Kiddushin 71a (עא.) — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Hama bar Hanina said: When the Holy One, blessed be He,

purifies

the

tribes

and establishes their lineage,

the tribe of Levi

He

purifies first.

As it is stated [Malachi 3:2]: “

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and like silver.

And they will be presenters of an offering to the Lord in righteousness.”

The meaning of “purifies” is that He selects those who are fit and separates them from those who are unfit.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Money purifies mamzerim!

Those unfit people who became assimilated among Israel because of their wealth—the Holy One, blessed be He, purifies them and renders them fit as Israelites. The reason is that, since many families have become intermingled with them, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not distinguish them in the future.

As it is stated: “

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi understands the meaning of “purifies” to be that He renders the unfit themselves fit, and not as explained above, that He clarifies the fit from among the unfit.

And we raised an objection to this: Granted, if it is said that the meaning of the verse is that the sons of Levi, the fit priests, will be clarified from among the unfit, then it is well that the verse continues by saying that the sons of Levi, the fit priests, will be “presenters of an offering, in righteousness”—that the righteousness [the fitness] of these Levites will be clarified. But according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who explains that even those who are unfit are destined to be purified,

what

is the meaning of “righteousness” at the end of the verse: “And they will be presenters of an offering to the Lord

in righteousness”?

Rabbi Yitzhak said: The Holy One, blessed be He, performed an act of righteousness toward Israel: A family that became assimilated has become assimilated!

That is, the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He, is that when a family has become intermingled with unfit people, He renders it fit.

The Gemara resumes the matter itself: Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: All

the

lands

are considered

a dough

in relation to the Land of Israel, and the Land of Israel

is considered

a dough

in relation to Babylonia.

“Dough” means an admixture of those who are unfit with those who are fit.

For all lands are presumed to be “dough,” requiring investigation of their lineage, whereas the families of the Land of Israel have more established lineage and are not as suspect of having become intermingled with those who are unfit, because the court of the Chamber of Hewn Stone investigates their lineage.

Babylonia has the most established lineage of all, because Ezra left there only pure flour.

In the days of Rabbi, they sought to make

the

Babylonia

like

a dough

in relation

to the Land of Israel.

They wished to reverse the earlier accepted position: to regard the families of the Land of Israel as having established lineage, and to require investigation of the families of Babylonia.

He said to them

Rabbi:

You are placing thorns between my eyes!

You are casting aspersions upon me, since Rabbi was from a family of Babylonia, descended from the sons of Hillel, who had ascended from Babylonia and received the office of Nasi from the sons of Beteira.

If

you wish

to do so,

Rabbi Hanina bar Hama will deal with you,

answer you and prove to you that you are mistaken!

Rabbi Hanina bar Hama joined them and said to them: This is what I received as a tradition from Rabbi Yishmael ben Yosei, who said in the name of his father: All lands are a dough in relation to the Land of Israel, and the Land of Israel is a dough in relation to Babylonia.

In the days of Rabbi Pinhas, they sought to make Babylonia a dough in relation to the Land of Israel.

He said to them

Rabbi Pinhas

to his servants: When I say two things in the house of study,

immediately afterward

place me in a litter and run

from there, and carry me away from the house of study.

Because he was destined to say [in one of the two statements] that the Land of Israel is a dough in relation to Babylonia, and he did not want them to argue with him about this in the house of study, lest he be forced to reveal to them which families were unfit.

And because he was elderly, he did not have the strength to run himself; therefore he requested that they carry him away at a run.

When he entered

the house of study,

he said to them

two things:

1.

There is no Torah requirement of slaughter for a bird!

The Torah requirement of slaughter applies only to domesticated animals and wild animals, whereas the slaughter of a bird is only rabbinic. He did not reveal the reason for this, but merely told them something that appeared astonishing to them, because he wanted them to be preoccupied with this matter and search for its rationale, so that he would have time to leave before they questioned him about the reason for the second matter he was about to tell them.

[The reason for the matter is that concerning a bird it is written, “And he shall pour out its blood,” implying that according to Torah law simply pouring out its blood is sufficient.]

While they were sitting and examining

the matter,

it,

the members of the house of study were examining this teaching,

he told them

his second ruling:

2.

All lands are a dough in relation to the Land of Israel, and the Land of Israel is a dough in relation to Babylonia!

Immediately

they took him

his servants

in the litter and ran,

as he had requested.

They ran after him

the members of the house of study, in order to understand his final statements,

but they did not catch him.

They sat

themselves

and investigated

the families of the Land of Israel, in order to clarify Rabbi Pinhas’s statement that they were presumed to be “dough,”

until they reached a danger

because they began to expose the unfitness of the families of powerful people, and they were in danger that those people would kill them.

Once they reached danger,

they withdrew

from the investigation and did not continue investigating.

Rabbi Yohanan said,

and swore:

By the Sanctuary

[this is an oath, by which he swore by the Sanctuary of the Omnipresent],

it is in our power

to reveal all the families of the unfit in the Land of Israel.

But what can I do, since the great men of the generation

have already

become assimilated among them

[among the unfit families]; therefore I cannot reveal them.

And we explain:

Rabbi Yohanan held

Rabbi Yohanan

in accordance with Rabbi Yitzhak.

For Rabbi Yitzhak said: A family that became assimilated has become assimilated!

That is, we should not investigate these families to determine who among them is unfit and separate him from the community. Rather, we should leave them in doubt, and in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will render them fit for entry into the community.

Abaye said: We, too, have learned

in tractate Eduyyot that a family that became assimilated should not be separated or distanced, nor should it be clarified who among it is unfit and who is fit. Rather, it should be left in doubt, and in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will render it fit from its unfitness.

As we learned there:

The family of Beit Tzerifa

[this was the family name]

was in Transjordan, and Ben Zion distanced it

[a prominent and powerful person]

by force,

who forcibly proclaimed it unfit, although it was fit.

Another family

was there,

and Ben Zion brought it near by force,

who forcibly proclaimed it fit.

2.

For example

cases

such as these,

in which families were forcibly purified or declared unfit unlawfully, in the future

Elijah

the prophet

will come—

to render impure

the unfit families that were declared fit by force,

and to purify

the families that were declared unfit by force;

to distance

them from entering the community,

and to bring near

[to render fit] those who may enter the community. And Abaye infers from here: Only

in cases such as these, where we know

that this family was unfit, but Ben Zion forcibly declared it fit, will Elijah ultimately come and declare it unfit.

But a family

that became intermingled because its unfitness was not known—once

it has become assimilated, it has become assimilated!

And even in the future it will remain fit.

A tanna taught,

we learned in a beraita:

Another

family

was

unfit, in addition to the family that Ben Zion brought near,

but the Sages did not wish to reveal it.

But the Sages transmit it to their sons and to their students once a week

[once in seven years],

and some say,

and there are those who say:

twice a week!

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzhak said: It is reasonable according to the one who says “

once a week,”

and not twice a week, since one should avoid revealing a family’s unfitness as much as possible.

As it is taught:

One who says, “

I am hereby a nazirite if I do not reveal

the unfitness of

families

known to me”—it is preferable that he

be a nazirite,

and not reveal

the unfitness of the

families!

And although if he reveals it, naziriteship will not take effect upon him, it is preferable that his naziriteship take effect, provided that he does not reveal the unfitness of families.

Rabba bar bar Hana said that Rabbi Yohanan said: The Name

“the Tetragrammaton,”

which consists of four letters, the Sages transmit

[its pronunciation, writing, and interpretation ]

to their students once a week

only,

and some say: twice a week!

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzhak said: It is reasonable according to the one who says “

once a week”

only. Because

it is written [Exodus 3:15], “

“This is My Name forever,”

This is My name forever,”

and although we pronounce it “le’olam,” nevertheless

“le’alam”

is written,

which is an expression of concealment. From here it follows that it should be concealed as much as possible; therefore it should not be revealed more than once a week.

Rava considered expounding it

the meaning of the Tetragrammaton

in a public lecture

[in his exposition before the public].

A certain elder said to him:

But

“le’alam”

is written,

and it should not be revealed publicly!

Rabbi Avina raised a contradiction

[he objected]:

It is written [Exodus 3:15], “

“This is

This is My name

forever,”

and

in the continuation of the verse

it is written: “

“and

And this is My remembrance

for generation after generation.” Since the verse did not say, “This is My name and My remembrance,” but separated them, it indicates that the verse is speaking of two Names. And what are they?—

Rather, this is what

the Holy One, blessed be He, said: I am not called as I am written:

I am written with yod-he,

which is My distinctive Name, and this is the meaning of what is written: “This is My name forever.”

But

I am

called

with

alef-lamed.

This is the meaning of what is written: “And this is My remembrance for generation after generation,” for by this Name I am remembered when it is uttered.

The Sages taught: Initially, the Name consisting of twelve letters was transmitted to every person.

When the unscrupulous increased

and began using it, it was no longer transmitted to everyone; rather,

they would transmit it only to the discreet among the priesthood

only.

And the discreet among the priesthood

would

muffle it

during the priestly blessing in the Temple,

within

the

melody of their fellow priests.

When the other priests extended their voices in melody when mentioning the four-letter Name, the discreet priests would quickly muffle the twelve-letter Name, so that the sound of the melody would cover their voices and it would not be heard by the public.

[This Name has not been explained to us, nor has the forty-two-letter Name mentioned below.]

It is taught: Rabbi Tarfon said: Once I ascended the platform after my maternal uncle,

to recite the priestly blessing,

and I inclined my ear toward the High Priest, and heard him muffle the Name

of twelve letters

within the melody of his fellow priests!

For Rabbi Tarfon was also a priest, and he ascended the platform together with his priestly uncle.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: The Name consisting of forty-two letters is transmitted only to one who is discreet and humble, who has reached the midpoint of his life

[who has reached half his years, namely thirty-five years],

who does not become angry, does not become intoxicated, and does not insist on his rights

in order to harbor animosity toward another. Otherwise, we are concerned that perhaps he will use it to take revenge on others.

And anyone who knows it

this Name,

and is careful with it and safeguards it in purity—

is beloved above and pleasing below; his awe is imposed upon all creatures; and he inherits two worlds, this world and the World to Come.

Shmuel said in the name of an elder: Every family in

Babylonia

Babylonia stands with a presumption of fitness until

it is investigated and

it becomes known to you in what way it became unfit,

as we have established that Ezra did not ascend from Babylonia until he had made it pure flour.

The other lands—

all the families in them

stand with a presumption of unfitness until it becomes known to you in what way they became fit.

They are not deemed fit to marry without investigation.

The Land of Israel—every person

anyone who is

presumed

there

unfit

in it is

unfit;

and every person

presumed

there

fit

in it is

fit.

And we raise a difficulty:

This statement itself,

Shmuel’s words,

is difficult

internally.

For on the one hand,

you said: “

One presumed unfit is unfit.”

And this implies:

Precisely when there is no presumption,

when it is not known whether he is fit or unfit, he is presumed

fit.

And then it teaches: “

One presumed fit is fit.”

And this implies:

Precisely when there is no presumption,

when he is presumed neither one way nor the other, he is

unfit.

These two implications contradict one another.