Sanhedrin 102a (קב.) — the Talmud in English

And even Ahijah the Shilonite erred

in this matter, thinking that Jeroboam only wished to test them,

and

therefore

he too signed

the matter .

For Jehu was a great righteous man

(he was a great righteous man),

as it is stated: “And the Lord said to Jehu: Because you have done well, doing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your children of the fourth generation 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.”

This was because he saw that even Ahijah the Shilonite 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, whatever a person utters with his lips, even if he does not truly intend it, will ultimately come to pass.

As it is stated

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

“Ahab

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

As a result, all the prophets of the Baal indeed gathered to him, and he killed them all [as recounted in II Kings, chapter 10].

Rava said:

Jehu

saw the signature of Ahijah the Shilonite,

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

and

therefore

he erred

and he too worshipped idolatry.

Thus, even Ahijah the Shilonite erred and signed.

As it is written

“They have deeply slaughtered at Shittim, and I am a reprover of them all.”

“They have slaughtered at Shittim” means that they slaughtered before the idolatry, for they turned aside and followed it.

Rabbi Yohanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: They have deepened

—as stated in the preceding verse, “they have deepened”—and intensified their idolatrous worship more

than

I intensified

mine.

For

I said: Anyone who does not ascend on pilgrimage—

transgresses

only

a positive commandment

589, and

if

they had said: Anyone who ascends on pilgrimage—

shall be stabbed with a sword,

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

“And I am a reprover of them all” means that the Holy One, blessed be He, said: I was not as concerned for My honor as they were concerned for the honor of their idolatry. They said that anyone who would not ascend would be stabbed with a sword, whereas I merely afflicted them with ordinary suffering: Anyone who does not ascend transgresses a positive commandment.

It is written:

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

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yosei: “

It came to pass at that time”—

it was a time prepared for calamity .

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

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

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

It is stated concerning the sin of the calf:

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

This refers to the Ninth of Av, on which the spies returned from exploring 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 was a time prepared for calamity

—it was the time when Tamar was sentenced to burning , and his sons Er and Onan died.

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

Shechem—

it is a place prepared for calamity

:

For

at Shechem they afflicted Dinah,

and

at Shechem his brothers sold Joseph ,

and

at Shechem the kingdom of the house of David was divided

as recounted in I Kings, chapter 12.

It is written:

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

(the register)

of Jerusalem.

That is, he would never return there or partake in its Temple service .

“And the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him

on the way, and he was covered with a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the field.”

What is the meaning of “with a new garment”?

Rabbi Nahman said: Like a new garment. Just as a new garment—

has no flaw

596, so too Jeroboam’s Torah—

had no flaw.

Alternatively: “A new garment,” for they innovated

Ahijah the Shilonite and Jeroboam in Torah

matters that no ear had ever heard.

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

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: All Torah scholars appeared before them like the grass of the field

(for they were low and insignificant).

And some say: All the rationales of Torah were revealed to them like a field

(just as a field is open and visible).

It is written:

“Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deception to the kings of Israel.”

Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa said: A Divine voice went forth and said to them: The one who killed

Goliath

the Philistine, and

thereby

conquered for you

the city

of Gath

(which had previously belonged to Goliath)—namely, David—

will you give parting gifts to his sons?

Will you abandon the kingdom of the house of David and appoint others as your kings?!

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

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

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

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

. As it is stated: “Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, ‘There is no transgression

600, is a companion of a destroyer.”

And “his father”—

means only the Holy One, blessed be He,

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

means 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 against the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Assembly of Israel is nothing other than this: The Sages instituted that one recite a blessing over every single 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 the meaning of “is a companion of a destroyer”?

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

the people of

Israel before 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 strike one another

(one stick strikes a person through the force of the other and is propelled far away ); so Jeroboam forcibly distanced Israel from the Holy One, blessed be He.

Since the Gemara was discussing Jeroboam’s golden calves, it brings another matter concerning golden gods.

It is written in Deuteronomy:

“And Di Zahav.” The school of Rabbi Yannai said: Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe! Because of the silver and gold that You lavished upon Israel until they said, ‘Enough,’ they made themselves golden gods.

A parable.

They said:

A lion neither tramples nor roars from a basket of straw

603, but from a basket of meat.

For when it has much to eat, it roars.

So too Israel: Because they had an abundance of goodness, they made golden gods.

Rabbi Oshaya said: Until

the time of

Jeroboam, Israel drew sustenance from one calf

(they were punished for the sin of one calf, which they made in the wilderness).

From then onward,

from the time of Jeroboam, Israel drew sustenance

from two and three calves.

That is, the sin of Jeroboam’s two calves was added to their account .

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

mixed

one twenty-fourth of a heaped litra

(a heaped litra is the small quantity by which one pan of a balance tilts more to one side than the other; one twenty-fourth of it is an exceedingly small amount)

of the first calf

. As it is stated:

“And on the day that I make remembrance, I shall remember their sin upon them” [that is, on the day the Holy One, blessed be He, visits Israel for a sin, He also visits upon them something of 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

with regard to 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 are appointed over the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand.’”

That is, the incident referred to in “on the day that I make remembrance” had drawn near, namely, the incident of the calf. From the calf, which occurred 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 the meaning of “after,”

after which matter did Jeroboam not return?

Rabbi Abba said: After the Holy One, blessed be He, seized Jeroboam by his garment and said to him: Retract

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

He said to him

Jeroboam said to the Holy One, blessed be He:

Who

will walk

at the head,

I or the son of Yishai?

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

The son of Yishai

will walk

at the head .

Jeroboam said to Him:

If so—

I do not want it

(if so, I do not want it) .

Rabbi Abbahu was accustomed to expound

(he was accustomed to expound)

on

this matter of

the three kings

who have no share in the World to Come.

He became weak

(Rabbi Abbahu became ill).

He accepted upon himself not to expound

(he accepted upon himself not to expound the disgrace of the three kings).