Sanhedrin 107b (קז:) — the Talmud in English

“In Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.” And

elsewhere

it is written: “In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, etc.” And these six months

mentioned here

are not counted

[they are not mentioned] in the first verse.

Infer from this that

he

was afflicted with leprosy

for six months, and during those six months his reign was not complete.

David said before Him

after receiving the afflictions:

“Master of the Universe, forgive me for that sin.”

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

“You are forgiven.”

David said to Him:

“Grant me a sign for good, so that my enemies will see and be ashamed, for You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me!”

Grant me a sign so that everyone will see that my sin has been forgiven!

He said to him: In your lifetime—

I will not make known

that your sin has been forgiven.

But I will make it known

this

during the lifetime of your son Solomon.

And where did the Holy One, blessed be He, make this known?

When Solomon built the Temple, he sought to bring

the

Ark into the Holy of Holies.

The gates clung to one another,

and they did not wish to open.

Solomon said

twenty-four

supplications —

but he was not answered.

He said: “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, everlasting doors, that the King of glory may enter. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.” And it is stated: “Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift yourselves up, everlasting doors, that the King of glory may enter, etc.”—

but he was not answered.

Once he said: “Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember the kindnesses of David Your servant,”

mentioning the kindnesses of his father David,

he was immediately answered.

At that moment, the faces of David’s enemies became like the underside of a pot

[their faces grew black like the underside of a pot, which is black] from their shame,

and all Israel knew that the Holy One, blessed be He, had forgiven

David

for that

sin.

Gehazi—

how do we know that he has no share in the World-to-Come?

As it is written: “And Elisha went to Damascus,” and then: “And Elisha came.” Where had he gone

[where did he go]?

Rabbi Yohanan said: He went to bring

Gehazi

back in repentance. But he did not repent.

He said to

Gehazi:

“Repent!”

He said to him: This is what I received from you: One who sins and causes the public to sin—

they do not enable him to repent .

What did he do

[what did Gehazi do]?

Some say: He suspended a magnetic stone

[a magnet]

beneath Jeroboam’s sin

[the calves of idolatry that Jeroboam had made],

and

by means of this

he kept it suspended between heaven and earth .

In this way he caused the public to sin, as they believed that there was substance to that idolatry and worshipped it.

And some say: He engraved the Divine Name

of Heaven

in the mouth of

the idol,

and

by means of this

it would proclaim and say: “I am

the Lord your God”

and “You shall have no other gods.”

The listeners thought that there was substance to it and worshipped it.

And some say: He drove away the Sages from before him

[he kept students from studying before Elisha].

As it is stated

after Elisha had dismissed Gehazi from serving him:

“And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha: Behold now, the place where we dwell before you is too cramped for us.” From this

[it follows]

that until now it had not been cramped

[until then the place had not been cramped].

This was because until then, when Gehazi served Elisha, he would drive away students from studying before him, and therefore the place was sufficient. But now, when he was removed from before him, many students came, and the place became cramped.

The Sages taught: The left hand should always push away—

and the right

draw near .

This is unlike Elisha, who pushed Gehazi away with both hands,

both with the left and with the right [the censor’s omission:

and unlike Joshua ben Perahya, who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away with both hands].

Gehazi—

how do we know that Elisha pushed him away with both hands?

As it is written

after Elisha healed Naaman of his leprosy, when Naaman wished to give Elisha a gift and Elisha refused, and afterward Gehazi went to Naaman and falsely said that Elisha had sent him to take a talent of silver and two changes of garments:

“And Naaman said: Be persuaded to take talents. And he urged him, and bound talents of silver, etc.”

[“Be persuaded”—swear to me that Elisha truly sent you. “And he urged him”—Gehazi urged him to give it to him].

Afterward, when Gehazi returned to Elisha:

“And Elisha said to him: From where, Gehazi? And he said: Your servant went nowhere. And he said to him: Did my heart not go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money and to take garments and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and cattle and servants and maidservants?”

[“Did my heart not go, etc.”—meaning, do you think that my heart did not go with you and see when Naaman turned his chariot toward you and gave you these things?].

There is a difficulty: What is the meaning of what the verse says, “and to take garments and olive groves and vineyards and sheep, etc.”?

Did he take all that

[did Gehazi take so many things]? After all, only

money and garments did he take

[those were the things he took]!

Rabbi Yitzhak said: At that moment, Elisha was sitting and expounding on

the subject of

the eight creeping creatures.

Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was afflicted with leprosy.

That young girl who had been captured from the Land of Israel said to him

[that girl who had been captured from the Land of Israel]:

“If you go to Elisha,

he will heal you”

[if you go to Elisha, he will heal you of your leprosy].

When

[when Naaman came to Elisha],

he said to him

Elisha:

“Go

[go]

immerse in the Jordan.”

He said to him

Naaman:

“Are you mocking me

[are you ridiculing me], by saying that I will be healed through immersing in the Jordan?!

Those who were with him said to him

[those who were with Naaman said to him]:

“What difference does it make to you? Go and try it”

[what does it matter to you? Go and try the matter].

He went and immersed in the Jordan—

and was healed

[Naaman went and immersed in the Jordan—and was healed of his leprosy].

He came and brought him everything that he had taken—

but he was unwilling to accept anything from him

[Naaman came and brought everything he had with him to Elisha as a gift, but Elisha did not wish to accept anything from him].

Gehazi departed from before Elisha

[he left Elisha],

went and took what he took

[he went and took from Naaman what he took],

and concealed it

[he concealed what he took somewhere so that Elisha would not know about it].

When he came

[when Gehazi returned to Elisha],

Elisha saw that his leprosy was flowering over his head

[he saw leprosy spreading over his head].

He said to him

Elisha:

“Wicked one! Has the time come to take the reward for the eight creeping creatures?”

This is why he mentioned all those things: money, garments, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, servants, and maidservants—to say: Do you think you can purchase all those things as the reward for the eight creeping creatures?

And the verse concludes that Elisha said to him:

“The leprosy of Naaman shall therefore cling to you and to your descendants forever.” And he departed from his presence leprous, like snow.

This is how he pushed him away from before him with both hands.

And this is what is stated later:

“And there were four men afflicted with leprosy at the entrance of the gate.” Rabbi Yohanan said:

Those four lepers were

Gehazi and his three sons .

[the censor’s omission:

Joshua ben Perahya,

who pushed him away with both hands]—

what is this?

When King Yannai killed the Sages

[when King Yannai killed the Sages],

Joshua ben Perahya and Jesus

[who was his student]

went to Alexandria in Egypt.

When there was peace

[when peace returned between Yannai and the Sages, and it was no longer dangerous for the Sages to be in the Land of Israel],

Shimon ben Shetah sent him

[he was Yannai’s wife’s brother and had not fled]:

“From me,

[from me],

Jerusalem, the holy city, to you

[to you],

Alexandria of Egypt: My sister! Your husband

[that is, Joshua ben Perahya]

dwells within you, while I sit desolate

[it is as though I sit widowed and desolate].

Rabbi Joshua ben Perahya arose

and

came. He happened upon an inn

[an inn presented itself to him along the way],

and they accorded him great honor

[and they showed him great honor there].

Rabbi Joshua

said:

“How beautiful is this inn.”

He intended to say that its deeds were despicable.

Jesus thought that Rabbi Joshua meant to say that the innkeeper was beautiful, and therefore

he said to him

Rabbi Joshua:

“Rabbi, her eyes are round”

[bulging] !

He said to him: Wicked one! Is this what you occupy yourself with?

He brought out four hundred shofarot—

and excommunicated him

[he brought out four hundred shofarot and excommunicated him].

He came before him several times

[Jesus came before Rabbi Joshua several times], and

said to him: “Accept me”

[accept me again]!

He paid him no attention

[Rabbi Joshua paid no attention to his words].

One day, he was reciting the Shema

[one day Rabbi Joshua was reciting the Shema]. And at that time

he came

Jesus

before him

[Jesus came before him].

He intended to accept him

[Rabbi Joshua intended at that moment to accept him in repentance],

but gestured to him with his hand

[he made a hand gesture indicating that he should wait until he had finished].

But

he,

Jesus, misunderstood the matter, and

thought: “He is pushing me away”

[by this hand gesture he is indicating that he is again pushing me away from before him].

He went

[Jesus went],

stood a brick upright

[he set a brick on its side],

and bowed down to it.

Rabbi Joshua

said to him:

“Repent”

[return]!

He said to him: “This is what I received from you: Anyone who sins and causes the public to sin—

they do not enable him to repent .

And the Master said: Jesus practiced sorcery and incited and led Israel astray .

This is the end of the censor’s omission].

It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: With regard to the evil inclination, a child, and a woman, the left hand should push

them away

and the right hand should draw them near.

With regard to the evil inclination: One should not distance it from oneself entirely, for if so, one diminishes the perpetuation of the world. On the other hand, one should not draw it entirely near, for if so, one will come to prohibition, as he will be unable to conquer his inclination regarding a sinful matter.

With regard to a child and a woman: Their judgment is light. If one draws them near with both hands and does not discipline them, they will adopt a wayward culture. But if one distances them entirely, one drives them from the world.

The Sages taught: Elisha suffered from three illnesses:

One

because

he incited bears against the children.

And one

because

he pushed Gehazi away with both hands.

And one—

the illness

from which he died.

As it is stated: “And Elisha became ill with the illness from which he would die, etc.”

[The end of the verse is: “from which he would die.” These are the three illnesses: “became ill,” “his illness,” and “from which he would die.”]

Until

the time of

Abraham, there was no old age

[there were no signs of old age in a person]. Rather, when a person’s time to die arrived, he would die immediately. Therefore, it was not apparent who was old and who was young.

And since Isaac’s facial features were like those of Abraham ,

anyone who saw Abraham would say: “This is Isaac.”

And

anyone who saw Isaac would say: “This is Abraham”

[anyone who saw Abraham would mistake him for Isaac, and vice versa].

Abraham prayed for mercy that he should have old age

[he prayed for mercy that old age should come upon him] , and it came upon him.

As it is stated: “And Abraham was old, advanced in days” .

Until

the time of

Jacob, there was no illness

[there were no illnesses]. Since this was so, a person did not know that he was about to die, and could not call his sons to come, each from his own place, to be present at the time of his death.

He prayed for mercy

[Jacob prayed for mercy]—

and there was illness

[and illness came into existence].

As it is stated: “And he said to Joseph: Behold, your father is ill.”

When he heard that his father was ill, he knew that he had to come visit him, so that Jacob could give him instructions before his death.

Until the time of Elisha, there was no person who became ill and recovered

[there was no sick person who was healed]; rather, when a person became ill, he always died from that illness.

Then Elisha came and prayed for mercy—

and he recovered

[Elisha came and prayed for mercy—and the person was healed].

As it is stated: “And Elisha became ill with the illness from which he would die.”

This indicates that there was another illness from which he did not die, but recovered.

Mishna:

The generation of the Flood—

has no share in the World-to-Come, and will not stand in judgment. As it is stated: “My spirit shall not contend with man forever.”

And the verse is expounded as follows: They have

neither judgment,

for they do not stand in judgment [this is the meaning of “shall not contend”],

nor spirit

to be with the righteous, who have a share [this is the meaning of “My spirit”].

The generation of the Dispersion -

has no share in the World to Come, as it is stated: “And the Lord scattered them from there across the face of all

the earth.”

This is how they expound the verse:

“And the Lord scattered them” -

in this world. “And from there the Lord scattered them” -

in the World to Come .

The people of Sodom -

have no share in the World to Come, as it is stated: “And the people of Sodom were wicked and sinful toward the Lord, exceedingly.”

This is how the verse is expounded:

“Wicked” -

in this world. “And sinful” -

in the World to Come. But

they

stand in judgment .

Rabbi Nehemiah says: Both these and those,

both the people of the generation of the Flood and the people of Sodom -

do not stand in judgment.