The Concubine at Gibeah and the Danger of Terror at Home

Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 74:2

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And his concubine played the harlot against him" (Judges 19:2). Rabbi Eviatar said: He found a fly with her [in the food she served]. Rabbi Yonatan said: He found a hair with her. Rabbi Eviatar came upon Elijah, of blessed memory, and said to him: What is the Holy One, blessed be He, occupied with? He said to him: With the matter of the concubine at Gibeah. And what does He say? He said: My son Eviatar says thus, and My son Yonatan says thus. He said to him: Is there then doubt before Heaven? He said to him: Both of these are the word of the living God. He found a fly and did not object; he found a hair and objected. Rabbi Yehudah said in the name of Rav: A fly in the dish and a hair in that place. The fly is mere disgust, but the hair is a danger. Some say that both were in the dish: the fly was an accident, the hair was negligence. Rabbi Chisda said: A person should never impose excessive fear within his household, for whoever imposes excessive fear within his household will in the end come to three transgressions: forbidden relations, bloodshed, and desecration of the Sabbath.

Themes

MarriageSpeechDivine Justice

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