Sanhedrin 148

אפילו לשנויי ערקתא דמסאנא

Even to change one's shoe strap.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' When religion itself is persecuted even the most insignificant religious custom or habit must be defended at all costs, having regard to the higher principle at stake. [The shoe latchets worn by Jews were white, those worn by heathens black. v. Nacht. JQR, (N.S.) VI, p. 12.] ');">¹</span>

וכמה פרהסיא אמר ר' יעקב אמר רבי יוחנן אין פרהסיא פחותה מעשרה בני אדם פשיטא ישראלים בעינן דכתיב (ויקרא כב, לב) ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל בעי רבי ירמיה תשעה ישראל ונכרי אחד מהו

And how many make it public? — R. Jacob said in R. Johanan's name: The minimum for publicity is ten.

תא שמע דתני רב ינאי אחוה דרבי חייא בר אבא אתיא תוך תוך כתיב הכא ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל וכתיב התם (במדבר טז, כא) הבדלו מתוך העדה הזאת מה להלן עשרה וכולהו ישראל אף כאן עשרה וכולהו ישראל

It is obvious that Jews are required [for this publicity], for it is written. But I will be hallowed among the children of Israel.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lev. XXII, 23. ');">²</span>

והא אסתר פרהסיא הואי אמר אביי אסתר קרקע עולם היתה

R. Jeremiah propounded: What of nine Jews and one Gentile? — Come and hear: For R. Jannai, the brother of R. Hiyya b. Abba learned: An analogy is drawn from the use of tok ['among'] in two passages. Here is written, But I will be hallowed among [be-tok] the children of Israel; and elsewhere, separate yourselves from among [mi-tok] this congregation:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XVI, 21.; v. Meg. 23b. A further analogy is there drawn from the use of congregation ('edah vsg) in two passages; one, just quoted, and the second, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation. ('edah) Ibid. XIV, 27. 'Congregation' there refers to the Spies sent out by Moses. As Joshua and Caleb had dissociated themselves from their evil report, ten were left, all Israelites, cf. Supra Mishnah I.i. ');">³</span>

רבא אמר הנאת עצמן שאני

just as there the reference is to ten, all Jews, so here too — ten, all Jews.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Therefore one is not called upon to suffer martyrdom if bidden to transgress in the presence of nine Jews and one Gentile. ');">⁴</span>

דאי לא תימא הכי הני קוואקי ודימוניקי היכי יהבינן לה אלא הנאת עצמן שאני הכא נמי הנאת עצמן שאני

But did not Esther transgress publicly?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' By permitting a Gentile — Ahasuerus — to take her to wife. ');">⁵</span>

ואזדא רבא לטעמיה דאמר רבא עכו"ם דאמר ליה להאי ישראל קטול אספסתא בשבתא ושדי לחיותא ואי לא קטילנא לך ליקטיל ולא לקטליה שדי לנהרא ליקטליה ולא ליקטול מ"ט לעבורי מילתא קא בעי

— Abaye answered; Esther was merely natural soil.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Which is tilled, i.e., she was only the passive object of his embraces. ');">⁶</span>

בעו מיניה מר' אמי בן נח מצווה על קדושת השם או אין מצווה על קדושת השם

Raba said: When they [sc. the persecutors] demand it for their personal pleasure. it is different.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And not as a measure of religious persecution. ');">⁷</span>

אמר אביי ת"ש שבע מצות נצטוו בני נח ואם איתא תמני הויין א"ל רבא אינהו וכל אבזרייהו

For otherwise, how dare we yield to them' [sc. the Parsees or fire worshippers] our braziers [or fire bellows] and coal shovels?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The passage is obscure. The interpretation here is that of Levy. Who adopts the reading [H]. This refers to the Guebres, who permitted no fires in private dwellings on the festival days, and forced the Jews to give up to them their brazers (or bellows) and coal shovels, and themselves sit in darkness. On this interpretation [H] is derived from [H], the sound made by blowing up a fire. The Munich edition reads[H] or [H] (another reading), bears a strong resemblance to dominica: now, dies dominica (the Lord's Day) signifies Sunday, and aedes dominica signifies church; [H], for which an alternative reading is [H], may be a Greek word ([G]) also meaning church. In Raba's time there were Christian communities in Persia, observing their Sunday as strictly as the Jews observed the Sabbath, who therefore arranged for the Jews to heat their churches on that day, as they probably did a similar service for the Jews on the Sabbath (M. Jast. in REJ 1884, pp. 277ff.) ');">⁸</span>

מאי הוי עלה אמר רב אדא בר אהבה אמרי בי רב כתיב (מלכים ב ה, יח) לדבר הזה יסלח ה' לעבדך בבא אדני בית רמון להשתחות שמה והוא נשען על ידי והשתחויתי וכתיב (מלכים ב ה, יט) ויאמר לו לך לשלום

But their personal pleasure is different;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., They do not demand the fire as a religious act, whereby the Jew shall associate himself in idolatrous worship, but merely desire its warmth in their churches. ');">⁹</span> so here too [in Esther's case].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ahasuerus made her transgress for his personal pleasure, not because he desired her to violate her religion. ');">¹⁰</span> This [answer] concurs with Raba's view expressed elsewhere. For Raba said: If a Gentile said to a Jew. 'Cut grass on the Sabbath for the cattle, and if not I will slay thee', he must rather be killed than cut it; 'Cut it and throw it into the river, he should rather be slain than cut it. Why so? — Because his intention is to force him to violate his religion. It was asked of R. Ammi: Is a Noachide bound to sanctify the Divine Name or not? — Abaye said, Come and hear: The Noachides were commanded to keep seven precepts.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. supra 56a. ');">¹¹</span> Now, if they were commanded to sanctify the Divine Name, they are eight. Raba said to him: Them, and an pertaining thereto.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e. sanctifying the Divine Name by observing their seven precepts is not a separate precept, but included therein. ');">¹²</span> What is the decision? — The disciples of Rab<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. p. 387 n. 7. ');">¹³</span> said: It is written, In this thing, the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Kings V, 18. ');">¹⁴</span> And it is written, And he said unto him, Go in peace.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 19. ');">¹⁵</span>