Study Sanhedrin folio 21A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
״וימשחו לה׳ לנגיד ולצדוק״, מקיש נגיד לצדוק: מה צדוק – מחצה לו ומחצה לאחיו, אף נגיד – מחצה לו ומחצה לאחיו.
“And they made Solomon, son of David, king the second time, and anointed him to YHWH to be leader, and Tzadok to be priest” (I Chronicles 29:22). This verse compares a leader, referring to King Solomon, to Tzadok, the High Priest: Just as for Tzadok, half of the showbread given to the priests is for him, the High Priest, and half is for all his brothers, the other priests, so too for the leader, half is for him and half is for his brothers, the rest of the army.
The Talmud asks: And with regard to Tzadok himself, from where do we derive that the High Priest takes half? The Talmud responds: As it is taught in a baraita: R' Yehuda HaNasi says: The Torah states with regard to the apportionment of the showbread: “And it should be for Aaron and his sons, and they should eat it in a holy place” (Leviticus 24:9), from which it is inferred: Half for Aaron and half for his sons.
מתני׳ ״לא ירבה לו נשים״, אלא שמנה עשרה. רבי יהודה אומר: מרבה הוא לו, ובלבד שלא יהו מסירות את לבו. רבי שמעון אומר: אפילו אחת ומסירה את לבו – הרי זה לא ישאנה. אם כן, למה נאמר ״לא ירבה לו נשים״? דאפילו כאביגיל.
Mishnah: The king “should not add many wives for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:17), but only 18. R' Yehuda says: He may add many wives for himself, provided that they are not like those who turn his heart away from reverence for God. R' Shimon says: Even if he wants to marry only one wife, if she turns his heart away, he should not marry her. If so, why is it stated: “He should not add many wives for himself”? This teaches that even if his wives are like Abigail, who was righteous and prevented David from sin (see I Samuel, chapter 25), it is prohibited for him to have many wives.