שופטים י-יד: 'והעליתיהו עולה' - על קורבן אדם, יפתח ובתו

Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Yiftaĥ and he passed over Gil῾ad, and Menashshe, and passed over Miżpe of Gil῾ad, and from Miżpe of Gil῾ad he passed over to the children of ῾Ammon. And Yiftaĥ vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If Thou shalt deliver the children of ῾Ammon into my hands, then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of ῾Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. So Yiftaĥ passed over to the children of ῾Ammon to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands. And he smote them from ῾Aro῾er, as far as Minnit, twenty cities, and as far as Avel-keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of ῾Ammon were subdued before the children of Yisra᾽el. And Yiftaĥ came to Miżpe to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou hast become the cause of trouble to me: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot go back. And she said to him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of thy mouth; seeing that the Lord has taken vengeance for thee of thy enemies, of the children of ῾Ammon. And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go and wander down the mountain sides, and bewail my virginity, I and my friends. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and wept for her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Yisra᾽el, that the daughters of Yisra᾽el went yearly to lament the daughter of Yiftaĥ, the Gil῾adite four days in the year.

Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God; for every abomination to the LORD, which He hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.

and drizzle [urpila] is even beneficial to a seed [partzida] under a clod of earth, as it can reach anywhere without causing any harm. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the word drizzle? The Gemara explains: It is a contraction of the phrase: Arise, furrows [uru pilei]. And the Gemara cites another saying in which Rava uses the same imagery. Rava said: This Torah scholar [tzurva] is like a seed under a clod of earth, as once he sprouts and begins to develop, he continues to sprout and his greatness increases. § And, incidentally, the Gemara relates that which Rava said: This Torah scholar who grows angry, it can be presumed that it is his Torah study that angers him. Therefore, he must be given the benefit of the doubt, as it is stated: “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:29). And similarly, Rav Ashi said: Any Torah scholar who is not as hard as iron, but is indecisive and wavers, he is not a Torah scholar, as it is stated in the same verse: “And as a hammer that breaks rock in pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29). Rabbi Abba said to Rav Ashi: You learned the proof for this idea from that verse there; we learned it from here, as it is written: “A land whose stones [avaneha] are iron” (Deuteronomy 8:9). Do not read this phrase as “whose stones [avaneha],” rather, read it as whose builders [boneha], since Torah scholars build the land spiritually and are as tough as iron. With regard to these statements praising the toughness of a Torah scholar, Ravina said: And even so, one is required to teach himself to act gently, as it is stated: “And remove anger from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh” (Ecclesiastes 11:10). As a preamble to the statement of Rabbi Berekhya, below, the Gemara cites that which Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Three people entreated God in an unreasonable manner, i.e., in situations where their requests might have received an unfavorable answer. To two of them God responded reasonably, with a favorable response to their requests, and to one God responded unreasonably, i.e., unfavorably, in a manner befitting the unreasonable request. And they are: Eliezer, servant of Abraham; Saul, son of Kish; and Jephthah the Gileadite. The Gemara clarifies each of these cases in turn: With regard to Eliezer, servant of Abraham, he made a request when he prayed beside the well, as it is written: “That the maiden to whom I shall say: Please let down your pitcher that I may drink; and she shall say: Drink, and I will also give your camels to drink; that she be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac” (Genesis 24:14). Eliezer entreated God unreasonably, as his request allowed for the possibility that she might even be lame or even blind, and yet he had promised to take her to Isaac. Nevertheless, God responded to him reasonably and the eminently suitable Rebecca happened to come to him. With regard to Saul, son of Kish, he made an offer when Goliath the Philistine challenged the Jews, as it is written: “And it shall be that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter” (I Samuel 17:25). The man who killed Goliath might even have been a slave or a mamzer, one born from an incestuous or adulterous union, who would be unfit to marry his daughter. Nevertheless, God responded to him reasonably and David happened to come to him. By contrast, there is the case of Jephthah the Gileadite. Upon leaving for battle he issued a statement, as it is written: “Then it shall be that whatever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace…it shall be to the Lord and I will bring it up for a burnt-offering” (Judges 11:31). This might even have been an impure, non-kosher animal, which he had committed himself to sacrifice. In this instance, God responded to him unreasonably, and his daughter happened to come to him. Regarding the incident of Jephthah, the Gemara remarks: And this is what the prophet said to the Jewish people: “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not recovered?” (Jeremiah 8:22). This verse alludes to the fact that had he sought a means to do so, Jephthah could have had his vow annulled. And it is written, with regard to human sacrifice: “And they have also built the high places of the Ba’al, to burn their sons in the fire for burnt offerings to Ba’al, which I did not command, and I did not speak, nor did it come into My heart” (Jeremiah 19:5). The Gemara interprets each phrase of this verse: “Which I did not command,” this is referring to the son of Mesha, king of Moab. King Mesha sacrificed his son, as it is stated: “Then he took his firstborn son, who would reign after him, and he offered him as a burnt-offering” (II Kings 3:27). “And I did not speak,” this is referring to Jephthah, who sacrificed his daughter as an offering. “Nor did it come into my heart,” this is referring to Isaac, son of Abraham. Although God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, there was no intent in God’s heart that he should actually do so; it was merely a test. § In light of the above statement, the Gemara returns to the issue of rain. Rabbi Berekhya said: The Congregation of Israel also entreated God unreasonably, and yet the Holy One, Blessed be He, responded reasonably, as it is stated: “And let us know, eagerly strive to know the Lord. His going forth is sure as the morning, and He will come to us as the rain” (Hosea 6:3). They compared the revelation of God to the rain. In response, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Jewish people: My daughter, you request the manifestation of My Presence by comparing Me to a matter, rain, that is sometimes desired, but is sometimes undesired, e.g., during the summer. However, I will be to you like a matter that is always desired, dew, as it is stated: “I will be as the dew to Israel” (Hosea 14:6), since dew appears in all seasons and is invariably a blessing. And the Congregation of Israel further entreated God unreasonably in another context, saying before Him: Master of the Universe: “Set me as a seal upon Your heart, as a seal upon Your arm” (Song of Songs 8:6). The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to her: My daughter, you ask that I be manifest to you in a matter that is sometimes visible and sometimes not visible, as the heart and arm are not covered. However, I will act so that I manifest Myself for you like a matter that is always visible, as it is stated: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands, your walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:16). § The Gemara returns to the halakhot of the mishna: One requests rain only immediately preceding the rainy season. The Sages assumed that requesting and mentioning are one and the same thing, and consequently they asked: Who is the tanna who taught this halakha? The Gemara answers that Rava said: It is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, who said that one mentions rain from the time of putting down the lulav, i.e., the Eighth Day of Assembly, which is indeed near the rainy season. Abaye said to him: Even if you say that it is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer, who holds that one mentions rain from the first day of the festival of Sukkot, this ruling of the mishna can be explained by distinguishing between the two terms: Requesting is a discrete concept and mentioning is another discrete concept. In other words, even according to the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer, one begins to request rain just before the rainy season, on the Eighth Day of Assembly, whereas one starts to mention rain already on the first day of Sukkot. And some say a different version of this discussion: Let us say

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When any man of you bringeth an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd or of the flock.

And thou shalt present the Levites before the LORD; and the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites. And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for a wave-offering from the children of Israel, that they may be to do the service of the LORD.

It is mandatory upon the whole house of Israel to sanctify this Great Name, for it is said: "And I shall be sanctified among the children of Israel" (Lev. 22.32). They are also charged not to blaspheme Him, for it is said: "And ye shall not profane My holy Name" (Ibid.). How are these commandments to be observed? If an idolater will force an Israelite to transgress one of the commandments of the Torah and threaten him with death for disobedience, it is mandatory that he transgress the commandment and be not put to death, for it is said concerning the commandments: "That which a man may do and live by it" (Ibid. 18.5)—"live by it, but not die for it". ¹Sanhedrin, 74a; Yoma 85a; Abodah Zarah, 26b. C. G.Thus, if he chose death and did not transgress, his blood be upon his own head. Whereat are these words directed? Concerning all other commandments, save idolatry, adultery and blood-shed. For respecting these three commandments, if one will say to him: "Transgress one of the three, or die," he shall die, and not transgress. Whereat are these words directed? When the idolater intends to have a personal enjoyment, as when he forces an Israelite to build his house, or cook his meals on a Sabbath, or when he forces a Jewish woman, and in like matters; but if he merely intended to make him violate commandments, then, if it happen between themselves, and there be no ten Israelites present, it is mandatory to transgress and not die; but if he forces him to go astray from one of the commandments in the presence of ten Israelites, he must suffer death and not transgress, even though the idolater did not intend to lead him astray save from one of the rest of the commandments. And all these words are directed at a time which is not under pressure of arbitrary edicts, but at a time of arbitrary edicts such as when a wicked king, like Nebuchadnezzar and his associates arise and issue an edict against Israel to violate their religion, or one of the commandments, then he should die and not transgress even one of the other commandments, whether he is forced to do the transgression in the presence of ten, or whether the compulsion will be between himself and the idolater. Whosoever, of whom it is said that he shall transgress and not die, if he die and did not transgress, the guilt thereof be upon his soul;²Ibid. 27. Tosfot commends such act. C. G. and whosoever, concerning whom it is said that he shall die and not transgress, and he did die and did not transgress, he sanctified the Name of God; and if this happened in the presence of ten Israelites, he sanctified the Name of God among many, even like unto Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and Rabbi Akiba and his associates, who have been slain by decree of a tyrannical government to which degree of martyrdom there is no parallel, concerning whom it is said: "But for Thy sake we are killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter" (Ps. 44.23); and concerning whom it is moreover said: "Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice" (Ibid. 50.5). And whosoever, concerning whom it is said that he shall die and not transgress, did transgress and did not die, blasphemed the Name of God, and if he did this in the presence of ten Israelites, he blasphemed the Name of God in the presence of many, violated the mandatory commandment of the sanctification of God, and transgressed the prohibitive commandment of blasphemy. Nevertheless, because he committed the transgression in duress, he is not lashed, needless to say that no punishment of death is inflicted upon him by a tribunal, even though he commit murder in duress; for no punishment of either lashes or death is inflicted unless one commits the crime willfully in the presence of witnesses, and received a warning not to do it, even as it is said of one who sacrifices his children to Mollech: "And I will set my face against that man" (Lev. 20.3), which is traditionally understood to mean that that man was not under duress, nor in error, nor in ignorance. Now, if idolatry, which is the capital offense of them all, yet whosoever worships it in duress, is not guilty to be cut off from among his people, not to say of being put to death by a tribunal, a minori ad majus that an offense against the other commandments enumerated in the Torah should remain as the major premise. Furthermore, concerning adultery it is said: "But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing" (Deut. 22. 26).³She was under duress. G. But if he can save his life and flee from the jurisdiction of such a wicked king, and he does it not, he is likened unto a dog that returneth to his vomit, and is called a willful worshipper of idolatry, and is deprived of the world to come, for he will descend into the nethermost level of the Gehenna.