Talmud zu Bamidbar 11:5

BARAITHA. If you desire to learn, do not say of what you do not understand, ‘I understand it’. If you are asked a question about something in which you are not well versed do not be ashamed to say, ‘I do not know’. If you are taught something and you do not understand it, be not ashamed to say, ‘I do not understand it’.
GEMARA. Whence do we learn this? [From David], for it is written, I will also speak of Thy testimonies before kings, and will not be ashamed²⁴Ps. 119, 46.—that is, [to inquire] of Mephibosheth²⁵On Mephibosheth as David’s teacher, cf. Ber. 4a (Sonc. ed., p. 11). how to act, whether to declare it forbidden or permissible.
BARAITHA.²⁶Ned. 62a (Sonc. ed., p. 197). Do good deeds for the sake of their Maker.²⁷i.e. God Who desires them to be done. Or, ‘for the sake of doing them’; cf. Aboth I, 3 (Sonc. ed., pp. 2f.). Do not make them a crown wherewith to adorn yourself, or an axe wherewith to cut. Accustom yourself to take upon yourself the precepts of the Torah [even] at the cost of suffering.
GEMARA. [‘Do not make them a crown’, etc.,] lest you receive your share [of the World to Come] in this world; for he who glorifies himself with the crown of the Torah has no share in the World to Come.²⁸cf. Ned. loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 196): ‘Whoever puts the crown of the Torah to [profane] use is uprooted from the world’. [‘Nor an axe wherewith to cut.’] Do not withhold corn²⁹Figuratively used of the Torah. The comparison is based on Prov. 11, 26. Cf. Sanh. 91b-92a (Sonc. ed., pp. 614f.). from others; for [53b] even the embryos [in their mothers’ wombs] curse him who withholds corn from others. Here³⁰In this Gemara. [only if he is asked to teach] without payment [is he under the curse], but there³¹In the passage quoted from Sanh. even if he is offered payment [and refuses to teach].
[‘Accustom yourself to take upon yourself the precepts’, etc.] It has been taught:³²Sanh. 111a (Sonc. ed., p. 762). Whoever maintains himself by words of Torah, the Torah does not become intimate with him. There³³In the passage from Sanh. it speaks of self-pleasure and here³⁴In this Gemara. Pursue the study of the Torah even at the cost of sleep. of sleep.
BARAITHA. Do not resent an insult to you. A good record and a blameless adolescence [inspire] security and truth.
GEMARA. [‘Do not resent an insult to you.’] How is this meant? [Do not boast,] ‘So-and-so did such-and-such to me and I have not retaliated’. What is meant by ‘a good record’? Do 1 ot [give cause] to be included in the number of the dissolute, lest people say, ‘How many dissolute persons there are here, including you among them!’ ‘And a blameless adolescence.’ But this has already been taught in the preceding chapter!³⁵In III, 12. There it speaks of his actual doing evil and here [of not giving cause for suspicion] against him. ‘[Inspire] security.’ Some say [that this means]: One should have a sense of security so that the Torah becomes rolled³⁶So that he studies Torah with a carefree mind. H reads nikleleth, ‘contained’. up in his heart. Others [explain]: Inspire confidence in those who ask of you. The latter interpretation conforms to the wording of the Baraitha, ‘and truth’, which implies: Do not falsify confidence [which is placed in you].
BARAITHA.³⁷Cf. Aboth III, 16 (Sonc. ed., III, 12, p. 35). Be submissive to a superior, patient under oppression, of cheerful appearance and keep away from sin.
GEMARA. ‘Be submissive to a superior’: that is, to the ruling power. ‘Patient under oppression’: that is, forced labour as happened with R. Eleazar b. Ḥarson.³⁸Cf. Yoma 35b (Sonc. ed., p. 164). When conscripted by the authorities for forced labour, R. Eleazar paid them a large sum of money for his release so that he could continue his study of the Torah. ‘Be of cheerful appearance’: can one [always] keep his appearance cheerful? [Yes]; for when R. Dimi came he said: The man who [by smiling] shows his teeth white [to his fellow] is better than he who gives him milk to drink.³⁹Cf. Keth. 111b (Sonc. ed., p. 723) where the saying is attributed to R. Joḥanan. What is to be derived from this statement? As illustrated by the experience of R. Beroḳa.⁴⁰Cf. Ta‘an. 22a (Sonc. ed., p. 110). Two men passed by R. Beroḳa when Elijah appeared and exclaimed that these men had a share in the World to Come. On inquiring of them what their occupation was, they told the Rabbi, ‘We are jesters, and when we see men depressed we cheer them up’. ‘Keep away from sin’: so that all can speak about you and you have no need to clear yourself of suspicion.
BARAITHA. Refrain from committing a light sin lest it lead you to one that is grievous. Be mindful of a small precept that it may lead you to one that is important.
GEMARA. It has been learnt:⁴¹Aboth IV, 2 (Sonc. ed., p. 44). Ben ‘Azzai said: Run to do a slight precept and flee from transgression. There [it speaks of fleeing from sin] of one’s free will; here [of fleeing] even when under compulsion. [The proof of this is that the Baraitha] teaches, ‘Refrain, etc.’⁴²The Heb. verb means ‘tremble, shake’ and in the niph‘al ‘move backward’; hence, fleeing under compulsion.
BARAITHA. If you desire to gain the love of your friend,⁴³This is the reading of H in agreement with DER I. busy yourself with his welfare. If you desire to keep away from sin consider where it eventually leads. Attach yourself lovingly to the precepts. Be proud and happy to speak diligently and sing of its details.⁴⁴So GRA, who reads פרטיה.
GEMARA. ‘If you desire to gain the love’, etc. As it is written, But thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.⁴⁵Lev. 19, 18. Because you love your neighbour as yourself he is like yourself. ‘If you desire to keep away from sin consider where it eventually leads.’ As it is written, The wise man, his eyes are in his head.⁴⁶Eccl. 2, 14. But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth;⁴⁷Prov. 17, 24. he regards only what is before him and ignores the consequences. ‘Attach yourself lovingly to the precepts’, by respecting those who fulfil the precepts. ‘Be proud’, etc., by inquiring into the reason of a precept.
BARAITHA. If He has bestowed upon you a small bounty, let it be in your eyes as great and you need to give thanks that He cared⁴⁸Reading the root ספן instead of ספר. for you and bestowed bounty upon you.
GEMARA. ‘If He has bestowed’, etc. Whence do we learn this? For it is written, And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He hath given thee.⁴⁹Deut. 8, 10. And whence do we know that one is obliged [to bless God] although he has not eaten to satisfaction? For it is written, Give the people that they may eat,⁵⁰2 Kings 4, 43. and it is written, And they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord,⁵¹ibid. 44. There were twenty loaves with which to feed 100 men, and therefore insufficient to satisfy them; yet they blessed God. The words according to the word of the Lord, on this interpretation, refer back to the passage in Deut., and bless the Lord thy God. [which means] blessing [God]. An objection was raised against this: [It is stated,] He restored the border of Israel … according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Jonah, the son of Amittai!⁵²ibid. XIV, 25. Here the phrase according to the word of the Lord occurs without reference to thanking God for food. There, too, it was a case of thanksgiving.⁵³For victory and regaining the former territories of Israel. Come and hear: [It is stated,] According to the word of the Lord, which He spoke to Elijah!⁵⁴ibid. X, 17, where again there is no reference to thanking God. There, too, say that [the word of the Lord] implies: Blessed be He Who has fulfilled His promise [to inflict punishment upon the house of Ahab]. Come and hear: [It is stated,] According unto the saying of the Lord, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Aḥijah the Shilonite!⁵⁵1 Kings 15, 29. And if you think it is as you said [that the phrase means thanking God, how will you explain this verse?] There^55a(55a) In the verses cited in the various objections. it is written by the hand of, here⁵⁶In the verses quoted as proof from 2 Kings 4, 43f. it is without any qualification.⁵⁷i.e. without the addition by the hand of, etc.
BARAITHA. If you have done much good let it be in your eyes as little. Say, ‘Not with what belongs to me have I done good’, but ‘with what has been granted to me’.
GEMARA. [We learn this] from David; for it is written, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house?⁵⁸2 Sam. 7, 18. and it states, And what can David say more unto Thee?⁵⁹ibid. 20. and it states, And this was yet a small thing in Thine eyes, O Lord God.⁶⁰ibid. 19. What [is the force of] the additional verses which are cited? Should you say: There because He said to him, And I will make thee a great name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth,⁶¹ibid. 9. [David] exclaimed, Who am I?⁶²Although David was a pious man, he felt himself to be unworthy of God’s promise. This would be a support for the statement of the Baraitha. then come and hear: [What is the force of] And what can David say more unto Thee? Should you reply [that it means,] What else can I pray for? then come and hear: He said, And this was yet a small thing in Thine eyes, O Lord God, that is, it is a small thing for Thee but for me it is a very great thing. [It is stated,] But Thou hast spoken also of Thy servant’s house for a great while to come.⁶³ibid. 19. The word also is intended to add something: [David said,] ‘Not only didst Thou praise me, but also of my seed hast Thou declared, And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee.⁶⁴ibid. 16.
But Thou hast spoken also of Thy servant’s house for a great while to come: this⁶⁵Reading with H זה (this) for לא (not). means ‘in the days to come’.⁶⁶The Heb. for a great while to come is lit. ‘from afar’, here equated with the hereafter. As the word is interpreted here to refer to the hereafter, it follows that there is another meaning of the word without reference to the hereafter. Whence do we know this? [It is stated,] I will fetch my knowledge from afar⁶⁷Job 36, 3, where the phrase from afar cannot mean the hereafter but the distant past.— to what [does this refer]? To what has happened from the beginning. Raba said: Infer from this that one who knows when the Messiah will come is here speaking of his times:⁶⁸Cf. H’s note ad loc. Hence the verse from Job refers to the hereafter. and this is also how David used [the word]. And what Isaiah⁶⁹The Text reads ‘Jeremiah’ in error for ‘Isaiah’. said must be included in the reckoning of the years,⁷⁰In alluding to the Messianic era Isaiah speaks of it as coming within a year, according to the years of a hireling, and this makes the date of that era more definite. This would be contrary to the indefiniteness conveyed by the days to come. Hence the phrase within a year, etc., must not be taken literally but understood to denote ‘a time in the future’. as it is written, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, and all the glory of Ḳedar shall fail; and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Ḳedar, shall be diminished; for the Lord, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.⁷¹Isa. 21, 16f.
BARAITHA. If men have done you much evil let it be little in your eyes. Say, ‘Only a small part of the punishment due to me have I received; I have deserved more’.
GEMARA. Whence do we learn this? From Abraham⁷²Who acknowledged that God dealt with him with more consideration than he deserved. Cf. Gen. 18, 27, who am but dust and ashes. Another possible translation is: ‘The reward from the Maker is greater [than I merit]’. [who exclaimed,] ‘The reward is greater than the labourer [merits]’.
BARAITHA. If you have done a little evil let it be great in your eyes. Say, ‘Woe to me that I have sinned, that a stumbling-block should have chanced to me!’
GEMARA. Whence do we learn this? From the Gibeonites.⁷³Cf. Josh. 9. Raba objected, ‘Must we, then, learn this from the Gibeonites as otherwise we would not know it?’⁷⁴If it were not for the Gibeonites, would such an ethical teaching be unknown from Hebraic sources? R. Aḥa said to him, ‘And why should we not learn it from them? Were they not merged in Israel?’ It is written, And made as if they hath been ambassadors;⁷⁵Josh. 9, 4; the Heb. verb is wayyiẓṭayyaru. and it is also written, This is our bread we took hot for our provision,⁷⁶ibid. 12; the Heb. verb is hiẓṭayyadnu. [which means] they took provisions with them and said, ‘This is the food which we provided for ourselves in our country; behold,⁷⁷Reading הרי for V וקרי. it has become mouldy⁷⁸Heb. niẓṭayyar. because of the length of the journey’. When they had spoken to Israel and the latter knew [the true facts], what is the meaning of [the Gibeonites’ words to Joshua], And now, behold, we are in thy hand?⁷⁹ibid. 25. [Because it is written,] And Joshua made peace with them,⁸⁰ibid. 15. Since Joshua had already made peace with them, why should they have said this to him? and it is written, And the men took of their provision,⁸¹ibid. 14. The men are the Israelites, who believed the story told to them. the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘You gluttons, sons of gluttons, who love gluttony, your fathers also acted likewise [when they declared,] We remember the fish.⁸²Num. 11, 5. All food finds its way to the mouth, but My mouth⁸³lit. ‘His mouth’, i.e. God’s command. you do not remember, [as it is stated,] And asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord,⁸⁴Josh. 9, 14. [Who warned you] in the words, Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go astray after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and they call thee and thou eat of their sacrifice.⁸⁵Ex. 34, 15.
Also Joshua was punished on this account. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘Because [the Gibeonites] entreated you [saying], And now, behold, we are in thy hand; as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do,⁸⁶Josh. 9, 25. I will bring forth a son from you who will implore Israel in the same manner,⁸⁷Reading sidra with H. [saying,] As for me, behold I am in your hand; do with me as is good and right in your eyes.⁸⁸Jer. 26, 14. The allusion is to Jeremiah’s plea to the princes and people on being arrested for prophesying the destruction of the Temple. Jeremiah was descended from Rahab.⁸⁹Cf. Meg. 14b (Sonc. ed., p. 86) where it is stated that Joshua married Rahab, and Jeremiah was one of their descendants.