Sanhedrin

THE GENERATION OF THE DISPERSION HAVE NO PORTION IN THE WORLD TO COME etc. What did they do? — The scholars of R. Shila taught: They said, 'Let us build a tower, ascend to heaven, and cleave it with axes, that its waters might gush forth.' In the West [sc. Palestine academies]  they laughed at this: If so, they should have built it on a mountain! R. Jeremiah b. Eleazar said: They split up into three parties. One said, 'Let us ascend and dwell there;' the second, 'Let us ascend and serve idols;' and the third said, 'Let us ascend and wage war [with God].' The party which proposed, 'Let us ascend, and dwell there' — the Lord scattered them: the one that said, 'Let us ascend and wage war' were turned to apes, spirits, devils, and night-demons; whilst as for the party which said, 'Let us ascend and serve idols' — 'for there the Lord did confound the language of all the earth.' It has been taught. R. Nathan said: They were all bent on idolatry. [For] here it is written, let us make us a name;  whilst elsewhere it is written, and make no mention of the name of other gods:  just as there idolatry is meant, so here too. R. Jonathan said: A third of the tower was burnt, a third sunk [into the earth], and a third is still standing.  Rab said: The atmosphere of the tower causes forgetfulness. R. Joseph said: Babylon and Borsif  are evil omens for the Torah.  What is the meaning of Borsif? — R. Assi said: An empty [shafi] pit [bor]. THE MEN OF SODOM HAVE NO PORTION IN THE WORLD TO COME etc. Our Rabbis taught: The men of Sodom have no portion in the future world, as it is written, But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly:  wicked — in this world, and sinners — in respect of the world to come.  Rab Judah said: [They were] wicked — with their bodies [i.e., immoral] and sinners — with their money [i.e.. uncharitable]. 'Wicked — with their bodies,' as it is written, How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?  'And sinners — with their money,' as it is written, and it be sin unto thee.  'Before the Lord' refers to blasphemy; 'exceedingly' — that they intentionally sinned. A Tanna taught: Wicked — with their money; and sinners — with their bodies 'Wicked — with their. money,' as it is written, And thine eye be wicked against thy poor brother;  'and sinners — with their bodies,' as it is written, and I will sin against God.  Before the Lord — this refers to blasphemy. Exceedingly — this refers to bloodshed, as it is written, Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood exceedingly. Our Rabbis taught: The men of Sodom waxed haughty only on account of the good which the Holy One, blessed be He, had lavished upon them. What is written concerning them? — As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it it is burned up as it were with fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lions passed by it.  They said: Since there cometh forth bread out of [our] earth, and it hath the dust of gold, why should we suffer wayfarers, who come to us only to deplete our wealth. Come, let us abolish  the practice of travelling  in our land, as it is written, The flood breaketh out from the inhabitants,' they are forgotten of the foot; they are dried up, they are gone away from men. Raba gave the following exposition: What is meant by the verse, How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: ye are all as a bowing wall, and as a tottering fence?  This teaches that they used to cast [envious] eyes at wealthy men, place them by a leaning wall, thrust it upon them, then go and take their wealth. Raba expounded: What is meant by the verse, In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light?  This teaches that they used to cast [envious] eyes at wealthy men, and entrust balsamum into their keeping, which they placed in their storerooms. In the evening they would come and smell it out like dogs, as it is written, They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.  Then they would go, burrow in, and steal the money, [and as for their victim —] They cause him to go naked without clothing,  that they have no covering in the cold.  They lead away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.  They remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed them.  And he [the victim] shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.  R. Jose taught this in Sepphoris. That night [after his lecture] three hundred [houses] were broken into in Sepphoris. So they came and harassed him. Said they to him, 'Thou hast shown  a way to thieves!' He replied, 'Could I have known that thieves would come?'  When R. Jose died, the gutters of Sepphoris ran with blood. [Reverting to the misdeeds of the Sodomites] they ruled: He who has [only] one ox must tend [all the oxen of the town] for one day; but he who has none must tend [them] two days.  Now a certain orphan, the son of a widow, was given oxen to tend. He went and killed then' and [then] said to them [the Sodomites],