peaceful

Ceasing their miserable strain of woe, they took up the subject of their fatherland, singing in praise to God their wonder-working Savior. All groans and all wailing were laid aside. They formed dances as a sign of peaceful joy.

“Hear now,” said he, “in regard to faith. There are two angels with a man—one of righteousness, and the other of iniquity.” And I said to him, “How, sir, am I to know the powers of these, for both angels dwell with me?” “Hear,” said he, “and understand them. The angel of righteousness is gentle and modest, meek and peaceful. When, therefore, he ascends into your heart, forthwith he talks to you of righteousness, purity, chastity, contentment, and of every righteous deed and glorious virtue. When all these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of righteousness is with you. These are the deeds of the angel of righteousness. Trust him, then, and his works. Look now at the works of the angel of iniquity. First, he is wrathful, and bitter, and foolish, and his works are evil, and ruin the servants of God. When, then, he ascends into your heart, know him by his works.” And I said to him, “How, sir, I shall perceive him, I do not know.” “Hear and understand,” said he. “When anger comes upon you, or harshness, know that he is in you; and you will know this to be the case also, when you are attacked by a longing after many transactions, and the richest delicacies, and drunken revels, and divers luxuries, and things improper, and by a hankering after women, and by overreaching, and pride, and blustering, and by whatever is like to these. When these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of iniquity is in you. Now that you know his works, depart from him, and in no respect trust him, because his deeds are evil, and unprofitable to the servants of God. These, then, are the actions of both angels. Understand them, and trust the angel of righteousness; but depart from the angel of iniquity, because his instruction is bad in every deed. For though a man be most faithful, and the thought of this angel ascend into his heart, that man or woman must sin. On the other hand, be a man or woman ever so bad, yet, if the works of the angel of righteousness ascend into his or her heart, he or she must do something good. You see, therefore, that it is good to follow the angel of righteousness, but to bid farewell to the angel of iniquity. “This commandment exhibits the deeds of faith, that you may trust the works of the angel of righteousness, and doing them you may live to God. But believe that the works of the angel of iniquity are hard. If you refuse to do them, you will live to God.”

He became a guide, peaceful and leisurely. He came and spoke the Word as a teacher in places of learning. Those who were wise in their own estimation came up to him to test him, but he confounded them because they were vain. They hated him because they weren’t wise in Truth. After all of them, all the little children came too; theirs is the knowledge of the Father. When they were strengthened, they received teaching about the Father’s expressions. They knew and they were known; they received glory and they gave glory. In their hearts the living Book of the Living was revealed, which was written in the thought and mind [of the] Father, and before the [foundation] of all within his incomprehensibility. This (book) is impossible to take, since it permits the one who takes it to be killed. No one could’ve been revealed among those who'd been entrusted with salvation unless the book had appeared. Because of this, the merciful and faithful Jesus patiently suffered until he took that book, since he knows that his death is life for many.

But if he is peaceful with joy he meeteth the angel of peace, and he leadeth him into eternal life.

Why does such contentiousness inflame us and a fatal obstinacy find favour with us, when we might have a peaceful life by obeying the king?'

And whilst they are meditating these things, Then envy shall arise in those who had not thought aught of themselves And passion shall seize him that is peaceful, And many shall be stirred up in anger to injure many, And they shall rouse up armies in order to shed blood, And in the end they shall perish together with them.

In peaceful faith. And from five loaves of bread

Now after the house is [built] as is fitting and right, let the bishop be appointed, being chosen by all the people according to the will of the Holy Ghost, being without fault, chaste, quiet, mild, without anxiety, watchful, not a money-lover blameless, not quarrelsome, ready to forgive, a teacher, not given to much speaking, a lover of good things, a lover of labour, a lover of widows, a lover of orphans, a lover of the poor, experienced in the mysteries, not lax and distracted in company with this world, peaceful, and in all good things perfect, as one to whom the order and place of God is entrusted. It is good indeed that he be without a wife, but at any rate that he have been the husband of one wife only, so that he may sympathise with the weakness of widows. Let him be appointed when he is of middle age, not a youth.

Let him be in everything as the eye of the Church, with fear admonishing, so that he may be an example to the people of piety Let him admonish thus: Let us arise. Let every one know his place. Let the catechumens depart. See [that] no one polluted, no one slothful [remain]. [Lift] up the eyes of your hearts. The angels are looking on. See [that] he who trusteth not, withdraw. Let us beseech in concord. Let no fornicator, no wrathful man [remain]; if one who is a servant of evil be [here], let him withdraw. See, as children of the light, let us beg [and beseech our Lord and our God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. When the presbyter or bishop beyinneth the prayer, let the people pray and kneel. Then let the deacon say thus: For the peace which is from heaven let us beseech, that the Lord in His mercy may give us peace. For our faith let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto us to keep truly unto the end the faith which is in Him. For harmony and concord let us beseech, that the Lord may keep us together in concord of the Spirit. For patience let us beseech, that the Lord may bestow [upon us patience unto the end in all afflictions. For the Apostles let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to us to please Him, as they also pleased Him, and may make us worthy of their inheritance. For the holy prophets let us beseech, that the Lord may number us with them. For the holy confessors let us beseech, that the Lord God may grant us to fulfil [our course] with the same mind [as they]. For the bishop let us beseech, that our Lord may grant him to us for length of days in faith, rightly dividing the word of truth, and standing at the head of the Church purely and without blame. For the presbyterate let us beseech, that the Lord may not take away from them the spirit of the presbyterate, but bestow on them earnestness and piety until the end. For the deacons let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto them to run a perfect course, and to perfect holiness, and that He may remember their work and their love. For the presbyteresses let us beseech, that the Lord may hear their supplications and keep their hearts perfectly in the grace of the Spirit and help their work. For the subdeacons, readers, deaconesses let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to them to receive a reward in patience. For the faithful laymen let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto them to keep the faith perfectly. For the catechumens let us beseech, that the Lord may grant unto them to be counted worthy of the laver of forgiveness, and may sanctify them with the seal of holiness. For the kingdom let us beseech, that the Lord may bestow upon it tranquillity. For the exalted powers let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to them prudence and the fear of Him. For all the world let us beseech, that the Lord may provide for each one such things as are meet. For those who travel by sea, and those who go on journeys let us beseech, that the Lord may guide them with the right hand of mercy. For those who are persecuted let us beseech, that the Lord may grant to them patience and knowledge, and may bestow on them also a completed labour. For those who have fallen asleep from the Church let us beseech, that the Lord may bestow upon them a place of rest. For those who have fallen let us beseech, that the Lord may not remember their follies unto them, but moderate [His] threats unto them. And let us all also, who need prayer, beseech that the Lord may protect and keep us with the peaceful Spirit. Let us persuade and beseech the Lord, that He may receive our prayers. After the deacon commemorateth, let the bishop make a sign with his hand. Let the deacon say: Let us arise in the Holy Ghost, that, being made wise, we may grow in His grace, boasting in His Name; being built on the foundation of the Apostles, let us beg [and] beseech the Lord that, being persuaded, He may receive our prayers. Then let the bishop complete [the prayer]. And let the people say: Amen.

Let a widow be appointed, being chosen, if for a long time past she have abided without a husband; if though often pressed by men to be married because of the faith she have not been married. But if not, it is not yet right that she should be chosen; but let her be proved for a time, if she be pious, if having children she have brought them up in holiness, if she have not taught them worldly wisdom, if she have made them examples of the holy law and of the Church, if she have loved and honoured strangers, if she have been constant in prayers if she have lived meekly, if she have cheerfully aided those who are afflicted if it have been revealed to the saints about her, if she have not neglected the saints, if she have ministered with all her power, if she be fit to bear and endure the burden, being one who prayeth without ceasing, being perfect in all things, being fervent in spirit, having the eyes of her heart opened in everything, being alway kind, loving innocency, not possessing anything in this world, but alway taking and bearing about the cross, crucifying all evil, by night and by day abiding by the altar, working cheerfully and secretly. If she have one or two or three likeminded in my Name, I am among them. But let her be perfect in the Lord, as one who is visited by the Spirit. Let her do the things which are made known to her with fear and earnestness. Let her instruct those women who do not obey; let her teach those [women] who have not learnt; let her convert those who are foolish; let her instruct them to be grave; Jet her prove the deaconesses; let her make those who enter to know of what sort and who they are; also let her instruct them that they abide. To those who hear let her patiently counsel those things which are proper. To those who are disobedient after three instructions let her not speak. Let her love those who desire to be in virginity or in purity; those who oppose themselves let her correct modestly and quietly. With every one let her be peaceful. Let her privately shut the mouth of those who talk much and idly; but if they do not hear, let her take with her an aged woman, or let her take [it] up to the hearing of the bishop. But in the church let her be silent. In prayer let her be persistent. Let her visit those [women] who are sick; on each first day of the week let her take with her one deacon or two and help them? If she have any possession let her give it for the poor and the faithful. But if she have nothing, let her be helped by thé Church. Let her do no secular work, as it were for a trial. But let her have these works of the Spirit; let her continue in prayers and fasts; let her ask for nothing deep; let her receive those things which the Lord giveth; let her not be anxious for [her] children; let her deliver them to the Church, so that they living in the house of God may be fit for the service of the priesthood Her requests to God will be acceptable; they are the sacrifice and altar of God. For those who have ministered well shall be praised by the archangels. But as for them who are dissolute and raging and drunken, and babblers and curious and evil, that is, those who love pleasures much, the figures of their souls, which stand before the Father of light, perish and are carried to darkness to dwell. or their deeds which are visible, going up before the most High, drag them easily to the pit, so that after this world is changed and passeth away the figures of their souls may stand against them as witnesses, not allowing them to look up. For the figure and type of every soul standeth before God from the foundation of the world. Therefore let her be chosen who can go to meet the holy phials. Of them are the twelve presbyters who praise My Father who is in heaven. These who receive the prayers of every holy soul, offer [them] to the most High [as] a sweet savour.

And I have not yet spoken of the other evils which prevail amongst men, from which even those who have the appearance of philosophers are not speedily freed, for in philosophy there are many pretenders. Nor do I say anything on the point that many such evils are found to exist among those who are neither Jews nor Christians. Of a truth, such evil practices do not at all prevail among Christians, if you properly examine what constitutes a Christian. Or, if any persons of that kind should be discovered, they are at least not to be found among those who frequent the assemblies, and come to the public prayers, without their being excluded from them, unless it should happen, and that rarely, that some one individual of such a character escapes notice in the crowd. We, then, are not worms who assemble together; who take our stand against the Jews on those Scriptures which they believe to be divine, and who show that He who was spoken of in prophecy has come, and that they have been abandoned on account of the greatness of their sins, and that we who have accepted the Word have the highest hopes in God, both because of our faith in Him, and of His ability to receive us into His communion pure from all evil and wickedness of life. If a man, then, should call himself a Jew or a Christian, he would not say without qualification that God had made the whole world, and the vault of heaven for us in particular. But if a man is, as Jesus taught, pure in heart, and meek, and peaceful, and cheerfully submits to dangers for the sake of his religion, such an one might reasonably have confidence in God, and with a full apprehension of the word contained in the prophecies, might say this also: “All these things has God shown beforehand, and announced to us who believe.”

For it is impossible that the good which is the result of accident, or of communication, should be like that good which comes by nature; and yet the former will never be lost by him who, so to speak, partakes of the “living” bread with a view to his own preservation. But if it should fail any one, it must be through his own fault, in being slothful to partake of this “living bread” and “genuine drink,” by means of which the wings, nourished and watered, are fitted for their purpose, even according to the saying of Solomon, the wisest of men, concerning the truly rich man, that “he made to himself wings like an eagle, and returns to the house of his patron.” For it became God, who knows how to turn to proper account even those who in their wickedness have apostatized from Him, to place wickedness of this sort in some part of the universe, and to appoint a training-school of virtue, wherein those must exercise themselves who would desire to recover in a “lawful manner” the possession [which they had lost]; in order that being tested, like gold in the fire, by the wickedness of these, and having exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent anything base injuring their rational nature, they may appear deserving of an ascent to divine things, and may be elevated by the Word to the blessedness which is above all things, and so to speak, to the very summit of goodness. Now he who in the Hebrew language is named Satan, and by some Satanas—as being more in conformity with the genius of the Greek language—signifies, when translated into Greek, “adversary.” But every one who prefers vice and a vicious life, is (because acting in a manner contrary to virtue) Satanas, that is, an “adversary” to the Son of God, who is righteousness, and truth, and wisdom. With more propriety, however, is he called “adversary,” who was the first among those that were living a peaceful and happy life to lose his wings, and to fall from blessedness; he who, according to Ezekiel, walked faultlessly in all his ways, “until iniquity was found in him,” and who being the “seal of resemblance” and the “crown of beauty” in the paradise of God, being filled as it were with good things, fell into destruction, in accordance with the word which said to him in a mystic sense: “Thou hast fallen into destruction, and shalt not abide for ever.” We have ventured somewhat rashly to make these few remarks, although in so doing we have added nothing of importance to this treatise. If any one, however, who has leisure for the examination of the sacred writings, should collect together from all sources and form into one body of doctrine what is recorded concerning the origin of evil, and the manner of its dissolution, he would see that the views of Moses and the prophets regarding Satan had not been even dreamed of either by Celsus or any one of those whose soul had been dragged down, and torn away from God, and from right views of Him, and from His word, by this wicked demon.

He then goes on to rail against us after the manner of old wives. “You,” says he, “mock and revile the statues of our gods; but if you had reviled Bacchus or Hercules in person, you would not perhaps have done so with impunity. But those who crucified your God when present among men, suffered nothing for it, either at the time or during the whole of their lives. And what new thing has there happened since then to make us believe that he was not an impostor, but the Son of God? And forsooth, he who sent his Son with certain instructions for mankind, allowed him to be thus cruelly treated, and his instructions to perish with him, without ever during all this long time showing the slightest concern. What father was ever so inhuman? Perhaps, indeed, you may say that he suffered so much, because it was his wish to bear what came to him. But it is open to those whom you maliciously revile, to adopt the same language, and say that they wish to be reviled, and therefore they bear it with patience; for it is best to deal equally with both sides,—although these [gods] severely punish the scorner, so that he must either flee and hide himself, or be taken and perish.” Now to these statements I would answer that we revile no one, for we believe that “revilers will not inherit the kingdom of God.” And we read, “Bless them that curse you; bless, and curse not;” also, “Being reviled, we bless.” And even although the abuse which we pour upon another may seem to have some excuse in the wrong which we have received from him, yet such abuse is not allowed by the word of God. And how much more ought we to abstain from reviling others, when we consider what a great folly it is! And it is equally foolish to apply abusive language to stone or gold or silver, turned into what is supposed to be the form of God by those who have no knowledge of God. Accordingly, we throw ridicule not upon lifeless images, but upon those only who worship them. Moreover, if certain demons reside in certain images, and one of them passes for Bacchus, another for Hercules, we do not vilify them: for, on the one hand, it would be useless; and, on the other, it does not become one who is meek, and peaceful, and gentle in spirit, and who has learnt that no one among men or demons is to be reviled, however wicked he may be.

Should it then happen that thou hast undertaken any secret operation for conversing with or conjuring spirits, in which the day and the hour are not marked, thou shalt put it in execution on the days and hours of Mercury, at the sixteenth or twenty-third hour, but it will be still better at the eighth, which is the third of the same night, which is called and means before the morning, for then thou shalt be able to put in practice all the arts and operations which should be performed, according as it shall please thee by day or by night, provided that they have been prepared at the hours suitable to them, as hath been already said. But when neither hour nor time of operation or invocation is specified, it is then much better to perform these experiments at night, seeing that it is more easy to the spirits to appear in the peaceful silence of night than during the day. And thou shouldst inviolably observe, that wishing to invoke the spirits, either by day or by night, it is necessary that it should be done in a place hidden, removed, secret, convenient, and proper for such art, where no man frequenteth or inhabiteth, as we shall relate more fully in its place.

The “peaceful habitation” is the Ancient One, who is hidden and concealed. Wherefore “thine eyes” is written OINK, Auinak (without the letter Yod. All these things are explained in the “Idra Rabba.”)

In this seventh and last millennium will the kingdom of the Persians be destroyed. In it will the children of Ishmael go forth from the wilderness of Yathrib (al-Medinah), and they will all come and be gathered together in Gibeah of Ramah, and there shall the fat ones of the kingdom of the Greeks, who destroyed the kingdoms of the Hebrews and the Persians, be destroyed by Ishmael, the wild ass of the desert; for in wrath shall he be sent against the whole earth, against man and beast and trees, and it shall be a merciless chastisement. It is not because God loves them that He has allowed them to enter into the kingdoms of the Christians, but by reason of the iniquity and sin which is wrought by the Christians, the like of which has never been wrought in any one of the former generations. They are mad with drunkenness and anger and shameless lasciviousness; they have intercourse with one another wickedly, a man and his son committing fornication with one woman, the brother with his brother’s wife, male with male, and female with female, contrary to the law of nature and of Scripture, as the blessed Paul has said, ‘ Male with male did work shame, and likewise also the women did work lewdness, and, contrary to nature, had intercourse with one another V Therefore they have brought upon themselves the recompense of punishment which is meet for their error, women as well as men, and hence God will deliver them over to the impurity of the barbarians, that their wives may be polluted by the sons of pollution, and men may be subjected to the yoke of tribute; then shall men sell everything that they have and give it to them, but shall not be able to pay the debt of the tribute, until they give also their children to them into slavery. And the tyrant shall exalt himself until he demands tribute and poll-tax from the dead that lie in the dust, first oppressing the orphans and defrauding the widows. They will have no pity upon the poor, nor will they spare the miserable; they will not relieve the afflicted; they will smite the grey hairs of the aged, despise the wise, and honour fools; they will mock at those who frame laws, and the little shall be esteemed as the great, and the despised as the honourable; their words shall cut like swords, and there is none who shall be able to change the persuasive force of their words. The path of their chastisement shall be from sea to sea, and from east to west, and from north to south, and to the wilderness of Yathrib. In their latter days there shall be great tribulation, old men and old women hungering and thirsting, and tortured in bonds until they account the dead happy. They will rip up the pregnant woman, and tear infants away from their mothers’ bosoms and sell them like beasts, and those that are of no use to them will they dash against the stones. They will slay the priests and deacons in the sanctuary, and they will lie with their wives in the houses of God. They will make clothes for themselves and their wives out of the holy vestments, and they will spread them upon their horses, and work impurity upon them in their beds. They will bring their cattle into the churches and altars, and they will tie up their dogs by the shrines of the saints. In those days the spirit of the righteous and of them that are well versed in signs will be grieved. The feeble will deny the true faith, the holy Cross, and the life-giving mysteries; and without compulsion many will deny Christ, and become rebels and slanderers and boasters, denying the faith. With this chastisement shall the Christians be tried. For at that time the righteous, the humble, the peaceful and the gentle will not be sought after, but liars and slanderers and accusers and disturbers and the obscene and those who are destitute of mercy, and those who scoff at their parents and blaspheme the life-giving mysteries. And the true believers shall come into troubles and persecutions until they despair of their lives. Honour shall be taken away from the priests, and the pastors shall become as the people. When the measure of their (i. e. the Ishmaelites’) victory is full, tribulation will increase, and chastisement will be doubled upon man and beast. And there shall be a great famine, and the dead bodies of men shall lie in the streets and squares without any one to bury them, and (just) reckoning shall vanish and disappear from the earth. And men shall sell their brass and their iron and their clothes, and shall give their sons and their daughters willingly to the heathen. A man shall lie down in the evening and rise in the morning, and shall find at his door two or three exactors and officers to carry off by force; and two or three women shall throw themselves upon one man and say, ‘ We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us take refuge beneath thy skirts V When men are oppressed and beaten, and hunger and thirst, and are tormented by that bitter chastisement; while the tyrants shall live luxuriously and enjoy themselves, and eat and drink, and boast in the victory they have won, having destroyed nations and peoples, and shall adorn themselves like brides, saying, ‘The Christians have neither a God nor a deliverer;’ then all of a sudden there shall be raised up against them pains like those of a woman in childbirth; and the king of the Greeks shall go forth against them in great wrath, and he shall rouse himself like a man who has shaken offhis wine. He shall go forth against them from the sea of the Cushites, and shall cast the sword and destruction into the wilderness of Yathrib and into the dwelling-place of their fathers. They shall carry off captive their wives and sons and daughters into the service of slavery, and fear of all those round about them shall fall upon them, and they shall all be delivered into the hand of the king of the Greeks, and shall be given over to the sword and to captivity and to slaughter, and their latter subjection shall be one hundred times more severe than their (former) yoke. They shall be in sore tribulation from hunger and thirst and anxiety; they shall be slaves unto those who served them, and bitter shall their slavery be. Then shall the earth which has become desolate of its inhabitants find peace, and the remnant that is left shall return every man to his own land and to the inheritance of his fathers; and men shall increase like locusts upon the earth which was laid waste. Egypt shall be ravaged, Arabia shall be burnt with fire, the land of Hebron shall be laid waste, and the tongue of the sea shall be at peace. All the wrath and anger of the king of the Greeks shall have full course upon those who have denied Christ. And there shall be great peace on earth, the like of which has not been from the creation of the world until its end; for it is the last peace. And there shall be great joy on earth, and men shall dwell in peace and quiet; convents and churches shall be restored, cities shall be built, the priests shall be freed from taxes, and men shall rest from labour and anxiety of heart. They shall eat and drink; there shall be neither pain nor care; and they shall marry wives and beget children during that true peace. Then shall the gates of the north be opened, and the nations shall go forth that were imprisoned there by Alexander the king,

"'7. I was peaceful with them who hate peace; if I spake unto them, they fought against me without a cause.'

"Say unto them: Be ye peaceful, that ye may receive the mysteries of the Light and go on high into the Light-kingdom.

It was stated: “In a town where Gentiles and Jews live together, the overseers of charity collect from Jews and Gentiles and provide for Jewish and Gentile poor, visit Jewish and Gentile sick, bury Jewish and Gentile dead, and console Gentile and Jewish mourners. Also, one takes in vessels from Gentiles and from Jews for the sake of peaceful coexistence.”

The weavers asked Rebbi Ammi, what about a Gentile wedding feast? He wanted to permit it to them from this: “Because of peaceful coexistence.” Rebbi Abba told them, did not Rebbi Ḥiyya state that the holiday of a Gentile wedding feast is forbidden. Rebbi Ammi said, if it had not been for Rebbi Ba, we would have come to permit their strange worship; praised be He Who distanced us from them.

Samuel said, if he is nine or ten years old his eruv is an eruv. Rebbi Yose said, this you are saying about eruv of domains. But for an eruv of courtyards, even if he is small. Rebbi Joshua [ben Levi] said, why does one make eruv of courtyards? Because of peaceful relations. It happened that a woman was hostile to another and sent her her eruv through her son. She took him, embraced him, and kissed him. He went and told it before his mother. She said, obviously she loves me and I did not know it. As a consequence they made peace. That is what is written, its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths peace.

HALAKHAH: Paragraph. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, why does one make eruv of courtyards? Because of peaceful relations. It happened that a woman was hostile to another and sent her her eruv through her son. She took him, embraced him, and kissed him. He went and told it before his mother. She said, obviously she loves me and I did not know it. As a consequence they made peace. That is what is written its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths peace.

HALAKHAH: For it is written, “for they behave like donkeys with the prostitutes,” and it is written: “The woman will be a swearword among her people.” In times when her people are peaceful, not in times when her people are dissolute. “The man shall be free from sin.” When does the woman carry her iniquity? If the man is free from sin.

“One does not hinder poor Gentiles [from taking] gleanings, forgotten sheaves, or peah, for communal peace.” It was stated: “In a town where Gentiles and Jews live together, one appoints overseers of charity from Gentiles and Jews; one provides for the Gentile and Jewish poor, visits Gentile and Jewish sick, buries Gentile and Jewish dead, and consoles Gentile and Jewish mourners. Also, one washes Gentile and Jewish clothes for the sake of peaceful coexistence.”

A weaver asked Rebbi Immi, what about a Gentile wedding feast? He wanted to permit it to them from this: “Because of peaceful coexistence.” Rebbi Abba told them, did not Rebbi Ḥiyya state that the holiday of a Gentile wedding feast is forbidden? Rebbi Immi said, if it had not been for Rebbi Abba, we would have come to permit their strange worship; praised be He Who separated us from them.

It was stated: In a town where Gentiles and Jews live together, if the Gentiles contribute the overseers of charity collect from them and from Jews, and provide for Gentile and Jewish poor, visit Gentile and Jewish sick, console Gentile and Jewish mourners, and bury Gentile and Jewish dead. Also one takes in vessels from Gentiles and Jews for the sake of peaceful coexistence. The weavers asked Rebbi Immi, what about a Gentile wedding feast? He wanted to permit it to them from this: “for the sake of peaceful coexistence.” Rebbi Abba told him, did not Rebbi Ḥiyya state that a Gentile wedding feast is forbidden? Rebbi Immi said, if it had not been for Rebbi Abba we would have come to permit their pagan worship; praise be the Omnipresent Who distanced us from them.

It was stated: In a town where Gentiles and Jews live together, if the Gentiles contribute the overseers of charity collect from them and from Jews, and provide for Gentile and Jewish poor, visit Gentile and Jewish sick, console Gentile and Jewish mourners, and bury Gentile and Jewish dead. Also one takes in vessels from Gentiles and Jews for the sake of peaceful coexistence. The weavers asked Rebbi Immi, what about a Gentile wedding feast? He wanted to permit it to them from this: “for the sake of peaceful coexistence.” Rebbi Abba told him, did not Rebbi Ḥiyya state that a Gentile wedding feast is forbidden? Rebbi Immi said, if it had not been for Rebbi Abba we would have come to permit their pagan worship; praise be the Omnipresent Who distanced us from them.

Rebbi Joḥanan said, there is no “forbidden” here, only “permitted”. Rebbi Ze`ira said, there is “forbidden” here. For if he reaches it he will inform him; if he does reach it he will not inform him, lest he owe him a favor. Rebbi Immi in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If the investigative unit comes in peaceful or warring manner.

A Tanna taught in the presence of Rab Nahman b. Isaac : One should place the piece of bread with the whole loaf and break them both and then say the benediction. Rab Nahman said to him, "What is thy name?" He replied, "Shalman." He said to him, "Peaceful art thou and peaceful thy teaching, for thou hast restored peace between the disciples."

A Tanna taught in the presence of Rab Nahman b. Isaac : One should place the piece of bread with the whole loaf and break them both and then say the benediction. Rab Nahman said to him, "What is thy name?" He replied, "Shalman." He said to him, "Peaceful art thou and peaceful thy teaching, for thou hast restored peace between the disciples."