Horayot 12a — the Talmud in English

The Gemara now discusses the words of the beraita above, which says that Jehoahaz was anointed because of Jehoiakim:

But was there anointing oil

in the days of Jehoahaz?

But it was taught in a beraita: When the Ark was concealed,

in the days of Josiah,

the anointing oil was also concealed,

also

the jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff, and

on it

its almonds and its blossoms.

And

also concealed together with the Ark was

the chest that the Philistines sent as a gift to Israel

when they returned the Ark of the Lord.

As it is stated [I Samuel 6]:

“And the golden vessels that you are returning to Him

to the God of Israel as a guilt-offering, you shall place in a chest beside it

as atonement for

guilt, you shall place in a chest beside it

beside the Ark,

and you shall send it away, and it shall go!”

And since the Ark was concealed in the days of Josiah, the chest that was beside the Ark was also concealed.

And where do we find that these five things were concealed?

And who concealed it

for the Ark?

Josiah, king of Judah, concealed it!

Because

he saw

what

is written in the Torah: “The Lord will lead you and your king

whom you will appoint over you, to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known”; therefore

he commanded, and they concealed them

the Ark and the other things listed above, so that they would not be exiled with the exiles.

As it is stated [II Chronicles 35]:

“And he said

to

Josiah

to the Levites who had understanding, for all Israel, holy to the Lord—

‘Place the holy Ark in the House that Solomon son of David, king of Israel, built!’

For

you have no

further task of

carrying it on the shoulder.

And therefore,

‘Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel!’”

And it is explained in tractate Shekalim that Josiah said to the Levites as follows: If the Ark is exiled with you, you will no longer return it on your shoulders. And therefore, so that it would not be exiled and then you would be unable to return it, Josiah commanded that it be concealed.

And

about this

Rabbi Elazar

said: From where did Josiah learn that the other things also had to be concealed together with the Ark?

It is derived,

the law of concealing the jar of manna is learned from the law of concealing the Ark by a gzera shava,

“there, there.”

For concerning the Ark it is stated, “And there I shall meet with you, and I shall speak with you from above the cover,” and concerning the jar of manna it is stated, “And place it there.”

And likewise

it is derived

concerning Aaron’s staff by a gzera shava,

“safeguard, safeguard,”

for concerning the jar of manna it is stated, “as a safeguard for your generations,” and concerning Aaron’s staff it is stated, “as a safeguard, as a sign for the rebellious children.”

And likewise

it is derived

concerning the anointing oil by a gzera shava,

“generations, generations,”

for concerning the jar of manna it is stated, “as a safeguard for your generations,” and concerning the anointing oil it is stated, “holy anointing oil for your generations.” If so, the matter is perplexing: How was Jehoahaz anointed? For the anointing oil had already been concealed in the days of King Josiah.

And the Gemara answers: He was not anointed with the anointing oil, but rather

with pure balsam oil!

With pure balsam oil.

The Sages taught: How does one anoint kings

when they appoint them?

Like a crown!

They encircle the entire circumference of their heads with the anointing oil.

And the High Priests

were anointed

like a Greek “chi,”

on both sides of the head and at the back, but they did not anoint the front of the head!

And we explain:

What does “like a ‘chi’” mean? Rabbi Menashya bar Gaddya said: Like a Greek chi!

They begin anointing between his eyebrows and draw the oil with the finger until they reach the back of the head, but they did not anoint the front of the head.

One tanna taught: At first they pour oil upon his head

of the High Priest,

and afterward they place oil between his eyebrows,

and spread it from there to the back of the head, like a Greek chi. But on the other hand,

it was taught

in another beraita:

At first they place oil between his eyebrows,

and spread it from there like a Greek chi,

and

only

afterward do they pour oil upon his head?!

And the Gemara answers that there is no contradiction between the beraitot; rather, it is a dispute among

the tannaim.

It is:

There are those who say that anointing is preferable

and should precede pouring upon the head.

And there are those who say that pouring is preferable.

And the Gemara explains:

What is the reason of the one who says that pouring is preferable?

For it is written concerning Aaron’s anointing [Leviticus 8]:

“And he poured from the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head,”

and only afterward it is stated:

“And he anointed him, to sanctify him.”

And the one who says that anointing is preferable, what is his reason?

He holds that this is what you find concerning sacred vessels,

in which there was only anointing. Therefore, anointing is preferable to pouring, which occurs only in the anointing of a High Priest.

And the Gemara objects:

But it is written

concerning Aaron’s anointing:

“And he poured,” and at the end, “and he anointed,”

so how is it possible to learn from sacred vessels that anointing should precede pouring? And we answer:

This is what the verse means

concerning Aaron’s anointing:

What is the reason for “and he poured”? Because “and he anointed”

had already occurred first.

The Sages taught:

It is written in the Book of Psalms [chapter 133]:

“Like the good oil

upon the head,

which descends upon the beard, Aaron’s beard.”

The anointing oil appeared on Aaron’s beard

like two drops of pearls,

which

were hanging from Aaron in his beard!

Rav Pappa said: A tanna

taught in a beraita:

When he,

Aaron, was

speaking,

talking with other people, those two drops

would rise and rest at the root of his beard,

and adhere to his flesh, so that they would not fall when his beard moved because of his speech.

And concerning this matter,

concerning these drops of oil,

Moses was worried,

lest he had failed because of them.

Moses

our teacher

said: Heaven forbid,

lest

I have misused the anointing oil,

for I touched it when I dressed Aaron in his priestly garments?!

A heavenly voice emerged and said: “Like the good oil

etc.—

like the dew of Hermon

that descends upon the mountains of Zion.”

Just as there is no misuse in the dew of Hermon, so too there is no misuse in the anointing oil on Aaron’s beard!

And Aaron was still worried. He said: Perhaps Moses did not misuse it, but I misused it,

for it is possible that some of the oil fell on a place unsuitable for anointing?!

A heavenly voice went out and said to him—

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together.” Just as Moses did not misuse it, so too you,

his brother,

did not misuse it! The Sages taught: Kings are not anointed

at the time of their appointment

except beside a spring, so that

the spring would be a good sign

that their kingship would continue,

like a spring that flows constantly without interruption.

And similarly we find that David commanded [them] to anoint Solomon as king beside the spring,

as it is stated [

1 Kings 1]:

“And the king said to them: Take the servants of your master

and so forth

and bring him down to

a spring

Gihon.”

And Zadok the koen and Nathan the prophet anointed him there as king over Israel”.

Rabbi Ami said: Whoever wishes to know

who wishes to know at the beginning of the year,

whether he will complete it

whether he will complete his year,

or not,

let him hang up a lamp,

let him light a lamp

during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in a house in which no wind blows,

in a house in which the wind does not blow. And let him examine:

if its light continues,

if the lamp burns until the oil is exhausted,

let it be known that he will complete it,

that he will complete his year, just as the lamp burned until the oil was entirely consumed.

And whoever wishes to undertake a business venture, and wishes to know whether it will succeed or not, let him raise a rooster.

Let him raise a rooster on account of this business.

If it grows fat and improves,

if it grows fat and improves, it is a sign that it

will succeed.

Whoever wishes to set out on a journey, and wishes to know whether he will return and come to his house or not—

let him stand in the house of his fellow,

let him stand in a dark house,

if he sees the shadow of his shadow,

if he sees the shadow of his shadow,

let him know that he will return and come to his house.

And we say:

But it is not a matter!

For sometimes he will return to his house even if he does not see the shadow of his shadow; therefore, this sign should not be performed, since if he performs it and does not see the shadow of his shadow,

perhaps his mind will be weakened,

and as a result,

his fortune will deteriorate,

and he will not return. And if he had not performed the sign, he would have returned; therefore, it should not be performed!

Abaye said: Now that you have said that a sign is a matter,

10, let there always be

a person

accustomed to eat at the beginning of the year—

gourd, fenugreek, leeks, spinach, and dates [

because they grow quickly or grow abundantly! And so that one should not stumble through them, by making them a means of divination, they ordained that words arousing repentance be said over them, such as, concerning the eating of gourd, saying, “May our merits be called forth,” and the like—the Meiri] .

Rav Mesharsheya said to his son: When you wish to enter and study before your teachers, recite

by yourselves

the Mishna,

the sugya first, until it is fluent in your mouths.

And

only afterward,

go up before your teachers,

so that you will know what to ask him.

And when you sit before him—

look at his mouth,

for looking at the teacher while he says his words assists in understanding the matters,

as it is written: “And your eyes shall see your teachers,”

12. And when your recitation

of your learning by yourselves before the lesson,

recite

it

beside a river of water,

as a good sign.

For just as the water flows

and does not cease, so

will your teachings flow,

and they will not cease from your mouths.

And sit,

that is, it is preferable for you that you dwell

in a refuse heap

in a place of refuse

of Matal Mahseya,

whose inhabitants are Torah scholars fit to issue instruction and possess refined culture,

and do not dwell

and do not reside

in palaces

in palaces

of Pumbedita,

whose people do not possess as fine a culture as the people of Matal Mahseya.

And likewise,

a small, spoiled fish

a small, spoiled fish is good

of Matal Mahseya to eat, rather than kutah

which is a fine and strong food

of those who cast up stones,

which is eaten by the wealthy and nobles who dwell in lofty towers.

That is: it is better to dwell in Matal Mahseya, whose people are fit to associate with, and to make do with inferior foods, than to dwell in places where the wealthy live and eat expensive foods, but those foods dull the heart.

And the Gemara concludes with another detail that they expounded concerning the manner of anointing with the anointing oil:

Hannah said: “

My horn is exalted through God; my horn is exalted, but not my flask!”

Hannah prophesied through this that

David and Solomon, who were anointed with a horn,

with the oil that was placed in a horn, which is a good sign for kingship,

their kingship continued,

whereas

Saul and Jehu, who were anointed

with oil that was placed

in a flask, their kingship did not continue!

We learned in the Mishna: And who is the anointed one who brings a bull for his sin? This is

the one anointed with the anointing oil. The Sages taught:

It is stated

“anointed”; one might have thought

in accordance with its plain meaning, that also a

king

who is anointed brings a bull?

The verse says: “Koen.”

If [it says] “koen,”

if “koen” is stated in the passage,

one might have thought

also a

one possessing an excess of garments

who is not anointed brings a bull?

The verse says: “Anointed”!

If [it says] “anointed,” one might have thought even

a koen

anointed for war

who is not the High koen?

The verse says, “And the anointed koen,” who does not have [

who does not have]

anointed

whose rank is higher than his

above him!

What is the indication?

How is it indicated in this verse that “the anointed koen” is the most important koen?

As Rava said:

from where do we know that one is liable for the sciatic nerve only for the nerve in the right leg? Because it is stated, “Therefore the children of Israel do not eat the sciatic nerve that is upon the entire thigh.” And we expound from the fact that

“the thigh”

is written with the definite article, to teach you that it is

the distinguished one [

the important one]

among the thighs.

And if so,

here too,

concerning an anointed koen, we expound from the definite article of “the koen”

“the anointed,”

that he is the

distinguished [

important]

among the anointed ones!

The Master said: “Anointed”—

one might have thought a king

brings a bull? The verse says, “Koen.”

And the Gemara is astonished: Was there room to entertain the thought that a

king brings a bull!?

For there is an explicit verse that a king

brings a goat!

For the king is a ruler, and it is explained shortly in the passage that he brings a goat and not a bull!

And the Gemara explains:

It was necessary

to write concerning “anointed” that it specifically means “koen,” in order to exclude a king from bringing a bull.

For

it might have entered your mind to say

that only

for an unwitting act

was it said that he

will bring

the king

a goat.

But

for an unawareness of a matter,

in a case where the king erred in his ruling, unintentionally issuing an erroneous ruling,

he will bring a bull.

It teaches us this

that only the anointed koen brings a bull, but the king’s law is only that he brings a goat.

We learned in the Mishna:

The only difference between a koen anointed with the anointing oil

and one possessing an excess of garments is only the bull that comes for all the mitzvot.

And the Gemara infers:

Our Mishna,

the method of our Mishna, which says that a High koen who is merely one possessing an excess of garments but is not anointed does not bring the bull of a High koen, is

not in accordance with Rabbi Meir!

For if it were Rabbi Meir, it was taught:

a koen who is

“one possessing an excess of garments,”

who wears the eight priestly garments of the High koen but was not anointed,

brings the bull that comes for all the mitzvot

like the anointed koen.

These are the words of Rabbi Meir.

But the Sages did not agree with him!

And we explain:

What is Rabbi Meir’s reason?

For it was taught:

it is written concerning the bull of the High koen that comes for all the mitzvot

“anointed.”

I have only [derived] one anointed with the anointing oil; from where [do I derive] one possessing an excess of garments

that he too is liable to bring a bull?

The verse says: “The anointed koen”!

The word “the koen” is superfluous, and comes to include even a koen possessing an excess of garments who is not anointed.

And we inquire concerning it:

In accordance with whom have you established

our Mishna,

in accordance with the Sages

who disagree with Rabbi Meir.