## Gittin Daf 57b

###### Gittin 57b:1
[Gittin 57b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:1)

אָמַר רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אָבִין אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קׇרְחָה, סָח לִי זָקֵן אֶחָד מֵאַנְשֵׁי יְרוּשָׁלַיִם: בְּבִקְעָה זוֹ הָרַג נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן רַב טַבָּחִים מָאתַיִם וְאַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה רִבּוֹא, וּבִירוּשָׁלַיִם הָרַג תִּשְׁעִים וְאַרְבַּע רִבּוֹא עַל אֶבֶן אַחַת, עַד שֶׁהָלַךְ דָּמָן וְנָגַע בְּדָמוֹ שֶׁל זְכַרְיָה, לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְדָמִים בְּדָמִים נָגְעוּ״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ With regard to the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple, **Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin says** that **Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa says: An old man from** among **the inhabitants of Jerusalem related to me: In this valley** that lies before you, **Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard** of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, **killed 2,110,000** people. **And in Jerusalem** itself **he killed 940,000** people **on one stone, until the blood** of his victims **flowed and touched the blood of Zechariah to fulfill what is stated: “And blood touches blood”** (Hosea 4:2).


###### Gittin 57b:2
[Gittin 57b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:2)

אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ לִדְמֵיהּ דִּזְכַרְיָה דַּהֲוָה קָא מִרְתַח וְסָלֵיק, אֲמַר: מַאי הַאי? אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: דַּם זְבָחִים דְּאִשְׁתְּפוּךְ. אַיְיתִי דְּמֵי וְלָא אִידְּמוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara clarifies the details of what happened: Nebuzaradan **found the blood of Zechariah,** the son of Jehoiada the priest, and saw **that it was bubbling up** from the ground, and **he said: What is this?** Those in the Temple **said to him:** It is **sacrificial blood that had been poured** there. **He brought** animal **blood,** compared it to the blood bubbling up from the ground, **and** saw that **it was not similar** to it.


###### Gittin 57b:3
[Gittin 57b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:3)

אֲמַר לְהוּ: אִי אָמְרִיתוּ לִי – מוּטָב, וְאִי לָאו – מְסָרֵיקְנָא לְבִשְׂרַיְיכוּ בְּמַסְרְקֵי דְפַרְזְלֵי. אָמְרִי לֵיהּ: מַאי נֵימָא לָךְ? נְבִיָּיא הֲוָה בַּן דַּהֲוָה קָא מוֹכַח לַן בְּמִילֵּי דִשְׁמַיָּא, קַמְינַן עִילָּוֵיהּ וּקְטַלְינַן לֵיהּ, וְהָא כַּמָּה שְׁנִין דְּלָא קָא נָיַיח דְּמֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Nebuzaradan **said to** them: **If you tell me** whose blood this is, it will be **well** for you. **But if not, I will comb your flesh with iron combs. They said to him: What shall we say to you? He was a prophet among us, who used to rebuke us about heavenly matters,** and **we rose up against him, and killed him** (II Chronicles 24:20–22), **and for many years** now **his blood has not settled.**


###### Gittin 57b:4
[Gittin 57b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:4)

אֲמַר לְהוּ: אֲנָא מְפַיֵּיסְנָא לֵיהּ. אַיְיתִי סַנְהֶדְרִי גְּדוֹלָה וְסַנְהֶדְרִי קְטַנָּה קְטַל עִילָּוֵיהּ, וְלָא נָח. בַּחוּרִים וּבְתוּלוֹת קְטַל עִילָּוֵיהּ, וְלָא נָח. אַיְיתִי תִּינוֹקוֹת שֶׁל בֵּית רַבָּן קְטַל עִילָּוֵיהּ, וְלָא נָח. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: זְכַרְיָה, זְכַרְיָה, טוֹבִים שֶׁבָּהֶן אִיבַּדְתִּים, נִיחָא לָךְ דְּאֹבְדִינְהוּ לְכוּלְּהוּ? כְּדַאֲמַר לֵיהּ הָכִי, נָח.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Nebuzaradan **said to them: I will appease** Zechariah. **He brought** the members of **the Great Sanhedrin and** of **a lesser Sanhedrin** and **killed them alongside** the bubbling blood, **but** it still **did not settle.** He then brought **young men and virgins and killed them alongside it, but** it still **did not settle. He** then **brought schoolchildren and killed them alongside it, but** it still **did not settle.** Finally Nebuzaradan **said to him: Zechariah, Zechariah, I have killed the best of them.** Would it **please you if I destroyed them all? When he said this,** the blood at last **settled.**


###### Gittin 57b:5
[Gittin 57b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:5)

בְּהַהִיא שַׁעְתָּא הַרְהַר תְּשׁוּבָה בְּדַעְתֵּיהּ, אֲמַר: וּמָה אִם עַל נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת, כָּךְ; הָהוּא גַּבְרָא דִּקְטַל כׇּל הָנֵי נִשְׁמָתָא – עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה! עֲרַק, אֲזַל שַׁדַּר שְׁטַר פִּרְטְתָא בְּבֵיתֵיהּ, וְאִגַּיַּיר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**At that moment** Nebuzaradan **contemplated** the idea of **repentance** and **said** to himself: **If, for** the death of **one soul,** that of Zechariah, God punishes the Jewish people in **this** manner, then **that man,** that is to say, I, **who has killed all of those souls, all the more so** will be I be subject to great punishment from God. **He fled, sent to his house a document detailing** what was to be done with his property, **and converted** to Judaism.


###### Gittin 57b:6
[Gittin 57b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:6)

תָּנָא: נַעֲמָן גֵּר תּוֹשָׁב הָיָה; נְבוּזַרְאֲדָן גֵּר צֶדֶק הָיָה;

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
A Sage **taught** a *baraita* relating to this matter: **Naaman,** commander of the army of the king of Aram (see II Kings, chapter 5), was not a convert, as he did not accept all of the mitzvot, but rather he **was a *ger toshav*,** a gentile who resides in Eretz Israel and observes the seven Noahide mitzvot. **Nebuzaradan,** by contrast, **was a convert,** as explained previously.


###### Gittin 57b:7
[Gittin 57b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:7)

מִבְּנֵי בָנָיו שֶׁל הָמָן לִמְּדוּ תּוֹרָה בִּבְנֵי בְרַק; מִבְּנֵי בָנָיו שֶׁל סִיסְרָא לִמְּדוּ תִּינוֹקוֹת בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם; מִבְּנֵי בָנָיו שֶׁל סַנְחֵרִיב לִמְּדוּ תּוֹרָה בָּרַבִּים – מַאן אִינּוּן? שְׁמַעְיָה וְאַבְטַלְיוֹן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara adds that some **of Haman’s descendants studied Torah in Bnei Brak,** and some **of Sisera’s descendants taught children** Torah **in Jerusalem,** and some **of Sennacherib’s descendants taught Torah in public. Who are they?** They are **Shemaya and Avtalyon,** the teachers of Hillel the Elder.


###### Gittin 57b:8
[Gittin 57b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:8)

הַיְינוּ דִּכְתִיב: ״נָתַתִּי אֶת דָּמָהּ עַל צְחִיחַ סָלַע לְבִלְתִּי הִכָּסוֹת״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
As for the incident involving the blood of Zechariah, **this is** alluded to by **that which is written: “I have set her blood upon the bare rock that it should not be covered”** (Ezekiel 24:8).


###### Gittin 57b:9
[Gittin 57b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:9)

״הַקּוֹל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו״ – ״הַקּוֹל״, זֶה אַדְרִיָּינוּס קֵיסָר, שֶׁהָרַג בַּאֲלֶכְּסַנְדְּרִיָּא שֶׁל מִצְרַיִם שִׁשִּׁים רִבּוֹא עַל שִׁשִּׁים רִבּוֹא, כִּפְלַיִם כְּיוֹצְאֵי מִצְרַיִם. ״קוֹל יַעֲקֹב״ – זֶה אַסְפַּסְיָינוּס קֵיסָר, שֶׁהָרַג בִּכְרַךְ בֵּיתֵּר אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת רִבּוֹא, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ: אַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים רִבּוֹא. ״וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו״ – זוֹ מַלְכוּת הָרְשָׁעָה, שֶׁהֶחְרִיבָה אֶת בָּתֵּינוּ, וְשָׂרְפָה אֶת הֵיכָלֵנוּ, וְהִגְלְתָנוּ מֵאַרְצֵנוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ Apropos its discussion of the destruction of the Temple and the calamities that befell Israel, the Gemara cites the verse: **“The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau”** (Genesis 27:22), which the Sages expounded as follows: **“The voice”; this** is the cry stirred up by **the emperor Hadrian, who** caused the Jewish people to cry out when he **killed six hundred thousand on six hundred thousand in Alexandria of Egypt, twice** the number of men **who left Egypt. “The voice of Jacob”; this is** the cry aroused by **the emperor Vespasian, who killed four million** people **in the city of Beitar. And some say:** He killed **forty million** people. **“And the hands are the hands of Esau”; this is the wicked kingdom** of Rome **that destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land.**


###### Gittin 57b:10
[Gittin 57b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:10)

דָּבָר אַחֵר: ״הַקּוֹל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב״ – אֵין לְךָ תְּפִלָּה שֶׁמּוֹעֶלֶת, שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ מִזַּרְעוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב. ״וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו״ – אֵין לְךָ מִלְחָמָה שֶׁנּוֹצַחַת, שֶׁאֵין בָּהּ מִזַּרְעוֹ שֶׁל עֵשָׂו.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Alternatively, “the voice is the voice of Jacob”** means that **no prayer is effective** in the world **unless** some member of **the seed of Jacob has** a part **in it.** The second clause in the verse, **“and the hands are the hands of Esau,”** means that **no war grants victory unless** some member of **the seed of Esau has** a part **in it.**


###### Gittin 57b:11
[Gittin 57b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:11)

וְהַיְינוּ דְּאָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: ״בְּשׁוֹט לָשׁוֹן תֵּחָבֵא״ – בְּחִירְחוּרֵי לָשׁוֹן תֵּחָבֵא. אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב, מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״עַל נַהֲרוֹת בָּבֶל, שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ גַּם בָּכִינוּ בְּזׇכְרֵנוּ אֶת צִיּוֹן״? מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֶרְאָהוּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְדָוִד חוּרְבַּן בַּיִת רִאשׁוֹן וְחוּרְבַּן בַּיִת שֵׁנִי. חוּרְבַּן בַּיִת רִאשׁוֹן – שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״עַל נַהֲרוֹת בָּבֶל שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ גַּם בָּכִינוּ״. בַּיִת שֵׁנִי – דִּכְתִיב: ״זְכוֹר ה׳ לִבְנֵי אֱדוֹם אֵת יוֹם יְרוּשָׁלִָים, הָאוֹמְרִים עָרוּ עָרוּ עַד הַיְסוֹד בָּהּ״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And this is** what **Rabbi Elazar says:** The verse that says: **“You shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue”** (Job 5:21), means: **You shall** need to **hide on account of quarrels** provoked **by the tongue. Rav Yehuda says** that **Rav says: What** is the meaning of that **which is written: “By the rivers of Babylonia, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion”** (Psalms 137:1)? This **teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, showed David the destruction of the First Temple and the destruction of the Second Temple.** He saw the destruction of **the First Temple, as it is stated: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept.”** He saw the destruction of the **Second Temple, as it is written** later in that same psalm: **“Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem, when they said: Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation”** (Psalms 137:7), as the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, “the children of Edom.”


###### Gittin 57b:12
[Gittin 57b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:12)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַבִּי אַמֵּי, וְאָמְרִי לַהּ בְּמַתְנִיתָא תָּנָא: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת יְלָדִים וִילָדוֹת שֶׁנִּשְׁבּוּ לְקָלוֹן, הִרְגִּישׁוּ בְּעַצְמָן לְמָה הֵן מִתְבַּקְּשִׁים, אָמְרוּ: אִם אָנוּ טוֹבְעִין בַּיָּם – אָנוּ בָּאִין לְחַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא? דָּרַשׁ לָהֶן הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁבָּהֶן: ״אָמַר ה׳ מִבָּשָׁן אָשִׁיב, אָשִׁיב מִמְּצוּלוֹת יָם״ – ״מִבָּשָׁן אָשִׁיב״, מִבֵּין שִׁינֵּי אַרְיֵה; ״אָשִׁיב מִמְּצוּלוֹת יָם״, אֵלּוּ שֶׁטּוֹבְעִין בַּיָּם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yehuda says** that **Shmuel says, and some say** that it was **Rabbi Ami** who says this, **and some say** that **it was taught in a *baraita*:** There was **an incident involving four hundred boys and girls who were taken as captives for** the purpose of **prostitution.** These children **sensed on their own what they were expected** to do, and **they said: If we** commit suicide and **drown in the sea,** will **we come to** eternal **life in the World-to-Come? The oldest** child **among them expounded** the verse: **“The Lord said, I will bring back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea”** (Psalms 68:23). **“I will bring back from Bashan,”** i.e., **from between the teeth [*bein shen*] of the lion,** and **“I will bring them back from the depths of the sea”** is referring to **those who drown in the sea** for the sake of Heaven.


###### Gittin 57b:13
[Gittin 57b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:13)

כֵּיוָן שֶׁשָּׁמְעוּ יְלָדוֹת כָּךְ, קָפְצוּ כּוּלָּן וְנָפְלוּ לְתוֹךְ הַיָּם. נָשְׂאוּ יְלָדִים קַל וָחוֹמֶר בְּעַצְמָן, וְאָמְרוּ: מָה הַלָּלוּ, שֶׁדַּרְכָּן לְכָךְ – כָּךְ; אָנוּ, שֶׁאֵין דַּרְכֵּנוּ לְכָךְ – עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה! אַף הֵם קָפְצוּ לְתוֹךְ הַיָּם. וַעֲלֵיהֶם הַכָּתוּב אוֹמֵר: ״כִּי עָלֶיךָ הֹרַגְנוּ כׇל הַיּוֹם, נֶחְשַׁבְנוּ כְּצֹאן טִבְחָה״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**When the girls heard this, they all leapt and fell into the sea. The boys** then **drew an *a fortiori*** inference **with regard to themselves and said: If these** girls, **for whom** sexual intercourse with men **is their natural way,** act in **such** a manner, then **we, for whom** sexual intercourse with men **is not our natural way,** should **all the more so** conduct ourselves likewise. **They too leapt into the sea. Concerning them** and others like them **the verse states: “As For Your sake we are killed all the day long; we are reckoned as sheep for the slaughter”** (Psalms 44:23).


###### Gittin 57b:14
[Gittin 57b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:14)

וְרַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר: זוֹ אִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעָה בָּנֶיהָ – אַתְיוּהּ לְקַמָּא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּקֵיסָר, אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: פְּלַח לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה! אֲמַר לְהוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: ״אָנֹכִי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ״. אַפְּקוּהּ וְקַטְלוּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And Rav Yehuda said: This** verse applies to the **woman and her seven sons** who died as martyrs for the sake of the sanctification of God’s name. The incident occurred as follows: **They brought** in **the first** of the woman’s sons **before the emperor** and **said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them:** I cannot do so, as **it is written in the Torah: “I am the Lord your God”** (Exodus 20:2). **They** immediately **took him out and killed him.**


###### Gittin 57b:15
[Gittin 57b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:15)

אַתְיוּהּ לְאִידַּךְ לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּקֵיסָר, אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: פְּלַח לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה! אֲמַר לְהוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: ״לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנָי״. אַפְּקוּהּ וְקַטְלוּהּ. אַתְיוּהּ לְאִידַּךְ, אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: פְּלַח לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה! אֲמַר לְהוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: ״זוֹבֵחַ לֵאלֹהִים יׇחֳרָם״. אַפְּקוּהּ וְקַטְלוּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And they** then **brought** in **another** son **before the emperor,** and **said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them:** I cannot do so, as **it is written in the Torah: “You shall have no other gods beside Me”** (Exodus 20:3). And so **they took him out and killed him. They** then **brought in** yet **another** son before the emperor, and **said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them:** I cannot do so, as **it is written in the Torah: “He that sacrifices to any god,** save to the Lord only, **he shall be utterly destroyed”** (Exodus 22:19). And so **they took him out and killed him.**


###### Gittin 57b:16
[Gittin 57b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:16)

אַתְיוּהּ לְאִידַּךְ, אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: פְּלַח לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה! אֲמַר לְהוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: ״לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לְאֵל אַחֵר״. אַפְּקוּהּ וְקַטְלוּהּ. אַתְיוּהּ לְאִידַּךְ, אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: פְּלַח לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה! אֲמַר לְהוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: ״שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה׳ אֶחָד״. אַפְּקוּהּ וְקַטְלוּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**They** then **brought** in **another** son, and **said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them:** I cannot do so, as **it is written in the Torah: “You shall not bow down to any other god”** (Exodus 34:14). And so **they took him out and killed him. They** then **brought** in yet **another** son, and **said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them:** I cannot do so, as **it is written in the Torah: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One”** (Deuteronomy 6:4). And so **they took him out and killed him.**


###### Gittin 57b:17
[Gittin 57b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:17)

אַתְיוּהּ לְאִידַּךְ, אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: פְּלַח לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה! אֲמַר לְהוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: ״וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבוֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ, כִּי ה׳ הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת, אֵין עוֹד״. אַפְּקוּהּ וְקַטְלוּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**They** then **brought** in **another** son, and **said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them:** I cannot do so, as **it is written in the Torah: “Know therefore this today, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is no other”** (Deuteronomy 4:39). And so **they took him out and killed him.**


###### Gittin 57b:18
[Gittin 57b:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:18)

אַתְיוּהּ לְאִידַּךְ, אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: פְּלַח לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה! אֲמַר לְהוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: ״אֶת ה׳ הֶאֱמַרְתָּ וְגוֹ׳ וַה׳ הֶאֱמִירְךָ הַיּוֹם״, כְּבָר נִשְׁבַּעְנוּ לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁאֵין אָנוּ מַעֲבִירִין אוֹתוֹ בְּאֵל אַחֵר, וְאַף הוּא נִשְׁבַּע לָנוּ שֶׁאֵין מַעֲבִיר אוֹתָנוּ בְּאוּמָּה אַחֶרֶת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**They** then **brought** in yet **another** son, and **said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them:** I cannot do so, as **it is written in the Torah: “You have avouched the Lord** this day to be your God…**and the Lord has avouched you this day** to be a people for His own possession” (Deuteronomy 26:17–18). **We already took an oath to the Holy One, Blessed be He, that we will not exchange Him for a different god, and He too has taken an oath to us that He will not exchange us for another nation.**


###### Gittin 57b:19
[Gittin 57b:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:19)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ קֵיסָר: אֶישְׁדֵּי לָךְ גּוּשְׁפַּנְקָא וּגְחֵין וְשִׁקְלֵיהּ, כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלֵימְרוּ: קַבֵּיל עֲלֵיהּ הַרְמָנָא דְּמַלְכָּא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: חֲבָל עֲלָךְ קֵיסָר, חֲבָל עֲלָךְ קֵיסָר; עַל כְּבוֹד עַצְמְךָ כָּךְ, עַל כְּבוֹד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
It was the youngest brother who had said this, and the emperor pitied him. Seeking a way to spare the boy’s life, **the emperor said to him: I will throw down my seal before you; bend over and pick it up, so that** people **will say** that **he has accepted the king’s authority [*harmana*].** The boy **said to him: Woe [*ḥaval*] to you, Caesar, woe to you, Caesar.** If you think that **for the sake of your honor** I should fulfill your command and do **this,** then **for the sake of the honor of the Holy One, Blessed be He, all the more so** should I fulfill His command.


###### Gittin 57b:20
[Gittin 57b:20](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:20)

אַפְּקוּהּ לְמִיקְטְלֵיהּ, אֲמַרָה לְהוּ אִימֵּיהּ: יַהֲבוּהּ נִיהֲלִי וְאֶינַשְּׁקֵיהּ פּוּרְתָּא. אָמְרָה לוֹ: בָּנַיי, לְכוּ וְאִמְרוּ לְאַבְרָהָם אֲבִיכֶם: אַתָּה עָקַדְתָּ מִזְבֵּחַ אֶחָד וַאֲנִי עָקַדְתִּי שִׁבְעָה מִזְבְּחוֹת! אַף הִיא עָלְתָה לַגַּג וְנָפְלָה וּמֵתָה. יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה: ״אֵם הַבָּנִים שְׂמֵחָה״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
As **they were taking him out to be killed, his mother said to them: Give him to me so that I may give him a small kiss. She said to him: My son, go and say to your father Abraham, You bound one** son to the **altar, but I bound seven altars. She too** in the end **went up to the roof, fell, and died. A Divine Voice emerged and said: “A joyful mother of children”** (Psalms 113:9), as she raised her children to be devoted in their service of God.


###### Gittin 57b:21
[Gittin 57b:21](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:21)

רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי אָמַר: זוֹ מִילָה שֶׁנִּיתְּנָה בַּשְּׁמִינִי. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ אָמַר: אֵלּוּ תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים שֶׁמַּרְאִין הִלְכוֹת שְׁחִיטָה בְּעַצְמָן, דְּאָמַר רָבָא: כֹּל מִילֵּי לִיחְזֵי אִינִישׁ בְּנַפְשֵׁיהּ, בַּר מִשְּׁחִיטָה וְדָבָר אַחֵר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says** concerning the verse: “For Your sake we are killed all the day long” (Psalms 44:23), that **this** is referring to **circumcision, which was given for the eighth** day, as the blood of our newborn sons is spilled for the sake of the covenant with God. **Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says:** This verse was stated in reference to **Torah scholars who demonstrate the *halakhot* of slaughter on themselves,** meaning that they demonstrate on their own bodies how ritual slaughter should be performed and occasionally injure themselves in the process. This is **as Rava says: A person may demonstrate anything using himself** to illustrate the act **except for slaughter and another matter,** a euphemism for sexual intercourse.


###### Gittin 57b:22
[Gittin 57b:22](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Gittin/r/57b:22)

רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק אָמַר: אֵלּוּ תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים שֶׁמְּמִיתִין עַצְמָן עַל דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, כִּדְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ – דְּאָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ: אֵין דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה מִתְקַיְּימִין אֶלָּא בְּמִי שֶׁמֵּמִית עַצְמוֹ עֲלֵיהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה אָדָם כִּי יָמוּת בְּאֹהֶל וְגוֹ׳״. אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: אַרְבָּעִים סְאָה

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak says: These** people in the verse **are Torah scholars who kill themselves over the words of Torah, in accordance with** the statement of **Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish. As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: The words of the Torah endure only for one who kills himself over them, as it is stated: “This is the Torah, when a man dies in a tent”** (Numbers 19:14). **Rabba bar bar Ḥana says** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Forty *se’a***