Resources for Chagigah daf 13
1. The גמרא says that נבוכדנצר wanted to reach the heights of heaven and a בת קול told him it was thousands of years above him. What exactly did the גמרא mean? That נבוכדנצר was thinking of using a spaceship? See the מכתב מאליהו in חלק ג page 113 who says that the גמרא is referring to levels of רוחניות, and is telling us that for a person with no סייעתא דשמיא, it would take them hundreds of lifetimes, even if they never took a step backwards, in order to reach heights of רוחניות. It is only through Hashem’s help that a person can climb to any spiritual height. However, נבוכדנצר who was doing it only for גאוה would have the opposite affect--he would be led to the depths.
2. The גמרא brings the פּסוק of ומשפּטים בל ידעום to teach us that one cannot teach תורה to a נכרי. In תוספות ד"ה אין מוסרין, the רבינו אלחנן asks why we need this לימוד when we have a גמרא in סנהדרין that says גוי העוסק בתורה חייב מיתה. If a נכרי can’t learn תורה, then it’s לפני עור to teach it to him? תוספות answers that it’s talking about a case where there is no לפני עור since it is a case where the נכרי could have learned תורה without your help. See the טורי אבן who suggests a different approach. He says that the reason the גמרא says a נכרי is חייב מיתה for learning תורה is because it is a תורה צוה לנו משה, מורשה קהילת יעקב—since it is our inheritance, a נכרי who learns it is גזלן. However, if a Jew teaches it to the נכרי, then the Jew must be מוחל! Even though there are other שותפין who were not מוחל, he suggests that since teaching תורה to the נכרי doesn’t detract from other people’s תורה, he has a right to be מוחל it even without getting permission from all the other Jews. See the מרומי שדה who strongly disagrees and says that by one Jew teaching תורה to a נכרי it certainly detracts from everyone else. Rather, he suggests that גוי העוסק בתורה refers to עיון only. That’s what עוסק means. Moreover, the גמרא brings that מורשה comes from the word מאורסה which means it’s like the נכרי was בא על ארוסתינו, and that is משמע בא בחדרי התורה with the attempt to be מוליד חידוש and not just מסתכל על ארוסתינו. Our פּסוק of ומשפּטים בל ידעום is forbidding teaching them even straight דינים that aren’t שבע מצוות.
3. There is a big discussion amongst the אחרונים as to why the פּוסקים don’t bring the הלכה to not teach תורה to a נכרי anywhere. There doesn’t seem to be any מחלוקת about it in the גמרא. See the שו"ת באר שבע in the קונטרס באר מים חיים סימן י"ד who says that perhaps we do not pasken like this הלכה. See the שפת אמת who suggests that perhaps after the story of תלמי where the חכמים allowed the Torah to be written in Greek, they also allowed the Torah to be taught to נכרים. See the תהילה ליונה (and others) who suggest that perhaps the רמב"ם didn’t bring this הלכה since he paskens in הלכות עבדים פּרק ח' הל' י"ח that one cannot teach Torah to an עבד. Consequently, it should be a קל וחומר that one can’t teach a נכרי Torah. Assuming we do pasken like this הלכה, see the טורי אבן who suggests that the only איסור to teach תורה to a נכרי is when it is done בקביעות like having a חברותא with a נכרי, but if one does it just עראי (like reposnding to a question) then it is allowed.
Rabbi Millman's Marei Mekomos Halacha
Rabbi Azriel Katz - Meforshim Overview
Rabbi Mordechai Papoff - English Topics
Rabbi Yechiel Grunhaus - Points to Ponder
New Daf Hashavua newsletter - Shavua Matters