Tanach
Melachim II 2:23-25 מלכים ב ב׳:כ״ג-כ״ה
Part of: Chapter 2
Reading: Hebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlyHebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlySimple English onlyFaithful translation onlySide by sideRashi
וַיַּעַל מִשָּׁם בֵּֽית־אֵל וְהוּא ׀ עֹלֶה בַדֶּרֶךְ וּנְעָרִים קְטַנִּים יָצְאוּ מִן־הָעִיר וַיִּתְקַלְּסוּ־בוֹ וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ עֲלֵה קֵרֵחַ עֲלֵה קֵרֵֽחַ׃
And he went up from there to Bet-el: and as he was going up by the way, some small boys came out of the city, and jeered at him, and said to him, Go up, bald head; go up, bald head.
And he went up from there to Bet-el: and as he was going up by the way, some small boys came out of the city, and jeered at him, and said to him, Go up, bald head; go up, bald head.
Rashi
עלה קרח. עלה מכאן, שהקרחת עלינו את המקום, שעד עכשיו היינו משתכרין להביא מים מתוקים מרחוק, ומתפרנסין בכך, ומשהמתיקו אבדו פרנסתן, כך מפורש בסוטה (מו ב):
“Go away, baldy!” “Go away from here, for you have made the place bald for us, [i.e.,] for until now we would be hired to bring sweet water from a distance, and we would earn our livelihood thereby.” But when [the water] became sweet, they lost their livelihood. Thus it is explained in [Maseches] Sotah.2246b, and see Rashi there.
וַיִּפֶן אַֽחֲרָיו וַיִּרְאֵם וַֽיְקַלְלֵם בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה וַתֵּצֶאנָה שְׁתַּיִם דֻּבִּים מִן־הַיַּעַר וַתְּבַקַּעְנָה מֵהֶם אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁנֵי יְלָדִֽים׃
And he turned back, and looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she bears came out of the wood, and tore forty two of the children.
And he turned back, and looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she bears came out of the wood, and tore forty two of the children.
Rashi
ויראם. ראה שאין בהם ולא בזרעם לחלוחית של טובה (שם):
And saw them. He saw that neither in them nor in their descendants would there be any sap of good deed.23See Shemos 2:12 and Rashi there.24Some say that Elisha saw that their hair was cut in the style of the heathens. He believed that they were degenerate and depraved and foresaw that they would never return to the ways of the Torah. See Maseches Sotah 46b.
וַיֵּלֶךְ מִשָּׁם אֶל־הַר הַכַּרְמֶל וּמִשָּׁם שָׁב שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ {פ}
And he went from there to mount Karmel, and from there he returned to Shomeron.
And he went from there to mount Karmel, and from there he returned to Shomeron.
ונערים קטנים. המנוערין מן המצות:
Little boys. Void of mitzvos.21The literal meaning of נְעָרִים קְטַנִּים is “small children,” but obviously this is not the true meaning, because Elisha would never have cursed small children. The word נְעָרִים can also be interpreted as נְעוּרִים [=shaken out or empty] from good deeds. The word קטנים [=little] alludes to how small their faith was. Nonetheless, Elisha was punished for treating them so harshly. See Maseches Sotah 47a. Radak Alternatively, the boys came from a town called נַעֲרָן, which is mentioned in I Divrei Hayomim 7:28 and in Yehoshua 16:7. See below, 5:2.