Sanhedrin 92

יקבהו לאום ואין לאום אלא עוברין שנאמר ולאם מלאם יאמץ ואין קבה אלא קללה שנאמר מה אקב לא קבה אל ואין בר אלא תורה שנאמר נשקו בר פן יאנף

the people [leom] shall curse him [yikkevuhu], but blessing shall be upon the head of one who provides” (Proverbs 11:26). And the term leom is referring to nothing other than fetuses, as it is stated: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your bowels; and the one leom shall overcome the other leom” (Genesis 25:23). And kabbo is referring to nothing other than curse, as it is stated in the statement of Balaam: “How can I curse one who is not cursed [kabbo] by God?” (Numbers 23:8). And bar is referring to nothing other than Torah, as it is stated: “Pay homage to bar lest He be angry” (Psalms 2:12), i.e., observe the Torah to avoid God’s wrath.

עולא בר ישמעאל אומר מנקבין אותו ככברה כתיב הכא יקבהו לאום וכתיב התם ויקב חר בדלתו ואמר אביי כי אוכלא דקצרי

Ulla bar Yishmael says: One perforates like a sieve a person who withholds halakha from a student. It is written here: “He who withholds bar, the people yikkevuhu” (Proverbs 11:26), and it is written there: “And he bored [vayyikkov] a hole in its lid of it” (II Kings 12:10). And Abaye says: One perforates him like a launderers’ utensil used for sprinkling water on garments.

ואם למדו מה שכרו אמר רבא אמר רב ששת זוכה לברכות כיוסף שנאמר וברכה לראש משביר ואין משביר אלא יוסף שנאמר ויוסף הוא [השליט על הארץ הוא] המשביר לכל עם הארץ

And if one teaches the student halakha rather than withholding it, what is his reward? Rava says that Rav Sheshet says: He is privileged to receive blessings like Joseph, as it is stated at the end of that verse: “But blessing shall be upon the head of one who provides [mashbir]” (Proverbs 11:26). And mashbir is referring to no one other than Joseph, as it is stated: “And Joseph was the governor of the land, and he was the provider [hamashbir] to all the people of the land” (Genesis 42:6).

אמר רב ששת כל המלמד תורה בעולם הזה זוכה ומלמדה לעולם הבא שנאמר ומרוה גם הוא יורה

Rav Sheshet says: Anyone who teaches Torah in this world is privileged and teaches it in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And he who satisfies abundantly [umarveh] shall be satisfied himself [yoreh]” (Proverbs 11:25). Rav Sheshet interprets the verse homiletically: By transposing the letters of the word marveh: Mem, reish, vav, heh, one arrives at the word moreh, meaning teaches. The verse means that one who teaches [moreh] will teach [yoreh] in the future as well.

אמר רבא מניין לתחיית המתים מן התורה שנאמר יחי ראובן ואל ימת יחי ראובן בעולם הזה ואל ימת לעולם הבא רבינא אמר מהכא ורבים מישני אדמת עפר יקיצו אלה לחיי עולם ואלה לחרפות לדראון עולם רב אשי אמר מהכא ואתה לך [לקץ] ותנוח ותעמד לגרלך לקץ הימין

The Gemara returns to the topic of the source for resurrection in the Torah. Rava says: From where is resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “Let Reuben live and not die, in that his men become few” (Deuteronomy 33:6). This is interpreted: “Let Reuben live” in this world “and not die” in the World-to-Come. Ravina says that resurrection is derived from here: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awaken, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting disgrace” (Daniel 12:2). Rav Ashi says proof is derived from here: “But go you your way until the end be; and you shall rest, and arise to your lot at the end of days” (Daniel 12:13).

אמר רבי אלעזר כל פרנס שמנהיג את הצבור בנחת זוכה ומנהיגם לעולם הבא שנאמר כי מרחמם ינהגם ועל מבועי מים ינהלם

§ Rabbi Elazar says: Any communal leader who leads the community calmly, without anger and honestly, is privileged and leads them in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “For he that has compassion upon them will lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them” (Isaiah 49:10). Just as he led them in this world, so too will he guide them in the World-to-Come.

ואמר רבי אלעזר גדולה דעה שניתנה בין שתי אותיות שנאמר כי אל דעות ה׳

The Gemara proceeds to cite additional statements of Rabbi Elazar relating to recommended conduct. And Rabbi Elazar says: Great is knowledge, as it was placed between two letters, two names of God, as it is stated: “For a God of knowledge is the Lord” (I Samuel 2:3).

ואמר רבי אלעזר גדול מקדש שניתן בין שתי אותיות שנאמר פעלת ה׳ מקדש ה׳ כוננו ידיך מתקיף לה רב אדא קרחינאה אלא מעתה גדולה נקמה שניתנה בין שתי אותיות דכתיב אל נקמות ה׳ אל נקמות הופיע

And Rabbi Elazar says: Great is the Holy Temple, as it too was placed between two letters, two names of God, as it is stated: “The place in which to dwell that You have made, Lord, the Temple, Lord, which Your hands have prepared” (Exodus 15:17). Rav Adda Karḥina’a objects to the explanation that being placed between two names of God accords significance. If that is so, the same should hold true for vengeance. Shall one say: Great is vengeance, as it was placed between two letters, as it is written: “God of vengeance, Lord, God of vengeance shine forth” (Psalms 94:1)?

אמר ליה למילתיה הכי נמי כדעולא דאמר עולא שתי הופעיות הללו למה אחת למדת טובה ואחת למדת פורענות

Rabbi Elazar said to him: In its context, indeed, vengeance is great, in accordance with the statement of Ulla. As Ulla says with regard to these two appearances: “O Lord, God to Whom vengeance belongs; God to Whom vengeance belongs, appear” (Psalms 94:1), and: “He appeared from Mount Paran” (Deuteronomy 33:2), why are both necessary? One, the second verse, is necessary for the attribute of divine good, with which God gave the Torah at Sinai, and one, the first verse, is necessary for the attribute of divine punishment, with which God exacts vengeance against the enemies and oppressors of the Jewish people.

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל אדם שיש בו דעה כאילו נבנה בית המקדש בימיו שזה ניתן בין שתי אותיות וזה ניתן בין שתי אותיות

And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to any person in whom there is knowledge, it is as though the Temple was built in his days, as this, knowledge, was placed between two letters and that, the Temple, was placed between two letters.

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל אדם שיש בו דעה לסוף מתעשר שנאמר ובדעת חדרים ימלאו כל הון יקר ונעים

And Rabbi Elazar says: Any person in whom there is knowledge ultimately becomes wealthy, as it is stated: “And by knowledge are the chambers filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Proverbs 24:4).

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל אדם שאין בו דעה אסור לרחם עליו שנאמר כי לא עם בינות הוא על כן לא ירחמנו עשהו ויצרו לא יחננו

And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to any person in whom there is no knowledge, it is prohibited to have mercy upon him, as it is stated: “For it is a people of no understanding; therefore its Maker will have no mercy on them, and its Creator will show them no favor” (Isaiah 27:11). If God has no mercy upon them, all the more so should people not show them mercy.

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל הנותן פיתו למי שאין בו דעה יסורין באין עליו שנאמר לחמך ישימו מזור תחתיך אין תבונה בו ואין מזור אלא יסורין שנאמר וירא אפרים את חליו ויהודה את מזרו

And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to anyone who gives his bread to one without knowledge, afflictions befall him, as it is stated: “They who eat your bread will place mazor under you, in whom there is no discernment” (Obadiah 1:7). And mazor means nothing other than afflictions, based on the parallel with another verse, as it is stated: “And Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound [mezoro]” (Hosea 5:13). This indicates that one who gives his bread to one without discernment will ultimately fall ill.

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל אדם שאין בו דעה לסוף גולה שנאמר לכן גלה עמי מבלי דעת

And Rabbi Elazar says: Any person in whom there is no knowledge is ultimately exiled, as it is stated: “Therefore my people are exiled, for lack of knowledge” (Isaiah 5:13).

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל בית שאין דברי תורה נשמעים בו בלילה אש אוכלתו שנאמר כל חשך טמון לצפוניו תאכלהו אש לא נפח ירע שריד באהלו אין שריד אלא תלמיד חכם שנאמר ובשרידים אשר ה׳ קרא

And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to any house in which there are no matters of Torah heard at night, the fire of Gehenna consumes it, as it is stated: “All darkness is laid up for his treasures, a fire not fanned shall consume him; it shall go ill with a sarid in his tent” (Job 20:26). Sarid is referring to no one but a Torah scholar, as it is stated: “And among the seridim, those whom the Lord shall call” (Joel 3:5). A house that is dark at night and in which no Torah is heard will be consumed by a fire that does not require fanning with a bellows, the fire of Gehenna.

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל שאינו מהנה תלמידי חכמים מנכסיו אינו רואה סימן ברכה לעולם שנאמר אין שריד לאכלו על כן לא יחיל טובו אין שריד אלא תלמידי חכמים שנאמר ובשרידים אשר ה׳ קרא

And Rabbi Elazar says: Anyone who does not benefit Torah scholars from his property never sees a sign of blessing, as it is stated: “None of his food shall remain [sarid]; therefore his prosperity shall not endure” (Job 20:21). Sarid is referring to no one but Torah scholars, as it is stated: “And among the seridim, those whom the Lord shall call.” No prosperity will come to one who does not share his food with a Torah scholar.

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל שאינו משייר פת על שלחנו אינו רואה סימן ברכה לעולם שנאמר אין שריד לאכלו על כן לא יחיל טובו

And Rabbi Elazar says: Anyone who does not leave bread on his table at the end of his meal indicating his gratitude to God for providing him more than enough never sees a sign of blessing, as it is stated: “None of his food shall remain; therefore his prosperity shall not endure.”

והאמר רבי אלעזר כל המשייר פתיתים על שלחנו כאילו עובד עבודה זרה שנאמר הערכים לגד שלחן והממלאים למני ממסך לא קשיא הא דאיכא שלימה בהדיה הא דליכא שלימה בהדיה

The Gemara asks: But doesn’t Rabbi Elazar say: With regard to anyone who leaves pieces of bread on his table, it is as if he worships idols, as it is stated: “Who prepare a table for Fortune [Gad] and offer blended wine for Destiny” (Isaiah 65:11). The people would leave pieces of bread on the table as an offering to the constellation Gad, which they believed influences the fortune of the home. This practice was a form of idol worship. The Gemara answers: This apparent contradiction is not difficult: This case, where leaving pieces of bread is a form of idol worship, applies when there is a whole loaf together with the pieces, as the addition of the pieces is clearly for idol worship; that case, where failure to leave bread on the table is criticized, applies when there is no whole loaf together with the pieces.

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל המחליף בדיבורו כאילו עובד עבודה זרה כתיב הכא והייתי בעיניו כמתעתע וכתיב התם הבל המה מעשה תעתעים

And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to anyone who amends the truth in his speech, it is as though he worships idols. As, it is written here, in the verse where Jacob sought to resist taking his father’s blessing from Esau: “And I shall seem to him a deceiver [metate’a]” (Genesis 27:12), and it is written there with regard to idol worship: “They are vanity, the work of deception [tatuim]” (Jeremiah 10:15).

ואמר רבי אלעזר כל המסתכל בערוה קשתו ננערת שנאמר עריה תעור קשתך

And Rabbi Elazar says: With regard to anyone who looks at nakedness [erva], his bow is emptied, i.e., he will be robbed of his potency, as it is stated: “Your bow is stripped bare [erya]” (Habakkuk 3:9).

ואמר רבי אלעזר לעולם הוי קבל וקיים אמר רבי זירא אף אנן נמי תנינא בית אפל אין פותחין לו חלונות לראות נגעו שמע מינה

And Rabbi Elazar says: Forever be in the dark, i.e., anonymous, and you will continue to exist. Rabbi Zeira says: We learn a similar idea in a mishna as well (Nega’im 2:3): In a dark house, one does not open windows to illuminate it in order to see whether or not its blemish is leprosy, and the house retains the presumptive status of ritual purity. Those matters that are obscured are allowed to continue. The Gemara affirms: Conclude from that mishna that this is so.

אמר רבי טבי אמר רבי יאשיה מאי דכתיב שאול ועצר רחם ארץ לא שבעה מים וכי מה ענין שאול אצל רחם אלא לומר לך מה רחם מכניס ומוציא אף שאול מכניס ומוציא

§ The Gemara returns to the topic of the source for resurrection in the Torah. Rabbi Tavi says that Rabbi Yoshiya says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “There are three that are never satisfied…the grave, and the barren womb, and earth that does not receive sufficient water” (Proverbs 30:15–16)? And what does a grave have to do with a womb? Rather, they are juxtaposed to say to you: Just as a womb takes in and gives forth, so too a grave takes in and also gives forth, with the resurrection of the dead.

והלא דברים קל וחומר ומה רחם שמכניסין בו בחשאי מוציאין ממנו בקולי קולות שאול שמכניסין בו בקולות אינו דין שמוציאין ממנו בקולי קולות מיכן תשובה לאומרין אין תחיית המתים מן התורה

And are these matters not inferred a fortiori: If with regard to a womb, into which one introduces the embryo in secret, one removes the baby from it accompanied by the loud sounds of the woman crying out during childbirth, then with regard to the grave, into which one introduces the corpse with sounds of wailing and mourning the dead, is it not right that one removes from it the resurrected dead accompanied by the loud sounds of the resurrected multitudes? From here there is a response to those who say: There is no resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah.

תנא דבי אליהו צדיקים שעתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא להחיותן אינן חוזרין לעפרן שנאמר ׳והיה הנשאר בציון והנותר בירושלים קדוש יאמר לו כל הכתוב לחיים בירושלים׳ מה קדוש לעולם קיים אף הם לעולם קיימין

The school of Eliyahu taught: The righteous whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, is destined to resurrect do not return to their dust, as it is stated: “And it shall come to pass, that he who remains in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy, anyone who is written unto life in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 4:3). Just as the Holy One exists forever, so too will they exist forever.

ואם תאמר אותן שנים שעתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לחדש בהן את עולמו שנאמר ׳ונשגב ה׳ לבדו ביום ההוא׳ צדיקים מה הן עושין הקדוש ברוך הוא עושה להם כנפים כנשרים ושטין על פני המים שנאמר ׳על כן לא נירא בהמיר ארץ ובמוט הרים בלב ימים׳ ושמא תאמר יש להם צער תלמוד לומר ׳וקוי ה׳ יחליפו כח יעלו אבר כנשרים ירוצו ולא ייגעו ילכו ולא ייעפו׳

And if you say: During those years when the Holy One, Blessed be He, is destined to renew His world, as it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day” (Isaiah 2:11), what are the righteous to do? How will they survive? The Holy One, Blessed be He, will make wings like eagles for them and they will fly over the surface of the water, as it is stated: “Therefore, we will not fear when God changes the land, and when the mountains are moved in the midst of the sea” (Psalms 46:3). Although God will renew the land, they will not fear, because they will be in the sky over the sea at that time. And lest you say that they will endure suffering from flying uninterrupted for an extended period, the verse states: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not tire” (Isaiah 40:31).

ונילף ממתים שהחיה יחזקאל סבר לה כמאן דאמר באמת משל היה

The Gemara suggests: And let us derive from the dead that Ezekiel revived (see Ezekiel, chapter 37) that the resurrected dead will not live forever, but will die at some point. The Gemara explains: The school of Eliyahu holds in accordance with the opinion of the one who says: In truth, Ezekiel’s depiction of the dry bones that came to life was a parable, from which nothing can be derived with regard to the nature of resurrection.

דתניא רבי אליעזר אומר מתים שהחיה יחזקאל עמדו על רגליהם ואמרו שירה ומתו מה שירה אמרו ׳ה׳ ממית בצדק ומחיה ברחמים׳ רבי יהושע אומר שירה זו אמרו ׳ה׳ ממית ומחיה מוריד שאול ויעל׳ רבי יהודה אומר אמת משל היה

This is as it is taught in a baraita, that Rabbi Eliezer says: The dead that Ezekiel revived stood on their feet and recited song to God and died. And what song did they recite? The Lord kills with justice and gives life with mercy. Rabbi Yehoshua says that it was this song that they recited: “The Lord kills, and gives life; He lowers to the grave and elevates” (I Samuel 2:6). Rabbi Yehuda says: Ezekiel’s depiction of the dry bones that came to life was truth and it was a parable.

אמר לו רבי נחמיה אם אמת למה משל ואם משל למה אמת אלא באמת משל היה רבי אליעזר בנו של רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר מתים שהחיה יחזקאל עלו לארץ ישראל ונשאו נשים והולידו בנים ובנות עמד רבי יהודה בן בתירא על רגליו ואמר ׳אני מבני בניהם והללו תפילין שהניח לי אבי אבא מהם׳

Rabbi Neḥemya said to Rabbi Yehuda: If it was truth, why do you refer to it as a parable, and if it was a parable, why do you refer to it as truth? Rather, it means: In truth, it was a parable. Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, says: Not only was it not a parable, the dead that Ezekiel revived ascended to Eretz Yisrael and married wives and fathered sons and daughters. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira stood on his feet and said: I am a descendant of their sons, and these are phylacteries that my father’s father left me from them.

ומאן נינהו מתים שהחיה יחזקאל

The Gemara asks: And who are the dead that Ezekiel revived?

אמר רב אלו בני אפרים שמנו לקץ וטעו שנאמר ובני אפרים שותלח וברד בנו ותחת בנו ואלעדה בנו ותחת בנו וזבד בנו ושותלח בנו ועזר (ואלעזר( ]ואלעד] והרגום אנשי גת הנולדים בארץ וגו׳ וכתיב ויתאבל אפרים אביהם ימים רבים ויבאו אחיו לנחמו

Rav says: These were the descendants of Ephraim who calculated the time of the end of the enslavement and the redemption from Egypt and erred in their calculation. They left before the appointed time and were killed, as it is stated: “And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son. And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead whom the men of Gath that were born in the land slew, because they came down to take their cattle” (I Chronicles 7:20–21), and it is written: “And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him” (I Chronicles 7:22).

ושמואל אמר אלו בני אדם שכפרו בתחיית המתים שנאמר ויאמר אלי בן אדם העצמות האלה כל בית ישראל המה הנה אמרים יבשו עצמותינו ואבדה תקותנו נגזרנו לנו

And Shmuel says: These dead that Ezekiel revived were people who denied the resurrection of the dead, as it is stated: “Then He said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say: Our bones are dried and our hope is lost; we are cut off” (Ezekiel 37:11). God tells Ezekiel that these were people who had lost hope for resurrection.

רבי ירמיה בר אבא אמר אלו בני אדם שאין בהן לחלוחית של מצוה שנאמר העצמות היבשות שמעו דבר ה׳

Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba says: These were people in whom there was not even the moist residue of a mitzva, as it is stated: “The dry bones, hear the word of the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:4). Even during their lifetime they were comparable to dry bones.

רבי יצחק נפחא אמר אלו בני אדם שחיפו את ההיכל כולו שקצים ורמשים שנאמר ואבוא ואראה והנה כל תבנית רמש ובהמה שקץ וכל גלולי בית ישראל מחקה על הקיר סביב וגו׳ וכתיב התם והעבירני עליהם סביב סביב

Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa says: These are the people who covered the Sanctuary with repugnant creatures and creeping animals, as it is stated: “So I entered and saw and behold, every form of creeping animal and repugnant animal, and all the idols of the house of Israel, etched upon the wall around” (Ezekiel 8:10), and it is written there with regard to the prophecy of the dry bones: “And he passed me over them around and around” (Ezekiel 37:2). By means of a verbal analogy between: Around, in one verse and the identical term in the other it is derived that the two verses are referring to the same people.

רבי יוחנן אמר אלו מתים שבבקעת דורא ואמר רבי יוחנן מנהר אשל עד רבת בקעת דורא שבשעה שהגלה נבוכדנצר הרשע את ישראל היו בהן בחורים שהיו מגנין את החמה ביופיין והיו כשדיות רואות אותן ושופעות זבות אמרו לבעליהן ובעליהן למלך צוה המלך והרגום ועדיין היו שופעות זבות צוה המלך ורמסום

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: These are the dead from the Dura Valley (see Daniel, chapter 3). And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: These corpses filled the area from the Eshel River to Rabat, which constitutes the Dura Valley. As, at the time that Nebuchadnezzar the wicked exiled the Jewish people to Babylonia, there were among them youths who overshadowed the sun with their beauty, and the Chaldean women would see them, and desire them, and discharge the flow of a zava. These women told their husbands, and their husbands told the king. The king ordered the youths executed, and his servants executed them. And their execution did not resolve the problem, as the women were still discharging the flow of a zava. Even after death, the youths’ beauty remained intact. The king ordered that their corpses be taken to the valley, and his servants trampled them so that their form would no longer be visible.

תנו רבנן בשעה שהפיל נבוכדנצר הרשע את חנניה מישאל ועזריה לכבשן האש אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא ליחזקאל ׳לך והחייה מתים בבקעת דורא׳ כיון שהחייה אותן באו עצמות וטפחו לו לאותו רשע על פניו אמר ׳מה טיבן של אלו׳ אמרו לו ׳חבריהן של אלו מחייה מתים בבקעת דורא׳ פתח ואמר ׳אתוהי כמה רברבין ותמהוהי כמה תקיפין מלכותיה מלכות עלם ושלטנה עם דר ודר׳ וגו׳

§ The Sages taught in a baraita: At the moment that Nebuchadnezzar the wicked cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Ezekiel: Go and revive the dead in the Dura Valley. Once Ezekiel revived them, the bones came and struck Nebuchadnezzar, that wicked man, in his face. Nebuchadnezzar said: What is the nature of these? His servants said to him: The friend of these three, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, is reviving the dead in the Dura Valley. Nebuchadnezzar began and said: “How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders; His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation” (Daniel 3:33).

אמר רבי יצחק יוצק זהב רותח לתוך פיו של אותו רשע שאילמלא (לא) בא מלאך וסטרו על פיו ביקש לגנות כל שירות ותשבחות שאמר דוד בספר תהלים

Rabbi Yitzḥak says: Molten gold should be poured into the mouth of that wicked person. His mouth should be sealed in the course of an extraordinary death; in deference to royalty, Rabbi Yitzḥak suggested that gold would be used to accomplish that task. The reason is that if an angel had not come and struck him on his mouth to prevent him from continuing his praise, he would have sought to overshadow all the songs and praises that David recited in the book of Psalms.

תנו רבנן ששה נסים נעשו באותו היום ואלו הן צף הכבשן ונפרץ הכבשן והומק סודו ונהפך צלם על פניו ונשרפו ארבע מלכיות והחיה יחזקאל את המתים בבקעת דורא

The Sages taught in a baraita: Six miracles were performed on that day that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azarya were delivered from the furnace, and they are: The furnace rose from where it was sunken to ground level; and the furnace was breached; and its limestone dissipated; and the graven image that Nebuchadnezzar established, which he commanded his subjects to worship (see Daniel 3:5–6), fell on its face; and four ranks of officials from monarchies, who stood around the furnace, were burned; and Ezekiel revived the dead in the Dura Valley.

וכולהו גמרא וארבע מלכיות קרא דכתיב ונבוכדנצר מלכא שלח למכנש לאחשדרפניא סגניא ופחותא אדרגזריא גדבריא דתבריא תפתיא וכל שלטני מדינתא וגו׳ וכתיב איתי גברין יהודאין וכתיב ומתכנשין אחשדרפניא סגניא ופחותא והדברי מלכא חזין לגבריא אלך וגו׳

And the knowledge that all of the miracles were performed is based on tradition. And the four ranks of officials from monarchies that were burned is related in a verse, as it is written: “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces” (Daniel 3:2). And it is written: “There are certain Jews…they do not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image you have erected” (Daniel 3:12). And it is written in the verse after Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah left the fiery furnace: “And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered and saw these men” (Daniel 3:27) who emerged from the fire unscathed. Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather eight ranks of officials, and only four ranks witnessed Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah emerge from the furnace. Apparently, the other four ranks were burned in the fire.

תני דבי רבי אליעזר בן יעקב אפילו בשעת הסכנה לא ישנה אדם את עצמו מן הרבנות שלו שנאמר ׳באדין גבריא אלך כפתו בסרבליהון פטשיהון וכרבלתהון׳ וגו׳

The school of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov teaches: Even during a period of danger, a person should not deviate from his prominence and demean himself, as it is stated: “Then these men were bound in their mantles, their tunics, and their hats, and their other garments, and they were cast into the blazing fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:21). Even when cast into the furnace, they donned garments befitting their station.

אמר רבי יוחנן

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: