Talmud zu Daniel 9:28

HALAKHAH: From where years¹⁵⁸That the Pentateuch counts years from the Fall equinox.? One verse says¹⁵⁹Ex. 23:16., the festival of gathering at the end of the year, and another verse says¹⁶⁰Ex. 34.22., the festival of gathering at the turn of the year. Which month contains a festival, and a turning point, and the year starts from it? Which one is this? It is Tishre. If you would say Ṭevet, there is a turning point¹⁶¹The winter solstice. but neither festival nor gathering. If you would say Nisan, there is a turning point¹⁶²The spring equinox. and a festival, but no gathering. If you would say Tamuz, there is a turning¹⁶³The summer solstice. point and gathering but no festival. So which one is this? It is Tishre. The colleagues said before Rebbi Jonah: should it not be Tamuz? He told them, it is written, in the seventh month¹⁶⁴Num. 28:24., and your are saying so? They said to him, should it not be Tamuz¹⁶⁵Maybe the month of the fall equinox should be called “Tamuz”.? He said to them, from here on you are quarrelling with me about names of months? As Rebbi Ḥanina said, the names of the months ascended with them from Babylonia. Originally, in the month of Ethanim¹⁶⁶1K. 8:2., in which the Patriarchs were born, and the Patriarchs died, and the Mothers were remembered¹⁶⁷One cannot say that Sarah and Rebecca became pregnant in Tishre, this would contradict the statement that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were born in Tishre. So one has to say that in that month the Divine decree was passed that the mothers should become pregnant. The language is taken from Gen. 21:1. Babli Berakhot29a.. Originally, in the month of Bul¹⁶⁸1K. 6:37., where the leaves are falling, and the earth is made into lumps; where one mixes for domestic animals in the house¹⁶⁹Because in November there is little food to be found in the fields.. Originally, in the month of Ziw¹⁷⁰1K. 6:2, misquoted., which is the splendor of the world, when plants are recognized and trees recognized¹⁷¹In Nisan the growth on newly sown fields is recognizable and fruit trees are blossoming.. From then onwards¹⁷²After the Babylonian exile., it was in the month of Nisan of year twenty¹⁷³Neh. 2:1.; it was in the month of Kislew of year twenty¹⁷⁴Neh. 1:1.; in the tenth month, this is the month of Ṭevet¹⁷⁵Esth.2:16.. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, also the names of angels were in their hands from Babylonia. Originally, there flew to me one of the Seraphim¹⁷⁶Is. 6:6.; Seraphim standing over Him¹⁷⁷Is. 6:2.. From then on, but the man Gabriel¹⁷⁸Dan. 9:21.; but your lord Michael¹⁷⁹Dan. 10:21..

It is written (Neh. 8:6): “Ezra praised the Eternal, the great God.” In what did he declare Him great? He declared Him great by the Explicit Name¹¹³The name YHWH pronounced with the correct vocalization that is unknown to us.. Rav Mattanah said, he declared Him great by a benediction. Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Why are they called the Men of the Great Assembly¹¹⁴The parallel is in Megillah 3:8; in Babli Yoma 69b it is spelled out that Rav Mattanah means the first benediction of the ‘Amidah that contains the sentence “the Great, Strong, and Awesome God” chosen by the Men of the Great Assembly, and the observation of R. Joshua ben Levi is intended to buttress the argument of Rav Mattanah.? Because they returned the Crown to its former status. Rebbi Phineas said, Moses fixed the formula of benediction, (Deut. 10:17) “the Great, Strong, and Awesome God.” Jeremiah said (Jer. 32:18): “the Great, Strong God,” but he left out “Awesome.” Why did he say “the Strong”? He may rightly be called strong because He sees the destruction and is silent. And why did he not say “the Awesome”? Awesome is only the Temple, as it is said (Ps. 68:36): “Awesome is the Eternal from Your holy place.” Daniel said (Dan. 9:4)¹¹⁵The same expression is used by Nehemiah, Neh. 1:5.: “the Great and Awesome God,” he did not say “the Strong”; His sons are put in neck-irons¹¹⁶Latin collare “neck-iron.”, where is His strength? Why did he say: “the Awesome?” He may well be called “the Awesome” by the wonders He did for us in the fiery oven. But when the Men of the Great Assembly came,they restituted Greatness to its former place, “the Great, Strong, and Awesome God.” Does flesh and blood have power to set limits in these matters? Rebbi Isaac ben Eleazar¹¹⁷There were two sages of this name, one a student of R. Yoḥanan and the other in the fourth generation, a colleague of R. Mana. In the Babli, the statement is attributed to R. Eleazar. said, the prophets know that their God is Truth and they will not fawn before him.

Rebbi Berekhiah asked Rebbi Ḥelbo. Rebbi Ḥelbo asked Rebbi Immi. Rebbi Immi asked Rebbi Eleazar. Rebbi Eleazar asked Rebbi Ḥanina, some say Rebbi Ḥanina asked Rebbi Joshua: Even those like Jeroboam and his kind? He said to him, (Deut. 29:22) “Sulphur and salt, conflagration throughout the country.” Rebbi Berekhiah said, one asked the other and we understand nothing from it. What does it mean? Since the Land of Israel was burned, judgment was executed on it. We have stated in the name of Rebbi Jehudah: Seven years was the Land of Israel burned; that is what is written (Dan. 9:27) “The Covenant overtook the public for one week.” What did the secondaries in it do? Pieces, pieces and it was burned.

Rebbi Berekhiah asked Rebbi Ḥelbo. Rebbi Ḥelbo asked Rebbi Immi. Rebbi Immi asked Rebbi Eleazar. Rebbi Eleazar asked Rebbi Ḥanina, some say Rebbi Ḥanina asked Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Even those like Jeroboam ben Nabat and his kind? He said to him, (Deut. 29:22) “Sulphur and salt, conflagration throughout the country.” Rebbi Berekhiah said, one asked the other and we understand nothing from it. What does it mean? Since the Land of Israel was burned, judgment was executed on it¹¹²Once judgment is executed, the sinner is free from his sin. This opinion, spelled out in detail in Pesiqta rabbati (cf. Note 105), contradicts Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:2 which excludes three kings (Jeroboam, Ahab, Manasseh) from the Future World; it is in line with the Babli’s conclusion in the name of “those looking for hints”, Sanhedrin 104b–105a.. We have stated in the name of Rebbi Jehudah¹¹³In the Babli, Yoma 54a (Seder Olam 27), this statement is attributed to R. Yose. In the old Yerushalmi source, Ekhah rabbati,Petiḥah (towards the end), the name is R. Jehudah. In Pesiqta deRav Cahana (Buber) p. 114a, it is R. Simeon bar Ioḥai.: Seven years was the Land of Israel burned; that is what is written (Dan. 9:27) “The Covenant overtook the public for one week.” What did the Samaritans in it do¹¹⁴Since the Samaritans were settled in Samaria by the Assyrian kings and were there when the Jews returned from Babylonia, they must somehow have survived in the meantime. The answer is shortened here [and Ketubot 12:3 (fol. 35b)] to incomprehensibility. The full text is preserved in Ekhah rabbati and Pesiqta deRav Cahana: זורעין אותה מטליות מטליות זורעין כאן והיא נשרפת זורעין כאן והיא נשרפת. “They sow it pieces by pieces. They were sowing here and it was burned, they were sowing there and it was burned.”? Pieces, pieces and it was burned.

The following are written with a he which is not pronounced: when I saw;²⁵Josh. 7, 21, written wa’er’eh and read wa’erë’. and I brought;²⁶ibid. XXIV, 8, written wa’abih and read wa’abi. the lion²⁷2 Sam. 23, 20, written ha’aryeh and read ha’ari. in the Book of Samuel;²⁸This excludes the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 11, 22 where ha’ari is both written and read. was he found;²⁹Jer. 48, 27, written nimẓa’ah but the reading is nimẓa’. and … saw;³⁰ibid. III, 7, written wattir’eh and read watter’ë’. this [city];³¹ibid. XXVI, 6, written hazzothah and read hazzoth. evil;³²Micah 3, 2, written ra‘ah and read ra‘. [the] evil;³³Jer. 18, 10, written hara‘ah and read hara‘. gone down;³⁴ibid. XV, 9, written ba’ah and read ba’. and he shall come;³⁵ibid. XLIII, 11, written uba’ah and read uba’. and a line;³⁶1 Kings 7, 23, written weḳaweh and read weḳaw. and a line;³⁷Zech. 1, 16, as in the preceding note. thoroughly;³⁸V incorrectly gives the keyword as wera‘. Ps. 51, 4, written harbeh and read hereb. them that love me;³⁹Prov. 8, 17, written ’ohabehah and read ’ohabai. and … friend;⁴⁰ibid. XXVII, 10, written were‘eh and read were‘a. deal;⁴¹Ruth 1, 8, written ya‘aseh and read ya‘as. open;⁴²Dan. 9, 18, written piḳḥah and read peḳaḥ. a lion;⁴³Lam. 3, 10, written ’aryeh and read ’ari. V incorrectly connects this with the next word joining them together as one. these;⁴⁴Ezra 5, 15, written ’elleh and read ’el. venison.⁴⁵V incorrectly reads ẓur. Gen. 27, 3, written ẓedah and read ẓayid.
The reverse is the case with the following:⁴⁶In the preceding a written he is not pronounced, but the following are spelt without a he which is to be pronounced. and multiplied;⁴⁷Josh. 24, 3, written wa’ereb and read wa’arbeh. on the housetop;⁴⁸1 Sam. 9, 26, written haggag and read haggagah. and they;⁴⁹2 Sam. 21, 9, written wehem and read wehemmah. be he;⁵⁰1 Kings 1, 37, written yehi and read yihyeh. and … shal be;⁵¹2 Kings 9, 37, written wehayath and read wehayethah. and behold;⁵²Isa. 41, 23, written wenerë and read wenireh. behold;⁵³ibid. LIV, 16, written hen and read hinneh. planted;⁵⁴In Jer. 17, 8, referring to yireh (shall … see) which is spelt without the final hei. Gedaliah;⁵⁵ibid. XL, 16, referring to ta‘aseh (do) which is without the final hei. and … she doted;⁵⁶Ezek. 23, 16, written watta‘gob and read watta‘gebah. the measure;⁵⁷ibid. XLV, 3, where ḥamesh (five) is written and ḥamishshah read. and I shall be glorified;⁵⁸Hag. 1, 8, written we’ekkabed and read we’ekkabedah. three;⁵⁹In Prov. 30, 18, we’arba‘ (yea, four) is written and we’arba‘ah read. she considereth;⁶⁰ibid. XXXI, 16, naṭa‘ (planteth) is written and naṭ‘ah read. she perceiveth;⁶¹ibid. 18, ballayil (by night) is written and ballayelah read. arise;⁶²In Lam. 2, 19, the same variant occurs as in the preceding. remember;⁶³ibid. V, 1, habbeṭ (behold) is written and habbiṭah read. turn Thou us;⁶⁴ibid. 21, wenashub (and we shall be turned) is written and wenashubah read. thou hast declared;⁶⁵1 Sam XXIV, 19, we’at is written and we’attah read. thou … hast cursed;⁶⁶Eccles. 7, 22, where the same variant occurs as in the preceding. Thou hast set;⁶⁷Ps. 90, 8, written shatta and read shattah. Thou hast made;⁶⁸Neh. 9, 6, written ’at and read ’attah. is sore affrighted;⁶⁹In Ps. 6, 4 the same variant occurs as in the preceding. the carved work thereof;⁷⁰ibid. LXXIV, 6, written we‘at and read we‘attah. with her harlotries;⁷¹In Ezek. 23, 43, written ‘at and read ‘attah. turn back;⁷²In Ruth 1, 12, lekna (go your way) omits the final hei. disclose;⁷³ibid. IV, 4, where we’eda‘ (that I may know) is written and read we’ede‘ah. Thou [hast] made an hedge;⁷⁴In Job 1, 10, ’at (Thou) is written and ’attah read. and [he] saw.⁷⁵ibid. XLII, 16, written wayyar and read wayyireh.

There are Tannaim who state, he opens, looks, rolls up, and recites the benediction. There are Tannaim who state, he opens, looks, and recites the benediction. Rebbi Ze`ira, Abba bar Jeremiah, Rav Mattanah in the name of Samuel, Practice follows him who said, he opens, looks, and recites the benediction¹⁵⁹A person who comes to read from the Torah must first recognize the place from which he is going to read and then pronounce the benediction. The Babli 32a explains that the first opinion (attributed to R. Meïr) requires him to close the scroll so people should not think that the benediction is written in the text. The second opinion (attributed to R. Jehudah) notes that everybody knows the benediction by heart and therefore will know that the benediction is not written in the scroll.. And what is the reason? When he opened it, the entire people stood up¹⁶⁰Neh. 8:5.. What is written afterwards? ¹⁶¹From here on there is a parallel in Berakhot 7:4, 11c line 29 ff.Ezra praised the Eternal, the Great God¹⁶²Neh. 8:8.. In what did he declare Him great? Rebbi Giddul said, by the explicit Name. Rav Mattanah said, he declared Him great by the benediction. Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Why are they called the men of the Great Assembly? Because they re-instituted the grandeur to its old glory¹⁶³Babli Yoma 69b.. Rebbi Phineas said, Moses instituted the prayer formula, the God, the Great, the Strong, and the Awesome¹⁶⁴Deut. 10:17, incorporated into the first benediction of the Amidah.. Jeremiah said, the Great and Strong God¹⁶⁵Jer. 32:18.; he did not mention “the Awesome”. Why is He strong? He is appropriately called strong since He sees the destruction of His Temple and is silent. Why did he not mention “Awesome”? Awesome is only the Temple, as it is written, God Awesome in Your Sanctuary¹⁶⁶Ps. 68:36.. Daniel said the Great and Awesome God¹⁶⁷Dan. 9:4.. Why did he not mention “the Strong”? His sons are delivered to iron collars¹⁶⁸Latin collare.; where is His strength? But why does he say, Awesome? He is appropriately called awesome by the awesome deeds he made for us in the fiery oven. But when the men of the Great Assembly arose they re-instituted the grandeur to its old glory: But now, our God, the Power, the Great, the Strong, and the Awesome, keeper of Covenant and grace, may it not be little in Your eyes¹⁶⁹Neh. 9:32., etc. But does flesh and blood have the power to state limits in these matters¹⁷⁰Is it possible to ascribe criticism of God to Prophets and Sages?? Rebbi Isaac bar Eleazar said, the prophets know that their God is truthful and they do not flatter him.

¹⁶⁹Babli 36b, Sifra Aḥare Parashah2(4–6), the entire paragraph. The starting sentence was added by the corrector, probably from one of the parallel sources.[It was stated: “How does he confess? “I acted criminally, I rebelled, I sinned;’ and it says¹⁷⁰Ex. 34:7., He forgives crime, rebellion, and sin; and it says¹⁷¹Lev. 16:21., and he shall confess over it all crimes of the Children of Israel, etc., the words of Rebbi Meïr. But the Sages say, criminal acts are intentional crimes, offenses are rebellions¹⁷²Sins intentionally committed as rebellion against God., sins are inadvertent actions¹⁷³Ševuot 1:3 (Note 114), Babli Ševuot12b, Keritut 25b.. After he confesses about criminal acts he turns around and confesses about inadvertent acts? But he confesses as follows: Please Hashem, I sinned, I acted criminally, I rebelled before You, I and my house (etc..) [and the sons of Aaron. As is written in the Torah of Moses as follows, for on that day he shall, etc. They, answer him: “Praised be the glory of His Kingdom forever and ever”.]¹⁷⁴The text in parentheses is the scribe’s, the one in brackets the corrector’s, probably added from one of the parallel sources. And so we find that confessors do confess. David said¹⁷⁵Ps. 106:6. The vaw added to the last word is from the synagogue service of the Day., we and our fathers sinned, we acted criminally and we led to bad behavior. His son Solomon said¹⁷⁶IK. 8:47., [we sinned,] we acted criminally, behaved badly. Daniel said¹⁷⁷Dan.9:5., we sinned, we actedcriminally, we led to bad behavior, and we rebelled. Also he was confessing thus: I sinned, I acted criminally, I rebelled before You. What means this which Moses said, He forgives crime, rebellion, and sin; and it says, and he shall confess over it all crimes of the Children of Israel, etc.¹⁷⁸How can one explain the illogical order?? But since he confesses to criminal rebellious acts, it is as if they were inadvertent sins before Him.”