Berakhot 10a:2-4 R. Meir & Beruriah "Let Sins Cease" Created by Devra C. Aarons, Dec. 2022 HUC XED545-A

About this Text: Talmudic Babylon, c.450 - c.550 CE

Berakhot (“Blessings”) is the first tractate of Zeraim (“Seeds”), the first order of the Mishnah, and the only tractate in Zeraim included in the Babylonian Talmud. Its nine chapters discuss the laws of prayers, focusing on the Shema, the Amidah, and blessings, including those recited in the context of eating.

About Beruriah from Rachel Adler, "The Virgin in the Brothel and Other Anomalies: Character and Context in the Legend of Beruriah"

Once there was a woman named Beruriah, and she was a great Talmudic scholar. She was the daughter of the great Palestinian rabbi Hananyah ben Teradyon, who was martyred by the Romans. Even as a young girl, she far outstripped her brother as a scholar. It was said she had learned three hundred laws from three hundred teachers in one day. She married Rabbi Meir, the miracle worker and great Mishnaic sage.

ברכות י׳ א:ב׳-ד׳

הָנְהוּ בִּרְיוֹנֵי דַּהֲווֹ בְּשִׁבָבוּתֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר וַהֲווֹ קָא מְצַעֲרוּ לֵיהּ טוּבָא. הֲוָה קָא בָּעֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר רַחֲמֵי עִלָּוַיְהוּ כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלֵימוּתוּ. אָמְרָה לֵיהּ בְּרוּרְיָא דְּבֵיתְהוּ: מַאי דַּעְתָּךְ — מִשּׁוּם דִּכְתִיב ״יִתַּמּוּ חַטָּאִים״, מִי כְּתִיב ״חוֹטְאִים״? ״חַטָּאִים״ כְּתִיב. וְעוֹד, שְׁפֵיל לְסֵיפֵיהּ דִּקְרָא ״וּרְשָׁעִים עוֹד אֵינָם״, כֵּיוָן דְּ״יִתַּמּוּ חַטָּאִים״ ״וּרְשָׁעִים עוֹד אֵינָם״? אֶלָּא בְּעִי רַחֲמֵי עִלָּוַיְהוּ דְּלַהְדְּרוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה, ״וּרְשָׁעִים עוֹד אֵינָם״. בְּעָא רַחֲמֵי עִלָּוַיְהוּ, וַהֲדַרוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה.

Berakhot 10a:2-4

There were these hooligans in Rabbi Meir’s neighborhood who caused him a great deal of anguish. Rabbi Meir prayed for God to have mercy on them, that they should die. Rabbi Meir’s wife, Berurya, said to him: What is your thinking? On what basis do you pray for the death of these hooligans? Do you base yourself on the verse, as it is written: “Let sins cease from the land” (Psalms 104:35), which you interpret to mean that the world would be better if the wicked were destroyed? But is it written, let sinners cease?” Let sins cease, is written. One should pray for an end to their transgressions, not for the demise of the transgressors themselves. Moreover, go to the end of the verse, where it says: “And the wicked will be no more.” If, as you suggest, transgressions shall cease refers to the demise of the evildoers, how is it possible that the wicked will be no more, i.e., that they will no longer be evil? Rather, pray for God to have mercy on them, that they should repent, as if they repent, then the wicked will be no more, as they will have repented. Rabbi Meir saw that Berurya was correct and he prayed for God to have mercy on them, and they repented.

תהילים ק״ד:ל״ה

(לה) יִתַּ֤מּוּ חַטָּאִ֨ים ׀ מִן־הָאָ֡רֶץ וּרְשָׁעִ֤ים ׀ ע֤וֹד אֵינָ֗ם בָּרְכִ֣י נַ֭פְשִׁי אֶת־יְהֹוָ֗ה הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃ {פ}

Psalms 104:35

(35) May sinners disappear from the earth,
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Hallelujah.

The word in Hebrew for sin (ḥet) literally means something that goes astray, like an arrow that misses the mark. When an archer misses the target, it is not a permanent failure. Rather, an archer can keep trying to get arrows closer to the target and ultimately to its center.

Source: https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/article/sin-and-forgiveness/

Questions for Discussion:

How does Beruriah model leadership?
There is a discrepancy between Beruriah's interpretation of the Psalms text and how it's translated here. What do you make of her translation? How does each interpretation change how we react to people's behavior?
What can this story teach today’s educators/role models about our attitudes towards learners who don’t follow the rules or break classroom/programmatic guidelines? What does Beruriah advocate?
How to balance values inside our classroom/programmatic spaces between compassion and responsibility?
How does the definition of the hebrew word for sin, “het” as “something that goes astray” help in how you might want to model Beruriah’s idea in our learning environments?
What type of hevruta partnership do you see modelled between Meir & Beruriah?

Devra Aarons

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