Sanhedrin 90b (צ:) — the Talmud in English

And it is written: “And so it happened to him, and the people trampled him at the gate, and he died.”

Thus the Lord treated him measure for measure: He was judged by the very matter that he had denied. He did not eat from there, and he was trampled under the feet of those who came to purchase produce.

The Gemara raises an objection

: But perhaps it was Elisha’s curse that caused him

to die, for Elisha had cursed him: “You shall see it with your own eyes, but from there you shall not eat”?

For Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: A sage’s curse, even when uttered for no reason, comes to pass

and is fulfilled!

The Gemara answers

: If so,

if it was indeed Elisha’s curse that caused him to die,

the verse should have written: “And they trampled him, and he died,”

and that would have sufficed.

What

is the significance of the fact that it is written, “And they trampled him

at the gate”?

It indicates

that it concerned the price of produce.

That is, the price—whether high or low—of the grain. Elisha had said that the produce would become so inexpensive that a se’a of fine flour would be sold for a shekel and two se’ahs of barley for a shekel. The officer denied this and said that such a thing was impossible.

The Gemara now discusses the primary matter of our Mishna: One who denies that there is an allusion to the resurrection of the dead in the Torah has no share in the World-to-Come.

From where is the resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah?

As it is stated

regarding the terumat ma’aser, which the Levite must give to a koen from the tithe that he received from an Israelite

: “And you shall give from it the Lord’s gift, the teruma, to Aaron the koen.”

But this is difficult: How could the Levites give a tithe to Aaron

, for is Aaron alive forever?

But he did not

enter the Land of Israel, where they would give him teruma, since he died in the wilderness!

Rather, it teaches

that Scripture

says that Aaron is destined

to

live

in the World-to-Come,

and

then

Israel

and the Levites

will give him teruma.

From here

there is proof

of the resurrection of the dead from the Torah.

The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught:

This verse was not expounded for that purpose. Rather, we derive from the word

“to Aaron”

that even the kohanim who will come after him, to whom teruma will be given after they enter the Land, must specifically be

like Aaron.

And in what way must they resemble Aaron?

Just as Aaron

was a member of the fellowship

and not an am ha’aretz,

so too his sons,

the descendants of the kohanim who will come after him, will be given teruma specifically when they are

members of the fellowship

But teruma is not given to a koen who is an am ha’aretz.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: From where is it derived that teruma is not given to a koen who is an am ha’aretz?

As it is stated: “And he said to the people, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to give the portion of the kohanim and the Levites, so that they might be strong in the Torah of the Lord.”

It follows that

everyone who strengthens himself in the Torah of the Lord

has a portion

a share—that is, teruma.

But one who does not strengthen himself in the Torah of the Lord

has no portion.

Rav Aḥa bar Adda said in the name of Rav Yehuda: Whoever gives teruma to a koen who is an am ha’aretz is as though he places it before a lion.

Just as with a lion

that takes an animal from the herd,

it is uncertain

whether it

will claw

the animal

and eat

it immediately, before it begins to putrefy,

or whether it will not claw it and eat it immediately,

but will maul and kill it merely to satisfy its appetite, and eat it afterward, once it has already putrefied,

So too, a koen who is an am ha’aretz,

when we place teruma in his hand,

it is uncertain whether he will eat it in purity or whether he will eat it in impurity.

For he is not careful to eat it specifically in purity.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He even causes him

that koen who is an am ha’aretz

to die. As it is stated: “And they shall die through it, for they profane it,”

for one who eats teruma in a state of impurity and thereby profanes it is liable to karet. There is thus a concern that this koen will eat the teruma in impurity, profane it, and become liable to death!

The school of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov taught: He even causes him to bear the sin of guilt

that is, he loads many sins upon the koen.

As it is stated: “And they shall bear the sin of guilt through it, when they eat their sacred things,”

and Onkelos translated: “When they eat their sacred things in impurity.”

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Simai says: From where is the resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah?

As it is stated: “I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan.” “

To give

you

the land of Canaan”

was not stated; rather, “

to give

them.”

This indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, promised to give our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the Land.

But this is difficult: Was the Land given to them? It was given to their children!

Rather, it teaches that our forefathers are destined to live, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to give them the Land.

From here

there is proof

of the resurrection of the dead from the Torah.

Tzedek Gam Geshem Kam—mnemonic .

Some sectarians asked

Rabban Gamliel: From where is it established that the Holy One, blessed be He, resurrects the dead?

He said to them

proofs of this

from the Torah, from the Prophets, and from the Writings, but they did not accept them from him

the sectarians did not accept his proofs, because they did not settle upon their hearts.

He brought them proof

from the Torah, as it is written: “And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, you shall lie with your fathers, and arise.”

That is: Behold, you will lie dead, and afterward you will arise, that you will live in the future. It is proven that there will be resurrection of the dead, and that Moses will arise in the future!

They said to him

the sectarians

: But perhaps

the word “arise” belongs to the continuation of the verse, and not to its beginning.

And the verse should therefore be read as follows: “

And this people will arise and stray

etc.”!

He brought them proof

from the Prophets, as it is written

in Isaiah’s prophecy

: “Your dead shall live

the dead of the Land of Israel shall live

My corpses shall arise

even stillborn infants shall live

Awaken and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is the dew of lights, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.”

They said to him,

But perhaps

this prophecy is speaking of

the dead whom Ezekiel resurrected,

for the prophet Isaiah, who preceded him, prophesied that Ezekiel would resurrect the dead in the future. We still have no proof of the resurrection of the dead that will take place in the future!

He brought them proof

from the Writings, as it is written: “And your palate is like the best wine

that goes straight to my beloved, moving the lips of those who sleep.”

That is, the lips of those sleeping in the dust move and stir. It is proven that the dead will live in the future!

The sectarians said to him:

But perhaps the lips merely move and stir in their place

that perhaps their lips merely move, within the grave, but they do not live and emerge into the air of the world, and this is

in accordance

with the words of

Rabbi Yoḥanan

below:

For Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Anyone in whose name a halakha was stated in this world—

his lips move in the grave

as it is stated: “Moving the lips of those who sleep.”

And in this manner the sectarians rejected his proofs,

until he said to them

that there was a proof from

this verse: “

And so that you may prolong your days upon the land

that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them.” “

To give

you” was not stated, but rather “them”! From here

there is proof

of the resurrection of the dead from the Torah

as explained above.

And some say: He said to them from this verse: “But you who cleave to the Lord your God are all alive today.”

The word “today” is superfluous, since it could have written simply, “You are all alive,” and that would have sufficed. From this extra word we derive that Moses said to Israel

: Just as today

all of you

are alive and

endure, so too in the World-to-Come

all of you

will

endure,

so that all of you will stand in the resurrection of the dead.

Romans asked

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya:

a.

From where is it established that the Holy One, blessed be He, resurrects the dead?

b.

And

from where is it established that the Holy One, blessed be He

knows what will be in the future?

He said to them: Both matters

the two matters are learned

from this verse, as it is stated: “And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, you shall lie with your fathers, and this people will arise and stray.”

From the beginning of the verse, “Behold, you shall lie with your fathers, and arise,” there is proof of the resurrection of the dead.

And from the end of the verse, “And this people will arise and stray, etc.,” the verse informs us that the people will eventually stray after other gods, proving that the Holy One, blessed be He, knows what will be in the future.

Those Romans asked him: From where do you know that the verse should be read, “Behold, you shall lie with your fathers, and arise,” providing proof of the resurrection of the dead,

but perhaps

the word “arise” belongs to the continuation of the verse, and it should be read as follows:

“And this people will arise and stray”?

He said to them: At least hold on to half of your answer

that is, retain at least the answer to half your question, since even according to your words, the verse provides proof

that

the Holy One, blessed be He

knows what will be in the future.

It was likewise stated: Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi

Shimon ben Yoḥai: From where is it established that the Holy One, blessed be He, resurrects the dead and knows what will be in the future?

As it is stated: “Behold, you shall lie with your fathers, and arise, etc.”

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Yosei said: Regarding the following matter,

I falsified the books of the Samaritans

56 , who would say that there is no resurrection of the dead in the Torah.

I said to them: You have falsified your Torah —

and you have accomplished nothing!

That is, you are speaking falsehood, and there is nothing to your claim.

For you say

that

there is no resurrection of the dead in the Torah?

But it says

regarding one who worships idolatry

: “He shall be utterly cut off; that soul shall bear its iniquity.” “He shall be utterly cut off”

means

in this world,

that soul will be cut off from life in this world.

If so, what is meant by what is stated

“it answers for it”—

for when [the reference is to what time?]

For what time is this referring?

is it not

is it perhaps referring to

for the World-to-Come?

This proves that there will be resurrection of the dead!

Rav Pappa said to Abaye:

Why did Rabbi Eliezer need to bring his proof from the end of the verse?

Let him say both of them,

this World and the World-to-Come, from the duplication of the words:

“He shall surely be cut off,”

that is: “he shall be cut off”—in this World; “he shall surely be cut off”—in the World-to-Come!

Abaye said to him:

They were saying to him [that there is no proof from the repetition of the wording, because]

that there is no proof from the repetition of the wording, because

the Torah speaks in the language of people.

The Gemara now cites a dispute among the tannaim concerning this matter—how they expound this verse.

As it is taught in a beraita: “He shall surely be cut off,” “he shall be cut off”—

in this World; “he shall surely be cut off”—

in the World-to-Come. These are the words of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Yishmael said to him: But is it not already stated

that karet applies, in the context of one who engages in idol worship, in another verse:

“He blasphemes the Lord, and that soul shall surely be cut off

from among its people,”!

And according to you, who expound “this World” and “the World-to-Come” from “he shall surely be cut off,” to which karet does the verse “and that soul shall surely be cut off” refer?

Are there three worlds?

Rather, the verses are expounded as follows:

“And that soul shall surely be cut off”—

in this World. “He shall be cut off”—

in the World-to-Come.

And the repetition of the wording,

“he shall surely be cut off,”

is not intended for an exposition; rather,

the Torah speaks in the language of people.

And Rabbi Akiva, who expounds “this World” and “the World-to-Come” from “he shall surely be cut off,” maintains that the verse “He blasphemes the Lord, and that soul shall surely be cut off” does not speak of one who engages in idol worship, but of one who blesses the Lord.

And we raised the following question:

As for both Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva, “it answers for it”—

what do they do with it,

what do they expound from this verse?

And we explain: This verse is expounded

as taught in a beraita: One might have thought that even if he repented,

he would remain liable to karet.

The verse states: “it answers for it.” I said

that he would remain liable to karet

only when the sin answers for it.

But if he repented, he is exempt from karet.

Queen Cleopatra asked

[the queen ]

Rabbi Meir. She said: I know that the dead will live again,

for I know that the dead will be resurrected,

as it is written: “And they shall sprout forth from the city like the grass of the earth,”

that is, Israel will in the future sprout and blossom from the city of Jerusalem . As we say in Tractate Ketubot [111a], the Holy One, blessed be He, makes underground passages for the righteous, through which they go and ascend to Jerusalem.

Rather,

there is one matter I do not know:

when they stand

for the resurrection of the dead,

do they stand naked, or do they stand in their garments?

He said to her:

This matter is learned by

a kal va-chomer from wheat. Just as wheat that is buried

[sown]

bare ,

that is, when the kernel alone is sown, without any covering,

emerges with several coverings,

for the kernels are covered by several layers,

the righteous, who are buried in their garments—

all the more so

will emerge in their garments.

The emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: You say that the dead will live

[you say that the dead will live again];

but they become dust

[for after they die, they become dust],

and can dust live?

[Can dust come to life?]