Sanhedrin 103a — the Talmud in English

And he says,

the Rabbis

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because of Manasseh—

for he did not repent,

and he drew the entire people after him to sin.

Rabbi Yohanan said: Whoever says

that

Manasseh has no share in the World to Come weakens

the

hands of those who repent.

For they reason that just as Manasseh’s sins were not forgiven him even though he repented, so their repentance will not help them.

For a tanna taught before Rabbi Yohanan: Manasseh repented for thirty-three years.

And from where do we know this?

For it is written: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem, and he made an asherah, etc., as Ahab king of Israel had done.”

It follows that Manasseh served idolatry and made an asherah for the same number of years that Ahab king of Israel had done so. And Ahab served idolatry all the days of his reign.

How long did Ahab reign—

twenty-two years. How long did Manasseh reign—

fifty-five. Subtract from them

subtract from them

twenty-two years,

during which he served idolatry, as Ahab had done,

there remain

there remain

thirty-three years

during which he did not serve idolatry, but rather repented.

Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai: What is the meaning of that which is written

concerning Manasseh:

“And he prayed to Him

to the Lord

and He heeded him and tunneled

for him

and He heard his supplication and restored him to Jerusalem, to his kingdom, etc.” Why does the verse say, “and He tunneled for him,” when

“and He entreated him” would have been required!

Rather,

this teaches that the Holy One, blessed is He, made a kind of tunnel for him in the firmament, in order to accept him in repentance, because of the attribute of justice,

which was preventing Him from accepting him in repentance. And through the tunnel the Holy One, blessed is He, extended His hand and accepted Manasseh without the knowledge of the attribute of justice.

And Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai: What is the meaning of that which is written: “At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,” and it is written: “At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah,”

why does Scripture use specifically concerning these kings “at the beginning”?

And were there no kings until now

were there no kings until then?

Rather, the Holy One, blessed is He, sought to return the entire world to chaos and desolation,

as it had been in the days of Creation,

because of

because of

Jehoiakim ,

who was wicked.

The Holy One, blessed is He, looked

the Holy One, blessed is He

at his generation

of Jehoiakim, in which there were righteous people, for the artisan and the smith had not yet all been exiled—

and His mind was appeased.

And likewise

the Holy One, blessed is He, sought to return the entire world to chaos and desolation

as in the days of Creation [and this is why concerning these two kings it used the expressions “at the beginning of the reign” and “at the beginning of the reign”],

because of the generation of Zedekiah,

which was wicked.

The Holy One, blessed is He, looked

the Holy One, blessed is He

at Zedekiah

himself—

and His mind was appeased.

And we question: But

concerning Zedekiah too it is written: “And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord”!

How, then, was the mind of the Holy One, blessed is He, appeased when He looked at him?

And we say: In truth, he was righteous, but

it was in his power to protest

against his generation, so that they would not do evil—

but he did not protest,

therefore it was written concerning him, “And he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

And Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai: What is the meaning of that which is written: “A wise man judges an foolish man, and he becomes angry and laughs, and there is no rest”?

The Holy One, blessed is He, said: I was angry with

the king

Ahaz and delivered him into the hand of the kings of Damascus—

he sacrificed and burned incense to their gods. As it is stated: “And he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that struck him, and he said: ‘Because the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, I shall sacrifice to them and they will help me.’ But they were

a stumbling block to him and to all Israel.”

And on the other hand,

I laughed with

the king

Amaziah, and I delivered the kings of Edom into his hand; he brought their gods and bowed to them. As it is stated: “And it was after Amaziah came from striking the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, and established them for himself as gods, and before them he bowed, and to them he burned incense.”

And this is the meaning of the above verse: “A man”—this is the Holy One, blessed is He [who is called “the Lord is a man of war”]. “An foolish man”—these are the kings Ahaz and Amaziah. “And he becomes angry and laughs, and there is no rest”: whether the Holy One, blessed is He, is angry with them, or whether He laughs with them, they are neither afraid nor terrified before Him to return to the proper path.

Rav Pappa said: This is what people say: One should cry for the master who does not know; one should laugh for the master who does not know; woe to the master who does not know the difference between good and evil.

And this is what it means: The world says as follows: When the wise man wishes to judge and argue with people in order to return them to the proper path, whether he is angry with them or laughs with them, they are not afraid before him and do not return to the proper path.

It is written, after Nebuchadnezzar and his army breached the walls of Jerusalem:

“And all the officers of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate.”

Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai:

“The Middle Gate” is

the place where

they

would cut out halakhot [“middle”—an expression of cutting, in which the letters he and het interchange], namely, the Temple Mount and the Court, where the Sanhedrin sat ,

and now that place became the seat of the jesters of the kings of Babylon.

Rav Pappa said: This is what people say: In the place where its master hangs his weapon

in the place where the master hangs his weapon

there the vulgar shepherd hangs his pitcher

there the vulgar shepherd hangs his pitcher .

(Mnemonic: Upon a field, houses shall not befall.)

Rav Hisda said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba: What is the meaning of that which is written: “I passed by the field of a lazy man, and by the vineyard of a man lacking heart; and behold, it was entirely overgrown with thorns, nettles covered its surface, and its stone wall was broken down”?

“I passed by the field of a lazy man”—

this is Ahaz.

And he was called lazy because he sealed the Torah and abolished the service, as will be stated below.

“And by the vineyard of a man lacking heart”—

this is Manasseh.

For he erased the Divine Names in the Torah scroll and destroyed the altar.

“And behold, it was entirely overgrown with thorns”—

this is Amon,

who placed a spider on the altar, as will be stated below.

“Nettles covered its surface”—

this is Jehoiakim,

who covered his face from the light of the Holy One, blessed is He, as follows.

“And its stone wall was broken down”—

this is Zedekiah, who

was righteous, and

the Temple was destroyed in his days.

And

another matter

Rav Hisda said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba: Four groups do not receive the face of the Divine Presence:

And these are they:

A.

the group of jesters,

B.

the group of liars,

C.

the group of flatterers,

D.

the group of speakers of evil speech.

And from where do we know this?

The group of jesters

does not receive the face of the Divine Presence,

for it is written: “He has withdrawn His hand from the jesters.”

That is, the Holy One, blessed is He, withdraws His hands from the jesters, so as not to draw near them.

The group of liars—

for it is written: “He who speaks lies shall not stand before My eyes.”

The group of flatterers—

for it is written: “For no flatterer shall come before Him

.”

The group of speakers of evil speech, for it is written: “For You are not a God who desires wickedness; evil shall not dwell with You. You are righteous, and evil shall not be in Your dwelling.”

And this refers to speakers of evil speech, as it is written later in the chapter: “You shall destroy those who speak falsehood,” etc., and it is further written: “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction, an open grave is their throat; they make their tongue smooth.” Scripture says that those people will not be in the dwelling of the Holy One, blessed is He.

And Rav Hisda said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba: What is the meaning of that which is written: “No evil shall befall you, and no plague shall approach your tent”?

“No evil shall befall you”—

that the evil inclination shall not rule over you.

“And no plague shall approach your tent”—

“your tent” means your wife, for a man’s wife is called his tent . And this means

that you will not find

your

wife

in a state of

possible menstruation when you come from the road

while you desire her.

A person is more distressed over possible menstruation than over definite menstruation, because his inclination overpowers him, and he says in his heart: “She is pure, and for nothing am I withholding myself from her.”

Alternatively: “No evil shall befall you”—

that evil dreams and evil thoughts shall not frighten you.

“And no plague shall approach your tent”—

that you should not have a son or student who spoils his dish

in public.

Up to here his father blessed him

David blessed his son Solomon. For these blessings are the manner of a father blessing his son: that possible menstruation, the evil inclination, and evil thoughts should not befall him, and that his sons and students should not spoil their dish.

But the mother does not direct her attention to these matters, but rather to matters that she fears may befall and harm her son: that he be saved from stumbling blocks, and from demons and spirits. Therefore it is reasonable that the blessings

from here onward—

his mother’s blessing

of Solomon

“For He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways; they shall bear you upon their hands, etc.

lest you strike your foot against a stone],

“Upon the lion and the viper you shall tread, etc.”

Up to here is his mother’s blessing.

From here onward—

the blessing of Heaven: