were fashioned from dust taken from the rest of the lands in the world. With regard to his buttocks, Rav Aḥa says: They were fashioned from dust taken from Akra De’agma, on the outskirts of Babylonia.

אמר רבי יוחנן בר חנינא: שתים עשרה שעות הוי היום. שעה ראשונה – הוצבר עפרו, שניה – נעשה גולם, שלישית – נמתחו אבריו, רביעית – נזרקה בו נשמה,

Rabbi Yoḥanan bar Ḥanina says: Daytime is twelve hours long, and the day Adam the first man was created was divided as follows: In the first hour of the day, his dust was gathered. In the second, an undefined figure was fashioned. In the third, his limbs were extended. In the fourth, a soul was cast into him. In the fifth, he stood on his legs. In the sixth, he called the creatures by the names he gave them. In the seventh, Eve was paired with him. In the eighth, they arose to the bed two, and descended four, i.e., Cain and Abel were immediately born. In the ninth, he was commanded not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. In the tenth, he sinned. In the eleventh, he was judged. In the twelfth, he was expelled and left the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “But man abides not in honor; he is like the beasts that perish” (Psalms 49:13). Adam did not abide, i.e., sleep, in a place of honor for even one night.

חמישית – עמד על רגליו, ששית – קרא שמות, שביעית – נזדווגה לו חוה, שמינית – עלו למטה שנים וירדו ארבעה, תשיעית – נצטווה שלא לאכול מן האילן,

עשירית – סרח, אחת עשרה – נידון, שתים עשרה – נטרד והלך לו, שנאמר: ״אדם ביקר בל ילין״.

אמר רמי בר חמא: אין חיה רעה שולטת באדם אלא אם כן נדמה לו כבהמה, שנאמר: ״נמשל כבהמות נדמו״.

Rami bar Ḥama says in explanation of the end of that verse: A wild animal does not have power over a person unless that person seems to the wild animal like an animal, as it is stated: “He is like the beasts that perish.”

(שעה, בסוף, ארמי – סימן.) אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: בשעה שבקש הקדוש ברוך הוא לבראות את האדם, ברא כת אחת של מלאכי השרת. אמר להם:

The Gemara presents a mnemonic for the statements that follow: At the time, to the end, Aramaic. Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: At the time that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to create a person, He created one group of ministering angels. He said to them: If you agree, let us fashion a person in our image. The angels said before him: Master of the Universe, what are the actions of this person You suggest to create? God said to them: His actions are such and such, according to human nature.

רצונכם נעשה אדם בצלמנו? אמרו לפניו: רבונו של עולם, מה מעשיו? אמר להן: כך וכך מעשיו.

אמרו לפניו: רבונו של עולם, ״מה אנוש כי תזכרנו ובן אדם כי תפקדנו״? הושיט אצבעו קטנה ביניהן ושרפם. וכן כת שניה. כת שלישית אמרו לפניו: רבונו של עולם,

The angels said before him: Master of the Universe: “What is man that You are mindful of him? And the son of man that You think of him?” (Psalms 8:5), i.e., a creature such as this is not worth creating. God outstretched His small finger among them and burned them with fire. And the same occurred with a second group of angels. The third group of angels that He asked said before Him: Master of the Universe, the first two groups who spoke their mind before You, what did they accomplish? The entire world is Yours; whatever You wish to do in Your world, do. God then created the first person.

ראשונים שאמרו לפניך מה הועילו? כל העולם כולו שלך הוא. כל מה שאתה רוצה לעשות בעולמך – עשה.

כיון שהגיע לאנשי דור המבול ואנשי דור הפלגה שמעשיהן מקולקלין, אמרו לפניו: רבונו של עולם, לא יפה אמרו ראשונים לפניך? אמר להן:

When history arrived at the time of the people of the generation of the flood and the people of the generation of the dispersion, i.e., the Tower of Babel, whose actions were ruinous, the angels said before God: Master of the Universe, didn’t the first set of angels speak appropriately before You, that human beings are not worthy of having been created? God said to them concerning humanity: “Even to your old age I am the same; and even to hoar hairs will I suffer you; I have made and I will bear; and I will carry, and I will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4), i.e., having created people, I will even suffer their flaws.

״ועד זקנה אני הוא ועד שיבה אני אסבל וגו׳״.

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: אדם הראשון מסוף העולם ועד סופו היה, שנאמר: ״למן היום אשר ברא אלהים אדם על הארץ ולמקצה השמים ועד קצה השמים״. כיון שסרח,

Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Adam the first man spanned from one end of the world until the other, as it is stated: “Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other” (Deuteronomy 4:32), meaning that on the day Adam was created he spanned from one end of the heavens until the other. Once Adam sinned, the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed His hand on him and diminished him, as it is stated: “Behind and before You have created me and laid Your hand upon me” (Psalms 139:5), that at first Adam spanned “behind and before,” meaning everywhere, and then God laid His hand on him and diminished him.

הניח הקדוש ברוך הוא ידו עליו ומיעטו, שנאמר: ״אחור וקדם צרתני ותשת עלי כפכה״.

אמר רבי אלעזר: אדם הראשון מן הארץ עד לרקיע היה, שנאמר: ״למן היום אשר ברא אלהים אדם על הארץ ולמקצה השמים עד קצה השמים״. כיון שסרח,

Rabbi Elazar says: The height of Adam the first man was from the ground until the firmament, as it is stated: “Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other.” Adam stood “upon the earth” and rose to the end of the heavens. Once Adam sinned, the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed His hand on him and diminished him, as it is stated: “Behind and before You have created me and laid Your hand upon me.” The Gemara asks: The interpretations of the verses contradict each other. The first interpretation is that his size was from one end of the world to the other, and the second interpretation is that it was from the earth until the heavens. The Gemara answers: This and that, from one end of the world to another and from the earth until the heavens, are one measure, i.e., the same distance.

הניח הקדוש ברוך הוא ידו עליו ומיעטו, שנאמר: ״אחור וקדם צרתני וגו׳״. קשו קראי אהדדי? אידי ואידי חדא מידה היא.

ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב: אדם הראשון בלשון ארמי ספר, שנאמר: ״ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל״.

And Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Adam the first man spoke in the language of Aramaic, as it is stated in the chapter of Psalms speaking in the voice of Adam: “How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God” (Psalms 139:17).

והיינו דאמר ריש לקיש: מאי דכתיב ״זה ספר תולדת אדם״? מלמד שהראהו הקדוש ברוך הוא דור דור ודורשיו, דור דור וחכמיו. כיון שהגיע לדורו של רבי עקיבא,

And this, i.e., that the verse in Psalms is stated by Adam, is what Reish Lakish says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “This is the book of the generations of Adam” (Genesis 5:1)? This verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, showed Adam every generation and its Torah interpreters, every generation and its wise ones. When he arrived at his vision of the generation of Rabbi Akiva, Adam was gladdened by his Torah, and saddened by his manner of death. He said: “How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God,” i.e., how it weighs upon me that a man as great as Rabbi Akiva should suffer.

שמח בתורתו ונתעצב במיתתו. אמר: ״ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל״.

ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב: אדם הראשון מין היה, שנאמר: ״ויקרא ה׳ אלהים אל האדם ויאמר לו איכה״ – אן נטה לבך? רבי יצחק אמר:

And Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Adam the first man was a heretic, as it is stated: “And the Lord called to the man and said to him: Where are you”? (Genesis 3:9), meaning, to where has your heart turned, indicating that Adam turned from the path of truth. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: He was one who drew his foreskin forward, so as to remove any indication that he was circumcised. It is written here: “And they like men [adam] have transgressed the covenant” (Hosea 6:7), and it is written there: “And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant” (Genesis 17:14).

מושך בערלתו היה. כתיב הכא: ״והמה כאדם עברו ברית״, וכתיב התם: ״את בריתי הפר״.

רב נחמן אמר: כופר בעיקר היה. כתיב הכא: ״עברו ברית״, וכתיב התם: ״את בריתי הפר״, ואמרו: ״על אשר עזבו את ברית ה׳ אלהי אבותם״.

Rav Naḥman says: He was a denier of the fundamental principle of belief in God. It is written here: “And they like men [adam] have transgressed the covenant,” and it is written there: “He has broken My covenant,” and it is written in a third verse: “And then they shall answer: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshipped other gods and served them” (Jeremiah 22:9).

תנן התם, רבי אליעזר אומר: הוי שקוד ללמוד תורה, ודע מה שתשיב לאפיקורוס. אמר רבי יוחנן: לא שנו אלא אפיקורוס נכרי,

§ We learned in a mishna there (Avot 2:14): Rabbi Eliezer says: Be persistent to learn Torah, and know what to respond to the heretic [la’apikoros]. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: This was taught only with regard to a gentile heretic, but not with regard to a Jewish heretic, as one should not respond to him. All the more so, if one does respond he will become more heretical. His heresy is assumed to be intentional, and any attempt to rebut it will only cause him to reinforce his position.

אבל אפיקורוס ישראל – כל שכן דפקר טפי.

אמר רבי יוחנן: כל מקום שפקרו המינים, תשובתן בצידן. ״נעשה אדם בצלמנו״, ואומר: ״ויברא אלהים את האדם בצלמו״. ״הבה נרדה ונבלה שם שפתם״ – ״וירד

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Any place in the Bible from where the heretics attempt to prove their heresy, i.e., that there is more than one god, the response to their claim is alongside them, i.e., in the immediate vicinity of the verses they cite. The verse states that God said: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), employing the plural, but it then states: “And God created man in His image” (Genesis 1:27), employing the singular. The verse states that God said: “Come, let us go down and there confound their language” (Genesis 11:7), but it also states: “And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower” (Genesis 11:5). The verse states in the plural: “There God was revealed [niglu] to him when he fled from the face of his brother” (Genesis 35:7), but it also states in the singular: “To God Who answers [haoneh] me in the day of my distress” (Genesis 35:3).

ה׳ לראת את העיר ואת המגדל״. ״כי שם נגלו אליו האלהים״ – ״לאל הענה אתי ביום צרתי״.

״כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלהים קרבים אליו כה׳ אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו״. ״ומי כעמך כישראל גוי אחד בארץ אשר הלכו אלהים לפדות לו לעם״.

Rabbi Yoḥanan cites several examples where the counterclaim is in the same verse as the claim of the heretics. The verse states: “For what nation is there so great that has God so near to them as the Lord our God is whenever we call upon Him?” (Deuteronomy 4:7), where the term “near” is written in plural, kerovim, but the term “upon Him” is written in singular. Another verse states: “And who is like Your people, like Israel, a nation one in the earth, whom God went to redeem unto Himself for a people?” (II Samuel 7:23), where the term “went” is written in plural, halekhu, but the term “Himself” is written in singular. Another verse states: “I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit” (Daniel 7:9); where the term “thrones” is written in plural, kharsavan, but the term “sit” is written in singular.

״עד די כרסון רמיו, ועתיק יומין יתיב״.

הנך למה לי? כדרבי יוחנן, דאמר רבי יוחנן: אין הקדוש ברוך הוא עושה דבר אלא אם כן נמלך בפמליא של מעלה, שנאמר ״בגזרת עירין פתגמא ובמאמר קדישין שאלתא״.

The Gemara asks: Why do I need these instances of plural words? Why does the verse employ the plural at all when referring to God? The Gemara explains: This is in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yoḥanan, as Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The Holy One, Blessed be He, does not act unless He consults with the entourage of Above, i.e., the angels, as it is stated: “The matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones” (Daniel 4:14).

התינח כולהי, ״עד די כרסון רמיו״ מאי איכא למימר? אחד לו ואחד לדוד, דתניא: אחד לו ואחד לדוד, דברי רבי עקיבא. אמר לו רבי יוסי: עקיבא,

The Gemara clarifies: This works out well for almost all the verses, as they describe an action taken by God, but what is there to say concerning the verse: “I beheld till thrones were placed”? The Gemara answers: One throne is for Him and one throne is for David, i.e., the messiah, as it is taught in a baraita: One throne is for Him and one throne is for David; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yosei said to him: Akiva! Until when will you desacralize the Divine Presence by equating God with a person? Rather, the correct interpretation is that both thrones are for God, as one throne is for judgment and one throne is for righteousness.

עד מתי אתה עושה שכינה חול? אלא אחד לדין ואחד לצדקה.

קבלה מיניה או לא קבלה מיניה? תא שמע, דתניא: אחד לדין ואחד לצדקה, דברי רבי עקיבא. אמר לו רבי אלעזר בן עזריה: עקיבא, מה לך אצל הגדה?

The Gemara asks: Did Rabbi Akiva accept this explanation from Rabbi Yosei or did he not accept it from him? The Gemara suggests: Come and hear a proof to the matter from what was taught in another baraita, as it is taught in a baraita: One throne is for judgment and one throne is for righteousness; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to him: Akiva! What are you doing near, i.e., discussing, matters of aggada? Go near tractates Nega’im and Oholot, which examine the complex halakhot of ritual purity, where your knowledge is unparalleled. Rather, the correct interpretation is that while both thrones are for God, one is for a throne and one is for a stool. There is a throne for God to sit upon, and a stool that serves as His footstool.

כלך אצל נגעים ואהלות! אלא, אחד לכסא ואחד לשרפרף: כסא לישב עליו, שרפרף להדום רגליו.

אמר רב נחמן: האי מאן דידע לאהדורי למיני כרב אידית – ליהדר, ואי לא – לא ליהדר. אמר ההוא מינא לרב אידית, כתיב:

Rav Naḥman says: This one, i.e., any person, who knows how to respond to the heretics as effectively as Rav Idit should respond to them, but if he does not know, he should not respond to them. The Gemara relates: A certain heretic said to Rav Idit: It is written in the verse concerning God: “And to Moses He said: Come up to the Lord” (Exodus 24:1). The heretic raised a question: It should have stated: Come up to Me. Rav Idit said to him: This term, “the Lord,” in that verse is referring to the angel Metatron, whose name is like the name of his Master, as it is written: “Behold I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Take heed of him and obey his voice; do not defy him; for he will not pardon your transgression, for My name is in him” (Exodus 23:20–21).

״ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה׳״. ״עלה אלי״ מיבעי ליה! אמר ליה: זהו מטטרון ששמו כשם רבו, דכתיב ״כי שמי בקרבו״.

אי הכי, ניפלחו ליה! כתיב: ״אל תמר בו״ – אל תמירני בו. אם כן, ״לא ישא לפשעכם״ למה לי? אמר ליה: הימנותא בידן,

The heretic said to him: If so, if this angel is equated with God, we should worship him as we worship God. Rav Idit said to him: It is written: “Do not defy [tammer] him,” which alludes to: Do not replace Me [temireni] with him. The heretic said to him: If so, why do I need the clause “For he will not pardon your transgression”? Rav Idit said to him: We believe that we did not accept the angel even as a guide [befarvanka] for the journey, as it is written: “And he said to him: If Your Presence go not with me raise us not up from here” (Exodus 33:15). Moses told God that if God Himself does not accompany the Jewish people they do not want to travel to Eretz Yisrael.

דאפילו בפרוונקא נמי לא קבילניה, דכתיב: ״ויאמר אליו אם אין פניך הלכים וגו׳״.

אמר ליה ההוא מינא לרבי ישמעאל ברבי יוסי: כתיב ״וה׳ המטיר על סדם ועל עמרה גפרית ואש מאת ה׳״, ״מאתו״ מיבעי ליה! אמר ליה ההוא כובס: שבקיה,

The Gemara relates: A certain heretic said to Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei: It is written: “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Genesis 19:24). The heretic raised the question: It should have stated: From Him out of heaven. A certain launderer said to Rabbi Yishmael: Leave him be; I will respond to him. This is as it is written: “And Lemech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lemech, hearken to my speech” (Genesis 4:23). One can raise the question: It should have been written: My wives, and not: “Wives of Lemech.” Rather, it is the style of the verse to speak in this manner. Here too, it is the style of the verse to speak in this manner. Rabbi Yishmael said to the launderer: From where did you hear this interpretation? The launderer said to him: I heard it at the lecture of Rabbi Meir.

אנא מהדרנא ליה. דכתיב ״ויאמר למך לנשיו עדה וצלה שמען קולי נשי למך״, נשיי מיבעי ליה! אלא משתעי קרא הכי, הכא נמי משתעי קרא הכי. אמר ליה:

מנא לך הא? מפירקיה דרבי מאיר שמיע לי.

דאמר רבי יוחנן: כי הוה דריש רבי מאיר בפירקיה, הוה דריש תילתא שמעתא, תילתא אגדתא, תילתא מתלי. ואמר רבי יוחנן: שלש מאות משלות שועלים היו לו לרבי מאיר,

The Gemara comments: This is as Rabbi Yoḥanan said: When Rabbi Meir would teach his lecture he would expound one-third halakha, one-third aggada, and one-third parables. And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Rabbi Meir had, i.e., taught, three hundred parables of foxes, and we have only three.

ואנו אין לנו אלא שלש.