Sanhedrin 103b

סנהדרין ק״ג ע״ב

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Topic

Wicked kings and commoners of Tanach: their sins, who loses עולם הבא, and the great power of feeding guests

Overview

This amud opens by finishing a quote from תהלים about ה׳'s rewards for one who loves Him. Then ריש לקיש explains why the ע in רְשָׁעִים hangs above the line: one who is poor below is poor above. The ע is still written to protect the honor of דוד or נחמיה. Next the גמרא discusses the wicked kings, who were great Torah scholars, and lists those with no share in עולם הבא, including אבשלום. It then describes how אחז, מנשה and אמון each went further than the king before him in idol worship, in attacks on the Temple and the תורה, and in עריות. יהויקים went further still, claiming people do not need God at all. רבא asks why יהויקים is not on the list of those who lose עולם הבא, and the answer given is about מיכה instead: he made an idol, but he was protected because he fed travelers. This leads to רבי יוחנן's teachings on the great power of giving food, and the explanation of his list begins at the end of the amud.

Opening lines

The steps (36)

1. ConclusionFinishing the quote from תהלים: the rewards of trusting ה׳
2. StatementWhy the ע in רְשָׁעִים hangs above the line
3. ChallengeThen why write the ע at all?
4. ResolutionThe ע stays to protect the honor of דוד or נחמיה
5. StatementThe wicked kings were great Torah scholars
6. Statementאבשלום has no share in the World to Come
7. StatementThe wicked kings neither live nor are judged
8. Statementמנשה's innocent blood: the view in בבל
9. Statementמנשה's innocent blood: the view in ארץ ישראל
10. QuestionWhose view matches רבה בר בר חנה?
11. ResponseIt matches the view that he killed ישעיה
12. ChallengeOne idol or many idols?
13. ResolutionOne idol with four faces
14. StatementThe idol moves deeper into the בית המקדש
15. QuestionWhat does 'the bed is too short for spreading' mean?
16. ResponseThe bed cannot hold two companions
17. QuestionWhat does 'the covering is too narrow' mean?
18. Responseרבי יונתן cried over this פסוק
19. StatementHow each king attacked the Temple service and the תורה
20. StatementHow each king went further in עריות
21. StatementWhat was אמון's 'increased guilt'?
22. Statementאמון's answer to his mother
23. Statementיהויקים: we don't even need God's light
24. ChallengeBut the gold belongs to God
25. Resolutionיהויקים: God already gave the earth to us
26. QuestionWhy is יהויקים not on the list?
27. QuestionWhat does 'found on him' mean?
28. ResponseWhat was etched on יהויקים's body
29. ResponseNo answer for kings, but an answer for מיכה
30. Statementמיכה's idol crossed the sea
31. StatementThe smoke of the altar and the idol mixed
32. StatementGod protects מיכה for his hospitality
33. StatementThe tribes punished for ignoring מיכה's idol
34. StatementFood is so powerful it pushed two nations away from ישראל
35. Statementרבי יוחנן's own list of five things food does
36. StatementStarting to explain the first item: food distances the near