King Yannai once set out into the wilderness bound for Kochalis, where he conquered 60 cities. Upon his return, he made a huge celebration. He summoned all the sages of the Jewish people and said to them: “Our ancestors in their poverty would eat salty foods when they were busy with the building of the Temple; we, too, shall eat salty foods in their memory.” And they brought salty food on tables of gold and ate.
Present at the event, however, was a certain evil-hearted scoffer and villain by the name of Elazar ben Po’ira. Elazar ben Po’ira said to King Yannai, “Your majesty, in their hearts, the rabbis oppose your leadership.” The king replied, “So, what do you suggest?” Elazar responded, “Make them stand in your presence by donning the High Priest’s headgear.” And so, he did. He made them stand up as he donned the headgear.
Now, there was a certain elder called Yehuda ben Gedidia, who said to King Yannai, “Your majesty, the crown of the monarchy should suffice for you. Leave the crown of the priesthood for the descendants of Aaron!” For they would say that Yannai’s mother was taken captive in Modiin, thus disqualifying her from marrying into the priesthood, although the matter was investigated and never determined.
The king became enraged and expelled the Sages of Israel. But Elazar ben Po’ira said to him, “King Yannai, such is the judgment of a common person in Israel. However, you are a king and a High Priest. Is this your judgment?” Yannai replied, “So, what should I do?” Elazar responded, “If you heed my advice, crush them.” Yannai countered, “But what will become of the Torah?”
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Today’s daf tells the story of King Yannai and the sages.
מַעֲשֶׂה בִּינַאי הַמֶּלֶךְ שֶׁהָלַךְ לְכוּחְלִית שֶׁבַּמִּדְבָּר, וְכִיבֵּשׁ שָׁם שִׁשִּׁים כְּרַכִּים, וּבַחֲזָרָתוֹ הָיָה שָׂמֵחַ שִׂמְחָה גְּדוֹלָה. וְקָרָא לְכׇל חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אָמַר לָהֶם: אֲבוֹתֵינוּ הָיוּ אוֹכְלִים מְלוּחִים בִּזְמַן שֶׁהָיוּ עֲסוּקִים בְּבִנְיַן בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, אַף אָנוּ נֹאכַל מְלוּחִים זֵכֶר לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ. וְהֶעֱלוּ מְלוּחִים עַל שׁוּלְחָנוֹת שֶׁל זָהָב, וְאָכְלוּ. וְהָיָה שָׁם אֶחָד, אִישׁ לֵץ לֵב רַע וּבְלִיַּעַל, וְאֶלְעָזָר בֶּן פּוֹעֵירָה שְׁמוֹ. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן פּוֹעֵירָה לְיַנַּאי הַמֶּלֶךְ: יַנַּאי הַמֶּלֶךְ, לִבָּם שֶׁל פְּרוּשִׁים עָלֶיךָ. וּמָה אֶעֱשֶׂה? הָקֵם לָהֶם בַּצִּיץ שֶׁבֵּין עֵינֶיךָ. הֵקִים לָהֶם בַּצִּיץ שֶׁבֵּין עֵינָיו. הָיָה שָׁם זָקֵן אֶחָד וִיהוּדָה בֶּן גְּדִידְיָה שְׁמוֹ, וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה בֶּן גְּדִידְיָה לְיַנַּאי הַמֶּלֶךְ: יַנַּאי הַמֶּלֶךְ! רַב לְךָ כֶּתֶר מַלְכוּת, הַנַּח כֶּתֶר כְּהוּנָּה לְזַרְעוֹ שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן. שֶׁהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים: אִמּוֹ נִשְׁבֵּית בְּמוֹדִיעִים. וַיְבוּקַּשׁ הַדָּבָר וְלֹא נִמְצָא. וַיִּבָּדְלוּ חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּזַעַם. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן פּוֹעֵירָה לְיַנַּאי הַמֶּלֶךְ: יַנַּאי הַמֶּלֶךְ, הֶדְיוֹט שֶׁבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כָּךְ הוּא דִּינוֹ, וְאַתָּה מֶלֶךְ וְכֹהֵן גָּדוֹל כָּךְ הוּא דִּינָךְ? וּמָה אֶעֱשֶׂה? אִם אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ לַעֲצָתִי: רוֹמְסֵם. וְתוֹרָה מָה תְּהֵא עָלֶיהָ? הֲרֵי כְּרוּכָה וּמוּנַּחַת בְּקֶרֶן זָוִית, כָּל הָרוֹצֶה לִלְמוֹד יָבוֹא וְיִלְמוֹד. אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק: מִיָּד נִזְרְקָה בּוֹ מִינוּת, דַּהֲוָה לֵיהּ לְמֵימַר: תִּינַח תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב, תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה מַאי? מִיָּד: וַתּוּצַץ הָרָעָה עַל יְדֵי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן פּוֹעֵירָה, וַיֵּהָרְגוּ כׇּל חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם מִשְׁתּוֹמֵם, עַד שֶׁבָּא שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטַח וְהֶחְזִיר אֶת הַתּוֹרָה לְיוֹשְׁנָהּ
But what will become of the Torah? Elazar responded, “Look, it is over there, wrapped up in the corner. Anyone who wishes to learn can come and peruse it!” Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: Immediately, he was inspired by heresy, as he should have said, “That might work for the Written Torah, but what will become of the Oral Torah (which requires the teaching of the rabbis)?” Immediately, an atmosphere of evil blazed through Elazar ben Po’ira, and all the sages of the Jewish people were killed. And the world was desolate of Torah until Shimon ben Shetach came and restored the Torah to its former glory.
We are popularly known as the People of the Book. But most people don’t know that the phrase has its origins in Islam. Pagans were to be forcibly converted, while Bible-believers such as Jews and Christians, dubbed “People of the Book,” were to be tolerated, albeit as second-class citizens. The key to understanding why Jews were tolerated lies in the name “People of the Book.” The Qur’an is basically a reworking of the bible to fit their narrative. However, according to Islam, their text is the purified, true word of God—our Bible is an inaccurate version that we corrupted along the journey of history. Nevertheless, if Jews were eliminated, who could attest to Islam’s origins? Their sacred scripture tells a series of stories that happened centuries and millennia earlier. A living group of people who support the basic narrative in the “Book” buttresses the truth of the religion. So, in truth, the appellation “People of the Book” is nothing to celebrate.
But here’s why it’s not only historically disparaging but actually heretical. How does Elazar respond to King Yannai’s concern about the longevity of Torah? He tells him: “Just wrap it up and leave it in the corner. If anybody wants to study it, it’s available.” Immediately the Gemara points out the fallacy of that response: We’re not the People of the Book. We’re the People of the Book-plus—our Torah consists of the book of Tanach, plus the oral Torah. Diminishing us to adherents of the book alone opens the door to claims of textual inaccuracy (is that why we’re called dhimmis?). And that’s what the Gemara means by Yannai’s “heresy,” when he failed to respond querying the future of the Oral Torah. The existence of a book in the corner did not resolve his concern about the longevity of Torah. People of the Book are heretics. We are the People of Torah—Torah Shebichsav and Torah Shebaal Peh. Anything less is an insult to Jews and Judaism.
Let me tell you about my friend Rabbi Avi. He didn’t grow up observant and only discovered Torah and mitzvos whilst in college from a campus kiruv organization. Much as his college rabbi tried to convince him to go to yeshiva, Avi felt his career was already mapped out and he couldn’t delay his life plans. Nevertheless, Avi dedicates every moment he can to Torah, attending shiurim and listening to multiple podcasts. One day, Avi started listening to recordings of semicha classes, and he became passionate about the subjects being learned. Once he completed one series, he found a second and third maggid shiur to listen to. Avi is highly intelligent and has a brilliant memory, and after reviewing the shiurim several times, he eventually became proficient in the area. At that point, he decided he’d like to be tested. He took himself off to Israel and passed with flying colors, demonstrating an uncanny mastery of the material before the panel of rabbis. Not only was he well-versed in the classic sources but he knew all the contemporary responsa as well. As the rabbis were signing his semicha, he timidly volunteered, “I should probably let you know that I’ve never opened a sefer. I learned it all by listening to online shiurim…”
While that may sound strange, it’s actually how we all used to learn, back in the day. It’s called the oral Torah. Before it was written down, the talmid would sit in the beis medrash listening to his rebbe expound. That’s the beauty of our tradition. Learning Torah from podcasts is nothing to be ashamed of—that’s Torah Shebaal Peh at its finest! Unfortunately, we live in an age when some people feel that if they don’t have a sefer—or source sheets—in their hand, they’re not truly engaged in Torah learning. Personally, I’ll hand out source-sheets when I give a shiur but try to avoid reading from them. They’re there for review purposes, but Torah Shebaal Peh is best learned baal peh!
We’re not the People of the Book. The secret of our spiritual success is learning Torah from rabbis and teachers. The white spaces between the black letters and words are equally significant. May you merit being a proud member of the People of Torah!
Rabbi Dr. Daniel Friedman is the author of The Transformative Daf book series. He battles Christian antisemitism and teaches International Relations at Landers.
