Sanhedrin 89

דקשר העליון דאורייתא גרוע ועומד

that the upper knot is mandated by Torah law, then fulfillment of the mitzva is already compromised from the outset when the additional string is tied together with the other threads.

אי הכי תפילין נמי אי עביד ארבעה בתי ואייתי אחרינא ואנח גבייהו האי לחודיה קאי והאי לחודיה קאי ואי עביד חמשה בתי גרוע ועומד הוא האמר רבי זירא בית חיצון שאינו רואה את האויר פסול

The Gemara challenges: If so, the status of phylacteries is also the same. If one crafts phylacteries of the head with four compartments, and he then brings another compartment and places it alongside them, these compartments with which he fulfills the mitzva stand alone and that additional compartment stands alone and does not compromise the fulfillment of the mitzva. And if one crafts phylacteries of the head with five compartments, the fulfillment of the mitzva is already compromised from the outset. The Gemara answers: But doesn’t Rabbi Zeira say: If there is an obstruction which creates an outer compartment of the phylacteries of the head that is not exposed to the air, the phylacteries of the head are unfit for use in the fulfillment of the mitzva? Therefore, adding a fifth compartment to the four compartments of the phylacteries of the head always compromises the fulfillment of the mitzva.

מתני׳ אין ממיתין אותו לא בבית דין שבעירו ולא בבית דין שביבנה אלא מעלין אותו לבית דין הגדול שבירושלים ומשמרין אותו עד הרגל וממיתין אותו ברגל שנאמר וכל העם ישמעו ויראו ולא יזידון עוד דברי רבי עקיבא רבי יהודה אומר אין מענין את דינו של זה אלא ממיתין אותו מיד וכותבין ושולחין שלוחין בכל המקומות איש פלוני מתחייב מיתה בבית דין

MISHNA: One does not execute the rebellious elder, neither in the court that is in his city, nor in the court that is in Yavne, although that was the seat of the Sanhedrin after the destruction of the Second Temple. Rather, one takes him up to the High Court in Jerusalem. And they guard him in incarceration until the pilgrimage Festival, and the court executes him during the pilgrimage Festival, as it is stated: “And all the nation shall hear, and fear, and no longer sin intentionally” (Deuteronomy 17:13); this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yehuda says: One does not delay administering justice to this individual. Rather, the court executes him immediately, and the judges write reports and dispatch agents to all the places, informing them: So-and-so is liable to be punished with the court-imposed death penalty for disobeying the court.

גמ׳ תנו רבנן אין ממיתין אותו לא בבית דין שבעירו ולא בבית דין שביבנה אלא מעלין אותו לבית דין הגדול שבירושלים ומשמרין אותו עד הרגל וממיתין אותו ברגל שנאמר ׳וכל העם ישמעו ויראו׳ דברי רבי עקיבא

GEMARA: The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 11:3): One does not execute the rebellious elder, neither in the court that is in his city, nor in the court that is in Yavne. Rather, one takes him up to the High Court that is in Jerusalem. And they guard him in incarceration until the pilgrimage Festival, and the court executes him during the pilgrimage Festival, as it is stated: “And all the nation shall hear, and fear” (Deuteronomy 17:13); this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva.

אמר לו רבי יהודה וכי נאמר ׳יראו וייראו׳ והלא לא נאמר אלא ׳ישמעו וייראו׳ למה מענין דינו של זה אלא ממיתין אותו מיד וכותבין ושולחין בכל מקום איש פלוני נתחייב מיתה בבית דין

Rabbi Yehuda said to Rabbi Akiva: Is it stated: And all the nation shall see and fear, which would indicate that the entire nation must actually witness his execution? But isn’t it stated only: “And all the nation shall hear and fear,” indicating that merely informing the people of the execution is sufficient? Why delay administering justice to this individual? Rather, the court executes him immediately, and the judges write reports and dispatch agents to all the places informing them: So-and-so was sentenced and found liable to be punished with execution in court.

תנו רבנן ארבעה צריכין הכרזה המסית ובן סורר ומורה וזקן ממרא ועדים זוממין בכולהו כתיב בהו וכל העם וכל ישראל בעדים זוממין כתיב והנשארים דלא כולי עלמא חזו לסהדותא

The Sages taught: There are four transgressors condemned to be executed whose verdicts require a proclamation to inform the public: One who instigates others to engage in idol worship, and the stubborn and rebellious son, and the rebellious elder, and conspiring witnesses. In all of these cases, it is written concerning them: “And all the nation” (Deuteronomy 17:13), or: “And all Israel” (Deuteronomy 13:12, 21:21), except with regard to conspiring witnesses, where it is written: “And those who remain shall hear and fear” (Deuteronomy 19:20), as not everyone is fit for providing testimony. Therefore, rather than saying that all of the nation or all of Israel must be informed, only those remaining who are not disqualified from providing testimony are those who must heed the verse: “Hear and fear and shall henceforth commit no more such evil in the midst of you” (Deuteronomy 19:20).

מתני׳ נביא השקר המתנבא מה שלא שמע ומה שלא נאמר לו מיתתו בידי אדם

MISHNA: The false prophet mentioned in the Torah includes one who prophesies that which he did not hear from God and one who prophesies that which was not said to him, even if it was said to another prophet. In those cases, his execution is at the hand of man, through strangulation imposed by the court.

אבל הכובש את נבואתו והמוותר על דברי נביא ונביא שעבר על דברי עצמו מיתתו בידי שמים שנאמר אנכי אדרש מעמו

But with regard to one who suppresses his prophecy because he does not want to share it with the public, and one who contemptuously forgoes the statement of a prophet and refuses to heed it, and a prophet who violated his own statement and failed to perform that which he was commanded to do, his death is at the hand of Heaven, as it is stated: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not hearken unto My words that he shall speak in My name, I will exact it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:19).

המתנבא בשם עבודה זרה ואומר כך אמרה עבודה זרה אפילו כוון את ההלכה לטמא את הטמא ולטהר את הטהור

One who prophesies in the name of idol worship and says: This is what the idol said, even if he approximated the correct halakha in the name of the idol to deem ritually impure that which is ritually impure and to deem ritually pure that which is ritually pure, is executed by strangulation.

הבא על אשת איש כיון שנכנסה לרשות הבעל לנשואין אף על פי שלא נבעלה הבא עליה הרי זה בחנק

In the case of one who engages in intercourse with a married woman once she entered her husband’s domain for the purposes of marriage, even if the marriage was not yet consummated, as she did not yet engage in intercourse with him, one who engages in intercourse with her is executed by strangulation. Before marriage, one who engages in intercourse with her is liable to be executed by stoning.

וזוממי בת כהן ובועלה שכל המוזמין מקדימין לאותה מיתה חוץ מזוממי בת כהן ובועלה

And conspiring witnesses who testified that the daughter of a priest committed adultery are executed by strangulation, even though were she guilty, she would be executed by burning. And her paramour is also executed by strangulation, as in any case where one engages in intercourse with a married woman. As all those who are rendered conspiring witnesses are led to their deaths via the same mode of execution with which they conspired to have their victim executed, except for conspiring witnesses who testified that the daughter of a priest and her paramour committed adultery. In that case, although the priest’s daughter who commits adultery is executed by burning, the conspiring witnesses who sought to have her executed are executed by strangulation, as is the paramour whom they also conspired to have executed.

גמ׳ תנו רבנן שלשה מיתתן בידי אדם ושלשה מיתתן בידי שמים המתנבא מה שלא שמע ומה שלא נאמר לו והמתנבא בשם עבודה זרה מיתתן בידי אדם הכובש את נבואתו והמוותר על דברי נביא ונביא שעבר על דברי עצמו מיתתן בידי שמים

GEMARA: The Sages taught in a baraita about the punishment of those who sin concerning prophecy: With regard to three of them, their execution is at the hand of man, and with regard to three of them, their execution is at the hand of Heaven. In the case of one who prophesies that which he did not hear from God, and one who prophesies that which was not stated to him, and one who prophesies in the name of idol worship, their execution is at the hand of man. In the case of one who suppresses his prophecy, and one who contemptuously forgoes the statement of a prophet, and a prophet who violated his own statement, their execution is at the hand of Heaven.

מנהני מילי אמר רב יהודה אמר רב דאמר קרא אך הנביא אשר יזיד לדבר דבר בשמי זה המתנבא מה שלא שמע ואשר לא צויתיו הא לחבירו צויתיו זה המתנבא מה שלא נאמר לו ואשר ידבר בשם אלהים אחרים זה המתנבא בשם עבודה זרה וכתיב ומת הנביא ההוא וכל מיתה האמורה בתורה סתם אינה אלא חנק

The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? Rav Yehuda says that Rav says that it is derived from a verse, as the verse states: “But the prophet who shall sin intentionally to speak a word in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die” (Deuteronomy 18:20). The Gemara analyzes the verse: “But the prophet who shall sin intentionally to speak a word in My name”; this is a reference to one who prophesies that which he did not hear. The verse then states: “That I have not commanded him,” from which it is inferred: But I did command another. This is a reference to one who prophesies that which was not stated to him. “Or who shall speak in the name of other gods”; this is a reference to one who prophesies in the name of idol worship. And it is written with regard to all of these: “That prophet shall die.” And every death stated in the Torah without specification is referring to nothing other than strangulation.

הכובש את נבואתו והמוותר על דברי נביא ונביא שעבר על דברי עצמו מיתתן בידי שמים דכתיב והאיש אשר לא ישמע קרי ביה לא ישמיע וקרי ביה לא ישמע אל דברי וכתיב אנכי אדרש מעמו בידי שמים

One who suppresses his prophecy, and one who contemptuously forgoes the statement of a prophet, and a prophet who violated his own statement, their execution is at the hand of Heaven, as it is written: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not hearken [yishma] unto My words that he shall speak in My name, I will exact from him” (Deuteronomy 18:19). The reference is to one who forgoes the statement of a prophet. Read into the verse: Who shall not voice [yashmia]; the reference is to one who suppresses the prophecy. And read into the verse: Shall not heed [yishama]; the reference is to one who violated his own statement. And it is written with regard to all of these: “I will exact from him,” meaning he is liable to receive death at the hand of Heaven.

המתנבא מה שלא שמע כגון צדקיה בן כנענה דכתיב ויעש לו צדקיהו בן כנענה קרני ברזל מאי הוה ליה למעבד רוח נבות אטעיתיה דכתיב ויאמר ה׳ מי יפתה את אחאב ויעל ויפל ברמת גלעד ויצא הרוח ויעמד לפני ה׳ ויאמר אני אפתנו ויאמר תפתה וגם תוכל צא ועשה כן

§ The mishna lists among those liable to be executed as a false prophet one who prophesies that which he did not hear. The Gemara comments: For example, Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, who prophesied that Ahab should wage war against the kingdom of Aram and would be successful, as it is written: “And Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made for him horns of iron, and said: So says the Lord: With these shall you gore the Arameans, until they are consumed” (II Chronicles 18:10). The Gemara asks: What was Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, to do? Why was he held responsible? After all, the spirit of Naboth misled him, as it is written: “And the Lord said: Who shall entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead…and there came forth the spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will entice him. And He said…You shall entice him, and shall prevail also; go forth, and do so” (I Kings 22:20–22).

אמר רב יהודה מאי צא צא ממחיצתי מאי רוח אמר רבי יוחנן רוחו של נבות היזרעאלי

Rav Yehuda says: What is the meaning of the apparently unnecessary term: “Go forth”? Could the Lord not have sufficed with telling the spirit: Do so? The term means: Go forth from My proximity. Since the spirit volunteered to engage in deceit, it was no longer fit to stand in proximity to God. What is the identity of the spirit that undertook to entice Ahab? Rabbi Yoḥanan says: It was the spirit of Naboth the Jezreelite, who was eager to take revenge upon Ahab.

הוה ליה למידק כדרבי יצחק דאמר רבי יצחק סיגנון אחד עולה לכמה נביאים ואין שני נביאים מתנבאין בסיגנון אחד

The Gemara comments: It was incumbent upon Zedekiah to discern between actual prophecies and false prophecies, in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak, as Rabbi Yitzḥak says: A prophetic vision relating to one and the same subject matter [sigenon] may appear to several prophets, but two prophets do not prophesy employing one and the same style of expression.

עובדיה אמר זדון לבך השיאך ירמיה אמר תפלצתך השיא אתך זדון לבך והני מדקאמרי כולהו כהדדי שמע מינה לא כלום קאמרי

An example of identical content expressed in different styles is the prophecy where Obadiah said: “The pride of your heart has beguiled you” (Obadiah 1:3), and Jeremiah said a similar message employing slightly different language: “Your terribleness has deceived you, even the pride of your heart” (Jeremiah 49:16). And with regard to these false prophets, from the fact that in their case all the prophets are saying their prophecies like each other, i.e., employing an identical style, conclude from it that they are saying nothing of substance and that it is a false prophecy.

דילמא לא הוה ידע ליה להא דרבי יצחק יהושפט הוה התם וקאמר להו דכתיב ויאמר יהושפט האין פה נביא עוד לה׳ אמר ליה הא איכא כל הני אמר ליה כך מקובלני מבית אבי אבא סיגנון אחד עולה לכמה נביאים ואין שני נביאים מתנבאים בסיגנון אחד

The Gemara asks: Perhaps Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, did not know this statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak, and therefore should not have been held responsible? The Gemara answers: Jehoshaphat, king of Judea, was there, and he said to them that they were false prophets, as it is written: “But Jehoshaphat said: Is there not here besides a prophet of the Lord, that we might inquire of him?” (I Kings 22:7). Ahab said to him: But aren’t there all these prophets here? Why seek others? Jehoshaphat said to Ahab: This is the tradition that I received from the house of the father of my father, the house of David: A prophetic vision relating to one and the same subject matter may appear to several prophets, but two prophets do not prophesy employing one and the same style of expression. They are false prophets, as they employed the same language when stating their prophecy.

המתנבא מה שלא נאמר לו כגון חנניה בן עזור דקאי ירמיה בשוק העליון וקאמר כה אמר ה׳ [צבאות] הנני שבר את קשת עילם נשא חנניה קל וחומר בעצמו מה עילם שלא בא אלא לעזור את בבל אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא הנני שבר את קשת עילם כשדים עצמן על אחת כמה וכמה אתא איהו בשוק התחתון אמר כה אמר ה׳ וגו׳ שברתי את על מלך בבל

§ The mishna lists among those liable to be executed as false prophets one who prophesies that which was not stated to him. The Gemara comments: For example, Hananiah, son of Azzur, as Jeremiah was standing in the upper market in Jerusalem and saying: “So says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might” (Jeremiah 49:35). Hananiah raised an a fortiori inference himself: If, with regard to Elam, which came only to assist Babylonia, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,” all the more so are the Chaldeans, i.e., the Babylonians, themselves, destined to fall. Hananiah came to the lower market and said: “So speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 28:2). As a result, Hananiah, son of Azzur, was killed at the hand of Heaven (Jeremiah 28:16).

אמר ליה רב פפא לאביי האי לחבירו נמי לא נאמר אמר ליה כיון דאיתיהיב קל וחומר למידרש כמאן דאיתמר ליה דמי הוא ניהו דלא נאמר לו

Rav Pappa said to Abaye: Referring to this case as one who prophesies that which was not said to him is not precise, as not only was it not said to Hananiah, neither was this prophecy stated to another prophet. Abaye said to him: Since this matter can be inferred by means of an a fortiori inference, it is like a prophecy that was said to Jeremiah, as inferring matters a fortiori is a legitimate manner of derivation. It is Hananiah who misrepresented the prophecy, as it was not stated to him, i.e., to Hananiah, and then he presented the prophecy as though he heard it from God.

המתנבא בשם עבודה זרה כגון נביאי הבעל

The mishna lists among those liable to be executed as false prophets one who prophesies in the name of idol worship. The Gemara comments: For example, the prophets of the Baal (see I Kings, chapter 18).

הכובש את נבואתו כגון יונה בן אמיתי והמוותר על דברי נביא כגון

The mishna lists among those liable to receive death at the hand of Heaven one who suppresses his prophecy. The Gemara comments: For example, Jonah, son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1–3). The mishna also lists: And one who forgoes the statement of a prophet. The Gemara comments: For example,

חבריה דמיכה דכתיב ואיש אחד מבני הנביאים אמר אל רעהו בדבר ה׳ הכיני נא וימאן האיש להכותו וכתיב ויאמר לו יען אשר לא שמעת [וגו׳]

the colleague of the prophet Micah, son of Imla (see II Chronicles 18:7–8), as it is written: “And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his colleague by the word of the Lord: Strike me, please. And the man refused to strike him” (I Kings 20:35). And it is written: “Then he said he to him: Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you leave me, a lion shall slay you. And as soon as he left from him, a lion found him; and slew him” (I Kings 20:36).

ונביא שעבר על דברי עצמו כגון עדו הנביא דכתיב כי כן צוה אתי וכתיב ויאמר לו גם אני נביא כמוך וכתיב וישב אתו וכתיב וילך וימצאהו אריה

The mishna lists among those liable to receive death at the hand of Heaven: And a prophet who violated his own statement. The Gemara comments: For example, Iddo the prophet, who, according to tradition, prophesied the punishment of Jeroboam in Bethel, as it is written: “I will neither eat bread nor drink water in this place, for it so was commanded me by the word of the Lord” (I Kings 13:8–9). And it is written: “And he said to him: I too am a prophet like you; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water” (I Kings 13:18). And it is written: “And he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water” (I Kings 13:19). And it is written that he died at the hand of Heaven: “And he went, and a lion met him by the way, and killed him” (I Kings 13:24).

תני תנא קמיה דרב חסדא הכובש את נבואתו לוקה אמר ליה מאן דאכיל תמרי בארבלא לקי מאן מתרי ביה אמר אביי חבריה נביאי

§ A tanna taught a baraita before Rav Ḥisda: One who suppresses his prophecy is flogged. Rav Ḥisda said a parable to him: Is one who eats dates in a sieve flogged? How can he be flogged? Who forewarns him if he eats dates infested with worms that no one sees? Likewise, as no one knows whether the prophet received a prophecy, how can he be forewarned? Abaye said: His fellow prophets forewarn him.

מנא ידעי אמר אביי דכתיב כי לא יעשה ה׳ [אלהים] דבר כי אם גלה סודו ודילמא הדרי ביה אם איתא דהדרי ביה אודועי הוו מודעי לכלהו נביאי

The Gemara asks: From where do they know that he received a prophecy? Abaye says: They know, as it is written: “For the Lord God will do nothing, unless He reveals His counsel to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). The Gemara challenges: And perhaps the heavenly court reconsidered with regard to the prophecy, and the prophet is no longer commanded to disseminate the prophecy. The Gemara answers: If it is so that they reconsidered with regard to the prophecy, the heavenly court would have informed all the prophets.

והא יונה דהדרי ביה ולא אודעוהו יונה מעיקרא נינוה נהפכת אמרי ליה איהו לא ידע אי לטובה אי לרעה

The Gemara challenges: But in the case of Jonah, they reconsidered it and did not inform them that the people of Nineveh had repented for their sins and were therefore spared the foretold destruction. The Gemara explains: In the case of Jonah, from the outset, the heavenly court told him to say: “Nineveh will be overturned” (Jonah 3:4). Still, he did not know if the sentence would be for the good, as their corruption would be overturned through repentance, or if it would be for the bad, as the city would be overturned through destruction. Therefore, the prophecy was never revoked, but simply fulfilled in accordance with one of its possible interpretations.

המוותר על דברי נביא מנא ידע דאיענש דיהב ליה אות והא מיכה דלא יהיב ליה אות ואיענש היכא דמוחזק שאני

The Gemara asks: In the case of one who forgoes the statement of a prophet, from where does he know that the one prophesying is actually a prophet and that he will be punished for failing to comply with the prophecy? The Gemara answers: It is referring to a case where the prophet provides him with a sign indicating that he is a prophet. The Gemara asks: But in the case of Micah, who did not provide him with a sign, and yet he was punished, how could he have known that Micah was a prophet? A case where he has already assumed the presumptive status of a prophet is different, and no sign is necessary.

דאי לא תימא הכי אברהם בהר המוריה היכי שמע ליה יצחק אליהו בהר הכרמל היכי סמכי עליה ועבדי שחוטי חוץ אלא היכא דמוחזק שאני

The Gemara continues: Since if you do not say so, and claim that even the prophecy of one established as a prophet requires a sign, then in the case of Abraham at Mount Moriah, how did Isaac listen to him and submit to being slaughtered as an offering? Likewise, in the case of Elijah at Mount Carmel, how did the people rely upon him and enable him to engage in the sacrifice of animals slaughtered outside the Temple, which is prohibited? Rather, perforce, a case where he has already assumed the presumptive status of a prophet is different.

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלהים נסה את אברהם אחר מאי

§ Apropos the binding of Isaac, the Gemara elaborates: It is written: “And it came to pass after these matters [hadevarim] that God tried Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). The Gemara asks: After what matters? How does the binding of Isaac relate to the preceding events?

אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי יוסי בן זימרא אחר דבריו של שטן דכתיב ויגדל הילד ויגמל וגו׳ אמר שטן לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא רבונו של עולם זקן זה חננתו למאה שנה פרי בטן מכל סעודה שעשה לא היה לו תור אחד או גוזל אחד להקריב לפניך אמר לו כלום עשה אלא בשביל בנו אם אני אומר לו ׳זבח את בנך לפני׳ מיד זובחו מיד והאלהים נסה את אברהם

Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: This means after the statement [devarav] of Satan, as it is written: “And the child grew, and was weaned, and Abraham prepared a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” (Genesis 21:8). Satan said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, this old man, you favored him with a product of the womb, i.e., a child, at one hundred years of age. From the entire feast that he prepared, did he not have even one dove or one pigeon to sacrifice before You as a thanks-offering? God said to Satan: Did Abraham prepare the feast for any reason but for his son? If I say to him: Sacrifice your son before Me, he would immediately slaughter him. Immediately, after these matters, the verse states: “And God tried Abraham.”

ויאמר קח נא את בנך אמר רבי שמעון בר אבא אין נא אלא לשון בקשה משל למלך בשר ודם שעמדו עליו מלחמות הרבה והיה לו גבור אחד ונצחן לימים עמדה עליו מלחמה חזקה אמר לו בבקשה ממך עמוד לי במלחמה זו שלא יאמרו ראשונות אין בהם ממש אף הקדוש ברוך הוא אמר לאברהם ניסיתיך בכמה נסיונות ועמדת בכלן עכשיו עמוד לי בנסיון זה שלא יאמרו אין ממש בראשונים

The Torah continues: “And He said: Take, please [na], your son” (Genesis 22:2). Rabbi Shimon bar Abba says: The word na is nothing other than an expression of entreaty. Why did God request rather than command that Abraham take his son? The Gemara cites a parable of a flesh-and-blood king who confronted many wars. And he had one warrior fighting for him, and he overcame his enemies. Over time, there was a fierce war confronting him. The king said to his warrior: I entreat you, stand firm for me in this war, so that others will not say: There is no substance in the first victories, and you are not a true warrior. Likewise, the Holy One, Blessed be He, also said to Abraham: I have tried you with several ordeals, and you have withstood them all. Now, stand firm in this ordeal for Me, so that others will not say: There is no substance in the first ordeals.

את בנך שני בנים יש לי את יחידך זה יחיד לאמו וזה יחיד לאמו אשר אהבת תרוייהו רחימנא להו את יצחק וכל כך למה כדי שלא תטרף דעתו עליו

God said to Abraham: “Please take your son, your only, whom you love, Isaac” (Genesis 22:2). When God said: “Your son,” Abraham said: I have two sons. When God said: “Your only,” Abraham said: This son is an only son to his mother, and that son is an only son to his mother. When God said: “Whom you love,” Abraham said: I love both of them. Then God said: “Isaac.” And why did God prolong His command to that extent? Why did He not say Isaac’s name from the outset? God did so, so that Abraham’s mind would not be confused by the trauma.

קדמו שטן לדרך אמר לו הנסה דבר אליך תלאה הנה יסרת רבים וידים רפות תחזק כושל יקימון מליך כי עתה תבוא אליך ותלא אמר לו אני בתמי אלך

Satan preceded Abraham to the path that he took to bind his son and said to him: “If one ventures a word to you, will you be weary…you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have upheld him that was falling…but now it comes upon you, and you are weary” (Job 4:2–5). Do you now regret what you are doing? Abraham said to him in response: “And I will walk with my integrity” (Psalms 26:11).

אמר לו הלא יראתך כסלתך אמר לו זכר נא מי הוא נקי אבד כיון דחזא דלא קא שמיע ליה אמר ליה ואלי דבר יגנב כך שמעתי מאחורי הפרגוד השה לעולה ואין יצחק לעולה אמר לו כך עונשו של בדאי שאפילו אמר אמת אין שומעין לו

Satan said to Abraham: “Is not your fear of God your foolishness?” (Job 4:6). In other words, your fear will culminate in the slaughter of your son. Abraham said to him: “Remember, please, whoever perished, being innocent” (Job 4:7). God is righteous and His pronouncements are just. Once Satan saw that Abraham was not heeding him, he said to him: “Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper thereof” (Job 4:12). This is what I heard from behind the heavenly curtain [pargod], which demarcates between God and the ministering angels: The sheep is to be sacrificed as a burnt-offering, and Isaac is not to be sacrificed as a burnt-offering. Abraham said to him: Perhaps that is so. However, this is the punishment of the liar, that even if he speaks the truth, others do not listen to him. Therefore, I do not believe you and will fulfill that which I was commanded to perform.

רבי לוי אמר אחר דבריו של ישמעאל ליצחק אמר לו ישמעאל ליצחק אני גדול ממך במצות שאתה מלת בן שמנת ימים ואני בן שלש עשרה שנה אמר לו ובאבר אחד אתה מגרה בי אם אומר לי הקדוש ברוך הוא ׳זבח עצמך לפני׳ אני זובח מיד והאלהים נסה את אברהם

The Gemara cites an alternative explanation of the verse: “And it came to pass after these matters that God tried Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). Rabbi Levi says: This means after the statement of Ishmael to Isaac, during an exchange between them described in the verse: “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar…mocking” (Genesis 21:9). Ishmael said to Isaac: I am greater than you in the fulfillment of mitzvot, as you were circumcised at the age of eight days, without your knowledge and without your consent, and I was circumcised at the age of thirteen years, with both my knowledge and my consent. Isaac said to Ishmael: And do you provoke me with one organ? If the Holy One, Blessed be He, were to say to me: Sacrifice yourself before Me, I would sacrifice myself. Immediately, God tried Abraham, to confirm that Isaac was sincere in his offer to give his life.

תנו רבנן נביא שהדיח בסקילה רבי שמעון אומר בחנק מדיחי עיר הנדחת בסקילה רבי שמעון אומר בחנק

§ The Sages taught: A prophet who incites others to worship idols is executed by stoning. Rabbi Shimon says: He is executed by strangulation. Those who incite residents of a city to worship idols, leading the city to be declared an idolatrous city, are executed by stoning. Rabbi Shimon says: They are executed by strangulation.

נביא שהדיח בסקילה מאי טעמא דרבנן אתיא הדחה הדחה ממסית מה להלן בסקילה אף כאן בסקילה

The Gemara elaborates: A prophet who incites others to worship idols is executed by stoning. What is the reason for the opinion of the Rabbis? They derive a verbal analogy to clarify the meaning of the word incitement written with regard to a prophet who incites others to worship idols from the word incitement written with regard to a layman who instigates others to worship idols. Just as there, the layman who incites others to worship idols is executed by stoning, so too here, the prophet who incites others to worship idols is executed by stoning.

ורבי שמעון מיתה כתיבא ביה וכל מיתה האמורה בתורה סתם אינה אלא חנק

And Rabbi Shimon says: With regard to a prophet, the term death is written concerning him. And every death stated in the Torah without specification is referring to nothing other than strangulation.

מדיחי עיר הנדחת בסקילה מאי טעמא דרבנן גמירי הדחה הדחה או ממסית או מנביא שהדיח

The Gemara continues: Those who incite residents of a city to worship idols, leading the city to be declared an idolatrous city, are executed by stoning. What is the reason for the opinion of the Rabbis? They derive a verbal analogy to clarify the meaning of the word incitement written with regard to those who incite residents of a city to worship idols, leading the city to be declared an idolatrous city, from the word incitement written either with regard to a layman who instigates others to worship idols or from the word incitement written with regard to a prophet who incites others to worship idols. Just as there, the layman who incites others to worship idols is executed by stoning, so too here, the prophet who incites others to worship idols is executed by stoning.

ורבי שמעון גמר הדחה הדחה מנביא

And Rabbi Shimon derives a verbal analogy to clarify the meaning of the word incitement written with regard to those who incite residents of a city to worship idols, leading the city to be declared an idolatrous city, from the word incitement written with regard to a prophet who incites others to worship idols, who, in his opinion, is executed by strangulation.

וליגמר ממסית דנין מסית רבים ממסית רבים ואין דנין מסית רבים ממסית יחיד אדרבה דנין הדיוט מהדיוט ואין דנין הדיוט מנביא

The Gemara challenges: Let him derive the punishment from the punishment of one who is not a prophet who instigates others to worship idols, as those cases are similar. The Gemara answers: Rabbi Shimon derives the punishment for one who instigates the multitudes from the punishment of one who instigates the multitudes, and does not derive the punishment for one who instigates the multitudes from the punishment of one who instigates an individual. The Gemara asks: On the contrary, one derives the punishment for an ordinary person, i.e., one who is not a prophet, who instigates others from the punishment of an ordinary person who incites an idolatrous city, and one does not derive the punishment for an ordinary person who instigates others from the punishment of a prophet who instigates others.

ורבי שמעון כיון שהדיח אין לך הדיוט גדול מזה

And Rabbi Shimon holds that in this case there is no distinction between prophet and layman; once the prophet has incited others to idol worship, you have no greater example of an ordinary person than that.

אמר רב חסדא

Rav Ḥisda says: