Sotah 38b (לח:) — the Talmud in English

As it is stated: “

Tell them,”

and we expound: “them” is like “that which is theirs,” to teach:

the saying

is a warning to the kohanim to raise their hands

from their own [that is,

from the kohanim]

it shall be!

And the halakha is in accordance with Abaye

who says that one does not call out “kohen” to a single kohen.

But the halakha is not in accordance with Rav Ḥisda

who says that the kohen recites the words for them.

A mnemonic

for the following statements of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: 1.

desires; 2.

b.

for blessing; 3.

c.

platform; 4.

d.

with the Temple service; 5.

e.

cup; 6.

f.

recognizes; 7.

g.

benefits; 8.

h.

calf.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

a. Desires:

From where is it derived that the Holy One, blessed be He, desires the Priestly Benediction—

As it is stated: “

And they shall place My name upon the children of Israel, and I shall bless them,”

the verse thereby made the matter dependent upon the children of Israel: the Priestly Benediction is the placing of His name upon the children of Israel. It did not make it a need of Israel, but rather a need of the Omnipresent.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

b. For blessing:

Every kohen who blesses

is

blessed, and a

kohen

who does not bless is not blessed—

As it is stated: “

And I will bless those who bless you.”

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

c. Platform:

Every kohen who does not ascend to the platform

to bless

transgresses three positive commandments: “

Thus shall you bless

the children of Israel.” “

Tell them.” “

And they shall place My name

upon the children of Israel.”

Rav said: We are concerned that perhaps he is the son of a divorced woman or a halutza

that is, he is a ḥalal, and the status of kohenhood does not apply to him].

And they do not disagree,

for Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi also holds that there is concern that he may be a ḥalal. Rather, this is the difference between them:

This applies when he ascends occasionally,

as when the kohen sometimes ascends to the platform on festivals and appointed times.

This applies when he does not ascend

even

occasionally,

for then we are concerned that he may be a ḥalal.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

d. With the Temple service:

Every kohen who does not ascend during the service [that is,

he does not ascend to the platform before the prayer leader concludes “Retzeh”],

may no longer ascend—

As it is stated: “

And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he descended

afterward

from performing the sin-offering, the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings.”

Just as there,

Aaron blessed Israel

during the

time of

the service,

as he completed the service afterward,

so here,

he must ascend

during the service.

And we challenge this:

Is that so

[but this is not the case], for:

But Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi ascended

to the platform after “Retzeh”!?

And we answer:

Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi, initially,

before they had concluded “Retzeh,”

were uprooting their feet

[they were moving their feet toward the platform], but

they did not arrive there

[they did not reach the platform] until after “Retzeh.”

And as Rabbi Oshaya taught

a beraita:

They taught this only when he did not move his feet

during the service;

but if he moved his feet

during the service, he

ascends.

And we also learned

a Mishna in tractate Berakhot: “The one who passes before the ark, if there is no kohen there other than him, should not raise his hands,” for perhaps he will be unable to return to his prayer and know how to begin “Sim Shalom,” because his thoughts are confused out of fear of the congregation; “

and

if he is confident

[if he is certain]

that he can raise his hands and return to his prayer,”

because he is certain that his thoughts will not become confused out of fear of the congregation,

he is permitted”

to raise his hands.

And we raised this matter in the study hall

[and challenged it]:

But he did not ascend during the service

to the platform!?

Rather, he moved his feet slightly

[he moved his feet a little during the service];

so here too

[here as well],

he moved his feet slightly.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

e. Cup:

The cup of blessing is given

[the cup over which Birkat HaZimun is recited]

to be recited only by one with a generous eye,

one who hates unjust gain and performs acts of kindness with his money.

As it is stated: “

He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.”

Do not read “

he will be blessed”

but rather “

he will bless.”

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

f. Recognizes:

From where is it derived that even birds recognize those with a begrudging eye,

and do not eat from what belongs to them?

As it is stated: “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us conceal ourselves from the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them alive like the grave, and whole, like those who descend into the pit. We shall find every precious wealth; we shall fill our houses with spoil. Cast your lot among us; we shall all have one purse,’”

the verse is speaking of those with a begrudging eye who love unjust gain.

And the verse says: “

For in vain is the net spread

[hunters scatter wheat and barley in their nets so that the birds will come to eat]

in the eyes of every winged creature,”

meaning: Those with a begrudging eye vainly lose what they place in the net, for even the winged creatures recognize them and do not benefit from that food.

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

g. Benefits:

Anyone who benefits from one with a begrudging eye transgresses a negative commandment.

As it is stated: “

Do not eat the bread of one with an evil eye

and do not desire his delicacies.

For as he reckons

[with a kamatz under the shin and an open ayin]

within himself, so is he

[he makes the food bitter and hairy in the soul of the one with a begrudging eye; for]

‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you

[the one with a begrudging eye], but his heart is not with you.”

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: He transgresses two negative commandments:

1. “

Do not eat

the bread of one with an evil eye.”

2. “

And do not desire

his delicacies.”

And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

h. Calf:

The heifer whose neck is broken is brought only on account of those with a begrudging eye.

As it is stated: “And all the elders of that city, who are nearest to the slain one, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

All the elders of that city nearest the slain person shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

And they shall answer and say: Our hands did not spill this blood

and our eyes did not see.”

Would it enter our minds that the elders of the court [“

the elders of the city”]

are shedders of blood,

so that they need to say that they are not such people!?

Rather, “

our hands did not spill this blood” means:

He did not come into our hands and we dismissed him. “

And our eyes did not see” means:

We did not see him and leave him.

And the Gemara explains:

Not killed by us, when he

came into our hands and

we dismissed him without provisions,

and he was forced to rob people, and was killed by one who came to rob him of his provisions; this is the begrudging eye on account of which the heifer whose neck is broken is brought.

We did not see him and leave him without escort,

without a group to accompany him.

Adda said in the name of Rabbi Simlai: A synagogue that consists entirely of kohanim—all of them ascend to the platform.

And

for whom do they bless?

Rabbi Zeira said:

They bless

their brothers in the fields.

And we challenge this:

Is that so

[but this is not the case], for:

But Abba, son of Rav Minyamin bar Ḥiyya, taught: The people behind the kohanim,

who are not standing face-to-face with them,

are not included in the blessing,

as explained above, 38a; but the people in the fields do not stand face-to-face with the kohanim, so how are they blessed!? And we answer:

This is not difficult:

This

is what Rabbi Zeira said, that they bless their brothers in the fields: It applies specifically when

they are

indeed

coerced

[they are unable to attend].

This

is what we say concerning the people behind the kohanim, that they are not included in the blessing: It is because

they are not coerced

[they are not prevented] from coming to stand opposite the kohanim to be blessed by them face-to-face. Rather, the blessing is not important enough to them to make the effort required for it.

We challenge this further:

But Rav Shimi of Birtata of Shikhorei taught

[this is a place]:

A synagogue that consists entirely of kohanim: some of them

of the kohanim

ascend

to the platform,

and some of them answer amen;

thus, not all of them ascend to the platform.

And we answer:

This is not difficult:

This—

when some ascend and some answer amen—applies when

ten remain in the synagogue

apart from those who ascend to the platform, for then those ten are considered a group to be blessed on their own.

This—

when all of them ascend—applies when

ten do not remain in the synagogue

if some of them ascend to the platform. Since those remaining would not constitute a group to be blessed on their own, all of them bless the people in the fields.

The text itself: Abaye, son of Rav Minyamin bar Ḥiyya, taught: The people behind the kohanim are not included in the blessing.

The Gemara explains that this

is obvious,

for the following law is simple and entails no uncertainty:

Tall people standing before short people do not intervene

[a tall person is not considered an interruption between the kohanim and a short Israelite standing behind him], for otherwise there would be no end to the matter.

It is likewise obvious that the

podium

[the platform on which the Torah scroll is placed]

does not intervene

[does not constitute an interruption], even if it is higher than a person’s height, broad, and has partitions, because it serves the synagogue.

The matter that remains uncertain is:

What is the law of a partition

that separates between the Israelites and the kohanim?

Ta shema: As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:

Even an iron partition does not separate between Israel and their Father in Heaven.

It was asked of them:

Israelites standing on the

sides

of the priests,

what

is the halakha: are they included in the blessing?

Abba Mar bar Rav Ashi said: Ta shema

from this,

as we learned

in tractate Parah:

If he

intended—

the one purifying a person or utensils that are impure with corpse impurity—

to sprinkle

from the water of the red heifer

before him,