daf bit: Avodah Zarah 17

[cellio]

The g'mara on today's daf discusses the heavenly penalty for idolatry, saying that even if people turn away from it, they still won't merit eternal life -- some sins are too grave. (I don't yet know if that's the final conclusion; we're in the middle of a discussion here.) The g'mara then talks about other grave transgressions, including the following story.

It was said of R' Eleazer ben Dordia that he would not pass by any harlot in the world. Once he heard of a certain harlot in a town by the sea who accepted a purse of denarii for her services, and he took a purse and crossed seven rivers for her sake. When he was with her, she blew a breath and said: as this blown breath cannot return to its place, so too will R' Eleazer ben Dordia never be received in repentance. He went from her and sat between two hills and mountains, crying out: oh hills and mountains, plead for mercy for me! They said: how can we when we need it ourselves? For it says: for the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed (all these prooftexts are from Isaiah). So he called out to Heaven and Earth and they too said: how can we when we need it ourselves? For it says: the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment. He then tried the sun and moon and they declined, for it says: the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed. Ok, how about stars and constellations? No can do: all the hosts of heaven shall moulder away. So finally he said: the matter depends on me alone! He placed his head between his knees and wept aloud until his soul departed. Then a heavenly voice (a bat kol) was heard proclaiming: "Rabbi Eleazar ben Dordia is destined for the life of the world to come!" Rabbi, on hearing of it, wept and said: one may acquire eternal life after many years, another in one hour! (17a)

(My copy has "Dordia" once and "Dordai" once. I can't tell for sure from the unpointed Aramaic (דורדיא), but "Dordia" seems to fit those consonants a little better. I've never heard either name before.)

Comments

[thnidu]

I agree about "Dordia". Transliterated, the name is
D O(or U) R D Y(or I) A.

Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Whom: Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoëpist, and Philological Busybody

[magid]

When I learned this, the suggestion was that 'she blew a breath' was actually 'she farted'. And then there was some discussion of how the closest hills might have been her breasts (though it doesn't work for the rest of the story).