חגיגה 11:2 — Soncino English Talmud

— This refers only to his daughter by a woman whom he had forced; this case is not written [in Scripture]. For Raba said: R. Isaac b. Abdimi told me, It is to be deduced by analogy from [the words] ‘they’, ‘they’, and from [the words] ‘lewdness’, ‘lewdness’. IT IS THEY THAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS OF THE TORAH, These are and those are not! — Say, therefore, these and those are essentials of the Torah. MISHNAH THE [SUBJECT OF] FORBIDDEN RELATIONS MAY NOT BE EXPOUNDED IN THE PRESENCE OF THREE, NOR THE WORK OF CREATION IN THE PRESENCE OF TWO, NOR [THE WORK OF] THE CHARIOT IN THE PRESENCE OF ONE, UNLESS HE IS A SAGE AND UNDERSTANDS OF HIS OWN KNOWLEDGE. WHOSOEVER SPECULATES UPON FOUR THINGS, A PITY FOR HIM! HE IS AS THOUGH HE HAD NOT COME INTO THE WORLD, [TO WIT], WHAT IS ABOVE, WHAT IS BENEATH, WHAT BEFORE, WHAT AFTER. AND WHOSOEVER TAKES NO THOUGHT FOR THE HONOUR OF HIS MAKER, IT WERE A MERCY IF HE HAD NOT COME INTO THE WORLD. GEMARA. You say at first: NOR [THE WORK OF] THE CHARIOT IN THE PRESENCE OF ONE; and then you say: UNLESS HE IS A SAGE AND UNDERSTANDS OF HIS OWN KNOWLEDGE! — This is the meaning: the forbidden relations may not be expounded to three, nor the work of creation to two, nor [the work of] the chariot to one, unless he is a Sage and understands of his own knowledge. THE FORBIDDEN RELATIONS MAY NOT BE EXPOUNDED IN THE PRESENCE OF THREE. What is the reason? Shall one say, because it is written: Whosoever to any that is near of kin to him? ‘Whosoever’ [implies] two, ‘near of kin to him’ [implies] one; and the Divine Law said: Ye shall not approach to uncover their nakedness. But then since it is written: Whosoever curseth his God, Whosoever giveth of his seed unto Molech, are these [passages] also [to be interpreted] thus! — These, therefore, must be required to make Gentiles subject to the prohibition concerning blasphemy and idolatry like the Israelites; then this [verse] is also required to make Gentiles subject to the prohibition concerning the forbidden relations like the Israelites! It must be inferred, therefore, from the verse: Therefore shall ye keep My charge. ‘Ye shall keep’ [implies] two, ‘My charge’ [implies] one; and the Divine Law said: That ye do not any of these abominable customs. But then since it is written: Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore, And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, And ye shall keep the charge of the holy things, are these [passages] also [to be interpreted] thus! — Therefore, said R. Ashi, THE FORBIDDEN RELATIONS MAY NOT BE EXPOUNDED IN THE PRESENCE OF THREE must mean: the secrets of the forbidden relations may not be expounded to three. What is the reason? It is a logical conclusion: when two sit before their master, one engages in discussion with his master and the other inclines his ear to the instruction; but [when there are] three, one engages in discussion with his master, and the other two engage in discussion with one another and do not know what their master is saying, and may come to permit that which is prohibited in the matter of the forbidden relations. If so, [the rule should apply to] the whole Torah also! The [subject of] forbidden relations is different, for the master said: Robbery and the forbidden relations, a man's soul covets and lusts for them. If so, [the rule should apply to] robbery also! [In the case of] the forbidden relations, whether [the opportunity] be before him or not before him, a man's inclination is strong; [in the case of] robbery, if [the opportunity] is before him, his inclination is strong, but if it is not before him, his inclination is not strong. NOR THE WORK OF CREATION IN THE PRESENCE OF TWO. Whence [do we infer] this? — For the Rabbis taught: For ask thou now of the days past; one may inquire, but two may not inquire. One might have thought that one may inquire concerning the pre-creation period, therefore Scripture teaches: Since the day that God created man upon the earth. One might have thought that one may [also] not inquire concerning the six days of creation, therefore Scripture teaches: The days past which were before thee. One might have thought one may [also] inquire concerning what is above and what is below, what before and what after, therefore the text teaches: And from one end of heaven unto the other. [Concerning the things that are] from one end of heaven unto the other thou mayest inquire, but thou mayest not inquire what is above, what is below, what before, what after.^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ

^ᵃnote:The word vbv (‘they’) occurs in Lev. XVIII, 17 in connection with a legitimate daughter, and ibid. v. 10 in connection with the grand-daughter of an illegitimate wife (v. Yeb. 97a). By analogy, we infer that an illegitimate daughter is also a forbidden relation.
^ᵇnote:Having established an analogy between the legitimate and illegitimate daughter (v. n. 7), we go farther and say the word vnz (‘lewdness’). which implies the penalty of burning (v. ibid. XX, 14) for connection with one's legitimate daughter, applies also to connection with one's illegitimate daughter; v. Yeb., Sonc. ed., p. 4, nn. 8-12.
^ᶜnote:I.e., the laws explicitly stated in Scripture are essentials of the Torah, and those not so explicitly stated are not!
^ᵈnote:V. p. 50, n. 8.
^ᵉnote:I.e., it is forbidden to expound this subject in the presence of more than two.
^ᶠnote:V. Gen. I, 1-3; J.E. vol. IV, pp. 280f,s. ‘Cosmogony’, and vol. VIII, p. 235. The term ,hatrc vagn (Work of Creation) does not include the whole Talmudic cosmogony, only its esoteric aspects. The cosmogonic details mentioned infra in the Gemara (pp. 63f), such as the ten elements, the ten agencies etc., do not form part of the secret doctrine of Ma'aseh Bere'shith, for the Mishnah expressly forbids the teaching of the creation mysteries in public. The views recorded in the Talmud regarding the work of creation seem to belong chiefly to the realm of Aggadah. As regards their origin, they cannot with certainty be connected with the theosophic and cosmogonic doctrines of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, nor with Gnosticism; nor on the other hand can the mysticism of the Geonic period (e.g., as preserved in Sefer Yezirah with reference to the heavenly halls, angelology etc.) be regarded as a direct continuation of the Talmudic doctrines.
^ᵍnote:V. Ezek. I, 4f, X, and Isa. VI; cf. Meg. IV, 10; and v. J.E. vol. VIII, p. 498. The mysteries of Creation and the Chariot were favourite themes with the mystics; for further information v. J.E. vol. III, p. 456f, s. ‘Cabala’.
^ʰnote:Heb. hu,r or hu,r; but Mishnah ed., MS. M. and var. lec. in Aruch have hutr (‘he is looked upon as though’). Jastrow, who takes hu,r to mean ‘relief, mercy, pity’, renders as in text; Rashi translates: ‘it were better for him’, taking the root meaning to be ‘mercy’; Levy translates: ‘it were more advantageous for him’; Goldschmidt and Danby: ‘it were better’.
^ⁱnote:Sc., the sky stretching over the heads of the ‘living creatures of the Chariot (Rashi).
^ʲnote:Sc., the ‘living creatures’.
^ᵏnote:I.e., beyond the sky eastward and westward (Rashi). This makes the reference spatial, and this explanation is supported by the use of the terms infra (p. 62); but from the Gemara 16a and the Tosef. it is clear that the terms have also a temporal significance. i.e., what happened before Creation and what will happen hereafter (Tosaf. a.l.).
^ˡnote:Explained infra 16a.
^ᵐnote:V. p. 59, n. 5.
^ⁿnote:This means, apparently, that a person is not permitted to study the mysteries of the Chariot even by himself, although the fact that he can study without the aid of a teacher shows that he is a Sage and understands of his own knowledge.
^ᵒnote:I.e.,the number refers to the pupils and does not include the teacher.
^ᵖnote:I.e., is able to speculate by himself. Such a disciple will not require to ask his teacher questions, for these mysteries may not be explained explicitly. D.S. omits the ‘and’; cf. p. 77.
^ᵠnote:Lev. XVIII, 6.
^ʳnote:Heb. aht aht lit., ‘man man’, i.e., two men, as a minimum.
^ˢnote:Ibid. I.e., to reveal the reasons underlying the laws of the forbidden relations.
^ᵗnote:Ibid. XXIV, 15.
^ᵘnote:Ibid. XX, 2.
^ᵛnote:Lit., ‘blessing of God’, a euphemism.
^ʷnote:Ibid. XVIII, 6.
^ˣnote:For the seven ‘Noachian Precepts’ which all humanity, Gentiles as well as Jews, must observe v. Sanh. 56a-b, (Sonc. ed. pp. 381-2 and nn. a.l.)
^ʸnote:Lev. XXIV v. 30.
^ᶻnote:The plural (‘Ye’) implies at least two.
^ᵃᵃnote:Ibid. V. p. 60, n. 8.
^ᵃᵇnote:Ex. XXXI, 14.
^ᵃᶜnote:Ibid. XII, 17.
^ᵃᵈnote:Num. XVIII, 5.
^ᵃᵉnote:I.e., according to Rashi, such forbidden relations as are not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, but are inferred, e.g., a man's daughter by a woman he violated, the mother of his father-in-law, or the mother of his mother-in-law (v. Sanh. 75a); according to Maharsha, the secrets of the reasons for the prohibitions; according to Goldschmidt, the details and subtleties of the subject.
^ᵃᶠnote:vakak: this marginal correction is indubitably correct as against vakac (‘in the presence of three’), of cur. edd.
^ᵃᵍnote:I.e., it is founded on reason and not deduced from Scripture.
^ᵃʰnote:I.e., that not more than two pupils may study with the master.
^ᵃⁱnote:Mak. 23b.
^ᵃʲnote:Heb. lit., ‘the first days’, i.e., the days of creation; Deut. IV, 32.
^ᵃᵏnote:I.e., one pupil may study with the master.
^ᵃˡnote:Ibid.
^ᵃᵐnote:I.e., up to the creation of man; for the verse quoted above permits inquiry only from the time of the creation of Adam, which occurred at the end of the sixth day.
^ᵃⁿnote:Heb. lit., ‘the first days’, i.e., even from the first day onward.
^ᵃᵒnote:Ibid.
^ᵃᵖnote:Ibid.