Sotah 47a — the Talmud in English

Rav and Shmuel disagree: one says that there was one miracle

in this incident,

and the other says that there was a miracle within a miracle.

And we explain the opinion that says there was a miracle:

He maintains that, indeed,

there was a forest

there, but

there were no bears,

and the bears came by way of a miracle. [For if there had been bears in the forest, the youths would have been afraid to approach it — Maharsha].

And the one who says that there was a miracle within a miracle maintains that there was neither a forest nor bears.

Everything was created miraculously solely in order to punish the youths. And we ask: If it was a miracle,

let there be

only

bears, and let there not be a forest;

why was it necessary to create the forest, which is considered an additional miracle for Elisha? And we answer that the forest was necessary for the bears, because without it they would not have attacked the youths, since

the bears were afraid

to provoke a person when they had no nearby place to flee. Therefore, the creation of the forest was part of the miracle involving the bears, all of which was created to punish the youths. [And the Maharsha explained that if there had been no forest, the youths would have seen the bears approaching from a distance, become frightened, and fled. Therefore, the forest was necessary to conceal the bears].

Rabbi Hanina said: Because of the forty-two offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought, forty-two children were torn away from Israel.

And we object:

Is that so? But Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: A person should always engage in Torah and mitzvot, even when he does so not for their own sake, because from acting not for their own sake one comes to act for their own sake.

And his proof is:

As a reward for the forty-two offerings that Balak, king of Moab, brought, he was privileged to have Ruth descend from him, and Solomon descended from her, of whom it is written: “Solomon offered up a thousand burnt offerings.”

This indicates that he received a reward for his offerings. And we explain how Ruth descended from Balak:

Rabbi Yosei ben Honi said: Ruth was the daughter of Eglon, the son of Balak.

If so, it is difficult: Why did forty-two children die as a result of his offerings, which were a good deed even though they were not performed for their own sake? And we answer:

His intention, at any rate, was to curse,

as he wished to curse Israel and reduce their number; and here his intention was fulfilled.

We return to explain the beginning of Elisha’s incident in Jericho:

“And the men of the city said to Elisha: Behold, please, the situation of the city is good, as my master sees, and so on.”

This is apparently difficult:

Since

they had complained

that the water was bad and the land caused miscarriage, what was its advantage?

Yet, on the other hand, they said that the situation of the city was good.

Rabbi Hanin said: A place finds favor in the eyes of its inhabitants,

and despite its shortcomings, it appears good to those who live there.

Rabbi Yohanan said: There are three types of favor: A place finds favor in the eyes of its inhabitants; a wife finds favor in the eyes of her husband,

even if she is unattractive;

and a purchase finds favor in the eyes of its purchaser,

who, after buying it, does not see its shortcomings.

The Sages taught: Elisha became ill with three illnesses, one

because of the sin

of inciting bears against the children,

and he was punished because they were harmed on his account, as it is stated: “It is not good for the righteous to be punished”;

and one

because

he pushed Gehazi away with both hands,

as will be explained below;

and one by which he died.

And we derive that he became ill with three illnesses from what is stated:

“And Elisha became ill,”

the first illness;

“with his illness,”

the second illness;

“by which he would die,”

the final illness.

The Sages taught: The left hand should always push away, and

at the same time

the right hand should draw near.

It is

not

proper to act

like Elisha, who pushed Gehazi away with both hands,

pushing him away from him completely, as will be explained below,

or like Joshua ben Perahiah, who pushed one of his students away with both hands. And

we explain:

What is the incident involving Elisha? As it is written: “And Naaman said,”

the commander of the army of Aram. He was afflicted with leprosy, and the king sent him to Elisha to cure him. Elisha told him to immerse himself in the Jordan seven times. When he did so, his flesh became like the flesh of a young child and he was healed. He returned to Elisha and wished to give him a payment, but Elisha refused to accept it. Naaman went home and believed in God.

While he was on the way, Gehazi, Elisha’s attendant, ran after him and asked him in Elisha’s name for a talent of silver and changes of clothing for the sons of the prophets. Naaman said to him:

“Please,”

swear that Elisha sent you,

“and take talents.”

He gave him two talents and changes of clothing as he had requested. When Gehazi returned to Elisha, who asked him where he had come from, he replied that he had not gone anywhere at all.

And it is written: “And he said to him,”

Elisha said to Gehazi:

“Did my heart not go”

with you? Could my heart and my thoughts not have gone with you? I knew

“when the man turned from his chariot toward you,”

that Naaman had seen him turn from the chariot to greet him. And was this

the time

to benefit from a miracle by

taking money, taking clothing, olive orchards, vineyards, sheep, cattle, male slaves, and female slaves?

And we ask:

Did he take

from Naaman

all that,

that Elisha mentioned eight things? Surely he took only

money and clothing.

And we answer:

Rabbi Yitzhak said: At that time Elisha was engaged in

studying the chapter

“Eight Creeping Animals,”

and therefore he

said to him

that Gehazi had abandoned his studies in order to take money and clothing from Naaman:

“Wicked one! The time has come to receive the reward for ‘Eight Creeping Animals,’”

meaning, you will receive the reward for your Torah in this world. He intended to tell him that the Holy One, blessed be He, had arranged for him to receive a great deal of money from Naaman, so that he could purchase these eight items as payment for his study of the chapter “Eight Creeping Animals.”

Elisha concluded by cursing Gehazi:

“May Naaman’s leprosy cling to you and to your descendants forever.”

And so it happened, as we find stated:

“And there were four men afflicted with leprosy.” Rabbi Yohanan said: This refers to Gehazi and his three sons.

In this way, he pushed him away with both hands. From that time onward, Gehazi went on causing the masses to sin, and he was not granted Heavenly assistance to repent, as they expounded:

“And Elisha went to Damascus.” Why did he go? Rabbi Yohanan said: He went to bring Gehazi back in repentance, but Gehazi did not repent. He said to him: “Repent.” Gehazi said to him:

Gehazi said:

“I have received this tradition from you: Whoever sins and causes the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent.”

And we explain:

What did he do,

that Gehazi caused the masses to sin?

Some say: He suspended a lodestone

a type of stone that lifts metal from the ground

for the sin of

Jeroboam

on the calf that Jeroboam had erected in Bethel and Dan,

around its neck, and he set it between heaven and earth

so that people would believe in it.

And some say: He engraved the Divine Name

for the sin of Jeroboam

on its mouth, and it would say: “I am

the Lord your God

and there shall not be”

for you other gods; so to speak, it warned against other deities.

And some say

that he caused the masses to sin when

he pushed the Sages away from before him,

from before Elisha. And this is implied by

what is written

after Elisha pushed him away:

“And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha: Behold, please, the place where we dwell before you is too cramped for us.” This indicates that until now

as long as Gehazi was there,

it had not been cramped,

but once he pushed away the students, and the students whom he had driven away joined them, the place became too cramped for them.

And we explain the incident involving

Joshua ben Perahiah,

who pushed away one of his students:

What is it? When King Yannai was killing the Sages, Shimon ben Shetah’s sister concealed him.

Shimon ben Shetah’s sister, who was Yannai’s wife, hid her brother to save him from her husband. At that time

Rabbi Joshua ben Perahiah went to Alexandria in Egypt. When there was peace,

when Yannai stopped killing the Sages,

Shimon ben Shetah sent him

a letter, in which he wrote:

“From

me

—Jerusalem, the holy city—go to

Alexandria in Egypt, my sister; your husband

is Rabbi Joshua ben Perahiah, who was the leader of Israel [as explained in the Mishna in Chagiga 16b],

is dwelling within you, while I sit desolate.”

When Rabbi Joshua ben Perahiah read the letter,

he said: “We can infer from this that there is peace for him,”

and he set out to return to Jerusalem.

When he arrived, he happened upon a certain inn. The innkeeper rose before him with great honor;

they honored him appropriately,

they showed him great honor,

and accorded him tremendous respect.

He sat and praised how beautiful

its conduct was,

this inn

that honored Torah scholars.

One of his students said to him: “Rabbi,”

referring to the innkeeper’s wife,

“her eyes are dull,”

round and unattractive.

He said to him: “Wicked one! Is that what you are occupied with?”

You are looking at a married woman.

He sounded four hundred trumpets

proclaiming publicly with four hundred blasts

and banished him.

Every day he came

that student

before him, but he did not accept him. One day he was reciting

Rabbi Joshua ben Perahiah

the recitation of the Shema, and the student came before him.

On that day

he intended to accept him; he showed him with his hand

a sign to wait until he finished reciting the Shema, after which he would accept him. But the student did not understand the gesture, and

thought

that his teacher was signaling to him that

he was pushing him away.

He thought that he was being rejected outright, and therefore rebelled. Immediately

he went and set up a brick

as an object of idolatrous worship.

He worshipped it

and served it.

He said to him,

Rabbi Joshua ben Perahiah said to him:

“Repent.” He said to him: “I have received this tradition from you: Whoever sins and causes

the masses to sin is not given the opportunity to repent.” As the Master said:

“Jesus”

practiced sorcery, incited, led astray, and caused Israel to sin.

It was taught: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: The inclination

for sexual relations should be pushed away with regard to its harmful aspect, but drawn close with regard to its beneficial aspect, so that a person will not withdraw from having children;

a child

should not be pushed away completely, lest he flee and take his own life;

and a woman,

whose understanding is easily influenced, should not be pursued too harshly, lest she go astray. Therefore,

the left hand should push away, and the right hand should draw near.

Mishna:

If the murderer is found before the heifer’s neck has been broken, the heifer goes out and grazes among the herd

like other unconsecrated animals. The Mishna’s tanna maintains that the heifer becomes forbidden for benefit through the breaking of its neck, and not from the time it descends to the rugged valley. [Rashi].

But if the murderer is found only

after the heifer’s neck has been broken, it is buried in its place,

since it is forbidden for benefit. The laws of the heifer whose neck is broken are not nullified even though the murderer was found, because

it was over a doubt

that we did not know who had killed him

that you came initially;

the heifer’s neck was broken to atone for Israel because of the doubt, and indeed

its uncertain atonement

fulfilled its purpose

and it was completed.

Once the law of the heifer whose neck is broken was fulfilled in it, it is forbidden for benefit. Even though the murderer was found and the sin became certain, and the murderer became liable to death, the heifer remains forbidden because it atoned for the doubt. As for the murderer’s punishment, even

if the heifer’s neck was broken and afterward the murderer was found, he is put to death,

as it is stated at the end of the passage concerning the heifer whose neck is broken: “And you shall remove the blood of the innocent from your midst.” The breaking of the heifer’s neck does not atone for him. [Jerusalem Talmud; see the Gemara].

The law of the heifer whose neck is broken applies only when it is not known who struck the slain man. However, if even one witness, including a woman, testifies that he saw who struck him, the Torah considers that witness equivalent to two witnesses, and the heifer’s neck is not broken. If two witnesses arrive at the same time,

one witness says: “I saw the murderer”

at the time he killed the slain man,

and one witness says

about the witness who testifies that he saw him:

“You did not see,”

and likewise if two women came together,

one woman

says,

“I saw,” and the other woman

says,

“You did not see,” the heifer’s neck is broken.

A single witness whose testimony is contradicted by another single witness has no force, and the doubt remains as it was. But if the witness who saw the murderer came before the witness who contradicted him, the Torah considers him equivalent to two witnesses, and one witness can no longer contradict him, since one witness is not trusted against two witnesses. Therefore, the heifer’s neck is not broken, because it is known who struck him.

One witness says, “I saw,” and two witnesses say to him, “You did not see,” the heifer’s neck is broken,

because it is not known who struck him, since the witness was contradicted by two witnesses. [The Gemara explains that this refers to witnesses disqualified from testimony, so that it would not be difficult to say that even when one witness contradicts one witness, the heifer’s neck is broken].

Two witnesses say, and one says to them, “You did not see,” the heifer’s neck is not broken,

because the two witnesses are more reliable than the one who contradicts them, and through their testimony it is known who the murderer is.

When murderers increased, the rite of the heifer whose neck is broken was abolished,

because people knew among themselves who was accustomed to murder; and whenever there is someone in the world who knows who the murderer is, a heifer whose neck is broken is not brought. This period began

when Elazar ben Dinai arrived,

who was a known murderer.

And

at first

he was called “Tahina ben Perisha,”

and he would change his name from time to time so that people would not know who he was. But when he committed many murders,

they returned to calling him “the son of the murderer,”

so that everyone would know that he was a murderer.

When adulterers became numerous, the bitter waters ceased,

for the bitter waters examine the sotah only if her husband is free of iniquity,

and

therefore

Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai stopped them

, he commanded that they not be made to drink, for they would not examine the sotah if her husband, too, had committed adultery,

as it is stated: “I will not punish your daughters when they commit adultery, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, for they

separate themselves with the prostitutes; that is, God said that He would not examine them with the waters, since their husbands, too, would commit adultery like male prostitutes.

When Yose ben Yo'ezer, man of Zeredah, and Yose ben Yohanan, man of Jerusalem, died, the clusters ceased,

for they were people who had everything in them, whose Torah was complete, without the blemish of forgetfulness and dispute and we find that a person who is complete in the eyes of God is called a “cluster

as it is stated: “There is no cluster to eat, the first-ripe fig that my soul desires.”

The High Priest Yohanan abolished in his time the declaration over the tithes

so that they would not make the declaration at the removal of the tithes, “I have removed the sacred thing from the house.” And the reason is explained in the Gemara: Ezra penalized the Levites who did not come up with him from the exile, that they would not receive the tithes, but that they should give them to the priests; therefore, in his time they could not complete and say in the declaration, “And I have also given it to the Levite.”

He also abolished the awakeners

who would say on the platform, “Awaken! Why do You sleep, O Lord?”; and he abolished them so that it would not appear, as it were, that there is sleep before the Omnipresent.

And the knockers

who would scratch the sacrificial animals before their slaughter, so that blood would fall upon their eyes and it would be easy to slaughter them; and he abolished them so that they would not appear to be animals with blemishes, and he instituted rings to hold the animal at the time of slaughter.