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The people of the Generation of the Flood have no share in the World to Come, but on the other hand they will not have to stand in Judgment, having already been punished. “My spirit shall not contend ever more concerning man” implies neither judgment nor the spirit of God.
The people of the Generation of Dispersion – the Tower of Babel – have no share in the World to Come, since God “dispersed them” in this world and “scattered” for the World to Come.
The people of Sodom have no share in the World to Come, since they were “wicked” (this world) and “sinful” (World to Come).
The people of the Generation of the Wilderness have no share in the World to Come, since they shall be “consumed” and “there they shall die” - these are the words of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Eliezer disagrees and applies to them “Gather to Me My devout ones, those who sealed a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
Art: Albrecht Durer - Lot Fleeing With His Daughters From Sodom
David wanted to be mentioned in one breath with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God told him, "I tested them, but you I did not test." David said, "Test me!" God told him, "I will, and I will even tell you what the test will be – women." David then increased relations with his wife, and he forgot that it only increases desire.
Bathsheba was shampooing her head underneath a canopy. Satan appeared to David in the form of a bird. David shot his arrow at it, and the arrow struck and opened the canopy, making Bathsheba exposed to view. David took her and then sent her back home. Technically, Bathsheba was divorced, but it looked like David sinned with a married woman. David said, "I could have withstood the test, but I did not want people to say that a student mastered his teacher (God)." David understood that his role in life was not of a Patriarch but of a penitent human. David then suffered for six months to expiate his sin.
Art: Jan Steen - Bathsheba Receiving David Letter
When the Jews would eat and drink and be merry and go out shopping, the older harlot would say to them, “I have linen garments outside and even better and cheaper ones inside.” After a few visits, the younger harlot would tell him, “You are like a member of the family. Choose from our merchandise for yourself, and have a glass of Ammonite wine (same as used by the daughters of Lot).” Once he drank, passion would burn in him, and he would say to her, “Yield yourself to me!” She would produce an idol from her bosom and tell him, “Worship this!” If he refused, she said, “All we ask is that you defecate in front of him.” The Jew would do it, not knowing that this was the normal manner of worship.
The learning of Doeg was so great that he knew all the cases of the added and deleted letters in the Torah, all the logic in the Torah, and three hundred laws about a tower which floats in the air. The reason for his downfall was his envy, which led him to malign King David.
Art: Johannes Vermeer - Glass of Wine
Ten people came and sat down before the prophet Ezekiel. He told them “Repent!” They answered, “If a husband divorced his wife, do they have any claim on each other any longer? God has allowed us to be conquered and enslaved by Nebuchadnezzar, and now He has no right to punish us for our sins.” God answered, “Where is your mother's bill of divorce?” It is for this reason that God called Nebuchadnezzar His servant, the title given to the righteous King David – because God knew that the people will make this divorce argument. Even though the Jews were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, they still belong to God, since everything that the slave acquires belongs to the Master.
Chutzpah prevails even against Heaven, for at first Balaam was told “Do not go with them,” but at the end it was “Arise, go with them.”
Art: Lord Frederick Leighton - The Golden Hours
Michah made an idol that many Jews worshiped, but he is not mentioned as not having a share in the World to Come. Why? Because his bread was always available for wayfarers.
As a reward for Jethro's saying, “Call him (Moses) and let him eat bread”, Jethro's descendants merited to be members of the Sanhedrin.
If only Jonathan had escorted David with two loaves of bread, the people of Nov would not have been killed, Doeg would not been banished from the World to Come, and Saul and his three sons would not have been killed.
The sins of the kings of Judah led Jerusalem's destruction, as described in the Book of Lamentations, which starts with “How does she (Jerusalem) sits in solitude!” Why was the word “How” (Eicha) used to describe Israel's fallen state? Because the numerical value of Eicha is thirty-six, and the Jews transgressed all thirty-six sins mentioned in the Torah that carry the penalty of excision. Furthermore, the Book of Lamentations is arranged in the alphabetical order, because they violated the entire Torah, from the first to the last letter of the alphabet.
Art: Balthasar Denner - A Glass of Beer and a Bread Roll on a Table
Rabbi Yochanan said, “Whoever says that Menasheh has no portion in the World to Come weakens the resolve of potential penitents” - since Menasheh repented for the last thirty-three years of his life. To accept Menasheh's repentance, God made a secret tunnel in the firmament, to hide this from the Attribute of Justice.
Of the things that the bad Jewish kings used to do, Menasheh scratched out the names of God from Torah scrolls and replaced them with different pagan deities, he also tore down the altar in the Temple; Amon burned the Torah and prohibited the bringing of sacrifice. Menasheh had relations with his sister, but Amon had relations with his mother, as it states, “Amon did ever more evil.” His mother asked him, “Can you have any pleasure from the source from which you issued?” He answered, “Am I doing this for any purpose other than to vex my Creator?”
Art: Karoly Ferenczy - Triple Portrait Sister and Brothers
The arrogance of Yarovam was the cause of his downfall, despite his initial greatness in Torah learning. As a king who was not a descendant of David, Yarovam would have to stand in the Temple Courtyard, while the king who was a true descendant would sit. Yarovam preferred to stop his subjects from pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and established two golden calves for worship instead. Any time a punishment comes to the nation of Israel, it contains a small measure of the punishment for the first Golden Calf; after Yarovam, there were two more.
Rav Ashi ended his lecture on the three kings with “Tomorrow we will continue with our colleagues.” Menasheh came to him in a dream and asked, “You call us colleagues? Which place on the bread do you bless?” Rav Ashi did not know. “The one that is baked first,” - said Menasheh. “Then why did you worship idols?” - asked Rav Ashi. “If you were in our generation, you would run to worship them yourself,” said Menasheh. In the morning, Rav Ashi started with “Let us return to the three kings, our teachers.”
Art: Russian School - Three Jewish men sharing an evening drink
Rabbi Akiva derived it from a verse. “Menasheh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem... and he did evil in the eyes of God.”
Now Chizkiah his father taught Torah to the entire world. Of course, he taught his son Menasheh too. Nevertheless, with all the trouble that Chizkiah took with Menasheh to teach him the path of righteousness, in the end it was sufferings that elevated Menasheh to proper conduct: "God brought upon the people the king of Assyria, and they captured Menasheh with hooks and transported him to Babylon. When Menasheh was in distress, he humbled himself greatly before the God of his father, and God returned him to Jerusalem".
Art: Janos Thorma - Sufferers
One who reads “external books” may loose his share in the World to Come. Some say, these are all books not Torah-related, but others say, these are only heretical books, but writings such as Homer's are permitted.
There is a similar disagreement about the Book of Ben Sira. Ben Sira was a son of the prophet Jeremiah. Rav Yosef quoted him, “A beautiful wife – fortunate is her husband, the number of his days is doubled” (or at least it seems to him so).
Art: Jan Frederik Pieter Portielje - The Jewel Case
The books of Prophets contain many descriptions of the utopian idyllic state of life. All these refer only to the Messianic Era, but the reward of the World to Come is beyond human comprehension, and “No eye except Yours, O God, has seen that which He will do for one who awaits Him” – this is the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan. However, Shmuel says that there will be no difference between this world and the Messianic Era, except that the Jews will be completely free from foreign dominion.
What is the reward for constant Torah study? “If a person toils in the study of Torah, the Torah will toil for him after death” - asking God to keep giving him knowledge.
Every man is created for toil, and it is not physical labor but verbal toil, and specifically the study of Torah, because of “This Book of the Torah is not to leave your mouth.” Therefore, happy is one who merits to toil in Torah.
Art: Mikolajus Ciurlionis - Paradise
Said Rabbi Abba, - There is no clearer indication of the “End” than this: “But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel...”, that is, the Land of Israel will yield fruit in abundance shortly before the redemption.
In the generation of the Messiah, there will be denunciation among the Torah scholars.
The Messiah will come to the generation that is completely virtuous or completely sinful. If a person is somewhat virtuous, he is unlikely to repent, because he focuses on his good attributes. On the other hand, one who completely lacks virtue has no grounds for self-deception and thus is open to the realization that he must repent and merit God's redemption.
The coming of the Messiah will be preceded by multiple troubles and tribulations. Ulla said, “May he come, but may I not see him,” but Rav Yosef said, “May he come, and may I merit to sit in the shadow of his donkey's dung!”
Art: Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot - The Donkey
In the generation when the son of David (Mashiach) will come, the meeting place of the scholars will be used for licentiousness, the wisdom of the scholars will decay, those who fear sin will be despised, and the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog. The truth will be absent, as in “And the truth will be absent, and he that turns away from evil will become foolish.”
Rabbi Meir Abulafia (c. 1170 – 1244, Burgos, Spain) in his book “Yad Ramah” remarks: “I am in wonderment! According to these signs, why has the son of David not come in this generation of ours?”
But how can we say that the truth will be absent, when there is a promise that the Jewish people will never be devoid of Torah scholars, who are devoted to truth? - Truth will be divided into many small groups, each with its own truth, so that it will be very hard to find.
The world is destined to exist for six thousand years; the first two thousand were of nothingness, without the Torah, the second two thousand were of Torah, and the the third two thousand are the days of the Messiah. This, however, is only talking about the last 7-year cycle, in which we find ourselves, but according to one estimate in Kabbalah, we are at the end of sixth Shmita, at 42,000 years divine years, which translates into 15 billion human years.
There are many calculations of the end of the world, and most of them have already passed.
Art: Johannes Christoffel Vaarberg - A Tavern Interior
The general who came to destroy Jerusalem was Nebuzaradan. He had three hundred mule-loads of axes that cut iron, but one gate of Jerusalem swallowed them all. Nebuzaradan wanted to retreat, but the Heavenly voice told him, “You always wanted to destroy Jerusalem, now is your chance.” With the wooden handle of a hatchet he then destroyed all gates, conquered Jerusalem and burned the Temple.
Nebuzaradan saw the blood of Zechariah, seething on the floor of the Temple. He asked, “What is it?” They told him, “Blood of offerings that spilled.” He brought offerings, but it did not look the same. He then threatened torture, and they told him the truth: Zechariah prophesied about the destruction of the Temple, and they killed him, a Kohen and a prophet. Nebuzaradan then brought the Sages and slew them over the blood, but it did not rest. He killed schoolchildren and Kohanim, and kept killing until the count came to 940,000. He then called to Zechariah, “Do you want me to kill everyone?” - and the blood rested.
Nebuzaradan then reasoned, “If for killing one person God punished them so, what will He do to that man (meaning himself)?” He then sent a will to his household and converted to Judaism.
Art: BLAKE William - Nebuchadnezzar
Yishbi put David under an olive press, but through a miracle the ground under him softened. Yishbi was still sitting on top.
Avishai, one of David's officers, was preparing to shampoo his hair for Sabbath when he saw bloodstains in the water and understood that David was in danger. He reasoned, "One can not ride on the king's horse - but what about in the time of danger?" They told him that in the time of danger it is allowed. He then mounted David's mule and rode off. The road miraculously contracted under him.
On the road Avishai saw Orpah, the mother of Yishbi. She tried to kill him with a spindle, but he killed her instead. Seeing Avishai approach, Yishbi threw David up and prepared a spear to catch him. Avishai said the name of God, and David hung in the air. Avishai then asked David, what he was doing there, and David explained that he chose the punishment for himself. Avishai advised him to leave the punishment for his descendants, and to save himself from the trouble now. Avishai then said another name of God, David came down, and the two started running away. Yishbi kept pursuing them, until they told him, "Look at your mother in the grave," after which they killed him.
After this David's soldiers swore to him, "You must no longer go forth with us in battle, so that the light of Israel not be extinguished."
Art: Frans Snyders - Hunting deer
Sancheiriv understood the prophecy of Isaiah as referring to him conquering Jerusalem. His army then made a ten-day journey in one day. When Sancheiriv reached Jerusalem, they built an observation platform for him, and he was amazed how small the city was, compared to the ones he had previously conquered. He told his soldiers to go to sleep, rest, and be ready to take the walls of Jerusalem apart on the morning. During the night, the angel of God came and burned the soldiers.
Art: Godfried Schalcken - A woman reading by candlelight
Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah refused the demand of Nebuchadnezzar to bow down to an idol, and were thrown into a fiery furnace. Six miracles occurred for them. The furnace rose to ground level, the walls of the furnace were breached, and the foundation caved - so that everyone could see them inside the fire unscathed. The golden image on top of it was overturned on its face; the elite Nebuchadnezzar guards were burned by the furnace's fire, and Ezekiel resurrected the dead in the plain of Dura.
When they came out of the fiery furnace unscathed, all the nations of the world came and struck the enemies of Israel (euphemism for the Jews themselves) on the faces and said to them "You have such a powerful God and yet you submit to Nebuchadnezzar's threat and bow to the idol?!" Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah immediately began to declare: "Yours, O Lord, is the righteousness, and ours is the shamefacedness as of this day."
Art: Maximilien Luce - Tall Furnaces
Of the many different sources in the Scripture, this one does not admit a figurative explanation, "And many of those who sleep in the dusty earth shall be awaken; these for everlasting life, and these for shame..."
Said Rabbi Elazar, "If a person has understanding, it is as if the Temple were built in his days, for understanding is mentioned between the two names of God, and so is the Temple."
Regarding the dead whom prophet Ezekiel resurrected, there many opinions: they stood on their feet, uttered a song, then died; it is a parable; they went to Israel, married wives and fathered sons and daughters, and Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira was one of their descendants.
Regarding who they were, there are many opinions: that they were from the tribe of Ephraim, who left Egypt too early and were killed; they were people who denied the Resurrection of the Dead; these were people who covered the entire Temple with pictures of various idols.
Art: Michelangelo Buonarroti - Ezekiel
The Girgashites were descendants of Canaan who moved to Africa when the Jews conquered Israel. They came back with Alexander the Great to demand the land back. Geviha ben Pesisa said to the Sages, "Let me answer. If I loose, tell them that I am just a commoner, so their victory means nothing. If I win, say that the Torah of Moses defeated them." The Girgashites then claimed the Land, based on the fact that the Jews took "the Land of Canaan according to its borders."
Geviha said to them, "From where do you bring the proof?" They said, "From the Torah." He said, I will also bring the proof from the Torah, "Accursed is Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers." If a slave acquired property, to whom belongs the slave and the property? Certainly to his master! So the Land of Canaan belongs to us, the descendants of Shem, and not only that, but all your fields too. They thought for three days but found no answer. They then ran away and left their sown fields, which was great, because that year was Shmita, when work in the field is forbidden.
Art: Ilya Repin - Hunchback
All Israel has a share in the world to come. However, the following don't have this share: one who says that there is no reference to the Resurrection of the Dead in the Torah; one who says that the Torah is not from Heaven; and one who disparages Torah scholars, which leads him to deny the existence of God. Other sources also enumerate multiple other transgressions, which, if performed habitually, lead one to lose his share in the World to Come, bu they can be derived from the list above.
Rabban Gamliel gave this source for the Resurrection of the Dead in the Torah: God saying to Moses, "Behold, you will lie with your forefathers and rise..."
Art: Claudio Francesco Beaumont - The Resurrection of the dead
The rebellious sage is executed by the High Court in Jerusalem, at the time of the next Festival, so that “the entire nation shall hear and fear and will not act willfully anymore” - these are the words of Rabbi Akiva. However, Rabbi Yehudah says that they do not delay the judgment, but rather execute him immediately, and then write out proclamations and send messengers to all places.
A false prophet is executed at the hands of man, but one who suppresses his prophecy, one who disregards the word of a prophet, or a prophet who transgresses his own words is subject to death at the hands of Heaven.
Art: John Singer Sargent - Study for Two Heads for Boston Mural 'The Prophets'
The judges of the Great Sanhedrin would send the following message to lower courts in all places, “Anyone who is wise and humble and whom the people find agreeable shall be a judge in his city.” From there they elevate the deserving judge to the court that sits at the entrance to the courtyard, and from there – to the Sanhedrin, which sits in the Chamber of Hewn Stone. Additional qualification is that he constantly learns Torah but does not take the credit for it for himself.
With regard to rebellious sage, greater stringency is attached to the teachings of the Sages, like the ones found in the Talmud, than to the words of the Torah. If, for example, he says that there is no commandment of tefillin, he is exempt, since it is such an obvious distortion that it cannot be viewed as a ruling. However, if he says that there are five compartments in the tefillin, and not four, he is liable.
Art: Marc Chagall - The Praying Jew
After the High Court has decided in opposition to the ruling of the rebellious sage, and the sage has returned to his town and taught and interpreted in the manner he was used to before being instructed otherwise by the High Court, he is not yet liable; but if he instructed people to act in accordance with his overruled opinion, he is liable to the death penalty as a rebellious sage, as it is stated, “but the man who will act with willfulness.”
A disciple who instructed people to act in accordance with his opinion that was overruled by the High Court is not liable – and it emerges that his stringency (no authority to decide the questions of law) is his leniency (not being liable as a rebellious sage).
Art: Arthur Boyd Houghton - The sage and the geckos
A sage who rebels against the word of the High Court is executed by strangulation.
There were three courts in Jerusalem, one sitting at the entrance to the Temple Mount, one higher up on the Temple Mount, sitting at the entrance of the Temple Courtyard, and one even higher up the Mount sitting in the Chamber of Hewn Stone.
The dissenting sage and his disputants on the local court would come to the court at the entrance to the Temple Mount, and the dissenting sage would say before the court, “Thus have I expounded, and thus have my colleagues expounded, thus have I taught, and thus have my colleagues taught.” If the judges of the court have heard from their teachers the answer, they tell the disputants the law, and if not, they go to a higher court. There the procedure is repeated. If the highest court have a tradition, they tell it, and if not, they decide it, and it becomes binding.
Jean-Léon Gérôme - Dispute D'Arabes
One who strikes his father or mother is not liable to execution unless he wounds them. Cursing a parent is more stringent than striking him, since one who curses his parent after the parent's death is liable to execution, but one who strikes his parent after the parent's death is exempt.
One is liable for cursing a parent only if the parent is “among your people,” that is, doing the deeds of your people – observing the Torah. One is liable for striking even a non-observant parent.
One who kidnaps a Jew is not liable to strangulation unless he takes him into his possession, works him, and sells him. If one kidnaps his own son, then Rabbi Ishmael makes him liable, but the Sages exempt him. If one kidnapped someone who was half slave and half freeman, Rabbi Yehudah renders him liable, but the Sages exempt him.
Art: Salvatore Frangiamore - A Slap In The Face
The complete procedure for strangulation was described earlier.
The following are executed by strangulation: one who strikes his father or his mother and inflicts a wound; one who kidnaps a Jewish person, works him, then sells him as a slave; a sage who rebels against the word of the High Court; a false prophet; one who prophesies in the name of a false god; one who commits adultery; false witnesses against a daughter of a Kohen; and a man who illicitly cohabited with the daughter of a Kohen.
Even though the witnesses have tried to impose the punishment of burning on the daughter of a Kohen, when they are disqualified as false witnesses, they receive the punishment appropriate for the adulterer, and not the adulteress, because of “...as he conspired to do to his brother.”
Art: William Etty - The slave
Rav Acha bur Huna inquired of Rav Sheshet, “If a Kohen served in the Temple in a state of spiritual impurity, is he liable to death at the hands of Heaven?”
Said Rav Sheshet, “You answer is in the previous ruling: young Kohanim remove him outside the Courtyard and split open his skull with clubs. If he is liable at the hands of Heaven, simply leave him to die at the hands of Heaven!” Answered Rav Acha, “But could it be that he is not liable at the hands of Heaven, and yet we we kill him?” The final rule is that the Kohen is indeed liable to death at the hands of Heaven, but only if he performed a concluding service.
The following are liable to death at the hands of Heaven: one who eats produce before tithe separation, a non-Kohen who eats a Kohen's portion, a non-Kohen who serves in the Temple, and a ritually impure Kohen who serves in the Temple.
Art: Le Nain Brothers- The Peasant Meal
There are special cases of transgressions that do not involve a court action, but are carried out either by the zealots or by Kohanim in the Temple.
One who steals service vessels in the Temple; one who blasphemes by a supernatural force, saying “Let the supernatural force (that is, the idol) smite him (the blasphemer's enemy), his Creator, and his Provider; and one who cohabits with an Aramean woman – zealots may kill him.
If a zealot comes to ask about this ruling, he is not told about it, and not given the permission. He has to know it from before and then take the risk in his own hands. Furthermore, he can only do it while the sinner is engaged in his sin. If the sinner stops, and the zealot kills him then, the zealot is responsible for murder.
If a Kohen serves in the Temple in the state of ritual impurity, young Kohanim remove him outside the Courtyard and split open his skull with clubs.
Art: Paul Cezanne - Vessels Fruit And Cloth In Front Of A Chest
One who has been flogged twice by the court – the court places him in a cell and there they feed him barley until his stomach bursts. How could that be? Here we are dealing with one who repeated the same transgression twice, provided that this transgression carries the penalty of excision from Heaven. Since he demonstrated that he wants to die, the court just speeds up his death. However, if he transgressed multiple prohibitions, but each of them only once – he is just tasting various prohibitions.
One who killed another but not in the presence of witnesses – that is, they gave him a warning, but he just nodded his head instead of verbal reply, or a similar technical disqualification – the court places him in a cell and feeds him scant bread and water until he dies.
Complete cell procedure: they put him in a cell the size of his body, then feed him scant amounts until his stomach shrinks, then feed him abundant barley until his stomach bursts.
Art: Jean Michelin - The Bread Seller and Water Carriers
If a murderer became intermingled with others, they are all exempt from capital punishment. Rabbi Yehudah says, “We place them in a cell where they are fed barley until their stomachs burst.”
Who are these others? One explanation is that a murderer whose verdict has not been finalized – even though the judges have voted for guilty sentence - got mixed with other murderers, whose verdicts have been finalized. Since the verdict has to be announced in his presence, and they don't know who he is, and since moreover, they have to say to him, “So-and-so, you are liable” and again they can't – he is free, and with him all the other murderers. Rabbi Yehudah holds that since after all they are murderers and cannot be executed only because of a technicality, the court causes their deaths indirectly.
Art: Johann Sperl - A Wine Cellar
If one intended to kill an animal but killed a man instead, he is not liable, since he lacked the intent to kill a man. If one intended to kill an idolater but killed a Jew instead, he cannot be executed by a Jewish court. While it is certainly forbidden to kill any human being, this matter is outside of the jurisdiction of Sanhedrin. If one intended to kill a premature, nonviable baby, but killed a viable one instead, he is not liable to execution, because the warning given to him would have been uncertain.
If he intended to strike an adult with a blow not sufficient to kill an adult, but it landed on a child instead, and it was sufficient to kill a child, and the child died, he is not liable, because he did not intend to commit murder, and any warning would be uncertain.
If he intended to kill an adult, but it landed on a child instead, and the child died, the killer is liable to execution.
Art: Frank Duveneck - The Cobbler's Apprentice
If they hit him one after the other, the last nine are not liable because they struck a man who would have died anyway, and the first assailant is not liable because there is a remote possibility that the man would have recovered had the others not continue beating him. If they hit him simultaneously, each one can plead that the victim might have lived if not for the blows of others. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira makes the last one liable. Both derive their rulings from “...if a man strikes all human life...”
If someone struck his fellow, and the judges assumed that he would die, but he recovered somewhat, and then deteriorated and died, the attacker is liable. Rabbi Nechemiah makes him not liable, since there are grounds for asserting that the victim did not die a result of the attacker's blow.
Art: Joost Cornelisz - Droochsloot - Brawling Peasants
Someone bound his fellow by the seashore, then caused a stream of water to sweep over him, and thereby killed him. This was done thus - he made a hole in a dam that stood between the water and the victim, so that the water would gush out and drown the victim. In such a case, the water is considered like arrows that he shot at the victim, and he is liable to execution.
However, this is only so when the water that reached the victim fell on him immediately after the barrier was breached. If some time lapsed before the water reached the victim, it is no longer considered the perpetrator's primary force, and he is not liable.
As a general principle, one is liable for murder only if it was caused by his direct force, not by any removed or consequential action, and of course if he has been properly warned a short while before the action.
Art: William Payne - Landscape with a waterfall
