Sanhedrin

R. Eleazar said: Every man is born for toil, as it is written, Yet man is born for toil.  Now, I do not know whether for toil by mouth or by hand, but when it is said, for his mouth craveth it of him, I may deduce that toil by mouth is meant.  Yet I still do not know whether for toil in the Torah or in [secular] conversation, but when it is said, This book of the Torah shall not depart out of thy mouth,  I conclude that one was created to labour in the Torah. And this coincides with Raba's dictum, viz., All human bodies are carriers; happy are they who are worthy of being receptacles of the Torah. Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding.  Resh Lakish said: This alludes to one who studies the Torah at [irregular] intervals,  as it is written, For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. Our Rabbis taught: But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously:  this refers to Manasseh the Son of Hezekiah, who examined [Biblical] narratives to prove them worthless. Thus, he jeered, had Moses nothing to write but, And Lotan's sister was Timna,  And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz,  And Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field.  Thereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence, thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself' but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.  And of him it is explicitly stated in the post-Mosaic Scriptures,  Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.  What is meant by 'and sin as it were with a cart rope'? — R. Assi said: Temptation at first is like a spider's thread, but eventually like a cart rope. À propos, what is the purpose of [writing], And Lotan's sister was Timna? — Timna was a royal princess, as it is written, alluf [duke] Lotan,  alluf [duke] Timna;  and by 'alluf' an uncrowned ruler is meant. Desiring to become a proselyte, she went to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau, saying, 'I had rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation.' From her Amalek was descended who afflicted Israel. Why so? — Because they should not have repulsed her. And Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest [and found mandrakes in the field]. Raba b. Isaac said in Rab's name: This shews that righteous men do not take what is not theirs.  And found dudaim  [mandrakes] in the field. What are dudaim? — Rab said: mandrakes;  Levi said: violets; R. Jonathan said: mandrake flowers. R. Alexandri said: He who studies the Torah for its own sake  makes peace in the Upper Family  and the Lower Family [men], as it is written, Or let him take hold of my strength [i.e., the Torah], that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.  Rab said: it is as though he built the heavenly and the earthly Temples, as it is written, And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.  R. Johanan said: He also shields the whole world [from the consequences of its sins], for it is written, and I have covered [i.e., protected] thee in the shadow of mine hand. Levi said: He also hastens  the redemption, as it is written, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. Resh Lakish said: He who teaches Torah to his neighbour's son is regarded by Scripture as though he had fashioned him, as it is written, and the souls which they had made in Haran.  R. Eleazar said: As though he himself had created the words of the Torah, as it is written, Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and make them.  Raba said: As though he had made himself, for it is written, 'and make them': render not them but yourselves. R. Abbahu said: He who causes his neighbour to fulfil a precept is regarded by Scripture as though he had done it himself, for it is written, [The Lord said unto Moses … take …] thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river:  did Moses then smite it? Aaron smote it! But, he who causes his neighbour to fulfil a precept, is regarded by Scripture as though he had done it himself. AN EPIKOROS. Rab and R. Hanina both taught that this means one who insults a scholar. R. Johanan and R. Joshua b. Levi maintained that it is one who insults his neighbour in the presence of a scholar. Now on the view that he who insults his neighbour in the presence of a scholar is an epikoros, it is well; for then he who insults a scholar himself will be included in the expression, 'he who acts impudently against the Torah.'  But on the view that he who insults a scholar himself is an epikoros, who is meant by 'she who acts impudently against the Torah'? — E.g., Manasseh b. Hezekiah.  Others taught this [dispute] with reference to the second clause: 'he who acts impudently against the Torah.' Rab and R. Hanina both maintained that this means one who insults a scholar himself, whilst R. Johanan and R. Joshua b. Levi held that it is one who insults his neighbour in the presence of a scholar. Now, on the view that he who insults a scholar himself is denoted by the expression 'he who acts impudently against the Torah,' it is well, for then he who insults his neighbour in a scholar's presence is dubbed an epikoros; but on the view that he who insults his neighbour in the presence of a scholar 'is considered to have acted impudently against the Torah, who then is meant by epikoros? — R. Joseph said: E.g., Those who give, 'Of what use are the Rabbis to us? For their own benefit they read [the Scripture], and for their own benefit they study [post-Scriptural learning, particularly the Mishnah]'. Abaye said to him: But this too denotes acting impudently against the Torah, as it is written, Thus saith the Lord, But for my covenant [studied] day and night, I had not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.  R. Nahman b. Isaac said: it is also deduced from the verse, Then I will spare all the place for their sakes.  But it means one, e.g., who was sitting before his teacher, when the discussion turned to some other subject, and the disciple remarked, 'We said so and so on that matter,' instead of 'Thou Master hast said.'  Raba said: E.g., The family of Benjamin the doctor who say, 'Of what use are the Rabbis to us? They have never