Hebraic Literature

Translations from

THE TALMUD, MIDRASHIM and KABBALA

Tudor Publishing Co.
New York

1943

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION

Among the absurd notions as to what the Talmud was, given
credence in the Middle Ages, one was that it was a man! The
mediaeval priest or peasant was perhaps wiser than he knew. Almost,
might we say, the Talmud was Man, for it is a record of the doings,
the beliefs, the usages, the hopes, the sufferings, the patience,
the humor, the mentality, and the morality of the Jewish people for
half a millennium.

What is the Talmud? There is more than one answer. Ostensibly it
is the corpus juris of the Jews from about the first century
before the Christian era to about the fourth after it. But we shall
see as we proceed that the Talmud was much more than this. The very
word “Law” in Hebrew—”Torah”—means more than its
translation would imply. The Jew interpreted his whole religion in
terms of law. It is his name in fact for the Bible’s first five
books—the Pentateuch. To explain what the Talmud is we must
first explain the theory of its growth more remarkable perhaps than
the work itself. What was that theory? The Divine Law was revealed
to Moses, not only through the Commands that were found written in
the Bible, but also through all the later rules and regulations of
post-exilic days. These additional laws it was presumed were handed
down orally from Moses to Joshua, thence to the Prophets, and later
still transmitted to the Scribes, and eventually to the Rabbis. The
reason why the Rabbis ascribed to Moses the laws that they later
evolved, was due to their intense reverence for Scripture, and
their modest {iv} sense of their own authority and
qualification. “If the men of old were giants then we are pigmies,”
said they. They felt and believed that all duty for the guidance of
man was found in the Bible either directly or inferentially. Their
motto was then, “Search the Scriptures,” and they did search them
with a literalness and a painstaking thoroughness never since
repeated. Not a word, not a letter escaped them. Every redundancy
of expression was freighted with meaning, every repetition was made
to give birth to new truth. Some of the inferences were logical and
natural, some artificial and far-fetched, but all ingenious.
Sometimes the method was inductive and sometimes deductive. That
is, occasionally a needed law was promulgated by the Jewish
Sanhedrin, and then its authority sought in the Scripture, or the
Scripture would be sought in the first instance to reveal new
law.

So while the Jewish code, religious and civil, continued to grow
during the era of the Restoration of the second Temple, to meet the
more complex conditions of later times, still the theory was
maintained that all was evolved from original Scripture and always
transmitted, either written or oral, from Moses from Mount Sinai.
It was not, however, till the year 219 after the Christian era that
a compiled summary of the so-called oral law was made—perhaps
compiled from earlier summaries—by Rabbi Jehudah Hanassi (the
Prince), and the added work was called the Mishnah or Second Law.
Mark the date. We have passed the period of the fall of Judea’s
nationality. And it was these very academies in which the Jewish
tradition—the Jewish Law was studied, that kept alive the
Jewish people as a religious community after they had ceased to be
a nation. This Mishnah, divided into six sedarim or
chapters, and subdivided into thirty-six treatises, became now in
the academies of Palestine, and later in Babylonia, the text of
further legal elaboration, with the theory of deduction from
Scripture still maintained.

Although the life of denationalized Israel was much narrower and
more circumscribed, with fewer outlets to their capacities,
nevertheless the new laws deduced from the Mishnah code in the
academies grew far larger than the {v} original source, while the
discussions which grew around each Halacha, as the final decision
was termed, and which was usually transmitted with the decision,
grew so voluminous that it became gradually impossible to retain
the complex tradition in the memory—remarkable as the
Oriental memory was and is. That fact, added to the growing
persecutions from Israel’s over-lords, and the consequent
precarious fate of these precious traditions, made it necessary to
write them down in spite of the prejudice against committing the
oral law to writing at all. This work was undertaken by Rav Asche
and his disciples, and was completed before the year 500. The
Mishnah, together with the laws that later grew out of it, called
also Gamara, or Commentary, form the Talmud. While the Palestinian
school evolved a Gamara from the Mishnah which is called the
“Palestinian Talmud,” it was the tradition of the Babylonian
academies, far vaster because they continued for so many more
centuries, that is the Talmud per se, that great work of
2,947 folio leaves. Were we to continue the tradition further, we
might show how often this vast legal compilation was the subject of
further commentary, discussion and deduction by yet later scholars.
But that takes us beyond our theme and is another story.

In forming an estimate of these laws, we must first remember
that they belonged to the days when religion and state were one. So
we shall find priestly laws mixed up with police laws, sanitary
regulations side by side with regulations of sanctity, the
injunctions teaching political economy and morality almost in the
same line. It should rather then be compared to codes of law than
to religious scriptures, though often there the comparison would be
incomplete, since the religious atmosphere pervaded even the most
secular circumstance of the life of the Jew. There was no secular.
The meanest function in life must be brought in relation to the
great Divine. This must be understood in studying the Talmud, this
must be understood in studying the Jew. As law, it compares
favorably with the Roman code—its contemporary in part. In
the treatment of a criminal it is almost quixotically humane. It
abhors the shedding of blood, and no man can be put to {vi} death on
circumstantial evidence. Many of its injunctions are intensely
minute and hair-splitting to the extreme of casuistry. Yet these
elements are familiar in the interpretation of law, not only in the
olden time, but in some measure even to-day. There are instances
where Talmudic law is tenderer than the Biblical; for example, the
lex talionis is softened into an equivalent.

Yet the legal does not form the whole of the Talmud, nor perhaps
the part that would most interest the casual reader or the world at
large. It is the dry, prosaic half. There is a poetic half, let us
say a homiletic half, what we call Agada, as distinct from the
legal portion called Halacha. The term Agada, “narrative,” is
wofully insufficient to describe the diverse material that falls
under this head, for it comprehends all the discursive elements
that come up in the legal discussions in the old Babylonian and
Palestinian academies. These elements are occasionally
biographical,—fragments of the lives of the great scholars,
occasionally historical,—little bits of Israel’s long
tragedy, occasionally didactic,—facts, morals, life lessons
taught by the way; occasionally anecdotic, stories told to relieve
the monotony of discussion; not infrequently fanciful; bits of
philosophy, old folk-lore, weird imaginings, quaint beliefs,
superstitions and humor. They are presented haphazard, most
irrelevantly introduced in between the complex discussions,
breaking the thread that however is never lost, but always taken up
again.

From this point of view the Talmud is a great maze and
apparently the simplest roads lead off into strange, winding
by-paths. It is hard to deduce any distinct system of ethics, any
consistent philosophy, any coherent doctrine. Yet patience rewards
the student here too, and from this confused medley of material, he
can build the intellectual world of the early mediæval Jew.
In the realm of doctrine we find that “original sin,” “vicarious
atonement,” and “everlasting punishment,” are denied. Man is made
the author of his own salvation. Life beyond the grave is still
progressive; the soul is pre-existent.

A suggestion of the wit and wisdom of the Talmud may be gathered
from the following quotations:—

The philosophy in the Talmud, rather than the philosophy of it,
has been made the subject of separate treatment just as the whole
of the Agada has been drawn out of the Talmud and published as a
separate work.

What is the Talmud to the Jew to-day? It is literature rather
than law. He no longer goes to the voluminous Talmud to find
specific injunction for specific need. Search in that vast sea
would be tedious and unfruitful. Its legal portion has long been
codified in separate digests. Maimonides was the first to classify
Talmudic law. Still later one Ascheri prepared a digest called the
“Four Rows,” in which the decisions of later Rabbis were
incorporated. {viii} But it was the famous Shulchan Aruch
(a prepared table) written by Joseph Caro in the sixteenth century,
that formed the most complete code of Talmudic law enlarged to
date, and accepted as religious authority by the orthodox Jews
to-day.

I have already referred to the literature that has grown out of
the Talmud. The “Jewish Encyclopedia” treats every law recognized
by nations from the Talmudic stand-point. This will give the world
a complete Talmudic point of view. In speaking of it as literature,
it lacks perhaps that beauty of form in its language which the
stricter demand as literature sine qua non, and yet its
language is unique. It is something more than terse, for many a
word is a whole sentence. Written in Aramaic, it contains many
words in the languages of the nations with whom Israel came in
contact—Greek, Roman, Persian, and words from other
tongues.

Like the Jew, the Talmud has had a history, almost as checkered
as that of its creator. Like him it was singled out for
persecution. Louis IX. burned twenty-four cart-loads of Talmuds in
Paris. Its right of survival had often been wrested through church
synods and councils. It has been banned, it has been
excommunicated, it has been made the subject of popish bulls; but
it was in the sixteenth century that the Benedictine Monks made a
particular determined effort to destroy it. Fortunately they knew
not the times. It was the age of Humanism, the forerunner of the
Reformation, and the Talmud found its ablest defender in the great
Christian humanist, John Reuchlin. He was the one first to tell his
co-religionists, “Do not condemn the Talmud before you understand
it. Burning is no argument. Instead of burning all Jewish
literature, it were better to found chairs in the universities for
its exposition.” The cause of liberality and light gained the day,
and the printing-press decided the perpetuation of the Talmud.

In the second stage of its persecution the censor figures. His
Philistine pen passed ruthlessly over everything that seemed to
hint at criticism of the Church; but not content with expunging the
heretical and the inferentially heretical, the censor at times went
even so far as to erase sentiments {ix} particularly lofty, in
order that the Talmud should not have the credit of expounding
noble doctrine, nor the Jew the advantage of studying it.

But the latest stage of its persecution belongs to more modern
days, when inquisitions were out of date and monkish claws were
cut. The traducer would spitefully engage the services of some
renegade Jew, to gather from the Talmud all portions and passages
that might seem grotesque and ridiculous, so that the world might
form an unfavorable impression of the Talmud and of the people who
treasure it. This has been done with so much success that up till
very recently the Gentile world, including the Christian clergy,
knew of the Talmud only through these unfortunate perversions and
caricatures. Imagine the citation of a chapter from
Leviticus and one from Chronicles, of some vindictive
passages in the Psalms, of a few skeptical bits in
Ecclesiastes and Job, and one or two of the barbaric
stories in Judges, to be offered to the world as a fair
picture of the Bible, and you will understand the sort of treatment
the Talmud has received from the world at large and the kind of
estimate it has been given opportunity to form.

What is the value of the Talmud for the Jew? Certainly its
greatest value was rendered in the Middle Ages, when literature was
scant and copies of the few books in existence were rarer. When the
Jew was shut out of the world’s pleasure and the world’s culture
and barred up in Ghetto slums, then it was that the Talmud became
his recreation and his consolation, feeding his mind and his faith.
In this way it not only became in the Middle Ages a picture of the
Jew, but largely formed his character. It made him a keen
dialectician, tempered with a thoughtful and poetic touch. It
fostered his patience and his humor and kept vivid his ideals. It
linked him with the Orient, while living in the Occident and made
him a bridge between the old and the new.

To the world at large it has great value archæologically.
Here are preserved ancient laws, glint lights on past history,
forgotten forms in the classic tongues, and pictures of old
civilization. No one criticism can cover the whole work.
{x} It is so many-sided. It includes so many
different standards of worth and value. If we take it as a whole,
it is good, it is bad and indifferent; it is trash and it is
treasure; it is dust and it is diamonds; it is potsherd and it is
pearls; and in the hands of impartial scholars, it is one of the
great monuments of mental achievement, one of the world’s
wonders.

Maurice H. Harris

THE TALMUD

Where do we learn that the Shechinah rests even upon one who
studies the law? In Exodus xx. 24, where it is written, “In all
places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will
bless thee.”

Berachoth, fol. 6, col. 1.

One pang of remorse at a man’s heart is of more avail than many
stripes applied to him. (See Prov. xvii. 10.)

Ibid., fol. 7, col. 1.

“Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord!” (Deut. vi. 4.)
Whosoever prolongs the utterance of the word one, shall have his
days and years prolonged to him. So also Zohar, syn. tit.
ii.

Ibid., fol. 13, col. 2.

Once, as the Rabbis tell us, the Roman Government issued a
decree forbidding Israel to study the law. Whereupon Pappus, the
son of Yehudah, one day found Rabbi Akiva teaching it openly to
multitudes, whom he had gathered round him to hear it. “Akiva,”
said he, “art thou not afraid of the Government?” “List,” was the
reply, “and I will tell thee how it is by a parable. It is with me
as with the fishes whom a fox, walking once by a river’s side, saw
darting distractedly to and fro in the stream; and, addressing,
inquired, ‘From what, pray, are ye fleeing?’ ‘From the nets,’ they
replied, ‘which the children of men have set to ensnare us.’ ‘Why,
then,’ rejoined the fox, ‘not try the dry land with me, where you
and I can live together, as our fathers managed to do before us?’
‘Surely,’ exclaimed they, ‘thou art not he of whom we have heard so
much as the most cunning of animals, for herein thou art not wise,
but foolish. For if we have cause to fear where it is natural for
us to live, how much more reason have we to do so where we needs
must die!’ {4} Just so,” continued Akiva, “is it with us
who study the law, in which (Deut. xxx. 20) it is written, ‘He is
thy life and the length of thy days;’ for if we suffer while we
study the law, how much more shall we if we neglect it?” Not many
days after, it is related, this Rabbi Akiva was apprehended and
thrown into prison. As it happened, they led him out for execution
just at the time when “Hear, O Israel!” fell to be repeated, and as
they tore his flesh with currycombs, and as he was with long-drawn
breath sounding forth the word one, his soul departed from him.
Then came forth a voice from heaven which said, “Blessed art thou,
Rabbi Akiva, for thy soul and the word one left thy body
together.”

Berachoth, fol. 61, col. 2.

The badger, as it existed in the days of Moses, was an animal of
unique type, and the learned are not agreed whether it was a wild
one or a domestic. It had only one horn on its forehead; and was
assigned for the time to Moses, who made a covering of its skin for
the tabernacle; after which it became extinct, having served the
purpose of its existence. Rabbi Yehudah says, “The ox, also, which
the first man, Adam, sacrificed, had but one horn on its
forehead.”

Shabbath, fol. 28, col. 2.

Once a Gentile came to Shamai, and said, “Proselytize me, but on
condition that thou teach me the whole law, even the whole of it,
while I stand upon one leg.” Shamai drove him off with the
builder’s rod which he held in his hand. When he came to Hillel
with the same challenge, Hillel converted him by answering him on
the spot, “That which is hateful to thyself, do not do to thy
neighbor. This is the whole law, and the rest is its commentary.”
(Tobit, iv. 15; Matt. vii. 12.)

Ibid., fol. 31, col. 1.

When Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar, came out
of their cave on a Friday afternoon, they saw an old man hurrying
along with two bunches of myrtle in his hand. “What.” said they,
accosting him, “dost thou want with these?” “To smell them in honor
of the Sabbath,” was the reply. “Would not one bunch,” they
remarked, “be enough for that purpose?” “Nay,” the old man replied;
“one is in honor of ‘Remember’ (Exod. {5} xxii. 28); and
one in honor of ‘Keep’ (Deut. v. 8).” Thereupon Rabbi Shimon
remarked to his son, “Behold how the commandments are regarded by
Israel!”

Ibid., fol. 33, col. 2.

Not one single thing has God created in vain. He created the
snail as a remedy for a blister; the fly for the sting of a wasp;
the gnat for the bite of a serpent; the serpent itself for healing
the itch (or the scab); and the lizard (or the spider) for the
sting of a scorpion.

Ibid., fol. 77. col. 2.

When a man is dangerously ill, the law grants dispensation, for
it says, “You may break one Sabbath on his behalf, that he may be
preserved to keep many Sabbaths.”

Shabbath, fol. 151, col. 2.

Once when Rabbi Ishmael paid a visit to Rabbi Shimon, he was
offered a cup of wine, which he at once, without being asked twice,
accepted, and drained at one draught. “Sir,” said his host, “dost
thou not know the proverb, that he who drinks off a cup of wine at
a draught is a greedy one?” “Ah!” was the answer, “that fits not
this case; for thy cup is small, thy wine is sweet, and my stomach
is capacious.”

P’sachim, fol. 86, col. 2.

At the time when Nimrod the wicked had cast our Father Abraham
into the fiery furnace, Gabriel stood forth in the presence of the
Holy One—blessed be He!—and said, “Lord of the
universe, let me, I pray thee, go down and cool the furnace, and
deliver that righteous one from it.” Then the Holy
One—blessed be He!—said unto him, “I am One in my world
and he is one in his world; it is more becoming that He who is one
should deliver him who is one.” But as God does not withhold His
reward from any creature, He said to Gabriel, “For this thy good
intention, be thine the honor of rescuing three of his
descendants.” At the time when Nebuchadnezzar the wicked cast
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, Yourkami,
the prince of hail, arose before God and said, “Lord of the
universe, let me, I pray thee, go down and cool the fiery furnace,
and rescue these righteous men from its fury.” Whereupon Gabriel
interposed, and said, {6} “God’s power is not to be demonstrated thus,
for thou art the prince of hail, and everybody knows that water
quenches fire; but I, the prince of fire, will go down and cool the
flame within and intensify it without (so as to consume the
executioners), and thus will I perform a miracle within a miracle.”
Then the Holy One—blessed be He!—said to him, “Go
down.” Upon which Gabriel exclaimed, “Verily the truth of the Lord
endureth forever!” (Ps. cxvii. 2.)

P’sachim, fol. 118, col. 1.

One peppercorn to-day is better than a basketful of pumpkins
to-morrow.

Chaggigah, fol. 10, col. 1.

One day of a year is counted for a whole year.

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 2, col. 2.

If a king be crowned on the twenty-ninth of Adar
(the last month of the Sacred year), on the morrow—the first
of Nissan—it is reckoned that he commences his second year,
that being the new year’s day for royal and ecclesiastical
affairs.

For the sake of one righteous man the whole world is preserved
in existence, as it is written (Prov. x. 25), “The righteous man is
an everlasting foundation.”

Yoma, fol. 38, col. 2.

Rabbi Meyer saith, “Great is repentance, because for the sake of
one that truly repenteth the whole world is pardoned; as it is
written (Hosea xiv. 4), ‘I will heal their backsliding, I will love
them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him.'” It is not
said, “from them,” but “from him.”

Ibid., fol. 86, col. 2.

He who observes one precept, in addition to those which, as
originally laid upon him, he has discharged, shall receive favor
from above, and is equal to him who has fulfilled the whole
law.

Kiddushin, fol. 39, col. 2.

If any man vow a vow by only one of all the utensils of the
altar, he has vowed by the corban, even although he did not mention
the word in his oath. Rabbi Yehuda says, “He who swears by the word
Jerusalem is as though he had said nothing.”

Nedarim, fol. 10, col. 2.

Balaam was lame in one foot and blind in one eye.

Soteh, fol. 10, col. 1, and
Sanhedrin, fol. 105, col. 1.

One wins eternal life after a struggle of years; another finds
it in one hour (see Luke xxiii. 43).

Avodah Zarah, fol. 17, col. 1.

This saying is applied by Rabbi the Holy to Rabbi Eliezar, the
son of Durdia, a profligate who recommended himself to the favor of
heaven by one prolonged act of determined penitence, placing his
head between his knees and groaning and weeping till his soul
departed from him, and his sin and misery along with it; for at the
moment of death a voice from heaven came forth and said, “Rabbi
Eliezar, the son of Durdia, is appointed to life everlasting.” When
Rabbi the Holy heard this, he wept, and said, “One wins eternal
life after a struggle of years; another finds it in one hour.”
(Compare Luke xv. 11-32.)

Whosoever destroyeth one soul of Israel, Scripture counts it to
him as though he had destroyed the whole world; and whoso
preserveth one soul of Israel, Scripture counts it as though he had
preserved the whole world.

Sanhedrin, fol. 37, col. 1.

The greatness of God is infinite; for while with one die man
impresses many coins and all are exactly alike, the King of kings,
the Holy One—blessed be He!—with one die impresses the
same image (of Adam) on all men, and yet not one of them is like
his neighbor. So that every one ought to say, “For myself is the
world created.”

Ibid., fol. 37, col. 1.

“He caused the lame to mount on the back of the blind, and
judged them both as one.” Antoninus said to the Rabbi, “Body and
soul might each plead right of acquittal at the day of judgment.”
“How so?” he asked. “The body might plead that it was the soul that
had sinned, and urge, saying, ‘See, since the departure of the soul
I have lain in the grave as still as a stone.’ And the soul might
plead, ‘It was the body that sinned, for since the day I left it, I
have flitted about in the air as innocent as a bird.'” To which the
Rabbi replied and said, “Whereunto this thing is like, I will tell
thee in a parable. It is like unto a king who had an orchard with
some fine young fig trees planted in it. He set two gardeners to
take care of them, of whom one was lame and the other blind. One
day the lame one said to the blind {8} ‘I see some fine figs in the
garden; come, take me on thy shoulders, and we will pluck them and
eat them.’ By and by the lord of the garden came, and missing the
fruit from the fig trees, began to make inquiry after them. The
lame one, to excuse himself, pleaded, ‘I have no legs to walk
with;’ and the blind one, to excuse himself, pleaded, ‘I have no
eyes to see with.’ What did the lord of the garden do? He caused
the lame to mount upon the back of the blind, and judged them both
as one.” So likewise will God re-unite soul and body, and judge
them both as one together; as it is written (Ps. 1, 4), “He shall
call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge
His people.” “He shall call to the heavens from above,” that
alludes to the soul; “and to the earth, that He may judge His
people,” that refers to the body.

Sanhedrin, fol. 91, cols, 1, 2.

Rabbi Yehudah, surnamed the Holy, the editor of the
Mishnah, is the personage here and elsewhere spoken of as the Rabbi
by pre eminence. He was an intimate friend of the Roman Emperor
Antoninus Pius.

One thing obtained with difficulty is far better than a hundred
things procured with ease.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, ch. 3.

In the name of Rav, Rabbi Yehoshua bar Abba says, “Whoso buys a
scroll of the law in the market seizes possession of another’s
meritorious act; but if he himself copies out a scroll of the law,
Scripture considers him as if he had himself received it direct
from Mount Sinai.” “Nay,” adds Rav Yehudah, in the name of Rav,
“even if he has amended one letter in it, Scripture considers him
as if he had written it out entirely.”

Menachoth, fol. 30, col. 1.

He who forgets one thing that he has learned breaks a negative
commandment; for it is written (Deut. iv. 9), “Take heed to thyself
… lest thou forget the things.”

Menachoth, fol. 99, col. 2.

A proselyte who has taken it upon himself to observe the law,
but is suspected of neglecting one point, is to be suspected of
being guilty of neglecting the whole law, and therefore regarded as
an apostate Israelite, and to be punished accordingly.

Bechoroth, fol. 30, col. 2.

It is written (Gen. xxviii. ii), “And he took from the stones of
the place;” and again it is written (ver. 18), “And he took the
stone.” Rabbi Isaac says this teaches that all these stones
gathered themselves together into one place, as if each were eager
that the saint should lay his head upon it. It happened, as the
Rabbis tell us, that all the stones were swallowed up by one
another, and thus merged into one stone.

Chullin, fol. 91, col. 2.

Though the Midrash and two of the Targums, that of
Jonathan and the Yerushalmi, tell the same fanciful story about
these stones, Aben Ezra and R. Shemuel ben Meir among others adopt
the opposite and common-sense interpretation which assigns to the
word in Gen. xxviii. ii, no such occult meaning.

The psalms commencing “Blessed is the man” and “Why do the
heathen rage” constitute but one psalm.

Berachoth fol. 9, col. 2.

The former Chasidim used to sit still one hour, and then pray
for one hour, and then again sit still for one hour.

Ibid., fol. 32, col. 2.

All the benedictions in the Temple used to conclude with the
words “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel unto eternity;” but when
the Sadducees, corrupting the faith, maintained that there was only
one world, it was enacted that they should conclude with the words
“from eternity unto eternity.”

Berachoth, fol. 54, col. i.

The Sadducees (Zadokim), so called after Zadok
their master, as is known, stood rigidly by the original Mosaic
code, and set themselves determinedly against all traditional
developments. To the Talmudists, therefore, they were especially
obnoxious, and their bald, cold creed is looked upon by them with
something like horror. It is thus the Talmud warns against
them—”Believe not in thyself till the day of thy death, for,
behold, Yochanan, after officiating in the High Priesthood for
eighty years, became in the end a Sadducee.” (Berachoth,
fol. 29, col. 1.) In Derech Eretz Zuta, chap. i., a caution is
given which might well provoke attention—”Learn or inquire
nothing of the Sadducees, lest thou be drawn into hell.”

Rabbi Yehudah tells us that Rav says a man should never absent
himself from the lecture hall, not even for one hour; for the above
Mishnah had been taught at college for many years, but the reason
of it had never been {10} made plain till the hour when Rabbi
Chanina ben Akavia came and explained it.

Shabbath, fol. 83, col. 2.

The Mishnah alluded to is short and simple, viz,
Where is it taught that a ship is clean to the touch? From Prov.
xxx. 19, “The way of a ship in the midst of the sea.” (i.e.,
as the sea is clean to the touch, therefore a ship must also be
clean to the touch).

It is indiscreet for one to sleep in a house as the sole
occupant, for Lilith will seize hold of him.

Ibid., fol. 151, col. 2.

Lilith (the night-visiting one) is the name of a
night spectre, said to have been Adam’s first wife, but who, for
her refractory conduct, was transformed into a demon endowed with
power to injure and even destroy infants unprotected by the
necessary amulet or charm.

“Thou hast acknowledged the Lord this day to be thy God; and the
Lord hath acknowledged thee this day to be His peculiar people”
(Deut. xxvi. 17, 18). The Holy One—blessed be He!—said
unto Israel, “Ye have made Me a name in the world, as it is written
(Deut. vi. 4), ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;’ and
so I will make you a name in the world, as it is said (1 Chron.
xvii. 21), ‘And what one nation in the earth is like Thy people
Israel?'”

Chaggigah, fol. 3, col. 1.

Why are the words of the Law compared to fire? (Jer. xxiii. 29.)
Because, as fire does not burn when there is but one piece of wood,
so do the words of the Law not maintain the fire of life when
meditated on by one alone (see, in confirmation, Matt, xviii.
20).

Taanith, fol. 7, col. i.

“And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of
Nebo” (Deut. xxxiv, i). Tradition says there were twelve stairs,
but that Moses surmounted them all in one step.

Soteh, fol. 13, col. 2.

Pieces of money given in charity should not be counted over by
twos, but one by one.

Bava Bathra, fol. 8, col. 2.

“Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring
forth?” (Job xxxix. 1.) The wild goat is cruel to her offspring. As
soon as they are brought forth, she climbs with them to the steep
cliffs, that they may fall headlong {11} and die. But, said God to Job,
to prevent this I provide an eagle to catch the kid upon its wings,
and then carry and lay it before its cruel mother. Now, if that
eagle should be too soon or too late by one second only, instant
death to the kid could not be averted; but with Me one second is
never changed for another. Shall Job be now changed by Me,
therefore, into an enemy. (Comp. Job ix. 17, and xxxiv. 35.)

Bava Bathra, fol. 16, cols. 1, 2.

A generation can have one leader only, and not two.

Sanhedrin, fol. 8, col. 1.

“Like the hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces” (Jer. xxiii.
29). As a hammer divideth fire into many sparks, so one verse of
Scripture has many meanings and many explanations.

Ibid., fol. 34, col. 1.

In the Machser for Pentecost (p. 69) God is said to
have “explained the law to His people, face to face, and on every
point ninety-eight explanations are given.”

Adam was created one without Eve. Why? That the Sadducees might
not assert the plurality of powers in heaven.

Ibid., fol. 37, col. i.

As the Sadducees did not believe in a plurality of
powers in heaven, but only the Christians, in the regard of the
Jews, did so (by their profession of the doctrine of the Trinity),
it is obvious that here, as well as often elsewhere, the latter and
not the former are intended.

“And the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt” (Exod.
viii. i; A. V. viii. 6). “There was but one frog,” said Rabbi
Elazar, “and she so multiplied as to fill the whole land of Egypt.”
“Yes, indeed,” said Rabbi Akiva. “there was, as you say, but one
frog, but she herself was so large as to fill all the land of
Egypt.” Whereupon Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said unto him, “Akiva,
what business hast thou with Haggadah? Be off with thy legends, and
get thee to the laws thou art familiar with about plagues and
tents. Though thou sayest right in this matter, for there was only
one frog, but she croaked so loud that the frogs came from
everywhere else to her croaking.”

Sanhedrin, fol. 67, col. 2.

Rabba, the grandson of Channa, said that he himself
once saw a frog larger than any seen now, though not so large as
the frog in {12} Egypt. It was as large as Acra, a village
of some sixty houses (Bava Bathra, fol. 73, col. 2.)

Apropos to the part the frog was conceived to play
or symbolize in the Jewish conception of the mode and ministry of
Divine judgment, we quote the following:—”We are told that
Samuel once saw a frog carrying a scorpion on its back across a
river, upon the opposite bank of which a man stood waiting ready to
be stung. The sting proving fatal, so that the man died; upon which
Samuel exclaimed, ‘Lord, they wait for Thy judgments this day: for
all are Thy servants.’ (Ps. cxix. 91.)” (Nedarim, fol. 41,
col. 1.)

“According to the days of one king” (Isa. xxiii. 15). What king
is this that is singled out as one? Thou must say this is the King
Messiah, and no other.

Sanhedrin, fol. 99, col. 1.

Rabbi Levi contends that Manasseh has no portion in the world to
come, while Rabbi Yehudah maintains that he has; and each supports
his conclusion in contradiction of the other, from one and the same
Scripture text.

Ibid., fol. 102, col. 2.

The words, “Remember the Sabbath day,” in Exod. xx. 8, and “Keep
the Sabbath day,” in Deut. v. 12, were uttered in one breath, as no
man’s mouth could utter them, and no man’s ear could hear.

Shevuoth, fol. 20, col. 2.

The officer who inflicts flagellation on a criminal must smite
with one hand only, but yet with all his force.

Maccoth, fol. 22, col. 2.

I would rather be called a fool all my days than sin one hour
before God.

Edioth, chap. 5, mish. 6.

He who observes but one precept secures for himself an advocate,
and he who commits one single sin procures for himself an
accuser.

Avoth, chap. 4, mish. 15.

He who learns from another one chapter, one halachah, one verse,
or one word or even a single letter, is bound to respect him.

Ibid., chap. 6, mish. 3.

The above is one evidence, among many, of the high
esteem in which learning and the office of a teacher are held among
the Jews. Education is one of the virtues—of which the
following, extracted from the Talmud, is a list—the interest
of which the Jew considers he enjoys in this world, while the
capital remains intact against the exigencies of the world to come.
These are:—The honoring of father and mother, acts of
benevolence, hospitality to strangers, visiting the {13} sick,
devotion in prayer, promotion of peace between man and man, and
study in general, but the study of the law outweighs them all.
(Shabbath, fol. 127, col. 1.) The study of the law, it is
said, is of greater merit to rescue one from accidental death, than
building the Temple, and greater than honoring father or mother.
(Meggillah, fol. 16, col 2.)

“Repent one day before thy death.” In relation to which Rabbi
Eliezer was asked by his disciples, “How is a man to repent one day
before his death, since he does not know on what day he shall die?”
“So much the more reason is there,” he replied, “that he should
repent to-day, lest he die to-morrow; and repent to-morrow, lest he
die the day after: and thus will all his days be penitential
ones.”

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 15.

He who obliterates one letter from the written name of God,
breaks a negative command, for it is said, “And destroy the names
of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your
God” (Deut. xii. 3, 4).

Sophrim, chap. 5, hal. 6.

Rabbi Chanina could put on and off his shoes while standing on
one leg only, though he was eighty years of age.

Chullin, fol. 24, col. 2.

A priest who is blind in one eye should not be judge of the
plague; for it is said (Lev. xiii. 12), “Wheresoever the priest
(with both eyes) looketh.”

Negaim, chap. 2, mish. 3.

The twig of a bunch without any grapes is clean; but if there
remained one grape on it, it is unclean.

Okzin, chap, i, mish. 5.

Not every man deserves to have two tables.

Berachoth, fol. 5, col. 2.

The meaning of this rather ambiguous sentence may
either be, that all men are not able to succeed in more enterprises
than one at a time; or that it is not given to every one to make
the best both of the present world and of that which is to
come.

Abba Benjamin used to say “There are two things about which I
have all my life been much concerned: that my prayer should be
offered in front of my bed, and that the position of my bed should
be from north to south.”

Ibid., fol. 5, col. 2.

There are several reasons which may be adduced to
account for Abba Benjamin’s anxiety, and they are all more or less
connected with the important consequences which were supposed to
depend upon determining his position with reference to the
Shechinah, which rested in the east or the west.

Abba Benjamin felt anxious to have children, for
“any man not having children is counted as dead,” as it is written
(Gen. xxx. 1), “Give me children, or else I die.” (Nedarin,
fol. 64, col. 2.)

With the Jew one great consideration of life is to
have children, and more especially male children; because when a
boy is born all rejoice over him, but over a girl they all mourn.
When a boy comes into the world he brings peace with him, and a
loaf of bread in his hand, but a girl brings nothing.
(Niddah, fol. 31, col. 2.)

It is impossible for the world to be without males
and females, but blessed is he whose children are boys, and hapless
is he whose children are girls. (Kiddushin, fol. 82, col.
2.)

Whosoever does not leave a son to be heir, God will
heap wrath upon him. (Scripture is quoted in proof of this, compare
Numb. xxvii. 8 with Zeph. i. 15.) (Bava Bathra, fol. 116,
col. 1.)

“There are two ways before me, one leading into Paradise, the
other into Hell.” When Yochanan, the son of Zachai, was sick unto
death, his disciples came to visit him; and when he saw them he
wept, upon which his disciples exclaimed, “Light of Israel! Pillar
of the right! Mighty Hammer! why weepest thou?” He replied, “If I
were going to be led into the presence of a king, who is but flesh
and blood, to-day here and to-morrow in the grave, whose anger with
me could not last forever, whose sentence against me, were it even
unto death, could not endure forever, and whom perhaps I might
pacify with words or bribe with money, yet for all that should I
weep; but now that I am about to enter the presence of the King of
kings, the Holy One—blessed be He forever and
ever!—whose anger would be everlasting, whose sentence of
death or imprisonment admits of no reprieve, and who is not to be
pacified with words nor bribed with money, and in whose presence
there are two roads before me, one leading into Paradise and the
other into Hell, and should I not weep?” Then prayed they him, and
said, “Rabbi, give us thy farewell blessing;” and he said unto
them, “Oh that the fear of God may be as much upon you as the fear
of man.”

Berachoth, fol. 28, col. 2.

Rabbi Ami says, “Knowledge is of great price, for it is placed
between two divine names, as it is written (I Sam. ii. 3), ‘A God
of knowledge is the Lord,’ and therefore mercy is to be denied to
him who has no knowledge; for it is written (Isa. xxvii. 11), ‘It
is a people of no understanding, therefore He that hath made them
will not have mercy on them.'”

Berachoth fol. 33, col. 1.

Here we have a clear law, drawn from Scripture,
forbidding, or at any rate denying, mercy to the ignorant. The
words of Rabbi (the Holy) are a practical commentary on the text
worth quoting, “Woe is unto me because I have given my morsel to an
ignorant one.” (Bava Bathra, fol. 8, col. 1.)

But who is the ignorant one from whom this mercy is
to be withheld? Here the doctors disagree. He, says Rabbi Eliezer,
who does not read the Shema, “Hear, O Israel,” etc., both morning
and evening. According to Rabbi Yehudah, he that does not put on
phylacteries is an ignorant one. Rabbi Azai affirms that he who
wears no fringes to his garment is an ignorant one, etc. Others
again say he who even reads the Bible and the Mishna but does not
serve the disciples of the wise, is an ignorant one. Rabbi Huna
winds up with the words “the law is as the others have said,” and
so leaves the difficulty where he finds it. (Berachoth, fol.
47, col. 2.)

Of him “who transgresses the words of the wise,
which he is commanded to obey,” it is written, “He is guilty of
death and has forfeited his life.” (Berachoth, fol. 4, col.
2, and Yevamoth, fol. 20, col. 1.) Whoso, therefore, shows
mercy to him contradicts the purpose and incurs the displeasure of
God. It was in application of this principle, literally
interpreted, that the wise should hold no parley with the ignorant,
which led the Jews to condemn the contrary procedure of Jesus
Christ.

It was this prohibition to show mercy to the
ignorant, together with the solemn threatenings directed against
those who neglected the study of the law, that worked such a
wonderful revolution in Hezekiah’s time; for it is said that then
“they searched from Dan to Beersheba, and did not find an ignorant
one.” (Sanhedrin, fol. 94, col. 2.)

When the Holy One—blessed be He!—remembers that His
children are in trouble among the nations of the world, He drops
two tears into the great ocean, the noise of which startles the
world from one end to the other, and causes the earth to quake.

Berachoth, fol. 59, col. 1.

We read in the Talmud that a Gentile once came to Shamai and
said, “How many laws have you?” Shamai replied, “We have two the
written law and the oral law.” {16} To which the Gentile made
answer, “When you speak of the written law, I believe you, but in
your oral law I have no faith. Nevertheless, you may make me a
proselyte on condition that you teach me the written law only.”
Upon this Shamai rated him sharply, and sent him away with
indignant abuse. When, however, this Gentile came with the same
object, and proposed the same terms to Hillel, the latter proceeded
at once to proselytize him, and on the first day taught him Aleph,
Beth, Gemel, Daleth. On the morrow Hillel reversed the order of
these letters, upon which the proselyte remonstrated and said, “But
thou didst not teach me so yesterday.” “True,” said Hillel, “but
thou didst trust me in what I taught thee then; why, then, dost
thou not trust me now in what I tell thee respecting the oral
law?”

Shabbath, fol. 31, col. 1.

Every man as he goes on the eve of the Sabbath from the
synagogue to his house is escorted by two angels, one of which is a
good angel and the other an evil. When the man comes home and finds
the lamps lit, the table spread, and the bed in order, the good
angel says, “May the coming Sabbath be even as the present;” to
which the evil angel (though with reluctance) is obliged to say,
“Amen.” But if all be in disorder, then the bad angel says, “May
the coming Sabbath be even as the present,” and the good angel is
(with equal reluctance), obliged to say “Amen” to it.

Ibid., fol. 119, col. 2.

Two are better than three. Alas! for the one that goes and does
not return again.

Shabbath, fol. 152, col. 1.

As in the riddle of the Sphinx, the “two” here
stands for youth with its two sufficient legs, and the “three” for
old age, which requires a third support in a staff.

There were two things which God first thought of creating on the
eve of the Sabbath, which, however, were not created till after the
Sabbath had closed. The first was fire, which Adam by divine
suggestion drew forth by striking together two stones; and the
second, was the mule, produced by the crossing of two different
animals.

P’sachim, fol. 54, col. 1.

“Every one has two portions, one in paradise and another in
hell.” Acheer asked Rabbi Meyer, “What meaneth this that is written
(Eccl. vii. 14), ‘God also has set the one over against the
other’?” Rabbi Meyer replied, “There is nothing which God has
created of which He has not also created the opposite. He who
created mountains and hills created also seas and rivers.” But said
Acheer to Rabbi Meyer, “Thy master, Rabbi Akiva, did not say so,
but spake in this way: He created the righteous and also the
wicked; He created paradise and hell: every man has two portions,
one portion in paradise, and the other in hell. The righteous, who
has personal merit, carries both his own portion of good and that
of his wicked neighbor away with him to paradise; the wicked, who
is guilty and condemned, carries both his own portion of evil and
also that of his righteous neighbor away with him to hell.” When
Rav Mesharshia asked what Scripture guarantee there was for this,
this was the reply: “With regard to the righteous, it is written
(Isa. lxi. 7), ‘They shall rejoice in their portion, therefore in
their land (beyond the grave) they shall possess the double.’
Respecting the wicked it is written (Jer. xvii. 18), ‘And destroy
them with double destruction.'”

Chaggigah, fol. 15, col. 1.

The question asked above by Acheer has been
practically resolved by all wise men from the beginning of the
world, but it is the boast of the Hegelians that it has for the
first time been resolved philosophically by their master. Others
had maintained that you could not think a thing but through its
opposite; he first maintained it could not exist but through its
opposite, that, in fact, the thing and its opposite must needs
arise together, and that eternally, as complements of one unity:
the white is not there without the black, nor the black without the
white; the good is not there without the evil, nor the evil without
the good.

Pride is unbecoming in women. There were two proud women, and
their names were contemptible; the name of the one, Deborah,
meaning wasp, and of the other, Huldah, weasel. Respecting the wasp
it is written (Judges iv. 6), “And she sent and called Barak,”
whereas she ought to have gone to him. Concerning the weasel it is
written (2 Kings xxii. 15), “Tell the man that sent you,” whereas
she should have said, “Tell the king.”

Meggillah, fol. 14, col. 2.

If speech is worth one sela (a small coin so called), silence is
worth two.

Ibid., fol. 18, col. 1.

The Swiss motto, “Speech is worth silver, silence
worth gold,” expresses a sentiment which finds great favor with the
authors and varied expression in the pages of the Talmud.

If silence be good for wise men, how much better must it be for
fools!

P’sachim, fol. 98, col. 2.

For every evil silence is the best remedy.

Meggillah, fol. 18, col. 1.

Silence is as good as confession.

Yevamoth, fol. 87, col. 1.

Silence in a Babylonian was a mark of his being of good
family.

Kiddushin, fol. 71, col. 2.

Simeon, the son of Gamliel, said, “I have been brought up all my
life among the wise, and I have never found anything of more
material benefit than silence.”

Avoth, chap. 1.

Rabbi Akiva said, “Laughter and levity lead a man to lewdness;
but tradition is a fence to the law, tithes are a fence to riches,
vows are a fence to abstinence, while the fence of wisdom is
silence.”

Ibid., chap. 3.

When they opened his brain, they found in it a gnat as big as a
swallow and weighing two selas.

Gittin, fol. 56, col. 2.

The context of the above states a tradition current
among the Jews in reference to Titus, the destroyer of Jerusalem.
It is said that when, after taking the city, he had shamefully
violated and profaned the Temple, he took the sacred vessels of the
sanctuary, wrapped them in the veil of the holy place, and sailed
with them to Rome. At sea a storm arose and threatened to sink the
ship; upon which he was heard reflecting, “It seems the God of
these Jews has no power anywhere but at sea. Pharaoh He drowned,
and Sisera He drowned, and now He is about to drown me also. If He
be mighty, let Him go ashore and contend with me there.” Then came
a voice from heaven and said, “O thou wicked one, son of a wicked
man and grandson of Esau the wicked, go ashore. I have a
creature—an insignificant one in my world—go and fight
with it.”

This creature was a gnat, and is called
insignificant because it must receive and discharge what it eats by
one aperture. Immediately, therefore, he landed, when a gnat flew
up his nostrils and made its way to his brain, on which it fed for
a period of seven years. One {19} day he happened to pass a blacksmith’s
forge, when the noise of the hammer soothed the gnawing at his
brain. “Aha” said Titus, “I have found a remedy at last;” and he
ordered a blacksmith to hammer before him. To a Gentile for this he
(for a time) paid four zuzim a day, but to a Jewish blacksmith he
paid nothing, remarking to him, “It is payment enough to thee to
see thy enemy suffering so painfully.” For thirty days he felt
relieved, but after, no amount of hammering in the least relieved
him. As to what happened after his death, we have this testimony
from Rabbi Phineas, the son of Aruba: “I myself was among the Roman
magnates when an inquest was held upon the body of Titus, and on
opening his brain they found therein a gnat as big as a swallow,
weighing two selas.” Others say it was as large as a pigeon a year
old and weighed two litras. Abaii says, “We found its mouth was of
copper and its claws of iron.” Titus gave instructions that after
his death his body should be burned, and the ashes thereof
scattered over the surface of the seven seas, that the God of the
Jews might not find him and bring him to judgment. (Gittin,
fol. 56, col. 2.)

“The man with two wives, one young and the other old.” Rav Ami
and Rav Assi were in social converse with Rabbi Isaac Naphcha, when
one of them said to him, “Tell us, sir, some pretty legend,” and
the other said, “Pray explain to us rather some nice point of law.”
When he began the legend he displeased the one, and when he
proceeded to explain a point of law, he offended the other.
Whereupon he took up this parable in illustration of the plight in
which their obstinacy placed him. “I am like the man with the two
wives, the one young and the other old. The young one plucked out
all his gray hairs (that he might look young), and the old wife
pulled out all his black hairs (that he might look old); and so
between the one and the other he became bald. So is it with me
between you. However, I’ve something nice for both of you. It is
written (Exod. xxii. 6), ‘If a fire break out and catch in thorns,
so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field be
consumed therewith, he that kindled the fire shall surely make
restoration.’ The Holy One—blessed be He!—hath said, ‘I
must both judge myself and take upon myself to indemnify the evil
of the conflagration I have caused, for I have kindled a fire in
Zion,’ as it is written (Lament, iv. 11), ‘He hath kindled a fire
in Zion, and hath devoured the foundations {20} thereof.’ I
must therefore rebuild her with fire, as it is written (Zech. ii.
5), ‘I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the
glory in the midst of her.'”

Bava Kama, fol. 60, col. 2.

Rabbi Oshaia asked, “What is this that is written, (Zech. xi.
7), ‘I took unto me two staves; the one I called Amiable and the
other Destroyer’?” The staff called Amiable represents the
disciples of the wise in the land of Israel, who were friendly one
toward another in their debates about the law. The staff called
Destroyer represents the disciples of the wise of Babylon, who in
the like debates were fierce tempered and not friendly toward one
another. What is the meaning of Babel or Babylon? Rabbi Yochanan
says it means “confused in the Bible, confused in the Mishna, and
confused in the Talmud.” “He hath set me in dark places, as they
that be dead of old” (Lam. iii. 6). Rabbi Jeremiah said by this we
are to understand the Babylonian Talmud.

Sanhedrin, fol. 24, col. 1.

The Rabbis say these three hate their
fellows—dogs, cocks, and conjurors; to which some add, among
others, the disciples of the wise of Babylon. (P’sachim,
fol. 113, col. 2.)

On his return from Babylon to the land of Israel,
Rabbi Zira fasted a hundred fasts, during which he prayed that he
might be enabled to forget the Babylonian Talmud. (Bava
Metzia, fol. 85, col. 1.)

Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yonathan traveled one day together;
they came to two roads, one of which led by the door of a place
devoted to the worship of idols, and the other by a place of ill
fame. Upon which one said to the other, “Let us go by the former,
because our inclination to the evil that waylays us there is
already extinguished.” “Nay, rather,” said the other, “let us go by
the latter, and curb our desires; so shall we receive a reward in
recompense.” In this resolution they went on, and as they passed
the place the women humbled themselves before them and withdrew
ashamed into their chambers. Then Yochanan asked the other, “How
didst thou know that this would occur to us?” He made answer, “From
what is written (in Prov. ii. 2), ‘Discretion (in the law) shall
preserve thee.'”

Avodah Zarah, fol. 17, cols. 1, 2.

Given two dry firebrands and one piece of green wood, the dry
will set fire to the green.

Sanhedrin, fol 93, col. 1.

With two dogs they caught the lion.

Ibid., fol. 95, col. 1.

Both these proverbs express the same idea, that a
minority, be it ever so strong, must give way to a majority.

“And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed
together” (Numb. xxii. 7). Midian and Moab were never friendly
toward each other; they were like two dogs tending a flock, always
at variance. When the wolf came upon the one, however, the other
thought, “If I do not help my neighbor to-day, the wolf may come
upon myself to-morrow;” therefore the two dogs leagued together
and, killed the wolf. Hence, says Rabbi Pappa, the popular saying,
“The mouse and the cat are combined to make a feast on the fat of
the unfortunate.”

Ibid., fol. 105, col. 1.

Rabbi Yochanan, in the name of Yossi, the son of Zimra, asks,
“What is this that is written (Ps. cxx. 3), ‘What shall be given
unto thee, or what shall be added unto thee, O thou false tongue’?”
The Holy One—blessed be He!—said to the tongue, “All
the members of the body are erect, thou only art recumbent; all
other members are without, thou art within, and not only so, for I
have surrounded thee with two walls, one of bone and the other of
flesh. What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added unto
thee, O thou false tongue?” Rabbi Yochanan, in the name of Yossi,
says, “He who slanders is an atheist, for it is written (Ps. xii.
4), ‘Who have said, With our tongues will we prevail; Our lips are
with us; who is lord over us?'”

Erchin, fol. 15, col. 2.

Here are a few sayings from the Talmud on the abuse
of the tongue.

He who slanders, he who receives slander, and he who bears false
witness against his neighbor, deserve to be cast to the dogs.

Psachim, fol. 118, col. 1.

All animals will one day remonstrate with the serpent and say,
“The lion treads upon his prey and devours it, {22} the wolf
tears and eats it, but thou, what profit hast thou in biting?” The
serpent will reply (Eccl. viii. II), “I am no worse than a
slanderer.”

Taanith, fol. 8, col. 1.

Adonijah was deprived of life for no other reason than that he
was given to quarreling. It is lawful to slander one so evil
disposed as he was.

Perek Hashalom.

God will say to the prince of hell, “I from above and thou from
below shall judge and condemn the slanderer.”

Erchin, fol. 15, col. 2.

The third tongue (i.e., slander) hurts three parties: the
slanderer himself, the receiver of slander, and the person
slandered.

Ibid.

Four classes do not receive the presence of the Shechinah:
scorners, liars, flatterers, and slanderers.

Sanhedrin, fol. 103, col. 1.

Where are we told that when two sit together and study the law
the Shechinah is with them? In Mal. iii. 16, where it is written,
“They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord
hearkened and heard it.”

Berachoth, fol. 6, col. 1.

Why did Elijah employ two invocations, saying twice over, “Hear
me! hear me!” (1 Kings xviii. 37.) Elijah first prayed before God,
“O Lord, King of the universe, hear me!” that He might send fire
down from heaven and consume all that was upon the altar; and again
he prayed, “Hear me!” that they might not imagine that the result
was a matter of sorcery; for it is said, “Thou hast turned their
heart back again.”

Berachoth, fol. 9, col. 2.

The twofold invocation of Elijah, which betokens
his intense earnestness, anagrammatically expressed, is echoed in
the words of the bystanders, “The Lord He is the God, the Lord He
is the God.”

“I dreamed,” said Bar Kappara one day to Rabbi (the Holy), “that
I beheld two pigeons, and they flew away from me.” “Thy dream is
this,” replied Rabbi, “thou hast had two wives, and art separated
from them both without a bill of divorcement.”

Ibid., fol. 56, col. 2.

The Rabbis teach concerning the two kidneys in man, that one
counsels him to do good and the other to do evil; {23} and it
appears that the former is situated on the right side and the
latter on the left. Hence it is written (Eccl. x. 2), “A wise man’s
heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart is at his left.”

Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.

For two sins the common people perish: they speak of the holy
ark as a box and the synagogue as a resort for the ignorant
vulgar.

Shabbath, fol. 32, col. 1.

On the self-same day when Jeroboam introduced the two golden
calves, the one into Bethel and the other into Dan, a hut was
erected in a part of Italy which was then subject to the
Greeks.

Ibid., fol. 56, col. 2.

In the context where the above tradition occurs,
which, as is obvious, relates to the founding of Rome, we meet with
another on the same subject as follows:—When Solomon married
the daughter of Pharaoh, the Angel Gabriel thrust a reed into the
sea, stirring up therewith the sand and mud from the bottom. This,
gradually collecting, first shaped itself into an island and then
expanded so as to unite itself with the continent. And thus was the
land created for the erection of the hut which should one day swell
into the proportion of a proud imperial city.

If Israel kept only two Sabbaths, according to the strict
requirement of the law, they would be freed at once from their
compelled dispersion; for it is written (Isa. lvi. 4, 7), “Thus
saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, Even them
will I bring to my holy mountain.”

Shabbath, fol. 118, col. 2.

Adam had two faces; for it is said (Ps. cxxxix. 5), “Thou hast
made me behind and before.”

Eiruvin, fol. 18, col. 1.

There is a notion among the Rabbis that Adam was
possessed originally of a bisexual organization, and this
conclusion they draw from Gen. i. 27, where it is said, “God
created man in his own image; male-female created He them.” These
two natures, it was thought, lay side by side; according to some,
the male on the right and the female on the left; according to
others, back to back; while there were those who maintained that
Adam was created with a tail, and that it was from this appendage
Eve was fashioned. Other Jewish traditions tell us that Eve was
made from “the thirteenth rib of the right side” (Targ. Jonath.),
and that “she was not drawn out by the head, lest she should be
vain; nor by the eyes, lest she should be wanton; nor from the
mouth, lest she should be given to garrulity; nor by the ears, lest
she should be an eavesdropper; {24} nor by the hands, lest she
should be intermeddling; nor by the feet, lest she be a gadder; nor
by the heart, for fear she should be jealous; but she was taken out
from the side. Yet, in spite of all these precautions, she had all
the faults so carefully provided against.”

If in time of national calamity a man withdraw himself from his
kindred and refuse to share in their sorrow, his two guardian
angels come and lay their hands upon his head and say, “This man
has isolated himself from his country in the day of its need, let
him not live to see and enjoy the day when God shall restore its
prosperity.” When the community is in trouble, let no man say, “I
will go home and eat and drink, and say, Peace be unto thee, oh my
soul!” (Luke xii. 19); for to him Scripture hath solemnly said
(Isa. xxii. 13, 14), “Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from
you till you die.”

Taanith, fol. 11, col. 1.

An infant that has died under a month old is (to be) carried to
the grave in the arms (not in a coffin), and buried by one woman
and two men, but not by one man and two women.

Moed Katan, fol. 24, col. 1.

Both Rashi and the Tosephoth allude to a case which
justifies the rule given here, where a woman actually carried a
living child in a coffin, in order to avoid the suspicion of an
assignation she had made with a man, who set out to join her. But
the Tosephoth, after noticing this version of Rashi, gives another
more to the point. The story in the Tosephoth is to this
effect:—A woman was once weeping and groaning over the grave
of her husband, and not very far away was a man who was guarding
the corpse of a person who had been crucified. In the moment of
mourning an affection sprung up between the two, and in the
engrossment of it the corpse which the man guarded was stolen. He
was in great trepidation for fear of the king’s command. The woman
said, “Don’t be afraid; exhume my husband, and hang him up
instead.” This was accordingly done. (See Kiddushin, fol.
80, col. 2.)

There were two date trees in the Valley of Hinnom from between
which smoke ascended, and this is the gate of hell.

Succah, fol. 32, col. 2.

According to Jewish tradition, there are three
gates to Gehinnom, one in the desert, one in the sea, and one in
Jerusalem: In the desert, as it is written (Numb. xvi. 33), “They
went down, and all that belonged to them, alive into hell.” In the
sea, as it is written (Jonah {25} ii. 2), “Out of the belly of hell have
I called,” etc. In Jerusalem, as it is written (Isa. xxxi. 9),
“Thus saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and His furnace in
Jerusalem.”

When two women are seen sitting on opposite sides of a cross
road facing each other, it is to be presumed that they are up to
witchcraft and contemplate mischief. What in that case must you do?
Go by another road, if there is one, and if not, with a companion,
should such turn up, passing the crones arm-in-arm with him; but
should there be no other road and no other man, then walk straight
on repeating the counter-charm, as you pass them—

P’sachim, fol. 111, col. 2.

Agrath and Blussia are two Amazons well known to
those familiar with Rabbinic demonology.

“If Mordecai, before whom thou hast began to fall, be of the
seed of the Jews, expect not to prevail against him, but thou shalt
fall” (Esth. vi. 13). Wherefore these two fallings? They told
Haman, saying, “This nation is likened to the dust, and is also
likened to the stars; when they are down, they are down even to the
dust, but when they begin to rise, they rise to the stars.”

Meggillah, fol. 16, col. 1.

If any two disciples of the wise, dwelling in the same city,
have a difference respecting the Halachah, let them remember what
Scripture denounces against them, “And also I gave them statutes
that are not good, and judgments by which they shall not live”
(Ezek. xx. 25).

Ibid., fol. 32, col. 1.

If a man espouse one of two sisters, and does not know which he
has espoused, he must give both a bill of divorce. If two men
espouse two sisters, and neither of them know which he has
espoused, then each man must give two bills of divorce, one to each
woman.

Yevamoth, fol. 23, col. 2.

There is a time coming (i.e., in the days of the
Messiah), when a grain of wheat will be as large as the two kidneys
of the great ox.

Kethuboth, fol. 111, col. 1.

According to a recent discovery, which has been
confirmed by subsequent observation and experiment, wheat is a
development by cultivation of the tiny grain of the
Ægilops ovata, a sort of grass; but we are indebted to
Rabbinic lore for the curious information that before the Fall of
man wheat grew upon a tree whose trunk looked like gold, its
branches like silver, and its leaves like so many emeralds. The
wheat ears themselves were as red as rubies, and each bore five
sparkling grains as white as snow, as sweet as honey, and as
fragrant as musk. At first the grains were as big as an ostrich’s
egg, but in the time of Enoch they diminished to the size of a
goose’s egg, and in Elijah’s to that of a hen, while at the
commencement of the common era, they shrank so small as not to be
larger than grapes, according to a law the inverse of the order of
nature. Rabbi Yehudah (Sanhedrin, fol. 70, col. 1) says that
wheat was the forbidden fruit. Hence probably the degeneracy.

Of two that quarrel, the one that first gives in shows the
nobler nature.

Ibid., fol. 71, col. 2.

He who sets aside a portion of his wealth for the relief of the
poor will be delivered from the judgment of hell. Of this the
parable of the two sheep that attempted to ford a river is an
illustration; one was shorn of its wool and the other not; the
former, therefore, managed to get over, but the latter, being
heavy-laden, sank.

Gittin, fol. 7, col. 1.

Zoreah and Eshtaol (Josh. xv. 33) were two large mountains, but
Samson tore them up and grated the one against the other.

Soteh, fol. 9, col. 2.

The above tradition is founded on Judges xiii. 25,
in which it is said of Samson, “And the spirit of God began to move
him at times in the camp of Dan, between Zoreah and Eshtaol,” in
which the word “move,” signifies also to “strike a stroke,” “step a
step,” and “once.” Founding on which last two meanings, Rabbi
Yehudah says, “Samson strode in one stride from Zoreah to Eshtaol,”
a giant stride of two miles or more. Taking the word in the sense
of “strike,” or “producing a ringing sound,” another Rabbi tells us
that the hairs of Samson’s head stood upright, tinkling one against
another like bells, the jingle of which might be heard from Zoreah
to Eshtaol. The version in the text takes the same word in the
sense of to “strike together.”

On the day when Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a great feast, to
which he invited all the people of the land. Not all of those who
came to enjoy the feast believed in the alleged occasion of its
celebration, for some said contemptuously, {27} “This old
couple have adopted a foundling, and provided a feast to persuade
us to believe that the child is their own offspring.” What did
Abraham do? He invited all the great men of the day, and Sarah
invited their wives, who brought their infants, but not their
nurses, along with them. On this occasion Sarah’s breasts became
like two fountains, for she supplied, of her own body, nourishment
to all the children. Still some were unconvinced, and said, “Shall
a child be born to one that is a hundred years old, and shall
Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear?” (Gen. xvii. 17.) Whereupon,
to silence this objection, Isaac’s face was changed, so that it
became the very picture of Abraham’s; then one and all exclaimed,
“Abraham begat Isaac.”

Bara Metzia, fol. 87, col. 1.

Rava relates the following in the name of Rabbi
Yochanan:—”Two Jewish slaves were one day walking along, when
their master, who was following, overheard the one saying to the
other, ‘There is a camel ahead of us, as I judge—for I have
not seen—that is blind of one eye and laden with two
skin-bottles, one of which contains wine and the other oil, while
two drivers attend it, one of them an Israelite, and the other a
Gentile.’ ‘You perverse men,’ said their master, ‘how can you
fabricate such a story as that?’ The slave answered, and gave this
as his reason, ‘The grass is cropped only on one side of the track,
the wine, that must have dripped, has soaked into the earth on the
right, and the oil has trickled down, and may be seen on the left;
while one of the drivers turned aside from the track to ease
himself, but the other has not even left the road for the purpose.’
Upon this the master stepped on before them in order to verify the
correctness of their inferences, and found the conclusion true in
every particular. He then turned back, and … after complimenting
the two slaves for their shrewdness, he at once gave them their
liberty.”

Sanhedrin, fol. 104, col. 2.

When the disciples of Shamai and Hillel increased in Israel,
contention increased along with them, so much so, that the one law
became as two laws (and these contradictory).

Soteh, fol. 47, col. 2.

If two parties deposit money with a third, one a single manah
and the other two hundred, and both afterward appear and claim the
larger sum, the depositary should give each depositor one manah
only, and leave the rest undivided till the coming of Elijah.

Bava Metzia, fol. 37, col. 2.

“Till Elijah comes” is a phrase which is in use
among the Jews to express postponement forever, like ad Kalendas
Græcas. It is applied to questions that would take Elijah
to settle, which, it is believed, he will not appear to do till
doomsday.

“And I will make thy windows of agates” (Isa. liv. 12). Two of
the angels in heaven, Gabriel and Michael, once disputed about
this: one maintained that the stone should be an onyx, and the
other asserted it should be a jasper; but the Holy
One—blessed be He!—said unto them, “Let it be as both
say, which, in Hebrew, abbreviated, is an agate.”

Bava Bathra, fol. 75, col. 1.

“The horseleech has two daughters, crying, Give! give!” (Prov.
xxx. 15.) Mar Ukva says, “This has reference to the voice of two
daughters crying out from torture in hell, because their voice is
heard in this world crying, ‘Give! give!’—namely—heresy
and officialism.”

Avodah Zarah, fol. 17, col. 1.

Rashi says heresy here refers to the “heresy of
James,” or, in other words, Christianity.

Two cemeteries were provided by the judicial authorities, one
for beheaded and strangled criminals, and the other for those that
were stoned or burned. When the flesh of these was consumed, they
collected the bones and buried them in their own place, after which
the relations came and saluted the judge and the witnesses, and
said, “We owe you no grudge, for you passed a just judgment.”

Sanhedrin, fol. 46, col. 1.

Alas! for the loss which the world has sustained in the
degradation of the helpful serpent. If the serpent had not been
degraded, every Israelite would have been attended by two of kindly
disposition, one of which might have been sent to the north, and
the other to the south, to bring for its owner precious corals and
costly stones and pearls.

Sanhedrin, fol. 59, col. 2.

Here are two or three other sayings from the Talmud relative to
the serpent.

Benjamin the son of Jacob, Amram the father of Moses, and Jesse
the father of David all died, not because of their own sin (for
they had none, says Rashi), but because of the (original) sin
committed under the serpent’s temptation.

Shabbath, fol. 55, col. 2.

No man was ever injured by a serpent or scorpion in
Jerusalem.

Yoma, fol. 21, col. 1.

“And dust is the serpent’s food” (Isa. lxv. 25). Rav Ammi says,
“To the serpent no delicacy in the world has any other flavor than
that of dust;” and Rav Assi says, “No delicacy in the world
satisfies him like dust.”

Ibid., fol. 75, col. 1.

Two negatives or two affirmatives are as good as an oath.

Shevuoth, fol. 36, col. 1.

Like two pearls were the two drops of holy oil that were
suspended from the two corners of the beard of Aaron.

Horayoth, fol. 12, col. 1.

For two to sit together and have no discourse about the law, is
to sit in the seat of the scornful; as it is said (Ps. i. I), “And
sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.”

Avoth, chap. iii.

When two are seated together at table, the younger shall not
partake before the elder, otherwise the younger shall be justly
accounted a glutton.

Derech Eretz, chap. vii.

Philemo once asked Rabbi (the Holy), “If a man has two heads, on
which is he to put the phylactery?” To which Rabbi replied, “Either
get up and be off, or take an anathema; for thou art making fun of
me.”

Menachoth, fol. 37, col. 1.

It is thus Rav Yoseph taught what is meant when it is written in
Isaiah xii. I, “I will praise Thee, O Lord, because Thou wast angry
with me: Thine anger will depart and Thou wilt comfort me.” “The
text applies,” he says, “to two men who were going abroad on a
mercantile enterprise, one of whom, having had a thorn run into his
foot, had to forego his intended journey, and began in consequence
{30}
to utter reproaches and blaspheme. Having afterward learned that
the ship in which his companion had sailed had sunk to the bottom
of the sea, he confessed his shortsightedness and praised God for
His mercy.”

Niddah, fol. 31, col. 1.

The night is divided into three watches, and at each watch the
Holy One—blessed be He!—sits and roars like a lion; as
it is written (Jer. xxv. 30), “The Lord will roar from on high, …
roaring, He will roar over his habitation.” The marks by which this
division of the night is recognized are these:—In the first
watch the ass brays; in the second the dog barks; and in the third
the babe is at the breast and the wife converses with her
husband.

Berachoth, fol. 3, col. 1.

The Rabbis have taught that there are three reasons why a person
should not enter a ruin:—1. Because he may be suspected of
evil intent; 2. Because the walls might tumble upon him; 3. And
because of evil spirits that frequent such places.

Ibid., fol. 3, col. 1.

He who three times a day repeats David’s psalm of praise (Ps.
cxlv.) may be sure of an inheritance in the world to come.

Ibid., fol. 4, col. 2.

Three precious gifts were given to Israel, but none of them
without a special affliction: these three gifts were the law, the
land of Israel, and the world to come.

Ibid., fol. 5, col. 1.

These are also from the Talmud anent Israel and the
Israelites.

All Israelites are princes.

Shabbath, fol. 57, col. 1.

All Israelites are holy.

Ibid., fol. 86, col. 1.

Happy are ye, O Israel! for every one of you, from the least to
the greatest, is a great philosopher. (Eiruvin, fol. 53,
col. 1.) The Machzor for Pentecost says, Israelites are as “full of
meritorious works as a pomegranate is full of pips.”

See also Chaggigah, fol. 27, col, 1.

As it is impossible for the world to be without air, so also is
it impossible for the world to be without Israel.

Taanith, fol. 3, col. 2.

If the ox of an Israelite bruise the ox of a Gentile, the
Israelite is exempt from paying damages; but should the ox of a
Gentile bruise the ox of an Israelite, the Gentile is bound to
recompense him in full.

Bava Kama, fol. 38, col. 1.

When an Israelite and a Gentile have a lawsuit before thee, if
thou canst, acquit the former according to the laws of Israel, and
tell the latter such is our law; if thou canst get him off in
accordance with Gentile law, do so, and say to the plaintiff such
is your law; but if he cannot be acquitted according to either law,
then bring forward adroit pretexts and secure his acquittal. These
are the words of the Rabbi Ishmael. Rabbi Akiva says, “No false
pretext should be brought forward, because, if found out, the name
of God would be blasphemed; but if there be no fear of that, then
it may be adduced.”

Ibid., fol. 113, col. 1.

If one find lost property in a locality where the majority are
Israelites, he is bound to proclaim it; but he is not bound to do
so if the majority be Gentiles.

Bava Metzia, fol. 24, col. 1.

(Prov. xiv. 34), “Almsgiving exalteth a nation, but benevolence
is a sin to nations.” “Almsgiving exalteth a nation,” that is to
say, the nation of Israel; as it is written (2 Sam. vii. 23), “And
what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel?”
but “benevolence” is a sin to nations, that is to say, for the
Gentiles to exercise charity and benevolence is sin.

Bava Bathra, fol. 10, col. 2.

If a Gentile smite an Israelite, he is guilty of death; as it is
written (Exod. ii. 12), “And he looked this way and that way, and
when he saw there was no man, he slew the Egyptian.”

Sanhedrin, fol. 58, col. 2.

All Israelites have a portion in the world to come; as it is
written (Isa. lx. 21), “And thy people are all righteous: they
shall inherit the land.”

Ibid., fol. 90, col. 1.

“And they shall fall one on account of another” (Lev. xxvi.
37),—one on account of the sins of another. This teaches us
that all Israel are surety for one another.

Shevuoth, fol. 39, col. 1.

If one find a foundling in a locality where the majority are
Gentiles, then the child is (to be reckoned) a Gentile; if the
majority be Israelites, it is to be considered as an Israelite; and
so also it is to be, providing the numbers are equal.

Machsheerin, chap. 2, Mish. 7.

“One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but
the earth abideth forever” (Eccl. i. 4). One empire cometh and
another passeth away, but Israel abideth forever.

Perek Hashalom.

The world was created only for Israel: none are called the
children of God but Israel; none are beloved before God but
Israel.

Gerim, chap. 1.

The Jew that has no wife abideth without joy, without a
blessing, and without any good. Without joy, as it is written
(Deut. xiv. 26), “And thou shalt reject, thou and thy household;”
without blessing, as it is written (Ezek. xliv. 30), “That He may
cause a blessing to rest on thy household;” without any good, for
it is written (Gen. ii. 8), “It is not good that man should be
alone.”

Yevamoth, fol. 62, col. 2.

The Jew that has no wife is not a man; for it is written (Gen.
v. 2), “Male and female created He them and called their name man.”
To which Rabbi Eleazar adds, “So every one who has no landed
property is no man; for it is written (Ps. cxv. 16), ‘The heaven,
even the heavens, are the Lord’s, but the earth (the land, that
is), hath He given to the children of man.'”

Yevamoth, fol. 63, col. 1.

Three things did Moses ask of God:—1. He asked that the
Shechinah might rest upon Israel; 2. That the Shechinah might rest
upon none but Israel; and 3. That God’s ways might be made known
unto him; and all these requests were granted.

Berachoth, fol. 7, col. 1.

What was the Shechinah? Was it the presence of a
Divine person or only of a Divine power? The following quotations
will show what is the teaching of the Talmud on the matter, and
will be read with interest by the theologian, whether Jew or
Christian.

Where do we learn that when ten persons pray
together the Shechinah is with them? In Ps. lxxxii. 1, where it is
written, “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty.” And
where do we {33} learn that when two sit together and study
the law the Shechinah is with them? In Mal. iii. 16, where it is
written, “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to
another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it.” (Berachoth,
fol. 6, col. 1.)

Where do we learn that the Shechinah does
strengthen the sick? In Ps. xli. 3, where it is written, “The Lord
will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing.” (Shabbath,
fol. 12, col. 2.)

He who goes from the Synagogue to the lecture-room,
and from the lecture-room back to the Synagogue, will become worthy
to receive the presence of the Shechinah; as it is written (Ps.
lxxxiv. 1), “They go from strength to strength; every one of them
in Zion appeareth before God.” (Moed Katan, fol. 29, col.
1.)

Rabbi Yossi says, “The Shechinah never came down
here below, nor did Moses and Elijah ever ascend on high, because
it is written (Ps. cxv. 16), ‘The heaven, even the heavens, are the
Lord’s, but the earth hath he given to the children of men.'”
(Succah, fol. 5, col. 1.)

Esther “stood in the inner court of the King’s
house” (Esth. v, 1). Rabbi Levi says, “When she reached the house
of the images the Shechinah departed from her. Then she exclaimed,
‘My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?'” (Meggillah,
fol. 15, col. 2.)

“But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are
alive every one of you this day” (Deut. iv. 4). Is it possible to
cleave to the Shechinah? Is it not written (ibid., verse
24), “For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire”? The reply
is:—He that bestows his daughter in marriage on a disciple of
the wise (that is, a Rabbi), or does business on behalf of the
disciples of the wise, or maintains them from his property,
Scripture accounts it as if he did cleave to the Shechinah.
(Kethuboth, fol. 111, col. 25.)

He who is angry has no regard even for the
Shechinah; as it is written (Ps. x. 4), “The wicked, when his anger
rises, does not inquire after God; God is not in all his thoughts.”
(Nedarim, fol. 22, col. 2.)

He who visits the sick should not sit upon the bed,
nor even upon a stool or a chair beside it, but he should wrap his
mantle round him and sit upon the floor, because of the Shechinah
which rests at the head of the bed of the invalid; as it is written
(Ps. xli. 3), “The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of
languishing.” (Ibid., fol. 40, col. 1.)

When Israel went up out of the Red Sea, both the
babe on its mother’s lap and the suckling at the breast saw the
Shechinah, and said, “This is my God, and I will prepare Him a
habitation;” as it is written (Ps. viii. 2), “Out of the mouths of
babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength.” (Soteh,
fol. 30, col. 2.)

Where do we read that the Shechinah is present
everywhere? In Zech. ii. 3, where it is written, “And behold the
angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to
meet him.” It is not said went out after him, but “went out to meet
him.” From this {34} we know that the Shechinah is present
everywhere. (Bava Bathra fol. 25, col. 1.)

Rabbi Akiva says, “For three things I admire the Medes:—1.
When they carve meat, they do it on the table; 2. When they kiss,
they only do so upon the hand; 3. And when they consult, they do so
only in the field.”

Berachoth, fol. 8, col. 2.

The stone which Og, king of Bashan, meant to throw upon Israel
is the subject of a tradition delivered on Sinai. “The camp of
Israel I see,” he said, “extends three miles; I shall therefore go
and root up a mountain three miles in extent and throw it upon
them.” So off he went, and finding such a mountain, raised it on
his head, but the Holy One—blessed be He!—sent an army
of ants against him, which so bored the mountain over his head that
it slipped down upon his shoulders, from which he could not lift
it, because his teeth, protruding, had riveted it upon him. This
explains that which is written (Ps. iii. 7), “Thou hast broken the
teeth of the ungodly;” where read not “Thou hast broken,” but “Thou
hast ramified,” that is, “Thou hast caused to branch out.” Moses
being ten ells in height, seized an axe ten ells long, and
springing up ten ells, struck a blow on Og’s ankle and killed
him.

Ibid., fol. 54, col. 2.

This same story is given with more than Talmudic
exaggeration in the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, while the author
of the Book of Jasher (chap. lxv., verses 23, 24) makes the camp
and the mountain forty miles in extent. The giant here figures in
antediluvian tradition. He is said to have been saved at the Flood
by laying hold of the ark, and being fed day by day through a hole
in the side of the ark by Noah himself. A tradition which says the
soles of his feet were forty miles long at once explains all the
extraordinary feats ascribed to him.

Rav Yehudah used to say, “Three things shorten a man’s days and
years:—1. Neglecting to read the law when it is given to him
for that purpose; seeing it is written (Deut. xxx. 20), ‘For He
(who gave it) is thy life and the length of thy days.’ 2. Omitting
to repeat the customary benediction over a cup of blessing; for it
is written (Gen. xii. 3), ‘And I will bless them that bless thee.’
{35}
3. And the assumption of a Rabbinical air; for Rabbi Chama bar
Chanena says, ‘Joseph died before any of his brethren, because he
domineered over them.'”

Berachoth, fol. 55, col. 1.

The first of these refers to the reading of the law
in public worship, the second to a practice after meals when more
than two adult Jews were present, and the third to the dictatorial
air often assumed by the Rabbis.

Three things proceed by pre-eminence from God
Himself:—Famine, plenty, and a wise ruler. Famine (2 Kings
viii. 2): “The Lord hath called for a famine;” plenty (Ezek. xxxvi.
29): “I will call for corn and increase it;” a wise ruler; for it
is written (Exod. xxxi. 2), “I have called by name Bezaleel.” Rabbi
Yitzchak says, “A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community
be first consulted. God first consulted Moses, then Moses consulted
the nation concerning the appointment of Bezaleel.”

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 1.

Three dreams come to pass:—That which is dreamed in the
morning; that which is also dreamed by one’s neighbor; and a dream
which is interpreted within a dream; to which some add, one that is
dreamed by the same person twice; as it is written (Gen. xli. 32),
“And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice.”

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.

Three things tranquilize the mind of man:—Melody, scenery,
and sweet odor. Three things develop the mind of man:—A fine
house, a handsome wife, and elegant furniture.

Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that there are three sorts of
dropsy:—Thick, resulting from sin; bloated, in consequence of
insufficient food; and thin, due to sorcery.

Shabbath, fol. 33, col. 1.

These three grow stronger as they grow older:—The fish,
the serpent, and the pig.

Ibid., fol. 77, col. 2.

It were better to cut the hands off than to touch the eye, or
the nose, or the mouth, or the ear, etc., with them without having
first washed them. Unwashed hands may cause blindness, deafness,
foulness of breath, or a polypus. {36} It is taught that Rabbi Nathan
has said, “The evil spirit Bath Chorin, which rests upon the hands
at night, is very strict; he will not depart till water is poured
upon the hands three times over.”

Ibid. fol. 109, col. 1.

The great importance of this ceremonial washing of
the hands will appear from the following anecdote, which we quote
verbatim from another part of the Talmud:—”It happened
once, as the Rabbis teach, that Rabbi Akiva was immured in a
prison, and Yehoshua Hagarsi was his attendant. One day the gaoler
said to the latter as he entered, ‘What a lot of water thou hast
brought to-day! Dost thou need it to sap the walls of the prison?’
So saying, he seized the vessel and poured out half of the water.
When Yehoshua brought in what was left of the water to Rabbi Akiva,
the latter, who was weary of waiting, for he was faint and thirsty,
reproachfully said to him, ‘Yehoshua, dost thou forget that I am
old, and my very life depends upon thee?’ When the servant related
what had happened, the Rabbi asked for the water to wash his hands,
‘Why, master,’ said Yehoshua, ‘there’s not enough for thee to
drink, much less to cleanse thy hands with.’ To which the Rabbi
replied, ‘What am I to do? They who neglect to wash their hands are
judged worthy of death; ’tis better that I should die by my own act
from thirst than act against the rules of my associates.’ And
accordingly it is related that he abstained from tasting anything
till they brought him water to wash his hands.” (Eiruvin,
fol. 21, col. 2. See also Maimonides, Hilc. Berach., vi.
19.)

From the context of the passage just quoted we cull
the following, which proves that the Talmud itself bases the
precept concerning the washing of hands on oral tradition and not
on the written law:—”Rav Yehudah ascribes this saying to
Shemuel, that when Solomon gave to the traditional rules that
regulated the washing of hands and other ceremonial rites the form
and sanction of law, a Bath Kol came forth and said (Prov. xxiii.
15), ‘My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even
mine;’ and again it said (Prov. xxvii, 11), ‘My son, be wise, and
make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.'”
(See Prov. xxx. 5, 6.)

There is a great deal in the Talmud about washing
the hands, in addition to what is said in the treatise Yadaim,
which is entirely devoted to the subject. But this topic is
subordinate to another, namely, the alleged inferiority of the
precepts of the Bible to the prescriptions of the Rabbis, of which
the punctilious rules regulative of hand washing form only a small
fraction. This is illustrated by an anecdote from the Talmudic
leaflet entitled Callah, respecting Rabbi Akiva, whose fame extends
from one end of the world to the other. (See Yevamoth, fol.
16, col. 2).

Once upon a time, as the Elders were sitting
together, two lads passed by them, one with his head covered and
the other bareheaded. Of the latter boy as he passed Rabbi Elazar
said, “He is a Mamzer,” {37} and Rabbi Yehoshua, “He is a Ben
Haniddah,” but Rabbi Akiva contended, “He is both a Mamzer and a
Ben Haniddah.” Upon which the Elders said to Rabbi Akiva, “How
darest thou be so bold as dispute the assertion of thy masters?”
“Because I can substantiate what I say,” was his answer. He then
went to the mother of the lad, and found her selling pease in the
market place. “Daughter,” said he to her, “if thou wilt answer all
that I ask of thee, I will ensure thee a portion in the life to
come.” She replied, “Let me have thy oath and I will do so.” Then
taking the oath with his lips but nullifying it in his heart, he
asked her, “What sort of a son is thy lad?” She replied, “When I
entered my bridal chamber I was a Niddah, and consequently my
husband kept away from me.” Thus it was found out that the boy was
a Mamzer and a Ben Haniddah; upon which the sages exclaimed, “Great
is Rabbi Akiva, for he has overcome his masters;” and as they
congratulated him they said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
who hath revealed His secret unto Akiva the son of Joseph.” Thus
did the Rabbi forswear himself, and thus did his companions
compliment him on the success of his perjury; yet the Bible says,
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exod.
xx. 7), and “Keep thou far from a falsehood” (Exod. xxiii. 7).

Here is a companion picture from Yoma, fol. 84,
col. 1.—”Rabbi Yochanan was suffering from scurvy, and he
applied to a Gentile woman, who prepared a remedy for the fifth and
then the sixth day of the week. ‘But what shall I do to-morrow?’
said he; ‘I must not walk so far on the Sabbath.’ ‘Thou wilt not
require any more,’ she answered. ‘But suppose I do,’ he replied.
‘Take an oath,’ she answered, ‘that thou wilt not reveal it, and I
will tell thee how to compound the remedy.’ This he did in the
following words: ‘By the God of Israel, I swear I will not divulge
it.’ Nevertheless, when he learned the secret, he went and revealed
it. ‘But was not that profaning the name of God?’ asks one. ‘No,’
pleads another Rabbi, ‘for, as he told her afterward, that what he
meant was that he would not tell it to the God of Israel.’ The
remedy was yeast, water, oil, and salt.”

The anecdote that follows is from Sanhedrin, fol.
97, col 1:—”In reference to the remark of Ravina, who said,
‘I used to think that there was no truth in the world,’ one of the
Rabbis, Toviah (or Tavyoomah, as some say), would protest and say,
‘If all the riches of the world were offered me, I would not tell a
falsehood.’ And he used to clench his protestation with the
following apologue: ‘I once went to a place called Kushta, where
the people never swerve from the truth, and where (as a reward for
their integrity) they do not die until old age; and there I married
and settled down, and had two sons born unto me. One day as my wife
was sitting and combing her hair, a woman who dwelt close by came
to the door and asked to see her. Thinking that it was a breach of
etiquette (that any one should see her at her toilet), I said she
was not in. Soon after this my two children died, and the people
came to inquire into the cause {38} of their premature decease.
When I told them of my evasive reply to the woman, they asked me to
leave the town, lest by my misconduct I might involve the whole
community in a like calamity, and death might be enticed to their
place.”

Food remains for three days in the stomach of the dog, because
God knew that his food would be scanty.

Shabbath, fol. 155, col. 1.

He who is born on the third day of the week will be rich and
amorous.

Ibid., fol. 156, col. 1.

Rabbi Abba, in the name of Shemuel, says, “The schools of
Shammai and Hillel were at variance three years, the one party
contending and saying, ‘The Halacha is according to us;’ and the
other, ‘The Halacha is according to us.’ Then came a voice from the
Lord and said, ‘Both these and those are the words of the living
God, but yet the Halacha is according to the school of Hillel.’
What was the merit of the school of Hillel that the Halacha should
be pronounced to be according to it? Its disciples were gentle and
forbearing, for while they stood by their own decisions, they also
stated those maintained by the school of Shammai, and often even
mentioned the tenets of the school of Shammai first and their own
afterward. This teaches us that him who humbles himself, God will
exalt; and him who exalts himself, God will abase. Whoso pursueth
greatness, greatness will flee from him; and whoso fleeth from
greatness, greatness will pursue him.”

Eiruvin, fol. 13, col. 2.

There are three entrances to hell:—One in the desert, one
in the sea, and one in Jerusalem.

Ibid., fol. 19, col. i.

These three will never see hell:—He who is purified by
poverty; he who is purged by a painful flux; and he who is harassed
by importunate creditors; and some say, he also who is plagued with
a termagant wife.

Eiruvin, fol. 41, col. 2.

Three effects are ascribed to Babylonian broth (which was made
of moldy bread, sour milk, and salt):—It retards the action
of the heart, it affects the eyesight, and emaciates the body.

P’sachim, fol. 42, col 1.

These three are not permitted to come between two men, nor is a
man allowed to pass between any two of these three:—A dog, a
palm tree, or a woman; to which some add the pig, and others the
serpent as well.

Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.

One part of this regulation is rather hard and
should surely be abolished; that, viz, which ordains a woman shall
not come between two men or a man pass between two women. The
compiler of this Miscellany was once witness to a case which
illustrates its inconvenience: it occurred at Tiberias. A pious
young Jew who had to traverse a narrow road to pass from the lake
to the town was kept standing for a very considerable time under a
broiling sun, simply because two young women, to tease him, guarded
the entrance, and dared him to pass between them. Of course he
dared not accept the challenge, otherwise he would have incurred
the penalty of death, according to the judgment of the Talmud; for
“Whosoever transgresses any of the words of the Scribes is guilty
of death.” (Eiruvin, fol. 21, col. 2.)

These three will inherit the world to come:—He who dwells
in the land of Israel; he who brings up his sons to the study of
the law; and he who repeats the ritual blessing over the appointed
cup of wine at the close of the Sabbath.

P’sachim, fol. 113, col. 1.

There are three whom the Holy One—blessed be
He!—Himself proclaims virtuous:—The unmarried man who
lives in a city and does not sin; the poor man who restores a lost
thing which he has found to its owner; and the rich man who pays
the tithes of his increase unostentatiously. Rav Saphra was a
bachelor, and he dwelt in a large city. A disciple of the wise once
descanted upon the merits of a celibate life in the presence of
Rava and this Rav Saphra, and the face of the latter beamed with
delight. Remarking which, Rava said to him, “This does not refer to
such a bachelor as thou art, but to such as Rabbi Chanena and Rabbi
Oshaia.” They were single men, who followed the trade of
shoemakers, and dwelt in a street mostly occupied by
meretrices, for whom they made shoes; but when they fitted
these on, they never raised their eyes to look at their faces. For
this the women conceived such a respect for them, that when they
swore, they swore by the life of the holy Rabbis of the land of
Israel.

Psachim, fol. 113, cols, 1, 2.

There are three whom the Holy One—blessed be
He!—abhorreth: He who says one thing but thinks another; he
who might bear witness in favor of his neighbor but refrains from
doing so; and he who, having seen his neighbor act disgracefully,
goes and appears singly as a witness against him (thus only
condemning, but not convicting, him, as the law requires two
witnesses). As, for example, when Toviah transgressed and Zigud
appeared against him singly before Rav Pappa, and Rav Pappa ordered
this witness to receive forty stripes save one in return. “What!”
said he, “Toviah has sinned, and should Zigud be flogged?” “Yes,”
replied the Rabbi, “for by testifying singly against him thou
bringest him only into bad repute.” (See Deut. xix. 15.)

P’sachim fol. 113, col. 2.

“Toviah has sinned and Zigud is flogged,” has long
been a proverb among Jews.

There are three whose life is no life:—The sympathetic,
the irascible, and the melancholy.

P’sachim, fol. 113, col. 2.

There are three which despise their fellows:—Dogs, cocks,
and sorcerers. Some say strange women also, and some the disciples
of the Babylonian Rabbis.

Ibid.

These three love their fellows:—Proselytes, slaves, and
ravens.

Ibid.

These three are apt to strut:—Israel among the nations,
the dog among animals, the cock among birds. Some say also the goat
among small cattle, and some the caper shrub among trees.

Ibid., fol. 25, col. 2.

There are three whose life is no life:—He who lives at
another’s table; he whose wife domineers over him; and he who
suffers bodily affliction. Some say also he who has only a single
shirt in his wardrobe.

Ibid., fol. 32, col. 2.

Three things are said respecting the finger-nails:—He who
trims his nails and buries the parings is a pious man; he who burns
these is a righteous man; but he who throws them away is a wicked
man, for mischance might follow, should a female step over
them.

Moed Katan, fol. 18, col. 1.

The orthodox Jews in Poland are to this day careful
to bury away or burn their nail parings.

Three classes appear on the day of judgment:—The perfectly
righteous, who are at once written and sealed for eternal life; the
thoroughly bad, who are at once written and sealed for hell; as it
is written (Dan. xii. 2), “And many of them that sleep in the dust
of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to
shame and everlasting contempt;” and those in the intermediate
state, who go down into hell, where they cry and howl for a time,
whence they ascend again; as it is written (Zech. xiii. 9), “And I
will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as
silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall
call on my name, and I will hear them.” It is of them Hannah said
(1 Sam. ii. 6), “The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth
down to hell and bringeth up.”

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 16, col. 2.

Our Rabbis have taught that there are three voices which can be
heard from one end of the world to the other:—The sound
emitted from the sphere of the sun; the hum and din of the city of
Rome; and the voice of anguish uttered by the soul as it quits the
body; … but our Rabbis prayed that the soul might be spared this
torture, and therefore the voice of its terrors has not since been
heard.

Yoma, fol. 20, col. 2.

In three particulars is benevolence superior to
almsgiving:—Almsgiving is only the bestowment of money, but
benevolence can be exercised by personal service as well. Alms can
be given only to the poor, but benevolence can be shown no less to
the rich. Alms are confined to the living, but benevolence may
extend to both the dead and the living.

Succah, fol. 49, col. 2.

Three marks characterize the nation of Israel:—They are
compassionate, they are modest, and they are benevolent.
Compassionate, as it is written (Deut. xiii. 18), “And show thee
mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee.” Modest,
as it is written (Exod. xx. 20), “That his fear may be before your
faces.” Benevolent, as it is written (Gen. xviii. 19), “For I know
him,” etc.

Yevamoth, fol. 79, col. 1.

Dates are good after meals in the morning and in the evening,
but hurtful in the afternoon; on the other hand, at noon they are
most excellent, and an antidote to these three maladies:—Evil
thought, constipation, and hemorrhoids.

Kethuboth, fol. 10, col. 2.

Beware of these three things:—Do not sit too much, for it
brings on hemorrhoids; do not stand too much, for it is bad for the
heart; do not walk too much, for it is hurtful to the eyes. But sit
a third, stand a third, and walk a third.

Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.

He who holds his household in terror tempts to the commission of
three sins:—Fornication, murder, and Sabbath breaking.

Gittin, fol. 6, col. 2.

Three things weaken the strength of man:—Fear, travel, and
sin. Fear, as it is written (Ps. xxxviii. 10), “My heart
palpitates, my strength faileth me.” Travel, as it is written (Ps.
cii. 23), “He hath weakened my strength in the way.” … Sin, as it
is written (Ps. xxxi. 10), “My strength faileth me, because of my
iniquity.”

Ibid., fol. 70, col 2.

Abraham was three years old when he first learned to know his
Creator; as it is said (Gen. xxvi. 5), “Because Abraham obeyed my
voice.”

Nedarim, fol. 32, col. 1.

The conclusion arrived at here is founded on
interpreting the Hebrew letters of the word rendered “because”
numerically, in which the value of the letters gives a total of one
hundred and seventy-two; so that the sense of the text is, “Abraham
obeyed my voice” one hundred and seventy-two years. Now Abraham
died when he was a hundred and seventy-five, therefore he must have
been only three when he began to serve the Lord.

As Abraham plays so important a part both in the
history and the imagination of the Jewish race, we may quote here a
score or so of the Talmudic traditions regarding him. The
traditions, as is like, contributed quite as much, if not more, to
give character to his descendants as his actual personality and
that spirit of faith which was the central fact in his history.
Races and nations often draw more inspiration from what they fancy
about their ancestry and early history than from what they know;
their fables therefore are often more illuminative than the
facts.

Abraham was Ethan the Ezrahite, who is mentioned in Ps. lxxxvii.
1.

Bava Bathra, fol. 15, col. 1.

Abraham’s mother was Amathlai, the daughter of Karnebo.

Bava Bathra, fol. 91, col. 1.

Abraham was the head of a seminary for youth, and kept both
laws, the written and the oral.

Yoma, fol. 28, col. 2.

Abraham observed the whole ceremonial law, even before it was
given on Sinai.

Kiddushin, fol. 82, col. 1.

From the day Abraham was compelled to leave the
idolatrous worship and country of his fathers, it is reasonable to
suppose that his tent would become a rendezvous for his neighbors
who shrunk like himself from the abominations around them. There,
from his character, by which he recommended himself as the friend
of God, he might very naturally be looked upon as a religious
teacher, and men might gather together to learn from his lips or
profit by his example. Hence, making due allowance for Eastern
hyperbole, the statement of the Book of Jasher (chap. xxvi. verse
36) is not undeserving of credit, where it is said that “Abraham
brought all the children of the land to the service of God, and he
taught them the ways of the Lord.” The same remark applies to what
is said in Targ. Yerushalmi (Gen. xxi.), that Abraham’s guests went
not away until “he had made them proselytes, and had taught them
the way everlasting.” His son Isaac, says the Targ. of Ben Uzziel,
went to school at the “Beth Medrasha de Shem Rabba.”

Though Abraham kept all the commandments, he was not perfect
till he was circumcised.

Nedarim, fol. 31, col. 2.

In whatever sense this may have been written, and
whatever the interpretation that may be put upon it, there is one
sense in which it is absolutely and eternally true, and that is,
that, in order to be perfect, a man’s life must be as pronounced on
the negative side as the positive, in its denials as in its
affirmations, and that it is futile to attempt to obey God unless
one at the same time renounce all co-partnery with the devil.
Circumcision is the symbol of this renunciation, and it is only as
such it has any radical spiritual significance. Till he was
circumcised, it is said, God did not speak to Abraham in Hebrew.
Not till then is sacredness of speech, any more than sacredness of
life, possible. Doubtless among the Jews circumcision was the
symbol of their separation from the ethnic religions; and hence the
jealousy with which their prophets looked upon any compromise with
idolatry. Hatred of that, utter and intense, was the one essential
negative pole of genuine Judaism, and circumcision was its sign and
seal.

Abraham was the first of the proselytes.

Succah, fol. 49, col. 2.

Abraham it was that ordained the form of prayer for morning
worship, which is extant to this very day.

Berachoth, fol. 26, col. 2.

As he himself was pious, so were his very camels, for they would
not enter into a place where there were idols; as it is written
(Gen. xxiv. 31), “I have prepared,” i.e., removed the idols
from, “the house and room for the camels.”

Avoth d’ Rabbi Nathan, chap. 8.

Abraham had a daughter, and her name was Bakol.

Ibid., fol. 16, col. 2.

Abraham was free from evil passion.

Bava Bathra fol. 17, col. 1.

He was also free from the Angel of Death.

Ibid., fol. 17, col. 1.

He delivered to the children he had by Keturah a secret name,
with which they learned to practice witchcraft and do the works of
the devil.

Sanhedrin, fol. 91, col. 1.

Though great, he personally waited on his guests, who had the
appearance of Arabs and not of angels.

Kiddushin, fol. 32, col. 2.

Rabbi Yehudah says Abraham planted an ornamental garden with all
kinds of choice fruits in it, and Rabbi Nehemiah says he erected an
inn for travelers in order to make known the name of God to all who
sojourned in it.

Soteh, fol. 10, col. 1.

Both the Targum of Ben Uzziel and the Yerushalmi
say that Abraham planted a paradise at Beersheba for the
entertainment and delectation of his guests; and in Jasher (chap,
xxvii. verse 37) it is said that “Abraham formed a grove and
planted a vineyard there, and had always ready in his tent meat and
drink for those that passed through the land, so that they might
satisfy themselves in his house.”

He ranked as one of the seven shepherds of Israel (Micah v. 5).
In this group David was the central figure, with Adam, Seth, and
Methusaleh on his right hand, and Abraham, Jacob, and Moses on his
left.

Succah, fol. 52, col. 2.

The coin of Jerusalem had the impress of David and Solomon on
the one side, and the holy city of Jerusalem on the other. But the
impress on the coin of our father {45} Abraham was an old man and an
old woman on one side, and a young man and a damsel on the
other.

Bava Kama, fol. 37, col. 2.

This, it is to be presumed, must be taken in some
symbolical sense, for coins cannot be traced back to a date so
early as this; and when Abraham purchased the cave to bury Sarah in
from the sons of Heth, we read that he weighed to Ephron the
silver.

Abraham pleaded with God on the behalf of Israel and said,
“While there is a Temple they will get their sins atoned for, but
when there shall be no Temple, what will become of them?” God, in
answer to his prayer, assured him that He had prepared a prayer for
them, by which, as often as they read it, He would be propitiated
and would pardon all their sins.

Meggillah, fol. 31, col. 2.

He was punished by his posterity being compelled to serve the
Egyptians two hundred and ten years, because he had pressed the
Rabbis under his tuition into military service in the expedition he
had undertaken to recover Lot from those who had carried him off
captive; for it is written (Gen. xiv. 14), “He armed his
instructed.” Samuel says Abraham was punished because he perversely
distrusted the assurance of God; as it is written (Gen. xv. 8),
“Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

Nedarim, fol. 31, col. 2.

Abraham was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod, and God would
not permit Gabriel to rescue him, but did so Himself; because God
is One and Abraham was one, therefore it behooved the One to rescue
the one.

P’sachim, fol. 118, col. 1.

The fire from which Abraham is here said to be
delivered may simply refer to his deliverance by the hand of God
from Ur of the Chaldees; Ur meaning “fire,” and being the name of a
place celebrated for fire worship. The Midrash (p. 20) says, “When
the wicked Nimrod cast Abraham into the furnace, Gabriel said,
‘Lord of the universe! permit me to deliver this holy one from the
fire!’ But the Lord made answer, ‘I am the One Supreme in my world,
and he is supreme in his; it is fitting therefore that the Supreme
should rescue the supreme.'”

Abraham was a giant of giants; his height was as that of
seventy-four men put together. His food, his drink, and
{46}
his strength were in the proportion of seventy-four men’s to one
man’s. He built an iron city for the abode of his seventeen
children by Keturah, the walls of which were so lofty that the sun
never penetrated them: he gave them a bowl full of precious stones,
the brilliancy of which supplied them with light in the absence of
the sun.

Sophrim, chap. 21.

Abraham our father had a precious stone suspended from his neck,
and every sick person that gazed upon it was immediately healed of
his disease. But when Abraham died, God hung up the stone on the
sphere of the sun.

Bava Bathra, fol. 16, col. 2.

Till Abraham’s time there was no such thing as a beard; but as
many mistook Abraham for Isaac, and Isaac for Abraham, they looked
so exactly alike, Abraham prayed to God for a beard to enable
people to distinguish him from his son, Isaac, and it was granted
him; as it is written (Gen. xxiv. 1), “And to Abraham a beard came
when he was well stricken in age.”

Sanhedrin, fol. 107, col. 2.

Here the word which the translators of the English
version render “was old,” is taken in another of its cognate
meanings as a beard. The Midrash is a trifle more modest in this
legendary assertion. There we read, “Before Abraham there was no
special mark of old age,” and that for distinction’s sake “the
beard was made to turn gray.”

When he died, all the chiefs of the nations of the world stood
in a line and exclaimed, “Alas for the world that has lost its
leader! Alas for the ship that has lost its helmsman!”

Bava Bathra, fol. 91, col. 2.

As Rabbi Banna went about to measure and to mark off the outward
and inward dimensions of the different caves, when he came to the
cave of Machpelah he found Eliezar, Abraham’s servant, at the
entrance, and asked him, “What is Abraham doing?” The answer he
received was, “He is asleep in the arms of Sarah.”

Ibid., fol. 58, col. 1.

Abraham being greater than Moses, for while the
latter is only called by God “My Servant” (Mal. iv. 4), the former
is called “My Friend” (Isa. xli. 8), we devote a little more space
for a few more extracts from other Jewish sources than the Talmud,
in order to make the picture they supply of Abraham’s character a
little more complete.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says:—”The Holy One—blessed
be He!—took Shem and separated him to be a priest to Himself,
that he might serve before Him. He also caused His Shechinah to
rest with him, and called his name Melchizedek, priest of the Most
High and king of Salem. His brother Japheth even studied the law in
his school, until Abraham came and also learned the law in the
school of Shem, where God Himself instructed Abraham, so that all
else he had learned from the lips of man was forgotten. Then came
Abraham and prayed to God that His Shechinah might ever rest in the
house of Shem, which also was promised to him; as it is said (Ps.
ex. 4), ‘Thou art a priest forever after the order of
Melchizedek.'”

Avodath Hakkodesh, part 3, chap. 20.

Wherever Jacob resided he studied the law as his fathers did.
How is this, seeing the law had not yet been given, it is
nevertheless written of Abraham (Gen. xxvi. 5), “And he kept my
charge”? Whence then did Abraham learn the law? Rabbi Shimon says
his reins (literally kidneys) were made like two water-jars, from
which the law flowed forth. Where do we learn that it was so? From
what is said in Ps. xvi. 7, “My reins also instruct me in the night
season.”

Bereshith Rabba, chap. 95.

The masters of the Kabbalah, of blessed memory, say that
Abraham’s Rabbi, i.e., teacher, was the angel Zadkiel.

Rabbi Menachem’s comment on the Pent.,
Exod. iii. 5.

Adam’s book, which contained celestial mysteries and holy
wisdom, came down as an heirloom into the hands of Abraham, and he
by means of it was able to see the glory of his Lord.

Zohar Parashah Bereshith.

Abraham was the author of a treatise on the subject of different
kinds of witchcraft and its unholy workings and fruits, as also of
the Book of Creation, through holy names (by means of which,
namely, anything could be created).

Nishmath Chayim, chap. 29.

The whole world once believed that the souls of men were
perishable, and that man had no pre-eminence above a beast, till
Abraham came and preached the doctrine of immortality and
transmigration.

Ibid., fol. 171, col. 1.

A good son delivers his father from the punishment of hell, for
thus we find that Abraham our father delivered Terah, as it is said
in Gen. xv. 15, “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace.” This
implies that God had communicated to him the tidings that his
father had a portion in the world to come and was now “in peace”
there.

Pesikta Zotarta, fol. 3, col. 2.

Before Abraham was circumcised God spake to him in the Chaldee
language, that the angels should not understand it. (This is proved
from Gen. xv. 1.)

Yalkut Chadash, fol. 117.

Rabbi Levi said Abraham sits at the gate of hell and does not
permit any circumcised Israelite to enter. But if any appear who
happen to have sinned unduly, these he (by an indescribable
contrivance) causes to become uncircumcised and lets pass without
scruple into the region of torment; and this is what is said in Ps.
lv. 20, “He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace
with him: he hath broken his covenant.”

Yalkut Shimoni, fol. 33, col. 2, sec.
18.

Abraham was circumcised on the Day of Atonement, and God looks
that day annually on the blood of the covenant of our father
Abraham’s circumcision as atoning for all our iniquities, as it is
said in Lev. xvi. 30, “For on that day shall he make an atonement
for you, to cleanse you from all your sins.”

Yalkut Chadash, fol. 121, col. 1, sec.
3.

“And it came to pass that when Abram was come into Egypt” (Gen.
xii. 14). And where was Sarah? He confined her in a chest, into
which he locked her, lest any one should gaze on her beauty. When
he came to the receipt of custom, he was summoned to open the
chest, but declined, and offered payment of the duty. The officers
said, “Thou carriest garments;” and he offered duty for garments.
“Nay, it is gold thou carriest;” and he offered the impost laid on
gold. Then they said, “It is costly silks, belike pearls, thou
concealest;” and he offered the custom on such articles. At length
the Egyptian officers insisted, and he opened the box. And when he
did so, all the land of Egypt was illumined by her beauty.

Bereshith Rabba, chap. 40.

The question may naturally be asked why Abraham hid his wife
from the gaze of others first then and not before. The reply is to
be deduced from the following double rendering of Gen. xii.
11:—”Behold now I know that thou art a fair woman.” As if to
say, “Usually people lose their good looks on a long journey, but
thou art as beautiful as ever.” The second explanation is
this:—Abraham was so piously modest that in all his life he
never once looked a female in the face, his own wife not excepted.
As he approached Egypt and was crossing some water, he saw in it
the reflection of her face, and it was then that he exclaimed,
“Behold now I know that thou art a fair woman.” As the Egyptians
are swarthy, Abraham at once perceived the magnitude of the danger,
and hence his precaution to hide her beauty in a chest.

Zeenah Ureenah (1877 in Russia), fol. 28,
col. 1.

When Abraham came to the cave of Machpelah to bury Sarah, Adam
and Eve rose from their grave and protested against his committing
her to the dust in that receptacle. “For,” said they, “we are ever
ashamed in the presence of the Holy One—blessed be
He!—on account of the sin which we committed, and now comest
thou to add to our shame by the contrast therewith of the good
works which ye two have done.” On Abraham’s assurance that he would
intercede with God on their behalf that they should not bear the
shame any longer, Adam immediately retired to his sepulchre, but
Eve being still unwilling to do so, Abraham took her by the hand
and led her back to the side of Adam; and then he buried Sarah.

Yalkut Chadash, fol. 14, col. 3, sec.
68.

Abraham’s father, Terah, was both an idolater, a manufacturer of
idols, and a dealer in them. Once when Terah had some engagement
elsewhere he left his son Abraham to attend to his business. When a
customer came to purchase an idol, Abraham asked him, “How old art
thou?” “Lo! so many years,” was the ready reply. “What,” exclaimed
Abraham, “is it possible that a man of so many years should desire
to worship a thing only a day old?” The customer, being ashamed of
himself, went his way; {50} and so did all other customers, who
underwent a similar inquisition. Once an old woman brought a
measure of fine flour and wished to present it as an offering to
the gods. This so enraged Abraham that he took a staff and broke
all the images, excepting the largest, into whose hands he fixed
the staff. When his father came and questioned him about the
destruction of the gods, he replied, “An old woman placed an
offering of flour before them, which immediately set them all by
the ears, for every one was hungrier than another, but the biggest
god killed all the rest with this staff which thou now seest he
still holds in his hands.” Superstition, especially when combined
with mercenary motives, knows neither reason nor human affection,
therefore the father handed over his son Abraham to the inquisition
of Nimrod, who threw him into the fiery furnace, as recorded
elsewhere in this Miscellany. This is an historical fact, to the
truth of which the whole orthodox Jewish world will bear testimony,
and is solemnly recorded in Shalsheleth Hakkabalah fol. 2,
col 1.

There are three graces:—The grace of a place in the eyes
of its inhabitants; the grace of a woman in the eyes of her
husband; the grace of a purchase in the eyes of the buyer.

Soteh, fol. 47, col. 1.

A man should divide his capital into three parts, and invest
one-third in land, employ one-third in merchandise, and reserve
one-third in ready money.

Bava Metzia, fol. 42, col. 1.

All who go down to hell shall come up again, except these
three:—He who commits adultery; he who shames another in
public; and he who gives another a bad name.

Ibid., fol. 58, col. 2.

These three complain, but no one sympathizes with them:—He
who lends money without witnesses; he who buys to himself a master;
and he who is lorded over by his wife.

Ibid., fol. 75, col. 2.

There are three things on which the world stands:—The law,
the temple service, and benevolence.

Avoth, chap. 1.

If three eat at one table and do not converse together on the
law of the Lord, it is as if they ate from the sacrifices for the
dead; but they, on the contrary, are as if they partook from a
table of the Lord’s own furnishing who, while they sit down to
meat, season their talk with its holy precepts.

Avoth, chap. 3.

There are three crowns:—The crown of the law, the crown of
the priesthood, and the crown of royalty; but the crown of a good
name surpasses them all.

Ibid., chap. 4.

He who possesses these three virtues is a disciple of Abraham
our father, and he who possesses the three contrary vices is a son
of Balaam the wicked. The disciples of our father Abraham have a
kindly eye, a loyal spirit, and a lowly mind. The disciples of
Balaam the wicked have an evil eye, a proud spirit, and a grasping
soul.

Ibid., chap. 5.

Three things are said respecting the children of men:—He
who gives alms brings a blessing on himself; he who lends does
better; he who gives away half of what he hath to spare does best
of all.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 41.

There are three classes of disciples, and among them three
grades of worth:—He ranks first who asks and answers when
asked; he who asks but does not answer ranks next; but he who
neither asks nor answers ranks lowest of all.

Ibid.

Over these three does God weep every day:—Over him who is
able to study the law but neglects it; over him who studies it amid
difficulties hard to overcome; and over the ruler who behaves
arrogantly toward the community he should protect.

Chaggigah, fol. 5, col. 2.

Rabbi Yochanan says there are three keys in the hands of the
Holy One!—blessed be He!—which He never intrusts to the
disposal of a messenger, and they are these:—(1.) The key of
rain, (2.) the key of life, and (3.) the key of reviving the dead.
The key of rain, for it is written (Deut. xxviii. 12), “The Lord
shall open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain
unto thy {52} land in season;” the key of life, as it is
written (Gen. xxx. 22), “God hearkened unto her, and opened her
womb;” the key of reviving the dead, for it is written (Ezek.
xxxvii. 13), “When I have opened your graves, and brought you up
out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall
live,” etc.

Taanith, fol. 2, cols, 1, 2.

A disciple of the wise who makes light of the washing of hands
is contemptible; but more contemptible is he who begins to eat
before his guest; more contemptible is that guest who invites
another guest; and still more contemptible is he who begins to eat
before a disciple of the wise; but contemptible before all these
three put together is that guest which troubles another guest.

Derech Eretz Zuta, chap. viii.

A roll of the law which has two mistakes to a column should be
corrected; but if there be three, it should be stowed away
altogether.

Menachoth, fol. 29, col. 2.

The wolf, the lion, the bear, the leopard, the panther, the
elephant, and the sea-cat, each bear three years.

Ibid.

Rav Yehudah says, in the name of Rav, “The butcher is bound to
have three knives; one to slaughter with, one for cutting up the
carcass, and one to cut away the suet. Suet being as unlawful for
food as pork.”

Chullin, fol. 8, col. 2.

Three classes of ministering angels raise a song of praise every
day. One class says, Holy! the second responds, Holy! and the third
continues, Holy is the Lord of hosts! But in the presence of the
Holy One—blessed be He!—Israel is more beloved than the
ministering angels; for Israel reiterates the song every hour,
while the ministering angels repeat it only once a day, some say
once a week, others once a month, others once a year, others once
in seven years, others once in a jubilee, and others only once in
eternity. Again, Israel mentions The Name after two words, as it is
said (Deut. vi. 4), “Hear Israel, Yehovah,” but the ministering
angels do not mention The Name till after three, as it is written
(Isa. vi. 3), “Holy! holy! holy! Yehovah Zebaoth.” Moreover, the
ministering angels do {53} not take up the song above till Israel has
started it below; for it is said (Job xxxviii. 7), “When the
morning stars sang together, then all the sons of God shouted for
joy.”

Chullin, fol. 91, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught, a man should not sell to his neighbor
shoes made from the hide of a beast that has died of disease, as if
of a beast that had been slaughtered in the shambles, for two
reasons: first, because he imposes on him (for the skin of a beast
that dies of itself is not so durable as the hide of a slaughtered
animal); second, because there is danger (for the beast that died
of itself might have been stung by a serpent, and the poison
remaining in the leather might prove fatal to the wearer of shoes
made of that leather). A man should not send his neighbor a barrel
of wine with oil floating upon its surface; for it happened once
that a man did so, and the recipient went and invited his friends
to a feast, in the preparation of which oil was to form a chief
ingredient; but when the guests assembled, it was found out that
the cask contained wine, and not oil; and because the host had
nothing else in preparation for a worthy feast, he went and
committed suicide. Neither should guests give anything from what is
set before them to the son or daughter of their host, unless the
host himself give them leave to do so; for it once happened during
a time of scarcity that a man invited three of his friends to dine,
and he had nothing but three eggs to place before them. Meanwhile,
as the guests were seated at the board, the son of the host came
into the room, and first one of the guests gave him his share, and
then the other two followed his example. Shortly afterward the host
himself came in, and seeing the child with his mouth full and both
hands, he knocked him down to the ground, so that he died on the
instant. The mother, seeing this, went and threw herself headlong,
from the housetop, and the father followed her example. Thus Rabbi
Eliezar ben Yacob said, “There perished in this affair three souls
of Israel.”

Ibid., fol. 94, col. 1.

Once the Roman Government issued a decree that the Israelites
should neither observe the Sabbath nor circumcise {54} their sons.
Thereupon Reuben the son of Istrubli trimmed his hair as a Gentile,
and went among the Roman senators and plied them with wise
remonstrance. “If one,” said he, “has an enemy, does he wish him to
be poor or rich?” “To be poor,” was the reply. “Then,” he argued,
“won’t he be poorer if you prohibit him from working on the
Sabbath?” “It is well said,” observed the senators; and they at
once abolished their decree respecting the Sabbath. Again he asked,
“If one has an enemy, does he wish him to be weak or strong?” “Why,
weak, to be sure,” was the inevitable answer. “Then,” said he, “let
the Jews circumcise their children, then will they be weakened.”
“The argument is good,” said they, and the decree against
circumcision was rescinded. Again he asked, “If one has an enemy,
does he wish him to increase or decrease?” “To decrease, of
course,” said they. In response to his argument the decree against
catamenia was accordingly abolished. When, however, they found out
that he was a Jew, they at once re-enacted the decrees they had
canceled. Upon this the question arose who should go to Rome and
appeal against these enactments. It was resolved that Rabbi Shimon
ben Yochai, who was reputed experienced in miracles, should go,
accompanied by Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Yossi…. As they
journeyed along, the question was proposed to them, “Whence is it
proved that the blood of a reptile is unclean?” Rabbi Elazar
replied with a curl of the lip, and quoted Lev. ii. 29. “And these
shall be unclean unto you.” Rabbi Shimon said unto him, “By the
curl of thy lip art thou recognizable as a disciple of the wise!
May the son never return to his father!” for he was annoyed that he
should presume to teach a Halachah in his presence, and then and
there he condemned him to death. (See Berachoth, fol. 31,
col. 2.) Thereupon Ben Temalion (an evil sprite or imp) came, and
greeting him, said, “Do ye wish me to accompany you?” Rabbi Shimon
wept and said, “Alas! a maid-servant of my ancestor (Abraham) was
assisted by three angels, and I have not one to attend me! However,
let a miracle be worked for us anyhow.” Then the evil spirit
entered into the Emperor’s daughter, and when the Rabbi was called
in to {55} cure the princess, he exorcised the spirit
by saying, “Depart, Ben Temalion! Ben Temalion, depart!” and the
evil spirit left her. By way of reward the Rabbis were bidden to
ask whatsoever they pleased, and admitted into the imperial
treasury that they might choose what seemed good to them. Espying
there the edict against Israel, they chose it, and tore it to
pieces.

Meyilah, fol. 17, col. 1, 2.

At the time when the high priest enters to worship, three
acolytes take hold of him, one by the right hand and another by the
left, while the third lifts the gems attached to the train of his
pontifical vestment.

Tamid, chap. 7; Mishna, 1.

“I once, when a grave-digger,” says Abba Shaul, as the Rabbis
relate, “chased a roe which had entered the shinbone of a dead man;
and though I ran three miles after it, I could not overtake it, nor
reach the end of the bone. When I returned, I was told that it was
a bone of Og, king of Bashan.”

Niddah, fol. 24, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that during the first three months (of
pregnancy) the child lies in the lower part (of the uterus); during
the next three it occupies the middle part; and during the last
three it is in the upper part; and that when the time of
parturition comes, it turns over first, and this causes the
birth-pains. We are also taught that the pains caused by a female
child are greater than those caused by a male. Rabbi Elazar said,
“What Scripture is there for this? ‘When I was made in secret and
curiously wrought, in the lowest parts of the earth’ (Ps. cxxxix.
15). It is not said, ‘I abode,’ but, ‘I was curiously wrought.’ Why
the difference? Why are the pains caused by a girl greater than
those caused by a boy?”

Ibid., fol. 31, col. 1.

The Rabbis teach there are three that have a share in a man;
God, and his father and mother. The father’s part consists of all
that is white in him—the bones, the veins, the nails, the
brain, and the white of the eye. The mother’s part consists of all
that is red in him—the skin, the flesh, the hair, and the
black part of the eye. God’s part consists of the breath, the soul,
the physiognomy, {56} sight and hearing, speech, motive power,
knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. And when the time comes that
the man should depart from the world, God takes away His part, and
leaves those which belong to the father and mother. Rav Pappa says,
“This is the meaning of the proverb, ‘Shake off the salt and throw
the flesh to the dogs.'”

Niddah, fol. 31. col. 1.

Rashi’s explanatory note is this: “Shake off the
salt from the flesh and it becomes fit only for dogs. The soul is
the salt which preserves the body; when it departs, the body
putrefies.”

Four things require fortitude in the observance:—The law,
good works, prayer, and social duties. Respecting the law and good
works it is written (Josh. i. 7), “Be thou strong and firm, that
thou mayest observe to do all the law;” in which the word “strong”
refers to the law, and the word “firm” to good works. Of prayer it
is written, “Wait on the Lord; be strong, and He shall make thine
heart firm; wait, I say, upon the Lord” (Ps. xxvii. 14). In respect
to social duties it is written (2 Sam. x. 2), “Be strong, and let
us strengthen ourselves for our people, and for the cities of our
God.”

Berachoth, fol. 32, col. 2.

There are four signs which tell tales:—Dropsy is a sign of
sin; jaundice is a sign of hatred without a cause; poverty is a
sign of pride; and quinsy is a sign of slander.

Shabbath, fol. 33, col. 1.

“Unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah,” i.e., four (Gen.
xxxv. 27). Rabbi Isaac calls it the city of four couples,
i.e., Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah,
Jacob and Leah. These four couples being buried in Mamre, it was
therefore called “the city of four.”

Eiruvin, fol. 53, col. 1.

The sun makes four quarterly circuits. In April, May, and June,
i.e., Nisan, Iyar, and Sivan, his circuit is between the
mountains, in order to dissolve the snow; in July, August, and
September, i.e., Tamuz, Ab, and Ellul, his circuit is over
the habitable parts of the earth, in order to ripen the fruits; in
October, November, and December, i.e., Tishri, Marcheshvan,
and Kislev, his circuit is over the seas, to evaporate the waters;
in January, February, {57} and March, i.e., Tebeth, Shebat,
and Adar, his circuit is over the deserts, in order to protect the
seed sown from being scorched.

Psachim, fol. 94, col. 2.

Four persons are intolerable:—A poor man who is proud, a
rich man who is a liar, an old man who is incontinent, and a warden
who behaves haughtily to a community for whom he has done nothing.
To these some add him who has divorced his wife once or twice and
married her again.

Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.

Four things cancel the decrees of Heaven:—Alms, prayer,
change of name, and reformation of conduct. Alms, as it is written
(Prov. x. 2), “But alms (more correctly, righteousness) delivereth
from death.” Prayer as it is written (Ps. cvii. 6). “Then they
cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of
their distresses.” Change of name, as it is said (Gen. xvii. 15,
16), “As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai,
but Sarah shall be her name.” And after this change of name it is
written, “And I will bless her, and give thee a son of her.”
Reformation of conduct, as it is written (Jonah iii. 10), “And God
saw their works,” and “God repented of the evil,” etc. Some say
also change of residence has the effect of turning back the decree
of Heaven (Gen. xii. 1), “And the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee
out of thy country;” and then it is said, “I will make of thee a
great nation.”

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 16, col. 2.

Four things cause an eclipse of the sun:—When a chief
magistrate dies and is not mourned over with the due lamentation;
when a betrothed damsel calls for help and no one comes to the
rescue; when the people commit the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah; and
when brother murders brother.

Succah, fol. 29, col. 1.

Four things cause an eclipse among the luminaries of heaven: The
writing of false documents; the bearing false witness; the breeding
of small cattle, such as sheep and goats, in the land of Israel;
and the cutting down of fruit-trees.

Ibid., fol. 29, col. 1.

There are four things God repents of having created:—The
Captivity, the Chaldeans, the Ishmaelites, and the evil
{58}
passion in man. The Captivity, as it is written (Isa. lii. 5),
“What have I here, saith the Lord, that my people are taken away
for nought?” etc. The Chaldeans, as it is written (Isa. xxiii. 13),
“Behold the land of the Chaldeans: this people was not.” The
Ishmaelites, as it is written (Job xii. 6), “The tents of robbers
prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand God
bringeth abundance.” The evil passion, as it is written (Micah iv.
6), “And whom I have caused to be evil.”

Succah, fol. 52, col. 2.

There have been four beautiful women in the world:—Sarah,
Abigail, Rahab, and Esther.

Meggillah, fol. 15, col. 1.

Tosephoth asks, “Why was not Eve numbered among
these beauties, since even Sarah, in comparison with Eve, was an
ape compared to a man?” The reply is, “Only those born of woman are
here enumerated.”

In fol. 13, col. i, of the same treatise from which
the above is quoted, we are informed by Ben Azai that Esther was
like the myrtle-tree, neither tall nor short statured, but
middle-sized. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha states that Esther’s
complexion was of a yellow or gold color.

One cup of wine is good for a woman, two are disgraceful, three
demoralizing, and four brutalizing.

Kethuboth, fol. 65, col. 1.

He who traverses so much as four ells in the land of Israel is
sure of everlasting life.

Ibid., fol. III, col. 1.

To walk even four ells without bowing the head is an offense to
Heaven; for it is written (Isa. vi. 3), “The whole earth is full of
His glory.”

Kiddushin, fol. 31, col. 1.

There are four who are accounted as dead:—The pauper, the
leper, the blind man, and he who has no male children.

Nedarin, fol. 64, col. 2.

Four things mark the characters of men:—He who says what
is mine is mine, and what is thine is thine, is, according to some,
a moderate man, but, according to others, a child of Sodom; he who
says what is mine is thine, and what is thine is mine, is an
ignorant man; he who says what is mine is thine and what is thy own
is also thine, {59} is a pious man; he who says mine and thine
are both my own, is a wicked man.

Avoth, chap. 5, sec. 16.

There are four kinds of men, according to their degrees of
passionateness:—He who is easily provoked and as readily
pacified, and who loses more than he gains; he whom it is difficult
to rouse and as difficult to appease, and who gains more than he
loses; he who is not readily provoked, but easily pacified, who is
a pious man; he who is easily provoked and with difficulty
appeased, who is a wicked man.

Ibid., chap. 5, sec. 19.

There are four classes of men who give alms, and they are thus
distinguished:—He who is willing to give, but unwilling that
others should do so, he has an evil eye toward others; he who
wishes others to give, but does not do so himself, he has an evil
eye toward himself; he who gives, and induces others to give, he is
pious; he who gives not, nor wishes others to give he is
wicked.

Avoth, chap 5, sec. 19.

There are four marks by which one disciple differs from
another:—One learns and does not teach, one teaches and does
not learn, one learns and teaches, and one neither learns nor
teaches.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 29.

Four things, if kept in view and gravely pondered over, deter
from sin:—That a man consider whence he cometh, whither he
goeth, who the judge will be, and what the future will bring to
pass.

Derech Eretz, chap. 3.

What is the meaning of that which is written (Ps. lxxxvii 2),
“The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of
Jacob?” The answer is, The Lord loveth the gates that are marked
with the Halachah more than the synagogues and the schools; and
this agrees with what Rabbi Cheeya bar Ami has said, in the name of
Ulla, that since the destruction of the Temple nothing else has
remained to God in His world but four ells of the Halachah.

Berachoth, fol. 8, col. 1.

Whoso walks even four ells with a proud unbending gait is as
though he spurned with his haughty head the feet of the Shechinah;
for it is written (Isa. vi. 3), “The whole earth is full of His
glory.”

Ibid., fol. 43, col. 2.

Four are in duty bound to return thanks to God:—They that
have returned from a voyage at sea (Ps. cvii. 23, 24, 31); those
who have traveled in the desert (verses 4-8); they who have
recovered from a serious illness (verses 17-21); and those that are
liberated from prison (verses 10-15).

Berachoth, fol. 54, col. 2.

If one does not walk, say four cubits, before falling asleep
after a meal, that which he has eaten, being undigestible, causes
foulness of breath.

Shabbath, fol. 41, col. 1.

Four have died in consequence of the seduction of the
serpent:—Benjamin, the son of Jacob; Amram, the father of
Moses; Jesse, the father of David; and Chileab, the son of
David.

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.

These four are reckoned to have died on account of
original sin, and not solely because of actual transgression,
which, says Rashi, they never committed.

The traveler who is overtaken with the approach of Sabbath-eve
before he has completed his journey should hand over his purse to a
Gentile to carry; and if there be no Gentile at hand, let him stow
it away on his ass. As soon as the nearest halting-place is
reached, those burdens which may be lifted on the Sabbath should
then be removed, and then the cords should be slackened that the
rest may slip off of its own accord.

Ibid., fol. 153, col. 1.

Here the Gemara very graciously appends a direction
as to the disposal of the purse, in case the traveler should happen
to be on foot and have no Gentile attendant. He may take care of it
himself, provided he halt at every other step and deposit it on the
ground, for at least a distance of four cubits.

A master is bound to rehearse a lesson to his pupil four
times.

Eiruvin, fol. 54, col. 2.

Alas for the power which prepares a grave for its possessor, for
there is not a prophet who hath not in his lifetime witnessed the
decadence of four kings; as it is said (Isa. i. 1), “The vision of
Isaiah … in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings
of Judah” (see also Hosea i. 1).

P’sachim, fol. 87, col. 2.

Once Rav Pappa and Rav Hunnah partook together of a common meal,
and as the latter ate only one morsel the former ate four. After
this, when Rav Hunnah and Ravina ate together, the latter devoured
eight portions to the other’s one, upon which Rav Hunnah jocularly
remarked, “A hundred (Rav) Pappas to one Ravina.”

P’sachim, fol. 89, col. 2.

No food may be eaten on Passover-eve from the time of the
offering of the evening sacrifice (in order, i.e. that
abstinence may whet the appetite for the Matsoth). Even the poorest
in Israel may not break his fast till the hour of reclining; nor is
he to partake of less than four glasses of wine, even though he has
been reduced so low as to subsist on the porridge doled out by
public charity.

Ibid., fol. 99, col. 2.

There are four things the doing of which by man brings judgment
upon his own head:—If he turn in between a wall and a
date-palm; if he turn in between two date-palms; if he drink
borrowed water; and if he step across spilt water, such even as his
own wife may have thrown away. (All these doings, says Rashi, are
bound to annoy the evil genii.)

Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.

Four precepts did our holy Rabbi (Yehudah Hakadosh) urge upon
his children:—Not to choose Shechentzia as a dwelling-place,
for scoffers resided there; not to use the bed of a Syrian
odalisque; not to shirk the payment of fiscal dues, lest the
collector should confiscate all their property; not to face an ox
when he came up (ruffled) from the cane-brake, for Satan sported
betwixt his horns.

P’sachim, fol. 112, col. 2.

Whosoever prieth into the four things in the matter of the
chariot in Ezekiel’s vision—what is above, what is beneath,
what is before, or what is behind—it were better for him if
he had never been born.

Chaggigah, fol. 11, col. 2.

The work or matter of the chariot, the Rabbinic
term for the Vision of Ezekiel, ranks among the Arcana Judaica,
which are not to be told save to the initiated.

Four men entered Paradise—these are their names:—Ben
Azai, Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi {62} Akiva thus
warned his companions: “When you come across pavements of pellucid
marble, do not cry out ‘Water! water!’ for it is said (Ps. ci. 7),
‘He that uttereth falsehood shall not dwell in my sight.'” Ben Azai
looked and died; concerning him the Scripture says (Ps. cxvi. 15),
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Ben
Zoma looked and went out of his mind; of him the Scripture says
(Prov. xxv. 16), “Hast thou found honey? eat only so much as is
sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomit it.”
Acher cut the plants. Only Akiva departed in peace.

Chaggigah, fol. 14, col. 2.

Rashi explains this by saying these men went up to
heaven; but Maimonides much more rationally teaches that the
Paradise or garden here is merely the retreat of profound
philosophic meditation. These five intuitions were;—(1.) To
know that there is a God; (2.) to ignore every other beside Him;
(3.) to feel His unity; (4.) to love His person; and (5.) to stand
in awe of His Majesty (see Vad Hachaz, chap. 4, sec. 19). Deep
thought in these matters was spoken of by the Rabbis as
promenading in the garden.

Four times a year is the world subject to an ordeal of
judgment:—At Passover, which is decisive of the fruits of the
field; at Pentecost, which is decisive of the fruits of the garden;
at the feast of Tabernacles, which is decisive in respect of rain;
on New Year’s Day, when all who come into the world pass before the
Lord like sheep, as it is said (Ps. xxxiii. 15), “Who formed their
hearts together; who understandeth all their works.”

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 16, col. 1.

There are four varieties of cedar:—Erez, Karthom,
Etz-Shemen, and Berosh.

Ibid., fol. 23, col. 1.

Ben Kamzar would not teach the art of writing, and yet it is
related of him that he could, by taking four pens between his
fingers, write off a word of four letters at one stroke.

Yoma, fol. 38, col. 2.

There are four kinds of quails:—Sichli, Kibli, Pisyoni,
and the common quail. The first was of superior quality, and the
last inferior.

Ibid., fol. 75, col. 2.

A man may obtain forgiveness after the third transgression, but
if he repeat the offense a fourth time, he is not {63} pardoned
again; for it is said (Amos ii. 4), “For three transgressions of
Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof;”
and again (Job xxxiii. 29), “Lo! all these things doth God two or
three times” (and so inferentially not four times) “with man to
bring back his soul from the pit.”

Yoma, fol. 86, col. 2.

For four reasons does their property pass out of the hands of
the avaricious:—Because they are backward in paying the wages
of their hired servants; because they altogether neglect their
welfare; because they shift the yoke from themselves and lay the
burden upon their neighbors; and because of pride, which is of
itself as bad as all the rest put together; whereas of the meek it
is written (Ps. xxxvii. n), “The meek shall inherit the earth.”

Succah, fol. 29, col. 2.

“And the Lord showed me four carpenters” (Zech. i, 20). Who are
these four carpenters? Rav Ghana bar Bizna says that Rabbi Shimon
Chassida said they were Messiah the son of David, Messiah the son
of Joseph, Elijah, and the Priest of Righteousness.

Ibid., fol. 52, col. 2.

No Synagogue is to be sold except on condition that there be
power of re-purchase. These are the words of Rabbi Meir; but the
sages say it may be sold unconditionally, except in these four
particular cases: that it be not turned into a bath-house, a
tannery, a wash-house, or a laundry.

Meggillah, fol. 27, col. 2.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai was once asked by his disciples how he
had attained such length of days. “Never once,” he said, “in my
life have I acted irreverently within four cubits of a place where
prayer is offered; never have I called a person by a wicked name;
nor have I ever failed to sanctify the Sabbath over a cup of wine.
Once my aged mother sold her head-dress to buy the consecration
wine for me.”

Ibid., fol. 27, col. 2.

When a sage is approaching, one should rise up before he gets
within four ells’ distance, and remain standing until he has gone
as far past. When a chief magistrate is about to pass, one must
rise as soon as he comes in sight, {64} and not resume the seat until
he has passed four ells. When a prince passes, one must stand up
whenever he appears, and not sit down again until the prince
himself is seated; for it is said (Exod. xxxiii, 8), “All the
people rose up, … and looked after Moses until he was gone into
the tabernacle.”

Kiddushin, fol. 33, col. 2.

When Nero came to the Holy Land, he tried his fortune by
belemnomancy thus:—He shot an arrow eastward, and it fell
upon Jerusalem; he discharged his shafts towards the four points of
the compass, and every time they fell upon Jerusalem. After this he
met a Jewish boy, and said unto him, “Repeat to me the text thou
hast learned to-day.” The boy repeated, “I will lay my vengeance
upon Edom (i.e., Rome) by the hand of my people Israel”
(Ezek. xxv. 14). Then said Nero, “The Holy One—blessed be
He!—has determined to destroy His Temple and then avenge
Himself on the agent by whom its ruin is wrought.” Thereupon Nero
fled and became a Jewish proselyte, and Rabbi Meir is of his
race.

Gittin, fol. 56, col. 1.

They whose banquet is accompanied with four kinds of instruments
of music bring five calamities on the world; as it is said (Isa. v.
11-15), “Woe unto those that get up early in the morning, that they
may run after strong drink; and continue until late at night, till
flushed with wine. And the harp and psaltery, tambourine and flute,
and wine are at their carousals.”

Soteh, fol. 48, col. 1.

Let him carry the purse, and halt every time he accomplishes
less than four cubits forward.

Shabbath, fol. 153, cols, 1, 2.

Rav Yitzchak here explains how the good Jew,
belated on Sabbath-eve, may carry his purse himself, and so save
his conscience. The traveler is to halt at about every other step,
and so measure off the journey in four-cubit stages.

Though ever since the destruction of the Temple the Sanhedrin
has ceased to exist, the four kinds of capital punishment have not
failed to assert themselves. If a man incurs the penalty of death
by stoning, he is in the course of Providence either punished by a
fatal fall from a roof or slain by some beast of prey; if he has
exposed himself {65} to the penalty of death by burning, it
happens that he is either burned to death in the end or mortally
stung by a serpent; if the penalty of the law is that he should be
beheaded for his offense, he meets his death either from the
Government officer or by the hand of an assassin; if the penalty be
strangulation, he is sure to be drowned or suffocated.

Sanhedrin, fol. 37, col. 2.

When a person is in a state of apprehension and cannot make out
the cause of it (the star that presided at his birth and his genii
know all about it), what should he do? Let him jump from where he
is standing four cubits, or else let him repeat, “Hear, O Israel,”
etc. (Deut. vi. 4); or if the place be unfit for the repetition of
Scripture, let him mutter to himself, “The goat at the butcher’s is
fatter than me.”

Ibid., fol. 94, col. 1.

It is written in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 7, “A carved image;” and again
it is written in verse 19, “Graven images.” Rabbi Yochanan said,
“At first he made the image with one face, but afterwards he made
it with four—four, so that the Shechinah might see it from
every point, and thus be exasperated.”

Ibid., fol. 103, col. 2.

Moses uttered four judgments upon Israel, but four prophets
revoked them:—(1.) First Moses said (Deut. xxxiii. 28),
“Israel then shall dwell in safety alone;” then came Amos and set
it aside (Amos vii. 5), “Cease, I beseech thee,” etc.; and then it
is written (verse 6), “This shall not be, saith the Lord.” (2.)
First Moses said (Deut. xxviii. 65), “Among these nations thou
shalt find no ease;” then came Jeremiah and set this saying aside
(Jer. xxxi. 2), “Even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”
(3.) First Moses said (Exod. xxxiv. 7), “Visiting the iniquities of
the fathers upon the children;” then came Ezekiel and set this
aside (Ezek. xviii. 4), “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (4.)
First Moses said (Lev. xxvi. 38), “And ye shall perish among the
heathen;” then came Isaiah and reversed this (Isa. xxvii. 13), “And
it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be
blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish.”

Maccoth, fol. 24, col. 1.

When Akavyah ben Mahalalel appeared to four halachahs
contradicting the judgment of the wise on a certain important point
of law, “Retract,” they said, “and we will promote thee to be
president of the tribunal.” To which he replied, “I would rather be
called a fool all the days of my life than be judged wicked for one
hour before Him who is omnipresent.”

Edioth, chap. 5, mish. 6.

Let thy house be open wide toward the south, the east, the west,
and the north, just as Job, who made four entrances to his house,
in order that the poor might find entrance without trouble from
whatever quarter they might come.

Avoth d’Rav. Nathan, chap. 7,

Rabbah once saw a sea-monster on the day it was brought forth,
and it was as large as Mount Tabor. And how large is Mount Tabor?
Its neck was three miles long, and where it laid its head a mile
and a half. Its dung choked up the Jordan, till, as Rashi says, its
waters washed it away.

Bava Bathra, fol. 73, col. 2.

Shemuel said, “We know remedies for all maladies except
three:—That induced by unripe dates on an empty stomach; that
induced by wearing a damp linen rope round one’s loins; and that
induced by falling asleep after meals without having first walked a
distance of at least four cubits.”

Bava Metzia, fol. 113, col. 2.

The five times repeated “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Ps. ciii.
civ.), were said by David with reference both to God and the soul.
As God fills the whole world, so does the soul fill the whole body;
as God sees and is not seen, so the soul sees and is not seen; as
God nourishes the whole world, so does the soul nourish the whole
body; as God is pure, so also is the soul pure; as God dwelleth in
secret, so does the soul dwell in secret. Therefore let him who
possesses these five properties praise Him to whom these five
attributes belong.

Berachoth, fol. 10, col. 1.

Five things have in them a sixtieth part of five other
things:—Fire, honey, the Sabbath, sleep, and dreams. Fire is
a sixtieth of hell, honey a sixtieth of manna, the Sabbath
{67}
a sixtieth of the rest in the world to come, sleep the sixtieth of
death, and a dream the sixtieth of prophecy.

Berachoth, fol. 57, col. 2.

There are five weak things that are a source of terror to the
strong:—The mosquito is a terror to the lion, the gnat is a
terror to the elephant, the ichneumon-fly is a terror to the
scorpion, the flycatcher is a terror to the eagle, and the
stickleback is a terror to the leviathan.

Shabbath, fol. 77, col. 2.

These five should be killed even on the Sabbath:—The fly
of Egypt, the wasp of Nineveh, the scorpion of Hadabia, the serpent
of the land of Israel, and the mad dog anywhere and everywhere.

Ibid., fol. 121, col. 2.

Five things did Canaan teach his children:—To love one
another, to perpetrate robbery, to practice wantonness, to hate
their masters, and not to speak the truth.

P’sachim, fol. 113, col. 2.

Five things were in the first Temple which were not in the
second:—The ark and its cover, with the cherubim; the fire;
the Shechinah; the Holy Spirit; and the Urim and Thummim.

Yoma, fol. 21, col. 2.

Five things are said respecting the mad dog:—Its mouth
gapes wide, it drops its saliva, its ears hang down, its tail is
curled between its legs, and it slinks along the side of the road.
Rav says that a dog’s madness is caused by witches sporting with
it. Samuel says it is because an evil spirit rests upon it.

Ibid., fol. 83, col. 2.

When a man has betrothed one of five women, and does not
remember which of the five it is, while each of them claims the
right of betrothment, then he is duty bound to give to each a bill
of divorcement, and to distribute the dowry due to one among them
all. This decision is according to Rabbi Tarphon, but Rabbi Akiva
holds that he must not only divorce each, but give to each the
legal dowry, otherwise he fails in his duty.

Yevamoth, fol. 118, col. 2.

When a person having robbed one of five does not remember which
of the five it was he had robbed, and each claims to have been the
victim of the robbery, then he is {68} to part the stolen property
(or the value of it) among them all, and go his way. So says Rabbi
Tarphon, but Rabbi Akiva argues that the defaulter does not in this
way fully exonerate himself; he must restore to each and all the
full value of the plunder.

Yevamoth, fol. 118, col. 2.

These things are said concerning garlic:—It nourishes, it
glows inwardly, it brightens the complexion, and increases
virility. Some say that it is a philtre for love, and that it
exterminates jealousy.

Bava Kama, fol. 82, col. 1.

Five things cause forgetfulness:—Partaking of what has
been gnawed by a mouse or a cat, eating bullock’s heart, habitual
use of olives, drinking water that has been washed in, and placing
the feet one upon the other while bathing.

Horayoth, fol. 13, col. 2.

Five things restore the memory again:—Bread baked upon
coals, soft-boiled eggs without salt, habitual use of olive oil,
mulled wine, and plenty of salt.

Ibid.

He who does not cheer the bridegroom whose wedding breakfast he
has enjoyed transgresses against the five voices (mentioned in Jer.
xxxiii. II):—”The voice of joy, the voice of gladness, the
voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of
them that shall say ‘Praise ye the Lord of Hosts.'”

Berachoth, fol. 6, col. 2.

Mount Sinai had five names:—(1.) Wilderness of Zin,
because on it the Israelites were commanded to observe the law;
(2.) Wilderness of Kadesh, because on it the Israelites were
consecrated to receive the law; (3.) Wilderness of Kedemoth,
because precedence was there given to Israel over all other
nations; (4.) Wilderness of Paran, because there the Israelites
were fruitful and multiplied; (5.) Wilderness of Sinai, because
from it enmity came to be cherished to the Gentiles. It was
denominated Horeb according to Rabbi Abhu, because from it came
down destruction to the Gentiles.

Shabbath, fol. 89, cols, 1, 2.

Mar (the master) has said, “From dawn to the appearance of the
sun is five miles.” How is this proved? It is written (Gen. xix.
15), “When the dawn arose the angels hurried Lot;” and it is added
(verse 25), “The sun was {69} risen upon the earth when Lot entered into
Zoar.” And Rabbi Chanena said, “I myself have seen that place, and
the distance is five miles.”

P’sachim, fol. 93, col. 2.

He that cooks in milk the ischiadic sinew on an annual festival
is to be scourged five times forty stripes save one:—For
cooking the sinew, for eating the sinew, for cooking flesh in milk,
for eating flesh cooked in milk, and for lighting the fire.

Baitza, fol. 12, col. 1.

To this very day this sinew is extracted from the
hind quarters of all animals before it is allowable for a Jew to
eat them. This operation, in popular parlance, is termed
porging.

The mysteries of the law are not to be communicated except to
those who possess the faculties of these five in
combination:—”The captain of fifty, and the honorable man,
and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent
orator” (see Isa. iii. 3).

Chaggigah, fol. 13, col. 1.

“Captain of fifty.” This should be read, not captain of fifty,
but captain of five, that is, such as knew how to manage the
five-fifths of the law (or Pentateuch).

Ibid., fol. 14, col. 1.

Five characteristics were ascribed to the fire upon the
altar:—It crouched there like a lion, it shone as the sun, it
was perceptible to the touch, it consumed liquids as though they
were dry materials, it caused no smoke.

Yoma, fol. 21, col. 2.

How is it that the word signifying “And I will be glorified,”
occurs in Hag. i. 8 without the letter which is the symbol for
five, though it is sounded as if that letter was there? It
indicates the absence of five things from the second Temple which
were to be found in the first, (1.) The ark, i.e., the
mercy-seat of the cherubim; (2.) the fire from heaven upon the
altar; (3.) the visible presence; (4.) the Holy Spirit (of
prophecy, says Rashi); and (5.) the Urim and Thummim.

Ibid.

How then, it may be asked, if these five tokens of
the Divine presence and favor which rendered the first Temple so
glorious were wanting in the second could it be said (Hag. ii. 9),
“The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the
former”? It is a question {70} which it is natural to ask, and it
should be ingenuously answered. Is it that these were tending to
usurp the place of the spiritual, of which they were but the
assurance and the symbol, and darken rather than reveal the eternal
reality they adumbrated?

The Israelites relished any flavor they fancied in the manna
except the flavor of these five things (mentioned in Num. xi.
59):—”Cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.”

Yoma, fol. 75, col. 1.

Five things happened to our forefathers on the 17th of Tammuz,
and five on the 9th of Ab. On the 17th of Tammuz (1.) the tables of
the covenant were broken; (2.) the daily sacrifice was done away
with; (3.) the city walls were cleft asunder; (4.) Apostumes burned
the roll of the law; (5.) and set up an idol in the temple. On the
9th of Ab (1.) the decree was uttered that our ancestors should not
enter the land of Canaan; both the (2.) first and the (3.) second
Temple were destroyed; (4.) Byther was subjugated and (5.) the city
was plowed up.

Taanith, fol. 26, cols, 1, 2.

The Rabbis have taught where it is we learn that if one has five
sons by five wives he is bound to redeem each and all of them. It
is from what is taught in Exod. xxxiv. 20, where it is said, “All
the first born of thy sons shalt thou redeem.”

Kiddushin. fol. 29. col. 2.

If Israel had not sinned they would have had no other Scriptures
than the five-fifths of the law (that is, the Pentateuch) and the
book of Joshua, which last is indispensable, because therein is
recorded how the land was distributed among the sons of Israel; but
the remainder was added, “Because in much wisdom is much grief”
(Eccles. i. 18).

Nedarim, fol. 22, col. 2.

“If a man steal an ox or a sheep and kill it or sell it, five
oxen shall be given in restitution for one ox, and four sheep for
one sheep” (Exod. xxii. 1). From this observe the value put upon
work. For the loss of an ox, because it involves the loss of labor,
the owner is recompensed with five oxen; but for the loss of a
sheep, which does no work, he is only recompensed with four.

Bava Kama, fol. 79, col. 2.

“And Esau came from the field, and he was faint” (Gen. xxv. 29).
Rabbi Yochanan said that wicked man committed on that day five
transgressions:—He committed rape, committed murder, denied
the being of God, denied the resurrection from the dead, and
despised the birthright.

Bava Bathra, fol. 16, col. 2.

There are five celebrated idolatrous temples, and these are the
names of them:—The Temple of Bel in Babylon, the Temple of
Nebo in Chursi, the Temple of Thretha in Maphog, the Temple of
Zeripha in Askelon, and the Temple of Nashra in Arabia. When Rabbi
Dimmi came from Palestine to Babylon he said there were others,
viz, the Temple of Yarid in Ainbechi, and that of Nadbacha in
Accho.

Avodah Zarah, fol. 11, col. 2.

“And they also transgressed my covenant, which I have commanded
them; and they also have taken of the accursed thing, and have also
stolen, and dissembled also, and have also put it among their own
stuff” (Josh. vii. 11). Rav Illaa says, in the name of Rav Yehudah
ben Mispartha, the fivefold repetition of the particle also shows
that Achan had trespassed against all the five books of Moses. The
same Rabbi further adds that Achan had obliterated the sign of the
covenant, for it is said in relation to him, “And they have also
transgressed my covenant;” and with reference to circumcision, “He
hath broken my covenant.”

Sanhedrin, fol. 44, col. 1.

He who eats an ant is flogged five times with forty stripes save
one.

Maccoth, fol. 16, col. 2.

Rabbi Akiva used to say there are five judgments on record each
of twelve months’ duration:—That of the deluge, that of Job,
that of the Egyptians, that of Gog and Magog, and that of the
wicked in hell. This last is said of those whose demerits outweigh
their virtues, or those who have sinned against their bodies.

Edioth, chap. 2, mish. 10.

Five possessions hath the Holy One—blessed be
He!—purchased for Himself in this world:—(1.) The law
is one possession (Prov. viii. 22); (2.) Heaven and earth is one
possession (Isa. lxvi. 1, Ps. civ. 24); (3.) Abraham is
{72}
one possession (Gen. xiv. 9); (4.) Israel is one possession (Exod.
xv. 16); (5.) the Temple is one possession, as it is said (Exod.
xv. 17), “The sanctuary, O Lord, Thy hands have established.” And
it is also said (Ps. lxxviii. 54), “And He brought them to the
border of His sanctuary, even to this mountain, which His right
hand had purchased.”

Avoth, chap. 6.

Rabbi Akiva says he who marries a woman not suited to him
violates five precepts:—(1.) Thou shalt not avenge; (2.) thou
shalt not bear a grudge; (3.) thou shalt not hate thy brother in
thy heart; (4.) thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; (5.) and
that thy brother may live with thee. For if he hates her he wishes
she were dead, and thus he diminishes the population.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 26.

Five have no forgiveness of sins:—(1.) He who keeps on
sinning and repenting alternately; (2.) he who sins in a sinless
age; (3.) he who sins on purpose to repent; (4.) he who causes the
name of God to be blasphemed. The fifth is not given in the
Talmud.

Ibid., chap. 39.

He who has no fringes to his garment transgresses five positive
commands (see Num. xv. 38. etc.; Deut. xxii. 12).

Menachoth, fol. 44, col. 1.

A learner who, after five years, sees no profit in studying,
will never see it. Rabbi Yossi says, after three years, as it is
written (Dan. i. 4, 5), “That they should be taught the literature
and the language of the Chaldeans,” so educating them in three
years.

Chullin, fol. 24, col. 1.

Any one who doeth any of these things sinneth against himself,
and his blood is upon his own head:—He that (1.) eats garlic,
onions, or eggs which were peeled the night before; (2.) or drinks
water drawn over night; (3.) or sleeps all night in a
burying-place; (4.) or pares his nails and throws the cuttings into
the public street.

Niddah, fol. 17, col. 1.

Rabbi Yossi said:—”Never once in all my life have the
walls of my house seen the hem of my shirt; and I have planted five
cedars (sons are figuratively so termed, see Ps. xcii. 12) in
Israel—namely, Rabbis Ishmael, Eliezar, {73} Chalafta,
Artilas, and Menachem. Never once in my life have I spoken of my
wife by any other name than house, and of my ox by any other name
than field.”

Shabbath, fol. 118, col. 2.

Six things are a disgrace to a disciple of the wise:—To
walk abroad perfumed, to walk alone by night, to wear old clouted
shoes, to talk with a woman in the street, to sit at table with
illiterate men, and to be late at the synagogue. Some add to these,
walking with a proud step or a haughty gait.

Berachoth, fol. 43, col. 2.

A soft-boiled egg is better than six ounces of fine flour.

Ibid., fol. 44, col. 2.

Six things are a certain cure for sickness:—Cabbage,
beetroot, water distilled from dry moss, honey, the maw and the
matrix of an animal, and the edge of the liver.

Ibid.

These six things are good symptoms in an
invalid:—Sneezing, perspiration, evacuation, seminal
emission, sleep, and dreaming.

Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.

Six things bear interest in this world and the capital remaineth
in the world to come:—Hospitality to strangers, visiting the
sick, meditation in prayer, early attendance at the school of
instruction, the training of sons to the study of the law, and
judging charitably of one’s neighbors.

Shabbath, fol. 127, col. 1.

There are six sorts of tears, three good and three
bad:—Those caused by smoke, or grief, or constipation are
bad; and those caused by fragrant spices, laughter, and aromatic
herbs are good.

Ibid., fol. 151, col. 2; fol. 152, col.
1.

Six things are said respecting the illiterate:—No
testimony is to be borne to them, none is to be accepted from them;
no secret is to be disclosed to them; they are not to be appointed
guardians over orphans, nor keepers of the charity-box, and there
should be no fellowship with them when on a journey. Some say also
no public notice is to be given of their lost property.

P’sachim, fol. 49, col. 2.

The expression here rendered “illiterate” means
literally “people of the land,” and was, there is reason to
believe, originally applied to the primitive inhabitants of Canaan,
traces of whom may still be found among the fellahin of Syria. They
appear, like the aboriginal races in many countries of Christendom
in relation to Christianity, to have remained generation after
generation obdurately inaccessible to Jewish ideas, and so to have
given name to the ignorant and untaught generally. This
circumstance may account for the harshness of some of the
quotations which are appended in reference to them.

He who aspires to be a fellow of the learned must not sell
fruit, either green or dry, to an illiterate man, nor may he buy
fresh fruit of him. He must not be the guest of an ignorant man,
nor receive such an one as his guest.

Demai, chap. 2, mish. 2.

Our Rabbis teach, Let a man sell all that he has and marry the
daughter of a learned man. If he cannot find the daughter of a
learned man, let him marry the daughter of one of the great men of
his day. If he does not find such a one, let him marry the daughter
of one of the heads of the congregation, or, failing this, the
daughter of a charity collector, or even the daughter of a
schoolmaster; but let him not marry the daughter of an illiterate
man, for the unlearned are an abomination, as also their wives and
their daughters.

P’sachim, fol. 49, col. 2.

It is said that Rabbi (the Holy) teaches that it is illegal for
an unlearned man to eat animal food, for it is said (Lev. xi. 46),
“This is the law of the beast and the fowl;” therefore he who
studies the law may eat animal food, but he who does not study the
law may not. Rabbi Eliezar said, “It is lawful to split open the
nostrils of an unlearned man, even on the Day of Atonement which
happens to fall on a Sabbath.” To which his disciples responded,
“Rabbi, say rather to slaughter him.” He replied, “Nay, that would
require the repetition of the usual benediction; but in tearing
open his nostrils no benedictory formula is needed.” Rabbi Eliezar
has also said, “It is unlawful to travel with such a one, for it is
said (Deut. {75} xxx. 30), ‘For it is thy life and the
length of thy days.’ The unlearned does not ensure his own life
(since he has no desire to study the law, which would prolong
life), how much less then will he regard the life of his neighbor?”
Rabbi Samuel, son of Nachman, says on behalf of Rabbi Yochanan,
that it is lawful to split open an unlearned man like a fish.
“Aye,” adds Rabbi Samuel, “and that from his back.”

P’sachim, fol. 49, col. 2.

Rav Yehudah says it is good to eat the pulp of a pumpkin with
beetroot as a remedy, also the essence of hemp seed in Babylonian
broth; but it is not lawful to mention this in the presence of an
illiterate man, because he might derive a benefit from the
knowledge not meant for him.

Nedarim, fol. 49, col. 1.

No contribution or heave-offering should be given to an ignorant
priest.

Sanhedrin, fol. 90, col. 2.

No boor can be pious, nor an ignorant man a saint.

Avoth, chap. 2, mish. 6.

Sleep in the morning, wine at mid-day, the idle talk of
inexperienced youth, and attending the conventicles of the ignorant
drive a man out of the world.

Ibid., chap. 3, mish. 16.

Rabbi Jonathan says, “Where do we learn that no present is to be
made to an ignorant priest?” In 2 Chron. xxxi. 4, for there it is
said Hezekiah “commanded that all the people that dwelt in
Jerusalem should give a portion to the priests and to the Levites,
that they might be strong in the law of the Lord.” He who firmly
lays hold of the law has a claim to a portion, otherwise he has
none.

Chullin, fol. 130, col. 2.

The aged, if ignorant, grow weaker in intellect the older they
become in years, for it is written (Job xii. 20), “He removeth away
the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the
aged.” But it is not so with them that are old in the study of the
law, for the older they grow the more thoughtful they become, and
the wiser, as it is said (Job xii. 12), “With the ancient is
wisdom, and in length of days understanding.”

Kinnin, chap. 3.

The salutation of the ignorant should be responded to quietly,
and with a reluctant nod of the head.

Taanith, fol. 14, col. 2.

No calamities ever befall the world except such as are brought
on by the ignorant.

Bava Bathra, fol. 8, col. 1.

Rav Hunna’s widow once appeared before Rav Nachman as plaintiff
in a lawsuit. “What shall I do?” he said. “If I rise before her (to
honor her as the widow of a Rabbi), the defendant, who is an
amhaaretz, will feel uneasy; and if I don’t rise I shall
break the rule which ordains that the wife of an associate is to be
treated as an associate.” So he said to his servant, “Loose a young
goose over my head, then I’ll get up.”

Rav bar Sheravyah had a lawsuit with an amhaaretz before
Rav Pappa, who bade him be seated, and also asked the other to sit
down. When the officer of the court raised the amhaaretz
with a kick, the magistrate did not request him to be seated
again.

Shevuoth, fol. 30, col. 2.

Six things are said respecting demons. In three particulars they
are like angels, and in three they resemble men. They have wings
like angels; like angels they fly from one end of the world to the
other, and they know the future, as angels do, with this
difference, that they learn by listening behind the veil what
angels have revealed to them within. In three respects they
resemble men. They eat and drink like men, they beget and increase
like men, and like men they die.

Chaggigah, fol. 16, col. 1.

The Talmud is particularly rich in demonology, and
many are the forms which the evil principle assumes in its pages.
We have no wish to drag these shapes to the light, and interrogate
them as to the part they play in this intricate life. Enough now if
we mention the circumstance of their existence, and introduce to
the reader the story of Ashmedai, the king of the demons. The story
is worth relating, both for its own sake and its historical
significance.

In Ecclesiastes ii. 8, we read, “I gat me men
singers and women singers, the delights of the sons of men, as
musical instruments, and that of all sorts.” These last seven words
represent only two in the original Hebrew,
Shiddah-veshiddoth. These two words in the original Hebrew
translated by the last seven in this verse, have been a source of
great perplexity to the critics, and their exact meaning is matter
of debate to this hour. They in the West say they mean severally
{77}
carriages for lords and carriages for ladies, while we, says the
Babylonish Talmud, interpret them to signify male demons and female
demons. Whereupon, if this last is the correct rendering, the
question arises, for what purpose Solomon required them? The answer
is to be found in 1 Kings vi. 7, where it is written, “And the
house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready
before it was brought thither,” etc. For before the operation
commenced Solomon asked the Rabbis, “How shall I accomplish this
without using tools of iron?” and they remembering of an insect
which had existed since the creation of the world, whose powers
were such as the hardest substances could not resist, replied,
“There is the Shameer, with which Moses cut the precious stones of
the Ephod.” Solomon asked, “And where, pray, is the Shameer to be
found?” To which they made answer, “Let a male demon and a female
come, and do thou coerce them both; mayhap they know and will
reveal it to thee.” He then conjured into his presence a male and a
female demon, and proceeded to torture them, but in vain, for said
they, “We know not its whereabouts and cannot tell; perhaps
Ashmedai, the king of the demons, knows.” On being further
interrogated as to where he in turn might be found, they made this
answer: “In yonder mount is his residence; there he has dug a pit,
and, after filling it with water, covered it over with a stone, and
sealed with his own seal. Daily he ascends to heaven and studies in
the school of wisdom there, then he comes down and studies in the
school of wisdom here; upon which he goes and examines the seal,
then opens the pit, and after quenching his thirst, covers it up
again, re-seals it, and takes his departure.”

Solomon thereupon sent Benaiah, the son of
Jehoiada, provided with a magic chain and ring, upon both of which
the name of God was engraved. He also provided him with a fleece of
wool and sundry skins with wine. Then Benaiah went and sank a pit
below that of Ashmedai, into which he drained off the water and
plugged the duct between with the fleece. Then he set to and dug
another hole higher up with a channel leading into the emptied pit
of Ashmedia, by means of which the pit was filled with the wine he
had brought. After leveling the ground so as not to rouse
suspicion, he withdrew to a tree close by, so as to watch the
result and wait his opportunity. After a while Ashmedai came, and
examined the seal, when, seeing it all right, he raised the stone,
and to his surprise found wine in the pit. For a time he stood
muttering and saying, it is written, “Wine is a mocker: strong
drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
And again, “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.”
Therefore at first he was unwilling to drink, but being thirsty, he
could not long resist the temptation. He proceeded to drink
therefore, when, becoming intoxicated, he lay down to sleep. Then
Benaiah, came forth from his ambush, and stealthily approaching,
fastened the chain round the sleeper’s neck. Ashmedai, when he
awoke, began to fret and fume, and would have torn off the chain
that bound him, had not Benaiah warned him, saying, “The name of
{78}
thy Lord is upon thee.” Having thus secured him, Benaiah proceeded
to lead him away to his sovereign master. As they journeyed along
they came to a palm-tree, against which Ashmedai rubbed himself,
until he uprooted it and threw it down. When they drew near to a
hut, the poor widow who inhabited it came out and entreated him not
to rub himself against it, upon which, as he suddenly bent himself
back, he snapt a bone of his body, and said, “This is that which is
written (Prov. xxv. 15), ‘And a gentle answer breaketh the bone.'”
Descrying a blind man straying out of his way, he hailed him and
directed him aright. He even did the same service to a man overcome
with wine, who was in a similar predicament. At sight of a wedding
party that passed rejoicing along, he wept; but he burst into
uncontrollable laughter when he heard a man order at a shoemaker’s
stall a pair of shoes that would last seven years; and when he saw
a magician at his work he broke forth into shrieks of scorn.

On arriving at the royal city, three days were
allowed to pass before he was introduced to Solomon. On the first
day he said. “Why does the king not invite me into his presence?”
“He has drunk too much,” was the answer, “and the wine has
overpowered him.” Upon which he lifted a brick and placed it upon
the top of another. When this was communicated to Solomon, he
replied “He meant by this, go and make him drunk again.” On the day
following he asked again, “Why does the king not invite me into his
presence?” They replied, “He has eaten too much.” On this he
removed the brick again from the top of the other. When this was
reported to the king, he interpreted it to mean, “Stint him in his
food.”

After the third day, he was introduced to the king;
when measuring off four cubits upon the floor with the stick he
held in his hand, he said to Solomon, “When thou diest, thou wilt
not possess in this world (he referred to the grave) more than four
cubits of earth. Meanwhile thou has conquered the world, yet thou
wert not satisfied until thou hadst overcome me also.” To this the
king quietly replied, “I want nothing of thee, but I wish to build
the Temple and have need of the Shameer.” To which Ashmedai
at once answered, “The Shameer is not committed in charge to me,
but to the Prince of the Sea, and he intrusts it to no one except
to the great wild cock, and that upon an oath that he return it to
him again.” Whereupon Solomon asked, “And what does the wild cock
do with the Shameer?” To which the demon replied, “He takes it to a
barren rocky mountain, and by means of it he cleaves the mountain
asunder, into the cleft of which, formed into a valley, he drops
the seeds of various plants and trees, and thus the place becomes
clothed with verdure and fit for habitation.” This is the
Shameer (Lev. xi. 19), Nagger Tura, which the Targum renders
Mountain Splitter.

They therefore searched for the nest of the wild
cock, which they found contained a young brood. This they covered
with a glass, that the bird might see its young, but not be able to
get at them. When accordingly the bird came and found his nest
impenetrably glazed over, he {79} went and fetched the Shameer. Just as
he was about to apply it to the glass in order to cut it, Solomon’s
messenger gave a startling shout, and this so agitated the bird
that he dropped the Shameer, and Solomon’s messenger caught it up
and made off with it. The cock thereupon went and strangled
himself, because he was unable to keep the oath by which he had
bound himself to return the Shameer.

Benaiah asked Ashmedai why, when he saw the blind
man straying, he so promptly interfered to guide him? “Because,” he
replied, “it was proclaimed in heaven that that man was perfectly
righteous, and that whosoever did him a good turn would earn a
title to a place in the world of the future.” “And when thou sawest
the man overcome with wine wandering out of his way, why didst thou
put him right again?” Ashmedai said, “Because it was made known in
heaven that that man was thoroughly bad, and I have done him a good
service that he might not lose all, but receive some good in the
world that now is.” “Well, and why didst thou weep when thou sawest
the merry wedding-party pass?” “Because,” said he, “the bridegroom
was fated to die within thirty days and the bride must needs wait
thirteen years for her husband’s brother, who is now but an infant”
(see Deut. xxv. 5-10). “Why didst thou laugh so when the man
ordered a pair of shoes that would last him seven years?” Ashmedai
replied, “Because the man himself was not sure of living seven
days.” “And why,” asked Benaiah, “didst thou jeer when thou sawest
the conjuror at his tricks?” “Because,” said Ashmedai, “the man was
at that very time sitting on a princely treasure, and he did not,
with all his pretension, know that it was under him.”

Having once acquired a power over Ashmedai, Solomon
detained him till the building of the Temple was completed. One day
after this, when they were alone, it is related that Solomon,
addressing him, asked him, “What, pray, is your superiority over
us, if it be true, as it is written (Num. xxiii. 22), ‘He has the
strength of a unicorn,’ and the word ‘strength,’ as tradition
alleges, means ‘ministering angels,’ and the word ‘unicorn’ means
‘devils’?” Ashmedai replied, “Just take this chain from my neck,
and give me thy signet-ring, and I’ll soon show thee my
superiority.” No sooner did Solomon comply with this request, than
Ashmedai, snatching him up, swallowed him; then stretching forth
his wings—one touching the heaven and the other the
earth—he vomited him out again to a distance of four hundred
miles. It is with reference to this time that Solomon says (Eccl.
i. 3; ii. 10), “What profit hath a man of all his labor which he
taketh under the sun? This is my portion of all my labor.” What
does the word this mean? Upon this point Rav and Samuel are at
variance, for the one says it means his staff, the other holds that
it means his garment or water-jug; and that with one or other
Solomon went about from door to door begging; and wherever he came
he said (Eccl. i. 12), “I, the preacher, was king over Israel in
Jerusalem.” When in his wanderings he came to the house of the
Sanhedrin, the Rabbis reasoned and said, if he were mad he would
{80}
not keep repeating the same things over and over again; therefore
what does he mean? They therefore inquired of Benaiah, “Does the
king ask thee into his presence?” He replied, “No!” They then sent
to see whether the king visited the hareem. And the answer to this
was, “Yes, he comes.” Then the Rabbis sent word back that they
should look at his feet, for the devil’s feet are like those of a
cock. The reply was, “He comes to us in stockings.” Upon this
information the Rabbis escorted Solomon back to the palace, and
restored to him the chain and the ring, on both of which the name
of God was engraven. Arrayed with these, Solomon advanced
straightway into the presence-chamber. Ashmedai sat at that moment
on the throne, but as soon as he saw Solomon enter, he took fright
and raising his wings, flew away, shrieking back into invisibility.
In spite of this, Solomon continued in great fear of him; and this
explains that which is written (Song of Songs, iii. 7, 8), “Behold
the bed which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of
the valiant of Israel; they all hold swords, being expert in war;
every man has his sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the
night.” (See Gittin, fol. 68, cols, 1, 2.)

Ashmedai is the Asmodeus of the Book of Tobit, iii.
8, vi. 14, etc, The Shameer is mentioned in Jer. xvii. i; Ezek.
iii. 9; Zech. vii. 12. The Seventy in the former passage and the
Vulgate passim take it for the diamond.

Six things are said respecting the children of men, in three of
which they are like angels, and in three they are like animals.
They have intelligence like angels, they walk erect like angels,
and they converse in the holy tongue like angels. They eat and
drink like animals, they generate and multiply like animals, and
they relieve nature like animals.

Chaggigah, fol. 16, col. 1.

Six months did the Shechinah hesitate to depart from the midst
of Israel in the wilderness, in hopes that they would repent. At
last, when they persisted in impenitence, the Shechinah said, “May
their bones be blown;” as it is written (Job xi. 20), “The eyes of
the wicked shall fail, they shall not escape, and their hopes shall
be as the blowing out of the spirit.”

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 31, col. 1.

Six names were given to Solomon:—Solomon, Jedidiah,
Koheleth, Son of Jakeh, Agur, and Lemuel.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 39.

Six years old was Dinah when she gave birth to Asenath, whom she
bore unto Shechem.

Sophrim, chap. 21.

“And the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household” (2 Sam.
vi. 11). In what did the blessing consist? Rav Yehudah bar Zavidah
says it consisted in this, that Hamoth, his wife, and her eight
daughters-in-law gave birth each to six children at a time. (This
is proved from 1 Chron. xxvi. 5, 8.)

Berachoth, fol. 63, col. 2.

Six things were done by Hezekiah the king, but the sages praised
him for three only:—(1.) He dragged the bones of his father
Ahaz on a hurdle of ropes, for this they commended him; (2.) he
broke to pieces the brazen serpent, for this they commended him;
(3.) he hid the Book of Remedies, and for this too they praised
him. For three they blamed him:—(1.) He stripped the doors of
the Temple and sent the gold thereof to the King of Assyria; (2.)
he stopped up the upper aqueduct of Gihon; (3.) he intercalated the
month Nisan.

P’sachim, fol. 56, col. 1.

The hiding of the Book of Remedies, harsh and inhuman as it
might seem, was dictated by high moral considerations. It seemed
right that the transgressor should feel the weight of his sin in
the suffering that followed, and that the edge of judgment should
not be dulled by a too easy access to anodyne applications. The
reason for stopping the aqueduct of Gihon is given in 2 Chron.
xxxii. 3, 4. The inhabitants of Jerusalem did the very same thing
when the Crusaders besieged the city, A.D. 1099. Rashi tries to
explain why this stratagem was not commended; the reason he gives
is that Hezekiah ought to have trusted God, who had said (2 Kings
xix. 34), “I will defend the city.”

Six things are said of the horse:—It is wanton, it
delights in the strife of war, it is high-spirited, it despises
sleep, it eats much and it voids little. There are some that say it
would fain kill its own master.

Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that there are six sorts of
fire:—(1.) Fire that eats but drinks not, i.e., common
fire; (2.) fire that drinks but does not eat, i.e., a fever;
(3.) fire that eats and drinks, i.e., Elijah, as it is
written (1 Kings xviii. 38), “And licked up the water that was in
the trench;” (4.) fire that burns up moist things as soon as dry,
i.e., the fire on the altar; (5.) fire that counteracts
other fire, i.e., like that of Gabriel; (6.) fire that
consumes fire, for the Master has said (Sanhed., fol. 38, col. 2),
{82}
“God stretched out His finger among the angels and consumed them,”
i.e., by His own essential fire.

Yoma, fol. 21, col. 2.

For six months David was afflicted with leprosy; for it is said
(Ps. li. 7), “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me,
and I shall be whiter than snow.” At that time the Shechinah
departed from him; for it is said (Ps. li. 12), “Restore unto me
the joy of Thy salvation;” and the Sanhedrin kept aloof from him,
for it is said (Ps. cxix. 79), “Let those that fear thee turn unto
me.” That this ailment lasted six months is proved from 1 Kings ii.
11, where it is said, “And the days that David reigned over Israel
were forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and
thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem;” whereas in 2 Sam. v.
5, it is said, “In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six
months.” The reason why these six months are omitted in Kings is
because during that period he was afflicted with leprosy.

Sanhedrin, fol. 107, col. 1.

The tables of stone were six ells long, six broad, and three
thick.

Nedarim, fol. 38, col. 8.

It may help the reader to some idea of the strength
of Moses if we work out arithmetically the size and probable weight
of these stone slabs according to the Talmud. Taking the cubit or
ell at its lowest estimate, that is eighteen inches, each slab,
being nine feet long, nine feet wide, and four and a half feet
thick, would weigh upward of twenty-eight tons, reckoning thirteen
cubic feet to the ton,—the right estimate for such stone as
is quarried from the Sinaitic cliff. The figures are 9 X 9 X 9/2 =
729/2 = 364.5 X 173.5 = 63240.75 = 28 tons, 4 cwt., 2 qrs., 16 lbs.
avoirdupois.

The Rabbis have taught that these six things possess medicinal
virtue:—Cabbage, lungwort, beetroot, water, and certain parts
of the offal of animals, and some also say little fishes.

Avodah Zarah, fol. 29, col. 1.

Over six the Angel of Death had no dominion, and these
were:—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
Respecting the first three it is written, “in all” (Gen. xxiv. 1),
“of all” (Gen. xxvii. 33) “all” (A.V. “enough,” Gen. xxxiii. 11).
Respecting the last three it {83} is written, “by the mouth of Jehovah”
(see Num. xxxiii. 38, and Deut. xxxiv. 5).

Bava Bathra, fol. 17, col. i.

According to Jewish tradition, there are 903 kinds
of death, as is elicited by a Kabbalistic rule called gematria,
from the word outlets (Ps. lxviii. 20); the numeric value of the
letters of which word is 903. Of these 903 kinds of death, the
divine kiss is the easiest. God puts His favorite children to
sleep, the sleep of death, by kissing their souls away. It was thus
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fell asleep, as may be inferred from the
word all; that is to say, they had all the honor God could confer
upon them. Moses and Aaron fell asleep by the divine kiss, for it
is plainly stated to have been “by the mouth of Jehovah.” So also
Miriam passed away, only the Scripture does not say lest the
scoffer should find fault. We are also informed that quinsy is the
hardest death of all. (See Berachoth, fol. 8, col. 1.)

“These six of barley gave he me.” What does this mean? It cannot
surely be understood of six barleycorns, for it could not be the
custom of Boaz to give a present of six grains of barley. It must,
therefore, have been six measures. But was it usual for a woman to
carry such a load as six measures would come to? What he intended
by the number six was to give her a hint that in process of time
six sons would proceed from her, each of which would be blessed
with six blessings; and these were David, the Messiah, Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. David, as it is written (1 Sam.
xvi. 8), (1.) “Cunning in playing,” (2.) “and a mighty and valiant
man,” (3.) “a man of war,” (4.) “prudent in matters,” (5.) “a
comely person,” (6.) and “the Lord is with him.” The Messiah, for
it is written (Isa. xi. 2), “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon him,” viz, (1.) “The spirit of wisdom and (2.) understanding,
(3.) the spirit of counsel and (4.) might, (5.) the spirit of
knowledge, and (6.) the fear of the Lord.” Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, for regarding them it is written (Dan. i. 4),
(1.) “Young men in whom was no blemish,” (2.) “handsome in looks,”
(3.) “intelligent in wisdom,” (4.) “acquainted with knowledge,”
(5.) “and understanding science, and such as (6.) had ability to
stand in the palace of the king,” etc. But what is the meaning of
unblemished? Rav Chama ben Chanania says it means that not even the
scar of a lancet was upon them.

Sanhedrin, fol. 93, cols, 1, 2.

The words “not even the scar of a lancet was upon
them,” bespeak the prevalence of blood-letting in the East, and the
absence of the scar of the lancet on the persons of Daniel and his
companions is a testimony to their health of body and moral
temperance and purity.

In Taanith (fol. 21, col. 2) mention is made of a
certain phlebotomist—a noteworthy exception to the well-known
rule (see Kiddushin, fol. 82, col. 2) that phlebotomists are to be
regarded as morally depraved, and in the same class with
goldsmiths, perfumers, hairdressers, etc.,—Abba Umna by name,
who had a special mantle with slits in the sleeves for females, so
that he could surgically operate upon them without seeing their
naked arms, while he himself was covered over head and shoulders in
a peculiar cloak, so that his own face could not by any chance be
seen by them.

From Shabbath, fol. 156, col. 1, we learn that a
person born under the influence of Maadim, i.e., Mars, will
in one way or another be a shedder of blood, such as a
phlebotomist, a butcher, a highwayman, etc., etc.

Six blasts of the horn were blown on Sabbath-eve. The first was
to set free the laborers in the fields from their work; those that
worked near the city waited for those that worked at a distance and
all entered the place together. The second blast was to warn the
citizens to suspend their employments and shut up their shops. At
the third blast the women were to have ready the various dishes
they had prepared for the Sabbath and to light the lamps in honor
of the day. Then three more blasts were blown in succession, and
the Sabbath commenced.

Shabbath, fol. 35, col. 2.

He who passes seven nights in succession without dreaming
deserves to be called wicked.

Berachoth, fol. 14, col. 1.

Gehinnom has seven names:—Sheol (Jonah ii. 2), Avadon (Ps.
lxxxviii. 11), Shachath (Ps. xvi. 2), Horrible pit (Ps. xl. 2),
Miry clay (Ps. xl. 2), the Shadow of death (Ps. cvii. 14), the
Subterranean land.

Eiruvin, fol. 19, col. 1.

A dog in a strange place does not bark for seven years.

Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.

Seven things were formed before the creation of the
world:—The Law, Repentance, Paradise, Gehenna, the Throne of
Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah.

P’sachim, fol. 54, col. 1.

The Midrash Yalkut (p. 7) enumerates the same list
almost word for word, and the Targum of Ben Uzziel develops the
tradition still further, while the Targum Yerushalmi fixes the date
of the origin of the seven prehistoric wonders at “two thousand
years before the creation of the world.”

Seven things are hid from the knowledge of a man:—The day
of death, the day of resurrection, the depth of judgment
(i.e., the future reward or punishment), what is in the
heart of his fellow-man, what his reward will be, when the kingdom
of David will be restored, and when the kingdom of Persia will
fall.

P’sachim, fol. 54, col. 2.

Seven are excommunicated before heaven:—A Jew who has no
wife, and even one who is married but has no male children; and he
that has sons but does not train them up to study the law; he who
does not wear phylacteries on his forehead and upon his arm and
fringes upon his garment, and has no mezuzah on his doorpost; and
he who goes barefooted.

Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.

There are seven skies:—Villon, Raakia, Shechakim, Zevul,
Maaon, Maachon, and Aravoth.

Chaggigah, fol. 12, col. 2.

Seven days before the Day of Atonement they removed the high
priest from his own residence to the chamber of the President, and
appointed another priest as his deputy in case he should meet with
such an accident as would incapacitate him from going through the
service of the day. Rabbi Yehudah says they also had to betroth him
to another woman lest his own wife should die meanwhile, for it is
said, “And he shall make an atonement for himself and for his
house,”—his house, that is, his wife. In reference to this
precautionary rule it was observed, there might then be no end to
the matter (Rashi), should this woman die also.

Yoma, fol. 2, col. 1.

They associated with the high priest the senior elders of the
Sanhedrin, who read over to him the agenda of the day, and
then said to him, “My lord high priest, read thou for thyself;
perhaps thou hast forgotten it, or maybe thou hast not learned it
at all.” On the day before the Day of Atonement he was taken to the
East Gate when they {86} caused oxen, rams, and lambs to pass
before him, that he might become well-versed and expert in his
official duties. During the whole of the seven (preparatory) days
neither victuals nor drink were withheld from him, but toward dusk
on the eve of the Day of Atonement they did not allow him to eat
much, for much food induces sleep. Then the elders of the Sanhedrin
surrendered him to the elders of the priesthood, and these
conducted him to the hall of the house of Abtinas, and there they
swore him in; and after bidding him good-bye, they went away. In
administering the oath they said, “My lord high priest, we are
ambassadors of the Sanhedrin; thou art our ambassador and the
ambassador of the Sanhedrin as well. We adjure thee, by Him who
causes His name to dwell in this house, that thou alter not
anything that we have told thee!” Then they parted, both they and
he weeping. He wept because they suspected he was a Sadducee, and
they wept because the penalty for wrongly suspecting persons is
scourging. If he was a learned man he preached (during the night);
if not, learned men preached before him. If he was a ready reader,
he read; if not, others read to him. What were the books read over
to him? Job, Ezra, and the Chronicles. Zechariah the son of
Kevootal says, “I have often read before him the Book of Daniel.”
If he became drowsy, the juniors of the priestly order fillipped
their middle fingers before him, and said, “My lord high priest,
stand up and cool thy feet upon the pavement.” Thus they kept him
engaged till the time of slaughtering (the sacrifices).

Yoma, fol. 18, cols, 1, 2; fol. 19, col.
2.

Sacerdos nascitur, non fit,—a priest is born,
not made, we may truly say, just altering one word of a well-known
proverb. His father was a priest, and so were his forefathers as
far back as the time of Aaron; his sons and his sons’ sons after
him will belong to the priestly order, and so the name was far too
often only the badge for exclusive and hereditary privilege. This
rule, that applies to the priests, holds good also with regard to
the Levites. (Berachoth, fol. 29, col. 1.)

There was a town in the land of Israel called Gophnith, where
there were eighty couples of brother priests who married eighty
couples of sister priestesses in one night.

Berachoth fol. 44, col. 1.

Flay a carcass and take thy fee, but say not it is humiliating
because I am a priest, I am a great man.

P’sachim, fol. 113, col. 1.

Philo Judæus, De Sac. Honor, (p. 833), says,
“The hides of the burnt-offerings proved a rich perquisite of the
priesthood.”

The number of high priests who officiated in succession during
the 410 years of the continuance of the first Temple was only
eighteen, but the number who held office during the 420 years of
the second Temple amounted to more than three hundred, most of them
having died within a year after their entrance upon the office. The
reason assigned by the Talmud for the long lives of the former and
the short lives of the latter is the text given in Prov. x. 27,
“The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked
shall be shortened.”

Yoma, fol. 9, col. 1.

Before a priest could be admitted into active service in the
Temple he had to undergo bodily inspection at the hands of the
syndicate of the Sanhedrin. If they found the least defect in his
body, even a mole with hair upon it, he was ordered to dress in
black and be dismissed; but if he was perfectly free from blemish,
he was arrayed in white, and at once introduced to his brother
priests and official duties.

Ibid., fol. 19, col. 1.

The daughters of a male proselyte who has married the daughter
of a female proselyte are eligible to marry priests.

Yevamoth, fol. 57, col. 1.

If thou seest an impudent priest, think not evil of him; for it
is said (Hosea iv. 4), “Thy people are as they that strive with the
priest” (see chap. ii. p. 25, Note c.).

Kiddushin, fol. 70, col. 2.

So long as there is a diadem on the head of the priest, there is
a crown on the head of every man. Remove the diadem from the head
of the high priest and you take away the crown from the head of all
the people. (This is a Talmudic comment on Ezek. xxi. 31; A. Ver.,
26.)

Gittin, fol. 7, col. 1.

A king shaved his head every day, a high priest did the same
once a week, and an ordinary priest once a month.

Sanhedrin, fol. 22, col. 2.

When a priest performs the service of the Temple in a state of
defilement, his brother priests are not required to lead him before
the tribunal, but the juniors of the priestly order are to drag him
out into the hall and brain him with clubs.

Sanhedrin, fol. 81, col. 2.

When kings were anointed, the holy oil was laid on the forehead
in the form of a coronet, and when, says Rabbi Mansi bar Gadda,
priests were anointed, the operation was performed in the shape of
the Greek letter k.

Horayoth, fol. 12, col. 1.

A learned man who is of illegitimate birth is preferable to an
ignorant priest.

Ibid., fol. 13, col. 1.

A priest who makes no confession during service has no part in
the priesthood. (He forfeits his emoluments.)

Menachoth, fol. 18, col. 2.

The bald-headed, the dwarfed, and the blear-eyed are ineligible
for the priesthood.

Bechoroth, fol. 43, col. 2.

Rav Chisda says, “The portions that fall to the priests are not
to be eaten except roasted and that with mustard,” because
Scripture says (Num. xviii. 8), “by reason of the anointing,”
i.e., by way of distinction, for only kings (who, of course,
are anointed) eat roast meat with mustard.

Chullin, fol. 132, col. 2.

If a case of mistaken identity should occur between the child of
a priestess and the child of her female slave, so that the one
cannot be distinguished from the other, they both are to eat of the
heave-offering and to receive one share from the threshing-floor.
When grown up, each is to set the other free.

Gittin, fol. 42, col. 2.

From the old clothes of the priests the wicks were made for the
lamps in the Temple.

Shabbath, fol. 21, col. 1.

Scripture authority is given in proof that the very garments
possessed the faculty of making atonement for sin every whit as
effectually as animal sacrifices. We are taught that the priest’s
shirt atones for murder, his drawers atone for whoredom, his mitre
for pride, his girdle for evil thoughts, his breastplate for
injustice, his ephod for idolatry; {89} his overcoat atones for
slander, and the golden plate on his forehead atones for
impudence.

Zevachim, fol. 88, col. 2.

All this and a great deal more on the subject may
be found in the Selichoth for Yom Kippur.

For seven years was the land of Israel strewn with brimstone and
salt.

Yoma, fol. 54, col. 1.

“Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds” (Micah. v. 5).
Who are these seven shepherds? David in the middle: Adam, Seth, and
Methuselah on his right hand; Abraham, Jacob, and Moses on his
left.

Succah, fol. 52, col. 2.

Who were the seven prophetesses? The answer is, Sarah, Miriam,
Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.

Meggillah, fol. 14, col. 2.

It is lawful to look into the face of a bride for seven days
after her marriage, in order to enhance the affection with which
she is regarded by her husband, and there is no Halachah (or law)
like this.

Kethuboth, fol. 17, col. 1.

The Rabbis are especially careful to caution their
daughters to guard against such habits as might lower them in the
regard of their husbands, lest they should lose aught of that
purifying and elevating power which they exercised as maidens. It
is thus, for instance, Rav Chisda counsels his daughters: “Be ye
modest before your husbands and do not even eat before them. Eat
not vegetables or dates in the evening, and touch not strong
drink.” (Shabbath, fol. 140, col. 2.)

Once upon a time a demon in the shape of a seven-headed dragon
came forth against Rav Acha and threatened to harm him, but the
Rabbi threw himself on his knees, and every time he fell down to
pray he knocked off one of these heads, and thus eventually killed
the dragon.

Kiddushin, fol. 29, col. 2.

On the seventh of the month Adar, Moses died, and on that day
the manna ceased to come down from heaven.

Ibid., fol. 38, col. 1.

The seventh of Adar is still, and has long been,
kept sacred as the day of the death of Moses our Rabbi—peace
be with him!—and that on the authority of T.B. Kiddushin (as
quoted above), and Soteh, {90} fol. 10, col. 2; but Josephus (Book iv.
chap. 8, sec. 49) most distinctly affirms that Moses died “on the
first day of the month,” and the Midrash on Esther may be quoted in
corroboration of his statement. The probability is that the Talmud
is right on this matter, but it is altogether wrong in connecting
with this event the stoppage of the manna (see Josh. v. 10,
12).

Seven years did the nations of the world cultivate their
vineyards with no other manure than the blood of Israel. Rabbi
Chiya, the son of Abin, says that Rabbi Yehoshua, the son of
Korcha, said, “An old man, an inhabitant of Jerusalem, related to
me that Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, killed in this valley
211 myriads (about 2,110,000), and in Jerusalem he slaughtered upon
one stone 94 myriads (940,000), so that the blood flowed until it
reached the blood of Zechariah, in order that that might be
fulfilled which is said (Hosea iv. 2), ‘And blood toucheth
blood.'”

Gittin, fol. 57, col. 1.

The seventh of Adar, on which Moses died, was the same day of
the same month on which he was born.

Soteh, fol. 10, col. 2.

A male hyæna after seven years becomes a bat; this after
seven years, a vampire; this after other seven years, a nettle;
this after seven years more, a thorn; and this again after seven
years is turned into a demon. If a man does not devoutly bow during
the repetition of the daily prayer which commences, “we reverently
acknowledge,” his spine after seven years becomes a serpent.

Bava Kama, fol. 16, col. 1.

It is related of Benjamin the righteous, who was keeper of the
poor-box, that a woman came to him at a period of famine and
solicited food. “By the worship of God,” he replied, “there is
nothing in the box.” She then exclaimed, “O Rabbi, if thou dost not
feed me I and my seven children must needs starve.” Upon which he
relieved her from his own private purse. In course of time he fell
ill and was nigh unto death. Then the ministering angels interceded
with the Holy One—blessed be He!—and said, “Lord of the
Universe, Thou hast said he that preserveth one single soul of
Israel alive is as if he had preserved the life of the whole world;
and shall Benjamin {91} the righteous, who preserved a poor woman
and her seven children, die so prematurely?” Instantly the
death-warrant which had gone forth was torn up, and twenty-two
years were added to his life.

Bava Bathra, fol. 11, col. 1.

Seven prophets have prophesied to the nations of the world, and
these were Balaam and his father, Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad
the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, and Elihu the son of Barachel
the Buzite.

Ibid., fol. 15. col. 2.

There are seven who are not consumed by the worm in the grave,
and these are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam,
and Benjamin the son of Jacob.

Ibid., fol. 17, col. 1.

Seven men form an unbroken series from the creation down to our
own time. Methuselah saw Adam, Shem saw Methuselah, Jacob saw Shem,
Amram saw Jacob, and Ahijah the Shilonite saw Amram, and Ahijah was
seen by Elijah, who is alive to this day.

Ibid., fol. 121, col. 2.

Seven years’ famine will not affect the artisan.

Sanhedrin, fol. 29, col. 1.

Seven years of pestilence will not cause a man to die before his
time.

Ibid.

“And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the
flood were upon the earth” (Gen. vii. 10). Why this delay of seven
days? Rav says they were the days of mourning for Methuselah; and
this teaches us that mourning for the righteous will defer a coming
calamity. Another explanation is, that the Holy One—blessed
be He!—altered the course of nature during these seven days,
so that the sun arose in the west and set in the east.

Ibid., fol. 108, col. 2.

The first step in transgression is evil thought, the second
scoffing, the third pride, the fourth outrage, the fifth idleness,
the sixth hatred, and the seventh an evil eye.

Derech Eretz Zuta, chap. 6.

Seven things cause affliction:—Slander, shedding of blood,
perjury, adultery, pride, robbery, and envy.

Erchin, fol. 17, col. 2.

A ram has but one voice while alive but seven after he is dead.
How so? His horns make two trumpets, his hip-bones two pipes, his
skin can be extended into a drum, his larger intestines can yield
strings for the lyre and the smaller chords for the harp.

Kinnim, chap. 3, mish. 6.

Rav Chisda said, The soul of a man mourns over him the first
seven days after his decease; for it is said (Job xiv. 22), “And
his soul shall mourn over him.”

Shabbath, fol. 152, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that a man should not drink water on
Wednesdays and Saturdays after night-fall, for if he does, his
blood, because of risk, will be upon his own head. What risk? That
from an evil spirit who on these evenings prowls abroad. But if the
man be thirsty, what is he to do? Let him repeat over the water the
seven voices ascribed to the Lord by David in Psalm xxix. 3-9, “The
voice of the Lord is upon the waters,” etc.

P’sachim, fol. 112, col. 1.

Seven precepts did Rabbi Akiva give to his son Rabbi
Yehoshua:—(1.) My son, teach not in the highest place of the
city; (2.) Dwell not in a city where the leading men are disciples
of the wise; (3.) Enter not suddenly into thine own house, and of
course not into thy neighbor’s; (4.) Do not go about without shoes;
(5.) Rise early and eat in summer time because of the heat, and in
winter time because of the cold; (6.) Make thy Sabbath as a
week-day rather than depend for support on other people; (7.)
Strive to keep on close friendly terms with the man whom fortune
favors (lit. on whom the present hour smiles). Rav Pappa adds,
“This does not refer to buying or selling, but to partnership.”

Ibid.

How is it proved that mourning should be kept up for seven days?
It is written (Amos viii. 10), “I will turn your feasts into
mourning,” and these in many cases lasted seven days.

Moed Katon, fol 20, col. 1.

Rav Chisda said there are seven kinds of gold:—Gold, good
gold, the gold of Ophir, purified gold, beaten gold, shut-up gold,
and gold of Parvain.

Yoma fol. 44, col. 2.

The shut-up gold (1 Kings vi. 12) was of the purest
and rarest quality, so that when it appeared in the market for
sale, all shops in the locality were “shut up,” for there could be
no sale of any other gold before that. All gold-dealers “shut up”
their shops in order to be present on so rare an occasion; and
hence the name of this kind of gold—”shut-up gold.”

Each day of the Feast of Tabernacles they walked round the altar
once, and said, “O Lord, save us, we beseech Thee! O Lord, prosper
us, we beseech Thee!” But on the last day they encompassed it seven
times. On their departure they said, “Beauty belongeth to thee, O
altar! Beauty belongeth to thee, O altar!”

Succah, fol. 45, col. 1.

It deserves to be noted here for the information of
some of our readers that the words translated above, Save now, or
Save, we beseech thee, are the original of our word Hosanna. The
25th and 26th verses of Psalm cxviii, which begin with this
expression, were repeated at the Feast of Tabernacles; and hence
the bundles of palm and willow branches (carried on this occasion),
the prayers, and the festival itself, were so named, i.e.
Hosanna.

The Tempter is known by seven distinctive epithets:—(1)
The Holy One—blessed be He!—calls him evil; as it is
said, “For the imagination of man’s heart is evil.” (2.) Moses
calls him uncircumcised; as it is said (Deut. x. 16), “Circumcise
therefore the uncircumcised foreskin of your heart.” (3.) David
calls him unclean; as it is said (Ps. li. 10), “Create in me a
clean heart, O God!” Consequently there must be an unclean one.
(4.) Solomon calls him enemy; as it is said (Prov. xxv. 21, 22),
“If thine enemy hunger, give him bread to eat; if he be thirsty,
give him water to drink; for thus thou shalt heap coals of fire
upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee” (i.e., oppose
him with the law. The word rendered bread, is metaphorically taken
for the law, Prov. ix. 5, so that give him water to drink means
also the law, Isa. lv. 1—Rashi. And the Lord reward thee,
read not reward, but cause him to make peace with thee, not to war
against thee.) (5.) Isaiah calls him stumbling-block; as it is said
(Isa. lvii. 14), “Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up
the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.” (6.) Ezekiel
calls him stone; as it is said {94} (Ezek. xxxvi. 26), “I will
take away the heart of stone out of your flesh and I will give you
a heart of flesh.” (7.) Joel calls him the hidden one; as it is
said (Joel ii. 20), “I will remove far from you the hidden one,”
i.e., the tempter who remains hidden in the heart of man;
“and I will drive him into a land barren and desolate,”
i.e., where the children of men do not usually dwell; “with
his face toward the former sea,” i.e., with his eyes set
upon the first Temple, which he destroyed, slaying the disciples of
the wise that were in it; “and his hinder part toward the latter
sea,” i.e., with his eyes set on the second Temple, which he
destroyed, also slaying the disciples of the wise that were in
it.

Succah, fol. 52, col. 1.

Once a Jewish mother with her seven sons suffered martyrdom at
the hands of the Emperor. The sons, when ordered by the latter to
do homage to the idols of the Empire, declined, and justified their
disobedience by quoting each a simple text from the sacred
Scriptures. When the seventh was brought forth, it is related that
Caesar, for appearance’ sake, offered to spare him if only he would
stoop and pick up a ring from the ground which had been dropped on
purpose. “Alas for thee, O Caesar!” answered the boy; “if thou art
so zealous for thine honor, how much more zealous ought we to be
for the honor of the Holy One—blessed be He!” On his being
led away to the place of execution, the mother craved and obtained
leave to give him a farewell kiss. “Go, my child,” said she, “and
say to Abraham, Thou didst build an altar for the sacrifice of one
son, but I have erected altars for seven sons.” She then turned
away and threw herself down headlong from the roof and expired,
when the echo of a voice was heard exclaiming (Ps. cxiii. 9), “The
joyful mother of children” (or, the mother of the children
rejoiceth).

Gittin, fol. 57, col. 2.

The story of this martyrdom is narrated at much
greater length in the Books of Maccabees (Book iii. chap. 7, Book
iv. chaps. 8-18). In a Latin version the names are given, that of
the mother Solomona, and her sons respectively Maccabeus, Aber,
Machir, Judas, Achaz, Areth, while the hero of our Talmudic
reference, the seventh and last, is styled Jacob. Josephus, Ant.,
Book xii. chap. 6, sec. 4, may also be referred to for further and
varying details.

The land of Israel was not destroyed till the seven courts of
judgment had fallen into idolatry, and these are
they:—Jeroboam, the son of Nebat; Baasha, the son of Ahijah;
Ahab, the son of Omri; Jehu, the son of Nimshi; Pekah, the son of
Remaliah; Menahem, the son of Gadi; and Hoshea, the son of Elah; as
it is written (Jer. xv. 9), “She that hath borne seven languisheth:
she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it is yet
day; she hath been ashamed and confounded.”

Gittin, fol. 88, col. 1.

“He stood and measured the earth; he beheld and freed the
Gentiles (A.V., he drove asunder the nations, Hab. iii. 6); he
beheld that the seven precepts which the children of Noah accepted
were not observed; he stood up and set their property free for the
service of Israel.”

Bava Kama, fol. 38, col. 1.

This is one of the weightier expositions met with
from time to time in the Talmud, in which one recognizes a more
than ordinarily deep and earnest feeling on the part of the
commentator. The interpreter expresses himself as a man instinct
with the exclusive Hebrew spirit, and as such claims his title to
the whole inheritance. It is a claim abstractly defensible, and the
just assertion of it is the basis of all rights over others. The
only question here is whether the Jew alone is invested with the
privilege. There can be little doubt that the principle on which he
claims enfeoffment in the estate is a sound one, that the earth
belongs in no case to the sons of Belial, only to the sons of
God.

Seven things distinguish an ill-bred man and seven a wise
man:—The wise man (1.) does not talk before his superior in
wisdom and years; (2.) he does not interrupt another when speaking;
(3.) he is not hasty to make reply; (4.) his questions are to the
point, and his answers are according to the Halachah; (5.) his
subjects of discourse are orderly arranged, the first subject first
and the last last; (6.) if he has not heard of a thing, he says, I
have not heard it; and (7.) he confesseth the truth. The
characteristics of the ill-bred man are just the contrary of
these.

Avoth, chap. 5, mish. 10.

If a man does not work during the six days of the week, he may
be obliged to work all the seven.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 11.

Seven have no portion in the world to come:—A notary; a
schoolmaster, the best of physicians, a judge who dispenses justice
in his own native town, a wizard, a congregational reader (or
law-officer), and a butcher.

Avoth d Rab. Nathan, chap. 37.

Seven attributes avail before the Throne of Glory, and these
are:—Wisdom, righteousness, judgment, grace, mercy, truth,
and peace.

Ibid., chap. 36.

There are seven points in which a righteous man excels
another:—(1.) The wife of the one is more comely than the
other’s; (2.) so are the children of the one as compared with those
of the other; (3.) if the two partake of one dish, each enjoys the
taste according to his doings; (4.) if the two dye in one vat, by
one the article is dyed properly, by the other not; (5, etc.) the
one excels the other in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and
stature, as it is said (Prov. xii. 26), “The righteous is more
excellent than his neighbor.”

Ibid., chap. 37.

Seven patriarchs were covenant-makers:—Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Phinehas, and David.

Derech Eretz Zuta, chap. 1.

Seven liquids are comprehended under the generic term drink
(Lev. xi. 34):—Dew, water, wine, oil, blood, milk, and
honey.

Machshirin, chap. 6, mish 6.

For tertian fever take seven small grapes from seven different
vines; seven threads from seven different pieces of cloth; seven
nails from seven different bridges; seven handfuls of ashes from
seven different fireplaces; seven bits of pitch from seven ships,
one piece from each; seven scrapings of dust from as many separate
doorways; seven cummin seeds; seven hairs from the lower jaw of a
dog and tie them upon the throat with a papyrus fibre.

Shabbath, fol. 66, col. 2.

The Rabbis teach that the precept relating to the lighting of a
candle at the Feast of Dedication applies to a whole household, but
that those who are particular light a candle for each individual
member, and those that are extremely particular light up eight
candles on the first day, seven on the second, decreasing the
number by one each {97} day. This is according to the school of
Shammai; but the school of Hillel say that he should light up one
on the first day, two on the second, increasing the number by one
each of the eight days of the fast…. What is the origin of the
feast of Dedication? On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev (about
December), the eight days of the Dedication commence, during which
term no funeral oration is to be made, nor public fast to be
decreed. When the Gentiles (Greeks) entered the second Temple, it
was thought they had defiled all the holy oil they found in it; but
when the Hasmoneans prevailed and conquered them, they sought and
found still one jar of oil stamped with the seal of the High
Priest, and therefore undefiled. Though the oil it contained would
only have sufficed for one day, a miracle was performed, so that
the oil lasted to the end of the week (during which time more oil
was provided and consecrated for the future service of the Temple).
On the anniversary of this occasion the Feast of Dedication was
instituted.

Shabbath, fol. 21, col. 2.

The Feast of Dedication is annually celebrated by
all Jews everywhere, to commemorate the purifying of the Temple and
the restoration of its worship after its desecration by Antiochus
Epiphanes, of which an account may be found in 1 Maccabees iv.
52-59. It is very probable that some of our Christmas festivities
are only adaptations of the observances of this Jewish feast in
symbolism of Christian ideas. During the eight days of the festival
they light up wax candles or oil lamps, according to the rubric of
the school of Hillel. Previous to the lighting, the following
benedictions are pronounced:—

“Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God! King of the
universe, who hath sanctified us with Thy commandment, and
commanded us to light the light of Dedication.”

“Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God! King of the
universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in those days and in
this season.”

“Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Our God! King of the
universe, who hath preserved us alive, sustained us, and brought us
to enjoy this season.”

After the lighting, the following form is
repeated:—”These lights we light to praise Thee for the
miracles, wonders, salvation, and victories which Thou didst
perform for our fathers in those days and in this season by the
hands of Thy holy priests. Wherefore by command these lights are
holy all the eight days of the Dedication, neither are we permitted
to make any other use of them, but to view them, that we may return
thanks to Thy name for Thy miracles, wonderful works, and
salvation.”

Another commemorative formula is repeated six or
seven times a day during this festival; viz, during morning and
evening prayers and after each meal.

Rabbi Yoshua ben Levi has said a man should never utter an
indecent word, for the Scripture (Gen. vii. 6) uses eight letters
more rather than make use of a word which, without them, would be
indecent.

P’sachim, fol. 3, col. i.

In the passage referred to, the words “that are not
clean” are used instead of “unclean”; but see verse 2; there
another word for not is used, which brings down the excess to five
letters.

When the doors of the Temple were opened the creaking of the
hinges was heard at the distance of eight Sabbath days’
journeys.

Yoma, fol. 39, col. 2.

It may be proper to remark that the journey is
about nine furlongs, or a mile and one-eighth, so that the distance
alluded to is nearly ten miles.

The eight princes alluded to in Micah (v. 5) are Jesse, Saul,
Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, the Messiah, and Elijah.

Succah, fol. 52, col. 2.

It is related of Rabbi Shimon, the son of Gamaliel, that at the
rejoicing during the festival of the drawing of water on the Feast
of Tabernacles, he threw eight flaming torches, one after the other
in quick succession, into the air, and caught them again as they
descended without suffering one to touch another. He also (in
fulfillment of Ps. cii. 14) stooped and kissed the stone floor,
supporting himself upon his two thumbs only,—a feat which no
one else could perform. And this is what is termed stooping
properly.

Ibid., fol. 53, col. 1.

Levi once in the presence of Rabbi (the Holy) conjured with
eight knives. Samuel in the presence of Shavur the king (of Persia,
Sapor I, 240-273) performed the same feat with eight cups of wine.
Abaii in the presence of Rava did likewise with eight eggs; some
say with four only.

Ibid.

Eight prophets, who were priests as well, were descended from
Rahab the harlot, and these are they:—Neraiah, Baruch,
Seraiah, Maaseiah, Jeremiah, Hilkiah, Hanameel, {99} and Shallum.
Rabbi Yehudah says Huldah the prophetess was one of the
grandchildren of Rahab.

Meggillah, fol. 14, col. 2.

The last eight verses of the Law (Torah) were written by
Joshua.

Bava Bathra, fol. 14, col. 1.

There is a touching story in this very same tract,
fol. 15, col. 1, which is repeated in Menachoth, fol. 30, col. 1,
and noticed by Rashi in his commentary, to the effect that Moses
himself wrote the verses which record his own death at the
dictation of the Almighty. The account literally rendered is, “The
Holy One—blessed be He!—spake, and Moses wrote in
tears.”

There are eight sects of Pharisees, viz, these:—(1.) The
shoulder Pharisee, i.e., he who, as it were, shoulders his
good works to be seen of men. (2.) The time-gaining Pharisee, he
who says, “Wait a while; let me first perform this or that good
work.” (3.) The compounding Pharisee, i.e., he who says,
“May my few sins be deducted from my many virtues, and thus atoned
for” (or the blood-letting Pharisee, i.e., he who for fear
lest he should look by chance on a woman shuts his eyes and wounds
his face). (4.) The Pharisee who so bends his back, stooping with
his head toward the ground, that he wears the appearance of an
inverted mortar. (5.) The Pharisee who proudly says, “Remains there
a virtue which I ought to perform and have not?” (6.) The Pharisee
who is so out of love for the reward which he hopes to earn by his
observances. (7.) The Pharisee who is so from fear lest he should
expose himself to punishment. (8.) The Pharisee who is born so.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 37.

Both Talmuds as a rule enumerate only seven sorts
of Pharisees (T. Yerush, Berachoth, fol. 13, Soteh, fol. 20, T.
Babli, fol. 22, col. 2, and elsewhere); but Rabbi Nathan, as above,
adds a new species to the genus. The freehand sketches of Pharisees
given in the Talmud are the reverse of complimentary. In the words
of the late E. Deutsch, who was a Talmudist of no mean repute, “the
Talmud inveighs even more bitterly and caustically than the New
Testament against what it calls the plague of Pharisaism, ‘the dyed
ones,’ ‘who do evil deeds like Zimri, and require a goodly reward
like Phinehas,’ ‘they who preach beautifully, but do not act
beautifully.’ Parodying their exaggerated logical arrangements,
their scrupulous divisions and subdivisions, the Talmud
distinguishes seven classes {100} of Pharisees, one of whom only is
worthy of that name. The real and only Pharisee is he ‘who does the
will of his Father which is in heaven because he loves Him.'”

He who neglects to wear phylacteries transgresseth eight
commandments.

Menachoth, fol. 44, col. 1.

The following extract states the occasion when the wearing of
phylacteries was prescribed as an equivalent that would be accepted
instead of the observance of the law:—”Rabbi Eliezer said the
Israelites complained before God one day, ‘We are anxious to be
occupied day and night in the law, but we have not the necessary
leisure.’ Then the Holy One—blessed be He!—said to
them, ‘Perform the commandment of the phylacteries, and I will
count it as if you were occupied day and night in the law.'”
(Yalhut Shimeoni). Phylacteries, fringes, and Mezuzah, these
three preserve one from sin; as it is said (Eccl. iv. 2), “A
threefold cord is not quickly broken;” as also in Ps. xxxiv. 7,
“The angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear Him, and
delivereth them.”

Ibid., fol. 43, col. 2.

The harp in the time of the Messiah will have eight strings; as
it is written (Ps. xii. 1), “The chief musician upon eight,”
etc.

Eirchin, fol. 13, col. 2.

On the ninth day of the month Ab (about August) both the first
Temple and the second were destroyed.

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 18, col. 2.

In 2 Kings xxv. 8, the seventh of Ab is the date
given for the first of these events, whereas Jeremiah (lii. 12)
mentions the tenth as the fatal day. Josephus (Wars of the Jews,
Book vi. chap. 4, sec. 15) coincides with the latter.

On the ninth of Ab one must abstain from eating and drinking,
and anointing one’s self, and wearing shoes, and matrimonial
intercourse. He may not read the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash,
the Halachoth, or the Haggadoth, excepting such portions as he is
not in the habit of reading, such he may then read. The
lamentations, Job, and the hard words of Jeremiah should engage his
study. Children should not go to school on this day, because it is
said (Ps. xix. 8), “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing
the heart.”

Taanith, fol. 30, col. 1.

Nowadays, on the date referred to, Jews do not wear
their tallith and phylacteries at morning prayer; by this act
laying aside the outward signs of their covenant with God; but,
contrary to custom, they put them on in the evening, when the fast
is nearly over.

He who does any work on the ninth of Ab will never see even a
sign of blessing. The sages say, whoso does any work on that day
and does not lament over Jerusalem will never see her joy; for it
is said (Isa. lxvi. 10), “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad
with her; rejoice for joy, all ye that mourn for her.”

Taanith, fol. 30, col. 2.

If there be nine shops all selling the meat of animals which
have been legally butchered, and one selling the meat of animals
which have not, and if a person who has bought meat does not know
at which of these shops he bought it, he is not entitled to the
benefit of the doubt; the meat he has purchased is prohibited.

Kethuboth, fol. 15, col. 1.

A woman prefers one measure of frivolity to nine measures of
Pharisaic sanctimoniousness.

Soteh, fol. 20, col. 1.

The Talmud has much to say, and does say a great deal, about
women. And although what it says tends rather to discountenance
than to promote their development, it is not insensible to what
they might become under refinement of culture, and occasionally
enforces the duty of attending to their higher education. In proof
of both positions we appeal to the following quotations:—

In the Mishna, from which the above quotation is taken, we are
told that Ben Azai (the son of impudence) says, a man is bound to
instruct his daughter in the law, although Rabbi Eliezer, who
always assumes an oracular air, and boasts that the Halachah is
always according to his decision (Bava Metzia, fol. 59, col.
2), insists, on the other hand, that he who instructs his daughter
in the law must be considered as training her into habits of
frivolity; and the saying above ascribes to the sex such a power of
frivolity as connects itself evidently with the foregone conclusion
that they are by nature incapable of being developed into any
solidity of worth or character. The Gemara, {102}
Tosephoth, and Rashi as well all support Rabbi Eliezer in laying a
veto on female education, for fear lest, with the acquisition of
knowledge, women might become cunning, and do things on the sly
which ought not to be done by them. Literally the saying
is:—For from it (i.e., the acquisition of knowledge)
she comes to understand cunning, and does things on the quiet.

Soteh, fol. 21, col. 2, Rashi.

Another good reason for neglecting female education those who
take the Talmud as an authority find in these words: women are
light-minded, i.e., of shallow natural endowment, on which
any serious discipline would be thrown away.

Kiddushin, fol. 80, col. 2.

Another argument to the same effect is, that there is no
distinct command in the law of Moses inculcating the duty; for in
Deut. xi. 19 it is merely said, “And ye shall teach them to your
children,” a command which, as it passes refracted through the
Rabbinic medium, becomes your sons, but not your daughters.

Ibid., fol. 29, col. 2.

As the immediately preceding command, so interpreted, cannot be
carried out by any one not favored with male children, the
well-known Talmudic dictum acquires force and point, “Blessed is
the man whose children are sons, but luckless is he whose children
are daughters.”

Bava Bathra, fol. 16, col. 2.

A man prefers one measure obtained by his own earning to nine
measures collected by the exertion of his neighbor.

Bava Metzia, fol. 38, col. 1.

Nine have entered alive into paradise, and these are
they:—Enoch, the son of Jared; Elijah; the Messiah; Eliezer,
the servant of Abraham; Hiram, king of Tyre; Ebed Melech, the
Ethiopian; Jabez, the son of Rabbi Yehuda the prince; Bathia, the
daughter of Pharaoh; and Sarah, the daughter of Asher. Some say
also Rabbi Yoshua, the son of Levi.

Derech Eretz Zuta, chap. 1.

As the last-mentioned personage, Rabbi Yoshua,
entered paradise “not by the door,” but some “other way,” it may be
interesting to not a few to know how he succeeded, and here
accordingly we {103} append the story of the feat. As Rabbi
Yoshua’s earthly career drew to a close, the angel of death was
instructed to wait upon him, and at the same time show all respect
for his wishes. The Rabbi, remarking the courteous demeanor of his
visitant, requested him, before he despatched him, to favor him
with a glimpse of the place he was to occupy in paradise above, and
meantime commit to him his sword, as a gage that he would grant his
petition and not take advantage of him on the journey. This request
being granted and the sword delivered up, the Rabbi and his
attendant took the road, pacing along till they halted together
just outside the gates of the celestial city. Here the angel
assisted the Rabbi to climb the wall, and proceeded to point out
the place he would occupy some day in the future, when deftly
throwing himself over, he left the angel standing outside and
holding him fast by the skirt of his garment. When pressed to
return, he swore he would not go back, protesting that, as he had
never sought to be relieved of the obligation of his oath on earth,
he would not be cajoled or coerced into an act of perjury within
the precincts of heaven. He declined at first to give up the sword
of the angel, and would have stood to his point but for the echo of
a voice which peremptorily ordered its immediate restoration. (See
Kethuboth fol. 77, col. 2.)

Where is it taught that when ten join together in prayer the
Shechinah is with them? In Ps. lxxxii. 4, where it is said, “God
standeth in the congregation of the mighty.”

Berachoth, fol. 6, col. 1.

According to Rabbinic law, it takes at least ten
men to constitute a legally convened congregation. Nearly a
thousand pounds were expended every year by the synagogues of the
metropolis to hire (minyan) men to make up the congregational
number, and thus ensure the due observance of this regulation.

When the Holy One—blessed be He!—enters the
synagogue, and does not find ten men present, His anger is
immediately stirred; as it is said (Isa. i. 2), “Wherefore, when I
came, was there no man? When I called, there was none to
answer?”

Ibid., fol. 6, col. 2.

The passion of anger here ascribed to God is by not
a few regarded as an attribute wholly alien to the proper nature of
the Deity. Such, however, is evidently not the judgment of the
Talmudists. Nor is this surprising when we see elsewhere how boldly
they conceive and how freely they speak of the Divine Majesty. The
Rabbis are not in general a shamefaced generation, and are all too
prone to deal familiarly with the most sacred realities. The
excerpts which follow amply justify this judgment.

God is represented as roaring like a lion, etc., etc.

Berachoth, fol. 3, col. 1. See chap.
iii.

God is said to wear phylacteries.

Berachoth, fol. 6, col. 1.

This is referred to in the morning service for Yom Kippur, where
it is said He showed “the knot of the phylacteries to the meek one”
(i.e., Moses).

He is said to pray; for it is written (Isa. lvi. 7), “Them will
I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of
my prayer.” It is thus He prays: “May it please me that my mercy
may overcome my anger, that all my attributes may be invested with
compassion, and that I may deal with my children in the attribute
of kindness, and that out of regard to them I may pass by
judgment.”

Ibid., fol. 7, col. 1.

He is a respecter of persons; as it is written (Num. vi. 26),
“The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee.”

Ibid., fol. 20, col. 2.

When accused by Elijah of having turned Israel’s heart back
again (1 Kings xviii. 37), He confesseth the evil He had done
(Micah iv. 6).

Ibid., fol. 31, col. 2.

God, when charged by Moses as being the cause of Israel’s
idolatry, confesseth the justice of that accusation by saying (Num.
xiv. 20), “I have pardoned according to thy word.”

Ibid., fol. 32, col. 1.

He drops two tears into the ocean, and this causes the earth to
quake.

Ibid., fol. 59, col. 1.

He is represented as a hairdresser; for it is said He plaited
Eve’s hair (and some have actually enumerated the braids as
700).

Eiruvin, fol. 18, col. 1.

In a Hagada (see Sanhedrin, fol. 95, col. 2), God is conceived
as acting the barber to Sennacherib, a sort of parody on Isaiah
vii. 20.

He is said to have created the evil as well as the good passions
in man.

Berachoth, fol. 61, col. 1.

God weeps every day.

Chaggigah, fol. 3, col. 2.

He dresses Himself in a veil and shows Moses the Jewish Liturgy,
saying unto him, “When the Israelites sin {105} against
me, let them copy this example, and I will pardon their sins.”

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 17, col. 2.

God is said to have regretted creating certain things.

Succah, fol. 52, col, 2.

God is represented as irrigating the land of Israel, but leaving
the rest of the earth to be watered by an angel.

Taanith, fol. 10, col. 1.

It is said that He will make a dance for the righteous, and as
He places Himself in the centre, they will point at Him with their
fingers, and say (Isa. xxv. 9), “Behold, this is our God; we have
waited for him;… we will be glad and rejoice in His
salvation.”

Ibid., fol. 31, col. 1.

God is said to have prevaricated in making peace between Abraham
and Sarah, which is not so surprising; for while one Rabbi teaches
that prevarication is under certain circumstances allowable,
another asserts it absolutely as a duty; for it is written (1 Sam.
xvi. 2), “And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will
kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am
come to sacrifice unto the Lord.”

Yevamoth, fol. 65, col. 2.

This teaching may be easily matched by parallels
from heathen literature, but we have room only for two or three
examples:—Maximus Tyrius says, “There is nothing
(essentially) decorous in truth, yea, truth is sometimes hurtful
and lying profitable.” Darius is represented by Herodotus (Book
iii., p. 191) as saying, “When telling falsehood is profitable, let
it be told.” Menander says, “A lie is better than an annoying
truth.”

God utters a curse against those who remain single after they
are twenty years of age; and those who marry at sixteen please him,
and those who do so at fourteen still more.

Kiddushin, fol. 29, col. 2.

Elijah binds and God flogs the man who marries an unsuitable
wife.

Ibid., fol. 70, col. 1.

God acknowledges His weakness in argument, “My children have
vanquished me! my children have vanquished me!” He exclaims. “They
have defeated me in argument.”

Bava Metzia, fol. 59, col. 2.

God’s decision was controverted by the Academy in heaven, and
the matter in debate was finally settled by a Rabbi, who had to be
summoned from earth to heaven expressly to adjudicate in the
case.

Bava Metzia, fol. 86, col. 1.

The classical student will recognize in this a
parallel to the Greek myth in which the Olympian divinities refer
their debate in the matter of the apple of discord to the judgment
of Paris. May there not in both fables lie a dim forefeeling of the
time when Justice shall transfer her seat from the skies, so that
whatever her ministers bind on earth may be bound in heaven?

God will bear testimony before all the nations of the earth that
His people Israel have kept the whole of the law.

Avodah Zarah, fol. 3, col. 1.

God is occupied for twelve hours every day in study, at work, or
at play.

Ibid., fol. 3, col. 2.

God does not act without first consulting the assembly above; as
it is said (Dan. iv. 17), “This matter is by the decree of the
watchers and the demand of the word of the Holy One,” etc.

Sanhedrin, fol. 38, col. 2.

God Himself is described as exacting an atonement for His own
miscreations; as, for instance, His diminishing the size of the
moon.

Shevuoth, fol. 9, col. 1.

The general height of the Levites was ten ells.

Shabbath, fol. 92, col. 1.

Ten things cause hemorrhoids:—Eating cane leaves, the
foliage and tendrils of the vine, the palate of cattle, the
backbones of fish, half-cooked salt fish, wine lees, etc.

Berachoth, fol. 55, col. 1.

Ten things provoke a desperate relapse in a
convalescent:—Eating beef, fat meat, broiled meat, fowl, or
roasted eggs, shaving, eating cress, taking milk or cheese, or
indulging in a bath. Some say also eating walnuts, others say
eating cucumbers, which are as dangerous to the body as swords.

Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.

Ten curses were pronounced against Eve:—The words “greatly
multiply,” “thy sorrow” (alluding to rearing a family), “thy
conception,” “in sorrow shalt thou bring {107} forth,”
“thy desire shall be to thy husband,” “he shall rule over thee,”
express six of these. The remainder are:—She should be
wrapped up like a mourner (that is, she should not appear in public
without having her head covered); she was restricted to one
husband, though he might have more wives than one, and was to be
kept within doors like a prisoner.

Eiruvin, fol. 100, col. 2.

Ten things were created during the twilight of the first
Sabbath-eve. These were:—The well that followed Israel in the
wilderness, the manna, the rainbow, the letters of the alphabet,
the stylus, the tables of the law, the grave of Moses, the cave in
which Moses and Elijah stood, the opening of the mouth of Balaam’s
ass, the opening of the earth to swallow the wicked (Korah and his
clique). Rav Nechemiah said, in his father’s name, also fire and
the mule. Rav Yosheyah, in his father’s name, added also the ram
which Abraham offered up instead of Isaac, and the Shameer. Rav
Yehudah says the tongs also, etc.

Psachim, fol. 54, col 1.

To the ten things said to have been created on Sabbath-eve some
add the rod of Aaron that budded and bloomed, and others malignant
demons and the garments of Adam.

Ibid.

Rav Yehuda said, in the name of Rav, ten things were created on
the first day:—Heaven and earth, chaos and confusion, light
and darkness, wind and water, the measure of day and the measure of
night. “Heaven and earth,” for it is written, “In the beginning God
made the heavens and the earth.” “Chaos and confusion,” for it is
written, “And the earth was chaos and confusion.” “Light and
darkness,” for it is written, “And darkness was upon the face of
the abyss.” “Wind and water,” for it is written, “The wind of God
hovered over the face of the waters.” “The measure of day and the
measure of night,” for it is written, “Morning and evening were one
day.”

Chaggigah, fol. 12, col. 1.

Ten facts witness to the presence of a supernatural power in the
Temple:—No premature birth was ever caused by the odor of the
sacrifices; the carcasses never {108} became putrid; no fly was
ever to be seen in the slaughter-houses; the high-priest was never
defiled on the day of atonement; no defect was ever found in the
wave-sheaf, the two wave-loaves, or the shewbread; however closely
crowded the people were, every one had room enough for prostration;
no serpent or scorpion ever stung a person in Jerusalem; and no one
had ever to pass the night without sleeping-accommodation in the
city.

Yoma, fol. 21, col. 1.

Tradition teaches that Rabbi Yossi said:—The Shechinah has
never descended below, nor did Moses and Elijah ever ascend on
high; for it is said (Ps. cxv. 16), “The heavens, even the heavens,
are the Lords; but the earth hath he given to the children of men.”
True, it is written, he admitted (Exod. xix. 20), “And the Lord
came down upon Mount Sinai;” but that, he remarked, was ten
handbreadths above the summit. And true, too, is it written (Zech.
xiv. 4), “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of
Olives;” but that, too, he added, is ten handbreadths above it. And
so, in like manner, Moses and Elijah halted ten handbreadths from
heaven.

Succah, fol. 5, col. 1.

What entitles a place to rank as a large town? When there are in
it ten unemployed men. Should there be fewer than that number, it
is to be looked upon as a village.

Meggillah, fol. 3, col. 2.

In places where there are not ten Batlanim, men of
leisure, that is, men always free to be present at every synagogue
service, a minyan (number) has to be hired for the purpose. The
notion that ten constitutes a congregation is based on the
authority of Num. xiv, 27, “How long shall I bear with this
congregation?” As the term “congregation” here refers to the ten
spies who brought the evil report, it is concluded forsooth that
ten men, and never less, is the orthodox minimum for a
congregation.

Ten lights, said he, could not extinguish one; how shall one
extinguish ten?

Ibid., fol. 16, col. 2.

These words are said to have been spoken by Joseph
to his brethren, who, after the death of their father Jacob, feared
lest Joseph should revenge himself upon them (Gen. l. 21). The
Midrash and the Targums as usual furnish much additional
information.

Rav Assi said:—Nowadays, if a Gentile should betroth a
Jewess, there is reason for regarding the betrothal as not
therefore invalid, for he may be a descendant of the ten tribes,
and so one of the seed of Israel.

Yevamoth, fol. 16, col. 2.

Rabbi Yochanan said:—If, after the death of her husband, a
woman should remain unmarried for ten years and then marry again,
she will have no children. Rav Nachman added:—Provided she
have not thought of marrying all the while; but if she had thought
of marrying again, in that case she will have children. Rava once
said to Rav Chisda’s daughter (who bore children to Rava, though
she did not marry him until ten years after her first husband’s
death), “The Rabbis have their doubts about you.” She replied, “I
had always set my heart upon thee.” A woman once said to Rav
Yoseph, “I waited ten years before I married again, and then I had
children.” “Daughter,” said he, “do not bring the words of the wise
into discredit. It is thou, not they, that are mistaken.” Then the
woman confessed that she had been a transgressor.

Ibid., fol. 34, col. 2.

The Rabbis teach that if a man live with a wife ten years
without issue he should divorce her and give her the prescribed
marriage portion, as he may not be deemed worthy to be built up by
her (that is, to have children by her).

Ibid., fol. 64, col. 2.

As a set-off we append here a romantic story
paraphrased from the Midrash Shir Hashirim. A certain Israelite of
Sidon, having lived many years with his wife without being blessed
with offspring, made up his mind to give her a bill of divorcement.
They went accordingly together to Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, that
legal effect might be given to the act of separation. Upon
presenting themselves before him, the Rabbi addressed them in these
fatherly accents:—”My children,” said he, “your divorce must
not take place in pettishness or anger, lest people should surmise
something guilty or disgraceful as the motive for the action. Let
your parting, therefore, be like your meeting, friendly and
cheerful. Go home, make a feast, and invite your friends to share
it with you; and then to-morrow return and I will ratify the
divorce you seek for.” Acting upon this advice, they went home, got
ready a feast, invited their friends, and made merry together. “My
dear,” said the husband at length to his wife, “we have lived for
many a long year lovingly together, and now that {110} we are
about to be separated, it is not because there is any ill-will
between us, but simply because we are not blessed with a family. In
proof that my love is unchanged, and that I wish thee all good, I
give thee leave to choose whatever thou likest best in the house
and carry it away with thee.” The wife with true womanly wit
promptly replied, “Well and good, my dear!” The evening thereafter
glided pleasantly by, the wine-cup went round freely and without
stint, and all passed off well, till first the guests one by one,
and then the master of the house himself, fell asleep, and lay
buried in unconsciousness. The lady, who had planned this result,
and only waited its denouement, immediately summoned her
confidential handmaids and had her lord and master gently borne
away as he was to the house of her father. On the following
morning, as the stupor wore off, he awoke, rubbing his eyes with
astonishment. “Where am I?” he cried. “Be easy, husband dear,”
responded the wife in his presence. “I have only done as thou
allowedst me. Dost thou remember permitting me last night, in the
hearing of our guests, to take away from our house whatever best
pleased me? There was nothing there I cared for so much as thyself;
thou art all in all to me, so I brought thee with me here. Where I
am there shalt thou be; let nothing but death part us.” The two
thereupon went back to Rabbi Shimon as appointed, and reported
their change of purpose, and that they had made up their minds to
remain united. So the Rabbi prayed for them to the Lord, who
couples and setteth the single in families. He then spoke his
blessing over the wife, who became thenceforth as a fruitful vine,
and honored her husband with children and children’s children.

A parallel to this, illustrative of wifely
devotion, is recorded in the early history of Germany. In the year
1141, during the civil war in Germany between the Guelphs and the
Ghibellines, it happened that the Emperor Conrad besieged the
Guelph Count of Bavaria in the Castle of Weinsberg. After a long
and obstinate defense the garrison was obliged at length to
surrender, when the Emperor, annoyed that they had held out so long
and defied him, vowed that he would destroy the place with fire and
put all to the sword except the women, whom he gallantly promised
to let go free and pass out unmolested. The Guelph Countess, when
she heard of this, begged as a further favor that the women might
be allowed to bear forth as much of their valuables as they could
severally manage to carry. The Emperor having pledged his word and
honor that he would grant this request, on the morrow at daybreak,
as the castle gates opened, he saw to his amazement the women file
out one by one, every married woman carrying her husband with her
young ones upon her back, and the others each the friend or
relation nearest and dearest to her. At sight of this, the Emperor
was tenderly moved, and could not help according to the action the
homage of his admiration. The result was that not only was life and
liberty extended to the Guelphs, but the place itself was spared
and restored in perpetuity to its heroic defenders. The Count and
his Countess were henceforth treated by the {111} Emperor
with honor and affection, and the town itself was for long after
popularly known by the name of Weihertreue, i.e., the abode
of womanly fidelity.

Benedictory condolences are recited by ten men, not reckoning
the mourners; but nuptial blessings are recited by ten men,
including the bridegroom.

Kethuboth, fol. 8. col. 2.

The Mishnic Rabbis have ordained that ten cups of wine be drunk
in the house by the funeral party; three before supper, to whet the
appetite; three during supper, to aid digestion; and four after the
meal, at the recitation of the four benedictions. Afterward four
complimentary cups were added, one in honor of the precentors, one
in honor of the municipal authorities, another in remembrance of
the Temple, and the fourth in the memory of Rabbon Gamliel.
Drunkenness so often ensued on these occasions that the number had
to be curtailed to the original ten cups. The toast to the memory
of Rabbon Gamliel was to commemorate his endeavors to reduce the
extravagant expenses at burials, and the consequent abandonment of
the dead by poor relations. He left orders that his own remains
should be buried in a linen shroud, and since then, says Rav Pappa,
corpses are buried in canvas shrouds about a zouz in value.

Ibid., fol. 8, col. 2.

At the age of ten years a child should begin to study the
Mishna.

Ibid., fol. 50, col. 1.

Rabbi the Holy, when dying, lifted up his ten fingers toward
heaven and said:—”Lord of the Universe, it is open and
well-known unto Thee that with these ten fingers I have labored
without ceasing in the law, and never sought after any worldly
profit with even so much as my little finger; may it therefore
please Thee that there may be peace in my rest!” A voice from
heaven immediately responded (Isa. lvii. 2), “He shall enter peace:
they shall rest in their beds.”

Ibid., fol. 104, col. 2.

Ten measures of wisdom came down to the world; the land of
Israel received nine and the rest of the world but one only. Ten
measures of beauty came down to the world; Jerusalem monopolized
nine and the rest of the {112} world had only one. Ten measures of
riches came down to the world; Rome laid hold of nine and left the
rest of the world but one for a portion. Ten measures of poverty
came down to the world; nine fell to the lot of Babylon and one to
the rest of the world. Ten measures of pride came down to the
world; Elam appropriated nine and to the rest of the world but one
remained over. Ten measures of bravery came to the world; Persia
took nine, leaving but one for the rest of the world. Ten measures
of vermin came to the world; nine fell to the Medes and one to the
rest of the world. Ten measures of sorcery came down to the world;
Egypt received nine and one was shared by the rest of the world.
Ten measures of plagues came into the world; nine measures were
alloted to the swine and the rest of the world had the other. Ten
measures of fornication came into the world; nine of these belong
to the Arabs and to the rest of the world the other. Ten measures
of impudence found its way into the world; Mishan appropriated
nine, leaving one to the rest of the world. Ten measures of talk
came into the world; women claimed nine, leaving the tenth to the
rest of the world. Ten measures of early rising came into the
world; they of Ethiopia received nine and the rest of the world one
only. Ten measures of sleep came to the world; the servants took
nine of them, leaving one measure to the rest of the world.

Kiddushin, fol. 49, col. 2.

Ten different sorts of people went up from Babylon:—(1.)
Priests, (2.) Levites, (3.) Israelites, (4.) Disqualified Cohanim,
(5.) Freedmen, (6.) Illegitimate, (7.) Nethinim, (8.) Unaffiliated
ones, and (10.) Foundlings.

Ibid., fol. 63, col. 1.

Ten characteristics mark the phlebotomist:—He walks
sideling along; he is proud; he stoops awhile before seating
himself; he has an envious and evil eye; he is a gourmand, but he
defecates little at a time; he is suspected of incontinence,
robbery, and murder.

Ibid., fol. 82, col. 1.

Rabbi Chanena ben Agil asked Rabbi Cheya ben Abba, “Why does the
word, ‘signifying that it may be well {113} with
thee’ not occur in the first copy of the ten commandments (Exod.
xx.) as it does in the second?” (Deut. v.) He replied, “Before thou
askest me such a question, first tell me whether the word occurs in
Deuteronomy or not? for I don’t know if it does.” The required
answer was given by another Rabbi, “The omission of the word in the
first publication of the ten commandments is due to the foresight
of what was to befall the first tables, for if the word good had
been in the tables, and broken withal, then goodness would have
ceased to bless the sons of Israel.”

Bava Kama, fol. 55, col. 1.

The Tosephoth in Bava Bathra (fol. 113, col. 1)
ingenuously admits that the Rabbis were occasionally ignorant of
the letter of Scripture. The above quotation may be taken as a
sample of several in corroboration.

The Rabbis have taught that when pestilence is abroad no one
should walk along the middle of the road, for there the angel of
death would be sure to cross him. Neither when there is pestilence
in a town should a person go to the synagogue alone, because there,
provided no children are taught there, and ten men are not met to
pray there, the angel of death hides his weapons. The Rabbis have
also taught that (like the Banshee of Ireland), the howling of dogs
indicates the approach of the angel of death, whereas when they
sport it is a sign that Elijah the prophet is at hand, unless one
of them happen to be a female, for it is her presence among them,
and not any super-natural instinct, that is to be understood as the
cause of the demonstration.

Ibid., fol. 60, col. 2.

Ten constitutions were founded by Ezra:—The reading of a
portion of Scripture during the afternoon prayers on the
Sabbath-day, and during morning prayers on the second and fifth
days of the week (a rule that is to this day observed in orthodox
places of worship), and this for the reason that three days should
not pass by without such an exercise; to hold courts for the due
administration of justice on the second and fifth days of the week,
when the country people came to hear the public reading of the
Scriptures; to wash their garments, etc., on the fifth day,
{114} and to prepare for the coming Sabbath;
to eat garlic on the sixth day of the week, as this vegetable has
the property of promoting secretions (see Exod. xxi. 10); that the
wife should be up betimes and bake the bread, so as to have some
ready in case any one should come begging; that the women should
wear a girdle round the waist for decency sake; that they should
comb their hair before bathing; that peddlers should hawk their
perfumes about the streets in order that women should supply
themselves with such things as will attract and please their
husbands; and that certain unfortunates (see Lev. xv.) should bathe
themselves before they came to the public reading of the law.

Bava Kama, fol. 82, col. 1.

Ten things are said about Jerusalem:—(1.) No mortgaged
house was eventually alienated from its original owner (which was
the case elsewhere in Jewry). (2.) Jerusalem never had occasion to
behead a heifer by way of expiation for an unproved murder (see
Deut. xxi. 1-9). (3.) She never could be regarded as a repudiated
city (Deut. xiii. 12, etc.). (4.) No appearance of plagues in any
house at Jerusalem rendered the house unclean, because the words of
Lev. xiv. 34, are “your possession,” an expression which could not
apply to Jerusalem, as it had never been portioned among the ten
tribes. (5.) Projecting cornices and balconies were not to be built
in the city. (6.) Limekilns were not to be erected there. (7.) No
refuse heaps were allowed in any quarter. (8.) No orchards or
gardens were permitted, excepting certain flower-gardens, which had
been there from the times of the earlier prophets. (9.) No cocks
were reared in Jerusalem. (10.) No corpse ever remained over night
within its walls; the funeral had to take place on the day of the
decease.

Ibid., fol. 82, col. 2.

In the Book of Psalms David included those which were composed
by ten elders:—Adam (Ps. cxxxix.); Melchizedek (Ps. cx.);
Abraham (Ps. lxxxix.); Moses (Ps. xc.); the others alluded to were
by Heman, Jeduthun, Asaph, and the three sons of Korah.

Bava Bathra, fol. 14, col. 2.

A man once overheard his wife telling her daughter that, though
she had ten sons, only one of them could fairly claim her husband
as his father. After the father’s death it was found that he had
bequeathed all his property to one son, but that the testament did
not mention his name. The question therefore, arose, which of the
ten was intended? So they came one and all to Rabbi Benaah and
asked him to arbitrate between them. “Go,” said he to them, “and
beat at your father’s grave, until he rises to tell you to which of
you it was that he left the property.” All except one did so; and
he, because by so doing he showed most respect for his father’s
memory, was presumed to be the one on whom the father had fixed his
affections; he accordingly was supposed to be the one intended, and
the others were therefore excluded from the patrimony. The
disappointed ones went straight to the government and denounced the
Rabbi. “Here is a man,” said they, “who arbitrarily deprives people
of their rights, without proof or witnesses.” The consequence was
that the Rabbi was sent to prison, but he gave the authorities such
evidence of his shrewdness and sense of justice, that he was soon
restored to freedom.

Bava Bathra, fol. 58, col. 1.

Till ten generations have passed speak thou not contemptuously
of the Gentiles in the hearing of a proselyte.

Sanhedrin, fol. 94, col. 1.

The ten tribes will never be restored, for it is said (Deut.
xxiii. 28), “God cast them into another land, as it is this day.”
As this day passes away without return, so also they have passed
away never more to return. So says Rabbi Akiva, but Rabbi Eleazar
says, “‘As it is this day’ implies that, as the day darkens and
lightens up again, so the ten tribes now in darkness shall in the
future be restored to light.” The Rabbis have thus taught that the
ten tribes will have no portion in the world to come; for it is
said (Deut. xxix. 28), “And the Lord rooted them out of their land
in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation.” “And he rooted
them out of their land,” that is, from this world, “and cast them
into another land,” that is, the World to come. So says Rabbi
Akiva. Rabbi Shimon ben {116} Yehuda says, “If their designs continue
as they are at this day, they will not return, but if they repent
they will return.” Rabbi (the Holy) says, “They will enter the
world to come, for it is said (Isa. xxvii. 13), ‘And it shall come
to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they
shall come which were ready to perish.'”

Sanhedrin, fol. 110, col. 2.

Ten things are detrimental to study:—Going under the
halter of a camel, and still more passing under its body; walking
between two camels or between two women; to be one of two men that
a woman passes between; to go where the atmosphere is tainted by a
corpse; to pass under a bridge beneath which no water has flowed
for forty days; to eat with a ladle that has been used for culinary
purposes; to drink water that runs through a cemetery. It is also
dangerous to look at the face of a corpse, and some say also to
read inscriptions on tombstones.

Horayoth, fol. 13, col. 2.

Ten strong things were created in the world (of which the one
that comes after is stronger than that which preceded). A mountain
is strong, but iron can hew it in pieces; the fire weakens the
iron; the water quenches the fire; the clouds carry off the water;
the wind disperses the clouds; the living body resists the wind;
fear enervates the body; wine abolishes fear; sleep overcomes wine,
and death is stronger than all together; yet it is written (Prov.
x. 2), “And alms delivereth from death” (the original word has two
meanings, righteousness and alms).

Bava Bathra, fol. 10, col. 1.

With the utterance of ten words was the world created.

Avoth, chap. 5, mish. 1.

There were ten generations from Adam to Noah, to show how great
is God’s long-suffering, for each of these went on provoking Him
more and more, till His forbearance relenting, He brought the flood
upon them.

Ibid., mish. 2.

There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham, to show that
God is long-suffering, since all those succeeding {117}
generations provoked Him, until Abraham came, and he received the
reward that belonged to all of them.

Avoth, mish. 3.

The greatest sinner is uniformly presumed
throughout the Talmud to have a certain amount of merit, and
therefore a corresponding title to reward (see chap. 2, No. 10 =
Ps. xxxvii. 35-37). Much of this last is enjoyed by the wicked
themselves in the present world, and the surplus is often
transferred to the credit of the righteous in the world to come
(see “Genesis”, page 482, No. 173 = Matt. xiii. 12).

Abraham our father was tested ten times; in every case he stood
firm; which shows how great the love of our father Abraham was.

Ibid., mish. 4.

Ten miracles were wrought for our forefathers in Egypt, and ten
at the Red Sea. Ten plagues did the Holy One—blessed be
He!—inflict on the Egyptians in Egypt, and ten at the sea.
Ten times did our ancestors tempt God in the wilderness, as it is
said (Num. xiv. 22), “And have tempted me now these ten times, and
have not hearkened to my voice.”

Ibid., mish. 5, 6, 7.

Ten times did God test our forefathers, and they were not so
much as once found to be perfect.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 34.

Ten times the Shechinah came down unto the world:—At the
garden of Eden (Gen. iii. 8); at the time of the Tower (Gen. xi.
5); at Sodom (Gen. xviii. 21); in Egypt (Exod. iii. 8); at the Red
Sea (Ps. xviii. 9); on Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 20); into the Temple
(Ezek. xliv. 2); in the pillar of cloud (Num. xi. 25). It will
descend in the days of Gog and Magog, for it is said (Zech. xiv.
4), “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives”
(the tenth is omitted in the original).

Ibid.

The Shechinah made ten gradual ascents in passing from place to
place:—From the cover of the ark to the cherub (2 Sam. xxii.
11); thence to the threshold of the house (Ezek. ix. 3); thence to
the cherubim (Ezek. x. 18); thence to the roof of the Temple (Prov.
xxi. 9); thence to the wall of the court (Amos vii. 7); thence to
the altar (Amos ix. 1); thence to the city (Micah vi. 9); thence to
the mount (Ezek. xi. 23); thence to the wilderness {118} (Prov.
xxi. 9); whence the Shechinah went up, as it is said (Hosea v. 15),
“I will go and return to my place.”

Avoth d Rab. Nathan, chap. 34.

Ten different terms are employed to express the title of
prophet:—Ambassador, Faithful, Servant, Messenger, Seer,
Watchman, Seer of Vision, Dreamer, Prophet, Man of God.

Ibid.

Ten distinct designations are applied to the Holy
Spirit:—Proverb, Interpretation, Dark, Saying, Oracle,
Utterance, Decree, Burden, Prophecy, Vision.

Ibid.

Ten are designated by the term Life or Living:—God, the
law, Israel, the righteous, the garden of Eden, the tree of life,
the land of Israel, Jerusalem, benevolence, the sages; and water
also is described as life, as it is said (Zech. xiv. 8), “And it
shall be in that day that living water shall go out from
Jerusalem.”

Ibid.

If there are ten beds piled upon one another, and if beneath the
lowermost there be any tissue woven of linen and wool (Lev. xix.
19), it is unlawful to lie down upon them.

Tamid, fol. 27, col. 2.

Alexander of Macedon proposed ten queries to the elders of the
south:—”Which are more remote from each other, the heavens
from the earth or the east from the west?” They answered, “The east
is more remote from the west, for when the sun is either in the
east or in the west, any one can gaze upon him; but when the sun is
in the zenith or heaven, none can gaze at him, he is so much
nearer.” The Mishnaic Rabbis, on the other hand, say they are
equidistant; for it is written (Ps. ciii. 11, 12), “As the heavens
are from the earth, … so is the east removed from the west.”
Alexander then asked, “Were the heavens created first or was the
earth?” “The heavens,” they replied, “for it is said, ‘In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'” He then asked,
“Was light created first or was darkness?” They replied, “This is
an unanswerable question.” They should have answered darkness was
created first, for it is said, “And the earth was without form and
void, and darkness was upon the face of the {119} deep,”
and after this, “And God said, Let there be light, and there was
light.”

Tamid., fol. 31, col. 2.

There are ten degrees of holiness, and the land of Israel is
holy above all other lands.

Kelim, chap. i, mish. 6.

There are ten places which, though Gentile habitations are not
considered unclean:—(1.) Arab tents; (2.) A watchman’s hut;
(3.) The top of a tower; (4.) A fruit-store; (5.) A summer-house;
(6.) A gatekeeper’s lodge; (7.) An uncovered courtyard; (8.) A
bath-house; (9.) An armory; (10.) A military camp.

Oholoth chap. 18, mish. 10.

“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the
Lord, even to the tenth generation,” etc. (Deut. xxiii. 4). One day
Yehuda, an Ammonite prophet, came into the academy and asked, “May
I enter the congregation (if I marry a Jewess)?” Rabban Gamliel
said unto him, “Thou art not at liberty to do so;” but Rabbi Joshua
interposed and maintained, “He is at liberty to do so.” Then Rabban
Gamliel appealed to Scripture, which saith, “An Ammonite or Moabite
shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord, even to the
tenth generation.” To this Rabbi Joshua retorted and asked, “Are
then these nations still in their own native places? Did not
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, transplant the nations? as it is
said (Isa. x. 13), ‘I have removed the bounds of the people, and
have robbed their treasures, and have put down the valor of the
inhabitants.'” Rabban Gamliel replied, “Scripture saith (Jer. xlix.
6), ‘Afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of
Ammon,’ and so,” he argued, “they must have already returned.”
Rabbi Joshua then promptly rejoined, “Scripture saith (Jer. xxx.
3), ‘I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and
Judah,’ and these have not returned yet.” And on this reasoning the
proselyte was permitted to enter the congregation.

Yadayim, chap. 4, mish. 4.

Go and learn from the tariff of donkey-drivers, ten miles for
one zouz, eleven for two zouzim.

Chaggigah, fol. 9, col. 2.

When Israel went up to Jerusalem to attend the festivals, they
had to stand in the Temple court closely crowded together, yet when
prostrated there was a wide space between each of them (Rashi says
about four ells), so that they could not hear each other’s
confession, which might have caused them to blush. They had,
however, when prostrated, to extend eleven ells behind the Holy of
Holies.

Yoma, fol. 21, col. 1,

In the days of Joel, the son of Pethuel, there was a great
dearth, because (as is said in Joel i. 4) “That which the
palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten,” etc. That year the
month of Adar (about March) passed away and no rain came. When some
rain fell, during the following month, the prophet said unto
Israel, “Go ye forth and sow.” They replied, “Shall he who has but
a measure or two of wheat or barley eat and live or sow it and
die?” Still the prophet urged, “Go forth and sow.” Then they obeyed
the prophet, and in eleven days the seed had grown and ripened; and
it is with reference to that generation that it is said (Ps. cxxvi.
5), “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

Taanith fol. 5, col. 1.

What is a female in her minority? One who is between eleven
years and one day, and twelve years and one day. When younger or
older than these ages she is to be treated in the usual manner.

Yevamoth, fol. 100, col. 2.

Whoever gives a prutah to a poor man has six blessings bestowed
upon him, and he that speaks a kind word to him realizes eleven
blessings in himself (see Isa. lviii. 7, 8).

Bava Bathra, fol. 9, col. 2.

On the next page of the same tract it is said, “For
one prutah given as alms to a poor man one is made partaker of the
beatific vision.” (See also Midrash Tillim on Ps. xvii. 15.)

The prutah was the smallest coin then current. It
is estimated to have been equal to about one-twentieth of an
English penny. In some quarters of Poland the Jews have small thin
bits of brass, with the Hebrew word prutah impressed upon them, for
the uses in charity on the part of those among them that cannot
afford to give a kreutzer to a poor man. The poor, when they have
collected a number of these, change them into larger coin at the
almoner’s appointed by the congregation. Thus even the poor are
enabled to give alms to the poor. (See my “Genesis,” p. 277, No.
31.)

Rabbi Yochanan said eleven sorts of spices were mentioned to
Moses on Sinai. Rav Hunna asked, “What Scripture text proves this?”
(Exod. xxx. 34), “Take unto thee sweet spices” (the plural implying
two), “stacte, myrrh, and galbanum” (these three thus making up
five), “sweet spices” (the repetition doubling the five into ten),
“with pure frankincense” (which makes up eleven).

Kerithoth, fol. 6, col. 2.

“Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken and forgotten me” (Isa. xlix.
14). The community of Israel once pleaded thus with the Holy
One—blessed be He!—”Even a man who marries a second
wife still bears in mind the services of the first, but Thou, Lord,
hast forgotten me.” The Holy One—blessed be
He!—replied, “Daughter, I have created twelve constellations
in the firmament, and for each constellation I have created thirty
armies, and for each army thirty legions, each legion containing
thirty divisions, each division thirty cohorts, each cohort having
thirty camps, and in each camp hang suspended 365,000 myriads of
stars, as many thousands of myriads as there are days in the year;
all these have I created for thy sake, and yet thou sayest, ‘Thou
hast forsaken and forgotten me!’ Can a woman forget her
sucking-child, that she should not have compassion on the son of
her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”

Berachoth, fol. 32, col. 2.

No deceased person is forgotten from the heart (of his relatives
that survive him) till after twelve months, for it is said (Ps.
xxxi. 12), “I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a
lost vessel” (which, as Rashi explains, is like all lost property,
not thought of as lost for twelve months, for not till then is
proclamation for it given up).

Ibid., fol. 58, col. 2.

Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Yossi, and Rabbi Shimon (ben Yochai) were
sitting together, and Yehudah ben Gerim (the son, says Rashi, of
proselyte parents) beside them. In the course of conversation Rabbi
Yehudah remarked, “How beautiful and serviceable are the works of
these Romans! They have established markets, spanned rivers
{122} by bridges, and erected baths.” To this
remark Rabbi Yossi kept silent, but Rabbi Shimon replied, “Yea,
indeed; but all these they have done to benefit themselves. The
markets they have opened to feed licentiousness, they have erected
baths for their own pleasure, and the bridges they have raised for
collecting tolls.” Yehudah ben Gerim thereupon went direct and
informed against them, and the report having reached the Emperor’s
ears, an edict was immediately issued that Rabbi Yehudah should be
promoted, Rabbi Yossi banished to Sepphoris, and Rabbi Shimon taken
and executed. Rabbi Shimon and his son, however, managed to secret
themselves in a college, where they were purveyed to by the Rabbi’s
wife, who brought them daily bread and water. One day mistrust
seized the Rabbi, and he said to his son, “Women are light-minded;
the Romans may tease her and then she will betray us.” So they
stole away and hid themselves in a cave. Here the Lord interposed
by a miracle, and created a carob-tree bearing fruit all the year
round for their support, and opened a perennial spring for their
refreshment. To save their clothes they laid them aside except at
prayers, and to protect their naked bodies from exposure they would
at other times sit up to their necks in sand, absorbed in study.
After they had passed twelve years thus in the cave, Elijah was
sent to inform them that the Emperor was dead, and his decree
powerless to touch them. On leaving the cave, they noticed some
people plowing and sowing, when one of them exclaimed, “These folk
neglect eternal things and trouble themselves with the things that
are temporal.” As they fixed their eyes upon the place, fire came
and burnt it up. Then a Bath Kol was heard exclaiming, “What! are
ye come forth to destroy the world I have made? Get back to your
cave and hide you.” Thither accordingly they returned, and after
they had stopped there twelve months longer, they remonstrated,
pleading that even the judgment of the wicked in Gehenna lasted no
longer than twelve months; upon which a Bath Kol was again heard
from heaven, which said, “Come ye forth from your cave.” Then they
arose and obeyed it.

Shabbath, fol. 33, col 2.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that at every utterance which
proceeded from the mouth of the Holy One—blessed be
He!—on Mount Sinai, Israel receded twelve miles, being
conducted gently back by the ministering angels; for it is said
(Ps. lxviii. 12), “The angels of hosts kept moving.”

Shabbath, fol. 88, col. 2.

A Sadducee once said to Rabbi Abhu, “Ye say that the souls of
the righteous are treasured up under the throne of glory; how then
had the Witch of Endor power to bring up the prophet Samuel by
necromancy?” The Rabbi replied, “Because that occurred within
twelve months after his death; for we are taught that during twelve
months after death the body is preserved and the soul soars up and
down, but that after twelve months the body is destroyed and the
soul goes up never to return.”

Ibid., fol. 152, col. 2.

Clever answers to puzzling questions like the above, are of
frequent occurrence in the Talmud; and we select here a few out of
the many specimens of Rabbinical ready wit and repartee.

Turnus Rufus once said to Rabbi Akiva, “If your God is a friend
to the poor, why doesn’t he feed them?” To which he promptly
replied, “That we by maintaining them may escape the condemnation
of Gehenna.” “On the contrary,” said the Emperor, “the very fact of
your maintaining the poor will condemn you to Gehenna. I will tell
thee by a parable whereto this is like. It is as if a king of our
own flesh and blood should imprison a servant who has offended him,
and command that neither food nor drink should be given him, and as
if one of his subjects in spite of him should go and supply him
with both. When the king hears of it will he not be angry with that
man? And ye are called servants, as it is said (Lev. xxv. 55), ‘For
unto me the children of Israel are servants.'” To this Rabbi Akiva
replied, “And I too will tell thee a parable whereunto the thing is
like. It is like a king of our own flesh and blood who, being angry
with his son, imprisons him, and orders that neither food nor drink
be given him, but one goes and gives him both to eat and drink.
When {124} the king hears of it will he not
handsomely reward that man? And we are sons, as it is written
(Deut. xiv. 1), ‘Ye are the sons of the Lord your God.'” “True,”
the Emperor replied, “ye are both sons and servants; sons when ye
do the will of God; servants when ye do not; and now ye are not
doing the will of God.”

Bava Bathra, fol. 10, col. 1.

Certain philosophers once asked the elders at Rome, “If your God
has no pleasure in idolatry, why does He not destroy the objects of
it?” “And so He would,” was the reply, “if only such objects were
worshiped as the world does not stand in need of; but you idolaters
will worship the sun and moon, the stars and the constellations.
Should He destroy the world because of the fools there are in it?
No! The world goes on as it has done all the same, but they who
abuse it will have to answer for their conduct. On your philosophy,
when one steals a measure of wheat and sows it in his field it
should by rights produce no crop; nevertheless the world goes on as
if no wrong had been done, and they who abuse it will one day smart
for it.”

Avoda Zarah, fol. 54, col. 2.

Antoninus Caesar asked Rabbi (the Holy), “Why does the sun rise
in the east and set in the west?” “Thou wouldst have asked,”
answered the Rabbi, “the same question if the order had been
reversed.” “What I mean,” remarked Antoninus, “is this, is there
any special reason why he sets in the west?” “Yes,” replied Rabbi,
“to salute his Creator (who is in the east), for it is said (Neh.
ix. 6), ‘And the host of heaven worship Thee.'”

Sanhedrin, fol. 91, col. 2.

Caesar once said to Rabbi Tanchum, “Come, now, let us be one
people.” “Very well,” said Rabbi Tanchum, “only we, being
circumcised, cannot possibly become like you; if, however, ye
become circumcised we shall be alike in that regard anyhow, and so
be as one people.” The Emperor said, “Thou hast reasonably
answered, but the Roman law is, that he who nonpluses his ruler and
puts him to silence shall be cast to the lions.” The word was no
sooner uttered than the Rabbi was thrown into the den, but the
{125} lions stood aloof and did not even touch
him. A Sadducee, who looked on, remarked, “The lions do not devour
him because they are not hungry,” but, when at the royal command,
the Sadducee himself was thrown in, he had scarcely reached the
lions before they fell upon him and began to tear his flesh and
devour him.

Sanhedrin, fol. 39, col. 1.

A certain Sadducee asked Rabbi Abhu, “Since your God is a
priest, as it is written (Exod. xxv. 2), ‘That they bring Me an
offering,’ in what did He bathe Himself after He was polluted by
the burial (Num. xix. 11, 18) of the dead body of Moses? It could
not be in the water, for it is written (Isa. xl. 12), ‘Who has
measured the waters in the hollow of His hand?’ which therefore are
insufficient for Him to bathe in.” The Rabbi replied, “He bathed in
fire, as it is written (Isa. lxvi. 15), ‘For behold the Lord will
come with fire.'”

Ibid.

Turnus Rufus asked this question also of Rabbi Akiva, “Why is
the Sabbath distinguished from other days?” Rabbi Akiva replied,
“Why art thou distinguished from other men?” The answer was,
“Because it hath pleased my Master thus to honor me.” And so
retorted Akiva, “It hath pleased God to honor His Sabbath.” “But
what I mean,” replied the other, “was how dost thou know that it is
the Sabbath-day?” The reply was, “The river Sambatyon proves it;
the necromancer proves it; the grave of thy father proves it, for
the smoke thereof rises not on the Sabbath.”

Ibid., fol. 65, col. 2.

See Bereshith Rabba, fol. 4, with reference to what
is here said about Turnus Rufus and his father’s grave. The proof
from the necromancer lies in the allegation that his art was
unsuccessful if practiced on the Sabbath-day. The Sambatyon, Rashi
says, is a pebbly river which rushes along all the days of the week
except the Sabbath, on which it is perfectly still and quiet. In
the Machsor for Pentecost (D. Levi’s ed. p. 81), it is styled “the
incomprehensible river,” and a footnote thereto informs us that
“This refers to the river said to rest on the Sabbath from throwing
up stones, etc., which it does not cease to do all the rest of the
week.” (See Sanhedrin, fol. 65, col. 2; Yalkut on Isaiah, fol. 3,
1; Pesikta Tanchuma. See also Shalsheleth Hakabbala and
Yuchsin.)

Those Israelites and Gentiles who have transgressed with their
bodies (the former by neglecting to wear phylacteries, {126} and the
latter by indulging in sensuous pleasures), shall go down into
Gehenna, and there be punished for twelve months, after which
period their bodies will be destroyed and their soul consumed, and
a wind shall scatter their ashes under the soles of the feet of the
righteous; as it is said (Mal. iv. 3), “And ye shall tread down the
wicked; for they shall be as ashes under the soles of your feet.”
But the Minim, the informers, and the Epicureans, they who deny the
law and the resurrection of the dead, they who separate themselves
from the manners of the congregation, they who have been a terror
in the land of the living, and they who have sinned and have led
the multitude astray, as did Jeroboam the son of Nebat and his
companions,—these shall go down into Gehenna, and there be
judged for generations upon generations, as it is said (Isa. lxvi,
24), “And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the
men that have transgressed against me,” etc. Gehenna itself shall
be consumed but they shall not be burned up in the destruction; as
it is said (Ps. xlix, 14; Heb. xv.), “And their figures shall
consume hell from being a dwelling.”

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 17, col. 1.

Once when Israel went up by pilgrimages to one of the three
annual feasts at Jerusalem (see Exod. xxxiv. 23, 24), it so
happened that there was no water to drink. Nicodemon ben Gorion
therefore hired of a friendly neighbor twelve huge reservoirs of
water promising to have them replenished against a given time, or
failing this to forfeit twelve talents of silver. The appointed day
came and still the drought continued, and therewith the scarcity of
water; upon which the creditor appeared and demanded payment of the
forfeit. The answer of Nicodemon to the demand was, “There’s time
yet; the day is not over.” The other chuckled to himself, inwardly
remarking, “There’s no chance now; there’s been no rain all the
season,” and off he went to enjoy his bath. But Nicodemon sorrowful
at heart, wended his way to the Temple. After putting on his prayer
scarf, as he prayed, he pleaded, “Lord of the Universe! Thou
knowest that I have not entered into this obligation for my own
sake, but for Thy glory and for the {127} benefit of Thy people.”
While he yet prayed the clouds gathered overhead, the rain fell in
torrents, and the reservoirs were filled to overflowing. On going
out of the house of prayer he was met by the exacting creditor, who
still urged that the money was due to him, as he said, the rain
came after sunset. But in answer to prayer the clouds immediately
dispersed, and the sun shone out as brightly as ever.

Taanith, fol. 19. col. 2.

Nicodemon ben Gorion of the above story is by some
considered to be the Nicodemus of St. John’s Gospel, iii. 1-10;
vii. 50; xix 30.

Would that my husband were here and could listen to me; I should
permit him to stay away another twelve years.

Kethuboth, fol. 63. col. 1.

Hereto hangs a tale stranger than fiction, yet
founded on fact. Rabbi Akiva was once a poor shepherd in the employ
of Calba Shevua, one of the richest men in all Jerusalem. While
engaged in that lowly occupation his master’s only daughter fell in
love with him, and the two carried on a clandestine courtship for
some time together. Her father, hearing of it, threatened to
disinherit her, to turn her out of doors and disown her altogether,
if she did not break off her engagement. How could she connect
herself with one who was the base-born son of a proselyte, a
reputed descendant of Sisera and Jael, an ignorant fellow that
could neither read nor write, and a man old enough to be her
father? Rachel—for that was her name—determined to be
true to her lover, and to brave the consequences by marrying him
and exchanging the mansion of her father for the hovel of her
husband. After a short spell of married life she prevailed upon her
husband to leave her for a while in order to join a certain college
in a distant land, where she felt sure that his talents would be
recognized and his genius fostered into development worthy of it.
As he sauntered along by himself he began to harbor misgivings in
his mind as to the wisdom of the step, and more than once thought
of returning. But when musing one day at a resting-place a
waterfall arrested his attention, and he remarked how the water, by
its continual dropping, was wearing away the solid rock. All at
once, with the tact for which he was afterward so noted, he applied
the lesson it yielded to himself. “So may the law,” he reasoned,
“work its way into my hard and stony heart;” and he felt encouraged
and pursued his journey. Under the tuition of Rabbi Eliezer, the
son of Hyrcanus, and Rabbi Yehoshua, the son of Chananiah, his
native ability soon began to appear, his name became known to fame,
and he rose step by step until he ranked as a professor in the very
college which he had entered as a poor student. After some twelve
years of hard study and diligent {128} service in the law he
returned to Jerusalem, accompanied by a large number of disciples.
On nearing the dwelling of his devoted wife he caught the sound of
voices in eager conversation. He paused awhile and listened at the
door, and overheard a gossiping neighbor blaming Rachel for her
mésalliance, and twitting her with marrying a man who
could run away and leave her as a widow for a dozen of years or
more on the crazy pretext of going to college. He listened in eager
curiosity, wondering what the reply would be. To his surprise, he
heard his self-sacrificing wife exclaim, “Would that my husband
were here and could listen to me; I should permit, nay, urge him to
stay other twelve years, if it would benefit him.” Strange to say
Akiva taking the hint from his wife, turned away and left Jerusalem
without ever seeing her. He went abroad again for a time, and then
returned for good; this time, so the story says, with twice twelve
thousand disciples. Well-nigh all Jerusalem turned out to do him
honor, every one striving to be foremost to welcome him. Calba
Shevua, who for many a long year had repented of his hasty
resolution, which cost him at once his daughter and his happiness,
went to Akiva to ask his opinion about annulling this vow. Akiva
replied by making himself known as his quondam servant and rejected
son-in-law. As we may suppose, the two were at once reconciled, and
Calba Shevua looked upon himself as favored of Heaven above all the
fathers in Israel.

The Rabbis say that at first they used to communicate the Divine
name of twelve letters to every one. But when the Antinomians began
to abound, the knowledge of this name was imparted only to the more
discreet of the priestly order, and they repeated it hastily while
the other priests pronounced the benediction of the people. (What
the name was, says Rashi, is not known.) Rabbi Tarphon, the story
goes on to say, once listened to the high priest, and overheard him
hurriedly pronouncing this name of twelve letters while the other
priests were blessing the people.

Kiddushin, fol. 71, col. 1.

Twelve hours there are in the day:—The first three, the
Holy One—blessed be He!—employs in studying the law;
the next three He sits and judges the whole world; the third three
He spends in feeding all the world; during the last three hours He
sports with the leviathan; as it is said (Ps. civ. 26), “This
leviathan Thou hast created to play with it.”

Avodah Zarah, fol. 3, col. 2.

Rabbi Yochanan bar Chanena said:—The day consists of
twelve hours. During the first hour Adam’s dust was {129} collected
from all parts of the world; during the second it was made into a
lump; during the third his limbs were formed; during the fourth his
body was animated; during the fifth he stood upon his legs; during
the sixth he gave names to the animals; during the seventh he
associated with Eve; during the eighth Cain and a twin sister were
born (Abel and his twin sister were born after the Fall, says the
Tosephoth); during the ninth Adam was ordered not to eat of the
forbidden tree; during the tenth he fell, during the eleventh he
was judged; and during the twelfth he was ejected from paradise; as
it is said (Ps. xlix. 13, A.V. 12), “Man (Adam) abode not one night
in his dignity.”

Sanhedrin, fol. 38, col. 2.

Rabbi Akiva used to say:—Of five judgments, some have
lasted twelve months, others will do so;—those of the deluge,
of Job, of the Egyptians, of Gog and Magog, and of the wicked in
Gehenna.

Edioth, chap. 2, mish. 10.

Plagues come upon those that are proud, as was the case with
Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 16), “But when he was strong (proud), his
heart was lifted up to destruction.” When the leprosy rose up in
his forehead, the Temple was cleft asunder twelve miles either
way.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 9.

This hyperbole is evidently a mere fiction joined
on to a truth for the purpose of frightening the proud into
humility. The end sanctifieth the means, as we well know from other
instances recorded in the Talmud.

Those who mourn for deceased relatives are prohibited from
entering a tavern for thirty days, but those who mourn for either
father or mother must not do so for twelve months.

Semachoth, chap. 9.

A creature that has no bones in his body does not live more than
twelve months.

Chullin, fol. 58, col. 1.

The Alexandrians asked Rabbi Joshua twelve questions; three
related to matters of wisdom, three to matters of legend, three
were frivolous, and three were of a worldly nature—viz, how
to grow wise, how to become rich, and how to ensure a family of
boys.

Niddah, fol. 69, col. 2.

There was once a man named Joseph, who was renowned for honoring
the Sabbath-day. He had a rich neighbor, a Gentile, whose property
a certain fortune-teller had said would eventually revert to Joseph
the Sabbatarian. To frustrate this prediction the Gentile disposed
of his property, and with the proceeds of the sale he purchased a
rare and costly jewel which he fixed to his turban. On crossing a
bridge a gust of wind blew his turban into the river and a fish
swallowed it. This fish being caught, was brought on a Friday to
market, and, as luck would have it, it was bought by Joseph in
honor of the coming Sabbath. When the fish was cut up the jewel was
found, and this Joseph sold for thirteen purses of gold denarii.
When his neighbor met him, he acknowledged that he who despised the
Sabbath the Lord of the Sabbath would be sure to punish.

Shabbath, fol. 119, col. 1.

This story cannot fail to remind those who are
conversant with Herodotus or Schiller of the legend of King
Polycrates, which dates back five or six centuries before the
present era. Polycrates, the king of Samos, was one of the most
fortunate of men, and everything he took in hand was fabled to
prosper. This unbroken series of successes caused disquietude to
his friends, who saw in the circumstance foreboding of some dire
disaster; till Amasis, king of Egypt, one of the number advised him
to spurn the favor of fortune by throwing away what he valued
dearest. The most valuable thing he possessed was an emerald
signet-ring, and this accordingly he resolved to sacrifice. So,
manning a galley, he rowed out to the sea, and threw the ring away
into the waste of the waters. Some five or six days after this, a
fisherman came to the palace and made the king a present of a very
fine fish that he had caught. This the servants proceeded to open,
when, to their surprise, they came upon a ring, which on
examination proved to be the very ring which had been cast away by
the king their master. (See Herodotus, book iii.)

Among the many legends that have clustered round
the memory of Solomon, there is one which reads very much like an
adaptation of this classic story. The version the Talmud gives of
this story is quoted in another part of this Miscellany (chap. vi.
No. 8, note), but in Emek Hammelech, fol. 14, col. 4, we have the
legend in another form, with much amplitude and variety of detail,
of which we can give here only an outline. When the building of the
Temple was finished, the king of the demons begged Solomon to set
him free from his service, and promised in return to teach him a
secret he would be sure to value. Having cajoled Solomon out of
possession of his signet-ring, he first flung the ring into the
sea, where it was swallowed by a fish, and {131} then
taking up Solomon himself, he cast him into a foreign land some
four hundred miles away, where for three weary long years he
wandered up and down like a vagrant, begging his bread from door to
door. In the course of his rambles he came to Mash Kemim, and was
so fortunate as to be appointed head cook at the palace of the king
of Ammon (Ana Hanun, see 1 Kings xii. 24; LXX.). While employed in
this office, Naama, the king’s daughter (see 1 Kings xiv. 21, 31,
and 2 Chron. xii. 13), fell in love with him, and, determining to
marry him, eloped with him for refuge to a distant land. One day as
Naama was preparing a fish for dinner, she found in it a ring, and
this turned cut to be the very ring which the king of the demons
had flung into the sea, and the loss of which had bewitched the
king out of his power and dominion. In the recovery of the ring the
king both recovered himself and the throne of his father David.

The occurrence of a fish and a ring on the arms of
the city of Glasgow memorializes a legend in which we find the same
singular combination of circumstances. A certain queen of the
district one day gave her paramour a golden ring which the king her
husband had committed to her charge as a keepsake. By some means or
other the king got to know of the whereabouts of the ring, and
cleverly contriving to secure possession of it, threw it into the
sea. He then went straight to the queen and demanded to know where
it was and what she had done with it. The queen in her distress
repaired to St. Kentigern, and both made full confession of her
guilt and her anxiety about the recovery of the ring, that she
might regain the lost favor of her husband. The saint set off at
once to the Clyde, and there caught a salmon and the identical ring
in the mouth of it. This he handed over to the queen, who returned
it to her lord with such expressions of penitence that the
restoration of it became the bond and pledge between them of a
higher and holier wedlock.

There were thirteen horn-shaped collecting-boxes, and thirteen
tables, and thirteen devotional bowings in the Temple service.
Those who belonged to the houses of Rabbi Gamliel and of Rabbi
Chananiah, the president of the priests, bowed fourteen times. This
extra act of bowing was directed to the quarter of the wood store,
in consequence of a tradition they inherited from their ancestors
that the Ark of the Covenant was hidden in that locality. The
origin of the tradition was this:—A priest, being once
engaged near the wood store, and observing that part of the plaster
differed from the rest, went to tell his companions, but died
before he had time to relate his discovery. Thus it became known
for certain that the Ark was hidden there.

Shekalim chap. 3, hal, 1.

It is more than probable that the Chananiah,
mentioned above, is the person alluded to in the Acts, chap, xxiii.
2, as “the high priest Ananias.” For the tradition about the Ark.
see also 2 Macc. ii. 4, 5.

There were thirteen horn-shaped collecting-boxes in the Temple,
and upon them were inscribed new shekels, old shekels, turtle-dove
offerings, young-pigeon offerings, fire-wood, contributions for
Galbanus, gold for the mercy-seat; and six boxes were inscribed for
voluntary contributions. New shekels were for the current year, old
shekels were for the past one.

Yoma, fol. 55, col, 2.

Once on account of long-continued drought Rabbi Eliezer
proclaimed thirteen public fasts, but no rain came. At the
termination of the last fast, just as the congregation was leaving
the synagogue, he cried aloud, “Have you then prepared graves for
yourselves?” Upon this all the people burst into bitter cries, and
rain came down directly.

Taanith, fol. 25, col. 2.

A boy at thirteen years of age is bound to observe the usual
fasts in full, i.e., throughout the whole day. A girl is
bound to do so when only twelve. Rashi gives this as the
reason:—A boy is supposed to be weaker than a girl on account
of the enervating effect of much study.

Kethuboth, fol. 5, col. 1.

A poor man once came to Rava and begged for a meal. “On what
dost thou usually dine?” asked Rava. “On stuffed fowl and old
wine,” was the reply. “What!” said Rava, “art thou not concerned
about being so burdensome to the community?” He replied, “I eat
nothing belonging to them, only what the Lord provides; as we are
taught (Ps. cxlv. 15), ‘The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou
givest them their meat in his season.’ It is not said in their
season, for so we learn that God provides for each individual in
his season of need.” While they were thus talking, in came Rava’s
sister, who had not been to see him for thirteen years, and she
brought him as a present a stuffed fowl and some old wine also.
Rava marveled at the coincidence, and turning to his poor visitor
said, “I beg thy pardon, friend; rise, I pray thee, and eat.”

Ibid., fol. 67, col. 2.

So great is circumcision that thirteen covenants were made
concerning it. Tosafoth says that covenant is written thirteen
times in the chapter of circumcision.

Nedarim, fol. 31, col. 2.

Rabbi (the Holy) says sufferings are to be borne with
resignation. He himself bore them submissively for thirteen years;
for six he suffered from lithiasis, and for seven years from
stomatitis (or, as some say, six years from the former and seven
from the latter). His groans were heard three miles off.

Bava Metzia, fol. 85, col. 1.

The Rabbis have taught thirteen things respecting breakfast
(morning-morsel):—It counteracts the effects of heat, cold or
draught; it protects from malignant demons; it makes wise the
simple by keeping the mind in a healthy condition; it enables a man
to come off clear from a judicial inquiry; it qualifies him both to
learn and to teach the law; it makes him eagerly listened to, to
have a retentive memory, etc.

Ibid. fol. 107, col. 2.

The land of Israel is in the future to be divided among thirteen
tribes, and not, as at first, among twelve.

Bava Bathra, fol. 122, col. 1.

Rabbi Abhu once complimented Rav Saphra before the Minim by
singling him out in their hearing as a man distinguished by his
learning, and this led them to exempt him from tribute for thirteen
years. It so happened that these Minim once posed Saphra about that
which is written in Amos iii. 2, “You only have I known of all the
families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your
iniquities.” “Ye say you are God’s friends, but when one has a
friend does he pour out his wrath upon him?” To this Rav Saphra
make no reply. They then put a rope round his neck and tormented
him. When he was in this sorry plight, Rabbi Abhu came up and
inquired why they tormented him thus. To this they made answer,
“Didst thou not tell us that he was a very learned man, and he does
not even know how to explain a text of Scripture?” “Yes, I did so
say,” replied Rabbi Abhu; “he is an adept in the Talmud only, but
not in the Scriptures.” “Thou knowest the Scriptures;” they
replied, “and why ought he not to {134} know them as well?” “I have
daily intercourse with you,” said the Rabbi, “and therefore I am
obliged to study the Scriptures, but he, having no intercourse with
you, has no need to trouble himself, and does not at all care about
them.”

Avodah Zarah, fol. 4, col. 1.

In order to understand aright the grounds on which
Rabbi Abhu would fain excuse Rav Saphra for not caring at all about
the Scriptures, certain passages from both Talmuds should be read,
which, in the usual metaphorical style of the Rabbis, set forth the
respective merits of Scripture and Tradition. The three times three
in Sophrim (chap. 15), in which the Scripture is compared to water,
the Mishna to wine, and the Gemara to mulled wine, and that in
which the Scripture is likened to salt, the Mishna to pepper, and
the Gemara to spice, and so on, are too well known to need more
than passing mention; but far less familiar and much more explicit
is the exposition of Zech. viii. 10, as given in T.B. Chaggigah,
fol. 10, col. 1, where, commenting on the Scripture text, “Neither,
was there any peace to him that went out or came in,” Rav expressly
says, “He who leaves a matter of Halachah for a matter of Scripture
shall never more have peace;” to which Shemuel adds, “Aye, and he
also who leaves the Talmud for the Mishna;” Rabbi Yochanan chiming
in with “even from Talmud to Talmud;” as if to say, “And he who
turns from the Babli to the Yerushalmi, even he shall have no
peace.” If we refer to the Mishna (chap. 1, hal. 7) of Berachoth in
the last-named Talmud, we read there that Rabbi Tarphon, bent,
while on a journey, on reading the Shema according to the school of
Shammai, ran the risk of falling into the hands of certain banditti
whom he had not noticed near him. “It would have served you right,”
remarked one, “because you did not follow the rule of Hillel.” In
the Gemara to this passage Rabbi Yochanan says, “The words of the
scribes are more highly valued than the words of the law, for, as
Rabbi Yuda remarks, ‘If Rabbi Tarphon had not read the Shema at all
he would only have broken a positive command,’ but since he
transgressed the rule of Hillel he was guilty of death, for it is
written, ‘He who breaks down a hedge (the Rabbinic hedge to the
law, of course), a serpent shall bite him'” (Eccles. x. 8). Then
Rabbi Chanina, the son of Rabbi Ana, in the name of Rabbi Tanchum,
the son of Rabbi Cheyah, says, “The words of the elders are more
important than the words of the prophets.” A prophet and an elder,
whom do they resemble? They are like two ambassadors sent by a king
to a province. About the one he sends word saying, “If he does not
present credentials with my signature and seal, trust him not;”
whereas the other is accredited without any such token; for in
regard to the prophet it is written (Deut. xiii. 2), “He giveth
thee a sign or token;” while in reference to the elders it is
written (Deut. xvii. 11), “According to the decision which they may
say unto thee shalt thou do; thou shalt {135} not
depart from the sentence which they may tell thee, to the right or
to the left.” Rashi’s comment on this text is worth notice: “Even
when they tell thee that right is left and left is right.” In a
word, a wise man (i.e., a Rabbi) is better than a prophet.
(Bava Bathra fol. 12, col. 1.)

Oved, the Galilean, has expounded that there are thirteen
vavs (i.e., the letter vav occurs thirteen
times) in connection with wine. Vav in Syriac means woe.

Sanhedrin fol. 70, col. 1.

The Rabbis have a curious Haggada respecting the
origin of the culture of the vine. Once while Noah was hard at work
breaking up the fallow ground for a vineyard, Satan drew near and
inquired what he was doing. On ascertaining that the patriarch was
about to cultivate the grape, which he valued both for its fruit
and its juice, he at once volunteered to assist him at his task,
and began to manure the soil with the blood of a lamb, a lion, a
pig, and a monkey. “Now,” said he, when his work was done, “of
those who taste the juice of the grape, some will become meek and
gentle as the lamb, some bold and fearless as the lion, some foul
and beastly as the pig, and others frolicsome and lively as the
monkey.” This quaint story may be found more fully detailed in the
Midrash Tanchuma (see Noah) and the Yalkut on Genesis. The
Mohammedan legend is somewhat similar. It relates how Satan on the
like occasion used the blood of a peacock, of an ape, of a lion,
and of a pig, and it deduces from the abuse of the vine the curse
that fell on the children of Ham, and ascribes the color of the
purple grape to the dark hue which thenceforth tinctured all the
fruit of their land as well as their own complexions.

At thirteen years of age, a boy becomes bound to observe the
(613) precepts of the law.

Avoth, chap. 5.

Rabbi Ishmael says the law is to be expounded according to
thirteen logical rules.

Chullin, fol. 63, col. 1.

The thirteen rules of Rabbi Ishmael above referred
to are not to be found together in any part of the Talmud, but they
are collected for repetition in the Liturgy, and are as
follows:—

1. Inference is valid from minor to major.

2. From similar phraseology.

3. From the gist or main point of one text to that
of other passages.

4. Of general and particular.

5. Of particular and general.

6. From a general, or a particular and a general,
the ruling both of the former and the latter is to be according to
the middle term, i.e., the one which is particularized.

7. From a general text that requires a particular
instance, and vice versà.

8. When a particular rule is laid down for
something which has already been included in a general law, the
rule is to apply to all.

9. When a general rule has an exception, the
exception mitigates and does not aggravate the rule.

10. When a general rule has an exception not
according therewith, the exception both mitigates and
aggravates.

11. When an exception to a general rule is made to
substantiate extraneous matter, that matter cannot be classed under
the said general rule, unless the Scripture expressly says so.

12. The ruling is to be according to the context,
or to the general drift of the argument.

13. When two texts are contradictory, a third is to
be sought that reconciles them.

Rabbi Akiva was forty years of age when he began to study, and
after thirteen years of study he began publicly to teach.

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan.

Thirteen treasurers and seven directors were appointed to serve
in the Temple. (More there might be, never less.)

Tamid, fol. 27, col. 1.

Thirteen points of law regulate the decisions that require to be
made relative to the carcass of a clean bird.

Taharoth, chap. i, mish. 1.

A man must partake of fourteen meals in the booth during the
Feast of Tabernacles.

Succah, fol. 27, col. 1.

Traditional chronology records that the Israelites killed the
Paschal lamb on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the month on which
they came out of Egypt. They came out on the fifteenth; that day
was a Friday.

Shabbath, fol. 88, col. 1.

The fifteen steps were according to the number of the Songs of
Degrees in the Psalms. It is related that whosoever has not seen
the joy at the annual ceremony of the water-drawing, has not seen
rejoicing in his life. At the conclusion of the first part of the
Feast of Tabernacles, the Priests and Levites descended into the
women’s ante-court, where they made great preparations (such as
erecting temporary double galleries, the uppermost for women, and
those under for men). There were golden candelabra {137} there,
each having four golden bowls on the top, four ladders reaching to
them, and four of the young priests with cruses of oil ready to
supply them, each cruse holding one hundred and twenty logs of oil.
The lamp-wicks were made of the worn-out drawers and girdles of the
priests. There was not a court in all Jerusalem that was not lit up
by the illumination of the “water-drawing.” Holy men, and men of
dignity, with flaming torches in their hands, danced before the
people, rehearsing songs and singing praises. The Levites, with
harps, lutes, cymbals, trumpets, and innumerable musical
instruments, were stationed on the fifteen steps which led from the
ante-court of Israel to the women’s court; the Levites stood upon
the steps and played and sang. Two priests stood at the upper gate
which led from the ante-court for Israel to that for the women,
each provided with a trumpet, and as soon as the cock crew they
blew one simple blast, then a compound or fragmentary one, and then
a modulated or shouting blast. This was the preconcerted signal for
the drawing of the water. As soon as they reached the tenth step,
they blew again three blasts as before. When they came to the
ante-court for women, they blew another three blasts, and after
that they continued blowing till they came to the east gate. When
they arrived at the east gate, they turned their faces westward
(i.e., toward the Temple), and said, “Our fathers, who were
in this place, turned their backs toward the Temple of the Lord,
and their faces toward the East, for they worshiped the sun in the
East; but we turn our eyes to God!” Rabbi Yehudah says, “These
words were repeated, echoing, ‘We are for God, and unto God are our
eyes directed!'”

Succah, fol. 51, col. 1, 2.

Rabbon Shimon ben Gamliel has said there were no such gala-days
for Israel as the fifteenth of Ab and the Day of Atonement, when
the young maidens of Jerusalem used to resort to the vineyard all
robed in white garments, that were required to be borrowed, lest
those should feel humiliated who had none of their own. There they
danced gleefully, calling to the lookers-on and saying, “Young men,
have a care; the choice you now make may have consequences.”

Taanith, fol. 26, col. 2.

Rabbi Elazar the Great said, “From the fifteenth of Ab the
influence of the sun declines, and from that day they leave off
cutting wood for the altar fire, because it could not be properly
dried (and green wood might harbor vermin, which would make it
unfit for use).”

Taanith, fol. 31, col. 1.

He who eats turnips to beef, and sleeps out in the open air
during the night of the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the months
of summer (that is, when the moon is full), will most likely bring
on an ague fever.

Gittin, fol. 70, col. 1.

A lad should, at the age of fifteen, begin to apply himself to
the Gemara.

Avoth, chap. 5.

“So I bought her to me for fifteen” (Hosea iii. 2), that is, on
the fifteenth day of Nisan, when Israel was redeemed from the
bondage of Egypt. “Silver;” this refers to the righteous. “An homer
and a half-homer;” these equal forty-five measures, and are the
forty-five righteous men for whose sake the world is preserved. I
don’t know whether there are thirty here (that is, in Babylon), and
fifteen in the land of Israel, or vice versà; as it
is said (Zech. xi. 13), “I took the thirty pieces of silver and
cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” It stands to
reason that there are thirty in the land of Israel, and, therefore,
fifteen here. Abaii says that the greater part are to be found
under the gable end of the synagogue. Rav Yehudah says the
reference is to the thirty righteous men always found among the
nations of the world for whose sake they are preserved (but see No.
103 infra). Ulla says it refers to the thirty precepts
received by the nations of the world, of which, however, they keep
three only; i.e. they do not enter into formal
marriage-contracts with men; they do not expose for sale the bodies
of such animals as have died from natural causes; and they have
regard for the law.

Chullin, fol. 92, col. 1.

Rabbi Cheyah bar Abba says, “I once visited a house-holder at
Ludkia, and they placed before him a golden table so loaded with
silver plate, basins, cups, bottles and glasses, besides all sorts
of dishes, delicacies, and spices, {139} that it took sixteen men to
carry it. When they set the table in its place they said (Ps. xxiv.
1), ‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,’ and upon
removing it, they said (Ps. cxv. 16), ‘The heaven, even the
heavens, are the Lord’s, but the earth hath He given to the
children of men.’ I said, ‘Son, how hast thou come to deserve all
this?’ ‘I was,’ replied he, ‘a butcher by trade, and I always set
apart for the Sabbath the best of the cattle.’ ‘How happy art
thou,’ I remarked (adds Rabbi Cheyah), ‘to have merited such a
reward, and blessed be God who has thus rewarded thee.'”

Shabbath, fol. 119, col. 1.

Rash Lakish said, “I have seen the flow of milk and honey at
Tzipori; it was sixteen miles by sixteen miles.”

Meggillah, fol. 6, col. 1.

Rashi explains the above as follows:—The
goats fed upon figs from which honey distilled, and this mingled
with the milk which dropped from the goats as they walked along. On
the spot arose a lake which covered an area of sixteen miles
square. (See also Kethuboth, fol. iii, col. 2.)

A cedar tree once fell down in our place, the trunk of which was
so wide that sixteen wagons were drawn abreast upon it.

Bechoroth, fol. 57, col. 2.

Who can estimate the loss the world sustains in its
ignorance of the trees of the Talmud? What a sapling in comparison
with this giant cedar of Lebanon must the far-famed Mammoth tree
have been which was lately cut down in California, and was the
largest known to the present generation!

Rabbi Yochanan plaintively records, “I remember the time when a
young man and a young woman sixteen or seventeen years of age could
walk together in the streets and no harm came of it.”

Bava Bathra, fol. 91, col. 2.

On the deposition of Rabbon Gamliel, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah
was chosen as his successor to the presidential chair of the
academy. On being told of his elevation, he consulted with his wife
as to whether or not he should accept the appointment. “What if
they should depose thee also?” asked his wife. He replied, “Use the
precious bowl while thou hast it, even if it be broken the next.”
But {140} she rejoined, “Thou art only eighteen
years old, and how canst thou at such an age expect folks to
venerate thee?” By a miracle eighteen of his locks turned suddenly
gray, so that he could say, “I am as one of seventy.”

Berachoth, fol. 27, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that Shimon Happikoli had arranged the
eighteen benedictions before Rabbon Gamliel at Javneh. Rabbon
Gamliel appealed to the sages, “Is there not a man who knows how to
compose an imprecation against the Sadducees?” Then Samuel the
Little stood up and extemporized it.

Ibid., fol. 28, col. 2.

The “imprecation against the Sadducees” stands
twelfth among the collects of the Shemoneh Esreh. It is popularly
known as “Velama-leshinim” from its opening words, and is given
thus in modern Ashkenazi liturgies:—”Oh, let the slanderers
have no hope, all the wicked be annihilated speedily, and all the
tyrants be cut off, hurled down and reduced speedily; humble Thou
them quickly in our days. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who destroyest
enemies and humblest tyrants.” There has been much misconception
with regard to this collect against heretics. There is every reason
to believe it was composed without any reference whatever to the
Christians. One point of interest, however, in connection with it
is worth relating here. Some have sought to identify the author of
it, Samuel the Little, with the Apostle Paul, grounded the
conclusion on his original Hebrew name, Saul. They take Paulus as
equal to pusillus, which means “very little” or “the less,”
and answers to the word Hakaton, a term of similar import.
Samuel, however, died a good Jew (see Semachoth, chap. 8), and
Rabbon Gamliel Hazaken and Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah pronounced a
funeral oration at his burial. “His key and his diary were placed
on his coffin, because he had no son to succeed him.” (See also
Sanhedrin, fol. ii, col. 1.)

Eighteen denunciations did Isaiah make against the people of
Israel, and he recovered not his equanimity until he was able to
add, “The child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient,
and the base against the honorable” (Isa. iii. 5).

Chaggigah, fol. 14, col. 1.

The Rabbis have related that there was once a family in
Jerusalem the members of which died off regularly at eighteen years
of age. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai shrewdly guessed that they were
descendants of Eli, regarding whom it is said (1 Sam. ii. 25), “And
all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their
age;” {141} and he accordingly advised them to
devote themselves to the study of the law, as the certain and only
means of neutralizing the curse. They acted upon the advice of the
Rabbi; their lives were in consequence prolonged; and they
thenceforth went by the name of their spiritual father.

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 18, col. 1.

Eighteen handbreadths was the height of the golden
candlestick.

Menachoth, fol. 28, col. 2.

If a man remain unmarried after the age of twenty, his life is a
constant transgression. The Holy One—blessed be
He!—waits until that period to see if one enters the
matrimonial state, and curses his bones if he remain single.

Kiddushin, fol. 29, col. 2.

A woman marrying under twenty years of age will bear till she is
sixty; if she marries at twenty she will bear until she is forty;
if she marries at forty she will not have any family.

Bava Bathra, fol. 119, col. 2.

At twenty pursue the study of the law.

Avoth, chap. 5.

Rabbi Yehudah says the early Pietists used to suffer some twenty
days before death from diarrhoea, the effect of which was to purge
and purify them for the world to come; for it is said, “As the
fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold, so is a man to his
praise” (Prov. xxvii. 21).

Semachoth, chap. 3, mish. 10.

It may not be out of place to append two or three
parallel passages here by way of illustration:—”Bodily
suffering purges away sin” (Berachoth, fol. 5, col. 1). “He
who suffers will not see hell” (Eiruvin, fol. 41, col. 2).
“To die of diarrhoea is an augury for good, for most of the
righteous die of that ailment” (Kethuboth, fol. 103, col. 2,
and elsewhere).

The bathing season at (the hot baths of) Dimsis lasted
twenty-one days.

Shabbath, fol. 147, col. 2.

A fowl hatches in twenty-one days, and the almond tree ripens
its fruit in twenty-one days.

Bechoroth, fol. 8, col. 1.

Rabbi Levi says the realization of a good dream may be hopefully
expected for twenty-two years; for it is written (Gen. xxxvii. 2),
“These are the generations of Jacob, {142} Joseph being seventeen
years old when he had the dreams.” And it is written also (Gen.
xli. 46), “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before
Pharaoh,” etc. From seventeen to thirty are thirteen, to which add
the seven years of plenty and the two years of famine, which make
the sum total of twenty-two.

Berachoth, fol. 55, col. 2.

In the pages which precede and follow the above
quotation there is much that is interesting on the subject of
dreams and their interpretation, and one is strongly tempted to
append selections, but we refrain in order to make room for a
prayer which occurs in the morning service for the various
festivals, and is given in the preceding context:—”Sovereign
of the Universe! I am thine, and my dreams are thine. I have
dreamed a dream, but know not what it portendeth. May it be
acceptable in Thy presence, O Lord my God, and the God of my
fathers, that all my dreams concerning myself and concerning all
Israel may be for my good. Whether I have dreamt concerning myself,
or whether I have dreamt concerning others, or whether others have
dreamt concerning me, if they be good, strengthen and fortify them,
that they may be accomplished in me, as were the dreams of the
righteous Joseph; and if they require cure, heal them as Thou didst
Hezekiah, king of Judah, from his sickness; as Miriam the
prophetess from her leprosy, and Naaman from his leprosy; as the
bitter waters of Marah by the hands of our legislator Moses, and
those of Jericho by the hands of Elisha. And as Thou wast pleased
to turn the curse of Balaam, the son of Beor, to a blessing, be
pleased to convert all my dreams concerning me and all Israel to a
good end. Oh, guard me; let me be acceptable to Thee, and grant me
life. Amen.” (The translation of this prayer is borrowed from the
Jewish liturgy.)

Rabbi Levi said, “Come and see how unlike the character of the
Holy One—blessed be He!—is to that of those who inherit
the flesh and blood of humanity. God blessed Israel with twenty-two
benedictions and cursed them with eight curses (Lev. xxvi. 3-13,
xv. 43). But Moses, our Rabbi, blessed them with eight benedictions
and cursed them with twenty-two imprecations” (see Deut. xxviii.
1-4, xv. 68).

Bava Bathra, fol. 59, col. i.

Once as they were journeying to Chesib (in Palestine), some of
Rabbi Akiva’s disciples were overtaken by a band of robbers, who
demanded to know where they were going to. “We are going to Acco,”
was the reply; but on arriving at Chesib, they went no farther. The
robbers {143} then asked them who they were?
“Disciples of Rabbi Akiva,” they replied. Upon hearing this the
robbers exclaimed, “Blessed surely is Rabbi Akiva and his disciples
too, for no man can ever do them any harm.” Once as Rabbi Menasi
was traveling to Thurtha (in Babylonia), some thieves surprised him
on the road and asked him where he was bound for. “For Pumbeditha,”
was the reply; but upon reaching Thurtha, he stayed and went no
farther. The highwaymen, thus balked, retorted, “Thou art the
disciple of Yehuda the deceiver!” “Oh, you know my master, do you?”
said the Rabbi. “Then in the name of God be every one of you
anathematized.” For twenty-two years thereafter they carried on
their nefarious trade, but all their attempts at violence ended
only in disappointment. Then all save one of them came to the Rabbi
and craved his pardon, which was immediately granted. The one who
did not come to confess his guilt and obtain absolution was a
weaver, and he was eventually devoured by a lion. Hence the
proverbs, “If a weaver does not humble himself, he shortens his
life;” and, “Come and see the difference there is between the
thieves of Babylon and the banditti of the land of Israel.”

Avodah Zarah, fol. 26, col. 1.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus was twenty-two years of age when,
contrary to the wishes of his father, he went to Rabbon Yochanan
ben Zaccai purposing to devote himself to the study of the law. By
the time he arrived at Rabbon Yochanan’s he had been without food
four-and-twenty hours, and yet, though repeatedly asked whether he
had had anything to eat, refused to confess he was hungry. His
father having come to know where he was, went one day to the place
on purpose to disinherit him before the assembled Rabbis. It so
happened that Rabbon Yochanan was at that time lecturing before
some of the great men of Jerusalem, and when he saw the father
enter, he pressed Rabbi Eliezer to deliver an exposition. So racy
and cogent were his observations that Rabbon Yochanan rose and
styled him his own Rabbi, and thanked him in the name of the rest
for the instruction he had afforded them. Then the father of Rabbi
Eliezer said, {144} “Rabbis, I came here for the purpose of
disinheriting my son, but now I declare him sole heir of all I
have, to the exclusion of his brothers.”

Avoth d’Rab. Nathan, chap. 6.

The father of Eliezer acts more magnanimously by
his son than does the father of St. Francis. Like the Rabbi, as Mr.
Ruskin relates in his “Mornings in Florence,” St. Francis, one of
whose three great virtues was obedience, “begins his spiritual life
by quarreling with his father. He ‘commercially invests’ some of
his father’s goods in charity. His father objects to that
investment, on which St. Francis runs away, taking what he can find
about the house along with him. His father follows to claim his
property, but finds it is all gone already, and that St. Francis
has made friends with the Bishop of Assisi. His father flies into
an indecent passion, and declares he will disinherit him; on which
St. Francis, then and there, takes all his clothes off, throws them
frantically in his father’s face, and says he has nothing more to
do with clothes or father.”

Not the same strict scrutiny is required in money matters as in
cases of capital punishment; for it is said (Lev. xxiv. 23), “Ye
shall have one manner of law.” What distinction is there made
between them? With regard to money matters three judges are deemed
sufficient, while in cases of capital offense twenty-three are
required, etc.

Sanhedrin, fol. 32, col. 1.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, “In twenty-four cases doth the
tribunal excommunicate for the honor of a Rabbi, and all are
explained in our Mishna.” Rabbi Elazer interposed and asked, “Where
are they?” The reply was, “Go and seek, and thou shalt find.” He
went accordingly and sought, but found only three—the case of
the man who lightly esteems the washing of hands; of him who
whispers evil behind the bier of a disciple of the wise; and of him
who behaves haughtily toward the Most High.

Berachoth, fol. 19, col. 1.

There are three degrees of excommunication,
i.e., separation, exclusion, and execration. That mentioned
in the above extract is of the lowest degree, and lasts never less
than thirty days. The second degree of excommunication is a
prolongation of the first by thirty days more. The third or highest
degree lasts for an indefinite time. See Moed Katon, fol. 17, col.
1; Shevuoth, fol. 36, col. 1; and consult Index II. appended.

A certain matron once said to Rabbi Yehuda ben Elaei, “Thy face
is like that of one who breeds pigs and lends {145} money on
usury.” He replied, “These offices are forbidden me by the rules of
my religion, but between my residence and the academy there are
twenty-four latrinæ; these I regularly visit as I need.”

Berachoth, fol. 55, col. 1.

The Rabbi meant to say that paying attention to the
regular action of his excretory organs was the secret of his
healthy looks, and to imply that a disordered stomach is the root
of most diseases,—a physiological opinion well worthy of
regard by us moderns.

Rav Birim says that the venerable Rav Benaah once went to all
the interpreters of dreams in Jerusalem, twenty-four in number.
Every one of them gave a different interpretation, and each was
fulfilled; which substantiates the saying that it is the
interpretation and not the dream that comes true.

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.

Twenty-four fasts were observed by the men of the Great
Synagogue, in order that the writers of the books, phylacteries,
and Mezuzahs might not grow rich, lest in becoming rich they might
be tempted not to write any more.

P’sachim, fol. 50, col. 2.

When Solomon was desirous of conveying the Ark into the Temple,
the doors shut themselves of their own accord against him. He
recited twenty-four psalms, yet they opened not. In vain he cried,
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates” (Ps. xxiv. 9). But when he prayed,
“O Lord God, turn not Thy face away from Thine anointed; remember
the mercies of David, Thy servant” (2 Chron. vi. 42), then the
gates flew open at once. Then the enemies of David turned black in
the face, for all knew by this that God had pardoned David’s
transgression with Bathseheba.

Moed Katon, fol. 9, col. 1.

In the Midrash Rabbah (Devarim, chap. 15) the same
story is told, with this additional circumstance among others, that
a sacred respect was paid to the gates when the Temple was sacked
at the time of the Captivity. When the glorious vessels and
furniture of the Temple were being carried away into Babylon, the
gates, which were so zealous for the glory of God, were buried on
the spot (see Lam. ii. 9), there to await the restoration of
Israel. This romantic episode is alluded to in the closing service
for the Day of Atonement.

There are twenty-four species of unclean birds, but the clean
birds are innumerable.

Chullin, fol. 63, col. 2.

In twenty-four places priests are called Levites, and this is
one of them (Ezek. xliv. 15), “But the priests, the Levites, the
sons of Zadok.”

Tamid, fol. 27, col. 1.

There are twenty-four extremities of members in the human body
which do not suffer defilement in the case of diseased flesh (see
Lev. xiii. 10, 24). The tip-ends of the fingers and toes, the edges
of the ears, the tip of the nose, etc.

Negaim, chap. 6, mish. 7.

Twenty-five children is the highest number there should be in a
class for elementary instruction. There should be an assistant
appointed, if there be forty in number; and if fifty, there should
be two competent teachers. Rava says, “If there be two teachers in
a place, one teaching the children more than the other, the one
that teaches less is not to be dismissed, because if so, the other
is liable to lapse into negligence also.” Rav Deimi of Nehardaa, on
the other hand, thinks the dismissal of the former will make the
latter all the more eager to teach more, both out of fear lest he
also be dismissed, and out of gratitude that he has been preferred
to the other. Mar says, “The emulation of the scribes (or teachers)
increaseth wisdom.” Rava also says, “When there are two teachers,
one teaching much but superficially, and one teaching thoroughly
but not so much, the former is to be preferred, for the children
will, in the long run, improve most by learning much.” Rav Deimi of
Nehardaa, however, thinks the latter is to be preferred, for a
mistake or an error once learned is difficult to unlearn; as it is
written in 1 Kings xi. 16, “For six months did Joab remain there
with all Israel, until he cut off every male in Edom.” When David
asked Joab why he killed only the males and not the females, he
replied, “Because it is written in Deut. xxv. 19, ‘Thou shalt blot
out the male portion of Amalek.'” “But,” said David, “we read ‘the
remembrance of Amalek.'” To this Joab replied, “My teacher taught
me to read zachar and not zeichar,” i.e., male, and not
remembrance. The teacher of Joab was sent for; and being found
guilty of having taught his pupil in a superficial manner, he was
condemned to be beheaded. The poor teacher pleaded in vain for his
life, {147} for the king’s judgment was based on
Scripture (Jer. xlviii. 10), “Cursed be he that doeth the work of
the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword
from blood.”

Bava Bathra, fol. 21, col. 1.

The Romans faithfully observed their compact with Israel for
twenty-six years. After that time they began to oppress them.

Avoda Zarah, fol. 8, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that a small salt fish will cause death
if partaken of after seven, seventeen, or twenty-seven days; some
say after twenty-three days. This is said with reference to
half-cooked fish, but when properly cooked there is no harm in it.
Neither does any harm result from eating half-cooked fish, if
strong drink be taken after it.

Berachoth, fol. 44, col. 2.

On the twenty-eighth day of Adar there came good news to the
Jews. The Roman Government had passed a decree ordaining that they
should neither study the law, nor circumcise their children, nor
observe the Sabbath-days. Yehudah ben Shamua and his associates
went to consult a certain matron, whom all the magnates of Rome
were in the habit of visiting. She advised them to come at night
and raise a loud outcry against the decree they complained of. They
did so, and cried, “O heavens! are we not your brethren? are we not
the children of one mother?” (Alluding to Rebekah, the mother of
Jacob and Esau.) “Wherein are we worse than all other nations and
tongues, that you should oppress us with such harsh decrees?”
Thereupon the decrees were revoked; to commemorate which the Jews
established a festival.

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 19, col. 1.

The renewal of the moon comes round in not less than twenty-nine
days and a half and forty minutes.

Ibid., fol. 25, col. 1.

Rav Mari reports that Rabbi Yochanan had said, “He who indulges
in the practice of eating lentils once in thirty days keeps away
quinsy, but they are not good to be eaten regularly because by them
the breath is corrupted.” He used also to say that mustard eaten
once in thirty days drives away sickness, but if taken every day
the action of the heart is apt to be affected.

Berachoth, fol. 40, col. 1.

He who eats unripe dates and does not wash his hands will for
thirty day be in constant fear, without knowing why, of something
untoward happening.

P’sachim, fol. 111, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that the lighter kind of excommunication
is not to last less than thirty days, and censure not less than
seven. The latter is inferred from what is said in Num. xii. 14,
“If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed
seven days?”

Moed Katon, fol. 16, col. 1.

If we meet a friend during any of the thirty days of his
mourning for a deceased relative, we must condole with him but not
salute him; but after that time he may be saluted but not condoled
with. If a man (because he has no family) re-marries within thirty
days of the death of his wife, he should not be condoled with at
home (lest it might hurt the feelings of his new partner); but if
met with out of doors, he should be addressed in an undertone of
voice, accompanied with a slight inclination of the head.

Ibid., fol. 21, col. 2.

During the thirty days of mourning for deceased friends or
relatives, the bereaved should not trim their hair; but if they
have lost their parents, they are not to attend to such matters
until their friends force them to do so.

Ibid., fol. 22, col. 2.

“And Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the
multitude of his children” (Esth. v. 11). And how many children
were there? Rav said thirty; ten had died, ten were hanged, and ten
went about begging from door to door. The Rabbis say, “Those that
went about begging from door to door were seventy; for it is
written (1 Sam. ii. 5), ‘They that were full have hired themselves
for bread.'”

Meggillah, fol. 15, col. 2.

When Rabbi Chanena bar Pappa was about to die, the Angel of
Death was told to go and render him some friendly service. He
accordingly went and made himself known to him. The Rabbi requested
him to leave him for thirty days, until he had repeated what he had
been learning; for it is said, “Blessed is he who comes here with
his studies {149} in his hand.” He accordingly left, and
at the expiration of thirty days returned to him. The Rabbi then
asked to be shown his place in Paradise, and the Angel of Death
consented to show him while life was still in him. Then said the
Rabbi, “Lend me thy sword, lest thou surprise me on the road and
cheat me of my expectation.” To this the Angel of Death said, “Dost
thou mean to serve me as thy friend Rabbi Yoshua did?” and he
declined to intrust the sword to the Rabbi.

Kethuboth, fol. 77, col. 2.

If a man says to a woman, “Thou art betrothed to me after thirty
days,” and in the interim another comes and betroths her, she is
the second suitor’s.

Kiddushin, fol. 58, col 2.

If one finds a scroll, he may peruse it once in thirty days, but
he must not teach out of it, nor may another join him in reading
it; if he does not know how to read, he must unroll it. If a
garment be found, it should be shaken and spread out once in thirty
days, for its own sake (to preserve it), but not for display.
Silver and copper articles should be used to take care of them, but
not for the sake of ornament. Gold and glass vessels he should not
meddle with—till the coming of Elijah.

Bava Metzia, fol. 29, col. 2.

Rabbi Zira so inured his body (to endurance) that the fire of
Gehenna had no power over it. Every thirty days he experimented on
himself, ascending a fiery furnace, and finally sitting down in the
midst of it without being affected by the fire. One day, however,
as the Rabbis fixed their eyes upon him, his hips became singed,
and from that day onward he was noted in Jewry as the little man
with the singed hips.

Ibid., fol. 85, col. 1.

An Arab once said to Rabbah bar Channah, “Come and I will show
thee the place where Korah and his accomplices were swallowed up.”
“There,” says the Rabbi, “I observed smoke coming out from two
cracks in the ground. Into one of these he inserted some wool tied
on to the end of his spear, and when he drew it out again it was
scorched. Then he bade me listen. I did so, and as I listened heard
them groan out, ‘Moses and his law are {150} true, but
we are liars.’ The Arab then told me that they come round to this
place once in every thirty days, being stirred about in the
hell-surge like meat in the boiling caldron.”

Bava Bathra, fol. 74, col. 1.

Rabbi Yochanan, in expounding Isa. liv. 12, said, “The Holy
One—blessed be He!—will bring precious stones and
pearls, each measuring thirty cubits by thirty, and polishing them
down to twenty cubits by ten, will place them in the gates of
Jerusalem.” A certain disciple contemptuously observed, “No one has
ever yet seen a precious stone as large as a small bird’s egg, and
is it likely that such immense ones as these have any existence?”
He happened one day after this to go forth on a voyage, and there
in the sea he saw the angels quarrying precious stones and pearls
like those his Rabbi had told him of, and upon inquiry he learned
that they were intended for the gates of Jerusalem. On his return
he went straight to Rabbi Yochanan and told him what he had seen
and heard.

“Raca!” said the latter, “hadst thou not seen them thou wouldst
have kept on deriding the words of the wise!” Then fixing his gaze
intently upon him, he with the glance of his eye reduced to a heap
of bones the carcass of his body.

Ibid., fol. 75, col. 1.

He who lends unconditionally a sum of money to his neighbor is
not entitled to demand it back within thirty days thereafter.

Maccoth, fol. 3, col. 2.

If a man has lost a relative, he is forbidden to engage in
business until thirty days after the death. In the case of the
decease of a father or a mother, he is not to resume work until his
friends rebuke him and urge him to return.

Semachoth, chap. 9.

It is unlawful for one to enter a banqueting-house for thirty
days after the death of a relative; but he must refrain from so
doing for twelve months after the demise of either father or
mother, unless on the behest of some higher requirement of
piety.

Ibid.

But I know not whether there are thirty righteous men here and
fifteen in the land of Israel, or vice versâ.

Chullin, fol. 92, col. 1.

Thirty days in a year are equivalent to a whole year.

Niddah, fol. 44, col. 2.

“Moses, thou didst say unto me, ‘What is Thy name?’ And now thou
dost say, ‘Neither hast Thou delivered Thy people at all.’ Now
shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh (Exod. v. 23, vi. 1), but
not what I am about to do to the thirty-one kings.”

Sanhedrin, fol. III, col. 1.

When Rav Deimi arrived at Babylon, he reported that the Romans
had fought thirty-two battles with the Greeks without once
conquering them, until they allied themselves with Israel, on the
stipulation that where Rome appointed the commanding officers the
Jews should appoint the governors, and vice versâ.

Avodah Zarah, fol. 8, col. 2.

Manasseh did penance thirty-three years.

Sanhedrin, fol. 103, col. 1.

Balaam was thirty-three years of age when Phineas, the robber,
slew him.

Ibid., fol. 106, col. 2.

For thirty-four years the kingdom of Persia lasted
contemporaneously with the Temple.

Avodah Zarah, fol. 9, col. 1.

Abaii has said, “There are never fewer than thirty-six righteous
men in every generation who receive the presence of the Shechinah;
for it is said (Isa. xxx. 18), ‘Blessed are all those who wait upon
Him.'” The numerical value (by Gematria) of Him, is thirty-six.

Sanhedrin, fol. 97, col. 2.

The sons of Esau, of Ishmael, and of Keturah went on purpose to
dispute the burial (of Jacob); but when they saw that Joseph had
placed his crown upon the coffin, they did the same with theirs.
There were thirty-six crowns in all, tradition says. “And they
mourned with a great and very sore lamentation.” Even the very
horses and asses joined in it, we are told. On arriving at the Cave
of Machpelah, Esau once more protested, and said, “Adam and Eve,
Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, are all buried here. Jacob
disposed of his share when he buried Leah in it, and the remaining
one belongs to me.” “But thou didst sell thy share with thy
birthright,” remonstrated the sons of Jacob. “Nay,” rejoined Esau,
“that did not include my {152} share in the burial-place.” “Indeed
it did,” they argued, “for our father, just before he died, said
(Gen. l. 5), ‘In my grave which I have bought for myself.'” “Where
are the title-deeds?” demanded Esau. “In Egypt,” was the answer.
And immediately the swift-footed Naphthali started for the records.
(“So light of foot was he,” says the Book of Jasher, “that he could
go upon the ears of corn without crushing them.”) Hushim, the son
of Dan, being deaf, asked what was the cause of the commotion. On
being told what it was, he snatched up a club and smote Esau so
hard that his eyes dropped out and fell upon the feet of Jacob; at
which Jacob opened his eyes and grimly smiled. This is that which
is written (Ps. lviii. 10), “The righteous shall rejoice when he
sees vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.”
Then Rebekah’s prophecy came to pass (Gen. xxvii. 45), “Why shall I
be deprived also of you both in one day?” For although they did not
both die on the same day, they were both buried on the same
day.

Soteh, fol. 13, col. 1.

This story slightly varied, is repeated in the Book
of Jasher and in the Targum of Ben Uzziel.

The principal works of the hand are forty save one:—To
sow, to plow, to reap, to bind in sheaves, to thrash, to winnow, to
sift corn, to grind, to bolt meal, to knead, to bake, to shear, to
wash wool, to comb wool, to dye it, to spin, to warp, to shoot two
threads, to weave two threads, to cut and tie two threads, to tie,
to untie, to sew two stitches, to tear two threads with intent to
sew, to hunt game, to slay, to skin, to salt a hide, to singe, to
tan, to cut up a skin, to write two letters, to scratch out two
letters with intent to write, to build, to pull down, to put out a
fire, to light a fire, to smite with a hammer, to convey from one
Reshuth [a private property in opposition to a public] to
another.

Shabbath, fol. 73, col. 1.

King Yanai had a single tree on the royal mound, whence once a
month they collected forty seahs (about fifteen bushels) of young
pigeons of three different breeds.

Berachoth, fol. 44, col. 1.

Forty years before the destruction of the Temple the Sanhedrin
were exiled, and they sat in the Halls of Commerce.

Shabbath, fol. 15, col. 1.

Until one is forty eating is more advantageous than drinking.
After that age the rule is reversed.

Ibid., fol. 152, col. 1.

The Rabbis have taught that during the forty years in which
Simeon the Just officiated in the Temple the lot always fell on the
right (see Lev. xvi. 8-10). After that time it sometimes fell on
the right and sometimes on the left. The crimson band also, which
in his time had always turned white, after that period sometimes
turned white, and at others it did not change color at all.

Yoma, fol. 39, col. 1.

The Rabbis have taught:—Forty years before the destruction
of the Temple the lot did not fall on the right, and the crimson
band did not turn white; the light in the west did not burn, and
the gates of the Temple opened of themselves, so that Rabbi
Yochanan ben Zacchai rebuked them, and said, “O Temple! Temple! why
art thou dismayed? I know thy end will be that thou shalt be
destroyed, for Zachariah the son of Iddo has already predicted
respecting thee (Zech. xi. i), ‘Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the
fire may devour thy cedars.'”

Ibid., fol. 39, col. 2.

During the forty years that Israel were in the wilderness there
was not a midnight in which the north wind did not blow.

Yevamoth, fol. 71, col. 1.

Rabbi Zadok fasted forty years that Jerusalem might not be
destroyed, and so emaciated was he, that when he ate anything it
might be seen going down his throat.

Gittin, fol. 56, col. 1.

Forty days before the formation of a child a Bath Kol proclaims,
“The daughter of so-and-so shall marry the son of so-and-so; the
premises of so-and-so shall be the property of so-and-so.”

Soteh, fol. 2, col. 1.

Rav Hunna and Rav Chasda were so angry with one another that
they did not meet for forty years. After that {154} Rav
Chasda fasted forty days for having annoyed Rav Hunna, and Rav
Hunna forty days for having suspected Rav Chasda.

Bava Metzia, fol. 33, col. 1.

A female who marries at forty will never have any children.

He who eats black cummin the weight of a denarius will have his
heart torn out; so also will he who eats forty eggs or forty nuts,
or a quarter of honey.

Tract Calah.

He that cooks in milk the nerve Nashe on a yearly festival, and
then eats it, receives five times forty stripes save one, etc.

Baitza, fol. 12, col. 1.

He who passes forty consecutive days without suffering some
affliction has received his good reward in his lifetime (cf.
Luke xvi. 25).

Erachin, fol. 16, col. 2.

If a bath contain forty measures of water and some mud, people
may, according to Rabbi Elazar, immerse themselves in the water of
it, but not in the mud; while Rabbi Yehoshua says they may do so in
both.

Mikvaoth, chap. ii. 10.

Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav:—The Divine name,
which consists of forty-two letters, is revealed only to him who is
prudent and meek, who has reached the meridian of life, is not
prone to wrath, not given to drink, and not revengeful. He that
knows that name, and acts circumspectly in regard to it, and
retains it sacredly, is beloved in heaven and esteemed on earth; He
inspires men with reverence, and is heir both to the world that now
is and that which is to come.

Kiddushin, fol. 71, col. 1.

A man should always devote himself to the study of the law and
to the practice of good deeds, even if he does not do so for their
own sake, as self-satisfied performance may follow in due course.
Thus, in recompense for the forty-two sacrifices he offered, Balak
was accounted worthy to become the ancestor of Ruth. Rav Yossi bar
Hunna has said, Ruth was the daughter of Eglon, the grandson of
Balak, king of Moab.

Sanhedrin, fol. 105, col. 2.

These are the forty-five righteous men for whose sake the world
is preserved.

Chullin, fol. 92, col. 1.

Rabbi Meir had a disciple named Sumchus, who in every case
assigned forty-eight reasons why one thing should be called clean
and why another should be called unclean, though Scripture declared
the contrary. (A striking illustration of Rabbinical
ingenuity!)

Eiruvin, fol. 13, col. 2.

Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses prophesied unto
Israel, and they have neither diminished nor added to that which is
written in the law, except the reading of the Book of Esther.

Megillah, fol. 14, col. 1.

The Rabbis teach that in future (in the days of the
Messiah) all Scripture will be abolished except the Book of Esther,
also all festivals except the feast of Purim. (See Menorath
Hamaor, fol. 135, col. 1.)

By forty-eight things the law is acquired. These are study,
attention, careful conversation, mental discernment, solicitude,
reverential fear, meekness, geniality of soul, purity, attention to
the wise, mutual discussion, debating, sedateness, learning in the
Scripture and the Mishna, not dabbling in commerce, self-denial,
moderation in sleep, aversion to gossip, etc., etc.

Avoth, chap. 6.

When God gave the law to Moses, He assigned forty-nine reasons
in every case for pronouncing one thing unclean and as many for
pronouncing other things clean.

Sophrim, chap. 16, mish. 6.

He that has fifty zouzim, and trades therewith, may not glean
what is left in the corner of the field (Lev. xix. 9). He that
takes it, and has no right to it, will come to want before the day
of his departure. And if one who is entitled to it leaves it to
others more needy, before he dies he will not only be able to
support himself, but be a stay to others.

Peah, chap. 8, mish. 9.

Fifty measures of understanding were created in the world, and
all except one were given to Moses; as it is said (Ps. viii. 5),
“Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels.”

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 21, col, 2.

Poverty in a house is harder to bear than fifty plagues.

Bava Bathra, fol 116, col. 1.

The above saying is based on Job xix. 21, compared
with Exod. viii. 19.

For fifty-two years no man traveled through the land of
Judea.

Yoma. fol. 54, col. 1.

Black cummin is one of the sixty deadly drugs.

Berachoth, fol. 40, col. 1.

Ulla and Rav Chasda were once traveling together, when they came
up to the gate of the house of Rav Chena bar Chenelai. At sight of
it Rav Chasda stooped and sighed. “Why sighest thou?” asked Ulla,
“seeing, as Rav says, sighing breaks the body in halves; for it is
said (Ezek. xxi. 6), ‘sigh, therefore, O son of man, with the
breaking of thy loins;’ and Rabbi Yochanan says a sigh breaks up
the whole constitution; for it is said (Ezek. xxi. 7), ‘And it
shall be when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou
shalt answer, For the tidings because it cometh, and the whole
heart shall melt,'” etc. To this Rav Chasda replied, “How can I
help sighing over this house, where sixty bakers used to be
employed during the day, and sixty during the night, to make bread
for the poor and needy; and Rav Chena had his hand always at his
purse, for he thought the slightest hesitation might cause a poor
but respectable man to blush; and besides he kept four doors open,
one to each quarter of the heavens, so that all might enter and be
satisfied? Over and above this, in time of famine he scattered
wheat and barley abroad, so that they who were ashamed to gather by
day might do so by night; but now this house has fallen into ruin,
and ought I not to sigh?”

Ibid., fol. 58, col. 2.

Egypt is a sixtieth of Ethiopia, Ethiopia a sixtieth of the
world, the world is a sixtieth part of the garden of Eden, the
garden itself is but a sixtieth of Eden, and Eden a sixtieth of
Gehenna. Hence the world in proportion to Gehenna is but as the lid
to a caldron.

P’sachim, fol. 94, col. 1.

They led forth Metatron and struck him sixty bastinadoes with a
cudgel of fire.

Chaggigah, fol. 15, col. 1.

In the context of the foregoing quotation occurs an
anecdote of Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah which is too racy to let pass,
and too characteristic to need note or comment. One day Elisha ben
Abuyah was privileged to pry into Paradise, where he saw the
recording angel Metatron on a seat registering the merits of the
holy of Israel. Struck with astonishment at the sight, he
exclaimed, “Is it not laid down that there is no sitting in heaven,
no shortsightedness or fatigue?” Then Metatron, thus discovered,
was ordered out and flogged with sixty lashes from a fiery scourge.
Smarting with pain, the angel asked and obtained leave to cancel
the merits of the prying Rabbi. One day—it chanced to be on
Yom Kippur and Sabbath—as Elisha was riding along by the wall
where the Holy of Holies once stood, he heard a Bath Kol
proclaiming, “Return, ye backsliding children, but Acher abide thou
in thy sin” (Acher was the Rabbi’s nickname). A faithful disciple
of his hearing this, and bent on reclaiming and reforming him,
invited him to go and hear the lads of a school close by repeat
their lessons. The Rabbi went, and from that to another and
another, until he had gone the round of a dozen seminaries, in the
last of which he called up a lad to repeat a verse who had an
impediment in his speech. The verse happened to be Ps. l. 16, “But
unto the wicked, God saith, Why dost thou declare my law?” Acher
fancied the boy said, and to Elisha (his own name), instead of and
to Rasha, that is, the wicked. This roused the Rabbi into such fury
of passion, that he sprang to his feet, exclaiming, “If I only had
a knife at hand I would cut this boy into a dozen pieces, and send
a piece to each school I have visited!”

A woman of sixty runs after music like a girl of six.

Moed Katon, fol. 9, col. 2.

Rabba, who only studied the law, lived forty years; Abaii, who
both studied the law and exercised benevolence, lived sixty.

Rosh Hashanah, fol. 18, col. 1.

The manna which came down upon Israel was sixty ells deep.

Yoma, fol. 76, col. 1.

It is not right for a man to sleep in the daytime any longer
than a horse sleeps. And how long is the sleep of a horse? Sixty
respirations.

Succah, fol. 26, col. 2.

Abaii says, “When I left Rabbah, I was not at all hungry; but
when I arrived at Meree, they served up before me sixty dishes,
with as many sorts of viands, and I ate half of each, but as for
hotch-potch, which the last dish contained, I ate up all of it, and
would fain have eaten up the dish too.” Abaii said, “This
illustrates the proverb, current {158} among the people, ‘The poor
man is hungry, and does not know when he has eaten enough; or,
there is always room for a tit-bit.'”

Meggillah, fol. 7, col. 2.

There are sixty kinds of wine; the best of all is the red
aromatic wine, and bad white wine is the worst.

Gittin, fol. 70, col. 1.

Samson’s shoulders were sixty ells broad.

Soteh, fol. 10, col. 1.

Ebal and Gerizim were sixty miles from Jordan.

Ibid., fol. 36, col. 1.

One who makes a good breakfast can outstrip sixty runners in a
race (who have not).

Bava Kama, fol. 92, col. 2.

A (hungry) person who looks on while another eats, experiences
sixty unpleasant sensations in his teeth.

Ibid.

His wife made him daily sixty sorts of dainties, and these
restored him again.

Bava Metzia, fol. 84, col. 2.

Rabbi Blazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon, once
vindictively caused a man to be put to death, merely because he had
spoken of him as Vinegar the son of Wine, a round-about way of
reproaching him that he was the bad son of a good father, though it
turned out afterward that the condemned man deserved death for a
crime that he was not known to be guilty of at the time of his
execution; yet the mind of the Rabbi was ill at ease, and he
voluntarily did penance by subjecting himself in a peculiar fashion
to great bodily suffering. Sixty woolen cloths were regularly
spread under him every night, and these were found soaked in the
morning with his profuse perspiration. The result of this was
greater and greater bodily prostration, which his wife strove, as
related above, day after day to repair, detaining him from college,
lest the debates there should prove too much for his weakened
frame. When his wife found that he persisted in courting these
sufferings, and that her tender care, as well as her own patrimony,
were being lavished on him in vain, she tired of her assiduity, and
left him to his fate. And now, waited on by some sailors, who
believed they owed to him deliverance from a watery grave, he was
free to do as he liked. One day, being ministered to by them after
a night’s perspiration of the kind referred to, he went straight to
college, and there decided sixty doubtful cases against the
unanimous dissent of the assembly. Providential circumstances,
which happened afterward, both proved that he was right in his
judgment and that his wife was wrong in suffering her fondness for
him to stand in the way of the performance of his public
duties.

Elijah frequently attended the Rabbi’s seat of instruction, and
once, on the first of a month, he came in later than usual. Rabbi
asked what had kept him so late. Elijah answered, “I have to wake
up Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob one after the other, to wash the hands
of each, and to wait until each has said his prayers and retired to
rest again.” “But,” said Rabbi, “why do they not all get up at the
same time?” The answer was, “Because if they prayed all at once,
their united prayers would hurry on the coming of the Messiah
before the time appointed.” Then said Rabbi, “Are there any such
praying people among us?” Elijah mentioned Rabbi Cheyah and his
sons. Then Rabbi announced a fast, and the Rabbi Cheyah and his
sons came to celebrate it. In the course of repeating the Shemoneh
Esreh [a prayer consisting of eighteen Collects, which is repeated
three times each day] they were about to say, “Thou restoreth life
to the dead” when the world was convulsed, and the question was
asked in heaven, “Who told them the secret?” So Elijah was
bastinadoed sixty strokes with a cudgel of fire. Then he came down
like a fiery bear, and dashing in among the people, scattered the
congregation.

Bava Metzia, fol. 85, col. 2.

When love was strong, we could lie, as it were, on the edge of a
sword; but now, when love is diminished, a bed sixty ells wide is
not broad enough for us.

Sanhedrin, fol. 7, col. 1.

The pig bears in sixty days.

Bechoroth, fol. 8, col. 1.

Sixty iron mines are suspended in the sting of a gnat.

Chullin, fol. 58, col. 2.

An egg once dropped out of the nest of a bird called
Bar-Yuchnei, which deluged sixty cities and swept away three
hundred cedars. The question therefore arose, “Does the bird
generally throw out its eggs?” Rav Ashi replied, “No; that was a
rotten one.”

Bechoroth, fol. 57, col. 2.

Everybody knows why a bride enters the nuptial chamber, but
against him who sullies his lips by talking about it, the decree
for good, though of seventy years’ standing, {160} shall be
reversed into a decree for evil. Rav Chasda says, “Whosoever
disgraces his mouth (by evil communication), Gehenna shall be
deepened for him; for it is said in Prov. xxii. 14, ‘A deep pit for
the mouth of strange words (immoral talk).'” Rav Nachman bar
Yitzchak says, “The same punishment will be inflicted on him who
listens to it and is silent; for it is said (Prov. xxii. 14), ‘And
he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.'”

Shabbath, fol. 33, col. 1.

(Jer. xxiii. 29), “Like a hammer that breaketh the rock in
pieces,” so is every utterance which proceedeth from the mouth of
God, divided though it be into seventy languages.

Ibid., fol. 88, col. 2.

Rabbi Eliezer asked, “For whose benefit were those seventy
bullocks intended?” See Num. xxix. 12-36. For the seventy nations
into which the Gentile world is divided; and Rashi plainly asserts
that the seventy bullocks were intended to atone for them, that
rain might descend all over the world, for on the Feast of
Tabernacles judgment is given respecting rain, etc. Woe to the
Gentile nations for their loss, and they know not what they have
lost! for as long as the Temple existed, the altar made atonement
for them; but now, who is to atone for them?

Succah, fol. 55, col. 2.

Choni, the Maagol, once saw in his travels an old man planting a
carob-tree, and he asked him when he thought the tree would bear
fruit. “After seventy years,” was the reply. “What!” said Choni,
“dost thou expect to live seventy years and eat the fruit of thy
labor?” “I did not find the world desolate when I entered it,” said
the old man; “and as my fathers planted for me before I was born,
so I plant for those that will come after me.”

Taanith, fol. 23, col. 1.

Mordecai was one of those who sat in the hall of the Temple, and
he knew seventy languages.

Megillah, fol. 13, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught:—During a prosperous year in
Israel, a place that is sown with a single measure of seed produces
five myriad cors of grain. In the tilled districts {161} of Zoan,
one measure of seed produces seventy cors; for we are told that
Rabbi Meir said he himself had witnessed in the vale of Bethshean
an instance of one measure of seed producing seventy cors. And
there is no better land anywhere than the land of Egypt; for it is
said, “As the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.” And
there is no better land in ail Egypt than Zoan, where several kings
have resided; for it is written (Isa. xxx. 4), “His princes were in
Zoan.” In all Israel there was no more unsuitable soil than Hebron,
for it was a burying-place, and yet Hebron was seven times more
prolific than Zoan; for it is written (Num. xiii. 22), “Now Hebron
was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.” For it is said (Gen.
x. 6), “And the sons of Ham, Cush, Mizraim (that is, Egypt), Phut,
and Canaan” (that is, Israel). It must, therefore, mean that it was
seven times more prolific (the verb meaning both to build and to
produce) than Zoan. This is only in the unsuitable soil of the land
of Israel, Hebron, but in the suitable soil (the increase) is five
hundred times. All this applies to a year of average return, but in
one of special prosperity, it is written (Gen. xxvi. 12), “Then
Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an
hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him.” (The word years, is
conveniently overlooked in working out the argument.)

Kethuboth, fol. 112, col. 1.

The astrologers in Egypt said to Pharaoh, “What! shall a slave
whose master bought him for twenty pieces of silver rule over us?”
Pharaoh replied, “But I find him endowed with kingly qualities.”
“If that is the case,” they answered, “he must know seventy
languages.” Then came the angel Gabriel, and taught him seventy
languages.

Soteh, fol. 36, col. 2.

When the leviathan makes the deep boil, the sea does not recover
its calm for seventy years; for it is said (Job xli. 32), “One
would think the deep is to be hoary,” and we cannot take the word
“hoary” to imply a term of less than seventy years.

Bava Bathra, fol. 75, col. 1.

Abba Chalepha Keruya once remarked to Rav Cheyah bar Abba, “The
sum total of Jacob’s family thou findest {162} reckoned
at seventy, whereas the numbers added up make only sixty-nine. How
is that?” Rav Cheyah made answer that the particle in verse 15,
implies that Dinah must have been one of twin-sisters. “But,”
objected the other, “the same particle occurs also in connection
with Benjamin, to say nothing of other instances.” “Alas!” said Rav
Cheyah, “I am possessed of a secret worth knowing, and thou art
trying to worm it out of me.” Then interposed Rav Chama bar
Chanena, “The number may be made up by reckoning Jochebed in, for
of her it is said (Num. xxvi. 59) ‘that her mother bare her to Levi
in Egypt;’ her birth took place in Egypt, though she was conceived
on the journey.”

Bava Bathra, fol. 123, cols, 1, 2.

Rav Yehudah says in the name of Shemuel:—There is yet
another festival in Rome, which is observed only once in seventy
years, and this is the manner of its celebration. They take an
able-bodied man, without physical defect, and cause him to ride
upon the back of a lame one. They dress up the former in the
garments of Adam (such as God made for him in Paradise), and cover
his face with the skin of the face of Rabbi Ishmael, the high
priest, and adorn his neck with a precious stone. They illuminate
the streets, and then lead the two men through the city, a herald
proclaiming before them, “The account of our Lord was false; it is
the brother of our Lord that is the deceiver! He that sees this
festival sees it, and he that does not see it now will never see
it. What advantage to the deceiver is his deception, and to the
crafty his craftiness?” The proclamation finishes up
thus—”Woe to this one when the other shall rise again!”

Avodah Zarah, fol. 11, col. 2.

The Targum Yarushalmi informs us that the Lord God
wrought for Adam and his wife robes of honor from the cast-off skin
of the serpent. We learn elsewhere that Nimrod came into possession
of Adam’s coat through Ham, who stole it from Noah while in the
Ark. The glib tongue of tradition also tells how Esau slew Nimrod
and appropriated the garment, and wore it for luck when hunting;
but that on the day when he went to seek venison at the request of
his dying parent, in his hurry he forgot the embroidered robe of
Adam, and had bad luck in consequence. Then Jacob borrowed the
left-off garment, and kept it for himself. The mask alluded to is
accounted for {163} thus:—The daughter of a Roman
emperor took a fancy to have the skin of Rabbi Ishmael’s face, and
it accordingly, when he was dead, was taken off, and so embalmed as
to retain its features, expression, and complexion, and the Jews
say that it is still preserved among the relics at Rome. The
able-bodied man in this prophetic mystery-play represents Esau, and
the limping man is intended for Jacob. Rome (or Esau) is uppermost
in that ceremonial, but the time is coming when Jacob will rise and
invest himself in the blessings he so craftily obtained the
reversion of.

Rabbi Yochanan said:—None were elected to sit in the High
Council of the Sanhedrin except men of stature, of wisdom, of
imposing appearance, and of mature age; men who knew witchcraft and
seventy languages, in order that the High Council of the Sanhedrin
should have no need of an interpreter.

Sanhedrin, fol. 17, col. 1.

Yehudah and Chiskiyah, the sons of Rabbi Cheyah, once sat down
to a meal before Rabbi (the Holy) without speaking a word. “Give
the boys some wine,” said Rabbi, “that they may have boldness to
speak.” When they had partaken of the wine, they said, “The son of
David will not come until the two patriarchal houses of Israel are
no more,” that is, the head of the Captivity in Babylon and the
Prince in the land of Israel; for it is written (Isa. viii. 14),
“And he shall be for a sanctuary, and for a stone of stumbling and
a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel.” “Why, children,”
said Rabbi (who was patriarch of Tiberias), “you are thrusting
thorns into my eyes.” Rabbi Cheyah said, “Do not be offended at
them. Wine is given with seventy, and so is a secret (the numerical
value of each of these words is seventy); when wine enters the
secret oozes out.”

Ibid., fol. 38, col. 1.

A certain star appears once in seventy years and deceives the
sailors (who guide their vessels by the position of the heavenly
bodies; and this star appears sometimes in the north and sometimes
in the south.—Rashi.)

Horayoth, fol. 10, col. 1.

As eating olive berries causes one to forget things that he has
known for seventy years, so olive oil brings back to the memory
things which happened seventy years before.

Ibid., fol. 13, col. 2,

The outside of the shell of the purple mollusk resembles the sea
in color; its bodily conformation is like that of a fish; it rises
once in seventy years; its blood is used to dye wool purple, and
therefore this color is dear.

Menachoth, fol. 44, col. 1.

The bearing-time of the flat-headed otter lasts seventy years; a
parallel may be found in the carob-tree, from the planting to the
ripening of the pods of which is seventy years.

Berachoth, fol. 8, col. 1.

The Sanhedrin consisted of seventy-one members. It is recorded
that Rabbi Yossi said, “Seldom was there contention in Israel, but
the judicial court of seventy-one sat in the Lishkath-hagazith,
i.e., Paved Hall, and two (ordinary) courts of justice
consisting of twenty-three, one of which sat at the entrance of the
Temple-Mount, and the other at the entrance of the ante-court; and
also (provincial) courts of justice, also comprising twenty-three
members, which held their sessions in all the cities of Israel.
When an Israelite had a question to propose, he asked it first of
the court in his own city. If they understood the case, they
settled the matter; but if not, they applied to the court of the
next city. If the neighboring justices could not decide, they went
together and laid the case in debate before the court which held
its session at the entrance of the Temple-Mount. If these courts,
in turn, failed to solve the problem, they appealed to the court
that sat in the entrance of the ante-court, where a discussion was
entered into upon the moot points of the case; if no decision could
be arrived at, they all referred to the (supreme) court of
seventy-one, where the matter was finally decided by the majority
of votes.”

As the disciples of Shammai and Hillel multiplied who had not
studied the law thoroughly, contentions increased in Israel to such
an extent that the law lost its unity and became as two.

Sanhedrin, fol. 88, col. 2.

The Sanhedrin sat in a semicircle, in order that they might see
one another; and two notaries stood before them, the one on the
right and the other on the left, to record the pros and cons in the
various processes. Rabbi Yehudah says there were three such
notaries, {165} one for the pros, one for the cons, and
one to record both the pros and the cons.

Sanhedrin, fol. 36, col. 2.

The witnesses (in capital cases) were questioned on seven
points, as follows:—In what Shemitah (or septennial cycle)
did it occur? In which year (of the cycle)? In what month? Upon
what day? At what hour? In what place? … The more one questioned
the more he was commended. (See Deut. xiii. 15; A.V., ver. 14.)

Ibid., fol. 40, col. 1.

In connection with the foregoing subject, let us string together
some of the gems of forensic wisdom to be met with in the Talmud. A
score or so of bona fide quotations, respecting judges, criminals
and criminal punishment, and witnesses, will serve to illustrate
this part of our subject.

JUDGES.

The judge, says the Scripture, who for but one hour administers
justice according to true equity, is a partner, as it were, with
God in His work of creation.