Avodah Zarah, Daf Tet Zayin, Part 6
Introduction
Today s section contains the famous story of the great R. Eliezer being caught by the Roman emperor for having heretical beliefs.
As always, I would urge caution in viewing these stories as historically accurate. First of all, they were composed over the course of hundreds of years, and this version was probably not completed until several hundred years after R. Eliezer s death. Second, they were not intended to be history. They may to a certain extent reflect the concerns of the authors of the story, but they are not bald descriptions of events that actually happened.
ת"ר כשנתפס ר"א למינות העלהו לגרדום לידון.
אמר לו אותו הגמון זקן שכמותך יעסוק בדברים בטלים הללו?
אמר לו נאמן עלי הדיין.
כסבור אותו הגמון עליו הוא אומר והוא לא אמר אלא כנגד אביו שבשמים
אמר לו הואיל והאמנתי עליך דימוס פטור אתה
Our Rabbis taught: When R. Eliezer was arrested because of heresy (minut) they brought him up to the tribune to be judged. The governor said to him, How can a elder man like you occupy himself with those idle things? He replied, I acknowledge the Judge as right.
The governor thought that he referred to him, but he was only speaking about his father in heaven.
The governor said to him, Because you have acknowledge me as right, I pardon you. You are dismissed.
R. Eliezer finds a tricky answer with which to respond to the governor. Daniel Boyarin has noted that this is a different strategy towards trials than that typically adopted and celebrated by early Christians. Rather than martyr himself, R. Eliezer finds a way of saying the right thing to the governor without actually betraying his God. We will have stories of martyrdom elsewhere in the Talmud. This story could be considered an anti-martyr story when faced with accusations of heresy, choose life over death.
כשבא לביתו נכנסו תלמידיו אצלו לנחמו ולא קיבל עליו תנחומין
אמר לו ר"ע רבי תרשיני לומר דבר אחד ממה שלימדתני
אמר לו אמור
אמר לו רבי שמא מינות בא לידך והנאך ועליו נתפסת.
When he came home, his disciples called on him to console him, but he would accept no consolation.
R. Akiba said to him, Master, will you allow me to say one thing of that which you have taught me?
He replied, Say it.
He said back, Master, perhaps you came across some teaching of the minim and you enjoyed it, and for that you were arrested?
R. Akiva, R. Eliezer s star pupil, discerns (somehow) that R. Eliezer may have enjoyed something he heard from a heretic. As we shall see, these heretics are early Christians.
אמר לו עקיבא הזכרתני. פעם אחת הייתי מהלך בשוק העליון של ציפורי ומצאתי אחד ומתלמידי ישו הנוצרי ויעקב איש כפר סכניא שמו
אמר לי כתוב בתורתכם (דברים כג, יט) לא תביא אתנן זונה [וגו’] מהו לעשות הימנו בהכ"ס לכ"ג ולא אמרתי לו כלום.
אמר לי כך לימדני ישו הנוצרי (מיכה א, ז) כי מאתנן זונה קבצה ועד אתנן זונה ישובו ממקום הטנופת באו למקום הטנופת ילכו והנאני הדבר על ידי זה נתפסתי למינות ועברתי על מה שכתוב בתורה (משלי ה, ח) "הרחק מעליה דרכך" זו מינות. "ואל תקרב אל פתח ביתה" זו הרשות
He exclaimed: Akiva, you have reminded me. I was once walking in the upper-market of Tzippori when I came across one [of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene] Jacob of Kefar-Sekaniah is his name, who said to me: It is written in your Torah, You shall not bring the hire of a harlot . . . into the house of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 23:19). Can one use this money be to build a toilet for the High Priest? I did not say anything back. He said to me: Thus was I taught [by Jesus the Nazarene], For of the hire of a harlot hath she gathered them and unto the hire of a harlot shall they return (Micah 1:17). They came from a place of filth, let them go to a place of filth. Those words pleased me very much, and that is why I was arrested for apostasy and I thereby transgressed what is written in the Torah, Remove your way far from her which refers to minut : And do not come near the door of her house, which refers to the ruling power (Proverbs 5:8).
Now R. Eliezer remembers that indeed he did have a conversation with a student of Jesus.
A few notes about this conversation. First of all, it is interesting that the rabbis portray one of their greats as being intrigued by a Christian Jew s teaching. Second, the teaching itself may be a sort of slur on Christianity. Jesus is associated here with a harlot and with a toilet. Third, the question is a typical type of rabbinic question, but is a farce of sorts. The story teller may be mocking both R. Eliezer and Jesus at the same time. Fourth, the midrash on Micah is also very typical of rabbinic style.
The final midrash is R. Eliezer s words, where he quotes a source that interprets the harlot in Proverbs 5:8 as being the embodiment of illicit Jewish sects, particularly Christianity. This may imply that the authors of this story feared that Jews found Christianity to be seductive.
ואיכא דאמרי "הרחק מעליה דרכך" זו מינות והרשות ואל תקרב אל פתח ביתה זו זונה
וכמה אמר רב חסדא ארבע אמות
There are those who say, Remove your way from her this refers to minut as well as to the ruling power, and, and do not come near the door of her house this refers to a harlot.
And how far is one to keep away? R. Hisda said: Four cubits.
This version of the baraita reads a more literal interpretation to be included in the verse from Proverbs.
ורבנן [האי] מאתנן זונה מאי דרשי ביה? כדרב חסדא דאמר רב חסדא כל זונה שנשכרת לבסוף היא שוכרת שנאמר (יחזקאל טז, לד) ובתתך אתנן ואתנן לא נתן לך [ותהי להפך]
And the rabbis, how do they expound on the words the hire of a harlot ? Like R. Hisda, for R. Hisda said: Every harlot who allows herself to be hired will at the end have to hire, as it is said, And in that you give hire, and no hire is given to you, thus you are reversed (Ezekiel 16:34).
The rabbis do not read the verse as does the Christian in the story with R. Eliezer. So how do they read the somewhat strange words of the verse? They read them in accordance with yet another verse from Ezekiel. A woman who acts as a harlot and offers her body for money will in the end pay men to have sex with her. [I am not going to discuss here rabbinic views of prostitution. Too far off the topic, and quite frankly, too complicated in light of the modern world.].
ופליגא דרבי פדת דא"ר פדת לא אסרה תורה אלא קריבה של גלוי עריות בלבד שנא’ (ויקרא יח, ו) איש איש אל כל שאר בשרו לא תקרבו לגלות ערוה
This is contrary to what R. Pedat said; for R. Pedat said: The Torah forbids close approach only to those prohibited as incest as it is said, No man shall approach any that is near of kin to him to uncover their nakedness (Leviticus 18:6).
R. Pedat disagrees with R. Hisda from above. R. Hisda had said that it is prohibited to come within four cubits of a prostitute. R. Pedat says that it is prohibited only to come close (in a sexual manner) only to one who is considered a forbidden relationship. Interestingly, R. Pedat seems to have little problem with coming close to a prostitute.
עולא כי הוה אתי מבי רב הוה מנשק להו לאחתיה אבי ידייהו ואמרי לה אבי חדייהו
ופליגא דידיה אדידיה דאמר עולא קריבה בעלמא אסור משום לך לך אמרין נזירא סחור סחור לכרמא לא תקרב.
Ulla, when he would return from the academy, used to kiss his sister on the hand; some say, on the breast.
But he contradicts himself, for Ulla said: Mere approach is forbidden because we say to a Nazarite, Go, go, around vineyard; but do not approach.
This final section discusses a fascinating contradiction between Ulla s actions and his preaching. On the one hand, in reality he would kiss his sister, either on the hand or on the breast (I assume this was considered normal social behavior in the time). This is his sister after all. On the other hand, he also preached that a man should stay away from even getting near any woman, just as we tell a nazirite to stay away from the vineyard.
Interestingly, there is no resolution to this contradiction.