Talmud zu Schemot 13:9

Rebbi Jeremiah asked: Since you say, one opens for him by the honor of his father and mother; in things between him and the Omnipresent, one does not open for him by the honor of the Omnipresent¹²Since this is not mentioned in the Mishnah. Since “the Omnipresent” is a name of God, the scribe inserted an apostrophe to make a later correction or erasure possible.. But since in matters between him and his father and mother one opens for him by the honor of his father and mother; similarly, in things between him and the Omnipresent should one not open for him by the honor of the Omnipresent? What is the honor of the Omnipresent? For example, that I shall not make a tabernacle¹³Lev. 23:42., that I shall not take a lulab¹⁴One of the “four kinds”, Lev. 23:40., that I shall not put on phylacteries¹⁵Ex. 13:9,16.. One understands that he does it for his own benefit. As in the following¹⁶Job 35:7. The reward of good deeds is purely the benefit of the doer.: “If you are just, what are you giving Him?” “If you sinned, what would you do to Him?¹⁷Job 35:6. The mention of this verse and the sermon following are induced by the preceding quote.” Rebbi Yannai said, one who listens to his urges is as if he worshipped idols. What is the reason? “In yourself there shall be no alien force; do not bow down to a foreign god.¹⁸Ps. 81:10. The alien forces are the evil urges in a person; they are put in parallel with idol worship. In the Babli, Šabbat 105b, the statement is attributed to R. Abin.”

The hand-tefillah is put on the upper part of the hand³⁵The biceps, and not on the palm of the hand. [because Scripture declares, And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand,³⁶Ex. 13, 9. which means that the sign shall be for thee³⁷Where only he who wears the tefillah can see it, i.e. on the biceps covered by the sleeve. but not for others³⁸Had the tefillah been put on the palm of the hand it would be visible to all.]. ³⁹The part enclosed in square brackets is based on Men. 37b (Sonc. ed., p. 229).So also [the Scriptural expression] between thine eyes⁴⁰Ex. 13, 9. [implies] the upper part of the head, [because] upon thy hand and between thine eyes [occur in juxtaposition we infer]: as upon thy hand [means] on the upper part of the hand, so between thine eyes [means] on the upper part of the head. This is according to R. Eliezer b. Jacob; R. Judah says: It is stated upon thy hand and it is also stated [in the same verse] between thine eyes [the inference being that] as upon thy hand [refers to] a place that is susceptible of ritual uncleanness by one [symptom of] leprosy,⁴¹The biceps, like any other part of the body that is free from hair, is declared ritually unclean by one symptom only, viz. white hair in the leprous spot. so also between thine eyes [refers to] a place that is susceptible of ritual uncleanness by one [symptom of] leprosy.⁴²Viz. the upper part of the head, whose symptom of uncleanness is yellow hair in the leprous spot. The region between the eyes, however, where both hair and clean flesh are to be found, can be declared unclean by either of the two symptoms (yellow or white hair) and must therefore be ruled out. [Another reason:] It is stated between thine eyes and it is also stated, Nor make any baldness between your eyes:⁴³Deut. 14, 1. as baldness occurs where there is hair [on the head] so you must put the tefillah only where there is hair [on the hand].⁴⁴Since both verses contain the expression between … eyes. It is stated, And thou shalt write them⁴⁵Referring to the mezuzah (Deut. 6, 9). and it is also stated [in juxtaposition] and thou shalt bind them;⁴⁶The tefillin (ibid. 8). [hence the inference that] the hand that writes [the mezuzah]⁴⁷i.e. the right hand, with which most people write. is the hand that binds [the tefillah].⁴⁸The hand-tefillah is therefore put on the left hand.

Thus used R. Eliezer to say: Great is the commandment of tefillin, for the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke as follows to Israel, But thou shalt meditate therein day and night.⁹⁵Josh. 1, 8. ‘Sovereign of the universe,’ said Israel to the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘is it possible for us to meditate day and night [in the Torah]?’ The Holy One, blessed be He, answered them, ‘My children, put tefillin on your heads and on your arms and I shall account it to you as if you meditated in the Torah day and night’; as it is stated, And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in thy mouth.⁹⁶Ex. 13, 9.

MISHNAH: Qorbān [shall be] what I shall not eat at your place²²Since he forbids only what he did not eat but nobody can forbid another person’s property for other people, he did not say anything., or qorbān [shall be] what I shall eat from you²³This clause is extremely difficult to explain since it is formulated exactly the standard way in which a person can prohibit another’s food for himself. The Babli reads הָקָרְבָּן, an expression which had been determined not to be an oath (Chapter 1, Note 153). It is clear in all three cases that the same vow declared as qônām or any other substitute would be valid and the person making the vow would be forbidden to eat from the other person since then the intent would be clear. It is only the use of the word which refers directly to sacrifice which makes the vow invalid., no qorbān [shall be] what I shall not eat from you²⁴This clearly is idle talk.; he is permitted. An oath that I shall not eat at your place, an oath that I shall eat from you, no oath that I shall not eat from you²⁵For a person who holds that a double negation is a positive this is an oath that he will eat; this excludes R. Meїr who does not accept that argument, cf. Chapter 1, Note 158.; he is forbidden²⁶He is bound by his oath for negative or positive.. That is more restrictive for oaths than for vows. What is more restrictive for vows than for oaths? If he said qônām that I shall not make a sukkah²⁷Lev. 23:42. The hut must at least get a new roof each year, Mishnah Sukkah 1:1., that I shall not take a lulab²⁸Lev. 23:40, the palm branch of the “4 kinds”., that I shall not put on phylacteries²⁹Ex. 13:9, 16., as a vow he is forbidden, as an oath he is permitted since one cannot swear to transgress commandments³⁰This is a principle accepted by all Jewish groups: Philo, The Special Laws II, 12–15; Damascus Document CD XIV 9..

¹²¹Another version of the Simeon ben Shetaḥ legend. Corrector’s additions are from the version in Sanhedrin 6:5, Notes 83–96, q. v. What happened in Ascalon supports him who said, Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ was president. Two pious men were in Ascalon. They ate together, drank together, and studied Torah together. One of them died, and nobody attended his funeral. The son of Ma`yan the publican died; the entire city stopped working to attend his funeral. The other pious man started crying and said woe, do the haters of Israel have no hope? He was shown in a dream that it was said to him, do not denigrate your Master’s children. This one committed one sin and died with it, the other one did one good deed and died with it<sup>122</sup>It is a general answer to the question צדיק ורע לו רשע וטוב לו “why do the just suffer and the wicked enjoy their lives?” that the wicked enjoy the rewards for their few good deeds and the just are punished for their few sins in this world, to create a clean slate for reward and punishment in the World to Come.. What sin did this pious man commit? Far be it that he committed a sin, but once he put on his head phylacteries before his arm phylacteries<sup>123</sup>Ex. 13:9,16 require that the sign (tefillin, phylacteries) carried by the faithful be on the arm before being put on the head. The repetition emphasizes the importance of this feature.. What good deed did the son of publican Ma`yan do? Far be it that he ever committed a good deed, but once he prepared a breakfast for the city council but they did not come to eat it. He said, let the poor eat it, so it should not go to waste. Some say, he was walking in the street when a loaf fell down from him¹²⁴And he would not have eaten it afterwards. and a poor person picked it up. He did not say anything [in order not to embarrass him]. After days this pious man saw his comrade the pious walking in gardens, in orchards, at water sources, and he saw the son of Ma`yan the publican with his tongue out on the river bank trying in vain to reach the water. He also saw Miriam, Onion-leaf’s daughter. Rebbi Eleazar bar Yose said, she was hanging on her breast nipples. Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, the hinge of Hell’s door was fixed in her ear. He asked them, why? They told him, because she fasted and made herself famous¹²⁵Fasting without repentance is sinful (Nedarim 9:1 Note 25.). Some say, she fasted one day and was dissolute two. He asked them for how long is she in this state? They told him, until Simeon ben Shetah comes, when we shall remove it from her ear and put it in his ear. [He asked them, and why?] They told him, because he said, that if I would be elected Patriarch, I would kill sorcerers. But now he was made Patriarch and he did not kill them. In fact, there are eighty women sorcerers in the cave of Ascalon who hurt the world. You shall go and tell him! He told them, I am afraid that since he is Patriarch he will not believe me. They told him, if he will believe you it will be good. In case that he will not believe you, perform a sign in front of him: put your hand on an eye and take it out, put it back and it will be back. He went and told him. He wanted to perform [the miracle] before him, but he told him, I know that you are a pious person; more than that you could do. In fact, I never spoke it with my mouth⁹¹Ps. 113:1. even though I intended so in my thoughts. Immediately Simeon ben Shetaḥ went on a stormy day and took with him eighty select men. He gave them eighty clean garments, put them in eighty new amphoras, and put them on them upside down. He told them, when I whistle once, put on your garments. When I whistle for the second time, come in all of you together. When you enter, each of you shall choose one and lift her from the ground, since the nature of this sorcery is that separated from the earth it cannot do anything. He went and stood at the entrance to the cave. He said אוים, אוים¹²⁶The meaning of these words is unknown. Cf. Sanhedrin 6:5, Note 93., open for me, I am one of yours. They asked, how did you come here on such a day? He said, I was walking between the raindrops. They asked him, what do you want to do here? He said, to learn and to teach. Every one should make what he is able to. One of them said what she said and produced bread. One of them said what she said and produced meat. One of them said what she said and produced dishes. One said what she said and produced wine. They asked him, what can you do? He told them, when I whistle twice, I shall bring here eighty select men for your pleasure and entertainment. They told him, that is what we desire. When he whistled the first time, they put on their garments; when he whistled for the second time, they all entered together. He said, every one who comes shall select his mate. They lifted them, took them away, and crucified them¹²⁷A certain anachronism.. That is what we have stated: “It happened that Simeon ben Shetaḥ hanged women in Ascalon. [They said, he hanged eighty women but one does not try two on the same day.” But the hour needed it¹²⁸He acted under the king’s police powers, disregarding all judicial rules..]

Minors from where? (Ex. 13:9) “So that the Torah of the Eternal should stay in your mouth”, at a time when he is permanent in it¹³⁹This paragraph is exceedingly difficult for two reasons. 1) It is a generally accepted principle that minors are not obliged to do anything; it is their parents who are obliged to teach them and see to it that they perform miẓwot. 2) The verse deals only with tefillin.
In the Yerushalmi tradition, the statement and the tradition are not unquestioned. Both Mekhiltot (Mekhilta dR. Ismael, ed. Horovitz-Rabin, p. 68; Mekhilta dR. Simeon bar Ioḥai, p.41), the Tannaïtic commentaries to Exodus, give the same commentary on the next verse (Ex. 13:10): “You must preserve this decree in its time, from year to year”. “Why has this been said? Because it has been said (v.9): ‘It shall be for you a sign on your hand’, I might understand this to include minors. And it is logical, since mezuzah is a positive commandment and tefillin are a positive commandment; if you find that mezuzah applies to minors the same way it applies to adults you might think that tefillin apply to minors the same way they apply to adults, but the verse says ‘you must preserve this decree’, I spoke only about those able to watch over their tefillin; from here they said: If a minor knows how to watch his tefillin, his father makes him tefillin.”
The argument presupposes the statement that minors are obliged to have mezuzot on their doors (meaning that if they live alone, the rabbinic authorities have to see to it that they have mezuzot on their doors). Mezuzah and tefillin are always mentioned together in the first two paragraphs of Shema‘. Hence, one may assume that they are identical in those details that are not spelled out. Both Yerushalmi and Mekhiltot agree that some explanation is needed to distinguish between the rules for mezuzah and those for tefillin. However, the Mekhiltot extend the obligation of tefillin to all school children whereas the Yerushalmi restricts it to those for whom the study of Torah is a permanent obligation, i. e., from Bar-Miẓwah onwards. In itself the argument about minors is totally irrelevant; it is needed to exclude the opinion of the Mekhiltot..

Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Eleazar¹⁰⁴Probably the Amora, student of Rebbi Yoḥanan, and not one of the Tannaïm.: He who puts on tefillin in the night transgresses a positive commandment. What is the reason? (Ex. 13:10) “ “You shall keep this law in its time, from day to day;” “days” not night, “to days”¹⁰⁵Meaning certain days, but not all days. to exclude Sabbaths and holidays. But Rebbi Abbahu sat studying at night with his tefillin on his head!¹⁰⁶How can he transgress his own statement? He put them on the side¹⁰⁷Not between his eyes, so that he was not fulfilling the commandment of wearing them, but he had them on his head to keep them since tefillin, as holy objects, have to be deposited in safe places.; they were like a deposit in his keeping. Some want to say, he only meant not to put them on, but when they were on him during daytime it would be permitted. Some want to say, let us hear it from there (Ex. 13:9): “It shall be for you a sign,” when you need it for a sign, but not holiday or Sabbaths that are all sign. But is it not written “to days”¹⁰⁸We do not expect the Torah to repeat commandments needlessly.? You have only what Rebbi Yoḥanan said: Everything that is not clear one supports from many places¹⁰⁹Since Ex. 13:10 may apply to Passover, any derivation from that verse is not clear. In Mekhilta deR. Simeon bar Yoḥai, the first derivation is anonymous, the second one is attributed to Rebbi Aqiba. While the discussion here is of Amoraïm, the entire material is tannaïtic..

What happened in Ascalon supports him who said, Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ was president. Two students were in Ascalon. They ate together, drank together, and studied Torah together. One of them died, and nobody attended his funeral. The son of Ma`yan<sup>84</sup>“The source”, a symbolic name to contrast with the punishment of his son by eternal thirst. the publican died; the entire city stopped working to attend his funeral. The other student started crying and said woe, do the haters of Israel<sup>85</sup>I. e., the Jews. It is common that bad things should be said of your enemies, not of yourself. have no hope? It was shown to him in his dream and said, do not denigrate your Master’s children. This one did one good deed and died with it, the other one committed one sin and died with it<sup>86</sup>It is a general answer to the question צדיק ורע לו רשע וטוב לו “why do the just suffer and the wicked enjoy their lives?” that the wicked enjoy the rewards for their few good deeds and the just are punished for their few sins in this world, to create a clean slate for reward and punishment in the World to Come.. What sin did he commit? Far be it that he committed a sin, but once he put on his head phylacteries before his arm phylacteries<sup>87</sup>Ex. 13:9,16 require that the sign (tefillin, phylacteries) carried by the faithful be on the arm before being put on the head. The repetition emphasizes the importance of this feature.. What good deed did the son of publican Ma`yan do? Far be it that he committed a good deed, but once he prepared a breakfast for the city council but they did not show up. He said, let the poor come and eat it, so it should not go to waste. Some say, he was walking in the street, having a loaf under his shoulder. It fell down⁸⁸And he would not have eaten it afterwards. and a poor person picked it up. He did not say anything in order not to embarrass him. This student saw gardens and water sources. He saw the son of Ma`yan the publican standing on the river bank trying in vain to reach the water. He also saw Miriam, Onion-leaf’s daughter, hanging on her breast nipples; but some say, the door of Hell was fixed in her ear. He asked, [why? They told him, because she fasted and made herself famous among her neighbors. Some say, she fasted one day and was dissolute two days. He asked them]^G for how long? They told him, when Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ comes, we shall remove it from her ear and put is in his ear. He asked them, what is his misdeed? They told him, because he made a personal vow that if he were elected president, he would kill all sorcerers. But now he was made president and he did not kill them. In fact, there are eighty women in the cave of Ascalon who hurt the world; go and tell him! He told them, he is an important personality, he will not believe me. They told him, he is very meek and will believe you. In case that he will not believe you, take out one of your eyes and put it in your hand. He took out one of his eyes and put it in his hand. They said, return it; it was even with the other. He went and told him. He wanted to perform his miracle before him, but he told him, you do not need to. I know that you are a pious person. Even though I intended so in my thoughts, I never spoke it with my mouth⁹¹He never made a vow valid in the eyes of the earthly court; he understood that the Heavenly Court uses other yardsticks for pious people. Since Deut. 23:22 declares an unfulfilled vow to fill the vower with sin; the fear of accidental, undeclared vows underlies a number of Jewish rituals.. It was a day of rainstorms. He took eighty select men in clean garments and took with them eighty amphoras⁹²I. e., he took 80 fresh garments in 80 amphoras to protect them from the rain.. He told them, when I whistle once, put on your garments. When I whistle for the second time, come. When he came to the cave of Ascalon, he said אוים, אוים⁹³The meaning of these words is unknown. Neither Rapoport’s ἅγιον, ἅγιον (holy, holy) nor Levy’s ὸμοία,ὸμοία (equals, equals), nor Dalmann’s ὠή or Jastrow’s εὔαν (hallo!) make any sense in the context. But compare Greek εὐοῖ, Latin euhoe, euoe, ēvoe, shout of joy at the festivities of Dionysos-Bacchus, possibly intended for emphasis on the idolatrous aspects of sorcery (E. G.). If the witches spoke Phoenician or Hebrew, the expression could be part of a Semitic oath formula from the root ימין like أيمزللَه “by God”., open for me, I am one of yours. When he entered, one said what she said and produced bread. One said what she said and produced a dish. One said what she said and produced wine. They asked him, what can you do? He told them, when I whistle twice, I shall bring here eighty select men in dry garments for your pleasure and entertainment. They told him, we desire them. When he whistled, they put on their garments; when he whistled for the second time, they all entered together. He made them a sign for each one to grab one of them and lift her from the earth⁹⁴Their witchcraft was an expression of chthonic powers which were only active while they were in connection with the earth. This in itself is proof of forbidden sorcery.. Then they did not succeed in what they were trying to do. He told the one who brought bread, bring bread! She did not succeed. He said, take her to be crucified⁹⁵Which is not a form of execution sanctioned by the Torah.. Bring a dish! She did not succeed. He said, take her to be crucified. Bring wine! She did not succeed. He said, take her to be crucified. This he did to all of them. That is what we have stated: “Simeon ben Shetaḥ hanged eighty women in Ascalon, but one does not try two on the same day.” But the hour needed it⁹⁶He acted under the king’s police powers, disregarding all judicial rules..

It is required that he write on leather on the place of the hair and on parchment on the place of its split³⁶³Where the script is more readable. Babli Menaḥot 32a.. If he changed this, he disqualified it. One should not write half of it on leather and half of it on parchment, but he may write on leather from a pure domestic animal and half on leather from a pure wild animal. One only writes on leather from a pure animal³⁶⁴Babli Šabbat 108a.. What is the reason? That the Eternal’s teaching be in your mouth³⁶⁵Ex. 13:9., from what you are putting into your mouth. But was it not stated, one writes on leather from carcasses and torn animals³⁶⁴Babli Šabbat 108a.? The kind which you are putting into your mouth³⁶⁶Since hide and leather are inedible anyhow.. One makes a staff at the end of a book, but for the Torah one on both sides. Therefore one rolls a book up to its beginning but the Torah to its middle³⁶⁷The Torah scroll can be stored to open at the place where one stopped reading.. Rebbi Samuel, Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥiyya bar Joseph: Even two sheets<sup>368</sup>The scroll shows two sheets when it is opened.. Rebbi Ze`ira, Samuel bar Shilat in the name of Kahana: but only at the place of the suture³⁶⁹Babli 32a.. Rebbi Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: A scroll which has no cover one turns on the writing so the writing should not be degraded³⁷⁰Eruvin 10 (Note 79); Soferim 3:16..