Talmud - Sotah 41b סוטה מ״א ב׳

implying that the assembly takes place at the beginning of the Festival, when the entire Jewish people comes to Jerusalem.

§ It is taught in the mishna: And the synagogue attendant takes a Torah scroll and gives it to the head of the synagogue, until it is eventually passed to the king. The Gemara suggests: You can learn from the fact that all of these dignitaries receive the Torah scroll before the king that honor may be given to a student in the presence of the teacher. Abaye said: A proof may not be adduced from here, as the entire process is for the honor of the king, to show that he is removed from ordinary people by many ranks.

It is taught in the mishna: And the king stands, and receives the Torah scroll, and reads from it while sitting. King Agrippa arose, and received the Torah scroll, and read from it while standing. The Gemara asks: By inference, until that point he had been sitting. But didn’t the Master say (Tosefta, Sanhedrin 4:4) that sitting in the Temple courtyard is permitted only for kings from the house of David, as it is stated: “Then King David went in, and sat before the Lord; and he said: Who am I?” (II Samuel 7:18). The Gemara answers: As Rav Ḥisda said in a similar context: This took place not in the Israelite courtyard, where the prohibition against sitting applies, but in the women’s courtyard. Here too, the assembly was in the women’s courtyard.

It is stated in the mishna that King Agrippa read from the Torah while standing, and the Sages praised him for this. The Gemara asks: From the fact that they praised him, can it be concluded that he acted appropriately? Didn’t Rav Ashi say: Even according to the one who says with regard to a Nasi who relinquished the honor due him, his honor is relinquished, i.e., he may do so, with regard to a king who relinquished the honor due him, his honor is not relinquished, as it is stated: “You shall place a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15). This is interpreted to mean that his awe shall be upon you. The Torah establishes that awe is an essential component of kingship, and it is not the prerogative of the king to relinquish it.

The Gemara answers: Since he relinquished his honor for the sake of a mitzva, this situation is different and does not dishonor him.

The mishna continues: And when Agrippa arrived at the verse: “You may not appoint a foreigner over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15), tears flowed from his eyes because he was a descendant of the house of Herod and was not of Jewish origin. The entire nation said to him: You are our brother. It is taught in the name of Rabbi Natan: At that moment the enemies of the Jewish people, a euphemism for the Jewish people, were sentenced to destruction for flattering Agrippa.

Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta says: From the day that the power of flattery prevailed, the judgment has become corrupted, and people’s deeds have become corrupted, and a person cannot say to another: My deeds are greater than your deeds, as everyone flatters one another and people no longer know the truth.

Rabbi Yehuda of the West, Eretz Yisrael, and some say Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, taught: It is permitted to flatter wicked people in this world, as it is stated concerning the future: “The vile person shall no longer be called generous, nor shall the churl be said to be noble” (Isaiah 32:5). By inference, this indicates that in this world it is permitted to flatter them.

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that this can be proven from here. Jacob said to Esau: “I have seen your face, as one sees the face of angels, and you were pleased with me” (Genesis 33:10). Jacob flattered him by comparing seeing him to seeing a divine vision.

The Gemara notes: And Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, in interpreting Jacob’s statement, disagrees with Rabbi Levi, as Rabbi Levi says: With regard to the interaction between Jacob and Esau, to what is this matter comparable? To a person who invited another to his home and the guest realized that he wants to kill him. The guest said to him: The flavor of this dish that I taste is like a dish that I tasted in the king’s house. The host then said to himself: The king must know him. Therefore, he was afraid and did not kill him. Similarly, when Jacob told Esau that his face is like the face of an angel, he intended to let him know that he had seen angels, in order to instill fear in him so that Esau would not seek to harm him.

Rabbi Elazar says: Any person who has flattery in him brings wrath to the world, as it is stated: “But those with flattery in their hearts bring about wrath” (Job 36:13). And moreover, his prayer is not heard, as it is stated in that same verse: “They do not cry for help when He binds them.”

The Gemara cites a mnemonic device for the statements of Rabbi Elazar: Wrath, fetus, Gehenna, in his hands, menstruating woman, exiled.

And Rabbi Elazar says: Any person who has flattery in him, even fetuses in their mothers’ wombs curse him, as it is stated: “He who says to the wicked: You are righteous, peoples shall curse him [yikkevuhu], nations [leummim] shall execrate him” (Proverbs 24:24); and kov, the linguistic root of the word yikkevuhu, means only a curse, as it is stated: Balaam explained that he did not curse the Jewish people, as he said: “How can I curse [ekkov] whom God has not cursed [kabbo]?” (Numbers 23:8). And le’om is homiletically interpreted to mean only fetuses, as it is stated with regard to Jacob and Esau, when they were still in Rebecca’s womb: “And one people [le’om] shall be stronger than the other people [le’om]” (Genesis 25:23).

And Rabbi Elazar says: Any person who has flattery in him falls into Gehenna, as it is stated: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). What is written afterward? “Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours straw, and as the chaff is consumed by the flame” (Isaiah 5:24), meaning that the people described in the earlier verse will end up burning like straw in the fires of Gehenna.

And Rabbi Elazar says: Anyone who flatters another ultimately falls into his hands. And if he does not fall into his hands, he falls into his children’s hands. And if he does not fall into his children’s hands, he falls into his grandchild’s hands, as it is stated: “Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah…Amen, the Lord should do so, the Lord should perform your words” (Jeremiah 28:5–6). This was a form of flattery, as Jeremiah did not explicitly say that Hananiah was a false prophet. And it is written:

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Sotah 41b explores the Hakhel ceremony protocol, King Agrippa reading Torah while standing, and rules on royal honor and dignity.