Sanhedrin 130

מתיב ר' זירא יצאו עדים זוממין שאין בהן מעשה ואמאי הא ליתנהו בלב

R. Zera objected: False witnesses<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'witnesses proved zomemim', v. Glos. ');">¹</span>

אמר רבא שאני עדים זוממין הואיל וישנו בקול

are excluded [from the necessity of a sin offering if they unwittingly offended], since their offence entails no action.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ker. 4a. ');">²</span>

וקול לרבי יוחנן לאו מעשה הוא והא איתמר חסמה בקול והנהיגה בקול רבי יוחנן אמר חייב ור"ל אמר פטור

But why so; their offence does not depend on intention? — Raba answered: False witnesses are different, because their offence is caused by sound.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Causing certain sounds, i.e., words, to be heard at Beth din. Since sound too is not concrete, false testimony is comparable to blasphemy, and the essence of the transgression lies in intention. ');">³</span>

רבי יוחנן אמר חייב עקימת פיו הוי מעשה ר"ל אמר פטור עקימת פיו לא הוי מעשה

But does not R. Johanan regard sound as a [concrete] action? Has it not been stated: If one frightened [lit. 'muzzled'] off an animal by his voice, or drove animals by his voice,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The first refers to Deut. XXV, 4: Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn; the second to Deut. XXII, 10, Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together. ');">⁴</span>

אלא אמר רבא שאני עדים זוממין הואיל וישנן בראיה

R. Johanan ruled that he is liable to punishment, &nbsp; &nbsp; because the movement of his lips is an action; Resh Lakish ruled that he is not, because this is not an action?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence we see that R. Johanan considers voice an action? ');">⁵</span>

ת"ר בעל אוב זה המדבר בין הפרקים ומבין אצילי ידיו ידעוני זה המניח עצם ידוע בפיו והוא מדבר מאליו

— But Raba answered thus: False witnesses are different, because their offence is caused through vision.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., they offend by saying that they saw something: and sight does not entail work or action. ');">⁶</span>

מיתיבי (ישעיהו כט, ד) והיה כאוב מארץ קולך מאי לאו דמשתעי כי אורחיה לא דסליק ויתיב בין הפרקים ומשתעי

Our Rabbis taught: A <i>Ba'al ob</i> is one who speaks from between the joints of his body and his elbow joints. A <i>yidde'oni</i> is one who places the bone of a <i>yidoa'</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Rashi, the name of a beast; Maim., the name of a bird. ');">⁷</span>

תא שמע (שמואל א כח, יג) ותאמר האשה אל שאול אלהים ראיתי עולים מן הארץ מאי לאו דמשתעי כי אורחיה לא דיתיב בין הפרקים ומשתעי

in his mouth and it speaks of itself. An objection is raised: <i>And thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground:</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Isa. XXIX, 4. ');">⁸</span>

ת"ר בעל אוב אחד המעלה בזכורו ואחד הנשאל בגולגולת מה בין זה לזה מעלה בזכורו אינו עולה כדרכו ואינו עולה בשבת נשאל בגולגולת עולה כדרכו ועולה בשבת

surely that means that it speaks naturally?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the dead actually speaking out of the ground. ');">⁹</span>

עולה להיכא סליק הא קמיה מנח אלא אימא עונה כדרכו ועונה בשבת

— No. It ascends and seats itself between his joints and speaks. Come and hear: <i>And the woman said unto Saul, I saw a god-like form ascending out of the earth:</i> [<i>And Samuel said to Saul&nbsp;…</i>]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I Sam. XXVIII, 13. ');">¹⁰</span>

ואף שאלה זו שאל טורנוסרופוס את ר"ע אמר לו ומה יום מיומים אמר לו ומה גבר מגוברין א"ל דמרי צבי שבת נמי דמרי צבי

surely that means that it spoke naturally? — No. It settled itself between her joints and spoke.

א"ל הכי קאמינא לך מי יימר דהאידנא שבתא אמר לו נהר סבטיון יוכיח בעל אוב יוכיח קברו של אביו יוכיח שאין מעלה עשן בשבת אמר לו ביזיתו ביישתו וקיללתו

Our Rabbis taught: <font><i>Ba'al ob</i> denotes both him who conjures up the dead by means of soothsaying</font><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [H] from Syriac [H] 'to divine'. Rashi connects it with [H], 'membrum'.] ');">¹¹</span>

שואל אוב היינו ודורש אל המתים

and one who consults a skull. What is the difference between them? — The dead conjured up by soothsaying does not ascend naturally [but feet first], nor on the Sabbath; whilst if consulted by its skull it ascends naturally and on the Sabbath too. [You say,] it ascends: but whither — does not the skull lie before him? — But say thus: It answers naturally,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., not from between the necromancer's joints. ');">¹²</span>

דורש למתים כדתניא (דברים יח, יא) ודורש אל המתים זה המרעיב עצמו והולך ולן בבה"ק כדי שתשרה עליו רוח טומאה

and on the Sabbath too. And this question was asked by Turnusrufus<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Tineius Rufus, a Roman Governor of Judea. ');">¹³</span>

וכשהיה ר"ע מגיע למקרא זה היה בוכה ומה המרעיב עצמו כדי שתשרה עליו רוח טומאה שורה עליו רוח טומאה המרעיב עצמו כדי שתשרה עליו רוח טהרה על אחת כמה וכמה אבל מה אעשה שעונותינו גרמו לנו שנאמר (ישעיהו נט, ב) כי [אם] עונותיכם היו מבדילים ביניכם לבין אלהיכם

of R. Akiba: 'Wherein does this day [the Sabbath] differ from any other?' — He replied: Wherein does one man differ from another?'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' 'Why is one a noble and one a commoner?' — referring to the high office which Rufus held. ');">¹⁴</span>

אמר רבא אי בעו צדיקי ברו עלמא שנאמר כי עונותיכם היו מבדילים וגו'

— 'Because my Lord [the Emperor] wishes it.' 'The Sabbath too,' R. Akiba rejoined, 'then, is distinguished because the Lord wishes so.' He replied: 'I ask this: Who tells you that this day is the Sabbath?' — He answered: 'Let the river Sabbation<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A legendary river, said to flow with such a strong current on week days, carrying (for note 10 see p. 447) along stones and rubble with tremendous force, as to be quite unnavigable, but resting on the Sabbath. (Cf. Plinius, Hist. Nat. XXI, 2, and Josephus, Wars, VII, 5, � 1]. ');">¹⁵</span>

רבא ברא גברא שדריה לקמיה דר' זירא הוה קא משתעי בהדיה ולא הוה קא מהדר ליה אמר ליה מן חבריא את הדר לעפריך

&nbsp; prove it; let the <i>Ba'al ob</i> prove it;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who cannot conjure up the dead on that day. ');">¹⁶</span>

רב חנינא ורב אושעיא הוו יתבי כל מעלי שבתא ועסקי בספר יצירה ומיברו להו עיגלא תילתא ואכלי ליה

let thy father's grave, whence no smoke ascends on the Sabbath,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The whole week smoke ascended from his grave, as he was being burnt in the fires of purgatory: but even the wicked in Gehenna have rest from their torments on the Sabbath. ');">¹⁷</span>

תנו רבנן מעונן ר' שמעון אומר זה המעביר שבעה מיני זכור על העין וחכ"א זה האוחז את העינים ר"ע אומר זה המחשב עתים ושעות ואומר היום יפה לצאת למחר יפה ליקח לימודי ערבי שביעיות חיטין יפות עיקורי קטניות מהיות רעות

prove it.' He said to him: 'You have shamed, disgraced, and reviled him [by this proof].'

תנו רבנן מנחש זה האומר פתו נפלה מפיו מקלו נפלה מידו בנו קורא לו מאחריו עורב קורא לו צבי הפסיקו בדרך נחש מימינו ושועל משמאלו

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; He who enquireth of an <i>ob</i> — is that not the same as <i>one that consulteth the dead?</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. XVIII, 11. ');">¹⁸</span> — As has been taught: <i>Or that consulteth the dead:</i> this means <font>one who starves himself and spends the night in a cemetery, so that an unclean spirit [of a demon] may rest upon him [to enable him to foretell the future]</font>. And when R. Akiba reached this verse, he wept: If one who starves himself that an unclean spirit may rest upon him has his wish granted, he who fasts that the pure spirit [the Divine Presence] may rest upon him — how much more should his desire be fulfilled! But alas!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'What am I to do'. ');">¹⁹</span> our sins have driven it away<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'have brought (this) upon us'. ');">²⁰</span> from us, as it is written, <i>But your iniquities have separated between you and your God</i>.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Isa. LIX, 2. ');">²¹</span> &nbsp; &nbsp; Raba said: If the righteous desired it, they could [by living a life of absolute purity] be creators, for it is written, <i>But your iniquities have distinguished between etc.</i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. Raba understands mabadilim in the sense of 'draw a distinction'. But for their iniquities, their power would equal God's, and they could create a world. ');">²²</span> <font>Rabbah created a man</font>,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By means of the Sefer Yezirah, Book of Creation. V. next note. ');">²³</span> and sent him to R. Zera. R. Zera spoke to him, but received no answer. Thereupon he said unto him: 'Thou art a creature of the magicians. Return to thy dust.' R. Hanina and R. Oshaia spent every Sabbath eve in studying the 'Book of Creation',<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The Book of Creation, Heb. Sefer Yezirah, is the title of two esoteric books. The older, referred to here, was a thaumaturgical work popular in the Talmudic period. It was also known as Hilkoth Yezirah (Laws of Creation), and is so called in the same story quoted on 67b. Rashi there states that the creation was performed by means of mystic combinations of the Divine Name, which does not come under the ban of witchcraft. Its basic idea is that the Creation was accomplished by means of the power inherent in those letters (Cf. Rab's saying: 'Bezalel knew how to combine the letters by which heaven and earth were created'. Ber. 55a. Cf. also Enoch LXI, 3 et seq.; Prayer of Manasseh: Ecc. R. III, 11 on the magic power of the letters of the Divine Name), and that this same power could be utilised in further creation. The work was ascribed to Abraham, which fact indicates an old tradition, and the possible antiquity of the book itself. It has affinities with Babylonian, Egyptian, and Hellenic mysticism and its origin has been placed in the second century B.C.E., when such a combination of influences might be expected. It is noteworthy that Raba's statement above, though not mentioning the Sefer Yezirah, insists on freedom from sin as a prerequisite of creation by man, v. J.E., XII, 602. ');">²⁴</span> by means of which they created a third-grown calf<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' (I.e., a calf that has reached one third of its full growth; others interpret: (i) in its third year; (ii) third born, fat]. ');">²⁵</span> and ate it. &nbsp; &nbsp; Our Rabbis taught: <i><font>Me'onen</font></i><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Observer of times, Deut. XVIII, 10. ');">²⁶</span> — R. Simeon said: <font>That is one who applies the semen of seven male species to his eyes [in order to perform witchcraft]</font>. The Sages say: It is one who holds people's eyes.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Producing hallucinations in people by opening and shutting their eyes (Rashi). ');">²⁷</span> R. Akiba said: It is one who calculates the times and hours, saying, To-day is propitious for setting forth; tomorrow for making purchases; the wheat ripening on the eve of the seventh year<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Time was calculated by seven-year cycles. The seventh year was called the year of release, and the land was not to be ploughed or sown therein. Lev. XXV, 1-7. ');">²⁸</span> is generally sound; let the beans be pulled up [instead of being harvested in the usual manner] to save them from becoming wormy. Our Rabbis taught: <font>A<i>Menahesh</i></font><span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' An enchanter, Deut. XVIII, 10. ');">²⁹</span> is onewho says: So and so's bread has fallen out of his hand; his staff hasfallen out of his hand; his son called after him; a raven screamedafter him, a deer has crossed his path; a serpent came at his righthand or a fox at his left;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' All these omens were regarded by the superstitious as generally bad. ');">³⁰</span>