Talmud zu Jeschijahu 42:78

What is the fence that the Prophets made around their words? It says (Isaiah 42:13), “The Eternal goes forth like a warrior, like a man of war He rouses His rage. He yells, He roars aloud.” Not like one warrior, but like all the warriors in the world. Similarly (Amos 3:8), “A lion has roared; who will not fear? My Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?” Not like one lion, but like all the lions in the world. Similarly (Ezekiel 43:2), “And there, the Presence of the God of Israel, coming from the east with a roar like the roar of the mighty waters; and the earth was lit up by His Presence.” “Like the roar of the mighty waters” – this is the angel Gabriel. “And the earth was lit up by His Presence” – this is the face of the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence of God). And is it not all the more so that if Gabriel, who was but one of many thousands and thousands, and tens and tens of thousands, who stand before God, had a roar that went from one end of the world to the other, then the King of all kings, the Holy Blessed One, who created the whole world, created the upper realms and created the lower realms, even more so! But they show the eye only what it can see and let the ear hear only what it can hear.

Rebbi Abin in the name of Samuel (Is. 42:22): “They were hidden in jail houses,” where one hides from kilaim⁵⁹This refers to the last sentence of the Mishnah, that a house protects from kilaim. The Talmud identifies the roots כלא “to restrain, keep back” (Arabic كلأ) and כלא (Arabic كلا) “double”. (R. Simson reads: “R. Samuel in the name of R. Abin”; but then it would have to read: R. Samuel R. Abbahu.).

It is written (Gen. 47:30): “You shall carry me from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” What would Jacob lose at any place he would prophesy? Rebbi Eleazar gave an inner reason, Rebbi Joshua ben Levi gave an inner reason, Rebbi Ḥanina gave an inner reason. What is the inner reason? Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, (Ps. 116:9) “I will walk before the Eternal in the Land of Life.” But the lands of life are only Tyre and its surroundings and Caesarea (maritima) and its surroundings; there is cheap (food), there is plenty. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish in the name of Bar Qappara, the Land whose dead will live again in the days of the Messiah. What is the reason? (Is. 42:9) “He gives soul to the people on it.” That would mean that our teachers in Babylonia would lose out! Rebbi Simai said, the Holy One, praised be He, walks before them and they roll like wine barrels. When they arrive in the Land of Israel their souls are with them. What is the reason? (Ez. 36:24) “I shall bring you to your soil,” (37:14) “give My spirit into you, and you will live.”

¹⁰⁷There are many parallel treatments of the topic of this paragraph. Uncharacteristically, the different sources of the Yerushalmi tradition all have their own formulation; they borrow the idea but not the language: Gen.rabba 96(7), Tanḥuma Wayeḥi 3, Tanḥuma Buber Wayeḥi 6, Pesiqta rabbati 1, fol. 2b. Only Ketubot 12:3 (fol. 35b) has the same language as here. Babylonian sources Ketubot 111a, Yoma 71a. It is written (Gen. 47:30): “You shall carry me from Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” What would Jacob lose at any place he would be? Rebbi Eleazar gave an inner reason, Rebbi Ḥanina gave an inner reason, Rebbi Joshua ben Levi gave an inner reason¹⁰⁸Note that the chronological order is inverted. In most other sources, the argument of R. Simeon ben Laqish is attributed to R. Eleazar.. What is the inner reason? Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, (Ps. 116:9) “I will walk before the Eternal in the Land of Life.” But the lands of life are only Tyre and its surroundings and Caesarea (maritima) and its surroundings¹⁰⁹These are not part of the Land of Israel, at least not in the geography of the Second Commonwealth. Hence, the verse cannot apply to this world but must apply to the Future World which in the Yerushalmi is identified with the Days of the Messiah.; there is cheap (food), there is satiety. Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish in the name of Bar Qappara, the Land whose dead will live again in the days of the Messiah. What is the reason? (Is. 42:9) “He gives soul to the people on it.” That would mean that our teachers in the diaspora would lose out! Rebbi Simai said, the Holy One, praised be He, makes the earth erode before them and they roll like wine barrels¹¹⁰In Gen. rabba: “He makes cavities in which they move”.. When they arrive at the Land of Israel their souls return to them. What is the reason? (Ez. 37:12) “I shall deposit you on the territory of Israel¹¹¹In the verse: “I shall bring you to the territory of Israel.” The return of the body precedes the return of life by two verses.,” (v. 14) “give My spirit into you, and you will live.”

Beloved are proselytes [by God], for [Scripture] everywhere uses the same epithets of them as of Israel; [61b] as it is stated, But thou, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen.⁷Isa. 41, 8. Jacob is here interpreted as ibid. XLIV, 5, And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob—these are the proselytes of righteousness (cf. towards the end of this tractate). The order of the quotations in V is confused. The term ‘love’ is applied to Israel, as it is stated, I have loved you, saith the Lord,⁸Mal. 1, 2. and the term ‘love’ is applied to proselytes, as it is stated, And He loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.⁹Deut. 10, 18. Israel are called ‘servants’, as it is stated, For unto Me the children of Israel are servants,¹⁰Lev. 25, 55. V omits the quotation. and proselytes are called ‘servants’, as it is stated, To be His servants.¹¹Isa. 56, 6. The term ‘acceptable’ is used of Israel, as it is stated, And it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord,¹²Ex. 28, 38. and the term ‘acceptable’ is used of proselytes, as it is stated, Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar.¹³Isa. 56, 7. The term ‘keeping’ is applied to Israel, as it is stated, The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand,¹⁴Ps. 121, 5. and the term ‘keeping’ is applied to proselytes, as it is stated, The Lord preserveth the strangers.¹⁵ibid. CXLVI, 9. The term ‘ministering’ is applied to Israel, as it is stated, But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord, men shall call you the ministers of our God,¹⁶Isa. 61, 6. and the term ‘ministering’ is applied to proselytes, as it is stated, Also the aliens, that join themselves to the Lord, to minister unto Him.¹⁷ibid. LVI, 6.
Beloved are proselytes seeing that our father Abraham did not circumcise himself when he was twenty or thirty years of age, but when he was ninety-nine years old;¹⁸Cf. Gen. 17, 24. since if he had circumcised himself when he was twenty or thirty years old, no Gentile would have become a proselyte when he had passed the age of twenty or thirty. The Holy One, blessed be He, kept putting it off¹⁹The verb has fallen out of V. until he had reached ninety-nine years, so as not to close the door in the face of proselytes, [and to allow more days and years so as to increase the reward of those who do His will, as it is stated, The Lord was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake, to make the teaching great and glorious].²⁰Isa. 42, 21. The passage within brackets is added by MS.K. and H.
Our father Abraham called himself a ger, as it is stated, I am a stranger [ger] and a sojourner with you.²¹Gen. 22, 4. Similarly David, king of Israel, called himself a ger, as it is stated, For I am a stranger [ger] with Thee,²²Ps. 39, 13. and likewise it states, For we are strangers before Thee.²³1 Chron. 29, 15.
Beloved is the Land of Israel because it makes proselytes fit [to be received]. If a man says in the Land of Israel, ‘I am a proselyte’, he is accepted at once, but outside the Land of Israel he is not accepted unless his witnesses are with him. Beloved is the Land of Israel because it atones for iniquities and transgressions, as it is stated, And the inhabitant shall not say: ‘I am sick’, the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.²⁴Isa. 33, 24.
And so you find in the four classes that stand before the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated, One shall say: ‘I am the Lord’s’; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.²⁵ibid. XLIV, 5. One shall say: ‘I am the Lord’s’—this alludes to one who belongs wholly to the Omnipresent and has no admixture of sin. Another shall call himself by the name of Jacob—this alludes to the proselytes of righteousness.²⁶A term to denote the genuine and complete convert. Another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord—this alludes to those who repent. And surname himself by the name of Israel—this alludes to those who fear Heaven.

“If both of them stand in [a house of] ill repute, the man precedes the woman.” Why? For a woman it is natural, for a man it is not natural²¹⁰If they are forced into prostitution, the man is in addition forced into homosexuality.. ²⁵⁹Tosephta 2:5,6; Thr. rabbati 4(4); Babli Gittin 58a. It happened that Rebbi Joshua went to Rome. They informed him about a child from Jerusalem who was reddish with beautiful eyes, good to look at, and his locks ordered in curls²⁶⁰A combination of biblical adjectives, 1S. 17:42, Cant. 5:11., standing in [a house of] ill repute. Rebbi Joshua went to check him out. When he came to the door, Rebbi Joshua started and said, who gave Jacob to be booty and Israel to plunderers, is that not the Eternal²⁶¹Is. 42:24.? The child answered him and told him, it is because we sinned against Him; they did not want to walk in His ways and did not listen to His teaching²⁶¹Is. 42:24.. Immediately his eyes were flowing with tears and he said, I take as my witnesses heaven and earth that I shall not move from here until I buy his freedom. He bought his freedom for much money, sent him to the Land of Israel, and quoted for him this verse, the dear children of Zion²⁶²Thr. 4:2. etc.

The following are spelt with a waw but read with a yod: prisoners;⁹⁹Gen. 39, 20, written ’asurë and read ’asirë. Abigail;¹⁰⁰1 Sam. 25, 18, written Abugail and read Abigail. I make thee … go up and down;¹⁰¹2 Sam. 15, 20, written anu‘aka and read ani‘aka. chief men;¹⁰²2 Kings 24, 15, written ’ulë and read ’elë. I will … make … straight;¹⁰³Isa. 45, 2, written ’aushir and read ’ayashsher. I will … make them run away;¹⁰⁴Jer. 50, 44, written ’aruẓem and read ’ariẓem. on mine eye;¹⁰⁵2 Sam. 16, 12, written ba‘awoni and read be‘eni. cistern;¹⁰⁶Jer. 6, 7, written bor and read bayir. in their march;¹⁰⁷Nahum 2, 6, written bahalokotham and read bahalikotham. set apart;¹⁰⁸2 Chron. 26, 21, written haḥofshuth and read haḥofshith. V inserts here another example, viz. ‘my way’, but N.Y. declares it to be incorrect and H omits it. wilt thou set;¹⁰⁹Prov. 23, 5, written hata‘uf and read hata‘if. ye might provoke Me;¹¹⁰Jer. 25, 7, written hik‘oseni and read hak‘iseni. make straight;¹¹¹Ps. 5, 9, written haushar and read hayeshar. who were set;¹¹²Ezra 8, 17, written hannethunim and read hannethinim. that taught;¹¹³2 Chron. 35, 3, written hammebonim and read hammebinim. Birzaith;¹¹⁴1 Chron. 7, 31, written Birzoth and read Birzaith. will greatly rejoice;¹¹⁵Prov. 23, 24, written gol yagul and read gil yagil. Dehites;¹¹⁶Ezra 4, 9, written Dehawë and read Dehayë. bring forth;¹¹⁷Gen. 8, 17, written hawẓë’ and read hayẓë’. Harsith;¹¹⁸Jer. 19, 2, written haḥarsoth and read haḥarsith. Luhith;¹¹⁹ibid. XLVIII, 5, written halluḥoth and read halluḥith. the entry;¹²⁰Ezek. 42, 9, written hammebo’ and read hammebi’. the strong;¹²¹Zech. 11, 2, written habbaẓur and read habbaẓir. made to murmur;¹²²Numb. 14, 36, written wayyillonu and read wayyalinu. and Shahazim;¹²³Josh. 19, 22, written weshaḥaẓumah and read weshaḥaẓimah. and a royal diadem;¹²⁴Isa. 62, 3, written uẓenuf and read uẓenif. and a thing of nought and the deceit;¹²⁵Jer. 14, 14, written we’elul wetarmuth and read we’elil wetarmith. and the swallow;¹²⁶ibid. VIII, 7, written wesus and read wesis. and the galleries thereof;¹²⁷Ezek. 41, 15, written we’attoḳeha and read we’attiḳeha. and Tilon;¹²⁸1 Chron. 4, 20, written wetolon and read wetilon. Jehiel;¹²⁹2 Chron. 29, 14, written Jeḥu’el and read Jeḥi’el. and prepare ye;¹³⁰ibid. XXXV, 4, written wehikkonu and read wehakkinu. thy bosom;¹³¹Ps. 74, 11, written ḥoḳeka and read ḥeḳeka. a side-structure;¹³²1 Kings 6, 5, written yaẓu‘a and read yaẓi‘a. Jair;¹³³1 Chron. 20, 5, written Ya‘or and read Ya‘ir. alienate;¹³⁴Ezek. 48, 14, written ya‘abor and read ya‘abir. Jeiel;¹³⁵1 Chron. 9, 35, written Je‘u’el and read Je‘i’el. they wander up and down;¹³⁶Ps. 59, 16, written yenu‘un and read yeni‘un. let … cover them;¹³⁷ibid. CXL, 10, written yekassumo and read yekassemo. they cause … to fall;¹³⁸Prov. 4, 16, written yiksholu and read yakshilu. to strive;¹³⁹Judg. 21, 22, written larub and read larib. singing;¹⁴⁰1 Sam. 18, 6, written lashur and read lashir. Laish;¹⁴¹2 Sam. 3, 15, written Lush and read Layish. for fishers;¹⁴²Jer. 16, 16, written ledogim and read ledayyagim. dross;¹⁴³Ezek. 22, 18, written lesog and read lesig. for a spoil;¹⁴⁴Isa. 42, 24, written limshoseh and read limshissah. their furrows;¹⁴⁵Ps. 129, 3, written lema‘anotham and read lema‘anitham. Mephaath;¹⁴⁶Jer. 48, 21, written mopha‘ath and read mepa‘ath. from Naioth;¹⁴⁷1 Sam. 20, 1, written minnawoth and read minnayoth. stretched-forth;¹⁴⁸Isa. 3, 17, written neṭuwothn and read neṭioth. fruit;¹⁴⁹ibid. LVII, 19, written nob and read nib. Nebai;¹⁵⁰Neh. 10, 20, written Nubai and read Nebai. Nephishesim;¹⁵¹ibid. VII, 52, written Nefushesim and read Nefishesim. leave;¹⁵²2 Sam. 14, 7, written sum and read sim. ready dressed;¹⁵³1 Sam. 25, 18, written ‘asuwoth and read ‘asiyoth. Ephai;¹⁵⁴Jer. 40, 8, written ‘ufai and read ‘ephai. Ephrain;¹⁵⁵2 Chron. 13, 19, written ‘Efron and read ‘Efrain. V incorrectly reads ‘Abarim. the second¹⁵⁶This excludes the first ready in Esth. 3, 14. ready;¹⁵⁷Esth. 8, 13, written ‘athudim and read ‘athidim. their lads;¹⁵⁸Jer. 14, 3, written ẓe‘orehem and read ẓe‘irehem. her little ones;¹⁵⁹ibid. XLVIII, 4, written ẓe‘oreha and read ẓe‘ireha. dung.¹⁶⁰Ezek. 4, 15, written ẓefu‘ë and read ẓefi‘ë. [38b]

MISHNAH: Rebbi Ḥaninah ben Aqashiah says: The Holy One, praise to Him, wanted to increase the merit of Israel; therefore He multiplied for them teaching and commandments, as it is written⁶⁴Is. 42:21., the Eternal desires for the sake of His justice to make His instruction great and prodigious.

Rebbi Aḥa said⁶⁴Is. 42:21., the Eternal desires for the sake of His justice. For His justice? In order to justify you! In order to give merit to you I told it to you⁷¹The context in Is. makes it clear that צִדְקוֹ should not be translated as in the homiletic use of the verse “His justice” but “his justification” referring to God’s servant..

The mafṭir recites also the parts of the Shema‘.¹⁸This is explained below. The recitation of the Shema‘ is deemed to be a great honour which compensates for the lesser dignity conferred by the reading of the hafṭarah. Of what Shema‘ has this been said?¹⁹The Shema‘ is recited several times during the service. Of the one [recited when] the scroll of the Torah [is taken from the ark].²⁰Cf. the next Rule. How does one begin?²¹The collection of Biblical verses recited when the Torah scroll is taken from the ark. Happy are they that dwell in Thy house.²²Ps. 84, 5. Then the mafṭir stands and recites, There is none like unto Thee among the gods, O Lord; and there are no works like Thine.²³ibid. LXXXVI, 8. Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the mighty? Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?²⁴Ex. 15, 11. Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.²⁵Ps. 145, 13. The Lord is King, the Lord hath reigned, the Lord shall reign for ever and ever.²⁶Compounded from Ps. 10, 16, XCIII, 1 (E.V. reigneth) and Ex. 15, 18. The Lord was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake, to make the teaching great and glorious.²⁷Isa. 42, 21. The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.²⁸Ps. 29, 11. Thou art the Lord, even Thou alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is in them and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee.²⁹Neh. 9, 6.

From whom did he⁴⁴Rabban Joḥanan b. Zakkai. Cf. for the eulogy, Suk. 28a (Sonc. ed., p. 123). receive the Torah? From Hillel and Shammai. It was said of Hillel that he had not omitted to study any of the words of the Sages, even all languages, even the speech of mountains, hills and valleys, the speech of trees and herbs, the speech of wild beasts and cattle, the speech of demons⁴⁵[For shedim (demons), H quotes a MS. variant שירים (songs).] and parables. Why [did he study] all these? Because it is stated, The Lord was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake, to make the teaching great and glorious.⁴⁶Isa. 42, 21.

Rabbi Hananya ben Akashya said: The Holy Blessed One wanted to give merit to Israel. Therefore, He increased the amount of Torah and mitzvot, as it says (Isaiah 42:21), “The Eternal desires, for the sake of [His servant’s] righteousness, to expand and enhance the Torah.”