Talmud su Michea 3:78

They asked before Rebbi Zeïra, in that situation⁶⁶To give money to an Israel so that he should give his heave or the firstborn of his flock to a designated Cohen., a Cohen to an Israel, what is the rule? At Rebbi Yose’s they said that he did not answer. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa said, so he said to them: In the opinion of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina, why is a Cohen to an Israel forbidden, not because it looks badly⁶⁷That people could think that he buys the gifts for himself; this would be forbidden. He should not do it lest he get a reputation as a sinner.? Also Rebbi Joḥanan holds that from an Israel to an Israel it is forbidden because it looks badly⁶⁸In the opinion of R. Yose ben R. Ḥanina the rabbis, not the Bible, prohibited the farmer from having any material gain from his heave and tithes.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, there is desecration of sacrifices and you said because it looks badly? Because of the following, as it was stated:⁶⁹Tosephta Demay 5:20, a slightly longer version. “Cohanim and Levites who help at the threshing floor have no right either to heave or to tithe, and if the farmer gave, it is desecrated, as it is said (Lev. 22:15): ‘They should not desecrate the sanctified things of the Children of Israel,’ but they desecrate them! In addition, they said⁷⁰By a decree of the Court, which has the power of removing property rights, anything that the Cohen receives is tevel and he has to give its heave and tithes to another Cohen. This is made explicit in the Tosephta. that their heave is no heave, their tithes are no tithes, their dedications are no dedications, and about them the verse says (Micha 3:11): ‘Their heads judge for bribes and their priests come for a price⁷¹And their prophets perform witchcraft for money. The three punishments for the three sins are: Zion will be ploughed as a field, Jerusalem will be desolate, and the Temple Mount a wooded hill..’ The Omnipresent brings over them three catastrophies; that is what is written (Micha 3:12): ‘Therefore, because of you Zion will be ploughed over as a field, etc.’”

They asked before Rebbi Zeïra, in that situation⁶⁶To give money to an Israel so that he should give his heave or the firstborn of his flock to a designated Cohen., a Cohen to an Israel, what is the rule? At Rebbi Yose’s they said that he did not answer. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa said, so he said to them: In the opinion of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina, why is a Cohen to an Israel forbidden, not because it looks badly⁶⁷That people could think that he buys the gifts for himself; this would be forbidden. He should not do it lest he get a reputation as a sinner.? Also Rebbi Joḥanan holds that from an Israel to an Israel it is forbidden because it looks badly⁶⁸In the opinion of R. Yose ben R. Ḥanina the rabbis, not the Bible, prohibited the farmer from having any material gain from his heave and tithes.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, there is desecration of sacrifices and you said because it looks badly? Because of the following, as it was stated:⁶⁹Tosephta Demay 5:20, a slightly longer version. “Cohanim and Levites who help at the threshing floor have no right either to heave or to tithe, and if the farmer gave, it is desecrated, as it is said (Lev. 22:15): ‘They should not desecrate the sanctified things of the Children of Israel,’ but they desecrate them! In addition, they said⁷⁰By a decree of the Court, which has the power of removing property rights, anything that the Cohen receives is tevel and he has to give its heave and tithes to another Cohen. This is made explicit in the Tosephta. that their heave is no heave, their tithes are no tithes, their dedications are no dedications, and about them the verse says (Micha 3:11): ‘Their heads judge for bribes and their priests come for a price⁷¹And their prophets perform witchcraft for money. The three punishments for the three sins are: Zion will be ploughed as a field, Jerusalem will be desolate, and the Temple Mount a wooded hill..’ The Omnipresent brings over them three catastrophies; that is what is written (Micha 3:12): ‘Therefore, because of you Zion will be ploughed over as a field, etc.’”

They asked before Rebbi Zeїra: a Cohen to an Israel, Rebbi forbids. What does Rebbi Yose say? Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa said, so he responded to them: In the opinion of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina, why is a Cohen to an Israel forbidden, not because it looks badly? Also Rebbi Joḥanan holds that from an Israel to an Israel it is forbidden because it looks badly. In addition, because of the following, as it was stated: “Cohanim and Levites who help at the threshing floor have no right either to heave or to tithe, and if the farmer gave, it is desecrated, as it is said (Lev. 22:15): ‘They should not desecrate the sanctified things of the Children of Israel,’ but they desecrate them! In addition, they said that their heave is no heave, their tithes are no tithes, their dedications are no dedications, and about them the verse says (Micha 3:11): ‘Their heads judge for bribes, [their priests are for hire].’ The Omnipresent brings over them three catastrophies; that is what is written (Micha 3:12): ‘Therefore, because of you Zion will be ploughed over as a field, Jerusalem will be desolate, and the Temple Mount a wooded hill.’

They asked before Rebbi Zeїra: a Cohen to an Israel, Rebbi forbids. What does Rebbi Yose say? Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa said, so he responded to them: In the opinion of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina, why is a Cohen to an Israel forbidden, not because it looks badly? Also Rebbi Joḥanan holds that from an Israel to an Israel it is forbidden because it looks badly. In addition, because of the following, as it was stated: “Cohanim and Levites who help at the threshing floor have no right either to heave or to tithe, and if the farmer gave, it is desecrated, as it is said (Lev. 22:15): ‘They should not desecrate the sanctified things of the Children of Israel,’ but they desecrate them! In addition, they said that their heave is no heave, their tithes are no tithes, their dedications are no dedications, and about them the verse says (Micha 3:11): ‘Their heads judge for bribes, [their priests are for hire].’ The Omnipresent brings over them three catastrophies; that is what is written (Micha 3:12): ‘Therefore, because of you Zion will be ploughed over as a field, Jerusalem will be desolate, and the Temple Mount a wooded hill.’

‘If you have done a little evil’, etc. This has already been taught in a previous Baraitha!⁹⁰Cf. Baraitha 12, ‘If men have done you much evil, let it be little in your eyes’. The questioner erroneously assumed that the two Baraithoth speak of the same person. Here it refers to [doing evil to] one’s neighbour, but there [to others having done evil] to him. Know [that this is so because of the words in the previous Baraitha], ‘I have merited more’.
BARAITHA. Let your fellow-man be your mirror; and in money matters too let your fellow-man’s money be as dear to you as your own.⁹¹Aboth II, 17 (Sonc. ed., II, 12, p. 22). And with regard to honour let your fellow-man’s honour be as dear to you as your own.⁹²ibid. 15 (Sonc. ed., 10, p. 20). Honour all men; love him who reproves you and hate him who honours you.
GEMARA. ‘Let your fellow-man be your mirror’—what does he [mean] to say? This is what he says: Whenever you speak of your fellow let his image be before you.⁹³Imagine that he is present, and you will never speak ill of him.
BARAITHA. Do not say, ‘I will flatter this man that he may give me to eat; I will flatter this man that he may give me to drink; I will flatter this man that he may clothe me’.
GEMARA. What is the reason? For such is the conduct of false prophets. They say to one man, ‘There is no one like you and who can be compared to you?’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘For the sake of food you honour them, [as it is written,] That cry: “Peace”, when their teeth have anything to bite.⁹⁴Micah 3, 5, spoken of the false prophets. Behold, I will feed them with wormwood.⁹⁵Jer. 23, 15, which also relates to the false prophets. They flatter them but forsake Me, [as it is written,] For from the prophets of Jerusalem is ungodliness gone forth into all the land’.⁹⁶ibid.
BARAITHA. Let not your lips put you to shame; let not your mouth despise you; let not your tongue curse you; let not your teeth disgrace you. Do not insinuate yourself with your fellow-man.
GEMARA. As it is written, Thou art snared by the words of thy mouth.⁹⁷Prov. 6, 2.
BARAITHA.⁹⁸The translation follows the Baraitha as reconstructed by H (p. 266 in his edition). Love the Torah, love righteous deeds, rebukes and upright actions; and know the difference between what is yours and what is not yours, for what is yours is [in reality] not yours.
GEMARA. ‘Love the Torah’—but this has already been taught!⁹⁹Cf. III, 17. There it speaks of loving [the study of the Torah] even without companions,¹⁰⁰i.e. he has companions but they are not interested in the study of the Torah; in spite of them he should love the Torah and study it by himself. and here when one has no companions he tells you, ‘Let this not¹⁰¹Reading לא for לך. cause you [to abandon the study of the Torah]’. And do not say that this [advice] applies to Torah alone and not to the performance of righteous deeds; and do not say, ‘I have done all these¹⁰²Recommendations in the Baraitha. and yet [my fellow-man] reproves me!’ because every man looks good in his own eyes.¹⁰³A person rarely sees his own faults.
[Come and hear: ‘[Love] rebukes’:]¹⁰⁴Inserted by H. Do not say, ‘Where you are reproved because of secular affairs [you need not listen to a rebuke]’.¹⁰⁵In the mistaken belief that the duty of listening to reproof is confined to religious matters. Come and hear: ‘[Love] upright actions’:¹⁰⁶Correcting the text in agreement with the Baraitha. Know [that one has to listen to reproof on secular matters] because the Baraitha teaches, ‘What is yours and what is not yours’. Everything belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He, and [material things] are given only to test human beings so that the Garden of Eden should take its portion of them and Gehinnom its portion.
BARAITHA. Be submissive and beloved; be like a split bottle.
GEMARA. ‘Be submissive’—we have already learnt this in another chapter!¹⁰⁷III, 3. There it refers towards all one’s friends, and here towards the members of one’s family. ‘Be like a split bottle’—what need is there to teach this here?¹⁰⁸Since it occurs in III, 5. It is necessary because you might think that there it refers only to Torah and religious precepts and not to things that perish.¹⁰⁹i.e. matters of passing value. Hence it teaches [that it does also apply to such matters].

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.

Further [R. ‘Aḳiba] sat on the bench [and taught]: Good things are brought about through the agency of good men.⁶⁷Cf. Shab. 32a (Sonc. ed., p. 146). Even if Moses and Aaron had not arisen, Israel would still have been worthy to be redeemed from Egypt,⁶⁸Because of the promise God made to Abraham. as it is stated, And afterward shall they come out with great substance.⁶⁹Gen. 15, 14. Had not Moses and Aaron and the Generation of the Wilderness arisen, Israel would still have been worthy to receive the Torah, as it is stated, He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright.⁷⁰Prov. 2, 7, sound wisdom being a synonym for the Torah and the upright for Israel. The section of ‘the judges’⁷¹Ex. 18, 21-23. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if Jethro had not arisen. The section of ‘the smaller Passover’⁷²Num. 9, 1-14, also known as the ‘second Passover’. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the ‘unclean’ had not arisen, as it is stated, We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of the Lord in its appointed season among the children of Israel?⁷³ibid. 7. The section of ‘inheritance’⁷⁴ibid.XXVII, 6-11. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the daughters of Zelophehad⁷⁵ibid. 1-5. had not arisen. The Temple would have been worthy to be built even if David and Solomon had not arisen, as it is stated, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.⁷⁶Ex. 15, 17. Israel would have been worthy to be redeemed in the days of Haman even it Mordecai and Esther had not arisen, as it is stated, And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly,⁷⁷Lev. 26, 44. etc.
Israel were destined to be enslaved even if Pharaoh had not arisen in Egypt, as it is stated, And [they] shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.⁷⁸Gen. 15, 13. Israel were destined to serve idols even if Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had not arisen, as it is stated, And this people will rise up, and go astray after the foreign gods of the land.⁷⁹Deut. 31, 16. The section of ‘the blasphemer’⁸⁰Lev. 24, 10ff. and of ‘the gatherer of sticks’⁸¹Num. 15 32-36. would have been worthy to be promulgated even if the son of the Israelitish woman and the gatherer of sticks had not arisen. Israel would have been destined to be destroyed by the sword even if so and so⁸²i.e. nations hostile to Israel. They were so many that they are not specified. had not arisen, as it is stated, All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword;⁸³Amos.Cf. IX, 10. and it declares, By sword and famine shall they be consumed.⁸⁴Jer. 14, 15. Israel would have deserved to be destroyed even if Nebuchadnezzar and his companions had not arisen, as it is stated, Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.⁸⁵Micah 3, 12.

They asked before Rebbi Zeïra: a Cohen to an Israel, Rebbi forbids. What does Rebbi Yose say? He did not respond. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa said, so he said to them: In the opinion of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina, why is a Cohen to an Israel forbidden, not because it looks badly? Also Rebbi Joḥanan holds that from an Israel to an Israel it is forbidden because it looks badly. In addition, because of the following, as it was stated: “Cohanim and Levites who help at the threshing floor have no right either to heave or to tithe, and if the farmer gave, it is desecrated, as it is said (Lev. 22:15): ‘They should not desecrate the sanctified things of the Children of Israel,’ but they do desecrate them! In addition, they said that their heave is no heave, their tithes are no tithes, their dedications are no dedications, and about them the verse says (Micha3:11): ‘Their heads judge for bribes, their priests instruct for hire, etc.’ The Omnipresent brings over them three catastrophes; that is what is written (Micha 3:12): ‘Therefore, because of you Zion will be ploughed over as a field, Jerusalem will be desolate, and the Temple Mount a wooded hill.’

They asked before Rebbi Zeïra: a Cohen to an Israel, Rebbi forbids. What does Rebbi Yose say? He did not respond. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Aḥa said, so he said to them: In the opinion of Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Ḥanina, why is a Cohen to an Israel forbidden, not because it looks badly? Also Rebbi Joḥanan holds that from an Israel to an Israel it is forbidden because it looks badly. In addition, because of the following, as it was stated: “Cohanim and Levites who help at the threshing floor have no right either to heave or to tithe, and if the farmer gave, it is desecrated, as it is said (Lev. 22:15): ‘They should not desecrate the sanctified things of the Children of Israel,’ but they do desecrate them! In addition, they said that their heave is no heave, their tithes are no tithes, their dedications are no dedications, and about them the verse says (Micha3:11): ‘Their heads judge for bribes, their priests instruct for hire, etc.’ The Omnipresent brings over them three catastrophes; that is what is written (Micha 3:12): ‘Therefore, because of you Zion will be ploughed over as a field, Jerusalem will be desolate, and the Temple Mount a wooded hill.’