משנה: בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת כֵּיצַד. כֵּיוָן שֶׁעָֽבְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן וּבָאוּ אֶל הַר גְּרִיזִים וְאֶל הַר עֵיבָל שֶׁבְּשׁוֹמְרוֹן שֶׁבְּצַד שְׁכֶם שֶׁאֵצֶל אֵילוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר הֲלֹא הֵמָּה בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן וגו׳ וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר וַיַּעֲבֹר אַבְרָם בָּאָרֶץ עַד מְקוֹם שְׁכֶם עַד אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה מָה הָאֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה הָאָמוּר לְהַלָּן שְׁכֶם אַף אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה הָאָמוּר כָּאן שְׁכֶם. MISHNAH: Blessings and curses32This is of purely antiquarian character, asserting that the curses detailed in Deuteronomy.27.11-26">Deut. 27:11–26 (each curse prefaced by a corresponding blessing: “Blessed be the man who will not …”) were pronounced in Hebrew, based on Joshua.8.34">Jos. 8:34; cf. Sotah 7:4:2-9" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Sotah.7.4.2-9">Halakhah 4., how? When Israel had crossed the Jordan they came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal in Samaria, next to Sichem which is close to the terebinths of guidance, as it is said62Deuteronomy.11.30">Deut. 11:30: “They are on the other side of the Jordan, westward, on the road to sunset, in the Land of the Canaanite who dwells in the prairie, opposite Gilgal, near the terebinths of guidance.”: “They are on the other side of the Jordan, etc.”, and at another place it says63Genesis.12.6">Gen. 12:6. The terebinth may have been a holy tree (or in the language of Deut., a holy grove) at the crossing on the North-South route (Damascus) - Ir Gannim - Beër Šeba - (Egypt) and the “road towards sundown” from Adam-the-City to the Mediterranean.: “Abram traveled through the Land up to the place of Sichem, up to the terebinth of guidance.” Since the terebinth of guidance mentioned there is at Sichem so the the terebinths of guidance mentioned here are at Sichem64The lengthy discussion in the Mishnah is a polemic against R. Eleazar in the Halakhah. For all of Sotah 7:3:2-5:6" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Sotah.7.3.2-5.6">Halakhot 3–5, cf. Seder ‘Olam, Chapter 11, in the author’s edition pp. 109–119; Tosephta Chapter 8..
הלכה: הֲלֹא הֵמָּה בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן מִן הַיַּרְדֵּן וּלְהַלָּן. אֲחַרֵי דֶּרֶךְ מְבוֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ. מָקוֹם שֶׁהַחַמָּה זוֹרָחַת. בְּאֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי הַיּוֹשֵׁב בָּעֲרָבָה מוּל הַגִּלְגָּל אֵצֶל אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה. זֶה הַר גְּרִיזִים וְהַר עֵיבָל שֶׁבֵּין הַכּוּתִים. דִּבְרֵי רִבִּי יְהוּדָה. רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר. אֵין זֶה הַר גְּרִיזִים וְהַר עֵיבָל שֶׁלַּכּוּתִים. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר הֲלֹא הֵמָּה בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן מִן הַיַּרְדֵּן וְלָכֵן. אֲחַרֵי דֶּרֶךְ מְבוֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ. מָקוֹם שֶׁהַחַמָּה שׁוֹקַעַת. בְּאֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי. אֵילּוּ בֵּין הַחִוִּי. הַיּוֹשֵׁב בָּעֲרָבָה. אֵילּוּ בֵּין הֶהָרִים. מוּל הַגִּלְגָּל. אֵין כָּאן גִּלְגָּל. אֵצֶל אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה. אֵין כָּאן אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה. מַה מְקַייֵם רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר הַר גְּרִיזִים וְהַר עֵיבָל. שְׁתֵּי גַּבְשׁוֹשִׁיּוֹת עָשׂוּ וְקָֽרְאוּ זֶה הַר גְּרִיזִים וְזֵה הַר עֵיבָל. עַל דַּעַת דְּרִבִּי יְהוּדָה מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים מִיל הָֽלְכוּ בְאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם. עַל דַּעַת דְּרִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר לֹא זָזוּ מִמְּקוֹמָן. HALAKHAH: 66Parallel texts in Sotah.33b">Babli 33b, Tosephta Chapter 8, Sifry Deut. 56.“62Deuteronomy.11.30">Deut. 11:30: “They are on the other side of the Jordan, westward, on the road to sunset, in the Land of the Canaanite who dwells in the prairie, opposite Gilgal, near the terebinths of guidance.” They are on the other side of the Jordan,” away from the Jordan. “Far away67Sotah 33b" href="/Rashi_on_Sotah.33b">Rashi, Commentary to Soṭa 33b, attributes this meaning of אחרי to Gen. rabba. If one accepts the usual meaning “westward” (adopted by Rashi in his Commentary to Deut.), one would have to read “sunset” in the opinion of R. Jehudah and “sunrise” in that of R. Eleazar, as suggested by L. Finkelstein, Sifry Deut., pp. 123–124. from the road towards the sun’s coming”, the place from where the sun shines. “In the Land of the Canaanite who dwells in the prairie, opposite Gilgal, near the terebinths of guidance.” That refers to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal among the Samaritans, the words of Rebbi Jehudah. Rebbi Eleazar68Only in Sifry Deut. the reading is: R. Eliezer. That reading is very unlikely since R. Ilaï, R. Jehudah’s father, was R. Eliezer’s student. (The one reading “R. Eleazar” quoted by Finkelstein in his apparatus comes from a secondary source not necessarily dependent upon Sifry.) said, this does not refer to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal of the Samaritans. “They are on the other side of the Jordan,” by the Jordan. “To the West, on the road to sunset,” a place where the sun goes down. “In the Land of the Canaanite,” but there is the Ḥiwwite69In Genesis.34.2">Sichem, Gen. 34:2.. “Who dwells in the prairie,” but there it is in the mountains. “Opposite Gilgal,” Gilgal is nowhere there70East of Jericho, Joshua.4.19">Jos. 4:19.. “Near the terebinths of guidance.” The terebinths of guidance are not there71Here one speaks of a grove, in the verse referring to Abraham of a single tree.. How does Rebbi Eleazar uphold “Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal”? They made two elevations and called them Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. In the opinion of Rebbi Jehudah, they walked 120 mil on that day72The distance from Jericho to Sichem is estimated at 60 mil (in the Sotah.36a">Babli, 36a, and one Tosephta source, “more than 60 mil”). In R. Jehudah’s opinion they crossed the Jordan, put up the stones, walked to Sichem, completed the ceremony, and walked back, all in one day. This contradicts Joshua.8.30-35">Jos. 8:30–35.. In the opinion of Rebbi Eleazar, they did not move at all.
תַּנֵּי רִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר לֹא [בָא הַכָּתוּב] אֶלָּא לְהַשְׁווֹת לָהֶן אֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ וְלוֹמַר. בַּדֶּרֶךְ יֵלְכוּ וְלֹא בַשָּׂדוֹת. בְּיִישׁוּב יֵלְכוּ וְלֹא בַמִּדְבָּר. בָּעֲרָבָה יֵלְכוּ לֹא בֶהָרִים. It was stated74Sotah.33b">Babli 33b, Sifry Deut. 56.: “Rebbi Eliezer ben Jacob says, the verse comes only to prepare the road for them and say that they should walk on the road, not in fields, in inhabited regions, not in the desert, in the valley75Sifry Deut. explains ערבה as מישור “plain”., not in the mountains.
אָמַר רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֵּרִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן. נוּמֵיתִי לְסוֹפְרֵי כוּתִים. זִייַפְתֶּם תּוֹרַתְכֶם וְלֹא הוֹעַלְתֶּם לְעַצְמְיכֶם כְּלוּם. שֶׁהִכְתַּבְתֶּם בְּתוֹרַתְכֶם אֵצֶל אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה שְׁכֶם. וַהֲלֹא יָדוּעַ שֶׁהוּא שְׁכֶם. אֶלָּא שֶׁאֵין אַתֶּם דּוֹרְשִׁין לִגְזֵירָה שָׁוָה. וְאָנוּ דּוֹרְשִׁין לִגְזֵירָה שָׁוָה. נֶאֱמַר כָּאן אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה. וְנֶאֱמַר לְהַלָּן אֵלוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה. מָה אֵילוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה הָאָמוּר לְהַלָּן שְׁכֶם אַף אֵילוֹנֵי מוֹרֶה הָאָמוּר כָּאן שְׁכֶם. וְכִדְרִבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל. דְּרִבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אָמַר. כָּל־בִּיאוֹת שֶׁנֶּאֶמְרוּ בַתּוֹרָה לְאַחַר אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֶה שָׁנָה נֶאֶמְרוּ. שֶׁבַע שֶׁכִּיבְּשׁוּ וְשֶׁבַע שֶׁחִילְּקוּ. וְדִכְװָתָהּ לֹא נֶאֶמְרוּ בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת אֶלָּא לְאַחַר אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֶה שָׁנָה. הָתִיב רִבִּי חֲנַנְיָה קוֹמֵי רִבִּי מָנָא. וְהָֽכְתִיב וְהָיָה בְּעָבְרְכֶם אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן תָּקִימוּ אֶת הָאֲבָנִים הָאֵלֶּה. אָמַר לֵיהּ. אֲבָנִים הָקִימוּ אוֹתָן מִיָּד. בְּרָכוֹת וּקְלָלוֹת לְאַחַר אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֶה שָׁנָה נֶאֶמְרוּ. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon76In the other sources (Sotah.33b">Babli 33b, Sifry Deut. 56): R. Eleazar ben R. Yose. This is the Babylonian tradition which attributes the material of Seder Olam to the school of R. Yose. said: I told the Samaritan scribes: You falsified your Torah and did not gain anything, because you cause to be written in your Torah “near the terebinths of guidance, Sichem77An additional word which is not original.”. Is it not known that this is Sichem? It is only because you do not explain by “equal cut78The second hermeneutical rule which stipulates that a word in the Torah can have only one meaning; cf. Berakhot 1:1:20" href="/Jerusalem_Talmud_Berakhot.1.1.20">Berakhot 1:1, Note 70.”, but we explain by “equal cut”. 79See the Mishnah. It is written here, “the terebinths of guidance”, and it is said there, “the terebinths of guidance.” Since “the terebinths of guidance” there are at Sichem, also “the terebinths of guidance” here are at Sichem; and following Rebbi Ismael. For Rebbi Ismael said, any “comings” which were said in the Torah refer to after fourteen years, seven during which they conquered and seven during which they distributed80Any commandment in the Torah which is prefaced by “when you come into the Land” is activated only after each tribe has received their portion of land (Seder Olam Chapter 11, pp. 108–109; Zevachim.118b">Babli Zebaḥim 118b, Arakhin.13a">Arakhin 13a).. Therefore, blessings and curses were recited only after fourteen years. Rebbi Ḥanania objected before Rebbi Mana: Is it not written81Deuteronomy.27.4">Deut. 27:4. These stones had to be erected on Mount Ebal., “It shall be when you cross the Jordan you shall erect these stones”? He said to him, they erected the stones immediately82In that case, Joshua.4.8">Jos. 4:8, Joshua.8.30-35">8:30–35, support the interpretation of R. Eleazar. but blessings and curses were said only after fourteen years.