The Sorcerer's Apprentice
This isn’t Daf Yomi related, but I thought I would share a peshat I’ve long had, but appears to be novel.
In Sanhedrin 65a, Rava, or perhaps Rabba, sends a created man (a gavra, what we might call a golem) to Rabbi Zeira. The latter speaks to the golem who doesn’t respond. Rabbi Zeira says min chavraya at, you are from the chaveirim, return to your dust!
אמר רבא אי בעו צדיקי ברו עלמא שנאמר כי עונותיכם היו מבדילים וגו'
Rava says: If the righteous wish to do so, they can create a world, as it is stated: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God.” In other words, there is no distinction between God and a righteous person who has no sins, and just as God created the world, so can the righteous.
רבא ברא גברא שדריה לקמיה דר' זירא הוה קא משתעי בהדיה ולא הוה קא מהדר ליה אמר ליה מן חבריא את הדר לעפריך
Indeed, Rava created a man, a golem, using forces of sanctity. Rava sent his creation before Rabbi Zeira. Rabbi Zeira would speak to him but he would not reply. Rabbi Zeira said to him: You were created by one of the members of the group, one of the Sages. Return to your dust.
A quick digression. Because this is the Scribal Error Substack, I will just note that we might wonder whether it is Rava (b. Yosef b. Chama) or Rabba (bar Nachmani). Also, whether the person who made the first statement (“If the righteous”) is the one who did the second action (making the golem). Here is Hachi Garsinan, where generally speaking, it is Rava in both:
Note that in Munich 95 (last column, second image), the first statement is R’ Abba while the second is Rav’ with the apostrophe, making either Rava or Rabba possible. We’d have to connect this to Rabbi Zeira, of whom there might be a third-generation Rabbi Zeira I and and fourth and fifth-generation Rabbi Zeira II, or one long-lived Amora, as I’ve discussed in the past. Different Rabbi Zeiras match better or worse to Rabba or Rava.
There is also Rav Yaakov Emden, quoted on the side of the Vilna Shas, specifically on the second occurrence, that it should be Rabba rather than Rava. This would make a big difference in interpreting the sugya, whether Rava is carrying out his own principle or not.
Also, we might want to connect it to the other famous Rabba / Rabbi Zeira story where they feast together, and Rabba kills Rabbi Zeira, only to resurrect him, in Megillah 7b. Our printed texts have this as Rabba, which would then be a different speaker than in the preceding statement by Rava that one must become intoxicated on Purim until he can’t distinguish between Arur Haman and Baruch Mordechai. For an exploration of that, together with lots of pictures of manuscripts, see my earlier post:
At any rate, let us discuss min chavraya at.
The English Koren Steinsaltz translation has it as “Rabbi Zeira said to him: You were created by one of the members of the group, one of the Sages. Return to your dust.” This matches Rabbi Steinsaltz’s Hebrew commentary, מן החבורה אתה, you are of the group. Elsewhere, Sages are occasionally called chaveirim or chavraya.
To bolster this interpretation, we can point to Nazir 59a:
הָהוּא דְּאִיתְחַיַּיב נְגִידָא קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי אַמֵּי. אִיגַּלַּאי בֵּית הַשֶּׁחִי, חַזְיֵיהּ דְּלָא מְגַלַּח, אֲמַר לְהוֹן רַבִּי אַמֵּי: שִׁיבְקוּהּ, דֵּין מִן חַבְרַיָּא הוּא.
The Gemara relates: There was a certain person who committed a transgression and was found liable to receive lashes before Rabbi Ami. When they removed his clothes to flog him, his armpit was exposed, and Rabbi Ami saw that he had not shaved his armpit hair. Rabbi Ami said to his attendants: Leave him; this is one of those who are meticulous in observance of mitzvot. We can see this is so, as he is particular about prohibitions that ordinary people do not observe.
as well as Bereishit Rabba 13:16:
אֲבִימֵי מִן חַבְרַיָא הֲוָה מְבַקֵּר בִּישַׁיָא כַּד הֲוַת רְבִיעָתָא נַחֲתָה, הֲוָה אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי חִיָּא בַּר אַבָּא מָה אִנּוּן עֲבִידִין, הֲוָה אֲמַר לֵיהּ נִנּוֹחוּ.
which might be ambiguous but can be interpreted as Avimi of the Sages.
I would suggest another interpretation for Rabbi Zeira’s statement. This sugya appears shortly after the immediately preceding amud, where Amoraim, and a brayta, speaking of a specific kind of sorcery, a charmer.
א"ל רבא מקטר לשד עובד עבודת כוכבים הוא אלא אמר רבא במקטר לחבר
Rava said to Ulla: One who burns incense to a demon is an idol worshipper, which is already mentioned in the mishna in Karetot. Rather, Rava says: The mishna there is referring to one who burns incense to the demons not as a form of worship but as a manner of sorcery, in order to gather the demons, i.e., to bring them to one place.
אמר ליה אביי המקטר לחבר חובר חבר הוא
Abaye said to Ulla: One who burns incense to the demons in order to gather them is considered a charmer, whom the Torah relates to with a distinct prohibition (see Deuteronomy 18:11), which is not punishable by karet.
אין והתורה אמרה חובר זה בסקילה
Rava responded: Yes, such a person is also considered a charmer, but the Torah states that this particular charmer, who gathers demons, is included in the category of a necromancer, and therefore he is executed by stoning, and karet applies as well.
ת"ר (דברים יח, יא) חובר חבר אחד חבר גדול ואחד חבר קטן ואפי' נחשים ועקרבים
The Sages taught with regard to a charmer that the prohibition applies both to a gathering of large animals to one place and to a gathering of small animals to one place, and even to a gathering of snakes and scorpions.
Is one gathering the animals per se, or gathering / associating with demons, in order to get them to fulfill their will. Now, one who creates a humanoid is not really or necessarily committing this sort of association sorcery, but it still may be a sort of sorcery, with this word being applicable. (While חבריא globally most frequently means group or Sages, locally, this other interpretation becomes IMHO more plausible.)
If so, the singular would not be chaver and the plural chavraya (with a chataf patach under the chet). Rather, the singular would be chabbar (with a full patach, a dagesh chazak, and a kametz) and the plural chabbaraya (retaining those vowels). מִן חַבָּרַיָּא אַתְּ, you are of the sorcerers!