Sanhedrin 104b (קד:) — the Talmud in English

One of them said to the other: “A camel walking ahead of us

692, blind in one eye, carrying two leather flasks, one of wine and one of oil, and two people leading it, one

of them

an Israelite and one a gentile.”

The captor said to them: “Stiff-necked people! How do you know

all these things?

They said to him: “A camel

when it eats

the grass before it, from the side on which it sees it eats,

and

from the side on which it does not see

it does not eat.”

And since we see that the animal before us ate only on one side, it necessarily follows that it is blind.

“And it is carrying two leather flasks, one of wine and one of oil,”

because drops

of wine

drip down and sink

into the ground,

whereas drops of oil

drip down and float.

And since we see along the way both sunken drops and floating drops, evidently it is carrying flasks of wine and oil.

“And two people are leading it, one a gentile and one an Israelite,”

because a

gentile,

when he needs to relieve himself,

relieves himself in the road,

beside his animal, and does not conceal himself.

But

if he were an

Israelite,

who is modest,

he would relieve himself to the sides .

The captor pursued

them

after them [the camel and its leader],

and

found

that it was indeed

as they had said,

the two captives.

He came, kissed them on their heads, and brought them to his house

695, prepared a great feast for them, danced before them, and said: “Blessed is He Who chose the descendants of Abraham and gave them of His wisdom; wherever they go, they become officers over their masters.” And he released them

[set them free],

and they went home in peace.

“She weeps bitterly in the night.” These are two weepings; “

she weeps bitterly”—

why?

Rabba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: One

is for the First Temple, and one

is for the Second Temple.

For both of them were destroyed on the Ninth of Av.

“In the night”

concerns the events of the night, as it is stated: “And the entire assembly raised their voice, and the people wept on that night.”

Rabba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: That night

when Israel raised their voices in weeping

was the night of the Ninth of Av. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: You wept a weeping without cause, and I will establish for you a weeping for generations .

Alternatively: “In the night,” because whoever weeps at night, his voice is heard .

And this is the meaning of “she weeps bitterly in the night”: so that their voice would be heard and people would have compassion on them; nevertheless, “there is none to comfort her.”

Alternatively: “In the night,” because whoever weeps at night, the stars and constellations weep with him

[as their compassion for him is aroused] .

Alternatively: “In the night,” because whoever weeps at night,

since his voice is heard more distinctly, the heart of

the one who hears

his

voice

is softened, and he

weeps opposite him.

There was an incident

involving

a certain woman, the neighbor of Rabban Gamliel, whose son died, and she would weep for him at night.

Rabban Gamliel heard her voice and wept opposite her

699, until his eyelashes fell out

[because, owing to his abundant tears, his eyelashes became doubled and fell over his eyes].

The next day, his students recognized

that he was weeping because of his neighbor, and

they removed her from his neighborhood.

“And her tears are on her cheeks.” “

Her cheeks”—this is an expression of moistness and youth.

Rava said that Rabbi Yohanan said:

She is

like a

young

woman who weeps for the husband of

her youth .

For she weeps constantly, and her tears are ever present.

As it is stated: “To Me, like a maiden girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.” “

To Me” is an expression of lamentation.

“Her adversaries have become the head.” Rava said that Rabbi Yohanan said: Whoever oppresses Israel

becomes the head .

As it is stated:

“For there is no weariness to the one who oppresses her now; the former humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but the latter has burdened the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, the Galilee of the nations.”

Rava said that Rabbi Yohanan said: Whoever torments Israel

does not grow weary .

As stated in the preceding verse: “For there is no weariness to the one who oppresses her.”

“It is not for you, all you who pass along the road.” Rava said that Rabbi Yohanan said: From here,

from the prophet’s saying “it is not for you,” there is proof

for a complaint

from the Torah.

That is, when a person tells another of his trouble, he says to him: May this not come upon you as it came upon me. One who is careful to say this has not violated the prohibition of divination

.

“All you who pass along the road.” Rav Amram said that Rav said: They made Me like those who transgressed religion

. For concerning Sodom it is written: “And the Lord rained upon Sodom,” whereas concerning Jerusalem it is written

in similar language:

“From on high He sent fire into my bones, and it subdued them.”

Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, judged Me as He judged the people of Sodom.

And it is written:

“The iniquity of the daughter of my people was greater than the sin of Sodom.”

And since this was so, that Israel sinned even more than Sodom, it is difficult: Why were Israel not overturned as Sodom was overturned?

Is there favoritism in the matter?

Rava said that Rabbi Yohanan said: Jerusalem possessed an

good

quality that was superior

to one that Sodom did not possess,

and therefore it was not overturned like Sodom.

For concerning Sodom it is written: “Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom your sister: pride, abundant food, and tranquil security, but she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”

Thus, they were cruel, for they did not support the poor and needy.

Whereas concerning Jerusalem it is written: “The hands of compassionate women cooked their children;

they became food for them,” for one woman invited her friend to eat with her. Thus, they were compassionate .

“He has cut down all the mighty men of the Lord in my midst.”

All the mighty men—the Holy One, blessed be He, disqualified them and made them disqualified and crushed, like a roadway. This is

like a person saying

to his fellow: “This coin has been disqualified,”

and it has no remedy.

“They opened their mouths against you.” Rava said that Rabbi Yohanan said: Why did the letter pe precede the letter ayin

in most of the alphabetic arrangements in the scroll of Eikha?

Because of the spies, who said with their mouths—

what they had not seen with their eyes .

This is alluded to by placing pe before ayin: the spies spoke with their mouths before saying what they had seen with their eyes.

“Those who devour my people eat bread; they do not call upon the Lord.” Rava said that Rabbi Yohanan said: Whoever eats from the bread of Israel

tastes the taste of bread. But one who does not eat from the bread of Israel

does not taste the taste of bread.

For the gentiles find flavor specifically in the bread of Israel, since they enjoy robbing them . “

Those who devour my people eat bread;

they do not call upon the Lord.” Rav said: These are the judges.

Because of their sins, by which they perverted justice, my people became food for their enemies.

And Shmuel said: These are the teachers of young children,

who perform their work deceitfully .

Now the Gemara returns to the words of our Mishna, which listed those who have no share in the World-to-Come.

And we raised a question:

Who listed them?

Rav Ashi said: The Men of the Great Assembly listed them.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: The Men of the Great Assembly sought

to

add one more

to the list of those who have no share in the World-to-Come. That is, Solomon, concerning whom it is stated: “His wives turned his heart to follow other gods.”

The likeness of the image

of

David

his father came and prostrated itself before them

so that they would not list Solomon,

but they paid no attention to it.

Fire came down from Heaven and licked the fire on their benches—

but they paid no attention

even

to it.

A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: “Have you seen a man diligent in his work? Before kings he will stand; he will not stand before the obscure.”

One who completed

the construction of

My House [the

Temple, which is the House of the Holy One, blessed be He]

before

the construction of

his house—and furthermore, he

built

My House in seven years, whereas he

built

his house in thirteen years,

for he was more lax in constructing his own house than in constructing My House—and this is the meaning of “a man diligent in his work”—

“before kings he will stand”

in the Garden of Eden,

“he will not stand before the obscure”

in Gehenna—

and

nevertheless

they paid no attention to it.

A Divine Voice emerged and said: “Will it be from you that He should render payment, because you reject Him? For you choose, and not I, and so on.” “Will it be from you that He should render payment”—are you responsible for paying a person’s punishment, that you say Solomon has no share in the World-to-Come? “For you choose, and not I”—is this a question: Does the choice of who has a share and who does not depend on you?

There is no matter that depends on anyone but Me

!

The expounders of allusions

say: All of them,

all those listed in our Mishna,

will come to the World-to-Come. As it is stated: “Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is the stronghold of My head, Judah is My lawgiver. Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I will cast My shoe; over Philistia I will exult.”

That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: It is incumbent upon Me to bear the burden of these people so that they may merit life in the World-to-Come.

The Gemara now explains who is referred to in the verse:

“Gilead”—

this is Ahab, who fell at Ramot-Gilead.

“Manasseh”—

as its plain meaning indicates.

“Ephraim, the stronghold of My head”—

this is Jeroboam,

718, who came from Ephraim

[who descended from the tribe of Ephraim].