Sanhedrin 109a — the Talmud in English

They said: With whom ![](pamud.bmp "

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shall we send [they said: With whom shall we send the gift]?

[They said: With whom shall we send the gift]?

We shall send with [we shall send with]

[Let us send it with]

Nahum איש Gam Zu,

for he is learned in miracles.

When he reached that lodging [when Nahum reached that lodging],

[When Nahum arrived at that inn],

he sought to spend the night [he wanted to lodge].

[he wished to spend the night].

They said to him: What is there with you [the members of the household said to him: What did you bring with you]?

[The members of the household said to him: What did you bring with you]?

He said to them: I am carrying the tax to the emperor [I am carrying a tax to the emperor].

[I am carrying a tax for the emperor].

They arose

the members of the household

at night, they opened his chest [they opened the chest],

[they opened the box],

and took everything that was with it [and took everything that was inside it],

[and took everything that had been inside it],

and filled it with earth [and filled it with earth].

[and filled it with earth].

When he reached there —

earth was found [when Nahum איש Gam Zu reached the emperor, it was found that he had brought earth in the chest ].

[when Nahum איש Gam Zu arrived at the emperor’s palace, it was discovered that he had brought earth in the chest ].

The emperor said

the emperor:

The Jews are mocking me [the Jews are ridiculing me]!

[The Jews are making fun of me]!

They brought him out to kill him [they brought Nahum out to kill him, because he had shown contempt for the king].

[They took Nahum out to kill him, because he had insulted the king].

He said

Nahum, as was his habit:

This too is for the good.

Elijah came, and appeared to them as one of them [Elijah came and appeared to those sitting before the king as one of them].

[Elijah came and appeared to those sitting before the king as one of them].

He said to them: Perhaps this earth

is not ordinary earth, but

is from the earth of Abraham our father, for he would cast earth —

they would become swords, arrows —

would they become?

They tested it —

and found it so [and found that it was indeed such earth].

[and found that it was indeed such earth].

There was a province that his armies were unable to conquer [there was a province that the king’s armies were unable to conquer].

[There was a province that the king’s armies were unable to subdue].

They cast some of that earth upon it [they cast some of the earth upon that province] —

[They cast some of the earth upon that province]—

and they conquered it.

They brought him into the treasury [they brought Nahum into the king’s treasury],

[They brought Nahum into the king’s treasury],

they said [they said to him]:

[they said to him]:

Take whatever you desire [take whatever you wish].

[Take whatever you desire].

He filled the chest with gold [Nahum filled the chest with gold].

[Nahum filled the chest with gold].

When he returned [when Nahum returned to the Land of Israel], he again passed through that same inn.

[When Nahum returned to Eretz Yisrael, he again passed through that same inn],

Those residents said to him [the people of the place said to him]:

[the members of the place said to him]:

What did you bring to the king’s palace [what did you bring to the king’s palace]?

[What did you bring to the king’s palace]?

He said to them: Whatever I took from here —

I brought there [whatever I took from here, I brought there, to the king’s palace].

[Whatever I took from here, I brought there, to the king’s palace].

They took [they too took from the earth of the place],

[They too took earth from that place],

they brought there [and brought it to the king’s palace].

[and brought it to the king’s palace].

The king’s men examined the earth and saw that it was nothing but ordinary earth!

They killed those residents

They killed those residents [they killed those residents].

We learned in our Mishna:

The generation of the Dispersion has no share in the World to Come, and so forth.

What did they do,

what did the people of the generation of the Dispersion do?

The school of Rabbi Sheila said:

the people of that generation said:

Let us build a tower, ascend to the firmament, and strike it [the firmament]

[the firmament]

with axes, so that its waters will flow .

They laughed at it in the West [they laughed at their words in the Land of Israel], because

[They ridiculed their words in Eretz Yisrael], because

if so,

if the people of that generation wanted to reach the heavens, why did they build the tower in the plain?

Let them build it on a mountain [let them build the tower on one of the mountains]!

[Let them build the tower on one of the mountains]!

Rabbi Jeremiah bar Eleazar said: They divided

the people of the generation of the Dispersion

into three groups:

One group

said: Let us ascend

to the firmament,

and sit there.

And

one group

said: Let us ascend and worship idolatry.

And

one group

said: Let us ascend and wage war .

As for the one that said, Let us ascend and sit there —

the Lord scattered them

and dispersed them throughout the entire world.

And as for the one that said, Let us ascend and wage war —

they became monkeys

886 , and spirits [without body or form],

[without body or form],

and demons [they have human form and eat and drink like human beings],

[they have human form and eat and drink like human beings],

and night-demons [they have human form, except that they have wings].

[they have human form, but also have wings].

And as for the one that said, Let us ascend and worship idolatry —

“For there the Lord confused the language of all the earth.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, confused their language so that one would not understand his fellow’s intention in worshipping idolatry.

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Natan says: They all intended for the sake of idolatry.

And the proof is: For

it is written here,

concerning the tower:

“Let us make for ourselves a name,” and it is written there,

concerning idolatry:

“And the name of other gods you shall not mention.”

Just as there —

idolatry, so too here,

concerning the generation of the Dispersion —

idolatry.

Rabbi Yohanan said:

That

tower,

the

a third

of its upper portion,

was burned.

lower third,

A third

of its lower portion, its foundation,

was swallowed

by the ground. And the

third

middle portion — it still

exists.

Rav said: The air of the tower,

that is, one who stands around that tower, sees its air, and observes its height —

causes forgetfulness.

For this was decreed concerning that place: that it cause forgetfulness . Therefore the people of the generation of the Dispersion forgot their language .

Rav Yosef said: Babylon and Borsif [they are places] —

[these are places]—

are a bad sign for Torah.

For these places cause learning to be forgotten, because they stand in the air of the tower .

What is Borsif [what is the meaning of the name “Borsif”]?

[What does this name, “Bורסיף,” mean]?

Rabbi Asi said:

Borsif — an empty pit [a pit whose waters have been emptied]. That is, a person who is there forgets all his learning.

We learned in our Mishna:

The people of Sodom have no share in the World to Come, and so forth.

The Sages taught: The people of Sodom have no share in the World to Come, as it is stated: “And the people of Sodom were evil and sinful toward the Lord exceedingly.” Evil —

in this world, and sinful —

in the World to Come.

Rav Judah said: Evil —

in their bodies,

for they were steeped in lewdness.

And sinful —

with their money,

for they did not perform charity.

That they were

evil in their bodies,

we learn from

for it is written

here that the people of Sodom were “evil,” and it is written concerning Joseph, when Potiphar’s wife sought to entice him to commit adultery, that he said to her:

“How can I do this great evil and sin against God?”

Thus, “evil” means lewdness.

And

that they were

sinful with their money,

we learn from

for it is written

here, “and sinful,” and it is written concerning charity: “And your eye be evil against your poor brother, etc.,

and there will be sin in you.”

“Toward the Lord” —

this is blessing the Name [in euphemistic language; that is, cursing].

[in euphemistic language; that is, blasphemy].

“Exceedingly” —

that they intended and sinned [that they acted deliberately ].

[that they acted deliberately ].

In the metanita it was taught

the opposite:

Evil —

with their money, and sinful —

in their bodies.

Evil with their money, as it is written: “And your eye be evil against your poor brother.”

And sinful in their bodies, as it is written

concerning Joseph and Potiphar’s wife:

“And I shall sin against God.”

“Toward the Lord” —

this is blessing the Name.

“Exceedingly” —

this is bloodshed. As it is stated: “And Manasseh also shed innocent blood in very great measure, etc.”

The Sages taught: The people of Sodom did not become arrogant —

except because of the goodness that the Holy One, blessed be He, bestowed upon them .

And what is written concerning them: “A land from which bread comes forth [for it was a full and good land],

[for it was a prosperous and good land],

and beneath it is turned as fire [and afterward it was overturned],

[and afterward it was overturned],

the place of its stones is sapphire and it has gold ore; a path no bird of prey knows, nor has the eye of the vulture seen it; the sons of pride have not trodden it, nor has the lion passed over it.”

They said

the people of Sodom:

And since

our land is

“a land from which bread comes forth and it has gold ore,”

as we have an abundance of bread,

why do we need travelers? For they come to us only to diminish our wealth!

Come, let us forget the foot of man from our land,

so that passersby will not pass through our land.

As it is stated: “The stream breaks forth from beside the sojourner; forgotten of the foot, they are diminished from man

and move.”

And this means: “The stream breaks forth” — the Holy One, blessed be He, broke forth a stream of sulfur and fire. “From beside the sojourner” — from the place toward which the stream was flowing, above, and cast it upon “forgotten of the foot” — these are those who sought to cause the foot of man to be forgotten from their land. “They are diminished from man and move” — they were diminished from their land and moved to disgrace.

Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “How long will you assail a man, will you murder all of you, like a leaning wall, a pushed fence”?

This teaches that they were

the people of Sodom

setting their eyes upon wealthy people and seating him beside a leaning wall

that was about to fall,

and pushing it upon him

so that he would die,

and then coming and taking his money .

And this is “How long will you assail” — you seek deceptions and pretexts; “you will murder all of you” through a “leaning wall.”

Rava expounded: What is the meaning of that which is written: “They dig through houses in the dark; by day they seal themselves; they do not know light”?

This teaches that they were

the people of Sodom

setting their eyes upon wealthy people

894 , and depositing perfume with him,

whose fragrance spreads exceedingly,

and

the wealthy people would

place it in their treasuries.

For it is the way of custodians to place the deposit in their treasuries, so that it would be guarded well.

In the evening they come

those who deposited the perfume,

and smell it like a dog. As it is stated: “They return at evening, they howl like a dog and go around the city.”

And they come and dig there,

in the place where the wealthy people had hidden the perfume,

and take that money

that was found there, in their treasuries.

And this is “They dig through houses in the dark; by day they seal themselves,” for the people of Sodom would close and seal their perfume in order to deposit it with wealthy people .

“Naked they go without clothing, and without covering in the cold; they lead away the orphan’s donkey, they take the widow’s ox as a pledge, they move boundary markers, they seize the flock and pasture it.” “And he is carried to the graves, and he keeps watch over the heap” .

Rabbi Yosei expounded in Sepphoris

that same verse: “They dig through houses in the dark, etc.,” and explained what the people of Sodom did, namely, that they deposited perfume with wealthy people.

They dug that night three hundred tunnels [three hundred tunnels were dug that night, after he delivered his exposition]

[three hundred tunnels were dug that night, after he delivered his exposition]

in Sepphoris.

For the thieves did as the people of Sodom had done: they deposited perfume, and through this they knew where the wealthy people deposited their money.

They came and distressed him [the people of the place came and distressed him].

[the people of the place came and distressed him].

They said to him: You have given the thieves their method [you have shown the way to the thieves]!

[You showed the thieves the way]!

He said to them: Did I know that thieves would come [could I have known that thieves would come] ?

[How could I have known that thieves would come] ?

When Rabbi Yosei’s soul departed [when Rabbi Yosei died],

[when Rabbi Yosei died],

the gutters of Sepphoris flowed with blood [the gutters of his city, Sepphoris, flowed with blood] .

[the gutters of his city, Sepphoris, flowed with blood] .

Further,

the people of Sodom said

the people of Sodom:

One who has one ox —

shall pasture for one day [one who has one ox shall pasture all the city’s animals for one day].

[One who has a single ox shall pasture all the animals of the city for one day].

One who has none —

shall pasture for two days [and one who has no oxen at all shall pasture the city’s animals for two days] .

[And one who has no oxen at all shall pasture the animals of the city for two days] .

That orphan, the son of a widow [there was among them an orphan who was the son of a widow].

[there was among them an orphan who was the son of a widow].

They gave him oxen to pasture [they gave him oxen to pasture],

[they gave him oxen to pasture],

he went, took them, and slaughtered them [he went, took them, and slaughtered them].

[he went, took them, and slaughtered them].