## Shabbat Daf 56b

###### Shabbat 56b:1
[Shabbat 56b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:1)

עַבְדֶּךָ. וַיְרַגֵּל בְּעַבְדְּךָ אֶל אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַאדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ כְּמַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים וַעֲשֵׂה הַטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ״. ״וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ לָמָּה תְּדַבֵּר עוֹד דְּבָרֶיךָ אָמַרְתִּי אַתָּה וְצִיבָא תַּחְלְקוּ אֶת הַשָּׂדֶה. וַיֹּאמֶר מְפִיבֹשֶׁת אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ גַּם אֶת הַכֹּל יִקָּח אַחֲרֵי אֲשֶׁר בָּא אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּשָׁלוֹם אֶל בֵּיתוֹ״. אָמַר לוֹ: אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי ״מָתַי תָּבֹא בְּשָׁלוֹם״, וְאַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה לִי כָּךְ? לֹא עָלֶיךָ יֵשׁ לִי תַּרְעוֹמוֹת אֶלָּא עַל מִי שֶׁהֱבִיאֲךָ בְּשָׁלוֹם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**your servant. And he slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like an angel of God: Do therefore what is good in your eyes”** (II Samuel 19:26–28). **“And the king said to him: Why do you speak any more of your matters? I have said: You and Ziba shall divide the estate. And Mephibosheth said to the king: Let him even take all, seeing that my lord the king is come back in peace to his own house”** (II Samuel 19:30–31). Mephibosheth **said to** David as follows: **I** had hoped for your return, **saying: When will he come in peace, and** yet **you do this to me,** giving Ziba half of my estate? **It is not against you that I have grievances, but against He who brought you back in peace.** Mephibosheth’s own statement substantiates Ziba’s report about him.


###### Shabbat 56b:2
[Shabbat 56b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:2)

הַיְינוּ דִּכְתִיב: ״וּבֶן יְהוֹנָתָן מְרִיב בָּעַל״, וְכִי ״מְרִיב בַּעַל״ שְׁמוֹ? וַהֲלֹא מְפִיבֹשֶׁת שְׁמוֹ! אֶלָּא מִתּוֹךְ שֶׁעָשָׂה מְרִיבָה עִם בְּעָלָיו. יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה לוֹ: נַצָּא בַּר נַצָּא. ״נַצָּא״ — הָא דַּאֲמַרַן. ״בַּר נַצָּא״ — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיָּבֹא שָׁאוּל עַד עִיר עֲמָלֵק וַיָּרֶב בַּנָּחַל״, אָמַר רַבִּי מָנִי: עַל עִסְקֵי נַחַל.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**This is what is written: “And the son of Jonathan was Meriv-Baal”** (I Chronicles 8:34). The Gemara asks: **And was Meriv-Baal his name? Wasn’t his name Mephibosheth? However, since he entered into a quarrel [*meriva*] with his Master [*ba’al*],** i.e., God, and complained about God having saved David, **a Divine Voice emerged and said to him: Quarrelsome** one, **the son of a quarrelsome** one; you are just like your father, Saul. The Gemara explains: **Quarrelsome** one; **that which we** just **said** that Mephibosheth complained to God about His salvation of David. **The son of a quarrelsome** one; **as it is written: “And Saul came to a city of Amalek and quarreled in the valley”** (I Samuel 15:5). And **Rabbi Mani said:** Saul quarreled with God **with regard to matters of the valley,** saying: For the murder of even a single person, there is a commandment to break the neck of a heifer in a valley to atone for the crime (see Deuteronomy 21:1–9); why then must all these Amalekites be killed?


###### Shabbat 56b:3
[Shabbat 56b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:3)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר דָּוִד לִמְפִיבֹשֶׁת: אַתָּה וְצִיבָא תַּחְלְקוּ אֶת הַשָּׂדֶה, יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה לוֹ: רְחַבְעָם וְיָרָבְעָם יַחְלְקוּ אֶת הַמְּלוּכָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
To the matter at hand: **Rav Yehuda said** that **Rav said: When David said to Mephibosheth: You and Ziba shall divide the estate, a Divine Voice emerged and said to him: Rehoboam and Jeroboam shall divide the kingdom.**


###### Shabbat 56b:4
[Shabbat 56b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:4)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: אִילְמָלֵי לֹא קִיבֵּל דָּוִד לָשׁוֹן הָרָע לֹא נֶחְלְקָה מַלְכוּת בֵּית דָּוִד, וְלֹא עָבְדוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, וְלֹא גָּלִינוּ מֵאַרְצֵנוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yehuda said** that **Rav** said: **Had David not accepted** Ziba’s **slanderous report** about Mephibosheth, **the kingdom of the house of David would not have been divided, Israel would not have worshipped idols** because of Jeroboam, **and we would not have been exiled from our land.**


###### Shabbat 56b:5
[Shabbat 56b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:5)

אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: כׇּל הָאוֹמֵר שְׁלֹמֹה חָטָא אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא טוֹעֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְלֹא הָיָה לְבָבוֹ שָׁלֵם עִם ה׳ אֱלֹהָיו כִּלְבַב דָּוִד אָבִיו״ — כִּלְבַב דָּוִד אָבִיו הוּא דְּלָא הֲוָה, מִיחְטָא נָמֵי לָא חֲטָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said** that **Rabbi Yonatan said: Anyone who says that** King **Solomon sinned is nothing other than mistaken, as it is stated: “And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father”** (I Kings 11:4). By inference: Solomon’s heart **was not equal to the heart of David, his father;** however, **he also did not sin.**


###### Shabbat 56b:6
[Shabbat 56b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:6)

אֶלָּא מָה אֲנִי מְקַיֵּים ״וַיְהִי לְעֵת זִקְנַת שְׁלֹמֹה נָשָׁיו הִטּוּ אֶת לְבָבוֹ״ — הַהִיא כְּרַבִּי נָתָן. דְּרַבִּי נָתָן רָמֵי, כְּתִיב: ״וַיְהִי לְעֵת זִקְנַת שְׁלֹמֹה נָשָׁיו הִטּוּ אֶת לְבָבוֹ״, וְהָכְתִיב: ״כִּלְבַב דָּוִד אָבִיו״ — כִּלְבַב דָּוִד אָבִיו הוּא דְּלָא הֲוָה מִיחְטָא נָמֵי לָא חֲטָא! הָכִי קָאָמַר: ״וַיְהִי לְעֵת זִקְנַת שְׁלֹמֹה נָשָׁיו הִטּוּ אֶת לְבָבוֹ לָלֶכֶת אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים״ — וְלֹא הָלַךְ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**However, how** then **do I establish** the meaning of the verse: **“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods”** (I Kings 11:4)? **That** verse is **in accordance with** the statement of **Rabbi Natan; as Rabbi Natan raised a contradiction** between the two parts of the verse. On the one hand, **it is written: “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart** after other gods.” On the other hand, **isn’t it written:** “And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, **as was the heart of David his father,”** indicating that Solomon’s heart **was not equal to the heart of David his father;** however, **he also did not sin?** Rather, the verse **says as follows: For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart,** in an attempt to spur him to go **after other gods; however, he did not go** after them.


###### Shabbat 56b:7
[Shabbat 56b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:7)

וְהָכְתִיב: ״אָז יִבְנֶה שְׁלֹמֹה בָּמָה לִכְמוֹשׁ שִׁקֻּץ מוֹאָב״ — שֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ לִבְנוֹת וְלֹא בָּנָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **Isn’t it written: “Then did Solomon build [*yivne*] an altar for Kemosh, the abomination of Moab,** in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon” (I Kings 11:7), indicating that Solomon did in fact stray after idols? The Gemara answers: This can be understood to mean **that** Solomon **sought to build** an altar for idols **but did not build** it.


###### Shabbat 56b:8
[Shabbat 56b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:8)

אֶלָּא מֵעַתָּה: ״אָז יִבְנֶה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מִזְבֵּחַ לַה׳״ — שֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ לִבְנוֹת וְלֹא בָּנָה?! אֶלָּא דִּבְנָה, הָכָא נָמֵי דִּבְנָה!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara objects: **But now** if that is the way to understand the future tense verb form *yivne*, what of another instance where the same form is employed: **“Then did Joshua build [*yivne*] an altar to the Lord God** of Israel in Mount Eival” (Joshua 8:30)? There too, would you say that Joshua **sought to build** an altar **but did not build** one? **Rather,** there, in the case of Joshua, it means that **he** actually **built it. Here too,** with regard to Solomon, it means that **he** actually **built** the altar.


###### Shabbat 56b:9
[Shabbat 56b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:9)

אֶלָּא כִּדְתַנְיָא, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: ״וְאֶת הַבָּמוֹת אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַים אֲשֶׁר מִימִין לְהַר הַמִּשְׁחָה אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה שְׁלֹמֹה מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְעַשְׁתֹּרֶת שִׁקֻּץ צִידֹנִים וְגוֹ׳״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather,** this verse should be understood **as it was taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Yosei says:** The verse states: **“And the altars that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the Mount of Olives, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoret the abomination of the Zidonim,** and for Kemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milkom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile” (II Kings 23:13). All these were destroyed by Josiah.


###### Shabbat 56b:10
[Shabbat 56b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:10)

אֶפְשָׁר בָּא אָסָא וְלֹא בִּיעֲרָם, יְהוֹשָׁפָט וְלֹא בִּיעֲרָם, עַד שֶׁבָּא יֹאשִׁיָּה וּבִיעֲרָם? וַהֲלֹא כׇּל עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁבְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל אָסָא וִיהוֹשָׁפָט בִּיעֲרוּם! אֶלָּא מַקִּישׁ רִאשׁוֹנִים לָאַחֲרוֹנִים, מָה אַחֲרוֹנִים לֹא עָשׂוּ וְתָלָה בָּהֶן לְשֶׁבַח, אַף רִאשׁוֹנִים לֹא עָשׂוּ וְתָלָה בָּהֶן לִגְנַאי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **Is it possible that** the righteous king **Asa came and did not destroy them,** and the righteous king **Jehosaphat** came **and did not destroy them until Josiah came and destroyed them? Didn’t Asa and Jehosaphat destroy all the idolatry in Eretz Yisrael? Rather,** the **verse juxtaposes the earlier ones,** i.e., Solomon, **to the later ones,** i.e., Josiah. **Just as the later ones,** Josiah, **did not effect** the destruction of the altars, as it was done by his predecessors, **and** nevertheless **the verse attributes** it **to him to praise** him as if he had destroyed all those altars, **so too, the earlier ones,** Solomon, **did not effect** the construction, **and** nevertheless **the verse attributes** it **to him to disgrace** him as he did not prevent their construction.


###### Shabbat 56b:11
[Shabbat 56b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:11)

וְהָכְתִיב: ״וַיַּעַשׂ שְׁלֹמֹה הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי ה׳״! אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ לִמְחוֹת בְּנָשָׁיו וְלֹא מִיחָה מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ חָטָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara raises another question. **Isn’t it written: “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord”** (I Kings 11:6), clearly indicating that Solomon sinned? **Rather, since he should have protested against** the conduct of **his wives,** i.e., their involvement in idolatry, **but he did not protest, the verse ascribes to him** liability **as if he had sinned.**


###### Shabbat 56b:12
[Shabbat 56b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:12)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: נוֹחַ לוֹ לְאוֹתוֹ צַדִּיק שֶׁיְּהֵא שַׁמָּשׁ לְדָבָר אַחֵר, וְאַל יִכָּתֵב בּוֹ ״וַיַּעַשׂ הָרָע בְּעֵינֵי ה׳״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yehuda said** that **Shmuel said: It would have been preferable for that righteous man,** Solomon, **to be a servant** tasked with drawing water and hewing wood **for another matter,** i.e., idolatry, **and not** have the verse **write about him: “And he did evil in the sight of the Lord,”** even though he did not.


###### Shabbat 56b:13
[Shabbat 56b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:13)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁנָּשָׂא שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת בַּת פַּרְעֹה, הִכְנִיסָה לוֹ אֶלֶף מִינֵי זֶמֶר, וְאָמְרָה לוֹ כָּךְ עוֹשִׂין לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה פְּלוֹנִית, וְכָךְ עוֹשִׂים לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה פְּלוֹנִית, וְלֹא מִיחָה בָּהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yehuda said** that **Shmuel said: When Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter, she brought to him a thousand musical instruments and said to him: This is the way we do** it **for this idolatry, and this is the way we do** it **for that idolatry, and he did not protest** that talk.


###### Shabbat 56b:14
[Shabbat 56b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:14)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁנָּשָׂא שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת בַּת פַּרְעֹה יָרַד גַּבְרִיאֵל וְנָעַץ קָנֶה בַּיָּם וְעָלָה בּוֹ שִׂירְטוֹן, וְעָלָיו נִבְנָה כְּרַךְ גָּדוֹל [שֶׁל רוֹמִי].

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yehuda said** that **Shmuel said: When Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter,** the angel **Gabriel descended** from heaven **and implanted a reed into the sea, and a sandbar grew around it,** growing larger each year, **and upon it the great city of Rome was built,** which became God’s instrument to punish Israel.


###### Shabbat 56b:15
[Shabbat 56b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:15)

בְּמַתְנִיתָא תָּנָא: אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם שֶׁהִכְנִיס יָרָבְעָם שְׁנֵי עֶגְלֵי זָהָב, אֶחָד בְּבֵית אֵל וְאֶחָד בְּדָן, נִבְנָה צְרִיף אֶחָד, וְזֶהוּ אִיטַלְיָאה שֶׁל יָוָן.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**It was taught in a *baraita*: On that very day that Jeroboam introduced two golden calves, one in Beth-El and the other in Dan, a single** small **hut was constructed,** which was the first house constructed there. **And that was** the inauguration of **Italy of Greece.**


###### Shabbat 56b:16
[Shabbat 56b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:16)

אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: כׇּל הָאוֹמֵר יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ חָטָא — אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא טוֹעֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיַּעַשׂ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי ה׳ וַיֵּלֶךְ בְּכׇל דֶּרֶךְ דָּוִד אָבִיו״. אֶלָּא מָה אֲנִי מְקַיֵּים ״וְכָמֹהוּ לֹא הָיָה לְפָנָיו מֶלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר שָׁב וְגוֹ׳״?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said** that **Rabbi Yonatan said: Anyone who says that Josiah sinned is nothing other than mistaken, as it is stated: “And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father,** and turned not aside to the right hand nor to the left” (II Kings 22:2). **However, how** then **do I establish** the meaning of the verse: **“And like him was there no king before him that returned** to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Torah of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him” (II Kings 23:25)? The verse states: Josiah returned to the Lord. Apparently, in his early days he was a sinner, and later he returned to God.


###### Shabbat 56b:17
[Shabbat 56b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:17)

שֶׁכָּל דִּין שֶׁדָּן מִבֶּן שְׁמֹנֶה עַד שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה הֶחְזִירָן לָהֶן. שֶׁמָּא תֹּאמַר נָטַל מִזֶּה וְנָתַן לָזֶה — תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר ״בְּכָל מְאֹדוֹ״: שֶׁנָּתַן לָהֶם מִשֶּׁלּוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: The reference here is not to repentance for actual sins that Josiah committed. Rather, in **every judgment that he issued from the age of eight,** when he was crowned, **until** the age of **eighteen,** he **returned** the money to the parties whom he judged liable, due to concern that in his youth he may not have judged the cases correctly. **And lest you say** that **he took from this** one, whom he exonerated, **and gave to that** one, whom he found culpable, therefore **the verse states:** Returned to the Lord **with all his might [*me’odo*],** i.e., with all his money. It means **that he gave** those he judged liable in his youth **from his own** money.


###### Shabbat 56b:18
[Shabbat 56b:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:18)

וּפְלִיגָא דְּרַב, דְּאָמַר רַב: אֵין לְךָ גָּדוֹל בְּבַעֲלֵי תְּשׁוּבָה יוֹתֵר מִיֹּאשִׁיָּהוּ בְּדוֹרוֹ וְאֶחָד בְּדוֹרֵנוּ. וּמַנּוּ? אַבָּא אֲבוּהּ דְּרַבִּי יִרְמְיָה בַּר אַבָּא. וְאָמְרִי לַהּ אַחָא אֲחוּהּ דְּאַבָּא אֲבוּהּ דְּרַב יִרְמְיָה בַּר אַבָּא. דְּאָמַר מָר: רַבִּי אַבָּא וְאַחָא אַחֵי הֲווֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara notes that Rabbi Yonatan **disagrees with Rav, as Rav said: There is no greater penitent than Josiah in his generation, and** there is **one in our generation.** The Gemara asks: **And who** is the great penitent in Rav’s generation? The Gemara answers: He is **Abba, father of Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba, and some say** it is **Aḥa, brother of Abba, father of Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba, as the Master said: Rabbi Abba and Aḥa were brothers.**


###### Shabbat 56b:19
[Shabbat 56b:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:19)

אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: וְעוֹד אֶחָד בְּדוֹרֵנוּ. וּמַנּוּ? — עוּקְבָן בַּר נְחֶמְיָה רֵישׁ גָּלוּתָא. וְהַיְינוּ ״נָתָן דְּצוּצִיתָא״. אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: הֲוָה יָתֵיבְנָא בְּפִירְקָא, וַהֲוָה קָא מְנַמְנַמְנָא, וַחֲזַאי בְּחֶילְמָא דְּקָא פְּשַׁט יְדֵיהּ וְקַבְּלֵיהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Yosef said: And there is another** great penitent **in our generation. And who is he?** He is **Okvan, son of Neḥemya the Exilarch. And that is** the one also known as **Natan *detzutzita*,** i.e., from whose head sparks emerged. **Rav Yosef said: I was** once **sitting at the lecture delivered on the Festival [*pirka*] and I was dozing. And I saw in a dream how** an angel **stretched out his hands and received** Natan *detzutzita*, demonstrating that his repentance was accepted.


###### Shabbat 56b:20
[Shabbat 56b:20](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Shabbat/r/56b:20)

**הדרן עלך במה בהמה**