Sanhedrin 100b (ק:) — the Talmud in English

This teaches: The measure of good is greater than the measure of punishment!

For

with regard to the measure of good it is written: “He commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat,” whereas with regard to the measure of punishment it says: “And the windows of heaven were opened.”

This proves that the measure of good is greater, since a door is larger than a window!

And we find

with regard to the measure of punishment

that

it is written: “And they shall go forth and see the carcasses of the men who rebelled against Me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be extinguished, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

This will be the punishment of the wicked: The fire that burns them will never be extinguished.

This is difficult:

Yet when a person extends his finger into fire in this world

he is immediately burned!

How, then, will the wicked be able to endure an eternal fire that burns them?

Rather,

the Holy One, blessed be He, will give the wicked the strength to endure the punishment.

And

just as the Holy One, blessed be He, gives the wicked strength to endure their punishment, so does the Holy One, blessed be He, give the righteous strength to receive their reward,

and thus they will be able to receive the full measure of the goodness of the Holy One, blessed be He.

We learned in our Mishna:

Rabbi Akiva says: Also, one who reads extraneous books, and so forth.

The tanna

said: What are

extraneous books?

Because they deny the living God.

Rav Yosef said: It is also forbidden to read the book of Ben Sira,

even though it does not contain matters that lead to heresy. The reason is that it contains frivolous statements, and one who reads it will come to neglect Torah study.

Abaye said to him: What is the reason

that it is forbidden to read the book of Ben Sira? What frivolous statements are written in it?

If you say it is because it is written in it: “Do not strip the gildana fish from its ear, lest its skin be wasted; rather, roast it in the fire and eat with it two

loaves.”

That is, do not remove the skin of a fish [called a gildana] even from its ear, because you would be wasting the skin. Rather, roast the fish together with its skin, and you will be able to eat two loaves with it, the skin serving as a relish for the two loaves.

If you understand it according to its plain meaning,

if you say that, according to the plain meaning of this statement, it is a frivolous saying—and what is its plain meaning? Not to destroy something, even the skin of a fish—

why is that a frivolous statement? After all,

the Torah also writes

this matter:

“You shall not destroy its trees.”

If you understand it as an exposition,

meaning that one should not use a thing in an unnatural manner [and this is what Ben Sira means by “Do not strip the gildana fish from its ear”—

why is that a frivolous statement? After all,

it teaches proper conduct

[the natural way]

that one should not engage in intercourse

with a woman

unnaturally!

But rather, is it because it is written

in the book of Ben Sira:

“A daughter to her father

is a treasure

of futility; because of fear of her he cannot sleep

[he is unable to sleep]

at night.”

And what is the father’s fear concerning his daughter?

When she is a minor

he is concerned

lest she be seduced.

When she is a na'ara,

when she has grown older and there is no longer concern that she will be seduced, he is concerned

lest she engage in adultery

of her own will.

When she is a bogeret,

when she is now fit for marriage, he is concerned

lest she not marry.

After she marries,

he is concerned

lest she not have children.

When she grows old,

he is concerned

lest she practice witchcraft.”

The Sages also said this

[they stated this matter]. However,

it is impossible for the world to exist without males, and

it is likewise impossible for the world to exist

without females,

since reproduction cannot take place without both sexes.

But

fortunate is one who

is privileged and

whose children are male; woe to one whose children are female!

Rather, it is because it is written: “Do not bring sorrow into your heart, for sorrow kills mighty men,”

[Do not bring worry into your heart, for worry kills mighty men],

yet Solomon said: “If there is worry in a man’s heart, he should suppress it.”

And

Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi

one

[of them]

said:

If a person has worry, the advice is that he should

divert it

[distract himself from the worry]

from his mind.

And the other said:

The advice is that he should

speak of it

[tell his worry]

to others.

Thus Solomon already said that one who has worry in his heart must somehow remove it from his heart.

But rather, is it because it is written: “Keep many people out of your house, and do not bring everyone into your house,”

and this is the meaning of the words: “Keep many people out of your house”—keep out of your house those with whom you have no dealings. “

And do not bring everyone into your house”—even those with whom you do deal, do not bring them regularly into your house; rather, speak with them outside.

But Rabbi too said it!

As it is taught in a beraita: Rabbi says: A person should never have many friends in his house, as it is stated: “A man of many friends may come to ruin.”

That is, “a man of many friends”—one who has many friends—“may come to ruin.” In the end, those friends cause him harm, as he quarrels with them.

Rather, it is because it is written

in the book of Ben Sira:

Zaldekan

[one whose beard is thin and sparse ] —know that he is

a korteman

[extremely wise and sharp-witted] .

Avdekan

[one whose beard is thick]—know that he is

a saksan

[a fool].

One who blows on the foam in his cup

[one who blows away the foam] from his cup—he is known to be

not thirsty

[he is not thirsty]. For had he been thirsty, he would have drunk the cup as it was.

And if

a person says

:

“With what shall I eat bread?”

[With what relish shall I eat this bread?]

“Take the bread away from him,”

take the bread away from him,

for it is evident that he is not hungry. For had he been hungry, he would have eaten the bread immediately and would not have searched for something with which to eat it.

One who has a passage in his beard

[one who has a passage in his beard, that is, whose beard is divided and split]

the whole world cannot overcome him

[the entire world cannot defeat him] through his cunning. Since he spent all his days devising schemes, he placed his hand inside his beard and pulled until it became bald and split.

All these statements are nonsense, containing no benefit. Therefore, one does not read the book of Ben Sira.

Rav Yosef said: There are excellent statements

[fine and beneficial matters]

that it contains

[that are found in the book of Ben Sira], such as the following statements—

we would expound them publicly

[we would proclaim them to the masses]:

A good wife

is a good gift; she is given to the one who fears God.

A bad wife

is leprosy for her husband.

What is his remedy?

He should divorce her from his house, and he will be cured of his leprosy.

A beautiful wife

fortunate is her husband;

the number of his days is doubled

[because of his pleasure, his days are regarded as twice as many ].

Turn your eyes away from a beautiful woman, lest you be trapped by her snare.

Do not turn aside to her husband to drink wine and strong drink with him, for many have been destroyed because of the beauty of a beautiful woman, and mighty are all her slain.

Many are the wounds of the peddler who accustoms people to licentiousness

[adultery],

like a spark

that

kindles a coal.

That is, a peddler who goes around the city selling women’s jewelry receives many blows. Since he conducts business with women, it sometimes happens that a husband finds him alone with his wife, and strikes and wounds him.

Just as a cage is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit .

Keep many people out of your house, and do not bring everyone into your house.

Let many people seek your welfare,

so that you befriend everyone. Nevertheless, although they are all your friends,

reveal your secret

only

to one in a thousand.

Guard the openings of your mouth from the one who lies in your bosom.

Do not worry about tomorrow’s trouble

[do not worry about matters that are supposed to occur tomorrow],

for you do not know what a day will bring

[what will happen today].

Perhaps tomorrow you will no longer exist

[perhaps the one who is worrying will die today],

and you will be found suffering over a world that is not yours,

since the trouble will no longer concern you.

It is written in the book of Proverbs:

“All the days of a poor man are bad.” Ben

Sira says: Even

the

nights

of a poor man are bad.

And what is the reason?

Because he is poor and cannot afford to make his roof high,

his roof is among the lowest roofs. And

because he cannot afford to purchase land in a good location,

his vineyard is on the heights of the mountains.

Therefore, because his roof is lower than the other roofs, the rainwater trickles down

from the rain

of the other

roofs onto his roof,

and he has no rest even at night.

And

because his vineyard is higher than the other plots of land,

the soil

and manure from

his vineyard

flow

to the vineyards

of others, which are lower than his, and the poor man suffers a loss. Constantly, by day and by night, he worries over his loss.

Mnemonic: Zera, Rava; Marshesha, Hanina, Tuvia; Yanai, Yafa, Yohanan, Racham; Yehoshua, Matzar.

Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rav: What is the meaning of that which is written: “All the days of a poor man are bad”?

These are the masters of Talmud,

whose study of the Talmud is difficult because of the many questions and discussions it contains.

“But a good-hearted man feasts continually”

these are the masters of Mishna,

as it is easier to study.

Rava said the opposite.

“All the days of a poor man are bad”—these are the masters of Mishna. “But a good-hearted man feasts continually”

—these are the masters of Gemara, as will be explained below.

And this is what Rav Mesharshya said in the name of Rava: What is the meaning of that which is written: “He who moves stones is hurt by them”?

These are the masters of Mishna.

For one who studies Mishna reviews it without knowing what he is saying, since one may not issue a halakhic ruling from the Mishna.

“And he who splits wood is warmed by it”

[he warms himself with it]—

these are the masters of Talmud,

who benefit from their toil, since through it they know how to rule concerning what is forbidden and what is permitted.

Rabbi Hanina says: “All the days of a poor man are bad”

this is one who has a bad wife.

“But a good-hearted man feasts continually”

this is one who has a good wife.

Rabbi Yannai says: “All the days of a poor man are bad”

this is an istanis

[a refined and pampered person ].

“But a good-hearted man feasts continually”

this is one whose disposition is good

[in the language of euphemism, the opposite of an istanis].

Rabbi Yohanan says: “All the days of a poor man are bad”

this is a compassionate person.

“But a good-hearted man feasts continually”

this is a cruel person.