“This is the statute of the Torah” – “the sayings of the Lord are pure sayings […refined seven times]” (Psalms 12:7). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: We find that the Holy One blessed be He added two or three words in the Torah so as not to express a matter of impurity from His mouth: “From the pure animals, and from the animals that is not pure” (Genesis 7:8); “and of the animals that are not pure” (Genesis 7:2).5Rather than employ the term impure [teme’a] the Torah employs the term “not pure [lo tehora].”
Rabbi Yudan said: When it [the Torah] came to introduce the signs of the impure animal, it also opened with the signs of purity. It is not written here, “the camel, because it does not have split hooves,” but rather, “[the camel,] because it brings up the cud [but does not have split hooves]” (Leviticus 11:4). It is not written here, “and the hare, because it does not have split hooves,” but rather, “[and the hare,] because it brings up the cud [but does not have split hooves]” (Leviticus 11:6).
It is not written here, “and the pig, because it does not bring up the cud,” but rather, “[and the pig,] because it has split hooves […but does not bring up the cud]” (Leviticus 11:7). Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Children who were in the era of David, before they experienced the taste of sin they were able to expound the Torah forty-nine aspects impure and forty-nine aspects pure.6This expression means that they could analyze a question and give forty-nine reasons to explain why something should be considered pure and forty-nine reasons to explain why it should be considered impure.
David would pray for them and say: “You, Lord, preserve them” (Psalms 12:8) – keep their Torah in their heart. “Keep them secure, from this generation, forever” (Psalms 12:8). After all this praise, they would go out to war and fall, because there were slanderers in their midst. That is what David said: “Amid lions, I lie among the eager, [men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are a honed sword]” (Psalms 57:5).
“Amid lions” – this is Avner and Amasa, who were lions in Torah. “I lie among the eager” – these are Do’eg and Aḥitofel, who were eager for slander. “Whose tongues are a honed sword” – these are the Zifites, as it is stated: “When the Zifites came and said to Saul [is not David hiding in our midst?]” (Psalms 54:2). At that moment David said: “Rise above the heavens, God” (Psalms 57:6) – remove Your Divine Presence from their midst.
But the generation of Ahab were all idolaters, but because there were no slanderers in their midst they would go out to war and prevail. This is what Ovadya said to Elijah: “Was it not told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord? I concealed [the Lord’s prophets…and I provided them with bread and water” (I Kings 18:13) – if bread, why water? Rather, it teaches that it was more difficult to bring the water than the bread.7This is a parenthetical clause. – But Elijah proclaims on Mount Carmel: “I alone remain a prophet of the Lord” (I Kings 18:22), and the entire people knows but do not reveal it to the king.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: They said to the serpent: ‘Why are you found between fences.’ It said: ‘I breached the fence of the world.’ ‘And why do you proceed with your tongue slobbering?’ It said: ‘It is what caused it to me.’ ‘Why is it that every beast bites and does not kill, but you bite and kill?’ It said to them: “If the serpent bites without a whisper,8From Heaven. there is no advantage to the charmer [baal halashon]” (Ecclesiastes 10:11) – ‘is it possible that I would do anything that was not stated to me from on High?’ ‘Why do you bite one limb and all the limbs feel it?’
It said to them: ‘You say it to me? Say it to the master of the tongue [baal halashon],9The slanderer. who is here and kills in Rome.’ Why is it10Slander called third?11Slander is referred to as lishna telita’i, a triple tongue. See, for example, Targum Yonatan, Leviticus 19:16.
It is because it kills three: The one who speaks it, the one who receives it, and the one about whom it is spoken. During the era of Saul, four: It killed Do’eg, who spoke it; Saul, who received it; Aḥimelekh, about whom it was spoken; and Avner son of Ner.12The last explanation of why Avner was killed connects him to the punishment for slander. Why was he killed? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: It is because he gave precedence to his name over that of David.
That is what is written: “Avner sent messengers to David from his place, saying: Whose is the land?” (II Samuel 3:12). He [Avner] wrote: From Avner to David. Reish Lakish said: It is because he made a game of the blood of the lads, as it is stated: “Avner said to Yoav: Let the lads rise now and play before us” (II Samuel 2:14). The Rabbis say: It is because he did not wait for Saul to reconcile with David, as it is stated: “My father, see, indeed, see the corner of your robe [in my hand, for as I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you…]” (I Samuel 24:11).
Avner said to him [Saul]: What do you seek to prove from the [corner of] your garment?13Do you seek to prove that David does not want to kill you? It was severed with a thorn.14By saying so, Avner prevented reconciliation between Saul and David. When they came to the circle,15The circle of soldiers sleeping around the king, who was in the middle of the circle (I Samuel 26:7). he said to him: “Will you not answer, Avner?” (I Samuel 26:14).
Regarding the corner, you said it was severed by a thorn. Were the spear and the jug also severed by a thorn? Some say: It is because he should have protested regarding Nov but he did not protest. Rabbi Ḥanan ben Pazi interpreted the verse regarding the portion of the heifer, in which there are seven of everything: Seven heifers,16Heifer is mentioned seven times. seven burnings,17Seven items must be burned. seven sprinklings,18Numbers 19:4. seven immersions,19Seven individuals involved in the process must immerse themselves. seven impure,20Seven people who require sprinkling of the purification water. seven pure,21Seven are thereby purified. seven priests.22Priest is mentioned seven times.
If a person will say to you: They are five,23The word priest is written only five times. say to him: Moses and Aaron are included, as it is stated: “The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: This is the statute of the Torah” (Numbers 19:1–2).