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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Hebraic Literature; Translations from the
+Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala, by Various, et al, Edited by Maurice Henry
+Harris
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and
+Kabbala
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: December 16, 2004  [eBook #14368]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEBRAIC LITERATURE; TRANSLATIONS
+FROM THE TALMUD, MIDRASHIM AND KABBALA***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, David King, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+HEBRAIC LITERATURE; TRANSLATIONS FROM THE TALMUD, MIDRASHIM AND KABBALA
+
+Tudor Publishing Co.
+New York
+1943
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+SPECIAL INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Among the absurd notions as to what the Talmud was, given credence in
+the Middle Ages, one was that it was a man! The mediaeval priest or
+peasant was perhaps wiser than he knew. Almost, might we say, the Talmud
+was Man, for it is a record of the doings, the beliefs, the usages, the
+hopes, the sufferings, the patience, the humor, the mentality, and the
+morality of the Jewish people for half a millennium.
+
+What is the Talmud? There is more than one answer. Ostensibly it is the
+_corpus juris_ of the Jews from about the first century before the
+Christian era to about the fourth after it. But we shall see as we
+proceed that the Talmud was much more than this. The very word "Law" in
+Hebrew--"Torah"--means more than its translation would imply. The Jew
+interpreted his whole religion in terms of law. It is his name in fact
+for the Bible's first five books--the Pentateuch. To explain what the
+Talmud is we must first explain the theory of its growth more remarkable
+perhaps than the work itself. What was that theory? The Divine Law was
+revealed to Moses, not only through the Commands that were found written
+in the Bible, but also through all the later rules and regulations of
+post-exilic days. These additional laws it was presumed were handed down
+orally from Moses to Joshua, thence to the Prophets, and later still
+transmitted to the Scribes, and eventually to the Rabbis. The reason why
+the Rabbis ascribed to Moses the laws that they later evolved, was due
+to their intense reverence for Scripture, and their modest sense of
+their own authority and qualification. "If the men of old were giants
+then we are pigmies," said they. They felt and believed that all duty
+for the guidance of man was found in the Bible either directly or
+inferentially. Their motto was then, "Search the Scriptures," and they
+did search them with a literalness and a painstaking thoroughness never
+since repeated. Not a word, not a letter escaped them. Every redundancy
+of expression was freighted with meaning, every repetition was made to
+give birth to new truth. Some of the inferences were logical and
+natural, some artificial and far-fetched, but all ingenious. Sometimes
+the method was inductive and sometimes deductive. That is, occasionally
+a needed law was promulgated by the Jewish Sanhedrin, and then its
+authority sought in the Scripture, or the Scripture would be sought in
+the first instance to reveal new law.
+
+So while the Jewish code, religious and civil, continued to grow during
+the era of the Restoration of the second Temple, to meet the more
+complex conditions of later times, still the theory was maintained that
+all was evolved from original Scripture and always transmitted, either
+written or oral, from Moses from Mount Sinai. It was not, however, till
+the year 219 after the Christian era that a compiled summary of the
+so-called oral law was made--perhaps compiled from earlier summaries--by
+Rabbi Jehudah Hanassi (the Prince), and the added work was called the
+Mishnah or Second Law. Mark the date. We have passed the period of the
+fall of Judea's nationality. And it was these very academies in which
+the Jewish tradition--the Jewish Law was studied, that kept alive the
+Jewish people as a religious community after they had ceased to be a
+nation. This Mishnah, divided into six _sedarim_ or chapters, and
+subdivided into thirty-six treatises, became now in the academies of
+Palestine, and later in Babylonia, the text of further legal
+elaboration, with the theory of deduction from Scripture still
+maintained.
+
+Although the life of denationalized Israel was much narrower and more
+circumscribed, with fewer outlets to their capacities, nevertheless the
+new laws deduced from the Mishnah code in the academies grew far larger
+than the original source, while the discussions which grew around each
+Halacha, as the final decision was termed, and which was usually
+transmitted with the decision, grew so voluminous that it became
+gradually impossible to retain the complex tradition in the
+memory--remarkable as the Oriental memory was and is. That fact, added
+to the growing persecutions from Israel's over-lords, and the consequent
+precarious fate of these precious traditions, made it necessary to write
+them down in spite of the prejudice against committing the oral law to
+writing at all. This work was undertaken by Rav Asche and his disciples,
+and was completed before the year 500. The Mishnah, together with the
+laws that later grew out of it, called also Gamara, or Commentary, form
+the Talmud. While the Palestinian school evolved a Gamara from the
+Mishnah which is called the "Palestinian Talmud," it was the tradition
+of the Babylonian academies, far vaster because they continued for so
+many more centuries, that is the Talmud _per se_, that great work of
+2,947 folio leaves. Were we to continue the tradition further, we might
+show how often this vast legal compilation was the subject of further
+commentary, discussion and deduction by yet later scholars. But that
+takes us beyond our theme and is another story.
+
+In forming an estimate of these laws, we must first remember that they
+belonged to the days when religion and state were one. So we shall find
+priestly laws mixed up with police laws, sanitary regulations side by
+side with regulations of sanctity, the injunctions teaching political
+economy and morality almost in the same line. It should rather then be
+compared to codes of law than to religious scriptures, though often
+there the comparison would be incomplete, since the religious atmosphere
+pervaded even the most secular circumstance of the life of the Jew.
+There was no secular. The meanest function in life must be brought in
+relation to the great Divine. This must be understood in studying the
+Talmud, this must be understood in studying the Jew. As law, it compares
+favorably with the Roman code--its contemporary in part. In the
+treatment of a criminal it is almost quixotically humane. It abhors the
+shedding of blood, and no man can be put to death on circumstantial
+evidence. Many of its injunctions are intensely minute and
+hair-splitting to the extreme of casuistry. Yet these elements are
+familiar in the interpretation of law, not only in the olden time, but
+in some measure even to-day. There are instances where Talmudic law is
+tenderer than the Biblical; for example, the _lex talionis_ is softened
+into an equivalent.
+
+Yet the legal does not form the whole of the Talmud, nor perhaps the
+part that would most interest the casual reader or the world at large.
+It is the dry, prosaic half. There is a poetic half, let us say a
+homiletic half, what we call Agada, as distinct from the legal portion
+called Halacha. The term Agada, "narrative," is wofully insufficient to
+describe the diverse material that falls under this head, for it
+comprehends all the discursive elements that come up in the legal
+discussions in the old Babylonian and Palestinian academies. These
+elements are occasionally biographical,--fragments of the lives of the
+great scholars, occasionally historical,--little bits of Israel's long
+tragedy, occasionally didactic,--facts, morals, life lessons taught by
+the way; occasionally anecdotic, stories told to relieve the monotony of
+discussion; not infrequently fanciful; bits of philosophy, old
+folk-lore, weird imaginings, quaint beliefs, superstitions and humor.
+They are presented haphazard, most irrelevantly introduced in between
+the complex discussions, breaking the thread that however is never lost,
+but always taken up again.
+
+From this point of view the Talmud is a great maze and apparently the
+simplest roads lead off into strange, winding by-paths. It is hard to
+deduce any distinct system of ethics, any consistent philosophy, any
+coherent doctrine. Yet patience rewards the student here too, and from
+this confused medley of material, he can build the intellectual world of
+the early mediaeval Jew. In the realm of doctrine we find that "original
+sin," "vicarious atonement," and "everlasting punishment," are denied.
+Man is made the author of his own salvation. Life beyond the grave is
+still progressive; the soul is pre-existent.
+
+A suggestion of the wit and wisdom of the Talmud may be gathered from
+the following quotations:--
+
+  A single light answers as well for a hundred men as for one.
+  The ass complains of cold even in July.
+  A myrtle in the desert remains a myrtle.
+  Teach thy tongue to say, "I do not know."
+  Hospitality is an expression of Divine worship.
+  Thy friend has a friend, and thy friend's friend has a friend;
+    be discreet.
+  Attend no auctions if thou hast no money.
+  Rather flay a carcass, than be idly dependent on charity.
+  The place honors not the man, 'tis the man who gives honor to the place.
+  Drain not the waters of thy well while other people may desire them.
+  The rose grows among thorns.
+  Two pieces of coin in one bag make more noise than a hundred.
+  The rivalry of scholars advances science.
+  Truth is heavy, therefore few care to carry it.
+  He who is loved by man is loved by God.
+  Use thy noble vase to-day; to-morrow it may break.
+  The soldiers fight and the kings are heroes.
+  Commit a sin twice, it will seem a sin no longer.
+  The world is saved by the breath of the school children.
+  A miser is as wicked as an idolater.
+  Do not make woman weep, for God counts her tears.
+  The best preacher is the heart; the best teacher time;
+    the best book the world; the best friend God.
+
+The philosophy in the Talmud, rather than the philosophy of it, has been
+made the subject of separate treatment just as the whole of the Agada
+has been drawn out of the Talmud and published as a separate work.
+
+What is the Talmud to the Jew to-day? It is literature rather than law.
+He no longer goes to the voluminous Talmud to find specific injunction
+for specific need. Search in that vast sea would be tedious and
+unfruitful. Its legal portion has long been codified in separate
+digests. Maimonides was the first to classify Talmudic law. Still later
+one Ascheri prepared a digest called the "Four Rows," in which the
+decisions of later Rabbis were incorporated. But it was the famous
+Shulchan Aruch (a prepared table) written by Joseph Caro in the
+sixteenth century, that formed the most complete code of Talmudic law
+enlarged to date, and accepted as religious authority by the orthodox
+Jews to-day.
+
+I have already referred to the literature that has grown out of the
+Talmud. The "Jewish Encyclopedia" treats every law recognized by nations
+from the Talmudic stand-point. This will give the world a complete
+Talmudic point of view. In speaking of it as literature, it lacks
+perhaps that beauty of form in its language which the stricter demand as
+literature _sine qua non_, and yet its language is unique. It is
+something more than terse, for many a word is a whole sentence. Written
+in Aramaic, it contains many words in the languages of the nations with
+whom Israel came in contact--Greek, Roman, Persian, and words from other
+tongues.
+
+Like the Jew, the Talmud has had a history, almost as checkered as that
+of its creator. Like him it was singled out for persecution. Louis IX.
+burned twenty-four cart-loads of Talmuds in Paris. Its right of survival
+had often been wrested through church synods and councils. It has been
+banned, it has been excommunicated, it has been made the subject of
+popish bulls; but it was in the sixteenth century that the Benedictine
+Monks made a particular determined effort to destroy it. Fortunately
+they knew not the times. It was the age of Humanism, the forerunner of
+the Reformation, and the Talmud found its ablest defender in the great
+Christian humanist, John Reuchlin. He was the one first to tell his
+co-religionists, "Do not condemn the Talmud before you understand it.
+Burning is no argument. Instead of burning all Jewish literature, it
+were better to found chairs in the universities for its exposition." The
+cause of liberality and light gained the day, and the printing-press
+decided the perpetuation of the Talmud.
+
+In the second stage of its persecution the censor figures. His
+Philistine pen passed ruthlessly over everything that seemed to hint at
+criticism of the Church; but not content with expunging the heretical
+and the inferentially heretical, the censor at times went even so far as
+to erase sentiments particularly lofty, in order that the Talmud should
+not have the credit of expounding noble doctrine, nor the Jew the
+advantage of studying it.
+
+But the latest stage of its persecution belongs to more modern days,
+when inquisitions were out of date and monkish claws were cut. The
+traducer would spitefully engage the services of some renegade Jew, to
+gather from the Talmud all portions and passages that might seem
+grotesque and ridiculous, so that the world might form an unfavorable
+impression of the Talmud and of the people who treasure it. This has
+been done with so much success that up till very recently the Gentile
+world, including the Christian clergy, knew of the Talmud only through
+these unfortunate perversions and caricatures. Imagine the citation of a
+chapter from _Leviticus_ and one from _Chronicles_, of some vindictive
+passages in the _Psalms_, of a few skeptical bits in _Ecclesiastes_ and
+_Job_, and one or two of the barbaric stories in _Judges_, to be offered
+to the world as a fair picture of the Bible, and you will understand the
+sort of treatment the Talmud has received from the world at large and
+the kind of estimate it has been given opportunity to form.
+
+What is the value of the Talmud for the Jew? Certainly its greatest
+value was rendered in the Middle Ages, when literature was scant and
+copies of the few books in existence were rarer. When the Jew was shut
+out of the world's pleasure and the world's culture and barred up in
+Ghetto slums, then it was that the Talmud became his recreation and his
+consolation, feeding his mind and his faith. In this way it not only
+became in the Middle Ages a picture of the Jew, but largely formed his
+character. It made him a keen dialectician, tempered with a thoughtful
+and poetic touch. It fostered his patience and his humor and kept vivid
+his ideals. It linked him with the Orient, while living in the Occident
+and made him a bridge between the old and the new.
+
+To the world at large it has great value archaeologically. Here are
+preserved ancient laws, glint lights on past history, forgotten forms in
+the classic tongues, and pictures of old civilization. No one criticism
+can cover the whole work. It is so many-sided. It includes so many
+different standards of worth and value. If we take it as a whole, it is
+good, it is bad and indifferent; it is trash and it is treasure; it is
+dust and it is diamonds; it is potsherd and it is pearls; and in the
+hands of impartial scholars, it is one of the great monuments of mental
+achievement, one of the world's wonders.
+
+Maurice H. Harris
+
+
+
+
+THE TALMUD
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Where do we learn that the Shechinah rests even upon one who studies the
+law? In Exodus xx. 24, where it is written, "In all places where I
+record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 1.
+
+One pang of remorse at a man's heart is of more avail than many stripes
+applied to him. (See Prov. xvii. 10.)
+
+Ibid., fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+"Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord!" (Deut. vi. 4.) Whosoever
+prolongs the utterance of the word one, shall have his days and years
+prolonged to him. So also _Zohar_, syn. tit. ii.
+
+Ibid., fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+Once, as the Rabbis tell us, the Roman Government issued a decree
+forbidding Israel to study the law. Whereupon Pappus, the son of
+Yehudah, one day found Rabbi Akiva teaching it openly to multitudes,
+whom he had gathered round him to hear it. "Akiva," said he, "art thou
+not afraid of the Government?" "List," was the reply, "and I will tell
+thee how it is by a parable. It is with me as with the fishes whom a
+fox, walking once by a river's side, saw darting distractedly to and fro
+in the stream; and, addressing, inquired, 'From what, pray, are ye
+fleeing?' 'From the nets,' they replied, 'which the children of men have
+set to ensnare us.' 'Why, then,' rejoined the fox, 'not try the dry land
+with me, where you and I can live together, as our fathers managed to do
+before us?' 'Surely,' exclaimed they, 'thou art not he of whom we have
+heard so much as the most cunning of animals, for herein thou art not
+wise, but foolish. For if we have cause to fear where it is natural for
+us to live, how much more reason have we to do so where we needs must
+die!' Just so," continued Akiva, "is it with us who study the law, in
+which (Deut. xxx. 20) it is written, 'He is thy life and the length of
+thy days;' for if we suffer while we study the law, how much more shall
+we if we neglect it?" Not many days after, it is related, this Rabbi
+Akiva was apprehended and thrown into prison. As it happened, they led
+him out for execution just at the time when "Hear, O Israel!" fell to be
+repeated, and as they tore his flesh with currycombs, and as he was with
+long-drawn breath sounding forth the word one, his soul departed from
+him. Then came forth a voice from heaven which said, "Blessed art thou,
+Rabbi Akiva, for thy soul and the word one left thy body together."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 61, col. 2.
+
+The badger, as it existed in the days of Moses, was an animal of unique
+type, and the learned are not agreed whether it was a wild one or a
+domestic. It had only one horn on its forehead; and was assigned for the
+time to Moses, who made a covering of its skin for the tabernacle; after
+which it became extinct, having served the purpose of its existence.
+Rabbi Yehudah says, "The ox, also, which the first man, Adam,
+sacrificed, had but one horn on its forehead."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 28, col. 2.
+
+Once a Gentile came to Shamai, and said, "Proselytize me, but on
+condition that thou teach me the whole law, even the whole of it, while
+I stand upon one leg." Shamai drove him off with the builder's rod which
+he held in his hand. When he came to Hillel with the same challenge,
+Hillel converted him by answering him on the spot, "That which is
+hateful to thyself, do not do to thy neighbor. This is the whole law,
+and the rest is its commentary." (Tobit, iv. 15; Matt. vii. 12.)
+
+Ibid., fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+When Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar, came out of
+their cave on a Friday afternoon, they saw an old man hurrying along
+with two bunches of myrtle in his hand. "What." said they, accosting
+him, "dost thou want with these?" "To smell them in honor of the
+Sabbath," was the reply. "Would not one bunch," they remarked, "be
+enough for that purpose?" "Nay," the old man replied; "one is in honor
+of 'Remember' (Exod. xxii. 28); and one in honor of 'Keep' (Deut. v.
+8)." Thereupon Rabbi Shimon remarked to his son, "Behold how the
+commandments are regarded by Israel!"
+
+Ibid., fol. 33, col. 2.
+
+Not one single thing has God created in vain. He created the snail as a
+remedy for a blister; the fly for the sting of a wasp; the gnat for the
+bite of a serpent; the serpent itself for healing the itch (or the
+scab); and the lizard (or the spider) for the sting of a scorpion.
+
+Ibid., fol. 77. col. 2.
+
+When a man is dangerously ill, the law grants dispensation, for it says,
+"You may break one Sabbath on his behalf, that he may be preserved to
+keep many Sabbaths."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 151, col. 2.
+
+Once when Rabbi Ishmael paid a visit to Rabbi Shimon, he was offered a
+cup of wine, which he at once, without being asked twice, accepted, and
+drained at one draught. "Sir," said his host, "dost thou not know the
+proverb, that he who drinks off a cup of wine at a draught is a greedy
+one?" "Ah!" was the answer, "that fits not this case; for thy cup is
+small, thy wine is sweet, and my stomach is capacious."
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 86, col. 2.
+
+At the time when Nimrod the wicked had cast our Father Abraham into the
+fiery furnace, Gabriel stood forth in the presence of the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--and said, "Lord of the universe, let me, I pray
+thee, go down and cool the furnace, and deliver that righteous one from
+it." Then the Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto him, "I am One in my
+world and he is one in his world; it is more becoming that He who is one
+should deliver him who is one." But as God does not withhold His reward
+from any creature, He said to Gabriel, "For this thy good intention, be
+thine the honor of rescuing three of his descendants." At the time when
+Nebuchadnezzar the wicked cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the
+fiery furnace, Yourkami, the prince of hail, arose before God and said,
+"Lord of the universe, let me, I pray thee, go down and cool the fiery
+furnace, and rescue these righteous men from its fury." Whereupon
+Gabriel interposed, and said, "God's power is not to be demonstrated
+thus, for thou art the prince of hail, and everybody knows that water
+quenches fire; but I, the prince of fire, will go down and cool the
+flame within and intensify it without (so as to consume the
+executioners), and thus will I perform a miracle within a miracle." Then
+the Holy One--blessed be He!--said to him, "Go down." Upon which Gabriel
+exclaimed, "Verily the truth of the Lord endureth forever!" (Ps. cxvii.
+2.)
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 118, col. 1.
+
+One peppercorn to-day is better than a basketful of pumpkins to-morrow.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+One day of a year is counted for a whole year.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 2, col. 2.
+
+    If a king be crowned on the twenty-ninth of Adar (the last month
+    of the Sacred year), on the morrow--the first of Nissan--it is
+    reckoned that he commences his second year, that being the new
+    year's day for royal and ecclesiastical affairs.
+
+For the sake of one righteous man the whole world is preserved in
+existence, as it is written (Prov. x. 25), "The righteous man is an
+everlasting foundation."
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 38, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Meyer saith, "Great is repentance, because for the sake of one
+that truly repenteth the whole world is pardoned; as it is written
+(Hosea xiv. 4), 'I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely,
+for mine anger is turned away from him.'" It is not said, "from them,"
+but "from him."
+
+Ibid., fol. 86, col. 2.
+
+He who observes one precept, in addition to those which, as originally
+laid upon him, he has discharged, shall receive favor from above, and is
+equal to him who has fulfilled the whole law.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 39, col. 2.
+
+If any man vow a vow by only one of all the utensils of the altar, he
+has vowed by the corban, even although he did not mention the word in
+his oath. Rabbi Yehuda says, "He who swears by the word Jerusalem is as
+though he had said nothing."
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 10, col. 2.
+
+Balaam was lame in one foot and blind in one eye.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 10, col. 1, and _Sanhedrin_, fol. 105, col. 1.
+
+One wins eternal life after a struggle of years; another finds it in one
+hour (see Luke xxiii. 43).
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+This saying is applied by Rabbi the Holy to Rabbi Eliezar, the son of
+Durdia, a profligate who recommended himself to the favor of heaven by
+one prolonged act of determined penitence, placing his head between his
+knees and groaning and weeping till his soul departed from him, and his
+sin and misery along with it; for at the moment of death a voice from
+heaven came forth and said, "Rabbi Eliezar, the son of Durdia, is
+appointed to life everlasting." When Rabbi the Holy heard this, he wept,
+and said, "One wins eternal life after a struggle of years; another
+finds it in one hour." (Compare Luke xv. 11-32.)
+
+Whosoever destroyeth one soul of Israel, Scripture counts it to him as
+though he had destroyed the whole world; and whoso preserveth one soul
+of Israel, Scripture counts it as though he had preserved the whole
+world.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 37, col. 1.
+
+The greatness of God is infinite; for while with one die man impresses
+many coins and all are exactly alike, the King of kings, the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--with one die impresses the same image (of Adam) on
+all men, and yet not one of them is like his neighbor. So that every one
+ought to say, "For myself is the world created."
+
+Ibid., fol. 37, col. 1.
+
+"He caused the lame to mount on the back of the blind, and judged them
+both as one." Antoninus said to the Rabbi, "Body and soul might each
+plead right of acquittal at the day of judgment." "How so?" he asked.
+"The body might plead that it was the soul that had sinned, and urge,
+saying, 'See, since the departure of the soul I have lain in the grave
+as still as a stone.' And the soul might plead, 'It was the body that
+sinned, for since the day I left it, I have flitted about in the air as
+innocent as a bird.'" To which the Rabbi replied and said, "Whereunto
+this thing is like, I will tell thee in a parable. It is like unto a
+king who had an orchard with some fine young fig trees planted in it. He
+set two gardeners to take care of them, of whom one was lame and the
+other blind. One day the lame one said to the blind 'I see some fine
+figs in the garden; come, take me on thy shoulders, and we will pluck
+them and eat them.' By and by the lord of the garden came, and missing
+the fruit from the fig trees, began to make inquiry after them. The lame
+one, to excuse himself, pleaded, 'I have no legs to walk with;' and the
+blind one, to excuse himself, pleaded, 'I have no eyes to see with.'
+What did the lord of the garden do? He caused the lame to mount upon the
+back of the blind, and judged them both as one." So likewise will God
+re-unite soul and body, and judge them both as one together; as it is
+written (Ps. 1, 4), "He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the
+earth, that He may judge His people." "He shall call to the heavens from
+above," that alludes to the soul; "and to the earth, that He may judge
+His people," that refers to the body.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 91, cols, 1, 2.
+
+    Rabbi Yehudah, surnamed the Holy, the editor of the Mishnah, is
+    the personage here and elsewhere spoken of as the Rabbi by pre
+    eminence. He was an intimate friend of the Roman Emperor
+    Antoninus Pius.
+
+One thing obtained with difficulty is far better than a hundred things
+procured with ease.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, ch. 3.
+
+In the name of Rav, Rabbi Yehoshua bar Abba says, "Whoso buys a scroll
+of the law in the market seizes possession of another's meritorious act;
+but if he himself copies out a scroll of the law, Scripture considers
+him as if he had himself received it direct from Mount Sinai." "Nay,"
+adds Rav Yehudah, in the name of Rav, "even if he has amended one letter
+in it, Scripture considers him as if he had written it out entirely."
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 30, col. 1.
+
+He who forgets one thing that he has learned breaks a negative
+commandment; for it is written (Deut. iv. 9), "Take heed to thyself ...
+lest thou forget the things."
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 99, col. 2.
+
+A proselyte who has taken it upon himself to observe the law, but is
+suspected of neglecting one point, is to be suspected of being guilty of
+neglecting the whole law, and therefore regarded as an apostate
+Israelite, and to be punished accordingly.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 30, col. 2.
+
+It is written (Gen. xxviii. ii), "And he took from the stones of the
+place;" and again it is written (ver. 18), "And he took the stone."
+Rabbi Isaac says this teaches that all these stones gathered themselves
+together into one place, as if each were eager that the saint should lay
+his head upon it. It happened, as the Rabbis tell us, that all the
+stones were swallowed up by one another, and thus merged into one stone.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 91, col. 2.
+
+    Though the Midrash and two of the Targums, that of Jonathan and
+    the Yerushalmi, tell the same fanciful story about these stones,
+    Aben Ezra and R. Shemuel ben Meir among others adopt the
+    opposite and common-sense interpretation which assigns to the
+    word in Gen. xxviii. ii, no such occult meaning.
+
+The psalms commencing "Blessed is the man" and "Why do the heathen rage"
+constitute but one psalm.
+
+_Berachoth_ fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+The former Chasidim used to sit still one hour, and then pray for one
+hour, and then again sit still for one hour.
+
+Ibid., fol. 32, col. 2.
+
+All the benedictions in the Temple used to conclude with the words
+"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel unto eternity;" but when the
+Sadducees, corrupting the faith, maintained that there was only one
+world, it was enacted that they should conclude with the words "from
+eternity unto eternity."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 54, col. i.
+
+    The Sadducees (Zadokim), so called after Zadok their master, as
+    is known, stood rigidly by the original Mosaic code, and set
+    themselves determinedly against all traditional developments. To
+    the Talmudists, therefore, they were especially obnoxious, and
+    their bald, cold creed is looked upon by them with something
+    like horror. It is thus the Talmud warns against them--"Believe
+    not in thyself till the day of thy death, for, behold, Yochanan,
+    after officiating in the High Priesthood for eighty years,
+    became in the end a Sadducee." (_Berachoth_, fol. 29, col. 1.)
+    In Derech Eretz Zuta, chap. i., a caution is given which might
+    well provoke attention--"Learn or inquire nothing of the
+    Sadducees, lest thou be drawn into hell."
+
+Rabbi Yehudah tells us that Rav says a man should never absent himself
+from the lecture hall, not even for one hour; for the above Mishnah had
+been taught at college for many years, but the reason of it had never
+been made plain till the hour when Rabbi Chanina ben Akavia came and
+explained it.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 83, col. 2.
+
+    The Mishnah alluded to is short and simple, viz, Where is it
+    taught that a ship is clean to the touch? From Prov. xxx. 19,
+    "The way of a ship in the midst of the sea." (i.e., as the sea
+    is clean to the touch, therefore a ship must also be clean to
+    the touch).
+
+It is indiscreet for one to sleep in a house as the sole occupant, for
+Lilith will seize hold of him.
+
+Ibid., fol. 151, col. 2.
+
+    Lilith (the night-visiting one) is the name of a night spectre,
+    said to have been Adam's first wife, but who, for her refractory
+    conduct, was transformed into a demon endowed with power to
+    injure and even destroy infants unprotected by the necessary
+    amulet or charm.
+
+"Thou hast acknowledged the Lord this day to be thy God; and the Lord
+hath acknowledged thee this day to be His peculiar people" (Deut. xxvi.
+17, 18). The Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto Israel, "Ye have made
+Me a name in the world, as it is written (Deut. vi. 4), 'Hear, O Israel,
+the Lord our God is one Lord;' and so I will make you a name in the
+world, as it is said (1 Chron. xvii. 21), 'And what one nation in the
+earth is like Thy people Israel?'"
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 3, col. 1.
+
+Why are the words of the Law compared to fire? (Jer. xxiii. 29.)
+Because, as fire does not burn when there is but one piece of wood, so
+do the words of the Law not maintain the fire of life when meditated on
+by one alone (see, in confirmation, Matt, xviii. 20).
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 7, col. i.
+
+"And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo"
+(Deut. xxxiv, i). Tradition says there were twelve stairs, but that
+Moses surmounted them all in one step.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+Pieces of money given in charity should not be counted over by twos, but
+one by one.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 8, col. 2.
+
+"Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?"
+(Job xxxix. 1.) The wild goat is cruel to her offspring. As soon as they
+are brought forth, she climbs with them to the steep cliffs, that they
+may fall headlong and die. But, said God to Job, to prevent this I
+provide an eagle to catch the kid upon its wings, and then carry and lay
+it before its cruel mother. Now, if that eagle should be too soon or too
+late by one second only, instant death to the kid could not be averted;
+but with Me one second is never changed for another. Shall Job be now
+changed by Me, therefore, into an enemy. (Comp. Job ix. 17, and xxxiv.
+35.)
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 16, cols. 1, 2.
+
+A generation can have one leader only, and not two.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+"Like the hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces" (Jer. xxiii. 29). As
+a hammer divideth fire into many sparks, so one verse of Scripture has
+many meanings and many explanations.
+
+Ibid., fol. 34, col. 1.
+
+    In the Machser for Pentecost (p. 69) God is said to have
+    "explained the law to His people, face to face, and on every
+    point ninety-eight explanations are given."
+
+Adam was created one without Eve. Why? That the Sadducees might not
+assert the plurality of powers in heaven.
+
+Ibid., fol. 37, col. i.
+
+    As the Sadducees did not believe in a plurality of powers in
+    heaven, but only the Christians, in the regard of the Jews, did
+    so (by their profession of the doctrine of the Trinity), it is
+    obvious that here, as well as often elsewhere, the latter and
+    not the former are intended.
+
+"And the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt" (Exod. viii. i; A.
+V. viii. 6). "There was but one frog," said Rabbi Elazar, "and she so
+multiplied as to fill the whole land of Egypt." "Yes, indeed," said
+Rabbi Akiva. "there was, as you say, but one frog, but she herself was
+so large as to fill all the land of Egypt." Whereupon Rabbi Elazar ben
+Azariah said unto him, "Akiva, what business hast thou with Haggadah? Be
+off with thy legends, and get thee to the laws thou art familiar with
+about plagues and tents. Though thou sayest right in this matter, for
+there was only one frog, but she croaked so loud that the frogs came
+from everywhere else to her croaking."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 67, col. 2.
+
+    Rabba, the grandson of Channa, said that he himself once saw a
+    frog larger than any seen now, though not so large as the frog
+    in Egypt. It was as large as Acra, a village of some sixty
+    houses (_Bava Bathra_, fol. 73, col. 2.)
+
+    Apropos to the part the frog was conceived to play or symbolize
+    in the Jewish conception of the mode and ministry of Divine
+    judgment, we quote the following:--"We are told that Samuel once
+    saw a frog carrying a scorpion on its back across a river, upon
+    the opposite bank of which a man stood waiting ready to be
+    stung. The sting proving fatal, so that the man died; upon which
+    Samuel exclaimed, 'Lord, they wait for Thy judgments this day:
+    for all are Thy servants.' (Ps. cxix. 91.)" (_Nedarim_, fol. 41,
+    col. 1.)
+
+"According to the days of one king" (Isa. xxiii. 15). What king is this
+that is singled out as one? Thou must say this is the King Messiah, and
+no other.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 99, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Levi contends that Manasseh has no portion in the world to come,
+while Rabbi Yehudah maintains that he has; and each supports his
+conclusion in contradiction of the other, from one and the same
+Scripture text.
+
+Ibid., fol. 102, col. 2.
+
+The words, "Remember the Sabbath day," in Exod. xx. 8, and "Keep the
+Sabbath day," in Deut. v. 12, were uttered in one breath, as no man's
+mouth could utter them, and no man's ear could hear.
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 20, col. 2.
+
+The officer who inflicts flagellation on a criminal must smite with one
+hand only, but yet with all his force.
+
+_Maccoth_, fol. 22, col. 2.
+
+I would rather be called a fool all my days than sin one hour before
+God.
+
+_Edioth_, chap. 5, mish. 6.
+
+He who observes but one precept secures for himself an advocate, and he
+who commits one single sin procures for himself an accuser.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 4, mish. 15.
+
+He who learns from another one chapter, one halachah, one verse, or one
+word or even a single letter, is bound to respect him.
+
+Ibid., chap. 6, mish. 3.
+
+    The above is one evidence, among many, of the high esteem in
+    which learning and the office of a teacher are held among the
+    Jews. Education is one of the virtues--of which the following,
+    extracted from the Talmud, is a list--the interest of which the
+    Jew considers he enjoys in this world, while the capital remains
+    intact against the exigencies of the world to come. These
+    are:--The honoring of father and mother, acts of benevolence,
+    hospitality to strangers, visiting the sick, devotion in prayer,
+    promotion of peace between man and man, and study in general,
+    but the study of the law outweighs them all. (_Shabbath_, fol.
+    127, col. 1.) The study of the law, it is said, is of greater
+    merit to rescue one from accidental death, than building the
+    Temple, and greater than honoring father or mother.
+    (_Meggillah_, fol. 16, col 2.)
+
+"Repent one day before thy death." In relation to which Rabbi Eliezer
+was asked by his disciples, "How is a man to repent one day before his
+death, since he does not know on what day he shall die?" "So much the
+more reason is there," he replied, "that he should repent to-day, lest
+he die to-morrow; and repent to-morrow, lest he die the day after: and
+thus will all his days be penitential ones."
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 15.
+
+He who obliterates one letter from the written name of God, breaks a
+negative command, for it is said, "And destroy the names of them out of
+that place. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God" (Deut. xii. 3,
+4).
+
+_Sophrim_, chap. 5, hal. 6.
+
+Rabbi Chanina could put on and off his shoes while standing on one leg
+only, though he was eighty years of age.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 24, col. 2.
+
+A priest who is blind in one eye should not be judge of the plague; for
+it is said (Lev. xiii. 12), "Wheresoever the priest (with both eyes)
+looketh."
+
+_Negaim_, chap. 2, mish. 3.
+
+The twig of a bunch without any grapes is clean; but if there remained
+one grape on it, it is unclean.
+
+_Okzin_, chap, i, mish. 5.
+
+Not every man deserves to have two tables.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 5, col. 2.
+
+    The meaning of this rather ambiguous sentence may either be,
+    that all men are not able to succeed in more enterprises than
+    one at a time; or that it is not given to every one to make the
+    best both of the present world and of that which is to come.
+
+Abba Benjamin used to say "There are two things about which I have all
+my life been much concerned: that my prayer should be offered in front
+of my bed, and that the position of my bed should be from north to
+south."
+
+Ibid., fol. 5, col. 2.
+
+    There are several reasons which may be adduced to account for
+    Abba Benjamin's anxiety, and they are all more or less connected
+    with the important consequences which were supposed to depend
+    upon determining his position with reference to the Shechinah,
+    which rested in the east or the west.
+
+    Abba Benjamin felt anxious to have children, for "any man not
+    having children is counted as dead," as it is written (Gen. xxx.
+    1), "Give me children, or else I die." (_Nedarin_, fol. 64, col.
+    2.)
+
+    With the Jew one great consideration of life is to have
+    children, and more especially male children; because when a boy
+    is born all rejoice over him, but over a girl they all mourn.
+    When a boy comes into the world he brings peace with him, and a
+    loaf of bread in his hand, but a girl brings nothing. (_Niddah_,
+    fol. 31, col. 2.)
+
+    It is impossible for the world to be without males and females,
+    but blessed is he whose children are boys, and hapless is he
+    whose children are girls. (_Kiddushin_, fol. 82, col. 2.)
+
+    Whosoever does not leave a son to be heir, God will heap wrath
+    upon him. (Scripture is quoted in proof of this, compare Numb.
+    xxvii. 8 with Zeph. i. 15.) (_Bava Bathra_, fol. 116, col. 1.)
+
+"There are two ways before me, one leading into Paradise, the other into
+Hell." When Yochanan, the son of Zachai, was sick unto death, his
+disciples came to visit him; and when he saw them he wept, upon which
+his disciples exclaimed, "Light of Israel! Pillar of the right! Mighty
+Hammer! why weepest thou?" He replied, "If I were going to be led into
+the presence of a king, who is but flesh and blood, to-day here and
+to-morrow in the grave, whose anger with me could not last forever,
+whose sentence against me, were it even unto death, could not endure
+forever, and whom perhaps I might pacify with words or bribe with money,
+yet for all that should I weep; but now that I am about to enter the
+presence of the King of kings, the Holy One--blessed be He forever and
+ever!--whose anger would be everlasting, whose sentence of death or
+imprisonment admits of no reprieve, and who is not to be pacified with
+words nor bribed with money, and in whose presence there are two roads
+before me, one leading into Paradise and the other into Hell, and should
+I not weep?" Then prayed they him, and said, "Rabbi, give us thy
+farewell blessing;" and he said unto them, "Oh that the fear of God may
+be as much upon you as the fear of man."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 28, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Ami says, "Knowledge is of great price, for it is placed between
+two divine names, as it is written (I Sam. ii. 3), 'A God of knowledge
+is the Lord,' and therefore mercy is to be denied to him who has no
+knowledge; for it is written (Isa. xxvii. 11), 'It is a people of no
+understanding, therefore He that hath made them will not have mercy on
+them.'"
+
+_Berachoth_ fol. 33, col. 1.
+
+    Here we have a clear law, drawn from Scripture, forbidding, or
+    at any rate denying, mercy to the ignorant. The words of Rabbi
+    (the Holy) are a practical commentary on the text worth quoting,
+    "Woe is unto me because I have given my morsel to an ignorant
+    one." (_Bava Bathra_, fol. 8, col. 1.)
+
+    But who is the ignorant one from whom this mercy is to be
+    withheld? Here the doctors disagree. He, says Rabbi Eliezer, who
+    does not read the Shema, "Hear, O Israel," etc., both morning
+    and evening. According to Rabbi Yehudah, he that does not put on
+    phylacteries is an ignorant one. Rabbi Azai affirms that he who
+    wears no fringes to his garment is an ignorant one, etc. Others
+    again say he who even reads the Bible and the Mishna but does
+    not serve the disciples of the wise, is an ignorant one. Rabbi
+    Huna winds up with the words "the law is as the others have
+    said," and so leaves the difficulty where he finds it.
+    (_Berachoth_, fol. 47, col. 2.)
+
+    Of him "who transgresses the words of the wise, which he is
+    commanded to obey," it is written, "He is guilty of death and
+    has forfeited his life." (_Berachoth_, fol. 4, col. 2, and
+    _Yevamoth_, fol. 20, col. 1.) Whoso, therefore, shows mercy to
+    him contradicts the purpose and incurs the displeasure of God.
+    It was in application of this principle, literally interpreted,
+    that the wise should hold no parley with the ignorant, which led
+    the Jews to condemn the contrary procedure of Jesus Christ.
+
+    It was this prohibition to show mercy to the ignorant, together
+    with the solemn threatenings directed against those who
+    neglected the study of the law, that worked such a wonderful
+    revolution in Hezekiah's time; for it is said that then "they
+    searched from Dan to Beersheba, and did not find an ignorant
+    one." (_Sanhedrin_, fol. 94, col. 2.)
+
+When the Holy One--blessed be He!--remembers that His children are in
+trouble among the nations of the world, He drops two tears into the
+great ocean, the noise of which startles the world from one end to the
+other, and causes the earth to quake.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 59, col. 1.
+
+We read in the Talmud that a Gentile once came to Shamai and said, "How
+many laws have you?" Shamai replied, "We have two, the written law and
+the oral law." To which the Gentile made answer, "When you speak of the
+written law, I believe you, but in your oral law I have no faith.
+Nevertheless, you may make me a proselyte on condition that you teach me
+the written law only." Upon this Shamai rated him sharply, and sent him
+away with indignant abuse. When, however, this Gentile came with the
+same object, and proposed the same terms to Hillel, the latter proceeded
+at once to proselytize him, and on the first day taught him Aleph, Beth,
+Gemel, Daleth. On the morrow Hillel reversed the order of these letters,
+upon which the proselyte remonstrated and said, "But thou didst not
+teach me so yesterday." "True," said Hillel, "but thou didst trust me in
+what I taught thee then; why, then, dost thou not trust me now in what I
+tell thee respecting the oral law?"
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+Every man as he goes on the eve of the Sabbath from the synagogue to his
+house is escorted by two angels, one of which is a good angel and the
+other an evil. When the man comes home and finds the lamps lit, the
+table spread, and the bed in order, the good angel says, "May the coming
+Sabbath be even as the present;" to which the evil angel (though with
+reluctance) is obliged to say, "Amen." But if all be in disorder, then
+the bad angel says, "May the coming Sabbath be even as the present," and
+the good angel is (with equal reluctance), obliged to say "Amen" to it.
+
+Ibid., fol. 119, col. 2.
+
+Two are better than three. Alas! for the one that goes and does not
+return again.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 152, col. 1.
+
+    As in the riddle of the Sphinx, the "two" here stands for youth
+    with its two sufficient legs, and the "three" for old age, which
+    requires a third support in a staff.
+
+There were two things which God first thought of creating on the eve of
+the Sabbath, which, however, were not created till after the Sabbath had
+closed. The first was fire, which Adam by divine suggestion drew forth
+by striking together two stones; and the second, was the mule, produced
+by the crossing of two different animals.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 54, col. 1.
+
+"Every one has two portions, one in paradise and another in hell."
+Acheer asked Rabbi Meyer, "What meaneth this that is written (Eccl. vii.
+14), 'God also has set the one over against the other'?" Rabbi Meyer
+replied, "There is nothing which God has created of which He has not
+also created the opposite. He who created mountains and hills created
+also seas and rivers." But said Acheer to Rabbi Meyer, "Thy master,
+Rabbi Akiva, did not say so, but spake in this way: He created the
+righteous and also the wicked; He created paradise and hell: every man
+has two portions, one portion in paradise, and the other in hell. The
+righteous, who has personal merit, carries both his own portion of good
+and that of his wicked neighbor away with him to paradise; the wicked,
+who is guilty and condemned, carries both his own portion of evil and
+also that of his righteous neighbor away with him to hell." When Rav
+Mesharshia asked what Scripture guarantee there was for this, this was
+the reply: "With regard to the righteous, it is written (Isa. lxi. 7),
+'They shall rejoice in their portion, therefore in their land (beyond
+the grave) they shall possess the double.' Respecting the wicked it is
+written (Jer. xvii. 18), 'And destroy them with double destruction.'"
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 15, col. 1.
+
+    The question asked above by Acheer has been practically resolved
+    by all wise men from the beginning of the world, but it is the
+    boast of the Hegelians that it has for the first time been
+    resolved philosophically by their master. Others had maintained
+    that you could not think a thing but through its opposite; he
+    first maintained it could not exist but through its opposite,
+    that, in fact, the thing and its opposite must needs arise
+    together, and that eternally, as complements of one unity: the
+    white is not there without the black, nor the black without the
+    white; the good is not there without the evil, nor the evil
+    without the good.
+
+Pride is unbecoming in women. There were two proud women, and their
+names were contemptible; the name of the one, Deborah, meaning wasp, and
+of the other, Huldah, weasel. Respecting the wasp it is written (Judges
+iv. 6), "And she sent and called Barak," whereas she ought to have gone
+to him. Concerning the weasel it is written (2 Kings xxii. 15), "Tell
+the man that sent you," whereas she should have said, "Tell the king."
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+If speech is worth one sela (a small coin so called), silence is worth
+two.
+
+Ibid., fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+    The Swiss motto, "Speech is worth silver, silence worth gold,"
+    expresses a sentiment which finds great favor with the authors
+    and varied expression in the pages of the Talmud.
+
+If silence be good for wise men, how much better must it be for fools!
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 98, col. 2.
+
+For every evil silence is the best remedy.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+Silence is as good as confession.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 87, col. 1.
+
+Silence in a Babylonian was a mark of his being of good family.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 71, col. 2.
+
+Simeon, the son of Gamliel, said, "I have been brought up all my life
+among the wise, and I have never found anything of more material benefit
+than silence."
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 1.
+
+Rabbi Akiva said, "Laughter and levity lead a man to lewdness; but
+tradition is a fence to the law, tithes are a fence to riches, vows are
+a fence to abstinence, while the fence of wisdom is silence."
+
+Ibid., chap. 3.
+
+When they opened his brain, they found in it a gnat as big as a swallow
+and weighing two selas.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 56, col. 2.
+
+    The context of the above states a tradition current among the
+    Jews in reference to Titus, the destroyer of Jerusalem. It is
+    said that when, after taking the city, he had shamefully
+    violated and profaned the Temple, he took the sacred vessels of
+    the sanctuary, wrapped them in the veil of the holy place, and
+    sailed with them to Rome. At sea a storm arose and threatened to
+    sink the ship; upon which he was heard reflecting, "It seems the
+    God of these Jews has no power anywhere but at sea. Pharaoh He
+    drowned, and Sisera He drowned, and now He is about to drown me
+    also. If He be mighty, let Him go ashore and contend with me
+    there." Then came a voice from heaven and said, "O thou wicked
+    one, son of a wicked man and grandson of Esau the wicked, go
+    ashore. I have a creature--an insignificant one in my world--go
+    and fight with it."
+
+    This creature was a gnat, and is called insignificant because it
+    must receive and discharge what it eats by one aperture.
+    Immediately, therefore, he landed, when a gnat flew up his
+    nostrils and made its way to his brain, on which it fed for a
+    period of seven years. One day he happened to pass a
+    blacksmith's forge, when the noise of the hammer soothed the
+    gnawing at his brain. "Aha" said Titus, "I have found a remedy
+    at last;" and he ordered a blacksmith to hammer before him. To a
+    Gentile for this he (for a time) paid four zuzim a day, but to a
+    Jewish blacksmith he paid nothing, remarking to him, "It is
+    payment enough to thee to see thy enemy suffering so painfully."
+    For thirty days he felt relieved, but after, no amount of
+    hammering in the least relieved him. As to what happened after
+    his death, we have this testimony from Rabbi Phineas, the son of
+    Aruba: "I myself was among the Roman magnates when an inquest
+    was held upon the body of Titus, and on opening his brain they
+    found therein a gnat as big as a swallow, weighing two selas."
+    Others say it was as large as a pigeon a year old and weighed
+    two litras. Abaii says, "We found its mouth was of copper and
+    its claws of iron." Titus gave instructions that after his death
+    his body should be burned, and the ashes thereof scattered over
+    the surface of the seven seas, that the God of the Jews might
+    not find him and bring him to judgment. (_Gittin_, fol. 56, col.
+    2.)
+
+"The man with two wives, one young and the other old." Rav Ami and Rav
+Assi were in social converse with Rabbi Isaac Naphcha, when one of them
+said to him, "Tell us, sir, some pretty legend," and the other said,
+"Pray explain to us rather some nice point of law." When he began the
+legend he displeased the one, and when he proceeded to explain a point
+of law, he offended the other. Whereupon he took up this parable in
+illustration of the plight in which their obstinacy placed him. "I am
+like the man with the two wives, the one young and the other old. The
+young one plucked out all his gray hairs (that he might look young), and
+the old wife pulled out all his black hairs (that he might look old);
+and so between the one and the other he became bald. So is it with me
+between you. However, I've something nice for both of you. It is written
+(Exod. xxii. 6), 'If a fire break out and catch in thorns, so that the
+stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field be consumed
+therewith, he that kindled the fire shall surely make restoration.' The
+Holy One--blessed be He!--hath said, 'I must both judge myself and take
+upon myself to indemnify the evil of the conflagration I have caused,
+for I have kindled a fire in Zion,' as it is written (Lament, iv. 11),
+'He hath kindled a fire in Zion, and hath devoured the foundations
+thereof.' I must therefore rebuild her with fire, as it is written
+(Zech. ii. 5), 'I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will
+be the glory in the midst of her.'"
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 60, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Oshaia asked, "What is this that is written, (Zech. xi. 7), 'I
+took unto me two staves; the one I called Amiable and the other
+Destroyer'?" The staff called Amiable represents the disciples of the
+wise in the land of Israel, who were friendly one toward another in
+their debates about the law. The staff called Destroyer represents the
+disciples of the wise of Babylon, who in the like debates were fierce
+tempered and not friendly toward one another. What is the meaning of
+Babel or Babylon? Rabbi Yochanan says it means "confused in the Bible,
+confused in the Mishna, and confused in the Talmud." "He hath set me in
+dark places, as they that be dead of old" (Lam. iii. 6). Rabbi Jeremiah
+said by this we are to understand the Babylonian Talmud.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 24, col. 1.
+
+    The Rabbis say these three hate their fellows--dogs, cocks, and
+    conjurors; to which some add, among others, the disciples of the
+    wise of Babylon. (_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 2.)
+
+    On his return from Babylon to the land of Israel, Rabbi Zira
+    fasted a hundred fasts, during which he prayed that he might be
+    enabled to forget the Babylonian Talmud. (_Bava Metzia_, fol.
+    85, col. 1.)
+
+Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yonathan traveled one day together; they came
+to two roads, one of which led by the door of a place devoted to the
+worship of idols, and the other by a place of ill fame. Upon which one
+said to the other, "Let us go by the former, because our inclination to
+the evil that waylays us there is already extinguished." "Nay, rather,"
+said the other, "let us go by the latter, and curb our desires; so shall
+we receive a reward in recompense." In this resolution they went on, and
+as they passed the place the women humbled themselves before them and
+withdrew ashamed into their chambers. Then Yochanan asked the other,
+"How didst thou know that this would occur to us?" He made answer, "From
+what is written (in Prov. ii. 2), 'Discretion (in the law) shall
+preserve thee.'"
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 17, cols. 1, 2.
+
+Given two dry firebrands and one piece of green wood, the dry will set
+fire to the green.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol 93, col. 1.
+
+With two dogs they caught the lion.
+
+Ibid., fol. 95, col. 1.
+
+    Both these proverbs express the same idea, that a minority, be
+    it ever so strong, must give way to a majority.
+
+"And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed together"
+(Numb. xxii. 7). Midian and Moab were never friendly toward each other;
+they were like two dogs tending a flock, always at variance. When the
+wolf came upon the one, however, the other thought, "If I do not help my
+neighbor to-day, the wolf may come upon myself to-morrow;" therefore the
+two dogs leagued together and, killed the wolf. Hence, says Rabbi Pappa,
+the popular saying, "The mouse and the cat are combined to make a feast
+on the fat of the unfortunate."
+
+Ibid., fol. 105, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan, in the name of Yossi, the son of Zimra, asks, "What is
+this that is written (Ps. cxx. 3), 'What shall be given unto thee, or
+what shall be added unto thee, O thou false tongue'?" The Holy
+One--blessed be He!--said to the tongue, "All the members of the body
+are erect, thou only art recumbent; all other members are without, thou
+art within, and not only so, for I have surrounded thee with two walls,
+one of bone and the other of flesh. What shall be given to thee, or what
+shall be added unto thee, O thou false tongue?" Rabbi Yochanan, in the
+name of Yossi, says, "He who slanders is an atheist, for it is written
+(Ps. xii. 4), 'Who have said, With our tongues will we prevail; Our lips
+are with us; who is lord over us?'"
+
+_Erchin_, fol. 15, col. 2.
+
+    Here are a few sayings from the Talmud on the abuse of the
+    tongue.
+
+He who slanders, he who receives slander, and he who bears false witness
+against his neighbor, deserve to be cast to the dogs.
+
+_Psachim_, fol. 118, col. 1.
+
+All animals will one day remonstrate with the serpent and say, "The lion
+treads upon his prey and devours it, the wolf tears and eats it, but
+thou, what profit hast thou in biting?" The serpent will reply (Eccl.
+viii. II), "I am no worse than a slanderer."
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+Adonijah was deprived of life for no other reason than that he was given
+to quarreling. It is lawful to slander one so evil disposed as he was.
+
+_Perek Hashalom._
+
+God will say to the prince of hell, "I from above and thou from below
+shall judge and condemn the slanderer."
+
+_Erchin_, fol. 15, col. 2.
+
+The third tongue (i.e., slander) hurts three parties: the slanderer
+himself, the receiver of slander, and the person slandered.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Four classes do not receive the presence of the Shechinah: scorners,
+liars, flatterers, and slanderers.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 103, col. 1.
+
+Where are we told that when two sit together and study the law the
+Shechinah is with them? In Mal. iii. 16, where it is written, "They that
+feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and
+heard it."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 1.
+
+Why did Elijah employ two invocations, saying twice over, "Hear me! hear
+me!" (1 Kings xviii. 37.) Elijah first prayed before God, "O Lord, King
+of the universe, hear me!" that He might send fire down from heaven and
+consume all that was upon the altar; and again he prayed, "Hear me!"
+that they might not imagine that the result was a matter of sorcery; for
+it is said, "Thou hast turned their heart back again."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+    The twofold invocation of Elijah, which betokens his intense
+    earnestness, anagrammatically expressed, is echoed in the words
+    of the bystanders, "The Lord He is the God, the Lord He is the
+    God."
+
+"I dreamed," said Bar Kappara one day to Rabbi (the Holy), "that I
+beheld two pigeons, and they flew away from me." "Thy dream is this,"
+replied Rabbi, "thou hast had two wives, and art separated from them
+both without a bill of divorcement."
+
+Ibid., fol. 56, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis teach concerning the two kidneys in man, that one counsels
+him to do good and the other to do evil; and it appears that the former
+is situated on the right side and the latter on the left. Hence it is
+written (Eccl. x. 2), "A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a
+fool's heart is at his left."
+
+Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.
+
+For two sins the common people perish: they speak of the holy ark as a
+box and the synagogue as a resort for the ignorant vulgar.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 32, col. 1.
+
+On the self-same day when Jeroboam introduced the two golden calves, the
+one into Bethel and the other into Dan, a hut was erected in a part of
+Italy which was then subject to the Greeks.
+
+Ibid., fol. 56, col. 2.
+
+    In the context where the above tradition occurs, which, as is
+    obvious, relates to the founding of Rome, we meet with another
+    on the same subject as follows:--When Solomon married the
+    daughter of Pharaoh, the Angel Gabriel thrust a reed into the
+    sea, stirring up therewith the sand and mud from the bottom.
+    This, gradually collecting, first shaped itself into an island
+    and then expanded so as to unite itself with the continent. And
+    thus was the land created for the erection of the hut which
+    should one day swell into the proportion of a proud imperial
+    city.
+
+If Israel kept only two Sabbaths, according to the strict requirement of
+the law, they would be freed at once from their compelled dispersion;
+for it is written (Isa. lvi. 4, 7), "Thus saith the Lord unto the
+eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, Even them will I bring to my holy
+mountain."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 118, col. 2.
+
+Adam had two faces; for it is said (Ps. cxxxix. 5), "Thou hast made me
+behind and before."
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+    There is a notion among the Rabbis that Adam was possessed
+    originally of a bisexual organization, and this conclusion they
+    draw from Gen. i. 27, where it is said, "God created man in his
+    own image; male-female created He them." These two natures, it
+    was thought, lay side by side; according to some, the male on
+    the right and the female on the left; according to others, back
+    to back; while there were those who maintained that Adam was
+    created with a tail, and that it was from this appendage Eve was
+    fashioned. Other Jewish traditions tell us that Eve was made
+    from "the thirteenth rib of the right side" (Targ. Jonath.), and
+    that "she was not drawn out by the head, lest she should be
+    vain; nor by the eyes, lest she should be wanton; nor from the
+    mouth, lest she should be given to garrulity; nor by the ears,
+    lest she should be an eavesdropper; nor by the hands, lest she
+    should be intermeddling; nor by the feet, lest she be a gadder;
+    nor by the heart, for fear she should be jealous; but she was
+    taken out from the side. Yet, in spite of all these precautions,
+    she had all the faults so carefully provided against."
+
+If in time of national calamity a man withdraw himself from his kindred
+and refuse to share in their sorrow, his two guardian angels come and
+lay their hands upon his head and say, "This man has isolated himself
+from his country in the day of its need, let him not live to see and
+enjoy the day when God shall restore its prosperity." When the community
+is in trouble, let no man say, "I will go home and eat and drink, and
+say, Peace be unto thee, oh my soul!" (Luke xii. 19); for to him
+Scripture hath solemnly said (Isa. xxii. 13, 14), "Surely this iniquity
+shall not be purged from you till you die."
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 11, col. 1.
+
+An infant that has died under a month old is (to be) carried to the
+grave in the arms (not in a coffin), and buried by one woman and two
+men, but not by one man and two women.
+
+_Moed Katan_, fol. 24, col. 1.
+
+    Both Rashi and the Tosephoth allude to a case which justifies
+    the rule given here, where a woman actually carried a living
+    child in a coffin, in order to avoid the suspicion of an
+    assignation she had made with a man, who set out to join her.
+    But the Tosephoth, after noticing this version of Rashi, gives
+    another more to the point. The story in the Tosephoth is to this
+    effect:--A woman was once weeping and groaning over the grave of
+    her husband, and not very far away was a man who was guarding
+    the corpse of a person who had been crucified. In the moment of
+    mourning an affection sprung up between the two, and in the
+    engrossment of it the corpse which the man guarded was stolen.
+    He was in great trepidation for fear of the king's command. The
+    woman said, "Don't be afraid; exhume my husband, and hang him up
+    instead." This was accordingly done. (See _Kiddushin_, fol. 80,
+    col. 2.)
+
+There were two date trees in the Valley of Hinnom from between which
+smoke ascended, and this is the gate of hell.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 32, col. 2.
+
+    According to Jewish tradition, there are three gates to
+    Gehinnom, one in the desert, one in the sea, and one in
+    Jerusalem: In the desert, as it is written (Numb. xvi. 33),
+    "They went down, and all that belonged to them, alive into
+    hell." In the sea, as it is written (Jonah ii. 2), "Out of the
+    belly of hell have I called," etc. In Jerusalem, as it is
+    written (Isa. xxxi. 9), "Thus saith the Lord, whose fire is in
+    Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem."
+
+When two women are seen sitting on opposite sides of a cross road facing
+each other, it is to be presumed that they are up to witchcraft and
+contemplate mischief. What in that case must you do? Go by another road,
+if there is one, and if not, with a companion, should such turn up,
+passing the crones arm-in-arm with him; but should there be no other
+road and no other man, then walk straight on repeating the
+counter-charm, as you pass them--
+
+  Agrath is to Asia gone,
+  And Blussia's killed in battle.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 111, col. 2.
+
+    Agrath and Blussia are two Amazons well known to those familiar
+    with Rabbinic demonology.
+
+"If Mordecai, before whom thou hast began to fall, be of the seed of the
+Jews, expect not to prevail against him, but thou shalt fall" (Esth. vi.
+13). Wherefore these two fallings? They told Haman, saying, "This nation
+is likened to the dust, and is also likened to the stars; when they are
+down, they are down even to the dust, but when they begin to rise, they
+rise to the stars."
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+If any two disciples of the wise, dwelling in the same city, have a
+difference respecting the Halachah, let them remember what Scripture
+denounces against them, "And also I gave them statutes that are not
+good, and judgments by which they shall not live" (Ezek. xx. 25).
+
+Ibid., fol. 32, col. 1.
+
+If a man espouse one of two sisters, and does not know which he has
+espoused, he must give both a bill of divorce. If two men espouse two
+sisters, and neither of them know which he has espoused, then each man
+must give two bills of divorce, one to each woman.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 23, col. 2.
+
+There is a time coming (i.e., in the days of the Messiah), when a grain
+of wheat will be as large as the two kidneys of the great ox.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 111, col. 1.
+
+    According to a recent discovery, which has been confirmed by
+    subsequent observation and experiment, wheat is a development by
+    cultivation of the tiny grain of the _AEgilops ovata_, a sort of
+    grass; but we are indebted to Rabbinic lore for the curious
+    information that before the Fall of man wheat grew upon a tree
+    whose trunk looked like gold, its branches like silver, and its
+    leaves like so many emeralds. The wheat ears themselves were as
+    red as rubies, and each bore five sparkling grains as white as
+    snow, as sweet as honey, and as fragrant as musk. At first the
+    grains were as big as an ostrich's egg, but in the time of Enoch
+    they diminished to the size of a goose's egg, and in Elijah's to
+    that of a hen, while at the commencement of the common era, they
+    shrank so small as not to be larger than grapes, according to a
+    law the inverse of the order of nature. Rabbi Yehudah
+    (_Sanhedrin_, fol. 70, col. 1) says that wheat was the forbidden
+    fruit. Hence probably the degeneracy.
+
+Of two that quarrel, the one that first gives in shows the nobler
+nature.
+
+Ibid., fol. 71, col. 2.
+
+He who sets aside a portion of his wealth for the relief of the poor
+will be delivered from the judgment of hell. Of this the parable of the
+two sheep that attempted to ford a river is an illustration; one was
+shorn of its wool and the other not; the former, therefore, managed to
+get over, but the latter, being heavy-laden, sank.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+Zoreah and Eshtaol (Josh. xv. 33) were two large mountains, but Samson
+tore them up and grated the one against the other.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+    The above tradition is founded on Judges xiii. 25, in which it
+    is said of Samson, "And the spirit of God began to move him at
+    times in the camp of Dan, between Zoreah and Eshtaol," in which
+    the word "move," signifies also to "strike a stroke," "step a
+    step," and "once." Founding on which last two meanings, Rabbi
+    Yehudah says, "Samson strode in one stride from Zoreah to
+    Eshtaol," a giant stride of two miles or more. Taking the word
+    in the sense of "strike," or "producing a ringing sound,"
+    another Rabbi tells us that the hairs of Samson's head stood
+    upright, tinkling one against another like bells, the jingle of
+    which might be heard from Zoreah to Eshtaol. The version in the
+    text takes the same word in the sense of to "strike together."
+
+On the day when Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a great feast, to which
+he invited all the people of the land. Not all of those who came to
+enjoy the feast believed in the alleged occasion of its celebration, for
+some said contemptuously, "This old couple have adopted a foundling, and
+provided a feast to persuade us to believe that the child is their own
+offspring." What did Abraham do? He invited all the great men of the
+day, and Sarah invited their wives, who brought their infants, but not
+their nurses, along with them. On this occasion Sarah's breasts became
+like two fountains, for she supplied, of her own body, nourishment to
+all the children. Still some were unconvinced, and said, "Shall a child
+be born to one that is a hundred years old, and shall Sarah, who is
+ninety years old, bear?" (Gen. xvii. 17.) Whereupon, to silence this
+objection, Isaac's face was changed, so that it became the very picture
+of Abraham's; then one and all exclaimed, "Abraham begat Isaac."
+
+_Bara Metzia_, fol. 87, col. 1.
+
+Rava relates the following in the name of Rabbi Yochanan:--"Two Jewish
+slaves were one day walking along, when their master, who was following,
+overheard the one saying to the other, 'There is a camel ahead of us, as
+I judge--for I have not seen--that is blind of one eye and laden with
+two skin-bottles, one of which contains wine and the other oil, while
+two drivers attend it, one of them an Israelite, and the other a
+Gentile.' 'You perverse men,' said their master, 'how can you fabricate
+such a story as that?' The slave answered, and gave this as his reason,
+'The grass is cropped only on one side of the track, the wine, that must
+have dripped, has soaked into the earth on the right, and the oil has
+trickled down, and may be seen on the left; while one of the drivers
+turned aside from the track to ease himself, but the other has not even
+left the road for the purpose.' Upon this the master stepped on before
+them in order to verify the correctness of their inferences, and found
+the conclusion true in every particular. He then turned back, and ...
+after complimenting the two slaves for their shrewdness, he at once gave
+them their liberty."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 104, col. 2.
+
+When the disciples of Shamai and Hillel increased in Israel, contention
+increased along with them, so much so, that the one law became as two
+laws (and these contradictory).
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 47, col. 2.
+
+If two parties deposit money with a third, one a single manah and the
+other two hundred, and both afterward appear and claim the larger sum,
+the depositary should give each depositor one manah only, and leave the
+rest undivided till the coming of Elijah.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 37, col. 2.
+
+    "Till Elijah comes" is a phrase which is in use among the Jews
+    to express postponement forever, like _ad Kalendas Graecas_. It
+    is applied to questions that would take Elijah to settle, which,
+    it is believed, he will not appear to do till doomsday.
+
+"And I will make thy windows of agates" (Isa. liv. 12). Two of the
+angels in heaven, Gabriel and Michael, once disputed about this: one
+maintained that the stone should be an onyx, and the other asserted it
+should be a jasper; but the Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto them,
+"Let it be as both say, which, in Hebrew, abbreviated, is an agate."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 75, col. 1.
+
+"The horseleech has two daughters, crying, Give! give!" (Prov. xxx. 15.)
+Mar Ukva says, "This has reference to the voice of two daughters crying
+out from torture in hell, because their voice is heard in this world
+crying, 'Give! give!'--namely--heresy and officialism."
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+    Rashi says heresy here refers to the "heresy of James," or, in
+    other words, Christianity.
+
+Two cemeteries were provided by the judicial authorities, one for
+beheaded and strangled criminals, and the other for those that were
+stoned or burned. When the flesh of these was consumed, they collected
+the bones and buried them in their own place, after which the relations
+came and saluted the judge and the witnesses, and said, "We owe you no
+grudge, for you passed a just judgment."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 46, col. 1.
+
+Alas! for the loss which the world has sustained in the degradation of
+the helpful serpent. If the serpent had not been degraded, every
+Israelite would have been attended by two of kindly disposition, one of
+which might have been sent to the north, and the other to the south, to
+bring for its owner precious corals and costly stones and pearls.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 59, col. 2.
+
+Here are two or three other sayings from the Talmud relative to the
+serpent.
+
+Benjamin the son of Jacob, Amram the father of Moses, and Jesse the
+father of David all died, not because of their own sin (for they had
+none, says Rashi), but because of the (original) sin committed under the
+serpent's temptation.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 55, col. 2.
+
+No man was ever injured by a serpent or scorpion in Jerusalem.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 21, col. 1.
+
+"And dust is the serpent's food" (Isa. lxv. 25). Rav Ammi says, "To the
+serpent no delicacy in the world has any other flavor than that of
+dust;" and Rav Assi says, "No delicacy in the world satisfies him like
+dust."
+
+Ibid., fol. 75, col. 1.
+
+Two negatives or two affirmatives are as good as an oath.
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 36, col. 1.
+
+Like two pearls were the two drops of holy oil that were suspended from
+the two corners of the beard of Aaron.
+
+_Horayoth_, fol. 12, col. 1.
+
+For two to sit together and have no discourse about the law, is to sit
+in the seat of the scornful; as it is said (Ps. i. I), "And sitteth not
+in the seat of the scornful."
+
+_Avoth_, chap. iii.
+
+When two are seated together at table, the younger shall not partake
+before the elder, otherwise the younger shall be justly accounted a
+glutton.
+
+_Derech Eretz_, chap. vii.
+
+Philemo once asked Rabbi (the Holy), "If a man has two heads, on which
+is he to put the phylactery?" To which Rabbi replied, "Either get up and
+be off, or take an anathema; for thou art making fun of me."
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 37, col. 1.
+
+It is thus Rav Yoseph taught what is meant when it is written in Isaiah
+xii. I, "I will praise Thee, O Lord, because Thou wast angry with me:
+Thine anger will depart and Thou wilt comfort me." "The text applies,"
+he says, "to two men who were going abroad on a mercantile enterprise,
+one of whom, having had a thorn run into his foot, had to forego his
+intended journey, and began in consequence to utter reproaches and
+blaspheme. Having afterward learned that the ship in which his companion
+had sailed had sunk to the bottom of the sea, he confessed his
+shortsightedness and praised God for His mercy."
+
+_Niddah_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+The night is divided into three watches, and at each watch the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--sits and roars like a lion; as it is written (Jer.
+xxv. 30), "The Lord will roar from on high, ... roaring, He will roar
+over his habitation." The marks by which this division of the night is
+recognized are these:--In the first watch the ass brays; in the second
+the dog barks; and in the third the babe is at the breast and the wife
+converses with her husband.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 3, col. 1.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that there are three reasons why a person should
+not enter a ruin:--1. Because he may be suspected of evil intent; 2.
+Because the walls might tumble upon him; 3. And because of evil spirits
+that frequent such places.
+
+Ibid., fol. 3, col. 1.
+
+He who three times a day repeats David's psalm of praise (Ps. cxlv.) may
+be sure of an inheritance in the world to come.
+
+Ibid., fol. 4, col. 2.
+
+Three precious gifts were given to Israel, but none of them without a
+special affliction: these three gifts were the law, the land of Israel,
+and the world to come.
+
+Ibid., fol. 5, col. 1.
+
+    These are also from the Talmud anent Israel and the Israelites.
+
+All Israelites are princes.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 57, col. 1.
+
+All Israelites are holy.
+
+Ibid., fol. 86, col. 1.
+
+Happy are ye, O Israel! for every one of you, from the least to the
+greatest, is a great philosopher. (_Eiruvin_, fol. 53, col. 1.) The
+Machzor for Pentecost says, Israelites are as "full of meritorious works
+as a pomegranate is full of pips."
+
+See also _Chaggigah_, fol. 27, col, 1.
+
+As it is impossible for the world to be without air, so also is it
+impossible for the world to be without Israel.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 3, col. 2.
+
+If the ox of an Israelite bruise the ox of a Gentile, the Israelite is
+exempt from paying damages; but should the ox of a Gentile bruise the ox
+of an Israelite, the Gentile is bound to recompense him in full.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+When an Israelite and a Gentile have a lawsuit before thee, if thou
+canst, acquit the former according to the laws of Israel, and tell the
+latter such is our law; if thou canst get him off in accordance with
+Gentile law, do so, and say to the plaintiff such is your law; but if he
+cannot be acquitted according to either law, then bring forward adroit
+pretexts and secure his acquittal. These are the words of the Rabbi
+Ishmael. Rabbi Akiva says, "No false pretext should be brought forward,
+because, if found out, the name of God would be blasphemed; but if there
+be no fear of that, then it may be adduced."
+
+Ibid., fol. 113, col. 1.
+
+If one find lost property in a locality where the majority are
+Israelites, he is bound to proclaim it; but he is not bound to do so if
+the majority be Gentiles.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 24, col. 1.
+
+(Prov. xiv. 34), "Almsgiving exalteth a nation, but benevolence is a sin
+to nations." "Almsgiving exalteth a nation," that is to say, the nation
+of Israel; as it is written (2 Sam. vii. 23), "And what one nation in
+the earth is like thy people, even like Israel?" but "benevolence" is a
+sin to nations, that is to say, for the Gentiles to exercise charity and
+benevolence is sin.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 10, col. 2.
+
+If a Gentile smite an Israelite, he is guilty of death; as it is written
+(Exod. ii. 12), "And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw
+there was no man, he slew the Egyptian."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 58, col. 2.
+
+All Israelites have a portion in the world to come; as it is written
+(Isa. lx. 21), "And thy people are all righteous: they shall inherit the
+land."
+
+Ibid., fol. 90, col. 1.
+
+"And they shall fall one on account of another" (Lev. xxvi. 37),--one on
+account of the sins of another. This teaches us that all Israel are
+surety for one another.
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 39, col. 1.
+
+If one find a foundling in a locality where the majority are Gentiles,
+then the child is (to be reckoned) a Gentile; if the majority be
+Israelites, it is to be considered as an Israelite; and so also it is to
+be, providing the numbers are equal.
+
+_Machsheerin_, chap. 2, Mish. 7.
+
+"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the
+earth abideth forever" (Eccl. i. 4). One empire cometh and another
+passeth away, but Israel abideth forever.
+
+_Perek Hashalom._
+
+The world was created only for Israel: none are called the children of
+God but Israel; none are beloved before God but Israel.
+
+_Gerim_, chap. 1.
+
+The Jew that has no wife abideth without joy, without a blessing, and
+without any good. Without joy, as it is written (Deut. xiv. 26), "And
+thou shalt reject, thou and thy household;" without blessing, as it is
+written (Ezek. xliv. 30), "That He may cause a blessing to rest on thy
+household;" without any good, for it is written (Gen. ii. 8), "It is not
+good that man should be alone."
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 62, col. 2.
+
+The Jew that has no wife is not a man; for it is written (Gen. v. 2),
+"Male and female created He them and called their name man." To which
+Rabbi Eleazar adds, "So every one who has no landed property is no man;
+for it is written (Ps. cxv. 16), 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the
+Lord's, but the earth (the land, that is), hath He given to the children
+of man.'"
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 63, col. 1.
+
+Three things did Moses ask of God:--1. He asked that the Shechinah might
+rest upon Israel; 2. That the Shechinah might rest upon none but Israel;
+and 3. That God's ways might be made known unto him; and all these
+requests were granted.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+    What was the Shechinah? Was it the presence of a Divine person
+    or only of a Divine power? The following quotations will show
+    what is the teaching of the Talmud on the matter, and will be
+    read with interest by the theologian, whether Jew or Christian.
+
+    Where do we learn that when ten persons pray together the
+    Shechinah is with them? In Ps. lxxxii. 1, where it is written,
+    "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty." And where do
+    we learn that when two sit together and study the law the
+    Shechinah is with them? In Mal. iii. 16, where it is written,
+    "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and
+    the Lord hearkened and heard it." (_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 1.)
+
+    Where do we learn that the Shechinah does strengthen the sick?
+    In Ps. xli. 3, where it is written, "The Lord will strengthen
+    him upon the bed of languishing." (_Shabbath_, fol. 12, col. 2.)
+
+    He who goes from the Synagogue to the lecture-room, and from the
+    lecture-room back to the Synagogue, will become worthy to
+    receive the presence of the Shechinah; as it is written (Ps.
+    lxxxiv. 1), "They go from strength to strength; every one of
+    them in Zion appeareth before God." (_Moed Katan_, fol. 29, col.
+    1.)
+
+    Rabbi Yossi says, "The Shechinah never came down here below, nor
+    did Moses and Elijah ever ascend on high, because it is written
+    (Ps. cxv. 16), 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's,
+    but the earth hath he given to the children of men.'" (_Succah_,
+    fol. 5, col. 1.)
+
+    Esther "stood in the inner court of the King's house" (Esth. v,
+    1). Rabbi Levi says, "When she reached the house of the images
+    the Shechinah departed from her. Then she exclaimed, 'My God! my
+    God! why hast thou forsaken me?'" (_Meggillah_, fol. 15, col. 2.)
+
+    "But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every
+    one of you this day" (Deut. iv. 4). Is it possible to cleave to
+    the Shechinah? Is it not written (_ibid._, verse 24), "For the
+    Lord thy God is a consuming fire"? The reply is:--He that
+    bestows his daughter in marriage on a disciple of the wise (that
+    is, a Rabbi), or does business on behalf of the disciples of the
+    wise, or maintains them from his property, Scripture accounts it
+    as if he did cleave to the Shechinah. (_Kethuboth_, fol. iii,
+    col. 25.)
+
+    He who is angry has no regard even for the Shechinah; as it is
+    written (Ps. x. 4), "The wicked, when his anger rises, does not
+    inquire after God; God is not in all his thoughts." (_Nedarim_,
+    fol. 22, col. 2.)
+
+    He who visits the sick should not sit upon the bed, nor even
+    upon a stool or a chair beside it, but he should wrap his mantle
+    round him and sit upon the floor, because of the Shechinah which
+    rests at the head of the bed of the invalid; as it is written
+    (Ps. xli. 3), "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of
+    languishing." (Ibid., fol. 40, col. 1.)
+
+    When Israel went up out of the Red Sea, both the babe on its
+    mother's lap and the suckling at the breast saw the Shechinah,
+    and said, "This is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation;"
+    as it is written (Ps. viii. 2), "Out of the mouths of babes and
+    sucklings thou hast ordained strength." (_Soteh_, fol. 30, col.
+    2.)
+
+    Where do we read that the Shechinah is present everywhere? In
+    Zech. ii. 3, where it is written, "And behold the angel that
+    talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet
+    him." It is not said went out after him, but "went out to meet
+    him." From this we know that the Shechinah is present
+    everywhere. (_Bava Bathra_ fol. 25, col. 1.)
+
+Rabbi Akiva says, "For three things I admire the Medes:--1. When they
+carve meat, they do it on the table; 2. When they kiss, they only do so
+upon the hand; 3. And when they consult, they do so only in the field."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 8, col. 2.
+
+The stone which Og, king of Bashan, meant to throw upon Israel is the
+subject of a tradition delivered on Sinai. "The camp of Israel I see,"
+he said, "extends three miles; I shall therefore go and root up a
+mountain three miles in extent and throw it upon them." So off he went,
+and finding such a mountain, raised it on his head, but the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--sent an army of ants against him, which so bored
+the mountain over his head that it slipped down upon his shoulders, from
+which he could not lift it, because his teeth, protruding, had riveted
+it upon him. This explains that which is written (Ps. iii. 7), "Thou
+hast broken the teeth of the ungodly;" where read not "Thou hast
+broken," but "Thou hast ramified," that is, "Thou hast caused to branch
+out." Moses being ten ells in height, seized an axe ten ells long, and
+springing up ten ells, struck a blow on Og's ankle and killed him.
+
+Ibid., fol. 54, col. 2.
+
+    This same story is given with more than Talmudic exaggeration in
+    the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, while the author of the Book
+    of Jasher (chap. lxv., verses 23, 24) makes the camp and the
+    mountain forty miles in extent. The giant here figures in
+    antediluvian tradition. He is said to have been saved at the
+    Flood by laying hold of the ark, and being fed day by day
+    through a hole in the side of the ark by Noah himself. A
+    tradition which says the soles of his feet were forty miles long
+    at once explains all the extraordinary feats ascribed to him.
+
+Rav Yehudah used to say, "Three things shorten a man's days and
+years:--1. Neglecting to read the law when it is given to him for that
+purpose; seeing it is written (Deut. xxx. 20), 'For He (who gave it) is
+thy life and the length of thy days.' 2. Omitting to repeat the
+customary benediction over a cup of blessing; for it is written (Gen.
+xii. 3), 'And I will bless them that bless thee.' 3. And the assumption
+of a Rabbinical air; for Rabbi Chama bar Chanena says, 'Joseph died
+before any of his brethren, because he domineered over them.'"
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 55, col. 1.
+
+    The first of these refers to the reading of the law in public
+    worship, the second to a practice after meals when more than two
+    adult Jews were present, and the third to the dictatorial air
+    often assumed by the Rabbis.
+
+Three things proceed by pre-eminence from God Himself:--Famine, plenty,
+and a wise ruler. Famine (2 Kings viii. 2): "The Lord hath called for a
+famine;" plenty (Ezek. xxxvi. 29): "I will call for corn and increase
+it;" a wise ruler; for it is written (Exod. xxxi. 2), "I have called by
+name Bezaleel." Rabbi Yitzchak says, "A ruler is not to be appointed
+unless the community be first consulted. God first consulted Moses, then
+Moses consulted the nation concerning the appointment of Bezaleel."
+
+Ibid., fol. 55, col. 1.
+
+Three dreams come to pass:--That which is dreamed in the morning; that
+which is also dreamed by one's neighbor; and a dream which is
+interpreted within a dream; to which some add, one that is dreamed by
+the same person twice; as it is written (Gen. xli. 32), "And for that
+the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice."
+
+Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.
+
+Three things tranquilize the mind of man:--Melody, scenery, and sweet
+odor. Three things develop the mind of man:--A fine house, a handsome
+wife, and elegant furniture.
+
+Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that there are three sorts of dropsy:--Thick,
+resulting from sin; bloated, in consequence of insufficient food; and
+thin, due to sorcery.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 33, col. 1.
+
+These three grow stronger as they grow older:--The fish, the serpent,
+and the pig.
+
+Ibid., fol. 77, col. 2.
+
+It were better to cut the hands off than to touch the eye, or the nose,
+or the mouth, or the ear, etc., with them without having first washed
+them. Unwashed hands may cause blindness, deafness, foulness of breath,
+or a polypus. It is taught that Rabbi Nathan has said, "The evil spirit
+Bath Chorin, which rests upon the hands at night, is very strict; he
+will not depart till water is poured upon the hands three times over."
+
+Ibid. fol. 109, col. 1.
+
+    The great importance of this ceremonial washing of the hands
+    will appear from the following anecdote, which we quote
+    _verbatim_ from another part of the Talmud:--"It happened once,
+    as the Rabbis teach, that Rabbi Akiva was immured in a prison,
+    and Yehoshua Hagarsi was his attendant. One day the gaoler said
+    to the latter as he entered, 'What a lot of water thou hast
+    brought to-day! Dost thou need it to sap the walls of the
+    prison?' So saying, he seized the vessel and poured out half of
+    the water. When Yehoshua brought in what was left of the water
+    to Rabbi Akiva, the latter, who was weary of waiting, for he was
+    faint and thirsty, reproachfully said to him, 'Yehoshua, dost
+    thou forget that I am old, and my very life depends upon thee?'
+    When the servant related what had happened, the Rabbi asked for
+    the water to wash his hands, 'Why, master,' said Yehoshua,
+    'there's not enough for thee to drink, much less to cleanse thy
+    hands with.' To which the Rabbi replied, 'What am I to do? They
+    who neglect to wash their hands are judged worthy of death; 'tis
+    better that I should die by my own act from thirst than act
+    against the rules of my associates.' And accordingly it is
+    related that he abstained from tasting anything till they
+    brought him water to wash his hands." (_Eiruvin_, fol. 21, col.
+    2. See also _Maimonides, Hilc. Berach._, vi. 19.)
+
+    From the context of the passage just quoted we cull the
+    following, which proves that the Talmud itself bases the precept
+    concerning the washing of hands on oral tradition and not on the
+    written law:--"Rav Yehudah ascribes this saying to Shemuel, that
+    when Solomon gave to the traditional rules that regulated the
+    washing of hands and other ceremonial rites the form and
+    sanction of law, a Bath Kol came forth and said (Prov. xxiii.
+    15), 'My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even
+    mine;' and again it said (Prov. xxvii, 11), 'My son, be wise,
+    and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth
+    me.'" (See Prov. xxx. 5, 6.)
+
+    There is a great deal in the Talmud about washing the hands, in
+    addition to what is said in the treatise Yadaim, which is
+    entirely devoted to the subject. But this topic is subordinate
+    to another, namely, the alleged inferiority of the precepts of
+    the Bible to the prescriptions of the Rabbis, of which the
+    punctilious rules regulative of hand washing form only a small
+    fraction. This is illustrated by an anecdote from the Talmudic
+    leaflet entitled Callah, respecting Rabbi Akiva, whose fame
+    extends from one end of the world to the other. (See _Yevamoth_,
+    fol. 16, col. 2).
+
+    Once upon a time, as the Elders were sitting together, two lads
+    passed by them, one with his head covered and the other
+    bareheaded. Of the latter boy as he passed Rabbi Elazar said,
+    "He is a Mamzer," and Rabbi Yehoshua, "He is a Ben Haniddah,"
+    but Rabbi Akiva contended, "He is both a Mamzer and a Ben
+    Haniddah." Upon which the Elders said to Rabbi Akiva, "How
+    darest thou be so bold as dispute the assertion of thy masters?"
+    "Because I can substantiate what I say," was his answer. He then
+    went to the mother of the lad, and found her selling pease in
+    the market place. "Daughter," said he to her, "if thou wilt
+    answer all that I ask of thee, I will ensure thee a portion in
+    the life to come." She replied, "Let me have thy oath and I will
+    do so." Then taking the oath with his lips but nullifying it in
+    his heart, he asked her, "What sort of a son is thy lad?" She
+    replied, "When I entered my bridal chamber I was a Niddah, and
+    consequently my husband kept away from me." Thus it was found
+    out that the boy was a Mamzer and a Ben Haniddah; upon which the
+    sages exclaimed, "Great is Rabbi Akiva, for he has overcome his
+    masters;" and as they congratulated him they said, "Blessed be
+    the Lord God of Israel, who hath revealed His secret unto Akiva
+    the son of Joseph." Thus did the Rabbi forswear himself, and
+    thus did his companions compliment him on the success of his
+    perjury; yet the Bible says, "Thou shalt not take the name of
+    the Lord thy God in vain" (Exod. xx. 7), and "Keep thou far from
+    a falsehood" (Exod. xxiii. 7).
+
+    Here is a companion picture from Yoma, fol. 84, col. 1.--"Rabbi
+    Yochanan was suffering from scurvy, and he applied to a Gentile
+    woman, who prepared a remedy for the fifth and then the sixth
+    day of the week. 'But what shall I do to-morrow?' said he; 'I
+    must not walk so far on the Sabbath.' 'Thou wilt not require any
+    more,' she answered. 'But suppose I do,' he replied. 'Take an
+    oath,' she answered, 'that thou wilt not reveal it, and I will
+    tell thee how to compound the remedy.' This he did in the
+    following words: 'By the God of Israel, I swear I will not
+    divulge it.' Nevertheless, when he learned the secret, he went
+    and revealed it. 'But was not that profaning the name of God?'
+    asks one. 'No,' pleads another Rabbi, 'for, as he told her
+    afterward, that what he meant was that he would not tell it to
+    the God of Israel.' The remedy was yeast, water, oil, and salt."
+
+    The anecdote that follows is from Sanhedrin, fol. 97, col
+    1:--"In reference to the remark of Ravina, who said, 'I used to
+    think that there was no truth in the world,' one of the Rabbis,
+    Toviah (or Tavyoomah, as some say), would protest and say, 'If
+    all the riches of the world were offered me, I would not tell a
+    falsehood.' And he used to clench his protestation with the
+    following apologue: 'I once went to a place called Kushta, where
+    the people never swerve from the truth, and where (as a reward
+    for their integrity) they do not die until old age; and there I
+    married and settled down, and had two sons born unto me. One day
+    as my wife was sitting and combing her hair, a woman who dwelt
+    close by came to the door and asked to see her. Thinking that it
+    was a breach of etiquette (that any one should see her at her
+    toilet), I said she was not in. Soon after this my two children
+    died, and the people came to inquire into the cause of their
+    premature decease. When I told them of my evasive reply to the
+    woman, they asked me to leave the town, lest by my misconduct I
+    might involve the whole community in a like calamity, and death
+    might be enticed to their place."
+
+Food remains for three days in the stomach of the dog, because God knew
+that his food would be scanty.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 155, col. 1.
+
+He who is born on the third day of the week will be rich and amorous.
+
+Ibid., fol. 156, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Abba, in the name of Shemuel, says, "The schools of Shammai and
+Hillel were at variance three years, the one party contending and
+saying, 'The Halacha is according to us;' and the other, 'The Halacha is
+according to us.' Then came a voice from the Lord and said, 'Both these
+and those are the words of the living God, but yet the Halacha is
+according to the school of Hillel.' What was the merit of the school of
+Hillel that the Halacha should be pronounced to be according to it? Its
+disciples were gentle and forbearing, for while they stood by their own
+decisions, they also stated those maintained by the school of Shammai,
+and often even mentioned the tenets of the school of Shammai first and
+their own afterward. This teaches us that him who humbles himself, God
+will exalt; and him who exalts himself, God will abase. Whoso pursueth
+greatness, greatness will flee from him; and whoso fleeth from
+greatness, greatness will pursue him."
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+There are three entrances to hell:--One in the desert, one in the sea,
+and one in Jerusalem.
+
+Ibid., fol. 19, col. i.
+
+These three will never see hell:--He who is purified by poverty; he who
+is purged by a painful flux; and he who is harassed by importunate
+creditors; and some say, he also who is plagued with a termagant wife.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 41, col. 2.
+
+Three effects are ascribed to Babylonian broth (which was made of moldy
+bread, sour milk, and salt):--It retards the action of the heart, it
+affects the eyesight, and emaciates the body.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 42, col 1.
+
+These three are not permitted to come between two men, nor is a man
+allowed to pass between any two of these three:--A dog, a palm tree, or
+a woman; to which some add the pig, and others the serpent as well.
+
+Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.
+
+    One part of this regulation is rather hard and should surely be
+    abolished; that, viz, which ordains a woman shall not come
+    between two men or a man pass between two women. The compiler of
+    this Miscellany was once witness to a case which illustrates its
+    inconvenience: it occurred at Tiberias. A pious young Jew who
+    had to traverse a narrow road to pass from the lake to the town
+    was kept standing for a very considerable time under a broiling
+    sun, simply because two young women, to tease him, guarded the
+    entrance, and dared him to pass between them. Of course he dared
+    not accept the challenge, otherwise he would have incurred the
+    penalty of death, according to the judgment of the Talmud; for
+    "Whosoever transgresses any of the words of the Scribes is
+    guilty of death." (_Eiruvin_, fol. 21, col. 2.)
+
+These three will inherit the world to come:--He who dwells in the land
+of Israel; he who brings up his sons to the study of the law; and he who
+repeats the ritual blessing over the appointed cup of wine at the close
+of the Sabbath.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 1.
+
+There are three whom the Holy One--blessed be He!--Himself proclaims
+virtuous:--The unmarried man who lives in a city and does not sin; the
+poor man who restores a lost thing which he has found to its owner; and
+the rich man who pays the tithes of his increase unostentatiously. Rav
+Saphra was a bachelor, and he dwelt in a large city. A disciple of the
+wise once descanted upon the merits of a celibate life in the presence
+of Rava and this Rav Saphra, and the face of the latter beamed with
+delight. Remarking which, Rava said to him, "This does not refer to such
+a bachelor as thou art, but to such as Rabbi Chanena and Rabbi Oshaia."
+They were single men, who followed the trade of shoemakers, and dwelt in
+a street mostly occupied by _meretrices_, for whom they made shoes; but
+when they fitted these on, they never raised their eyes to look at their
+faces. For this the women conceived such a respect for them, that when
+they swore, they swore by the life of the holy Rabbis of the land of
+Israel.
+
+_Psachim_, fol. 113, cols, 1, 2.
+
+There are three whom the Holy One--blessed be He!--abhorreth: He who
+says one thing but thinks another; he who might bear witness in favor of
+his neighbor but refrains from doing so; and he who, having seen his
+neighbor act disgracefully, goes and appears singly as a witness against
+him (thus only condemning, but not convicting, him, as the law requires
+two witnesses). As, for example, when Toviah transgressed and Zigud
+appeared against him singly before Rav Pappa, and Rav Pappa ordered this
+witness to receive forty stripes save one in return. "What!" said he,
+"Toviah has sinned, and should Zigud be flogged?" "Yes," replied the
+Rabbi, "for by testifying singly against him thou bringest him only into
+bad repute." (See Deut. xix. 15.)
+
+_P'sachim_ fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+    "Toviah has sinned and Zigud is flogged," has long been a
+    proverb among Jews.
+
+There are three whose life is no life:--The sympathetic, the irascible,
+and the melancholy.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+There are three which despise their fellows:--Dogs, cocks, and
+sorcerers. Some say strange women also, and some the disciples of the
+Babylonian Rabbis.
+
+Ibid.
+
+These three love their fellows:--Proselytes, slaves, and ravens.
+
+Ibid.
+
+These three are apt to strut:--Israel among the nations, the dog among
+animals, the cock among birds. Some say also the goat among small
+cattle, and some the caper shrub among trees.
+
+Ibid., fol. 25, col. 2.
+
+There are three whose life is no life:--He who lives at another's table;
+he whose wife domineers over him; and he who suffers bodily affliction.
+Some say also he who has only a single shirt in his wardrobe.
+
+Ibid., fol. 32, col. 2.
+
+Three things are said respecting the finger-nails:--He who trims his
+nails and buries the parings is a pious man; he who burns these is a
+righteous man; but he who throws them away is a wicked man, for
+mischance might follow, should a female step over them.
+
+_Moed Katan_, fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+    The orthodox Jews in Poland are to this day careful to bury away
+    or burn their nail parings.
+
+Three classes appear on the day of judgment:--The perfectly righteous,
+who are at once written and sealed for eternal life; the thoroughly bad,
+who are at once written and sealed for hell; as it is written (Dan. xii.
+2), "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
+some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt;"
+and those in the intermediate state, who go down into hell, where they
+cry and howl for a time, whence they ascend again; as it is written
+(Zech. xiii. 9), "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and
+will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is
+tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them." It is of them
+Hannah said (1 Sam. ii. 6), "The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He
+bringeth down to hell and bringeth up."
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+Our Rabbis have taught that there are three voices which can be heard
+from one end of the world to the other:--The sound emitted from the
+sphere of the sun; the hum and din of the city of Rome; and the voice of
+anguish uttered by the soul as it quits the body; ... but our Rabbis
+prayed that the soul might be spared this torture, and therefore the
+voice of its terrors has not since been heard.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 20, col. 2.
+
+In three particulars is benevolence superior to almsgiving:--Almsgiving
+is only the bestowment of money, but benevolence can be exercised by
+personal service as well. Alms can be given only to the poor, but
+benevolence can be shown no less to the rich. Alms are confined to the
+living, but benevolence may extend to both the dead and the living.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+Three marks characterize the nation of Israel:--They are compassionate,
+they are modest, and they are benevolent. Compassionate, as it is
+written (Deut. xiii. 18), "And show thee mercy, and have compassion upon
+thee, and multiply thee." Modest, as it is written (Exod. xx. 20), "That
+his fear may be before your faces." Benevolent, as it is written (Gen.
+xviii. 19), "For I know him," etc.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 79, col. 1.
+
+Dates are good after meals in the morning and in the evening, but
+hurtful in the afternoon; on the other hand, at noon they are most
+excellent, and an antidote to these three maladies:--Evil thought,
+constipation, and hemorrhoids.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 10, col. 2.
+
+Beware of these three things:--Do not sit too much, for it brings on
+hemorrhoids; do not stand too much, for it is bad for the heart; do not
+walk too much, for it is hurtful to the eyes. But sit a third, stand a
+third, and walk a third.
+
+Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.
+
+He who holds his household in terror tempts to the commission of three
+sins:--Fornication, murder, and Sabbath breaking.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 6, col. 2.
+
+Three things weaken the strength of man:--Fear, travel, and sin. Fear,
+as it is written (Ps. xxxviii. 10), "My heart palpitates, my strength
+faileth me." Travel, as it is written (Ps. cii. 23), "He hath weakened
+my strength in the way." ... Sin, as it is written (Ps. xxxi. 10), "My
+strength faileth me, because of my iniquity."
+
+Ibid., fol. 70, col 2.
+
+Abraham was three years old when he first learned to know his Creator;
+as it is said (Gen. xxvi. 5), "Because Abraham obeyed my voice."
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 32, col. 1.
+
+    The conclusion arrived at here is founded on interpreting the
+    Hebrew letters of the word rendered "because" numerically, in
+    which the value of the letters gives a total of one hundred and
+    seventy-two; so that the sense of the text is, "Abraham obeyed
+    my voice" one hundred and seventy-two years. Now Abraham died
+    when he was a hundred and seventy-five, therefore he must have
+    been only three when he began to serve the Lord.
+
+    As Abraham plays so important a part both in the history and the
+    imagination of the Jewish race, we may quote here a score or so
+    of the Talmudic traditions regarding him. The traditions, as is
+    like, contributed quite as much, if not more, to give character
+    to his descendants as his actual personality and that spirit of
+    faith which was the central fact in his history. Races and
+    nations often draw more inspiration from what they fancy about
+    their ancestry and early history than from what they know; their
+    fables therefore are often more illuminative than the facts.
+
+Abraham was Ethan the Ezrahite, who is mentioned in Ps. lxxxvii. 1.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 15, col. 1.
+
+Abraham's mother was Amathlai, the daughter of Karnebo.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 91, col. 1.
+
+Abraham was the head of a seminary for youth, and kept both laws, the
+written and the oral.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 28, col. 2.
+
+Abraham observed the whole ceremonial law, even before it was given on
+Sinai.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 82, col. 1.
+
+    From the day Abraham was compelled to leave the idolatrous
+    worship and country of his fathers, it is reasonable to suppose
+    that his tent would become a rendezvous for his neighbors who
+    shrunk like himself from the abominations around them. There,
+    from his character, by which he recommended himself as the
+    friend of God, he might very naturally be looked upon as a
+    religious teacher, and men might gather together to learn from
+    his lips or profit by his example. Hence, making due allowance
+    for Eastern hyperbole, the statement of the Book of Jasher
+    (chap. xxvi. verse 36) is not undeserving of credit, where it is
+    said that "Abraham brought all the children of the land to the
+    service of God, and he taught them the ways of the Lord." The
+    same remark applies to what is said in Targ. Yerushalmi (Gen.
+    xxi.), that Abraham's guests went not away until "he had made
+    them proselytes, and had taught them the way everlasting." His
+    son Isaac, says the Targ. of Ben Uzziel, went to school at the
+    "Beth Medrasha de Shem Rabba."
+
+Though Abraham kept all the commandments, he was not perfect till he was
+circumcised.
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 31, col. 2.
+
+    In whatever sense this may have been written, and whatever the
+    interpretation that may be put upon it, there is one sense in
+    which it is absolutely and eternally true, and that is, that, in
+    order to be perfect, a man's life must be as pronounced on the
+    negative side as the positive, in its denials as in its
+    affirmations, and that it is futile to attempt to obey God
+    unless one at the same time renounce all co-partnery with the
+    devil. Circumcision is the symbol of this renunciation, and it
+    is only as such it has any radical spiritual significance. Till
+    he was circumcised, it is said, God did not speak to Abraham in
+    Hebrew. Not till then is sacredness of speech, any more than
+    sacredness of life, possible. Doubtless among the Jews
+    circumcision was the symbol of their separation from the ethnic
+    religions; and hence the jealousy with which their prophets
+    looked upon any compromise with idolatry. Hatred of that, utter
+    and intense, was the one essential negative pole of genuine
+    Judaism, and circumcision was its sign and seal.
+
+Abraham was the first of the proselytes.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+Abraham it was that ordained the form of prayer for morning worship,
+which is extant to this very day.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 26, col. 2.
+
+As he himself was pious, so were his very camels, for they would not
+enter into a place where there were idols; as it is written (Gen. xxiv.
+31), "I have prepared," i.e., removed the idols from, "the house and
+room for the camels."
+
+_Avoth d' Rabbi Nathan_, chap. 8.
+
+Abraham had a daughter, and her name was Bakol.
+
+Ibid., fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+Abraham was free from evil passion.
+
+_Bava Bathra_ fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+He was also free from the Angel of Death.
+
+Ibid., fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+He delivered to the children he had by Keturah a secret name, with which
+they learned to practice witchcraft and do the works of the devil.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 91, col. 1.
+
+Though great, he personally waited on his guests, who had the appearance
+of Arabs and not of angels.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 32, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yehudah says Abraham planted an ornamental garden with all kinds
+of choice fruits in it, and Rabbi Nehemiah says he erected an inn for
+travelers in order to make known the name of God to all who sojourned in
+it.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+    Both the Targum of Ben Uzziel and the Yerushalmi say that
+    Abraham planted a paradise at Beersheba for the entertainment
+    and delectation of his guests; and in Jasher (chap, xxvii. verse
+    37) it is said that "Abraham formed a grove and planted a
+    vineyard there, and had always ready in his tent meat and drink
+    for those that passed through the land, so that they might
+    satisfy themselves in his house."
+
+He ranked as one of the seven shepherds of Israel (Micah v. 5). In this
+group David was the central figure, with Adam, Seth, and Methusaleh on
+his right hand, and Abraham, Jacob, and Moses on his left.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 2.
+
+The coin of Jerusalem had the impress of David and Solomon on the one
+side, and the holy city of Jerusalem on the other. But the impress on
+the coin of our father Abraham was an old man and an old woman on one
+side, and a young man and a damsel on the other.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 37, col. 2.
+
+    This, it is to be presumed, must be taken in some symbolical
+    sense, for coins cannot be traced back to a date so early as
+    this; and when Abraham purchased the cave to bury Sarah in from
+    the sons of Heth, we read that he weighed to Ephron the silver.
+
+Abraham pleaded with God on the behalf of Israel and said, "While there
+is a Temple they will get their sins atoned for, but when there shall be
+no Temple, what will become of them?" God, in answer to his prayer,
+assured him that He had prepared a prayer for them, by which, as often
+as they read it, He would be propitiated and would pardon all their
+sins.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 31, col. 2.
+
+He was punished by his posterity being compelled to serve the Egyptians
+two hundred and ten years, because he had pressed the Rabbis under his
+tuition into military service in the expedition he had undertaken to
+recover Lot from those who had carried him off captive; for it is
+written (Gen. xiv. 14), "He armed his instructed." Samuel says Abraham
+was punished because he perversely distrusted the assurance of God; as
+it is written (Gen. xv. 8), "Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit
+it?"
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 31, col. 2.
+
+Abraham was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod, and God would not
+permit Gabriel to rescue him, but did so Himself; because God is One and
+Abraham was one, therefore it behooved the One to rescue the one.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 118, col. 1.
+
+    The fire from which Abraham is here said to be delivered may
+    simply refer to his deliverance by the hand of God from Ur of
+    the Chaldees; Ur meaning "fire," and being the name of a place
+    celebrated for fire worship. The Midrash (p. 20) says, "When the
+    wicked Nimrod cast Abraham into the furnace, Gabriel said, 'Lord
+    of the universe! permit me to deliver this holy one from the
+    fire!' But the Lord made answer, 'I am the One Supreme in my
+    world, and he is supreme in his; it is fitting therefore that
+    the Supreme should rescue the supreme.'"
+
+Abraham was a giant of giants; his height was as that of seventy-four
+men put together. His food, his drink, and his strength were in the
+proportion of seventy-four men's to one man's. He built an iron city for
+the abode of his seventeen children by Keturah, the walls of which were
+so lofty that the sun never penetrated them: he gave them a bowl full of
+precious stones, the brilliancy of which supplied them with light in the
+absence of the sun.
+
+_Sophrim_, chap. 21.
+
+Abraham our father had a precious stone suspended from his neck, and
+every sick person that gazed upon it was immediately healed of his
+disease. But when Abraham died, God hung up the stone on the sphere of
+the sun.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+Till Abraham's time there was no such thing as a beard; but as many
+mistook Abraham for Isaac, and Isaac for Abraham, they looked so exactly
+alike, Abraham prayed to God for a beard to enable people to distinguish
+him from his son, Isaac, and it was granted him; as it is written (Gen.
+xxiv. 1), "And to Abraham a beard came when he was well stricken in
+age."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 107, col. 2.
+
+    Here the word which the translators of the English version
+    render "was old," is taken in another of its cognate meanings as
+    a beard. The Midrash is a trifle more modest in this legendary
+    assertion. There we read, "Before Abraham there was no special
+    mark of old age," and that for distinction's sake "the beard was
+    made to turn gray."
+
+When he died, all the chiefs of the nations of the world stood in a line
+and exclaimed, "Alas for the world that has lost its leader! Alas for
+the ship that has lost its helmsman!"
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 91, col. 2.
+
+As Rabbi Banna went about to measure and to mark off the outward and
+inward dimensions of the different caves, when he came to the cave of
+Machpelah he found Eliezar, Abraham's servant, at the entrance, and
+asked him, "What is Abraham doing?" The answer he received was, "He is
+asleep in the arms of Sarah."
+
+Ibid., fol. 58, col. 1.
+
+    Abraham being greater than Moses, for while the latter is only
+    called by God "My Servant" (Mal. iv. 4), the former is called
+    "My Friend" (Isa. xli. 8), we devote a little more space for a
+    few more extracts from other Jewish sources than the Talmud, in
+    order to make the picture they supply of Abraham's character a
+    little more complete.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says:--"The Holy One--blessed be He!--took Shem
+and separated him to be a priest to Himself, that he might serve before
+Him. He also caused His Shechinah to rest with him, and called his name
+Melchizedek, priest of the Most High and king of Salem. His brother
+Japheth even studied the law in his school, until Abraham came and also
+learned the law in the school of Shem, where God Himself instructed
+Abraham, so that all else he had learned from the lips of man was
+forgotten. Then came Abraham and prayed to God that His Shechinah might
+ever rest in the house of Shem, which also was promised to him; as it is
+said (Ps. ex. 4), 'Thou art a priest forever after the order of
+Melchizedek.'"
+
+_Avodath Hakkodesh_, part 3, chap. 20.
+
+Wherever Jacob resided he studied the law as his fathers did. How is
+this, seeing the law had not yet been given, it is nevertheless written
+of Abraham (Gen. xxvi. 5), "And he kept my charge"? Whence then did
+Abraham learn the law? Rabbi Shimon says his reins (literally kidneys)
+were made like two water-jars, from which the law flowed forth. Where do
+we learn that it was so? From what is said in Ps. xvi. 7, "My reins also
+instruct me in the night season."
+
+_Bereshith Rabba_, chap. 95.
+
+The masters of the Kabbalah, of blessed memory, say that Abraham's
+Rabbi, i.e., teacher, was the angel Zadkiel.
+
+_Rabbi Menachem's comment on the Pent._, Exod. iii. 5.
+
+Adam's book, which contained celestial mysteries and holy wisdom, came
+down as an heirloom into the hands of Abraham, and he by means of it was
+able to see the glory of his Lord.
+
+_Zohar Parashah Bereshith._
+
+Abraham was the author of a treatise on the subject of different kinds
+of witchcraft and its unholy workings and fruits, as also of the Book of
+Creation, through holy names (by means of which, namely, anything could
+be created).
+
+_Nishmath Chayim_, chap. 29.
+
+The whole world once believed that the souls of men were perishable, and
+that man had no pre-eminence above a beast, till Abraham came and
+preached the doctrine of immortality and transmigration.
+
+Ibid., fol. 171, col. 1.
+
+A good son delivers his father from the punishment of hell, for thus we
+find that Abraham our father delivered Terah, as it is said in Gen. xv.
+15, "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace." This implies that God
+had communicated to him the tidings that his father had a portion in the
+world to come and was now "in peace" there.
+
+_Pesikta Zotarta_, fol. 3, col. 2.
+
+Before Abraham was circumcised God spake to him in the Chaldee language,
+that the angels should not understand it. (This is proved from Gen. xv.
+1.)
+
+_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 117.
+
+Rabbi Levi said Abraham sits at the gate of hell and does not permit any
+circumcised Israelite to enter. But if any appear who happen to have
+sinned unduly, these he (by an indescribable contrivance) causes to
+become uncircumcised and lets pass without scruple into the region of
+torment; and this is what is said in Ps. lv. 20, "He hath put forth his
+hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his
+covenant."
+
+_Yalkut Shimoni_, fol. 33, col. 2, sec. 18.
+
+Abraham was circumcised on the Day of Atonement, and God looks that day
+annually on the blood of the covenant of our father Abraham's
+circumcision as atoning for all our iniquities, as it is said in Lev.
+xvi. 30, "For on that day shall he make an atonement for you, to cleanse
+you from all your sins."
+
+_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 121, col. 1, sec. 3.
+
+"And it came to pass that when Abram was come into Egypt" (Gen. xii.
+14). And where was Sarah? He confined her in a chest, into which he
+locked her, lest any one should gaze on her beauty. When he came to the
+receipt of custom, he was summoned to open the chest, but declined, and
+offered payment of the duty. The officers said, "Thou carriest
+garments;" and he offered duty for garments. "Nay, it is gold thou
+carriest;" and he offered the impost laid on gold. Then they said, "It
+is costly silks, belike pearls, thou concealest;" and he offered the
+custom on such articles. At length the Egyptian officers insisted, and
+he opened the box. And when he did so, all the land of Egypt was
+illumined by her beauty.
+
+_Bereshith Rabba_, chap. 40.
+
+The question may naturally be asked why Abraham hid his wife from the
+gaze of others first then and not before. The reply is to be deduced
+from the following double rendering of Gen. xii. 11:--"Behold now I know
+that thou art a fair woman." As if to say, "Usually people lose their
+good looks on a long journey, but thou art as beautiful as ever." The
+second explanation is this:--Abraham was so piously modest that in all
+his life he never once looked a female in the face, his own wife not
+excepted. As he approached Egypt and was crossing some water, he saw in
+it the reflection of her face, and it was then that he exclaimed,
+"Behold now I know that thou art a fair woman." As the Egyptians are
+swarthy, Abraham at once perceived the magnitude of the danger, and
+hence his precaution to hide her beauty in a chest.
+
+_Zeenah Ureenah_ (1877 in Russia), fol. 28, col. 1.
+
+When Abraham came to the cave of Machpelah to bury Sarah, Adam and Eve
+rose from their grave and protested against his committing her to the
+dust in that receptacle. "For," said they, "we are ever ashamed in the
+presence of the Holy One--blessed be He!--on account of the sin which we
+committed, and now comest thou to add to our shame by the contrast
+therewith of the good works which ye two have done." On Abraham's
+assurance that he would intercede with God on their behalf that they
+should not bear the shame any longer, Adam immediately retired to his
+sepulchre, but Eve being still unwilling to do so, Abraham took her by
+the hand and led her back to the side of Adam; and then he buried Sarah.
+
+_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 14, col. 3, sec. 68.
+
+Abraham's father, Terah, was both an idolater, a manufacturer of idols,
+and a dealer in them. Once when Terah had some engagement elsewhere he
+left his son Abraham to attend to his business. When a customer came to
+purchase an idol, Abraham asked him, "How old art thou?" "Lo! so many
+years," was the ready reply. "What," exclaimed Abraham, "is it possible
+that a man of so many years should desire to worship a thing only a day
+old?" The customer, being ashamed of himself, went his way; and so did
+all other customers, who underwent a similar inquisition. Once an old
+woman brought a measure of fine flour and wished to present it as an
+offering to the gods. This so enraged Abraham that he took a staff and
+broke all the images, excepting the largest, into whose hands he fixed
+the staff. When his father came and questioned him about the destruction
+of the gods, he replied, "An old woman placed an offering of flour
+before them, which immediately set them all by the ears, for every one
+was hungrier than another, but the biggest god killed all the rest with
+this staff which thou now seest he still holds in his hands."
+Superstition, especially when combined with mercenary motives, knows
+neither reason nor human affection, therefore the father handed over his
+son Abraham to the inquisition of Nimrod, who threw him into the fiery
+furnace, as recorded elsewhere in this Miscellany. This is an historical
+fact, to the truth of which the whole orthodox Jewish world will bear
+testimony, and is solemnly recorded in _Shalsheleth Hakkabalah_ fol. 2,
+col 1.
+
+There are three graces:--The grace of a place in the eyes of its
+inhabitants; the grace of a woman in the eyes of her husband; the grace
+of a purchase in the eyes of the buyer.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 47, col. 1.
+
+A man should divide his capital into three parts, and invest one-third
+in land, employ one-third in merchandise, and reserve one-third in ready
+money.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 42, col. 1.
+
+All who go down to hell shall come up again, except these three:--He who
+commits adultery; he who shames another in public; and he who gives
+another a bad name.
+
+Ibid., fol. 58, col. 2.
+
+These three complain, but no one sympathizes with them:--He who lends
+money without witnesses; he who buys to himself a master; and he who is
+lorded over by his wife.
+
+Ibid., fol. 75, col. 2.
+
+There are three things on which the world stands:--The law, the temple
+service, and benevolence.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 1.
+
+If three eat at one table and do not converse together on the law of the
+Lord, it is as if they ate from the sacrifices for the dead; but they,
+on the contrary, are as if they partook from a table of the Lord's own
+furnishing who, while they sit down to meat, season their talk with its
+holy precepts.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 3.
+
+There are three crowns:--The crown of the law, the crown of the
+priesthood, and the crown of royalty; but the crown of a good name
+surpasses them all.
+
+Ibid., chap. 4.
+
+He who possesses these three virtues is a disciple of Abraham our
+father, and he who possesses the three contrary vices is a son of Balaam
+the wicked. The disciples of our father Abraham have a kindly eye, a
+loyal spirit, and a lowly mind. The disciples of Balaam the wicked have
+an evil eye, a proud spirit, and a grasping soul.
+
+Ibid., chap. 5.
+
+Three things are said respecting the children of men:--He who gives alms
+brings a blessing on himself; he who lends does better; he who gives
+away half of what he hath to spare does best of all.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 41.
+
+There are three classes of disciples, and among them three grades of
+worth:--He ranks first who asks and answers when asked; he who asks but
+does not answer ranks next; but he who neither asks nor answers ranks
+lowest of all.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Over these three does God weep every day:--Over him who is able to study
+the law but neglects it; over him who studies it amid difficulties hard
+to overcome; and over the ruler who behaves arrogantly toward the
+community he should protect.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 5, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan says there are three keys in the hands of the Holy
+One!--blessed be He!--which He never intrusts to the disposal of a
+messenger, and they are these:--(1.) The key of rain, (2.) the key of
+life, and (3.) the key of reviving the dead. The key of rain, for it is
+written (Deut. xxviii. 12), "The Lord shall open unto thee His good
+treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in season;" the key
+of life, as it is written (Gen. xxx. 22), "God hearkened unto her, and
+opened her womb;" the key of reviving the dead, for it is written (Ezek.
+xxxvii. 13), "When I have opened your graves, and brought you up out of
+your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live," etc.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 2, cols, 1, 2.
+
+A disciple of the wise who makes light of the washing of hands is
+contemptible; but more contemptible is he who begins to eat before his
+guest; more contemptible is that guest who invites another guest; and
+still more contemptible is he who begins to eat before a disciple of the
+wise; but contemptible before all these three put together is that guest
+which troubles another guest.
+
+_Derech Eretz Zuta_, chap. viii.
+
+A roll of the law which has two mistakes to a column should be
+corrected; but if there be three, it should be stowed away altogether.
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 29, col. 2.
+
+The wolf, the lion, the bear, the leopard, the panther, the elephant,
+and the sea-cat, each bear three years.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Rav Yehudah says, in the name of Rav, "The butcher is bound to have
+three knives; one to slaughter with, one for cutting up the carcass, and
+one to cut away the suet. Suet being as unlawful for food as pork."
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 8, col. 2.
+
+Three classes of ministering angels raise a song of praise every day.
+One class says, Holy! the second responds, Holy! and the third
+continues, Holy is the Lord of hosts! But in the presence of the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--Israel is more beloved than the ministering angels;
+for Israel reiterates the song every hour, while the ministering angels
+repeat it only once a day, some say once a week, others once a month,
+others once a year, others once in seven years, others once in a
+jubilee, and others only once in eternity. Again, Israel mentions The
+Name after two words, as it is said (Deut. vi. 4), "Hear Israel,
+Yehovah," but the ministering angels do not mention The Name till after
+three, as it is written (Isa. vi. 3), "Holy! holy! holy! Yehovah
+Zebaoth." Moreover, the ministering angels do not take up the song above
+till Israel has started it below; for it is said (Job xxxviii. 7), "When
+the morning stars sang together, then all the sons of God shouted for
+joy."
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 91, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught, a man should not sell to his neighbor shoes made
+from the hide of a beast that has died of disease, as if of a beast that
+had been slaughtered in the shambles, for two reasons: first, because he
+imposes on him (for the skin of a beast that dies of itself is not so
+durable as the hide of a slaughtered animal); second, because there is
+danger (for the beast that died of itself might have been stung by a
+serpent, and the poison remaining in the leather might prove fatal to
+the wearer of shoes made of that leather). A man should not send his
+neighbor a barrel of wine with oil floating upon its surface; for it
+happened once that a man did so, and the recipient went and invited his
+friends to a feast, in the preparation of which oil was to form a chief
+ingredient; but when the guests assembled, it was found out that the
+cask contained wine, and not oil; and because the host had nothing else
+in preparation for a worthy feast, he went and committed suicide.
+Neither should guests give anything from what is set before them to the
+son or daughter of their host, unless the host himself give them leave
+to do so; for it once happened during a time of scarcity that a man
+invited three of his friends to dine, and he had nothing but three eggs
+to place before them. Meanwhile, as the guests were seated at the board,
+the son of the host came into the room, and first one of the guests gave
+him his share, and then the other two followed his example. Shortly
+afterward the host himself came in, and seeing the child with his mouth
+full and both hands, he knocked him down to the ground, so that he died
+on the instant. The mother, seeing this, went and threw herself
+headlong, from the housetop, and the father followed her example. Thus
+Rabbi Eliezar ben Yacob said, "There perished in this affair three souls
+of Israel."
+
+Ibid., fol. 94, col. 1.
+
+Once the Roman Government issued a decree that the Israelites should
+neither observe the Sabbath nor circumcise their sons. Thereupon Reuben
+the son of Istrubli trimmed his hair as a Gentile, and went among the
+Roman senators and plied them with wise remonstrance. "If one," said he,
+"has an enemy, does he wish him to be poor or rich?" "To be poor," was
+the reply. "Then," he argued, "won't he be poorer if you prohibit him
+from working on the Sabbath?" "It is well said," observed the senators;
+and they at once abolished their decree respecting the Sabbath. Again he
+asked, "If one has an enemy, does he wish him to be weak or strong?"
+"Why, weak, to be sure," was the inevitable answer. "Then," said he,
+"let the Jews circumcise their children, then will they be weakened."
+"The argument is good," said they, and the decree against circumcision
+was rescinded. Again he asked, "If one has an enemy, does he wish him to
+increase or decrease?" "To decrease, of course," said they. In response
+to his argument the decree against catamenia was accordingly abolished.
+When, however, they found out that he was a Jew, they at once re-enacted
+the decrees they had canceled. Upon this the question arose who should
+go to Rome and appeal against these enactments. It was resolved that
+Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, who was reputed experienced in miracles, should
+go, accompanied by Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Yossi.... As they
+journeyed along, the question was proposed to them, "Whence is it proved
+that the blood of a reptile is unclean?" Rabbi Elazar replied with a
+curl of the lip, and quoted Lev. ii. 29. "And these shall be unclean
+unto you." Rabbi Shimon said unto him, "By the curl of thy lip art thou
+recognizable as a disciple of the wise! May the son never return to his
+father!" for he was annoyed that he should presume to teach a Halachah
+in his presence, and then and there he condemned him to death. (See
+_Berachoth_, fol. 31, col. 2.) Thereupon Ben Temalion (an evil sprite or
+imp) came, and greeting him, said, "Do ye wish me to accompany you?"
+Rabbi Shimon wept and said, "Alas! a maid-servant of my ancestor
+(Abraham) was assisted by three angels, and I have not one to attend me!
+However, let a miracle be worked for us anyhow." Then the evil spirit
+entered into the Emperor's daughter, and when the Rabbi was called in to
+cure the princess, he exorcised the spirit by saying, "Depart, Ben
+Temalion! Ben Temalion, depart!" and the evil spirit left her. By way of
+reward the Rabbis were bidden to ask whatsoever they pleased, and
+admitted into the imperial treasury that they might choose what seemed
+good to them. Espying there the edict against Israel, they chose it, and
+tore it to pieces.
+
+_Meyilah_, fol. 17, col. 1, 2.
+
+At the time when the high priest enters to worship, three acolytes take
+hold of him, one by the right hand and another by the left, while the
+third lifts the gems attached to the train of his pontifical vestment.
+
+_Tamid_, chap. 7; _Mishna_, 1.
+
+"I once, when a grave-digger," says Abba Shaul, as the Rabbis relate,
+"chased a roe which had entered the shinbone of a dead man; and though I
+ran three miles after it, I could not overtake it, nor reach the end of
+the bone. When I returned, I was told that it was a bone of Og, king of
+Bashan."
+
+_Niddah_, fol. 24, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that during the first three months (of pregnancy)
+the child lies in the lower part (of the uterus); during the next three
+it occupies the middle part; and during the last three it is in the
+upper part; and that when the time of parturition comes, it turns over
+first, and this causes the birth-pains. We are also taught that the
+pains caused by a female child are greater than those caused by a male.
+Rabbi Elazar said, "What Scripture is there for this? 'When I was made
+in secret and curiously wrought, in the lowest parts of the earth' (Ps.
+cxxxix. 15). It is not said, 'I abode,' but, 'I was curiously wrought.'
+Why the difference? Why are the pains caused by a girl greater than
+those caused by a boy?"
+
+Ibid., fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+The Rabbis teach there are three that have a share in a man; God, and
+his father and mother. The father's part consists of all that is white
+in him--the bones, the veins, the nails, the brain, and the white of the
+eye. The mother's part consists of all that is red in him--the skin, the
+flesh, the hair, and the black part of the eye. God's part consists of
+the breath, the soul, the physiognomy, sight and hearing, speech, motive
+power, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. And when the time comes
+that the man should depart from the world, God takes away His part, and
+leaves those which belong to the father and mother. Rav Pappa says,
+"This is the meaning of the proverb, 'Shake off the salt and throw the
+flesh to the dogs.'"
+
+_Niddah_, fol. 31. col. 1.
+
+    Rashi's explanatory note is this: "Shake off the salt from the
+    flesh and it becomes fit only for dogs. The soul is the salt
+    which preserves the body; when it departs, the body putrefies."
+
+Four things require fortitude in the observance:--The law, good works,
+prayer, and social duties. Respecting the law and good works it is
+written (Josh. i. 7), "Be thou strong and firm, that thou mayest observe
+to do all the law;" in which the word "strong" refers to the law, and
+the word "firm" to good works. Of prayer it is written, "Wait on the
+Lord; be strong, and He shall make thine heart firm; wait, I say, upon
+the Lord" (Ps. xxvii. 14). In respect to social duties it is written (2
+Sam. x. 2), "Be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves for our people,
+and for the cities of our God."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 32, col. 2.
+
+There are four signs which tell tales:--Dropsy is a sign of sin;
+jaundice is a sign of hatred without a cause; poverty is a sign of
+pride; and quinsy is a sign of slander.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 33, col. 1.
+
+"Unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah," i.e., four (Gen. xxxv. 27). Rabbi
+Isaac calls it the city of four couples, i.e., Adam and Eve, Abraham and
+Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. These four couples being
+buried in Mamre, it was therefore called "the city of four."
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 53, col. 1.
+
+The sun makes four quarterly circuits. In April, May, and June, i.e.,
+Nisan, Iyar, and Sivan, his circuit is between the mountains, in order
+to dissolve the snow; in July, August, and September, i.e., Tamuz, Ab,
+and Ellul, his circuit is over the habitable parts of the earth, in
+order to ripen the fruits; in October, November, and December, i.e.,
+Tishri, Marcheshvan, and Kislev, his circuit is over the seas, to
+evaporate the waters; in January, February, and March, i.e., Tebeth,
+Shebat, and Adar, his circuit is over the deserts, in order to protect
+the seed sown from being scorched.
+
+_Psachim_, fol. 94, col. 2.
+
+Four persons are intolerable:--A poor man who is proud, a rich man who
+is a liar, an old man who is incontinent, and a warden who behaves
+haughtily to a community for whom he has done nothing. To these some add
+him who has divorced his wife once or twice and married her again.
+
+Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+Four things cancel the decrees of Heaven:--Alms, prayer, change of name,
+and reformation of conduct. Alms, as it is written (Prov. x. 2), "But
+alms (more correctly, righteousness) delivereth from death." Prayer as
+it is written (Ps. cvii. 6). "Then they cried unto the Lord in their
+trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses." Change of name,
+as it is said (Gen. xvii. 15, 16), "As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt
+not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name." And after this
+change of name it is written, "And I will bless her, and give thee a son
+of her." Reformation of conduct, as it is written (Jonah iii. 10), "And
+God saw their works," and "God repented of the evil," etc. Some say also
+change of residence has the effect of turning back the decree of Heaven
+(Gen. xii. 1), "And the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
+country;" and then it is said, "I will make of thee a great nation."
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+Four things cause an eclipse of the sun:--When a chief magistrate dies
+and is not mourned over with the due lamentation; when a betrothed
+damsel calls for help and no one comes to the rescue; when the people
+commit the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah; and when brother murders brother.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 29, col. 1.
+
+Four things cause an eclipse among the luminaries of heaven: The writing
+of false documents; the bearing false witness; the breeding of small
+cattle, such as sheep and goats, in the land of Israel; and the cutting
+down of fruit-trees.
+
+Ibid., fol. 29, col. 1.
+
+There are four things God repents of having created:--The Captivity, the
+Chaldeans, the Ishmaelites, and the evil passion in man. The Captivity,
+as it is written (Isa. lii. 5), "What have I here, saith the Lord, that
+my people are taken away for nought?" etc. The Chaldeans, as it is
+written (Isa. xxiii. 13), "Behold the land of the Chaldeans: this people
+was not." The Ishmaelites, as it is written (Job xii. 6), "The tents of
+robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand
+God bringeth abundance." The evil passion, as it is written (Micah iv.
+6), "And whom I have caused to be evil."
+
+_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 2.
+
+There have been four beautiful women in the world:--Sarah, Abigail,
+Rahab, and Esther.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 15, col. 1.
+
+    Tosephoth asks, "Why was not Eve numbered among these beauties,
+    since even Sarah, in comparison with Eve, was an ape compared to
+    a man?" The reply is, "Only those born of woman are here
+    enumerated."
+
+    In fol. 13, col. i, of the same treatise from which the above is
+    quoted, we are informed by Ben Azai that Esther was like the
+    myrtle-tree, neither tall nor short statured, but middle-sized.
+    Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha states that Esther's complexion was of
+    a yellow or gold color.
+
+One cup of wine is good for a woman, two are disgraceful, three
+demoralizing, and four brutalizing.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 65, col. 1.
+
+He who traverses so much as four ells in the land of Israel is sure of
+everlasting life.
+
+Ibid., fol. III, col. 1.
+
+To walk even four ells without bowing the head is an offense to Heaven;
+for it is written (Isa. vi. 3), "The whole earth is full of His glory."
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+There are four who are accounted as dead:--The pauper, the leper, the
+blind man, and he who has no male children.
+
+_Nedarin_, fol. 64, col. 2.
+
+Four things mark the characters of men:--He who says what is mine is
+mine, and what is thine is thine, is, according to some, a moderate man,
+but, according to others, a child of Sodom; he who says what is mine is
+thine, and what is thine is mine, is an ignorant man; he who says what
+is mine is thine and what is thy own is also thine, is a pious man; he
+who says mine and thine are both my own, is a wicked man.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 5, sec. 16.
+
+There are four kinds of men, according to their degrees of
+passionateness:--He who is easily provoked and as readily pacified, and
+who loses more than he gains; he whom it is difficult to rouse and as
+difficult to appease, and who gains more than he loses; he who is not
+readily provoked, but easily pacified, who is a pious man; he who is
+easily provoked and with difficulty appeased, who is a wicked man.
+
+Ibid., chap. 5, sec. 19.
+
+There are four classes of men who give alms, and they are thus
+distinguished:--He who is willing to give, but unwilling that others
+should do so, he has an evil eye toward others; he who wishes others to
+give, but does not do so himself, he has an evil eye toward himself; he
+who gives, and induces others to give, he is pious; he who gives not,
+nor wishes others to give he is wicked.
+
+_Avoth_, chap 5, sec. 19.
+
+There are four marks by which one disciple differs from another:--One
+learns and does not teach, one teaches and does not learn, one learns
+and teaches, and one neither learns nor teaches.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 29.
+
+Four things, if kept in view and gravely pondered over, deter from
+sin:--That a man consider whence he cometh, whither he goeth, who the
+judge will be, and what the future will bring to pass.
+
+_Derech Eretz_, chap. 3.
+
+What is the meaning of that which is written (Ps. lxxxvii 2), "The Lord
+loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob?" The
+answer is, The Lord loveth the gates that are marked with the Halachah
+more than the synagogues and the schools; and this agrees with what
+Rabbi Cheeya bar Ami has said, in the name of Ulla, that since the
+destruction of the Temple nothing else has remained to God in His world
+but four ells of the Halachah.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+Whoso walks even four ells with a proud unbending gait is as though he
+spurned with his haughty head the feet of the Shechinah; for it is
+written (Isa. vi. 3), "The whole earth is full of His glory."
+
+Ibid., fol. 43, col. 2.
+
+Four are in duty bound to return thanks to God:--They that have returned
+from a voyage at sea (Ps. cvii. 23, 24, 31); those who have traveled in
+the desert (verses 4-8); they who have recovered from a serious illness
+(verses 17-21); and those that are liberated from prison (verses 10-15).
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 54, col. 2.
+
+If one does not walk, say four cubits, before falling asleep after a
+meal, that which he has eaten, being undigestible, causes foulness of
+breath.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 41, col. 1.
+
+Four have died in consequence of the seduction of the
+serpent:--Benjamin, the son of Jacob; Amram, the father of Moses; Jesse,
+the father of David; and Chileab, the son of David.
+
+Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.
+
+    These four are reckoned to have died on account of original sin,
+    and not solely because of actual transgression, which, says
+    Rashi, they never committed.
+
+The traveler who is overtaken with the approach of Sabbath-eve before he
+has completed his journey should hand over his purse to a Gentile to
+carry; and if there be no Gentile at hand, let him stow it away on his
+ass. As soon as the nearest halting-place is reached, those burdens
+which may be lifted on the Sabbath should then be removed, and then the
+cords should be slackened that the rest may slip off of its own accord.
+
+Ibid., fol. 153, col. 1.
+
+    Here the Gemara very graciously appends a direction as to the
+    disposal of the purse, in case the traveler should happen to be
+    on foot and have no Gentile attendant. He may take care of it
+    himself, provided he halt at every other step and deposit it on
+    the ground, for at least a distance of four cubits.
+
+A master is bound to rehearse a lesson to his pupil four times.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 54, col. 2.
+
+Alas for the power which prepares a grave for its possessor, for there
+is not a prophet who hath not in his lifetime witnessed the decadence of
+four kings; as it is said (Isa. i. 1), "The vision of Isaiah ... in the
+days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (see also
+Hosea i. 1).
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 87, col. 2.
+
+Once Rav Pappa and Rav Hunnah partook together of a common meal, and as
+the latter ate only one morsel the former ate four. After this, when Rav
+Hunnah and Ravina ate together, the latter devoured eight portions to
+the other's one, upon which Rav Hunnah jocularly remarked, "A hundred
+(Rav) Pappas to one Ravina."
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 89, col. 2.
+
+No food may be eaten on Passover-eve from the time of the offering of
+the evening sacrifice (in order, i.e. that abstinence may whet the
+appetite for the Matsoth). Even the poorest in Israel may not break his
+fast till the hour of reclining; nor is he to partake of less than four
+glasses of wine, even though he has been reduced so low as to subsist on
+the porridge doled out by public charity.
+
+Ibid., fol. 99, col. 2.
+
+There are four things the doing of which by man brings judgment upon his
+own head:--If he turn in between a wall and a date-palm; if he turn in
+between two date-palms; if he drink borrowed water; and if he step
+across spilt water, such even as his own wife may have thrown away. (All
+these doings, says Rashi, are bound to annoy the evil genii.)
+
+Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.
+
+Four precepts did our holy Rabbi (Yehudah Hakadosh) urge upon his
+children:--Not to choose Shechentzia as a dwelling-place, for scoffers
+resided there; not to use the bed of a Syrian odalisque; not to shirk
+the payment of fiscal dues, lest the collector should confiscate all
+their property; not to face an ox when he came up (ruffled) from the
+cane-brake, for Satan sported betwixt his horns.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 112, col. 2.
+
+Whosoever prieth into the four things in the matter of the chariot in
+Ezekiel's vision--what is above, what is beneath, what is before, or
+what is behind--it were better for him if he had never been born.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 11, col. 2.
+
+    The work or matter of the chariot, the Rabbinic term for the
+    Vision of Ezekiel, ranks among the Arcana Judaica, which are not
+    to be told save to the initiated.
+
+Four men entered Paradise--these are their names:--Ben Azai, Ben Zoma,
+Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva thus warned his companions: "When
+you come across pavements of pellucid marble, do not cry out 'Water!
+water!' for it is said (Ps. ci. 7), 'He that uttereth falsehood shall
+not dwell in my sight.'" Ben Azai looked and died; concerning him the
+Scripture says (Ps. cxvi. 15), "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
+death of his saints." Ben Zoma looked and went out of his mind; of him
+the Scripture says (Prov. xxv. 16), "Hast thou found honey? eat only so
+much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomit
+it." Acher cut the plants. Only Akiva departed in peace.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+    Rashi explains this by saying these men went up to heaven; but
+    Maimonides much more rationally teaches that the Paradise or
+    garden here is merely the retreat of profound philosophic
+    meditation. These five intuitions were;--(1.) To know that there
+    is a God; (2.) to ignore every other beside Him; (3.) to feel
+    His unity; (4.) to love His person; and (5.) to stand in awe of
+    His Majesty (see Vad Hachaz, chap. 4, sec. 19). Deep thought in
+    these matters was spoken of by the Rabbis as _promenading in the
+    garden_.
+
+Four times a year is the world subject to an ordeal of judgment:--At
+Passover, which is decisive of the fruits of the field; at Pentecost,
+which is decisive of the fruits of the garden; at the feast of
+Tabernacles, which is decisive in respect of rain; on New Year's Day,
+when all who come into the world pass before the Lord like sheep, as it
+is said (Ps. xxxiii. 15), "Who formed their hearts together; who
+understandeth all their works."
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+There are four varieties of cedar:--Erez, Karthom, Etz-Shemen, and
+Berosh.
+
+Ibid., fol. 23, col. 1.
+
+Ben Kamzar would not teach the art of writing, and yet it is related of
+him that he could, by taking four pens between his fingers, write off a
+word of four letters at one stroke.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 38, col. 2.
+
+There are four kinds of quails:--Sichli, Kibli, Pisyoni, and the common
+quail. The first was of superior quality, and the last inferior.
+
+Ibid., fol. 75, col. 2.
+
+A man may obtain forgiveness after the third transgression, but if he
+repeat the offense a fourth time, he is not pardoned again; for it is
+said (Amos ii. 4), "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I
+will not turn away the punishment thereof;" and again (Job xxxiii. 29),
+"Lo! all these things doth God two or three times" (and so inferentially
+not four times) "with man to bring back his soul from the pit."
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 86, col. 2.
+
+For four reasons does their property pass out of the hands of the
+avaricious:--Because they are backward in paying the wages of their
+hired servants; because they altogether neglect their welfare; because
+they shift the yoke from themselves and lay the burden upon their
+neighbors; and because of pride, which is of itself as bad as all the
+rest put together; whereas of the meek it is written (Ps. xxxvii. n),
+"The meek shall inherit the earth."
+
+_Succah_, fol. 29, col. 2.
+
+"And the Lord showed me four carpenters" (Zech. i, 20). Who are these
+four carpenters? Rav Ghana bar Bizna says that Rabbi Shimon Chassida
+said they were Messiah the son of David, Messiah the son of Joseph,
+Elijah, and the Priest of Righteousness.
+
+Ibid., fol. 52, col. 2.
+
+No Synagogue is to be sold except on condition that there be power of
+re-purchase. These are the words of Rabbi Meir; but the sages say it may
+be sold unconditionally, except in these four particular cases: that it
+be not turned into a bath-house, a tannery, a wash-house, or a laundry.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 27, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai was once asked by his disciples how he had
+attained such length of days. "Never once," he said, "in my life have I
+acted irreverently within four cubits of a place where prayer is
+offered; never have I called a person by a wicked name; nor have I ever
+failed to sanctify the Sabbath over a cup of wine. Once my aged mother
+sold her head-dress to buy the consecration wine for me."
+
+Ibid., fol. 27, col. 2.
+
+When a sage is approaching, one should rise up before he gets within
+four ells' distance, and remain standing until he has gone as far past.
+When a chief magistrate is about to pass, one must rise as soon as he
+comes in sight, and not resume the seat until he has passed four ells.
+When a prince passes, one must stand up whenever he appears, and not sit
+down again until the prince himself is seated; for it is said (Exod.
+xxxiii, 8), "All the people rose up, ... and looked after Moses until he
+was gone into the tabernacle."
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 33, col. 2.
+
+When Nero came to the Holy Land, he tried his fortune by belemnomancy
+thus:--He shot an arrow eastward, and it fell upon Jerusalem; he
+discharged his shafts towards the four points of the compass, and every
+time they fell upon Jerusalem. After this he met a Jewish boy, and said
+unto him, "Repeat to me the text thou hast learned to-day." The boy
+repeated, "I will lay my vengeance upon Edom (i.e., Rome) by the hand of
+my people Israel" (Ezek. xxv. 14). Then said Nero, "The Holy
+One--blessed be He!--has determined to destroy His Temple and then
+avenge Himself on the agent by whom its ruin is wrought." Thereupon Nero
+fled and became a Jewish proselyte, and Rabbi Meir is of his race.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 56, col. 1.
+
+They whose banquet is accompanied with four kinds of instruments of
+music bring five calamities on the world; as it is said (Isa. v. 11-15),
+"Woe unto those that get up early in the morning, that they may run
+after strong drink; and continue until late at night, till flushed with
+wine. And the harp and psaltery, tambourine and flute, and wine are at
+their carousals."
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 48, col. 1.
+
+Let him carry the purse, and halt every time he accomplishes less than
+four cubits forward.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 153, cols, 1, 2.
+
+    Rav Yitzchak here explains how the good Jew, belated on
+    Sabbath-eve, may carry his purse himself, and so save his
+    conscience. The traveler is to halt at about every other step,
+    and so measure off the journey in four-cubit stages.
+
+Though ever since the destruction of the Temple the Sanhedrin has ceased
+to exist, the four kinds of capital punishment have not failed to assert
+themselves. If a man incurs the penalty of death by stoning, he is in
+the course of Providence either punished by a fatal fall from a roof or
+slain by some beast of prey; if he has exposed himself to the penalty of
+death by burning, it happens that he is either burned to death in the
+end or mortally stung by a serpent; if the penalty of the law is that he
+should be beheaded for his offense, he meets his death either from the
+Government officer or by the hand of an assassin; if the penalty be
+strangulation, he is sure to be drowned or suffocated.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 37, col. 2.
+
+When a person is in a state of apprehension and cannot make out the
+cause of it (the star that presided at his birth and his genii know all
+about it), what should he do? Let him jump from where he is standing
+four cubits, or else let him repeat, "Hear, O Israel," etc. (Deut. vi.
+4); or if the place be unfit for the repetition of Scripture, let him
+mutter to himself, "The goat at the butcher's is fatter than me."
+
+Ibid., fol. 94, col. 1.
+
+It is written in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 7, "A carved image;" and again it is
+written in verse 19, "Graven images." Rabbi Yochanan said, "At first he
+made the image with one face, but afterwards he made it with four--four,
+so that the Shechinah might see it from every point, and thus be
+exasperated."
+
+Ibid., fol. 103, col. 2.
+
+Moses uttered four judgments upon Israel, but four prophets revoked
+them:--(1.) First Moses said (Deut. xxxiii. 28), "Israel then shall
+dwell in safety alone;" then came Amos and set it aside (Amos vii. 5),
+"Cease, I beseech thee," etc.; and then it is written (verse 6), "This
+shall not be, saith the Lord." (2.) First Moses said (Deut. xxviii. 65),
+"Among these nations thou shalt find no ease;" then came Jeremiah and
+set this saying aside (Jer. xxxi. 2), "Even Israel, when I went to cause
+him to rest." (3.) First Moses said (Exod. xxxiv. 7), "Visiting the
+iniquities of the fathers upon the children;" then came Ezekiel and set
+this aside (Ezek. xviii. 4), "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (4.)
+First Moses said (Lev. xxvi. 38), "And ye shall perish among the
+heathen;" then came Isaiah and reversed this (Isa. xxvii. 13), "And it
+shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown,
+and they shall come which were ready to perish."
+
+_Maccoth_, fol. 24, col. 1.
+
+When Akavyah ben Mahalalel appeared to four halachahs contradicting the
+judgment of the wise on a certain important point of law, "Retract,"
+they said, "and we will promote thee to be president of the tribunal."
+To which he replied, "I would rather be called a fool all the days of my
+life than be judged wicked for one hour before Him who is omnipresent."
+
+_Edioth_, chap. 5, mish. 6.
+
+Let thy house be open wide toward the south, the east, the west, and the
+north, just as Job, who made four entrances to his house, in order that
+the poor might find entrance without trouble from whatever quarter they
+might come.
+
+_Avoth d'Rav. Nathan_, chap. 7,
+
+Rabbah once saw a sea-monster on the day it was brought forth, and it
+was as large as Mount Tabor. And how large is Mount Tabor? Its neck was
+three miles long, and where it laid its head a mile and a half. Its dung
+choked up the Jordan, till, as Rashi says, its waters washed it away.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 73, col. 2.
+
+Shemuel said, "We know remedies for all maladies except three:--That
+induced by unripe dates on an empty stomach; that induced by wearing a
+damp linen rope round one's loins; and that induced by falling asleep
+after meals without having first walked a distance of at least four
+cubits."
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+The five times repeated "Bless the Lord, O my soul" (Ps. ciii. civ.),
+were said by David with reference both to God and the soul. As God fills
+the whole world, so does the soul fill the whole body; as God sees and
+is not seen, so the soul sees and is not seen; as God nourishes the
+whole world, so does the soul nourish the whole body; as God is pure, so
+also is the soul pure; as God dwelleth in secret, so does the soul dwell
+in secret. Therefore let him who possesses these five properties praise
+Him to whom these five attributes belong.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+Five things have in them a sixtieth part of five other things:--Fire,
+honey, the Sabbath, sleep, and dreams. Fire is a sixtieth of hell, honey
+a sixtieth of manna, the Sabbath a sixtieth of the rest in the world to
+come, sleep the sixtieth of death, and a dream the sixtieth of prophecy.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+There are five weak things that are a source of terror to the
+strong:--The mosquito is a terror to the lion, the gnat is a terror to
+the elephant, the ichneumon-fly is a terror to the scorpion, the
+flycatcher is a terror to the eagle, and the stickleback is a terror to
+the leviathan.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 77, col. 2.
+
+These five should be killed even on the Sabbath:--The fly of Egypt, the
+wasp of Nineveh, the scorpion of Hadabia, the serpent of the land of
+Israel, and the mad dog anywhere and everywhere.
+
+Ibid., fol. 121, col. 2.
+
+Five things did Canaan teach his children:--To love one another, to
+perpetrate robbery, to practice wantonness, to hate their masters, and
+not to speak the truth.
+
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+Five things were in the first Temple which were not in the second:--The
+ark and its cover, with the cherubim; the fire; the Shechinah; the Holy
+Spirit; and the Urim and Thummim.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+Five things are said respecting the mad dog:--Its mouth gapes wide, it
+drops its saliva, its ears hang down, its tail is curled between its
+legs, and it slinks along the side of the road. Rav says that a dog's
+madness is caused by witches sporting with it. Samuel says it is because
+an evil spirit rests upon it.
+
+Ibid., fol. 83, col. 2.
+
+When a man has betrothed one of five women, and does not remember which
+of the five it is, while each of them claims the right of betrothment,
+then he is duty bound to give to each a bill of divorcement, and to
+distribute the dowry due to one among them all. This decision is
+according to Rabbi Tarphon, but Rabbi Akiva holds that he must not only
+divorce each, but give to each the legal dowry, otherwise he fails in
+his duty.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 118, col. 2.
+
+When a person having robbed one of five does not remember which of the
+five it was he had robbed, and each claims to have been the victim of
+the robbery, then he is to part the stolen property (or the value of it)
+among them all, and go his way. So says Rabbi Tarphon, but Rabbi Akiva
+argues that the defaulter does not in this way fully exonerate himself;
+he must restore to each and all the full value of the plunder.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 118, col. 2.
+
+These things are said concerning garlic:--It nourishes, it glows
+inwardly, it brightens the complexion, and increases virility. Some say
+that it is a philtre for love, and that it exterminates jealousy.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 82, col. 1.
+
+Five things cause forgetfulness:--Partaking of what has been gnawed by a
+mouse or a cat, eating bullock's heart, habitual use of olives, drinking
+water that has been washed in, and placing the feet one upon the other
+while bathing.
+
+_Horayoth_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+Five things restore the memory again:--Bread baked upon coals,
+soft-boiled eggs without salt, habitual use of olive oil, mulled wine,
+and plenty of salt.
+
+Ibid.
+
+He who does not cheer the bridegroom whose wedding breakfast he has
+enjoyed transgresses against the five voices (mentioned in Jer. xxxiii.
+II):--"The voice of joy, the voice of gladness, the voice of the
+bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say
+'Praise ye the Lord of Hosts.'"
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 2.
+
+Mount Sinai had five names:--(1.) Wilderness of Zin, because on it the
+Israelites were commanded to observe the law; (2.) Wilderness of Kadesh,
+because on it the Israelites were consecrated to receive the law; (3.)
+Wilderness of Kedemoth, because precedence was there given to Israel
+over all other nations; (4.) Wilderness of Paran, because there the
+Israelites were fruitful and multiplied; (5.) Wilderness of Sinai,
+because from it enmity came to be cherished to the Gentiles. It was
+denominated Horeb according to Rabbi Abhu, because from it came down
+destruction to the Gentiles.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 89, cols, 1, 2.
+
+Mar (the master) has said, "From dawn to the appearance of the sun is
+five miles." How is this proved? It is written (Gen. xix. 15), "When the
+dawn arose the angels hurried Lot;" and it is added (verse 25), "The sun
+was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar." And Rabbi Chanena
+said, "I myself have seen that place, and the distance is five miles."
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 93, col. 2.
+
+He that cooks in milk the ischiadic sinew on an annual festival is to be
+scourged five times forty stripes save one:--For cooking the sinew, for
+eating the sinew, for cooking flesh in milk, for eating flesh cooked in
+milk, and for lighting the fire.
+
+_Baitza_, fol. 12, col. 1.
+
+    To this very day this sinew is extracted from the hind quarters
+    of all animals before it is allowable for a Jew to eat them.
+    This operation, in popular parlance, is termed porging.
+
+The mysteries of the law are not to be communicated except to those who
+possess the faculties of these five in combination:--"The captain of
+fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning
+artificer, and the eloquent orator" (see Isa. iii. 3).
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 13, col. 1.
+
+"Captain of fifty." This should be read, not captain of fifty, but
+captain of five, that is, such as knew how to manage the five-fifths of
+the law (or Pentateuch).
+
+Ibid., fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+Five characteristics were ascribed to the fire upon the altar:--It
+crouched there like a lion, it shone as the sun, it was perceptible to
+the touch, it consumed liquids as though they were dry materials, it
+caused no smoke.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+How is it that the word signifying "And I will be glorified," occurs in
+Hag. i. 8 without the letter which is the symbol for five, though it is
+sounded as if that letter was there? It indicates the absence of five
+things from the second Temple which were to be found in the first, (1.)
+The ark, i.e., the mercy-seat of the cherubim; (2.) the fire from heaven
+upon the altar; (3.) the visible presence; (4.) the Holy Spirit (of
+prophecy, says Rashi); and (5.) the Urim and Thummim.
+
+Ibid.
+
+    How then, it may be asked, if these five tokens of the Divine
+    presence and favor which rendered the first Temple so glorious
+    were wanting in the second could it be said (Hag. ii. 9), "The
+    glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former"?
+    It is a question which it is natural to ask, and it should be
+    ingenuously answered. Is it that these were tending to usurp the
+    place of the spiritual, of which they were but the assurance and
+    the symbol, and darken rather than reveal the eternal reality
+    they adumbrated?
+
+The Israelites relished any flavor they fancied in the manna except the
+flavor of these five things (mentioned in Num. xi. 59):--"Cucumbers,
+melons, leeks, onions, and garlic."
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 75, col. 1.
+
+Five things happened to our forefathers on the 17th of Tammuz, and five
+on the 9th of Ab. On the 17th of Tammuz (1.) the tables of the covenant
+were broken; (2.) the daily sacrifice was done away with; (3.) the city
+walls were cleft asunder; (4.) Apostumes burned the roll of the law;
+(5.) and set up an idol in the temple. On the 9th of Ab (1.) the decree
+was uttered that our ancestors should not enter the land of Canaan; both
+the (2.) first and the (3.) second Temple were destroyed; (4.) Byther
+was subjugated and (5.) the city was plowed up.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 26, cols, 1, 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught where it is we learn that if one has five sons by
+five wives he is bound to redeem each and all of them. It is from what
+is taught in Exod. xxxiv. 20, where it is said, "All the first born of
+thy sons shalt thou redeem."
+
+_Kiddushin_. fol. 29. col. 2.
+
+If Israel had not sinned they would have had no other Scriptures than
+the five-fifths of the law (that is, the Pentateuch) and the book of
+Joshua, which last is indispensable, because therein is recorded how the
+land was distributed among the sons of Israel; but the remainder was
+added, "Because in much wisdom is much grief" (Eccles. i. 18).
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 22, col. 2.
+
+"If a man steal an ox or a sheep and kill it or sell it, five oxen shall
+be given in restitution for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep" (Exod.
+xxii. 1). From this observe the value put upon work. For the loss of an
+ox, because it involves the loss of labor, the owner is recompensed with
+five oxen; but for the loss of a sheep, which does no work, he is only
+recompensed with four.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 79, col. 2.
+
+"And Esau came from the field, and he was faint" (Gen. xxv. 29). Rabbi
+Yochanan said that wicked man committed on that day five
+transgressions:--He committed rape, committed murder, denied the being
+of God, denied the resurrection from the dead, and despised the
+birthright.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+There are five celebrated idolatrous temples, and these are the names of
+them:--The Temple of Bel in Babylon, the Temple of Nebo in Chursi, the
+Temple of Thretha in Maphog, the Temple of Zeripha in Askelon, and the
+Temple of Nashra in Arabia. When Rabbi Dimmi came from Palestine to
+Babylon he said there were others, viz, the Temple of Yarid in Ainbechi,
+and that of Nadbacha in Accho.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 11, col. 2.
+
+"And they also transgressed my covenant, which I have commanded them;
+and they also have taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen,
+and dissembled also, and have also put it among their own stuff" (Josh.
+vii. 11). Rav Illaa says, in the name of Rav Yehudah ben Mispartha, the
+fivefold repetition of the particle also shows that Achan had trespassed
+against all the five books of Moses. The same Rabbi further adds that
+Achan had obliterated the sign of the covenant, for it is said in
+relation to him, "And they have also transgressed my covenant;" and with
+reference to circumcision, "He hath broken my covenant."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 44, col. 1.
+
+He who eats an ant is flogged five times with forty stripes save one.
+
+_Maccoth_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Akiva used to say there are five judgments on record each of
+twelve months' duration:--That of the deluge, that of Job, that of the
+Egyptians, that of Gog and Magog, and that of the wicked in hell. This
+last is said of those whose demerits outweigh their virtues, or those
+who have sinned against their bodies.
+
+_Edioth_, chap. 2, mish. 10.
+
+Five possessions hath the Holy One--blessed be He!--purchased for
+Himself in this world:--(1.) The law is one possession (Prov. viii. 22);
+(2.) Heaven and earth is one possession (Isa. lxvi. 1, Ps. civ. 24);
+(3.) Abraham is one possession (Gen. xiv. 9); (4.) Israel is one
+possession (Exod. xv. 16); (5.) the Temple is one possession, as it is
+said (Exod. xv. 17), "The sanctuary, O Lord, Thy hands have
+established." And it is also said (Ps. lxxviii. 54), "And He brought
+them to the border of His sanctuary, even to this mountain, which His
+right hand had purchased."
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 6.
+
+Rabbi Akiva says he who marries a woman not suited to him violates five
+precepts:--(1.) Thou shalt not avenge; (2.) thou shalt not bear a
+grudge; (3.) thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; (4.) thou
+shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; (5.) and that thy brother may live
+with thee. For if he hates her he wishes she were dead, and thus he
+diminishes the population.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 26.
+
+Five have no forgiveness of sins:--(1.) He who keeps on sinning and
+repenting alternately; (2.) he who sins in a sinless age; (3.) he who
+sins on purpose to repent; (4.) he who causes the name of God to be
+blasphemed. The fifth is not given in the Talmud.
+
+Ibid., chap. 39.
+
+He who has no fringes to his garment transgresses five positive commands
+(see Num. xv. 38. etc.; Deut. xxii. 12).
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 44, col. 1.
+
+A learner who, after five years, sees no profit in studying, will never
+see it. Rabbi Yossi says, after three years, as it is written (Dan. i.
+4, 5), "That they should be taught the literature and the language of
+the Chaldeans," so educating them in three years.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 24, col. 1.
+
+Any one who doeth any of these things sinneth against himself, and his
+blood is upon his own head:--He that (1.) eats garlic, onions, or eggs
+which were peeled the night before; (2.) or drinks water drawn over
+night; (3.) or sleeps all night in a burying-place; (4.) or pares his
+nails and throws the cuttings into the public street.
+
+_Niddah_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Yossi said:--"Never once in all my life have the walls of my house
+seen the hem of my shirt; and I have planted five cedars (sons are
+figuratively so termed, see Ps. xcii. 12) in Israel--namely, Rabbis
+Ishmael, Eliezar, Chalafta, Artilas, and Menachem. Never once in my life
+have I spoken of my wife by any other name than house, and of my ox by
+any other name than field."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 118, col. 2.
+
+Six things are a disgrace to a disciple of the wise:--To walk abroad
+perfumed, to walk alone by night, to wear old clouted shoes, to talk
+with a woman in the street, to sit at table with illiterate men, and to
+be late at the synagogue. Some add to these, walking with a proud step
+or a haughty gait.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 43, col. 2.
+
+A soft-boiled egg is better than six ounces of fine flour.
+
+Ibid., fol. 44, col. 2.
+
+Six things are a certain cure for sickness:--Cabbage, beetroot, water
+distilled from dry moss, honey, the maw and the matrix of an animal, and
+the edge of the liver.
+
+Ibid.
+
+These six things are good symptoms in an invalid:--Sneezing,
+perspiration, evacuation, seminal emission, sleep, and dreaming.
+
+Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+Six things bear interest in this world and the capital remaineth in the
+world to come:--Hospitality to strangers, visiting the sick, meditation
+in prayer, early attendance at the school of instruction, the training
+of sons to the study of the law, and judging charitably of one's
+neighbors.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 127, col. 1.
+
+There are six sorts of tears, three good and three bad:--Those caused by
+smoke, or grief, or constipation are bad; and those caused by fragrant
+spices, laughter, and aromatic herbs are good.
+
+Ibid., fol. 151, col. 2; fol. 152, col. 1.
+
+Six things are said respecting the illiterate:--No testimony is to be
+borne to them, none is to be accepted from them; no secret is to be
+disclosed to them; they are not to be appointed guardians over orphans,
+nor keepers of the charity-box, and there should be no fellowship with
+them when on a journey. Some say also no public notice is to be given of
+their lost property.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+    The expression here rendered "illiterate" means literally
+    "people of the land," and was, there is reason to believe,
+    originally applied to the primitive inhabitants of Canaan,
+    traces of whom may still be found among the fellahin of Syria.
+    They appear, like the aboriginal races in many countries of
+    Christendom in relation to Christianity, to have remained
+    generation after generation obdurately inaccessible to Jewish
+    ideas, and so to have given name to the ignorant and untaught
+    generally. This circumstance may account for the harshness of
+    some of the quotations which are appended in reference to them.
+
+He who aspires to be a fellow of the learned must not sell fruit, either
+green or dry, to an illiterate man, nor may he buy fresh fruit of him.
+He must not be the guest of an ignorant man, nor receive such an one as
+his guest.
+
+_Demai_, chap. 2, mish. 2.
+
+Our Rabbis teach, Let a man sell all that he has and marry the daughter
+of a learned man. If he cannot find the daughter of a learned man, let
+him marry the daughter of one of the great men of his day. If he does
+not find such a one, let him marry the daughter of one of the heads of
+the congregation, or, failing this, the daughter of a charity collector,
+or even the daughter of a schoolmaster; but let him not marry the
+daughter of an illiterate man, for the unlearned are an abomination, as
+also their wives and their daughters.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+It is said that Rabbi (the Holy) teaches that it is illegal for an
+unlearned man to eat animal food, for it is said (Lev. xi. 46), "This is
+the law of the beast and the fowl;" therefore he who studies the law may
+eat animal food, but he who does not study the law may not. Rabbi
+Eliezar said, "It is lawful to split open the nostrils of an unlearned
+man, even on the Day of Atonement which happens to fall on a Sabbath."
+To which his disciples responded, "Rabbi, say rather to slaughter him."
+He replied, "Nay, that would require the repetition of the usual
+benediction; but in tearing open his nostrils no benedictory formula is
+needed." Rabbi Eliezar has also said, "It is unlawful to travel with
+such a one, for it is said (Deut. xxx. 30), 'For it is thy life and the
+length of thy days.' The unlearned does not ensure his own life (since
+he has no desire to study the law, which would prolong life), how much
+less then will he regard the life of his neighbor?" Rabbi Samuel, son of
+Nachman, says on behalf of Rabbi Yochanan, that it is lawful to split
+open an unlearned man like a fish. "Aye," adds Rabbi Samuel, "and that
+from his back."
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+Rav Yehudah says it is good to eat the pulp of a pumpkin with beetroot
+as a remedy, also the essence of hemp seed in Babylonian broth; but it
+is not lawful to mention this in the presence of an illiterate man,
+because he might derive a benefit from the knowledge not meant for him.
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 49, col. 1.
+
+No contribution or heave-offering should be given to an ignorant priest.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 90, col. 2.
+
+No boor can be pious, nor an ignorant man a saint.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 2, mish. 6.
+
+Sleep in the morning, wine at mid-day, the idle talk of inexperienced
+youth, and attending the conventicles of the ignorant drive a man out of
+the world.
+
+Ibid., chap. 3, mish. 16.
+
+Rabbi Jonathan says, "Where do we learn that no present is to be made to
+an ignorant priest?" In 2 Chron. xxxi. 4, for there it is said Hezekiah
+"commanded that all the people that dwelt in Jerusalem should give a
+portion to the priests and to the Levites, that they might be strong in
+the law of the Lord." He who firmly lays hold of the law has a claim to
+a portion, otherwise he has none.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 130, col. 2.
+
+The aged, if ignorant, grow weaker in intellect the older they become in
+years, for it is written (Job xii. 20), "He removeth away the speech of
+the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged." But it is
+not so with them that are old in the study of the law, for the older
+they grow the more thoughtful they become, and the wiser, as it is said
+(Job xii. 12), "With the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days
+understanding."
+
+_Kinnin_, chap. 3.
+
+The salutation of the ignorant should be responded to quietly, and with
+a reluctant nod of the head.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+No calamities ever befall the world except such as are brought on by the
+ignorant.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+Rav Hunna's widow once appeared before Rav Nachman as plaintiff in a
+lawsuit. "What shall I do?" he said. "If I rise before her (to honor her
+as the widow of a Rabbi), the defendant, who is an _amhaaretz_, will
+feel uneasy; and if I don't rise I shall break the rule which ordains
+that the wife of an associate is to be treated as an associate." So he
+said to his servant, "Loose a young goose over my head, then I'll get
+up."
+
+Rav bar Sheravyah had a lawsuit with an _amhaaretz_ before Rav Pappa,
+who bade him be seated, and also asked the other to sit down. When the
+officer of the court raised the _amhaaretz_ with a kick, the magistrate
+did not request him to be seated again.
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 30, col. 2.
+
+Six things are said respecting demons. In three particulars they are
+like angels, and in three they resemble men. They have wings like
+angels; like angels they fly from one end of the world to the other, and
+they know the future, as angels do, with this difference, that they
+learn by listening behind the veil what angels have revealed to them
+within. In three respects they resemble men. They eat and drink like
+men, they beget and increase like men, and like men they die.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+    The Talmud is particularly rich in demonology, and many are the
+    forms which the evil principle assumes in its pages. We have no
+    wish to drag these shapes to the light, and interrogate them as
+    to the part they play in this intricate life. Enough now if we
+    mention the circumstance of their existence, and introduce to
+    the reader the story of Ashmedai, the king of the demons. The
+    story is worth relating, both for its own sake and its
+    historical significance.
+
+    In Ecclesiastes ii. 8, we read, "I gat me men singers and women
+    singers, the delights of the sons of men, as musical
+    instruments, and that of all sorts." These last seven words
+    represent only two in the original Hebrew, _Shiddah-veshiddoth_.
+    These two words in the original Hebrew translated by the last
+    seven in this verse, have been a source of great perplexity to
+    the critics, and their exact meaning is matter of debate to this
+    hour. They in the West say they mean severally carriages for
+    lords and carriages for ladies, while we, says the Babylonish
+    Talmud, interpret them to signify male demons and female demons.
+    Whereupon, if this last is the correct rendering, the question
+    arises, for what purpose Solomon required them? The answer is to
+    be found in 1 Kings vi. 7, where it is written, "And the house,
+    when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it
+    was brought thither," etc. For before the operation commenced
+    Solomon asked the Rabbis, "How shall I accomplish this without
+    using tools of iron?" and they remembering of an insect which
+    had existed since the creation of the world, whose powers were
+    such as the hardest substances could not resist, replied, "There
+    is the Shameer, with which Moses cut the precious stones of the
+    Ephod." Solomon asked, "And where, pray, is the Shameer to be
+    found?" To which they made answer, "Let a male demon and a
+    female come, and do thou coerce them both; mayhap they know and
+    will reveal it to thee." He then conjured into his presence a
+    male and a female demon, and proceeded to torture them, but in
+    vain, for said they, "We know not its whereabouts and cannot
+    tell; perhaps Ashmedai, the king of the demons, knows." On being
+    further interrogated as to where he in turn might be found, they
+    made this answer: "In yonder mount is his residence; there he
+    has dug a pit, and, after filling it with water, covered it over
+    with a stone, and sealed with his own seal. Daily he ascends to
+    heaven and studies in the school of wisdom there, then he comes
+    down and studies in the school of wisdom here; upon which he
+    goes and examines the seal, then opens the pit, and after
+    quenching his thirst, covers it up again, re-seals it, and takes
+    his departure."
+
+    Solomon thereupon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, provided
+    with a magic chain and ring, upon both of which the name of God
+    was engraved. He also provided him with a fleece of wool and
+    sundry skins with wine. Then Benaiah went and sank a pit below
+    that of Ashmedai, into which he drained off the water and
+    plugged the duct between with the fleece. Then he set to and dug
+    another hole higher up with a channel leading into the emptied
+    pit of Ashmedia, by means of which the pit was filled with the
+    wine he had brought. After leveling the ground so as not to
+    rouse suspicion, he withdrew to a tree close by, so as to watch
+    the result and wait his opportunity. After a while Ashmedai
+    came, and examined the seal, when, seeing it all right, he
+    raised the stone, and to his surprise found wine in the pit. For
+    a time he stood muttering and saying, it is written, "Wine is a
+    mocker: strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived
+    thereby is not wise." And again, "Whoredom and wine and new wine
+    take away the heart." Therefore at first he was unwilling to
+    drink, but being thirsty, he could not long resist the
+    temptation. He proceeded to drink therefore, when, becoming
+    intoxicated, he lay down to sleep. Then Benaiah, came forth from
+    his ambush, and stealthily approaching, fastened the chain round
+    the sleeper's neck. Ashmedai, when he awoke, began to fret and
+    fume, and would have torn off the chain that bound him, had not
+    Benaiah warned him, saying, "The name of thy Lord is upon thee."
+    Having thus secured him, Benaiah proceeded to lead him away to
+    his sovereign master. As they journeyed along they came to a
+    palm-tree, against which Ashmedai rubbed himself, until he
+    uprooted it and threw it down. When they drew near to a hut, the
+    poor widow who inhabited it came out and entreated him not to
+    rub himself against it, upon which, as he suddenly bent himself
+    back, he snapt a bone of his body, and said, "This is that which
+    is written (Prov. xxv. 15), 'And a gentle answer breaketh the
+    bone.'" Descrying a blind man straying out of his way, he hailed
+    him and directed him aright. He even did the same service to a
+    man overcome with wine, who was in a similar predicament. At
+    sight of a wedding party that passed rejoicing along, he wept;
+    but he burst into uncontrollable laughter when he heard a man
+    order at a shoemaker's stall a pair of shoes that would last
+    seven years; and when he saw a magician at his work he broke
+    forth into shrieks of scorn.
+
+    On arriving at the royal city, three days were allowed to pass
+    before he was introduced to Solomon. On the first day he said.
+    "Why does the king not invite me into his presence?" "He has
+    drunk too much," was the answer, "and the wine has overpowered
+    him." Upon which he lifted a brick and placed it upon the top of
+    another. When this was communicated to Solomon, he replied "He
+    meant by this, go and make him drunk again." On the day
+    following he asked again, "Why does the king not invite me into
+    his presence?" They replied, "He has eaten too much." On this he
+    removed the brick again from the top of the other. When this was
+    reported to the king, he interpreted it to mean, "Stint him in
+    his food."
+
+    After the third day, he was introduced to the king; when
+    measuring off four cubits upon the floor with the stick he held
+    in his hand, he said to Solomon, "When thou diest, thou wilt not
+    possess in this world (he referred to the grave) more than four
+    cubits of earth. Meanwhile thou has conquered the world, yet
+    thou wert not satisfied until thou hadst overcome me also." To
+    this the king quietly replied, "I want nothing of thee, but I
+    wish to build the Temple and have need of the _Shameer_." To
+    which Ashmedai at once answered, "The Shameer is not committed
+    in charge to me, but to the Prince of the Sea, and he intrusts
+    it to no one except to the great wild cock, and that upon an
+    oath that he return it to him again." Whereupon Solomon asked,
+    "And what does the wild cock do with the Shameer?" To which the
+    demon replied, "He takes it to a barren rocky mountain, and by
+    means of it he cleaves the mountain asunder, into the cleft of
+    which, formed into a valley, he drops the seeds of various
+    plants and trees, and thus the place becomes clothed with
+    verdure and fit for habitation." This is the _Shameer_ (Lev. xi.
+    19), Nagger Tura, which the Targum renders Mountain Splitter.
+
+    They therefore searched for the nest of the wild cock, which
+    they found contained a young brood. This they covered with a
+    glass, that the bird might see its young, but not be able to get
+    at them. When accordingly the bird came and found his nest
+    impenetrably glazed over, he went and fetched the Shameer. Just
+    as he was about to apply it to the glass in order to cut it,
+    Solomon's messenger gave a startling shout, and this so agitated
+    the bird that he dropped the Shameer, and Solomon's messenger
+    caught it up and made off with it. The cock thereupon went and
+    strangled himself, because he was unable to keep the oath by
+    which he had bound himself to return the Shameer.
+
+    Benaiah asked Ashmedai why, when he saw the blind man straying,
+    he so promptly interfered to guide him? "Because," he replied,
+    "it was proclaimed in heaven that that man was perfectly
+    righteous, and that whosoever did him a good turn would earn a
+    title to a place in the world of the future." "And when thou
+    sawest the man overcome with wine wandering out of his way, why
+    didst thou put him right again?" Ashmedai said, "Because it was
+    made known in heaven that that man was thoroughly bad, and I
+    have done him a good service that he might not lose all, but
+    receive some good in the world that now is." "Well, and why
+    didst thou weep when thou sawest the merry wedding-party pass?"
+    "Because," said he, "the bridegroom was fated to die within
+    thirty days and the bride must needs wait thirteen years for her
+    husband's brother, who is now but an infant" (see Deut. xxv.
+    5-10). "Why didst thou laugh so when the man ordered a pair of
+    shoes that would last him seven years?" Ashmedai replied,
+    "Because the man himself was not sure of living seven days."
+    "And why," asked Benaiah, "didst thou jeer when thou sawest the
+    conjuror at his tricks?" "Because," said Ashmedai, "the man was
+    at that very time sitting on a princely treasure, and he did
+    not, with all his pretension, know that it was under him."
+
+    Having once acquired a power over Ashmedai, Solomon detained him
+    till the building of the Temple was completed. One day after
+    this, when they were alone, it is related that Solomon,
+    addressing him, asked him, "What, pray, is your superiority over
+    us, if it be true, as it is written (Num. xxiii. 22), 'He has
+    the strength of a unicorn,' and the word 'strength,' as
+    tradition alleges, means 'ministering angels,' and the word
+    'unicorn' means 'devils'?" Ashmedai replied, "Just take this
+    chain from my neck, and give me thy signet-ring, and I'll soon
+    show thee my superiority." No sooner did Solomon comply with
+    this request, than Ashmedai, snatching him up, swallowed him;
+    then stretching forth his wings--one touching the heaven and the
+    other the earth--he vomited him out again to a distance of four
+    hundred miles. It is with reference to this time that Solomon
+    says (Eccl. i. 3; ii. 10), "What profit hath a man of all his
+    labor which he taketh under the sun? This is my portion of all
+    my labor." What does the word this mean? Upon this point Rav and
+    Samuel are at variance, for the one says it means his staff, the
+    other holds that it means his garment or water-jug; and that
+    with one or other Solomon went about from door to door begging;
+    and wherever he came he said (Eccl. i. 12), "I, the preacher,
+    was king over Israel in Jerusalem." When in his wanderings he
+    came to the house of the Sanhedrin, the Rabbis reasoned and
+    said, if he were mad he would not keep repeating the same things
+    over and over again; therefore what does he mean? They therefore
+    inquired of Benaiah, "Does the king ask thee into his presence?"
+    He replied, "No!" They then sent to see whether the king visited
+    the hareem. And the answer to this was, "Yes, he comes." Then
+    the Rabbis sent word back that they should look at his feet, for
+    the devil's feet are like those of a cock. The reply was, "He
+    comes to us in stockings." Upon this information the Rabbis
+    escorted Solomon back to the palace, and restored to him the
+    chain and the ring, on both of which the name of God was
+    engraven. Arrayed with these, Solomon advanced straightway into
+    the presence-chamber. Ashmedai sat at that moment on the throne,
+    but as soon as he saw Solomon enter, he took fright and raising
+    his wings, flew away, shrieking back into invisibility. In spite
+    of this, Solomon continued in great fear of him; and this
+    explains that which is written (Song of Songs, iii. 7, 8),
+    "Behold the bed which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are
+    about it, of the valiant of Israel; they all hold swords, being
+    expert in war; every man has his sword upon his thigh, because
+    of fear in the night." (See Gittin, fol. 68, cols, 1, 2.)
+
+    Ashmedai is the Asmodeus of the Book of Tobit, iii. 8, vi. 14,
+    etc, The Shameer is mentioned in Jer. xvii. i; Ezek. iii. 9;
+    Zech. vii. 12. The Seventy in the former passage and the Vulgate
+    passim take it for the diamond.
+
+Six things are said respecting the children of men, in three of which
+they are like angels, and in three they are like animals. They have
+intelligence like angels, they walk erect like angels, and they converse
+in the holy tongue like angels. They eat and drink like animals, they
+generate and multiply like animals, and they relieve nature like
+animals.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+Six months did the Shechinah hesitate to depart from the midst of Israel
+in the wilderness, in hopes that they would repent. At last, when they
+persisted in impenitence, the Shechinah said, "May their bones be
+blown;" as it is written (Job xi. 20), "The eyes of the wicked shall
+fail, they shall not escape, and their hopes shall be as the blowing out
+of the spirit."
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+Six names were given to Solomon:--Solomon, Jedidiah, Koheleth, Son of
+Jakeh, Agur, and Lemuel.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 39.
+
+Six years old was Dinah when she gave birth to Asenath, whom she bore
+unto Shechem.
+
+_Sophrim_, chap. 21.
+
+"And the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household" (2 Sam. vi. 11).
+In what did the blessing consist? Rav Yehudah bar Zavidah says it
+consisted in this, that Hamoth, his wife, and her eight daughters-in-law
+gave birth each to six children at a time. (This is proved from 1 Chron.
+xxvi. 5, 8.)
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 63, col. 2.
+
+Six things were done by Hezekiah the king, but the sages praised him for
+three only:--(1.) He dragged the bones of his father Ahaz on a hurdle of
+ropes, for this they commended him; (2.) he broke to pieces the brazen
+serpent, for this they commended him; (3.) he hid the Book of Remedies,
+and for this too they praised him. For three they blamed him:--(1.) He
+stripped the doors of the Temple and sent the gold thereof to the King
+of Assyria; (2.) he stopped up the upper aqueduct of Gihon; (3.) he
+intercalated the month Nisan.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 56, col. 1.
+
+The hiding of the Book of Remedies, harsh and inhuman as it might seem,
+was dictated by high moral considerations. It seemed right that the
+transgressor should feel the weight of his sin in the suffering that
+followed, and that the edge of judgment should not be dulled by a too
+easy access to anodyne applications. The reason for stopping the
+aqueduct of Gihon is given in 2 Chron. xxxii. 3, 4. The inhabitants of
+Jerusalem did the very same thing when the Crusaders besieged the city,
+A.D. 1099. Rashi tries to explain why this stratagem was not commended;
+the reason he gives is that Hezekiah ought to have trusted God, who had
+said (2 Kings xix. 34), "I will defend the city."
+
+Six things are said of the horse:--It is wanton, it delights in the
+strife of war, it is high-spirited, it despises sleep, it eats much and
+it voids little. There are some that say it would fain kill its own
+master.
+
+Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that there are six sorts of fire:--(1.) Fire that
+eats but drinks not, i.e., common fire; (2.) fire that drinks but does
+not eat, i.e., a fever; (3.) fire that eats and drinks, i.e., Elijah, as
+it is written (1 Kings xviii. 38), "And licked up the water that was in
+the trench;" (4.) fire that burns up moist things as soon as dry, i.e.,
+the fire on the altar; (5.) fire that counteracts other fire, i.e., like
+that of Gabriel; (6.) fire that consumes fire, for the Master has said
+(Sanhed., fol. 38, col. 2), "God stretched out His finger among the
+angels and consumed them," i.e., by His own essential fire.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+For six months David was afflicted with leprosy; for it is said (Ps. li.
+7), "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be
+whiter than snow." At that time the Shechinah departed from him; for it
+is said (Ps. li. 12), "Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;" and
+the Sanhedrin kept aloof from him, for it is said (Ps. cxix. 79), "Let
+those that fear thee turn unto me." That this ailment lasted six months
+is proved from 1 Kings ii. 11, where it is said, "And the days that
+David reigned over Israel were forty years; seven years he reigned in
+Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem;" whereas in 2
+Sam. v. 5, it is said, "In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and
+six months." The reason why these six months are omitted in Kings is
+because during that period he was afflicted with leprosy.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 107, col. 1.
+
+The tables of stone were six ells long, six broad, and three thick.
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 38, col. 8.
+
+    It may help the reader to some idea of the strength of Moses if
+    we work out arithmetically the size and probable weight of these
+    stone slabs according to the Talmud. Taking the cubit or ell at
+    its lowest estimate, that is eighteen inches, each slab, being
+    nine feet long, nine feet wide, and four and a half feet thick,
+    would weigh upward of twenty-eight tons, reckoning thirteen
+    cubic feet to the ton,--the right estimate for such stone as is
+    quarried from the Sinaitic cliff. The figures are 9 X 9 X 9/2 =
+    729/2 = 364.5 X 173.5 = 63240.75 = 28 tons, 4 cwt., 2 qrs., 16
+    lbs. avoirdupois.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that these six things possess medicinal
+virtue:--Cabbage, lungwort, beetroot, water, and certain parts of the
+offal of animals, and some also say little fishes.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 29, col. 1.
+
+Over six the Angel of Death had no dominion, and these were:--Abraham,
+Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Respecting the first three
+it is written, "in all" (Gen. xxiv. 1), "of all" (Gen. xxvii. 33) "all"
+(A.V. "enough," Gen. xxxiii. 11). Respecting the last three it is
+written, "by the mouth of Jehovah" (see Num. xxxiii. 38, and Deut.
+xxxiv. 5).
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 17, col. i.
+
+    According to Jewish tradition, there are 903 kinds of death, as
+    is elicited by a Kabbalistic rule called gematria, from the word
+    outlets (Ps. lxviii. 20); the numeric value of the letters of
+    which word is 903. Of these 903 kinds of death, the divine kiss
+    is the easiest. God puts His favorite children to sleep, the
+    sleep of death, by kissing their souls away. It was thus
+    Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fell asleep, as may be inferred from
+    the word all; that is to say, they had all the honor God could
+    confer upon them. Moses and Aaron fell asleep by the divine
+    kiss, for it is plainly stated to have been "by the mouth of
+    Jehovah." So also Miriam passed away, only the Scripture does
+    not say lest the scoffer should find fault. We are also informed
+    that quinsy is the hardest death of all. (See _Berachoth_, fol.
+    8, col. 1.)
+
+"These six of barley gave he me." What does this mean? It cannot surely
+be understood of six barleycorns, for it could not be the custom of Boaz
+to give a present of six grains of barley. It must, therefore, have been
+six measures. But was it usual for a woman to carry such a load as six
+measures would come to? What he intended by the number six was to give
+her a hint that in process of time six sons would proceed from her, each
+of which would be blessed with six blessings; and these were David, the
+Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. David, as it is written
+(1 Sam. xvi. 8), (1.) "Cunning in playing," (2.) "and a mighty and
+valiant man," (3.) "a man of war," (4.) "prudent in matters," (5.) "a
+comely person," (6.) and "the Lord is with him." The Messiah, for it is
+written (Isa. xi. 2), "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,"
+viz, (1.) "The spirit of wisdom and (2.) understanding, (3.) the spirit
+of counsel and (4.) might, (5.) the spirit of knowledge, and (6.) the
+fear of the Lord." Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, for regarding
+them it is written (Dan. i. 4), (1.) "Young men in whom was no blemish,"
+(2.) "handsome in looks," (3.) "intelligent in wisdom," (4.) "acquainted
+with knowledge," (5.) "and understanding science, and such as (6.) had
+ability to stand in the palace of the king," etc. But what is the
+meaning of unblemished? Rav Chama ben Chanania says it means that not
+even the scar of a lancet was upon them.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 93, cols, 1, 2.
+
+    The words "not even the scar of a lancet was upon them," bespeak
+    the prevalence of blood-letting in the East, and the absence of
+    the scar of the lancet on the persons of Daniel and his
+    companions is a testimony to their health of body and moral
+    temperance and purity.
+
+    In Taanith (fol. 21, col. 2) mention is made of a certain
+    phlebotomist--a noteworthy exception to the well-known rule (see
+    Kiddushin, fol. 82, col. 2) that phlebotomists are to be
+    regarded as morally depraved, and in the same class with
+    goldsmiths, perfumers, hairdressers, etc.,--Abba Umna by name,
+    who had a special mantle with slits in the sleeves for females,
+    so that he could surgically operate upon them without seeing
+    their naked arms, while he himself was covered over head and
+    shoulders in a peculiar cloak, so that his own face could not by
+    any chance be seen by them.
+
+    From Shabbath, fol. 156, col. 1, we learn that a person born
+    under the influence of Maadim, i.e., Mars, will in one way or
+    another be a shedder of blood, such as a phlebotomist, a butcher,
+    a highwayman, etc., etc.
+
+Six blasts of the horn were blown on Sabbath-eve. The first was to set
+free the laborers in the fields from their work; those that worked near
+the city waited for those that worked at a distance and all entered the
+place together. The second blast was to warn the citizens to suspend
+their employments and shut up their shops. At the third blast the women
+were to have ready the various dishes they had prepared for the Sabbath
+and to light the lamps in honor of the day. Then three more blasts were
+blown in succession, and the Sabbath commenced.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 35, col. 2.
+
+He who passes seven nights in succession without dreaming deserves to be
+called wicked.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+Gehinnom has seven names:--Sheol (Jonah ii. 2), Avadon (Ps. lxxxviii.
+11), Shachath (Ps. xvi. 2), Horrible pit (Ps. xl. 2), Miry clay (Ps. xl.
+2), the Shadow of death (Ps. cvii. 14), the Subterranean land.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 19, col. 1.
+
+A dog in a strange place does not bark for seven years.
+
+Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.
+
+Seven things were formed before the creation of the world:--The Law,
+Repentance, Paradise, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the
+name of the Messiah.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 54, col. 1.
+
+    The Midrash Yalkut (p. 7) enumerates the same list almost word
+    for word, and the Targum of Ben Uzziel develops the tradition
+    still further, while the Targum Yerushalmi fixes the date of the
+    origin of the seven prehistoric wonders at "two thousand years
+    before the creation of the world."
+
+Seven things are hid from the knowledge of a man:--The day of death, the
+day of resurrection, the depth of judgment (i.e., the future reward or
+punishment), what is in the heart of his fellow-man, what his reward
+will be, when the kingdom of David will be restored, and when the
+kingdom of Persia will fall.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 54, col. 2.
+
+Seven are excommunicated before heaven:--A Jew who has no wife, and even
+one who is married but has no male children; and he that has sons but
+does not train them up to study the law; he who does not wear
+phylacteries on his forehead and upon his arm and fringes upon his
+garment, and has no mezuzah on his doorpost; and he who goes barefooted.
+
+Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+There are seven skies:--Villon, Raakia, Shechakim, Zevul, Maaon,
+Maachon, and Aravoth.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 12, col. 2.
+
+Seven days before the Day of Atonement they removed the high priest from
+his own residence to the chamber of the President, and appointed another
+priest as his deputy in case he should meet with such an accident as
+would incapacitate him from going through the service of the day. Rabbi
+Yehudah says they also had to betroth him to another woman lest his own
+wife should die meanwhile, for it is said, "And he shall make an
+atonement for himself and for his house,"--his house, that is, his wife.
+In reference to this precautionary rule it was observed, there might
+then be no end to the matter (Rashi), should this woman die also.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 2, col. 1.
+
+They associated with the high priest the senior elders of the Sanhedrin,
+who read over to him the _agenda_ of the day, and then said to him, "My
+lord high priest, read thou for thyself; perhaps thou hast forgotten it,
+or maybe thou hast not learned it at all." On the day before the Day of
+Atonement he was taken to the East Gate when they caused oxen, rams, and
+lambs to pass before him, that he might become well-versed and expert in
+his official duties. During the whole of the seven (preparatory) days
+neither victuals nor drink were withheld from him, but toward dusk on
+the eve of the Day of Atonement they did not allow him to eat much, for
+much food induces sleep. Then the elders of the Sanhedrin surrendered
+him to the elders of the priesthood, and these conducted him to the hall
+of the house of Abtinas, and there they swore him in; and after bidding
+him good-bye, they went away. In administering the oath they said, "My
+lord high priest, we are ambassadors of the Sanhedrin; thou art our
+ambassador and the ambassador of the Sanhedrin as well. We adjure thee,
+by Him who causes His name to dwell in this house, that thou alter not
+anything that we have told thee!" Then they parted, both they and he
+weeping. He wept because they suspected he was a Sadducee, and they wept
+because the penalty for wrongly suspecting persons is scourging. If he
+was a learned man he preached (during the night); if not, learned men
+preached before him. If he was a ready reader, he read; if not, others
+read to him. What were the books read over to him? Job, Ezra, and the
+Chronicles. Zechariah the son of Kevootal says, "I have often read
+before him the Book of Daniel." If he became drowsy, the juniors of the
+priestly order fillipped their middle fingers before him, and said, "My
+lord high priest, stand up and cool thy feet upon the pavement." Thus
+they kept him engaged till the time of slaughtering (the sacrifices).
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 18, cols, 1, 2; fol. 19, col. 2.
+
+    Sacerdos nascitur, non fit,--a priest is born, not made, we may
+    truly say, just altering one word of a well-known proverb. His
+    father was a priest, and so were his forefathers as far back as
+    the time of Aaron; his sons and his sons' sons after him will
+    belong to the priestly order, and so the name was far too often
+    only the badge for exclusive and hereditary privilege. This
+    rule, that applies to the priests, holds good also with regard
+    to the Levites. (_Berachoth_, fol. 29, col. 1.)
+
+There was a town in the land of Israel called Gophnith, where there were
+eighty couples of brother priests who married eighty couples of sister
+priestesses in one night.
+
+_Berachoth_ fol. 44, col. 1.
+
+Flay a carcass and take thy fee, but say not it is humiliating because I
+am a priest, I am a great man.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 1.
+
+    Philo Judaeus, De Sac. Honor, (p. 833), says, "The hides of the
+    burnt-offerings proved a rich perquisite of the priesthood."
+
+The number of high priests who officiated in succession during the 410
+years of the continuance of the first Temple was only eighteen, but the
+number who held office during the 420 years of the second Temple
+amounted to more than three hundred, most of them having died within a
+year after their entrance upon the office. The reason assigned by the
+Talmud for the long lives of the former and the short lives of the
+latter is the text given in Prov. x. 27, "The fear of the Lord
+prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened."
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+Before a priest could be admitted into active service in the Temple he
+had to undergo bodily inspection at the hands of the syndicate of the
+Sanhedrin. If they found the least defect in his body, even a mole with
+hair upon it, he was ordered to dress in black and be dismissed; but if
+he was perfectly free from blemish, he was arrayed in white, and at once
+introduced to his brother priests and official duties.
+
+Ibid., fol. 19, col. 1.
+
+The daughters of a male proselyte who has married the daughter of a
+female proselyte are eligible to marry priests.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 57, col. 1.
+
+If thou seest an impudent priest, think not evil of him; for it is said
+(Hosea iv. 4), "Thy people are as they that strive with the priest" (see
+chap. ii. p. 25, Note c.).
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 70, col. 2.
+
+So long as there is a diadem on the head of the priest, there is a crown
+on the head of every man. Remove the diadem from the head of the high
+priest and you take away the crown from the head of all the people.
+(This is a Talmudic comment on Ezek. xxi. 31; A. Ver., 26.)
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+A king shaved his head every day, a high priest did the same once a
+week, and an ordinary priest once a month.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 22, col. 2.
+
+When a priest performs the service of the Temple in a state of
+defilement, his brother priests are not required to lead him before the
+tribunal, but the juniors of the priestly order are to drag him out into
+the hall and brain him with clubs.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 81, col. 2.
+
+When kings were anointed, the holy oil was laid on the forehead in the
+form of a coronet, and when, says Rabbi Mansi bar Gadda, priests were
+anointed, the operation was performed in the shape of the Greek letter
+k.
+
+_Horayoth_, fol. 12, col. 1.
+
+A learned man who is of illegitimate birth is preferable to an ignorant
+priest.
+
+Ibid., fol. 13, col. 1.
+
+A priest who makes no confession during service has no part in the
+priesthood. (He forfeits his emoluments.)
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 18, col. 2.
+
+The bald-headed, the dwarfed, and the blear-eyed are ineligible for the
+priesthood.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 43, col. 2.
+
+Rav Chisda says, "The portions that fall to the priests are not to be
+eaten except roasted and that with mustard," because Scripture says
+(Num. xviii. 8), "by reason of the anointing," i.e., by way of
+distinction, for only kings (who, of course, are anointed) eat roast
+meat with mustard.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 132, col. 2.
+
+If a case of mistaken identity should occur between the child of a
+priestess and the child of her female slave, so that the one cannot be
+distinguished from the other, they both are to eat of the heave-offering
+and to receive one share from the threshing-floor. When grown up, each
+is to set the other free.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 42, col. 2.
+
+From the old clothes of the priests the wicks were made for the lamps in
+the Temple.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 21, col. 1.
+
+Scripture authority is given in proof that the very garments possessed
+the faculty of making atonement for sin every whit as effectually as
+animal sacrifices. We are taught that the priest's shirt atones for
+murder, his drawers atone for whoredom, his mitre for pride, his girdle
+for evil thoughts, his breastplate for injustice, his ephod for
+idolatry; his overcoat atones for slander, and the golden plate on his
+forehead atones for impudence.
+
+_Zevachim_, fol. 88, col. 2.
+
+    All this and a great deal more on the subject may be found in
+    the Selichoth for Yom Kippur.
+
+For seven years was the land of Israel strewn with brimstone and salt.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 54, col. 1.
+
+"Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds" (Micah. v. 5). Who are
+these seven shepherds? David in the middle: Adam, Seth, and Methuselah
+on his right hand; Abraham, Jacob, and Moses on his left.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 2.
+
+Who were the seven prophetesses? The answer is, Sarah, Miriam, Deborah,
+Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+It is lawful to look into the face of a bride for seven days after her
+marriage, in order to enhance the affection with which she is regarded
+by her husband, and there is no Halachah (or law) like this.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+    The Rabbis are especially careful to caution their daughters to
+    guard against such habits as might lower them in the regard of
+    their husbands, lest they should lose aught of that purifying
+    and elevating power which they exercised as maidens. It is thus,
+    for instance, Rav Chisda counsels his daughters: "Be ye modest
+    before your husbands and do not even eat before them. Eat not
+    vegetables or dates in the evening, and touch not strong drink."
+    (_Shabbath_, fol. 140, col. 2.)
+
+Once upon a time a demon in the shape of a seven-headed dragon came
+forth against Rav Acha and threatened to harm him, but the Rabbi threw
+himself on his knees, and every time he fell down to pray he knocked off
+one of these heads, and thus eventually killed the dragon.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 29, col. 2.
+
+On the seventh of the month Adar, Moses died, and on that day the manna
+ceased to come down from heaven.
+
+Ibid., fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+    The seventh of Adar is still, and has long been, kept sacred as
+    the day of the death of Moses our Rabbi--peace be with him!--and
+    that on the authority of T.B. Kiddushin (as quoted above), and
+    Soteh, fol. 10, col. 2; but Josephus (Book iv. chap. 8, sec. 49)
+    most distinctly affirms that Moses died "on the first day of the
+    month," and the Midrash on Esther may be quoted in corroboration
+    of his statement. The probability is that the Talmud is right on
+    this matter, but it is altogether wrong in connecting with this
+    event the stoppage of the manna (see Josh. v. 10, 12).
+
+Seven years did the nations of the world cultivate their vineyards with
+no other manure than the blood of Israel. Rabbi Chiya, the son of Abin,
+says that Rabbi Yehoshua, the son of Korcha, said, "An old man, an
+inhabitant of Jerusalem, related to me that Nebuzaradan, captain of the
+guard, killed in this valley 211 myriads (about 2,110,000), and in
+Jerusalem he slaughtered upon one stone 94 myriads (940,000), so that
+the blood flowed until it reached the blood of Zechariah, in order that
+that might be fulfilled which is said (Hosea iv. 2), 'And blood toucheth
+blood.'"
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 57, col. 1.
+
+The seventh of Adar, on which Moses died, was the same day of the same
+month on which he was born.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 10, col. 2.
+
+A male hyaena after seven years becomes a bat; this after seven years, a
+vampire; this after other seven years, a nettle; this after seven years
+more, a thorn; and this again after seven years is turned into a demon.
+If a man does not devoutly bow during the repetition of the daily prayer
+which commences, "we reverently acknowledge," his spine after seven
+years becomes a serpent.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+It is related of Benjamin the righteous, who was keeper of the poor-box,
+that a woman came to him at a period of famine and solicited food. "By
+the worship of God," he replied, "there is nothing in the box." She then
+exclaimed, "O Rabbi, if thou dost not feed me I and my seven children
+must needs starve." Upon which he relieved her from his own private
+purse. In course of time he fell ill and was nigh unto death. Then the
+ministering angels interceded with the Holy One--blessed be He!--and
+said, "Lord of the Universe, Thou hast said he that preserveth one
+single soul of Israel alive is as if he had preserved the life of the
+whole world; and shall Benjamin the righteous, who preserved a poor
+woman and her seven children, die so prematurely?" Instantly the
+death-warrant which had gone forth was torn up, and twenty-two years
+were added to his life.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 11, col. 1.
+
+Seven prophets have prophesied to the nations of the world, and these
+were Balaam and his father, Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the
+Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, and Elihu the son of Barachel the
+Buzite.
+
+Ibid., fol. 15. col. 2.
+
+There are seven who are not consumed by the worm in the grave, and these
+are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, and Benjamin
+the son of Jacob.
+
+Ibid., fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+Seven men form an unbroken series from the creation down to our own
+time. Methuselah saw Adam, Shem saw Methuselah, Jacob saw Shem, Amram
+saw Jacob, and Ahijah the Shilonite saw Amram, and Ahijah was seen by
+Elijah, who is alive to this day.
+
+Ibid., fol. 121, col. 2.
+
+Seven years' famine will not affect the artisan.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 29, col. 1.
+
+Seven years of pestilence will not cause a man to die before his time.
+
+Ibid.
+
+"And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were
+upon the earth" (Gen. vii. 10). Why this delay of seven days? Rav says
+they were the days of mourning for Methuselah; and this teaches us that
+mourning for the righteous will defer a coming calamity. Another
+explanation is, that the Holy One--blessed be He!--altered the course of
+nature during these seven days, so that the sun arose in the west and
+set in the east.
+
+Ibid., fol. 108, col. 2.
+
+The first step in transgression is evil thought, the second scoffing,
+the third pride, the fourth outrage, the fifth idleness, the sixth
+hatred, and the seventh an evil eye.
+
+_Derech Eretz Zuta_, chap. 6.
+
+Seven things cause affliction:--Slander, shedding of blood, perjury,
+adultery, pride, robbery, and envy.
+
+_Erchin_, fol. 17, col. 2.
+
+A ram has but one voice while alive but seven after he is dead. How so?
+His horns make two trumpets, his hip-bones two pipes, his skin can be
+extended into a drum, his larger intestines can yield strings for the
+lyre and the smaller chords for the harp.
+
+_Kinnim_, chap. 3, mish. 6.
+
+Rav Chisda said, The soul of a man mourns over him the first seven days
+after his decease; for it is said (Job xiv. 22), "And his soul shall
+mourn over him."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 152, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that a man should not drink water on Wednesdays
+and Saturdays after night-fall, for if he does, his blood, because of
+risk, will be upon his own head. What risk? That from an evil spirit who
+on these evenings prowls abroad. But if the man be thirsty, what is he
+to do? Let him repeat over the water the seven voices ascribed to the
+Lord by David in Psalm xxix. 3-9, "The voice of the Lord is upon the
+waters," etc.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 112, col. 1.
+
+Seven precepts did Rabbi Akiva give to his son Rabbi Yehoshua:--(1.) My
+son, teach not in the highest place of the city; (2.) Dwell not in a
+city where the leading men are disciples of the wise; (3.) Enter not
+suddenly into thine own house, and of course not into thy neighbor's;
+(4.) Do not go about without shoes; (5.) Rise early and eat in summer
+time because of the heat, and in winter time because of the cold; (6.)
+Make thy Sabbath as a week-day rather than depend for support on other
+people; (7.) Strive to keep on close friendly terms with the man whom
+fortune favors (lit. on whom the present hour smiles). Rav Pappa adds,
+"This does not refer to buying or selling, but to partnership."
+
+Ibid.
+
+How is it proved that mourning should be kept up for seven days? It is
+written (Amos viii. 10), "I will turn your feasts into mourning," and
+these in many cases lasted seven days.
+
+_Moed Katon_, fol 20, col. 1.
+
+Rav Chisda said there are seven kinds of gold:--Gold, good gold, the
+gold of Ophir, purified gold, beaten gold, shut-up gold, and gold of
+Parvain.
+
+_Yoma_ fol. 44, col. 2.
+
+    The shut-up gold (1 Kings vi. 12) was of the purest and rarest
+    quality, so that when it appeared in the market for sale, all
+    shops in the locality were "shut up," for there could be no sale
+    of any other gold before that. All gold-dealers "shut up" their
+    shops in order to be present on so rare an occasion; and hence
+    the name of this kind of gold--"shut-up gold."
+
+Each day of the Feast of Tabernacles they walked round the altar once,
+and said, "O Lord, save us, we beseech Thee! O Lord, prosper us, we
+beseech Thee!" But on the last day they encompassed it seven times. On
+their departure they said, "Beauty belongeth to thee, O altar! Beauty
+belongeth to thee, O altar!"
+
+_Succah_, fol. 45, col. 1.
+
+    It deserves to be noted here for the information of some of our
+    readers that the words translated above, Save now, or Save, we
+    beseech thee, are the original of our word Hosanna. The 25th and
+    26th verses of Psalm cxviii, which begin with this expression,
+    were repeated at the Feast of Tabernacles; and hence the bundles
+    of palm and willow branches (carried on this occasion), the
+    prayers, and the festival itself, were so named, i.e. Hosanna.
+
+The Tempter is known by seven distinctive epithets:--(1) The Holy
+One--blessed be He!--calls him evil; as it is said, "For the imagination
+of man's heart is evil." (2.) Moses calls him uncircumcised; as it is
+said (Deut. x. 16), "Circumcise therefore the uncircumcised foreskin of
+your heart." (3.) David calls him unclean; as it is said (Ps. li. 10),
+"Create in me a clean heart, O God!" Consequently there must be an
+unclean one. (4.) Solomon calls him enemy; as it is said (Prov. xxv. 21,
+22), "If thine enemy hunger, give him bread to eat; if he be thirsty,
+give him water to drink; for thus thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
+head, and the Lord shall reward thee" (i.e., oppose him with the law.
+The word rendered bread, is metaphorically taken for the law, Prov. ix.
+5, so that give him water to drink means also the law, Isa. lv.
+1--Rashi. And the Lord reward thee, read not reward, but cause him to
+make peace with thee, not to war against thee.) (5.) Isaiah calls him
+stumbling-block; as it is said (Isa. lvii. 14), "Cast ye up, cast ye up,
+prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my
+people." (6.) Ezekiel calls him stone; as it is said (Ezek. xxxvi. 26),
+"I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh and I will give
+you a heart of flesh." (7.) Joel calls him the hidden one; as it is said
+(Joel ii. 20), "I will remove far from you the hidden one," i.e., the
+tempter who remains hidden in the heart of man; "and I will drive him
+into a land barren and desolate," i.e., where the children of men do not
+usually dwell; "with his face toward the former sea," i.e., with his
+eyes set upon the first Temple, which he destroyed, slaying the
+disciples of the wise that were in it; "and his hinder part toward the
+latter sea," i.e., with his eyes set on the second Temple, which he
+destroyed, also slaying the disciples of the wise that were in it.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 1.
+
+Once a Jewish mother with her seven sons suffered martyrdom at the hands
+of the Emperor. The sons, when ordered by the latter to do homage to the
+idols of the Empire, declined, and justified their disobedience by
+quoting each a simple text from the sacred Scriptures. When the seventh
+was brought forth, it is related that Caesar, for appearance' sake,
+offered to spare him if only he would stoop and pick up a ring from the
+ground which had been dropped on purpose. "Alas for thee, O Caesar!"
+answered the boy; "if thou art so zealous for thine honor, how much more
+zealous ought we to be for the honor of the Holy One--blessed be He!" On
+his being led away to the place of execution, the mother craved and
+obtained leave to give him a farewell kiss. "Go, my child," said she,
+"and say to Abraham, Thou didst build an altar for the sacrifice of one
+son, but I have erected altars for seven sons." She then turned away and
+threw herself down headlong from the roof and expired, when the echo of
+a voice was heard exclaiming (Ps. cxiii. 9), "The joyful mother of
+children" (or, the mother of the children rejoiceth).
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+    The story of this martyrdom is narrated at much greater length
+    in the Books of Maccabees (Book iii. chap. 7, Book iv. chaps.
+    8-18). In a Latin version the names are given, that of the
+    mother Solomona, and her sons respectively Maccabeus, Aber,
+    Machir, Judas, Achaz, Areth, while the hero of our Talmudic
+    reference, the seventh and last, is styled Jacob. Josephus,
+    Ant., Book xii. chap. 6, sec. 4, may also be referred to for
+    further and varying details.
+
+The land of Israel was not destroyed till the seven courts of judgment
+had fallen into idolatry, and these are they:--Jeroboam, the son of
+Nebat; Baasha, the son of Ahijah; Ahab, the son of Omri; Jehu, the son
+of Nimshi; Pekah, the son of Remaliah; Menahem, the son of Gadi; and
+Hoshea, the son of Elah; as it is written (Jer. xv. 9), "She that hath
+borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone
+down while it is yet day; she hath been ashamed and confounded."
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 88, col. 1.
+
+"He stood and measured the earth; he beheld and freed the Gentiles
+(A.V., he drove asunder the nations, Hab. iii. 6); he beheld that the
+seven precepts which the children of Noah accepted were not observed; he
+stood up and set their property free for the service of Israel."
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+    This is one of the weightier expositions met with from time to
+    time in the Talmud, in which one recognizes a more than
+    ordinarily deep and earnest feeling on the part of the
+    commentator. The interpreter expresses himself as a man instinct
+    with the exclusive Hebrew spirit, and as such claims his title
+    to the whole inheritance. It is a claim abstractly defensible,
+    and the just assertion of it is the basis of all rights over
+    others. The only question here is whether the Jew alone is
+    invested with the privilege. There can be little doubt that the
+    principle on which he claims enfeoffment in the estate is a
+    sound one, that the earth belongs in no case to the sons of
+    Belial, only to the sons of God.
+
+Seven things distinguish an ill-bred man and seven a wise man:--The wise
+man (1.) does not talk before his superior in wisdom and years; (2.) he
+does not interrupt another when speaking; (3.) he is not hasty to make
+reply; (4.) his questions are to the point, and his answers are
+according to the Halachah; (5.) his subjects of discourse are orderly
+arranged, the first subject first and the last last; (6.) if he has not
+heard of a thing, he says, I have not heard it; and (7.) he confesseth
+the truth. The characteristics of the ill-bred man are just the contrary
+of these.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 5, mish. 10.
+
+If a man does not work during the six days of the week, he may be
+obliged to work all the seven.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 11.
+
+Seven have no portion in the world to come:--A notary; a schoolmaster,
+the best of physicians, a judge who dispenses justice in his own native
+town, a wizard, a congregational reader (or law-officer), and a butcher.
+
+_Avoth d Rab. Nathan_, chap. 37.
+
+Seven attributes avail before the Throne of Glory, and these
+are:--Wisdom, righteousness, judgment, grace, mercy, truth, and peace.
+
+Ibid., chap. 36.
+
+There are seven points in which a righteous man excels another:--(1.)
+The wife of the one is more comely than the other's; (2.) so are the
+children of the one as compared with those of the other; (3.) if the two
+partake of one dish, each enjoys the taste according to his doings; (4.)
+if the two dye in one vat, by one the article is dyed properly, by the
+other not; (5, etc.) the one excels the other in wisdom, in
+understanding, in knowledge, and stature, as it is said (Prov. xii. 26),
+"The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor."
+
+Ibid., chap. 37.
+
+Seven patriarchs were covenant-makers:--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
+Moses, Aaron, Phinehas, and David.
+
+_Derech Eretz Zuta_, chap. 1.
+
+Seven liquids are comprehended under the generic term drink (Lev. xi.
+34):--Dew, water, wine, oil, blood, milk, and honey.
+
+_Machshirin_, chap. 6, mish 6.
+
+For tertian fever take seven small grapes from seven different vines;
+seven threads from seven different pieces of cloth; seven nails from
+seven different bridges; seven handfuls of ashes from seven different
+fireplaces; seven bits of pitch from seven ships, one piece from each;
+seven scrapings of dust from as many separate doorways; seven cummin
+seeds; seven hairs from the lower jaw of a dog and tie them upon the
+throat with a papyrus fibre.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 66, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis teach that the precept relating to the lighting of a candle
+at the Feast of Dedication applies to a whole household, but that those
+who are particular light a candle for each individual member, and those
+that are extremely particular light up eight candles on the first day,
+seven on the second, decreasing the number by one each day. This is
+according to the school of Shammai; but the school of Hillel say that he
+should light up one on the first day, two on the second, increasing the
+number by one each of the eight days of the fast.... What is the origin
+of the feast of Dedication? On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev (about
+December), the eight days of the Dedication commence, during which term
+no funeral oration is to be made, nor public fast to be decreed. When
+the Gentiles (Greeks) entered the second Temple, it was thought they had
+defiled all the holy oil they found in it; but when the Hasmoneans
+prevailed and conquered them, they sought and found still one jar of oil
+stamped with the seal of the High Priest, and therefore undefiled.
+Though the oil it contained would only have sufficed for one day, a
+miracle was performed, so that the oil lasted to the end of the week
+(during which time more oil was provided and consecrated for the future
+service of the Temple). On the anniversary of this occasion the Feast of
+Dedication was instituted.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+    The Feast of Dedication is annually celebrated by all Jews
+    everywhere, to commemorate the purifying of the Temple and the
+    restoration of its worship after its desecration by Antiochus
+    Epiphanes, of which an account may be found in 1 Maccabees iv.
+    52-59. It is very probable that some of our Christmas
+    festivities are only adaptations of the observances of this
+    Jewish feast in symbolism of Christian ideas. During the eight
+    days of the festival they light up wax candles or oil lamps,
+    according to the rubric of the school of Hillel. Previous to the
+    lighting, the following benedictions are pronounced:--
+
+    "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God! King of the universe, who
+    hath sanctified us with Thy commandment, and commanded us to
+    light the light of Dedication."
+
+    "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God! King of the universe, who
+    wrought miracles for our fathers in those days and in this
+    season."
+
+    "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Our God! King of the universe, who
+    hath preserved us alive, sustained us, and brought us to enjoy
+    this season."
+
+    After the lighting, the following form is repeated:--"These
+    lights we light to praise Thee for the miracles, wonders,
+    salvation, and victories which Thou didst perform for our
+    fathers in those days and in this season by the hands of Thy
+    holy priests. Wherefore by command these lights are holy all the
+    eight days of the Dedication, neither are we permitted to make
+    any other use of them, but to view them, that we may return
+    thanks to Thy name for Thy miracles, wonderful works, and
+    salvation."
+
+    Another commemorative formula is repeated six or seven times a
+    day during this festival; viz, during morning and evening
+    prayers and after each meal.
+
+Rabbi Yoshua ben Levi has said a man should never utter an indecent
+word, for the Scripture (Gen. vii. 6) uses eight letters more rather
+than make use of a word which, without them, would be indecent.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 3, col. i.
+
+    In the passage referred to, the words "that are not clean" are
+    used instead of "unclean"; but see verse 2; there another word
+    for not is used, which brings down the excess to five letters.
+
+When the doors of the Temple were opened the creaking of the hinges was
+heard at the distance of eight Sabbath days' journeys.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 39, col. 2.
+
+    It may be proper to remark that the journey is about nine
+    furlongs, or a mile and one-eighth, so that the distance alluded
+    to is nearly ten miles.
+
+The eight princes alluded to in Micah (v. 5) are Jesse, Saul, Samuel,
+Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, the Messiah, and Elijah.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 2.
+
+It is related of Rabbi Shimon, the son of Gamaliel, that at the
+rejoicing during the festival of the drawing of water on the Feast of
+Tabernacles, he threw eight flaming torches, one after the other in
+quick succession, into the air, and caught them again as they descended
+without suffering one to touch another. He also (in fulfillment of Ps.
+cii. 14) stooped and kissed the stone floor, supporting himself upon his
+two thumbs only,--a feat which no one else could perform. And this is
+what is termed stooping properly.
+
+Ibid., fol. 53, col. 1.
+
+Levi once in the presence of Rabbi (the Holy) conjured with eight
+knives. Samuel in the presence of Shavur the king (of Persia, Sapor I,
+240-273) performed the same feat with eight cups of wine. Abaii in the
+presence of Rava did likewise with eight eggs; some say with four only.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Eight prophets, who were priests as well, were descended from Rahab the
+harlot, and these are they:--Neraiah, Baruch, Seraiah, Maaseiah,
+Jeremiah, Hilkiah, Hanameel, and Shallum. Rabbi Yehudah says Huldah the
+prophetess was one of the grandchildren of Rahab.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+The last eight verses of the Law (Torah) were written by Joshua.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+    There is a touching story in this very same tract, fol. 15, col.
+    1, which is repeated in Menachoth, fol. 30, col. 1, and noticed
+    by Rashi in his commentary, to the effect that Moses himself
+    wrote the verses which record his own death at the dictation of
+    the Almighty. The account literally rendered is, "The Holy
+    One--blessed be He!--spake, and Moses wrote in tears."
+
+There are eight sects of Pharisees, viz, these:--(1.) The shoulder
+Pharisee, i.e., he who, as it were, shoulders his good works to be seen
+of men. (2.) The time-gaining Pharisee, he who says, "Wait a while; let
+me first perform this or that good work." (3.) The compounding Pharisee,
+i.e., he who says, "May my few sins be deducted from my many virtues,
+and thus atoned for" (or the blood-letting Pharisee, i.e., he who for
+fear lest he should look by chance on a woman shuts his eyes and wounds
+his face). (4.) The Pharisee who so bends his back, stooping with his
+head toward the ground, that he wears the appearance of an inverted
+mortar. (5.) The Pharisee who proudly says, "Remains there a virtue
+which I ought to perform and have not?" (6.) The Pharisee who is so out
+of love for the reward which he hopes to earn by his observances. (7.)
+The Pharisee who is so from fear lest he should expose himself to
+punishment. (8.) The Pharisee who is born so.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 37.
+
+    Both Talmuds as a rule enumerate only seven sorts of Pharisees
+    (T. Yerush, Berachoth, fol. 13, Soteh, fol. 20, T. Babli, fol.
+    22, col. 2, and elsewhere); but Rabbi Nathan, as above, adds a
+    new species to the genus. The freehand sketches of Pharisees
+    given in the Talmud are the reverse of complimentary. In the
+    words of the late E. Deutsch, who was a Talmudist of no mean
+    repute, "the Talmud inveighs even more bitterly and caustically
+    than the New Testament against what it calls the plague of
+    Pharisaism, 'the dyed ones,' 'who do evil deeds like Zimri, and
+    require a goodly reward like Phinehas,' 'they who preach
+    beautifully, but do not act beautifully.' Parodying their
+    exaggerated logical arrangements, their scrupulous divisions and
+    subdivisions, the Talmud distinguishes seven classes of
+    Pharisees, one of whom only is worthy of that name. The real and
+    only Pharisee is he 'who does the will of his Father which is in
+    heaven because he loves Him.'"
+
+He who neglects to wear phylacteries transgresseth eight commandments.
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 44, col. 1.
+
+The following extract states the occasion when the wearing of
+phylacteries was prescribed as an equivalent that would be accepted
+instead of the observance of the law:--"Rabbi Eliezer said the
+Israelites complained before God one day, 'We are anxious to be occupied
+day and night in the law, but we have not the necessary leisure.' Then
+the Holy One--blessed be He!--said to them, 'Perform the commandment of
+the phylacteries, and I will count it as if you were occupied day and
+night in the law.'" (_Yalhut Shimeoni_). Phylacteries, fringes, and
+Mezuzah, these three preserve one from sin; as it is said (Eccl. iv. 2),
+"A threefold cord is not quickly broken;" as also in Ps. xxxiv. 7, "The
+angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear Him, and delivereth
+them."
+
+Ibid., fol. 43, col. 2.
+
+The harp in the time of the Messiah will have eight strings; as it is
+written (Ps. xii. 1), "The chief musician upon eight," etc.
+
+_Eirchin_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+On the ninth day of the month Ab (about August) both the first Temple
+and the second were destroyed.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 18, col. 2.
+
+    In 2 Kings xxv. 8, the seventh of Ab is the date given for the
+    first of these events, whereas Jeremiah (lii. 12) mentions the
+    tenth as the fatal day. Josephus (Wars of the Jews, Book vi.
+    chap. 4, sec. 15) coincides with the latter.
+
+On the ninth of Ab one must abstain from eating and drinking, and
+anointing one's self, and wearing shoes, and matrimonial intercourse. He
+may not read the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Halachoth, or the
+Haggadoth, excepting such portions as he is not in the habit of reading,
+such he may then read. The lamentations, Job, and the hard words of
+Jeremiah should engage his study. Children should not go to school on
+this day, because it is said (Ps. xix. 8), "The statutes of the Lord are
+right, rejoicing the heart."
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 30, col. 1.
+
+    Nowadays, on the date referred to, Jews do not wear their
+    tallith and phylacteries at morning prayer; by this act laying
+    aside the outward signs of their covenant with God; but,
+    contrary to custom, they put them on in the evening, when the
+    fast is nearly over.
+
+He who does any work on the ninth of Ab will never see even a sign of
+blessing. The sages say, whoso does any work on that day and does not
+lament over Jerusalem will never see her joy; for it is said (Isa. lxvi.
+10), "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her; rejoice for joy,
+all ye that mourn for her."
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 30, col. 2.
+
+If there be nine shops all selling the meat of animals which have been
+legally butchered, and one selling the meat of animals which have not,
+and if a person who has bought meat does not know at which of these
+shops he bought it, he is not entitled to the benefit of the doubt; the
+meat he has purchased is prohibited.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 15, col. 1.
+
+A woman prefers one measure of frivolity to nine measures of Pharisaic
+sanctimoniousness.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 20, col. 1.
+
+The Talmud has much to say, and does say a great deal, about women. And
+although what it says tends rather to discountenance than to promote
+their development, it is not insensible to what they might become under
+refinement of culture, and occasionally enforces the duty of attending
+to their higher education. In proof of both positions we appeal to the
+following quotations:--
+
+In the Mishna, from which the above quotation is taken, we are told that
+Ben Azai (the son of impudence) says, a man is bound to instruct his
+daughter in the law, although Rabbi Eliezer, who always assumes an
+oracular air, and boasts that the Halachah is always according to his
+decision (_Bava Metzia_, fol. 59, col. 2), insists, on the other hand,
+that he who instructs his daughter in the law must be considered as
+training her into habits of frivolity; and the saying above ascribes to
+the sex such a power of frivolity as connects itself evidently with the
+foregone conclusion that they are by nature incapable of being developed
+into any solidity of worth or character. The Gemara, Tosephoth, and
+Rashi as well all support Rabbi Eliezer in laying a veto on female
+education, for fear lest, with the acquisition of knowledge, women might
+become cunning, and do things on the sly which ought not to be done by
+them. Literally the saying is:--For from it (i.e., the acquisition of
+knowledge) she comes to understand cunning, and does things on the
+quiet.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 21, col. 2, Rashi.
+
+Another good reason for neglecting female education those who take the
+Talmud as an authority find in these words: women are light-minded,
+i.e., of shallow natural endowment, on which any serious discipline
+would be thrown away.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 80, col. 2.
+
+Another argument to the same effect is, that there is no distinct
+command in the law of Moses inculcating the duty; for in Deut. xi. 19 it
+is merely said, "And ye shall teach them to your children," a command
+which, as it passes refracted through the Rabbinic medium, becomes your
+sons, but not your daughters.
+
+Ibid., fol. 29, col. 2.
+
+As the immediately preceding command, so interpreted, cannot be carried
+out by any one not favored with male children, the well-known Talmudic
+dictum acquires force and point, "Blessed is the man whose children are
+sons, but luckless is he whose children are daughters."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+A man prefers one measure obtained by his own earning to nine measures
+collected by the exertion of his neighbor.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+Nine have entered alive into paradise, and these are they:--Enoch, the
+son of Jared; Elijah; the Messiah; Eliezer, the servant of Abraham;
+Hiram, king of Tyre; Ebed Melech, the Ethiopian; Jabez, the son of Rabbi
+Yehuda the prince; Bathia, the daughter of Pharaoh; and Sarah, the
+daughter of Asher. Some say also Rabbi Yoshua, the son of Levi.
+
+_Derech Eretz Zuta_, chap. 1.
+
+    As the last-mentioned personage, Rabbi Yoshua, entered paradise
+    "not by the door," but some "other way," it may be interesting
+    to not a few to know how he succeeded, and here accordingly we
+    append the story of the feat. As Rabbi Yoshua's earthly career
+    drew to a close, the angel of death was instructed to wait upon
+    him, and at the same time show all respect for his wishes. The
+    Rabbi, remarking the courteous demeanor of his visitant,
+    requested him, before he despatched him, to favor him with a
+    glimpse of the place he was to occupy in paradise above, and
+    meantime commit to him his sword, as a gage that he would grant
+    his petition and not take advantage of him on the journey. This
+    request being granted and the sword delivered up, the Rabbi and
+    his attendant took the road, pacing along till they halted
+    together just outside the gates of the celestial city. Here the
+    angel assisted the Rabbi to climb the wall, and proceeded to
+    point out the place he would occupy some day in the future, when
+    deftly throwing himself over, he left the angel standing outside
+    and holding him fast by the skirt of his garment. When pressed
+    to return, he swore he would not go back, protesting that, as he
+    had never sought to be relieved of the obligation of his oath on
+    earth, he would not be cajoled or coerced into an act of perjury
+    within the precincts of heaven. He declined at first to give up
+    the sword of the angel, and would have stood to his point but
+    for the echo of a voice which peremptorily ordered its immediate
+    restoration. (See _Kethuboth_ fol. 77, col. 2.)
+
+Where is it taught that when ten join together in prayer the Shechinah
+is with them? In Ps. lxxxii. 4, where it is said, "God standeth in the
+congregation of the mighty."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 1.
+
+    According to Rabbinic law, it takes at least ten men to
+    constitute a legally convened congregation. Nearly a thousand
+    pounds were expended every year by the synagogues of the
+    metropolis to hire (minyan) men to make up the congregational
+    number, and thus ensure the due observance of this regulation.
+
+When the Holy One--blessed be He!--enters the synagogue, and does not
+find ten men present, His anger is immediately stirred; as it is said
+(Isa. i. 2), "Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? When I called,
+there was none to answer?"
+
+Ibid., fol. 6, col. 2.
+
+    The passion of anger here ascribed to God is by not a few
+    regarded as an attribute wholly alien to the proper nature of
+    the Deity. Such, however, is evidently not the judgment of the
+    Talmudists. Nor is this surprising when we see elsewhere how
+    boldly they conceive and how freely they speak of the Divine
+    Majesty. The Rabbis are not in general a shamefaced generation,
+    and are all too prone to deal familiarly with the most sacred
+    realities. The excerpts which follow amply justify this
+    judgment.
+
+God is represented as roaring like a lion, etc., etc.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 3, col. 1. See chap. iii.
+
+God is said to wear phylacteries.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 1.
+
+This is referred to in the morning service for Yom Kippur, where it is
+said He showed "the knot of the phylacteries to the meek one" (i.e.,
+Moses).
+
+He is said to pray; for it is written (Isa. lvi. 7), "Them will I bring
+to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of my prayer." It
+is thus He prays: "May it please me that my mercy may overcome my anger,
+that all my attributes may be invested with compassion, and that I may
+deal with my children in the attribute of kindness, and that out of
+regard to them I may pass by judgment."
+
+Ibid., fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+He is a respecter of persons; as it is written (Num. vi. 26), "The Lord
+lift up His countenance upon thee."
+
+Ibid., fol. 20, col. 2.
+
+When accused by Elijah of having turned Israel's heart back again (1
+Kings xviii. 37), He confesseth the evil He had done (Micah iv. 6).
+
+Ibid., fol. 31, col. 2.
+
+God, when charged by Moses as being the cause of Israel's idolatry,
+confesseth the justice of that accusation by saying (Num. xiv. 20), "I
+have pardoned according to thy word."
+
+Ibid., fol. 32, col. 1.
+
+He drops two tears into the ocean, and this causes the earth to quake.
+
+Ibid., fol. 59, col. 1.
+
+He is represented as a hairdresser; for it is said He plaited Eve's hair
+(and some have actually enumerated the braids as 700).
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+In a Hagada (see Sanhedrin, fol. 95, col. 2), God is conceived as acting
+the barber to Sennacherib, a sort of parody on Isaiah vii. 20.
+
+He is said to have created the evil as well as the good passions in man.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 61, col. 1.
+
+God weeps every day.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 3, col. 2.
+
+He dresses Himself in a veil and shows Moses the Jewish Liturgy, saying
+unto him, "When the Israelites sin against me, let them copy this
+example, and I will pardon their sins."
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 17, col. 2.
+
+God is said to have regretted creating certain things.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 52, col, 2.
+
+God is represented as irrigating the land of Israel, but leaving the
+rest of the earth to be watered by an angel.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+It is said that He will make a dance for the righteous, and as He places
+Himself in the centre, they will point at Him with their fingers, and
+say (Isa. xxv. 9), "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him;...
+we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
+
+Ibid., fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+God is said to have prevaricated in making peace between Abraham and
+Sarah, which is not so surprising; for while one Rabbi teaches that
+prevarication is under certain circumstances allowable, another asserts
+it absolutely as a duty; for it is written (1 Sam. xvi. 2), "And Samuel
+said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said,
+Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord."
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 65, col. 2.
+
+    This teaching may be easily matched by parallels from heathen
+    literature, but we have room only for two or three
+    examples:--Maximus Tyrius says, "There is nothing (essentially)
+    decorous in truth, yea, truth is sometimes hurtful and lying
+    profitable." Darius is represented by Herodotus (Book iii., p.
+    191) as saying, "When telling falsehood is profitable, let it be
+    told." Menander says, "A lie is better than an annoying truth."
+
+God utters a curse against those who remain single after they are twenty
+years of age; and those who marry at sixteen please him, and those who
+do so at fourteen still more.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 29, col. 2.
+
+Elijah binds and God flogs the man who marries an unsuitable wife.
+
+Ibid., fol. 70, col. 1.
+
+God acknowledges His weakness in argument, "My children have vanquished
+me! my children have vanquished me!" He exclaims. "They have defeated me
+in argument."
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 59, col. 2.
+
+God's decision was controverted by the Academy in heaven, and the matter
+in debate was finally settled by a Rabbi, who had to be summoned from
+earth to heaven expressly to adjudicate in the case.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 86, col. 1.
+
+    The classical student will recognize in this a parallel to the
+    Greek myth in which the Olympian divinities refer their debate
+    in the matter of the apple of discord to the judgment of Paris.
+    May there not in both fables lie a dim forefeeling of the time
+    when Justice shall transfer her seat from the skies, so that
+    whatever her ministers bind on earth may be bound in heaven?
+
+God will bear testimony before all the nations of the earth that His
+people Israel have kept the whole of the law.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 3, col. 1.
+
+God is occupied for twelve hours every day in study, at work, or at
+play.
+
+Ibid., fol. 3, col. 2.
+
+God does not act without first consulting the assembly above; as it is
+said (Dan. iv. 17), "This matter is by the decree of the watchers and
+the demand of the word of the Holy One," etc.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 38, col. 2.
+
+God Himself is described as exacting an atonement for His own
+miscreations; as, for instance, His diminishing the size of the moon.
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+The general height of the Levites was ten ells.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 92, col. 1.
+
+Ten things cause hemorrhoids:--Eating cane leaves, the foliage and
+tendrils of the vine, the palate of cattle, the backbones of fish,
+half-cooked salt fish, wine lees, etc.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 55, col. 1.
+
+Ten things provoke a desperate relapse in a convalescent:--Eating beef,
+fat meat, broiled meat, fowl, or roasted eggs, shaving, eating cress,
+taking milk or cheese, or indulging in a bath. Some say also eating
+walnuts, others say eating cucumbers, which are as dangerous to the body
+as swords.
+
+Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+Ten curses were pronounced against Eve:--The words "greatly multiply,"
+"thy sorrow" (alluding to rearing a family), "thy conception," "in
+sorrow shalt thou bring forth," "thy desire shall be to thy husband,"
+"he shall rule over thee," express six of these. The remainder are:--She
+should be wrapped up like a mourner (that is, she should not appear in
+public without having her head covered); she was restricted to one
+husband, though he might have more wives than one, and was to be kept
+within doors like a prisoner.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 100, col. 2.
+
+Ten things were created during the twilight of the first Sabbath-eve.
+These were:--The well that followed Israel in the wilderness, the manna,
+the rainbow, the letters of the alphabet, the stylus, the tables of the
+law, the grave of Moses, the cave in which Moses and Elijah stood, the
+opening of the mouth of Balaam's ass, the opening of the earth to
+swallow the wicked (Korah and his clique). Rav Nechemiah said, in his
+father's name, also fire and the mule. Rav Yosheyah, in his father's
+name, added also the ram which Abraham offered up instead of Isaac, and
+the Shameer. Rav Yehudah says the tongs also, etc.
+
+_Psachim_, fol. 54, col 1.
+
+To the ten things said to have been created on Sabbath-eve some add the
+rod of Aaron that budded and bloomed, and others malignant demons and
+the garments of Adam.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Rav Yehuda said, in the name of Rav, ten things were created on the
+first day:--Heaven and earth, chaos and confusion, light and darkness,
+wind and water, the measure of day and the measure of night. "Heaven and
+earth," for it is written, "In the beginning God made the heavens and
+the earth." "Chaos and confusion," for it is written, "And the earth was
+chaos and confusion." "Light and darkness," for it is written, "And
+darkness was upon the face of the abyss." "Wind and water," for it is
+written, "The wind of God hovered over the face of the waters." "The
+measure of day and the measure of night," for it is written, "Morning
+and evening were one day."
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 12, col. 1.
+
+Ten facts witness to the presence of a supernatural power in the
+Temple:--No premature birth was ever caused by the odor of the
+sacrifices; the carcasses never became putrid; no fly was ever to be
+seen in the slaughter-houses; the high-priest was never defiled on the
+day of atonement; no defect was ever found in the wave-sheaf, the two
+wave-loaves, or the shewbread; however closely crowded the people were,
+every one had room enough for prostration; no serpent or scorpion ever
+stung a person in Jerusalem; and no one had ever to pass the night
+without sleeping-accommodation in the city.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 21, col. 1.
+
+Tradition teaches that Rabbi Yossi said:--The Shechinah has never
+descended below, nor did Moses and Elijah ever ascend on high; for it is
+said (Ps. cxv. 16), "The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lords; but
+the earth hath he given to the children of men." True, it is written, he
+admitted (Exod. xix. 20), "And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai;" but
+that, he remarked, was ten handbreadths above the summit. And true, too,
+is it written (Zech. xiv. 4), "And His feet shall stand in that day upon
+the Mount of Olives;" but that, too, he added, is ten handbreadths above
+it. And so, in like manner, Moses and Elijah halted ten handbreadths
+from heaven.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 5, col. 1.
+
+What entitles a place to rank as a large town? When there are in it ten
+unemployed men. Should there be fewer than that number, it is to be
+looked upon as a village.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 3, col. 2.
+
+    In places where there are not ten Batlanim, men of leisure, that
+    is, men always free to be present at every synagogue service, a
+    minyan (number) has to be hired for the purpose. The notion that
+    ten constitutes a congregation is based on the authority of Num.
+    xiv, 27, "How long shall I bear with this congregation?" As the
+    term "congregation" here refers to the ten spies who brought the
+    evil report, it is concluded forsooth that ten men, and never
+    less, is the orthodox minimum for a congregation.
+
+Ten lights, said he, could not extinguish one; how shall one extinguish
+ten?
+
+Ibid., fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+    These words are said to have been spoken by Joseph to his
+    brethren, who, after the death of their father Jacob, feared
+    lest Joseph should revenge himself upon them (Gen. l. 21). The
+    Midrash and the Targums as usual furnish much additional
+    information.
+
+Rav Assi said:--Nowadays, if a Gentile should betroth a Jewess, there is
+reason for regarding the betrothal as not therefore invalid, for he may
+be a descendant of the ten tribes, and so one of the seed of Israel.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan said:--If, after the death of her husband, a woman should
+remain unmarried for ten years and then marry again, she will have no
+children. Rav Nachman added:--Provided she have not thought of marrying
+all the while; but if she had thought of marrying again, in that case
+she will have children. Rava once said to Rav Chisda's daughter (who
+bore children to Rava, though she did not marry him until ten years
+after her first husband's death), "The Rabbis have their doubts about
+you." She replied, "I had always set my heart upon thee." A woman once
+said to Rav Yoseph, "I waited ten years before I married again, and then
+I had children." "Daughter," said he, "do not bring the words of the
+wise into discredit. It is thou, not they, that are mistaken." Then the
+woman confessed that she had been a transgressor.
+
+Ibid., fol. 34, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis teach that if a man live with a wife ten years without issue
+he should divorce her and give her the prescribed marriage portion, as
+he may not be deemed worthy to be built up by her (that is, to have
+children by her).
+
+Ibid., fol. 64, col. 2.
+
+    As a set-off we append here a romantic story paraphrased from
+    the Midrash Shir Hashirim. A certain Israelite of Sidon, having
+    lived many years with his wife without being blessed with
+    offspring, made up his mind to give her a bill of divorcement.
+    They went accordingly together to Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, that
+    legal effect might be given to the act of separation. Upon
+    presenting themselves before him, the Rabbi addressed them in
+    these fatherly accents:--"My children," said he, "your divorce
+    must not take place in pettishness or anger, lest people should
+    surmise something guilty or disgraceful as the motive for the
+    action. Let your parting, therefore, be like your meeting,
+    friendly and cheerful. Go home, make a feast, and invite your
+    friends to share it with you; and then to-morrow return and I
+    will ratify the divorce you seek for." Acting upon this advice,
+    they went home, got ready a feast, invited their friends, and
+    made merry together. "My dear," said the husband at length to
+    his wife, "we have lived for many a long year lovingly together,
+    and now that we are about to be separated, it is not because
+    there is any ill-will between us, but simply because we are not
+    blessed with a family. In proof that my love is unchanged, and
+    that I wish thee all good, I give thee leave to choose whatever
+    thou likest best in the house and carry it away with thee." The
+    wife with true womanly wit promptly replied, "Well and good, my
+    dear!" The evening thereafter glided pleasantly by, the wine-cup
+    went round freely and without stint, and all passed off well,
+    till first the guests one by one, and then the master of the
+    house himself, fell asleep, and lay buried in unconsciousness.
+    The lady, who had planned this result, and only waited its
+    _denouement_, immediately summoned her confidential handmaids
+    and had her lord and master gently borne away as he was to the
+    house of her father. On the following morning, as the stupor
+    wore off, he awoke, rubbing his eyes with astonishment. "Where
+    am I?" he cried. "Be easy, husband dear," responded the wife in
+    his presence. "I have only done as thou allowedst me. Dost thou
+    remember permitting me last night, in the hearing of our guests,
+    to take away from our house whatever best pleased me? There was
+    nothing there I cared for so much as thyself; thou art all in
+    all to me, so I brought thee with me here. Where I am there
+    shalt thou be; let nothing but death part us." The two thereupon
+    went back to Rabbi Shimon as appointed, and reported their
+    change of purpose, and that they had made up their minds to
+    remain united. So the Rabbi prayed for them to the Lord, who
+    couples and setteth the single in families. He then spoke his
+    blessing over the wife, who became thenceforth as a fruitful
+    vine, and honored her husband with children and children's
+    children.
+
+    A parallel to this, illustrative of wifely devotion, is recorded
+    in the early history of Germany. In the year 1141, during the
+    civil war in Germany between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, it
+    happened that the Emperor Conrad besieged the Guelph Count of
+    Bavaria in the Castle of Weinsberg. After a long and obstinate
+    defense the garrison was obliged at length to surrender, when
+    the Emperor, annoyed that they had held out so long and defied
+    him, vowed that he would destroy the place with fire and put all
+    to the sword except the women, whom he gallantly promised to let
+    go free and pass out unmolested. The Guelph Countess, when she
+    heard of this, begged as a further favor that the women might be
+    allowed to bear forth as much of their valuables as they could
+    severally manage to carry. The Emperor having pledged his word
+    and honor that he would grant this request, on the morrow at
+    daybreak, as the castle gates opened, he saw to his amazement
+    the women file out one by one, every married woman carrying her
+    husband with her young ones upon her back, and the others each
+    the friend or relation nearest and dearest to her. At sight of
+    this, the Emperor was tenderly moved, and could not help
+    according to the action the homage of his admiration. The result
+    was that not only was life and liberty extended to the Guelphs,
+    but the place itself was spared and restored in perpetuity to
+    its heroic defenders. The Count and his Countess were henceforth
+    treated by the Emperor with honor and affection, and the town
+    itself was for long after popularly known by the name of
+    Weihertreue, i.e., the abode of womanly fidelity.
+
+Benedictory condolences are recited by ten men, not reckoning the
+mourners; but nuptial blessings are recited by ten men, including the
+bridegroom.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 8. col. 2.
+
+The Mishnic Rabbis have ordained that ten cups of wine be drunk in the
+house by the funeral party; three before supper, to whet the appetite;
+three during supper, to aid digestion; and four after the meal, at the
+recitation of the four benedictions. Afterward four complimentary cups
+were added, one in honor of the precentors, one in honor of the
+municipal authorities, another in remembrance of the Temple, and the
+fourth in the memory of Rabbon Gamliel. Drunkenness so often ensued on
+these occasions that the number had to be curtailed to the original ten
+cups. The toast to the memory of Rabbon Gamliel was to commemorate his
+endeavors to reduce the extravagant expenses at burials, and the
+consequent abandonment of the dead by poor relations. He left orders
+that his own remains should be buried in a linen shroud, and since then,
+says Rav Pappa, corpses are buried in canvas shrouds about a zouz in
+value.
+
+Ibid., fol. 8, col. 2.
+
+At the age of ten years a child should begin to study the Mishna.
+
+Ibid., fol. 50, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi the Holy, when dying, lifted up his ten fingers toward heaven and
+said:--"Lord of the Universe, it is open and well-known unto Thee that
+with these ten fingers I have labored without ceasing in the law, and
+never sought after any worldly profit with even so much as my little
+finger; may it therefore please Thee that there may be peace in my
+rest!" A voice from heaven immediately responded (Isa. lvii. 2), "He
+shall enter peace: they shall rest in their beds."
+
+Ibid., fol. 104, col. 2.
+
+Ten measures of wisdom came down to the world; the land of Israel
+received nine and the rest of the world but one only. Ten measures of
+beauty came down to the world; Jerusalem monopolized nine and the rest
+of the world had only one. Ten measures of riches came down to the
+world; Rome laid hold of nine and left the rest of the world but one for
+a portion. Ten measures of poverty came down to the world; nine fell to
+the lot of Babylon and one to the rest of the world. Ten measures of
+pride came down to the world; Elam appropriated nine and to the rest of
+the world but one remained over. Ten measures of bravery came to the
+world; Persia took nine, leaving but one for the rest of the world. Ten
+measures of vermin came to the world; nine fell to the Medes and one to
+the rest of the world. Ten measures of sorcery came down to the world;
+Egypt received nine and one was shared by the rest of the world. Ten
+measures of plagues came into the world; nine measures were alloted to
+the swine and the rest of the world had the other. Ten measures of
+fornication came into the world; nine of these belong to the Arabs and
+to the rest of the world the other. Ten measures of impudence found its
+way into the world; Mishan appropriated nine, leaving one to the rest of
+the world. Ten measures of talk came into the world; women claimed nine,
+leaving the tenth to the rest of the world. Ten measures of early rising
+came into the world; they of Ethiopia received nine and the rest of the
+world one only. Ten measures of sleep came to the world; the servants
+took nine of them, leaving one measure to the rest of the world.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+Ten different sorts of people went up from Babylon:--(1.) Priests, (2.)
+Levites, (3.) Israelites, (4.) Disqualified Cohanim, (5.) Freedmen, (6.)
+Illegitimate, (7.) Nethinim, (8.) Unaffiliated ones, and (10.)
+Foundlings.
+
+Ibid., fol. 63, col. 1.
+
+Ten characteristics mark the phlebotomist:--He walks sideling along; he
+is proud; he stoops awhile before seating himself; he has an envious and
+evil eye; he is a gourmand, but he defecates little at a time; he is
+suspected of incontinence, robbery, and murder.
+
+Ibid., fol. 82, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Chanena ben Agil asked Rabbi Cheya ben Abba, "Why does the word,
+'signifying that it may be well with thee' not occur in the first copy
+of the ten commandments (Exod. xx.) as it does in the second?" (Deut.
+v.) He replied, "Before thou askest me such a question, first tell me
+whether the word occurs in Deuteronomy or not? for I don't know if it
+does." The required answer was given by another Rabbi, "The omission of
+the word in the first publication of the ten commandments is due to the
+foresight of what was to befall the first tables, for if the word good
+had been in the tables, and broken withal, then goodness would have
+ceased to bless the sons of Israel."
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 55, col. 1.
+
+    The Tosephoth in Bava Bathra (fol. 113, col. 1) ingenuously
+    admits that the Rabbis were occasionally ignorant of the letter
+    of Scripture. The above quotation may be taken as a sample of
+    several in corroboration.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that when pestilence is abroad no one should walk
+along the middle of the road, for there the angel of death would be sure
+to cross him. Neither when there is pestilence in a town should a person
+go to the synagogue alone, because there, provided no children are
+taught there, and ten men are not met to pray there, the angel of death
+hides his weapons. The Rabbis have also taught that (like the Banshee of
+Ireland), the howling of dogs indicates the approach of the angel of
+death, whereas when they sport it is a sign that Elijah the prophet is
+at hand, unless one of them happen to be a female, for it is her
+presence among them, and not any super-natural instinct, that is to be
+understood as the cause of the demonstration.
+
+Ibid., fol. 60, col. 2.
+
+Ten constitutions were founded by Ezra:--The reading of a portion of
+Scripture during the afternoon prayers on the Sabbath-day, and during
+morning prayers on the second and fifth days of the week (a rule that is
+to this day observed in orthodox places of worship), and this for the
+reason that three days should not pass by without such an exercise; to
+hold courts for the due administration of justice on the second and
+fifth days of the week, when the country people came to hear the public
+reading of the Scriptures; to wash their garments, etc., on the fifth
+day, and to prepare for the coming Sabbath; to eat garlic on the sixth
+day of the week, as this vegetable has the property of promoting
+secretions (see Exod. xxi. 10); that the wife should be up betimes and
+bake the bread, so as to have some ready in case any one should come
+begging; that the women should wear a girdle round the waist for decency
+sake; that they should comb their hair before bathing; that peddlers
+should hawk their perfumes about the streets in order that women should
+supply themselves with such things as will attract and please their
+husbands; and that certain unfortunates (see Lev. xv.) should bathe
+themselves before they came to the public reading of the law.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 82, col. 1.
+
+Ten things are said about Jerusalem:--(1.) No mortgaged house was
+eventually alienated from its original owner (which was the case
+elsewhere in Jewry). (2.) Jerusalem never had occasion to behead a
+heifer by way of expiation for an unproved murder (see Deut. xxi. 1-9).
+(3.) She never could be regarded as a repudiated city (Deut. xiii. 12,
+etc.). (4.) No appearance of plagues in any house at Jerusalem rendered
+the house unclean, because the words of Lev. xiv. 34, are "your
+possession," an expression which could not apply to Jerusalem, as it had
+never been portioned among the ten tribes. (5.) Projecting cornices and
+balconies were not to be built in the city. (6.) Limekilns were not to
+be erected there. (7.) No refuse heaps were allowed in any quarter. (8.)
+No orchards or gardens were permitted, excepting certain flower-gardens,
+which had been there from the times of the earlier prophets. (9.) No
+cocks were reared in Jerusalem. (10.) No corpse ever remained over night
+within its walls; the funeral had to take place on the day of the
+decease.
+
+Ibid., fol. 82, col. 2.
+
+In the Book of Psalms David included those which were composed by ten
+elders:--Adam (Ps. cxxxix.); Melchizedek (Ps. cx.); Abraham (Ps.
+lxxxix.); Moses (Ps. xc.); the others alluded to were by Heman,
+Jeduthun, Asaph, and the three sons of Korah.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+A man once overheard his wife telling her daughter that, though she had
+ten sons, only one of them could fairly claim her husband as his father.
+After the father's death it was found that he had bequeathed all his
+property to one son, but that the testament did not mention his name.
+The question therefore, arose, which of the ten was intended? So they
+came one and all to Rabbi Benaah and asked him to arbitrate between
+them. "Go," said he to them, "and beat at your father's grave, until he
+rises to tell you to which of you it was that he left the property." All
+except one did so; and he, because by so doing he showed most respect
+for his father's memory, was presumed to be the one on whom the father
+had fixed his affections; he accordingly was supposed to be the one
+intended, and the others were therefore excluded from the patrimony. The
+disappointed ones went straight to the government and denounced the
+Rabbi. "Here is a man," said they, "who arbitrarily deprives people of
+their rights, without proof or witnesses." The consequence was that the
+Rabbi was sent to prison, but he gave the authorities such evidence of
+his shrewdness and sense of justice, that he was soon restored to
+freedom.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 58, col. 1.
+
+Till ten generations have passed speak thou not contemptuously of the
+Gentiles in the hearing of a proselyte.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 94, col. 1.
+
+The ten tribes will never be restored, for it is said (Deut. xxiii. 28),
+"God cast them into another land, as it is this day." As this day passes
+away without return, so also they have passed away never more to return.
+So says Rabbi Akiva, but Rabbi Eleazar says, "'As it is this day'
+implies that, as the day darkens and lightens up again, so the ten
+tribes now in darkness shall in the future be restored to light." The
+Rabbis have thus taught that the ten tribes will have no portion in the
+world to come; for it is said (Deut. xxix. 28), "And the Lord rooted
+them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great
+indignation." "And he rooted them out of their land," that is, from this
+world, "and cast them into another land," that is, the World to come. So
+says Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda says, "If their designs
+continue as they are at this day, they will not return, but if they
+repent they will return." Rabbi (the Holy) says, "They will enter the
+world to come, for it is said (Isa. xxvii. 13), 'And it shall come to
+pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall
+come which were ready to perish.'"
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 110, col. 2.
+
+Ten things are detrimental to study:--Going under the halter of a camel,
+and still more passing under its body; walking between two camels or
+between two women; to be one of two men that a woman passes between; to
+go where the atmosphere is tainted by a corpse; to pass under a bridge
+beneath which no water has flowed for forty days; to eat with a ladle
+that has been used for culinary purposes; to drink water that runs
+through a cemetery. It is also dangerous to look at the face of a
+corpse, and some say also to read inscriptions on tombstones.
+
+_Horayoth_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+Ten strong things were created in the world (of which the one that comes
+after is stronger than that which preceded). A mountain is strong, but
+iron can hew it in pieces; the fire weakens the iron; the water quenches
+the fire; the clouds carry off the water; the wind disperses the clouds;
+the living body resists the wind; fear enervates the body; wine
+abolishes fear; sleep overcomes wine, and death is stronger than all
+together; yet it is written (Prov. x. 2), "And alms delivereth from
+death" (the original word has two meanings, righteousness and alms).
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+With the utterance of ten words was the world created.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 5, mish. 1.
+
+There were ten generations from Adam to Noah, to show how great is God's
+long-suffering, for each of these went on provoking Him more and more,
+till His forbearance relenting, He brought the flood upon them.
+
+Ibid., mish. 2.
+
+There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham, to show that God is
+long-suffering, since all those succeeding generations provoked Him,
+until Abraham came, and he received the reward that belonged to all of
+them.
+
+_Avoth_, mish. 3.
+
+    The greatest sinner is uniformly presumed throughout the Talmud
+    to have a certain amount of merit, and therefore a corresponding
+    title to reward (see chap. 2, No. 10 = Ps. xxxvii. 35-37). Much
+    of this last is enjoyed by the wicked themselves in the present
+    world, and the surplus is often transferred to the credit of the
+    righteous in the world to come (see "Genesis", page 482, No. 173
+    = Matt. xiii. 12).
+
+Abraham our father was tested ten times; in every case he stood firm;
+which shows how great the love of our father Abraham was.
+
+Ibid., mish. 4.
+
+Ten miracles were wrought for our forefathers in Egypt, and ten at the
+Red Sea. Ten plagues did the Holy One--blessed be He!--inflict on the
+Egyptians in Egypt, and ten at the sea. Ten times did our ancestors
+tempt God in the wilderness, as it is said (Num. xiv. 22), "And have
+tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice."
+
+Ibid., mish. 5, 6, 7.
+
+Ten times did God test our forefathers, and they were not so much as
+once found to be perfect.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 34.
+
+Ten times the Shechinah came down unto the world:--At the garden of Eden
+(Gen. iii. 8); at the time of the Tower (Gen. xi. 5); at Sodom (Gen.
+xviii. 21); in Egypt (Exod. iii. 8); at the Red Sea (Ps. xviii. 9); on
+Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 20); into the Temple (Ezek. xliv. 2); in the
+pillar of cloud (Num. xi. 25). It will descend in the days of Gog and
+Magog, for it is said (Zech. xiv. 4), "And His feet shall stand in that
+day upon the Mount of Olives" (the tenth is omitted in the original).
+
+Ibid.
+
+The Shechinah made ten gradual ascents in passing from place to
+place:--From the cover of the ark to the cherub (2 Sam. xxii. 11);
+thence to the threshold of the house (Ezek. ix. 3); thence to the
+cherubim (Ezek. x. 18); thence to the roof of the Temple (Prov. xxi. 9);
+thence to the wall of the court (Amos vii. 7); thence to the altar (Amos
+ix. 1); thence to the city (Micah vi. 9); thence to the mount (Ezek. xi.
+23); thence to the wilderness (Prov. xxi. 9); whence the Shechinah went
+up, as it is said (Hosea v. 15), "I will go and return to my place."
+
+_Avoth d Rab. Nathan_, chap. 34.
+
+Ten different terms are employed to express the title of
+prophet:--Ambassador, Faithful, Servant, Messenger, Seer, Watchman, Seer
+of Vision, Dreamer, Prophet, Man of God.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Ten distinct designations are applied to the Holy Spirit:--Proverb,
+Interpretation, Dark, Saying, Oracle, Utterance, Decree, Burden,
+Prophecy, Vision.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Ten are designated by the term Life or Living:--God, the law, Israel,
+the righteous, the garden of Eden, the tree of life, the land of Israel,
+Jerusalem, benevolence, the sages; and water also is described as life,
+as it is said (Zech. xiv. 8), "And it shall be in that day that living
+water shall go out from Jerusalem."
+
+Ibid.
+
+If there are ten beds piled upon one another, and if beneath the
+lowermost there be any tissue woven of linen and wool (Lev. xix. 19), it
+is unlawful to lie down upon them.
+
+_Tamid_, fol. 27, col. 2.
+
+Alexander of Macedon proposed ten queries to the elders of the
+south:--"Which are more remote from each other, the heavens from the
+earth or the east from the west?" They answered, "The east is more
+remote from the west, for when the sun is either in the east or in the
+west, any one can gaze upon him; but when the sun is in the zenith or
+heaven, none can gaze at him, he is so much nearer." The Mishnaic
+Rabbis, on the other hand, say they are equidistant; for it is written
+(Ps. ciii. 11, 12), "As the heavens are from the earth, ... so is the
+east removed from the west." Alexander then asked, "Were the heavens
+created first or was the earth?" "The heavens," they replied, "for it is
+said, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'" He then
+asked, "Was light created first or was darkness?" They replied, "This is
+an unanswerable question." They should have answered darkness was
+created first, for it is said, "And the earth was without form and void,
+and darkness was upon the face of the deep," and after this, "And God
+said, Let there be light, and there was light."
+
+_Tamid._, fol. 31, col. 2.
+
+There are ten degrees of holiness, and the land of Israel is holy above
+all other lands.
+
+_Kelim_, chap. i, mish. 6.
+
+There are ten places which, though Gentile habitations are not
+considered unclean:--(1.) Arab tents; (2.) A watchman's hut; (3.) The
+top of a tower; (4.) A fruit-store; (5.) A summer-house; (6.) A
+gatekeeper's lodge; (7.) An uncovered courtyard; (8.) A bath-house; (9.)
+An armory; (10.) A military camp.
+
+_Oholoth_ chap. 18, mish. 10.
+
+"An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord,
+even to the tenth generation," etc. (Deut. xxiii. 4). One day Yehuda, an
+Ammonite prophet, came into the academy and asked, "May I enter the
+congregation (if I marry a Jewess)?" Rabban Gamliel said unto him, "Thou
+art not at liberty to do so;" but Rabbi Joshua interposed and
+maintained, "He is at liberty to do so." Then Rabban Gamliel appealed to
+Scripture, which saith, "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the
+congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation." To this Rabbi
+Joshua retorted and asked, "Are then these nations still in their own
+native places? Did not Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, transplant the
+nations? as it is said (Isa. x. 13), 'I have removed the bounds of the
+people, and have robbed their treasures, and have put down the valor of
+the inhabitants.'" Rabban Gamliel replied, "Scripture saith (Jer. xlix.
+6), 'Afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of
+Ammon,' and so," he argued, "they must have already returned." Rabbi
+Joshua then promptly rejoined, "Scripture saith (Jer. xxx. 3), 'I will
+bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah,' and these have
+not returned yet." And on this reasoning the proselyte was permitted to
+enter the congregation.
+
+_Yadayim_, chap. 4, mish. 4.
+
+Go and learn from the tariff of donkey-drivers, ten miles for one zouz,
+eleven for two zouzim.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+When Israel went up to Jerusalem to attend the festivals, they had to
+stand in the Temple court closely crowded together, yet when prostrated
+there was a wide space between each of them (Rashi says about four
+ells), so that they could not hear each other's confession, which might
+have caused them to blush. They had, however, when prostrated, to extend
+eleven ells behind the Holy of Holies.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 21, col. 1,
+
+In the days of Joel, the son of Pethuel, there was a great dearth,
+because (as is said in Joel i. 4) "That which the palmerworm hath left
+hath the locust eaten," etc. That year the month of Adar (about March)
+passed away and no rain came. When some rain fell, during the following
+month, the prophet said unto Israel, "Go ye forth and sow." They
+replied, "Shall he who has but a measure or two of wheat or barley eat
+and live or sow it and die?" Still the prophet urged, "Go forth and
+sow." Then they obeyed the prophet, and in eleven days the seed had
+grown and ripened; and it is with reference to that generation that it
+is said (Ps. cxxvi. 5), "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."
+
+_Taanith_ fol. 5, col. 1.
+
+What is a female in her minority? One who is between eleven years and
+one day, and twelve years and one day. When younger or older than these
+ages she is to be treated in the usual manner.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 100, col. 2.
+
+Whoever gives a prutah to a poor man has six blessings bestowed upon
+him, and he that speaks a kind word to him realizes eleven blessings in
+himself (see Isa. lviii. 7, 8).
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+    On the next page of the same tract it is said, "For one prutah
+    given as alms to a poor man one is made partaker of the beatific
+    vision." (See also Midrash Tillim on Ps. xvii. 15.)
+
+    The prutah was the smallest coin then current. It is estimated
+    to have been equal to about one-twentieth of an English penny.
+    In some quarters of Poland the Jews have small thin bits of
+    brass, with the Hebrew word prutah impressed upon them, for the
+    uses in charity on the part of those among them that cannot
+    afford to give a kreutzer to a poor man. The poor, when they
+    have collected a number of these, change them into larger coin
+    at the almoner's appointed by the congregation. Thus even the
+    poor are enabled to give alms to the poor. (See my "Genesis," p.
+    277, No. 31.)
+
+Rabbi Yochanan said eleven sorts of spices were mentioned to Moses on
+Sinai. Rav Hunna asked, "What Scripture text proves this?" (Exod. xxx.
+34), "Take unto thee sweet spices" (the plural implying two), "stacte,
+myrrh, and galbanum" (these three thus making up five), "sweet spices"
+(the repetition doubling the five into ten), "with pure frankincense"
+(which makes up eleven).
+
+_Kerithoth_, fol. 6, col. 2.
+
+"Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken and forgotten me" (Isa. xlix. 14).
+The community of Israel once pleaded thus with the Holy One--blessed be
+He!--"Even a man who marries a second wife still bears in mind the
+services of the first, but Thou, Lord, hast forgotten me." The Holy
+One--blessed be He!--replied, "Daughter, I have created twelve
+constellations in the firmament, and for each constellation I have
+created thirty armies, and for each army thirty legions, each legion
+containing thirty divisions, each division thirty cohorts, each cohort
+having thirty camps, and in each camp hang suspended 365,000 myriads of
+stars, as many thousands of myriads as there are days in the year; all
+these have I created for thy sake, and yet thou sayest, 'Thou hast
+forsaken and forgotten me!' Can a woman forget her sucking-child, that
+she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may
+forget, yet will I not forget thee."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 32, col. 2.
+
+No deceased person is forgotten from the heart (of his relatives that
+survive him) till after twelve months, for it is said (Ps. xxxi. 12), "I
+am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a lost vessel" (which,
+as Rashi explains, is like all lost property, not thought of as lost for
+twelve months, for not till then is proclamation for it given up).
+
+Ibid., fol. 58, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Yossi, and Rabbi Shimon (ben Yochai) were sitting
+together, and Yehudah ben Gerim (the son, says Rashi, of proselyte
+parents) beside them. In the course of conversation Rabbi Yehudah
+remarked, "How beautiful and serviceable are the works of these Romans!
+They have established markets, spanned rivers by bridges, and erected
+baths." To this remark Rabbi Yossi kept silent, but Rabbi Shimon
+replied, "Yea, indeed; but all these they have done to benefit
+themselves. The markets they have opened to feed licentiousness, they
+have erected baths for their own pleasure, and the bridges they have
+raised for collecting tolls." Yehudah ben Gerim thereupon went direct
+and informed against them, and the report having reached the Emperor's
+ears, an edict was immediately issued that Rabbi Yehudah should be
+promoted, Rabbi Yossi banished to Sepphoris, and Rabbi Shimon taken and
+executed. Rabbi Shimon and his son, however, managed to secret
+themselves in a college, where they were purveyed to by the Rabbi's
+wife, who brought them daily bread and water. One day mistrust seized
+the Rabbi, and he said to his son, "Women are light-minded; the Romans
+may tease her and then she will betray us." So they stole away and hid
+themselves in a cave. Here the Lord interposed by a miracle, and created
+a carob-tree bearing fruit all the year round for their support, and
+opened a perennial spring for their refreshment. To save their clothes
+they laid them aside except at prayers, and to protect their naked
+bodies from exposure they would at other times sit up to their necks in
+sand, absorbed in study. After they had passed twelve years thus in the
+cave, Elijah was sent to inform them that the Emperor was dead, and his
+decree powerless to touch them. On leaving the cave, they noticed some
+people plowing and sowing, when one of them exclaimed, "These folk
+neglect eternal things and trouble themselves with the things that are
+temporal." As they fixed their eyes upon the place, fire came and burnt
+it up. Then a Bath Kol was heard exclaiming, "What! are ye come forth to
+destroy the world I have made? Get back to your cave and hide you."
+Thither accordingly they returned, and after they had stopped there
+twelve months longer, they remonstrated, pleading that even the judgment
+of the wicked in Gehenna lasted no longer than twelve months; upon which
+a Bath Kol was again heard from heaven, which said, "Come ye forth from
+your cave." Then they arose and obeyed it.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 33, col 2.
+
+Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that at every utterance which proceeded
+from the mouth of the Holy One--blessed be He!--on Mount Sinai, Israel
+receded twelve miles, being conducted gently back by the ministering
+angels; for it is said (Ps. lxviii. 12), "The angels of hosts kept
+moving."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 88, col. 2.
+
+A Sadducee once said to Rabbi Abhu, "Ye say that the souls of the
+righteous are treasured up under the throne of glory; how then had the
+Witch of Endor power to bring up the prophet Samuel by necromancy?" The
+Rabbi replied, "Because that occurred within twelve months after his
+death; for we are taught that during twelve months after death the body
+is preserved and the soul soars up and down, but that after twelve
+months the body is destroyed and the soul goes up never to return."
+
+Ibid., fol. 152, col. 2.
+
+Clever answers to puzzling questions like the above, are of frequent
+occurrence in the Talmud; and we select here a few out of the many
+specimens of Rabbinical ready wit and repartee.
+
+Turnus Rufus once said to Rabbi Akiva, "If your God is a friend to the
+poor, why doesn't he feed them?" To which he promptly replied, "That we
+by maintaining them may escape the condemnation of Gehenna." "On the
+contrary," said the Emperor, "the very fact of your maintaining the poor
+will condemn you to Gehenna. I will tell thee by a parable whereto this
+is like. It is as if a king of our own flesh and blood should imprison a
+servant who has offended him, and command that neither food nor drink
+should be given him, and as if one of his subjects in spite of him
+should go and supply him with both. When the king hears of it will he
+not be angry with that man? And ye are called servants, as it is said
+(Lev. xxv. 55), 'For unto me the children of Israel are servants.'" To
+this Rabbi Akiva replied, "And I too will tell thee a parable whereunto
+the thing is like. It is like a king of our own flesh and blood who,
+being angry with his son, imprisons him, and orders that neither food
+nor drink be given him, but one goes and gives him both to eat and
+drink. When the king hears of it will he not handsomely reward that man?
+And we are sons, as it is written (Deut. xiv. 1), 'Ye are the sons of
+the Lord your God.'" "True," the Emperor replied, "ye are both sons and
+servants; sons when ye do the will of God; servants when ye do not; and
+now ye are not doing the will of God."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+Certain philosophers once asked the elders at Rome, "If your God has no
+pleasure in idolatry, why does He not destroy the objects of it?" "And
+so He would," was the reply, "if only such objects were worshiped as the
+world does not stand in need of; but you idolaters will worship the sun
+and moon, the stars and the constellations. Should He destroy the world
+because of the fools there are in it? No! The world goes on as it has
+done all the same, but they who abuse it will have to answer for their
+conduct. On your philosophy, when one steals a measure of wheat and sows
+it in his field it should by rights produce no crop; nevertheless the
+world goes on as if no wrong had been done, and they who abuse it will
+one day smart for it."
+
+_Avoda Zarah_, fol. 54, col. 2.
+
+Antoninus Caesar asked Rabbi (the Holy), "Why does the sun rise in the
+east and set in the west?" "Thou wouldst have asked," answered the
+Rabbi, "the same question if the order had been reversed." "What I
+mean," remarked Antoninus, "is this, is there any special reason why he
+sets in the west?" "Yes," replied Rabbi, "to salute his Creator (who is
+in the east), for it is said (Neh. ix. 6), 'And the host of heaven
+worship Thee.'"
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 91, col. 2.
+
+Caesar once said to Rabbi Tanchum, "Come, now, let us be one people."
+"Very well," said Rabbi Tanchum, "only we, being circumcised, cannot
+possibly become like you; if, however, ye become circumcised we shall be
+alike in that regard anyhow, and so be as one people." The Emperor said,
+"Thou hast reasonably answered, but the Roman law is, that he who
+nonpluses his ruler and puts him to silence shall be cast to the lions."
+The word was no sooner uttered than the Rabbi was thrown into the den,
+but the lions stood aloof and did not even touch him. A Sadducee, who
+looked on, remarked, "The lions do not devour him because they are not
+hungry," but, when at the royal command, the Sadducee himself was thrown
+in, he had scarcely reached the lions before they fell upon him and
+began to tear his flesh and devour him.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 39, col. 1.
+
+A certain Sadducee asked Rabbi Abhu, "Since your God is a priest, as it
+is written (Exod. xxv. 2), 'That they bring Me an offering,' in what did
+He bathe Himself after He was polluted by the burial (Num. xix. 11, 18)
+of the dead body of Moses? It could not be in the water, for it is
+written (Isa. xl. 12), 'Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His
+hand?' which therefore are insufficient for Him to bathe in." The Rabbi
+replied, "He bathed in fire, as it is written (Isa. lxvi. 15), 'For
+behold the Lord will come with fire.'"
+
+Ibid.
+
+Turnus Rufus asked this question also of Rabbi Akiva, "Why is the
+Sabbath distinguished from other days?" Rabbi Akiva replied, "Why art
+thou distinguished from other men?" The answer was, "Because it hath
+pleased my Master thus to honor me." And so retorted Akiva, "It hath
+pleased God to honor His Sabbath." "But what I mean," replied the other,
+"was how dost thou know that it is the Sabbath-day?" The reply was, "The
+river Sambatyon proves it; the necromancer proves it; the grave of thy
+father proves it, for the smoke thereof rises not on the Sabbath."
+
+Ibid., fol. 65, col. 2.
+
+    See Bereshith Rabba, fol. 4, with reference to what is here said
+    about Turnus Rufus and his father's grave. The proof from the
+    necromancer lies in the allegation that his art was unsuccessful
+    if practiced on the Sabbath-day. The Sambatyon, Rashi says, is a
+    pebbly river which rushes along all the days of the week except
+    the Sabbath, on which it is perfectly still and quiet. In the
+    Machsor for Pentecost (D. Levi's ed. p. 81), it is styled "the
+    incomprehensible river," and a footnote thereto informs us that
+    "This refers to the river said to rest on the Sabbath from
+    throwing up stones, etc., which it does not cease to do all the
+    rest of the week." (See Sanhedrin, fol. 65, col. 2; Yalkut on
+    Isaiah, fol. 3, 1; Pesikta Tanchuma. See also Shalsheleth
+    Hakabbala and Yuchsin.)
+
+Those Israelites and Gentiles who have transgressed with their bodies
+(the former by neglecting to wear phylacteries, and the latter by
+indulging in sensuous pleasures), shall go down into Gehenna, and there
+be punished for twelve months, after which period their bodies will be
+destroyed and their soul consumed, and a wind shall scatter their ashes
+under the soles of the feet of the righteous; as it is said (Mal. iv.
+3), "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be as ashes
+under the soles of your feet." But the Minim, the informers, and the
+Epicureans, they who deny the law and the resurrection of the dead, they
+who separate themselves from the manners of the congregation, they who
+have been a terror in the land of the living, and they who have sinned
+and have led the multitude astray, as did Jeroboam the son of Nebat and
+his companions,--these shall go down into Gehenna, and there be judged
+for generations upon generations, as it is said (Isa. lxvi, 24), "And
+they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have
+transgressed against me," etc. Gehenna itself shall be consumed but they
+shall not be burned up in the destruction; as it is said (Ps. xlix, 14;
+Heb. xv.), "And their figures shall consume hell from being a dwelling."
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+Once when Israel went up by pilgrimages to one of the three annual
+feasts at Jerusalem (see Exod. xxxiv. 23, 24), it so happened that there
+was no water to drink. Nicodemon ben Gorion therefore hired of a
+friendly neighbor twelve huge reservoirs of water promising to have them
+replenished against a given time, or failing this to forfeit twelve
+talents of silver. The appointed day came and still the drought
+continued, and therewith the scarcity of water; upon which the creditor
+appeared and demanded payment of the forfeit. The answer of Nicodemon to
+the demand was, "There's time yet; the day is not over." The other
+chuckled to himself, inwardly remarking, "There's no chance now; there's
+been no rain all the season," and off he went to enjoy his bath. But
+Nicodemon sorrowful at heart, wended his way to the Temple. After
+putting on his prayer scarf, as he prayed, he pleaded, "Lord of the
+Universe! Thou knowest that I have not entered into this obligation for
+my own sake, but for Thy glory and for the benefit of Thy people." While
+he yet prayed the clouds gathered overhead, the rain fell in torrents,
+and the reservoirs were filled to overflowing. On going out of the house
+of prayer he was met by the exacting creditor, who still urged that the
+money was due to him, as he said, the rain came after sunset. But in
+answer to prayer the clouds immediately dispersed, and the sun shone out
+as brightly as ever.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 19. col. 2.
+
+    Nicodemon ben Gorion of the above story is by some considered to
+    be the Nicodemus of St. John's Gospel, iii. 1-10; vii. 50; xix
+    30.
+
+Would that my husband were here and could listen to me; I should permit
+him to stay away another twelve years.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 63. col. 1.
+
+    Hereto hangs a tale stranger than fiction, yet founded on fact.
+    Rabbi Akiva was once a poor shepherd in the employ of Calba
+    Shevua, one of the richest men in all Jerusalem. While engaged
+    in that lowly occupation his master's only daughter fell in love
+    with him, and the two carried on a clandestine courtship for
+    some time together. Her father, hearing of it, threatened to
+    disinherit her, to turn her out of doors and disown her
+    altogether, if she did not break off her engagement. How could
+    she connect herself with one who was the base-born son of a
+    proselyte, a reputed descendant of Sisera and Jael, an ignorant
+    fellow that could neither read nor write, and a man old enough
+    to be her father? Rachel--for that was her name--determined to
+    be true to her lover, and to brave the consequences by marrying
+    him and exchanging the mansion of her father for the hovel of
+    her husband. After a short spell of married life she prevailed
+    upon her husband to leave her for a while in order to join a
+    certain college in a distant land, where she felt sure that his
+    talents would be recognized and his genius fostered into
+    development worthy of it. As he sauntered along by himself he
+    began to harbor misgivings in his mind as to the wisdom of the
+    step, and more than once thought of returning. But when musing
+    one day at a resting-place a waterfall arrested his attention,
+    and he remarked how the water, by its continual dropping, was
+    wearing away the solid rock. All at once, with the tact for
+    which he was afterward so noted, he applied the lesson it
+    yielded to himself. "So may the law," he reasoned, "work its way
+    into my hard and stony heart;" and he felt encouraged and
+    pursued his journey. Under the tuition of Rabbi Eliezer, the son
+    of Hyrcanus, and Rabbi Yehoshua, the son of Chananiah, his
+    native ability soon began to appear, his name became known to
+    fame, and he rose step by step until he ranked as a professor in
+    the very college which he had entered as a poor student. After
+    some twelve years of hard study and diligent service in the law
+    he returned to Jerusalem, accompanied by a large number of
+    disciples. On nearing the dwelling of his devoted wife he caught
+    the sound of voices in eager conversation. He paused awhile and
+    listened at the door, and overheard a gossiping neighbor blaming
+    Rachel for her _mesalliance_, and twitting her with marrying a
+    man who could run away and leave her as a widow for a dozen of
+    years or more on the crazy pretext of going to college. He
+    listened in eager curiosity, wondering what the reply would be.
+    To his surprise, he heard his self-sacrificing wife exclaim,
+    "Would that my husband were here and could listen to me; I
+    should permit, nay, urge him to stay other twelve years, if it
+    would benefit him." Strange to say Akiva taking the hint from
+    his wife, turned away and left Jerusalem without ever seeing
+    her. He went abroad again for a time, and then returned for
+    good; this time, so the story says, with twice twelve thousand
+    disciples. Well-nigh all Jerusalem turned out to do him honor,
+    every one striving to be foremost to welcome him. Calba Shevua,
+    who for many a long year had repented of his hasty resolution,
+    which cost him at once his daughter and his happiness, went to
+    Akiva to ask his opinion about annulling this vow. Akiva replied
+    by making himself known as his quondam servant and rejected
+    son-in-law. As we may suppose, the two were at once reconciled,
+    and Calba Shevua looked upon himself as favored of Heaven above
+    all the fathers in Israel.
+
+The Rabbis say that at first they used to communicate the Divine name of
+twelve letters to every one. But when the Antinomians began to abound,
+the knowledge of this name was imparted only to the more discreet of the
+priestly order, and they repeated it hastily while the other priests
+pronounced the benediction of the people. (What the name was, says
+Rashi, is not known.) Rabbi Tarphon, the story goes on to say, once
+listened to the high priest, and overheard him hurriedly pronouncing
+this name of twelve letters while the other priests were blessing the
+people.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 71, col. 1.
+
+Twelve hours there are in the day:--The first three, the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--employs in studying the law; the next three He sits
+and judges the whole world; the third three He spends in feeding all the
+world; during the last three hours He sports with the leviathan; as it
+is said (Ps. civ. 26), "This leviathan Thou hast created to play with
+it."
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 3, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan bar Chanena said:--The day consists of twelve hours.
+During the first hour Adam's dust was collected from all parts of the
+world; during the second it was made into a lump; during the third his
+limbs were formed; during the fourth his body was animated; during the
+fifth he stood upon his legs; during the sixth he gave names to the
+animals; during the seventh he associated with Eve; during the eighth
+Cain and a twin sister were born (Abel and his twin sister were born
+after the Fall, says the Tosephoth); during the ninth Adam was ordered
+not to eat of the forbidden tree; during the tenth he fell, during the
+eleventh he was judged; and during the twelfth he was ejected from
+paradise; as it is said (Ps. xlix. 13, A.V. 12), "Man (Adam) abode not
+one night in his dignity."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 38, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Akiva used to say:--Of five judgments, some have lasted twelve
+months, others will do so;--those of the deluge, of Job, of the
+Egyptians, of Gog and Magog, and of the wicked in Gehenna.
+
+_Edioth_, chap. 2, mish. 10.
+
+Plagues come upon those that are proud, as was the case with Uzziah (2
+Chron. xxvi. 16), "But when he was strong (proud), his heart was lifted
+up to destruction." When the leprosy rose up in his forehead, the Temple
+was cleft asunder twelve miles either way.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 9.
+
+    This hyperbole is evidently a mere fiction joined on to a truth
+    for the purpose of frightening the proud into humility. The end
+    sanctifieth the means, as we well know from other instances
+    recorded in the Talmud.
+
+Those who mourn for deceased relatives are prohibited from entering a
+tavern for thirty days, but those who mourn for either father or mother
+must not do so for twelve months.
+
+_Semachoth_, chap. 9.
+
+A creature that has no bones in his body does not live more than twelve
+months.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 58, col. 1.
+
+The Alexandrians asked Rabbi Joshua twelve questions; three related to
+matters of wisdom, three to matters of legend, three were frivolous, and
+three were of a worldly nature--viz, how to grow wise, how to become
+rich, and how to ensure a family of boys.
+
+_Niddah_, fol. 69, col. 2.
+
+There was once a man named Joseph, who was renowned for honoring the
+Sabbath-day. He had a rich neighbor, a Gentile, whose property a certain
+fortune-teller had said would eventually revert to Joseph the
+Sabbatarian. To frustrate this prediction the Gentile disposed of his
+property, and with the proceeds of the sale he purchased a rare and
+costly jewel which he fixed to his turban. On crossing a bridge a gust
+of wind blew his turban into the river and a fish swallowed it. This
+fish being caught, was brought on a Friday to market, and, as luck would
+have it, it was bought by Joseph in honor of the coming Sabbath. When
+the fish was cut up the jewel was found, and this Joseph sold for
+thirteen purses of gold denarii. When his neighbor met him, he
+acknowledged that he who despised the Sabbath the Lord of the Sabbath
+would be sure to punish.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 119, col. 1.
+
+    This story cannot fail to remind those who are conversant with
+    Herodotus or Schiller of the legend of King Polycrates, which
+    dates back five or six centuries before the present era.
+    Polycrates, the king of Samos, was one of the most fortunate of
+    men, and everything he took in hand was fabled to prosper. This
+    unbroken series of successes caused disquietude to his friends,
+    who saw in the circumstance foreboding of some dire disaster;
+    till Amasis, king of Egypt, one of the number advised him to
+    spurn the favor of fortune by throwing away what he valued
+    dearest. The most valuable thing he possessed was an emerald
+    signet-ring, and this accordingly he resolved to sacrifice. So,
+    manning a galley, he rowed out to the sea, and threw the ring
+    away into the waste of the waters. Some five or six days after
+    this, a fisherman came to the palace and made the king a present
+    of a very fine fish that he had caught. This the servants
+    proceeded to open, when, to their surprise, they came upon a
+    ring, which on examination proved to be the very ring which had
+    been cast away by the king their master. (See Herodotus, book
+    iii.)
+
+    Among the many legends that have clustered round the memory of
+    Solomon, there is one which reads very much like an adaptation
+    of this classic story. The version the Talmud gives of this
+    story is quoted in another part of this Miscellany (chap. vi.
+    No. 8, note), but in Emek Hammelech, fol. 14, col. 4, we have
+    the legend in another form, with much amplitude and variety of
+    detail, of which we can give here only an outline. When the
+    building of the Temple was finished, the king of the demons
+    begged Solomon to set him free from his service, and promised in
+    return to teach him a secret he would be sure to value. Having
+    cajoled Solomon out of possession of his signet-ring, he first
+    flung the ring into the sea, where it was swallowed by a fish,
+    and then taking up Solomon himself, he cast him into a foreign
+    land some four hundred miles away, where for three weary long
+    years he wandered up and down like a vagrant, begging his bread
+    from door to door. In the course of his rambles he came to Mash
+    Kemim, and was so fortunate as to be appointed head cook at the
+    palace of the king of Ammon (Ana Hanun, see 1 Kings xii. 24;
+    LXX.). While employed in this office, Naama, the king's daughter
+    (see 1 Kings xiv. 21, 31, and 2 Chron. xii. 13), fell in love
+    with him, and, determining to marry him, eloped with him for
+    refuge to a distant land. One day as Naama was preparing a fish
+    for dinner, she found in it a ring, and this turned cut to be
+    the very ring which the king of the demons had flung into the
+    sea, and the loss of which had bewitched the king out of his
+    power and dominion. In the recovery of the ring the king both
+    recovered himself and the throne of his father David.
+
+    The occurrence of a fish and a ring on the arms of the city of
+    Glasgow memorializes a legend in which we find the same singular
+    combination of circumstances. A certain queen of the district
+    one day gave her paramour a golden ring which the king her
+    husband had committed to her charge as a keepsake. By some means
+    or other the king got to know of the whereabouts of the ring,
+    and cleverly contriving to secure possession of it, threw it
+    into the sea. He then went straight to the queen and demanded to
+    know where it was and what she had done with it. The queen in
+    her distress repaired to St. Kentigern, and both made full
+    confession of her guilt and her anxiety about the recovery of
+    the ring, that she might regain the lost favor of her husband.
+    The saint set off at once to the Clyde, and there caught a
+    salmon and the identical ring in the mouth of it. This he handed
+    over to the queen, who returned it to her lord with such
+    expressions of penitence that the restoration of it became the
+    bond and pledge between them of a higher and holier wedlock.
+
+There were thirteen horn-shaped collecting-boxes, and thirteen tables,
+and thirteen devotional bowings in the Temple service. Those who
+belonged to the houses of Rabbi Gamliel and of Rabbi Chananiah, the
+president of the priests, bowed fourteen times. This extra act of bowing
+was directed to the quarter of the wood store, in consequence of a
+tradition they inherited from their ancestors that the Ark of the
+Covenant was hidden in that locality. The origin of the tradition was
+this:--A priest, being once engaged near the wood store, and observing
+that part of the plaster differed from the rest, went to tell his
+companions, but died before he had time to relate his discovery. Thus it
+became known for certain that the Ark was hidden there.
+
+_Shekalim_ chap. 3, hal, 1.
+
+    It is more than probable that the Chananiah, mentioned above, is
+    the person alluded to in the Acts, chap, xxiii. 2, as "the high
+    priest Ananias." For the tradition about the Ark. see also 2
+    Macc. ii. 4, 5.
+
+There were thirteen horn-shaped collecting-boxes in the Temple, and upon
+them were inscribed new shekels, old shekels, turtle-dove offerings,
+young-pigeon offerings, fire-wood, contributions for Galbanus, gold for
+the mercy-seat; and six boxes were inscribed for voluntary
+contributions. New shekels were for the current year, old shekels were
+for the past one.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 55, col, 2.
+
+Once on account of long-continued drought Rabbi Eliezer proclaimed
+thirteen public fasts, but no rain came. At the termination of the last
+fast, just as the congregation was leaving the synagogue, he cried
+aloud, "Have you then prepared graves for yourselves?" Upon this all the
+people burst into bitter cries, and rain came down directly.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 25, col. 2.
+
+A boy at thirteen years of age is bound to observe the usual fasts in
+full, i.e., throughout the whole day. A girl is bound to do so when only
+twelve. Rashi gives this as the reason:--A boy is supposed to be weaker
+than a girl on account of the enervating effect of much study.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 5, col. 1.
+
+A poor man once came to Rava and begged for a meal. "On what dost thou
+usually dine?" asked Rava. "On stuffed fowl and old wine," was the
+reply. "What!" said Rava, "art thou not concerned about being so
+burdensome to the community?" He replied, "I eat nothing belonging to
+them, only what the Lord provides; as we are taught (Ps. cxlv. 15),
+'The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in his
+season.' It is not said in their season, for so we learn that God
+provides for each individual in his season of need." While they were
+thus talking, in came Rava's sister, who had not been to see him for
+thirteen years, and she brought him as a present a stuffed fowl and some
+old wine also. Rava marveled at the coincidence, and turning to his poor
+visitor said, "I beg thy pardon, friend; rise, I pray thee, and eat."
+
+Ibid., fol. 67, col. 2.
+
+So great is circumcision that thirteen covenants were made concerning
+it. Tosafoth says that covenant is written thirteen times in the chapter
+of circumcision.
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 31, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi (the Holy) says sufferings are to be borne with resignation. He
+himself bore them submissively for thirteen years; for six he suffered
+from lithiasis, and for seven years from stomatitis (or, as some say,
+six years from the former and seven from the latter). His groans were
+heard three miles off.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 85, col. 1.
+
+The Rabbis have taught thirteen things respecting breakfast
+(morning-morsel):--It counteracts the effects of heat, cold or draught;
+it protects from malignant demons; it makes wise the simple by keeping
+the mind in a healthy condition; it enables a man to come off clear from
+a judicial inquiry; it qualifies him both to learn and to teach the law;
+it makes him eagerly listened to, to have a retentive memory, etc.
+
+Ibid. fol. 107, col. 2.
+
+The land of Israel is in the future to be divided among thirteen tribes,
+and not, as at first, among twelve.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 122, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Abhu once complimented Rav Saphra before the Minim by singling him
+out in their hearing as a man distinguished by his learning, and this
+led them to exempt him from tribute for thirteen years. It so happened
+that these Minim once posed Saphra about that which is written in Amos
+iii. 2, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
+therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." "Ye say you are
+God's friends, but when one has a friend does he pour out his wrath upon
+him?" To this Rav Saphra make no reply. They then put a rope round his
+neck and tormented him. When he was in this sorry plight, Rabbi Abhu
+came up and inquired why they tormented him thus. To this they made
+answer, "Didst thou not tell us that he was a very learned man, and he
+does not even know how to explain a text of Scripture?" "Yes, I did so
+say," replied Rabbi Abhu; "he is an adept in the Talmud only, but not in
+the Scriptures." "Thou knowest the Scriptures;" they replied, "and why
+ought he not to know them as well?" "I have daily intercourse with you,"
+said the Rabbi, "and therefore I am obliged to study the Scriptures, but
+he, having no intercourse with you, has no need to trouble himself, and
+does not at all care about them."
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 4, col. 1.
+
+    In order to understand aright the grounds on which Rabbi Abhu
+    would fain excuse Rav Saphra for not caring at all about the
+    Scriptures, certain passages from both Talmuds should be read,
+    which, in the usual metaphorical style of the Rabbis, set forth
+    the respective merits of Scripture and Tradition. The three
+    times three in Sophrim (chap. 15), in which the Scripture is
+    compared to water, the Mishna to wine, and the Gemara to mulled
+    wine, and that in which the Scripture is likened to salt, the
+    Mishna to pepper, and the Gemara to spice, and so on, are too
+    well known to need more than passing mention; but far less
+    familiar and much more explicit is the exposition of Zech. viii.
+    10, as given in T.B. Chaggigah, fol. 10, col. 1, where,
+    commenting on the Scripture text, "Neither, was there any peace
+    to him that went out or came in," Rav expressly says, "He who
+    leaves a matter of Halachah for a matter of Scripture shall
+    never more have peace;" to which Shemuel adds, "Aye, and he also
+    who leaves the Talmud for the Mishna;" Rabbi Yochanan chiming in
+    with "even from Talmud to Talmud;" as if to say, "And he who
+    turns from the Babli to the Yerushalmi, even he shall have no
+    peace." If we refer to the Mishna (chap. 1, hal. 7) of Berachoth
+    in the last-named Talmud, we read there that Rabbi Tarphon,
+    bent, while on a journey, on reading the Shema according to the
+    school of Shammai, ran the risk of falling into the hands of
+    certain banditti whom he had not noticed near him. "It would
+    have served you right," remarked one, "because you did not
+    follow the rule of Hillel." In the Gemara to this passage Rabbi
+    Yochanan says, "The words of the scribes are more highly valued
+    than the words of the law, for, as Rabbi Yuda remarks, 'If Rabbi
+    Tarphon had not read the Shema at all he would only have broken
+    a positive command,' but since he transgressed the rule of
+    Hillel he was guilty of death, for it is written, 'He who breaks
+    down a hedge (the Rabbinic hedge to the law, of course), a
+    serpent shall bite him'" (Eccles. x. 8). Then Rabbi Chanina, the
+    son of Rabbi Ana, in the name of Rabbi Tanchum, the son of Rabbi
+    Cheyah, says, "The words of the elders are more important than
+    the words of the prophets." A prophet and an elder, whom do they
+    resemble? They are like two ambassadors sent by a king to a
+    province. About the one he sends word saying, "If he does not
+    present credentials with my signature and seal, trust him not;"
+    whereas the other is accredited without any such token; for in
+    regard to the prophet it is written (Deut. xiii. 2), "He giveth
+    thee a sign or token;" while in reference to the elders it is
+    written (Deut. xvii. 11), "According to the decision which they
+    may say unto thee shalt thou do; thou shalt not depart from the
+    sentence which they may tell thee, to the right or to the left."
+    Rashi's comment on this text is worth notice: "Even when they
+    tell thee that right is left and left is right." In a word, a
+    wise man (i.e., a Rabbi) is better than a prophet. (_Bava
+    Bathra_ fol. 12, col. 1.)
+
+Oved, the Galilean, has expounded that there are thirteen _vavs_ (i.e.,
+the letter _vav_ occurs thirteen times) in connection with wine. _Vav_
+in Syriac means woe.
+
+_Sanhedrin_ fol. 70, col. 1.
+
+    The Rabbis have a curious Haggada respecting the origin of the
+    culture of the vine. Once while Noah was hard at work breaking
+    up the fallow ground for a vineyard, Satan drew near and
+    inquired what he was doing. On ascertaining that the patriarch
+    was about to cultivate the grape, which he valued both for its
+    fruit and its juice, he at once volunteered to assist him at his
+    task, and began to manure the soil with the blood of a lamb, a
+    lion, a pig, and a monkey. "Now," said he, when his work was
+    done, "of those who taste the juice of the grape, some will
+    become meek and gentle as the lamb, some bold and fearless as
+    the lion, some foul and beastly as the pig, and others
+    frolicsome and lively as the monkey." This quaint story may be
+    found more fully detailed in the Midrash Tanchuma (see Noah) and
+    the Yalkut on Genesis. The Mohammedan legend is somewhat
+    similar. It relates how Satan on the like occasion used the
+    blood of a peacock, of an ape, of a lion, and of a pig, and it
+    deduces from the abuse of the vine the curse that fell on the
+    children of Ham, and ascribes the color of the purple grape to
+    the dark hue which thenceforth tinctured all the fruit of their
+    land as well as their own complexions.
+
+At thirteen years of age, a boy becomes bound to observe the (613)
+precepts of the law.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 5.
+
+Rabbi Ishmael says the law is to be expounded according to thirteen
+logical rules.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 63, col. 1.
+
+    The thirteen rules of Rabbi Ishmael above referred to are not to
+    be found together in any part of the Talmud, but they are
+    collected for repetition in the Liturgy, and are as follows:--
+
+    1. Inference is valid from minor to major.
+
+    2. From similar phraseology.
+
+    3. From the gist or main point of one text to that of other
+    passages.
+
+    4. Of general and particular.
+
+    5. Of particular and general.
+
+    6. From a general, or a particular and a general, the ruling
+    both of the former and the latter is to be according to the
+    middle term, i.e., the one which is particularized.
+
+    7. From a general text that requires a particular instance, and
+    _vice versa_.
+
+    8. When a particular rule is laid down for something which has
+    already been included in a general law, the rule is to apply to
+    all.
+
+    9. When a general rule has an exception, the exception mitigates
+    and does not aggravate the rule.
+
+    10. When a general rule has an exception not according
+    therewith, the exception both mitigates and aggravates.
+
+    11. When an exception to a general rule is made to substantiate
+    extraneous matter, that matter cannot be classed under the said
+    general rule, unless the Scripture expressly says so.
+
+    12. The ruling is to be according to the context, or to the
+    general drift of the argument.
+
+    13. When two texts are contradictory, a third is to be sought
+    that reconciles them.
+
+Rabbi Akiva was forty years of age when he began to study, and after
+thirteen years of study he began publicly to teach.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan._
+
+Thirteen treasurers and seven directors were appointed to serve in the
+Temple. (More there might be, never less.)
+
+_Tamid_, fol. 27, col. 1.
+
+Thirteen points of law regulate the decisions that require to be made
+relative to the carcass of a clean bird.
+
+_Taharoth_, chap. i, mish. 1.
+
+A man must partake of fourteen meals in the booth during the Feast of
+Tabernacles.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 27, col. 1.
+
+Traditional chronology records that the Israelites killed the Paschal
+lamb on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the month on which they came out of
+Egypt. They came out on the fifteenth; that day was a Friday.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 88, col. 1.
+
+The fifteen steps were according to the number of the Songs of Degrees
+in the Psalms. It is related that whosoever has not seen the joy at the
+annual ceremony of the water-drawing, has not seen rejoicing in his
+life. At the conclusion of the first part of the Feast of Tabernacles,
+the Priests and Levites descended into the women's ante-court, where
+they made great preparations (such as erecting temporary double
+galleries, the uppermost for women, and those under for men). There were
+golden candelabra there, each having four golden bowls on the top, four
+ladders reaching to them, and four of the young priests with cruses of
+oil ready to supply them, each cruse holding one hundred and twenty logs
+of oil. The lamp-wicks were made of the worn-out drawers and girdles of
+the priests. There was not a court in all Jerusalem that was not lit up
+by the illumination of the "water-drawing." Holy men, and men of
+dignity, with flaming torches in their hands, danced before the people,
+rehearsing songs and singing praises. The Levites, with harps, lutes,
+cymbals, trumpets, and innumerable musical instruments, were stationed
+on the fifteen steps which led from the ante-court of Israel to the
+women's court; the Levites stood upon the steps and played and sang. Two
+priests stood at the upper gate which led from the ante-court for Israel
+to that for the women, each provided with a trumpet, and as soon as the
+cock crew they blew one simple blast, then a compound or fragmentary
+one, and then a modulated or shouting blast. This was the preconcerted
+signal for the drawing of the water. As soon as they reached the tenth
+step, they blew again three blasts as before. When they came to the
+ante-court for women, they blew another three blasts, and after that
+they continued blowing till they came to the east gate. When they
+arrived at the east gate, they turned their faces westward (i.e., toward
+the Temple), and said, "Our fathers, who were in this place, turned
+their backs toward the Temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the
+East, for they worshiped the sun in the East; but we turn our eyes to
+God!" Rabbi Yehudah says, "These words were repeated, echoing, 'We are
+for God, and unto God are our eyes directed!'"
+
+_Succah_, fol. 51, col. 1, 2.
+
+Rabbon Shimon ben Gamliel has said there were no such gala-days for
+Israel as the fifteenth of Ab and the Day of Atonement, when the young
+maidens of Jerusalem used to resort to the vineyard all robed in white
+garments, that were required to be borrowed, lest those should feel
+humiliated who had none of their own. There they danced gleefully,
+calling to the lookers-on and saying, "Young men, have a care; the
+choice you now make may have consequences."
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 26, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Elazar the Great said, "From the fifteenth of Ab the influence of
+the sun declines, and from that day they leave off cutting wood for the
+altar fire, because it could not be properly dried (and green wood might
+harbor vermin, which would make it unfit for use)."
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+He who eats turnips to beef, and sleeps out in the open air during the
+night of the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the months of summer (that
+is, when the moon is full), will most likely bring on an ague fever.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 70, col. 1.
+
+A lad should, at the age of fifteen, begin to apply himself to the
+Gemara.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 5.
+
+"So I bought her to me for fifteen" (Hosea iii. 2), that is, on the
+fifteenth day of Nisan, when Israel was redeemed from the bondage of
+Egypt. "Silver;" this refers to the righteous. "An homer and a
+half-homer;" these equal forty-five measures, and are the forty-five
+righteous men for whose sake the world is preserved. I don't know
+whether there are thirty here (that is, in Babylon), and fifteen in the
+land of Israel, or _vice versa_; as it is said (Zech. xi. 13), "I took
+the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of
+the Lord." It stands to reason that there are thirty in the land of
+Israel, and, therefore, fifteen here. Abaii says that the greater part
+are to be found under the gable end of the synagogue. Rav Yehudah says
+the reference is to the thirty righteous men always found among the
+nations of the world for whose sake they are preserved (but see No. 103
+_infra_). Ulla says it refers to the thirty precepts received by the
+nations of the world, of which, however, they keep three only; i.e. they
+do not enter into formal marriage-contracts with men; they do not expose
+for sale the bodies of such animals as have died from natural causes;
+and they have regard for the law.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 92, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Cheyah bar Abba says, "I once visited a house-holder at Ludkia,
+and they placed before him a golden table so loaded with silver plate,
+basins, cups, bottles and glasses, besides all sorts of dishes,
+delicacies, and spices, that it took sixteen men to carry it. When they
+set the table in its place they said (Ps. xxiv. 1), 'The earth is the
+Lord's and the fullness thereof,' and upon removing it, they said (Ps.
+cxv. 16), 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's, but the earth
+hath He given to the children of men.' I said, 'Son, how hast thou come
+to deserve all this?' 'I was,' replied he, 'a butcher by trade, and I
+always set apart for the Sabbath the best of the cattle.' 'How happy art
+thou,' I remarked (adds Rabbi Cheyah), 'to have merited such a reward,
+and blessed be God who has thus rewarded thee.'"
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 119, col. 1.
+
+Rash Lakish said, "I have seen the flow of milk and honey at Tzipori; it
+was sixteen miles by sixteen miles."
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 6, col. 1.
+
+    Rashi explains the above as follows:--The goats fed upon figs
+    from which honey distilled, and this mingled with the milk which
+    dropped from the goats as they walked along. On the spot arose a
+    lake which covered an area of sixteen miles square. (See also
+    Kethuboth, fol. iii, col. 2.)
+
+A cedar tree once fell down in our place, the trunk of which was so wide
+that sixteen wagons were drawn abreast upon it.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+    Who can estimate the loss the world sustains in its ignorance of
+    the trees of the Talmud? What a sapling in comparison with this
+    giant cedar of Lebanon must the far-famed Mammoth tree have been
+    which was lately cut down in California, and was the largest
+    known to the present generation!
+
+Rabbi Yochanan plaintively records, "I remember the time when a young
+man and a young woman sixteen or seventeen years of age could walk
+together in the streets and no harm came of it."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 91, col. 2.
+
+On the deposition of Rabbon Gamliel, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah was
+chosen as his successor to the presidential chair of the academy. On
+being told of his elevation, he consulted with his wife as to whether or
+not he should accept the appointment. "What if they should depose thee
+also?" asked his wife. He replied, "Use the precious bowl while thou
+hast it, even if it be broken the next." But she rejoined, "Thou art
+only eighteen years old, and how canst thou at such an age expect folks
+to venerate thee?" By a miracle eighteen of his locks turned suddenly
+gray, so that he could say, "I am as one of seventy."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 27, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that Shimon Happikoli had arranged the eighteen
+benedictions before Rabbon Gamliel at Javneh. Rabbon Gamliel appealed to
+the sages, "Is there not a man who knows how to compose an imprecation
+against the Sadducees?" Then Samuel the Little stood up and extemporized
+it.
+
+Ibid., fol. 28, col. 2.
+
+    The "imprecation against the Sadducees" stands twelfth among the
+    collects of the Shemoneh Esreh. It is popularly known as
+    "Velama-leshinim" from its opening words, and is given thus in
+    modern Ashkenazi liturgies:--"Oh, let the slanderers have no
+    hope, all the wicked be annihilated speedily, and all the
+    tyrants be cut off, hurled down and reduced speedily; humble
+    Thou them quickly in our days. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who
+    destroyest enemies and humblest tyrants." There has been much
+    misconception with regard to this collect against heretics.
+    There is every reason to believe it was composed without any
+    reference whatever to the Christians. One point of interest,
+    however, in connection with it is worth relating here. Some have
+    sought to identify the author of it, Samuel the Little, with the
+    Apostle Paul, grounded the conclusion on his original Hebrew
+    name, Saul. They take Paulus as equal to _pusillus_, which means
+    "very little" or "the less," and answers to the word _Hakaton_,
+    a term of similar import. Samuel, however, died a good Jew (see
+    Semachoth, chap. 8), and Rabbon Gamliel Hazaken and Rabbi
+    Eleazar ben Azariah pronounced a funeral oration at his burial.
+    "His key and his diary were placed on his coffin, because he had
+    no son to succeed him." (See also Sanhedrin, fol. ii, col. 1.)
+
+Eighteen denunciations did Isaiah make against the people of Israel, and
+he recovered not his equanimity until he was able to add, "The child
+shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against
+the honorable" (Isa. iii. 5).
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+The Rabbis have related that there was once a family in Jerusalem the
+members of which died off regularly at eighteen years of age. Rabbi
+Yochanan ben Zacchai shrewdly guessed that they were descendants of Eli,
+regarding whom it is said (1 Sam. ii. 25), "And all the increase of
+thine house shall die in the flower of their age;" and he accordingly
+advised them to devote themselves to the study of the law, as the
+certain and only means of neutralizing the curse. They acted upon the
+advice of the Rabbi; their lives were in consequence prolonged; and they
+thenceforth went by the name of their spiritual father.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+Eighteen handbreadths was the height of the golden candlestick.
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 28, col. 2.
+
+If a man remain unmarried after the age of twenty, his life is a
+constant transgression. The Holy One--blessed be He!--waits until that
+period to see if one enters the matrimonial state, and curses his bones
+if he remain single.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 29, col. 2.
+
+A woman marrying under twenty years of age will bear till she is sixty;
+if she marries at twenty she will bear until she is forty; if she
+marries at forty she will not have any family.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 119, col. 2.
+
+At twenty pursue the study of the law.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 5.
+
+Rabbi Yehudah says the early Pietists used to suffer some twenty days
+before death from diarrhoea, the effect of which was to purge and purify
+them for the world to come; for it is said, "As the fining pot for
+silver, and the furnace for gold, so is a man to his praise" (Prov.
+xxvii. 21).
+
+_Semachoth_, chap. 3, mish. 10.
+
+    It may not be out of place to append two or three parallel
+    passages here by way of illustration:--"Bodily suffering purges
+    away sin" (_Berachoth_, fol. 5, col. 1). "He who suffers will
+    not see hell" (_Eiruvin_, fol. 41, col. 2). "To die of diarrhoea
+    is an augury for good, for most of the righteous die of that
+    ailment" (_Kethuboth_, fol. 103, col. 2, and elsewhere).
+
+The bathing season at (the hot baths of) Dimsis lasted twenty-one days.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 147, col. 2.
+
+A fowl hatches in twenty-one days, and the almond tree ripens its fruit
+in twenty-one days.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Levi says the realization of a good dream may be hopefully
+expected for twenty-two years; for it is written (Gen. xxxvii. 2),
+"These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph being seventeen years old
+when he had the dreams." And it is written also (Gen. xli. 46), "And
+Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh," etc. From
+seventeen to thirty are thirteen, to which add the seven years of plenty
+and the two years of famine, which make the sum total of twenty-two.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 55, col. 2.
+
+    In the pages which precede and follow the above quotation there
+    is much that is interesting on the subject of dreams and their
+    interpretation, and one is strongly tempted to append
+    selections, but we refrain in order to make room for a prayer
+    which occurs in the morning service for the various festivals,
+    and is given in the preceding context:--"Sovereign of the
+    Universe! I am thine, and my dreams are thine. I have dreamed a
+    dream, but know not what it portendeth. May it be acceptable in
+    Thy presence, O Lord my God, and the God of my fathers, that all
+    my dreams concerning myself and concerning all Israel may be for
+    my good. Whether I have dreamt concerning myself, or whether I
+    have dreamt concerning others, or whether others have dreamt
+    concerning me, if they be good, strengthen and fortify them,
+    that they may be accomplished in me, as were the dreams of the
+    righteous Joseph; and if they require cure, heal them as Thou
+    didst Hezekiah, king of Judah, from his sickness; as Miriam the
+    prophetess from her leprosy, and Naaman from his leprosy; as the
+    bitter waters of Marah by the hands of our legislator Moses, and
+    those of Jericho by the hands of Elisha. And as Thou wast
+    pleased to turn the curse of Balaam, the son of Beor, to a
+    blessing, be pleased to convert all my dreams concerning me and
+    all Israel to a good end. Oh, guard me; let me be acceptable to
+    Thee, and grant me life. Amen." (The translation of this prayer
+    is borrowed from the Jewish liturgy.)
+
+Rabbi Levi said, "Come and see how unlike the character of the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--is to that of those who inherit the flesh and blood
+of humanity. God blessed Israel with twenty-two benedictions and cursed
+them with eight curses (Lev. xxvi. 3-13, xv. 43). But Moses, our Rabbi,
+blessed them with eight benedictions and cursed them with twenty-two
+imprecations" (see Deut. xxviii. 1-4, xv. 68).
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 59, col. i.
+
+Once as they were journeying to Chesib (in Palestine), some of Rabbi
+Akiva's disciples were overtaken by a band of robbers, who demanded to
+know where they were going to. "We are going to Acco," was the reply;
+but on arriving at Chesib, they went no farther. The robbers then asked
+them who they were? "Disciples of Rabbi Akiva," they replied. Upon
+hearing this the robbers exclaimed, "Blessed surely is Rabbi Akiva and
+his disciples too, for no man can ever do them any harm." Once as Rabbi
+Menasi was traveling to Thurtha (in Babylonia), some thieves surprised
+him on the road and asked him where he was bound for. "For Pumbeditha,"
+was the reply; but upon reaching Thurtha, he stayed and went no farther.
+The highwaymen, thus balked, retorted, "Thou art the disciple of Yehuda
+the deceiver!" "Oh, you know my master, do you?" said the Rabbi. "Then
+in the name of God be every one of you anathematized." For twenty-two
+years thereafter they carried on their nefarious trade, but all their
+attempts at violence ended only in disappointment. Then all save one of
+them came to the Rabbi and craved his pardon, which was immediately
+granted. The one who did not come to confess his guilt and obtain
+absolution was a weaver, and he was eventually devoured by a lion. Hence
+the proverbs, "If a weaver does not humble himself, he shortens his
+life;" and, "Come and see the difference there is between the thieves of
+Babylon and the banditti of the land of Israel."
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 26, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus was twenty-two years of age when, contrary to
+the wishes of his father, he went to Rabbon Yochanan ben Zaccai
+purposing to devote himself to the study of the law. By the time he
+arrived at Rabbon Yochanan's he had been without food four-and-twenty
+hours, and yet, though repeatedly asked whether he had had anything to
+eat, refused to confess he was hungry. His father having come to know
+where he was, went one day to the place on purpose to disinherit him
+before the assembled Rabbis. It so happened that Rabbon Yochanan was at
+that time lecturing before some of the great men of Jerusalem, and when
+he saw the father enter, he pressed Rabbi Eliezer to deliver an
+exposition. So racy and cogent were his observations that Rabbon
+Yochanan rose and styled him his own Rabbi, and thanked him in the name
+of the rest for the instruction he had afforded them. Then the father of
+Rabbi Eliezer said, "Rabbis, I came here for the purpose of
+disinheriting my son, but now I declare him sole heir of all I have, to
+the exclusion of his brothers."
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 6.
+
+    The father of Eliezer acts more magnanimously by his son than
+    does the father of St. Francis. Like the Rabbi, as Mr. Ruskin
+    relates in his "Mornings in Florence," St. Francis, one of whose
+    three great virtues was obedience, "begins his spiritual life by
+    quarreling with his father. He 'commercially invests' some of
+    his father's goods in charity. His father objects to that
+    investment, on which St. Francis runs away, taking what he can
+    find about the house along with him. His father follows to claim
+    his property, but finds it is all gone already, and that St.
+    Francis has made friends with the Bishop of Assisi. His father
+    flies into an indecent passion, and declares he will disinherit
+    him; on which St. Francis, then and there, takes all his clothes
+    off, throws them frantically in his father's face, and says he
+    has nothing more to do with clothes or father."
+
+Not the same strict scrutiny is required in money matters as in cases of
+capital punishment; for it is said (Lev. xxiv. 23), "Ye shall have one
+manner of law." What distinction is there made between them? With regard
+to money matters three judges are deemed sufficient, while in cases of
+capital offense twenty-three are required, etc.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 32, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "In twenty-four cases doth the tribunal
+excommunicate for the honor of a Rabbi, and all are explained in our
+Mishna." Rabbi Elazer interposed and asked, "Where are they?" The reply
+was, "Go and seek, and thou shalt find." He went accordingly and sought,
+but found only three--the case of the man who lightly esteems the
+washing of hands; of him who whispers evil behind the bier of a disciple
+of the wise; and of him who behaves haughtily toward the Most High.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 19, col. 1.
+
+    There are three degrees of excommunication, i.e., separation,
+    exclusion, and execration. That mentioned in the above extract
+    is of the lowest degree, and lasts never less than thirty days.
+    The second degree of excommunication is a prolongation of the
+    first by thirty days more. The third or highest degree lasts for
+    an indefinite time. See Moed Katon, fol. 17, col. 1; Shevuoth,
+    fol. 36, col. 1; and consult Index II. appended.
+
+A certain matron once said to Rabbi Yehuda ben Elaei, "Thy face is like
+that of one who breeds pigs and lends money on usury." He replied,
+"These offices are forbidden me by the rules of my religion, but between
+my residence and the academy there are twenty-four latrinae; these I
+regularly visit as I need."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 55, col. 1.
+
+    The Rabbi meant to say that paying attention to the regular
+    action of his excretory organs was the secret of his healthy
+    looks, and to imply that a disordered stomach is the root of
+    most diseases,--a physiological opinion well worthy of regard by
+    us moderns.
+
+Rav Birim says that the venerable Rav Benaah once went to all the
+interpreters of dreams in Jerusalem, twenty-four in number. Every one of
+them gave a different interpretation, and each was fulfilled; which
+substantiates the saying that it is the interpretation and not the dream
+that comes true.
+
+Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.
+
+Twenty-four fasts were observed by the men of the Great Synagogue, in
+order that the writers of the books, phylacteries, and Mezuzahs might
+not grow rich, lest in becoming rich they might be tempted not to write
+any more.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 50, col. 2.
+
+When Solomon was desirous of conveying the Ark into the Temple, the
+doors shut themselves of their own accord against him. He recited
+twenty-four psalms, yet they opened not. In vain he cried, "Lift up your
+heads, O ye gates" (Ps. xxiv. 9). But when he prayed, "O Lord God, turn
+not Thy face away from Thine anointed; remember the mercies of David,
+Thy servant" (2 Chron. vi. 42), then the gates flew open at once. Then
+the enemies of David turned black in the face, for all knew by this that
+God had pardoned David's transgression with Bathseheba.
+
+_Moed Katon_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+    In the Midrash Rabbah (Devarim, chap. 15) the same story is
+    told, with this additional circumstance among others, that a
+    sacred respect was paid to the gates when the Temple was sacked
+    at the time of the Captivity. When the glorious vessels and
+    furniture of the Temple were being carried away into Babylon,
+    the gates, which were so zealous for the glory of God, were
+    buried on the spot (see Lam. ii. 9), there to await the
+    restoration of Israel. This romantic episode is alluded to in
+    the closing service for the Day of Atonement.
+
+There are twenty-four species of unclean birds, but the clean birds are
+innumerable.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 63, col. 2.
+
+In twenty-four places priests are called Levites, and this is one of
+them (Ezek. xliv. 15), "But the priests, the Levites, the sons of
+Zadok."
+
+_Tamid_, fol. 27, col. 1.
+
+There are twenty-four extremities of members in the human body which do
+not suffer defilement in the case of diseased flesh (see Lev. xiii. 10,
+24). The tip-ends of the fingers and toes, the edges of the ears, the
+tip of the nose, etc.
+
+_Negaim_, chap. 6, mish. 7.
+
+Twenty-five children is the highest number there should be in a class
+for elementary instruction. There should be an assistant appointed, if
+there be forty in number; and if fifty, there should be two competent
+teachers. Rava says, "If there be two teachers in a place, one teaching
+the children more than the other, the one that teaches less is not to be
+dismissed, because if so, the other is liable to lapse into negligence
+also." Rav Deimi of Nehardaa, on the other hand, thinks the dismissal of
+the former will make the latter all the more eager to teach more, both
+out of fear lest he also be dismissed, and out of gratitude that he has
+been preferred to the other. Mar says, "The emulation of the scribes (or
+teachers) increaseth wisdom." Rava also says, "When there are two
+teachers, one teaching much but superficially, and one teaching
+thoroughly but not so much, the former is to be preferred, for the
+children will, in the long run, improve most by learning much." Rav
+Deimi of Nehardaa, however, thinks the latter is to be preferred, for a
+mistake or an error once learned is difficult to unlearn; as it is
+written in 1 Kings xi. 16, "For six months did Joab remain there with
+all Israel, until he cut off every male in Edom." When David asked Joab
+why he killed only the males and not the females, he replied, "Because
+it is written in Deut. xxv. 19, 'Thou shalt blot out the male portion of
+Amalek.'" "But," said David, "we read 'the remembrance of Amalek.'" To
+this Joab replied, "My teacher taught me to read zachar and not
+zeichar," i.e., male, and not remembrance. The teacher of Joab was sent
+for; and being found guilty of having taught his pupil in a superficial
+manner, he was condemned to be beheaded. The poor teacher pleaded in
+vain for his life, for the king's judgment was based on Scripture (Jer.
+xlviii. 10), "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully,
+and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 21, col. 1.
+
+The Romans faithfully observed their compact with Israel for twenty-six
+years. After that time they began to oppress them.
+
+_Avoda Zarah_, fol. 8, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that a small salt fish will cause death if
+partaken of after seven, seventeen, or twenty-seven days; some say after
+twenty-three days. This is said with reference to half-cooked fish, but
+when properly cooked there is no harm in it. Neither does any harm
+result from eating half-cooked fish, if strong drink be taken after it.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 44, col. 2.
+
+On the twenty-eighth day of Adar there came good news to the Jews. The
+Roman Government had passed a decree ordaining that they should neither
+study the law, nor circumcise their children, nor observe the
+Sabbath-days. Yehudah ben Shamua and his associates went to consult a
+certain matron, whom all the magnates of Rome were in the habit of
+visiting. She advised them to come at night and raise a loud outcry
+against the decree they complained of. They did so, and cried, "O
+heavens! are we not your brethren? are we not the children of one
+mother?" (Alluding to Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.) "Wherein
+are we worse than all other nations and tongues, that you should oppress
+us with such harsh decrees?" Thereupon the decrees were revoked; to
+commemorate which the Jews established a festival.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 19, col. 1.
+
+The renewal of the moon comes round in not less than twenty-nine days
+and a half and forty minutes.
+
+Ibid., fol. 25, col. 1.
+
+Rav Mari reports that Rabbi Yochanan had said, "He who indulges in the
+practice of eating lentils once in thirty days keeps away quinsy, but
+they are not good to be eaten regularly because by them the breath is
+corrupted." He used also to say that mustard eaten once in thirty days
+drives away sickness, but if taken every day the action of the heart is
+apt to be affected.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 40, col. 1.
+
+He who eats unripe dates and does not wash his hands will for thirty
+day be in constant fear, without knowing why, of something untoward
+happening.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 111, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that the lighter kind of excommunication is not
+to last less than thirty days, and censure not less than seven. The
+latter is inferred from what is said in Num. xii. 14, "If her father had
+but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?"
+
+_Moed Katon_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+If we meet a friend during any of the thirty days of his mourning for a
+deceased relative, we must condole with him but not salute him; but
+after that time he may be saluted but not condoled with. If a man
+(because he has no family) re-marries within thirty days of the death of
+his wife, he should not be condoled with at home (lest it might hurt the
+feelings of his new partner); but if met with out of doors, he should be
+addressed in an undertone of voice, accompanied with a slight
+inclination of the head.
+
+Ibid., fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+During the thirty days of mourning for deceased friends or relatives,
+the bereaved should not trim their hair; but if they have lost their
+parents, they are not to attend to such matters until their friends
+force them to do so.
+
+Ibid., fol. 22, col. 2.
+
+"And Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his
+children" (Esth. v. 11). And how many children were there? Rav said
+thirty; ten had died, ten were hanged, and ten went about begging from
+door to door. The Rabbis say, "Those that went about begging from door
+to door were seventy; for it is written (1 Sam. ii. 5), 'They that were
+full have hired themselves for bread.'"
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 15, col. 2.
+
+When Rabbi Chanena bar Pappa was about to die, the Angel of Death was
+told to go and render him some friendly service. He accordingly went and
+made himself known to him. The Rabbi requested him to leave him for
+thirty days, until he had repeated what he had been learning; for it is
+said, "Blessed is he who comes here with his studies in his hand." He
+accordingly left, and at the expiration of thirty days returned to him.
+The Rabbi then asked to be shown his place in Paradise, and the Angel of
+Death consented to show him while life was still in him. Then said the
+Rabbi, "Lend me thy sword, lest thou surprise me on the road and cheat
+me of my expectation." To this the Angel of Death said, "Dost thou mean
+to serve me as thy friend Rabbi Yoshua did?" and he declined to intrust
+the sword to the Rabbi.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 77, col. 2.
+
+If a man says to a woman, "Thou art betrothed to me after thirty days,"
+and in the interim another comes and betroths her, she is the second
+suitor's.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 58, col 2.
+
+If one finds a scroll, he may peruse it once in thirty days, but he must
+not teach out of it, nor may another join him in reading it; if he does
+not know how to read, he must unroll it. If a garment be found, it
+should be shaken and spread out once in thirty days, for its own sake
+(to preserve it), but not for display. Silver and copper articles should
+be used to take care of them, but not for the sake of ornament. Gold and
+glass vessels he should not meddle with--till the coming of Elijah.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 29, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Zira so inured his body (to endurance) that the fire of Gehenna
+had no power over it. Every thirty days he experimented on himself,
+ascending a fiery furnace, and finally sitting down in the midst of it
+without being affected by the fire. One day, however, as the Rabbis
+fixed their eyes upon him, his hips became singed, and from that day
+onward he was noted in Jewry as the little man with the singed hips.
+
+Ibid., fol. 85, col. 1.
+
+An Arab once said to Rabbah bar Channah, "Come and I will show thee the
+place where Korah and his accomplices were swallowed up." "There," says
+the Rabbi, "I observed smoke coming out from two cracks in the ground.
+Into one of these he inserted some wool tied on to the end of his spear,
+and when he drew it out again it was scorched. Then he bade me listen. I
+did so, and as I listened heard them groan out, 'Moses and his law are
+true, but we are liars.' The Arab then told me that they come round to
+this place once in every thirty days, being stirred about in the
+hell-surge like meat in the boiling caldron."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 74, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan, in expounding Isa. liv. 12, said, "The Holy One--blessed
+be He!--will bring precious stones and pearls, each measuring thirty
+cubits by thirty, and polishing them down to twenty cubits by ten, will
+place them in the gates of Jerusalem." A certain disciple contemptuously
+observed, "No one has ever yet seen a precious stone as large as a small
+bird's egg, and is it likely that such immense ones as these have any
+existence?" He happened one day after this to go forth on a voyage, and
+there in the sea he saw the angels quarrying precious stones and pearls
+like those his Rabbi had told him of, and upon inquiry he learned that
+they were intended for the gates of Jerusalem. On his return he went
+straight to Rabbi Yochanan and told him what he had seen and heard.
+
+"Raca!" said the latter, "hadst thou not seen them thou wouldst have
+kept on deriding the words of the wise!" Then fixing his gaze intently
+upon him, he with the glance of his eye reduced to a heap of bones the
+carcass of his body.
+
+Ibid., fol. 75, col. 1.
+
+He who lends unconditionally a sum of money to his neighbor is not
+entitled to demand it back within thirty days thereafter.
+
+_Maccoth_, fol. 3, col. 2.
+
+If a man has lost a relative, he is forbidden to engage in business
+until thirty days after the death. In the case of the decease of a
+father or a mother, he is not to resume work until his friends rebuke
+him and urge him to return.
+
+_Semachoth_, chap. 9.
+
+It is unlawful for one to enter a banqueting-house for thirty days after
+the death of a relative; but he must refrain from so doing for twelve
+months after the demise of either father or mother, unless on the behest
+of some higher requirement of piety.
+
+Ibid.
+
+But I know not whether there are thirty righteous men here and fifteen
+in the land of Israel, or _vice versa_.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 92, col. 1.
+
+Thirty days in a year are equivalent to a whole year.
+
+_Niddah_, fol. 44, col. 2.
+
+"Moses, thou didst say unto me, 'What is Thy name?' And now thou dost
+say, 'Neither hast Thou delivered Thy people at all.' Now shalt thou see
+what I will do to Pharaoh (Exod. v. 23, vi. 1), but not what I am about
+to do to the thirty-one kings."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. III, col. 1.
+
+When Rav Deimi arrived at Babylon, he reported that the Romans had
+fought thirty-two battles with the Greeks without once conquering them,
+until they allied themselves with Israel, on the stipulation that where
+Rome appointed the commanding officers the Jews should appoint the
+governors, and _vice versa_.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 8, col. 2.
+
+Manasseh did penance thirty-three years.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 103, col. 1.
+
+Balaam was thirty-three years of age when Phineas, the robber, slew him.
+
+Ibid., fol. 106, col. 2.
+
+For thirty-four years the kingdom of Persia lasted contemporaneously
+with the Temple.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+Abaii has said, "There are never fewer than thirty-six righteous men in
+every generation who receive the presence of the Shechinah; for it is
+said (Isa. xxx. 18), 'Blessed are all those who wait upon Him.'" The
+numerical value (by Gematria) of Him, is thirty-six.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 97, col. 2.
+
+The sons of Esau, of Ishmael, and of Keturah went on purpose to dispute
+the burial (of Jacob); but when they saw that Joseph had placed his
+crown upon the coffin, they did the same with theirs. There were
+thirty-six crowns in all, tradition says. "And they mourned with a great
+and very sore lamentation." Even the very horses and asses joined in it,
+we are told. On arriving at the Cave of Machpelah, Esau once more
+protested, and said, "Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and
+Rebekah, are all buried here. Jacob disposed of his share when he buried
+Leah in it, and the remaining one belongs to me." "But thou didst sell
+thy share with thy birthright," remonstrated the sons of Jacob. "Nay,"
+rejoined Esau, "that did not include my share in the burial-place."
+"Indeed it did," they argued, "for our father, just before he died, said
+(Gen. l. 5), 'In my grave which I have bought for myself.'" "Where are
+the title-deeds?" demanded Esau. "In Egypt," was the answer. And
+immediately the swift-footed Naphthali started for the records. ("So
+light of foot was he," says the Book of Jasher, "that he could go upon
+the ears of corn without crushing them.") Hushim, the son of Dan, being
+deaf, asked what was the cause of the commotion. On being told what it
+was, he snatched up a club and smote Esau so hard that his eyes dropped
+out and fell upon the feet of Jacob; at which Jacob opened his eyes and
+grimly smiled. This is that which is written (Ps. lviii. 10), "The
+righteous shall rejoice when he sees vengeance; he shall wash his feet
+in the blood of the wicked." Then Rebekah's prophecy came to pass (Gen.
+xxvii. 45), "Why shall I be deprived also of you both in one day?" For
+although they did not both die on the same day, they were both buried on
+the same day.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 13, col. 1.
+
+    This story slightly varied, is repeated in the Book of Jasher
+    and in the Targum of Ben Uzziel.
+
+The principal works of the hand are forty save one:--To sow, to plow, to
+reap, to bind in sheaves, to thrash, to winnow, to sift corn, to grind,
+to bolt meal, to knead, to bake, to shear, to wash wool, to comb wool,
+to dye it, to spin, to warp, to shoot two threads, to weave two threads,
+to cut and tie two threads, to tie, to untie, to sew two stitches, to
+tear two threads with intent to sew, to hunt game, to slay, to skin, to
+salt a hide, to singe, to tan, to cut up a skin, to write two letters,
+to scratch out two letters with intent to write, to build, to pull down,
+to put out a fire, to light a fire, to smite with a hammer, to convey
+from one Reshuth [a private property in opposition to a public] to
+another.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 73, col. 1.
+
+King Yanai had a single tree on the royal mound, whence once a month
+they collected forty seahs (about fifteen bushels) of young pigeons of
+three different breeds.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 44, col. 1.
+
+Forty years before the destruction of the Temple the Sanhedrin were
+exiled, and they sat in the Halls of Commerce.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 15, col. 1.
+
+Until one is forty eating is more advantageous than drinking. After that
+age the rule is reversed.
+
+Ibid., fol. 152, col. 1.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that during the forty years in which Simeon the
+Just officiated in the Temple the lot always fell on the right (see Lev.
+xvi. 8-10). After that time it sometimes fell on the right and sometimes
+on the left. The crimson band also, which in his time had always turned
+white, after that period sometimes turned white, and at others it did
+not change color at all.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 39, col. 1.
+
+The Rabbis have taught:--Forty years before the destruction of the
+Temple the lot did not fall on the right, and the crimson band did not
+turn white; the light in the west did not burn, and the gates of the
+Temple opened of themselves, so that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai rebuked
+them, and said, "O Temple! Temple! why art thou dismayed? I know thy end
+will be that thou shalt be destroyed, for Zachariah the son of Iddo has
+already predicted respecting thee (Zech. xi. i), 'Open thy doors, O
+Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.'"
+
+Ibid., fol. 39, col. 2.
+
+During the forty years that Israel were in the wilderness there was not
+a midnight in which the north wind did not blow.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 71, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Zadok fasted forty years that Jerusalem might not be destroyed,
+and so emaciated was he, that when he ate anything it might be seen
+going down his throat.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 56, col. 1.
+
+Forty days before the formation of a child a Bath Kol proclaims, "The
+daughter of so-and-so shall marry the son of so-and-so; the premises of
+so-and-so shall be the property of so-and-so."
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 2, col. 1.
+
+Rav Hunna and Rav Chasda were so angry with one another that they did
+not meet for forty years. After that Rav Chasda fasted forty days for
+having annoyed Rav Hunna, and Rav Hunna forty days for having suspected
+Rav Chasda.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 33, col. 1.
+
+A female who marries at forty will never have any children.
+
+He who eats black cummin the weight of a denarius will have his heart
+torn out; so also will he who eats forty eggs or forty nuts, or a
+quarter of honey.
+
+_Tract Calah._
+
+He that cooks in milk the nerve Nashe on a yearly festival, and then
+eats it, receives five times forty stripes save one, etc.
+
+_Baitza_, fol. 12, col. 1.
+
+He who passes forty consecutive days without suffering some affliction
+has received his good reward in his lifetime (_cf._ Luke xvi. 25).
+
+_Erachin_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+If a bath contain forty measures of water and some mud, people may,
+according to Rabbi Elazar, immerse themselves in the water of it, but
+not in the mud; while Rabbi Yehoshua says they may do so in both.
+
+_Mikvaoth_, chap. ii. 10.
+
+Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav:--The Divine name, which consists of
+forty-two letters, is revealed only to him who is prudent and meek, who
+has reached the meridian of life, is not prone to wrath, not given to
+drink, and not revengeful. He that knows that name, and acts
+circumspectly in regard to it, and retains it sacredly, is beloved in
+heaven and esteemed on earth; He inspires men with reverence, and is
+heir both to the world that now is and that which is to come.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 71, col. 1.
+
+A man should always devote himself to the study of the law and to the
+practice of good deeds, even if he does not do so for their own sake, as
+self-satisfied performance may follow in due course. Thus, in recompense
+for the forty-two sacrifices he offered, Balak was accounted worthy to
+become the ancestor of Ruth. Rav Yossi bar Hunna has said, Ruth was the
+daughter of Eglon, the grandson of Balak, king of Moab.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 105, col. 2.
+
+These are the forty-five righteous men for whose sake the world is
+preserved.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 92, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Meir had a disciple named Sumchus, who in every case assigned
+forty-eight reasons why one thing should be called clean and why another
+should be called unclean, though Scripture declared the contrary. (A
+striking illustration of Rabbinical ingenuity!)
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied unto Israel, and
+they have neither diminished nor added to that which is written in the
+law, except the reading of the Book of Esther.
+
+_Megillah_, fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+    The Rabbis teach that in future (in the days of the Messiah) all
+    Scripture will be abolished except the Book of Esther, also all
+    festivals except the feast of Purim. (See _Menorath Hamaor_,
+    fol. 135, col. 1.)
+
+By forty-eight things the law is acquired. These are study, attention,
+careful conversation, mental discernment, solicitude, reverential fear,
+meekness, geniality of soul, purity, attention to the wise, mutual
+discussion, debating, sedateness, learning in the Scripture and the
+Mishna, not dabbling in commerce, self-denial, moderation in sleep,
+aversion to gossip, etc., etc.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 6.
+
+When God gave the law to Moses, He assigned forty-nine reasons in every
+case for pronouncing one thing unclean and as many for pronouncing other
+things clean.
+
+_Sophrim_, chap. 16, mish. 6.
+
+He that has fifty zouzim, and trades therewith, may not glean what is
+left in the corner of the field (Lev. xix. 9). He that takes it, and has
+no right to it, will come to want before the day of his departure. And
+if one who is entitled to it leaves it to others more needy, before he
+dies he will not only be able to support himself, but be a stay to
+others.
+
+_Peah_, chap. 8, mish. 9.
+
+Fifty measures of understanding were created in the world, and all
+except one were given to Moses; as it is said (Ps. viii. 5), "Thou hast
+made him a little lower than the angels."
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 21, col, 2.
+
+Poverty in a house is harder to bear than fifty plagues.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol 116, col. 1.
+
+    The above saying is based on Job xix. 21, compared with Exod.
+    viii. 19.
+
+For fifty-two years no man traveled through the land of Judea.
+
+_Yoma_. fol. 54, col. 1.
+
+Black cummin is one of the sixty deadly drugs.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 40, col. 1.
+
+Ulla and Rav Chasda were once traveling together, when they came up to
+the gate of the house of Rav Chena bar Chenelai. At sight of it Rav
+Chasda stooped and sighed. "Why sighest thou?" asked Ulla, "seeing, as
+Rav says, sighing breaks the body in halves; for it is said (Ezek. xxi.
+6), 'sigh, therefore, O son of man, with the breaking of thy loins;' and
+Rabbi Yochanan says a sigh breaks up the whole constitution; for it is
+said (Ezek. xxi. 7), 'And it shall be when they say unto thee, Wherefore
+sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings because it cometh,
+and the whole heart shall melt,'" etc. To this Rav Chasda replied, "How
+can I help sighing over this house, where sixty bakers used to be
+employed during the day, and sixty during the night, to make bread for
+the poor and needy; and Rav Chena had his hand always at his purse, for
+he thought the slightest hesitation might cause a poor but respectable
+man to blush; and besides he kept four doors open, one to each quarter
+of the heavens, so that all might enter and be satisfied? Over and above
+this, in time of famine he scattered wheat and barley abroad, so that
+they who were ashamed to gather by day might do so by night; but now
+this house has fallen into ruin, and ought I not to sigh?"
+
+Ibid., fol. 58, col. 2.
+
+Egypt is a sixtieth of Ethiopia, Ethiopia a sixtieth of the world, the
+world is a sixtieth part of the garden of Eden, the garden itself is but
+a sixtieth of Eden, and Eden a sixtieth of Gehenna. Hence the world in
+proportion to Gehenna is but as the lid to a caldron.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 94, col. 1.
+
+They led forth Metatron and struck him sixty bastinadoes with a cudgel
+of fire.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 15, col. 1.
+
+    In the context of the foregoing quotation occurs an anecdote of
+    Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah which is too racy to let pass, and too
+    characteristic to need note or comment. One day Elisha ben
+    Abuyah was privileged to pry into Paradise, where he saw the
+    recording angel Metatron on a seat registering the merits of the
+    holy of Israel. Struck with astonishment at the sight, he
+    exclaimed, "Is it not laid down that there is no sitting in
+    heaven, no shortsightedness or fatigue?" Then Metatron, thus
+    discovered, was ordered out and flogged with sixty lashes from a
+    fiery scourge. Smarting with pain, the angel asked and obtained
+    leave to cancel the merits of the prying Rabbi. One day--it
+    chanced to be on Yom Kippur and Sabbath--as Elisha was riding
+    along by the wall where the Holy of Holies once stood, he heard
+    a Bath Kol proclaiming, "Return, ye backsliding children, but
+    Acher abide thou in thy sin" (Acher was the Rabbi's nickname). A
+    faithful disciple of his hearing this, and bent on reclaiming
+    and reforming him, invited him to go and hear the lads of a
+    school close by repeat their lessons. The Rabbi went, and from
+    that to another and another, until he had gone the round of a
+    dozen seminaries, in the last of which he called up a lad to
+    repeat a verse who had an impediment in his speech. The verse
+    happened to be Ps. l. 16, "But unto the wicked, God saith, Why
+    dost thou declare my law?" Acher fancied the boy said, and to
+    Elisha (his own name), instead of and to Rasha, that is, the
+    wicked. This roused the Rabbi into such fury of passion, that he
+    sprang to his feet, exclaiming, "If I only had a knife at hand I
+    would cut this boy into a dozen pieces, and send a piece to each
+    school I have visited!"
+
+A woman of sixty runs after music like a girl of six.
+
+_Moed Katon_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+Rabba, who only studied the law, lived forty years; Abaii, who both
+studied the law and exercised benevolence, lived sixty.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+The manna which came down upon Israel was sixty ells deep.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 76, col. 1.
+
+It is not right for a man to sleep in the daytime any longer than a
+horse sleeps. And how long is the sleep of a horse? Sixty respirations.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 26, col. 2.
+
+Abaii says, "When I left Rabbah, I was not at all hungry; but when I
+arrived at Meree, they served up before me sixty dishes, with as many
+sorts of viands, and I ate half of each, but as for hotch-potch, which
+the last dish contained, I ate up all of it, and would fain have eaten
+up the dish too." Abaii said, "This illustrates the proverb, current
+among the people, 'The poor man is hungry, and does not know when he has
+eaten enough; or, there is always room for a tit-bit.'"
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 7, col. 2.
+
+There are sixty kinds of wine; the best of all is the red aromatic wine,
+and bad white wine is the worst.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 70, col. 1.
+
+Samson's shoulders were sixty ells broad.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+Ebal and Gerizim were sixty miles from Jordan.
+
+Ibid., fol. 36, col. 1.
+
+One who makes a good breakfast can outstrip sixty runners in a race (who
+have not).
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 92, col. 2.
+
+A (hungry) person who looks on while another eats, experiences sixty
+unpleasant sensations in his teeth.
+
+Ibid.
+
+His wife made him daily sixty sorts of dainties, and these restored him
+again.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 84, col. 2.
+
+    Rabbi Blazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon, once vindictively caused
+    a man to be put to death, merely because he had spoken of him as
+    Vinegar the son of Wine, a round-about way of reproaching him
+    that he was the bad son of a good father, though it turned out
+    afterward that the condemned man deserved death for a crime that
+    he was not known to be guilty of at the time of his execution;
+    yet the mind of the Rabbi was ill at ease, and he voluntarily
+    did penance by subjecting himself in a peculiar fashion to great
+    bodily suffering. Sixty woolen cloths were regularly spread
+    under him every night, and these were found soaked in the
+    morning with his profuse perspiration. The result of this was
+    greater and greater bodily prostration, which his wife strove,
+    as related above, day after day to repair, detaining him from
+    college, lest the debates there should prove too much for his
+    weakened frame. When his wife found that he persisted in
+    courting these sufferings, and that her tender care, as well as
+    her own patrimony, were being lavished on him in vain, she tired
+    of her assiduity, and left him to his fate. And now, waited on
+    by some sailors, who believed they owed to him deliverance from
+    a watery grave, he was free to do as he liked. One day, being
+    ministered to by them after a night's perspiration of the kind
+    referred to, he went straight to college, and there decided
+    sixty doubtful cases against the unanimous dissent of the
+    assembly. Providential circumstances, which happened afterward,
+    both proved that he was right in his judgment and that his wife
+    was wrong in suffering her fondness for him to stand in the way
+    of the performance of his public duties.
+
+Elijah frequently attended the Rabbi's seat of instruction, and once, on
+the first of a month, he came in later than usual. Rabbi asked what had
+kept him so late. Elijah answered, "I have to wake up Abraham, Isaac,
+and Jacob one after the other, to wash the hands of each, and to wait
+until each has said his prayers and retired to rest again." "But," said
+Rabbi, "why do they not all get up at the same time?" The answer was,
+"Because if they prayed all at once, their united prayers would hurry on
+the coming of the Messiah before the time appointed." Then said Rabbi,
+"Are there any such praying people among us?" Elijah mentioned Rabbi
+Cheyah and his sons. Then Rabbi announced a fast, and the Rabbi Cheyah
+and his sons came to celebrate it. In the course of repeating the
+Shemoneh Esreh [a prayer consisting of eighteen Collects, which is
+repeated three times each day] they were about to say, "Thou restoreth
+life to the dead" when the world was convulsed, and the question was
+asked in heaven, "Who told them the secret?" So Elijah was bastinadoed
+sixty strokes with a cudgel of fire. Then he came down like a fiery
+bear, and dashing in among the people, scattered the congregation.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 85, col. 2.
+
+When love was strong, we could lie, as it were, on the edge of a sword;
+but now, when love is diminished, a bed sixty ells wide is not broad
+enough for us.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+The pig bears in sixty days.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+Sixty iron mines are suspended in the sting of a gnat.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 58, col. 2.
+
+An egg once dropped out of the nest of a bird called Bar-Yuchnei, which
+deluged sixty cities and swept away three hundred cedars. The question
+therefore arose, "Does the bird generally throw out its eggs?" Rav Ashi
+replied, "No; that was a rotten one."
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+Everybody knows why a bride enters the nuptial chamber, but against him
+who sullies his lips by talking about it, the decree for good, though of
+seventy years' standing, shall be reversed into a decree for evil. Rav
+Chasda says, "Whosoever disgraces his mouth (by evil communication),
+Gehenna shall be deepened for him; for it is said in Prov. xxii. 14, 'A
+deep pit for the mouth of strange words (immoral talk).'" Rav Nachman
+bar Yitzchak says, "The same punishment will be inflicted on him who
+listens to it and is silent; for it is said (Prov. xxii. 14), 'And he
+that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.'"
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 33, col. 1.
+
+(Jer. xxiii. 29), "Like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces," so
+is every utterance which proceedeth from the mouth of God, divided
+though it be into seventy languages.
+
+Ibid., fol. 88, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Eliezer asked, "For whose benefit were those seventy bullocks
+intended?" See Num. xxix. 12-36. For the seventy nations into which the
+Gentile world is divided; and Rashi plainly asserts that the seventy
+bullocks were intended to atone for them, that rain might descend all
+over the world, for on the Feast of Tabernacles judgment is given
+respecting rain, etc. Woe to the Gentile nations for their loss, and
+they know not what they have lost! for as long as the Temple existed,
+the altar made atonement for them; but now, who is to atone for them?
+
+_Succah_, fol. 55, col. 2.
+
+Choni, the Maagol, once saw in his travels an old man planting a
+carob-tree, and he asked him when he thought the tree would bear fruit.
+"After seventy years," was the reply. "What!" said Choni, "dost thou
+expect to live seventy years and eat the fruit of thy labor?" "I did not
+find the world desolate when I entered it," said the old man; "and as my
+fathers planted for me before I was born, so I plant for those that will
+come after me."
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 23, col. 1.
+
+Mordecai was one of those who sat in the hall of the Temple, and he knew
+seventy languages.
+
+_Megillah_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught:--During a prosperous year in Israel, a place
+that is sown with a single measure of seed produces five myriad cors of
+grain. In the tilled districts of Zoan, one measure of seed produces
+seventy cors; for we are told that Rabbi Meir said he himself had
+witnessed in the vale of Bethshean an instance of one measure of seed
+producing seventy cors. And there is no better land anywhere than the
+land of Egypt; for it is said, "As the garden of the Lord, like the land
+of Egypt." And there is no better land in ail Egypt than Zoan, where
+several kings have resided; for it is written (Isa. xxx. 4), "His
+princes were in Zoan." In all Israel there was no more unsuitable soil
+than Hebron, for it was a burying-place, and yet Hebron was seven times
+more prolific than Zoan; for it is written (Num. xiii. 22), "Now Hebron
+was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt." For it is said (Gen. x. 6),
+"And the sons of Ham, Cush, Mizraim (that is, Egypt), Phut, and Canaan"
+(that is, Israel). It must, therefore, mean that it was seven times more
+prolific (the verb meaning both to build and to produce) than Zoan. This
+is only in the unsuitable soil of the land of Israel, Hebron, but in the
+suitable soil (the increase) is five hundred times. All this applies to
+a year of average return, but in one of special prosperity, it is
+written (Gen. xxvi. 12), "Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in
+the same year an hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him." (The word
+years, is conveniently overlooked in working out the argument.)
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 112, col. 1.
+
+The astrologers in Egypt said to Pharaoh, "What! shall a slave whose
+master bought him for twenty pieces of silver rule over us?" Pharaoh
+replied, "But I find him endowed with kingly qualities." "If that is the
+case," they answered, "he must know seventy languages." Then came the
+angel Gabriel, and taught him seventy languages.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 36, col. 2.
+
+When the leviathan makes the deep boil, the sea does not recover its
+calm for seventy years; for it is said (Job xli. 32), "One would think
+the deep is to be hoary," and we cannot take the word "hoary" to imply a
+term of less than seventy years.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 75, col. 1.
+
+Abba Chalepha Keruya once remarked to Rav Cheyah bar Abba, "The sum
+total of Jacob's family thou findest reckoned at seventy, whereas the
+numbers added up make only sixty-nine. How is that?" Rav Cheyah made
+answer that the particle in verse 15, implies that Dinah must have been
+one of twin-sisters. "But," objected the other, "the same particle
+occurs also in connection with Benjamin, to say nothing of other
+instances." "Alas!" said Rav Cheyah, "I am possessed of a secret worth
+knowing, and thou art trying to worm it out of me." Then interposed Rav
+Chama bar Chanena, "The number may be made up by reckoning Jochebed in,
+for of her it is said (Num. xxvi. 59) 'that her mother bare her to Levi
+in Egypt;' her birth took place in Egypt, though she was conceived on
+the journey."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 123, cols, 1, 2.
+
+Rav Yehudah says in the name of Shemuel:--There is yet another festival
+in Rome, which is observed only once in seventy years, and this is the
+manner of its celebration. They take an able-bodied man, without
+physical defect, and cause him to ride upon the back of a lame one. They
+dress up the former in the garments of Adam (such as God made for him in
+Paradise), and cover his face with the skin of the face of Rabbi
+Ishmael, the high priest, and adorn his neck with a precious stone. They
+illuminate the streets, and then lead the two men through the city, a
+herald proclaiming before them, "The account of our Lord was false; it
+is the brother of our Lord that is the deceiver! He that sees this
+festival sees it, and he that does not see it now will never see it.
+What advantage to the deceiver is his deception, and to the crafty his
+craftiness?" The proclamation finishes up thus--"Woe to this one when
+the other shall rise again!"
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 11, col. 2.
+
+    The Targum Yarushalmi informs us that the Lord God wrought for
+    Adam and his wife robes of honor from the cast-off skin of the
+    serpent. We learn elsewhere that Nimrod came into possession of
+    Adam's coat through Ham, who stole it from Noah while in the
+    Ark. The glib tongue of tradition also tells how Esau slew
+    Nimrod and appropriated the garment, and wore it for luck when
+    hunting; but that on the day when he went to seek venison at the
+    request of his dying parent, in his hurry he forgot the
+    embroidered robe of Adam, and had bad luck in consequence. Then
+    Jacob borrowed the left-off garment, and kept it for himself.
+    The mask alluded to is accounted for thus:--The daughter of a
+    Roman emperor took a fancy to have the skin of Rabbi Ishmael's
+    face, and it accordingly, when he was dead, was taken off, and
+    so embalmed as to retain its features, expression, and
+    complexion, and the Jews say that it is still preserved among
+    the relics at Rome. The able-bodied man in this prophetic
+    mystery-play represents Esau, and the limping man is intended
+    for Jacob. Rome (or Esau) is uppermost in that ceremonial, but
+    the time is coming when Jacob will rise and invest himself in
+    the blessings he so craftily obtained the reversion of.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan said:--None were elected to sit in the High Council of
+the Sanhedrin except men of stature, of wisdom, of imposing appearance,
+and of mature age; men who knew witchcraft and seventy languages, in
+order that the High Council of the Sanhedrin should have no need of an
+interpreter.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+Yehudah and Chiskiyah, the sons of Rabbi Cheyah, once sat down to a meal
+before Rabbi (the Holy) without speaking a word. "Give the boys some
+wine," said Rabbi, "that they may have boldness to speak." When they had
+partaken of the wine, they said, "The son of David will not come until
+the two patriarchal houses of Israel are no more," that is, the head of
+the Captivity in Babylon and the Prince in the land of Israel; for it is
+written (Isa. viii. 14), "And he shall be for a sanctuary, and for a
+stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel."
+"Why, children," said Rabbi (who was patriarch of Tiberias), "you are
+thrusting thorns into my eyes." Rabbi Cheyah said, "Do not be offended
+at them. Wine is given with seventy, and so is a secret (the numerical
+value of each of these words is seventy); when wine enters the secret
+oozes out."
+
+Ibid., fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+A certain star appears once in seventy years and deceives the sailors
+(who guide their vessels by the position of the heavenly bodies; and
+this star appears sometimes in the north and sometimes in the
+south.--_Rashi_.)
+
+_Horayoth_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+As eating olive berries causes one to forget things that he has known
+for seventy years, so olive oil brings back to the memory things which
+happened seventy years before.
+
+Ibid., fol. 13, col. 2,
+
+The outside of the shell of the purple mollusk resembles the sea in
+color; its bodily conformation is like that of a fish; it rises once in
+seventy years; its blood is used to dye wool purple, and therefore this
+color is dear.
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 44, col. 1.
+
+The bearing-time of the flat-headed otter lasts seventy years; a
+parallel may be found in the carob-tree, from the planting to the
+ripening of the pods of which is seventy years.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+The Sanhedrin consisted of seventy-one members. It is recorded that
+Rabbi Yossi said, "Seldom was there contention in Israel, but the
+judicial court of seventy-one sat in the Lishkath-hagazith, i.e., Paved
+Hall, and two (ordinary) courts of justice consisting of twenty-three,
+one of which sat at the entrance of the Temple-Mount, and the other at
+the entrance of the ante-court; and also (provincial) courts of justice,
+also comprising twenty-three members, which held their sessions in all
+the cities of Israel. When an Israelite had a question to propose, he
+asked it first of the court in his own city. If they understood the
+case, they settled the matter; but if not, they applied to the court of
+the next city. If the neighboring justices could not decide, they went
+together and laid the case in debate before the court which held its
+session at the entrance of the Temple-Mount. If these courts, in turn,
+failed to solve the problem, they appealed to the court that sat in the
+entrance of the ante-court, where a discussion was entered into upon the
+moot points of the case; if no decision could be arrived at, they all
+referred to the (supreme) court of seventy-one, where the matter was
+finally decided by the majority of votes."
+
+As the disciples of Shammai and Hillel multiplied who had not studied
+the law thoroughly, contentions increased in Israel to such an extent
+that the law lost its unity and became as two.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 88, col. 2.
+
+The Sanhedrin sat in a semicircle, in order that they might see one
+another; and two notaries stood before them, the one on the right and
+the other on the left, to record the pros and cons in the various
+processes. Rabbi Yehudah says there were three such notaries, one for
+the pros, one for the cons, and one to record both the pros and the
+cons.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 36, col. 2.
+
+The witnesses (in capital cases) were questioned on seven points, as
+follows:--In what Shemitah (or septennial cycle) did it occur? In which
+year (of the cycle)? In what month? Upon what day? At what hour? In what
+place? ... The more one questioned the more he was commended. (See Deut.
+xiii. 15; A.V., ver. 14.)
+
+Ibid., fol. 40, col. 1.
+
+In connection with the foregoing subject, let us string together some of
+the gems of forensic wisdom to be met with in the Talmud. A score or so
+of bona fide quotations, respecting judges, criminals and criminal
+punishment, and witnesses, will serve to illustrate this part of our
+subject.
+
+JUDGES.
+
+The judge, says the Scripture, who for but one hour administers justice
+according to true equity, is a partner, as it were, with God in His work
+of creation.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+Despicable is the judge who judges for reward; yet his judgment is law,
+and must, as such, be respected.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 105, col. 1.
+
+The judge who accepts a bribe, however perfectly righteous otherwise,
+will not leave this world with sane mind.
+
+Ibid., fol. 105, col. 2.
+
+A judge will establish the land if, like a king, he want nothing; but he
+will ruin it if, like a priest, he receive gifts from the
+threshing-floor.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Once when Shemuel was crossing a river in a ferryboat, a man lent a
+sustaining hand to prevent him from falling. "What," said the Rabbi,
+"have I done for thee, that thou art so attentive with thy services?"
+The man replied, "I have a lawsuit before thee." "In that case," said
+Shemuel, "thy attention has disqualified me from judging in thy
+lawsuit."
+
+Ameimar was once sitting in judgment, when a man stepped forward and
+removed some feathers that were clinging to his hair. Upon this the
+judge asked, "What service have I done thee?" The man replied, "I have a
+case to bring up before thee, my lord." The Rabbi replied, "Thou hast
+disqualified me from being judge in the matter."
+
+Mar Ukva once noticed a man politely step up and cover some saliva which
+lay on the ground before him. "What have I done for thee?" said the
+Rabbi. "I have a case to bring before thee," said the man. "Thou hast
+bribed me with thy kind attention," said the Rabbi; "I cannot be thy
+judge."
+
+Rabbi Ishmael, son of Rabbi Yossi, had a gardener who regularly brought
+him a basket of grapes every Friday. Bringing it once on a Thursday, the
+Rabbi asked him the reason why he had come a day earlier. "My lord,"
+said the gardener, "having a lawsuit to come off before thee to-day, I
+thought by so doing I might save myself the journey to-morrow." Upon
+this the Rabbi both refused to take the basket of grapes, though they
+were really his own, and declined to act as judge in the process. He,
+however, appointed two Rabbis to judge the case in his stead, and while
+they were investigating the evidence in the litigation he kept pacing up
+and down, and saying to himself, if the gardener were sharp he might say
+so-and-so in his own behalf. He was at one time on the point of speaking
+in defense of his gardener, when he checked himself and said, "The
+receivers of bribes may well look to their souls. If I feel partial who
+have not even taken a bribe of what was my own, how perverted must the
+disposition of those become who receive bribes at the hands of others!"
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 105, col. 1.
+
+The judge who takes a bribe only provokes wrath, instead of allaying it;
+for is it not said (Prov. xxi. 14), "A reward in the bosom bringeth
+strong wrath"?
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+Let judges know with whom and before whom they judge, and who it is that
+will one day exact account of their judgments; for it is said (Ps.
+lxxxii. 1), "God standeth in the assembly of God, and judgeth with the
+judges."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 6, col. 2.
+
+A judge who does not judge justly causeth the Shechinah to depart from
+Israel; for it is said (Ps. xii. 5), "For the oppression of the poor,
+the sighing of the needy, now will I depart, saith the Lord."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+The judge should ever regard himself as if he had a sword laid upon his
+thigh, and Gehenna were yawning near him; as it is said (Solomon's Song,
+iii. 7, 8), "Behold the bed of Solomon (the judgment-seat of God),
+threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all
+hold swords, being expert in war (with injustice). Every one has his
+sword upon his thigh, for fear of the night" (the confusion that would
+follow).
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 109, col. 2; _Sanhedrin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+Seven have, in the popular regard, no portion in the world to come: a
+notary, a schoolmaster, the best of doctors, a judge in his native
+place, a conjuror, a congregational reader, and a butcher.
+
+_Avoth d' Rabbi Nathan_, chap. 36.
+
+WITNESSES.
+
+An ignoramus is ineligible for a witness.
+
+The following are ineligible as witnesses of the appearance of the new
+moon:--Dice-players, usurers, pigeon-fliers, sellers of the produce of
+the year of release, and slaves. This is the general rule; in any case
+in which women are inadmissible as witnesses, they also are inadmissible
+here.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 22, col. 1.
+
+Two disciples of the wise happened to be shipwrecked with Rabbi Yossi
+ben Simaii, and the Rabbi allowed their widows to re-marry on the
+testimony of women. Even the testimony of a hundred women is only equal
+to the evidence of one man (and that only in a case like the foregoing;
+it is inadmissible in any other matter).
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 115, col. 1.
+
+"Whosoever is not instructed in Scripture, in the Mishna, and in good
+manners," says Rabbi Yochanan, "is not qualified to act as a witness."
+"He who eats in the street," say the Rabbis, "is like a dog;" and some
+add that such a one is ineligible as a witness, and Rav Iddi bar Avin
+says the Halachah is as "some say."
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 40, col. 2.
+
+Even when a witness is paid, his testimony is not thereby invalidated.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 58, col. 2.
+
+Testimony that is invalidated in part is invalidated entirely.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol, 73, col. 1.
+
+Let witnesses know with whom and before whom they bear testimony, and
+who will one day call them to account; for it is said (Deut. xix. 17),
+"Both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before the
+Lord."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 6, col. 2.
+
+Those that eat another thing (i.e., not pork, but those who receive
+charity from a Gentile.--Rashi and Tosefoth) are disqualified from being
+witnesses. When is this the case? When done publicly; but if in secret,
+not so.
+
+Ibid., fol. 26, col. 2.
+
+He who swears falsely in a capital case is unreliable as a witness in
+any other suit at law; but if he has perjured himself in a civil case
+only, his evidence may be relied upon in cases where life and death are
+concerned.
+
+Ibid., fol. 27, col. 1.
+
+He who disavows a loan is fit to be a witness; but he who disowns a
+deposit in trust is unfit.
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 40, col. 2.
+
+Shimon ben Shetach says, "Fully examine the witnesses; be careful with
+thy words, lest from them they learn to lie."
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 1.
+
+CRIMINALS AND CRIMINAL PUNISHMENTS.
+
+Four kinds of capital punishment were decreed by the court of
+justice:--Stoning, burning, beheading, and strangling; or as Rabbi
+Shimon arranges them--Burning, stoning, strangling, and beheading. As
+soon as the sentence of death is pronounced, the criminal is led out to
+be stoned, the stoning-place being at a distance from the court of
+justice; for it is said (Lev. xxiv. 14), "Bring forth him that hath
+cursed without the camp." Then one official stands at the door of the
+court of justice with a flag in his hand, and another is stationed on
+horseback at such a distance as to be able to see the former. If,
+meanwhile, one comes and declares before the court, "I have something
+further to urge in defense of the prisoner," the man at the door waves
+his flag, and the mounted official rides forward and stops the
+procession. Even if the criminal himself says, "I have yet something to
+plead in my defense," he is to be brought back, even four or five times
+over, provided there is something of importance in his deposition. If
+the evidence is exculpatory, he is discharged; if not, he is led out to
+be stoned. As he proceeds to the place of execution, a public crier goes
+before him and proclaims, "So-and-so, the son of So-and-so, goes out to
+be stoned because he has committed such-and-such a crime, and So-and-so
+and So-and-so are the witnesses. Let him who knows of anything that
+pleads in his defense come forward and state it." When about ten yards
+from the stoning-place, the condemned is called upon to confess his
+guilt. (All about to be executed were urged to confess, as by making
+confession every criminal made good a portion in the world to come; for
+so we find it in the case of Achan, when Joshua said unto him (Josh.
+vii. 19), "My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel,
+and make confession unto him," etc. "And Achan answered Joshua and said,
+Indeed I have sinned." But where are we taught that his confession was
+his atonement? Where it is said (Ibid., v. 25), "And Joshua said, Why
+hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day;" as if to
+say, "This day thou shalt be troubled, but in the world to come thou
+shalt not be troubled.") About four yards from the stoning-place they
+stripped off the criminal's clothes, covering a male in front, but a
+female both before and behind. These are the words of Rabbi Yehudah; but
+the sages say a man was stoned naked, but not a female.
+
+The stoning-place was twice the height of a man, and this the criminal
+ascended. One of the witnesses then pushed him from behind, and he
+tumbled down upon his chest. He was then turned over upon his back: if
+he was killed, the execution was complete; but if not quite dead, the
+second witness took a heavy stone and cast it upon his chest; and if
+this did not prove effectual, then the stoning was completed by all
+present joining in the act; as it is said (Deut. xvii. 7), "The hands of
+the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward
+the hands of all the people."
+
+"Criminals who were stoned dead were afterward hanged." These are the
+words of Rabbi Eliezer; but the sages say none were hanged but the
+blasphemer and the idolater. "They hanged a man with his face toward the
+people, but a woman with her face toward the gallows." These are the
+words of Rabbi Eliezer; but the sages say a man is hanged, but no woman
+is hanged.... How then did they hang the man? A post was firmly fixed
+into the ground, from which an arm of wood projected, and they tied the
+hands of the corpse together and so suspended it. Rabbi Yossi says, "The
+beam simply leaned against a wall, and so they hung up the body as
+butchers do an ox or a sheep, and it was soon afterward taken down
+again, for if it remained over night a prohibition of the law would have
+been thereby transgressed." For it is said (Deut. xxi. 23), "His body
+shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise
+bury him that day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God," etc. That
+is to say, people would ask why this one was hanged; and as the reply
+would needs be, "Because he blasphemed God," this would lead to the use
+of God's name under circumstances in which it would be blasphemed.
+
+The sentence of burning was carried out thus:--They fixed the criminal
+up to his knees in manure, and a hard cloth wrapped in a softer material
+was passed round his neck. One of the witnesses, taking hold of this,
+pulled it one way, and another the other, until the criminal was forced
+to open his mouth; then a wick of lead was lighted and thrust into his
+mouth, the molten lead running down into his bowels and burning them.
+Rabbi Yehudah asks, "If the criminal should die in their hands, how
+would that fulfill the commandment respecting burning?" But they
+forcibly open his mouth with a pair of tongues and the lighted wire (the
+molten lead) is thrust into his mouth, so that it goes down into his
+bowels and burns his inside.
+
+The sentence of beheading was executed thus:--They sometimes cut off the
+criminal's head with a sword, as is done among the Romans. But Rabbi
+Yehudah says this was degrading, and in some cases they placed the
+culprit's head upon the block and struck it off with an ax. Some one
+remarked to him that such a death is more degrading still.
+
+The sentence of strangling was carried out thus:--They fixed the
+criminal up to his knees in manure, and having twined a hard cloth
+within a soft one round his neck, one witness pulled one way and the
+other pulled in an opposite direction till life was extinct.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 42, col. 2; fol. 49, col. 2; fol. 52, cols. 1, 2.
+
+    The above, which has been translated almost literally from the
+    Talmud, may serve to remove many misconceptions now current as
+    to the modes of capital punishment that obtained in Jewry.
+
+    In further illustration of this topic, we will append some of
+    the legal decisions that are recorded in the Talmud,
+    authenticating each by reference to folio and column. Examples
+    might be multiplied by the score, but a sufficient number will
+    be quoted to give a fair idea of Rabbinic jurisprudence.
+
+If one who intends to kill a beast (accidentally) kill a man; or if,
+purposing to kill a Gentile, he slay an Israelite; or if he destroy a
+foetus in mistake for an embryo, he shall be free; i.e., not guilty.
+
+Ibid., fol. 78, col. 2.
+
+He who has been flogged and exposes himself again to the same punishment
+is to be shut up in a narrow cell, in which he can only stand upright,
+and be fed with barley till he burst.
+
+Ibid., fol. 81, col. 2.
+
+If one commits murder, and there is not sufficient legal evidence, he is
+to be shut up in a narrow cell and fed with "the bread of adversity and
+the water of affliction" (Isa. xxx. 20). They give him this diet till
+his bowels shrink, and then he is fed with barley till (as it swells in
+his bowels) his intestines burst.
+
+Ibid.
+
+A woman who is doomed, being _enceinte_, to suffer the extreme penalty
+of the law, is first beaten, about the womb, lest a mishap occur at the
+execution.
+
+_Erachin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+If a woman who has vowed the vow of a Nazarite drink wine or defile
+herself by contact with a dead body (see Num. vi. 2-6), she is to
+undergo the punishment of forty stripes.
+
+_Nazir_, fol. 23, col. 1.
+
+The Rabbis teach that when the woman has to be flogged, the man has only
+to bring a sacrifice; and that if she is not to be flogged, the man is
+not required to bring a sacrifice. (This is in reference to Lev. xix.
+20, 21.)
+
+_Kerithoth_, fol. 11, col. 1.
+
+Rav Yehudah says, "He that eats a certain aquatic insect, the swallowing
+of which while drinking would involve no penalty whatever--Tosefoth,
+receives forty stripes save one (the penalty for transgressing the
+negative precepts), for it belongs to the class of 'creeping things that
+do creep upon the earth' (Lev. xi. 29)." Rav Yehudah once gave a
+practical exemplification of this ruling of his.
+
+Abaii says, "He that eats a particular animalcule found in stagnant
+water, receives four times forty stripes save one. For eating an ant
+this penalty is five times repeated, and for eating a wasp it is
+inflicted six times."
+
+_Maccoth_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+When one is ordered to construct a booth, or to prepare a palm-branch
+for the Feast of Tabernacles, or to make fringes, and does not do so, he
+is to be flogged till his soul comes out of him.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 132, col. 2.
+
+Once on a time, as the Rabbis relate, the wicked Government sent two
+officers to the wise men of Israel, saying, "Teach us your law." This
+being put into their hands, three times over they perused it; and when
+about to leave they returned it, remarking, "We have carefully studied
+your law, and find it equitable save in one particular. You say: When
+the ox of an Israelite gores to death the ox of an alien, its owner is
+not liable to make compensation; but if the ox of an alien gore to death
+the ox of an Israelite, its owner must make full amends for the loss of
+the animal; whether it be the first or second time that the ox has so
+killed another (in which case an Israelite would have to pay to another
+Israelite only half the value of the loss), or the third time (when he
+would be fined to the full extent of his neighbor's loss). Either
+'neighbor' (in Exod. xxi. 35, for such the word signifies in the
+original Hebrew, though the Authorized Version has another) is taken
+strictly as referring to an Israelite only, and then an alien should be
+exempted as well; or if the word 'neighbor' is to be taken in its widest
+sense, why should not an Israelite be bound to pay when his ox gores to
+death the ox of an alien?" "This legal point," was the answer, "we do
+not tell the Government." As Rashi says in reference to the preceding
+Halacha, "an alien forfeits the right to his own property in favor of
+the Jews."
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+Ptolemy, the king (of Egypt), assembled seventy-two elders of Israel and
+lodged them in seventy-two separate chambers, but did not tell them why
+he did so. Then he visited each one in turn and said, "Write out for me
+the law of Moses your Rabbi." The Holy One--blessed be He!--went and
+counseled the minds of every one of them, so that they all agreed, and
+wrote, "God created in the beginning," etc.
+
+_Megillah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+    The Talmudic story of the origin of the Septuagint agrees in the
+    main with the account of Aristeas and Josephus, but Philo gives
+    the different version. Many of the Christian fathers believed it
+    to be the work of inspiration.
+
+Abraham was as tall as seventy-four people; what he ate and drank was
+enough to satisfy seventy-four ordinary men, and his strength was
+proportionate.
+
+_Sophrim_, chap. 21, 9.
+
+The venerable Hillel had eighty disciples, thirty of whom were worthy
+that the Shechinah should rest upon them, as it rested upon Moses our
+Rabbi; and thirty of them were worthy that the sun should stand still
+(for them), as it did for Joshua the son of Nun; and twenty of them
+stood midway in worth. The greatest of all of them was Jonathan ben
+Uzziel, and the least of all was Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai. It is said
+of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai that he did not leave unstudied the Bible,
+the Mishna, the Gemara, the constitutions, the legends, the minutiae of
+the law, the niceties of the scribes, the arguments _a fortiori_ and
+from similar premises, the theory of the change of the moon, the
+Gematria, the parable of the unripe grapes and the foxes, the language
+of demons, of palm-trees, and of ministering angels.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 134, col. 1.
+
+A male criminal is to be hanged with his face toward the people, but a
+female with her face toward the gibbet. So says Rabbi Eliezer; but the
+sages say the man only is hanged, not the woman. Rabbi Eliezer retorted,
+"Did not Simeon the son of Shetach hang women in Askelon?" To this they
+replied, "He indeed caused eighty women to be hanged, though two
+criminals are not to be condemned in one day."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 45, col. 2.
+
+    We may here repeat the story of the execution of the eighty
+    women here alluded to, as that is told by Rashi on the preceding
+    page of the Talmud. Once a publican, an Israelite but a sinner,
+    and a great and good man of the same place, having died on the
+    same day, were about to be buried. While the citizens were
+    engaged with the funeral of the latter, the relations of the
+    other crossed their path, bearing the corpse to the sepulchre.
+    Of a sudden a troop of enemies came upon the scene and caused
+    them all to take to flight, one faithful disciple alone
+    remaining by the bier of his Rabbi. After a while the citizens
+    returned to inter the remains they had so unceremoniously left,
+    but by some mistake they took the wrong bier and buried the
+    publican with honor, in spite of the remonstrance of the
+    disciple, while the relatives of the publican buried the Rabbi
+    ignominiously. The poor disciple felt inconsolably distressed,
+    and was anxious to know for what sin the great man had been
+    buried with contempt, and for what merit the wicked man had been
+    buried with such honor. His Rabbi then appeared to him in a
+    dream, and said, "Comfort thou thy heart, and come I will show
+    thee the honor I hold in Paradise, and I will also show thee
+    that man in Gehenna, the hinge of the door of which even now
+    creaks in his ears. (Which were formed into sockets for the
+    gates of hell to turn in.) But because once on a time I listened
+    to contemptuous talk about the Rabbis and did not check it, I
+    have suffered an ignoble burial, while the publican enjoyed the
+    honor that was intended for me because he once distributed
+    gratuitously among the poor of the city a banquet he had
+    prepared for the governor, but of which the governor did not
+    come to partake." The disciple having asked the Rabbi how long
+    this publican was to be thus severely treated, he replied,
+    "Until the death of Simeon the son of Shetach, who is to take
+    the publican's place in Gehenna." "Why so?" "Because, though he
+    knows there are several Jewish witches in Askelon, he idly
+    suffers them to ply their infernal trade and does not take any
+    steps to extirpate them." On the morrow the disciple reported
+    this speech to Simeon the son of Shetach, who at once proceeded
+    to take action against the obnoxious witches. He engaged eighty
+    stalwart young men, and choosing a rainy day, supplied each with
+    an extra garment folded up and stowed away in an earthern
+    vessel. Thus provided, they were each at a given signal to
+    snatch up one of the eighty witches and carry her away, a task
+    they would find of easy execution, as, except in contact with
+    the earth, these creatures were powerless. Then Simeon the son
+    of Shetach, leaving his men in ambush, entered the rendezvous of
+    the witches, who, accosting him, asked, "Who art thou?" He
+    replied, "I am a wizard, and am come to experiment in magic."
+    "What trick have you to show?" they said. He answered, "Even
+    though the day is wet, I can produce eighty young men all in dry
+    clothes." They smiled incredulously and said, "Let us see!" He
+    went to the door, and at the signal the young men took the dry
+    clothes out of the jars and put them on, then starting from
+    their ambush, they rushed into the witches' den, and each
+    seizing one, lifted her up and carried her off as directed. Thus
+    overpowered, they were brought before the court, convicted of
+    malpractices and led forth to execution.
+
+    _Sanhedrin_, fol. 44, col. 2.
+
+(Exod. xxiii. 35), "And I will take away sickness from the midst of
+thee." It is taught that sickness (Machlah) means the bile. But why is
+it termed Machlah? Because eighty-three diseases are in it. Machlah by
+Gematria equals eighty-three; and all may be avoided by an early
+breakfast of bread and salt and a bottle of water.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 92, col. 2.
+
+If in a book of the law the writing is obliterated all but eighty-five
+letters--as, for instance, in Num. x. 35, 36, "And it came to pass when
+the ark set forward," etc.,--it may be rescued on the Sabbath from a
+fire, but not otherwise.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 116, col. 1.
+
+Elijah said to Rabbi Judah the brother of Rav Salla the Pious, "The
+world will not last less than eighty-five jubilees, and in the last
+jubilee the son of David will come."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 97, col 2.
+
+There was not a single individual in Israel who had not ninety Lybian
+donkeys laden with the gold and silver of Egypt.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 5, col. 2.
+
+(2 Sam. xix. 35), "Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink?"
+From this we learn that in the aged the sense of taste is destroyed....
+Rav says, "Barzillai the Gileadite reports falsely, for the cook at the
+house of Rabbi (the Holy) was ninety-two years old, and yet could judge
+by taste of what was cooking in the pot."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 152, col. 1.
+
+Rava said, "Life, children, and competency do not depend on one's merit,
+but on luck; for instance, Rabbah and Rav Chasda were both righteous
+Rabbis; the one prayed for rain and it came, and the other did so
+likewise with the like result; yet Rav Chasda lived ninety-two years and
+Rabbah only forty. Rav Chasda, moreover, had sixty weddings in his
+family during his lifetime, whereas Rabbah had sixty serious illnesses
+in his during the short period of his life. At the house of the former
+even the dogs refused to eat bread made of the finest wheat flour,
+whereas the family of the latter were content to eat rough bread of
+barley and could not always obtain it." Rava also added, "For these
+three things I prayed to Heaven, two of which were and one was not
+granted unto me. I prayed for the wisdom of Rav Hunna and for the riches
+of Rav Chasda, and both these were granted unto me; but the humility and
+meekness of Rabbah, the son of Rav Hunna, for which I also prayed, was
+not granted."
+
+_Moed Katon_, fol. 28, col. 1.
+
+The judges who issued decrees at Jerusalem received for salary
+ninety-nine manahs from the contributions of the chamber.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 105, col. 1.
+
+Ninety-nine die from an evil eye for one who dies in the usual manner.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 107, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught us who they are that are to be accounted rich.
+"Every one," says Rabbi Meir, "who enjoys his riches." But Rabbi Tarphon
+says, "Every one who has a hundred vineyards and a hundred fields, with
+a hundred slaves to labor in them." Rabbi Akiva pronounces him well off
+who has a wife that is becoming in all her ways.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 25, col. 2.
+
+A light for one is a light for a hundred.
+
+Ibid., fol. 122, col. 1.
+
+When a Gentile lights a candle or a lamp on the Sabbath-eve for his own
+use, an Israelite is permitted to avail himself of its light, as a light
+for one is a light for a hundred; but it is unlawful for an Israelite to
+order a Gentile to kindle a light for his use.
+
+A hundred Rav Papas and not one (like) Ravina!
+
+A hundred zouzim employed in commerce will allow the merchant meat and
+wine at his table daily, but a hundred zouzim employed in farming will
+allow their owner only salt and vegetables.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 63, col. 1.
+
+A hundred women are equal to only one witness (compare Deut. xvii. 6 and
+xix. 15).
+
+Ibid., fol. 88, col. 2.
+
+If song should cease, a hundred geese or a hundred measures of wheat
+might be offered for one zouz, and even then the buyer would refuse
+paying such a sum for them.
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 48, col. 1.
+
+    Rav says, "The ear that often listens to song shall be rooted
+    out." Music, according to the idea here, raises the price of
+    provisions. Do away with music and provisions will be so
+    abundant that a goose would be considered dear at a penny.
+    Theatres and music-halls are abominations to orthodox Jews, and
+    the Talmud considers the voice of a woman to be immoral.
+
+When Rabbi Zira returned to the land of Israel he fasted a hundred times
+in order that he might forget the Babylonian Talmud.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 85, col. 1.
+
+    This passage, as also that on another page, will appear
+    surprising to many a reader, as we confess it does to ourselves.
+    We must, however, give the Talmud great credit for recording
+    such passages, and also the custodians of the Talmud for not
+    having expunged them from its pages.
+
+"Ye shall hear the small as well as the great" (Deut. i. 17). Resh
+Lakish said, "A lawsuit about a prutah (the smallest coin there is)
+should be esteemed of as much account as a suit of a hundred manahs."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+Rav Yitzchak asks, "Why was Obadiah accounted worthy to be a prophet?"
+Because, he answers, he concealed a hundred prophets in a cave; as it is
+said (1 Kings xviii. 4), "When Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord,
+Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty in a cave." Why by
+fifties? Rabbi Eliezer explains, "He copied the plan from Jacob, who
+said, 'If Esau come to one company and smite it, then the other company
+which is left may escape.'" Rabbi Abuhu says, "It was because the caves
+would not hold any more."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 39, col. 2.
+
+"And it came to pass after these things that God did test Abraham" (Gen.
+xxii. 1). After what things? Rabbi Yochanan, in the name of Rabbi Yossi
+ben Zimra, replies, "After the words of Satan, who said, 'Lord of the
+Universe! Thou didst bestow a son upon that old man when he was a
+hundred years of age, and yet he spared not a single dove from the
+festival to sacrifice to Thee.' God replied, 'Did he not make this
+festival for the sake of his son? and yet I know he would not refuse to
+sacrifice that son at my command.' To prove this, God did put Abraham to
+the test, saying unto him, 'Take now thy son;' just as an earthly king
+might say to a veteran warrior who had conquered in many a hard-fought
+battle, 'Fight, I pray thee, this severest battle of all, lest it should
+be said that thy previous encounters were mere haphazard skirmishes.'
+Thus did the Holy One--blessed be He!--address Abraham, 'I have tried
+thee in various ways, and not in vain either; stand this test also, for
+fear it should be insinuated that the former trials were trivial and
+therefore easily overcome. Take thy son.' Abraham replied, 'I have two
+sons.' 'Take thine only son.' Abraham answered, 'Each is the only son of
+his mother.' 'Take him whom thou lovest.' 'I love both of them,' said
+Abraham. 'Take Isaac.' Thus Abraham's mind was gradually prepared for
+this trial. While on the way to carry out this Divine command Satan met
+him, and (parodying Job iv. 2-5) said, 'Why ought grievous trials to be
+inflicted upon thee? Behold thou hast instructed many, and thou hast
+strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have supported him that was
+falling, and now this sore burden is laid upon thee.' Abraham answered
+(anticipating Ps. xxvi. 11), 'I will walk in my integrity.' Then said
+Satan (see Job iv. 6), 'Is not the fear (of God) thy folly? Remember, I
+pray thee, who ever perished being innocent?' Then finding that he could
+not persuade him, he said (perverting Job iv. 12), 'Now a word came to
+me by stealth. I overheard it behind the veil (in the Holy of Holies
+above). A lamb will be the sacrifice, and not Isaac.' Abraham said, 'It
+is the just desert of a liar not to be believed even when he speaks the
+truth.'"
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 89, col. 2.
+
+It is better to have ten inches to stand upon than a hundred yards to
+fall.
+
+_Avoth d' Rab. Nathan_, chap. 1.
+
+When Israel went up to Jerusalem to worship their Father who is in
+heaven, they sat so close together that no one could insert a finger
+between them, yet when they had to kneel and to prostrate themselves
+there was room enough for them all to do so. The greatest wonder of all
+was that even when a hundred prostrated themselves at the same time
+there was no need for the governor of the synagogue to request one to
+make room for another.
+
+Ibid., chap. 35.
+
+A man is bound to repeat a hundred blessings every day.
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 43, col. 2.
+
+    This duty, as Rashi tells us, is based upon Deut. x. 12,
+    altering the word what into a hundred, by the addition of a
+    letter.
+
+    This is what the so-called Pagan Goethe, intent on self-culture
+    as the first if not the final duty of man, makes Serlo in his
+    "Meister" lay down as a rule which one should observe daily.
+    "One," he says, "ought every day to hear a little song, read a
+    good poem, see a fine picture, and, if possible, speak a few
+    reasonable words." The contrast between this advice and that of
+    the Talmud here and elsewhere is suggestive of reflections.
+
+He who possesses one manah may buy, in addition to his bread, a litra of
+vegetables; the owner of ten manahs may add to his bread a litra of
+fish; he that has fifty manahs may add a litra of meat; while the
+possessor of a hundred may have pottage every day.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 84, col. 1.
+
+Ben Hey-Hey said to Hillel, "What does this mean that is written in Mal.
+iii. 18, 'Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and
+the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not'?
+Does the righteous here mean him that serveth God, and the wicked him
+that serveth Him not? Why this repetition?" To this Hillel replied, "The
+expressions, 'he that serveth God, and he that serveth Him not,' are
+both to be understood as denoting 'perfectly righteous,' but he who
+repeats his lesson a hundred times is not to be compared with one who
+repeats it a hundred and one times." Then said Ben Hey-Hey, "What!
+because he has repeated what he has learned only one time less than the
+other, is he to be considered as 'one who serveth Him not'?" "Yes!" was
+the reply; "go and learn a lesson from the published tariff of the
+donkey-drivers--ten miles for one zouz, eleven for two."
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+    Hillel was great and good and clever, but his exposition of
+    Scripture, as we see from the above, is not always to be
+    depended upon. If, indeed, he was the teacher of Jesus, as some
+    suppose him to have been, then Jesus must, even from a
+    Rabbinical stand-point, be regarded as greater than Hillel the
+    Great, for He never handled the Scriptures with such
+    irreverence.
+
+One hundred and three chapters (or psalms) were uttered by David, and he
+did not pronounce the word Hallelujah until he came to contemplate the
+downfall of the wicked; as it is written (Ps. civ. 35), "Let the sinners
+be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the
+Lord, O my soul, Hallelujah!" Instead of one hundred and three we ought
+to say a hundred and four, but we infer from this that "Blessed is the
+man," etc., and "Why do the heathen rage?" etc., are but one psalm.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+    One of the most charming women that we find figuring in the
+    Talmud was the wife of Rabbi Meir, Beruriah by name; and as we
+    meet with her in the immediate context of the above quotation,
+    it may be well to introduce her here to the attention of the
+    reader. The context speaks of a set of ignorant fellows
+    (probably Greeks) who sorely vexed the soul of Rabbi Meir, her
+    husband, and he ardently prayed God to take them away. Then
+    Beruriah reasoned with her husband thus:--"Is it, pray, because
+    it is written (Ps. civ. 35), 'Let the sinners be consumed'? It
+    is not written 'sinners,' but 'sins.' Besides, a little farther
+    on in the text it is said, 'And the wicked will be no more;'
+    that is to say, 'Let sins cease, and the wicked will cease too.'
+    Pray, therefore, on their behalf that they may be led to
+    repentance, and these wicked will be no more." This he therefore
+    did, and they repented and ceased to vex him. Of this excellent
+    and humane woman it may well be said, "She openeth her mouth
+    with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness" (Prov.
+    xxxi. 26). Her end was tragic. She was entrapped by a disciple
+    of her husband, and out of shame she committed suicide. See
+    particulars by Rashi in Avodah Zarah, fol. 18, col. 2.
+
+The Hasmoneans ruled over Israel during the time of the second Temple a
+hundred and three years; and for a hundred and three the government was
+in the hands of the family of Herod.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan the son of Zacchai lived a hundred and twenty years;
+forty he devoted to commerce, forty to study, and forty to teaching.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 30, col. 2.
+
+One hundred and twenty elders, and among them several prophets, bore a
+part in composing the Eighteen Blessings (the Shemonah Esreh).
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 17, col. 2.
+
+    A similar tradition was current among the early Christians, with
+    reference to the composition of the Creed. Its different
+    sentences were ascribed to different apostles. However fitly
+    this tradition may represent the community of faith with which
+    the prophets on the one hand and the apostles on the other were
+    inspired, it is not recommended by the critic as a proceeding
+    calculated to ensure unity in a work of art.
+
+Rabbi Shemuel says advantage may be taken of the mistakes of a Gentile.
+He once bought a gold plate as a copper one of a Gentile for four
+zouzim, and then cheated him out of one zouz into the bargain. Rav
+Cahana purchased a hundred and twenty vessels of wine from a Gentile for
+a hundred zouzim, and swindled him in the payment out of one of the
+hundred, and that while the Gentile assured him that he confidently
+trusted to his honesty. Rava once went shares with a Gentile and bought
+a tree, which was cut up into logs. This done, he bade his servant go to
+pick him out the largest logs, but to be sure to take no more than the
+proper number, because the Gentile knew how many there were. As Rav Ashi
+was walking abroad one day he saw some grapes growing in a roadside
+vineyard, and sent his servant to see whom they belonged to. "If they
+belong to a Gentile," he said, "bring some here to me; but if they
+belong to an Israelite, do not meddle with them." The owner, who
+happened to be in the vineyard, overheard the Rabbi's order and called
+out, "What! is it lawful to rob a Gentile?" "Oh, no," said the Rabbi
+evasively; "a Gentile might sell, but an Israelite would not."
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 113, col. 2.
+
+    This is given simply as a sample of the teaching of the Talmud
+    on the subject both by precept and example. There is no
+    intention to cast a slight on general Jewish integrity, or
+    suggest distrust in regard to their ethical creed.
+
+Rabbon Gamliel, Rabbi Eliezer ben Azaryah, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi
+Akiva once went on a journey to Rome, and at Puteoli they already heard
+the noisy din of the city, though at a distance of a hundred and twenty
+miles. At the sound all shed tears except Akiva, who began to laugh.
+"Why laughest thou?" they asked. "Why do you cry?" he retorted. They
+answered, "These Romans, who worship idols of wood and stone and offer
+incense to stars and planets, abide in peace and quietness, while our
+Temple, which was the footstool of our God, is consumed by fire; how can
+we help weeping?" "That is just the very reason," said he, "why I
+rejoice; for if such be the lot of those who transgress His laws, what
+shall the lot of those be who observe and do them?"
+
+_Maccoth_, fol. 24, col. 2.
+
+When Adam observed that his sin was the cause of the decree which made
+death universal he fasted one hundred and thirty years, abstained all
+that space from intercourse with his wife, and wore girdles of
+fig-leaves round his loins. All these years he lived under divine
+displeasure, and begat devils, demons, and spectres; as it is said (Gen.
+v. 3), "And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat in his own
+likeness, after his image," which implies that, until the close of those
+years, his offspring were not after his own image.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 18, col. 2.
+
+There is a tradition that there was once a disciple in Yabneh who gave a
+hundred and fifty reasons to prove a reptile to be clean (which the
+Scripture regards as unclean.--Compare Lev. xi. 29).
+
+Ibid., fol 13, col 2.
+
+The ablutionary tank made by Solomon was as large as a hundred and fifty
+lavatories.
+
+Ibid., fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+A hundred and eighty years before the destruction of the Temple, the
+empire of idolatry (Rome) began the conquest of Israel.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 15, col. 1.
+
+    The empire of Rome was, some think, so designated, because it
+    strove with all its might to drag down the worship of God to the
+    worship of man, and resolve the cause of God into the cause of
+    the Empire.
+
+During the time of the second Temple Persia domineered over Israel for
+thirty-four years and the Greeks held sway a hundred and eighty.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+Foolish saints, crafty villains, sanctimonious women, and
+self-afflicting Pharisees are the destroyers of the world. What is it to
+be a foolish saint? To see a woman drowning in the river and refrain
+from trying to save her because of the look of the thing. Who is to be
+regarded as a crafty villain? Rabbi Yochanan says, "He who prejudices
+the magistrates by prepossessing them in favor of his cause before his
+opponent has had time to make his appearance." Rabbi Abhu says, "He who
+gives a denarius to a poor man to make up for him the sum total of two
+hundred zouzim; for it is enacted that he who possesses two hundred
+zouzim is not entitled to receive any gleanings, neither what is
+forgotten in the field, nor what is left in the corner of it (see Lev.
+xxiii. 22), nor poor relief either. But if he is only one short of the
+two hundred zouzim, and a thousand people give anything to him, he is
+still entitled to the poor man's perquisites."
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+The cup of David in the world to come will contain two hundred and
+twenty-one logs; as it is said (Ps. xxiii. 5), "My cup runneth over,"
+the numerical value of the Hebrew word, "runneth over," being two
+hundred and twenty-one.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 76, col. 2.
+
+    In the world to come the Holy One will make a grand banquet for
+    the righteous from the flesh of the leviathan. _Bava Bathra_,
+    fol. 75, col. 1. (See the Morning Service for the middle days of
+    the Feast of Tabernacles.) God will make a banquet for the
+    righteous on the day when He shows His mercy to the posterity of
+    Isaac. After the meal the cup of blessing will be handed to
+    Abraham, in order that he may pronounce the blessing, but he
+    will plead excuse because he begat Ishmael. Then Isaac will be
+    told to take the cup and speak the benediction of grace, but he
+    also will plead his unworthiness because he begat Esau. Next
+    Jacob also will refuse because he married two sisters. Then
+    Moses, on the ground that he was unworthy to enter the land of
+    promise, or even to be buried in it; and finally Joshua will
+    plead unworthiness because he had no son. David will then be
+    called upon to take the cup and bless, and he will respond,
+    "Yea, I will bless, for I am worthy to bless, as it is said (Ps.
+    cxvi. 13), 'I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the
+    name of the Lord.'" P'sachim, fol. 119, col. 2. This cup, as we
+    are told above, will contain two hundred and twenty-one logs
+    (which the Rabbis tell us, is the twenty-fourth part of a seah,
+    therefore this cup will hold rather more than one-third of a
+    hogshead of wine).
+
+Beruriah once found a certain disciple who studied in silence. As soon
+as she saw him she spurned him and said, "Is it not thus written (2 Sam.
+xxiii. 5), 'Ordered in all and sure'? If ordered with all the two
+hundred and forty-eight members of thy body, it will be sure; if not, it
+will not be sure." It is recorded that Rabbi Eliezer had a disciple who
+also studied in silence, but that after three years he forgot all that
+he had learned.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 53, col. 2, and fol. 54, col. 1.
+
+    In continuation of the above we read that Shemuel said to Rav
+    Yehudah, "Shrewd fellow, open thy mouth when thou readest, etc.,
+    so that thy reading may remain and thy life may be lengthened;
+    as it is written in Prov. iv. 22, 'For they are life unto those
+    that find them;' read not, 'that find them,' but read, 'that
+    bring them forth by the mouth,' i.e., that read them aloud." It
+    was and is still a common custom in the East to study aloud.
+
+As an anathema enters all the two hundred and forty-eight members of the
+body, so does it issue from them all. Of the entering-in of the anathema
+it is written (Josh. vi. 17), "And the city shall be accursed;" by
+Gematria amounting to two hundred and forty-eight. Of the coming-out of
+the anathema it is written (Hab. iii. 2), "In wrath remember mercy;" a
+transposition of the letters of the word for accursed, also amounting by
+Gematria to two hundred and forty-eight. Rabbi Joseph says, "Hang an
+anathema on the tail of a dog and he will still go on doing mischief."
+
+_Moed Katon_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+The human body has two hundred and forty-eight members:--Thirty in the
+foot--that is, six in each toe--ten in the ankle, two in the thigh, five
+in the knee, one in the hip, three in the hip-ball, eleven ribs, thirty
+in the hand--that is, six in each finger--two in the fore-arm, two in
+the elbow, one in the upper arm, four in the shoulder. Thus we have one
+hundred and one on each side; to this add eighteen vertebrae in the
+spine, nine in the head, eight in the neck, six in the chest, and five
+in the loins.
+
+_Oholoth_, chap. I, mish. 8.
+
+    See also Eiruvin, fol. 53, col. 2, and the Musaph for the second
+    day of Pentecost. In the Musaph for the New Year there is a
+    prayer that runs thus, "Oh, deign to hear the voice of those who
+    glorify Thee with all their members, according to the number of
+    the two hundred and forty-eight affirmative precepts. In this
+    month they blow thirty sounds, according to the thirty members
+    of the soles of their feet; the additional offerings of the day
+    are ten, according to the ten in their ankles; they approach the
+    altar twice, according to their two legs; five are called to the
+    law, according to the five joints in their knees; they observe
+    the appointed time to sound the cornet on the first day of the
+    month, according to the one in their thigh; they sound the horn
+    thrice, according to the three in their hips; lo! with the
+    additional offering of the new moon they are eleven, according
+    to their eleven ribs; they pour out the supplication with nine
+    blessings, according to the muscles in their arms, and which
+    contain thirty verses, according to the thirty in the palms of
+    their hands; they daily repeat the prayer of eighteen blessings,
+    according to the eighteen vertebrae in the spine; at the
+    offering of the continual sacrifice they sound nine times,
+    according to the nine muscles in their head," etc., etc.
+
+It is related of Rabbi Ishmael's disciples that they dissected a low
+woman who had been condemned by the Government to be burned, and upon
+examination they found that her body contained two hundred and fifty-two
+members.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 45, col. 1.
+
+The regular period of gestation is either two hundred and seventy-one,
+two hundred and seventy-two, or two hundred and seventy-three days.
+
+_Niddah_, fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+Revere the memory of Chananiah ben Chiskiyah, for had it not been for
+him the Book of Ezekiel would have been suppressed, because of the
+contradictions it offers to the words of the law. By the help of three
+hundred bottles of oil, which were brought up into an upper chamber, he
+prolonged his lucubrations, till he succeeded in reconciling all the
+discrepancies.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+It is related of Johanan, the son of Narbai, that he used to eat three
+hundred calves, and to drink three hundred bottles of wine, and to
+consume forty measures of young pigeons by way of dessert. (Rashi says
+this was because he had to train many priests in his house.)
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 57, col. 1.
+
+The keys of the treasury of Korah were so many that it required three
+hundred white mules to carry them. These, with the locks, were said to
+be made of white leather.
+
+Ibid., fol. 119, col. 1.
+
+    The Midrash repeats the same story, and adds, "His wealth was
+    his ruin." "He is as rich as Korah" is now a Jewish proverb.
+
+Rav Chiya, the son of Adda, was tutor to the children of Resh Lakish,
+and once absented himself from his duties for three days. On his return
+he was questioned as to the reason of his conduct, and he gave the
+following reply: "My father bequeathed to me a vine, trained on high
+trellis-work as a bower, from which I gathered the first day three
+hundred bunches, each of which yielded a gerav of wine (a gerav is a
+measure containing as much as 288 egg-shells would contain). On the
+second day I again gathered three hundred bunches of smaller size, two
+only producing one gerav (one bunch yielding the quantity of wine 144
+egg-shells would contain). The third day I also gathered three hundred
+bunches, but only three bunches to the gerav, and have yet left more
+than half of the grapes free for any one to gather them." Thereupon Resh
+Lakish observed to him, "If thou hadst not been so negligent (losing
+time in the instruction of my children), it would have yielded still
+more."
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 111, col. 2.
+
+There were three hundred species of male demons in Sichin, but what the
+female demon herself was like is known to no one.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 68, col. 1.
+
+"Now, when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon
+him, they came each from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildah the
+Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment
+together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him" (Job ii. 11).
+What is meant when it is said, "They had made an appointment together"?
+Rab. Yehudah says in the name of Rav, "This is to teach that they all
+came in by one gate." But there is a tradition that each lived three
+hundred miles away from the other. How then came they to know of Job's
+sad condition? Some say they had wreaths, others say trees (each
+representing an absent friend), and when any friend was in distress the
+one representing him straightway began to wither. Rava said, "Hence the
+proverb, 'Either a friend as the friends of Job, or death.'"
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+    Rashi tenders this explanation, that Job and his friends had
+    each wreaths with their names engraved on them, and if
+    affliction befell any one his name upon the wreath would change
+    color.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan says that Rabbi Meir knew three hundred fables about
+foxes, but we have only three of them, viz, "The fathers have eaten sour
+grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Ezek. xviii. 2);
+"Just balances and just weights" (Lev. xix. 36); "The righteous is
+delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead" (Prov. xi.
+8).
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 38, col. 2, and fol. 39, col. 1.
+
+    Quite apropos to this we glean the following from Rashi:--A fox
+    once induced a wolf to enter a Jewish dwelling to help the
+    inmates to get ready the Sabbath meal. No sooner did he enter
+    than the whole household set upon him, and so belabored him with
+    cudgels that he was obliged to flee for his life. For this trick
+    the wolf was indignant at the fox, and sought to kill him, but
+    he pacified him with the remark, "They would not have beaten
+    thee if thy father had not on a former occasion belied
+    confidence, and eaten up the choicest pieces that were set aside
+    for the meal." "What!" rejoined the wolf, "the fathers have
+    eaten sour grapes, and shall the children's teeth be set on
+    edge?" "Well," interrupted the fox, "come with me now and I will
+    show thee a place where thou mayest eat and be satisfied." He
+    thereupon took him to a well, across the top of which rested a
+    transverse axle with a rope coiled round it, to each extremity
+    of which a bucket was attached. The fox, entering the bucket,
+    which happened to be at the top, soon descended by his own
+    weight to the bottom of the well, and thereby raised the other
+    bucket to the top. On the wolf inquiring at the fox why he had
+    gone down there, he replied, because he knew there was meat and
+    cheese to eat and be satisfied, in proof of which he pointed to
+    a cheese, which happened to be the reflection of the moon on the
+    water. Upon which the wolf inquired, "And how am I to get down
+    beside you?" The fox replied, "By getting into the bucket at the
+    top." He did as directed, and as he descended the bucket with
+    the fox rose to the top. The wolf in this plight again appealed
+    to the fox. "But how am I to get out?" The reply was, "The
+    righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in
+    his stead;" and is it not written, "Just balances just weights?"
+
+When Rabbi Eliezer, on his deathbed, taught Rabbi Akiva three hundred
+particulars to be observed in regard to the white spot covered with hair
+which was the sign of leprosy, the former lifted up his arms and placed
+them on his chest and exclaimed, "Woe is me, because of these my two
+arms, these two scrolls of the law, that are about to depart from this
+world; for if all the seas were ink, and all the reeds were quills, and
+all the men were scribes, they could not record all I have learned and
+all I have taught, and how much I have heard at the lips of sages in the
+schools. And what is more, I also taught three hundred laws based on the
+text, 'A witch shall not live.'"
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 25.
+
+    This truly Oriental exaggeration, which Rabbi Eliezer ben
+    Azariah so complacently applies to himself, was spoken also of
+    Rabbi Yochanan before him (Bereshith Rabba); an acrostic poem in
+    the Morning Service for Pentecost adopts the same hyperbole
+    almost word for word, and turns it to very pious account. It is
+    interesting to note how contemporary sacred literature abounds
+    in similar hyperbolic expressions. In John xxi 25 it is said,
+    "There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if
+    they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world
+    itself could not contain the books that should be written."
+    Cicero, too, speaks of a glory of such a weight that even heaven
+    itself is scarcely able to contain it; and Livy, on one
+    occasion, describes the power of Rome as with difficulty
+    restrained within the limits of the world.
+
+    Here it may not be out of place if we introduce a few of the
+    many passages in the Talmud that treat of enchantment and
+    witchcraft, as well as magic, charms, and omens. The list of
+    quotations might be extended to a hundred, but we must confine
+    ourselves to a score or so.
+
+The daughters of Israel burn incense for (purposes of) sorcery.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 53, col. 1.
+
+Ben Azai (son of impudence), says, "... he who seats himself and then
+feels ... (which must not be explained), the effects of witchcraft, even
+when practiced in Spain, will come upon him. What is the remedy when one
+forgets and first sits down and then feels?.... When he rises let him
+say, 'Not these and not of these; not the witchcraft of sorcerers and
+not the sorcery of witches.'"
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 62, col. 1.
+
+The daughters of Israel in later generations lapsed into the practice of
+witchcraft.
+
+_Eiruvin_ fol. 64, col. 2.
+
+Ameimar says, "The superior of the witches told me that when a person
+meets any of them he should mutter thus, 'May a potsherd of boiling dung
+be stuffed into your mouths, you ugly witches! may the hair with which
+you perform your sorcery be torn from your heads, so that ye become
+bald. May the wind scatter the crumbs wherewith ye do your divinations.
+May your spices be scattered and may the wind blow away the saffron you
+hold in your hands for the practicing of sorcery.'"
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 110, cols, 1, 2.
+
+Yohanna, the daughter of Ratibi, was a widow, who bewitched women in
+their confinement. See Rashi on _Soteh_, fol. 22, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua, says, "Since
+the destruction of the Temple a day has not passed without a curse; the
+dew does not come down with a blessing, and the fruits have lost their
+proper taste." Rabbi Yossi adds, "Also the lusciousness of the fruit is
+gone." Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says, "With the decay of purity the taste
+and aroma (of the fruit) has disappeared, and with the tithes and
+richness of the corn." The sages say, "Lewdness and witchcraft ruin
+everything."
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 48, col. 1.
+
+A certain magician used to strip the dead of their shrouds. Once when he
+came to the tomb of Rav Tovi bar Mathna he was seized and held fast by
+the beard, but Abaii having interceded on behalf of his friend, the grip
+was let go and he was set at liberty. Next year he came again on the
+same errand, and again he was seized by the beard. This time Abaii's
+intercession was of no avail, and he was not liberated until they
+brought a pair of scissors and cut off his beard.
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 58, col. 1
+
+None were allowed to sit in the Sanhedrin unless they had a knowledge of
+magic.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Shimon said, "An enchanter is one who passeth the exudation of
+seven different sorts of male creatures over the eye." The sages say he
+is one who practices and palms off optical illusions. Rabbi Akiva says,
+"He is one who calculates times and hours, and says To-day is good to
+start on a journey, To-morrow will be a lucky day for selling, The year
+before the Sabbatical year is generally good for growing wheat, The
+pulling up of pease will preserve them from being spoiled." According to
+the Rabbis, "An enchanter is he who augurs ill when his bread drops from
+his mouth, or if he drops the stick that supports him from his hand, or
+if his son calls after him, or a crow caws in his hearing, or a deer
+crosses his path, or he sees a serpent at his right hand or a fox on his
+left, or if he says to the tax-gatherer, 'Do not begin with me the first
+in the morning'; or, 'It is the first of the month'; or, 'It is the exit
+of the Sabbath,' i.e., the commencement of a new week."
+
+Ibid., fol. 65, col. 2.
+
+"By the term witch," the Rabbis say, "we are to understand either male
+or female." "If so," it is asked, "why the term 'witch,' in Exod. xxii.
+18, in the Hebrew verse 17, is in the feminine gender?" "Because," it is
+answered, "most women are witches."
+
+Ibid., fol. 67, col. 1.
+
+If the proud (in Israel) were to cease, the magicians would also cease;
+as it is written (Isa. i. 25), "I will purge away thy dross and take
+away all thy tin."
+
+Ibid., fol. 98, col. 1.
+
+Among those who have no portion in the world to come is he who reads the
+books of the strangers, foreign books, books of outsiders. See also
+Sanhedrin, fol. 90, col. 1. Now Rav Yoseph says, "It is unlawful to read
+the Book of the Son of Sirach, ... because it is written therein
+(Ecclesiasticus xlii. 9, etc., as quoted, or rather misquoted, in the
+Talmud), 'A daughter is a false treasure to her father: because of
+anxiety for her he cannot sleep at night; when she is young, for fear
+she should be seduced; in her virginity lest she play the harlot; in her
+marriageable age, lest she should not get married; and when married,
+lest she should be childless; and when grown old, lest she practice
+witchcraft.'"
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 100, col. 2.
+
+He who multiplieth wives multiplieth witchcraft.
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 2.
+
+Most donkey-drivers are wicked, but most sailors are pious. The best
+physicians are destined for hell, the most upright butcher is a partner
+of Amalek. Bastards are mostly cunning, and servants mostly handsome.
+Those who are well-descended are bashful, and children mostly resemble
+their mother's brother. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai bids us "kill the best
+of Gentiles" (modern editions qualify this by adding, in time of war),
+"and smash the head of the best of serpents." "The best among women," he
+says, "is a witch." Blessed is he who does the will of God!
+
+_Sophrim_, chap. 15, hal. 10.
+
+On the Sabbath one may carry a grasshopper's egg as a charm against
+earache, the tooth of a living fox to promote sleep, the tooth of a dead
+fox to prevent sleep, and the nail of one crucified (as a remedy) for
+inflammation or swelling. For cutaneous disorders he is to repeat Baz
+Baziah, Mass Massiah, Cass Cassiah, Sharlaii, and Amarlaii (names of
+angels), etc.... As the mules do not increase and multiply, so may the
+skin disease not increase and spread upon the body of N., the son of the
+woman N., etc.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 67, col. 1.
+
+"For night-blindness, let a man take a hair-rope and bind one end of it
+to his own leg and the other to a dog's, then let children clatter a
+potsherd after him, and call out, 'Old man! dog! fool! cock!' Let him
+now collect seven pieces of meat from seven (different) houses; let him
+set them on the cross-bar of the threshold, then let him eat them on the
+town middens; and after that let him undo the hair-rope, then let him
+say thus: 'Blindness of So-and-so, son of Mrs. So-and-so, leave
+So-and-so, son of Mrs. So-and-so, and be brushed into the pupil of the
+eye of the dog.'" (Quoted from "The Fragment," by Rev. W.H. Lowe of
+Cambridge.)
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 69, col. 1.
+
+According to the Rabbis, a man should not drink water by night, for thus
+he exposes himself to the power of Shavriri, the demon of blindness.
+What then should he do if he is thirsty? If there be another man with
+him, let him rouse him up and say, "I am thirsty;" but if he be alone,
+let him tap upon the lid of the jug (to make the demon fancy there's
+some one with him), and addressing himself by his own name and the name
+of his mother, let him say, "Thy mother has bid thee beware of Shavriri,
+vriri, riri, iri, ri," in a white cup. Rashi says by this incantation
+the demon gradually contracts and vanishes as the sounds of the word
+Shavriri decrease.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 12, col. 2.
+
+A python is a familiar spirit who speaks from his armpits; a wizard is
+one who speaks with the mouth. As the Rabbis have taught, a familiar
+spirit is one who speaks from his joints and his wrists; a wizard is one
+who, putting a certain bone into his mouth, causes it to speak.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 65, cols, 1, 2.
+
+He who says to a raven "Croak," and to a hen raven, "Droop thy tail and
+turn it this way as a lucky sign," is an imitator of the ways of the
+Amorites (Lev. xviii. 3).
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 67, col. 2.
+
+Women going out on the Sabbath-day are allowed, as the Rabbis teach, to
+carry with them a certain stone believed to counteract abortion.
+
+Abaii interrupts his exposition of this Halachah in order to enumerate
+certain antidotes to chronic fever which, he says, he had learned from
+his mother. Take a new zouz and then procure its weight in sea-salt;
+hang this round the neck, suspended by a papyrus fibre, so that it may
+rest just in the hollow in front. If this does not answer, go where two
+or more roads meet and watch for the first big ant that is going home
+loaded; lay hold of it and place it in a brass tube; stop up the end of
+the tube with lead, putting as many seals upon it as possible; then
+shake it, saying the while, "My load be upon thee, and thine upon me."
+To this Rav Acha, the son of Rav Hunna, objected to Rav Ashi, and asked,
+"Might not the ant have been already laden with another man's fever?"
+"True," observed the other; "nevertheless let him say, 'My load be upon
+thee as well as thine own.'" If this be not effective, then take a new
+earthenware pot, and going to the nearest stream, say, "Stream, stream,
+lend me a pot full of water for one who is on a visit to me." Wave it
+seven times round thy head and then throw the water back again, saying,
+"Stream, stream, take back thy borrowed water for my guest came and went
+the same day."
+
+Rav Hunna then adds a prescription for a tertian fever, and Rabbi
+Yochanan gives the following as effective against a burning fever:--Take
+an iron knife, and having fastened a papyrus fibre to the nearest
+bramble, cut off a piece and say, "And the Angel of the Lord appeared to
+him in a flame of fire," etc., as in Exod. iii. 2. On the morrow cut off
+another piece and say, "The Lord saw that he (the fever) turned aside;"
+then upon the third day say, "Draw not hither," and stooping down, pray,
+"Bush, bush! the Holy One--blessed be He!--caused His Shechinah to lodge
+upon thee, not because thou art the loftiest, for thou art the lowest of
+all trees; and as when thou didst see the fire of Hananiah, Mishael, and
+Azariah, thou didst flee therefrom, so see the fire (fever) of this
+sufferer and flee from it."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 66, col. 2, etc.
+
+Rabba once created a man (out of dust) and sent him to Rabbi Zira, who
+having addressed the figure and received no answer, said, "Thou art
+(made) by witchcraft; return to thy native dust." Rav Chaneanah and Rav
+Oshayah sat together every Sabbath-eve studying the book Yetzirah (i.e.,
+the book of Creation), until they were able to create for themselves a
+calf (as large as a) three-year old, and they did eat thereof.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 65, col, 2.
+
+Yannai once turned in to a certain inn, and asked for water to drink,
+when they gave him (Shethitha, i.e., water mixed with flour). He noticed
+that the lips of the woman who brought it moved (and so suspecting that
+something was wrong), he poured out a little of it and it became
+scorpions. He then said, "I have drunk of thine, now thou shalt drink of
+mine." The woman drank and was transformed into an ass, which he mounted
+and rode to the market-place. One of her companions having come up,
+broke the spell, and the ass he had ridden was on the spot transformed
+back again into a woman. In reference to the above, Rashi naively
+remarks that "we are not to suppose that Yannai was a Rabbi, for he was
+not held in esteem, because he practiced witchcraft." But Rashi is
+mistaken; see Sophrim, chap. 16, hal. 6.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 67, col. 2.
+
+Ten measures of witchcraft came into the world; Egypt received nine
+measures, and the rest of the world one.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis say that on the Sabbath serpents and scorpions may be tamed
+by charming; that a metal ring, such as may be carried on the Sabbath,
+may be applied as a remedy to a sore eye; but that demons may not be
+consulted on that day about lost property. Rabbi Yossi has said, "This
+ought not to be done even on week-days." Rav Hunna says, "The Halachah
+does not enjoin as Rabbi Yossi says, and even he prohibits it only
+because of the risk there is in consulting demons. For instance, Rav
+Yitzchak bar Yoseph was once desperately delivered from the attacks of a
+vicious demon by a cedar-tree opening of its own accord and enclosing
+him in its trunk."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 101, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai acquired a knowledge of the language of angels
+and demons for purposes of incantation.
+
+_Bava Bathira_, fol. 134, col. 1.
+
+"Neither shall ye use enchantments" ... (Lev. xix. 26). Such, for
+instance, as those practiced with cats, fowls, and fishes.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 66, col. 1.
+
+Rav Ketina happened once, in his travels, to hear the noise of an
+earthquake just as he came opposite to the abode of one who was wont to
+conjure with human bones. Happening to mutter aloud to himself as he
+passed, "Does the conjurer really know what that noise is?" a voice
+answered, "Ketina, Ketina, why shouldn't I know? When the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--thinks of His children who dwell in sorrowful
+circumstances among the nations of the earth, He lets fall two tears
+into the great sea, and His voice is heard from one end of the world to
+the other, and that is the rumbling noise we hear." Upon which Rav
+Ketina protested, "The conjurer is a liar, his words are not true; they
+might have been true, had there been two rumbling noises." The fact was,
+two such noises were heard, but Rav Ketina would not acknowledge it,
+lest, by so doing, he should increase the popularity of the conjurer.
+Rav Ketina is of the opinion that the rumbling noise is caused by God
+clapping His hands together, as it is said (Ezek. xxi, 22; A.V., ver.
+17), "I will also smite My hands together, and I will cause My fury to
+rest."
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 59, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah proclaimed this anathema with the blast of
+three hundred trumpets:--"Whoever shall take drink from the hand of a
+bride, no matter whether she be the daughter of a disciple of the wise
+or the daughter of an Amhaaretz, it is all one as if he drunk it from
+the hand of a harlot." Again, it is said, "He who receives a cup from
+the hands of a bride and drinks it therefrom, has no portion whatever in
+the world to come."
+
+_Tract Calah._
+
+There was a place for collecting the ashes in the middle of the altar,
+and there were at times in it nearly as much as three hundred cors
+(equal to about 2830 bushels) of ashes. On Rava remarking that this must
+be an exaggeration, Rav Ammi said the law, the prophets, and the sages
+are wont to use hyperbolical language. Thus the law speaks of "Cities
+great and walled up to heaven" (Deut. i. 28); the prophets speak of "the
+earth rent with the sound of them" (1 Kings i. 40); the sages speak as
+above and also as follows. There was a golden vine at the entrance of
+the Temple, trailing on crystals, on which devotees who could used to
+suspend offerings of fruit and grape clusters. "It happened once," said
+Rabbi Elazer ben Rabbi Zadoc, "that three hundred priests were counted
+off to clear the vine of the offerings."
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 90, col. 2.
+
+Three hundred priests were told off to draw the veil (of the Temple)
+aside; for it is taught that Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel declared in the
+name of Rabbi Shimon the Sagan (or high priest's substitute), that the
+thickness of the veil was a handbreadth. It was woven of seventy-two
+cords, and each cord consisted of twenty-four strands. It was forty
+cubits long and twenty wide. Eighty-two myriads of damsels worked at it,
+and two such veils were made every year. When it became soiled, it took
+three hundred priests to immerse and cleanse it.
+
+_Chullin._
+
+When Moses was about to enter Paradise he turned to Joshua and said, "If
+any doubtful matters remain, ask me now and I will explain them." To
+this Joshua replied, "Have I ever left thy side for an hour and gone
+away to any other? Hast thou not thyself written concerning me (Exod.
+xxxiii. 11), 'His servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed
+not out of the Tabernacle?'" As a punishment for this pert reply, which
+must have distressed and confounded his master, Joshua's power of brain
+was immediately weakened, so that he forgot three hundred Halachahs, and
+seven hundred doubts sprang up to perplex him. All Israel then rose up
+to murder him, but the Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto him, "To
+teach thee the Halachahs and their explanation is impossible, but go and
+trouble them with work; as it is said (Josh. i. 1), 'Now after the death
+of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake
+unto Joshua,'" etc.
+
+_Temurah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+In the future God will assign to each righteous man three hundred and
+ten worlds as an inheritance; for it is said (Prov. viii. 21), "That I
+may cause those that love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their
+treasures." By Gematria equals three hundred and ten.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 100, col. 1, and _Okitzin_, chap. 3, mish. 12.
+
+An old woman once complained before Rav Nachman that the Head of the
+Captivity and certain Rabbis with him were enjoying themselves in her
+booth, which they had surreptitiously taken possession of and would not
+surrender, but Rav Nachman gave no heed to her remonstrance. Then she
+raised her voice and cried aloud, "A woman whose father had three
+hundred and eighteen slaves is now pleading before you, and you paying
+no heed to her!" Upon which Rav Nachman turned to his associates and
+said, "She is a bawling woman, but she has no right to claim the booth,
+only the value of its timber."
+
+_Succah_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+Elijah the Tishbite once said to Rav Yehudah, the brother of Rav Salla
+the Holy, "You ask why the Messiah does not come, even though it is just
+now the Day of Atonement." "And what," asked the Rabbi, "does the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--say to that?" "He says, 'Sin lieth at the door'"
+(Gen. iv. 7). "And what has Satan to say?" "He has no permission to
+accuse any one on the Day of Atonement." "How do we know this?" Ramma
+bar Chamma replied, "Satan by Gematria equals three hundred and
+sixty-four, therefore on that number of days only has he permission to
+accuse; but on the Day of Atonement (i.e., the 365th day) he cannot
+accuse."
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 20, col. 1.
+
+Rav Yitzchak said, "What is the meaning of that which is written (Ps.
+cxl. 8), 'Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; further not his
+wicked device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah?'" It is the prayer of
+Jacob to the Lord of the universe that He would not grant to Esau, "the
+wicked, the desires of his heart." "Further not his wicked device," this
+refers to Germamia of Edom (i.e., Rome), for if they (the Romans) were
+suffered to go forward they would destroy the whole world! Rav Chama bar
+Chanena said, "There are three hundred crowned heads in Germamia of
+Edom, and there are three hundred and sixty-five dukes in Babylon. These
+encounter each other daily, and one of them commits murder, and they
+strive to set up a king."
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 6, col. 2.
+
+In the great city (of Rome) there were three hundred and sixty-five
+streets, and in each street there were three hundred and sixty-five
+palaces, and in every one of these there were three hundred and
+sixty-five steps, each of which palaces contained sufficient store to
+maintain the whole world.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 118, col. 2.
+
+There are three hundred and sixty-five negative precepts.
+
+There were three hundred and ninety-four courts of law in Jerusalem, and
+as many synagogues; also the same number of high schools, colleges, and
+academies, and as many offices for public notaries.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 105, col. 1.
+
+Rav Hunna had four hundred casks of wine which had turned into vinegar.
+On hearing of his misfortune, Rav Yehudah, the brother of Rav Salla the
+Holy, or, as some say, Rav Adda bar Ahavah, came and visited him,
+accompanied by the Rabbis. "Let the master," said they, "examine himself
+carefully." "What!" said he, "do you suppose me to have been guilty of
+wrong-doing?" "Shall we then," said they, "suspect the Holy One--blessed
+be He!--of executing judgment without justice?" "Well," said Rav Hunna,
+"if you have heard anything against me, don't conceal it." "It has been
+reported to us," said they, "that the master has withheld the gardener's
+share of the prunings." "What else, pray, did he leave me?" retorted Rav
+Hunna; "he has stolen all the produce of my vineyard." They replied,
+"There is a saying that whoever steals from a thief smells of theft."
+"Then," said he, "I hereby promise to give him his share." Thereupon,
+according to some, the vinegar turned to wine again; and, according to
+others, the price of vinegar rose to the price of wine.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 5, col. 2.
+
+Rav Adda bar Ahavah once saw a Gentile woman in the market-place wearing
+a red head-dress, and supposing that she was a daughter of Israel, he
+impatiently tore it off her head. For this outrage he was fined a fine
+of four hundred zouzim. He asked the woman what her name was, and she
+replied, "My name is Mathan." "Methun, Methun," he wittily rejoined, "is
+worth four hundred zouzim."
+
+Ibid., fol. 20, col. 1.
+
+    Methun means patience and Mathan two hundred. The point lies
+    either in the application of the term Methun, which means
+    patience, as if to say, had he been so patient as to have first
+    ascertained what the woman was, he would have saved his four
+    hundred zouzim; or in the identity of the sound Mathan, i.e.,
+    two hundred, which doubled, equals four hundred. This has long
+    since passed into a proverb, and expresses the value of
+    patience.
+
+    From the foregoing extract it would seem that it was not the
+    fashion among Jewish females to wear head-dresses of a red
+    color, as it was presumed to indicate a certain lightness on the
+    part of the wearer; so Rav Adda in his pious zeal thought he was
+    doing a good work in tearing it off from the head of the
+    supposed Jewess. "Patience, patience is worth four hundred
+    zouzim."
+
+    Custom among the Jews had then, as now, the force of religion.
+    The Talmud says, "A man should never deviate from a settled
+    custom. Moses ascended on high and did not eat bread (for there
+    it is not the custom); angels came down to earth and did eat
+    bread (for here it is the custom so to do)." Bava Metzia, fol.
+    86, col. 2.
+
+    In the olden time it was not the fashion for a Jew to wear black
+    shoes (Taanith, fol. 22, col. 1). Even now, in Poland, a pious
+    Jew, or a Chasid, would on no account wear polished boots or a
+    short coat, or neglect to wear a girdle. He would at once lose
+    caste and be subjected to persecution, direct or indirect, were
+    he to depart from a custom. Custom is law, is an oft-quoted
+    Jewish proverb, one among the most familiar of their household
+    words, as "Custom is a tyrant," is among ours. Another saying we
+    have is, "Custom is the plague of wise men, but is the idol of
+    fools."
+
+The following anecdotes are related by way of practically illustrating
+Ps. ii. 11, "Rejoice with trembling." Mar, the son of Ravina, made a
+grand marriage-feast for his son, and when the Rabbis were at the height
+of their merriment on the occasion, he brought in a very costly cup,
+worth four hundred zouzim, and broke it before them, and this occasioned
+them sorrow and trembling. Rav Ashi made a grand marriage-feast for his
+son, and when he noticed the Rabbis in high jubilation, he brought in a
+costly cup of white glass and broke it before them, and this made them
+sorrowful. The Rabbis challenged Rav Hamnunah on the wedding of his son
+Ravina, saying, "Give us a song, sir," and he sung, "Woe be to us, for
+we must die! Woe be to us, for we must die!" "And what shall we sing?"
+they asked in chorus by way of response. He replied, "Sing ye, 'Alas!
+where is the law we have studied? where the good works we have done?
+that they may protect us from the punishment of hell!'" Rabbi Yochanan,
+in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, says, "It is unlawful for a man
+to fill his mouth with laughter in this world, for it is said in Ps.
+cxxvi., 'Then (but not now) will our mouth be filled with laughter,'"
+etc. It is related of Resh Lakish that he never once laughed again all
+the rest of his life from the time that he heard this from Rabbi
+Yochanan, his teacher.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 30, col. 2, and fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+A man once laid a wager with another that he would put Hillel out of
+temper. If he succeeded he was to receive, but if he failed he was to
+forfeit, four hundred zouzim. It was close upon Sabbath-eve, and Hillel
+was washing himself, when the man passed by his door, shouting, "Where
+is Hillel? where is Hillel?" Hillel wrapped his mantle round him and
+sallied forth to see what the man wanted. "I want to ask thee a
+question," was the reply. "Ask on, my son," said Hillel. Whereupon the
+man said, "I want to know why the Babylonians have such round heads?" "A
+very important question, my son," said Hillel; "the reason is because
+their midwives are not clever." The man went away, but after an hour he
+returned, calling out as before, "Where is Hillel? where is Hillel?"
+Hillel again threw on his mantle and went out, meekly asking, "What now,
+my son?" "I want to know," said he, "why the people of Tadmor are
+weak-eyed?" Hillel replied, "This is an important question, my son, and
+the reason is this, they live in a sandy country." Away went the man,
+but in another hour's time he returned as before, crying out, "Where is
+Hillel? where is Hillel?" Out came Hillel again, as gentle as ever,
+blandly requesting to know what more he wanted. "I have a question to
+ask," said the man. "Ask on, my son," said Hillel. "Well, why have the
+Africans such broad feet?" said he. "Because they live in a marshy
+land," said Hillel. "I have many more questions to ask," said the man,
+"but I am afraid that I shall only try thy patience and make thee
+angry." Hillel, drawing his mantle around him, sat down and bade the man
+ask all the questions he wished. "Art thou Hillel," said he, "whom they
+call a prince in Israel?" "Yes," was the reply. "Well," said the other,
+"I pray there may not be many more in Israel like thee!" "Why," said
+Hillel, "how is that?" "Because," said the man, "I have betted four
+hundred zouzim that I could put thee out of temper, and I have lost them
+all through thee." "Be warned for the future," said Hillel; "better it
+is that thou shouldst lose four hundred zouzim, and four hundred more
+after them, than it should be said of Hillel he lost his temper!"
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Perida had a pupil to whom he had to rehearse a lesson four
+hundred times before the latter comprehended it. One day the Rabbi was
+hurriedly called away to perform some charitable act, but before he went
+he repeated the lesson in hand the usual four hundred times, but this
+time his pupil failed to learn it. "What is the reason, my son," said he
+to his dull pupil, "that this time my repetitions have been thrown
+away?" "Because, master," naively replied the youth, "my mind was so
+pre-occupied with the summons you received to discharge another duty."
+"Well, then," said the Rabbi to his pupil, "let us begin again." And he
+repeated the lesson a second four hundred times.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 54, col. 2.
+
+Between Azel and Azel (1 Chron. viii. 38 and ix. 44), there are four
+hundred camel-loads of critical researches due to the presence of
+manifold contradictions.
+
+_Psachim_. fol. 62, col. 2.
+
+Egypt has an area of four hundred square miles.
+
+Ibid., fol. 94, col. 1.
+
+The Targum of the Pentateuch was executed by Onkelos the proselyte at
+the dictation of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, and the Targum of the
+prophets was executed by Jonathan ben Uzziel at the dictation of Haggai,
+Zachariah, and Malachi (!), at which time the land of Israel was
+convulsed over an area of four hundred square miles.
+
+_Meggillah_, fol. 3, col. 1.
+
+Mar Ukva was in the habit of sending on the Day of Atonement four
+hundred zouzim to a poor neighbor of his. Once he sent the money by his
+own son, who returned bringing it back with him, remarking, "There is no
+need to bestow charity upon a man who, as I myself have seen, is able to
+indulge himself in expensive old wine." "Well," said his father, "since
+he is so dainty in his taste, he must have seen better days. I will
+therefore double the amount for the future." And this accordingly he at
+once remitted to him.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 67, col. 2.
+
+"And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, ... ye shall carry
+up my bones from hence" (Gen. l. 25). Rabbi Chanena said, "There is a
+reason for this oath. As Joseph knew that he was perfectly righteous,
+why then, if the dead are to rise in other countries as well as in the
+land of Israel, did he trouble his brethren to carry his bones four
+hundred miles?" The reply is, "He feared lest, if buried in Egypt, he
+might have to worm his way through subterranean passages from his grave
+into the land of Israel."
+
+Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.
+
+    To this day among the Polish Jews the dead are provided for
+    their long subterranean journey with little wooden forks, with
+    which, at the sound of the great trumpet, they are to dig and
+    burrow their way from where they happen to be buried till they
+    arrive in Palestine. To avoid this inconvenience there are some
+    among them who, on the approach of old age, migrate to the Holy
+    Land, that their bones may rest there against the morning of the
+    resurrection.
+
+Rav Cahana was once selling ladies' baskets when he was exposed to the
+trial of a sinful temptation. He pleaded with his tempter to let him off
+and he promised to return, but instead of doing so he went up to the
+roof of the house and threw himself down headlong. Before he reached the
+ground, however, Elijah came and caught him, and reproached him, as he
+caught him up, with having brought him a distance of four hundred miles
+to save him from an act of willful self-destruction. The Rabbi told him
+that it was his poverty which had given to the temptation the power of
+seduction. Thereupon Elijah gave him a vessel full of gold denarii and
+departed.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 40, col. 1.
+
+"Pashur, the son of Immer the priest" (Jer. xx. 1) had four hundred
+servants, and every one of them rose to the rank of the priesthood. One
+consequence was that an insolent priest hardly ever appeared in Israel
+but his genealogy could be traced to this base-born, low-bred ancestry.
+Rabbi Elazar said, "If thou seest an impudent priest, do not think evil
+of him, for it is said (Hos, iv. 4), 'Thy people are as they that strive
+with the priest.'"
+
+Ibid., fol. 70, col. 2.
+
+David had four hundred young men, handsome in appearance and with their
+hair cut close upon their foreheads, but with long flowing curls behind,
+who used to ride in chariots of gold at the head of the army. These were
+men of power (men of the fist, in the original), the mighty men of the
+house of David, who went about to strike terror into the world.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 76, col. 2.
+
+Four hundred boys and as many girls were once kidnapped and torn from
+their relations. When they learned the purpose of their capture, they
+all exclaimed, "Better drown ourselves in the sea; then shall we have an
+inheritance in the world to come." The eldest then explained to them the
+text (Ps. lxviii. 22), "The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan; I
+will bring again from the depths of the sea." "From Bashan," i.e., from
+the teeth of the lion; "from the depths of the sea," i.e., those that
+drown themselves in the sea. When the girls heard this explanation they
+at once jumped all together into the sea, and the boys with alacrity
+followed their example. It is with reference to these that Scripture
+says (Ps. xliv. 22), "For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we
+are counted as sheep for the slaughter."
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+There were four hundred synagogues in the city of Byther, in each there
+were four hundred elementary teachers, and each had four hundred pupils.
+When the enemy entered the city they pierced him with their pointers;
+but when at last the enemy overpowered them, he wrapped them in their
+books and then set fire to them; and this is what is written (Lam. iii.
+51), "Mine eye affecteth my heart because of all the daughters of my
+city."
+
+Ibid., fol. 58, col 1.
+
+    The total population of Byther must have been something enormous
+    when the children in it amounted to 64,000,000! The elementary
+    teachers alone came to 160,000.
+
+Once when the Hasmonean kings were engaged in civil war it happened that
+Hyrcanus was outside Jerusalem and Aristobulus within. Every day the
+besieged let down a box containing gold denarii, and received in return
+lambs for the daily sacrifices. There chanced to be an old man in the
+city who was familiar with the wisdom of the Greeks, and he hinted to
+the besiegers in the Greek language that so long as the Temple services
+were kept up the city could not be taken. The next day accordingly, when
+the money had been let down, they sent back a pig in return. When about
+half-way up the animal pushed with its feet against the stones of the
+wall, and thereupon an earthquake was felt throughout the land of Israel
+to the extent of four hundred miles. At that time it was the saying
+arose, "Cursed be he that rears swine, and he who shall teach his son
+the wisdom of the Greeks." (See Matt. viii. 30.)
+
+_Soteh_, fol. 49, col. 2.
+
+If one strikes his neighbor with his fist, he must pay him one sela; if
+he slaps his face, he is to pay two hundred zouzim; but for a
+back-handed slap the assailant is to pay four hundred zouzim. If he
+pulls the ear of another, or plucks his hair, or spits upon him, or
+pulls off his mantle, or tears a woman's head-dress off in the street,
+in each of these cases he is fined four hundred zouzim.
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 90, col. 1.
+
+There was once a dispute between Rabbi Eliezer and the Mishnic sages as
+to whether a baking-oven, constructed from certain materials and of a
+particular shape, was clean or unclean. The former decided that it was
+clean, but the latter were of a contrary opinion. Having replied to all
+the objections the sages had brought against his decision, and finding
+that they still refused to acquiesce, the Rabbi turned to them and said,
+"If the Halacha (the law) is according to my decision, let this
+carob-tree attest." Whereupon the carob-tree rooted itself up and
+transplanted itself to a distance of one hundred, some say four hundred,
+yards from the spot. But the sages demurred and said, "We cannot admit
+the evidence of a carob-tree." "Well, then," said Rabbi Eliezer, "let
+this running brook be a proof;" and the brook at once reversed its
+natural course and flowed back. The sages refused to admit this proof
+also. "Then let the walls of the college bear witness that the law is
+according to my decision;" upon which the walls began to bend, and were
+about to fall, when Rabbi Joshuah interposed and rebuked them, saying,
+"If the disciples of the sages wrangle with each other in the Halacha,
+what is that to you? Be ye quiet!" Therefore, out of respect to Rabbi
+Joshuah, they did not fall, and out of respect to Rabbi Eliezer they did
+not resume their former upright position, but remained toppling, which
+they continue to do to this day. Then said Rabbi Eliezer to the sages,
+"Let Heaven itself testify that the Halacha is according to my
+judgment." And a Bath Kol or voice from heaven was heard, saying, "What
+have ye to do with Rabbi Eliezer? for the Halacha is on every point
+according to his decision!" Rabbi Joshuah then stood up and proved from
+Scripture that even a voice from heaven was not to be regarded, "For
+Thou, O God, didst long ago write down in the law which Thou gavest on
+Sinai (Exod. xxiii. 2), 'Thou shalt follow the multitude.'" (See
+context.) We have it on the testimony of Elijah the prophet, given to
+Rabbi Nathan, on an oath, that it was with reference to this dispute
+about the oven God himself confessed and said, "My children have
+vanquished me! My children have vanquished me!"
+
+_Bava Metzia_ fol. 59, col. 1.
+
+    In the sequel to the above we are told that all the legal
+    documents of Rabbi Eliezer containing his decisions respecting
+    things "clean" were publicly burned with fire, and he himself
+    excommunicated. In consequence of this the whole world was
+    smitten with blight, a third in the olives, a third in the
+    barley, and a third in the wheat; and the Rabbi himself, though
+    excommunicated, continued to be held in the highest regard in
+    Israel.
+
+The Rabbis said to Rabbi Hamnuna, "Rav Ami has written or copied four
+hundred copies of the law." He replied to them, "Perhaps only (Deut.
+xxxiii. 4) 'Moses commanded us a law.'" (He meant he did not imagine
+that any one man could possibly write out four hundred complete copies
+of the Pentateuch.)
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Chanena said, "If four hundred years after the destruction of the
+Temple one offers thee a field worth a thousand denarii for one
+denarius, don't buy it."
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+We know by tradition that the treatise "Avodah Zarah," which our father
+Abraham possessed, contained four hundred chapters, but the treatise as
+we now have it contains only five.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+The camp of Sennacherib was four hundred miles in length.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 95, col. 2.
+
+"Curse ye Meroz," etc. (Judges v. 23). Barak excommunicated Meroz at the
+blast of four hundred trumpets (lit. horns or cornets).
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 36, col. 1.
+
+What is the meaning where it is written (Ps. x. 27), "The fear of the
+Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened;"
+"The fear of the Lord prolongeth days" alludes to the four hundred and
+ten years the first Temple stood, during which period the succession of
+high priests numbered only eighteen. But "the years of the wicked shall
+be shortened" is illustrated by the fact that during the four hundred
+and twenty years that the second Temple stood the succession of high
+priests numbered more than three hundred. If we deduct the forty years
+during which Shimon the Righteous held office, and the eighty of Rabbi
+Yochanan, and the ten of Rabbi Ishmael ben Rabbi, it is evident that not
+one of the remaining high priests lived to hold office for a whole year.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+"The souls which they had gotten in Haran" (Gen. xii. 5). From this time
+to the giving of the law was four hundred and forty-eight years.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
+
+A young girl and ten of her maid-servants were once kidnapped, when a
+certain Gentile bought them and brought them to his house. One day he
+gave a pitcher to the child and bade her fetch him water, but one of her
+servants took the pitcher from her, intending to go instead. The master,
+observing this, asked the maid why she did so. The servant replied, "By
+the life of thy head, my lord, I am one of no less than five hundred
+servants of this child's mother." The master was so touched that he
+granted them all their freedom.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 17.
+
+Caesar once said to Rabbi Yoshua ben Chananja, "This God of yours is
+compared to a lion, as it is written (Amos iii. 8), 'The lion hath
+roared, who will not fear?' Wherein consists his excellency? A horseman
+kills a lion." The Rabbi replied, "He is not compared to an ordinary
+lion, but to a lion of the forest Ilaei." "Show me that lion at once,"
+said the Emperor. "But thou canst not behold him," said the Rabbi. Still
+the Emperor insisted on seeing the lion; so the Rabbi prayed to God to
+help him in his perplexity. His prayer was heard; the lion came forth
+from his lair and roared, upon which, though it was four hundred miles
+away, all the walls of Rome trembled and fell to the ground. Approaching
+three hundred miles nearer, he roared again, and this time the teeth of
+the people dropped out of their mouths and the Emperor fell from his
+throne quaking. "Alas! Rabbi, pray to thy God that He order the lion
+back to his abode in the forest."
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 59, col. 2.
+
+    All this is as nothing compared to the voice of Judah, which
+    made all Egypt quake and tremble, and Pharaoh fall from his
+    throne headlong, etc., etc. See Jasher, chap. 64, verses 46, 47.
+
+The distance from the earth to the firmament is five hundred years'
+journey, and so it is from each successive firmament to the next,
+throughout the series of the seven heavens.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 94, col. 2.
+
+"Now, as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth
+by the living creatures" (Ezek. i. 15). Rabbi Elazar says it was an
+angel who stood upon the earth, and his head reached to the living
+creatures. It is recorded in a Mishna that his name is Sandalphon, who
+towers above his fellow-angels to a height of five hundred years'
+journey; he stands behind the chariot and binds crowns on the head of
+his Creator.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 13, col. 2.
+
+    In the Liturgy for the Feast of Tabernacles it is said that
+    Sandalphon gathers in his hands the prayers of Israel, and,
+    forming a wreath of them, he adjures it to ascend as an orb for
+    the head of the supreme King of kings.
+
+The mount of the Temple was five hundred yards square.
+
+_Middoth_, chap. 2.
+
+One Scripture text (1 Chron. xxi. 25) says, "So David gave to Ornan for
+the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight." And another Scripture
+(2 Sam. xxiv. 24) says, "So David bought the threshing-floor and the
+oxen for fifty shekels of silver." How is this? David took from each
+tribe fifty shekels, and they made together the total six hundred, i.e.,
+he took silver to the value of fifty shekels of gold.
+
+_Zevachim_, fol. 116, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Samlai explains that six hundred and thirteen commandments were
+communicated to Moses; three hundred and sixty-five negative, according
+to the number of days in the year, and two hundred and forty-eight
+positive, according to the number of members in the human body. Rav
+Hamnunah asked what was the Scripture proof for this. The reply was
+(Deut. xxxiii. 4), "Moses commanded us a law" (Torah), which by Gematria
+answers to six hundred and eleven. "I am," and "Thou shalt have no
+other," which we heard from the Almighty Himself, together make up six
+hundred and thirteen.
+
+_Maccoth_, fol. 23, col. 2.
+
+    David, we are told, reduced these commandments here reckoned at
+    six hundred and thirteen, to eleven, and Isaiah still further to
+    six, and then afterward to two. "Thus saith the Eternal, Observe
+    justice and act righteously, for my salvation is near." Finally
+    came Habakkuk, and he reduced the number to one
+    all-comprehensive precept (chap. ii. 4), "The just shall live by
+    faith." (See _Maccoth_, fol. 24, col. 1.)
+
+The precept concerning fringes is as weighty as all the other precepts
+put together; for it is written, says Rashi (Num. xv. 39), "And remember
+all the commandments of the Lord." Now the numerical value of the word
+"fringes" is six hundred, and this with eight threads and five knots
+makes six hundred and thirteen.
+
+_Shevuoth_, fol. 29, col. 1.
+
+"For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem
+and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the
+whole stay of water, the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and
+the prophet," etc. (Isa. iii. 1, 2). By "the stay" is meant men mighty
+in the Scriptures, and by "the staff" men learned in the Mishna; such,
+for instance, as Rabbi Yehudah ben Tima and his associates. Rav Pappa
+and the Rabbis differed as to the Mishna; the former said there were six
+hundred orders of the Mishna, and the latter that there were seven
+hundred orders. "The whole stay of bread" means men distinguished in the
+Talmud; for it is said, "Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine
+which I have mingled" (Prov. ix. 5). And "the whole stay of water" means
+men skillful in the Haggadoth, who draw out the heart of man like water
+by means of a pretty story or legend, etc.
+
+_Chaggigah_, fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+There are seven hundred species of fish, eight hundred of locusts,
+twenty-four of birds that are unclean, while the species of birds that
+are clean cannot be numbered.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 63, col. 2.
+
+"The same was Adino the Eznite," etc. (2 Sam. xxiii. 8). This mighty man
+when studying the law was as pliant as a worm; but when engaged in war
+he was as firm and unyielding as a tree; and when he discharged an arrow
+he killed eight hundred men at one shot.
+
+_Moed Katon_, fol. 16, col. 2.
+
+"Ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land" (Deut. iv. 26). The
+term soon uttered by the Lord of the Universe means eight hundred and
+fifty-two years.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+There are nine hundred and three sorts of deaths in the world; for the
+expression occurs (Ps. lxviii. 20), "Issues of death." The numerical
+value of "issues" is nine hundred and three. The hardest of all deaths
+is by quinsy, and the easiest is the Divine kiss (of which Moses, Aaron,
+and Miriam died). Quinsy is like the forcible extraction of prickly
+thorns from wool, or like a thick rope drawn through a small aperture;
+the kiss referred to is like the extracting of a hair from milk.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+When Moses went up on high, the ministering angels asked, "What has one
+born of a woman to do among us?" "He has come to receive the law," was
+the Divine answer. "What!" they remonstrated again, "that cherished
+treasure which has lain with Thee for nine hundred and seventy-four
+generations before the world was created, art Thou about to bestow it
+upon flesh and blood? What is mortal man that Thou art mindful of him,
+and the son of earth that Thou thus visitest him? O Lord! our Lord! is
+not Thy name already sufficiently exalted in the earth? Confer Thy glory
+upon the heavens" (Ps. viii. 4, 6). The Holy One--blessed be He!--then
+called upon Moses to refute the objection of the envious angels. "I
+fear," pleaded he, "lest they consume me with the fiery breath of their
+mouth." Thereupon, by way of protection, he was bid approach and lay
+hold of the throne of God; as it is said (Job xxvi. 9), "He lays hold of
+the face of His throne and spreads His cloud over him." Thus encouraged,
+Moses went over the Decalogue, and demanded of the angels whether they
+had suffered an Egyptian bondage and dwelt among idolatrous nations, so
+as to require the first commandment; or were they so hardworked as to
+need a day of rest, etc., etc. Then the angels at once confessed that
+they were wrong in seeking to withhold the law from Israel, and they
+then repeated the words, "O Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the
+earth!" (Ps. viii. 9), omitting the words, "Confer Thy glory upon the
+heavens." And not only so, but they positively befriended Moses, and
+each of them revealed to him some useful secret; as it is said (Ps.
+lxviii. 18), "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast captured spoil, thou
+hast received gifts; because they have contemptuously called thee man."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 88, col. 2.
+
+Nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the world was created
+the law was written and deposited in the bosom of the Holy One--blessed
+be He!--and sang praises with the ministering angels.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 31.
+
+If one is sick and at the point of death, he is expected to confess, for
+all confess who are about to suffer the last penalty of the law. When a
+man goes to the market place, let him consider himself as handed over to
+the custody of the officers of judgment. If he has a headache, let him
+deem himself fastened with a chain by the neck. If confined to his bed,
+let him regard himself as mounting the steps to be judged; for when this
+happens to him, he is saved from death only if he have competent
+advocates, and these advocates are repentance and good works. And if
+nine hundred and ninety-nine plead against him, and only one for him, he
+is saved; as it is said (Job xxxiii. 23), "If there be an interceding
+angel, one among a thousand to declare for man his uprightness, then He
+is gracious unto him and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 32, col. 1.
+
+Rav Hunna says, "A quarrel is like a breach in the bank of a river; when
+it is once made it grows wider and wider." A certain man used to go
+about and say, "Blessed is he who submits to a reproach and is silent,
+for a hundred evils depart from him." Shemuel said to Rav Yehuda, "It is
+written in Scripture (Prov. xvii. 14), 'The beginning of strife is as
+when one letteth out water.'" Strife is the beginning of a hundred
+lawsuits.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
+
+When Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, she introduced to him a
+thousand different kinds of musical instruments, and taught him the
+chants to the various idols.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 56, col. 2.
+
+When Buneis, the son of Buneis, called on Rabbi (the Holy), the latter
+exclaimed, "Make way for one worth a hundred manahs!" Presently another
+visitor came, and Rabbi said, "Make way for one worth two hundred
+manahs." Upon which Rabbi Ishmael, the son of Rabbi Yossi, remonstrated,
+saying, "Rabbi, the father of the first-comer, owns a thousand ships at
+sea and a thousand towns ashore!" "Well," replied Rabbi, "when thou
+seest his father, tell him to send his son better clad next time." Rabbi
+paid great respect to those that were rich, and so did Rabbi Akiva.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 86, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Elazer ben Charsom inherited from his father a thousand towns and
+a thousand ships, and yet he went about with a leather sack of flour at
+his back, roaming from town to town and from province to province in
+order to study the law. This great Rabbi never once set eye on his
+immense patrimony, for he was engaged in the study of the law all day
+and all night long. And so strange was he to his own servants, that
+they, on one occasion, not knowing who he was, pressed him against his
+will to do a day's work as a menial; and though he pleaded with them as
+a suppliant to be left alone to pursue his studies in the law, they
+refused, and swore, saying, "By the life of Rabbi Elazer ben Charsom,
+our master, we will not let thee go till thy task is completed." He then
+let himself be enforced rather than make himself known to them.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 35, col. 2.
+
+The wife of Potiphar coaxed Joseph with loving words, but in vain. She
+then threatened to immure him in prison, but he replied (anticipating
+Ps. cxlvi. 7), "The Lord looseth the prisoners." Then she said, "I will
+bow thee down with distress; I will blind thine eyes." He only answered
+(_ibid._, ver. 8), "The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind and raiseth
+them that are bowed down." She then tried to bribe him with a thousand
+talents of silver if he would comply with her request, but in vain.
+
+Ibid.
+
+    A Midrash tells us that Potiphar's wife not only falsely accused
+    Joseph herself, but that she also suborned several of her female
+    friends to do likewise. The Book of Jasher, which embodies the
+    Talmudic story quoted above, tells us that an infant in the
+    cradle spoke up and testified to Joseph's innocence, and that
+    while Joseph was in prison his inamorata daily visited him. More
+    on this topic may be found in the Koran, chap. xii. The amours
+    of Joseph and Zulieka, as told by the glib tongue of tradition,
+    fitly find their consummation in marriage, and certain Moslems
+    affect to see in all this an allegorical type of Divine love, an
+    allegory which some other divines find in the Song of Solomon.
+
+The thickness of the earth is a thousand paces or ells.
+
+_Succah_, fol. 53, col. 2.
+
+    The crust of the earth as far as the abyss is a thousand ells,
+    and the abyss under the earth is fifteen thousand. There is an
+    upper and a lower abyss mentioned in Taanith, fol. 25, col. 2.
+    Riddia, the angel who has the command of the waters, and resides
+    between the two abysses, says to the upper, "disperse thy
+    waters," and to the lower, "let thy waters flow up."
+
+Many may ask after thy peace, but tell thy secret only to one of a
+thousand.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 63, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that if the value of stolen property is a
+thousand, and the thief is only worth, say, five hundred, he is to be
+sold into slavery twice. But if the reverse, he is not to be sold at
+all.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 18, col. 2.
+
+The Behemoth upon a thousand hills (Ps. l. 10), God created them male
+and female, but had they been allowed to propagate they would have
+destroyed the whole world. What did He do? He castrated the male and
+spayed the female, and then preserved them that they might serve for the
+righteous at the Messianic banquet; as it is said (Job xl. 16), "His
+strength is in his loins (i.e., the male), and his force in the navel of
+his belly" (i.e., the female).
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 74, col. 2.
+
+    This provision for the coming Messianic banquet is considered of
+    sufficient importance to be mentioned year after year in the
+    service for the Day of Atonement and also at the Feast of
+    Tabernacles. The remark of D. Levi, that the feast here referred
+    to is to be understood allegorically, involves rather sweeping
+    consequences, as it is open to any one to annihilate many other
+    expectations on the same principle.
+
+The Holy One--blessed be He!--will add to Jerusalem gardens extending to
+a thousand times their numerical value, which equals one hundred and
+sixty-nine, etc.
+
+Ibid., fol. 75, col. 2.
+
+"Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much" (2 Kings xxi. 16).
+Here (in Babylon) it is interpreted to mean that he murdered Isaiah, but
+in the West (i.e., in Palestine) they say that he made an image of the
+weight of a thousand men, which was the number he massacred every day
+(as Rashi says, by the heaviness of its weight).
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 103, col. 2.
+
+    See Josephus, Antiq., Book X. chap, iii., sec. 1, for
+    corroborative evidence. Tradition says that Manasseh caused
+    Isaiah to be sawn asunder with a wooden saw. (See also Yevamoth,
+    fol. 49, col. 2; Sanhedrin, fol. 103, col. 2.)
+
+    Nowhere in the Talmud do we find the name of the great image
+    here referred to. What if we christen it the "Juggernaut of the
+    Talmud"? May the tradition not be a prelusion or a reflex of
+    that man-crushing monster? Anyhow, scholars are aware of a
+    community of no inconsiderable extent between the conceptions
+    and legends of the Hindoos and the Rabbis. One notable contrast,
+    however, between this Juggernaut and that of the Hindoos is,
+    that whereas in both cases the innocent suffered for the guilty,
+    in the former that sacrifices were exacted to propitiate Satan,
+    while in the latter they were freely offered in supposed
+    propitiation of the gods.
+
+The food consumed by Og, king of Bashan, consisted of a thousand oxen
+and as many of all sorts of other beasts, and his drink consisted of a
+thousand measures, etc.
+
+_Sophrim_, chap. 21, mish. 9.
+
+Solomon made ten candelabra for the Temple; for each he set aside a
+thousand talents of gold, which he refined in a crucible until they were
+reduced to the weight of one talent.
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 29, col. 1.
+
+There was an organ in the Temple which produced a thousand kinds of
+melody.
+
+_Eirchin_, fol. 11 col. 1.
+
+    The Magrepha, with its ten pipes and its ten-times-ten various
+    notes (Eirchin, fol. 10, col. 2, and fol. 11, col. 1), which was
+    said to have been used in the Temple service, must have been an
+    instrument far superior to any organ in use at the time
+    elsewhere.
+
+If from a town numbering fifteen hundred footmen, such, for example, as
+the village of Accho, nine people be borne forth dead in the course of
+three successive days, it is a sure sign of the presence of the plague;
+but if this happen in one day or in four, then it is not the plague.
+
+_Taanith_, fol. 21, col. 1.
+
+Seventeen hundred of the arguments and minute rules of the Scribes were
+forgotten during the days of mourning for Moses. Othniel, the son of
+Kenaz, by his shrewd arguing restored them all as if they had never
+lapsed from the memory.
+
+_Temurah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+There was a great court at Jerusalem called Beth Yaazek, where all
+witnesses (who could testify to the time of the appearance of the new
+moon) used to assemble, and where they were examined by the authorities.
+Grand feasts were prepared for them as an inducement to them to come
+(and give in their testimony). Formerly they did not move from the place
+they happened to be in when overtaken by the Sabbath, but Rabbon Gamliel
+the elder ordained that they might in that case move two thousand cubits
+either way.
+
+_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+He that is abroad (on the Sabbath) and does not know the limit of the
+Sabbath day's journey may walk two thousand moderate paces, and that is
+a Sabbath day's journey.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 42, col. 1.
+
+Rabbon Gamliel had a hollow tube, through which, when he looked, he
+could distinguish a distance of two thousand cubits, whether by land or
+sea. By the same tube he could ascertain the depth of a valley or the
+height of a palm tree.
+
+Ibid., fol. 43, col. 2.
+
+He who observes carefully the precepts respecting fringes will, as a
+reward, have two thousand eight hundred slaves to wait upon him; for it
+is said (Zech. viii. 23), "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days
+it shall come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all languages
+of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew,
+saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 32, col. 2.
+
+    Rashi's explanation of this matter is very simple. The merit of
+    the fringes lies in their being duly attached to "the four
+    quarters" or skirts of the garments (Deut. xxii. 12). There are
+    seventy nations in the whole world, and ten of each nation will
+    take hold of each corner of the garment, which gives 70 x 10 x 4
+    = 2800. Rabbi B'chai, commenting on Num. xv. 39, 40, repeats the
+    same story almost word for word.
+
+    This passage (Zech. viii. 23) has lately been construed by some
+    into a prophecy of the recent Berlin Congress, and the ten men
+    mentioned are found in the representatives of the contracting
+    parties, i.e., England, France, Germany, Turkey, Russia,
+    Austria, Italy, Greece, Roumania, and Servia.
+
+Rav Hamnunah said, "What is it that is written (1 Kings iv. 32), 'And he
+spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five'?"
+It is intended to teach that Solomon uttered three thousand proverbs
+upon each and every word of the law, and for every word of the Scribes
+he assigned a thousand and five reasons.
+
+_Eiruvin_, fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+When Rabbi Eliezer was sick he was visited by Rabbi Akiva and his
+party.... "Wherefore have ye come?" he asked. "To learn the law," was
+the reply. "And why did you not come sooner?" "Because we had no
+leisure," said they. "I shall be much surprised," said he, "if you die a
+natural death." Then turning to Rabbi Akiva he said, "Thy death shall be
+the worst of all." Then folding his arms upon his breast, he exclaimed:
+"Woe unto my two arms! for they are like two scrolls of the law rolled
+up, so that their contents are hidden. Had they waited upon me, they
+might have added much to their knowledge of the law, but now that
+knowledge will perish with me. I have in my time learned much and taught
+much, and yet I have no more diminished the knowledge of my Rabbis by
+what I have derived from them than the waters of the sea are reduced by
+a dog lapping them. Over and above this I expounded three hundred," some
+allege he said three thousand, "Halachahs with reference to the growing
+of Egyptian cucumbers, and yet no one except Akiva ben Yoseph has ever
+proposed a single question to me respecting them. He and I were walking
+along the road one day when he asked me to instruct him regarding the
+cultivation of Egyptian cucumbers. I made but one remark, when the
+entire field became full of them. Then at his request I made a remark
+about cutting them, when lo! they all collected themselves together in
+one spot." Thus Rabbi Eliezer kept on talking, when all of a sudden he
+fell back and expired.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 68, col. 1.
+
+    The last words of this eminent Rabbi derive a tragic interest
+    from the fact that he died while under sentence of
+    excommunication.
+
+Three thousand Halachoth were forgotten at the time of mourning for
+Moses, and among them the Halachah respecting an animal intended for a
+sin-offering the owner of which died before sacrificing it.
+
+_Temurah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
+
+All the prophets were rich men. This we infer from the account of Moses,
+Samuel, Amos, and Jonah. Of Moses, as it is written (Num. xvi. 15), "I
+have not taken one ass from them." Of Samuel, as it is written (1 Sam.
+xii. 3), "Behold, here I am; witness against me before the Lord, and
+before His anointed, whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken?"
+Of Amos, as it is written (Amos vii. 14), "I was an herdsman and a
+gatherer of sycamore fruit," i.e., I am proprietor of my herds and own
+sycamores in the valley. Of Jonah, as it is written (Jonah i. 3), "So he
+paid the fare thereof and went down into it." Rabbi Yochanan says he
+hired the whole ship. Rabbi Rumanus says the hire of the ship amounted
+to four thousand golden denarii.
+
+_Nedarim_, fol. 38, col. 1.
+
+Four thousand two hundred and thirty-one years after the creation of the
+world, if any one offers thee for one single denarius a field worth a
+thousand denarii, do not buy it.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 2.
+
+    Rashi gives this as the reason of the prohibition: For then the
+    restoration of the Jews to their own land will take place, so
+    that the denarius paid for a field in a foreign land would be
+    money thrown away.
+
+Four thousand two hundred and ninety-one years after the creation of the
+world the wars of the dragons and the wars of Gog and Magog will cease,
+and the rest of the time will be the days of the Messiah; and the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--will not renew His world till after seven thousand
+years.... Rabbi Jonathan said, "May the bones of those who compute the
+latter days (when the Messiah shall appear) be blown; for some say,
+'Because the time (of Messiah) has come and Himself has not, therefore
+He will never come!' But wait thou for Him, as it is said (Hab. ii. 3),
+'Though He tarry, wait for Him.' Perhaps you will say, 'We wait, but He
+does not wait;' learn rather to say (Isa. xxx. 18), 'And therefore will
+the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you; and therefore will He
+be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you.'"
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 97, col. 2.
+
+It is related of Rabbi Tarphon (probably the Tryphon of polemic fame)
+that he was very rich, but gave nothing to the poor. Once Rabbi Akiva
+met him and said, "Rabbi, dost thou wish me to purchase for thee a town
+or two?" "I do," said he, and at once gave him four thousand gold
+denarii. Rabbi Akiva took this sum and distributed it among the poor.
+Some time after Rabbi Tarphon met Rabbi Akiva and said, "Where are the
+towns thou purchasedst for me?" The latter seized hold of him by the arm
+and led him to the Beth Hamedrash, where, taking-up a psalter, they read
+together till they came to this verse, "He hath dispersed, he hath given
+to the poor, his righteousness endureth forever" (Ps. cxii. 9). Here
+Rabbi Akiva paused and said, "This is the place I purchased for thee,"
+and Rabbi Tarphon saluted him with a kiss.
+
+_Tract. Callah._
+
+The Pentateuch contains five thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight
+verses. The Psalms have eight verses more than, and the Chronicles eight
+verses short of, that number.
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 30, col. 1.
+
+    The number of verses in the Pentateuch is usually stated at
+    5845, the mnemonic sign of which is a word in Isaiah xxx. 26,
+    the letters of which stand for 5845. The verse reads, "Moreover,
+    the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun." The
+    Masorites tell us that the number of verses in the Psalms is
+    2527, and in the two Books of Chronicles 1656.
+
+The world is to last six thousand years. Two thousand of these are
+termed the period of disorder, two thousand belong to the dispensation
+of the law, and two thousand are the days of the Messiah; but because of
+our iniquities a large fraction of the latter term is already passed and
+gone without the Messiah giving any sign of His appearing.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 97, col. 1.
+
+As the land of Canaan had one year of release in seven, so has the world
+one millennium of release in seven thousand years; for it is said (Isa.
+ii. 17), "And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day;" and again
+(Ps. xcii. 1), "A psalm or song for the Sabbath day," which means a long
+Sabbatic period; and again (Ps. xc. 4), "For a thousand years in Thy
+sight are but as the day of yesterday."
+
+Ibid.
+
+Tradition records that the ladder (mentioned Gen. xxviii. 12) was eight
+thousand miles wide, for it is written, "And behold the angels of God
+ascending and descending upon it." Angels ascending, being in the
+plural, cannot be fewer than two at a time, and so likewise must those
+descending, so that when they passed they were four abreast at least. In
+Daniel x. 6 it is said of the angel, "His body was like Tarshish," and
+there is a story that Tarshish extended two thousand miles.
+
+_Chullin_, fol. 91, col. 2.
+
+The tithes from the herds of Elazer ben Azaryah amounted to twelve
+thousand calves annually.
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 54, col. 2.
+
+It is said that Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of disciples
+dispersed about between Gabbath and Antipatris, and all of them died
+within a short period because they paid no honor to one another. The
+land was then desolate until Rabbi Akiva came among our Rabbis of the
+south and taught the law to Rabbis Meir, Yehudah, Yossi, Shimon, and
+Elazer ben Shamua, who re-established its authority.
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 26, col. 2.
+
+After a lapse of twelve years, he returned accompanied by twelve
+thousand disciples, etc.
+
+Ravah bar Nachmaini was impeached for depriving the revenue of the
+poll-tax on twelve thousand Jews, by detaining them annually at his
+academy for one month in the spring, and for another month in the
+autumn; for great multitudes from various parts of the country were
+wont, at the two seasons of the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles,
+to come to hear him preach, so that when the king's officers came to
+collect the taxes they found none of them at home. A royal messenger was
+accordingly despatched to apprehend him, but he failed to find him, for
+the Rabbi fled to Pumbeditha, and from thence to Akra, to Agmi, Sichin,
+Zeripha, Ein d'Maya, and back again to Pumbeditha. Arrived at this
+place, both the royal messenger and the fugitive Rabbi happened to put
+up at the same inn. Two cups were placed before the former on a table,
+when, strange to say, after he had drunk and the table was removed, his
+face was forcibly turned round to his back. (This was done by evil
+spirits because he drank even numbers--against which we are earnestly
+warned in _P'sachim_, fol. 110, col. 1.) The inn-keeper, fearing the
+consequences of such a misfortune happening to so high an official at
+his inn, sought advice of the lurking Rabbi, when the latter suggested
+that the table be placed again before him with one cup only on it, and
+thus the even number would become odd, and his face would return to its
+natural position. They did so, and it was as the Rabbi had said. The
+official then remarked to his host, "I know the man I want is here," and
+he hastened and found him. "If I knew for certain," he said to the
+Rabbi, "that thy escape would cost my life only, I would let thee go,
+but I fear bodily torture, and therefore I must secure thee." And
+thereupon he locked him up. Upon this the Rabbi prayed, till the prison
+walls miraculously giving way he made his escape to Agma, where he
+seated himself at the root of a tree and gave himself up to meditation.
+While thus engaged he all at once heard a discussion in the academy of
+heaven on the subject of the hair mentioned in Lev. xiii. 25. The Holy
+One--blessed be He!--declared the case to be "clean," but the whole
+academy were of a different opinion, and declared the case to be
+"unclean." The question then arose, "Who shall decide?" "Ravah bar
+Nachmaini shall decide," was the unanimous reply, "for he said, 'I am
+one in matters of leprosy; I am one in questions about tents; and there
+is none to equal me.'" Then the angel of death was sent for to bring him
+up, but he was unable to approach him, because the Rabbi's lips never
+ceased repeating the law of the Lord. The angel of death thereupon
+assumed the appearance of a troop of cavalry, and the Rabbi,
+apprehensive of being seized and carried off, exclaimed, "I would rather
+die through that one (meaning the angel of death) than be delivered into
+the hands of the Government!" At that very instant he was asked to
+decide the question in dispute, and just as the verdict "clean" issued
+from his lips his soul departed from his body, and a voice was heard
+from heaven proclaiming, "Blessed art thou, Ravah bar Nachmaini, for thy
+body is clean. 'Clean' was the word on thy lips when thy spirit
+departed." Then a scroll fell down from heaven into Pumbeditha
+announcing that Ravah bar Nachmaini was admitted into the academy of
+heaven. Apprised of this, Abaii, in company with many other Rabbis, went
+in search of the body to inter it, but not knowing the spot where he
+lay, they went to Agma, where they noticed a great number of birds
+hovering in the air, and concluded that the shadow of their wings
+shielded the body of the departed. There, accordingly, they found and
+buried him; and after mourning three days and three nights over his
+grave, they arose to depart, when another scroll descended threatening
+them with excommunication if they did so. They therefore continued
+mourning for seven days and seven nights, when, at the end of these, a
+third scroll descended and bade them go home in peace. On the day of the
+death of this Rabbi there arose, it is said, such a mighty tempest in
+the air that an Arab merchant and the camel on which he was riding were
+blown bodily over from one side of the river Pappa to the other. "What
+meaneth such a storm as this?" cried the merchant, as he lay on the
+ground. A voice from heaven answered, "Ravah bar Nachmaini is dead."
+Then he prayed and fled, "Lord of the universe, the whole world is
+Thine, and Ravah bar Nachmaini is Thine! Thou art Ravah's and Ravah is
+Thine; but wherefore wilt Thou destroy the world?" On this the storm
+immediately abated, and there was a perfect calm.
+
+_Bava Metzia_, fol. 86, col. 1.
+
+    The above seems to be a Rabbinical satire on the Talmud itself
+    although the orthodox Jews believe that every word in it is
+    historically true. Well, perhaps it is so; and we outsiders are
+    ignorant, and without the means of judging.
+
+Now we know what God does during the day, but how does He occupy Himself
+in the night-time? We may say He does the same as at day-time; or that
+during the night He rides on a swift cherub over eighteen thousand
+worlds; as it is said (Ps. lxviii. 17), "The chariots of God are twenty
+thousand," less two thousand Shinan; read not Shinan but She-einan,
+i.e., two thousand less than twenty thousand, therefore eighteen
+thousand.
+
+_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 3. col. 2.
+
+Prince Contrukos asked Rabbon Yochanan ben Zacchai how, when the
+detailed enumeration of the Levites amounted to twenty-two thousand
+three hundred (the Gershonites, 7500; the Kohathites, 8600; the
+Merarites, 6200, making in all 22,300), the sum total given is only
+twenty-two thousand, omitting the three hundred. "Was Moses, your
+Rabbi," he asked, "a cheat or a bad calculator?" He answered, "They were
+first-borns, and therefore could not be substitutes for the first-born
+of Israel."
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 5, col. 1.
+
+"And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death" (2 Chron.
+xxxii. 33). This is Hezekiah, king of Judah, at whose funeral thirty-six
+thousand people attended bare-shouldered, ... and upon his bier was laid
+a roll of the law, and it was said, "This man has fulfilled what is
+written in this book."
+
+_Bava Kama_, fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+Sennacherib the wicked invaded Jewry with forty-five thousand princes in
+golden coronets, and they had with them their wives and odalisques; also
+eighty thousand mighty men clad in mail and sixty thousand swordsmen ran
+before him, and the rest were cavalry. With a similar army they came
+against Abraham, and a like force is to come up with Gog and Magog. A
+tradition teaches that the extent of his camp was four hundred parsaes
+or leagues, the extent of the horses' necks were forty parsaes. The
+total muster of his army was two hundred and sixty myriads of thousands,
+less one. Abaii asked, "Less one myriad, or one thousand, or one
+hundred? or more literally less one?"
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 95, col. 2.
+
+In the immediate context of the above extract we have the following
+legend concerning Sennacherib:--As Rabbi Abhu has said, "Were it not for
+this Scripture text it would be impossible to repeat what is written
+(Isa. vii. 20), 'In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that
+is hired, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head and
+the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.'" The story
+is this:--The Holy One--blessed be He!--once disguised Himself as an
+elderly man and came to Sennacherib, and said, "When thou comest to the
+kings of the East and of the West, to force their sons into thine army,
+what wilt thou say unto them?" He replied, "On that very account I am in
+fear. What shall I do?" God answered him, "Go and disguise thyself."
+"How can I disguise myself?" said he. God replied, "Go and fetch me a
+pair of scissors and I will cut thy hair." Sennacherib asked, "Whence
+shall I fetch them?" "Go to yonder house and bring them." He went
+accordingly and observed a pair, but there he met the ministering angels
+disguised as men, grinding date-stones. He asked them for the scissors,
+but they said "Grind thou first a measure of date-stones, and then thou
+shalt have the scissors." He did as he was told, and so obtained the
+scissors. It was dark before he returned, and God said unto him, "Go and
+fetch some fire." This also he did, but while blowing the embers his
+beard was singed. Upon which God came and shaved his head and his beard,
+and said, "This is it which is written (Isa. vii. 20), 'It shall also
+consume the beard.'" Rav Pappa says this is the proverb current among
+the people, "Singe the face of a Syrian, and, if it pleases him, also
+set his beard in fire, and thou wilt not be able to laugh enough."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 95, col. 2, and fol. 96, col. 1.
+
+"He hath cut off in His fierce anger all the horn of Israel," etc. (Lam.
+ii. 3). These are the eighty thousand war-horns or battering-rams that
+entered the city of Byther, in which he massacred so many men, women,
+and children, that their blood ran like a river and flowed into the
+Mediterranean Sea, which was a mile away from the place.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 57, col. 1.
+
+That mule had a label attached to his neck on which it was stated that
+its breeding cost a hundred thousand zouzim.
+
+_Bechoroth_, fol. 8, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yossi said, "I have seen Sepphoris (Cyprus) in the days of its
+prosperity, and there were in it a hundred and eighty thousand marts for
+sauces."
+
+_Bava Bathra_, fol. 75, col. 2.
+
+Rav Assi said three hundred thousand swordsmen went up to the Royal
+Mount and there slaughtered the people for three days and three nights,
+and yet while on the one side of the mount they were mourning, on the
+other they were merry; those on the one side did not know the affairs of
+those on the other.
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 57, col. 1.
+
+A certain disciple prayed before Rabbi Chanina, and said, "O God! who
+art great, mighty, formidable, magnificent, strong, terrible, valiant,
+powerful, real and honored!" He waited until he had finished, and then
+said to him, "Hast thou ended all the praises of thy God? Need we
+enumerate so many? As for us, even the three terms of praise which we
+usually repeat, we should not dare to utter had not Moses, our master,
+pronounced them in the law (Deut. x. 17), and had not the men of the
+Great Synagogue ordained them for prayer; and yet thou hast repeated so
+many and still seemest inclined to go on. It is as if one were to
+compliment a king because of his silver, who is master of a thousand
+thousands of gold denarii. Wouldst thou think that becoming?"
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 33, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma relates, "I once met a man in my travels and we
+saluted one another. In reply to a question of his I said, 'I am from a
+great city of sages and scribes.' Upon this he offered me a thousand
+thousand golden denarii, and precious stones and pearls, if I would
+agree to go and dwell in his native place. But I replied, saying, 'If
+thou wert to give me all the gold and silver, all the precious stones
+and pearls in the world, I would not reside anywhere else than in the
+place where the law is studied.'"
+
+_Avoth_, chap. 6.
+
+Thousands on thousands in Israel were named after Aaron; for had it not
+been for Aaron these thousands of thousands would not have been born.
+Aaron went about making peace between quarreling couples, and those who
+were born after the reconciliation were regularly named after him.
+
+_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 12.
+
+It is related by the Rabbis that Rabbon Yochanan ben Zacchai was once
+riding out of Jerusalem accompanied by his disciples, when he saw a
+young woman picking barley out of the dung on the road. On his asking
+her name, she told him that she was the daughter of Nikodemon ben
+Gorion. "What has become of thy father's riches?" said he, "and what has
+become of thy dowry?" "Dost thou not remember," said she, "that charity
+is the salt of riches?" (Her father had not been noted for this virtue.)
+"Dost thou not remember signing my marriage contract?" said the woman.
+"Yes," said the Rabbi, "I well remember it. It stipulated for a million
+gold denarii from thy father, besides the allowance from thy husband,"
+etc.
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 66, col. 2.
+
+Abba Benjamin says, "If our eye were permitted to see the malignant
+sprites that beset us, we could not rest on account of them." Abaii has
+said, "They out-number us, they surround us as the earthed-up soil on
+our garden-beds." Rav Hunna says, "Every one has a thousand at his left
+side and ten thousand at his right" (Ps. xci. 7). Rava adds, "The
+crowding at the schools is caused by their pushing in; they cause the
+weariness which the Rabbis experience in their knees, and even tear
+their clothes by hustling against them. If one would discover traces of
+their presence, let him sift some ashes upon the floor at his bedside,
+and next morning he will see, as it were, the footmarks of fowls on the
+surface. But if one would see the demons themselves, he must burn to
+ashes the after-birth of a first-born black kitten, the offspring of a
+first-born black cat, and then put a little of the ashes into his eyes,
+and he will not fail to see them," etc., etc.
+
+_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 1.
+
+In each camp there are suspended three hundred and sixty-five myriads of
+stars, etc.
+
+Agrippa, being anxious to ascertain the number of the male population of
+Israel, instructed the priest to take accurate note of the Paschal
+lambs. On taking account of the kidneys, it was found that there were
+sixty myriad couples (which indicated) double the number of those that
+came up out of Egypt, not reckoning those that were ceremonially unclean
+and those that were out traveling. There was not a Paschal lamb in which
+less than ten had a share, so that the number represented over six
+hundred myriads of men.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 64, col. 2.
+
+    "It is unlawful to enumerate Israel even with a view to a
+    meritorious deed" (_Yoma_, fol. 22, col. 2). From Rashi's
+    comment on the former text it seems that the priest merely held
+    up the duplicate kidneys, upon which the king's agent regularly
+    laid aside a pea or a pebble into a small heap, which were
+    afterwards counted up. See also Josephus, Book VI. chap. ix.
+    sec. 3.
+
+    It might not be amiss to remind the reader in passing that if
+    one were to reckon one hundred per minute for ten hours a day,
+    it would take no less than sixteen days six hours forty minutes
+    to count a million; and that it would take twenty men, reckoning
+    at the same rate, to sum up the total number stated in the text
+    in one day, so as to ascertain that there were 1,200,000
+    sacrifices at the Passover under notice, representing no less
+    than 12,000,000 celebrants.
+
+At the time when Israel in their eagerness first said, "We will do," and
+then, "We will hear" (Exod. xxix. 7), there came sixty myriads of
+ministering angels to crown each Israelite with two crowns, one for "we
+will do" and one for "we will hear." But when after this Israel sinned,
+there came down a hundred and twenty myriads of destroying angels and
+took the crowns away from them, as it is said (Exod. xxxiii. 6), "And
+the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount
+Horeb." Resh Lakish says, "The Holy One--blessed be He!--will, in the
+future, return them to us; for it is said (Isa. xxxv. 10), 'The ransomed
+of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy
+upon their heads,' i.e., the joy they had in days of yore, upon their
+heads."
+
+_Shabbath_, fol. 88, col. 1.
+
+Let no one venture out alone at night-time on Wednesdays and Saturdays,
+for Agrath, the daughter of Machloth, roams about accompanied by
+eighteen myriads of evil genii, each one of which has power to destroy.
+
+_P'sachim_, fol. 112, col. 2.
+
+It is related of Rabbi Elazar ben Charsom that his mother made him a
+shirt which cost two myriads of manahs, but his fellow-priests would not
+allow him to wear it, because he appeared in it as though he were naked.
+
+_Yoma_, fol. 35, col. 2.
+
+He who has not seen the double gallery of the Synagogue in Alexandria of
+Egypt, has not seen the glory of Israel.... There were seventy-one seats
+arranged in it according to the number of the seventy-one members of the
+greater Sanhedrin, each seat of no less value than twenty-one myriads of
+golden talents. A wooden pulpit was in the centre, upon which stood the
+reader holding a Sudarium (a kind of flag) in his hand, which he waved
+when the vast congregation were required to say Amen at the end of any
+benediction, which, of course, it was impossible for all to hear in so
+stupendous a synagogue. The congregation did not sit promiscuously, but
+in guilds; goldsmiths apart, silversmiths apart, blacksmiths,
+coppersmiths, embroiderers, weavers, etc., all apart from each other.
+When a poor craftsman came in, he took his seat among the people of his
+guild, who maintained him till he found employment. Abaii says all this
+immense population was massacred by Alexander of Macedon. Why were they
+thus punished? Because they transgressed the Scripture, which says
+(Deut. xvii. 16), "Ye shall henceforth return no more that way."
+
+_Succah_, fol. 51, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis teach that during a prosperous year in the land of Israel, a
+place sown with a measure of seed produces five myriad cors (a cor being
+equal to thirty measures).
+
+_Kethuboth_, fol. 112, col. 1.
+
+Rav Ulla was once asked, "To what extent is one bound to honor his
+father and mother?" To which he replied, "See what a Gentile of Askelon
+once did, Dammah ben Nethina by name. The sages one day required goods
+to the value of sixty myriads, for which they were ready to pay the
+price, but the key of the store-room happened to be under the pillow of
+his father, who was fast asleep, and Dammah would not disturb him."
+Rabbi Eliezer was once asked the same question, and he gave the same
+answer, adding an interesting fact to the illustration: "The sages were
+seeking after precious stones for the high priest's breastplate, to the
+value of some sixty or eighty myriads of golden denarii, but the key of
+the jewel-chest happened to be under the pillow of his father, who was
+asleep at the time, and he would not wake him. In the following year,
+however, the Holy One--blessed be He!--rewarded him with the birth of a
+red heifer among his herds, for which the sages readily paid him such a
+sum as compensated him fully for the loss he sustained in honoring his
+parent."
+
+_Kiddushin_, fol. 31, col. 1.
+
+"The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob" (Lam. ii. 2).
+Ravin came to Babylon and said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "These are
+the sixty myriads of cities which King Yannai (Jannnaeus) possessed on
+the royal mount. The population of each equalled the number that went up
+out of Egypt, except that of three cities in which that number was
+doubled. And these three cities were Caphar Bish (literally, the village
+of evil), so called because there was no hospice for the reception of
+strangers therein; Caphar Shichlaiim (village of water-cresses), so
+called because it was chiefly on that herb that the people subsisted;
+Caphar Dichraya (the village of male children), so called, says Rabbi
+Yochanan, because its women first gave birth to boys, and afterward to
+girls, and then left off bearing." Ulla said, "I have seen that place,
+and am sure that it could not hold sixty myriads of sticks." A Sadducee
+upon this said to Rabbi Chanina, "Ye do not speak the truth." The
+response was, "It is written (Jer. iii. 19), 'The inheritance of a
+deer,' as the skin of a deer, unoccupied by the body of the animal,
+shrinks, so also the land of Israel, unoccupied by its rightful owners,
+became contracted."
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 57, col. 1.
+
+Rabbi Yoshua, the son of Korcha, relates: "An aged inhabitant of
+Jerusalem once told me that in this valley two hundred and eleven
+thousand myriads were massacred by Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard,
+and in Jerusalem itself he slaughtered upon one stone ninety-four
+myriads, so that the blood flowed till it touched the blood of
+Zachariah, that it might be fulfilled which is said (Hos. ii. 4), 'And
+blood toucheth blood.' When he saw the blood of Zachariah, and noticed
+that it was boiling and agitated, he asked, 'What is this?' and he was
+told that it was the spilled blood of the sacrifices. Then he ordered
+blood from the sacrifices to be brought and compared it with the blood
+of the murdered prophet, when, finding the one unlike the other, he
+said, 'If ye tell me the truth, well and good; if not, I will comb your
+flesh with iron currycombs!' Upon this they confessed, 'He was a
+prophet, and because he rebuked us on matters of religion, we arose and
+killed him, and it is now some years since his blood has been in the
+restless condition in which thou seest it.' 'Well,' said he, 'I will
+pacify him.' He then brought the greater and lesser Sanhedrin and
+slaughtered them, but the blood of the prophet did not rest. He next
+slaughtered young men and maidens, but the blood continued restless as
+before. He finally brought school-children and slaughtered them, but the
+blood being still unpacified, he exclaimed, 'Zachariah! Zachariah! I
+have for thy sake killed the best among them; will it please thee if I
+kill them all?' As he said this the blood of the prophet stood still and
+quiescent. He then reasoned within himself thus, 'If the blood of one
+individual has brought about so great a punishment, how much greater
+will my punishment be for the slaughter of so many!' In short, he
+repented, fled from his house, and became a Jewish proselyte."
+
+_Gittin_, fol. 57, col. 2.
+
+    The same story is repeated in _Sanhedrin_, fol. 96, col. 2, with
+    some variations; notably this, among others, that it was because
+    the prophet prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem that they
+    put him to death.
+
+(Gen, xxvii. 2), "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the
+hands of Esau." The first-named "voice" alludes to the voice of
+lamentation caused by Hadrian, who had at Alexandria in Egypt massacred
+twice the number of Jews that had come forth under Moses. The "voice of
+Jacob" refers to a similar lamentation occasioned by Vespasian, who put
+to death in the city of Byther four hundred myriads, or, as some say,
+four thousand myriads. "The hands are the hands of Esau," that is, the
+empire which destroyed our house, burned our Temple, and banished us
+from our country. Or the "voice of Jacob" means that there is no
+effectual prayer that is not offered up by the progeny of Jacob; and
+"the hands are the hands of Esau," that there is no victorious battle
+which is not fought by the descendants of Esau.
+
+Ibid.
+
+Tamar and Zimri both committed fornication. The former (actuated by a
+good motive, see Gen. xxxviii. 26) became the ancestress of kings and
+prophets. The latter brought about the destruction of myriads in Israel.
+Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says, "To do evil from a good motive is better
+than observing the law from a bad one" (e.g., Tamar and Zimri, Lot and
+his daughters).
+
+_Nazir_, fol. 23, col. 2.
+
+The Rabbis have taught that the text, "And when it rested, he said,
+Return, O Lord, to the myriads and thousands of Israel" (Num. x. 36),
+intimates that the Shechinah does not rest upon less than two myriads
+and two thousands (two being the minimum plurality). Suppose one of the
+twenty-two thousand neglect the duty of procreation, is he not the cause
+of the Shechinah's departure from Israel?
+
+_Yevamoth_, fol. 64, col. 1.
+
+"And place over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds,
+and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens" (Exod. xviii. 21). The rulers
+of thousands were six hundred in number, the rulers of hundreds six
+thousand, of fifties twelve thousand, and rulers of tens six myriads.
+The total number of rulers in Israel, therefore, was seven myriad eight
+thousand six hundred.
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 18, col. 1.
+
+Once upon a time the people of Egypt appeared before Alexander of
+Macedon to complain of Israel. "It is said (Exod. xii. 36), they argued,
+'The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that
+they lent unto them,' etc.;" and they prayed, "Give us now back the gold
+and the silver that ye took from us." Givia ben Pesisa said to the wise
+men (of Israel), "Give me permission to plead against them before
+Alexander. If they overcome me, say, 'You have overcome a plebeian
+only,' but if I overcome them, say, 'The law of Moses our master has
+triumphed over you.'" They accordingly gave him leave, and he went and
+argued thus, "Whence do ye produce your proof?" "From the law," said
+they. Then said he, "I will bring no other evidence but from the law. It
+is said (Exod. xii. 40), 'The sojourning of the children of Israel, who
+dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.' Pay us now the
+usufruct of the labor of the sixty myriads whom ye enslaved in Egypt for
+four hundred and thirty years." Alexander gave the Egyptians three days'
+grace to prepare a reply, but they never put in an appearance. In fact,
+they fled away and left both their fields and vineyards.
+
+Ibid., fol. 91, col. 1.
+
+"And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you" (Exod.
+xviii. 10). A tradition says, in the name of Rabbi Papyes, "Shame upon
+Moses and upon the sixty myriads (of Israel), because they had not said,
+'Blessed be the Lord,' till Jethro came and set the example."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 94, col. 1.
+
+"And let him dip his foot in oil" (Deut. xxxiii. 24), the Rabbis say,
+refers to the portion of Asher, which produces oil like a well. Once on
+a time, they relate, the Laodiceans sent an agent to Jerusalem with
+instructions to purchase a hundred myriads' worth of oil. He proceeded
+first to Tyre, and thence to Gush-halab, where he met with the oil
+merchant earthing up his olive trees, and asked him whether he could
+supply a hundred myriads' worth of oil. "Stop till I have finished my
+work," was the reply. The other, when he saw the business-like way in
+which he set to work, could not help incredulously exclaiming, "What!
+hast thou really a hundred myriads' worth of oil to sell? Surely the
+Jews have meant to make game of me." However he went to the house with
+the oil merchant, where a female slave brought hot water for him to wash
+his hands and feet, and a golden bowl of oil to dip them in afterward,
+thus fulfilling Deut. xxxiii. 24 to the very letter. After they had
+eaten together, the merchant measured out to him the hundred myriads'
+worth of oil, and then asked whether he would purchase more from him.
+"Yes," said the agent, "but I have no more money here with me." "Never
+mind," said the merchant; "buy it and I will go with thee to thy home
+for the money." Then he measured out eighteen myriads' worth more. It is
+said that he hired every horse, mule, camel, and ass he could find in
+all Israel to carry the oil, and that on nearing his city the people
+turned out to meet him and compliment him for the service he had done
+them. "Don't praise me," said the agent, "but this, my companion, to
+whom I owe eighteen myriads." This, says the narrator, illustrates what
+is said (Prov. xiii. 7), "There is that maketh himself (appear to be)
+rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath
+great riches."
+
+_Menachoth_, fol. 85, col. 2.
+
+
+
+
+THE MIDRASHIM
+
+
+"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the Aggadah, as explained in the
+Midrashim"
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTORY NOTE
+
+
+The Midrashim are ancient Rabbinical expositions of Holy Writ. The term
+Midrash (of which Midrashim is the plural form) occurs twice in the
+Hebrew Bible (2 Chron. xiii. 22, and xxiv. 27); and in both passages it
+is represented in the Anglican version by the word "story," while the
+more correct translation, "commentary," is relegated to the margin.
+"Legendary exposition" best expresses the full meaning of the word
+Midrash.
+
+The Midrashim, for the most part, originated in a praiseworthy desire to
+familiarize the people with Holy Writ, which had, in consequence of
+changes in the vernacular, become to them, in the course of time, almost
+a dead letter. These Midrashim have little or nothing to do with the
+Halachoth or legal decisions of the Talmud, except in aim, which is that
+of illustration and explanation. They are not literal interpretations,
+but figurative and allegorical, and as such enigmatic. They are,
+however, to be received as utterances of the sages, and some even regard
+them of as binding obligation as the law of Moses itself. The following
+are fairly representative extracts.
+
+
+
+
+THE MIDRASHIM
+
+
+The name of Abraham always precedes those of Isaac and Jacob except in
+one place (Lev. xxvi. 42), where it is said, "And I will remember my
+covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my
+covenant with Abraham will I remember;" and thus we learn that all were
+of equal importance.
+
+_Midrash Rabbah_, Gen. chap. 1.
+
+    In the Selichoth for the Day of Atonement the above reversal of
+    the usual order of the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is
+    thus referred to: "The first covenant Thou didst exalt, and the
+    order of the contracting parties to it Thou hast reversed."
+
+Abraham deserved to have been created before Adam, but the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--said, "Should he pervert things as I make them,
+then there will be no one to rectify them; so behold I will create Adam
+first, and if he should make things crooked, then Abraham following him
+will make them straight again."
+
+Ibid., chap. 14.
+
+Abram was called Abraham, and Isaac was also called Abraham; as it is
+written (Gen. xxv. 19), "Isaac, Abraham's son, Abraham."
+
+Ibid., chap. 63.
+
+"And he lay down in that place" (Gen. xxviii. 11). Rabbi Yuda said,
+"There he lay down, but he did not lie down during all the fourteen
+years he was hid in the house of Eber." Rabbi Nehemiah said, "There he
+lay down, but he did not lie down all the twenty years in which he stood
+in the house of Laban."
+
+Ibid., chap. 68.
+
+Vayash Kihu, "And kissed him" (Gen. xxxiii. 4), Rabbi Yanai asks, "Why
+is this word (in the original Hebrew) so pointed?" "It is to teach that
+Esau did not come to kiss him, but to bite him; only the neck of Jacob
+our father became as hard as marble, and this blunted the teeth of the
+wicked one." "And what is taught by the expression 'And they wept'?"
+"The one wept for his neck and the other for his teeth."
+
+_Midrash Rabbah_, chap. 78.
+
+    Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai in Sifri deliberately controverts this
+    interpretation, and Aben Ezra says it is an "exposition fit only
+    for children."
+
+Esau said, "I will not kill my brother Jacob with bow and arrow, but
+with my mouth I will suck his blood," as it is said (Gen. xxxiii. 4),
+"And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and they
+wept." Read not "and he kissed him," but read, "and he bit him." The
+neck of Jacob, however, became as hard as ivory, and it is respecting
+him that Scripture says (Cant. vii. 5), "Thy neck is as a tower of
+ivory,"--so that the teeth of Esau became blunted; and when he saw that
+his desire could not be gratified, he began to be angry, and gnashed his
+teeth, as it is said (Ps. cxii. 10), "The wicked shall see it and be
+grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth."
+
+_Pirke d'Rab. Eliezer_, chap. 36.
+
+    See also the previous quotation from the Midrash Rabbah. The
+    Targum of Jonathan and also the Yerushalmi record the same
+    fantastic tradition. In the latter it is given thus, "And Esau
+    ran to meet him, and hugged him, and fell upon his neck and
+    kissed him. Esau wept for the crushing of his teeth, and Jacob
+    wept for the tenderness of his neck."
+
+Abraham made a covenant with the people of the land, and when the angels
+presented themselves to him, he thought they were mere wayfarers, and he
+ran to meet them, purposing to make a banquet for them. This banquet he
+told Sarah to get prepared, just as she was kneading cakes. For this
+reason he did not offer them the cakes which she had made, but "ran to
+fetch a calf, tender and good." The calf in trepidation ran away from
+him and hid itself in the cave of Machpelah, into which he followed it.
+Here he found Adam and Eve fast asleep, with lamps burning over their
+couches, and the place pervaded with a sweet-smelling odor. Hence the
+fancy he took to the cave of Machpelah for a "possession of a
+burying-place."
+
+Ibid.
+
+Shechem, the son of Hamor, assembled girls together playing on
+tambourines outside the tent of Dinah, and when she "went out to see
+them," he carried her off, ... and she bare him Osenath. The sons of
+Jacob wished to kill her, lest the people of the land should begin to
+talk scandal of the house of their father. Jacob, however, engraved the
+holy Name on a metal plate, suspended it upon her neck, and sent her
+away. All this being observed before the Holy One--blessed be He!--the
+angel Michael was sent down, who led her to Egypt, into the house of
+Potipherah; for Osenath was worthy to become the wife of Joseph.
+
+_Pirke d'Rab. Eliezer_, chap. 48.
+
+    In Yalkut Yehoshua 9, Osenath is styled a proselyte; and indeed
+    it might seem likely enough that Joseph induced her to worship
+    the true God. The Targum of Jonathan agrees with the version of
+    the Midrash above, while another tradition makes Joseph marry
+    Zuleika, the virgin widow of Potiphar, and says that she was the
+    same woman that is called Osenath (_Koran_, note to p. 193).
+
+When Joseph's brethren recognized him, and were about to kill him, an
+angel came down and dispersed them to the four corners of the house.
+Then Judah screamed with such a loud voice that all the walls of Egypt
+were leveled with the dust, all the beasts were smitten to the ground,
+and Joseph and Pharaoh, their teeth having fallen out, were cast down
+from their thrones; while all the men that stood before Joseph had their
+heads twisted round with their faces toward their backs, and so they
+remained till the day of their death; as it is said (Job iv. 10), "The
+roaring of the lion (Judah), and the voice of the fierce lion," etc.
+
+_Vayegash_, chap. 5.
+
+The tradition of a legend in our possession says that Judah killed Esau.
+When? When Isaac died, Jacob and (the chiefs of) the twelve clans went
+to bury him; as it is written (Gen. xxxv. 29), "And his sons Esau and
+Jacob buried him." In the Midrash it is, "And Esau and Jacob and his
+sons buried him," which fits the legend better. Arrived at the cave,
+they entered it, and they stood and wept. The (heads of the) tribes, out
+of respect to Jacob, left the cave, that Jacob might not be put to shame
+in their presence. Judah re-entered it, and finding Esau risen up as if
+about to murder Jacob, he instantly went behind him and killed him. But
+why did he not kill him from the front? Because the physiognomy of Esau
+was exactly like that of Jacob, and it was out of respect to the latter
+that he slew Esau from behind.
+
+_Midrash Shochar Tov_, chap. 18.
+
+    Tradition varies respecting the tragic end of Esau. The Book of
+    Jasher (chap. 56, v. 64) and the Targum of Jonathan (in Vayechi)
+    both say that Cushim the son of Dan slew Esau at the burial, not
+    of Isaac, but of Jacob, because he sought to hinder the funeral
+    obsequies, disputing the title to the sepulchre.
+
+"Oh, that I had wings like a dove! for then I would fly away, and be at
+rest" (Ps. lv. 6). This is spoken of Abraham. But why like a dove? Rabbi
+Azariah, in the name of Rabbi Yudan, says, "Because all birds when tired
+rest on a rock or on a tree, but a dove, when tired of flying, draws in
+one wing to rest it, and continues her flight with the other."
+
+_Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 39.
+
+The Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto Abraham, "What should I tell
+thee? and with what shall I bless thee? Shall I tell thee to be
+perfectly righteous, or that thy wife Sarah be righteous before me? That
+ye both are already. Or shall I say that thy children shall be
+righteous? They are so already. But I will bless thee so that all thy
+children which shall in future ages come forth from thee shall be just
+like thee." Whence do we learn this? From Gen xv. 5: "And he said unto
+him, So (like thee) shall thy seed be."
+
+_Bamidbar Rabbah_, chap. 2.
+
+"Every man ... by his own standard" (Num. ii. 2). The several princes of
+Israel selected the colors for their banners from the color of the
+stones that were upon the breastplate of Aaron. From them other princes
+have learned to adorn their standards with different distinguishing
+colors. Reuben had his flag red, and leaves of mandrakes upon it.
+Issachar had his flag blue, and the sun and moon upon it. Naphtali had
+on his flag an olive tree, for this reason that (Gen. xlix. 20) "Out of
+Asher his bread shall be fat."
+
+Ibid., chap. 7.
+
+"And Abraham rose up early and saddled his ass" (Gen. xxii. 3). This is
+the ass on which Moses also rode when he came into Egypt; for it is said
+(Exod. iv. 20), "And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon
+an ass." This is the ass on which the Son of David also shall ride; as
+it is said (Zech, ix. 9), "Poor, and riding upon an ass."
+
+_Pirke d'Rab. Eliezer_, chap. 31.
+
+    In the morning service for Yom Kippur, there is an allusion to
+    the Scripture passage with which our quotation opens. It is said
+    that Abraham in "his great joy perverted the usual order," which
+    a footnote explains thus--"In the greatness of his joy, that he
+    had thus an opportunity of showing his obedience to God, he set
+    aside the usual order of things, which was that the servant
+    should saddle the ass, and saddled the ass himself, as mentioned
+    Gen. xxii. 3." The animal referred to in the above remarks is
+    spoken of in Sanhedrin, fol. 98, col. 1, as being of a hundred
+    colors.
+
+When Joseph saw the signs of Judah's anger, he began to tremble, and
+said (to himself), "Woe is me, for he may kill me!" And what were these
+signs? Tears of blood rolling down from Judah's right eye, and the hair
+that grew on his chest rising and penetrating through the five garments
+that he wore. Joseph then kicked the marble seat on which he was
+sitting, so that it was instantly shattered into fragments. Upon this
+Judah observed, "He is a mighty man, like one of us."
+
+_Yalkut Vayegash._
+
+Abraham married three wives--Sarah, a daughter of Shem; Keturah, a
+daughter of Japheth; and Hagar, a daughter of Ham.
+
+_Yalkut, Job_, chap. 8.
+
+    Rashi supposes that Keturah was one and the same with Hagar--so
+    the Midrash, the Targum Yerushalmi, and that of Jonathan. The
+    latter says, "Keturah, she is Hagar, who had been bound to him
+    from the beginning," but Aben Ezra and most of the commentators
+    contend that Keturah and Hagar are two distinct persons, and the
+    use of the plural concubines, in verse 6, bears them out in this
+    assertion.
+
+The Holy One--blessed be He!--daily proclaims a new law in the heavenly
+court, and even all these were known to Abraham.
+
+Ibid., chap. 37.
+
+A Gentile once asked Rabbi Yoshua ben Kapara, "Is it true that ye say
+your God sees the future?" "Yes," was the reply. "Then how is it that it
+is written (Gen. vi. 6), 'And it grieved Him at His heart'?" "Hast
+thou," replied the Rabbi, "ever had a boy born to thee?" "Yes," said the
+Gentile; "and I rejoiced and made others rejoice with me." "Didst thou
+not know that he would eventually die?" asked the Rabbi. "Yes," answered
+the other; "but at the time of joy is joy, and at the time of mourning,
+mourning." "So it is before the Holy One--blessed be He!--seven days He
+mourned before the deluge destroyed the world."
+
+_Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 27.
+
+All the strength of the soul's mourning is from the third to the
+thirtieth day, during which time she sits on the grave, still thinking
+her beloved might yet return (to the body whence she departed). When she
+notices that the color of the face is changed, she leaves and goes away;
+and this is what is written (Job. xiv. 22), "But his flesh upon him
+shall have pain, and his soul shall mourn over him." Then the mouth and
+the belly quarrel with one another, the former saying to the latter,
+"All I have robbed and taken by violence I deposited in thee;" and the
+latter, having burst three days after its burial, saying to the former,
+"There is all thou hast robbed and taken by violence! as it is written
+(Eccles. xii. 6), 'The pitcher is broken at the fountain.'"
+
+Ibid., chap. 100.
+
+Job said, "Even the devil shall not dissuade me from comforting those
+that mourn; for I would tell him that I am not better than my Creator,
+who comforts Israel; as it is said (Isa. li. 12), 'I, even I, am He that
+comforteth you.'"
+
+_Psikta Nachmu._
+
+Once Rabbi Shimon ben Yehozedek addressed Rabbi Sh'muel ben Nachman and
+said, "I hear that thou art a Baal Aggadah; canst thou therefore tell me
+whence the light was created?" "We learn," he replied in a whisper,
+"that God wrapped Himself with light as with a garment, and He has
+caused the splendor thereof to shine from one end of the world to the
+other." The other said, "Why whisperest thou, I wonder, since Scripture
+says so plainly (Ps. civ. 2) 'Who covereth Himself with light as with a
+garment'?" The reply was, "I heard it in a whisper, and in a whisper I
+have told it to thee."
+
+_Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 3.
+
+"As the tents of Kedar" (Cant. i. 5). As the tents of the Ishmaelites
+are ugly without and comely within, so also the disciples of the wise,
+though apparently wanting in beauty, are nevertheless full of Scripture,
+and of the Mishnah and of the Talmud, of the Halacha and of the
+Aggadoth.
+
+_Shemoth Rabbah_, chap. 23.
+
+"Write thou these words" (Exod. xxxiv. 37). That applies to the Law, the
+Prophets, and the Hagiographa, which were given in writing, but not to
+the Halachoth, the Midrashim, the Aggadoth, and the Talmud, which were
+given by the mouth.
+
+Ibid., chap. 47.
+
+Rabbi Samlai said to Rabbi Yonathan, "Instruct me in the Aggada." The
+latter replied, "We have a tradition from our forefathers not to
+instruct either a Babylonian or a Daromean in the Aggada, for though
+they are deficient in knowledge they are haughty in spirit."
+
+_Tal. Yerushalmi P'sachim_, v. fol. 32, col. 1.
+
+He who transcribes the Aggada has no portion in the world to come; he
+who expounds it is excommunicated; and he who listens to the exposition
+of it shall receive no reward.
+
+_Tal. Yerushalmi P'sachim, Shabbath_, xvi. fol. 30, col. 2.
+
+"Day unto day uttereth speech" (Ps. xix. 2, 3, 4); this means the Law,
+the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. "And night unto night showeth
+knowledge;" this is the Mishnaioth. "There is no speech or language
+where their voice is not heard;" these are the Halachoth. "Their line is
+gone out through all the earth;" these are the Aggadoth, by which His
+great name is sanctified.
+
+_T. debei Aliahu_, chap. 2.
+
+Rabbi Yeremiah, the son of Elazar, said, "When the Holy One--blessed be
+He!--created Adam, He created him an androgyne, for it is written (Gen.
+v. 2), 'Male and female created He them.'" Rabbi Sh'muel bar Nachman
+said, "When the Holy One--blessed be He!--created Adam, He created him
+with two faces; then He sawed him asunder, and split him (in two),
+making one back to the one-half, and another to the other."
+
+_Midrash Rabbah_, chap. 8.
+
+"And it repented the Lord that He had made man (Adam) on the earth, and
+it grieved Him at His heart" (Gen. vi. 6). Rabbi Berachiah says that
+when God was about to create Adam, He foresaw that both righteous people
+and wicked people would come forth from him. He reasoned therefore with
+Himself thus: "If I create him, then will the wicked proceed from him;
+but if I do not create him, how then shall the righteous come forth?"
+What then did God do? He separated the ways of the wicked from before
+Him, and assuming the attribute of mercy, so He created him. This
+explains what is written (Ps. i. 6), "For the Lord knoweth the way of
+the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall be lost." The way of the
+wicked was lost before Him, but assuming to Himself the attribute of
+mercy, He created him. Rabbi Chanina says, "It was not so! But when God
+was about to create Adam, He consulted the ministering angels and said
+unto them (Gen. i. 26), 'Shall we make man in our image after our
+likeness?' They replied, 'For what good wilt thou create him?' He
+responded, 'That the righteous may rise out of him.' This explains what
+is written, 'For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way
+of the wicked shall be lost.' God informed them only about the
+righteous, but He said nothing about the wicked, otherwise the
+ministering angels would not have given their consent that man should be
+created."
+
+_Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 8.
+
+Rabbi Hoshaiah said, "When God created Adam the ministering angels
+mistook him for a divine being, and were about to say, 'Holy! holy!
+holy!' before him. But God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, so
+that all knew he was only a man. This explains what is written (Isa. ii.
+22), 'Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is
+he to be accounted of'?"
+
+Ibid.
+
+Rabbi Yochanan saith, "Adam and Eve seemed as if they were about twenty
+years old when they were created."
+
+Ibid., chap. 14.
+
+Rav Acha said when God was about to create Adam He consulted the
+ministering angels, and asked them, saying, "Shall we make man?" They
+enquired, "Of what good will this man be?" He replied, "His wisdom will
+be greater than yours." One day, therefore, He brought together the
+cattle, the beasts, and the birds, and asked them the name of them
+severally, but they knew not. He then caused them to pass before Adam,
+and asked him, "What is the name of this and the other?" Then Adam
+replied, "This is an ox, this is an ass," and so on. "And thou, why is
+thy name Adam?" (i.e. in Hebrew, man). "I ought to be called Adam," was
+his reply, "for I was created from Adamah" (the ground). "And what is My
+name?" "It is meet Thou shouldst be called Lord, for Thou art Lord over
+all Thy creatures." Rav Acha says, "'I am the Lord, that is My name'
+(Isa. xlii. 8). 'That is My name which Adam called Me.'"
+
+_Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 17.
+
+Rabba Eliezer says Adam was skilled in all manner of crafts. What proof
+is there of this? It is said (Isa. xliv. 11), "And the artisans, they
+are of Adam."
+
+Ibid., chap. 24.
+
+"And the Lord said, I will destroy man" (Gen. vi. 7). Rabbi Levi, in the
+name of Rabbi Yochanan, says that even millstones were destroyed. Rabbi
+Yuda, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, declares even the very dust of Adam
+was destroyed. Rabbi Yuda, in the name of Rabbi Shimon, insists that
+even the (resurrection) bone of the spine, from which God will one day
+cause man to sprout forth again, was destroyed.
+
+Ibid., chap. 28.
+
+    Concerning the bone, the _os coccygis_, there is an interesting
+    story in Midrash Kohelet (fol. 114, 3), which may be
+    appropriately inserted here. Hadrian (whose bones may they be
+    ground, and his name blotted out) once asked Rabbi Joshua ben
+    Chanania, "From what shall the human frame be reconstructed when
+    it rises again?" "From Luz in the backbone," was the answer.
+    "Prove this to me," said Hadrian. Then the Rabbi took Luz, a
+    small bone of the spine, and immersed it in water, but it was
+    not softened; he put it into the fire, but it was not consumed;
+    he put it into a mill, but it could not be pounded; he placed it
+    upon an anvil and struck it with a hammer, but the anvil split
+    and the hammer was broken. (See also Zohar in "Genesis," 206,
+    etc. etc.)
+
+"A window shalt thou make to the ark" (Gen. vi. 16). Rabbi Amma says,
+"It was a real window." Rabbi Levi, on the other hand, maintained that
+it was a precious stone, and that during the twelve months Noah was in
+the ark he had no need of the light of the sun by day nor of the moon by
+night because of that stone, which he had kept suspended, and he knew
+that it was day when it was dim, and night when it sparkled.
+
+_Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 31.
+
+    The transparency, ascribed to the ark, has given rise to various
+    conjectures. The idea of Rabbi Levi, that it was a precious
+    stone, has the sanction of the Targum of Jonathan; which
+    volunteers the additional information that the gem was found in
+    the river Pison.
+
+Noah was deficient in faith, for he did not enter the ark till the water
+was up to his ankles.
+
+Ibid., chap. 32.
+
+"And he sent forth a raven" (Gen. viii. 7). The raven remonstrated,
+remarking, "From all the cattle, beasts, and fowls thou sendest none but
+me." "What need has the world for thee?" retorted Noah; "thou art good
+neither for food nor for sacrifice." Rabbi Eliezer says God ordered Noah
+to receive the raven, as the world would one day be in need of him.
+"When?" asked Noah. "When the waters are dried up from off the earth,
+there will in a time to come arise a certain righteous man who shall dry
+up the world, and then I shall want it." This explains what is written
+(1 Kings xvii. 6), "And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the
+morning."
+
+Ibid., chap. 33.
+
+At the time God said to the serpent, "Upon thy belly thou shalt go"
+(Gen. iii. 14), the ministering angels descended and lopped off his
+hands and his feet. Then his voice was heard from one end of the world
+to the other.
+
+_Bereshith Midrash Rabbah_, chap. 20.
+
+When God said to the serpent, "And upon thy belly thou shalt go" (Gen.
+iii. 14), the serpent replied, "Lord of the universe! if this be Thy
+will, then I shall be as a fish of the sea without feet." But when God
+said to him, "And dust shalt thou eat," he replied, "If fish eat dust,
+then I also will eat it." Then God seized hold of the serpent and tore
+his tongue in two, and said, "O thou wicked one! thou hast commenced (to
+sin) with thy evil tongue; thus I will proclaim it to all that come into
+the world that it was thy tongue that caused thee all this."
+
+_Letters of Rabbi Akiva._
+
+"And Noah only remained" (Gen. vii. 23), except Og, king of Bashan, who
+sat on a beam of the ladders (which projected from the ark), and swore
+to Noah and his sons that he would be their slave forever. Noah made a
+hole in the ark through which he handed to Og his daily food. Thus he
+also remained, as it is said (Deut. iii. 11), "For only Og, king of
+Bashan, remained."
+
+_Pirke d'Rab. Eliezer_, chap. 23.
+
+"Unto Adam and his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins" (Gen. iii.
+21), viz, to cover their nakedness; but with what? With fringes and
+phylacteries, "Coats of skins," viz, the leathern straps of the
+phylacteries; "and they sewed fig-leaves" (Gen. iii. 7), viz, fringes;
+"and made themselves aprons," this means the proclaiming of the Shema,
+"Hear, O Israel," etc.
+
+_Yalkut Chadash._
+
+    The aprons, which some (as Rashi, for instance) take to denote
+    furs, the Targum of Jonathan says were made "from the skin of
+    the serpent." The wardrobe of Adam afterward came into the
+    possession of Esau and Jacob (see Targ. Yon. in Toledoth, and p.
+    199, No. 161, _ante_).
+
+All the presents which our father Jacob gave to Esau will one day be
+returned by the nations of the world to the Messiah, and the proof of
+this is (Ps. lxxii. 10), "The kings of Tarshish and the isles shall
+return presents." It is not written here, "They shall bring," but they
+shall restore or return.
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Vayishlach_, chap. 78.
+
+A philosopher once posed Rabbi Eliezer with the question, "Does not the
+prophet say (Mal. i. 4), 'They shall build, but I will throw down'? and
+do not buildings still exist?" To which the Rabbi answered, "The prophet
+does not speak of buildings, but of the schemes of designers. Ye all
+think to contrive and build up devices, to destroy and make an end of
+us, but He bringeth your counsels to nought. He throweth them down, so
+that your devices against us have no effect." "By thy life," said the
+philosopher, "it is even so; we meet annually for the purpose of
+compassing your ruin, but a certain old man comes and upsets all your
+projects" (namely, Elijah).
+
+_Yalkut Malachi._
+
+When Israel came out of Egypt, Samael rose to accuse them, and thus he
+spoke: "Lord of the Universe! these have till now worshiped idols, and
+art Thou going to divide the sea for such as they?" What did the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--then do? Job, one of Pharaoh's high counselors, of
+whom it is written (Job i. 1), "That man was perfect and upright," He
+took and delivered to Samael, saying, as He did so, "Behold, he is in
+thy hand; do with him as thou pleasest." God thought to divert his evil
+designs by keeping him thus occupied with Job, that Israel meanwhile
+might cross the sea without any hindrance, after which He would return
+and rescue Job from his tender mercies. God then said to Moses, "Behold
+I have delivered Job to Satan; make haste. Speak unto the children of
+Israel that they go forward" (Exod. xiv. 15).
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Shemoth_, chap. 21.
+
+No man ever received a mite (in charity) from Job, and needed to receive
+such a second time (because of the good-luck it brought along with it).
+
+Ibid.
+
+    A superstitious belief prevails to some extent in Poland, among
+    the Christian population as well as the Jews, that coins
+    obtained in certain circumstances bring luck apart altogether
+    from any virtue they may be supposed to convey from the giver. A
+    penny obtained, for instance, the first thing in the morning, by
+    stumbling on it in the street, by the sale of an article in the
+    market, or by gift of charity, is considered to bode luck, and
+    cherished as a pledge of good fortune by being slightly spat
+    upon several times on receipt, and then carefully stowed away,
+    for a longer or shorter period, in some safe sanctum. Job was
+    the luckiest man that ever lived; his very goats even were so
+    lucky as to kill the wolves that came to devour them; and a
+    beggar, as we see, who received a mite from his hands, never
+    needed afterward to beg an alms from him again. (See "Genesis
+    according to the Talmud," p. 288, No. 16.)
+
+"And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, etc.; for ye showed
+kindness to all the children of Israel" (1 Sam. xv. 6). And did they
+show kindness to all the children of Israel? No; but what is written is
+to teach that he who receives a disciple of the wise as a guest into his
+house, and gives him to eat and to drink, is as if he had shown kindness
+to all the children of Israel.
+
+_Midrash Sh'muel_, chap. 18.
+
+Rabbi Levi says, "When Solomon introduced the ark into the Temple, all
+the woodwork thereof freshened with sap and began to yield fruit, as it
+is said (Ps. xcii. 13), 'Those that be planted in the house of the Lord
+shall flourish in the courts of our God.' And thus it continued to bear
+fruit, which abundantly supplied the juveniles of the priestly caste
+till the time of Manasseh; but he, by introducing an image into the
+Temple, caused the Shechinah to depart and the fruit to wither; as it is
+said (Nah. i. 4), 'And the flower of Lebanon languisheth.'"
+
+_Midrash Tillin Terumah._
+
+The land of Israel is situated in the centre of the world, and Jerusalem
+in the centre of the land of Israel, and the Temple in the centre of
+Jerusalem, and the Holy of holies in the centre of the Temple, and the
+foundation-stone on which the world was grounded, is situated in front
+of the ark.
+
+_Midrash Tillin Terumah, Kedoshim._
+
+    In Ezek. v. 5 we read, "I have set Jerusalem in the midst of the
+    nations and countries that are round about her." On the literal
+    interpretation of these words it was asserted that Jerusalem was
+    the very centre of the world, or, as Jerome quaintly called it,
+    "the navel of the earth." In the Talmud we find a beautiful
+    metaphor in illustration of this view. It is in the last six
+    lines of the ninth chapter of Derech Eretz Zuta, which read
+    thus: "Issi ben Yochanan, in the name of Shemuel Hakaton, says,
+    'The world is like the eyeball of man; the white is the ocean
+    which surrounds the world, the black is the world itself, the
+    pupil is Jerusalem, and the image in the pupil is the Temple.
+    May it be built in our own days, and in the days of all Israel!
+    Amen!'" The memory of this conceit is kept alive to this day
+    among the Greek Christians, who still show the sacred stone in
+    the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. This notion is
+    not confined to Jewry. Classic readers will at once call to mind
+    the appellation Omphalos or navel applied to the temple at
+    Delphi (Pindar, Pyth., iv. 131, vi. 3; Eurip. Ion., 461; AEsch.
+    Choeph., 1034; Eum. 40, 167; Strabo, etc.).
+
+Two sparks issued from between the two cherubim and destroyed the
+serpents and scorpions and burned the thorns in the wilderness. The
+smoke thereof, rising and spreading, perfumed the world, so that the
+nations said (Cant. iii. 6), "Who is this that cometh out of the
+wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed," etc.
+
+_Ibid., Vayakhel._
+
+Better to lodge in the wilderness of the land of Israel than dwell in
+the palaces outside of it.
+
+_Midrash Rabbah_, chap. 39.
+
+"And give thee a pleasant land" (a coveted land) (Jer. iii. 19). Why is
+it called a coveted land? Because the Temple was in it. Another reason
+why it was so called is, because the fathers of the world have coveted
+it. Rabbi Shimon ben Levi says, "Because they (who are buried) there
+will be the first to be raised in the days of the Messiah."
+
+_Shemoth Rabbah_, chap. 32.
+
+"When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as He hath promised
+thee" (Deut. xii. 20). Rabbi Yitzchak said, "This scroll no man knows
+how long and how broad it is, but when unrolled it speaks for itself,
+and shows how large it is. It is so with the land of Israel, which, for
+the most part, consists of hills and mountains; but when the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--shall level it, as it is said (Isa. xl. 4), 'Every
+valley shall be raised and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
+and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth,'
+then shall that land speak, as it were, for herself, and its extent
+stand revealed."
+
+_Devarim Rabbah_, chap. 4.
+
+Blessed are they who dwell in the land of Israel, for they have no sin,
+no iniquity, either in their lives or in their deaths.
+
+_Midrash Shochar Tov on Ps. lxxxv._
+
+"Better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith" (Prov. xvii. 1). This,
+saith Rabbi, means the land of Israel, for even if a man have nothing
+but bread and salt to eat, yet if he dwells in the land of Israel he is
+sure that he is a son of the world to come. "Than a house full of
+sacrifices with strife." This means the outside of the land, which is
+full of robbery and violence. Rabbi Y---- says, "He who walks but an
+hour in the land of Israel, and then dies within it may feel assured
+that he is a son of the world to come; for it is written (Deut. xxxii.
+43), 'And his earth shall atone for his people.'"
+
+_Midrash Mishle._
+
+    See also the Talmud, Kethuboth, fol. 111, col. 1. Dr. Benisch
+    renders "and make expiation for His ground and His people." The
+    Targums of Jonathan and the Yerushalmi have, "He will make
+    atonement for His land and for His people;" and Onkelos puts it
+    thus, "He will show mercy unto His land and His people." Our
+    rendering, however, is in accordance with the sense given to it
+    in the Talmud. There are Jews who travel about the world with
+    bags of earth from the Holy Land, which they sell in small
+    quantities for high prices to such as can afford it, and believe
+    in its virtue as a protection against the worms of the grave.
+
+Jerusalem is the light of the world; as it is said, "And the Gentiles
+shall come to Thy light" (Isa. lx. 3). And the light of Jerusalem is the
+Holy One--blessed be He!--as it is written, but "the Lord shall be unto
+thee an everlasting light" (Isa. Ix. 19).
+
+_Bereshith Rabbah_, chap. 59.
+
+Ten portions of wisdom, ten portions of the law, and ten portions of
+hypocrisy are in the world; nine portions of each are in the land of
+Israel and one outside of it.
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Esther._
+
+"And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from
+one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith
+the Lord" (Isa. lxvi. 23). But how is it possible that all flesh shall
+come every new moon and Sabbath to Jerusalem? Rabbi Levi saith, "In the
+future Jerusalem will be as the land of Israel, and the land of Israel
+will be as the whole world." But how will they come from the end of the
+world every new moon and Sabbath? "The clouds will come and carry them
+and bring them to Jerusalem, where they will perform their morning
+prayer, and will carry them back to their several homes; and this is the
+meaning of the prophet's saying (Isa. Ix. 8), 'Who are these that fly as
+a cloud (in the morning), and as the doves to their windows (in the
+evening)?'"
+
+_Pesikta._
+
+"He stood and measured the earth" (Hab. iii. 6). Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai
+expounded "He stood and measured" thus: "The Holy One--blessed be
+He!--measured all the nations, and He found none worthy to receive the
+law except the generation in the wilderness. He measured all the
+mountains, and He found none on which to give the law except Mount
+Sinai. He measured all cities, and found none in which to build the
+Temple except Jerusalem. He measured all lands, and found none worthy to
+be given unto Israel except the one now called the land of Israel. This
+it is that is written, 'He stood up and measured the earth.'"
+
+_Vayekra Rabbah_, chap. 13.
+
+"I went down to the bottoms of the mountains" (Jonah ii. 6). From this
+we learn that Jerusalem is situated on seven hills. The world's
+"foundation-stone" sank to "the depths" under the Temple of the Lord,
+and upon this the sons of Korah stand and pray. (They) pointed this out
+to Jonah. The fish said unto him, "Jonah, behold thou art standing under
+the Temple of the Lord; therefore pray, and thou shalt be answered."
+
+_Pirke d'Rab. Eliezer_, chap. 10.
+
+"And there went out fire from the Lord" (Lev. x. 2). Abba Yossi saith,
+"Two threads of fire came out from the Holy of holies, and these were
+disparted into four: two entered the nostrils of the one (i.e., Nadab),
+and two entered the nostrils of the other (i.e., Abihu), and thus
+consumed them. Their souls were burned, but not their garments; for it
+is said, 'So they went near, and carried them in their coats'" (ver. 5).
+
+_Torath Cohanim_, sec. _Shemini_.
+
+Rabbi Jacob teaches that he who has no wife abideth without good,
+without help, without joy, without blessing or atonement, to which Rabbi
+Yehoshua ben Levi adds, (yea) also without peace or life. Rabbi Cheya
+says that he is not a perfect man, for it is said, "And blessed them and
+called their name man" (Gen. v. 2), where both are spoken of together as
+one man.
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Bereshith_, chap. 17.
+
+"My beloved is like a roe" (1 Cant. ii. 9). As a roe leaps and skips
+from bush to bush, from covert to covert, from hedge to hedge, so
+likewise does the Holy One--blessed be He!--pass from synagogue to
+synagogue, and from academy to academy, that He may bless Israel.
+
+_Pesikta._
+
+(Cant. v. 1), "I came into My garden," the synagogues and academies; "My
+sister, My spouse," the congregation of Israel; "I have gathered My
+myrrh with My spice," the Bible (that is); "I have eaten My honeycomb
+with My honey" (this means) the Halachoth, Midrashoth, and Aggadoth; "I
+have drank My wine with My milk," this alludes to the good works which
+are reserved for the sages of Israel. After that, "Eat, O friends!
+drink, yea, drink freely, O beloved!"
+
+_Yalkut Eliezer_, fol. 41, col. 2.
+
+When Solomon brought the ark into the Temple and said, "Lift up your
+heads, O ye gates! and the King of glory shall come in," the gates were
+ready to fall upon him and crush his head, and they would have done so
+if he had not said at once, "The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory"
+(Ps. xxiv. 9, 10). The Holy One--blessed be He!--then said to the gates,
+"Since ye have thus honored Me, by your lives! when I destroy My Temple,
+no man shall have dominion over you!" This was to inform us that while
+all the vessels of the Temple were carried into captivity, the gates of
+the Temple were stored away on the very spot where they were erected;
+for it is said (Lam. ii. 9), "Her gates are sunk into the ground."
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Devarim_, chap. 15.
+
+    We are reminded of this tradition in the conclusion service for
+    Yom Kippur, where we repeat, "Speedily thou shalt open the
+    hidden gates to those who hold fast Thy law." The allusion is to
+    "the gates of the Temple," which "are supposed to be sunk in the
+    ground."
+
+Rabbi Akiva once met on a journey a remarkably ugly man toiling along
+under a great load of wood. Rabbi Akiva said unto him, "I adjure thee to
+tell me whether thou art a man or a demon." "Rabbi," said he, "I was
+once a man, and it is now some time since I left the world. Day after
+day I have to carry a load like this, under which I am obliged to bow
+down, and submit three times a day to be burned." Then Rabbi Akiva asked
+him, "What was the reason of this punishment?" and the reply was, "I
+committed an immorality on the Day of Atonement." The Rabbi asked him if
+he knew of anything by which he might obtain for him a remission of his
+punishment. "I do," was the answer. "When a son whom I have left behind
+me is called up to the (public) reading of the law, and shall say,
+'Blessed be the blessed Lord,' I shall be drawn out of hell and taken
+into Paradise." The Rabbi noted down the name of the man and his
+dwelling-place, whither he afterward went and made inquiries about him.
+The people of the place only replied, "The name of the wicked shall rot"
+(Prov. x. 7). Notwithstanding this, the Rabbi insisted, and said, "Bring
+his son to me." When they brought him, he taught the lad to repeat the
+blessing, which he did on the ensuing Sabbath at the public reading of
+the law; upon which his father was immediately removed from hell to
+Paradise. On the self-same night the father repaired direct to Rabbi
+Akiva, and gratefully expressed his hope that the Rabbi's mind might be
+as much at rest as his own was.
+
+_Midrash Assereth Hadibroht._
+
+There are three things which a man does not wish for: Grass to grow up
+among his grain-crops; to have a daughter among his children; or that
+his wine should turn to vinegar. Yet all these three are ordained to be,
+for the world stands in need of them. Therefore it is said, "O Lord, my
+God, Thou art very great!... He causeth the grass to grow for the
+cattle" (Ps. civ. 1, 14)
+
+_Midrash Tanchuma._
+
+There are four cardinal points in the world, etc. The north point God
+created but left unfinished; for, said He, "Whoever claims to be God,
+let him come and finish this corner which I have left, and thus all will
+know that he is God." This unfinished corner is the dwelling-place of
+the harmful demons, ghosts, devils, and storms.
+
+_Pirke d'Rab. Eliezer_, chap. 3.
+
+A Min once asked Rabbi Akiva, "Who created this world?" "The Holy
+One--blessed be He!"--was the reply. "Give me positive proof of this,"
+begged the other. "Come to-morrow," answered the Rabbi. On coming the
+next day, the Rabbi asked, "What are you dressed in?" "In a garment,"
+was the reply. "Who made it?" asked the Rabbi. "A weaver," said the
+other. "I don't believe thee," said the Rabbi; "give me a positive proof
+of this." "I need not demonstrate this," said the Min; "it stands to
+reason that a weaver made it." "And so thou mayest know that God created
+the world," observed the Rabbi. When the Min had departed, the Rabbi's
+disciples asked him, "What is proof positive?" He said, "My children, as
+a house implies a builder, and a garment a weaver, and a door a
+carpenter, so likewise the existence of the world implies that the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--created it."
+
+_Midrash Terumah._
+
+When the Holy One--blessed be He!--created the world, it was a level
+expanse free from mountains; but when Cain slew Abel his brother, whose
+blood was trodden down on the earth, He cursed the ground, and
+immediately hills and mountains sprang into existence.
+
+_Midrash Vayosha._
+
+"The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and behold ye are this day as
+the stars of heaven for multitude" (Deut. i. 10). Why did He bless them
+with stars? As there are degrees above degrees among these stars, so
+likewise are there degrees above degrees among Israel. Again, as these
+stars are without limit, without number, and of great power from one end
+of the world to the other, so likewise is Israel. (Cf. 1 Cor. xv. 41.)
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Devarim._
+
+"Flee, my beloved" (A.V. "make haste," Cant. viii. 14). When Israel eat
+and drink, and bless and praise the Holy One--blessed be He!--He
+hearkeneth to their voice and is reconciled; but when the Gentiles eat
+and drink and blaspheme and provoke the Holy One--blessed be He!--He has
+a mind to destroy His world, until the Law enters and pleads in defense,
+"Lord of the universe! before Thou regardest those that blaspheme, look
+and behold Thy people Israel, who bless, and praise, and extol Thy great
+Name, with the Law, and with songs and with praises!" And the Holy
+Spirit shouts "Flee, my beloved! flee from the Gentiles, and hold fast
+to Israel!"
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Shir-Hashirim._
+
+Rabbon Gamaliel called on Chilpa, the son of Caroyna, when the latter
+asked the Rabbi to pray on his behalf; and he prayed, "The Lord grant
+thee according to thine own heart" (Ps. xx. 4). Rabbi H----, son of
+Rabbi Isaac, said, "It was not so; he prayed thus, 'The Lord fulfill all
+thy petitions'; for a man often thinks in his heart to steal or commit
+some other transgression, and therefore 'The Lord grant thee according
+to thine own heart,' is a prayer not to be offered on behalf of every
+man." But the answer was, "His heart was perfect before his Creator, and
+therefore he did so pray on his behalf."
+
+_Midrash Shochar Tov_, 20.
+
+Thou wilt find that whithersoever the righteous go a blessing goes with
+them. Isaac went down to Gerar, and a blessing followed him. "Then Isaac
+sowed," etc. (Gen. xxvi. 12). Jacob went down to Laban (Gen. xxx. 27),
+and Laban said, "I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed
+me for thy sake." Joseph went down to Potiphar, and "the Lord blessed
+the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake" (Gen. xxxix. 5). Thus also thou
+wilt find it was with the ark which came down to the house of Obed-edom,
+etc. (2 Sam. vi. 11). Our forefathers came into the land and a blessing
+followed at their heels, as it is said (Deut. vi. 11), "And houses full
+of good things," etc.
+
+_Yalkut Ekev._
+
+"And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth" (Num. xxiii. 5). An angel
+took up his seat in Balaam's throat, so that when he wished to bless,
+the angel permitted him, but when he desired to curse, the angel tickled
+his throat and stopped him. "Word" in this place means simply an angel;
+as it is said (Ps. cvii. 20), "He sent His word and healed them." Rabbi
+Yochanan says, "There was an iron nail in his throat which permitted him
+when he wished to bless, but rasped his throat and prevented him when
+about to curse." "Word" in this place means only an iron nail; for it is
+said (Num. xxxi. 23), "Every thing (or word, for the original has both
+meanings) that may abide the fire."
+
+Ibid.
+
+Rabbi Avin said four kinds of excellency were created in the world: (1.)
+Man's excellency over the animal kingdom; (2.) the eagle's excellency
+over the feathered tribes; (3.) the excellency of the ox over domestic
+cattle; and (4.) the lion's excellency over the wild beasts. All were
+fixed under the chariot of God; as it is said (Ezek. i. 10), "As for the
+likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, the face of a
+lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle." And why all this? In
+order that they should not exalt themselves, but know that there is a
+kingdom of heaven over them; and on this account it is said (Eccles. v.
+8), "He that is higher than the highest regardeth, and there be higher
+than they." This is the meaning of Exod. xv. 1: "He hath triumphed
+gloriously."
+
+_Midrash Shemoth_, chap. 23.
+
+No man in Israel despised himself more than David when the precepts of
+the Lord were concerned, and this is what he said before God (Ps. cxxxi.
+1, 2), "'Lord, my heart was not haughty' when Samuel anointed me king.
+'Nor were mine eyes lofty' when I slew Goliath. 'Neither did I exercise
+myself in matters too great and wonderful for me' when I brought up the
+ark. 'Have I not behaved myself, and hushed my soul, as a babe that is
+weaned of his mother?' As a child which is not ashamed to uncover
+himself before his mother, so have I likened myself before Thee, in not
+being ashamed to depreciate myself before Thee for Thy glory," etc. (See
+2 Sam. vi. 20, 21.)
+
+_Bamidbar_, chap. 4.
+
+"I sleep, but my heart waketh" (Cant. v. 2). The Synagogue of Israel
+says "I sleep" with regard to the end of days, "but my heart waketh"
+with regard to the redemption; "I sleep" with regard to redemption, but
+the heart of the Holy One--blessed be He!--waketh to redeem me.
+
+_Midrash Shir Hashirim._
+
+Rabbi Ishmael saith all the five fingers of the right hand of the Holy
+One of Israel--blessed be He!--are severally the efficient causes of
+redemptions. (1.) With His little finger He pointed out to Noah how to
+construct the ark; as it is said (Gen. vi. 15), "And thus thou shalt
+make it." (2.) With the finger next to the little one He smote the
+Egyptians; as it is said (Exod. viii. 19), "This is the finger of God."
+(3.) With the third finger from the little one He wrote the tables; as
+it is said (Exod. xxxi. 18), "Tables of stone written by the finger of
+God." (4.) With the fourth finger, that which is next the thumb, the
+Holy One--blessed be He!--pointed out to Moses how much the Israelites
+should give as a ransom for their souls; as it is said (Exod. xxx. 13),
+"This shall they give." (5.) With the thumb and the whole hand the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--will in the future destroy the children of Esau,
+for they oppress the children of Israel, as also the children of
+Ishmael, for they are their enemies; as it is said (Micah v. 9), "Thine
+hand shall be uplifted upon thy adversaries, and all thy enemies shall
+be cut off."
+
+_Pirke d'Rab. Eliezer_, chap. 48.
+
+"For Mine own sake, for Mine own sake, will I do it" (Isa. xlviii. 11).
+Why this repetition? The Holy One--blessed be He!--said, "As I redeemed
+you when you were in Egypt for My name's sake"--(Ps. cvi. 8), "He saved
+them for His name's sake,"--"so in like manner will I do it from Edom
+for My own name's sake. Again, as I redeemed you in this world, so
+likewise will I redeem you in the World to come;" for thus He saith
+(Eccles. i. 9), "The thing that hath been is that which shall be" (Isa.
+li. 11); "The redeemed of the Lord shall return;" not the redeemed of
+Elijah, nor the redeemed of the Messiah, but "the redeemed of the Lord."
+
+_Midrash Shochar Tov Tehillim_, 107.
+
+"Her children are gone into captivity before the enemy" (Lam. i. 5).
+Rabbi Isaac saith, "Come and see how greatly beloved are the children!"
+The Sanhedrin were exiled, but the Shechinah was not exiled with them.
+The Temple guards were exiled, but the Shechinah was not exiled with
+them. But with the children the Shechinah also was exiled. This is that
+which is written (Lam. i. 5, 6), "Her children are gone, ... and from
+the daughter of Zion all her beauty (i.e., the Shechinah) is departed."
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Eicha._
+
+"How doth the city sit solitary!" (Lam. i. 1). Three have, in
+prophesying, made use of this word "How"--Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
+Moses said (Deut. i. 12), "How can I myself bear your cumbrance!" Isaiah
+said (Isa. i. 21), "How is the faithful city become an harlot!" Jeremiah
+said (Lam. i. 1), "How doth the city sit solitary!" Rabbi Levi saith,
+"The thing is like to a matron who has three friends; one saw her in her
+prosperity, another saw her in her dissipation, and the third saw her in
+her pollution. So Moses saw Israel in their glory and prosperity, and he
+said, 'How can I myself bear your cumbrance!' Isaiah saw them in their
+dissipation, and he said, 'How is the faithful city,' etc.; and Jeremiah
+saw them in their pollution, and he said, 'How doth the city sit
+solitary!'"
+
+_Midrash Rabbah Eicha._
+
+Hezekiah saith the judgment in Gehenna is six months' heat and six
+months' cold.
+
+_Midrash Reheh._
+
+Gehenna has sixteen mouths, four toward each cardinal point. The
+Gentiles say, "Hell is for Israel, but Paradise is for us." The
+Israelites say, "Ours is Paradise."
+
+_Midrash Aggadath Bereshith._
+
+Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai says, that coming once upon a man who was
+gathering wood, he addressed him, but at first he made no reply.
+Afterward, however, he came up and said, "Rabbi, I'm not a living man,
+but a dead one." "If thou art a dead man," said I, "what is this wood
+for?" He replied, "When I was alive upon earth, I and an associate of
+mine committed a certain sin in my shop, and when we were taken thence,
+we were sentenced to the punishment of mutual burning; so I gather wood
+to burn him, and he does the same to burn me." I then asked him, "How
+long are you to be punished thus?" He replied, "When I came here my wife
+was _enceinte_, and I know she gave birth to a boy. May I beg thee,
+therefore, to see that the child is instructed by a teacher, for as soon
+as he is able to repeat, 'Bless ye the blessed Lord!' I shall be brought
+up hence and be free from this punishment in hell."
+
+_Tanu d'by Eliyahu._
+
+Rabbi Berachia saith, "In order that the Minim, apostates, and wicked
+Israelites might not escape hell on account of their circumcision, the
+Holy One--blessed be He!--sends an angel to undo the effects of it, and
+they straightway descend to their doom. When Gehenna sees this, she
+opens her mouth and licks them." This is the purport of (Isa. v. 14),
+"And she opened her mouth to those without law" (i.e., to those without
+the sign of the covenant).
+
+_Midrash Rabbath Shemoth_, chap. 19.
+
+"God hath also set the one over against the other" (Eccles. vii. 14),
+i.e., the righteous and the wicked, in order that the one should atone
+for the other. God created the poor and the rich, in order that the one
+should be maintained by the other. He created Paradise and Gehenna, in
+order that those in the one should deliver those in the other. And what
+is the distance between them? Rabbi Chanina saith the width of the wall
+(between Paradise and Gehenna) is a handbreadth.
+
+_Yalkut Koheleth._
+
+"Those passing through the valley of weeping make it a well; also
+blessings shall cover the teacher" (Ps. lxxxiv. 6, A.V.). "The valley of
+weeping" is Gehenna. "Make it a well," for their tears are like a well
+or spring. "Also blessings shall cover the teacher." Rabbi Yochanan
+saith, "The praises of God that ascend from Gehenna are more than those
+that ascend from Paradise, for each one that is a step higher than his
+neighbor praises God, and says, 'Happy am I that I am a step higher than
+the one below me.' 'Also blessings shall cover the teacher,' for they
+will acknowledge and say, 'Ye have taught well, and ye have instructed
+well, but we have not obeyed.'"
+
+_Yalkut Tehillim_, 84.
+
+Those of the house of Eliyahu have taught that Gehenna is above the sky,
+but some say it is behind the mountains of darkness.
+
+_Tanu d'by Eliyahu._
+
+Gehenna was created before Paradise; the former on the second day and
+the latter on the third.
+
+_Yalkut_.
+
+    In T.B. P'sachim, fol. 54, col. 1, it is said that the reason of
+    the omission of the words, "And God saw that it was good," in
+    respect to the second day of the creative week, was because
+    hell-fire was then created; but see the context.
+
+When Adam saw (through the Spirit) that his posterity would be condemned
+to Gehenna, he disobeyed the precept to procreate. But when he perceived
+that after twenty-six generations the Israelites would accept the law,
+he bestirred himself in compliance; as it is said (Gen. iv. 1), _Adam
+vero cognovit uxorem suam Hevam_.
+
+_Yalkut_.
+
+"And the souls they had gotten in Haran" (Gen. xii. 5). These are they
+who had been made proselytes. Whoever attracts a Gentile and
+proselytizes him is as much as if he had created him. Abraham did so to
+men and Sarah to women.
+
+_Bereshith Midrash Rabbah._
+
+"Sing and rejoice" (Zech. ii. 10). The Holy One--blessed be He!--will in
+the future bring all the proselytes that were proselytized in this
+world, and judge all the nations of the world in their presence. He will
+say to them, "Why have ye left Me and served idols, which are nothing?"
+They will reply and say, "Had we applied at Thy door, Thou wouldst not
+have received us." Then will He say to them, "Let the proselytes that
+were made from among you come forward and testify against you."
+
+_P'sikta._
+
+These are the pious female proselytes--Hagar, Osenath, Zipporah,
+Shiphrah, Puah, the daughter of Pharaoh (Bathia), Rahab, Ruth, and Jael.
+
+_Yalkut Yehoshua_, 9.
+
+"The Lord keepeth the proselytes" (Ps. cxlvi. 9). "I esteem it a great
+compliment on the part of the proselyte to leave his family and his
+father's house and come to Me. Therefore I on My part will command
+respecting him (Deut. x. 19), 'Love ye therefore the proselyted.'"
+
+_Midrash Shochar Tov_, 146.
+
+"I am a God near at hand" (Jer. xxiii. 23). "I am He who drew Jethro
+near, and did not keep him at a distance"; therefore thou also when a
+man comes to be proselytized in the name of Heaven, draw him near, do
+not repulse him or keep him at a distance. From this thou art to learn
+that while one repulses with the left hand he is to draw with the right,
+and not as Elisha did. (He repulsed Gehazi with both hands.)
+
+_Yalkut Jeremiah._
+
+Showers of rain are greater than the giving of the Law, for the giving
+of the Law was a gladsome event to Israel only, but rain is a cause of
+joy to the wide world, including cattle, beasts, and fowls.
+
+_Midrash Shochar Tov_, 117.
+
+David was a shepherd of Israel, and the Shepherd of David was the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--as it is said (Ps. xxiii. 1), "The Lord is my
+Shepherd."
+
+_Midrash Rabbah_, chap. 59.
+
+Rav Pinchas says, "David in the Psalms calls five times upon the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--to arise. (1.) 'Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!'
+(Ps. iii. 7). (2.) 'Arise, O Lord, in Thine anger!' (Ps. vii. 6). (3.)
+'Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail!' (Ps. ix. 19). (4.) 'Arise, O Lord;
+O God, lift up Thine hand: forget not the humble!' (Ps. x. 12). (5.)
+'Arise, O Lord; disappoint him!' But the Holy One--blessed be He!--said
+unto David, 'My son, though thou call upon Me many a time to arise, I
+will not arise. But when do I arise? When thou seest the poor oppressed
+and the needy sighing, then will I arise.'" This explains what is
+written (Ps. xii. 5), "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing
+of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord."
+
+_Bamidbar Rabbah_, chap. 75.
+
+"And Solomon's wisdom excelled" (1 Kings iv. 30). Thou findest that when
+Solomon desired to build the Temple he sent to Pharaoh Necho a request
+to send him artisans on hire. Pharaoh assembled his astrologers, who
+pointed out to him such artisans as were destined to die in the course
+of that year, and these he despatched to Solomon; but he, through the
+Holy Ghost, seeing the fate that impended, provided each of them with a
+shroud and sent them back to Pharaoh with the message, "Hast thou no
+shrouds in which to bury thine own dead? Behold here I have provided
+them with them!" "For he was wiser than all men" (1 Kings iv. 31); "than
+all men," even than the first man, Adam.
+
+_Yalkut Eliezer_, fol. 65, col. 2, n. 36.
+
+"Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God" (Isa. xliii. 12).
+Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai expounds these words thus, "If ye are My
+witnesses, then I am God; but if ye are not My witnesses, then I am not
+God."
+
+_Yalkut Jethro_, n. 271.
+
+"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter" (Eccles. xii. 13). Thou
+shalt ever hear the Law, even when thou dost not understand it. "Fear
+God," and give thy heart to Him. "And keep His commandments," for on
+account of the Law the whole world was created, that the world should
+study it.
+
+_Koheleth, as given in Tse-enah Ure-enah._
+
+
+
+
+THE KABBALA
+
+
+"The words of the wise and their dark sayings" (Prov. i. 6).
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTORY NOTE
+
+
+The Hebrew word Kabbal means "to receive," and its derivative, Kabbalah,
+signifies, "a thing received," viz, "Tradition," which, together with
+the written law, Moses received on Mount Sinai, and we are told in the
+Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, fol. 19, col. 1, i.e., "The words of the Kabbalah
+are just the same as the words of the law." In another part of this work
+we have seen that the Rabbis declare the Kabbalah to be above the law.
+
+The Kabbalah is divided into two parts, viz, the symbolical and the
+real.
+
+
+THE SYMBOLICAL KABBALAH
+
+
+This teaches the secret of mystic sense of Scripture, and the thirteen
+rules by which the observance of the law is, not logically, but
+Kabbalistically expounded; viz, the rules of "Gematria," of "Notricon,"
+of "Temurah," etc. To give some idea of this kind of exposition, we will
+explain each of these three rules in a manner which, though in the style
+of the Rabbis, will easily be understood by the Gentile reader.
+
+1. "Gematria." This rule depends on the numerical value of each letter
+in the alphabet. The application of this rule in the solution of a
+disputed point is often such as to show quite as much absurdity as
+ingenuity. To make the subject still more clear, let us assume that a
+standard numerical value is attached to each letter in the English
+alphabet. _A_ has the value of 1, _B_ 2, _C_ 3, _D_ 4, _E_ 5, _F_ 6, _G_
+7, _H_ 8, _I_ 9, _J_ 10, _K_ 20, _L_ 30, _M_ 40, _N_ 50, _O_ 60, _P_ 70,
+_Q_ 80, _R_ 90, _S_ 100, _T_ 200, _U_ 300, _V_ 400, _W_ 500, _X_ 1000,
+_Y_ 10,000, _Z_ 100,000. And let us now assume a point in dispute in
+order to illustrate how it is solved by Gematria. Suppose that the
+subject of discussion is the comparative superiority of the Hebrew and
+English languages, and Hugo and Baruch are the disputants. The former,
+being a Hebrew, holds that the Hebrew is superior to the English,
+"because," says he, "the numerical value of the letters that form the
+word _Hebrew_ is 610; whereas the numerical value of _English_ is only
+209." The latter, being an Englishman, holds, of course, exactly the
+contrary opinion, and argues as follows: "All the learned world must
+admit that the English is a living language, but not so the Hebrew; and
+as it is written (Eccles. ix. 4) that 'A living dog is better than a
+dead lion,' I therefore maintain that the English is superior to the
+Hebrew." The dispute was referred to an Oxford authority for decision,
+and a certain learned doctor decided it by--
+
+2. "Notricon." This consists in forming a decisive sentence composed of
+words whose initial letters are in a given word; for instance,
+_Hebrew_:--"_H_ugo's _e_xcels _B_aruch's _r_easoning _e_very _w_ay."
+_English_:--"_E_nglish _n_o _g_ood _l_anguage, _i_s _s_carcely
+_h_armonious;" but _Hebrew_:--"_H_oly, _e_legant, _b_rilliant,
+_r_esonant, _e_liciting _w_onder!" This is a fair specimen of how to get
+at the secret sense of a word by the rule of "Notricon," and now we will
+proceed to explain--
+
+3. "Temurah." This means permutation, or a change of the letters of the
+alphabet after a regularly adopted system. We know only five such
+permuted alphabets, but there may be more. The technical names of these
+five alphabets are: "Atbash," "Atbach," "Albam," "Aiakbechar," and
+"Tashrak." We will try to explain the first permuted alphabet only, as a
+mere specimen, for the general reader is not quite prepared to
+comprehend the rest, and a hint for the scholar is sufficient.
+
+Here let the reader observe that as the letters of the English alphabet
+are more numerous and differently designated and arranged than those of
+the Hebrew, the "Atbash" of the Hebrew must necessarily become "Azby" in
+English. If now we write on one line and in regular order the first half
+of the alphabet, and the other half on the second line, but in reversed
+order, thus:--
+
+  a b c d e f g h i j k l m
+  z y x w v u t s r q p o n
+
+we get thirteen couples of letters which exchange one with the other,
+viz, _a_ and _z_, _b_ and _y_, _c_ and _x_, etc. These letters, when
+exchanged, give rise to a permuted alphabet, and this permuted alphabet
+takes its technical name from the first two couples of letters, _a_ and
+_z_, _b_ and _y_, or "Azby." Now if we wish to write, "Meddle not with
+them that are given to change," you have to change the letters of the
+couples and the following will be the result: "Nvwwov mlg drgs gsvn gszg
+ziv trem gl xszmtv." This is a specimen of the mysterious Temurah, and
+the "Azby" is the key to it. The other four permuted alphabets are of a
+similar nature and character, and are so highly esteemed among the sages
+and bards of Israel, that they often use them in their literary and
+poetical compositions. The Machzorim, or the Jewish Liturgies for the
+festivals, are full of compositions where the first letters of the
+sentences follow the order of either the "Atbash" or "Tashrak." The
+latter is simply a reversed order of the alphabet.
+
+
+THE REAL KABBALAH
+
+
+The "Real Kabbalah" consists of theoretical and practical mysteries.
+
+1. The theoretical mysteries treat about the ten spheres, the four
+worlds, the essence and various names of God and of angels, also of the
+celestial hierarchy and its influences and effects on this lower world,
+of the mysteries of creation, of the mystical chariot described by the
+Prophet Ezekiel, of the different orders and offices of angels and
+demons, also of a great many other deep subjects, too deep for
+comprehension.
+
+2. The practical Kabbalah is a branch of the theoretical, and treats of
+the practical use of the mysterious names of God and of angels. By
+uttering properly the Shem-ham-mephorash, i.e., the ineffable name of
+Jehovah, or the names or certain angels, or by the mere repetition of
+certain Scripture texts, miracles and wonders were and still are
+performed in the Jewish world.
+
+
+
+
+THE KABBALA
+
+
+Know thou that the 613 Precepts of the Law form a compact with the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--and with Israel, as it is often explained in the
+Zohar. It is written (Exod. iii. 15), "This is My name, and this is My
+memorial." "My name," in the Hebrew characters, together with "Yeho,"
+amounts numerically to 365; "Vah," together with "My memorial," amounts
+to 248. Here we have the number 613 in the Holy One--blessed be He! The
+soul is a portion of God from above, and this is mystically intimated by
+the degrees of "breath, spirit, soul," the initial and final letters of
+which amount to 613, while the middle letters of these amount to the
+number of "Lord, Almighty, God." The soul of Moses our Rabbi--peace be
+on him!--embraced all the souls of Israel; as it is said, Moses was
+equivalent to all Israel. "Moses our Rabbi" amounts to 613; and "Lord
+God of Israel" also amounts to 613.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lu_, p. 2, col. 2.
+
+Now let us illustrate the subject of "fear and love." Fear proceedeth
+from love and love proceedeth from fear. And this you may demonstrate by
+writing their letters one over the other, and then dividing them by
+horizontal and perpendicular lines, thus Love perfecteth fear, and fear
+perfecteth love. This is to teach thee that both are united together.
+
+Ibid., p. 4, col. 2.
+
+The Holy One--blessed be He!--often brings affliction on the righteous
+though they have not sinned, in order that they may learn to keep aloof
+from the allurements of the world and eschew temptation to sin. From
+this it is plain that afflictions are good for man, and therefore our
+Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said, "As men bless with joy and a
+sincere heart for a benefit received, so likewise ought they joyfully to
+bless God when He afflicts them, as, though the special blessing be
+hidden from the children of men, such affliction is surely intended for
+good.... Or most souls being at present in a state of transmigration,
+God requites a man now for what his soul merited in a bypast time in
+another body, by having broken some of the 613 precepts."
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lu_, p. 6, col. 1.
+
+Thus we have the rule: No one is perfect unless he has thoroughly
+observed all the 613 precepts. If this be so, who is he and where is he
+that has observed all the 613 precepts? For even the lord of the
+prophets, Moses our Rabbi--peace be on him!--had not observed them all;
+for there are four obstacles which hinder one from observing all: (1.)
+There is the case of complete prevention, such as the law of the
+priesthood, the precepts of which only priests can observe, and yet
+these precepts are included in the 613. Besides, there are among the
+number precepts appertaining to the Levites which concern neither
+priests nor Israelites, and also others which are binding on Israelites
+with which priests and Levites have nothing whatever to do. (2.) Then
+there are impossible cases, as, for instance, when one cannot observe
+the precept which enforces circumcision, because he has not a son to
+circumcise. (3 and 4.) There are also conditional and exceptional cases,
+as in the case of precepts having reference to the Temple and to the
+land of Israel.
+
+Ibid., p. 6, col. 2.
+
+Therefore every Israelite is bound to observe only such of the 613
+precepts as are possible to him; and such as he has not observed in
+consequence of hindrances arising from unpreventable causes will be
+reckoned to him as if actually performed.
+
+Ibid.
+
+    The Yalkut Shimeoni, in true Rabbinical style, amplifies still
+    farther the license conceded in the above quotations. Rabbi
+    Eliezer says that the Israelites bewailed thus before God,
+    exclaiming, "We would fain be occupied night and day in the law,
+    but we have not the necessary leisure." Then the Holy
+    One--blessed be He!--said, "Perform the commandment of the
+    Phylacteries, and I will account it as if you were occupied
+    night and day in the study of the law."
+
+Anyhow, all the precepts are being observed by all Israel taken
+together, viz, the priests observe their part, the Levites theirs, and
+the Israelites theirs; thus the whole keep all. For the Holy
+One--blessed be He!--has written a law for His faithful servants, the
+nation of Israel, and as a nation they keep the whole law. It is as once
+when a king wrote to his subjects thus, "Behold, I command you to
+prepare for war against the enemy; raise the walls higher, collect arms,
+and store up victuals;" and those that were builders looked after the
+walls, the armorers after the weapons, the farmers after the stores of
+food, etc., etc. Each, according to his ability, did all that was
+required of him, and all unitedly fulfilled the king's command.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lu_, p. 6, col. 2.
+
+He who neglects to observe any of the 613 precepts, such as were
+possible for him to observe, is doomed to undergo transmigration (once
+or more than once) till he has actually observed all he had neglected to
+do in a former state of being.
+
+Ibid.
+
+The sages of truth (the Kabbalists) remark that Adam contains the
+initial letters of Adam, David, and Messiah; for after Adam sinned his
+soul passed into David, and the latter having also sinned, it passed
+into the Messiah. The full text is, "They shall serve the Lord their
+God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them" (Jer. xxx. 9);
+and it is written, "My servant David shall be their king forever" (Ezek.
+xxxvii. 25); and thus "They shall seek the Lord their God, and David
+their king" (Hosea iii. 5).
+
+_Nishmath Chaim_, fol. 152, col. 2.
+
+Know thou that Cain's essential soul passed into Jethro, but his spirit
+into Korah, and his animal soul into the Egyptian. This is what
+Scripture saith, "Cain shall be avenged sevenfold" (Gen. iv. 24), i.e.,
+the initial letters of the Hebrew word rendered "shall be avenged," form
+the initials of Jethro, Korah, and Egyptian.... Samson the hero was
+possessed by the soul of Japhet, and Job by that of Terah.
+
+_Yalkut Reubeni_, Nos. 9, 18, 24.
+
+Cain had robbed the twin sister of Abel, and therefore his soul passed
+into Jethro. Moses was possessed by the soul of Abel, and therefore
+Jethro gave his daughter to Moses.
+
+_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 127, col. 3.
+
+If a man be niggardly either in a financial or a spiritual regard,
+giving nothing of his money to the poor or not imparting of his
+knowledge to the ignorant, he shall be punished by transmigration into a
+woman.... Know thou that Sarah, Hannah, the Shunammite (2 Kings iv. 8),
+and the widow of Zarepta were each in turn possessed by the soul of
+Eve.... The soul of Rahab transmigrated into Heber the Kenite, and
+afterward into Hannah; and this is the mystery of her words, "I am a
+woman of a sorrowful spirit" (1 Sam. i. 15), for there still lingered in
+her soul a sorrowful sense of inherited defilement.... Eli possessed the
+soul of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite.... Sometimes the souls of
+pious Jews pass by metempsychosis into Gentiles, in order that they may
+plead on behalf of Israel and treat them kindly. For this reason have
+our Rabbis of blessed memory said, "The pious of the nations of the
+world have a portion in the world to come."
+
+_Yalkut Reubeni_, Nos. 1, 8, 61, 63.
+
+We have it by tradition that when Moses our Rabbi--peace be unto
+him!--said in the law, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh"
+(Num. xvi. 22), he meant mystically to intimate that metempsychosis
+takes place in all flesh, in beasts, reptiles, and fowls. "Of all flesh"
+is, as it were, "in all flesh."
+
+_Avodath Hakodesh_, fol. 49, col. 3.
+
+It is also needful that thou shouldst know that the Kabbalists believe
+in metempsychosis from the body of one species into the body of another
+species. Thou hast already been informed of the mystery of clean and
+unclean animals; and some of the later sages of the Kabbalah say that
+the soul of an unclean person will transmigrate into an unclean animal,
+or into abominable creeping things or reptiles. For one form of
+uncleanness the soul will be invested with the body of a Gentile, who
+will (eventually) become a proselyte; for another, the soul will pass
+into the body of a mule; for others, it transmigrates into an ass, a
+woman of Ashdod, a bat, a rabbit or a hare, a she-mule or a camel.
+Ishmael transmigrated first into the she-ass of Balaam, and subsequently
+into the ass of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair.
+
+_Nishmath Chaim_, chap. 13, no. 14.
+
+    The last paragraph may be illustrated by the well-known story of
+    the ass of R. Pinchas, which persistently objected to feed on
+    untithed provender. This is also said of the ass of Rabbi
+    Chanina ben Dossa. See Avoth d'Rab. Nathan, chap. 8.
+
+Sometimes the soul of a righteous man may be found in the body of a
+clean animal or fowl.
+
+_Caphtor Upherach_, fol. 51, col. 2.
+
+It sometimes happens that one sacrifices an animal with a human soul in
+it. And this is the mystic meaning of (Ps. xxxvi. 6), "O Lord, thou
+preservest man and beast." It is for this reason that we are commanded
+to have our slaughtering-knife without defect, for who knows if there be
+not a transmigrated soul in the animal? ... Therefore the slaughter must
+needs be delicately done and the mode critically examined, on account of
+that which is written (Lev. xix. 18), "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
+thyself."
+
+_Nishmath Chaim_, chap. 13, no. 4.
+
+At each of the three meals of the Sabbath one should eat fish, for into
+them the souls of the righteous are transmigrated. And in relation to
+them it is written (Num. xi. 22), "All the fish of the sea shall be
+gathered together for them."
+
+_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 20, col. 4, no. 9.
+
+The soul of a slanderer is transmigrated into a silent stone.
+
+_Emeh Hamelech_, fol. 153, col. 2.
+
+Rabbi Isaac Luria was once passing the great academy of Rabbi Yochanan
+in Tiberias, where he showed his disciples a stone in the wall,
+remarking, "In this stone there is a transmigrated soul, and it cries
+that I should pray on its behalf. And this is the mystic meaning of
+(Hab. ii. 11), 'The stone shall cry out of the wall.'"
+
+Ibid., fol. 11, col. 2.
+
+The murderer is transmigrated into water. The mystical sign of this is
+indicated in (Deut. xii. 16), "Ye shall pour it upon the earth as
+water;" and the meaning is, he is continually rolling on and on without
+any rest. Therefore let no man drink (direct) from a running tap or
+spout, but from the hollow of his hands, lest a soul pass into him, and
+that the soul of a wicked sinner.
+
+Ibid., fol. 153, cols. 1, 2.
+
+One who sins with a married woman is, after undergoing the penalty of
+wandering about as a fugitive and vagabond, transmigrated, together with
+his accomplice, into the millstone of a water-mill, according to the
+mystery of (Job xxxi. 10), "Let my wife grind unto another."
+
+_Emeh Hamelech_, fol. 153, cols. 1, 2.
+
+A butcher who kills an animal with a defective knife will die of the
+plague, and his soul will pass into a dog, whom he thus deprives of what
+belongs to him; for it is said (Exod. xxii. 31), "Ye shall cast it to
+the dogs."
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 17, col. 2.
+
+    An animal slaughtered with an improper knife is considered as if
+    it had been "torn of beasts in the field," and the flesh of it,
+    according to the law, belongs to the dogs. A careless butcher,
+    selling the meat as food for man, deprives the dog of his due.
+
+The sages of truth have written, "He who does not wash his hands before
+eating, as the Rabbis of blessed memory have ordained, will be
+transmigrated into a cataract, where he will have no rest, even as a
+murderer, who is also transmigrated into water."
+
+Ibid., fol. 21, col. 2.
+
+After washing his hands before a meal, he is to stretch out his fingers
+and turn the palms of his hands upward, as if in the act of receiving
+something from a friend, and then repeat (Ps. cxxxiv. 2), "Lift ye up
+your holy hands, and bless ye the Lord!"
+
+Ibid.
+
+    The following are the usual blessings, "Blessed art Thou, O
+    Lord, our God! King of the universe! who has sanctified us with
+    His commandments, and has commanded us to wash the hands!"
+    "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God! King of the universe! who
+    bringeth forth bread from the earth!"
+
+By means of combining the letters of the ineffable names, as recorded in
+"Book of Creation," Rava once created a man and sent him to Rav Zera.
+The man being unable to reply when spoken to, the Rabbi said to him,
+"Thou art a creation of the company (initiated in the mysteries of
+necromancy); return to thy dust."
+
+_Sanhedrin_, fol. 65, col. 2.
+
+    In the Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin, chap. 7, we read that, by
+    the means above mentioned, a Rabbi created pumpkins, melons, and
+    real deer and roes.
+
+There is a living creature in heaven which by day has "Truth" upon its
+forehead, by which the angels know it is day; but in the evening it has
+"Faith" on its forehead, whereby the angels know that night is near.
+Each time the living creature says, "Bless ye the blessed Lord," all the
+hosts above respond, "Blessed be the blessed Lord forever."
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 42. col. 2.
+
+Truth and faith are the essentials of religion, which are thirteen in
+number:--
+
+1. God exists, and there is no period to His existence. The philosophers
+call it absolute existence, but the majority of Kabbalists term it
+"endless," which, by Gematria, is "light"; and again, by Gematria, is
+"Lord of the Universe." He is the cause of causes and the causing of
+causings, and from or by His existence all beings, spiritual and
+material, derive their existence.
+
+2. He is one, and there is no unity like His, etc.
+
+3. He has no bodily likeness, and is not corporeal.
+
+4. He is first of everything, absolute beginning; as it is said, "I am
+the First and I am the Last" (Isa. xliv 6), and there is no beginning to
+His beginning.
+
+5. None but Himself is to be worshiped and prayed to.
+
+6. The gift of prophecy He has given to men esteemed and glorified by
+Him.
+
+7. None arose like unto Moses, etc.
+
+8. A law of truth He gave; this is the law from heaven, "In the
+beginning" unto "in the sight of all Israel." Also its comment received
+orally is likewise "a law (given) unto Moses from Sinai."
+
+9. God will not change or alter His law forever. He will never change
+the law of Moses our Rabbi--peace be unto him! The law will suffer no
+addition or diminution (but it will abide even), as the prophet Malachi
+sealed it with the seal of the prophets in ending his words (Mal. iv.
+4), "Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him
+in Horeb for all Israel." Formerly the law was in a garment of light,
+but in consequence of sin, the law became materialized in a garment of
+skin, in the same proportion as man became materialized in a body of
+flesh. In the future, after the redemption, however, the law will have
+the garment of light restored, and the Messiah will preach the law in
+terrible mysteries, such as no ear has ever heard, and it will appear to
+us as a new law. But the law will not be altered, or made new, as the
+nations of the world say. Jer. xxxi. 30-33.
+
+10. He observeth and knoweth all our secrets, etc.
+
+11. There are rewards and punishments in the future, etc.
+
+12. He will send at the end of days our Messiah from the seed of David
+to redeem His people Israel from among the nations, and restore to them
+the kingdom.
+
+13. There will be a revival of the dead, etc.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'th_, fol. 7, col. 2.
+
+Let a man believe that whatever occurs to him is from the Blessed One!
+For instance, when a wicked man meets him and abuses him, and puts him
+to shame, let him receive it with love, and say, "The Lord told him to
+curse, and he is the messenger of God on account of my sin."
+
+Ibid., fol. 8, col. 1.
+
+In every deed or transaction a man performs by his own free will, be it
+a matter of precept or of option, let the name of God be ready in his
+mouth. If, for instance, he erects a building, or buys a vessel, or
+makes a new garment, let him say with his mouth and utter with his lips,
+"This thing I do, for (the honor of) the union of the Shechinah with the
+Holy One--blessed be He!"
+
+Ibid.
+
+    Bismillahi Arrahmani Arraheemi, "In the name of God, most
+    merciful and compassionate," is the motto of every work
+    undertaken by a Mohammedan.
+
+A man should always desire that his neighbor may profit by him, and let
+him not strive to profit by his neighbor. Let his words be pleasant with
+the children of men if they shame him, and let him not shame them in
+return. If they deceive him, let him not deceive them in return, and let
+him take the yoke of the public upon his shoulders, and not impose it
+heavily on them in return.
+
+Ibid.
+
+If--which God forbid!--thy neighbor has done thee an evil, pardon him at
+once; for thou shouldst love him as thyself. If one hand is accidentally
+hurt by the other, should the wounded hand revenge its injury on the
+other? And, as urged before, thou shouldst rather say in thine heart,
+"It is from the Lord that it came to thee; it came as a messenger from
+the Holy One--blessed be He!--as a punishment for some sin."
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 9. col. 2.
+
+A sage who was very sorrowful was once comforted thus: "If thy sorrow
+relates to this world, may God decrease it; but if it relates to the
+world to come, may God increase it and add sorrow to sorrow." (See 2
+Cor. vii. 10.)
+
+Ibid., fol. 10, col. 1.
+
+A man should not wade through water or traverse any dangerous place in
+company with an apostate, or even a wicked Jew, lest he be overtaken (in
+the same ruin) with him. (Comp. Eph. v. 7, 8; Rev. xviii. 4.)
+
+Ibid., fol. 10, col. 2.
+
+The influence of the son is relatively greater and more blessed than
+that of the father, for the merits of the father do not profit the son
+except in matters relating to this world (as by bequeathing him worldly
+inheritance); whereas the merits of the son do more than benefit the
+father in this world; they benefit him also in the world to come (by
+saying "Kadish"), which is enough to deliver his soul from purgatory.
+
+Ibid., fol. 11, col. 2.
+
+A common proverb says, "One father willingly maintains ten sons, but ten
+sons are not willing to support one father."
+
+Ibid., fol. 12, col. 2.
+
+The proper use of money is that thou learn the art of dealing honestly,
+so that thy No be no and thy Yes, yes; and as far as possible be
+benevolent with the money. "And the liberal by liberal things shall
+stand" (Isa. xxxii. 8).
+
+Ibid.
+
+The sage says, "The eye of a needle is not narrow enough for two
+friends, but the world in not wide enough for two enemies."
+
+Ibid., fol. 14, col. 1.
+
+"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me"
+(Ps. li. 10). Know thou that the heart is the source of life, and is
+placed in the centre of the body as the Holy of holies, as stated in the
+Book Zohar, is the central part of the world. Therefore one must have
+his heart cleansed from evil and all evil thoughts, otherwise he
+introduces an idol into the innermost part of the Temple, which ought to
+be a dwelling-place for the Shechinah. (See 1 Cor. iii, 16, 17, and vi.
+19.)
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 14, col. 2.
+
+He who gazes even on the little finger of a woman is as if he looked on
+her to lust after her. He should not give ear to a woman's voice, for
+the voice of a woman is lewdness. This sin is much discussed in the
+Zohar; it causes the husband to come to poverty, and deprives him and
+her sons of all respect.
+
+Ibid., fol. 17, col. 1.
+
+    The sages of the Kabbalah were not singular in this view. The
+    Talmud Yerush, Callah, fol. 58, col. 3, says, "He that looks
+    upon a woman's heel is guilty of an act of lewdness."
+
+Eating meat after cheese or cheese after meat is a very serious sin; and
+it is stated in the Zohar, section Mishpatim, that upon him who is
+without scruple in this regard, an evil spirit will rest for forty days,
+his soul will be from the spirit which has no holiness.
+
+Ibid., fol. 18, col. 2.
+
+The sages of the Kabbalah have written that it becomes him who has in
+him the fear of Heaven to have a vessel of water near his bed, in order
+that (on waking in the morning) he may not need to walk four ells
+without washing his hands, for he who walks four ells without washing
+his hands has forfeited his life as a divine punishment.
+
+Ibid., fol. 43, col. 2.
+
+When a man is dressing, he should first put on the right shoe and leave
+it unfastened till he has put on and fastened the left; then he should
+fasten the right, as it is explained in the Shulchan Aruch.
+
+Ibid., fol. 44, col. 2.
+
+The following are some of the many laws relating to the Shemonah-esreh,
+or the eighteen blessings which form the most devotional part of daily
+worship, and which are repeated three times on (ordinary) week-days, and
+four times on Sabbaths, new moons, and on appointed feasts:--
+
+Before commencing the Shemonah-esreh one should step back three paces,
+in order to be able to advance three steps. The reason of this is that
+Moses our Rabbi--peace be on him!--advanced before his prayer into the
+three divisions, "darkness, clouds, and thick darkness" (Deut. iv. 11).
+And this is also the reason why after finishing the Shemonah-esreh three
+steps backward are to be made, returning through these three parts or
+divisions.
+
+This prayer is to be performed standing, and the feet so joined together
+that they should seem as it were one foot only, in order to be like the
+angels, of whom it is written (Ezek. i. 7), "And their feet were (so in
+the original) a straight foot," that is to say, their feet appeared as
+one foot.
+
+This attitude is a sign that the power of locomotion is gone; he cannot
+pursue and attain any other object than God. The Gentiles place their
+hands together, intending to signify thereby that their hands are as it
+were bound; but we, by placing our feet together, intend to signify that
+they are as it were entirely bound, which is indicative of greater
+humility; for with the hands bound one could still run away in search of
+his own pleasure, which he cannot do when the feet are bound.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 48, col. 2, and fol. 49, col. 1.
+
+It is lawful for him who rides upon an animal to pray the eighteen
+benedictions, and when he comes to the point when he should retrace
+three steps, he is to back the animal he is mounted on three steps. And
+so also it is lawful to pray the eighteen blessings when sitting and
+traveling in a wagon.
+
+Ibid., fol. 49, col. 1.
+
+It is necessary to pay attention to the feet when the worshiper repeats
+"Holy! holy! holy!" and he is to lift up his eyes toward heaven. At the
+instant the Kiddushah is repeated he needs only lift up his heels, and
+thereby his body from the earth toward heaven.... According to Tanchuma
+it is necessary to lift up the feet from the earth altogether, after the
+example of the angels, of whom it is written (Isa. vi. 2), "And with two
+he did fly." It is from this text that the sages have ordained that a
+man should fly up (as it were) when he repeats "Holy! holy! holy!" And
+let the chooser choose, i.e. it is optional either to lift up the heels
+only or to jump.
+
+Ibid.
+
+    Any one who visits a synagogue may notice the observance of this
+    practice. In the synagogues of the Chassidim, jumping is
+    preferred to lifting up the heels.
+
+It is written (Ps. cii. 17), "He will regard the prayer of the
+destitute," and it is not written, "He will hear." What else can the
+term "regard" mean than that there is a distinction between the prayer
+of an individual and the prayer of a community? For when a community
+prays, their prayer enters before the Holy One--blessed be He!--and He
+is not particular to regard and criticise their works and their
+intentions and thoughts, but receives their prayers immediately. But
+when an individual prays, the Holy One--blessed be He!--regards and
+scrutinizes his heart, whether it be devout and whether he be a
+righteous man. Therefore, one should always pray with the community, and
+this is why the text (Ps. cvii. 17) ends with the words, "And not
+despise their prayer." Although there are some of the community whose
+prayers, on account of their evil deeds, deserve to be despised, He,
+nevertheless, does not despise their prayer.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lk_, fol. 51, col. 1.
+
+A man should study less on Friday, that he may occupy himself with the
+preparation for the Sabbath. And accordingly we find in the Gemara that
+some of the great and esteemed sages occupied themselves on that day in
+preparing what was needed for the Sabbath. Therefore, though one may
+have many servants to wait upon him, it is a great merit personally to
+prepare for the wants of the Sabbath in order thus to honor it; and let
+him not think it derogatory to his own honor to honor the Sabbath thus,
+for it is his honor to honor the Sabbath. It is written of H'A'ree of
+blessed memory, that he was in the habit of sweeping away the cobwebs in
+his house (in honor of the Sabbath), and it is well known to the
+initiated what a wonderful mystery it is to abolish the unclean spirits
+from the house, "And this is enough for him that understands."
+
+Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.
+
+One should trim his finger-nails every Friday, never on Thursday,
+otherwise the nails will commence growing on the following Sabbath. He
+should pare the nails of the left hand first, beginning at the fourth
+finger and ending with the thumb; and then he should pare the nails of
+the right hand, beginning with the thumb and ending with the fourth
+finger; he should not vary the following order: 4th, 2d, 5th, 3d, 1st of
+the left hand; then the 1st, 3d, 5th, 2d, 4th of the right hand. Never
+pare two (contiguous) fingers one after the other, for it is dangerous,
+and it also impairs the memory. The reason and mystery about the order
+for paring the nails are well known to the expert.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh._
+
+In the Zohar it is explained that the benefit of immersion on Friday
+amounts to the restoration of the soul to her proper place, for he who
+is bodily unclean has no soul.
+
+Ibid., fol. 61, col. 2.
+
+Before entering the plunging-bath, he is to repeat (Gen. i. 10), "And
+God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters
+called He seas." When he stands in the water he is to repeat seven times
+(Ps. li. 10), "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right
+spirit within me," for the initials of "Create in me a clean heart,"
+form the word "to dip," i.e., to immerse. For it is through immersion
+that the unclean spirits and the "other side," are separated from him,
+and he becomes a new creature by examining and confessing his (evil)
+deeds, and forsaking them, and by engaging himself in repentance, and
+immersing himself, and meditating on elevating subjects, and especially
+so if he has immersed himself fourteen times.
+
+Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.
+
+When standing in the water he is to stoop four times, so that the water
+may reach his neck, answering to the four modes of legal execution.
+After that he is to repeat the form of confession, and while the water
+reaches up to his throat he is to repeat these three texts--Micah vii.
+18-20, Jer. x. 24, and Ps. cxviii. 5, and then say, "As I cleanse my
+body here below, which is formed of clay, so may the ministering angels
+cleanse my soul, spirit, and ghost above in the river Dinor; and as I
+sanctify my body here below, so may the angels of the Most High, the
+ministering angels, sanctify my spirit, soul, and ghost in the river
+Dinor above! In the name of Jehovah, He is the God and in the name of
+Adonai, the Rock of all Ages. Blessed be the name of the glory of His
+kingdom forevermore!"
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 62, col. 1.
+
+    According to the Kabbalah, the thoroughgoing orthodox Jew has
+    his hands full on Erev Shabbath, i.e., Friday. We cannot here go
+    over the entire proceeding prescribed, but we will briefly touch
+    upon its salient features in the order as we find them.
+
+    After having prepared himself for immersion, as above described,
+    he is to turn his face and bow first toward the west and then
+    toward the east, repeating a certain formula, and then dip
+    himself under the water. This over, he is to turn again east and
+    west and repeat a different formula, and while meditating on
+    certain given letters of certain mystical divine names and other
+    known words, and their respective numerical values, he is to dip
+    a second time under the water. Then turning and bowing again
+    west and east, repeating the while a different formula, he
+    proceeds to meditate on different letters of the divine names,
+    and dips for the third and last time. As dipping fourteen times
+    is the exception and not the rule, no farther directions are
+    given about the matter, except a few additional formulae and
+    meditations.
+
+    When he comes out of the water he is to step backward in the
+    same respectful manner as when he leaves the synagogue, and is
+    to repeat Isa. iv. 3, 4, and Rabbi Akiva's commentary on the
+    text Ezek. xxxvi. 25.
+
+    When he begins dressing he is to repeat Isa. liv. 17, and when
+    he subsequently washes his face and hands and feet in warm
+    water, to which is attached a great mystery, he is to say,
+    "Behold, here I am, washing myself in honor of Sabbath the
+    queen;" and add also Isa. iv. 4, and also, "I have washed my
+    feet; how shall I defile them?" (Cant. v. 3.)
+
+    Happy is he who is able to provide himself with a complete suit
+    of apparel down to the girdle, the shoes, and the hat for
+    wearing on the Sabbath, different from those worn on week-days.
+    Then he is to repeat the Book of Solomon's Song, and if unable
+    to repeat the whole, he is, at all events, to repeat these four
+    verses, the initials of the first word in each of which taken
+    together form the word Jacob, Cant. i. 2, ii. 10, ii. 8, v. 1.
+    After this he is to repeat certain portions of the Mishnah, and
+    something of the Zohar or some other Kabbalistic work.
+
+    This over, the devout Israelite goes to the synagogue to meet
+    his God as the bridegroom, and to receive the Sabbath as the
+    bride. The service is well worthy of rehearsal, but we must
+    refer for details to the Liturgy.
+
+    The Israelite returns home from the synagogue accompanied by two
+    angels, one good and the other evil; and according to the
+    condition of the domestic arrangements when he re-enters, he is
+    blessed by the good angel or cursed by the evil one.
+
+    The Israelite is solemnly warned not to quarrel with his wife on
+    Sabbath-eve, for the devils are very busy then to stir up more
+    strife, as is illustrated by the story of Rabbi Meir.
+
+    Having repeated the usual hymn appointed for the Sabbath-eve,
+    and pronounced the form of blessing over the cup of wine, he and
+    his family commence their supper, which is carefully prepared of
+    the very choicest viands, flesh and fish included. Hymns and a
+    certain form of blessing after the meal complete the family
+    duties of the day, and all retire to rest. The head of the
+    family, if he be a pious Israelite, and especially a disciple of
+    the wise, has a particular duty to perform--a duty which is
+    based on Scripture and on the following text (Exod. xxxi. 16),
+    "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath."
+    (_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 64, col. 1.)
+
+Of the laws relating to the Sabbath we can here only enumerate a few; we
+shall, however, take them in order as detailed in the book before us.
+
+Jewish women, maid-servants and girls are warned not to order a Gentile
+woman on the Sabbath to do this or that, but they may instruct her on a
+work-day what she is to do on the Sabbath.
+
+Geese, fowl, cats, dogs, etc., are not to be handled on the Sabbath.
+Neither are pocket-handkerchiefs, spectacles, etc., to be carried on the
+Sabbath in an unwalled town or village. Radishes are not to be salted in
+quantities, but each piece is to be dipped separately in salt and eaten.
+After dinner the Israelite is to take a siesta, for each letter forms
+the initial of a word, and the words thus formed are "Sleep on the
+Sabbath is a delight." (See Isa. lviii. 13.) Before he dozes off he is
+to repeat the last verse of the 90th and the whole of the 91st Psalm.
+The salutation should not be, as on working-days, "Good morning," but
+"Good Sabbath;" for respecting this it is said (Exod. xx. 8), "Remember
+the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." He is not to rise on the Sabbath as
+early as on the other days of the week, and this is based on Scripture.
+He is to be very careful with the fur garments that he may be wearing,
+lest he should pluck a hair therefrom, and for the same reason he is not
+to scratch his head or touch his beard on the Sabbath. He is not to wash
+his hands with salt or soap on the Sabbath, nor may he play at ball; he
+is not to knock with a rapper on a door, or ring the house-bell; nor, if
+he has married a widow, is he to co-habit with her on that day.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fols. 65-67.
+
+At the close of the Sabbath he is to pronounce over a cup of wine what
+is technically termed the "Separation," for the departure of the
+Sabbath, as given in the prayer-book. He is then to fold up his Tallith
+or veil and sing "Hamavdil," the first verse of which runs thus:--
+
+"May He who maketh a distinction between the holy (Sabbath) and the
+profane (days of the week) pardon our sins and multiply our children and
+our money as the sand and as the stars in the night!"
+
+Should he forget to fold his veil (Tallith), he is to shake it
+thoroughly the next morning, in order to get rid of the evil spirits
+that have harbored there during the night, and the reason is known to
+the lords of the Kabbalah.
+
+Ibid., fol. 71, col. 1.
+
+It is customary then to repeat a number of hymns and songs and legends
+wherein Elijah the Prophet is mentioned, because he it is that is to
+come and bring the tidings of redemption, for it is thus stated in
+Tosephta, that on the exit of the Sabbath Elijah of blessed memory sits
+under the "Tree of Life" and records in writing the merits of those that
+keep the Sabbath. Those that are particular repeat, and the very pious
+write, "Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Prophet," a
+hundred and thirty times, for "Elijah the Prophet," by Gematria equals
+120, to which add 10, the number of the letters, and the total is 130.
+
+Ibid.
+
+The word Elijah is written a hundred and thirty times in tabular form,
+with the letters transposed. This can be understood better by forming a
+Kabbalistic table of the same word in English.
+
+  Elijah  Ehlija  Ejahli  Eijahl  Elhija
+  Elahij  Eljahi  Elhaji  Eljiah  Ealijh
+  Eahlij  Eajhli  Eaijhl  Ealhij  Ehalij
+  Ehlaij  Ehijla  Ehjial  Ehialj  Ehjail
+
+and so on.
+
+The last day of the month is called, "The little Day of Atonement," and
+it is fit and proper to do penance on that day. On the first day of the
+month it is a pious act to prepare an extra dish for dinner in honor of
+the day. God has given the first of the month (as a festival) more for
+women than for men, because the three annual festivals are according to
+the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and because the twelve
+months are according to the twelve tribes; and as the tribes sinned in
+the matter of the golden calf, and the women were unwilling to give up
+their golden earrings for that idolatrous purpose, therefore they
+deserved that God should give them as their reward the first days of the
+twelve months, according to the number of the tribes.
+
+_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 72, col. 1.
+
+It is a very pious act to bless the moon at the close of the Sabbath,
+when one is dressed in his best attire and perfumed. If the blessing is
+to be performed on the evening of an ordinary week-day the best dress is
+to be worn. According to the Kabbalists the blessings upon the moon are
+not to be said till seven full days after her birth, but, according to
+later authorities, this may be done after three days. The reason for not
+performing this monthly service under a roof, but in the open air, is
+because it is considered as a reception of the presence of the
+Shechinah, and it would not be respectful so to do anywhere but in the
+open air. It depends very much upon circumstances when and where the new
+moon is to be consecrated, and also upon one's own predisposition, for
+authorities differ. We will close these remarks with the conclusion of
+the Kitzur Sh'lu on the subject, which, at p. 72, col. 2, runs thus:--
+
+"When about to sanctify the new moon, one should straighten his feet (as
+at the Shemonah-esreh) and give one glance at the moon before he begins
+to repeat the ritual blessing, and having commenced it he should not
+look at her at all. Thus should he begin--'In the united name of the
+Holy and Blessed One and His Shechinah, through that Hidden and
+Concealed One! and in the name of all Israel!' Then he is to proceed
+with the 'Form of Prayer for the New Moon;' word for word, without
+haste, but with solemn deliberation, and when he repeats--
+
+    "'Blessed is thy Former, blessed is thy Maker, blessed is thy
+    Possessor, blessed is thy Creator.'
+
+"He is to meditate on the initials of the four divine epithets which
+form 'Jacob,' for the moon, which is called 'the lesser light,' is his
+emblem or symbol, and he is also called 'little' (see Amos vii. 2). This
+he is to repeat three times. He is to skip three times while repeating
+thrice the following sentence, and after repeating three times forward
+and backward: thus (forward)--'Fear and dread shall fall upon them by
+the greatness of Thine arm; they shall be as still as a stone;' thus
+(backward)--'Still as a stone may they be; by the greatness of Thine arm
+may fear and dread fall on them;' he then is to say to his neighbor
+three times, 'Peace be unto you,' and the neighbor is to respond three
+times, 'Unto you be peace.' Then he is to say three times (very loudly),
+'David, the king of Israel, liveth and existeth!' and finally, he is to
+say three times--
+
+    "'May a good omen and good luck be upon us and upon all Israel!
+    Amen.'"
+
+
+
+
+RABBINICAL ANA
+
+
+It was said of Rabbi Tarphon, that though a very wealthy man, he was not
+charitable according to his means. One time Rabbi Akiba said to him.
+"Shall I invest some money for thee in real estate, in a manner which
+will be very profitable?" Rabbi Tarphon answered in the affirmative, and
+brought to Rabbi Akiba four thousand denars in gold, to be so applied.
+Rabbi Akiba immediately distributed the same among the poor. Some time
+after this Rabbi Tarphon met Rabbi Akiba, and asked him where the real
+estate which he had bought for him was situated. Akiba led his friend to
+the college, and showed him a little boy, who recited for them the 112th
+psalm. When he reached the ninth verse, "He distributeth, he giveth to
+the needy, his righteousness endureth forever."
+
+"There," said Akiba, "thy property is with David, the king of Israel,
+who said, 'he distributeth, he giveth to the needy.'"
+
+"And wherefore hast thou done this?" asked Tarphon.
+
+"Knowest thou not," answered Rabbi Akiba, "how Nakdimon, the son of
+Guryon, was punished because he gave not according to his means?"
+
+"Well," returned the other, "why didst thou not tell me this; could I
+not have distributed my means without thy aid?"
+
+"Nay," said Akiba, "it is a greater virtue to cause another to give than
+to give one's self."
+
+Rabbi Jochanan, the son of Lakkai, was once riding outside of Jerusalem,
+and his pupils had followed him. They saw a poor woman collecting the
+grain which dropped from the mouths and troughs of some feeding cattle,
+belonging to Arabs. When she saw the Rabbi, she addressed him in these
+brief words, "O Rabbi, assist me." He replied, "My daughter, whose
+daughter art thou?" "I am the daughter of Nakdimon, the son of Guryon,"
+she answered.
+
+"Why, what has become of thy father's money?" asked the Rabbi; "the
+amount which thou didst receive as a dowry on thy wedding day?"
+
+"Ah," she replied, "is there not a saying in Jerusalem, 'The salt was
+wanting to the money?'"
+
+"And thy husband's money," continued the Rabbi; "what of that?"
+
+"That followed the other," she answered; "I have lost them both."
+
+The Rabbi turned to his scholars and said:--
+
+"I remember, when I signed her marriage contract, her father gave her as
+a dowry one million golden denars, and her husband was wealthy in
+addition thereto."
+
+The Rabbi sympathized with the woman, helped her, and wept for her.
+
+"Happy are ye, oh sons of Israel," he said; "as long as ye perform the
+will of God naught can conquer ye; but if ye fail to fulfill His wishes,
+even the cattle are superior to ye."
+
+Nachum, whatever occurred to him, was in the habit of saying, "This too
+is for the best." In his old age he became blind; both of his hands and
+both of his legs were amputated, and the trunk of his body was covered
+with a sore inflammation. His scholars said to him, "If thou art a
+righteous man, why art thou so sorely afflicted?"
+
+"All this," he answered, "I brought upon myself. Once I was traveling to
+the house of my father-in-law, and I had with me thirty asses laden with
+provisions and all manner of precious articles. A man by the wayside
+called to me, 'O Rabbi, assist me.' I told him to wait until I unloaded
+my asses. When that time arrived and I had removed their burdens from my
+beasts, I found to my sorrow that the poor man had fallen and expired. I
+threw myself upon his body and wept bitterly. 'Let these eyes, which had
+no pity on thee, be blind,' I said; 'these hands that delayed to assist
+thee, let them be cut off, and also these feet, which did not run to aid
+thee,' And yet I was not satisfied until I prayed that my whole body
+might be stricken with a sore inflammation. Rabbi Akiba said to me, 'Woe
+to me that I find thee in this state! But I replied, 'Happy to thee that
+thou meetest me in this state, for through this I hope that my iniquity
+may be forgiven, and all my righteous deeds still remain recorded to
+gain me a reward of life eternal in the future world.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rabbi Janay upon seeing a man bestowing alms in a public place, said,
+"Thou hadst better not have given at all, than to have bestowed alms so
+openly and put the poor man to shame."
+
+"One should rather be thrown into a fiery furnace than be the means of
+bringing another to public shame."
+
+Rabbi Juda said, "No one should sit down to his own meals, until seeing
+that all the animals dependent upon his care are provided for."
+
+Rabbi Jochanan said that it is as pleasing in God's sight if we are kind
+and hospitable to strangers, as if we rise up early to study His law;
+because the former is in fact putting His law into practice. He also
+said, "He who is active in kindness toward his fellows is forgiven his
+sins."
+
+Both this Rabbi and Abba say it is better to lend to the poor than to
+give to them, for it prevents them from feeling ashamed of their
+poverty, and is really a more charitable manner of aiding them. The
+Rabbis have always taught that kindness is more than the mere almsgiving
+of charity, for it includes pleasant words with the more substantial
+help.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rabbi Hunnah said, "He who is proud in heart is as sinful as the
+idolater."
+
+Rabbi Abira said, "He who is proud shall be humbled."
+
+Heskaiah said, "The prayers of a proud-hearted man are never heard."
+
+Rabbi Ashi said, "He who hardens his heart with pride, softens his
+brains with the same."
+
+Rabbi Joshua said "Meekness is better than sacrifice"; for is it not
+written, "The sacrifices of God are a broken heart--a broken contrite
+spirit, Thou, oh Lord, will not despise?"
+
+The son of Rabbi Hunnah said, "He who possesses a knowledge of God's
+law, without the fear of Him, is as one who has been intrusted with the
+inner keys of a treasury, but from whom the outer ones are withheld."
+
+Rabbi Alexander said, "He who possesses worldly wisdom and fears not the
+Lord, is as one who designs building a house and completes only the
+door, for as David wrote in Psalm 111th, 'The beginning of wisdom is the
+fear of the Lord.'"
+
+When Rabbi Jochanan was ill, his pupils visited him and asked him for a
+blessing. With his dying voice the Rabbi said, "I pray that you may fear
+God as you fear man." "What!" exclaimed his pupils, "should we not fear
+God more than man?"
+
+"I should be well content," answered the sage, "if your actions proved
+that you feared Him as much. When you do wrong you first make sure that
+no human eyes see you; show the same fear of God, who sees everywhere,
+and everything, at all times."
+
+Abba says we can show our fear of God in our intercourse with one
+another. "Speak pleasantly and kindly to everyone"; he says, "trying to
+pacify anger, seeking peace, and pursuing it with your brethren and with
+all the world, and by this means you will gain that 'favor and good
+understanding in the sight of God and man,' which Solomon so highly
+prized."
+
+Rabbi Jochanan had heard Rabbi Simon, son of Jochay, illustrate by a
+parable that passage of Isaiah which reads as follows: "I, the Lord,
+love uprightness; but hate robbery (converted) into burnt-offering."
+
+A king having imported certain goods upon which he laid a duty, bade his
+officers, as they passed the custom-house, to stop and pay the usual
+tariff.
+
+Greatly astonished, his attendants addressed him thus: "Sire! all that
+is collected belongs to your majesty; why then give what must be
+eventually paid into thy treasury?"
+
+"Because," answered the monarch, "I wish travelers to learn from the
+action I now order you to perform, how abhorrent dishonesty is in my
+eyes."
+
+Rabbi Eleazer said: "He who is guided by righteousness and justice in
+all his doings, may justly be asserted to have copied God in His
+unbounded beneficence. For of Him (blessed be His name) we read, 'He
+loveth righteousness and justice'; that is, 'The earth is filled with
+the loving kindness of God.'" Might we think that to follow such a
+course is an easy task? No! The virtue of beneficence can be gained only
+by great efforts. Will it be difficult, however, for him that has the
+fear of God constantly before his eyes to acquire this attribute? No; he
+will easily attain it, whose every act is done in the fear of the Lord.
+
+"A crown of grace is the hoary head; on the way of righteousness can it
+be found."
+
+So taught Solomon in his Proverbs. Hence various Rabbis, who had
+attained an advanced age, were questioned by their pupils as to the
+probable cause that had secured them that mark of divine favor. Rabbi
+Nechumah answered that, in regard to himself, God had taken cognizance
+of three principles by which he had endeavored to guide his conduct.
+
+First, he had never striven to exalt his own standing by lowering that
+of his neighbor. This was agreeable to the example set by Rabbi Hunna,
+for the latter, while bearing on his shoulders a heavy spade, was met by
+Rabbi Choana Ben Chanilai, who, considering the burden derogatory to the
+dignity of so great a man, insisted upon relieving him of the implement
+and carrying it himself. But Rabbi Hunna refused, saying, "Were this
+your habitual calling I might permit it, but I certainly shall not
+permit another to perform an office which, if done by myself, may be
+looked upon by some as menial."
+
+Secondly, he had never gone to his night's rest with a heart harboring
+ill-will against his fellow-man, conformably with the practice of Mar
+Zutra, who, before sleeping, offered this prayer: "O Lord! forgive all
+those who have done me injury."
+
+Thirdly, he was not penurious, following the example of the righteous
+Job, of whom the sages relate that he declined to receive the change due
+him after making a purchase.
+
+Another Rabbi bearing also the name of Nechumah, replied to Rabbi Akiba,
+that he believed himself to have been blessed with long life because, in
+his official capacity, he had invariably set his face against accepting
+presents, mindful of what Solomon wrote, "He that hateth gifts will
+live." Another of his merits he conceived to be that of never resenting
+an offense; mindful of the words of Rabba, "He who is indulgent toward
+others' faults, will be mercifully dealt with by the Supreme Judge."
+
+Rabbi Zera said that the merit of having reached an extreme age was in
+his case due, under Providence, to his conduct through life. He governed
+his household with mildness and forbearance. He refrained from advancing
+an opinion before his superiors in wisdom. He avoided rehearsing the
+word of God in places not entirely free from uncleanliness. He wore the
+phylacteries all day, that he might be reminded of his religious duties.
+He did not make the college where sacred knowledge is taught, a place of
+convenience, as, for instance, to sleep there, either occasionally or
+habitually. He never rejoiced over the downfall of a fellow-mortal, nor
+would he designate another by a name objectionable to the party
+personally, or to the family of which he was a member.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Three friends," said the Rabbis, "has man. God, his father, and his
+mother. He who honors his parents honors God."
+
+Rabbi Judah said, "Known and revealed are the ways of man. A mother
+coaxes a child with kind words and gentle ways, gaining honor and
+affection; therefore, the Bible says, 'Honor thy father,' before 'honor
+thy mother.' But in regard to fearing, as the father is the preceptor of
+the child, teaching it the law, the Bible says, 'Every man shall fear
+his mother,' before the word 'father.'"
+
+Rabbi Ulah was once asked, "How extended should be this honor due to
+parents?"
+
+He replied:--
+
+"Listen, and I will tell ye how thoroughly it was observed by a heathen,
+Damah, the son of Nethina. He was a diamond merchant, and the sages
+desired to purchase from him a jewel for the ephod of the high priest.
+When they reached his house, they found that the key of the safe in
+which the diamond was kept was in the possession of Damah's father, who
+was sleeping. The son absolutely refused to wake his father, to obtain
+the key, even when the sages in their impatience offered him a much
+larger sum for the jewel than he had demanded. And further, when his
+father awoke, and he delivered the diamond to the purchasers, and they
+offered him the larger sum which they had named, he took from it his
+first price, returning the balance to them, with the words, 'I will not
+profit by the honor of my father.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Man cannot always judge of man, and in the respect paid to parents by
+their children, earthly eyes cannot always see the truth. For instance,
+a child may feed his parents on dainties, and yet deserve the punishment
+of a disrespectful son; while another may send his father to labor, and
+yet deserve reward. How may this be?
+
+A certain man placed dainty food before his father, and bade him eat
+thereof. When the father had finished his meal, he said:--
+
+"My son, thou hast prepared for me a most delicious meal. Wherefrom
+didst thou obtain these delicacies?"
+
+And the son replied, insultingly:--
+
+"Eat as the dogs do, old man, without asking questions."
+
+That son inherited the punishment of disrespect.
+
+A certain man, a miller, had a father living with him, at the time when
+all people not working for themselves were obliged to labor a certain
+number of days for the government. When it came near the time when this
+service would be required of the old man, his son said to him, "Go thou
+and labor for me in the mill, and I will go and work for the
+government."
+
+He said this because they who labored for the government were beaten if
+their work proved unsatisfactory, and he thought "it is better for me to
+run the chance of being beaten than to allow my father to risk it."
+Therefore, he deserved the reward of the son who "honors his father."
+
+Rabbi Chiyah asserted that God preferred honor shown to parents, to that
+displayed toward Himself. "It is written," said he, "'Honor the Lord
+from thy wealth.' How? Through charity, good deeds, putting the mezuzah
+upon thy doorposts, making a tabernacle for thyself during Succoth,
+etc.; all this if thou art able. If thou art poor the omission is not
+counted a sin or a neglect. But it is written, 'Honor thy father and thy
+mother,' and the duty is demanded alike of rich and poor; aye, even
+shouldst thou be obliged to beg for them from door to door."
+
+Rabbi Abahu said, "Abini, my son, hath obeyed this precept even as it
+should be observed."
+
+Abini had five children, but he would not allow any of them to open the
+door for their grandfather, or attend to his wants when he himself was
+at home. Even as he desired them in their lives to honor him, so he paid
+respect to his father. Upon one occasion his father asked him for a
+glass of water. While he was procuring it the old man fell asleep, and
+Abini, re-entering the room, stood by his father's side with the glass
+in his hand until the latter awoke.
+
+"What is fear?" and "What is honor?" ask the Rabbis.
+
+Fear thy mother, and thy father by sitting not in their seats and
+standing not in their places; by paying strict attention to their words
+and interrupting not their speech. Be doubly careful not to criticise or
+judge their arguments or controversies.
+
+Honor thy father and thy mother, by attending to their wants; giving
+them to eat and to drink; put their raiment upon them, and tie their
+shoes if they are not able to perform these services for themselves.
+
+Rabbi Eleazer was asked how far honor toward parents should be extended,
+and he replied: "Cast all thy wealth into the sea; but trouble not thy
+father and thy mother."
+
+Simon, the son of Jochai, said: "As the reward to those who honor their
+parents is great, so is the punishment equally great for those who
+neglect the precept."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rabbi Jochanan said, "It is best to study by night, when all is quiet;
+as it is written, 'Shout forth praises in the night.'"
+
+Reshbi Lakish said, "Study by day and by night; as it is written, 'Thou
+shalt meditate therein day and night.'"
+
+Rabbi Chonan, of Zepora said, "The study of the law may be compared to a
+huge heap of dust that is to be cleared away. The foolish man says, 'It
+is impossible that I should be able to remove this immense heap, I will
+not attempt it;' but the wise man says, 'I will remove a little to-day,
+some more to-morrow, and more the day after, and thus in time I shall
+have removed it all.'
+
+"It is the same with studying the law. The indolent pupil says, 'It is
+impossible for me to study the Bible. Just think of it, fifty chapters
+in Genesis; sixty-six in Isaiah, one hundred and fifty Psalms, etc. I
+cannot do it;' but the industrious student says, 'I will study six
+chapters every day, and so in time I shall acquire the whole.'"
+
+In Proverbs 24:7, we find this sentence: "Wisdom is too high for a
+fool."
+
+"Rabbi Jochanan illustrates this verse with an apple depending from the
+ceiling. The foolish man says, 'I cannot reach the fruit, it is too
+high;' but the wise man says, 'It may be readily obtained by placing one
+step upon another until thy arm is brought within reach of it.' The
+foolish man says, 'Only a wise man can study the entire law,' but the
+wise man replies, 'It is not incumbent upon thee to acquire the whole.'"
+
+Rabbi Levi illustrates this by a parable.
+
+A man once hired two servants to fill a basket with water. One of them
+said, "Why should I continue this useless labor? I put the water in one
+side and it immediately leaks out of the other; what profit is it?"
+
+The other workman, who was wise, replied, "We have the profit of the
+reward which we receive for our labor."
+
+It is the same in studying the law. One man says, "What does it profit
+me to study the law when I must ever continue it or else forget what I
+have learned." But the other man replies, "God will reward us for the
+will which we display even though we do forget."
+
+Rabbi Ze-irah has said that even a single letter in the law which we
+might deem of no importance, if wanting, would neutralize the whole law.
+In Deuteronomy 22:17, we read, "Neither shall he take to himself many
+wives, that his heart may turn away." Solomon transgressed this precept,
+and it is said by Rabbi Simon that the angels took note of his ill-doing
+and addressed the Deity: "Sovereign of the world, Solomon has made Thy
+law even as a law liable to change and diminution. Three precepts he has
+disregarded, namely, 'He shall not acquire for himself many horses';
+'neither shall he take to himself many wives'; 'nor shall he acquire to
+himself too much silver and gold.'" Then the Lord replied, "Solomon will
+perish from the earth; aye, and a hundred Solomons after him, and yet
+the smallest letter of the law shall not be dispensed with."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Rabbis have often applied in a figurative sense, various passages of
+Holy Writ, among others the opening verse of the 55th chapter of Isaiah.
+"Ho, every one of ye that thirsteth, come ye to the water, and he, too,
+that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy without money
+and without price, wine and milk."
+
+The three liquids which men are thus urged to procure are considered by
+the sages of Israel as typical of the law.
+
+One Rabbi asked, "Why is the word of God compared to water?"
+
+To this question the following answer was returned: "As water runs down
+from an eminence (the mountains), and rests in a low place (the sea), so
+the law, emanating from Heaven, can remain in the possession of those
+only who are humble in spirit."
+
+Another Rabbi inquired, "Wherefore has the Word of God been likened to
+wine and milk?" The reply made was, "As these fluids cannot be preserved
+in golden vessels, but only in those of earthenware, so those minds will
+be the best receptacles of learning which are found in homely bodies."
+
+Rabbi Joshua ben Chaninah, who was very homely in appearance, possessed
+great wisdom and erudition; and one of his favorite sayings was, that
+"though many have exhibited a vast amount of knowledge, notwithstanding
+their personal attractions, yet had they been less handsome, their
+acquirements might have been more extensive."
+
+The precepts are compared to a lamp; the law of God to a light. The lamp
+gives light only so long as it contains oil. So he who observes the
+precepts receives his reward while performing them. The law, however, is
+a light perpetual; it is a protection forever to the one who studies it,
+as it is written:--
+
+"When thou walkest, it (the law) will guide thee; when thou liest down,
+it will watch over thee; and when thou awakest, it will converse with
+thee."
+
+When thou walkest it will guide thee--in this world; when thou liest
+down, it will watch over thee--in the grave; when thou awakest, it
+will converse with thee--in the life to come.
+
+A traveler upon his journey passed through the forest upon a dark and
+gloomy night. He journeyed in dread; he feared the robbers who infested
+the route he was traversing; he feared that he might slip and fall into
+some unseen ditch or pitfall on the way, and he feared, too, the wild
+beasts, which he knew were about him. By chance he discovered a pine
+torch, and lighted it, and its gleams afforded him great relief. He no
+longer feared brambles or pitfalls, for he could see his way before him.
+But the dread of robbers and wild beasts was still upon him, nor left
+him till the morning's dawn, the coming of the sun. Still he was
+uncertain of his way, until he emerged from the forest, and reached the
+cross-roads, when peace returned unto his heart.
+
+The darkness in which the man walked was the lack of religious
+knowledge. The torch he discovered typifies God's precepts, which aided
+him on the way until he obtained the blessed sunlight, compared to God's
+holy word, the Bible. Still, while man is in the forest (the world), he
+is not entirely at peace; his heart is weak, and he may lose the right
+path; but when he reaches the cross-roads (death), then may we proclaim
+him truly righteous, and exclaim:--
+
+"A good name is more fragrant than rich perfume, and the day of death is
+better than the day of one's birth."
+
+Rabbi Jochanan, the son of Broka, and Rabbi Eleazer, the son of Chismah,
+visited their teacher, Rabbi Josah, and he said to them:--
+
+"What is the news at the college; what is going on?"
+
+"Nay," they answered, "we are thy scholars; it is for thee to speak, for
+us to listen."
+
+"Nevertheless," replied Rabbi Josah, "no day passes without some
+occurrence of note at the college. Who lectured to-day?"
+
+"Rabbi Eleazer, the son of Azaryah."
+
+"And what was his subject?"
+
+"He chose this verse from Deuteronomy," replied the scholar:--
+
+"'Assemble the people together, the men, the women, and the children;'
+and thus he expounded it:--
+
+"'The men came to learn, the women to listen; but wherefore the
+children? In order that those who brought them might receive a reward
+for training their children in the fear of the Lord.'
+
+"He also expounded the verse from Ecclesiastes:--
+
+"'The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails fastened (are the
+words of) the men of the assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.'
+
+"'Why is the law of God compared to a goad?' he said. 'Because the goad
+causes the ox to draw the furrow straight, and the straight furrow
+brings forth a plenty of good food for the life of man. So does the law
+of God keep man's heart straight, that it may produce good food to
+provide for the life eternal. But lest thou shouldst say, "The goad is
+movable, so therefore must the law be," it is also written, "as nails,"
+and likewise, as "nails fastened," lest thou shouldst argue that nails
+pounded into wood diminish from sight with each stroke, and that
+therefore by this comparison God's law would be liable to diminution
+also. No; as a nail fastened or planted, as a tree is planted to bring
+forth fruit and multiply.
+
+"'The men of assemblies are those who gather in numbers to study the
+law. Frequently controversies arise among them, and thou mightest say,
+"With so many differing opinions how can I settle to a study of the
+law?" Thy answer is written in the words which are given by one
+shepherd. From one God have all the laws proceeded. Therefore make thy
+ears as a sieve, and incline thy heart to possess all these words.'"
+
+Then said Rabbi Josah, "Happy the generation which Rabbi Eleazer
+teaches."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Rabbis of Jabnah expressed their regard for all human beings,
+learned and unlearned, in this manner:--
+
+"I am a creature of God and so is my neighbor. He may prefer to labor in
+the country; I prefer a calling in the city. I rise early for my
+personal benefit; he rises early to advance his own interests. As he
+does not seek to supplant me, I should be careful to do naught to injure
+his business. Shall I imagine that I am nearer to God because my
+profession advances the cause of learning and his does not? No. Whether
+we accomplish much good or little good, the Almighty will reward us in
+accordance with our righteous intentions."
+
+Abaygeh offered the following as his best advice:--
+
+"... Let him be also affable and disposed to foster kindly feelings
+between all people; by so doing he will gain for himself the love both
+of the Creator and His creatures."
+
+Rabba always said that the possession of wisdom and a knowledge of the
+law necessarily led to penitence and good deeds. "For," said he, "it
+would be useless to acquire great learning and the mastery of biblical
+and traditional law and act irreverently toward one's parents, or toward
+those superior on account of age or more extensive learning."
+
+"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding
+have all those who do God's commands."
+
+Rabba said, "Holy Writ does not tell us that to study God's commands
+shows a good understanding, but to do them. We must learn, however,
+before we can be able to perform; and he who acts contrary through life
+to the teachings of the Most High had better never have been born."
+
+"The wise man is in his smallest actions great: the fool is in his
+greatest actions small."
+
+A pupil once inquired of his teacher, "What is real wisdom?" The teacher
+replied, "To judge liberally, to think purely, and to love thy
+neighbor." Another teacher answered, "The greatest wisdom is to know
+thyself."
+
+"Beware of conceit and pride of learning; learn thy tongue to utter, 'I
+do not know.'"
+
+If a man devotes himself to study, and becomes learned, to the delight
+and gratification of his teachers, and yet is modest in conversation
+with less intelligent people, honest in his dealings, truthful in his
+daily walks, the people say, "Happy is the father who allowed him to
+study God's law; happy the teachers who instructed him in the ways of
+truth; how beautiful are his ways; how meritorious his deeds! Of such an
+one the Bible says, 'He said to me, Thou art my servant; oh, Israel,
+through thee am I glorified.'"
+
+But when a man devotes himself to study, and becomes learned, yet is
+disdainful with those less educated than himself, and is not particular
+in his dealings with his fellows, then the people say of him, "Woe to
+the father who allowed him to study God's law; woe to those who
+instructed him; how censurable is his conduct; how loathsome are his
+ways! 'Tis of such an one the Bible says, 'And from his country the
+people of the Lord departed.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When souls stand at the judgment-seat of God, the poor, the rich, and
+the wicked each are severally asked what excuse they can offer for not
+having studied the law. If the poor man pleads his poverty he is
+reminded of Hillel. Though Hillel's earnings were small he gave half
+each day to gain admittance to the college.
+
+When the rich man is questioned, and answers that the care of his
+fortune occupied his time, he is told that Rabbi Eleazer possessed a
+thousand forests and a thousand ships, and yet abandoned all the
+luxuries of wealth and journeyed from town to town searching and
+expounding the law.
+
+When the wicked man pleads temptation as an excuse for his evil course,
+he is asked if he has been more tempted than Joseph, more cruelly tried
+than he was, with good or evil fortune.
+
+Yet though we are commanded to study God's law, we are not to make of it
+a burden; neither are we to neglect for the sake of study any other duty
+or reasonable recreation. "Why," once asked a pupil, "is 'thou shalt
+gather in thy corn in its season' a Scriptural command? Would not the
+people gather their corn when ripe as a matter of course? The command is
+superfluous."
+
+"Not so," replied the Rabbis; "the corn might belong to a man who for
+the sake of study would neglect work. Work is holy and honorable in
+God's sight, and He would not have men fail to perform their daily
+duties even for the study of His law."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bless God for the good as well as for the evil. When you hear of a death
+say, "Blessed is the righteous Judge."
+
+Prayer is Israel's only weapon, a weapon inherited from its fathers, a
+weapon proved in a thousand battles. Even when the gates of prayer are
+shut in heaven, those of tears are open.
+
+We read that in the contest with Amalek, when Moses lifted up his arms
+Israel prevailed. Did Moses's hands affect the war, to make it or to
+break it? No; but while the ones of Israel look upward with humble heart
+to the Great Father in Heaven, no evil can prevail against them.
+
+"And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole; and it came
+to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent
+of brass he lived."
+
+Had the brazen serpent the power of killing or of giving life? No; but
+while Israel looks upward to the Great Father in Heaven, He will grant
+life.
+
+"Has God pleasure in the meat and blood of sacrifices?" ask the
+prophets.
+
+No. He has not so much ordained as permitted them. "It is for
+yourselves," He says; "not for me, that ye offer."
+
+A king had a son whom he daily discovered carousing with dissolute
+companions, eating and drinking. "Eat at my table," said the king; "eat
+and drink, my son, even as pleaseth thee; but let it be at my table, and
+not with dissolute companions."
+
+The people loved sacrificing, and they made offerings to strange gods;
+therefore, God said to them: "If ye will sacrifice, bring your offerings
+at least to me."
+
+Scripture ordains that the Hebrew slave who loves his bondage shall have
+his ears pierced against the doorpost. Why?
+
+Because that ear heard from Sinai's heights these words: "They are my
+servants; they shall not be sold as bondsmen." My servants, and not lay
+servant's servants; therefore, pierce the ear of the one who loves his
+bondage and rejects the freedom offered him.
+
+He who sacrifices a whole offering shall be rewarded for a whole
+offering; he who offers a burnt-offering shall have the reward of a
+burnt-offering; but he who offers humility to God and man shall receive
+as great a reward as though he had offered all the sacrifices in the
+world.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The God of Abraham will help the one who appoints a certain place to
+pray to the Lord.
+
+Rabbi Henah said, "When such a man dies they will say of him, 'A pious
+man, a meek man, hath died; he followed the example of our father
+Abraham.'"
+
+How do we know that Abraham appointed a certain place to pray?
+
+"Abraham rose early in the morning and went to the place where he stood
+before the Lord."
+
+Rabbi Chelboh said, "We should not hurry when we leave a place of
+worship."
+
+"This," said Abayyeh, "is in reference to leaving a place of worship;
+but we should certainly hasten on our way thither, as it is written,
+'Let us know and hasten to serve the Lord.'"
+
+Rabbi Zabid said, "When I used to see the Rabbis hurrying to a lecture
+in their desire to obtain good seats, I thought to myself, 'they are
+violating the Sabbath.' When, however, I heard Rabbi Tarphon say, 'One
+should always hasten to perform a commandment even on the Sabbath,' as
+it is written, 'They shall follow after the Lord when He roareth like a
+lion,' I hurried also, in order to be early in attendance."
+
+That place wherein we can best pray to God is His house; as it is
+written:--
+
+"To listen to the praises and prayers which Thy servant prays before
+Thee." Alluding to the service in the house of God.
+
+Said Rabin, the son of Ada, "Whence do we derive the tradition, that
+when ten men are praying in the house of God the Divine Presence rests
+among them?
+
+"It is written, 'God stands in the assembly of the mighty.' That an
+assembly or congregation consists of not less than ten, we learn from
+God's words to Moses in regard to the spies who were sent out to view
+the land of Canaan. 'How long,' said he, 'shall indulgence be given to
+this evil congregation?' Now the spies numbered twelve men; but Joshua
+and Caleb being true and faithful, there remained but ten to form the
+'evil congregation.'"
+
+"Whence do we derive the tradition that when even one studies the law,
+the Divine Presence rests with him?"
+
+"It is written, 'In every place where I shall permit my name to be
+mentioned, I will come unto thee and I will bless thee.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Four biblical characters offered up their prayers in a careless,
+unthinking manner; three of them God prospered; the other met with
+sorrow. They were, Eleazer, the servant of Abraham; Caleb, the son of Ye
+Phunneh; Saul, the son of Kish; and Jephtah the Giladite.
+
+Eleazer prayed, "Let it come to pass that the maiden to whom I shall
+say, 'Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink'; and she
+shall say, 'Drink, and to thy camels also will I give drink'; shall be
+the one Thou hast appointed for Thy servant Isaac."
+
+Suppose a slave had appeared and answered all the requirement which
+Eleazer proposed, would Abraham and Isaac have been satisfied? But God
+prospered his mission, and "Rebecca came out."
+
+Caleb said, "He that will smite Kiryath-sepher, and capture it, to him
+will I give Achsah, my daughter, for wife."
+
+Would he have given his daughter to a slave or a heathen?
+
+But God prospered him, and "Othniel, the son of Keuaz, Caleb's younger
+brother, conquered it, and he gave him Achsah, his daughter, for wife."
+
+Saul said, "And it shall be that the man who killeth him (Goliath) will
+the king enrich with great riches, and his daughter will he give him."
+
+He ran the same risk as Caleb, and God was good to him also; and David,
+the son of Jesse, accomplished that for which he had prayed.
+
+Jephtah expressed himself thus: "If thou wilt indeed deliver the
+children of Amon into my hand, then shall it be that whatsoever cometh
+forth out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace
+from the children of Amon, shall belong to the Lord, and I will offer it
+up for a burnt-offering."
+
+Supposing an ass, or a dog, or a cat, had first met him upon his return,
+would he have sacrificed it for a burnt-offering? God did not prosper
+this risk, and the Bible says, "And Jephtah came to Mizpah unto his
+house, and behold his daughter came out to meet him."
+
+Said Rabbi Simon ben Jochai, "The requests of three persons were granted
+before they had finished their prayers--Eleazer, Moses, and Solomon.
+
+"In regard to Eleazer we learn, 'And before he had yet finished speaking
+that, behold Rebecca came out.'
+
+"In regard to Moses, we find, 'And it came to pass when he had made an
+end of speaking all these words, that the ground that was under them was
+cloven asunder, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them.'"
+(Korach and his company.)
+
+"In regard to Solomon, we find, 'And just when Solomon had made an end
+of praying, a fire came down,'" etc.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rabbi Jochanan said in the name of Rabbi Joseh, "To those who delight in
+the Sabbath shall God give inheritance without end. As it is written,
+'Then shalt thou find delight in the Lord,' etc. 'And I will cause thee
+to enjoy the inheritance of Jacob, thy father.' Not as it was promised
+to Abraham, 'Arise and walk through the land to its length and breadth.'
+Not as it was promised to Isaac, 'I will give thee all that this land
+contains'; but as it was promised to Jacob, 'And thou shalt spread
+abroad, to the West, and to the East, to the North, and to the South.'"
+
+Rabbi Jehudah said that if the Israelites had strictly observed the
+first Sabbath, after the command to sanctify the seventh day had been
+given, they would have been spared captivity; as it is written, "And it
+came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people
+to gather (the Mannah), but they found nothing." And in the next chapter
+we find, "Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One Joseph, a Jew, who honored the Sabbath, had a very rich neighbor,
+who was a firm believer in astrology. He was told by one of the
+professional astrologers that his wealth would become Joseph's. He
+therefore sold his estate, and bought with the proceeds a large diamond,
+which he sewed in his turban, saying, "Joseph can never obtain this." It
+so happened, however, that while standing one day upon the deck of a
+ship in which he was crossing the sea, a heavy wind arose and carried
+the turban from his head. A fish swallowed the diamond, and being caught
+and exposed for sale in the market, was purchased by Joseph to supply
+his table on the Sabbath eve. Of course, upon opening it he discovered
+the diamond.
+
+Rabbi Ishmael, the son of Joshua, was asked, "How did the rich people of
+the land of Israel become so wealthy?" He answered, "They gave their
+tithes in due season, as it is written, 'Thou shalt give tithes, in
+order that thou mayest become rich.'" "But," answered his questioner,
+"tithes were given to the Levites, only while the holy temple existed.
+What merit did they possess while they dwelt in Babel, that they became
+wealthy there also?" "Because," replied the Rabbi, "they honored the
+Holy Law by expounding it." "But in other countries, where they did not
+expound the Law, how did they deserve wealth?" "By honoring the
+Sabbath," was the answer.
+
+Rabbi Achiya, the son of Abah, said, "I sojourned once in Ludik, and was
+entertained by a certain wealthy man on the Sabbath day. The table was
+spread with a sumptuous repast, and the dishes were of silver and gold.
+Before making a blessing over the meal the master of the house said,
+'Unto the Lord belongeth the earth, with all that it contains.' After
+the blessing he said, 'The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the
+earth hath He given to the children of men.' I said to my host, 'I trust
+you will excuse me, my dear sir, if I take the liberty of asking you how
+you have merited this prosperity?' He answered, 'I was formerly a
+butcher, and I always selected the finest cattle to be killed for the
+Sabbath, in order that the people might have the best meat on that day.
+To this, I believe firmly, I owe my prosperity.' I replied, 'Blessed be
+the Lord, that He hath given thee all this.'"
+
+The Governor Turnusrupis once asked Rabbi Akiba, "What is this day you
+call the Sabbath more than any other day?" The Rabbi responded, "What
+art thou more than any other person?" "I am superior to others," he
+replied, "because the emperor has appointed me governor over them."
+
+Then said Akiba, "The Lord our God, who is greater than your emperor,
+has appointed the Sabbath day to be holier than the other days."
+
+When man leaves the synagogue for his home an angel of good and an angel
+of evil accompany him. If he finds the table spread in his house, the
+Sabbath lamps lighted, and his wife and children in festive garments
+ready to bless the holy day of rest, then the good angel says:--
+
+"May the next Sabbath and all thy Sabbaths be like this. Peace unto this
+dwelling, peace;" and the angel of evil is forced to say, "Amen!"
+
+But if the house is not ready, if no preparations have been made to
+greet the Sabbath, if no heart within the dwelling has sung, "Come, my
+beloved, to meet the bride; the presence of the Sabbath let us receive;"
+then the angel of evil speaks and says:--
+
+"May all thy Sabbaths be like this;" and the weeping angel of goodness,
+responds, "Amen!"
+
+Samson sinned against the Lord through his eyes, as it is written, "I
+have seen a woman of the daughters of the Philistines.... This one take
+for me, for she pleaseth in my eyes." Therefore through his eyes was he
+punished, as it is written, "And the Philistines seized him, and put out
+his eyes."
+
+Abshalom was proud of his hair. "And like Abshalom there was no man as
+handsome in all Israel, so that he was greatly praised; from the sole of
+his foot up to the crown of his head there was no blemish on him. And
+when he shaved off the hair of his head, and it was at the end of every
+year that he shaved it off, because it was too heavy on him so that he
+had to shave it off, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred
+shekels by the king's weight." Therefore by his hair was he hanged.
+
+Miriam waited for Moses one hour (when he was in the box of bulrushes).
+Therefore the Israelites waited for Miriam seven days, when she became
+leprous. "And the people did not set forward until Miriam was brought in
+again."
+
+Joseph buried his father. "And Joseph went up to bury his father." There
+was none greater among the children of Israel than Joseph. Moses
+excelled him afterward, however; therefore we find, "And Moses took the
+bones of Joseph with him." But the world has seen none greater than
+Moses, therefore 'tis written, "And He (God) buried him in the valley."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When trouble and sorrow become the portion of Israel, and the
+fainthearted separate from their people, two angels lay their hands upon
+the head of him who withdraws, saying, "This one shall not see the
+comfort of the congregation."
+
+When trouble comes to the congregation it is not right for a man to say,
+"I will go home; I will eat and drink; and things shall be peaceful to
+me;" 'tis of such a one that the holy book speaks, saying, "And behold
+there is gladness and joy; slaying of oxen, and killing of sheep; eating
+of flesh, and drinking of wine. 'Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we
+must die.' And it was revealed in my ears by the Lord of Hosts; surely
+the iniquity shall not be forgiven ye until ye die."
+
+Our teacher, Moses, always bore his share in the troubles of the
+congregation, as it is written, "They took a stone and put it under
+him." Could they not have given him a chair or a cushion? But then he
+said, "Since the Israelites are in trouble (during the war with Amalek)
+lo, I will bear my part with them, for he who bears his portion of the
+burden will live to enjoy the hour of consolation. Woe to the one who
+thinks, 'Ah, well, I will neglect my duty; who can know whether I bear
+my part or not;' even the stones of his house, aye, the limbs of the
+trees, shall testify against him, as it is written, 'For the stones will
+cry from the wall, and the limbs of the trees will testify.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rabbi Meir said, "When a man teaches his son a trade, he should pray to
+the Possessor of the world, the Dispenser of wealth and poverty; for in
+every trade and pursuit of life both the rich and the poor are to be
+found. It is folly for one to say, 'This is a bad trade, it will not
+afford me a living;' because he will find many well to do in the same
+occupation. Neither should a successful man boast and say, 'This is a
+great trade, a glorious art, it has made me wealthy;' because many
+working in the same line as himself have found but poverty. Let all
+remember that everything is through the infinite mercy and wisdom of
+God."
+
+Rabbi Simon, the son of Eleazer, said, "Hast thou ever noted the fowls
+of the air and beasts of the field how easily their maintenance is
+provided for them; and yet they were only created to serve me. Now
+should not I find a livelihood with even less trouble, for I was made to
+serve my fellow-creatures? But, alas! I sinned against my Creator,
+therefore am I punished with poverty and obliged to labor."
+
+Rabbi Judah said, "Most mule-drivers are cruel. They beat their poor
+beasts unmercifully. Most camel-drivers are upright. They travel through
+deserts and dangerous places, and have time for meditation and thoughts
+of God. The majority of seamen are religious. Their daily peril makes
+them so. The best doctors are deserving of punishment. In the pursuit of
+knowledge they experiment on their patients, and often with fatal
+results. The best of butchers deserve to be rated with the Amalekites,
+they are accustomed to blood and cruelty; as it is written of the
+Amalekites, 'How he met thee by the way and smote the hindmost of thee,
+and that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary.'"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Man is born with his hands clenched; he dies with his hands wide open.
+Entering life he desires to grasp everything; leaving the world, all
+that he possessed has slipped away.
+
+Even as a fox is man; as a fox which seeing a fine vineyard lusted after
+its grapes. But the palings were placed at narrow distances, and the fox
+was too bulky to creep between them. For three days he fasted, and when
+he had grown thin he entered into the vineyard. He feasted upon the
+grapes, forgetful of the morrow, of all things but his enjoyment; and
+lo, he had again grown stout and was unable to leave the scene of his
+feast. So for three days more he fasted, and when he had again grown
+thin, he passed through the palings and stood outside the vineyard,
+meagre as when he entered.
+
+So with man; poor and naked he enters the world, poor and naked does he
+leave.
+
+Alexander wandered to the gates of Paradise and knocked for entrance.
+
+"Who knocks?" demanded the guardian angel.
+
+"Alexander."
+
+"Who is Alexander?"
+
+"Alexander--the Alexander--Alexander the Great--the conqueror of the
+world."
+
+"We know him not," replied the angel; "this is the Lord's gate, only the
+righteous enter here."
+
+Alexander begged for something to prove that he had reached the gates of
+Paradise, and a small piece of a skull was given to him. He showed it to
+his wise men, who placed it in one scale of a balance, Alexander poured
+gold and silver into the other scale, but the small bone weighed
+heavier; he poured in more, adding his crown jewels, his diadem; but
+still the bone outweighed them all. Then one of the wise men, taking a
+grain of dust from the ground placed that upon the bone, and lo, the
+scale flew up.
+
+The bone was that which surrounds the eye of man; the eye of man which
+naught can satisfy save the dust which covers it in the grave.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the righteous dies, 'tis earth that meets with loss. The jewel will
+ever be a jewel, but it has passed from the possession of its former
+owner. Well may the loser weep.
+
+Life is a passing shadow, say the Scriptures. The shadow of a tower or a
+tree; the shadow which prevails for a time? No; even as the shadow of a
+bird in its flight, it passeth from our sight, and neither bird nor
+shadow remains.
+
+"My lover goes down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to wander
+about in the garden and pluck roses." (Song of Songs).
+
+The world is the garden of my lover, and he my lover is the King of
+kings. Like a bed of fragrant spices is Israel, the sweet savour of
+piety ascends on high, the perfume of learning lingers on the passing
+breeze, and the bed of beauty is fenced round by gentle peace. The
+plants flourish and put forth leaves, leaves giving grateful shelter to
+those who suffer from the heats and disappointment of life, and my lover
+seeking the most beautiful blossom, plucks the roses, the students of
+the law, whose belief is their delight.
+
+When the devouring flames seize upon the cedar, shall not the lowly
+hyssop fear and tremble? When anglers draw the great leviathan from his
+mighty deeps, what hope have the fish of the shallow pond? When the
+fishing-line is dropped into the dashing torrent, can they feel secure,
+the waters of the purling brook?
+
+Mourn for those who are left; mourn not for the one taken by God from
+earth. He has entered into the eternal rest, while we are bowed with
+sorrow.
+
+Rabbi Akiba was once traveling through the country, and he had with him
+an ass, a rooster, and a lamp.
+
+At nightfall he reached a village where he sought shelter for the night
+without success.
+
+"All that God does is done well," said the Rabbi, and proceeding toward
+the forest he resolved to pass the night there. He lit his lamp, but the
+wind extinguished it. "All that God does is done well," he said. The ass
+and the rooster were devoured by wild beasts; yet still he said no more
+than "All that God does is done well."
+
+Next day he learned that a troop of the enemy's soldiers had passed
+through the forest that night. If the ass had brayed, if the rooster had
+crowed, or if the soldiers had seen his light he would surely have met
+with death, therefore he said again, "All that God does is done well."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Once when Rabbi Gamliel, Rabbi Eleazer, the son of Azaria, Rabbi Judah,
+and Rabbi Akiba were walking together, they heard the shouts and
+laughter and joyous tones of a multitude of people at a distance. Four
+of the Rabbis wept; but Akiba laughed aloud.
+
+"Akiba," said the others to him, "wherefore laugh? These heathens who
+worship idols live in peace, and are merry, while our holy city lies in
+ruins; weep, do not laugh."
+
+"For that very reason I laugh, and am glad," answered Rabbi Akiba. "If
+God allows those who transgress His will to live happily on earth, how
+infinitely great must be the happiness which He has stored up in the
+world to come for those who observe His commands."
+
+Upon another occasion these same Rabbis went up to Jerusalem. When they
+reached Mount Zophim and saw the desolation about them they rent their
+garments, and when they reached the spot where the Temple had stood and
+saw a fox run out from the very site of the holy of holies four of them
+wept bitterly; but again Rabbi Akiba appeared merry. His comrades again
+rebuked him for this, to them, unseemly state of feeling.
+
+"Ye ask me why I am merry," said he; "come now, tell me why ye weep?"
+
+"Because the Bible tells us that a stranger (one not descended from
+Aaron) who approaches the holy of holies shall be put to death, and now
+behold the foxes make of it a dwelling-place. Why should we not weep?"
+
+"Ye weep," returned Akiba, "from the very reason which causes my heart
+to be glad. Is it not written, 'And testify to me, ye faithful
+witnesses, Uriah, the priest, and Zachariah, the son of Berachiahu?' Now
+what hath Uriah to do with Zachariah? Uriah lived during the existence
+of the first Temple, and Zachariah during the second. Know ye not that
+the prophecy of Uriah is compared to the prophecy of Zachariah. From
+Uriah's prophecy we find, 'Therefore for your sake Zion will be plowed
+as is a field, and Jerusalem will be a desolation, and the mount of Zion
+shall be as a forest;' and in Zachariah we find, 'They will sit, the old
+men and women, in the streets of Jerusalem.' Before the prophecy of
+Uriah was accomplished I might have doubted the truth of Zachariah's
+comforting words; but now that one has been accomplished, I feel assured
+that the promises to Zachariah will also come to pass, therefore am I
+glad."
+
+"Thy words comfort us, Akiba," answered his companions. "May God ever
+provide us comfort."
+
+Still another time, when Rabbi Eleazer was very sick and his friends and
+scholars were weeping for him, Rabbi Akiba appeared happy, and asked
+them why they wept. "Because," they replied, "our beloved Rabbi is lying
+between life and death." "Weep not, on the contrary be glad therefor,"
+he answered. "If his wine did not grow sour, if his flag was not
+stricken down, I might think that on earth he received the reward of his
+righteousness; but now that I see my teacher suffering for what evil he
+may have committed in this world, I rejoice. He hath taught us that the
+most righteous among us commit some sin, therefore in the world to come
+he will have peace."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+While Rabbi Eleazer was sick, the four elders, Rabbi Tarphon, Rabbi
+Joshua, Rabbi Eleazer, the son of Azoria, and Rabbi Akiba, called upon
+him.
+
+"Thou art better to Israel than the raindrops to earth, or the raindrops
+are for this world only, while thou, my teacher, have helped the
+ripening of fruit for this world and the next," said Rabbi Tarphon.
+
+"Thou art better to Israel than the sun, for the sun is for this world
+alone; thou hast given light for this world and the next," said Rabbi
+Joshua.
+
+Then spoke Rabbi Eleazer, the son of Azoria:--
+
+"Thou art better to Israel," said he, "than father and mother to man.
+They bring him into the world, but thou, my teacher, showest him the way
+into the world of Immortality."
+
+Then said Rabbi Akiba:--
+
+"It is well that man should be afflicted, for his distresses atone for
+his sins."
+
+"Does the Bible make such an assertion, Akiba?" asked his teacher.
+
+"Yes," answered Akiba. "'Twelve years old was Manassah when he became
+king, and fifty-and-five years did he reign in Jerusalem, and he did
+what was evil in the eyes of the Lord' (Kings). Now, how was this? Did
+Hezekiah teach the law to the whole world and not to his son Manassah?
+Assuredly not; but Manassah paid no attention to his precepts, and
+neglected the word of God until he was afflicted with bodily pain, as it
+is written, 'And the Lord spoke to Manassah and to his people, but they
+listened not, wherefore the Lord brought over them the captains of the
+armies belonging to the king of Assyria, and they took Manassah prisoner
+with chains, and bound him with fetters, and led him off to Babylon; and
+when he was in distress he besought the Lord his God, and humbled
+himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And he prayed to Him, and
+He permitted Himself to be entreated by him and heard his supplication,
+and brought him back to Jerusalem unto his kingdom. Then did Manassah
+feel conscious that the Lord is indeed the (true) God.'
+
+"Now, what did the king of Assyria to Manassah? He placed him in a
+copper barrel and had a fire kindled beneath it, and while enduring
+great torture of his body, Manassah was further tortured in his mind.
+'Shall I call upon the Almighty?' he thought. 'Alas! His anger burns
+against me. To call upon my idols is to call in vain,--alas, alas, what
+hope remains to me!'
+
+"He prayed to the greatest of his idols, and waited in vain for a reply.
+He called to the lesser gods, and remained unanswered. Then with
+trembling heart he addressed the great Eternal.
+
+"'O Eternal! God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants,
+the heavens and the earth are the works of Thy hand. Thou didst give to
+the sea a shore, controlling with a word the power of the mighty deep.
+Thou art merciful as Thou art great, and Thou hast promised to accept
+the repentance of those who return to Thee with upright hearts. As
+numerous are my sins as the sands which cover the seashore. I have done
+evil before Thee, committing abominations in Thy presence and acting
+wickedly. Bound with fetters I come before Thee, and on my knees I
+entreat Thee, in the name of Thy great attributes of mercy, to
+compassionate my suffering and my distress. Pardon me, O Lord, forgive
+me. Do not utterly destroy me because of my transgressions. Let not my
+punishment eternally continue. Though I am unworthy of Thy goodness, O
+Lord, yet save me in Thy mercy. Henceforth will I praise Thy name all
+the days of my life, for all Thy creatures delight in praising Thee, and
+unto Thee is the greatness and the goodness forever and ever, Selah!'"
+
+"God heard this prayer, even as it is written, 'And He permitted Himself
+to be entreated by him, and brought him back to Jerusalem unto his
+kingdom.'"
+
+"From which we may learn," continued Akiba, "that affliction is an
+atonement for sin."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Said Rabbi Eleazer, the great, "It is commanded 'thou shalt love the
+Lord thy God with all thy soul and with all that is loved by thee.'
+
+"Does not 'with all thy soul' include 'with all that is loved by thee?'
+
+"Some people love themselves more than they love their money; to them
+'tis said, 'with all thy soul;' while for those who love their money
+more than themselves the commandment reads, 'with all that is loved by
+thee.'"
+
+But Rabbi Akiba always expounded the words, "with all thy soul," to mean
+"even though thy life be demanded of thee."
+
+When the decree was issued forbidding the Israelites to study the law,
+what did Rabbi Akiba?
+
+He installed many congregations secretly, and in secret lectured before
+them.
+
+Then Papus, the son of Juda said to him:--
+
+"Art not afraid, Akiba? Thy doings may be discovered, and thou wilt be
+punished for disobeying the decree."
+
+"Listen, and I will relate to thee a parable," answered Akiba. "A fox,
+walking by the river side, noticed the fishes therein swimming and
+swimming to and fro, never ceasing; so he said to them, 'Why are ye
+hurrying, what do ye fear?'
+
+"'The nets of the angler,' they replied.
+
+"'Come, then,' said the fox, 'and live with me on dry land.'
+
+"But the fishes laughed.
+
+"'And art thou called the wisest of the beasts?' they exclaimed; 'verily
+thou art the most foolish. If we are in danger even in our element, how
+much greater would be our risk in leaving it.'
+
+"It is the same with us. We are told of the law that it is 'our life and
+the prolongation of our days.' This is it when things are peaceful with
+us; how much greater is our need of it then in times like these?"
+
+It is said that it was but shortly after this when Rabbi Akiba was
+imprisoned for teaching the law, and in the prison in which he was
+incarcerated he found Papus, who had been condemned for some other
+offense.
+
+Rabbi Akiba said to him:--
+
+"Papus, what brought thee here?"
+
+And Papus replied:--
+
+"Joy, joy, to thee, that thou art imprisoned for studying God's law; but
+woe, woe is mine that I am here through vanity."
+
+When Rabbi Akiba was led forth to execution, it was just at the time of
+the morning service.
+
+"'Hear, O Israel! the Lord our God, the Lord is one,'" he exclaimed in a
+loud and firm voice.
+
+The torturers tore his flesh with pointed cards, yet still he repeated,
+"The Lord is one."
+
+"Always did I say," he continued, "that 'with all thy soul,' meant even
+though life should be demanded of thee, and I wondered whether I should
+ever be able to so observe it. Now see, to-day, I do so; 'the Lord is
+one.'"
+
+With these word he died.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Elishah ben Abuyah, a most learned man, became in after-life an
+apostate. Rabbi Meir had been one of his pupils, and he never failed in
+the great love which he bore for his teacher.
+
+It happened upon one occasion when Rabbi Meir was lecturing in the
+college, that some students entered and said to him:--
+
+"Thy teacher, Elishah, is riding by on horseback on this holy Sabbath
+day."
+
+Rabbi Meir left the college, and overtaking Elishah walked along by his
+horse's side.
+
+The latter saluted him, and asked:--
+
+"What passage of Scripture hast thou been expounding?"
+
+"From the book of Job," replied Rabbi Meir. "'The Lord blessed the
+latter days of Job more than the beginning.'"
+
+"And how didst thou explain the verse?" said Elishah.
+
+"That the Lord increased his wealth twofold."
+
+"But thy teacher, Akiba, said not so," returned Elishah. "He said that
+the Lord blessed the latter days of Job with twofold of penitence and
+good deeds."
+
+"How," inquired Rabbi Meir, "wouldst thou explain the verse, 'Better is
+the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.' If a man buys
+merchandise in his youth and meets with losses, is it likely that he
+will recover his substance in old age? Or, if a person studies God's law
+in his youth and forgets it, is it probable that it will return to his
+memory in his latter days?"
+
+"Thy teacher, Akiba, said not so," replied Elishah; "he explained the
+verse, 'Better is the end of a thing when the beginning was good.' My
+own life proves the soundness of this explanation. On the day when I was
+admitted into the covenant of Abraham, my father made a great feast.
+Some of his visitors sang, some of them danced, but the Rabbis conversed
+upon God's wisdom and His laws. This latter pleased my father, Abuyah,
+and he said, 'When my son grows up ye shall teach him and he shall
+become like ye; he did not cause me to study for God's sake but only to
+make his name famous through me. Therefore, in my latter days have I
+become wicked and an apostate; and now, return home.'"
+
+"And wherefore?"
+
+"Because, on the Sabbath day, thou art allowed to go so far and no
+farther, and I have reckoned the distance thou hast traveled with me by
+the footsteps of my horse."
+
+"If thou art so wise," said Rabbi Meir, "as to reckon the distance I may
+travel by the footsteps of thy horse, and so particular for my sake, why
+not return to God and repent of thy apostacy?"
+
+Elishah answered:--
+
+"It is not in my power. I rode upon horseback once on the Day of
+Atonement; yea, when it fell upon the Sabbath, and when I passed the
+synagogue I heard a voice crying, 'Return, oh backsliding children,
+return to me and I will return to ye; except Elishah, the son of Abuyah,
+he knew his Master and yet rebelled against Him.'"
+
+What caused such a learned man as Elishah to turn to evil ways?
+
+It is reported that once while studying the law in the vale of Genusan,
+he saw a man climbing a tree. The man found a bird's-nest in the tree,
+and taking the mother with the young ones he still departed in peace. He
+saw another man who finding a bird's-nest followed the Bible's command
+and took the young only, allowing the mother to fly away; and yet a
+serpent stung him as he descended, and he died. "Now," thought he,
+"where is the Bible's truth and promises? Is it not written, 'And the
+young thou mayest take to thyself, but the mother thou shalt surely let
+go, that it may be well with thee and that thou mayest live many days.'
+Now, where is the long life to this man who followed the precept, while
+the one who transgressed it is unhurt?"
+
+He had not heard how Rabbi Akiba expounded this verse, that the days
+would be long in the future world where all is happiness.
+
+There is also another reason given as the cause for Elishah's
+backsliding and apostacy.
+
+During the fearful period of religious persecution, the learned Rabbi
+Judah, whose life had been passed in the study of the law and the
+practice of God's precepts, was delivered into the power of the cruel
+torturer. His tongue was placed in a dog's mouth and the dog bit it off.
+
+So Elishah said, "If a tongue which uttered naught but truth be so used,
+and a learned, wise man be so treated, of what use is it to avoid having
+a lying tongue and being ignorant. Lo, if these things are allowed,
+there is surely no reward for the righteous, and no resurrection for the
+dead."
+
+When Elishah waxed old he was taken sick, and Rabbi Meir, learning of
+the illness of his aged teacher, called upon him.
+
+"Oh return, return unto thy God." entreated Rabbi Meir.
+
+"What!" exclaimed Elishah, "return! and could He receive my penitence,
+the penitence of an apostate who has so rebelled against Him?"
+
+"Is it not written," said Meir, "'Thou turnest man to contrition?' No
+matter how the soul of man may be crushed, he can still turn to his God
+and find relief."
+
+Elishah listened to these words, wept bitterly and died. Not many years
+after his death his daughters came, poverty stricken, asking relief from
+the colleges. "Remember," said they, "the merit of our father's
+learning, not his conduct."
+
+The colleges listened to the appeal and supported the daughters of
+Elishah.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rabbi Judah, Rabbi Joseh, and Rabbi Simon were conversing one day, when
+Judah ben Gerim entered the apartment and sat down with the three. Rabbi
+Judah was speaking in a complimentary strain of the Gentiles (Romans).
+"See," said he, "how they have improved their cities, how beautiful they
+have made them, and how much they have done for the comfort and
+convenience of the citizens; bath-houses, bridges, fine broad streets,
+surely much credit is due them."
+
+"Nay," answered Rabbi Simon, "all that they have done has been from a
+selfish motive. The bridges bring them in a revenue, for all who use
+them are taxed; the bath-houses are for their personal adornment--'tis
+all selfishness, not patriotism."
+
+Judah ben Gerim repeated these remarks to his friends, and finally they
+reached the ears of the emperor. He would not allow them to pass
+unnoticed. He ordered that Judah, who had spoken well of the nation,
+should be advanced in honor; that Joseh, who had remained silent instead
+of seconding the assertions, should be banished to Zipore; and that
+Simon, who had disputed the compliment, should be put to death.
+
+The latter with his son fled and concealed himself in the college when
+this fiat became known to him. For some time he remained there
+comparatively safe, his wife bringing his meals daily. But when the
+officers were directed to make diligent search he became afraid, lest
+through the indiscretion of his wife his place of concealment might be
+discovered.
+
+"The mind of woman is weak and unsteady," said he, "perhaps they may
+question and confuse her, and thus may death come upon me."
+
+So leaving the city, Simon and his son took refuge in a lonely cave.
+Near its mouth some fruit trees grew, supplying them with food, and a
+spring of pure water bubbled from rocks in the immediate vicinity. For
+thirteen years Rabbi Simon lived here, until the emperor died and his
+decrees were repealed. He then returned to the city.
+
+When Rabbi Phineas, his son-in-law, heard of his return, he called upon
+him at once, and noticing an apparent neglect in the mental and physical
+condition of his relative, he exclaimed, "Woe, woe! that I meet thee in
+so sad a condition!"
+
+But Rabbi Simon answered:--
+
+"Not so; happy is it that thou findest me in this condition, for thou
+findest me no less righteous than before. God has preserved me, and my
+faith in Him, and thus hereafter shall I explain the verse of Scripture,
+'And Jacob came perfect.' Perfect in his physical condition, perfect in
+his temporal condition, and perfect in his knowledge of God."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Antoninus, in conversing with Rabbi Judah, said to him:
+
+"In the future world, when the soul comes before the Almighty Creator
+for judgment, may it not find a plea of excuse for worldly wickedness in
+saying, 'Lo, the sin is the body's; I am now free from the body; the
+sins were not mine'?"
+
+Rabbi Judah answered, "Let me relate to thee a parable. A king had an
+orchard of fine figs, which he prized most highly. That the fruit might
+not be stolen or abused, he placed two watchers in the orchard, and that
+they themselves might not be tempted to partake of the fruit, he chose
+one of them a blind man, and the other one lame. But lo, when they were
+in the orchard, the lame man said to his companion, 'I see very fine
+figs; they are luscious and tempting; carry me to the tree, that we may
+both partake of them.'
+
+"So the blind man carried the lame man, and they ate of the figs.
+
+"When the king entered the orchard he noticed at once that his finest
+figs were missing, and he asked the watchers what had become of them.
+
+"The blind man answered:--
+
+"'I know not. I could not steal them; I am blind; I cannot even see
+them.'
+
+"And the lame man answered:--
+
+"'Neither could I steal them; I could not approach the tree.'
+
+"But the king was wise, and he answered:--
+
+"'Lo, the blind carried the lame,' and he punished them accordingly.
+
+"So it is with us. The world is the orchard in which The Eternal King
+has placed us, to keep watch and ward, to till its soil and care for its
+fruit. But the soul and body are the man; if one violates the precepts,
+so does the other, and after death the soul may not say, 'It is the
+fault of the body to which I was tied that I committed sins;' no, God
+will do as did the owner of the orchard, as it is written:--
+
+"'He shall call from the heaven above, and to the earth to judge his
+people.'
+
+"He shall call from the 'heaven above,' which is the soul, and to the
+'earth below', which is the body, mixing with the dust from whence it
+sprung."
+
+A heathen said to Rabbi Joshua, "Thou believest that God knows the
+future?"
+
+"Yes," replied the Rabbi.
+
+"Then," said the questioner, "wherefore is it written, 'The Lord said, I
+will destroy everything which I have made, because it repenteth me that
+I have made them'? Did not the Lord foresee that man would become
+corrupt?"
+
+Then said Rabbi Joshua, "Hast thou children?"
+
+"Yes," was the answer.
+
+"When a child was born, what didst thou?"
+
+"I made a great rejoicing."
+
+"What cause hadst thou to rejoice? Dost thou not know that they must
+die?"
+
+"Yes, that is true; but in the time of enjoyment I do not think of the
+future."
+
+"So was it with God," said Rabbi Joshua. "He knew that men would sin;
+still that knowledge did not prevent the execution of his beneficent
+purpose to create them."
+
+One of the emperors said to Rabon Gamliel:--
+
+"Your God is a thief, as it is written, 'And the Lord God caused a deep
+sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And He took a rib from Adam.'"
+
+The Rabbi's daughter said, "Let me answer this aspersion. Last night
+robbers broke into my room, and stole therefrom a silver vessel: but
+they left a golden one in its stead."
+
+The emperor replied, "I wish that such thieves would come every night."
+
+Thus was it with Adam; God took a rib from him, but placed a woman
+instead of it.
+
+Rabbi Joshua, of Saknin, said in the name of Rabbi Levi, "The Lord
+considered from what part of the man he should form woman; not from the
+head, lest she should be proud; not from the eyes, lest she should wish
+to see everything; not from the mouth, lest she might be talkative; nor
+from the ear, lest she should wish to hear everything; nor from the
+heart, lest she should be jealous; nor from the hand, lest she should
+wish to find out everything; nor from the feet in order that she might
+not be a wanderer; only from the most hidden place, that is covered even
+when a man is naked--namely, the rib."
+
+The scholars of Rabbi Simon ben Jochai once asked him:--
+
+"Why did not the Lord give to Israel enough manna to suffice them for a
+year, at one time, instead of meting it out daily?"
+
+The Rabbi replied:--
+
+"I will answer ye with a parable. There was once a king who had a son to
+whom he gave a certain yearly allowance, paying the entire sum for his
+year's support on one appointed day. It soon happened that this day on
+which the allowance was due, was the only day in the year when the
+father saw his son. So the king changed his plan, and gave his son each
+day his maintenance for that day only, and then the son visited his
+father with the return of each day's sun.
+
+"So was it with Israel; each father of a family, dependent upon the
+manna provided each day by God's bounty, for his support and the support
+of his family, naturally had his mind devoted to the Great Giver and
+Sustainer of life."
+
+When Rabbi Eleazer was sick his scholars visited him, and said, "Rabbi,
+teach us the way of life, that we may inherit eternity."
+
+The Rabbi answered, "Give honor to your comrades. Know to whom you pray.
+Restrain your children from frivolous conversation, and place them among
+the learned men, in order that they may acquire wisdom. So may you merit
+life in the future world."
+
+When Rabbi Jochanan was sick his scholars also called upon him. When he
+beheld them he burst into tears.
+
+"Rabbi!" they exclaimed, "Light of Israel! The chief pillar! Why weep?"
+
+The Rabbi answered, "Were I to be brought before a king of flesh and
+blood, who is here to-day and to-morrow in the grave; who may be angry
+with me, but not forever; who may imprison me, but not forever; who may
+kill me, but only for this world; whom I may sometimes bribe; even then
+I would fear. But now, I am to appear before the King of kings, the Most
+Holy One, blessed be He, who lives through all eternity. If He is wroth,
+it is forever. If He imprisons me, it is forever; if He slays me, it is
+for the future world; and I can bribe Him neither with words nor money.
+Not only this, two paths are before me, one leading to punishment, the
+other to reward, and I know not which one I must travel. Should I not
+weep?"
+
+The scholars of Rabbi Johanan, the son of Zakai, asked of their teacher
+this question:--
+
+"Wherefore is it, that according to the law, the punishment of a
+highwayman is not as severe as the punishment of a sneak thief?
+According to the Mosaic law, if a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills
+it or sells it, he is required to restore five oxen for the one ox, and
+four sheep for the one sheep; but for the highwayman we find, 'When he
+hath sinned and is conscious of his guilt, he shall restore that he hath
+taken violently away; he shall restore it and its principal, and the
+fifth part thereof he shall add thereto.' Therefore, he who commits a
+highway robbery pays as punishment one-fifth of the same, while a sneak
+thief is obliged to return five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one
+sheep. Wherefore is this?"
+
+"Because," replied the teacher, "the highway robber treats the servant
+as the master. He takes away violently in the presence of the servant,
+the despoiled man, and the master--God. But the sneak thief imagines
+that God's eye is not upon him. He acts secretly, thinking, as the
+Psalmist says, 'The Lord doth not see, neither will the God of Jacob
+regard it.' Listen to a parable. Two men made a feast. One invited all
+the inhabitants of the city, and omitted inviting the king. The other
+invited neither the king nor his subjects. Which one deserves
+condemnation? Certainly the one who invited the subjects and not the
+king. The people of the earth are God's subjects. The sneak thief fears
+their eyes, yet he does not honor the eye of the king, the eye of God,
+which watches all his actions."
+
+Rabbi Meir says, "This law teaches us how God regards industry. If a
+person steals an ox he must return five in its place, because while the
+animal was in his unlawful possession it could not work for its rightful
+owner. A lamb, however, does no labor, and is not profitable that way;
+therefore he is only obliged to replace it fourfold."
+
+Rabbi Nachman dined with his teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak, and upon departing
+after the meal, he said, "Teacher, bless me!"
+
+"Listen," replied Rabbi Yitzchak. "A traveler was once journeying
+through the desert, and when weary, hungry, and thirsty, he happened
+upon an oasis, where grew a fruitful tree, wide-branched, and at the
+foot of which there gushed a spring of clear, cool water.
+
+"The stranger ate of the luscious fruit, enjoying and resting in the
+grateful shade, and quenching his thirst in the sparkling water which
+bubbled merrily at his feet.
+
+"When about to resume his journey, he addressed the tree and spoke as
+follows:--
+
+"'Oh, gracious tree, with what words can I bless thee, and what good can
+I wish thee? I cannot wish thee good fruit, for it is already thine; the
+blessing of water is also thine; and the gracious shade thrown by thy
+beauteous branches the Eternal has already granted thee, for my good and
+the good of those who travel by this way. Let me pray to God, then, that
+all thy offspring may be goodly as thyself.'
+
+"So it is with thee, my pupil. How shall I bless thee? Thou art perfect
+in the law, eminent in the land, respected, and blessed with means. May
+God grant that all thy offspring may prove goodly as thyself."
+
+A wise man, say the Rabbis, was Gebiah ben Pesisah. When the children of
+Canaan accused the Israelites of stealing their land, saying, "The land
+of Canaan is ours, as it is written, 'The land of Canaan and its
+boundaries belong to the Canaanites,'" and demanded restitution, Gebiah
+offered to argue the case before the ruler.
+
+Said Gebiah to the Africans, "Ye bring your proof from the Pentateuch,
+and by the Pentateuch will I refute it. 'Cursed be Canaan; a servant of
+servants shall he be unto his brethren.' To whom does the property of a
+slave belong? To his master. Even though the land belonged to ye,
+through your servitude it became Israel's."
+
+"Answer him," said the ruler.
+
+The accusers asked for three days' time to prepare their reply, but at
+the end of the three days they had vanished.
+
+Then came the Egyptians, saying, "'God gave the Israelites favor in the
+eyes of the Egyptians, and they lent them gold and silver.' Now return
+us the gold and silver which our ancestors lent ye."
+
+Again Gebiah appeared for the sages of Israel.
+
+"Four hundred and thirty years," said he, "did the children of Israel
+dwell in Egypt. Come, now, pay us the wages of six hundred thousand men
+who worked for ye for naught, and we will return the gold and silver."
+
+Then came the children of Ishmael and Ketura, before Alexander of
+Mukdon, saying, "The land of Canaan is ours, as it is written, 'These
+are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham;' even as it is
+written, 'These are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham.' One
+son is equal to the other; come, give us our share."
+
+Again Gebiah appeared as counsel for the sages.
+
+"From the Pentateuch, which is your proof, will I confound ye" said he.
+"Is it not written 'Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, but unto the
+sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts?' The man
+who gives his children their inheritance during his life does not design
+to give it to them again after his death. To Isaac Abraham left all that
+he had; to his other children he gave gifts, and sent them away."
+
+
+
+
+PROVERBIAL SAYINGS AND TRADITIONS
+
+
+Do not to others what you would not have others do to you.
+
+The ass complains of the cold even in July (Tamuz.)
+
+First learn and then teach.
+
+Few are they who see their own faults.
+
+A single light answers as well for a hundred men as for one.
+
+Victuals prepared by many cooks will be neither hot nor cold.
+
+Truth lasts forever, but falsehood must vanish.
+
+This is the punishment of the liar, that when he tells the truth nobody
+believes him.
+
+Use thy best vase to-day, for to-morrow it may, perchance, be broken.
+
+When Satan cannot come himself he sends wine as a messenger.
+
+Woe to the children banished from their father's table.
+
+A handful of food will not satisfy the lion, neither can a pit be filled
+again with its own dust.
+
+Pray to God for mercy until the last shovelful of earth is cast upon thy
+grave.
+
+Cease not to pray even when the knife is laid upon thy neck.
+
+Open not thy mouth to speak evil.
+
+To be patient is sometimes better than to have much wealth.
+
+The horse fed too liberally with oats becomes unruly.
+
+Happy the pupil whose teacher approves his words.
+
+When the cucumbers are young we may tell whether they will become good
+for food.
+
+Poverty cometh from God, but not dirt.
+
+Our kindly deeds and our generous gifts go to heaven as messengers, and
+plead for us before our Heavenly Father.
+
+The noblest of all charities is in enabling the poor to earn a
+livelihood.
+
+The camel wanted to have horns and they took away his ears.
+
+The egg of to-day is better than the hen of to-morrow.
+
+The world is a wedding.
+
+Youth is a wreath of roses.
+
+A myrtle even in the desert remains a myrtle.
+
+Teach thy tongue to say, "I do not know."
+
+The house which opens not to the poor will open to the physician.
+
+The birds of the air despise a miser.
+
+Hospitality is an expression of Divine worship.
+
+Thy friend has a friend, and thy friend's friend has a friend; be
+discreet.
+
+Do not place a blemish on thine own flesh.
+
+Attend no auctions if thou hast no money.
+
+Rather skin a carcass for pay, in the public streets, than lie idly
+dependent on charity.
+
+Deal with those who are fortunate.
+
+What is intended for thy neighbor will never be thine.
+
+The weakness of thy walls invites the burglar.
+
+The place honors not the man, 'tis the man who gives honor to the place.
+
+The humblest man is ruler in his own house.
+
+If the fox is king bow before him.
+
+If a word spoken in its time is worth one piece of money, silence in its
+time is worth two.
+
+Tobias committed the sins and his neighbor received the punishment.
+
+Poverty sits as gracefully upon some people as a red saddle upon a white
+horse.
+
+Drain not the waters of thy well while other people may desire them.
+
+The doctor who prescribes gratuitously gives a worthless prescription.
+
+The rose grows among thorns.
+
+The wine belongs to the master but the waiter receives the thanks.
+
+He who mixes with unclean things becomes unclean himself; he whose
+associations are pure becomes more holy with each day.
+
+No man is impatient with his creditors.
+
+Make but one sale, and thou art called a merchant.
+
+Mention not a blemish which is thy own, in detraction of thy neighbor.
+
+If certain goods sell not in one city, try another place.
+
+He who reads the letter should execute the message.
+
+A vessel used for holy purposes should not be put to uses less sacred.
+
+Ornament thyself first, then magnify others.
+
+Two pieces of coin in one bag make more noise than a hundred.
+
+Man sees the mote in his neighbor's eye, but knows not of the beam in
+his own.
+
+The rivalry of scholars advances science.
+
+If thou tellest thy secret to three persons, ten know of it.
+
+When love is intense both find room enough upon one board of the bench;
+afterward they may find themselves cramped in a space of sixty cubits.
+
+When wine enters the head the secret flies out.
+
+When a liar speaks the truth he finds his punishment in the general
+disbelief.
+
+Sorrow for those who disappear never to be found.
+
+The officer of the king is also a recipient of honors.
+
+He who studies cannot follow a commercial life; neither can the merchant
+devote his time to study.
+
+There is no occasion to light thy lamp at noontide.
+
+If thy friends agree in calling thee an ass, go and get a halter around
+thee.
+
+At the gate of abundance there are many brothers and friends; at the
+gate of misery there is neither brother not friend.
+
+The consciousness of God's presence is the first principle of religion.
+
+A man's home means his wife.
+
+He who divorces his wife is hated before God.
+
+If thy wife is small, bend down to take her counsel.
+
+The daughter is as the mother was.
+
+Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in
+another time.
+
+What the child says out of doors he has learned indoors.
+
+This world is an ante-chamber to the next.
+
+The just of all nations have a portion in the future reward.
+
+Every nation has its special guardian angel, its horoscopes, its ruling
+planets and stars. But there is no planet for Israel. Israel shall look
+but to God. There is no mediator between those who are called His
+children and their Father which is in heaven.
+
+From the very spoon that the carver carved, he has to swallow hot
+mustard.
+
+The laborer is allowed to shorten his prayers.
+
+He who teaches his son to trade is as if he taught him to steal.
+
+The laborer at his work need not rise before the greatest doctor.
+
+Life is a passing shadow, says the Scripture. Is it the shadow of a
+tower or a tree? A shadow which prevails for a while? No. It is the
+shadow of a bird in its flight--away flies the bird, and there is
+neither bird nor shadow.
+
+Man's passions at first are like a cobweb's thread, at last become like
+the thickest cable.
+
+Were it not for the existence of passions no one would build a house,
+marry a wife, beget children, or do any work.
+
+There is not a single bird more persecuted than the dove, yet God has
+chosen her to be offered upon the altar. The bull is hunted by the lion,
+the sheep by the wolf, the goat by the tiger. And God said: "Bring me a
+sacrifice, not from those that persecute, but from them that are
+persecuted."
+
+Prayer is Israel's only weapon, a weapon inherited from his fathers, a
+weapon tried in a thousand battles.
+
+When the righteous die, they live; for their example lives.
+
+Let the fruit pray for the welfare of the leaf.
+
+Meat without salt is fit only for the dogs.
+
+Trust not thyself until the day of thy death.
+
+Woe to the country which hath lost its leader; woe to the ship when its
+captain is no more.
+
+He who increaseth his flesh but multiplieth food for the worms.
+
+The day is short, the labor great, and the workman slothful.
+
+Be yielding to thy superior; be affable toward the young; be friendly
+with all mankind.
+
+Silence is the fence round wisdom.
+
+Without law, civilization perishes.
+
+Every man will surely have his hour.
+
+Rather be the tail among lions than the head among foxes.
+
+Into the well which supplies thee with water cast no stones.
+
+Many a colt's skin is fashioned to the saddle which its mother bears.
+
+Truth is heavy, therefore few care to carry it.
+
+Say little and do much.
+
+He who multiplieth words will likely come to sin.
+
+Sacrifice thy will for others, that they may be disposed to sacrifice
+their wills for thee.
+
+Study to-day, delay not.
+
+Look not upon thy prayers as on a task; let thy supplications be
+sincere.
+
+He who is loved by man is loved by God.
+
+Honor the sons of the poor; they give to science its splendor.
+
+Do not live near a pious fool.
+
+A small coin in a large jar makes a great noise.
+
+Use thy noble vase to-day; to-morrow it may break.
+
+The cat and the rat make peace over a carcass.
+
+He who walks each day over his estate finds a coin daily.
+
+The dog follows thee for the crumbs in thy pocket.
+
+The soldiers fight, and the kings are heroes.
+
+When the ox is down many are the butchers.
+
+Descend a step in choosing thy wife; ascend a step in choosing thy
+friend.
+
+Beat the gods and their priests will tremble.
+
+The sun will set without thy assistance.
+
+Hold no man responsible for his utterances in times of grief.
+
+One man eats, another says grace.
+
+He who curbs his wrath merits forgiveness for his sins.
+
+Commit a sin twice and it will not seem to thee a crime.
+
+While our love was strong we lay on the edge of a sword, now a couch
+sixty yards wide is too narrow for us.
+
+Study is more meritorious than sacrifice.
+
+Jerusalem was destroyed because the instruction of the young was
+neglected.
+
+The world is saved by the breath of school children. Even to rebuild the
+Temple, the schools must not be closed.
+
+Blessed is the son who has studied with his father, and blessed the
+father who has instructed his son.
+
+Avoid wrath and thou wilt avoid sin; avoid intemperance and thou wilt
+not provoke Providence.
+
+When others gather, do thou disperse; when others disperse, gather.
+
+When thou art the only purchaser, then buy; when other buyers are
+present, be thou nobody.
+
+The foolish man knows not an insult, neither does a dead man feel the
+cutting of a knife.
+
+Three shall not enter Paradise--the scoffer, the hypocrite, and the
+slanderer.
+
+Rabbi Gamaliel ordered his servant Tobi to bring something good from the
+market, and he brought a tongue. At another time he told him to bring
+something bad, and he also returned with a tongue. "Why did you on both
+occasions fetch a tongue?" the Rabbi asked. "It is the source of good
+and evil," Tobi replied. "If it is good, there is nothing better; if it
+is bad, there is nothing worse."
+
+The forest trees once asked the fruit trees: "Why is the rustling of
+your leaves not heard in the distance?" The fruit trees replied: "We can
+dispense with the rustling to manifest our presence; our fruits testify
+for us." The fruit trees then inquired of the forest trees; "Why do your
+leaves rustle almost continually?" "We are forced to call the attention
+of man to our existence."
+
+Too many Captains sink the ship.
+
+An old man is a trouble in the house; an old woman is a treasure in the
+house.
+
+Two pieces of coin in one bag make more noise than a hundred.
+
+When the flood came over the earth and everything was threatened with
+destruction, and every kind of beast came in pairs to Noah, the Lie,
+too, asked admittance into the ark. Noah, however, refused. "Only pairs
+may enter here," he said. The Lie went in search of a companion, and at
+last met Vice, whom it invited to go to the ark. "I am willing to keep
+company with thee, if thou wilt promise to give me all thy earnings,"
+said Vice. The Lie agreed, and they were both admitted into the ark.
+After they left the ark, the Lie regretted her agreement, and wished to
+dissolve partnership with Vice, but it was too late, and thus it is
+current that "what Lie earneth, Vice consumeth."
+
+Support the aged without reference to religion; respect the learned
+without reference to age.
+
+Repent the day before thy death.
+
+Ten measures of wisdom came into the world; the law of Israel received
+nine measures, and the balance of the world one. Ten measures of beauty
+came into the world; Jerusalem received nine measures, and the rest of
+the world one.
+
+The world stands on three pillars: law, worship, and charity.
+
+When he who attends the synagogue regularly is prevented from being
+present, God asks for him.
+
+His enemies will humble themselves before the one who builds a place of
+worship.
+
+He who is able to attend synagogue, and neglects to do so, is a bad
+neighbor.
+
+One need not stand upon a high place to pray, for it is written, "Out of
+the depths have I called unto Thee, oh Lord." The same Rabbi prohibits
+moving about or talking during the progress of prayers, enlarging on
+Solomon's advice, "Keep thy foot when thou goest into the house of the
+Lord, and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools."
+
+The cock and the owl both await daylight. "The light," says the cock,
+"brings me delight; but what in the world art thou waiting for?"
+
+The thief who finds no opportunity to steal, considers himself an honest
+man.
+
+A Galilean said, "When the shepherd is angry with his flock, he appoints
+for its leader a blind bellwether."
+
+Though it is not incumbent upon thee to complete the work, thou must not
+therefore cease from pursuing it. If the work is great, great will be
+thy reward, and thy Master is faithful in His payments.
+
+There are three crowns: of the law, the priesthood, and the kingship;
+but the crown of a good name is greater than them all.
+
+Who gains wisdom? He who is willing to receive instruction from all
+sources. Who is the mighty man? He who subdueth his temper. Who is rich?
+He who is content with his lot. Who is deserving of honor? He who
+honoreth mankind.
+
+Despise no man and deem nothing impossible; every man hath his hour and
+everything its place.
+
+Iron breaks stone; fire melts iron; water extinguishes fire; the clouds
+consume water; the storm dispels clouds; man withstands the storm; fear
+conquers man; wine banishes fear; sleep overcomes wine, and death is the
+master of sleep; but "charity," says Solomon, "saves even from death."
+
+How canst thou escape sin? Think of three things: whence thou comest,
+whither thou goest, and before whom thou must appear. The scoffer, the
+liar, the hypocrite, and the slanderer can have no share in the future
+world of bliss. To slander is to commit murder.
+
+Cold water morning and evening is better than all the cosmetics.
+
+The question is asked, "Why is man born with hands clinched, but has his
+hands wide open in death?" And the answer is: "On entering the world,
+man desires to grasp everything; but when leaving it he takes nothing
+away."
+
+Two dry logs and one wet; the dry ones kindle the wet.
+
+He who seeks for a faultless brother will have to remain brotherless.
+
+A town which has no school should be abolished.
+
+Jerusalem was destroyed because the instruction of the young was
+neglected.
+
+He who instructs a child is as if he had created it.
+
+The teachers are the guardians of the State.
+
+Learn first and philosophize afterward.
+
+To what may he be compared who teaches a child? To one who writes on
+clean paper; and to what may he be compared who teaches an old man? To
+one who writes on blotted paper.
+
+Be eager to acquire knowledge; it does not come to thee by inheritance.
+
+Four dispositions are found among those who sit for instruction, before
+the wise, and they may be respectively compared to a sponge, a funnel, a
+strainer, and a sieve; the sponge imbibes all, the funnel receives at
+one end and discharges at the other, the strainer suffers the wine to
+pass through, but retains the lees, and the sieve recovers the bran, but
+retains the fine flour.
+
+To pray loudly is not a necessity of devotion; when we pray we must
+direct our hearts toward heaven.
+
+Charity is greater than all.
+
+Who gives charity in secret is greater than Moses.
+
+He finds authority for this saying in the words of Moses, "For I was
+afraid of the anger," and the words of Solomon which he presents as an
+answer, "A gift given in secret pacifieth anger."
+
+A miser is as wicked as an idolater.
+
+Charity is more than sacrifices.
+
+"He who gives (charity) becomes rich," or as it is written, "A
+beneficent soul will be abundantly gratified."
+
+One day a philosopher inquired of Rabbi Akiba, "If your God loves the
+poor, why does He not support them?"
+
+"God allows the poor to be with us ever," responded Akiba, "that the
+opportunities for doing good may never fail."
+
+"But," returned the philosopher, "how do you know that this virtue of
+charity pleases God? If a master punishes his slaves by depriving them
+of food and clothing, does he feel pleased when others feed and clothe
+them?"
+
+"But suppose, on the other hand," said the Rabbi, "that the children of
+a tender father, children whom he could no longer justly assist, had
+fallen into poverty, would he be displeased if kind souls pitied and
+aided them? We are not the slaves of a hard master. God calls us His
+children, and Himself we call our Father."
+
+When one stands at the judgment-seat of God these questions are asked:--
+
+"Hast thou been honest in all thy dealings?"
+
+"Hast thou set aside a portion of thy time for the study of the law?"
+
+"Hast thou observed the first commandment?"
+
+"Hast thou, in trouble, still hoped and believed in God?"
+
+"Hast thou spoken wisely?"
+
+All the blessings of a household come through the wife, therefore should
+her husband honor her.
+
+Men should be careful lest they cause women to weep, for God counts
+their tears.
+
+In cases of charity, where both men and women claim relief, the latter
+should be first assisted. If there should not be enough for both, the
+men should cheerfully relinquish their claims.
+
+A woman's death is felt by nobody as by her husband.
+
+Tears are shed on God's altar for the one who forsakes his first love.
+
+He who loves his wife as himself, and honors her more than himself, will
+train his children properly; he will meet, too, the fulfillment of the
+verse, "And thou shalt know that there is peace in thy tent, and thou
+wilt look over thy habitation and shall miss nothing."
+
+I never call my wife "wife," but "home," for she, indeed, makes my home.
+
+He who possesses a knowledge of God, and a knowledge of man, will not
+easily commit sin.
+
+The Bible was given us to establish peace.
+
+He who wrongs his fellow-man, even in so small a coin as a penny, is as
+wicked as if he should take life.
+
+He who raises his hand against his fellow in passion is a sinner.
+
+Be not the friend of one who wears the cloak of a saint to cover the
+deformities of a fool.
+
+One who gives way to passion is as bad as an idolater.
+
+Hospitality is as great a virtue as studying the law.
+
+"Never put thyself in the way of temptation," advised Rabbi Judah; "even
+David could not resist it."
+
+Rabbi Tyra, on being asked by his pupils to tell them the secret which
+gained him a happy, peaceful old age, replied, "I have never cherished
+anger with my family; I have never envied those greater than myself, and
+I have never rejoiced in the downfall of any one."
+
+Unhappy is he who mistakes the branch for the tree, the shadow for the
+substance.
+
+Thy yesterday is thy past; thy to-day thy future; thy to-morrow is a
+secret.
+
+The best preacher is the heart; the best teacher is time; the best book
+is the world; the best friend is God.
+
+Life is but a loan to man; death is the creditor who will one day claim
+it.
+
+Understand a man by his own deeds and words. The impressions of others
+lead to false judgment.
+
+He through whose agency another has been falsely punished stands outside
+of heaven's gates.
+
+The sins of the bad-tempered are greater than his merits.
+
+The man who sins is foolish as well as wicked.
+
+The good actions which we perform in this world take form and meet us in
+the world to come.
+
+Better to bear a false accusation in silence, than by speaking to bring
+the guilty to public shame.
+
+He who can feel ashamed will not readily do wrong.
+
+There is a great difference between one who can feel ashamed before his
+own soul and one who is only ashamed before his fellow-man.
+
+God's covenant with us included work; for the command, "Six days shalt
+thou work and the seventh shalt thou rest," made the "rest" conditional
+upon the "work."
+
+God first told Adam to dress the Garden of Eden, and to keep it, and
+then permitted him to eat of the fruit of his labor.
+
+God did not dwell in the midst of Israel till they had worked to deserve
+His presence, for he commanded, "They shall make me a sanctuary, and
+then I will dwell in the midst of them."
+
+When Jerusalem was in the hands of the Romans, one of their philosophers
+asked of the Rabbis:--
+
+"If your God dislikes idolatry, why does He not destroy the idols and so
+put temptation out of the way?"
+
+The wise men answered:--
+
+"Would you have the sun and the moon destroyed because of the foolish
+ones who worship them? To change the course of nature to punish sinners,
+would bring suffering to the innocent also."
+
+Rabbi Judah said:--
+
+"He who refuses to teach a precept to his pupil is guilty of theft, just
+as one who steals from the inheritance of his father; as it is written,
+(The law which Moses commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation
+of Jacob.) But if he teaches him, what is his reward?"
+
+Raba says, "He will obtain the blessing of Joseph."
+
+Rabbi Eleazer said:--
+
+"That house where the law is not studied by night should be destroyed.
+
+"The wealthy man who aids not the scholar desirous of studying God's law
+will not prosper.
+
+"He who changes his word, saying one thing and doing another, is even as
+he who serveth idols."
+
+Rabbi Chamah, the son of Pappa, said:--
+
+"He who eats or drinks and blesses not the Lord, is even as he who
+stealeth, for it is said, 'The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, and
+the earth hath He given to the children of men.'"
+
+Rabbi Simon, the son of Lakish, said:--
+
+"They who perform one precept in this world will find it recorded for
+their benefit in the world to come; as it is written, 'Thy righteousness
+will go before thee, the glory of the Lord will gather thee in.' And the
+same will be the case, in contrast, with those who sin. For the Bible
+says, 'Which I commanded thee this day to do them,' to 'do them,' the
+precepts, to-day, though the reward is not promised to-day; but in the
+future, ordinances obeyed, will testify in thy favor, for 'thy
+righteousness will go before thee.'"
+
+The Rabbis pronounced those the "friends of God," who being offended
+thought not of revenge; who practiced good through love for God, and who
+were cheerful under suffering and difficulties. Of such Isaiah wrote,
+"They shall shine forth like the sun at noonday."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Love thy wife as thyself; honor her more than thyself. He who lives
+unmarried, lives without joy. If thy wife is small, bend down to her and
+whisper in her ear. He who sees his wife die, has, as it were, been
+present at the destruction of the sanctuary itself. The children of a
+man who marries for money will prove a curse to him.
+
+He who has more learning than good deeds is like a tree with many
+branches but weak roots; the first great storm will throw it to the
+ground. He whose good works are greater than his knowledge is like a
+tree with fewer branches but with strong and spreading roots, a tree
+which all the winds of heaven cannot uproot.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Better is the curse of the righteous man than the blessing of the
+wicked. Better the curse of Achia, the Shelonite, than the blessing of
+Bil'am, the son of Beor. Thus did Achia curse the Israelites, "And the
+Lord will smite Israel as the reed is shaken in the water." The reed
+bends but it breaks not, for it groweth by the water, and its roots are
+strong. Thus did Bil'am bless Israel, "As cedar trees beside the
+waters." Cedars do not grow beside the waters: their roots are weak, and
+when strong winds blow they break in pieces.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A very wealthy man, who was of a kind, benevolent disposition, desired
+to make his slave happy. He gave him, therefore, his freedom, and
+presented him with a shipload of merchandise.
+
+"Go," said he, "sail to different countries, dispose of these goods, and
+that which thou mayest receive for them shall be thy own."
+
+The slave sailed away upon the broad ocean, but before he had been long
+upon his voyage a storm overtook him; his ship was driven on a rock and
+went to pieces; all on board were lost, all save this slave, who swam to
+an island shore near by. Sad, despondent, with naught in the world, he
+traversed this island, until he approached a large and beautiful city;
+and many people approached him joyously, shouting, "Welcome! welcome!
+Long live the king!" They brought a rich carriage, and placing him
+therein, escorted him to a magnificent palace, where many servants
+gathered about him, clothing him in royal garments, addressing him as
+their sovereign, and expressing their obedience to his will.
+
+The slave was amazed and dazzled, believing that he was dreaming, and
+all that he saw, heard, and experienced was mere passing fantasy.
+Becoming convinced of the reality of his condition, he said to some men
+about him for whom he experienced a friendly feeling:--
+
+"How is this? I cannot understand it. That you should thus elevate and
+honor a man whom you know not, a poor, naked wanderer, whom you have
+never seen before, making him your ruler, causes me more wonder than I
+can readily express."
+
+"Sire," they replied, "this island is inhabited by spirits. Long since
+they prayed to God to send them yearly a son of man to reign over them,
+and He has answered their prayers. Yearly He sends them a son of man,
+whom they receive with honor and elevate to the throne; but his dignity
+and power ends with the year. With its close his royal garments are
+taken from him, he is placed on board a ship and carried to a vast and
+desolate island, where, unless he has previously been wise and prepared
+for this day, he will find neither friend nor subject, and be obliged to
+pass a weary, lonely, miserable life. Then a new king is selected, and
+so year follows year. The kings who preceded thee were careless and
+indifferent, enjoying their power to the full, and thinking not of the
+day when it should end. Be wiser thou; let our words find rest within
+thy heart."
+
+The newly-made king listened attentively to all this, and felt grieved
+that he should have lost even the time he had already missed for making
+preparations for his loss of power.
+
+He addressed the wise man who had spoken, saying, "Advise me, oh, spirit
+of wisdom, how I may prepare for the days which will come upon me in the
+future."
+
+"Naked thou camest to us and naked thou wilt be sent to the desolate
+island of which I have told thee," replied the other. "At present thou
+art king, and may do as pleaseth thee; therefore send workmen to this
+island; let them build houses, till the ground, and beautify the
+surroundings. The barren soil will be changed into fruitful fields,
+people will journey there to live, and thou wilt have established a new
+kingdom for thyself, with subjects to welcome thee in gladness when thou
+shalt have lost thy power here. The year is short, the work is long:
+therefore be earnest and energetic."
+
+The king followed this advice. He sent workmen and materials to the
+desolate island, and before the close of his temporary power it had
+become a blooming, pleasant, and attractive spot. The rulers who had
+preceded him had anticipated the day of their power's close with dread,
+or smothered all thought of it in revelry; but he looked forward to it
+as a day of joy, when he should enter upon a career of permanent peace
+and happiness.
+
+The day came; the freed slave, who had been made king, was deprived of
+his authority; with his power he lost his royal garments; naked he was
+placed upon a ship, and its sails set for the desolate isle.
+
+When he approached its shores, however, the people whom he had sent
+there came to meet him with music, song, and great joy. They made him a
+prince among them, and he lived with them ever after in pleasantness and
+peace.
+
+The wealthy man of kindly disposition is God, and the slave to whom He
+gave freedom is the soul which He gives to man. The island at which the
+slave arrives is the world; naked and weeping he appears to his parents,
+who are inhabitants that greet him warmly and make him their king. The
+friends who tell him of the ways of the country are his "good
+inclinations." The year of his reign is his span of life, and the
+desolate island is the future world, which he must beautify by good
+deeds, "the workmen and material," or else live lonely and desolate
+forever.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Emperor Adrian, passing through the streets of Tiberias, noticed a
+very old man planting a fig tree, and pausing, said to him:--
+
+"Wherefore plant that tree? If thou didst labor in thy youth, thou
+shouldst now have a store for thy old age, and surely of the fruit of
+this tree thou canst not hope to eat."
+
+The old man answered:--
+
+"In my youth I worked, and I still work. With God's good pleasure I may
+e'en partake of the fruit of this tree I plant. I am in His hands."
+
+"Tell me thy age," said the emperor.
+
+"I have lived for a hundred years."
+
+"A hundred years old, and still expect to eat from the fruit of this
+tree?"
+
+"If such be God's pleasure," replied the old man; "if not, I will leave
+it for my son, as my father left the fruit of his labor for me."
+
+"Well," said the emperor, "if thou dost live until the figs from this
+tree are ripe, I pray thee let me know of it."
+
+The aged man lived to partake of that very fruit, and remembering the
+emperor's words, he resolved to visit him. So, taking a small basket, he
+filled it with the choicest figs from the tree, and proceeded on his
+errand. Telling the palace guard his purpose, he was admitted to the
+sovereign's presence.
+
+"Well," asked the emperor, "what is thy wish?"
+
+The old man replied:--
+
+"Lo, I am the old man to whom thou didst say, on the day thou sawest him
+planting a fig tree, 'If thou livest to eat of its fruit, I pray thee
+let me know;' and behold I have come and brought thee of the fruit, that
+thou mayest partake of it likewise."
+
+The emperor was very much pleased, and emptying the man's basket of its
+figs, he ordered it to be filled with gold coins.
+
+When the old man had departed, the courtiers said to the emperor:--
+
+"Why didst thou so honor this old Jew?"
+
+"The Lord hath honored him, and why not I?" replied the emperor.
+
+Now next door to this old man there lived a woman, who, when she heard
+of her neighbor's good fortune, desired her husband to try his luck in
+the same quarter. She filled for him an immense basket with figs, and
+bidding him put it on his shoulder, said, "Now carry it to the emperor;
+he loves figs and will fill thy basket with golden coin."
+
+When her husband approached the gates of the palace, he told his errand
+to the guards, saying, "I brought these figs to the emperor; empty my
+basket I pray, and fill it up again with gold."
+
+When this was told to the emperor, he ordered the old man to stand in
+the hallway of the palace, and all who passed pelted him with his figs.
+He returned home wounded and crestfallen to his disappointed wife.
+
+"Never mind, thou hast one consolation," said she; "had they been
+cocoanuts instead of figs thou mightest have suffered harder raps."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A citizen of Jerusalem traveling through the country was taken very sick
+at an inn. Feeling that he would not recover, he sent for the landlord
+and said to him, "I am going the way of all flesh. If after my death any
+party should come from Jerusalem and claim my effects, do not deliver
+them until he shall prove to thee by three wise acts that he is entitled
+to them; for I charged my son before starting upon my way, that if death
+befell me he would be obliged to prove his wisdom before obtaining my
+possessions."
+
+The man died and was buried according to Jewish rites, and his death was
+made public that his heirs might appear. When his son learned of his
+father's decease he started from Jerusalem for the place where he had
+died. Near the gates of the city he met a man who had a load of wood for
+sale. This he purchased and ordered it to be delivered at the inn toward
+which he was traveling. The man from whom he bought it went at once to
+the inn, and said, "Here is the wood."
+
+"What wood?" returned the proprietor; "I ordered no wood."
+
+"No," answered the woodcutter, "but the man who follows me did; I will
+enter and wait for him."
+
+Thus the son had provided for himself a welcome when he should reach the
+inn, which was his first wise act.
+
+The landlord said to him, "Who art thou?"
+
+"The son of the merchant who died in thy house," he replied.
+
+They prepared for him a dinner, and placed upon the table five pigeons
+and a chicken. The master of the house, his wife, two sons, and two
+daughters sat with him at the table.
+
+"Serve the food," said the landlord.
+
+"Nay," answered the young man; "thou art master, it is thy privilege."
+
+"I desire thee to do this thing; thou art my guest, the merchant's son;
+pray help the food."
+
+The young man thus entreated divided one pigeon between the two sons,
+another between the two daughters, gave the third to the man and his
+wife, and kept the other two for himself. This was his second wise act.
+
+The landlord looked somewhat perplexed at this mode of distribution, but
+said nothing.
+
+Then the merchant's son divided the chicken. He gave to the landlord and
+his wife the head, to the two sons the legs, to the two daughters the
+wings, and took the body for himself. This was his third wise act.
+
+The landlord said:--
+
+"Is this the way they do things in thy country? I noticed the manner in
+which thou didst apportion the pigeons, but said nothing; but the
+chicken, my dear sir! I must really ask thee thy meaning."
+
+Then the young man answered:--
+
+"I told thee that it was not my place to serve the food, nevertheless
+when thou didst insist I did the best I could, and I think I have
+succeeded. Thyself, thy wife, and one pigeon make three; thy two sons
+and one pigeon make three; thy two daughters and one pigeon make three;
+and myself and two pigeons make three also, therefore is it fairly done.
+As regards the chicken, I gave to thee and thy wife the head, because ye
+are the heads of the family; I gave to each of thy sons a leg, because
+they are the pillars of the family, preserving always the family name; I
+gave to each of thy daughters a wing, because in the natural course of
+events they will marry, take wing, and fly away from the home-nest. I
+took the body of the chicken because it looks like a ship, and in a ship
+I came here and in a ship I hope to return. I am the son of the merchant
+who died in thy house; give me the property of my dead father."
+
+"Take it and go," said the landlord. And giving him his father's
+possessions the young man departed in peace.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A certain man, a native of Athina (a city near Jerusalem), visited the
+city of Jerusalem, and after leaving it, ridiculed the place and its
+inhabitants. The Jerusalemites were very wroth at being made the
+subjects of his sport, and they induced one of their citizens to travel
+to Athina, to induce the man to return to Jerusalem, which would give
+them an opportunity to punish his insolence.
+
+The citizen thus commissioned reached Athina, and very shortly fell in
+with the man whom he had come to meet. Walking through the streets
+together one day, the man from Jerusalem said, "See, the string of my
+shoe is broken; take me, I pray, to the shoemaker."
+
+The shoemaker repaired the string, and the man paid him a coin more in
+value than the worth of the shoes.
+
+Next day, when walking with the same man, he broke the string of his
+other shoe, and going to the shoemaker, he paid him the same large sum
+for repairing that.
+
+"Why," said the man of Athina, "shoes must be very dear in Jerusalem,
+when thou payest such a price but for repairing a string."
+
+"Yes," answered the other; "they bring nine ducats, and even in the
+cheapest times from seven to eight."
+
+"Then it would be a profitable employment for me to take shoes from my
+city and sell them in thine."
+
+"Yes, indeed; and if thou wilt but let me know of thy coming I will put
+thee in the way of customers."
+
+So the man of Athina, who had made merry over the Jerusalemites, bought
+a large stock of shoes and set out for Jerusalem, informing his friend
+of his coming. The latter started to meet him, and greeting him before
+he came to the gates of the city, said to him:--
+
+"Before a stranger may enter and sell goods in Jerusalem, he must shave
+his head and blacken his face. Art thou ready to do this?"
+
+"And why not," replied the other, "as long as I have a prospect of large
+profits; why should I falter or hesitate at so slight a thing as that?"
+
+So the stranger, shaving the hair from his head and blackening his face
+(by which all Jerusalem knew him as the man who had ridiculed the city),
+took up his place in the market, with his wares spread before him.
+
+Buyers paused before his stall, and asked him:--
+
+"How much for the shoes?"
+
+"Ten ducats a pair," he answered; "or I may sell for nine; but certainly
+for not less than eight."
+
+This caused a great laugh and uproar in the market, and the stranger was
+driven from it in derision and his shoes thrown after him.
+
+Seeking the Jerusalemite who had deceived him, he said:--
+
+"Why hast thou so treated me? did I so to thee in Athina?"
+
+"Let this be a lesson to thee," answered the Jerusalemite. "I do not
+think thou wilt be so ready to make sport of us in the future."
+
+A young man, upon his journeys through the country, fell in with a young
+woman, and they became mutually attached. When the young man was obliged
+to leave the neighborhood of the damsel's residence, they met to say
+"good-by." During the parting they pledged a mutual faith, and each
+promised to wait until, in the course of time, they might be able to
+marry. "Who will be the witness of our betrothal?" said the young man.
+Just then they saw a weasel run past them and disappear in the wood.
+"See," he continued, "this weasel and this well of water by which we are
+standing shall be the witnesses of our betrothal;" and so they parted.
+Years passed, the maiden remained true, but the youth married. A son was
+born to him, and grew up the delight of his parents. One day while the
+child was playing he became tired, and lying upon the ground fell
+asleep. A weasel bit him in the neck, and he bled to death. The parents
+were consumed with grief by this calamity, and it was not until another
+son was given them that they forgot their sorrow. But when this second
+child was able to walk alone it wandered without the house, and bending
+over the well, looking at its shadow in the water, lost its balance and
+was drowned. Then the father recollected his perjured vow, and his
+witnesses, the weasel and the well. He told his wife of the
+circumstance, and she agreed to a divorce. He then sought the maiden to
+whom he had promised marriage, and found her still awaiting his return.
+He told her how, through God's agency, he had been punished for his
+wrongdoing, after which they married and lived in peace.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A wise Israelite, dwelling some distance from Jerusalem, sent his son to
+the Holy City to complete his education. During his son's absence the
+father was taken ill, and feeling that death was upon him he made a
+will, leaving all his property to one of his slaves, on condition that
+he should allow the son to select any one article which pleased him for
+an inheritance.
+
+As soon as his master died, the slave, elated with his good fortune,
+hastened to Jerusalem, informed his late master's son of what had taken
+place, and showed him the will.
+
+The young man was surprised and grieved at the intelligence, and after
+the alloted time of mourning had expired, he began to seriously consider
+his situation. He went to his teacher, explained the circumstances to
+him, read him his father's will, and expressed himself bitterly on
+account of the disappointment of his reasonable hopes and expectations.
+He could think of nothing that he had done to offend his father, and was
+loud in his complaints of injustice.
+
+"Stop," said his teacher; "thy father was a man of wisdom and a loving
+relative. This will is a living monument to his good sense and
+far-sightedness. May his son prove as wise in his day."
+
+"What!" exclaimed the young man. "I see no wisdom in his bestowal of his
+property upon a slave; no affection in this slight upon his only son."
+
+"Listen," returned the teacher. "By his action thy father hath but
+secured thy inheritance to thee, if thou art wise enough to avail
+thyself of his understanding. Thus thought he when he felt the hand of
+death approaching. 'My son is away; when I am dead he will not be here
+to take charge of my affairs; my slaves will plunder my estate, and to
+gain time will even conceal my death from my son, and deprive me of the
+sweet savour of mourning.' To prevent these things he bequeathed his
+property to his slave, well knowing that the slave, believing in his
+apparent right, would give thee speedy information, and take care of the
+effects, even as he has done."
+
+"Well, well, and how does this benefit me?" impatiently interrupted the
+pupil.
+
+"Ah!" replied the teacher, "wisdom I see rests not with the young. Dost
+thou not know that what a slave possesses belongs but to his master? Has
+not thy father left thee the right to select one article of all his
+property for thy own? Choose the slave as thy portion, and by possessing
+him thou wilt recover all that was thy father's. Such was his wise and
+loving intention."
+
+The young man did as he was advised, and gave the slave his freedom
+afterward. But ever after he was wont to exclaim:--
+
+"Wisdom resides with the aged, and understanding in length of days."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+David, King of Israel, was once lying upon his couch and many thoughts
+were passing through his mind.
+
+"Of what use in this world is the spider?" thought he; "it but increases
+the dust and dirt of the world, making places unsightly and causing
+great annoyance."
+
+Then he thought of an insane man:--
+
+"How unfortunate is such a being. I know that all things are ordained by
+God with reason and purpose, yet this is beyond my comprehension; why
+should men be born idiots, or grow insane?"
+
+Then the mosquitoes annoyed him, and the king thought:--
+
+"What can the mosquito be good for? why was it created in the world? It
+but disturbs our comfort, and the world profits not by its existence."
+
+Yet King David lived to discover that these very insects, and the very
+condition of life, the being of which he deplored, were ordained even to
+his own benefit.
+
+When he fled from before Saul, David was captured in the land of the
+Philistines by the brothers of Goliath, who carried him before the King
+of Gath, and it was only by pretending idiocy that he escaped death, the
+king deeming it impossible that such a man could be the kingly David; as
+it is written, "And he disguised his reason before their eyes, and
+played the madman in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the
+gate, and let his spittle run down upon his beard."
+
+Upon another occasion David hid himself in the cave of Adullam, and
+after he had entered the cave it chanced that a spider spun a web over
+the opening thereto. His pursuers passed that way, but thinking that no
+one could have entered the cave protected by the spider's web without
+destroying it, they continued on their way.
+
+The mosquito also was of service to David when he entered the camp of
+Saul to secure the latter's weapon. While stooping near Abner, the
+sleeping man moved and placed his leg upon David's body. If he moved, he
+would awake Abner and meet with death, if he remained in that position
+morning would dawn and bring him death; he knew not what to do, when a
+mosquito alighted upon Abner's leg; he moved it quickly, and David
+escaped.
+
+Therefore sang David:---
+
+"All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like unto Thee."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Israelites were commanded to visit Jerusalem on three festivals. It
+happened upon one occasion that there was a scarcity of water in the
+city. One of the people called upon a certain nobleman who was the owner
+of three wells, and asked him for the use of the water which they
+contained, promising that they should be refilled by a stated date, and
+contracting in default of this to pay a certain large amount in silver
+as forfeit. The day came, there had been no rain, and the three wells
+were dry. In the morning the owner of the wells sent for the promised
+money. Nakdemon, the son of Gurion, the man who had undertaken this
+burden for his people's sake, replied, "The day is but begun; there is
+yet time."
+
+He entered the Temple and prayed that God might send rain and save him
+all his fortune which he had ventured. His prayer was answered. The
+clouds gathered and the rain fell. As he passed out of the Temple with a
+grateful heart, he was met by his creditor, who said:--
+
+"True, the rain has refilled my wells, but it is dark; the day has gone,
+and according to our agreement thou must still pay me the promised sum."
+
+Once more Nakdemon prayed, and lo, the clouds lifted and the sinking sun
+smiled brightly on the spot where the men stood, showing that the
+sunlight of day was still there, though the rain-clouds had temporarily
+obscured its gleams.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a certain family, the family of Abtinoss, the members of which
+were learned in the art of preparing the incense used in the service.
+Their knowledge they refused to impart to others, and the directors of
+the Temple, fearing that the art might die with them, discharged them
+from the service, and brought other parties from Alexandria, in Egypt,
+to prepare the sweet perfume. These latter were unable to afford
+satisfaction, however, and the directors were obliged to give the
+service back into the hands of the family of Abtinoss, who on their part
+refused to accept it again, unless the remuneration for their services
+was doubled. When asked why they so persistently refused to impart their
+skill to others, they replied that they feared they might teach some
+unworthy persons, who would afterward use their knowledge in an
+idolatrous worship. The members of this family were very particular not
+to use perfume of any kind themselves, lest the people should imagine
+that they put the sweet spices used in the manufacture of the incense to
+a baser use.
+
+An exactly similar case to the above occurred with the family of Garmah,
+which had the monopoly of the knowledge of preparing the show-bread used
+in the services of the Temple.
+
+It was in reference to these cases that the son of Azai said, "In thy
+name they shall call thee, and in thy city they shall cause thee to
+live, and from thy own they will give thee," meaning that trustful
+persons should not fear that others might steal their occupations; "for
+in thy name they will call thee," as with the families of Abtinoss and
+Garmah; "and from thy own they will give thee," meaning that what a man
+earns is his own, and cannot be taken away.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rabbi Jochanan, the son of Levi, fasted and prayed to the Lord that he
+might be permitted to gaze on the angel Elijah, he who had ascended
+alive to heaven. God granted his prayer, and in the semblance of a man
+Elijah appeared before him.
+
+"Let me journey with thee in thy travels through the world," prayed the
+Rabbi to Elijah; "let me observe thy doings, and gain in wisdom and
+understanding."
+
+"Nay," answered Elijah; "my actions thou couldst not understand; my
+doings would trouble thee, being beyond thy comprehension."
+
+But still the Rabbi entreated:--
+
+"I will neither trouble nor question thee," he said; "only let me
+accompany thee on thy way."
+
+"Come, then," said Elijah; "but let thy tongue be mute. With thy first
+question, thy first expression of astonishment, we must part company."
+
+So the two journeyed through the world together. They approached the
+house of a poor man, whose only treasure and means of support was a cow.
+As they came near, the man and his wife hastened to meet them, begged
+them to enter their cot, and eat and drink of the best they could
+afford, and to pass the night under their roof. This they did, receiving
+every attention from their poor but hospitable host and hostess. In the
+morning Elijah rose up early and prayed to God, and when he had finished
+his prayer, behold the cow belonging to the poor people dropped dead.
+Then the travelers continued on their journey.
+
+Much was Rabbi Jochanan perplexed. "Not only did we neglect to pay them
+for their hospitality and generous services, but his cow we have
+killed;" and he said to Elijah, "Why didst thou kill the cow of this
+good man, who--"
+
+"Peace," interrupted Elijah; "hear, see, and be silent. If I answer thy
+questions we must part."
+
+And they continued on their way together.
+
+Toward evening they arrived at a large and imposing mansion, the
+residence of a haughty and wealthy man. They were coldly received; a
+piece of bread and a glass of water were placed before them, but the
+master of the house did not welcome or speak to them, and they remained
+there during the night unnoticed. In the morning Elijah remarked that a
+wall of the house required repairing, and sending for a carpenter, he
+himself paid the money for the repair, as a return, he said, for the
+hospitality they had received.
+
+Again was Rabbi Jochanan filled with wonder, but he said naught, and
+they proceeded on their journey.
+
+As the shades of night were falling they entered a city which contained
+a large and imposing synagogue. As it was the time of the evening
+service they entered and were much pleased with the rich adornments, the
+velvet cushions, and gilded carvings of the interior. After the
+completion of the service, Elijah arose and called out aloud, "Who is
+here willing to feed and lodge two poor men this night?" none answered,
+and no respect was shown to the traveling strangers. In the morning,
+however, Elijah re-entered the synagogue, and shaking its members by the
+hands, he said, "I hope that you may all become presidents."
+
+Next evening the two entered another city, when the _Shamas_ (sexton) of
+the synagogue, came to meet them, and notifying the members of his
+congregation of the coming of two strangers, the best hotel of the place
+was opened to them, and all vied in showing them attention and honor.
+
+In the morning, on parting with them, Elijah said, "May the Lord appoint
+over you but one president."
+
+Jochanan could resist his curiosity no longer. "Tell me," said he to
+Elijah, "tell me the meaning of all these actions which I have
+witnessed. To those who have treated us coldly thou hast uttered good
+wishes; to those who have been gracious to us thou hast made no suitable
+return. Even though we must part, I pray thee explain to me the meaning
+of thy acts."
+
+"Listen," said Elijah, "and learn to trust in God, even though thou
+canst not understand His ways. We first entered the house of the poor
+man, who treated us so kindly. Know that it had been decreed that on
+that very day his wife should die. I prayed unto the Lord that the cow
+might prove a redemption for her; God granted my prayers, and the woman
+was preserved unto her husband. The rich man, whom next we called up,
+treated us coldly, and I repaired his wall. I repaired it without a new
+foundation, without digging to the old one. Had he repaired it himself
+he would have dug, and thus discovered a treasure which lies there
+buried, but which is now forever lost to him. To the members of the
+synagogue who were inhospitable I said, 'May you all be presidents,' and
+where many rule there can be no peace; but to the others I said, 'May
+you have but one president;' with one leader no misunderstanding may
+arise. Now, if thou seest the wicked prospering, be not envious; if thou
+seest the righteous in poverty and trouble, be not provoked or doubtful
+of God's justice. The Lord is righteous, His judgments all are true; His
+eyes note all mankind, and none can say, 'What dost thou?'"
+
+With these words Elijah disappeared, and Jochanan was left alone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was once a man who pledged his dearest faith to a maiden,
+beautiful and true. For a time all passed pleasantly, and the maiden
+lived in happiness. But then the man was called from her side, he left
+her; long she waited, but he did not return. Friends pitied her and
+rivals mocked her; tauntingly they pointed at her, and said, "He has
+left thee; he will never come back." The maiden sought her chamber, and
+read in secret the letters which her lover had written to her, the
+letters in which he promised to be ever faithful, ever true. Weeping she
+read them, but they brought comfort to her heart; she dried her eyes and
+doubted not.
+
+A joyous day dawned for her; the man she loved returned, and when he
+learned that others had doubted and asked her how she had preserved her
+faith, she showed his letters to him, declaring her eternal trust.
+
+Israel, in misery and captivity, was mocked by the nations; her hopes of
+redemption were made a laughing-stock; her sages scoffed at; her holy
+men derided. Into her synagogues, into her schools went Israel; she read
+the letters which her God had written, and believed in the holy promises
+which they contained.
+
+God will in time redeem her; and when He says:--
+
+"How could you alone be faithful of all the mocking nations?"
+
+She will point to the law and answer:--
+
+"Had not Thy law been my delight, I should long since have perished in
+my affliction."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When God was about to created man the angels gathered about him. Some of
+them opening their lips exclaimed, "Create, O God, a being who shall
+praise Thee from earth even as we in heaven sing Thy glory."
+
+But others said:--
+
+"Hear us, Almighty King, create no more! The glorious harmony of the
+heavens which Thou hast sent to earth will be by man disturbed,
+destroyed."
+
+Then silence fell upon the contesting hosts as the Angel of Mercy
+appeared before the throne of grace on bended knees.
+
+Sweet was the voice which said entreatingly:--
+
+"O, Father, create Thou man; make him Thine own noble image. With
+heavenly pity will I fill his heart, with sympathy toward every living
+thing impress his being; through him will they find cause to praise
+Thee."
+
+Then the Angel of Mercy ceased, and the Angel of Peace with tearful eyes
+spoke thus:--
+
+"O God, create him not! Thy peace he will disturb, the flow of blood,
+will follow sure his coming. Confusion, horror, war, will blot the
+earth, and Thou wilt no longer find a pleasant place among Thy works on
+earth."
+
+Then spoke in stern tones the Angel of Justice:--
+
+"And Thou wilt judge him, God; he shall be subject to my sway."
+
+The Angel of Truth approached, saying:--
+
+"Cease! O God of truth, with man Thou sendest falsehood to the earth."
+
+Then all were silent, and out of the deep quietness the Divine words
+came:--
+
+"Thou, O Truth, shall go to earth with him, and yet remain a denizen of
+heaven; 'twixt heaven and earth to float, connecting link between the
+two."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was customary in Bithar when a child was born for the parents to
+plant a young cedar tree, to grow up with the infant. It happened upon
+one occasion when the daughter of the emperor was riding through the
+city, that her chariot broke down, and her attendants pulled up a young
+cedar tree to use in repairing it. The man who had planted the tree,
+seeing this, attacked the servants and beat them severely. This action
+incensed the emperor, who immediately dispatched an army of eighty
+thousand men against the city. These captured it and killed the
+inhabitants, men, women, and children. The rivers ran red with blood,
+and 'tis said that the ground was rich and prolific to the farmers for
+seven years, from the bodies of those who perished, said to be four
+hundred thousand Israelites.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the guilt of the Israelites grew too great for the forbearance of
+the Most High, and they refused to listen to the words and warnings of
+Jeremiah, the prophet left Jerusalem and traveled to the land of
+Benjamin. While he was in the holy city, and prayed for mercy on it, it
+was spared; but while he sojourned in the land of Benjamin,
+Nebuchadnezzar laid waste the land of Israel, plundered the holy Temple,
+robbed it of its ornaments, and gave it a prey to the devouring flames.
+By the hands of Nebuzaradan did Nebuchadnezzar send (while he himself
+remained in Riblah) to destroy Jerusalem.
+
+Before he ordered the expedition he endeavored by means of signs, in
+accordance with the superstition of his age, to ascertain the result of
+the attempt. He shot an arrow from his bow, pointing to the west, and
+the arrow turned toward Jerusalem. Then he shot again, pointing toward
+the east, and the arrow sped toward Jerusalem. Then he shot once more,
+desiring to know in which direction lay the guilty city which should be
+blotted from the world, and for the third time his arrow pointed toward
+Jerusalem.
+
+When the city had been captured, he marched with his princes and
+officers into the Temple, and called out mockingly to the God of Israel,
+"And art thou the great God before whom the world trembles, and we here
+in thy city and thy Temple!"
+
+On one of the walls he found the mark of an arrow's head, as though
+somebody had been killed or hit near by, and he asked, "Who was killed
+here?"
+
+"Zachariah, the son of Yehoyadah, the high priest," answered the people;
+"he rebuked us incessantly on account of our transgressions, and we
+tired of his words, and put him to death."
+
+The followers of Nebuchadnezzar massacred the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
+the priests and the people, old and young, women, and children who were
+attending school, even babies in the cradle. The feast of blood at last
+shocked even the leader of the hostile heathens, who ordered a stay of
+this wholesale murder. He then removed all the vessels of gold and
+silver from the Temple, and sent them by his ships, to Babel, after
+which he set the Temple on fire.
+
+The high priest donned his robe and ephod, and saying, "Now that the
+Temple is destroyed, no priest is needed to officiate," threw himself
+into the flames and was consumed. When the other priests who were still
+alive witnessed this action, they took their harps and musical
+instruments and followed the example of the high priest. Those of the
+people whom the soldiers had not killed were bound in iron chains,
+burdened with the spoils of the victors, and carried into captivity.
+Jeremiah the prophet returned to Jerusalem and accompanied his
+unfortunate brethren, who went out almost naked. When they reached a
+place called Bet Kuro, Jeremiah obtained better clothing for them. And
+he spoke to Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, and said, "Think not that
+of your own strength you were able to overcome the people chosen of the
+Lord; 'tis their iniquities which have condemned them to this sorrow."
+
+Thus the people journeyed on with crying and moaning until they reached
+the rivers of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Sing, ye
+people,--play for me,--sing the songs ye were wont to sing before your
+great Lord in Jerusalem."
+
+In answer to this command, the Levites hung their harps upon the willow
+trees near the banks of the river, as it is written, "Upon the willows
+in her midst had we hung up our harps." Then they said, "If we had but
+performed the will of God and sung His praises devoutly, we should not
+have been delivered into thy hands. Now, how can we sing before thee the
+prayers and hymns that belong only to the One Eternal God?" as it is
+said, "How should we sing the song of the Lord on the soil of the
+stranger?"
+
+Then said the officers of the captors, "These men are men of death; they
+refuse to obey the order of the king; let them die."
+
+But forth stepped Pelatya, the son of Yehoyadah, and thus he addressed
+Nebuchadnezzar:--
+
+"Behold, if a flock is delivered into the hands of a shepherd, and a
+wolf steals a lamb from the flock, tell me, who is responsible to the
+owner of the lost animal?"
+
+"Surely the shepherd," replied Nebuchadnezzar.
+
+"Then listen to thine own words," replied Pelatya. "God has given Israel
+into thy hands; to Him art thou responsible for those who are slain."
+
+The king ordered the chains to be removed from the captives, and they
+were not put to death.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Through Kamtzah and Bar Kamtzah was Jerusalem destroyed; and thus it
+happened.
+
+A certain man made a feast; he was a friend of Kamtzah, but Bar Kamtzah
+he hated. He sent a messenger to Kamtzah with an invitation to his
+banquet, but this messenger making a mistake, delivered the invitation
+to his master's enemy, Bar Kamtzah.
+
+Bar Kamtzah accepted the invitation, and was on hand at the appointed
+time, but when the host saw his enemy enter his house, he ordered him to
+leave at once.
+
+"Nay," said Bar Kamtzah, "now that I am here, do not so insult me as to
+send me forth. I will pay thee for all that I may eat and drink."
+
+"I want not thy money," returned the other, "neither do I desire thy
+presence; get thee gone at once."
+
+But Bar Kamtzah persisted.
+
+"I will pay the entire expense of thy feast," he said; "do not let me be
+degraded in the eyes of thy guests."
+
+The host was determined, and Bar Kamtzah withdrew from the banquet-room
+in anger.
+
+"Many Rabbis were present," said he in his heart, "and not one of them
+interfered in my behalf, therefore this insult which they saw put upon
+me must have pleased them."
+
+So Bar Kamtzah spoke treacherously of the Jews unto the king, saying,
+"The Jews have rebelled against thee."
+
+"How can I know this?" inquired the king.
+
+"Send a sacrifice to their Temple and it will be rejected," replied Bar
+Kamtzah.
+
+The ruler then sent a well-conditioned calf to be sacrificed for him in
+the Temple, but through the machinations of Bar Kamtzah the messenger
+inflicted a blemish upon it, and, of course, not being fit for the
+sacrifice it was not accepted.
+
+Through this cause was Caesar sent to capture Jerusalem, and for two
+years he besieged the city. Four wealthy citizens of Jerusalem had
+stored up enough food to last the inhabitants a much longer time than
+this, but the people being anxious to fight with the Romans, destroyed
+the storehouses and brought dire famine upon the city.
+
+A certain noble lady, Miriam, the daughter of Baythus, sent her servant
+to purchase some flour for household use. The servant found that all the
+flour had been sold, but there was still some meal which he might have
+purchased. Hurrying home, however, to learn his mistress's wishes in
+regard to this, he discovered on his return that this too had been sold,
+and he could obtain nothing save some coarse barley meal. Not wishing to
+purchase this without orders he returned home again, but when he
+returned to the storehouse to secure the barley meal, that was gone
+also. Then his mistress started out herself to purchase food, but she
+could find nothing. Suffering from the pangs of hunger she picked from
+the street the skin of a fig and ate it; this sickened her and she died.
+But previous to her death she cast all her gold and silver into the
+street, saying, "What use is this wealth to me when I can obtain no food
+for it?" Thus were the words of Ezekiel fulfilled:--
+
+"Their silver shall they cast into the streets."
+
+After the destruction of the storehouses, Rabbi Jochanan in walking
+through the city saw the populace boiling straw in water and drinking of
+the same for sustenance. "Ah, woe is me for this calamity!" he
+exclaimed; "how can such a people strive against a mighty host?" He
+applied to Ben Batiach, his nephew, one of the chiefs of the city, for
+permission to leave Jerusalem. But Ben Batiach replied, "It may not be;
+no living body may leave the city." "Take me out then as a corpse,"
+entreated Jochanan. Ben Batiach assented to this, and Jochanan was
+placed in a coffin and carried through the gates of the city; Rabbi
+Eleazer, Rabbi Joshua, and Ben Batiach acting as pall-bearers. The
+coffin was placed in a cave, and after they had all returned to their
+homes Jochanan arose from the coffin and made his way to the enemy's
+camp. He obtained from the commander permission to establish an academy
+in Jabna with Rabbon Gamliel as the principal.
+
+Titus soon captured the city, killed many of the people, and sent the
+others into exile. He entered the Temple, even in the Most Holy, and cut
+down the veil which separated it from the less sacred precincts. He
+seized the holy vessels, and sent them to Rome.
+
+From this history of Kamtzah and Bar Kamtzah we should learn to be
+careful of offending our neighbors, when in so slight a cause such great
+results may originate. Our Rabbis have said that he who causes his
+neighbor to blush through an insult, should be compared to the one who
+sheds blood.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the terrible times which followed the fall of the Holy City,
+Hannah and her seven sons were cast into prison.
+
+According to their ages they were brought before the tyrant conqueror,
+and commanded to pay homage to him and his gods.
+
+"God forbid," exclaimed the eldest lad, "that I should bow to thy image.
+Our commandments say to us, 'I am the Lord thy God;' to no other will I
+bow."
+
+He was immediately led out to execution, and the same demand made of his
+brother, the second son.
+
+"My brother bowed not," he answered, "and no more will I."
+
+"Wherefore not?" asked the tyrant.
+
+"Because," replied the lad, "the second commandment of the Decalogue
+tells us, 'Thou shalt have no other God but me.'"
+
+His death followed immediately his brave words.
+
+"My religion teaches me, 'Thou shalt worship no other God,'" said the
+third son, "and I welcome the fate accorded to my brothers rather than
+bow to thee or thy images."
+
+The same homage was demanded of the fourth son, but brave and faithful
+as his brethren, he replied, "'He that sacrificeth unto any God save
+unto the Lord only,'" and was slain pitilessly.
+
+"'Hear, O Israel! the Lord our God, the Lord is One,'" exclaimed the
+fifth lad, yielding up his young life with the watchword of Israel's
+hosts.
+
+"Why art thou so obstinate?" was asked of the sixth brother, when he,
+too, was brought before the tyrant and scorned the propositions made
+him.
+
+"'The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty and terrible God,'"
+he said; and died for the principles he proclaimed.
+
+Then the seventh and youngest boy was brought before the murderer of his
+relatives, who addressed him kindly, saying:--
+
+"My son, come bow before my gods."
+
+And the child answered:--
+
+"God forbid! Our holy religion teaches us 'Know therefore this day, and
+reflect in thy heart that the Lord he is God, in the heavens above and
+on the earth beneath there is none else.' Never will we exchange our God
+for any other, neither will He exchange us for any other nation, for as
+it is written, 'Thou hast this day acknowledged the Lord,' so is it also
+written, 'And the Lord hath acknowledged thee this day, that thou art
+unto him a peculiar people!'"
+
+Still the tyrant spoke smoothly, and with kind words.
+
+"Thou art young," he said; "thou hast seen but little of the pleasures
+and joys of life, not as much as has fallen to the portion of thy
+brethren. Do as I wish thee and thy future shall be bright and happy."
+
+"The Lord will reign forever and ever," said the lad; "thy nation and
+thy kingdom will be destroyed; thou art here to-day, to-morrow in the
+grave; to-day elevated, to-morrow lowly; but the most Holy One endures
+forever."
+
+"See," continued the other, "thy brothers lie slain before thee; their
+fate will be thine if thou refusest to do as I desire. See, I will cast
+my ring to the ground, stoop thou and pick it up; that I will consider
+allegiance to my gods."
+
+"Thinkest thou that I fear thy threats?" returned the unterrified lad;
+"why should I fear a human being more than the great God, the King of
+kings?"
+
+"Where and what is thy God?" asked the oppressor. "Is there a God in the
+world?"
+
+"Can there be a world without a Creator?" replied the youth. "Of thy
+gods 'tis said, 'mouths they have, but speak not.' Of our God the
+Psalmist says, 'By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.' Thy gods
+have 'eyes but see not,' but 'the eyes of the Lord run to and fro in the
+whole earth!' Thy gods have 'ears but hear not,' but of our God 'tis
+written, 'The Lord hearkened and heard.' Of thy gods 'tis said, 'a nose
+they have but smell not,' while our God 'smelled the sweet savor.'
+'Hands have thy gods but they touch not,' while our God says, 'My hand
+hath also founded the earth.' Of thy gods 'tis written, 'feet they have
+but walk not,' while Zachariah tells us of our God, 'His feet will stand
+that day upon the mount of Olives.'"
+
+Then said the cruel one:--
+
+"If thy God hath all these attributes, why does He not deliver thee from
+my power?"
+
+The lad replied:--
+
+"He delivered Chananyah and his companions from the power of
+Nebuchadnezzar, but they were righteous men, and Nebuchadnezzar was a
+king deserving of seeing a miracle performed, but for me, alas, I am not
+worthy of redemption, neither art thou worthy of a demonstration of
+God's power."
+
+"Let the lad be slain as were his brothers," commanded the tyrant.
+
+Then spoke Hannah, the mother of the boys:--
+
+"Give me my child," she cried, "oh, cruel king, let me fold him in my
+arms ere thou destroyest his innocent young life."
+
+She threw her arms around the lad, clasping him tightly to her bosom,
+and pressing her lips to his. "Take my life," she cried; "kill me first
+before my child."
+
+"Nay," he answered, scoffingly, "I cannot do it, for thy own laws
+forbid; 'Whether it be ox or sheep ye shall not kill it and its young in
+one day.'"
+
+"Oh, woe to thee," replied the mother, "thou who art so particular to
+regard the laws." Then pressing her boy to her heart, "Go, my dear one,"
+she said, "say to Abraham that my sacrifice hath exceeded his. He built
+one altar whereon to sacrifice Isaac; thy mother hath built seven altars
+and sacrificed seven Isaacs in one day. He was but tempted; thy mother
+hath performed."
+
+After the execution of her last son, Hannah became insane, and threw
+herself from her house-top. Where she fell, she expired.
+
+Happy are ye, ye seven sons of Hannah; your portion in the future world
+was waiting for you. In faithfulness ye served your God, and with her
+children shall your mother rejoice forever in the eternal world.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Moses Maimonides, one of the greatest of Jewish commentators, and a
+descendant of Rabbi Judah, the compiler of the Mishna, was born in the
+city of Cordova, Spain, March 30, 1135. His father was somewhat advanced
+in life when he married, and it is said that he entered into the
+conjugal state through having dreamed several successive times that he
+was wedded to the daughter of a butcher in his neighborhood; the lady
+whom he did actually marry.
+
+Moses was the only child of this lady, who died shortly after his birth.
+His father lamented her demise for about a year, and then married again,
+several children being the result of this second union.
+
+Moses displayed no love for study in his youth; a fact which grieved his
+father much. All efforts to induce him to become more studious failed;
+his brothers called him "the butcher's boy," as a term of reproach for
+his dullness; and finally, in anger, his father drove him from his home.
+
+While traveling, entirely friendless, Moses fell in with a learned
+Rabbi, and admired his wisdom and knowledge so much that he resolved to
+study zealously and emulate such attainments.
+
+Many years after this a new preacher was announced to lecture in the
+synagogue, at Cordova, upon a designated Sabbath. Numerous rumors of his
+wonderful learning and eloquence were rife, and all were anxious to hear
+him. In matter, delivery, earnestness, and effect, the sermon excelled
+all that the people had before listened to, and to the amazement of
+Maimonides the elder, and his sons, they recognized in the man all were
+eager to honor, their outcast relative.
+
+The first commentary of Maimonides is upon the Mishna, and it concludes
+with these words:--
+
+"I, Moses, the son of Maymon, commenced this commentary when
+twenty-three years of age. I have finished it at the age of thirty in
+the land of Egypt."
+
+Maimonides fled from Spain to Cairo, in Egypt, from fanaticism and
+persecution. There he studied the Greek and Chaldaic languages, becoming
+master of both after seven years' attention. His fame spread through the
+country. His scientific standing and his general knowledge were
+universally recognized, and his books were not only valued by his
+brethren in faith, but by all the cultured and enlightened of his day.
+
+It is said that the king of Egypt appointed him as one of his staff of
+physicians. The enlightened men of the kingdom were divided into seven
+grades, each grade occupying a corresponding position near the throne of
+the king on state occasions. The monarch considered Maimonides so much
+superior to the others that he made for him a special position. This,
+Moses, a modest man, declined. The other physicians, however, were
+jealous of his high standing, and being unable to injure him openly,
+they endeavored to accomplish his ruin in a secret manner.
+
+The king was taken very sick, and Maimonides attended him. Taking
+advantage of this, the physicians put poison in the draught which Moses
+had prepared for him, and then informed the king that the latter
+designed his death. To prove their words, they gave some of the mixture
+to a dog, and the animal died.
+
+The king was grieved and surprised, and Maimonides, struck dumb with
+amazement, was unable to say a word.
+
+"Death is the penalty for one who attempts to assassinate his ruler,"
+said the king. "Choose now the mode of thy punishment."
+
+Moses asked for three days for consideration, which the king granted.
+During this time he prepared a certain mixture, and instructed his
+pupils to have it ready and apply it according to his directions, when
+he should be brought home senseless. He then appeared before the king,
+and desired to have his veins opened. The vital artery was missed, as he
+had anticipated, and the result was as he had foreseen. After his
+recovery, he fled from Egypt, taking refuge in a cave, where he wrote
+his _Yad Hazakah_ (the "Strong Hand"), consisting of fourteen divisions,
+typified by the word _Yad_, which also means fourteen.
+
+Maimonides simplified the Talmudical rules and traditions, making them
+clear to the comprehension of all. He was the author of an exhaustive
+work, entitled, _Mishne Torah_, the "Second Law," which was eagerly
+copied and extensively disseminated. He also wrote many philosophical
+treatises leveled against atheism, and designed to prove that God
+produced the world from naught, and at the age of fifty gave to the
+world his great work, _Moreh Nebuchim_ ("Guide of the Perplexed"), to
+which Rabbi Judah Charizi added an appendix.
+
+Maimonides died at the age of seventy years, and his remains were
+interred at Cairo, Egypt. Both Jews and Gentiles mourned his loss. The
+lamentation in Jerusalem was intense, a fast was declared, the
+synagogues were opened, and a portion of the law (Levit. 25:12 to end),
+and the fifth chapter of Samuel 1, were made parts of the service of the
+day.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+During the reign of one of the bishops in Metz, there lived a Jew in
+that city, who was called Rabbi Amnon. He was of illustrious family, of
+great personal merit, rich and respected by the Bishop and the people.
+The Bishop frequently pressed him to abjure Judaism and embrace
+Christianity, but without the slightest avail. It happened, however,
+upon a certain day, being more closely pressed than usual, and somewhat
+anxious to be rid of the Bishop's importunities, he said hastily, "I
+will consider the subject, and give thee an answer in three days."
+
+As soon as he had left the Bishop's presence, however, his heart smote
+him, and an unquiet conscience blamed him for admitting, even in this
+manner, a doubt of the true faith. He reached home overwhelmed with
+grief; meat was set before him, but he refused to eat; and when his
+friends visited him and ascertained the cause of his low spirits, he
+refused their proffered consolation, saying, "I shall go down mourning
+to the grave for these words." On the third day, while he was still
+lamenting his imprudent concession, the Bishop sent for him, but he
+refused to answer the call.
+
+Having refused several of the Bishop's messengers, they were finally
+ordered to seize him, and bring him by force before the prelate.
+
+"Amnon," said the Bishop, "why didst thou not come to me, according to
+thy promise, to inform me of thy decision in regard to my request?"
+
+"Let me," answered Amnon, "pronounce my own doom for this neglect. Let
+my tongue, which uttered those hasty, doubting words, be cut out; a lie
+I uttered, for I never intended to consider the proposition."
+
+"Nay," said the Bishop, "I will not cut out thy tongue, but thy feet
+which refused to come to me, shall be cut off, and the other parts of
+thy obstinate body shall be also punished and tormented."
+
+Under the Bishop's eye and order, the toes and thumbs of Rabbi Amnon
+were then cut off, and after having been severely tortured, he was sent
+home in a carriage, his mangled members beside him.
+
+Rabbi Amnon bore all this with the greatest resignation, firmly hoping
+and trusting that this earthly torment would plead his pardon with God.
+
+His life after this was of course to be measured only by days. The Feast
+of the New Year came round, while he was living, and he desired to be
+carried to the synagogue. He was conveyed to the house of God, and
+during the service he requested to be allowed to utter a prayer. The
+words which proved to be his last were as follows:--
+
+"I will declare the mighty holiness of this day, for it is awful and
+tremendous. Thy kingdom is exalted thereon; Thy throne is established in
+mercy, and upon it Thou dost rest in truth. Thou art the Judge, who
+chastiseth, and from Thee naught may be concealed. Thou bearest witness,
+writest, sealest, recordest, and rememberest all things, aye, those
+which we imagine long buried in the past. The Book of Records thou
+openest; the great _shophar_ (cornet) is sounded; even the angels are
+terrified, and they cry aloud, 'The Day of Judgment dawns upon us,' for
+in judgment they, the angels, are not faultless.
+
+"All who have entered the world pass before Thee. Even as the shepherd
+causes the flock he numbers to pass under his crook, so Thou, O Lord,
+causest every living soul to pass before Thee. Thou numberest, Thou
+visitest; appointing the limitations of every creature, Thy judgment and
+Thy sentence.
+
+"On the New Year it is written, on the Day of Atonement it is sealed.
+Aye, all Thy decrees are recorded. Who is to live and who to die. The
+names of those to meet death by fire, by water, or by the sword; through
+hunger, through thirst, and with the pestilence. All is recorded. Those
+who are to have tranquillity, those who are to be disturbed. Those who
+are to be troubled, those who are to be blessed with repose. Those who
+are to be prosperous, those for whom affliction is in store. Those who
+are to become rich, who poor; who exalted, who cast down; but penitence,
+prayer, and charity, O Lord, may avert all evil decrees."
+
+When he had finished this declaration, in which he designed to
+acknowledge his sin and the justice of his punishment, Rabbi Amnon
+expired, dying fitly in God's house among the assembled sons of Israel.
+
+
+
+
+FASTS AND FESTIVALS
+
+
+PASSOVER
+
+
+The feast of unleavened bread, or "Passover," begins upon the evening of
+the 14th day of _Nissan_ (April), and was instituted in commemoration of
+our ancestors' redemption from Egypt, a memorial forever. During its
+continuance we are strictly forbidden the use of any leavened thing.
+
+Moses said to the Israelites in the name of the Lord:--
+
+"Draw out and take for yourselves a lamb," etc.
+
+By the observance of this precept they would deserve well of God and He
+would redeem them, for when He spoke they were "naked and bare" of good
+deeds and meritorious acts.
+
+"Draw out and take for yourselves a lamb."
+
+Draw yourselves away from the idols which ye are worshiping with the
+Egyptians, the calves and lambs of stone and metal, and with one of the
+same animals through which ye sin, prepare to fulfill the commandments
+of your God.
+
+The planet sign of the month _Nissan_ is a lamb; therefore, that the
+Egyptians might not think that through the powers of the lamb they had
+thrown off the yoke of slavery, God commanded His people to take a lamb
+and eat it.
+
+They were commanded to roast it whole and to break no bone of it, so
+that the Egyptians might know that it was indeed a lamb which they had
+consumed.
+
+The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the children of Israel that they shall
+borrow of the Egyptians gold and silver vessels," in order that it might
+not be afterward said, "The words 'they will make them serve, and they
+will afflict them,' were fulfilled: but the words 'they shall go out
+with great substance' did not come to pass."
+
+When Moses told the Israelites that they should go up out of Egypt with
+great substance, they answered, "Would that we could go even
+empty-handed," like to the servant confined in prison.
+
+"To-morrow," said the jailer to him, "I will release thee from prison,
+and give thee much money."
+
+"Let me go to-day, and give me nothing," replied the prisoner.
+
+On the seventh day of the Passover the children of Israel passed through
+the Red Sea on dry land.
+
+A man was once traveling along the road and his son preceded him on the
+way. A robber appeared in the path, and the man put his son behind him.
+Then lo, a wolf came after the lad, and his father lifted him up and
+carried him within his arms.
+
+The sea was before the Israelites, the Egyptians were behind them, so
+God lifted up His child and carried it within His arms.
+
+When Israel suffered from the hot rays of the sun God "spread the cloud
+for a covering;" when they were hungry He sent them bread from heaven;
+and when they thirsted "He brought forth floods from a rock."
+
+
+PENTECOST
+
+
+The Feast of Weeks, or "Pentecost," occurs upon the sixth day of the
+third month, _Sivan_ (June). It is called the Feast of Weeks because
+forty-nine days, or seven weeks, duly numbered, elapse between the
+second day of Passover, when (during the existence of the Temple) a
+sheaf of green barley was offered, and this festival, when two loaves
+made of the first flour of the wheat harvest were "brought before the
+Lord." It is also the anniversary of the delivery of the commandment
+from Mount Sinai.
+
+Why does not the Bible particularize in this as on other occasions, and
+say directly, "On the sixth day of the third month was the law given?"
+
+Because in ancient times the men called "wise" placed their faith and
+dependence upon the planets. They divided these into seven, apportioning
+one to each day of the week. Some nations selected for their greatest
+god the sun, other nations the moon, and so on, and prayed to them and
+worshiped them. They knew not that the planets moved and changed
+according to the course of nature, established by the Most High, a
+course which He might change according to His will, and into their
+ignorant ideas many of the Israelites had entered. Therefore, as they
+considered the planets as seven, God made many other things depending on
+that number, to show that as He made them, so had He made the planets.
+
+The seventh day of the week He made the Sabbath; the seventh year he
+made the year of rest; after seven times seven years, or after seven
+Sabbatical years, He ordained the Jubilee, or year of release. Seven
+days He gave to the Passover festival, and seven days to the Feast of
+Tabernacles. Seven days was Jericho surrounded, and seven priests took
+seven trumpets and marched round its walls seven times upon the seventh
+day.
+
+Therefore, after numbering seven weeks during the ripening time of the
+grain, the Israelites were to hold a holy convocation, to praise the One
+who can prevent all things, but who cannot be prevented; who can change
+all things, but is unchangeable.
+
+The first day the Israelites were redeemed from slavery and
+superstition; the fiftieth day a law was given them for their guide
+through life; therefore they are commanded to number these days and
+remember them.
+
+The children of Ishmael, says the legend, were asked to accept the law.
+"What does it contain?" they asked. "Thou shalt not steal," was the
+answer. "How can we then accept it," they returned, "when thus was our
+forefather blessed, 'Thy hand shall be against every man?'"
+
+The children of Esau were asked to accept the law, and they also
+inquired, "What does it contain?" "Thou shalt not kill," was the answer.
+"We cannot accept it, then," said they, "for thus did our father Isaac
+bless us, 'By the sword shalt thou live.'"
+
+When Israel was asked to accept the law, the people answered, "We will
+do and obey."
+
+
+NEW YEAR, OR THE DAY OF MEMORIAL
+
+
+On the first day of the seventh month, _Tishri_ (October), is the
+commemoration of the creation of the world. Then the cornet is blown to
+announce to the people that a new year has begun its course, and to warn
+them to examine strictly their conduct and make amends therein where
+amends are needed.
+
+Would not any person of sense, knowing that he must appear before a
+Court of Judgment, prepare himself therefor? Either in a civil or a
+criminal case would he not seek for counsel? How much more, then, is it
+incumbent upon him to prepare for a meeting with the King of kings,
+before whom all things are revealed. No counsel can help him in his
+case; repentance, devotion, charity, these are the arguments which must
+plead in his favor. Therefore, a person should search his actions and
+repent his transgressions previous to the day of judgment. In the month
+of _Elul_ (September) he should arouse himself to a consciousness of the
+dread justice awaiting all mankind.
+
+This is the season when the Lord pardoned the Israelites who had
+worshiped the molten calf. He commanded Moses to reascend the mount for
+a second tablet, after he had destroyed the first. Thus say the sages,
+"The Lord said unto Moses in the month _Elul_, 'Go up unto me on the
+mountain,' and Moses went up and received the second tablet at the end
+of forty days. Before he ascended he caused the trumpet to be sounded
+through the camp." Since that time it is customary to sound the
+_shophar_ (cornet) in the synagogues, to give warning to the people that
+the day of judgment, New Year, is rapidly approaching, and with it the
+Day of Atonement. Therefore, propitiatory prayers are said twice every
+day, morning and evening, from the second day of _Elul_ until the eve of
+the Day of Atonement, which period comprises the last forty days which
+Moses passed on Sinai, when God was reconciled to Israel and pardoned
+their transgressions with the molten calf.
+
+Rabbi Eleazer said, "Abraham and Jacob were born in _Tishri_, and in
+_Tishri_ they died. On the first of _Tishri_ the universe was created,
+and during the Passover was Isaac born. On the first of _Tishri_ (New
+Year), Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah, three barren women, were visited. On
+the first day of _Tishri_ our ancestors discontinued their rigorous
+labor in Egypt. On the first of _Tishri_ Adam was created; from his
+existence we count our years, that is the sixth day of the creation. On
+that day, too, did he eat of the forbidden fruit, therefore is the
+season appointed for one of penitence, for the Lord said to Adam, 'This
+shall be for a sign in future generations; thy descendants shall be
+judged upon these days, and they shall be appointed as days of pardon
+and forgiveness.'"
+
+Four times in the year the Lord pronounces His decrees.
+
+First, New Year, the first of _Tishri_. Then the judgments of all human
+beings for the coming year are ordained.
+
+Second, the first day of Passover. Then the scarcity or fullness of the
+crops is determined.
+
+Third, Pentecost. Then the Lord blesses the fruit of the trees, or bids
+them bear not in plenty.
+
+Fourth, The Feast of Tabernacles. Then the Lord determines whether the
+rain shall bless the earth in its due season or not.
+
+Man is judged on New Year's and the decree is made final on the Day of
+Atonement.
+
+Rabbi Nathan has said that man is judged at all times.
+
+Thus taught Rabbi Akiba. "Why does the law command the bringing of a
+sheaf of barley on the Passover? Because the Passover is the season of
+the harvest of the grain. The Lord says, 'Offer for me a sheaf of barley
+on Passover, that I may bless the grain which is in the field.'
+
+"Why does the Bible say, 'Bring two loaves of the new wheat on
+Pentecost?' Because at Pentecost time the fruit ripens, and God says,
+'Offer for me two loaves of the new wheat, in order that I may bless the
+fruit which is on the trees.'
+
+"Why were we commanded to bring a drink-offering of water into the
+Temple on the Feast of Tabernacles? Because then is the season of rain,
+and the Lord says, 'Bring the drink-offering of water to me, in order
+that I may bless the rain of the year.'
+
+"Why do they make the cornet which they blow of a ram's horn? In order
+that the Lord may remember the ram which was sacrificed instead of
+Isaac, and allow the merits of the patriarchs to weigh in favor of their
+descendants, as it is written in the Decalogue, 'Showing mercy to
+thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.'"
+
+On New Year's day they recite in the synagogues the record of the
+binding of Isaac for the same purpose. While God has mercy upon His
+creatures He gives them a season for repentance, that they may not
+perish in their wickedness, therefore as it is written in Lamentations
+3:40, we should "search through and investigate our ways and return unto
+the Lord."
+
+During the year man is apt to grow callous as to his transgressions,
+therefore the cornet is sounded to arouse him to the consciousness of
+the time which is passing so rapidly away. "Rouse thee from thy sleep,"
+it says to him; "the hour of thy visitation approaches." The Eternal
+wishes not to destroy His children, merely to arouse them to repentance
+and good resolves.
+
+Three classes of people are arraigned for judgment: the righteous, the
+wicked, and the indifferent. To the righteous the Lord awards a happy
+life; the wicked He condemns, and to the indifferent ones He grants a
+respite. From New Year's day until the Day of Atonement His judgment He
+holds in abeyance; if they repent truly they are classed with the
+righteous for a happy life, and if they remain untouched, they are
+counted with the wicked.
+
+Three sounds for the cornet are commanded in the Bible. A pure sound
+(_T'kiah_), a sound of alarm or trembling (_T'ruah_), and, thirdly, a
+pure sound again (_T'kiah_).
+
+The first sound typifies man's first awakening to penitence; he must
+search well his heart, desert his evil ways, and purify his thoughts, as
+it is written, "Let the wicked forsake his ways and the man of
+unrighteousness his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord."
+
+The alarm sound typifies the sorrow which a repentant man feels for his
+misconduct and his earnest determination to reform.
+
+The last sound is the pure sound again, which typifies a sincere resolve
+to keep the repentant heart incorrupt.
+
+The Bible says to us:--
+
+"The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that
+thou mayest do it." This verse teaches us that repentance is nearer to
+those who believe in God and His book than fanatics would make it.
+Difficult penances are ordained for the sinner among them. He must fast
+many days, or travel barefoot through rugged ways, or sleep in the open
+air. But we are not required to travel to the nether end of the ocean or
+to climb to mountain tops, for our Holy Word says to us, "It is not in
+heaven, neither is it beyond the sea, but the Word is very nigh."
+
+In three ways may we repent:--
+
+First, By words of mouth, finding birth in an honest heart.
+
+Secondly, With our feelings, sorrow for sins committed.
+
+Thirdly, By good deeds in the future.
+
+Rabbi Saadiah declared that God commanded us to sound the cornet on New
+Year's day for ten reasons.
+
+First, because this day is the beginning of the creation, when God began
+to reign over the world, and as it is customary to sound the trumpets at
+the coronation of a king, we should in like manner proclaim by the sound
+of the cornet that the Creator is our king,--as David said, "With
+trumpets and the sound of the cornet, shout ye before the Lord."
+
+Secondly, as the New Year day is the first of the ten penitential days,
+we sound the cornet as a proclamation to admonish all to return to God
+and repent. If they do not so, they at least have been informed, and
+cannot plead ignorance. Thus we find that earthly kings publish their
+decrees with such concomitant, that none may say, "We heard not this."
+
+Thirdly, to remind us of the law given on Mount Sinai, where it is said,
+"The voice of the cornet was exceeding loud." To remind us also that we
+should bind ourselves anew to the performance of its precepts, as did
+our ancestors, when they said, "All that the Lord hath said will we do
+and obey."
+
+Fourthly, to remind us of the prophets, who were compared to watchmen
+blowing the trumpet of alarm, as we find in Ezekiel, "Whosoever heareth
+the sound of the cornet and taketh not warning, and the sound cometh and
+taketh him away, his blood shall be upon his own head; but he that
+taketh warning shall save his life."
+
+Fifthly, to remind us of the destruction of the Temple and the fearsome
+sound of the battle-cry of our enemies. "Because thou hast heard, oh my
+soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war." Therefore when we
+hear the sound of the cornet we should implore God to rebuild the
+Temple.
+
+Sixthly, to remind us of the binding of Isaac, who willingly offered
+himself for immolation, in order to sanctify the Holy Name.
+
+Seventhly, that when we hear the terrifying sound, we may, through
+dread, humble ourselves before the Supreme Being, for it is the nature
+of these martial instruments to produce a sensation of terror, as the
+prophet Amos observes, "Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the
+people not to be terrified?"
+
+Eighthly, to remind us of the great and terrible Day of Judgment, on
+which the trumpet is to be sounded, as we find in Zeph., "The great day
+of the Lord is near, and hasteneth much, a day of the trumpet and of
+shouting."
+
+Ninthly, to remind us to pray for the time when the outcasts of Israel
+are to be gathered together, as promised in Isaiah, "And it shall come
+to pass in that day, the great trumpet shall be sounded, and those shall
+come who were perishing in the land of Assyria."
+
+Tenthly, to remind us of the resurrection of the dead, and our firm
+belief therein. "Yea, all ye that inhabit the world, and that dwell on
+the earth, when the standard is lifted upon the mountain, behold, and
+when the trumpet is sounded, hear!" says the prophet Isaiah.
+
+Therefore should we set our hearts to these seasons, and fulfill the
+precept that the Bible commands us, as it is written:--
+
+"And the Lord commanded us to do all the statutes ... that it might be
+well with us at all times."
+
+
+THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
+
+
+The hearts of all who fear God should tremble with the reflection that
+all the deeds of the creature are known to the Creator, and will be by
+Him accounted to them for good or evil. God is ready at all times to
+acknowledge true penitence; and of repentance there are seven degrees:
+
+First, the righteous man, who repents his misconduct as soon as he
+becomes aware of his sin. This is the best and most complete.
+
+Secondly, of the man who has for some time led a life of sin, yet who,
+in the vigor of his days, gives over his evil ways and conquers his
+wrong inclinations. As Solomon has said, "Remember thy Creator in the
+days of thy youthful vigor." While in the prime of life abandon thy evil
+ways.
+
+Thirdly, of the one who was prevented by some cause from the commission
+of a contemplated sin, and who truly repents his evil intention. "Happy
+is the man who fears the Lord," said the Psalmist. The man, not the
+woman? Aye, all mankind. The word is used to denote strength; those who
+repent while still in their youth.
+
+Fourthly, of the one who repents when his sin is pointed out to him, and
+he is rebuked for the same, as in the instance of the inhabitants of
+Nineveh. They repented not until Jonah proclaimed to them, "Yet forty
+days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." The men of Nineveh believed
+in God's mercy, and though the decree had been pronounced against them,
+yet they repented. "And God saw their work, that they had returned from
+their evil ways, and God bethought Himself of the evil which He had
+spoken that He would do to them, and He did it not." Therefore say the
+Rabbis, "Our brethren, neither sackcloth nor fasting will gain
+forgiveness for sins; but repentance of the heart and good deeds; for it
+is not said of the men of Nineveh, 'God saw their fasting and
+sackcloth,' but 'God saw their work, that they had turned from their
+evil ways.'"
+
+Fifthly, of those who repent when trouble befalls them. How much nobler
+is this than human nature! Instance Jephtah: "Did ye not hate me ... and
+why are ye come unto me now when you are in distress?" But the infinite
+mercy of our God accepts even such repentance; as it is written, "When
+thou art in tribulation, and all these things have overtaken thee ...
+then wilt thou return unto the Lord thy God." Founded upon this is the
+proverb of the fathers, "Repentance and good deeds form a shield against
+punishment."
+
+Sixthly, the repentance of age. Even when man grows old and feeble, if
+he repents truly, his atonement will be received. As the Psalmist says,
+"Thou turnest man to contrition, and sayest, 'Return, ye children of
+men.'" Meaning, man can return at any time or any age, "Return, ye
+children of men."
+
+Say the Rabbis, "Although a man has been righteous in his youth and
+vigor, yet if he rebels against the will of God in his old age, the
+merit of his former goodness shall be lost to him, as it is written,
+'When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and doeth wrong,
+and dieth therefor; through his wrong which he hath done must he die.'
+But a man who has been wicked in his early days, and feels true sorrow
+and penitence in his old age, shall not be called 'wicked' any more.
+This, however, is not gracious penitence when it is so long delayed."
+
+Seventhly, is the last degree of penitence. Of the one who is rebellious
+against his Creator during all the days of his life; turns to Him only
+when the hand of death is laid upon him.
+
+Say the Rabbis, if a person is sick, and the hour of his decease
+approaches, they who are by his deathbed should say to him, "Confess thy
+sins to thy Creator."
+
+They who are near the point of death should confess their shortcomings.
+The sick man is as the man who is before a court of justice. The latter
+may have advocates to defend him or laud his case, but the only
+advocates of the former must be penitence and good deeds. As is written
+in the Book of Job, "If there be now about him one single angel as
+defender, one out of a thousand, to tell for man his uprightness; then
+is he gracious unto him, and saith, 'Release him from going down to the
+pit; I have found an atonement.'"
+
+Thus we have seven different degrees of penitence, and he who neglects
+them all must suffer in the world to come. Therefore fulfill the duties
+laid upon you; repent as long as you are able to amend. As the Rabbis
+say, 'Repent in the antechamber, that thou mayest enter the room of
+state.'
+
+"Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; wherefore will ye die, O house of
+Israel!" exclaimed the prophet Ezekiel; and what does this warning mean?
+without repentance ye shall die.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Penitence is thus illustrated by a parable:--
+
+There was once a great ship which had been sailing for many days upon
+the ocean. Before it reached its destination, a high wind arose, which
+drove it from its course; until, finally, becalmed close to a
+pleasant-appearing island, the anchor was dropped. There grew upon this
+island beautiful flowers and luscious fruits in "great profusion"; tall
+trees lent a pleasing, cooling shade to the place, which appeared to the
+ship's passengers most desirable and inviting. They divided themselves
+into five parties; the first party determined not to leave the ship, for
+said they, "A fair wind may arise, the anchor may be raised, and the
+ship sail on, leaving us behind; we will not risk the chance of missing
+our destination for the temporary pleasure which this island offers."
+The second party went on shore for a short time, enjoyed the perfume of
+the flowers, tasted of the fruit, and returned to the ship happy and
+refreshed, finding their places as they had left them; losing nothing,
+but rather gaining in health and good spirits by the recreation of their
+visit on shore. The third party also visited the island, but they stayed
+so long that the fair wind did arise, and hurrying back they just
+reached the ship as the sailors were lifting the anchor, and in the
+haste and confusion many lost their places, and were not as comfortable
+during the balance of their voyage as at the outset. They were wiser,
+however, than the fourth party; these latter stayed so long upon the
+island and tasted so deeply of its pleasures, that they allowed the
+ship's bell of warning to sound unheeded. Said they, "The sails are
+still to be set; we may enjoy ourselves a few minutes more." Again the
+bell sounded, and still they lingered, thinking, "The captain will not
+sail without us." So they remained on shore until they saw the ship
+moving; then in wild haste they swam after it and scrambled up the
+sides, but the bruises and injuries which they encountered in so doing
+were not healed during the remainder of the voyage. But, alas, for the
+fifth party. They ate and drank so deeply that they did not even hear
+the bell, and when the ship started they were left behind. Then the wild
+beasts hid in the thickets made of them a prey, and they who escaped
+this evil, perished from the poison of surfeit.
+
+The "ship" is our good deeds, which bear us to our destination, heaven.
+The "island" typifies the pleasures of the world, which the first set of
+passengers refused to taste or look upon, but which when enjoyed
+temperately, as by the second party, make our lives pleasant, without
+causing us to neglect our duties. These pleasures must not be allowed,
+however, to gain too strong a hold upon our senses. True, we may return,
+as the third party, while there is yet time and but little bad effect,
+or even as the fourth party at the eleventh hour, saved, but with
+bruises and injuries which cannot be entirely healed; but we are in
+danger of becoming as the last party, spending a lifetime in the pursuit
+of vanity, forgetting the future, and perishing even of the poison
+concealed in the sweets which attracted us.
+
+Who hath sorrow? Who hath woe?
+
+He who leaves much wealth to his heirs, and takes with him to the grave
+a burden of sins. He who gathers wealth without justice. "He that
+gathereth riches and not by right in the midst of his days shall he
+leave them." To the portals of eternity his gold and his silver cannot
+accompany the soul of man; good deeds and trust in God must be his
+directing spirits.
+
+Although God is merciful and pardons the sins of man against Himself, he
+who has wronged his neighbor must gain that neighbor's forgiveness
+before he can claim the mercy of the Lord. "This must ye do," said Rabbi
+Eleazer, "that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. The
+Day of Atonement may gain pardon for the sins of man against his Maker,
+but not for those against his fellow-man, till every wrong done is
+satisfied."
+
+If a man is called upon to pardon his fellow, freely he must do it; else
+how can he dare, on the Day of Atonement, to ask pardon for his sins
+against the Eternal? It is customary on this day for a man to thoroughly
+cleanse himself bodily and spiritually, and to array himself in white
+fresh clothing, to typify the words of Isaiah, "Though your sins should
+be as scarlet, they shall become white as snow."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It happened that the mayor of a city once sent his servant to the market
+to purchase some fish. When he reached the place of sale he found that
+all the fish save one had been sold, and this one a Jewish tailor was
+about purchasing. Said the mayor's servant, "I will give one gold piece
+for it;" said the tailor, "I will give two." The mayor's messenger then
+expressed his willingness to pay three gold pieces for it, but the
+tailor claimed the fish, and said he would not lose it though he should
+be obliged to pay ten gold pieces for it. The mayor's servant then
+returned home, and in anger related the circumstance to his master. The
+mayor sent for his subject, and when the latter appeared before him
+asked:--
+
+"What is thy occupation?"
+
+"A tailor, sir," replied the man.
+
+"Then how canst thou afford to pay so great a price for a fish, and how
+dare degrade my dignity by offering for it a larger sum than that
+offered by my servant?"
+
+"I fast to-morrow," replied the tailor, "and I wished the fish to eat
+to-day, that I might have strength to do so. I would not have lost it
+even for ten pieces of gold."
+
+"What is to-morrow more than any other day?" asked the mayor.
+
+"Why art thou more than any other man?" returned the other.
+
+"Because the king hath appointed me to this office."
+
+"Well," replied the tailor, "the King of kings hath appointed this day
+to be holier than all other days, for on this day we hope that God will
+pardon our transgressions."
+
+"If this be the case thou wert right," answered the mayor, and the
+Israelite departed in peace.
+
+Thus if a person's intention is to obey God, nothing can hinder its
+accomplishment. On this day God commanded His children to fast, but they
+must strengthen their bodies to obey Him by eating on the day before. It
+is a person's duty to sanctify himself, bodily and spiritually, for the
+approach of this great day. He should be ready to enter at any moment
+into the Fearful Presence with repentance and good deeds as his
+companions.
+
+A certain man had three friends. One of these he loved dearly; the
+second he loved also, but not as intensely as the first; but toward the
+third one he was quite indifferently disposed.
+
+Now the king of the country sent an officer to this man, commanding his
+immediate appearance before the throne. Greatly terrified was the man at
+this summons. He thought that somebody had been speaking evil of him, or
+probably accusing him falsely before his sovereign, and being afraid to
+appear unaccompanied before the royal presence, he resolved to ask one
+of his friends to go with him. First he naturally applied to his dearest
+friend, but he at once declined to go, giving no reason and no excuse
+for his lack of friendliness. So the man applied to his second friend,
+who said to him:--
+
+"I will go with thee as far as the palace gates, but I will not enter
+with thee before the king."
+
+In desperation the man applied to his third friend, the one whom he had
+neglected, but who replied to him at once:--
+
+"Fear not; I will go with thee, and I will speak in thy defense. I will
+not leave thee until thou art delivered from thy trouble."
+
+The "first friend" is a man's wealth, which he must leave behind him
+when he dies. The "second friend" is typified by the relatives who
+follow him to the grave and leave him when the earth has covered his
+remains. The "third friend," he who entered with him into the presence
+of the king, is as the good deeds of a man's life, which never desert,
+but accompany him to plead his cause before the King of kings, who
+regardeth not person nor taketh bribery.
+
+Thus taught Rabbi Eleazer:--
+
+"On this great and tearful day the angel Samal finds no blots, no sins
+on Israel." Thus he addresses the Most High:--
+
+"'O Sovereign Lord, upon the earth this day one nation pure and innocent
+exists. Even as the angels is Israel on this Atonement Day. As peace
+exists in heaven, so rests it now upon this people, praying to Thy Holy
+Name.'
+
+"God hears this testimony of His angel, and pardon's all His people's
+sins."
+
+But though the Almighty thus forgives our sins, we may not repeat them
+with impunity, for "to such a one as saith, 'I will commit a sin and
+repent,' there can be no forgiveness, no repentance."
+
+
+FEAST OF TABERNACLES
+
+
+The Feast of Tabernacles begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh
+month, _Tishri_ (October), and during its continuance, seven days, the
+Israelites are commanded to dwell in tabernacles or booths. This is
+designed to keep fresh in their memory the tents with formed their homes
+during their forty years' sojourn in the wilderness. The symbols of the
+festival are branches of the palm, bound with sprigs of myrtle and
+willow, and a citron.
+
+The Lord said, "This is not to be to you a fast as the Day of Atonement;
+eat, drink, be merry, and sacrifice peace-offerings thereon." The Bible
+says, "Seven days unto the Lord"; therefore we should in all our
+merriment devote a few serious thoughts to Him.
+
+The Feast of Tabernacles is held in the autumn, after the fruits of the
+field have been garnered in the storehouses, according to the words of
+the Bible, "The Feast of Tabernacles shalt thou hold for thyself seven
+days when thou hast gathered in the produce of thy thresh-floor and thy
+wine-press."
+
+This dwelling in booths is also to bring to mind the manner in which the
+Israelites lived for forty years after they left Egypt. With merely
+temporary walls to protect them from summer's heat and winter's cold,
+from wind and storm. God was with them through all their generations,
+and they were protected from all evil.
+
+According to the opinion of some of the Rabbis, the Israelites did not
+really dwell in booths in the wilderness, but were surrounded by
+clouds--by seven clouds. Four clouds, one at each of the four sides; a
+fifth, a shadow, to protect them from the hot rays of the sun; the
+sixth, a pillar of fire to give them light by night (they being able to
+see as clearly by night as by day); and the seventh, to precede their
+journeying and direct their way.
+
+The children of Israel departed from Egypt in _Nissan_ (April), and
+obtained immediately these booths, which they made use of for forty
+years. Thus they were in booths during the entire cycle of the year, and
+we could as easily commemorate this fact in the spring as in the fall,
+in the summer as in the winter. Why, then, has God made autumn, and
+neither spring nor summer, the season of observance? Because if we dwelt
+in booths in the summer, it would be a question whether we did so in
+obedience to God's behest or for our own gratification; for many people
+seek airy retreats during this season; but in the fall, when the trees
+lose their leaves, and the air grows cold and chilling, and it is the
+time to fix our houses for the winter, then by inhabiting these
+temporary residences, we display our desire to do as our Creator has
+bidden us.
+
+The Feast of Tabernacles is also the Feast of Ingathering, when we
+should thank God for the kindness shown us and the treasure with which
+He has blessed us. When the Eternal has provided man with his
+sustenance, in the long evenings which follow he should meditate and
+study his Bible, and make this indeed a "feast to the Lord," and not
+entirely for personal gratification.
+
+The four species belonging to the vegetable kingdom which we use in this
+festival, are designed to remind us of the four elements of nature,
+which work under the direction and approval of the Most High, and
+without which all things would cease to exist. Therefore the Bible
+commands us on this "feast of the Lord," to give thanks, and bring
+before Him these four species, each typifying one of the elements.
+
+"Ye shall take for yourselves the fruit of the tree _hadar_" (the
+citron). Its color is high yellow and resembles fire. The second species
+is the palm branch (Heb. _Lulab_). The palm is a high tree, growing up
+straight in the air, and its fruit is sweet and delicious to the taste;
+this then represents the second element, air. The third is the bough of
+the myrtle, one of the lowliest of trees, growing close to the ground;
+its nature, cold and dry as earth, fits it to represent that element.
+The fourth is "the willow of the brook," which grows in perfection close
+beside the water, dropping its branches into the stream, and symbolizing
+thus the last element, water.
+
+The Bible teaches us that for each of these four elements we owe special
+thanks to God.
+
+The citron we hold in the left hand, and the other three we grasp
+together in the right. This we do because the citron contains in itself
+all that the others represent. The outside skin is yellow, fire; the
+inside skin is white and damp, air; the pulp is watery, water; and the
+seeds are dry, earth. It is taken into the left hand, because the right
+hand is strongest, and the citron is but one, while the other emblems
+are three.
+
+These four emblems represent likewise the four principal members of the
+human body. The citron is shaped somewhat like a heart, without which we
+could not live, and with which man should serve his fellows; the palm
+branch represents the spine, which is the foundation of the human frame,
+in front of which the heart lies; this signifies that we should serve
+God with our entire body. The branches of the myrtle resemble a human
+eye, with which man recognizes the deeds of his fellows, and with which
+he may obtain a knowledge of the law. The leaves of the willow represent
+the lips, with which man may serve the Eternal and thank Him. The myrtle
+is mentioned in the Bible before the willow, because we are able to see
+and know a thing before we can call its name with our lips; man is able
+to look into the Bible before he can study the same. Therefore, with
+these four principal parts of the human frame should we praise the
+Creator, as David said, "All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like
+unto Thee?"
+
+Maimonides, in his work called _Moreh Nebuchim_ ("The Guide of the
+Perplexed"), explains that God commanded the Israelites to take these
+four emblems during this festival to remind them that they were brought
+out from the wilderness, where no fruit grew, and no people lived, into
+a land of brooklets, waters, a land flowing with milk and honey. For
+this reason did God command us to hold in our hands the precious fruit
+of this land while singing praises to Him, the One who wrought miracles
+in our behalf, who feeds and supports us from the productiveness of the
+earth.
+
+The four emblems are different in taste, appearance, and odor, even as
+the sons of men are different in conduct and habits.
+
+The citron is a valuable fruit; it is good for food and has a most
+pleasant odor. It is compared to the intelligent man, who is righteous
+in his conduct toward God and his fellow-man. The odor of the fruit is
+his good deeds; its substance is his learning, on which others may feed.
+This is perfect among the emblems, and is, therefore, always mentioned
+first, and taken by itself in one hand.
+
+The palm branch brings forth fruit, but is without odor. It is compared
+to those people who are learned, but who are wanting in good deeds; they
+who know the law, but transgress its mandates.
+
+The myrtle is compared to those people who are naturally good, who act
+correctly toward God and man, but who are uneducated.
+
+The willow of the brook has neither fruit nor odor; it is, therefore,
+compared to the people who have no knowledge and who perform no good
+deeds.
+
+The Rabbis have said that he who has failed to participate in the
+keeping of the Tabernacle Festival in Jerusalem has failed to taste real
+enjoyment in his life. The first day of the feast was kept with great
+solemnity, and the middle days with joy and gladness in various methods
+of public amusement.
+
+The Temple in Jerusalem was provided with a gallery for the women, which
+was called the apartment of the women, and the men sat below, as is
+still the custom of the synagogue. Thither all repaired. The young
+priests filled the lamps of the large chandeliers with oil, and lighted
+them all, even that the place was so bright that its reflection lighted
+the streets of the city. Hymns and praises were chanted by the pious
+ones, and the Levites praised the Lord with harps, cornets, trumpets,
+flutes, and other instruments of harmony. They stood upon fifteen broad
+steps, reaching from the lower floor to the gallery, the court of the
+women. And they sang fifteen psalms as they ascended, beginning with "A
+song of Degrees," and the large choir joined voices with them. The
+ancient Hillel was accustomed to address the assemblages on these
+occasions.
+
+"If God's presence dwells here," he was used to say, "then are ye here,
+each one of you, the souls of each; but if God should be removed from
+your midst through disobedience then which of you could be here?" For
+the Lord has said "If thou wilt come to My house, then will I come to
+thy house, but if thou refusest to visit My dwelling, I will also
+neglect to enter yours;" as it is written, "In every place where I shall
+permit My name to be mentioned I will come unto thee and I will bless
+thee."
+
+Then some of the people answered:--
+
+"Happy were the days of our youth, for they have not set to blush the
+days of our old age." These were men of piety.
+
+Others answered:--
+
+"Happy is our old age, for therein have we atoned for the sins of our
+youth." These were repentants.
+
+Then joining together, both parties said:--
+
+"Happy is the one who is free from sin; but ye who have sinned, repent,
+return to God, and ye will be forgiven."
+
+The festival was continued during the entire night; for when the
+religious exercises concluded the people gave themselves up to innocent
+but thorough enjoyment.
+
+This festival was also called the "Festival of Drawing Water."
+
+Because, during the existence of the Temple, wine was offered during the
+year for a burnt-offering, but on the Feast of Tabernacles they offered
+two drink-offerings, one of wine and one of water. Of the other they
+made a special festival on the second day of the Tabernacle assemblage,
+calling it the Feast of Drawing the Water. It was founded upon the words
+of the prophet:--
+
+"And ye shall draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation."
+
+
+HANNUKAH
+
+
+This festival is observed for eight days during the ninth month _Kislev_
+(December), and commemorates the dedication of the Temple after it had
+been defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes, whose armies were overthrown by the
+valiant Maccabees, Hashmoneans.
+
+The Most Holy One has frequently wrought wonders in behalf of his
+children in their hour of need, and thereby displayed His supreme power
+to the nations of the world. These should prevent man from growing
+infidel and ascribing all happiness to the course of nature. The God who
+created the world from naught, may change at His will the nature which
+He established. When the Hashmoneans gained, with the aid of God, their
+great victory, and restored peace and harmony to their land, their first
+act was to cleanse and dedicate the Temple, which had been defiled, and
+on the twenty-fifth day of _Kislev_, in obedience to the teachings of
+the Rabbis, we inaugurate the "Dedication Feast" by lighting the lamps
+or candles prepared expressly for this occasion. The first night we
+light one, and then an additional one each succeeding night of its
+continuance. We also celebrate it by hymns of thanksgiving and
+hallelujahs.
+
+This feast is foreshadowed in the Book of Numbers. When Aaron observed
+the offerings of the princes of each of the tribes and their great
+liberality, he was conscious of a feeling of regret, because he and his
+tribe were unable to join with them. But these words were spoken to
+comfort him, "Aaron, thy merit is greater than theirs, for thou lightest
+and fixest the holy lamps."
+
+When were these words spoken?
+
+When he was charged with the blessing to be found in Numbers 6:23, as
+will be found in the Book of Maccabees in the Apocrypha.
+
+The Lord said unto Moses, "Thus say unto Aaron. In the generations to
+come, there will be another dedication and lighting of the lamps, and
+through thy descendants shall the service be performed. Miracles and
+wonders will accompany this dedication. Fear not for the greatness of
+the princes of thy tribe; during the existence of the Temple thou shalt
+sacrifice, but the lighting of the lamps shall be forever, and the
+blessing with which I have charged thee to bless the people shall also
+exist forever. Through the destruction of the Temple the sacrifices will
+be abolished, but the lighting of the dedication of the Hashmoneans will
+never cease."
+
+The Rabbis have ordained this celebration by lighting of lamps, to make
+God's miracle known to all coming generations, and it is our duty to
+light the same in the synagogues and in our homes.
+
+Although the Lord afflicted Israel on account of iniquities, He still
+showed mercy, and allowed not a complete destruction, and to this
+festival do the Rabbis again apply the verse in Leviticus 26:44:--
+
+"And yet for all that, though they be in the land of their enemies, will
+I not cast them away, neither will I loathe them to destroy them
+utterly, to break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God."
+
+And thus do the Rabbis explain the same:--"Will I not cast them away."
+In the time of the Chaldeans I appointed Daniel and his companions to
+deliver them.
+
+"Neither will I loathe them." In the time of the Assyrians I gave them
+Matthias, his sons and their comrades, to serve them.
+
+"To destroy them." In the time of Haman I sent Mordecai and Esther to
+rescue them.
+
+"To break my covenant with them." In the time of the Romans I appointed
+Rabbi Judah and his associates to work their salvation.
+
+"For I am the Eternal, your God." In the future no nation shall rule
+over Israel, and the descendants of Abraham shall be restored to their
+independent state.
+
+The dedication commemorated by Hannukah occurred in the year 3632--129
+B.C.E.
+
+
+PURIM
+
+
+This festival, occurring on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month,
+_Adar_ (March), is to commemorate the deliverance of the Hebrews from
+the wiles of Haman, through the God-aided means of Mordecai and Esther.
+
+Although the Holy One threatens the Israelites, in order that they may
+repent of their sins, He has also tempted them, in order to increase
+their reward.
+
+For instance, a father who loves his son, and desires him to improve his
+conduct, must punish him for his misdeeds, but it is a punishment
+induced by affection which he bestows.
+
+A certain apostate once said to Rabbi Saphra:--
+
+"It is written, 'Because I know you more than all the nations of the
+earth, therefore I visit upon you your iniquities;' how is this? If a
+person has a wild horse, is it likely that he would put his dearest
+friend upon it, that he might be thrown and hurt?"
+
+Rabbi Saphra answered:--
+
+"Suppose a man lends money to two persons; one of these is his friend,
+the other his enemy. He will allow his friend to repay him in
+installments, that the discharge of the debt may not prove onerous; but
+from his enemy he will require the amount in full. The verse you quote
+will apply in the same manner, 'I love you, therefore will I visit upon
+you your iniquities;' meaning, 'I will punish you for them as they
+occur, little by little, by which means you may have quittance and
+happiness in the world to come.'"
+
+The action of the king in delivering his signet ring to Haman had more
+effect upon the Jews than the precepts and warnings of forty-eight
+prophets who lectured to them early and late. They clothed themselves in
+sackcloth, and repented truly with tears and fasting, and God had
+compassion upon them and destroyed Haman.
+
+Although the reading of the Book of Esther (_Megilah_) on Purim is not a
+precept of the Pentateuch, 'tis nevertheless binding upon us and our
+descendants. Therefore the day is appointed as one of feasting and
+gladness, and interchange of presents, and also of gifts to the poor,
+that they too may rejoice. As in the decree of Haman, no distinction was
+made between rich and poor, as all alike were doomed to destruction, it
+is proper that all should have equal cause to feel joyful, and therefore
+in all generations the poor should be liberally remembered on this day.
+
+
+
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