Pt1 Earthly and Divine Majesty: Encounters with Kings, Justice, and the Reflection of Heaven on Earth (Berakhot 58a)
This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline for the series is below.
Outline
Striving to Meet Royalty
Rav Sheshet and the Heretic
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3: Earthly Royalty Mirroring Divine Majesty (I Kings 19:11-13)
Part 4: The Heretic’s Fate
Story of R’ Sheila and the Man Who Had Sex With a Non-Jewish Woman
Part 1: R' Sheila’s Judgment and a Divine Miracle
Part 2: Persians granted R’ Sheila judicial authority (I Chronicles 29:11)
Part 3: Self-Defense Against a Threat
Part 4: R' Sheila’s Homiletic Interpretation of Divine Attributes in I Chronicles 29:11
R' Akiva’s Interpretation
Blessings upon Observing Houses, Jewish and Non-Jewish, Inhabited and Ruined
Appendix 1 – Table Depicting Biblical Events Alluded to in I Chronicles 29:11 According to the Talmudic Homiletic Interpretations
Appendix 2 - the principle that a non-Jew has no patrilineage (Yevamot 98a)
Appendix 3 - Mar Zutra’s Prayer in Response to Tragedy: Acknowledging Divine Justice and Seeking Restoration (Berakhot 46b)
The Passage
Striving to Meet Royalty
R' Yoḥanan encourages individuals to run toward kings, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, to greet them. This practice prepares one to distinguish between them.1
אמר רבי יוחנן:
לעולם ישתדל אדם לרוץ לקראת מלכי ישראל.
ולא לקראת מלכי ישראל בלבד,
אלא אפילו לקראת מלכי אומות העולם,
שאם יזכה —
יבחין בין מלכי ישראל למלכי אומות העולם.
R' Yoḥanan said:
One should always strive to run toward kings of Israel to greet them.
And not only should he run toward kings of Israel,
but also toward kings of the nations of the world,
so that if he will be privileged to witnesses the glory of the Messiah (Rashi) and the World-to-Come,
he will distinguish between the kings of Israel and the kings of the nations of the world.
Rav Sheshet and the Heretic
Part 1
Rav Sheshet, though blind, joined the crowd to greet the king. A heretic mocked his efforts.2
רב ששת סגי נהור הוה.
הוו קאזלי כולי עלמא לקבולי אפי מלכא, וקם אזל בהדייהו רב ששת.
אשכחיה ההוא מינא,
אמר ליה: חצבי לנהרא, כגני לייא?
אמר ליה: תא חזי דידענא טפי מינך.
The Gemara relates: Rav Sheshet was blind.
Everyone was going to greet the king and Rav Sheshet stood up and went along with them.
This heretic found him there
and said to him: The intact jugs go to the river, where do the broken jugs go? Why is a blind person going to see the king?
Rav Sheshet said to him: Come see that I know more than you do.
Part 2
As successive regiments of soldiers (גונדא) pass with loud noise (אוושא), the heretic repeatedly claims the king is coming, but Rav Sheshet denies it.
Only when silence follows the third regiment passing does Rav Sheshet affirm that the king is truly arriving.
חלף גונדא קמייתא.
כי קא אוושא,
אמר ליה ההוא מינא: אתא מלכא.
אמר ליה רב ששת: לא קאתי.
חלף גונדא תניינא.
כי קא אוושא,
אמר ליה ההוא מינא: השתא קא אתי מלכא.
אמר ליה רב ששת: לא קא אתי מלכא.
חליף תליתאי.
כי קא שתקא,
אמר ליה רב ששת: ודאי השתא אתי מלכא.
The first troop passed,
and when the noise grew louder,
this heretic said to him: The king is coming.
Rav Sheshet said to him: The king is not coming.
The second troop passed,
and when the noise grew louder,
this heretic said to him: Now the king is coming.
Rav Sheshet said to him: The king is not coming.
The third troop passed,
and when there was silence,
Rav Sheshet said to him: Certainly now the king is coming.
Part 3: Earthly Royalty Mirroring Divine Majesty (I Kings 19:11-13)
Rav Sheshet explained that earthly royalty reflects heavenly royalty, citing the biblical passage describing God’s silent revelation to Elijah after wind, earthquake (רעש), and fire (I Kings 19:11–13).3
אמר ליה ההוא מינא: מנא לך הא?
אמר ליה:
דמלכותא דארעא כעין מלכותא דרקיעא,
דכתיב:
״צא ועמדת בהר לפני ה׳
והנה ה׳ עבר
ורוח גדולה וחזק מפרק הרים ומשבר סלעים לפני ה׳
לא ברוח ה׳
ואחר הרוח רעש
לא ברעש ה׳.
ואחר הרעש אש
לא באש ה׳
ואחר האש קול דממה דקה״.
This heretic said to him: How do you know this?
Rav Sheshet said to him:
Royalty on earth is like royalty in the heavens,
as it is written with regard to God’s revelation to Elijah the Prophet on Mount Horeb:
“And He said: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before YHWH.
And, behold, YHWH passed by,
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before YHWH;
but YHWH was not in the wind;
and after the wind an earthquake;
but YHWH was not in the earthquake;
and after the earthquake a fire;
but YHWH was not in the fire;
and after the fire a still small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave” (I Kings 19:11–13). God’s revelation was specifically at the moment of silence.
Part 4: The Heretic’s Fate
When the king arrived, Rav Sheshet blessed him. The heretic mocked Rav Sheshet for blessing someone he could not see.
The heretic's fate varied according to traditions: either his friends blinded him,4 or Rav Sheshet’s “put his eyes on him”5 and turned him into a pile of bones.
כי אתא מלכא, פתח רב ששת וקא מברך ליה.
אמר ליה ההוא מינא: למאן דלא חזית ליה קא מברכת?!
ומאי הוי עליה דההוא מינא?
איכא דאמרי: חברוהי כחלינהו לעיניה,
ואיכא דאמרי: רב ששת נתן עיניו בו, ונעשה גל של עצמות.
When the king came, Rav Sheshet began to bless him.
The heretic mockingly said to him: Do you bless someone you do not see?!
The Gemara asks: And what ultimately happened to this heretic?
Some say that his friends gouged out his eyes,
and some say that Rav Sheshet fixed his gaze upon him, and the heretic became a pile of bones.
Story of R’ Sheila and the Man Who Had Sex With a Non-Jewish Woman
Part 1: R' Sheila’s Judgment and a Divine Miracle
R’ Sheila ordered that a man who had relations with a non-Jewish woman be whipped.
The man informed on him6 to the authorities, saying that R’ Sheila was deciding judgments (דינא) without royal authorization (הרמנא).
The king sent an officer.7 R’ Sheila justified the whipping by claiming the man had engaged in bestiality with a female donkey.8 When asked for witnesses, Elijah incarnated in human form and testified.
The officials then questioned why the man was not sentenced to death. R’ Sheila explained that since the Jewish exile (גלינן), they lacked the authority to execute (מקטל), leaving the final decision to the Persian authorities.
רבי שילא נגדיה לההוא גברא דבעל גויה.
אזל אכל ביה קורצי בי מלכא,
אמר:
איכא חד גברא ביהודאי
דקא דיין דינא בלא הרמנא דמלכא.
שדר עליה פריסתקא.
כי אתא
אמרי ליה: מאי טעמא נגדתיה להאי?
אמר להו: דבא על חמרתא.
אמרי ליה: אית לך סהדי?
אמר להו: אין.
אתא אליהו אדמי ליה כאיניש, ואסהיד.
אמרי ליה: אי הכי, בר קטלא הוא!
אמר להו:
אנן, מיומא דגלינן מארעין, לית לן רשותא למקטל.
אתון, מאי דבעיתון עבידו ביה.
As for the connection between divine and earthly royalty, the Gemara cites another story:
R' Sheila ordered that a man who had relations with a gentile woman be flogged.
That man went to inform the king
and said:
There is one man among the Jews
who renders judgment without the king’s authority [harmana].
The king sent a messenger [peristaka] for R' Sheila to bring him to trial.
When R' Sheila came,
they said to him: Why did you order flogging for this man?
He said to them: Because he had relations with a female donkey. According to Persian law this was an extremely heinous crime,
so they said to him: Do you have witnesses that he did so?
He replied: Yes,
and Elijah the prophet came and appeared as a person and testified.
They said to R' Sheila: If so, he is liable for the death penalty; why did you not sentence him to death?
He replied:
Since the day we were exiled from our land we do not have the authority to execute,
but you, do with him as you wish.
Part 2: Persians granted R’ Sheila judicial authority (I Chronicles 29:11)
R’ Sheila praised God for saving him and recited a verse from I Chronicles 29:11.9
When asked what he had said, he explained that he had blessed God (רחמנא) for establishing “earthly rule as a reflection of divine rule”10 and for granting dominion (שולטנא) and a love of justice (רחמי דינא).
Impressed by his respect for authority, they gave him a staff11 and told him to judge.
עד דמעייני ביה בדינא,
פתח רבי שילא ואמר: ״לך ה׳ הגדלה והגבורה וגו׳״.
אמרי ליה: מאי קאמרת?
אמר להו:
הכי קאמינא:
״בריך רחמנא
דיהיב מלכותא בארעא כעין מלכותא דרקיעא,
ויהב לכו שולטנא ורחמי דינא״.
אמרו: חביבא עליה יקרא דמלכותא כולי האי!
יהבי ליה קולפא,
אמרו ליה: דון דינא.
As they considered the sentence,
R' Sheila praised God for saving him from danger: “Yours, O YHWH, is the greatness, power, glory, triumph, and majesty; for all that is in heaven and on earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O YHWH, and You are exalted as head above all” (I Chronicles 29:11).
They asked him: What did you say?
He told them:
This is what I said:
Blessed is Merciful One
who grants kingdom on earth that is a microcosm of the kingdom in heaven,
and granted you dominion and love of justice.
They said to him: Indeed, the honor of royalty is so dear to you.
They gave him a staff to symbolize his license to sit in judgment
and said to him: Judge.
“If he will merit” (אם יזכה) i.e. in the future messianic era, when there will again be a Jewish king, meaning the Messiah.
Stating a disparaging aphorism:
jugs (חצבי) [go] to the river (i.e. to be used for holding water)
where do the broken (כגני) [jugs] go?
חצבי לנהרא,
כגני לייא
Meaning, the heretic is referring to the blind Rav Sheshet as a non-functional “broken jug”.
See Wikipedia, “1 Kings 19“, section “Elijah's meeting with God on Horeb (19:9–18)“:
Patterning after Moses who met God on Mount Horeb (Exodus 24; 33) Elijah hoped to have a similar meeting.
However, instead of encountering God in impressive natural phenomena (which would have been connected with the weather god Baal) nor in violent power (such as in 1 Kings 18:40), Elijah met a completely different God whose approach was 'extremely powerful and quietly beautiful', a clear contrast to that of 1 Kings 18 and especially 2 Kings 10 […]
and after the fire a still small voice.
"A still small voice": or "a delicate whispering voice", "a low whisper" (ESV) or "a sound, a thin silence”, from Hebrew קול דממה דקה, qōl' də-mā-māh ḏaqāh; can be rendered as "a voice of gentle silence".
Demamah" is an onomatopoetic word meaning "whisper", rendered as "silence" in Job 4:16.
אכל ביה קורצי - an Aramaic idiom, meaning “to inform [to the authorities]”. Compare Wikipedia, “Mesirah“.
פריסתקא - Jastrow:
soldier, orderly, policeman, courier, orderly, royal officer
I.e. to investigate.
חמרתא.
See Wikipedia, “Bestiality with a donkey“:
According to various sexologist studies, donkeys are one of the most preferred animals for zoophilia.
Bestiality with donkeys is more common in rural areas, especially in South Asia, the Middle East, Colombia, and Morocco compared with other regions, though cases occur elsewhere.
People who have sexual intercourse with donkeys may face fines, imprisonment, or capital punishment, depending on the country. References to bestiality with donkeys may be censored by some governments and publishers.
Literature, art, and elements of popular culture documenting, referring to, or featuring sex with donkeys have been produced since ancient times […]
Estimates of the prevalence of bestiality in studies up to 2016 ranged from 5% to 8% for men and 3% to 4% for women.
A meta-analysis published in 2021 estimated that about 2% of the general population engaged in zoophilic acts.
Sexologists […] conducted a study of people who have had sexual intercourse with animals and found that animals in the equine family are the most preferred animal species for zoophilia after dogs […]
In Ancient Greece, donkeys were viewed disfavorably; to accuse someone's mother of having intercourse with a donkey was to accuse her not just of bestiality, but of bestiality with a particularly grotesque and demeaning beast […]
Apuleius wrote of wealthy Romans having sexual intercourse with donkeys.
Juvenal, in his book of Satires, mentions women who were guilty of having sexual intercourse with donkeys.
Pliny the Elder wrote that donkey penises soaked in oil and hyena penises covered in honey were sexual fetishes of women living at the time.
Apparently a severe crime under Sasanian law, subject to the death penalty, as is implied in the continuation of the passage.
See Wikipedia, “Punishment in Sasanian culture“:
The criminal law in the Sasanian Empire followed the same model as the Zoroastrian law, which had the intention to punish the individual in order to save the latter's soul from the otherworldly consequences of the offense.
The purpose of punishment in Zoroastrian law was to save the condemned's soul from the supernatural consequences of lawbreaking.
People who were punished in life were purged of their sins and spared divine punishment after death […]
The most prevalent punishment specified is lashing, with lawbreaking acts being theoretically differentiated in harshness by the number of lashes, even up to unreasonable levels
See Wikipedia, “1 Chronicles 29“, section “David's farewell prayer and the people's response (29:10–20)“:
The section records David's prayer […]:
Yours, O YHWH, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O YHWH,
And You are exalted as head over all
מלכותא בארעא כעין מלכותא דרקיעא - the same expression used by Rav Sheshet in the earlier section.