Berakhot 4a (ד.) — the Talmud in English

Benayahu, son of Jehoiada,

who was the head of the court,

this

refers to the Sanhedrin.

They received permission from them after consulting with Ahithophel.

And Abiathar—

these are the Urim and Thummim.

That is, he was the High Priest through whom questions were asked in David’s time by means of the Urim and Thummim.

And similarly it says,

There is further proof that they first received permission from the Sanhedrin and only afterward asked through the Urim and Thummim, from the verse [I Chronicles 18:17]:

“And Benayahu, son of Jehoiada, was over the Kereti and the Peleti.”

The Urim and Thummim are called “Kereti and Peleti,” and Benayahu was “over” them, meaning that he was first and prior to them.

And why were they called

the Urim and Thummim

Kereti and Peleti?

Kereti,

because

they cut off their words,

as they state concise and definitive matters that will not be diminished.

Peleti,

because

they are wondrous in their words,

for their words are understood only by one upon whom the Divine Spirit rests, who knows how to combine and arrange the letters.

And

the conclusion of the verse, “and after Ahithophel, etc. ... and the commander of the king’s army was Joab,” means that

afterward,

after they received the response of the Urim and Thummim,

the commander of the king

whose name was

Joab

led them to war.

Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Adda said, and some say Rabbi Yitzḥak, son of Rav Idi, said: What is the verse,

where do we find in the Writings that a lyre was suspended above David’s bed and that it awakened him from his sleep?

As it is stated [Psalms 57:9]:

“Awake, my glory; awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn.”

David said to himself: Do not honor yourself with sleep like the other kings, who sleep until the dawn awakens them. Rather, “I will awaken the dawn”: I will awaken the dawn, by means of the harp and lyre.

Rabbi Zeira said

another answer to the question of how David could know precisely when midnight occurred if Moses did not know:

Moses always knew, and David also knew

how to determine precisely when midnight occurred.

And

if you should say,

since David knew

when midnight occurred,

why did he need a lyre?

The answer is that David indeed did not need the lyre in order to determine the time of midnight, but only

to awaken him from his sleep.

In order to awaken him from his sleep.

And

if it is asked,

since Moses knew, why did he have to say “approximately midnight”?

Why did he say “approximately midnight,” which is an expression of uncertainty, rather than “at midnight”?

Moses reasoned

that although he knew how to determine precisely when midnight occurred, one had to be concerned

lest Pharaoh’s astrologers err

as to the time of midnight. Since they did not know how to determine it precisely, before the actual midpoint of the night arrived they might think that it had already arrived, and the plague would still not have come,

and they would say: Moses is a liar

[a false speaker]

he is!

Therefore it was preferable for Moses to use an expression of uncertainty, implying that he did not know the exact time, so that he would not be exposed as a liar.

And as

the Master said [Derekh Eretz Zuta, chapter 3]:

[Derech Eretz Zuta, chapter 3]:

Train your tongue to say, “I do not know,” lest you be exposed as a liar.

Lest you fail in your statement, because they will not understand you properly and will regard you as a liar.

Rav Ashi said

another answer: In truth, Moses knew how to determine precisely when midnight occurred. His statement “approximately midnight” was not an expression of uncertainty; rather,

he was standing at the midpoint of the night, as the fourteenth was beginning,

Moses was standing at midnight, at the conclusion of the thirteenth day, at the beginning of the fourteenth.

And this is what Moses said to Israel:

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Tomorrow, at approximately midnight as it is now,

like the time of midnight at which we are now standing,

I will go out in the midst of Egypt.

He used the expression “approximately midnight” in order to compare tomorrow’s midnight with the midnight at which they were standing that day.

The Gemara further explains, from the words of King David, his practice of rising early and his piety in contrast with that of the other kings: “

A prayer

of David ...

Guard my soul, for I am pious” [Psalms 86:1].

Psalms 86:1].

Levi and Rabbi Yitzḥak disagreed as to what quality of piety David praised in himself:

disagreed about the act of piety with which David praised himself:

One

said: David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe!

Am I

not pious? For

indeed,

all the kings of the East and the West sleep until the third hour, while

I

“rise at midnight to give thanks to You”

[Psalms 119:62].

And the other

said:

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe:

Am I

not pious? For

indeed,

all the kings of the East and the West sit in assembled groups

and occupy themselves with increasing

their honor, while

I have

my hands soiled with blood

[when I examine whether it is pure blood or perhaps menstrual blood, which renders her impure],

and with the tissue

[the membrane in which the bones and organs of the fetus develop; when a woman miscarries such tissue, it is examined to determine whether it contains a fetus, in which case the mother is impure with the impurity of childbirth, or not],

and with the placenta

[the sac in which the fetus develops; when a woman miscarries a placenta, it is possible that she becomes impure with the impurity of childbirth, and they would bring it before him to determine its status],

in order to purify a woman for her husband.

Moreover, everything that I do, I consult

with my teacher, Mefiboshet, and I say to him: Mefiboshet, my teacher! Have I judged properly? Have I obligated properly? Have I acquitted properly?

Have I purified properly? Have I rendered impure properly? And I was not ashamed

to ask him.

Rabbi Yehoshua, son of Rav Idi, said: What is the verse,

where do we find in the Writings that David acted in this manner? As it is stated:

“And I shall speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed”

[Psalms 119:46]. That is, I spoke of Your testimonies before Torah scholars, who are called “kings,” and I was not ashamed.

The tanna

taught in a beraita:

Mefiboshet

was not

his name;

rather, Ish-Boshet was his name.

And why was he called Mefiboshet?

Because

he humiliated David concerning halakha,

the name being understood as “from his mouth, shame”; that is, he caused David shame through his words, since David would sometimes err and he would say to him, “You are mistaken!”

Therefore,

through the merit of David’s humbling himself,

David merited that Kilav emerged from him,

who was wise.

And

as

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Kilav was not his name; rather, Daniel was his name,

and

if his name was Daniel,

why was he called Kilav?

Because he humiliated Mefiboshet concerning halakha.

“Kilav” is understood as “all father,” meaning that he humiliated the teacher who was a father in halakhic rulings.

And concerning him Solomon said in his wisdom,

in place of his father David,

“My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will rejoice”

[Proverbs 23:15].

And he says: “My son, be wise and gladden my heart, so that I may answer the one who taunts me”

[ibid., 27:11].

The Gemara asks:

“But David, did he call himself”

a

“pious man?”

But it is written [

Psalms 27:13]:

“Had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,”

meaning: Had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the World-to-Come, they would already have driven me away from fearing You.

And the tanna

we learned in a beraita

in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Why are dots placed over the word “lulē”? [

According to the tradition, dots are placed over the letters “lo” in “lulē.” These dots come to limit the meaning, indicating that it is not certain What do they come to limit here and indicate is not certain?

David said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe! I am certain that You will pay a good reward to the righteous in the future, but I do not know whether I have a share among them or not.

It follows that he was not certain that he would merit the World-to-Come, and if so, he certainly did not consider himself pious. How, then, did he say, “for I am pious”?

The Gemara answers: David indeed considered himself pious, but nevertheless he was concerned

perhaps

he would sin and

the sin would cause

him not to merit seeing the goodness of the Lord.

As

we find

that

said

Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi

regarding our forefather Jacob.

Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi raised a contradiction,

he posed an apparent contradiction between verses:

It is written

that when Jacob departed for Haran, the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him [Genesis 28:15]:

“And behold, I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go,” and

yet when Jacob saw Laban approaching him with four hundred men,

it is written [

Genesis 32:7]

“And Jacob was greatly afraid,”

which is seemingly difficult: Why was he afraid? Had not the Holy One, blessed be He, promised him that He would be with him and guard him?

Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi answered: Our forefather Jacob

said [

he was concerned]

“Perhaps the sin will cause it.”

That is, Jacob was concerned that he might have sinned after receiving the promise and that the promise would not be fulfilled, because sin causes a promise not to be fulfilled. David was likewise concerned about his share in the World-to-Come.

The Gemara proves that one should be concerned that sin might cause the promise not to be fulfilled

As it was taught

in a beraita: It is stated in the Song at the Sea [Exodus 15:16]:

“Until Your people pass over, O Lord; until this people that You have acquired passes over,”

and the repetition of the wording is expounded:

“Until Your people pass over, O Lord,” this refers to the

first

entry, when Israel came to the Land of Israel in the days of Joshua;

“Until this people that You have acquired passes over,” this refers to the second entry,

when they returned to the Land of Israel from the Babylonian exile in the days of Ezra.

From here,

from the fact that Scripture compares these two entries with one another,

the Sages said: Israel were worthy of having a miracle performed for them

also

in the days of Ezra,

so that they would ascend with an upraised hand, against the will of the kings of Persia, and would not be subjugated to a foreign kingdom,

as was done for them

when they ascended

in the days of Joshua, son of Nun [

and therefore Scripture compared these two entries with one another].

Rather, sin caused it.

Therefore, they did not merit ascending with an upraised hand, but only with the permission of King Cyrus, and throughout the reigns of the Persian kings they were subjugated to them.

We learned in our Mishna:

And the Sages say: Until midnight.

The Gemara discusses:

The Sages,

who hold that the time for reciting the Shema is until midnight,

in accordance with whose opinion do they hold

regarding the meaning of “when you lie down,” the time established for reciting the evening Shema?

If they hold in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer,

who understands “when you lie down” to mean the entire time that people customarily go to their beds in order to sleep, then

let them say

“until the end of the first watch,”

in accordance with Rabbi

Eliezer,

since by that time everyone who intended to sleep has certainly gone to bed and fallen asleep .