Avodah Zara 18
Summary
- The narrative presents the decrees against Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon, his wife, and his daughter, explains the reasons for each punishment with sources from Rashi, Tosafot, the Shelah haKadosh, the Chasam Sofer, and Rabbi Yaakov Emden, and records their exemplary tzidduk ha-din. It recounts Rabbi Yose ben Kisma’s warning, Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon’s inquiry about *Olam Haba*, and the validating story of the Purim funds, followed by Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon’s martyrdom, his vision of “גליון נשרף ואותיות פורחות,” and the executioner’s act sealed by a bat kol, along with halakhic implications from Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Moshe Feinstein, and Rabbeinu Tam. It then tells how Rabbi Meir rescued his sister-in-law using the formula *Elaha d’Meir aneni*, describes his subsequent flight (with two versions and the alternative cause of the ma’aseh de-Bruriah as presented by Rashi), and cites later responsa on suicide as “teshuvah.” It concludes with prohibitions against stadiums and theaters as a *moshav leitzim*, delineates permitted cases for saving lives and ending *agunah* status, and expounds the spiritual harm of leitzanut.
- The authorities condemn Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon to be burned, his wife to be killed, and his daughter to be placed in a brothel after he affirms that he learns Torah “כאשר צוני ה׳ אלהי.” He is burned “עליו לשריפה שהיה הוגה את השם באותיותיו,” and the Gemara resolves the apparent contradiction with “אבא שאול אומר: אף ההוגה את השם באותיותיו” by explaining that he did so *lehitlamed*, yet he is punished for doing so *be-farhesya*.
- The wife’s death comes “דלא מיחא ביה,” which the Chasam Sofer emends to “שלא מיחא בה,” assigning her culpability for not restraining her daughter’s immodesty. The daughter’s assignment to a brothel follows her heightened, self-conscious gait after Roman nobles praised her steps; Rabbi Yaakov Emden explains it as precise measure-for-measure, not to force znut חס ושלום, but to place her in a crucible of *yetzer hara* as a daily nisayon enabling complete *teshuvah*.
- # Rabbi Yose ben Kisma’s Warning and the Purim Money Deed
- Rabbi Yose ben Kisma answers, “אם כן מחלקך יהא חלקי ומגורלך יהא גורלי,” validating his portion in the world to come, with later Acharonim explaining that this confirms his profound care for others alongside his heroic Torah efforts.
- After Rabbi Yose ben Kisma’s passing and public eulogy by Roman dignitaries, the authorities find Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon teaching publicly with a Sefer Torah, wrap him in the scroll, surround him with bundles of twigs, and place wet wool on his heart to prolong death. To his daughter he declares that the One Who seeks the Sefer Torah’s honor will demand his honor, and to his students he reports a vision: “מה שאני רואה זה גליון נשרף ואותיות פורחות,” a symbol Rav Soloveitchik reads as the endurance of Torah’s letters beyond the destruction of communal infrastructure.
- # The Executioner and “Yesh Koneh Olamosh”
- # Rabbi Meir’s Rescue and the Power of “Elaha d’Meir aneni”
- The Chida (Mar’it Ha-Ayin) records the practice of invoking *Elaha d’Meir aneni* “בכל צרה ובכל ענין,” explaining that only Rabbi Meir explicitly authorized its use, and the Ben Ish Chai (Re’eh) guides that neder pledges made in distress—often designated to Rabbi Meir Baal Ha-Nes or other tzaddikim—are best fulfilled in advance.
- The authorities post Rabbi Meir’s image; he evades capture by entering a brothel, with one version portraying him feigning non-kosher tasting and another showing Elijah appearing as a prostitute and embracing him, leading the pursuers to conclude it cannot be Rabbi Meir. He flees to Bavel, with some attributing the flight to this episode and others to the ma’aseh de-Bruriah, which Rashi narrates: Bruriah mocked “נשים דעתן קלות הן,” a student tested her, she succumbed and then strangled herself, and Rabbi Meir fled in distress.
- # Prohibitions on Stadiums, Theaters, and the Moshav Leitzim
- A further baraita prohibits theaters and circuses because they “מזבלים” for idolatry (Rashi: arranging its needs; Tosafot: a derogatory term for sacrificing), with a practical difference in commercial benefit—money from idolatrous service is prohibited, whereas money from a *moshav leitzim* per se is not. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi explicates the escalating verse—“אשרי האיש אשר לא הלך… לא עמד… לא ישב”—as a moral progression from casual going to entrenched leitzanut; Rabbi Elazar warns that one who mocks draws *yissurin*, Rabbah pleads with the scholars to refrain from leitzanut, and Rav Ketina teaches that leitzanut diminishes one’s *mezonot*.
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