Pt1 The End of an Era: The Mishnah on Societal Decline and the Discontinuation of Rituals (Sotah 9:9-15)
This is the first installment of a two part series. The outline is below.
The Mishnah in tractate Sotah, at the end of Chapter 9, reflects on the transitions and ends of eras, particularly focusing on the Second Temple period, the destruction of the Temple, and the lead-up to the Messianic era.
The chapter lists various customs, institutions, and practices that ceased as certain figures passed away or as historical events unfolded, symbolizing the decline in spiritual and societal life.1
Outline
Nullification of Biblical Rituals: Impact of Widespread Murder and Adultery in Late Second Temple Period
Yoḥanan the High Priest Abolishes Tithing Declaration and Temple Practices
Song Prohibited at Feasts After the Cessation of the Sanhedrin
Post-Temple Destruction: Loss of Blessings, Sweetness, and Faith
The Decline of Food Quality: Due to Lost Ritual Purity or Moral Corruption
Rabbinic Decrees on Wedding Customs and Education Amid the Effects of the Major Rebellions Against Rome
End of an Era: A List of Specific Virtues and Traditions Lost with the Deaths of Thirteen Major Tannaitic Figures
Appendix - Tables
Rituals Nullified or Changes Enacted in the Second Temple and Tannaitic Periods
Specific Virtues and Traditions Lost with the Deaths of Thirteen Major Tannaitic Figures
The Passage
Nullification of Biblical Rituals: Impact of Widespread Murder and Adultery in Late Second Temple Period
The Mishnah describes the cessation of two biblical rituals due to an increase in sinful behavior:
The biblical ritual of the Eglah Arufah2 was discontinued.
A specific case is mentioned: Eliezer ben Dinai (אליעזר בן דינאי), known as Teḥina ben Perisha, was a publicly known murderer. They started calling him "the murderer".3 Meaning, there was a change in his public perception.
Similarly, the ritual of the bitter water4 for an adulterous wife (sota) was abolished by Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai (1st century CE) when adultery of married women5 became common.
When Yose ben Yoezer of Tzereda and Yose ben Yochanan of Jerusalem6 died, the "clusters",7 ceased to exist.
משרבו הרצחנים, בטלה עגלה ערופה,
משבא אליעזר בן דינאי, ותחינה בן פרישה היה נקרא, חזרו לקרותו בן הרצחן.
משרבו המנאפים, פסקו המים המרים,
ורבן יוחנן בן זכאי הפסיקן,
שנאמר [...]
משמת יוסי בן יועזר איש צרדה ויוסי בן יוחנן איש ירושלים, בטלו האשכולות,
שנאמר [...]
The mishna further states: From the time when murderers proliferated, the ritual of the heifer whose neck is broken was nullified. The ritual was performed only when the identity of the murderer was completely unknown. Once there were many known murderers, the conditions for the performance of the ritual were no longer present, as the probable identity of the murderer was known.
From the time when Eliezer ben Dinai, who was also called Teḥina ben Perisha, came, they renamed him: Son of a murderer. This is an example of a publicly known murderer.
The mishna teaches a similar occurrence: From the time when adulterers proliferated, the performance of the ritual of the bitter waters was nullified; they would not administer the bitter waters to the sota.
And it was R' Yoḥanan ben Zakkai who nullified it,
as it is stated: [...]
From the time when Yosei ben Yo’ezer of Tzereida and Yosei ben Yehuda of Jerusalem died, the clusters ceased, i.e., they were the last of the clusters, as explained in the Gemara,
as it is stated: [...]
Yoḥanan the High Priest Abolishes Tithing Declaration and Temple Practices
The Mishnah discusses several actions nullified by Yoḥanan the High Priest:8
He abolished the recitation of the passage related to the elimination of tithes,9 which had been recited at the end of a three-year tithing cycle.
He also ended the practice of the awakeners (מעוררים) and strikers (נוקפים) in the Temple and banned smiths from using hammers (פטיש) in Jerusalem on the intermediate days of a festival.
Additionally, during his time, there was no longer a need to inquire about doubtfully tithed produce (demai), as everyone consistently tithed properly.
יוחנן כהן גדול העביר הודית המעשר.
אף הוא בטל את המעוררין ואת הנוקפין.
עד ימיו היה פטיש מכה בירושלים.
ובימיו אין אדם צריך לשאל על הדמאי
The mishna continues in the same vein: Yoḥanan the High Priest took away the declaration of the tithe. After his time, no one recited the passage about the elimination of tithes that had previously been said at the end of a three-year tithing cycle.
He also nullified the actions of the awakeners and the strikers at the Temple.
Until his days the hammer of smiths would strike in Jerusalem on the intermediate days of a Festival, but he banned the practice.
And furthermore, in his days there was no need to inquire about doubtfully tithed produce [demai], as everyone was careful to tithe. This mishna continues with the list of items that were nullified.
Song Prohibited at Feasts After the Cessation of the Sanhedrin
Once the Sanhedrin ceased to function, the practice of singing at feasts where wine was served was also nullified.
משבטלה סנהדרין, בטלה השיר מבית המשתאות,
שנאמר [...]
From the time when the Sanhedrin ceased song was also nullified from the places of feasts, i.e., it was no longer permitted to sing at a feast where wine was served,
as it is stated: [...]
On the general topic of the perception of societal decline, see Wikipedia, “Declinism”, and Yeridat ha-dorot (ירידת הדורות). I plan to write more about this.
See my recent piece, that based on my counting, this chapter is the longest one in the Mishnah. In addition, Mishnah 9:15 is the longest single Mishnah in all of Mishnah. (I plan to write more about this as well.)
עגלה ערופה - a heifer whose neck is broken; see discussion of this ritual here: Marty Lockshin, “Eglah Arufah: A Ritual Response to an Unsolved Murder” - TheTorah.com.
מים המרים - meaning, the biblical Sotah ritual, the ordeal of the bitter water.
מנאפים - see Thou shalt not commit adultery - Wikipedia > “Judaism”:
Thus, according to the Hebrew Bible, adultery is not committed if the female participant is unmarried [...] while the marital status of the male participant is irrelevant (he himself could be unmarried or married to another woman).
Both of whom lived at around the same time, much earlier in the Second Temple period, in the 2nd century BCE.
אשכולות - which the Talmud interprets as referring to someone who possesses all virtues, i.e., a complete individual.
יוחנן כהן גדול - possibly equivalent with the 1st century BCE Hasmonean King Yannai, for other talmudic mentions of King Yannai, see my pieces here and here.
הודית המעשר - literally: “the confession over the tithes”.