Dear Rebi, more question! I have read: http://www.dafyomi.co.il/gitin/points/gi-ps-057.htm
Was Zecharyah's blood boiling in a physical way? His blood has been boiling all these (more than 200) years...Aspasyainus Keisar, who killed 4,000,000 in Beitar...some say that he killed 40,000,000;
Are ChaZal teaching in an aggadah way, what can you tell me? should i take this knowledge on a physical way?
I hope your answer!
Kol tuv.
Chaim Marenberg
1) While some might say it was boiling physically, the Maharsha explains that it was not constantly boiling. Rather, if someone attempted to cover it, it would boil up and over what was attempting to cover it, and retain its presence above the ground.
2) While I have seen a couple of respected sources say this is literal, I am quite convinced that it is not discussing actual numbers of people. One telltale sign of this is that this same Agadah, in the previous sentence says "Shishim Ribo etc." which is a known amount used for exaggeration. The number sixty is one of the numbers classically used for exaggeration, as stated by the Maharsha in Bechoros (57b). [The Maharsha was someone who would otherwise take Agadah literally, so if he says it is a sign of exaggeration, you can take it to the bank.]
It is possible that the Gemara is discussing an argument about how many people these people were "equal to." We find many such equations (such as Eliezer being alluded to as three hundred and eighteen men, Moshe being equivalent to all of Klal Yisrael, and many more Gemaros of this type).
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose