Jose b. Jo`ezer [BCE2] says that [on a festival-day] the laying on of hands [on the head of a sacrifice] may not be performed; Joseph b. Johanan [BCE2] says that it may be performed. Joshua b. Perahia [BCE2] says that it may not re performed; nittai the arbelite says that it may be performed. Judah b. Tarbai [BCE1] says that it may not be performed; Simeon [T4] b. Shetah [BCE1] says that it may be performed. Shemaiah [BCE1] says that it may be performed; Abtalion [BCE1] says that it may not be performed. Hillel [BCE1] and Menahem [BCE1 or T4] did not differ. Menahem [BCE1 or T4] went forth, Shammai [BCE1] entered. Shammai [BCE1] says that it may not be performed; Hillel [BCE1] says that it may be performed. The former [of each] pair were princes and the latter were heads of the court.
t.Hag.2.2
A. R. Yose b. Judah [T5] says, ``R. Joshua [T2] laid matters out before Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai [T1].
B. ``R. `Aqiba laid matters out before R. Joshua [T2].
C. ``Hananiah b. Kinai laid matters out before R. `Aqiba.``
MISHNAH: m.Hag.2.2Jose b. Jo`ezer [BCE2] says that [on a festival-day] the laying on of hands [on the head of a sacrifice] may not be performed; Joseph b. Johanan [BCE2] says that it may be performed. Joshua b. Perahia [BCE2] says that it may not re performed; nittai the arbelite says that it may be performed. Judah b. Tarbai [BCE1] says that it may not be performed; Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1] says that it may be performed. Shemaiah [BCE1] says that it may be performed; Abtalion [BCE1] says that it may not be performed. Hillel [BCE1] and Menahem [BCE1 or T4] did not differ. Menahem [BCE1 or T4] went forth, Shammai [BCE1] entered. Shammai [BCE1] says that it may not be performed; Hillel [BCE1] says that it may be performed. b.Hag.16b The former [of each] pair were princes and the latter were heads of the court.
GEMARA: Our Rabbis taught: The three of the former pairs who said that the laying on of the hands may not be performed, and the two of the latter pairs who said that it may be performed, were Princes, and the others were Heads of the Court this is the view of R. Meir [T4]. But the Sages say: Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] was Head of the Court, and Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1] was Prince. Who taught the following teaching of our Rabbis? R. Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] said: May I see consolation, if I did not have a Zomem -witness put to death as a demonstration against the Sadducees who said that Zomemim-witnesses were not to be put to death unless [through their false evidence] the accused had [already] been put to death. Said Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1] to him: May I see consolation, if thou didst not shed innocent blood. For the Sages said: Zomemim-witnesses are not put to death until both of them have been proved Zomemim; and they are not flogged until both of them have been proved Zomemim; and they are not ordered to pay money [as damages] until both of them have been proved Zomemim. Forthwith Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] undertook never to give a decision except in the presence of Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1]. All his days Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] prostrated himself on the grave of the executed man, and his voice used to be heard. The people believed that it was the voice of the executed man; [but] he said to them: `It is my voice. Ye shall know this [by the fact that] on the morrow [when] I die my voice will not be heard`. R. Aha [PA4] the son of Raba [BA4] said to R. Ashi [BA6]: But perhaps he appeased him, or [the deceased] summoned him to judgment! According to whom will this be? Granted, if you say [it is according to] R. Meir [T4], who said that Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1] was Head of the Court [and] R. Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] was Prince, that is why he decided points of law in the presence of Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1]; but if you say [it is according to] the Rabbis, who say that Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] was Head of the Court [and] Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1] was Prince, how may the Head of the Court decide points of law in the presence of the Prince! No,`he undertook` is to be understood with reference to association. [He said]: I will not even join [with other judges to give a decision, unless Simeon b. Shetah [BCE1] is present]. Menahem [BCE1 or T4] went forth and Shammai [BCE1] entered etc. Whither did he go forth? Abaye [BA4] said: He went forth into evil courses. Raba [BA4] said: He went forth to the King`s service. Thus it is also taught: Menahem [BCE1 or T4] went forth to the King`s service, and there went forth with him eighty pairs of disciples dressed in silk.
R. Shimon b. Abba said that R. Johanan [PA2] said: Never let [the principle] of Shebuth [Rest] be unimportant in thy eyes. For the laying on of the hands [on a Festival-day] is [prohibited] only on account of Shebuth, yet the great men of the age differed thereon. But is this not already quite clear! It is required on account of a precept [the fulfilment of which is prohibited] as Shebuth. But is not that too quite clear! [It is required] to contradict the view that they differ regarding the laying on of the hands itself: thus he teaches us that it is in regard to Shebuth that they differ.
Rami b. Hama [BA4] said: You can deduce from this that the laying on of hands must be done with all one`s strength; for if you suppose that one`s whole strength is not required, what [work] does one do by laying on the hands? An objection was raised: [It is written]: Speak unto the sons of Israel... and he shall lay his hands. The sons of Israel lay on the hands but the daughters of Israel do not lay on the hands. R. Jose [T4] and R. Simeon [T4] say: The daughters of Israel lay on the hands optionally. R. Jose [T4] said: R. Abba [BA3 & PA3] Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] told me: Once we had a calf which was a peace-sacrifice, and we brought it to the Women`s Court, and women laid the hands on it not that the laying on of the hands has to be done by women, but in order to gratify the women. Now if you suppose that we require the laying on of the hands to be done with all one`s strength, would we, for the sake of gratifying the women, permit work to be done with holy sacrifices! Is it to be inferred, therefore, that we do not require all one`s strength? Actually, I can answer you that we do require [it to be] with all one`s strength, [but the women] were told to hold their hands lightly. If so, [what need was there to say], `not that the laying on of the hands has to be done by women`? He could [more simply] have pointed out that it was no laying on of the hands at all! R. Ammi [PA3] said: His argument runs: Firstly and secondly. Firstly, it was no laying on of the hands at all, and secondly, it was [done] In order to gratify the women. R. Papa [BA5] said: One may conclude from this that it is forbidden [on a holy day to make use of] the sides [of an animal]. For if you suppose that it is permitted [to make use of] the sides, let the hands be laid on the side. It must be concluded, therefore, that it is forbidden to make use of the sides. b.Hag.17a R. Ashi [BA6] said: You may even say that it is permitted [to use] the sides, but all that is connected with the back is as the back.
[A] Yose b. Yoezer says not to lay on hands. Yose b. Yohanan says to lay on hands.
[B] B. Joshua b. Perahyah says not to lay on hands. Nittai the Arbelite says to lay on hands.
[C] Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] says not to lay on hands. Simeon b. Shatah says to lay on hands.
[D] Shemayah says to lay on hands. Abtalyon says not to lay on hands.
[E] Hillel [BCE1] and Menahem [1st C BCE or T4] did not differ.
[F] Menahem [1st C BCE or T4] departed, Shammai [BCE1] entered.
[G] Shammai [BCE1] says not to lay on hands. Hillel [BCE1] says to lay on hands.
[H] The first-named were patriarchs, and the second to them were heads of the court. y.Hag.2.2 I
[A] In the beginning there was no contention in Israel except concerning laying on hands alone.
[B] Shammai [BCE1] and Hillel [BCE1] [at m.Ed.1.1] went and made them into four disputes.
[C] When the disciples of the House of Shammai [BCE1] and the House of Hillel [BCE1] who had not sufficiently served [and learned the Torah of] their masters became numerous, contention became great in Israel, and they became two parties.
[D] These declare unclean what those declare clean.
[E] And the Torah is not going to be restored to its place until the son of David [i.e., the Messiah] comes. y.Hag.2.2 I:2
[A] R. Hiyya in the name of R. Yohanan [PA2]: ``Let not the issue of Sabbath rest [such as laying hands on the beast on the Sabbath with all one`s might] be light in your sight, for lo, the matter of laying on of hands is only an issue of what is permissible, and yet the Fathers of the World differed about it.``
[B] Said R. Yose, ``That is to say that a man has to lay on hands with full force, for if that were not the case, then shall we say that it is prohibited merely to touch a beast on the festival day? [The dispute of m.Hag.2.2 has to do with laying on full weight on the Sabbath.]`` y.Hag.2.2 II
[A] Hillel [BCE1] and Menahem [1st C BCE or T4] did not differ. Menahem [1st C BCE or T4] departed, Shammai [BCE1] entered.
[B] Where did he go?
[C] There are those who say, ``He went away from one set of principles and adopted another set.``
[D] And there is he who says, ``He followed his nose, he and eighty pairs of disciples of sages, clad in golden embroidered silk garments, with faces glowering like the sides of a pot.
[E] ``For they had said to them, `Write on the horn of an ox that you have no share in the God of Israel.``` y.Hag.2.2 III
[A] Wehave learned:
[B] Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] was nasi. Simeon b. Shatah was head of the court. Some teach it vice versa.
[C] He who says Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] was nasi finds support in the incident of Alexandria.
[D] The men of Jerusalem wanted to appoint Judah b. Tabbai [BCE1] as patriarch in Jerusalem. He fled and went to Alexandria. The men of Jerusalem would write, ``From Jerusalem, the great, to Alexandria, the small: How long will my betrothed dwell with you, while I am sorrowful on his account?``
[E] He departed and arrived in a boat.
[F] He said, ``Do you remember what Deborah, the mistress of the house who received us, lacked?``
[G] One of his disciples said to him, ``Rabbi, her eye was blinking.``
[H] He said to him, ``Lo, two [sins] are against you: one that you suspected me [of looking at her], and one that you looked at her. Did I say that her appearance was handsome of sight? I only said [handsome] in [her] deed[s]!``
[I] He was angry with him, and he went away.
[J] He who says Simeon b. Shatah was patriarch finds support in the following incident about Ashqelon.
[K] There were two holy men in Ashqelon, who would eat together, drink together, and study Torah together. One of them died, and he was not properly mourned.
[L] But when Bar Maayan, the village tax collector, died, the whole town took time off to mourn him.
[M] The surviving holy man began to weep saying, ``Woe, for the enemies of Israel [a euphemism for Israel itself] will have no merit.``
[N] [The deceased holy man] appeared to him in a dream, and said to him, ``Do not despise the sons of your Lord. This one did one sin, and the other one did one good deed, and it went well for [the latter on earth, so while on earth I was punished for my one sin, he was rewarded for his one good deed].``
[O] Now what was the culpable act that the holy man had done?
[P] Heaven forfend! He committed no culpable act in his entire life. But one time he put on the phylactery of the head before that of the hand [which was an error].
[Q] Now what was the meritorious deed that Bar Maayan, the village tax collector, had done?
[R] Heaven forefend! He never did a meritorious deed in his life. But one time he made a banquet for the councillors of his town, but they did not come. He said, ``Let the poor come and eat the food, so that it not go to waste.``
[S] There are those who say that he was traveling along the road with a loaf of bread under his arm, and it fell. A poor man went and took it, and the tax collector said nothing to him so as not to embarrass him.
[T] After a few days the holy man saw his fellow [in a dream] walking among gardens, orchards, and fountains of water. He saw Bar Maayan the village tax collector with his tongue hanging out, by a river. He wanted to reach the river but could not reach it.
[U] R. Eliezer bar Yose said that he saw Miriam, the daughter of ` LY BSLYM [Jastrow - the leek-like sprouts of onions], hanging by the nipples of her breasts. R. Yose b. Hanina said, ``The pin of the gate of Gehenna was fastened to her ear.``
[V] He said to him, ``Why are things this way?``
[W] He said to him, ``Because she fasted and told people about it.``
[X] And some say that she fasted one day and had blood drawn on two.
[Y] He said to him, ``And how long will it be this way for her?``
[Z] They said to him, ``Until Simeon b. Shatah will come, and we shall remove it from her ear and set it in his ear!``
[AA] He said to him, ``And what is his crime?``
[BB] They said to him, ``Because he vowed, `If I am made patriarch, I shall kill off an the witches,` and lo, he has been made patriarch, but he has not killed off the witches. Lo, there are eighty witches in a cave of Ashqelon, doing destruction to the world, so go and tell him.``
[CC] He said to them, ``I am afraid, for he is the patriarch, and he will not believe me.``
[DD] He said to him, ``If he will believe you, good. Now if he does not believe you, do this as your sign before him: Put your hand in your eye and remove [your eye], and hold it in your hand `` He took out his eye and put it in his hand. They said to put it back, and he put it back.
[EE] He went and reported the incident to him. He wanted to do the sign for him, but he would not allow him to do so.
[FF] [Simeon [T4]] said to him, ``I know you are a holy man. Furthermore, I did not say publicly [that I would uproot witchcraft], but I only thought about it [so I know that your knowledge comes from Heaven].`` Forthwith Simeon b. Shatah arose.
[GG] Now that day it was raining. Simeon b. Shatah took with him eighty young men and dressed them in eighty clean cloaks. He took with them eighty new pots, with covers. He said to them, ``When I whistle once, put on your garments. When I whistle a second time, all of you come out at once. When each one of you comes out, lift up one of the [witches], and hold her off the ground, because the witchcraft [of those women] does not work if their feet are not touching the ground.``
[HH] When he went and came to the mouth of the cave, he said, ``Hello, hello! Open up for me. I am one of yours.``
[II] They said to him, ``How did you come on such a rainy day?``
[JJ] He replied, ``I ran between the rain drops.``
[KK] They said to him, ``And what did you come here to do?``
[LL] He said to them, ``To learn and to teach.``
[MM] When he came in, one of them said something and produced bread. One of them said something and produced meat. One of them said something and produced cooked food. One of them said something and produced wine. They said-to him, ``And what can you do?``
[NN] He said to them, ``I can whistle twice and produce eighty handsome young men, dressed in clean clothes, who will have pleasure with you and give you pleasure too.``
[OO] They said to him, ``We want them! We want them!``
[PP] He whistled once, and they put on their clean clothes. He whistled a second time, and they all came out at once. He signaled to them, ``Each one of you pick a partner and lift her up off the ground.``
[QQ] At that point what the witches [78a] could do would not work. He said to the one who produced bread, ``Bring forth bread,`` but she produced none. He said ``Take her and crucify her.``
[RR] ``Bring forth cooked food,`` but she could not produce, and he said, ``Take her and crucify her.``
[SS] ``Bring forth wine,`` and she could not do it, and he said, ``Take her and crucify her.``]
[TT] And so did he do to all of them.
[UU] This is [the background of] that which we have learned:Eighty women did Simeon b. Shatah hang in Ashqelon. They do not judge two capital cases on the same day [m.San.6.6], but the times required it. y.Hag.2.2 III:2
[A] It has been taught: Said R. Eliezer b. Jacob [T2 or T4], ``I have heard that the courts may inflict punishment not in accord with the law and not in accord with the Torah [when the times require it].``
[B] To what extent?
[C] Even to the extent of ignoring the possibility of perjured testimony.
[D] [Disagreeing with this view,] said R. Yose, ``[No, that is not so in the case of] testimony, but [only in respect of the] need to admonish [the felon].``
[E] There was the case of one who went out in the way riding on his horse on the Sabbath. The court took him and stoned him.
[F] Now was this not merely a violation of the requirement of Sabbath rest? [Surely it was not punishable by death.]
[G] But the times required it.
[H] There was another case of someone who went out in the way, with his wife with him, and he went behind a fence and had his will with her, and the court took him and flogged him.
[I] Now was she not his wife? [Why was this against the law?]
[J] But he behaved contemptibly.