Talmud su Deuteronomio 4:78

“The insane.” Rebbi Eleazar said, you were shown to know²⁴Deut. 4:35..

It also happened that King Ptolemy assembled seventy-two elders and placed them in seventy-two [separate] rooms without telling them the reason for which he had assembled them. He then went to each one of them and said to him,¹⁷lit. ‘to them’. ‘Write for me [a translation of] the Torah of Moses your master’. The Omnipresent inspired them¹⁸lit. ‘put counsel in the heart of each one of them’. and the mind of all of them was identical, so that each on his own¹⁹So GRA. wrote the [same translation of the] Torah, introducing [the same] thirteen alterations²⁰Deviations from the traditional text. In the extant Versions of the Septuagint only some of these are found. as follows: ‘God created in the beginning’.²¹Instead of In the beginning God created (Gen. 1, 1) the Heb. of which might be misinterpreted to mean that a power named ‘Bereshith’ (in the beginning) created God. ‘And God said I shall make a man in image and likeness.’²²The Heb. text reads: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (Gen. 1, 26). The plural us and our might erroneously suggest a plurality of deities. ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day].’²³For the Heb.: And He finished on the seventh day (Gen. 2, 2) which could be understood to imply that God did some work on the seventh day. ‘Male and female He created him.’²⁴Instead of created them (ibid. V, 2) from which it might be inferred that man and woman were, from the first, two separate beings, contrary to ibid. II, 21. ‘Come let Me go down and there confound their language.’²⁵Instead of let us go down (ibid. XI, 7). ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives,²⁶i.e. she laughed in the presence of people and therefore incurred censure (ibid. XVIII, 12). The Heb. means ‘within herself’ as Abraham had done when he laughed … in his heart (ibid. XVII, 17) and had not been rebuked. saying.’ ‘For in their anger they slew oxen²⁷So GRA, H and M. V incorrectly ‘a man’. and in their self-will they digged up a stall.’²⁸Changing men (ibid. XLIX, 6) to ‘oxen’ and oxen to ‘stall’ in order to remove the stigma of murder from Jacob’s sons. ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier²⁹So M. V and H read ‘carriers of men’. of men.’³⁰i.e. an animal conformable with the dignity of Moses, instead of ass (Ex. 4, 20). ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt and in the land of Canaan and in other lands³¹So M. V omits ‘and in other lands’. [The reading of the Septuagint is ‘in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt’.] was four hundred and thirty years.’³²Instead of the Heb. which omits ‘in the land of Canaan and in other lands’ (Ex. 12, 40), and implies that all the 430 years were spent in Egypt when, in fact, they could not have dwelt there more than 210 years (cf. Rashi to Meg. 9a). ‘And he sent the elect of the children of Israel.’³³So GRA and Meg. 9a but omitted in V. ‘Elect’ is substituted for young men (ibid. XXIV, 5), the former being regarded as more suitable persons for the service. ‘And upon the elect of the children of Israel He laid not His hand.’³⁴Here also ‘elect’ was substituted for the Heb. for nobles (ibid. 11). The alteration was not essential, but ‘elect’ which was mentioned earlier was preferred. It should be noted that in the total of thirteen alterations, this and the preceding are counted as one. ‘I have not taken one desirable thing³⁵A ‘desirable thing’ [which occurs in the Septuagint] for the Heb. ass (Num. 16, 15) to avoid the suggestion that Moses did not take an ass but more precious objects. from them.’ ‘The [beast] with small legs.’³⁶Instead of the Heb. for the hare (Lev. 11, 6) which is arnebeth, so as not to give offence to Ptolemy the name of whose queen was Arnebeth. ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted to give light unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.’³⁷The insertion ‘to give light’ (Deut. 4, 19) removes the possible misunderstanding that the heavenly bodies enumerated in the verse were intended by God to be objects of worship. ‘Which I commanded should not be served.’³⁸Deut. 17, 3 reads which I have commanded not. This might be taken to mean that God did not desire their existence and their creation was consequently due to a power beyond His control. It should be noted that the last two alterations are regarded as one in the enumeration because both deal with heavenly bodies as objects of worship.

They [all] introduced [the same] thirteen alterations:¹⁶For a comparison of these variants with the Heb. text, cf. on Sof. I, 8. ‘God created in the beginning’; ‘I shall make a man in image and likeness’; ‘And He finished on the sixth [day] and rested on the seventh [day]’; ‘Male and female He created him’; ‘Come let Me go down’; ‘And Sarah laughed among her relatives, saying’; ‘For in their anger they slew oxen and in their self-will they digged up a stall’; ‘And Moses took his wife and his children and set them upon a carrier of men’; ‘Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt was four hundred and thirty years’; ‘I have not taken one desirable thing from them’; ‘And the [beast] with small legs’; ‘Which the Lord thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples to give light under the whole heaven’; ‘And they offer sacrifices to the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven which I commanded should not be served’.

(Jewish) Christians asked Rebbi Simlai: How many aspects of divinity created the world? He answered them: Are you asking me? Go and ask the first Adam, as it is said (Deut. 4:32): “Please ask the first days etc²⁷“Please ask the first days that were before you, starting from the day that God created man on the earth …”.” It does not say there “when gods created man on the earth” but “from the day that God created man on the earth”. They said to him, but it is written (Gen. 1:1): “In the beginning, ĕlōhīm created …” He said to them: Is it written “they created” (plural)? It says “he created” (singular). Rebbi Simlai said, every place where the Christians read heretic meanings²⁸That ĕlōhīm is a genuine plural, not one of majesty., their answer is at that place.

⁵⁶The legend of Aḥer is also found in Ruth rabba 6(6), Eccl. rabba 7(18); partially Babli 15a/b. Note that Aḥer’s birth is dated both to Jerusalem before the first war against the Roman as also to the ascendancy of RR. Eliezer and Joshua after the death of Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai about 80CE. His apostasy is dated to the Hadrianic persecutions after 130, and his unmarried daughters appear before Rebbi not before 180. Rebbi Meïr was sitting and preaching in the House of Study of Tiberias when his teacher Elisha passed by riding on a horse on the Sabbath. They came and told him, your teacher is outside. He stopped his sermon and went out to him. He asked him, what did you preach today? He told him, and the Eternal blessed the end⁵⁷Job 42:12. etc. He asked him, what did you explain about this? He answered him, and the Eternal added double all that Job had owned⁵⁸Job 42:10.; that he doubled his money. He said, woe for those who are lost and not found, your teacher Aqiba did not preach this but, the Eternal blessed the end of Job from his beginning, by the merit of commandments and good works which were in his hand from his beginning. He asked him, and what did you preach further? He told him, the end of a matter is better than the beginning⁵⁹Eccl. 7:8.. He asked him, what did you explain about this? For example, a man who had children in his youth but they died, and in his old age they lived; that is the end of a matter is better than the beginning. For example, a man who traded in his youth and lost, and in his old age and gained; that is the end of a matter is better than the beginning. For example, a man who studied Torah in his youth and forgot, in his old age he remembered; that is the end of a matter is better than the beginning. He said, woe for those who are lost and not found, your teacher Aqiba did not preach this but, the end of a matter is good from the beginning, in case it is good from the start, and this applies to me. My father Abuya was one of the leading Jerusalemites. On the day he came to circumcise me he invited all the leading Jerusalemites and sat them in one room, and Rebbi Eliezer and Rebbi Joshua in another room⁶⁰Cf. Note 56.. After they ate and drank they started to clap with their hands and dance. Rebbi Eliezer and Rebbi Joshua said, while they are occupied in theirs let us be occupied with ours. They sat occupied with words of the Torah, from the Torah to Prophets, from Prophets to Hagiographs. Fire descended from Heaven and surrounded them. Abuya told them, my teachers! Why do you come to burn down my house? They told him, Heaven forbid! But we were sitting reviewing the words of the Torah, from the Torah to Prophets, from Prophets to Hagiographs, and the words were joyful as at their giving on Sinai. And was the main giving on Sinai not in fire? And the Mountain burns in the fire up to the heart of Heaven⁶¹Deut. 4:11.. My father Abuya told them, my teachers! If that is the power of Torah, if this son of mine survives I dedicate him to Torah. Because his intent was not for Heaven, it did not succeed with this man. He asked him, and what did you preach further? He told him, it cannot be valued by gold or glass⁶²Job 28:17.. He asked him, what did you explain about this? He told him, the words of the Torah are as difficult to acquire as golden vessels, and as easy to lose as glass vessels. And like golden and glass vessels when they are broken he can make them vessels as before, also the student of the Sages who forgot his learning can learn it anew. He said to him, this is enough, Meïr, up to here is the Sabbath domain. He asked him, how do you know? He told him, from the horse’s hooves which I continuously counted for 2’000 cubits. He said to him, all that wisdom is in you and you do not repent? He told him, I cannot. He asked him, why? He told him, once I was passing by the Holiest of Holies riding on a horse on the Day of Atonement which fell on a Sabbath and I heard an unembodied voice coming from the Holiest of Holies, saying, return, erring children⁶³Jer. 3:14,22., except for Elisha ben Abuya who knew My power and rebelled against Me. And all that came to him because he was sitting memorizing in the valley of Genezareth and saw a man climbing to the top of a date palm taking the mother with the chicks and descending safely. The next day he saw another man climbing to the top of a date palm, taking the chicks and sending away the mother. When climbing down he was bitten by a snake, and he died. He said, it is written⁶⁴Deut. 22:7., sending away you shall send the mother, but the chicks you may take for yourself, so it will be good for you and prolong your days. Where is the good for this one? Where is the prolongation of days of this one? He did not know that Rebbi Jacob had explained it preceding him⁶⁵Tosephta Ḥulin 10:16., so it will be good for you in the future world which is all good, and prolong your days, in the future which is all long. But some are saying, because he saw the tongue of Rebbi Jehudah the baker in the mouth of a dog, oozing blood. He said, is this the Torah and this is its reward? This is the tongue which was delivering the words of the Torah correctly; this is the tongue which occupied itself with Torah all its days; [is this the Torah and this is its reward?] It appears that there is no reward and no resurrection of the dead. But some are saying, when his mother was pregnant with him she passed by pagan temples and smelled of this kind. And this smell was bubbling in her body like the poison of a viper. Later Elisha fell sick. They came and informed Rebbi Meïr, your teacher is sick. He went to visit him and found him sick. He asked him, are you not repenting? He asked, and if one repents, is one accepted? He told him, is it not written, man shall repent up to extinction⁶⁶Ps. 90:3., one receives up to the extinction of the breath. At that moment Elisha cried, passed away, and died. Rebbi Meïr was happy internally and said, it seems that my teacher passed away repentant. After they buried him, fire descended from Heaven and burned his grave. They came and informed Rebbi Meïr, your teacher’s grave is on fire. He went to visit it and found it burning. What did he do? He took his kaftan and spread it over it. He said, stay for the night⁶⁷Ruth 3:13., etc. Stay for this world which compares to the night, and it will be in the morning, this is the Future World which is all morning, if the Good One will redeem, this is the Holy One, praise to Him, who is Good, as it is written⁶⁸Ps. 145:9., the Eternal is good to all, and His mercies are on all His creatures. And if He does not want to redeem you I shall redeem you, living is the Eternal⁶⁷Ruth 3:13., and it was extinguished. They asked Rebbi Meïr, if they ask you in that World, whom do you want to visit, your father or your teacher? He told them, I shall visit my teacher first and afterwards my father. They said, will they listen to you? He told them, did we not state⁶⁹Mishnah Šabbat 16:2., “one saves the case of a scroll with the scroll, and the case of phylacteries with the phylacteries”? One saves Elisha Aher by the merit of his Torah. Later his daughters went to take charity from Rebbi. Rebbi decided and said, nobody shall show him grace nor be friendly to his orphans⁷⁰Ps. 109:12.. They told him, Rebbi. Do not look at his deeds, do look at his Torah. At this moment Rebbi cried and decided for them that they be provided for⁷¹This usually means to be given a dowry for a decent marriage.. He said, if this one who toiled in Torah not for Heaven’s sake, see what he produced⁷²He raised a good Jewish family.; one who toils in the Torah for itself not so much more?

Rebbi Jonah [in the name of] Rebbi Abba: It is written⁸¹Deut. 4:32., but ask the first days which were before you, I could think before the Creation. The verse says, from the day that God created Man on the Earth. I could think starting with the Sixth Day, the verse says, the first. After the verse added, it subtracted. Therefore we infer from the Sixth. Since the Sixth is particular that it is one of the Six Days of Creation, also you may not bring to me only ones similar to the Sixth. I could think, to know what is higher than heaven and lower than the abyss, the verse says, from end of heaven to end of heaven. But before the world was created you may investigate privately; after the world was created your voice may go from one end of the world to the other end⁸²Meaning that one is permitted to publicly preach about this subject anywhere.. Bar Qappara stated, “and from the day.” It comes that Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi⁹The original meaning of דרש “to investigate” has been changed into the later Amoraic-Medieval “to preach” and the interpretation of the Mishnah changed accordingly. parallels Bar Qappara, and what Rebbi Ḥiyya stated⁸³Tosephta 2:7, Babli 11b; Gen. rabba1(13). parallels Rebbi Abba.

They³⁴This is the start of a lengthy sermon that continues to the end of the Halakhah. It has been subdivided for the benefit of the reader. Since the name of Rebbi Berekhiah, one of the authors and collectors of Midrash Bereshit rabba, is mentioned in this sermon, one may take it as a proof that Midrash Shemot rabba, which in the middle switches from a style identical to that of Midrash Bereshit rabba to extended sermons based on the starting verses of the weekly portions, does not necessarily have two different collectors or editors. came back and asked him: What is that which is written (Deut. 4:8): “Where is a great people that has ĕlōhīm close³⁵Plural. to them?” He answered them, it is not written: “Like the Eternal, our ĕlōhīm, always when we call on them”, but “always when we call on Him.” His students told him: Teacher, these you pushed away with a stick, what can you answer us? He said to them, he is close in all kinds of closeness, as Rebbi Phineas said in the name of Rebbi Yehudah bar Simon: Idolatry seems close but is very far. What is the reason? (Is. 46:7) “They take it on the shoulder, carry it, etc.” Finally, his god is with him in the house and he cries until he dies but that one will not hear and not save him from his distress. But the Holy One, praise to Him, seems to be far away when there is no one closer than Him³⁶The following argument is in disagreement with the generally accepted doctrine of R. Yose bar Ḥalaphta that God is the place of the world but the world is not His place [Bereshit rabba 68(8), Shemot rabba 45(6), Midrash Tehillim 90, Tanḥuma Ki Tissa 27, Tanḥuma Buber Ki Tissa 16, Yalqut Shim‘oni 117, 563, 841]. The piece is a homily and not a theological essay., as Levi said³⁷Without attribution of a name, the statement has been quoted in Chapter 1, Halakhah 1.: From the earth to the (first) heaven is a distance of 500 years’ walk. From one heaven to the next is a distance of 500 years’ walk. The thickness of each heaven is a distance of 500 years’ walk. And Rebbi Berekhiah and Rebbi Ḥelbo in the name of Red Rebbi Abba³⁸A third generation Galilean Amora whose sermons were collected by Rebbi Berekhiah. said, also the toes of the heavenly Ḥayot³⁹They carry the Throne of Heavenly Glory in the vision of Ezechiel (Ez. 1). are a length of 515 years’ walk, the number YŠRH⁴⁰The homily disregards the conclusion drawn from the verse in Halakhah 1:1 (fol. 2c), that one has to pray with feet parallel one to the other. The numerical value of ישרה is 10+300+200+5 = 515.. See how much higher He is than His world! But a person enters the synagogue, stands behind a pillar, prays in a whisper, and the Holy One, praise to Him, listens to his prayer, as it has been said (1Sam. 1:13): “Hannah spoke to herself, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard.” But the Holy One, praise to Him, listened to her prayer. And so it is with all His creatures, as it has been said (Ps. 102:1): “Prayer of the poor when he wraps himself up⁴¹Usually, יעטף is translated “he faints.” But here, it is taken in the Mishnaic sense of “wrapping oneself in a garment,” a toga or prayer shawl, to exclude the world from one’s prayers.,” just like a man whispering into the ear of his friend and the latter understands. Can you have a God who is closer than that to His creatures, from mouth to ear?”

How were the tablets written? Rebbi Ḥanania ben Gamliel says, five on one tablet each⁴¹This minority opinion is everywhere accepted in depictions of the tablets.. But the rabbis say, ten on each tablet, as it is written⁴²Deut. 4:13.: He informed you of His covenant which He had commanded you to do, the ten words, ten on each tablet. Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai⁴³The name tradition here is very varied. said, twenty on each tablet, as it is written: He informed you of His covenant which He had commanded you to do, the ten words, twenty on each tablet⁴⁴Ten on the top, ten on the bottom.. Rebbi Simai says, forty on each tablet, as it is written, on each side they were written⁴⁵Ex. 32:15., a square⁴⁶Greek τετράγωνον. He holds that the tablets were cubes, top and bottom empty and identical writing on each of the faces.. Ḥananiah, the son of Rebbi Joshua’s brother, says: Between every two commandments, the details and the letters [of the Torah] were written. Filled with tarsis⁴⁷Cant. 5:14. His hands are golden cylinders, inlaid with tarsis, the cylinders being Torah scrolls (Cant. rabba5:12). The Palestinian Targum to Ex. 28:20, 39:13 translates taršiš by כְּרוֹם יַמָּא רַבָּא ”the color of the Great Sea.“ One may assume that the scribe of the Yerushalmi did not understand the Greek χρω̅μα “color” and shortened it to .כְּ. The Targum to Cant. translates taršiš by the Syriac/Pahlevi word פֵּירוֹזַג (Farsi פירוזה) “turquoise”. The sentence is missing in the Genizah text and in B., like the Great Sea⁴⁸. When Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish had occasion to discuss this verse, he said, Ḥananiah, the son of Rebbi Joshua’s brother, did teach us correctly. Just as in the sea there are small waves between a large wave and the next, so between any two commandments there are the details and the letters of the Torah.

Israel were redeemed from Egypt for five reasons. [Because of the term,]⁷³Corrector’s addition, to be deleted. because of tribulation, because of entreaty, because of the merit of the Fathers, because of repentance, because of the term⁷⁴The predetermined date for their rescue, Gen. 15:13.. That is what is written⁷⁵Ex. 2:23–25., it was in these important times that the Children of Israel were sighing at the work and crying, because of tribulation; and God heard their wailing, because of entreaty; and God remembered His Covenant, because of the merit of the Fathers. And God saw the children of Israel, because of repentance⁷⁶Pseudo-Jonathan (Ex. 2:25) reads saw and knew as parallels, matters that only God knew or saw: The Eternal saw the pain of the servitude of the Children of Israel and their individual repentance was evident before Him, since no one knew of his neighbor’s., and God knew, because of the term. And so it says⁷⁷Deut. 4:30–31., if you are in trouble, because of tribulation; and all these matters will find you in future times and you will repent, because of repentance; for the Eternal, your God, is a merciful power, because of mercy; He will not let you sink nor destroy you, nor will He forget your Fathers’ Covenant, because of the merit of the Fathers. And so it says⁷⁸Ps. 106:44–46., He saw how they were in trouble, because of tribulation; when He heard their prayer, because of entreaty; and remembered for them His Covenant, because of merit of the Fathers; and consoled them in the abundance of His grace, because of repentance; and He had mercy with them, because of mercy.

⁶⁴Lev. rabba 36(5). How far did the merit of the forefathers extend? Rebbi Tanḥuma said in the name of the Elder Rebbi Ḥiyya, (Bar) [Rebbi]^G Naḥman said it in the name of Rebbi Berekhiah, Rebbi Ḥelbo in the name of Rebbi Abba bar Zavda, up to Joaḥaz. The Eternal was compassionate about them and had mercy for them etc., up to now⁶⁵2K. 13:23.. Up to that moment, the merit of the forefathers existed. Samuel said, up to Hosea’s [time]. But now, I shall uncover her scandalous behavior before the eyes of her lovers, and no man may save her from My hand⁶⁶Hos. 2:12.. Man can only mean Abraham, as you say, but now return theman’s wife, for he is a prophet⁶⁷Gen. 20:7.. Man can only mean Isaac, as you say, who is this man coming in the field towards us⁶⁸Gen. 24:65.? Man can only mean Jacob, as you say, but Jacob was a simple man⁶⁹Gen. 25:27.. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, up to Elijah: It was when the time of the afternoon service came that Elijah the prophet approached and said, O Eternal, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, today it shall be proclaimed that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant⁷⁰1K. 18:36. Since Elijah’s prayer was granted, this gives a terminus post quem. etc. Rebbi Yudan said, up to Hezekias, to increase dominion and peace without end⁷¹Is. 9:6.. ⁷²Sifra Behuqqotai Pereq 7(11), Ex. rabba 44(3). The argument really is not about the patriarchs’ merits but about the validity of the Covenant. Rebbi Aḥa said, the merit of the forefathers extends forever: For the Eternal is a Merciful Power, etc., up to and He shall not forget your forefather’s covenant⁷³Deut. 4:31.. This teaches that the covenant was sealed with the tribes. Rebbi Yudan bar Ḥanan in the name of Rebbi Berekhiah: The Holy One, praise to Him, said to Israel: If you see that the merit of the fathers reels, and the merit of the mothers trembles, go and cling to grace.⁷⁴Is. 54:10.For mountains may reel, and hills tremble; for mountains may reel, this is the fathers’ merit, and hills tremble, this is the mothers’ merit. After that, but My Grace will not leave you and My Covenant of Peace will not reel, says the One Who has mercy on you, the Eternal.

Rebbi Yudan in the name of Rebbi Isaac said it in four versions. Flesh and blood has a protector⁴³Latin patronus, who was obliged to protect his clients.. When they tell him, your client was arrested, he will say: I will protect him. When they tell him, he is going before a court, he will say: I will protect him. When they tell him, he is taken to be hanged, where is he and where is his protector? But the Holy One, praise to Him, saved Moses from the sword of Pharao; that is what is written (Ex. 18:4): “He saved me from the sword of Pharao.” Rebbi Yannai said⁴⁴Most of the following is also in Exodus rabba 1(37)., it is written (Ex. 2:15): “Moses fled from before Pharao.” Is it possible for flesh and blood to flee from the government?⁴⁵R. Yannai takes the sentence to mean that “Moses fled from before the face of Pharao,” as translated here, and not “Moses fled because of Pharao,” as usually understood. But at the moment when Pharao arrested Moses, he sentenced him to have him beheaded. The sword slipped off the neck of Moses and broke. That is what is written (Songs 7:5): “Your neck is like the ivory tower,” that is Moses’s neck. Rebbi⁴⁶The name of the tradent is missing; he cannot be Rebbi since R. Eviathar belongs to the second generation of Amoraïm and exchanged letters with Rav Ḥisda and Rav Sheshet. The sentence is missing in Shemot rabba. said, Rebbi Eviathar: Not only that, but He moved the sword from the neck of Moses on the neck of the executioner and killed him. That is what is written: “He saved me from the sword of Pharao.” He saved me, but killed the executioner. Rebbi Berekhiah quoted on this (Prov. 21:18) “The evil one is ransom for the just one.” Rebbi Abun quoted on this (Prov. 11:8): “The just will be extricated from distress, the evil one will take his place.” Bar Qappara stated: An angel came down and appeared to them in the shape of Moses. They arrested the angel and Moses fled. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said: when Moses fled from before Pharao, all his troops⁴⁷Semitic plural of Greek ὄχλος, “multitude” (of people, troops). became dumb, deaf, or blind. He asked the dumb, where is Moses? But they could not speak. He asked the deaf, they could not hear. He asked the blind, they could not see. That is what the Holy One, praise to Him, said to Moses (Ex. 4:11): “Who gave man a mouth, or who makes dumb?” There it upheld you and here you do not want to uphold. That is what is written (Deut. 4:8): “Who is like the Eternal, our ĕlōhīm, always when we call on Him!”

Rebbi Yoḥanan said: A covenant is sealed that he who labors at his studies in the synagogue will not quickly forget. Rebbi Ḥanina from Ein Tana said: A covenant is sealed that he who labors at his studies in modesty will not quickly forget. What is the reason? (Prov. 11:2) “Wisdom is with the modest.” Rebbi Yoḥanan said: A covenant is sealed that he who studies homiletics from a book will not quickly forget. Rebbi Tanḥum said: He who understands what he has learned will not quickly forget. What is the reason? (Deut. 4:9) “That you shall not forget the things your eyes understood.⁴²The order of the items is not correct; it is better in the Rome manuscript and the fragments of the Yerushalmi from the Genizah: First come the two statements of the second generation Rebbi Yoḥanan. The first one is a continuation of the description of good behavior in the synagogue; the synagogue is a good place for study between times for prayer. The second statement appears here because it is from R. Yoḥanan; it is a polemic against the opinion of R. Joshua ben Levi (Yerushalmi Šabbat 16:1) that homiletics is a part of “oral Torah” that may not be written down. Next comes the statement of R. Ḥanina of Ein Tana, Amora of the fourth generation and student of R. Zeïra. (His name is corrupted in the Venice print to R. Yoḥanan of Ein Tana; it is correct in the Rome ms. Ein Tana was a place near Sepphoris.) At the end comes the statement of the fifth generation Rebbi Tanḥum (Tanḥuma bar Abba, the first known author of a collection of Midrashim and greatest of the preachers of the period of the Talmud Yerushalmi).”

Rebbi Simon ben Laqish went to Bostra; they came to him and said to him: Select for us a man as preacher, judge, scribe, reader; one who will do everything we need⁷⁷Full job description of a paid practicing rabbi.. He selected a Babylonian and said to him, I have a good place for you. He went to Rebbi Joḥanan who said to him, from Babylonia to Babylonia⁷⁸You came from Babylonia to be in the Holy Land; do not leave the Land. This ruling contradicts the one given to R. Assi.. Rebbi Jacob bar Abba said, since Rebbi Joḥanan said from Babylonia to Babylonia, that means one who buys there is not obligated. But is it not forbidden to go to Tyre⁷⁹Since Tyre is North of Akhzib, it is not in the Holy Land. Nevertheless, the rules of the Sabbatical are kept there., and if one buys there is he not obligated? It was found stated: A sign for Ammon, Moab, and the Land of Egypt: There are two regions⁸⁰Each country contains two regions. It is stated in Mishnah Yadayim4:3 that a “new decree”, enacted after the destruction of the Temple, requires Jewish farmers in these regions to give tithes of the poor. It is stated here that these obligations apply only to those parts of these countries which border on the Holy Land.. From the first one eats and it may be worked⁸¹One eats under the rules of the holiness of the Sabbatical; one works (or may not work) the land in the Sabbatical., from the other one eats and it may not be worked. Rebbi Joḥanan wanted to refer to (Deut. 4:43): “Beṣer in the prairie⁸²One of the cities of refuge, in the territory of Reuben. If Bostra is Beṣer then it belonged to the Biblical land of Israel and to the land held by the returnees from Babylonia, and must be obligated for all duties upon the Land. This was R. Joḥanan’s opinion when he told R. Assi (a Cohen) to go there to meet his mother. But then he asked R. Simeon ben Laqish, changed his mind and placed Bostra just outside the borders of the Land. In the Babli (Avodah Zarah 58b), the identification is R. Simeon’s and R. Joḥanan insists that these are different places. (Bostra is in the North, at the Eastern end of the Bashan highlands; Beṣer is in the South, in the low plain near the Dead Sea.)”. He asked Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: Is Beṣer Bostra?

Rebbi Tanḥuma said: A happening with a ship of Gentiles that sailed the great sea and on it was a Jewish child. There came upon them a big storm; each one got up, took his idol in his hand and called upon it, without result. When they saw that it was of no use, they said to that Jew: Son, get up, call on your God, for we heard that He answers you when you cry and He is strong. The child immediately got up with a full heart and cried; the Holy One, praise to Him, received his prayer and the sea quited down. When they came to dry land, each one descended to buy his needs. They said to that child, do you not want to buy anything for yourself? He said to them, what do you want from that unhappy stranger⁶⁰At other places in the Yerushalmi, the spelling is אכסניי, Greek ξένος “stranger, guest”, with prothetic א.. They said to him: Are you an unhappy stranger? They are an unhappy stranger; they are here and their errors⁶¹Their idols. are in Babylonia, they are here and their errors are in Rome, they are here and their errors are with them, but are of no use to them. But you, everywhere you go, your God is with you. That is what is written (Deut. 4:7): “Like the Eternal, our God, always when we call on Him!”

R. Joshua b. Levi said: Great is peace, for peace is to the world as leaven is to dough. Had not the Holy One, blessed be He, given peace to the earth, the sword and the beast would have robbed the world¹So H; V reads ‘man’. of its children. Whence²So GRA; V reads ‘why is it written?’ [do we know this]? From what is written, And I will give peace in the land … and I will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land;³Lev. 26, 6. The Heb. for earth and land is the same. and land means nothing else than Israel, as it is stated, And all nations shall call you happy; for ye shall be a delightsome land.⁴Mal. 3, 12. The identification of land with Israel is here evident. V and H add: ‘And it states, And, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest’. [And so Solomon declared,] One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever:⁵Eccl. 1, 4. Solomon said:⁶So GRA. V reads: ‘A kingdom comes and a kingdom goes, but Israel endures for ever. But Solomon, although’. Although a generation passes away and another generation comes, one kingdom goes and another kingdom comes, one decree passes away and a new decree is imposed upon Israel,⁷lit. ‘upon the enemies of Israel’, a euphemism. the earth abideth for ever, i.e. Israel will abide for ever,⁸Earth refers to Israel. [Cf. Midrash ad loc., Sonc. ed., p. 15.] they are not forsaken nor will they be forsaken, they are not destroyed nor will they be destroyed, as it is stated, For I the Lord change not; and ye, O sons of Jacob are not consumed⁹Mal. 3, 6.—as I have not changed nor will I change, so you, the House of Jacob, are not destroyed and will not be destroyed, but [as it is stated], But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.¹⁰Deut. 4, 4.

¹⁸⁵This and the following paragraph are copied somewhat defectively in Qiddušin1:7 (Notes 594–605). What is the start of bathing? Rebbi Zeriqan in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina said, when he opened his belt¹⁸⁴Latin linteum, i, n. “towel”. Babli 9b.. Rav said, when he took off his shoe. As the following. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi was used to hear the lesson of his grandson every Friday. Once he forgot and went bathing in the public baths of Tiberias; he was leaning on Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba’s shoulder. He remembered that he had not heard his grandson’s lesson, turned around and left. When was this? Rebbi Derosai said, he was anointing himself. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Yose says, he had taken off his clothes. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to him, did our teacher not teach us “if they started they should not interrupt”? He said to him, Ḥiyya my son, is that unimportant in your eyes? For anyone who hears the lesson from his grandson is as if he heard it from Sinai. What is the reason? You shall make it known to your sons and grandsons, the day when you stood before the Eternal, your God, at Horeb¹⁸⁶Deut. 4:10. A slightly different interpretation un the name of R. Joshua ben Levi in the Babli, Qiddušin 30a..

¹⁸⁹A parallel text is Pesiqta dR. Cahana,Šuva(ed. Buber p. 162a, Note 102). Similar texts are in Deut. rabba 2, Ruth rabba ad2:14. A quote is in Pirqe R. Eliezer 43. It is written¹⁹⁰2Chr. 33:10–11.: The Eternal spoke to Manasse and to his people but they did not listen. He brought over them the generals of the king[ ]¹⁹¹Both ms. and editio princeps lack “of the king of Assyria”.; they caught Manasse in ḥo̅ḥîm. What are ḥo̅ḥîm? Handcuffs¹⁹²Literally “hand-handcuffs”; probably a hybrid from Greek χείρ “hand” and Latin manicae, -arum (Byzantine μανίκιον, Soph. 732) “handcuffs”. The combined word is not documented in Greek or Latin literature (E.G.).. Rebbi Levi said, they made a bronze mule¹⁹³Interpretation of J. Levy, Dictionary vol. 3 p. 48a, confirmed by Targum. The story is inspired by what is told of Phalaris, tyrant of Agrigentum. for him, put him inside, and started heating it from below. When he realized that he was in real trouble, he did not forget any strange worship but appealed to it. Since this did not help him any, he said, I remember that my father let me read the following verse in the synagogue¹⁹⁴Deut. 4:30–31.: When you are in straits,and all these things will find you in the future,then return to the Eternal,your God, and listen to His voice. For the Eternal, your God,is a merciful power. He will not let you slacken,He will not destroy you,nor will He forget the covenant of your forefathers which He concluded with them. I shall call to Him. If He hears me, it is good; otherwise all faces are the same. The angels on duty closed all windows that Manasse’s prayer should not ascend before the Holy One, praise to Him. The angels on duty said to the Holy One, praise to Him: Master of the Universe, would You receive in repentance a man who worshipped other powers and put up an idol in the Temple Hall? He told them, If I would not receive his repentance, I would close the door in front of all repenting sinners. What did the Holy One, praise to Him, do for him? He dug out a tunnel under His Seat of Glory and accepted his supplication. That is what is written¹⁹⁵2 Chr. 33:13.: He prayed to Him,He had mercy on him, He accepted his supplication, and He returned him. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Simeon said, in Arabia a tunnel is called ˋatharta¹⁹⁶Probably عا ثور “a dangerous place”. The explanation, quoted in support of the story about the angels, is unnecessary since the word ויעתר also appears in Gen. 25:21.. He returned him to Jerusalem, to his kingship¹⁹⁵2 Chr. 33:13.. How did He return him? Samuel bar Bina in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: He returned him by the wind, as one says, “He returns wind.¹⁹⁷From the daily prayer for rain in the rainy season. The identification of נשב and שוב in a sermon is possible only if the duplication of consonants was no longer audible in speech.” At that moment, Manasse said, there is judgment and there is a judge¹⁹⁸Therefore Manasse died a believer; in the opinion of the author of Chronicles, he has part in the Future World. The Mishnah follows the opinion of the authors of Kings and Jeremiah..

It is written⁶²Deut. 4:5. The same argument in the Babli, 37a.: “Behold, I taught you laws and rules.” Just as I did it for free, so you have to do it for free. One could think the same is true for Bible and translations? The verse says laws and rules. You have to teach laws and rules⁶³In their practical rabbinic form. for free; you do not have to teach Bible and translations for free⁶⁴Elementary school teachers have to be paid well. The text is quoted by Ran, commentary to 37a.. But do we not see that the baraita teachers take their fees? Rebbi Yudan, the son of Rebbi Ismael, said: They take payment for lost time.

“It happened that Hillel the Elder brought his elevation offering to the Temple courtyard and leaned on it. The students of the House of Shammai ganged up on him. He started to wag its tail, said to them, look, it is a female and I brought it as well-being sacrifice, and kept them talking about other matters until they left. After some time the House of Shammai became strong and they wanted to fix practice following their words. There was there Bava ben Buta from the students of the House of Shammai who realized that practice followed the House of Hillel. Once he entered the Temple courtyard and found it desolate. He said, the house of those who make our God’s House desolate shall be desolate. What did he do? He sent and brought 3’000 young lambs from Qedar sheep, checked them for defects, and displayed them on the Temple Mount. He said to them, listen to me my brothers, the House of Israel. Anybody who wants to bring an elevation sacrifice may bring it and lean on it, to bring a well-being sacrifice may bring it and lean on it. At that moment, practice was fixed following the House of Hillel; and nobody said anything.” Rebbi Isaac ben Rebbi Eleazar said, this cup for breakfast has to be full⁸¹Deut. 4:32.; the worm in the wood comes from itself; any coal which does not cause a burn at the start will not cause one. “Again it happened that a student of Hillel brought his elevation offering to the Temple courtyard and leaned on it. A student of Shammai saw him and said to him, what is this leaning-on? He said to him, what about being silent? He silenced him by a reprimand and he left.”

Rebbi Eleazar said, παρά βασιλέως ‘ο νόμος ʼάγραφος²³²“For the king the law is unwritten.”. Usually in the world a king of flesh and blood decides a decision. If he desires it, he keeps it. If he²³³Translated following G and A. In the text: “if they want”. desires it, others keep it. But the Holy One, praise to Him, is not so but if He decides a decision He keeps it first. What is the reason? They have to keep My watch, I am the Eternal²³⁴Lev. 22:9., I am He Who keeps the commandments of the Torah first. Rebbi Simon said, it is written, before white hairs you have to stand, and honor the presence of an elderly person, and to fear your God, I am the Eternal²³⁵Lev. 19:32.. I am He Who first stood before an elderly person²³⁶Gen. 18:2.. Rebbi Simon said, it is written²³⁷Deut. 4:8, misquoted.: for who is a great people which has just laws and ordinances, etc. <For who is this great people that has God close to it²³⁸Deut. 4:7, text of G. A only quotes the first words of the verse, but clearly this indicates v. 7, not v. 8. Since in the ms. the start of v. 7 is grafted on the text of v. 8 it is reasonable to assume that the original quote is v. 7..> Rebbi Ḥama ben Rebbi Ḥanina and Rebbi Hoshaia. One said, is there a people like this people? Usually in the world a person who knows that he will stand in trial dresses in black, wears black headdress, and lets his beard grow, since he does not know how his trial will end. But Israel are not so, but they wear white, wear white headdress, cut their beard, eat, and drink, and are happy²³⁹On New Year’s Day.. They know that the Holy One, praise to Him, will perform wonders for them. But the other one said, is there a people like this people? Usually in the world if the ruler says, the trial is today, but the robber²⁴⁰Greek ληστής. says, tomorrow is the trial, whom does one listen to, not the ruler? But the Holy One, praise to Him, is not like this. If the Court said, today is New Year’s Day, the Holy One, praise to Him, says to the angels of service, put up the dais, [summon defenders²⁴¹Greek συνήγορος., summon accusers²⁴²Greek κατήγωρ. A instead reads ספיקטורין which probably is shortened from ספקלטורין, Semitic plural of Latin speculator “examiner.”, for My children said that today is New Year’s Day.]²⁴³Corrector’s addition, confirmed by G. If the Court took counsel to transfer it to the next day, the Holy One, praise to Him, says to the angels of service, remove the dais, remove the defenders, remove the accusers, for My children took counsel to transfer to tomorrow. What is the reason? Certainly, it is a rule for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob²⁴⁴Ps. 81:5.. If it is not a rule for Israel, so to speak²⁴⁵The customary expression to excuse anthropomorphisms. Babli 8b. it is not a law for the God of Jacob. Rebbi Crispus in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: In the past, the festive times of the Eternal, from then and onwards which You shall declare²⁴⁶Lev. 23:2. While the holidays are declared to be “the Eternal’s holidays”,
since they depend on calendar dates, the actual dates are fixed not by God but by the calendar authorities. Cf. Shevi`it10:2 Notes 53–54.. Rebbi Ila said, if you declare them they are My festive times, otherwise they are not My festive times. Rebbi Simon said, it is written, great things You did, You, Eternal my God, Your wonders and intentions regarding us²⁴⁷Ps. 40:6.. In the past, great things You did; from then onwards, Your wonders and intentions regarding us²⁴⁸This passage is explained in A: “From the creation of the world up to Moses did the Holy One, praise to Him, compute the motions of the stars, and New Moons, and turning points (Note 161). When Moses was appointed, He handed over to him the secret of the calendar as it is said, this month is for you the head of months. Up to this time it was Mine, from now on it is delivered to you.” The following parables have to be explained as exploring the meaning of this handing over the sacred calendar to human interpretation.. Rebbi <Joshua ben>²⁴⁹Added from G and A. This attribution is most likely correct even though the Yerushalmi, in contrast to the Babli, does not in general follow a chronological sequence of the quotes. R. Joshua ben Levi, great authority of the first generation of Amoraim, can precede the second generation authority R. Yose ben Ḥanina better than the third generation preacher (but not halakhic authority) R. Levi. Levi said, a parable of a king who had a watch; when his son came of age, he handed it to him. Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, a parable of a king who had a watch-box; when his son came of age, he handed it to him. Rebbi Aḥa said, a parable of a king who had a ring; when his son came of age, he handed it to him. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said, a parable of a carpenter who had carpenter’s tools; when his son came of age, he handed them to him. Rebbi Isaac said, a parable of a king who had treasures; when his son came of age, he handed them to him. But the rabbis say, a parable of a healer who had a box of medicines; when his son came of age, he handed it to him.

Rebbi Eleazar said, παρά βασιλέως ‘ο νόμος ʼάγραφος²³²“For the king the law is unwritten.”. Usually in the world a king of flesh and blood decides a decision. If he desires it, he keeps it. If he²³³Translated following G and A. In the text: “if they want”. desires it, others keep it. But the Holy One, praise to Him, is not so but if He decides a decision He keeps it first. What is the reason? They have to keep My watch, I am the Eternal²³⁴Lev. 22:9., I am He Who keeps the commandments of the Torah first. Rebbi Simon said, it is written, before white hairs you have to stand, and honor the presence of an elderly person, and to fear your God, I am the Eternal²³⁵Lev. 19:32.. I am He Who first stood before an elderly person²³⁶Gen. 18:2.. Rebbi Simon said, it is written²³⁷Deut. 4:8, misquoted.: for who is a great people which has just laws and ordinances, etc. <For who is this great people that has God close to it²³⁸Deut. 4:7, text of G. A only quotes the first words of the verse, but clearly this indicates v. 7, not v. 8. Since in the ms. the start of v. 7 is grafted on the text of v. 8 it is reasonable to assume that the original quote is v. 7..> Rebbi Ḥama ben Rebbi Ḥanina and Rebbi Hoshaia. One said, is there a people like this people? Usually in the world a person who knows that he will stand in trial dresses in black, wears black headdress, and lets his beard grow, since he does not know how his trial will end. But Israel are not so, but they wear white, wear white headdress, cut their beard, eat, and drink, and are happy²³⁹On New Year’s Day.. They know that the Holy One, praise to Him, will perform wonders for them. But the other one said, is there a people like this people? Usually in the world if the ruler says, the trial is today, but the robber²⁴⁰Greek ληστής. says, tomorrow is the trial, whom does one listen to, not the ruler? But the Holy One, praise to Him, is not like this. If the Court said, today is New Year’s Day, the Holy One, praise to Him, says to the angels of service, put up the dais, [summon defenders²⁴¹Greek συνήγορος., summon accusers²⁴²Greek κατήγωρ. A instead reads ספיקטורין which probably is shortened from ספקלטורין, Semitic plural of Latin speculator “examiner.”, for My children said that today is New Year’s Day.]²⁴³Corrector’s addition, confirmed by G. If the Court took counsel to transfer it to the next day, the Holy One, praise to Him, says to the angels of service, remove the dais, remove the defenders, remove the accusers, for My children took counsel to transfer to tomorrow. What is the reason? Certainly, it is a rule for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob²⁴⁴Ps. 81:5.. If it is not a rule for Israel, so to speak²⁴⁵The customary expression to excuse anthropomorphisms. Babli 8b. it is not a law for the God of Jacob. Rebbi Crispus in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: In the past, the festive times of the Eternal, from then and onwards which You shall declare²⁴⁶Lev. 23:2. While the holidays are declared to be “the Eternal’s holidays”,
since they depend on calendar dates, the actual dates are fixed not by God but by the calendar authorities. Cf. Shevi`it10:2 Notes 53–54.. Rebbi Ila said, if you declare them they are My festive times, otherwise they are not My festive times. Rebbi Simon said, it is written, great things You did, You, Eternal my God, Your wonders and intentions regarding us²⁴⁷Ps. 40:6.. In the past, great things You did; from then onwards, Your wonders and intentions regarding us²⁴⁸This passage is explained in A: “From the creation of the world up to Moses did the Holy One, praise to Him, compute the motions of the stars, and New Moons, and turning points (Note 161). When Moses was appointed, He handed over to him the secret of the calendar as it is said, this month is for you the head of months. Up to this time it was Mine, from now on it is delivered to you.” The following parables have to be explained as exploring the meaning of this handing over the sacred calendar to human interpretation.. Rebbi <Joshua ben>²⁴⁹Added from G and A. This attribution is most likely correct even though the Yerushalmi, in contrast to the Babli, does not in general follow a chronological sequence of the quotes. R. Joshua ben Levi, great authority of the first generation of Amoraim, can precede the second generation authority R. Yose ben Ḥanina better than the third generation preacher (but not halakhic authority) R. Levi. Levi said, a parable of a king who had a watch; when his son came of age, he handed it to him. Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina said, a parable of a king who had a watch-box; when his son came of age, he handed it to him. Rebbi Aḥa said, a parable of a king who had a ring; when his son came of age, he handed it to him. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said, a parable of a carpenter who had carpenter’s tools; when his son came of age, he handed them to him. Rebbi Isaac said, a parable of a king who had treasures; when his son came of age, he handed them to him. But the rabbis say, a parable of a healer who had a box of medicines; when his son came of age, he handed it to him.

As we have stated there⁷⁸MishnahZevaḥim 8:10.: “[Blood] to be given in one batch etc. Rebbi Eliezer said to him, would you not transgress do not diminish? Rebbi Joshua answered him, would you not transgress do not add?⁷⁹Deut. 4:2,13:1.” He said to him, it is better to violate a prohibition that was not caused by me than a prohibition which will come before me.]

How were the tablets written¹¹⁶In Ex. rabba 47(10) (a somewhat suspect source), the opinions are attributed to R. Jehudah and R. Neḥemiah. In Mekhilta dR. Ismael (Yitro Masekhta dibeḥodeš 8), Cant. rabba on 5:14, Tanḥuma Eqeb 9, Tanḥuma Buber Ki Tissa 20, Pesiqta rabbati 21(7), the first two opinions given here.? Rebbi Ḥanania ben Gamliel says, five on one tablet each. But the rabbis say, ten on each tablet, as it is written¹¹⁷Deut. 4:13. The verse ends: “He wrote them on two stone tablets.” The emphasis on two tablets is taken to mean that the Ten Commandments were written twice, once on each of the tablets.: “He informed you of His covenant which He had commanded you to do, the ten words”, ten on each tablet. Rebbi Simeon ben Ioḥai said, twenty on each tablet, as it is written¹¹⁸It is difficult to see what this quote means. A more appropriate quote would have been Ex. 32:15: “The tablets were written on both sides, on each side they were written.”: “He informed you of His covenant which He had commanded you to do, the ten words”, twenty on each tablet. Rebbi Simai says, forty on each tablet, as it is written, “on each side they were written,” a square¹¹⁹Greek τετράγωνον “a square”. He seems to think that the tablets were cubes, an opinion not found elsewhere. Ḥananiah, the son of Rebbi Joshua’s brother¹²⁰His name was Ḥananiah ben Ḥananiah, which shows that he was a posthumous child. Names indicating this kind of bad luck are usually replaced by circumlocutions; cf. E. und H. Guggenheimer, Etymologisches Lexikon der jüdischen Familiennamen, München 1996, p. xviii; Jewish Family Names and Their Origins, Hoboken 1992, p. xviii., says: Between every two commandments, the details and the letters [of the Torah] were written. “Filled with taršiš¹²¹Cant. 5:14. “His hands are golden cylinders, inlaid with taršiš,” the cylinders being Torah scrolls (Cant. rabba 5:12), cf. Note 108. The Palestinian Targum to Ex. 28:20, 39:13 translates taršiš by כרוֹם יַמָּא רַבָּא “the color of the Great Sea.”. One may assume that the scribe of the Yerushalmi did not understand the Greek כרוֹם χρῶμα “color” and shortened it to כְּ. The Targum to Cant. translates תרשיש by the Syriac/Pahlevi word פֵּירוֹזַג (Farsi فيروزه) “turquoise”.”, like the Great Sea. When Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish had occasion to discuss this verse, he said, Ḥananiah, the son of Rebbi Joshua’s brother, did teach us correctly. Just as in the sea there are small waves between a large wave and the next, so between any two commandments there are the details and the letters of the Torah¹²²In Cant. rabba 5(12), this is a commentary of R. Joḥanan..

¹⁵⁴Babli 7a. Rebbi Jeremiah in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac: What did Mordocai and Esther do? They wrote a letter and sent to our rabbis¹⁵⁵The established rabbinate in the Holy Land, the only one authorized to decree practices valid everywhere.. So they said to them, do you accept upon yourselves these two days every year? They answered them, are not the troubles which come upon us enough, that you want to add to ours the trouble of Haman? They insisted and wrote them a second letter; that is what is written¹⁵⁶Esth. 9:29., to confirm to them this second [Purim]letter. What was written in it? They told them, if this is your fear, already it is written and deposited in Archives¹⁵⁷Greek ’αρχεῑον.: are these not written in the annals of the kings of Media and Persia¹⁵⁸Esth. 10:2.. Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: 85 Elders and among them more than 30 prophets¹⁵⁹In Babli sources: 120 Elders. were sorry about this matter. They said, it is written¹⁶⁰Lev. 27:34. Quoted in the same sense in the Babli Šabbat 104a, Yoma 80b, Temurah 16b.: These are the commandments which the Eternal commanded to Moses. These are the commandments which we were commanded by Moses’s saying. So did Moses say to us: No other prophet will reveal to you anything afterwards. And Mordocai and Esther want to introduce something new¹⁶¹Since from the middle of Chapter 9 to the end of the Scroll the rules of Purim are written to be interpreted as biblical laws. This cannot be compared to Ḥanukkah which is a purely rabbinical time of remembrance. Writing new rules of biblical status is a clear violation of the prohibition neither to add nor to subtract(Deut. 4:2). This is a sufficient reason for Sadducees to reject the scroll and the attendant questionable activities.? They did not move from there but discussed [the matter]¹⁶²Corrector’s addition in Babylonian style. until the Holy One, praise to Him, illuminated their eyes and they found it written in the Torah, in Prophets, and in Hagiographs. This is what is written¹⁶³Ex. 17:14., the Eternal said to Moses, write this in a book for remembrance. This is the Torah, as you are saying, this is the Torah which Moses put before the Children of Israel¹⁶⁴Deut. 4:44.. Remembrance are the Prophets, a book of remembrance is being written before Him for those who fear the Eternal,¹⁶⁵Mal. 3:16. etc. In a book are the Hagiographs, Esther’s word confirmed the matter of these Purim days and it was written in a book¹⁶⁶Esth. 9:32..

³²⁰A slightly shortened version of Thr. rabba; cf. Babli Gittin 57b, Sanhedrin 94b. Rebbi Joḥanan said, 80’000 young priests were slaughtered for the blood of Zachariah³²¹2Chr. 24:20–22. In dying he invoked God’s vengeance.. Rebbi Yudan asked Rebbi Aḥa, where did they kill Zachariah? In the women’s courtyard or in Israel’s courtyard³²²Herod’s Temple had an outer courtyard accessible to women, a middle one accessible to Israel males, and an inner one reserved uniquely for the sacrificial service by Cohanim.? He said to him, neither in Israel’s courtyard nor in the women’s courtyard but in the priests’ courtyard. They treated his blood neither as ram’s blood nor as gazelle’s blood³²³Ram’s blood has to be poured on the base of the altar; deer’s blood has to be covered as indicated in the verse.. There is written, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust³²⁴Lev. 17:13.. But here³²⁵Ez. 24:7., for its blood was in its midst, on a bare rock he put it. Why all this? To arise rage, to avenge vengeance, I put its blood on a bare rock, without being covered³²⁶Ez. 24:8. In the verse: “impossible to cover.”. Seven sins did Israel commit on that day. They killed a priest, prophet, and judge, spilled innocent blood, defiled the Temple courtyard, and it was a Sabbath and Day of Atonement. When Nebuzaraddan³²⁷Sent to burn down Jerusalem after its surrender and the exile of its inhabitants. came here and saw the blood bubbling, he asked them, what is the matter with this? They told him, it is the blood of bulls, sheep, and rams, which we were sacrificing on the altar. Immediately he brought bulls, rams, and sheep and slaughtered them on it, but the blood still was bubbling. Since they did not confess, he hung them on gallows. They said, since the Holy One, praise to Him, wants to ask for his blood from us, they told him, it is the blood of a priest, prophet, and judge who was prophesying for us [all that you are doing to us.] We conspired against him and killed him. Immediately he brought 80’000 young priests and slaughtered them on it, but the blood was still bubbling. At this moment he got angry with him³²⁸Zachariah., and said to him, do you want to destroy your entire people because of you? Immediately the Holy One, praise to Him, was filled with mercy and said, if this one who is flesh and blood, and cruel, is filled with mercy for My children, I, where it is written about Me³²⁹Deut. 4:31., for a compassionate power is the Eternal, your God, He will not destroy you nor forget the covenant of your forefathers, not so much more? Immediately he indicated to the blood and it was absorbed on its place.

MISHNAH: He who hits another⁶¹The meaning of this sentence is not clear. ‘Arukh: He blows his horn into the victim’s ear. Rashi quotes the Arukh and adds his teacher’s explanation: He hit him on his ear. Maimonides in his Mishnah Commentary: He hit him with his fist. In his Code (חובל ומזיק 9:3): He hit him with his flat hand. pays him a tetradrachma⁶²The word סלע used in both Talmudim for tetradrachma is not the Hebrew “rock” but the Sumerian silà used in Accadic as the unit of volume (1/300 of a gur, כּוֹר).; Rebbi Jehudah says in the name of Rebbi Yose the Galilean, a mina⁶³100 denarii.. If he slapped him, he pays 200 zuz⁶⁴Accadic zūzum, from זוז “to split”, the half-šeqel piece, identified with the Roman denarius. The possession of 200 zuz disqualifies its holder from receiving public assistance (Mishnah Peah 8:8); it is a considerable sum., with the back of his hand he gives him 400 zuz. If he hurt him on his earlobe, tore out some of his hair, spat on him and the spit touched him, removed his stole, uncovered a woman’s hair⁶⁵A married woman will indicate her status by having her hair covered in public. In the Babli and some Mishnah mss. it is stated explicitly “uncovered a woman’s hair in public”., he pays 400 zuz; everything corresponding to his honor⁶⁶The sums stated in the Mishnah are maxima, applicable to the highest levels of society; the court may lower them in appropriate cases..
Rebbi Aqiba said, even the poorest in Israel are treated as aristocrats who lost their property⁶⁷He disagrees with the last statement of the preceding Mishnah; the sums mentioned are mandatory in all cases., for they are descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In a case where somebody uncovered a woman’s hair, she came before Rebbi Aqiba who obligated him to pay her 400 zuz. He said to him, Rabbi, give me some time, which he did. He watched her at the entrance of her courtyard and broke a flask before her which contained an as worth of oil⁶⁸A very small amount.. She uncovered her hair, splashed her hand with the oil and worked it onto her head. He had her observed by witnesses and came before Rebbi Aqiba, telling him, to such a one⁶⁹Who uncovers herself for a very small gain. I have to give 400 zuz? He told him, you did not say anything since a person who injures himself, while he is not allowed to do that⁷⁰Gen. 9:5, Deut. 4:15., is not liable, but others who injure him are liable; a person who cuts down his fruit trees, while he is not allowed to do that⁷¹Deut. 20:19; Ševi‘it 4:10, Notes 109–110., is not liable, but others who cut down his fruit trees are.

HALAKHAH: “Where are they exiled to,” etc. ⁷⁰Tosephta 3:1–4, 8–9. Babli 9b–10a.“Three cities did Moses designate in Transjordan⁷¹Deut. 4:41.. When they came to the Land they designated another three⁷²Jos. 20:7.. Neither of them were giving asylum until after they conquered and divided⁷³Since the Transjordan towns are rededicated by Josua, Jos. 20:8. Sifry Num. 160.. After they conquered and divided, the Land became obligated for Sabbaticals and Jubilees and these and those⁷⁴The towns dedicated by Moes and Joshua. were giving asylum. The three cities which they designated in the Land of Israel were parallel to the three cities which Moses had designated in Transjordan like two rows in a vineyard. Hebron in Judea parallels Beṣer in the desert. Sichem on Mount Ephraim parallels Ramot Gilead. Qedesh in Galilee parallels Golan in Bashan. (Before) [even though]⁷⁵The text in parentheses, to be deleted, is from the ms., the one in brackets from the Tosephta. they had designated Sichem on Mount Ephraim it could not give asylum; they designated Qiryat-Yearim in its place until they conquered Sichem⁷⁶The king of Sichem is not listed among the kings vanquished by Josua (Jos.12).. (Before) [even though]⁷⁵The text in parentheses, to be deleted, is from the ms., the one in brackets from the Tosephta. they had designated Qedesh in Galilee it could not give asylum; they designated Gamla in its place until they conquered Qedesh.⁷⁷This is difficult to understand since the king of Qedesh is listed in Jos. 12. Gamla is not a biblical name; it was situated on the Eastern shore of the sea of Galilee.”

We have learnt there:⁴³Sanh. 71b (Sonc. ed., p. 488). The assembling of the righteous benefits themselves and the world; the scattering of the righteous harms them and the world. The assembling of the wicked harms themselves and the world; the scattering of the wicked benefits them and the world.⁴⁴Because they are no longer able to join together for evil. When the wicked are uprooted from the world, good comes to the world, as it is stated, And when the wicked perish, there is joy.⁴⁵Prov. 11, 10. When the righteous depart from the world, evil comes to the world, as it is stated, The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart.⁴⁶Isa. 57, 1. Raba said: Do not say that [this refers only] to the men of his generation who knew him but to the whole world; for it is written. And no man layeth it to heart, and it is written there, The whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.⁴⁷Jer. 12, 11. Raba also said: The righteous depart from this world for the sin of neglecting [the study of] the Torah, as it is written, And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.⁴⁸Deut. 4, 44. Higger suggests that the homily is based on the juxtaposition of verses 41-43, which deal with the setting aside of Cities of Refuge for those who killed by accident.

HALAKHAH: “Any commandment the father has to fulfill towards his son,” etc. ⁵⁶⁶Babli 29a,30b; Tosephta 1:11; Mekhilta dR.Ismael,Pisḥa 18.“To circumcise him, to redeem him, to teach him Torah, to teach him a trade, and to marry him to a wife. Rebbi Aqiba says, also to teach him to swim in water.” To circumcise him, “on the eighth day, he shall circumcise the flesh of his foreskin.⁵⁶⁷Lev. 12:3. The masculine form of the verb implies that the father, who otherwise is not mentioned in the paragraph, is obligated to circumcise his son.” “To redeem him,” as is written: “Any firstborn human among your sons you shall redeem.⁵⁶⁸Ex. 13:13.” To teach him Torah, “you shall teach them to your sons.⁵⁶⁹Deut. 11:19. Cf. Berakhot 2:3. Note 110, where the verse is quoted to show that daughters do not have to be instructed in Torah (Babli 29b).” To teach him a trade, Rebbi Ismael stated: “Choose life⁵⁷⁰Deut. 30:19.,” that is a trade. To marry him to a wife, “make it known to your children and grandchildren⁵⁷¹Deut. 4:9..” When do you have children and grandchildren: if you marry off your sons when young. Rebbi Aqiba says, also to swim in water. “That you shall live together with your descendants⁵⁷⁰Deut. 30:19..” How is this? Is it a commandment⁵⁷²A meritorious deed. or is it obligatory? Let us hear from the following: Bar Tarima came to Rebbi Immi and said to him, talk to my father that he should marry me to a woman. He talked to [the father], but the latter refused. That means it is a commandment, for if it were obligatory, he should have forced him. From where that if his father did not do these things for him, he is required to do them himself? The verse says a human you shall redeem⁵⁶⁸Ex. 13:13.”, “you shall circumcise” them⁵⁷³Gen. 17:11., “you shall study them⁵⁷⁴Deut. 4:9; reading וְלָמַדְתֶּם instead of וְלִמַּדְתֶּם.”, “you shall know⁵⁷¹Deut. 4:9.” yourself, “that you shall live⁵⁷⁰Deut. 30:19..”⁵⁷⁵The Babli, 29a–30a, in most cases quotes different verses to the same effects.

⁵⁹⁴This origin of this text is in Šabbat1, to Mishnah 2. There, we have stated: “If they started⁵⁹⁵The Mishnah contains a list of things one should not do on Friday afternoon, but if one started one does not have to interrupt. One of these is going to the public bathhouse., one does not interrupt.” What is the start of bathing? Rebbi Zeriqan in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina: When he opened his belt. Rav said, when he took off his shoe. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi used to hear the lesson⁵⁹⁶The portion of the Torah to be read on the Sabbath. of his grandson every Friday. Once he forgot and went bathing in the public baths of Tiberias; he was leaning on Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba’s shoulder. He remembered⁵⁹⁷In Šabbat: He remembered that he had not heard the lesson from his grandson, returned and left. and left the public bath. ⁵⁹⁸In Šabbat: How was it? Rebbi Derose said, he was anointing himself. Rebbi Eleazar … He said, so it was: Rebbi Eleazar bar Yose said, he had taken off [his clothes]⁵⁹⁹Fom Šabbat, instead of the unintelligible מטי written here.. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to him, did our teacher not teach us, “if they started, one does not interrupt”? He said to him, Ḥiyya my son, is that unimportant in your eyes? For anyone who hears the lesson from his grandson is as if he heard it from Mount Sinai. What is the reason? “⁶⁰⁰Deut. 4:10. You shall make them known to you sons and grandsons,” etc., ⁶⁰¹Missing in Šabbat, probably correctly.“the day when you stood before the Eternal, your God, at Horeb.” Like the day when you stood before the Eternal, your God, at Horeb. Rebbi Ḥizqiah bar⁶⁰²In Šabbat: R. Ḥizqiah, R. Jeremiah, R. Ḥiyya. This is the only correct text. Jeremiah, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If you can link the tradition back to Moses, link it. Otherwise take either the very first or the very last [source]⁶⁰³In Šabbat added: What is the reason? “The day when you stood,” Up to the day when you stood before the Eternal, your God, at Horeb. (Referring to the verse quoted earlier, Note 600. Since Moses was speaking to the second generation, not present at Sinai, it proves that a person can be present at Sinai by connecting with the teachings from Sinai.). Giddul said, anybody who quotes somebody should consider it as if the author of the quote stood before him. What is the reason? “Only in image a man wanders.⁶⁰⁴Ps. 39:7.” “Many a man professes good will, but where will you find one you can trust?” ⁶⁰⁵This is a non sequitur. The intelligible text is in Šabbat: “Many a man professes good will,” these are all other people, “but where will you find one you can trust?” That is R. Ze‘ira. That is Rebbi Ze‘ira, as Rebbi Ze‘ira said, we do take the traditions of Rav Sheshet into account since he is blind. ⁶⁰⁶This text is unacceptable for reasons of chronology. The correct text is in Šabbat: “He said to him, R. Joḥanan said it in his name. R. Ze‘ira asked R. Abba bar Zavda: Did you know Rav (a chronological impossibility), that you are quoting in his name? He answered, Rav Ada bar Ahava said it in his name.” And Rebbi Ze‘ira said to Rebbi Yasa, does the Rabbi know Bar Pedaiah, that you quote in his name? He said to him, Rav Ada bar Aḥawa said it in his name.

Rebbi Onias said, Rebbi Ḥama bar Uqba raised a difficulty: If he wanted to deflect him to another subject³²⁴If R. Joshua’s intention only was to deflect R. Ismael’s inquiry there were many other questions to be asked., he should have removed him to the five indeterminate places in the Torah³²⁵In the absence of masoretic accents it may be difficult to parse a sentence. In Babli sources, this is called “verses that have no decision,” i. e., where to place the caesura. In our masoretic texts only Ex. 25:34 remains undecided in this sense. Parallel sources are Babli Yoma52a/b, Gen. rabba80(5) (Theodor-Albeck #957/958, Sokoloff Geniza Fragments p. 170), Midrash Cant. 1(18), Mekhilta dR. Ismael, Amaleq1, Mekhilta dR. Simeon ben Iohai Epstein-Melamed p. 121, Tanḥuma Bešallaḥ26.The list itself is attributed in most sources to Issy ben Jehudah. [A discussion in principle about this subject is found in ש. קוגוט, המקרא בין טעמים לפרשנות, י־ם תשנד; מ. ברויאר, מקראות שאין להם הכרע, לשוננו נח (תשנה) 189־199.], which are the following: “gift, cursed, tomorrow, almond shaped, rise”. Behold if you choose well the gift or the gift if you do not choose well³²⁶Gen.4:7. They must have read הֲלוֹא אִם־תֵּיטִ֔יב שְׂאֵ֕ת וְאִם֙ לֹא תֵיטִ֔יב but also in the masoretic text הֲלוֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת there is a stop between תֵּיטִיב֙ and שְׂאֵ֔ת.. For in their rage they killed a man and by their will castrated a cursed ox or cursed be their rage for it is strong³²⁷Gen.49:6–7. It is a question whether to read one or two sentences.. Moses said to Joshua . . go fight Amaleq tomorrow or tomorrow I shall stand on top of the hill³²⁸Ex. 17:9.. On the candelabra four cups almond shaped or almond shaped their knobs and their flowers³²⁹Ex. 25:34..The Eternal said to Moses, you will lie with your fathers and rise or rise will this people and whore³³⁰Deut. 31:16.. Rebbi Tanḥuma added the following: Jacob’s sons came from the field when they heard or when they heard the men were offended³³¹Gen. 34:7. Most translations follow the masoretic punctuation in choosing the first alternative but the German translation by Torczyner et al. (Berlin 1934) which opts for the second.. Rebbi La said, there are things about which one kisses the mouth, as it is said, may he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth³³²This answers R. Ḥama bar Uqba’s question. The verse Cant. 1:2 was chosen because its first part, quoted now, tells R. Ismael to be silent since a person who is kissed on his mouth cannot speak at that time. The first part clearly refers to a male; nevertheless R. Ismael had a point reading the second part as addressing a female since the sentence switches from third to second person, possibly indicating a change of speaker.. Rebbi Isaac said, and me did the Eternal command³³³Deut. 4:14. Here starts a rather defective Genizah fragment (Ginzberg pp. 276–277.). “Me, and me.” Things were said to me that were said to you. And things were said to me alone³³⁴Not everything has to be told to everybody..

Thirteen things they changed for King Ptolemy. They wrote for him, “God created the beginning³⁷⁶Gen. 1:1; change not found in LXX..” “I shall make man in stature and form³⁷⁷Gen. 1:26; change not found in LXX..” “Male and his openings He created them³⁷⁸Gen. 1:27; change not found in LXX..” “He finished on the Sixth and rested on the Seventh³⁷⁹Gen. 2:2; change found in LXX.” “Now I shall descend³⁸⁰Gen. 11:7; change found in LXX..” “Sarah laughed in her surroundings, saying.³⁸¹Gen. 18:12; LXX: “in herself”.” “For in their rage they slew a bull and in their will uprooted a trough³⁸²Gen. 49:6; change not found in LXX..” “Moses took his wife and his sons and let them ride on people-carriers³⁸³Ex. 4:20. LXX: “beast of burden”..” “The dwelling of the Children of Israel, which they dwelled in Egypt and other lands, was 430 years.³⁸⁴Ex. 12:40. LXX: “In the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan.”” And the hare³⁸⁵Lev. 11:6 (in LXX 11:5). LXX: “rough-foot”, a designation of the hare., “and the young of foot.” King Ptolemy’s mother was called “hare³⁸⁶The dynasty of the Ptolemies was called the Lagides, after an ancestor Lagos “hare”.”. “Not one precious thing I took from them³⁸⁷Num. 16:15; change found in LXX.” “Which the Eternal, your God, distributed them to give light to all peoples under all the heavens.³⁸⁸Deut. 4:19; change not found in LXX.” “Which I did not command peoples to worship them.³⁸⁹Deut. 17:3; change not found in LXX.
The comparisons with the LXX text was done on the basis of Rahlfs’s edition; the history of the text between the time of the Jewish translation in Alexandria and its adaptation by Christian editors in the Roman Empire is unknown. The same list is in the Babli 9a.”

Say little and do a lot. How so? This teaches us that the righteous say little and do a lot, but the wicked say a lot and don’t do anything at all. And how do we know that the righteous say little and do a lot? For this is what we find with Abraham our forefather, who said to the angels, “Have a piece of bread with me today,” as it says (Genesis 18:5), “I will get a piece of bread, and you can dine to your heart’s content.” But then after that, look at what Abraham did for the angels who serve God! He went and prepared three bulls and nine measures of fine flour for them! And how do we know that he prepared nine measures of fine flour? Because it says (Genesis 18:6), “Abraham hurried into the tent, to Sarah, and said: Hurry! Three measures of fine flour! The word three refers to the first three [measures], the word fine brings it to six, and the word flour makes nine. And how do we know that he prepared three bulls for them? Because it says (Genesis 18:7), “Abraham ran to the cattle [and selected a good, tender calf].” Cattle is one [bull]. Calf is two. Tender is three. (And some say that good was four.) “Then he gave it to the boy, who hurried to prepare it.” That is, he gave it to Ishmael, in order to train him in performing the mitzvot.
Even the Holy Blessed One said little and did a lot, as it says (Genesis 15:13–14), “[God] said to Abram: Know well that your offspring will be strangers in a land not their own, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will judge the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall go out with great wealth.” God spoke of this judgment with only the two letters dalet and nun, which spell the word dan (judge). But when the time came to pay back the enemies of Israel, God used seventy-two letters to do it, as it says (Deuteronomy 4:34), “Or has any god attempted to come and take one nation out from another, with great acts, signs, and wonders, and with awesome power?” From this you learn that when the enemies of Israel were made to pay for what they had done, they paid with seventy-two letters.
And how do we know that the wicked say a lot and don’t do anything at all? For this is what we find with Ephron, who said to Abraham (Genesis 23:15), “A piece of land worth four hundred pieces of silver; [what is that between you and me?]” [as if he was willing to give away the land for free]. But in the end, when Abraham went to give him the payment, it says, “Abraham understood Ephron, and paid him the money” [and he simply accepted it].

The scroll of the Torah is immediately unrolled a space of three columns and is elevated so as to show the face of the script to the people standing on the right and on the left. Then it is turned round towards the front and towards the rear; for it is a precept for all men and women to see the script,⁴⁶Before it is read. The ritual here described is followed by the Sefaradim. The Ashkenazim elevate the scroll after the conclusion of the reading (cf. P.B., p. 148). to bend their knees and exclaim, ‘And this is the Torah which Moses set before the children of Israel.⁴⁷Deut. 4, 44. For other verses which are now added, cf. P.B., loc. cit. The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul’.⁴⁸Ps. 19, 8. This verse is not included now. The mafṭir then hands it over to the superintendent of the Synagogue services who returns it to the first⁴⁹lit. ‘the head’ (so GRA). V has ‘to cover the heads’, which is obscure. of those who are to be called to the reading, because it is not an honour for the Torah to be left alone.⁵⁰lit. ‘single’. It is therefore necessary for the mafṭir, the superintendent and one of the congregation who is to read a portion to accompany the scroll. Similarly it is not proper for the precentor to stand alone before the reading-desk; so [two persons] should stand with him, one on his right and the other on his left, [the number] corresponding to that of the patriarchs.⁵¹V inserts in parenthesis a ruling which seems displaced although it is included by GRA, M and H. It reads: ‘Some say that [the mafṭir] recites the Shema‘ with the benediction “Who formest light” (P.B., p. 128) and “Holy” (p. 131) because of the benediction which he says “For the Torah, for the divine service”, etc. (pp. 149f)’. The pure-minded men of Jerusalem acted in this manner: When the Torah scroll was taken out of the ark and when it was returned they followed it as a mark of respect.

The scroll of the Torah is immediately unrolled a space of three columns and is elevated so as to show the face of the script to the people standing on the right and on the left. Then it is turned round towards the front and towards the rear; for it is a precept for all men and women to see the script,⁴⁶Before it is read. The ritual here described is followed by the Sefaradim. The Ashkenazim elevate the scroll after the conclusion of the reading (cf. P.B., p. 148). to bend their knees and exclaim, ‘And this is the Torah which Moses set before the children of Israel.⁴⁷Deut. 4, 44. For other verses which are now added, cf. P.B., loc. cit. The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul’.⁴⁸Ps. 19, 8. This verse is not included now. The mafṭir then hands it over to the superintendent of the Synagogue services who returns it to the first⁴⁹lit. ‘the head’ (so GRA). V has ‘to cover the heads’, which is obscure. of those who are to be called to the reading, because it is not an honour for the Torah to be left alone.⁵⁰lit. ‘single’. It is therefore necessary for the mafṭir, the superintendent and one of the congregation who is to read a portion to accompany the scroll. Similarly it is not proper for the precentor to stand alone before the reading-desk; so [two persons] should stand with him, one on his right and the other on his left, [the number] corresponding to that of the patriarchs.⁵¹V inserts in parenthesis a ruling which seems displaced although it is included by GRA, M and H. It reads: ‘Some say that [the mafṭir] recites the Shema‘ with the benediction “Who formest light” (P.B., p. 128) and “Holy” (p. 131) because of the benediction which he says “For the Torah, for the divine service”, etc. (pp. 149f)’. The pure-minded men of Jerusalem acted in this manner: When the Torah scroll was taken out of the ark and when it was returned they followed it as a mark of respect.

One might have thought that a person may ask questions with regard to what is above, what is below, what was before, and what is after the world. Therefore, the same verse states: “From one end of the heavens to the other” (Deuteronomy 4:32), which is explained as follows: With regard to that which is from one end of the heavens to the other, within the boundaries of the world, you may ask, but you may not ask what is above, what is below, what was before, or what is after.

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.”

Ten entities are considered truly “alive.” 1. The Holy Blessed One, as it says (Jeremiah 10:10), “The Eternal is truly God; He is a living God.” 2. The Torah is called a Living Torah, as it says (Proverbs 3:18), “It is a Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it, and all its supporters are happy.” 3. Israel are called Alive, as it says (Deuteronomy 4:41), “And you, who cling to the Eternal your God, you are all alive today.” 4. A righteous person is called Life, as it says (Proverbs 11:30), “The fruit of the righteous is the Tree of Life.” 5. The Garden of Eden is called Living, ([as it says (Psalms 116:9), “I will walk before the Eternal in the land of the living.” 6. One of the trees in the Garden was called the Tree of Life,]) as it says (Genesis 2:9), “and the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden. 7. The Land of Israel is called the Land of the Living, as it says (Ezekiel 26:20), “I will place radiance in the land of the living.” (Jerusalem is called Living, as it says [Psalms 116:9)], “I will walk before the Eternal in the land of the living.”) 8. Acts of kindness are called Life, as it says (Psalms 63:4), “For Your kindness is better than life; my lips will praise You.” 9. A wise person is called Life, as it says (Proverbs 13:14), “The Torah of the wise is the source of life.” 10. Water is called Living, as it says (Zechariah 14:8), “On that day, living waters will come forth from Jerusalem.”

Ten entities are considered truly “alive.” 1. The Holy Blessed One, as it says (Jeremiah 10:10), “The Eternal is truly God; He is a living God.” 2. The Torah is called a Living Torah, as it says (Proverbs 3:18), “It is a Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it, and all its supporters are happy.” 3. Israel are called Alive, as it says (Deuteronomy 4:41), “And you, who cling to the Eternal your God, you are all alive today.” 4. A righteous person is called Life, as it says (Proverbs 11:30), “The fruit of the righteous is the Tree of Life.” 5. The Garden of Eden is called Living, ([as it says (Psalms 116:9), “I will walk before the Eternal in the land of the living.” 6. One of the trees in the Garden was called the Tree of Life,]) as it says (Genesis 2:9), “and the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden. 7. The Land of Israel is called the Land of the Living, as it says (Ezekiel 26:20), “I will place radiance in the land of the living.” (Jerusalem is called Living, as it says [Psalms 116:9)], “I will walk before the Eternal in the land of the living.”) 8. Acts of kindness are called Life, as it says (Psalms 63:4), “For Your kindness is better than life; my lips will praise You.” 9. A wise person is called Life, as it says (Proverbs 13:14), “The Torah of the wise is the source of life.” 10. Water is called Living, as it says (Zechariah 14:8), “On that day, living waters will come forth from Jerusalem.”