merit

"tents" and "streams" — for it is written, "As streams stretched out, as gardens by the river-side, as tents planted by the Lord, as cedars beside the waters" (Num. xxiv. 6)? Its intention is to tell thee that as streams bring a man up from impurity to purity, so do "tents" bring a man up from the scale of guilt to the scale of merit.

Rab asked R. Hiyya : Wherewith do women acquire merit? By sending their children to learn [Torah] in the Synagogue and their husbands to study in the schools of the Rabbis, and waiting for their husbands until they return from the schools of the Rabbis.

Rab and Samuel (another version : R. Johanan and R. Eleazar) [differ in interpretation]. One says : The whole world is nourished through righteousness, but the "stout-hearted" are nourished by the arm. The other says : The whole world is nourished through their merit, but they are not nourished even by their own merit. This is like the statement of Rab Judah who says in the name of Rab :

Rab and Samuel (another version : R. Johanan and R. Eleazar) [differ in interpretation]. One says : The whole world is nourished through righteousness, but the "stout-hearted" are nourished by the arm. The other says : The whole world is nourished through their merit, but they are not nourished even by their own merit. This is like the statement of Rab Judah who says in the name of Rab :

Whom shall we appoint in his stead ? Shall we appoint R. Joshua ? [No ;] he is a party in the incident. Shall we appoint R. 'Akiba ? [No ;] perhaps Rabban Gamaliel will plague him because of his lack of ancestral merit.

Let us, then, appoint R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah, for he is wise, rich, and he is of the tenth generation from Ezra. He is wise, so if anyone puts difficult questions to him, he will be able to reply to him ; and he is rich, so if it be necessary for someone to attend at the palace of the Emperor, he will be qualified to do so ; and he is of the tenth generation from Ezra, so he possesses ancestral merit and Rabban Gamaliel will not be able to worry him on that score." They attended upon R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah and asked him, "Would the master consent to become the head of the College?" He replied, "I will first go and take counsel with the members of my household." He went and consulted his wife, and she said to him,

Some declare that she spoke to him thus : "Thou art not a lord ; neither the Shekinah nor the Holy Spirit is with thee, for thou hast judged me in the scale of guilt and not in the scale of merit. Dost thou not know 'I am a woman of sorrowful spirit'?"

R. Joshua b. Levi also said : A man should always go early to the Synagogue so that he may have the merit of being counted with the first ten ; for even if a hundred come after him, he receives upon himself the reward of them all. The reward of them all, dost imagine? Nay, he means to say, he is given a reward equal to them all.

An epidemic once broke out in Sura, but in the neighborhood of Rab's residence the epidemic did not appear. The people thought that this was due to Rab's merits, but in a dream they were told that the miracle was too slight to be attributed to Rab's great merit and that it happened because of the merits of a man who willingly lent hoe and shovel to a cemetery (for the digging of graves).

A fire once broke out in Droḳeret, but the neighborhood of R. Huna was spared. The people thought that it was due to the merit of R. Huna, but they were told in a dream that R. Huna's merits were too great and the sparing of his neighborhood from fire too small a matter to attribute it to him, and that it was due to the merits of a certain woman who used to heat her oven and place it at the disposal of her neighbors.

Samuel the Little ordered a fast and rain came before sunrise. The people therefore thought that it was due to the merit of the congregation, but Samuel said, I will illustrate the event to you by a simile: The situation is to be compared to that of a slave who asks reward of his master, and the master says to his servants, "Give it to him so that I may hear his voice no more." Another time Samuel the Little ordered a fast and rain came after sunset. The people again thought that it was due to the merits of the congregation, but Samuel said to them, I will explain the matter by a simile: The situation is to be likened unto that of a slave who asks the master for his reward, and the latter says to his servants: "Wait until he shows contrition and is worried, and then you can give it to him." But if this interpretation of Samuel the Little is accepted, how will it ever be possible to recognize the merit of a congregation? It can be recognized if when the reader recites: "He causes the wind to blow," a wind blows, and when he recites: "He causes the rain to descend," rain descends.

Samuel the Little ordered a fast and rain came before sunrise. The people therefore thought that it was due to the merit of the congregation, but Samuel said, I will illustrate the event to you by a simile: The situation is to be compared to that of a slave who asks reward of his master, and the master says to his servants, "Give it to him so that I may hear his voice no more." Another time Samuel the Little ordered a fast and rain came after sunset. The people again thought that it was due to the merits of the congregation, but Samuel said to them, I will explain the matter by a simile: The situation is to be likened unto that of a slave who asks the master for his reward, and the latter says to his servants: "Wait until he shows contrition and is worried, and then you can give it to him." But if this interpretation of Samuel the Little is accepted, how will it ever be possible to recognize the merit of a congregation? It can be recognized if when the reader recites: "He causes the wind to blow," a wind blows, and when he recites: "He causes the rain to descend," rain descends.

Like we learned in a beraisa, Rebbi Yehuda ben Dostai says in the name of Rebbi Shimon ben Shetach, If he ran from Israel to Diaspora, we do not retry his case; if he ran from Diaspora to Israel, we do retry his case due the merit of Israel.

Rabbi Tanhum bar Hanilai: "Because of what did Reuben merit to be counted in saving (hatzalah) first? [I.e. Why is Reuben's city mentioned first in the list of cities of refuge?] Because it was he who opened with saving (hatzalah) first, as it is said: 'Reuben heard [what his brothers had decided to do to Joseph] and he [decided to] save him (va-yetzileihu) from their hands (Genesis 37:21)."

What should [this high priest] have done [he was appointed after the murder]? He should have beseeched [God] for mercy that his judgement should find a merit, and he didn't beseech.

Rebbi Chanania ben Akashia says, Hashem wanted to give merit to Isreal. Therefore he gave them many mitzvas as the Torah says (Isaiah 42,21) "Hashem was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake, To make the teaching great and glorious."