- נחום איש גם זו and the miraculous dirt
נחום איש גם זו had a practice to say, no matter what happened to him, "גם זו לטובה" – this, too, is for the best. The Gemara relates the famous incident in which Nachum Ish Gam Zu was sent with a gift to the Caeser on the Jews’ behalf, because he was accustomed to experiencing miracles. While staying at an inn, the locals stole the contents of the chest, filling it with dirt. The Caesar was furious, accusing the Jews of mocking him, and as Nachum was being taken to be killed, he said, "גם זו לטובה". Eliyahu appeared as a Roman official and suggested that this might be the miraculous dirt with which Avraham defeated the four kings, which became swords and arrows when thrown. The tested it and found it to be so and used it to conquer a city. They offered Nachum the fill his chest with whatever he wanted from the Caeser’s treasures, and he filled it with gold and left. When he stopped again by the inn, they asked him why he was rewarded, and he said he had brought what he had left the inn with. They brought some of their dirt to the Caeser, but when it was found to be ordinary dirt, they were executed.
- דור הפלגה
The Mishnah on Daf 107b taught that the דור הפלגה – generation of the Dispersion has no share in עולם הבא. Rebbe Shela’s yeshiva explained that they sinned by saying: נבנה מגדל ונעלה לרקיע – let us build a tower, and ascend to the sky, and we will strike it with hatchets so water will flow (guaranteeing themselves a water source). They laughed at this interpretation in Eretz Yisroel, for if so, they should have built the tower on a mountaintop, not a valley! Rebbe Yirmiyah says there were three groups with different goals in building a tower, and each was punished accordingly: one group intended to live at the top of the tower, and they were dispersed around the world. Another intended the tower for waging war against people, and they became apes, רוחות, שדים, and לילין. The third group intended the tower for idol worship, and Hashem confused their languages so they could not understand each other.
Rebbe Yochanan said that a third of the tower was burned, a third was swallowed into the ground, and a third remains. Rav says: אויר מגדל משכח – the airspace above the tower causes forgetfulness even nowadays.
- אנשי סדום and מטת סדום
The Mishnah taught that the people of סדום do not have a share in עולם הבא. A Baraisa teaches that סדום grew arrogant from the great wealth Hashem bestowed on them, until they said: למה לנו עוברי דרכים – why do we need travelers, who come only to deplete our money? בואו ונשכח תורת רגל מארצנו – Come, let us cause the concept of wayfaring to be forgotten from our land! They would kill wealthy travelers by pushing a wall onto him or rob them by placing fragrant substances with their valuables so they could discover them later. Numerous examples and stories are related about the corrupt justice system of סדום. סדום had a bed for guests, and the guest’s legs would either be cut off or stretched to “fit” him to the bed. If a poor person came to them, each person would give him a dinar with his name written on it, but no one would sell him bread. When the pauper eventually died of hunger, each would come reclaim his coin. One maiden was caught secretly providing bread to the poor, and they smeared her in honey and placed her on a wall top, until she was devoured by bees.
