Avodah Zarah 18a — Talmud de Babylone

▶ 💬 Guemara pronounce the ineffable name of God with all of its letters, i.e., as it is spelled. The Gemara asks: And how could he d…

pronounce the ineffable name of God with all of its letters, i.e., as it is spelled. The Gemara asks: And how could he do that? But didn’t we learn in the mishna (Sanhedrin 90a): These are the people who have no share in the World-to-Come: One who says that the Torah is not from Heaven or that there is no source from the Torah for the resurrection of the dead. Abba Shaul says: Also one who pronounces the ineffable name as it is written, with all of its letters, has no share in the World-to-Come. The Gemara answers: Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon did it to teach himself, as it is taught in a baraita with regard to the prohibition against sorcery: “You shall not learn to do” (Deuteronomy 18:9); this indicates: But you may learn to understand and to teach. In other words, certain prohibitions do not apply when one is acting only in order to acquire knowledge of the subject. The Gemara asks: Rather, what is the reason that he was punished? The Gemara answers: He was punished because he would pronounce the ineffable name of God in public, instead of privately. And his wife was condemned to execution by decapitation because she did not protest his doing so. From here the Sages stated: Anyone who has the capability to protest effectively the sinful conduct of another and does not protest is punished for that person’s sin. The Gemara asks: And why was his daughter condemned to sit in a brothel? As Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Once, the daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon was walking before the nobles of Rome, and they said to each other: How pleasant are the steps of this young woman. Upon hearing this, she immediately took care to keep walking in such a fashion that her steps would continue to be pleasing to them. And this is the same as that which Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The iniquity of my heel encircles me” (Psalms 49:6)? It means that the sins that a person tramples with one’s heel in this world, i.e., dismisses and pays no attention to them as they seem to lack importance, e.g., the way that one walks, come and encircle him on the Day of Judgment. The Gemara relates: When the three of them went out after being sentenced, they accepted the justice of God’s judgment. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said: “The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice” (Deuteronomy 32:4). And his wife said the continuation of the verse: “A God of faithfulness and without iniquity.” His daughter said: “Great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways” (Jeremiah 32:19). Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: How great are these righteous people, that these three verses, which speak of the acceptance of God’s judgment, occurred to them at the time of accepting the righteousness of His judgment. § The Sages taught: When Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma fell ill, Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon went to visit him. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: Ḥanina my brother, do you not know that this nation has been given reign by a decree from Heaven? The proof is that Rome has destroyed God’s Temple, and burned His Sanctuary, and killed His pious ones, and destroyed His best ones, and it still exists. Evidently, all of this is by Divine decree. And yet I heard about you that you sit and engage in Torah study, and convene assemblies in public, and have a Torah scroll placed in your lap, thereby demonstrating complete disregard for the decrees issued by the Romans. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to him: Heaven will have mercy and protect me. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: I am saying reasonable matters to you, and you say to me: Heaven will have mercy? I wonder if the Romans will not burn both you and your Torah scroll by fire. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to him: My teacher, what will become of me? Am I destined for life in the World-to-Come? Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: Did any special incident occur to you which might serve as an indication? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to him: I confused my own coins that I needed for the festivities of Purim with coins of charity, and I distributed them all to the poor at my own expense. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: If that is so, may my portion be of your portion, and may my lot be of your lot. The Sages said: Not even a few days passed before Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma died of his illness, and all of the Roman notables went to bury him, and they eulogized him with a great eulogy. And upon their return, they found Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon, who was sitting and engaging in Torah study and convening assemblies in public, with a Torah scroll placed in his lap. They brought him to be sentenced, and wrapped him in the Torah scroll, and encircled him with bundles of branches, and they set fire to it. And they brought tufts of wool and soaked them in water, and placed them on his heart, so that his soul should not leave his body quickly, but he would die slowly and painfully. His daughter said to him: Father, must I see you like this? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to her: If I alone were being burned, it would be difficult for me, but now that I am burning along with a Torah scroll, He who will seek retribution for the insult accorded to the Torah scroll will also seek retribution for the insult accorded to me. His students said to him: Our teacher, what do you see? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to them: I see the parchment burning, but its letters are flying to the heavens. They said to him: You too should open your mouth and the fire will enter you, and you will die quickly. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to them: It is preferable that He who gave me my soul should take it away, and one should not harm oneself to speed his death. The executioner [kaltzatoniri] said to him: My teacher, if I increase the flame and take off the tufts of wool from your heart, so that you will die sooner and suffer less, will you bring me to the life of the World-to-Come? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to the executioner: Yes. The executioner said: Take an oath for me, that what you say is true. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon took the oath for him, and the executioner immediately increased the flame and took off the tufts of wool from his heart, causing his soul to leave his body quickly. The executioner too leaped and fell into the fire and died. A Divine Voice emerged and said: Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon and the executioner are destined for the life of the World-to-Come. Upon hearing this, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi wept and said: There is one who acquires his share in the World-to-Come in one moment, such as the executioner, and there is one who acquires his share in the World-to-Come only after many years of toil, such as Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon. § The Gemara relates: Berurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir, was a daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon. She said to Rabbi Meir: It is a disrespectful matter for me that my sister is sitting in a brothel; you must do something to save her. Rabbi Meir took a vessel [tarkeva] full of dinars and went. He said to himself: If no transgression was committed with her, a miracle will be performed for her; if she committed a transgression, no miracle will be performed for her. Rabbi Meir went and dressed as a Roman knight, and said to her: Accede to my wishes, i.e., engage in intercourse with me. She said to him: I am menstruating [dashtana] and cannot. He said to her: I will wait. She said to him: There are many women in the brothel, and there are many women here who are more beautiful than I. He said to himself: I can conclude from her responses that she did not commit a transgression, as she presumably said this to all who come. Rabbi Meir went over to her guard, and said to him: Give her to me. The guard said to him: I fear that if I do so, I will be punished by the government. Rabbi Meir said to him: Take this vessel full of dinars; give half to the government as a bribe, and half will be for you. The guard said to him: But when the money is finished, what shall I do? Rabbi Meir said to him: Say: God of Meir answer me! And you will be saved. The guard said to him:

▶ 🇫🇷 Résumé en français prononcer le nom ineffable de Dieu avec toutes ses lettres, c’est-à-dire tel qu’il est écrit. La Guemara demande : Et co…

prononcer le nom ineffable de Dieu avec toutes ses lettres, c’est-à-dire tel qu’il est écrit. La Guemara demande : Et comment a-t-il pu faire cela ? Mais n’avons-nous pas appris dans la mishna (Sanhedrin 90a) : Ceux-ci sont les gens qui n’ont pas de part au Monde-à-Venir : Celui qui dit que la Torah n’est pas du Ciel, ou qu’il n’y a pas de source dans la Torah pour la résurrection des morts. Abba Shaul dit : Aussi celui qui prononce le nom ineffable tel qu’il est écrit, avec toutes ses lettres, n’a pas de part au Monde-à-Venir. La Guemara répond : Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon l’a fait pour s’enseigner lui-même, comme il est enseigné dans une baraita à propos de l’interdiction de la sorcellerie : « Tu n’apprendras pas à faire » (Deutéronome 18:9) ; cela indique : Mais tu peux apprendre pour comprendre et pour enseigner. En d’autres termes, certaines interdictions ne s’appliquent pas lorsqu’on agit uniquement pour acquérir la connaissance du sujet. La Guemara demande : Plutôt, quelle est la raison pour laquelle il a été puni ? La Guemara répond : Il a été puni parce qu’il prononçait le nom ineffable de Dieu en public, au lieu de le faire en privé. Et sa femme a été condamnée à l’exécution par décapitation parce qu’elle n’a pas protesté contre son acte. D’ici les Sages ont déclaré : Quiconque a la capacité de protester efficacement contre la conduite pécheresse d’autrui et ne proteste pas est puni pour le péché de cette personne. La Guemara demande : Et pourquoi sa fille a-t-elle été condamnée à s’asseoir dans une maison de prostitution ? Comme Rabbi Yoḥanan dit : Une fois, la fille de Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon marchait devant les nobles de Rome, et ils dirent entre eux : Comme sont agréables les pas de cette jeune femme. En entendant cela, elle prit immédiatement soin de continuer à marcher de telle manière que ses pas leur plaisent toujours. Et c’est la même chose que ce que Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish dit : Que signifie ce qui est écrit : « L’iniquité de mon talon m’environne » (Psaumes 49:6) ? Cela signifie que les péchés qu’une personne foule avec son talon dans ce monde, c’est-à-dire qu’elle néglige et ignore parce qu’ils semblent sans importance, comme la manière de marcher, viennent et l’environnent au Jour du Jugement. La Guemara relate : Quand tous les trois sortirent après avoir été condamnés, ils acceptèrent la justice du jugement de Dieu. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon dit : « Le Rocher, son œuvre est parfaite ; car toutes ses voies sont justice » (Deutéronome 32:4). Et sa femme dit la suite du verset : « Un Dieu de fidélité et sans iniquité. » Sa fille dit : « Grand en conseil, et puissant en œuvre ; dont les yeux sont ouverts sur toutes les voies des fils des hommes, pour donner à chacun selon ses voies » (Jérémie 32:19). Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi dit : Combien grands sont ces justes, que ces trois versets, qui parlent de l’acceptation du jugement de Dieu, leur sont venus à l’esprit au moment d’accepter la justice de Son jugement. § Les Sages ont enseigné : Quand Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma tomba malade, Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon alla lui rendre visite. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma lui dit : Ḥanina, mon frère, ne sais-tu pas que cette nation a reçu le pouvoir par un décret du Ciel ? La preuve est que Rome a détruit le Temple de Dieu, et brûlé Son Sanctuaire, et tué Ses pieux, et détruit Ses meilleurs, et elle existe encore. Évidemment, tout cela est par décret divin. Et pourtant j’ai entendu à ton sujet que tu t’assieds et t’engages dans l’étude de la Torah, et que tu convoques des assemblées en public, et que tu as un rouleau de Torah placé sur tes genoux, montrant ainsi un mépris total pour les décrets émis par les Romains. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon lui dit : Le Ciel aura pitié et me protégera. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma lui dit : Je te dis des choses raisonnables, et tu me dis : Le Ciel aura pitié ? Je me demande si les Romains ne brûleront pas à la fois toi et ton rouleau de Torah par le feu. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon lui dit : Mon maître, que deviendrai-je ? Suis-je destiné à la vie dans le Monde-à-Venir ? Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma lui dit : Un incident particulier t’est-il arrivé qui pourrait servir d’indication ? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon lui dit : J’ai confondu mes propres pièces que je devais pour les festivités de Pourim avec les pièces de charité, et je les ai distribuées toutes aux pauvres à mes propres frais. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma lui dit : Si c’est ainsi, que ma part soit de ta part, et que mon lot soit de ton lot. Les Sages dirent : Pas même quelques jours ne passèrent avant que Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma meure de sa maladie, et tous les notables romains allèrent l’enterrer, et ils firent son éloge funèbre avec une grande lamentation. Et à leur retour, ils trouvèrent Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon, qui était assis et s’engageait dans l’étude de la Torah et convoquait des assemblées en public, avec un rouleau de Torah placé sur ses genoux. Ils l’amenèrent pour être jugé, et l’enveloppèrent dans le rouleau de Torah, et l’entourèrent de fagots de branches, et ils y mirent le feu. Et ils apportèrent des touffes de laine et les trempèrent dans l’eau, et les placèrent sur son cœur, afin que son âme ne quitte pas son corps rapidement, mais qu’il meure lentement et douloureusement. Sa fille lui dit : Père, dois-je te voir ainsi ? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon lui dit : Si j’étais brûlé seul, cela me serait difficile, mais maintenant que je brûle avec un rouleau de Torah, Celui qui cherchera la rétribution pour l’insulte faite au rouleau de Torah cherchera aussi la rétribution pour l’insulte

📜 Avodah Zarah — 18a

📋 Références bibliques — Avodah Zarah 18a

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