Daf Yomi Shabbes 139: Corrupt Judges

Those who read Kafka as a religious allegory explain that K. in The Castle is trying to gain
access to heaven, that Joseph K. in The Trial is being judged by the inexorable and mysterious
justice of God.

Susan Sontag "Against Interpretation" 1964

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...clear halacha and clear teaching together, but rather there will be disputes among the Sages.

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It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei ben Elisha says: If you see a generation that many
troubles are befalling it, go and examine the judges of Israel. Perhaps their sins are the cause,
as any calamity that comes to the world comes due to the judges of Israel acting corruptly, as it
is stated: “Please hear this, heads of the house of Jacob, and officers of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with
iniquity. Their heads they judge for bribes, and their priests teach for hire, and their prophets
divine for money; yet they lean upon the Lord, saying: Is not the Lord in our midst? No evil
shall befall us” (Micah 3:9–11).

The Gemara comments: They are wicked, but they placed their trust in the One Who spoke
and the world came into being, the Almighty. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, brings
upon them three calamities corresponding to the three transgressions for which they are
responsible, as it is stated in the following verse: “Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be
plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the Temple Mount as the high
places of a forest” (Micah 3:12).

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Rav Pappa said: If the arrogant will cease to exist, the Persian fire priests will cease to exist as
well. If the deceitful judges will cease to exist, the royal officers [gazirpatei] and taskmasters
will cease to exist.

He explains: If the arrogant will cease, the Persian fire priests will cease, as it is written: “And
I will purge away your dross [sigayikh] as with lye, and I will remove all your alloy
[bedilayikh].” This teaches that when the conceited and haughty [sigim] are purged, the priests
of fire, who are separated [muvdalim] from the fear of God, will also cease.

He said: If the deceitful judges cease, the royal officers and taskmasters will cease, as it is
written:

;‫ ִפּנָּה אֹיְבְֵך‬,‫ טו ֵהסִיר יְהוָה מִשְׁ פָּטַ יְִך‬15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast
,‫ֶמלְֶך יִשְׂ ָראֵ ל יְהוָה ְבּק ְִרבְֵּך‬ out thine enemy; The King of Israel, even the LORD, is in the
{‫ }פ‬.‫יראִ י ָרע עוֹד‬ ְ ִ‫ת‬-‫ֹלא‬ midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more

“The Lord has removed your judgment, cast out your enemy” (Zephaniah 3:15).

RASHI

As we learned on yesterday’s daf, Rav Huna related that Rav said: “The Torah is destined to be
forgotten from the Jewish people.”

This position is somewhat surprising, and an opposing view was taught in another baraita that
appears on today’s daf.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai says: Heaven forfend that the Torah should be forgotten from the Jewish
people, as it is stated:
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,‫תִמְצֶאןָ אֹתוֹ רָעוֹת רַבּוֹת‬-‫כא וְהָיָה כִּי‬ 21 then it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles
‫ וְעָנְתָה הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לְפָנָיו‬,‫וְצָרוֹת‬ are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them
‫ כִּי יָדַעְתִּי‬:‫ כִּי ֹלא תִשָּׁכַח מִפִּי זַרְעוֹ‬,‫לְעֵד‬ as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths
‫ בְּטֶרֶם‬,‫ אֲשֶׁר הוּא ֹעשֶׂה הַיּוֹם‬,‫יִצְרוֹ‬-‫אֶת‬ of their seed; for I know their imagination how they do even
.‫ָאָרץ אֲ שֶׁ ר נִשְׁ בַּ עְ תִּ י‬
ֶ ‫ה‬-‫ אֶל‬,‫אֲבִיאֶנּוּ‬ now, before I have brought them into the land which I
swore.'

“And this song shall answer to him as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten from his
seed” (Devarim 31:21).

Rather, how do I explain: “They will roam to find the word of God, but they will not find it”?

It means that they will not find clear halacha and clear teaching together, but rather there will
be disputes among the Sages.

The concept of “clear halacha” may be understood as follows: As long as the Great Sanhedrin
met in the Chamber of the Hewn Stone in the Temple, every legal discussion concluded with a
vote that determined the halacha. After the destruction of the Temple, the number of disputes
increased (Tosafot Rid).

Some commentaries emphasize the problem to be that clear halacha cannot be found in one
place; rather, people will be forced to seek answers in many places, as in each place they will
know only a bit. Following this teaching, the Gemara continues with other statements about
judges and their legal decisions.

It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei ben Elisha says: If you see a generation that many
troubles are befalling it, go and examine the judges of Israel. Perhaps their sins are the cause, as
any calamity that comes to the world comes due to the judges of Israel acting corruptly, as it is
stated: “Please hear this, heads of the house of Jacob, and officers of the house of Israel, who
abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Their heads they judge for bribes, and their priests teach for hire, and their prophets divine for
money; yet they lean upon the Lord, saying:

,‫ ָראשֵׁ י בֵּ ית יַעֲ ק ֹב‬,‫נָא ז ֹאת‬-‫ ט שִׁ מְ עוּ‬9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and
,‫הַ מְ תַ עֲ בִ ים מִ שְׁ פָּ ט‬--‫ בֵּ ית יִשְׂ ָראֵ ל‬,‫ וּקְצִ ינֵי‬rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert
.‫הַ יְשָׁ ָרה יְעַ קֵּשׁוּ‬-‫ וְאֵ ת כָּ ל‬all equity;
.‫ בְּ עַ וְלָ ה‬,‫ בְּ דָ מִ ים; וִירוּשָׁ ַלִם‬,‫ י בֹּנֶה צִ יּוֹן‬10 That build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with
iniquity.

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‫ וְכ ֹהֲ נֶיהָ בִּ מְ חִ יר‬,‫יא ָראשֶׁ יהָ בְּ שֹׁחַ ד יִשְׁ פּ ֹטוּ‬ 11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests
,‫יְהוָה‬-‫ בְּ כֶ סֶ ף ִיקְס ֹמוּ; וְעַ ל‬, ָ‫ וּנְבִ יאֶ יה‬,‫יוֹרוּ‬ thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for
,‫ הֲ לוֹא יְהוָה בְּ קִרְ בֵּ נוּ‬,‫יִשָּׁ עֵ נוּ לֵ אמ ֹר‬ money; yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say: 'Is not
.‫תָ בוֹא עָ לֵ ינוּ ָרעָ ה‬-‫ֹלא‬ the LORD in the midst of us? No evil shall come upon us'?

: Is not the Lord in our midst? No evil shall befall us” (Micah 3:9–11).

The Gemara comments: They are wicked, but they placed their trust in the One Who spoke and
the world came into being, the Almighty. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings upon
them three calamities corresponding to the three transgressions for which they are responsible,
as it is stated in the following verse:
;‫ שָׂ דֶ ה תֵ חָ ֵרשׁ‬,‫ צִ יּוֹן‬,‫ בִּ גְלַ לְ כֶ ם‬,‫ יב לָ כֵ ן‬12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and
‫ וְהַ ר הַ בַּ יִת לְ בָ מוֹת‬,‫ וִירוּשָׁ ַלִם עִ יִּין תִּ הְ יֶה‬Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house
{‫ }פ‬.‫ יָעַ ר‬as the high places of a forest.

“Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps,
and the Temple Mount as the high places of a forest” (Micah 3:12).

One explanation of the fact that people who placed their trust in the Almighty are called wicked
is because they believed that since God determines the world order and planted the evil
inclination within each person, individuals do not bear responsibility for their actions (Ahavat
Eitan).

The definition of arrogance:

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The Definition of the Concept of Justice

What is justice (tzedek)? We are accustomed to using this term in the legal sense. But a review of
the sources and the etymology of the word itself reveal that tzedek is closely related to the
concept of tzedaka, righteousness.1

The Rambam, Rav Hirsch, and the Malbim all draw a distinction between tzedek and performing
legal justice. Thus, the Rambam writes in his Guide of the Perplexed (3:53):

The term ẓedakah is derived from ẓedek, "righteousness"; it denotes the act of giving every one
his due, and of showing kindness to every being according as it deserves. In Scripture, however,
the expression ẓedakah is not used in the first sense, and does not apply to the payment of what
we owe to others. When we therefore give the hired laborer his wages, or pay a debt, we do not
perform an act of ẓedakah. But we do perform an act of ẓedakah when we fulfil those duties
towards our fellow-men which our moral conscience imposes upon us; e.g., when we heal the
wound of the sufferer.

Thus Scripture says, in reference to the returning of the pledge [to the poor debtor]: "And it shall
be ẓedakah (righteousness) unto thee" (Deut. 24:11). When we walk in the way of virtue we act
righteously towards our intellectual faculty, and pay what is due unto it; and because every virtue

1 “Jerusalem – City of Justice and Kingship” Rav Yitzchak Levy, https://www.etzion.org.il/en/jerusalem-%E2%80%93-city

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is thus ẓedakah, Scripture applies the term to the virtue of faith in God. Comp. "And he believed
in the Lord, and he accounted it to him as righteousness" (Gen. 15:6); "And it shall be our
righteousness" (Deut. 6:25).

The word tzedaka comes from tzedek… It means providing anyone who is owed something with
that which he deserves, and giving to everything that exists whatever is appropriate to it…
One's obligations to others, in terms of positive traits – such as raising up anyone who falls –
this is called tzedaka. Therefore, the Torah teaches concerning the returning of a pledge, "It shall
be considered tzedaka on your part” – because by following the path of the elevated traits, you
have already performed tzedek with your thinking soul, because you have given it that which it
deserves.
And since any positive trait is considered tzedaka, it is written [concerning Avraham], "He
believed in God and it was considered tzedaka on his part" – in other words, the trait of faith.
Likewise, "It shall be a tzedaka on our part, that we shall observe to perform."

But the word mishpat means judgment as appropriate to the subject, whether for acquittal or for
revenge.

The conclusion is that chesed means absolute beneficence; tzedaka refers to any good that one
performs because of the advantage in this trait, by means of which one brings one's soul to
perfection, and mishpat may result in either revenge or a good result.

The Rambam notes the internal connection between tzedek and tzedaka (the latter term not
being meant in the narrow sense of "giving charity"), meaning "providing anyone who is owed
something with that which he deserves." This principle finds expression in those actions which a
person is charged to perform for others as a result of his own positive traits, and he thereby
brings perfection to his own soul. The general term for any positive trait is tzedaka.

In light of the above, the Rambam draws a distinction between three different concepts:

• chesed = complete beneficence

• tzedaka/tzedek = giving others whatever is appropriate to them, based on the giver's
positive traits
• mishpat = judgment, justice in the narrow sense

In his commentary on

,‫שׁ ֶב ָה לּוֹ‬
ְ ‫ בַּיהוָה; ַויּ ַ ְח‬,‫ ו ְו ֶה ֱאמִן‬6 And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for
.‫ צְדָ קָה‬righteousness.

Gen 15:6,
Rav Hirsch writes:

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Tzedaka comes from the root tzedek… [It means] giving others what they need. Through the
attribute of tzedek, every creation is accorded the conditions set down for it by Divine
wisdom. Tzedek is the epitome of Divine providence; from man's perspective it is the ideal.

Commenting on Devarim 1:16,

,‫ בָּעֵת הַהִוא‬,‫שֹׁפְטֵיכֶם‬-‫ אֶת‬,‫ טז וָאֲצַוֶּה‬16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying: 'Hear the
,‫אֲחֵיכֶם וּשְׁפַטְתֶּם צֶדֶק‬-‫ שָׁ ֹמעַ בֵּין‬:‫ לֵאמֹר‬causes between your brethren, and judge righteously
.‫אָחִיו וּבֵין גֵּרוֹ‬-‫אִישׁ וּבֵין‬-‫ בֵּין‬between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with
him.

on the verse, "You shall judge with tzedek,” he writes:

Tzedek is the idea that lies at the foundation of mishpat (legal justice); mishpat is the
organization of relationships between people and objects. According to the ideal of tzedek, it is
the realization of tzedek in the organization of things… Din (law) is the result arising from the
general source of tzedek in relation to the particular instance at hand.

Rav Hirsch also connects tzedek and tzedaka, explaining that tzedek means "giving others that
which they need." His division of concepts is as follows:
• tzedek = the ideal substance
• mishpat = the actual organization of the relationships between people in light of the ideal
of tzedek
• din = the practical result of mishpat in a given instance.
•

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The Malbim also addresses the definitions of these concepts in various places:

Tzedek is where one acts beyond the letter of the law, whereas mishpat represents the letter of the
law. (commenting on

‫ֶחסֶד‬ ;‫ מְכוֹן ִכּ ְסאֶָך‬,‫שׁפָּט‬ ְ ‫ טו צֶדֶ ק וּ ִמ‬15 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy
.‫ יְקַדְּ מוּ ָפנֶיָך‬,‫ ֶו ֱאמֶת‬throne; mercy and truth go before Thee.

Psalms 89:15

Tzedek is midway between mishpat and chesed, insofar as it is composed of both.

The chesed that God performs with His nation is based upon practical tzedek:

‫צֶדֶ ק ְושָׁלוֹם‬ ;‫ ֶו ֱאמֶת נִ ְפגָּשׁוּ‬-‫ יא ֶחסֶד‬11 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace
.‫ נָשָׁקוּ‬have kissed each other.
,‫ְוצֶדֶ ק‬ ;‫ ֵמא ֶֶרץ תִּ ְצמָח‬,‫ יב ֱאמֶת‬12 Truth springeth out of the earth; and righteousness hath
.‫שׁקָף‬
ְ ִ‫שּׁ ַמי ִם נ‬
ָ ‫ ִמ‬looked down from heaven.

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 Psalms 85:11-12

Tzedek is where one deviates from the boundaries of mishpat towards the laws of tzedek, to
examine the matter and the parties at hand, and to act beyond the letter of the law in accordance
with the time, the place, and uprightness. (Ibid. 89:15)

The Malbim defines the concepts as follows:

• chesed apparently means = complete beneficence

• tzedek = going beyond the letter of the law; midway between chesed and mishpat
• mishpat = the letter of the law.

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Jerusalem and the Temple in Light of Tzedek and Mishpat

Having examined the definitions of the relevant concepts according to the above three
authorities, let us now go back to their connection to Jerusalem and the Temple.

In Jerusalem and in the Temple, tzedek and mishpat coexist, as Yishayahu teaches:
I shall restore your judges as in the beginning and your advisors as at the start; thereafter, you
shall be called the city of tzedek, a faithful metropolis. Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat, and
her captives with tzedaka.

‫ וְ ֹיעֲצַיְִך‬,‫ כו וְאָשִׁיבָה שֹׁפְטַיְִך כְּבָרִאשֹׁנָה‬26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy
‫ יִקּ ֵָרא לְָך עִיר‬,‫כֵן‬-‫ כְּבַתְּחִלָּה; אַח ֲֵרי‬counsellors as at the beginning; afterward thou shalt be called
.‫ נֶ ֱא ָמנָה‬,‫ק ְִרי ָה‬--‫ ַהצֶּדֶ ק‬the city of righteousness, the faithful city.
,ָ‫שׁבֶיה‬
ָ ‫שׁפָּט תִּ פָּדֶ ה; ְו‬
ְ ‫ ְבּ ִמ‬,‫צִיּוֹן‬ ‫ כז‬27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return
.‫ ִבּצְדָ קָה‬of her with righteousness.

Isa 1:27-27

Based on these verses, the our daf teaches that "Jerusalem is redeemed only with tzedaka."

Elsewhere Bava Metzia 30b the Gemara expresses criticism that matches the Malbim's
definition of the concept of tzedek:

It was taught in the baraita: “That they must perform”; that is referring to acting beyond the
letter of the law, as Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Jerusalem was destroyed only for the fact that they
adjudicated cases on the basis of Torah law in the city.

The Gemara asks: Rather, what else should they have done? Should they rather have
adjudicated cases on the basis of arbitrary decisions [demagizeta]? Rather, say: That they
established their rulings on the basis of Torah law and did not go beyond the letter of the law.

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Jerusalem was destroyed only because they judged there according to the letter of Torah law…
and did not go beyond the letter of the law.

According to:

‫ גָּאוֹן‬:‫ עֲון סְד ֹם אֲחוֹתֵ ְך‬,‫זֶה ָהי ָה‬-‫ מט ִהנֵּה‬49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride,
‫ ָהי ָה לָהּ‬,‫שׁקֵט‬ ְ ‫שׁ ְלוַת ַה‬ ַ ‫ ֶלחֶם ְו‬-‫שׂ ְבעַת‬ ִ fulness of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her
.‫ ֹלא ֶה ֱחזִיקָה‬,‫ ָענִי ְו ֶאבְיוֹן‬-‫ ְוי ַד‬,ָ‫ ְו ִלבְנוֹתֶ יה‬daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor
and needy.
Ezek 16:49

the sin of Sodom was that its inhabitants did not practice hospitality and did not help support the
needy and destitute. Sodom therefore represents the complete opposite of Jerusalem, the opposite
of tzedek.
Sodom did not provide the poor and needy, or visitors, with what was appropriate to give them,
as the Rambam explains. They certainly did not act beyond the letter of the law, as the Malbim
defines it.

Who are the “Persian Fire Priests”?

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For Dan Shapiro2 it was only just after the Iranians’ first appearance on the stage of history that
the Jews came to know them.

The Achaemenid Empire (/əˈkiːmənɪd/), Xšāça (Old Persian); translation: The Empire), also
called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia founded
by Cyrus the Great.

Ranging at its greatest extent from the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west to
the Indus Valley in the east, it was larger than any previous empire in history, spanning
5.5 million square kilometers (2.1 million square miles).

Incorporating various peoples of different origins and faiths, it is notable for its successful model
of a centralized, bureaucratic administration (through satraps under the King of Kings), for
building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of an official
language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional
army. The empire's successes inspired similar systems in later empires.

The Achaemenid dynasty was distinctively “Persian” (or, “Persian and Median”) for the Jews.

2 Dan Shapira, “‘Parthian Cavalry’ SWS PRSY / sūs pārsī / A Parthian Horse” Iran Nameh, 29:2 (Summer 2014)

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The Macedonian invasion brought about an interruption to the course of things, but then a new
Iranian dynasty arose, the Parthian Arsacids.

The Arsacid dynasty or Arshakuni (Armenian: Արշակունի Arshakuni), ruled the Kingdom of
Armenia from 12 to 428. The dynasty was a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia.

Arsacid kings reigned intermittently throughout the chaotic years following the fall of
the Artaxiad dynasty until 62 when Tiridates I secured Parthian Arsacid rule in Armenia.
However, he did not succeed in establishing his line on the throne, and various Arsacid members
of different lineages ruled until the accession of Vologases II, who succeeded in establishing his
own line on the Armenian throne, which would rule the country until it was abolished by
the Sasanian Empire in 428.

Interesting that although— understandably—Alexander is remembered negatively by the

Iranians, it is not so for the Jews (and Aleksander is one of the few non-Hebrew names to be
accepted as a “Jewish” name).

From the Babylonian Talmud, most of which dates to the Sasanian centuries, and which was
finally redacted in the first decades of Muslim rule in formerly Sasanian Babylonia, we know
that the Rabbis of the BT still recalled the Arsacid period as a golden era (BT, ʻAvodah Zara
10b–11a):

Indeed, earlier on, the relationship between Rabbi (Judah the Prince, d. ca. 217 CE), the leader of
the Palestinian Jewry in the Roman-occupied Palestina, and the last Arsacid king, triumphant
over Caracalla’s armies at Nisibīn in 217, was such that it enabled Rabbi to play the role of a
protector of Artaban V’s realm by means of magic:

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Artaban sent to our holy Rabbi a fine, priceless pearl. He said to him, “Send me something as
good as this.” He sent him a single mezuzah [amuletum]. He [Ardaban] said to him [Rabbi], “I
sent you something priceless and you sent me something worth one follarion.”

He [Rabbi] sent to him, saying “Your possessions and my possessions together do not equal the
value of this. Moreover, you sent me something that I must guard; but I sent you something that
will watch over you when you sleep, as it is written:

--‫ תַּ נְחֶה א ֹתָ ְך‬,‫ְבּהִתְ ַה ֶלּכְָך‬ ‫ כב‬22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee, when thou liest down, it

;‫ תִּ שְׁמ ֹר ָעלֶיָך‬,‫שׁ ְכבְָּך‬
ָ ‫ ְבּ‬shall watch over thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with
.‫ הִיא תְ שִׂיחֶָך‬, ָ‫ ַו ֲהקִיצוֹת‬thee.

‘When you walk it will lead you, when you lie down it will watch over you’ [Proverbs 6:22].”

Characteristically, these two texts fail to tell us exactly how and why Artaban V died, who he
was, and why Rabbi’s magic text failed to protect the former’s realm. One may also observe that
the Palestinian tradition in PT Pe’ah preserved the more original form of the king’s name, while
that of the BT, ʻAvodah Zara, formulated by the end of the Sasanian rule in Babylonia, where
Middle Iranian was still heard, spells the name of the last Arsacid king in a rather younger form,
reflecting the shift art>ard. Our knowledge of Jewish relations with the Parthian Arsacids, and
their attitude toward them, is very limited for a number of reasons.
There are, however, genuine early traditions in the later Jewish texts that enable scholars to
discern that the Parthian warriors, and the Parthians, were renowned for their cavalry, were
seen by Jews of Roman Palestine as apocalyptic redeemers of Israel who would bring about the
Messianic era and the resurrection of the dead.

Persian Fire Priests and Rav Pappa

‫ אַמְגּוּשֵׁ י‬is seen in Sanhedrin 98a

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“Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship?” [Isaiah 49:7].

,‫י ְהוָה גֹּאֵל יִשׂ ְָראֵל קְדוֹשׁוֹ‬-‫ז כֹּה אָמַר‬ 7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy
,‫שׁלִים‬ ְ ֹ ‫נֶפֶשׁ ִלמְתָ עֵב גּוֹי ְל ֶעבֶד מ‬-‫ִלבְז ֹה‬ One, to him who is despised of men, to him who is abhorred
--‫ שׂ ִָרים ְויִשְׁתַּ חֲווּ‬,‫ְמ ָלכִים י ְִראוּ ָוקָמוּ‬ of nations, to a servant of rulers: kings shall see and arise,
‫ קְד ֹשׁ יִשׂ ְָראֵל‬,‫ְל ַמעַן י ְהוָה ֲאשֶׁר נֶ ֱאמָן‬ princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the
{‫ }ס‬.ָ‫ַויּ ִ ְבח ֶָרךּ‬ LORD that is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who hath
chosen thee.

R. Eliezer countered, but is it not written,

‫תָּ סִיר‬-‫ תָּ שׁוּב; ְואִם‬,‫י ְהוָה ֵאלַי‬-‫תָּ שׁוּב יִשׂ ְָראֵל נְאֻם‬-‫ א אִם‬1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD,
.‫ וְֹלא תָ נוּד‬,‫ שִׁקּוּצֶיָך ִמ ָפּנַי‬yea, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away
thy detestable things out of My sight, and wilt
not waver;

“if you wilt return, O Israel, says the Lord, return unto me?” [ Jeremiah 4:1].

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Here in this Babylonian tradition, the return to the Land of Israel—and we remember that the
Babylonian Jews were castigated in the above-quoted Palestinian traditions precisely for their
failure to accomplish this physical return—is substituted by “the return to God” (TŠWBH/
TWBH) and depoliticized. Sanhedrin 98a: R. Hanina said: The Son of David will not come until
a fish is sought for an invalid and cannot be procured, as it states:

‫שּׁמֶן‬
ֶ ‫ ְונַהֲרוֹתָ ם ַכּ‬,‫שׁקִי ַע מֵימֵיהֶם‬ ְ ‫ יד אָז ַא‬14 Then will I make their waters to settle, and cause their
.‫ אֲדֹנָי י ְהוִה‬,‫נְאֻם‬--‫ אוֹלִיְך‬rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.

Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil [Ezekiel 32:14], whilst it
is written,

‫ אַ ְצמִי ַח ק ֶֶרן ְלבֵית‬,‫ כא בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא‬21 In that day will I cause a horn to shoot up unto the house
;‫ בְּתוֹכָם‬,‫פֶּה‬-‫ וּלְָך אֶתֵּ ן פִּתְ חוֹן‬,‫ יִשׂ ְָראֵל‬of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the
{‫ }פ‬.‫ ֲאנִי י ְהוָה‬-‫ כִּי‬,‫ ְוי ָדְ עוּ‬midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'

in that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth [Ezekiel 29:21].

R. Hama b. Hanina said: The son of David will not come until even the pettiest kingdom ceases
[to have power] over Israel, as it is written,

‫ וּבֹסֶר גֹּמֵל‬,‫פּ ֶַרח‬-‫ ִל ְפנֵי ָקצִיר כְּתָ ם‬-‫ ה כִּי‬5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the
,‫ י ִ ְהי ֶה נִצָּה; ְוכ ַָרת ַהזַּ ְלזַלִּים ַבּ ַמּזְמֵרוֹת‬bud becometh a ripening grape, He will cut off the sprigs with
.‫ ַהנְּטִישׁוֹת ֵהסִיר הֵתַ ז‬-‫ ְואֶת‬pruning-hooks, and the shoots will He take away and lop off.

He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches
[Isaiah 18:5], and this is followed by:

‫ עַם‬,‫שַׁי לַיהוָה צְבָאוֹת‬-‫בָּעֵת הַהִיא יוּבַל‬ 7 In that time shall a present be brought unto the LORD of
‫הוּא‬-‫ מִן‬,‫ וּמֵעַם נוֹרָא‬,‫מְמֻשְָּׁך וּמוֹרָט‬ hosts of a people tall and of glossy skin, and from a people
‫ אשׁר בּזאוּ‬,‫קו וּמבוּסה‬-‫ְאָה; ְָ גּוֹי קו‬ ֲֶ ְָ ַָ ‫וָהָל‬ terrible from their beginning onward; a nation that is sturdy
‫ י ְה וָה‬-‫שׁ ם‬
ֵ ‫ ְמ קוֹם‬-‫ ֶא ל‬,‫אַר צוֹ‬
ְ ‫נ ה ר ים‬ and treadeth down, whose ִ ָ ְ land the rivers divide, to the place
{‫ }פ‬.‫צִיּוֹן‬-‫ הַר‬,‫ְצבָאוֹת‬ of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.

in that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people that is scattered and
peeled [Isaiah 18:7].

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R. Hama b. Hanina, who was a third-century Palestinian sage (‘amora), still maintained the older
Palestinian view of liberation as a political event. Hence, it is the people of Israel, and not the
Land of Israel, that is the object of foreign domination. As a result, not only the Romans and
Sasanians, but all the small potentates (and one thinks of Palmyra of Odaenathus and Zenobia,
Osroene of Abgar the Great and Amru, or Hatra of Sanatruq II) should cease to exercise
dominion over the people of Israel or even cease to exist at all.

Sanhedrin 98a: R. Simlai said in the name of R. Eleazar, son of R. Simeon: The son of David will
not come until all judges and officers are gone from Israel, as it is written,

‫ וְאֶצְרֹף כַּבֹּר‬,‫ כה וְאָשִׁיבָה יָדִי עָלַיְִך‬25 And I will turn My hand upon thee, and purge away thy
.‫בְּדִ י ָלי ְִך‬-‫ כָּל‬,‫ִירה‬
ָ ‫ סִיגָיְִך; וְאָס‬dross as with lye, and will take away all thine alloy;

And I will turn my hand upon you, and purely purge away your dross and take away all your tin:
And I will restore your judges as at first [Isaiah 1:25].

‘Ulla said: Jerusalem shall be redeemed only by righteousness, as it is written,

,ָ‫שׁבֶיה‬
ָ ‫שׁפָּט תִּ פָּדֶ ה; ְו‬
ְ ‫ ְבּ ִמ‬,‫ כז צִיּוֹן‬27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return of her
.‫ ִבּצְדָ קָה‬with righteousness.

Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness [Isaiah 1:27].

R. Papa said: When the haughty cease to exist [in Israel] the magi shall cease [among the
Persians]; when the judges cease to exist [in Israel], the chiliarchi shall cease likewise.

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Now, “when the haughty cease to exist, the magi shall also cease,” as it is written, And I will
purely purge away your haughty ones and take away all your tin. “When the judges cease to
exist, the chiliarchi shall cease likewise,” as it is written,

;‫ ִפּנָּה אֹיְבְֵך‬,‫שׁ ָפּ ַטי ְִך‬

ְ ‫ טו ֵהסִיר י ְהוָה ִמ‬15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, He hath cast out
‫יראִי‬ְ ִ‫ת‬-‫ ֹלא‬,‫ ֶמלְֶך יִשׂ ְָראֵל י ְהוָה ְבּק ְִרבְֵּך‬thine enemy; The King of Israel, even the LORD, is in the
{‫ }פ‬.‫ ָרע עוֹד‬midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.

The Lord has taken away your judgments; he has cast out your enemy [Zephaniah 3:15].

This, then, is the broader context of R. Papa’s statement. R. Simlai, who was a third-century
Palestinian ‘amora, is still concerned with politics, this time Inner-Jewish politics. Ulla, who was
a late third/early fourth century Palestinian ‘amora with special connections to Babylonia, where
he travelled frequently, stresses what is now called “Jewish values” (which are no less
Zoroastrian values, too), do-good.

R. Papa, who was a fourth century Babylonian ‘amora and a contemporary of Šāhpūr II (309–79
CE), stresses that Jewish self-improvement and the removal of the haughty from among the Jews
are a prerequisite for the end of the oppressive rule of the Sasanian magi and chilliarchi over the
Jews of Babylonia.

He was concerned with strategies of Jewish survival, not apocalyptics.

Shapiro concludes:

What we find in the passages under consideration here is rather a circuit from expectations for
the Parthian cavalry as harbingers of Jewish eschatological salvation in Palestine to a playful
refusal, in the name of the Messiah, to receive a cross-breed between Raxš and Burāq; a much

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lower level of apocalyptic/eschatological enthusiasm in Sasanian Babylonia than in the Roman/
Byzantine Land of Israel; a more sober image of Iranians in Sasanian Babylonia than in
Palestine; and on the whole, less stress on politics in Babylonia and when this is brought up, the
focus is about inner-Jewish politics. This Jewish-Babylonian tendency to distance itself
somewhat from apocalyptic expectation might possibly open a window into the “Sasanian mind”
in general.

Ironically it is permitted to learn Torah from such a priest

It seems apparent that the sages of this period had a different methodology in halachic analysis as
described by Barak Cohen in his The Legal Methodology of Late Nehardean Sages in Sasanian
Babylonia3

This is a systematic analysis of the halachic/legal methodology of fourth and fifth century
Nehardean Amoraim in Babylonia (as well as their identity and dating).

The book uncovers various distinct characteristics present in the halachic decision making and
source interpretation, and demonstrates how certain Amoraim can be characterized as
portraying consistent interpretive and legal approaches throughout Talmudic literature.

Understanding the methodological characteristics that distinguish some Amoraim from other
Amoraim can aid the Talmudic interpreter/scholar in clarifying the legal foundations of their
rulings, the proofs that they bring within Talmudic discourse, as well as their disputes and
interpretations. This allows a better understanding of the development of Jewish Law and the
legal system in Talmudic Babylonia.

3 Brill Leiden, 2010

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