ענווה וגאווה - תלמידי חכמים במבחן

by those who were invited by the Nasi, the president of the Great Sanhedrin, for that purpose. There was an incident involving Rabban Gamliel, who said to the Sages: Bring me seven of the Sages early tomorrow morning to the loft designated for convening a court to intercalate the year. He went to the loft early the next morning and found eight Sages there. Rabban Gamliel said: Who is it who ascended to the loft without permission? He must descend immediately. Shmuel HaKatan stood up and said: I am he who ascended without permission; and I did not ascend to participate and be one of those to intercalate the year, but rather I needed to observe in order to learn the practical halakha. Rabban Gamliel said to him: Sit, my son, sit. It would be fitting for all of the years to be intercalated by you, as you are truly worthy. But the Sages said: The year may be intercalated only by those who were invited for that purpose. The Gemara notes: And it was not actually Shmuel HaKatan who had come uninvited, but another person. And due to the embarrassment of the other, Shmuel HaKatan did this, so that no one would know who had come uninvited. The Gemara relates that the story about Shmuel HaKatan is similar to an incident that occurred when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was sitting and teaching, and he smelled the odor of garlic. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was very sensitive and could not tolerate this odor. He said: Whoever ate garlic should leave. Rabbi Ḥiyya stood up and left. Out of respect for Rabbi Ḥiyya, all of those in attendance stood up and left. The next day, in the morning, Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, found Rabbi Ḥiyya, and he said to him: Are you the one who disturbed my father by coming to the lecture with the foul smell of garlic? Rabbi Ḥiyya said to him: There should not be such behavior among the Jewish people. I would not do such a thing, but I assumed the blame and left so that the one who did so would not be embarrassed. And from where did Rabbi Ḥiyya learn that characteristic of being willing to implicate himself in order to save someone else from being embarrassed? He learned it from Rabbi Meir, as it is taught in a baraita: There was an incident involving a certain woman who came to the study hall of Rabbi Meir. She said to him: My teacher, one of you, i.e., one of the men studying in this study hall, betrothed me through intercourse. The woman came to Rabbi Meir to appeal for help in identifying the man, so that he would either marry her or grant her a divorce. As he himself was also among those who studied in the study hall, Rabbi Meir arose and wrote her a bill of divorce, and he gave it to her. Following his example, all those in the study hall arose and wrote bills of divorce and gave them to her. In this manner, the right man also gave her a divorce, freeing her to marry someone else. And from where did Rabbi Meir learn that characteristic? From Shmuel HaKatan, in the incident outlined above. And from where did Shmuel HaKatan learn it? From Shecaniah ben Jehiel, as it is written: “And Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra: We have broken faith with our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this” (Ezra 10:2). And although he confessed, Shecaniah is not listed among those who took foreign wives (Ezra 10:18–44). Evidently, he confessed only to spare the others from public embarrassment. The Gemara continues: And from where did Shecaniah ben Jehiel learn it? From an incident involving Joshua, as it is written: “And the Lord said to Joshua: Get yourself up; why do you fall upon your face? Israel has sinned” (Joshua 7:10–11). Joshua said before Him: Master of the Universe, who sinned? God said to him: And am I your informer? Rather, cast lots to determine who is guilty. In this way, God did not directly disclose the identity of the sinner to Joshua. And if you wish, say instead that Shecaniah ben Jehiel learned this from an incident involving Moses, as it is written: “And the Lord said to Moses: How long do you refuse to keep My mitzvot and My laws?” (Exodus 16:28). Although only a small number of people attempted to collect the manna on Shabbat, God spoke as though the entire nation were guilty, so as not to directly expose the guilty. § Since Shmuel HaKatan and his great piety were mentioned, the Gemara now relates several incidents that shed additional light on his personality. The Sages taught: After the last of the prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, died, the Divine Spirit of prophetic revelation departed from the Jewish people. But nevertheless, they were still utilizing a Divine Voice, which they heard as a kind of echo of prophecy. One time, a group of Sages were reclining in the loft of the house of Gurya in Jericho, and a Divine Voice was bestowed upon them from Heaven, saying: There is one here who is fit for the Divine Presence to rest upon him as it rested upon Moses our teacher, but his generation is not deserving of this distinction. The Sages set their eyes upon Hillel the Elder, trusting that he was the one indicated by the Divine Voice. And when he died, the Sages said about him: Alas, the pious man, alas, the humble man, a disciple of Ezra. The baraita continues: Another time, a group of Sages were reclining in the loft in Yavne, and a Divine Voice was bestowed upon them from Heaven, saying: There is one here who is fit for the Divine Presence to rest upon him in prophecy, but his generation is not deserving of this distinction. The Sages set their eyes upon Shmuel HaKatan. And when he died, the Sages said about him: Alas, the pious man, alas, the humble man, a disciple of Hillel. Additionally, he said at the time of his death, under the influence of the Divine Spirit: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the Nasi of the Great Sanhedrin, and Rabbi Yishmael, the High Priest, will die by the sword, and their friends will die by other executions, and the rest of the nation will be despoiled, and great troubles will ultimately come upon the world. And they also wished to say thus: Alas, the pious man, alas, the humble man, about Yehuda ben Bava, in their eulogy for him, but the hour was torn, i.e., the opportunity was lost, as one does not eulogize those executed by the government. As will be explained (14a), Yehuda ben Bava was executed by the government. § The Gemara returns to the discussion about intercalation of the year. The Sages taught: The year may be intercalated only if the Nasi of the Sanhedrin wants to intercalate it. And there was once an incident involving Rabban Gamliel, who went to ask permission for some communal matter from an officer [hegmon] in Syria, and he tarried in returning until after it was too late to intercalate the year. And because they did not know what his opinion on the matter was, they intercalated the year on the condition that Rabban Gamliel would want to do so. And when Rabban Gamliel came back and said: I want to intercalate the year, the year was found to be retroactively intercalated. The Sages taught: The year may be intercalated only if it is necessary due to damage to the roads, if the rain has damaged them in such a way that they are inaccessible for those ascending to Jerusalem for Passover; or due to the bridges that are likewise in disrepair; or due to the ovens for the Paschal offerings that are damaged and unfit for roasting the offerings; or due to the Diaspora Jews who have left their homes and still have not arrived due to delays in travel. But the year may not be intercalated due to the snow, and not due to the cold, and not due to the Diaspora Jews who have not yet left from their homes, even if they no longer have enough time to reach Jerusalem for the Festival. The Sages taught: The year may not be intercalated due to the young goats and not due to the lambs, to allow them to grow larger before they are to be sacrificed as Paschal offerings; and not due to the fledgling doves who have not yet developed sufficiently to fly, so that there won’t be enough of them to supply all those who wish to bring bird offerings at the Festival. But all these considerations may be made supporting factors in the decision to intercalate the year. The Gemara asks: How so? Rabbi Yannai says in the name of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, i.e., this is the language Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel used in his declaration of the intercalation: We are notifying you that the fledglings are tender, and that the lambs are thin [de’arkin], and time for the spring has not yet arrived. And consequently, the matter is good in my eyes, and I have therefore added thirty days onto this year. The Gemara raises an objection to the report that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel holds the intercalated month is thirty days long. It is taught in a baraita: How long is the additional month in an intercalated leap year? The Rabbis say: Thirty days. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: A standard month, which is twenty-nine days long. What, then, does Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel hold? Rav Pappa said: Rabban Gamliel holds that if the court wants, it may add a standard month, and if it wants, it may add a month of thirty days. Concerning the declaration of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the Gemara observes: Come and see what difference there is between

The Sages further taught in praise of the reed: A person should always be soft like a reed, and he should not be stiff like a cedar. An incident occurred in which Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, came from Migdal Gedor, from his rabbi’s house, and he was riding on a donkey and strolling on the bank of the river. And he was very happy, and his head was swollen with pride because he had studied much Torah. He happened upon an exceedingly ugly person, who said to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, but Rabbi Elazar did not return his greeting. Instead, Rabbi Elazar said to him: Worthless [reika] person, how ugly is that man. Are all the people of your city as ugly as you? The man said to him: I do not know, but you should go and say to the Craftsman Who made me: How ugly is the vessel you made. When Rabbi Elazar realized that he had sinned and insulted this man merely on account of his appearance, he descended from his donkey and prostrated himself before him, and he said to the man: I have sinned against you; forgive me. The man said to him: I will not forgive you go until you go to the Craftsman Who made me and say: How ugly is the vessel you made. He walked behind the man, trying to appease him, until they reached Rabbi Elazar’s city. The people of his city came out to greet him, saying to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, my rabbi, my master, my master. The man said to them: Who are you calling my rabbi, my rabbi? They said to him: To this man, who is walking behind you. He said to them: If this man is a rabbi, may there not be many like him among the Jewish people. They asked him: For what reason do you say this? He said to them: He did such and such to me. They said to him: Even so, forgive him, as he is a great Torah scholar. He said to them: For your sakes I forgive him, provided that he accepts upon himself not to become accustomed to behave like this. Immediately, Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, entered the study hall and taught: A person should always be soft like a reed and he should not be stiff like a cedar, as one who is proud like a cedar is likely to sin. And therefore, due to its gentle qualities, the reed merited that a quill is taken from it to write with it a Torah scroll, phylacteries, and mezuzot.

The final line of the mishna states that from the time when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi died, humility and fear of sin ceased. Rav Yosef said to the tanna who reviewed the mishna: Do not teach that humility ceased, for there is still one who is humble, namely me. Rav Naḥman similarly said to the tanna who reviewed the mishna: Do not teach that fear of sin ceased, for there is still one who fears sin, namely me.