Sanhedrin 63b (סג:) — the Talmud in English

to teach that one is not flogged for it; these are the words of Rabbi Yehuda.

That is, the Torah revealed that the punishment of one who leaves the meat beyond its appointed time is the burning penalty imposed upon him by the Torah, and not a punishment of lashes.

Rabbi Yaakov says: This is not the reason,

this is not the essential rationale,

but because it is

the prohibition against leaving the meat beyond its appointed time

a prohibition whose violation does not involve an action, and every

prohibition whose violation does not involve an action is not punishable by lashes.

By inference, Rabbi Yehuda holds that one is flogged for it.

We learned in the Mishna:

One who vows in its name or affirms an oath in its name has violated a prohibition.

One who vows in its name or affirms an oath in its name

has violated a prohibition;

from where do we derive this?

As it was taught: [Exodus 23]

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

a person may not say to his fellow, “Wait for me”

beside a certain idolatry.

That is, wait for me

beside that particular idolatry.

“It shall not be heard upon your mouth”—

one may not vow in its name, affirm an oath in its name, or cause others

among the gentiles

to vow in its name or affirm an oath in its name.

Alternatively: “It shall not be heard upon your mouth”—

a warning against one who incites

individuals

and against one who causes others to go astray

the inhabitants of an idolatrous city.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

An inciter—

it is explicitly written with regard to him

a prohibition [Deuteronomy 13]:

“And all Israel shall hear and fear,

and they shall not again do anything like this evil in your midst”!

Rather: It is a warning against one who causes the inhabitants of an idolatrous city

to go astray; that is all.

“Or cause others to vow in its name and affirm an oath in its name”—

This supports the statement of Shmuel’s father, as Shmuel’s father said: It is prohibited for a person to enter into a partnership with a gentile, lest the gentile become obligated to him by an oath, and swear by his idolatry; and the Torah said: “It shall not be heard upon your mouth.”

When Ulla came, he spent the night

there

in

a city named after the idolatry located there, called

Calnibo.

Rava said to Ulla

to Ulla:

“Where did you spend the night,

where did you stay,

master?”

He said to him: “In Calnibo.”

He said to him: “But is it not written: ‘And the name of other gods you shall not mention’?”—

He said to him: “This is what Rabbi Yohanan said: With regard to every idolatry whose name is written in the Torah, it is permitted to mention its name.”

But this

idolatry called Calnibo,

where is it written

in the Torah?

As it is written [Isaiah 46]:

“Bel bows down, Nebo crouches.”

“Bel bows down; Nebo collapses.”

The Gemara proves:

And if it is not written

in the Torah,

no!

It would be prohibited to mention the name of a city named after an idolatry.

Rav Mesharsheya raised an objection

from the words of the Mishna in tractate Zavim [1:5]:

A man who experiences a discharge three times cannot become purified from his discharge merely through immersion after the discharge has ceased; rather, he must bring an offering.

If he experienced

one sighting

of considerable duration,

continuing in such a manner that the discharge flowed without interruption,

for

the measure of

three

sightings

, which is

a continuous flow of discharge without interruption for a period lasting

as long as from Magdion to Shiloh,

the time required to travel from the idolatrous site called Magdion to Shiloh,

which is

the duration of

two immersions and two dryings,

as the Sages established that the duration of an extended discharge is equivalent to the time required for two immersions and the drying that follows them—

he is a confirmed zav!—

This proves that it is permitted to mention the name of a place named after an idolatry even when it is not written in the Torah!

Ravina said: “Gad” too is indeed written, as it is written [Isaiah 65]

“Those who set a table for Gad.”

“Those who set a table for Gad.”

Rav Naḥman said: All mockery is prohibited, except mockery of idolatry, which is permitted.

And the proof is:

as it is written: “Bel bows down,

that is, the idolatry falls upon its knees because it was filled with excrement.

Nebo crouches,

Nebo defecates because it could not hold in the excrement within it.

They crouch, they bow down,

Bel and Nebo

together,

because

“they could not rescue the burden.”

This is mockery of idolatry: Scripture describes how the idols fell upon their knees and excreted, because they could no longer retain the burden of excrement within them.

And it is written [Hosea 10]

“Speak concerning the calves of Beth-aven,

referring to the calves used for idolatry that were in Beth-El.

The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear,

the inhabitants of Samaria shall worry,

for its people shall mourn over it,

because Sennacherib will take it and them,

and its priests,

the bearers of the idolatry,

shall lament over it, over its glory, for it has departed from it.”

From now on, they will no longer suffer from the heavy burden that they had been required to carry

.

Do not read “its glory” (kevodo), but “its burden” (kevido),

namely, the weight of its hindquarters and the excrement within it.

This is mockery of idolatry, since those calves were not living creatures and did not have excrement; rather, Scripture mocks them as though they had extremely heavy excrement, which weighed upon their priests as they carried them.

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written [Hosea 13]:

“And now they continue to sin, and make for themselves a molten image of their silver, idols according to their own understanding,” and so on.

“And now they continue to sin, and make for themselves a molten image from their silver, idols according to their understanding,” and so on?

What is the meaning of “idols according to their own understanding”?

It teaches

that Scripture

that each and every one made an image of his deity and placed it in his pocket.

And

when he remembered it, he would take it out from his bosom, embrace it, and kiss it.

What is the meaning of “Those who sacrifice human beings kiss calves”?

Rabbi Yitzḥak of the school of Rabbi Ami said: The priests,

who sacrificed human beings to the calf idolatry,

would seek out wealthy people, and

they would

starve the calves and make images of idols,

images of the wealthy people,

and set them

those images

beside their troughs

of the calves. The calves would become accustomed to recognizing those images as the people who fed them,

and they would take them

the calves

outside.

Once they saw them

the wealthy people whose images had always stood beside their troughs,

they would run

the calves

after them,

after the wealthy people,

and paw at them.

Then they would

say to him

the priests would say to the wealthy man, after he had seen for himself that the calves had run after him and pawed at him:

“The idolatry

[this calf]

desires you! Let the master come

sir,

and sacrifice himself to it,

to the calf!

Once he agreed to sacrifice himself, the priests would take his money.

Rava

was astonished

and said

concerning Rabbi Yitzḥak’s statement, for the plain meaning of the verse is that

this “Those who sacrifice human beings,”

the priests who sacrifice the person, are

“those who kiss calves,”

they kiss the calves afterward!

But according to Rabbi Yitzḥak,

“those who kiss calves

for the sacrifice of human beings” would have been required

to say that the priests would tell the wealthy people that the calves who kissed them intended to demonstrate their desire that they sacrifice themselves to them.

Rather, Rava said,

this is the meaning of the verse:

Whoever sacrifices his son to idolatry, the priest says to him:

the priest says:

“He has offered it a great gift; let the one who sacrificed his son come

the one who sacrificed his son

and kiss it,”

the calf.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav:

The verse says in II Kings [chapter 17], concerning those nations whom Sennacherib settled in Samaria and its cities, who made for themselves all kinds of images for idolatry:

“The men of Babylon made

for themselves for idolatry

Succoth-benoth”; and what is it?

What was the form of the idolatry called “Succoth-benoth”? It was

a hen.

“The men of Cuth made Nergal”; and what is it,

Nergal?—

A rooster.

“The men of Hamath made Ashima”; and what is “Ashima”?—

A hairless

[animal from the flock],

bald,

that is, a goat with little wool, considered bald with regard to its wool.

“And the Avvites made

Nibhaz

and Tartak”; and what are

Nibhaz and Tartak?—

A dog

[Nibhaz],

and a donkey.

“And the Sepharvites burn their sons

(and their

daughters) in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim”; and what are they,

who are Adrammelech and Anammelech?—

The mule and the horse.

The Gemara explains:

Adrammelech

is the donkey, so called because

it honors its master through carrying,

turning back and honoring its master, who is its king, by bearing and carrying the burden in place of its master.

And Anammelech,

is the horse,

because it answers its master in battle.

It fulfills his requirements during wartime, at the time of battle.

Hezekiah, king of Judah, was likewise requested by his father

Ahaz,

to do this to him,

to burn him in fire as the Sepharvites did,

but his mother smeared him

with

salamander

blood, which protects against fire so that he would not be burned.

Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: The Jewish people knew that idolatry had no substance, and they served idolatry only

in order

to permit themselves forbidden sexual relations in public.

Once the evil inclination overwhelmed them to violate the prohibitions against forbidden sexual relations, they completely cast off the yoke of Torah and served idolatry so that no one would rebuke them for those prohibitions. But the evil inclination did not overwhelm them with regard to idolatry.

Rav Mesharsheya raised an objection

from a verse that implies that the evil inclination also overwhelmed them to serve idolatry, as it is written [Jeremiah 17]:

“As the remembrance of their children

are their altars,” and so on.

And Rabbi Elazar said: This is like a person who has longing for his son.

That is, they longed for their idolatrous altars as a person longs for his son and sighs from his longing. This proves that the evil inclination overwhelmed them with regard to this as well.

The Gemara answers: This verse was stated

after they had become attached to it,

after they had attached themselves to it of their own accord and begun to cherish it; from that point onward, their evil inclination overwhelmed them to serve it.

Come and hear

a proof against the statement of Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav, from that which is written in the passage of rebuke [Leviticus 26]:

“And I shall cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols.”

The Sages said

the following:

Elijah the Righteous would go around

during the siege of Jerusalem

among

people who were

swollen with hunger,

swollen from hunger,

in Jerusalem.

Once he found an infant who was swollen and lying in a refuse heap. He said to him: “From what family are you?”—

He said to him: “I am from such-and-such a family.”

He said to him: “Did anything at all remain of that family?”—

He said to him: “No, except for me.”

He said to him: “If I teach you something by which you will live, will you learn it?”—

He said to him: “Yes.”

He said to him: “Recite every day: Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One!”