Talmud su Deuteronomio 32:78

HALAKHAH: “Lulav and willow six and seven,” etc. ⁶This paragraph is copied in Ševi`it1:7 (Notes 48–58, שׁ). Rebbi Ze`ira, Rebbi Ila, Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: The “willow”¹The entire Chapter only refers to the service in the Temple. The willow twigs referred to here are not those tied to the lulav; these are subsumed under the name of lulav and are not mentioned further, just as the myrtle branches are not mentioned. The willow twigs are large ones used around the altar, as described in Mishnah 4. The numbers mentioned refer to the number of days the corresponding action is required. If the Sabbath of the holiday week was not the first day, the willow twigs to surround the altar were not brought on the Sabbath. is practice going back to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is against Abba Shaul⁷Halakhah 3:3, Babli 34a., since Abba Shaul said, the willow is a word of the Torah: and brook willows, two. One willow for the lulav, the other willow for the Temple. Rebbi Abba, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: willow and pouring water are practice going back to Moses on Mount Sinai⁸Babli 34a.. This is against Rebbi Aqiba⁹In Sifry Num. 250 the argument is given in the name of R. Jehudah ben Bathyra, with different arguments ascribed to R. Aqiba and R. Nathan. The argument notes that in Num. 29 the sacrifices for the different days of Tabernacles are given in stereotyped language; the words noted are deviations from the usual ונסכה, כמשפט. R. Aqiba’s argument is presented differently in the Babli, Zevaḥim 110b., since Rebbi Aqiba said the pouring of water is a word of the Torah: On the second day and their libations¹⁰Num. 29:19.. On the sixth say, and its libations¹¹Num. 29:31.. On the seventh day, and its rules¹²Num. 29:33.. מ י מ spells “water”. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba asked before Rebbi Joḥanan, why does one now plough because of old trees13? He said to him, when the practice was established it was given so that when they desired to plough they might plough. Rebbi Abba bar Zavda in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran: Willow, water libation, and ten saplings¹⁴The rule (Mishnah Ševi`it1:7) that ten tree saplings planted over a surface area of a bet seah(5’000 square cubits) may be tended up to New Year’s Day. are institution of the prophets¹⁵Babli 44a; Moed qaṭan3b.. Do they disagree? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun in the name of Levi: That was the current practice; they forgot it, but the later ones got up and agreed to the opinion of the earlier ones to teach you that everything the court insists on will come to be in the end just as Moses was told on Sinai, as Rebbi Mana said, for it is not an empty word¹⁶Deut. 32:47., if it is empty it is from you. Why? Because you do not exert yourselves. Because it is your life; when is it your life? At the time that you exert yourselves. Rebbi Joḥanan said to Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: Babylonian, two things came from you¹⁷They are Babylonian customs introduced into Palestine., prostrating oneself on the fast day¹⁸Prostrating oneself in the re-enactment of the High Priest’s service on the Day of Atonement (Avodah zarah4:1, Note 18)., and the willow of the seventh day¹⁹Using separate willow twigs on the seventh day of Tabernacles in the prayers for winter rains. Confirmed in the Babli, 44a.. The rabbis of Caesarea say, also the moving²⁰According to J. Levy, the root is קזז “to push aside, to move”. It refers to the calendar rule given by R. Simon in the following. It is established in Mishnah Roš Haššanah 2:11–12 that rabbinic Judaism permits a computed calendar which may deviate from the exact astronomical data. This is used to make sure that the Day of Atonement be neither Friday nor Sunday, since in those cases it would be difficult either to prepare a meal for breaking the fast or one to prepare for the fast. The calendar rules allow for one more condition. One prefers that New Year’s day not be on a Sunday, to make sure that the seventh day of Tabernacles not be on the Sabbath, rather than New Year’s Day (and the first day of Tabernacles) not be on the Sabbath, since outside the Temple the shofar may still be blown on the Second Day of the New Year..

²⁵This is a re-arranged and slightly shortened paragraph from Berakhot 8:7, Notes 157–158. In the last example, from Avodah zarah, the text in Berakhot attributes the word with ע to Rav and with א to Samuel. This also is required by the text here. Rav says meˋabberin, and Samuel says me′abberin. He who says meˋabberin, one adds a limb (אבר) to it. And he who says me‘abberin, like a pregnant (עוברה) woman. There, we have stated²⁶Mishnah Berakhot 8:7.: “One does not recite the benediction over a lamp unless one has profited from its light.” Rav says yeˋutu, and Samuel says ye‘utu. He who says ye′utu, but with this we shall be a Greeable to you²⁷Gen. 34:15.. He who says ye‘utu, to know, to inform the weary of wisdom²⁸Is. 50:4.. There we have stated²⁹Mishnah Avodah zarah 1:1.: “Before the holidays of the Gentiles.” Rav stated ˋedehen and Samuel stated ‘edehen. He who says ˋedehen, for the day of their misfortune(אידם) is near³⁰Deut. 32:35.. He who says ‘edehen, they are their witnesses (עידיהם)²¹Any built-up area in which from one house to the next there are less than 70⅔ cubits, is considered as 4 cubits in this respect., etc. How does Samuel deal with Rav's reason, they are their witnesses? In the future they will bring to naught their worshippers on the Day of Judgment.

For Torah⁴⁰Torah study, including Torah reading. there is written a benediction before, but no benediction is written after. What is written before it? (Deut. 32:3) “For I am invoking the name of the Eternal, attribute greatness to our God.” For food there is written a benediction after, but no benediction is written before. What is written after it? (Deut. 8:10): “You will eat and be satiated, then you must praise”. From where that which is said about one on the other and vice-versa? Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥmani in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: The Name is mentioned in both verses as parallel expressions⁴¹In general, it is assumed in the system of Rebbi Aqiba that a word can have only one meaning. A stronger implication, agreed to by all tannaïtic authorities, is a “parallel expression”. The formal definition of the school of R. Ismael is that if one has a tradition that two equal or synonymous expressions are written in the Torah for purposes of comparison and if these two words are not used for any other inference, then all laws connected with one word apply to the other and vice-versa. The derivation here does not fulfill these conditions; hence, it is labelled to follow the rules of R. Aqiba who is not known to require too much formality in case the verse is used to give a biblical base to an old tradition.. Just as the Name that is mentioned concerning Torah implies a benediction before, so the Name that is mentioned concerning food implies a benediction before. And just as the Name that is mentioned concerning food implies a benediction after, so the Name that is mentioned concerning Torah implies a benediction after. That follows Rebbi Aqiba⁴²Who is an exponent of intensional interpretation, whereas R. Ismael is an exponent of extensional interpretation. The rules of R. Ismael are systematized in his “13 rules” given in the introduction to the halakhic Midrash Sifra on Leviticus. The problem of both Rebbi Aqiba and Rebbi Ismael is that in its mishnaic-talmudic form, the rules of Jewish conduct form a logically consistent whole. It was shown earlier in this chapter, Notes 24 – 29, that rules must be consistent from one application to the next, such as rules of Grace and forming a court of law. But the basis of these laws, the words of the Torah, are unsystematic, fragmentary, and sometimes appear contradictory. Hence, one needs a method of translating the aphoristic text of the Torah in a legally consistent new language; cf. the author’s Logical problems in Jewish tradition, in: Confrontations with Judaism, ed. P. Longworth, Blond, London 1966, 171–196. The rules are discussed in the medieval texts Introduction to the Talmud by R. Samuel Hanaggid and Sefer Keritut of R. Simson of Sens.. What following Rebbi Ismael? Rebbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rebbi Ismael, an inference from the lesser to the greater⁴³קל וחוֹמר, the first rule of R. Ismael. If there are two commandments, A and B, and if every rule for A is no more stringent than the corresponding rule for B, then a rule expressed for A that has no equivalent for B is valid also for B. The Babli (21a) quotes the following qal waḥomer in the name of R. Yoḥanan only and points out that the application here is not justified since it is self-contradictory. The Yerushalmi seems to be of the opinion that in the formulation given here, with “not more stringent” instead of “less stringent”, the argument is logically admissible.. If food that needs no explicit benediction before, needs a benediction afterwards, regarding Torah that needs a benediction before, it is only logical that it should need a benediction afterwards. That works for Torah; what about food? If Torah that needs no benediction afterwards, needs a benediction before, regarding food that needs a benediction afterwards, it is only logical that it should need a benediction before. Rebbi Isaac and Rebbi Nathan say, (1Sam. 9:13): “For he will recite the benediction over the sacrifice and after that the invited guests will eat.”⁴⁴In the Babli (48b) and in the Mekhilta (loc. cit.) this is given in the name of R. Nathan only. A verse from Samuel (Biblical but not Pentateuchal) cannot prove a commandment but can prove a practice. Rebbi Nathan⁴⁵In the Babli and the Mekhilta, this appears in the name of Rebbi Isaac. said, (Ex. 23:24) “you shall serve the Eternal, your God and give praise for your bread and your water”; when is it called your bread and your water, before you eat⁴⁶The full verse seems to read: “You shall serve the Eternal, your God, then He will bless your bread and your water and I will remove sickness from your midst.” The switch from third to first person is awkward in any case. In the Babli (in particular, in the Sephardic incunabula print) it is spelled out: Do not read וּבֵרַךְ “He will bless” but וּבָרֵךְ “and praise”. However, the Bible Concordance of G. Lisowsky (Stuttgart 1958) takes the verse, as it stands, to mean “You shall serve the Eternal, your God, and praise for your bread and your water, then I will remove sickness from your midst.” One may recite a benediction one one’s bread and one’s water only before it is consumed; afterwards one may speak only of nourishment and sustenance.. Rebbi said, if he has to give praise when he ate and is satiated, somuch more at a time when he is hungry for food. That is for food, what about Torah? If food, which sustains only temporary life, needs a benediction before and after, Torah, which sustains eternal life, so much more⁴⁷In the Babli and the Mekhilta this is a קל וחוֹמר of Rebbi Ismael..

³⁷Babli 15a. It also happened that Rebbi Joshua was on the road when Ben Zoma came towards him. He greeted him but he did not answer. He asked him, from where and whence, Ben Zoma? He told him, I was observing the Creation, and the distance between the upper waters and the lower waters is (one) [a full]³⁸The corrector’s text certainly is erroneous. It uses Babli general language but contradicts the Babli here. While the Talmudim recognize units of measurement smaller than the hand-breadth, e. g., finger-widths, unless numbers are given “a hand-breadth” means a small distance of indeterminate size. opening of a hand-breadth. It says here “hovering”, and it says there, as an eagle watches his nest, over his chicks he hovers³⁹Deut. 32:11.. Since in case of the hovering mentioned there it means barely touching, so the hovering mentioned here means barely touching. Rebbi Joshua said to his students, Ben Zoma is out. It was only a few days that Ben Zoma passed away.

It is written: “The King said, I shall give⁷³Here ends the Genizah fragment..” “The King took the two sons of Riṣpah bat Ayah whom she had born to Saul, Admoni and Mephiboshet⁷⁴2S. 20:8. In the MT ארמני, not אדמוני. The verse ends: “And the five sons of Mikhal, Saul’s daughter, which she had borne to Adriel ben Barzilai from Meḥolah.” Adriel’s wife was Merab, Saul’s elder daughter (1S. 18:19).,” etc. “Michal, Saul’s daughter, did not have a child until the day of her death,⁷⁵2S. 6:23. In the opinion of the Yerushalmi (Sukkah 5:4, 55c 1. 22; Sanhedrin 2:4, 20b 1. 57) she died in childbirth. In the opinion of the Babli (Sanhedrin 21a) she earlier had a child in Hebron.” and you say so? Say now that they were sons of Merab but Michal raised them, so they were named after her. “He gave them into the hand of the Gibeonites who hanged them on the mountain before the Eternal; all seven fell together.⁷⁶2S. 20:9.” Defective without י⁷⁷In the MT, the word is written with an extra י, שבעתים,correctly spelled in G and ן. The correct text seems to that of G and ן: “One is missing”, referring to Mephiboshet ben Jonathan.. That refers to Mephiboshet ben Jonathan ben Saul, who was great in the Torah and David intended to save him from their hand. David said, I let them pass by the altar and anyone received by the altar will be mine. He let each pass by the altar, prayed for him, and the altar moved and received him. This is what is written: “I shall call to the Most High God, to the Power Who has the ultimate decision about me⁷⁸Ps. 57:3.!” For the Holy One, praise to Him, agreed with David. “⁷⁶2S. 20:9. They were killed on the first days of harvest;” it is written “the barley harvest.” “Riṣpah bat Ayah took a sack and laid it out on the rock.⁷⁹2S. 20:10.” What means: “On the rock”? Rebbi Hoshaia said, she was reciting: “The rock, perfect is His action⁸⁰Deut. 32:4, the verse which opens the traditional burial service called צִדּוּק הַדִּין “justification of the (Divine) judgment.” This is alluded to not only here (and in the sources mentioned in Note 48) but also in the Babli, ‘Avodah zarah 18a..” Rebbi Abba bar Zamina in the name of Rebbi Hoshaia: Sanctification of the Name is greater than desecration of the Name. Referring to desecration of the Name it is written: “Do not leave his corpse on the gallows overnight.⁸¹Deut. 21:23.” But referring to sanctification of the Name it is written: “From the start of harvest until water was poured on them.⁷⁹2S. 20:10.” This teaches that they were hanging from the sixteenth of Nisan⁸²The first day of the barley harvest, Lev. 23:14. to the seventeenth of Marḥeshwan⁸³The year is declared one of draught if the rains did not start by the 17th of Marḥeshwan (Mishnah Ta‘anit1:4).. The passers-by were saying: How did these people sin that the rules of justice were changed for them? They were answered: Because these had attacked attached⁸⁴The word was changed by the corrector. Probably one should read with אֲרוּרים ן “cursed”, Jos. 9:33. proselytes. They would say that even for those who did not convert for the sake of Heaven, the Eternal avenged their blood; if one would convert for the sake of Heaven not so much more? There is no Power like your God and no people like your people. Many converts were converted at that time; that is what is written⁸⁵2Chr. 2:16–17.: “Solomon counted all proselytes and appointed from them 70’000 carriers and 80’000 hewers of stone in the mountains.”

All the Torah is in Hebrew but it contains some Aramaic words.⁴¹lit. ‘translation’ (Targum). What is in Hebrew may not be written in Aramaic and the Aramaic words may not be altered; for example, Jegar-sahadutha and Galeed.⁴²Gen. 31, 47, ‘the heap of witness’ in Aramaic and Hebrew. Others hold that the rule applies only to Jegar-sahadutha and Galeed because they are two specifically Aramaic and Hebrew expressions respectively.⁴³In the case of the other parts, however, although one language should not be changed for another, the scroll is not disqualified if a change was made (cf. N.Y. ad loc.). If Hebrew words were written in Aramaic or Aramaic words in Hebrew, the scroll may not be used for the lection. The Aramaic [and Hebrew] words referred to are Jegar-sahadutha, Galeed and the like.
If ha’azinu hashshamayim⁴⁴Give ear ye heavens, the opening words of Deut. 32, 1-43, which is arranged in the scroll as follows:
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_________________ was arranged like the Song of Moses⁴⁵Ex. 15, 1-18 written as:
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or, according to others:
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_________________ or if the Song of Moses was arranged like ha’azinu; if continuous lines were written in broken ones or vice versa; [35b] or if the breaking up was not done according to the rule, the scroll may not be used for the lection.

⁴⁵The following is quoted from Berakhot 7:1, Notes 40–52 (ב). For Torah⁴⁶Torah study, including Torah reading. there is written a benediction before, but no benediction is written after. What is written before it? For I am invoking the name of the Eternal, attribute greatness to our God⁴⁷Deut. 32:3.. For food there is written a benediction after, but no benediction is written before. What is written after it? You will eat and be satiated, then you must praise⁴⁸Deut. 8:10.. From where that which is said about one on the other and vice-versa? Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: The Name is mentioned in both verses as parallel expressions⁴⁹In general, it is assumed in the system of Rebbi Aqiba that a word can have only one meaning in the Pentateuch. A stronger implication, agreed to by all tannaitic authorities, is a “parallel expression”. The technical term is equal cut. The formal definition of the school of R. Ismael is that if one has a tradition that two equal or synonymous expressions are written in the Torah for purposes of comparison and if these two words are not used for any other inference, then all laws connected with one word apply to the other and vice-versa. The derivation here does not fulfill these conditions; hence, it is labelled to follow the rules of R. Aqiba who is not known to require too much formality in case the verse is used to give a biblical base to an old tradition.. Just as the Name that is mentioned concerning Torah implies a benediction before, so the Name that is mentioned concerning food implies a benediction before. And just as the Name that is mentioned concerning food implies a benediction after, so the Name that is mentioned concerning Torah implies a benediction after. That follows Rebbi Aqiba. How following Rebbi Ismael⁵⁰The rules of R. Ismael are systematized in his 13 hermeneutical rules given in the introduction to Sifra on Leviticus.? Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Ismael, an inference de minore ad majus⁵¹The first rule of R. Ismael. If there are two commandments, A and B, and if every rule for A is no more stringent than the corresponding rule for B, then a rule expressed for A that has no equivalent for B is valid also for B. The Babli (Berakhot 21a) quotes the following in the name of R. Joḥanan only and points out that the application here is not justified since it is self-contradictory. The Yerushalmi seems to be of the opinion that in the formulation given here, with “not more stringent” instead of “less stringent”, the argument is logically admissible.. If food that needs no explicit benediction before, needs a benediction afterwards, regarding Torah which needs a benediction before, it is only logical that it should need a benediction afterwards. That works for Torah; what about food? If Torah which needs no benediction afterwards, needs a benediction before, regarding food which needs a benediction afterwards, it is only logical that it should need a benediction before. Rebbi Isaac and Rebbi Nathan say, For he will recite the benediction over the sacrifice and after that the invited guests will eat⁵²1S. 9:13. In the Babli (Berakhot 48b) and in the Mekhilta dR. Ismael (Ba 16, ed. Horovitz-Rabin p. 61) this is given in the name of R. Nathan only. A verse from Samuel (Biblical but not Pentateuchal) cannot prove a commandment but can prove a practice.. Rebbi Nathan said, you shall serve the Eternal, your God, and give praise for your bread and your water⁵³Ex. 23:25. In the Babli and the Mekhilta, this appears in the name of Rebbi Isaac.; when is it called your bread and your water, before you eat⁵⁴The full verse seems to read: You shall serve the Eternal, your God, then He will bless your bread and your water and I will remove sickness from your midst. The switch from third to first person is awkward in any case. In the Babli (in particular, in the Sephardic incunabula print) it is spelled out: Do not read וּבֵרַךְ He will bless but וּבָרֵךְ “and praise”. The Bible Concordance of G. Lisowsky (Stuttgart 1958) takes the verse, as it stands, to mean You shall serve the Eternal, your God, and praise for your bread and your water, then I will remove sickness from your midst. One may recite a benediction on one’s bread and one’s water only before it is consumed; afterwards one may speak only of nourishment and sustenance.. Rebbi said, if he has to give praise when he ate and is satiated, so much more at a time when he is hungry for food. That is for food, what about Torah? If food, which sustains only temporary life, needs a benediction before and after, Torah, which sustains eternal life, so much more⁵⁵In the Babli and the Mekhilta this is an argument of Rebbi Ismael..

HALAKHAH: “The following are the holidays of the Gentiles,” etc. ⁶⁹A reformulated parallel is in Berakhot8:7, Notes 157–160. Rav said ‘edehen and Samuel said `edehen. He who said ‘edehen, they are their witnesses<sup>70</sup>Is.44:9.. He who said `edehen, for the day of their misfortune is near⁷¹Deut. 32:35.. Rav said me`abberim, and Samuel said me‘abberin<sup>72</sup>The technical term for intercalation in the calendar, adding a month.. He who said me`abberin, one adds a limb to it. He who said me‘abberin, like a pregnant woman. Rav said ye`utu, and Samuel said, ye‘utu<sup>73</sup>The condition for a benediction over fire at the end of the Sabbath is that one have use of it.. He who said ye`utu, but with this we shall be agreeable to you⁷⁴Gen. 34:15.. He who said ye‘utu, to know, to inform the weary of wisdom⁷⁵Is. 50:4..

HALAKHAH: “Whether one entered the courtyard,” etc. ⁵⁴This Halakhah is a very truncated and inferior copy of parts of Sanhedrin1:5 (Notes 288–294). The second paragraph is from the end of that Halakhah, Note 326. Its inclusion indicates that all of that Halakhah should be studied here. Rav said, at the start: ⁵⁵2S.24:19.David ascended following Gad’s word, that is King and Prophet. ⁵⁶2Chr. 3:1.Solomon started to build the Temple of the Eternal in Jerusalem, these are Urim and Tummim. ⁵⁶2Chr. 3:1.And his father David, this is the Synhedrion, ⁵⁷Deut. 32:7.ask your father and he will tell you. Song, after them went Hoshaia and the officers⁵⁸Neh. 12:32.. Thanksgiving sacrifices, I put up two thanksgiving sacrifices⁵⁹Neh. 12:31.. Rebbi Samuel bar Rebbi Yudan said, what is written, walking? No, being in procession.

Rebbi Aḥa said, this implies that the Temple will be rebuilt before the kingdom of David’s dynasty⁵⁸Since the decree, according to R. Yose, mentions only the rebuilding of the Temple and not the coming of the Messiah, it implies that the two events are independent of one another. as it is written (Deut. 32:14): “From the blood of a grape you will drink as wine”⁵⁹This is an allusion to the explanation of this verse, describing the plenty induced by the Temple, either in Sifry Deut. 317: You will not have to work to press and make wine, but bring it in on a wagon, put it in a corner, and drink from it as from a barrel; or in Babli Ketubot 111b: It teaches you that each grape will produce 30 barrels of wine; read (following a pronunciation which has the same sound for ָֿ and ַ̇) חָמֶר as חֹמֶר (30 seah); cf. Peak 7:4.. And you say so!

“One may start a war of choice only by the court of 71 [judges]²⁸⁷This probably should be deleted.. ²⁸⁸The following four paragraphs do not refer to the quote of the Mishnah but are a commentary to Mishnah Ševuot 2:2: “One only adds to the city and the Temple courtyards by king and prophet, Urim and Tummim, the Synhedrion of 71 members, two thanksgiving sacrifices, and song.” Only the walled part of the city of Jerusalem counts as “before the Eternal”, where family sacrifices may be consumed (Deut.12:18,14:23); the suburbs are “countryside” which does not count for pilgrimage and sacrifice. Since there were no Urim and Tummim in the Second Temple, Pharisees did not consume sacrifices in the parts of Jerusalem which were added in Hasmonean and later times (Note 306).
In Ševuot, only beginning and end of the discussion here are quoted as a reference. Rebbi Jehudah says, as at the start: ²⁸⁹2S. 24:19, speaking of David going to buy the Temple area.David ascended following Gad’s word, that is king and prophet. ²⁹⁰2Chr. 3:1. The verse is misquoted in several places.Solomon started to build the Temple of the Eternal, Israel’s God, on Mount Moriah where He had appeared to him, there are Urim and Tummim. ²⁹⁰2Chr. 3:1. The verse is misquoted in several places.To his father David, this is the Synhedrion, ²⁹¹Deut. 32:7. The persons one asks to get definitive answers to all questions of religion are the members of the High Court of 71 members.ask your father and he will tell you, your Elders and they will speak to you. Song, after them went Hoshaia and half the officers of Judea²⁹²Neh. 12:32. This refers to the members of the Synhedrion walking behind the thanksgiving sacrifices (Ševuot 15b); the musical part of the ceremony is described in verses 41,42.. Thanksgiving sacrifices, I put up two large thanksgiving sacrifices being in procession going to their right on the wall going to the dung gate²⁹³Neh. 12:31.. Rebbi Samuel bar Yudan said, what is written, walking? No, being in procession, only being taken by others²⁹⁴In his opinion, the sacrifices were not walked on the wall but were carried. In the opinion of the Babli, Ševuot 15a and Tosephta Sanhedrin 3:4, not the animals were carried but the leavened bread required for a thanksgiving sacrifice (Lev. 7:13). It is possible that this is meant here..

Rebbi Bar Qiria and Rebbi Eleazar were taking a walk on the road when they saw coffins being brought into the Land from abroad. Rebbi Bar Qiria said to Rebbi Eleazar: What good is that going to do them? I am reading for them (Jer. 2:7) “My inheritance your considered an abomination” during your lifetime, “you came and made My Land impure” in your death. He said to him, when they arrive in the Land, one takes a lump of earth and puts it on the coffin, as it is written (Deut. 32:43) “His earth atones for His people.”

Rebbi Bar Qiria¹³³An otherwise unknown Amora. The name tradition of this paragraph is thoroughly unsatisfactory. In Gen.rabba 97 as well as Tanḥuma Wayeḥi it is Rebbi (R. Jehuda II Nesia) and R. Eleazar. In Pesiqta rabbati 1 it is (a likewise unknown) R. Beroqia and R. Eleazar. and Rebbi Eleazar were talking a walk on the road when they saw coffins being brought into the Land from abroad. Rebbi Bar Qiria said to Rebbi Eleazar: What good is that going to do them? I am reading for them (Jer. 2:7) “My inheritance your considered an abomination¹³⁴Since you did not live in the Land.” during your lifetime, “you came and made My Land impure¹³⁵By the impurity of the dead.” in your death. He said to him, when they arrive in the Land, one takes a lump of earth and puts it on the coffin, as it is written (Deut. 32:43) “His earth atones for His people.¹³⁶Therefore, one puts earth from the Holy Land into or on a coffin even for burial outside the Land. Yalquṭ Psalms 116 directly connects Deut. 32:43 with the earlier statement that even Jeroboam and people like him have a part in the Future World.”

BARAITHA. Sit before the elders and incline your ear to listen to their words.
GEMARA. As it is written, Ask thy father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders and they will tell thee.⁹Deut. 32, 7.
BARAITHA. Endeavour in connection with their words to reply on the first point first and on the last point last.
GEMARA. We have learnt there:¹⁰Aboth V, 10 (Sonc. ed., V, 7, p. 64). Seven marks distinguish an uncultured man and seven a wise man. Why does [the Mishnah] first mention the uncultured man? It should have mentioned the wise man [first]!¹¹It is more befitting to begin with the qualities of the wise. Further, why [immediately after mentioning the uncultured man does it enlarge upon the marks] of the wise man [without first enumerating the marks of the uncultured man]?¹²The Mishnah reads: ‘There are seven marks of an uncultured man and seven of a wise man. The wise man does not speak’, etc. Because [the Mishnah] wishes to state, ‘The wise man does not speak before him who is greater than he in wisdom’. Let, then [the Mishnah] state, ‘The uncultured man speaks’, etc.! The teacher enumerates the merits of the wise, and as for the uncultured the converse [applies to them].
R. Aḥa said to Raba, ‘Whence do we know from the Torah that one should speak to the first thing first and the last thing last?’ [He replied,] ‘Whence [do we know it]? It is a Rabbinical teaching’. [R. Aḥa] retorted, ‘According to your reasoning, whence are all of them¹³The seven marks of the wise man. derived?’ He replied, ‘I will tell you them [all from the Torah]. “The wise man does not speak, etc.” [can be learnt] from Hushai, as it is written, Shall we do after his saying? if not, speak thou.¹⁴2 Sam. 17, 6. Ḥushai did not speak in the presence of Aḥitophel, who was greater in wisdom than he, but merely reported to Absalom what he had said. “He does not break in upon the speech of the wise”, as it is written, And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking … then spoke Azariah.¹⁵Jer. 43, 1f. “He is not hasty to answer”, as it is written, Be not rash with thy mouth.¹⁶Eccl. 5, 1. “He questions according to the subject”, as it is written, And he asked them … Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive?¹⁷Gen. 43, 27. And they answered, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive.¹⁸ibid. 28. “He speaks to the first point first”, as it is written, And (he) said: Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?¹⁹ibid. XXIV, 23. And it is written, And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel²⁰ibid. 24. and then, We have both straw and provender enough.²¹ibid. 25. “And he acknowledges the truth”: This refers to Moses, as it is written, And when Moses heard that, it was well-pleasing in his sight;²²Lev. 10, 20, i.e. Moses acknowledged the force of Aaron’s argument. and it is written, For he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God’.²³Jer. 26, 16. The reference is to Jeremiah, the genuineness of whose prophecy is acknowledged by the princes.

And about the rules for the land of Gentiles. ³³⁵This paragraph is from Ketubot 8:11, explained there in Notes 96–105. Cf. Babli 14b. But did not Rebbi Zeˋira bar Abinna³³⁶Read with Ketubot: “R. Zeˋira, R. Abuna”. say in the name of Rav Jeremiah: Joseph ben Yoezer from Ṣereda and Yose ben Joḥanan from Jerusalem decreed impurity of the land of Gentiles and of glass vessels; Rebbi Jonah said, Rebbi Jehudah ben Tabbai. Rebbi Yose said, Rebbi Jehudah ben Tabbai and Simeon ben Šetaḥ decreed impurity of metal vessels; Hillel and Shammai decreed about purity of hands³³⁷They codified popular practice that unwashed hands are always impure in the second degree.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun in the name of Rebbi Levi: so practice had been in their hands but they forgot it. The secondary [authorities] came and agreed with the intent of the first ones. To teach you that everything for which the Court made a real effort will in the end be confirmed for them as it was said to Moses on Sinai. This comes as Rebbi Mana said, for it is not an empty matter for you³³⁸Deut. 32:42. Quoted in Sukkah 4:1., if it is an empty matter, it is from you since you do not exert yourselves for it. For it is your life. When is it your life? Any time you are exerting yourselves for it.

Rebbi Abba bar Zabdi in the name of Rebbi Onias from Hauran⁵³In the parallel, Babli Sukkah44a, he is called Neḥoniah from the valley of Bet Ḥoron; the name in the Yerushalmi is correct since he was a first generation Amora from the Golan heights and an authority on thehalakhic boundaries of the Land of Israel in that region.: Willow, water libation, and ten saplings are institutions of the early prophets⁵⁴Samuel and David.. Do they disagree⁵⁵Do they assert that these rules were never promulgated by Moses? The rest of the paragraph is also in Peah 1:1, Notes 74–75.? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun in the name of Levi: That was the current practice; they forgot it, but the later ones got up and agreed to the opinion of the earlier ones to teach you that everything the Court insists on will come to be in the end just as Moses was told on Sinai; as Rebbi Mana said (Deut. 32:47): “For it is not an empty word, from you,” if it is empty it is from you because you do not exert yourself about it. “Because it is your life,” when is it your life? At the time that you exert yourself!

Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai stated: Aqiba my teacher used to preach, there appeared a star out of Jacob²⁸⁶Num. 24:17. there appeared Koziba out of Jacob. When Rebbi Aqiba saw Bar Koziba he said, this is King Messias. Rebbi Joḥanan ben Torta said to him, Aqiba! Grass will grow from your jaws and still David’s son (still has to) [will not have]²⁸⁷The corrector’s [text] is from the Midrash. The scribe’s text asserts that the Messiah always will be coming. come. Rebbi Joḥanan said, the voice of Emperor Hadrian killing eighty thousand myriads at Bettar²⁸⁸In Cant. rabba 2(36) the number is 90’000’000. Thr. rabba shows that the statement here is copied in the wrong place; it belongs to the previous paragraph, explaining the sound of Esau.. Rebbi Joḥanan said, eighty [thousand] couples of horn-blowers²⁸⁹Roman army commanders. were encircling Bettar, each of which was commanding several army units. There was Ben Koziba who had 200’000 with him missing a finger. The Sages sent, how long will you turn Israel into defective persons? He told them, how would it be possible to test them? They said to him, anyone who riding on his horse cannot uproot a cedar of Lebanon should not be enrolled in your army²⁹⁰Greek στρατιά.. He had 200’000 of either kind. When he went into battle he said, Master of the World: Do not support and do not hinder, did not you, God, neglect us, and do not go out with our armies²⁹¹Ps. 60:12.. Three and a half years did Hadrian encircle Bettar. Rebbi Eleazar from Modiin was sitting in sackcloth and ashes, praying every day and saying, Master of the World, do not sit in judgment today, do not sit in judgment today. Hadrian wanted to go away. A Samaritan said to him, do not go away, for I am seeing what to do that the city will submit to you. He went to the city gate, entered, and found Rebbi Eleazar from Modiin standing in prayer. He showed himself as if he would whisper into his ear. The people of the city saw him and brought him to Ben Koziba. They said to him, we saw this old man turning to your uncle. He asked him, what did you say to him and what did he say to you? He answered, if I shall tell you, the king will kill me; but if I do not tell you, you will kill me. It is better that the king should kill me but not you. He told him, he said to me, I will make the town submit to the king. He came to Rebbi Eleazar from Modiin. He asked him, what did this Samaritan say to you. He answered, nothing. What did you say to him? He answered, nothing. He kicked him and killed him. Immediately there came an unembodied voice and said, woe, criminal shepherds, who abandon the flock, a sword on his arm and on his right eye. His arm shall dry up and his right eye darken²⁹²Zach. 11:17.. You killed Rebbi Eleazar from Modiin, the arm of Israel, and their right eye. Therefore this man’s arm shall dry up and his right eye darken. Immediately Bettar was taken and Ben Koziba killed. They came carrying his head to Hadrain. He asked them, who killed him? A Samaritan said to him, I killed him. He said to him, show me his body. He showed him his body; he found a poisonous snake wrapped around him. He said, if God had not killed him, who could kill him? He recited over him, if not that their Rock had sold them, and the Eternal handed them over²⁹³Deut. 32:30.. They killed them continuously until the horse was immersed in blood up to his nose. The blood was moving rocks of 40 seah loads, until the blood colored the sea for four mil. If you would say that it was close to the sea, in fact it is 40 mil distant from the sea. They said, 300 children’s brains were found on one stone, and they found three boxes of tefillin capsules of nine seah each, but some say nine of three each. It was stated, Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, 500 schools were in Bettar, the smallest one for not less than 500 children. They were saying, if the haters come against us we shall go out against them with these stylos and blind them. When the sins caused, they were binding each single one into his book and burning him; and of them only I remained. He recited referring to himself, my eye hurts my soul more than all daughters of my city²⁹⁴Thr. 3:51.. The evil Hadrian had a large vineyard, eighteen mil by eighteen mil, as from Tiberias to Sepphoris. He fenced it in with the slain of Bettar standing up with outstretched arms, and did not decide that they should be buried, until another king arose²⁹⁵An expression used for a new dynasty, in this case Septimius Severus. who decided that they should be buried.

“One does not recite the benediction over a lamp unless one has profited from its light.” Rav says y^e’utu, and Samuel says y^e‘utu¹⁵⁷Under the influence of Accadic, Babylonian Jews early on had lost the difference between aleph (’) and ayin(‘) (and he, ḥet); they re-acquired the differences only later under the influence of Arabic. Similarly, under the influence of Greek, in the speech of most Galileans also aleph and ayin had become silent. Since the Mishnah was transmitted orally, there was no difference in pronunciation between the two silent consonants and the interpretation of the words depended on whether one was imagining one or the other.
The particular case here is not discussed in the Babli. The examples from Eruvin and Avodah zarah are discussed following these Mishnayot in the Babli where at other places one also finds examples of a silent ח (Beẓah35b) and switches between ס (s) and צ (ss) (Bava qama 116b). In most cases, roots of Rabbinic expressions are sought in Biblical Hebrew.. He who says y^e’utu, (Gen. 34:15) “But with this we shall be agreeable (nē’ôt) to you.” He who says y^e‘utu, (Is. 50:4) “To know, to inform (lā‘ût) the weary of wisdom.” There (Mishnah Erubin 5:1) we have stated: How does one complete cities¹⁵⁸“Completion” is the determination of a rectangle oriented NS, EW whose edges are distant 2000 cubits from the last house of the city in that direction.? Rav says m^e’abb^erin, and Samuel says m^e‘abb^erin. He who says m^e’abb^erin, one adds a limb (אבר) to it. And he who says m^e‘abb^erin, like a pregnant (עוברה) woman. There (Mishnah Avodah Zarah 1:1) we have stated: Before the holidays of the Gentiles¹⁵⁹One may not trade with them.. Rav says ‘êdêhen and Samuel says ’êdêhen. He who says ’êdêhen, (Deut. 32:35) “For the day of their misfortune (אידם) is near.” He who says ‘êdêhen, (Is.44:9) “They¹⁶⁰The idols. In the Babli (Avodah zarah 2a), the interpretation of this verse takes up several pages. are their witnesses (עידיהם), may they neither see nor know, so that they may come to naught.” How does Samuel deal with Rav’s reason? They are their witnesses, in the future they will bring to naught their worshippers on the day of judgment.

HALAKHAH: Rebbi Jonah says, from the top, as you say (1Sam. 17:5): “A brass helmet on his head.” Round bundles, Rebbi Avinah said, from the bottom, as you say (Deut. 32:34): “It is hidden with me.” ¹³⁹With the different meanings of the Hebrew/Aramaic root חרר, this could mean 1) something burned (a charcoal-broiled cake), 2) a round mass, 3) a hole, 4) freedom. Hence, it is necessary to spell out that meaning 2) is meant.חֲרָרָה a wheel. Small sheaves, Rebbi Joḥanan said (Deut. 24:19): “When you will be harvesting the harvest of your field and you forget a sheaf on the field,” just as harvest has no other harvest after it¹⁴⁰On the same field. This would imply that he who cuts part of his field green either for fodder or for Grünkern, is not subject to the law of the forgotten sheaf., so too a sheaf, which has no other sheaf-making after it.

¹¹⁷Several passages in this paragraph are truncated; refer to the Qiddušin text.The king said, I shall give¹¹⁰2S. 21:6.. The king took the two sons of Riṣpah bat Ayah¹¹⁸2S. 21:8.. Michal, Saul’s daughter, did not have a child¹¹⁹2S. 6:23., and you say so? Say now that they were sons of Merab but Michal raised them, so they were named after her. The king gave them into the hand of the Gibeonites who hanged them on the mountain before the Eternal¹²⁰2S. 21:9.. All seven is written defective of one letter. That refers to Mephiboshet, for whom David prayed and whom the altar received. He told them, I let them pass by the altar and anyone whom the altar receives will be his, because of Mephiboshet who was great in Torah. He let him pass by the altar, which received him. Rebbi Avin said, I shall call to the Most High God, to the Power Who has the ultimate decision over me¹²¹Ps. 57:3.. For the Holy One, praise to Him, agreed with David. They were killed on the day of harvest …at the start of the barley harvest¹²⁰2S. 21:9.. Riṣpah bat Ayah took a garment and laid it out on the rock¹²²2S. 21:10.. What means on the rock? Rebbi Hoshaia said, she was reciting: The rock, perfect is His action¹²³Deut. 32:4.. Rebbi Abba bar Zamina in the name of Rebbi Hoshaia: Sanctification of the Name is greater than desecration of the Name. Referring to sanctification of the Name it is written: Do not leave his corpse overnight⁶⁷Deut. 21:23.. But referring to desecration of the Name it is written that they were left hanging until water was poured on them¹²⁰2S. 21:9.. This teaches that they were hanging from the sixteenth of Nisan to the seventeenth of Marḥeshwan. The passers-by were saying: How did these people sin that the rules of justice were changed for them? They were answered: Because these had attacked cursed proselytes. Is that not an argument de minore ad majus? Since even for those who did not convert for the sake of Heaven, the Eternal avenged their blood; if one would convert for the sake of Heaven not so much more? Many converts were converted at that time; that is what is written¹²⁴2Chr. 2:16–17.: Solomon counted all proselytes … and appointed from them 70’000 carriers, etc.

HALAKHAH: ¹¹⁴A somewhat extended version is Gen. rabba 31(8). Rebbi Yasa said, in four places it is said “make for yourself.” In three it is explicit, one is not explicit. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood¹¹⁵Gen. 6:14.. Make yourself two silver trumpets¹¹⁶Num. 10:2.. Make yourself flintstone knives¹¹⁷Jos. 5:2.. Make yourself a poisonous snake¹¹³Num. 21:8. He did not make explicit. Moses said, is its root not nḥš¹¹⁸The words for “brass” and “snake” both use the root nḥš whose meaning seems to be unrelated to both.? Therefore, Moses made a brass snake¹¹⁹Num. 21:9.. From there, Rebbi Meïr interpreted names¹²⁰Slightly differently Babli Yoma 83b.. There was a man called Kidor. Rebbi Meïr told them, guard yourselves from him, he is a bad person; for a generation of perverts they are¹²¹Deut. 32:20..

The yod of teshi²³Deut. 32, 18, thou wast unmindful. must be smaller than any yod in the Scriptures. The yod of yigdal²⁴Num. 14, 17, let … be great. must be bigger than any yod in the Torah.²⁵So GRA and N.Y. V erroneously ‘big, because they are letters which are in Scripture’. H lacks the sentence. Yisra’el at the end of the Torah²⁶Deut. 34, 12, Israel. must be enlarged, while the lamed in it must be higher than any other lamed.

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 Eternal³²⁸In Deut. 32:6 one has to write ה לי֙י, an enlarged he of which, however, the horizontal bar has to be aligned with the horizontal bar of the following lamed. The larger size will appear at the bottom where the vertical bars of this he are longer than those of the following Name.? The Mezuzah. There are Tannaim who state, open; there are Tannaim who state, closed³²⁹Paragraphs in the Hebrew Bible are either ending in a blank space of a third of a line, with the next paragraph starting on the same line on which the previous paragraph ended, this is called a closed paragraph. The other possibility is that the remainder of the last line remains empty; this is called open paragraph. Both paragraphs written in a Mezuzah, Deut. 6:4–9, 11:13–21, are closed in a Torah scroll; the first one follows an open paragraph, the second a closed one.. Samuel bar Shilat in the name of Rav: Practice follows him who said open, since that is not its place³³⁰The Babli disagrees (Menaḥot 32a).. Open at the start is closed. Open at the bottom is open. Open on both sides is closed³³¹“Open at the start” means that the writing of the first paragraph starts only in the middle of the line. This is normal for paragraphs following a closed paragraph. Open at the bottom means that the remainder of the last line of the paragraph remains empty; this is the definition of an open paragraph. Open on both sides implies open at the start.. 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 it³³²The scroll may not be used for public readings.. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Ḥananel, the same holds for a tear<sup>333</sup>A tear in the parchment damaging up to three lines may be fixed by sewing the tear. If it is greater the page has to be removed and buried.. 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]<sup>334</sup>It seems that the corrector’s addition is necessary from the statements following. 85 errors, as the paragraph it was when the Ark travelled<sup>335</sup>Num. 10:35–36 is a separate text and contains exactly 85 letters., one repairs and reads from it? Rebbi Shammai said, here in a large scroll, there in a small scroll<sup>336</sup>A small scroll is one of 28 colums, which may exhibit 3 errors on each column and not reach 85. A large scroll has more columns; one has to check each column for the number of errors.. 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]³³⁷The later text shows clearly that the corrector’s text has to be deleted. 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 prayer³³⁸There are so many errors that the scribe clearly sinned when writing the scroll.. 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 four³³⁹Since no answer is given, in praxi one requires a column totally without error. Babli Mehaḥot 29b.?

³⁹⁷Tosephta 4:8; Babli 13b, Sifry Num. 106. It was stated in the name of Rebbi Jehudah: If it had not been written, it would have been impossible to say: This teaches us that when Moses died, he was lying on the wings of the Shekhina³⁹⁸The Divine presence on Earth. Parallels about the burial of Moses, cf. Sifry Deut. 355,357, Midrash Tannaïm p. 224; Abot dR. Nathan (Schechter) A 12, B 25; Bet ha-Midrasch (Jellinek) vol. 1 p. 115, vol. 6 p. 71. about four miles, from the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben to the inheritance of the tribe of Gad, since he died in the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben and was buried in the inheritance of the tribe of Gad. From where that he died in the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben? Because it was said, “the tribe of Reuben built Ḥešbon, Elaleh, Qiryatayim, and Nebo.³⁹⁹Num. 32:38.” And it is written⁴⁰⁰Deut. 32:49.: “Ascend this ‘Abarim mountain, the Mountain of Nebo, and die on the Mountain up which you will climb.” And from where that he was buried in the inheritance of the tribe of Gad? For it was said⁴⁰¹Deut. 33:20–21.: “To Gad he said, praised be He Who enlarges Gad, etc. For there the part of the lawgiver is hidden.” The Holy One, praise to Him, added: “He came at the head of the people.” The angels of the service said, “he executed the justice of the Eternal”, and Israel were saying, “and His laws with Israel.⁴⁰²Since one cannot assume that Moses praised himself.” All together were saying: “⁴⁰³Is. 57:2. A fitting end of a sermon of consolation of mourners. May he come in peace, may they rest on their couches, he goes in His pleasure.”

Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ decreed three things⁹⁶In the Babli, Šabbat 14b, he is credited only with the institution of the ketubah and a decree about impurity of metal vessels (Note 102). “The institution of the ketubah” probably means the formulation of the ketubah as a contract, which was unnecessary as long as the sum due was paid, or at least earmarked, as bride money. His decrees can be dated to the reign of his sister Shlomzion (Salome), widow of Alexander Yannai, 79–69 B.C.E.: That a person should use his wife’s ketubah in his business dealings. And that children have to go to school⁹⁷In the Babli, Baba batra 21a, universal mandatory schooling is attributed to the post-Herodian High Priest Joshua ben Gamla. The Babli also notes that before Joshua ben Gamla’s time there was organized higher instruction only for youths 16 years and older. This cannot refer to Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ’s institution reported in the Yerushalmi since by no stretch of the imagination can a 16 year old teenager be called תִּינּוֹק.. Also, he decreed impurity for glass ware⁹⁸Biblical impurity applies only to kinds of vessels and implements mentioned in the rules of impurity: earthenware and metal (Lev. 6:21), leather and textiles (Lev. 13:49), bone and wood (Num. 31:20). Other vessels cannot become impure; to this fact one attributes the great number of stone vessels found on archeological sites of the Second Temple period. (Similarly intrinsically pure vessels made of cow dung have not survived for the archeological record.) The impurity of glass vessels, unknown to Moses, is purely rabbinical. One has to take the information that the impurity of glass ware “was decreed” by the head of the Synhedrion with a grain of salt. Most probably, he simply codified the rules which were popularly observed before, when the Pharisees obtained the leadership in the state. The reasons given in the Babli Šabbat 16a/b for the rules are inconsistent since the rules, derived from popular observance without any scriptural basis, are inconsistent as a mixture of two different sets of rules. Glass vessels are compared to earthenware vessels since the former are made from sand, the latter from clay. They are also compared to metal vessels since if broken they can be melted down and made into new vessels.. But did not Rebbi Ze‘ira, Rebbi Abuna say in the name of Rav Jeremiah: Yose ben Yo‘ezer from Ṣereda and Yose ben Joḥanan⁹⁹The heads of the pre-Maccabean Ḥassidim sect; cf. Gen. rabba 65(18). from Jerusalem decreed impurity for Gentile lands¹⁰⁰Here also, a long-standing popular observance (cf. Amos 7:17) was codified which attributed to the earth of Gentile lands (within or without the Holy Land) the impurity of rotting human bodies. and glass ware; Rebbi Yose said, Rebbi Jehudah bar Ṭabbai¹⁰¹The co-head with Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ in the leadership of the Pharisees under Shlomzion.? Rebbi Jonah said, Jehudah bar Ṭabbai and Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ decreed on metal vessels¹⁰²The possible impurity of metal vessels is biblical (Note 98). Following the Babli Šabbat 16b, what they decreed was that metal impure by the impurity of the dead should not become pure by being melted down, but only by sprinkling with water containing ashes of the red cow. The political background of this decision (which seems to contradict biblical rules, Num. 31:22–23) and the reliability of the Babli in this respect is difficult to establish.; Hillel and Shammai decreed on the purity of hands¹⁰³They codified the rules that hands which were not all the time consciously guarded from impurity after being washed are impure in the second degree and, therefore, impart impurity to fluids, heave, and sacrifices but not to solid profane food (cf. Demay 2:3, Notes 136–137; Babli Šabbat14b).. ¹⁰⁴From here to the end of the Chapter, the text is from Ševi‘it 1:7, following Note 55 (variants noted ש). Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun in the name of Levi: That was the current practice; they forgot it¹⁰⁵There was no rule-making authority in the time between the two Yoses and Simeon ben Sheṭaḥ and Jehudah ben Ṭabbai., but the later ones got up and agreed to the opinion of the earlier ones to teach you that everything the Court insists on will come to be in the end just as Moses was told on Sinai; as Rebbi Mana said (Deut. 32:47): “For it is not an empty word, from you,” if it is empty it is from you because you do not exert yourself about it. “Because it is your life,” when is it your life? At the time that you exert yourself!

When Jonathan, a children’s teacher from Gufta,¹⁶In Galilee. V incorrectly ‘Gufthera’. came down here,¹⁷Tiberias where R. Abuna re-sided. The city is a on lower level, hence the verb ‘came down’. he saw a children’s teacher, R. Abuna, reading the Song of the Well¹⁸Num. 21, 17-20. and reciting the benedictions before and after it. ‘Is it proper,’ he asked him, ‘to act in this manner?’¹⁹The rule is that the benedictions are recited only at the beginning and end of the entire section to be read. The Song of the Well, appearing in the middle of a section, should consequently require no benedictions before and after its reading. ‘Do you,’ the other retorted, ‘still require [a ruling] on this subject? All poems²⁰Such as the Song of the Sea (Ex. 15, 1-19), the Song of the Well and probably also Deut. 32, 1-43. must be preceded and followed by benedictions.’

At that time, Moses asked to die as Aaron had died, because he saw the great honor Aaron was given at the funeral procession, with rows and rows of angels eulogizing him. But did he actually say this to someone? No, he just said it to himself. Yet the Holy Blessed One heard his whisper, as it says (Deuteronomy 32:51), “And you will die on the mountain that you go up on, and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor.” From this you learn that he asked to die as Aaron had died.
At that time, [God] said to the Angel of Death: Go, bring me the soul of Moses. The Angel of Death went and stood before him, and said: Moses, give me your soul. But he scowled at him [and said: The place I sit, you have no right to even stand – and you ask me to give you my soul? So he scowled at him] and chased him away with a rebuke.
The Holy Blessed One said again to the Angel of Death: Go, bring me the soul of Moses.
Finally, the Holy Blessed One said to Moses: Moses! You’ve had enough of this world. The World to Come has been prepared for you since the six days of creation. As it says (Exodus 33:22), “God said, here is a place near Me; stand on that rock.” The Holy Blessed One took Moses’ soul and stored it under the Throne of Glory. (As it says [I Samuel 25:29], “And the soul of my master will be bound up in the bond of life.”) And when He took it, He did it with a kiss. As it says (Deuteronomy 34:5), “[Moses died…] by the mouth of God.” And not only Moses’ soul is stored under the Throne of Glory, but also the souls of all the righteous are stored there! As it says (I Samuel 25:29), “[If anyone sets out to pursue you and seek your life], the soul of my master will be bound up in the bond of life.” Could it be that the souls of the wicked are there, too? The verse continues: “but He will fling away the lives of your enemies like a slingshot.” [(To what can this be compared?) It can be compared to someone who takes a stone and places it in a sling;] even though he flings it from place to place, he does not know where it will land. So it is for the souls of the wicked, which cast about and go wandering the world, and have no place to rest.
The Holy Blessed One said again to the Angel of Death: Go, bring me the soul of Moses. He went back to the place, and looked for Moses, but could not find him. He went to the Great Sea and said to it: Did Moses come here? And it said: I have not seen him since the day that Israel passed through me. He went to the mountains and hills and asked them: Did Moses come here? [They said to him: We have not seen him since the day that Israel received the Torah on Mount Sinai. He went down to the Underworld and to Oblivion said to them: Did Moses come here? They said: We have heard his name, but we have never seen him. He went and asked the angels: Did Moses come here?] They said to him: God knows his path and his place. God stored him away for the World to Come, and no living creature knows where. As it says (Job 28:12–14, 22), “Where will wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding? No human knows its measure, and it cannot be found in the land of the living. The Deep says, it is not in me, and the sea says it is not by me…. Oblivion and Death say: in our ears we heard a rumor.” Even Joshua was sitting in despair over Moses [for he did not know where he was], until the Holy Blessed One said to him: Joshua, why are you in despair over Moses? For “Moses My servant is dead.” (Joshua 1:2).

At that time, Moses asked to die as Aaron had died, because he saw the great honor Aaron was given at the funeral procession, with rows and rows of angels eulogizing him. But did he actually say this to someone? No, he just said it to himself. Yet the Holy Blessed One heard his whisper, as it says (Deuteronomy 32:51), “And you will die on the mountain that you go up on, and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor.” From this you learn that he asked to die as Aaron had died.
At that time, [God] said to the Angel of Death: Go, bring me the soul of Moses. The Angel of Death went and stood before him, and said: Moses, give me your soul. But he scowled at him [and said: The place I sit, you have no right to even stand – and you ask me to give you my soul? So he scowled at him] and chased him away with a rebuke.
The Holy Blessed One said again to the Angel of Death: Go, bring me the soul of Moses.
Finally, the Holy Blessed One said to Moses: Moses! You’ve had enough of this world. The World to Come has been prepared for you since the six days of creation. As it says (Exodus 33:22), “God said, here is a place near Me; stand on that rock.” The Holy Blessed One took Moses’ soul and stored it under the Throne of Glory. (As it says [I Samuel 25:29], “And the soul of my master will be bound up in the bond of life.”) And when He took it, He did it with a kiss. As it says (Deuteronomy 34:5), “[Moses died…] by the mouth of God.” And not only Moses’ soul is stored under the Throne of Glory, but also the souls of all the righteous are stored there! As it says (I Samuel 25:29), “[If anyone sets out to pursue you and seek your life], the soul of my master will be bound up in the bond of life.” Could it be that the souls of the wicked are there, too? The verse continues: “but He will fling away the lives of your enemies like a slingshot.” [(To what can this be compared?) It can be compared to someone who takes a stone and places it in a sling;] even though he flings it from place to place, he does not know where it will land. So it is for the souls of the wicked, which cast about and go wandering the world, and have no place to rest.
The Holy Blessed One said again to the Angel of Death: Go, bring me the soul of Moses. He went back to the place, and looked for Moses, but could not find him. He went to the Great Sea and said to it: Did Moses come here? And it said: I have not seen him since the day that Israel passed through me. He went to the mountains and hills and asked them: Did Moses come here? [They said to him: We have not seen him since the day that Israel received the Torah on Mount Sinai. He went down to the Underworld and to Oblivion said to them: Did Moses come here? They said: We have heard his name, but we have never seen him. He went and asked the angels: Did Moses come here?] They said to him: God knows his path and his place. God stored him away for the World to Come, and no living creature knows where. As it says (Job 28:12–14, 22), “Where will wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding? No human knows its measure, and it cannot be found in the land of the living. The Deep says, it is not in me, and the sea says it is not by me…. Oblivion and Death say: in our ears we heard a rumor.” Even Joshua was sitting in despair over Moses [for he did not know where he was], until the Holy Blessed One said to him: Joshua, why are you in despair over Moses? For “Moses My servant is dead.” (Joshua 1:2).

R. Jose b. Abin said: For the Song of Ha’azinu⁴⁶E.V. give ear, designating the section Deut. 32, 1-43. For Ha’azinu (the reading of GRA) V and H read ‘the Levites’, because the poem was sung by the Levites in the Temple during the Sabbath musaf in six parts on successive Sabbaths. not less than six persons⁴⁷Because the Levites concluded it in cycles of six Sabbath divisions. are to be called up, and your mnemonic sign⁴⁸For the words beginning each of the six parts. The divisions, according to Maimonides, emphasize the exhortations and arouse the people to repentance. is h z y w l k,⁴⁹pronounced .הזי״ו ל״ך which stands for ha’azinu,⁵⁰E.V. give ear (Deut. 32, 1). zekor,⁵¹E.V. remember (ibid. 7). yarkibehu,⁵²E.V. He made him ride (ibid. 13). wayyishman,⁵³E.V. but … waxed fat (ibid. 15). lu,⁵⁴E.V. if (ibid. 29). ki yadin … ‘ammo.⁵⁵E.V. for the Lord will judge His people (ibid. 36). It must also be provided with⁵⁶lit. ‘and it has’. the space of a full line above it and of a full line below it. Corresponding to it the custom has been adopted to write in the Torah its number of lines.⁵⁷The number is 72 according to GRA who apparently includes the two blank lines. Maimonides and others give the number as 70.

R. Jose b. Abin said: For the Song of Ha’azinu⁴⁶E.V. give ear, designating the section Deut. 32, 1-43. For Ha’azinu (the reading of GRA) V and H read ‘the Levites’, because the poem was sung by the Levites in the Temple during the Sabbath musaf in six parts on successive Sabbaths. not less than six persons⁴⁷Because the Levites concluded it in cycles of six Sabbath divisions. are to be called up, and your mnemonic sign⁴⁸For the words beginning each of the six parts. The divisions, according to Maimonides, emphasize the exhortations and arouse the people to repentance. is h z y w l k,⁴⁹pronounced .הזי״ו ל״ך which stands for ha’azinu,⁵⁰E.V. give ear (Deut. 32, 1). zekor,⁵¹E.V. remember (ibid. 7). yarkibehu,⁵²E.V. He made him ride (ibid. 13). wayyishman,⁵³E.V. but … waxed fat (ibid. 15). lu,⁵⁴E.V. if (ibid. 29). ki yadin … ‘ammo.⁵⁵E.V. for the Lord will judge His people (ibid. 36). It must also be provided with⁵⁶lit. ‘and it has’. the space of a full line above it and of a full line below it. Corresponding to it the custom has been adopted to write in the Torah its number of lines.⁵⁷The number is 72 according to GRA who apparently includes the two blank lines. Maimonides and others give the number as 70.

A mnemonic sign for the beginnings of the lines⁵⁸Of the song Ha’azinu. The following renderings are from E.V. While the Heb. words stand at the beginning of the respective lines, the translations, owing to English idiom, do not always occupy the same position in the sentence. is the following: ha’azinu,⁵⁹Give ear (Deut. 32, 1). ya‘arof,⁶⁰Shall drop (ibid. 2). kise‘irim,⁶¹As the small rain (ibid.). ki,⁶²For (3). haẓẓur,⁶³The Rock (4). ’el,⁶⁴A God (ibid.). shiḥeth,⁶⁵Is corruption (5). halaH,⁶⁶The Lord (6). halo’,⁶⁷Is not (ibid.). zekor,⁶⁸Remember (7). she’al,⁶⁹Ask (ibid.). behanḥel,⁷⁰When … gave … inheritance (8). yaẓẓeb,⁷¹He set (ibid.). ki,⁷²For (9). yimẓa’ehu,⁷³He found him (10). yesobebenhu,⁷⁴He compassed him (ibid.). kannesher,⁷⁵As an eagle (11). yifros,⁷⁶Spreadeth abroad (ibid.). the Tetragrammaton,⁷⁷The Lord (12). yarkibehu,⁷⁸He made him ride (13). wayyeniḳehu,⁷⁹And He made him to suck (ibid.). ḥem’ath,⁸⁰Curd of (14). we’elim,⁸¹And rams (ibid.). wedam,⁸²And of the blood of (ibid.). shamanta,⁸³Thou didst wax fat (15). wayyenabbel,⁸⁴And contemned (ibid.). betho‘eboth,⁸⁵With abominations (16). ’Elohim,⁸⁶Gods (17). lo’,⁸⁷Not (ibid.). wattishkaḥ,⁸⁸And didst forget (18). mikka‘as,⁸⁹Because of the provoking (19). ’er’eh,⁹⁰I will see (20). banim,⁹¹Children (ibid.). ki‘asuni,⁹²They have provoked Me (21). begoi,⁹³With a … nation (ibid.). wattiḳad,⁹⁴And burneth (22). wattelaheṭ,⁹⁵And setteth ablaze (ibid.). ḥiẓẓai,⁹⁶Mine arrows (23). weḳeṭeb,⁹⁷And bitter destruction (24). ‘im,⁹⁸With (ibid.). umeḥadarim,⁹⁹And in the chambers (25). yoneḳ,¹⁰⁰The suckling (ibid.). ’ashbithah,¹⁰¹I would make … cease (26). pen,¹⁰²Lest (27). welo’,¹⁰³And not (ibid.). we’ain,¹⁰⁴And there is no (28). yabinu,¹⁰⁵They would understand (29). ushenayim,¹⁰⁶And two (30). waH,¹⁰⁷And the Lord (ibid.). w’oyebenu,¹⁰⁸Even our enemies (31). umishshadmoth,¹⁰⁹And of the fields (32). ’ashkeloth,¹¹⁰Clusters (ibid.). werosh,¹¹¹And … poison (33). ḥathum,¹¹²Sealed up (34). le‘eth,¹¹³Against the time (35). weḥash,¹¹⁴And … shall make haste (ibid.). we‘al,¹¹⁵And … for (36). we’efes,¹¹⁶And there is none (ibid.). ẓur,¹¹⁷The rock (37). yishtu,¹¹⁸And drank (38). yehi,¹¹⁹Let him be (ibid.). we’ain,¹²⁰And there is no (39). maḥaẓti,¹²¹I have wounded (ibid.)., ki,¹²²For (40). ’im,¹²³If (41). ’ashib,¹²⁴I will render (ibid.). ’ashkir,¹²⁵I will make drunk (42). middam,¹²⁶With the blood of (ibid.). harninu,¹²⁷Sing aloud (43). wenaḳam.¹²⁸And … vengeance (ibid.).

When Rabbi Yehoshua was very old, his students came to visit him. He said to them: My children! What new teachings did you come up with in the house of study? They said to him: We are your students, and we drink from your waters. He said to them: God forbid! This is not a generation without sages! Whose turn was it to speak on the Sabbath? They said: It was Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah’s Sabbath. He said to them: And what was the subject of the day? They said: The commandment to (Deuteronomy 32:2) “gather the whole nation; the men, the women, and the babies” [for a public Torah reading]. He said to them: And what did he speak about? They said to him: This is what he said: The men come to learn, and the women come to hear. But why must the babies come? In order to be able to reward those who bring them. He said to them: You had this pearl of wisdom in your hands, and you wanted to keep it from me? If you had come today only to teach me that one thing, it would have been enough! They said: He also taught about the verse (Ecclesiastes 12:11), “The words of the sages are like goads, like nails fixed in herding sticks.” Just as a goad is used to direct a cow to her furrow, so do words of Torah direct a person toward the paths of life. And lest you think that just as a goad is movable, so words of Torah are easily moved around, it says, “like nails fixed,” to tell you that just as something fixed cannot be uprooted, so too, words of Torah cannot be uprooted. “Herding sticks” refers to the scholars, who gather together to sit in packs. Now, these may prohibit something, and these may permit it; these may say something is impure, and these may say it is pure; these may say something is invalid, and these may say it is valid. [And so perhaps someone will say:] I give up! One cannot learn anything! That is why it says [at the end of the verse], “all given from one shepherd.” One God created them. One leader (i.e., Moses) transmitted them. And the Master of all Things said them: As for you, make your ear like a funnel and take in the words of those who prohibit and the words of those who permit, the words of those who say “impure” and the words of those who say “pure,” the words of those who invalidate and the words of those who validate.

He would also say: Anyone who helps his friend perform a mitzvah, the Torah considers it as if he had done it himself. A parable: To what can this be compared? [It can be compared] to a human king who captured a bird and gave it to one of his servants. The king said to him: Be careful with this bird. For if you treat it with care, all will be well. But if you do not, I will take your life for it. So did the Holy Blessed One say to Israel: If you observe these words of Torah that I have given to you, all will be well. But if not, I will take your lives because of them, as it says (Deuteronomy 4:9), (“Just be very careful to protect your life, lest you forget these things that your eyes have seen.”) (And in Deuteronomy 32:47), “It is not an empty thing for you, for it is your very life.”

Rabbi Nehemiah would say: Where do we learn that one person is considered as important as the entire work of Creation? Because it says (Genesis 5:1), “This is the book of the generations of humanity,” and prior to that it said (Genesis 2:4), “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.” Just as previously there was creating and making, so too here there is creating and making. [This] teaches that the Holy Blessed One showed [Adam] all the generations that would come from him, as if they rose up (and played) before him. And some say that he was shown only his righteous descendants, as it says (Isaiah 4:1), “All who were inscribed for life in Jerusalem.”
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karha would say: See, it says (Psalms 139:16), “Your eyes see my unformed substance, they were [all recorded] in your book.” This teaches that the Holy Blessed One showed [Adam] the first person every generation and its preachers, community servants, leaders, prophets, warriors, sinners, and saints, and said to him, “In this generation this one will be a king. In that generation this one will be a scholar.”
Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosei HaGalili would say: Nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the world was created, the Torah was written and placed on the bosom of the Holy Blessed One, and it sang a song with the angels who serve God, as it says (Proverbs 8:30), “I was raised with Him, a source of delight to Him every day…rejoicing before Him on the face of His earth.” They gave a parable: To what can this be compared? [It can be compared] to someone who took a piece of wood and wanted to carve lots of figures into it. But there was not enough room on the wood, and so he was sad. But then he began drawing pictures on the ground, and kept walking and drew many, many pictures. So, too, the Holy Blessed One – may His great name be blessed forever and ever – in His wisdom and insight, created the whole world, with the heavens and the earth, above and below. And He fashioned within the human being everything that He created in His world. He created forests in the world, and He created forests on human beings – that is, their hair. He created evil beasts in the world, and He created evil beasts in human beings – that is, (the intestines) of a person. (He created thorns in the world, and He created thorns on human beings – that is, their ears.) He created scent in the world, and He created scent in human beings – that is, in their noses. He created a sun in the world, and He created a sun in human beings – that is, a person’s light. Putrid waters in the world and putrid waters in human beings – that is the water that drips from their noses. Salty waters in the world and salty waters in human beings – that is, the tears in their eyes. Rivers in the world and rivers in human beings – that is, their tears. Walls in the world, and walls in human beings – that is, a person’s lips. Doors in the world, and doors in human beings – that is, a person’s teeth. (Skies in the world, and skies in human beings – that is, a person’s tongue.) Sweet waters in the world, and sweet waters in human beings – that is, a person’s spit. Chiseled stones in the world and chiseled stones in human beings – that is, a person’s jaws. Towers in the world, and towers in human beings – that is, a person’s neck. Sail-yards in the world, and sail-yards on human beings – that is, a person’s arms. Spikes in the world, and spikes on human beings – that is, a person’s fingers. A king in the world, and a king in the human being – that is, his head. (Clusters in the world, and clusters in human beings – that is, in their blood.) Advisers in the world, and advisers in human beings – that is, their kidneys. Millstones in the world, and millstones in human beings – that is, their stomachs. Grinding mills in the world, and grinding mills in human beings – that is, their spleens. Garbage heaps in the world, and garbage heaps in human beings – that is, a person’s bowels. Pits in the world, and pits in human beings – that is, a person’s navel. Running waters in the world, and running waters in human beings – that is, a person’s (urine. Life in the world, and life in human beings – that is, a person’s) blood. Trees in the world, and trees in human beings – that is, a person’s bones. Hills in the world, and hills on human beings – that is, a person’s buttocks. Mortars and pestles in the world, and mortars and pestles in human beings – that is, their knees and knee-sockets. Horses in the world, and horses in human beings – that is, a person’s thighs. (An angel of death in the world, and an angel of death in human beings – that is, a person’s heels.) Mountains and valleys in the world, and mountains and valleys in human beings – when they stand, they are like a mountain, and when they fall, they are like a valley. Now you have seen that everything the Holy Blessed One created in His world, He created also in human beings.

Abraham our forefather was tested with ten trials before the Holy Blessed One, and he emerged from each one complete.
They are as follows: Two when God said to him, “Go forth!” Two with his two sons. Two with his two wives. One with the war of the kings. One at the Covenant of the Parts. One in Ur Kasdim. One with circumcision. (The Covenant of the Parts.) And why so many? So that when Abraham our forefather comes to take his reward, the angels will say: More than us, more than anyone, Abraham deserves his reward, as it says (Ecclesiastes 9:7), “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart.”
Because Abraham was tested with ten trials, and emerged from each one complete, the Holy Blessed One performed ten miracles for his children in Egypt, and brought ten plagues, and performed ten more miracles at the sea, and brought ten more plagues upon the Egyptians at the sea.
The Egyptians roared at the top of their lungs, and so the Holy Blessed One thundered back across the sea, as it says (Job 37:5), “God thunders marvelously with His voice.” The Egyptians came to the sea with bows and arrows, and so the Holy Blessed One appeared before them with a bow and arrow, as it says (Habakkuk 3:9), “Bared and ready is Your bow,” and (Psalms 18:15), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them….” The Egyptians came to the sea with swords, so the Holy Blessed One came upon them with swords (and mercy), as it says (ibid.), “He sent forth His arrows and scattered them; He discharged lightning and routed them.” And lighting always means a sword, as it says (Ezekiel 21:14–15), “The sword, the sword has been sharpened and polished, sharpened in order to slaughter, so that it sparkles like lightning.” The Egyptians came proudly with shield and armor, and so the Holy Blessed One did the same, as it says (Psalms 35:2), “Grab shield and armor and rise to my defense.” The Egyptians came with spears, and so did the Holy Blessed One, as it says (Habakkuk 3:11), “Your flashing spear in brilliance.” The Egyptians came with rocks and slings, and the Holy Blessed One outdid them with hailstones, as it says (Psalms 18:13), “(Out of the brilliance before Him,) hail and fiery coals pierced His clouds.”
When our ancestors stood at the sea, Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea begins to split open. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it began to split open, as it says (Habakkuk 3:14), “You will split open the heads of his warriors with your staff.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said to him: We will not cross until the sea becomes like a valley before us. So Moses struck the sea and it became like a valley before them, as it says (Psalms 78:13), “He split the sea and passed them through,” and (Isaiah 63:14), “Like a beast going down into the valley.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it is divided into sections, as it says (Psalms 136:13), “Who divided the Sea of Reeds into sections.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross!. They said: We will not cross until it becomes solid matter. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, and it became mud, as it says (Habakkuk 3:15), “You led Your horse into the sea, onto solid waters.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a desert. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 106:9), “He led them through the depths as if it were the desert.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes all smashed up into particles. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 74:13), “You smashed the sea with Your might.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes a bed of rocks. He took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (there), “You broke the heads of crocodiles on the water.” And they could not be broken like this except on rocks. Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes dry land. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Psalms 66:6), “He turned the sea into dry land,” and (Exodus 14:29), “And the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until it becomes walls. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 14:22), “And the water became a wall for them, on their right and on their left.” Moses said to them: Arise and cross! They said: We will not cross until goatskins (nodot) [to drink from] appear before us. So Moses took his staff and struck the sea, as it says (Exodus 15:8), “[The walls] stood like a stack (ned) of flowing water.” (And where do we learn that between the sections, fire came down and, as it says [Isaiah 64:1], “Like fire kindles brushwood, and fire boils water to announce Your name to Your antagonists”?) And so the goatskins would draw oil and honey into the mouths of the babies, who would nurse from them, as it says (Deuteronomy 32:13), “He nursed him with honey from the rock.” And some say that fresh water flowed from the sea, and they would drink it between the sections of the sea, since seawater is usually salty, for it says, “flowing,” which always means sweet, as it says (Song of Songs 4:15), “A well of fresh water, flowing from the Lebanon.” And the Clouds of Glory were above them, so that the sun would not oppress them. And this is how the Israelites crossed the water, in order that they would feel no pain.
Rabbi Eliezer would say: The sea depths were arched over them from above, and the Israelites crossed through, so that they would feel no pain. Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon would say: The upper waters and the lower waters tossed the Egyptians, as it says (Exodus 14:27), “The Eternal tossed the Egyptians into the sea.”