Pt2 Arrogance, Adultery, and the Primacy of Humility (Sotah 4b-5a)

This is the second part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Shimon b. Yoḥai - Arrogance is equivalent to idolatry

אמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי:

כל אדם שיש בו גסות הרוח —

כאילו עובד עבודה זרה.

R’ Yoḥanan says in the name of R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai:

Any person who has arrogance within him --

is considered as if he were an idol worshipper

Prooftexts - Proverbs 16:5; Deuteronomy 7:26

• כתיב הכא:

  • ״תועבת ה׳ כל גבה לב״,

• וכתיב התם:

  • ״ולא תביא תועבה אל ביתך״.

• as it is written here:

  • “Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination (תועבת) to YHWH” (Proverbs 16:5),

• and it is written there concerning the destruction of idols:

  • “And you shall not bring an abomination (תועבה) into your house” (Deuteronomy 7:26).

R’ Yoḥanan - Arrogance is equivalent to denying God - Deuteronomy 8:14

ורבי יוחנן דידיה אמר:

כאילו כפר בעיקר,

שנאמר:

״ורם לבבך

ושכחת את ה׳ אלהיך וגו׳״.

And R’ Yoḥanan said his own statement:

Any person who has arrogance within him is considered as if he has denied the core (כפר בעיקר) belief in God’s existence, as it is stated:

“Then your heart be lifted up,

and you forget YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 8:14).

R’ Ḥama bar Ḥanina - Arrogance is like committing all forbidden sexual unions - Proverbs 16:5; Leviticus 18:27

רבי חמא בר חנינא אמר:

כאילו בא על כל העריות.

• כתיב הכא:

  • ״תועבת ה׳ כל גבה לב״,

• וכתיב התם:

  • ״כי את כל התועבות האל וגו׳״.

R’ Ḥama bar Ḥanina says:

Any person who has arrogance within him is considered as if he had sex with all of those with whom sex are forbidden (עריות),

• as it is written here:

  • “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to YHWH” (Proverbs 16:5),

• and it is written there, at the end of the passage concerning forbidden sexual relationships:

  • “For all these abominations have the men of the land done” (Leviticus 18:27).

Ulla - Arrogance is like building an idolatrous altar - Isaiah 2:22

עולא אמר:

כאילו בנה במה,

Ulla says:

Any person who has arrogance within him is considered as if he built a personal altar (במה) for idol worship,

שנאמר:

״חדלו לכם מן האדם

אשר נשמה באפו

כי במה נחשב הוא״ —

אל תיקרי ״במה״,

אלא ״במה״.

as it is stated:

“Cease you from man,

in whose nostrils there is breath,

for how little [ba-meh] is he to be accounted” (Isaiah 2:22), referring to an arrogant person.

Do not read the verse as it is written, ba-meh, “how little”

Rather, read it as bama, “altar”

Rav - One who commits adultery will not escape Gehenna even if he acknowledges God as owner of heaven and earth like Abraham - Proverbs 16:5; Genesis 14:22

מאי

״יד ליד --

לא ינקה״?

Having interpreted the phrase: “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to YHWH” (Proverbs 16:5), the Talmud interprets the continuation of the verse.

What is the meaning of:

“Hand to hand --

he shall not be unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5)?

אמר רב:

כל הבא על אשת איש --

אפילו הקנהו להקדוש ברוך הוא שמים וארץ

כאברהם אבינו,

דכתיב ביה:

״הרימתי ידי אל ה׳

אל עליון

קנה שמים וארץ״ —

לא ינקה מדינה של גיהנם.

Rav says:

Anyone who has sex with a married woman --

even if he were to have attributed possession of heaven and earth to God

just as Abraham our forefather did,

that it is written with regard to him:

“I have lifted up my hand to YHWH,

God Most High,

Maker of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:22),

he will not be unpunished from the judgment of Gehenna.

Abraham is described as one whose hands were lifted to declare the glory of God, yet this verse declares that even if one who engaged in forbidden sex were to use his hands in the same way, still, due to his sin, the verse says: “He shall not be unpunished.”

R’ Sheila’s School - One who commits adultery will not escape Gehenna even if he received Torah like Moses - Proverbs 16:5; Deuteronomy 33:2

קשיא להו לדבי רבי שילא:

האי ״יד ליד לא ינקה״,

״ידי״ מיבעי ליה!

This interpretation poses a difficulty to the rabbis of the school of R’ Sheila:

This phrase: “Hand to hand, he shall not be unpunished,” is not how the verse would present this idea.

It should have stated: “My hand,” as that is the term employed in the verse with regard to Abraham.

אלא אמרי דבי רבי שילא:

אפילו קיבל תורה כמשה רבינו,

דכתיב ביה ״מימינו אש דת למו״ —

לא ינקה מדינה של גיהנם.

Rather, the rabbis of the school of R’ Sheila say:

This teaches that even if one who has sex with an adulteress had received the Torah from the hand of God like Moses our teacher did,

that it is written with regard to him:

“At His right hand was a fiery law unto them” (Deuteronomy 33:2), i.e., God gave the Torah from His right hand into the hand of Moses in order to give to the Jewish people,

the sinner will not be unpunished from the judgment of Gehenna.

R’ Yoḥanan - One who commits adultery will not escape Gehenna even if he gives charity secretly - Proverbs 16:5, 21:14

קשיא ליה לרבי יוחנן:

האי ״יד ליד״,

״יד מיד״ מיבעיא ליה!

This interpretation also poses a difficulty to R’ Yoḥanan:

This phrase “hand to hand” is not how the verse would present this idea.

It should have stated: “Hand from hand,” as that is the term employed in the verse with regard to Moses.

אלא אמר רבי יוחנן:

אפילו עושה צדקה בסתר,

דכתיב:

״מתן בסתר יכפה אף וגו׳״ —

לא ינקה מדינה של גיהנם.

Rather R’ Yoḥanan says:

Even if the one who committed adultery performs charitable deeds secretly, as alluded to in the phrase “hand to hand,”

and even if one might think that one who does so will go unpunished, as it is written with regard to charity of this kind:

“A gift in secret pacifies wrath” (Proverbs 21:14),

nevertheless, he will not be unpunished from the judgment of Gehenna.

Rava citing Ze’eiri - The warning against arrogance derives from “do not be proud” - Jeremiah 13:15

אזהרה לגסי הרוח מנין?

אמר רבא, אמר זעירי:

״שמעו והאזינו אל תגבהו״.

§ The Talmud previously discussed the impropriety of the trait of arrogance. Now the Talmud discusses the source of its prohibition.

From where is the warning derived, i.e., what is the source prohibiting the behavior of the arrogant?

Rava says that Ze’eiri says:

The source is from the verse: “Hear, you, and give ear, be not proud, for YHWH has spoken” (Jeremiah 13:15).

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak - The warning against arrogance derives from “your heart be lifted up” combined with “beware lest you forget” - Deuteronomy 8:14, 11

רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר:

מהכא:

״ורם לבבך ושכחת״

וכתיב:

״השמר לך פן תשכח את ה׳ אלהיך״.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said

the warning is from here:

“Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 8:14),

and it is also written in that same passage:

“Beware lest you forget YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 8:11).

R’ Avin citing R’ Ile’a - “Beware,” “lest,” and “not” mark a prohibition

וכדרבי אבין, אמר רבי אילעא.

דאמר רבי אבין, אמר רבי אילעא:

כל מקום שנאמר

1. ״השמר״

2. ״פן״

3. ו״אל״ —

אינו אלא בלא תעשה.

The Talmud explains:

And these sources are in accordance with a statement that R’ Avin says that R’ Ile’a says,

as R’ Avin says that R’ Ile’a says:

Wherever it is stated in a verse

1. “beware,”

2. “lest,”

3. or “not” --

this is nothing other than a prohibition (לא תעשה).

Since these verses employ these terms in the context of one who is arrogant, they serve as sources for the prohibition.

Rav Avira, sometimes citing Rav Asi, sometimes Rav Ami - The arrogant are diminished - Job 24:24

דרש רב עוירא,

זמנין אמר לה משמיה דרב אסי

וזמנין אמר לה משמיה דרב אמי:

כל אדם שיש בו גסות הרוח --

לסוף מתמעט,

שנאמר:

״רומו מעט״.

Rav Avira interpreted the following verse homiletically:

“They are exalted for a little while, and they are gone; yes, they are brought low, they are gathered in as all others, and wither as the tops of the husks” (Job 24:24).

There were times when he said this interpretation in the name of Rav Asi

and there were times when he said it in the name of Rav Ami:

Any person who has arrogance within him --

will ultimately be diminished in standing,

as it is stated in the phrase:

“They are exalted for a little while,”

indicating that one who raises himself above others will be exalted only briefly.

ושמא תאמר ישנו בעולם,

תלמוד לומר:

״ואיננו״.

And lest you say that even if he is diminished he will still exist in this world and live a full life,

the verse states:

“And they are gone,”

indicating that they die before their time.

If they repent, they die in proper time like the Patriarchs - Genesis 24:1, 27:33, 33:11

ואם חוזר בו —

נאסף בזמנו כאברהם אבינו,

שנאמר:

״והמכו, ככל יקפצון״.

כאברהם יצחק ויעקב דכתיב בהו:

1. ״בכל״,

2. ״מכל״,

3. ״כל״.

He continues the interpretation:

But if he repents from his arrogance --

he is gathered in death at his proper time like Abraham our forefather,

as it is stated:

“Yes, they are brought low, they are gathered in as all [ka-kol] others” (Job 24:24),

indicating that when he repents from his arrogance he will die like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as it is written about them that they were blessed with the term “all,” as in the verse above.

1. With regard to Abraham, the verse states: “And YHWH had blessed Abraham in all things [ba-kol]” (Genesis 24:1).

2. With regard to Isaac, the verse states: “And I have eaten of all [mi-kol]” (Genesis 27:33).

3. With regard to Jacob, the verse states: “And because I have all [kol]” (Genesis 33:11).

If not, they wither like grain-tops

ואם לאו —

״וכראש שבלת ימלו״.

And if one does not repent,

then, the verse in Job continues: “And wither like the tops of the husks.”

Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda - “Like the tops of the husks” means either the awn of the husk or the husk itself - Job 24:24

מאי ״וכראש שבלת״?

רב הונא ורב חסדא:

• חד אמר:

  • כי סאסא דשיבלתא,

• וחד אמר:

  • כשיבולת עצמה.

The Talmud asks: What is the meaning of the phrase “and wither like the tops of the husks”?

Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda offered differing interpretations.

• One says that it means:

  • Like the awn (סאסא) of bristle-like growth on the top of the husk,

• and one says that it means:

  • Like the husk itself.

Rav Asi; R’ Yishmael’s School - God cuts down the tallest first, like a person harvesting the highest stalks in his field - Job 24:24

בשלמא למאן דאמר כי סאסא דשיבלתא —

היינו דכתיב:

״וכראש שבלת״,

אלא למאן דאמר כי שובלתא עצמה,

מאי ״וכראש שבלת״?

אמר רב אסי,

וכן תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל:

משל לאדם שנכנס לתוך שדהו —

גבוהה גבוהה הוא מלקט.

The Talmud comments:

Granted, according to the one who says: Like the awn of bristle-like growth on the top of the husk,

that is that which is written in the verse: “And wither like the tops of the husks,” since this awn is on the top of the husk.

But according to the one who says: Like the husk itself,

what is the meaning of the expression “and wither like the tops of the husks”?

Rav Asi says,

and similarly the school of R’ Yishmael taught:

This can be explained by way of an analogy to a person who enters into his field,

as he gathers the taller¹ stalks before the shorter ones.

The verse is therefore referring to the tallest stalks, not the tops of the stalks.

Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda - “With the contrite and lowly” means either the humble person is with God, or God descends to be with the humble - Isaiah 57:15

״ואת דכא ושפל רוח״.

רב הונא ורב חסדא,

• חד אמר:

  • אתי דכא,

• וחד אמר:

  • אני את דכא.

The Talmud continues the discussion of arrogance, and its converse, humility.

The verse states: “For thus says the High and Lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, also with him that is of a contrite (דכא) and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15).

Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda offered differing interpretations of this verse.

• One says that the verse means:

  • Together with Me is the person who is contrite and humble. In other words, God elevates the humble.

• And one says that the verse means:

  • I, God, descend, and am found together with the person who is contrite and humble.

The second reading is preferable: God descended to Sinai rather than raising Sinai upward - Isaiah 57:15

ומסתברא כמאן דאמר אני את דכא,

שהרי הקדוש ברוך הוא הניח כל הרים וגבעות,

והשרה שכינתו על הר סיני

ולא גבה הר סיני למעלה.

The Talmud comments on this:

And it stands to reason that the meaning of the verse is like the one who says: I am with the contrite person,

as God disregarded all of the mountains and hills,

and rested His Shekhina on the lowly Mount Sinai,

and He did not choose to raise Mount Sinai up toward Him.

God chose to give the Torah on Mount Sinai, as it was a symbol of humility due to its lack of height, and He lowered His Shekhina, as it were, to the mountain.

Rav Yosef - One should learn humility from God, who chose Sinai over higher mountains and the bush over finer trees - Exodus 3:2

אמר רב יוסף:

לעולם ילמד אדם מדעת קונו,

שהרי הקדוש ברוך הוא

• הניח כל הרים וגבעות,

  • והשרה שכינתו על הר סיני.

• והניח כל אילנות טובות,

  • והשרה שכינתו בסנה.

Rav Yosef says:

A person should always learn proper behavior from the wisdom of his Creator,

as God

• disregarded all of the mountains and hills

  • and rested His Shekhina on the lowly Mount Sinai.

• And similarly, when appearing to Moses, He disregarded all of the beautiful trees

  • and rested His Shekhina on the bush (Exodus 3:2).

1. גבוהה גבוהה.

Compare the similar Greco-Roman parables, cited in Wikipedia, “Tall poppy syndrome“, section “Etymology“:

The phrase “tall poppies” originates from Livy’s account of the tyrannical Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. He is said to have received a messenger sent by his son, Sextus Tarquinius, asking what he should do next in Gabii, since he had become all-powerful there. Rather than answering the messenger verbally, Tarquin went into his garden, took a stick and swept it across his garden, thus cutting off the heads of the tallest poppies that were growing there. The messenger returned to Gabii and told Sextus what he had seen. Sextus realised that his father wished him to put to death all of the most eminent people of Gabii, which he then did.

Earlier stories with the same theme are found in Aristotle’s Politics (in which Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, makes the gesture to a herald of Thrasybulus, tyrant of Miletus) and in Herodotus’ Histories (in which Thrasybulus makes the gesture to Periander’s herald). However, these Greek stories involve fields of grain; Livy’s Roman tale is the first to feature poppies.