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“Places walled from the days of Joshua bin Nun read on the Fifteenth.” Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: They honored the Land of Israel which was desolate in those days and attached it to the days of Joshua bin Nun. Then should not everybody read on the Fifteenth? Rebbi Abbahu analyzed “dwelling, dwelling”. Since “dwelling” mentioned there refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun, so also “dwelling” mentioned here refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun. Then should not everybody read on the Fourteenth? Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazy analyzed “open, openness.” It is said here “openness” and it said there except for very many open towns. Since “open” mentioned there refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun, so also “openness” mentioned here refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun. It was stated: “Rebbi Joshua ben Qorḥa says, from the days of Ahasuerus. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah said to him, what has the reference to Susa the Fortress to do here? If you are inferring from Susa the Fortress then one should read in Susa the Fortress, but not read at any other place.” It seems that there are three Tannaim. The first Tanna intends to say, from the days of Joshua bin Nun. Another Tanna intends to say, from the days of Ahasuerus. Another Tanna intends to say, “town” in any case. It turns out that you may say that Rebbi Joshua ben Qorha and Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah say the same, only that each one of them infers from a separate argument; and it was stated so: “what is close to a walled place and what is seen with it has the same standing as it.” Rebbi Ayvo bar Naggari in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: For example like Ḥamata. Since he only said “like”, therefore Ḥamata itself was walled in the days of Joshua bin Nun. From the following: Fortified towns, Haṣsiddim, Ṣer, and Ḥamat, Raqqat, and Kinneret. Haṣsiddim is Wheat village, Ṣer is next to it, Ḥamat Ḥamata, Raqqat Tiberias, Kinneret, Genezareth. Rebbi Levi objected, is it not written, the prairie to the Kinneret lake? Were there two Genesareths? Or were there only two autonomous districts, like Bet Yeraḥ and Zinbarai, which are towers on Lake Kinneret, where the fortification was abandoned and taken over by Gentiles. Come and see, there one does not read, outside one reads?

“Places walled from the days of Joshua bin Nun read on the Fifteenth.” Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: They honored the Land of Israel which was desolate in those days and attached it to the days of Joshua bin Nun. Then should not everybody read on the Fifteenth? Rebbi Abbahu analyzed “dwelling, dwelling”. Since “dwelling” mentioned there refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun, so also “dwelling” mentioned here refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun. Then should not everybody read on the Fourteenth? Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazy analyzed “open, openness.” It is said here “openness” and it said there except for very many open towns. Since “open” mentioned there refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun, so also “openness” mentioned here refers to the days of Joshua bin Nun. It was stated: “Rebbi Joshua ben Qorḥa says, from the days of Ahasuerus. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah said to him, what has the reference to Susa the Fortress to do here? If you are inferring from Susa the Fortress then one should read in Susa the Fortress, but not read at any other place.” It seems that there are three Tannaim. The first Tanna intends to say, from the days of Joshua bin Nun. Another Tanna intends to say, from the days of Ahasuerus. Another Tanna intends to say, “town” in any case. It turns out that you may say that Rebbi Joshua ben Qorha and Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah say the same, only that each one of them infers from a separate argument; and it was stated so: “what is close to a walled place and what is seen with it has the same standing as it.” Rebbi Ayvo bar Naggari in the name of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: For example like Ḥamata. Since he only said “like”, therefore Ḥamata itself was walled in the days of Joshua bin Nun. From the following: Fortified towns, Haṣsiddim, Ṣer, and Ḥamat, Raqqat, and Kinneret. Haṣsiddim is Wheat village, Ṣer is next to it, Ḥamat Ḥamata, Raqqat Tiberias, Kinneret, Genezareth. Rebbi Levi objected, is it not written, the prairie to the Kinneret lake? Were there two Genesareths? Or were there only two autonomous districts, like Bet Yeraḥ and Zinbarai, which are towers on Lake Kinneret, where the fortification was abandoned and taken over by Gentiles. Come and see, there one does not read, outside one reads?

Rebbi Aḥa, Rebbi Jehudah ben Levi, Rebbi Joshua ben Levi in the name of Rebbi: Lod and Ge-Haḥarašim were walled from the times of Joshua bin Nun. Why did he not say, “and Ono”? Because it is written. But so is Lod and it was mentioned. But because it was stated, “Gamla, Gedor, Hadid, and Ono, and Jerusalem, and those similar to them.” But is it not written, The sons of Elpa‘al: Ever, and Misham, and Shemer; he built Ono and Lod and its dependencies? Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Yose said, it was destroyed in the times of the Concubine at Gibea; Elpa‘al rebuilt it. That is what is written, also all existing towns they put to the fire. Rebbi Ḥanania in the name of Rebbi Phineas: Lod and Ono are Ge-Haḥarašim.

Rebbi Aḥa, Rebbi Jehudah ben Levi, Rebbi Joshua ben Levi in the name of Rebbi: Lod and Ge-Haḥarašim were walled from the times of Joshua bin Nun. Why did he not say, “and Ono”? Because it is written. But so is Lod and it was mentioned. But because it was stated, “Gamla, Gedor, Hadid, and Ono, and Jerusalem, and those similar to them.” But is it not written, The sons of Elpa‘al: Ever, and Misham, and Shemer; he built Ono and Lod and its dependencies? Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Yose said, it was destroyed in the times of the Concubine at Gibea; Elpa‘al rebuilt it. That is what is written, also all existing towns they put to the fire. Rebbi Ḥanania in the name of Rebbi Phineas: Lod and Ono are Ge-Haḥarašim.

Rebbi Hila said in the name of Rebbi Yannai: He cohabited with her inside of Sepphoris. Rebbi Abba in the name of Rebbi Yannai: If he was seen coming out of Sepphoris and he cohabited, the presumption is that he disqualifies since he cohabited there. What about a thoroughfare? Rebbi Jeremiah bar Abba, Rebbi Yose says: By a majority. The force of Rebbi Jeremiah comes from the following which Rebbi Ḥiyya had said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If a wall fell in a dead-end street populated by Gentiles, but where one Jew lived, one digs there because of the Jew; but in a thoroughfare one follows the majority. And what is the interpretation of what Rebbi Abba said in the name of Rebbi Yannai, if he was seen coming out of Sepphoris and he cohabited, the presumption is that he is disqualified since he cohabited there? In the opinion of Rebbi Jeremiah, if one saw him coming out of a house. In the opinion of Rebbi Yose, even in a thoroughfare. If Sepphoris was locked. Rebbi Yose says, until there is proof. But here, Rebbi Yose says, by a majority! The force of Rebbi Yose comes from the following, which Rebbi Ze‘ira had said: Rebbi [Ḥiyya] (Yose) in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If his [box] (bread) was exchanged at the miller’s, if it was established that an am haäreẓ gave [grain] to be milled there that day, he has to worry; otherwise, he does not have to worry. Should he not worry? What is the difference between this and the Saracens? Was it not stated: “If a group of Saracens one day provisioned themselves from forbidden supplies, then that day becomes a proof for all days.” It is impossible for Saracens not to supply themselves. But here it was not established that the am haäreẓ was milling there that day. And here, I am saying that the disqualified person went to draw water only that day, and one has to worry. And here, Rebbi Hila said in the name of Rebbi Yannai: He cohabited with her inside of Sepphoris. And here, Rebbi Abba said in the name of Rebbi Yannai: If he was seen coming out of Sepphoris and he cohabited, the presumption is that he is disqualified since he cohabited there.

Rebbi Hila said in the name of Rebbi Yannai: He cohabited with her inside of Sepphoris. Rebbi Abba in the name of Rebbi Yannai: If he was seen coming out of Sepphoris and he cohabited, the presumption is that he disqualifies since he cohabited there. What about a thoroughfare? Rebbi Jeremiah bar Abba, Rebbi Yose says: By a majority. The force of Rebbi Jeremiah comes from the following which Rebbi Ḥiyya had said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If a wall fell in a dead-end street populated by Gentiles, but where one Jew lived, one digs there because of the Jew; but in a thoroughfare one follows the majority. And what is the interpretation of what Rebbi Abba said in the name of Rebbi Yannai, if he was seen coming out of Sepphoris and he cohabited, the presumption is that he is disqualified since he cohabited there? In the opinion of Rebbi Jeremiah, if one saw him coming out of a house. In the opinion of Rebbi Yose, even in a thoroughfare. If Sepphoris was locked. Rebbi Yose says, until there is proof. But here, Rebbi Yose says, by a majority! The force of Rebbi Yose comes from the following, which Rebbi Ze‘ira had said: Rebbi [Ḥiyya] (Yose) in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If his [box] (bread) was exchanged at the miller’s, if it was established that an am haäreẓ gave [grain] to be milled there that day, he has to worry; otherwise, he does not have to worry. Should he not worry? What is the difference between this and the Saracens? Was it not stated: “If a group of Saracens one day provisioned themselves from forbidden supplies, then that day becomes a proof for all days.” It is impossible for Saracens not to supply themselves. But here it was not established that the am haäreẓ was milling there that day. And here, I am saying that the disqualified person went to draw water only that day, and one has to worry. And here, Rebbi Hila said in the name of Rebbi Yannai: He cohabited with her inside of Sepphoris. And here, Rebbi Abba said in the name of Rebbi Yannai: If he was seen coming out of Sepphoris and he cohabited, the presumption is that he is disqualified since he cohabited there.

It was stated: A student who gave instructions about practice in front of his teacher has committed a deadly sin. It was stated in the name of Rebbi Eliezer: Nadab and Abihu died only because they determined practice in the presence of their teacher Moses. It happened that a student gave instructions about practice in front of his teacher Rebbi Eliezer. The latter said to his wife Imma Shalom: That one will not live out his week. The week was not completed when he died. His students said to him: Rebbi, you are a prophet. He said to them (Amos 7:14) “I am neither a prophet nor the disciple of a prophet” but I have received a tradition that any student who gives instructions about practice in front of his teacher has committed a deadly sin. It was stated: A student is forbidden to give instructions about practice during the lifetime of his teacher unless he be at a distance of at least 12 mil from him, [the breadth of] the camp of Israel. What is the reason? (Num. 33:49) “They encamped along the Jordan from Bet Hayyešimot to Abel Haššiṭṭim in the plains of Moab”; how far is this? Twelve mil. Like this: Rebbi Tanḥum ben Jeremiah was in Ḥefer; they asked him and he gave instructions about practice. They said to him, did the Rabbi not teach us that a student may not give instructions about practice during the lifetime of his teacher unless he be at a distance of at least 12 mil from him, [the breadth of] the camp of Israel; and your teacher Rebbi Ḥana sits at Sepphoris! He said to them, so it should come over me that I did not know! From that moment on he did no longer give instructions.

Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Simeon bar Abba in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: If somebody sell a cistern, when he handed over its pail [the buyer] took possession. Rebbi Immi in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If somebody sell a house, when [the buyer] stored there, he took possession. Rebbi Jehudah ben Pazi asked, what if he handed over the key? Rebbi Zachariah, son-in-law of Rebbi Levi, said: This is a disagreement between Rebbi Simeon and the Sages, as we have stated there: “If somebody hand over the key to his house to an ‘am ha’areṣ, the house is pure since he handed to him only the guarding of the key.” It was stated: “Rebbi Simeon declares impure.”

There, we have stated: “Ḥallah of the am haäreẓ, food containing heave, food bought with money of the Second Tithe, and the remainders of flour sacrifices are free from demay.”

Bet Hillel said to Bet Shammai, "It once happened that the Elders of Bet Shammai and the Elders of Bet Hillel went to visit R. Johanan b. ha-Horanit and they found him with his head and the greater part of his body in the Sukkah and his table inside his house, but they said nothing to him."

Our Rabbis have taught: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" — that was the reading of the Shema' of R. Judah ha-Nasi'. Rab said to R. Hiyya, "I have never seen Rabbi receive the yoke of the kingdom of heaven upon himself." He replied to him, "Son of princes, at the time when he passed his hands across his face, he received upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven."

Rab Huna b. Berekiah said in the name of R. Eleazar ha-Kappar : Whoever associates the name of Heaven with his trouble, his substance will be doubled for him ; as it is said, "And the Almighty be thy treasure, and precious silver unto thee" (Job xxii. 25).

Rabbi said: Read not hadar but ha-dir; just as the stable contains large and small [animals], perfect and blemished ones, so also [the fruit spoken of must have] large and small, perfect and blemished. But don't other fruits have large and small, perfect and blemished? Rather this is what you should say: Before the small ones come, the large are still existent [on the tree].

R. Abbahu said: Read not hadar, but ha-dar, a fruit which lives upon its tree from year to year. Ben Azzai said: Read not hadar, but hudor for in Greek water is called hudor. Now what fruit is it that grows by every water? Say it is the etrog.

The next day the ammei ha’aretz discovered them and removed them from under the stones, and the priests brought them in and stood them up on the sides of the altar. For the Boethusians do not admit that the beating of the aravah overrides Shabbat.

This dispute is like the one between the following Tannas as we have learned: [The flute players in the Temple] were the slaves of the priests, the words of R. Meir. R. Yose says: They were the families of Beth Ha-Pegarim, and Beth Zipporia who hailed from Emmaus and were married into the priestly stock.

The proper explanation, then, is that our Mishnah is intended as a continuation of the one in the tractate Rosh ha-Shanah, where it is taught: In the feast of Tabernacles the world is judged as to whether it should have rain. In connection with this teaching he informs us here at what time we should begin to mention the Power of rain.

R. 'Ashi said: A scholar who is not hard like iron is not a real scholar, as it is said: "And like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces." Said R. 'Abba to R. 'Ashi, you derive it from that verse, we derive it from the following (Deut. 8.9): "A land whose stones are iron"; do not read 'ābānēha (its stones), but bōnēha (its builders, i.e., the scholars). Said Rabina: It is nevertheless one's duty to train oneself to be gentle, as it is said (Eccl., 11.10): "Remove anger from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh."

R. 'Ashi said: A scholar who is not hard like iron is not a real scholar, as it is said: "And like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces." Said R. 'Abba to R. 'Ashi, you derive it from that verse, we derive it from the following (Deut. 8.9): "A land whose stones are iron"; do not read 'ābānēha (its stones), but bōnēha (its builders, i.e., the scholars). Said Rabina: It is nevertheless one's duty to train oneself to be gentle, as it is said (Eccl., 11.10): "Remove anger from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh."

Said Samuel: He that fasts (for self-affliction) is called a sinner, wherein Samuel agrees with this Baraita: R. Eleazar ha-Kappar Berebi said: Why is it said (Numbers, 6. 11): "And make atonement of him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead"? Against what soul did he sin? It can only mean that he denied himself the enjoyment of wine. Now, if a person who denies himself only the enjoyment of wine is called a sinner, all the more so one who denies himself all the enjoyments of life.

R. Aḳiba happened to come to Ginzak (Gazaka), where he was asked the following questions: Does fasting by hours count or not? When may the wine-vessels of idolaters be used? In what garments did Moses officiate during the seven days of consecration (Lev., 8. 33)? He had no answer and went to the Bet ha-Midrash for information, where he was told: The law is that fasting by hours counts; wine-vessels of idolaters may be used after twelve months; Moses officiated during the seven days of consecration in a white frock. R. Kahana's version is: In a white frock without border.

Said R. Johanan: All his life long this righteous man (Ḥoni) was troubled about this verse (Psalms, 126. 1): "When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream." Did anybody ever sleep seventy years (without interruption)? One day while walking on the road he noticed a man planting a carob-tree. Said Ḥoni to the man: "You know that it takes seventy years before a carob-tree bears fruit; are you so sure that you will live seventy years and eat therefrom?" "I found this world provided with carob-trees," the man replied, "as my ancestors planted them for me, so I plant them for my progeny." Thereupon Ḥoni sat down to eat and was overcome by sleep. As he slept, a grotto was formed around him, so that he was screened off from the human eye, and thus he slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a man gathering carobs from the carob-tree and eating them. "Do you know who planted this carob-tree?" Ḥoni asked. "My grandfather," the man replied. "I must have slept seventy years!" Ḥoni exclaimed. (He saw the many herds that had descended from his she ass.) He then went to his house and inquired whether the son of Ḥoni the Circle-drawer was still alive. He was told that the son was no longer among the living, but that his grandson was still alive. "I am Ḥoni," he said, but the people did not believe him. He betook himself to the Bet ha-Midrash where he heard the scholars say, "Our studies are as clear to us today as they used to be in the times of Ḥoni the Circle-drawer, for when he came to the Bet ha-Midrash he used to explain to the scholars all their difficulties." He then said to them: "I am Ḥoni," but they would not believe him nor would they show him the respect due him. [This grieved him very much], and he therefore prayed to God (that he should die), and he died. Said Raba, hence comes the popular proverb, "either a companion or death!"

Said R. Johanan: All his life long this righteous man (Ḥoni) was troubled about this verse (Psalms, 126. 1): "When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream." Did anybody ever sleep seventy years (without interruption)? One day while walking on the road he noticed a man planting a carob-tree. Said Ḥoni to the man: "You know that it takes seventy years before a carob-tree bears fruit; are you so sure that you will live seventy years and eat therefrom?" "I found this world provided with carob-trees," the man replied, "as my ancestors planted them for me, so I plant them for my progeny." Thereupon Ḥoni sat down to eat and was overcome by sleep. As he slept, a grotto was formed around him, so that he was screened off from the human eye, and thus he slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a man gathering carobs from the carob-tree and eating them. "Do you know who planted this carob-tree?" Ḥoni asked. "My grandfather," the man replied. "I must have slept seventy years!" Ḥoni exclaimed. (He saw the many herds that had descended from his she ass.) He then went to his house and inquired whether the son of Ḥoni the Circle-drawer was still alive. He was told that the son was no longer among the living, but that his grandson was still alive. "I am Ḥoni," he said, but the people did not believe him. He betook himself to the Bet ha-Midrash where he heard the scholars say, "Our studies are as clear to us today as they used to be in the times of Ḥoni the Circle-drawer, for when he came to the Bet ha-Midrash he used to explain to the scholars all their difficulties." He then said to them: "I am Ḥoni," but they would not believe him nor would they show him the respect due him. [This grieved him very much], and he therefore prayed to God (that he should die), and he died. Said Raba, hence comes the popular proverb, "either a companion or death!"

Hanin Ha-Neḥba was the son of the daughter of Ḥoni the Circle-drawer. When the world needed rain, the Rabbis would send school-children to him, who would pull him by the corners of his garments and say to him: "Father, Father! Give us rain!" Said Hanin: "Master of the world! Do it for the sake of these, who do not distinguish between the Father Who gives rain and a father who does not give rain." And rain came. Why was he named Hanin ha-Neḥba? Because (in his modesty) he used to hide himself.

Hanin Ha-Neḥba was the son of the daughter of Ḥoni the Circle-drawer. When the world needed rain, the Rabbis would send school-children to him, who would pull him by the corners of his garments and say to him: "Father, Father! Give us rain!" Said Hanin: "Master of the world! Do it for the sake of these, who do not distinguish between the Father Who gives rain and a father who does not give rain." And rain came. Why was he named Hanin ha-Neḥba? Because (in his modesty) he used to hide himself.

The collectors of charity funds used to hide themselves whenever they saw Eleazar of the village of Bartota, because he was in the habit of giving them everything he happened to possess. One day he was going to the market in order to buy a wedding outfit for his daughter, when the collectors espied him and tried to hide themselves. Eleazar, however, followed them and said: "I adjure you to tell me for what purpose you are collecting?" "For a marriage between an orphaned boy and an orphaned girl," they replied. "By the Service of the Temple! they have precedence over my daughter," exclaimed he, and putting together all that he had, he gave it to them, except one zuz that remained in his possession. For this he bought wheat and deposited it in the granary. Thereupon his wife inquired of her daughter what her father had brought her. "All that he brought he took up to the granary," the daughter replied. The wife then went up to the granary and found it full of wheat, to the extent that it came through the door hinges. When Eleazar returned from the Bet ha-Midrash, she said to him, "Come and see what thy Friend (God) has done for thee!" Said he: "By the service of the Temple! This wheat shall be sacred property and thy share in it shall not be more than that of any among the poor of Israel."

He said to him: This evening you neglected the regular afternoon sacrifice, and now you have neglected the study of the Torah. Joshua replied: For which of them did you come? He answered: I have come now. Straightway, “Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley [ha-emek]” (Joshua 8:9), and R. Yohanan said:

Elazar began his discourse on this with the following text: “By laziness he that lays beams (mekoreh) becomes poor [yimak], and through idleness of the hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18). Through Israel’s laziness in not occupying themselves with Torah, the enemy of the Holy One, blessed be He, became poor. The meaning of “makh” is poor, as it says, “And if he is too makh for your evaluation” (Leviticus 27:8), and mekoreh means only the Holy One, blessed be He, as it says, “Who lays the beams [ha-mekareh] of Your upper chambers in the waters” (Psalms 104:3).

Ravina raised a difficulty: And do we know the meaning of ha-ahashteranim bene ha-ramakhim (Esther 8:10)? Rather we perform the mitzvah of reading the Megillah and proclaiming the miracle. So too they perform the mitzvah of reading the Megillah and proclaiming the miracle.

Ravina raised a difficulty: And do we know the meaning of ha-ahashteranim bene ha-ramakhim (Esther 8:10)? Rather we perform the mitzvah of reading the Megillah and proclaiming the miracle. So too they perform the mitzvah of reading the Megillah and proclaiming the miracle.

It may be presumed that it was R. Joshua b. Levi who said, “the place where Torah is magnified”, since R. Joshua b. Levi said that a synagogue may be turned into a bet ha-midrash; learn from this.

R. Ishmael questioned R. Akiba, when they were walking on the road. He said to him, Thou art one who hast served for twenty-two years Nachum, the man surnamed Gamzu, the man who expounded the meaning of all the particles eth which are in the Law. "Eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz"—what was his exposition of these? He said to him, If the words had been simply shamayim v'eretz, I should have said, shamayim is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. But now that the words are eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz, shamayim means the literal heaven, and eretz the literal earth.

R. Ishmael questioned R. Akiba, when they were walking on the road. He said to him, Thou art one who hast served for twenty-two years Nachum, the man surnamed Gamzu, the man who expounded the meaning of all the particles eth which are in the Law. "Eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz"—what was his exposition of these? He said to him, If the words had been simply shamayim v'eretz, I should have said, shamayim is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. But now that the words are eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz, shamayim means the literal heaven, and eretz the literal earth.

R. Ishmael questioned R. Akiba, when they were walking on the road. He said to him, Thou art one who hast served for twenty-two years Nachum, the man surnamed Gamzu, the man who expounded the meaning of all the particles eth which are in the Law. "Eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz"—what was his exposition of these? He said to him, If the words had been simply shamayim v'eretz, I should have said, shamayim is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. But now that the words are eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz, shamayim means the literal heaven, and eretz the literal earth.

R. Ishmael questioned R. Akiba, when they were walking on the road. He said to him, Thou art one who hast served for twenty-two years Nachum, the man surnamed Gamzu, the man who expounded the meaning of all the particles eth which are in the Law. "Eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz"—what was his exposition of these? He said to him, If the words had been simply shamayim v'eretz, I should have said, shamayim is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. But now that the words are eth ha-shamayim v'eth ha-aretz, shamayim means the literal heaven, and eretz the literal earth.

And why do I find the expression, v'eth ha-aretz? To shew that the heaven preceded the earth. "And the earth was chaos and desolation" (Gen. i. 2). Assuredly He began with heaven at first. What reason then was there for His considering the affairs of the earth? The house of R. Ishmael teaches thus, He is like a king of flesh and blood, who saith to his servants, Rise up early and come to my door. He himself rises early, and finds women and men. Whom does he praise? Him who was under no obligation to rise early, yet did rise early.

But as for the case of transferable offerings, they are transferable as from the first day. For there is a canonical Mishnah, viz., He who has not kept the Feast on the first high holiday of the festival, nevertheless keeps all the festival, even up to the last high holiday (Chag. 9a, i. 5, Beytsah 20b, i. 23, Rosh ha-Shanah 4b, ii. 13). If thou layest hold on much, thou dost not hold it, if thou layest hold on a little, thou holdest it. But with a view to what teaching has the All-merciful One written the Feast of Tabernacles? It is in order to compare it with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As the Feast of Unleavened Bread requires remaining over night, so the Feast of Tabernacles requires remaining over night. And whence do we get that?