Sanhedrin 107: בְּחָנֵנִי ה׳ וְנַסֵּנִי

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To resolve the statement "Anyone who says that David sinned..." with the plain meaning of biblical texts requires examining the apparent contradiction between certain theological positions and the explicit accounts of David's actions in the Bible.

The biblical text plainly states several instances where David committed actions characterized as sins:

His adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2-4)

His arrangement of Uriah's death (2 Samuel 11:14-17)

His census of Israel against God's will (2 Samuel 24:10)

Perhaps most definitively, the text directly states in 2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.' And Nathan said to David, 'The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.'"

We explore various Rabbinic approaches to understand David's actions while maintaining his revered status.

Sanhedrin 106: הָרְגוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל [בַּחֶרֶב] אֶל חַלְלֵיהֶם

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The verse says that the Jews killed the kings of Midyan and killed Bilam by sword.

Rabbi Yochanan explains that Bilam had gone to Midyan to collect his reward for his advice, which killed 24,000 Jews. Mar Zutra bar Tuvia quotes Rav saying that this illustrates the common saying that “the camel went to get horns but ended up with his existing ears cut off.” Similarly, Bilam went to collect money, and ended up losing his life.

The verse says that the Jews killed Bilam the magician. Rabbi Yochanan explains that Bilam was originally a prophet, but ended up being just a magician, since he violated Hashem’s command.

We continue our exploration into the ballad stories and their reception.

Sanhedrin 105: קוֹסֵם בְּאַמָּתוֹ הָיָה

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According to the Mishna (daf 90a), aside from the categories of people who have no share in the World-to-Come and the three kings who have lost their portion, there are four hedyotot – ordinary people – whose activities will keep them from attaining this ultimate reward. The first of these people is Bilam, prophet to the nations, who was hired by King Balak of Mo’av to curse the Jewish people (see Bamidbar Ch 22).

According to the story in Sefer Bamidbar (ch. 23), three times Bilam asked King Balak to bring 14 sacrifices – seven bulls and seven rams – in order to appease God and allow Bilam to curse the Children of Israel. In each of these cases, the sacrifices did not succeed and the prophetic words uttered by Bilam were blessings rather than curses.

We explore talmudic and modern attitudes to gentiles and the notion of the Election of Israel.

Sanhedrin 104: בָּכֹה תִבְכֶּה בַּלַּיְלָה

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The sins of the kings of Judah led Jerusalem's destruction, as described in the Book of Lamentations, which starts with “How does she (Jerusalem) sits in solitude!” Why was the word “How” (Eicha) used to describe Israel's fallen state? Because the numerical value of Eicha is thirty-six, and the Jews transgressed all thirty-six sins mentioned in the Torah that carry the penalty of excision. Furthermore, the Book of Lamentations is arranged in the alphabetical order, because they violated the entire Torah, from the first to the last letter of the alphabet.

We explore the midrashim from Eichah in our daf and that in Midrash Eichah Rabba and differences in theological trajectories.

Sanhedrin 103: אַרְבַּע כִּיתּוֹת אֵין מְקַבְּלוֹת פְּנֵי שְׁכִינָה

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Of the things that the bad Jewish kings used to do, Menasheh scratched out the names of God from Torah scrolls and replaced them with different pagan deities, he also tore down the altar in the Temple; Amon burned the Torah and prohibited the bringing of sacrifice. Menasheh had relations with his sister, but Amon had relations with his mother, as it states, “Amon did ever eviller.” His mother asked him, “Can you have any pleasure from the source from which you issued?” He answered, “Am I doing this for any purpose other than to vex my Creator?”

We explore the death of Avner by yoav as well as notions of divine compassion vs justice issuing from these pages in Chelek and finally an essay on the yahrzeit of my father and father in law as to whether Rashi chose midrashim with a theological intent to explain the long suffering of Am Yisrael in galut.

Sanhedrin 102: אָח לַשָּׁמַיִם, אָב לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה

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The Gemara on our daf returns to the list of kings that appears in the Mishna (90a), which enumerates three kings that lost their share in the World-to-Come. The three kings listed are Yerovam, Aḥav and Menashe.

King Aḥav, the son of Omri, led the people in the Northern Kingdom to accept and implement Canaanite idol worship (see I Melakhim 16:23-34).

Our Gemara discusses what merit Aḥav’s father, King Omri, had that allowed him to become king of Israel. According to Rabbi Yoḥanan, it was his establishment of Shomron, a new city in the Land of Israel, that gave him that merit (see I Melakhim 16:24).

We explore his character and the mixed reception in rabbinic literature.

Sanhedrin 101: זִיקָא דְּחֵמֶת קָא חָזֵינָא הָכָא

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Demons in ancient Judaism have been a subject of interest for centuries. According to Jewish tradition, demons are supernatural beings that can cause harm to humans. The Talmud, a central text of Judaism, describes a rich and varied demonology. The demons of Jewish tradition are not necessarily evil, but they are often associated with negative qualities such as jealousy, anger, and lust.

We review the use of incantations and spells on our daf and review the work of Prof Meir bar Ilan

If familiarity with magic was previously associated with curiosities lacking real value, it now seems generally agreed that knowledge of magic in the past is but one aspect of knowledge of religion and also of the society in which magic is investigated. This condition also applies to magic in the world of the Talmudic sages, a broad culture of many years with many receptors for magic. One of the questions that have occupied investigators for over a century is: to what extent were the sages of the Mishna and Talmud participants in magic activity and was there a gap between religion and magic in antiquity. The thrust of the following treatment is to add to this subject, the investigation of the Jewish religion in antiquity, by focussing on textual analysis and methodological examination of the problems facing the student of the sources.

Sanhedrin 100: סֵפֶר בֶּן סִירָא נָמֵי אָסוּר לְמִיקְרֵ

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The Gemara on our daf offers a baraita that defines these books as sifrei minim – books of heretics – while Rav Yosef teaches that it also includes Sefer ben Sira.

Sefer ben Sira is one of the earliest books composed after the closing of the Biblical canon. It was authored by Yehoshua ben Sira, a native of Jerusalem, who was a younger contemporary of Shimon HaTzaddik, prior to the Hasmonean era. The book of ben Sira was held in great esteem, and after its translation into Greek by the author’s grandson (in the year 132 BCE in Alexandria ), it because widely known even among those who were not familiar with the Hebrew language.

Sefer ben Sira is included as a canonical work in the Septuagint (and therefore is considered such in many other translations of the Bible), and although the Sages chose to view it as one of the sefarim ḥitzoni’im – books outside of the canon – they quote it in a respectful manner throughout the Talmud, sometimes even referring to it as ketuvim.

Sanhedrin 99: הָאוֹמֵר: אֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם

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Our daf tells us who is excluded from experiencing the World-to-Come. The basic proof text is Numbers (15:31), where it is written that "They despised the word of the Lord and has breached His commandments; his soul shall be excised ..." These people include:

· One who is not circumcised

· One who teaches parts of the Torah that are not in accordance with halacha

· One who humiliates another in public

· One who studies Torah but does not teach Torah

· One who could study Torah but does not do so

· One who worships idols

· One who speaks of G-d or Moses on Sinai with contempt

· One who treats a Torah scholar with contempt

· One who teaches their own interpretations of Torah rather than teaching halacha

We explore those who deny the divinity of Torah as well as the notion of heresy.

Sanhedrin 98: לֹא זָכוּ עָנִי וְרוֹכֵב עַל חֲמוֹר Messiah’s Donkey

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Our daf focuses on Moshiach, the messiah. How will we know when the messiah has arrived? What will it take for the messiah to arrive? How might we hasten that coming? The rabbis share their ideas, all with prooftexts, of course. They have numerous thoughts about when the messiah will come, including when the vast majority of Jews are not interested in halacha any longer, or when all of the Jewish community is naive and innocent.

The rabbis take for granted that the messiah will be of the line of King David. They wonder if he might enter the community from the main gates in Rome. They also suggest that he might sit with other paupers on the steps of Rome, bandaging his feet differently from others because he will be working toward healing so many people for the remainder of the day.

We explore the Messiah and his Donkey.

Sanhedrin 97: שָׁבוּעַ שֶׁבֶּן דָּוִד בָּא

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In the generation when the son of Dovid [the Moshiach] will come, the number of Torah scholars will decrease.

And as for the rest of the people, their eyes will become worn out through grief and anxiety. Numerous troubles and harsh decrees will be constantly appearing anew. Before the first trouble is over, a second one will hasten to appear. The following Baraisa describes the seven-year cycle preceding the Moshiach’s arrival: The Rabbis taught in a Baraisa: The seven-year cycle when the son of Dovid will come.

In the first year, this verse will be fulfilled: I will bring rain on one town, and on one town I will not bring rain, i.e. there will be a sufficiency in some areas and famine in others.

In the second year, the arrows of famine will be sent forth, i.e. there will be a limited famine in all areas.

In the third year there will be a great famine; men, women, and children will perish, and so will piously people and people of good deeds; and Torah knowledge will be forgotten by its students.

In the fourth year, there will be a sufficiency but not a complete sufficiency.

In the fifth year there will be a great sufficiency; people will eat, drink, and rejoice, and Torah knowledge will return to its students.

In the sixth year there will be sounds.

We explore the eschaton and the Gaon’s speculation of the end days.

Sanhedrin 96: דְּמוּת דְּיוֹקְנוֹ הָיְתָה חֲקוּקָה

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Our Gemara describes the attack of the Babylonian general Nevuzaradan on Jerusalem at the time of the destruction of the first Temple.

Rava said: Nebukhadnezzar sent Nevuzaradan three hundred mules laden with iron axes that could break iron, but they were all shattered on a single gate of Jerusalem. Although Nevuzaradan was ready to retreat, he feared that he would be killed as was Sanḥeriv before him. At that time, a heavenly voice called out to him that the time has come for the Sanctuary to be destroyed and the Temple burnt. He had but one axe left, so he went and struck the gate and it opened. Killing Jews as he went, he reached the Temple, which he set afire. He was elated with his triumph, but again a heavenly voice came down saying to him, ‘You have killed a dead people, you have burned a Temple already burned, you have ground flour already ground.’

We continue our exploration of the effects of the destruction on our liturgy and kinnot.

Sanhedrin 95: אֵין חָבוּשׁ מוֹצִיא עַצְמוֹ מִבֵּית הָאֲסוּרִין

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Our daf recalls on the day Sancheriv approached the cities surrounding Yerushalayim, his sorcerers told him that this day was the last day that he would be able to conquer Yerushalayim. They urged him to attack the city that day to take advantage of his last opportunity.

Rav Huna explains that the day was the last day that Shaul ha'Melech's sin of killing the Kohanim of the city of Nov was still potent and could affect the outcome of the war. Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: A man who came (to kill David) on account of Nov. For the Holy One, Blessed be He, had said to David, “How long will this sin (that since he took refuge in Nov, Shaul had the Kohanim killed) be hidden in your hand?

Through you, Nov, the city of Kohanim, was massacred (for they assisted you in your escape); through you, Doeg the Edomite was banished from the World to Come (for it was he who advised Shaul to kill the Kohanim); and through you, Shaul and his three sons were slain (by the Philistines).

We explore the city of Nob and its reception and mistaken identity in Pseudo-Philo.

Sanhedrin 94: חֲרֵי הַדְּבָרִים וְהָאֱמֶת הָאֵלֶּה

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Among the descendants of King David who ruled during the First Temple period there were those who were praised for following in his path and those who were condemned for not doing so.

King Ḥizkiyahu was one of the righteous kings, and, according to the Gemara on our daf, God was planning to anoint him as the Messiah.

Rabbi Yochanan said: Five Assyrians survived. They were: Sancheirev and his two sons, as well as Nevuchadnezzar and Nevuzaradan.

The Gemora proves this: That Nevuzaradan survived is known through an oral tradition. We also know that Nevuchadnezzar survived, for it is written that Nevuchadnezzar said: The form of the fourth is like an angel. Now, if Nevuchadnezzar had never seen an angel once before, how did he know what one looked like now? [It must be that Nevuchadnezzar had seen an angel previously.]

We explore the literary traditions surrounding the site of Jerusalem.

Sanhedrin 93: שֶׁעֲתִידִין שִׁשָּׁה בָּנִים לָצֵאת מִמֶּנָּה

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Gemara on our daf relates that Bar Koziva ruled for two-and-a-half years and then approached the Sages declaring himself to be the Messiah. The Sages replied that the Messiah was expected to be able to judge based on smell (see Isa 11:1-3), i.e. that he would have a unique sense of truth and justice. Finding that he was unable to do so, the Sages rejected his claim and he was killed.

According to the simple reading of the Gemara it sounds as if the Sages themselves killed Bar Koziva, in contrast with the story that appears in various midrashim (Eikha and others) that report that he was killed by the Roman enemy.

We explore

A Historical Study of the Sects and Ideas during the Second Jewish Commonwealth

With Solomon Zeitlin and others.

Sanhedrin 92: מִנַּיִין לִתְחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה

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One of the most powerful prophetic images – one that served as an inspiration to Rabbis and preachers through the ages to the time of the early Zionist movement – appears in Sefer Yeḥezkel (chapter 37). There we find that God takes the prophet Yeḥezkel to a valley of dry bones and commands him prophesy to those dry bones, informing them that God would breathe life into them and they would live.

Did this prophetic vision actually take place? And if it did, what happened to those resurrected people?

These questions are discussed by the Sages on our daf of Gemara.

Sanhedrin 91: נְשָׁמָה מֵאֵימָתַי נִיתְּנָה בָּאָדָם

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Antonius asks when the neshama is put into a person - from conception, as Rama believes, or from the moment when HaShem decides on the nature of the person that will result from a drop of semen, as Rashi believes. Rabbi says that the neshama is set when the fetus is formed. Antonius argues that unsalted meat cannot sit for three days and thus the neshama would rot if it did not enter semen immediately. And what about the yetzer ha'ra? Does it rule a person from the time a fetus is born or at birth? Rebbi says that this happens when the fetus is formed. Antonius argues that it would kick in the womb and force a miscarriage, thus it rules from birth. Rabbi finds a proof text that agrees with Antonius.

We explore the attitudes to the evil inclination.

Sanhedrin 90: הָאוֹמֵר אֵין תְּחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין תּוֹרָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֶפִּיקוֹרוֹס

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The first Mishna of the new Perek XI opens with the statement kol Yisrael yesh la-hem ḥelek ba-olam ha-ba – all Jewish people have a share in the World-to-Come. The underlying assumption in that statement is that within the framework of reward and punishment, every Jewish person is guaranteed an eternal spiritual existence whose ultimate purpose is embodied in the Resurrection of the Dead and the World-to-Come.

The Mishnah enumerates those who have forfeited this guarantee.

We explore the concept of the afterlife.

Sanhedrin 89: קֶשֶׁר הָעֶלְיוֹן דְּאוֹרָיְיתָא

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Another case of someone who will receive the death penalty of ḥenek – choking – is a navi sheker – a false prophet. According to the Mishna on today’s daf, someone who offers a prophecy that he did not hear, one that was not directed to him by God, will be charged and prosecuted by the courts. Other cases of prophecy – e.g., if a navi refuses to share his prophecy (like Yonah) or if someone makes light of a true prophecy, or if the navi does not keep the instructions that he receives as a prophecy – these situations are left for God to mete out punishment

We explore the phenomenon of prophecy.

Sanhedrin 88: מִתְּחִילָּה לֹא הָיוּ (מַרְבִּין) מַחְלוֹקוֹת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל

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The Gemara continues its discussion of the halakha of a zaken mamre – an elder Sage who rebels against the decision of the Sanhedrin. Under what circumstances will a zaken mamre be liable to receive a death penalty for his rulings? According to the Mishna on today’s daf the situation that would lead to death is very limited.

The Mishna teaches that for the law of zaken mamre, if the Sage teaches that people should reject a biblical law, he is not considered to be a zaken mamre, since no one will take seriously a ruling that negates a law that is clearly written in the Torah.

We continue our exploration of Halacha and Authority.