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diff --git a/old/14368.txt b/old/14368.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4a1fc95 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14368.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17636 @@ +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. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEBRAIC LITERATURE; TRANSLATIONS +FROM THE TALMUD, MIDRASHIM AND KABBALA*** + + +******* This file should be named 14368.txt or 14368.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/3/6/14368 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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