잠언 11:32의 탈무드

⁴⁴A complete parallel to this paragraph is in Lev. rabba 36(3); a short reference is in the Babli, 104a. Bar Qappara said, Ahaz and all evil kings of Israel have no part in the World to Come. What is the reason? All their kings fell, not one of them calls to Me⁴⁵Hos. 7:7. This seems to contradict Misnhah 2, where only two kings of Israel are denied part in the World to Come.. They objected to him: Is he not mentioned in the era⁴⁶Greek ὑπατεία, ἡ, “consulate”, for which years are counted. of kings, in the days of Uzziahu, Yotham, Ahaz, Yeḥizqiahu the kings of Jehudah⁴⁷Is. 1:1.? He answered them, because he showed shame. How did he show shame? Rebbi Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Eleazar, Rebbi Yose in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: You find that when the prophet came to accuse him⁴⁸In the Midrash, “to needle him”. The change from קנטר to קטרג may be a scribal error., he fled to an impure place and buried his face in an impure place, implying that the Divine Presence does not dwell at an impure place. That is what is written⁴⁹Is. 7:3.: The Eternal said to Isaiah, please go out towards Aḥaz, you and your son Še’ar Yašuv, to the end of the canal of the upper pond, to the path of the fuller’s field. Do not read fuller’s but suppressing⁵⁰The argument suggests that under the influence of the Greek, שׁ,שׂ,ס all sounded the same.. He hid his face and fled before him. (How is that? When the prophet came to accuse him, he fled to an impure place and buried his face in an impure place.)⁵¹The repetition of the sentence looks like dittography, but it also appears in the Midrash text. Rebbi Jehudah⁵²He is Rebbi. R. Jehudah ben Rabban Simeon, as spelled out in the Midrash and required for chronological reasons. says, because he was made to suffer about his firstborn son. What is the reason? Zimri, the strongman of Ephraim, killed⁵³2Chr. 28:7. The name should be זִכְרִי not זִמְרִי. etc. Rebbi Hoshaia the Elder said, because his father was just. ⁵⁴From here on exists a Genizah fragment (G): L. Ginzberg, Yerushalmi Fragments, New York 1909, pp. 260–264. But was Manasse’s father not just⁵⁵Mishnah 2 declares that Manasse has no part in the World to Come. It implies that Ahaz has part in the World to Come.? Manasse’s father was just but his son was evil. Hezekias’s father was evil and his son was evil. That is what Hezekias says⁵⁶Is. 38:17.: Behold about peace, bitter is bitter for me. Bitter before me, from Aḥaz. Bitter after me, from Manasse. Aḥaz’s father was just and his son just, that is what is written⁵⁷Prov. 11:21. The first part of the verse has differing interpretations below and in Midrash Prov. 11:21, Babli Berakhot 61a, Eruvin 18b, Sotah 4b.: hand to hand will not cleanse evil, but the seed of the just will escape. [Rebbi Phineas said.]⁵⁸Addition from G. In the Midrash: R. Simon. it is not written “the seed of a just will escape” but the seed of the just will escape. The seed lying⁵⁹In G: “planted between” מושתת. between two just men will escape⁶⁰The Babli 104a states categorically that the good deeds of the son save the father from judgment but the merits of the father cannot save the son. This is the basis of the Qaddish ritual of modern Judaism..

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 Yoḥanan⁶⁶In the parallel in Ruth rabba, this paragraph and the one after the next are taken together; the insertion of the next paragraph is difficult to understand.
The argument of R. Yoḥanan refers mostly to the parts of this and the preceding verses that are not quoted. “That is evil in all which is done under the sun, that the same happens to all; also, the heart of humans is full of evil, hooliganism is in their thoughts during their lifetime, but their end is with the dead. Who is being joined, all living beings have confidence; truly a living dog is better than a dead lion.” Is being joined is the qere, the way the word is read, but “may choose” is the ketib, the way it is written. The interpretation given the ketib here is: All the living can have confidence that they may choose (the way of virtue), but death is final; nothing can be changed after death. Hence, a living dog (a living sinner) is better (might by repentance attain a higher state of holiness) than a dead lion (a good person.) said (Eccl. 9:4): “Who is it that has been connected?” It is written: “may choose.” All living beings have the certitude that as long as a human is alive, he has hope. When he dies, his hope is lost. What is the reason (Prov. 11:7): “When an evil man dies, hope becomes lost.”

He who pays money to a woman,¹⁸Cf. ‘Erub. 18b (Sonc. ed., p. 125). counting from his hand into her hand in order to gaze at her, even if he be like Moses our teacher who received the Torah from Mount Sinai, will not be exempt from the penalty of Gehinnom; as it is stated, Hand to hand, the evil man shall not be unpunished.¹⁹Prov. 11, 21, E.V. My hand upon it!
Behold Scripture declares, And we have brought the Lord’s offering, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, armlets, and bracelets, signet-rings, ear-rings, and girdles, to make atonement for our souls before the Lord.²⁰Num. 31, 50. ‘Eẓadah (armlets) means a garter; ẓamid (bracelets) silk cloaks; ‘agil (ear-rings) a cast of the female breasts; kumaz (girdles) a cast of the womb. To make atonement for our souls: Moses said to Israel, ‘Perhaps you have returned to your former sinful lapse’.²¹Their association with the women of Midian; cf. Shab. 64a (Sonc. ed., p. 305). They replied to him, ‘There lacketh not one man of us’.²²ibid. 49. ‘If so,’ he retorted, ‘why this atonement?’ They replied, ‘We may have escaped sin, but we have not escaped sinful thoughts’. Why [did they offer] signet-rings? Because whoever gazes intentionally at a woman is as though he had intercourse with her. Hence the Rabbis declared: Whoever touches a woman’s little finger is as though he touched ‘that place’.²³The pudenda; cf. Ber. 24a (Sonc. ed., p. 145). So GRA emending the text according to the Talmudic version.

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.

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.

R. Joshua b. Levi said: Every day a Bath Ḳol¹⁰lit. ‘a daughter of a voice’, used of a heavenly proclamation. goes forth from Mount Ḥoreb¹¹Another name for Sinai. and proclaims, ‘Woe to mankind for the contempt which they display¹²By neglect to study and observe its laws. towards the Torah! For whoever is not constant in his study of the Torah is termed ‘censured’,¹³Heb. נזוף. By the Rabbinic method of Noṭariḳon, the word is constituted from certain letters of the Heb. phrase, a ring of gold in a swine’s snout. as it is stated, As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman that turneth aside from discretion,¹⁴Prov. 11, 22. and it states, And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.¹⁵Ex. 32, 16. Do not read¹⁶A form of Rabbinic exegesis, where, by a change of vowel, another and sometimes higher interpretation is derived. ḥaruth [engraven] but ḥeruth [freedom], for no man is free but he who occupies himself with the Torah; and whoever studies the lore of the Torah is exalted, as it is stated, And from Mattanah to Naḥaliel; and from Naḥaliel to Bamoth.¹⁷Num. 21, 19. These are place names meaning lit. ‘gift’, ‘inheritance of God’ and ‘heights’. They are interpreted homiletically as the stages of a man’s spiritual progress through the study of the Torah. By accepting the Torah, which is God’s gift, and making it his valued possession, the inheritance of God, he rises to the spiritual heights.

MISHNAH: How does one instill fear in witnesses in criminal cases⁹⁵A criminal trial is one where the punishment is either death or flogging. Flogging is potentially life-threatening. A crime for which the punishment is a fine is tried as civil infraction under the rules of civil suits.? One brings them in and instills fear in them. Maybe you would testify by a guess, or by a rumor, or from the mouth of a witness, or you heard it from a trustworthy source⁹⁶This still is hearsay evidence which is inadmissible., or maybe you do not know that we shall examine you by cross-examination and interrogation¹Cross-examination is the interrogation of witnesses which changes from trial to trial. Investigation is the determination of answers to the obligatory questions enumerated in Mishnah 5:1.. You should know that criminal trials are not like civil trials. In civil trials a person⁹⁷On whose incorrect testimony another person was found owing money. pays money and is forgiven. In criminal trials, his blood and the blood of all his descendants hang in the balance, to the end of all generations. So we find when Cain slew his brother, it is said: The sounds of your brother’s bloods cry to me from the earth⁹⁸Gen. 4:10; cf. Gen. rabba 22(21).. It does not say your brother’s blood but your brother’s bloods, his blood and that of his descendants. Another explanation⁹⁹This is a possible correct interpretation of the verse, not to be used as sermon in court. Cf. Gen. rabba 22(22).: Your brother’s bloods, the blood was splashed on trees and stones.
Therefore man was created single in the world to teach that for anybody who destroys a single life it is counted as if he destroyed an entire world, and for anybody who preserves a single life it is counted as if he preserved an entire world. And because of peace among men, that nobody could say to another, my father was greater than your father. And that sectarians¹⁰⁴In general, מין denotes a Jewish Christian. If Jesus was identical in nature with God, he could not have been created or born. If Jesus was similar in nature to God, his creation would contradict the thesis of unique creation of man. If Jesus was simply referring to himself as God’s son in the meaning of Deut. 11:1, he is no power in Heaven. could not say, there are a plurality of powers in Heaven.
And to proclaim the greatness of the King over kings of kings, the Holy One, praise to Him. For a man coins many coins with one die; they are one like the other. But the King over kings of kings, the Holy One, praise to Him, stamps every man with the stamp of the first man, but no one is like any other. Therefore, everybody is required to say, the world was created for me.
Maybe you will say, why should we go to all this trouble? There already is written: If he is a witness, or saw, or knew¹¹²Lev. 5:1. As usual, the implication is from the part of the verse which is not quoted: If he do not tell, he has to bear his sin., etc. Maybe you will say, why should we be guilty of this man’s blood? There already is written: In destruction of evildoers is clamor¹¹³Prov. 11:10..

MISHNAH: When they have come to a decision, they bring the parties in. The chief judge says, Mr. X, you are not guilty, Mr. X, you are guilty. From where that afterwards, one may not say, I had found for you but my colleagues found you guilty, but what can I do since they were a majority against me? On such a one it was said: The gossip uncovers secrets²¹⁴Prov. 11:13. Since this is from the Hagiographs, it does not have the force of a Torah verse..

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.”