Rishon - Chavura

Sources of Ben Sira

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ben%20Sira%2025&version=NABRE

https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/בן_סירא

Nathan, David, and Solomon Chapter 47

After him came Nathan[a]
who served in David’s presence.

Like the choice fat of sacred offerings,
so was David in Israel.

He played with lions as though they were young goats,
and with bears, like lambs of the flock.

As a youth he struck down the giant
and wiped out the people’s disgrace;
His hand let fly the slingstone
that shattered the pride of Goliath.

For he had called upon the Most High God,
who gave strength to his right arm
To defeat the skilled warrior
and establish the might of his people.

Therefore the women sang his praises
and honored him for “the tens of thousands.”
When he received the royal crown, he battled

and subdued the enemy on every side.
He campaigned against the hostile Philistines
and shattered their power till our own day.

With his every deed he offered thanks
to God Most High, in words of praise.
With his whole heart he loved his Maker

and daily had his praises sung;

He added beauty to the feasts
and solemnized the seasons of each year

With string music before the altar,
providing sweet melody for the psalms

So that when the Holy Name was praised,
before daybreak the sanctuary would resound.

The Lord forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever;
He conferred on him the rights of royalty
and established his throne in Israel.

Because of his merits he had as successor[b]
a wise son, who lived in security:

Solomon reigned during an era of peace,
for God brought rest to all his borders.
He built a house to the name of God,
and established a lasting sanctuary.

How wise you were when you were young,
overflowing with instruction, like the Nile in flood!

Your understanding covered the whole earth,
and, like a sea, filled it with knowledge.

Your fame reached distant coasts,
and you were beloved for your peaceful reign.

With song and proverb and riddle,
and with your answers, you astounded the nations.

You were called by that glorious name
which was conferred upon Israel.[c]
Gold you gathered like so much iron;
you heaped up silver as though it were lead.

But you abandoned yourself to women
and gave them dominion over your body.

You brought a stain upon your glory,
shame upon your marriage bed,
Wrath upon your descendants,
and groaning upon your deathbed.

Thus two governments came into being,
when in Ephraim kingship was usurped.

But God does not withdraw his mercy,
nor permit even one of his promises to fail.
He does not uproot the posterity of the chosen,
nor destroy the offspring of his friends.
So he gave to Jacob a remnant,
to David a root from his own family.

Solomon finally slept with his ancestors,
and left behind him one of his sons,
Broad[d] in folly, narrow in sense,
whose policy made the people rebel.
Then arose the one who should not be remembered,
the sinner who led Israel into sin,
Who brought ruin to Ephraim

and caused them to be exiled from their land.

Elijah and Elisha

Their sinfulness grew more and more,
and they gave themselves to every evil[e]

Ben Sira: A Second Book of Proverbs… But Even More Pious

Ben Sira reads much like the Book of Proverbs. It offers various nuggets of advice, mostly in proverb form. Like Proverbs, it is, by and large, loosely organized. Unlike Kohelet, Ben Sira’s proverbs acknowledge God and exhort its readers to follow the mitzvot and Torah. Also recording Israel’s sacred history (entirely missing in Kohelet) and celebrating the sacrificial system, it is like the anti-Kohelet. Thus, one typical passage reads:

בן סירא ה:א אל תשען על חילך

ואל תאמר יש לאל ידי.

אל תשען על כוחך

ללכת אחר תאות נפשך. Ben Sira 5:1 Do not rely on your wealth,

or say, “I have enough.”

Do not rely on your strength,

To follow the desire of your soul.

ה:ב אל תלך אחרי לבך ועיניך ללכת בחמודות רעה. 5:2 Do not follow your inclination and strength in pursuing the desires of your heart. ה:ג אל תאמר

מי יוכל כחו

כי ייי מבקש נרדפים. 5:3 Do not say,

“Who can have power over me?”

for the Lord will surely punish you. ה:ד אל תאמר חטאתי

ומה יעשה לי מאומה

כי אל ארך אפים הוא.

אל תאמר רחום ייי

וכל עונותי ימחה. 5:4 Do not say, “I sinned, yet what has happened to me?”

for the Lord is slow to anger.

Do not say "the Lord is merciful,

and he will erase all my sins."

ה:ה אל סליחה אל תבטח

להוסיף עון על עון. 5:5 Do not be so confident of forgiveness

that you add sin to sin. ה:ו ואמרת רחמיו רבים

לרוב עונותי יסלח.

כי רחמים ואף ע[מ]ו

ואל רשעים ינוח רגזו. 5:6 Do not say, “His mercy is great,

he will forgive the multitude of my sins,”

for both mercy and wrath are with him,

and his anger will rest on sinners. ה:ז אל תאחר לשוב אליו

ואל תתעבר מיום אל יום,

כי פתאום יצא זעמו

וביום נקם תספה. 5:7 Do not delay to turn back to the Lord,

and do not postpone it from day to day;

for suddenly the Lord’s wrath will come upon you, and at the time of punishment you will perish. ה:ח אל תבטח על נכסי שקר

כי לא יועילו ביום עברה. 5:8 Do not depend on dishonest wealth,

for it will not benefit you on the day of calamity.

Note: Ben Sira, unlike Kohelet, affirms that God will indeed punish individuals for their sins. Also, the Hebrew and (traditional) Greek version, from which the English is taken, are not always in full agreement.

Now unlike Kohelet, this is pious! So how does Kohelet make it into the canon when Ben Sira does not?

The Wisdom of Ben Sira: How Jewish? - TheTorah.com

The Persistence of Ben Sira’s Influence

Unlike other originally Jewish books now found in the Apocrypha, though, Ben Sira did not exactly fade away. The book continued to circulate and to be read among Palestinian Jews, even though some tannaim explicitly put it in the category of non-holy, even heretical, books.[6] Yet in practice, Palestinian rabbinic literature shows no discomfort with reading and citing the book.

Talmudic Quotations

The Palestinian Talmud mentions the book once, in a story in which Shimon ben Shetach quotes from it in order to justify his actions to King Yanai. While the Palestinian Talmud never cites verses from Ben Sira using the traditional terms used to introduce biblical prooftexts (e.g., kaktuv; dikhtiv), in several places it introduces verses from Ben Sira using a formula like, “Ben Sira said,” as if he himself was a sage like any other.

Sanhedrin 100b

רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר אַף הַקּוֹרֵא בַּסְּפָרִים הַחִיצוֹנִים וְכוּ' תָּנָא בְּסִפְרֵי מִינִים רַב יוֹסֵף אָמַר בְּסֵפֶר בֶּן סִירָא נָמֵי אָסוּר לְמִיקְרֵי אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי מַאי טַעְמָא אִילֵּימָא מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִב [בֵּיהּ] לָא תִּינְטוֹשׁ גִּילְדָּנָא מֵאוּדְנֵיהּ דְּלָא לֵיזִיל מַשְׁכֵיהּ לַחֲבָלָא אֶלָּא צְלִי יָתֵיהּ בְּנוּרָא וְאֵיכוֹל בֵּיהּ תַּרְתֵּין גְּרִיצִים

The mishna teaches that Rabbi Akiva says: Also one who reads external literature has no share in the World-to-Come. The Sages taught in a baraita: This is a reference to reading books of heretics. Rav Yosef says: It is also prohibited to read the book of ben Sira, due to its problematic content. Abaye said to Rav Yosef: What is the reason that it is prohibited to read the book of ben Sira? If we say that it is prohibited due to the fact that ben Sira wrote in it: Do not flay the skin of the fish from its ear, so that its skin does not go to ruin, but roast it on the fire and eat with it two loaves of bread, and you believe it to be nonsense, that is not a sufficient reason.

אִי מִפְּשָׁטֵיהּ בְּאוֹרָיְיתָא נָמֵי כְּתִב לֹא תַשְׁחִית אֶת עֵצָהּ אִי מִדְּרָשָׁא אוֹרַח אַרְעָא קָא מַשְׁמַע לַן דְּלָא לִיבְעוֹל שֶׁלֹּא כְּדַרְכָּהּ

If your difficulty is from its literal meaning, that does not pose a difficulty, as in the Torah, God also wrote: “You shall not destroy its trees” (Deuteronomy 20:19). It is prohibited to destroy both trees and fish skin arbitrarily. If your difficulty is from its homiletic interpretation as a euphemism, ben Sira is teaching us proper conduct: A man should not engage in sexual intercourse in an atypical manner, i.e., anal intercourse, with his wife, as it causes her discomfort.

וְאֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִיב בַּת לְאָבִיהָ מַטְמוֹנֶת שָׁוְא מִפַּחְדָּהּ לֹא יִישַׁן בַּלַּיְלָה בְּקַטְנוּתָהּ שֶׁמָּא תִּתְפַּתֶּה בְּנַעֲרוּתָהּ שֶׁמָּא תִּזְנֶה בָּגְרָה שֶׁמָּא לֹא תִּינָּשֵׂא נִישֵּׂאת שֶׁמָּא לֹא יִהְיוּ לָהּ בָּנִים הִזְקִינָה שֶׁמָּא תַּעֲשֶׂה כְּשָׁפִים הָא רַבָּנַן נָמֵי אַמְרוּהָ אִי אֶפְשָׁר לְעוֹלָם בְּלֹא זְכָרִים וּבְלֹא נְקֵבוֹת אַשְׁרֵי מִי שֶׁבָּנָיו זְכָרִים אוֹי לוֹ לְמִי שֶׁבָּנָיו נְקֵבוֹת

Rather, perhaps the book poses a difficulty because it is written there: A daughter is for her father false treasure; due to fear for her he will not sleep at night: During her minority, lest she be seduced; during her young womanhood lest she engage in licentiousness; once she has reached her majority, lest she not marry; once she marries, lest she have no children; once she grows old, lest she engage in witchcraft (Ben Sira 42:11–14). Perhaps you believe that one should not say this to the father of daughters. Didn’t the Sages also say it with regard to women? They said: It is impossible for the world to exist without males and without females; nevertheless, happy is one whose children are males and woe unto him whose children are females.

אֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִיב לָא תַּעֵיל דְּוָיָא בְּלִבָּךְ דְּגַבְרֵי גִּיבָּרִין קְטַל דְּוָיָא הָא שְׁלֹמֹה אַמְרַהּ דְּאָגָה בְלֶב אִישׁ יַשְׁחֶנָּה רַבִּי אַמֵּי וְרַבִּי אַסִּי חַד אָמַר יַשִּׂיחֶנָּה מִדַּעְתּוֹ וְחַד אָמַר יְשִׂיחֶנָּה לַאֲחֵרִים

Rather, perhaps the book poses a difficulty because it is written there: Do not introduce anxiety into your heart, as anxiety has killed mighty men (Ben Sira 14:1; 30:29). Didn’t Solomon already say it in the verse: “Anxiety in a man’s heart dejects him [yashḥena]” (Proverbs 12:25)? Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi interpret the term homiletically and read it as yesiḥenna. One says that it means: He shall remove it [yesiḥenna] from his mind, and that will ease his anxiety. And one says: He shall tell it [yesiḥenna] to others, and that will ease his anxiety. Both agree with the statement of ben Sira.

וְאֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִיב מְנַע רַבִּים מִתּוֹךְ בֵּיתֶךָ וְלֹא הַכֹּל תָּבִיא אֶל בֵּיתֶךָ וְהָא רַבִּי נָמֵי אַמְרַהּ דְּתַנְיָא רַבִּי אוֹמֵר לְעוֹלָם לֹא יַרְבֶּה אָדָם רֵעִים בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר 'אִישׁ רֵעִים לְהִתְרוֹעֵעַ'

Rather, perhaps the book poses a difficulty because it is written there: Prevent the multitudes from inside your house, and do not bring everyone into your house (Ben Sira 11:37). But didn’t Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi also say it, as it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: A person should never have many friends inside his house, as it is stated: “There are friends that one has to his own detriment” (Proverbs 18:24), as through his association with them he will become weak and be ruined.

אֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִיב זַלְדְּקַן קוּרְטְמָן עַבְדְּקַן סִכְסָן דְּנָפַח בְּכָסֵיהּ לָא צָחֵי אָמַר 'בְּמַאי אֵיכוֹל לַחְמָא' לַחְמָא סַב מִינֵּיהּ מַאן דְּאִית לֵיהּ מַעְבַּרְתָּא בְּדִיקְנֵיהּ כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא לָא יָכְלִי לֵיהּ

Rather, perhaps the book poses a difficulty because it is written there: A sparse-bearded man is clever; a thick-bearded man is a fool. One who blows on his cup is not thirsty. One who said: With what will I eat bread, take the bread from him. One who has a passage in his beard, the entire world is unable to overcome him. Abaye suggests: Due to all this nonsense, it is not appropriate to read this book.

אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף מִילֵּי מְעַלַּיְיתָא דְּאִית בֵּיהּ דָּרְשִׁינַן לְהוּ אִשָּׁה טוֹבָה מַתָּנָה טוֹבָה בְּחֵיק יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים תִּנָּתֵן אִשָּׁה רָעָה צָרַעַת לְבַעְלָהּ מַאי תַּקַּנְתֵּיהּ יְגָרְשֶׁנָּה מִבֵּיתוֹ וְיִתְרַפֵּא מִצָּרַעְתּוֹ אִשָּׁה יָפָה אַשְׁרֵי בַּעְלָהּ מִסְפַּר יָמָיו כִּפְלַיִם

Rav Yosef says: Even though there are passages in the book that are inappropriate, we teach the superior matters that are in it even in public. A good wife is a good gift; she will be given into the bosom of a God-fearing man (Ben Sira 26:3). A bad wife is leprosy for her husband. What is his remedy? He shall chase her from his house and will be healed from his leprosy (Ben Sira 25:30). A beautiful wife, happy is her husband; the number of his days is doubled (Ben Sira 26:1). Due to his happiness, it is as though his life is twice as long.

הַעְלֵם עֵינֶיךָ מֵאֵשֶׁת חֵן פֶּן תִּלָּכֵד בִּמְצוּדָתָהּ אַל תֵּט אֵצֶל בַּעְלָהּ לִמְסוֹךְ עִמּוֹ יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר כִּי בְּתוֹאַר אִשָּׁה יָפָה רַבִּים הוּשְׁחָתוּ וַעֲצוּמִים כׇּל הֲרוּגֶיהָ רַבִּים הָיוּ פִּצְעֵי רוֹכֵל הַמַּרְגִּילִים לִדְבַר עֶרְוָה כְּנִיצוֹץ מַבְעִיר גַּחֶלֶת כִּכְלוּב מָלֵא עוֹף כֵּן בָּתֵּיהֶם מְלֵאִים מִרְמָה מְנַע רַבִּים מִתּוֹךְ בֵּיתֶךָ וְלֹא הַכֹּל תָּבִיא בֵּיתֶךָ רַבִּים יִהְיוּ דּוֹרְשֵׁי שְׁלוֹמֶךָ גַּלֵּה סוֹדְךָ לְאֶחָד מֵאָלֶף מִשּׁוֹכֶבֶת חֵיקֶךָ שְׁמוֹר פִּתְחֵי פִיךָ אַל תֵּצַר צָרַת מָחָר כִּי לֹא תֵדַע מַה יֵּלֶד יוֹם שֶׁמָּא לְמָחָר אֵינֶנּוּ וְנִמְצָא מִצְטַעֵר עַל עוֹלָם שֶׁאֵינוֹ שֶׁלּוֹ

We also teach what it states there: Avert your eyes from a woman of grace, lest you be trapped in her snare. Turn not to her husband to mix wine and strong drink with him, as many have been corrupted by the beauty of the beautiful woman, and mighty are all her fatalities (Ben Sira 9:9–11). Many are the wounds of a peddler (Ben Sira 11:36), which in this context is referring to those who accustom others to matters of forbidden sexual relations. Like a spark ignites a coal (Ben Sira 11:43), like a cage full of birds, so too, their houses are filled with deceit (Ben Sira 11:36–37). Prevent the multitudes from inside your house, and do not bring everyone into your house (Ben Sira 11:37). Let many be those who greet you; reveal your secrets to one in a thousand. From she who lies in your bosom guard the openings of your mouth, i.e., do not tell her everything. Grieve not about tomorrow’s trouble, because you know not what a day may bring; perhaps tomorrow you will no longer be, and one will have worried about a world that is not his.

כׇּל יְמֵי עָנִי רָעִים בֶּן סִירָא אוֹמֵר אַף לֵילוֹת בִּשְׁפַל גַּגִּים גַּגּוֹ וּבִמְרוֹם הָרִים כַּרְמוֹ מִמְּטַר גַּגִּים לְגַגּוֹ וּמֵעֲפַר כַּרְמוֹ לִכְרָמִים

The verse states: “All the days of the poor are terrible” (Proverbs 15:15). The book of ben Sira says: Also the nights are terrible, as then the poor person worries. The poor person’s roof is among the lowest roofs in the city, and in the elevation of the hills is his vineyard, at the highest point, as those are of the lowest quality and consequently the least expensive places for each. From the rain on the roofs of the entire city, water will flow down to his roof and dampen it, and the soil of his vineyard is eroded by the rain and swept down to other vineyards.

[סִימָן זֵירָא רָבָא מְשַׁרְשְׁיָא חֲנִינָא טוֹבִיָּה יַנַּאי יָפֶה יוֹחָנָן מְרַחֵם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מְקַצֵּר]

§ The Gemara provides a mnemonic for the statements that follow, based primarily on those who authored those statements. Zeira; Rava; Mesharshiyya; Ḥanina toviyya, referring to Rabbi Ḥanina, who spoke of a good [tova] wife; Yannai yafe, referring to Rabbi Yannai, who spoke of one who is broad-minded [da’ato yafe]; Yoḥanan meraḥem, referring to Rabbi Yoḥanan, who spoke of one who is compassionate [meraḥem]; Yehoshua mekatzer, referring to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who spoke of one who is intolerant [da’ato ketzara].

יַנַּאי מַלְכָּא וּמַלְכְּתָא כְּרִיכוּ רִיפְתָּא בַּהֲדֵי הֲדָדֵי, וּמִדִּקְטַל לְהוּ לְרַבָּנַן לָא הֲוָה לֵיהּ אִינִישׁ לְבָרוֹכֵי לְהוּ. אֲמַר לַהּ לִדְבֵיתְהוּ: מַאן יָהֵיב לַן גַּבְרָא דִּמְבָרֵךְ לַן? אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ: אִשְׁתְּבַע לִי דְּאִי מַיְיתֵינָא לָךְ גַּבְרָא דְּלָא מְצַעֲרַתְּ לֵיהּ. אִשְׁתְּבַע לַהּ. אַיְיתִיתֵיהּ לְשִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטַח אֲחוּהָ. אוֹתְבֵיהּ בֵּין דִּידֵיהּ לְדִידַהּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: חָזֵית כַּמָּה יְקָרָא עָבֵידְנָא לָךְ. אָמַר לֵיהּ: לָאו אַתְּ קָא מוֹקְרַתְּ לִי אֶלָּא אוֹרָיְיתָא הִיא דְּמוֹקְרָא לִי, דִּכְתִיב: ״סַלְסְלֶהָ וּתְרוֹמְמֶךָּ תְּכַבֵּדְךָ כִּי תְחַבְּקֶנָּה״. אֲמַר לַהּ: קָא חָזֵית דְּלָא מְקַבֵּל מָרוּת.

The Gemara relates: King Yannai and the queen ate bread together. And since Yannai executed the Sages, there was no one to recite the Grace after Meals blessing on their behalf. He said to his wife: Who will provide us with a man to recite the blessing on our behalf? She said to him: Swear to me that if I bring you such a man, you will not harass him. He swore, and she brought her brother, Shimon ben Shataḥ. She sat him between the King’s throne and hers. The King said to him: Do you see how much honor I am according you? He responded: It is not you who honors me; rather, the Torah honors me, as it is written: “Extol her and she will exalt you; she will bring you to honor when you embrace her” (Proverbs 4:8). Yannai said to his wife: You see that he does not accept authority.

יְהַבוּ לֵיהּ כָּסָא לְבָרוֹכֵי. אֲמַר: הֵיכִי אֲבָרֵיךְ — ״בָּרוּךְ שֶׁאָכַל יַנַּאי וַחֲבֵירָיו מִשֶּׁלּוֹ״? שַׁתְיֵיהּ לְהָהוּא כָּסָא, יְהַבוּ לֵיהּ כָּסָא אַחֲרִינָא וּבָרֵיךְ.

They gave Shimon ben Shataḥ a cup of wine over which to recite Grace after Meals. He said: How shall I recite the blessing? Shall I say: Blessed is He from Whom Yannai and his companions have eaten? I have not eaten anything. He drank that cup of wine. They gave him another cup, and he recited the Grace after Meals blessing. By drinking the first cup he joined the other diners and was therefore eligible to recite Grace after Meals on their behalf.

אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטַח דַּעֲבַד — לְגַרְמֵיהּ הוּא דַּעֲבַד, דְּהָכִי אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לְעוֹלָם אֵינוֹ מוֹצִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים יְדֵי חוֹבָתָן עַד שֶׁיֹּאכַל כְּזַיִת דָּגָן.

With regard to this story, Rabbi Abba, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, said (that Rabbi Yoḥanan said): That which Shimon ben Shataḥ did, reciting Grace after Meals on their behalf, he did on his own, and not in accordance with the accepted halakha, as Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said as follows: One who recites Grace after Meals cannot fulfill the obligation of others to recite it until he eats an olive-bulk of grain.

מֵיתִיבִי, רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר: עָלָה וְהֵסֵיב עִמָּהֶם אֲפִילּוּ לֹא טִבֵּל עִמָּהֶם אֶלָּא בְּצִיר, וְלֹא אָכַל עִמָּהֶם אֶלָּא גְּרוֹגֶרֶת אַחַת — מִצְטָרֵף.

The Gemara raises an objection based on what was taught in a baraita: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: One who entered and reclined together with those who were dining, even if he only dipped with them a small bit of food in spicy brine that was before them and ate with them only a single dry fig, he joins them. This baraita demonstrates that one need not necessarily eat grain to recite Grace after Meals on their behalf.

אִיצְטְרוֹפֵי מִצְטָרֵף אֲבָל לְהוֹצִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים יְדֵי חוֹבָתָן — עַד שֶׁיֹּאכַל כְּזַיִת דָּגָן.

The Gemara responds: Indeed, he joins them, but he cannot satisfy the obligation of the many unless he has eaten an olive-bulk of grain.

אִיתְּמַר נָמֵי, אָמַר רַב חָנָא בַּר יְהוּדָה מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרָבָא: אֲפִילּוּ לֹא

Similarly, this halakha was also stated: Rav Ḥana bar Yehuda said in the name of Rava: Even if he only

48b

טִבֵּל עִמָּהֶם אֶלָּא בְּצִיר, וְלֹא אָכַל עִמָּהֶם אֶלָּא גְּרוֹגֶרֶת אַחַת — מִצְטָרֵף. וּלְהוֹצִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים יְדֵי חוֹבָתָם — אֵינוֹ מוֹצִיא עַד שֶׁיֹּאכַל כְּזַיִת דָּגָן. אָמַר רַב חָנָא בַּר יְהוּדָה מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרָבָא: הִלְכְתָא, אָכַל עֲלֵה יָרָק וְשָׁתָה כּוֹס שֶׁל יַיִן — מִצְטָרֵף. לְהוֹצִיא — אֵינוֹ מוֹצִיא עַד שֶׁיֹּאכַל כְּזַיִת דָּגָן.

dipped with them a small bit of food in brine and ate with them only a single dry fig, he joins them. And to satisfy the obligation of the many, he does not satisfy their obligation until he eats an olive-bulk of grain. Rabbi Ḥana bar Yehuda said in the name of Rava that the halakha is: If one ate a vegetable leaf and drank a cup of wine, he joins the diners. However, to satisfy the obligation of others, he does not satisfy their obligation until he eats an olive-bulk of grain.

Liturgical Usage

Ben Sira also had a significant liturgical role. The beginning and end of the ancient Yom Kippur Avodah service were modeled on Ben Sira’s panegyric to the high priest of his time, Simon (Sirach 44, 50). The earliest extant piyyut in which we see this is attributed to the Palestinian poet Yose ben Yose, who probably lived in the fifth century CE. It became, however, the subsequent basis for the Avodah service.[9]

In the Geniza

Indeed, the fact that Ben Sira continued to play an important role in the lives of Palestinian Jews can be attested by the very survival of the Hebrew text in the Cairo Genizah. Portions of five manuscripts were found, all carefully written. We do not know how this community (which had close ties to the Palestinian Jewish community) used these books, although since they were not written on parchment, they likely did not use them liturgically.[10]

Quoted as Scripture in the Bavli

Babylonian Jews too continued to read and ascribe some kind of limited authority to Ben Sira. The Bavli cites Ben Sira often, sometimes more accurately, sometimes less so.[11] In at least one case, the Babylonian Talmud cites Ben Sira in a halakhic discussion using the formula kedikhtiv, implying that it has the authority of Scripture.[12]

In another case (b. Baba Kama 92b), the rabbis simply quoted the verse as Scripture (כתובים), without saying where it was from.[13] Unfamiliar quotes from Ben Sira caused such consternation among a certain group of readers in the Geonic period that they wrote a letter to one of the Geonic yeshivot asking about this verse, and received the reply that it is from Ben Sira, but still legitimate to darshen.[14]

The Talmudic Scrutiny of Ben Sira

Ben Sira’s place in Israel’s religious life, however, was also contested. The most extensive collection of verses from Ben Sira found in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 100b) in fact occurs in the context of contestation. The Talmud begins a discussion of Rabbi Akiva’s statement that those who read “external books” are excluded from the world to come. The Talmud first seeks to define what such books are, saying that they refer to the “books of the tzidokim” (Sadducees?). Rav Yosef then says: “It is also forbidden to recite from the book of Ben Sira”[15]

This sparks a long discussion about Rav Yosef’s reasoning in which different verses of Ben Sira are cited in order to test whether they are problematic; in the end, none are found to be definitively “out of bounds.” Rav Yosef’s comment remains somewhat obscure, but it has been plausibly suggested that he is only forbidding liturgical recitation of Ben Sira, not ordinary reading and study.[16] While the versions of Ben Sira that circulated in rabbinic circles in Babylonia might not have been identical to those in Palestine, they were clearly seen by many rabbis as containing ancient Jewish wisdom worth studying.[17]

Ben Sira in the Geonic Period

By the Geonic period and the Middle Ages, Ben Sira floated on the margins of the rabbinic world. Sa’adiah Gaon (ninth century) knew of a copy that had cantillation marks, perhaps indicating that some Jews recited it in the synagogue. Through the Middle Ages rabbis appear to know of Ben Sira primarily through its citation in rabbinic texts. The halakhic tendency appears to have been to lessen its status, permitting one, for example, to read it in the bathroom.[18]

A prior topic was the Haskalah and post Haskalah period.

Topics included

Emancipation of the Jews in modern times

The Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment

Wissenschaft des Judentums i.e. Science of Judaism in Hebrew Ḥokhmat Yisrael

Religious change went in many directions.

Orthodoxy, as represented by A. Hildesheimer

The Breslau Rabbinical seminary, under Zecharia Frankel taking a middle position

Geigers reforming Lehranstalt (Hochschule) fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums

Chavura files/links

This page resides at

https://sites.google.com/site/rishonmeir/chavura#