Talmud su Salmi 119:321

HALAKHAH: “Four kinds of vows did the Sages dissolve,” etc. Do not the Sages permit all kinds of vows? It is written⁶Num. 30:2.: “Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes.” He referred the paragraph to the heads of the tribes that they should dissolve the people’s vows. Rav Jehudah in the name of Samuel⁷Num. 30:3. The same argument in the Babli, Ḥagigah 10a, in response to Mishnah 1:8: Dissolutions of vows “hang in the air” (have no biblical basis). This is the only argument accepted in the Babli.: “He shall not profane his word.” He cannot profane his word; this implies that others can profane his words. Who is that? That is the Sage who dissolves the vow. Ḥananiah the nephew of Rebbi Joshua said⁸Ps. 119:106. Also in the Babli, Ḥagigah 10a. In Nedarim 8a, the verse is interpreted to authorize vows to keep commandments of the Torah. In Sadducee theory (Damascus Document CD XVI 7–8), the consequence of such a vow is that the corresponding commandment cannot be broken even under extreme pain, which in pharisaic theory applies only to idolatry, incest and adultery, and murder., “I swore and I shall keep it.” Sometimes I keep it. Rebbi Joshua said⁹Ps. 95:11. Also in the Babli, Ḥagigah 10a., “What I swore in my rage:” In my rage I swore; I change my mind.

Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira says: Adam was sitting in the Garden of Eden, and the angels who serve God stood there in the Garden attending to him. They grilled meat for him, and chilled wine for him. The snake came and saw all this, and took it as an affront to his own honor, and he became jealous.
How was Adam created? In the first hour, his dirt was gathered together. In the second hour, his form was formed. In the third hour, a torso was made. In the fourth hour, his limbs were attached. In the fifth hour, his orifices were opened. In the sixth hour, he was given breath. In the seventh hour, he stood up on his legs. In the eighth hour, he was paired with Eve. In the ninth hour, he was brought into the Garden of Eden. In the tenth hour, he was commanded [not to eat from the tree]. In the eleventh hour, he disgraced himself. In the twelfth hour, he was driven out and left, which fulfills the words of the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor.”
What is recited on the first day? “The earth is the Eternal’s, in all its fullness; the world and those who dwell upon it” (Psalms 24). For He became Master of the World and will judge it. What is recited on the second day? “The Eternal is great, and praised tremendously in the city of our God” (Psalms 48). For He sets up all His works and becomes everything over His world. What is recited on the third day? “God stands in the divine congregation; amidst the powers He judges” (Psalms 82). For He created the sea and the land, and the land was folded into its place, and a space was cleared for His congregation. What is recited on the fourth day? “God of Vengeance, Lord! God of Vengeance, appear!” (Psalms 94). For He created the sun and the moon and the stars and the constellations, and they illuminate the world, and will one day be paid for their work. What is recited on the fifth day? “Sing joyously to the Eternal, our strength, shout out to the God of Jacob!” (Psalms 81). For He created birds and fish, and sea creatures, who all sing joyously in the world. What is recited on the sixth day? “The Eternal is king, He is dressed in dignity; the Eternal has dressed, and wrapped Himself in strength. The world is set in place; it will not fall” (Psalms 93). He finished all of His works, and then rose above them and sat up in the heights of the world. What is recited on the seventh day? “A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day” (Psalms 92). For on it, there is no eating or drinking, no buying or selling. The righteous just sit, with crowns on their heads, and bask in the radiance of the Divine Presence, as it says (Exodus 24:11), “And they beheld God, and they ate and drank,” like the angels who serve God.
(And why [was he created] so close [to the Sabbath]? So that he could enter into the Sabbath meal immediately.)
Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: I will give you a parable. What was Adam like? Like a man who married a convert, and would sit with her and give her orders. He said to her: Girl, do not eat bread while your hands are impure. And do not eat fruit that has not been tithed. And do not desecrate the Sabbath. And do not break your vows. And do not go around with other men. Now, if you break any one of these rules, you will die. (Then what did that man do?) He ate bread in front of her while his hands were impure, and he ate fruit that had not been tithed, and he desecrated the Sabbath, and he broke his vows. [And then he cast her out.] What did this convert say to herself? All the rules that my husband ordered me to follow are lies! She immediately went and broke them all.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: I will give you a parable. What was the situation with Adam like? Like a man who had a woman in his house. What did he do? He went and brought a jar and put figs and nuts in it. Then he caught a scorpion, and put it near the mouth of the jar. And then he sealed the jar with a string and placed it in a corner. He said to her: Girl, everything I have in this house is for you to use, except for that jar, which you must not touch at all. What did the woman do? When her husband went out to the marketplace, she went and opened the jar, and stuck her hand inside, and the scorpion bit her. She went and fell on the bed. When her husband came back from the marketplace, he said to her: What happened? She said to him: I stuck my hand in the jar, and a scorpion bit me, and now I am dying! He said to her: Didn’t I tell you before? Everything I have in my house is for you to use, except for that jar, which you must not touch at all! He became very angry at her and cast her out. So it was with Adam. When the Holy Blessed One said to him (Genesis 2:16–17), “From every tree of the garden you may absolutely eat. But from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, do not eat. For on the day you eat from it, you will surely die.” Then when he ate from it, he was driven out, which fulfills the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor. He is just like the beasts.”
(On that same day he was formed;) On that same day he was created; on that same day his form was formed; on that same day a torso was made; on that same day his limbs were attached and his orifices were opened; on that same day breath was given to him. On that same day he stood up on his legs; on that same day he was paired with Eve; on that same day he called [all the animals] names; on that same day he was brought into the Garden of Eden; on that same day he was commanded [not to eat from the tree]; on that same day he disgraced himself; on that same day he was driven out, which fulfills the words of the verse (Psalms 49:13), “Man does not spend even one night in honor.”
On that same day they went up into their bed as two and came down as four. Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira says: On that same day they went up into their bed as two and came down as six.¹This is according to the tradition that each son was born with a twin girl who would become his wife. On that same day Adam was given three new decrees, as it says (Genesis 3:17–18), “And to Adam [God] said: Because you heeded the voice of your wife…the ground will be cursed because of you. You will eat from it in distress…and it will sprout thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the grasses of the field.” When Adam heard that the Holy Blessed One said to him, “You will eat the grasses of the field,” immediately his limbs began to shake. He said before God: Master of the World! Will I and my animal eat from the same trough? The Holy Blessed One said: Since your limbs began to shake (nizdazu), therefore “by the sweat (zeiah) of your brow you will [be able to] eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). And just as Adam was given these three decrees, so, too, Eve was given three decrees, as it says (Genesis 3:16), “To the woman [God] said: I will increase and increase your pangs in childbearing; you will give birth to children in pain.” So when a woman has her menstrual bleeding, the beginning of her cycle is the most difficult for her. (“I will increase and increase”:) When a woman first has sexual relations, at the beginning intercourse is difficult for her. “Your pangs”: And when a woman becomes pregnant, her face becomes ugly and greenish for the first three months.
When evening began to descend, Adam looked toward the darkening horizon and said: Woe is me! Because I disgraced myself, the Holy Blessed one is bringing darkness upon my world. He did not know that this was simply the way of the world. In the morning, when he saw that the world began to brighten from the east, he felt an overwhelming sense of joy. So he went and built altars, and brought a bull whose horns had grown in before his hooves,²Unusual for a bull, but because the first bull grew up out of the ground, its top was formed before its legs. See Rashi, Hullin 60a. and he offered it up as a sacrifice, as it says (Tehillim 69:32), “It will be better to the Eternal than a bull with horns and hooves.”
The bull that Adam offered up on the altar, as well as the bull that Noah offered up, and the ram that Abraham our forefather offered up in place of his son, (all had horns that had grown in before their hooves), as it says (Genesis 22:13), “Abraham raised his eyes, and behold, a ram was caught [in the brambles by its horns].”
At that same hour, three groups of angels who serve God came down, and in their hands were lyres and harps and all kinds of instruments, and they sang with him, as it says (Psalms 92:1–2), “A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. It is good to thank the Eternal…and to speak of Your kindness in the morning, and Your faith through the night.” “To speak of your kindness in the morning” – that is the World to Come, which is compared to morning, as it says (Lamentations 3:23), “They are renewed in the morning; great is Your faith.” “And Your faith through the night” – that is this world, which is compared to night, as it says (Isaiah 21:11), “The burden of Dumah. Someone calls to me from Seir: Watchman, what will happen in the night? Watchman, what will happen in the night?”
At that same hour, the Holy Blessed One said: If I do not punish the snake, I will be found to have caused the destruction of the whole world! They will say, that one, whom I have crowned, and made king over the whole world, how can it be that he has ruined himself and eaten the fruits of that tree? Immediately, He turned to the snake and cursed it, as it says (Genesis 3:14), “Then the Eternal God said to the snake….” Thus, Rabbi Yosei said: If this verse had not (not) concluded with its curse, the whole world would have been destroyed.
When the Holy Blessed One created the first human being, He formed it facing both frontward and backward, as it says (Psalms 139:5), “You formed me after and before, and You placed Your hand upon me.” And the angels who serve God came down (to serve Him) [in order to destroy the first human being]. So the Holy Blessed One took it and placed it under His wings, as it says (Psalms 139:5), “You hedge me before and behind, and You placed Your hands upon me.”
Another interpretation of “And You placed Your hands upon me”: (When [Adam] disgraced himself, the Holy Blessed One took one of [His hands] away). From here we see that both the human being and the Sanctuary, when they were created, were created by God’s two hands. From where do we learn that the human being was created with God’s two hands? As it says (Psalms 119:73), “Your hands made me and fashioned me.” From where do we learn that the Sanctuary was created with God’s two hands? As it says (Exodus 15:17), “In the Sanctuary, God, which Your hands have established.” (And it says [Psalms 78:54]), “He brought them to the border of His Sanctuary, the mountain which His right hand had acquired.”
And it says (Exodus 15:19), “The Eternal will reign forever and ever.”

Beloved are Israel [by God], for they observe all the commandments that are in the Torah. How? Tefillin on their hands, tefillin on their heads, a mezuzah on their doors and four ẓiẓith on their garments. Concerning them David, king of Israel, said, Seven times a day do I praise Thee, because of Thy righteous ordinances.⁹⁷Ps. 119, 164.
[The Sages] illustrated this with a parable. To what may this be compared? To a king who said to his wife, ‘Be well dressed and adorned in my presence’. ‘For what reason?’ she asked him. ‘In order that you may be acceptable to me,’ he replied. Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, ‘My children, be well dressed and adorned in My presence with [your performance of] the commandments’. ‘For what reason?’ they asked Him. ‘In order,’ He replied, ‘that you may be acceptable to Me’; as it is stated, Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirẓah,⁹⁸Cant. 6, 4. [which means,] ‘Thou art beautiful when thou art acceptable⁹⁹Tirẓah is of the same root as raẓuï (acceptable). to Me through [thy performance of] the commandments’.

Beloved are Israel [by God], for they observe all the commandments that are in the Torah. How? Tefillin on their hands, tefillin on their heads, a mezuzah on their doors and four ẓiẓith on their garments. Concerning them David, king of Israel, said, Seven times a day do I praise Thee, because of Thy righteous ordinances.⁹⁷Ps. 119, 164.
[The Sages] illustrated this with a parable. To what may this be compared? To a king who said to his wife, ‘Be well dressed and adorned in my presence’. ‘For what reason?’ she asked him. ‘In order that you may be acceptable to me,’ he replied. Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, ‘My children, be well dressed and adorned in My presence with [your performance of] the commandments’. ‘For what reason?’ they asked Him. ‘In order,’ He replied, ‘that you may be acceptable to Me’; as it is stated, Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirẓah,⁹⁸Cant. 6, 4. [which means,] ‘Thou art beautiful when thou art acceptable⁹⁹Tirẓah is of the same root as raẓuï (acceptable). to Me through [thy performance of] the commandments’.

Rebbi Zeriqan and Rebbi Ammi⁹⁴Rebbi Ammi (or Immi) was the successor of Rebbi Yoḥanan as head of the academy of Tiberias. Rebbi Zeriqan was another student of Rebbi Yoḥanan. Their argument goes as follows: King David declares that he is used to get up at midnight and also that he gets up at the start of some night watch. But if midnight is the start of a watch then the number of watches has to be even. [The parallel in the Babli (Berakhot 3b) is a shortened version of the Yerushalmi (in particular, in the Ashkenazic manuscript tradition.)] in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: The reason of Rebbi is (Ps. 119:62): “At midnight I get up to thank You for Your just laws.” And it is written (Ps. 119:148): “My eyes preceded night watches.” Rebbi Ḥizqiah said: Rebbi Zeriqan and Rebbi Abba, one explained the reason of Rebbi, the other the reason of Rebbi Nathan. He who explained the reason of Rebbi: “at midnight”. He who explained the reason of Rebbi Nathan (Jud. 7:19): “at the start of the middle watch.”⁹⁵See the preceding paragraph. How does Rebbi Nathan uphold the basis of Rebbi’s reason, “at midnight”? Sometimes “at midnight,” sometimes “my eyes preceded night watches.” How is that? When David had a state dinner, “at midnight.” When he ate by himself, “my eyes preceded night watches.” In no case did dawn come and found David asleep. That is what David said (Ps. 57:9): “Wake up, my honor, wake up, o harp and lute, I shall awake dawn.” My honor has to be awake because of the honor of my Creator. My honor counts for nothing before the honor of my Creator. I shall awake dawn, dawn will not awake me. His evil instinct was trying to seduce him and told him: David, usually dawn awakes kings and you say “I shall awake dawn!” Usually kings sleep until three hours into the day and you say “at midnight I get up!” But he answers, “for Your just laws.” What did David do? Rebbi Phineas in the name of Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Menaḥem⁹⁶Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Menaḥem was an Aggadist of the generation of Rebbi Ammi; Rebbi Phineas belongs to the following generation. A parallel Babylonian tradition is given in Babli Berakhot 4a. The Yerushalmi version is also found in Pesiqta dRav Kahana,ויהי בחצי הלילה, 13 and in Midrash Tehillim 119.: He took a harp, put it on his headboard, got up at midnight and started playing on it so that his companions in the study of Torah should hear it. What were his companions in the study of Torah saying? When king David studies Torah, certainly we have to do it also! Rebbi Levi⁹⁷The preacher in the academy of R. Yoḥanan. A shortened version, without the reference to the story of Elisha, is a Babylonian tradition, by contemporary Babylonian teachers, in Babli Berakhot 3b. The verse quoted talks about the prophetic extasy of Elisha before king Jehoshaphat. R. Elazar Azkari explains that the verse from Kings can be taken to be parallel to Psalms 57:9 since in the latter verse the harp is also adressed directly, as a living being. said: a lute was hanging in David’s window and in the night the North wind was blowing and moving it and it was playing by itself. This refers to what is written (2Kings 3:15): “It happened when the musical instrument was playing.” It does not say “when he played on the musical instrument” but “when the instrument was playing”; it was playing by itself.

Rebbi Zeriqan and Rebbi Ammi⁹⁴Rebbi Ammi (or Immi) was the successor of Rebbi Yoḥanan as head of the academy of Tiberias. Rebbi Zeriqan was another student of Rebbi Yoḥanan. Their argument goes as follows: King David declares that he is used to get up at midnight and also that he gets up at the start of some night watch. But if midnight is the start of a watch then the number of watches has to be even. [The parallel in the Babli (Berakhot 3b) is a shortened version of the Yerushalmi (in particular, in the Ashkenazic manuscript tradition.)] in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: The reason of Rebbi is (Ps. 119:62): “At midnight I get up to thank You for Your just laws.” And it is written (Ps. 119:148): “My eyes preceded night watches.” Rebbi Ḥizqiah said: Rebbi Zeriqan and Rebbi Abba, one explained the reason of Rebbi, the other the reason of Rebbi Nathan. He who explained the reason of Rebbi: “at midnight”. He who explained the reason of Rebbi Nathan (Jud. 7:19): “at the start of the middle watch.”⁹⁵See the preceding paragraph. How does Rebbi Nathan uphold the basis of Rebbi’s reason, “at midnight”? Sometimes “at midnight,” sometimes “my eyes preceded night watches.” How is that? When David had a state dinner, “at midnight.” When he ate by himself, “my eyes preceded night watches.” In no case did dawn come and found David asleep. That is what David said (Ps. 57:9): “Wake up, my honor, wake up, o harp and lute, I shall awake dawn.” My honor has to be awake because of the honor of my Creator. My honor counts for nothing before the honor of my Creator. I shall awake dawn, dawn will not awake me. His evil instinct was trying to seduce him and told him: David, usually dawn awakes kings and you say “I shall awake dawn!” Usually kings sleep until three hours into the day and you say “at midnight I get up!” But he answers, “for Your just laws.” What did David do? Rebbi Phineas in the name of Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Menaḥem⁹⁶Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Menaḥem was an Aggadist of the generation of Rebbi Ammi; Rebbi Phineas belongs to the following generation. A parallel Babylonian tradition is given in Babli Berakhot 4a. The Yerushalmi version is also found in Pesiqta dRav Kahana,ויהי בחצי הלילה, 13 and in Midrash Tehillim 119.: He took a harp, put it on his headboard, got up at midnight and started playing on it so that his companions in the study of Torah should hear it. What were his companions in the study of Torah saying? When king David studies Torah, certainly we have to do it also! Rebbi Levi⁹⁷The preacher in the academy of R. Yoḥanan. A shortened version, without the reference to the story of Elisha, is a Babylonian tradition, by contemporary Babylonian teachers, in Babli Berakhot 3b. The verse quoted talks about the prophetic extasy of Elisha before king Jehoshaphat. R. Elazar Azkari explains that the verse from Kings can be taken to be parallel to Psalms 57:9 since in the latter verse the harp is also adressed directly, as a living being. said: a lute was hanging in David’s window and in the night the North wind was blowing and moving it and it was playing by itself. This refers to what is written (2Kings 3:15): “It happened when the musical instrument was playing.” It does not say “when he played on the musical instrument” but “when the instrument was playing”; it was playing by itself.

Keep aloof from anything which may bring you to sin. Recoil from [even] a minor sin that it may not lead you to a major sin. Hasten to [perform] a light precept¹⁷Cf. Ps. 119, 60. One is more liable to be slack and procrastinating with an easy task and so forget it; to obviate this a man should hasten to perform it as soon as it presents itself. and flee¹⁸Not merely avoid, but put as long a distance as possible between yourself and transgression. from even] a trivial transgression lest it will lead you to commit a grave transgression.

HALAKHAH: ³¹⁸Babli 110b, Tosephta 13:9–12.“The generation of the desert has no part in the World to Come,” and will not see the future, as it is said: in this desert they shall be terminated and there they will die. In this desert they shall be terminated, in this world, and there they will die, in the future; and so He says³¹⁹Ps. 95:11., what I swore in My rage, lest they come to My rest, the words of Rebbi Aqiba. Rebbi Eliezer says, about them it says, assemble for Me My lovely ones, who sealed My Covenant by a sacrifice. Rebbi Joshua said, I swore and I shall keep it³²⁰Ps. 119:106; cf. Eccl. rabba 10(23) ad10:20. In a more adequate context the verse is quoted in Hagigah 1:8.; sometimes I do not keep it. Ḥanania the son of Rebbi Joshua’s brother says, it is written: what I swore in My rage; I swore in My rage, I am changing My mind. It was stated: Rebbi Simeon ben Menassia says, about them it says assemble Me My lovely ones, who performed acts of love for Me³²¹In Jer. 2:1, the Exodus is described as an act of love of God.. The executors of My Covenant, who were extirpated by Me. By sacrifice, they elevated me and were sacrificed for My name. It was stated: Rebbi Joshua ben Qorḥa says, about these generations He says³²²Is. 35:10., those freed by the Eternal shall return. Rebbi says, these and those³²³The generation of the desert and the Ten Tribes (Mishnah 6). have part in the World to Come. What is the reason? ³²⁴Is. 27:13; cf. Eccl. rabba 1(20).It shall be on that day, a great ram’s horn will be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria will come, these are the Ten Tribes, and those displaced in the land of Egypt, that is the generation of the desert. These and those will bow down before the Eternal on the Holy Mountain [and] in Jerusalem.

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

³²⁵Babli 109b, Tosephta 13:9. The band of Korah will not have part in the Future World and not be resurrected in the future. What is the reason? ³¹⁷Num. 16:33.The desert covered them, in this world; they were lost from among the congregation, in the future. It was stated: Rebbi Jehudah ben Bathyra says, one understands from what is said, I erred like a lost sheep; look after Your servant³²⁶Ps. 119:176., that just as the lost object mentioned there at the end will be searched for, so also the lost object mentioned here at the end will be searched for³²⁷By the doctrine of invariability of lexemes..

It is related of Joseph [the son of] Pisḳas⁵¹Cf. j.Nazir VII, 1, 55d. The text here is corrupt and the reading of GRA which agrees with the Talmud is followed. who had a swelling on his foot that a doctor came to remove it. He said to him, ‘When you have left as much as a single hair, tell me’. He cut the abscess, and when he had left only as much as a single hair,⁵²i.e. the swelling was hanging from the foot as by a hair. he informed him. He called his son Neḥunia and said to him, ‘My son, until now it was your duty to attend to me, but now go your way; for the Sages said, “One must not defile himself for a limb that was severed from a living person, even if it be his father’s” ’.⁵³Joseph was a kohen. When the Sages heard of it they said, ‘Of such a man as he it has been stated, My soul is continually in my hand; yet have I not forgotten Thy law;⁵⁴Ps. 119, 109. [and it further states,] There is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness⁵⁵Although Joseph was in danger of dying under the operation, he remembered to warn his son of the law of defilement which devolved upon a kohen. and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his evil-doing.’⁵⁶Eccl. 7, 15.

MISHNAH: One is required to recite a benediction for bad things the same way²²⁸The Babli (60b) points out that the Mishnah cannot mean that one has to use the same formula for bad news as for good since the opposite was declared in Mishnah 3. Here one talks only about the spirit in which the benedictions should be recited. it is said for good things, as it is written (Deut. 6:5): “You must love the Eternal, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your force.” “With all your heart,” with your two instincts, the goodinstinct and the bad instinct. “With all your soul,” even if He takes your soul. “With all your force,” with all your money. Another explanation: “With all your force,” for every measure²²⁹This sermon identifies the roots מאד “power, plenty”, מדד “measure,” ידה, מדה “thanking.” It supports the early grammarians who reduced Semitic roots to two letters. that He measures for you, for everything thank him very much.
A person should not behave improperly before the Eastern gate, which lies in a straight line with the Holiest of Holies²⁵⁶The Eastern gate in the wall of the Temple Mount (which at the same time was the city wall) was in a straight line with the Eastern gate of the Temple courtyard, the Temple gate, and the Holiest of Holies, because the priest who was burning the red heifer on the Mount of Olives had to see the Temple door through the gate of the wall and the gate of the Temple court. One must assume that in Mishnaic times, the Temple itself was totally obliterated (since, after the war of Bar Kochba, Hadrian had constructed a temple of Jupiter on its site) but that the original Eastern gate was still there and the place of the Temple could be determined on a line perpendicular to the wall at that gate.. And one should not enter the Temple Mount with his walking stick, sandals²⁵⁷All service by priests in the Temple had to be performed barefoot. Hence, also laymen entering the Temple precinct had to be barefoot. [To show the difference between the Temple and a synagogue, shoes may not be removed in a synagogue.], money belt²⁵⁸Latin funda., or dust on his feet²⁵⁹One may not enter with unwashed feet.. Also one should not use it as a short cut²⁶⁰Latin compendiaria (via), cf. Chapter 1, Note 36., and certainly not spit there. All endings of benedictions in the Temple were “from eternity²⁶¹Instead of “Amen”, the answer to a benediction was “Praised be the Eternal, the God of Israel, from eternity”. This is the answer asserted to be given during the existence of the first Temple. When the second Temple was inaugurated, the formula was (Neh. 9:5): “Praised be the Eternal, the God of Israel, from eternity to eternity,” to emphasize the two worlds, the existing one and the one to come. The heretics here cannot be Sadducees who started about three hundred years later; the Qumran documents show that it is totally false to impute a denial of the future world to Sadducees. [That “heretics” are called “Sadducees” in many editions of the Babli here is due to Christian censors who misunderstood the use of the word מין which in general, but not here, means “Christians.”].” When heretics did err and said that there was only one world, they ordained that one should say “from eternity to eternity.” They also instituted that one should greet his friend by the Name, as it was said (Ruth 2:4): “Lo, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters: The Eternal be with you!” And it says (Pr. 23:22): “Be not contemptuous because your mother got old.²⁶²Rashi in the Babli explains: Even though the action of Boaz looks wrong, since God’s name is used for wordly greeting, one should follow him since he is one of the elders of the people. In the verse, the harvesters answered: “May the Eternal bless you,” following Boas’s example.” (Ps. 119:126) “It is time to work for the Eternal; they violated Your Torah.” Rebbi Nathan says, they²⁶³The men of the Great Assembly, who instituted the response to the benedictions in the Temple and the way of greeting in the Name of God, violated the prescription of the Torah that God’s name may not be taken in vain (i. e., for secular purposes) in order to further God’s work and to instill religious feelings in the people. violated Your Torah, it is time to work for the Eternal.

HALAKHAH: Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: Because of²⁰²The reason is sought for benedictions before and after the recitation of Shema‘. The first opinion, ascribed to an early Amora, gives the reason why the two recitations should be parallel and why each one has to include a benediction of thanks for the Torah, since the recitation of the Shema‘ also helps to fulfill the obligation of Torah-study in a minimal way. The second opinion, by a late Amora in the name of one of the first ones, explains the asymmetry in the numbers since they must add up to the odd number of 7.
Since in Halakhah 9 (and in the Babli, Berakhot 14b) it is reported that in Israel one did not recite the entire last section of Shema‘ in the evening, Rebbi Simon also gives a reason for the asymmetry: In the evening one recites 4 benedictions and 2 sections, in the morning 3 benedictions and 3 sections, for a total of 6 morning and evening. In the next section it is clear that Rebbi Simon makes a distinction between the first two and the third sections of Shema‘, a distinction rejected by Rebbi Levi from the circle of Rebbi Yoḥanan. (Jos. 1:8): “You should think about it day and night”, that the thinking of day and night should be equal. Rebbi Yose bar Rebbi Abin in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Because of (Ps. 119:164): “Seven times a day I praise You for Your just laws.” Rebbi Nachman in the name of Rebbi Mani²⁰³Usually, Rebbi Mani in the Yerushalmi is R. Mana the first, an Amora of the first generation. However, Rebbi Naḥman, the preacher, is an Amora of the last generation in Galilee, a student of Rebbi Mana the second. Hence, it is reasonable to assume that R. Mani here is R. Mana the second. However, since the late R. Yose bar Abin transmits in the name of the very early R. Joshua ben Levi, it is not impossible that the name of R. Mani is transmitted correctly.
The statement of R. Mani implies that anybody who recites Shema‘ with its benedictions regularly, every evening and every morning, cannot be considered transgressing the obligation of Torah study even if he does not study otherwise. In contrast to the first two statements, this one has practical consequences.: Everybody who keeps “seven times a day I praise you” is as if he kept also “you should think about it day and night”²⁰⁴In the Babli, Menaḥot 99b, Rebbi Yoḥanan reports in the name of R. Simeon bar Yoḥai that reading the Shema‘ alone is enough; no mention of the necessary benedictions..

(Ps. 119:126) “It is time to work for the Eternal, they violated Your Torah.” Rebbi Nathan inverts the verse: “They violated Your Torah, it is time to work for the Eternal.” Rebbi Ḥilqiah in the name of Rebbi Simon: He who restricts his Torah to fixed times breaches the covenant. What is the reason? “They violated Your Torah, it is time to work for the Eternal.” It was stated: Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai says: If you see that people have given up on Torah, get up and strengthen yourself in it and you will receive the reward of all of them. What is the reason? “They violated Your Torah, it is time to work for the Eternal!”

It was stated²⁹⁷Tosephta Menaḥot 6:24–25, a parallel to the entire paragraph in slightly different language. A parallel in the Babli (Menaḥot 43b) has the formulation that “every man in Israel is obliged to recite 100 benedictions every day.” In the Yerushalmi and the Tosephta, not only benedictions are counted but all religious deeds, and it is asserted that the number 100 is reached automatically. in the name of Rebbi Meïr: There is no one in Israel who does not perform 100 commandments every day. He recites the Shema‘ and benedictions before and after, eats his bread and recitesbenedictions before and after, prays 18 benedictions three times and then he performs other commandments and recites benedictions after them. Similarly, Rebbi Meïr used to say: There is no man in Israel who is not surrounded by commandments: Tefillin on his head, tefillin on his arm, a mezuzah on his door, circumcision in his flesh, and the four ẓiẓiot of his tallit surround him. That is what David said (Ps. 119:164): I praised You sevenfold every day for Your just laws²⁹⁸In order to end up with a count of seven, the Yerushalmi (and the Yerushalmi source Midrash Tehillim 12) must consider tefillin as one commandment. In Babli and Tosephta, circumcision is not counted, probably because the fact of circumcision goes to the credit of the parents, not the baby, and, therefore, tefillin must count for two commandments.. And so it says (Ps. 34:8): The angel of the Eternal camps around those that fear Him and rescues them²⁹⁹The implication being that the angel is created by the good deeds of the person protected.. When he³⁰⁰David. entered the bath house, he saw himself naked. He said, woe to me that I am stripped of commandmends. When he looked at his circumcision, he started to acclaim the Holy One, praise to Him (Ps. 12:1): For the director, on the eighth³⁰¹Taken not as an eight-stringed harp but the commandment performed on the eighth day., a song from David.

HALAKHAH: ¹⁵⁹This text essentially appears in the Venice edition of the Yerushalmi in Nedarim 3:1 as an unjustified corrector’s addition taken from here. Also the attribution there of R. Eliezer’s statement to Ḥananiah the nephew of R. Joshua is unjustified; Ḥananiah refers to the next paragraph. The authorship of R. Eliezer of a similar statement is confirmed in the Babli 10a. It was stated: Rebbi Eliezer says, they have support. I swore and shall keep it¹⁶⁰Ps. 119:106.. Sometimes I do not keep it. Rebbi Joshua says, they have support. Which I swore in My anger¹⁶¹Ps. 95:11.. I swore in My anger, I am changing My opinion.

Great is the Torah for it gives life to those who keep it, both in this world and in the World to Come, as it is stated, For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh;³⁷Prov. 4, 22. and it states, It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones;³⁸ibid. III, 8. [and it states,] Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;³⁹ibid. 17. and it states, She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that holdeth her fast;⁴⁰ibid. 18. and it states, She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; a crown of glory will she bestow on thee;⁴¹ibid. IV, 9. and it states, For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, and a necklace about thy neck;⁴²ibid. I, 9. and it states, Length of days is in her right hand; in her left are riches and honour;⁴³ibid. III, 16. and it states, For length of days, and years of life, and peace, will they add to thee.⁴⁴ibid. III, 2.
R. Simeon b. Judah said in the name of R. Simeon [b. Yoḥai]: Beauty, strength, riches, wisdom, old age, hoariness, honour and children are becoming to the righteous and becoming to the world; as it is stated, The hoary head is a crown of glory, it is found in the way of righteousness;⁴⁵ibid. XVI, 31. and it states, Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of the children are their fathers;⁴⁶ibid. XVII, 6. and it states, The glory of young men is their strength; and the beauty of old men is the hoary head;⁴⁷ibid. XX, 29. and it states, And before His elders shall be glory.⁴⁸Isa. 24, 23. R. Simeon b. Menasia said: The seven qualifications which the Sages associated with the righteous were all realized in Rabbi [Judah the Prince] and his sons.
⁴⁹This paragraph is not in the text, but is inserted because it is referred to in the Gemara. The translation follows the text of H. [R. Jose b. Ḳisma said: Once I went on a journey when a man met me and greeted me.⁵⁰R. Jose did not return the man’s salutation. Cf. the Gemara. He asked me, ‘Rabbi, from which place do you come?’ I replied, ‘From a great city of scholars and scribes’. He said to me, ‘Rabbi, if you agreed to dwell with us in our place, I would give you a thousand thousand golden dinars and precious stones and pearls’. I replied, ‘My son, were you to give me all the silver and gold and precious stones and pearls in the world, I would not dwell in any place but in a place of Torah. Because in the hour of a man’s departure [from the world], neither silver nor gold nor precious stones and pearls accompany him but only Torah and good deeds; as it is stated, When thou walkest, it shall lead thee, when thou liest down, it shall watch over thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.⁵¹Prov. 6, 22. When thou walkest, it shall lead thee—in this world; when thou liest down, it shall watch over thee—in the grave; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee—in the World to Come. And so it is written in the Book of Psalms of David, king of Israel, The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver;⁵²Ps. 119, 72. and it states, Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold, saith the Lord of hosts.]⁵³Hag. 2, 8.

‘This is the way [conducive to] the study of the Torah: a morsel of bread with salt thou shalt eat.’¹⁶³Cf. Sanh. 111a (Sonc. ed., p. 762). [Rab] saw [R. Kahana] indulging himself¹⁶⁴He was dressing his hair instead of attending to his studies. and asked him, ‘Do you not know of the verse,¹⁶⁵Or, do you not accept the teaching? Neither is it found in the land of the living¹⁶⁶Job 28, 13. [which means that] the Torah will not be found in one who attends to his needs [instead of studying it constantly]?’ He replied, ‘It refers to [abstention from pleasant things] which enter the body, but does it refer also to such matters?’¹⁶⁷As dressing one’s hair. [Rab] said to him, ‘Has it not been taught:¹⁶⁸Ber. 57b (Sonc. ed., p. 356). Three things enter the body without its deriving any benefit therefrom, viz. melilot,¹⁶⁹A kind of clover. date-berries and unripe dates; three things do not enter the body but it derives benefit therefrom, viz. washing, anointing and regular motions?’ He asked him, ‘Does, then, the study of the Torah entail affliction?’ He replied, ‘Yes, for it is written, It is good for me that I have been afficted, in order that I might learn Thy statutes.¹⁷⁰Ps. 119, 71. Furthermore, is [Torah] found [in all others] except those [who attend to their wants]? But has it not been taught:¹⁷¹‘Erub. 55a (Sonc. ed., p. 384). It is not in heaven¹⁷²Deut. 30, 12. [which means that] Torah will not be found with those who exalt their knowledge, Neither is it beyond the sea [which means that] it will not be found among merchants, traders and sailors. With these Torah is not found but craftiness is found. And whence do you know that beyond [‘eber] the sea refers to merchants? For it is written, And there passed by [wayya‘abru], Midianites, merchantmen’.¹⁷³Gen. 37, 28. The root of the verb passed is the same as of ‘eber, ‘beyond’, and the inference is drawn that the Midianites were merchants who came from beyond the sea.
‘Do not seek greatness for yourself’: so that you should not say, ‘Behold, I study the Torah and what a great man I am!’ Should you do so, the consequence will be that you will occupy yourself with the Torah not for its own sake.

HALAKHAH: “Everybody who keeps one commandment they treat well,” etc. ⁶⁴⁹Mishnah Makkot 3:17.“Therefore anybody who is passive and refrains from sinning they reward like one who fulfills a commandment,” and you say so⁶⁵⁰Mishnah Makkot contradicts the Mishnah here since there one is rewarded for not sinning while here one is only rewarded for doing good.? But we hold with one who is 50–50⁶⁵¹In the Heavenly accounting, he collected as many merits as demerits. If he now collects one merit, he is one of the Just and takes his place in Paradise; if he sins once he is of the sinners and has lost his share in the Future Life. If he does not do anything, his fate remains suspended; cf. Babli 39b.. If he keeps one commandment, they treat him well and prolong his life; he will inherit the Land. But if he commits one sin, they do not treat him well, do not prolong his life, and he does not inherit the Land. There⁶⁴⁹Mishnah Makkot 3:17., we have stated: “Therefore anybody who is passive and refrains from sinning they reward like one who fulfills a commandement.” Rebbi Ze‘ira said, one who had occasion to commit a possible sin and did not act⁶⁵²He refrained from acting out of religious scruple when there was a possibility that the intended act was permitted because possibly it was forbidden. His inaction is a very meritorious act.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, one who chose one commandment which he never violated in his lifetime. What kind? Mar Uqban said, for example the honor of father and mother⁶⁵³Which is extremely difficult to keep at all times; cf. Halakhah 7.. Rebbi Mana said, “Happy are those on a straight path, who walk in the Eternal’s Torah⁶⁵⁴Ps. 119:1. If they walk in the Eternal’s Torah, they certainly are on the right path. The verse can only mean that somebody choosing the right path, even if he is far from being perfect, is considered walking totally in the Eternal’s Torah. This gives a biblical source for the Mishnah.,” as if they did walk in the Eternal’s Torah. Rebbi Abun said, “Also they did no evil, in His path they went,” as if they went in His path⁶⁵⁵Ps. 119:3. In order to be counted with those who walk in the Eternal’s way it is enough to refrain from evil; this explains the Mishnah in Makkot.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, what is written? “⁶⁵⁶Ps. 1:1. The argument is better in the Genizah text: “It does not say, ‘Happy the man who walks in the council of the just,’ but …” Happy the man who did not walk in the council of the wicked;” since he did not walk in the council of the wicked it is as if he walked in the council of the just.

HALAKHAH: “Everybody who keeps one commandment they treat well,” etc. ⁶⁴⁹Mishnah Makkot 3:17.“Therefore anybody who is passive and refrains from sinning they reward like one who fulfills a commandment,” and you say so⁶⁵⁰Mishnah Makkot contradicts the Mishnah here since there one is rewarded for not sinning while here one is only rewarded for doing good.? But we hold with one who is 50–50⁶⁵¹In the Heavenly accounting, he collected as many merits as demerits. If he now collects one merit, he is one of the Just and takes his place in Paradise; if he sins once he is of the sinners and has lost his share in the Future Life. If he does not do anything, his fate remains suspended; cf. Babli 39b.. If he keeps one commandment, they treat him well and prolong his life; he will inherit the Land. But if he commits one sin, they do not treat him well, do not prolong his life, and he does not inherit the Land. There⁶⁴⁹Mishnah Makkot 3:17., we have stated: “Therefore anybody who is passive and refrains from sinning they reward like one who fulfills a commandement.” Rebbi Ze‘ira said, one who had occasion to commit a possible sin and did not act⁶⁵²He refrained from acting out of religious scruple when there was a possibility that the intended act was permitted because possibly it was forbidden. His inaction is a very meritorious act.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, one who chose one commandment which he never violated in his lifetime. What kind? Mar Uqban said, for example the honor of father and mother⁶⁵³Which is extremely difficult to keep at all times; cf. Halakhah 7.. Rebbi Mana said, “Happy are those on a straight path, who walk in the Eternal’s Torah⁶⁵⁴Ps. 119:1. If they walk in the Eternal’s Torah, they certainly are on the right path. The verse can only mean that somebody choosing the right path, even if he is far from being perfect, is considered walking totally in the Eternal’s Torah. This gives a biblical source for the Mishnah.,” as if they did walk in the Eternal’s Torah. Rebbi Abun said, “Also they did no evil, in His path they went,” as if they went in His path⁶⁵⁵Ps. 119:3. In order to be counted with those who walk in the Eternal’s way it is enough to refrain from evil; this explains the Mishnah in Makkot.. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, what is written? “⁶⁵⁶Ps. 1:1. The argument is better in the Genizah text: “It does not say, ‘Happy the man who walks in the council of the just,’ but …” Happy the man who did not walk in the council of the wicked;” since he did not walk in the council of the wicked it is as if he walked in the council of the just.

The words of the wise are as goads … they are given from one shepherd;¹Eccles. 12, 11. and one Shepherd²[i.e. God; cf. ARN XVIII, 3, p. 105.] has uttered them. Therefore they must be saved from a fire.³Even on the Sabbath. A book of the ’aggadta, although not allowed to be written, must nevertheless be saved from a fire. What is the reason? It is a time to work for the Lord; they have made void Thy law.⁴Ps. 119, 126, E.V. for the Lord to work. This implies that when the welfare of the people or the preservation of the Faith requires it, a law may be temporarily suspended.

Ben Zoma would say: Who is wise? One who learns from every person, as it says (Psalms 119:99), “From all my teachers I gained insight.”<br>Who is the humblest of all? One who is humble like Moses our teacher, as it says (Numbers 12:33), “And the man Moses was exceedingly humble.”
Who is the richest of all? One who is happy with what he has, as it says (Psalms 128:1), “You will eat from the work of your hands, and you will be happy and prosperous.”<br>Who is the strongest of all? One who is able to conquer his desire, as it says (Proverbs 16:32), “Better to be forbearing than mighty, to have self-control than to conquer a city.” And one who conquers his desire is considered as if he had conquered a city full of warriors, as it says (Proverbs 21:22), “One wise man prevailed over a city of warriors.” The true warriors are warriors in Torah, as it says (Psalms 103:20), “Mighty warriors do His bidding.” Some say these are the angels who serve God, as it says (ibid.), “Bless the Eternal, His angels, [mighty warriors.]” And some say: One who can turn an enemy into his friend.