Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Alcimus (from Greek: Ἄλκιμος Alkimos, "valiant" or Hebrew אי לק ו ם Elyaqum, "God will rise"), also called Jacimus, or Joachim (Ἰάκειμος), High Priest of Israel for three years, 162–159 BCE, who espoused the Syrian cause.

Pesachim 75: Ἄλκιμος

jyungar February 4, 2021

For the source text click/tap here: Pesachim 75

To download, click/tap here: PDF

A macabre comparison is made in our Daf between the mitzvah of roasting the Korban Pesach on a grill and the capital punishment of burning: . Being that the Torah twice said the words “tzli aish,” the emphasis implies that the fire must be present and directly roasting the korban, as opposed to a fire that was put out and the heat remains (or a metal bar that was heated by fire).

Rebbi ruled in a Baraisa that if one slices the Korban Pesach and places it over coals it is considered fire-roasted and is acceptable. R’ Achdavoi bar Ami asks R’ Chisda whether Rebbi actually subscribes to this position, when it seems that a special drasha is needed to equate coals with fire, and this drasha is only found in the case of אש מכות. R’ Chisda explains Rebbi’s rationale, and a discussion ensues regarding the correct method of execution by burning. This applies exclusively to a Bas Cohen.

The Torah teaches that a Bas Kohen who was betrothed and sinned with another man is punished with Sereifah: The RASHASH however points us to Gen Rabba where the story of Yakum Ish Tsroros AKA Alcimus (according to Josephus) committed suicide using all four methods of capital punishment sequentially.

This leads us to a review the last years of the Seleucid rule of Jerusalem under Bacchides who installed Alcimus as High Priest and military leader 162-159 BCE.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​