xxiv

(But that this may be done by the sins of the inferiors is clear from those words) Ezek. i. 14: “And the living creatures rush forth and return.” Also Num. xxiv. 11: “Flee unto thy place.” Also Obad. i. 4: “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I cast thee down.”

“For when Moses in the second passage rehearseth these praises of God, Num. xxiv. 18, he enumerateth the nine conformations; and these are the conformations of the beard, even those which are found in Microprosopus, and descend from the Ancient of Days and shine down into Him.

And therefore is it read, Num. xxiv. 11: “Fly thee in thy place;” and Ezek. i. 14. The Chaioth, living creatures, are said to run forth and return.

This is that same which is written, Prov. xxiv. 4: “In Daath shall the secret places be filled.”

As it is written, Prov. xxiv. 3, 4: “Through Chokmah is the abode constructed, and by Thebunah is it established, and in Däath shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

In the “Book of the Teaching of the School of Rav Yeyeva the Elder” it is said: The forehead is according as the forehead of the Ancient One. Otherwise, the letter Cheth, Ch, is placed between the other two letters, according to this passage, Num. xxiv. 17: “VMChTz, Ve-Machetz, and shall smite the corners of Moab?”

Obadiah from the country of Shechem was the captain of fifty of 1 2 Kings xxiv., ‘ three months/ Ahab’s soldiers. He became a disciple of Elijah, and endured many evil things from Ahab, because he forsook him and went after Elijah. However he died in peace. After he followed Elijah, he was deemed worthy of prophecy k Elijah the fiery, of the family of Aaron, (was) from Tashbi, a town of the Levites. When this (prophet) was born, his father saw in a dream that one was born, and that they wrapped him in fire instead of swaddling bands, and gave him some of that fire to eat. He came to Jerusalem, and told the priests the vision that he had seen. The learned among the people said to him, ‘Fear not, thy son is about to be a fire, and his word shall be like fire, and shall not fall to the ground; he will burn like fire with jealousy of sinners, and his zeal will be accepted before He was taken up in a chariot towards heaven. Some say that his father was called Shobakh.

R. Levi b. Hamma also said in the name of R. Simeon b. Lakish : What means that which is written, "And I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them" (Exod. xxiv. 12)? "Tables of stone," i.e. the Decalogue: "law," i.e. the Pentateuch; "commandment," i.e. the Mishnah ; "which I have written," i.e. the Prophets and Hagiographa; "that thou mayest teach them," i.e. the Gemara. The verse teaches that all of them were given to Moses on Sinai.

But how long does His anger last ? A moment. And how long is a moment? A moment is one 58,888th part of an hour ; and nobody has ever been able to fix upon just that moment with the exception of the wicked Balaam, of whom it is written, "He knoweth the knowledge of the Most High" (Num. xxiv. 16).

The teacher stated above: "The righteous man who enjoys prosperity is the son of a righteous father ; the righteous man who is afflicted with adversity is the son of a wicked father." But it is not so ; for lo, it is written, "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children" (Exod. xxxiv. 7) and it is also written, "The children shall not be put to death for the fathers" (Deut. xxiv. 16)!

Should the reason [of exemption] be on account of anxiety, then it ought also to apply to one whose ship has sunk at sea ! Shouldest thou say that he likewise is exempt, why does R. Abba b. Zabda declare in the name of Rab : A mourner is under the obligation to observe all the commandments mentioned in the Torah except Tefillin, because they are called an adornment ; as it is said, "Bind thine adornment upon thee" (Ezek. xxiv. 17)?

Nay ; R. Jose b. Abin said : [The reason is] because it is written therein, "He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness ; who shall rouse him up?" (ibid. xxiv. 9).

"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.

Should the reason [of exemption] be on account of anxiety, then it ought to apply also to one whose ship has sunk at sea ! Why, then, does R. Abba b. Zabda declare in the name of Rab : A mourner is under the obligation to observe all the commandments mentioned in the Torah except Tefillin, because they are called an adornment; as it is said, "Bind thine adornment upon thee" (Ezek. xxiv. 17)?

It was a favourite saying of Rab : Not like this world is the world to come. In the world to come there is neither eating nor drinking; no procreation of children or business transactions; no envy or hatred or rivalry ; but the righteous sit enthroned, their crowns on their heads, and enjoy the lustre of the Shekinah; as it is said, "And they beheld God, and did eat and drink" (Exod. xxiv. ll).

Isaac instituted the afternoon Tefillah; as it is said, "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide" (Gen. xxiv. 63) — "meditation" [sihah] means prayer; as it is said, "A prayer of the afflicted when he fainteth, and poureth out his complaint [sihah] before the Lord" (Ps, cii. 1).

Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel : Whoever enjoys anything of this world without a benediction is as though he had partaken of the holy things of Heaven ; as it is said, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof" (Ps. xxiv. 1). R. Levi asked : t is written, "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof," and it is written, "The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth hath He given to the children of men" (ibid. cxv. 16) ! There is no contradiction ; the former passage referring [[fol. 35 b.]] to before the benediction [has been uttered],

I have here only the benediction for meals ; whence is the benediction over Torah derived? R. Ishmael said : By a fortiori reasoning — for temporal life one says a benediction ; how much more so for the life of the world to come! R. Hiyya b. Nahmani, the disciple of R. Ishmael, says in the name of R. Ishmael : [This reasoning] is unnecessary ; for it states, "For the good land which He hath given thee" (Deut. viii. 10) and elsewhere it is stated, "And I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandments," etc. (Exod. xxiv, 12).

The third of them commenced and said : He who is ill should not disclose the fact on the first day so as not to cause himself bad luck, but after that he may disclose it. As when Raba fell ill, on the first day he did not disclose it, but after that be said to his attendant, "Go, announce that Raba is ill. Let him who loves me pray on my behalf, and let him that hates me rejoice over my plight ; for it is written, 'Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth ; lest the Lord see it and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him' (Prov. xxiv. 17 f.)."

R. Joshua b. Levi said : Who dreams of a river should on rising say, "Behold I will extend peace to her like a river" (Is. Ixvi. 12), before another verse occurs to him, viz. : "For distress will come in like a river" (ibid. lix. 19). Who dreams of a bird should on rising say, "As birds hovering so will the Lord of hosts protect" (ibid. xxxi. 5), before another verse occurs to him, viz. : "As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place" (Prov. xxvii. 8). Who dreams of a pot should on rising say, "Lord, Thou wilt establish [shapat] peace for us" (Is. xxvi. 12), before another verse occurs to him, viz. : "Set on [shapat] the pot, set it on" (Ezek. xxiv. 3).

Rab Ashe said : With reference to what Rab Nahman said, viz. that Manoah was an 'Am ha'ares, he had not even learnt [the Scriptures which are taught] in an elementary school; as it is said, "And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man" (Gen. xxiv. 61) — they went behind the man, not in front of him.

"And he said to kill thee, but it spared thee" (I Sam. xxiv. 11). "And he said"!

"If it be the Lord that hath stirred thee up against me, let Him accept an offering" (I Sam. xxvi. 19). R. Eleazar said: Thus spake the Holy One, blessed be He, to David, Thou callest Me a "stirrer-up," behold I will cause thee to stumble in a matter which even school-children know ; for it is written, "When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, then shall they give every man a ranson for his soul unto the Lord... that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them" (Exod. xxx. 12). Immediately "Satan stood up against Israel" (I Chron. xxi. 1); for it is written, "He stirred up David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah" (II Sam. xxiv. 1). But when he numbered them, he took no ransom from them ; and it is written, "So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed" (ibid. v. 15).

R. Tabi said in the name of Josiah : Whoever relaxes from words of Torah will have no strength to stand in the day of trouble; as it is said, "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small indeed" (Prov. xxiv. 10). R. Ammi b. Mattenah said in the name of Samuel : Even [if he relax from] a single commandment ; as it is said, "If thou faint" — i.e. in any single instance.

The house of Shammai say, The holocaust involves two pieces of silver etc. Our Rabbis have taught thus, The house of Shammai say, The holocaust involves two pieces of silver, and the Chagigah a meah of silver; for the holocaust is all a burnt-offering to the Most High, which is not the case with the Chagigah; and besides we find that at the Feast of Weeks the Scripture enjoins more burnt-offerings than peace-offerings. But the house of Hillel say, The holocaust involves a meah of silver and the Chagigah two pieces of silver, for the Chagigah is older than the Decalogue, which is not the case with the holocaust; and besides we find in the case of "the princes" (Numb. vii. 15, 17, etc.) that the Scripture enjoins more peace-offerings than burnt-offerings. What then is the reason that the house of Hillel do not agree with the house of Shammai? Inasmuch as thou sayest that a holocaust is better, for it is all a burnt-offering to the Most High, on the contrary a Chagigah is better, for there are in it two feastings; and in that thou sayest, Let us learn from the Feast of Weeks, I reply that we are to judge an individual gift by comparison with an individual gift, and we are not to judge an individual gift by comparison with the gift of a congregation. What then is the reason that the house of Shammai do not agree with the house of Hillel? In that thou sayest that a Chagigah is superior, because it is older than the Decalogue, a holocaust also is older than the Decalogue; and in that thou sayest, Let us learn from "the princes," we are to judge a thing that lasts for ever by comparison with a thing that lasts for ever, and we are not to judge a thing which lasts for ever by comparison with a thing which does not last for ever. And how does the house of Hillel come to teach that the Chagigah is older than the Decalogue, but the holocaust not? Because it is written, "and they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings" (Exod. xxiv. 5). There must have been a holocaust also. Lo, it is written, "and they offered burnt-offerings." The house of Hillel consider that the burnt-offering which Israel offered in the wilderness was the "continual burnt-offering" (Exod. xxix. 42), but the house of Shammai consider that the burnt-offering which Israel offered in the wilderness was a holocaust. Abai said, The house of Shammai and R. El'azar and R. Ishmael all consider that the burnt-offering which Israel offered in the wilderness was a holocaust. And the house of Hillel and R. Akiba and R. Jose the Galilaean all consider that the offering which Israel offered in the wilderness was the "continual burnt-offering." The house of Shammai hold this view according to what we have said. R. Ishmael agrees, for there is a Baraitha, viz., R. Ishmael says, The general directions only were given to Moses on Sinai,

R. Chasda enquired, What is the meaning of this verse? "And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt-offerings," lambs, "and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto the LORD" (Exod. xxiv. 5). Or perhaps both these and those were oxen. What comes out of it all then? Mar Zot'ra says, It depends upon the division of the verse by the accents. R. Acha, the son of Rabba, said, It is important for a man who says, Behold, I vow a burnt-offering like the burnt-offering which Israel offered in the wilderness. What was it? Were they oxen or lambs? The matter was left undecided.

Thou saidst at first, Nor the Chariot with one, and again thou saidst, But if a man do so, he must be a wise man, and one who has much knowledge of his own. This is its meaning. Men are not to expound unlawful unions to three others, nor the work of Creation to two others, nor the Chariot to one other, but if they do, he must be a wise man, and one who has much knowledge of his own. Men are not to expound unlawful unions with three. What is the reason? Shall we say, It is on account of the passage, "each man to any that is near of kin" (Lev. xviii. 6)? "Each man" is equivalent to two, "that is near of kin" is equivalent to one; and the Merciful One said, "Ye shall not approach etc." But regard it thus; as it is written, "each man that curseth his God" (Lev. xxiv. 15), "each man that giveth of his seed unto Molech" (Lev. xx. 2), so it is with this passage also; but as these last must mean to include the strangers, who are cautioned for cursing the Lord, and for idolatry, like Israel, so that first quoted also must mean to include the strangers who are cautioned for unlawful unions, like Israel. But do we get it from the passage, "therefore shall ye keep my charge?" (Lev. xviii. 30) "Therefore shall ye keep" implies two, "my charge" one; for the Merciful One in this passage was forbidding the practice of "abominable customs" (ibid.). But as it is written, Ye therefore shall keep the Sabbath (Exod. xxxi. 14), "and ye shall keep the Unleavened Bread" (Exod. xii. 17), "and ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary" (Numb. xviii. 5), so it is with this passage also. But R. Ashi said, How are we to explain, Men are not to expound unlawful unions with three? It means that they are not to expound the details of the subject with three others. What is the reason? The probability is that when two sit before their Rabbi one is wholly occupied with his Rabbi, and the other inclines his ear to instruction, but if there are three, one is wholly occupied with his Rabbi, but the other two are wholly occupied with each other, and know not what their Rabbi is saying, and they go forth from his lecture to allow things that are prohibited in the matter of unlawful unions. But if this be so, the whole Law should also by parity of reason come under this rule. No, for unlawful unions are different from other subjects. For the Mishnah teacher said, As for robbery and unlawful unions, a man's soul coveteth and lusteth for them. But if it be so, robbery also should come under the rule. No, for in the case of unlawful unions, whether the temptation is visible or not visible, the man's propensity is strong, but in the case of robbery, when the temptation is visible, his propensity is strong; when it is not visible, the propensity is not strong.

Araboth is that in which are righteousness and judgment and grace, the treasures of life and the treasures of peace and the treasures of blessing, and the souls of the righteous, and the spirits and souls which are about to be created, and the dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, is about to quicken mortals: righteousness and judgment; for it is written, "Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of thy throne:" (Ps. lxxxix. 15; E.V. 14) grace; for it is written, "And he put on grace as a coat of mail:" (Is. lix. 17) the treasures of life; for it is written, "For with thee is the fountain of life:" (Ps. xxxvi. 9) and the treasures of peace; for it is written, "and called it, The LORD is peace:" (Jud. vi. 24) and the treasures of blessing; for it is written, "He shall receive a blessing from the LORD:" (Ps. xxiv. 5) the souls of the righteous; for it is written, "Yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God:" (1 Sam. xxv. 29) the spirits and souls which are about to be created; for it is written, "For the spirit before me shall join itself to a body, and the souls which I have made:" (Is. lvii. 16) and the dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, is about to quicken mortals; for it is written, "Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary" (Ps. lxviii. 10; E.V. 9). There there are celestials and seraphs and holy beings and ministering angels, and the throne of glory, and the King, the Living God, high and lifted up, sitting over them among the clouds, as it is said, "Cast up a highway for him that rideth upon the clouds (Araboth); his name is Jah" (Ps. lxviii. 4). And whence do we get it that they are called heaven? Because mention of riding occurs in two passages. It is written in one place, "Cast up a highway for him that rideth upon the clouds," and it is written in another, "who rideth upon the heaven for thy help" (Deut. xxxiii. 26). And darkness and cloud and thick darkness surround Him, as it is said, "He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion round about him; darkness of waters, thick clouds" (Ps. xviii. 12; E.V. 11). And how is there darkness in the presence of the Lord? For against this, there is the passage, "He revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with him" (Dan. ii. 22). There is no difficulty.

There is a Baraitha, Be ye clean, lest ye touch the table or the lamp. And yet we have a Baraitha to this effect, viz., What is the reason that we are not taught this with reference to the lamp? It is because the table is called in Holy Writ perpetual, the lamp is not called in Holy Writ perpetual. And another says, Since Holy Writ says, "and the lamp over against the table" (Ex. xxvi. 35), it is as though it were called in Holy Writ perpetual. But another says, It was only to fix its place that it comes. But you may get it out for me in this way. For it is a vessel of wood which is made to rest; and every vessel of wood which is made to rest, is not liable to uncleanness. What is the reason then that it is liable to uncleanness? Because it is like a sack in this respect, and therefore can contract uncleanness. As a sack is moveable, whether empty or full, so also everything which is moveable whether empty or full is liable to cleansing. This also is moveable, whether empty or full. As is the teaching of Resh Lakish; for Resh Lakish said, What is the meaning of the passage, "upon the clean table?" (Lev. xxiv. 6) Undoubtedly it implies that it might be unclean. And why? It is a vessel of wood made to rest, and as such it does not receive uncleanness; but it informs us that they raise it up, and exhibit the shewbread on it to those who come up to the festival, and one says to them, Look at the love of God in giving you food. Its end was like its placing. For R. Joshua ben Levi said, A great miracle was wrought in the shewbread. As its placing was miraculous, so was its end; for it is said, "to put hot bread in the day that it was taken away" (1 Sam. xxi. 6). But you may get it out for me in this way. It is because it is overlaid. For lo, there is a canonical Mishnah, The table or the tripod table, which have had a piece broken off, or have been covered with marble, and there has been left on them a place to rest cups, may become unclean. R. Jehudah says, A place to rest cakes (Kelim, xxii. 1). And if thou sayest, It is a different matter with shittim wood, which is esteemed highly, and is not valueless, this is all right according to what Resh Lakish says. For he said, Their teaching only refers to tables made of woods that come from the province of the sea. But in the case of a vessel of Mismim it is not valueless. This is very good. But according to R. Jochanan who says, Even in the case of a vessel of Mismim also it is valueless, what is there to say? And if thou sayest, The one is the case of an overlaid article which stands, and the other, of an overlaid article which does not stand. Lo, Resh Lakish asks from R. Jochanan, Does the Mishnah treat of an overlaid article which stands, or of an overlaid article which does not stand? of one which has its extremities covered, or of one which has not its extremities covered? And he said to him, There is no difference in this respect between an overlaid article which stands and an overlaid article which does not stand. There is no difference in this respect between one which has its extremities covered, and one which has not its extremities covered. But it is the table itself which makes the difference.