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Why were Jewish women willing to die rather than submit to Hegmon's decree? Tosfos and Rashi (רש"י) offer fundamentally different readings of what constitutes martyrdom versus suicide, and when halacha (הלכה) permits self-sacrifice to avoid transgression.
This shiur presents a sophisticated analysis of a dispute between Tosfos and Rashi (רש"י) regarding the famous Gemara (גמרא) in Kesubos 3b about the Greek decree against Jewish brides. The decree stated that any Jewish woman married on Tuesday would be violated by Hegmon first. The Gemara calls this a "sakana" (danger) because women were "moser nefesh" (sacrificing their lives). Rabbi Zweig demonstrates that Rashi and Tosfos fundamentally disagree about what "moser nefesh" means here. According to Rashi, the women thought they would be forbidden to their husbands if violated, so they were willing to die to preserve their marriages. The Gemara's solution - "teach them that onus is permitted" - means instructing them that forced relations don't forbid them to their husbands.
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Why does halacha forbid entering dangerous places if everything happens by Divine decree? The shiur examines the debate between Rashi and Tosfos on traveling at night, developing a fundamental distinction: Rashi holds one must avoid even deserved punishments that Hashem delays through mercy, while Tosfos holds the prohibition addresses self-inflicted harm through free will. This framework reveals how people rationalize self-destructive behavior as "hashgacha."
Why does the Gemara praise hospitality to scholars as a unique mitzvah rather than ordinary hachnasas orchim? The shiur distinguishes two mitzvahs: hachnasas orchim (providing for those in need) and connecting to talmidei chachamim (cleaving to God through scholars). Yisro's meal for the Jewish leaders wasn't charity—it was his way of bonding with those transformed by Torah, teaching that learning must fundamentally change who we are.
Kesubos 3b
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