Protest

(23) Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? (24) What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? (25) Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (26) And יהוה answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” (27) Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes: (28) What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?” “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.” (29) But he spoke up again, and said, “What if forty should be found there?” “I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.” (30) And he said, “Let not my lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?” “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” (31) And he said, “I venture again to speak to my lord: What if twenty should be found there?” “I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty.” (32) And he said, “Let not my lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?” “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.”

what did the Elders, i.e., the Sages of that generation, do that was considered a sin? Rather, say: God will enter into judgment with the Elders because they did not protest the sinful conduct of the princes.

Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: For what reason was Abner punished by being killed? It is because he should have protested to Saul about the killing of the priests of Nob (see I Samuel 22:17–19), but he did not protest. Rabbi Yitzḥak says: He did protest, so that is not the reason for his death, but he was not answered. And both of these Sages interpreted one verse: “And the king lamented for Abner, and said: Should Abner die as a churl dies? Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put into fetters; as a man falls before the children of iniquity, so did you fall” (II Samuel 3:33–34). The Gemara explains how each Sage understands the verse: The one who says he did not protest explains that this is what the verse is saying: As “your hands were not bound, nor your feet put into fetters,” what is the reason you did not protest against Saul? Therefore, since you could have protested but did not, then “as a man falls before the children of iniquity, so did you fall.” And the one who says he protested and was not answered explains that this is what the verse is saying: Davidwondered: “ShouldAbnerdie as a churl dies? Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put into fetters,” since you protested at the right time. Since that is the case, what is the reason that “as a man falls before the children of iniquity, so did you fall”?The Gemara asks: According to the one who says that Abnerprotested, what is the reason he was punished with this death? Rav Naḥman, son of Rabbi Yitzḥak, says: It is because he delayed the kingdom of the house of David two and a half years, by supporting the kingdom of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, for this period of time.

The attribute of justice said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, how are these different from those? He said to that attribute: These are full-fledged righteous people and those are full-fledged wicked people. The attribute of justice said to Him: Master of the Universe, it was in the hands of the righteous to protest the conduct of the wicked, and they did not protest.He said to that attribute: It is revealed and known before Me that even had they protested the conduct of the wicked, they would not have accepted the reprimand from them. They would have continued in their wicked ways. The attribute of justice said before Him: Master of the Universe, if it is revealed before You that their reprimand would have been ineffective, is it revealed to them? The Holy One, Blessed be He, retracted His promise to protect the righteous and decided that those who failed to protest would also be punished. And that is the meaning of that which is written: “Slay utterly old and young, both maid, and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My Sanctuary” (Ezekiel 9:6). And it is written in that same verse: “Then they began with the elderly men who were before the house.” Rav Yosef taught: Read not: My Sanctuary [mikdashi], rather: Those sanctified to Me [mekudashai]. These are people who observed the whole Torah in its entirety from alef through tav. And immediately: “And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lies toward the north, and every man with his weapon of destruction in his hand; and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkwell by his side; and they went in and stood beside the bronze altar” (Ezekiel 9:2).

The host said to him: No, you must leave. Bar Kamtzasaid to him: I will give you money for half of the feast; just do not send me away. The host said to him: No, you must leave. Bar Kamtza then said to him: I will give you money for the entire feast; just let me stay. The host said to him: No, you must leave. Finally, the host tookbar Kamtzaby his hand, stood him up, and took him out.After having been cast out from the feast, bar Kamtzasaid to himself: Since the Sages were sitting there and did not protest the actions of the host, although they saw how he humiliated me, learn from it that they were content with what he did. I will therefore go and inform [eikhul kurtza] against them to the king. He went and said to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. The emperor said to him: Who says that this is the case? Bar Kamtzasaid to him: Go and test them; send them an offering to be brought in honor of the government, and see whether they will sacrifice it.

The mishna relates that the cow of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya would go out on Shabbat with a strap between its horns, contrary to the will of the Sages. The Gemara asks: DidRabbi Elazar ben Azaryahave only one cow? Didn’t Rav say, and some say that Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya would tithe from his herds 12,000 calves each and every year? There were 120, 000 calves born in his herds annually. There is no way, then, to speak of the cow of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya. The Gemara answers: It was taught in the Tosefta: The cow was not his; rather, it was his neighbor’s. And because he did not protest her conduct and tell her that doing so is prohibited the cow was called by his name to his discredit, as if it were his.

It was related that Rav, and Rabbi Ḥanina, and Rabbi Yoḥanan, and Rav Ḥaviva taught the statement cited below. The Gemara comments: Throughout the order of Moed, wherever this pair of Sages is mentioned, exchange Rabbi Yoḥanan and insert Rabbi Yonatan in his place. In any event, they said: Anyone who had the capability to effectively protest the sinful conduct of the members of his household and did not protest, he himself is apprehended for the sins of the members of his household and punished. If he is in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the people of his town, and he fails to do so, he is apprehended for the sins of the people of his town. If he is in a position to protest the sinful conduct of the whole world, and he fails to do so, he is apprehended for the sins of the whole world.