Pensée juive sur Le Deutéronome 16:1

This problem is solved when the Torah instructs remembrances together with things which we had to learn. The Talmud (Berachot 20) says "everything which is subject to observance,becomes subject to remembrance." This means that every act such as Sabbath observance, triggers memory cells which reminds the one performing the commandment of the purpose of the Sabbath legislation and the process of creation by G-d. "Observe the month of spring, for during it you came out of Egypt" (Exodus 13,4) This means that the Passover observances will trigger memories related to the Exodus. Or, regarding the observance of Purim "these days will be remembered through their observance." (Esther 9,28) Remembering Amalek is especially underlined, since no specific act triggers the memory. This is why the commandment ends with the words "do not forget!" In the absence of a mitzvah act, the danger of forgetting is much greater. Reading the portion of the attack of Amalek substitutes for an act. In all the foregoing situations, the Torah provides the antidote to forgetting. In view of these memory aids provided, not remembering a commandment which mentions remembrance becomes culpable. People who fail to make notations of important events in their calendar can be faulted for not remembering them. This is why the chief of Pharaoh's cupbearers, of whom the Torah says that "he did not remember Joseph but forgot him," refers to this a a sin. (Genesis 41,9) One of the sins of the cupbearer referred to, was not remembering Joseph's request to be mentioned to Pharaoh as deserving release from prison. When David says in Psalms 119,45, "I swore I will keep Your words," he did so to remind himself of commandments he might otherwise have overlooked. The Talmud Baba Metzia 5, states that though a man's honesty may be suspect, his oath is believed. David swore to himself that if he were to be remiss, he would bear the additional burden of a false oath, a severe enough sin to jog his memory not to forget to observe the mitzvot in question. When Solomon says in Proverbs 10,5, "he who accumulates in summer is a wise person," he would apply this same kind of reasoning to him who reinforces his memory by vowing not to forget to keep the mitzvah. He who feels bothered by the fact that a certain mitzvah is incumbent upon him, has already reason to rejoice over taking the oath, just as a person taking a laxative realises joyfully that the medicine is about to help as soon as his stomach starts convulsing.

29. The Rabbi: I have already called thy attention to the fact that they were so skilled in real astronomical observations that they knew the revolution of the moon which, according to Davidian tradition, amounts to twenty-nine days, twelve hours and seven hundred and ninety-three fractions. No flaw has been found in it hitherto. They also calculated the solar year, taking care that Passover should not fall till after the Tekūfāh of Nisān, as some of them explained: 'If you see that the equinox of Nisān would be on the sixteenth of Nisān, make the year an embolismic one,' lest Passover fell in the winter season. God's command fixed the feast in the words: 'Observe the month of Abīb.' (Deuteronomy 16:1). The Tekūfāh, as accepted by the people, is not the true one, but only approximate, on account of the division of the year into four seasons, viz. ninety-one days, seven and a half hours. According to this calculation Passover would fall in the winter. This induced the Christians to attack the Jews and to think that the latter had lost the basis of their belief. They themselves are without a basis, since their Easter would, according to their calculation of the commonly known equinox, take place before the beginning of spring. They did not, however, pay attention to the true equinox, which was kept secret and not given up to common knowledge. According to their calculation Passover never falls otherwise than when the sun has reached the head of Aries, though only by one day. For the last thousand years no mistake has occurred, and this agrees with the calculation of Al Battāni, being most correct and accurate. Can the revolutions of sun and moon be calculated otherwise than by a most intimate knowledge of astronomy? The problem of the sentence: 'If the new moon appears before noon, etc. . .' has been discussed before. There exists a book on this special subject, styled Chapters of R. Eliezer,' in which we find dissertations on the extent of the globe and every sphere, the nature of the stars, the signs of the zodiac, constellations, houses, happy omens, good and evil influences, ascensions and descensions, elevations and the extent of their movements. He was one of the best known doctors of the Mishnāh. Samuel, one of the doctors of the Talmud said: 'The roads of heaven are as familiar to me as the streets of Nehardaea'. They devoted themselves to this study only in the service of the Law, because the calculation of the revolution of the moon with the disturbances of her course did not completely tally with the calculation of the time of her conjunction with the sun, viz., the Mōlād. The time when the moon is not visible prior to the Mōlād and immediately after it also, can only be calculated with the help of sound astronomical knowledge. Similarly, the knowledge of the changes of the four seasons can only be properly obtained with the aid of a knowledge of the lowest and highest points and the various ascensions of stars as well as their variations. He who occupies himself with this study must bring to bear on it also the knowledge of spheres. The remarkable knowledge of natural history displayed in the sayings of the Sages, without any intention on their part of teaching this science, is quite astonishing. What books, in thy opinion, must have been at the disposal even of the students among them?

31. The Rabbi: Because their contents were retained in the minds of a few people, only one of whom was an astronomer, another a physician or an anatomist. If a nation perishes it is first the higher classes which disappear, and literature with them. There only remain the law books which the people require, know by heart, copy and preserve. Whatever element of those sciences was embodied in the Talmudical law codes was thus protected and preserved by the zeal of many students. To these belong everything appertaining to the rules for slaughtering cattle, or making them unlawful to be eaten. A large amount of this remained unknown to Galen If this were not so, why does he not mention easily recognisable diseases to which the Law calls attention. Among these are diseases of the lungs and heart, growths on the latter and on its sides, the growing together of the lobes of the lung, deficiency or redundance of the same, or if they are dried up or lacerated. Their acquaintance with the vital and vegetative organs is shown in the following sentence: The brain has two skins to which correspond two on the testicles. Two bean-shaped growths are situated at the lower end of the skull; inside them is the brain, outside is the spine. Further: There are three arteries; one leads to the heart, the second to the lung, and the third to the liver. They distinguished between fatal diseases and less dangerous ones in the following words: If the skin of the spine is preserved, the marrow remains intact. He whose marrow becomes soft cannot beget children. Further: a skin formed in consequence of a wound on the lung is no real skin. The regulation concerning the 'sinew that shrinks' does not apply to birds, because they have no hollow of the hip. Worth mentioning are the following regulations: The contents of the stomach of a lawful animal suckled by an unlawful one is unlawful, but the contents of the stomach of an unlawful animal suckled by a lawful one are lawful, because the milk becomes compact in the entrails. Very profound, though beyond our grasp, is the following prohibition: Five cuticles are unlawful, viz. that of the brain, testicles, spleen, kidneys and lower end of the spine, all these it is unlawful to eat. They have also very skilfully determined the height from which a fall would make an animal unlawful on account of 'shattering of limbs,' which means the tearing of limbs which endangers its life. They say as follows: 'If one has left an animal above [a structure], and finds it below, shattering of limbs is not to be feared, because the animal 'measures itself,' which means that the animal measures and prepares for the leap, without damage. This would not be the case if it were pushed. Leaping is assisted by presence of mind, whilst a push produces fear. The following regulation is also interesting: The naturally reduced lung is lawful, the artificially reduced one is unlawful on account of 'shrinking.' This can be examined by keeping it in tepid water for four and twenty hours. If it re-assumes a healthy appearance, it is lawful, but not otherwise. If the lung has the colour of antimony it is lawful, if it is like ink it is unlawful, because this blackness is a morbid transformation of red. The yellow lung is lawful. If a lung is partially red, it is lawful, but unlawful if it is completely red. A child of a yellowish tint was brought before R. Nathan of Babylon who decided: 'Wait until the blood has gone down.' He meant to say that the circumcision should not take place till the blood had spread through the whole body. This was done and the life of the child was saved, although other children of the same mother had died soon after the circumcision. Subsequently a child was brought before of a reddish hue, and he said: 'Wait till the blood has been absorbed.' The child was saved in consequence and was called after him: Nathan Habbabli. They further said: Lawful fat can close up an internal wound, but not unlawful fat. A very acute decision is the following: If a needle is found in the thick wall of the stomach together with a drop of blood, [it must have entered before the animal was killed] if no blood is visible, it must have entered afterwards. The issue of this effects the validity of the sale, because after the killing no blood could approach the needle, as the blood does not flow in a dead animal. The buyer cannot, therefore, return the animal to the seller. If, however, blood is found, he can return it with the plea: 'Thou hast sold me an animal liable to die.' A scab on a wound shows that the latter was three days old before the animal was killed, if no scab is to be seen the plaintiff must bring other evidence. The characteristics of a clean bird are the following: Place the bird on a stretched rope; if it divides its claws two by two, it is an unclean bird, if it divides them three by one, it is a clean one. Further: Every bird that catches its food in the air is unclean, a bird that lives with notoriously unclean ones, as the starling among ravens, is of the same character. A symptom of birth among small cattle is a flow of blood; among big cattle after-birth; in a woman: placenta and after-birth. Very strange are the sayings concerning the poison contained in the claws of certain animals: a cat, a sparrow-hawk, and martin strike poison into kids and lambs; the weasel wounds birds. The fox and the dog convey no poison. This poisoning is conveyed by the claw, but not by the teeth; only by the forefoot, but not by the hindfoot; only when the animal does it purposely, and is alive. All this means that an animal can only poison any other by striking it purposely, but not accidentally, or if the claw remains sticking in the flesh without any tearing intention. The addition 'living animal' is therefore most remarkable. For it the striking foot were cut off and the claw remained in the flesh of the wound of the other animal, no poisoning takes place, because the poison is not conveyed till the claw is withdrawn For this reason the words 'while living' are placed intentionally after 'on purpose.' They say further: If the liver is missing excepting the size of an olive near the gall, its natural place, the animal is lawful. Matter is harmless on the lung, but not on the kidneys. Clear water and a hole are harmless on the kidney but fatal for the lungs. If an animal has been skinned, a piece as large as a coin remaining on the spine suffices to make the animal lawful. The Mishnāh also contains regulations concerning unlawful food, defects of first-born animals, defects of priests, too many to enumerate, not to speak of commenting on them. Apart from this the anatomy of the skeleton is given in very concise, yet clear description. An admirable saying is: If the intestines protrude, but show no hole, the animal is lawful. This, however, the Mishnāh adds, is only the case if they have not been inverted. If this has taken place, the animal is unlawful; for it is written: 'He has made thee and established thee' (Deuteronomy 32:6), which means that God has created man as a well established being. If one of his organs were inverted, he could not live. The Sages further distinguish the various appearances of blood of issue or wounds and haemorrhoids, the rules of menstruation and male issue, symptoms of leprosy, and other matters too deep for our capacity.