Sotah 41b (מא:) — the Talmud in English

Therefore

the Merciful One wrote

“When all Israel comes

to appear before the Lord your God,” which indicates that it is at the time of their coming, namely,

from when the festival begins

[from the beginning of the festival], on the first day of the Festival, which is the time when all Israel comes to the Temple .

We learned in the Mishna:

“And the synagogue attendant takes the Torah scroll and gives it to the head of the synagogue”:

It occurred to us that they did this in order to honor the head of the synagogue, the deputy, and the High Priest, and therefore the attendant did not immediately give it to the king.

The Gemara infers:

Can you learn from this

from the unqualified wording of our Mishna that the halakha is in accordance with the one who says [Bava Batra 119b]:

“Honor is accorded to a student in the presence of his teacher,”

as everyone is like students in the presence of the teacher, the king, and nevertheless honor is accorded to them?

Abaye said:

There is no proof from here, because

everything

[everything that they do there] is

for the honor of the king,

as through this the king is honored, since they demonstrate his ascending levels of distinction, each one higher than the next.

We learned in the Mishna:

“And the king stands and receives the scroll, and reads while seated; King Agrippa stood and received it, and read while standing”:

And we infer: Since we learned that the king stands

“stands”

in order to receive the Torah scroll, and similarly, regarding Agrippa we learned: “He stood and received it,”

it follows that

until then he was

seated!?

And

this is difficult, for

the Master said:

“There is no sitting in the Temple courtyard except for the kings of the House of David alone.”

And from where is it established that sitting in the Temple courtyard was permitted for the kings of the House of David? For we find that they sat,

as it is stated [II Samuel 7:18]

“

And King David came and sat before the Lord

[before the Ark, which was in the City of David,]

and said:

Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me thus far?” This demonstrates that David was permitted to sit “before the Lord,” and likewise it is permitted for him to sit in the Temple courtyard.

If so, the difficulty remains: Agrippa was not of the royal house of David; how was sitting permitted to him!? And we answer:

As Rav Ḥisda said

regarding the High Priest, whose reading was

“in the Women’s Courtyard,” so too here,

regarding the king, he read

“in the Women’s Courtyard,”

which was non-sacred, and it is permitted to sit there.

We learned in the Mishna: Agrippa the king stood and received the scroll and read while standing,

and the Sages praised him:

And we challenge this: From the fact that

they praised him, it follows

necessarily

that he acted properly

[Agrippa did well]!?

But

Rav Ashi said: Even according to the one who says:

“If a prince waives the honor due to him, his honor is waived,”

but

“if a king waives the honor due to him, his honor is not waived, as it is stated:

‘You shall surely set a king over yourself.’”

And from the fact that the Torah warned Israel with a repeated expression [“You shall surely set”], we learn

“that his awe shall be upon you,”

and if he waives the honor due to him, his honor is not waived.

And we answer: It was a mitzva that Agrippa read while standing, since he waived the honor due to him for the honor of the Torah. Although, in general, a king may not waive the honor due to him,

a matter of a mitzva is different,

and he was indeed able to waive it.

We learned in the Mishna: And

when he reached “

‘You may not appoint

a foreigner over you,’ his eyes flowed with tears. They said to him: Do not fear; you are our brother, you are our brother”:

The tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Natan: At that time

when they said this to Agrippa,

the enemies of Israel

[Israel, in euphemistic language]

were liable for annihilation—

because

they flattered Agrippa!

They answered him improperly, because in truth he was not fit for kingship. Although he was not considered “a foreigner,” since his mother was Jewish, nevertheless, on his father’s side he was a slave; therefore, he could not be appointed king, because the matter was degrading.

Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta said:

From the day the fist

[the power]

of flattery

prevailed, by their answering Agrippa in this manner:

The judgments became distorted,

as the judges learned from this to flatter the litigants and did not render judgment truthfully.

And deeds became corrupted,

as the eminent saw sinners and did not protest against them because of flattery—

and

from then on

no person could say to his fellow: “My deeds are greater than your deeds!”

For since the eminent did not protest against sinners, subsequent generations learned from their evil deeds, and all became sinners.

Rabbi Yehuda of the West taught, and some say [and some say]

Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi

taught as follows:

expounded as follows:

It is permitted to flatter the wicked in this world.

As it is stated: “

The vile shall no longer be called noble, nor the miser said to be generous,”

“Miser” refers to one who constantly desires to drink wine, from the expression “my soul longs”; and in the future he will not be flattered, nor will he be called “generous.”

And since in the World-to-Come the language of prohibition is used regarding flattery,

it follows that in this world it is permitted

to flatter.

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: From here

we learn that it is permitted to flatter the wicked in this world:

From what Jacob said to Esau: “For therefore I have seen your face

as one sees the face of God, and you have been gracious to me,”

meaning that seeing your face is precious to me like seeing the face of an angel, and he intended to flatter Esau.

And Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish disagrees

with what

Rabbi Levi

said.

For Rabbi Levi said:

Jacob did not intend to flatter Esau by saying this;

rather, the parable of Jacob and Esau—what is it comparable to? A person who invited his fellow to his home,

In this way, he saved himself from being killed.

Because

and the guest recognized

that the host

had

invited him because he

wanted to kill him, the guest said to him:

“The taste of this dish that I am tasting

now is

like the dish I tasted in the king’s house!”

And through this he saved himself from death.

Because

the host thought to himself: This guest frequents the king’s house, and

the king knows him

[the king recognizes him], and therefore

he is afraid

[the host is afraid] that perhaps the king will learn that he killed him,

and

therefore

he will not kill him

[he will no longer kill him].

And this was also Jacob’s intention: He wanted to intimidate Esau and inform him that he was accustomed to seeing angels, so that Esau would fear him and not kill him.

Mnemonic

for Rabbi Elazar’s statements concerning flattery: a.

anger;

b.

embryo;

c.

Gehinnom;

d.

in his hand;

e.

Nidda;

f.

exile.

Rabbi Elazar said:

a. Anger:

Anyone who has flattery in him brings

anger

upon the world.

As it is stated: “

And the flatterers of heart arouse anger.”

Moreover,

anyone who has flattery in him

his prayer is not heard. As it is stated: “

They will not cry out, for He has bound them”!

When suffering comes upon them, their cry will not avail them.

“Two nations are in your womb,”

And Rabbi Elazar said:

b. Embryo:

Anyone who has flattery in him—even embryos in their mothers’ wombs curse him.

As it is stated: “ One who says to the wicked: You are righteous, peoples will curse him;

nations will be furious with him,”

and

“curse”

means nothing other than a curse, as it is stated

in Balaam’s prophecy: “How can I curse

whom God has not cursed?”

And

“nation”

means nothing other than embryos, as it is stated

regarding Rebecca: “Two nations are in your womb,

and one nation shall be stronger than the other”!

This is what is written: The flatterer who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” will be cursed by nations, that is, by embryos.

“their root shall become rot, and their blossom shall be blown away like dust”—meaning that they will be punished by the fire of Gehinnom.

And Rabbi Elazar said:

And Rabbi Elazar said:

c. Gehinnom:

Anyone who has flattery in him will fall into Gehinnom.

As it is stated: “

Woe to those who say of evil that it is good and of good that it is evil.

They make darkness light and light darkness; they make bitter sweet and sweet bitter.” That is, those who flatter the wicked and say of him that he is good.

And

what is written

in the verse

after it—“

Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw and stubble is consumed by the flame,

their root shall become rot and their blossom shall be carried away like dust,” meaning that they will be punished by the fire of Gehinnom.

And Rabbi Elazar said:

d. In his hand:

Anyone who flatters his fellow will ultimately fall into his hand,

the hand of the one who was flattered.

And if he does not fall into his hand, he falls into the hands of his children; and if he does not fall into the hands of his children,

ultimately

he falls into the hand of his grandchild.

As it is stated

concerning Hananiah the false prophet, who prophesied falsely about the exile of Jeconiah and the vessels of the Temple, saying that after two years the Lord would return them from their place of exile: “

And Jeremiah said to Hananiah: Amen, so may the Lord do

so;

may the Lord fulfill

your words”!

This was flattery, since Jeremiah should have told him: You are prophesying falsely.

concerning Hananiah the false prophet, who prophesied falsely concerning the exile of Jeconiah and the Temple vessels, that after two years the Lord would return them from their place of exile:

“And Jeremiah said to Hananiah: Amen, so may the Lord do

the

the Lord establish

your words”!

And this is flattery, for Jeremiah should have said to him: You are prophesying falsely.