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Avot DeRabbi Natan

Sefaria · Talmud > Bavli > Minor Tractates · 253 sections

1. 1.1

   Moses was sanctified by the cloud and received the Torah at Sinai, as it is stated, And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered him six days.1Ex. 24, 16, E.V. covered it. [It covered Moses] in order to cleanse him, and this occurred after [the proclamation of] the Ten Commandments. So expounded R. Jose the Galilean. R. Aḳiba said: The verse and the cloud covered him six days refers to [the mountain and not to] Moses.2This reading is adopted by all Commentators and has MS. support. The sense of the controversy also requires this reading. The continuation of the verse, And the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud, is to single Moses out for special honour.3The two views represented in this passage originate in the meaning given to the suffix of the verb covered which can signify ‘him’ or ‘it’. R. Jose is of the opinion that immediately after the declaration of the Ten Commandments, which occurred on the sixth day of Sivan, Moses was enveloped by a Divine Cloud and thereby underwent a seven-day period of purification before he could ascend the mount and approach the Divine Presence for his forty days’ stay. A similar purification was prescribed in Temple times for the High Priest before entering upon the ritual of the Day of Atonement. R. ‘Aḳiba, on the other hand, holds that the Cloud covered the mountain and not Moses. Moses was not required to undergo a period of purification, because the call to him to ascend the mount came to him on the seventh day of the month counting from the day on which Israel arrived in the wilderness of Sinai (cf. Ex. 19, 1). The call to Moses from among the assembly of Israel was merely a mark of honour, to show that he stood high above the congregation. Cf. Yoma 4aff (Sonc. ed., pp. 13ff). For the background of this controversy, cf. L. Finkelstein, Mabo le-Massektot Abot ve-Abot d’Rabbi Nathan, English summary, p. XXIX, note 4. R. Nathan said: Why was it that Moses remained on the mountain six whole days without the Word4Dibbur, a Rabbinic term for Divine Revelation. descending upon him? It was that he might be purged of all food and drink which were in his bowels, until such time as he would become holy and be like the ministering angels.5[For the idea of unevacuated food being a bodily defilement, cf. Semaḥot III, 10 (below, p. 338) and A. Büchler, Studies in Sin and Atonement, pp. 328ff.] R. Mathia b. Ḥeresh said to him, ‘Master, surely the only purpose was to impress him so that he should receive the words of the Torah with awe and fear, with dread and trembling, as it is stated, Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.6Ps. 2, 11. It is related that R. Josiah and R. Mathia b. Ḥeresh happened to be sitting engaged in the study of the Torah, when R. Josiah departed to pursue some secular affairs. R. Mathia b. Ḥeresh said to him, ‘Master, why do you forsake the words of the living God and immerse yourself in secular affairs? And though you are my teacher and I your pupil, [I venture to say that] it is not right to forsake the words of the living God and immerse oneself in secular affairs’. It was said of them that while they were engaged together in the study of the Torah they were like foes one towards the other, but when they departed they were like lifelong friends.

2. 1.2

   By the hand of Moses was the Torah given at Sinai, as it is stated, And He wrote them upon two tables of stone, and gave them unto me;7Deut. 5, 19. and in another passage it is stated, These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the Lord made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.8Lev. 26, 46. The Torah which the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to Israel was given solely through Moses, as it is stated, Between Him and the children of Israel. Thus Moses was worthy to become the intermediary between Israel and the All-present. Moses offered the ram of consecration9By which Aaron and his sons were initiated into the priesthood; cf. Ex. 29. and prepared the anointing oil with which he anointed Aaron and his sons during the seven days of consecration. Of that same oil were anointed all subsequent High Priests and kings.10Cf. Hor. 11b (Sonc. ed., pp. 82f). Eleazar burned the heifer of purification11More commonly known as the Red Heifer (cf. Num. 19, 3). As Eleazar, Aaron’s son, acted in this matter on the instruction and under the direction of Moses, the whole ritual is referable to Moses, and on that account it was effective for all future generations. from whose ashes all the unclean of later generations were made clean. R. Eliezer said: Great was this act12lit. ‘measure’, of anointing oil. because it was effective for all future generations, since Aaron and his sons were consecrated with this anointing oil [and their priesthood continued for many generations], as it is stated, And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest’s office.13Ex. 30, 30.

3. 1.3

   Joshua received [the Torah] from Moses, as it is stated, And thou shalt put of thy honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may hearken.14Num. 27, 20. The elders received it from Joshua, as it is stated, And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord, that He had wrought for Israel.15Judg. 2, 7. The Judges received it from the elders,16So according to the MSS. and as corrected by GRA. V reads ‘from Joshua’. as it is stated, And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged.17Ruth 1, 1. The prophets received it from the Judges, as it is stated, I have sent unto you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily betimes and often.18Jer 7, 25. Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi received it from the [earlier] prophets. The men of the Great Assembly19Or, ‘Great Synagogue’, a legislative council of one hundred and twenty men traditionally founded by Ezra and his associates. It functioned during the Persian period and later, about 500-300 B.C.E. received it from Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. THEY SAID THREE THINGS: BE DELIBERATE IN JUDGMENT, RAISE UP MANY DISCIPLES, AND MAKE A FENCE ROUND THE TORAH.20Aboth 1:1. Quotations from Aboth are printed in capitals.

4. 1.4

   BE DELIBERATE IN JUDGMENT. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should be cautious in judgment, because the more cautious a man is in judgment the more confirmed is he in his judgment, as it is stated, These are the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out21Prov. 25, 1.—they did not merely copy them out but deliberated on them.22The Heb. for copied out (he ‘etiḳu) may also be derived from a root meaning ‘to grow old, to spend much time’; hence the suggested interpretation ‘pondered over, deliberated’. The proverbs were studied for a long time and their meaning elucidated. Abba Saul said: [The meaning is] not that they deliberated on them but brought them to light.23Giving the Heb. verb he’etiḳu the sense of ‘moving from a place’ as in Gen. 12, 8; hence bringing out the work from its place of concealment to the light of day. The interpretation is also borne by the late Heb. verb perash used by Abba Saul; cf. Reifmann in Keneset Hagedolah I, p. 91. According to Finkelstein, op. cit., p. 126, perash here signifies ‘they put aside’ for concealment and burial. At first it was held that the books of Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes were to be stored away24i.e. not regarded as canonical Scriptures. since they merely contained aphorisms and were not part of the [holy] writings. Thereupon they condemned them to be stored away, [and so they remained] until the men of the Great Assembly25All commentators rightly emend to ‘the men of Hezekiah’. came and brought them to light again. For it is stated,26The verses which follow are typical examples of passages from the books mentioned which ostensibly deal with erotic themes and as such are unworthy of a place in the Scriptures. And I beheld among the thoughtless ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding…. And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart. She is riotous and rebellious, her feet abide not in her house; now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, and lieth in wait at every corner. So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face she said to him: Sacrifices of peace-offerings were due from me; this day have I paid my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my couch with coverlets, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us solace ourselves with loves. For my husband is not at home, he is gone a long journey; he hath taken the bag of money with him; he will come home at the full moon.27Prov. 7, 7, 10-20. And it is written in the Song of Songs: Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; [17a] let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine hath budded, whether the vine-blossom be opened, and the pomegranates be in flower; there will I give thee my love.28Cant. 7, 12f. And it is written in Ecclesiastes: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.29Eccl. 11, 9. And it is further written in the Song of Songs: I am my beloved’s and his desire is toward me.30Cant. 7, 11. Thus they did not deliberate on them but brought them to light. Another interpretation of BE DELIBERATE IN JUDGMENT: What does it mean? It teaches that a man should speak his words calmly and should not speak in anger; for he who speaks in anger will [in the end] cause his words to be forgotten. We find it so in the case of Moses our master that he forgot his words, as it is stated, And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle: This is the statute of the law which the Lord hath commanded Moses.31Num. 31, 21. He commanded Moses but not me; He commanded Moses, my father’s brother, but not me.32Although Moses received the law from God, he had forgotten it on account of his anger, and it was left to Eleazar the priest to instruct the warriors. And where do we find that Moses had spoken in anger? It states, And Moses was wrath with the officers of the Lord…. And Moses said unto them: Have ye saved all the women alive?33ibid. 14f. Why does the verse state all the women?34This sentence is deleted by GRA who reads instead: ‘What is meant by through the counsel of Balaam (ibid. 16)?’ It is because of the advice which the wicked Balaam counselled against Israel, as it is written, And now, behold, I go unto my people; come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days.35ibid. XXIV, 14. He said to Balak, ‘This people whom you hate is hungry for food and athirst for drink, since they have nothing to eat or drink except the manna alone. Go, then, erect booths for them, set out food and drink for them, and place there beautiful girls of royal station, to the end that the people may stray after Baal of Peor, and they will fall by the hand of the All-present’. Forthwith Balak proceeded to carry out all that the wicked Balaam had counselled. See, now, what calamity that wicked Balaam brought upon Israel, since through him there fell twenty and four thousand of them, as it is stated, And these that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.36ibid. XXV, 9. Is there not here an argument from the greater to the less? If it happened to Moses, who was the wisest among the wise and the greatest among the great, the father of the prophets, that when he spoke in anger he forgot his words, how much more so [does this apply to us ordinary persons]! It therefore teaches that a man should speak his words calmly and not speak in anger. Ben ‘Azzai said: Beware of idle chatter in your speech.37Do not misuse the gift of speech with empty talk.

5. 1.5

   AND MAKE A FENCE ROUND THE TORAH. Make a fence to your words as the Holy One, blessed be He, made a fence to His words; and likewise Adam the first man, the Torah, Moses, Job, the Prophets, the Writings,38i.e. the Hagiographa, the third division of the Scriptures. The word is inserted here by GRA and is attested by the MSS. and the Sages all made a fence to their words.39The usual meaning given to the maxim ‘make a fence’ is that the Rabbis added restrictions and further severities to the Torah to avoid the infringement of the commandment. The examples cited, however, as illustrations of those who ‘made fences’, differ in character from each other and do not conform to the pattern of the traditional definition. The older and perhaps original meaning of the maxim was an injunction to the Rabbis to explain and present the reasons for their decision, thereby safeguarding it against ridicule and rejection. It is in this sense that God made a fence to His words. As a development of the original meaning of the maxim was the exhortation to the Rabbis to express the power of God in a form intelligible to human beings; this was the ‘fence’ adopted by the Prophets. The other examples of ‘fences’ are additional prohibitions in the usual sense. For a detailed discussion on this subject, cf. the essays of Finkelstein in Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. LVII (1938), pp. 13-50, and vol. LIX (1940), pp. 455-469. What fence did the Holy One, blessed be He, make to His words? It is stated, Even all the nations shall say; Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land?40Deut. 29, 23. This teaches that it was already revealed to Him Who spoke and the world came into being41[For this designation of God, cf. A. Marmorstein, The Old Rabbinic Doctrine of God, I, p. 89.] that future generations will ask: Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? Consequently the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, ‘Moses, write [down the answer] and place it on record for generations to come: Then men shall say: Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord … and went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods that they knew not, and that He had not allotted unto them.42ibid. 24f. In this passage there is a vindication of God’s actions. Lest the nations misjudge and deem them tyrannical or arbitrary, it is stated from the beginning what calamities will befall the people in the event of disobedience. Cf. the parallel passage in ’Aboth d’Rabbi Nathan, Recension II, ed. Schechter, p. 3. Hence you learn that the Holy One, blessed be He, made a fence to His words, and recorded in the Torah what people would say in the future; thus bearing witness that the Holy One, blessed be He, pays His creatures their reward in full.43A difficult passage with the text in an uncertain state. The translation follows the text as emended by Finkelstein, op. cit., p. 116, reading dikthab battorah for dikthib bathreh and ‘edin (i.e. ‘edim) for ‘adayin. The Meiri in his commentary on Aboth explains the last sentence to mean that God prescribed in His Torah only such laws as were acceptable to man and within the capacity of human activity, and did not lay upon His creatures impossible demands. In this way mankind was afforded an opportunity of drawing a full reward. What fence did Adam, the first man, make to his words? It is stated, And the Lord God commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.44Gen. 2, 16f. Adam was unwilling to tell this to Eve exactly as the Holy One, blessed be He, had commanded him; he therefore made a fence to his words, over and above the words which the Holy One, blessed be He, had spoken to him, and this is what he said to her, But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.45ibid. III, 3. By so doing he meant to keep both himself and Eve away from the tree, even to the extent of not touching it. At that moment the wicked serpent reasoned to himself saying, ‘Since I cannot bring about the fall of Adam, I will bring about the fall of Eve’. Thereupon he went and seated himself beside Eve and entered into much conversation with her. He said, ‘If you think it is the touching [of the tree] that the Holy One, blessed be He, has forbidden us, behold I will touch it and not die; so you, too, will not die if you touch it’. What did the wicked serpent then do? He arose, touched the tree with his hands and feet, and shook it violently so that its fruit fell to the ground. There are some, however, who say that he did not actually touch it, but that as soon as the tree saw him it cried out, ‘O wicked one, do not touch me’; as it is stated, Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the wicked shake me.46Cf. Ps. 36, 12. E.V., let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

6. 1.6

   Another interpretation of the verse, Let not the foot of pride overtake me,47This was the cry of the altar when Titus entered the Temple. refers it to Titus, may his bones rot! For he raised his hand in contempt and struck the altar exclaiming, ‘Lukos! Lukos!48A Greek word meaning ‘wolf’, here applied opprobiously to the altar. Cf. Suk. 56b (Sonc. ed., p. 276). You are a king just as I am a king, come and engage in battle with me. How many oxen have been slain upon you! How many birds have been killed upon you! How much wine has been poured out upon you! How much incense has been burned upon you! It is you who are destroying the whole world’, as it is stated, Ah, Ariel, Ariel,49A poetical name for the altar. the city where David was encamped! Add ye year to year, let the feasts come round!50Is. 29, 1. The reference is to the countless sacrifices offered on the altars at every season because of the many sins of the people. Furthermore the serpent said to her, ‘If you think it is the eating [of the fruit of the tree] that the Holy One, blessed be He, has forbidden us, behold I will eat of it and will not die; so you, too, will not die if you eat of it’. Eve then began to think to herself, ‘All that my master has commanded me from the beginning is false’—for Eve used to address Adam as ‘master from the beginning’. She immediately took of the fruit and ate it, and also gave some to Adam, which he ate, as it is stated, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, etc.51Gen. 3, 6.

7. 1.7

   With ten curses was Eve cursed at that time, as it is stated, Unto the woman He said: I will multiply and multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.52ibid. 16, so lit. E.V., I will greatly multiply. I will multiply and multiply—these are the two discharges of blood [which cause pain to women], the menstrual and [at the termination of] virginity. [Thy pain—this is the anxiety connected with the rearing of children.]53Inserted by GRA in accordance with ‘Erub. 100b (Sonc. ed., p. 697). And thy travail—this is the pain associated with conception. In pain thou shalt bring forth children—this is to be understood in its literal meaning. And thy desire shall be to thy husband—this teaches that a woman particularly yearns for her husband when he is about to set out on a journey. And he shall rule over thee—for the man solicits by word of mouth whereas the woman solicits in her heart. [Furthermore, during her periods] she is wrapped up like a mourner, shut up as in a prison and banished from the company of all men. Now what brought about the act of touching? The answer is the fence which Adam had made to his words.54Adam’s fault was that he had attached as great importance to the ‘fence’ as to the original command. Hence [the Sages] said: When a man makes a fence to his words, he is not always able to stand by his words. They further said: Hence let not a man add to the words which he has heard. R. Jose said: A firm [wall] of ten hand-breadths is better than a tottering [wall] of a hundred cubits. What was in the mind of the wicked serpent at that time? ‘I will go,’ he thought, ‘slay Adam and marry his wife; then I will be king over the whole world. I shall also walk erect and eat all the dainties of the world.’ Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘You reckoned [17b] to slay Adam and marry Eve; therefore I will put enmity between thee and the woman.55ibid. 15. You reckoned to be king over the whole world; therefore Cursed art thou from among all cattle.56ibid. 14. You reckoned to walk erect; therefore Upon thy belly shalt thou go. You reckoned to eat all the dainties of the world; therefore Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. R. Simeon b. Menasia said: Alas for the most useful servant that was lost to the world! For had not the serpent been cursed, every Israelite would have been provided with two serpents for his personal use at home; one he would send to the west and the other to the east, to bring him thence gems, precious stones, pearls and every desirable thing in the world, and no creature could ever injure them.57Or, according to another reading: ‘could ever hold them back’. Moreover, they could have been employed in the place of camels, asses and mules to provide manure for gardens and orchards.

8. 1.8

   R. Judah b. Bathyra said: Adam, the first man, was reclining in the Garden of Eden with ministering angels at his service, roasting meat and cooling wine for him. Then the serpent came and, seeing him in all his glory, at once grew envious of him.58The two paragraphs are quoted from Sanh. 59b (Sonc. ed., p. 405), but the second is there given in the name of R. Judah b. Tema. How was Adam, the first man, created? In the first hour his dust was gathered together, in the second his outline was shaped, in the third he was made into solid substance, in the fourth his limbs were articulated, in the fifth his orifices were opened, in the sixth a soul was infused into him, in the seventh he stood on his feet, in the eighth Eve became his mate, in the ninth he was brought into the Garden of Eden, in the tenth he received his command [concerning the tree], in the eleventh he sinned, and in the twelfth he was driven out, thus fulfilling what is stated, Man tarrieth not overnight in his glory.59Ps. 49, 13, indicating that Adam forfeited his glory within a day before the oncoming of night. E.V., man abideth not in honour. Which Psalm did Adam recite on the first day?60Cf. R.H. 31a (Sonc. ed., pp. 145f) where the same Psalms are selected for recital by the Levites in the Temple on the successive days of the week. The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein;61Ps. 24, 1. because He created the world, assigned it to mankind, and is the sole Judge of the world. Which did he recite on the second day? Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain;62ibid. XLVIII, 1. because He divided the work of creation and became Sovereign in His universe. Which did he recite on the third day? God standeth in the congregation of God; in the midst of the judges He judgeth;63ibid. LXXXII, 1. because He then created the sea and the dry land, the earth was rolled64lit. ‘was folded’. into position, and a place was set apart for His people. Which did he recite on the fourth day? O Lord, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth;65ibid. XCIV, 1. because He then created the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets, which give light on earth, and He will in the future punish those who worship them. Which did he recite on the fifth day? Sing aloud unto God our strength; shout unto the God of Jacob;66ibid. LXXXI, 2. because He then created the birds, the fishes and the sea-monsters, which sing aloud His praises in the world. Which did he recite on the sixth day? The Lord reigneth; He is clothed in majesty; the Lord is clothed, He hath girded Himself with strength; yea the world is established, that it cannot be moved;67ibid. XCIII, 1. because He then completed all His works, was exalted and sat enthroned in the heights of the universe. Which did he recite on the seventh day? A Psalm, a Song. For the Sabbath day;68ibid. XCII, 1. because of the day which will be all Sabbath, when there will be neither eating nor drinking nor worldly affairs, but the righteous will sit with crowns on their heads enjoying69Or, according to another reading: ‘feasting on’. the brilliance of the Divine Presence, as it is stated, And they beheld God, and did eat and drink,70Ex. 24, 11. The food and drink on that occasion were not of the material kind. like the ministering angels. And why was this so?71i.e. why was Adam created last of all, on the sixth day just before the commencement of the Sabbath? In order that [Adam] might immediately partake of the Sabbath meal. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: I will expound this to you with a parable. To what might Adam be compared? To a man who married a proselyte and used to give her instruction, saying, ‘My dear, do not eat bread when your hands are defiled, do not eat untithed produce, do not profane the Sabbath, do not make vows rashly, and do not associate with another man. If you break one of these rules, you will die’. Now what did a certain man do?72So according to GRA, the reference being to a stranger who came to tempt her. V reads ‘what did that man do’, apparently referring to the husband. He arose and ate in her presence bread although his hands were defiled, he ate before her untithed produce—he profaned the Sabbath and made vows rashly—and also offered her some [of the food].73Adopting the reading of MS. E, lit. ‘he handed her with his hands’. V ‘and brought out to her’. What could that proselyte have thought to herself? All that my husband forbade me in the beginning was without foundation. She thereupon went and transgressed them all. R. Simeon b. Yoḥai said: I, too, will explain this to you by a parable. To what might Adam be compared? To a man who had his wife at home with him. Now what did that man do? He went and brought a cask into which he put an exact number of figs and nuts. He also caught a scorpion, placed it in the mouth of the cask, covered the cask with a tight-fitting lid and put it away in a corner. He then said to his wife, ‘My dear, all that I possess in this house is at your disposal except this cask which you may not touch under any circumstances’. What did this woman do? No sooner had her husband gone off to market than she arose, opened the cask, put her hand in it and was bitten by the scorpion. Immediately she went and flung herself on her bed. When her husband returned from market he asked her what had happened, and she replied, ‘I put my hand in the cask and was bitten by a scorpion, and now I am dying’. He said to her, ‘Did I not tell you in the beginning that everything I had in the house was at your disposal except that cask which you were not to touch under any circumstances?’ He at once became furious with her and drove her out. So it was with Adam, the first man, when the Holy One, blessed be He, charged him, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.74Gen. 2, 16f. No sooner had Adam eaten of it than he was driven out [of Eden], to fulfil that which is stated, Man tarrieth not overnight in his glory; he is like the beasts that perish.75Ps. 49, 13. See above, p. 10, n. 59 On the same one day he was formed, created, his outline was shaped, he became solid substance, his limbs were articulated, his orifices opened, a soul was infused into him, he stood on his feet, Eve became his mate, he named [all creatures], was brought into the Garden of Eden, given a command, sinned and was driven out, to fulfil that which is stated, Man tarrieth not overnight in his glory. On that same day two went upon the bed and four came down.76The four are: Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. R. Judah b. Bathyra said: On that day two went upon the bed and six came down.77The six are: Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, each of the last two with a twin sister. According to GRA and MS. E seven came down, since two twin sisters were born with Abel; cf. Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, XXII, §2 (Sonc. ed., p. 180). On that day three decrees were pronounced upon Adam, as it is stated, And unto Adam He said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife … cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it … thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.78Gen. 3, 17f. When Adam heard that the Holy One, blessed be He, had decreed against him, Thou shalt eat the grass of the field, his limbs forthwith began to tremble and he exclaimed, ‘Lord of the universe! Am I and my beast to eat from one manger?’ Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘Since your limbs trembled [at the prospect]’79This was considered by God as an act of penitence. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.80ibid. 19. Just as three decrees were pronounced upon Adam so were three decrees pronounced upon Eve, as it is stated, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children.81ibid. 16. [I will greatly multiply]—for when a woman begins to experience her monthly flow she suffers pain; I will greatly multiply82The Heb. is lit. ‘multiply I will multiply’ indicative of two pains; cf. above, p. 8, n. 53 [thy pain]—for when a woman experiences intercourse for the first time it is painful to her; thy pain [and thy travail]—for during the first three months of pregnancy a woman’s features become coarsened and pallid. As [his first] evening set in and Adam saw the world darkening in the west, he exclaimed, ‘Woe is me! Because I have sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, is darkening the world upon me!’ He was unaware that such was the course of nature; but in the morning when he saw the world becoming light in the east he was exceedingly happy. He arose and built an altar, he took a bullock whose horns came into being before its hoofs83Since at the creation the first bullock came up from the ground fully grown and in erect posture (cf. Ḥul. 60a, Sonc. ed., pp. 329f), its horns necessarily appeared first and its hoofs last. and offered it as a burnt-offering, as it is stated, And it shall please the Lord better than a bullock that hath horns and hoofs.84Ps. 69, 32. The bullock which Adam offered, the bull which Noah offered,85Cf. Gen. 8, 20. This verse, however, does not mention that Noah offered a bull. Since the word quoted from Ps. 69, bullock is lit. ‘ram bullock’, it has been suggested that one was Adam’s and the other that of Noah. and the ram which our father Abraham offered on the altar instead of his son, were all beasts whose horns came into being before their hoofs, as it is stated, [18a] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught.86Gen. 22, 13. Tradition tells that Abraham’s ram was created on the eve of the first Sabbath at twilight (Aboth 5:6, Sonc. ed., p. 64), and as all the animals of the creation were brought forth in their full-grown stature, their horns must have appeared before their hoofs. Then and there87Immediately Adam had brought his offering. three bands of ministering angels came down with harps and lyres and other musical instruments in their hands and joined with him in a song of praise, as it is stated, A Psalm, a Song. For the Sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord…. To declare Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness in the night seasons.88Ps. 92, 1-3. To declare Thy lovingkindness in the morning—this refers to the world to come which is likened to the brightness of the morning, as it is stated, They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.89Lam. 3, 23. By reason of God’s faithfulness the righteous will be renewed in the morning, i.e. they will be revived in the world to come. And Thy faithfulness in the night seasons—this refers to this world which is likened to [the darkness of] night, as it is stated, The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir: Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?90Is. 21, 11. The faithful who watch and wait for God’s deliverance cry out: How long will the sorrows and sufferings of this world continue? At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘If I do not inflict punishment upon the serpent I will be destroying the whole world’. He also said, ‘As for man whom I made lord and king over the world, how he has become entangled [in the wiles of the serpent] and eaten of the [forbidden] tree!’ Thereupon He turned His attention to him and cursed him, as it is stated, And the Lord God said unto the serpent, etc.91Gen. 3, 14. R. Jose said: Had the curse of the serpent been deferred to later,92lit. ‘had the curse of the serpent been written in the end’. He would in the meantime have destroyed the whole world. When the Holy One, blessed be He, created Adam, the first man, He formed him behind and before,93i.e. with two faces, in front and behind, from one of which Eve was formed. Cf. Ber. 61a (Sonc. ed., p. 381). as it is stated, Thou hast formed me behind and before, and laid Thy hand upon me.94Ps. 139, 5. E.V., Thou hast hemmed me in. Ministering angels descended to adore him,95Or, to worship him. According to MS. E: ‘to destroy him’, because they were jealous of him; this is also the view of GRA. whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, took him up and placed him beneath His wings, as it is stated, And laid Thy hand upon me. Another interpretation of And laid Thy hand upon me: when Adam sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, removed one [of His hands] from him. From this it may be inferred that when Adam and the Temple were created, they were each created by His two hands. Whence do we know that man was created by His two hands? For it is stated, Thy hands have made me and fashioned me.96ibid. CXIX, 73. The noun is plural. And whence do we know that the Temple was created by His two hands? For it is stated, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.97Ex. 15, 17. And it is also said, And He brought them to His holy border, to the mountain which His right hand had gotten;98Ps. 78, 54. and further it is written, The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.99Ex. 15, 18. The last two verses which are quoted have no connection with the theme of the passage and are deleted by GRA. They are found in the original context at the conclusion of tractate Aboth.

9. 2.1

   What fence did the Torah make to her words? It is stated, And thou shalt not approach unto a woman … as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.1Lev. 18, 19. It might be supposed that he may embrace or kiss her, or engage with her in frivolous talk; the text therefore declares, Thou shalt not approach. It might be further supposed that he may sleep with her if she is clothed in the one bed; the text therefore declares, Thou shalt not approach. Again it might be supposed that she may wash her face and paint her eyes; the text therefore declares, And of her that is sick with her impurity2ibid. XV, 33.—all the days of her impurity she shall be in banishment [from society].3The Heb. נדה, ‘a woman in her impurity’, is here connected with its original meaning of ‘cast out, banished from society’. Hence [the Sages] said: Every woman who makes herself unattractive during the period of her impurity wins the approbation of the Rabbis, and she who adorns herself during the period of her impurity incurs their censure.

10. 2.2

    The story is told4Quoted from Shab. 13a, b (Sonc. ed., p. 53) with some variants. of a certain man who had read much Scripture, studied much Mishnah, and had attended on many scholars, yet had died in the midst of his days. His wife used to take his tefillin, carry them round the Synagogues and Houses of Study, and weepingly complain, ‘Masters, is it not written in your Torah, That is thy life, and the length of thy days?5Deut. 30, 20. Why, then, did my husband die in the midst of his days, he who read much Scripture, studied much Mishnah, and attended on many scholars?’ There was no one who could answer her. One day, Elijah, of blessed memory, met her and said to her, ‘My daughter, why do you weep and complain?’ She replied, ‘My husband had read much Scripture, studied much Mishnah and attended on many scholars; yet he died in the midst of his days’. He asked her, ‘During the first three days of your impurity what was his relationship towards you?’6The number ‘three’ found in V is difficult to explain, as the woman’s impurity continues, according to Biblical law, for a minimum period of seven days. Consequently there is no ground for drawing a distinction between the first three and the subsequent days. Most scholars, following GRA, substitute ‘seven’ for ‘three’, and the reference is to the monthly period of uncleanness. The ‘latter days of impurity’ would be, what is known in Talmudic phraseology, ‘the days of white garments’, i.e. the seven days of observation after the. cessation of the discharge. During this period a woman is forbidden by Rabbinic law all intimacy with her husband, including acts of endearment. She said to him ‘Master, God forbid! He did not touch me even with his little finger, but used to say to me, “Touch no vessel lest you bring me into a state of doubt” ’. ‘And what was his relationship towards you during the latter days of your impurity?’7In Shab. 13a the text reads: ‘during the days of your white garments’. Cf. the preceding note. She replied, ‘Master, I ate and drank with him, slept with him8V adds ‘in my clothes’ which is omitted in the Talmudic version and appears incompatible with the following words, ‘with our bodies touching’. Some authorities retain the former phrase and alter the latter to ‘without our bodies touching’. in the one bed with our bodies touching, but he had no other intention’. Whereupon Elijah said to her, ‘Blessed be the All-present for slaying him, since it is written in the Torah, And thou shalt not approach unto a woman … as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.’9Lev. 18, 19. It is stated, None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him;10ibid. 6. hence [the Sages] said: Let no man remain alone with a woman at an inn, even though she be his sister or daughter, on account of public opinion. Let no man converse with a woman in the market-place, not even with his wife and needless to say with another woman, on account of public gossip. Let no man walk behind a woman in the market-place, not even behind his wife and needless to say behind another woman, on account of public gossip. It is stated here,11In the Biblical passage concerning unlawful unions. None of you shall approach, and it is stated there, Thou shalt not approach;12ibid. 19. In the passage dealing with menstrual impurity. do not therefore approach to any conduct which may lead to transgression.13By the analogy: just as any manner of approach to a woman in her impurity is forbidden, so any approach whatsoever to a woman prohibited as being near of kin is likewise forbidden. Keep aloof from anything hideous or from whatever seems hideous.14A Rabbinic rule of conduct; cf. Ḥul. 44b (Sonc. ed., p. 239). Accordingly the Sages said: Keep aloof from a trivial sin lest it lead you on to a grave sin. Run to perform a minor precept for it will lead you on to an important precept. It is stated, Thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies.15Cant. 7, 3. Thy belly is like a heap of wheat—this describes the congregation of Israel;16Cf. Sanh. 37a (Sonc. ed., pp. 231f). As all derive sustenance from a heap of wheat, so the whole world enjoys favour because of Israel. set about with lilies—these are the seventy elders.17Who constitute the Great Sanhedrin and whose duty it is to make ‘fences’ to safeguard the Torah. Another interpretation of Thy belly is like a heap of wheat [set about with lilies]—these are those light precepts18i.e. the precautionary restrictions, light in themselves, but safeguarding against violation of the laws. Cf. Sanh. loc. cit. which are as tender as a hedge of lilies and through their observance by Israel lead them to life in the world to come. How is this so? A man’s wife is at home with him during the period of her impurity. He could have intimacy with her or not at his will, since no man sees him and no man knows of it to rebuke him. Hence he fears only Him Who ordained the law of [the uncleanness of women. Similarly if a man suffers a seminal emission, he may immerse himself or not as he will, since no man sees him and no man knows of it to rebuke him. Hence He fears only Him Who ordained the law of] immersion.19The lines enclosed within brackets are missing in V, but have been inserted here from MS. E. The origin of the omission is due to a scribe who jumped from the first ‘who ordained the law of’ to the second. You may reason similarly with the law of the dough-offering20Cf. Num. 15, 20f. and the law of the first of the fleece.21Cf. Deut. 18, 4. These are further examples of precepts observed within the privacy of the home over which no control can be exercised by other persons. Such are the light precepts which are as tender as lilies and through their observance by Israel lead them to life in the world to come.

11. 2.3

    What fence did Moses make to his words? It is stated, And the Lord said unto Moses: Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow.22Ex. 19, 10. Now the righteous Moses was not willing to tell it to Israel in the manner in which the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke to him, but said to them, Be ready against the third day; come not near a woman.23ibid. 15. Thus Moses added a third day for them of his own accord, because Moses reasoned as follows, ‘If a man will cohabit with his wife and on the third day the seed will issue from her they will become unclean,24In accordance with the law that if a woman discharged semen at any time within three days of coitus she is unclean, since the semen is still potent; after three days she is clean. Cf. Shab. 86a (Sonc. ed., p. 408) where this rule is derived from the last quoted verse. and in consequence Israel25GRA reads ‘the women of Israel’, which is preferable. would receive the Torah from Mount Sinai in a state of defilement. I will therefore add a third day for them, so that no man will cohabit with his wife26Within these three days. and there will be no fear of the seed issuing from her. All will be clean, and in consequence [the women of] Israel will receive the Torah from Mount Sinai in a state of cleanness’. This27The addition by Moses of an extra day to the Divine command. is one of the things which Moses did of his own accord, reasoning by a fortiori argument, and his decision conformed to the will of the All-present.28Cf. Shab. 87a (Sonc. ed., p. 411), Yeb. 62a (Sonc. ed., p. 412). He broke the tablets, and this act of his accorded with the will of the All-present; he kept away from the Tent of Meeting, and this act of his accorded with the will of the All-present; he separated from his wife, and this act of his accorded with the will of the All-present. [‘He separated from his wife, and this act of his accorded with the will of the All-present.’] How was this? He reasoned as follows: If with regard to the Israelites, who were sanctified for a short period only and summoned for the sole purpose of receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to me, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow;29Ex. 19, 10. I, who am in readiness for the purpose [of receiving] the word of God daily and hourly, since I know not when He will speak with me, whether by day or by night, must all the more separate myself from a woman! And his decision accorded with the will of the All-present.30Proved from the fact that when the people were permitted to resume marital relations, God said to Moses, But as for thee, stand thou here by Me (Deut. 5, 28). R. Judah b. Bathyra said: Moses did not separate from his wife until he was ordered to do so by the Almighty, as it is stated, With him do I speak mouth to mouth31Num. 12, 8.—by a mouth-to-mouth order I commanded him to separate from his wife, and he did so. Others interpret in this way: Moses did not separate from his wife until he was ordered to do so by the [18b] Almighty, as it is stated, Go say to them: Return ye to your tents;32Deut. 5, 27. This was a permission to resume marital relations. and after that it is written, But as for thee, stand thou here by Me.33ibid. 28. Moses then turned about34A strange expression in this context. The meaning seems to be that Moses extended the temporary restriction to all the days of his life, and this met with God’s approval. Cf. the second recension on this passage in Schechter’s ed., p. 10. and separated from his wife, and in so doing he was in accord with the will of the All-present. ‘He kept away from the Tent of Meeting.’ How was this? He reasoned as follows: ‘If in connection with my brother Aaron, who has been anointed with the anointing oil, clothed in the additional vestments of the High-priesthood and ministers therein in holiness, the Holy One, blessed be He, admonished, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place;35Lev. 16, 2. I, who have not been ordained for the purpose, must all the more keep away from the Tent of Meeting’. He kept away from the Tent of Meeting and in so doing he was in accord with the will of the All-present.36No verse or exposition is cited to prove this. In the Talmudic passages (cf. above, p. 19, n. 28) the instance of keeping away from the Tent of Meeting is not included. ‘He broke the tablets.’ How was this? It is related that when Moses ascended on high to receive the tablets which had been inscribed and were lying in readiness [to be revealed] since the six days of creation,37Cf. Aboth 5:9 (Sonc. ed., V, 6, p. 63). as it is stated, And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven [ḥaruth] upon the tables38Ex. 32, 16. As the work of God refers primarily to the six days of creation, it follows that the tablets were then prepared.—read not ḥaruth [graven] but ḥeruth [freedom], for only he is truly free who occupies himself with the Torah39This incidental word-play interrupts the sequence of the passage, and is borrowed from Aboth 6:2 (Sonc. ed., p. 80).—at that time the ministering angels arraigned Moses, saying, ‘Lord of the universe! What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou thinkest of him? Yet Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: sheep and oxen, all of them, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea’.40Ps. 8, 5-9. They were referring disparagingly to Moses, saying, ‘What virtue is there in man born of woman that he has ascended on high, as it is stated, Thou art ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts?’41ibid. LXVIII, 19. E.V. refers to God. Moses took the tablets and descended with them, rejoicing exceedingly. But as soon as he saw the depravity with which they had depraved themselves in the episode of the calf, he said to himself, ‘How can I give them the tablets, thereby binding them to the performance of weighty commandments, and in consequence condemning them [if they disobeyed] to death before Heaven, for it is written therein, Thou shalt have no other gods before Me?’42Ex. 20, 3. He turned back, but when the seventy elders saw this they hurried after him. He seized one end of the tablets while they seized the other end, but the strength of Moses prevailed over theirs, as it is stated, And in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.43Deut. 34, 12. He glanced at the tablets and saw that the writing had flown from them; so he exclaimed, ‘How can I give Israel these worthless tablets? I will grasp hold of them and break them, as it is stated, And I took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them.44ibid. IX, 17. R. Jose the Galilean said: I will illustrate this to you by a parable. To what can the matter be compared? To a human king who ordered his agent, ‘Go and betroth for me a beautiful, graceful and well-behaved maiden’. The agent went and performed the betrothal. After the betrothal he discovered that she was unfaithful with another. Thereupon he reasoned to himself, ‘If I give her the contract45Presumably the betrothal document. By destroying this document the verbal betrothal could be disclaimed, and the maiden’s misbehaviour would be treated as that of an unbetrothed girl which does not involve the extreme penalty. Cf. Midrash Rabbah, Exodus, XLVI,§1 (Sonc. ed., pp. 526f). now, I will be condemning her to death46Cf. Deut. 22, 23f. and depriving my master of her for all time; [I will rather tear up the contract]’. In the same way did the righteous Moses reason to himself, ‘How can I now give Israel the tablets, binding them thereby to the performance of weighty commandments, and in consequence condemning them [if they disobeyed] to death, for it is written therein, He that sacrificeth unto the gods, save unto the Lord only, shall be utterly destroyed?47Ex. 22, 19. I will rather seize the tablets and break them, and lead Israel back to the right way. Then Israel might say,48In their defence when charged with idolatry. “Where are the first tablets which [you say] you brought down? There were no such things at all!” ’ R. Judah b. Bathyra said: Moses only broke the tablets because he was commanded to do so by the Almighty, as it is stated, With him do I speak mouth to mouth49Num. 12, 8.—by a mouth-to-mouth order I commanded him to break the tablets. Some explain it in this way: Moses only broke the tablets because he was commanded to do so by the Almighty, as it is stated, And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the Lord your God50Deut. 9, 16.—the expression I looked means that he saw that the writing had flown from off the tablets.51The tablets thereby became worthless, and Moses understood it as an order to break them. Others explain: Moses only broke the tablets because he was commanded to do so by the Almighty, as it is stated, And there they are, as the Lord commanded me52ibid. X, 5.—the words commanded me can only mean that he was so commanded and broke them. R. Eleazar b. Azariah said: Moses only broke the tablets because he was commanded to do so by the Almighty, as it is stated, Which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel53ibid. XXXIV, 12. Cf. Shab. 87a (Sonc. ed., p. 412), Yeb. 62a (Sonc. ed., p. 412).—as everywhere else he acted on the command of God, so here, too, he acted on the command of God. R. ‘Aḳiba said: Moses only broke the tablets because he was commanded to do so by the Almighty, as it is stated, And I took hold of the two tables54ibid. IX, 17.—what is it that a man takes hold of? Is it not that which he is about to break?55A difficult sentence, the text being dubious. The meaning seems to be: since Moses held the tablets firmly he certainly had no intention of breaking them; as he did break them it must have been at the behest of the Almighty. The text varies between leshabberan and lebor’an; the latter makes no sense unless the root bara’ be taken in the sense of ‘cut down, destroy’ (cf. Josh. 17, 15, 18, and Ezek. 23, 47). R. Meir said: Moses only broke the tablets because he was commanded to do so by the Almighty, as it is stated, Which [’asher] thou didst break56Deut. 10, 2.—I thank [yishar] you for breaking them.57The words ’asher (which) and yishar (thank) are homiletically explained as deriving from a common root.

12. 2.4

    Hezekiah king of Judah did four things [of his own accord] and his acts conformed to the will of the All-present. He hid the Book of Healing58A book containing remedies for various ailments believed to have been compiled by King Solomon. Hezekiah hid it so that people should pray to God for healing. Cf. Ber. 10b (Sonc. ed., p. 56), Pes. 56a (Sonc. ed., pp. 277f). In the Talmud six acts are mentioned, God approving of three and disapproving of three. and his act conformed to the will of the All-present, [as it is stated, And I have done that which is good in Thy sight].592 Kings 20, 3. The words in brackets are inserted by GRA. He broke the brazen serpent60Cf. Num. 21, 9. into pieces and his act conformed to the will of the All-present, [as it is stated, And he broke in pieces the brazen serpent … for unto those days the children of Israel did offer to it; and it was called Nehushtan].612 Kings 18, 4. The verse is omitted in V but is found in MS. E and inserted by GRA. He removed the high places and the altars and his act conformed to the will of the All-present, as it is stated, Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying: Ye shall worship before one altar, and upon it shall ye offer?622 Chron. 32, 12. He stopped up the waters of Gihon, and his act conformed to the will of the All-present, as it is stated, Hezekiah also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon, and brought them straight down on the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.63ibid. 30. The last words of the verse indicate that his works had divine approval.

13. 2.5

    What fence did Job make to his words? It states, A whole-hearted and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil.64Job 1, 8. This65The phrase feareth God and shunneth evil. teaches that Job held aloof from anything that could lead to sin, from anything improper or having the semblance of impropriety.66These were the ‘fences’ which Job erected to safeguard him from wrong-doing. In view of the description that feareth God, etc., what precedes it seems superfluous. And what is the significance of the words a whole-hearted and an upright man? They teach that Job was born circumcised.67The Heb. tam, translated ‘whole-hearted’, is interpreted in the sense of physically perfect, the lack of circumcision being regarded as an imperfection. Adam, the first man, also came into the world circumcised, for it is stated, And God created man in His own image.68Gen. 1, 27. ‘In God’s image’ implies perfection. Seth also was born circumcised, for it is stated, And begot a son in his own likeness, after his image.69ibid. V, 3, physically perfect like his father. Noah also was born circumcised, for it is stated, In his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted.70ibid. VI, 9. Shem also was born circumcised, for it is stated, And Melchizedek king of Salem.71ibid. XIV, 18. The Heb. shalem also signifies physical perfection. [On the identification of Shem with Melchizedek, cf. L. Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, V, pp. 225f.] Jacob also was born circumcised, for it is stated, And Jacob was a whole-hearted man, dwelling in tents.72ibid. XXV, 28, E.V. a quiet man (Heb. tam). Joseph also was born circumcised, for it is stated, These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph.73ibid. XXXVII, 2. Surely Scripture should have said here, ‘These are the generations of Jacob: Reuben!’74Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn. Why does it say Joseph? [To teach] that as Jacob was born circumcised so Joseph was born circumcised. Moses also was born circumcised, for it is stated, She saw him that he was a goodly child.75Ex. 2, 2. Goodly indicates physically perfect. Now what did his mother see in him finer and better than in all children? [She saw] that he was born circumcised. Even the wicked Balaam was born circumcised, for it is stated, The saying of him who heareth the words of God.76Num. 24, 4. God would not have communicated with one who was uncircumcised. Samuel also was born circumcised, for it is stated, And the child Samuel grew up, increased and was good.771 Sam. 2, 26. E.V., increased in favour. David also was born circumcised, for it is stated, Michtam of David. Keep me, O God; for I have taken refuge in Thee.78Ps. 16, 1. The word michtam is interpreted in Soṭ. 10b (Sonc. ed., p. 49) as makkatho tammah, ‘his wound was whole’, i.e. the place where there should have been a wound after the operation of circumcision was sound, since he was born circumcised. Jeremiah also was born circumcised, for it is stated, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.79Jer. 1, 5. Since he was consecrated even before birth he must have been formed perfect in body, i.e. already circumcised. Zerubbabel also was born circumcised, for it is stated, In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Ẓerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and I will make of thee as a signet.80Hag. 2, 23. The Heb. for ‘signet’, ḥotam, suggests the seal of circumcision. Alternatively, since the word ends with the syllable tam it suggests physical perfection, as above, p. 24, n. 67. Scripture states, I made a covenant with mine eyes; how then should I look upon a maid?81Job 31, 1. After the digression, the subject of Job making a ‘fence’ is resumed. This teaches that Job was most strict with himself and would not even glance at a maiden. Is there not here an argument from the less to the greater? If in the case of an unmarried girl whom, if he so wish, he may marry or may give as a wife either to his son or his brother or some other relative of his, Job was most strict with himself and would not glance at her, how much more strict was he in the case of a married woman! Why was Job so strict with himself and would not even glance at a maid? Because he reasoned, ‘Perhaps I look at her to-day, and to-morrow a man comes and takes her to wife; the consequence might be that I should be thinking of a married woman’.

14. 2.6

    What fence did the Prophets make to their words? It states, The Lord will go forth as a mighty man, He will stir up jealousy like a man of war; He will cry, yea, He will shout aloud.82Is. 42, 13. Surely He is not like one mighty man, but like all the mighty men of the world put together! Similarly, The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?83Amos 3, 8. Surely He is not like one lion, but like all the lions of the world put together! Similarly, And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth did shine with His glory.84Ez. 43, 2. [We know that] the phrase the sound of many waters refers to the angel Gabriel, and the words and the earth did shine [19a] with His glory refer to the manifestation of the Divine Presence. Is there not here an argument from the less to the greater? If of the angel Gabriel, who is but one of the countless thousands and myriads who stand before Him, it is said that his voice reaches from one end of the world to the other, how much mightier is the voice of the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, Who created the entire universe and created the celestial and terrestrial beings! But the eye of man is shown only that which it can perceive, and the ear of man is made to hear only that which it can comprehend.85In the three examples quoted from the Prophets it is obvious that the expressions used are inadequate to describe the glory and might of God; the Prophets, however, deliberately employed them so that thereby they conveyed to the people an idea of God’s majesty, using terms which could be comprehended by the limited understanding of man. This choice of expressions and similes is the ‘fence’ which the Prophets made to their words.

15. 2.7

    What fence did [the authors of] the Holy Writings make to their words? It states, Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house.86Prov. 5, 8. Remove thy way far from her refers to heresy; for a man is warned, ‘Go not among heretics, nor come in to them, lest you stumble through them’. Should he, however, say, ‘I am sure of myself, and even though I go among them I will not stumble through them’; or should he say, ‘I will hear their words and then come away’? Scripture therefore states, None that go unto her return, neither do they attain unto the paths of life.87ibid. II, 19. It is also written, She hath prepared her meat, she hath mingled her wine; she hath furnished her table.88ibid. IX, 2. This verse describes the wicked [heretics].89The word ‘heretics’ is omitted in the text, due, no doubt, to fear of the censor. It is added here by GRA. When a man comes among them they give him to eat and drink, they clothe and cover him, and give him much money. But no sooner does he become one of them, than each recognizes what was his property and takes it back. Concerning these it is stated, Till an arrow strike through his liver; as a bird hasteneth to the snare—and knoweth not that it is at the cost of his life.90ibid. VII, 23. Another interpretation of Remove thy way far from her refers to the harlot; for a man is warned, ‘Go not in this square, enter not in this side-way, for a harlot is there, attractive and bedecked’. Should he, however, say, ‘I am sure of myself, and even if I go there I will not stumble through her’, he is again warned, ‘Go not there even if you are sure of yourself, lest you stumble through her’. For the Sages have said: A man should not make it his habit to pass the door of a harlot, as it is stated, For she hath cast down many wounded; yea, a mighty host are all her slain.91ibid. 26.

16. 2.8

    What fence did the Sages make to their words? They ruled that the evening Shema‘ may be recited only until midnight, although Rabban Gamaliel said: Until cockcrow.92Cf. the opening paragraph of Mishnah Berakoth. The Sages were also of the opinion that by strict law the Shema‘ may be recited at any time until the morning, but as a precautionary measure they ruled only until midnight. This is an example of a ‘fence’ by the Sages. How is this? When a man comes home from his work, let him not say, ‘I will eat a little, drink a little, sleep a little, and then I will recite the Shema‘’; it may result in his sleeping through the whole night and he will have missed reciting it. He should rather act thus: when he comes home from his work in the evening let him go to the Synagogue or the House of Study. If he is in the habit of reading Scripture, let him read it; if he is in the habit of studying the Mishnah, let him study it; otherwise, let him recite the Shema‘ and say the Tefillah; and whosoever transgresses the words of the Sages is deserving of death.93Cf. Ber. 4b (Sonc. ed., p. 13). Rabban Gamaliel said: There are times when a man recites the Shema‘ twice in one night, once before the rise of dawn and once after the rise of dawn, and he thereby fulfils his obligation both for the day and for the night.94Cf. Ber. 8b (Sonc. ed., p. 44). The Sages rose up and often made fences to their words.95Cf. Finkelstein, op. cit., pp. 26-29 for an original and interesting interpretation of this sentence.

17. 2.9

    AND RAISE UP MANY DISCIPLES.96Added by all commentators as the heading of the paragraph. The School of Shammai said: A master should teach only those who are wise, meek, of good family and wealthy; whereas the School of Hillel said: He should teach everyone, for many sinners in Israel have in this way been brought near to the study of the Torah, and from them issued righteous, pious and worthy men.

18. 3.1

    R. ‘Aḳiba said: He who takes a peruṭah from charity when not in need of it will not depart from this world before he falls in need of his fellow-men. He also said: He who wraps rags over his eyes or about his loins, and cries, ‘Help the blind! Help the leper!’1lit. ‘one who is afflicted with boils (or, ulcers)’. will in the end cry so in earnest. He also said: He who throws his bread to the ground, or scatters his money in his anger, will not depart from this world before he falls in need of his fellow-men.

19. 3.2

    He also said: He who tears his clothes in his anger or breaks his vessels in his rage, will in the end worship idols; for such is the device of the evil inclination: to-day it bids man, ‘Tear your clothes’ and to-morrow it bids him, ‘Worship idols’.2Cf. Shab. 105b (Sonc. ed., p. 510) where it is quoted by R. Simeon b. Eleazar in the name of Ḥalfa b. Agra in R. Joḥanan b. Nuri’s name.

20. 3.3

    He also said: He who hopes for the death of his wife that he may inherit her property or that he may marry her sister, or hopes for the death of his brother3Without issue, so that the law of Deut. 25, 5 might apply. that he may marry the widow, will surely be survived by them.4lit. ‘in the end they will bury him during their lifetime’. Concerning such a person Scripture states, He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it, and whoso breaketh through a fence, a serpent shall bite him.5Eccl. 10, 8.

21. 3.4

    The story is told6Cf. B.Ḳ. 90b (Sonc. ed., p. 521). of a certain man who, in contravention of R. ‘Aḳiba’s teaching, unloosed a woman’s hair in the marketplace. When the woman came before R. ‘Aḳiba he ordered the man to pay her the sum of four hundred zuz. The man said, ‘Rabbi, give me time to pay’, and he agreed. [When the man had come out] a friend of his said to him, ‘I will advise you how you will not have to pay her even one peruḳah’. ‘Do advise me’, said the man; and the friend said, ‘Go and take oil to the value of an issar, and break the jar in front of the door of that woman’. [He did so.] What did the woman do? She came out of her house, unloosed her hair in the open street, scooped up [the oil with her hand], and then laid her hand on her head.7She rubbed the oil into her head in order not to waste it. The man had arranged witnesses against her, and he proceeded before R. ‘Aḳiba and said, ‘To such a worthless woman must I pay four hundred zuz? For the sake of oil worth an issar she lost all self-respect, came out of her house, unloosed her hair in the open street, scooped up the oil, and then laid her hand on her head!’ R. ‘Aḳiba replied, ‘Your words prove nothing. For he who wounds himself, though he is not permitted to do so, is free from liability, whereas if others wounded him they are liable. If this woman wounds herself she is free from liability, but you, having wounded her, must pay her four hundred zuz’.

22. 3.5

    R. Dosethai b. R. Jannai said: If you have prepared your soil8lit. ‘selected’ or cleared (the soil)’. MS. E reads ‘set out early’; GRA suggests ‘plowed’. and sown your seed at the first rainfall9There are three periods of rain expected in the early winter: the first from the 17th to the 23rd of the eighth month (Marḥeshwan), the second from the 23rd to the end of the month, the third from the 1st of the ninth month (Kislew) and onwards. go and sow again at the second rainfall, lest hail fall in the world and the first sowing will be affected while the second sowing may endure, for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good10Eccl. 11, 6. or both alike bad, as it is stated, In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand. If you have prepared your soil and sown your seed at the first and second rainfalls, go and sow again at the third rainfall, lest a blight come upon the world and the early sowings will be blasted while the late sowing may endure, as it is stated, For thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good, as it is stated, In the morning sow thy seed, etc.

23. 3.6

    R. Ishmael b. R. Jose said: Study Torah in your old age. If you have studied Torah in your youth, say not, ‘I will not study in my old age’; but continue studying for thou knowest not which shall prosper. If you studied in a time of wealth do not leave off11lit. ‘turn away’; according to a variant reading ‘sit idle’. in a time of poverty; if in a time of plenty do not leave off in a time of famine; if in a time of ease do not leave off in a time of hardship; because one word [learnt] by a man in adversity is more precious to him than a hundred learnt in prosperity, as it is stated, In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand. R. ‘Aḳiba said: If you have studied Torah in your youth, study it also in your old age, and say not, ‘I will not study Torah in my old age’, for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether both will remain with you, or whether they both shall be alike good, as it is stated, In the morning sow thy seed, etc. R. Meir said: If you have studied under one teacher, say not, ‘It is enough for me’; but go to [another] scholar and study Torah under him. Go not, however, to anyone, but to him who is akin to you from the outset,12i.e. whose style and manner of study approximates to your own. Alternatively ḳarob means ‘near’, i.e. who resides near your house. Another reading is ḳarob lah ‘near to her’, i.e. a scholar who is sincere and near to the Torah. as it is stated, Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.13Prov. 5, 15. The verse counsels one to learn from such sources as are similar in scope to one’s own springs of learning. It is incumbent upon a man to attend upon three scholars [19b] such as R. Eliezer, R. Joshua and R. ‘Aḳiba, as it is stated, Happy is the man that hearkeneth to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my door14ibid. VIII, 34.—read not my gates but ‘the door of my gates’.15Thus arriving at the number ‘three’: ‘door’ suggests one and ‘gates’ in the plural a further two; hence the need to study under three teachers. The text, however, is difficult. In the Yalḳuṭ on this verse the text reads: ‘It says not delathai but dalthothai’, and the explanation is that the former term, being in the plural, implies two, therefore the latter term, which is in an amplified form, implies three. For16This is the continuation of R. Meir’s dictum, explaining why it is necessary to study under more than one master. you know not whether both will remain with you or whether they both shall be alike good, as it is stated, In the morning sow thy seed, etc. R. Joshua said: Take a wife in your youth and take a wife in your old age; beget children in your youth and beget children in your old age. Say not, ‘I will no more take a wife’, but take her and beget sons and daughters and increase your offspring on the earth, because you know not whether both17i.e. the children of your youth and the children of your later years. will remain with you or whether both shall be alike good, as it is stated, In the morning sow thy seed, etc.

24. 3.7

    He used to say: If you have given a peruṭah to a poor man in the morning, and there comes to you in the evening another poor man asking for alms, give to him also, because you know not whether both18i.e. the two acts of charity. will remain with you or whether they both shall be alike good, as it is stated, In the morning sow thy seed, etc.

25. 3.8

    The story is told19Cf. Ber. 18b (Sonc. ed., pp. 110f). of a certain pious man who, in a year of drought, gave a poor man a dinar. His wife scolded him for it; so he went and passed the night in a cemetery. There he overheard two spirits conversing with one another. ‘Come, my dear,’ said one to her companion, ‘let us wander about the world and find out what calamity is about to come upon the world.’20According to the Talmudic version the incident happened on the eve of the New Year when the fate of the world in the coming year is decided. The other replied, ‘My dear, I cannot go forth because I am buried in a matting of reeds;21i.e. a shroud of inferior quality and not the usual linen shroud. but you go and tell me whatever you hear’. She departed and on her return was asked, ‘Did you hear from behind the curtain22Which screens the heavenly Court of Justice. what calamity is about to come upon the world?’ She replied, ‘I heard that whoever sows at the first rainfall will have his crops smitten by hail’. The man went and sowed at the second rainfall, with the result that everybody’s crop was smitten but his was not. The following year he again went and passed the night in the cemetery and overheard the same two spirits conversing with one another. ‘Come,’ said one to her companion, ‘let us wander about the world and find out what calamity is about to come upon the world.’ The other replied, ‘My dear, have I not previously told you that I cannot go forth because I am buried in a matting of reeds? You go, and tell me whatever you hear’. She departed and on her return her companion asked her, ‘Did you hear anything from behind the curtain?’ She replied, ‘I heard that whoever sows at the second rainfall will have his crops blasted’. He went and sowed at the first rainfall. When the blight came into the world, everybody’s crop was blasted but his was not. His wife asked him, ‘How was it that when the calamity came into the world, everybody’s crops were smitten and blasted but yours were not?’ He told her the whole story. After a time a quarrel broke out between that pious man’s wife and the mother of the young woman,23Who had been buried like a pauper in a reed matting. and the former said to the other, ‘Come and I will show you your daughter buried in a matting of reeds!’ The following year the man went and spent the night in the cemetery and overheard those two spirits conversing with one another. One said, ‘Come, my dear, let us wander about the world and listen to what is said behind the curtain’. But her companion replied, ‘My dear, leave me alone; what has passed between you and me has in the past been overheard by the living’.

26. 3.9

    It is told of a certain pious man who was in the habit of dispensing charity that he was once travelling in a ship when a storm arose and the ship was sunk in the sea. R. ‘Aḳiba who witnessed [the tragedy] came before the Beth Din to testify on behalf of the wife to enable her to remarry. Before the time came for him to testify, that pious man entered and stood before him. R. ‘Aḳiba said to him, ‘You are the man who was drowned at sea’. ‘Yes, I am,’ he replied. ‘And who brought you up from the sea?’ asked R. ‘Aḳiba. He answered, ‘The charity which I dispensed brought me up from the sea’. ‘How do you know it?’ asked R. ‘Aḳiba. He replied, ‘When I went down to the nethermost depths, I heard a mighty roaring of the waves calling one to the other, “Hurry and let us bring up this man from the sea because he dispensed charity all his days” ’. At this R. ‘Aḳiba began [to praise] saying, ‘Blessed be God, the God of Israel, Who has chosen the words of the Torah and the sayings of the wise; for the words of the Torah and the sayings of the wise endure for ever and to all eternity, as it is stated, Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.24Eccl. 11, 1. It is also written, Charity delivereth from death.25Prov. 10, 2, E.V., righteousness delivereth.

27. 3.10

    It is told26Cf. B.B. 11a (Sonc. ed., p. 52). of Benjamin the Just, who was the overseer of the charity fund, that one day a woman came to him and said, ‘Master, assist me’. He replied, ‘By the Temple Service, there is nothing left in the charity fund’. She said, ‘Master, if you do not assist me, I perish with my four27In B.B. loc. cit. ‘seven’, and so corrected here by GRA. children’. He thereupon assisted her from his own purse. After a time Benjamin the Just fell ill and lay in pain on his bed. The ministering angels addressed the Holy One, blessed be He, saying, ‘Sovereign of the universe, Thou hast said that whoever saves a single soul in Israel is deemed as though he had saved alive the whole world.28Cf. Sanh. 37a (Sonc. ed., p. 234). How much greater must be the merit of Benjamin the Just who saved alive a widow and her four children! He is now on his bed suffering much pain in his sickness’. Thus they sought mercy on his behalf and the decree against him was annulled, twenty-two years being added to his life.

28. 4.1

    SIMON THE JUST WAS ONE OF THE LAST SURVIVORS OF THE GREAT ASSEMBLY. HE USED TO SAY: UPON THREE THINGS THE WORLD IS BASED: UPON THE TORAH, UPON THE TEMPLE SERVICE, AND UPON THE PRACTICE OF LOVINGKINDNESS. UPON THE TORAH—how is this? It states, For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt-offerings.1Hos. 6, 6. Hence one may infer that of all sacrifices the burnt-offering is the most acceptable since it is entirely consumed by fire, as it is stated, And the priest shall make the whole smoke on the altar, for a burnt-offering.2Lev. 1, 9. In another passage it states, And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering unto the Lord.31 Sam. 7, 9. Samuel’s prayer was immediately answered by God on account of the acceptability of the burnt-offering. Nevertheless, the study of Torah is even more acceptable to the All-present than burnt-offerings, since if a man studies Torah he knows the will of the All-present, as it is stated, Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find out the will of God.4Prov. 2, 5. E.V., find the knowledge of God. Hence it follows that when a scholar sits and expounds the Torah in an assembly, Scripture accounts it to him as though he had offered the fat and the blood [of a sacrifice] upon the altar. Should5This and the subsequent passages are inserted here to teach that though the study of the Torah is the highest good, even that may be interrupted for a wedding ceremony or a funeral procession in the circumstances stated here. two scholars be sitting engaged in the study of the Torah, and a bridal procession or a cortège passes by them, if there are sufficient people present to attend to the needs of the occasion,6As to what is considered sufficient, cf. Keth. 17a (Sonc. ed., p. 95). let them not interrupt their studies; otherwise it is their duty to rise and cheer7A rare word from the root shanan, ‘to repeat a thing’, and hence ‘ to ac claim’ or ‘applaud repeatedly’. Cf. Jastrow s.v. and the next note but one. and applaud the bride or accompany the dead to the grave.

29. 4.2

    It once happened that R. Judah b. Ilai was sitting and lecturing to his disciples when a bride passed before him. At once he took in his hand what was usual for the occasion,8i.e. myrtle branches. The text is uncertain, and GRA reads: ‘as there were not sufficient people for her needs’. and cheered9In the parallel passage in Midrash Haggadol, ed. Schechter, p. 82, the word is not meshannen (var. meshannenen) but mesha’anen from a root sha‘an ‘to shake, wave about’. The text there reads: ‘He took in his hand a myrtle branch and waved it until the bride had passed’. the bride until she had passed by.

30. 4.3

    On another occasion while R. Judah b. Ilai was sitting and lecturing to his disciples, a bride passed before him. ‘What was that?’ he asked, and they replied, ‘A bridal party’. He said to them, ‘My sons, arise and attend to the bride, for so we find that the Holy One, blessed be He, attended to a bride, as it is stated, And the Lord God built up the rib.10Gen. 2, 22; so the text lit. And if He attended to a bride, how much more should we do so!’ Where do we find that the Holy One, blessed be He, attended to a bride? For it is stated, And the Lord God built up the rib; and in coastal towns a bride is referred to as ben’itha.11i.e. ‘with hair plaited’. The Talmud, Ber. 61a (Sonc. ed., p. 382), Shab. 95a (Sonc. ed., p. 454), connects the Heb. root for ‘build’ (banah) with binyatha, a word used in the coastal towns for ‘plaits’, and explains that God plaited Eve’s hair. Hence we learn that the Holy One, blessed be He, equipped Eve, adorned her as a bride and conducted her to Adam, as it is stated, And He brought her unto Adam.12Gen. ibid. On one occasion only did the Holy One, blessed be He, act as a groomsman to man; thereafter a man provides his own groomsman, as it is stated, Bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.13ibid. 23. On one occasion only was the wife formed out of the man;14lit. ‘was Eve taken from Adam’. thereafter a man takes the daughter of his fellow to wife.

31. 4.4

    UPON THE TEMPLE SERVICE—how is this? As long as the Temple Service continued, the world was a source of blessing to its inhabitants and the rains fell [20a] in their seasons, as it is stated, To love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain…. And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle.15Deut. 11, 13-15. But when the Temple Service ceased, the world was no longer a source of blessing to its inhabitants and the rains did not fall in their season, as it is stated, Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived … and He shut up the heaven, so that there shall be no rain.16ibid. 16f. And it also declares in the Book of Haggai, I pray you, consider from this day and forward—before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, through all that time, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw out fifty measures, there were but twenty.17Hag. 2, 15f. Why does not the verse also state in regard to the winevat ‘to draw out twenty measures, there were but ten’ as it does in regard to the wheat? Because the winevat is a significant omen, more so than wheat, thus teaching you that whenever the yield of wine is affected it is a bad omen for the whole year. [At that time] Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the universe! Why hast Thou done this to us?’ And the Divine Spirit replied, ‘Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little … Because of My house that lieth waste, while ye run every man for his own house.18ibid. I, 9. But if you will devote yourselves to the service of the Temple, I will bless you as formerly, as it is stated, Consider, I pray you … from the four-and-twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid … Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree hath not brought forth—from this day will I bless you’.19ibid. II, 18f. Hence you learn that no service is more precious to the Holy One, blessed be He, than the Temple Service.

32. 4.5

    UPON THE PRACTICE OF LOVINGKINDNESS—how is this? Scripture states, I desire lovingkindness and not sacrifice.20Hos. 6, 6. E.V., I desire mercy. In the beginning the world was created by lovingkindness alone, as it is stated, For I have said: The world is built by lovingkindness; Thou dost establish the heavens with Thy faithfulness.21Ps. 89, 3. E.V., For ever is mercy built; in the very heavens Thou dost establish Thy faithfulness. It happened once that Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai was coming out of Jerusalem, followed by R. Joshua, and he beheld the Temple in ruins. ‘Woe to us,’ cried R. Joshua, ‘for this house that lies in ruins, the place where atonement was made for the sins of Israel!’ Rabban Joḥanan said to him, ‘My son, be not grieved, for we have another means of atonement which is as effective, and that is, the practice of lovingkindness, as it is stated, For I desire lovingkindness and not sacrifice’. And so we find it with Daniel, the man greatly beloved, who devoted himself to acts of lovingkindness. What were the acts of lovingkindness to which Daniel devoted himself? If you say that he offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings in Babylon, had it not been previously ordained, Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest; but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings.22Deut. 12, 13f. What, then, were the acts of lovingkindness to which he devoted himself? He provided for the bride and made her to rejoice, he attended the dead to the grave, he gave alms to the poor, and prayed three times daily, and his prayer was accepted with favour, as it is stated, And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house—now his windows were open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem—and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.23Dan. 6, 11. When24This passage is quoted here to indicate the active steps taken by Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai to preserve Judaism although the Temple was destroyed. Vespasian came to destroy Jerusalem, he proclaimed [to its inhabitants], ‘Fools, why do you seek to destroy this city and burn the Temple? What do I demand of you? Merely that you deliver to me one bow or one arrow25A token of submission. and then I will depart from you’. They answered him, ‘As we went forth against your two predecessors26The allusion is uncertain. The version given here differs in many respects from other passages in Rabbinic literature relating to Vespasian; cf. Giṭ. 56b (Sonc. ed., p. 258). [S. Zeitlin, Megillat Taanit, p. 104, writes: “The two former generals were undoubtedly Florus and Cestius”, whose armies were defeated in 66 C.E., but the generals were not killed by the Jews.] and slew them, so we will go out against you and slay you’. When Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai heard this, he sent for the men of Jerusalem and said to them, ‘My sons, why would you destroy this city and burn the Temple? What does he demand of you? Merely one bow or one arrow, and then he will depart from you’. They answered him, ‘As we went forth against his two predecessors and slew them, so we will go out against him and slay him’. Now Vespasian had some men of his resident [within and] close to the walls of Jerusalem, and whatever they heard they wrote upon an arrow which they shot beyond the wall. [In this manner] they reported that Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai was among Caesar’s friends. So Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai appealed to the men of Jerusalem. After he had pleaded with them for several days27lit. ‘one day and two and three days’. and they would not agree with him, he sent for his disciples, R. Eliezer and R. Joshua, and said to them, ‘My sons, arise and carry me forth from here. Make a coffin for me and I will lie in it’. [They did so, and] R. Eliezer took hold of it at the head and R. Joshua at the foot, and they carried him until sunset when they arrived at the gates of Jerusalem. The gatekeepers asked, ‘What is this?’ They replied, ‘A dead man; do you not know that a corpse may not be kept overnight in Jerusalem?’28Cf. below XXXV, 2, p. 171. They said, ‘If it is a corpse, carry it out’. They carried it out (and bore it until sunset)29The words in brackets are clearly to be deleted. when they arrived before Vespasian, opened the coffin and [Rabban Joḥanan] stood before him. He asked, ‘You are Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai? Ask what I shall give you’. He replied, ‘I ask for nothing but Jabneh whither I may go and teach my disciples, where I can institute prayers,30Or, ‘the house of prayer’. A variant gives the curious reading: ‘the precept of tefillin (phylacteries)’. and observe all the commandments prescribed in the Torah’. He said to him, ‘Go and do all that you wish to perform’. Rabban Joḥanan then said, ‘May I be permitted to say a word to you?’ ‘Speak,’ he said. Rabban Joḥanan then said, ‘You are about to become Emperor’. ‘How do you know this?’ he asked, and Rabban Joḥanan replied, ‘There is a tradition with us that the Temple will not be delivered into the hand of a common soldier but to a king, as it is stated, And He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one’.31Is. 10, 34. Cf. Giḳ., loc. cit., where Lebanon is identified with the Temple and mighty one is applied to a king. [In Jewish War III, viii, 9 Josephus relates that he made the same prediction to Vespasian.] It is related that a few days had not elapsed before there came to him a despatch32Or, ‘two deputies’; so Rashi in Ta‘an. 18b. [This interpretation is accepted by Krauss, Lehnwörter, p. 201.] from his city [Rome], informing him that Caesar had died, and he had been elected Emperor. They brought to him a battering-ram which he directed33Reading wesamah as suggested by GRA. The word in V, wetifa’, is apparently an abbreviation which has so far defied satisfactory explanation. towards the wall of Jerusalem. Then they brought to him logs of cedar which he inserted in the battering-ram and hurled at the wall until he breached it. They then brought to him a pig’s head which he inserted in the battering-ram and shot it on to the sacrificial limbs that were upon the altar. At that moment Jerusalem was captured. Rabban Joḥanan was sitting and anxiously waiting for news, as Eli had sat and waited for news, as it is stated, Lo, Eli sat upon his seat by the wayside, watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God.341 Sam. 4, 13. As soon as Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai heard that Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple in flames, he rent his clothes, his disciples also rent their clothes, and they wept and cried out and lamented. Scripture states,35Some attach the verse which is cited to the preceding paragraph, thus: ‘and lamented saying, Open thy doors’ etc. Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.36Zech, 11, 1. This alludes to the chief priests who were in the Temple, took their keys in their hands and hurled them upwards, exclaiming before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Lord of the universe! here are Thy keys which Thou didst entrust to us, seeing that we have not been faithful treasurers to discharge the duties imposed by the King, and we are no longer worthy to eat from the King’s table’. The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the twelve tribes also wept and cried out and lamented, saying, Wail, O cypress-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the glorious ones are spoiled; [wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down].37ibid. 2. Wail, O cypress-tree, for the cedar is fallen refers to the Temple; because the glorious ones are spoiled refers to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the twelve tribes; wail, O ye oaks of Bashan refers to Moses, Aaron and Miriam; for the strong forest is come down refers to the Holy of Holies. Hark! the wailing of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled38ibid. 3. refers to David and his son Solomon. Hark! the roaring of young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are spoiled refers to Elijah and Elisha.

33. 4.6

    In three things did the Holy One, blessed be He, make human beings to differ one from the other: in voice, in temperament39lit. ‘pleasantness’. and in features.40In the parallel passage in Sanh. 38a (Sonc. ed., p. 240) the text reads: ‘in voice, in appearance, and in mind’. Why in voice? The Holy One, blessed be He, made the voices of men different one from the other; for had He not done so, immorality would have increased in the world, since as soon as a man left his home another might enter and ravish his wife in his own house. Therefore did the Holy One, blessed be He, make men differ from each other in voice, one man’s voice being different from his fellow’s. Why in temperament? The Holy One, blessed be He, made the temperament of men different one from the other; because had He not done so men would be jealous of each other. Therefore did the Holy One, blessed be He, make mankind differ from one another in temperament, one man’s temperament being different from his fellow’s. Why in appearance? The Holy One, blessed be He, made the features of human beings different one from another; because had He not done so, the daughters of Israel would not recognize their husbands nor the husbands their wives. Therefore did the Holy One, blessed be He, make them different in facial features.

34. 5.1

    ANTIGONOS OF SOCHO RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM SIMON THE JUST. HE USED TO SAY: BE NOT [20b] LIKE SERVANTS WHO SERVE THE MASTER FOR THE SAKE OF RECEIVING A REWARD,1Or, ‘gratuity’; so Maimonides ad loc. BUT BE LIKE SERVANTS WHO SERVE THE MASTER WITHOUT THE EXPECTATION OF RECEIVING A REWARD; AND LET THE FEAR OF HEAVEN BE UPON YOU, in order that your reward may be double in the world to come.2The last clause, ‘in order … to come’, is not found in the statement of Antigonos as reported in Aboth 1:3 (Sonc. ed., p. 3), and apparently did not form part of the original teaching. It actually contradicts the doctrine of disinterested service. Moreover, if these words formed part of the teaching, there would be no foundation for the arguments of the disciples stated in the following paragraph.

35. 5.2

    Antigonos of Socho had two disciples3Zadok and Boethus mentioned below. who repeated this doctrine to their disciples and their disciples to their disciples. They rose up and examined the matter, saying, ‘Why did our predecessors say this? Is it right for a labourer to toil all day and not receive his reward in the evening? Had our predecessors known that there was another world and that there would be the resurrection of the dead they surely would not have taught thus!’ So they arose and turned away from the Torah. Two sects sprang from them: the Sadducees and the Boeth-usians,4For the historical origin and doctrines of these two sects, cf. J.E. under their respective headings. [On this passage, cf. Finkelstein, The Pharisees, p. 80 and p. 663, n. 20.] the Sadducees named after Zadok and the Boethusians after Boethus. All their lives they used vessels of silver and gold, but not5GRA omits ‘not’; the text is uncertain. For a recent interpretation of this passage, cf. Finkelstein, Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. LVII, pp. 35-37. because they were arrogant in mind. The Sadducees said that it was a tradition of the Pharisees to subject themselves to austerity in this world,6[Cf. Josephus, Antiquities XVIII, i, 3, ‘The Pharisees live simply, and despise delicacies’.] and in the world to come they possess nothing at all.

36. 6.1

    JOSE B. JOEZER SAID: LET YOUR HOUSE BE A MEETING-HOUSE FOR THE WISE. What is meant by this? It teaches that a man’s house should be available to the wise, their disciples, and the disciples of their disciples; in the same manner that a man might say to his fellow, ‘I will wait for you at such and such a place’.1So should your house be the rendezvous of scholars. Another interpretation of LET YOUR HOUSE BE A MEETING-HOUSE FOR THE WISE: this means that when a disciple comes into your presence and says to you, ‘Give me instruction’, if it is within your power to teach him, instruct him, but if not dismiss him at once.2Your house should be a place for instruction and study; if therefore you are not in a position to impart knowledge, do not detain the would-be learner, but let him seek instruction elsewhere. Moreover, let him not sit before you on a couch or on a chair or on a bench, but on the ground; and every word that you utter he should accept with awe and reverence, with fear and dread.

37. 6.2

    AND SIT AMIDST THE DUST OF THEIR FEET. What is meant by this? When a scholar comes to a town, say not, ‘I have no need of him’; but go to him, and sit not before him on a couch or on a chair or on a bench, but sit before him on the ground; and every word that he utters accept with awe and reverence, with fear and dread, in the same manner that our forefathers received the Torah at Mount Sinai with awe and reverence, with fear and dread. Another interpretation of AND SIT AMIDST THE DUST OF THEIR FEET—as did R. Eliezer; AND DRINK IN THEIR WORDS WITH THIRST—as did R. ‘Aḳiba. What was the beginning of R. ‘Aḳiba? It was said of him that at the age of forty he had learnt nothing at all. On one occasion, as he was standing by the mouth of a well, he enquired, ‘Who carved out this stone?’ They answered, ‘The water which constantly falls on it, day in and day out’. They continued, ‘ ‘Aḳiba, have you not read the verse, The waters wear the stones?’3Job 14, 19. Forthwith R. ‘Aḳiba applied to himself the following a fortiori argument: If the soft [water] can wear away the hard [stone], how much more can the words of the Torah, which are hard like iron, carve a way into my heart which is of flesh and blood! Immediately he turned to the study of the Torah. Both he and his son went and sat down before the school-teacher and said to him, ‘Master, teach us the Torah’. R. ‘Aḳiba took hold of the tablet by one end and his son by the other end, and on it the teacher wrote ’alef beth4The first and second letters of the Hebrew alphabet. which he learnt, ’alef taw5The first and last letters of the alphabet. which he learnt, and then the Book of Leviticus which he also learnt.6All the verbs used here are in the singular, obviously referring to ‘Aḳiba; but no further information is given of the son. So he continued to study until he had learnt the whole Torah. He then went and sat before R. Eliezer and R. Joshua and said to them, ‘My masters, initiate me into the reasoning of the Mishnah’. As soon as they recited one halakah to him, he went away and sat down alone asking himself, ‘Why is ’alef so written? Why is beth so written? Why is this stated?’ He thereupon returned to his masters and asked them, and held them up with his words. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said, ‘I will illustrate this to you by a parable. To what can this be compared? To a stonemason who was quarrying stones in a mountain. One day he took his pick in his hand, went out and sat on the mountain, and chipped away small stones. When people came and asked him what he was doing, he told them, “I mean to uproot the mountain and cast it into the Jordan”. They said to him, “You cannot possibly uproot the whole mountain”. Nevertheless, he continued chipping away until it became the size of a large boulder. He inserted himself beneath it, unloosed it, uprooted it, and cast it into the Jordan, saying, “Here is not your place but there” ’.7The point of the parable is that by slow degrees, perseverance and skill, one can master even what seems impossible. In this way did R. ‘Aḳiba glean the knowledge of Torah from8lit. ‘did to, act towards’. R. Eliezer and R. Joshua. R. Ṭarfon said to him, ‘ ‘Aḳiba, it is of you that the verse speaks, He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.’9Job 28, 11. The things which were hidden from men R. ‘Aḳiba brought to light. Every day he used to gather a bundle of wood, half of which he sold to provide food for himself, and the other half he used for his personal needs. His neighbours rose up against him and cried, ‘ ‘Aḳiba, you are ruining us with your smoke! Come, sell all [the wood] to us, and with the money you can buy oil, and study by the light of an oil lamp’. But he replied, ‘I derive many uses from [the wood]: first I study by its light, secondly I keep myself warm by it, and thirdly I am able to sleep on it’. In the Hereafter [the example of] R. ‘Aḳiba will condemn all the poor; for when they will be charged, ‘Why did you not study Torah?’ and they plead, ‘Because we were too poor’, it will be retorted, ‘Was not R. ‘Aḳiba very poor and in straitened circumstances?’ And if they plead, ‘Because of our little children’, it will be retorted, ‘Did not R. ‘Aḳiba have many sons and daughters for whom he had to provide as well as his wife Rachel [and yet he studied the Torah]?’10The text of the last sentence is far from clear and the translation follows the reading suggested by GRA; cf. Schechter ad loc. According to Finkelstein, op. cit. p. 188, the original reading is: ‘many sons and daughters who were provided for by his wife Rachel’; i.e. the poor will be able to offer as defence that their wives were not like Rachel, He was forty years old when he started to study Torah and by the end of thirteen years he taught Torah in public. It is said that he did not depart this life before he had enjoyed the luxury of tables of silver and gold, and ascended his bed by golden steps. His wife went out dressed in fine robes11There are many variants of the word in the text and the meaning is dubious. According to Jastrow, the word is ḳarduṭin, ‘a long-sleeved tunic’. [Krauss, Lehnwörter, p. 519, connects it with the Latin scordisci, ‘leather shoes’; or in his Talmudische Archäologie I, p. 182 (soleae) corticeae, ‘shoes with cork soles’.] and wearing a ‘golden city’ tiara.12An ornament of gold shaped like the city of Jerusalem worn by women; cf. Shab. 59a (Sonc. ed., p. 276). When his disciples said to him, ‘Master, you put us to shame by the [lavish] way you treat her’, he replied, ‘Much hardship has she endured with me for the sake of the Torah’.

38. 6.3

    What was the beginning of R. Eliezer b. Hyrḳanos? He was twenty-two years old and had not yet studied Torah. One day he said [to his father], ‘I will go and study Torah under Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai’. His father Hyrḳanos replied, ‘You shall not taste a morsel of food until you shall have ploughed a complete furrow’. He rose early in the morning and ploughed a complete furrow. It is said that that day was the eve of the Sabbath, so that he went and dined at the house of his father-in-law. Another version is that he tasted nothing between six hours before the Sabbath and six hours after the Sabbath. As he was walking on his way he saw a stone which he thought13An unusual word in this context. MS. E. reads herimah (he lifted it up). [to be food]; he took it and put it in his mouth—some say that it was cattle dung. He walked on until he came to an inn where he spent the night. He went and sat before Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai in Jerusalem. Soon an offensive smell came forth from his mouth; whereupon Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai said, ‘Eliezer, my son, have you eaten anything to-day!’ He did not answer. Again the question was put to him and he still remained silent. The innkeeper was sent for and asked, ‘Has Eliezer eaten with you?’ He replied, ‘I thought that perhaps he had eaten at your table, Master’. ‘I, too, thought that perhaps he had eaten at your table,’ said Rabban Joḥanan; ‘between us we might have lost R. Eliezer.’ He then said to Eliezer, ‘Just as an offensive smell came forth from your mouth, so shall there go forth from you a distinguished name in Torah’. When his father Hyrḳanos heard that he was studying Torah under Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai, he declared, ‘I shall go [to Jerusalem] and prohibit my son Eliezer by vow [from deriving any benefit] from my estate’. It was said that on that day Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai was sitting and expounding the Torah in Jerusalem, and all the notables of Israel were sitting before him. On learning that Hyrḳanos had arrived, he posted watchmen and charged them, ‘If Hyrḳanos comes in and wishes to sit down,14Among the scholars in the back rows. do not let him.’15He would then have to move forward to the front rows, thus coming closer to his son and witnessing his distinction. When he came in and wished to sit down, they did not allow him to do so, and he was compelled to move forward16lit. ‘he was leaping and going forward’. until he came to where Ben Ẓiẓith Hakkeseth, Naḳdimon b. Gorion, and Ben Kalba Sabua‘17These three men are named as being extremely wealthy in Giṭ. 56a (Sonc. ed., p. 256). were seated, and he sat down among them trembling. It was said that on that day Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai turned his gaze upon R. Eliezer and bade him commence the discourse. He said, ‘I cannot do so’. The master as well as the disciples urged him, whereupon he began the discourse and expounded matters about which no ear had ever heard [the like]. At every utterance that came from his lips, Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai stood up and kissed him on the head; but R. Eliezer exclaimed, ‘My master, you have taught me the truth’. Before the time of adjournment had arrived, his father Hyrḳanos stood up and said, ‘My masters, I came here for the sole purpose of depriving my son Eliezer by vow of my property, but now [I declare] all my property assigned to my son Eliezer, [21a] and all his brothers stand dispossessed and deprived of everything’. Why was Ẓiẓith Hakkeseth so named? Because he used to recline upon a silver couch at the head of all the notables of Israel.18On the basis of the explanation given here it has been argued that the correct form of the name is Ẓiẓith Hakkesef, i.e. ‘Ẓiẓith of the silver (couch)’. This variant has some MS. authority; cf. Finkelstein, op. cit. p. 135. In the Talmud (Giṭ. loc. cit.) he was so called because his fringes (ẓiẓith) used to trail on cushions (keseth), or his seat (kisse’) was among those of the Roman nobility. It is related concerning the daughter of Naḳdimon b. Gorion that her bed had been arrayed at the cost of twelve thousand golden dinars, and that from one eve of the Sabbath to the next a Tyrian golden dinar was spent by her on sweetmeats. She was then a childless widow awaiting the decision of her brother-in-law.19In accordance with the law of Deut. 25, 5ff. Why was Naḳdimon b. Gorion so named? Because the sun had again broken through for his sake.20Naḳdimon is connected with the root naḳad ‘to pierce, break through’, hence ‘to shine’ (of the sun). Once21Cf. Ta‘an. 19b, 20a (Sonc. ed., pp. 97f). when all Israel had come up to Jerusalem for the festival, there was no water for them to drink. Naḳdimon went to a certain nobleman and said to him, ‘Lend me twelve wells of water from now until such and such a day, and if I do not repay you twelve wells of water I will give you twelve talents of silver’. He fixed a time-limit for repayment. When the time came the nobleman sent him [the message], ‘Deliver to me either twelve wells of water or twelve talents of silver’. He replied, ‘There is still time during the day [for repayment]’. The nobleman sneeringly said to him, ‘There has been no rain the whole year, will it rain now?’ The nobleman repaired in a happy mood to the bath-house, while Naḳdimon b. Gorion entered the Temple,22So according to GRA and Ta‘an. loc. cit. V reads: ‘House of Study.’ [Büchler, Studies in Jewish History, pp. 99f. holds that “though many legendary features are interwoven in this story, there is no ground for doubting the actual occurrence related.”] wrapped himself in his cloak and stood up to pray. He said, ‘Lord of the universe! It is revealed and known before Thee that I did not act for my own glory or for the glory of my father’s house, but for Thy glory did I act that the pilgrims should have water to drink’. Immediately the sky became overcast and rain began to fall until the twelve wells were filled to overflowing. He then sent [a message] to that nobleman, ‘Deliver to me the money for the extra water which you have because of me’. He replied, ‘The sun has already set and the rain has fallen in my possession’. Naḳdimon returned to the Temple,22So according to GRA and Ta‘an. loc. cit. V reads: ‘House of Study.’ [Büchler, Studies in Jewish History, pp. 99f. holds that “though many legendary features are interwoven in this story, there is no ground for doubting the actual occurrence related.”] wrapped himself in his cloak and again stood up in prayer, saying, ‘Lord of the universe! Perform for me a miracle now as Thou didst perform before’. Immediately the wind blew, the clouds dispersed, and the sun shone through. When they met the nobleman said, ‘I know that it was only for your sake that the Holy One, blessed be He, disorganized His world’. Why was Kalba Sabua‘ so named? Because whoever entered his house hungry like a dog came out fed to the full.23Kalba means ‘a dog’ and Sabua‘ ‘satiated’. When the Emperor Vespasian came to destroy Jerusalem, the zealots sought to burn all his stores with fire. Kalba Sabua‘ said to them, ‘Why do you destroy this city and seek to burn all [my] stores with fire? Wait until I go in and ascertain what I have in the house’. He went in and found that he had enough to supply food for every citizen in Jerusalem for a period of twenty-two years. He immediately gave orders and the produce was stacked and cleaned, ground and sifted, kneaded and baked into bread, so providing a food-supply for every citizen in Jerusalem for twenty-two years. They, however, paid no heed to him. What did the men of Jerusalem do? They took the loaves of bread,24Reading ha’iggulim for ha’agalim with Jastrow, p. 1066b. cut them through with saws and soiled them with mud. In consequence the men of Jerusalem had to resort to cooking straw and eating it.25Because of the famine that ensued. Every man of Israel who was encamped near the walls of Jerusalem called out, ‘For a reward of five dates I will go down and fetch five heads of the enemy’. One man was given five dates, and he went down and brought back five heads of the men of Vespasian. When Vespasian examined the excrement of the besieged men and saw that it was without a trace of corn, he remarked to his soldiers, ‘If these men who subsist on straw only can slay so many of you, how many more of you would they slay if they were to eat and drink like you!’

39. 7.1

    JOSEPH B. JOḤANAN OF JERUSALEM SAID: LET YOUR HOUSE BE OPENED WIDE, AND LET THE POOR BE MEMBERS OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD; AND TALK NOT MUCH WITH A WOMAN. LET YOUR HOUSE BE OPENED WIDE. What does this mean? It teaches that a man’s house should be opened wide to the south, to the east, to the west and to the north, like Job who made four doors to his house. And why did Job make four doors to his house? So that the poor should not have the trouble of going round the entire house. He who came from the north entered straight ahead, and he who came from the south entered straight ahead, and so on all sides. For this reason Job made four doors to his house. AND LET THE POOR BE MEMBERS OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD. This does not mean literally that they should be members of your household, but that the poor should be able to talk freely about what they ate and drank in your house, just as the poor talked freely about what they had eaten and drunk in Job’s house. When the poor met, one would ask the other, ‘Whence do you come?’ and he would reply, ‘From Job’s house’. Or one would ask the other, ‘Where are you going?’ and he would reply, ‘To Job’s house’. When the great calamity befell him, he addressed the Holy One, blessed be He, saying, ‘Lord of the universe! Did I not feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, as it is stated, If I have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof?1Job 31, 17. And did I not clothe the naked, as it is stated, And warmed with the fleece of my sheep?’2ibid. 20. The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, ‘For all that, Job, you have not attained to one half the standard [of hospitality] displayed by Abraham. You remained in your house waiting for guests to come to you. To him who was accustomed to eat wheaten bread you gave wheaten bread, to him who was accustomed to eat meat you gave meat, and to him who was accustomed to drink wine you gave wine. Abraham, however, did not act so. He went abroad,3lit. ‘in the world’. and when he met wayfarers he brought them to his home. Even to him who was unaccustomed to eat wheaten bread he gave wheaten bread, to him who was unaccustomed to eat meat he gave meat, and to him who was unaccustomed to drink wine he gave wine. Not only that; but he went and built large mansions along the roadways and placed in them a supply of food and drink, so that whoever entered ate and drank and blessed Heaven. Therefore was he granted happiness;4And was blessed with a child in his old age. The Hebrew phrase is frequently used in connection with the Deity and the text could be rendered, ‘Therefore it afforded Him much satisfaction’. and whatever the heart desired5lit. ‘the mouth asked for’. was to be found in Abraham’s home, as it is stated, And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba’.6Gen. 21, 33. The Heb. for tamarisk-tree is ’eshel, which by transposition of letters can produce the verb sha’al, ‘to ask for’. [Cf. Midrash Rabbah to Genesis ad loc., LIV, 6 (Sonc. ed., p. 480): ‘R. Judah said: ’Eshel means an orchard, the word meaning ask for whatever you wish, figs, grapes or pomegranates’.] See also Rashi on Keth. 8b where the word is regarded as made of the initial letters of ’akilah (eating), shethiyah (drinking) and lewiyyah (escorting a guest on his way), descriptive of Abraham’s hospitality.

40. 7.2

    Teach the members of your household humility; for when a man is humble and the members of his household are also humble, if a poor man comes to the door and asks, ‘Is your father at home?’ they will reply, ‘Yes, come in’. Before he even enters the house the table is already laid for him, and when he comes in he eats and drinks and blesses the name of Heaven. On this account that man is granted much happiness.7Or, ‘and it affords Him much satisfaction’. But when a man is not8So GRA. V omits ‘not’. humble and the members of his household are ill-tempered, if a poor man comes to the door and asks, ‘Is your father at home?’ they will reply, ‘No’, rebuke him and drive him away with harsh words. Another interpretation of ‘Teach the members of your household humility’. What does it mean? It teaches that when a man is humble and the members of his household are also humble, if he sets out to a land beyond the sea, he will say [with confidence], ‘I thank Thee, O Lord my God, that my wife is not engaged in strife with her neighbours’. His heart is not anxious, but his mind is at ease until the time of his return. But when a man is not humble and the members of his household are ill-tempered, if he sets out for a distant land, he will say [with apprehension], ‘May it be Thy will, O Lord my God, that my wife be not engaged in strife with her neighbours nor my children in conflict’. His heart is anxious and his mind ill at ease until the time of his return. AND TALK NOT MUCH WITH A WOMAN. This is so even though she be his wife, and needless to say if she be his fellow’s wife. For when a man talks much with a woman he brings evil upon himself, neglects the study of the Torah, and in the end will inherit Gehinnom.

41. 7.3

    Another interpretation of AND TALK NOT MUCH WITH A WOMAN. What does it mean? When a man has come into the House of Study and has not there received the respect due to him, or he has had an argument with his fellow, let him not go and report it to his wife, saying, ‘I had an argument with my neighbour; this is what he said to me and this is what I replied’. Thereby he disgraces himself, disgraces his wife and disgraces his neighbour; and his wife who previously held him in esteem [now inwardly] laughs at him. Moreover, when the neighbour hears of it, he exclaims, ‘Alas! words which concerned only me and him he has gone and gossiped to his wife’. The outcome is that this man disgraces himself, his wife and his neighbour.

42. 8.1

    JOSHUA B. PERAḤIAH AND NITTAI THE ARBELITE RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM THE PRECEDING. JOSHUA B. PERAḤIAH SAID: PROVIDE YOURSELF WITH A TEACHER, AND GET YOURSELF A COMPANION, AND JUDGE ALL MEN FAVOURABLY.1lit. ‘in the scale of innocence’. PROVIDE YOURSELF WITH A TEACHER. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should provide himself with a permanent teacher from whom he may learn Scripture, Mishnah, Midrash, halakah and ’aggadoth. Accordingly, points which the teacher omitted to tell him in Scripture he can teach him later in the Mishnah, [what he omitted in the Mishnah he can teach him later in the Midrash,]2So in MS. E., omitted in V. what he omitted in the Midrash he can teach him later in the halakoth, and finally what he omitted in the halakoth he can teach him in the ’aggadoth. Consequently this man remains in his place and is replete with well-being and blessing.

43. 8.2

    R. Meir used to say: He who learns Torah from one teacher, to what can he be compared? To a man who has but one field; he sowed it partly with wheat and partly with barley, in another part he planted olive-trees and in still another fruit-trees. The consequence is that this man is [in one place and is] replete with well-being and blessing. When, however, a man learns from two or three teachers, he may be compared to a person who has many fields; in one he sowed wheat and in another barley, in a third he planted olive-trees and in yet another he planted fruit-trees. The result is that this man is always on the move3lit ‘dispersed’. in the country and has no enjoyment of well-being and blessing.

44. 8.3

    AND GET YOURSELF A COMPANION. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should get a companion for himself one who will eat with him, drink with him, read the Scriptures with him, study Mishnah with him, lodge with him, and reveal to him all secret lore, the mysteries of the Torah and the problems of everyday life. When they sit together engaged in the study of the Torah, if one of them errs in a halakah or in the opening passage of a chapter, or he pronounces what is unclean to be clean or what is clean to be unclean, or he declares what is forbidden to be permitted or what is permitted to be forbidden, his companion can correct him. [21b] Whence do we know that when his companion corrects him and continues to read with him they both receive a good reward for their labour? Because it is stated, Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.4Eccl. 4, 9.

45. 8.4

    If three sit together and are engaged in the study of the Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, accounts it to them as though they had formed a conclave5The Heb. ’aguddah, translated ‘conclave’, is frequently applied in other contexts to a collection consisting of three units, e.g. the lulab which is a combination of three plants: the palm, the myrtle and the willow. before Him, as it is stated, It is He that buildeth His upper chambers in the heaven, and hath founded His vault upon the earth; He that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; the Lord is His name.6Amos 9, 6. The Heb. for vault is ’aguddah, homiletically understood as ‘conclave’. Hence you learn that if three sit together and are engaged in the study of the Torah, it is accounted to them as though they formed a conclave before the Holy One, blessed be He.

46. 8.5

    If two sit together and are engaged in the study of the Torah, their reward is set aside for them on high, as it is stated, Then they that feared the Lord spoke one with another, and the Lord hearkened … [and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name].7Mal. 3, 16. The expression one with another suggests a group of two. Who are they that feared the Lord? Those who decide upon a course, [and declare their intention,] saying, ‘We will go to free the bound and redeem the captive’. The Holy One, blessed be He, provides them with the opportunity, and they proceed to do it forthwith.8This is in accordance with the verse, Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee (Job 22, 28); for God abets the good intentions of the righteous. And who are they that thought upon His name? Those who merely think in their hearts [without declaring an intention], ‘We will go to free the bound and redeem the captive’. These the Holy One, blessed be He, affords no opportunity,9Since they did not expressly declare their course, it would seem that their original intention was not meant to be translated into action, but was to remain with them as a pious wish. and an angel comes and strikes them to the ground.10‘Them’ in all probability refers to the captives who come to grief before their would-be deliverers decide to act.

47. 8.6

    If one man sits and occupies himself in the Torah, his reward is set aside for him on high, as it is stated, Though he sit alone and meditate in stillness, yet he hath taken [his reward] unto himself.11Lam. 3, 28. E.V., Let him sit alone and keep silence, because He hath laid it upon him. This may be illustrated by a parable.12What follows is hardly a parable, but merely an example of an individual, in this case a small child, studying alone and being praised for his act. To what can the matter be likened? To a man who had a young son. When the father went to market leaving his son on his own, the child arose, took a scroll, placed it on his lap, and began to study it. When the father returned from market he exclaimed, ‘See what my young son has done! When I left him and set out to market he, of his own accord, took a scroll, placed it on his lap, and began to study it!’ Hence you learn that, even if one man sits alone and occupies himself in the Torah, his reward is set aside for him on high.

48. 8.7

    AND JUDGE ALL MEN FAVOURABLY. It once happened that a young girl was taken captive and two pious men set out after her to ransom her. One of them entered a house of ill-fame.13Where the girl had been taken. When he came out he said to his companion, ‘Of what did you suspect me?’ The other replied, ‘I thought that perhaps [you went there] to find out at what price she was held for ransom’. He said, ‘By the Temple Service! So it was; and as you judged me favourably, so may the Holy One, blessed be He, judge you favourably.’

49. 8.8

    Again it happened that a young girl was taken captive and two pious men set out after her to ransom her. One of them, however, was arrested on a [false] charge of robbery and was detained in prison, where his wife daily brought him bread and water. One day he said to her, ‘Go to my colleague and tell him that I am detained in prison [because of my efforts to save the girl] from harlotry,14The phrase is strange in its present context and is deleted by GRA. while he stays at home, making merry, with no concern about the girl’. She replied, ‘Is it not enough for you that you are detained in prison that you must occupy yourself with futile matters?’ She did not go, but occupied herself with matters of no moment. He then said to her, ‘I beg of you, go and inform him’. She went and informed his colleague. Now what did that man do? He went and took with him much silver and gold as well as several men, and released the two of them. On his release he said to his companions, ‘Permit this young girl to sleep with me in bed with her clothes on’.15His intention was to protect her from those who might take advantage of her plight. [They did so.] The following morning he said to them, ‘Prepare a ritual bath for me and also for her’. They did so. He then said to those who had prepared the baths, ‘When I asked for a ritual bath for myself, of what did you suspect me?’ They replied, ‘We thought that during all the days that you were confined in prison you must have suffered hunger and thirst, and that now that you have come out into the free world your emotions were stirred and you probably suffered a pollution’. He further said to them, ‘And when I asked for a ritual bath for the young girl, of what did you suspect her?’ They replied, ‘Seeing that all those days that she had been living among heathens she was obliged to eat of their food and drink with them, now [that she is free] you asked that a ritual bath be prepared for her in order that she may become clean’. He said to them, ‘By the Temple Service! So it was; and as you judged me favourably, so may the Holy One, blessed be He, judge you favourably’. Just as the righteous men of old were pious, so also were their beasts. It was said that the camels of our father Abraham would not enter a house in which there was an idol, as it is stated, For I have cleared the house, and made room for the camels.16Gen. 24, 31. I have cleared the house of the terafim; why, then, does the verse add and made room for the camels? It teaches that they would not enter the house of Laban the Aramean until all the idols had been cleared out before them. Once the ass of R. Ḥanina b. Dosa was stolen by bandits. They locked it up in a courtyard and placed before it hay, barley and water, but it would neither eat nor drink. They said, ‘Why should we let it die here and befoul the courtyard with its stench?’ So they proceeded to open the gate for it and let it go free. It dragged itself17Because it was enfeebled by hunger and thirst. For the verb מושכת there is a variant משחקת, ‘being merry’, but it does not make sense here. Schechter reads מנהקת, ‘braying’. all the way until it reached the house of R. Ḥanina b. Dosa. When it arrived, R. Ḥanina’s son heard its cry and said to his father, ‘Father, the sound is very similar to that of our beast.’ The father said to him, ‘My son, open the door for it, since it is almost dead from hunger’. He at once opened the door for it, and put before it hay, barley and water which it ate and drank. Because of this incident the Sages declared: Just as the righteous men of old were pious, so too were their beasts.

50. 9.1

    NITTAI1In V. this chapter begins with the name of Joshua b. Peraḥiah followed by that of Nittai the Arbelite. This is an obvious error since the former’s aphorism was the theme of the preceding chapter. THE ARBELITE SAID: KEEP FAR FROM A BAD NEIGHBOUR, ASSOCIATE NOT WITH THE WICKED, AND ABANDON NOT BELIEF IN RETRIBUTION. KEEP FAR FROM A BAD NEIGHBOUR. It is all one whether the neighbour is within or without your house or in a [nearby] field; for leprosy affects only the house of the wicked, as it is stated, His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked.2Prov. 5, 22. It teaches that leprosy is caused only through the iniquity of the wicked. Indeed, the sins of the wicked cause the righteous man’s wall to be pulled down. For instance, where there is a party-wall between the house of the wicked and the righteous, and a plague-spot appears in the party-wall on the side of the wicked man’s house [so that the wall must be demolished], the result is that the righteous man’s wall is pulled down through the iniquity of the wicked. R. Ishmael, the son of R. Joḥanan b. Beroḳah, said: Woe to the wicked and woe to his neighbour, since the sins of the wicked cause the righteous man’s wall to be pulled down.

51. 9.2

    With ten trials did our fathers try the Holy One, blessed be He, yet they were only punished because of their evil tongue,3The reference is to the evil report spread by the spies; cf. Num. 13, 32. which was but one of them. They are as follows:4Cf. the variant list in ‘Arak. 15a (Sonc. ed., pp. 85f) and below XXXIV, 1, p. 162. once at the Red Sea,5Cf. Ps. 106, 7, But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea. once when the manna first fell6The Israelites were commanded not to leave of the manna until the morning but some disobeyed (Ex. 16, 19f). and again later on,7When they were charged not to go out and gather it on the Sabbath (ibid. 26f.). once at the [first] appearance of the quails8ibid. 12f. and again later on,9Cf. Num. 11, 31-33. once at Marah,10Cf. Ex. 15, 23. once at Rephidim,11ibid. XVII, 1ff. once at Horeb,12Another name for Sinai. The temptation at Horeb is usually taken to refer to the making of the golden calf, but as this incident follows immediately in the list, the inclusion of Horeb is redundant. GRA and other commentators substitute ‘Taberah’ (cf. Num. 11, 1-3). once at the episode of the golden calf,13Cf. Ex. 32, 1ff., and once in connection with the spies.14Num. 13, 1ff. The incident of the spies was the gravest of them all, as it is stated, Ye have put Me to proof these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice.15ibid. XIV, 22. And it is similarly [stated], Even those men that did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before the Lord.16ibid. 37. Now is there not an inference from the less to the greater? If [for making disparaging remarks about] the Land, which can neither speak, nor blush, nor feel shame, the Holy One, blessed be He, exacted punishment from the spies for its humiliation, how much more will He exact punishment for a man’s humiliation from his fellow who speaks [evil] words against him and puts him to shame! R. Simeon said: Upon those who utter slander does the plague of leprosy fall. We find it so with Aaron and Miriam who slandered Moses and were visited with punishment, as it is stated, And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.17ibid. XII, 1. Why does Scripture mention Miriam’s name first before Aaron’s? It teaches that Zipporah18The wife of Moses. went and spoke of it to Miriam; Miriam went and spoke of it to Aaron, and both of them arose and spoke ill of that righteous man [Moses]. Because the two of them stood speaking ill of that righteous man, Divine punishment came upon them, as it is stated, And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and departed.19ibid. 9, E.V., and He departed. What is the significance of the expression and departed? It suggests that [the leprosy] departed from Aaron20Cf. Shab. 97a (Sonc. ed., p. 464). and attached itself to Miriam, because Aaron did not enter into the details of the matter whereas Miriam did; therefore she was immediately punished with greater severity. Miriam said, ‘To me came the Word yet I did not separate myself from my husband’. Aaron said, ‘To me came the Word yet I did not separate myself from my wife. The Word also came to our fathers of old and they did not separate themselves from their wives. But [Moses], in his arrogance, has separated from his wife!’ They did not criticize him to his face21To avoid shaming him to his face. but only behind his back, and their criticism was not stated as a fact but only as a surmise; since it was a matter of doubt whether he had acted so from arrogance or not. Now is there not here an inference from the less to the greater? If Miriam, who spoke only against her brother, spoke only in [22a] secret22The words ‘and spoke only in secret’ are not found in many texts and appear to be redundant. The clause is apparently a doublet of the preceding one. and spoke only behind Moses’ back, was punished, how much greater will be the punishment of an ordinary man who speaks ill to the face of his fellow and puts him to shame! At that time Aaron said to Moses, ‘Moses, my brother, do you think that this leprosy affects only Miriam? It touches also the person of our father Amram. Let me illustrate this to you. To what can the matter be compared? To a man who had taken a glowing coal in his hand; no matter how much he shifts it about from place to place his flesh is still scorched. For so it is stated, Let her not, I pray, be as one dead’.23Num. 12, 12. Thereupon Aaron began to conciliate Moses, saying, ‘ Moses, my brother, have we ever done evil to any person in the world?’ He answered, ‘You have not’. ‘Well then,’ he said, ‘if we have never hurt anyone in the world, how could we hurt you, our brother? What can I do now? It was a misunderstanding between us; we have broken24Adopting the variant as given in the margin of V. the covenant between us and you, as it is stated, And remembered not the brotherly covenant.25Amos 1, 9. Are we to lose our sister because the covenant which was made between us is broken?’ Immediately Moses drew a small circle, stood within it and prayed for mercy on her behalf, saying, ‘I shall not stir from here until my sister Miriam is healed’, as it is stated, Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee.26Num. 12, 13. Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, ‘If a king had rebuked her, or if her father had rebuked her, would it not be proper that she hide in shame for seven days? Surely, if I, the King of kings, rebuke her, how much more should she hide in shame for fourteen days [at the least]! Yet for your sake I pardon her’. As it is stated, And the Lord said unto Moses: If her father had but spit in her face,27ibid. 14. etc. Now the man Moses was very meek.28ibid. 3. It is possible [to think] he was meek but not handsome and imposing;29lit. ‘worthy of praise’. therefore Scripture states, And he spread the tent over the tabernacle:30Ex. 40, 19. as the tabernacle was ten cubits in height, so Moses must have been ten cubits tall. It is possible [to think] that he was as meek as the ministering angels; therefore Scripture continues, [Moses was very meek] above all the men: above all men, it is said, but not above the ministering angels. It is possible [to think] that he was as meek as those of the former generations;31i.e. the patriarchs. therefore Scripture continues, Upon the face of the earth, implying above those of his own generation, but not above those of the former generations. Three types of leprous condition were created in the world: the moist, the dry and the polypus;32Here a type of skin disease; strictly a morbid growth in the nose. Persons so afflicted must feel very lowly. but the soul of Moses was lowlier than them all.

52. 9.3

    R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: Also upon those who utter calumny33GRA reads ‘who utter lies’. does the plague [of leprosy] fall. We find it so in the case of Gehazi; because he uttered calumny against his master leprosy clung to him until his dying day, as it is stated, The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave unto thee…. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.342 Kings 5, 27. He further said: Also upon those who are arrogant does the plague [of leprosy] fall. We find it so in the case of Uzziah, as it is stated, But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against the Lord his God; for he went unto the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men; and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him: It pertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron that are consecrated it pertaineth to burn incense; go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thy honour from the Lord God. Then Uzziah was wrath, and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy broke forth in his forehead.352 Chron. 26, 16-19. At that moment the sanctuary was split from end to end,36By a violent earthquake, alluded to in Zech. 14, 5. and [the chasm covered an area of] twelve square miles. The priests fled in alarm. The king also made haste to go out because the Lord had smitten him. And he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a house set apart, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord; and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.372 Chron. 26, 20f.

53. 9.4

    ASSOCIATE NOT WITH THE WICKED. This teaches that a man should not associate himself either with an evil man or a wicked man. We find it so in the case of Jehoshaphat; because he associated with Ahab and went up with him to Ramoth Gilead, the wrath of the Lord came upon him, as it is stated, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate the Lord? For this thing wrath is upon thee from the Lord.38ibid. XIX, 2. The Biblical text is omitted in V but is found in MS. E. and inserted by GRA. And also later when he associated with Ahaziah, and they made themselves ships in Ezion Geber, the Lord wrecked his enterprise, as it is stated, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath made a breach in thy works. And the ships were broken.39ibid. XX, 37. So, too, we find with Amnon who associated with Jonadab and received from him bad advice, as it is stated, But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very subtle man;402 Sam. 13, 3. he was subtle to do evil.41This unusual connotation of ḥakam, translated subtle, is quoted from Sanh. 21a (Sonc. ed., p. 114). Another interpretation of ASSOCIATE NOT WITH THE WICKED: even to [bring him near to] the Torah.42Although the purpose is laudable, there is always the danger of oneself becoming corrupt by the association. Cf., however, Finkelstein, op. cit., pp. 19-22.

54. 9.5

    AND ABANDON NOT BELIEF IN RETRIBUTION. What does this mean? It teaches that a man’s heart should be daily in fear of retribution43The text therefore means: Do not consider yourself exempt from chastisement under the illusion of self-righteousness. and he should say, ‘Woe is me, perhaps reckoning will overtake me to-day or to-morrow’. As a consequence he is fearful every day, as it is stated of Job, For I feared a fear.44Job 3, 25. So ilt., E.V., For the thing which I did fear.

55. 9.6

    Another interpretation of AND ABANDON NOT BELIEF IN RETRIBUTION. What does this mean? When a man sees that he is successful in whatever he undertakes, let him not say, ‘Because I am meritorious the All-present has provided me with food and drink in this world, while the capital [of my reward] is laid up for me in the world to come’. Rather should he say, ‘Woe is me, perhaps I have only one meritorious deed to my credit before Him, and as a reward for that He has granted me food and drink in this world, so as to cut me off utterly in the world to come’.

56. 10.1

    JUDAH B. ṬABBAI AND SIMEON B. SHEṬAḤ RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM THE PRECEDING. JUDAH B. ṬABBAI SAID: ACT NOT AS THOSE THAT WOULD INFLUENCE THE JUDGES; AND WHEN THE SUITORS STAND BEFORE YOU LET THEM BE AS WRONGDOERS IN YOUR SIGHT, AND WHEN THEY HAVE DEPARTED LET THEM BE AS INNOCENT IN YOUR SIGHT, ONCE THEY HAVE ACCEPTED THE JUDGMENT.

57. 10.2

    ACT NOT AS THOSE THAT WOULD INFLUENCE THE JUDGES. What does this mean? It teaches that if you come to the House of Study and hear a ruling or a decision, be not hasty to dispute it, but sit and ask yourself, ‘Why did they say it? On what grounds did they arrive at their decision?’ Or if they stated a law, ask them first of all the fundamental principle of the law about which they were consulted.1The text is in disorder although the meaning is clear. A warning is issued against a scholar’s hasty criticism of a judge’s decision, and unwarranted interference with a sentence of the Court. When two suitors come before you to law, one poor and the other rich, do not say, ‘How can I declare the poor man innocent and the rich man guilty?’ or ‘How can I declare the rich man innocent and the poor man guilty?’ or ‘If I find against the poor man, he will become my enemy; and if I find in favour of the poor man, the rich man will become my enemy.’ Furthermore, do not say, ‘How dare I take the money from one and give it to the other?’ For the Torah declares, Ye shall not respect persons in judgment.2Deut. 1, 17. R. Meir used to say: What does Scripture intend by the words, Ye shall hear the small and the great alike?3ibid. It means that one suitor should not sit and the other stand; one should not speak all that he wishes and the other be told to be brief. R. Judah said: I have heard that if [the judges] desire both suitors to sit they may do so, and there is no objection to it. What is prohibited is for one to sit and the other to stand.4Cf. Shebu. 30a (Sonc. ed., p. 167). [Another interpretation:] What is meant by the small and the great alike? A minor law-suit should be as important to you as a major law-suit, a law-suit involving a peruṭah should be as important to you as one involving one hundred mina.5Cf. Sanh. 8a (Sonc. ed., p. 32).

58. 10.3

    He6In the parallel passage, Men. 109b (Sonc. ed., p. 678), the author of this statement is R. Joshua b. Peraḥiah. Here it might be attributed to Judah b. Ṭabbai, the author of the aphorism at the beginning of the chapter. used to say: If anyone had said to me before I occupied high office, ‘Assume that office’, I would go so far as to deprive him of his livelihood.7In Men. the reading is: ‘I would bind him and put him in front of a lion’. In both versions the threat is, of course, not meant to be taken seriously. But once I had assumed office, if anyone were to say to me, ‘Give it up’, I would pour a pot of boiling water on his head. For it is a hard thing to assume power, and hard as it is to assume power, it is harder to give it up. We find it so in the case of Saul; when he was asked to assume the regal dignity he hid himself, as it is stated, And the Lord answered: Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.81 Sam. 10, 22. But when he was told to surrender the crown, he pursued David to kill him.

59. 10.4

    SIMEON B. SHEṬAḤ SAID: EXAMINE THE WITNESSES THOROUGHLY; and when examining them BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS, lest through your words those who are listening may add falsehood to them: [a necessary precaution] on account of dishonest persons.

60. 11.1

    SHEMAIAH AND ABṬALYON RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM THE PRECEDING. SHEMAIAH SAID: LOVE WORK AND HATE PUBLIC OFFICE, AND BECOME NOT KNOWN TO THE RULING POWER. LOVE WORK. What does this mean? It teaches [22b] that a man should love work and not hate it; for just as the Torah was given [to man] by a covenant, so work too was given by a covenant, as it is stated, Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God.1Ex. 20, 9f. This verse, however, does not contain the word ‘covenant’ required for the purpose of the analogy, and the commentators substitute Ex. 20XI, 15, Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, etc., concluding with a perpetual covenant (ibid. 16). R. ‘Aḳiba said: There are times when a man does work [on the Sabbath] and escapes the penalty of death, and there are times when a man does no work [on the Sabbath] and incurs death by Heaven. How can this be? If a man sat the whole week doing no work and on the eve of the Sabbath, having nothing to eat, took of the sacred money which is in his possession and used it for his needs, he thereby incurred the penalty of death by Heaven.2For misappropriating Temple funds. On the other hand, if he is at work on the Temple building, although he receives sacred money in payment which he uses for his needs, he escapes the penalty of death. R. Dosethai said: When do we find that if a man does no work all the six days he will eventually have to work all the seven days? If he is idle all the days of the week doing no work, when the Sabbath eve arrives he will have nothing to eat. He then goes forth and joins a band of robbers; he is caught and put in chains, and is now compelled to work [also] on the Sabbath. All this is the sequel of his not working during the six days of the week. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: Even Adam, the first man, did not taste a morsel until he had done some work, as it is stated, And He put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it,3Gen. 2, 15. and only then [is it recorded], Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.4ibid. 16. R. Ṭarfon said: Even the Holy One, blessed be He, did not cause His Presence to dwell in Israel until they had performed some work, as it is stated, And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.5Ex. 25, 8. R. Judah b. Bathyra said: What should a man do when he has no work to undertake? If he has a dilapidated courtyard or a waste field let him go and attend to it;6Rather than be idle. for it is stated, Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work.7ibid. XX, 9. Why does the verse add the words and do all thy work? To include the case of a man who has dilapidated courtyards or waste fields, that he should go and occupy himself with them. R. Jose8So in all MSS.; V reads: R. Ṭarfon. said: No man dies except in idleness, as it is stated, And he expired, and was gathered unto his people.9Gen. 49, 33. The term he expired is interpreted as ‘he ceased to work’, and when idleness set in death follows. Schechter suggests that the proof-text should read, And they shall die without knowledge (Job 36, 12) which follows immediately on If they hearken and work [E.V., serve Him], they shall spend their days in prosperity (ibid. 11). This is Scriptural proof that work leads to prosperity, idleness to death. Hence if a man had a seizure, came under the care of his physician and died, he only died because he was in idleness.10i.e. through inability to work. If a man was standing [idly] on the top of a roof or a castle or a building or by the river’s edge and fell and died, he only died because he was in idleness. We have heard this11The duty to work. in connection with men, but whence in connection with women? As it is stated, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.12Ex. 36, 6. And whence in connection with children? As it is stated, So the people were restrained from bringing.13ibid.; the term people includes the young. R. Nathan said: At the time that Moses was engaged upon the work of the Tabernacle, he declined to consult with the princes of Israel. Consequently they sat in silence, thinking to themselves, ‘The time will soon come when Moses will have need of us’. When they heard the proclamation made in the camp which declared, The stuff they had was sufficient,14ibid. 7. they exclaimed, ‘Alas, we have had no share in the work of the Tabernacle!’ They arose and added a large contribution of their own accord, as it is stated, And the rulers brought the onyx stones.15ibid. XXXV, 27.

61. 11.2

    AND HATE PUBLIC OFFICE. What does this mean? It teaches that no man should himself put a crown on his head, but others should put it on him; as it is stated, Let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.16Prov. 27, 2. R. ‘Aḳiba said: Whoever exalts himself by his knowledge of Torah, to what is he like? To a carcase which lies in the road, anybody passing by puts his hand to his nose and moves far away from it; as it is stated, If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast planned devices, lay thy hand upon thy mouth.17ibid. XXX, 32. Ben ‘Azzai said to him, ‘Interpret the text in this sense: If a man debases himself for the sake of Torah, eats dry dates, wears shabby clothes, and sits and keeps guard at the door of the wise, though every passer-by may think him a fool, in the end you will find that the whole Torah is within him’. R. Jose said: Go down and you will be up,18A fine pithy saying. The more humble a man is, the higher he stands in the estimation of his fellows. go up and you will be down. He who exalts himself by his knowledge of Torah will in the end be brought low; he who humbles himself by his knowledge of Torah will in the end be exalted.

62. 11.3

    AND BECOME NOT KNOWN TO THE RULING POWER. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should not wish to have a reputation [for wealth] with the ruling powers,19The harsh sentiments expressed here refer particularly to the cruel and despotic rule of the Roman local governors in the Herodian era. because if this happens they will eventually have their eyes upon him, put him to death and confiscate all his wealth. [Similarly, a man should not cause a reputation for wealth to be spread abroad about his neighbour among the ruling powers.]20Inserted by GRA. This is the maxim for the illustration that follows. Thus if a man meets his friend in the market and exclaims, ‘May the Holy One, blessed be He, bless that man [still more]! Only to-day there came from his establishment a hundred oxen, a hundred sheep and a hundred goats!’, an inspector may hear it and proceed to inform the governor, who has the man’s house surrounded and confiscates all his wealth. Of such a man Scripture says, He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice … it is counted a curse to him.21ibid. XXVII, 14. E.V., it shall be counted. Another interpretation of AND BECOME NOT KNOWN TO THE RULING POWER. A man’s friend is sitting in the market and the former exclaims, ‘May the Holy One, blessed be He, bestow still more blessings upon him! To-day he brought into his house so many kors of wheat and so many kors of barley!’ Robbers hear of it and come and surround his house, taking away all his wealth, so that in the morning he is left with nothing. Of such a man Scripture says, He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, etc. Another interpretation of AND BECOME NOT KNOWN TO THE RULING POWER. What does it mean? It teaches that a man should not intend [to occupy office] in order to say, ‘I am the city’s governor’, or ‘I am the deputy-governor’, because they rob Israel.22A curious passage and its meaning is obscure. Perhaps the explanation is to be sought in Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 76, §6 (Sonc. ed., p. 706), which tells that the Romans used to offer petty local governorships to wealthy Jews in order to hold them responsible for the collection of the taxes and other impositions. As in many cases the taxes were unjustly levied, they who occupied these offices were assisting in robbing their own brethren.

63. 11.4

    Another interpretation: A man should not have the intention [to occupy] a governmental position, for though in the beginning they show him favour, ultimately they trouble him sorely.23lit. ‘they open to him a door that is pleasant … a door that is harsh’.

64. 11.5

    ABṬALYON SAID: WISE MEN, BE HEEDFUL OF YOUR WORDS, lest men teach doctrines in your name not in accord with the Torah, and YOU THEREBY INCUR THE PENALTY OF EXILE, AND ARE EXILED TO A PLACE OF EVIL WATERS.24i.e. exiled among the nations where pernicious and heretical ideas are current. Moreover, the disciples who come after you may also teach doctrines in your name not in accord with the Torah, and they too incur the penalty of exile and are exiled to a place of evil waters.25V repeats ‘and you thereby incur’, etc. What is to be understood by ‘evil waters’? That which is implied in the verse, But they mingled themselves with the nations, and learned their works.26Ps. 106, 35. ‘Evil waters’ has to be interpreted metaphorically. Others say: The phrase ‘evil waters’ bears its literal significance.27Unhealthy waters, productive of physical ills. Another view is: [The meaning is] lest they be exiled for hard labour.

65. 12.1

    HILLEL AND SHAMMAI RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM THE PRECEDING. HILLEL SAID: BE OF THE DISCIPLES OF AARON, LOVING PEACE AND PURSUING PEACE, promoting peace between man and wife, LOVING MANKIND AND BRINGING THEM NEAR TO THE TORAH. HE USED TO SAY: WHOEVER MAKES HIS NAME GREAT LOSES HIS NAME; WHOSOEVER INCREASES NOT HIS KNOWLEDGE DECREASES IT; HE WHO DOES NOT STUDY DESERVES DEATH; AND HE WHO MAKES USE OF THE CROWN1Usually explained: he who makes worldly use of the crown of the Torah; but cf. the end of this chapter. WILL PASS AWAY.

66. 12.2

    HE FURTHER USED TO SAY: IF I AM NOT FOR MYSELF WHO IS FOR ME? AND IF I AM ONLY FOR MYSELF, WHAT AM I? AND IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

67. 12.3

    LOVING PEACE. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should love [to foster] peace in Israel between man and man, just as Aaron loved [to foster] peace in Israel between man and man, as it is stated, The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and did turn many away from iniquity.2Mal. 2, 6. R. Meir said: What is meant by and did turn many away from iniquity? Whenever Aaron walked along the road and met a wicked man, he would offer him greetings. On the following day when that man was about to commit a transgression, he would say, ‘Woe is me! How can I raise my eyes after doing that and look Aaron in the face? I should be ashamed before him, since he greeted me’. Consequently that man withholds himself from transgression. Similarly, when two men had quarrelled one with the other, Aaron would go and sit with one of them and say, ‘My son, see what your companion is doing!3So according to GRA; V reads ‘saying’. He beats his breast and tears his clothes, exclaiming, “Woe is me! how can I raise my eyes and look my companion in the face? I am ashamed before him since it is I who offended him” ’. Aaron would sit with him until he had removed all enmity from his heart. Then Aaron would go and sit with the other and say likewise, ‘My son, see what your companion is doing! He beats his breast and tears his clothes, exclaiming, “Woe is me! how can I raise my eyes and look my companion in the face? I am ashamed before him since it was I who offended him” ’. Aaron would sit with him until he had removed all enmity from his heart. Later when the two met, they embraced and kissed each other. Therefore it is stated, They wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.4Num. 20, 29.

68. 12.4

    Another interpretation—why was it that for Aaron all the house of Israel wept thirty days, i.e. the men as well as the women? Because Aaron judged everyone favourably,5The usual and literal connotation of the phrase is: ‘he judged a judgment of truth according to its truth’, i.e. he dealt out justice strictly and in all its severity. This quality, however, is inapplicable to Aaron in this context where he is described as overlooking faults. In the parallel passage in the Yalḳuṭ on the verse in Num. ibid., this phrase is descriptive of Moses and not of Aaron; consequently the commentators have resorted to emendation here in order to make the passages correspond (cf. GRA and the Glosses of J. Bachrach). The translation given in the text retains the original reading and is to be interpreted: he regarded every matter in the light of truth, i.e. he considered every person’s action as right (he ‘gave him right’), or at least endeavoured to see justification in every person’s action, taking a favourable view of it. Cf. the expression in Aboth 1:6, ‘Judge all men in the scale of merit’. for he never said to any man or any woman, ‘You have done wrong’. Therefore it is written of him that all the house of Israel wept for him. Of Moses, on the other hand, who rebuked the people with harsh words, it is stated, And all the children of Israel wept for Moses.6Deut. 34, 8. Moreover, many thousands in Israel were given the name Aaron, since but for him they would not have come into the world, because he was the peacemaker between husband and wife. When [after being reconciled] they were united, they would name the child who was born after him. [23a] Others say that for this reason it is stated, And they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel—because who could look upon Moses our teacher sitting and weeping and himself not weep? Others express it in this way: Who could look upon Eleazar and Phinehas,7The son and grandson of Aaron respectively. the two High Priests, standing and weeping and himself not weep?

69. 12.5

    At that time Moses wished to die in the same manner as Aaron had died; because he saw Aaron’s couch arrayed in great splendour, and hosts of ministering angels lamenting him. Did Moses express this desire in the hearing of another person? No, he only expressed the wish to himself and the Holy One, blessed be He, heard his whisper [and granted his wish,] as it is stated, And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor.8Deut. 32, 50. From this you may infer that Moses wished to die the same death as Aaron. At that hour [when Moses was to die], He said to the angel of death, ‘Go and bring Me the soul of Moses’. The angel of death went and stood before him and said, ‘Moses, deliver your soul to me’. Moses rebuked him saying, ‘In the place where I am seated you have not the right to stand,9For Moses was engaged in the study of the Torah, and the angel of death cannot approach one who is so engaged; cf. Shab. 30b (Sonc. ed., p. 134). yet you say to me, “Deliver your soul to me” ’. He rebuked him and drove him away in anger. At length the Holy One, blessed be He, [intervened and] said to Moses, ‘Moses, you have had enough of this world; the world to come awaits you since the six days of creation’, as it is stated, And the Lord said: Behold there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock.10Ex. 33, 21. The Holy One, blessed be He, took the soul of Moses and stored it under the Throne of Glory, as it is stated, The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God.111 Sam. 25, 29. When He took his soul it was with a kiss, as it is stated, By the mouth of the Lord.12Deut. 34, 5. So lit.; E.V., according to the word of the Lord. Not only the soul of Moses is stored under the Throne of Glory but the souls of the righteous are also stored there, as it is stated, The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God. It is possible [to think that] it is the same with the souls of the wicked; therefore Scripture declares, And the souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out as from the hollow of a sling131 Sam. ibid.. To what may this be compared? To a man who took a stone and placed it in a sling; though he hurls it from place to place he knows not where it will come to rest. Similarly, the souls of the wicked are held fast [as in a vice],14lit. ‘muzzled’; cf. Shab. 152b (Sonc. ed., p. 779) and Rashi’s comment ad loc. and driven about aimlessly in the world, knowing not whereon to rest. Again said He to the angel of death, ‘Go and bring Me the soul of Moses’. He went and searched for him in his usual place but could not find him. He went to the Great Sea and asked, ‘Has Moses been here?’ The Sea replied, ‘Since the day Israel passed through me I have not seen him’. He went to the mountains and hills and asked, ‘Has Moses been here?’ They replied, ‘Since the day Israel received the Torah on Mount Sinai we have not seen him’. He then went to Sheol and Abaddon15lit. ‘[place of] Destruction’; used in the Bible as a term for Sheol (Job 26, 6) death (ibid. XXVIII, 22) and the grave (Ps. 88, 12). and asked, ‘Has Moses been here?’ They replied, ‘We have heard his name but have not seen him’. He went to the ministering angels and asked, ‘Has Moses been here?’ They replied, ‘God understandeth his way, and He knoweth his place.16Job 28, 23, E.V., the way thereof … the place thereof. God has hidden him away for life in the world to come, and no creature knows his whereabouts’, as it is stated, But wisdom, where shall it be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The deep saith: It is not in me; and the sea saith: It is not with me.17ibid. 12-14. The passage is related to Moses who possessed the wisdom of the Torah. Destruction and Death say: We have heard a rumour thereof with our ears.18ibid. 22. Joshua also was sitting and grieving over Moses, because he did not know where he was, until the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘Joshua, why do you grieve for Moses? Moses My servant is dead’.19Josh. 1, 2.

70. 12.6

    PURSUING PEACE. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should pursue peace in Israel among all men in the same way that Aaron pursued peace in Israel among all men; as it is stated, Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.20Ps. 34, 15. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: If a man stays at home in quietude, how can he pursue peace in Israel among all men? He should rather leave his home and go about the world so that he can pursue peace in Israel, as it is stated, Seek peace, and pursue it: meaning seek peace in your own place, and pursue it by going elsewhere. Even the Holy One, blessed be He, made peace on high.21Cf. Job 25, 2. What manner of peace did He make on high? By not naming ten [angels] ‘Gabriel’, ten ‘Michael’, ten ‘Uriel’, or ten ‘Raphael’, after the manner of men who name ten [persons] ‘Reuben’, ten ‘Simeon’, ten ‘Levi’, or ten ‘Judah’. Had He done as men do, on summoning one [angel, all bearing that name] would come before Him and they would be envious of one another. He therefore named one [angel] ‘Gabriel’ and one ‘Michael’, so that when He summons an angel [by name] only one appears before Him and is sent wherever He wishes. And whence do we know that [the angels] reverence one another, respect one another, and are more humble than human beings? When they are about to open their mouths to sing hymns, one says to the other, ‘You begin, for you are greater than I’; and the other replies, ‘No, you begin, for you are greater than I’. This is quite unlike the behaviour of human beings, everyone saying to his fellow, ‘I am greater than you’. According to another view [the courteous remarks are made by] groups of angels, one group saying to the other, ‘You begin, for you are greater than we’; as it is stated, And one called unto another, and said.22Is. 6, 3 where the reference is to groups of seraphim.

71. 12.7

    LOVING MANKIND. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should love his fellow-creatures and not hate them; for so we find it among the men of the generation of the Dispersion. Since they loved one another,23This is inferred from the statement that they were of one language and of one speech (Gen. 11, 1). the Holy One, blessed be He, did not wish to destroy them, but dispersed them to the four corners of the earth.24ibid. 8. Because the men of Sodom, on the other hand, hated one another, the Holy One, blessed be He, destroyed them from this world and the world to come; as it is stated, The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.25ibid. XIII, 13. [Wicked signifies that they hated one another;]26Inserted by GRA; it is also found in all the parallel passages. sinners, that they offended against morality; against the Lord, that they profaned the Name; exceedingly, that they sinned with premeditation. Hence you learn that because they hated one another, the Holy One, blessed be He, destroyed them from this world and from the world to come.

72. 12.8

    AND BRINGING THEM NEAR TO THE TORAH. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should prevail upon his fellows and bring them beneath the wings of the Divine Presence, as our father Abraham used to prevail upon men and bring them beneath the wings of the Divine Presence. Not only Abraham did this, but also Sarah, as it is stated, And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had made in Haran.27ibid. XII, 5; so lit.; E.V., had gotten in Haran. [Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, XXXIX, 14 (Sonc. ed., p. 324) explains it of the proselytes made by Abraham and Sarah.] Is it not a fact that all mankind cannot create even a gnat? How, then, can Scripture declare, And the souls that they had made in Haran! It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, accounted it to them as though they had created them. 28This paragraph is clearly out of place here; it is inserted by GRA after the first sentence in the paragraph which follows. Just as a man does not share his fellow’s reward in this world, so a man does not share his fellow’s reward in the world to come; as it is stated, And behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter.29Eccl. 4, 1. Why does the verse repeat they had no comforter? It speaks of those men who in this world eat and drink and are fortunate in their sons and daughters, but in the world to come have nothing30Because they did not live a good life but a life of self-centred pleasure. and are without a comforter. In this world, if a man has been robbed or suffered a bereavement, his sons, brothers and kinsmen come to comfort him. It is possible [to imagine] that it is the same in the world to come; therefore Scripture declares, He hath neither son nor brother.31ibid. 8. Similarly, if a man sins and begets an illegitimate child, they say to him, ‘Fool that you are! You have harmed yourself and also the child’. For that illegitimate son may be desirous of studying Torah together with the scholars who sit and study in Jerusalem. He joins their company until they reach Ashdod; there he halts and cries, ‘Woe is me! Had I not been of illegitimate birth, I should now be studying with those who were hitherto my fellow-students; but being illegitimate I may not sit and study with them because an illegitimate is not allowed to enter Jerusalem; as it is stated, And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.32Zech. 9, 6.

73. 12.9

    HE USED TO SAY: IF I AM NOT FOR MYSELF, WHO IS FOR ME? If I do not win merit for myself in my lifetime, who will do so for me?33According to GRA the preceding paragraph should follow here. AND IF I AM ONLY FOR MYSELF, WHAT AM I? If I have won merit for myself alone, what have I achieved?34V reads ‘If I do not win merit for myself, who will do so for me?’ This cannot be correct because it merely repeats the preceding sentence. The translation in the text is based on a suggestion by Schechter ad loc. AND IF NOT NOW, WHEN? If I do not win merit for myself in my lifetime, who will do so for me after my death? As Scripture declares, For a living dog is better than a dead lion.35Eccl. 9, 4. A living dog is better refers to a wicked man while he exists in this world;36Because as long as he is alive there is hope that he may repent. than a dead lion refers to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who sleep in the dust.37And all their achievements have come to an end. Another interpretation: A living dog is better refers to a wicked man while he exists in this world, because if he repents the Holy One, blessed be He, receives him; whereas a righteous man, once dead, cannot add to his merits.

74. 12.10

    He used to say: If you will come to my house I will go to yours. Wheresoever my heart desires [to go] there my feet lead me.38Quoted as a saying of Hillel in Suk. 53a (Sonc. ed., p. 253). ‘If you will come to my house I will go to yours.’ What does this mean? It refers to the persons who are found in the Synagogues and Houses of Study early in the morning and late at night. The Holy One, blessed be He, will bless them in the world to come, in accordance with what is stated, In every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come unto thee and bless thee.39Ex. 20, 21. ‘Wheresoever my heart desires [to go] there my feet lead me.’ What does this mean? It refers to the persons who leave their silver and gold behind and go up [to Jerusalem] for the Festival to appear before the Divine Presence in the Temple. The Holy One, blessed be He, stands on guard for them in the midst of their homesteads, as it is stated, Neither shall any man covet thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the Lord thy God.40ibid. XXXIV, 24.

75. 12.11

    He used to say: If I am here, all are here; if I am not here, who is here?41A continuation of the passage quoted from Suk. 53a. Turn it42The Torah. and turn it again, for everything [23b] is in it. And with regard to all things [the rule applies]: according to the labour so is the reward.43The last two maxims are quoted from Aboth 5 (end) in the names of Ben Bag Bag and Ben He He respectively, who were reputed to have been Hillel’s disciples. [In Ḳid. 10b (Sonc. ed., p. 40) the full name appears as Joḥanan b. Bag Bag. Some scholars interpret ‘Bag’ as an abbreviation of ‘Ben Ger’ (son of a proselyte) and conjecture that ‘Bag’ and ‘He’ are identical, the numerical value of BG, being five, indicated by the letter he.]

76. 12.12

    The story is told of Hillel the Elder that he was walking along the road when he met some men carrying wheat. He asked them, ‘How much a se’ah?’ They replied, ‘Two dinars’. Later he met other men [carrying wheat] and he asked them, ‘How much a se’ah?’ They replied, ‘Three dinars.’ He said to them, ‘But those who were in front of you only asked two dinars’. They rejoined, ‘You stupid Babylonian, do you not know the rule: according to the labour so is the reward?’44Since the latter had brought the wheat from a longer distance their charge was higher. He said to them, ‘You foolish and empty-headed persons! Because I ask you [a civil question], do you answer me [rudely]?’ Nevertheless Hillel the Elder so affected them that he turned them on to the good path. MOREOVER, HE SAW A SKULL FLOATING ON THE SURFACE OF THE WATER; HE SAID TO IT, ‘BECAUSE YOU DROWNED OTHERS THEY DROWNED YOU, AND THEY THAT DROWNED YOU WILL THEMSELVES BE DROWNED’.45Quoted from a maxim of Hillel in Aboth 2:7 (Sonc. ed., II, 6, p. 16). It is in Aramaic, not Hebrew.

77. 12.13

    He also said the following four [aphorisms] in Aramaic: WHOSOEVER MAKES GREAT HIS NAME LOSES HIS NAME; HE WHO DOES NOT WAIT UPON SCHOLARS DESERVES DEATH; HE WHO DOES NOT INCREASE HIS KNOWLEDGE LOSES WHAT HE HAS; AND HE WHO MAKES USE OF THE CROWN WILL PASS AWAY AND PERISH.46A quotation from Aboth 1:13, with variants, the most important being in the third saying which reads in the Mishnaic version, ‘he who does not study deserves death’. [The version given here, ‘he who does not wait’, etc., occurs in Nazir VII, 1, 56b, where it is attributed to R. ‘Aḳiba.] WHOEVER MAKES GREAT HIS NAME LOSES HIS NAME. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should not spread abroad of himself a reputation [for wealth] in the kingdom, because if he does so, before long the authorities will cast their eyes upon him, kill him, and confiscate his wealth.47Cf. XI, 3, above, p. 68. HE WHO DOES NOT WAIT UPON SCHOLARS DESERVES DEATH. What does it mean? The story is told of a certain man of Beth-Ramah48The modern Beit Rima, about 20 miles north-west of Jerusalem. who used to conduct himself in the strictest piety, that Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai once sent a disciple to him to test him in his conduct.49Since, as stated later, the man was the High Priest, who generally belonged to the Sadducean party, Rabban Joḥanan investigated a report that he followed Pharasaic teaching and practice (cf. Finkelstein, op. cit., pp. 152f). When he arrived, he found that the man took some oil and set it on the oven-range [to be warmed], then he removed it from the range and poured it into a dish of crushed beans. On being asked what he was doing, the man replied, ‘I am a High Priest50Not necessarily the High Priest in office at the time, but who had served at one time in that office and had therefore retained the title. and I always eat terumah in conditions of cleanness’. ‘Is this oven-range clean or unclean?’ [the disciple] asked him, and he answered, ‘Is it ever mentioned in the Torah about an oven-range being unclean? Surely the Torah speaks only of a common oven as being unclean; as it is stated, Whatsoever is in it shall be unclean’.51Lev. 11, 33, where the reference is to an earthen vessel. The other retorted, ‘Just as the Torah speaks of a common oven as being unclean, so it likewise speaks of an oven-range as being unclean; for it is stated, Whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean’.52ibid. 35. He added, ‘If that is what you were accustomed to do, you have never eaten clean terumah in your life’. HE WHO DOES NOT INCREASE HIS KNOWLEDGE LOSES WHAT HE HAS. What does it mean? It teaches that if a man has studied one tractate, or even two or three tractates, and does not add anything thereto, eventually he will forget what he learnt in the beginning. AND HE WHO MAKES USE OF THE CROWN WILL PASS AWAY AND PERISH. What does this mean? It teaches that he who makes use of the Expressed Name53Generally identified with the Tetragrammaton, and synonymous with the ‘Unique Name’. It was commonly held that by pronouncing the Name of God as it is written, one could work miracles, and Hillel’s saying is interpreted as a warning against the practice. has no portion in the world to come.

78. 13.1

    SHAMMAI SAID: MAKE YOUR STUDY OF THE TORAH A FIXED HABIT; SAY LITTLE AND DO MUCH; AND RECEIVE ALL MEN WITH A CHEERFUL COUNTENANCE.

79. 13.2

    MAKE YOUR STUDY OF THE TORAH A FIXED HABIT. What does this mean? It teaches that if a man hears a theme from a Sage in the House of Study, he should not treat it as something casual, but should regard it as a fixed norm. Moreover, what a man learns he should perform and teach to others that they, too, may perform it; as it is stated, That ye may learn them, and observe to do them.1Deut. 5, 1. It similarly states of Ezra, For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it,2Ezra 7, 10. the verse continuing, And to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

80. 13.3

    SAY LITTLE AND DO MUCH. What does this mean? It teaches that the righteous say little and do much, whereas the wicked say much and do not even a little. Whence do we know that the righteous say little and do much? We find it so with Abraham our father who said to the angels, ‘You will eat with me to-day a morsel of bread’; as it is stated, And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart.3Gen. 18, 5. But in the end, see how much Abraham prepared for the ministering angels—he went and prepared for them three oxen and nine measures of fine flour! Whence do we know that he prepared for them nine measures of fine flour? For it is stated, And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said: Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal.4ibid. 6. Now the word three signifies literally what it says; fine also implies three making six; and meal implies a further three, making nine in all. And whence do we know that he prepared for them three oxen? For it is stated, And Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf tender [and good].5ibid. 7. Now the word herd implies one, calf implies another making two, and tender implies a third, thus making three in all. Some say that the word good implies a fourth. And he gave them unto the servant, and he hastened to dress them:6ibid. E.V., gave it … dress it. he gave them to his son Ishmael in order to train him in the performance of good deeds. The Holy One, blessed be He, likewise said little and did much; as it is stated, And He said unto Abram: Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.7ibid. XV, 13f. The Heb. for judge is dan, a word of only two letters. [In His announcement] He only used a word of two letters, daleth and nun; eventually when the Holy One, blessed be He, inflicted punishment upon the enemies of Israel, He did so with seventy-two letters; as it is stated, Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an out-stretched arm, and by great terrors?8Deut. 4, 34. There are 75 letters in the Heb. text quoted, beginning with to go. The Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus, XXIII, §2 (Sonc. ed., p. 293) and Song of Songs 2, §2 (Sonc. ed., p. 95), suggests that the second nation, a word of three letters in Heb. (goï), should be omitted from the enumeration. The virtue of the number 72 lies in the fact that one of the sacred Names consists of 72 letters. Hence you learn that when He inflicted punishment upon Israel’s enemies He only did so with seventy-two letters. And whence do we know that the wicked say much and do not even a little? We find it so with Ephron who said to Abraham, A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, [what is that betwixt me and thee]?9Gen. 23, 15. This verse suggests that the land is of so little value that it is unworthy of their further discussion. Eventually when Abraham weighed out the silver for him, it is stated, And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver … [current money with the merchant].10ibid. 16. Ephron insisted upon the fullest value of the money although at first he regarded the transaction as of little significance.

81. 13.4

    AND RECEIVE ALL MEN WITH A CHEERFUL COUNTENANCE. What does this mean? It teaches that if a man presents the most precious gifts in the world to his fellow but gives them with a sullen countenance, Scripture regards him as having presented him with nothing. On the other hand, he who receives his fellow with a cheerful countenance, though he give him nothing, Scripture accounts it to him as though he had presented him with the most precious gifts in the world.

82. 14.1

    RABBAN JOḤANAN B. ZAKKAI RECEIVED THE TRADITION FROM HILLEL AND SHAMMAI. Hillel the Elder had eighty disciples:1Cf. the parallel passage in Suk. 28a (Sonc. ed., p. 123) and B.B. 134a (Sonc. ed., p. 563). thirty of them were worthy that the Divine Presence should rest upon them as upon Moses our teacher, but their generation was not worthy of it; thirty of them were worthy that the intercalation of the years2The calculations were made only by the leading members of the Sanhedrin. should be determined by them; and twenty were average. The greatest of them all was Jonathan b. ’Uzziel,3[Meg. 3a (Sonc. ed., p. 9) names him as the author of an Aramaic translation of the Prophets. The extant Targum is not by him.] and the least of them all was Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai. It was said of Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai that he mastered4lit. ‘he had not left (unstudied)’. Scripture, Mishnah, Gemara, halakoth, ’aggadoth, toseftoth, the minutiae5The subtle points of exposition. of the Torah, the minutiae of the Scribes, and all the hermeneutical rules of the Sages. Not a word in the Torah did he not master, fulfilling the text, That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, and that I may fill their treasuries.6Prov. 8, 21.

83. 14.2

    HE USED TO SAY: IF YOU HAVE OBSERVED7In Aboth 2:9 (Sonc. ed., II, 8, p. 17) ‘learnt’. MUCH TORAH CLAIM NO MERIT FOR YOURSELF, FOR TO THIS END YOU WERE CREATED; inasmuch as human beings were created solely for the purpose of occupying themselves with the Torah.

84. 14.3

    Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai had five disciples whom he described in these terms: Eliezer b. Hyrḳanos as ‘a cemented cistern that loses not a drop’ and ‘a glazed pitcher that preserves its wine’; Joshua b. Ḥananiah as ‘a threefold cord that is not quickly broken’;8Eccl. 4, 12. This is no doubt intended as alluding to three virtues of Joshua b. Ḥananiah, but they are not specified. Jose [24a] the priest as ‘the saint of the generation’; Ishmael b. Ḥananiah9In conformity with Aboth 2:10 (Sonc. ed. II, 8, p. 18) GRA emends to ‘Simeon b. Nathaniel’. This paragraph corresponds to Aboth 2:10f, but with several variants. as ‘an oasis10A doubtful word; some emend it to ‘arugah, ‘a garden bed’ or ‘grove’, a term applied to a scholar in DEZ I, p. 567 below. in the desert which retains its waters’. Happy the disciple whose teacher acknowledges and describes him [in such terms]! Eleazar b. ‘Arak he described as ‘a swift-running stream and a vigorous fountain whose waters increase and overflow abroad’, thus fulfilling the verse, Let thy springs be dispersed abroad, and courses of water in the streets.11Prov. 5, 16.

85. 14.4

    HE USED TO SAY: IF ALL THE SAGES OF ISRAEL WERE IN ONE SCALE OF THE BALANCE AND R. ELIEZER B. HYRḲANOS IN THE OTHER, HE WOULD OUTWEIGH THEM ALL. ABBA SAUL SAID IN HIS NAME: IF ALL THE SAGES OF ISRAEL WERE IN ONE SCALE OF THE BALANCE, INCLUDING R. ELIEZER B. HYRḲANOS, AND R. ELEAZAR B. ‘ARAK WAS IN THE OTHER, HE WOULD OUTWEIGH THEM ALL.

86. 14.5

    HE SAID TO THEM: GO FORTH AND SEE WHICH IS THE GOOD WAY TO WHICH A MAN SHOULD CLEAVE SO that thereby he may enter the world to come. R. ELIEZER came forward, and SAID: A GOOD EYE.12Denoting generosity, freedom from envy which is termed ‘an evil eye’. R. JOSHUA came forward and SAID: A GOOD FRIEND.13Indicating the quality of friendliness. R. JOSE came forward and SAID: A GOOD NEIGHBOUR,14Implies sympathy and goodwill. ‘A good impulse’, etc., is omitted in Aboth 2:13 (Sonc. ed., II, 9, p. 19). a good impulse and a good wife. R. SIMEON SAID: ONE WHO FORESEES THE CONSEQUENCES OF AN ACTION.15The virtue of foresight and prudence. V inserts in brackets, ‘As, for instance, Mordecai the Jew who foresaw the consequences of an action’. R. ELEAZAR came forward and SAID: A HEART THAT IS GOOD16i.e. unselfishness. towards Heaven and is good towards [all] creatures. THEREUPON HE SAID TO THEM: I PREFER THE WORDS OF R. ELEAZAR B. ‘ARAK TO YOUR WORDS, BECAUSE IN HIS WORDS YOURS ARE INCLUDED. HE THEN SAID TO THEM: GO FORTH AND SEE WHICH IS THE EVIL WAY THAT A MAN SHOULD SHUN SO that he may enter the world to come. R. ELIEZER came forward and SAID: AN EVIL EYE. R. JOSHUA came forward and SAID: AN EVIL FRIEND. R. JOSE came forward and SAID: AN EVIL NEIGHBOUR, an evil impulse and a bad wife.17So according to GRA, giving the reverse of R. Jose’s previous statement. V reads, ‘An evil eye, an evil neighbour, and an evil wife’. R. SIMEON came forward and SAID: ONE WHO BORROWS AND DOES NOT REPAY, SINCE HE WHO BORROWS FROM MAN IS AS ONE WHO BORROWS FROM THE ALL-PRESENT, as it is stated, The wicked borroweth, and payeth not; but the righteous dealeth graciously, and giveth.18Ps. 37, 21. R. ELEAZAR came forward and SAID: A HEART THAT IS EVIL towards Heaven and is evil towards [all] creatures. THEREUPON HE SAID TO THEM: I PREFER THE WORDS OF R. ELEAZAR B. ‘ARAK TO YOUR WORDS, BECAUSE IN HIS WORDS YOURS ARE INCLUDED.

87. 14.6

    When the son of Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai died, his disciples came in to console him. R. Eliezer came and sat before him and said, ‘My master, is it your wish that I say a word in your presence?’ He replied to him, ‘Speak’. Thereupon he said, ‘Adam, the first man, had a son who died, and he allowed himself to be comforted in his loss. And whence do we know that he accepted condolence? For it is stated, And Adam knew his wife again.19Gen. 4, 25. Therefore do you also accept condolence’. He retorted, ‘Is it not sufficient for me to bear my own grief that you have to mention Adam’s grief?’ Then R. Joshua20‘One must assume that the disciples came in one by one, each ignorant that his line of approach had been previously tried without success. Joḥanan’s irritation must have increased with each successive attempt’ (Montefiore and Loewe, Rabbinic Anthology, p. 672). entered and said, ‘My master, is it your wish that I say a word in your presence?’ He replied to him ‘Speak’. Thereupon he said, ‘Job had sons and daughters who all died in one day and he allowed himself to be comforted; you too accept condolence. And whence do we know that Job accepted condolences? For it is stated, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.21Job 1, 21. He retorted, ‘Is it not sufficient for me to bear my own grief that you have to mention Job’s grief?’ Next R. Jose entered, sat before him and said, ‘My master, is it your wish that I say a word in your presence?’ He replied, ‘Speak’. Thereupon he said, ‘Aaron had two grown sons and both died in one day, yet he allowed himself to be comforted, as it is stated, And Aaron held his peace,22Lev. 10, 3. the phrase held his peace implying that he accepted condolence. Therefore do you also accept condolence’. He retorted, ‘Is it not sufficient for me to bear my own grief that you have to mention Aaron’s grief?’ Then R. Simeon entered and said, ‘My master, is it your wish that I say a word in your presence?’ He replied, ‘Speak’. Thereupon he said, ‘King David had a son who died, and he allowed himself to be comforted; do you also accept condolence. And whence do we know that David accepted condolence? For it is stated, And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her; and she bore a son, and called his name Solomon.232 Sam. 12, 24. Therefore do you also accept condolence’. He retorted, ‘Is it not sufficient for me to bear my own grief that you have to mention King David’s grief?’ Finally R. Eleazar b. ‘Arak24In V the name is incorrectly printed as ‘R. Eleazar b. Azariah’. entered. When [Rabban Joḥanan saw him approaching] he said to his attendant, ‘Take my clothes and follow me to the bath-house, because this man is distinguished and I cannot appear before him as I am’.25i.e. in the clothes of a mourner. Then R. Eleazar came in and sat before him and said. ‘Let me tell you a parable. To what is the matter like? To a man with whom a king had deposited an article of value. Daily the man wept and exclaimed, “Woe is me! when will I be free from the responsibility of this trust?” You, too, my master, had a son versed in the Torah, who had studied the Pentateuch,26The usual connotation of this word, מקרא, is ‘Scripture’, but in this context the Pentateuch is intended. Prophets and Hagiographa, Mishnah, halakoth and ’aggadoth. He has departed sinless from this world. Surely you should derive comfort from having returned your trust intact!’ Rabban Joḥanan said to him, ‘Eleazar my son, you have comforted me as men can comfort’.27i.e. as far as lies within the power of human beings to comfort. When they left his presence, R. Eleazar said [to his colleagues], ‘I will go to Dimsith,28In Shab. 147b (Sonc. ed., pp. 749f) the name is given as Diomsith which Jastrow identified with Emmaus, a town in the plain of Judah renowned in Talmudic days for its warm springs and luxurious life. [On this passage, cf. Bacher, Ag. d. Tannaiten, I, p. 71, n. 3, who thinks that Tiberias is meant.] a delectable spot with excellent and refreshing waters’. The others said, ‘We will go to Jabneh,29Or Jamnia, a town north-west of Jerusalem, near the coast, the seat of the Sanhedrin after the destruction of Jerusalem. a place abounding with scholars and lovers of Torah’. Because he went to Dimsith, a delectable spot with excellent and refreshing waters, his fame in the Torah waned;30Cf. Shab. loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 750). whereas they who went to Jabneh, a place abounding with scholars and lovers of the Torah, their renown in Torah increased.

88. 15.1

    THEY EACH SAID THREE THINGS. R. ELIEZER SAID: LET THE HONOUR OF YOUR FELLOW BE DEAR TO YOU AS YOUR OWN; BE NOT EASILY MOVED TO ANGER; REPENT ONE DAY BEFORE YOUR DEATH. LET THE HONOUR OF YOUR FELLOW BE DEAR TO YOU AS YOUR OWN. What does this mean? It teaches that as a man regards his own honour, so should he regard the honour of his fellow; and as a man would not wish to see an ill report spread about his own honour, so should he not wish to see an ill report spread about the honour of his fellow. Another interpretation of LET THE HONOUR OF YOUR FELLOW BE DEAR TO YOU AS YOUR OWN: Thus if a man once possessed a million and is now deprived of all his wealth, he should not lose his self-respect even to the slightest degree.1lit., ‘to the value of a peruṭah’. Though he is destitute his self-esteem should remain high; cf. Sanh. 92b (Sonc. ed., p. 621): ‘Even in times of danger one should not lay aside his insignia of office’. Honour is a precious possession.

89. 15.2

    BE NOT EASILY MOVED TO ANGER. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should be meek like Hillel the Elder and not impatient like Shammai the Elder. What was the meekness of Hillel the Elder? It is related2Cf. Shab. 31a (Sonc. ed., pp. 138ff) for variants of this passage. that two men once wagered with each other the sum of four hundred zuz, saying, ‘Whoever will succeed in provoking Hillel to anger will take the four hundred zuz’. One of them went [to call on Hillel]. The day was the eve of the Sabbath towards dusk, and Hillel was then washing his head. He came, knocked at the door, and called out, ‘Where is Hillel? Where is Hillel?’ Hillel wrapped himself in his robe and went to him, asking, ‘My son, what do you require?’ ‘I have a question to ask,’ he said. ‘Ask it,’ said Hillel. Thereupon he asked, ‘Why are the inhabitants of Palmyra bleary-eyed?’ He answered, ‘Because they live in sandy deserts, and the winds scatter the sand over their eyes; for that reason their eyes are bleary’. The man departed, waited a while, returned, again knocked at the door, and called out, ‘Where is Hillel? Where is Hillel?’ Hillel wrapped himself in his robe and went out to him, asking, ‘My son, what do you require?’ ‘I have a question3The Heb. halakah, the term for a legal decision, cannot have this meaning here. to ask,’ he said. ‘Ask it,’ said Hillel. Thereupon he asked, ‘Why have the Africans flat feet?’ He answered, ‘Because they live in marshy places and constantly walk in the water;4They therefore walk barefoot, and so their feet are broad because of not having been cramped by shoe or sandal. for that reason their feet are flat’. The man departed, waited a while, returned, again knocked at the door and called out, ‘Where is Hillel? Where is Hillel?’ He wrapped himself in his robe, and went out to him, asking, ‘What do you wish to ask?’ ‘I have a question to ask,’ he said. ‘Ask it,’ said Hillel. The man then wrapped himself in his cloak and sat down before him. ‘What do you wish to ask?’ said Hillel. The other rejoined, ‘Is that the manner in which a President5The Heb. is in the plural, referring to the Presidents of the Sanhedrin. replies? May there not be many like you in Israel!’ ‘Heaven forfend!’ exclaimed Hillel, ‘mind your temper. What is it you require?’ He asked, ‘Why have the Babylonians long heads?’6An insulting remark since Babylon was Hillel’s birthplace. He answered, ‘My son, you have asked an important question. Because they lack skilful midwives there, as soon as a child is born it is placed in the arms7The Heb. is ’ebarim, ‘limbs’, a peculiar word in the context. A variant is ḥeḳ, ‘bosom’. of male and female slaves; for that reason their heads are long. Here [in the Holy Land] there are expert midwives, and as soon as a child is born it is placed in a cot and its head is massaged; for that reason their heads are round’. Then said the man to him, ‘Through you I have lost four hundred zuz’. Hillel retorted, ‘Hillel is worthy that you should lose [twice] four hundred zuz on his account, and Hillel should not lose his temper’.

90. 15.3

    What was the impatience of Shammai the Elder? It is related that a man8In Shab., loc. cit., he was ‘a Gentile’, but in the context a Jew is clearly intended. once came and stood before Shammai and said to him, ‘Master, how many Torahs have you?’ He answered, ‘Two, one written and one oral’. The man said, ‘I believe you regarding the written, but I do not believe you regarding the oral’. Shammai rebuked him and [24b] angrily drove him away. The man then came before Hillel and asked, ‘Master, how many Torahs were given [to Israel]’. He answered, ‘Two, one written and one oral’. He said, ‘I believe you regarding the written, but I do not believe you regarding the oral’. Hillel said to him, ‘My son, take a seat’. He then wrote the alphabet for him. Hillel asked him, ‘What is this letter?’9Pointing to an alef. ‘An alef,’ he replied. Hillel said, ‘It is not an alef but a beth’. He asked, ‘And what is this letter?’10Pointing to a beth. ‘A beth,’ he replied. Hillel said, ‘It is not a beth but a gimel’. ‘Moreover, how do you know that this letter is alef, that beth, and the other gimel?’ continued Hillel. He replied, ‘So it has been handed down to us by our forebears: this is alef, that beth, and the other gimel’. ‘Just as you have accepted this11The letters of the alphabet. on trust, so accept the other12The existence of two Torahs. on trust.’ Once a gentile was passing behind a Synagogue when he heard a child reciting the verse, And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe.13Ex. 28, 4. He came to Shammai and asked him, ‘Master, for whom is all that finery?’ He answered, ‘For the High Priest who stands and ministers at the altar’. The gentile said to him, ‘Make me a proselyte on condition that you appoint me High Priest’. Shammai retorted, ‘Is there no priest in Israel and have we no High Priests in Israel to serve in the High-priesthood, except this insignificant proselyte who comes with staff and scrip only and wishes to minister as High Priest?’ He rebuked him and angrily drove him away. The gentile then came to Hillel and said to him, ‘Master, make me a proselyte on condition that you appoint me High Priest, so that I may stand and minister at the altar’. Hillel said to him, ‘Take a seat, and I will tell you something. If a man wishes to have an audience of a human king, is it not proper for him to learn how to make his entrance and his exit?’ ‘Certainly,’ answered the gentile. Hillel continued, ‘As you are desirous to have an audience of the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, is it not all the more incumbent upon you to learn how to enter the Holy of Holies, how to trim the lamps, how to approach the altar, how to order the table, how to arrange the altar-pile?’ ‘Do whatever seems good to you,’ said the gentile. Hillel then wrote the alphabet for him which he soon learnt, and then [he studied] the Book of Leviticus. So he continued until he reached the verse, And the common man that draweth nigh shall be put to death.14Num. 1, 51. Then the proselyte reasoned within himself thus, ‘If Israelites who are designated sons of the All-present,15Cf. Deut. 14, 1. of whom the Divine Presence declares, Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation,16Ex. 19, 6. are warned by Scripture, And the common man that draweth nigh shall be put to death, how much more so does it apply to me, an insignificant proselyte, who am come with nothing but my scrip!’ In this manner the proselyte was reconciled of his own accord. He came to Hillel the Elder and said to him, ‘May all the blessings of the Torah alight on your head! Had you been like Shammai the Elder, I would never have entered the assembly of Israel. The impatience of Shammai sought to destroy me out of this world and out of the world to come; your gentleness brought me to life in this world and in the world to come’. It is reported that that proselyte became the father of two sons; one he named Hillel and the other Gamaliel. They were called ‘Hillel’s proselytes’.

91. 15.4

    REPENT ONE DAY BEFORE YOUR DEATH. The disciples asked R. Eliezer.17Cf. Shab. 153a (Sonc. ed., p. 781). ‘Does, then, a man know on which day he will die that he should repent [the day before]?’ He replied, ‘All the more reason that he repent to-day lest he die tomorrow, or that he repent to-morrow lest he die the day after; as a consequence his whole life is spent in repentance’. R. Jose b. Judah said in the name of R. Judah b. R. Ilai, who said it in the name of his father R. Ilai, who reported it in the name of R. Eliezer the Great: REPENT ONE DAY BEFORE YOUR DEATH; WARM YOURSELF BEFORE THE FIRE OF THE SAGES, BUT BEWARE OF THEIR GLOWING COALS LEST YOU BE SCORCHED, FOR THEIR BITE IS THE BITE OF A FOX, AND THEIR STING IS THE STING OF A SCORPION; YEA ALL THEIR WORDS ARE LIKE COALS OF FIRE.18From Aboth 2:15 (Sonc. ed., II, 10, pp. 20f).

92. 16.1

    R. JOSHUA SAID: THE EVIL EYE, THE EVIL INCLINATION, AND THE HATRED OF MANKIND DRIVE A MAN OUT OF THE WORLD. THE EVIL EYE. What does this mean? It teaches that as a man regards his own house, so he should regard the house of his fellow; and as a man would not wish an evil report spread about his wife and children, so he should not wish an evil report spread about his fellow’s wife and children. Another interpretation. What is meant by THE EVIL EYE? It teaches that no man should begrudge the learning of his fellow. The story is told of a man who looked with a grudging eye upon his colleague’s learning that his life was cut short and he departed [prematurely from the world].

93. 16.2

    THE EVIL INCLINATION. What does this mean? It has been said that the evil inclination is senior to the good inclination by thirteen years,1The evil inclination, it was held, entered the human body even before birth, whereas the good inclination was acquired at the age of thirteen, the age of religious responsibility. for it grows with and accompanies the child from the moment it comes forth from the mother’s womb. If the child begins to profane the Sabbath it2i.e. the evil inclination the child has no sense of wrongdoing. does not deter him; if he is about to take life it does not deter him; if he is about to commit an immoral act it does not deter him. After thirteen years, however, the good inclination is born in him. If then he is about to profane the Sabbath it3i.e. the good inclination. warns him, ‘You fool! Scripture states, Every one that profaneth it shall surely be put to death’.4Ex. 31, 14. If he is about to take life, it warns him, ‘You fool! Scripture states, Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed’.5Gen. 9, 6. If he is about to commit an immoral act, it warns him, ‘You fool! Scripture states, Both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death’.6Lev. 20, 10. When a man’s passions are stirred and he is about to commit an act of lewdness, all his limbs are ready to obey him, because the evil inclination is king over the two hundred and forty-eight limbs of man. On the other hand, when a man is about to perform an act of piety, all his limbs become sluggish,7The Heb. mith‘annin is unusual in this sense, but might be derived from the verb ‘innah, ‘to delay’ (cf. ‘innuï haddin, ‘the delay of justice’, Aboth 5:8). Schechter suggests the reading mith‘aẓẓlin, ‘are slothful’. because the evil inclination which is within him bears sway over the two hundred and forty-eight limbs of his body, whereas the good inclination is like one who is confined in prison, as it is stated, For out of prison he came forth to be king,8Eccl. 4, 14. which verse has been interpreted as referring to the good inclination.9Cf. Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes, ad loc. (Sonc. ed., p. 123). Others interpret this verse as referring to the righteous Joseph. When that wicked woman10Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39, 7ff). came [to tempt him] she afflicted him with her words, saying, ‘I will have you imprisoned’; and he replied, ‘The Lord looseth the prisoners’.11Ps. 146, 7. She said, ‘I will have your eyes plucked out’; and he replied, ‘The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind’.12ibid. 8. She said, ‘I will bend your stature’; and he replied, ‘The Lord raiseth up them that are bowed down’.13ibid. She said, ‘I will accuse you of sin’;14lit. ‘I will make you wicked’. and he replied, ‘The Lord loveth the righteous’.15ibid. She said, ‘I will make you a stranger’;16The word in the text ’armai, ‘a heathen’, makes no sense. The translation follows the version quoted by the Baalë Tosafoth on Gen. 39, 12. Joseph is threatened with banishment. and he replied, ‘The Lord preserveth the strangers’.17ibid. 9. Finally he said, ‘How then can I do this great wickedness’.18Gen. 39, 9. Marvel not at the [virtue of the] righteous Joseph, for consider the case of R. Zadok, the greatest man of his generation. When he was taken captive, a certain matron acquired him [as a slave] and sent in a beautiful maid-servant to him. As soon as he saw her, he turned his eyes to the wall so as not to look upon her, and sat absorbed in study the whole night long. In the morning the girl went and complained to her mistress, saying, ‘I would rather die than be given to that man!’ [The matron] sent for him and asked, ‘Why did you not treat this woman as men usually act?’ He replied, ‘What else could I do, seeing that I belong to the High-priestly line? I am from a noble family and said to myself, “[I must refrain] lest I cohabit with her and increase the number of illegitimate children in Israel” ’. On hearing his words, she ordered [his release] and set him free with great honour. Do not marvel at [the virtue of] R. Zadok, for consider the case of R. ‘Aḳiba who was greater than he. When R. ‘Aḳiba came to a certain land,19MS. E. reads ‘to Rome’. a malicious accusation was laid against him before the Ruler. The latter sent in two beautiful women to him who had bathed, anointed and adorned themselves like brides for their grooms. They importuned him throughout the night, each saying, ‘Turn to me’. He sat between them, spat [in disgust], and turned to neither of them. They went and complained to the Ruler, saying, ‘We would rather die than be given to that man!’ He sent for him and asked, ‘Why did you not treat these women as men usually act towards women? Are they not beautiful? Are they not human like yourself? Did not He Who created you create them?’ He answered, ‘I could not do otherwise; their odour seemed to me like the odour of carrion, torn beasts and creeping things’. Do not marvel at [the virtue of] R. ‘Aḳiba, for consider the case of R. Eliezer the Great who was more distinguished than he. R. Eliezer brought up his sister’s daughter, and for thirteen years she [slept] with him in one bed until she reached puberty. Then he said to her, ‘Go and get married’. She replied, ‘Am I not your maid, [even contented] to be a servant to wash the feet of your disciples?’20By this expression she implied her desire to marry him. The parallel passage in j.Yeb. XIII, 2, 13C reads, ‘I am your handmaid to wash the feet of my master’s slaves’. He said to her, ‘My daughter, I am now an old man; go and marry a young man of your own age’. She replied, ‘Have I not already told you that I am your maid, [even contented] to be a servant to wash the feet of your disciples?’ When he heard her words, he obtained her consent to a betrothal and married her.

94. 16.3

    R. Reuben b. Iẓtroboli said: How can a man keep far away from the evil inclination which is within his body? For the first drop which a man injects into a woman is the evil inclination.21i.e. the first seed, the result of man’s passion, creates the evil inclination in the unborn child. Moreover, the evil inclination dwells at the entrances of the heart, as it is stated, Sin coucheth at the door.22Gen. 4, 7. Cf. Ber. 61a (Sonc. ed., p. 384). It already speaks to the human being while he is an infant in the cot, saying, ‘That man seeks to kill you’, and [in consequence the infant] is ready to pluck out his hair.23The aggressive tendencies in a child are accordingly explained as incitement by the evil inclination, the latter creating the fear that persons wish to do him harm. When an infant lies in his cot and places his hand upon a snake or a scorpion so that he is bitten, this was caused by none other than the evil inclination which is within his body. Or when he lays his hand on glowing coals and is burnt, this was caused by none other than the evil inclination which is within his body, since the evil inclination it is that drives him headlong [to destruction]. Observe, however, a kid or lamb: when it sees a well it turns back, since there is no evil inclination in a beast [to lead it into harm]. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: I will explain it to you by a parable. To what is the evil inclination like? [25a] To a piece of iron which is cast into the fire. As long as it is in the fire one can make of it whatever vessel he wishes. So it is with the evil inclination: there is no other remedy for it but the study of the Torah which is likened to fire;24Cf. Jer. 23, 29, homiletically explained as teaching that by a man’s devotion to Torah, God will cause the enemy (i.e. the evil inclination) to be at peace with him and cease assailing him. as it is stated, If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; for thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord will reward thee.25Prov. 25, 21f. Read not will reward [yeshallem] thee but ‘will make him at peace [yashlim] with thee.’ R. Judah the Prince said: I will explain it to you by a parable. To what is the evil inclination like? To the case of two men who entered an inn and one of them was arrested on a charge of robbery. When asked, ‘Who was with you [as an accomplice]?’ he could reply, ‘There was no one with me’; but he says to himself, ‘Since I am to be executed, let my fellow be executed along with me’. In the same way the evil inclination speaks, ‘Since I am doomed in the world to come, I will drag the entire body with me to destruction’. R. Simeon b. Yoḥai said: By this reasoning Israel will never see Gehinnom. This may be explained by a parable. To what is the matter like? To a mortal king who had a field of poor quality. Certain men came and leased it at a rental of ten kors of wheat annually. They manured it, hoed it, watered it and weeded it; but they could only make it yield one kor of wheat during the year. The king asked them for an explanation and they replied, ‘Our sovereign lord! You know that the field which you leased to us originally yielded nothing to you; now after manuring it, weeding it and watering it, we made it yield us no more than one kor of wheat’. In like manner Israel will in the future plead with the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Lord of the universe! Thou knowest that it is the evil inclination that incites us, as it is stated, For He knoweth our impulse’.26Ps. 103, 14. E.V. our frame, the Heb. being the same as for ‘inclination, impulse’.

95. 16.4

    AND THE HATRED OF MANKIND. What does this mean? It teaches that a man should not adopt the rule: Love the Sages and hate the disciples, or Love the disciples and hate the ‘Am ha’areẓ. Let his rule be: Love them all, and hate [only] heretics, apostates, seducers and informers. So said David, Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee? And do not I strive with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with utmost hatred; I count them mine enemies.27ibid. CXXXIX, 21f. But does not Scripture declare, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord?28Lev. 19, 18. And why? Because I created him. If he acts as thy people should act,29Cf. Ex. 22, 27, Thou shalt not … curse a ruler of thy people, and B.Ḳ. 94b (Sonc. ed., p. 549). then you must love him, but if not, then you must not love him. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: With a great oath30So according to the MSS.; V reads ‘in a great hour’ which makes no sense. was this command said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. I the Lord have created him31Is. 45, 8. E.V., created it.—if you love him, I am trustworthy to give you a good reward; but if you do not, I am a Judge to punish you.32On this passage, cf. Finkelstein, op. cit., pp. 47-52.

96. 17.1

    R. JOSE SAID: LET THE PROPERTY OF YOUR FELLOW BE AS DEAR TO YOU AS YOUR OWN; FIT YOURSELF FOR THE STUDY OF THE TORAH, SINCE IT DOES NOT COME TO YOU BY INHERITANCE.

97. 17.2

    What does this mean? It teaches that as a man regards his own property, so he should regard the property of his fellow; and as a man would not wish to see an evil report spread about his own property, so he should not wish to see an evil report spread about the property of his fellow. Another interpretation of LET THE PROPERTY OF YOUR FELLOW BE AS DEAR TO YOU AS YOUR OWN. What does it mean? When a disciple comes to you and asks for instruction, if it is within your power to teach him, do so; but if not, dismiss him at once and take no money from him;1As remuneration for teaching; cf. Ned. 37a (Sonc. ed., p. 113) where the taking of a fee is prohibited. as it is stated, Say not unto thy neighbour: Go and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.2Prov. 3, 28.

98. 17.3

    FIT YOURSELF FOR THE STUDY OF THE TORAH, SINCE IT DOES NOT COME TO YOU BY INHERITANCE. Thus when Moses our teacher perceived that his sons had not the knowledge of the Torah to be able to succeed him in leadership, he wrapped himself in his robe and stood up to pray. He said, ‘Sovereign of the universe! Make known to me who will come in and go out at the head of this people, as it is stated, And Moses spoke unto the Lord, saying: Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them.3Num. 27, 15-17. Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘Moses, take thee Joshua’.4ibid. 18. The Holy One, blessed be He, further said to Moses, ‘Go and appoint for him an interpreter5Also called ’Amora, ‘speaker’; he was the scholar who attended on the Rabbi during the lecture and expounded at length and in popular style the subject-matter given to him by the instructor. that he may expound [the Torah] in your presence at the head of the notables of Israel’. At that time Moses said to Joshua, ‘Joshua, as for this people that I am delivering into your charge, they are not he-goats but kids; I am not delivering to you sheep but lambs, because as yet they have not occupied themselves with the commandments, and so have not reached the stage of he-goats;6And must be treated with care and consideration; cf. Sifre to Deut., §305. as it is stated, If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock and feed thy kids, beside the shepherds’ tents.7Cant. 1, 8.

99. 17.4

    Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai8Cf. Sifre ibid. and Keth. 66b (Sonc. ed., p. 405). was once walking in the market place when he observed a young woman picking grains of barley from under the feet of the cattle of the Arabs. He said to her, ‘My daughter, who are you?’ She remained silent. Again he asked her, ‘My daughter, who are you?’ She continued silent [for a time], and then said to him, ‘Wait a moment’. She wrapped herself in her hair, sat down before him and said, ‘I am the daughter of Naḳdimon b. Gorion’.9Cf. above VI, 3, p. 47. He asked, ‘My daughter, what became of your father’s wealth?’ She replied, ‘Master, is not the proverb current in Jerusalem, “The salt10A preservative. The difference in the two versions is in one letter, the former having חסר and the latter חסד. of wealth is its diminution [by charitable use] (or, according to another version, “[The salt of wealth is] benevolence”)?’ ‘And what became of the wealth of your father-in-law?’ he asked. She replied, ‘The one swallowed up the other’.11The fortunes of the two men were interlocked. Then Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai turned to his disciples and said, ‘All my life I have read the verse, If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, but did not understand its significance until to-day when I have realized its meaning, viz. that Israel will come under the domination of the lowest of the nations, and not merely under the domination of the lowest of the nations but will be among the dung of their cattle’. The young woman then asked him, ‘Master, do you remember when you put your signature to my marriage contract?’ ‘I do,’ he replied; and turning to his disciples he said, ‘By the Temple Service! I signed this young woman’s marriage contract, and it mentioned a settlement of one million Tyrian golden dinars’. [It is related that] the members of the family to which the young woman belonged never set out from their house to go to the Temple until the finest woollen rugs were spread before them.

100. 17.5

     The story12Further anecdotes of the wretched plight of even the wealthiest families in Israel during the siege of Jerusalem and after. is told of a young woman who was taken captive together with her ten maids. A Gentile acquired her and she grew up in his house. One day he handed her a jug and said, ‘Go and fetch me some water’. One of her maids arose and took it from her. ‘What is this?’ he asked; and she replied, ‘By your life, master! I was one of five hundred maids of this young woman’s mother.’ When he heard these words, he at once set her free together with her ten maids.

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The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London Soncino Press, 1965. Via Sefaria (sefaria.org), Sefaria-Export. Version source: https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH002035163/NLI Licence: CC-BY. Source.