Commentary for Sanhedrin 204:4

א"ל מאחר דחכימתו כולי האי מאי טעמא קא פלחיתו לעבודת כוכבים א"ל אי הות התם הות נקיטנא בשיפולי גלימא ורהטת אבתראי למחר אמר להו לרבנן נפתח ברבוותא

He then questioned him, 'Since thou art so wise, why didst thou worship idols?' He replied, 'Wert thou there, thou wouldst have caught up the skirt of thy garment and sped after me.' The next day he observed to the students: We will commence with our teachers [so referring to the Three Kings]. Ahab denotes that he was an ah [a brother]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In an evil sense, as the Talmud proceeds to quote. ');">⁶</span> to Heaven, and an ab [a father] to idolatry. An ah to Heaven, as it is written, a brother [ah] is born for trouble,'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Prov. XVII, 17. ');">⁷</span>

Explore commentary for Sanhedrin 204:4. In-depth commentary and analysis from classical Jewish sources.