travelled

Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

A man that hath travelled knoweth many things; and he that hath much experience will declare wisdom.

He that hath no experience knoweth little: but he that hath travelled is full of prudence.

When I travelled, I saw many things; and I understand more than I can express.

Judas Maccabeus also and his brother Jonathan went over Jordan, and travelled three days’ journey in the wilderness,

And when we had come to Lapithus, and an idol festival being celebrated in the theatre, they did not allow us to go into the city, but we rested a little at the gate. And Timon, after he rose up from his disease, came with us. And having gone forth from Lapithus, we travelled through the mountains, and came to the city of Lampadistus, of which also Timon was a native; in addition to whom, having found also that Heracleius was there, we were entertained by him. He was of the city of Tamasus, and had come to visit his relations; and Barnabas, looking steadfastly at him, recognised him, having met with him formerly at Citium with Paul; to whom also the Holy Spirit was given at baptism, and he changed his name to Heracleides. And having ordained him bishop over Cyprus, and having confirmed the church in Tamasus, we left him in the house of his brethren that dwelt there.

And I, Zosimus, issuing from my cave with God leading me, set out not knowing which way I went, and after I had travelled forty days my spirit grew faint and my body failed, and being exhausted I sat down, and continued praying in that place for three days. And, behold, there came a beast from the desert, whose name is the camel, and placing its knees on the ground, it received me upon its neck and went into the desert and set me down. There there was much howling of wild beasts, and gnashing of teeth, and deadly poison. And becoming afraid, I prayed to the Lord, and there came in that place a great earthquake with noise, and a storm of wind blew and lifted me from the earth, and exalted me on its wing, and I was praying and journeying till it set me upon a place beside a river, and the name of the river is Eumeles. And behold when I desired to cross the river, some one cried as if from the water, saying, Zosimus, man of God, you can not pass through me, for no man can divide my waters: but look up from the waters to the heaven. And looking up I saw a wall of cloud stretching from the waters to the heaven, and the cloud said, Zosimus, man of God, through me no bird passes out of this world, nor breath of wind, nor the sun itself, nor can the tempter in this world pass through me.

And the king said to us, You have done well. Now therefore mingle with my people, and eat bread and drink wine, and glorify your Lord, and you shall be serving God and the king. But we said, We will not disobey God. Then the king was enraged and set us in prison, and we passed that night there. And behold a light shone in the building, and an angel uncovered the prison and laid hold of the crowns of our heads, and took us out of the prison, and set us beside the water of the river, and said to us, Whithersoever the water goes, go also. And we travelled with the water and with the angel. When therefore he had brought us to this place, the river was dried up and the water was swallowed up by the abyss, and he made a wall round this country, and there came a wall of cloud, and shadowed above the water; and he did not scatter us over all the earth, but gave to us this country.

And I will not tell the matter to the king until we have travelled far."

And every one travelled in the wagons like a ship on the sea when the wind bloweth, and like a bat through the air when the desire of his belly urgeth him to devour his companions, and like an eagle when his body glideth above the wind.

And the soldiers of King Solomon questioned the people, and the men of the country of Egypt said unto them, "Some days ago certain men of Ethiopia passed here; and they travelled swiftly in wagons, like the angels, and they were swifter than the eagles of the heavens."

And having loaded their wagons none of them travelled on the ground, but in wagons that were suspended in the air; and they were swifter than the eagles that are in the sky, and all their baggage travelled with them in wagons above the winds.

And having loaded their wagons none of them travelled on the ground, but in wagons that were suspended in the air; and they were swifter than the eagles that are in the sky, and all their baggage travelled with them in wagons above the winds.

They reached there after a passage of three days on the Takkazi, the river of Egypt, and they were blowing flutes, and they travelled on wagons like the host of the heavenly beings.

But he never travelled in this wise in a wagon of the winds.

But King David, with his soldiers, and the armies of his soldiers, and all those who obeyed his word, ran by the wagons without pain or suffering, and without hunger or thirst, and without sweat or exhaustion, and travelled in one day a distance which [usually] took three months to traverse.

And to the Jews he said, "The children of the stranger have been false to me, the children of the stranger have become old and have travelled haltingly on their path.

It is to be borne in mind, however, that certain beings who fell away from that one beginning of which we have spoken, have sunk to such a depth of unworthiness and wickedness as to be deemed altogether undeserving of that training and instruction by which the human race, while in the flesh, are trained and instructed with the assistance of the heavenly powers; and continue, on the contrary, in a state of enmity and opposition to those who are receiving this instruction and teaching. And hence it is that the whole of this mortal life is full of struggles and trials, caused by the opposition and enmity of those who fell from a better condition without at all looking back, and who are called the devil and his angels, and the other orders of evil, which the apostle classed among the opposing powers. But whether any of these orders who act under the government of the devil, and obey his wicked commands, will in a future world be converted to righteousness because of their possessing the faculty of freedom of will, or whether persistent and inveterate wickedness may be changed by the power of habit into nature, is a result which you yourself, reader, may approve of, if neither in these present worlds which are seen and temporal, nor in those which are unseen and are eternal, that portion is to differ wholly from the final unity and fitness of things. But in the meantime, both in those temporal worlds which are seen, as well as in those eternal worlds which are invisible, all those beings are arranged, according to a regular plan, in the order and degree of their merits; so that some of them in the first, others in the second, some even in the last times, after having undergone heavier and severer punishments, endured for a lengthened period, and for many ages, so to speak, improved by this stern method of training, and restored at first by the instruction of the angels, and subsequently by the powers of a higher grade, and thus advancing through each stage to a better condition, reach even to that which is invisible and eternal, having travelled through, by a kind of training, every single office of the heavenly powers. From which, I think, this will appear to follow as an inference, that every rational nature may, in passing from one order to another, go through each to all, and advance from all to each, while made the subject of various degrees of proficiency and failure according to its own actions and endeavours, put forth in the enjoyment of its power of freedom of will.

In this diagram were described ten circles, distinct from each other, but united by one circle, which was said to be the soul of all things, and was called “Leviathan.” This Leviathan, the Jewish Scriptures say, whatever they mean by the expression, was created by God for a plaything; for we find in the Psalms: “In wisdom hast Thou made all things: the earth is full of Thy creatures; so is this great and wide sea. There go the ships; small animals with great; there is this dragon, which Thou hast formed to play therein.” Instead of the word “dragon,” the term “leviathan” is in the Hebrew. This impious diagram, then, said of this leviathan, which is so clearly depreciated by the psalmist, that it was the soul which had travelled through all things! We observed, also, in the diagram, the being named “Behemoth,” placed as it were under the lowest circle. The inventor of this accursed diagram had inscribed this leviathan at its circumference and centre, thus placing its name in two separate places. Moreover, Celsus says that the diagram was “divided by a thick black line, and this line he asserted was called Gehenna, which is Tartarus.” Now as we found that Gehenna was mentioned in the Gospel as a place of punishment, we searched to see whether it is mentioned anywhere in the ancient Scriptures, and especially because the Jews too use the word. And we ascertained that where the valley of the son of Ennom was named in Scripture in the Hebrew, instead of “valley,” with fundamentally the same meaning, it was termed both the valley of Ennom and also Geenna. And continuing our researches, we find that what was termed “Geenna,” or “the valley of Ennom,” was included in the lot of the tribe of Benjamin, in which Jerusalem also was situated. And seeking to ascertain what might be the inference from the heavenly Jerusalem belonging to the lot of Benjamin and the valley of Ennom, we find a certain confirmation of what is said regarding the place of punishment, intended for the purification of such souls as are to be purified by torments, agreeably to the saying: “The Lord cometh like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and of gold.”

And when the end of all the Law and the Prophets had come, and Christ was hanging on the Cross, Joseph, the brother of Nicodemus and Cleophas, went in to Pilate—now he was the bearer of the seal-ring of Pilate, and was a councillor, and had free intercourse with him— and asked for the body of our Redeemer; and Pilate commanded that it should be given to him. And when Joseph had taken His body, straightway Pilate commanded that the gardenalso in which the grave was situated should be given to him; it belonged to Joseph, and it had been given unto him as an inheritance by Phinehas, the Levite, the son of Joseph’s uncle. Now Joseph was from Jerusalem, but he had been made a councillor in Ramtha, and all the letters which had been written during the whole period of Pilate’s administration had been sealed with the seal which Joseph carried. And when Joseph had taken down the body of our Lord from the Cross, the Jews ran and took the Cross, and brought it into the Temple, because [the pieces of wood thereof] were the bearing poles of the Ark of the Covenant. And Nicodemus also embalmed the body of our Lord [and swathed it] in clean, new linen swathings, and Joseph made it ready for the grave and buried it in a new tomb which had been made for Joshua, the son of Non, to be buried in. And because he saw with the eye of the Spirit, and the way of the Dispensation of Christ had appeared to him, he took the stone which had travelled about with the children of Israel in the desert and placed it at the door of the tomb, and therefore he was not buried in it. And when Joseph, and Nicodemus, and Cleophas had buried Christ, they laid that stone before the door of the building of the tomb. And the high priests, and men of the house of Pilate, went out and set seals on the grave and on the stone.

When Noah was five hundred years old, he took a wife from the daughters of Seth; and there were born to him three sons, Shem, Ham and Japhet. And God saw Noah’s uprightness and integrity, while all men were corrupted and polluted by lasciviousness; and He determined to remove the human race from this broad earth, and made this known to the blessed Noah, and commanded him to make an ark for the saving of himself, his sons, and the rest of the animals. Noah constructed this ark during the space of one hundred years, and he made it in three stories, all with boards and projecting ledges. Each board was a cubit long and a span broad. The length of the ark was three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Noah made it of box wood, though some say of teak wood; and he pitched it within and without. At the end of the six hundredth year, God commanded Noah, with his wife, his sons and his daughters-in-law — eight souls — to go into the ark x, and to take in with him seven couples of every clean animal and fowl, and one couple of every unclean animal, a male and a female. And he took bread and water in with him according to his need: not an abundant supply, lest they might be annoyed by the smell of the faeces, but they got food just sufficient to preserve their lives. God forewarned the blessed Noah of what he was about to do seven days beforehand, in case the people might remember their sins and offer the sacrifice of repentance. But those rebels mocked at him scoffingly, and thrust out their unclean lips at the sound of the saw and the adze. After seven days God commanded Noah to shut the door of the ark, and to plaster it over with bitumen. And the fountains of the deeps were broken up from beneath, and a torrent of rain (fell) from above, for forty days and forty nights, without cessation, until the waters rose fifteen cubits above the highest mountains in the world. And the waters bore up the ark, which travelled over them from east to west and from north to south, and so inscribed the figure of the cross upon the world; and it passed over the ocean, and came to this broad earth. So the rain was stayed, and the winds blew, and the waters remained upon the earth without diminishing one hundred and fifty days, besides those forty days; which, from the time that Noah entered the ark and the flood began until the waters began to diminish, make in all one hundred and ninety days, which are six months and ten days — even until the twentieth day of the latter Teshri. The waters began to diminish from the latter Teshri to the tenth month, on the first day of which the tops of the mountains appeared, but until the time when the earth was dry, and the dove found rest for the sole of her foot, was one hundred days. The ark rested upon the top of mount Kardo. In the tenth month, which is Shebat, Noah opened the door of the ark, and sent a raven to bring him news of the earth. And it went and found dead bodies, and it alighted upon them and returned not. For this reason people have made a proverb about Noah’s raven. Again he sent forth a dove, but it found not a place whereon to alight, and returned to the ark. After seven days he sent forth another dove, and it returned to him in the evening carrying an olive leaf in its bill; and Noah knew that the waters had subsided. Noah remained in the ark a full year, and he came forth from it and offered up an offering of clean animals; and God accepted his offering and promised him that He would never again bring a flood upon the face of the earth, nor again destroy beasts and men by a flood; and He gave him (as) a token the bow in the clouds, and from that day the bow has appeared in the clouds; and He commanded him to slay and eat the flesh of beasts and birds after he had poured out their blood. The number of people who came forth from the ark was eight souls, and they built the town of Themanon after the name of the eight souls, and it is to-day the seat of a bishopric in the province of Suba. Noah planted a vineyard, and drank of its wine; and one day when he slumbered, and was sunk in the deep sleep of drunkenness, his nakedness was uncovered within his tent. When Ham his son saw him, he laughed at him and despised him, and told his brethren Shem and Japhet. But Shem and Japhet took a cloak upon their shoulders, and walked backwards with their faces turned away, and threw the cloak over their father and covered him, and then they looked upon him. When Noah awoke and knew what had been done to him by the two sets of his sons, he cursed Canaan the son of Ham and said, c Thou shalt be a servant to thy brethren;’ but he blessed Shem and Japhet. The reason why he cursed Canaan, who was not as yet born nor had sinned, was because Ham had been saved with him in the ark from the waters of the flood, and had with his father received the divine blessing; and also because the arts of sin — I mean music and dancing and all other hateful things — were about to be revived by his posterity, for the art of music proceeded from the seed of Canaan h After the flood a son was born to Noah, and he called his name Jonaton; and he provided him with gifts and sent him to the fire of the sun, to the east. Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years; the sum of his years was nine hundred and fifty years; and he saw eighteen generations and families before and after it. He died on the fourth day of the week, on the second of Nisan, at the second hour of the day; his son Shem embalmed him, and his sons buried him, and mourned over him forty days.

As touching the nature of that star, whether it was a star in its nature, or in appearance only, it is right to know that it was not of the other stars, but a secret power which appeared like a star; for all the other stars that are in the firmament, and the sun and moon, perform their course from east to west. This one, however, made its course from north to south, for Palestine lies thus, over against Persia. This star was not seen by them at night only, but also during the day, and at noon; and it was seen at the time when the sun is particularly strong, because it was not one of the stars. Now the moon is stronger in its light than all the stars, but it is immediately quenched and its light dissipated by one small ray of the sun. But this star overcame even the beams of the sun by the intensity of its light. Sometimes it appeared, and sometimes it was hidden entirely. It guided the Magi as far as Palestine. When they drew near to Jerusalem, it was hidden; and when they went forth from Herod, and began to journey along the road, it appeared and shewed itself. This was not an ordinary movement of the stars, but a rational power. Moreover, it had no fixed path, but when the Magi travelled, it travelled on also, and when they halted, it also halted; like the pillar of cloud which stopped and went forward when it was convenient for the camp of Israel. The star did not remain always up in the height of heaven, but sometimes it came down and sometimes it mounted up; and it also stood over the head of the Child, as the Evangelist tells us.

As touching the nature of that star, whether it was a star in its nature, or in appearance only, it is right to know that it was not of the other stars, but a secret power which appeared like a star; for all the other stars that are in the firmament, and the sun and moon, perform their course from east to west. This one, however, made its course from north to south, for Palestine lies thus, over against Persia. This star was not seen by them at night only, but also during the day, and at noon; and it was seen at the time when the sun is particularly strong, because it was not one of the stars. Now the moon is stronger in its light than all the stars, but it is immediately quenched and its light dissipated by one small ray of the sun. But this star overcame even the beams of the sun by the intensity of its light. Sometimes it appeared, and sometimes it was hidden entirely. It guided the Magi as far as Palestine. When they drew near to Jerusalem, it was hidden; and when they went forth from Herod, and began to journey along the road, it appeared and shewed itself. This was not an ordinary movement of the stars, but a rational power. Moreover, it had no fixed path, but when the Magi travelled, it travelled on also, and when they halted, it also halted; like the pillar of cloud which stopped and went forward when it was convenient for the camp of Israel. The star did not remain always up in the height of heaven, but sometimes it came down and sometimes it mounted up; and it also stood over the head of the Child, as the Evangelist tells us.

The Saviour answered and said unto Mary: "They do not come down in this manner into the world. But the rulers of the Fate, when an old soul is about to come down through them, then the rulers of that great Fate who [are] in the regions of the head of the æons,--which is that region which is called the region of the kingdom of Adamas, and which is that region which is in face of the Virgin of Light,--then the rulers of the region of that head give the old soul a cup of forgetfulness out of the seed of wickedness, filled with all the different desires and all forgetfulness. And straightway, when that soul shall drink out of the cup, it forgetteth all the regions to which it hath gone, and all the chastisements in which it hath travelled. And that cup of the water of forgetfulness becometh body outside the soul, and it resembleth the soul in all [its] figures and maketh [itself] like it,--which is what is called the counterfeiting spirit.

Rebbi Ḥaggai in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: It happened that a pious person used to dig cisterns, ditches, and caves for travellers. Once, his daughter travelled to marry and she was swept away by a river. All people came to him and wanted to console him, but he refused to be consoled. Rebbi Phineas ben Yaïr came to him and wanted to console him, but he refused to be consoled. He told them, is that your pious man? They said to him: Rabbi, such and such he did, such and such happened to him. He replied: It is impossible that he would honor his Creator by water and He hurts him by water! Immediately, there started a rumor in the town that the pious man’s daughter had returned. Some say, she got trapped in a hedge of thorns, others say that an angel came in the appearance of Rebbi Phineas ben Yaïr and saved her.

Rebbi Levi said, at three places the Satan usually accuses: one who is on the road alone, one who sleeps in a dark house alone, and one who sets sail on the ocean. Rebbi Isaac bar Marion said, if it had not been written, so says the Eternal Who makes a path in the Sea, if a person would set out on it he would die. But the rabbis say, Who makes a path in the Sea, from Pentecost to Tabernacles, and in great waters a trail, from Tabernacles to Ḥanukkah. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Tanḥum from Kefar Agin (a case) was in Essia. He wanted to set sail between Tabernacles and Ḥanukkah. A matron saw him and said to him, now one sets sail? His father appeared to him, but he had no burial; he listened to neither and travelled by sea. Rebbi Cohen the brother of Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba was a sailor. He came to sail between Tabernacles and Ḥanukkah. He said to his brother, pray for me. He answered him yes, I prayed for you, but if you see the public praying for rain do not trust my prayer. Since you bound your lulav, bind your feet.

Who was determining them the directions in the desert? Rebbi Aḥa said, the Ark did determine the directions for them. That is what is written, then travelled the Kohatites, the carriers of the Sanctuary, this is the Ark. And the Mererites erected the dwelling before they came, the Kohatites on whom the Ark was placed.

How did Israel travel in the desert? Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina and Rebbi Hoshaia. One said, like a chest, but the other said, like a beam. He who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled. He who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies. How does he who said like a beam explain him who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled? Just as they camped following the Word, so they travelled following the Word. How does he who said like a chest explain him who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies? Since the tribe of Dan was so populous it travelled last and to anybody who had lost anything they would return it to him; that is what is written, the collector of all camps with their armies.

How did Israel travel in the desert? Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina and Rebbi Hoshaia. One said, like a chest, but the other said, like a beam. He who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled. He who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies. How does he who said like a beam explain him who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled? Just as they camped following the Word, so they travelled following the Word. How does he who said like a chest explain him who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies? Since the tribe of Dan was so populous it travelled last and to anybody who had lost anything they would return it to him; that is what is written, the collector of all camps with their armies.

How did Israel travel in the desert? Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina and Rebbi Hoshaia. One said, like a chest, but the other said, like a beam. He who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled. He who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies. How does he who said like a beam explain him who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled? Just as they camped following the Word, so they travelled following the Word. How does he who said like a chest explain him who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies? Since the tribe of Dan was so populous it travelled last and to anybody who had lost anything they would return it to him; that is what is written, the collector of all camps with their armies.

How did Israel travel in the desert? Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina and Rebbi Hoshaia. One said, like a chest, but the other said, like a beam. He who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled. He who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies. How does he who said like a beam explain him who said like a chest, just as they camped so they travelled? Just as they camped following the Word, so they travelled following the Word. How does he who said like a chest explain him who said like a beam, the collector of all camps with their armies? Since the tribe of Dan was so populous it travelled last and to anybody who had lost anything they would return it to him; that is what is written, the collector of all camps with their armies.

It is written: and the Children of Israel travelled from the wells of Bene Yaaqon to Mosera; there Aaron died. Did Aaron die at Mosera? Did he not die on Mount Hor? This is what is written, Aaron the Priest ascendedMount Hor by the order of the Eternal and died there. But when Aaron died, the clouds of glory disappeared and the Canaanites wanted to attack them. This is what is written, the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who was dwelling in the Negev, heard that Israel came in the way of Atarim, and made war against Israel. What means “in the way of Atarim”? That the great scout had died who had scouted the way for them. They came and attacked them. Then Israel wanted to return to Egypt and returned eight travel stations. The tribe of Levi ran after them and killed from them eight families. Also they killed from them four families, for the Amramite, the Yisharite, the Ḥevronite, the Uzzielite. When did they recover? In the days of David. This is what is written, in his days the just may bloom, immense peace, without moon-periods. They said, what caused us all this bloodshed? They said, because we did not show compassion for this perfect person. They sat down, organized his eulogies, and showed compassion for this Just; then the Omnipresent credited them as if he had died there, was buried there, and they showed compassion for the perfect person.

Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, the shew-bread did not become disqualified during travel time. [Rebbi Joḥanan said, the shew-bread became disqualified during travel time.] Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: just as they camped so they travelled, since it did not become disqualified when they were camping so it did not become disqualified when they were travelling. Rebbi Immi in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: The Tent of Meeting, the encampment of the Levites, shall travel in the midst ofcamps, as if in the center of camps.

Rebbi Ḥaggai in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: It happened that a pious person used to dig cisterns, ditches, and caves for travellers. Once, his daughter travelled to marry and she was swept away by a river. All the people came to him and wanted to console him, but he refused to be consoled. Rebbi Phineas ben Yair came to him and wanted to console him, but he refused to be consoled. He told them, is that your pious man? They said to him: Rabbi, such and such he did, such and such happened to him. He replied: It is impossible that he would honor his Creator by water and He hurts him by water! Immediately, there started a rumor in the town that the man’s daughter had returned. Some say, she got trapped in a hedge of thorns, others say that an angel came in the appearance of Rebbi Phineas ben Yair and saved her.

Rebbi Shila from Kefar Tamarta in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: He made the moon for festive times, the sun knows its destination. Because the sun knows its destination, He made the moon for festive times. Rebbi Berekhiah said, it is written: They travelled from Rameses in the first month,etc. When {the sun} sets on the nights of the holiday there were fourteen settings preceding it. This means that one counts for the moon from the setting of the sun. Rebbi Simon said, they shall be, by both of them. Rebbi Joḥanan said, it was evening, it was morning, one day. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, the month, until it be totally from the new one. You are finding to say, what Rebbi Joḥanan said requires the statement of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish, and what Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said requires the statement of Rebbi Joḥanan. If Rebbi Joḥanan had stated his but Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish had not made his statement, we would have said that he only said that all might be from the new one. Therefore it is necessary that Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish made his statement. Or if Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish had stated his but Rebbi Joḥanan had not made his statement, we would have said that he stated day, therefore not night. Therefore what Rebbi Joḥanan said is necessary and what Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said is necessary.

That is what is written, it was in the second year in the second month on the twentieth of the month, etc. And it is written, they travelled from the Eternal’s mountain a distance of three days. Rebbi Zacharia, the son-in-law of Rebbi Levi: {a parable} like children who are freed from <school> (books) and leave to run. On that very day they desired a desire; up to a month, until it will come out of your noses. And the seven days of Miriam; Miriam was secluded outside the camp. And the 40 days of the scouts, they returned from scouting the Land at the end of 40 days. They walked and came to Moses and Aaron etc. They came and found them occupied with the rules for ḥallah and orlah. They said to them, you are not going to enter the Land and you are studying the rules for ḥallah and orlah? Immediately, the entire congregation raised their voices; the people cried in that night. He said to them, you cried before Me a pointless crying. By My life, in the future you shall cry a substantial crying. Crying she will cry in the night. Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai stated: It is written, Moses heard the people crying for its families, etc. About the six incest prohibitions which Moses forbade them.

Rav Shesha the son of Rav Ḥananel said, one has to write ה below the knee joint of the ל, so you want to repay to the Eternal? In this way you want to repay to the Eternal? The Mezuzah. There are Tannaim who state, open; there are Tannaim who state, closed. Samuel bar Shilat in the name of Rav: Practice follows him who said open, since that is not its place. Open at the start is closed. Open at the bottom is open. Open on both sides is closed. If in error he omitted one verse, if it is two or three lines one repairs and reads from it; four one does not read from it. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥananel, the same holds for a tear. It was stated, a scroll in which there are [two or three errors on every page one fixes and reads from it. Four one does not read from it. But was it not stated, a scroll in which there are] 85 errors, as the paragraph it was when the Ark travelled, one repairs and reads from it? Rebbi Shammai said, here in a large scroll, there in a small scroll. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥananel, if he found in it one page which is whole, it saves everything. How? Whole in that there are (no) [not three] errors? Or whole that there are no four? Ḥagra the brother of Rebbi Abba bar Bina gave a Torah scroll to Rav Ḥananel who checked it. He said to him, this your Torah scroll needs prayer. At the end he found in it a page which was whole, which saved everything. How? Whole in that there are no errors? Or whole that there are no four?

One writes Torah and Prophets together, the words of Rebbi Meïr. But the Sages are saying, one does not write Torah and Prophets together, but one may write Torah, Prophets, and Hagiographs together. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac: Torah and Ḥumashim have the same sanctity. One does not split a Torah into Ḥumashim, but one turns Ḥumashim into a Torah. Rebbi Yose said, this implies that a Torah which was split into Ḥumashim remains in its sanctity. Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: One does not read in public from an incomplete Torah. But was it not stated: It is permitted to read in public in Genesis up to the deluge, in Leviticus up to it was on the eighth day, in Numbers up to it was when the Ark travelled? This Ursicinus set fire to the Torah of the Sennabarites. They came and asked Rebbi Jonah and Rebbi Yose, whether one may read from the scroll in public. They told them, it is forbidden. Not that it is forbidden but since they will feel so badly they will buy another one.

It is written: “And David sang this elegy”, etc., “and said: To teach the people of Judah archery.” Is it reasonable that he had to teach the people of Judah, who was he? But David said, when the just have disappeared, the haters come and attack Israel. “Is that not written in the book Yashar?” Two Amoraïm. One says, that is the book of Genesis. But the other said, that is the fifth of Numbers. The one who said, this is the book of Genesis, is understandable. But the one who said, that is the fifth of Numbers, what war is reported there? “The Children of Israel travelled from the springs of Bene-Ya‘aqon to Mosera; there Aaron died.” Did Aaron die at Mosera? Did he not die on Mount Hor? That is what is written: “Aaron the Cohen ascended Mount Hor and died there.” But when Aaron died and the clouds of glory disappeared, the Canaanites desired to attack Israel. That is what is written: “The Canaanite, the king of Arad, dweller in the Southland, heard that Israel came by the way of the scouts.” What is “the way of the scouts”? He heard that Aaron died, the great scout, who did scout the way for them. They came and attacked them. Then Israel wanted to return to Egypt and travelled eight stations backward. The tribe of Levi ran after them and killed eight families from them. They also killed four of their families. That is what is written: “The Amramite, the Yiṣharite, the Ḥebronite, the Uzielite.” When were they re-established? In David’s time. That is what is written: “In his days, the just will blossom”. They said, what caused us all this bloodshed? They said, because we did not perform kindness for that just man. They went and organized a eulogy and performed kindness for that just man. The verse considers it as if he died and was buried there where they performed kindness for that just man.

It is written: “And David sang this elegy”, etc., “and said: To teach the people of Judah archery.” Is it reasonable that he had to teach the people of Judah, who was he? But David said, when the just have disappeared, the haters come and attack Israel. “Is that not written in the book Yashar?” Two Amoraïm. One says, that is the book of Genesis. But the other said, that is the fifth of Numbers. The one who said, this is the book of Genesis, is understandable. But the one who said, that is the fifth of Numbers, what war is reported there? “The Children of Israel travelled from the springs of Bene-Ya‘aqon to Mosera; there Aaron died.” Did Aaron die at Mosera? Did he not die on Mount Hor? That is what is written: “Aaron the Cohen ascended Mount Hor and died there.” But when Aaron died and the clouds of glory disappeared, the Canaanites desired to attack Israel. That is what is written: “The Canaanite, the king of Arad, dweller in the Southland, heard that Israel came by the way of the scouts.” What is “the way of the scouts”? He heard that Aaron died, the great scout, who did scout the way for them. They came and attacked them. Then Israel wanted to return to Egypt and travelled eight stations backward. The tribe of Levi ran after them and killed eight families from them. They also killed four of their families. That is what is written: “The Amramite, the Yiṣharite, the Ḥebronite, the Uzielite.” When were they re-established? In David’s time. That is what is written: “In his days, the just will blossom”. They said, what caused us all this bloodshed? They said, because we did not perform kindness for that just man. They went and organized a eulogy and performed kindness for that just man. The verse considers it as if he died and was buried there where they performed kindness for that just man.

Example. Rebbi Eliezer, and Rebbi Joshua, and Rabban Gamliel travelled to Rome. They came to a place where they found children making stone heaps and saying as follows: What they do in the Land of Israel is to say, this is heave, this is tithe. They said, it is clear that Jews live here. They entered a place and were received at a house. They sat down to eat. It happened that no dish was brought to them unless it was brought [first] to a certain bedroom. They became afraid that perhaps they were eating offerings to the dead. They asked him, why is it that you bring no dish before us unless you brought it first to that bedroom? He told them, I have an old father who vowed not to leave that bedroom until he might see the Sages of Israel. They told him, go and tell him to come out because they are here. He came out; they asked him, what is your problem? He told them, pray for my son because he is sterile. Rebbi Eliezer said to Rebbi Joshua: Joshua ben Ḥanania, look what you can do. He told them, bring me linseed; they brought him linseed. It appeared to them as if he was sowing it on a table. It appeared as if he was watering it; it appeared to grow; it appeared that he was plucking out of it, until there appeared a woman with braided hair. He told her, undo what you did. She answered, I shall not undo. He told her, then I shall make you known. She said, I cannot, because they were thrown into the sea. Rebbi Joshua commanded the prince of the sea who disgorged them. Then they prayed for him and he had the merit of raising Rebbi Jehudah ben Bathyra. They said, if we came here only to bring the just person to the world, it would have been enough.

6. It happened that certain elders as they travelled from Jerusalem to their home cities ordered a fast because there was seen in Ashkelon a blast injuring a quantity of grain sufficient to fill an oven (with bread made thereof). They further decreed a fast, because wolves had devoured two children beyond the Jordan; R. Jose said, it was not because the wolves had devoured children, but because they (the wolves) had appeared there.

It happened that certain elders, as they travelled from Jerusalem to their home cities, etc. The question was raised: Does the Mishnah mean a quantity of grain sufficient to fill an oven, or a quantity of grain sufficient to fill an oven with bread? Come and hear: A Baraita teaches, "A quantity sufficient to close the opening of an oven" (which can refer only to loaves of bread). The question still remains whether this means as many loaves as would cover the opening (on top) of the oven or a row of loaves reaching up to the opening of the oven? This remains undecided.

R. Ḥanina b. Dosa once travelled on the road, when it began to rain. Said he: "Master of the world! The whole world is at ease, but Ḥanina alone is in distress!" The rain stopped. When he came home, he said again: "Master of the world! The whole world is in distress, while Ḥanina alone is at ease!" The rain came again. Said R. Joseph, what good did the prayer of the high priest do if R. Ḥanina could make it to naught? For we read in a Mishnah that the high priest used to recite a short prayer in the outer hall. What was the prayer? R. 'Abin b. R. 'Adda and Raba b. R. 'Adda said, both in the name of R. Judah, the prayer ran thus: "May it be Thy will, Lord our God, that this year be one of heat and rain." Is a hot year of any benefit? On the contrary, it is a calamity! But the prayer read thus: "If the year is to be hot, let it also be blessed with ample rain, and may the prayers of travellers find no hearing before Thee." R. Aḥa the son of Raba reported in the name of R. Judah the following conclusion (of the prayer): "May the rulership never depart from the house of Judah and may Thy people Israel never be in need of supporting one another or of assistance from other people."