Sanhedrin 94a — the Talmud in English

They

that is, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi,

are superior to him

that is, to Daniel,

but

on the other hand,

he is superior to them

that is, he is superior to them.

They are superior to him, because they were prophets,

they were,

whereas he,

Daniel,

was not a prophet.

But

on the other hand,

he is superior to them, because he saw

the prophetic vision,

whereas they did not see it.

But since they did not see

the prophetic vision at all,

why were they frightened

and fled in hiding?

Although they themselves saw nothing,

their guardian angels saw .

Ravina said: Learn from this that when a person is frightened

that is, he is afraid although he does not know what he fears,

even though he himself sees nothing

at all,

his guardian angel sees it.

What is his remedy

for this?

He should jump four cubits from his place

that is, he should move four cubits from where he is standing.

Alternatively, he should recite

the

recitation of the Shema.

And if he is standing in a filthy place

where it is prohibited to recite words of Torah,

he should say this: “Go to the butcher’s goats; I am fat compared with you.”

This is a whispered incantation.

It is written:

“For the increase of authority and for peace without end, etc.”

In the word “increase,”

why is this letter closed?

The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to make

the

Hezekiah the Messiah

221, and

the

Sennacherib

Gog and Magog .

The Attribute of Justice said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe! Even David, king of Israel, who sang so many songs and praises before You—you did not make him the Messiah;

Hezekiah, for whom You performed all these miracles—saving him from Sennacherib and healing him from his illness—

and he did not sing praise before You—

would You make him the Messiah?!

For this reason it was closed.

That is, the matters that had arisen in the thought of the Holy One, blessed be He, were closed off and were not carried out .

Immediately, the earth opened

and said before Him: “Master of the Universe, I will sing praise before You in place of this righteous man; make him the Messiah.”

It opened and sang praise before Him, as it is stated: “From the edge of the earth we have heard songs: Glory to the righteous, etc.”

The end of the verse reads: “But I said: My secret, my secret! Woe is me! Treacherously the treacherous have acted, and with treachery the treacherous have acted.”

The angel of the world said

the angel to whom the entire world is entrusted

before Him: “Fulfill Your desire for this righteous man!”

A Divine voice emerged

and said: “My secret, my secret.”

That is: The hidden matters are Mine, and I know why the Messiah is delayed from coming.

A prophet said: “Woe is me”—woe is me, until when

will the Messiah come?

A Divine voice emerged and said: “The treacherous have acted treacherously, and with treachery the treacherous have acted.” And Rava said, and some say Rabbi Yitzḥak: Until plunderers come, and plunderers of plunderers.

And Rava said, and some say Rabbi Yitzḥak: Until plunderers come, and plunderers of plunderers.

That is, until plunderers attack Israel several times .

It is further written in the book of Isaiah:

“The burden of Dumah. To me he called from Seir: Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? etc.”

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The angel appointed over the spirits

where the souls are entrusted

is named Dumah.

All the spirits gathered before Dumah,

the angel appointed over them, and

said to him

as it is stated: “The burden of Dumah. To me he called from Seir”—Dumah said that the spirits had called to him concerning the exile of Seir and Esau:

“Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?”

That is: What does the Watchman, the Holy One, blessed be He, say about the exile, which is like night? When will the end of redemption come from this night?

He said: “The watchman says: Morning is coming, and also night.”

The angel told them that this is what the Watchman, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: The redemption, which is like morning, will come. But before it, there will be a long exile, which is like night .

“If you wish”

to be redeemed

“seek”

ask for mercy,

“return and come.”

Repent and come toward redemption.

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Pappias: It is disgraceful for Hezekiah and his group

that they did something improper,

that they did not sing praise until the earth opened and sang praise,

as it is stated: “From the edge of the earth we have heard songs: Glory to the righteous, etc.”

Similarly, you can say

concerning what is stated in the passage about Jethro:

“And Jethro said: ‘Blessed is the Lord, Who rescued you.’”

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Pappias: It is disgraceful for Moses and the six hundred thousand

the entire people of Israel,

that they did not say “Blessed” until Jethro came and said: “Blessed is the Lord.”

It is further written there:

“And Jethro rejoiced.”

The Sages disagreed about the meaning of this:

Rav and Shmuel.

Rav said: He passed a sharp sword over his flesh.

He circumcised himself and converted.

And Shmuel said: His entire flesh became ridged and ridged

wrinkle upon wrinkle,

—

was distressed over the downfall of Egypt .

Rav said: This is what people say: A convert,

a proselyte,

until ten generations

until ten generations ,

do not insult an Aramean in his presence

do not insult a gentile before him.

It is further written in Isaiah, in the prophecy concerning the downfall of Assyria:

“Therefore the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, will send leanness among his stout ones.”

What is the meaning of “among his stout ones, leanness”?

The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let Hezekiah, who has eight names, come and punish Sennacherib, who has eight names “among his stout ones” is an expression related to eight .

[«в его тучных» — выражение, означающее «восемь»] .

From where do we know that

Hezekiah

had eight names?

As it is written: “For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us, and authority rests upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father, Everlasting, Prince, Peace.”

These are the eight names: Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father, Everlasting, Prince, and Peace.

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

But there is

another name, since he was also called

Hezekiah!

The Gemara explains: The reason he was called Hezekiah was

because God strengthened him .

Alternatively: Hezekiah—

because he strengthened Israel toward their Father in Heaven.

Sennacherib,

from where do we know that he had eight names?

As it is written concerning him: “Tiglath-pileser,” “Pileser,” “Shalmaneser,” “Pul,” “Sargon,” “Asenappar,” “Rabba,” and “Vekira.”

The Gemara raises a difficulty:

But there is

also the name

Sennacherib!

The Gemara explains: The reason he was called Sennacherib was

because he incited conflict .

Alternatively: Because he spoke insolent words against Heaven,

as is brought below.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Why did that wicked man merit being called Asenappar Rabba Vekira

where “Rabba Vekira” means great and honored?

Because he did not speak disparagingly of the Land of Israel. As it is stated,

Sennacherib’s emissary said to Israel, when he sought to persuade them to submit to him: “Hear the word of the king, etc. Thus said the king of Assyria: Make peace with me and come out to me, etc.,

until I come and take you to a land like your own land.”

He did not say: “To a land better than your own land.”

Rav and

Shmuel

disagreed concerning Sennacherib, who told Israel that he would take them to a good land like their own.

One said: He was a clever king.

And the other said: He was a foolish king .

According to the one who says that he was a clever king,

Sennacherib reasoned to himself:

If I tell them that it is better than your land

if I say to them that the land is better than their own land,

they will say

they will say to me:

“You are lying,”

for there is no land better than the Land of Israel!

And according to the one who says that he was a foolish king,

it was because

if so,

if the truth is as he said, that his land was not better than the Land of Israel,

what advantage did he have?

How did he intend to persuade them? In what way would they be better off in his land?

It is written concerning Sennacherib’s exile of the ten tribes: “He settled them in Halah, in Habor, by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of Media.”

To where did he exile them

that is, where are these places located?

Mar Zutra said: He exiled them to Africa.

He exiled them there.

And Rabbi Ḥanina said: To the mountains of Salug.

But Israel,

when Sennacherib exiled them,

spoke disparagingly of the Land of Israel.

When they reached “Shush,”

when they came to a place called Shush,

they said: “It is equal to our land.”

This place is as good as our land .

When they reached

the place called

“Almin,” they said:

This place is equal

to the eternal city

that is, to Jerusalem, which is called the eternal house.

When they reached

the place called

“Shush Terei,” they said: “Twice as much.”

That is, this place is twice as beautiful as our own. These places were called by these names because of their statements.

It is written later in the verse quoted above, “Therefore the Lord, the Lord, etc.”:

“And beneath his glory He will kindle a burning

like the burning of fire.”

That is, all of Sennacherib’s armies were burned.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

Usually, “his glory” means his body and flesh. If so, “beneath his glory” \-

means the soul within the body. But here, where it says,

“beneath his glory”—

and not his actual glory

that is, it does not literally mean his body, but refers to his garments, which are also called glory,

as Rabbi Yoḥanan called garments

garments:

“my honorers,”

because they bring honor to a person. Accordingly, the meaning of the verse “And beneath his glory He will kindle a burning like the burning of fire” is that the body beneath his garments was burned.

Rabbi Elazar said:

The meaning is that

beneath his actual glory,

that is, beneath his body, he was burned, and

as

was the case with

the burning of Aaron’s sons. Just as there,

in the burning of Aaron’s sons, there was

burning of the soul, and

the

body

remained

intact, so here,

the meaning is

burning of the soul, while the body remains intact .

A tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa: Pharaoh

who blasphemed personally,

and not through an emissary, as brought below—and therefore the disgrace was not as great

was punished

also

by the Holy One, blessed be He, personally,

and he was not disgraced as much, since being shamed by a great person is not the same as being shamed by a lesser person .