Talmud su Cantico dei cantici 2:18

HALAKHAH: “Civil suits are decided,” etc. Rebbi Yannai said, if the Torah had been given decided²¹חתך “to cut” in this connection is a translation of Latin decidere (literally “to cut off; settle, decide.) There is no reason why R. Yannai could not have acted as a Roman Judge, just like his contemporary R. Jonathan (cf. Bava batra 3:4 and Introduction to Tractate Neziqin.) R. Yannai counts it as an advantage that the Torah is formulated as a set of potentially ambiguous principles rather than a collection of court decisions which would represent unchangeable precedents., no foot could stand. What is the reason? The Eternal spoke to Moses²². Qorban He`edah takes this as a reference to Ex. 12:1, where v. 2 continues: This month is for you the beginning of months; first it shall be for you of the year’s months. The two clauses in the verse have different status. In the first part, God designated the first month of the year of the Exodus. In the second part, Moses and his successors are commanded to determine every year which month should be “first”. The Torah does not give an algorithm to determine which lunar month has to serve as “Spring Month” (Ex. 13:4). Any calendar system agreed to by Moses’s successors has divine sanction. (The current method, concentrating on designating the seventh month, from time to time yields rather questionable results.). He said before Him: Master of the Universe, inform me what is the practice. He told him, to bend²³This is the opposite of rigidity. The understanding of Torah and with it the entire code of behavior required by it is a function of time. While precedents should be overthrown only for very weighty reasons, no rule is invariable for all times. after the majority.¹⁸The use of the verb נטה “to bend” referring to judicial decision is from Ex. 23:2. If there was a majority for acquitting, they acquitted; if there was a majority for convicting, they convicted; so that the Torah²⁴That means, every precept in the Torah can be explained as having 49 different negative and 49 different positive aspects. could be explained in 49 ways impure and 49 ways pure, the numerical value of²⁵Cant. 2:4: “His banner over me is love.” The numerical value is 6+4+3+30+6 = 49. ודגלו. And so it says²⁶Ps. 12:7. “Sevenfold” is interpreted as 7² = 49.: the commands of the Eternal are pure sayings; molten silver in an earthenware crucible, refined sevenfold. And it says²⁷Cant. 1:4. Since מישרים is a plural, it indicates that the Torah has a plurality of straightforward interpretations., the straightforward love You.

R. Simeon b. Joḥai said: As for the seven-year cycle in which the son of David will come, in the first year will be fulfilled And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city;¹Amos 4, 7. There will be famine in one place and plenty in another. in the second, the arrows of hunger will be sent forth;²i.e. not actual famine, but the first signs of it, nobody being completely satisfied. in the third there will be a severe famine in the course of which men, women and children will die, pious men and miracle workers become scarce, and the Torah will be forgotten by its students;³Through lack of food. in the fourth, there will be partial plenty;⁴lit. ‘plenty and no plenty’. in the fifth, great plenty when men will eat, drink and rejoice and the Torah will be restored to its disciples;⁵‘And the Torah’, etc., is added by GRA. in the sixth [there will be heard heavenly] sounds;⁶Either heavenly voices announcing the advent of the Messiah or the blasts of the great shofar; cf. Isa. 27, 13. in the seventh, wars [will be waged]; and at the expiration of the septennate the son of David will come.⁷Cf. Sanh. 97a (Sonc. ed., pp. 654f.) for this and the following passages; also Midrash to Song of Songs 2, 13 (Sonc. ed., p. 126).
Rabban Gamaliel said: In the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly⁸Where scholars gather. will be a brothel, Galilee will be in ruins, and the inhabitants of Gablan⁹The Jews living along the borders of the Land of Israel. Gablan is to be read for Galil, ‘Galilee’, as in Sanh., loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 655, n. 4). will wander about [begging] from city to city without experiencing pity; the wisdom of scribes will be in disfavour and God-fearing men despised, the leaders of the people¹⁰lit. ‘the face of the generation’. will be dog-faced;¹¹Shameless. truth will be lacking, and he that departs from evil will be regarded as demented.
R. Nehorai said: In the generation when the son of David comes, young men will insult the old, the aged will stand up before youth,¹²To do them honour. a daughter will rise up against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,¹³Cf. Micah 7, 6. and a son will not be abashed in his father’s¹⁴So GRA and H. V has ‘mother’s’. presence.
R. Nehemiah said: In the generation when the son of David comes, impudence will increase, esteem will be perverted,¹⁵No one will esteem another. Or, even the nobility and most honoured will degenerate. the vine will yield its fruit yet wine will be dear,¹⁶Drunkenness will increase so that in spite of the abundant yield there will be a scarcity. and the government will be converted to heresy¹⁷Heb. minuth. By ‘the kingdom’ the Roman Empire is meant, and the statement is a remarkable forecast by R. Nehemiah (100 C.E.) of the conversion of Rome to Christianity under Constantine the Great in 313 C.E. Cf. however, Herford, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, pp. 207ff., Sanh., loc. cit. (Sonc. ed., p. 656, n. 4). with none to reprove.

R. Isaac Nappaḥa began his discourse as follows: Stay me with dainties¹⁹Cant. 2, 5, Heb. באשישות. refers to the well-founded²⁰מאוששות, meaning ‘strong, firm’. halakoth; refresh me with apples refers to the ’aggadoth²¹Inserted by GRA; not in V. H reads: ‘these are the words of Torah’. whose fragrance is pleasant like that of apples. For I am love-sick—R. Isaac said: In the past when money was plentiful²²And people enjoyed leisure and an easy existence. one longed to hear a word of the halakah,²³Which requires time for concentration of thought and serious application of the mind. but now that money is scarce²⁴And there is a hard struggle to earn a livelihood. one longs to hear²⁵So GRA. V omits ‘but now … hear’. [The reading of H is: ‘but now that money is scarce, and especially when we are oppressed by (lit. sick from) the government, one longs to hear a word from Scripture and a word of ’aggadah’.] a word of ’aggadah.²⁶Which is easy, consoling and entertaining.

R. Jannai said: The Torah which the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to Moses was delivered to him in forty-nine aspects of uncleanness and forty-nine aspects of cleanness,³²i.e. of prohibition and permissibility respectively. as it is stated, And his banner³³Cant. 2, 4, the continuation of the verse being over me is love. The verse is interpreted of the Torah, which is God’s banner, entrusted to Israel as a mark of His love. Each Heb. letter denotes a number. (wediglo), the numerical value of its letters being forty-nine.