Commentary for Kiddushin 79:1
נושאי קיסר שמרוני כל הלילה אמרו ליה שמא דבר ערוה בא לידך וניצלת הימנו דתנינא כל הבא דבר ערוה לידו וניצל הימנו עושין לו נס (תהלים קג, כ) גבורי כח עושי דברו לשמוע בקול דברו כגון רבי צדוק וחביריו
Imperial [armour] bearers<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Var. lec.: Imperial Ethiopian (guards) .');"><sup>1</sup></span> guarded me all night.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Probably meaning, 'a special Providence watched over me'.');"><sup>2</sup></span> Said they to him, 'Perhaps you were tempted with immorality and successfully resisted? ' For it was taught: He who is tempted with immorality and successfully resists, a miracle is performed for him.
Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
The rabbi tries to resist sexual temptation by making himself disgusting, but this does not work for the woman magically heals him. He then escapes and spends the night in a bath-house haunted by demons where a miracle is performed for him and he is healed. In the end we learn that it was his resistance of temptation that protected him.
We should note here the interplay of human initiative and divine intervention. The rabbi is protected because he himself resists temptation. But his ability to resist causes him to be strong enough to be immune to the demons lurking in the bath-house.
We should note here the interplay of human initiative and divine intervention. The rabbi is protected because he himself resists temptation. But his ability to resist causes him to be strong enough to be immune to the demons lurking in the bath-house.
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Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
In this fascinating tale, R. Zadok manages to avoid temptation. A few thoughts on the story:
1) The rabbis here are expressing what I think is a prevalent fantasy for them—that they will be pursued by an attractive, non-Jewish woman, and that at the last minute they will resist temptation. This would amplify their own sense of manliness and at the same time their fealty to the Torah.
2) The connection between food and sex is explicitly made in this story—“one who does this eats this.” Maintaining strict separation in terms of sex is aided, in the end, by maintaining strict separation in terms of food.
3) Rabbis are often running to sit in the oven as a form of self-affliction. Not sure why, but it seems to be a common trope in their culture.
1) The rabbis here are expressing what I think is a prevalent fantasy for them—that they will be pursued by an attractive, non-Jewish woman, and that at the last minute they will resist temptation. This would amplify their own sense of manliness and at the same time their fealty to the Torah.
2) The connection between food and sex is explicitly made in this story—“one who does this eats this.” Maintaining strict separation in terms of sex is aided, in the end, by maintaining strict separation in terms of food.
3) Rabbis are often running to sit in the oven as a form of self-affliction. Not sure why, but it seems to be a common trope in their culture.
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