Nedarim 32 – Shabbat November 26

מפני שנתעסק במלון תחלה שנאמר ויהי בדרך במלון

Because he was occupied with lodging first and did not immediately perform the mitzva of circumcision, as it is stated: “And it came to pass on the way at the lodging-place” (Exodus 4:24).

רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר לא למשה רבינו בקש שטן להרוג אלא לאותו תינוק שנאמר כי חתן דמים אתה לי צא וראה מי קרוי חתן הוי אומר זה התינוק

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: It was not Moses our teacher that Satan wanted to kill, but rather, that infant who was not circumcised, as it is stated: “Surely a bridegroom of blood are you to me” (Exodus 4:25). Go out and see: Who does it make sense would be the one that is called the bridegroom in this instance? You must say this is the infant, since he is the one who entered the covenant of Abraham by means of the circumcision.

דרש רבי יהודה בר ביזנא בשעה שנתרשל משה רבינו מן המילה באו אף וחימה ובלעוהו ולא שיירו ממנו אלא רגליו מיד ותקח צפרה צר ותכרת את ערלת בנה מיד וירף ממנו

Rabbi Yehuda bar Bizna taught: At the time that Moses our teacher was negligent about the circumcision, the destructive angels named Af, meaning anger, and Ḥeima, meaning wrath, came and swallowed him, and only his legs were left outside. Immediately, “Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son” (Exodus 4:25), and immediately “He let him alone” (Exodus 4:26).

באותה שעה ביקש משה רבינו להורגן שנאמר הרף מאף ועזב חמה ויש אומרים לחימה הרגו שנאמר חמה אין לי והכתיב כי יגרתי מפני האף והחמה תרי חימה הוו ואיבעית אימא גונדא דחימה

At that moment, Moses our teacher wanted to kill them, as it is stated: “Cease from anger [af ] and forsake wrath [ḥeima]” (Psalms 37:8), which indicates that he wanted to harm them. And there are those who say: He killed the angel named Ḥeima, as it is stated: “Wrath is not in me” (Isaiah 27:4). The Gemara asks: How is it possible to say that he killed Ḥeima? Isn’t it written that Moses himself said much later: “For I was in dread of the anger and wrath” (Deuteronomy 9:19)? The Gemara answers: There are two types of wrath. And if you wish, say that the army of Ḥeima remained but not the angel itself.

תניא רבי אומר גדולה מילה שאין לך מי שנתעסק במצות כאברהם אבינו ולא נקרא תמים אלא על שם מילה שנאמר התהלך לפני והיה תמים וכתיב ואתנה בריתי ביני ובינך

It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: Great is the mitzva of circumcision, for there is no one who was engaged in mitzvot like Abraham our Patriarch, and yet he was called wholehearted only due to the mitzva of circumcision, as it is stated: “Walk before Me and you should be wholehearted” (Genesis 17:1), and it is written in the next verse: “And I will make My covenant between Me and you” (Genesis 17:2), and Abraham was then commanded with regard to circumcision. This indicates that he was not called wholehearted until he performed circumcision.

דבר אחר גדולה מילה ששקולה כנגד כל המצות שבתורה שנאמר כי על פי הדברים האלה וגו׳ דבר אחר גדולה מילה שאילמלא מילה לא נתקיימו שמים וארץ שנאמר אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה וגו׳

Alternatively, so great is the mitzva of circumcision that it is equal to all the mitzvot of the Torah, as it is stated at the giving of the Torah: “For according to these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel” (Exodus 34:27), and “covenant” refers to circumcision. Alternatively, so great is the mitzva of circumcision that if not for circumcision heaven and earth would not have been established, as it is stated: “If My covenant be not with day and night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25), and the covenant that exists day and night is the covenant of circumcision, as it is always found on the person’s body.

ופליגא דרבי אליעזר דאמר רבי אליעזר גדולה תורה שאילמלא תורה לא נתקיימו שמים וארץ שנאמר אם לא בריתי יומם ולילה חקות שמים וארץ לא שמתי וגו׳

The Gemara comments: And this statement disagrees with the words of Rabbi Eliezer, for Rabbi Eliezer said: Great is the Torah, for if not for Torah, heaven and earth would not have been established, as it is stated: “If My covenant be not with day and night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25). According to Rabbi Eliezer, the covenant that exists day and night is the Torah, as it says: “You should contemplate it day and night” (Joshua 1:8).

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בשעה שאמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לאברהם אבינו התהלך לפני והיה תמים אחזתו רעדה אמר שמא יש בי דבר מגונה כיון שאמר לו ואתנה בריתי ביני ובינך נתקררה דעתו

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: At the time that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Abraham our Patriarch: “Walk before Me and you should be wholehearted” (Genesis 17:1), a sensation of trembling seized him and he said: Perhaps there is something disgraceful about me due to a transgression that I committed, and therefore I cannot be called complete. When God said to him: “And I will make My covenant between Me and you” (Genesis 17:2), his mind was set at ease, since he understood that the removal of the foreskin that he was now commanded to do was the reason he had not yet achieved completion.

ויוצא אתו החוצה אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם הסתכלתי במזל שלי ואין לי אלא בן אחד אמר לו צא מאיצטגנינות שלך אין מזל לישראל

The Gemara expounds the verse “and He brought him outside” (Genesis 15:5): Abraham said before Him: Master of the Universe, I looked at my constellation and according to it I will have only one son, and a son has already been born to me, i.e., Ishmael. He said to him: Emerge from your astrology because there is no constellation for the Jewish people, as they are not subject to the influence of astrology.

אמר רבי יצחק כל המתמים עצמו הקדוש ברוך הוא מתמים עמו שנאמר עם חסיד תתחסד עם גבור תמים תתמם

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Anyone who conducts himself with wholeheartedness, the Holy One, Blessed be He, treats him with wholeheartedness, as it is stated: “With the devout You act devoutly, and with the one who is strong in his wholeheartedness You act wholeheartedly” (II Samuel 22:26).

אמר רבי הושעיא כל המתמים עצמו שעה עומדת לו שנאמר התהלך לפני והיה תמים וכתיב והיית לאב המון גוים

Rabbi Hoshaya said: Anyone who acts wholeheartedly, time will stand for him, i.e., he will be successful, as it is stated: “Walk before Me and you should be wholehearted” (Genesis 17:1), and it is written: “And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:4).

אמר רבי כל המנחש לו נחש שנאמר כי לא נחש ביעקב והא בלמד אלף כתיב אלא משום מדה כנגד מדה

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Anyone who divines, i.e., he guesses and looks for signs about the future, the sign will injure him, as it is stated: “For there is to him [lo] divination with Jacob” (Numbers 23:23). The Gemara asks: But it is written lo with the letters lamed alef, meaning “no divination,” as opposed to with the letters lamed vav, meaning “there is to him divination.” The straightforward meaning of the verse is that there is no divination with regard to Jacob. Rather, the reason that he will be injured is not based on the verse but rather due to the concept of measure for measure: Since he attempts to tell his fortune, it injures him.

תני אהבה בריה דרבי זירא כל אדם שאינו מנחש מכניסין אותו במחיצה שאפילו מלאכי השרת אין יכולין ליכנס בתוכה שנאמר כי לא נחש ביעקב ולא קסם בישראל וגו׳

Ahava, son of Rabbi Zeira, teaches: Any person who does not divine his future is brought inside a partition close to God to a place that even the ministering angels cannot enter inside, as it is stated: “For there is no divination with Jacob, neither is there any enchantment with Israel, now it is said to Jacob and Israel what has God wrought” (Numbers 23:23). In other words, matters are revealed to Israel that even the angels do not know, since Israel is closer to God than the angels.

אמר רבי אבהו אמר רבי אלעזר מפני מה נענש אברהם אבינו ונשתעבדו בניו למצרים מאתים ועשר שנים מפני שעשה אנגרייא בתלמידי חכמים שנאמר וירק את חניכיו ילידי ביתו

Rabbi Abbahu said that Rabbi Elazar said: For what reason was Abraham our Patriarch punished and his children enslaved to Egypt for 210 years? Because he made a draft [angarya] of Torah scholars, as it is stated: “He led forth his trained men, born in his house” (Genesis 14:14). These trained men that he took to war were actually his disciples, who were Torah scholars.

ושמואל אמר מפני שהפריז על מדותיו של הקדוש ברוך הוא שנאמר במה אדע כי אירשנה ורבי יוחנן אמר שהפריש בני אדם מלהכנס תחת כנפי השכינה שנאמר תן לי הנפש והרכש קח לך

And Shmuel said: Because he greatly examined [hifriz] the characteristics of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8). And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He was punished because he distanced people from entering under the wings of the Divine Presence, as it is stated that the king of Sodom said to him: “Give me the people and take the goods to yourself” (Genesis 14:21), but Abraham refused to take any goods either. If he had not listened to the king of Sodom and had allowed the people to remain with him, he would have brought the prisoners under the wings of the Divine Presence.

וירק את חניכיו ילידי ביתו רב אמר שהוריקן בתורה ושמואל אמר שהוריקן בזהב

The Gemara returns to discuss one of the verses cited previously: “He led forth [vayyarek] his trained men, born in his house” (Genesis 14:14). Rav said: He showered them [horikan] with Torah like someone who pours from one vessel into another, and Shmuel said: He showered them [horikan] with gold and gave them an abundance of money so that they would go to war with him.

שמנה עשר ושלש מאות אמר רבי אמי בר אבא אליעזר כנגד כולם איכא דאמרי אליעזר הוא דחושבניה הכי הוי

The Torah states that he took “eighteen and three hundred” (Genesis 14:14) men to war. Rabbi Ami bar Abba said: Eliezer was equivalent to all of them. There are those who say: Only Eliezer is referred to here, as the numerical value of the letters of his name is this amount, i.e., 318.

ואמר רבי אמי בר אבא בן שלש שנים הכיר אברהם את בוראו שנאמר עקב אשר שמע אברהם בקלי חושבניה מאה ושבעין ותרין

And Rabbi Ami bar Abba said: Abraham recognized his Creator at the age of three years, as it is stated: “Because [ekev] Abraham hearkened to My voice” (Genesis 26:5). The numerical value of the letters of the word ekev is 172, indicating that he observed the halakha for this many years. If Abraham lived until 175 then his first recognition of the Creator must have been at the age of three.

ואמר רמי בר אבא

And Rami bar Abba said in a similar manner:

השטן בחושבניה תלת מאה ושיתין וארבעה ואמר רמי בר אבא כתיב אברם וכתיב אברהם בתחלה המליכו הקדוש ברוך הוא על מאתים וארבעים ושלשה אברים ולבסוף המליכו על מאתים וארבעים ושמונה אברים

The letters of the term the Satan [haSatan] in numerical value is 364, which equals the number of days of the year, except for Yom Kippur, during which he has no power. And Rami bar Abba said: It is written “Abram,” and after he was commanded to perform circumcision it is written “Abraham” (Genesis 17:5). Initially the Holy One, Blessed be He, enthroned him as ruler over 243 limbs, which is the numerical equivalent of the letters of the word Abram. And in the end, after he was circumcised, He enthroned him as ruler over 248 limbs, which is the numerical equivalent of the letters of the word Abraham.

אלו הן שתי עינים ושתי אזנים וראש הגוייה

These are the additional limbs: Two eyes, and two ears, and the tip of the sex organ. Following his circumcision, he had total control over them, and they performed only according to his will.

ואמר רמי בר אבא מאי דכתיב עיר קטנה ואנשים וגו׳ עיר קטנה זה הגוף ואנשים בה מעט אלו אברים ובא אליה מלך גדול וסבב אתה זה יצר הרע ובנה עליה מצודים וחרמים אלו עונות

And Rami bar Abba said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “There was a little city and few men in it, and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a man poor and wise, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man” (Ecclesiastes 9:14–15)? “A little city,” this is referring to the body; “and few men in it,” this is referring to the limbs; “and there came a great king against it and besieged it,” this is referring to the evil inclination; “and built great bulwarks against it,” these are sins.

ומצא בה איש מסכן וחכם זה יצר טוב ומלט הוא את העיר בחכמתו זו תשובה ומעשים טובים ואדם לא זכר את האיש המסכן ההוא דבשעת יצר הרע לית דמדכר ליה ליצר טוב

The Gemara expounds on the next section of the verse: “Now there was found in it a man poor and wise,” this is referring to the good inclination; “and he by his wisdom delivered the city,” this is referring to repentance and good deeds that are caused by the good inclination. “Yet no man remembered that same poor man” means that when the evil inclination overcomes the good inclination no one remembers the good inclination.

החכמה תעז לחכם מעשרה שליטים החכמה תעז לחכם זו תשובה ומעשים טובים מעשרה שליטים שתי עינים ושתי אזנים ושתי ידים ושתי רגלים וראש הגוייה ופה

The Gemara interprets the following verse in a similar homiletical manner: “Wisdom is a stronghold to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city” (Ecclesiastes 7:19). “Wisdom is a stronghold to the wise man,” this is referring to repentance and good deeds. “More than ten rulers,” these are the two eyes, and two ears, and two hands, and two legs, and the tip of the sex organ, and the mouth, which are the limbs that are used by a person to interact with the world.

אמר רבי זכריה משום רבי ישמעאל ביקש הקדוש ברוך הוא להוציא כהונה משם שנאמר והוא כהן לאל עליון כיון שהקדים ברכת אברהם לברכת המקום הוציאה מאברהם

Rabbi Zekharya said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: The Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted the priesthood to emerge from Shem, so that his children would be priests, as it is stated: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God the Most High” (Genesis 14:18). Once Melchizedek, traditionally identified as Shem, placed the blessing of Abraham before the blessing of the Omnipresent, He had the priesthood emerge from Abraham in particular, and not from any other descendant of Shem.

שנאמר ויברכהו ויאמר ברוך אברם לאל עליון קנה שמים וארץ וברוך אל עליון אמר לו אברהם וכי מקדימין ברכת עבד לברכת קונו מיד נתנה לאברהם שנאמר נאם ה׳ לאדני שב לימיני עד אשית איביך הדם לרגליך ובתריה כתיב נשבע ה׳ ולא ינחם אתה כהן לעולם על דברתי מלכי צדק על דיבורו של מלכי צדק

As it is stated: “And he blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth, and blessed be God the Most High” (Genesis 14:19–20). Abraham said to him: And does one place the blessing of the servant before the blessing of his master? You should have blessed God first. Immediately the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave the priesthood to Abraham, as it is stated: “The Lord says to my lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalms 110:1), and afterward it is written: “The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: you shall be a priest forever, because you are a king of righteousness [al divrati malki tzedek]” (Psalms 110:4), which is explained homiletically to mean: Due to the improper words [divrati] of Melchizedek, the offspring of Abraham shall be priests of God forever.

והיינו דכתיב והוא כהן לאל עליון הוא כהן ואין זרעו כהן

The Gemara comments: And this is as it is written: “And he was priest of God the Most High” (Genesis 14:18), which emphasizes that he, Melchizedek, is a priest, but his children will not be priests.

הדרן עלך ארבעה נדרים

אין בין המודר הנאה מחבירו למודר הימנו מאכל אלא דריסת הרגל וכלים שאין עושין בהם אוכל נפש

MISHNA: The difference between one for whom benefit from another is forbidden by vow [hamuddar hana’a meḥaveiro] and one for whom benefit from his food is forbidden by vow concerns only setting foot on the other person’s property and borrowing from that person utensils that one does not use in preparation of food but for other purposes. Those two benefits are forbidden to the former but permitted to the latter.

המודר מאכל מחבירו לא ישאילנו נפה וכברה וריחים ותנור אבל משאיל לו חלוק וטבעת וטלית ונזמים

Therefore, with regard to one for whom benefit from another’s food is forbidden by vow, that person may not lend him utensils used in the preparation of food, e.g., a sieve, or a strainer, or a millstone, or an oven. However, he may lend him a garment, or a finger ring, or a cloak, or nose rings, as these are not used in the preparation of food. However, he may not lend them to one for whom benefit from him is forbidden by vow.

גמ׳ מאן תנא אמר רב אדא בר אהבה רבי אליעזר היא דתניא רבי אליעזר אומר אפילו ויתור אסור במודר הנאה

GEMARA: Who is the tanna who taught this mishna? Rav Adda bar Ahava said: It is Rabbi Eliezer, as it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer said: Even overlooking [vittur] a matter for which one is typically indifferent to the actions of others, e.g., people setting foot on one’s property, is prohibited in the case of one prohibited by vow from deriving benefit from another.

המודר מאכל מחבירו לא ישאילנו וכו׳

§ We learned in the mishna: With regard to one for whom benefit from another’s food is forbidden by vow, that person may not lend him utensils used in the preparation of food.