Talmud sobre Números 25:22

Be deliberate in judgment. How so? This teaches that a person should carefully deliberate in judgment, for all who are careful in judgment will feel settled about their judgment, as it says (Proverbs 25:1), "These, too, are the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied." This does not mean they merely copied them, but that they deliberated over them. Abba Shaul says: They did not merely deliberate carefully over them, but explained them. Originally, they would say: Proverbs, and Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes had to be hidden, for people would recite proverbs that were at odds with Scripture. So they decided to hide them, until the Men of the Great Assembly came along and explained them, as it says (Proverbs 7:7–20), “I saw among the simple, and noticed among the children, a youth with no sense…and behold a woman came up to him, dressed like a prostitute, with a guarded heart. She is restless and rebellious. Her legs are never at home. Sometimes she is outside, sometimes in the streets; she lurks on every corner. She grabs him, and kisses him, and boldly says to him: I made well-being sacrifices; today I fulfilled my vows. That is why I came up to you, seeking you, and have found you. I have draped my couch with covers of dyed Egyptian cloth. I have scented my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Let us go and fill ourselves with love until the morning. Let us indulge in loving. For the man of the house is out, he has gone on the road, far away. He took a bundle of money with him, and will not come back home until the full moon." And in Song of Songs (7:12–13) it is written, "Let us go, my beloved, out into field. Let us spend the night in the villages. We will wake up in the vineyards, and see if the vines have flowered, if its blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give my love to you." And in Ecclesiastes (11:9) it is written, "Young man, enjoy your childhood! Let your heart feel good while you are still young! Follow the ways of your heart and the visions of your eyes. But know that for all these things, God will bring you to judgment." And it is written in Song of Songs (7:11), "I am my beloved's, and his desire is upon me." They did not merely deliberate over them, but explained them!
Another interpretation: Be deliberate in judgment. How so? This teaches that a person should carefully consider his words, and not be severe with his words, for one who is severe with his words forgets his words. For so we find with Moses our teacher, that when he was severe with his words he forgot his words. Where do we find that Moses our teacher forgot his words? For it says (Numbers 31:21), "Elazar the priest said to the troops who had come in from the war: This is the decree of the Torah that God has commanded Moses." He commanded Moses, and did not command me? (He commanded Moses, my father's brother, and did not command me?) And where do we find that Moses was severe with his words? For it says with regard to the commanders of the army that (Numbers 31:14), "Moses became angry with the commanders of the army…and he said to them: You have let all the women live!" If so, then what do we learn from the phrase, "all the women"? Rather, this is a reference to the advice that Bil’am the wicked gave regarding Israel, as it is written (Numbers 24:14), “And now, as I go back to my people, and I will advise you as to what this people will do to your people at the end of days.” He said to [King Balak]: This people that you hate, they are hungry for food and thirsty for drink, but they have nothing to eat or drink but manna alone. Go and set up tents, and put food and drink in them, and then place beautiful women inside – the daughters of kings – so that this people will be seduced into worshiping Ba’al Peor, and will fall into the hand of God. Immediately, Balak went and did everything Bil’am the wicked told him. And see what Bil’am the wicked caused to happen to Israel, for twenty-four thousand of them fell, as it says (Numbers 25:9), “And those that died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.” And if Moses our teacher, the greatest of all sages and the father of the prophets, forgot his own words when he became severe with his words, would it not be all the more so with us? This teaches that a person should always consider his words carefully, and not be severe with his words. Ben Azzai said: Be careful with your words, and do not use them wastefully.

¹⁹⁹Sifry Num. 131–132 (Yalqut Hosea526). Slightly different formulations in Tanhuma Balaq 18, Num. rabba 20; Babli 106a. Referred to in Pirqe R. Eliezer 47. But what did the evil Bileam do? Because he counseled Balaq ben Ṣippor to fell Israel by the sword. He told him, the God of this people hates whoring. If you put up your daughters for whoring, you may rule over them. He answered, but will they listen to me? He told him, put your own daughter up, they will see and listen to you. That is what is written²⁰⁰Num. 25:15.: he is the head of related tribes in Midian. What did they do? They built dining rooms²⁰¹Latin coenaculum “upper storey room; dining room; garret”. Secondary Babli קלעים “partition wall, partition gobelin”. from Bet Hayyešimon²⁰²In the biblical text בית הישימות. to the Snow Mountain²⁰³The Hermon. and installed there women selling pastries. They put an old woman outside and a young girl inside. Israel were eating and drinking. If one of them went to stroll around, to buy himself something from the grocer, the old woman would offer to sell to him for the going price, but the girl told him, come and take it for less. This happened that first day, the second day, the third day. After that, she told him, from now on you are like a member of the family; enter and select for yourself. When he entered, there was a pitcher full of wine, of the strong Ammonite wine which seduces the body to whoring. Its smell was seething and (Gentile wine) [libation wine] was not yet forbidden for Israel²⁰⁴The text in parenthesis is the scribe’s original text, the one in brackets his correction. Formally, the original text is the only correct one. Wine used in idolatrous libations is forbidden for all usufruct as חֶרֶם, Deut. 13:18. The prohibition of the consumption of other Gentile wine is attributed to Daniel (Dan. 1:8); it is not Mosaic. The corrected text and its parallel sequel adopt popular language which calls יַיִן נֶסֶךְ what correctly should be called סְתָם יֵינָם “their unspecified wine”.. She told him, maybe you want to drink a cup of wine? He answered her, yes. She gave to him and he drank. When he drank, the wine was burning in him like a viper’s poison²⁰⁵Read כריסה.; he told her, consent to me. She told him, do you want me to consent to you? He answered, yes. Immediately she took out a shape of Peˋor from her bosom and told him, bow down before this one and I shall consent to you. But he answered her, should I bow down before foreign worship? She told him, you do not bow down, you only strip for it. This is what the Sages said²⁰⁶Mishnah 7:12 (Notes 238,239)., “one who defecates in front of Baal Peˋor follows its worship. One who throws a stone at a statue of Mercury follows its worship.” ²⁰⁷Duplication of previous text. There was a pitcher full of wine, of the strong Ammonite wine which seduces the body to whoring. Its smell was seething and libation wine was not yet forbidden for Israel. She told him, maybe you want to drink a cup of wine? He answered her, yes. She gave to him and he drank. When he drank, the wine was burning in him like a viper’s poison²⁰⁵Read כריסה.; he told her, consent to me. She told him, do you want me to consent to you? He answered, yes. She told him, make a vow to deny the teachings of Moses and I shall consent to you. That is what is written²⁰⁸Hos.9:10.: They came to Baal-Peˋor, made vows for the shame, and turned into abominations like their love life.

It is written²¹²Num. 25:3–4. The rage of the Eternal was kindled against Israel. The Eternal said to Moses: Take all the heads of the people and hang them for the Eternal before the sun. What he told him was, install their heads as judges over them and let them execute the sinners²¹³Not the heads; cf. the Targumim. at daytime. That is what is written: Moses told the judges of Israel: each one should kill his men who cling to the Baˋal Peˋor²¹⁴Num. 25:5.. How many were the judges of Israel²¹⁵Halakhah 1:7, Note 356.? 78’600. Heads of thousands, 600. Heads of hundreds, 6'000. Heads of fifties, 12’000. heads of tens, 60’000. It turns out that the judges of Israel were 78’600. He told them, each of you should execute two. It turns out that the number of the killed was 157’200. Behold, a man from the Children of Israel came and introduced to his brothers the Midianite woman, to the eyes of Moses²¹⁶Num. 25:6.. What means to the eyes of Moses²¹⁷The text does not say before his eyes but in his eyes.? Like a man who says, that is in your eyes, Moses. He told him, is not Ẓippora a Midianite, and are not her hooves split²¹⁸The sign of a kosher animal.? This one is pure, that one is impure? There, Phineas was present. He said, is there nobody who would kill him or be killed? Where are the lions? A lion whelp is Jehudah²¹⁹Gen. 49:9.; Dan is a lion whelp²²⁰Deut. 33:22.; Benjamin a rapacious wolf²²¹Gen. 49:27.. When Phineas saw that nobody of Israel did anything, he immediately rose from his court, took the spear in his hand, and put its iron under his belt²²²Latin fascia “band, girdle”.. He was leaning on its wood until he arrived at his door. When he arrived at his²²³Zimri ben Salu’s. door, they²²⁴The tribe of Simon, protecting their head. asked him, where to, Phineas? He said to them, do you not agree that everywhere the tribe of Levi is with the tribe of Simeon? They said, let him, maybe the Pharisees permitted the matter²²⁵Echoing a popular opinion that the “oral law” can be made to adapt to all circumstances, moral or immoral.. When he entered, the Holy One, praise to Him, performed six wonders for him²²⁶Babli 82b, in the name of R. Johanan.. The first miracle: usually they would separate, but the angel glued the one to the other²²⁷If they were not killed in the act, the killing would have been murder.. The second miracle: He directed the spear into her belly to that his penis should be seen inside her belly because of the fault-finders, lest they say that he muscled himself in with them and satisfied himself²²⁸In the Babli: Thus Phineas had direct proof in court that the killing was justified. Phineas’s act established a rule of law which could never be used again.. The third miracle: the angel closed their mouths, so they could not cry. The fourth miracle: they did not slip from the weapon but stayed in place. The fifth miracle: The angel lifted the lintel so that both of them were carried out between his shoulders. The sixth miracle: When the plague started to destroy the people, what did he do? He threw them on the ground and prayed. That is what is written: Phineas stood and prayed; the plague was arrested²²⁹Ps. 106:30..

It is written²¹²Num. 25:3–4. The rage of the Eternal was kindled against Israel. The Eternal said to Moses: Take all the heads of the people and hang them for the Eternal before the sun. What he told him was, install their heads as judges over them and let them execute the sinners²¹³Not the heads; cf. the Targumim. at daytime. That is what is written: Moses told the judges of Israel: each one should kill his men who cling to the Baˋal Peˋor²¹⁴Num. 25:5.. How many were the judges of Israel²¹⁵Halakhah 1:7, Note 356.? 78’600. Heads of thousands, 600. Heads of hundreds, 6'000. Heads of fifties, 12’000. heads of tens, 60’000. It turns out that the judges of Israel were 78’600. He told them, each of you should execute two. It turns out that the number of the killed was 157’200. Behold, a man from the Children of Israel came and introduced to his brothers the Midianite woman, to the eyes of Moses²¹⁶Num. 25:6.. What means to the eyes of Moses²¹⁷The text does not say before his eyes but in his eyes.? Like a man who says, that is in your eyes, Moses. He told him, is not Ẓippora a Midianite, and are not her hooves split²¹⁸The sign of a kosher animal.? This one is pure, that one is impure? There, Phineas was present. He said, is there nobody who would kill him or be killed? Where are the lions? A lion whelp is Jehudah²¹⁹Gen. 49:9.; Dan is a lion whelp²²⁰Deut. 33:22.; Benjamin a rapacious wolf²²¹Gen. 49:27.. When Phineas saw that nobody of Israel did anything, he immediately rose from his court, took the spear in his hand, and put its iron under his belt²²²Latin fascia “band, girdle”.. He was leaning on its wood until he arrived at his door. When he arrived at his²²³Zimri ben Salu’s. door, they²²⁴The tribe of Simon, protecting their head. asked him, where to, Phineas? He said to them, do you not agree that everywhere the tribe of Levi is with the tribe of Simeon? They said, let him, maybe the Pharisees permitted the matter²²⁵Echoing a popular opinion that the “oral law” can be made to adapt to all circumstances, moral or immoral.. When he entered, the Holy One, praise to Him, performed six wonders for him²²⁶Babli 82b, in the name of R. Johanan.. The first miracle: usually they would separate, but the angel glued the one to the other²²⁷If they were not killed in the act, the killing would have been murder.. The second miracle: He directed the spear into her belly to that his penis should be seen inside her belly because of the fault-finders, lest they say that he muscled himself in with them and satisfied himself²²⁸In the Babli: Thus Phineas had direct proof in court that the killing was justified. Phineas’s act established a rule of law which could never be used again.. The third miracle: the angel closed their mouths, so they could not cry. The fourth miracle: they did not slip from the weapon but stayed in place. The fifth miracle: The angel lifted the lintel so that both of them were carried out between his shoulders. The sixth miracle: When the plague started to destroy the people, what did he do? He threw them on the ground and prayed. That is what is written: Phineas stood and prayed; the plague was arrested²²⁹Ps. 106:30..

It is written²¹²Num. 25:3–4. The rage of the Eternal was kindled against Israel. The Eternal said to Moses: Take all the heads of the people and hang them for the Eternal before the sun. What he told him was, install their heads as judges over them and let them execute the sinners²¹³Not the heads; cf. the Targumim. at daytime. That is what is written: Moses told the judges of Israel: each one should kill his men who cling to the Baˋal Peˋor²¹⁴Num. 25:5.. How many were the judges of Israel²¹⁵Halakhah 1:7, Note 356.? 78’600. Heads of thousands, 600. Heads of hundreds, 6'000. Heads of fifties, 12’000. heads of tens, 60’000. It turns out that the judges of Israel were 78’600. He told them, each of you should execute two. It turns out that the number of the killed was 157’200. Behold, a man from the Children of Israel came and introduced to his brothers the Midianite woman, to the eyes of Moses²¹⁶Num. 25:6.. What means to the eyes of Moses²¹⁷The text does not say before his eyes but in his eyes.? Like a man who says, that is in your eyes, Moses. He told him, is not Ẓippora a Midianite, and are not her hooves split²¹⁸The sign of a kosher animal.? This one is pure, that one is impure? There, Phineas was present. He said, is there nobody who would kill him or be killed? Where are the lions? A lion whelp is Jehudah²¹⁹Gen. 49:9.; Dan is a lion whelp²²⁰Deut. 33:22.; Benjamin a rapacious wolf²²¹Gen. 49:27.. When Phineas saw that nobody of Israel did anything, he immediately rose from his court, took the spear in his hand, and put its iron under his belt²²²Latin fascia “band, girdle”.. He was leaning on its wood until he arrived at his door. When he arrived at his²²³Zimri ben Salu’s. door, they²²⁴The tribe of Simon, protecting their head. asked him, where to, Phineas? He said to them, do you not agree that everywhere the tribe of Levi is with the tribe of Simeon? They said, let him, maybe the Pharisees permitted the matter²²⁵Echoing a popular opinion that the “oral law” can be made to adapt to all circumstances, moral or immoral.. When he entered, the Holy One, praise to Him, performed six wonders for him²²⁶Babli 82b, in the name of R. Johanan.. The first miracle: usually they would separate, but the angel glued the one to the other²²⁷If they were not killed in the act, the killing would have been murder.. The second miracle: He directed the spear into her belly to that his penis should be seen inside her belly because of the fault-finders, lest they say that he muscled himself in with them and satisfied himself²²⁸In the Babli: Thus Phineas had direct proof in court that the killing was justified. Phineas’s act established a rule of law which could never be used again.. The third miracle: the angel closed their mouths, so they could not cry. The fourth miracle: they did not slip from the weapon but stayed in place. The fifth miracle: The angel lifted the lintel so that both of them were carried out between his shoulders. The sixth miracle: When the plague started to destroy the people, what did he do? He threw them on the ground and prayed. That is what is written: Phineas stood and prayed; the plague was arrested²²⁹Ps. 106:30..

HALAKHAH: There was an epidemic in Sepphoris but it did not touch the avenue where Rebbi Ḥanina was dwelling. The Sepphoreans were saying, why is this old man amongst us sitting in peace while the neighborhood and the town is ruined? He came to preach and said before them: There was one Zimry in his generation but 24’000 fell of Israel³⁸Num. 25:9,14. Zimri’s sin was to sleep with a non-Jewish woman who offered herself to him.. But we, how many Zimry are in our generation³⁹Visiting the bordellos in Roman Sepphoris. and you are complaining?

HALAKHAH: There was an epidemic in Sepphoris but it did not touch the avenue where Rebbi Ḥanina was dwelling. The Sepphoreans were saying, why is this old man amongst us sitting in peace while the neighborhood and the town is ruined? He came to preach and said before them: There was one Zimry in his generation but 24’000 fell of Israel³⁸Num. 25:9,14. Zimri’s sin was to sleep with a non-Jewish woman who offered herself to him.. But we, how many Zimry are in our generation³⁹Visiting the bordellos in Roman Sepphoris. and you are complaining?

“One who copulates with a Gentile woman,” etc. Rebbi Ismael stated: This is one who marries a Gentile woman, sires children, and from her raises enemies of the Omnipresent⁷²In Megillah 4:10 (Babli 25a) this is R. Ismael’s explanation of Lev. 18:21, giving one’s descendants to the Moloch.. ⁷³Babli 82a, Num. rabba 20(26), Tanhuma Balaq 21, Tanhuma Buber Balaq 30. Num. 25:7. It is written: Phineas ben Eleazar ben Aharon the priest saw. What did he see⁷⁴Since Zimri did his deed in public, everybody saw.? He understood what happened and remembered practice: “One who copulates with a Gentile woman, zealots strike him.” It was stated: not with the agreement of the Sages⁷⁵Since in most cases the zealot’s intervention would be first degree murder.. Would Phineas act against the Sages? Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi said, they wanted to excommunicate him had not the Holy Spirit jumped on him and declared that an eternal covenant of priesthood shall be for him and his descendants after him⁷⁶Num. 25:12., etc.

Should people strive²⁷So GRA; V ‘honour’. with you, whether it be in the House of Study or at a social gathering,²⁸lit. ‘in a sitting [for study] or in a reclining [at a meal]’. make peace with them, so that when you leave them²⁹lit. ‘on your return [home]’. they may speak well of you, as was spoken of Phinehas the son of Eleazar.³⁰Cf. Num. 25, 10-13. The translation follows GRA instead of V’s senseless ‘so that he may come and rest upon your bed’. And so used R. Eleazar Ha-Ḳappar to say: Love peace and hate dissension. Great is peace, for even if [Israel] were to practise idolatry but maintained peace among themselves, the Divine Presence, as it were, would be unable to do them harm, as it is stated, Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.³¹Hos. 4, 17. Cf. Midrash Rabbah, Num., XI, 7 (Sonc. ed., p. 441) where the reading is: ‘The Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, says: Satan shall not touch them’. In Midrash Rabbah, Gen., XXXVIII, 6 (Sonc. ed., p. 306) the version is: ‘The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I have no dominion over them’. But if there is dissension between them, what is stated of them? Their heart is divided; now shall they bear their guilt.³²Hos. 10, 2.
A house in which is dissension will ultimately be destroyed. A Synagogue [in which is dissension] will ultimately be turned into a place of idolatry.³³So GRA; cf. Yeb. 96b (Sonc. ed., p. 660). V reads: ‘The Sages said: When there is dissension in a Synagogue it will be cut in pieces’. If two scholars reside in the same city who have set up separate Courts of Law and dissension occurs between them, they will ultimately die [prematurely].³⁴Cf. Soṭah 49a (Sonc. ed., p. 263). Abba Saul said: Dissension between separate Courts of Law is the ruination of the world.

R. Joshua said: Great is peace, for the covenant with the priests was made with [the word] ‘peace’, as it is stated, Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace.⁴¹ibid. XXV, 12.

Rabbi Shimon would say: There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, the crown of kingship – and the crown of a good name is the greater than all of them.
How does the crown of priesthood work? Even if someone paid all the silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of priesthood, as it says (Numbers 25:15), “It will be for him and his descendants after him an eternal covenant of priesthood.” For the crown of kingship as well; even if someone paid all silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of kingship, as it says (Ezekiel 37:24), “My servant David shall be their prince for all time.” But the crown of Torah is different. For anyone who wishes to partake in the work of Torah may come and partake, as it says (Isaiah 55:1), “Ho, all who are thirsty, go to the water!” That is, go and labor in words of Torah and do not occupy yourself with meaningless things.
There is a story of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: He would regularly go and visit the sick. He once came upon somebody who was bloated due to intestinal illness, and was cursing God. Rabbi Shimon said: Empty one! You ought to be begging for mercy, and instead you are cursing? The man replied: The Holy Blessed One has departed from me and rested on you. And then he said: The Holy Blessed One has done properly by me, for I have left aside words of Torah and occupied myself with meaningless things.
There is a story of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: He was once coming from Migdal Eder, from his teacher’s house, and he was riding on a donkey. He was traveling along the coast, and he spotted somebody who was quite ugly. He said: Empty one, how ugly you are! Are all the people in your city as ugly as you? The man replied: What can I do about it? Go to the Artisan who made me and say to Him, How ugly is this vessel You made! When Rabbi Shimon realized that he had sinned, he got off his donkey and prostrated himself before the man. And he said: I have sinned against you. Forgive me. But the man replied: I will not forgive you until you go to the Artisan who made me and say, How ugly is this vessel You made! Rabbi Shimon followed after him for three mil. All the people in the city came out to greet him, and then said: Peace be upon you, Rabbi! The man said: Whom are you calling Rabbi? They said: The one who is traveling behind you. He said to them: If that is a rabbi, may there be no more like him in Israel! They said to him: God forbid! What did he do to you? He told them: Such-and-such he did to me. They said to him: Even so, forgive him! He said: I hereby forgive [him], but only if he does not continue doing this. On that day, Rabbi Shimon went to his great study hall and taught: A person should always be soft like a reed, and not rigid like a cedar. For the reed, when all the winds come and blow against it, moves in their direction. But when the winds quiet down, the reed returns to its place. That is why the reed merited to be made into a quill that is used to write a Torah scroll. But the cedar does not stay in its place; when the southern wind comes and blows against it, it uproots the tree and flips it over. And then what happens to the cedar? [Woodcutters come along and chop it up, and take from it to build houses and then] throw the rest into the fire. And that is why they say: A person should always be soft like a reed, and not rigid like a cedar.

Rabbi Shimon would say: There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, the crown of kingship – and the crown of a good name is the greater than all of them.
How does the crown of priesthood work? Even if someone paid all the silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of priesthood, as it says (Numbers 25:15), “It will be for him and his descendants after him an eternal covenant of priesthood.” For the crown of kingship as well; even if someone paid all silver and gold in the world, we could not give him the crown of kingship, as it says (Ezekiel 37:24), “My servant David shall be their prince for all time.” But the crown of Torah is different. For anyone who wishes to partake in the work of Torah may come and partake, as it says (Isaiah 55:1), “Ho, all who are thirsty, go to the water!” That is, go and labor in words of Torah and do not occupy yourself with meaningless things.
There is a story of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: He would regularly go and visit the sick. He once came upon somebody who was bloated due to intestinal illness, and was cursing God. Rabbi Shimon said: Empty one! You ought to be begging for mercy, and instead you are cursing? The man replied: The Holy Blessed One has departed from me and rested on you. And then he said: The Holy Blessed One has done properly by me, for I have left aside words of Torah and occupied myself with meaningless things.
There is a story of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: He was once coming from Migdal Eder, from his teacher’s house, and he was riding on a donkey. He was traveling along the coast, and he spotted somebody who was quite ugly. He said: Empty one, how ugly you are! Are all the people in your city as ugly as you? The man replied: What can I do about it? Go to the Artisan who made me and say to Him, How ugly is this vessel You made! When Rabbi Shimon realized that he had sinned, he got off his donkey and prostrated himself before the man. And he said: I have sinned against you. Forgive me. But the man replied: I will not forgive you until you go to the Artisan who made me and say, How ugly is this vessel You made! Rabbi Shimon followed after him for three mil. All the people in the city came out to greet him, and then said: Peace be upon you, Rabbi! The man said: Whom are you calling Rabbi? They said: The one who is traveling behind you. He said to them: If that is a rabbi, may there be no more like him in Israel! They said to him: God forbid! What did he do to you? He told them: Such-and-such he did to me. They said to him: Even so, forgive him! He said: I hereby forgive [him], but only if he does not continue doing this. On that day, Rabbi Shimon went to his great study hall and taught: A person should always be soft like a reed, and not rigid like a cedar. For the reed, when all the winds come and blow against it, moves in their direction. But when the winds quiet down, the reed returns to its place. That is why the reed merited to be made into a quill that is used to write a Torah scroll. But the cedar does not stay in its place; when the southern wind comes and blows against it, it uproots the tree and flips it over. And then what happens to the cedar? [Woodcutters come along and chop it up, and take from it to build houses and then] throw the rest into the fire. And that is why they say: A person should always be soft like a reed, and not rigid like a cedar.