Avodah Zarah 5a — the Talmud in English

To tell you:

It is the decree of the Holy One, blessed is He, to provide an opening for those who return in repentance:

that if an individual sinned, they say to him: “Go away,

go away

to an individual!”

And learn from him that the hand of the Holy One, blessed is He, is open to accept you in repentance.

And if a community sinned, they say to them:

“Go to the community!”

And learn from them to return in repentance.

And it is necessary,

The Gemara explains why the decree of the Omnipresent was necessary both concerning the individual and concerning the community —

For if it had informed us,

if it had informed us only

concerning an individual,

there would be room to say that this is why the Holy One, blessed is He, accepted him,

because his sin is not public,

and there is no profanation of the Name in his sins.

But a community

that sins,

because its sin is public,

for its sins are publicized, and there is profanation of the Name in this,

let us say,

we could say that

not

would their repentance be accepted. Therefore it informs us: “a community.”

And if it had informed us,

if it had informed us only

concerning a community,

there would be room to say that this is why the Holy One, blessed is He, accepted them,

because their mercies are abundant [

the version of the Bach:

their merit],

for the mercies of Heaven toward them are abundant, since they possess the merit of the many.

But an individual, whose merit is not strong,

the merit of an individual is not strong,

let us say,

we could say that

not

would his repentance be accepted. Therefore it informs us: “an individual.”

And the Holy One, blessed is He, accepts the repentance of an individual like that of the many, and that of the many like that of an individual.

And

this exposition,

that is,

is the exposition

which

expounded

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said Rabbi Yonatan.

For Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said Rabbi Yonatan: What is the meaning,

what is the explanation of that

which is written [

II Samuel 23]:

“The utterance of David son of Jesse, and the utterance of the man raised up on high”?—

Do not read “raised up on high,” but “raised up a yoke.” And thus the verse said:

“The utterance of David son of Jesse, who raised up the yoke of repentance” .

And now the Gemara brings another statement similar to Rabbi Joshua ben Levi’s statement: “Every mitzva that Israel performs in this world comes and testifies concerning them in the World to Come.”

And

further

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said Rabbi Yonatan: Whoever performs one mitzva in this world,

the mitzva

advances him and goes before him,

goes before his bier and proclaims before him.

As it is stated [

Isaiah 58]:

“And your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall gather you in.”

And whoever performs one transgression

in this world ,

the transgression

wraps itself around him,

enveloping him like a garment,

and leads him

to the Day of Judgment. As it is stated [

Job 6]:

“Their paths are twisted; they rise into chaos, and are lost.”

And we expound it thus: “They are twisted”—they seize them; “the paths of their way”—the transgressions that the wicked committed; and “they rise into chaos” with them; and “they are lost” in the World to Come.

Rabbi Eleazar

says:

The transgression

is tied to him like

a

dog. As it is stated concerning Joseph the righteous with Potiphar’s wife [

Genesis 39]:

“And he did not listen to her, to lie beside her, to be with her.”

And we expound the repetition of the wording thus:

“To lie beside her”—

in this world. “To be with her”—

in the World to Come.

And now the Gemara brings Resh Lakish’s statement concerning the sin of the calf.

Resh Lakish said: Come and let us acknowledge the goodness of our forefathers

who made the calf

! For had they not sinned,

for if they had not sinned with the calf, and had remained in their status like angels at the time of the giving of the Torah—

we would not have come into the world!

And from where do we learn that our forefathers reached the level of angels, and that as a result of the calf they returned to being like human beings?

As it is stated [

Psalms 82]: The Holy One, blessed is He, said: “I said, ‘You are divine beings, and all of you are sons of the Most High.’ [But from the moment that you sinned through the sin of the calf,] indeed, like a human being shall you die, and like one of the princes shall you fall.”

And we expound it thus:

“I said, ‘You are divine beings, and all of you are sons of the Most High’”

at the time of the giving of the Torah. But—

you corrupted your deeds,

when you made the calf. And therefore,

“Indeed, like a human being shall you die,”

and behold, you are like human beings, mortals.

And we object:

Does this mean,

did Resh Lakish come to say

that had they not sinned, they would not have fathered children!?

They would not have fathered children. And how can this be said,

for it is written [

Genesis 9] that the Holy One, blessed is He, commanded:

“And you, be fruitful and multiply.”

Behold, they were commanded concerning the mitzva of procreation!?

And we answer: Only

until Sinai

would they be fruitful and multiply, but not from that point onward.

And we object: But

at Sinai also

they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply, for

it is written [

Deuteronomy 5] that the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Moses after the giving of the Torah:

“Go, say to them: ‘Return to your tents.’”

Behold, they were commanded then as well concerning the mitzva of procreation!?

And we answer: They were not commanded then concerning procreation; rather, the verse said that they should return

to the joy of marital relations—

to attend to their wives at their proper time. For throughout all the days of the giving of the Torah it was forbidden to them, as it is stated [

Exodus 19]: “Do not approach a woman.”

And we object: But it is written

at Sinai [there]:

“So that it may be good for them and for their children forever.”

This implies that they would bear children?

And we answer: The intention is not children who would be born to them, but

those

who had already been born, and they are

those standing at Mount Sinai.

And now the Gemara brings a statement of Resh Lakish himself, and of Rabbi Yosei, to refute Resh Lakish’s words.

But Resh Lakish also said: What is the meaning,

what is the explanation of that which is written [

Genesis 5]:

“This is the book of the generations of Adam,” and so on. And one must ask:

Was there a book for the first man?!

He should have said, “These are the generations of Adam”?

And the answer is: Indeed, he had a book —

It teaches

the verse

that the Holy One, blessed is He, showed him

to the first man

each generation and its expounders, each generation and its sages, each generation and its leaders—

When he reached the generation of Rabbi Akiva, he rejoiced in his Torah and became saddened by his death.

As it is stated in the chapter expounded concerning the first man [

Psalms 139]: “And for me, how precious are Your thoughts, O God; how mighty are their beginnings.” Adam

the first man

said: “And for me, how precious are Your thoughts, O God,”

and this refers to the generation of Rabbi Akiva, who were “the friends of God,” as it were, because they gave their lives for the sanctification of the Name .

Behold, even after the giving of the Torah, they were destined to bear children, and the Holy One, blessed is He, even showed Adam all the generations?

And furthermore, this is difficult—

And Rabbi Yosei said [

another version:

Rav Asi]:

The son of David,

the messianic king,

will come—

until there are exhausted

all

the souls in the body,

which are found in the treasury of souls called “the body.” That is, all the souls were created in the days of Creation, and the Holy One, blessed is He, placed them there in the treasury [“the body”;] and until all the souls in the treasury are exhausted by being placed into human beings, the redemption will be delayed—

As it is stated [

Isaiah 57]: The Holy One, blessed is He, said:

“For I will not contend forever, nor will I be angry eternally

. For the spirit that is before Me faints, and the souls that I have made.”

And we expound: I will not delay the time of the redemption forever, nor will I be angry eternally, withholding redemption from them. And as for the fact that the redemption is delayed from coming—“for the spirit that is before Me faints”: the souls that are still before Me in the treasury whose name is “the body,” the souls that I have made, are what delay the redemption; and when they are exhausted, then I shall bring the redemption .

Behold, until the time of the redemption they would still bear children, and many souls would come into this world? And we answer:

Do not say,

the intention of Resh Lakish is not to say:

“We would not have come into the world,”

for certainly they would have been destined to bear children further—

Rather,

this is the intention of Resh Lakish’s words:

“We would be as though we had not come into the world.”

That is, at that time they were elevated to the level of angels who live forever. And since they would still exist even now, it would follow that we would have been of no importance at all in comparison with them.

And we object:

Does this mean,

did Resh Lakish come to say

that had they not sinned

through the sin of the calf,

they would not have died,

they would not have died? And how can this be said?!

And

it is written in the Torah,

the section of levirate marriage and the section of inheritances,

inheritances whose mitzvot are fulfilled as a result of death; and if they would not have died, why did the Torah write them?

And we answer: The Torah wrote them

conditionally.

That if they would sin and death would be decreed upon them, they would fulfill the section of levirate marriage and the section of inheritances.

And concerning this Resh Lakish said that had they not sinned, they would not have died.

And we object:

Were verses written conditionally?

Were sections written in the Torah doubtfully, and conditionally?!

And we answer:

Yes,

indeed—

For this is what Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: What is the meaning,

what is the explanation of that

which is written [

Genesis 1]:

“And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day”?—

It teaches that the Holy One, blessed is He, made a condition with the work of Creation, and said: If Israel accepts the Torah—

good; but if not—

I shall return you to void and desolation!

As explained above.

The Gemara raises an objection:

The Gemara raises an objection against Resh Lakish, who said that if they had not sinned with the sin of the calf they would not have died, from a beraita in which it is stated that even if they had not sinned, they would have died; rather, they would have abolished exile and the dominion of the gentiles over them.

For it was taught: It is stated in the Torah [

Deuteronomy 5]:

“Would that their hearts were always this way, to fear Me and observe all My commandments, so that it might be good for them and for their children forever.” And what is that goodness?

The Holy One, blessed is He, said: Behold,

to abolish from them the angel of death—

is impossible,

since

a decree had already been decreed

concerning the first man: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Behold,

hear from here that

Israel did not accept the Torah

to receive reward in this world [such as not dying],

but rather, so that no nation or tongue

of the gentiles

would rule over them .

And this is the goodness,

as it is stated: “So that it might be good for them and for their children forever.”

Behold, death was not abolished from them at the time of the giving of the Torah, and this is difficult for Resh Lakish? And we answer:

He,

Resh Lakish,

who said,

holds

like this tannait,

as Rabbi Yosei expounded:

For it was taught, Rabbi Yosei says: Israel did not accept the Torah—

but rather, so that the angel of death would not rule over them.

As it is stated [

Psalms 82], the Holy One, blessed is He, said:

“I said, ‘You are divine beings, and all of you are sons of the Most High,’ but you corrupted your deeds”—

“Indeed, like a human being shall you die,”

implying that before they corrupted their deeds, they would not die.

And Resh Lakish holds like Rabbi Yosei.

And now the Gemara clarifies the expositions of the verses.

And Rabbi Yosei as well,

what will he answer?

But it is written: “So that it might be good for them and for their children forever,”

and one should infer from here:

goodness is what there is,

only it will be good for them, such as that no nation or tongue will rule over them—

behold,

but

there is death,

and they would still die. How does Rabbi Yosei expound that before they corrupted their deeds they were given the reward that they would not die?

And we answer:

Rabbi Yosei can say to you:

This itself is the goodness about which the Holy One, blessed is He, spoke:

since there is no

death—

there is no greater goodness than this.

And we clarify:

And the first tannait,

of the first beraita, who said that death was not abolished from them,

also,

concerning him as well one must ask: what will he answer—

but it is written: “Indeed, like a human being shall you die,”

and this implies that before they corrupted their deeds, death was indeed abolished from them?

And we answer:

What is the death

mentioned in the verse “Indeed, like a human being shall you die”?—“

poverty.”

Because a poor person is considered like a dead person. That is, the Holy One, blessed is He, said: Since you corrupted your deeds, a nation or tongue will rule over you, exhausting your wealth [as it is stated in Moses’ prophecy [Deuteronomy 28]: “And I shall hide My face from them, and they shall be as prey,” and we expound that the gentiles will exhaust Israel’s wealth].

And had they not sinned, they would have been wealthy, and would have been free for fear of the Lord and observance of His mitzvot.

The Gemara brings the statement of the Sages that a “poor person” is considered like a “dead person.”

For the master said,

as we learned in a beraita: There are

four

kinds of people who are

considered like

a

dead person.

These are:

one who is

poor,

or

blind, and afflicted with leprosy, and one who has no children.

A poor person—

from where do we learn that he is considered like a dead person?

For it is written [

Exodus 4], that the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Moses to return from Midian to Egypt, and that he should not fear his enemies:

“For all the men who sought your life have died.” And who are they?

Who were those men who sought Moses’ life? They were

Dathan and Abiram,

who informed against Moses to Pharaoh when he said to them, “Wicked one! Why do you strike your fellow?” And one may wonder:

Did they die

in Egypt?! They died in the wilderness in the assembly of Korah. Rather, we answer:

They did exist,

indeed they were alive,

but they had lost their possessions,

and therefore they are considered like a dead person.

A blind person—

for it is written [

Lamentations 3]: “

He has made me sit in darkness like those long dead,”

behold, a person placed in darkness who does not see is considered like a dead person.

One afflicted with leprosy—

for it is written [

Numbers 12], concerning Miriam when she became afflicted with leprosy:

“Let her not be like a dead person,”

behold, one afflicted with leprosy is considered like a dead person.

And one who has no sons -

as it is written [Genesis 30] that Rachel said to Jacob:

"Give me sons, and if not, I am dead"

"Give me sons, and if not, I am dead", for he is considered as dead.

The Gemara brings a beraita speaking of the greatness of the reward for walking in the ways of the Lord [and it implies that their reward will be that the Children of Israel will rule over the nations, and this is connected to what they said: Had Israel not accepted the Torah, no nation and tongue would have ruled over them].

The Sages taught:

It is stated in the Torah [Leviticus 26]:

"If you will walk in My statutes...

and I will give your rains in their season," and all the promises and benefits that will be for the Children of Israel "if" they walk in the statutes of the Torah are stated there.

And we expound:

there is no

meaning of

"if"

as an expression of doubt,

but an expression of supplication,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, pleads, as it were, before them to observe the Torah.

And so it says [Psalms 81]:

"If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would walk in My ways."

And we expound, "if only" in the language of "would that," meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, pleads before them to listen to His voice and to walk in His ways, and promises them in His abundant kindnesses

"Very soon

[immediately]

I will subdue their enemies, and against their oppressors I will turn My hand."

And it says, and it is further stated [Isaiah 48]:

"If you would listen to My commandments -

and your peace would be like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. And your seed would be like the sand, and the offspring of your womb like its grains."

The Gemara brings a beraita that expounds another exposition on the verse [Deuteronomy 5]: "Would that their hearts should be this for them, to fear Me and to observe all My commandments all the days, so that it would be good for them and for their children forever."

The Sages taught:

The Holy One, blessed be He, said,

"Would that their hearts should be this for them."

Moses said to Israel:

You are

ungrateful,

you do not know how to acknowledge the goodness of one who does good for you, and you are

sons of the ungrateful,

sons of the first man, who was ungrateful! [As will be explained below].

For

when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, "Would that their hearts should be this for them" -

they should have recognized the goodness of the Holy One, blessed be He, the "Giver,"

and they should have said, "You give!"

but you did not say so ,

rather you were

ungrateful,

and you complained about the manna,

ungrateful people,

and you complained about the manna,