The Oral Talmud with Benay Lappe and Dan Libenson Episode 120

It is taught in a baraita: When the wicked Turnus Rufus plowed the Sanctuary, a decree was issued against Rabban Gamliel for execution.

A certain Roman officer came and stood in the study hall and said: The man with the nose is wanted; the man with the nose is wanted. He heard and went into hiding. He went to him in private, and said to him: If I save you, will you bring me into the World-to-Come? He said to him: Yes. He said to him: Swear to me. He swore to him. He ascended to the roof, fell, and died. And they had a tradition that when they issued a decree and one died, they would cancel the decree. A Divine Voice emerged and said: That officer is invited to life in the World-to-Come.

The Sages taught: When the Temple was destroyed for the first time, many groups of young priests gathered together with the Temple keys in their hands. And they ascended to the roof of the Sanctuary and said before God: Master of the Universe, since we did not merit to be faithful treasurers, let the keys be handed to You. And they threw them upward, and a kind of palm of a hand emerged and received them from them. And the young priests jumped and fell into the fire.

The Sages taught: When Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma fell ill, Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon went to visit him. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: Ḥanina my brother, do you not know that this nation has been given reign by Heaven, as it has destroyed His House, and burned His Sanctuary, and killed His pious ones, and destroyed His best ones, and it still exists? And yet I heard about you that you sit and engage in Torah study, and convene assemblies in public, and have a Torah scroll placed in your lap. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to him: Heaven will have mercy. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: I am saying reasonable matters to you, and you say to me: Heaven will have mercy? I wonder if they will not burn both you and your Torah scroll by fire.

Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to him: Rabbi, what will become of me? Am I destined for life in the World-to-Come? Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: Did any incident occur to you which might be an indication? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to him: I confused coins for Purim with coins of charity, and I distributed them all to the poor. Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma said to him: If so, may my portion be of your portion, and may my lot be of your lot. The Sages said: Not even a few days passed before Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma died of his illness, and all of the Roman notables went to bury him, and they eulogized him with a great eulogy.

And upon their return, they found Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon, who was sitting and engaging in Torah study and convening assemblies in public, with a Torah scroll placed in his lap. They brought him and wrapped him in the Torah scroll, and encircled him with bundles of branches, and they set fire to it. And they brought tufts of wool and soaked them in water, and placed them on his heart, so that his soul should not leave quickly. His daughter said to him: Father, must I see you like this? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to her: If I alone were being burned, it would be difficult for me, but now that I am burning along with a Torah scroll, He who will seek retribution for the insult to the Torah scroll will also seek retribution for the insult to me.

His students said to him: Rabbi, what do you see? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to them: I see the parchment burning, but its letters are flying. They said to him: You too should open your mouth and the fire will enter you. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to them: It is preferable that He who gave should take it away, and one should not harm oneself. The executioner said to him: Rabbi, if I increase the flame and take off the tufts of wool from your heart, will you bring me to the life of the World-to-Come? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon said to him: Yes. The executioner said: Take an oath for me. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon took the oath for him, and the executioner immediately increased the flame and took off the tufts of wool from his heart, causing his soul to leave quickly. The executioner too leaped and fell into the fire. A Divine Voice emerged and said: Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon and the executioner are destined for the life of the World-to-Come. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi wept and said: There are those who acquire their share in the World-to-Come in one moment, and there are those who acquire their share in the World-to-Come only after many years.