Commentary for Avodah Zarah 34:14
אתיוהו לרבי חנינא בן תרדיון אמרו ליה אמאי קא עסקת באורייתא אמר להו כאשר צוני ה' אלהי מיד גזרו עליו לשריפה ועל אשתו להריגה ועל בתו לישב בקובה של זונות עליו לשריפה שהיה
They then brought up R. Hanina b. Tradion and asked him, “Why have you occupied yourself with the Torah?” He replied, “This is what the Lord my God commanded me.” At once they sentenced him to be burned, his wife to be killed, and his daughter to be sent to a brothel. He was sentenced to be burned because
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
Note the very different reaction that R. Hanina has to his accusers. Whereas R. Elazar consistently lied and thereby avoided martyrdom, R. Hanina willingly admits to his violation of Roman law and testifies that this is what he believes that God wants him to do. He seems to relish his opportunity to be executed. In reality, R. Hanina is not martyred because he only occupied himself with Torah and not with gemilut hasadim. He is martyred because he does not take the opportunity to avoid it.
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Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
The Talmud tries to find sins that would explain why R. Hanina was executed. Note that this is “overexplaining”—the Talmud explained earlier that he dies because he did not engage in gemilut hasadim
Hanina is accused of pronouncing God’s name according to its letters. But then the Talmud explains that he only did so in order to practice or understand, but not for magical purposes. Nevertheless, he was punished for pronouncing God’s name in public.
Hanina is accused of pronouncing God’s name according to its letters. But then the Talmud explains that he only did so in order to practice or understand, but not for magical purposes. Nevertheless, he was punished for pronouncing God’s name in public.
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