Miktzat Ma'ase Torah
And you know that we have segregated ourselves from the rest of the people and we would avoid mingling in these affairs and associating with them in these things. And you know that there is not to be found in our actions deceit or betrayal or evil, for concerning [these we give [ . . . and further] to you we have written] that you understand the book of Moses [and the words of the prophets and of David [and the annals] [of eac]h generation...
[...] And it is written that [all] these [things] shall happen to you at the end of days, the blessing and the curse [. . . and you shall ass]ent in your heart and turn to me with all your heart [and with all your soul [ .. .at the e]nd [of time] and you shall be [...]
[And it is written in the book of] Moses and in [the words of the prop]hets that [blessings and curses] will come upon you which [...] [the bl]essings which c[ame upon] him in the days of Solomon the son of David and also the curses which came upon him from the [days of Jeroboam son of Nebat right up to the capture of Jerusalem and of Zedekiah, king of Judah 106 [that] he should bring them in [...].
And we are aware that part of the blessings and curses have occurred that are written in the b[ook ofMo]ses.And this is the end of days, when they will repent in Israel for [ever. . . ] and not backslide [...] but the wicked will act wickedly and [...] And [...] remember the kings of Israel and reflect on their deeds, how whoever of them who respected [the Torah] was freed from his afflictions; those who sought the Torah [were forgiven] their sins. Remember David, one of the "pious," and he, too, was freed from his many afflictions and was forgiven.
And also we have written to you some of the precepts of the Torah which we think are good for you and for your people, for in you [we saw] intellect and knowledge of the Torah. Reflect on all these matters and seek from him so that he may support your counsel and keep far from you the evil scheming and the counsel of Belial, so that at the end of tie, you may rejoice in finding that some of our words are true. And it shall be reckoned to you as just when you do what is upright and good before him, for your good and that of Israel.
Josephus Antiquities 9
Now there was one Jonathan, a very great friend of Hyrcanus’s, but of the sect of the Sadducees; whose notions are quite contrary to those of the Pharisees. He told Hyrcanus, that “Eleazar had cast such a reproach upon him according to the common sentiments of all the Pharisees: and that this would be made manifest if he would but ask them the question, what punishment they thought this man deserved? For that he might depend upon it, that the reproach was not laid on him with their approbation; if they were for punishing him as his crime deserved.” So the Pharisees made answer, that “He deserved stripes and bonds: but that it did not seem right to punish reproaches with death.” And indeed the Pharisees, even upon other occasions, are not apt to be severe in punishments. At this gentle sentence Hyrcanus was very angry: and thought that this man reproached him by their approbation. It was this Jonathan, who chiefly irritated him, and influenced him so far, that he made him leave the party of the Pharisees, and abolish the decrees they had imposed on the people; and to punish those that observed them. From this source arose that hatred, which he and his sons met with from the multitude. But of these matters we shall speak hereafter. What I would now explain is this, that the Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses: and for that reason it is, that the Sadducees reject them: and say, that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word; but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our fore-fathers.
(ח) הֶתֵּר נְדָרִים פּוֹרְחִין בָּאֲוִיר, וְאֵין לָהֶם עַל מַה שֶּׁיִּסְמֹכוּ. הִלְכוֹת שַׁבָּת, חֲגִיגוֹת וְהַמְּעִילוֹת, הֲרֵי הֵם כַּהֲרָרִים הַתְּלוּיִין בְּשַׂעֲרָה, שֶׁהֵן מִקְרָא מֻעָט וַהֲלָכוֹת מְרֻבּוֹת. הַדִּינִין וְהָעֲבוֹדוֹת, הַטָּהֳרוֹת וְהַטֻּמְאוֹת וַעֲרָיוֹת, יֵשׁ לָהֶן עַל מַה שֶּׁיִּסְמֹכוּ. הֵן הֵן גּוּפֵי תּוֹרָה:
(8) Dissolving vows flies in the air, there is no basis for it. Laws concerning shabbat and festival-offering and stealing from holy-designated things, these are like mountains hung from a hair: they have few verses and many laws. Judgment and service and purity and impurity and improper sexual relations, they have plenty to be based on. They themselves are the body of Torah.
(א) בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַּמוּז עַדָא סְפַר גְזֵירָתָא דִלָא לְמִסְפָּד:
(ב) מפני שהיה כתוב ומונח לצדוקין ספר גזירות אלו שנסקלין אלו שנשרפין ואלו שנהרגין ואלו שנחנקין וכשהיו כותבין אדם שואל והולך ורואה בספר או' להם מניין אתה יודעין שזה חייב סקילה וזה חייב שריפה וזה חייב הריגה וזה חייב חניקה לא היו יודעין להביא ראיה מן התורה אשר יורוך וגו' שאין כותבין הלכות בספר
ועוד שהיו בייתוסין אומרים עין תחת עין שן תחת שן הפיל אדם שינו של חבירו יפיל את שינו של חבירו סמא את עינו של חבירו יסמא את עינו יהיו שווים כאחד ופרשו השמלה לפני זקני העיר הדברים ככתבן וירקה בפניו שתהא רוקקת בפניו אמרו להם חכמים והלא כתוב התורה והמצוה אשר כתבתי להורותם. וכתיב ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת ולמדה זה מקרא שימה בפיהם אלו הלכות ואותו היום שבטלוהו עשאוהו י"ט:
(1) On the 4th (10th) of Tammuz the book of decrees was removed (on which it is not allowed to mourn).
(2) The Tzaddukim had a book of laws - "These are stoned, these are burned, these are killed by sword, these are stangled." When it was written, a person would ask (what to do) and go look in the book. If you asked them, "How do you know this one is stoned or burned or decapitated or strangled?", they wouldn't be able to bring a proof from the "the instructions given to you" (Devarim 17:11). Because we don't write laws in a book.
Furthermore, the Baytusim said "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth." If one put out the tooth of his fellow, the other should put out his tooth. If one put out the eye of another, they should put out his eye. They should be made the same. "And they spread out the sheet before the elders of the city" these words should be understood as they are written. The Sages said to them, Behold is it not written, "The Laws and commandments that I wrote to teach them." And it is written, "And now write for them this song and teach it": this refers to Scripture. "Place it in their mouths": This refers to laws. And the day that it was destroyed, they made a holiday.
(ז) אוֹמְרִים צְדוֹקִין, קוֹבְלִין אָנוּ עֲלֵיכֶם, פְּרוּשִׁים, שֶׁאַתֶּם מְטַהֲרִים אֶת הַנִּצּוֹק. אוֹמְרִים הַפְּרוּשִׁים, קוֹבְלִין אָנוּ עֲלֵיכֶם, צְדוֹקִים, שֶׁאַתֶּם מְטַהֲרִים אֶת אַמַּת הַמַּיִם הַבָּאָה מִבֵּית הַקְּבָרוֹת.
(7) The Sadducees say: We denounce you, Pharisees, for you declare pure the stream [which flows when a liquid is poured from a clean vessel into an unclean one]! The Pharisees say: We denounce you, Sadducees, for you declare pure a channel of water which flows from a cemetery!
הַנִּצּוֹק וְהַקְּטַפְרֵס וּמַשְׁקֶה טוֹפֵחַ, אֵינָן חִבּוּר לֹא לַטֻּמְאָה וְלֹא לַטָּהֳרָה.
A shower [of liquids being poured], or [liquids flowing down] an incline, or a dripping liquid [enough to make something else wet, but not enough to, in turn, wet something else], these do not constitute a connection for impurity or for purity [i.e. if part of them is rendered pure or impure it does not affect the purity status of the rest].
(ט) כָּל הַנִּצּוֹק, טָהוֹר, חוּץ מִדְּבַשׁ הַזִּיפִין, וְהַצַּפָּחַת. בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, אַף הַמִּקְפָּה שֶׁל גְּרִיסִין וְשֶׁל פּוֹל, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא סוֹלֶדֶת לְאַחֲרֶיהָ:
(9) All constant flows [of liquid between vessels] are pure except for thick honey and sweet porridge. Beit Shammai say: Also [excepted are] porridge made of grits or beans because that jerks backwards [towards the upper vessel].
Gospel of Mark
7 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,[a] holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.[c]) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
What Defiles a Person
14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”[e] 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”[f] (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
ושמנה עשר דבר גזרו: מאי נינהו שמנה עשר דבר דתנן אלו פוסלין את התרומה האוכל אוכל ראשון והאוכל אוכל שני והשותה משקין טמאין
We learned in the mishna that when the Sages went up to the upper story of the house of Ḥananya ben Ḥizkiya ben Garon, they were counted and issued eighteen decrees in accordance with the opinion of Beit Shammai. The Gemara asks: What are those eighteen matters? The Gemara answers: As we learned in a mishna, a list of the decrees that the Sages issued with regard to items whose level of impurity is such that if they come into contact with teruma they disqualify it. By means of that contact, the teruma itself becomes impure, but it does not transmit impurity to other items. These disqualify teruma: One who eats food with first degree ritual impurity status acquired as a result of contact with a primary source of ritual impurity, e.g., a creeping animal; and one who eats food with second degree ritual impurity status acquired as a result of contact with an item with first degree ritual impurity status; and one who drinks impure liquids of any degree of impurity;
(א) רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, פּוֹתְחִין לָאָדָם בִּכְבוֹד אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹסְרִין. אָמַר רַבִּי צָדוֹק, עַד שֶׁפּוֹתְחִין לוֹ בִכְבוֹד אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, יִפְתְּחוּ לוֹ בִכְבוֹד הַמָּקוֹם, אִם כֵּן אֵין נְדָרִים. וּמוֹדִים חֲכָמִים לְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בְּדָבָר שֶׁבֵּינוֹ לְבֵין אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, שֶׁפּוֹתְחִין לוֹ בִּכְבוֹד אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ:
(1) Rabbi Eliezer says, we give a person an opening [to a vow] by reference to the honor of their father and mother. The Sages forbid doing so. Rabbi Tzadok said, that rather than giving an opening through the honor of their father and mother, open with honor of God. [The Sages retort:] If so there would be no vows! The Sages agree to Rabbi Eliezer in a matter between him and his father and mother, that we may open with the honor of his father and mother.
(א) אלה דברי חלוקת הימים על פי התורה והעדות לתולדות השנים לשבועיהן וליובליהן כל ימי השמים על הארץ כאשר דבר אל משה בהר סיני:
ויהי בשנה הראשונה לצאת בני ישראל מארץ מצרים בחודש השלישי בשישה עשר בו וידבר אל משה לאמור:
(ב) עלה אלי פה ההרה ואתנה לך את שתי לוחות האבן והתורה והמצווה אשר כתבתי להורותם:
(ג) ויעל משה אל הר האלוהים וישכון כבוד ה' על הר סיני ויכסהו ענן ששת ימים ויקרא אל משה ביום השביעי מתוך הענן:
(1) THIS is the history of the division of the days of the law and of the testimony, of the events of the years, of their (year) weeks, of their jubilees throughout all the years of the world, as the Lord spake to Moses on Mount Sinai when he went up to receive the tables of the law and of the commandment, according to the voice of God as He said unto him, "Go up to the top of the Mount."
) And it came to pass in the first year of the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in the third month, on the sixteenth day of the month, that God spake to Moses, saying:
(2) "Come up to Me on the Mount, and I will give thee two tables of stone of the law and of the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayst teach them."
(3) And Moses went up into the mount of God, and the glory of the Lord abode on Mount Sinai, and a cloud overshadowed it six days.
And He called to Moses on the seventh day out of the midst of the cloud,
(א) ובראש החודש השלישי יצא מן התיבה ויבן מזבח על ההר הזה ויירא על הארץ:
(ב) ויקח שעיר עזים רך ויכפר בדמו על כל אשמת הארץ כי נמחה כל היקום אשר היה עליה לבד מאשר היו את נוח בתיבה:...
(ט) והנה נתתי לכם כל חית הארץ וכל בהמה וכל אשר יעופף וכל הרמש הרומש על הארץ ודגי המים ואת כל לאכלה כירק עשב נתתי לכם את כל לאכלה:
(י) אך בשר בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו כי נפש כל בשר הדם ולא ידרש דמכם לנפשכם:
(יא) מיד כל אדם מיד איש אדרוש דם אדם:
(יב) שופך דם אדם באדם דמו ישפך כי בצלם אלוהים עשה את האדם:
(יג) ואתם פרו ורבו ומלאו את הארץ:
(יד) ובניו נשבעו לבלתי אכול דם כל בשר:
(טו) ויקם לברית לפני ה' אלהים לעולם לכל דורות הארץ בחודש הזה:
(טז) לכן דבר אותך כי תקים גם אתה ברית את בני ישראל בחודש הזה על ההר והבאת אותם באלה ותזרוק דם עליהם על כל דברי הברית אשר כרת ה' עמהם לדורות עולם
(יט) ויצו את בני ישראל לבלתי אכול כל דם למען יעמדו הם וזרעם לפני ה' אלהינו לנצח:
(כ) והחוק הזה לא ימוש לעולמים ושמרו אותו לדורות עולם לכפר תמיד על נפשותיכם בדם על המזבח:
(כא) מדי יום ביומו בבוקר ובערב יכפרו עליהם לפני ה' ושמרו אותו ולא יכרתו:
(כב) ויתן לנוח לבניו אות לבל יבוא עוד שנית מבול על הארץ:
(כג) את קשתו נתן בענן והיתה לאות ברית עולם ולא יהיה עוד המים למבול לשחת הארץ עוד כל ימי הארץ:
(כד) לכן חרות החוק על לוחות השמים כי ישמרו את חג השבועות בחודש הזה פעם אחת בשנה לחדש את הברית בכל שנה ושנה:
(כה) וכל הימים אשר חגגו בשמים את החג הזה מיום הבריאה עד ימי נוח היו שבעה ועשרים יובלים וחמשה שבועים:
(כו) ויחוג נוח אותו שבעה יובלים ושבוע אחד עד יום מותו אבל בני נוח חיללו אותו עד ימי אברהם ויאכלו דם:
(כז) אך אברהם לבדו שמר אותו ובניו יצחק ויעקב שמרו אותו עד ימיך:
(כח) ובימיך שכחו אותו בני ישראל עד אשר חידשתים בהר הזה:
(כט) וגם אתה צו את בני ישראל ושמרו את החג הזה בכל דורותיהם לחוק להם:
(ל) יום אחד בשנה בחודש הזה יחוגו את החג הזה:
(לא) כי הוא חג השבועות והוא חג ראשית הבריאה משנה תושיה לו:
(לב) והחג הזה לשתי משפחות כפי הכתוב והחרות עליו:
(לג) כי אנכי כתבתי אותו בספר התורה הראשון בספר אשר כתבתי לך כי תחוג אותו יום אחד יום אחד בשנה:
(לד) וגם הוריתי לך את קרבנותיו לזכר אותן ובני ישראל יחוגו אותו לדורותיהם בחודש הזה יום אחד יום אחד בשנה:
(לה) וראשי חודשי הראשון הרביעי השביעי והעשירי המה ימי הזיכרון וימי חג בארבע תקופות השנה:
(לו) כתובים וחקוקים המה לעדות מימים ימימה:
(מג) ונחרתו על לוחות השמים שלושה עשר שבועות לכל אחד ואחד מן האחד ועד השני בוא יבוא זכרונם:
(מד) מן הראשון עד השני מן השני עד השלישי מן השלישי עד הרביעי:
(מה) וכל הימים אשר נועדו הם שתים וחמישים שבתות ימים עד מלאת שנה תמימה:
(מו) ככה חרות וחקוק על לוחות השמים חוק שנה בשנה ולא יעבור:
(מז) ואתה צו את בני ישראל ושמרו את השנים על פי המספר הזה ארבעה ושישים יום ושלוש מאות יום:
(מח) והיה שנה תמימה ומספר מפקד ימי השנה ומועדיה לא ישחת:
(מט) כי הכל בוא יבוא בה כפי אשר הועד עליו ולא יעברו כל יום ולא יחללו כל מועד:
(נ) והיה כי יעברו ולא ישמרו אותם כמצותיו ישחיתו בפעם אחת כל עת וזמן השנים תעתקנה ממקומן:
(נא) ויעבטון אורחות סדרם וכל בני ישראל ישכחו את דרך השנים ולא ימצאו עוד:
(נב) ויזנחו את ראש החודש וזמנו ואת השבתות והעוו את כל דרכי השנים:
(נג) כי ידעתי את הדבר וכהיום הזה אגידהו לך ולא אל בינתי אשען כי כן כתוב לפני על הספר ועל לוחות השמים מיוסדות חלוקת הימים:
(נד) ולא ישכחו את מועדי הברית ולא ילכו במועדי הגויים לפי תעתועיהם ולפי דעתם:
(נה) והיו אנשים אשר יביטו יראו בירח הוא המשחית את הזמנים ויקדים עשרת ימים בכל שנה ושנה נו== ולכן ישחיתו את השנים בימים הבאים ועשו יום שוא ליום העדות ויום בלתי טהור ליום המועד:
(נו) וכל איש לא יבדיל בין ימי קודש ובין ימי חול כי יתעו בחודשים ובשבתות ובמועדים ובשנות היובל:
(נז) לכן הנני מצווך ומעיד בך למען תעיד בם:
(נח) כי אחרי מותך ישחיתו בניך את הדבר למען יספרו בשנה רק שלוש מאות יום ושישים יום וארבעה ימים:
(נט) ועל כן יתעו בראש החודש ובשבת ובחג ובמועד ואכלו תמיד את הדם בבשר:
(1) And on the new moon of the third month he went forth from the ark, and built an altar on that mountain.
(2) And he made atonement for the earth, and took a kid and made atonement by its blood for all the guilt of the earth; for everything that had been on it had been destroyed, save those that were in the ark with Noah....
(9) And behold I have given unto you all beasts, and all winged things, and everything that moveth on the earth, and the fish in the waters, and all things for food; as the green herbs, I have given you all things to eat.
(10) But flesh, with the life thereof, with the blood, ye shall not eat; for the life of all flesh is in the blood, lest your blood of your lives be required.
(11) At the hand of every man, at the hand of every (beast), shall I require the blood of man.
(12) Whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man.
(13) And you, increase ye, and multiply on the earth."
(14) And Noah and his sons swore that they would not eat any blood that was in any flesh,
(15) and he made a covenant before the Lord God for ever throughout all the generations of the earth in this month.
(16) On this account He spoke to you that you should make a covenant with the children of Israel in this month upon the mountain with an oath, and that thou should sprinkle blood upon them because of all the words of the covenant, which the Lord made with them for ever....
(19) And do thou command the children of Israel to eat no blood, so that their names and their seed may be before the Lord our God continually.
(20) And for this law there is no limit of days, for it is for ever. They shall observe it throughout their generations, so that they may continue supplicating on your behalf with blood before the altar;
(21) every day and at the time of morning and evening they shall seek forgiveness on your behalf perpetually before the Lord that they may keep it and not be rooted out.
(22) And He gave to Noah and his sons a sign that there should not again be a flood on the earth.
(23) He set His bow in the cloud for a sign of the eternal covenant that there should not again be a flood on the earth to destroy it all the days of the earth.
(24) For this reason it is ordained and written on the heavenly tables, that they should celebrate the feast of oaths in this month once a year, to renew the covenant every year.
(25) And this whole festival was celebrated in heaven from the day of creation till the days of Noah-twenty-six jubilees and five weeks of years:...
(26) and Noah and his sons observed it for seven jubilees and one week of years, till the day of Noah's death, and from the day of Noah's death his sons did away with (it) until the days of Abraham, and they ate blood.
(27) But Abraham observed it, and Isaac and Jacob and his children observed it up to thy days,
(28) and in thy days the children of Israel forgot it until ye celebrated it anew on this mountain.
(29) And do thou command the children of Israel to observe this festival in all their generations for a commandment unto them:
(30) one day in the year in this month they shall celebrate the festival.
(31) For it is the feast of oaths and the feast of first-fruits:
(32) this feast is twofold and of a double nature: according to what is written and engraven concerning it celebrate it.
(33) For I have written in the book of the first law, in that which I have written for thee, that thou shouldst celebrate it in its season, one day in the year,
(34) and I explained to thee its sacrifices that the children of Israel should remember and should celebrate it throughout their generations in this month, one day in every year.
(35) And on the new moon of the first month, and on the new moon of the fourth month, and on the new moon of the seventh month, and on the new moon of the tenth month are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year.
(36) These are written and ordained as a testimony for ever.
(43) And they placed them on the heavenly tables, each had thirteen weeks; from one to another (passed) their memorial,
(44) from the first to the second, and from the second to the third, and from the third to the fourth.
(45) And all the days of the commandment will be two and fifty weeks of days, and (these will make) the entire year complete.
(46) Thus it is engraven and ordained on the heavenly tables. And there is no neglecting (this commandment) for a single -year or from year to year.
(47) And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning-three hundred and sixty-four days,
(48) and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts;
(49) for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts.
(50) But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons, and the years will be dislodged from this (order),
(51) [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] and they will neglect their ordinances.
(52) And all the children of Israel will forget, and will not find the path of the years, and will forget the new moons, and seasons, and sabbaths, and they will go wrong as to all the order of the years.
(53) For I know and from henceforth shall I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lieth) written before me, and on the heavenly tables the division of days is ordained,
(54) lest they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance.
(55) For there will be those who will assuredly make observations of the moon--now (it) disturbeth the seasons and cometh in from year to year ten days too soon.
For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order), and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an unclean day a feast day,
(56) and they will confound all the days, the holy with the unclean, and the unclean day with the holy; for they will go wrong as to the months and sabbaths and feasts and jubilees...
(57) For this reason I command and testify to thee that thou mayest testify to them;
(58) for after thy death thy children will disturb (them), so that they will not make the year three hundred and sixty-four days only,
(59) and for this reason they will go wrong as to the new moons and seasons and sabbaths and festivals, and they will eat all kinds of blood with all kinds of flesh.
(א) רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר, הָעֹמֶר הָיָה בָא בְשַׁבָּת מִשָּׁלשׁ סְאִין, וּבְחֹל מֵחָמֵשׁ. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֶחָד בְּשַׁבָּת וְאֶחָד בְּחֹל, מִשָּׁלשׁ הָיָה בָא. רַבִּי חֲנִינָא סְגָן הַכֹּהֲנִים אוֹמֵר, בְּשַׁבָּת הָיָה נִקְצָר בְּיָחִיד וּבְמַגָּל אֶחָד וּבְקֻפָּה אַחַת. וּבְחֹל, בִּשְׁלשָׁה וּבְשָׁלשׁ קֻפּוֹת וּבְשָׁלשׁ מַגָּלוֹת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, אֶחָד בְּשַׁבָּת וְאֶחָד בְּחֹל, בִּשְׁלשָׁה וּבְשָׁלשׁ קֻפּוֹת וּבְשָׁלשׁ מַגָּלוֹת:
(ג) כֵּיצַד הָיוּ עוֹשִׂים. שְׁלוּחֵי בֵית דִּין יוֹצְאִים מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב, וְעוֹשִׂים אוֹתוֹ כְרִיכוֹת בִּמְחֻבָּר לַקַּרְקַע, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא נוֹחַ לִקְצֹר. וְכָל הָעֲיָרוֹת הַסְּמוּכוֹת לְשָׁם, מִתְכַּנְּסוֹת לְשָׁם, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא נִקְצָר בְּעֵסֶק גָּדוֹל. כֵּיוָן שֶׁחֲשֵׁכָה, אוֹמֵר לָהֶם, בָּא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ, אוֹמְרִים, הֵן. בָּא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. מַגָּל זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. מַגָּל זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. קֻפָּה זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. קֻפָּה זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. בְּשַׁבָּת אוֹמֵר לָהֶם, שַׁבָּת זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. שַׁבָּת זוֹ, אוֹמְרִים הֵן. אֶקְצֹר, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ קְצֹר. אֶקְצֹר, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ קְצֹר. שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים עַל כָּל דָּבָר וְדָבָר, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים לוֹ הֵן, הֵן, הֵן. וְכָל כָּךְ לָמָּה. מִפְּנֵי הַבַּיְתוֹסִים, שֶׁהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, אֵין קְצִירַת הָעֹמֶר בְּמוֹצָאֵי יוֹם טוֹב:
(1) Rabbi Ishmael says: On Shabbat the omer [The special barley offering, offered the day after Pesach, which permits grain harvested in the last year to be eaten] would come from three se'im [a specific measure of volume] and on a weekday from five; the Sages say: whether on Shabbat or on a weekday it would come from three se'im. Rabbi Hanina Segan HaKohanim says: on Shabbat it was reaped by one person with one sickle into one basket, and on a weekday it was reaped by three people into three baskets and with three sickles; the Sages say: whether on Shabbat or on a weekday it was reaped by three people into three baskets and with three sickles.
(2) The [best fulfillment of the] commandment of the omer is [that it] come from a nearby land. If [the areas] close to Jerusalem were not yet ripe they could bring them from any place. It once happened that it came from Gaggot Tzrifin and the two loaves came from the valley of Ein Socher.
(3) How would they do [the reaping of the omer]? The agents of the court would go out on the eve of the holiday and they would make them into bundles while they were still attached to the ground so that they would be easy to cut. And all cities that were near there would come so that it would be cut with a great fanfare. Once it got dark, [the reaper] would say to them, "Has the sun set?" and they would answer "Yes!". Has the sun set? and they would answer "Yes!" "With this a sickle?" and they would answer "Yes!", "With this a sickle?" and they would answer "Yes!" "Into this a basket?", and they would answer "Yes!", "Into this a basket?" and they would answer "Yes!" On Shabbat, he would say to them, "Is it Shabbat?" and they would answer "Yes!", "Is it Shabbat?" and they would answer "Yes!" "Shall I reap?" and they would answer "Reap!" "Shall I reap?" and they would answer "Reap!" Three times for each question and they would answer, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Why so much? To prove wrong the Baitusim [a sect akin to the Sadducees, who rejected the Oral Torah] who would say that the omer was only reaped on [the day] after [the first day of the Pesach] holiday.
"ממחרת השבת"-- ממחרת יום טוב. יכול ממחרת שבת בראשית? אמר ר' יוסי בר' יהודה, כשהוא אומר "עד ממחרת השבת השביעית תספרו חמשים יום"-- כל ספירתם לא יהיה אלא חמשים יום.
(ב) [ב] אם אומר אתה "ממחרת שבת בראשית" פעמים שאתה מונה חמשים ואחד, חמשים ושתים, חמשים ושלש, חמשים וארבע, חמשים וחמשה, חמשים וששה. הא מה אני מקיים "ממחרת השבת"? -- ממחרת יום טוב.
(ג) [ג] ר' יהודה בן בתירה אומר, "ממחרת השבת"-- ממחרת יום טוב. יכול ממחרת שבת בראשית? כשהוא אומר (דברים טז, ט) "שבעה שבועות תספר לך"-- ספירה שהיא תלויה בבית דין, יצאה שבת בראשית שאינה תלויה בבית דין שספירתה בכל אדם.
(ד) [ד] ר' יוסי אומר "ממחרת השבת"-- ממחרת יום טוב. יכול ממחרת שבת בראשית? וכי נאמר "ממחרת שבת בפסח"? והלא לא נאמר אלא 'ממחרת שבת'. והלא כל השנה מלאה שבתות!? צא וחשוב מאיזה שבת. נאמר כאן 'ממחרת שבת' ונאמר למטה 'ממחרת שבת'. מה 'מחרת שבת' האמור למטה-- רגל ותחלת רגל, אף 'מחרת שבת' האמור כאן-- רגל ותחלת רגל.
(ה) [ה] ר' שמעון בן אלעזר אומר, כתוב אחד אומר (דברים טז, ח) "ששת ימים תאכל מצות" וכתוב אחד אומר (שמות יב, טו) "שבעת ימים מצות תאכלו". הא כיצד יתקיימו שני כתובים הללו? מצה שאי אתה יכול לאכלה מן החדש כל שבעה אתה יכול לאכלה ששה מן החדש. הא מה אני מקיים "ממחרת השבת"? --ממחרת יום טוב.
(1) 1) (23:15) ("And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Sabbath, from the day that you bring the omer of the lifting; seven complete Sabbaths shall they be."): "And you shall count for yourselves": Each one shall count for himself individually. "from the morrow of the Sabbath": from the morrow of the festival (Pesach, on the sixteenth day of Nissan). I might think, from the morrow of the (literal) Sabbath, of creation (i.e., Saturday) — R. Yossi b. R. Yehudah said: "Until the morrow of the seventh Sabbath shall you count fifty days" (23:16) indicates that the entire count (from Pesach until Shavuoth) will (always) be fifty days, (which would not be the case if the Sabbath of creation were meant).
(2) 2) If I say (that the count is) from the morrow of the Sabbath of creation, then sometimes the count will be fifty-one days; sometimes, fifty-two; sometimes, fifty-three; sometimes, fifty-four; sometimes, fifty-five; sometimes, fifty-six (depending on which day Pesach begins). How, then, must I understand "from the morrow of the Sabbath"? As from the morrow of the festival.
(3) 3) R. Yehudah b. Betheira says: "from the morrow of the Sabbath": from the morrow of the festival. I might think, from the morrow of the Sabbath of creation. "Seven weeks shall you count for yourself" (Devarim 16:9) — a count which depends upon the determination (of the advent of the festivals) by beth-din, to exclude the Sabbath of creation, which is not dependent upon (the count of beth-din, its advent being known to all men.
(4) 4) R. Yossi says: "from the morrow of the Sabbath": from the morrow of the festival. I might think, from the morrow of the Sabbath of creation. Now is it written On the morrow of Sabbath on Pesach? Is it not written only "from the morrow of the Sabbath"? Isn't the entire year filled with Sabbaths? Go and figure which Sabbath is meant! And, furthermore, it is written here "from the morrow of the Sabbath," and, below, (11), "from the morrow of the (seventh) Sabbath." Just as there, the reference is to a time period (i.e., the end of the seventh week) conjoined with the beginning of a festival (Shavuoth); here, too, the reference is to a time period (the omer) conjoined with the beginning of a festival (Pesach, which begins with the fifteenth day of Nissan).
(5) 5) R. Shimon b. Elazar says: In one place (Devarim 16:8) it is written "Six days shall you eat matzoth," and, in another, (Shemoth 12:15) "Seven days shall you eat matzoth"! How is this to be resolved? Matzoh which cannot eat seven days from the new grain, (permission to eat of the new grain [chadash] beginning with the bringing of the omer on the second day of the festival), you can eat, seven from the old grain and six from the new. How, then, must I understand "from the morrow of the Sabbath? As from the morrow of the festival.
ברית דמשק ג: 5-7
במצרים הלכו בשרירות לבם להיעץ על מצות אל ולעשות איש הישר בעיניו ויאכלו אם הדם ויכרת זכורם במדבר
Damascus Document 3:5-7
And in Egypt their sons walked in the stubbornness of their hearts plotting against God's precepts and each one was doing what was right in his own eyes; and ate blood and their males were cut off in the wilderness.
ברית דמשק 12:
אל ישקץ איש את נפשו בכל החיה והרמש לאכל מהם העגלי הדבורים עד כל נפש החיה אשר תרמוש במים והדגים אל יאכלו כי אם נקרעו חיים ונשפך דמם וכל החגבים במיניהם יבאו באש או במים עד הם חיים כי הוא משפט בריאתם
Damascus Covenant 12
No-one should defile his soul 12 with any living or creeping animal, by eating them, from the larvae of bees to every living 13 being which creeps in water. And fish they should not eat unless they have been opened up 14 alive, and their blood poured away. And all the locusts, according to their kind, shall be put into fire or into water 75 while they are still alive^ as this is the regulation for their species.
(א) דַּם שְׁחִיטָה בִּבְהֵמָה, בְּחַיָּה וּבְעוֹפוֹת, בֵּין טְמֵאִים וּבֵין טְהוֹרִים, דַּם נְחִירָה, וְדַם עִקּוּר, וְדַם הַקָּזָה שֶׁהַנֶּפֶשׁ יוֹצְאָה בוֹ, חַיָּבִים עָלָיו. דַּם הַטְּחוֹל, דַּם הַלֵּב, דַּם בֵּיצִים, דַּם דָּגִים, דַּם חֲגָבִים, דַּם הַתַּמְצִית, אֵין חַיָּבִין עֲלֵיהֶן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה מְחַיֵּב בְּדַם הַתַּמְצִית:
(1) One is liable [for ingesting] the blood [which emerges from] slaughtering an animal, a wild beast, or birds, whether [the blood is] pure or impure; [one is similarly liable for ingesting] blood [which emerges from] stabbing, [or from] tearing, [or from] bloodletting through which life escapes. One is not liable [for ingesting] the blood of the spleen, [or] the heart, [or] blood [found in] eggs, [or] blood of fish, [or] of locusts, or blood squeezed out. Rabbi Yehudah deems one liable for blood squeezed out.
(א) כִּסּוּי הַדָּם נוֹהֵג בָּאָרֶץ וּבְחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ, בִּפְנֵי הַבַּיִת וְשֶׁלֹּא בִפְנֵי הַבַּיִת, בְּחֻלִּין אֲבָל לֹא בְמֻקְדָּשִׁים. וְנוֹהֵג בְּחַיָּה וּבְעוֹף, בִּמְזֻמָּן וּבְשֶׁאֵינוֹ מְזֻמָּן. וְנוֹהֵג בְּכוֹי, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא סָפֵק.
(1) [The law of] covering the blood applies in the land [of Israel] and outside of the land, during the time of the Temple and not during the time of the Temple, for chulin [animals or food permitted for general consumption] but not for sacred animals. It applies for wild animals and fowl, whether in possession or not in possession. And it applies to a koi [an animal whose domesticated status is ambiguous], since it is in doubt.
(ד) עַל שְׁנֵי חֳדָשִׁים מְחַלְּלִין אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת, עַל נִיסָן וְעַל תִּשְׁרֵי, שֶׁבָּהֶן הַשְּׁלוּחִין יוֹצְאִין לְסוּרְיָא, וּבָהֶן מְתַקְּנִין אֶת הַמּוֹעֲדוֹת. וּכְשֶׁהָיָה בֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם, מְחַלְּלִין אַף עַל כֻּלָּן מִפְּנֵי תַקָּנַת הַקָּרְבָּן:
(4) On two months they desecrate the Shabbat, on Nisan and on Tishrei. For in those months, they were sent out to Syria to correct for the festivals. And when the Temple existed, they desecrated Shabbat in all of them -- to correct for the sacrifices.
ברית דמשק ה:ז-יא
ולוקחים איש את בת אחיהם ואת בת אחותו ומשה אמר אל אחות אמך לא תקרב שאר אמך היא ומשפט עריות לזכרים הוא וכהם הנשים. ואם תגלה בת האח את ערות אחי אביה שאר
Damascus Document 5:7-1
And they marry each his brother’s daughter and his sister’s daughter. But Moses said, “Do not have sexual relations (tiqrav) with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s Áesh” (Lev 18:13). And the rules of incest are written with reference to males, and apply equally to women. So how can the brother’s daughter engage in sexual relations with her father’s brother, is she not (also) Áesh (a close relative)?
מגילת המקדש
לוא יקח איש את אחות אביהו או את אחות אמו כי זמה היא. לוא יקח איש את בת אחיחו או בת אחותו כי תועבה היא
Temple Scroll 66:15-17
A man is not to take the sister of his father or the sister of his mother, because it is depravity. A man is not to take the daughter of his brother or the daughter of his sister because it is an abomination
ת"ר האוהב את אשתו כגופו והמכבדה יותר מגופו והמדריך בניו ובנותיו בדרך ישרה והמשיאן סמוך לפירקן עליו הכתוב אומר וידעת כי שלום אהלך האוהב את שכיניו והמקרב את קרוביו והנושא את בת אחותו והמלוה סלע לעני בשעת דחקו עליו הכתוב אומר (ישעיהו נח, ט) אז תקרא וה' יענה תשוע ויאמר הנני:
§ The Sages taught: One who loves his wife as he loves himself, and who honors her more than himself, and who instructs his sons and daughters in an upright path, and who marries them off near the time when they reach maturity, about him the verse states: And you shall know that your tent is in peace. One who loves his neighbors, and who draws his relatives close, and who marries the daughter of his sister, a woman he knows and is fond of as a family relative and not only as a wife, and who lends a sela to a pauper at his time of need, about him the verse states: “Then shall you call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say: Here I am” (Isaiah 58:9).
ברית דמשק:
"כאשר דבר אל ביד ישעיה ה̇נ̇ביא בן
אמוץ לאמר פחד ופחת ופח עליך יושב הארץ vacat
פשרו שלושת מצודות בליעל אשר אמר עליהם לוי בן יעקב אשר הוא תפש בהם בישראל ויתנם פניהם לשלושת מיני הצדק
הראשונה היא הזנות השנית ההון השלישית טמא המקדש העולה מזה יתפש בזה והניצל מזה יתפש בזה vacat
בוני החי̇ץ אשר הלכו אחרי צו הצו הוא מטיף אשר אמר הטף יטיפון הם ניתפשים בשתים בזנות לקחת שתי נשים בחייהם ויסוד הבריאה זכר ונקבה ברא אותם ובאי התבה שנים שנים באו אל התבה vacat ועל הנשיא כ̇תוב לא ירבה לו נשים ודויד לא קרא בספר התורה החתום אשר היה בארון כי לא נפתח בישראל מיום מות אלעזר
Damasus Covenant 4-5
And during all these years Belial will be set loose against Israel, as God has said by means of the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, saying: (Isaiah 24:17) «Panic, pit and net against you, earth-dweller». Its explanation: 15 They are Belial's three nets about which Levi, son of Jacob spoke, 16 by which he catches Israel and makes them appear before them like three types of justice. The first is fornication; the second, wealth; the third, 18 defilement of the temple. He who eludes one is caught in another and he who is freed from that, is caught 19 in another. The builders of the wall who go after Zaw - Zaw is the preacher 20 of whom he said: Mic 2:6 « Assuredly they will preach »- are caught twice in fornication: by taking 21 two wives in their lives, even though the principle of creation is Gen 1:27 «male and female he created them»,
and the ones who went into the ark Gen 7:9 «went in two by two into the ark». And about the prince it is written: 2 Deut ,7:17 «He should not multiply wives to himself^. However David had not read the sealed book of the law which was in the ark, for it had not been opened in Israel since the day of the death of Elazar.
Matthew 17
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a] 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
(י) בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, לֹא יְגָרֵשׁ אָדָם אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן מָצָא בָהּ דְּבַר עֶרְוָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים כד), כִּי מָצָא בָהּ עֶרְוַת דָּבָר. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, אֲפִלּוּ הִקְדִּיחָה תַבְשִׁילוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם), כִּי מָצָא בָהּ עֶרְוַת דָּבָר. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, אֲפִלּוּ מָצָא אַחֶרֶת נָאָה הֵימֶנָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שם), וְהָיָה אִם לֹא תִמְצָא חֵן בְּעֵינָיו:
(10) Beit Shammai say, "No man shall divorce his wife, unless he found in her unchaste behaviour, as it is stated [Deuteronomy 24:1], 'Because he found in her 'ervat davar' [unchaste behavior].'" Beit Hillel say, "Even if she spoiled his food, because it is said, ervat davar". Rabbi Akivah says, "Even if he found another [woman] prettier than her, as it is stated [ibid.] 'If it happen that she does not find favor in his eyes.'"
Wars of the Jews 2:161
Moreover, there is another order of Essens, (8) who agree with the rest as to their way of living, and customs, and laws, but differ from them in the point of marriage, as thinking that by not marrying they cut off the principal part of human life, which is the prospect of succession; nay, rather, that if all men should be of the same opinion, the whole race of mankind would fail. However, they try their spouses for three years; and if they find that they have their natural purgations thrice, as trials that they are likely to be fruitful, they then actually marry them. But they do not use to accompany with their wives when they are with child, as a demonstration that they do not many out of regard to pleasure, but for the sake of posterity. Now the women go into the baths with some of their garments on, as the men do with somewhat girded about them. And these are the customs of this order of Essenes.
ברית דמשק, 4Q270
או ישחט בהמה וחיה עברה אשר ישכב עם אשה הרה מקיץ דמו או יקרב אל בת אחיו
Damascus Document
Or slaughters an animal carrying a live fetus or who sleeps with a pregnant woman because of the heat [?] of his blood or approaches the daughter of his brother
Rav Beivai taught a baraita before Rav Naḥman: Three women may engage in relations with a contraceptive resorbent, ... a woman who is already pregnant, and a nursing woman. ...a pregnant woman, lest she be impregnated a second time and her previous fetus becomes deformed into the shape of a sandal fish by being squashed by the pressure of the second fetus.
Luke 13
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
(ו) סָכִין וּמְמַשְׁמְשִׁין בִּבְנֵי מֵעַיִם, אֲבָל לֹא מִתְעַמְּלִין וְלֹא מִתְגָּרְדִין. אֵין יוֹרְדִין לְקוֹרְדִּימָה, וְאֵין עוֹשִׂין אַפִּקְטְוִזִין, וְאֵין מְעַצְּבִין אֶת הַקָּטָן, וְאֵין מַחֲזִירִין אֶת הַשֶּׁבֶר. מִי שֶׁנִּפְרְקָה יָדוֹ וְרַגְלוֹ, לֹא יִטְרְפֵם בְּצוֹנֵן, אֲבָל רוֹחֵץ הוּא כְדַרְכּוֹ, וְאִם נִתְרַפָּא נִתְרַפָּא:
(6) One may anoint and rub the stomach, but may not massage or scrape. One may not go down to Kordima [a river], nor prepare an emetic, nor straighten the limbs of an infant, nor set a fracture. [If] one has dislocated his hand or foot, he may not pour cold water on it, but he may wash it in the usual way - and if he is cured, he is cured.
מקצת מעשה תורה
ואף על טהרת החטאת השוחט אותה והסורף אותה והאוסף את אפרה והמזה מי החטאת לכול אלה להעריבות השמש ולהיות טהורים שא יהיה הטהר מזה על הטמא
Miktzat Ma'ase Torah
And also in what pertains to the purity of the heifer of the sin-offering that whoever slaughters it and whoever burns it and whoever collects its ash and whoever sprinkles the water of purification. At sunset, all these ought to be pure so that a pure man sprinkles on the impure.
וּמְטַמְּאִים הָיוּ אֶת הַכֹּהֵן הַשּׂוֹרֵף אֶת הַפָּרָה, מִפְּנֵי הַצְּדוֹקִים, שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ אוֹמְרִים, בִּמְעֹרְבֵי שֶׁמֶשׁ הָיְתָה נַעֲשֵׂית:
And they would make the priest who would burn the cow ritually impure because of the Saducees, so they would not say, "it was done by one for whom the sun had set." ֿ[From Mishnah Yomit commentary: This section introduces a big debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Concerning a person who has had contact with a sheretz (a creepy crawly thing) Leviticus 22:7states, "And the sun will set and he will be pure." This seems to imply that a person is not pure until he has immersed in the mikveh and then the sun has subsequently set. However, the Pharisees/rabbis believed that once a priest immersed in the mikveh he is pure enough to perform the red cow ceremony. To demonstrate that this is true, they would intentionally defile the priest (with a one-day form of impurity) and then have him immerse. He would now be in the category of "tvul yom" a person who has immersed but has not yet had the sun set for him. This was a demonstrative act against the Sadducees who abhorred such a practice. One interpretation of this debate that makes sense to me is that the Pharisees wanted to diminish the power of the sun in matters of ritual purity due to the fact that other Jews of the time used a solar calendar. By making purity depend upon the setting of the sun, it was as if they gave purifying power to the sun itself. In response, the Pharisees limited this notion, and created the category of the tvul yom.
מגילת המקדש נב
ושור ושה אותו ואת בנו לוא תזבח ביום אחד ולוא תכה אם על בנים
Temple Scroll 52
And you shall not slaughter a cow or a ewe and its young on the same day, and you shall not kill a mother with its young.
(א) בְּהֵמָה הַמַּקְשָׁה לֵילֵד, וְהוֹצִיא הָעֻבָּר אֶת יָדוֹ וְהֶחֱזִירָהּ, מֻתָּר בַּאֲכִילָה. הוֹצִיא אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהֱחֱזִירוֹ, הֲרֵי זֶה כְיָלוּד.
(1) [If] an animal has difficulty giving birth, and the fetus protruded its fore-leg and withdrew it, [the fetus] is permitted for eating. [If] it protruded its head, even if it withdrew it, it is as if it were born.
הָאִשָּׁה שֶׁמֵּת וְלָדָהּ בְּתוֹךְ מֵעֶיהָ וּפָשְׁטָה חַיָּה אֶת יָדָהּ וְנָגְעָה בוֹ, הַחַיָּה טְמֵאָה טֻמְאַת שִׁבְעָה, וְהָאִשָּׁה טְהוֹרָה עַד שֶׁיֵּצֵא הַוָּלָד:
A woman whose fetus died in her womb and the midwife placed her hand inside and touched it, the midwife is impure with a seven day impurity, and the mother is pure until the fetus comes out.
מגילת המקדש נ
ואשה כי תהיה מלאה וימות ילדה במעיה כול הימים אשר הוא בתוכה מת תטמא כקבר כל בית אשר תבוא אליו יטמא
Temple Scroll 50
And if a woman is pregnant and her child dies in her womb, all the days which he is dead within her she shall be impure like a grave; every house which she enters will be unclean.
(א) רבי יהודה אומר חרש שתרם תרומתו תרומה אמר ר' יהודה מעשה בבניו של ר' יוחנן בן גודגדה שהיו חרשים והיו כל הטהרות שבירושלים נעשות על גבם אמרו לו משם ראיה טהרות אין צריכות מחשבה ונעשות על גב חרש שוטה וקטן תרומות ומעשרות צריכות מחשבה
(1) R. Yehuda says: One who is deaf who sets aside terumah - his terumah is a [valid] terumah. R. Yehuda told a story of the sons of R. Yochanan b. Godgeda who were deaf, and all of the purity rules of Jerusalem were taken care of by them. They said to him regarding that proof, that the purity rules do not require thought, and [thus] they are taken care of by those who are deaf, insane, or minors, [but] terumah and tithes require thought.
מקצת מעשי תורה
ואף על החרשים שלוא שמעו חוק ומשפט וטהרה ולא ישמעו משפטי ישראל כי שלוא ראה ולוא שמע לוא ידע לעשות והמה באים לטהרת המקדש
The Halakhic Letter (Miktzat Maase Torah)
And also concerning the deaf who have not heard the law and the precept and the purity regulation, and have not heard the precepts of Israel, for whoever neither sees nor hears, does not know how to behave. But these are approaching the purity of the Temple.
אבות דרבי נתן נוסחא ב פרק י
אנטיגנוס איש סוכו קבל משמעון הצדיק הוא היה אומר אל תהיו כעבדים המשמשין את הרב על מנת לקבל פרס אלא היו כעבדים המsשמשין את הרב על מנת שלא לקבל פרס ויהי מורא שמים עליכם ואתם ...
ב' תלמידים היו לו צדוק וביתוס וכיון ששמעו את הדבר הזה שנו לתלמידיהם. ותלמידיהן אמרו דבר מפי רבן ולא אמרו פירושו. אמרו להן אילו הייתם יודעים שתחיית המתים מתן שכרן של צדיקים לעתיד לבוא היו אומרין כן. הלכו ופירשו להן ויצאו מהם שתי משפחות צדוקים וביתוסים [וצדוקים לשם צדוק ובייתוסים] לשם בייתוס:
Avot de-Rabbi Natan, version 2:10
Antigonos, man of Sokho, received from Shimon the Righteous. He would say, "Do not be as servants who are serving the master in order to receive a reward, rather be as servants who are serving the master not in order to receive a reward; and may the fear of Heaven be upon you."
Tzadok and Boethus had two students, and when they heard this, they taught it to their students. The students transmitted the teachings of their master, but they did not say the explanation. They said to them: If you knew that resurrection was the future reward for the righteous, wouldn't you have said so? They went and separated [from the community]. From them come the two families, Tzadok and Boethus.
Acts 23
6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.
(ד) בֵּית שַׁמַּאי מַתִּירִין הַצָּרוֹת לָאַחִים, וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹסְרִים. חָלְצוּ, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי פּוֹסְלִין מִן הַכְּהֻנָּה, וּבֵית הִלֵּל מַכְשִׁירִים. נִתְיַבְּמוּ, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי מַכְשִׁירִים, וּבֵית הִלֵּל פּוֹסְלִין. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵלּוּ אוֹסְרִין וְאֵלּוּ מַתִּירִין, אֵלּוּ פּוֹסְלִין וְאֵלּוּ מַכְשִׁירִין, לֹא נִמְנְעוּ בֵּית שַׁמַּאי מִלִּשָּׂא נָשִׁים מִבֵּית הִלֵּל, וְלֹא בֵית הִלֵּל מִבֵּית שַׁמַּאי. כָּל הַטָּהֳרוֹת וְהַטֻּמְאוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ אֵלּוּ מְטַהֲרִין וְאֵלּוּ מְטַמְּאִין, לֹא נִמְנְעוּ עוֹשִׂין טָהֳרוֹת אֵלּוּ עַל גַּבֵּי אֵלּוּ:
(4) Beit Shammai permit the rivals to the brothers [for marriage], but Beit Hillel forbid [them]. [If these women] had performed Chalitzah Beit Shammai disqualify them from [subsequently marrying] priests, but Beit Hillel allow them [to do so]. [If these women] had undergone Yibum, Beit Shammai permit them [to subsequently marry priests], but Beit Hillel disqualify them [from such a union]. Even though these [one school] prohibit and these [the other school] permit, these disqualify and these allow, Beit Shammai did not refrain from marrying women from Beit Hillel, nor did Beit Hillel [refrain from marrying women] from Beit Shammai. [With regard to] purity and impurity where these ruled [a matter] pure and these ruled [it] impure, they did not refrain from using [utensils] the other deemed pure.
From Shaye Cohen, The Significance of Yavneh
Abstract: After the destruction of the second temple in 70 C.E. the rabbis gathered in Yavneh and launched the process which yielded the Mishnah approximately one hundred years later. Most modern scholars see these rabbis as Pharisees triumphant who define “orthodoxy,” expel Christians and other heretics, and purge the canon of “dangerous” books. The evidence for this reconstruction is inadequate. In all likelihood most[, certainly at least some,] of the rabbis were Pharisees, but there is no indication that the rabbis of the Yavnean period were motivated by a Pharisaic self-consciousness or were dominated by an exclusivistic ethic. In contrast the ma- jor goal of the Yavnean rabbis seems to have been not the expulsion of those with whom they disagreed but the cessation of sectarianism and the creation of a society which tolerated, even encouraged, vigorous debate among members of the fold. The Mishnah is the first work of Jewish antiquity to ascribe conflicting legal opinions to named individuals who, in spite of their disagreements, belong to the same fraternity. This mutual tolerance is the enduring legacy of Yavneh.
“Pharisaic triumph” is not a useful description of the events at Yavneh. Perhaps many, if not most, of the sages there assembled were Pharisees or the descendants of Pharisees, but they made little of their ancestry. Their interest was the future, not the past. There is little evidence for “witch- hunting” in general and anti-Christian activity in particular.61 The sages were not a party triumphant which closed the ranks, defined orthodoxy, and expelled the unwanted. Yavneh was a grand coalition of different groups and parties,62 held together by the belief that sectarian self-identification was a thing of the past and that individuals may disagree with each other in matters of law while remaining friends. Those who refused to join the coalition and insisted on sectarian self-definition were branded minim and cursed. Those rabbis who could not learn the rules of pluralism and mutual tolerance were banned.