Avodah Zarah, Daf Kaf Heh, Part 6
Introduction
Today s section begins to deal with the prohibition of a man being left alone with non-Jews. The fear here is that they will murder him.
לא יתייחד אדם עמהן: ת"ר ישראל שנזדמן לו עובד כוכבים בדרך טופלו לימינו
ר’ ישמעאל בנו של ר’ יוחנן בן ברוקה אומר בסייף טופלו לימינו במקל טופלו לשמאלו
היו עולין במעלה או יורדין בירידה לא יהא ישראל למטה ועובד כוכבים למעלה אלא ישראל למעלה ועובד כוכבים למטה
ואל ישוח לפניו שמא ירוץ את גולגלתו
No man should be alone with them. Our Rabbis taught: If an Israelite happens to be joined by an idolater while on the road, he should let him (the idolater) walk on his right.
R. Ishmael the son of R. Yohanan the son of R. Yohanan b. Berokah says: [If the idolater is armed] with a sword, he should let him walk on his right; if with a stick on the left.
If they are ascending or descending, the Israelite should not be on the lower level and the idolater on the higher. Rather the Israelite should be higher and the idolater lower;
Nor should the Israelite bend down in front of him, lest he smashes his skull.
All of these are precautions that an Israelite should take around a non-Jew so that the non-Jew will not be able to act violently against him.
If the idolater has a sword, and is right-handed, then the sword will be on the non-Jew s left, and the Jew s right. The Israelite will thus be able to prevent the non-Jew from drawing. But if he is holding a stick, then it will simply be in the non-Jew s hand. Better to keep him to the left, so that he could feel if the non-Jew makes his move.
The Israelite should always be on the higher ground, where it is safer to defend oneself.
שאלו להיכן הולך ירחיב לו את הדרך כדרך שעשה יעקב אבינו לעשו הרשע דכתיב (בראשית לג, יד) עד אשר אבא אל אדוני שעירה וכתיב (בראשית לג, יז) ויעקב נסע סכותה
If the idolater asks him where he is going, he should say towards a place beyond his actual destination, just as our father Jacob acted towards the wicked Esau; as it is written, Until I come unto my lord to Seir (Genesis 33:14), while it is written, And Jacob journeyed to Succoth (Genesis 33:17).
If the idolater asks the Jew where he is going, he should tell him he is going further than he actually is. This way the idolater will think he has more time to kill him, and the Jew will be able to make a quick getaway. This is what Jacob did when travelling with Jacob he told him he was going to Seir, but he got off the road at Succoth, which was earlier.
מעשה בתלמידי ר"ע שהיו הולכים לכזיב פגעו בהן ליסטים אמרו להן לאן אתם הולכים אמרו להן לעכו כיון שהגיעו לכזיב פירשו אמרו להן תלמידי מי אתם אמרו להן תלמידי ר"ע אמרו להן אשרי ר"ע ותלמידיו שלא פגע בהן אדם רע מעולם
It once happened that some disciples of R. Akiva were journeying to Khziv. They were overtaken by bandits who asked them where they were going. They replied, To Acco.
On reaching Khziv they separated from them.
The bandits then said to them, Whose disciples are you? And they replied, The disciples of R. Akiva
They said, Happy are R. Akiva and his disciples, for no evil man has ever encountered them.
In this story, the students of Rabbi Akiva fulfill their teacher s instructions and lie to the bandits who meet them on the road.
רב מנשה הוה אזל לבי תורתא פגעו ביה גנבי. אמרו ליה לאן קאזלת? אמר להן לפומבדיתא. כי מטא לבי תורתא פריש. אמרו ליה תלמידא דיהודה רמאה את. אמר להו ידעיתו ליה? יהא רעוא דליהוו הנהו אינשי בשמתיה. אזלו עבדו גניבתא עשרין ותרתין שנין ולא אצלחו כיון דחזו אתו כולהו תבעו שמתייהו והוה בהו חד גירדנא דלא אתא לשרויה שמתיה אכלי’ אריא היינו דאמרי אינשי גירדנא דלא טייזן שתא בציר משני
תא חזי מה בין גנבי בבל ולסטין דארץ ישראל:
R. Menashe was once going to Be-Toratha. Thieves met him on the road. They asked him where he was going. He said, Toward Pumbeditha. When he reached Be-Toratha he separated. They said to him, You are a disciple of [Rav] Judah the deceiver.
He to them, Do you really know him? May it be the [Divine] will that these men be under his ban. For twenty-two years they went on stealing but did not meet with any success. When they saw this, they all came to ask for the ban to be revoked. Now there was among them one weaver who did not come to have his ban annulled, and he was devoured by a lion.
This is what is meant by what people say: A a weaver who is not shy, a year is deducted from his allotted years
Come now and see what difference there is between mere thieves of Babylon and robbers of Eretz Yisrael!
This story involves the thieves of Babylonia. In the story, the thieves pay a price when Rav Menashe puts them under the dreaded ban.
In the end, the Bavli notes how much greater the generally violent robbers in the land of Israel are than the mere thieves in Babylonia. The robbers praised R. Akiva for his sound advice, whereas the thieves cursed R. Judah.