Rabbinic JudaismJerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 3.5HOLYMAP · SACRED TEXTS
The Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 3.5

The Jerusalem Talmud

Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 3.5

1
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

MISHNAH: The following are disqualified: The dice-player, the lender on interest, participants in pigeon contests, dealers in sabbatical produce, and slaves. Rebbi Simeon said, earlier they were listing harvesters of sabbatical produce; but since the increase of oppressors they returned to list only dealers in sabbatical produce. Rebbi Jehudah said, when? If he has no profession but this; but if he has another profession, he is qualified.

2
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

HALAKHAH: “The following are disqualified: The dice-player,” etc. The dice player is the one who plays with small stones. “Not only the player with stones, even one who plays with shells of nuts or pomegranates is not accepted unless he break his stones or tear up his IOU’s, and be checked out and repent in complete repentance.”

3
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“Participants in pigeon contests.” Whether one bets on pigeons or bets on any other domesticated animal, wild animal, or bird, he is not accepted unless he break his tools of the catch and repent in complete repentance.

4
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“Dealers in sabbatical produce.” “Who is a dealer in sabbatical produce? One who sits idle all the years of a sabbatical cycle. As soon as the sabbatical year starts, be becomes active and trades in sabbatical produce. One does not accept them before another sabbatical year starts and he can be checked out that he repented in complete repentance.” It was stated: Rebbi Yose says, two sabbatical periods. “Rebbi Nehemiah says, repentance in money, not repentance in words; that he say to them, here are 200 denars, distribute them to the poor, for I earned them from forbidden produce.” They added shepherds, extortionists, and any who are suspect in money matters, that their testimony be invalid. Rebbi Abbahu said, only shepherds of small animals.

5
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rav Huna said: Who is the Tanna of “participants in pigeon contests”? Rebbi Eliezer, as we have stated there: “Participants in pigeon contests are disqualified from testimony.” Rebbi Mana said before Rebbi Yose: Is that statement in Sanhedrin Rebbi Eliezer’s? He told him, it is everybody’s opinion. So said Rebbi Yose: We knew that he was disqualified for testimony in money matters. What does he come to testify about? For as he is disqualified in money matters, so he is disqualified to testify in criminal trials. The witnesses for the New Moon are held to the standards of criminal trials, as we have stated: “This is the principle: Any testimony for which a woman is not qualified, they are not qualified for.” Who stated this? The rabbis! Do the rabbis follow Rebbi Eliezer? They agree with him and disagree with him. Rebbi Huna in the name of Rav Huna said: It follows Rebbi Eliezer in everything. It turns out that this disagreement parallels another disagreement, as it was stated: A perjured witness is disqualified for any and all testimony required by the Torah, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Yose said, when has this been said? When he was found perjured in criminal matters. But if he was found perjured in money matters, he is disqualified only from that particular testimony. It turns out that Rebbi Yose parallels the rabbis and Rebbi Meïr Rebbi Eliezer.

6
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“Rebbi Simeon says, earlier they were listing harvesters of sabbatical produce; but since the increase of oppressors they returned to list only dealers in sabbatical produce. Rebbi Jehudah said, when? If he has no profession but this; but if he has another profession, he is qualified.” How is this implemented? If he was sitting idle all the years of the sabbatical cycle but when the Sabbatical began he became active and traded in sabbatical produce. If at the same time he is engaged in another occupation, he is qualified; otherwise he is disqualified. But if he was working in his profession all the years of the sabbatical cycle and when the Sabbatical began he became active and traded in sabbatical produce, even if he has no other profession on the side he is qualified. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Practice follows Rebbi Jehudah of our Mishnah. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda was praised for formulating the tradition in the name of a person younger than himself.

7
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rebbi Ḥiyya stated restrictively. How is this implemented? If he was working in his profession all the years of the sabbatical cycle but when the Sabbatical began he became active and traded in sabbatical produce. Even if he has another profession on the side he is disqualified. This is not what Rebbi Abba bar Zavda, Rebbi Abbahu said in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: Practice follows Rebbi Jehudah of our Mishnah. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda was praised for formulating the tradition in the name of a person younger than himself. Here also should it be so? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, there the government is not oppressive, here the government is oppressive.

8
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

When the government was oppressing the first time, Rebbi Yannai instructed to plough a single ploughing. An apostate was passing by; he saw the putting up of the harrow. He said to them, hey you! Is it permitted for you to plough? Is it permitted for you to put up the harrow?

9
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rebbi Jacob bar Zavdi said, I asked before Rebbi Abbahu: Did not [Rebbi] Zeˋira and Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Yannai, Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Yehoṣadaq, say that they voted on the upper floor of the Niṭzah house in Lydda: About all the Torah, if a Gentile tells a Jew to transgress any commandment of the Torah except those concerning idolatry, incest and adultery, and murder, he should transgress and not be killed. That is in private, but in public he should not follow him even for the slightest commandment, as exemplified by Pappos and his brother Julianus to whom they gave water in a colored glass and they did not accept. He said, they do not intend to lead you to apostasy, they only want to collect annona. What means “in public”? The rabbis of Caesarea say ten, as it is written: I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel.

10
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

They saw the young Rebbi Bina collecting donkey’s dung on the Sabbath. Rebbi Jonah and Rebbi Yose permitted baking for Ursicinus on the Sabbath. Rebbi Mana said, I asked before my father Rebbi Jonah, did not Rebbi Zeˋira and Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Yannai, Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Yehoṣadaq, say that they voted on the upper floor of the Niṭzah house in Lydda, etc.? He said, he did not intend to lead you to apostasy, he only wanted to eat warm bread.. What means “in public”? The rabbis of Caesarea say ten, as it is written: I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel.

11
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rebbi Abinna asked Rebbi Immi: Are Gentiles required to sanctify the Name? He answered him: I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel. Israel are required to sanctify the Name; the Gentiles are not required to sanctify the Name. Rebbi Nissai in the name of Rebbi Eleazar understood it from the following: May the Eternal forgive His servant for this, etc. Israel are required to sanctify the Name; the Gentiles are not required to sanctify the Name.

12
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rebbi Abba bar Zemina was working as a tailor for somebody in Rome. He brought him carcass meat and told him to eat. He said to him, I will not eat. He said to him, eat! Otherwise I shall kill you. He said to him, if you have to kill, kill, for I shall not eat carcass meat. He said to him, certainly you should know that I would have killed you, had you eaten. Either one is a Jewish Jew or an Aramean Aramean. Rebbi Mana said, if Rebbi Abba bar Zemina had understood the words of the rabbis, he would have been gone.

13
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

If somebody improved [his field] today, what is the rule? Rebbi Jeremiah was of the opinion that when the reason disappeared, the ordinance is void. Rebbi Yose was of the opinion that even if the reason disappeared, the ordinance stands until another court abolishes it. Similarly, how does an owner acquire his own produce in a Sabbatical year? Rebbi Jeremiah wanted to say, from the moment he put it into his vessel. Rebbi Yose was of the opinion that even if he put it into his vessel he did not acquire, for he thinks that it is his but it is not his.

14
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

When Proclus entered Sepphoris, Rebbi Mana instructed the bakers to present their wares in the market. The rabbis of Newe instructed to bake leavened on Passover.

15
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rebbi Yose ben Abun said: I shall keep the King’s sayings, Who told me at Sinai I am the Eternal, your God, on the pronouncement, you shall not have other gods before Me, of God’s oath, do not take the Name of the Eternal, your God, in vain. In this matter we come together, this man and this dog are both equal.

16
English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rav Jehudah in the name of Rav: Practice follows Rebbi Jehudah.

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Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 3.5English
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Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 3.50%

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The Jerusalem Talmud, edition, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015). CC BY. Text from Sefaria (sefaria.org); commentary notes omitted. · Source ↗

Hebrew/Aramaic text: The Jerusalem Talmud, edition by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015), via Sefaria (sefaria.org). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Changes: footnotes and HTML formatting removed.

The Jerusalem Talmud, edition, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015). CC BY. Text from Sefaria (sefaria.org); commentary notes omitted. · Source ↗

English translation: The Jerusalem Talmud, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015); commentary notes omitted, via Sefaria (sefaria.org). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Changes: footnotes and HTML formatting removed.

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