Sanhedrin 93

Chapter 93

א ת"ש (תהלים טו, ד) נבזה בעיניו נמאס זה חזקיהו מלך יהודה שגירר עצמות אביו על מטה של חבלים ואי משום יקרא דחיי הוא מ"ט

1 Come and hear! In whose eyes a vile person isdespised1 — this refers to Hezekiah,king of Judah, who had his father's remains dragged upon a pallet made ofropes.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A rude bed made out of ropes so depriving him of a kingly burial, his object being to show that the deceased deserved contempt because of his wickedness in spreading heathendom in Israel. The act could not be viewed as transgression of the fifth commandment, as the latter does not apply to a father who is wicked. — V. Yeb. 22b on the verse, Nor curse a prince among thy people (Ex. XXII, 27). — Again, he did not consider his own honour, as is deduced from the verse quoted above. ');">2

ב כי היכי דתיהוי ליה כפרה לאבוה ומשום כפרה דאבוה משהו ליה ליקרא דישראל ישראל גופייהו ניחא להו דמיחלי יקרייהו לגביה

2 But if it [the respect paidto the dead] is in honour of the living, why [did he doso]?3 — It was in order that his fathermight obtain forgiveness. And for the sake of his father's atonement hedisregarded4

ג ת"ש אמר להן אל תספדוני בעיירות ואי אמרת יקרא דחיי מאי נפקא ליה מינה קסבר ליתייקרו ביה ישראל טפי

3 the honour of Israel!— Israel itself was pleased to have its honour violated for his sake. Come and hear! He5

ד ת"ש הלינו לכבודו להביא לו ארון ותכריכין אינו עובר עליו מאי לאו לכבודו של מת לא לכבודו של חי

4 said tothem:6 Do not hold funeral orationsover me in the [small] towns.7

ה ומשום כבודו של חי מבית ליה למת אין כי אמר רחמנא (דברים כא, כג) לא תלין נבלתו על העץ דומיא דתלוי דאית ביה בזיון אבל הכא כיון דלית ביה בזיון לא

5 Now,should you maintain that it is in honour of the living, what did it matterto him? — He wished that Israel might be honoured through him, in greatermeasure. Come and hear! IF HE KEPT HIM OVER NIGHT FOR THE SAKE OF HIS HONOUR, TO PROCUREFOR HIM A COFFIN OR A SHROUD HE DOES NOT TRANSGRESS THEREBY. Now surely that[sc. FOR THE SAKE OF HIS HONOUR] means, for the honour of thedead?8

ו ת"ש הלינו לכבודו לשמע עליו עיירות להביא לו מקוננות להביא לו ארון ותכריכין אינו עובר עליו שכל העושה אינו אלא לכבודו של מת ה"ק כל העושה לכבודו של חי אין בו בזיון למת

6 — No: for the honour of theliving. And for the sake of the honour of the living the dead is to be keptovernight! — Yes When did the Merciful One say, His body shall not remainall night upon the tree,9 only in acase similar to be hanged, where it [the keeping of the corpse] involvesdisgrace;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the longer the body remains exposed, the greater the disgrace; and even in the case of an ordinary person, if the funeral is delayed without cause, but simply out of neglect, it is likewise accounted a disgrace to the dead, therefore it is forbidden. ');">10

ז ת"ש ר' נתן אומר סימן יפה למת שנפרעין ממנו לאחר מיתה מת שלא נספד ולא נקבר או שחיה גוררתו או שהיו גשמים מזלפין על מטתו זהו סימן יפה למת ש"מ יקרא דשכבי הוא שמע מינה:

7 but here, where thereis no disgrace11 it does not apply.

ח לא היו קוברין כו': וכל כך למה לפי שאין קוברין רשע אצל צדיק דאמר ר' אחא בר חנינא מנין שאין קוברין רשע אצל צדיק שנאמר (מלכים ב יג, כא) ויהי הם קוברים איש והנה ראו את הגדוד וישליכו את האיש בקבר אלישע ויגע האיש בעצמות אלישע ויחי ויקם על רגליו

8 Come and hear! If he [the relative] kept him overnight for his own honour,so as to inform the [neighbouring] towns of his death, or to bring professionalwomen mourners for him,12 or to procurefor him a coffin or a shroud, he does not transgress thereby, for all thathe does is only for the honour of thedeceased!13

ט אמר ליה רב פפא ודילמא לאיקיומא (מלכים ב ב, ט) ויהי נא פי שנים ברוחך אלי אמר ליה אי הכי היינו דתניא על רגליו עמד ולביתו לא הלך

9 — What he [the Tanna]means is this: Nothing that is done for the honour of the living involvesdishonour to the dead. Come and hear! R. Nathan said: It is of good omen for the dead when he ispunished [in this world] after death. E.g., if one dies and is not mourned,or [properly] buried, or if a wild beast drags him along, or if rain dripsdown on his bier, it is a good omen forhim.14

י אלא ויהי נא פי שנים היכי משכחת לה דאחייא א"ל רבי יוחנן שריפא צרעת נעמן שהיא שקולה כמת דכתיב (במדבר יב, יב) אל נא תהי כמת

10 We may infer therefore fromthis that the funeral rites are in honour of thedead.15 This proves it.

יא וכשם שאין קוברין רשע אצל צדיק כך אין קוברין רשע חמור אצל רשע קל וליתקון ארבע קברות שני קברות גמרא גמירי לה

11 AND THEY DID NOT BURY HIM etc. And why suchseverity?16 — Because a wicked manmay not be buried beside a righteous one. For R. Aha b. Hanina said: Whenceis it inferred that a wicked man may not be buried beside a righteous one?— From the verse, And it came to pass as they were burying a man that beholdthey spied a band and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elishah, andas soon as the man touched the bones of Elishah, he revived and stood upon his feet.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Kings XIII, 21. According to tradition, the man buried was the old prophet of Beth-El (I Kings XIII, 1; v. infra p. 312, and note a.l.). Hence it is seen that it is not the Divine Will to have a wicked man buried with a righteous. ');">17

יב אמר עולא א"ר יוחנן אכל חלב והפריש קרבן והמיר דתו וחזר בו הואיל ונדחה ידחה

12 Said R. Papa to him,Perhaps that was only to fulfil [the request], Let a double portion of thyspirit be upon me?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Kings II, 9. This was Elishah's request of Elijah. Hence, since the latter had restored one person from death (cf. I Kings XVII, 22), Elishah should have restored two, whereas he had as yet restored but one — the son of the Shunamite (II Kings IV) Thus this incident does not prove that a wicked man may not be buried beside a good man. ');">18 — Thereuponhe retorted: If so, what of that which was taught: [He only] arose on hisfeet, but did not return home?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., he did not live for more than a few minutes: surely that is not a fulfilment! Hence the reason of the man's momentary resurrection must have been because the wicked must not be buried beside the righteous. ');">19

יג איתמר נמי א"ר ירמיה אמר ר' אבהו א"ר יוחנן אכל חלב והפריש קרבן ונשתטה וחזר ונשתפה הואיל ונדחה ידחה

13 Thenwhat of, Let a double portion of thy spirit etc. where is it found that heresurrected [two people]? — As R. Johanan said: He healed the leprosy ofNaaman,20 which is the equivalentof death, as it is written, Let her not, I pray Thee, be as onedead.21

יד וצריכא דאי אשמעינן קמייתא משום דאיהו דחה נפשיה בידים אבל האי דממילא קא דחי אימא כישן דמי

14 And just as a wicked person is not buried beside a righteous one, so is agrossly wicked person not to be buried beside one moderately wicked. Thenshould there not have been fourgraveyards?22 — It is a traditionthat there should be but two.

טו ואי אשמעינן הכא משום דאין בידו לחזור אבל התם דבידו לחזור אימא לא צריכא

15 'Ulla said in R. Johanan's name: If one ate forbiddenfat23 and thereupon dedicated asacrifice,24

טז אמר רב יוסף אף אנן נמי תנינא היו בה קדשים קדשי מזבח ימותו קדשי בדק הבית יפדו והוינן בה אמאי ימותו כיון דאיקטול הויא להו כפרה וליסקו לגבוה לאו משום דאמרינן הואיל ונדחו ידחו

16 abjured his faith, butsubsequently returned, since it [the offering] has [once] beeninvalidated,25 it remains so. It hasbeen stated likewise: R. Jeremiah said in the name of R. Abbahu in R. Johanan'sname; If one ate forbidden fat and thereupon dedicated a sacrifice, becameinsane, but later recovered, since it [the sacrifice] has once beeninvalidated.26

יז א"ל אביי מי סברת מת מתוך רשעו הויא ליה כפרה מת מתוך רשעו לא הויא ליה כפרה דתני רב שמעיה יכול אפילו פירשו אבותיו מדרכי ציבור יטמא ת"ל בעמיו בעושה מעשה עמיו

17 it remains so. Andboth rulings are necessary. For had he taught us the first one only, [onemight have assumed that] it is because he had rendered himself unfit [tooffer a sacrifice] by his ownaction;27 but as for the latter case[insanity], where he was automatically unfitted, I might say that he is [merely]as a person who has slept [in themeantime].28

יח א"ל רבא מי קא מדמית נהרג מתוך רשעו למת מתוך רשעו מת מתוך רשעו כיון דכי אורחיה קמיית לא הויא ליה כפרה נהרג מתוך רשעו כיון דלאו כי אורחיה מיית הויא ליה כפרה

18 Again, had he taughtus only the latter, [one might have thought that] it was because it was notin his power to recover; but there [in the case of apostasy], since it wasin his power to return, one might say that it does not [remain invalidated].Both rulings are therefore necessary. R. Joseph said: We too have learnt similarly: If there are holy objectstherein,29

יט תדע דכתיב (תהלים עט, א) מזמור לאסף אלהים באו גוים בנחלתך טמאו את היכל קדשך [וגו'] נתנו את נבלת עבדיך מאכל לעוף השמים בשר חסידיך לחיתו ארץ מאי עבדיך ומאי חסידיך לאו חסידיך חסידיך ממש עבדיך הנך דמחייבי דינא דמעיקרא וכיון דאיקטול קרי להו עבדיך

19 that which is dedicatedto the altar [i.e.. sacrifices] mustdie;30 to the Temple repair, mustbe redeemed.31

כ אמר ליה אביי מי קא מדמית

20 Now we pondered thereon,Why should they die? Since they [the inhabitants of the condemned city] areexecuted, they obtain forgiveness: should they [the sacrifices] not thenbe offered to Heaven!32 Surely thenis it not so because we hold that once invalidated, they remain so? Abayeretorted; Do you then think that he who dies in his wickedness obtainsforgiveness [by his death]? Nay, he who dies in his wickedness does not obtainforgiveness, for R. Shemaiah learnt: One might have thought that even ifhis [the priest's] parents had dissociated themselves from the practicesof the congregation,33 he [the priest]may defile himself:34 but Scripturestates, among his people<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The whole passage reads: 'Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people. But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father etc. Lev. XXI, 1-2. By linking 'among his people' (as interpreted here) with the following verse, 'But for his kin, etc.' it is deduced that only then may a priest defile himself, but not if his parents were, e.g., apostates. ');">35 teaching,that it is so provided he [the parent] has followed the practices of hispeople.36 Said Raba to him: Dost thoucompare one who was executed in his wickedness to one who died in his wickedness?In the latter case, since he dies a natural death, he attains noforgiveness;37 but in the former,since he does not die a natural death, he obtains forgiveness [by the mereexecution]. In proof thereof, it is written, A Psalm of Asaph, O God, theheathen are come into Thine inheritance; they have defiled Thy Holy Temple…They have given the dead bodies of Thy servants to be food unto the fowlsof the heaven; the flesh of Thy saints onto the beasts of theearth.38 Who are meant by 'Thy servants,'and who by 'Thy saints'? Surely 'thy saints' means literally, saints, whereas,'thy servants' means those who were at first liable to sentence [of death],but having been slain, are designated'servants'.39 Abaye retorted: Wouldyou compare

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