Chagigah 14a (יד.) — the Talmud in English

It was taught: Rabbi Shimon the Pious said

to explain the verse: “Those who were cut off before their time”:

These are the nine hundred seventy-four generations that were cut off

it had been decreed upon them]

from being created!

before the world was created, and were not created.

That is, because the verse says, “The word that He commanded for a thousand generations,” implying that the giving of the Torah would take place after one thousand generations. Yet the giving of the Torah took place after twenty-six generations, from the first man until Moses our teacher. And those nine hundred seventy-four missing generations were driven away by the Holy One, blessed be He, because He saw that the world could not endure without Torah.

The Holy One, blessed be He, arose and planted them

for those generations

in every generation, and they are the brazen-faced people of each generation.

The Maharsha wrote that according to this exposition, the verse “Those who were cut off before their time” is understood to mean that they were cut off from being created at their proper time, namely, before the giving of the Torah. They were created afterward, not at their proper time, in every generation.

And Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said

to explain:

“Those who were cut off” —

it is written as a blessing —

these are Torah scholars who cut themselves short of sleep

they reduce the measure of their sleep],

for

on account of]

words of Torah

Baḥ]

in this world.

And

the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals to them the secret of the river

Baḥ]

in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “A river is cast; their foundation”.

The Maharsha wrote that according to this exposition, the verse is understood as follows: These are “those who were cut off,” who cut themselves short in this world, which is temporary and transient; therefore, in the World-to-Come, which is “before time,” meaning not temporary and transient but eternal, the Holy One, blessed be He, will then grant them His secret: “A river is cast; their foundation.” See another explanation in the glosses of Melo HaRo’im.

Shmuel said to Ḥiyya bar Rav bar Arya:

Come, I will tell you something, one of those excellent statements that your father would say

come and I will tell you some of the good things your father used to say]:

And this is what he would say:

Every single day ministering angels are created from the River of Fire, recite song, and cease to exist

after they recite song, they immediately cease to exist and disappear].

As it is stated: “They are new every morning

new angels, created every morning—through them]

great is Your faithfulness”

Your praise].

And he disagrees,

in these statements, with

the

words of

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani,

who holds that the angels are created through the Divine speech and do not emerge from the River of Fire.

For Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Every utterance that emerges from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, creates one angel from it.

As it is stated: “By the word of the Lord —

the heavens were made.

And by the breath of His mouth —

all their hosts.”

The Gemara further interprets, moving from one matter to another concerning the same matter, the contradiction between verses in the Book of Daniel and the Song of Songs:

One verse

in the Book of Daniel

states: “His garment

the garment of the Holy One, blessed be He]

was white as snow

white like snow],

and the hair of His head like pure wool

the hair of His head like clean white wool].

But

on the other hand

it is written

in the Song of Songs:

“His locks

the locks of His hair, as it were, of the Holy One, blessed be He] are

curled, black as a raven”?!

It is not difficult: Here —

when the color of His hair is white, like that of an old man —

in judgment

in the session of judgment, Rosh Ḥodesh].

Here —

when the color of His hair is black, like that of a young man —

in war.

The Maharsha explained that the verse in Daniel speaks of the sitting in judgment, as is clear from the beginning of the verse: “The Ancient of Days sat; His garment was white as snow.” The verse in the Song of Songs speaks of the Exodus from Egypt, where He appeared to them as a warrior.

For the Master said: There is none more handsome in a sitting than an old man, and there is none more handsome in war than a young man.

Rabbeinu Ḥananel wrote: These visions are seen in the manner of a dream, as it is written: “If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision; in a dream I shall speak with him.” And it is written: “By the hand of the prophets I will liken Myself,” to teach that He shows the prophets something resembling a form, according to the understanding of the heart. But the Holy One, blessed be He—may His name be praised—has no form. This itself proves that there is no form there, for if He had a form, He would always have one form: either eternally the form of a young man or eternally the form of an old man. Rather, this teaches you that there is no form there at all. What He shows the prophets in the likeness of a form is whatever is fitting before Him.

The Gemara raises a contradiction within the aforementioned verse in Daniel itself:

One verse states:

I saw until thrones were cast down and set in place for judgment, and the Ancient of Days sat, and His garment was white as snow and the hair of His head like pure wool;

“His throne”

this implies one throne]

was fiery flames

flames of fire]; its wheels were burning fire—for the end of the verse implies that there was only one throne.

And one verse —

that is, the beginning of that same verse —

states: “Until thrones”

implying two thrones]

were cast down, and the Ancient of Days sat.

And we answer:

It is not difficult:

one throne

for Him, and

one throne

for David.

As it was taught in a beraita: One for Him and one for David; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Yosei HaGelili said to him: Akiva! How long will you make the Divine Presence profane

by seating a human being beside it?!

Rather,

the two thrones are

one

of the thrones is intended

for

sitting upon it when He administers

judgment

to the nations,

and one

for sitting upon it when He performs

righteousness for Israel. The Gemara is uncertain: Did he

accept it from him

did Rabbi Akiva accept Rabbi Yosei HaGelili’s words],

or did he not accept it from him?

Come and hear

from the beraita that we learned: One throne

for judgment and

one throne

for righteousness; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva.

It follows that he accepted it from him.

Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to him: Akiva! What have you to do with aggada? Turn away from your words and go

Baḥ]

to the halakhot of leprous conditions and ritual impurity transmitted through tents!

Refrain from your statements in aggada and turn to the laws of leprous conditions and ritual impurity transmitted through tents, which are weighty, and in which you are sharp, unlike in aggada.

Rather,

this is the meaning of the two thrones:

one

of the thrones is designated

for a throne, and one

of the thrones is designated

for a footstool.

A throne —

in order

to sit upon it,

and

a footstool —

for His feet as a stool.

As it is stated: “The heavens —

are My throne, and the earth —

is My footstool.”

The Tur Eiwen deleted the biblical support, since this verse does not concern the Throne of Glory. It is also absent from Sanhedrin.

When

he came,

Rav Dimi

from the Land of Israel to Babylonia,

he said: Isaiah pronounced eighteen curses

the prophet

upon Israel,

prophesying that eighteen calamities would befall them.

And his mind was not at ease

with regard to Isaiah

until he told them this verse

the verse that appears after the eighteen curses below]:

“The young man will act arrogantly toward the elder

the young man will exalt himself over the elder],

and the contemptible one

the despicable person will exalt himself against]

the honorable one.”

In Meraish Emuna, Rabbi Aharon Leib Shach explains that Isaiah did not “curse” Israel in the literal sense. Rather, the expression “Isaiah cursed Israel” means that the prophet Isaiah made clear to Israel the low states to which they would ultimately descend if they did not heed the word of God, and that the worst situation that would befall them would be that they would no longer heed the Torah’s instruction as conveyed by the elders of the generation. Only when the guidance of the Torah’s great sages is heeded is there hope for rectification. And the expression “his mind was not at ease” means that Isaiah did not feel he had adequately conveyed the magnitude of the impending destruction until he presented them with the worst state into which they would ultimately fall: that they would disdain the authority of the Torah’s great sages!

The Gemara explains: Those

eighteen curses —

what are they?

As it is written: “For behold, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, removes from Jerusalem and Judah:

a.

support;

b.

and sustenance;

c.

every support of bread;

d.

and every support of water;

e.

a mighty man;

f.

and a man of war;

g.

a judge;

h.

and a prophet;

i.

and a diviner;

j.

and an elder;

k.

a captain of fifty;

l.

and a man of stature;

m.

and a counselor;

n.

and a skillful craftsman;

o.

and one who understands whispered things;

p.

and I will appoint youths as their officers;

q.

and capricious ones will rule over them;

r.

and the people will oppress one another, each person his fellow.”

They will be crowded and pressed against one another with strife and violence. Rashi, Isaiah.

The Gemara explains the loss of the individuals described in the verse:

“Support”: These are masters of Scripture,

who will be lacking and will no longer exist.

“Sustenance”: These are masters of Mishna, such as Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima and his colleagues.

Rav Pappa and the Sages disagree about this:

One said: There were six hundred orders of Mishna

in their time.

And one said: There were seven hundred orders of Mishna

in their time.

“Every support of bread”: These are masters of Talmud,

whose rulings can be relied upon as bread is relied upon [Rashi],

as it is stated: “Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine I have mixed.”

“And every support of water”: These are masters of aggada, who draw a person’s heart like water through aggada.

“A mighty man”: This is a master of traditions,

who heard definitive halakhot from his teachers and has them fluent in his mouth.

“And a man of war”: This is one who knows how to debate and deliberate in the battle of Torah.

“A judge”: This is a judge who judges a true judgment truthfully.

“A prophet”: As its plain meaning.

“A diviner”: This is a king, as it is stated: “Divination is on the lips of a king; in judgment his mouth does not transgress.”

The king’s words are clear as though there were divination on his lips, for nothing is hidden from the king, since everyone seeks to find favor in his eyes. Consequently, in every matter there is someone who will bring it to the king’s attention, and therefore his mouth will not transgress in judgment by distorting the law through error or inadvertence. Metzudot.

“An elder”: This is one who is fit to sit in the academy,

and from whom counsel may be taken in every matter of wisdom.

“A captain of fifty”: Do not read “a captain of fifty,” but “a captain of fifths”; this is one who knows how to debate and deliberate concerning the Five Books of the Torah.

Alternatively: “A captain of fifty”

means

as in the statement of Rabbi Abbahu:

For Rabbi Abbahu said: From here it follows that they do not appoint

an interpreter

one who hears the rabbi’s discourse and conveys it to the public]

over the community if he is younger than

a

fifty-year-old.

“And a man of stature”: This is one for whose sake his generation is treated with honor.

His generation is treated with honor

above

the Holy One, blessed be He, shows honor to the generation for his sake]:

for example, Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa.

His generation is treated with honor

below

the kings of the nations honor Israel for his sake]:

for example, Rabbi Abbahu in the court of the Caesar.

“A counselor”: One who knows how to intercalate years and establish months.

We find this expression concerning the intercalation of a year, as it is written regarding Hezekiah: “And the king took counsel to observe the Passover in the second month,” in accordance with the opinion stated in Sanhedrin 12, that Hezekiah intercalated the year. Etz Yosef in the name of the Yalkut.

“And a sage”: This is a student who makes his teachers wiser.

“A skillful craftsman”: When he begins to speak words of Torah, everyone becomes as though deaf,

as though they do not know how to speak.

“And one who understands”: This is one who understands one matter from another.

“One who understands whispered things”: This is one who is fit to have words of Torah that were given in a whisper entrusted to him.

He is the head of the court, his heart trembles within him, and he is fit to be entrusted with the secrets of the Account of the Chariot [as above, 13a].

The verse continues and says:

“And I will appoint youths as their officers.”

The Gemara explains:

What is the meaning of “And I will appoint youths as their officers”?

Rabbi Elazar said: These are people who are stripped of the mitzvot.

And later the prophet Isaiah says:

“And capricious ones will rule over them”:

Rav Aḥa said

the Masoret HaShas]:

These are foxes, sons of foxes

foxes, sons of foxes].

And his mind was not at ease

with the prophet Isaiah

until he told them, “The young man will act arrogantly toward the elder” —

these are people who are stripped of the mitzvot,

and they

will act arrogantly toward one who is filled with mitzvot like a pomegranate.

“And the contemptible one against the honorable one” —

one to whom

transgressions

considered grave seem as minor, will come and act arrogantly toward one to whom

transgressions

considered minor seem as grave.

Rav Ketina said: Even at the time of Jerusalem’s downfall

its destruction],

men of integrity did not cease from among them.

As it is stated

in Isaiah, in the verse immediately following the earlier verses cited from Isaiah]:

“For behold, the Lord removes from Jerusalem and Judah every support of bread.

For a man will seize his brother,

in

his father’s house,

saying:

“You have a garment,”

you are versed in the chambers of Torah [as the Gemara will explain below], and therefore

a leader

a teacher

you shall be for us,

and teach us Torah.

The Gemara first explains the verse before completing the verse and the proof for Rav Ketina’s statement:

“You have a garment”:

Words

of Torah

that people

cover themselves with as with a garment

people hide so that they will not be asked about them, because they are not proficient in them], they

are under your control!

That is, you are indeed proficient in them.

The verse continues to describe the words of the person seeking to learn Torah from someone whom he is convinced knows Torah:

“And this stumbling block

is under your control.”

What is the meaning of “And this stumbling block”?

Things,

the hidden rationales of Torah,

upon which people cannot establish themselves

with certainty, to state them correctly according to halakha,

unless they have stumbled over them,

until they state them two or three times incorrectly [that is, the hidden rationales of Torah, Rashi, Shabbat 120a], and then they pay attention to understand and contemplate well the matters they are studying—they

are under your control!

And therefore you shall be a leader [a rabbi and teacher] for us.

The verse continues to describe the response of the man of integrity:

“He will swear,”

says the one who was asked to be a leader,

“on that day, saying: I will not be a bandager, and in my house there is neither bread nor a garment.

Do not appoint me as leader of the people!”

The Gemara explains the words of the man of integrity:

“He will swear” —

“he will swear” is only an expression of an oath,

as it is stated

in the Ten Commandments:

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”

And so the man of integrity swore:

“I will not be a bandager” —

I was never one of those who occupy the benches of the study hall!

I am not accustomed to being seated in the study hall.

“And in my house there is neither bread nor a garment” —

I possess neither Scripture, nor Mishna, nor Gemara.

It follows that men of integrity did not cease from Jerusalem, for he tells the truth and swears that he does not know Torah.

And we challenge this:

But perhaps there it is different,

for he tells the truth not because he is a man of integrity, but because he fears that he will immediately be caught in a lie.

For if he had said to them, “I have learned”

if he had lied and said, “Indeed, I know and am fit to be a rabbi],

they would have said to him, “Tell us”

those seeking instruction would say to him: Tell us what you know]. And therefore he tells the truth, not because he is a man of integrity?!

The Gemara explains: Had he not been a man of integrity, he could have evaded them honorably, for

he could have said,

he could have said of himself:

“I learned and forgot”

Indeed, I was one of those who occupied the benches of the study hall and studied Torah, but now I have forgotten my learning].

What,

then, is the meaning of what he said,

“I will not be a bandager”?

“I will not be a bandager

of the benches of the study hall

at all.

This proves that he is a man of integrity, for he denied matters in which he could have taken pride without anyone realizing that he was lying.

And we challenge Rav Ketina’s statement that men of integrity did not cease:

Is that so? But Rava said: Jerusalem was not destroyed until men of integrity ceased from it.

As it is stated: “Roam through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its squares, whether you can find a man, whether there is one who performs justice, who seeks integrity, and I shall forgive her!”

Thus, even if they sought a man of integrity, they would not find one?!

And we answer:

It is not difficult.