Yerushalmi Sotah 7:4 ירושלמי סוטה ז׳:ד׳

MISHNAH: Six tribes climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim and six tribes climbed to the top of Mount Ebal⁸³Deut. 27:12–13; Jos. 8:33. while the Cohanim, the Levites, and the ark were below in the middle. The Cohanim were surrounding the ark, the Levites the Cohanim, and all of Israel [were] on both sides, as it was said⁸⁴Jos. 8:33.: “And all of Israel, its Elders, its policemen, its judges were standing on both sides of the ark …” They turned their faces towards Mount Gerizim and opened with the blessing: “Blessed be the man who will not make a hewn or molten [image], the Eternal’s abomination, made by an artisan, and will not put it up in secret.” These and those did answer and say: Amen. They turned their faces towards Mount Ebal and opened with the curse⁸⁵Deut. 27:15.: “Cursed be the man who would make a hewn or molten [image], the Eternal’s abomination, made by an artisan, and would put it up in secret.” These and those did answer and say: Amen, until they finished blessings and curses.

HALAKHAH: It was stated: Rebbi says, it is impossible to say that Levi is up⁸⁶Deut 27:11–14 seems to be self-contradictory. In v. 12, it is stated that the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Jehudah, etc. have to stand on Mount Gerizim but in v. 14 the Levites are in the middle to recite the curses. because it already was said that Levi is down. It is impossible to say that Levi is down because it already was said that Levi is up. From this you say, the Elders of the Levites and the priests are down and the rest of the tribe are up⁸⁷In the Tosephta, 8:8, and the Babli, 37a, Rebbi is reported to say that all tribes were standing at the foot of the respective mountains (cf. Jos. 8:33) The opinion given here is there ascribed to R. Eliezer ben Jacob.. Rebbi Simeon says, it is impossible to say that Levi is up because it already was said that Levi is down and it is impossible to say that Levi is down because it already was said that Levi is up. From this you say, anyone able to serve⁸⁸In the Tabernacle, between the ages of 25 and 50 (Num. 8:24–25). In Tosephta and Babli, this opinion is ascribed to R. Joshia. is down and the rest of the tribe is up. Rebbi Simeon says, “Simeon and Levi”, since all of Simeon are up, also all of Levi are up. How do I confirm “in face of the Cohanim, the Levites”? ⁸⁹Ma‘aśer Šeni 5:5, Note 90; Babli Yebamot 86b, Ḥulin 24b. As Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, in 24 places are Cohanim called Levites and this is one of them⁹⁰Ez. 44:15.: “The Cohanim Levites, the descendants of Ṣadoq.”

One could think that those on Mount Gerizim did recite the blessings and those on Mount Ebal did recite the curses, the verse⁹¹There is no such verse; both in Deut. 30:1 and Jos. 8:34 the singular is used. The plural is used for “blessings” in Deut. 28:2, for “curses” in Deut. 28:15. says “the blessings and the curses”; both were saying blessings and curses. One could think that after they had recited the blessings they were reciting the curses, the verse⁹²Deut. 11:26, Jos. 8:34. From here on, a similar argument is in Sifry Deut. 55; that text is reproduced in the Babli, 37b. says “the blessing and the curse”, one blessing and one curse. One could think that those on Mount Gerizim did answer “Amen” after the blessings and those on Mount Ebal did answer “Amen” after the curses, the verse⁹³Deut. 27:15. says “the entire people will answer and say “Amen”; these and those did answer “Amen” after the blessings and after the curses. How is that? When they were reciting the blessings they were turning their faces towards Mount Gerizim; when they were reciting the curses they were turning their faces towards Mount Ebal.

⁹⁴Babli 37 a/b, Tosephta 8:10–11. The explanation follows Rashi in the Babli. Blessed in general and blessed in particular⁹⁵Deut. 27:26 is general, referring to “the words of this Torah”, but vv. 15–25 refer to particular sins.; cursed in general and cursed in particular. Sixteen covenants on every detail, to study, to teach, to keep, and to do⁹⁶For each commandment one is obligated to study it (Deut. 6:6), to teach it (Deut. 6:7, 11:19), to keep and execute it (Deut. 4:6,5:1). There are four obligations that bring blessings and four omissions that bring curses, in all 8. Since every commandment is also part of “the words of this Torah”, that equals 16 for each single commandment.; and the same on Sinai⁹⁷Lev. 26:46. and the same in the prairie of Moab⁹⁸Deut. 28:69.. Rebbi Simeon does exclude that of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal⁹⁹Since Joshua executed only a commandment of Moses; he did not conclude a new covenant at that moment, but did so later, cf. Jos. 24:25. and instead includes that of the Tent of Meeting¹⁰⁰The Babli, 27b, quotes here a disagreement between R. Aqiba, who holds that the entire Torah was given at Sinai and repeated in the Tent of Meeting, and R. Ismael who holds that the general outline was given at Sinai but the details only in the Tent of Meeting (cf. Lev. 1:1).. Also Rebbi Simeon¹⁰¹In the Tosephta, R. Simeon is credited with the statement that a total of 3 times 16 covenants were established for every commandment. did say, there is no single detail in the Torah about which not 576 covenants were concluded. Twelve¹⁰²One for each verse of Deut. 27:15–26. in blessing, twelve in cursing. Twelve in general, twelve in detail. That makes 48 covenants. To study, to teach, to keep, and to do, that makes 192 covenants. The same on Sinai and the same in the prairie of Moab, that makes 576 covenants. Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah from the village of Emmaus¹⁰³In the Babylonian sources, the name of the village is עכוֹ or עיכוס, עיבום but in the Tosephta also once עמוס, cf. S. Lieberman, Tosefta kiFshutah Našim p. 711; A. Liss, ed., The Babylonian Talmud with variant readings, Sotah, vol. 2, p. 148, Notes 33,39*. says in the name of Rebbi Simeon: 603’550¹⁰⁴This is the census of the tribes in Num. 1:46, excluding the Levites. This means that he counts one individual covenant for each Israelite. This is the explicit statement in the Tosephta. In the Babli: 48 covenants for 603’550, attributed to Rebbi in our text. The statement of Rebbi in the Tosephta is: 13 covenants for 603’550.. Rebbi says, if one follows the words of Rebbi Simeon ben Jehudah from the village of Emmaus who said in the name of Rebbi Simeon, then there is no single detail in the Torah about which not 48 times 603’550 covenants were concluded.

So far subjects which were stated in general and in detail¹⁰⁵Of the twelve blessings and curses (cf. Note 102), one is general and 11 are in detail. The ones in detail are also contained in the last, general, blessing and curse.. Subjects which were stated in general but not in detail¹⁰⁶Any other commandment in the Torah. Are there any covenants that force one to obey those?? He said to him: So says Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Simeon¹⁰⁷In all Babli-inspired sources, this is the 9th hermeneutic rule of R. Ismael; Sifra, Introduction. In Chapter 9, the authorship is attributed to (tannaitic) rabbis who oppose R. Ismael; Chapter 9, Notes 87–89.. Anything which was in a set and and left the set to teach, not to teach only about itself did it leave but to teach about the entire set¹⁰⁸The example given in Sifra is: It is written in Lev. 7:20 that eating from a well-being sacrifice that had become impure is a deadly sin. But well-being sacrifices are only one element of the set of all sacrifices. In the absence of a biblical statement to the contrary, it can be asserted that eating from any sacrifice that had become impure is a deadly sin. The set is that of all sacrifices, from which the well-being sacrifice was singled out for a special statement.. He said to him: Is that not about a single subject? Perhaps for two subjects? And here¹⁰⁹And in this case there are 11 particular statements and one defining the set as all commandments of the Torah., we deal with two different subjects. Rebbi Tanḥuma said, since at the end is written “Amen”, it is as if everything were one subject.

It is written: “Cursed be he who would not raise all the words of this Torah.” Can the Torah fall down? Simeon ben Yaqim¹¹⁰Nachmanides (Commentary to Deut. 27:26) reads Rebbi Simeon ben Yaqim. says, that is the ḥazzan who stands¹¹¹Nachmanides does not read the last two words. It would seem that his reading is correct. In Europe, the word חזן always denoted the reader who stood before the congregation and led it in prayer. However, in the East, the חזן was always the employee of the congregation who functioned as rabbi, reader, ritual slaughterer, and general organizer of the community (cf. Berakhot 3:1, Note 60). At Torah readings, the ḥazzan had to see to it that the Torah scroll was lifted and shown to all present.. Rebbi Simeon ben Ḥalaphta says, that is the earthly house¹¹²Nachmanides reads זֶה בֵּית דִּין שֶׁלְּמַטָּה “that is the earthly court” (which has to supervise the moral state of the community.), as Rav Ḥuna, Rav Jehudah said in the name of Samuel: Josia tore [his garments] about this verse¹¹³2K. 22:11. He asserts that upon hearing the Torah [which by tradition had been forbidden by his father Amon (cf. Midrash Haggadol Deut. on Deut.27:26)], Josia tore his garments on hearing Deut. 27:26. and said, I have to raise.

¹¹⁵A fundraiser’s sermon Rebbi Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Tanḥum ben Rebbi Ḥiyya. If somebody studied and taught, kept and did, and it was in his power to strengthen¹¹⁶To give financial support to institutions of Torah learning., but he did not strengthen, that one is in the set of the cursed. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: If somebody did not study, did not teach, did not keep and did not do, and it was not in his hand to strengthen but he did strengthen¹¹⁷He gave financial support to institutions of Torah learning even though he was not rich., that one is in the set of the blessed. And Rebbi Ḥana, Rebbi Jeremiah, said in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: In the future [world], the Holy One, praise to Him, will make shadow of those who perform commandments¹¹⁸They give money to charity. A similar statement in the name of R. Joḥanan is in the Babli, Pesaḥim 53b. in the shadow of those who study Torah. What is the reason? “For in the shadow of Torah, in the shadow of money¹¹⁹Eccl. 7:12”. And it is said, “it¹²⁰The Torah (taken here as symbol for the institutions of Torah study). is a tree of life for those who support it.¹²¹Prov. 3:18. Midrash rabba Lev.25(1): “It does not say ‘it is a tree of life for those who study it’, but ‘who support it’.”

Why does the verse¹²²In Jos. 8:33, those who went to Mount Gerizim are חֶצְיוֹ “half”, but those on Mount Ebal are וְהַחֶצְיוֹ “and the half”. The appearance of the definite article has to be explained. say: “and the half of it”? This teaches that a minority was on Mount Gerizim and a majority on Mount Ebal¹²³Based on the figures of Num. 26, there would be about 20’000 fewer persons on Mount Gerizim than on Mount Ebal, the Levites not counted. Since the Levites were counted separately, as unfit for war, and they were counted from one month of age, the numbers cannot be compared. Including children from the age of one month, there were only 23’000 Levites.. Why? Because the tribe of Levi was not completely there. For if the tribe of Levi had been completely there, they would have been equal. Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: If the tribe of Levi had been completely there, they would not have been equal. Why? Since already 24’000 had fallen at Shiṭṭim from the tribe of Simeon¹²⁴In the count of Num. 1, the tribe of Simeon had 59’300 warriors, but in Num. 26, that number had shrunk to 22’200. The people who had died at Shiṭṭim were 24’000 (Num. 25:9). This is less than the total diminution of the tribe of Simeon.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, if the tribe of Levi had been completely there, they would have been equal¹²⁵This is difficult to understand. Following Jos. 4:13, the Transjordanian tribes together delivered “about 40’000 frontline soldiers”. There is no indication that the Transjordanien tribe of Manasse was counted separately. In any case, the data in Scripture are insufficient to express any opinion in the matter.. Why? Because from the tribes of Reuben and Gad only 40’000 front line troops came there.

Cahana said, just as they divide here, so they divide at the beginning of the second book of the Pentateuch¹²⁶Ex. 1:2–3. There, the order is quite different: First the sons of the wives, then the sons of the handmaidens. In the Babli, 36a/b, the opinion is attributed to R. Ḥanina ben Gamliel.. Some Tannaïm state: Just as they divide here, so they divide in the standards¹²⁷This opinion is not found in the Babli. Cf. Num. 2. There the order is: Standard of Judah: Judah, Issachar, Zebulun. Standard of Reuben: Reuben, Simeon, Gad. Standard of Ephraim: Ephraim, Manasse, Benjamin. Standard of Dan: Dan, Asher, Naftali. This also is incompatible with the order given in Deut. 27:13–14: Simeon, Levi, Jehudah, Issachar, Joseph, Benjamin - Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, Naftali.. The sons of Leah on one side, the sons of Rachel one on one side, the other one on the other side, and the sons of the handmaidens in the middle¹²⁸The verse indicates which tribes were standing on which mountain but does not indicate how they were standing. The opinion here is that on Mount Gerizim the two Rachel tribes, Joseph and Benjamin, were standing at the right and left extremes and the Leah tribes in the middle; on Mount Ebal the two Leah tribes, Reuben and Zebulun were standing at the right and left extremes and the handmaidens’ tribes in the middle. (Explanation of Pene Moshe). In the Babli, 36b.. Rebbi Mattania said, the reason of this Tanna is: “Hear me, Jacob my servant, Israel my roofed in¹²⁹Jes. 48:12. The verse is misquoted; “my servant” is not written. The interpretation of this conceit is based on rabbinic Hebrew קוֹרָא “roof girder”; modern Hebrew קוֹרָה..” Just as on the roof the thick part of one [beam] is next to the slim part of the other [beam]¹³⁰It seems that their roofs were made from wooden beams of a slightly conical shape so that they could be pressed together to protect against the rains. A similar picture Ex. rabba 1(6).. Some Tannaïm state: Just as they are split here, so they are split on the stones of the ephod¹³¹Ex. 28:9–10. The order in which the names of the tribes were to be engraved on the Shoham stones is indicated only obliquely as כְּתוֹלְדֹתָם “in the order of their birth”; that would be Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Jehudah, Dan, Naftali; Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin. In the Babli, 36a, this is the opinion of Rav Cahana.. “In their fulnesses”, that there should be 25 on one side and 25 on the other side¹³²The word is written not for the Shoham stones of the ephod but for the stones representing the tribes on the ḥoshen(Ex. 28:20), on which the names of the tribes were engraved (v. 21) and which were set to fill the settings prepared for them.. But they are only 49¹³³As written, the names of the Gerizim tribes add up to 27 letters, those of the Ebal tribes to 22. The same objection in the Babli, 36b.! Rebbi Joḥanan said, “Benjamin” of “and their births” is plene¹³⁴On the stone, the name of Benjamin was written בנימין for a total of 28 letters. This opinion is not quoted in the Babli; it is dismissed in the Yerushalmi.. Rebbi Judah bar Zabida said, Jehoseph is plene, “He put it up as a testimony in Jehoseph.¹³⁵Ps. 81:6. In the Babli, 36b, this is the opinion of R. Isaac.” But they are only 23 on one side and 27 on the other¹³⁶This questioner reads זבולון plene but בנימן defective and יוסף in its usual form.! Rebbi Joḥanan said, Benjamin was split, Ben on one side, Jamin on the other side¹³⁷R. Joḥanan cannot follow his own opinion that Benjamin was spelled plene but must follow R. Judah bar Zabida. Then on the right hand side there were 27 + 1 - 3 = 25 letters and on the left hand side 22 + 3 = 25 letters.. Rebbi Zabida said, this is fine. Does it say “their six names”? No, but, “of their names”, not their entire names¹³⁸In Ex. 28:10, the group of the first six names is charaterized as מִשְּׁמֹתָם, “of their names”, taking the מ, as usual in rabbinic texts, as partitive. The other six names are “the six other names”, to be written in full (and, according to the Babli, 36a, in the order of their births.)! The first were written on the right hand side of the High Priest, to the left of the viewer. The last were written on the left hand side of the High Priest, to the right of the viewer. The first ones were not written in order, for Jehudah is king. The last ones were written in order¹³⁹That means, not in the order in which they are enumerated in Deut. 27:14..