R' Meir's Suspicious Brushes with Sexual Indiscretions, and His Encounters with Roman Troops, as Depicted in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 18a-b; Sanhedrin 11a; Kiddushin 81a)
Previous pieces relating to sex in the Talmud: “The ‘Sex is Food’ Metaphor in the Talmud” (June 22, 2023); “Passions and Prohibitions: Some Notes on Sex in the Talmud” (September 12, 2023).
The first part of this piece will be the full stories, with ed. Steinzaltz translation and explanation. The second part is a summary (with some short linguistic comments) and an analysis.
Image generated by DALL-E Description: “A historic scene set in ancient times, depicting Rabbi Meir engaged in a thoughtful discussion with Roman soldiers. The setting is an old city street in Jerusalem, with stone buildings and a market in the background. Rabbi Meir is shown as a wise, bearded figure in traditional Jewish attire, engaged in a deep conversation with Roman soldiers in historical armor. The atmosphere is one of tense but respectful dialogue, capturing a moment of cultural and philosophical exchange in the Talmudic era. There's an ancient scroll on a nearby table, symbolizing the Talmud.”
Sanhedrin 11a - “one of the men studying in this study hall, betrothed me through intercourse”
דתניא
מעשה באשה אחת שבאתה לבית מדרשו של ר"מ
אמרה לו: רבי אחד מכם קדשני בביאה
עמד רבי מאיר וכתב לה גט כריתות ונתן לה
עמדו כתבו כולם ונתנו לה
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.
Kiddushin 81a - chasing after Satan disguised as a woman
רבי מאיר הוה מתלוצץ בעוברי עבירה.
יומא חד אידמי ליה שטן כאיתתא בהך גיסא דנהרא,
לא הוה מברא – נקט מצרא וקא עבר.
כי מטא פלגא מצרא שבקיה,
אמר: אי לאו דקא מכרזי ברקיעא ״הזהרו ברבי מאיר ותורתו״ שויתיה לדמך תרתי מעי.
The Gemara relates:
Rabbi Meir would ridicule transgressors by saying it is easy to avoid temptation.
One day, Satan appeared to him as a woman standing on the other side of the river. Since there was no ferry to cross the river, he took hold of a rope bridge and crossed the river.
When he reached halfway across the rope bridge, the evil inclination left him
and said to him: Were it not for the fact that they proclaim about you in heaven: Be careful with regard to Rabbi Meir and his Torah, I would have made your blood like two ma’a, i.e., completely worthless, since you would have fallen completely from your spiritual level.
Almost the exact same story is then told about R’ Meir’s teacher, R’ Akiva. (See also the Talmud in Avodah Zarah 20a [section # 10] that R’ Akiva found the wife of the Roman senator and provincial governor Tineius Rufus to be beautiful, and later married her.)
Another one of R’ Meir’s teachers, R’ Elisha Ben Avuya (famously considered have become a heretic by the Talmud Bavli) is mentioned as (post-heresy - נפק אחר לתרבות רע) seeking and propositioning a prostitute (Chagigah 15a section # 7 - נפק, אשכח זונה תבעה).
(Compare also the story of R’ Eliezer ben Dordaya in Avodah Zarah 17a [section # 12], who is said to have “not left one prostitute in the world with whom he did not engage in sexual intercourse” (שלא הניח זונה אחת בעולם שלא בא עליה). As for when R’ Eliezer ben Dordaya lived, see Heiman, Toldot, in his entry on him:
ואין ראיה מזה שהיה בזמן רבי יען שמצינו שרבי בכה על קטיעה ב"ש שהיה בזמן ר"ע כע"ז י:.
So it's in fact possible that he lived in R’ Akiva’s generation.)
Avodah Zarah 18a-b - Sister-in-law in a brothel; Escaping by going into a brothel
Avodah Zarah 18a (section # 14) - 18b (section # 4):1
Part One - Conversation With Wife Bruriah
ברוריא דביתהו דר' מאיר ברתיה דר' חנינא בן תרדיון הואי
אמרה לו: זילא בי מלתא דיתבא אחתאי בקובה של זונות
שקל תרקבא דדינרי ואזל
אמר: אי לא איתעביד בה איסורא מיתעביד ניסא,
אי עבדה איסורא לא איתעביד לה ניסא
Berurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir, was a daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon.
She said to Rabbi Meir: It is a disrespectful matter for me that my sister is sitting in a brothel; you must do something to save her.
Rabbi Meir took a vessel [tarkeva] full of dinars and went.
He said to himself: If no transgression was committed with her, a miracle will be performed for her; if she committed a transgression, no miracle will be performed for her.
Part Two - R’ Meir at the Brothel, and the aftermath for the Roman Guard
אזל נקט נפשיה כחד פרשא
אמר לה: השמיעני לי
אמרה ליה: דשתנא אנא
אמר לה: מתרחנא מרתח
אמרה לו: נפישין טובא (ואיכא טובא הכא) דשפירן מינאי
אמר: ש"מ לא עבדה איסורא, כל דאתי אמרה ליה הכי
אזל לגבי שומר דידה
א"ל: הבה ניהלה
אמר ליה: מיסתפינא ממלכותא
אמר ליה: שקול תרקבא דדינרא פלגא פלח ופלגא להוי לך
א"ל: וכי שלמי מאי איעביד
א"ל: אימא אלהא דמאיר ענני ומתצלת
א"ל: ומי יימר דהכי איכא
[א"ל: השתא חזית]
הוו הנהו כלבי דהוו קא אכלי אינשי
שקל קלא שדא בהו
הוו קאתו למיכליה
אמר אלהא דמאיר ענני
שבקוה ויהבה ליה
לסוף אשתמע מילתא בי מלכא
אתיוה אסקוה לזקיפה
אמר אלהא דמאיר ענני
אחתוה
אמרו ליה מאי האי
אמר להו הכי הוה מעשה
Rabbi Meir went and dressed as a Roman knight,
and said to her: Accede to my wishes, i.e., engage in intercourse with me.
She said to him: I am menstruating [dashtana] and cannot.
He said to her: I will wait.
She said to him: There are many women in the brothel, and there are many women here who are more beautiful than I.
He said to himself: I can conclude from her responses that she did not commit a transgression, as she presumably said this to all who come.
Rabbi Meir went over to her guard, and said to him: Give her to me.
The guard said to him: I fear that if I do so, I will be punished by the government.
Rabbi Meir said to him: Take this vessel full of dinars; give half to the government as a bribe, and half will be for you.
The guard said to him: But when the money is finished, what shall I do?
Rabbi Meir said to him: Say: God of Meir answer me! And you will be saved.
The guard said to him: And who can say that this is the case, that I will be saved by this utterance?
Rabbi Meir said to him: You will now see.
There were these carnivorous dogs that would devour people;
Rabbi Meir took a clod of earth, threw it at them,
and when they came to devour him,
he said: God of Meir answer me!
The dogs then left him alone,
and after seeing this the guard gave the daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon to Rabbi Meir.
Ultimately the matter was heard in the king’s court,
and the guard, who was brought and taken to be hanged,
said: God of Meir answer me! They then lowered him down, as they were unable to hang him.
They said to him: What is this?
He said to them: This was the incident that occurred, and he proceeded to relate the entire story to them.
Part Three - Aftermath - R’ Meir as a Man Wanted by Rome; Pursued by Roman Soldiers; Suspicious Actions; and Eventual Move to Mesopotamia
אתו חקקו לדמותיה דר' מאיר אפיתחא דרומי
אמרי: כל דחזי לפרצופא הדין לייתיה
יומא חדא חזיוהי, רהט אבתריה, רהט מקמייהו, על לבי זונות
איכא דאמרי בשולי עובדי כוכבים חזא טמש בהא ומתק בהא
איכא דאמרי אתא אליהו אדמי להו כזונה כרכתיה
אמרי חס ושלום אי ר' מאיר הוה לא הוה עביד הכי
קם ערק אתא לבבל
איכא דאמרי מהאי מעשה
ואיכא דאמרי ממעשה דברוריא
They then went and engraved the image of Rabbi Meir at the entrance of Rome where it would be seen by everyone,
and they said: Anyone who sees a man with this face should bring him here.
One day, Romans saw Rabbi Meir and ran after him, and he ran away from them and entered a brothel to hide.
Some say he then escaped capture because he saw food cooked by gentiles and dipped [temash] this finger in the food and tasted it with that other finger, and thereby fooled them into thinking that he was eating their food, which they knew Rabbi Meir would not do.
And some say that he escaped detection because Elijah came, appeared to them as a prostitute and embraced Rabbi Meir.
The Romans who were chasing him said: Heaven forbid, if this were Rabbi Meir, he would not act in that manner.
Rabbi Meir arose, fled, and arrived in Babylonia.
The Gemara notes: There are those who say that he fled because of this incident, and there are those who say that he fled due to embarrassment from the incident involving his wife Berurya.
Summary of Avodah Zarah 18a-b
This Talmudic passage in Avodah Zarah 18a-b recounts a relatively lengthy story involving Rabbi Meir. Here's a summary, with some interesting historical and linguistic comments:
1. Context: Berurya, Rabbi Meir's wife and daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon, expresses her distress about her sister being in a brothel (קובה של זונות - kuba shel zonot - literally, “a cube of prostitutes”, kuba is a loan word from Greek, cognate with English cube. In contemporary terms, R’ Meir's sister-in-law would be described as subjected to being a sex slave. See Wikipedia, “Sexual slavery“ > “Ancient Greece and Roman Empire“: “Employing female and occasionally male slaves for prostitution was common in the Hellenistic and Roman world. Ample references exist in literature, law, military reports and art. A prostitute (slave or free) existed outside the moral codex restricting sexuality in Greco-Roman society and enjoyed little legal protection. Male intercourse with a slave was not considered adultery by either society.“)
2. Rabbi Meir's Plan: Rabbi Meir takes a vessel of dinars (תרקבא דדינרי - tarkava d’dinarii - the denarius was the standard Roman coin) and goes to save her, intending to test if she has remained righteous.
3. Disguise and Test: Disguised as a Roman knight (פרשא - prasha - presumably like a Roman equites), Rabbi Meir attempts to seduce Berurya's sister. She declines, stating that she’s currently a menstruant (דשתנא - dashtana - Persian for ‘menstruant’) and suggesting other women instead.
4. Rescue and Proof of Faith: Rabbi Meir persuades the brothel guard to release her in exchange for dinars, demonstrating the power of his faith by using the phrase "God of Meir answer me!" to tame aggressive dogs.
5. Aftermath and Escape: The story reaches the king's court. The guard uses the same phrase to avoid execution. An image of Rabbi Meir is posted in Rome (אפיתחא דרומי - literally, “at the entrance of Rome”) as a wanted man (Rome’s Most Wanted!), saying whoever sees this face (פרצופא - pratzofa - a Greek loan word, cognate with the English person, see Prosopon - Wikipedia) should bring him. Rabbi Meir escapes capture by entering a brothel (בי זונות) and either feigning to eat non-Kosher food or being aided by Eliyahu disguised as a prostitute (זונה). Misled, the Romans give up their pursuit.
6. Conclusion: Rabbi Meir flees to Babylonia (=Mesopotamia), with opinions divided on whether his flight was due to this incident or shame from the incident involving Berurya.
Analysis of of Avodah Zarah 18a-b, and the final line
The talmudic story reflects interactions between Jewish communities and Roman authorities during the Talmudic period. Rabbi Meir's disguise as a Roman, and the subsequent chase, indicate the tensions and challenges of living under Roman rule.
The passage also presents ethical ambiguities, such as Rabbi Meir's deceit and entering a brothel to escape. These actions, while serving a greater good, complicate the narrative of pure righteousness, and potentially lead to suspicions.
The final line is ambiguous:2 The Talmud states that he fled to Babylonia due to one of the two stories: 1) The immediately preceding one (האי מעשה); or 2) the story of Beruriah. Presumably, the story of Bruriah is the one where he bribed the Roman guard to allow Beruriah’s sister to escape from the brothel. It seems that one of the anonymous opinions (איכא דאמרי) likely is that he went to Babylonia to get away from the Romans. But at least one of the opinions (if not both) is that he went to Babylonia due to the impact on his reputation within the Jewish community, due to the suspicious ethical circumstances.
Summary of all the Talmudic stories of R’ Meir’s brushes with sexual impropriety
Sanhedrin 11a: “one of the men studying in this study hall, betrothed me through intercourse [...] Rabbi Meir arose and wrote her a bill of divorce, and he gave it to her [...]”
Kiddushin 81a: lustfully chasing after Satan disguised as a woman
Avodah Zarah 18a: “my sister is sitting in a brothel; you must do something to save her [...] he said to her: Accede to my wishes, i.e., engage in intercourse with me [...]”
Ibid., in a later incident: “Romans saw Rabbi Meir and ran after him, and he ran away from them and entered a brothel to hide [...] some say that he escaped detection because Elijah came, appeared to them as a prostitute and embraced Rabbi Meir [...] There are those who say that he fled because of this incident [...]”
The suspicions of sexual impropriety (or possibly, of eating non-kosher food) were so bad that R’ Meir had to flee Eretz Yisrael. Evidently, his reputation had taken a big hit in the Jewish community. The Talmud is putting the best light possible on the stories.
For scholarly literature on this story, see the bibliography cited at the beginning of the Hebrew article by Gabi Hazut, " 'Story of Beruriah': This is the title, where's the story?".
Rashi interprets this line using a story not mentioned anywhere, see Hazut, ibid., at length.