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Avodah Zarah 10a

עבודה זרה י׳ ע״א

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Topic

Dating documents by the Greek kings, and the meaning of יום גינוסיא, with stories of אנטונינוס and רבי

Overview

The talmidim of רבה saw a שטר whose date seemed six years too late, and they wanted to treat it as a שטר מאוחר. רב נחמן said a precise scribe wrote it, counting the six years the Greeks ruled only in עילם, and a ברייתא of רבי יוסי backs him up. רב אחא בר יעקב asked why the scribe could not have counted from יציאת מצרים, but a ברייתא confirms that in the גולה years are counted only by the Greek kings. רבינא adds a proof from the משנה in ראש השנה: documents today start the year in תשרי, the way the years of non-Jewish kings are counted, and not in ניסן as a count from יציאת מצרים would. The גמרא then asks what יום גינוסיא in our משנה means. After trying 'birthday' and testing several ברייתות, it settles on the king's coronation day, either his own or his son's. To show that a king's son can be crowned, the גמרא tells how אנטונינוס, advised by רבי through acted-out signs, got his son אסוירוס made king. A second story shows רבי teaching him to deal with his enemies one at a time.

Opening lines

״שֵׁית שְׁנִין יַתִּירָתָא״,

'Six extra years'

סְבוּר רַבָּנַן קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבָּה לְמֵימַר:

The Sages before Rabba thought to say:

הַאי שְׁטָר מְאוּחָר הוּא,

This is a postdated document,

נִיעַכְּבֵיהּ עַד דְּמָטֵיא זִמְנֵיהּ

let us hold it until its time arrives

The steps (26)

  1. StatementThe Sages think the document is postdated
  2. RejectionAn exacting scribe counted the years in עילם
  3. ProofA ברייתא proves the six years in עילם
  4. ChallengeMaybe the scribe counted from יציאת מצרים
  5. ResolutionIn the גולה we count only by Greek kings
  6. Proofרב אחא checks and finds a ברייתא
  7. Proofרבינא opens a proof from the משנה about ניסן
  8. ChallengeThe תשרי line seems to contradict the ניסן line
  9. ResolutionJewish kings are counted from ניסן, other kings from תשרי
  10. ProofCounting from תשרי shows we do not count from יציאת מצרים
  11. ConclusionThe גמרא accepts the proof
  12. QuestionWhat does 'the day of גינוסיא of their kings' mean?
  13. Responseרב יהודה: it is the day the king is crowned
  14. ChallengeA ברייתא lists גינוסיא and coronation day separately
  15. ResolutionThe king's own coronation versus his son's
  16. Challengeרב יוסף: they do not crown a king's son
  17. ResolutionA new definition: גינוסיא is the birthday
  18. ChallengeA ברייתא lists גינוסיא and birthday separately
  19. ResolutionThe king's own birthday versus his son's
  20. ChallengeA ברייתא lists four days: גינוסיא and birthday for both king and son
  21. ResolutionBack to the first answer: coronation day, the king's own and his son's
  22. ResolutionA king's son can become king if the king asks for it
  23. Questionאנטונינוס asks רבי how to get two favors from the Senate
  24. ResponseThe dove on the shoulders: ask for one thing, and let your son do the other
  25. Questionאנטונינוס complains that powerful Romans trouble him
  26. ResponseThe radishes in the garden: deal with enemies one at a time