MISHNAH: The following are recited in the vernacular: The verses of the suspect wife [The verses the Cohen has to read to the wife before she drinks. While the scroll has to be written in Hebrew, the wife has to understand them and, therefore, they have to be translated into her vernacular.] , and the declaration of tithes [Deut. 26:12–16.] , and the recitation of the Šema‘ [Cf. Berakhot, Chapters 1–2.] , and prayer [The eighteen (respectively 7 or 9) benedictions of the ‘Amidah; cf. Berakhot, Chapters 1–2.] , and grace [After a meal.] , and the oath of a witness [If somebody puts an oath on a possible witness that he should come and testify for him; Lev. 5:1. Testimony itself is given without an oath.] , and the oath about a deposit [Ex. 22:6–12.] .
HALAKHAH: “The following are recited,” etc. It is written [Num. 5:21. The argument being that this clause is redundant. The full verse reads: “The Cohen shall make the woman swear by a curse-oath, the Cohen shall tell the woman: …”.] : “The Cohen shall tell the woman,” in any language she understands, the words of Rebbi Joshia. Rebbi Jonathan said to him, if she does not understand, how could she answer “Amen, Amen” [In Sifry Num. 12, the objection is attributed to R. Ismael, R. Joshia’s teacher, not to R. Jonathan, R. Joshia’s student. R. Ismael’s interpretation is that the Cohen has to go into all details of the proceedings. The Babli, 32b, is the only source which accepts R. Joshia’s derivation. Then the Babli, without mentioning names, follows R. Ismael’s interpretation but treats it as purely rabbinic.] ? But that he should not talk to her through an interpreter.
[Gen. rabba 20(12), 45(14), 63(8).] Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon: We do not find that the Omnipresent talked to a woman, except only to Sarah. But is there not written [Gen. 3:16.] : “To the woman He said: I shall increase,” etc.? Rebbi Jacob of Kefar Ḥanin [Elsewhere he is called “from Kefar Ḥanan”.] said, through an interpreter [Adam is addressed by the Eternal in 3:9, the woman in 3:13, the snake in 3:14.] . But is there not written [Gen. 25:23.] : “The Eternal said to her, two peoples are in your womb”? Rebbi Abba bar Cahana said, the Word fell to her [A word about her fell to a prophet (in the opinion of Gen. rabba, Sem ben Noah.)] . Rebbi Biri said, how many weaver’s shuttles! The Holy One, praise to Him, desires to hear the talk of the just women: “He said no, but you laughed. [The only time we find a mention of God addressing a woman directly it is about an unimportant matter.] ”
“The declaration of tithes, as it is written [There is no such verse. It really should read (Deut. 26:13): “You should say before the Eternal, your God,” Who understands all languages, in contrast to the declaration of First Fruits (v. 3), where it says “you should say to him (the priest)”, who is supposed to speak only Hebrew. The quote contradicts Halakhah 2, Notes 43ff; it is correct in Sifry Deut. 303 and in the Babli, 32b, where it is pointed out that “declare and say” always means Hebrew only (as in Deut. 27:14).] : “You should declare and say.”
“And the recitation of the Šema‘.” For it is written [Deut. 6:7. Nobody can discuss something he does not understand.] : “You shall talk about them.” Rebbi says, I say that the Šema‘ is recited only in the holy language. What is the reason? “The words shall be [Deut. 6:7. It is understood that the verb היה “to be” in general describes a permanent state. In our case, this means that the words, Deut. 6:1–9, should not be changed. Then they cannot be recited in translation. The Babli, 32b, goes into an extended discussion on the relative merits of the two positions.] ”. Rebbi Levi bar Ḥaita [In the Arukh, s. v. אלנסתין, reads בר הזותא but the reading here seems to be original. A Galilean preacher of the fourth/fifth generation.] went [In the Arukh, על “he ascended”, to Caesarea Philippi.] to Caesarea. He heard their voices when they were reading the Šema‘ in Hellenistic [Greek ἑλληνιστί, adv., “in the Greek language”, here probably Judeo-Greek. [The final ן might indicate a nasal pronuciation]. In Tanḥuma texts, the word is always written אלנסטי. {While in the commentary to Gen. 35:8 [Tanḥuma Buber Wayyišlaḥ 26 (Note 100)], the word ἄλλον is Greek and is characterized as such in Gen. rabba 81(5), the identification of the root in קָטָבְךָ (Hos. 13:14) as κατάβα קאטאבא (“go down’, imperative, short for κατάβηθι) with a Semitic suffix [Tanḥuma Buber Ṣaw 4 (Note 30), Tanḥuma Ṣaw 2] can only be described as Judeo-Greek.}] manner. He wanted to hinder them, but Rebbi Yose heard of it and was offended. He said, do I say that someone who does not know to read Assyrian letters [Hebrew Square letters, which replaced the paleo-Hebrew script. Since the latter was retained by the Samaritans, the rabbinic authorities insisted on the exclusive use of the square alphabet. One might wonder whether the text expressly authorizes, e. g., Judeo-Arabic or Judeo-German translations written in “Assyrian” characters.] should not recite it at all? But he fulfills his duty in any language he knows. Rebbi Berekhiah objected: But there is the Esther scroll, where somebody who knows to read both Asssyrian script and Greek [לעז “barbaric”, is used in talmudic literature exclusively for Greek, for which approved translations existed.] can fulfill his obligation only from Assyrian script [The Babli, Megillah 18a, permits the bilingual person to hear the Esther story in Greek but rules that reading from a Hebrew scroll written in square letters is acceptable for everybody, even for those who do not know Hebrew. (In Halakhah 2, there is a discussion whether square letters are “Assyrian” or “rich” script.)] . Rebbi Mana said: About the Esther scroll, somebody who knows to read both Asssyrian script and Greek can fulfill his obligation only from Assyrian script; Greek only, he fulfills his obligation in Greek; and so he can fulfill his obligation in any language he understands.
“And prayer,” that one should know how to ask according to his needs. “And grace,” that one should know to Whom he gives praise.
“And the oath of a witness and the oath about a deposit.” One makes him swear in his own language. If one made them swear not in their language and they said “Amen”, they are not prosecutable [Nobody is prosecutable for perjury if he was not admonished in his own language by the court before answering the oath read to him. In the Babli, 33a, the rule is derived from verses. The Tosephta, 7:1, has a different version: If the court explained to him five times in any language he understands and he confirms his oath, he is guilty (if he swears falsely).] . As we have stated [The text is also in Nedarim 3:1; a parallel text in Babli Šebuot 29a, Nedarim 25a.] : The oath before the judges is according to our understanding, not according to your understanding. Rebbi Yudan said, it is to be assumed that he makes them swear according to his understanding. Why does he have to spell out this condition to him? Because of the uneducated, lest they say that there may be mental reservations for oaths. Rebbi Ḥanania stated before Rebbi Mana: Is there not written [Deut. 29:14. The argument is about what is written before and after the fragment quoted: “Not with you alone am I concluding this covenant and this oath. But with everybody who stands here with us today, and with those who are not with us today.” How can you have an oath with anybody not involved?] : “But with everybody who stands here with us today”? He said to him, the future generations do not have mental reservations [Since the unborn cannot have mental reservations, so the mental reservations of the living are invalid.] .
MISHNAH: But the following must be said in the holy language: The recitation for the first fruits [The declaration in the Temple, Mishnah Bikkurim 2:5.] , ḥalîṣah [The required declarations by the childless widow and brother-in-law in the ceremony which frees her to marry outside the family; cf. Yebamot12:3–4.] , blessings and curses [This is of purely antiquarian character, asserting that the curses detailed in Deut. 27:11–26 (each curse prefaced by a corresponding blessing: “Blessed be the man who will not …”) were pronounced in Hebrew, based on Jos. 8:34; cf. Halakhah 4.] , the priestly blessing [Num. 6:22–26.] , the benedictions of the High Priest [In the service of the Day of Atonement, Mishnah Yoma 7:1; cf. Halakhah 6.] , the portion about the king [The public reading from the Torah at the end of a Sabbatical year, Deut. 31:10–13; cf. Halakhot 7–8.] , the portion about the calf whose neck was broken [The declarations Deut. 21:7 (the Elders), 8 (the priests); cf. Chapter 9.] , the [priest] anointed for war at the time he speaks to the people [Deut. 20:1–9; cf. Chapter 8.] . The recitation for the first fruits, how? “You shall begin and say before the Eternal, your God [Deut. 26:5.] ” but further on it says, “the Levites shall begin and say to all the men of Israel in an elevated voice [Deut. 27:14. The implication of this verse is explained in the Halakhah.] ”. Since “beginning” further on means in the holy language, so also here in the holy language [This is an application of the third hermeneutical rule of R. Ismael: The meaning of a word is defined by one paradigm. It does not fit the mold of the second rule, “equal cut”, preferred by the commentators.] . Ḥalîṣah how? “She shall begin and say: So shall be done to the man [Deut. 25:9.] ” but further on it says, “the Levites shall begin and say to all the men of Israel in an elevated voice”. Since “beginning” further on means in the holy language, so also here in the holy language. Rebbi Jehudah says, “She shall begin and say so,” [it is invalid] unless she says exactly that text [He disregards the dividing accent in the sentence and reads: “She shall begin and say so: it will be done to the man who will not build his brother’s house” instead of “She shall begin and say: thus will be done …” It gives a different twist to a derivation originating with R. Jehudah’s father’s teacher R. Eliezer in Mishnah Yebamot 12:4; cf. Babli 33a/b.] .
HALAKHAH: It was stated in the name of Rebbi Jehudah: Any place where it was said in any of these expressions: you begin and say, thus, and thus [The first and last expressions were mentioned in the Mishnah. כה “thus” is the introduction to the priests’ blessing, Num. 6:23.] , it means in the holy language. Rebbi Eleazar said, the defining paradigm for all is: “Moses would speak and God would answer him by voice [Ex. 19:19. This is not a reference to the statement of R. Jehudah, but to the argument of the Mishnah. While in that verse, the root ענה does not have the meaning of “to begin to speak” but “to answer”, the mention of קול “voice”, which was in Hebrew, transfers to the recitation of the Levites, who have to speak בְּקוֹל רָם “in the voice of the High”, where High is a Title of God, Is. 56:15; cf. below, Note 61.] .” Rebbi Ḥaggai objected, is there not written, “Laban and Bethuel began [Gen. 24:50. As noted later, they spoke Aramaic.] ,” if you say because of “beginning” only, is there not written “and said [That verse contains both roots, ענה and אמר, even if they are separated by the names of the speakers. Therefore, the argument of R. Jehudah is invalid.] ”? If you want to say, by “saying” only, is there not written “from the Eternal came the word” [This is a counter-argument. Since Laban and Bethuel admitted that the betrothal of Rebecca was a word of the Eternal, did they not speak Hebrew at that moment?] ? If you want to say, in the holy language, is there not written “the stone heap of testimony [Gen. 31:47. Since Laban had to translate Jacob’s גַלְעֵד into Aramaic, it follows that he did not speak Hebrew.] ”? If you want to say, before the Torah was given, is there not the text of the declaration of tithes [Deut. 26:16. However, there only the root אמר is used.] which may be recited in any language [Cf. Mishnah 1.] ?
Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: The Syriac language should not be unimportant in your eyes, for it is mentioned in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Hagiographs. In the Torah, it is written: “Laban called it the heap of testimony [Gen. 31:47. Since Laban had to translate Jacob’s גַלְעֵד into Aramaic, it follows that he did not speak Hebrew.] ”. In Prophets, it is written: “So you shall say to them. [Jer. 10:11.] ” In Hagiographs, it is written: “The Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic. [Dan. 2:4.] ” Rebbi Jonathan from Bet Gubrin said, four languages are good for use: The foreign language [Greek.] for song, Latin for war, Syriac for elegies, Hebrew for speech. Some people say, also Assyrian [“Hebrew” square script, which originally is an Aramaic development of paleo-Hebrew.] for writing. Assyrian has a script but no language [Since it is used for Hebrew, Aramaic, Mandaic etc.] , Hebrew has a language but no script [Once paleo-Hebrew script was abandoned.] . They chose for them Assyrian script and Hebrew language [This is a shortened version of a Babylonian tradition (by the “Heads of the Diaspora”) that Moses wrote the Torah in Hebrew script and language, Ezra wrote the Torah in Aramaic translation and Assyrian script, but the people chose Hebrew text and Assyrian (Aramaic) letters: Sanhedrin 21b; also cf. Megillah 1:11 (fol. 71b, line 67).] . Why is its name called אֲשׁוּרִי? Because one is made happy in writing it [The meaning of the sentence is not clear. One could translate: Because its writing is plain.] . Rebbi Levi said, because they brought it with them from Assyria [Square script is not found before the return from Mesopotamia, where the exiles lived mostly in the Aramaic-speaking Northern parts.] .
It is written [Deut. 27:14.] : “The Levites shall begin and say to all the men of Israel in an elevated voice [Or, “the voice of the Most High,” cf. Note 44.] ”, this teaches that the Holy One, praise to Him, associated His voice to theirs. Another explanation, “the best of voices”. Rebbi Isaac said, not low, not high, but moderate.
MISHNAH: Blessings and curses [This is of purely antiquarian character, asserting that the curses detailed in Deut. 27:11–26 (each curse prefaced by a corresponding blessing: “Blessed be the man who will not …”) were pronounced in Hebrew, based on Jos. 8:34; cf. Halakhah 4.] , how? When Israel had crossed the Jordan they came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Samaria, next to Sichem which is close to the terebinths of guidance, as it is said [Deut. 11:30: “They are on the other side of the Jordan, westward, on the road to sunset, in the Land of the Canaanite who dwells in the prairie, opposite Gilgal, near the terebinths of guidance.”] : “They are on the other side of the Jordan, etc.”, and at another place it says [Gen. 12:6. The terebinth may have been a holy tree (or in the language of Deut., a holy grove) at the crossing on the North-South route (Damascus) - Ir Gannim - Beër Šeba - (Egypt) and the “road towards sundown” from Adam-the-City to the Mediterranean.] : “Abram traveled through the Land up to the place of Sichem, up to the terebinth of guidance.” Since the terebinth of guidance mentioned there is at Sichem so the the terebinths of guidance mentioned here are at Sichem [The lengthy discussion in the Mishnah is a polemic against R. Eleazar in the Halakhah. For all of Halakhot 3–5, cf. Seder ‘Olam, Chapter 11, in the author’s edition pp. 109–119; Tosephta Chapter 8.] .
HALAKHAH: [Parallel texts in Babli 33b, Tosephta Chapter 8, Sifry Deut. 56.] “ [Deut. 11:30: “They are on the other side of the Jordan, westward, on the road to sunset, in the Land of the Canaanite who dwells in the prairie, opposite Gilgal, near the terebinths of guidance.”] They are on the other side of the Jordan,” away from the Jordan. “Far away [Rashi, Commentary to Soṭa 33b, attributes this meaning of אחרי to Gen. rabba. If one accepts the usual meaning “westward” (adopted by Rashi in his Commentary to Deut.), one would have to read “sunset” in the opinion of R. Jehudah and “sunrise” in that of R. Eleazar, as suggested by L. Finkelstein, Sifry Deut., pp. 123–124.] from the road towards the sun’s coming”, the place from where the sun shines. “In the Land of the Canaanite who dwells in the prairie, opposite Gilgal, near the terebinths of guidance.” That refers to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal among the Samaritans, the words of Rebbi Jehudah. Rebbi Eleazar [Only in Sifry Deut. the reading is: R. Eliezer. That reading is very unlikely since R. Ilaï, R. Jehudah’s father, was R. Eliezer’s student. (The one reading “R. Eleazar” quoted by Finkelstein in his apparatus comes from a secondary source not necessarily dependent upon Sifry.)] said, this does not refer to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal of the Samaritans. “They are on the other side of the Jordan,” by the Jordan. “To the West, on the road to sunset,” a place where the sun goes down. “In the Land of the Canaanite,” but there is the Ḥiwwite [In Sichem, Gen. 34:2.] . “Who dwells in the prairie,” but there it is in the mountains. “Opposite Gilgal,” Gilgal is nowhere there [East of Jericho, Jos. 4:19.] . “Near the terebinths of guidance.” The terebinths of guidance are not there [Here one speaks of a grove, in the verse referring to Abraham of a single tree.] . How does Rebbi Eleazar uphold “Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal”? They made two elevations and called them Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. In the opinion of Rebbi Jehudah, they walked 120 mil on that day [The distance from Jericho to Sichem is estimated at 60 mil (in the Babli, 36a, and one Tosephta source, “more than 60 mil”). In R. Jehudah’s opinion they crossed the Jordan, put up the stones, walked to Sichem, completed the ceremony, and walked back, all in one day. This contradicts Jos. 8:30–35.] . In the opinion of Rebbi Eleazar, they did not move at all.
It was stated [Babli 33b, Sifry Deut. 56.] : “Rebbi Eliezer ben Jacob says, the verse comes only to prepare the road for them and say that they should walk on the road, not in fields, in inhabited regions, not in the desert, in the valley [Sifry Deut. explains ערבה as מישור “plain”.] , not in the mountains.
Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon [In the other sources (Babli 33b, Sifry Deut. 56): R. Eleazar ben R. Yose. This is the Babylonian tradition which attributes the material of Seder Olam to the school of R. Yose.] said: I told the Samaritan scribes: You falsified your Torah and did not gain anything, because you cause to be written in your Torah “near the terebinths of guidance, Sichem [An additional word which is not original.] ”. Is it not known that this is Sichem? It is only because you do not explain by “equal cut [The second hermeneutical rule which stipulates that a word in the Torah can have only one meaning; cf. Berakhot 1:1, Note 70.] ”, but we explain by “equal cut”. [See the Mishnah.] It is written here, “the terebinths of guidance”, and it is said there, “the terebinths of guidance.” Since “the terebinths of guidance” there are at Sichem, also “the terebinths of guidance” here are at Sichem; and following Rebbi Ismael. For Rebbi Ismael said, any “comings” which were said in the Torah refer to after fourteen years, seven during which they conquered and seven during which they distributed [Any commandment in the Torah which is prefaced by “when you come into the Land” is activated only after each tribe has received their portion of land (Seder Olam Chapter 11, pp. 108–109; Babli Zebaḥim 118b, Arakhin 13a).] . Therefore, blessings and curses were recited only after fourteen years. Rebbi Ḥanania objected before Rebbi Mana: Is it not written [Deut. 27:4. These stones had to be erected on Mount Ebal.] , “It shall be when you cross the Jordan you shall erect these stones”? He said to him, they erected the stones immediately [In that case, Jos. 4:8, 8:30–35, support the interpretation of R. Eleazar.] but blessings and curses were said only after fourteen years.
MISHNAH: Six tribes climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and six tribes climbed to the top of Mount Ebal [Deut. 27:12–13; Jos. 8:33.] while the Cohanim, the Levites, and the ark were below in the middle. The Cohanim were surrounding the ark, the Levites the Cohanim, and all of Israel [were] on both sides, as it was said [Jos. 8:33.] : “And all of Israel, its Elders, its policemen, its judges were standing on both sides of the ark …” They turned their faces towards Mount Gerizim and opened with the blessing: “Blessed be the man who will not make a hewn or molten [image], the Eternal’s abomination, made by an artisan, and will not put it up in secret.” These and those did answer and say: Amen. They turned their faces towards Mount Ebal and opened with the curse [Deut. 27:15.] : “Cursed be the man who would make a hewn or molten [image], the Eternal’s abomination, made by an artisan, and would put it up in secret.” These and those did answer and say: Amen, until they finished blessings and curses.
HALAKHAH: It was stated: Rebbi says, it is impossible to say that Levi is up [Deut 27:11–14 seems to be self-contradictory. In v. 12, it is stated that the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Jehudah, etc. have to stand on Mount Gerizim but in v. 14 the Levites are in the middle to recite the curses.] because it already was said that Levi is down. It is impossible to say that Levi is down because it already was said that Levi is up. From this you say, the Elders of the Levites and the priests are down and the rest of the tribe are up [In the Tosephta, 8:8, and the Babli, 37a, Rebbi is reported to say that all tribes were standing at the foot of the respective mountains (cf. Jos. 8:33) The opinion given here is there ascribed to R. Eliezer ben Jacob.] . Rebbi Simeon says, it is impossible to say that Levi is up because it already was said that Levi is down and it is impossible to say that Levi is down because it already was said that Levi is up. From this you say, anyone able to serve [In the Tabernacle, between the ages of 25 and 50 (Num. 8:24–25). In Tosephta and Babli, this opinion is ascribed to R. Joshia.] is down and the rest of the tribe is up. Rebbi Simeon says, “Simeon and Levi”, since all of Simeon are up, also all of Levi are up. How do I confirm “in face of the Cohanim, the Levites”? [Ma‘aśer Šeni 5:5, Note 90; Babli Yebamot 86b, Ḥulin 24b.] As Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, in 24 places are Cohanim called Levites and this is one of them [Ez. 44:15.] : “The Cohanim Levites, the descendants of Ṣadoq.”
One could think that those on Mount Gerizim did recite the blessings and those on Mount Ebal did recite the curses, the verse [There is no such verse; both in Deut. 30:1 and Jos. 8:34 the singular is used. The plural is used for “blessings” in Deut. 28:2, for “curses” in Deut. 28:15.] says “the blessings and the curses”; both were saying blessings and curses. One could think that after they had recited the blessings they were reciting the curses, the verse [Deut. 11:26, Jos. 8:34. From here on, a similar argument is in Sifry Deut. 55; that text is reproduced in the Babli, 37b.] says “the blessing and the curse”, one blessing and one curse. One could think that those on Mount Gerizim did answer “Amen” after the blessings and those on Mount Ebal did answer “Amen” after the curses, the verse [Deut. 27:15.] says “the entire people will answer and say “Amen”; these and those did answer “Amen” after the blessings and after the curses. How is that? When they were reciting the blessings they were turning their faces towards Mount Gerizim; when they were reciting the curses they were turning their faces towards Mount Ebal.
[Babli 37 a/b, Tosephta 8:10–11. The explanation follows Rashi in the Babli.] Blessed in general and blessed in particular [Deut. 27:26 is general, referring to “the words of this Torah”, but vv. 15–25 refer to particular sins.] ; cursed in general and cursed in particular. Sixteen covenants on every detail, to study, to teach, to keep, and to do [For each commandment one is obligated to study it (Deut. 6:6), to teach it (Deut. 6:7, 11:19), to keep and execute it (Deut. 4:6,5:1). There are four obligations that bring blessings and four omissions that bring curses, in all 8. Since every commandment is also part of “the words of this Torah”, that equals 16 for each single commandment.] ; and the same on Sinai [Lev. 26:46.] and the same in the prairie of Moab [Deut. 28:69.] . Rebbi Simeon does exclude that of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal [Since Joshua executed only a commandment of Moses; he did not conclude a new covenant at that moment, but did so later, cf. Jos. 24:25.] and instead includes that of the Tent of Meeting [The Babli, 27b, quotes here a disagreement between R. Aqiba, who holds that the entire Torah was given at Sinai and repeated in the Tent of Meeting, and R. Ismael who holds that the general outline was given at Sinai but the details only in the Tent of Meeting (cf. Lev. 1:1).] . Also Rebbi Simeon [In the Tosephta, R. Simeon is credited with the statement that a total of 3 times 16 covenants were established for every commandment.] did say, there is no single detail in the Torah about which not 576 covenants were concluded. Twelve [One for each verse of Deut. 27:15–26.] in blessing, twelve in cursing. Twelve in general, twelve in detail. That makes 48 covenants. To study, to teach, to keep, and to do, that makes 192 covenants. The same on Sinai and the same in the prairie of Moab, that makes 576 covenants. Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah from the village of Emmaus [In the Babylonian sources, the name of the village is עכוֹ or עיכוס, עיבום but in the Tosephta also once עמוס, cf. S. Lieberman, Tosefta kiFshutah Našim p. 711; A. Liss, ed., The Babylonian Talmud with variant readings, Sotah, vol. 2, p. 148, Notes 33,39*.] says in the name of Rebbi Simeon: 603’550 [This is the census of the tribes in Num. 1:46, excluding the Levites. This means that he counts one individual covenant for each Israelite. This is the explicit statement in the Tosephta. In the Babli: 48 covenants for 603’550, attributed to Rebbi in our text. The statement of Rebbi in the Tosephta is: 13 covenants for 603’550.] . Rebbi says, if one follows the words of Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah from the village of Emmaus who said in the name of Rebbi Simeon, then there is no single detail in the Torah about which not 48 times 603’550 covenants were concluded.
So far subjects which were stated in general and in detail [Of the twelve blessings and curses (cf. Note 102), one is general and 11 are in detail. The ones in detail are also contained in the last, general, blessing and curse.] . Subjects which were stated in general but not in detail [Any other commandment in the Torah. Are there any covenants that force one to obey those?] ? He said to him: So says Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon [In all Babli-inspired sources, this is the 9th hermeneutic rule of R. Ismael; Sifra, Introduction. In Chapter 9, the authorship is attributed to (tannaitic) rabbis who oppose R. Ismael; Chapter 9, Notes 87–89.] . Anything which was in a set and and left the set to teach, not to teach only about itself did it leave but to teach about the entire set [The example given in Sifra is: It is written in Lev. 7:20 that eating from a well-being sacrifice that had become impure is a deadly sin. But well-being sacrifices are only one element of the set of all sacrifices. In the absence of a biblical statement to the contrary, it can be asserted that eating from any sacrifice that had become impure is a deadly sin. The set is that of all sacrifices, from which the well-being sacrifice was singled out for a special statement.] . He said to him: Is that not about a single subject? Perhaps for two subjects? And here [And in this case there are 11 particular statements and one defining the set as all commandments of the Torah.] , we deal with two different subjects. Rebbi Tanḥuma said, since at the end is written “Amen”, it is as if everything were one subject.
It is written: “Cursed be he who would not raise all the words of this Torah.” Can the Torah fall down? Simeon ben Yaqim [Nachmanides (Commentary to Deut. 27:26) reads Rebbi Simeon ben Yaqim.] says, that is the ḥazzan who stands [Nachmanides does not read the last two words. It would seem that his reading is correct. In Europe, the word חזן always denoted the reader who stood before the congregation and led it in prayer. However, in the East, the חזן was always the employee of the congregation who functioned as rabbi, reader, ritual slaughterer, and general organizer of the community (cf. Berakhot 3:1, Note 60). At Torah readings, the ḥazzan had to see to it that the Torah scroll was lifted and shown to all present.] . Rebbi Simeon ben Ḥalaphta says, that is the earthly house [Nachmanides reads זֶה בֵּית דִּין שֶׁלְּמַטָּה “that is the earthly court” (which has to supervise the moral state of the community.)] , as Rav Ḥuna, Rav Jehudah said in the name of Samuel: Josia tore [his garments] about this verse [2K. 22:11. He asserts that upon hearing the Torah [which by tradition had been forbidden by his father Amon (cf. Midrash Haggadol Deut. on Deut.27:26)], Josia tore his garments on hearing Deut. 27:26.] and said, I have to raise.
[A fundraiser’s sermon] Rebbi Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Tanḥum ben Rebbi Ḥiyya. If somebody studied and taught, kept and did, and it was in his power to strengthen [To give financial support to institutions of Torah learning.] , but he did not strengthen, that one is in the set of the cursed. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: If somebody did not study, did not teach, did not keep and did not do, and it was not in his hand to strengthen but he did strengthen [He gave financial support to institutions of Torah learning even though he was not rich.] , that one is in the set of the blessed. And Rebbi Ḥana, Rebbi Jeremiah, said in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: In the future [world], the Holy One, praise to Him, will make shadow of those who perform commandments [They give money to charity. A similar statement in the name of R. Joḥanan is in the Babli, Pesaḥim 53b.] in the shadow of those who study Torah. What is the reason? “For in the shadow of Torah, in the shadow of money [Eccl. 7:12] ”. And it is said, “it [The Torah (taken here as symbol for the institutions of Torah study).] is a tree of life for those who support it. [Prov. 3:18. Midrash rabba Lev.25(1): “It does not say ‘it is a tree of life for those who study it’, but ‘who support it’.] ”
Why does the verse [In Jos. 8:33, those who went to Mount Gerizim are חֶצְיוֹ “half”, but those on Mount Ebal are וְהַחֶצְיוֹ “and the half”. The appearance of the definite article has to be explained.] say: “and the half of it”? This teaches that a minority was on Mount Gerizim and a majority on Mount Ebal [Based on the figures of Num. 26, there would be about 20’000 fewer persons on Mount Gerizim than on Mount Ebal, the Levites not counted. Since the Levites were counted separately, as unfit for war, and they were counted from one month of age, the numbers cannot be compared. Including children from the age of one month, there were only 23’000 Levites.] . Why? Because the tribe of Levi was not completely there. For if the tribe of Levi had been completely there, they would have been equal. Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: If the tribe of Levi had been completely there, they would not have been equal. Why? Since already 24’000 had fallen at Shiṭṭim from the tribe of Simeon [In the count of Num. 1, the tribe of Simeon had 59’300 warriors, but in Num. 26, that number had shrunk to 22’200. The people who had died at Shiṭṭim were 24’000 (Num. 25:9). This is less than the total diminution of the tribe of Simeon.] . Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, if the tribe of Levi had been completely there, they would have been equal [This is difficult to understand. Following Jos. 4:13, the Transjordanian tribes together delivered “about 40’000 frontline soldiers”. There is no indication that the Transjordanien tribe of Manasse was counted separately. In any case, the data in Scripture are insufficient to express any opinion in the matter.] . Why? Because from the tribes of Reuben and Gad only 40’000 front line troops came there.
Cahana said, just as they divide here, so they divide at the beginning of the second book of the Pentateuch [Ex. 1:2–3. There, the order is quite different: First the sons of the wives, then the sons of the handmaidens. In the Babli, 36a/b, the opinion is attributed to R. Ḥanina ben Gamliel.] . Some Tannaïm state: Just as they divide here, so they divide in the standards [This opinion is not found in the Babli. Cf. Num. 2. There the order is: Standard of Judah: Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. Standard of Reuben: Reuben, Simeon, Gad. Standard of Ephraim: Ephraim, Manasse, Benjamin. Standard of Dan: Dan, Asher, Naftali. This also is incompatible with the order given in Deut. 27:13–14: Simeon, Levi, Jehudah, Issachar, Joseph, Benjamin - Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, Naftali.] . The sons of Leah on one side, the sons of Rachel one on one side, the other one on the other side, and the sons of the handmaidens in the middle [The verse indicates which tribes were standing on which mountain but does not indicate how they were standing. The opinion here is that on Mount Gerizim the two Rachel tribes, Joseph and Benjamin, were standing at the right and left extremes and the Leah tribes in the middle; on Mount Ebal the two Leah tribes, Reuben and Zebulun were standing at the right and left extremes and the handmaidens’ tribes in the middle. (Explanation of Pene Moshe). In the Babli, 36b.] . Rebbi Mattania said, the reason of this Tanna is: “Hear me, Jacob my servant, Israel my roofed in [Jes. 48:12. The verse is misquoted; “my servant” is not written. The interpretation of this conceit is based on rabbinic Hebrew קוֹרָא “roof girder”; modern Hebrew קוֹרָה.] .” Just as on the roof the thick part of one [beam] is next to the slim part of the other [beam] [It seems that their roofs were made from wooden beams of a slightly conical shape so that they could be pressed together to protect against the rains. A similar picture Ex. rabba 1(6).] . Some Tannaïm state: Just as they are split here, so they are split on the stones of the ephod [Ex. 28:9–10. The order in which the names of the tribes were to be engraved on the Shoham stones is indicated only obliquely as כְּתוֹלְדֹתָם “in the order of their birth”; that would be Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Jehudah, Dan, Naftali; Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin. In the Babli, 36a, this is the opinion of Rav Cahana.] . “In their fulnesses”, that there should be 25 on one side and 25 on the other side [The word is written not for the Shoham stones of the ephod but for the stones representing the tribes on the ḥoshen(Ex. 28:20), on which the names of the tribes were engraved (v. 21) and which were set to fill the settings prepared for them.] . But they are only 49 [As written, the names of the Gerizim tribes add up to 27 letters, those of the Ebal tribes to 22. The same objection in the Babli, 36b.] ! Rebbi Joḥanan said, “Benjamin” of “and their births” is plene [On the stone, the name of Benjamin was written בנימין for a total of 28 letters. This opinion is not quoted in the Babli; it is dismissed in the Yerushalmi.] . Rebbi Judah bar Zabida said, Jehoseph is plene, “He put it up as a testimony in Jehoseph. [Ps. 81:6. In the Babli, 36b, this is the opinion of R. Isaac.] ” But they are only 23 on one side and 27 on the other [This questioner reads זבולון plene but בנימן defective and יוסף in its usual form.] ! Rebbi Joḥanan said, Benjamin was split, Ben on one side, Jamin on the other side [R. Joḥanan cannot follow his own opinion that Benjamin was spelled plene but must follow R. Judah bar Zabida. Then on the right hand side there were 27 + 1 - 3 = 25 letters and on the left hand side 22 + 3 = 25 letters.] . Rebbi Zabida said, this is fine. Does it say “their six names”? No, but, “of their names”, not their entire names [In Ex. 28:10, the group of the first six names is charaterized as מִשְּׁמֹתָם, “of their names”, taking the מ, as usual in rabbinic texts, as partitive. The other six names are “the six other names”, to be written in full (and, according to the Babli, 36a, in the order of their births.)] ! The first were written on the right hand side of the High Priest, to the left of the viewer. The last were written on the left hand side of the High Priest, to the right of the viewer. The first ones were not written in order, for Jehudah is king. The last ones were written in order [That means, not in the order in which they are enumerated in Deut. 27:14.] .
MISHNAH: After that they brought the stones [Which stones they were is a matter of discussion.] , built the altar [On Mount Ebal, Deut. 27:4.] , whitewashed it with lime [On Mount Ebal, Deut. 27:4.] , and wrote on it all the words of this Torah in seventy languages [The standard number of peoples on earth as enumerated in Ber. 10.] , as it is written: “well explained [Deut. 27:8. In Jos. 8:35 this is taken to mean that Joshua had to explain the Torah to men, women, and children.] ”. They took the stones [Which stones they were is a matter of discussion.] , went and stayed in their place overnight [At Gilgal, near Jericho.] .
HALAKHAH: It was stated: It was written on the stones of the dwelling place, the words of Rebbi Jehudah [In the interpretation of Rashi, Babli 35b, they took the stones, built with them the altar on Mount Ebal, disassembled the altar, took the stones to Gilgal, inscribed the Torah with 70 translations on the stones and covered everything with whitewash. The text of the Babli is paralleled in the Tosephta, 8:6. Both in the Babli and in the Tosephta this opinion is that of the anonymous majority.] ; Rebbi Yose says, it was written on the stones of the altar [In Babli and Tosephta, this is ascribed to R. Jehudah..] . He who says, it was written on the stones of the dwelling place, every day the peoples of the world were sending their stenographers [Latin notarius, “stenographer”.] and they carried away the Torah which had been written in seventy languages [They lifted the whitewash from the stone and had the letters stand out, and transported everything back to its place. In the opinion of R. Simeon, the translations were written on the whitewash where they could be copied. In talmudic theory, Adam was created literate since he had a book (Gen. 5:1). If at any time in human history, peoples were found who were illiterate, they must have been degenerate [Sanhedrin 38b, Avodah zarah 5a; Gen. rabba 24(7)]. Adam was also created an inventor and engineer (cf. the author’s The Scholar’s Haggadah, pp. 219–221; A Jewish Fundamentalist Philosophy of Science and Development, Association F. Gonseth, Bulletin 63, 1992, pp. 9–20.)] . He who says, it was written on the stones of the altar, were they not only for a short time and then were hidden? That was another wonder, that the Holy One, praise to Him, gave insight to every people and they carried away the Torah which had been written in seventy languages. For him who says, it was written on the stones of the dwelling place, it is understandable that “you shall whitewash them with lime.” But he who says, it was written on the stones of the altar, how does he uphold “ “you shall whitewash them with lime”? Between the stones [This is not mentioned in Babli-Tosephta.] . Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥmani in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: “The peoples will be lime incinerators [Is. 33:12. In Babli and Tosephta, this is attributed to R. Simeon.] ”, from the lime they took their death sentence [Greek ἀπόφασις “judgment, sentence”.] . Rebbi Abba bar Cahana in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: “But the Gentiles will be totally destroyed [Is. 60:12. This sermon is not mentioned in the parallel sources. It is based on the identification of חרב I, Akkadic ẖarābu “to dry up” and חרב II, Arabic خرب “to destroy”. The basis of this sermon and entire paragraph is the theory, based on Deut. 33:2, that before the epiphany on Horeb/Mount Sinai, God had offered the Torah to all the other peoples of the earth, who refused, and only Israel accepted. Therefore, only Israel reaps the rewards in the Future World (cf. Sifry Deut. 343, ed. L. Finkelstein; all the other sources are given there in Note 14.)] ,” from Ḥoreb they took their death sentence.
You may say that there were three kinds of stones [Tosephta 8:6, Babli 35b.] : The stones of the resting place [Jos. 4:3,8,20.] , and the stones which Joshua put under the soles of the feet of the Cohanim [Jos. 4:9.] , and the steles [Greek στήλη. For the use of steles in ancient synagogues, cf. י. בראבד, ״איצטלין״, לשוננו 32 תשכח-1968 ע׳ 276.] that Moses had given them [This is explained in the Babli, 35b. In Deut. 1:5 it is stated that Moses explained the Torah. In 27:8 it is commanded to copy the Torah on the stones, well explained. Since in the latter cases, “explained” means “engraved in stone”, it follows that in the first case “explained” also must mean engraved in stone.] . Rebbi Ḥaninan said, it is obvious to us that there were four kinds of stones [That the stones on which the Torah was written translated into 70 languages were none of the above three kinds. This opinion is not mentioned in Babli/Tosephta.] . Rebbi Simon ben Zebid said, that is correct. If you would say, they were the stones of the resting place; these were temporary and were hidden [This is difficult to understand since the stones should be there as a permanent memorial, Jos. 4:21–24. In any case, the verses make it clear that these stones were not to be used to be written on.] . If you would say, the stones which Joshua put under the soles of the feet of the Cohanim; these were submerged in the water. If you would say, the steles that Moses had given them; they already had moved with them into the Land [Even if they had taken the steles with them, the Torah already was written on them and they could not be those on which the Torah was written anew.] . But we must deal with the stones that Joshua put up for them on the banks of the Jordan.
It was stated: Rebbi Jehudah bar Ilai says: Abba Ḥalaphta, Rebbi Eleazar ben Mattia, and Ḥanina bar Ḥakhinai stood on those stones and estimated that each one on them was a load of 40 seah. From here you can estimate how big was the bunch of grapes [Babli 34a, Tosephta 8:6.] . It is written [Jos. 4:5.] : “Each one should lift a stone on his shoulder.” One cannot compare one who lifts from the ground to his shoulder to one who lifts first from the ground to his knee and then from his knee to his shoulder. One cannot compare one who lifts first from the ground to his knee and then from his knee to his shoulder to one onto whom others hang [the load]. One cannot compare one onto whom others hang [the load] to [a load] carried by two. It is written: “One man per tribe. [Deut. 1:23. This is the wrong quote; intended is Num. 13:2: “One man, one man per ancestral tribe you shall send.” The problem is the interpretation of the duplication.] ” In the opinion of Rebbi Aqiba who says these are expressions of additions, there were 24, sixteen for the grape bunch and eight for figs, pomegranates, and their belongings [In the Babli, 34a, the verse Num. 13:23: “they carried [the grape bunch] on a pole by two” is interpreted that it was carried by eight people with the grape bunch hanging between two poles. There, one is said to have carried a fig, another a pomegranate; Joshua and Caleb did not carry anything.] . In the opinion of Rebbi Simeon [This attribution seems to be wrong. R. Simeon is not known to reject R. Aqiba’s interpretations. Probably it should read: R. Ismael, who insists that the Torah is written in the vernacular and who is quoted in the next sentence.] , who says there are double expressions, there were twelve, eight for the grape bunch and four for figs, pomegranates, and their belongings. In the opinion of Rebbi Ismael a beam [This is the traditional interpretation; in the absence of a convincing etymology the meaning is not guaranteed. In the Babli, 34b, the interpretation given here following R. Aqiba is attributed to R. Isaac; the wording is טורטני וטרטני דטורטני. The word טורטני appears in quite a number of other sources (collected in Krauss, Lehnwörter) where it is perfectly adequate to see in it Greek τρυτάνη “pair of scales”. By the concurrent testimony of Rashi and R. Ḥananel, certainly based on Gaonic material, the interpretation of R. Isaac’s statement is that the grape bunch was pictured carried between two poles which at each end were fixed to a cross-beam. Each cross-beam at both extremities had smaller cross beams, giving space for 8 bearers, all marching in the same direction. There is no reason not to accept this interpretation for the Yerushalmi; but for the position of the Yerushalmi following R. Ismael, it seems rather that the image is that of a single pole, with four men preceding the grape bunch and four men following behind it. It is possible that “scale” here stands for “scale bar”. But it is possible that טורטני may be a Babylonian corruption of a Semitic word טוּרְטוּר of pilpel type.] ; in the opinion of Rebbi Aqiba a beam and beams of beams.
[Cf. Babli 34a and Tosephta 8:2–3.] It is written [Jos. 4:16.] : “The waters descending from higher up stood like a dam, very far, from the town of Adam which is besides Ṣāretān [Nelson Glueck (AASOR xxv-xxviii, 1945-1948) identifies Ṣāretān as Ṣā'idlyāh. [added from Addenda and Corrigenda by Guggeneheimer].] . Rebbi Joḥanan said, Adam is a town and Ṣāretān is a town; there are twelve mil from one to the other. That teaches that the water was stacked up and rose like the citadel of Ṣāretān. [This refers to a tannaïtic discussion quoted in the Babli but not here.] Which one is lighter, water or man? Waters are lighter than man; you know that this is so. This teaches that the waters were stacked and increased, wave upon wave. Rebbi Levi said, up to the sky’s heart. There [In Babylonia. This argument is not in the Babli.] , they said, as far as Babylon. It says here [Jos. 4:16.] “far”, and it says there [2K. 20:14; Is. 39:3.] “they came from a very far land, from Babylon.” It was stated [In the Babli, and the Tosephta 8:3, this is attributed to R. Eleazar bar R. Simeon.] : Rebbi Eliezer ben Jacob said, the waters were stacked and rose, waves on waves, for more than 300 mil until all the peoples of the world saw them. That is what is written [Jos. 5:1.] : “It happened when all the kings of the Emorite on the other side of the Jordan, and all the Canaanite dwelling on the Sea, heard that the Eternal had dried up the waters of the river Jordan for the children of Israel until they had passed across,” etc.
Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, in the Jordan they accepted the secret matters [That the people as a whole will be punished for secret sins of an individual. Moses had explicitly ruled out responsibility of the public for hidden deeds of the individual, Deut. 29:28. In the Babli, Sanhedrin 43b, the position of R. Simon ben Laqish is similar to that of the Tanna R. Jehudah. The responsibility of the public for hidden deeds of the individual is denied by R. Nehemiah.] . Joshua told them, if you do not accept the secret matters, the waters will come and sweep you away. Rebbi Simon bar Zabida said, that is correct. You should know that this is so, for Akhan sinned and the majority of the Synhedrion fell at Ai [Jos. 7:5; Cf. Babli Sanhedrin 44a. In the opinion of the Babli, Akhan’s sin was not private since his family knew about it.] . Rebbi Levi said, at Jabneh the rope was untied; there came a disembodied voice and said: You have nothing to do with secret matters [In later rabbinic language, this phrase was used in the sense that mystical sayings should have no standing in matters of religious law or practice.] .
MISHNAH: How is the priestly blessing? In the countryside they recited it as three blessings [Each one of the verses Num. 6:24–26 to be answered by “Amen”.] , but in the Temple as one blessing [To be answered by the people at the end by “praised be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever”.] . In the Temple one says the Name as it is written, but in the countryside by its circumlocution [“The Lord” אֲדוֹנָי or κύριος.] . In the countryside the Cohanim lift their hands to the height of their shoulders but in the Temple over their heads except for the High Priest who does not lift his hands over the diadem. Rebbi Jehudah says, the High Priest also lifts his hands over his head, as it is said [Lev. 9:22; since the ritual of blessing with raised hands is derived from this verse, it would be unreasonable to have the Cohanim not conform to Aaron’s, the High Priest’s, example.] : “Aaron lifted his hands towards the people and blessed them.” How are the blessings of the High Priest [On the Day of Atonement; cf. Mishnah Yoma 7:1.] ? The organizer of the synagogue [On the Temple Mount. This is a non-scriptural ceremony, purely Pharisaic, but followed, at least since Hasmonean times, even by Sadducee High Priests.] takes a Torah scroll and gives it to the president of the synagogue; the president of the synagogue gives it to the Second [The second in command in the Temple after the High Priest; in effect his executive officer.] ; the Second gives it to the High Priest. The High priest receives it standing, he stands and reads “after the death [Lev. 16:1–34, the description of the Atonement service.] ” and “but on the tenth [Lev. 23:26–32. Winding from Chap. 17 to 23 does not take much time.] ”; he rolls the Torah tight, puts it in his bosom and says: More than what I read before you is written here. “And on the tenth” in Numbers [Num. 29:7–11.] he recites by heart, and recites eight benedictions [These are detailed in Halakhah 7.] : For the Torah, for the Temple service, for thanksgiving, for forgiveness of sins, for the Temple, for Israel, for the Cohanim, and the remainder of the prayer.
HALAKHAH: Rav Ḥisda said, they [The scholars in his academy.] had great difficulty; [From here to the end of the Halakhah, the text is also in Yoma 7:1.] elsewhere you say that one goes to the Torah, and here you say, one brings the Torah to him? But because they are important personalities, the Torah is honored by them [In the Babli, Yoma 69a, the ceremony is for the glory of the High Priest.] . Does one not bring the Torah to the Head of the Diaspora over there [At solemn occasions in Babylonia.] ? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, since the seed of David is immersed there [The family of the Heads of the Diaspora claimed descent from king Yekhoniah (Yoyakhin); the Head of the Diaspora is treated as King (Mishnah 7).] one treats him in the ancestral way.
There [Mishnah Megillah 4:5.] , we have stated: “One winds in Prophets [In the public reading from Prophets after the Sabbath reading from the Torah, it is permissible to piece the reading together from different chapters of one prophet.] but one does not wind in the Pentateuch.” One winds in one prophet, but not from one prophet to another, but among prophets of the Twelve it is permitted [Since all 12 minor prophets are written together in one scroll, moving from one to the next is like winding in one of the major prophets, each of which is written in his own scroll.] . But one does not wind in the Pentateuch; Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: Because one does not wind the Torah in public. Rebbi Yose asked, think of it, if it was a small portion [In the Palestinian 3½ year cycle, it might be that the portion was too small to be read by seven different persons; may some readers read from another place after the allotted portion was already recited?] ? But that Israel should hear it in its order [Even if one reads more than the allotted portion on one Sabbath, it must be a continuous text.] . But did we not state [The Mishnah here.] : “He reads ‘after the death [Lev. 16:1–34, the description of the Atonement service.] ’ and ‘but on the tenth [Lev. 23:26–32. Winding from Chap. 17 to 23 does not take much time.] ’ ”? It is different here, because that is the order of the day [This is a holiday reading, not a Sabbath reading; it has to concentrate on the texts dealing exclusively with that holiday.] . Know that it is so since Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, one does not recite by heart, and here he recites by heart [From the text too far removed to be wound without inconveniencing the public.] . Rebbi Yose commanded Bar Ulla, the organizer of the congregation of Babylonians: When the Torah has been brought back, wind it behind the curtain [In Yoma, the text reads: כַּד דְּהִיא חָדָא אוֹרִיָּא תְּהֵא גַייֵל לָהּ לְהָדֵי פָרוֹכְתָא. “When you have only one Torah, wind it by the curtain.” The text here is preferable since a good organizer will wind the Torah well before it is used the next time. The editors who mishandled the text, replacing the text here by that from Yoma in modern editions, probably never were Torah readers themselves.] . If there are two, return one and bring the other [This is not the common usage where one takes out both scrolls and reads from them one after the other. This shows that in Babylonia already in Talmudic times one read from two different scrolls at special occasions (in particular, holidays). One has to correct the statement by Elbogen (cf. Note 205, p. 127) that this practice is not recorded before Rav Yehudai Gaon.] .
He recites eight benedictions: For the Torah, “He who chooses the Torah [In the Babli, 41a: “The benediction for the Torah in the formulation one recites in the Synagogue.” In the opinion of Ismar Elbogen (התפילה בישׂראל בהתפתחוּתה ההיסטוֹרית, תרגם יהוֹשע עמיר, תל־אביב 1972 p. 129), the text given here is the original synagogal text; cf. also Soferim13:8; י. היינמן, התפילה בתקופת התנאים והאמוראים - טיבה ודפוסיה; ירושלים ת̇ש̇כ̇ו̇, ע׳ 105).] .” For the Temple service, “For You alone in fear we worship. [The Palestinian version of the 16th benediction of the Amidah. It is to be assumed that in this and the following benedictions the entire text was recited, not only the final doxology.] ” For thanksgiving, “the Good One, You one must thank. [The 17th benediction of the Amidah.] ” For forgiveness of sins, “He Who forgives the sins of His people Israel in mercy. [The final paragraph of the middle benediction of the Amidah of the Day of Atonement.] ” For the Temple, “He Who chooses the Temple”; and Rebbi Idi said, “He Who dwells in Zion.” [The full text of this benediction is unknown. Since the statement of R. Idi is quoted as a commentary, not a disagreement, one has to assume that it refers to a prayer text of which R. Idi quotes the beginning.] For Israel, “He Who chooses Israel.” [In the opinion of Elbogen (loc. cit. p.16), this is the benediction preceding the recitation of the Šema‘.] For the Cohanim, “He Who chooses the Cohanim.” And the remainder of the prayer, “entreaty and begging, for Your people Israel need to be helped before You; Praise to You, Eternal, Who hears prayer” [ It seems that this is the only prayer text of the eight benedictions which applies only to the reading of the High Priest.] .
MISHNAH: How does the reading of the king proceed? At the end of the last [In the Babli, Mishnah and Talmud text, “the first day”.] day of Tabernacles, on the eighth [In Yerushalmi texts, the eighth day; in Babli texts, the eighth year. Cf. י. נ. אפשטיין, מבוא לנוסח המשנה, ירושלים-תל 537 אביב ת̇ש̇כ̇ד̇, ע׳; A. Liss, ed., The Babylonian Talmud with Variant Readings, Sotah vol. 2, Jerusalem 1979, p. 196.] , at the end of the Sabbatical year, one makes a wooden platform [Greek βῆμα.] for him and he sits on it, as it is said [Deut. 31:10–11.] : “At the end of seven years, at the assembly of the Sabbatical years at the festival of Tabernacles, when all of Israel appears.” The organizer of the synagogue [On the Temple Mount. This is a non-scriptural ceremony, purely Pharisaic, but followed, at least since Hasmonean times, even by Sadducee High Priests.] takes a Torah scroll and gives it to the president of the synagogue; the president of the synagogue gives it to the Second [The second in command in the Temple after the High Priest; in effect his executive officer.] ; the Second gives it to the High Priest, the High Priest gives it to the king. The king stands to receive it, he reads sitting down. King Agrippas [Agrippas I, grandson of the Idumean Herod from his Jewish wife Mariamne, so that he was eligible for every office even according to the most restrictive standards (Mishnah Qiddušin 4:7). It seems that the party who objected to an Idumean king (when he was inoffensive as Agrippas was) did base their opposition on Mishnah Qiddušin 3:12 which states that in any lawful marriage that is not sinful, the child follows his father’s status. Therefore, the child of a convert would be a convert, even if his mother is from Jewish stock. This is the opinion opposed by the authoritative R. Yose in Qiddušin 4:7.] stood to receive, he read while standing, and the Sages praised him. When he reached “you cannot put over yourselves a strange man who is not your brother [Deut. 17:15.] ”, tears flowed from his eyes. They said to him, do not fear Agrippas, you are our brother, you are our brother [Cf. Sifry Deut. 157.] .
HALAKHAH: Did not Rebbi Ḥiyya state [Babli 40b,42b; Sanhedrin 101b, Tamid 27a, Qiddušin 23b,78b, Yoma25a,69b.] : Nobody could sit in the Temple courtyard except for kings of the Davidic dynasty, and Rebbi Immi said in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish, even the kings of the Davidic dynasty could not sit in the Temple courtyard! [How could a Maccabean or Herodian king sit in the Temple courtyard?] Explain it, that he was leaning on the wall in a kind of sitting. But is it not written [2S. 7:18.] : “King David came and sat before the Eternal”? Rebbi Ayvo bar Naggari said, he concentrated on his prayer [In rabbinic Hebrew, “concentration” is יִשׁוּב הַדַּעַת “sitting of the mind”.] . There [Mishnah Pesaḥim 5:10.] , we have stated: The first group left and sat on the Temple Mount, the second in the Ḥel [Inside the fortification of the Temple Mount but outside the Temple precinct.] , and the third at its place [From the formulation of the Mishnah, it seems that the third group of people sacrificing the Passover lamb was sitting down in the Temple court while waiting for sundown.] ! Rebbi Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Mana: Did we state that the third sat at its place? It stood at its place!
It was stated [In the Babli, 42b, a similar disapproving statement in the name of R. Nathan.] : Rebbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel says, many slain fell on the day they were flattering him.
MISHNAH: And he reads from the beginning of “These are the words [Deut. 1,1.] ” to Šema‘,Šema‘ [Deut. 6:4–9] [.] , “And it shall be if you listen, [Deut. 11:13–21.] ” “tithing you shall tithe, [Deut. 14:22–27.] ” “when you will have finished tithing, [Deut. 26:12–15.] ” blessings and curses [Deut. 28.] [and the paragraph of the king] [Deut. 17:8–20.] , until he finishes the entire paragraph. The benedictions which the High Priest recites, the king recites, except that he substitutes “for the holidays of pilgrimage [The last paragraph of the middle benediction of the Amidah for holidays.] ” instead of “forgiving of sins”.
HALAKHAH: Rebbi Abbahu said, why does one read “ “tithing you shall tithe, [Deut. 14:22–27.] ”, “when you will have finished tithing, [Deut. 26:12–15.] ”? Because Israel went from the Sabbatical year to the eighth, not to have them forget tithes. [Since no tithes may be given from Sabbatical produce.] Rebbi Ḥaggai asked before Rebbi Yose, does he not to make havdalah [The required benediction when leaving a sanctified state (such as Sabbath or holidays) to enter into profane status. If such a benediction is required after the Sabbath (cf. Berakhot 5:2, Note 62), it should also be required after the Sabbatical year in order to permit agricultural work.] ? He said to him, one already said havdalah on New Year’s Day.