Sanhedrin 102a — the Talmud in English

And even Ahijah the Shilonite erred

in the matter, and thought that Jeroboam wanted only to test them,

and

therefore

he too signed

the matter .

For Jehu was a very righteous man

[he was very righteous],

as it is stated: “And the Lord said to Jehu: Because you have done well, doing what is right in My eyes, according to all that was in My heart you have done to the house of Ahab, four generations of your descendants shall sit upon the throne of Israel.”

And

nevertheless, despite his being completely righteous,

it is written: “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the Torah of the Lord, God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, by which he caused Israel to sin.”

And that is because he saw that Ahijah the Shilonite too had signed the matter.

What caused him

[what caused Jehu to sin in the end]?

Abaye said: A covenant is made with the lips.

That is, what a person brings forth with his lips, although he does not truly intend it, will ultimately come to pass.

As it is stated,

which Jehu said cunningly, in order to gather all the prophets of Baal to himself and kill them:

“Ahab

served the Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.”

And through this all the prophets of Baal indeed gathered to him, and he killed them all [as is related in the Book of Kings II, chapter 10].

Rava said:

Jehu

saw the seal of Ahijah the Shilonite,

that he too had signed Jeroboam's command to make calves for idolatry,

and

therefore

he erred

and he too worshiped idolatry.

Thus, even Ahijah the Shilonite erred and signed.

For it is written

“The apostates have gone deep in slaughter, and I am the one who will chastise all of them.”

“The apostates have gone deep” means that they slaughter before the idolatry, for they turn aside and go after it.

Rabbi Yohanan said: The Holy One, blessed is He, said: They have gone deep

[and this is what is stated in the verse above, “they have gone deep”] and have been stringent in their worship of their idolatry more

than

I was stringent in

Mine.

For

I said: Anyone who does not go up for the pilgrimage—

transgresses

only

a positive commandment

589 , and

if

they had said: Anyone who goes up for the pilgrimage—

shall be pierced with the sword,

in order that they would go and slaughter before the calves .

“And I am the one who will chastise all of them” means that the Holy One, blessed is He, said: I was not so concerned for My honor as they were concerned for the honor of their idolatry, for they said that whoever would not go up would be pierced with the sword; rather, I chastised them with mere afflictions, for whoever does not go up transgresses a positive commandment.

It is written:

“And it came to pass at that time, and Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem, and Ahijah the Shilonite the prophet found him on the way, and he was covering himself with a new garment.”

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: “

at that time”—

it was a time prepared for calamity .

For there the kingdom of Israel was divided, as is stated later in that same verse [Kings I, chapter 11].

“At the time of their punishment they shall perish.” A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: It is a time prepared for calamity.

“At a time of favor I answered you.” A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: It is a time prepared for good.

It is stated concerning the sin of the calf:

“And on the day that I make an accounting, I shall make an accounting of their sin upon them.” A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: It is a time prepared for calamity.

That is the Ninth of Av, on which the spies returned from traversing the Land, and on which the First and Second Temples were destroyed.

“And it came to pass at that time, and Judah went down from his brothers.” A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: It is a time prepared for calamity

that was. Tamar was sentenced to burning , and Er and Onan, his sons, died.

“And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.” A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei:

Shechem—

it is a place prepared for calamity

:

For

in Shechem they afflicted Dinah,

and

in Shechem his brothers sold Joseph ,

and

in Shechem the kingdom of the house of David was divided

[as is related in the Book of Kings I, chapter 12].

It is written:

“And Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem.” Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said: He went out from the lot

[the collective lot]

of Jerusalem.

So as never to return to it, and not to take a portion in the Temple service .

“And Ahijah the Shilonite the prophet found him on the way

and he was covering himself with a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the field.”

What is “with a new garment”?

Rav Naḥman said: Like a new garment. Just as a new garment—

it has no defect whatsoever

596 , so too Jeroboam's Torah—

it had no defect whatsoever.

Alternatively: “A new garment,” for they innovated

Ahijah the Shilonite and Jeroboam in Torah

matters that no ear had ever heard.

What is “and the two of them were alone in the field”?

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: For all the Torah scholars were like grass of the field before them

[for they were low and insignificant].

And some say: For all the reasons of Torah were revealed to them like a field

[just as the field is exposed].

It is written:

“Therefore you shall give parting gifts over the inheritance of Gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deception to the kings of Israel.”

Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said: A heavenly voice went forth and said to them: He who killed

Goliath

the Philistine, and

through this

gave you as an inheritance

the city

of Gath

[which had previously belonged to Goliath], namely, David,

will you give parting gifts to his sons?

That you should abandon the kingdom of the house of David and make others kings over yourselves?!

“The houses of Achzib, to be a deception to the kings of Israel.”

Because you deceive the kingdom of the house of David and follow after the kings of Israel, therefore you will be delivered into the hand of foreign kings, who are deceitful deceivers .

Rav Ḥinnana bar Pappa said: Anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing—

it is as though he robs the Holy One, blessed is He, and the Assembly of Israel

. As it is stated: “He who robs his father and his mother and says, ‘There is no sin,’

600 , is a companion to a destructive man.”

And “his father”—

is only the Holy One, blessed is He,

as it is stated: “Is He not your Father, your Creator?” And “his mother” \-

is only the Assembly of Israel, as it is stated: “Hear, my son, the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the Torah of your mother.”

And robbery toward the Holy One, blessed is He, and the Assembly of Israel—is only this one. For the Sages instituted that one recite a blessing over each and every thing, as it is stated in tractate Berakhot: “Anyone who tastes and does not recite a blessing is called a robber, as it is stated: ‘The earth and all that fills it belong to the Lord’” .

What is “is a companion to a destructive man”?

He is a companion to Jeroboam son of Nebat, who destroyed

the people of

Israel from their Father in Heaven.

“And Jeroboam drove Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin.” Rabbi Hanin said:

Jeroboam made Israel

like two sticks that propel one another

[one strikes a person by means of the other—and it is propelled far away ], so Jeroboam caused Israel to be distanced from the Holy One, blessed is He, against their will.

And since the Gemara was speaking of Jeroboam's golden calves, the Gemara brings further material concerning gods of gold.

It is written in the Book of Deuteronomy:

“And enough gold.” The school of Rabbi Yannai said: Moses said before the Holy One, blessed is He: Master of the world! Because of the silver and gold that You lavished upon Israel until they said, ‘Enough for me,’ they made for themselves gods of gold.

A parable

they said:

A lion does not trample and roar from within a basket of straw

603 , but from within a basket of meat.

For because it has much to eat, it roars.

So Israel, because they had an abundance of goodness, made gods of gold.

Rabbi Oshaya said: Until

the time of

Jeroboam, Israel were suckled by one calf

[they were punished for the sin of one calf, which they made in the wilderness].

From here onward,

from the time of Jeroboam—Israel are suckled

by two and three calves.

That is, the sin of Jeroboam's two calves was also added to them .

Rabbi Yitzhak said: There is no calamity and calamity that comes to the world in which there is not

mixed

one twenty-fourth of a heave-weight of a litra

[a heave-weight of a litra is the small amount by which the pan of a scale tilts more to one side than to the other; and one twenty-fourth of it is an exceedingly small matter]

of the first calf

. As it is stated:

“And on the day that I make an accounting, I shall make an accounting of their sin upon them” [that is, on the day that the Holy One, blessed is He, makes an accounting of a sin against Israel, He will make an accounting against them also for the sin of the calf].

Rabbi Hanina said: After twenty-four generations

from the time of the incident of the calf—

this verse was collected. As it is stated

concerning the destruction of the Temple, which occurred in the generation of Zedekiah:

“And He called in my ears with a loud voice, saying: Draw near, you who have been appointed over the city, each man with his weapon of destruction in his hand.”

That is, the event mentioned in “And on the day that I make an accounting” drew near, namely, the incident of the calf. And from the time of the calf, which was in the days of Nahshon, until the time of Zedekiah, there were twenty-four generations .

It is written

“After this matter Jeroboam did not return from his

evil way.”

What is “after,”

after which matter did Jeroboam not return?

Rabbi Abba said: After the Holy One, blessed is He, seized Jeroboam by his garment and said to him: Return from your way

607 , and I, you, and the son of Jesse will stroll in the Garden of Eden .

He said to him

Jeroboam to the Holy One, blessed is He:

Who

will go

at the head,

I or the son of Jesse?

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to him:

The son of Jesse

will go

at the head .

Jeroboam said to him:

If so—

I do not want

[if so, I do not want] .

Rabbi Abahu was accustomed to expound

[he was accustomed to expound]

on

this matter of

the three kings

who have no portion in the World to Come.

He became weak

[Rabbi Abahu became ill].

He accepted upon himself not to expound

[he accepted upon himself not to expound the disgrace of the three kings].