Study Avodah Zarah folio 17B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
דנכיס יצריה. אמר ליה אידך: ניזיל אפיתחא דבי זונות ונכפייה ליצרין ונקבל אגרא. כי מטו התם, חזונהו [לזונות], איתכנעו מקמייהו.
as the inclination to engage in idol worship has been slaughtered and the temptation to sin in this manner no longer exists. The other said to him: Let us go by the path that leads to the entrance of the brothel and overpower our inclination, and thereby receive a reward. When they arrived there, they saw that the prostitutes yielded before their presence, i.e., they entered the building out of respect for the rabbis.
אמר ליה: מנא לך הא? אמר ליה: ״מזמה תשמר עליך תבונה תנצרכה״.
One said to the other: From where did you know this, that the prostitutes would retreat from us in embarrassment? He said to him: It is written: “From lewdness [mezimma] it should watch over you; discernment should guard you” (Proverbs 2:11), i.e., the Torah will serve as a safeguard against lewdness.
אמרו ליה רבנן לרבא: מאי ״מזמה״? אילימא תורה, דכתיב בה ״זמה״ ומתרגמינן: עצת חטאין, וכתיב: ״הפליא עצה הגדיל תושיה״. אי הכי, ״זמה״ מבעי ליה! הכי קאמר: מדבר זימה תשמור עליך, תורה תנצרכה.
The rabbis said to Rava: What is the meaning of mezimma? If we say that it is referring to the Torah that will guard you, as it is written in it: “Zimma” (Leviticus 18:17), and we translate this term as: The counsel of [atzat] the sinners, demonstrating that zimma is referring to counsel or wisdom, and the term etza is also written with regard to the Torah: “This also comes forth from YHWH of hosts: Wonderful is His counsel [etza], and great is His wisdom” (Isaiah 28:29), this is difficult. The Talmud explains the difficulty: If so, the verse should have said: Zimma, and not mezimma. Rather, this is what the verse is saying: From lewd matters [midevar zimma], it should watch over you, the Torah should guard you, i.e., the term discernment is a reference to the Torah.