Makkot 3: לא תיתיב אכרעיך עד דמפרשת לה

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Can a person make a condition that negates a Torah obligation?

One example that is brought by our dad is the case of ona’a (exploitative business practices).

According to the Torah (Lev 25:14, 17) business transactions must be fair and one side cannot take advantage of another. Thus, overcharging or underpaying is forbidden by the Torah, and the forbidden profits will need to be returned, or the transaction voided. What would be the halakha if someone said to his friend “I am selling this to you on the condition that the rule forbidding ona’a does not apply”?

Here we find a disagreement between Shmuel who permits such a condition, permitting the sale and Rav who insists that ona’a still applies.

We explore such situations.

Makkot 2: אין אומרים: יגלה זה תחתיו

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The first Mishna in Massekhet Makkot deals with a situation of edim zomemin – false witnesses whose testimony will condemn the accused to receive punishment, even though they could not have been at the scene of the incident, given that others testify that these witnesses were with them in another place at the time that the crime took place.

According to the Torah (see Sefer Devarim 19:15-21), the punishment for edim zomemin is that they will receive the punishment that would have been given to the defendant based on their testimony.

Our Mishna teaches that this is not always the punishment that is given. In cases where the false testimony accused the defendant of something that would change his personal status – e.g., having questionable parenthood – we would not change the personal status of the edim zomemin, rather they would receive lashes as a punishment.

We get introduced to the concepts in this masechta.

Sanhedrin 113: זה ינחמנו ממעשנו

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Our daf marks the end of Masechet Sanhedrin. At the very end of our daf, the rabbis share some words of wisdom. They teach that when a wicked person comes into the world, wrath comes into the world, based on Proverbs (18:3). When a wicked person is eliminated from the world, good enters the world (Proverbs 11:10).

When a righteous person passes from this world, evil enters the world (Isaiah 57:1). Then again, Genesis (5:29) teaches that when a righteous person comes into this world, good enters the world as well.

It makes sense that the rabbis wished to end our masechet with thoughts about the balance between what is good and what is bad. The past many dapim have been devoted to the execution of justice; how we should measure and deal with good and evil. At the very end of our daf, we the rabbis leave us with a sense of hope, particularly regarding those who are righteous. The lesson? Strive for and encourage righteousness.

Sanhedrin 112: מִי גָּרַם לָהֶם שֶׁיָּדוּרוּ בְּתוֹכָהּ

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In daf 111, we were introduced to a new Mishna. We learned about the Ir HaNidachas. a Jewish city where the majority of the population has turned to idol worship.

Some rabbis say that residents of such a city would not merit the World-to-Come even if they repent. Others claim that this opinion was removed from the historical text and that there were conditions which might allow residents to merit the World-to-Come.

We explore notions of collective punishment then and now.

Sanhedrin 111: דָּנִין וְסוֹקְלִין, דָּנִין וְסוֹקְלִין

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The Mishnah states that the people of an Ir ha'Nidachas have no share in Olam ha'Ba.

Why should they have no share in Olam ha'Ba? The Mishnah earlier (43b) states that part of the process of Misas Beis Din is confession and repentance. Since the people of an Ir ha'Nidachas are put to death by Beis Din, they presumably must have repented immediately before their execution and thereby gained atonement! Moreover, Rava (47a) maintains that those who are killed by Beis Din achieve atonement even if they do not do Teshuvah. Why, then, do the people of an Ir ha'Nidachas have no share in Olam ha’Ba?

Sanhedrin 110: עֲשֶׂרֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים אֵין לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא

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In 722 BCE Assyria invaded Israel, and the northern kingdom was conquered. Many of the people who lived in the northern kingdom were exiled, mainly to Assyria, Media, and Aram-Naharaim. Archaeological evidence suggests that they were eventually completely assimilated into these societies. Meanwhile, some alien populations — Cutha, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim — were brought in to settle the northern kingdom, and those groups all ended up assimilating with each other and with the Israelites who remained in the north.

In 586 BCE the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar attacked the southern kingdom, and exiled much of that population to Babylon. Though many lost their Israelite identity in Babylon, plenty of them retained their connection to their heritage, and eventually returned to Israel and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem. By that point the northern kingdom was lost. Today’s Jews stem from the people of Judah (thus, Judaism).

Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, in his book The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History, traces the global journey of the myth. From Ethiopia to China to the Americas, various communities have been identified—or have identified themselves—as descendants of the lost tribes. Benite demonstrates how the narrative was adapted to different political and cultural contexts, including Christian missionary endeavors and Jewish messianic movements.

We explore these ideas and the mythical river Sambatyon.

Sanhedrin 109: תּוּב, דַּאֲנָא מַצֵּילְנָא לָךְ

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The wife of On Son of Pelet is not mentioned in the Bible. However, the midrash credits her for saving her husband’s life. After she saw that he had joined Korah and his company, who were rebelling against Moses and Aaron, she discouraged him from joining the band of malcontents. She saw the long-term effects of her husband joining the revolt. She knew that if On were to fight and lose he would suffer, and if he were to fight and win it would not benefit him greatly. To stop him from joining the revolt she inebriates him and places herself in an immodest position to deter anyone from entering their tent. Her strong character allowed her to perform an “unbecoming” act to achieve a higher goal: rescuing her home and family.

We explore the Korach story and this devoted wife.

Sanhedrin 108: לֹא נִתְגָּאוּ אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל גַּלְגַּל הָעַיִן

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Our daf spells out the following litany

The people of the Generation of the Flood have no share in the World to Come, but on the other hand they will not have to stand in Judgment, having already been punished. “My spirit shall not contend ever more concerning man” implies neither judgment nor the spirit of God.

The people of the Generation of Dispersion – the Tower of Babel – have no share in the World to Come, since God “dispersed them” in this world and “scattered” for the World to Come.

The people of Sodom have no share in the World to Come, since they were “wicked” (this world) and “sinful” (World to Come).

The people of the Generation of the Wilderness have no share in the World to Come, since they shall be “consumed” and “there they shall die” - these are the words of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Eliezer disagrees and applies to them “Gather to Me My devout ones, those who sealed a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

We explore the flood generation and Noah’s character.

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.