- Whoever teaches Torah in this world, or leads the community gently, merits to do so לעולם הבא
Rebbe Shimon Chasida says that whoever withholds teaching a halachah to a student is cursed even by fetuses in their mothers’ wombs. The Gemara adds that he is pierced like a sieve (or a launderer’s sprinkler), meaning he will forget his Torah. If he does teach his talmid, זוכה לברכות כיוסף – he merits blessings like Yosef, as the passuk says, וברכה לראש משביר – and a blessing on the head of the “provider,” which alludes to Yosef. Rav Sheishess says: כל המלמד תורה בעולם הזה – Whoever teaches Torah in this world זוכה ומלמדה לעולם הבא – merits to teach it in the World to Come, as the passuk says: ומרוה גם הוא יורה – and he who sates [others] shall himself be sated (which he darshens as “teach”). Below, Rebbe Elazar says: כל פרנס שמנהיג את הצבור בנחת – any leader who leads the community with gentleness זוכה ומנהיגם לעולם הבא – merits to lead them in the World to Come, as the passuk says: כי מרחמם ינהגם ועל מבועי מים ינהלם – for he who has mercy on them shall lead them, and to springs of water he shall guide them.
- מתים שהחיה יחזקאל
A Baraisa presents three opinions about the incident of מתים שהחיה יחזקאל – the dead that Yechezkel resurrected. Rebbe Eliezer says: עמדו על רגליהם ואמרו שירה ומתו – they stood on their feet, expressed song, and died. The song was: ה' ממית בצדק ומחיה ברחמים – Hashem puts to death with justice and brings to life with mercy (Rebbe Yehoshua says a different version). Rebbe Yehudah says: אמת משל היה – it is true, it was a parable (for Jews to return from galus). Rebbe Nechemiah questioned these two terms, and said that he should instead say: באמת משל היה – in truth, it was a parable. Rebbe Eliezer the son of Rebbe Yose HaGlili said that the dead whom Yechezkel revived went up to Eretz Yisroel, married, and had children. Rebbe Yehudah ben Beseira rose on his feet and said: אני מבני בניהם – “I am one of their descendants, and these are the tefillin my grandfather left me from them!” The Gemara presents five opinions as to who these dead were. Rav says they were from shevet אפרים, who miscalculated the end of Egyptian slavery, and escaped prematurely and were killed.
- נבוכדנצר’s שירה during
When חנניה, מישאל, and עזריה were thrown into the fiery furnace, Hashem told יחזקאל to resurrect the dead of בקעת דורא (whom נבוכדנצר had killed). The bones came and slapped נבוכדנצר’s face, and when he was told what happened, he began to say שירה to Hashem. Rebbe Yitzchak said: “Let molten gold be poured into that evil one’s mouth! שאילמלא בא מלאך וסטרו על פיו – For had a מלאך not come and struck him on his mouth, stopping his praise, ביקש לגנות כל שירות ותשבחות שאמר דוד בספר תהלים – he would have sought to disgrace all the songs and praises that Dovid said in Sefer Tehillim!” A Baraisa lists six miracles which occurred when they were thrown into the fiery furnace: (1) the furnace rose to the ground and (2) part of its wall broke, enabling all to witness the men unharmed, (3) its intense heat was diminished, (4) the golden statue that נבוכדנצר had erected was overturned onto its face, (5) four kings and their men were burned when they cast חנניה, מישאל, and עזריה into the furnace, and (6) יחזקאל resurrected the dead in בקעת דורא.
