Sotah 42a (מב.) — the Talmud in English

And it is written

afterward, after Jeremiah left Jerusalem for the land of Benjamin:

"

And he was at the Gate of Benjamin, where there was an official in charge, whose name was Iraiah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah.

And he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying: You are defecting to the Chaldeans.

And Jeremiah said: It is a lie; I am not defecting to the Chaldeans."

And it is written: "

And he did not heed him

and Iraiah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials"!

Thus Jeremiah fell into the hands of Iraiah, the grandson of Hananiah, because he had flattered Hananiah.

And Rabbi Elazar said:

e. Niddah:

Any community in which there is flattery is abhorrent like a niddah.

As it is stated: "

For the community of the flatterer is solitary," and

"solitary" means a niddah,

as in the cities overseas they call a niddah "

solitary."

And the Gemara explains:

What

is the meaning of the expression

"solitary"?

This one is separated"

this woman is separated

from her husband.

And Rabbi Elazar said:

f. Exile:

Any community in which there is flattery will ultimately

in the

end

be

exiled.

For

it is written here: "

For the community of the flatterer is solitary,"

and it is written there: "

And you shall say in your heart: Who has borne these for me, while I was bereaved and barren, exiled and cast away?"

And since there it juxtaposes exile with being solitary, the word "solitary" written with regard to flattery also indicates that ultimately there is exile.

Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba said:

There are four groups that do not receive the Divine Presence,

and these are they:

The group of scoffers, the group of flatterers, the group of liars, and the group of speakers of lashon hara.

And we explain:

The group of scoffers

from where do we know this? From

as it is written: "

He withdraws His hand from the scoffers,"

meaning that the Almighty withdraws His hand from being with those who scoff.

The group of flatterers—

from

as it is written: "

For before Him"

before the Almighty

shall no flatterer come."

The group of liars—

from

as it is written: "

He who speaks lies shall not be established before My eyes."

The group of speakers of lashon hara—

from

as it is written: "

For You are not a God who desires wickedness; evil shall not dwell with You"

shall not dwell with You

evil,"

meaning:

You are righteous, O Lord,

and therefore

evil shall not dwell in Your dwelling place!

And the "evil" written here refers to speakers of lashon hara, as is written later in the psalm: "For there is no truth in his mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they make their tongue smooth."

We have completed Tractate Sotah, chapter: These are recited.

Introduction:

In the previous chapter (32b), it was explained that there are matters that may be recited in any language, and matters that must be recited in the sacred tongue. One of the matters that must be recited in the sacred tongue is: “The anointed for war when he speaks to the people.”

In the chapter before us, the tanna comes to explain the matter of “the anointed for war”: what he says to the people and how.

There are two types of wars conducted by the kings of Israel or their leaders against their enemies:

A. “A mitzva war”—for example, the war against the seven nations, such as the conquest of the Land by Joshua; the war against Amalek; and a war against any enemy that comes against them to conquer or destroy their inheritance.

B. “An optional war”—for example, a king who voluntarily wages war against other nations in order to expand Israel’s borders and increase his own glory.

In both types of war, a special kohen is appointed to speak to the people amid the battle formations, to address them and strengthen their hearts, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 20:1–2): “When you go forth to war against your enemies and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, you shall not fear them, for the Lord your God is with you, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the köhen shall approach and speak to the people.” The High Priest appointed him, and when he was appointed for this purpose, they anointed him with the anointing oil. Therefore, he was called “the anointed for war.”

Mishna:

The köhen who was appointed to be

the anointed for war

would speak twice to the people, as explained in the Gemara: once at the border (sefer) of Israel, and once during the war, before the battle formation,

and

when

he

spoke to the people, he would speak in the sacred tongue,

as it is stated:

“And it shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the köhen shall approach” (Deuteronomy 20) —

this is the anointed for war,

who was appointed and anointed with the anointing oil so that he could say to the people the words that follow,

“And he shall speak to the people” —

in the sacred tongue.

This is learned by a gzera shava from the expression “and he shall speak” stated here, while regarding the Ten Commandments it is stated (Exodus 19:19): “Moses would speak.” Just as there, the speech was in the sacred tongue, so too here, it was in the sacred tongue.

“And he shall say to them: Hear, O Israel, you are approaching today for battle against your enemies” —

and not against your brothers,

that is,

not Judah against Simeon, nor Simeon against

Benjamin,

since both were of the people of Israel,

The difference is

that if you fall into their hands, they will have mercy on you, as it is stated

regarding the war waged by Pekah son of Remaliah when he fought Ahaz and captured many of the people of Judah. The prophet Oded said to them: “The wrath of the Lord against Judah has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a fury that has reached heaven. And now you intend to subject the people of Judah and Jerusalem to yourselves as slaves? Hear me and return the captives.”

(II Chronicles 28:15–16) “And the men who were designated by name rose up and took hold of the captives, and they clothed all their nakedness from the spoil and clothed them,

and they shod them, gave them food and drink, anointed them, and led all the feeble among them on donkeys —

all those who were unable to walk on their feet, they led on donkeys —

and brought them to Jericho, the city of palms, alongside their brothers; and they returned to Samaria, etc.”

Thus, the Israelites took pity on the two hundred thousand captives from Judah and Jerusalem who had fallen into their hands,

but now

you are going to battle

against your enemies,

and if you fall into their hands, they will not have mercy on you.

Therefore, you must fight with courage and utter self-sacrifice. The köhen continues and says: “

a.

Let your hearts not be faint;

b.

do not fear;

c.

do not panic;

d.

and do not be terrified before them.”

These four expressions correspond to the stratagems of the enemy, intended to introduce confusion and panic into the camp opposing them.

“Let your hearts not be faint” —

because of the neighing of horses

and the sharpening of swords that you hear in the enemy camp. “

Do not fear” —

because of the clashing of shields

of the soldiers, who strike their shields against one another to make noise,

and the multitude of the kalagsin [

the large numbers of troops].

“Do not panic” —

to flee

from the sound of horns

that they blow to frighten them.

“Do not be terrified” —

because of the sound of the enemy’s screams

.

“For the Lord your God, Who goes with you”

in war,

they

the enemies

come

and trust

in the victory of

their army’s commander, who is

flesh and blood,

But you are coming with the victory of the Omnipresent.

The Philistines came

to battle

with the victory of Goliath,

trusting in his might.

What was his end?

In the end, he fell by the sword, and they fell with him.

The Ammonites came

to battle

with the victory of Shobach,

who was the army commander of Hadadezer, king of Ammon.

What was his end?

In the end, he fell by the sword, and they fell with him.

But you are not so;

you do not place your trust in flesh and blood.

“For the Lord your God, Who goes with you to fight for you, etc.”—this is the camp of the Ark,

for the Ark goes with the camp of Israel that goes out to war, and the Tablets are inside it. Thus, the Shekhinah is with you in your camp:

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: “And he shall speak to the people”—in the sacred tongue.

And we raise a difficulty concerning this:

What is he saying?

How do we learn from the verse that he spoke in the sacred tongue?

This is what it is saying:

This is the learning: we learn it by means of a gzera shava,

as it is stated

here with the expression

“and he shall speak,”

while there,

in the account of the Ten Commandments, it

says

(Exodus 19:19): “Moses would speak, and God would answer him with a voice.”

Just as there,

the words of God and Moses at the giving of the Ten Commandments were

in the sacred tongue,

so too here, in the sacred tongue.

The Sages taught:

“And the köhen shall approach and speak to the people.”

One might have thought that any köhen he wished

could approach to speak?

The verse states

later in the passage:

“And the officers shall speak.”

Just as the officers are appointed,

having been appointed for this purpose,

so too the köhen

must be

appointed,

having been appointed for this purpose, to speak to the people.

And say

perhaps

the High Priest

could approach to speak to the people without being appointed for this purpose, since he has already been appointed as High Priest?

The Gemara answers: he must be

similar to an officer.

Just as an officer has someone appointed over him,

for there is a judge appointed over him, and the officer compels those whom the judge instructs him to compel,

so too the köhen

who speaks to the people must be a köhen

who has someone appointed over him,

and we raise an objection:

Does the High Priest not also have a king over him?

The Gemara answers:

It is referring to his service,

meaning that he must be a köhen who has someone appointed over him with regard to his service.

And say that it is the deputy

High Priest who speaks to the people without being appointed for this purpose, since he has already been appointed as deputy and has someone appointed over him.

The Gemara answers:

A deputy

High Priest

is not considered appointed,

for he was not appointed to speak to the people, but for another purpose.

As it was taught: Rabbi Hanina, deputy of the priests, said: Why is a deputy appointed?

For what purpose is he appointed and prepared?

So that if a disqualification befalls the High Priest, he enters and serves in his place,

but as long as no disqualification befalls the High Priest, the deputy has no elevated status:

We learned in the Mishna: It is written in the verse,

“And he shall say to them: Hear, O Israel”:

What is different about “Hear, O Israel”

that he begins with this expression?

Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai:

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel:

Even if you have fulfilled only the recitation of Shema in the morning and in the evening, you will not be delivered into their hands,

of the enemies.

We learned in the Mishna: It is written in the verse,

“Let your hearts not be faint, do not fear, etc.”

The Sages taught: He speaks with them twice

the köhen, once

at the border

of Israel,

and

once

during the war,

before the battle formation.

What does he say at the border

to the people?