Study Sanhedrin folio 72A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
גמ׳ תניא, רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר: וכי מפני שאכל זה תרטימר בשר ושתה חצי לוג יין האיטלקי אמרה תורה יצא לבית דין ליסקל? אלא הגיעה תורה לסוף דעתו של בן סורר ומורה, שסוף מגמר נכסי אביו ומבקש למודו ואינו מוצא, ויוצא לפרשת דרכים ומלסטם את הבריות.
Talmud: It is taught in a baraita that further elaborates upon the words of the Mishnah: R' Yosei HaGelili says: Is it simply due to the fact that the boy ate a tarteimar of meat and drank a half-log of Italian wine that the Torah states that he should be taken out to court to be stoned? Rather, the Torah penetrated the ultimate mind-set of the stubborn and rebellious son and the inevitable results of his actions, and it is understood that he will continue on this path, and in the end he will squander his father’s property, and then, seeking the pleasures to which he had become accustomed but not finding them, he will go out to the crossroads and rob people.
אמרה תורה: ימות זכאי ואל ימות חייב, שמיתתן של רשעים – הנאה להם והנאה לעולם, ולצדיקים – רע להם ורע לעולם. שינה ויין לרשעים – הנאה להם והנאה לעולם, לצדיקים – רע להם ורע לעולם. שקט לרשעים – רע להם ורע לעולם, ולצדיקים – הנאה להם והנאה לעולם. פיזור לרשעים – הנאה להם והנאה לעולם, ולצדיקים – רע להם ורע לעולם.
The Torah said that it is better that he should die now when he is still innocent, and he should not die later when he is guilty. This is because the death of the wicked is beneficial to them and also beneficial to the world, while the death of the righteous is detrimental to them and detrimental to the world. The sleep and wine of the wicked is beneficial to them and beneficial to the world, while that of the righteous is detrimental to them and detrimental to the world. The tranquility of the wicked is detrimental to them and detrimental to the world, while the tranquility of the righteous is beneficial to them and beneficial to the world. The dispersal of the wicked is beneficial to them and beneficial to the world, while the dispersal of the righteous is detrimental to them and detrimental to the world.