Of the Babylon an Talmud - Forgotten Books

NEW ED ITION

OF THE

BABYLON AN TALMUD

"riginal ( text, Eb iteb , Correcteb , formulateb , anbt ranslateb into English

M ICHA EL L . ROD KIN SON

TRA CTS TA A N ITH,MEGILLA

,A N D EBEL RA B BA TH I

OR SEM AHOTH

Vo lum e VI II

NEW YORK

NEW TALMUD PUBLISHING COMPANY

54 EAST 106m STREET

EXPLANATORY REMARKS.

I n o u r tran slat io n w e adopted these princip les1 . Tarza n o f the o r iginal—We have learn ed in a M ishna ; Tcmz

'

a—We havelearned in a B o ra itha ; [ tern a r—I t was taught .

2 . Qu e st io n s a re ind icated by the in terrogat io n po in t , a nd a re imm ediate lyfo l lowed by the an swers , witho u t be ing so m arked .

3 . When in the o riginal there o ccur two statem en ts separated by the phrase .

L z'

s/ma a c/zr en a o r Wa iéayit/ e m a o r [ H m d’

am r z’

(l iteral ly , “o therwise in terpre ted

we transla te o n ly the seco nd .

4 . A s the page s ofthe o riginal a re indicated in ou r n ew H ebrew editio n ,it i s n o t

deem ed n ece ssary to m ark them in the Engl ish edit io n , this be ing o n ly a tran slat io nfrom the latter .

5 . Wo rds o r passage s en clo sed in ro und paren theses ( deno te the exp lanat io nrende red by Rash i to the fo rego ing sen ten ce o r wo rd . Square paren the se s co n taincomm entaries by authorit ies ofthe last period ofcon struct ion ofthe Gem ara .

Com m e n t , 1 899 , 8 ?

M ICHAEL L . RODKI N SON .

A WORD TO THE PUBLIC .

W ITH th i s vo lume Sect ion Moed (Fest ival s), the we ight iestand most d iffi cu l t o f the six Talmud sect ion s , becomes com

ple te .Student s o f the Talmud wi l l observe that whi le the o ld

ed it ion contain s twelve t reat i ses , we have embod ied thi rteen ,tak ing one—viz . , Tract Ebel Rabba th i— from Sect ion N e z ikin

(D amages) , for reasons wh ich wi l l be stated fu rther o n .

Sect ion Fest ivals contain s al l the Halakhoth (ord inances) pertain ing to the Sabbath

,t o fest ivals , sem i - fest ivals , fast - days ,

feast - days,and days o f mou rn ing , and stands pract i cal ly inde

pendent o f al l other sect ions,inasmuch as we have been carefu l

t o c u l l al l matte r bearing upon the subj ect s d iscu ssed in th i ssect ion from the othe r sect ions , and to insert the same in it sp roper p lace . (See B e tz a , p .

And now that by the grace o f the Alm ighty we have succe eded i n ed it ing and translat ing an ent i re sect ion o f the Talmud

,a work that , with du e modesty, we can c laim stands u niqu e

i n the annal s o f l i teratu re , we deem it but fai r to expla in to o u rreaders the method adopted by u s in the accompl i shment o f th istask

,and demonst rat e as wel l the i nnovat ion s and changes in tro

du ced i n compari son with the original , anc ien t ed it ion . Theyare :

(a ) I n the original the nam e o f each separate treat i se alonei nd i cated it s contents , whi le the chapters i nto which su ch t reat i sewas subd ivided were known merely by the word s with whichthey began . We have , however , headed each chapter with al ine or two giving in succ in ct form the subj ects d iscu ssedthere in .

(6) Rashi's commentary , without the aid o f which even stu

dent s o f the o riginal Talmud cannot comprehend the int ricat emean ings o fport ion s o fthe text

,we have

,wherever pract i cabl e

,

embodied in the t ext , denot ing such commentary by the u se o fparentheses

,and where th i s was not feasible on account o fthe

Th i s i s o n ly o ne in stan ce whe re th is po l icy was pu rsued . There a re , ofcourse ,coun tless o thers , to o num erou s to m en tin

iv A WORD TO THE PUBLIC .

vagueness o f the phraseology and it s inseparabi l i ty from thet ext p roper

,we have made the commentary an integral part o f

the text .

(6) Wherever Rashi's commentary wa s i n suffic ient or rathe r

vague,and we were in consequence compel led to make u se o f

one o fthe seve ral other commentari es form ing part o f the original Talmud

,we have added a footnote giving the name

i

o ftheother commentator and the reason s fo r taking his op in ion . (SeeEru b in

,p .

(d ) The frequent repet it ions o f d iscu ss ions , some l it eral lyal ike and others having a s imi lar tendency even though employing a change o f terms

,occu rr ing in the several sect ions and cor

responding t reat i ses,we have t ranslated once on ly . We have

been care fu l,however

,to mark such places where a repet it ion

occu rs and i s not embod ied,giving the name of the treat i se and

the page whe re i t can be found . I n th is sect ion , now completed ,we have also omitted some discu ss ion s wh ich are rep eated i nt reat i ses Where they are m o re pert i nent . There they wi l l appearin due t ime

,and where they are at p resent lack ing

,a not ice to

that e ffect wi l l be found,and the p lace o fthei r p roper in sert io n

i s denoted . (See Succah , p .

(e) The o riginal Talm u d,with i ts innumerable b ibl i cal quota

t ions,nowhe re ind i cates whe re such bibl ical quotat io ns may be

found,simply stat ing : I t i s wr i tt en

,

” etc . On e savant namedJ oshua B o as went to the trouble o f publ i sh ing a wo rk cal ledTho ra Or

,

” i n which he provides each bibl i ca l quotat ion foundin the Talmud with i ts place i n i t s respect ive book and chapterwithout naming the verse ; but , e ither through misprint s o r neglige n c e , they are for the most part incorrect . I n ou r ed it ionwe give the book , chapter, and exact verse o f each bibl i cal quota tio n , as wel l as it s co rrect form ,

as far as obtainable .

(f) We have , wherever necessary , made a footnote explaining the much - encountered Talmud ic pecu l iar i ty o f d ivid ing up awo rd so as to put a different const ruct ion upon it s mean ing

,and

thus obl i terate it s actual l ingu ist i c pu rport . Wherever a wordi s total ly untranslatable the fact i s recorded and the word ci rc um sc ribed l ikewise in a footnote . We have also had occasionto refer the reader

,for the elucidat ion o f some passages

,to ou r

previou sly publ i shed works,but in no case i s such reference

absolutely necessary .

(g ) I t has become necessary in some cases to provide atreat ise with a special int roduct ion or an append ix , or both , and

A WORD TO THE PUBLIC .

th is we have done whenever it seemed to u s to faci l i tate theunderstand ing o f such t reat i se .

(k) Wherever the Talmud made use o f a Greek word , natural ly in Hebrew lette rs

,and consequent ly at t imes incorrect ly

,

we have,t o avoid errors

,rendered the word into pu re Greek . I n

a doubt fu l case we have appended a footnote giv ing the word inseveral vers ions and emphasi z ing the o n e most l ikely to havebeen the correct o n e . (See Erub in , p .

(z’

) Whi le any index o f subj ect s t reated in the Mishna andGemara is impossible for reason s we have al ready explained inthe few l ines head ing the synopsi s o f Volume I . , we have p rovided each volume with a synopsi s o f a suffi c i ent scope t o enablethe reader to find any subj ect o f pecu l iar in terest to him withou tperusing the ent i re vo lume .(j ) Whe rever two d isput ing Amoraim are not o f the same

peri od— o n the contrary,were in existence a centu ry o r so apart

we have cal led the at tent ion o f the reader to th i s in a footnoteexplain ing who the d iscu ssing t eachers were , the i r probablenames , etc .

(é ) Whatever m isp r i nt s occu rred in the original ed it ion o f theTalmud we have care fu l ly co rrected , and have explained thei rprobable o r igin and cau se . (Erub in ,

p .

(Z ) The absence o f commentari es to the tracts Shekal im andEbe l Rabba th i gave u s an opport un ity to add ou r own comment

,

which we have done wi th as much care and zeal as possibl e .Finally

,we cal l atten t ion to the explanatory remarks prin ted

on th e reverse o fthe t i t l e - page o feach volume .N ow i t remain s for u s to state the reason why we embody

the T ract Ebel Rabba th i i n th i s sect ion .

Maimon ides t ri ed to find some explanat ion for the sequenceo fsect ions and t ract s o f the Talmud , and whether he succeededi n th i s endeavor or not we wi l l leave to the dec i sion o f thereader . At all even ts

,as far as the Tract Ebel Rabba th i i s c o n

cerned,he cou ld not give any reason why i t shou ld have found

a place i n the Sect ion N e z ik in (D amages) .As a matter o f fact , the Tract Ebel Rabba thi i s n o t among

the thirty- seven main t ract s compris ing the B abylon ian Talmud,

but i s accounted on e o f the m inor t racts writt en after the original was fin ished . Yet i t wou ld be dec ided ly wrong to classEbel Rabba thi with the m inor t racts , and for the reason that ina number o f i n stances we find a passage i n the Talmud read ing,We have learned in Ebe l Rabba th i, proving conclu s ive ly that

vi A WORD TO THE PUBLIC .

i t antedates the final complet ion o f the original B abylonianed it ion .

The bibl iographers Z u n z and N . B rue l l endeavored to p rovethat the Tract Ebe l Rabbathi, so frequently ment ioned in theTalmud proper

,i s not id ent ical with the o n e found among the

m inor t racts,and D r . Mielz iner, i n h is I ntroduct ion to the Tal

mud,adds : I t seems to be a reproduct ion o f the same w i th

later add it ions . We do not care , as the Talmud says , toput ou r heads between the mountains , and contrad ict theselearned gent lemen

,although they have not quoted by a good

many al l the quotat ion s o f Ebel Rabb ath i u sed by the Talmud ,and we have fou nd that al l quotat ions from Ebel Rabbath i areverbat im reproduct ions from the t ract now before u s . B e th is ,however

,as i t may

,th i s t ract i s the on ly sou rce in the Hebrew code

from which the ord inances and laws pertain ing to the mode o fproc edu re with dying , dead , bu rials , and mourners , i n vogu e even atth i s day with al l c lasses o f J ews

,emanate . Were we to leave thi s

t ract unt ran slated , the Sect ion Fest ival s wou ld be incomplete .I t must be borne i n m ind that laws pe rtain ing to m ou rners

are thoroughly d iscu ssed i n o n e o f the t ract s o f Sect ion Fest ival s

,Moed Katan

,and hence our , we hope val id , excuse fo r

embodying the Tract Ebel Rabbath i as part and parcel o f thatsect ion . We wish to cal l at tent ion to the fact

,howeve r

,that

such mourners ’ ord inances as had no connect ion with fest ival sand feast - days we have el im inated from the original t ract i nwhich they were contained , and have tran sferred them to Ebe lRabbath i, where they properly belong.

Having thu s , i n th is int roduct ion , out l ined as fu l ly as poss ib leo u r method -o f d isc losing the weighty contents o f J udaism ’ sgreatest example of l ite ratu re to laymen and those o f the archae ologi cal stu dents unacquainted with the id ioms employed by theTalmud ic teachers , we lay ou r work open to the crit i cs andinvite , in al l honesty o f pu rpose

,scholarly

,p ithy crit i c i sm . So

far we have only been favored with spasmod ic effo rts at e r i t ic ism , consi st ing main ly o f d issent ing op in ions as to the u se o f at erm or the spell ing o f a word taken from the Hebrew and t ranscribed into Engl ish . What we wou ld apprec iate

,however

,i s a

fai r and j u st summariz ing o f the work as a whole,o f its val ue

as such , and o f i t s meri t i n faci l i tat ing the general knowledgeamong laymen

,Gent i les and J ews al ike , o f anc ient customs ,

ord inances , l aws , and u sages . M . L . R .

N EW YORK , ju n e 1 8 , 1 899 .

A LETTER FROM PROF . D R . M . LAZARUS , GEH .

REGIERU N GSRA TH .

MERAN (AU STRIA ) , d . 1 4 yum ; 1 899 .

HERRN M . L . Ro nxm so rv, New York

Geefir ter Her r Rod/éz'

nson I n me inem B rie fe vom 20 . J u l i ,85 , habe ich meine Ansicht au sgesprochen , dass nu r e ine Verbindu ng von mehreren hervorragenden und bewahrten Ge lehrt en den hohen Zweck e iner neuen krit ischen Talmud-Ausgabevo l lkommen e rfii lle n konnt en . I nzw ischen haben S ie se lbe rd ie A u sfiihru ng des Werkes n ebst e iner engl ischen U eb e rse tz

u ng unternommen und berei t s 7 B ande d ru cken lassen . J e

de rm an n muss deshalb Ihren Muth und Ihre Ausdau er b ewu ndern . Auf e in U rthe il, ob Ihre U eb e rtragu ng zu t reffendist , muss i ch be i me iner bescheidenen K e n tn iss der engl ischenSprache verz ichten ; aber I hr genau es Ve rstandn iss des Origin a ls st eht ja au sser Zwei fe l u nd an dem erforderl i chen B e ira thi n B ezug au f d ie engl ische Fassung wird es I hnen ja n icht gefehlt haben .

J eder Schrit t zu r Verbre it ung einer e ingehenden K en tn iss

des Talmuds au ch im Kreise derer , welch e d ie Sprache des Origin a ls n icht kennen , betrachte ich als n ii tz lich u nd we rthvo ll. I ch

w iin sche u nd hoffe deshalb , dass S ie z u r A u sfiihru ng I hre sgrossen Unternehmens re ichl iche U n te rstii tz u ng fi nden mogen .

Mit hochachtu ngsvo llem Grusse ,LA Z A RU S .

TRACT TAANlTH (FASTING) .

CON TEN TS.

A WORD To THE PUBL IC ,A LETTER FROM PROF . D R. M . LA Z A RUS ,-GEH. REGIERU N GS

RA TH, .

SYNOPSIS OF SUBJECTS OF VOL UM E VII I .—TRA CT TA A N ITH

,

CHAPTER I .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING THE TIM E WHEN MENT ION Is

MA DE OF RA IN IN THE D A I L Y PRA YER ,WHEN RA IN IS

TO BE PRA YED FOR,WHEN FA ST - DA YS A RE ORDERED ON

WH ICH To PRA Y ESPEC IA L L Y FOR RA IN,A N D THE CHA R

A CTER OF SUCH D A YS OF MOURN ING,

CHAPTER I I .

REGUL A TION S CONCERN ING THE ORDER OF P ROCEDURE ON

THE LA ST SEVEN FA ST - D A YS,A N D THE PRA YERS To B E

REC ITED ON THOSE DA YS,

CHAPTER I I I .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING OCCURRENCES ON ACCOUNT OF

WHICH FA ST - D A YS A RE ORDERED,

OR AL A RM S A RE

SOUNDED . WHEN FA STING ON ACCOUNT OF RA IN I s

STOPPED,

CHAPTER IV .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING THE PRIESTS ’ B LESSING OF THE

PEOPL E, THE INSTITUTION OF THE STA ND ING M EN

THEIR FA STS A N D PRA YERS. THE P A ST OF THE SEVENTEEN TH D A Y OF TA M U Z A N D THE N INTH OF A BH

,A N D

THE CELEBRA TION OF THE F I FTEENTH D A Y OF A BH,

PAGE

SYNOPSlS OF SUBJ ECTS

VOLUMEVlll . _

—TRACT TAAN ITH.

*

CHA PTER I .

M I SHNA I . The d iffe ren c e of opin ion abo u t the m en t ion of the power ofra in in the prayer o n the d ays ofTabe rn ac l es. When ce do w e kn ow th atm en t io n m u st b e m ad e . Who of the re aders s h al l m en t ion it on the fe ast ofPasso ve r. M u st o n e repe at h i s praye r if he m ade n o m en t io n Th re e m en

praye d to God fo r th ings th atwe re not su i tab le. The congregat io n ofIsrae la l so praye d fo r an im prope r th ing , 1 - 7

M ISHNA I I . T i l l w h at t im e i s the rain to b e praye d fo r . What wa s e atendu ring the se ven ye ars Of fam in e [II K ings , v i i i . ] Jaco b , o u r fath e r , n e ve rd i e d . Wh e n beg in the rain fru c tifica tio n s The kn owl e dge of the L aw i san e l i x i r of l ife . Why the wo rd s of the L aw a re com pare d to wate r, w in e ,

and m i l k . To wh at the day of rain i s equ al in im po rtan ce . The d iffe re n te xpl an at ion s of the in te rpre tation of the pass age Ec c l e s . x . 1 0 . Com e and

see how gre at a re the m en who h ave fa ith (see fo o tn o te , pp. 1 8 , Wh enth e re a re fam in e and pest i l en c e what s h a l l be praye d fo r ? The e xpl an at io nof the pass age “

tho u s h al t tru l y t i the .

” Wh en A aro n d ie d the p i l l ar o f

c l o u d l eft, e tc . What h appen ed to the d i s c ipl e s of Rab h a wh e n he d ied ?A bo u t the m e asu rem en ts ofthe Ge h enn a and the Gard en o fEde n , 7 - 24

M I SHNA S I II . to V . From w h at t im e in fal l m u st rain b e prayed a nd

faste d fo r if it h as n o t d e s ce n de d The pu n i s hm en t of o ne who l e ave s thec ongregat io n wh en the l atte r i s in trou b l e , in o rd e r to avo i d it. What m e an sthe God o f tru th . Who i s c a l le d a s inn e r w h en he fa ste th Is a fast ofh o u rs co n s i de re d ? U n t i l w h at t im e m ay fo o d he partaken of o n the d aypre ce d ing the fas t ? Iffas t- d ays pas s w itho u t an swe r, what s h al l be d o n eWhat wo u l d the e l de rs do w h en th e y as sem bl e d in the m o rn ing ? The qu e ryto Rabb i by the in h ab i tan ts ofN in eve h . N o t eve ry o n e has a righ t to ren dh i s c l o th es (when praying) , 24- 35

CHA PTER II .

M ISHNA I . What i s the o rd e r ofpro ce d u re o n the fas t- days What hash appen e d to Ha laphta and Han in a b . Te radion A bo u t the d ays that a rem en t ion e d in the “ Ro l l o f Fas ts ." On what d ays o f the w e e k the o rd e r offasts m ay begin . Why do th e y c o ngregate in a n o pen pl ace ? Why a re

ash e s s trewn o n the h e ad s of al l Who h as a righ t to add re s s the c o ngre

See in trodu ct io n to synopsis in Tract Sabbath , Vo l . I . , p. xx i x . ; also note a t e nd

ofsyn opsis in Vo l. V.

iv SYNOPS IS OF SUB JECTS .

gario n What the re ade r h as to s ay to e ac h ben e d ict ion . The strife c arri e don be twe en the Phari see s a nd B a thu see s c o n ce rn ing the c ont inu a l d ai l yofi

’

e ring (see fo o tn o te , p. Ha s o n e to com plete his fast if ra in de

s cends ? 36- 46

CHA PTER III .

M ISHNA I . On wh at fas t- d ay s a n al arm m u st be so un d ed . What happen e d to Ho n i Ham a

'

ge l and wh at m e s s age S im e o n b . She tah sen t to him .

What i s co n s i de re d a pl agu e c au s ing d e ath What pri ce m u st grain re achin o rd e r to arrange a fast ? The l ege n d ofN a kdim o n b . Gu rio n w h e n be

bo rro we d wate r from a h ea the n . Fo r the s ake o fM o se s , Jo s h u a , a nd N akdi

m o n the sun s ho n e . The go o d th ings th at R . Hu n a d id , and w hat Rabh ah ad to s ay to th i s . Co n ce rn in g the s i c kn e s s ofSha iba tha . The l ege n d of

H ilpha a nd Jo h an an wh en they stu d ie d toge the r, and Wh at the y h e ardofthe ange l s . What h appen e d to Na

’hum of G im zo , and the legen d abou tit. The m en who h ave a s h are in the wo rl d to com e , who w e re po in te d o u tby El ijah (the pro phe t) to B e ro ka o fHu zaah . A n al arm s ho u l d b e so u n d edo ve r attac k s ofwi l d be asts , e tc . F o r a pe st a n al arm sh o u l d b e so un de d e veno n a S abbath . What i s m e an t by the pas sage L e v it . xxv i . 4 . The l egen d abou tHo n i Ham a

’

ge l a t l e ngth , a nd how he s l e pt s even ty ye ars . The l egen dabo u t A bba Helkyah , h i s gran d so n , a nd al so ofHan an the H i d de n , who was

a gran d so n of h i s d augh te r. How the A m o ra im ofPal e st in e praye d fo r raina nd how th o se ofB aby lo n d i d . What h appen e d to Os h iya , the yo u n ge s tofthe c o l l ege , w ith the Nas i w h en he h ad o rde re d a fast- d ay . The m e r i ts ofthe m en who h ave praye d fo r ra in in the pre sen c e o fRabb i a nd Rab h (a td iffe ren t pl ace s) a nd we re an swe re d a t o n ce . L egen ds abo u t diffe ren tA m o raim who h ave praye d fo r rain that we re o r we re n o t an swe re d . The

l egen d a t le ngth o fHan i n a b . D o s a , h i s w ife , e tc . How m u c h rain s ho u l dfal l in o rd e r th at the c o n gregat io n sh o u l d stop fast ing ? What happe n e dw ith S am u e l the L itt le wh e n he o rd e re d a fast, 46—77

CHA PTER IV.

M ISHNA I . The pe rio d s ofthe ye ar a t wh i c h the priests Sh al l rai se the i rh an d s fo r praye r. Wh en the stan d ing m e n u se d to fast . The days w h en Ha l

lel was su ng . The five c a l am it ie s th at h appen e d o n the se ven teen th ofTam u z

a nd th o se o n the n in th of A b . What i s pro h i b i te d d u ring the we e k o f the

n in th of A b , The fe s t i val s of the fifte en th of A b a nd the D ay o f A to n e

m en t. The twen ty - fo u r watch e s wh i c h we re in the l an d of Is rae l . How

m any watc h e s w e re e stab l i s h e d by M o se s , a nd how m an y by D av id . Whatd i d the m en ofthe watc h e s pray fo r ? Who w e re the Go n ebe Eli a nd Ko tzeKe tz io th (se e n o te , p . Who we re the fam i l y ofP a ’

ha th M o ab be n Je hu d ah ,e tc . ? Wh en ce do w e kn ow th at the five ca l am it i e s h ave h appen e d o n theseve n te en th ofTam u z ? Wh en c e do w e kn ow th at the se co n d Tem p le wa s

a l so bu rn e d o n the n in th o f A b ? A l so th at the c i ty of B e tha r was c on

qu e red o n th at d ay What i s a l l o we d to e a t o n the afte rn o on of the eve of

the n in th o f A b ? Whi c h o rd in an c e ofm o u rn in g i s appl i c ab le to the n in tho f A b ? The cu s tom of Je hu d ah bar I l a i o n the n ight pre ced ing the n in tho f A b . What o c cu rre n ce m ake s the fifte en th of A b a fe st i val ? WhatEl azar h as to say ab o u t the rin g ofrighteo u sn e s s th at the Ho l y On e , b le s se db e He , w i l l m ake in the futu re in the Garden ofEd en , 78—92

TRA CT TA A N ITH (PA ST ING) .

CHAPTER I .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERNING THE T IM E WHEN M ENTION IS M A DE OF

RA IN I N THE D A I L Y PRA YER, WHEN RA IN IS TO BE PRA YED FOR,

WHEN FA ST - DA Y S A RE ORDERED ON WH ICH TO PRA Y ESPEC IA L L YFOR RA IN , A N D THE CHA RA CTER OF SUCH DA YS OF M OURN ING .

MISHNA : From what t ime shou ld the power man i fested inthe descent o f rain be commenced to be ment io ned ( in the dailyprayer )? R . El iezer said : From the fi rst day o f the Feast o fTabernac les . ” R J ehoshua , however, said From the last dayof that fest ival . Fo r, said he to R . El i ezer, “ since rain onthe Feast o f Tabernac les i s considered unpropit io us , why shou ldit be ment ioned in the prayers?” And R . El iezer answered :“ I do not mean to say that rain shou ld be prayed fo r, but onlythat it shou ld be ment ioned with the words , He causeth thewind to blow

,and the rain to descend in its proper t ime .

’ I fso ,

” rej o ined R . J ehoshua, “ such ment ion m ight be made at al lseasons o fthe year .Prayers fo r rain Shou ld not be said sooner than short ly before

the commencement o f the rainy season . R . J ehudah said : Thelast Of the m in isters o f the congregat ion who o n the last day ofthe Feast Of Tabernacles o ffic ia te s at the read ing- desk shou ldment ion the ra in , but n o t he who o ffic ia te s fi rst . On the fi rstday o fPassove r, the m in ister who offic ia te s fi rst (at the morn ingprayer) Shou ld st i l l ment ion it , b u t not he who o fii c ia te s last (atthe Add it ional Service) .GEMARA : Whence does the Tana o f th is M ishna adduce

that the rain must be ment ioned o r p rayed fo r at al l (in the dailyp rayer) , that he commences by Saying : From what t ime shou ldi t be ment ioned P He adduces th is from the M ishna in TractRosh -Ha sha n a (New Year) where he has learned that o n theFeast o f Tabernacles j udgment is passed concern ing rain , and

THE B A BYLONIAN TALMUD .

having learned this,he p roceeds to in form us when rain must be

ment ioned and p rayed fo r . I f so , let h im teach u s concern ingthe rain— why does he ment ion “ the power man ifested in thedescent o f rain Said R . Johanan : B ecause rain descendswith the power o fGod , as it is wr i tten [Job, v . 1 0] Who givethrain upon the su rface of the earth , and sendeth o u t waters overthe face o f the fields ’ ; and fu rther i t is wr i tt en [ibid ix . I o ]Who doeth great th ings which are qu ite unsearchable

,and

wonders which are qu it e withou t number ’ (and rain i s alsoincluded among these greatWhence do we know

,however, that ment ion must be made

of rain in the eighteen bened ict ions of the daily p rayer ? B e

cause we have learned in a B o ra itha thus : I t is wr itten [D eut .xi . I 3] To love the Lord your God, and to serve him with allyou r heart and with all you r so u l . And what service can be performed with the heart ? The service o f p rayer

,and immed iately

following the passage quoted it i s said [ibid .

“ I wil l sendrain for you r land in it s due season , the fi rst rain and the latterrain ,

” etc .

R . J ohanan said : Three keys are in the hands of the H o lyOn e , blessed be He

,which are not int rusted t o any messenger

,

and they are : The key o f rain , the key for a woman lying- in ,and

the key fo r the resu rrect ion o f the dead . The key of rain , as iti s written [D eu t xxvi i i . 1 2] The Lord wi ll open unto thee hisgood treasu re

,the heaven , to give the rain o f thy land in its

season the key for a woman lying- in ,as it is wr it ten [Genesis ,

xxx .

“ And God remembered Rachel , and God hearkenedto her, and opened her womb and the key fo r the resu rrect ionof the dead , as it i s wr i t ten [Ez ekieh xxxvi i . I 3]

“ And ye shal lknow that I am the Lo rd

,when I open you r graves and when I

cause yo u to come u p o u t o f you r graves, O my people .

” Thesages o fthe West say,

that also the key t o a man ’s earn ings arein the hands of Go d alone , as it is wr i tt en [Psalms , cx lv .

“ Tho u openest thy hand and sa tisfie st the desi re o f every l ivingthing .

”

Why did not R . J ohanan ment ion this also ? B ecause R .

Johanan may claim that rain itsel f is the means o fearn ing a l ivehho o d.

R . Eliezer sa id : Fr om t/ze first day of Ike Fea st of Ta éer

na cles .

’ The schoolmen propo unded a quest io n Whencedoes R . El iezer derive his teaching ? D oes he der ive it from thepalm-branch which is brought alo ng for u se at the morn ing ser

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4 THE BA BYLONIAN TALMUD .

We have learned in a B o ra itha : Ou r sages d id n o t impose theduty o n a man to make ment ion of the dew and wind in theprayer ; but i f he desires t o do so , he may . Why so ? Said R .

Han ina : B ecause dew and wind are never W i thheld . Whencedo I know th is? B ecause it is written [I Kings , xvi i . I ] “ Thensaid Elij ah the Tishbite , who w a s o f the inhabitants o f G ilead ,unto Achab

, A s the Lord the God o f I srael l iveth , before whomI have stood

,there shall not be in these years dew o r rain , except

accord ing to my wo rd and fu rther, i t i s wr it ten [ibid . xvii i . I ]“ Go

,Show thysel f u nto Achab ; and I wil l give r a in upon the

face of the earth , but in the latter passage dew is not ment io n ed, because it was never withheld . I t might be asked , however

,why El ij ah swore that it would not fal l ? H e meant to say

merely that no dew which wou ld benefit the so i l wou ld fall , foral l the dew which shou ld fal l wou ld not be product ive o f anygood .

Whence do we know that the wind wil l not be W i thheld ?Said R . J ehoshua ben Levi B ecause it i s written [Zech . i i . 1 0]F o r as the fou r winds o f heaven have I spread you abroad ,

’

which sign ifies,that as the wo rld cannot exist without winds, so

it cannot also exist without I srael .R . Han ina said : From what we have learned so far, we see

that i f a man said in his p rayer during the d ry season,

“ He

causeth the wind to blow , he is not obl iged to say h is prayerover again ; but i f he said H e cau seth the rain to descend

,

” heis bou nd to say the prayer again . D u r ing the rainy season i f heomitted in his prayer the wo rds , “ He cau seth the wind to blow

,

he need n o t be made to say the p rayer over again,but i f he

om itted the wo rds , H e cau seth the rain to descend,

” he shou ldbe made to say the prayer again . And not on ly this

,but i f the

man said in his praye r the wo rds,He causeth the wind to cease

and the dew t o van ish,he need not repeat the p rayer, because

those words are o fno consequence .

We have learned in anothe r B o ra itha : The sages d id notimpose the duty o f m ent io n ing clou ds and winds in the p rayer ;but i f a m a n choo ses to do so he may , because they are notwithheld .

R . J ehu dah said : The wind which co m es after the rain doesa s mu ch good as the rain itsel f ; the su n which com es after therain does as much good as tw o rains .Rabha sa id : Snow to the m o untain s is a s benefic ial a s five

rain s are to the ground , as it is wr itten [J o b ,xxxvi . “ F o r

TRA CT TA A N ITH (FASTING) . D

t o the snow he saith , ‘ B e thou o n the earth ’

; l ikewise to thepou r ing rain

,and to the pou r ing rains o fhis strength .

”

Rabha said again : Snow is good fo r the mountains ; a lightrain is good fo r the t rees ; a heavy rain is good fo r the budd ingfru it

,and a shower is even benefic ial t o the seed lying dormant

in the ground .

Again Rabha said : “ A young scholar i s l ike a seed , lying inthe ground

,which

,once sprou t ing, wil l cont inue to grow . And

he said also : “ When a young scholar appears excited , i t shou ldbe known that i t i s h i s knowledge that i s excited with in him , asit i s written [J eremiah , xxi i i . 29] I s n o t thu s my word l ike thefi re ? saith the Lord .

’ And R . Ashi said that a scholar who i snot as firm as iron cannot be considered a scholar, becau se theend of that passage reads : “ And l ike a hammer that sh ive re ththe rock . Said Rabh ina : St il l

,a man shou ld t rain himsel f to

speak calmly without anger, as it i s w ri t ten [Ecclesiastes , xi . 1 0]‘And remove anger from thy heart . ’

R . Samuel ben N a’

hm e n i i n the name o f R . Jonathan saidThree men p rayed to God fo r th ings that were not su itable (forprayer). Two were answered in a proper manner, but o n e wasanswered accord ingly . They are : El i ezer the slave o fAbraham ,

Sau l the so n o f Kish , and Jephthah o f Gilead . Concern ingEl iezer it is wr itten [Genesis , xxiv . 1 4] B e (she) the o n e thouhast appointed for thy servant I saac . N ow , the maiden may havebeen bl ind or maimed , but st i l l the Lord o rdained i t so thatRebekah was the o n e . Concern ing Sau l the King it is wr i tt en

[I Samuel , xvi i . 2 5]“ And it shal l be that the man who kil leth

h im,him wil l the king enrich and h is daughter wi l l he give him

,

etc . I t m ight have happened that a slave o r an i llegit imate so nmight have accomplished the feat , but st i l l the Lord dest ined i tto be D avid . Concern ing J ephthah it is written [J udges , xi . 3 1 ]Then shal l it be

,that whatsoever cometh fort h out o fthe doors

o f my house I wil l bu rn it up fo r a bu rnt - offering .

”

The prayer was imprope r, because an unclean thing (such a s aswine or a dog) might have come forth which wou ld not be aproper sac rifice

,and the answer was also not proper, fo r his own

daughter came forth to meet h im . This cau ses the w rath fu l queryo f J eremiah the prophet , as i t is wr it ten [J eremiah , vi i i . 22] I sthere no more balm in G ilead ? o r i s no physic ian there ?

Th is i s sign ified becau se in the Hebrew rain i s m e n tio n ed five t im e s in th ispassage—in c luding snow .

6 THE B A BYLONIAN TALMUD .

(mean ing was there not P in’has the h igh -priest in G ilead , who

cou ld have released Jephthah o f his vow And further, i t i swritten [ib id . xix . 5] Which I had n o t commanded , norspoken

,and which had not come into my mind ,

” which implies,

“ I had not commanded ” refers to the sacrific ing of the so n ofMesha the King of Moab by h is father [ I I K ings, i i i . 27] nowspoken

,refers to the daughter o f J ephthah ; and “ which had

not come into my mind , refers to I saac , whom his fatherAbraham was wi ll ing to sacrifice .Said R . B erach iah : The congregat ion o f I srael also prayed

for an improper th ing, but the Holy On e , blessed be He , answeredit in a proper manner

,as i t is written [Hosea , vi . 3] And let u s

feel it , that we may strive to know the Lord ; bright as themorn ing dawn is h is ris ing ; and may He come as the rain untou s , as the latter rain that maketh fru it fu l the earth . And theHoly On e , blessed be He , said : My daughter, thou askest a th ingwhich at t imes is necessary and at other t imes is superfluou s , bu tI wi ll be to thee as a thing which is at al l t imes needed , as it i swrit ten [Hosea, xiv .

“ I wi l l be as the dew unto I srael .”

Once again the congregat ion o f I srael prayed improperly, sayingSovereign of the un iverse"Set me as a seal upon thy heart , asa seal upon thy arm ”

[Solomon’s Song, vi i i . and the Lord

said : Thou askest me to do a th ing which at t imes can be seenand at other t imes cannot , for somet imes the heart i s closed andthe arms are covered ; but I wi ll set thee as a seal in a place thatis always exposed ; as it i s wr i tt en [I saiah , xlix .

“ B ehold ,upon the palms o f my hands have I engraved thee .

Snor t/y oefor e tfze com m encem en t of the r a iny season . Theschoolmen thought that ment ion ing rain in the prayer and praying fo r i t was one and the same thing , therefore they said thatth is Mishna is in accordance with the opin ion o f R . J ehoshua,who said previously that rain must be ment ioned from the t imethat the palm -branch is laid aside . Said Rabha to them Nay ;this M ishna may even be in accordance with R . El iezer ’s opin ion ,for ment ion ing rain and praying fo r i t are two d ifferent th ings .”

R . j elzna’

an sa z'

a’: Tn la st of the m in isters ,

’ etc . I s th isnot a cont rad ict ion to what we learn in the nex t Mishna

,namely

Unt i l when is rain to be prayed for ? R . J ehudah said : Unt i l

Elsewhe re the Talm ud rebuke s bo th Jephthah a nd Pin ’has Jephthah wou l d n o tgo to Pin ’has be cau se he

,be ing a pr in ce ,

co n sidered h im se lf the superio r of Pin ’has,

whi le Pin ’has , be ing high -

prie st , thought it be low his d ign ity to go to Jephthah , ando n accoun t ofth is pride a human l ife was sacrificed .

TRACT TA A N ITH (FASTING) . 0

after the Passover, etc . Said R . H isda : This presents no difficu lty . Ou r Mishna refers to the m en t ion o f the rain , while theMishna quoted re fers to pr aying fo r rain , and rain may be prayedfo r du ring the ent i re Passover . Said U la : “ This statement o fR . H isda i s as vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes . I f aman may ment ion rain even when he shou ld not pray fo r i t , whyshou ld he not when p raying fo r i t also be allowed to ment ion it ?Therefore , says U la, this contrad ict ion can be explained from thefact that two Tana im d i ffer as to the opin ion o fR . Jehudah .

R . Assi in the name o f R . Johanan said : The Halakha prevails accord ing to R . J ehudah .

How shal l we do , however, who have two days as the last dayso f the fest ival ? (Shall we apply the Halakha to the fi rst o fthosetwo days o r to the last ?) Said Rabh : The rain shou ld be fi rstment ioned in the Addit ional Prayer o n the fi rst o f the two lastdays , then it shou ld be omitted in al l p rayers unt i l the Addit ionalPrayer o n the second of those days , when it shou ld again be ment io n ed. Said Samuel to those who repeated Rabh

’

s stat ement“ Go ye and tel l Abba this : ‘ I s i t proper that after thou hastsanct ified the day thou shou ldst make i t ord inary again ? Fo r i nthe afternoon prayer o f that day thou hast omitted the ment ionof the rain .

’ There fore I say that ment ion shou ld be made fi rstat the Add it ional Prayer on the fi rst o f the two last days , also inthe afternoon prayer, then it may be omitted at n ight and in themorn ing o f the fol lowing day ; but it shou ld be again ment ionedin the Add it ional Prayer o fthe last day .

” Rabha , however, saidAs he once began to ment ion it , i t shou ld not be stopped again .

And so also said R . She she th , and even Rabh retracted h is formerstatement , for R . Han a n e l said in h is name that twenty- o n e daysshou ld be counted from the New Year day the same as the tendays preced ing the D ay o f Atonement a re counted , and o n thetwenty-first day he Shou ld commence to make ment ion of the rainand shou ld then not omit i t i n any o f the prayers . So theHalakha prevai ls .MISHNA : Til l what t ime is the rain to be prayed fo r ? R .

J ehudah says unt i l after the Passover R . Mei r says t i l l themonth o fNissan is passed , becau se it i s said [Joel , i i . 23]

“ Andhe hath caused to come down for you the rain

,the fi rst rain , and

the latter rain in the fi rst month .

GEMARA : Said R . Na 'hman to R . I tz ’hak : D oes the fi rstrain then descend in the month o f N issan , does i t n o t descendin Mar-Cheshvan ? A s we have learned in a B o ra itha ,

namely :

8 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD .

The fi rst rain s fall in Mar- Cheshvan and the latter rains inN issan .

’ And R . I tz ’hak answered : R . J ohanan said thu sThe passage qu oted in the Mishna

,which states tha t both the

fi rst and the latt er rains come down in the fi rst month , refe rs t othe t im e O f Joel the so n o fPethu el , when , i t i s written [Joe] , i . 4]What the caterpil lar left

,hath the locu st eaten

,etc . In that

year the month o fAdar had already passed , and the fi rst raindescended in the month O f N issan . Said the prophet to Israe l :Go and sow you r seed .

” And they repl ied Shou ld one whohas a patch o f barley o r wheat eat it and l ive , or sow it and d ie

(unt i l the new grain becomes And he said to themSt il l , se e that ye sow as much as ye can .

” Thereu pon a mirac le occu rred , and the grain which had been hidden in the wallsand in the subterranean passages o f the ants was d iscovered .

They then went and sowed their grain on the second,th i rd , and

fou rth days o f N issan . On the fi fth o f N issan the second rainfel l, and o n the S ixteenth o f that month they already offered upthe new grain which had r ipened . Thu s the grain which Shou ldhave taken S ix months to r ipen

,matured in eleven days ; and the

offer ings which were u sual ly brought of grain that had beengrowing six months

,were that t ime bro ught o f such as had on ly

been growing eleven days , and concern ing this generat ion it iswritten [Psalms , cxxvi .

“ Those that sow in tears shal l reapin j oyfu l song .

”

R . Na ’hman said again to R . I tz ’hak : “ I t is w r i tt en [ I IKings

,vi i i . I ] Fo r the Lord hath called for a famine , and it i s

also coming o n the land fo r seven years . ’ What was eaten duringthese seven years? And he answered : So said R . Johanan :I n the fi rst year they ate the reserve store that they had in theirhou ses ; in the second year they ate the reserve store they hadin the fields in the th ird they ate the flesh o f ri t ual ly c lean an imals ; on the fou rth , the flesh o fri t ually unclean animals ; in thefi fth year they ate rept i les in the S ixth year the famine was so

severe that people had to eat their own child ren ; and in theseventh it reached a stage where some had to eat the flesh fromofftheir own arms ; and the saying [I saiah , ix . I 9] They shal leat every man the flesh o fh is own arm ,

’ was ver ified thereby .

Again , R . Na ’hman asked R . I tz ’hak : I t is wr itten [Hosea , xi .The Ho ly On e in the midst o f thee, and I wil l not come

into the c ity .

”How is th is to be understood ? B ecause the ln

habitant s d id so much good in the c ity that they were call edholy, and the Holy On e d id not wish to enter? And R . I tz ’hak

TRACT TA A N ITH (FA STING) . 9

answered : “ Thus said R . Johanan : The Ho ly On e,blessed be

He , said that He wou ld n o t(enter the J erusalem o f the heavens

unt i l he cou ld enter the J eru salem below . I s there then aJ eru salem above ? asked R . Na ’hman .

“ Yea, wa s the answer

,

fo r i t is wr itt en [Psalms , cxxi i . 3] ‘ Jerusalem"which art bu i ltas a c ity where in al l asso ciate together (Le J eru salem is bu i ltas that J eru salem which is connected (a sso c ia ted) w ith i t . Hencethere is another J erusalem , and that is above in the heavens) .R . Na ’hman again asked R . I tz ’hak : How i s the passage

e rem iah , x . 8] B u t at once Shall they be shown to be brut ishand fool ish : i t is a doctrine o f van it ies, i t concerneth but wood ,

’

to be understood ?” And he repl ied : “ Thus said R . JohananOn e th ing wil l cau se men to burn in Gehenna

,and that is ido la

t ry ; fo r i t i s said above , ‘ a doctrine o fvan it ies, i t concernethbu t wood ,

’ and fu rther, we find it wr i t ten [ibid . 1 5] They arevan ity , the work o f decept ion ; i n the t ime Of the i r pun ishmentshal l they vanish .

’

R . Na ’hman asked R . I tz ’hak again : “ What does the passagee rem iah ,

i i . I‘ F o r two evils have my people committed

,

’

mean ? Are there only two , and the twentyfou r wh ich are subsequently enumerated * (in the same chapter) were forgiventhem ? And R . I tz ’hak answered : Thus said R . Johanan On e

evi l which is considered as two— namely , idolat ry— as it i s writtenfu rther “ Me have they forsaken

,the source o f l iving

waters , t o hew out for themselves c i ste rns , broken c isterns , thatcannot hold water and it is also wr it ten [ibid . 1 0 and I I ]“ For pass over to the isles o f the K itt ites , and se e ; and untoKedar send

,and consider wel l : and se e i f anything l ike th is

hath happened . Hath a nat ion exchanged its gods , which areyet no gods? and st i l l my people hath exchanged its glo ry fo rthat wh ich cannot profit . I n a B o ra itha we have learned asfol lows : The K itt ite s worship fire and the inhabitants o f Kedarworsh ip water

,and though knowing that water ext ingu ishes fi re

,

they nevertheless d id not exchange their god , while my peopleexchanged their god fo r that wh ich cannot profi t .R . Na ’hman and R . I tz ’hak sa t together at a meal , and R .

Na ’hman said to the latter : “ Let Master relate something"”And R . I tz ’hak said : So said R . Johanan : ‘While eat ing o n e

shou ld not talk,l est the food enter the windp ipe (t rachea) befo re

A ccord ing to the comm en tary of Rabbe nu B anah e l the re a re al toge the r twe n tysix evi l s , comm i tted by the I srae l ites , enum erated in Jerem iah I I .

1 0 THE BABYLONIAN TA LMUD .

the gullet and infl ic t an inj ury.

’ After having fin ished theirmeal

,he said : “ So said R . J ohanan : ‘ Jacob our father never

d ied .

’ And R . Na ’hman rej oined : “ Then was it in vain thathe was mourned and embalmed ?” And R . I tz ’hak repl ied : Imake this assert ion from the following passage [J eremiah , xxx .

1 0]‘And thou

,do not fear, O my servant Jacob , saith the Lord ,

and be not d ismayed , O I srael ; for, behold , I wi l l save thee fromafar

,and thy see d from the land of their capt ivity ; and Jacob

shal l retu rn,and shal l be at rest

,and be secu re , with none to

t erri fy him .

’ And Jacob is compared to h is chi ldren ; as the latterare st i l l l iv ing so is he also .

”

When R . Na ’hman and R . I tz ’hak were about to part , theformer said to R . I tz ’hak : “ B less me . And he answered : “ Ishal l t el l thee a parable to which this can be compared A manonce went into the desert , and when hungry , th irsty, and t i red cameto a tree bearing lusc iou s fru it and afford ing plenty of shade , andunderneath which there was a spring o f water. He ate of thefru it

,drank of the water, and rested beneath the shade . When

about to leave he tu rned to the t ree and said Tree, t ree , Wherewith can I bless thee? That thy fru it may be sweet— it i s alreadysweet ; that thou shou ldst afford plenty o f shade— that also thoudost ; that a spring may be near thee— even that thou hast . Theo n e th ing left me which I can wish for thee is , that al l t reesplanted from thy seed may be as fru it fu l as thou art . ’ So it iswith thee . Shou ld I bless thee with knowledge— that thou hast ;shou ld I bless thee with riches —that thou also hast ; shou ld Ibless thee with ch ildren— even Chi ldren tho u lackest n o t ; henceal l I can wish thee is that thy seed be as prosperous as thou art .”

The rabbis taught : Why is the fi rst rain cal led Y o rahH'

B ecause it teaches the people to paint their roofs , take in thefru it

,and otherwise prepare for the winter ; and also becau se it

sat iates the earth and penet rates into the ve ry depths, as i t iswritten [Psalms, lxv . I I ] :

“ Watering her fu rrows abundantly ;smooth ing down her ridges , thou so fte n e st her with Showers ;thou blessest her growth .

” Another th ing that is meant byY o rah i s a rain that comes without storm and as the fi rstrain is intended for a blessing, so also is the latter rain . Andwhence do we know that the fi rst rain is intended fo r a blessing?

The comm en tary of To spha th says that it i s a n o teworthy fact that whi le the

Scripture s state that A braham a nd I saac d ied , they say that Jaco b departed th isl ife ” [Gen . x l ix .

1' I n add it io n to Y o rah , m ean ing the fi rst rain , it also m ean s to show o r to tea ch .


1 2 THE BABYLONIAN TALM UD .

R . A bbahu said again The fi rst fru c t ifica t io n takes place i fthe rain penetrates o n e span into the ground , and the secondfru ct ifica tio n is accomplished when the so i l is so p l iable that itcan be used to stop up a barre l without the add it ion o f otherwater .R . H isda said : “ I f at the fi rst fru ctificat io n the soi l becomes

so pl iable that it can be used to stop u p a barrel , i t cannot beconsidered as i f the heavens were c losed (and no rain had fallen) .He said again : “ I f it rained in some cit ies

,but wa s dry in others ,

i t cannot be said that the heavens are c losed . This is not so"Fo r i s it not written [Amos, iv .

“ And I also had indeedwithholden from you the rain , when it was yet three months tothe harvest ; and I cau sed it to rain upon one c ity , and uponanother c ity I caused it not to rain one p iece o f land was rainedupon , and another piece whereupon it rained not became driedup .

” And R . Jehudah said , in the name o fRabh , that the ent i reverse was in the form of a cu rse? This presents no d iffi cu lty .

For the verse sign ifies that in one c ity it wi l l rain too much andin another it wil l not rain at all , which is a cu rse ; but i f it rainord inari ly in one c ity and not at al l in another (one c ity can d rawits supply from the other) . Said R . Ashi : “ This very th ingmay be in ferred from the passage itse l f ; for it says one p ieceo f land was rained upon ,

’ and that implies that in that p iece ofland there wil l be too much rain .

”

R . A bbahu said : “ The day of rain i s o f more importancethan the day of resu rrect ion ; fo r on the latter day only ther ighteou s wil l arise from the dead , but rain falls for al l al ike ,righteou s and wicked. A nd R . A bbahu differs with R . Jose,who declares that the day o f rain i s j u st as important as the dayof resu rrect ion , and for that reason is ment ioned in the prayer atthe bened ict ion regard ing the resu rrect ion of the dead .

R . Jehudah said : “ The day of rain is as important as the dayon wh ich the Law was given , because it is written [D eut . xxxi i .

‘ My doctrine shall drop as the rain ,’ and by doctrine i s

meant the Law ; for it i s written [Proverbs , iv . For gooddoctrine do I give you : my law must ye not fo rsake .

’ AndRabha said : “ The day o f rain is even more important than theday on wh ich the Law was given ; for it says : My doctrine Shal ldrop as the rain ,

’ and surely the thing upon which another i s

The benediction on rain i s tran sferred from here to Tract B eracho th, as theprope r place .

TRACT TA A N ITH (FASTING) . 1 3

dependent , or to which another is compared , i s more importantthan that other .”

The same interpreters c it e the fol lowing contrad ict ion : I t i swritt en [D eut . xxxi i .

“ My doct r i ne shall d rop as the rain,

my speech shal l d ist i l a s the dew . I n the fi rst he says rain,

”

and in the other “ dew . (I t i s said above that dew is alwaysgood

,bu t with rain the case is d iffe rent ?) From this i t is to be

signifi ed that i f the scholar is a consc ient ious man,consider him

a s dew , which i s always use fu l ; but i f he is not , t u rn you r neck toh im as we do to rain .

We have learned R . B anab a said : He who stud ies the Lawfor the honor o fGod , h is knowledge becomes to him the el ixir o fl i fe , as it i s writt en [Proverbs , i i i . ‘ A tree of l i fe is she t othose that lay hold o n her and it is also written [ibid .

‘ I twi l l be heal ing to thy body whi le , fu rther, i t i s sa id [ ibid . vi i i .

Fo r he who finde th me , finde th l i fe’

; but he who stud iesthe Law

,n o t fo r the honor Of Go d (but in order to inj ure others

or fo r other pu rpose) , his knowledge becomes to him a deadlypoison .

” As it i s written in the passage j u st quoted,the term

Ya a rop/z i s t o be interpreted as the term Vea rpnu [D eut . xxi . 4]“ A nd they shal l br eak there the neck o f the hei fer in the valley .

R . J eremiah said to R . Zera : “ Let Master go and teach .

And he answered : “ My heart i s weak, and I cannot .” “ Then

let Master relate some trifl ing thing from the Haggada,said R .

J eremiah . And R . Zera spoke : “ Thus said R . Johanan : ‘ I t i swrit ten [D eut . xx .

“ The man is a t ree o f the field .

” I sthen a man a t ree o f the field ? The passage says previou sly‘ Fo r of them mayest thou eat , and thou shalt n o t cu t themdown and fu rther , i t says [ibid . 20] Only those trees o fwhichthou knowest that they are not fru it - t rees

,thou mayest dest roy

a nd cut down .

’ And this impl ies that the man is compared to at ree

,and that i f thou knowest a man to be a scholar and a good

man,thou shou ldst enj oy h is company and der ive benefit from

h im but i f he be a scholar but an evi l man , thou shou ldst avoidh im and cu t o ff thy intercou rse with him .

"

R . Hama bar Han ina said : “ I t is written [P roverbs , xxvu .

I 7] I ron is sharpened by iron ,’ and this appl ies to tw o scholars

who study together , when one sharpens the intel lect o fthe o ther .

The H ebrew term fo r th is i s a rpe/m, the term in the beginn ing o f the passagequo ted I s ya a r oplz, the term fo r n eck ” in H ebrew is d r op}: he nce the exp lanat io na cco rding to Sam ue l Eidlis, which i s m o re proper here than Rash i ’s .

1 4 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD .

Rabba bar bar Hana said : Why were the words of the Lawcompared to fi re

,a s i t is wr it t en [Jeremiah , xxi i i . I S not

th is my word l ike the fi re ?saith the Lord . A S fi re cannot burnwithou t having hold of an obj ect , so the words ofthe Law cannotremain with one who is alone .

R . Na ’hman bar I tz ’hak said : Why are the words o f the Lawcompared to a tree , as it is written [Proverbs, i i i . 1 8] “ A tree o fl i fe is She to those that lay hold o n her. A s a small p iece of

wood kindles a larger, SO a lesser Scholar brightens the wits o f thegreater by h is queries, and this is as R . Han ina has said : I havelearned much from my teachers

,more from my colleagues , and

most o fal l from my disc ip les . ”

R . Hanina bar Papa cited a contrad ict ion : I t is written

[I saiah , xxi . 1 4] Toward h im that i s th i rsty they br ing water’

and fu rther, i t i s written [ibid . lV.

‘ Every o n e of ye thatth irsteth , com e ye to the water (This presents no difficu lty .)I f a man is a d i l igent d isc iple and cannot come to the master, themaster shou ld go to him but i f he is not a d i l igent d isc iple , themaster need n o t go to him , but i f he comes t o the master heshou ld be taught .R . Han ina bar Hama c ited another contrad ict ion : I t is

written [P roverbs , v . 1 6] So will thy spr ings overfl ow abroadand fu rther

,i t is said [ibid .

“ They wi ll be tny own on lyThis m eans to say, that if a man is a thorough Scholar h is t eachings shou ld be allowed to spread abroad ; but i f not , they shou ldbe fo r him alone .

R . Han ina bar Id i said : Why are the words o f the Law compared to wate r , as it is written [I saiah , xxi . “ Toward himthat is thirsty they br ing water B ecause a s water leaves ah igher place fo r a lower, so the words o f the Law canno t beretained by o n e who does n o t deport h imsel f in a lowly (hum ble)manner .R . Osh iya said : Why are the words o f the Law com pared to

the fo l lowing three beverages— water , wine , and m ilk ? Towater ,

” as it ’s wr i tten in the verse j u st quoted ; to “ wine and mi lk ,”

a s i t i s wr i tt en [I saiah , lv . 1 ]“ Yea

,come , buy withou t mo ney and

withou t pr ice wine and milk . I n o rder to teach u s , that as thosethree beverages can best be kept in comm on u tens i l s such aswooden o r earthen vessels

, so the Law can on ly be retained bytho se who are humble in thei r manner . As the daughter o f theCm sa r once said to R . Jeho shua b . Hanan iah : “ Alas fo r suchhandsome wisdom , which is in an ugly vessel

”

(it means that the


rabbi was very homely) . And he said to he r :“ I n what does

you r father keep h is best wine ? And sh e answered :“ I n

earthen vessels . And he rej o ined :“ Then what is the d i ffer

ence between yo u r father and a commoner? And sh e askedIn what

,then

,Shal l i t be kept ? And he said You , who are

wealthy and mighty , ought to keep it in golden and si lver ve ssels" She then told her father, and he commanded that h iswine shou ld be kept in vessels o fgold and S i lver . And it becamesou r . When the Caesar was in formed o f th is, he asked h isdaughter : “ Who told yo u that we shou ld keep o u r wine ingolden vessels ? And she named the above rabbi . He wa s

sent for,and quest ioned as to the reason o f his advice . And he

rej oined : “ This was on ly an answer to the quest ion o f the p r inc ess . B u t are there not

,the Cmsa r said “ men who are

handsome and nevertheless are very scholarly ? B el ieve me,

said the rabbi , “ that i f they wou ld be homely, their wisdomwou ld be greater st i l l .R . Hama bar Han ina said The day '

o frain i s o fequal importance with the day o n which heaven and earth were c reated , a s i ti s wr it ten [I saiah , xlv . 8]

“ D rop down , ye heavens , from aboveand let the skies d ist i l blessing ; let the earth open , and let themal l be fru it fu l o fprosperity , and let righteou sness spring up l ikewise : I the Lord have created it . And a s it is said “ createdit

” and not created them ,

” i t p roves that rain is referred to (andhence the day o f rain is equal ly as important as the day o f thecreat ion o fthe h eavens and earth) .R . Osh iya said The day of rain is SO great that , even i f a man

be blessed with prosper i ty , the prosperity becomes mo re fru it fu l ,as it is said in the verse quoted : “ Let the earth open

,and let

them al l be fru it fu l o fp rosperity .

R . Ta nhum bar Ha n ila i said Rain does n o t descend un lessthe S in s o f I srael are fo rgiven , a s it is wr i tt en [Psalm lxxxv . 2—3]Thou hast been favorable

, O Lo rd , unto thy land ; tho u hastbrought back the capt ivity o f Jacob . Thou hast fo rgiven thein iqu ity o f thy p eo ple ; tho u hast cove red over al l thei r s in .

Selah .

’ Said Zeiri o fD e haba th to Rabina : “ Ye learn th is fromthe above passage . We , however , apply to th is the fol lowing :[I Kings , vi i i . ‘ Then hear thou i n heaven

,and fo rgive the

S in , ’ etc . R . Ta nhum the so n o f R . Hyya o f the vi llage Accosaid Rain is n o t withheld un less the enemies o f I srael (meaning I srael it sel f) deserve to be dc stroyed, a s i t is wri t ten [Jo b ,

xxiv . 1 9] D rought and heat speed i ly consume the snow-waters


SO doth the grave tho se wh o have sinned .

’ Said Zeir i o f D e

haba th to Rabina : “ Ye learn th is from the above passage . We ,however

,apply to this the fol lowing [D eu t . xi . ‘ And he

wi l l Shut up the heavens and ye Shal l perish qu icklyR . Simeon ben Paz i said : “ Rain is n o t withholden except

from such a s slander each other, as it is writt en [Proverbs , xxv .

23] The north wind br ingeth forth rain ; so doth secret talking,angry countenances . ’

R . Sala said in the name of R . Ham n u n a : Rain is withholdenonly on account of the impudent

,as it i s written [Je rem . i i i . 3]

And though the early showers were withholden , and the latterrain came not : yet hadst thou a forehead of an adu lterous wife ,thou refu sedst to feel shame .

’

R . Sala said again in the name of R . Ham nu na : The manwho is impudent wil l finally stumble into idolat ry . And hederives it from the passage j u st quoted

,Yet hadst thou a fore

head ofan adu lterous wife .

” And R . Na ’hman said An im pudent man must be considered as having already stumbled intoidolat ry ; for the passage does n o t say , thou w ilt ha ve a forehead ,

’ etc . , but thou ha a’

st .

’

Rabba bar Huna said : “ An impudent man may be classedwith the wicked

,as it i s wr i tten [P roverbs , xxi . 29] A wicked

man show e th impudence in his And R . Na ’hman barI tz ’hak said : He may even be hated , as it i s written [Ecc les .vi i i . 1 ] ‘And the boldness ofhis face Y e su n a (wil l be lessened)D o n o t read ‘ Y e su n a

’

(will be l essened) but Y iso n e i (may behated) .R . Joseph said : Rain is witholden o n ly for abolish ing the

the Law , as i t is wr itten [Job , xxxvi i . “ Yet men se e n o t

the light which is br ight in the skies,when the wind hath passed

along and pu rified them . By l ight i s meant the Law ,as it is

written [P rov . vi . “ F o r the commandment is a lamp , andthe law is l ight and br ight , the d isc ip les of R . I shmael interpretthu s : “ Even when the sky was Spo tted with clouds, the windo fthe law clears them away .

”

R . A m i said Rain i s withholden solely o n account o fthe sino frobbery , as it i s wr i tt en [Jo b , xxxv i . 32] H is hands he c ove reth with light . By his hands ” i s meant the hands o f ro b

bery , a s i t is wri t ten [J o nah , i i i . “ And from the violencewhich is in the i r hands and by “ light is meant rain

,as i t i s

wr i tten [Jo b ,xxxvi i . I 1 ] He scattereth the cloud o f h is l ight

m ng .

TRA CT TA A N ITH (FA STING) . 1 7

R . A m i said again : I t i s wr itten [Ecc les . x . 1 0]“ I f the i ron

be blu nt and man do n o t whet the edge , then must he exertmore strength but the advantage o fmaking it properly Sharp iswisdom

,

” which sign ifies,that i f the heavens became c losed as

the “ i ron is blunt , i t wa s becau se o f the persistent wickednesso f the men who “ d id n o t whet the edge (of righteousness) .What is the remedy fo r the evi l ? P raying fo r mercy , a s i t i ssa id : “ Then must he exert m o re st rength and so much themo re wil l they be granted m ercy i f at the beginn ing thei r deedswere those o fwisdom .

Resh Lakish said : I f thou sho u ldst se e a scholar whose mindis blunt a s i ron , because o f unsystemat ic study , the remedy fo rhim is , that he shou ld devote mo re t ime to syst emat ic study inthe col leges

,a s i t is said Then must he exert more st rength .

”

And a better remedy yet is , i f he arrange al l he had h ithertolearned in o rder

, a s Resh Lakish wou ld arrange h is stud ies fo rtyt im es before enter ing into the p resence o f R . Johanan [der ivingit from the forty days wh ich Moses occupied in rece iving the Lawon Mount Sinai] . R . Ada bar A ’

hbah wou ld arrange h is stud iestwenty- four t imes before ente ring into the p resence o f Rabha

[der iv ing it from the twentyfou r books o fthe Sc riptu res ]Rabha said : I f tho u shou ldst se e a d iscip le whose m ind is as

blunt as iron because h is teacher does n o t thought ful ly explainthe t each ings to him , the remedy fo r h im is, to request h is fri endsto i ntercede fo r him with the teacher i n o rder that the explanat ion s may be mo re lu c id and especially i f the d isc iple ’s behavior i sproper towards the teacher and others . ”

R . Ami said again : I t is wr i t ten [Ecc les . x .

“ I f the se rpent do b ite because n o o n e uttered a charm , then hath the manthat can use h is tongue (in charming) n o pre ference

,which

sign ifies that i f thou shou ldst se e a gene rat ion in who se t ime theheavens became fi rm as copper and wou ld n o t give fo rth dew andrain

,because there was n o o n e to u tte r a si lent prayer fo r rain

,

the remedy is to o btain someone who can p ray silent ly for theremoval o fthe cu rse . And i f the o n e who is able wil l n o t pray ,what benefi t wil l h e derive from it ? hence it i s mo re thanprobable that he wil l do so . I f, howeve r, he persist in re fusing.

the most p iou s O f that generat ion shou ld be appealed to . And

The abo ve teach ings of R . A m i , Re sh L akish , a nd Rabha a re al l based uponthe o ne passage—Ecc le siaste s , x . 1 0 ; bu t the in te rpre tat io n s of several of the wo rdsco n tain ed the re in a re so d ive rsified that we have de em ed it advisable m ere ly to renderthe i r teach ings alo n e , wi tho u t refere nce to the l iteral text ofthe verse .

1 8 THE BA BYLONIAN TA LMUD .

i f he d id pray and was answered , and becau se of that he becomestoo pro ud , he brings down wrath upon the world .

Rabha said : Two scholars who reside in one town and arenot agreeable to each other in Halakha, they cause wrath andbring the same down as it i s writt en [Jo b , xxxv . 3

Resh Lakish said I t i s written [Ecc l . x . 1 I ] : I f the serpentdo bite becau se no one uttered a charm , then hath the man thatcan u se h is tongue (i n charming) no p reference . I n the futu real l the wild beasts wi ll come to the serpent and qu est ion himthu s : A lion presses and eats, the wolf tears and eats ; but thou ,what benefi t dost thou derive from kil l ing the creatu res? And hisanswer wil l be : D O

,then

,the evil tongues der ive any benefit ?

Again R . Ami said : The prayer o f a man is n o t answeredunless he put his whole sou l into it , as i t i s written [Lamentat io ns, iii . 4 1 ] Let u s l i ft up ou r heart with o u r hands unto Godin the heaven . This is not so"F o r d id not Samuel th roughan interpreter preach as fo llows : It is written [Psalms , lxxviii .

36 and 37] Nevertheless they p rayed insincerely to him withtheir mo uth , and with thei r to ngue they l ied unto him . Fortheir heart was not fi rm with h im , and with thei r tongue theyl ied unto him and fu rther , i t says [ibid . St i l l he

,being

merc i fu l,fo rgave the in iqu ity .

” This presents no d ifficu lty . I fa man prays alone

,he must put his whole sou l into it ; but i f a

congregat ion is engaged in p rayer and one o f the members doesn o t happen to be as devout as he shou ld , the p rayer i s n eve rth e

less heard .

R . Ami sa id again : “ Rain falls only fo r the sake o f thosewho are t ru thfu l

,as it is wri tten [Psalms, lxxxv . 1 2] Truth wil l

grow u p o u t o f the earth and righteou sness wil l look down fromAnd he said again : “ Come and se e how great are

the m e n who have faith,and 1 know th is from the story o f the

cat and the well ; fo r i f a m a n have faith in a cat and a wel l som u ch the fi rmer sho u ld h is faith be in Go d.

” if

The lege n d of the ca t and the we l l i s n o t to be fo un d in the Talm ud proper , b u tthe A ru ch and Rash i re late it as fo l lows A you th Ofa patr ic ian fam i ly whi le stro l ling through a fo re st chan ce d to m e e t a beau t ifu l m aiden with whom he fe l l vio len tlyin love . Th e m aide n re ce ived h is advan ce s favo rably a nd he p l ighted h is tro th toh er , cal l ing upo n a we l l sta nding n ear by a nd upo n a c a t which a t that m om e n t ru shedpast them as wi tn e sse s o fh is u ndying affe ct io n . Re tu rn ing to h is hom e

,the yo u ng

m a n in the m idst offe stivi tie s fo rgo t abo u t h is adve n tu re with the m aid o f the fo re sta nd be cam e be tro thed to a n o the r m a ide n of a prom in en t fam i ly . H e m arr ied he ra nd in du e co u rse the u n io n wa s ble ssed wi th a ch i ld . N o t lo ng afte r the chi ld wasbo rn ,

its n u rse acciden tal ly le t it fal l in to a we l l . A n o ther ch i ld was bo rn to them ,


THE BA BYLONIAN TA LMUD .

Resh Lakish said I t i s wri t ten [D eu t . xi . And he wil lshu t up the heaven . When the heaven is shu t up from givingrain

,it i s compared to a woman lying- ih

,who has al l the pain o f

t ravail but cannot bear the child ; and this is what Resh Lakishsaid in the name o f B a r Qappa ra : The expression “ shu t up issaid abo ut rain , as quoted above , and the same ex pression is u sedo fa woman [Gen . xx . 1 7] Fo r the Lord had fast c lo sed upevery wom b . I t is said “ bi rth o f a woman [ ibid . xxx . 23]And she conceived , and bo re a so n and the same express ioni s u sed for rain [ I saiah , lv .

“ And render i t fru it fu l, 1

“ etc .I t i s said visi t ing ”

o f a woman [Gen . xxi . I ] And the Lordvisited Sarah and the same expression is u sed fo r rain [Psalms ,lxv . 1 0] Tho u hast v isitedfp the earth and waterest her abunda n tly ; tho u great ly en richest her ; the brook o f God is fu ll o fwater .”

I n the days of R . Samu el ben N a’

hm en i there were two evi lsin the land— fam ine and pest i lence— and the sages said : Whatshal l we pray fo r? We must not pray fo r two things , and we do notknow which t o p ray fo r— the cessat io n o f fam in e o r o fpest i lence .

Let u s p ray,then , for the abatement o f the pest i lence and we

shal l suffer with the famine . Said R . Samuel ben N a’

hm en i t othem : Nay , let u s pray fo r rel ief of the famine ; for i f the Merc ifu l On e will give bread he wil l give it t o the l iving, surely notto the dead , and thus the pest ilence wil l c ease o f i t sel f, as i t i swritten [Psalms , cxlv . I 6] Tho u o penest thy hand and sa tisfie st

the desi re o fevery living thing .

’ Whence do we know that twothings m ust n o t be p rayed fo r ? From the passage [Ez ra , vi i i .

“ So we fasted and besought o u r Go d fo r this . ” Whencewe see that i f they besought God for this , there must have beensomething else bes ides

,and o nly o n e th ing wa s p rayed fo r .

I n the days o f R . Zera the government issu ed proclamat ionsdetrimental t o the interests o f the J ews, and remarked that nofast - days were t o be kept . Said R . Zera to the people : Let ustake a fast - day upon ou rselves now , and when the governmentShal l have rescinded its dec ree , we wil l then fast .

” And theyasked him :

“ Whence dost thou know that th is wou ld be benefic ia l? And he answered : “ I know it

,because it is written

[D an ie] , x .

‘And he said unto me : Fear not,D an iel"for

The H ebrew te rm fo r bo th i s Otza r .

fThe H ebrew te rm fo r bo th i s H olia’.

1 L e e ser tran slate s in the first visi ted, a nd in the second though t of. The Hebrewterm ,

however, fo r bo th is P o/za a’.


from the fi rst day that thou d idst se t thy heart t o obtain understand ing, and to fast before thy Go d, were thy words heard andI am come in consequ ence o fthy words . ’

R . Itz ’hak said Even i f the years be years o fd rought,as were

the days of El ij ah,and rain fal l o n the eve o fSabbath s

,i t cannot

be considered a s a S ign o f blessing . Aga in , R . I tz ’hak saidThe day of rain is such a blessed day , that even the co in in one

’spocket is blessed ; fo r i t i s writ ten [D eu t . xxvi i i . ‘ To givethe rain o fthy land in its season , and to bless al l the work o fthyhand .

’

R . Johanan said : “ Rain is not withho lden on ly o n account o fsuch men as prom ise publ ic ly to give charity and then do notcarry out the i r promise , as it is written [Proverbs , xxv . 1 4]

‘ Likec louds and wind without rain , so is a man that vaunteth falsely o f

a gi ft . ’

R . Johanan said again The passage thou shalt t ru ly t ithe ’

sign ifies that a man shou ld give t ithes in order that he may h imsel f become rich .1

' R . J ohanan met a child o fResh Lakish (afterthe latter ’s demise) and he asked h im How far along art thouin thy stud ies?” And the chi ld answered I am at the passage

[D eut . xiv . 22] Thou shalt t ru ly t ithe ,’ and then asked

,

“ What does that passage mean ? R . J ohanan repl ied : “ I tmeans : Give t ithe in order that thou mayest become r i ch . Thechi ld then said : “ Whence dost thou know th is ?” And he repl ied : “ Go and t ry it , and se e i f i t i s n o t so .

”B u t the chi ld

rej oined : “ B u t is i t then al lowed t o t ry Go d— is i t n o t written

[D eut . vi . I 6] Ye shal l not tempt the Lord you r God .

’ AndR . J ohanan said : “ Thus said R . Hosea : ‘ I n al l th ings except

‘

t ithes,for it i s said [Malachi , i i i . 1 0] B ring ye al l the t ithes into

the sto rehouse,that there may be p rovision in my house

,and

p rove me but herewith,saith the Lord o fhost s, i f I wi l l not open

for you the windows o f heaven,and po u r o u t for yo u a blessing,

unt i l i t be more than enough .

” Replied the chi ld I f I hadal ready come to that verse (in my stud ies) I wou ld n o t haveneeded thee n o r Hosea thy rabbi .”

Once more R . J ohanan met the chi ld o fResh Lakish , learn ingthe passage [Proverbs , xix . 3] The fol ly o fman pervert eth h i sway and against the Lo rd wil l h is heart rage . R . J o hanan sa t

The o ther sayings of the sam e au tho ri ty a re tran sfe rred to tract B aba M e tz iya

as the proper place ,a nd som e o f them a re repeated there .

1 Vz’

de Tract Sabbath , p . 252 .

2 2 THE BABYLONIA N TALM UD .

and pondered , saying : “ I s there then anything wri t ten in theHagiographa , of which there shou ld not even be a hint in thePentateuch ? Said the chi ld of Resh Lakish to him : I s therenot a h int of th is in the Pentateuch ? I s i t n o t wr i tt en [Genesis,xli i . 28] And thei r heart fai led them and they were afraid

,say

ing one unto another, What is th is that God hath done unto

(and was it not thei r own folly in se lling their bro ther,

that bro ught the sons of J acob into thei r posit ion)? R . Johanan

(who had very large eyebrows— so large , in fact , that he had tol i ft them with si lver pincers before he cou ld se e well) raised h is eyesand wished to gaze at the ch ild , when the mother o f the chi ldimmed iately took him away , saying : Go away from him

, o r hemay do unto thee what he d id unto thy father . (What R . Johanan did to Resh Lakish is explained in T ract B aba M e tz iya .)R . J ohanan said Rain may descend even fo r the sake of the

merit s o f o n e man , but general prosper ity comes only for thesake o fthe publ ic , as it i s wr itt en [D eu t . xxvi i i . 1 2] The Lordwil l open unto thee his good t reasu re , the heaven , t o give rain ,etc . ; and it i s wr it ten [Exod . xvi . 4] “ I wi l l rain fo r you breadfrom heavenAn obj ect ion was raised : R . J ose the so n O f R . Jehudah said

Three good leaders we re given to I srael , and they are : Moses ,Aaron , and Mir iam ; and three good gi fts were given throughthem

,nam ely : the well of water which the I srael ites had along

with them i n the desert w as given them for the sake o fMi r iam ;the p i llar o f c lo ud which led them by day was given them onaccount o f Aaron , and the Manna was given them for Moses

’

sake . When Mi riam d ied , the well van ished , as it i s wr i tt en

[Numbers, xxi . 1 ] Mi riam d ied there,and was bu r ied there

and immed iately afterwards i t says : “ And the re was no waterfo r the congregat ion . Stil l , the wel l was a gain given to thechi ld ren of I srael through the p rayers O f Mo ses and Aaron .

When Aaron died,the pil lar o f cloud le ft .* St i l l

,both the

well and the p il lar o f c lou d were retu rned fo r the sake o fMoses ;but when Moses d ied , eve rything van ished , as it i s wri tt en [Zechar iah , x i . 8] And I removed the th ree shepherds in o n e month .

D id then M o ses,Aaron

,and M i r iam die in the sam e month ?

D id n o t Moses d ie in Adar, Aaro n in A bh ,and M iriam in N issan

Therefo re in fer from that passage that the three gifts which weregiven to Israel vanished in the same month that Moses d ied .

Vio’e Tract Ro sh - H a sha na

, p . 3 .


D oes al l thi s not prove that the Manna was given solely o n

Moses ’ account ? Nay ; Moses p rayed for the whole congregat ion

,and thus he was equal to the whole congregat ion .

R . Huna bar Manoah , R . Samuel bar Id i , and R . Hyya o f

Va sta n ia were d isc iples o fRabha . When Rabha d ied , they cameto R . Papa . IVhe n R . Papa wou ld say something that wa s n o t

qu it e pleasing to them,they wou ld wink at o n e another ; and he

became downhearted . At o n e t ime in a d ream the passage j u stquo ted :

“ And I removed the three shepherds in one month ,”

was read to h im . On the morrow before they left h im he blessedthe three d isc ip les , saying : The rabbis may go in peace

(not wish ing that any harm might befal l them ) .R . Shimi bar Ashi was also a visitor at the col lege o fR . Papa ,

and wou ld put so many quest ions to him that it happened att imes that R . Papa cou ld n o t answer them . On e day R . Shim inot iced R . Papa

,who wa s rec it ing the p rayer at which the face

was general ly h idden in the arm,and overheard him p ray May

the Merc i fu l On e save me from the disgrace which I suffer at thehands o f that Shimi . ” So at that t ime he resolved to be si lentand n o t t rouble R . Papa any mo re with qu est ions .We have learned in a B o ra itha : R . El i ezer said : The whole

wo rld drinks o f the water o f the ocean,as it i s wri tt en [Gen . i i .

6] B u t there went up a mist from the earth and watered thewho le face o f the ground . Said R . J ehoshua to h im : How

can that be ? Are n o t the waters ofthe ocean salty ? And herepl ied : They become sweet in the m ist (when evaporat ing) .R . J ehoshua , however, says The who le world d r inks o f thewaters above , a s i t i s written [D eut . xi . 1 1 ] From the rain o f

heaven doth it drink water .” Thus the sign ificance o f the firstquoted verse is , that the mist s rise unto heaven , Open their mouthsl ike bags

,and d r i nk in the water, as it i s w r i tt en [J o b ,

xxxvi . 27]Fo r he taketh away d rops o fwater, which a re pu r ified into rainin the mist and the m ist is porous l ike a S i eve , through whichthe rain descends to the earth , as i t is written [I I Samuel , xxi i .1 2] Heavy masses O f water , th ick c louds o fthe skies , and thespace from one d rop to another i s only the width o f a hai r. Allth is t eaches u s that the day o f rain is a s great a s the day o f thec reat ion o fheaven and earth .

The rabbis taught : The land o f I srael was c reated fi rst o fal land the rest o f the world afte rwards , a s i t is wri tten [P roverbs ,v i i i . “ While a s yet he had not made the land and openfields , and the land o f I srael was already made .

24 THE B A BYLONIAN TALM U D .

The land o f I srael i s watered by the Lord himself,while the

rest o fthe world i s watered by a messenger,as it is wr it ten [Jo b ,

v .

“ Who giveth rain upon the su rface o f the earth,and

sendeth o u t waters over the face o fthe fields .The land o f I srael i s watered by rain , whi le the rest o f the

world i s watered by the residue remain ing in the clouds,and this

is in ferred from the same passage [Job , v . which also impl iesthat the land of I srael is watered before the rest o fthe wo rld .

R . J ehoshua ben Levi,however

,said that the whole world i s

watered with the res idu e remain ing after the garden o f Eden hadbeen watered , as it is written [Gen . i i . “ And a river wentout o f Eden to water the garden and in a B o ra itha we havelearned that with the res idue o fwater left over from a quant itynecessary to water a Kur of land , a Tha rqabh (one- sixt ieth of aKu r) o f land can be watered .

The rabbis taught : Egypt measu res fou r hundred squareParsah , and that i s only one- S ixt ieth o f Mesopotam ia ; Mesopa tam ia i s a S ixt ieth of the whole earth ; the earth i s one- S ixt ietho fthe garden of Eden ; the garden is o n e - S ixt ieth o f Eden , andEden is i n tu rn only o n e - sixt ieth o f Gehenna . Thus it fol lowsthat the whole world i s bu t a l id to the pot . Others say againthat Gehenna is immeasurable , while st i l l others maintain thatEden is immeasu rable .

R . Oshiya said : “ I t is wr itten [J eremiah , ll. ‘ O thouthat dwellest upon many waters , great in t reasu res ,

’ etc . , whichimpl ies that the reason why B abylon is great in t reasu res is b ecause it dwelleth upon many waters .” Rabh said : Rich indeedis B abylon

,that reapeth her grain withou t rain . Abayi said

“ I know O f a t rad it ion which tel ls me that swampy ground i sbetter than dry .

”

MISHNA : On the third o f Mar-Cheshvan prayers for ra inshou ld be said ; but accord ing to Rabban Gamaliel , o n the seve n th o fthe same month— namely , fi fteen days after the Feast o fTabernacles— in order to give the last o f the I sraelit es (retu rn ingto their homes from the c ity O f J erusalem , where they had beendu r ing the fest ivals) an opportun ity to reach the Rive r Euphrates

(the northern bo undary l ine o fPalest ine) .GEMARA : Said R . Elazar : The Halakha prevail s acco rd

ing to R . Gamal iel . ” We have learned in a B o ra itha : Hanan iahsaid : I n exile

,p rayers fo r rain shou ld be said sixty days after

Th is passage i s in acco rdan ce with the exp lanatio n ofthe A ruch .


the equ inox o fTishri ” ; and Hu na bar Hyya said in the nameo fSamu el that the Halakha prevails acco rd ing to Hanan iah .

The schoolmen p ropounded a quest ion : “ What abo ut theS ixt ieth day after the equ inox ? I s i t i nc luded in the sixty days ,or is i t cou nted as o n e Of the days o n which the prayers are alreadyto be rec ited ? Said R . Papa : “ The Halakha prevails : TheS ixt ieth is considered as the day after the sixty days . ”

MISHNA : I f the seventeenth o fMar- Cheshvan have passedwithou t the rain having yet descended , p r ivate ind ividuals c ommence to keep three fast -days . As soon as it becomes dark o n

the fast - days,however, i t i s allowed to eat and to d r ink ; and o n

the fast - days themselves it is permitt ed to work , t o bathe , t oanoint the body , to wear shoes, and to perform the duty o f

cohab itat ion .

I f the new moon of Kislev has arrived withou t rain havingyet descended , the supreme cou rt shall order three publ ic andgeneral fast - days . A s soon as it becomes dark o n those fast - days ,however

,i t i s lawfu l to eat and d rink ; and o n the fast - days them

selves it is permiss ible to wo rk , t o bathe , to anoint the body , t owear shoes

,and to perform the duty o fcohabitat io n .

GEMARA : Who are meant by p r ivate ind ividuals (i n th isM ishna)? Said R . Huna : The rabbis .” We have learned in aB o ra itha that i f p r ivate ind iv iduals commenced to keep the fastdays

,they shou ld fast o n Monday , Thu rsday , and the fol lowing

Monday ; and they may interrupt thei r fast - days i f a Monday o r

a Thu rsday fal l o n the day o f the new moon o r o n such days asare ment ioned in the Ro l l o fFasts .The rabbis taught “ A man shou ld not say : I am to o young

a scholar to be counted in among the rabbis , and thus be includedin the mean ing o f the term p r ivat e ind ividuals

,

” hence I needn o t keep the fast - days but eve ry young scholar shou ld considerh imsel f a rabbi for that pu rpose .Who is cal led a p r ivate ind ividual ? On e who is wo rthy of

being elected Parnass (p resident) o f the congregat ion . And whois cal led a young scholar? On e who i s asked concern ing passagesin h is stud ies even in Tract Kalah and can make sat is factoryanswer .The rabbis taught : N o t every o n e who wou ld count h imsel f

among the privat e ind ividuals may do so ,and not every one who

would count h imsel f among the young scholars may do so . Suchis the d ictum o f R . Simeon ben Elazar . Rabban Simeon benGamaliel , however, said This only app l i es to those who do so

26 THE B A BYLON IAN TALMUD .

fo r the glory thereof, but not to such as only incu r an in c o nven ie n c e by so doing ; and the latter, when count ing themselvesamong su ch perso ns , Shou ld be favorably remem bered therefo r .

”

The rabbis tau ght On e who fasted o n account o fsome t rouble

,or for the recovery o f a sick person , even though the t rouble

had passed away du r ing the day o fhis fast ing, o r the sick personhad reco vered du r ing that day , shou ld nevertheless cont inu e tofast unt i l n ight fal l . On e who came from a place where there wasno fast - day to a place where there was a fast - day must keep thatfast- day ; but i f a man came from a place where there was fast ingto a p lace where there was none , he must nevertheless qu iet lyend h is fast . I f he forgot that the day w a s a fast - day

,and ate

and d rank, he shou ld n o t at least make it apparent to others,and

shou ld also not part ic ipate in any pleasu res on that day,as it is

wr i t ten [Gen . xlii . I ] Why do ye look at one another? whichsign ifies , that J aco b said to h is so ns Why do ye make it appearthat ye are sat isfied when the othe r races of Esau and I shmaelaround you are starving ?R . J ehu dah said in the name o f R . Hyya : On e who travels

o n the road shou ld n o t eat mu ch— no mo re,i n fact

,than is eaten

in a year o f famine . Why so ? Here in B abylon they say :

I n o rder that the stomach be n o t fi l led and thus make walkingd ifficu lt but i n Palest ine they say :

“ I n order that the supplyo f food which is carr ied along be not too qu ickly exhau sted .

The d i fference in the two opin ions is there fore concern ing a mano n board o fa Ship . There is fear of the supply o f fo od beingexhau sted

,but not that walking will be h indered . On the other

hand,the d ifference o fopin ion also co ncerns a man travell ing from

vi llage to vi l lage . There is no fear o f the supply o ffood b e coming exhau sted , but there is fear o f ove rload ing the stomach andthu s impeding fu rther progress .R . Papa when travell ing wo u ld eat a small loaf after traversing

a Parsah , because he thought that eat ing too much wou ld beinj u riou s to the stomach .

R . J ehudah said in the name o fRabh A man who has plentyin years o f fam ine and st i l l eats sparingly becau se others have buta sm al l su pply wil l be saved from sudden death , as i t i s wri tt en[Jo b , v . 20] I n famine he redeemeth thee from death .

” Whyis i t said “ in fam ine

,

”it sho u ld say

“ from famine he redeemeththee ” ? Therefore the passage means to imply that because oneate spar ingly in t imes o ffamine , he wi ll be redeemed from suddendeath .



comes into the world beyond,al l h is deeds are laid before him in

detai l,and he is told where and o n what day he committed them .

The man then answers : Yea,I d id so and he is told to sub

scr ibe his name, which he does , as it is wri t t en [Job , xxxvi i . 7]He sealeth i t on the hand of eve ry man .

” And n o t alone this,but the man also exclaims “ I have been j u st ly j udged , as it i ssaid [Psalms , l i . “ I n order that thou mightest be righteou swhen thou speakest

,be j u st ified when thou j udgest .

Samuel said : “ A man who fa ste th i s cal led a sinner . R .

She sh e th said : “ I f a young scholar sitt eth and fa ste th , may adog eat h is meal . Said R . J eremiah bar Abba : “ I n the community in B abylon there is no fast -day except the 9 th o fA bh

and in the name of Resh Lakish he said : “ I t i s not lawfu l for ascholar to fast , becau se by fast ing he d im in ishes the work in theheavenly cause .

“ A s soon a s it becom es a’a rh, etc . R . Zera said in the name of

R . Hu na : “ I f an ind ividual took it upon himsel f to fast the nextday , even i f he had eaten and d runk the ent ire n ight , he may o n

the morrow rec it e the fast ing- p rayer in the M in ’hah (afternoonprayer) . I f a man , however, fasted a day and a n ight , he mustnot o n the fo llowing morn ing rec it e the fast ing- prayer .” AskedR . Joseph : What does R . Huna hold ? That fast ing at n ight i snot considered and fo r that reason the fast ing-prayer must n o t berec it ed on the fol lowing morn ing

, o r that fast ing at n ight is conside red the same as fast ingfor a few hou rs , b u t fo r fast ing o fthelatter kind no prayer shou ld be said ?” Abayi answered : “ R .

Huna holds, that fast ing at n ight is considered as fast ing for afew hou rs, and for such a fast the prayer may be said ; but thereason that he d isal lows the fast ing- prayer o n the morn ing following the n ight is because the man or iginal ly int ended t o fast onlyduring the day and d id not take upon himsel f p rev io usly t o fastthe n ight through also .

Said R . H isda :“ A fast o fhou rs is consid ered o nly i f the man

had n o t tasted food unt i l n ight .” Said Abayi : This wou ld notbe a fast o f hou rs"i t wou ld be a regu lar fast - day ? R . H isda

means to say that i f a man had n o t eaten before no on throughlack o ft ime , and then resolved to fast the remain ing hal f o ftheday so as to have a fast - day to h is c red it— although he had on lytaken it upon h imsel f to fast a hal f o f a day

,st i l l i t i s considered

as a regu lar fastday .

R . Hisda said again : “ A fast -day which was not kept unt i lsunset cannot be cal led a fast - day .

” An o bj ect ion was made

TRACT TA A N I TH (FASTING) . 29

We have learned in a Mishna : The priests who had the weeklywatch o f the Temple fasted

,but n o t the whole day .

”

(Thispresents no d ifficu lty .) In that case the men o f the watch d idnot intend to fast , but merely to share the t rouble o f the rest O fthe community .

Samuel said : A man who had fasted withou t having p revio u sly taken it upon h imsel f to do so i s not con sidered to havefasted at all .” B u t what i f a man did fast withou t having p revio u sly resolved to do so ? Said Rabba bar Shi la : “ That is cons ide red the same as inflat ing a bag with air . When must a manresolve to fast ? Said Rabh “ On the preced ing day during thet ime o fthe afternoon - prayer . And Samuel said : “ On the preced ing day at the afternoon - prayer .Said R . Joseph : “ I t seems to me that the Opin ion O f Samuel

i s correct .”

The rabbis taught Unt i l what t ime may a man eat o n then ight p reced ing a fast - day Unt i l the advent o fthe morn ingstar . Such is the d ictum o f Rabbi ; but R . El i ezer bar R .

Simeon said : “ Unt i l the cock c rows . Said Rabha : Thisa ppl ies to one who had n o t slept bu t i f h e had once ret i red andslept , he must n o t eat at all .Abayi obj ect ed : D id we n o t l

"earn that i f the man slept and

arose again,he may eat ? That teaching does not mean i f the

man had S lept,but had only slumbered .

R . J ehudah said in the name o f Rabh : A man , after takingit upon h imsel f to fast o n a certain day , may po stpone that dayand fast o n another day ; and ,

” cont inued R . J ehudah , “ when Itold th is to Samuel

,he said : ‘ This is sel f- evident , fo r cannot a

man vow to do a certain th ing and postpone it to some othert ime?’

R . J ehoshua the so n o f R . Id i was a guest o f R . Assi ; and acal f

,the third o f i t s mother, was prepared fo r him . And they

said to h im :“ Let Master partake o f something .

” Whereuponhe repl ied “ I am fast ing th is day . And they rej oined : “ Whynot postpone this fast - day ? D oes n o t Master ho ld with R .

J ehudah ’ s decree in the name o f Rabh , that a fast - day may bepostponed ?” And he Said : This is a fast - day t o me o n accountof a d ream

,and Rabba bar M aha ssia in the name o fR . Hama bar

Guria , quot ing Rabh , said : ‘ A fast - day is to a bad d ream whatfi re is to flax ’

; and R . H isda said that the fast - day shou ld bekept only o n the same day

,and R . J oseph said that even o n

Sabbath such a fast Shou ld be kept,and fo r the violat io n o f the

30 THE BAB YLONIA N TALMUD .

Sabbath cau sed thereby he shou ld keep an add it ional fast -daylater o n .

MISHNA : I f these (three fast - days) have passed withoutthei r prayers having been favorably answered

,the supreme

cou rt shal l decree th ree more publ ic and general fasts ; o n then ights preced ing these it i s not permitted to eat o r d r ink

,and

o n the fast - days it i s prohibited t o work,to bathe

,to anoint the

body,t o wear sho es o r t o perform the duty o f cohabitat ion

,and

the public bathing places are to be closed . Shou ld even thesefast -days have passed without the i r prayers having been favorably answered , then shal l the B eth D in decree seven more fastdays , which altogether wil l make thirteen publ ic and generalfasts . These last seven fast - days d iffer from the p reced ing six ,

in that o n them the alarm is sounded ; the shops remain closed ,except ing that o n Mondays , towards even ing , the shop- shu tters

(o fthe dealers in art ic les o f food) may be loosely fastened (i .e notent irely closed

,but in a slant ing posit ion), and o n Thu rsday they

may be taken o ffent i rely in honor o f the Sabbath .

Shou ld even these seven fast - days have passed without afavorable answer to the prayers , the people are to avo id andwithd raw from engaging in any j o you s occupat ion , and also tod im in ish thei r bu siness ; from the e rect ion o f bu i ld ings and fromthe plant ing o fpleasu re-gardens ; from bet rothals , weddings, andmutual greet ings , l ike men who are rebuked by the Omnipotent ;(pious) p rivate ind ividuals recommence fast ing t i l l the end ofthe month o f Nissan . I f ~Nissan had passed and then rain descended

,i t must be conside red a cu rse , fo r i t is wr i tt en [I Sam

uel,x ii . 1 7] I s i t n o t wheat harvest to- day ? etc .

GEMARA : I t wo u ld be r ight t o p rohibit bathing, anoint ingthe body

,etc . , o n the fast - day , because those th ings are luxu r ies ;

but why shou ld working be p rohib ited ? Su rely working cannotbe considered a lu x u ry"Said R . H isda in the nam e o f R . J erem iah bar Abba : I t is wr it t en [Joel , i .

“ Sanct ify ye a fast ,pro cla im a solem n assembly

,gather the elders

,

” etc . Thus wese e that it says , P roclaim a so lem n assembly

” and a s certainfest ivals o n which n o wo rk m ay be do ne are also called assembly (A tz e re th), i t fo l lows that n o wo rk may be done o n a fastday also . We m ight assum e then that , a s o n tho se o ther fest ivalsno wo rk may be do ne from the t im e o f dusk o n the p reced ingeve

,su ch sho u ld also be the case w i th these fast - days . Said R .

Zera : I t wa s expla ined by R . J eremiah bar Abba that a s i t iswr i tten

,

“ Gather the elders,th is m ight be com pared to them

TRACT TA A N ITH (FA STING) . 3 1

and as the elders assemble only during the day , so work shou ldnot be done only during the day . I f that be so , then let it beproh ib it ed t o work only from midday on ; fo r the elders general lyassemble about midday . Said R . Shesha the so n o f R . Id i :This bears ou t the opin ion o f R . Huna , who said that inolden t imes the assemblies o f elders wou ld take place fromthe morn ing o n .

What would the elders do when they assembled in the mo rning? Said Abayi : From morn unt i l m idday they would occupythemselves with mun icipal affai rs ; and the fi rst part o fthe afternoon wou ld be consumed in the reading o f the scroll s and of theHaphtho rah ,

while the other part wou ld be devoted to the rec italo f prayers

,as it is written [Nehemiah , ix .

“ And they stoodup in thei r stand ing- place

,and read in the book o f the law o f

the Lord their God the fourth part o f the day ; and anothe rfourth part they made con fession , and prost rated themselvesbefore the Lo rd their Go d. Perhaps the contrary was the case ;i .e . ,they read the Law and prayed in the forenoon and occup ied

them selves with the mun icipal affairs in the afternoon ? Thiswo u ld not be consistent ; for it i s written [Ezra , ix .

“ Andthen assembled themselves unto me every o n e that t rembled atthe words of the God o f I srael , because o f the t respass o f theexi les : and I sat astounded unt i l the even ing sacrifice ; [ib id . 5]And at the even ing sacrifice I rose up from my fast ing, andwhile rend ing my garment and my mant le , I knelt down uponmy knees

,and sp read ou t my hands unto the Lo rd my Go d.

”

Raph ram bar Papa said in the name O f R . H isda : On dayswhen o n e i s fast ing o n account ofa mou rn fu l occu rrence , as the

9 th O f A bb , o r when is mou rn ing the loss o fa near relat ive , bathing in e ither cold o r warm water is prohibited but where bathingis n o t al lowed as a luxu ry , as o n ord inary comm u nal fast - days ,warm water must n o t be u sed b u t cold water may be . Said R .

Idi bar Abin : “ Th is we have learned also in o u r Mishna , fo r itsays ‘ that the bath ing places are c losed ,

’ wh ich s ign ifies thatbath ing in warm water is proh ib i ted . Said Abay i t o h imWhat p roo f is that ? If then cold water w a s pro h ib i ted

,wou ld

the M ishna say that al l r ive rs a nd lakes Shou ld be d rained o r

stopped up ? And R . Shesha the so n o f R . Idi repl ied : Myfather meant to say that the following wa s the d ifficu lty in theM i shna : I t says that bathing is n o t allowed

,why then sho u ld it

add that the bath ing places were closed ? The refo re the M i shnaevidently meant to imply that the bathing places we re clo sed in

3 2 THE BABYLONIA N TALMUD .

order to p revent the use of warm water, but cold water may beu sed .

Where shou ld the fast ing-prayer be ment ioned ? R . J ehudahled h is so n R . I tz ’hak to the desk, and the latter proclaimed :“ I f an ind ividual takes it upon h imself to fast , he must rec it ethe fast ing- prayer and insert i t among the eighteen benedict ions,between the bened ict ion o f redempt ion and heal ing .

R . I tz ’hak (of a late r generat ion) opposed this : May , then , anind ividu al say an addit ional bened ict ion ? Therefore , accord ingto h is op in ion , he shou ld say i t in the p rayer commenc ing :Hear o u r vo ice , O Lord , etc . And so also said R . She sh e th .

What is the final dec ision ? Said R . Samuel bar Sa ssa rta i, andso also said R . Hyya bar Ashi in the name o fRabh I t shou ldbe said between the bened ict ions o f redempt ion and heal ing .

R . Ashi , however, said in the name o f R . Janai the so n o f I sh

mael : I n the prayer commencing,

‘ Hear o u r voice ,’ etc . And

thu s the Halakha prevails .We have learned in o n e B o ra itha that pregnant women and

those suckl ing in fants Shou ld fast only du ring the fi rst fast-dayso rdained by the commun ity , but n o t during the subsequent fastdays . I n ano ther B o ra itha we have learned that they shou ld fastin the last fast - days, but n o t in the fi rst and in a third B o ra ithawe have learned that they shou ld fast n either i n the fi rst nor inthe last . Said R . Ash i : Ho ld fi rm to the midd le B o ra itha andthe o thers wi l l be read i ly explained the fi rst B o ra itha meansto say that they shou ld fast o n the th ree days between the fi rstthree days and the last seven , but not on the last seven days thesecond B o ra itha calls the three midd le days the last because theywere preceded by three o thers

,hence it says that they Shou ld fast

only o n the last th ree days , i .e . , the th ree days ment ioned above ;and the last B o ra itha means to say that they need n o t fast onthe fi rst three days o r o n the last seven

,but o nly o n the th ree

middle— thu s all three B o ra itho th mean o n e and the same th ing) .The a la rm is sou nded.

”VVh e rew ith was the alarm sounded ?

Said R . J ehu dah : “ With the cornets . And R . Jehudah theso n of R . Samu el bar Shila s , qu o t ing Rabh , said :

“ With theshou t , Answer u s , O Lo rd All agree that where cornets areu sed it is referred to a s sou nd ing an alarm

,

” but they d iffer concern ing the prayer, Answer u s, O Lo rd" On e says that thatis also called sounding the alarm ,

while the other says that i t i sn o t . H e who says that the alarm wa s sounded by rec it ing theprayer ment ioned

,also admits that the cornet s were u sed ; but

TRA CT TA A N ITH (FASTING) . 33

the o n e who says that the cornets were blown , does not hold thatthe prayer was also said .

D id we not learn in a B o ra itha that o n account o fother kindsof plagu es , su ch as the itch , locu sts, fl i es , wasps and gnats , andsnakes the alarm

,was n o t sounded , but the p rayers were merely

shouted and as shout ing sign ifies that the prayer, Answer u s ,was merely said

,it must be assumed that where it says that the

alarm was sounded it means that the alarm was sounded withcornets ? This const itu tes a d i fference o fopinion among Ta n a im ,

as we learn in a subsequent Mishna (Chap . I I I . of th is T ract) ,which says : For the fol lowing calamit ies an alarm is to besounded even on Sabbath

,

” etc . ; and as o n the Sabbath it is n o tpermitted to sound an alarm with cornet s

,we must assume that

the prayer , Answer u s ,” etc . , i s also cal led an alarm . Such is

the conclu sion .

I n the days o f R . J ehudah the Thi rd the re wa s a calamity .

He ordained th irteen fast - days , but no favorable answe r wasrece ived . He accord ingly desi red to ordain mo re fast-days ; butR . A m i said t o him It was said that the community must notbe troubled to too great an extent . Said R . Abba , the so n o f

R . Hyya bar Abba : R . Ami said that from a selfish mot ivehe d id not care to fast any more), fo r my father said in the nameo fR . Johanan that only when rain is withholden thirteen fastdays shou ld be kept , and no more ; but o n account o f othercalamit ies the people shou ld fast unt i l thei r p rayers are answered

,

and thu s we have also learned in a B o ra itha .

The inhabitants O f N ineveh sent a query to Rabbi Shou ldwe

,whose so i l i s unusual ly d ry and in need o f rain already in the

month o fTam u z (J une—J u ly) be considered as a commun ity andwhen p raying fo r rain insert the prayer in the bened ict ion o fyears

,or shou ld we be regarded as ind ividuals and insert th e

prayer in that commencing,Hear u s, O Lord He answered

them : Ye are regarded a s ind ividuals and must insert theprayer fo r rain in that commenc ing , Hear u s , O Lord .

’

An Obj ect ion was raised from the fol lowing B o ra itha : R .

J ehudah said : All th is appl ied to the t ime when the I sraelites were in the i r own land and Palest ine wa s the pr incipal place

,

but in the present t ime the prayers are said acco rd ing to theplace

,t ime

,and year ? And he answered him : Thou askest

concern ing a contrad ict ion o f Rabbi to a B o ra itha ? Rabbi is aTana , and consequ ent ly may have h is own opin ion and d ifferwith the teaching of a B o ra itha . How does the Halakha prevai l.


however? R . Na ’hman said : “ The prayer for rain must beinserted in the benedict ion of the years

,and R . She she th said

I t must be inserted in hear o u r voice,

’ etc . And the Halakhaprevails acco rding to R . She she th .

“ B u t on Thursday they m ay be tahen of en tir ely, etc . Wehave learned in a B o ra itha : On Monday towards even ing

,the

shop - shu tters we re on ly partly c losed ; o n the Thursday theywere ent irely opened in ho nor o f the Sabbath ; but i f there weretwo doors to the shop

, o n e o f them cou ld be opened even onMonday ; and i f there was a bench against the door, i t wasallowed to open the doo r on M o ndav a s u sual .

“ F rom the er ect ion of bu ildings a nd fr om the pla n ting of

plea sur e -

ga rdens , etc . We have learned in a B o ra itha : Whati s cal led a bu i ld ing o f pleasu re ? A house which was bu ilt espec ia lly fo r a son about to be marr i ed ; and what is meant by apleasu re-garden A bower fo r p r inces .

“ A nd m u tua l g r eetings . The rabbis taught : The scholarswou ld n o t greet each other at al l ; but the common people whengreet ing the scholars wou ld be answered very feebly and with afaint nod . Amongst themselves the scholars wou ld sit wrappedin thei r c loaks, si lent and morose , the same as mou rners and asmen who were rebuked by the Omnipotent , unt i l the Lord wou ldhave mercy upon them .

R . Elazar said : A prominent man must n o t c lothe h imsel f insackcloth un less he knows posit ively that h is prayers wi l l beanswered , as was the case with King J ehoram the so n o f Achab ,concern ing whom it is written [I I Kings, vi . “ And it cameto pass when the king heard the words o f the woman , that herent h is clothes, as he was passing along upon the wall ; and thepeople looked , and behold he had sackcloth beneath upon h isflesh , etc .R . Elazar said again : Not everyone has a right to rend h is

clothes, n o r i s i t proper for everyone to fall upon his face (in

prayer) . Moses and Aaron fel l upon their faces [Numbers , xiv .

and Joshua and Caleb rent thei r garments [ibid . ,

R . Zera, and accord ing to others R . Samuel ben N a’

hm e n i,

Opposed th is I f i t said,

‘ Joshua and Caleb rent their garments,’

the statement of R . Elazar wou ld be c o rre c t , b u t as it says ‘ A nd

Joshua and Caleb rent ,’ etc it s ignifies that they did both— fel l

upon thei r faces and rent their garments .R . Elazar said again : N o t t o everyone is i t al lowed to praise

God by rising o r by bowing . Kings may do so by rising, as it is


CHAPTER I I .

REGUL A TION S CONCERN ING THE ORDER OF PROCEDURE ON THE L A STSEVEN FA ST - DA YS

,A N D THE PRA YERS TO BE REC ITED ON THOSE

DA YS .

MISHNA : What is the order of procedure o n the fast - days ?The ark contain ing the Holy Scrolls is t o be brought into anopen place in the c ity , ashes O f bu rnt substances are to be st rewedo n that ark, on the head o fthe Nassi (prince), on the head of thechie f o f the B eth D in (court of j u st ice) ; and other persons shal lalso themselves strew ashes o n their heads . The eldest amongthem shal l then address them in heart -mo ving terms , as fol lows :My breth ren Consider that it i s not wr i tten

,anent the (repent

ance o f the) N inevites, that Go d regarded thei r having wrappedthemselves in sackcloth and considered their fast - days

,but that

God saw their wor les , that they had tu rned from their evi l way

[J onah , iii. and the trad it ion o f the p rophets is (as it i swr it ten) :

‘ Rend your hearts, a nd n o t you r garments ’ ” [Jo e ] ,i i . I

After standing up to p ray,the people shal l place at the

p raying- desk , t o min ister, an o ld experienced person who ha s

chi ld ren and whose larder is em pty,so that h is m ind may be

ent irely devoted to h is p rayer . This person shal l Say twentyfou r bened ict ions ; namely , the eighteen bened ict ions o f thedaily prayer

,with the add it ion o f six more

,which are as

fo llows : The t exts o fZ ikh ro n o th (rem embrance o fH is c reatu res)and of Shophro th (sound ing o f the com et) ; the chapters :

[Psalms, cxx .)“ Unto the Lord , when I was in d ist ress , d id I

call , and he hath answe red me”

; [ib id . cxxi .] “ I l i ft up myeyes unto the mounta ins , etc . ; [ibid . cxxx] “ Ou t o f thedepths have I cal led to thee

, O Lo rd ; and [ ibid . c ii.]“ A prayer

o f the affl icted , when he is overwhelm ed . R . J ehudah saidI t w a s not necessary to mentio n the Z ikhro n o th and Shophroth ,but the fol lowing passages are to be read instead , namely

[I Kings, vii i . 37]“ I f there be famine in the land

,i f there be

pest i lence ,” etc . ; and [J eremiah , x lv .]

“ The word o f the Lord36


that came to Jeremiah concern ing the drought and the c o nc lud ing is then added to each .

To the fi rst he (the reader) shall say add it ional ly : MayHe who answered Abraham o n Mount Moriah answer yo u ,

and l isten to your (prayer and) c ry o n th is day . B lessed artthou

, O Lord , Redeemer o f I srael" To the second he Shal l sayMay He who answered o u r ancesto rs o n the Red Sea answer

yo u ,and l isten favorably u nto you r c ry this day . B lessed art

thou , O Lo rd , who rememberest al l things fo rgotten (by man)To the thi rd he shal l say : May He who answered J o shua inGi lgal an swe r yo u ,

and l isten to you r c ry th is day . B lessed artthou , O Lord , who de ign e st t o l ist en t o the sou nd O f the com et"To the fou rth he Shal l say : May He who answered Samuel inM izpah answer you , and l isten th is day to you r c ry . B lessed artthou , O Lo rd , who he a rke n e st to (o u r) c ry"” To the fi fth heshal l say :

“ May he who answered El ij ah o n Mount Carm elanswer you , and l isten favo rably to you r c ry o n this day . B lessedart thou , O Lo rd , who h e a rke n e st t o prayer"” To the sixth heShal l say : May He who answered Jonah in the bowels o fthefi sh answer you , and l isten u nto you r c ry this day . B lessed artthou

, O Lo rd , who answerest in the t ime o f d ist ress" To theseventh he says : “ May he who answered D avid and h is so n

Solomon in J eru salem answer yo u , and l isten unto you r c ry o n

th is day . B lessed art thou , O L o rd, who hast compassion o n theearth"I t happened in the days o f R . Ha laph ta and R . Han ina the

so n o f Te radio n , that a min ister advanced to the pray ing- deskand completed the ent ire bened ict ion withou t any (o f the c o n

grega t io n) answer ing thereto“ Am en .

”

(The sexto n then proclaimed) : Sound

,priest s"Sound" (The min ister who said

the prayers then cont inued) : May He who answe red o u r fathe rAbraham o n Mount Mor iah answer you , and l isten favo rably toyou r p rayer th is day .

”

(The sex to n then called) :“ Sound a n

alarm,sons o fAaron"So und an alarm (The p revio u s m in ister

cont inued) : May He who answered o u r ancesto rs 0 1 1 the RedSea answer you

,and l isten favo rably t o you r c ry this day .

When the sages were in fo rmed o fthis , they said “ This wa s n o t

o u r cu stom ,except at the eastern d o or (o f the Temple) and o n

the Temple mount .On the fi rst th ree fasts, the pr i est s who had the weekly watch

of the Temple fasted,but only pa rt o f the day, and the min iste r

ing p ri est s d id n o t fast at al l . On the seco nd th ree fast - days , the

38 THE BABYLONIAN TALM UD .

priests o n the weekly watch fasted the whole day, but themin isteri ng priest s on ly fast ed part o f the day ; but on the lastseven fast-days both c lasses o f p ri ests fasted the whole day . Sosaid R . J ehoshua . B u t the sages say :

“ The fi rst three fast swere not kept by either of the two classes ; on the second threefasts the pr i ests o n weekly watch wou ld fast part o fthe day, butthe o ffic iat ing priests wou ld not fast at all . On the last seven ,however

,the priests on the weekly watch wou ld fast the whole

day ; but the offi c iat ing pr iests wou ld fast only part of the day .

The priests having the weekly watch may d r ink wine at n ight ,but not du r ing the day

,

* but the offic iat ing p riest s may drink itneither by day nor by night . The pr i ests o f the weekly watchand the stand ing men (commoners attend ing the publ ic sacrificesa s the representat ives o f the congregat ion at large) are notal lowed to shave thei r beards o r to wash thei r c lothes ; but o nThu rsday they are permitted to do so , in honor of the approaching Sabbath . (Moed Katan , p .

Wherever i t i s ment ioned in the “ Roll o f Fasts that “ nolamentat ion and mou rning is to be made o n certain days

,i t i s

also prohibited to do so o n the day p reced ing, but permitted o n

the day following . R . J ose , however, says : I t is prohibited todo SO o n both the day p reced ing and the day fo l lowing .

” Whereit i s said , however , “ No fasts are to be kept thereon

,

” i t i sallowed t o fast o n the day preced ing and fol lowing days . R .

Jose,however, says : “ I t is proh ibited on the preced ing

,but

allowed o n the fol lowing day .

Publ ic fasts must not be ordered to commence on a Thursday,

in order not to raise the pr ice o fvictuals in the markets butthe fi rst three fasts must be kept on Monday , Thu rsday , and thefollowing Monday . B u t the second three fast s may fol low onThu rsday

,Monday , and the following Thursday . R . Jose says :

Even as the fi rst fasts are not to be commenced on Thursday,

so also are the second and last fasts not to commence on thatday .

”

This regu lat io n i s a gen e ral o n e a nd app l ie s to o rd inary days as we l l as tofast- days .[ Pre cau t io n s were taken in every in stan ce to preven t e xo rbitan t prices be ing

charged fo r victuals a nd a t t im e s eve n e xisting o rdinan ce s we re abrogated fo r th ispurpo se . Thu s n o fastdays were o rde red to com m e n ce o n Thursday in o rde r thatthe deale rs in artic le s of fo o d m igh t n o t take advan tage Of the greater dem and produced by the n ece ssity of laying in an e xtra supp ly fo r the day preceding the fast andfo r Sabbath .


Public fasts are not to be ordered to take place on the feasto f the New Moon , o n that o f D ed icat ion (Hanukah), nor on thatof Lots (Purim) ; but i f the fast had already been commenced o n

one o fthose feasts , i t need not be bro ken . Such is the dec ree o fRabban Gamal iel . R . Meir

,however

,says , that although Rab

ban Gamal iel said that the fast need not be broken , he adm it sthat o n those days people are n o t to fast the ent ire day . Such isalso the case with the fast o f the n inth o f A bb , i f i t happen tofal l o n a F riday .

GEMARA : Wha t is the order of pr ocedu r e on the fa stdays D oes this apply also to thefirst three fast -days ? Thenit wou ld be a contrad ict ion to the fo l lowing B o ra itha : The fi rstand the seco nd th ree fast -days they enter into the praying- hou seand p ray a s u sual ; but in the last seven the ark is to be broughtinto an Open place , etc . Said R . Papa : Nay ; o u r Mishna alsorefers t o the last seven .

On the head of the N a ssi (p r ince) and fu rthe r, the M ishnateaches that other perso ns shal l also strew ashes o n the i r heads .This shou ld n o t be so"F o r d id not Rabbi teach in a B o ra ithathat where an act o fhonor is t o be accompl ished the most p romin e n t persons are commenced with

,while when an act o fhumil ia

t ion is t o be pe rfo rmed the lowest in rank are fi rst considered ?The strewing o fashes o n the heads o fthe prince and o fthe ch ie fO f the B eth D in fi rst is also an act o f honor ; fo r they are to ldthat they are more worthy o f praying fo r mercy fo r u s and forall the wo rld .

Other persons sha ll a lso str ew a shes on the ir heads . Whymust the prince and the ch ie f o ft he B eth D in have someone elseto strew ashes o n thei r heads ? Can they not do so themselves ?Said R . Abba (o r Ada) o f K isri : The humi liat ion o f d isgrac ingone ’s sel f by one ’s own hands is not equal to that o fbeing disgraced by the hands o f others (where p rom inent persons are c o ncerned

,but as fo r common people it does n o t matter) . On

what part o f the head are the ashes pu t ? Said R . I tz ’hak : On

the place where the phylacter i es are generally wo rn, a s i t is

w ritt en [I saiah , lxi . 3]‘ To give unto them o rnament in the

place o f ashes ,’ implying that where o rnaments (phylacteries)

we re wo rn ashes were put .”

Why do they congregate in an open place ? Said R . Hyya

bar Abba : “ I n order that they might say : We have prayedprivately and were not answered

,hence we shal l hum i l iat e o u r

selves by praying in publ ic .

’ And Resh Lakish said : I n


order that they might say : ‘We have been d riven from ou rabodes

,and may ou r ban ishment be the means o f o u r forgive

ness . ’ Why is the ark brought into an Open place ? Said R .

Jehoshu a ben Levi : “ I n order that they might say :‘We had

a h idden t reasu re but th rough o u r t ransgressio ns that also hasbecome pro faned . Why do they c lothe themselves in sackcloth ? Said R . Hyya bar Abba : I n order that they might say‘We are n ow l ike the beasts o f the field .

’ Why are ashesst rewn o n the ark ? Said R . J ehu dah ben Paz i : “ I n o rder tosay that th is i s an allu sion to what is wr i tten [Psalms, x c i . I 5]With him I am in d ist ress

,

’ mean ing that the Shekhin a sharesthe d ist ress of the people .

” Resh Lakish said : I n order to say

that th is i s an al lusion to the passage : I n their affl ic t ion he wasaffl ic ted.

’ Said R . Zera : When I saw the rabbis strew asheso n the ark , my whole body t rembled .

Why are ashes strewn o n the heads o fall ? Concern ing th is,R . Levi bar Hama and R . Han ina d iffer . One says that th is i sequal to saying : “ We are n ow before thee , O Lord , as ashesand the o ther says : “ I t is for the pu rpose o f begging the Lo rdto remember the ashes o f I saac . Fo r what pu rpose d id they goo u t to the cemeter i es ?* Concern ing th is

,R . Lev i bar Hama

and R . Han ina also d i ffer . On e says,in o rder that they might

say they were now equal to the dead ; wh ile the othe r says thati t was fo r the pu rpose o f having the sou ls o f the departed prayfor them .

Why was the Mount cal led Mount Mor iah [I I Chron ic les ,i i i . Conce rning th is there is again a d ifference between R .

Levi bar Hama and R . Hanina . On e says that Mo riah is theequ ivalent of Ho raah enactment), while the other says thatMoriah is the equ ivalent of M o ra (fear) ; fo r when the Templewas bu i lt , other nat ions were awed .

“ I n hea r t - m oving term s .

” The rabbis taught : I f the eldestamong them was also a scholar he would add ress them other wi sea scholar, even i f he w as younger, wou ld add ress them , and i fthere was no scholar among them a p rominent man would do it .And he wou ld say t o them : B reth ren I t is not written , anentthe repentance o fthe N inevites , that God regarded the i r havingwrapped themselves in sackcloth and considered their fast - days

,

I n the Pale stin ian Talm ud it i s stated , in add it io n to what is taught in th isM ishn a , that they wo u l d c lo the them se lve s in sackclo th , go ou t to the cem e teries , andsou nd the com e t.


but that God saw thei r wo rks , that they had tu rned from thei revi l way [Jonah , i i i .Concern ing the N inevites it is wr it ten [Jonah , i i i . “ B u t

let man and beast be covered with sackcloth . How wa s i tdone ? They separat ed the suckl ing an imals from thei r mothe rsand said : Sovereign O f the Un iverse"I f Thou wilt n o t havemercy upon u s , we wil l n o t have mercy upon them . Andfu rther o n : Let men cal l u nto Go dwith might . What is meantby “ with might That means to say that they said : Lord o fthe Un iverse"Who o fthe two shou ld give way unto the othe r ?The oppressed and the o n e who cannot be opp ressed , the righteousand the w icked ? (Now,

as we are the oppressed and Thou canstnot be oppressed

,shou ldst Thou n o t overlook o u r in iqu ity ?)

Fu rther,i t i s wri t ten [ib id .] And let them tu rn every o n e from

his ev i l way,and from the violence which is i n thei r hands . ”

What is meant by the violence which is in the i r hands ” ? SaidSamuel : “ I f a man had wrongfu lly approp riated a beam wh ichhe had used in bu ild ing a house , he wou ld tear down the houseand resto re the beam to its r ight fu l owner .R . Ada bar A habha said : “ I f a man con fesses to a wrong

committed,and repents it withou t making proper rest itut ion

therefor, he is equal to a man hold ing a dead rept i le in h is handsand bathing h imsel f in order to become c lean ; for, as a man whohas a dead rept i le in his hands , even Shou ld he bathe in al l thelegal baths in the world , wou ld n o t become c lean unt i l he had r idh imsel f o fthe rept i le— but i f he th rew away that unclean thing abath measu ring fo rty Saahs would c leanse h im— so i t i s with aman who had committed a wrong : unless he made p roper rest itu t io n al l con fession and repentance is i n vain , a s i t is wr i tten

[Proverbs, xxvi i i . 1 3] H e that concealeth h is t ransgress ions wil ln o t prosper ; but whoso con fesseth and forsaketh them wil l obtainmercy ’

; and as it i s written [Lamentat ions , i i i . 4 1 ] Let u s l i ftup o u r heart and ou r hands unto Go d in the heavens . ’

“ After sta nding up to p ray . The rabbis taught At prayer,

though there be the eldest and a scholar present,neither shou ld

be placed at the read ing- desk un less they were experienced inprayer ; but on ly o n e who ha s had thorough exper ience . R .

J ehudah said : The min ister shou ld be a man who has ch i ld renand cannot provide for them , who works hard in the field bu thas empty storehouses

,who has good manners , who is m o dest .

who is popu lar, who has an att ract ive , sweet vo ice , who can readthe ent i re Holy W r it

,and is competent to lea rn M id rash , Hala

4 2 THE B A BYLONIAN TALMUD .

khoth,and Haggadoth , and is conversant with al l the bened ic

t ions .” The rabbis looked among themselves and cast thei r eyesu pon R . I tz ’hak bar Ami , who had al l those qual it ies .

(R . J ehudah said “ ‘Who has chi ld ren and cannot providefor them and who has empty (store) houses .

’ I s that not oneand the same thing?” Said R . H isda :

“ By an empty house ismeant o n e free from sin . What i s meant by good mannersOn e who never had a bad reputat ion since his earl iest youth .

With the addition of s ix m or e .

” Are there not seven add it io n a l bened ict ions?as the M ishna states fu rther o n :

“ To theseventh he says

,

” etc . Said R . Na ’hman b . I tz ’hak : By theseventh is meant the seventh to the long bened ict ion , as we havelearned in a B o ra itha He says twentyfou r bened ict ions, namelythe eighteen benedict ions o f the daily prayer

,with the addit ion

o f six more, and those six are said between the bened ict ion ofredempt ion and heal ing

,and the bened ict ion o f the redempt ion

i s made longer . After each benedict ion the congregat ion answers“ Amen .

” Such was the custom,however

,on ly outside of the

Temple, but in the Temple the reader wou ld say :“ B lessed be

the Lord the Go d of I srael , from the beginn ing to the end o f

the world and they wo u ld conclude by saying : “ B lessed bethe Redeemer of I srael .” B u t no “ Amen ” was answered ; andwhy not B ecause in the Temple it was not allowed to answer“ Amen . Whence do we deduce this? B ecause it is wr i tt en

[Nehemiah , ix .

“ Ar i se , bless ye the Lord you r God frometernity to etern ity . And let men bless thy gloriou s name

,

which is exalted above al l blessing and praise . This sign ifies,

that after each blessing the Lord ’s name shou ld be praised (butnot that Amen shou ld be said) .The rabbis taught To the fi rst bened ict ions the reader wou ld

say : B lessed be the Lord the God o f I srael , from the beginn ingunto the end of the world . B lessed be the Redeemer o f I srael"and the people answered after h im :

“ Praised be the name ofthe glory o f His kingdom for ever and ever .” The Chazan (sexto n) o f the congregat ion then says : “ Sound

,priests

,sound"”

The reader then cont inu es : “ May He who answered Abrahamo n Mo unt Mor iah answer

'

you , and l isten to you r cry o n th isday . The pri est s then sound

,make an alarm

,and sound again .

To the second,the reader says at the conclu sion : “ B lessed be

the Lord , who remembereth al l things forgotten (by man) andthe people answer : Praised be the name of the glory of H iskingdom fo r ever and ever . The Chazan then says : “ Sou nd


44 THE B A BYLONIAN TA LM UD .

Wher ever it is m en t ion ed in the Roll of Fa sts ,’ etc . The

rabbis taught : I t says in the Roll o f Fasts These are thedays on which fast ing is n o t permitted

,and o n some of them i t

is n o t even al lowed to mou rn . F rom the fi rst o f N issan on , unt iland includ ing the e ighth , o n which days it wa s resolved that thest r i fe carr ied o n between the Phar i sees and the B a thu se e s c o n

cerning the cont inu al dai ly offering * shou ld be amicably conclu ded by adopt ing the decree o f the Phar isees, i t was enactedthat n o m o u rn ing o r lament ing shou ld be perm itted ; and fromthe eighth day o fN issan unt i l after the Passover fest ival it wasestabl ished when the feast o f Pentecost shou ld be c e leb ra tedfiand fo r that reason o n those days no mourn ing or lament ing isallowed .

The Master said : “ From the fi rst day O f N issan,etc . Why

does he say from the fi rst ? That is the day o f the New Moon ,and in it sel f a feast - day when o n e must n o t mou rn — why doeshe n o t say from the seco nd day of N issan ? Said Rabh : “ He

said ‘ from the fi rst day o f N issan ’

so a s to p rovide that even o n

the day preced ing that , o n e mu st n o t mou rn .

”B u t the fi rst day

o fN issan being a feast o f the New Moon , i t is sel f- understoodthat on the p reced ing day o n e m ust n o t mourn fo r su ch is thelaw concern ing al l days preced ing a feast - day"Nay ; but thefeast o fthe New Moon is a bibl ical feast - day , and no add it ionalmeasu re need be enacted to p rovide fo r i t s faithfu l obse rvance ;and mou rn ing o n a day preced ing a feast - day is only p ro hib i tedas a precau t ionary measu re , lest the mou rn ing be cont inued o n

the feast - day itself . I f the feast - day, however, is a biblical o n e ,such a m easu re is not necessary and is on ly enacted for rabbin icalfeast - days .

* The str ife carr ied o n be twe e n the Pharise e s a nd the B a thuse es co n ce rn ing the

co n tinual dai ly Offering was as fo l lows The B a thu se e s m ain tain ed that be cau se it i swritten [Num bers , xxvi i i . 4] The o ne sheep shal t tho u prepare in the m o rn ing and

the o the r sh e ep shal t thou prepare toward eve n ing,

”it i s perm itted fo r a n ind ivid

ua l to br ing the co n tinual dai ly Offering,whi le the Pharisee s he ld that the o ffering

m u st b e bro ught by the co ngregat io n from com m u nal funds,basing the ir c laim

upo n the passage [ibid . 2] Shal l ye Obse rve ,

”e tc .

[ The Pharise e s a nd B a thu se e s also dispu ted abo u t the date when the feast o f

Pen te co st was to b e ce lebrated , the latter claim ing that as it is written [L ev. xxi i i . 1 5]A nd ye shal l co un t u n to you ,

from the m o rrow afte r the Sabbath seve ncom p le te we eks ,” the day of Pe n teco st m u st n ece ssar i ly fal l o n the first day of thewe ek ; bu t the Pharisee s , through R . Jo hanan ben Z akkai , m ain tain ed that the passage im p l ie s that co un t ing m u st b e com m e n ced o n the day fo l lowing the fi rst day ofthe fe st ival , a nd therefo re the feast of Pen teco st wou ld fal l o n the s ixth day of them o n th ofS ivan .


The Master said : From the eighth day unt i l after the fest ival

,etc . Why does he say unt i l after the fest ival Why n o t

unt i l the fest ival ? Surely o n e must n o t mourn o n the fest ivalitsel f"Said R . Papa : I n the same manner as Rabh said , thatthe fi rst day of N issan is ment ioned in order to p ro vide fo r theday preced ing it as a day o n which o n e must n o t mou rn , so i nth is case it says unt i l after the fest ival in o rder to inc lude theday fol lowing the fest ival among the days on which i t i s notal lowed to mourn ; and th is wil l be in accordance with the d ictumof R . J ose , who says in th is M ishna ‘ that it is proh ibited tomou rn o n both the day p reced ing and fol lowing .

’

I t was taught : R . Hyya bar Assi said in the name o f Rabhthat the Halakha prevai ls accord ing to R . J ose , and Samuel saidthat the Halakha prevails accord ing to R . Mei r .R . Na ’hman o rdained a fast - day o n the thi rteenth day o f

N issan,and he was reminded by the sages that that was the day

of To ra in o s ; but he repl ied that the day o fTo ra in o s wa s abolished, fo r o n that day Shm a ia and Ahia h is brother were slain .

Why was R . Na ’hman rem inded that the day was that o fTo ra in o s ,

he cou ld have been apprised o f the fact that it was the day b efore the feast o f Nikanor ? Said R . Ash i : “ I f the day wasabol ished as the feast - day o f To ra in o s , shou ld it be kept as aprecaut ionary day fo r the observance o fthe day O f N ikanorWhat i s N ikanor and what is To ra in o s ? We have learned in

a B o ra itha : N ikanor was o n e of the Greek viceroys , and everyday he wou ld l i ft up his hand and vow that i f ever J udea andJ erusalem came into h is hands he wou ld cru sh them . After theMaccabees conqu ered h im in batt le , h is thumbs and big toes werecut O ff and hung up in the gates o f Jeru salem , and it wa s saidthat the mouth wh ich had vowed against J eru salem and thehands which had been l i ft ed up against i t shou ld be made tosuffer .What i s To ra in o s? I t was said : When To ra in o s desired to

slay L o la in o s and his brother Papos in L udkia (Lydda), he saidto them :

“ I f ye be o f the same nat ion as Hanan iah , Mishael ,and Azariah , let you r Go d come and save yo u from my hands asHe d id them from the hands o fNebuchadnezzar . They an

swe red Hanan iah , Mishael , and Azar iah were t ru ly righteou smen and Nebuchadnezzar was a j u st king , deserving o fbeing themeans through which a mi racle was to be performed . B u t wehave incu rred the death penalty before Heaven in any event ,and i f thou shou ldst not slay u s , God has other agents who wil l


accompl ish th is— for instance, l ions, bears , and other wi ld beastswho cou ld ki l l u s ; and thou art a wicked man , who art not worthyof having a mirac le occu r through thee , and God hath given u sinto thy hands in o rder to hold thee to account for o u r bloodwhich thou wilt have shed . St i l l , he had them executed , and itwas said that he d id not lea 17e his place before two envoys arr ivedfrom Rome

,and h is sku l l was split into p ieces .

“ P ublic fa sts a r e not to be order ed,

” etc . What is meant bybut i f the fast had already been commenced ”

? Said R . Aha :I f three fast - days had already been kept ” ; and R . Assi saidEven i f o n e had been kept .”

R . J ehudah said in the name o fRabh : All (of) th is (c lause ofthe M ishna) i s in accordance with the d ictum of R . Meir in thename of Rabban Gamaliel ; but the sages said that o n e mustcomplete h is fast . Mar Z u tra went and preached in the name o fR . Huna , that the Halakha prevai ls that one must fast underthose c ircumstances and , moreover, complete the fast .

CHAPTER I I I .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING OCCURRENCES ON A CCOUNT OF WHICHFA ST -DA YS A RE ORDERED

,OR A L A RM S A RE SOUNDED . WHEN

FA STING ON A CCOUNT OF RA IN I S STOPPED .

MISHNA : The order of procedure o n fast-days, as ment ioned

(in the p reced ing Mishna) above , appl ies only when the fi rstfruct i fy ing rains do not descend ; but when the sprouts commence to degenerate

,they shal l immed iately commence to sound

an alarm . I t shou ld also be immed iately sounded i f there bean int erval o f forty days between each rain ; for that is a generalp lague on the land , cau sing dearth .

I f su ffic ient rain for the growth of sprou ts and herbs had fal len ,but not for the growth o f t rees ; o r suffi c ient for the growth oft rees

,but not enough for the growth o f herbs ; or suffic i ent for

both,but not enough to fi l l the wells , c istern s, and caves (creeks),

an alarm is immed iately to be sounded .

Thu s,also , i f n o rain shou ld have fal len over some part ic u lar

c ity,s im ilar t o that which is written [Amos , iv . 7] I cau sed it

t o rain upon one c ity , and upon another c ity I caused it not torain ; one p iece o f land was rained upon ,

” etc .— the inhabitantso f such a c ity must fast and sound an alarm , and those of thec ircumjacent p laces shal l fast , bu t not sound . R . Aqiba, however

,says

,

“ They are t o sound , but not t o fast .Thus, also , when pest i lence i s raging in a c ity , o r when the

walls fal l down , the inhabitants o f su ch a c ity must fast , andthose of the adj acent places shou ld fast , but n o t sound . R .

Aqiba,however

,says : “ They shou ld sound the alarm , but not

fast .” What is considered a pest i lence? I f in a c ity capable o ffu rn ish ing five hund red able- bod ied men th ree persons d ie inthree consecut ive days, i t i s a pest i lence ; less than th is i s not apest i lence .An alarm shou ld be sounded in al l p laces for the following

plagues : For a corn -blast , mildew, locu sts , crickets, attacks o f

wild beast s, and host s o farmed men for al l these an alarm shou ldb e so unded , becau se they are spread ing evi ls .

47


I t once happened that some elders going from Jeru salem,

each to hi s own place , decreed a fast , becau se a corn - blast , thegrain less stalks o f which were sufficient to heat an oven , hadbeen seen near Ascalon .

They also decreed a fast on accou nt o f two ch ildren havingbeen devou red by wolves o n the other S ide o f Jordan . R . Josesays : “ I t was not ordered because of the wolves having devo u red the ch i ld ren but -becau se o f thei r presence (i n the townsprowling fo r fo o d) .

On account o f the following calamit ies an alarm shou ld besounded even o n the Sabbath : For a c ity su rrounded by enemies ,fo r a flood th reaten ing to inu ndate the count ry , and fo r a shipin imminent danger o f being wrecked at sea . R . Jose says :“ This sound ing is intended to obtain assistance from men

,and

not as an implor ing c ry to Go d. Simeon the Temanite says :“ They shal l also so und o n the Sabbath in case o f pest i lence ” ;bu t the sages d id not co inc ide with h im .

On account o fevery plague— with which may the commun itynever be visit ed l— a n alarm shou ld be sounded except o n accounto fan excess o f rain .

I t o nce happened that Ho n i Ham a’

ge l (the c i rc le- drawer)was asked by the people to pray fo r them , that rain might descend . Said he to them Go and br ing in the Passover ovens

,

*

that they may not be spoi led by the rain . He p rayed,but the

rain d id not descend . What did he then ? He d rew (markedout) a c i rc le aro und him ,

and plac ing h imsel f with in it,prayed as

fol lows : “ Creator o f the Un iverse"Thy chi ldren have alwayslooked u p t o me as being l ike a

'son o f Thy house befo re Thee .

I swear,therefore

,by Thy Gr

"

eat Name , that I wi ll not move fromth is place unt i l Thou wi lt have compassion o n Thy ch i ld ren .

Whereupon the rain commenced to d rop down gent ly. Said he :“ I t was n o t for th is I p rayed , but fo r rain suffi ci ent to fi l l thewel ls

,c isterns

,and caves . ” The rain then fell in torrents

,and

he said : N o t fo r such rain have I prayed , but for m i ld , fel ic itou s

,and l iberal showers . ” The rain then descended in the

usual manner, u nt i l the I srael it es o f J erusalem were obl iged toseek refu ge from the c ity to the Temple Mou nt

, o n accountof the ra in . They cam e and said to Hon i : Even as thou d idstp ray that the rain might descend , so p ray now that it may cease .

”

The o ven s were m ovable ,and were u sed to ro ast the paschal lam b o n the Pass

o ver. Whe n n o t in u se they were kept o u ts ide of the house .


And he replied : “ Go and se e whether the stone To ’

yim* i s

covered by the waters . ” Simeon b . She ta’

h sent h im wo rd , say

ing : “ I f thou wert not Hon i , I wou ld order that thou be a na them a t iz ed. B u t what shal l I do with thee , s in ce thou art petu lanttowards God,

and yet He forgiveth and indu lge th thee l ike apetted child who is petu lant towards h is father and is n eve rthe

less forgiven and indulged ? To thee may be appl ied the passage

[Prov . xxi i i . ‘ Let thy father and thy mother rej oice,and

let her that hath born thee be glad .

’

I f,whi le the people are fast ing, rain shou ld fal l befo re sunrise ,

they shall not cont inue to fast the whole day ; but they must doSO i f the rain fal l after sunrise . R . El iezer says : I f i t rains b efore noon

,they need not cont inue to fast the whole day ; but

they must do so i f the rain commenced after noon is passed .

”

I t once happened that a fast was o rdered in Lydda and it rainedbefore noon

,whereupon R . Ta rpho n said unto the people : Go

,

eat and drink , and make a feast . They went,ate and drank

,

and made a feast ; but in the even ing they retu rned and sang thegreat Hal lel .GEMARA When the first fr uct ifying r a ins do not de

scend. A cont rad ict ion was made : We have learned in aB o ra itha : ‘ I f the fi rst and second fruct i fying rains d id not descend

,prayers for rain must be commenced , and only i f the third

fruct i fy ing rain was withheld fast ing is reso rted to Said R .

J uhudah :“ The Mishna means to say th is : I f the t ime fo r the

fi rst,second , and third fru ct ific a tio n had passed without rain hav

ing descended , then the o rder o f fast ing goes into e ffect ; but i fthe fi rst fru ct ifica t io n has taken place , yet the seed had notsprouted

,or the sprouts had degenerated

,then the alarm must

be sounded . Said R . Na ’hman : “ Only i f the spro uts had degenerated the alarm is sounded , but not i f they had withered (forin the latter event there is st i l l hope that they might revive) . Is

th is n o t sel f- evident ? I t says, d ist inct ly , ‘ i f the sprou ts had degenerated R . Na ’hman means to say that , even i f the sproutshad already reached the stage o fstalks and had then withered

,i t

might be assumed that there wa s no hope o f thei r ever again re

viving— hence we are told that al l hope is n o t yet lost .

Th is was the nam e of a h igh ston e in Jeru salem ,where the finde rs of lo st art i

c le s wo u ld depo sit what they had fo und , and then pro c laim that they had fo undsom e th ing . The own ers wo u ld the n com e , a nd upo n suffic ien t ide n t ificat io n o f the

lo st art ic le it wou ld be restored to them .

5 0 THE B A BYLON IA N TA LMUD .

For tha t is a gener a l p lag ue on the la nd, ca us ing

.

dea r th .

What is considered a “ plague causing dearth ” ? Said R . J ehudah : “ That is a plague which eventually resu lts in a famine .

Said R . Na ’hman : “ I f a town had no grain,but cou ld procu re a

supply from another town by means o fsh ips , i t cannot be said tobe su ffering from an actual famine

,but merely from temporary

want ; but i f the ent i re land has no grain and it can procu re asupply on ly from another count ry

,and not by means o f sh ips bu t

by means o f asses , then a stat e of famine can be said to exist .R . Han ina said : Even i f the price o fgrain has reached the

sum Ofo n e Sela for one Saah , but at that price it is obtainable ,th is wou ld me rely const itu te a case of want ; i f, however, theprice o fgrain remained one Sela fo rfour Saah , but it was not o bta in able at all , then a stat e o f fam ine actual ly exists . Said R .

J ohanan : “ All th is app l ies when grain i s dear but money isp lent i fu l ; i f, however, grain is not dear bu t money is scarce , analarm must immed iately be sounded for I recol lect it happenedat one t ime in Tiberias that although four Saah of grain were tobe had for one Sela, st i l l many people were starving to death , b ecause they d id not have the necessary coin with which to pu rchase their grain .

”

[f sufiicien t r a in for the g rowth of spr outs had

fa llen ,etc . I t may well be that suffic ient rain can descend for

the growth o fsprouts that wou ld not be benefic ial to the growthof t rees— for instance , a heavy rain ; or that the rain be suffi

c ient fo r t rees bu t inadequate for the growth of sprouts— fo rin stance , a l ight rain (se e page I t might also be that suffic ient rain Shou ld descend for both the t rees and the sprouts ,which would

,however, be inadequate to fi l l the wells, c isterns ,

and caves ; but how can that take place , after what we havelearned in a B o ra itha , namely : that sufficient rain descended tofi l l the wel ls

,c istern s

,and caves

,which wa s, however, inadequ ate

for the t rees and sp routs That (B o ra itha) refers t o a rainwhich fel l in t orrents and fi l led up the wells , etc . , b u t d id n o go odto the t rees a nd sp ro uts .The rabb i s tau ght : I n the m idst o f Passover, i f sufficient rain

had n o t yet fal len fo r the t rees,the alarm is already to be

sou nded ; and i f there was n o t sufficient rain by the t ime themidd le (day) o fthe F east o f Tabernacles was reached , the alarmmust immed iately be sou nded ; and at all t imes where there isn o t sufficient d r inking-water o n hand , the alarm should at oncebe sounded . What is meant by “ at once ” ? The Monday ,


3 2 THE B A BYLONIA N TALMUD .

for the glory o f Thy name , that the pilgrims in J erusalem mighthave water

,did I borrow those wells . Immediately upon this

the sky became c louded , rain began to fall , and the twelve wellsbecame fi l led up to overflowing .

When the master stepped out of h is bath- hou se , N akdim o n

went o u t o fthe Temple , and they met . Said N akdim o n to him :

Refund to me the amount for the water in excess O f that whichI bo rrowed from thee . And he repl ied : I know well that theHoly On e

, blessed be He , caused the world to storm only on thyaccount , yet I can st i l l c laim the amount due me , for the sun hasalready set and the rain descended after the stat ed t ime had ex

pired.

”N akdim o n then reentered the Temple , again wrapped

h imsel f in h is c loak and commenced to p ray,saying : Creator

o fthe Un iverse Announce to the wo rld that Thou hast favor i teshere on earth Whereupon the c louds immed iately scattered

,

and the sun again commenced to sh ine . The master seeingN akdim o n ,

said to h im : Had the su n n o t reappeared , I shou ldhave had a val id claim for the amount o f money due me .

” Wehave learned in a B o ra itha : H is name was not N akdim o n , butB on i

,and he was cal led N akdim o n becau se on h is account the

sun hastened .

*

The rabbis t aught Fo r the sake of each of three men alonethe sun shone

,and they are Moses

,Joshua

,and N akdim o n ben

Gurion . This is correct in the case o fN akdim o n ben Gu r ion , fromthe above-ment ioned t rad it ion . I n the case o fJoshua it i s also correct

,because so is i t wr i tt en [Joshua , x . 1 3] And the sun stood

st i l l in the midst o f the heavens .” B u t whence do they adducethat the su n shone for Moses alone ? Said R . Elazar : Thismay be in ferred from the analogou s t erm :

“ I wi l l commence .

I t i s wr it ten [D eut i i . “ This day wil l I commence to putthe dread o f thee , and [Joshua, i i i . This day wil l Icommence to make thee great ,

” etc . R . Johanan said : “

(N O

analogo u s compar i son is necessary , for) i t may be adducedfrom the passage itsel f [D eu t . i i . ‘Whoever wi ll hear ofthee shall t remble and shal l quake because of thee . ’ Whywil l they do this? B ecau se on Moses ’ account alone the sunsho n ef

’

The rabbis taught : A man shou ld always be soft pl iable

,yield ing) as a reed , and not hard as a cedar- t ree . I t once

Hasten ing is cal led in Hebrew K’

dim ah , a nd N akdim o n i s derived fromK

’

dim ah,according to the an no tation s OfJo e l Sirko sh .

TRACT TA A N ITH (FA STING) . 33

happened that R . Elazar ben R . Simeon (shou ld rather be R . Sime o n ben Elazar) went from the tower o fGador , whe re resided h isMaster

,r id ing on an a ss . He rode leisu rely on the banks o f the

r iver,being great ly rej o iced and feel ing very proud o n account o f

the wealth o f knowledge he had accumulated from his Master .On the way he met a man who wa s terribly u gly (o f Thatman greeted R . Elazar respect fu lly , and said to him :

“ Peacebe with thee , Rabbi" The rabbi d id n o t , however , retu rn thegreet ing

,and

,moreover, said Vain man , how terr ibly ugly art

thou Are al l thy townsmen as ugly as thou art ?” And the manrepl ied “ That I know n o t but it wou ld be seemly i f thou wert togo to the C reator who formed me and say to H im How ungain lyi s the creatu re Thou hast made Real iz ing that he had offendedagainst the man , R . Elazar d ismounted and , making an obeisance ,said : “ I have s inned against thee— forgive me

,I p ray ' B u t

the man refused , saying : “ Nay , I shal l not forgive thee unt i lthou shalt go to the C reator and say to H im : How ungain ly i sthe c reatu re Thou hast made R . Elazar, however, wou ld notleave the man

,and followed him on foot unt i l they reached the

c ity where R . Elazar dwelt . As soon a s the townsmen perc e ived him they thronged towards him with greet ings . Peacebe with thee

,Rabbi , Rabbi"Master, Master The ugly man

who p receded R . Elazar asked them whom they were addressingwith “ Rabbi ” and Master

,

” and they answered : “ The manwho is fol lowing thee . Said he : I f he be a rabbi

,may there

n o t be many like h im in I srael . And they asked “ Why not ?So he repl ied that thu s and so had he been served by him . Theythen pleaded with him : St i l l fo rgive h im , for he is a great manin the study Of the Law . And he said : Fo r you r sakes I wi llforgive him

,but upon the cond it ion that he shal l not do l ikewise

again . Immed iately following this , R . Elazar went forth andp reached :

“ A man shou ld be soft a s a reed and not hard a s acedar .

On account Of having been compared with man , i t wa s de st ined for a reed that the Scrolls , Phylacteri es , and Mezuzo thshou ld be written with it .

When w a lls fa ll down . The rabbis taught : “ By‘walls ’

are meant sound wal ls ; i .e . , such as were n o t expected to fall ,

I n Tract D e rech B re tz , as we l l as in the comm en taries ofRash i and To spha th ,

th is m an i s said to have been El ijah the Prophe t , who assum ed that disgu i se in orderto hum ble R . Elazar.


but not such as were totter ing . What is meant by “ such asare tottering ” ? Walls that stand o n the banks o f a st ream . Asit once happened in N ehe rda i there was a wall rest ing on a weakfoundat ion ; and although it had been stand ing for th i rteenyears , Rabh and Samuel would never pass by beneath it . On e

day R . Ada bar A habha came to N ehe rda i, and together withRabh and Samuel se t o u t to go somewhere . Said Samuelto Rabh : “ Let the Master go with me in a roundabout way

,

so as to avoid the wall . ” B u t Rabh repl ied : Tod ay thisi s n o t necessary . For R . Ada is with u s, and his meri ts aresuch that a wall wou ld not fal l where he i s about t o walk ; henceI have no fear .R . Huna had wine in a room which was in an unsafe cond i

t ion , and the walls o f which were momentari ly expected to fal l .H e wished to remove the wine , but was afraid to enter the room .

So he got R . Ada bar A habha t o enter the room with h im , e u

gaged him in a d iscu ssion concern ing a Halakha, and while theywere argu ing R . Huna ’ s men removed the wine . After they left ,the walls o fthe room fel l in . When R . Ada real ized how he hadbeen u sed , he became angry .

(What R . Ada d id to be so em inently favored wil l be relatedin Tract Megi lla .)Rabha asked Raph ram bar Papa : Canst thou not relate to

me the good th ings which R . Huna d id ? And he rep l ied : Ido not remember anything of h is youth ; bu t when he was O fmatu re age

,I know that whenever there was a storm in the c ity

where he l ived,which caused any damage to the bu i ld ings

,he

wou ld have himself carr ied about in a golden palanqu in and examine the c ity , and wherever he not iced an unsafe wall, wou ldorder it s demolit ion . Wherever the owner Of that bu ild ingcou ld n o t affo rd to have it rebu ilt , R . Huna wou ld have it doneat h is own expense . On eve ry eve o f Sabbath he wou ld send h isservants to the markets with instruct ions to pu rchase al l thevegetables

,which the marketers had left o n thei r hands, and

throw them into the stream , in o rder that they might not be puton sale again the following week in an unwholesome condit ion .

”

[Why did he not rather distribute them among the poor thanth row them into the stream ? B ecause the poor wou ld dependupon receiving them free the second t ime , and wou ld not buyany at al l . Then why did he not u se them as food for the an imals? B ecau se R . Huna held that art ic les wh ich a man can u sea s food shou ld not be purchased as fodder for catt le to com

TRA CT TA A N ITH (FASTING) . 5 5

mence with ]“ Whenever the sickness o f Sha iba tha * occu rred

in h is c ity , he wou ld examine it and give the sufferers rel ief ;outside o f his house he placed a j ar O f water for the u se o f

al l who desired him to rel ieve them . When sitt ing down toa meal , he wou ld order a servant to th row open the doorsand cal l o u t : ‘Whoever desires to eat , let h im come in anddo so .

’

Said Rabha : “ I cou ld accompl ish al l that R . Huna d id ,with the except ion o f throwing open my doors and invit ingeverybody to eat ; fo r there are a great many poor people inM ehu z z a , and I cou ld not feed them a ll. (Accord ing toanother version , he said that he cou ld n o t do th is on accounto f the many sold iers and Persians stat ioned in M ehu z z a , who

wou ld take advantage o fsuch an invitat ion and eat h im o u t o f

house and home .)I lpha and R . Johanan stud ied the Law together. They were

in very poor c i rcumstances and were in want o f food . So theysaid : “ We wil l lay aside o u r stud ies and engage in some re

m u n e ra t ive occupat ion , thereby carry ing o u t what i s wri tten

[D eut xv .

‘ I ndeed,there shou ld be no needy man among

thee . I n the meant ime they sa t down to eat beneath an u n

safe wall . So two angels appeared , and R . Johanan heard o ne o f

them say to the other : Let u s th row th is wall down upon them,

fo r they are about to leave the pu rsu it o f the futu re l i fe i n orderto obtain a wo rld ly l ivel ihood . B u t the other angel replied“ Let them be ; for there i s o n e of them whom the t ime wil lsu ccor and who wil l short ly become great .” R . Johanan heardth is

,but I lpha d id not , and the fo rmer asked : D id Master hear

anything ? And I lpha repl ied : “ Nay ; I heard nothing .

” SoR . Johanan thought : B ecau se I heard i t and I lpha d id not , inall probabi l ity I am the o n e who is re ferred to as short ly to b ecome great . And he said to I lpha : I have reconsidered i t andwil l ret u rn to the study O f the Law , thu s fu lfi l l ing what is wri tt en in another passage [ib id . 1 1 ] Fo r the needy wil l n o t ceaseo u t o fthe land .

’ Thus R . Johanan retu rned to h is stud ies andI lpha engaged in business . By the t ime I lpha retu rned , R .

J ohanan became the chief o fthe college . The schoolmen after

*Con cern ing the s ickness of Sha iba tha there i s a lengthy d iscussio n am o ng the

comm e n tato rs ofthe Talm ud . Som e say that it was a m uscu lar d isease pe cu l iar toch i ldren be twee n the age oftwo m o n ths a nd seven years . Others say that it was ad isease produced by evi l spirits , e tc . N o de fin i te term fo r the wo rd ca n b e fo u nd .

The A ruch devo te s two who le page s to the d ifferen t opin io n s regard ing th is d ise a se .


wards said to I lpha : I f thou hadst stayed here with u s, we wouldhave made thee the ch ie f o fthe col lege .

*

I t was sa id o f Nahum the man of Gim - Z u— who was bl indin both eyes

,c rippled in both hands , both o fwhose legs were

cru shed and whose whole body was covered with so res,and who

was lying o n a bed the feet o f which stood in bu ckets o f water soas to prevent worms from reach ing h is body

,and his bed stood in

a hou se which was in a totter ing co ndit ion— that his d isc iplesat one t ime W i shed to remove h is bed from that house and thenremove al l the othe r vessels contained therein . So he said tothem My child ren Fi rst take out eve ryth ing contained in th ishou se and then remove my bed ; for ye can rest assu red that aslong as I am in th is hou se it wil l not fal l . They did so

,and

after removing h is bed the hou se fel l in . Said the d isciples toh im : As we can perce ive , Master , thou art a t ru ly upright man .

Why,then

,art thou so terribly affl i ct ed ? And he repl ied

My chi ld ren"I mysel f am the cau se o f it . I was at o n e t imeo n my way to the house o f my father- in - law and had with meth ree asses

, o n e laden with food , another with drink , and thethi rd with del icac i es . I n the course of my j ourney a poor mancame to me and said Master, give me some fo od ,

’ and Ianswered : ‘Wait unt i l I can un load my asses . ’ B u t before Ihad done so

,the poor man expired . So I fel l on his face and

said : My eyes , which had no compassion on thy eyes , may theybecome blind My hands , which had no mercy upon thy hands ,may they become c rippled"My feet , which had n o t pity withthy feet

,may they be cru shed"’ And I cou ld not assuage my

grie f unt i l I had said : ‘ May my whole body become coveredwith sores . ’ Said the d isc iples to h im : Woe is u nto u s thatwe must se e thee in th is condit ion . And he repl ied : “ Wo e

wou ld be unto me i f ye d id not see me in th is condit ion .

Why was he called Nahum the man o f Gim - Z u ?1L B ecause

whenever something happened to h im he wou ld say : Gam Z u

L e -Toboh (This also is for good) .I t once happened that the I srael it es had to send a present to

the imper ial house , and Nahum was selected to carry o u t themission , becau se it was qu ite u sual fo r miracles to be perform ed

H ere fo l low the qu e stio n s pu t to a nd an swered by I lpha , wh ich a re, however,

n o t e ssen tial in th is tract , and which wi l l appear in Tract K e thub o th .

fA cco rding to Z ach . Fran ke l , in h is work abo u t the gen erat io n s of the Tan a ima nd A m o raim ,

and also acco rd ing to D r . 1 . M . W i se ,D r . H . Strack , and M ie l z iner,

Nahum was a re siden t ofG im zo , a town in sou thwe ste rn Judea.

TRACT TA A N ITH (FASTING ) . 5 7

o n h is account . They intru sted to him a casket contain ing prec io u s stones and pearls . When he arr ived at h is quarters fo rthe n ight

,th ieves became aware o fhis t reasu re , and they removed

the valuables contained in the casket , subst itu t ing therefor d ryearth . When he arrived at the imper ial palace , the casket wasopened

,and it being observed that it contained nothing but

earth , the emperor became ve ry wroth and determ ined to dest royal l the J ews

,th inking that they had merely mocked him . Na

hum,however

,said to h imsel f : Even this wi l l lead to good .

When a con ference was held as to the manner in which the J ewswe re to be dest royed

,El ij ah appeared d isgu ised as o n e o f the

counci l lors,and after the con ference said : “ Perhaps this earth is

o f the greatest valu e,as it may be the same earth which Abra

ham thei r fathe r had with in h is domain,and which possessed the

merit o f tu rn ing into swords which wou ld cu t down the enemywhen thrown at a host i le army . The coarser p ieces wou ld tu rninto arrows when thrown at the enemy , as it i s wr it ten [I saiah ,xli . ‘ He rendered as earth h is sword , as driven stubble hi sbow .

’

His advice was taken , and they said : “ There i s one landwhich we cannot conqu er, let u s t ry th is earth and test it spowers .” This was done , and the land was conque red . Theearth was thereupon deposited in the t reasu ry , and the casketfi l led with prec iou s stones and pearl s . Nahum (who had beenkept a p ri soner in the meant ime) was sent away with an escortand laden with great honors . On the return

,i t happened that

Nahum and h is escort had to pass the n ight in the same quarterswhere the prec iou s stones had p reviou sly been sto len . When itwas observed with what honors Nahum retu rned

,he was asked

what gi ft s he had brought the emperor, to be thu s hono red . He

repl ied : “ I brought the same casket there that I t ook away withme from th is place . The men then , th inking that their earthwas so valuable , tore down their hou ses, gathered up the earth ,and sent it to the emperor

,saying : “ The earth which Nahum

brought thee was o u r earth and not that o fthe J ews , fo r we tooko u t the prec iou s stones contained in h is casket when he spentthe n ight here and subst it u ted this earth . The earth wa s exam in ed and found to be un l ike the other, so the senders wereal l pu t to death .

Wha t is consider ed a pestilence If in a c ity capa ble offu r

Th is i s a l i teral and no t a figurat ive tran slatio n ofthat verse .


n ishing five hundr ed a ble - bodied m en , etc . The rabbis taughtA town that can fu rn ish fi fteen hundred able- bod ied men— as ,e .g . ,the vi llage o f A ko— and n ine deaths occu rred in th ree days ,

i .e . ,three deaths each o n three consecut ive days

,is said to be

affl ict ed with pest i lence . I f , howeve r, al l the n ine d ied in o n e

day o r in fou r days, i t i s not considered a pest i lence . A townthat has not more than five hundred able- bodied persons— eg ,

the vil lage of Amigo— and three deaths occu rred in three days ,i .e . , one on each consecut ive day , can be said to be affl icted witha pest i lence . I f, however, al l three d ied in o n e day or in fou rdays , no pest i lence can be said to exist (for it i s considered asonly an acc ident) .I n the town o fD a ro gra th ,

which had five hundred able- bodiedpersons , th ree deaths occu rred in o n e day , and R . Na ’hman theso n o fR . H isda ordered a fast - day . Said R . Na ’hman bar I tz ’hakto him Thou art presumably of the opin ion of R . Meir, whoregards a bu l l as vic iou s i f he had gored three men in o n e day (asexplained in Tract B aba Kamma) .R . Na ’hman bar H isda requ ested R . Na ’hman bar I tz ’hak

to remove to h is (the former’s) c ity (so that they cou ld study

together) . Said the latter : We have learned in a B o ra itha : R .

J ose said : Not the place where he l ives makes the man dist in

gu ished,but the man makes the place d ist ingu ished . And so

we find with respect to Mount Sinai,that so long as the Shek

hina rest ed there , cattle were not al lowed to graze even nearthe mountain , as it i s written [Exod . xxxiv .

“ Neither l etflocks o r herds feed near the mount , and after the Shekhinahad withdrawn from the mount , i t i s wr i tten [Exod . xix . 1 3]They may come up to the mount . A similar instance can befound with respect to the Tabernacle, near which the leprouscou ld not come (as wel l be explained in T ract M en a cho th) .Said R . Na ’hman bar H isda to him “ I f th is be so , then will

I go to the place where thou , Master, dwellest . And he an

sw e red :“ Nay , that wou ld not be right ; for thou art a rabbi

and a so n o f a rabbi,while I am the so n o f o n e who was not

among the scholars ; therefore it wou ld be mo re fitt ing that Ishou ld come to thee .

I t happened that pest i lence raged in Sura,but in the neigh

b o rho od where Rabh resided the pest i lence was not prevalent .The townsmen concluded that th is was due to the espec ial merit so f Rabh ; but in a d ream they were told that th is wou ld be but asmal l obj ect wherewith to demonstrate Rabh

’

s merits, and that


60 THE BABYLONIAN TA LMUD .

women . Then he had a certain garment for women with whichhe wou ld c lothe them , and which was spl it so that he cou ld insertthe lancet at any place without looking at the woman . Then hehad a certain p lace where his fee for bleed ing was deposited , andwhich was so arranged that as soon as it was touched a ringwas heard ; but he neve r looked at the amount deposited , andthose that had not the necessary amount wou ld merely tou ch theplace and depart . I f a young scholar came to him to be bled ,he wou ld n o t alone refuse to accept money , but wou ld give h immoney

,saying : Take this and become well

,for after bleed ing

a good meal should be eaten .

On e day Abayi sent two of h is d isc iples to Abba to examineinto h is act ions . Abba entertained them with meat and drink ,and even made for them couches of fine wool to u se as beds .On the mo rrow the d isc iples folded up their wool len couches andcarried them into the market in order t o sel l them . They thereencountered Abba . Said they to h im Let Master est imate theworth o fthese . And he said : So much .

” And they rej o ined“ Perhaps they are worth mo re . And he answered : “ For somuch money I can pu rchase them . Said they to him : Thesecouches are th ine ; we took them from thee . And they c o n

tin u ed :“ What d idst thou suspect u s o f?

” And he repl iedI thought that perhaps some pr i soners had to be ransomed

,and

ye d id n o t wish to tel l me what amount that wou ld requ i re lastn ight . So ye took the couches , and probably thought to tel l methis day .

” They then said : “ Then take them back ; they areth ine .

”B u t he answered : “ Nay ; I have already made up my

mind to devote them to charitable purposes , and hence I cannottake them back .

Rabha was grieved over the greater d ist inct ion con ferredupon Abayi , who was greeted o n the eve o f every Sabbath

,whi le

he only received the heavenly greet ing on the eve of every D ay

o fAtonement ; so he was told that it was suffi c ient fo r h im thatthe ent i re town where he l ived profit ed by his merit s .To R . B e ro ka o f Hu z a ah ,

El ij ah wou ld frequently appear,

when he (R . B e roka) wou ld be stand ing in the market o f B eL eph t . On e day he asked El ij ah whether there was any one inthe market who wou ld have a Share in the world to come , andEl ij ah answered : Nay ” Suddenly El ij ah perceived a manwearing black Shoes , and the garments o f that man had no showthreads . So he pointed h im out to R . B e ro ka ,

and said : “ Thatman will have a Share in the world to come . R . B e roka ran up


t o the man and asked him h is occupat ion , and the man answeredI have not t ime to - day . Come o n the morrow . On the morrow R . B e ro ka again approached h im and asked to know hisoccupat ion . The man repli ed : “ I am a warden o f a p r i son ; Ikeep the men and women p ri soners in separate compartments

,

and my ow n bed stands between the two compartments . ThereI sleep alone

,and take care that no evi l act s are perpet rated . I f

there i s a daughter o f I srael upon whom evi l eyes have been cast

(by the h igher offic ials), I do my utmost , even at a personal sac r ifice , to save her . On e day it happened that a bet rothed gi rl

,

upon whom the higher offi c ials had cast an eye , w a s brought tomy prison ; so I took lees o fwine , spread them over her couch ,and said to the offi c ials that she was su ffering from her m e n stru

at ion and cou ld not be approached .

”

R . B e ro ka then asked the warden why he wore black shoesand garments withou t showthreads, and he repl ied : “ I n ordertha t I shou ld not be recognized a s a J ew ; for thu s, i f I hear o fanyplot s that are formed against the welfare o f my co - rel igion ists

,I

can immed iate ly adv ise the rabbis that they may pray to Go d toavert the impending calamity . And yesterday , when thou d idstapproach me , I told thee to come o n the mo rrow ,

because I hadheard a d iscu ssion pertain ing to act ion to be taken against theJ ews and I hastened to learn the tru e fact s o fthe case .

Again i t happened that two brothers were passing by,and

El ij ah said to R . B e ro ka : “ These two brothers Shall also have ashare in the world to come . R . B e ro ka approached them andasked to know their occupat ions , and they repl ied : Ou r o cc u

pa t io n i s to cheer and comfort al l those who are downcast , andwhen we se e two men quarre ll ing, to make peace between them .

“ A n a la rm shou ld be sounded in a ll pla ces fo r the fo llow ingplagues , etc . The rabbis taught : Fo r a corn - blast

,m i ldew,

locu sts,crickets

,and attacks o f wi ld beast s an alarm must be

sounded wherever they make their appearance . And R . Aqibasaid : Fo r the fi rst two , as soon as they make thei r appearanceever so sl ight ly in any place , an a la rm

'

m u st be sounded ; but fo rlocu sts

,as soon as the wing o f o n e single locu st is pe rce ived in

Palest ine , an alarm must be immed iately sounded .

“ A tta chs of w ild bea sts . The rabbis taught : “ Fo r attackso fwild beasts an alarm shou ld be sounded only i f i t is obviou sthat the attacks are in the natu re o f a cu rse , but o therw ise noalarm need be sounded . How can the d ist inct ion be made ? I fthe wild beast s are seen in a c ity

,then it is to be conside red in


the natu re o fa cu rse ; but i f they are seen in the field , i t i s nothing unusual . I f seen in the day it is a cu rse , at n ight it is n o t .

I f the wild beast saw and pursu ed two men together, then it is acu rse ; but i f i t slank away and sought to h ide , i t i s n o t . I f thewild beast kil led two men and only devoured one , i t i s to be conside red a cu rse ; but i f i t devou red both (then it was simply hungry

,and) i t i s not considered a cu rse . I f the beast c l imbed up

on a roo f and snatched a ch ild from the cradle , i t i s most assured lya cu rse .

H osts of a rm ed m en . The rabbis taught : Even i f hosts o farmed men are seen , who have n o intent ion of attacking theplace

,but merely desire t o pass through to make war upon others ,

an alarm must nevertheless be sounded ; fo r there can be nomore fr iend ly intent ions in a host of armed men than in thatwhich was sent by Necho , King of Egypt , to Josiah , King o f

J udah,and st i l l J osiah lost h is l i fe o n thei r account , as it i s wr it

t en [I I Chron . xxxv . 2 1 ] B u t he (Necho , King o fEgypt) sentambassadors to h im (Josiah), saying : What have I to do withthee

,thou King o fJ udah ? I come not against thee th is day , but

against the house wherewith I have war, and God hath c om

m anded me to make haste : forbear thee from meddl ing withGod who is with me , that He may n o t dest roy thee . What i smeant by Go d who is with me ” ? What God cou ld Nechohave had with h im ? Said R . Jehudah in the name of RabhI t wa s an idol , and for the reason that Necho had confidencein the idol , Josiah thought that he cou ld su rely vanqu ish h im inbatt le .

”

Fu rther it says [ ibid .

“ And the archers shot at KingJosiah ; and the king said to h is servants : Carry me away ; for Iam sorely wounded . What is meant by “ sorely wounded ” ?

Said R . J ehu dah in the name o f Rabh : “ From that i t may bein ferred that h is whole body was perforated by the arrows like asieve . B efore J o siah died , J eremiah the prophet not i ced thath is l ips were moving, and th inking that , God fo rbid , he was Sayi ng so m eth ing blasphemous o n account o f the terrible pain hew a s suffer ing , J erem iah sto o ped down and heard Josiah j ust ifying the j udgment wh ich had befallen h im

,saying the passage

[Lament i . 1 8] R ighteo us is the Lord for against h is o rdershave I rebel led . Whereu pon J eremiah lamented his death withthe words [ibid . iv . 20] The breath of ou r nostri ls , the anointedof o u r Lord , was cau ght in thei r pits .

Shou ld be sounded even on Sa bba th . The rabbis taught :


On account o f a c ity su rrounded by foes , a ship that was wreckedat sea , o r even o n account o f an ind ividual pu rsu ed by foes , ro bbers

,or evi l spi ri t s, a man may keep a fast - day himsel f (without

wait ing for the order inst itu t ing it) . R . J ose , however, said“ A man is n o t allowed to do this by h imsel f, lest he becomeweak through fast ing and unable to work, when he wou ld becomedependent upon others who might have no pity for him

,because

he himsel f was the o n e responsible for his condit ion . Said R .

J ehudah in the name of Rabh :“ What reason has R . J ose fo r

th is assert ion ? B ecau se it i s wr i tt en [Genesis , i i . And theman became a l iving being,

’ which impl ies,that man shou ld let

the l iving sou l,given h im by the Creator, l ive and not wil fu lly

kil l i t .”“ Sim eon the Tem a n ite says , etc . We have learned in a

B o ra itha : F o r a pest an alarm shou ld be sounded o n a Sabbath,

and so much the more o n a week- day ; but R . Hanan bar P itom ,

the d isc iple o fR . Aqiba , said in the name o f h is Master that fo ra pest no alarm need be sounded even o n a week- day .

“ On a ccount of everyplague, etc . The rabbis taught : Onaccount o f every plague— with which may the commun ity neverbe vis ited— an alarm shou ld be sounded , except o n account o fanexcess of rain . What is the reason ? Said R . J ohanan : B e

cau se it i s not permitted to pray for the cessat ion o f too muchgood .

” Said Rami bar R . Jod I n the land o f exi le (B abylon)an alarm shou ld be sounded fo r an excess o f ra in . We havealso learned in a B o ra itha that in a year when there i s an excesso f rain the priest s o f the weekly watch wou ld send wo rd to thestand ing men Take care o f you r brethren in exile

,that thei r

houses may n o t become their graves .The rabbis taught : I t i s w r it t en [Lev . xxvi . “ Then wil l

I give you rains in thei r due season , which means , that the ea rthshal l n o t become too fu l l o f water nor that it shal l be th i rsty , buthave j u st suffic ient ; fo r i f there is to o much rain , the earth becomes t o o sodden and fru it cannot grow . Another ex planat iono fthe t erm “ i n the i r due season is

,that the rains wil l fal l o n

the n ight o fthe fou rth day o fthe week and o n the n ight o fSabbath

,when men do n o t go o u t ; fo r so do we find , that in the

days o f Simeon ben She ta ’

h rain fel l only o n those n ights , andgrain prospered so that wheat - grains became a s test ic les , barleycorns as the kernels o f olives , and lent i ls a s golden D ina rs ; andpart o fthese fru its o fthe earth were preserved to show to fu tu regenerat ions

,in o rder to demonstrate to them that the on ly reason

64 THE B A BYLONIA N TALMUD .

why crops were n o t as prosperous as they formerly were was b ecause o i the transgressions o f the people , a s i t is wr itten [Jeremiah

,v .

“ You r in iqu it ies have tu rned away these th ings,

and you r S in s have withholden what i s good from yo u .

”

SO i t was also at the t ime when Herod bu i lt the new Temple .I t wou ld rain only at n ight

,and in the morn ing the wind wou ld

d isperse the clouds,the su n wou ld commence to shine , and the

peop le wo u ld go to thei r work in peace , so that al l men knewthat they were engaged in a heaven ly undertaking .

[ t once happen ed tha tHon iHa m a’

gel ,” etc . The rabbis taught

3

I t once happened the greater part o f the month o f Adar hadpassed

,and no rain had yet fallen . Hon i Ham a

’

ge l was thereu pon requested to pray fo r rain . He prayed

,but no rain de

scended . So he marked o u t a c irc le around him , the same asHabakkuk d id , as it is wr it ten [Habakkuk , i i . 1 ] Upon my watchwil l I stand

,and place myself u pon the tower

,

” placed himsel fin the midst of i t , and said : Creator o f the un iverse Thych ildren have always looked up towards me as being l ike a so n

o f Thy hou se before Thee . I swear therefore,by Thy great

Name , that I shal l n o t move from th is place unt i l Thou shalt havecompassion upon Thy chi ldren . Whereupon the rain c om

m e n c ed to d rop down gent ly . Said the disc iples to h im Mayit be that we may se e thee and n o t die ; for we think that therain i s merely dropping in o rder t o release thee from thy vow .

And he rep l ied : “ I t was n o t for th is I prayed,but for rain suffi

c ient to fi l l the wells , c isterns , and caves .” The rain then fel l in

torrents, each d rop being as large as the mouth of a barrel, andthe sages op ined that each d rop contained no less than a lug ofwater. The d isc iples again said to h im :

“ Rabbi,may we see

thee and not d ie"We bel ieve that the rain i s fall ing in o rder todestroy the world . He again said : Not for su ch rain s have Iprayed ; but for m ild , fel ic itous , and l iberal showers .

” The rainthen descended in the usual manner

,u nt i l the I srael ites o fJ eru

salem were obliged to seek refuge from the c ity to the Templemount o n account o fthe rain . They then came to him and saidRabbi , even as tho u d idst p ray that the rain might descend ,thus p ray now that i t may cease . And he repl ied : I have at rad it ion that it i s not permitted to p ray fo r a cessat io n of to omuch good . St i ll , bring me a praise- o ffering . I t was accordingly brought to h im , and putt ing both hands upon it , he saidCreator o f the universe"Thy people which Thou hast brought

o u t o fEgypt cannot be su stained either with too much evi l o r to o


much good . When Thou becamest angry with them,they cou ld

n o longer bear it ; and n ow that Thou hast showered to o muchgood (rain) upon them , they cannot bear i t e ither . Let it be Thywil l that the rains may cease and the wo rld become happy .

Thereupon a wind cam e up,d ispersed the clouds , the su n c om

m e n ced t o shine , and the people went ou t into the fields andbrought back mush rooms .Simeon ben She ta ’

h then sent h im wo rd , saying : I f thou wertn o t Hon i

,I wou ld o rder that thou be anathemat ized ; for were

these years as those when El ij ah said that no rain Shou ld fal land when he had the key to the rain , thou wou ldst havemerely desecrated the Holy Name ; but what shal l I do withthee , since thou art petu lant towards God , and yet He fo rgivethand indu lge th thee l ike a petted ch ild who is petu lant towardsit s father

,and says : Father

,bathe me in hot wate r

,bathe me

in cold water,give me nuts , almonds , apricot s , and pom egra

nates,and is nevertheless fo rgiven and indu lged ? To thee

may be applied the passage [P rov . xxi i i . “ Let thy fatherand thy mother rej oice

,and let her that hath bo rn thee be

glad .

The rabbis taught : What was the wo rd which the Sanhedrins it t ing in the chamber o fmarble sent to Hon i Ham a

’

ge l after theoccu rrence ? They c ited the passage [Jo b , xxi i . 28] And i f thoudecree a th ing , i t wil l be fu lfi l led unto thee ; and upon thy waysthe l ight wil l sh ine

,and said : Thou hast dec reed below , and

the Ho ly On e,blessed be He

,rat ified it above , and the genera

t ion which was in darkness thou hast enl ightened with thyprayer .R . Johanan said : All the days o f th is righteous man (Hon i),

he t rou bled h imsel f concerning the mean ing of the passage

[Psalms , cxxvi .“ When the Lord bringeth back again the

capt ivi ty o f Zion , then shal l we be l ike dreamers . Honi wou ldconstant ly say : How can a man sleep o r be l ike a dreamer forseventy years? Once he was t ravel l ing on the road , and henot iced a man plant ing a carob- t ree . He asked h im how manyyears i t wou ld take before the t ree wou ld bear fru it , and the mananswered : Seventy years . Hon i then asked : Art thou

,then ,

su re that thou wilt l ive seventy years? And the man repl ied“ I found carob- t rees in existence when I came into the wo rld ,consequently my ancestors must have planted them . Whyshou ld I not also plant them for my children ? About thatt ime Hon i became hungry , and sat down to eat near the newly


planted tree . After the meal he fel l asleep , and a bay formedabout him so that he cou ld not be not iced , and thus he slept fo rseventy years . When he awoke , he observed a man gathering thefru it from the carob- tree ; and he asked the man : “ D idst thouplant th is tree?” The man repl ied : Nay ; I am the grandson ofthe man that planted it . Hon i then real ized that he must haveSl ept for seventy years , and when he looked around fo r his ass ,he not iced that there were many smaller asses . He then went toh is home, and inqu ired whether the so n o f Hon i Ham a

’

ge l wasst i l l al ive . He was told that the son was no longer l iv ing

,but

that a so n of the son was al ive . He then said : “ I am Hon iHam a

’

gel”

; but they wou ld not believe him . He went to thehouse o f learn ing and heard them say : To -day the Halakhothare as c lear as in the days o f Hon i Ham a

’

ge l, who wou ld immediately render a clear dec ision when any quest ions whateverwere put t o him by the rabbis .” He went in and said to them“ I am that Honi but they wou ld n o t believe h im

,nor wou ld

they accord him due respect . This cau sed him to become downcast and despondent , and he p rayed to God that he might d ie ,and so he died . Said Rabha : This i l lu st rates the Saying : Giveme the glo ry due me , o r give me death .

’

Abba He lkyah was a grandson of Honi Ham a’

ge l. Whenthe count ry was in need o f rain the rabbis wou ld send to h im

,

and he wou ld p ray for rain , which thereupon commenced to fal l .On e day the count ry was in need o f rain , and the rabbis sent acommittee o f two younger rabbis to him , with the request thathe p ray fo r rain . They came to his house, but d id not find him .

They went to h is field , and found him weed ing it . They greetedhim

,but he made no reply . On his way back to h is home

,he

placed some wood and the hoe o n o n e shou lder and a garmento n the other shou ld er . The ent ire way he d id not wear shoes ,but whenever he came to water which he had to ford he wou ldput them o n . When he came to a thorny path , he wou ld raisehis garments . When he came to the city , his wi fe met h imdressed in fine apparel . When he reached h is hou se, his wifeentered fi rst

,then he

,and finally the two young rabbis entered .

He sa t down t o his meal , but extended no invitat ion to therabbis to j oin h im . When dealing out bread to his chi ld ren , hegave the elder one loaf and the younger two . Afterwards he

The Hebrew term i s M eshun itha . Rash i e xp lain s it to m ean a ro ck , whi lethe dict io narie s de fine it as given in o ur text.


68 THE BABYL ONIA N TALM UD .

Hanan the H idden was a so n o f the daughter o fHon i Hama ’

gel . When the count ry wa s i n need o frain,the rabbis wou ld send

the school - ch ild ren t o him,who wou ld su rround him

,take hold O f

h is garments , and my : Father, father, give u s rain Andhe wo u ld say to the Holy On e

, blessed be He :“ Creato r of the

un iverse"Cause rain to descend , fo r the sake o f those who cann o t d ist ingu ish between a father capable o f giving rain and o n e

who is n o t .

” Why wa s he called Hanan the H idden ? B ecausewhenever he wou ld do some good , he wou ld hide himsel f so asnot to be observed .

Said R . Z’

re iqa t o R . Saphra : Come and se e th e d ifferencebetween the piou s o f B abylon and the righteou s of Palest ine .

The pious o f B abylo n R . Huna and R . H isda— when thecou nt ry was in need o f rain

,wou ld say :

“ Let u s combine andp ray to God , perhaps we shall find favor in H is eyes , and He

will give u s rain and the righteou s o fPalest ine R . Jonahthe father of R . Mani—e whe n the count ry was need ing rain

,

wo u ld go to h is hou se , ask fo r a sack , and say : I wi l l go to themarket and b uy a Zuz

’ wo rth o f grain . When going o u t hewou ld seek a deep place , as it i s wr i tt en [Psalms, cxxx . 1 ] Ou t

o fthe depths have I called to thee , O Lord ,” and he wou ld sta

t ion h imsel f in a h idden place,cover h imsel f with the sack , and

offer up a prayer for rain to the Lord , and fo rthwith rain wou lddescend . When retu rn ing home , he wo u ld be asked : “ D idstthou b uy the grain for a Zuz ? And he wou ld reply : “ I n o

t iced that i t commenced to rain , and hence thought i t u n n e c e ssary to go to the market for it , as i t can be had now anywhe re .

”

Again it happened that R . Man i the so n o f Jonah was so relyt roubled by the members o f the house o f the Nassi (prin ce) ; sohe went and threw himsel f o n his father ’ s grave

,exclaiming :

Father,father

,the men o fthe hou se o f the Nassi are t rou bling

me . On e day the retainers of the Nassi were rid ing by thebu rial gro und where Jonah was interred , and their ho rses co u ldnot p ro ceed u nt i l they vowed n o t t o t rouble R . Mani any more .

R . Man i wou ld frequently come to the house o f R . I tz ’hakben A lia sh ib , and he o nce told R . I tz ’hak that the members o fh is father- in - law ’s family were giving h im much trouble . Said R .

I tz ’hak : May they become poo r"and they really d id becomepoor. R . Man i then came again

,and complained that now his

relat ives were poor they were compell ing him to support them .

Said R . I tz ’hak : May they then become rich again"” and a c

c o rdingly they became rich .


At another t ime R . Man i complained to R . I tz ’hak that h i swi fe was to o i l l- favo red . Said R . I tz ’hak : What is he r name ?”

And R . Man i repl ied : Hannah .

” Said R . I tz ’hak : “ MayHannah become handsome"” and acco rd ingly sh e became handsome . Subsequently R . Man i came again , and compla ined thatn ow his wi fe had become handsome she m ade l i fe a bu rden tohim by her van ity

,and R . I tz ’hak sa id : May Hannah again

become ugly"” and Hannah again became ugly .

Some t ime later,two d isciples o f R . I tz 'hak ben A lia shib

begged h im to p ray to the Lo rd fo r them ,that they might b e

come wiser and more capable fo r study . Said he to them :“ I

u sed to do that at o n e t ime and wou ld succeed ; but I havestopped that pract ice and shal l not do i t again .

Elazar the man of B irtha would be shunned by the men whowere sent o u t to col lect money fo r char i table pu rposes , becausehe wou ld give away everyth ing he had . On e day he went o u tinto the market to buy the art ic les n ecessary fo r the prope r celebrat ion o fhis daughter ’s marr iage . The col l ecto rs o f alms pe rc e ived him

,and h id themselves . He

,howeve r

,pu rsu ed and

overtook them,and said I adj u re yo u ,

tel l me fo r what pu rposeye are sent o u t now and what ye need . And they answeredWe are collect ing money for two orphans who are about to bemarri ed . Said he : “ I vow they have precedence over mydaughte r . And he gave them everyth ing he had

,with the ex

c ept io n o f o n e Zuz , fo r which he bought some wheat and deposited it in h is storehouse . The mothe r (Ela z a r

’

s wi fe) Saidto the daughter : “ What d id you r father b ring ? And thedaughte r repl ied : “ All that he brought he deposited in thestorehou se .

” She then went to the storeho use,but cou ld n o t

open the doo r, as the wheat wa s piled up so high and the storehou se wa s so fu l l that the wheat forced it s way th rou gh thecracks in the walls . The reupon she betook hersel f to the ho useo f learn ing, where Elazar her husband was studying , and call ingh im o u t , said : “ Come and see what thy fri end d id fo r thee .

Arriving at the sto reho use,Elazar said : “ I vow that all this

wheat is devoted to the poo r,and thou hast but a share in it

equal t o the other poo r . ”

R . Jehudah Han assi (the Second) once o rdered a fast - day andprayed for rain , but without success . Said he : “ What a d i fference there is between Samuel the prophet and J ehudah the so no fGamal iel"Wo e is to the generat io n that ha s ret ro graded to

such an extent and wo e to the Nassi (pr ince) who hath witnessed

70 THE BABYLONIA N TA LMUD .

it . He became very despondent , and forthwith rain began tofall .A fastday was ordered from the house o f the Nassi , and no

previou s not ice thereo f was given to R . Johanan and Resh Lakish .

Said R . Johanan to Resh Lakish : What shal l we do? We didnot take it upon ou rselves to fast to - day or yesterday? Re

plied Resh Lakish : “ We are dependent upon the Nassi ; henceit i s not necessary for u s to take it upon ou rselves a day inadvance .

Again i t happened that the house of the Nassi ordered a fastday ; but no rain descended . So Osh iya, the youngest o f thecolleagues

,taught : I t is wri tten [Numb . xv .

“ Then shal li t be

,i f through inadvertence of the congregat ion it was com

m itted by ignorance,” which is a simi le to a bride in the house o f

her father— ii she have beaut i fu l eyes, there is no need o f examin ing her body

,but i f her eyes be bad her ent i re body shou ld be

examined i f the princ e o f the congregat ion be a righteou sman

,the congregat ion need not be t ried , but i f he be wicked the

congregat ion itsel f must be examined) . So the servants of theNassi came to Osh iya, threw a cloth over his neck, and tortu redhim . Said the townsfolk to the servants : Let h im be , forthough he o ften o ffends u s with his sayings

,st i ll , as we see that

he means well and does SO for ou r good , we let h im have h is ownway .

”

Rabbi once o rdered a fast - day , but no rain descended . SoI lpha , others say R . l lph i, went up to the read ing- desk to pray .

As soon as he came to the sentence, “ He causeth the wind toblow

,

” a wind sprang up ; and when he said , “ He causeth therain to descend , rain began to fal l . So Rabbi asked I lpha“ What are thy merits? And he answered : “ I l ive in a verysmall town , where it is almost impossible to Obtain any wine forthe Kiddu sh and the Habdalah on the Sabbath ; but I go togreat t rouble to procu re i t and d istribute among my townsmen

,

and when rec it ing the Kiddush p rayer I also inc lude my townsmen in the prayer .Rabh came to a certain p lace and ordered a fast - day

,but no

rain descended . The min ister o f the co ngregat io n went up tothe read ing- desk and com m enced to pray . Arriving at the se n

tence,He causeth the wind t o blow , a wind sprang up ; and as

soon as he said,He causeth the rain to descend

,

” rain began tofall . Said Rabh to him What are thy meri ts ?” And heanswered : “ I teach l itt le ch ild ren , and treat the chi ldren o f the


poo r l ike the chi ldren o f the rich . Those that cannot afford topay

,I teach without remunerat ion ; and being also a fisherman ,

I persuade those who do n o t wish to come and learn , t o do so bygiving them fish to take home with them .

R . Na ’hman ordered a communal fast . He prayed fo r rain,

which,however

,did n o t come . And he said to the people Take

ye Na ’hman and throw him from the roo f to the ground . He

became downcast , and rain commenced to fall . Rabba ordereda fast

,he prayed , and no rain came . And they said to h im :

“ B u t when R . J ehudah orders a fast , then rain comes . He

repl i ed : “ What can I do ? I n point o f learn ing we are betterthan they ; for i n the years o f R . Jehudah al l the i r stud ies wereconfined to the Sect ion o f D amages , while we study now all thes ix sect ions . And when R . J ehudah came to the Sect ion o fTaha ra th (Pu r ificat ion), Tract t s in , and the Halakha , Whena woman put herbs in a pot ,

’ or, accord ing to others , to the Halakha

,

‘ I f o l ives were soaked with thei r leaves , they areR . J ehudah u sed to say : ‘ I find it as deep as wou ld b efit thet imes “

ofRabh and Samuel . ’ B u t we have thirteen colleges wh ichare studying the Tract t sin , and nevertheless when R . J ehudahwo u ld pu t o ff one shoe , the rain wou ld come ; and we are c ryingthe whole day , and there i s nobody to look at u s . And i f onemight say,

R . J ehudah was bette r than we by his deeds , then i fthere i s any one here that knows we have not acted right ly

,let

h im say so ; but the t ru e reason is , what can the leaders of thegenerat ion do

,when the generat ion itse l f i s not good ?”

R . Jehudah saw once two men throwing bread at each other,and he said : I se e from this that there i s plenty in the wo rld .

”

H e cast an evi l eye,and a famine began . Said the rabbis to R .

Kahna the 5 0 11 o f R . N ahu n iah : We have heard that the Master frequents the house o fR . J ehudah cause h im to go into themarket (he shou ld become aware that a famine reigns) . H e d idso ,and took him out into the market . He saw a c rowd o fmen .

He asked What i s the matter? He wa s answered Thereis a measu re o f dates fo r sale , and each is eager to obtain it .Said he I perceive from this that there is fam ine in the wo rld .

He said to h is servant “ Take offmy shoes . He had taken off

but o n e o fh is shoes , when it began to rain .

R . Mari the so n o f the daughter o f Samuel said : “ At tha tt ime , when R . Jehudah had his shoes taken o ff, I stood o n the

Th is wi l l be e xplain ed in its p lace in Trac t t sin .


bank of the River Papa . I saw angels c lad l ike sai lors,who too k

sand,fi l led the ships therewith , and it was tu rned to fine flou r

,

and the whole wo rld came to buy it . I said to the persons o fmyhousehold : ‘ D o n o t buy o f i t , for i t is only th rough a mi racle ,and I wish to derive no benefit from miracles . ’ I waited t i l lthe morrow

,when sh ips laden with wheat actually arrived from

P a rz in a .

”

I t happened o nce that Rabha came to the c ity o f Hagru n ia ,

and he ordered a fast,but no rain came . Said he to the people

F ast over n ight . ” On the morrow morn ing he said to them :

I f any o n e saw someth ing in a dream , he shou ld come totel l what he saw in the d ream . R . Elazar o f the same c ity re

lated that he had been told in a dream the fol lowing words“ Good peace to the good master who rece ived his knowledgefrom a go od master, and who with h is goodness is do ing good toh is people Said Rabha : I i n fer from th is that it i s a favorable t ime . He prayed again , and rain came .

I t happened once that a man had committed a crime forwh ich he had to receive stripes in a cou rt where Rabha was thech ief j u dge . Rabha had the penalty infl ict ed o n him . H e

cou ld not endu re it,and d ied . When the government of Sabb o r

the king heard o fth is . they wanted to cau se t rouble to Rabha .

Said Iphra Ha rm yz , the king Sabb o r’

s mother, to her son : “ Iadvise you t o have noth ing to do with the J ews, for al l that theyrequest o ftheir Go d,

He grants to them .

” Said he : “ What,fo r

example ? Said she : Whenever they pray to God for rain,i t

rains . Said he to them :“ That is only becau se they pray in

the season when it has to rain . Now, when it is Tam u z [J u ly] ,when it o u ght n o t t o rain , let them p ray fo r rain , and yo u shal lsee that it wi l l not come .

” So sh e sent fo r Rabha,and said t o

him :“ Fix you r mind o n i t , and p ray to Go d t o send rain .

”H e

p rayed , and no rain came . Said he : B efore the Lord o f theun iverse [P S . xliv . 2] Go d, with o u r ears have we heard

,ou r

fathers have t o ld u s i n t imes of o ld, but w e with o u r

eyes do not se e i t . ” Then it rained so much that al l the canalso f M e

’

hu z a o ve rfl ow ed and the water spread in the st reets intothe River T igr is . H is father appeared to him in a d ream andtold h im “ I s there any othe r man who gives so many painsto Heaven ? GO and change the p lace o f you r couch .

”On the

morrow he found marks of a kn i fe with which h is bed had beenslashed .

R . Papa also ordered a fast : no rain came . Meanwhile he

TRA CT TA A N ITH (FA STING) . 73

felt t oo weak from fast ing . He t ook a spoon fu l o f da itha [akind o f d ish] and went o n p raying . St i l l , however, n o raincame . R . Na hman , h is fel low- lodger in the inn

,

* said to h im“ I f the Master wou ld partake o f another spoon o fda itha , thenrain wou ld su rely come (i ron ical ly) . He felt shame , he becamedowncast

,and rain came . (See Yomah , p . 76 R . Han ina b .

D osa , etc .)Said R . J ehudah in the name o fRabh Every day a heavenly

Voice goes fo rth and Says : The whole wo rld is nou r i shed merelyby the me ri t s o fHanina my so n , and fo r Han ina alone o n e Kabh

o fcarobs i s suffic ient from o n e Sabbath- eve to the other . ’

The wi fe o f Han ina wou ld make a fi re in her oven o n the eveo f every Sabbath in order n o t to be ashamed before he r neighbors . She had , however, o n e bad neighbor who said : “ I knowthat Han ina and h is wi fe have nothing to cook fo r the Sabbath ,why does sh e make fi re in he r oven ? I shal l go and se e . Shewent and knocked at the threshold

,and Ha n ina

’

s wi fe becameashamed and went into another room . I II the meant ime a m iraclehappened

,and the oven became fi l led with bread . The neighbor,

not ic ing the bread in the oven , cal led to Ha n in a’

s wi fe : “ B r i ngthe bread - sho vel , or the bread wil l be bu rned And she repliedI j u st went in fo r that pu rpose .

” We have learned in a B o ra ithaHan in a

’

s wife really d id go into the next room fo r a shovel ,becau se she wa s accu stomed to have mirac les happen to her .

On e day the wife o fR . Hanina said to h im : How long shal lwe yet be t roubled with the want o f o u r dai ly bread ?” And herepl ied : “ What can I do ?” Said she : P ray to God that He

shou ld give thee someth ing . He accord ingly went and p rayed .

A hand came forth and gave him a leg of a golden table . Subsequent ly h is wi fe saw in a d ream that al l the r ighteou s in heavenate on golden tables having three legs, while her table o nly hadtwo . Said she to Han ina : “ Wouldst thou then l ike it

,that al l

shou ld eat at a table having th ree legs, whi le we shou ld eat ato n e on ly having two ? Pray to Go d that the golden leg may betaken back .

”He p rayed , and the leg was taken back . We have

learned in a B o ra itha that th is latter mi racle was even greaterthan the former ; for we have a t rad it ion , that it is u sual fo rheaven to bestow but not to take back .

A cco rd ing to the A ruch the te xt sho u l d read , B a r- U shpirti ,”

z. e the so n

ofU shpirti , who was the m o ther ofR . Papa , a nd he said to h im thu s Y o u, so n

ofU shpirti ,”e tc .

74 THE BABYLON IAN TALMUD .

On e eve of Sabbath Han ina not iced h is daughter in a despo nde n t mood . Upon asking her what the t rouble was

, she

repl ied : “ I got the two vessels contain ing o il and vinegar mixed ,and pou red the latter into the Sabbath lamp and l it i t .” Said he“ My daughter"why shou ld that t rouble thee? He who hathordained that o il shou ld bu rn can also ordain that vinegar shou ldbu rn .

” We have learned in a B o ra itha that the vinegar in thatlamp burned al l n ight and al l day , t i ll some o f i t was used for theHabdalah p rayer .R . Han ina ben D osa had a few goa ts, and he was told that

his goats cau sed damage to others . Said he : “ I f my goats dodamage , may wolves devou r them ; but i f they do not , may theyeach bring a bear impaled upon their horns . That same evening, each goat real ly brought in a bear mounted o n i t s horns .How d id Han ina happen to have goats? Was he not a poor

man ? Said R . Pinchas : “ I t once happened that a man left afew chickens at the house o f Han ina, and the latter said to hiswi fe : ‘ D o not u se the eggs, for the chickens do not belong tou s Accord ingly the eggs were le ft untouched

,and in the

cou rse of t ime qu ite a number o f chickens were produced , so thatthey became too t roublesome , and Han ina sold them and with theproceeds pu rchased goats . Subsequently the man who left thechickens retu rned to claim them . He was asked for a descript iono f his property , which he gave correct ly , whereupon Haninat u rned ove r the goats to him , and these are the goats thatbrought bears upon thei r horns .*

The same Han ina had a neighbor who was bu i ld ing a hou se,

and the beams were too short . So she came to h im ,and said

I have bu i lt my house,but my beams do not reach far enough .

And he asked her her name . And she answered A ikho . He

then said : “ A ikho , may thy beams become longer .” We have

learned in a B o ra itha that they real ly became so long that theyprotru ded an el l o n each side, while others say that pieces wereco nj o ined with the beams so that they attained the requ iredlength . We have learned in another B o ra itha : P lim o said ‘ Isaw that ho u se and not iced that the beams prot ruded an ell oneach side . And I was told that the hou se was the one fo r whichHan ina prayed to have the beams becom e longer . ’

R . Hama bar Han ina o rdered a fast - day,but no rain de

A cco rd ing to Han an e l and o ther com m en tar ie s the who le paragraph was in se rtedhere from o ther sou rce s than the Gem ara. I n the A in Jacob this is n o t to be found .


76 THE B A BYLONIA N TALM UD .

King"we have no o ther king but Thee . On ly fo r Thy sake havemercy upon us" And h is p rayer was answered . The peoplethen began to mu rmur (and say that R . Aqiba was a greaterman than R . El i ezer) . A heaven ly Vo ice went forth and said :N o t becau se R . Aqiba is a greater man than R . El iezer w a s his

prayer answered,but because he always gives in to another ,

while R . El iezer never d id that .The rabbis taught How much rain shou ld fall in order that thecongregat ion may sto p fast ing? When the rain fi l ls up a fu rrowmade with a plough . So said R . Mei r, but the sages say I f thewater i s a span deep o n dry land , two spans on moist earth , andthree spans o n ploughed soil .

ffwhile the people a r e fa sting r a in shou ld fa ll befor e sunr ise . The rabbis tau ght “ I f whi le the people are fast ingrain shou ld fal l before sun r i se they may stop fast ing, but i f afte rsun r ise they must not . Su ch i s the d ictum o fR . Mei r . B u t R .

J ehudah said : I f it fel l before noon they may stop fast ing, buti f after noon they shou ld n o t . R . J ose , however, said : They maystop i f rain fel l befo re the end of the n inth hou r (3 P . butnot i f it fel l after that hou r . And so we find in the case ofAchab

,King o f I srael , who fasted from the n inth hour o n ,

andfu rther

,as it is written [ I Kings , xxi i . “ Hast thou seen

how Achab hath humbled h imself be fo re me? (I t i s explainedelsewhere that kings u sed to eat thei r meal at the n inth hou r .)R . J ehudah N e sseah (the Secon d) o rde red a fast - day , and rain

commenced to fal l after sunrise . He thereupon desired to stopfast ing

,but R . Ami said to h im : We have learned that i f rain

fal ls befo re n o on or afte r noon there is a d ifference o f op in ion ,but after sun r ise al l agree that fast ing may be stopped .

”

Samu el the Litt le ordered a fast -day , and rain descended b efore sunrise . The people wanted to in fer therefrom that it wasin p raise o f the congregat ion ; for as soon as a fast was o rdered ,rain commenced to fal l . Said Samuel to them :

“ This can becompared to a case o f where a Slave begs fo r something Of h ismaster

,and the master says : ‘ Give it to him"I do n o t care

even to hear h is voice .

’

Again it happened that the same Samuel ordered a fast - day,

and rain fe ll after sunset . Then said the peop le Su rely th i s i sin praise o f the congregat ion that after fast ing and praying raincame .

” Said he to them again : Nay , th is is n o t to be conside red ; for it can be compared to a slave begging o f h is master,who says : Let h im pray and trouble himsel f fo r some t ime b e


Nfore I wil l give it to him .

’ What , then , does Samuel consid era s praise fo r the congregat ion ? I f when the sentence i s read ,He cau seth the wind to blow , a wind springs up , and when thesentence

,

“ He causeth the rain to descend,

”is read , rain c o m

menees to fall .“ I n the even ing they r etu r ned a nd sa ng the g r ea t Ha llel .

Why shou ld they retu rn in the even ing and say the Hal lel ? Letthem say it beforehand ? Abayi and Rabha both say : Hallelis n o t sung except with a sat isfied sou l and a we ll-filled stomach .

This is n o t so "For d id it n o t happen that R . Papa o rdered afast - day in the synagogue o fAbi Gober, and rain descended b efore noon , when they sang the Halle l , and then ate and d rank ?With the inhabitants o f M e

’

hu z a i t i s d ifferent , for they are

general ly drunkards .

CHAPTER IV .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING THE PRIESTS ’ BLESSING OF THE PEOPLE,

THE IN ST ITUT ION OF THE STA ND ING M EN—THEIR FA STS A N D

PRA YERS . THE FA ST OF THE SEVENTEENTH D A Y OF TA M U Z

A N D THE N INTH OF A BH,A N D THE CEL EBRA TION OF THE F IF

TEEN TH D A Y OF A BH .

MISHNA : At three periods o fthe year the priests shal l raisethei r hands (to bless the people) at each prayer, fou r t imeson each day viz . , du r ing the morn ing , add it ional , afternoon , andc losing prayer . (The three periods ment ioned are On the fastdays

,o n the fast Of the stand ing men , and on the D ay o f Atone

ment .

(The reason for the inst itu t ion of) these stand ing men is b ecause it is written [Numb . xxviii . 2] Command the chi ld ren o fI srael , and say unto them My offer ing

,my bread for my sacri

fic e s shal l ye Observe ,” etc . How can an offer ing be

brought for a person withou t his being p resent (at the t ime whenit is sacrificed) ? Therefore d id the elder prophets inst itu t etwenty- fou r watches (d ivis ions) each watch always had a sect ionof standing men , composed o f pr i ests, Levites, and I sraeli tes ,stat ioned at J erusalem . When the tu rn of each watch camearound to go up (from their c it ies to the Temple), the p r i ests andLevites went up to Jeru salem , and the I srael ites who belonged tothat watch assembled in (the synagogues o f) the i r c it ies to readthe h isto ry O f the c reat ion the fi rst chapter o fGenesis) .The stand ing men u sed to fast fo u r t imes in the week ; viz .

,

from Monday u nt i l Thu rsday (inc lusive), but they d id n o t fast onFr iday

,o n acco u nt of the ho no r due the Sabbath , nor o n Sun

day,that they might not (to o suddenly) pass over from rest and

pleasu re to wear in ess and fast ing— for that m ight endanger theirl ives . On Sunday the standing men read (the sect ions comm en c ing) :

“ I n the beginn ing ,” etc . [Genesis, i . I to and , Letthere be an expansion

,

” etc . [ibid . 6 , etc .] o n Monday they readLet there be an expansion , and , Let the waters,

” etc . [ibid .

9 , o n Tuesday : “ Let the waters , and , “ Let there be78


l ights,etc . [ibid . 1 4 , o n Wednesday : Let there be l ights

,

and,Let the waters bring forth , etc . [ibid . 20 , o n Thu rs

day :“ Let the waters br ing forth , and , “ Let the earth br ing

forth,etc . [ibid . 24 , o n Fr iday : “ Let the earth br ing

forth,and

,

“ Thus were fin ished ,” etc . [ibid . i i . 1 to The

long sect ion o fthe day was read by two persons and the short byo n e ; th is was done , however, during the morn ing and add it ionalprayers ; but at the afternoon prayers they entered (the Synagogue) and rec ited the sect ions ment ioned by heart , even as theShema ’ i s rec ited . On Friday afternoon they d id not go t o thesynagogue at al l

,in honor o fthe Sabbath .

On the days o n which the Hallel wa s sung, the standing menwou ld n o t attend du ring the morn ing prayer (i n J erusalem) .When there was an add it ional Offering, they d id not assemble atthe t ime of the clos ing p rayer . When a wood - offer ing wa s

brought,they d id not assemble during the afternoon p rayer .

Such is the d ictum of R . Aqiba ; but B en Azai said to h im : R .

J ehoshua taught as fol lows : When there was an add it ional offering, the standing men did not assemble du r ing the afternoonprayer ; and when a wood - o ffering was brought

,they d id not a s

semble at the t ime O f the c losing p rayer . ’ Thereupon R . Aqibachanged (his Opin ion) and taught l ike B e n Azai .The t imes when the del ivery ofwood (fo r the altar) was made

by priests and people were o n n ine appointed days : viz . , on theI st day o f N issan , the family o fArah ben J ehudah (made thedel ivery) ; o n the 20th o f Tam u z , the fami ly o f D avid benJ ehudah ; on the sth o f A bb , the fami ly o fPar ’os ben J ehudah ;o n the 7th o f that month , the family o f Jonadab ben Rekhab ;on the l o th

_

o f the same month , the fami ly o f Sin aha ben B enj amin ; On the 1 5th o f that month , the fami ly o f Z a tho o benJ ehudah

,and with them priest s and Levites , and all tho se who d id

not know from which t ribe they were descended— also the familyo fGonebe Eli and the family o f K o tz e

’

li K e tz i’

o th ; and o n the20th ,

the family O f P a ’

ha th Moab ben J ehudah ; o n the 20th o f

Elu l , the family o fAdin ben J ehudah ; and o n the I st o fTebeth ,the fam i ly o fPar ’os fo r the Second t ime .

The re was no meet ing o f the stand ing men o n the I st o f

Tebeth ; because Hal lel was sung and addit ional sacrifice andwood - O ffering were brought on that day .

Five calam it ies happened to ou r ancestors on the 1 7th o f

Tam u z,and five o n the 9 th o f A bh : viz on the 1 7th o fTam u z

the tables o f the Holy Law were broken ; on that day the

80 THE BABYLON IAN TA LMUD .

cont inual dai ly O fferings ceased , and the c i ty o f J eru sal em wasstormed ; on the same date Apostamos bu rned the Holy Scrol lsand placed an idol i n the Temple — o n the 9 th o f A bh i t wasdecreed that ou r ancesto rs shou ld not enter the Ho ly Land ; onthat day the fi rst and second Temples were destroyed

,the c ity

o fB e tha r was taken , and the s ite (o f J eru salem) was ploughedup (l ike a fi eld) . F rom the I st o f A bh i t i s incumbent upon aperson to l essen h i s part ic ipat ion in j oyfu l events (unt i l afterthe 9 th o fthat month) .

D u ring the week in wh ich the 9 th o fA bb occu rs , i t i s p roh ib ited t o a pe rson to shave h imsel f, or to wash (his clothes),but on Thu rsday thi s i s al lowed in honor o f the Sabbath . On

the day be fore the 9 th o f A bh a person shou ld not partake o ftw o different k inds o fd ishes o f m eat

,nor may he drink any wine .

Rabb o n Simeon ben Gamal i el says : He shou ld change ” (hi sord inary mode o f l iving) . R . J ehudah cons iders i t obl igatoryfor a person to t u rn over the bed places ,* but the sages do n o tco in c ide with h im .

Rabb o n Simeon ben Gamal ie l said : Never were there anymore j oyou s fest ivals in I srael than the 1 5th o f A bh and theD ay o f Atonement , for on them the maidens o f J eru salem usedto go o u t d ressed i n whi te garments— borrowed ones , however,i n o rder not to cau se sham e to those who had none o fthei r own .

These clothes were also to be previou sly immersed,and thu s the

maidens went ou t and danced i n the v ineyards,saying : Young

men,l ook and observe well whom yo u are abou t to choose (as a

Spouse) ; regard n o t beau ty alone , bu t rather look to a vi rtuou sfami ly

,fo r false i s grace

,and vain i s beau ty : a woman only

that feareth the Lord shal l indeed be p raised [Proverbs , xxxi .and i t is al so said [ ibid . Give her o f the fru i t o fher

hands,and let her own works prai se her in her gates . ” Thus

also is i t wri tten (al lud ing to that cu stom) : Go fo rth a nd l ook,

O ye daughters o f Z ion , on King Solomon , with the crownwherewith h is mother hath crowned him o n the day o f hi sespousals

,and o n the day o f the joy of h is heart [So lomon

’ sSong, i i i . The day o f the espou sal s refe rs to the dayon which the Law was given , and the day o f the j oy of hi sheart ” was that when the bu i ld ing of the Temple was com

ple ted. May it soon be rebu i l t in ou r days"

I t was the general cu stom am o ng the I srae l ite s of that day to turn o ver thecou che s o n which they sate during the day , and slept during the n igh t, o n any o ccas io n ofm ourn ing and also as a Sign ofthe ir be ing in actual m ourn ing .

TRA CT TA A N ITH (FASTING) . 8 1

GEMARA : A t thr ee per iods of the yea r , etc . I s the rethen an add it ional p raye r o n fast - days and for the stand ingmen ? The M i shna is n o t comp lete , and shou ld read thu s :At th ree periods o f the year the priest s shal l raise the i r hands

(to bless the people) at each prayer, and among such pe r i odsthere are days when th is i s done fou r t imes during the dayviz .

,du ring the morn ing

,the addit ional , the afternoon , and the

clos ing praye rs ; and the three periods o f the year are on fastdays

, o n the fast o fthe stand ing men , and o n the D ay o fAtonement . Said R . Na ’hman in the name o f Rabba bar A bbahuSuch i s the d ictum Of R . Meir . B u t the sages maintain thatd uring the morn ing and add it ional prayers the p r iest s rai se the i rhands ; bu t not during the afternoon and clos ing p rayers .Whose Op in ion i s that at t ributed to the sages ? That i s theop in ion o fR . J ehudah

,as we have learned in the fo llowing B o

ra itha : I n al l the fou r p raye rs ment ioned above , the p r i estsare to raise the i r hands . This i s the d ictum o f R . Mei r

,bu t R .

J ehudah said that thi s i s n ot done in the afternoon and c lo singprayers

,whi le R . J ose main tain s that i t i s not done i n the afte r

noon prayer , bu t i t is done in the c los ing prayer. Said R .

Na ’hman : The Halakha prevai ls accord ing to the Op in ion o fR . J ose . And so i t remain s .Why is it

,then

,the custom at p resen t that the p r iests rai se

thei r hands in the afternoon prayer o f a fast - day B ecau se theafternoon prayer i s said very near to the t ime o f sunset

,i t is

regarded the same as the c losing p raye r.These sta nding m en

,etc . Ho w i s th e M ishna to be under

stood ? The Mishna mean s to say : These are the stand ingmen

,and the reason o fthei r i nst i t ut ion i s becau se i t i s wr i tt en ,

etc .

The rabbis taught : There are twentyfou r watches i n theLand o fI srael , and o fthese there are twelve i n J e r i cho . Whenthe watches we re to go up to the Temple , hal f wen t up from al lpart s o fthe Land o f I srael to J eru salem ,

and the other hal f fromJ e ri cho . Why we re hal f o f them in J ericho ? B ecause theyhad to prepare food and d ri nk fo r the i r b reth ren in J eru salem .

R . J ehudah said in the name o f Samuel : P ri est s , Levit es ,and I srael it es that compose the d iv is ion o f the stand ing menprevent , i n the even t o f the i r absence , the Offering o fthe sacrific e s . In a B o ra itha we have learned : R . Simeon ben Elazarsaid : The p r i ests

,Levites

,and the mu sical inst rument s pre

vent , by thei r absen ce , the O ffer ing o fthe sacrifi ces,

” because h e6

25 2 I’

l‘

i b B A B Y L U N I A N I A L M U U .

hold s that the chant ing at the offering o f the sacrifi ces must beaccompl i shed mainly through the musical in st ruments , and notvocal ly.

R . Hama bar Guria said in the name OfRabh : Moses established for the I srael i tes only eight watches ; viz . , fou r fo r thedescendants o f Elazar the pri est and fou r for those o f I thamar.Subsequ ently Samuel the prophet increased the number to s ixteen

,and final ly D avid fu rther increased them to twentyfou r ,

as i t i s writ ten [I Chron icles , vi. I n the fort i eth year o fD avid were they inqu i red into

,and there were found among

them m ighty men Ofvalor at Y a ’

z e r and Gi l ’ ad .

”

The rabbi s taught : Fou r watches went up out o f exile ,and they are : Y ida ’

yah , Harim , Pash’

ho r,and Imar. And the

p rophets who went with them increased them to twentyfou r. ”

How was thi s done They threw lot s into an u rn,and Y ida ’

yah

came and d rew lot s fo r h imsel f and compan ions to the number o fsix . Then came Harim , and drew lot s fo r h imsel f and fo r h i scompan ion s to the numbe r o f s ix . Likewi se d id Pa sh ’

ho r, andthu s al so Imar ; and the prophets also enacted that , even shou ld

J ehoyo reb , the chie f o f the watches , come up out o f exi le , heshou ld not d isplace Y id’

ayah , bu t Y id’

ayah shou ld be fi rst , and

Jehoyo reb act merely as an add it ional (to Y id’

ayah).The rabbi s taught : The men o f the watch would pray tha t

the sacrifi ces o f the i r brethren shou ld be favorably a ccepted ; andthe standing men wou ld congregate in the synagogues and fastfou r fast - days ; viz . ,

from Monday unt i l Thursday,i nc lu sive .

On the fi rst fast - day they would fast for those who pl i ed theseas ; on the second , for tho se who traverse the desert ; thethird , that the ch i ldren m ight be saved from the d isease o fcroup ; and the last day, for pregnant women and for thosesuckl ing thei r babes— that the former m ight be happ ily dc l ivered and the latter retain the i r st rength . On the day preced ingthe Sabbath they wou ld not fast , i n honor o f the Sabbath , andmost assu redly not on the Sabbath i tsel f. Why d id they notfast on Sunday? Said R . Samue l ben N a

’

hm e n i B ecau sethat i s the th i rd day (afte r m an was and Resh Lakish said : B ecause o f the second sou l that i s given to man onthe Sabbath , and which leaves him at the close o f the Sabbathday (hence he would b e to o weak to fast on the fol lowingday) .

On Sunday the sta nding m en r ead,[ n the beg inn ing ,

etc .We have learned in a B o ra itha : The fi rst sect ion

, i . e . ,from the

D "


84 THE BA BYLONIAN TALM UD .

afraid o f t ransgressing do They wou ld p lace a basket con taini ng the firstfru its at the bottom O f the wagon , and cover i t withdried fru it s . I II addi t ion to that they would carry a pest l e

,and

when stopped by the guards wou ld tel l them that they were o nthei r way to a place where they desi red to pound the fru it ; andafter having safe ly passed the guards

,they would ornamen t the

basket co ntain ing the firstfru its and bring i t into the Temple .And we have learned i n a B o ra itha , i n add it ion to thi s , that theGonebe Eli and the Kotze K e tz i

’

o th are the same who arecal led elsewhe re the fam ily o fSa lm a i Ha n th o pha tha i. Who werethe Sa lm a i Han tho pha tha i ? The rabbis taught that when i twas decreed that no wood should be brought for the altar theywou ld con struct ladders

,which they would carry past the guards

appointed to watch for any men who would violat e the decree,

and when stopped wou ld claim that they were about to takedown some doves from thei r dovecots . Having safe ly el udedthe guards and arrived at the Temple , they wou ld take the ladders apart and carry in the wood for the altar.* To these menand those emulat ing thei r example the passage may be appl i ed

[Pro ve rbs , x . The memory o fthe j u st is to be blessed .

”

On the 20th,the fa m ily P a

’

ha th M oa b ben j ehudah ,et c .

I n a B o ra itha we have l earned : By the family P a ’

ha th M o abben J ehudah i s meant the fam i ly o fD avid ben J ehudah (meaning D avid the King Ofthe tribe o f J udah) . Such i s the op in iono f R . Meir ; but R . J ose said that they we re of the ch i ld ren o f

J oab ben Tz e ruyah .

On the 20th of Elu l, the fam ily ofA din ben j ehuda h ,etc .

The rabbis taught : By the fam i ly o fAdin ben J ehudah i smeant the family o f D avid ben J ehudah . Such is the op in iono fR . J ehudah ; but R . Jose said that they were o fthe ch i ld reno fJoab ben Tz e ruyah .

Ther e wa s no m eeting of the sta nding m en on the 1 st ofTebeth .

” Said Rabha : The Hal le l which i s sung o n the feasto f new moon is not based upon a bibl ical ord inance , becau seR Johan an said in the name o f R . Simeon ben J eho z adok :

Eighteen t imes du r ing the year an ind ividual may rec i t e the

The nam e s Go n ebe Eli , K o tze K e tZ I o th,a nd Sa lm a i Han thopha tha i were

n o t in real ity proper nam e s,but s ign ified the fo l lowing : Go n ebe Eli m ean s tho se

who sto le the pe st le K e tz i’

o th m ean s dry figs o r c innam o n ,from the A rabic cassia ;

a nd Sa lm a i i s de r ived from the wo rd Su lam , a ladder. The co nn ect io n i s easi lye stabl ished , as al lud ing to the m ean s em p loyed by tho se p io u s m en safe l y to e ludethe guards appo in ted to watch fo r the firstfru its a nd the wo od for the altar.


whole Hal le l,and they are : On the eigh t days O f the Feas t o

Tabernacles,o n the eight days o f the Feast of D ed icat i o n

(Hanukah) , o n the fi rst day o f the Passover , and on the day o f

Pentecost . While in exi l e,however , one may rec it e i t twenty

o n e t imes du r ing the year, namely : On the n in e days o fthe fest iva l o f Tabernacles , o n the e ight days o fHanukah , o n the fi rsttwo days O f Passover

,and on the two days o fPentecost .

Rabh happen ed to be i n B abylon before he removedthere pe rmanent ly) and he saw the people read ing the Hal lel o nthe fi rst day o fthe month . He fi rst i ntended to interrupt them

,

bu t seeing that they read on ly port ions o f i t , he said I understand they fol low the cu stoms o f the i r ancesto rs

,and it does n o t

matter . I n a B o ra itha we have learned that an ind ividual shal lnot start , bu t i f he had al ready started he may conclude it .

F ive ca la m ities happened to ou r a n cestor s ,” etc . IVhe n ce

do we know that o n the 1 7th day o fTam u z the tables o ftheHoly Law we re broken B ecause we have learned in a B o ra ithaas fo l lows : On the s ixth day o f Sivan the ten commandmentswere given , and o n the seventh day M o ses ascended u nto heaven .

R . Jose says : On the seven th day the ten commandments weregiven . All agree , however, that on the seventh day o fSivanMoses ascended unto heaven

,becau se i t i s wri tten [Exodu s ,

xxiv . And he cal led unto Moses o n the seventh day ou to f the m idst o f the cloud ”

; and fu rther, i t i s said [ibid . 1 8]And Moses went into the m idst o f the cloud

,and ascended

the mount ; and Moses was on the mount forty days and fortyn ights . ” Thu s Moses was there twenty- fo u r days i n S ivan andsixteen days in Tam u z

,and o n the 1 7th he descended and broke

the tables,as i t i s written [ibid . xxx i i . And i t came to

pass,when he (Moses) came n igh unto the camp , and he saw th e

cal f and the dancing,that the anger o fMoses waxed h o t , and he

cast from his hand s the tables,and broke them at the foot o fthe

mount .That the cont inual dai ly offer i ngs ceased o n the 1 7th o fTa

mu z i s trad i t ional ; and the statement that the c i ty w a s sto rmedo n that day refers t o the second destru ct ion . That the othertwo calam it i es occu rred o n that day i s al so t rad i t ional .

On the 9 th of A bh it wa s decr eed,

” etc . Whence do weknow that ? From the fol l owing B o ra itha : We have learnedthat o n the twenty- n inth day o f Sivan Moses sen t o u t the spies ,as i t is wri tten [Numb . xi i i . And they retu rned fromspy ing o u t the land a t the end o f fo rty days

,and those forty

86 THE BABYLONIAN TALM UD .

days (incl uded the day o f thei r ret u rn , that i s) were in reali tyfo rty less o n e , and Abayi said that in that year the month o fTam uz was a fu l l month o f th i rty days , as i t i s wri tt en [Lam .

i. He hath cal led an assembly against me to cru sh my

young men .

”

Further,i t i s wri tten [Numb . xiv . I ] And al l the congrega

t ion l i ft ed up thei r vo ice , and cri ed aloud , and the people weptthat n ight . ” Said Rabba in the name o f R . J ohanan : Thatn ight was the eve preced ing the n inth o f A bh , and the HolyOn e ,

blessed be He , said : Ye have c ri ed on th i s n ight in vain,

and I shal l ordain i t that you r generat ion s shal l lament on th i sday forever . ’

On tha t day the first a nd second Temples w er e destr oyed.

I t i s wri tten [I I Kings , xxv . And in the fi fth month, o n

the seventh day o f the month , etc . , and [J erem iah , l i i . 1 2]And in the fi fth month

,on the tenth day o f the month . I t

cannot be said that on the seventh day the calamity occu rred,

becau se i t i s al so wri tten on the ten th . Nei ther can i t besaid that it happen ed on the tenth ,

” becau se i t says on theseventh —hence i t must be assumed that ent ran ce to the Temple was gained by the enemy on the seventh

,and they ate and

d id damage there in on the seventh,on the e ighth

,and on the

n inth . Toward the evening o f the n inth they set i t on fi re,and

i t cont inu ed to bu rn al l day on the tenth,as i t i s written [ ibid .

vi . W0 unto u s"for the day wan e th ,for the shadows o f

the even ing are stretched out . ” And th is bears ou t the statement o f R . Johanan , who said as fo l lows : Were I l iv ing inthose days

,I wou ld have ordained the fast for the l o th o f A bb

for on that day the greater part of the t emple was bu rned .

The sages o f that day, however, held that the day when thecalamity began shou ld be observed as a fast - day.

Whence do we know that the second Temple was also destroyed on the 9th o f A bh ? We have learned in a B o ra ithaA happy event i s cred ited to the day on wh ich another happy

event happened , whi le a calam ity is ascribed' to the day when

another calamity occu rred ; and i t was said that when the fi rstTemple was destroyed i t was on the eve preced ing the 9 th o fA hh , which was also the n ight at the close o f the Sabbath anda lso the close o f the Sabbat ical year . The watch at the t ime

How it i s inferred from the passage i s not understood by u s, nor e xp lained byany comm entary.



The doom o f the val l ey o f vi sion . What ai l eth thee now,

that thou art whol ly gone up to the roo fs O noise fu l , t umu ltu o u s c ity , j oyou s town"thy slain ones are not S lain with theswo rd

,and not those that d ie in batt le . ”

Fr om the 1 st of A bh it is incum ben t upon a person to lessen

his pa r tic ipa t ion in joyfu l even ts . Said R . J ehudah , the so n o fR . Samuel bar Sh ila th , i n the name o f Rabh : As from the I sto fA bh part i c ipat ion i n j oyfu l events must be lessened

,so

,as

soon as the month o f Adar enters,j oyou s fest ivi t ies shou ld be

increased .

D u r ing the w ech in which the 9 th ofA bh occu rs , etc . SaidR . Na ’hman : The wash ing o f clothes i s p roh ib i ted on ly whenthey are washed for the pu rpose o f immediate wear

,bu t i t i s

al lowed to wash clothes and put them away fo r fu ture wear. ”

R . She she th , however , said that even wash ing for fu tu re wear i salso not al lowed , and the p roo f i s that the laundresses ofRabhwou ld stop work on that ent i re week . I t was taught al so thatR . B enj amin said in the name o f R . Elazar : Washing for immediate wear i s proh ibited du r ing that week , bu t fo r fu tu re weari t i s permitted .

An obj ect ion was raised : We have learned : I t i s not al lowedto wash clothes before the 9 th o fA bh ,

even i f they be intendedfor u se after the 9 th . In those days the wash ing o f the clotheswas simi lar to ou r la u ndrying, and as for l inen garments the proh ib itio n i s not e ffect ive (on ly for s i lk garments) The o bje ct ion remain s .R . I tz ’ hak bar Giu ri in the name o f R . J ohanan sent word ,

saying : Although the prohib i t ion against wash ing does notapply to l inen garments , st i l l i t i s n o t al lowed to put o n suchgarments du ring the week in which the 9 th o f A bb occu rs .

”

Said Rabh : Thi s appl ies only to the days preced ing the 9 thO f A hh ,

but not to those succeed ing i t ,” whil e Samuel said

that even on the days fol lowing the 9 th o f A hh i t i s also notal lowed .

This const it u tes a d ifference o f op in ion among Ta n a im,as

we learn in the fo l lowing B o ra itha : I f the n inth day o fA bh

fal ls on a Sabbath,o r even i f the e ighth fal ls on a Sabbath , one

may eat and drink whatever he chooses,and may place o n hi s

table even such viands as were eaten by Solomon while he wasyet k ing . He must not Shave o r wash (his clothes) from the dayo f the n ew moon unt i l after the fast o f the 9 th o f A bh . Suchi s the d ictum o fR . Mei r. R . J ehudah , however, says that it i s


not al lowed to do th is the ent i re month o fA hh ; but R . S imeo nben Gamali e l main tain s that the proh ibit ion appl ies on ly to theweek in which the 9 th o fA bh occu rs .I n another B o ra itha we have learned : A man shou ld be in

a stat e o fmourn ing from the fi rst day o f A bh unt i l a fter thefast - day . Such i s the d ict um Of R . Mei r . R . J ehudah , however

,says that du ring the ent i re month o n e i s n o t al lowed to do

th ings p roh ibi ted for a mou rner ; bu t R . Simeon ben Gamal ie lmaintain s that o n e must be in su ch a state on ly du ring the weekin which the 9 th o f A bh occu rs . (Hence the d ifference o f

Op in ion between Rabh and Samuel ari ses from the fact thatRabh hold s with R . Mei r , whil e Samuel hold s with the otherTan a im . )Said R . Johanan : All the three Tan a im o f the B o ra itha

quoted de ri ved thei r teachings from the fol lowing passage [Ho

se a,i i . And I wi l l cau se to cease al l her m i rth

,he r fest i

val , her new moon , and he r Sabbath ,’ etc . The Tana who

teaches that on e shou ld be in a stat e o f mou rn ing from the I st

o f A bb o n,der ives hi s t eaching from the word fest ival ’ i n the

passage,because the I st

,being New Moon

,i s a fest ival . The

Tana who appl ies h i s t each ing to the whole mon th derives i tfrom the words new moon

,

’ and in fers that i t mean s the ent i remonth ; and the Tana who appl i es h i s t eaching only to the weekin which the 9 th o f A bh occu rs , derives i t from the word Sabbath

,

’ and in fers that i t mean s the week o f that Sabbath .

Said Rabha : The Halakha prevai l s accord ing to R . Meir,

and o n another occasion he said : I t p revai l s accord ing to R .

Simeon ben Gamal i el ” ; and by both statements he meant torender the more len ien t construct ion o f the ord inance . Thu s i twas necessary to make both statements . Fo r had he said thatthe Halakha prevai l s on ly accord ing to R . Meir , the state o fmou rn ing wou ld extend for the n in e days from the I st t o the

9 th o fA bh i nc l u sive ; and had he said that the Halakha prevai l sonly accord ing to R . Simeon ben Gamal i el , the stat e O f mou rning wou ld extend over the days following the 9 th o f A hh i n thesame week . By c it ing both decrees , however, the ord inance i smade more len ient

,i n that the state o fmourn ing commences

on ly with the fi rst day o f the week in which the 9 th occu rs andends with the 9 th i tsel f.

On the day befor e the 9 th of A bh a person shou ld not pa r tahe

of two dishes . Said R . J ehu dah : This appl ies o n ly to thet ime from the s ixth hou r on ( 1 2 bu t previou s to that t ime


i t m ay be done . And again he said : This appl i es on ly tothe conclud ing meal

,but du ring the other meals h e may eat

what he chooses,and both statements are in tended for the more

l en ient const ruction o f the ord inance i f one eat s h is lastmeal befo re noon

,or i f he eats a meal afte r noon bu t in tends to

eat again before the fast commences,he may in e ither case eat

as many d ishes as he chooses) . We have learned in a B o ra ithaOn the eve o f the 9 th of A bh one must not eat two dishes , noreat meat nor d rink wine . R . S imeon b . Gamal i e l , however ,said : He shal l make a change .

” Said R . Jehudah : Whati s meant by making a change ? E.g . , i f he u sual ly eats twod i shes

,he shal l now eat one ; i f he u sual ly eat s i n the company

o ften men,he Shal l now eat in the company of five ; i f h i s cu s

tom is to drink ten cups Ofwine,he shal l now drink five . B u t

al l th i s appl ies to the t ime from the s ixth hou r on ; bu t previo u sly to the sixth hou r, everyth ing is perm itt ed . I n anotherB o ra itha we have learned : On the eve o f the 9 th of A bb oneshou ld not eat two d i shes

,nor eat meat , nor drink wine . So i s

the decree o f R . Meir . The sages,however

,said : He shal l

make a change , and shal l u se l ess meat and wine . How so ?I f hi s cu stom had been to eat a littr e o f meat

,he shal l n ow eat

one- hal f o f i t ; i f h i s c u stom had been to drink a lug o f wine , heshal l now d r ink one- hal f o f a lug ; bu t i f h i s cu stom had been tod ri nk no wine at al l , he must not d r ink i t at al l—even a drop .

R . Simeon b . Gamal i e l said : I f h i s custom had been to eatrad ishes o r something salt

,aft er h i s meal

,he may cont inu e to

do i t . ” I n yet another B o ra itha we have l earned : I n case o fthe conclud ing meal before the 9 th o f A bh he must not eatmeat , nei ther drink wine , nor wash h imse l f ; bu t i f th i s meal isnot the conclud ing meal , he may eat meat and drink wine , butmust not wash .

” R . I shmael , the son o f R . J ose,however

,

said i n the name o f h i s father : As long as i t i s al lowed to eatmeat

,i t i s al lowed to wash one ’ s sel f also .

”

The rabbis taught : All o rd inances appl icabl e to a mou rnerare effect ive for al l ( I srael ites) on the 9 th o f A bb ; viz . , one mustnot eat , drink , ano int h imsel f, wear shoes , or have sexual intercou rse . The Pentateu ch

,the Prophets

,and the Hagiographa

m u st not be read . The M ishna, Gemara , and M idrash mu stn o t be stud ied , nor Halakhoth or Haggadoth d iscu ssed ; b utsome th ing which one has not previou sly read he may read , a ndmay study someth ing which he had never before stud ied . Theschool - ch i ldren must not l earn on that day, becau se i t i s written



with the other t ribes,as i t i s wr i t ten [J udges , xxi . I ] : N ow

the men o f I srael had sworn in Mizpah , saying : Not any o n e o fu s shal l give h i s daughter unto B enj am in fo r wi fe . Whencewas i t deduced that subsequently perm iss ion might be given tointermarry with the t r ibe o f B enj am in ? B ecau se the quotedpassage says Any o n e o f u s

,and Rabh said that thei r de

sc e nda n ts we re not i ncluded in the vow .

Rabba bar bar Hana said in the name o f R . Johanan : Onthat day the last o fthose who were dest in ed to d ie in the desertd i ed

,and the dest iny was thu s fu lfi l led ; fo r the Master said that

so long a s the dest iny was st i l l un fu lfi l l ed,the Lord d id n o t

speak to Moses for h is part ic ular sake,as i t i s wri tten [D eut . i i .

1 6 and I 7] : So i t came to pass,when al l the men o f war were

Spent by dying from the midst o f the people,that the Lord

spoke u nto me , saying”

; and unto m e” s ign ifi es that the

Lord spoke unto Moses in part i cu lar .U la said : On that day the guard s appo inted by J e roboam

to prevent the I s rael i t es from com ing to J eru salem were abolish ed by Hoshea the son o f Elah

,and he said : Let them go

wherever they choose .

’

R . Mathnah said : On that day permission was given to

bu ry the dead who were kil led in batt l e at the c ity o fB e thar .

And R . Mathnah said again : On that day , when i t w a s perm itted to bury those ki l led at B e tha r

,the assembly at Y am n ia

ordained the benedict ion reading : ‘

B lessed art thou,God the

good , that doth good .

’ What i s meant the reby ? By‘ good ’

i s meant that the bodies were n o t l eft to pu trefy,and by doth

good that bu r i al was perm itted .

Rabba and R . J oseph both said : On that day they ceased tocu t wood for the altar

,as we have l earned in a B o ra itha : R .

El i ezer the Great said : From the fi fteenth day o f A bb theheat o f the sun was l essened and the t imber was no longer d ry ,so they Ceased to cu t wood for the altar. [Said R . M e n asseh

That day was cal led the day on which the saws were brokenand from that day on

,he who adds the n ight to hi s t ime for

study may have years and days added to hi s l i fe .I n white g a rm en ts— bor r ow ed ones ,

” etc . The rabbistaught : The king ’ s daughter borrowed from the daughter o f

the h igh - p ri est ; the daughter o f the latter wou ld borrow fromthe daughter o f the Segan (assi stant) ; the Segan

’

s daughterwould borrow from the daughter o f the priest who was an oint edfor the war [see D eu t . xx . and sh e i n tu rn wou ld borrow


from the daughter o f an o rd inary priest . The daughters o f theord inary I srael i tes wou ld borrow o n e from the othe r

,i n o rder

not to put t o shame those who had none o fthe i r o wn .

These clothes wer e a lso to be im m er sed. Said R . El i ezerEven i f the clothes we re fo lded and laid in a chest

,they must

also be immersed .

The m a idens wen t ou t a nd da n ced,etc . We have learned

in a B o ra itha : Those that had no wives wou ld go the re to procu re a spouse .

Saying : Young m en,looh a nd observe ,

’ etc . The rabbist aught : The pretty ones amo ng the maidens wou ld say : R e

gard but beau ty alon e,becau se a woman i s made on ly fo r

beauty . Those among them who were o f good fami ly wou ldsay : Rather look to a good fam i ly

,

” for women are bu t madeto bear ch i ldren (and those o f good fami ly produce good ch i ld ren) . The i l l - favo red ones among them would say : Makeyou r select ion s only fo r the glo ry o f Heaven

, b u t provide l iberal ly fo r u s .

”

Said U la B iraah i n the name o f R . Elazar : I n the fu turethe Holy On e

,blessed be He

,wil l make a ring o fthe r ighteou s

,

and He wi l l s it among them in the garden o f Eden , and theyeveryone wi l l po in t to H im with thei r fingers

,as i t i s written

[I saiah , xxv . And men wi l l say on that day , L O ,th i s i s

o u r Go d,for whom we have waited that He wou ld help u s : th i s

i s the Lo rd,fo r whom we have waited ; we wi l l be glad and we

wil l rej o ice i n H is salvat ion .

’

EN D OF TRA CT TA A N ITH .


CONTENTS.

SYN OPSI S OF SUBJECTS OF VOL UM E VII I . - TRA CT MEG IL L A,

CHAPTER I .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING THE TI M E WHEN THE B OOK OF

ESTHER M UST BE REA D ON THE RA BB IN ICA L FEA ST OF

PURIM IN OPEN TOWN S A N D WA L L ED C ITIES,ETC . ,

CHAPTER I I .

CONCERN ING THE REA DING OF THE MEG I L L A—B Y WHOM,

WHERE,A N D IN WHA T LA NGUA GES

,

CHAPTER III .

REGULATION S CONCERN ING THE POSTURE OF THE REA DER OF

THE M EG IL L A,A N D H IS CL OTHES, BEFORE PRA YER ,

CHA PTER IV .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING SEL L ING OF S A CRED PROPERTY A N DA BOUT THE REA D ING OF THE HOL Y SCROL L S ON SA BBA THA N D HOL IDA YS

,

PAGE

SYNOPS IS OF SUBJ ECTS

VOLUMEVlll . —TRACT MEGILLA .

CHA PTER I .

M ISHNA S I . a nd II . The M eg i l l a i s to b e re ad from the e l even th t i l l thefifte e n th ofA dar. How so Wh i c h c it ie s a re co n s id e re d wal le d s in ce thet im e ofJo s hu a b . N un . By whom w a s m ad e the Targum o n the Pen tateu cha nd by w hom th at of the Pro ph e ts . What the He ave n l y vo i ce s a i d th e na nd how the gro u n d of Pale st in e trem b led . Who we re the m en who we rew ith D an ie l [Dan ie l , x . 7] Who a re o b l iged to h e ar the re ad ing of the

M egi l l a ?Wh i c h h as the prefe ren ce , the stu dy Ofth e L aw o r the re ad ing oftheM egi l l a ? A re wom e n o bl ige d to h e ar the M egi l l a re ad ? What m u st b ec o n s i d e red a l arge to wn What Rabb i u sed to do o n Pu rim , the s eve n te en thofTam u z , a nd how he ha s abo l i s he d the fast o n the n in th of A b . The ex

pl an atio n of the pas s age Z e cha r . i x . 7 , and al so the e xpl an at io n of the pas

sage P s . ex] . 9 . A lso what i s to b e infe rre d from Hab ak ku k , i . 1 3 ,1—1 4

M ISHNA III . Wh en the M eg i l l a w as re ad in the fi rst A d ar and afte rward s the ye ar w a s de c l are d in te rc al ary. The requ e st th at Esthe r sen t tothe sage s . The B o o k o fEs th e r wa s d i c tate d by the Ho l y Spi ri t. Whe n c eis th i s d e du c e d The o b l igat ion of sen d ing po rtio n s to frien d s a nd to gi vec h ari ty to the poo r. In what c h arac te rs a nd l angu age the M egi l l a m u st b ewr itten ? Wh e n i s the fe st i va l m e al o n Pu rim to b e e aten 1 4—1 7

M ISHNA S IV . a nd V. Enum e rate the d iffe ren c e of a n um be r of th ingsbe twe e n o n e an o th e r, am o n g th em the d iffe ren ce of the G re e k l angu age a nd

o th e rs , a nd why it h as prefe re n ce o ve r al l o th e rs e xcept He brew . The trad it ion of the m e n of the Gre at A s sem b l y abo u t the pas sage s begin n ing w iththe w o rd Va hi

”

( a nd it c am e to pas s) . What a b ri d e who i s c h as te in theh o u se ofhe r hu s ban d ’s pare n ts d e se rve s . The e n um e rat io n of the pas sage sw ith wh i c h the d iffe ren t A m o ra im began th e i r le ctu re s o n the B o o k OfEsth e r.

The an aly s i s o fthe n am e A h asu e ru s,

”a nd what the d iffe ren t s age s h ad to

s ay abo u t it . He wa s a s e lf-m ad e k ing . Is it t o h i s c re d i t o r to h i s d i sc re d i t ? The th ree k ings that re i gn e d o ve r the wh o l e wo rl d . Why wasCyru s c al l ed the an o in te d of God ? Why d o e s the B ib l e som e t im e s n am e

Pe rs i a befo re M e d i a a nd som e t im e s v ice v er sa ? By what s in s d i d the Isra eh tes in cu r the d e c re e o f Ham an in that age ? Who w as M em ucha n ?

Why was M o rde c a i c al le d B e njam ite a nd Ju d e an ? The in te rpretatio n of

the n am e s m en t io n e d in the Chro n i c le s w ithou t a ny expl an at io n . Why d idIV


SYNOP S IS OF SUB JECTS .

w h i c h m u st be h i d den What d i spo s i t io n ofthe Ho lyScro l ls w hen ro ttenM ay o ld Ho l y S c ro l l s be so l d Wh e n a re Ho l y S c ro l l s a l l owed to be so l dRu le s ofco n tri bu t io n to c h arity by a v i s ito r of a town . M ay s acre d pub l i cprope rty be so l d to pri vate in d iv i du al s ? The repl ie s ofm an y sage s wh enth ey w e re qu e st io n e d fo r the re aso n of th e i r l o nge vity . What i s fo rb i dd ento be do n e in a praye r h o u se , a nd m ay a m a n go in the re fo r the pu rpo se of

pro te cting h im se lf again st rain o r su n sh in e ? What i s m e an t by the s ay ingo f the M i s hn a : “ Who u se s the c rown i s l o st Com e and se e how the

I s rae l i te s a re be lo ve d befo re the Ho l y On e , e tc . The He aven l y vo i c e abo u t

the M o un t S in ai , 70- 8 1

M I SHNA S IV. a nd V. T re at abo u t the po rt io n s of the B i b l e wh i c h are tob e read o n the Sabbath s beg inn ing two wee ks befo re Pu r im up to Pas so ve r,o n e ac h day ofthe Passo ve r , a nd o n e ac h d ay ofthe o th e r festi va ls, a nd the

d iffe re n t Opin ions abou t th i s , 8 1 - 90

TRA CT M EG I L L A .

CHAPTER I .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING THE TIM E WHEN THE BOOK OF ESTHERM UST BE REA D ON THE RA BB IN IC A L FEA ST OF PURIM I N OPENTOWNS A N D WA L L ED C ITIES

,ETC .

MISHNA : The Megi l la i s read somet imes o n the 1 1 th ,1 2th ,

1 3th , 1 4 th , o r o n the 1 5 th o fthe month Adar, neither earl i er n o rlater. C i t i e s wh ich

,from the t ime o f Joshua the so n o f Nun ,

were su rrounded with wal ls,read i t o n the 1 5 th . V i l lages and

large Open towns shou ld read i t o n the 1 4 th , and i nhabitants o fvi l lages may read i t i n advance o n the day o f assembly .

* How

i s th i s to be unde rstood ? When the 1 4 th fel l o n Monday ,i nhab itants o fvi l lages and o f large open town s used to read i to n that day

,and those o f wal led c it ie s o n the day fo l lowing.

When it fel l on Tu esday o r Wednesday , the inhab i tant s o fvi llages u sed to read i t i n advance (the p reced ing Monday) o n theday Of assembly , those O f large open towns o n that day (the1 4 th) , and those o f wal led town s on the mo rrow . When i t fel lo n Thu rsday, i nhabi tant s o fvi l lages and large open towns usedto read i t 0 11 that day, and o fwal led towns o n the fo l lowingday . I f i t fel l o n the eve o f Sabbath

,inhabitants o f vi llages

read i t i n advance on the p reced ing o r day o f assembly ,and

those o f large open town s and o f wal led towns o n that day

( 1 4 th) . When i t fel l o n Sabbath,inhab itants o f vi l lages a nd

l arge open towns read i t i n advance o n the preced ing Thu rsday ,the day o f assembly ; and o fwalled towns o n the morrow (theSunday) . When i t fel l o n Sunday

,i n vi l lages they read i t o n

the p reced ing day o f assembly (Thu rsday) , and in large opentowns O II that day ( 1 4 th) , and in walled c i t ie s o n the mo rrow .

I n the tim e of the M ish na the tribu nal s of ju st ice kept the co urts Open o n

M o ndays o r Thursdays fo r the sake Of the m e n who cam e to the m arke ts,which were

u sual l y o n the se days . The read ing of the Ho l y Scro l l s in the syn agogue s was alsoo n these days , and therefo re they were cal led days ofassem bly .

”

THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD .

GEMARA : The Megi l la was read o n the 1 1 th day. Whencedo we deduce thi s Whence do we deduce th is"(I s th i s , then ,a b ibl i cal commandment , which you want to deduce from thepassages o f the B i ble ? This i s on ly rabb in ical) , and as i t wi l lbe explain ed fu rther o n , the sages made i t eas ier for the inhabitan ts o fvi l lages , who u sual ly came to the towns on Mondaysand Thu rsdays , that they shou ld read then the B ook of Esther ,and shou ld have t ime to provide thei r brethren o fthe towns withwater and with food ? We meant to say so : let u s see . Theread ing o f the Megi l la the men o f the Great Assembly haveordain ed . Now , at the fi rst glance

,i f the men o f the Great

Assembly had ordained i t shou ld be on the 1 4th and 1 sth ,have

then the sages the power to abol i sh the ord inances o f the GreatAssembly Have we not learned in a Mi shna that a B eth D ini s not able to abol ish the ordinances o f it s co lleagu es unless theyare greater than they in wi sdom and in members ? Thereforewe must say that al l the ment ioned days were ordained by theGreat Assembly . Where

,then

,i s the h int in the B ibl e for i t ?

Said R . Shamen bar Abba in the name o f R . Johanan : I t i s wri tten [Esther , ix . To confi rm these days o f Purim in thei rt imes . ” I n thei r t im es : th is s ign ifi es that many t imes are t obe ordained . B u t i f so

,say even the 1 6th and 1 7th Nay , i t i s

wr i tt en [i bid . So that no ~ on e shou ld t respass it . ” Thatmean s

,i t m ust n ever be after the appoin ted t ime . R . Samuel

bar N a’

hm a n i,however

,said : I t i s written [ i b id .

“ l ikethose days whereon the J ews had rest from thei r enemi esAnd those days are plu ral

,mean ing two ; l ike the days

means to add also the 1 1 th and the 1 2th . B u t perhaps i t i s the1 2th and the 1 3th Said R . Samuel bar I tz ’hak : The 1 3th daywa s the t ime when al l I srael in al l places were assembled to takerevenge on the ir enem ies , and i t i s certain that su ch a day mustnot be added from the verse

,becau se th i s day was the day o f

the main m iracl e ; and therefore i f you add someth ing , i t can beon ly the l 1 th and th e 1 2th . B u t again , perhaps i t i s the 1 6thand 1 7th ? That i s already explained by the verse : He shal lnot t respass . Said Rabba bar bar Hanah in the name o f R .

J ohanan : This i s on ly acco rd ing to R . Aqiba , accord i ng towhom are many anonymous M ishnas ; but the sages say that inou r t ime

, (when the m essengers a re no longer sent) and the people look to the read ing o f the Megi l la as to a sign Ofthe com ingfeast - day (o f Passover) , there fore i t must be read only in i t smain t ime ( 1 4 th) . And so we have l earned also in a B o ra itha


4 THE BA BYLONIA N TALMUD .

And these days are remembered a nd celebrated . And wecompare the celebrat ion to the remembering ; as the celebrat ioni s d i fferent , so i s the remembering .

B u t what i s the reason o f the Tana o f our M ishna , who sayswalled town s from the t ime o f J oshua b . Nun He makesan analogy o f expression : i t i s wri t ten here , there fore the J ewsof the u nwal led towns ” ; and i t i s wri tten [D eut . i i i . b e

s ides the unwalled towns . ” As thereby unwalled towns aremeant those from the t ime o f J oshua

,so also i s i t meant

here .

Ou r Mishna wil l not be in acco rdance with R . Joshua b .

Ko r ’ ha of the fol lowing B o ra itha : R . J oshua b . Kor ’ha saidThe inhab itan ts o f towns su rrounded with wall s from the t imeso f Ahasu eru s shou ld read on the 1 5th . What i s h i s reason I tshal l be as i n Shu shan As in Shushan they read on the 1 5th , soal l town s su rrounded with a wal l shal l read o n the 1 5th . B u t thei nhab itants o f Shushan it sel f act accord ing to whom I t is certa in ly not i n accordance with the sages , becau se i t was not su rrounded with a wal l in the t ime o f J oshua b . Nun Said Rabha

,

and accord ing to others Kdi : The case wi th Shushan i s d ifferent ,for there was the m irac le

,and they feasted on the 1 5 th . R .

Joshua b . Levi said : A large c ity , and it s neighborhood , and al lthe places around that can be seen with i t

,must be considered

l ike the large c ity i tsel f. B u t how much d istance i s meant ?Said R . J eremiah , accord ing to others R . Hyya bar Abba , asthe d istan ce from Ham tn to Tiberia , which was a m ile . Thesame says again : The double letters i n the Hebrew alphabetMem

,Nun

,Zadik

,P e

,Kaph— th e p rophet s have added . I s

th i s poss ible I s i t not wr i tten [Lev . xxvi i . These are thecommandment s from which we in fe r these are the commandments

,and no prophet has the power t o make n ew on es from

that t ime ? And fu rthermore , d id not R . H isda say that theMem (when i t i s the last lett er o f the word) and Samekh (whichis round) , which were chased through the tables o f Moses , wereheld in on ly by a mi rac le ? This i s so

,bu t i t was not b e

fo re known which let ter must be in the middle o f the word andwh ich at the end ; and the prophets ordained that the open oneshou ld be at the m idd le and the closed o n e fin a l. * B u t even thatmuch had they then the right t o do ? The re fore we must say thati t was fo rgotten and the prophets only resto red them . The same

The open o ne ,e .g . , D the c lo sed o n e , as D. So also with the o ther le tte rs .

TRACT MEGILLA.

J

au thority says again : The Targum (t ranslat ion) o f the Pentateu ch was made by U nke la s the Proselyte under the supervis iono f R . El i ezer and R . J oshua ; the Targum o f the Prophetsby Jonathan b . U z i e l u nder the superv is ion o f the three prophet sHaggai , Zechariah , and Malach i . Then the ground o fPalest in et rembled (as i f shaken by an earthquake) fou r hund red P a rsa o thsquare

,and a heaven ly vo ice was heard : Who are these who

have revealed My Mystery to man ? Then JOn a than b . U z ie larose and said : I am the o n e who hath revealed Thy Mysteryto man

,bu t i t i s known unto Thee that not to my honor

,nor in

honor o f the house o fmy father I d id th i s,bu t fo r Thy glory ,

t o prevent cont rovers ies i n I srael . He i ntended to do thesame with the Hagiographa , when a heaven ly vo ice was heardRefrain from doing th is . ” Why so ? B ecau se in the Hagi

o grapha the t ime o fMessiah’ s arrival wou ld be known i f i t shou ld

be t ranslated (and th is mu st be h idden) .Why at the t ranslat ion O f the Pentateuch d id not the ground

tremble,and at the t ranslat ion o f the Prophets i t t rembled ?

B ecause the Pentateu ch i s almost al l expla ined ; bu t in thePro phets the re are many th ings not expla ined at all. As i t i swr it ten [Zechariah , xi i . On that day wil l th e lamentat ionbe great i n J e ru salem

,l ike th e lamentat ion at Hadad - r immah i n

the val l ey o f Megiddon .

” And R . J oseph said , but for thet ranslat ion o f th is verse

,I wou ld not know at al l what i t means .

The translat ion is : On th i s day wi l l the mou rn ing in J e ru salem be as it was ove r Ahab b . Amri

,that was ki l led by Hadad

r immah b . Tabrimon in the c ity o f Ramoth G ilead , and as theymou rned over J osh ia b . Aman

,who was ki l l ed by Pharaoh

Necho (the lame one) i n the val l ey o fMegiddon .

”

I t i s written [D a n . x . And I,D an iel

,saw alone this

appearance,bu t the men that we re with me d id n o t see the

appearance ; nevertheless a great terro r fel l upon them ,so that

they fled to h ide themselves . ” Who we re these men ? SaidR . J e remiah , accord ing to others R . Hyya b . Abba : They wereHaggai , Zechariah , and Malach i . They were bet ter than he ,becau se they were prophets

,and he

,D an iel

,wa s n o t a prophet .

And he was better than they becau se he saw it,and they d id n o t

se e i t . B u t i f they d id not se e , why fel l a t erro r upon them ?

Although they d id n o t see l i t eral ly,they saw it c la i rvoyantly .

Said Rabb in a : From th is we may in fer that who so i s t e rr ified ,altho u gh he does n o t h imsel f see

,he sees c lai rvoyant ly .

We have learned i n a B o ra itha : The p r i ests d u ring the i r se r


vice,Levites from the i r balcony, and the I srael it es stand ing

around,al l must leave thei r p laces to go and hear the read ing o f

the B ook o fEsther. And so al so said R . J ehudah in the n ameo f Rabh . This the hou ses o f l earn ing took as the i r supportwhen they stopped the learn ing o f the Law , and went to hearthe reading o f the Megi lla . They draw an a fo r tior i concl us ion from the Temple service : as the Temple servi ce , which wasve ry vigo rous

,they stopped for the sake o f the Megi lla

,the

learn ing o f the Law so much the more . B u t d id not R . Samuelbar Un ia say that the learn ing o f th e Law is greater than thedai ly sacrifi ces ? I t p resents n o d iffi cu lty ; the learn ing o f anind ividual i s n o t greater than Temple servi ce , bu t the l earn ingo fa congregat ion together i s greater .Rabha said : I t i s certain to me that o f the Templ e service

and the read ing o f the Megi l la the latter has the pre ference,as

i t i s said above . B etween the studying o f the Law and theread ing Of the Megi l la the latter has the p reference , as d idthe houses o f l earn ing . B etween the studying o f the Law andthe bu rying o f a dead man who has no fr i ends the lat ter has thepre feren ce . B etween the Temple serv ice and the bu rying o f a.dead man the latter has the p re feren ce . B u t what i s doubt fu lt o me is

,i f a man ha s to read the Megi l la and to bu ry a man

who has no fr i ends,which has the preference Shall we assume

the Megi lla has the p reference , because i t p roclaims the m i racle ;o r the bu ryinghas preference , fo r the honor o f man After hehad considered

,he himsel f d ec ided that the burying has pref

erence,as the Master said (Sabbath , p . Great i s the honor o f

man,which supersedes even a negat ive commandment o f the

Torah . The text says : R . Joshua b . Levi said that a largec ity and its n eighborhood

,etc .

,are con s idered as the c ity

i tsel f. We have learn ed i n a B o ra itha ,in add it ion to th is : I f i t

i s i n the neighborhood,even i f i t cannot be seen from a d istance

together wi th the c i ty ; and when i t can be seen with the c ity,although it i s not near the c i ty. (This i s explain ed , when thec i ty is in a val l ey or on a mountain . )R . J oshua b . Levi says again : A city where the inhabitants

had resided before,and later it was su rrounded with a wall ,

must be considered as a vi l lage . Why so B ecau se i t i s wri tten [Lev . xxv . And i f a man sel l a dwell ing- house in awal led c ity.

” Whence we may in fer that the c i ty was wal ledbefore he dwelt i n it , bu t n o t i f he had dwelt i n it and afterwardi t was wal led . He says again : A city where there are not ten



I nhabita nts of villag es sha ll r ead,et c . R . Han ina said

The sages made i t easi e r fo r the inhabitants o fvi l lages to reado n the “ days o f assembly, becau se they u sual ly supply with waterand food the inhab itants o f towns on those days .

How is to be understood ‘ If it fa lls on M onday,

’ etc .Why

,in the fi rst part o f the Mishna

,does i t begin with the

orde r o f the days of the month and when i t comes to explain i t ,i t begins with the order o f the days o f the week (I t does n o tsay read on the 1 5 th ,

” bu t o n the B ecause co nfu s ion between the numbers o f the days in the month and in theweek wou ld have ari sen

,there fore i t begin s with the dates o f

the month alone .

[f itfell on the eve of Sa bba th , etc . According to whomis th is M ishna Accord ing to Rabbi , or accord ing to R . J oseWhich Rabbi and R . J ose Ofthe fol lowing B o ra itha : I f i t fal lson the eve O f Sabbath , vi l lages and large Open c i ti es u sed to

read i t o n the day o f assembly , and inhab itants o f wal led town sread i t o n that same day . Said Rabbi : I say that the largeopen towns mu st not have the appo inted t ime postponed,

andmu st be equal to wal led towns , and both read the same day.

And which R . Jose From the fol lowing To sephtha : I f i t fal l so n the eve of Sabbath , the inhab itan ts o f wal led towns and vi"lages read o n the day o fassembly

,and the large open ci t ies read

on the appo inted day . R . J ose , however, said : The inhabitant so f walled towns do not read in advance o f those o f the largec i t ies

,bu t both read o n the appo inted day . B u t does Rabb i

hold that fo r the inhabitan ts o f la rge c it ies we do not change fo rthe day o fassembly D id we not l earn in another B o ra itha : I fthe Feast o f Purim falls on Sabbath

,the inhabitant s o f vi l lages

read in advance on the prev iou s assembly day,and the inhab

ita n ts o f large Open cit i es read on the eve o f Sabbath , and thoseo f walled towns on the day fol lowing ? A S the appo int ed dayhas already been changed for the inhab itants o f large c it i es forthe p reviou s day

, ( I say) i t shal l be fixed o n a day before , whichi s the assembly clay What comparison is th is I n case o ftheabove B o ra itha the r ight - t ime was on Sabbath

,and as they had

i t changed i t was set two days before ; bu t in the p reviou s B ora itha the r ight - t ime was the eve Of Sabbath

,why shou ld it be

changed ? Accord ing to whom i s what R . He lb u said in thename of R . Huna

,as follows : I f the Feast o f Purim fal l on Sab

bath al l i s postponed for the day o f assembly (Thu rsday) . [Whati s meant by al l ” I s i t p o ssible

,al l D o not the inhab

TRACT MEGILLA. 9

itan ts o f a wal led town read i t o n the Sabbath i tsel f I t means,

fo r those for whom it has to be postponed , i t shal l be set o n thea ssembly day . ] Thi s wi l l be accord ing to Rabbi .We se e , howeve r , that al l agree that the Megil la must n o t be

read o n the Sabbath . Why so ? Said Rabha : All are obl igedto read the Megi lla

,but n o t al l are able to read i t ; and thi s is a

p recaut ionary measu re,l est o n e take the Megi l la i n h i s hand and

go with i t to an expert t o learn to read i t,and at the same t ime

he wi ll carry fou r el l s i n publ i c ground . (There fore i t must n o tbe read on Sabbath at al l . ) And the same i s the reason why wedo not blow the com et o n the New Year ’ s day when i t fal l s o nSabbath , and do n o t u se the Lulab o n the fi rst day o fthe Feasto f Tabernacles when i t fall s on Sabbath . R . Jose said : Here i sa nother reason : I t i s becau se the poor hope on ly fo r the daywhen the Megi l la i s read to rece ive gi ft s

,a th ing which cannot

be done o n Sabbath . We have learned the sam e also in the fo ll owing B o ra itha : B ecause i t was said that the inhab itants o fvi llages read i n advance on the day o f assembly , the char i ty thatm u st be given on that feast shal l be co l lect ed and d i st r ibuted o n

the same day,becau se the poo r hope on ly fo r the day when the

Megi lla i s read . The enj oyment o f eat ing and d rinking,how

ever , must be on ly on the appo inted t ime .

Rabh said : I f the Megi l l a i s read i n the right - t im e , i t maybe read even by an ind ividual ; bu t i f not o n the r ight - t ime , thenonly when ten men are togethe r . R . Assi , howeve r , said : I nboth in stances i t mu st be read only when ten men are together .I t happened once that Rabh had not ten men : he took thet rouble to assemble ten men because o fR . Assi ’ s d ec i s ion .

MISHNA : What mu st be considered as a large town Anytown in which there are t en B a tlon im . Shou ld there be less thanthat n umber

,i t i s legal ly cons ide red a vi l lage . I t was said with

respect to these,that i t may be don e sooner , bu t not later

bu t the day o f the del ive ry o f wood for the pri ests , the fast onthe 9 th o f A bh ,

the fest ive sacrifices,and the day o fassembly

(to fast and pray for rain) are to be postponed to a late r day ,but must not be kept be fo re the i r p roper t ime .

Although i t was said in respect to the read ing o f the Meg i l lathat i t may be don e earl ie r bu t n o t late r , i t i s yet perm itted o n

these days to pronounce funeral o rat io ns and to fast , al so t o givethe gi fts to the poo r. Said R . J ehudah : When is i t al lowed toread the Megi l la before it s p roper t ime In places where i t iscu stomary for the count ry people to assemble in

'

the town s o n


M ondays and Thursdays ; but where that does not take place ,the Megi l la may on ly be read on it s p roper day.

GEMARA : We have l earned i n a B o ra itha : By the t enB a tlon im are meant those who are always in the hou se o f prayer

(and must be supported by the congregat ion , so that at theprayer shou ld never be l ess than ten men , as i s explained inTract B e ra ch o th) .

I t m ay be done sooner , bu t not la ter . Why so ? SaidSamuel : B ecau se i n the B ook of Esther it was said , shal l nott respass .

D elivery of woodfor the p r iests , the 9 th ofA bh , etc . The

9 th o f A bh shal l not be made sooner, becau se calam it i es are not‘

l amented in advance ; and concern ing the fest ive sacrifi ce andthe assembly , i t cannot be done earl i er, becau se that d uty hasnot arrived yet . And a B o ra itha taught : The fest ive sacrifice , and al l the t ime appointed for i t ( i f i t was n o t brought in i t sright t ime) , can be postpon ed , but not made earl i er . I t is right

,

the fest ive sacrifi ce i t sel f ; i f the fest ival fal l s o n Sabbath,we

postpone i t t i l l after Sabbath . B u t what i s meant by it s t imeShal l be postponed Said R . U sh ia : The B o ra itha meant tosay thu s : The feast - Offering, when the fest ival fal l s on Sabbath ,and the burnt - Offering wh ich must be brought when the p ilgrim Svis i t J eru salem [see D eu t . xvi . 1 6

, even when the fest ivald id not fal l on Sabbath

,the Offering had to be postponed for the

t ime during the seven days after it . And this i s accord ing on lyto B eth Shammai (B e tz ah , Chap . I I . , Mishna Rabha , however

,said : What is meant by the t ime o f the feast - Offering

may be postponed On ly fo r the seven days it can be postponed

,not later .

R . El eazar said in the name of R . Han ina : Rabbi u sed toset ou t a plan t on Pu rim

,and washed h imsel f i n the market o f

Z ipo rith (publ ic ly) o n the 1 7th day o f Tam u z (which i s a fastday) , and intended to abol i sh the fast o f the 9 th o fA bh . B u t

the sages d id not agree wi th h im . Said to h im R . Abba barZabda : Rabbi , th i s was not so , for i t once happened when the

9 th o f A hh fel l on. Sabbath,and i t was postponed to Sunday

,and

Rabb i d eclared : When i t has been postponed , i t shal l n ot be keptat al l . And the sages d id not agree with h im . And the formerthen read the verse [i n Ecc . i v . Two are better than on e .

(Rash i explain s th is , that he means to say the second stat ementwas better than the fi rst ; bu t it seems to us the explanat ion i sd ifferent . He mean s to say that i f so , both happened twice , and



itan ts o f Rakkath , go and rece ive the man who was ki l led inthe val l ey o f B abylon . And when R . Zera d ied , i n the l amenta t io n was ment ioned Rakkath (see Moed Katan , p . Therefo re said Rabha : Hammath means Hammel - Grar

,Rakkath i s

T iberi a,K in e re th i s Geno se r . And why i s i t cal led Rakkath ?

B ecau se even the common men there are fu l l o f rel igiou s meri t sas a pomegranate .

*

R . Jose bar Hanina said : I t i s w r i tt en [Zechar i ah , ix .

And I wi l l remove thei r blood out o f the i r mouth,and th ei r

abominat ions from between thei r teeth ; and the i r land al so shal lbe left for o u r God . I wi l l remove thei r blood out o f thei rmou th

,- that means

,thei r B eth B a m ia ; J and thei r abom ina

t ions from between the i r t eeth — that i s,the i r B eth Ga lia ,

"

1and the land al so wi l l be le ft to ou r God means

,the hou ses

o f p rayer and o f l earn ing which are in Edom (mean ing Rome) ;and i t shal l be as a prince ’ s dwel l ing in J udah

,and Ekron

shal l be l ike J ebu s i ”— that means the theatres and c i rcu seswhich were in Edom , bu t i n the fut u re the princes o f J udah wi l lt each the Torah publ ic ly in them . R . I t z ’hak said : Leshemi s P am ias , Ek ron i s Cesaria—why i s i t cal led the daughter o fEdom ? B ecau se i t was the metropol i s o f kings . Same saidbecau se there k ings we re rea red

,and accord ing to others becau se

from the inhabitants o f that c ity were made kings . OfCesariaand J eru salem— if on e wi l l say to thee

,B oth are destroyed

,

thou shal t n ot bel i eve ; i f one wi l l say, B oth are in the i r splendor

,do not bel i eve ; bu t i f on e wi l l say, Cesaria was d estroyed

and J eru sal em i s i n i t s glory,o r vice versa

,you may bel ieve , as

i t i s wr i t t en [ i n Ezek . xxvi . I shal l be made fu l l,n ow she

i s in ru in s — that means,i f one i s fu l l the other i s destroyed

,

and i f o n e i s destroyed the other i s fu l l . R . Na ’hman bar I tz ’haksays , we in fer it from the fol lowing passage [Gen . xxv .

one people shal l be stronge r than the other ” (I srael andEdom

,i . e . ,

Rome) . And R . I tz ’hak said : I t i s wri tten [ I s .xxvi . I f favor be shown to the wicked

,he wi l l not

l earn r ighteou sness . ” I saac ou r father said before the HolyOn e

, blessed be He : C reator o f the U n iverse"l et Esau befavored . And H e said : He i s wicked .

” Said I saac againI t i s because he ha s not learned r ighteousness . And the Lordsaid again (I t i s known befo re me that even) in the land o f

Reh i s in Hebrew empty,idle .

1: Place s fo r the wo rsh ip of ido ls in Rom e .

TRACT MEGILLA . 1 3

up r ightness he wil l deal unj u st ly . Rej o ined I saac : I f i t i s so,

(then) he shal l not regard the maj esty o fthe Lord . R . I tz ’haksays again : I t i s writ ten [P s . cxl . Gran t not , O Lord , thelongings o fthe wicked : su ffer not h i s wicked device to s ucceedl est they exalt themselves . Selah . Said Jacob before the HolyOn e , b le ssed be He : C reato r o fthe Un iverse"do not grant toEsauthe wicked longing o fhis heart ; hi s wicked devi ce to su cceed

,

”

mean ing Ge rm am ia o f Edom , fo r i f they wou ld go ou t theywou ld dest roy the whole wo rld . He says again : I f on e wil l say to

yo u : I have exerted mysel f, and n o t found , do not bel i eve h im ; i fo n e wi l l say,

I have n o t exerted mysel f, and have found , do notbel i eve h im . B u t i f h e wi l l say

,I have exerted mysel f

,and

have found , then bel i eve h im . This i s al l in the studying O f theLaw

,but i n bu s iness i t i s a matter o f fortun e sent from Heaven .

And even in studying the Law you must not bel i eve in h i ssagac i ty ; but i f he says what he has l earn ed he has retainedwithou t much trouble , yo u may bel ieve h im ,

becau se th i s canbe a help from Heaven . He says again : I f you have seen awicked man o n whom fortu ne sm i les

,do not provoke him

,as i t

i s written [P s . xxxvi i . D o not fret thysel f becau se o ftheevi l - doers so much the more when i n h is ways he is su ccessfu l

,as i t i s writt en [i b id . x . Prosperous are hi s ways at al l

t imes . And no t only thi s , but he always win s in a lawsu i t , asi t i s writ ten [i bid . ,

Far in the height remain thy punishm e n ts from him ; and not th i s o n ly , but he sees vengeanceon h is enemies , as i t i s wr i tt en All h is assai lants

,he

puffeth at them .

” Thi s i s n ot so ? D id not R . Johanan sayin the name o f R . Simeon b . Yoch i

,that o n e may p rovo ke the

wicked in th i s world As i t i s wri tt en [Prov . xxvi i i . Theythat forsake the law prai se the wicked ; bu t such a s Obse rve thelaw contend with them .

” And we have learned also in a B 0ra itha : R . D u stha i bar M a thu n said : A man may provo ke thewicked in th i s world [And lest o n e say : D o n o t fret thysel fbecau se o f the evi l - doers , nei ther be thou envio u s again st theworke rs o f i n iqu ity

,th i s can be said on ly abou t h im whose

heart t rembles . B u t the interpretat ion o f th i s passage i s thu s :D o not st rive to be l ike the wicked

,nei ther be thou enviou s

to be l ike the workers o f in iqu ity,as i t i s wr i t ten [P rov . xxi i i .

Let n o t thy heart be envio u s against (Hencewe se e that the wicked may be p rovoked I t p resents n o difficu lty

,fo r i f i t i s in h is own in terest he shal l n o t do so ; bu t i f i n

heavenly th ings,he may. And i f you l ike , I can say : B oth are

1 4 THE BABYLONIA N TA LMUD .

i n h is own i nterest ; yet when he i s a really up r ight man he maydo so ,

but when he is no t real ly upright he shal l not do so . AsR . Huna said : I t i s wri tten [Habakkuk , i . Where forewilt thou look upon those that deal treacherou sly ; and be s i len twhen the wicked swalloweth up him that i s more righteou s thanhe ? From th i s we may in fer that the wicked swal lows himwho i s more righteou s than he

,bu t him who i s real ly upright he

cannot swal low . And i f you wish , I can say : with him whomfort une favors i t i s d ifferent .MISHNA : I f the Megi l la had been read in the fi rst Adar

,

and the year declared (by the Sanhedrin) to be intercalary , i tmu st be again read in the second Adar . There i s no d ifferencebetween the fi rst Adar and Second

,but in the read ing o f the

Megil la and the gi ft s to the poor .GEMARA : The M ishna says that the two Adars do not d i f

fer ; that i s to say , in the order o f the port ions that m u st be readfrom the B i ble o n the Sabbaths o f the fou r weeks o f Adar

,the

two Adars are equal . Accord ing to whom is the MishnaNot accord ing to the fi rst Tana

,and not accord ing to R .

Elieze r b . R . Jose , and not accord ing to R . S imeon b . Gamal ie lo fthe fo l lowing B o ra itha : I f they have read only the Megi l la i nthe fi rst Adar , and the year becomes i ntercalary, i t mu st be readagain in the second Adar, becau se al l the dut i es that are Obl igato ry in the second Adar are so also o n the fi rst Adar

,except the

read ing Ofthe Megi l la . R . El i ezer b . R . J ose said : I t must notbe read in the second Adar

,because al l the dut ies cu stomary in

the second are so also in the fi rst . R . Simeon b . Gamali el i nthe name o f R . J ose said : I t must be read also i n the secondAdar

,because al l the dut i es Obl igato ry i n the second must not

be done in the fi rst . And we asked there,i s R . S imeon b .

Gamal iel not saying the same as the fi rst Tana And R . Papaanswered : The o rder o f the port ions i s d iffe rent between them .

Hence ou r M ishna i s not in accordance with the fi rst Tana ,becau se o f the gi ft s to the poor

,which accord ing to the Tana

o fthe B o ra itha must be given in the fi rst Adar al so ; and not inaccordance with R . El ieze r

,who says the Megi l la mu st not be

repeated at al l in the second Adar ; and not in a cco rdan ce'

w ith

R . Simeon b . Gamal i el , as accord ing to h im there i s a d ifference in the order o f the port i ons (as R . Papa explained) . TheM ishna i s i n accordance with R . S imeon b . Gamal iel , but i s notcompleted

,and must read thus : There is no d ifference between

the fou rteen th day of the fi rst Adar and the fou rteenth day Of


1 6 THE BABYL ONIA N TALMUD .

was the Holy Spiri t) . R . Jose b . D u rm aske s said : From th ispassage [ix . B u t to the spo i l d id they not stretch forththeir hands ” (and i t cou ld not be known what was done in theo n e hundred and twenty- seven provinces by everyone) . SaidSamuel : I f I had been there , I wou ld have said a th ing betterthan al l these sayings : I t i s wri tt en [ ib id . , ib id . The J ewscon fi rmed i t as a duty

,and took it upon themselves . ” That

m ean s , they confi rmed in H eaven what they took upon themse lves below . Said Rabha : To a ll the above sayings I haveobj ect ions , except to Samuel , to whom i t cannot be obj ect ed .

What R . El i ezer said— that was common sen se . Haman knewthere was not a man in the king ’ s cou rt that was so respected ash e h imsel f

,and i t i s sel f- evident that thu s he thought . What

R . Aqiba said—perhaps i t was as R . Elazar explains farther on ,that every nat ion thought Esther was o f i t s race ; and what R .

Meir said —perhaps i t was as R . Hyya bar Abb i wi l l explainfarther on

,that Mordecai unde rstood the language o f Rigthau

and Theres ; and what R . J ose b . D u rm a ske s said—perhaps theymay have sent messengers to the king ; bu t to what Samuel saidthere i s no obj ect ion . Said Rab b in a : That i s as people say, i ti s better to have one pungent p epper- grai n than a fu l l basketo f cucumbers . R . J oseph said : From thi s passage [ix . 28]And these days o f Pu rim wil l n ot pass away (and how canthi s be known Only from the Holy Sp i ri t) . And R . Na ’hmanb . I tz ’ hak said (from the end o f the verse) : Nor wil l theirmemorial cease from thei r seed .

”

Gifts to the poor . R . Joseph taught : I t i s writ ten [ ix .

Sending po rt ions o n e to another. Po rt ion s in p lu ral—two po rt ion s shou ld be sent to o n e man ; and gi fts to then eedy —needy i s i n p lu ral : that means , no less than two port ion s to two men . R . J ehudah the Second sent to R . Oshyia al eg o fa th i rd - bo rn cal f and a p itcher o fwine

,and the latter sent

to him the message : The Master has confi rmed both du t i esto send po rt ion s one to another ; and to give gi ft s to the needy.

Rabha sent to Mari bar M af through Abayi a bag o f dates anda goblet fu l l o f flou r o f dried wheat . Said Abayi t o h im : NowMar i wi l l say : When a countryman becomes a king , he is st i l lu nable to remove the basket from his shou lder . And i t i s thesame with you : now you are the Head o f the College , and send

We doubtwhe ther it was the se co nd o r the th ird , as there were also two Oshyia s ,o n e in the t im e of the seco nd and o ne in the t im e of the third . See Seder Hado ro th ,

parag . Oshyia .

TRACT MEGILLA. 1 7

t o h im commonplace art ic les . R . Mari bar Mar retu rned toRabha through Abayi a pouch (ta sca ,

Lat . ) o fginger and a gobletfu l l o f long pepper . Said Abayi : Now the Master wi l l say : Ihad sent h im sweets

,and he has sen t to me pungent th ings .

Said Abayi again : When I wen t ou t from the house o f myMaster

,I was sat ed . When I arr ived there

,they fu rn ished the

table with sixty d iverse d ishes,and they ate al l ; and the last

d ishes were cal l ed roast o f Kedar, and it was so good thatI wan ted to eat up the d ish with i t . And thi s i s what peoplesay : The poor does not know even when he i s hungry . Or,

as people say : The stomach i s wide enough for sweet th ings . ”

Abayi bar A bb in and R . Han ina bar A bb in u sed to changethe i r meals o n Purim . Said Rabha : A man is obl iged to intoxicat e h imsel f on Pu rim

,t i l l he cannot d ist ingu ish between

cu rsed be Haman and blessed be Mordecai . Rabha saidagain : I f one has eaten the fest ive meal i n the n ight

,he has n o t

fu lfi l l ed h i s d uty,becau se i t i s wri tten

,days o f entertainment

and joy.

R . Ash i was s it t ing in the presence o f R . Kahana . I tbecame dark

,and the rabbi s had not yet come . Said R .

Kahana to him : Why have not the rabbi s come yet And heanswered him : Perhaps they are engaged with the fest ive m ealAnd he rej o in ed : Cou ld they not have the fest ive meal i n theeven ing Said R . Ash i : Has the Master not heard what Rabhasaid

,that i f one has eaten the meal o f Pu rim in the n ight

,he

has not fu lfi l l ed h is d uty. And he rej o ined : D id Rabha indeedsay so And he answered : Yea . And he learned i t from himforty t imes , and afterward i t was as i f he had pu t i t into h i spocket .MISHNA : There is no d ifference between Sabbath and fes

tiva ls, except in the preparat ion o f food . The re i s n o d iffe rencebetween the Sabbath and the D ay o f Atonement , except ing thatthose who knowingly and wi l fu l ly pro fane the Sabbath are pu nished by man , whi le those who wi l fu l ly pro fane the D ay o fAtonement are pun ished wi th Ka rath (by Heaven) .There i s no d i fference between one who by a vow has inter

d icted himsel f from rece iving a benefi t from another man andone whose vow was confined to the interd ict ion o faccept ing anyfood from another

,except that i t i s not lawfu l fo r the fi rst to set

h i s foot i n the house (o r property) o f the other and to borrowvessel s (o f the o ther) which a re n o t u sed fo r the p reparat ion o ffood . There is no d ifference between vows and voluntary Offer


ings , except that i n the case o f the first -ment ioned the personwho thus vows i s l iable fo r the ri sk , bu t he i s not l iable fo r thelast -ment ioned .

GEMARA : Except in the pr epa ra tion of food. B u t in

th e p reparat i ons fo r the preparing o f food , they are equal .H e is pun ished w ith Ka roth .

”B u t i n paying o f damage s ,

both are equal . And the M ishna i s i n acco rdance wi th R .

N ehu n ia b . Hakan a o f the fo l lowing B o ra itha : He decided thatthe D ay o f Atonement i s equal to Sabbath with regard to damages : as o n Sabbath

,becau se i t i s a cap ital p un i shment

,no

damages are to be paid , so on the D ay o f Atonement , as thepu n ishment i s Ka roth

,he i s exempt from damages .

Vessels which a r e not used,

” etc . B u t i n regard to vesse l swhich a r e u sed for the preparat ion o f food

,they are equal .

He is not lia blefor the la st - m en tioned. B u t with regardto the commandment , Thou shal t not delay ,

” they are equal .(This i s explained i n Trac t Rosh Hashana , pageMISHNA : There i s no d ifference between a person laboring

u nder an involuntary emiss ion o f semen who has experi enced i ttwice (o n th e same day, or on the two fol lowing days) and on ewho has expe r i enced i t thrice ( i n the same t ime , or with in threedays) , except ing that the last -ment ioned must bring a sacrifi ce .

There i s no d i ffe rence between a lep rou s person who has onlybeen shut up and one whom the p r i est has declared as leprou s

,

except ing that the latter must go wi th ren t clothes,and suffer

the hai r o f h i s head to grow wi ld . There i s no d ifferen ce b etween the leper declared clean after being shut up and one whohas been cu red o f that d isease

,except ing that the lat ter mu st

be shaved , and bring offerings o f b ird s .There i s no d ifference between the Ho ly B ooks and Theph i

l in and Mezuzoth,except that the first -ment ioned may be wri t

t en in any language,bu t the latter in Assyrian characters only.

Rabban S imeon b . Gamal i el says : The perm ission to write theHoly B ooks in another language was l im ited to the Greek language only.

The re i s no d ifferen ce between a high - pri est ano inted withthe sacred O il and one whose d ign ity was marked by add it ionalsacerdotal vestments only

,except the bu l l which the first

ment ioned i s t o Offer,i n case he gave a wrong dec is ion which

l ed to a t ransgress ion o f a p recept . There is n o d ifferen cebetween an O ffic iat ing h igh - p r i est and h is late subst i tu t e ,except the bu l l Offered on the D ay o f Atonement , and the



another tongu e are n o t holy ? B ecau se i t i s wri tt en [D eut . vi .They sha ll be as front let s between thy eyes . ” They shal l

be as originally .

What i s meant,i f the Targum was wri tt en i n the original

characters ? I f in the Torah , i t i s r ight . The words YegarSahadu th a [Gen . xxxi . 47] are Aramaic ; but what Aramaicwords are i n the Theph ilin ? There fore we mu st answer theco n t radit io n thu s : The B o ra itha re fers to the B ook o f Esther.Why must i t not be writt en in other languages B ecau se i t i swrit ten [Esther , vi i i . 9] Accord ing to the i r wri t ing , and according to thei r language . B u t what Aramaic words are in theB ook o f Esther Said R . Papa [i n Chapter I . ,

verse Theking ’ s decr ee (P ithgam ) , which is n o t a Heb rew wo rd

,bu t

Aramaic . R . Na ’hman bar I tz ’hak said [ibid .,

The lastword

,wil l Show r espect

”

(Y eka r) , i s not Hebrew . R . Ashi ,however

,said : That the B o ra itha means , not the Holy Scrol l s

(Pentateuch) , bu t the P rophets and Hagiographa . And th is i s inaccordance with R . J ehudah o f the fo l lowing B o ra itha : Th eph il in and Mezuzoth must be wri tten on ly in Assyrian characters ;and ou r sages have not al lowed they shal l be written in any language

,on ly in Greek . And in add it ion to th i s B o ra itha i t i s stated

Said R . J ehudah : The sages al lowed to wri te in Greek on ly thePentateu ch , but not anyth ing else . And th is was also al lowed on lybecau se o f what occu rred with Pto lemy the king, as fo l lows : I thappened to Ptol emy the k ing that he took seventy - two eldersfrom J eru salem

,and placed them in seventy- two separat e cham

bers,and d id not in form them to what pu rpose he had brought

them . And afterward he en tered to each o f them,and said to

them : Translate me the Torah o fMoses from memory . And theHoly On e , blessed be He

,sent in to the heart o f each o f them a

counsel,and they al l agreed to have one m ind

,and changed as

fol lows : I n stead o f I n the beginn ing God created the wo rld,

”

they wrote,God created the world in the beginn ing in stead

o f Gen . i . 26 they wrote . [ wil l make a man in an image ”,ln

stead o f Gen . i i . 2 they wrote,And God fin ished on the s ixth

day, and rested on the seventh day”

; i n stead o f Gen . v . _2 they

wrote , c reated h im i n stead o f Gen . xi . 7 they wrote , Letm e go down [xvi i i . 1 2] And Sarah laughed among her re lat ive s i n stead o f xl ix . 6 , I n thei r anger they S l ew an ox

,and

their sel f- wil l lamed a fattened ox .

” And instead o f Ex . i v . 20 ,

Set them on a porter (man - carrier) in stead o f ib id . xi i . 40 ,

D welt in Egypt and in other la nds and ib id . xxiv . as ibid . ,

TRACT MEGILLA. 2 1

Against the r especta ble men o fI srael . I nstead o fNum . xvi .1 5 , N o t o n e prec iou s th ing I took away and instead o fD eut . iv . 1 9 they w rote , ass igned to l ight fo r al l nat ionsin stead o f ib id . xvn . 3 , which I have not commanded to worsh ip and instead o fLev . xi . 6 , the hare

,which i s expressed

in the B ible A rn eb e th , as Ptolemy’ s wi fe was named so they

wrote,and the beast that has smal l feet . ”

Ra bba n Sim eon b. Gam a liel says , etc . Said R . A bahu i nthe name o f R . J ohanan : The Halakha prevai l s accord ing toR . Simeon b . Gamal ie l . And he says again : What i s the reasono fR . Simeon b . Gamal iel B ecause i t i s written [Gen . ix . 27]May Go d en large the boundaries o fJ apheth

,and may he dwel l

in the tents o f Shem .

” That mean s to say,the most beaut i fu l

th ing wh ich Japheth has— that i s,the Greek language— shal l

dwel l in the ten t s o fShem .

Ther e is no defer ence between a h igh -pr iest , etc . B u t in

respect to the bu l lock o f the D ay o f Atonement , and the ten tho fan ephah , which the h igh - priest must bring

,both are equal .

Ther e is no difer ence between Shiloh a ndjer usa lem . SaidR . I t z ’hak : I have heard that o n e may sacrifi ce in the Templeo f Ho n in in Egypt , even at th i s t ime . He holds that the Temple o fHo n in i s n o t a temple fo r i do latry

,bu t fo r God

,and al so

that the sanct itude o f J erusalem was on ly whi le the Templeexi sted

,bu t i s not so for the futu re

,s ince i t s destru ct ion . As

i t is written [D eu t . xi i . 9 ] F o r ye are n o t as yet come to therest and to the inheritance . To the rest

, i . e . ,the Taber

n ae le o f Shiloh ; t o the inhe ri tance,

”i . e . ,

the Temple o f J erusalem : and we see that the Tabernacle o f Sh i loh i s compared tothe Temple o f J eru salem

,as Sh i loh

,afte r the Tabernacl e was

dest royed,ceased t o be holy

,and i t wa s lawfu l to sacri fice e lse

where,the same was with J eru salem . The sages then said to R .

I tz ’hak : D o you say so And he answered : N O . Said Rabha :

I swear by Go d that he has said so,and I have learn ed i t from

h im . B u t what i s the reason that he h imsel f receded from th i sB ecau se R . Mari obj ected to this , from a B o ra itha which state sthat the sanct i tude o f Shi loh was gone after the Tabe rnacle wasdestroyed

,but o f J eru salem the sanct itude was not gon e even

a fter the Temple ’ s destru ct ion .

I t is w r i t ten : And i t came to pass in the days o f A ha su eru s . R . Levi , accord ing to others R . Jonathan , said : This i sa t rad it io n among u s from o u r ancesto rs— the men o fthe GreatAssembly—that wherever i t i s written in”) ( i t came t o pass) ,


was some d i saster . Here there was Haman . I n Ruth : A nd

i t came to pass in the days of the j udges . ” There was hunger.Genesi s

,vi . 1 : And i t came to pass when men began to mu lt i

p ly,

” and soon after i s writ ten : And God saw that the wickedness o f man was great [ib id . xi . 2] And it came t o pass asthey j ou rneyed toward the east . ” And there was the disp e rs ion . And ib id . x iv . I : And it came to pass in the days o fA m ro ph e l. There was a war . I n J oshu a

,v . 1 3 : I t cam e

t o pass when J oshua was by J eri cho ,” i t i s wri tten he saw a man

with a drawn sword in h is hand ; ib id . vi . 27 : And the Lordwa s with Joshua ” (the Hebrew express ion i s the same) ; andsoon i t i s And the ch i ld ren o f I srael committed at respass I Samuel : There wa s a certain man and afterward i t i s writt en : Hannah he loved

,bu t the Lord had shut

h e r womb .

” Ib id . vi i i . 1 : I t came to pass when Samuel waso ld.

”H is sons walked not in h is way . Ib id . xvi i i . 1 4 : A nd

D avid wa s su ccess fu l i n al l h i s ways , and soon comes : Sau lwas in dread o f h im . I I Samuel

,vi i . 1 And it came to pass

when the king dwelt in h is hou se .

” And he was not al lowedto bu i ld the Temple . B u t i s i t not writ ten [Gen . xxix .

When Jacob saw Rachel , and in Genesi s [i . And i t waseven ing, and i t was morn ing , the fi rst day ”— and so i n manyother instances , and no d isaster happened Wherever i t i s said ,i t came to pass , there may or may not be a calamity ; bu twhenever i t i s said , and i t came to pass in the days

,there

su rely happened a misfo rtu ne . There are five express ions,i t

came to pass in the days viz .,i n the days o fAhasueru s , the

J udges,A m rophe l, Ahaz [I S . and Y o iakim [Je rem . and

in al l in stances there were t roubles .R . Levi says again : We have a t rad it ion from o u r ancestors

that A m u z and Amaziah were brothers . What does he come toteach u s ? I t i s s im i lar to what R . Samuel b . N ahm an i said inthe name o f R . J onathan : A bride who i s chaste in the hou se o fher hu sband ’ s parents deserves that kings and prophets shou lddescend from her

,and th is we in fer from Tamar, as i t i s

wri tten [Gen . xxxvi i i . And J udah saw her and thoughthe r to be a harlot , becau se she had covered her face . B e

cause she had covered her face he took her for a harlot ?That means , she had covered her face when she had beeni n h i s hou se

,so that he d id not know her. The refore she

was rewarded that from her descended kings and prophetsk ings from D avid ; and prophets , as R . Levi said above . A m u z



so ,because i t i s not written : As he rej o i ced , etc . , so wi l l

he rej o i ceR . Abba bar Kahana began h i s l ectu re with th is passage

[Ec c . i i . Fo r t o a man who i s good i n H is presen ce He

giveth wisdom and knowledge and j oy — th is mean s Mordeca ithe Upright ; but to the s inner he giveth employment to gatherup and to bring together — that means Haman ; that he maygive i t to h im that i s good before God ,

”i . e . ,

Mordecai andEsthe r

,as it i s wri t ten afterward [Esther, vi i i . And Esther

appointed Mordecai over the hou se o fHaman .

”

Rabba bar U pb ro n began h i s l ectu re with the fol lowing passage [Je rem . xl ix . 38] And I wi l l set up my throne i n Elam ,

and I wi l l destroy thence kings and princes . By kings is meantVasht i

,and by princes Haman and hi s ten sons .

And R . D im i b . I t z ’hak begins to l ectu re from th i s passage

[Ezra , ix . For we are bondmen ; yet in ou r bondage hatho u r God not forsaken u s , but hath extended unto u s k indnessbefore the kings o f Pers ia . And that was i n the t ime o f MordecaiR . Han ina bar Papa begins h i s l ect ure from th i s passage [P s .

lxvi . Thou hast cau sed men to ride on o u r heads : weentered into fi re and into water. ” I nto fi re

,i n the t im e o f

Nebuchadnezzar ; i n to water ,” i n the t ime o f Pharaoh B u t

thou broughtest u s to the enj oyment o f overflowing plenty.

”

That was in the t ime o f Haman .

R . Johanan began h is l ectu re from thi s passage [P s . xcvi i i .He hath remembered his k indness and h is t ruth to the

hou se o f I srael : al l the ends o f the earth have seen the salvat iono fou r God . When d id al l the ends o f the earth see i t ? I nthe t ime o fMordecai and Esther.Resh Lakish began h is l ectu re with th i s passage [Prov .

xxvi i i . I 5] : As a roaring l ion and greedy he a r , so i s a wickedru ler over an ind igent people . ” The roaring l ion - that i s

,

N ebuchadnezzar, as it i s writ ten [J erem iah , iv . The l ion iscome up from h is th icket . ” A greedy bear ” i s Ahasueru s

,

abou t whom it i s wri tten [D an iel , vi i . And behold,there

was another, a second beast , l ike a bear . And R . J oseph saidThe Persians are meant

,who eat and drink l ike a bear

,and are

corpu lent l ike a bear, and le t thei r hai r grow l ike a bear, and

The H ebrew is “he wi l l m ake rejo ice . H e wi l l rejo i ce h im se lf

shou l d have been MW.

TRA CT MEGILLA . 25

have no repose , l ike a bear . Wicked ru ler,

i . e ., Haman ;

i nd igent people , i . e . , I srael , who are poor in meri ts .R . Elazar begin s h i s lectu re with th is passage [Ecc . x . 1 8]Through sloth fu l hands the rafters wi l l s ink

,and through id le

ness o f the hands the house wi l l become leaky . That meansto say,

becau se I s rael became id le,and d id not observe the Law

,

the en emy o f the Holy On e , blessed be He (meaning Him ) ,becomes sunk , i . e . , poo r.R . Na ’hman b I tz ’hak begin s h is lectu re with th is passage

[P s . cxxiv . I f i t had not been the Lord who was for u s,

when men rose up against u s . Men,and n o t a king (that i s

Ham an) .Rabha begin s hi s lectu re with [Prov . xxix . When the

righ teou s are in au thority,the people wi l l rej o ice ; bu t when the

wicked beareth ru le , the people groan . When the righteou srul e , i . e . , Mordecai and Esther , the people rej o ice , as i t i s wri tt en [Esther , vi i i . And the city o f Shushan wa s glad andj oyfu l . ” And when the wicked ru le

,i . e . ,

Haman , the peop legroan

,as i t i s written [ ib id . iv . B u t the c ity o f Shushan

was perplexed .

”

R . Mathna begin s with the fo l lowing passage [D eut . i v . 7]Fo r what great nat i on i s there that hath God so n igh untoi t ?”

R . Ash i begin s with the fol lowing passage [ ib id . ,ib id . 34]

Or hath Go d essayed to go to take to h imsel f a nat ion fromthe m idst o fa nat ion (What they lectu red i s n o t wr i t ten . )

A nd it cam e to pa ss in the tim e of A ha suer us Said RabhWo e"woe"This is what i s written [i bid . Xxv l l l . Andthere ye wil l O ffer you rselves fo r sal e u nto you r enemies fo rbondmen and bondwomen withou t anyone to buy yo u .

” Samu e l said : I t i s writ ten [Lev . xxvi . ” I wi l l n o t cast themaway

,ne ither wi l l I loathe them

,t o dest ro y them utte rly .

” Ihave n o t cast them away— in the t imes o fthe G reek and I havenot loathed them— in the t ime o fNebuchadnezzar ; to dest roythem in the t ime o f Haman ; t o b reak my covenant withthem — in th e t ime o f the Persians ; fo r I am the Lo rd thei rGo d

” — in the t ime o f Gog and Magog . A B o ra itha stated :I w il l n ot cast away - in the t imes o f the Chaldeans , as inthat t ime I raised fo r them D an iel

,Hanan iah

,Mishael , and

Azari ah ; and have n o t l oathed men in the t imes o fthe Greeks ,when I gave them Simeon the Up r ight and the Maccabees ; todestroy them —in the t ime o f Haman I gave them Mordecai


and Esther ; to break my covenant - in the t ime o f Rome Igave them the Hou se of Rabbi and the sages o f that generat ion ;for I am the Lord thei r God ”— in the futu re no nat ion ortongue wi l l dominate over them .

R . Levi said : From thi s verse [Num . xxxi i i . and R .

Hyya from ibid . 56 . (What they lectu red is unknown . )A ha suer us . Said Rabh : He was the brother o f a head

and the compan ion o f a head . The brother o fa head ,”i . e .

brother o f Nebuchadnezzar the wicked , who was cal led head,

as i t i s wri tten [D an iel , i i . Thou art the head o f gold .

And the compan ion o f a head —what Nebuchadnezzar d id,he

i ntended to do . Nebuchadnezzar k i l l ed , he i n tended ; Nebuchadn ez z ar destroyed , he had the int ent ion . As it i s wri t ten

[Ezra , I n the beginn ing Of the reign o f Ahasueru s,

they wrote slanders o n the inhabitants o f J udea and J e ru sal em .

” Samuel said : Ahasueru s s ign ifies black,

”

T i . e . ,i n

h i s t ime the faces o f the J ews were black as the bottoms o fpot s . R . Johanan says : Ahasueru s s ign ifies woe to h is head

(ah, r osh) and R . Hanina says i t s ign ifi es poo r (r a sh) - histaxes were so heavy that men became poor .I t i s writt en [Esther, i . I ] : The same Ahasueru s —he

was the same in h i s wickedness from beginn ing to end .

I

(Simila rly) i t i s written [ i n Gen . xxxvi . This i s Esau

,

”i . e . ,

the same in wickedness from beginn ing to end ; and [Num . xxvi .These are D athan and Abiram ,

i . e . ,they were the same

i n wickedness always ; and [I I Chron . xxvi i i . He,King

Ahaz,

”i . e . ,

the same in wickedness always ; and on the cont ra ry,

al so [I Chron . i . Abram— the same i s Abraham,

”

i . e . ,Abraham was the same in h is righteou sness from beginn ing

to end ; [Ex . vi . 26] These are Aaron and Moses,

”i . e . ,

werethe same in righteou sness from beginn ing to end ; [I Samuel ,xvi i . And D avid was the youngest , that means , he wasas i n h is youth from beginn ing to end : as in h i s youth he humbled h imsel f be fore one greater than he , 5 0 al so when he was aking he was modest before a man super io r to h im in wisdom .

Who r eigned. Said Rabh : He was a sel f-made king .

Some say,i t was in hi s praise

,there was none so fi t to be a king

as he ; and some say i t is to h is d isgrace— he was not fi t t o be ak ing

,but he had much money , and the money made h im king.

A h i s bro ther a nd Ro s i s head , and it i s con sidered as com po sed of two words .1' Sha

’

ho r i s black .



i . Whoever among you that i s o f al l h i s people,may his

God be w i th h im ,and let h im go up to J erusal em [but d id

n o t command al l t o retu rn] .

I t is w r i t ten in the fi rst chapter : The army o f Persia andMed ia ” ; and [x . 2] The k ings o f Media and Pers ia . Whyis Med ia here ment ioned fi rst

,and in the other verse Pe rs ia ?

Said Rabha : They made this agreement between them : Whenone o f o u r nat ion wi l l b e king, the governors wil l be o f you rnat ion

,and vice versa ; [ib id . i . And when these days

were completed .

” Rabh and Samuel say,one that he was a

wise king,and the other that he was a fool i sh king . On e says

he was a wise king,because he made the feast fi rst for the

remot e subj ect s,becau se fo r h i s town smen he cou ld make i t at

any t ime ; and the other says he was a fool , for he shou ld havemade i t fi rst for hi s townsmen , so that i f those wou ld rebel ,these at least wou ld defend h im .

The d isc ip les o f R . Simeon b . Yoch i asked thei r Master : Bywhat sin s had the I srael i t es in cu rred the decree o f Haman inthat age ? Answe red he : What i s you r op in ion ? They said :B ecau se they enj oyed the feast which Ahasu eru s the wickedman made . I f so

,on ly tho se o f Shushan shou ld have suffered .

Why d id those o f al l p ro vinces ? They said to him : Let theMaster explain . So he answered : B ecau se they kneeled to theimage . Said the di sc ipl es to him : I f so , they were gu i lty , andwhy we re they not ki l led And he an swered : They bowed tothe image n o t becau se they wanted , bu t only fo r appearance ;so the decree again st them was al so for appearance not carriedou t . And th is i s what i s wri t t en [Lam . i i i . He doth notaffl i ct o fh is own wil l . ”

I n the cou rt o fthe garden o fthe k ing ’ s palace . Rabh andSamuel— o n e says every o n e was placed i n the place he fi tted :the co u rt

,garden

,and k ing ’ s p alace ; and one says he fi rst t ri ed

to p lace them i n the cou rt , and i t co u ld n o t contain them ; hethen p laced them in the garden , and i t also cou ld not con tainthem

,unt i l h e p laced them in the k ing ’ s palace . A B o ra itha

,

however,states that he placed them in the cou rt from which two

doors o p ened , o n e in to the garden and another in to the palace .

And the ro yal wine wa s in abundance ” [Esther , i .Said Rabh : We in fer from thi s that he gave t o each to d r i nkwin e that was olde r than he .

And the d r i nk ing was acco rding to the o rde r [ ib id .

What i s meant by accord ing to the order R . Hanan said

TRACT MEGILLA.

i n the name o f R . Meir : I t was accord ing to the o rder o fou rTorah . A s i n ou r Law eat ing p recedes drinking, so he gavemore to eat than to drink .

Withou t compul sion . Says R . Elazar : Fro m thi s i t canbe learned that to each was given to d rink wine that grew in h i sco unt ry .

On the seventh day , when the heart o f the king was merrywith wine .

” And t i l l then,what d id he do Was he n o t t i l l then

merry with wine Said Rabha : The seventh day was Sabbath .

When I srael i t es eat and drink on Sabbath,they begin with say

ings o f the Law and praises to Go d ; but the nat ions , when theyfeast

,speak about women . These said the Med ians are beau

t i fu l,and those said the Pers ian women are more fai r. And

Ahasu eru s said to them : The o n e that I have is neither Med iann o r Persian , but Chaldean , and she is fai re r than they al l ; andi f yo u wish yo u can se e her. They said : Yea

,we wish to see

her,but she must be naked . And the same measu re wh ich

o n e u ses , i s u sed against o n e : as Vasht i u sed to take I srael i temaiden s

,and make them work nude

,o n Sabbath

,so also i t was

decreed that she shou ld be brought nude . And th is i s what i swritten [Esther , i i . After these events

,as the king ’ s fu ry

was appeased,he remembered Vasht i , and what she had done

,

and what had been decreed conce rn ing her ” ; i . e . ,the decree

had been the same as what sh e had done . And the king wasve ry w roth .

” What was the cau se ? Said Rabh : She sent toh im th is message : Thou groom o f my father

,my father u sed to

drink wine as a thou sand persons , and never had he comm ittedsu ch fol l i es when he w as d runk as thou . And the re fore hewas so wroth .

Then said M em u cha n . We have l earn ed in a B o ra ithaM em u chan was Haman . Why was he cal led M em u cha n B e

cau se he was destz'

n ed * for the t roubles that be fel l h im afterwards .R . Kahana said : F rom th i s we see that u sually an ignoran tman comes fo rward fi rst (as he i s ment ioned last i n verse

That eve ry man shou ld bear ru l e i n h is own hou se SaidRabha : B u t for the fi rst l et ters

,there wou ld have been le ft no

remnant o f I srael ; because the men laughed at such a decree ,that every man should ru le in h i s own hou se . Fo r even a tanner is i n h is own hou se a p r in ce

,and there fo re they d id not pay

s o much attent ion to the second decree in the later l ette rs .

M a c/um in H ebrew is prepared ," de s igned .

30 THE BABYLONIA N TALMUD .

And let the king appo int offi cers . Said Rabh : I t i s wri tten [Prov. xi i i . Every prudent man acte th with knowledge

,but a foo l spreadeth abroad h i s fo l ly .

”Every prudent

man a c te th with knowledge — that was D avid , as i t is written

[1 Kings , i . Where fore hi s servants said unto him,Let

them seek out fo r my lord the king a young vi rgin . Everyonewho had a daughter

,brought her h imsel f to the king . B u t a

foo l spreadeth abroad h is fol ly,”i . e . , Ahasu eru s , who had to

appo int offi cers,for whoso had a beau t i fu l daughter h id her

from him .

There was a certain J ew in Shushan the capital a B e nj am ite . What i s meant by he was a B enj am ite I f i t i smeant to give hi s genealogy

,l et i t have been traced to B enj a

m in ; otherwise , why were the fi rst three o i his ancesto rs m e n

t io n ed I n a B o ra itha i t i s explained that al l the three namesare not those o f hi s ancestors , bu t are h i s own . The son o fYai r, i . e . , the man who made the eyes o f the J ews [ cg/ct ?e withh is prayer ; the son o fShim i , the man whose p rayer God bea rd ;the son o f Kish

, i . e .,the man who knocked o n the gates o f M er cy,

a nd tlzey were opened to h im .

* Said R . Na ’hman : Mordecai wascrowned with these fa i r names . I t i s wri tt en

,a J udean man

,

”

and then , a B enj am ite .

” Which was he ? Said Rabba barbar Hana in the name of R . Joshua b . Levi : His father was aB enj amit e and hi s mother was a J udean . The sages

,how

ever,said : The tribes d ispu ted with each other. J udah said

Through me Mordecai was born , for i f D avid had kil led Shim ib . Gera , he cou ld not have been born ; and B en j am in said , hebelongs to me

,becau se he is o f my tribe . Rabha says : On th e

contrary,the Kn e se th (congregat ion) o f I srael said : See what

J ehudah d id to me,and see what the B enjam ites have done to

me : J udah , becau se D avid d id not k i l l Sh im i , m ade poss ible thebi rth o fM o rdecai

,o fwhom Haman became j ealou s ; and because

Sau l had not ki l led Agag was born Haman , who caused t roublesto I srael .R . Johanan said : He was a B enj am ite . Why is he cal led a

J udean B ecause he d id not want to worsh ip idol s , and everyI srael i te who rej ects idols i s cal led a J udean , as i t i s writ tenin D an ie l x . 1 2 : There are certain j udec m men ,

” etc . Thygods they do not wo rsh ip .

”

R . S imeon b . Pazz i , when he wanted to lectu re abou t Chro n i

*0u r i s l ight , S/zem a i s hear,K iel; i s rap.



I o] : Esthe r to ld noth ing . R . N ehemiah said : He r rightname was Hadassah . Why was she c al l ed Esther ? B ecau sethe nat ions cal led her for her beauty star ” (cramp) . B . A z z a i

said : Esther was not tal l or short , but o f moderate s ize , l ike amyrt l e . R . J oshua b . Kar ’ ha said : Esthe r ’ s complexion wasyel low

,bu t she had grace .

For she had neither father nor mother . And when herfather and mother were dead , Mordecai had taken her to himsel f as a daughter . ” Why th is superfl uou s repet i t ion ? SaidR . Aha : To tel l u s that when the mother became pregnant herfather d i ed

,and when she was born the mothe r d ied .

And the seven maidens who were selected to be given toher [ibid . Says Rabha : By them she counted the days toknow when Sabbath was .

In the even ing she went and in the morn ing she retu rned

[ ib id . I 4] . Said R . J ohanan : Among the blameworthy act ion so f that wi cked man

,i t can be said in h i s praise that he had inter

cou rse with women on ly by night .And Esther found favor ” [ I 5] . Said R . Elazar : Every

nat ion thought her to belong to i tsel f.And the king made a great feast [ ib id . And Esther

st i l l d id not t el l her nat ion ; he l ightened the taxes o f al l nat i on s ,and sh e d id not tel l ; he sent presents to hi s governo rs , and shest i l l d id not t el l ; so he asked the advice o f Mordecai how to d iscover it ; and he told him that a woman becomes j ealou s on ly o fanother woman

,and when he wi l l take other women

’

she wi ll t el l

(as a favor to h im) . B u t th is avai l ed not e ither,as i t i s written

And Esther had n o t yet to ld o f her descen t or her people . ”

R . Elazar said : I t i s wr i tt en [Job , xxxvi . He withdraweth not h is eyes from the righteou s . ” I n reward o f themodesty of Rachel

,King Sau l descended from her ; and in re

ward o i Sau l ’ s modesty Esther descended from h im . Where inwas Rachel modest I t i s writt en [Gen . xxix . AndJacob told Rachel that he was her father ’ s brother . Was b eher father ’ s brother ? He was the son o f

‘

he r father ’ s s ister"That means , he asked her : Wil l you marry me ? And she answe red : Yes , but my father i s a t ri ckster, and he wi l l dece iveyou . To th is he an swe red : I am h is brother in t rickery . Andshe asked him : May an upright man do it And he answered :Yea

,i t i s wri t ten in I I Samuel

,xxi i . 27 : With the pu re thou

wilt show thysel f pu re,and with the perverse thou wi lt wage a

contest . And he asked Rachel : How can he cheat me And

TRACT MEGILLA. 33

she repl i ed : I have an elder s i ster , and he wil l n ot l et me marrybefore he r . So he confided to her some signs by wh ich to dist ingu ish her. And when Leah was b rought in her stead , Rachelsaid : My si ster wi l l be put to shame . So sh e con fided to herthe s igns . And th i s is what i s written : And it came t o passthat in the morn ing , B eho ld , i t is Leah . That mean s

,t i l l the

morn ing he knew i t n o t . And therefore sh e was rewarded bySau l ’ s being descended from her .And what was Sau l ’ s modesty ? I t i s written [ I I Sam . x .

Of the matter o f the kingdom , whereo f Samu el hadspoken he told h im n o t . Fo r th is he wa s rewarded byEsther s being descended from h im . R . El azar said again :When the Holy On e , blessed be He

, decrees greatness for aman , i t i s for h im and hi s d escendants to the end o fages ; as i ti s wr i tt en [Job , xxxvi . He doth establ ish them fo rever

,

and they are exalted . B u t i f they become p roud,he humbles

them , as i t i s writ ten [ ib id . I f they be bound in fette rs . ”

I n those days,while Mordecai was s itt ing in the king ’ s

gate,B igthan and The re sh became w roth ”

[Esther , i i .Said R . Hyya bar Abba in the name o f R . J o hanan

The Lord makes the masters wroth again st thei r servants , i no rder to do good to the upright ; as i t was in the case o f

J oseph , as i t is written [Gen . xl i . 1 2] And there was with u s aHeb rew lad

,

” et c . And he makes slaves wroth against thei rmasters

, to perfo rm a m i racle fo r the good o fthe up r ight . Andwho i s i t Mo rdecai

,a s i t i s wr i t ten : And the th ing became

known to Mo rdecai . R . J o hanan said B igthan and The re shwe re Ta r sees , and spoke thei r own language

,and sa id among

themselves : Since Esther has come into the cou rt,we know

no sleep . There fore let u s pu t poi son i nto the king ’ s d r ink,i n

order that he shou ld d ie .

” And they knew not that Mo rdecaiwas o f the G reat Sanhed r in , eve ry o n e o fwhom knew seventylanguages . Then B igthan said to The re sh : Ou r watches are notthe same . He answered : I wi l l watch fo r yo u too (and say yo u

are s ick) . And the th ing was inqu i red into,and found t ru e .

What was found That he had not been at h is post .After these events [i b id . i i i . I ] . What events ? Said

Rabha : After the Holy On e,blessed be He ,

had created a curet o thei r woe . B ecause Resh Laki sh said : The Holy On e ,

blessed be He,affl i ct s n o t I srael be fore He has prepared the

cu re fo r them in advance . As it i s wri tten [Hosea , vi i i . ]Shou ld I desi re to heal I srael , then wou ld the in iqu ity o f


Ephraim be laid open . B ut with idolatrous nat ions i t i s d iffere n t . First He smi tes them , then He heals them , as i t i s written

[ I s . xix . And the Lord wi l l thus strike Egypt,st rik ing

and heal ing .

B u t i t appeared to o contempt ible in h i s eyes to lay h i shand o n Mordecai alone ” Said Rabha : I n the beginn inghe wanted to lay hand on Mordecai alone

,and later on the p e o

ple o f Mordecai, c. c .

,the s cholars

,and later on al l the J ews .

Some one cast the Tu r,that i s the lot We have

l earned in a B o ra itha : When the lot s fel l o n the month o f Ada r ,Haman rej o iced very much , fo r he said : I t i s the month i nwhich Moses d ied . B u t he d id not know that on the 7th o f

Adar Moses had d ied,and also had been born .

There i s on e people [ibid . Said Rabha : There wa sno man wh o cou ld cal umniate so wel l as Haman . He said to theking : Let them be destroyed . And he answered : I am afraido f the i r God

,l est he act toward me as toward others that did

evi l t o I srael . Then Haman repl i ed : They no longer observethei r God ’ s commandments . Then the king said : B u t thereare among them rabbis

,who observe them . Then he rej o in ed

They are one people , al l a re the same , no o n e observes . Andi f thou shou ldst think I shal l l eave a vo id in thy kingdom

,thou

mu st know that they a re scat te red among al l nat ions , and thei rexterm inat i on wi l l n ot b e pe rcept ible . And perhaps thou wil tsay,

thou de rive st a benefi t from them . Know that they arel ike mu les

,

* that are unproduct ive . And i f thou shou ldst im ag

in e there is on e country in wh ich they dwel l t ogether , know thatthey are scattered in a ll the p rovinces o f thy kingdom .

And the i r laws are d ifferent from those o f every peopl e,

2'

e they do not eat wi th u s,and do not in termarry with u s .

They do not execute the laws o f the king.

” The wholeyear they find excu ses n o t to give the taxes , sayi ng : Now isSabbath

,now is Passover.

I t i s no profi t for the king to to lerate them . B ecausethey eat and drink i n a manner to d isgrace the king

,for i f a fly

fal l in to a goblet o f wine,they wi l l take i t ou t and d rink it ; but

i f the king shou ld tou ch the goblet o f wine,they wil l pou r i t

o u t

I f i t b e p leasing to the king,let i t be written to destroy

them,and ten thou sand talen ts o f s i lver wi l l I weigh out . Said

Separated , 7 7 15 73 a nd 7 7 5 i s a m u le .



Who were the seven p rophetesses ? Sarah , Miriam , D eborah

,Hannah

,Abigai l

,Hu ldah

,Esther .

Sarah,as it i s writ ten [Gen . xi . The father o f M i lcah

and the father o f Y iscah . And R . I tz ’hak said : By Y iscah i smean t Sarah . Why was she called Y iscah B ecau se that sign ifiessee ing ,

and she was a seer through the Holy Sp i rit . Miriam,as

i t i s wr i tten [Ex . xv . Then took M iriam the prophetess,

the sister o f Aaron . Aaron ’ s , and not Moses ’ si ster ? SaidR . Na ’ hman in the name of Rabh : She had prophes ied evenwhen sh e had been yet bu t Aaron ’ s s i ster

,before Moses ’ bi rth

,

and she said : I n the fu tu re my mother wi l l give b irth to a ch i ldthat wil l del iver the I srael i tes . Final ly

,when Moses was born

,

the whole house was fi l led with l ight . And her father rose,and

kissed her o n her head , and said : D aughter, thy prophecy i s fu lfi l led . Afterward , when he was cast into the rive r , the fatherasked : D aughter , what has become o fthy prophecy And th i si s what i s writ ten [ib id . i i . And h i s s ister placed hersel fafar off

,to ascertain what wou ld be done to h im , i . e . ,

to knowwhat wo u ld be the end o f her prophecy .

D eborah as i t i s w r i tt en [J udges , ix . And D eborah,a

p rophetess .Hannah

,as i t i s wri tten [ I Sam . i i . I ] : And Hannah prayed

and said,My heart i s glad in the Lord

,my horn i s exalted

th rough the Lord . My kor n is exalted,and not my fl a sk .

D avid and Solomo n,who were ano in ted with the horn

,thei r

dynasty endu red ; but Sau l and J ehu , who were ano int ed with aflask

,the i r dynast ies d id not last .There i s none holy l ike the Lord , for there i s n one beside

thee [ib id . The express ion fo r “ none bes ide thee i s711 53

.

Said R . J ehudah b . M e n assia : D o not read711 53 , bu t “

111 153 5 ,because not as a human being i s the Holy On e

, blessed be H e:

a human being i s su rvived by his own work,bu t God survives

al l His works .*

There is not any rock l ike ou r God,

”i . e . , there i s no sculp

tor l ike ou r Go d. D o not read fijg (rock) , bu t fifi n a manmakes a statu e

,and cannot endow i t w ith a sou l ; but the Holy

On e,blessed be H e

,makes an image with in an image

,and e n

dows i t with a sou l and l i fe,entrai l s

,etc .

F153 i s to ro t fade , dwindle , wear out.Which m ean s pain ter, scu lpto r .

”

TRACT AIEGI L L A . 3 7

Abigai l,as it i s written [I Sam . xxv . And when the

Lord wi l l do good unto my lord . She prophes ied that hew ou ld be king .

Hu ldah,as i t i s said [I I Kings , xx u . Hu ldah the

prophetess .And Esther

,becau se i t i s writ ten [Esther , v . Esther

p u t o n I t shou ld be writ ten,royal appare l

That means,sh e c lothed hersel f in the Holy Sp iri t

,and th is i s

i n ferred from an analogy o f expression ; here i t i s written , she

put o n ,and i n I Chron . xi i . 1 8 , a spi r i t inve sted '

fA m a sso i ."

As there the Holy Sp i ri t i s meant , so here .

Said R . Na ’hman : Pride does n o t become women . Twowomen were proud , and they both had unlovely names : o n ewas cal led B e e (D eborah) and o n e Cat (Hu ldah) . OfD ebo rahi t i s writt en [J udges , iv . And she sen t and cal led B arakand went not hersel f and o fHu ldah i t i s said [I I K ings , xxi i .

Say unto the man that hath sen t you to me ” ; and she

d id not say,unto the king.

”

And Mordecai ascerta ined al l that had been done [Esther ,iv . What had been don e ? Said Rabh : That Haman hadpersuaded Ahasu eru s .

Then cal led Esther fo r Hatha ch Said Rabh : Ha

thach i s D an iel . Why was he cal led Ha thach ? B ecause hewas cu t from , o r dep r ived o f, h is o fficed Samuel says : On thecontrary

,he had the offi ce

,bu t he was cal led Ha thach becau se

al l laws we re dec ided by him .

And they told Mordecai tV words o f Esther B u t

he went not h imsel f to rom th is i s in ferred that an evi lt id ing mu st not be brou l ly .

And Mo rdecai went abou t Said Rabh : What i smeant by went about He t ransgressed [l by fast ing on th efi rst day o f Passo ver ; he fasted three days , and the th i rd wasPesach . And Samuel says : I t means be passed . There wasa p iece o fwater between the cou rt and Shushan , and he crossed i t .

And it came to pass on the th i rd day that Esther pu t onroyalty [ iv . I ] . Said R . Elazar i n the name o f R . Han ina :From th i s we in fer that she clothed herse l f i n the Ho ly Spirit ,as explained aboveThe same says again : The bless ing o f a common man shal l

I n Hebrew it i s 5 0 . fI n Hebrew it i s the sam e expre ss io n . i l l a f/za c/z, cu t.

Wh ich i s in Hebrew expre ssed by cu tc mg . ii A oo r has al l the se m ean ings .

38 THE BABYLONIAN TALM U D .

never be held l ight , because we find that two who were thegreatest i n the i r generat ion s were blessed by two common men ,and the bless ings have been fu lfi l led

,and they are D avid and

D an i el . D avid,whom Araunah blessed

,as i t i s wri tt en [I I Sam

uel,xxiv . And Araunah said unto the king

,may the Lord

thy God rece ive thee favorably .

” And D aniel , whom D ari usblessed

,as i t i s wri tten [D an . vi . May thy God

,whom

thou wo rsh ippe st , cont inual ly, t ru ly del iver thee . The sameauthority says again : D o not hold l ight the cu rse o f a commonman . For Abimelech cu rsed Sarah

,saying [Gen . xx . 1 6]

This i s to thee a covering to the eyes and i t happened toher ch ild ren as i s wri tten : And I saac 5 eyes became d im

[Gen . xxvi i . The same says again : He who repeats something said by another

,i n that person ’ s name

,brings salvat ion to

the wo rld,as i t i s wri tten : And Esther said i t t o th e queen

in the name of Mordecai . And thus I s rael was saved . He

says again : When an upright man i s lost , he is lost to hi s gene ra tio n ; but not he himsel f. He i s l ike to a pearl

,which may

be lost to the owner , bu t i s and remain s a pearl .Yet al l th i s pro fite th me noth ing [v. Said R .

Elazar i n the name o f R . Han ina : That was becau se Mordecaionce had a n p eoflevr a z

’

, and Haman had so ld h imsel f to h im asa slave

,as said R . H isda . The same said again : I n the fu tu re,

the Holy On e,blessed be He , wil l be H im sel f a crown o n the

head o f every up right man,as i t is wri tten [ I s . xxvi i i . On

that day wi l l the Lord o f hosts be for a crown o f glory and ad iadem of beau ty . What i s meant by a crown o f glo ry anda d iadem o fbeauty I t i s to those who do H is will , and hopefor H is glory . B u t shal l we assume , t o al l o f them? Thereforei t i s wri tten : Unto the residu e o f h i s people . ” That means ,t o those who are so modest that they cons ider themselves l ikethe remnan t o fthe people .

And for a sp iri t o f j udgment [i b id . To those whoj udge thei r own reso lu t ions . To him that s i tt eth in j udgment . I t i s the j udge who does j ust ice . And for strength .

I t i s to those who conqu er the i r own desi res . To those thatd rive back the batt le . That means

,the d isput ing abou t the

Law . To the gate . That means,the scholars who come to

the gate o fthe hou ses o f p rayer and learn ing in the morn ing andthe even ing. The Severi ty o f J ust ice said to the Holy On e ,blessed be He : Creator o f the world , what i s the d ifferencebetween the I srael i tes and other nat ion s ? And He answered :


40 THE BABYL ONIAN TA LMUD .

After al l,we must st i l l hear what the Med ian has said . As we

l earn in the fo l lowing B o ra itha,R . Elazar o f Media said : She

had intended to make Haman j ealous o fAhasu e ru s , and A hasu eru s j ealou s o f Haman . Rabha said : As i t i s wr i t t en [i n Prov .

xvi . B e fore down fal l goeth pride . ” Abayi and Rabhaboth said : She intended to do as i s written [in J erem iah , l i . 39]When they are heated I wil l prepare thei r drink ing feast s andwi l l make them drunken . Rabba bar A bahu once found El ij ahthe p rophet

,and asked h im : What d id Esther in tend to do ?

And he answered : As al l the Tan a im and al l the AmoraimOp in ed .

I n that n ight sleep fled from the king He thought ,What cou ld b e the mean ing o f Esther ’ s invitat ion o f Haman ?Perhaps they consp ired again st h im to ki l l h im Then he conside red that some fr i end o f hi s wou ld be found to in form him .

B u t then he said : Perhaps there are men who have rendered meservi ces

,and I have not rewarded them . There fore people do

not care to do me a kindness . As soon as th i s struck h im , hecommanded to bring to h im the Chron ic les . And they wereread by themselves ; i . e . ,

that p lace in the Chron ic les tu rnedup acc idental ly.

Said R . Ashi : R . Shi la o f the vi llage Tam ra tha l ect ured : I fwhat i s recorded abou t I srael ites below i s not erased , so muchthe more what i s wri tten abou t them in Heaven above .

“ The re hath nothing been don e with h im SaysRabha : They said so

,not becau se they loved Mordecai , but

becau se they hated Haman .

D o th is t o Mordecai ” And Haman asked : Who isMordecai ? And the k ing answered : The J ew . And he saidagain : There a re many J ews by the name of Mordecai . Andhe answered : The one that s it s at the gate o f the king . He

said : F o r th i s man it wi l l suffi ce i f thou wi lt give him a vi l lage ,or the tol l s o f a river . And the k ing said : Give h im th is too .

There fo re i t i s wr i t t en : Leave o u t nothing o f al l that thouhast spo ken .

” And Haman then took the apparel and theho rse ” As Mordecai saw that Haman came to him onthe royal ho rse

,he t rembled

,and said to the rabbi s who sat

near h im : This man probably comes with an order to pu t me todeath . Go away from here

,that you may not get harmed

th rough me . Mordecai wrapped h imsel f,and stood u p to p ray .

When Haman entered,he sat down and waited t i l l Mordecai

ended the prayer . Then Haman asked Mordeca i : What was

TRACT MEGILLA. 4 1

you r occ upat ion when I entered He repl i ed : We stud ied thelaws o fa hand fu l [Lev . vi . We del iberated what a hand fu lshou ld be . Haman an swe red : You r hand fu l , wh ich you haveo ffered to Go d, has ou tweighed the ten thou sand talents that Ihad proposed to the king

,fo r your destruct ion . Then said he to

h im : Put o n the royal appare l and mount the ho rse , fo r thek ing want s you . Mo rdecai said : I must not pu t o n the royalgarments be fore I wash mysel f . Haman took h im himsel f tothe bath

,and washed him

,and cu t h is hai r. Thereafter

,he

bade him mount the horse . He repl ied : I cannot ; I am tooweak from fasting . So Haman bent himsel f

,and helped h im to

cl imb the ho rse,by lett ing h im step o n hi s back .

And proclaimed before h im Thus shal l be do ne unto theman

,etc . Haman ’ s dau ghte r heard th is

,and saw from

a di stance a man rid ing o n a horse . She thought her father sa to n the ho rse

,and Mo rdeca i l ed h im . When they came nearer

,

and she perce ived her m istake,sh e th rew he rsel f from the bal

cony,and d ied . And th is is what i s w r i t ten : Haman hastened

t o h is house , mou rn ing , and having h is head cove red — mou rning over hi s daughter

,and h is head covered , becau se o fthe dis

grace .

And Haman related to Zeres h i s wi fe and to al l h i sfr i ends ” And afterward i t i s wri tten : Then said untoh im hi s wise men and Ze res h is wi fe . Fi rst they are cal ledfri ends

,and then wise men Said R . Johanan : A man even of

the nat ions who says an intel l igent th ing may be cal led wise .

I f Mo rdecai be o f the seed o f the J udeans . They saidI f Mordecai i s descended from other t r ibes

, yo u wil l get thebetter o fh im ; bu t i f he be descended from o n e o f these t r ibesJ ehudah

,B enj am in

,Ephraim

,M e n a sseh

,then you cannot over

come h im . F rom J ehudah becau se i t i s wri t t en [Ge n x l ix . 8]Thy hand shal l be o n the neck o f thy enemies and theother th ree

,becau se i t i s wri tten [P s . lxxx . B e fo re Eph

raim ,B enjam in

,and M e n asseh ,

awaken thy m ight .B u t thou wi lt su rely fal l before him . R . J ehudah b . I la i

l ectu red : What i s meant by surely fal l H is wise men andwi fe said to h im thu s : This nat ion [ I srael] resembles earth , andresembles stars ; when they s ink they s ink to the du st , and whenthey rise they ri se to the stars .

When the king ’ s Chamberlain s arr ived [Esthe r , vi .and they hastened . From this we in fer that they broughth im in a hu rry .

4 2 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD.

For we have been sold , I and my people for theadversary regardeth not the damage o f the k ing . She saidto him This enemy is not worth the damage he cau ses to theking : when he became j ealou s o f Vasht i , he ki l l ed her ; andnow he becomes j ealou s o f me

,and wants to k il l me too .

And the k ing arose in h is fu ry and when the kingretu rned [vi i . 7, From thi s we may in fer that as he hadgone o u t i n fu ry , so he retu rned in fu ry . Haman wa s fal lenupon the couch .

” I t i s not wr i t t en fel l,bu t was fal len

,

from which we may in fer that an angel came and pu shed h im .

And the king said : Wo e i n s ide,and woe ou ts ide"

Then said Harban ah” Said R . Elazar : Ha rba nah

the w i cked had been among those who had given the adv ice tomake a gal lows fo r Mordecai ; but as he saw h is p lan n o t fu lfi l l ed

,he deserted Haman and went over to Mordeca i ’ s fri ends

,

and th i s i s written [Job , xxvi i . And wi l l cast upon him,

and have no p ity ; out o f h i s hand wil l su rely escape .

”

And the fu ry o f the king was appeased [xi i . Theexpress ion is njjw,

which is p lu ral . (What sign ifies thep lu ral ? His anger about Vasht i and about Esther was ap

peased . )I t i s writ ten [Gen . xlv . To al l o f them he gave to

each changes o f raiment ; but to B enj amin he gave fivechanges o f raiment . I s i t poss ible that what gave t rouble toJ oseph ’ s father

,as Rabba bar M e

’

ha ssia said in the name o fRabh (Sabbath , p . kc (J oseph) , th e r ighteou s man , shou ld do?Said R . B enj amin b . J ephe th : That was a h in t that from himwou ld descend a man who would wear five royal garments

,as it

i s wr i t ten [Esthe r , vi i i . 1 5] And Mordecai went ou t in a royalapparel o f bl ue and white

,and with a great crown o f go ld

,and

with a cloak o f fine l inen and pu rp l e .

”

And he fel l upon h is brother B enj am in ’ s neck * [Gen . 5

xlv . How many necks had he—he had only one ? H e

wept fo r the two Temples,that wou ld be s itu ated in B enjam in ’ s

land , and wou ld be dest royed . And B enj amin wept upon hi sn eck .

”He wept fo r the Tabernacle o f Shi loh

,that wou ld be

in Joseph ’ s part o f the land,and wou ld be destroyed . And

behold , you r own eyes see , and the eyes o f my brother B enj am in " [Gen . xlv . Said R . Elazar : Joseph said to themJ ust as I have noth ing in my heart against B enj amin

,who took

I n the H ebrew text the p lural i s u sed .



mult i tu de o fhi s brethren [x . To the mu lt i tude , bu t notto al l ? From thi s we may in fer that a part o f the Sanhedrint u rned away from h im .

R . Joseph said : The st udy of the Law i s greater than thesaving of l ives

,for befo re Mordecai was ment ioned the fi fth

,

and later the sixth . I t i s writ ten [Ezra , 1 1 . Who camewith Zerubbabel

,J eshua , Nehem iah , Se rayah ,

Re a layah , Mordecai

,B a lshan ; and later

, [in Nehemiah , vi i . 7] he i s ment ionedthe s ixth . (Rash i explain s th i s thu s : From the retu rn of Ez rato the retu rn o f Nehem iah twenty years elapsed

,and meanwhi le

Mordecai became of h igh rank , but be fore he had been more o fa scholar . )Rabh

,and acco rd ing to others R . Samue l b . Martha, said

The study o f the Law is o f mo re importance than the bu i ld ingo fthe Temple ; for so long as B arach b . Neriah l ived , Ezra retu rned not to the land o f I srael . Said Rabha in the name o fR . I t z ’hak b . Samuel the so n o fMartha : The study of the Lawis more important than the honoring o f the parents ; fo r i n al lthe years that J acob passed with Shem and Eber and stud iedthe Law

,he was n o t chast i sed fo r fai l ing du ring that t ime to

honor h i s father and hi s mothe r. *

The Gem ara pro ce eds to prove th is by certain calcu lat io n s of the age s ofI shm ae l ,I tz ’hak , a nd Jacob , deduced from scr iptural passages the pro ofbe ing very fl im sy andcom p l icated , we have om itted it.

CONCERNING THE REA D ING OF THE M EG IL L A—B Y WHOM,WHERE

,

A N D IN WHA T L A NGUA GES .

MISHNA : Anyon e who reads the Megil la i n an irregu larmanner does not fu lfi l h i s du ty ; no r i f he reads i t by heart , o rtranslated in any language which he does not understand . I ti s lawfu l , however , to read to those that know no Hebrew in afore ign language wh ich they understand ; i f they have heard i tin (the original language with) Assyr i an characters , they haveal so done thei r duty (though they have not understood theHebrew) . Shou ld anyone read i t so as to make long pausesbetween the part s and sl umber meanwhi le

,he wi l l have fu lfi l led

h i s du ty . I f anyone shou ld read the Megi l la whi le wri t ing,

expounding,o r correct ing i t

,with the intent ion o f fu lfi l l ing h i s

d uty,i t i s fu lfi l led ; bu t not , i f he had no su ch inten t ion . I f the

Megi lla was written wi th paint,ruddle

,gum

,vitrio l black

,on

papyrus,o r o n rough vel lum ,

the du ty i s n o t fu lfi l l ed , bu t i t mu stbe wr i t ten in Assyrian characters

,i n a book , o n good parchment ,

and with ink .

GEMARA : Whence do we deduce this ? Said Rabha : I ti s w r i tt en [Esther, ix . And these days are rememberedand celebrated . The remembering i s compared to the celeb ra t ing ,

as the ce lebrat ion cannot be earl i er,becau se the 1 sth

day cannot p recede th e 1 4 th ; so i n remembering , the secondchapter cannot be read be fo re the fi rst . We have learned in aTo sephtha that the same i s the case with the Hal le l P raye r,and the saying o f Shema . And whence is th i s deduced SaidRabba : B ecause i t i s w ri t ten [P s . cxi i i . From the r i s ing o fthe sun unto h is go ing down , the name o f the Lord i s p ra i sed

(as the su n does n o t go backward , so the p raises o fthe Lord) .R Joseph said : From the fol lowing passage [P s . cxvi i i . 24]Thi s i s the day which the Lord has made (as the day pro

gre sse s without i rregulari ty , so is to be the prayer) . R . Iviasays : From the fol lowing passage [ ibid . cxi i i . “

L et the nameo fthe Lord be blessed (let i t be as i t is). And R . Na ’hman

1 0 4 5


bar I tz ’ hak,and accord ing to others R . A ’ha bar Jacob , says

From [ib id . From thi s t ime forth and for evermore (ast ime progresses regu larly

,so shou ld the prayer be) .

The rabbi s t aught : Whence do we dedu ce that we shouldment ion the Patriarchs in the prayer ? B ecause i t i s writ ten

[P s . xxix . Ascribe u nto the Lord,ye son s of the m ighty

(by mighty are meant the Patriarchs) . And whence do we deduce that we shou ld ment ion in the prayer the power o fGodB ecau se i t i s writt en Ascr i be unto the Lord glory andstr eng tk .

” And whence do we deduce that H is Hol iness mustbe ment ioned B ecau se i t i s wri tten [i bid . Asc r ibe untothe Lord the glory o f h i s name ; bow down to the Lord i nthe beauty o f koliness . And from what d id they see that weshou ld p ray for Wisdom after Ho l in ess i s ment ioned B ecau sei t i s wri tten [I s . xxix . Then wi l l they sanct i fy the HolyOn e o f J acob , and the God o f I srae l wi l l they reverence andin the succeed ing verse : They also that were erring in sp i r i tshal l acqu ire understand ing. And why do we ment ion Repentance after Wisdom ? B ecau se i t i s written [I s . vi . Lesth is heart understand

,and he wi l l repen t

,and be healed . I f

so,we ought to ment ion Heal ing after Repentance I t wou ld

not be proper,becau se i t i s wri tt en [ ib id . lv . And let h im

retu rn u nto the Lord , and he wi l l have mercy upon h im ; andu n to ou r God

,for he wi l l abundantly pardon .

” Pardon is therefore prayed for after Repentance . B u t why is p reference givento th i s verse over that verse ? There is another passage [P s .

c i i i . Who forgiveth al l thy in iqu it ies,who healeth all thy

d iseases . Who redeemeth from the p i t thy l i fe . ” Shal l weassume that Redempt ion and Heal ing come after Forgivenessin the verse above quoted i t i s wr i t t en

,he wi l l repent and be

heal ed Not heal ing from disease i s meant,but the forgive

ness i s a heal ing . And why did they ment ion Redemption inthe seventh B enedict ion ? Said Rabha : B ecause i t i s knownthey wi l l be redeemed i n the seventh year ( in Sanhed ri n i t i ssaid that i n the last o f the seven years before Mess iah they wi l lbe redeemed) . A nd w h

ydo Lhe v p ray for Heal ing in the eighth

B e n edigt io n r Said R . A ’ ha,because Ci rc u rifc isio n

’

take s place o nthe

'

eighth day , and requ i res a heal ing . And why do they prayfor the B lessing o f the Year i n the n inth B enedict ion Said R .

Alexand r i : That i s for those who raise the prices , as i t i s written

[P s .x . B reak thou the arm o f the wicked and o fthe bad

man .

” And th is the n inth psalm . (Th is whole psalm , Rash i



ing . And perhaps b e blessed them befor e the servi ce Nay,

we do not suppose so ; for i t i s wr i t ten , he came down afterhe had offered — not to offer

,

” but afl er offering. I f so,l et

i t be said before the Thanksgiving ? I t wou ld no t be proper,becau se i t i s wri t ten : Whoso offereth the thanksgiving glo rifie th me . And why i s th i s verse preferred to that B ecau secommon sense tel ls that Service and Thanksgiving are the sameth ing. And why do we p ray for Peace after the B less ing o fPriests B ecau se i t i s wri tten [Num . vi . And they shal lp u t my name upon the chi ldren o f I srael

,and I wil l bless them .

And the bless ing o f the Holy On e , blessed be He,is Peace

,as i t

i s w ri t ten [P s . xxix . The Lord wi ll bless h i s people with

p e a c ef’

(Let u s see I f one hundred and twenty elders,and among

them many prophets,have arranged the Eighteen B ened ic t i on s

,

why have we learned in another place that S imeon o fPecu l i hadordered them ? They had been forgotten , so he re int roducedthe o rder .After these Eighteen B ened ict ions , i t i s not permitted to bless

the name of the Lord more,a s R . Elazar said I t i s wri tten

[P s . cvi . Who can utte r the mighty act s o f the Lord ?Who can publ ish al l h i s p raise i . e .

,who is fi t t o u tter He

who can publ i sh a ll hi s praise (and as no one can do i t , on ly theprayers that have been ordained shou ld be said) .Rabba bar bar Hana said in the name o f R . Johanan : He

who speaks too much in p raise o f Go d i s up rooted from thewo rld

,as i t i s wr i t t en [J o b , xxxvi i . Can al l be related o f

h im when I speak Or i f a man talk even t i l l he be swal lowedup R . J ehudah o f the vi l lage Geb o riah ,

accord ing to otherso f Gibor - Hai l , l ectu red : I t i s w ri t ten [P s . lxv . Fo r theep raise i s s i lent . ” Si lence i s the cu re to everyth ing : when R .

D ima came from Palest ine , he said that i n the West they say

A wo rd i s worth a sela ,and si l ence two .

”

[f b e r eads it by kea r z‘. Whence i s th i s dedu ced Said

Rabha : There is an analogy o f express ion in the wo rd memor ial . H e re i t i s written [Esther, ix . These days areremembered ”

; and there [Ex . xvi i . Write th i s for amemo r ial in a book . As there i t i s written in a boo k sohere i t shou ld be read ou t o f a book . Ho w is i t known thatloud read ing is meant— perhaps on ly looking through the book

So the Talm u d tran slate s n’m'

l.

TRACT MEGILLA. 4 9

I t wou ld not be reasonable ; as a B o ra itha states : I t i s written

[D eut . xxv . Remember and i t cannot mean in thyheart

,because i t i s wri tten again [ibid . Thou shalt n o t

fo rget That means,ce rta in ly, i n thy heart . Con sequent ly

remember must mean o ral ly .

Or tr a nsla ted,etc . , i . e . , when both the language and the

characters are foreign .

To t/zose wko know no Hebr ew, etc . B u t i t i s j u st stated

that by hear ing i t read in a fo re ign language o n e has not fu lfi l ledh i s du ty . Rabbi and Samuel both said : By th is Greek is meant .How i s the case I f i t was written in Assyr i an (characte rs) , a ndo n e read i t in Greek , then he reads i t by heart Said R . A 'bain the name o f R . Elazar : That means , when it is wr i tten inGreek

,and he reads i t in Greek .

The same autho ri ty says again : How i s i t known that Godcal led Jacob El (on e o f the names o f God) ? B ecause i t i swritten [Gen . xxx . And cal led i t E1

,the God o f I srael

,

which he interprets,who cal led him E1

,the God o f I s rael .

F o r i f the altar was meant , the verse wou ld say , and Jacobcal led it .

” An object ion was raised : I f o n e read the Megi llai n Copt i c

,i n Old Hebrew ,

Elam ic , Median , o r G reek, o n e has

n o t fu lfi l l ed h is du ty ? What i s said above , that Greek i s lawfu l

,i s l ike another B o ra itha which says that i f o n e has read in

Copt i c t o Copt ic,Hebrew to H ebrews , Elam ic to Elam ite , o r

Greek to Greek I srael i t es , they have don e thei r duty . I f so ,

why do Rabh and Samuel say the M ishna means on ly Greek : l etthem say i t means al l fore ign languages may be read to thosewho understand them ? Rabh and Samuel mean that even tothose who do not comprehend it

,i t may be read in G reek . B u t

i n the B o ra itha i t i s said , that only i f G reek is read to G reekI srael i tes i t i s lawfu l Rabh and Samuel are in accordance w i t hRabban S imeon Gamal ie l

,who says that even the Pentateuch was

al lowed to be wr i tten on ly in G reek , not in another tongue . I fso

,l et them say

,mo re briefly

,the Halakha prevai l s accord ing to

R . Simeon b . Gamal iel I f they said so,we wou ld th ink i t bears

re ference only to other books : bu t as o f the Megi l la it is w r i tt en

,accord ing to i ts wri t ing , we wou ld th ink on ly in Assyrian

characters i t i s al lowed,and not Greek

,there fore they come to

teach u s that even here Greek i s p ro per.One wko Iza s it r ead to li im fr om A ssyr ia n c/za r a cters .

B u t he does not comp rehend i t ? What is the u se ? I t i s l ikethe case o f women and common people , who do not understand


i t e i ther,yet they are fu lfi l l ing the i r du ty . Rabbina opposed

Why do you compare h im to women and common people,and

we ou rse lves,do we understand what i s meant by D’JWfiWflNi‘ i

D’J DW“

; ”3: [vi i i . B u t as i t does not matter,provided

w e understand the proc lamat ion o f the m iracle , so i t al so matt ers n ot in thei r case .

L ong pa nses ,” etc . (The term used in the M ishna i s Seru

gin . The rabb is d id not understand the expression o f theM ishna

, PMW’D ,

unt i l they heard that the servant -maid o f

Rabbi , when she saw that the rabbis came t o Rabb i s hou se insmall detached part i es

,at intervals

,said to them Why do you

come—Se rugin , Se rugin ?* The rabb is taught : I f on e made

pau ses i n h is read ing , he has fu lfi l led h is du ty ; bu t i f he read i ti rregu larly

,he has not ; R . Muna says in the nam e o fR . J ehu

dah : Even when one has made pau ses he has done his duty ,provided they were not long enough for the reading o f the wholeM egi l la

,but otherwise he must begin again from the beginn ing .

Said R . B i bb i : Rabh said that the Halakha does not prevai laccord ing to R . Muna , and Samuel says that i t does . Said R .

Joseph : Hold i n thy m ind what R . B i bb i has said , for Samueldec ides more vigorously. When a s ingle au tho ri ty holds vigoro u sly, even when the maj or i ty d iffe r from him (and it i s an oldru le , that where Samuel and Rabh d isagree the Halakha prevai lsacco rd ing to Rabh , when the laws are not about pecuniarymatters) .The rabbis taught : When the scribe who had written the

Megilla had omitted letters o r sentences , but the reader read itlike an interpret er, and suppl ied what was missing, the duty wasdone .

The rabbis taught : I f the reader has omitted one verse,he

shou ld not say : When I shal l have read the ent i re Megi l la Ishal l then read the omitted verse ; but he shou ld commence withthat verse , and read fu rther . The same is it when one comes tothe house of praye r, and finds the first hal f o f i t gone through bythe congregat ion , he shou ld not say : “ I wi l l read with the con

grega t io n to the end , and then read the fi rst hal f” but he shou ld

begin to read from the beginn ing,and read to the end .

“ A nd slum ber .

” What is meant by slumbering? I t meansnot sleep ing, but being d rowsy , so that when he is cal led , he a n

See Ro sh -Hashana fo r o ther case s whe re the rabbis d id no t understa nd ti l lthey heard the e xp lanat io n by Rabbi ’s m aid .


5 2 THE B A BYLONIA N TALMUD .

F rom an analogy of expression .

~ I t is wr i t ten [Esther , ix . 29]Then wrote Esther and [J er . xxxvi .

“ Then said B aruchu nto them

,With h is mouth did he u tter c learly al l these words

unto me,and I w r ote them in the book with ink .

”

MISHNA : I f an inhabitant o f an open town had gone to anancient ly walled town

,or vice versa ,

i f he int ends to retu rn toh is place

,he shall read it at the same t ime they read in his place ;

i f not,he may read with the inhabitants o f the place in which he

is . From where is i t necessary to commence the reading o f theMegi l la

, so as to fu lfi l one’s duty ? R . Mei r says : I t i s obl iga

tory to read the whole . R . J ehudah says : I t suffices i f b e commence at a Jewish man [Esther, i i . R . Jose says : Even i ffrom after these event s [ibid . i i i . I ] .

GEMARA : Said Rabha : “ I f he intends to retu rn . Thatmeans

,to retu rn o n the n ight o f the 1 4 th ; but i f he does not

pu rpose t o retu rn on that n ight,he may read with the imbabi

tants o f the place where he is . And he said again Whence doI deduce th is? B ecause it is written [Esther , ix .

“ Therefore do the J ews o f the open towns , that dwell in open townsLet u s se e . I t is stated already, The J ews o fthe open towns .Why is it repeated , that dwel l in open towns

”P He comes to

t each us , that i f one dwells even o n e day there , he is consideredas an inhabitant o f an open town . This i s right about opentowns, but how do we know that the same appl ies to wal ledtowns? That is commo n sense I f o n e who dwel ls a day in anopen town is cons idered an inhabitant thereof , the same must bein the case of a walled town .

And Rabha says again : I f a count ryman has gone into atown , he must read with the inhabitants, for why was he perm itted to read on the Assembly- day ? That he shou ld n o t t roubleh imsel f t o come to the town ; but i f he is there , he must read inany case , whether he intends to stay there o r n o t .

“ F r om wker e is it n ecessa ry to com m ence , etc . We havelearned in a B o ra itha : R . Simeon b . J echayi said : He may b egin from

,in that n ight [chap . vi . I ] .

Said R . Johanan : All these d ifferent opin ions have beendeduced from the fol lowing verse : I t is written [ix . 29]

“ Thenwrote Esther the queen , with Mordecai the Jew

,with

al l du e strength . Those who say the ent i re Megi lla shou ld beread , mean the whole might (strength) o fAhasueru s ; he who saysit shou ld be begun from a Jewish man ,

” means the whole powero f Mordecai ; and he who says from after these events

,

” th inks

TRACT M EGILLA . 3

the power o f Haman ; and he who says from in that n ight,

means the whole power o f the mirac le shou ld be related . SaidR . Helba in the name ofR . Hama bar Gu ria , quot ing Rabh : TheHalakha prevails accord ing to h im who says : The whole Megi llamust be read . And even he who says from “ a J ewish man alsomeans it shou ld be w r itten wholly , i f n o t read . The same saysagain : The Megi l la is cal led “ a book ,

” also “ a let ter. Thatmeans

,i t i s cal led a book because i f i t i s st i tched together with

threads o f flax it is inval id , a s the Holy Sc rolls are ; and it i scal led a letter becau se i f only three veins are used it is yet val id

(un l ike the Holy Scrolls) . Said R . Na ’hman This i s when everyvein is t rip le (triply st itched) .R . Jehudah said in the name o f Samuel : I f o n e has read the

Megilla from the B ible,in which it i s among other books

,he has

not fu lfi l led h is duty , as the Megi lla shou ld be separated . SaidRabha : This is when the sc rol l o fthe Megilla wa s l ike the othersc rol ls ; but i f i t was a l itt l e longer o r shorter and d ist ingu ishablefrom them , i t does n o t matter .R . Hyya bar Abba said in the name o f R . Johanan : I f o n e

reads the Megilla bound with other books, he has not done h isduty . Those who heard h im repud iated h im , saying : This i sonly the case when it i s read in publ ic ; but an ind ividual maydo so . The same says again in the name ofthe same authority :The law that

,when the Holy Scrol ls are st itched together

,mar

gins must be left at the top and at the bottom is a Halakha fromMoses on Sinai . And those who heard him repud iated h im fi"

saying : I t i s not a Halakha from Moses on S inai , but it has beenordered only that the parchment may not be torn . The samesays again in the n ame of the same authority : I f i n the casewhere Moses and El ij ah were , there had been a ch ink as narrowas a needle

,they wou ld not have remained al ive when the Lo rd

passed, as i t i s wri tten [Ex . xxxi i i . Fo r n o man can se e me

and l ive . The same says again in the name o f the same authority : I t i s wr itt en [D eut . ix . And on them was w ritten a c

cord ing to all the words which the Lord had spoken with youon the mount . We in fer from th is that God revealed to Moses

Rash i exp lained th is , that no t o thers o bje c ted , bu t he h im se lf re tracted h is asse rt ion . B u t th i s seem s to us incorrect : firstly

,as the word repud iated ," in the

o rigina l , i s in the p lural a nd seco nd ly , whe n R. Hyya bar A bba said in R. Jo hana n

’

s nam e he n o lo nger l ived , how co u ld he co ntrad ict h im se lfa t that t im e ? Therefore we tran slate it as it seem s to us righ t . See ou r U rsprung u nd En twicke lungcl e s Philac te rien -Ritus be ide n Tuden

,

"p . 1 40 ,

where th is passage i s explained .


al l the part icu lars o fthe B ible what words sign i fy that something is to be inc luded or to be excluded), and of the part icu larsthe Gemara deduces from the Mishna, and what the scribes wil ld i scover later. And what is it ? The reading o f the Megi lla .

MISHNA : All are qual ified to read the Megi lla,except a

deaf person , fool , o r a minor. R . J ehudah , however, allows it t obe read by a minor.GEMARA : Who is the Tana that holds that even when a

deaf man has already read it the duty is not fu lfi l led ? Said R .

Mathn a : The Tana is R . Jose o f the following M ishna inB e ra cho th :

“ He who read Shema , and d id not h imsel f hearwhat he read , he has done his duty . R . Jose, however, said , hehas not . How do we know that o u r Mishna i s i n accordancewith R . Jose , who says that even i f he has done it already , he hasnot fu lfi l led h is duty . Perhaps it i s in accordance with R . J ehudah ,who says that he must not commence ; but i f he has done italready , b e has done h is du ty ? I t wou ld n o t be reasonable ; b ecau se the deaf person is ment ioned together with the fool andthe minor , and as when the last two have done it the duty hasnot been fu lfi l led , so i t must be with the deaf .

“ R . fekndak a llows a m inor . We have learned in a B 0ra itha : R . J ehudah said : Whe n I was a minor I read the Megi l lain the presence o fR . Ta rpho n and the elders in the c ity o fLud .

The sages answered : On e adduces no proof from a minor . Wehave learned in another B o ra itha : Rabbi said When I was a minorI read the Megil la in the presence o f R . J ehudah . The sages sa idto him : On e cannot adduce a proof from a man who perm ittedit (because the majority d iffered from him). Why have they notanswered here also . On e brings no proof from a minor? Theymeant it ; fi rst ly, he was a minor, but even i f he were not , theywou ld not recogn ize it as a proof, because R . J ehudah was anind ividual except ion .

MISHNA : The following rel igiou s acts may not be donebefore sun r i se on the day on which they are obl igatory : To readthe Megi lla

,t o c ircumcise, t o bathe (on the seventh day of the

purificat ion of an unclean or defiled person), to sprinkle (the n u

c lean as a purificat ion) ; nor may a woman (who had experiencedher menses beyond the usual t ime, and who was to) wait a day

(before she might bathe) do so before the sunrise o f that day .

B u t i f any of these acts has been done at any period after daybreak , it i s val id .

GEMARA : Whence do we deduce th is? I t is written


5 6 THE BA BYLONIA N TALMUD .

be done by day may legal ly be done during the whole of theday ; and whatever i s commanded to be done by night , i t i slawfu l to do du r ing the whole o f the n ight .GEMARA : Whence do we deduce this? B ecau se it is w ri t

t en : “ Those days are remembered and celebrated . The reading ofHal lel , as is written [P s . cxi i i . 3] From the rising o fthesu n unto the going down . R . Joseph says : As it is written

[ibid . cxvi ii . 24]“ This is the day which the Lord hath made .

“ The u se of the Lu lab,

” because it is wr i tt en [Lev . xxi i i 40]And ye shal l take unto yourselves o n the first day .

” Thesound ing o f the com et ,

” becau se it i s written [Num . xxix . 7]A day of blowing o f the com et shal l i t be unto yo u .

” “ Andthe add it ional o ffering

,as it is wr i tt en [Lev . xxi i i . 37] Every

thing upon its day .

” And the prayer at the addit ional offeringi s l ike the o ffering itsel f .*

Tkis is tke r u le ,” et c . What is it meant to include ? The

putt ing away of the spoon o f frankincense , and the taking itaway (becau se the o ld must be taken away at the same t ime thatthe new is brought

,as wil l be explained in Tract M en a

’

ho th) .By n ig

‘kt ,” etc . What is i t meant to i nc lude ? The eat ing

o fthe Paschal lamb , which is on ly before sun r i se ; and the Mishnai s not i n accordance with Elazar b . Azariah (as wil l be explainedin T ract M e n a

’

ho th) .

The rem ain ing laws of the M i shna a re also deduced here from verse s o r fromanalogies of e xpre ssio n bu t they a re fou nd in o ther and m o re proper place s , anda re therefore here om itted .

A PPEND IX TO FOOTNOTE ON PA GE 53.

Jastrow’

s D i ct ionary has ju st reached u s, and we a re su rprised no t to find undersub .

qrm the quo tat io n mm , repeated twice o n page l gb ,o ld ed.

,m en t io n e d by us

in our n o te , which m ean s they stru ck the Ha la kka o n its head . We fai l to findany reaso n fo r th is om i ss io n

,as it seem s to us very im po rtan t that the quo tat ion

shou ld o ccur.

CHAPTER I I I .

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING THE POSTURE OF THE REA DER OF THE

MEG I L L A ,A N D H IS CL OTHES

,BEFORE PRA YER.

MISHNA The Megi lla may be read either sitt ing o r stand ing ,by o n e person on ly , o r by two persons at the same t ime . Theyal ike fu lfi l thei r duty . I n places where it i s u sual to say a blessing (after read ing it) i t i s obligatory to say i t , bu t not when it i sn o t customary . Three men are called to read in the Holy Sc rol lso n Mondays and Thursdays ; and in the afternoon o fthe Sabbathneither more nor less than that number may be called

, n o r shal lany sect ion from the Prophets then be read . He who commencesthe read ing o f the Holy Sc rol ls shall pronounce the fi rst benedict ion before read ing it , and he who concludes the read ing shal lpronounce the last bened ict io n after read ing it .On the fi rst o f the month , o n the intermediate days of the

fest ivals,fou r men are to be called .

’

This number may neitherbe added to nor d imin ished , n o r shall any sect ion o fthe Prophetsthen be read (the fi rst o f these men shal l say the fi rst blessingbefore read ing , and the last who conc ludes the read ing shal l saythe last bless ing afte r read ing) . This is the ru le : On al l days ,when an add it ional o ffering is prescribed , which are neverthelessnot fest ivals , fou r men are t o be cal led ; five o n fest ivals ; six o n

the D ay o fAtonement and seven on the Sabbath . This numbermay n o t be d imin ished , but it may be inc reased , and a sect ion o f

the P rophets must be read o n tho se days . The fi rst and the lastreaders shal l p ro nounce the bened ict ions befo re and after read ing .

GEMARA : We have learned in a B o ra itha : I t is n o t so

with the read ing o f the Torah , which can be read only when thecongregat ion sits . Whence do we deduce this ? Said R . A bahu

I t is wri tten [D eut . v . 28] B u t as fo r thee,stand thou he re by

me . From th is we in fer, he shou ld stand , and the congregationshou ld sit . He says again : How do we know that the Mastershou ld n o t teach the disciple when he sits o n the bed , and thed isc iple o n the floo r? B ecause it is written : “ Stand by (with)me (as I stand so yo u shou ld stand).

5 7


The rabb is taught From the t ime o f Moses t i l l RabbanGamal ie l the Law was stud ied stand ing ; when R . Gamaliel d ied ,sicknesses came into existence , and they began to st udy sitt ing .

And this i s what we have learned in a M ishna elsewhere,that

s ince R . Gamaliel had died the honoring o fthe Law had ceased .

On e verse says [D eut . ix .

“ I sat o n the mount andanother [ib id . x .

“ I stood on the mount . Said Rabh :He stood when he stud ied

,and he sat when he repeated . R .

Johanan , however, said : By sitt ing i s meant abid ing, a s i swr i t t en [D eut . i . 46] “ And ye sat in Kadesh

,which means

“ dwelt . ” Rabha says : The easy things he learned stand ing ,and the d ifficu lt th ings he sat down to understand .

By one person , or by two , etc . We have learned in a B oraitha : The law is not so with the Holy Scrolls (which only onecan read

,not two) .

The rabbis taught : The scrol ls o f the Pentateu ch o n e shou ldread and the other shou ld int erpret but not o n e shal l read andtwo interpret ; but the P rophet s : On e shou ld read and two mayinterpret it

,but two shou ld n o t read and two int erpret . I n case

o fHal lel and the Megi lla, however, even ten may read and ten int e rpre t . Why so ? B ecause Hallel and the Megi lla are dear tothe people

,and even i f t en read they wil l give their attent ion .

“ I n pla ces w/zer e it is usua l to say a blessing ,

” etc . SaysAbayi : The Mishna refers on ly to the bened ict ion after it ; bu tbe fore

,i t i s obl igato ry . As R . J ehudah said in the name ofSam

uel Fo r al l rel igiou s dut ies, one shou ld p ronounce a bened ict ionbefore they are done .What bless ing shou ld be pronounced before the read ing of theMegilla ? R . She she th of Qa rta z ia said in the presence of R .

Ash i : Three bless ings : B lessed be He , etc . , who has commandedu s to read the Megilla ; B lessed be He , etc . , who has performedmiracles for o u r ancesto rs ; and the bened ict ion o f the t ime .

What blessing is said after the reading o fthe Megil la ? B lessedbe Thou

, O Lo rd our God , King of the Un iverse, who hast takenup our quarrels

,who hast j udged ou r j udgments, who hast taken

revenge fo r u s, who hast retal iated for u s on ou r adversar ies, andwho recompensest acco rd ing t o the ir deservings al l ou r enemies .B lessed be Thou

, O Lo rd , wh o p u n ishe st al l the adversar i es o fI srael . Rabha said : B lessed be Thou

,God o fsalvat ion .

” SaidR . Papa : There fore, we shou ld say both : B lessed be Thou , OLord

,who pu n ishe st o u r adversari es , God of our salvat ionTkr ee m en a r e ca lled to r ead, etc . To what do the th ree


60 THE BABYLON IAN TALMUD .

n ing shou ld be read by two,and from “ Let there be an ex

panse shou ld be read by o n e . And it wa s d iscu ssed : I t is rightthat from Let there be an expanse ” shou ld be read by o n e , b e

cause there are th ree verses ; but up to that there are only fiveverses

,and how can two men read it ? Have we not learned in a

B o ra itha that each must read no less that three verses ? And inanswer t o it

,i t w a s taught : Rabh said : The second shou ld begin

from the thi rd verse,which has been already read and Samuel

says : They shal l d ivide the th ird verse into two parts .

[Why does Rabh say he shal l read a seco nd t ime , and not b egin in the m idd le ? B ecause Rabh holds the verse which M o sesd id not leave in the middle we m ay n o t sp lit b u t Samuel says wemay . And acco rd ing to Samuel may we stop in the m idd le o f theverse ? D id n o t Ha n an ia Kara say : I had great t rou ble when Iw a s by R . Han ina the G reat , who d id n o t permit me to stop inthe middle o f a verse , ex cept fo r the scho olch i ld ren , because Ihad to teach them ? Why d id R . Han ina perm i t ? B ecau sescho o lch i ldren cou ld not otherwise be taught ; and so Samuelal lowed

,becau se it was necessary . B u t why does not Sam u el

say as Rabh ? B ecau se i f o n e enter in the m iddle , and hear thesecond read ing the third verse, he may think the fi rst has readonly two .]An o bj ect ion wa s rai sed : We have learned in Ta an ith :

“ Apo rt ion co ntain ing six verses may be read by two men , but i f i tcontain five

,only o n e man must read ; but i f the fi rst ha s only

read th ree,the second must read the remain ing two ,

and o n e ofthe next port io n . B u t , accord ing to others, he must read threeverses o f the next , because he must n o t begin to read a port ion ,un less he read three verses .” Now

,i f i t were as Rabh and

Samu el say,why does not the B o ra itha teach he shall repeat a

verse,o r sto p in the middle ? There the case is d iffe rent becau se

it is p ract icable , b u t n o t here .

Said R . Tan’

hum in the name of R . Joshua b . Levi : TheHalakha p revails acco rd ing to the saying o f the B o ra itha in thename o fthe o thers . And he says again As o n e must not begina po rt ion , to read less than th ree verses, so o n e must not stopu nless th ree verses are yet left .Rabba the so n o f Rabha sent to a sk R . Joseph how the

Halakha prevails . And he sent h im the answer : The Halakhaprevai ls

,that it shal l be repeated by the second reader .

Tbis is zbe r ule W’

ken a n additiona l ofer ing .

” The schoolmen p ropounded a quest ion : On a fast o f the congregat ion how

TRACT MEGILLA. 6 1

many persons shou ld be cal led to read ? Shou ld we say that b ecau se o u the fi rst o f the month and intermediat e days there is anadd it ional offering, fou r shou ld read but o n th is occasion , whenthere is no add it ional offer ing , only three shou ld read ? Or that

,

becau se the re i s an addit ional prayer, fou r shou ld be cal led to

read Come and hear : I t happened that Rabh came to B abylono n a congregat ional fast - day . He arose and read in the To rah

,and

said a bened ict ion when he began , bu t not when he finished . Thewhole congregat ion fe l l u pon thei r faces, and he d id n o t . N ow

let u s se e : Rabh (who was no priest) cou ld read on ly what anI srae l i t e reads was the third) . Why , then , d id he n o t pron o unce the bened ict ion after he had fin ished ? We must assumebecau se he thought a fou rth wou ld yet read

, so there wou ld befou r ? Nay ; Rabh was the beginner, and subst itu ted a p r iest ,becau se he was the best man and we find in Gitt in

,that R . Huna

d id so t o o . I t is r ight o fR . Huna , because , as i t is said the re ,R . Ammi and R . Ashi , although they were p ri est s themselvesand the most honored men o fPalest ine , nevertheless bowed b efo re R . Huna ; but Rabh , how cou ld he subst itu te a p ri est ? Wasthere n o t Samuel , who w a s a p i ie st , and always had preferencebe fore Rabh ? Nay ; Samuel also bowed to Rabh ; but Rabhgave pre ference to h im only to honor h im

,and it seems to u s

that th is is correct , that Rabh read fi rst becau se i f not so , whydid he pronounce the bened ict ion befo re ? B u t perhaps it wasafter i t was ordained that the benedict ion shou ld be p ronouncedboth before and after ? Then he wou ld have p ronou nced thebened ic t ion after it also ? I t i s d i fferent . Where Rabh wa s , thepeople we re permitted to enter the house o f prayer , but n o t tol eave

,t i l l Rabh fin ished lectu ring . Hence there w as no fear fo r

those who might leave . (The quest ion is therefo re not dec ided ,becau se afte r the fi rst may be eithe r two o r three .) Come andhear . This is the ru le : On the day when n o labo r is done

,as

o n a congregat io nal fast and the 9 th o f A bh,th ree must read ;

and o n those days when to do labo r is n o t p roh ib i ted , a s o n thefi rst o f the month and inte rmediate days o f a fest ival , fou r read .

This dec ides the quest ion .

Sa id R . Ash i : Have we n o t l earned in o u r Mishna : Thisis the ru le : On the day which ha s an add it ional sacrifice . buti s n o t a fest ival , fou r men read ? N ow , when it is said , “ thisi s the ru le

,may we n o t assume that it is meant to inc lude

a congregat ional fast and the 9 th o f A bh ? Nay , a s ign onlyw a s given that i t shou ld n o t be thought fest ivals and in te rm e

6 2 THE B A B YLONIAN TALMUD .

d iat e days are equal in the read ing o f the Torah they gave u sa ru le that even o n a day having a pre ference over another day

,

one man more must be cal led to read . Therefore , o n the firsto fthe month , intermed iate days , which have an addit ional sac r ifice , fou r read ; on a fest ival , when n o labor may be done , fivemust read on the D ay o fAtonement , which has a pun ishmento fKareth

,six read o n Sabbath , which has a capital pun ishment ,

seven read .

I t i s said above : Rabh d id not fal l on h is face . Why ? B e

cau se he was the most honored man and this i s simi lar to theteach ing o f R . Elazar : He said , an honored man must not fal lon his face , un less he is su re he wil l be answered as Joshua b .

Nun , o fwhom it is wr i tt en [Josh . vi i . “ And the Lord saidto J oshua : Get thee up ; wherefo re l iest thou upon thy face ?Said R . Hyya bar A bb in : I saw that Abayi and Rabha usedn o t t o fal l o n their faces, but on ly recl ined their heads on theirhands

S ix on tke D ay of A tonem ent . Accord ing to whom is o u rMishna? Not accord ing to R . I shmae l , and not accord ing to R .

Aqiba o f the following B o ra itha : “ On the fest ival five , on theD ay o fAtonement s ix , and on the Sabbath seven— n o t more andnot less . So is the decree o f R . I shmael . R . Aqiba says On afest ival five, o n the D ay of Atonement seven , on Sabbath sixnot less, but it may be more . I f the M ishna was in accordancewith R . I shmael , i t wou ld not al low,

as he,more ; and i f in a c

co rda n ce with R . Aqiba , the latter says , o n Sabbath six? SaidRabha : The Mishna is in accordance with the d isc iples of R .

I shmael , who teach On fest ivals five,on the D ay o fAtonement

six , on Sabbath seven—not less , but more is perm itted . So saidR . I shmael . This is in sel f- contrad ict ion of R . I shmael ? Thereare two Ta n a im : On e says R . I shmael had said so , and the seco nd he had said otherwise . To what do the three , five, andseven correspond ? R . I tz ’hak b . N ahm an i and R . Simeon b .

Pazz i,acco rd ing to others R . Samuel b . N ahm a n i— one said that

it corresponds to the blessings of the priest s (where there arethree words in the fi rst verse

,five in the second

,seven in the

th i rd), and the other said that they correspond to the threedoo r- keepers [I I Kings , xxv . 1 8] and the five men who cou ldcome unto the king ’s p resence [ ibid . 1 9] and the seven who cou ldsee Ahasueru s [Esther , i . And the same taught R . Joseph .

Said Abayi to him : Why has the Master not explained it to u sbefore ? He answered : I d id not know you needed an explana


04 TH E b A b Y L U N I A N I A L M U U .

are less than ten in number, nor may any o fthem act as min isterbefore the read ing-desk , nor may priests raise thei r hands (to saythe pr iest ’s blessing), nor may they read in the L aw ,

nor reada sect ion from the Prophets . When there are less than ten menp resent at a burial , the customary standings and sitt ings withthe corpse , may n o t take place , n o r may the blessing for mournersbe said

,nor the forms u sed i n condolence with mourners

,n o r the

seven blessings said o n the celebrat ion o fa marr iage , n o r m ay theperso ns who j o in to say grace after meals ment ion the D ivinename . And on an occasion o f redeeming land that has been conse c ra t ed i t i s necessary that at least n ine I srael it es and a Cohen

(pri est) shall be present , and the same also at the valuat ion o f aman (i f he had said I consecrate the value of my person to thesanctuary) .GEMARA : Where is th is deduced from ? Said R . Hyya b .

Abba in the name o f R . Johanan : B ecause it is written [Lev .

xxi i . 32] I may be sanct ified among the chi ldren o f I srael . Allth ings sanct ified must n o t be less than ten .

*

“ Sta ndings a nd s ittings . B ecause it was the custom for amou rner t o say :

“ R ise ho nored men,r i se"” and “ Sit down ,

honored men , si t down"which may n o t be said to less than ten .

B less ing for m ou r n ers,etc . What is the blessing fo r mou rn

e rs ? The bened ict ion they said in the st reets after the bu rial .Then R . I tz ’hak said in the name o f R . J o hanan that the bened ict ion o f mo u rners was pronounced by n o t less than ten men

,

and the m ou rners themselves are n o t counted . The bened ict io no fb rid egrooms , however , is also said by ten , inc lud ing , however,the b ridegrooms .

M en tion tbe D ivine na m e . Why so ? B ecause he mustsay Let u s bless ou r Go d,

” and this i s not su itable when thereare less than tend" (The Owner of Rewards shal l recompenseyou fo r the kindness o faccompanying the deceased . B lessed artThou

, O Lord , who givest rewards), and the same was said to thecondolers .MISHNA : N o t l es s than th ree verses o f the Ho ly Scrol ls

m ay be read i n the synagogue by each person (cal led to read) .On e ve rse only o f the Law may at on e t ime be read to the inter

The Gem ara dedu ce s th is from a n an alogy of e xpre ssio n ,where a co ngrega

t io n i s m e n t io n ed , a nd it i s said a co ngregatio n i s n o t cal led an assem bly if le ss thanten .

"I t i s also sho wn from what the o the r laws a re deduced, but they wi l l al l be

fo u nd in o ther a nd m o re proper p lace s in the Talm ud .

TRA CT MEGILLA. 6 5

prete r. From the Prophets,however

,may be read three al so ;

bu t i f each verse shou ld form a separat e sect ion , each mu st beread separately . Passages may be skipped in the read ing o f theProphets

,but not in that o f the Holy Scrol l s . What t ime may

be suffered to elapse to skip from o n e passage to another whi lethe in te rpreter does n o t concl ude h is in terpretat ion .

GEMARA : A sepa r a te section ,etc . For in stance

,I saiah

,

11 1 . 3 , 4 ,and 5 , t reat o fd ifferen t subj ects .

P a ssages m ay be skipped.

” There i s a cont rad ict ion : Wehave learned in a M ishna in Yoma the fo l lowing : He reads Lev .

xvi . 7, After the death ,” etc . , and then in xxi i i . 27, B u t on

the tenth . From thi s we see that he skips in the Pentateu chalso Said Abayi : I t p resents no d iffi cu lty . I n the Pentat eu chone may n o t sk ip when it i s o n e subj ect ; bu t i f there are twod ifferen t subj ects o n e may . B u t we have learned in a B o ra ithathat even when the subj ect i s the same o n e may skip in thePentateuch , and in the Prophets on ly when the subj ect s are d i ffe re n t ? I n both cases i t i s meant , whi le the interpreter doesnot conclude h i s in terpretat ion .

I n an o ther B o ra itha we have learned : On e must n o t skipfrom one Prophet to the other . I n the read ing o f the twelveMinor Prophets

,however

,o n e may do so ; bu t not from the ter

m inat ion o f o n e t o the beginn ing o fthe other .MISHNA : Whoever read s in the hou se o f prayer the sect ion

from the Prophets may also repeat the prayer (Shema) and actas m in ister befo re the read ing- desk ; and i f he i s a priest , m ay

say the bless ing o fthe priests . I f a m inor, hi s fathe r o r teachershal l act for h im .

A minor may read in the Law ( i n the synagogue) and act asan interpreter

,but may not publ ic ly reci te the Shema

,n o r act

as min ister at the read ing- desk , nor ( i f a priest) say by h imsel fthe bless ing o f p ri ests . A man in rags may repeat the Shemaand act as interpreter

,bu t he may not read in the Ho ly Scrol l s

,

nor act as m in i ster before the read ing - desk , nor ( i f a p r i est) saythe bless ing o fpriest s . A blind man may repeat the p rayer andact as interpreter ; bu t R . J ehudah says : On e who never beheldthe l ight was born bl ind) may not repeat Shema .

GEMARA : Why so ? Said R . Papa : This i s a reward o f

hono r (because to read port ion s from the Prophets i s n o t suchan honor as to act a s min iste r) . Rabba bar S im i , howeve r , said :To prevent quarrel s (o n e shou ld n o t say : I wi l l read the Prophet sand thou read the Shema) .


A m a n in r ags . U la bar Rabh asked Abayi May a m inorin rags read in the Torah ? He answered : Why did you notask about a naked man B ecau se we are certain that he mustn o t , for the honor o f the congregat ion , the same i s the case here .

We have learned in a B o ra itha : The sages said to R . J ehudah : Many person s l ectu red about theM erkabka (D iv ine Chariot)[Ezekiel , al though they had never seen i t . Answered R .

J ehudah : That deals with things in the inner consciou sness , andi f one med itates abou t them one may be fi t t o lect u re . B u t i fa m an blesses for l ight i t i s for the benefi t rece ived

,and a bl ind

man has no benefi t by it . The rabbis,however

,hold that a

bl ind man does derive benefi t from l ight,as R . J ose o f the fol

lowing B o ra itha said : My whole l i fe I was sorry abou t the fo llowing verse [D eu t . xxvi i i . And thou shal t grope abou tat noonday , as the bl ind gropeth about i n the darkness .

” Ialways asked , what matters i t to the bl ind whether i t be l ight o rdarkness

,he gropes at any rate t i l l i t happened once I walked

in a dark n ight,and I met a bl ind man who walked with a t orch .

I asked h im : My son , thou art bl ind . Why walkest thou wi thfi re ? He repl ied : So long as the to rch i s in my hands , peoplesee me

,and wou ld not let me fal l in to a p i t or t read on thorns .

MISHNA : A p r i est whose hands are defo rmed must notrai se them (to bless the people) . R . J ehudah also proh ib it s i tt o a pri est whose hands are stained with wood o r with madderroots

,becau se the people stare at h im .

GEMARA : We have learned in a B o ra itha : By the blemi shes are meant those on h is hands

,face

,or feet . R . J oshua b .

Levi said : I f there are erupt ions o n hi s hands , he must not rai sethem . We have learned the same in the fo l lowing B o ra itha : I fhe has erupt ions on the hand s , o r they are crooked , he must notrai se them . Said R . Ash i : The priest s from the vi l lages ’

Hiphn i

and B i shn i al l stu tter, and mu st not bless e i ther . The same wehave l earned in the fo l lowing B o ra itha : On e must not make m en

act as m in isters who are from B eth She o n or B eth H i ppa ; alsothe men o f Tibo n in , becau se they pronounce an a as an k ,

andan Ii as an a . R . J ohanan said : A priest o f on e eye must notrai se h i s hands . B u t was there not a one - eyed priest in theneighbo rhood o f R . J ohanan who d id bless

,and he said to h im

noth ing That man was known in h is town,and nobody stared

at h im because of h is pecu l iar i ty as i s stated i n a B o ra itha : I fo n e su ch i s known in h is town he may .

R . fe/tuda k a lsopr okibits . We have learned in a B o ra itha


68 THE BABYL ONIA N TALMUD .

t ion o f the D iv ine Chariot [Ezek . i. ] is not to be read a s a port ion from the P rophets , but R . J ehudah perm its it . R . El i ezersays

,neither [Ezek . Cause J eru salem to know he r

abom inat ion s,etc .

GEMARA : The rabbi s taught : The Script u re abo ut thec reat ion o f the wo rld may be read and i n terpreted .

”

[ I s th i snot sel f - evident Lest o n e say i f i t wi l l be read and in te rpreted ,one may ask what was be fore the creat ion , o r what wi l l be afterthe wo rld

,what is taking place above

,and what i s occ u rr ing

below,they come to teach u s th is i s not feared ] What hap

pened to Lot and h i s two daughters may be read and inter

p re ted. [I s th i s not sel f- evident ? On e might say that weshou ld care fo r the honor o f Abraham : they come to teach i t i snot so . ] What happened to Tamar and J ehudah may be readand interpreted . [I s not thi s sel f- evident ? Lest one say thatwe shou ld care for the honor o f J ehudah

,they come to teach u s ,

o n the contrary , i t i s an honor for J ehudah that he con fessed it . ]What occu rred with the golden cal f may be read as far as thefi rst pa rt goes

,and in t erp reted . [I s th is not sel f- evident We

m ight assume we shou ld care for the hono r o f I srael . Theycome to teach us that i t i s more agreeable to them when it i si n terpreted

,that it cau ses thei r fo rgiveness . ] The blessings and

the cu rses pronounced by Moses i n Levit icu s and D euteronomymay be read and i nterp reted . [I s thi s not sel f- evident ? Wem ight assume

,perhaps , whe n they wi l l hear i t , they wil l become

dej ected,and say : I f so , we wi l l do al l we please , as we wil l be

pun i shed so terribly i n any event they come to teach u s i t i sn o t so . ] The warn ings and pun i shments may be read and inter

p re ted. [I s th i s not sel f- eviden t ? On e might say i f the punishm en ts wi l l be read

,o n e might th ink I srael should do thei r

du t ies on ly from fear, they come to teach u s th is i s n ot apprehended . ] The story o f A b iso lom ,

A m n an,and Tamar may be

read and in terpreted . [I s thi s n o t sel f- eviden t ? On e mightsay we shou ld spare the honor o f D avid . They tel l u s i t i s n o tso . ] The sto ry o f the concubine in Gibea may be read and int er

pre ted. [I s not th i s sel f- evident They come to teach u s thatwe shou ld not do as R . El i ezer o f the fol lowing B o ra itha : I thappened to a man who read in Ezekiel

,xvi Make known

unto J eru salem her abom inat ion s ,” in the p resence o f R . El i ezer

,

that R . El i ezer said to h im : I n stead o f i nvest igat ing theu nworth iness o f J eru salem

,go and rather invest igate the fau lt s

o f you r mother . ” When it was heard , an invest igat ion was

TRACT MEGILLA. 69

made,and i t was found he was n o t a right fu l I srae l i t e . ] Fol

lowing are those which may be read , bu t n o t i n terpreted : Whathappened to Reuben and B i lha may be read

,bu t n o t i nter

p re ted. I t happened once to R . Han ina b . Gamal i el , who wentto Kabu l

,and the reader o f the congregat ion read [Gen . xxxv .

And i t came to pass when I srae l dwelt ,” he said to the

inte rpreter : Stop,do n o t interpret except the last verse .

”

And the sages commended h im for th is . The second part o fthe sto ry abou t the golden cal f may be read

,bu t not inte r

p re ted What is the second part From Ex . xxxi i . 2 1—25 .

We have learned in a B o ra itha : R . Simeon b . Elazar saidA man shou ld always be prudent in hi s repl i es

,for from Aaron ’ s

answer to Moses , those that mu rmu red became lawless ; fo r theysaid : There i s someth ing in idolat ry , for i t i s wr i tt en : And Icast i t i nto the fi re

,and there came out th is cal f . The B less

ing o f Priest s i s read,but n o t i nterpreted

,becau se i t is wri t ten

[Num . vi . The Lord l i ft u p h i s countenance .T/ze occu r r ence of D avid a nd A m na n .

”D id we not learn

in a B o ra itha that the story o fA m n an and Tamar i s to be readand interpreted I t present s no d iffi cu lty : Where A m n an benD avid ” i s writ ten , i t mu st not be read ; bu t the othe r p lacesmay.

CHAPTER IV

REGUL A TIONS CONCERN ING SEL L ING OF SA CRED PROPERTY A N D A BOUTTHE REA D ING OF THE HOL Y SCROL L S ON SA BBA TH A N D HOL IDA YS.

MISHNA : I nhabitants o f a town who have sold the open

(or market place o fthe town may buy for that money a prayerhouse ; the money obtained by the sale o f a prayerhou se theym ay apply to the p u rchase o f an ark (to keep the Holy Scroll sin) ; for that obtained by the sal e o f such an ark , cloaks o r wrappers for the Holy Scrol l s may be pu rchased ; for the proceeds o fsuch wrappers

,books o f the Prophets and Hagiographa may be

pu rchased ; for the proceeds o fthe same books , the scro l ls o fthePentateuch may be pu rchased ; but i f they had sold scrol l s o fthe Pentat euch , i t wou ld not be lawfu l to apply that money forthe pu rchase o f books o f the Prophets and Hagio grapha , norwrappers fo r the proceeds o f such books

,nor an ark for the pro

c e eds o f wrappers , nor a prayerhou se with the p roceeds of a nark

,nor a market - place with the money obtained by the sale o f

a prayer- ho u se ; and so i n respect to any su rplu s fund .

GEMARA : [ nka bita n ts of a town .

” Said Rabba bar barHana in the name of R . J o hanan : All th i s was said by R . Menahem bar J ose , i n accordance with whom are many anonymousM i shnas ; but the sages said that there i s no sanct ity in amarket - place . B u t what i s the reason o f R . Menahem b . JoseB ecau se on the congregat i onal fast - days the people assembledin th e market - places to pray (as i s explained in Tract Ta an ith).The rabbi s, however , do not care fo r what happens on ly occasio n a lly.

Tb e m oney obta ined by zbe sa le of a pr ayer - kouse . Said R .

Samuel bar N a’

hm an i i n the name of R . J onathan : The case i son ly abou t prayer- houses o f vi l lages

,where they are the inhab

i t ant s ’ p roperty ; bu t in large towns , where money for them iscol lected from other p laces also , and to which other men come topray, the congregat ion cannot sel l i t at al l , becau se the prayerhou se belongs to a majori ty who are absen t , and i t i s not thei rs .Said R . Ashi : The prayerhouse in my town , Masa-M e

’

hasia

70


72 THE BABYLONIA N TALMUD .

had thought the cu rtain o f the ark was only an art ic le used fo ra sacred art i cl e ; but after I had seen that they folded it together ,and put the Ho ly Scrol ls on i t

,I knew i t was a sacred art ic le

i t sel f,and mu st not be sold . The same said again : Ofan ark

which fel l t o p ieces o n e may construct a smal ler ark , but not apu lpi t . He said again : When the cu rtain o f the ark i s rot ten

,

o n e may cut i t smaller fo r the u se o f the Ho ly Scrol l s , but fo rscrol l s o fpart s o f the Pentateu ch he mu st not . The cases o f theHo ly Sc ro l l s and o f the F ive B ooks

,as they were u sed fo r sacred

pu rposes , must be h idden . I s th i s not sel f- evident Lest o n esay that they are not made for the honor o f the sacred things

,

bu t to p reserve them , he comes to t each u s i t i s no t so .

Mar Z u tra said : The Holy Scrol ls , when rotten , may be u sedas shrouds fo r a dead man that has no friends to bu ry h im

,and

l eft no p roperty to be u sed for that purpose,and this i s h id ing

them .

Said Rabha : Holy Scrol l s that were whole, and were torn ,may be interred in the grave o f a scho lar, and even i f he hadlearned o nly Halakhoth (and d id n o t know Gemara) . Said R .

A ’ha bar Jacob : B u t they mu st be pu t in to a clay vesse l , as it i swr i t t en [J er. xxxi i . 1 4] And place them in an earthen vessel . ”

R . Pap i said in the name o f Rabh : A prayerhou se may beconverted into a learn ing- house

,bu t not vice versa ; and R . Papa

in the name o f Rabha taught the contrary . Said R . A ’ ha : I tseems to be accord ing to R . Papi

,becau se so said R . Joshua b .

Levi : A prayerhouse may be tu rned into a learn ing- hou se .I n fer from it that i t i s so .

I t w ill n ot be lawfu l to buy books of tke P r opkets , etc . Theschoo lmen propounded a qu est ion : May o ld Ho ly Scrol l s besold , to p u rchase with the money n ew ones Shal l we assumethat as the new ones have no pre ference over the o ld ones

,they

may not be sold ; or that i f the old ones are not so ld , the newones cannot be had

,therefore i t may be done Come and hear :

Rabba bar bar Hana said in the name o f R . J ohanan , quot ingR . Simeon b . Gamal ie l : On e must not se l l o ld scro ll s fo r thepu rpose o f buying new ones . There i t is d ifferen t : I t i s a precau t ionary measu re lest h e sel l the old ones withou t buying n ew

ones ; but here the quest ion i s abou t su ch as are already wri tten ,and l i e ready fo r u s to be obta ined when the money i s had .

H ow i s the law Come and hear : R . Johanan said in the nameo f R . Meir : I n any case the Holy Scro l ls must not be sold , exceptfo r the pu rpose o f u sing the money for study

,or for marriage .

TRACT MEGILLA. 73

From thi s we see that to exchange the Law for study, o n e may ;

s o to exchange o ld scrol ls for new ones , o n e may also . B u t perhaps i t is d i fferent , becau se from studying he wi l l know how toact ; and marrying , because i t i s wri tten [I s . xlv . Not fornaught d id he create i t ; t o be inhabited did he form it . B u t

t o exchange old Ho ly Sc roll s fo r new ones , perhaps o n e mayn o t (Thi s qu est ion i s not dec ided . )The rabbi s taught : A man shal l n o t sel l Holy Sc rol l s , even

when he does n o t need them ; fu rthermore , says R . Simeon b .

Gamal iel,even when he has nothing to eat

,and has so ld the

Holy Scrol l s , or hi s daughter for a slave , he wil l n o t se e a signo fbless ing al l h i s l i fe . Even when he has sold them

,and bought

new ones in stead at a lower price,he wi l l not se e a s ign o fbless

i ng in the remainder o f the money . Said Rabha : The case i sonly when o ld Holy Sc rol ls have been sold

,and n ew ones

bou ght , so that some money was left ; bu t when money was c o lle c ted fo r th is pu rpose and Ho ly Scrol l s we re bought , bu t somemoney was le ft

,i t may be u sed fo r al l pu rposes . And even in

the fi rst in stance i t i s s o on ly when the o ld Holy Sc rol l s hadbeen bought by the seven e lde rs o f the town

,i n the p resence o f

townsmen,withou t any cond it ion ; but i f i t was bought cond i

t io n a lly,i t may be u sed even for D uksu sia .

Said Abayi t o one o fthe rabbi s , who arranged B o ra itho th b efo re R . Sh e sh e th (who was bl ind) : Hast thou not hea rd from R .

She sh e th what is meant by D uksu sia ? H e answered : So saidR . Sh e sh e th : A r i der

,whom the people o f the town hi re for

the i r n eeds . Said Abayi again : Therefore i f a young scho larheard someth ing and does n o t know it

,he shou ld ask a man

who u sual ly go es befo re the great rabbis , becau se i t i s im po ss ible that he shou ld not have heard an explanat ion from thegreat men .

R . Johanan said i n the name o fR . Mei r : When inhab itant so fone town went away to another town , and the elders o fthattown orde red them to give charity fo r the poor o f that town

,

they shou ld give (that i t shou ld n o t be suspected they give nocharity) ; bu t when they retu rn , they may take i t back , to support therewith the poo r o f the i r o wn town . The same we havel earned in a B o ra itha . B u t i f an ind iv idu al went to anothe r town

,

and was o rdered to give char i ty there,i t shou ld be given away

to the poor o fthat town .

R . Huna o rdered a congregat ional fast . Came to h im R .

Hana bar Han ila i, with many inhabitan ts o fh is town : he o rdered

74 THE BA BYLONIAN TA LMUD .

them to give charity,and they d id so . When they had to retu rn

,

they said : Let the Maste r give u s back the money , that we maysupport therewith the poo r o f ou r own town . He sa id to them :

We have learned i n a B o ra itha : When must i t be given back ?Where there i s no scholar in the i r town who occup ies h imsel fwith the p ubl ic needs ; but i f there i s su ch a man , i t mu st begiven to h im

,that he shou ld d ispose thereo f. Accord ing to

this j udgment,so much the mo re the poor o f my town and

you rs,al l are suppo rted through me .

MISHNA : Sacred publ ic p roperty must not be sold toprivat e ind ividuals

,becau se the sanct i ty thereby becomes low

ered . This i s accord ing to R . Meir . The sages,however , said

I f so , i t wou ld also be proh ibited fo r a large town to sel l sacredth ings to a smaller one .A prayer - hou se may be sold

,accord ing to R . Mei r, on ly con

ditio na lly (that i f they want i t , i t shal l be retu rned to them) .B u t the sages perm it i t to be so ld permanently , except fo r thefou r fol lowing u ses : t o be made a bath ing- hou se

,a tann i ng

p lace,a l egal d iving- bath

,or laundry. R . J ehudah says : I t

may be sold o n th e cond it ion that i t be made an open cou rt,and

then the pu rchaser i s at l ibe rty to tu rn it to what pu rpose hep leases .GEMARA : B u t tke sages perm it to be sold perm a nen tly.

Said R . J ehudah in the name o f Samu el : A man may let waterwith in fou r e l l s o f a prayerhouse . Said R . Joseph , what doeshe come to teach u s ? We have learned th is i n a M ishna , R .

J ehudah said , he may sel l i t for a cou rt - yard , and the buyer cando what he p leases . And even accord ing to the rabbi s

,who for

b id it,i t i s on ly in case o f a praye r- hou se whose sacredness i s

permanent ; bu t in regard to the fou r e l l s before the praye rhouse

,which have no sacredness

,even the rabbis adm it . On e

Tana taught in the presence o f R . Na ’hman : On e who prays,

and wants to let wate r,shal l step away fou r el ls and do so ; and

he who has done so mu st walk away fou r el l s be fore he maypray . Said R . Na ’hman to h im : The last teach ing i s right ,because we have l earned in a M ishna that he mu st withdrawfrom such th ings to a d istance o f fou r el l s ; but that he whoprays shou ld go away fou r el ls

,why i s th is ? By th i s teach ing

you make al l st reet s o f N aha rde a sacred,fo r there i s no place

there where men have not prayed ; hence let t ing water wou ldbe un lawfu l i n them ? There fo re teach , h e must tarry fo r thelength o ft ime requ ired for walk ing fou r el l s , but need not walk .



pri est,who is an ignoran t man pronounces a bened ict ion (wh ich

properly the scholar had to pronounce,and the latter had not

protested , he) deserves death , becau se i t i s wri tten [Prov . vi i .All those that hate me love death D o not read

M e san a i, etc . (see Sabbath , p . R . Preda means whenthe priest was equal to h im in scholarship .

The d isc ip les o fR . N ehu n ia b . Haqan a put t o h im the samequestion , and he answered : I n ever honored mysel f by the disgrace o i my neighbor, and I never went to bed with the cu rseo fmy neighbo r (bu t reconci l ed mysel f to h im before) , and wasl iberal with my money .

I n ever hono red , etc . A s i t happened,R . Huna bore a

p ickax e . R . Hana bar Han a ila i took i t away from him,and he

wanted to carry it . He said to h im : I f i t i s you r custom tocarry su ch a thing in you r town

,do i t ; bu t otherwi se , i f I wi l l be

honored by you r d isgrace,I do not want i t . I n ever went to

bed .

” As Mar Z u tra,when he went to bed

,used to say : I

pardon al l th e men who have vexed me . I_

was l iberal . Asthe Master said elsewhere that J ob was l iberal with h is money ;that i s

,he al lowed the storekeepers larger profi t s than was nec

e ssary . ]R . Aqiba asked R . N ehu n ia the Great the reason for h is

l ongevity . H is servants came and beat him ( for the quest ion) .R . Aqiba fled from them , and went to the top o f a t ree , andsaid Rabbi

,when it i s w ri t ten [Num . xxvi i i . 4] o n e sheep

,

i f i t i s not in the plu ral why shou ld one be writ ten in addit ion And he said to h is servants : He i s a young scholar donot h i t h im . And he answered to h im : On e i s added tos ign i fy that i t shal l be the best in i ts flock . (Then he answeredto him to the fi rst quest ion thu s I never accepted in my l i fepresents

,I never was obst i nate

,and I was l iberal with my

money .

I accepted no p resents . As happened to R . Elazar,

when gi fts were sen t to him from the hou se o fthe Nasi , he didnot take them ; and when he was invited , he u sed not to go .

H e u sed to say : When they send to me gi fts , they do not wishthat I shal l l ive

,fo r i t is wr i t ten [Prov . xv . H e that

hateth gi fts wi l l l ive . And R . Zera,when gi fts we re sen t to

h im,he d id not accept ; b u t went when he was invited , saying :

They on ly want t o honor me .

” And I was not obst inate .

As Rabha said : Who yields from h is obst inacy has h is s ins cancel led . As it i s written [Micah , vi i . Pardoning in iqu ity

TRACT MEGILLA. 77

and forgiving transgress ion and that i s i nterpreted in TractRosh Ha shan a : To whom does God pardon in iqu ity ? H im

who pardons the wrongs o f h is neighbor toward h im . Rabbiasked R . Joshua b . Korha : I n reward o f what have you l ived so

long He answered to h im : D oes i t grieve you that I l ive solong ? He rej o ined h im : Rabbi , i t i s a study , and I want to l earni t from yo u . He repl i ed : I never in my l i fe looked into theface o f a wicked man [as R . Johanan said : On e shal l not lookat the appearance o f a wicked man

,as i t i s written (I I Kings , i i i .

Surely,were i t not that I regard the presence o fJ eho sha

phat the King o f J udah , I would not look toward thee n o r seet hee Rabha says : From the following passage [P rov . xvi i i

I t i s not good to favor the countenance o f the wicked .

When R . Joshua b . Ko rha was dying, Rabbi asked h im : B lessme"And he said t o h im : I t shal l be the wil l o fGod you shou ldreach the hal f o f my age . Said he to h im : Rabbi , and not you rwhole age D o you not wish I shou ld l ive as long as yo u He

rep l ied to him : And what wil l you r sons do ? wil l they tendsheep ? I f you wil l l ive so long, you wi l l su rvive them (Rabbiwas a Nasi) . The d iscipl es o f R . Adda bar Ahba * a sked h imWhy have you l ived so long He answered : I never was angryin my hou se

,I never preceded a superior

,I n ever thought o f

D iv ine subj ects i n unclean al leys,and I never walked fou r el l s

wi thou t th ink ing abou t the Law and withou t phylacteries , andI n eve r took a nap in the house o f l earn ing ; I n ever rej o icedwhen my neighbor was in m is fortune , and I never cal led myfel lowmen n icknames . ]MISHNA : Fu rthermore , R . J ehudah says : No funeral ora

t ions may be del ive red in a house o f prayer which had becomeru inou s

,no r may i t be u sed as a rope -walk

,nor to spread nets

there in,n o r to spread fru i t o n i t s roo f , nor to u se i t as a passage

- compendia r ium— (by a sho rter route) , as i t is said [Lev . xxvi .

I wi l l br ing you r sanctuaries into desolat ion .

” Thatmeans

,they remain sanctuari es even in thei r desolat ion . I f

grass spring up there in,i t may not be pu l led up

,that the view

m ay cont ribut e to the affl i ct ion (o fthe beholde r) .GEMARA : The rabbis taught : The hou se o f prayer mu st

n o t be t reated with l evity : o n e must n o t eat therein , drink ,deco rat e one ’ s sel f there

,promenade

,n o r resort there from the

great heat or from rain ; o n e must not del ive r there a funeral

I n text it is wri tten R . Z e ra , bu t it i s a m i sprin t . See Taa n ith , p . 54 .


orat ion after an ind ividual , but o ne m ay read there , studyM ishna

,and del iver a funeral o rat ion a fter a scho lar who was

needed by many men . And it has to be swept always,also

sprinkled with water,that there be no du st and no grass grow

(where there i s no floor) . R . J ehudah said : This i s when theyare i n good condit ion ; bu t when in ru in s , i f grass spring up , itmay not be pu l led up

,that the view may contribu te to the affl ic

t ion .

” R . Asi said : The prayer - hou ses which are in B abylon ,although they are bu i lt cond it ional ly , yet in the meant ime noone al lows h imsel f any levit ies i n them . What does he meanthereby ? They do not make bus iness calcu lat ions there . R .

Asi said again : When bu siness calcu lat ions are made in theprayer- house

,final ly i t wi l l become a place fo r a dead body for

a n ight . How i s th i s to be understood He means to say thati n pun ishment o f th is , some one wil l d ie i n the town who wi l lhave no fri ends , and wi ll be le ft overn ight in the hou se o fpraye r.D ecorate one ’ s se l f. ” Said Rabha : The scho lars and d iscip les

m ay do it i n the learn ing- house . A s R . Joshua b . Levi saidWhy i s a learn ing- hou se cal led the hou se of the rabb i s ? B e

cause some th ings i t i s al lowed to the rabbis to do which i s not

p erm itted to others .From the great hea t o r rain . A s Rabbina and R . Ada bar

Mathna stood and asked a qu est io n o f Rabha, m eanwhi le i t b e

gan to rain . They e ntered the hou se o f praye r , but remarkedthereat : We go to the prayer- ho u se not from the rain , bu t fo rthe study of a Halakha fo r which the m ind mu st be c lear as thesunny day

,when a north wind blows, pu ri fying the ai r. R . A

’

ha

b . Rabha asked R . Ash i : How i s i t when one wants to see a manwho i s in the prayerhouse May o n e go i n to cal l h im ,

or notHe answered : I f he i s a young scho lar when he ente rs theprayer- hou se

,he shou ld speak about some Halakha . When

he i s a d isc iple studying M ishna , he shou ld study , en tering , aM ishna ; i f h e can only read the Pentateuch , he shou ld say averse therefrom ; i f he i s u nable to do thi s , he shou ld ask ach ild : What verse have you learned to - day ? If not even th i s ,he shou ld enter

,and stay there a whi le, and only then leave

(that i t shou ld not seem he came only for th i s pu rpose) . Aftera scholar who was n eeded

,etc . What i s m e ant by thi s ? R .

H isda po inted out , e .g . , i f anyone o f R . She she th’

s d isciplesshou ld d ie . R . She she th po inted ou t R . Hisda : I f, e .g . , one o fR . Hisda

’

s d isc ipl es wou ld d ie .Raph ram lamented his daughter- in - law in the prayerhou se .


250 T H E b A B Y L U N I A N TA L M U D .

two th ings . This i s i n the case when the dead man has no t

enough men to accompany h im,but i f there are enough

,one

need not interrupt h i s st udy . What i s meant by enough ” ?Said R . Samuel bar I n ia i n the name o f Rabh : I t means th irt een thou sand men

,and s ix thousand with corn ets . And a c

cord ing to others,th e s ix thousand are inc luded i n the thirteen

thou sand . And U la says : As many men as cou ld form a wallfrom the place where the man d ied to the grave . R . She she th

says : Six hund red thou sand men . As the L aw was given tosix hundred thou sand m e n

,so a man who has learned the Law

shou ld be accompan ied by six hundred thou sand men . Thisappl ies only to a d i sc ip le who has learned

,but for the Master

who taught,no defin it e n umber i s to be p rescribed .

We have l earned in a B o ra itha : R . Simeon b . Yoch i saidCome and see how the I srael it es are beloved by the Holy On e ,

blessed be He . Wherever they went in exi l e,the Shekhina

accompan ied them . They were exi led into Egypt,the Shekhin a

was with them,as i s wri tt en [I Sam . i i . D id I not appear

unto the hou se o f thy father,when they were i n Egypt ?”

When they were exi led into B abylon,the Shekh in a was with

them , as i s wr i tt en [ I s . xl i i i . For you r sake I was sent toB abylon .

” And in fut u re , when they wil l be redeemed , theShekh in a wil l al so come to them ,

as i s wri t ten [D eut . xxx . 3]The Lo rd thy God wil l retu rn i t i s not said

,He wil l bring

back yo u ,but He wil l return wi th you .

I t i s wr i t ten [Ez ek . xi . I 6] : Yet wi l l I be to them as am ino r sanctuary .

” Said R . I t z ’hak : This means the hou ses o fp rayer and the houses o f l earn ing that are in B abylon . R .

Elazar said : That i s the house o f ou r Master who i s in B abylonRabh) . Rabha l ectu red : I t i s writt en [P s . xc . I ] : Lord ,

a place o f refuge hast thou been unto u s ” That means theprayer and learning- hou ses . Said Abayi : Formerly I learnedat home

,and prayed at the hou se o f prayer ; bu t when I heard

l ater what D avid said [i n P s . xxvi . Lord,I love the site

o ftky house ,” I wen t to study also in the prayerhouse .

A B o ra itha states : R . Elazar the Kapar said : The prayerand learn ing- houses which are at present in B abylon wil l i n thefut u re be establ i shed in the land o f I srael

,as i t i s wr i t ten [J er .

xlvi . as Thabor i s among the mountain s,and as

Carmel i s by the sea,so shal l he come . An a for tior i concl u sion

i s to be d rawn : I f Thabor and Carmel , at wh ich only occasional lythe Law w a s stud ied

,are counted among the land o f I srael

, the

TRA CT MEGILLA. 8 1

prayer and learn ing- houses,at wh ich the Law is st i l l st ud ied

, so

much the more that they wi l l become the land o fI srae l .B a r Kapara lectu red : I t is writ ten [P s . lxvi i i . Why

watch ye enviously,ye many- peaked mountain s A Heavenly

vo ice was heard,which sa id to the mountain s : Why shou ld ye

be j ealous o f Mount S inai Ye,al l great mountain s , are blem

ish ed i n comparison with Sinai . This i s in ferred from theexpress ion Ga bn un im

,and by analogy o f express ion in Lev .

xxi . 20 ,the exp ression crook - backed

,which i s o ne o f the

blem ishes , is Gibea .

” Said R . Ash i : From this we may in ferthat a man who i s haughty must be considered as blem ished .

N or used a s a pa ssage (compendia r ium ) . What is meantSaid Rabha : The explanat ion is s im i lar to the word ; i nstead o f

go ing around , one goes th rough the hou se . Said R . A b ahu : I fthe house was original ly u sed as a shorter rou te , o n e may . R .

Na ’ hman b . I tz ’hak said : I f one entered i t withou t the i ntent ionto u se i t thu s

,bu t a fterward wants to go th rough the other door,

he may . And R . Helb i i n the name o f R . Huna said : I f heentered to pray

,he may go o u t by the sho rter road . As is wri t

t en [Ezek . xlvi . B u t when the people o f the land camebefore the Lord o n the appo inted feasts

,he that entereth in by

the way o fthe north gate to bow himse l f down shal l go o u t bythe way ofthe sou th gate .

If g r a ss spr ing up ,

” etc . B u t d id we not learn in a B 0ra itha , he must not pu l l i t up to feed therewith catt le , bu t hemay uproot i t , and leave i t l i e ? I n the Mishna al so i s meant ,he shou ld not pu l l i t up for an imals .MISHNA : When the fi rst o f Adar fal l s on a Sabbath

,the

port ion Shekal im [Exod . xxx . 1 1 ] i s to be read ; i f i t fal l s o nany other day

,that port ion must be read o n the preced ing Sab

bath,and nothing addit ional i s read o n the fol lowing Sabbath .

On the second,the port ion Remember [D eut . xv . 1 5] i s t o

be read ; o n the thi rd , that o f the red hei fer [Numb . o n

the fou rth,that o f the new moon [Ex . o n the fi fth , they

retu rn again to the regu lar order. The regu lar o rder o fA ph taroth is al so to be interrupted o n the days o f n ew moon

,o n that

o f Hanuka,o n Pu r im

,and o n publ i c fast - days

,also o n the fast

o fthe stand ing men (th is is explained i n Tract Shekal im) , andthe D ay o fAtonement .GEMARA : We have learned in the M ishna in Shekal im

(vol . i v . ,p . On the fi rst day o f the month o fAdar warn

ings are he ralded from J e ru salem conce rn ing Shekal im and6


K e layim . About K e layim i t i s the t ime o f sowing, thereforei t i s r ight that i t i s heralded they shou ld have no K e layim ; butwhence do we deduce that abou t Shekal im it must be heraldedon the fi rst o f Adar ? Said R . Tebi in the name o f R . Joshia :I t i s written [Num . xxvi i i . This i s the bu rnt - offering o fthe n ew moon for every month . The express ion i s : H odesk

bekodsko (i . e new in i ts n ew) , that mean s that the Torah said :Renew it . Ye shal l bring the o fferings from the new taxes o fthe year, and as with the fi rst o f N isan begin s the new year, i tmu st be heralded in Adar that the new taxes shal l be col lectedbefore o r on the fi rst o f N isan

,fo r the pu rpose that they m ight

be brought in t ime to the Temple .I s the M ishna not in accordance with R . Simeon b . Gamal iel ,

who said : On ly two w eeks before Passover shal l i t be l ect uredabou t the Passover ? Nay

,we can say i t i s in accordance with

R . Simeo n b . Gamal ie l also , bu t becau se in Shekal im , I , Mishna c ,

i t i s said : On the fi fteenth o fAdar the money - changers outs ide o f J e rusalem seated themselves at thei r tables ,

” etc wemu st be earl ie r in read ing the po rt ion o f Shekal im . What i scal led the po rt ion o f Shekal im Rabh says : The port ion abou tthe dai ly o ffe r i ngs [Num . xxvi i i . And Samuel says : Ex .

xxx . 2 1 . I t i s r igh t accord ing to Samuel that i t i s cal l ed Shekal im

,becau se i t speaks abou t i t ; but accord ing to Rabh , where is

ment io ned in that port ion abou t Shekal im Abou t Shekal im i snot m ent ioned

,bu t accord ing to Rabh th is shal l be read becau se

the dai ly o fferi ngs must be brought from the new Shekal im asR . Teb i said above . We have learned in the fol lowing B o ra ithai n acco rdance with Samuel : I f the fi rst o f Adar fal ls on Sabbath ,the portion from Ex . xxx . 2 1 shal l be read ; and the port ion fromthe Prophets shou ld be about Y ehoyada the priest [I I Kings ,

R . I tz ’hak o f the c ity o f N aph’

ha said : I f the first o fAdar fal l s on Sabbath

,three Holy Scrol l s mu st be taken ou t

,

and i t shou ld be read from one the port ion due on that Sabbath

,and from one the port ion p roper on the fi rst o f the month

,

and fro m o n e the port ion o f Shekal im [Ex . xxx . He saysagain : When the fi rst o f the month Tebeth fal l s on Sabbath

,

the same th ing i s to be done— three scrol ls are to be taken outo n e po rt ion p rope r for the Sabbath shou ld be read , the secondthat of the fi rst day o f the month , and the third abou t Hanuka

[Num . I t was taught : When the fi rst o f Tebeth fal l s on aweek - day

,said R . I tz ’hak : Th ree must read the port ion o f the

fi rst day o f the month,and one about the san ctifica t io n ; and


84 THE B A BYLONIAN TALM UD .

Shekal im must be read o n the p reced ing Sabbath , al though theSabbath i s yet in the m onth Shebat .

On t/ze second tbc po r t ion‘ Rem em ber

’

is to be r ead. I twas taught : When Pu r im fal l s o n the eve o fSabbath , said RabhThe po rt ion Remember shou ld be read on the preced ing Sabbath

,because

,i f o n the Sabbath afte r

,Remember wi ll be read

after i t has been done (with the read ing o f the Megi lla) . Samuel , however, said i t shou ld be read o n the succeed ing Sabbath ;and concern ing the fact

,that the read ing o f the Megil la must

n o t precede the read ing o f Remember,

” i t wi l l n o t precede inthe walled towns

,where i t i s read o n the 1 sth ,

and then Re

member ” wil l be read before the Megi lla . When,however ,

Pu r im fal ls o n Sabbath,said R . Huna

,al l agree i t m ust not be

read the preced ing Sabbath , but o n the same Sabbath . R . Na ’hman

,however

,said : Rabh and Samuel differ al so abou t th is .

The same was taught also by R . Hyya bar Abba i n the nameo f R . Abba qu ot ing Rabh : When Purim fal l s on Sabbath , thepo rt i on Remember shou ld be read the preced ing Sabbath .

T/ze tkird,t/i a t of tke r ed keifer .

” The rabbi s taughtWhat i s meant by the third Sabbath ? The one fal l ing afterPurim . I n the name o fR . Hama bar Han ina it was taught : Bythe th ird Sabbath is meant the one after which comes the fi rstday o f Nisan . They do n o t d iffer

,however

,when the fi rst o f

N isan occu rs on Sabbath . On the p reced ing Sabbath the port ion o fthe hei fer m ust be read ; and when it fal l s on a week - day

,

i t has to be read o n the Sabbath after Pu r im .

Tke fou r t/z, tka t of tbc n ew m oon .

” The rabbi s taughtWhen the fi rst o fAdar fal ls on Sabbath

,the port ion Shekal im

must be read,and the po rt ion o f the Prophet s shou ld be about

Y ehoyada the pri est . And what i s cal led the fi rst Sabbath ?The one after which the fi rst o fAdar falls i n the same week,and even on the eve o fthe succeed ing Sabbath . On the secondhas to be read Remember and the port ion o f the Prophet smust be from I Sam . xv I remember what Amalek

,etc .

And what is cal led the second Sabbath When Pu r im fal ls onthe week afte r i t

,and even o n the eve o f Sabbath after i t . On

the th ird Sabbath it m ust be read about the hei fer,and the

port ion o f the P rophets i n Ezek . xxxvi . 24 :“ I wi l l sprinkle

upon you . And what is cal led the thi rd Sabbath ? When i tfal ls afte r Pu rim . The fou rth Sabbath i t has to be read aboutth e new moon

,and the port ion o f the Prophets shal l be from

Ezek . xlv . 1 8 : Thus has said the Lord Eternal,i n the fi rst

TRA CT M EGILLA . 8 5

month , o n the fi rst o f the month . And what i s cal led thefou rth Sabbath When the fi rst o fNisan fal l s in the week afte ri t and even o n the eve o fthe next Sabbath .

On t/ze fift/t , t/tey r etu r n aga in to t/ze r egu la r o rder . Whatorder i s meant ? R . Ami says : To the o rde r o f the po rt ion su sual ly read o n each Sabbath ; and R . J erem iah says

,to the

order o fthe port ion s from the Prophet s (becau se o n these fou rSabbaths the port ions from the P rophet s were d iffe rent) . SaidAbayi : I t seems to u s i t shou ld be as R . Ami said

,a s the

Mishna stated above (p . 8 1 ) agrees wi th h i s opin ion .

MISHNA : On the fi rst day of Passover the port ion in Levit icu s re lat ing to the fest ival mu st be read ; o n Pentecost that c omm e n c ing Seven weeks shal l ye count

,etc . [D eut . o n

the day o fNew Year, the port ion commencing In the seventhmonth

,on the fi rst day o f the month [Num . xxix . o n the

D ay o fAtonemen t that o f After the death ” [Lev . onthe fi rst day o f the Feast o f Tabernacles

,the port ion o fLevit i

cu s relat ive to the fest ival s must be read ; and o n the other dayso fthat fest ival the o fferings for each day [Num . xxix .

On th e hal f feast o f Hanuka , the po rt ion o f the offer ings o fthe princes [Num . vi i . ] must be read ; o n Purim ,

that o f AndAmalek came ” [Ex . xvi i . on the fi rst o f the month

,And

o n the beginn ings o f you r months ” [Num . xxvi i i . o n thefast - days fo r the stand ing men

,about the creat ion [Gen . on

fast - days,the port ion conta in ing the bless ings and maled ict ion s

[Lev . xxvi . the denunc iat ion s there in contained must be readwithou t int errupt ion ; namely , o n e man mu st read the wholechapter . On Mondays and Thu rsdays , and o n the Sabbathafte rnoon

,they shal l read the port ion o fthe To rah in its regular

o rder,but these read ings are not avai labl e to reduce the regu lar

n umber,fo r i t is writ ten [Lev . xxi i i . Moses declared unto

the ch ild ren o f I srael the appointed fest ival s o f the Lo rd .

Whence i t is i n fe rred that each must be read o n the appointedfest ival to which i t refers .GEMARA : The rabb is taught : On Passover shou ld be read

the po rt ion s re fe rr ing to th is fest ival,and the port ion s from

the P rophets shou ld be from Joshua,v . 9 ,

about Gilgal,etc . and

at present in exi le,when we keep two days as fest ival s

,the fi rst

day shou ld be about Gi lgal ; the second day from I I Kings , xxi i i . ,about J o sli iah ; the last days o fPassove r shou ld be sel ected smal lpo rt ions in which i t is spoken abou t Passo ve r . What a re they

(Thi s wi l l be explained fu rther o n . ) And the last days o fPa ss

86 THE B A BYLONIAN TALM UD .

over—o n the fi rst o f them shou ld be read [Ex . xi i i . And i tcame to pass when Pharaoh ,

” and the port ion from the Prophet sshou ld be from I I Samuel , xxi i . , And D avid spoke and onthe next day [D eut . xv . All the first - born males

,and from

the Prophets,i n I saiah

,x . 32 , As yet to - day wil l he remain at

Nob .

” Said Abayi : And now people have the custom to readas fo l lows : D raw out [Ex . xi i . When a bu l lock [Lev .

xxi i . 27] Sanct i fy [Ex . xiii . I f thou lend [ ib id . xxi i .and Hew thysel f [ ib id . xxxiv .

“ And the Lord spoke”

[Num . ix . and I t came to pass [Ex . xi i i . and thenAl l the first - born [D eu t . xv . On Pentecost

,Seven

weeks shalt thou number [D eu t . xvi . and from the Prophets,

i n Habakkuk , i i i . A n anonymou s teacher says [Ex . I nthe th ird month , and the port ion from the Prophets shou ld befrom Ezek iel

,i . , abou t the D iv ine Chariot . And now when in

exile we keep two days Pentecost,we do as both have said

,but

reverse i t o n the fi rst day o f the New Year,as the anonymous

t eacher and on the second as above . In the days o f the NewYear

,I n the seventh month ”

[Num . and from theProphets , I s not Ephraim a dear so n

”

[Je rem . xxxi .Accord ing to others

,And the Lord vis i ted Sarah ”

[Gen .

and from the Prophets,about Hannah [I Sam . And

n ow when we keep two days , we read on the fi rst about Sarah ,and the second

,God d id tempt Ab raham [Gen . and

the port ion from the Prophets,I s not Ephraim [J er . xxxi .

On the D ay o f Atonement we read [Lev . Afte r thedeath

,

” and from the Prophets [I s . lv i i . For thu s hath saidthe H igh

,etc . And in the Min ’ha prayer

,we read about

the laws o f legal marriage [Lev . and from the Prophets,

Jonah .

[R . J ohanan said : I n nearly every place where you find them ight o f the Holy On e , blessed be He

, you find also H is modesty . This i s wri tten in the Pentateuch , and repeated in theP rophet s

,and ment ioned a third t ime in the Hagiographa . I n

the Pentateu ch [D eu t . x . For the Lord you r God i s theGod o f gods

,and the Lord o f lord s ” ; and the next verse ,

Who execu teth j u st i ce for the fatherless and the widow .

” I ti s repeated in the P rophet s [I s . lvi i . Thu s hath said theH igh and Lo fty On e

,who inhab iteth Etern i ty

,whose name is

Holy and the end of th i s verse i s yet also with the contriteand humble in sp irit . The th ird t ime in Hagiographa [P s .

lxvi i i . Extol h im who r id eth upon the heavens . The



th i s ? (Rashi explain s i t that the quest ion is what conn ect ionthere i s between the creat ion and these fasts . ) Said R . Ami :I f not the stand ing men

,the heaven and earth wou ld n o t abide ;

as i s written [J e rem . xxxi i i . I f my covenant be not withday and n ight

,I wou ld not appo int the o rdinances o f heaven

and earth .

” And i t i s al so wri tten [Gen . xvi . And hesaid

,Lo rd Go d

,whereby shal l I know that I shal l inherit i t

Said Abraham befo re the Holy On e,blessed be He : Creator o f

the Un iverse,perhaps i f I srae l wi l l s in before Thee

,Thou wil t

d est roy them as the generat ion at the t ime of the Flood and ofthe D i sp ersion o f B abel . And He answered : Nay . Said Abraham : Whereby wi l l I know it ? And the Lord said : Take Mea hei fer three years old the sacrifices wi l l fo rgive thei r s ins) .Then Abraham said again : C reato r o f the Un iverse , th is wi l l beas long as the Temple exi sts , but what wi l l be when the Templ ewil l be dest royed ? And the Lord answered : I have thereforeordain ed to them the orde r o f the sacrifi ces

,and every t ime they

w i l l read i t , i t wi l l be cons idered by Me as i f they had offeredthem

,and I wi l l forgive them al l thei r s in s .Witkou t in ter r uption .

” Whence do we deduce thi s SaidR . Hyya bar Gamda in the name o f R . Asi : B ecau se i t i s wri tt en [Prov . i i i . The correct ion o f the Lord

,my son , do

not desp i se .

”

(And i f there were interrupt ion , i t wou ld seem asi f the correct ion were d isagreeable to them . ) Resh Laki sh , however

,said : That i s becau se we do n o t p ronounce a bened ict ion

over chast i sement . What else shal l he do We have learned in aB o ra itha : He shou ld begin a verse be fore the cu rses

,and shou ld

end a ve rse after them . We have learned in a B o ra itha : R .

Simeon b . Elazar said : Ezra ordain ed that I srael shou ld readthe cu rses i n Levi t i cu s before Pentecost

,and those i n D eu ter

o n om y before New Year. Why so ? Said Abayi,and acco rd

ing to others Resh Lakish : That the cu rses shou ld end with theyear . I t i s right o f D eu teronomy

,becau se then begins a n ew

year ; bu t in Levit i cu s , befo re Pentecost , does Pentecost begina n ew year ? Yea , Pentecost i s al so a N ew Year

’ s day,as we

have learned in T ract Rosh Ha shan a , on Pentecost i s dec ided i nHeaven abou t the fru i t o f the year.The rabbi s taught : F rom the same p lace where they stop to

read in the Pentateu ch on Sabbath in the morn ing,they begin

to read in the Min ’ha prayer ; and from the same p lace theyshou ld begin on Mondays and Thu rsdays and the next Sabbath .

So is the decree o f R . Mei r. B u t R . Jehudah said : F rom the

TRA CT M EGILLA. 8 9

same place where they had stopped the last Sabbath , theyshou ld begin at the Min ’ha prayer

,and Mondays and Thurs

days,and also the next Sabbath . Said R . Zera the Halakha

prevai l s so . The rabbi s taught : On e shal l o pen the Holy Scrol l sand look o n them

,then pronounce the benedict io n

,then read .

R . Shepha t ia said in the name of R . Johanan : He wh o rol lstogether the Holy Scrol ls

,shal l do i t so that the sewn rol l s

shou ld be in the m idd le,so that i t be done easi ly . The same

said again in the name o f the same authori ty : They may berol led together only from outside

,but not from inside

,so that

the lett ers should not be seen outside . When o n e holds scro l l sh imsel f, and has to find in i t someth ing

,he shou ld n o t begin to

rol l away from his person,becau se o n e scrol l m ight fal l down

,

but h e shou ld rol l them toward h i s pe rson,so that they shou ld

remain o n h i s knees . When he rol l s them from both sides,he

shou ld begin with the side toward hi s person,becau se i f from

the other s ide , a man wi l l be unable to see at a d i stance what i sw r i tten i n them , and i t i s a du ty to let h im see .The same says again : I f t en men have read in the scro l ls ,

the greatest o f them shou ld rol l them together,fo r R . Joshuah

b . Levi sa id : He who rol l s them together,i s rewarded as much

as al l o fthem together.He says again : When ce do we know that we may avai l ou r

selves o f a Heavenly vo i ce ? B ecause i t i s wri t ten [I s . xxx . ]Thine ears shal l hear a thing from beh ind them . When isth i s the case ? When o n e hears a male vo ice in town , and afemale voice in the count ry

,and when i t says : Yea

,yea

,

”o r

Nay,nay .

” The same says again i n the name o f the sameau thority : Who reads withou t sweetn ess , and learns withou t achant

,o f him says the ve rse in Ezek ie l [xx . And I also

have given unto them laws that are not good . Abayi opposed .

Shal l I say,becau se he cannot make sweet h i s vo ice , the above

verse should be appl ied to h im There fo re we must say as R .

M e sha rshia said elsewhe re , that i f two scholars are in o n e town ,that contrad ict themselves in Halakha , to them is the aboveverse appl ied .

Said R . P o rnach i n the name o f R . J ohanan : Who handledth e Holy Scrol ls , whil e naked ,* w ill be bu r ied na ked. Said R .

*A cco rding to Rash i,it app l ie s to the scro l ls ; M o rdcha i P lu ng ia n , howeve r, in

h is A lpha i M e nashe,

” in terpre ts it in the nam e of M enashe o f I la that it app l iesto the m a n

, wh ich seem s to be m ore correc t , though he was persecu ted fo r th isin terpre ta t io n .


J anai the so n o f R . J anai the Elder : I t i s better that the mantleo f the Holy Scrol l s shou ld be i n serted between the scro l ls thanvice versa . I t i s writ ten [Lev . xxi i i . 44] And Moses spoke o fthe fest ivals o f the Lord to the ch i ld ren o f I s rael i . e . ,

h e toldthem the meri t o f read ing the port ions o f the Torah each in i t st ime . The rabb is taught : Moses ordered to I srael they shal ld i scu ss and lectu re on the subj ect o f the day : the Halakhas o fPassover on Passover

,the Halakhas o f Pentecost o n Pentecost ,

and the Halakhas o fTabernacles o n the Feast o f Tabernacles .

EN D OF TRA CT M EGI L L A .


CHAPTERI .

CONTENTS .

SYNOPSI S OF SUBJECTS OF VOL . VII I . -EBEL RA B B A THI,

ORD I NA NCES REGA RD ING ON E IN THE STRUGGL E OF

DEA TH,A N D WHEN DEA TH OCCURS IN A VI L

L A GE,

WHA T I S CONSIDERED SU IC IDE

ORDINA NCES CONCERN ING THE B URIA L OF INFA NTSA N D M INORS UP To THE A GE OF SEVEN YEA RS

,

MOURN ING OVER REL A TIVES OF THE FIRST A N D SEC

ON D D EGREES,REGUL A T ION REGA RD ING LA BOR DURING MOURN ING

,

WHA T A MOURNER M A Y A N D M A Y N OT REA D,

THE TH IRTY DA YS ’ P ERIOD OF MOURN ING,

THE EXA M INA TION OF THE CORPSE ; THE B UR IA L OF

A B RIDA L COUPL E ; THE S A GES THA T WERE EXECU TED BY THE GOVERNM ENT

,

THE REND ING OF GA RM EN Ts OVER REL A TIVES,P A R

EN Ta A N D SCHOL A RSWHA T A N ONEN M A Y A N D M A Y N OT REA D

,

WHEN SEVERA L DEA THS OCCUR IN A TOWN A T THE

SA M E TIM E WHO M UST B E B URIED F I RST,

FROM WHA T D A Y THE SEVEN,TH IRTY DA YS ’ MOURN

I N G,ETC . ,

BEG IN TO COUNT,

THE REM OVA L FROM ON E GRA VE To A NOTHER,

WHA T M A Y A N D WHA T M A Y N OT BE DONE IN A

CEM ETERY A N D A BOUT THE GRAVES OF FA M I

L IES,

SYNOPS IS OF SUBJ ECTS

VOLUME VIII. EBEL RABBATHI.

CHA PTERS I . to III . One who i s in ago ny of d e ath i s regarded as al i vein al l re spe c ts . How so ? M ay the in h ab i tan ts o f a v i l l age gre e t e ac ho th e r ifa d e ath o c cu rs in th e i r com m un i ty ? How s h al l a su i c i d e be bu rie d ,a nd who i s c o n s i d e re d su c h ? Su i c i d e Of a m in o r. The bu ri al of o ne jud ic ia lly e x e cu ted . Th at of o n e separat ing h im se lffrom the c o ngregat ion ,

a nd Of tho se s te a l ing the d u t ie s . A t w ha t age a re po o r c h i l d ren to be

l am e n te d , and a t what age ri c h o n e s ? The fun e ra l m ea l. A t wh at age i sde ath c o n s i d e red Kare th (s ho rt l ife )? The d ays Of s i c kn e ss . The l egen dabo u t the co n ve rs at io n of the A n ge l o f D e ath w i th m an y of the A m o

ra im,

e o 0 o o o 0 o 0 0 I ‘ l l

CHA PTERS IV . a nd V . Who a re co n s i de re d re l ati ve s of the fi rst and

s e co n d degre e s ? The regu l at io n s of a n On en (a m o u rn e r befo re the bu ri a lof the d e ad) , and the pe rio d of A n in u th (see Com m en tary , p . Ove rw h at re l at i ve s prie s ts a nd h i gh -

prie sts m ay d efi l e th em se l ve s . The d e c i s io nOf the s age s as to the e xhum at io n o f a bo dy fo r the pu rpo se of e xam in at io nas to age ,

and the re aso n s th e refo r . F o r what pu rpo se s the h igh -

prie s t m ay

o r m ay n o t l e ave Pal e s ti n e . Who i s co n s i d e red a M e th -M itzvah (se e Comm en tary , p. a nd what s h al l be d o n e w i th h im , a nd how a M e th -M i tzvahwas the in c i d en t wh i c h c au sed R . A q iba to b e c o u n te d am o ng the w i se .

What wo rk m ay a nd what m ay n o t be do n e by a m o u rn e r. What m u s t beo bse rve d du rin g the s even ,

the th i rty days , a nd d uring the who le ye ar ofm o u rn ing . The exac t pe rio d s fo r w e eping , l am e n t ing , n o t to c al e n de rc lo th e s , a nd n o t to c u t the h ai r, wh i c h m u s t n o t be e xce e d ed . Wh e n ce i s itd ed u c e d th at m o u rn ing l as ts fo r s even d ays ? Whe n o n e m o u rn i ng su c

c e eds an o th e r . The regu l atio n s co n ce rn ing the ba n a nd fo r how m an y d aysit sha ll co n t inu e ,

1 2 - 23

CHA PTERS VI . a nd VII . What a m o u rne r m ay re ad , what c lo th e s hem ay was h , a nd if he m ay o r m ay n o t w e ar s ho e s . Wh en he m ay le ave h i sh o u se , a nd what se at he m ay o c cupy w h e n in the praye r- h o u se . What wasd o n e wi th m o u rn e rs a nd o th e rs h av ing tro ub le wh e n e n te ring the Tem ple .

Ord in an ce s in d e ta i l re l ating to c al e nd e ring c l o th e s , cu tt ing the h a i r, e tc . ,

e tc . , e tc d uring the th i rty d ays . What happe n e d to M a r Sam u e l w i th h i sb ro th e r Pin ’h as du ring the i r m o u rn ing . The pe ri o d afte r w h i c h it i s al l o we dto rem arry afte r the d eath of o ne ’s w ife , 23—30

iv SYNOPS IS OF SUB JECTS .

CHA PTERS VI II . a nd IX. The d iffe re n t Op in io n s abou t the c an opy th ati s to b e m ad e fo r a d e ad bri d a l co u pl e , a nd what e atab l e s m ay b e d e s troye din th e i r h o n o r. The e xe cu tio n o f S im e o n , I s hm ae l , A q i b a , e tc a nd the

l am en tat io n o ve r th em by the s age s , in d e tai l . The a for tior i co n c lu s io n ,

d rawn from m an y b i bl i c a l pas s age s , how a m an m u st avo i d to cOm e in c o n

tac t w ith e vi l subje c ts . A bo u t what d ead re l at i ve s m u s t o n e re n d h i sgarm e n ts , a nd the t ending ofgarm en ts o ve r s c h o l ars , c h iefs ofa co l lege , e tc .

IVhen the re n t m ay b e m en d e d . The s i ze ofthe ren t. Ifa m ou rn e r trave l sfrom o n e pl ace to an o th e r . The o b l igat io n of l o we ring the c o u ch e s and

wh en th e y m ay b e p l ace d in pro pe r c on d i t ion . The s av ing of the garm en t

wh i c h w a s U po n th e d e ad , 30—4 5

CHA PTERS X. to XII . F rom the pe rfo rm an ce Ofw h at re l igio u s d u t ie s am o u rn e r i s e xem pt. The fu n e ra l m e a l . The s tan d ing in l in e of the co n so le rs . VVna t m ay a nd what m ay n o t b e d i s cu s se d in the pre s en ce of a de adbo dy . The b u ria l of ri c h a nd po o r pe op l e a nd th at of s c h o l ars , a nd whath appen e d to A q i b a w h en h i s so n d ie d . The d iffe re n c e in the bu ri a l andl am en tat io n o f a m a n a nd a wom an . The prefe ren ce ofway o f a bri d alpro ce s s i o n o ve r th at ofa fun e ra l , a nd wh at h appene d to K ing A grippa . The

s we epi ng a nd the be spr in k l ing of a m o u rn e r’ s hou se . A re cen t a nd rem o te

info rm at io n . The d iffe ren t so c i e t ie s th at w e re in Je ru s al em fo r atten d ingw e dd ings o r fun e ra l s , e tc . The fo u r s age s th at c am e to c o n so l e R . Is hm ae lw h en h i s s o n s d ied , a nd what th ey s ai d . Wh en the c on so l e rs a re pe rm i tte dto speak c o n so l at io n . A bo u t the bu r i a l of the bone s of two de ad bo d ie s ino n e grave . The s ay ing o f R . El ie ze r b . Z ado k as to what h i s fath e r c omm a nded him in regard to h i s bu ria l , a nd what A bba S au l s ai d in h i s w ill toh i s so n . XVhe n a h e arse i s u sed . What Han in a b . Te radio n d i d w h en h i sson was e xe cu te d as a ro bbe r 4 5—57

CHA PTERS XI II . a nd XIV. From what re l ig io u s du t ie s a gath e re r Of

bo n e s i s exem pt. The p l ace s in wh i c h bon e s a nd the S c riptu re s m u s t bepl ac e d wh en b e ing rem o ve d . Wh en i s it al lo wed to rem o ve a co rps e fromo n e grave to an o th e r ? Ifit i s al lowed to bu ry two co rps e s , o r o n e co rpse a ndb o n e s of an o th e r c o rpse , in o n e grave . If ben efit m ay b e d e ri ve d from abu i l d ing o ve r a vac an t grave o r from a va c an t c o flin . How a c em e te ry m u stn o t b e co n s i d e re d v ilely. If grave s m ay be c h ange d from o n e fam i l y toan o th e r. Is o c cupan cy (Ha z a ka lz) c o n s i de red w i th grave s ? The th re ed iffe re n t k in d s o f grave s . A c em e te ry wh i c h su rro u n d s the c i ty o n th rees i de s . The s e ven stan d ings a nd s i tt ings afte r the bu ri al . The ten go b l e tso fwin e th at the s age s h ave o rd e red in the ho u se of a m o u rn e r . What s h al lb e s a i d in the fo u rth m e al ben e d i c t ion in the ho u se ofa m ou rn e r ? 57—6 2


THE BA BYLONIAN TALMUD .

B . H is mouth must not be closed , nor h is open ings stopped .

N o metal vessel o r anyth ing which chil l s 1 must be put on h isnavel t i l l h e d i es

,as i t i s wri tten [Eccl . xi i . While the

s i lver cord is not yet torn loose .C. H e must not be moved , nor put on sand o r salt , u nt i l he

d i es . 1

D . H is eyes must not be c losed . Whoever tou ches or movesh im i s regarded as a shedder o fblood .

1

E . H is relat ives may not rend their c lothes nor remove theirshoes nor lament over him

,nor may the coffin be brought into

h is room,t i l l he d ies .

F . H is death must not be announced , nor h is d eeds proclaimed

,u nt i l h e d ies ; R . J ehudah , however, said : I f he was a

wise man,the latter may be done . 1

G. Greet ings mu st not be exchanged when there i s a deathin a vil lage

,bu t i t may be done i n a greater c ity . An in fan t cu t

o r t orn at b i rth , a m iscarriage , or born al ive at the e ighth mon th ,or bo rn dead at the n inth— al l the rel igiou s ceremon ies do notapply to i t .H . The same is the case with an idolater or bondsman , never

th e le ss they may exclaim over h im : Woe,l ion"l i on"Woe ,

hero"1 R . J ehudah said : (I t may be said also Woe,t ru sted

man,who l ived by hi s labor"They said to h im : I f so , what is

there le ft to say o f the upright He rej o ined : I f he was righte o u s why shou ld thi s not be said o f h im ?2 No consolat ion i sn eeded (o n the death o f) male and female slaves .

I t happened when the female slave o f R . El i ezer d ied,hi s

d isc ipl es went to console h im . When he saw them he went into

B .

1 See Sabbath, p . 3 5 3 .

C .

1A s wa s the custom at that t im e .

D .

1Fo r the reason

,see ib id .

,M i shna and Gem ara thereon ;

here,however

,th i s i s sa id in the nam e o fR . Meir .

F .

1N o t in h is presence, b u t peop l e m ay say am ong them se lves

What a great loss we have in the death of the m a n who did so a ndso .

” So m e say even in h is presence, b ecause he i s used to hear h i spra ises, a nd w i l l n o t be a larm ed ; b ut we do not find any bas i s forth i s assert io n .

H .

1I f they were worthy o f such a lam en tat ion .

“I t seem s to

u s that th i s i s sa id o f a bondm an on ly,b u t n o t o fan ido later

,as an

ido l a ter,even i f he wa s a Gen t i le , i s ca l led a s inn er acco rding to the

T a lm ud,wh ich declares that ido latrywa s prohib i ted to Noah fo r a ll

nat i o n s .

EBEL RA B BA THI , OR SEM A’

HOTH . 3

the yard , and they fol lowed him ; he retu rned to the hou se , andthey fo l lowed him . He then said to them : I thought that yo umight be scalded with lukewarm water

,now I see that yo u can

not be scalded even with bo i l ing . Have I not taught unto youN o consolat ion i s n eeded (o n the death o f) slavesf. When Tebbi the slave o f Rabban Gamal iel d i ed , the latter

accepted consolat ion . Said h i s d isc ip les to h im : Ou r master"hast thou not taught unto u s that no consolat ion i s needed o n

slaves ? He rej o in ed : My slave Tebbi cannot be l ikened toothe r s laves ; he was a r ighteou s one .

K . He al so perm itted h im t o lay Teph ilin . Said h i s d isc iple s : Ou r master"hast thou n o t taught unto u s that slavesare exempt from Teph ilin And he made the same rej o inder .L . Slaves mu st n o t be d ist ingu ished as Father so and so

,or

Mother so and so .

1 The hou sehold o f Rabban Gamal iel , however , u sed the d ist in ct ion o f Fathe r Tebbi ” and Mothe rTebb itha to the above - named and hi s wi fe .

2

M . Ancesto rs must n o t be d i st ingu ished as the fathers o fthenat ion (or the t ribes) , except the three Patriarchs ; nor motherso fthe nat ion , bu t the fou r mothers . l

CHAPTER I I .

A . A su ic ide must be buried withou t any ceremony . R .

I shmael said : I t may be exclaimed : Alas , su ic ide"Alas ,su ic ide"Said R . Aqiba to h im : Leave h im a lo n e . D o n o t

honor n o r abuse h im .

1 No rend ing,no removal o f shoes

,and

no lament ing. They may,however

,stand in l in e

,

2 and say over

L . The word Abba , wh ich m ean s Father,wa s a t i t le a t that

t im e,as Reverend i s n ow,

o r as the Catho l ics ent i t l e the i r super iors O f the Church and nunner ies Father and Mother . ” 2

I n

M idrash Rabbah [Lev . chap . xix . ] i s to be found Tebb itha , thefem ale s lave o fRabban Gam a l ie l , presum ab ly Tebb i

’

s w i fe .

M . Sarah,Reb ec c ah

,Rache l

,and Leah

,the w ives o f o u r patr i

archs . See B eracho th .

CHAPTER I I .

A .

1 With the saying that yo u lam ent him , yo u also b lam e himthat he comm i tted su ic ide . I t i s

,t herefore

,better that noth ing

should b e sa id .

2When the m ou rners retu rn from the bur ia l,a l l

those who accom pan ied th em stand in two rows , through which the

4 THE BAB YLONIAN TALMUD .

him the mourners ’ bened ict ion s,becau se i t i s for the honor o f

the l iv ing . This i s the gen eral ru l e : Whatever i s for the honoro fthe l iving may be done ; but everyth ing which i s not for thei rsake

,i t i s not imperat ive fo r the congregat ion to do for su ch .

B . Who i s to be con sidered a su ic ide ? I f on e ascended tothe to p o f a tree or a roo f, and he fel l down and was kil led , 1 hemu st not be cons idered a su i c ide , un less he says p reviously : Iam going to drop mysel f"” and immediately afterward i t wasobserved that he d id so ; then i t i s to be considered a su i c ide ,and he shal l be bu r i ed withou t any rel igiou s ce remon ies .C. When o n e i s found hanging o n a t ree st rangled

,or lying

o n a swo rd ki l led , he i s not to be considered a su ic ide , and nothing may be withheld from him .

D . I t happened to the son o f Go rn o s in Lud , who ran awayfrom school

,that h is fathe r threatened h im . B e ing afraid o f h i s

father,he drowned h imsel f i n a p i t . When R . Ta rpho n was in

qu i red abou t h im,he said : Noth ing shall be withheld from h im .

E. I t happened to a lad at the c ity o f B ene - B erak,who

broke a glass on the Sabbath,that h is father threatened him .

B e ing afraid o f hi s father, he d rowned him sel f in a p it . I t wastold to R . Aqiba , and he said : Nothing shal l be wi thheld fromh im .

1

F . From th is the sages declared On e shal l not threaten a chi ld .

He shal l e i ther pun ish h im immed iately , o r he shal l keep si len ce .

Said R . Sim eon b . Elazar : Lust , chi ldren , and women shou ldbe repu lsed with the left , and attracted with the right hand .

1

G. Those who are pu t to death by the dec i sion o f a cou rtmu st be bu ried wi thou t any ceremon i es . Their brothers andrelat ive s may come and greet the wi tn esses and the j udges

,to

show them that the j udgment 1 5 cons idered j u st,and that they

m ou rn ers pass , a nd each one con so les them . So wa s the customa t that t im e

,and in som e congregat io n s it is sti l l extan t . The

m ou rn ers ’ ben ed ict ion (Tz idduk H adin ) i s said in the cem etery justafter the in term ent .

B . A l though he sa id he wou ld do so som et im e prev ious .E .

1A cco rding to Rash i , M i shn a A is i n c o m p lete, and m ust read

thus : B u t if the su ic ide wa s a m in o r,it is d ifferen t . H e said so

,

that the dec i s ion s o fAq iba a nd Ta rpho n sho u ld n o t c o n trad ict it .

F .

1To a l l these three

,to wh ich hum an be ings are attracted n a t

ura lly, it i s adv i sab l e n o t to be subject , bu t at the sam e t im e, whenhe attracts them w i th the r ight , he shal l try to repel them with theleft when necessary .



The same i s the case with those who steal the dut ies,or

steal from devoted things,they are considered as shedders o f

blood ; and not merely that , but also as i dolaters , adu lterers ,and int ent i onal v iolators o f the Sabbath .

1

K . From those who are k il l ed by the government , noth ingmay be withheld

,nor from those who were drowned in the sea

or a river, o r were eaten by a wi ld beast . From what t ime

must the day o f the mou rn ing fo r them be counted S ince thet ime that they have despai red o f find ing . I f separate l imbs arefound

,i t cannot be counted t i l l the head and the greater part o f

the body are found . R . J ehudah said : The backbone and thesku l l are considered as the greater part o f the body .

L . I f a hu sband or wi fe , o r parents , were cru c ified in th etown

,the wi fe

,the hu sband , or the ch i ldren shal l not l ive in

that town,except i t be as large as Antioch , and even then they

must remove to another part . Unt i l what term are they notal lowed to l ive there ? Till the flesh i s totally dest royed

,and

the bones cannot be recogn ized any longer . 1

CHAPTER I I I .

A . An in fant a day old must be regarded by h is parents asi f he wou ld be a bridegroom ; 1 and not mere ly a day old , bu teven i f the head and the greater part o f the body came ou tal ive . The express ion o f a day ” i s u sed by the sages becau sei t i s more u sual .B . A n in fant dying at bi rth i s int erred attended by one

woman and two men , and i s carri ed in the hand . Abba Sau l,

however,said : By two women and o n e man . The sages Ob

1 We t rans late here accord ing to the correct ion s o fEl ia s Wi ln a ,as We fo l low h i s correct ions throughout the t ract .

L .

1I t refers to the barbarous t im es in wh i ch , when the go vern

m ent hanged a person , the body was never rem oved. We con c ludeth i s chapter here, as the fo l l ow ing M i shn a is taken in in K e thubo th ,

as the proper p lace .

CHA PTER I I I .

A .

1 See Nidah, 44b, where it is exp la ined that a n infant even

a day o ld m ust be regarded as a b r idegroom , i f som eone kills it , andthe sam e language i s used here .

EBEL RA B BA TH I, OR SEM A

’

HOTH .

je c ted t o h im that o n e woman i s al lowed to be with two menin a separate place

,bu t not vice versa . N o l ine o fconsole rs i s

fo rmed , no mourn ers’ bened ict ion i s said

,unt i l i t i s th i rty days

o ld. From the age o f th i rty days t i l l a twelvemonth i t may beattended by men and women

,and i s carri ed in a case under the

arm . From the age o f o n e to three years i t is attended by thesame , with the addit ion that i t may be carr ied in a case o n theshou lder . R . J ehudah , however, said : I f the father desi res ,a coffin may be b rought to the cemetery to bu ry it in , even i f i ti s not three years o ld .

C. At the age o f three i t i s carried in a hearse . R . Aqiba ,however , said : I f i t i s three years O ld , but looks l ike two , i t i snot carri ed i n a hearse ; bu t a hearse may be u sed fo r those wholoo k l ike three even i f they are less . Simeon the so n o f thebrothe r o f Azariah said : Anyone borne in a hearse , h is p raisesmay be p roclaimed . R . Meir in the name o f Elazar b . Azariahsaid : I f when he was al ive h e u sed to p lay o n the street and wasknown to the people , then they are obl iged to attend , but nototherwi se . R . J ehudah , however, said in the name of the sameEven i f he was known only to h is neighbors .D . Regard ing lamentat ions

,R . Meir i n the name o f R . I sh

mael said : The poor are lamented from the age o f three , andthe r i ch from the age o f five ; R . J ehudah , however , said in thename o f the same : The poo r from the age o f five , and the richfrom the age o fsix . R . Aqiba said : The poor from the age o fs ix

,and the rich from the age o fseven .

1 The poor are lamentedthe same as the r ich , the rich as the chi ldren o f the sages , andthey as the p r in ces . 2

E. A chi ld that was able to act for h imsel f may be lamentedfor h is own vi rtu es ; i f he has none , fo r those o fhi s parents ; i f h i sparents have no v irtu es

, fo r those o f h i s other relat ives . A bridemay be lamented e ither fo r the virtu es o fher father o r father- inlaw

,as hono‘rs shou ld be exaggerated and not d im in ished . No

honor i s to be invented,bu t may be added to the o riginal .

F . I n J eru salem they u sed to say : Prepare good th ings ,they sha ll be u sed before thy hearse . ” I n J udah , however , they

D .

1Rash i exp la in s th i s : B ecause the pa in o f the poor o n the

death of the i r chi ldren i s m uch greater than that o f the r ich , as t he i rch i ldren are the i r on ly joy,

hav ing n o others .

”I t m ean s that no

dist in ct ion m ust b e m ade from the rank o f the parents , bu t from the

corpse itse l f , as a l l Israe l i s a l ike in ped igree .

8 THE BABYLONIA N TALM UD .

used to say : They shal l be u sed bekind thy hearse . B ecausei n J eru salem the lamenters u sed to walk in front of the hearse

,

and proclaimed on ly the vi rt ues which he possessed ; and thepeop le who were beh ind the hearse

,even such as he d id not .

And in J udah the lamenters were behind the hearse , and theyspoke on ly o f the virtu es which he possessed ; and the peoplewho were beh in d them did not repeat anyth ing .

1 From the ageo f three to thi rty

,one i s lamented as i f h e were a bridegroom ; 2

from thi rty to forty he i s lamented as a brother ; 3 from forty tofi fty as a father. ‘1

G. R . Simeon b . Elazar said : From the age o f thirty toforty

,i f he has chi ld ren

,or i f most others o f h is age have grand

chi ld ren,he i s lamented as a father ; otherwise , as a brother. 1

H . On e dying under the age o f fi fty , i t may yet be co nsidered as i f he were under the pun ishment o f Kareth (short l i fe) .When

,however

,he reaches the age o f fifty- two , th i s was the

death o f Samuel the Prophet ; at the age o f s ixty, th i s i s thedeath mentioned i n the Scriptu res

,as i t i s wri tten [Jo b , v . 26]

Thou wi lt go in a ripe age unto the grave . ” At seventy i t i scons ide red o ld age

,as i t i s writ ten [Psalms , xc . The days

o fo u r years i n th i s l i fe are seventy years . ” At eighty i t i s conside red uncommon vigor

,as i t i s writ ten And i f by

uncomm o n vigor they be eighty .

” Above that age i t i s al i fe o f affl i ct io n

,and so said B arz i l lai the Gilead it e to D avid ,

[I I Samu el , xix . 36]D eath after only one day o f s ickness i s a death o f wrath ; at

two days,i t i s a death o f t error ; at three days , a death o f pest ;

at fou r and five days,a hast ened death ; at s ix days , i t i s the

death ment ioned in the Torah ; at seven , i t i s a death o f favo r ; 1

more than that , i t i s a death o f suffering.

F .

1 We have t rans lated accord ing to the correct ions o f E l iasW i ln a

,a nd as Rashi exp la in s it in Sabbath, 1 s3a , O ld edition .

1I t

m ean s to say, as he wa s in the best v igor o f h i s life, the lam entat ionswere as great as if i t had happened to a br idegroom standing underthe cano py .

’I t m eans that he wa s an active m ember of so ciety

,

and h i s loss is fe l t by everybody . Who wa s act ive so long that hewa s cons idered as a father .

G.

1On e o f the com m entato rs suppo ses that at that t im e there

were separate custom s fo r a father, bro ther, etc . I t seem s to us,

however,that o ur interpretatio n i s r ight .

H1 As six days are enough fo r one to recons ider a l l he has done

in h i s l i fe a nd to m ake h i s w i l l,leaving the seventh fo r the purpos e


1 0 THE BABYLONIA N TA LMUD .

of sages o f Hada eb taught them :“ I t was stated (regard ing a

sudden death), on ly when the deceased has n o t reached the ageo feighty ; but i f he has , i t is , o n the cont rary , considered a deathcaused by a kiss . Rabha said : Longevity , fert i l ity , and maint e n a n c e do n o t depend o n virtu e but rather o n fate , as is i l lu st ra ted by the case o f Rabba and R . Hisda , both of whom wereupright rabbis and both cou ld br ing down rain by their prayers ,and st i l l R . H isda d ied at the age o f n inety - tw o and Rabba atthe age o f forty . I n the hou se o f R . H isda there were sixtymarriages , while in that Of Rabba there were sixty deaths . I nthe hou se o f R . H isda there was fine white bread in su ch anabundance that even the dogs d id not care for it

,while in that

o fRabba there was not suffic ient barley bread fo r human beings .Rabha fu rther said : Three things I prayed Heaven to grant me .

Two were granted,the third o n e n o t : the wisdom of R . Huna

and the r iches o fR . H isda were granted me, b u t the modesty o f

Rabba bar R . Huna was den ied to me . R . Seor im (Amram), thebro ther o f Rabha

,was sitt ing at the bedside o f Rabha when the

latter was in his last agon ies . Said Rabha to him :“ Let the

Master tel l h im (the angel o f death) n o t t o cau se me any pain .

And he answered h im : I s, then , the Master himsel f not a friendo f him ?” Rabha rej oined : “ As my fate was already referredto h im

,he wil l n o t care for me any more .

” R . Seo rim then saidto the sick : “ I wou ld like that the sou l O f the Master shou ldappear before me .

” When it w a s so ,R . Seo r im asked : “ Had

the Master felt any pain ?” (at the t ime o f the separat ion o f thesou l from the body), and he answered :

“ I t was as i f p inchedwith the lancet . Rabha was sitt ing at the bedside o f R . Na ’hman when he was in h is last agon ies

,and the latter said Let

the Master t el l h im (the angel o f death) not to pain me .

” Andhe said to h im :

“ I s not the Master a prominent person ?” (tot el l h im so himsel f) . And he answe red him : Who is esteemed ,o r worthy , o r who can contend (at such a He thensaid to the dying : “ Let the Master ’s sou l appear befo re me .

”

When it was so , he asked h im :“ Had you pain ?” And he

answered : “ I t was as easy as to remove a hair from milk ; andyet , i f the Holy On e

, blessed be He,would command me to re

t u rn to the world I was in I wou ld p ray permission not to do it ,for the fear (of the angel O f death) i s too great .

” R . Elazar waseat ing Trum ah (heave- Offering) when the death angel appearedbefore him , and he said to h im : You se e that I am n ow eat ingTrum ah , i s i t not sac red ? And the app ropriate moment passed

EBEL RA B BA TH I,OR SEM A

’

HOTH . 1 1

over . To R . Shesh e th he presented himsel f in the market , andhe said to h im :

“ D o you wish to take me when I am in themarket

,as i f I were an animal ? Come to my hou se . When he

p resented himsel f t o R . Ashi in the market , the latte r said toh im :

“ Extend my t ime thi rty days , so as to enable me to re

view my stud ies , as ye say :‘ Happy is the person who comes

here possessed o f h is stud ies . ’ On the th i rt ieth day he ap

pe a red again , and R . Ashi said to h im : Why such pu nctu al ity ?”

And he answered h im :“ Y o u interfere with B a r Nathan

,a s no

regency must inte rfere with another, even as much as a hai rR . Nathan cannot become the head O f the col lege so long as

you are al ive) . R . H isda cou ld n o t be overpowered (by the angelo fdeath), for he kept o n studying al l the t ime , and the death angelc l imbed up and h id himsel f in a cedar in front o f Rabha

’

s house .

When the cedar broke down,R . H isda d iscont inu ed h is study

fo r a moment and he was o verpowered at that moment . R .

Hyya wa s i naccessible (to the angel o f death) . On e day het ransformed himsel f into a mend icant

,and knocked o n the door

and asked for a sl ice o f bread . When R . Hyya handed h imwhat he asked fo r

,the angel said to h im : D oes n o t the Mas

ter have mercy with a poo r man ? Why does the Maste r haveno mercy with me ? I am the angel o f death . And a s proo f,he showed him the fire - rod . R . Hyya then del ivered up h issou l to him .

I . Said R . Han ina b . A n t igo n o s : I f an o ld man has eatenforbidden th ings

,o r i ntent ional ly violated the Sabbath

,the pun

ishm en t o f which i s Kareth , 1 and he is over the age that shortl i fe Shou ld be app l ied to h im

,what wi l l s ign i fy to u s that h i s

death was that o f Kareth ? The re fo re we must co nsider thathe who d ied after on ly three days o f s ickness

,i t i s a death o f

Kareth ; at fou r days , i t i s a hast ened death , etc . Said R .

J ehudah : The p ious o f anci ent t imes have suffe red o fthe s ickness o fthe intest ines two o r th ree days befo re thei r death

,

2 fo r

the pu rpose O f c l ean ing thei r bod ies o f a ll food and d rink,that

they should enter c lean in the wo rld to come,as i t i s wr i t ten

[Proverbs , xxvi i . (A s) the fin ing- pot i s fo r s i lver,and the

fu rnace fo r gold , so is a man (p roved) accord ing to h is prai se .

I .

1 Lev i t icus,VI I . 25 .

2According to El ia s Wi ln a ’

s correc t ion s ,a nd acco rding to him ,

it i s to be u ndersto od t h a t R . Jeh uda h o ppo sesR . Ha n ina b . A n t igo n o s , a nd m a in ta i ns tha t even a p io u s m a n m ay

die in two or three days . The te x t , however, reads twen ty days .

I 2 THE BABYLONIAN TALMU D .

CHAPTER IV.

A . For re lat ives of the fi rst degree father,mother

,

son,daughter

,brother

,wi fe

,and s ister—a priest may defi le h im

sel f. R . Aqiba said : For those o fth e second degree 1 he mournsand is prevented al so from servi ces

,wh ich he must not perform

when hi s dead i s not bu ried ; but he must not defi le h imsel f .B . R . S imeon b . Elazar, however , said : He may defi l e h im

sel f for h i s grand father and h i s grandson,bu t the sages 1 say

For whomsoever he i s obl iged to perform al l the ceremon ies O fmou rn ing

,are to mourn with h im

,bu t not otherwise . I f i t was

doubt ful,however

,whether the deceased was h is brother or son ,

or not,he mou rn s and is cons idered an O rvan , bu t he must not

defi l e h imsel f.C. For h i s betrothed he must ne ither mou rn nor defi l e h im

sel f . The same i s the case with h i s d ivorced wi fe,although he

has ch i ldren by her.The rabbis taught : Over al l those o f which i t i s wri t ten in

the chapter relat ing to priests [Lev . that a priest maydefi l e h imsel f on them

,an ord inary person must mou rn

,and

they are the fo l lowing : wi fe , father and mother, brother ands ister

,son and daughter . TO these were added : hi s brother

and virgin s i ster by h i s mother , and h is married si ster e i ther byhi s mother or by h is father. And also over al l the i r seconddegree o f consangu in ity . Su ch i s the d ictum o f R . Aqiba .R . Simeon b . Elazar, however , holds that i t extends on ly to h isgrandson and h i s grand father. The sages

,however

,laid down the

CHA PTER IV .

A .

1Grandfather

, grandm other , g randson ,etc .

B .

1 The sages d iffer with R . A q iba,who says : That for the

second degree he m ust n o t m o urn at a l l,and i t is to be understood

so : Who ever is o b l iged to perfo rm a l l the m ou rning cerem on ies,e .g . ,

n o t to sit in a cha i r, n o t to pu t o n the shoes, e tc . , wh ich are

custom ary fo r the fi rst degree, then a l so the pr iest m ust m ourn anddefi le h im se lf; b u t fo r the sec o nd deg ree, fo r whom he i s n o t a l lowedto defi le him se l f, the m o u rn ing i s a l so un n ecessary for him . Thecase where m ourn ing w i thout defilem en t can b e found is on ly whenit i s doubtfu l

,the doubtfulness m eaning when the wom an who bore

the child was suspected .



E . For h is si ster, i f she is betrothed , 1 R . Meir and R . J ehudah say he m aydefi le h imsel f . R . Jose and R . S imeon holdthat he must not . 2

F . I f he has marri ed a vi rgin but withou t vi rgin ity, 1 according to R . J ose and R . Meir he defile s, and accord ing to R .

Simeon he may not . I f he has marri ed a forced 2 or a seducedwoman

,al l agree that he may not . I f he marri ed a vzga r os , 3 al l

agree that he may .

G. The general ru le wh ich R . S imeon laid down is : Forevery woman who was fi t fo r the h igh - priest when she was yeta vi rgin he may defi l e h imsel f, bu t not otherwise .

H . For al l those Of whom it was declared that a p r i est maydefi le h imsel f

,i t i s not meant as a perm ission but as an Obl iga

t ion . SO also said R . Aqiba ; R . I shmael , however, said : I t i sm ean t as a permission .

1

I . I t happened to J oseph the priest that h is wi fe d ied o n theeve O f Passover

,and he was relu ctant to defi le himsel f

,so hi s

co l leagues pushed him o n her and defiled him against h i s wi l l,

saying : I t i s not a perm ission but an obl igat ion .

j . Unt i l what t ime may he defi le h imsel f ? R . Mei r said :That whole day ; R . Jose said : Unt i l th ree days ; R . J ehudahin the name OfR . Ta rpho n says : Unt i l the grave is closed .

K . I t i s related that when R . Simeon b . J eho z ado k d iedat Lud

,hi s brother J ohanan came from Gali l ee to defile

himsel f wi th h im,after the grave wa s already closed . When

the sages were asked abou t i t they decided : He must not defi leh imsel f ; however , the grave may be opened to enable h im tosee h im .

L . I t happened that a youth d ied and le ft h i s p roperty tostrangers

,and left ou t hi s fam i ly . His relat ives complained

,

E .

1 The h igh-

pr iest . See L ev . xxi . 3 . When she,however

,i s

n o t m arr ied, b ut b etrothed ; hence the d ifferen ce o fop in io n .

1 Then am es are corrected according to Tract J eb am o th

, p . 60 .

F .

1 Wi thout v i rg in i ty— th ro ugh s ickn ess , o r She ha s lost itthrough som eth ing e l se ; a nd according to the sages, the h igh -

pr iestwa s n o t a l l owed to m a rry o n e who had lost he r v i rg in i ty, whateverthe reason .

“Fo rced— Den t . x x i i . 2 8 .

1Vigo r os, a l so w i tho u t v i r

gin ity, b u t o n ly thro ugh a ge ; therefo re a ll agree tha t in m a rry ingher he do es n o t com m i t any tran sgress ion , as he him se lf could n o t

know it .

H .

1 See El ias Wi lna .

EBEL RA B B A TH I , OR SEM A’

HOTH . 1 5

and demanded an examinat ion .

1 When the sages were asked,

they dec ided not to do so,becau se as soon as the grave i s c losed

the corpse mu st not be moved . Accord ing to others : As soona s o n e d ies

,h i s hai r i s changed .

2

M . An ord inary priest who i s defiling h imsel f with relat ivesmust n o t do the same with a stranger , even at the same t ime , i ncase the stranger has suffi c i ent attendants ; bu t i f he has n o t hem ay defi l e h imsel f, and afterward ret i re to an u ndefiled p lac e .

The same is the case when he begin s , and others come to rel ieveh im .

JV. When there were two roads,on e short bu t unclean and

the other long bu t c lean,i f the people went o n the long o n e he

shou ld accompany them,and i f the people took the short road

he shou ld go with them,for the honor O f the people .

0. I f he was engaged i n bu rying h i s dead , so l ong as he i s i nthe grave he may receive from st rangers fo r bu rial , but i f h e waso u t he must n o t retu rn .

P . I f he has defiled himsel f o n the same day , R . Ta rpho n

makes him cu lpable to a sin - offer i ng,and R . Aqiba makes h im

free . All agree,however

,that he i s cu lpable when he does so

o n the morrow,becau se he has added o n e more day to be

uncl ean,as he mu st count seven days aft er the last defilem e n t .

Q. A priest may defi l e h imsel f fo r relat ives even i f they aren o t fi t fo r the p r i esthood ; e .g . ,

fo r h is son , daughter , 1 brothero r s i ster , begotten by a temple - servant o r bastard , except forthose begotten by a slave or a Gent i l e . 2

R . A high - pri est who defile s h imsel f with the dead,or bares

h i s head,o r rends h i s garment s

,i s l iable to the pun i shmen t Of

st ripes .S . Fo r al l uncleanness fo r wh ich a Nazarit e mu st shave Off

h is hai r , he i s l iable to stripes ; other wi s e he is n ot .T. A high - priest who enters a cemetery i s l iabl e to stripes .

L .

1I f he wa s of age to m ake a w i l l . 1'

I t i s d ifficu l t to understand the rea l m ean ing o f it . I t seem s to us that it m eans that thee xam inat ion o f the ha i r cou ld dec ide noth ing , as it cou ld have grownafter the death .

Q.

1I f they were born by a wom an whom he m arr ied un lawfu l ly .

1 Accord ing to the Ta lm ud, a n i l leg i t im ate ch i ld begot ten by parentso f two different c reeds w i tho ut b e ing m arr ied, m u st b e c o n s idereda ccord ing to the creed O f the m o ther ; hen ce they are n o t h is ch i ldren .


U . I f he enters the yard o f a cemetery , or i f he goes outsideof Palest ine , he i s l iabl e to chast isement (rabbin ical ly) .

V. I f he enters a field where there i s a lost grave , he is notcu lpabl e t i l l h e traverses every bi t o f i t .W. A p r i est may defi le h imse l f by going outs ide of Palest ine

t o attend a civ i l or crim inal cou rt ; t o sanct i fy the month ; toin te rcalat e the year

,and to save h is fi eld from the ido laters .

He may bring a complaint and S ign i t in the i r cou rts ; howeve r,he mu st fi rst make a declarat ion that he i s go ing for thi s pu rpose .X . He may also leave Palest ine for the pu rpose o f st udying

the‘

L aw ,or to get marri ed . Said R . J ehudah : He may do the

former when there i s nobody in the place to learn from ; otherwise he may not . R . Jose , however, said : Even i f there i s onet o learn from he may do so , becau se not everyone can teach .

I t happened to Jo seph the priest that he went to hi s master tostudy the Law ; he went ou ts ide o f Palest ine to R . Jose inZaid in .

Y . A priest may defi l e h imsel f with a p iece of bone Of hisfather ’ s body

,even i f i t was as large as a grain of barley ; R .

J ehudah,however , said : He must not . A priest must not defi l e

h imsel f with a l imb cut o ff a l iv ing body,be i t even that o f h is

father. 1

2 . I t happen ed to Joseph P arkass that he had an abscess onh i s foot

,and the su rgeon came to cut i t Off. He said to h im

I f thou wi lt leave Of i t a b it o f the siz e O f a hai r,let me know .

When the su rgeon told h im that he d id so,he summoned hi s

son Nehem iah and said : My son , t i l l here tho u art obl iged toattend me

,but no farther. For the sages said : On e must not

defi l e h imsel f fo r a l imb cu t Off a l iving body,be i t even that o f

h is father. When the sages heard o f i t,they said : The fol low

ing passage : My l i fe i s in my hand cont inual ly,yet thy Law

do I not fo rget ” [P s . cxix . appl i es to him ; and a lso :

There i s many a righteou s man that peri sheth in his righteou sness [Prov . vi i .A A . I f he was on the road and he found a Meth -Mitzvah

,

1

Y.

1The law i s, if a who le l im b wa s separated from a l iv ing

body it is a subj ect o f defilem e n t ; b ut if flesh was separated fro mthat l im b

,even if i t wa s m o re tha n the s ize o f a n o l ive

,it i s n o t .

However,when

‘

the l im b wa s sepa rated from a co rpse, a nd fleshseparated fro m it the s i ze O f an O l ive

,it defile s .

A A .

1 Th i s express i o n i s used in the who le Ta lm ud about onewho died without relat ives, or if he died som ewhere far from them ,



i t shal l be bu ri ed in the former . I f both places are equal inval ue

,i t shal l be buried in the n earest o n e ; and i f they are equal

i n d istance,i t can be bu r i ed wherever desi rable .

FF . Said R . Aqiba : The fol lowing inc ident was the comm e n c em e n t o f my reward to be counted among the wise . Ion ce arose early and found a slain body . I bu rdened mysel fwith i t fo r three legal l im its o f the Sabbath , unt i l I b rought i tto a cemete ry

,and I bu r i ed i t . When I related thi s to the

sages,they told me that my every step was considered as i f I had

shed blood .

1 Whereupon I drew the fo l lowing a for tior i conc lu sio n : When , having in vi ew to perform a merit oriou s deed ,I have t ransgressed so mu ch , how much the more wou ld I havesinned i f I had had no such intent io n"” Wheneve r R . Aqibawas rem inded o f th is inc ident he said : Thi s was the commencement Ofmy reward .

2

CHAPTER V .

A . N O work must be done by a mourner o n al l the sevendays after the bu rial ; no r by hi s ch i ld ren , his servants , or h i scattl e . As he and they al l are not al lowed

,so are others no t

allowed to do any work for him .

The rabbis taught : A mourner is prohib ited to do any workduring the fi rst three days , even the ind igent who l ives on charitythenceforward he may do it privately ; and the housewi fe maysp in with her spindle .

The rabbis taught A mou rner must not V i sit anothermou rner during the fi rst three days thenceforth he may

,but he

must not sit among the condolers , but among those who are beingcondoled .

The rabbis taught : A mou rner i s p roh ibited the fi rst threedays from greet ing others ; from the thi rd to the seventh he mayonly answer a greet ing ; thencefo rward he may greet and answeras u sual . When the sons o f R . Aqiba d ied , an enormous c rowdflocked to the fu neral . R . Aqiba ascended the rost rum , and ad

d ressed the people : B rothers in I srael,l i sten to my words : I t

i s n o t becau se o f merit o r stat io n of mine that ye appear here , for

FF .

1B ecause the law i s that it m ust b e bu r ied o n the p lace

where it i s found.

“L e ,

From the answer of the sages he l earnedthat he kn ew no th ing o f the L aw,

a nd he began to study unt il herea ched h i s em in en ce .


’

HOTH .

assu red ly there are my superiors in th is c ity . Oh , you r rewardwil l be great . Ye have done homage to the Law you r presencewou ld sufli ce to console me , even i f I had bu r ied two bridegrooms ; ye appeared here because yo u thought to you rse lves

[Psalms , xxxvi i . The law o f h is Go d i s in h is heart . ’

(Hence we se e that i t is permitted to greet even with in the fi rstthree days?) Where the honor o fthe public is concerned the caseis d ifferent .

“ F r om M e t/t ird to t/ze seven t/z day be m ay a nswer , bu t not

g r eet . The re is a contrad ict ion from the fol lowing B o ra itha : On e

who meets h is friend who is in mourn ing, i f within twelve monthshe may speak to h im wo rds o f conso lat ion , but must not greeth im i f afte r twelve months , he may greet him , but n o t speak toh im words O f consolat ion , unless ind irect ly . R . Meir said : Towhat may the case o fo n e speaking to h is fr iend , a mou rner , wordsofconsolat ion after twelve months be compared To o n e whosefoot wa s d islocated , and after having it cu red , met a physic ianwho said to h im : Come with me and I wi l l d islocate it again ,and cure it in o rder to prove to yo u the effic iency o fmy d rugsThis presents no d ifficu lty . This B o ra itha relates to mou rn ingover father o r mother ; the former statement relates to mourn ingove r other relat ives . B u t have we n o t learned in another B oraitha that he may speak to him words o f consolat ion ind irect ly?Ou r B o ra itha may also be expla ined in the same sense * viz . , He

shal l not speak to him words o f consolat ion d irect ly .

The rabbis taught : A mourner , during the fi rst th ree days , i fhe arr ives from a place n o t d istant , may adopt the same computat io n o f the t ime as the local mourners , but i f he arrives from adistant place he must have h is own computat ion ; thencefo rth ,i f he even arrives from a place n o t d istant , he must have h is owncomputat ion . R . Simeon , howeve r, said : Even i f he arr ivedo n the seventh day , i f on ly from a near-by place , he may adoptthe computat ion o fthe local mou rners .” The Master said above“ The fi rst three days , o n e who a rrives from a near-by place ,etc . Said R . Hyya bar Abba in the name o fR . Johanan : “ Thisis the case only where the eldest o fthe family is at home at thet ime . The schoolmen propounded a quest ion : How is i t i fthe e ld est o f the family has gone to the cemetery? Come andhear : R . Hyya bar Abba said in the name o fR . J ohanan Eveni f the eldest o fthe hou se ha s gone to the cemete ry , he may c o mpute with them (the local mou rne rs) . B u t have we n o t learned inanother B o ra itha that he must have his own computat ion ? This


presents no d ifficu lty : On e case i s when he arrived with in thefi rst th ree days , and the other when he arrived after the fi rstthree days . As Rabh said to the inhabitants of Z alpu n i : “ Thosewho arrive with in the fi rst three days may compute with you ;those who do n o t , m u st compute for themselves .” Rabha said tothe inhabitan ts of M

’

hu z a :“ You who do not follow the coffin

(to the cemetery , but only as far as the town - gate) may compute

(the mou rn ing) from the minute you tu rn your faces away fromthe town -gate .

”

1 The B o ra itha states R . Simeon said , et c . Said R . Hyya

bar Gamda in the name o f J oseph b . Sau l , quot ing Rabbi : Thecase is only when he arrived be fore the condolers departed .

2 I t i s wri t ten [J e rem . xxi i . 1 0] Weep not for the dead anddo not bemoan h im . Weep not— that i s

,not more than suffi

c ient ; and do not bemoan h im—that i s , not more than prescribed . How so ? D u ring the fi rst three days—weep ing ; theseven— lamentat ion ; during the th i rty days— not to calenderc lothes and cu t the hai r. After that period the Holy On e ,

blessed be He,says : B e not more merci fu l than I am . I t i s

written [ ib id .,

Weep sorely for h im that goeth away.

”

Said R . J ehudah : This m eans one who goeth away ch i ld less .R . Jo shua b . Levi had never gone to console a mou rner un lessthe deceased d ied chi ld less , for i t i s w r i tt en [ ib id . ,

ib id . ]Weep sorely fo r the one that goeth away

,fo r he shal l n ever

retu rn any more,and see the land o f h is b i rth .

” R . Levi saidA mourner the fi rst th ree days must imagin e to himsel f as i f asword i s placed between hi s shou lders ; between the thi rd andseventh day

,as i f i t i s oppos ite h im in a corner ; from that day

on as i f i t passes i n fron t o f h im in the street . ” 3

Tbc bier of a wom a n m ust a t no tim e be set t/ter e , etc .

R . A m i said : For what pu rpose was the death o f Miriamstated closely fol lowing the law of the red cow To teach thatas the red cow atoned fo r s in

,so al so does the death o f the right

e o u s .

” Said R . Elazar : F o r the same pu rpose was the deatho f Aaron clo sely writ ten to the descript ion o f the priests ’ garb ;viz . , as the priest s i n the ir garb atoned for the s in s , so also doesthe death o fthe righteou s .

CHA PTER V.

A .

1Gem a ra from M oed Katan .

1Gem a ra from Moed Katan .

1Th is i l lu strate s the diffe ren t degre e s in which it m u st be bo rn e in m ind .



And I wil l change you r feasts in to mou rn ing . And we findone fest ival which last s for one day on ly .

C.

1 If he was the only bake r i n town,he may do his work

privately for the sake o fthe people .D . I f o n e was cu tt ing another ’ s hair , o r was having h i s hai r

cu t,and he was told that h is father was dead

,he might finish it .

Workingmen who rece ive work from a mourner are forb idden todo th is wo rk at h is hou se

,but they are al lowed to do i t at the i rs .

R . S imeon b . Jo’

ha i said : A day laborer i s forbidden in anycase . Contract wo rk may not be done on h is premises

,bu t it

may on theirs . Work o n anything attached to the ground mu stnot be done in e ithe r case , and work to be don e in another c i tyi s al lowed in ei ther case .

B . When o n e mou rn ing succeeds another,he may cut hi s

hai r with a kn i fe bu t not with shears . I f h is clothes are d i rty ,he may wash them in cold water bu t not in feet -water . 1 Amourner and o n e who i s u nder the ban

,when on the road

,are

al lowed to wear sandal s ; however , they must remove them assoon as they reach the town . So i s the law also for the 9 th Of

A hh,o r a gene ral fast - day .

2 I t is certain that a mou rner must not cut his hair,for the Mer

c ifu l On e expressly d i rected the sons of Aaron [ib id . x . 6] Thehair o fyou r head you shall not let grow long hence the case isnot so with other mourners . The quest ion , however, is, whetherthose who are under the ban , and lepers , may cut the ir hair ?Come and hear : Those who are under the ban

,and those

affl ic t ed with lep rosy , are proh ibit ed from cutt ing their hair andwash ing (their c lothes) . On e who was under the ban and died insuch a state , the B eth D in stone h is coffin . Said R . J ehudahI t does n o t mean a heap o f stones, as was the case with Achan

[Josh . Vii. but it means that the B eth D in places a big stoneon h is coffin , to teach that whoever d ies whi le under the ban , h iscoffin is stoned .

3 A mou rner must wrap up his head , for the Merc i fu l On e

C.

1Fo r fo rm er M i shnas

,see Moed Katan

, pp. 1 9—20 .

B .

1I n Tra ct K r itha th

, where it speaks o fthe preparat io n o f the

sp ices fo r the in cen se, the Gem a ra says : To m ake it stronger— m et

raglayim ; l i tera l ly, feet - water (w in e, acco rd ing to som e c o m m e n

ta to rs) wou ld be go od fo r it b ut th i s m ust n o t b e b rought intothe Tem p l e court . The sam e term i s found in Nidah , 6 1 b, in the

M i shna,among the sp ices wh ich rem ove stain s .

1Gem a ra from

M oed Katan .



’

HOTH . 23

d i rected Ezekie l [Ezek . xxiv . I 7] And cove r n o t thysel f t o thyupper l ip . Hence , othe rs must cover . How is i t , however , withone who i s under the ban ? Said R . J oseph : Come and hear

(Ta a n ith)“ And they wrapped up their heads and sat as i f they

were under the ban,or mou rners , unt i l they were commiserated

by Heaven . Said Abayi to him : Perhaps they have done that,

because they have considered themselves as pu t under the ban byHeaven , in which case it is very rigo rous .

” What is the law inregard to a leper? Come and hear : I t is w r itten [Lev . xi i i . 4 5]And he shal l cover h imsel f up to his upper l ip .

”Hence we se e

that wrapp ing up is necessary . A mou rner must n o t wear phylact erles

,fo r Ezekiel w a s commanded [Ezek . xxiv . 1 7] to pu t them

o n .

1 Hence we must say that others must not . B u t the quest ion is a s to o n e who i s u nder the ban , in regard to phylacter ies 5

This quest ion was not dec ided . I t i s ce rtain that a mou rnermust n o t greet any o n e , as Ezekiel w a s commanded [ibid .]“ Sigh in si lence . B u t how is the case with o n e who is underthe ban ? Said R . Joseph : Come and hear (Taan ith , ibid .)And to greet one another as i f they were rebuked fromHeaven .

” Said Abayi to him : Perhaps this case is d ifferent ,becau se it i s ve ry st rict .F . N O ban i s fo r less than th i rty days , and no rebuke i s fo r

less than seven days .G. Said Rabban Gamal ie l : He to whom the court has

stretched o u t its hand , al though he was again be fri ended , wil ln o t leave th is world peaceably .

CHAPTER V I .

A . A mou rner must not read the Pentateuch , Prophets , andHagiographa . He i s also not al lowed to study M ishna , Talmud ,Halakha

,and Hagadah . He i s also not al lowed to wash

,to

anoint,to wear shoes

,o r to have sexual intercou rse with h is wi fe .

He must cover h i s head and lower h i s couch . Rabban Gamal ie lwashed h imsel f when h i s wi fe d ied (see M ishna B e ra cho th ,

1 A mourner must n o t study the Law , because the Merc i fu l

1 The Talm ud exp lain s th is passage to refer to the phylacterie s.11 See our Phylacterie s R itual ,” pp . 49 a nd 5 5 .

CHA PTER VI .

A .

1Gem a r a fro m M oed Katan .


On e commanded Ezekiel : “ Sigh in si lence B u t howis it with o n e who is under the ban ? Said R . Joseph : Come andhear : We have learned : “ On e who is put under the ban maystudy for himsel f and also with others ; he may be hired and hemay hire others . B u t the case is otherwise with one who wasexcommun icated ; the latter may , however, study for h imsel f ino rder n o t to d iscont inue h is stud ies . He may also establ i sh forh imsel f a smal l store in order to earn a l iving.

” Rabh saidHe may sel l water in the market o f A rabo th .

2A mourner must not wash his c lothes , as it i s written [I I Sam .

xiv .

“ Then sent J oab to Theko a , and he fetched thence awise woman , and said to her,

” etc . , and anoint thysel f not witho il but be as a woman that hath these many days been mourning fo r the dead .

” What is the case with those under the ban ?Come and hear : “ Those who are under the ban are proh ib itedfrom cutt ing their hair and washing their c lothes .” In fer herefrom . A mourner must have h is garment rent , becau se the Merc ifu l On e commanded the sons of Aaron [Lev . x .

“ Andyour garments you shal l not rend hence others must . Amourner must lower his couch (place the mattress near or on thefloor), as B a r Qappa ra tau ght (Go d said) I had placed my imageamong them , and for thei r sins I upset it (decreed death) . Letthem now lower thei r beds . A mou rner must not work

,for i t

i s written [Amos , vi i i .“ And I will change you r feasts into

mourn ing. A s on the feast i t is prohibited to do any work, soal so i s the case with the mou rner. May one who is u nde r theban work ? Said R . J oseph Come and hear (Ta an ith) Whenit wa s stated that it i s proh ibited to do work , i t referred only tothe day- t ime but n o t to the even ing ; and the same is the casewith o n e who is under the ban .

” A mou rner must not washh imsel f

,as i t i s wr it ten [I I Sam . xiv .

“ And anoint thysel fnot with oi l and anoint ing inc ludes also wash ing .

3 And the Halakha prevai ls that a mou rner must not batheh is ent i re body in either warm o r cold wate r for seven days , buthe may bathe his face

,hands, and feet with cold water but not

with warm . To anoint h imsel f eve r so l itt le is p rohibit ed , however

,fo r a mou rner ; b u t he may do SO for the purpose of rem o v

ing the dirt from a certain part o fh is body .

4 A mou rner must n o t wear shoes, because Ezekiel was com

1

Gem a ra fro m Moed Katan .

1 Transferred from Taan ith.

1Ge

m a r a from Mo ed Katan .



hou se,wil l so ften thy heart , that thou mayest l i sten to the i r

advice,and they wi l l again befri end thee .

” To the o n e whohad a sick person in his home they rej o ined : The On e who

rest s i n thi s hou se shal l have mercy upon h im" and i f the s ickwas h i s on ly so n they shou ld pray : Shall have me rcy uponh im immed iately"

D . I t happened to a woman whose daughter fel l i l l , that sheascended the Temple mount

,t u rned to the left

,and d id n o t st i r

from there t i l l she was told that her ch i ld had recovered .

B . To one who has su stained a loss they say : The On ewho rests in th i s house wi l l so ften the heart o f the finder , andhe wil l retu rn it t o thee immed iately" I t happened to Elazar b .

Hanan iah b . Hezekiah b . Go rio n that he lost the Holy Scrol ls,

which cost h im a hund red Manah .

1 He ascended the Templemount

,tu rned to the le ft

,and d id not st i r t i l l h e was to ld tha t

they were found . And the Temple was bu il t by Solomon on lyfor the pu rpose that everyone who shou ld have any troubl eshou ld come and pray, as i t i s wri tten [I Kings , vi i i . I fthere be famine in the land

,i f there be pest i lence

,

” etc . Fromthi s we know only for ind iv iduals ; when do we know that i t i sal so for the publ ic in general ? I t i s w r i tt en [ ib id Ibid .

Ofal l thy people I srael . ” Lest one say i t i s also for the onewho prays for ch i ld ren

,or for riches which may n o t be good fo r

him,there fore it i s writ t en [ib id . , ib id . As thou mayest

know hi s heart , fo r thou thysel f alone knowest the heart o fal lthe chi ldren O f men . Whatever i s good for h im

,grant h im .

Whence do we know that they shou ld not pers i st in the ir rebell ion ?2 I t i s written [ ib id . , ib id . When they shal l be conscious every man of the p lagu e o f h is own heart , and he thenspread forth h i s hands toward thi s house . All this concern sthe I srael i tes

,bu t whence do we know that i t concerns al so the

Gent i les ? Therefore i t i s written [i bid . ,ibid . B u t also

t o the st ranger,who i s n ot o f thy people I srae l

,bu t cometh ou t

o f a far- Offcountry , etc .

E .

1 The co in Manah wa s o f the value o fa hundred Z u z .

1 Th i sis to be understood thus : Whence do we kn ow

,i f a rebe l com es to

pray that he sha l l be successfu l in h i s rebel l ion , that he sha l l notb e l i stened to

EBEL RA B B A TH I,OR SEM A

'

HOTH . 27

CHAPTER V I I .

A . The period o f th i rty days must be counted to the fo llowing : to mou rn ing, to calender c lothes , to cu tt ing o fhai r

,to

demand debts,to a woman o f handsome form , t o betrothal , to

marriage,t o a virgin

,to a widow

,to a Y ebam ah

,

l to o n e whovowed again st h is wi fe

,and to an indefin it e Nazari te .

B . To m ou r n ing .

”How so I t i s wri tt en [D eu t . xxxiv .

And the ch i ld ren o f I s rael wept for Moses in the plain s o fMoab th i rty days .

Ca lender clotkes means al l garment s wh ich come o u t fromunder the p ress . SO i s the decree o f Rabbi . The sages

,how

ever , say : Colored but not white . B u t R . Meir said the reverseWhite bu t not newly colored ; Old , however, i s perm itted in anycase . Funda

,fa sc ia , p ileus ,

1 and helmet s are also perm itted .

To give garments to be pressed is permitted with in the th i rty days .The rabbi s taught : I t i s not permi tted to cal ender c lothes

,

whether new,or Old ones which have j u st been removed from

unde r the press du ring the fu l l per iod o fth i rty days . ” Rabbi,

however,said : I t appl ies on ly to n ew ones . R . Elazar bar

S imeon said : They have p roh ib ited n ew white garments on ly .

Abayi act ed in accordance with Rabbi . Rabha,however

,act ed

in acco rdance with R . El i ezer bar R . Simeon .

To cu tt ing of ka ir . He must n o t cu t Off the hai r o fhi shead

,h is mustache , hi s beard , o r any hair O f h i s body . A

woman,however

,i s perm itted to cu t her hai r after the seven days .

To dem a nd debts . I f one lends money fo r an indefin it eperiod

,he cannot demand i t be fore th i rty days .

C. To a wom a n of ka ndsom e form . I t i s written [D eu t .xxi . I I ] : And hast a des i re unto her

,that thou wou ldst take

he r to thee to wi fe .

” She must shave Offher hai r,and pare her

nai l s . So i s the decree o f R . Mei r ; but R . Aqiba said : Thehai r must be Shaved

,and the nai l s sh e must let grow . Said R .

CHAPTER VI I .

A .

1Y ebam ah i s ca l led a wom an whose husband died chi ld less ,

leav ing l iving brothers [Deut . xxv .

B .

1 Al l these garm ents hav e Rom an n am es,and were u sed in

those days , a nd we do n o t th ink it necessary to descr ibe ho w theywere m ade . The reader, however , w i l l find i t in Ham a shb ir a nd

s im i lar wo rks .


El iezer : As in both the head and nai l s the Torah prescribed ado ing, 1 and as the do ing what i s said by the head means thatthe hair shal l be cu t Off, the same i s the case with the nai ls ; bu tR . Aqiba said : As the do ing what is said by the head is meantto make her ugly , the same is the case with the nai l s (and nothing i s ugl i er than long nai ls) . A support to R . El i eze r can befound in I I Samuel [xix . And Mephibosheth the (grandson o f Sau l came down to meet the king

,and he had not d ressed

h i s feet , nor t rimmed hi s head . A support to R . Aqiba canbe found in D an iel [ iv . Til l h i s hai r was grown l ike eagles ’

(feathers) , and h i s na ils 2 were l ike b i rds’ claws .

3 Pin ’has,the brother of Mar Samuel

,was in mou rn ing . When

Samuel came to condole with him and not iced that h is nails wereuntrimmed , he said to h im :

“ Why dost thou not trim them ?And he answered h im : I f th is were the case with thee

,wou ldst

thou disrespect the mourn ing to such an extent ?” And it was

[Ecc l . x . 6]“ l ike an error which proceedeth from the ru ler . And

a death occu rred in Samuel ’s family . When R . Pin ’has came tocondole with kim , the former trimmed his nail s and threw theparings in h is face

,saying : “ I see that thou dost not pay any

attent ion to the saying : Words are ominous,as said R . Johanan .

Whence i s i t deduced that words are ominous ? It is written

[Gen . xxi i . “ And Abraham said unto his young men ,” etc . ,

“ and we wil l worsh ip a nd com e aga in to you and it so happened that both o fthem retu rned . (Although I saac was intendedto be sacrificed .) I t was understood from Samuel

’s act ion thatthe nai ls o f the hand only may be cut , but n o t those of the feet .R . Onan bar Ta ’

hlipha , however, said“ I t was explained to me

by Samuel h imsel f that there is no d ist inct ion made .

” Said R .

Hyya bar Ash i in the name o f Rabh : With a nai l fi le , however

,i t i s not allowed .

4 Rabh said (and Mar Z u tra learned it in a B o ra itha) :“ A

C.

1I n the text it is term ed M aa sse

,and in Y eb am o th (48a )

A ssiyah . The m eaning o fboth i s doing, a nd Rash i there exp la in sthat

,a l though the two above-m entioned term s are not to be found in

referen ce to the head,R . A q iba a nd R . E l iezer m a in ta in that the

cutt ing Off o f the ha i r is a l so ca l led a do ing ; hen ce the ana logy .

1 The verse begin s w i th , a nd from m en wa s b e dr iven away,” and

conc ludes that h i s nai l s were l ike b irds ’ c laws ; hence it i s n o t anorn am ent . 1

Gcma ra from Moed Katan .

‘Gem a ra from Moed

Katan .



the case i f he has m inor ch i ld ren , for they have to be broughtu p . I t happened that the wi fe o f Joseph the priest d ied

,and

he said to the deceased ’ s si ster whi le st i l l o n the burial ground :Go and rear thy s ister ’ s chi ld ren .

”B u t st i l l he d id not

cohabi t with her for a long whil e For how long ? Said R .

Papa : Unt i l after the thi rty days .To a virg in .

” The period in which to complain that onehas n o t found vi rgin ity 2 i s l im ited t i l l th i rty days after the marriage .

3

CHAPTER V I I I .

A . D u ring three days befo re the interment , experts repairto the cemetery and examine the dead whether they are real lydead ; [and although th i s i s the custom o f other nat ions] , therei s no fear o f the proh ibit ion o f the deeds o f the Amori tes . 1 I thappened that on e o f the dead was examined (and found al ive) ,and he l ived twen ty- five years after that ; and to another one,that he begat five ch i ldren before he d i ed .

B . A canopy may be made fo r dead bridegrooms and b r ides,

and e ithe r eatable o r uneatable th ings may be hung on it . Soi s the decree o f R . Meir . R . J ehudah

,however

,said : Only

unripe things— viz . , unripe nu ts , u nripe Xd AAO-‘f, tongus o f pu rpl e

,and flasks o f A rabian O il ; bu t not when they are ripe , nor

ripe pomegranates , nor flasks Of sweet O il, as whatever hangs onthe canopy

,no ben efi t may be derived from it .

1 Strings o f fish,

p ieces o f meat , may be thrown befo re the dead bridegroom orbride in the summer

,

2 bu t not i n rain t ime ; and even du ring

1D e nt . xx i i. I 4 .

1 Co n cern ing a widow a nd the o ther subje cts m en t io n ed abo ve , they a re exp lain edin the ir re spect i ve tracts therefo re we have om itte d them here .

CHAPTER VII I .A .

1 Lev . xvii i. 3 .

B .

1 Therefore on ly un r ipe th ings were a l lowed , lest o n e shou lduse them if they were r ipe .

1I t m u st have been a custom at that

t im e to throw som e th i ngs wh ich were prepared fo r the wedd ingfeast . I t i s certa in ly difficu l t to exp la in , w i tho ut a part icu lar know ledge o f th i s Obso l ete c ustom . Naum bu rg ,

however,m a in ta i n s that

it wa s don e fo r a l ive bridegroom and br ide ; b u t we do n o t ag reew i th him

,for the reason that th i s i s n o t m ent io n ed in B e ra cho th

,

where it i s enum erated what i s to be done to honor the br ide a ndbr idegro om .

EBEL RA B B A TH I,OR SEM A

’

HOTH . 3 1

the summer,they must n o t do so with cooked fi sh o r other eat

ables which wi l l be spo i led afte r they are thrown o n the ground .

Nut s and other fru i t i n shel l s,as they are not spo i led

,may be

t hrown at al l t imes . There is a ru le that anyth ing which maybe spo i led m u st n o t be thrown .

C. Likewi s e wine and O i l may be put in a wate r p ipe inhonor o f l ive b ri degrooms and br ides . A s i t happened to J ehudah and H i l l e l the sons o f R . Gamal iel , when they were theguest s o f B e n Zakkai in B abylon , 1 the townspeople flooded thewater pipes with wine and O i l to honor them . Also the bod ieso f kings , and thei r c lothes may be bu rned , thei r catt le hamstr i nged , without fear that i t i s after the u sages o fthe Amori tes .The ceremony o f bu rn ing clothes and other things is performedfor the co rpses o f k ings on ly

,but not fo r p r inces . When Rab

ban Gamal ie l d i ed,Aqu ilas the proselyte

,however

,bu rned in

hi s honor clothes o fthe valu e o f e ight thou sand Zuz,and when

he was asked why he d id so,he an swered : I t i s written [Je rem .

xxxiv . I n peace shal t thou d ie ; and as bu rn ings weremade fo r thy father

,etc . Was not Rabban Gamal ie l more

worthy than a hund red kings,fo r whom we have no u se ?2

D . The hair o f a dead bride may be loosened ; and the faceo f a b r id egroom may be uncove red

,and the marriage contract

and the pen may be pu t by h is s ide , withou t fear that so is thecu stom o f the Amo r i tes . The re may also be put in the c o fl‘inthe key and the p inkas (m i/m 5 ) O f the dead , to cal l the at ten t iono fothers to mou rn , as i t happened with Samuel the Litt le , thathi s key and pinkas were pu t in h i s coffin

,becau se he d id n o t

l eave a so n . And Rabban Gamal ie l the Elde r and R . Elazar b .

Azariah lamented him , saying : Fo r th i s dead o n e i t i s meet toweep

,i t i s p roper to lament . When kings d i e they leave the i r

thrones to thei r ch i ld ren,when rich men d ie they leave thei r

wealth to thei r chi ld ren,bu t Samuel the L it t le took with h im

the most prec iou s th ing i n the world,and i s gone"”

E . B e fore he d ied , he said : S imeon and I shmael are p repared fo r the sword

,and al l the remain ing people fo r being

robbed,and great trouble wil l fo l low .

” And he spoke th i s i n

C .

1 These were Jehudah the second a nd H i l le l h i s bro ther thegrandsons o f Rabb i :

and b . Z akka i m ust have b een a prom inentperson in B abylon . I n Abo dah Z arah

,1 1 a

,i s stated tha t bu rn ing

o fc lothes wa s a l so do n e fo r pr in ces , and Aqu i las’

deed wa s used asa suppor t w i thout any exp lana t ion .


A ramaic . When thi s o ccu rred,and R . Simeon b . Gamali el and

R . I shmael were condemned to death,R . I shmael was weep ing ;

but R . Simeon said : I p ra ise God that i t i s on ly two steps t i l l Ishal l be rece ived in the bosom of the righteou s in the world tocome

,and you are weep ing ? And the former rej o ined : D O I

weep becau se we are going to be slain I am weep ing becausewe wi l l be slain as i f we were murderers and vio lators o f the Sabbath . After they were execu ted

,and R . Aqiba and R . J ehudah

b . Ethyra were in formed , they pu t sackcloth on the ir lo in s , ren tthei r garments , and said : B rother I srael i tes"I f a good thingwas to come for the whole wo rld

,these two sages wou ld cer

ta in ly have been the fi rst to rece ive it ; and now ,as they were

the fi rst to be execu ted,i t mu st be only for the i r benefi t : they

shal l not see th e great calamit ies which wi l l fol low after that .Woe" The righteou s perisheth

,and no man layeth i t to

heart [ I saiah , lv i i . I ] . He sha ll come (to h i s father) i npeace

,they shal l repose in the i r rest ing- place [ i bid . , ib id .

F . When R . Aqiba was executed,and R . J ehudah b . B aba

and R . Han ina b . Te radio n heard o f i t,they also arose

,put sack

cloth on thei r lo i ns,rent the i r garments

,and cri ed : B rothers ,

l i sten to u s"R . Aqiba was not slai n because o f robbe ry norbecause he had not observed the Law with al l h i s m ight , he wasslai n on ly for an example

,as i t i s writt en [Ezek . xxiv . Thu s

shal l Ezek ie l be unto you for a token then shal l ye knowthat I am the Lord eternal . ” We are su re that with in a few daysthere wi l l n ot be a p lace i n the whole o f Palest ine where corpseso f the peop le wil l not be lying about . I t was said that scarce lyhad a few days passed ; when a can in e appet it e d iss ip ated thewhole world

,which lasted from that t ime for a twelvemonth .

G. When R . Han ina b . Te radio n was seized by the government they sentence d him to the stake , hi s wi fe to the swo rd ,and h i s daughter to a hou se o f prost it u t io n . He i nqu ired : Towhat have they sentenced the poor th ing (his wi fe) ? And hewas answe red : To the sword"Whereupon he exclaimed thefol lowing passage : Righteou s i s the Lord in al l h i s ways ”

[P s . cxlv . When she asked to what the rabbi was sente n ced, she was answe red : To the stake . Whereupon she exclaimed the passage : Great in counsel

,and mighty in ex e cu

t ion ,” etc . [J er. xxxn . When he was to be burned they

wrapped h im in the Holy Scroll s,and h i s daughter cri ed and

threw hersel f on the ground . He said to her : My daughter"I f thou weepest and throw e st thysel f on the ground over me , i s


messenger announced that he was yet i l l . He nevertheless saidto the d i scip les : Qu est ion" The second announced that h ewas worse

,and st i l l he d id not interrupt hi s stud ies . The th ird

o n e announced that he was in the st ruggle o f death , and yet hesaid : Quest ion"

” t i l l the fou rth o n e announced the death .

Whe reupon he arose,removed h is phylacter i es

,rent h is gar

ments,and said to them : B rother I srael i tes, l i st en to me"

Ti l l n o w we were o bl iged to study the Law ; now ,however , we

are obl iged to honor the dead .

” A great mu lt i t ude assembledto bu ry the so n o fR . Aqiba . H e said : B ring me out a benchto the cemetery.

”H e sat down and said : B rother I srael i t es

,

l i st en"(Y o u have assembled) not becau se I am a Sage , for thereare greate r sages than I ; not becau se I am rich , fo r there arericher men than I . I f the men o f the south know Aqiba

,why

shou ld the Gal i lean s know him I f the men know Aqiba,what

have the women and the ch i ldren to do with Aqiba (but here i snot Aqiba

,here i s the To rah) Oh"you r reward wi l l be great ,

ye have done homage to the Law . I am conso led,and had I

even seven sons and bu ried them al l,I wou ld be conso led

, [notthat o n e i s des i rous O f bu rying hi s ch i ld ren] , but because I knowthat he wi l l inhe ri t the wo rld to come ; becau se i t i s known toal l that he was given to ph i lanthrop ic act ivity

,to whom a s in

n ever reaches . ” (See Yomah , p .

Moses,who was h imsel f righteou s

,and was given to ph i lan

th ro pic act iv ity , the reward Of the publ ic was counted to h im,

as i t i s writ t en [D eu t . xxxi i i . He execu ted the j u st ice o fthe Lord

,and his j udgments with I srael . J eroboam the so n o f

N ebat s in ned and induced the publ ic to s in : the s in o fthe publ ic was counted to h im

,as i t i s wri tten [I Kings , xiv . For

the sake o f the s ins o f J eroboam,who did sin ,

and who inducedI s rael to s in .

(There is a trad it ion) : The reward o f vi rtu e i s broughtabout by a meritoriou s person (Sabbath , p . e .g . ,

I srael wasd est ined to be redeemed from Egypt

,as i t i s wr i tt en [Gen . xv

I 4] : And afterward shal l they go ou t wi th great substance .

B u t as M o ses and Aaron were meritoriou s persons,i t was done

through them . The same is the case with the rece iv ing o f theTorah : they wou ld have rece ived i t without Moses

,Aaron

,and

the generat ion o f the desert,as i t i s writt en [P roverbs , i i .

He t re asu re th up sound wisdom fo r the righteou s . ” Theparagraph o f J udges [Ex . xv . 1 8] would be said , even i f J ethrow ou ld n o t appear . The same i s the case with the paragraph

EBEL RA B BA TH I,OR SEM A

’

HOTH . 3 5

abou t the seco nd Paschal lamb,i t wou ld be said even i f the

defiled men were not under the requ i rements o f l aw [Numb . ix .

and the same i s w ith the paragraph O f inheritan ce , i t wou ldbe wr i tt en withou t the daughters o fZelophehad .

K . The Temple also wou ld have been bu il t without D av id andSolomon

,as i t i s wr i t t en [Ex . xv . The sanctuary , O Lord ,

which T/zy ba nds have establ i shed . I n the t ime o f Haman ,I srael wou ld have been redeemed also withou t Mordecai andEsther

,a s i t is written [Lev . xxvi . And yet fo r al l that ,

tho ugh they be in the land o fthei r enemies,I wi l l n o t cast them

away,nei ther wi l l I loathe them to destr oy them utterly . B u t

al l that was done through the above -ment ioned , becau se a rewardshal l be brought abou t by a me r i to r iou s person .

L . The same i s t ru e o f the reverse . I srael was dest ined tobe enslaved

,even i f Pharaoh shou ld not have existed

,as i t i s

wri tten [Gen . xv . And they wi ll make them serve,and

they will affl i c t them fou r hundred years . ” I srael wou ld wo rsh ip the idols even if J eroboam b . Nebat shou ld not have existed,

as i t i s wri t ten [D eu t . xxxi . And then wi l l th i speople rise up and go astray .

” The paragraphs o f the blas

ph em e r and the vio lato r O f Sabbath would have been wr i t teneven i f the blasphemer and the st ick - gatherer shou ld not haveexi sted . I srael was dest ined to be slain by the swo rd

,even i f

the persecuto rs 1 at d i fferent t imes shou ld not have existed,as i t

i s wr i tt en [Amos , ix . By the sword shal l d i e al l the sinners o f my people .

” J eru salem wou ld have been destroyed al so,

without Nebuchadnezzar and h is assoc iates,as i t i s written

[Micah , i i i . There fore for you r sa ke shal l Z ion be ploughedup as a fi eld

,and J eru salem shal l become ru inou s heaps

,and the

mount o fthe hou se as fo rest - covered h igh places . B u t all th i swas done through the above -ment ioned

,becau se o fthe ru le that

th e chast isement for s in i s dealt ou t through a sinner,and thi s

was explain ed by P apu s and L u lian u s hi s brother to Trajan thei rprosecuto r . (Taan ith ,

p .

M . Those who are more part i cu lar in in te rpret ing the versesO f the Script u res said : I t i s written [D eu t . xi i . And yeshal l overthrow the i r altars . Wherein have the wood andstone sinned (to be destroyed) I t must be on ly becau se peoplehave stumbled th rough them . From th i s i s to be drawn an

L .

1I a Y a lku t i s m ent i o n ed B a laam in stead o f persecutors , bu t

it seem s to us to b e proper as ex p la ined here .

36 THE BABYLONIAN TA LMUD .

a for tior i conclu sion : Wood and stones which have n e i the r vi rt u e nor sin

,neither goodness nor wickedness

,becau se people

have stumbled through them , i f the Torah neverthe less dec idedthei r destruct ion , so much the more he who cau ses h i s ne ighborto s in

,and incl i nes h im from the path o f l i fe to the path o f

death , deserves to be dest royed"I n the same manner they explain ed the fo l lowing : I t i s wri tten [Lev . xx . Then shal tthou ki l l the woman and the beast . ” I f the woman has s inned

,

i n what has the beast s inned ? I t mu st be on ly because thew oman has s i nned with i t

,it must be ki l l ed ; as otherwise , when

ever it wou ld be seen in the st reet,people wou ld say : This i s

the beast through wh ich so and so was stoned .

” And also herethey draw the same a for tior i An an imal which has no virtue

,

etc . , l ike the wood and stones , and nevertheless the Torah dec ided that i t mu st be stoned—a man who causes h i s n eighbor todepart from the path o f l i fe to the path o f death , so much themore mu st he suffer for i t .ZV. An a for t ior i conclu s ion i s also to be d rawn from the

stones O f the al tar ; namely, i t i s wri tten [D eu t . xxvi i .Thou shalt not l i ft up any iron tool upon them

,

” and it i salso wr i tten [Ex . xx . For i f thou l i ft up thy too l upon it

,

thou hast pol lu ted i t . Why,then

,shal l i ron be u nfi t fo r the

altar more than any other metal I t i s becau se the sword i s anunprop it iou s event and the altar i s a prop it iou s on e

,and a S ign

o fcu rse mu st be removed from the th ing which i s forgiveness .N ow ,

i s th i s not an a for t ior i : The stones o f the altar which donot see

,hear

,talk , ne i ther eat nor drink , but only because they

made peace between I srael and thei r heavenly Father,the Torah

said they shou ld not be cu t with i ron , Of who le stones shal lthey bu i ld the altar o f the Lord God” [D eu t . xxvi i . we seethen that the stones wh ich bring peace in the world must notcome in contact with i ron and must be whole— the students whoi n themselves are a forgiven ess to the world

,so much the more

must they not come in contact with evi l th ings , i n Order to beperfect be fo re the Holy On e , blessed be He

CHAPTER IX.

A . For al l th e relat ives , one must rend h is ga rments , also forthe t eacher from whom he received hi s study. A wise man

,

howeve r,al l are h is relat ives , al l must rend their garments , al l



on a Fr iday or o n the eve o f a fest ival , for the removal i s thenon ly fo r the honor of the deceased (in order that they shall n o tremain unburied unt i l after the Sabbath or fest ival) . I n al lcases of death i t i s opt ional with the mou rner whether to lessenhi s attendance to hi s bus in ess o r not ; i n the case o f the deatho f a parent

,he must lessen . As to baring the shou lder

,i t i s

also Obl igatory i n case o f parents on ly . I t happened that thefather O f a great man of the generat ion died

,and the great man

wanted to bare hi s shou lder ; another great man , who equal ledhim and who was p resent at the t ime

,wanted to do l ikewise ( in

o rder to Show his respect) , and the fi rst one refrained from doingi t ( in order to prevent the other on e from inconvenience) . SaidAbayi : The great man o f the generat ion was Rabbi

,and the

other one who was present at the t ime was R . J acob bar A ’ha .

Acco rd ing to others,i t was vice versa . I n al l cases o fdeath th e

mou rner may cu t h is hai r afte r thi rty days ; but in the case o fh i s paren ts

,not before he is censu red by hi s fr i ends (fo r wearing

t oo long hair) . I n all cases o f death one may part i c ipate in anyenj oymen t after th irty days

,except in the case o f his parents ,

when he may do so only after twelve months . Said Rabba barbar Hana : I n an ente rtainment o f fr i end s he may part ic ipateat once .

” I n al l cases one may rend hi s garment on ly one spanlong ; over parents he mu st rend so much as to bare his breast .Said R . A b uhu : From what passage do we know thi s ? From

[ I I Sam . i . D avid thereupon took hold o f hi s c lothes,and

rent them . And i t i s known that wherever hold ” i s ment io n ed, i t i s not less than a span . I n al l cases

,even i f o n e has

t en garments on,i t i s suffi ci en t to rend the upper one on ly ; over

h i s parents,however

,he must rend al l the garments he has on

,

except the chest protector. And there i s no d ist inct ion madebetween male and female . R . Simeon b . Elazar , however , saidA woman rends the unde rgarment

,places the rent part on

her back,and then rends her upper garment . ” I n al l cases it i s

Opt ional whether to tear asunder the ou tside hem o r not,but

ove r parents i t i s obl igatory . R . J ehudah , however, said : I fthe hem is not to rn asu nder

,i t i s not conside red rending at

all . ” 2 Said R . A b uhu : What i s the reason o f R . J ehudah ’ sstatement I t i s written [ I I Kings , i i . And he took holdo fhis c lothes

,and rent them in two pi eces . The superfluou s

1I n o rde r to u n de rstand the explanat io n hereof of Rash i , a tho rough knowledge

of the an c ien t cu t ofgarm en ts i s requ ired , which we leave to the h isto rian .

EBEL RA B B A TH I, OR SEM A

’

HOTH . 39

statement,i n two pieces ,

” i nd icates that i t must be rent sothat i t shou ld look as i f to rn in two pieces . I n al l cases the ren tmay be slightly sewed togethe r after the seven days

,and regu

la rly mended after the th i rty days ; but over parent s i t may onlybe sl ight ly sewed together after th i rty days

,bu t never regularly

mended . Women , however, may sew i t together at once,fo r

the sake o f decency . When Rabbin came from Palest in e,he

stated in the n ame o fR . J ohanan : Over re lat ives i t is Opt ionalwhether to rend by hand o r with an in st rument ; over parents ,by hand on ly . R . Hyya bar Abba said in the name o f R .

Johanan : Over relat ives the rent i s made in the hou se ; overparents

,even outs id e o f the hou se . A prince once d ied . Said

R . H isda to R . Hanan bar Rabha : Stand on an elevat ion andrend you r garments , so that every o n e wil l see it . Over thedeath o f a scholar, the right shou lder i s bared ; ove r that o f ach ie f O f a cou rt

,the le ft o n e i s bared ; over that o fa Nasi , both

shou lders are bared .

The rabbis taught : When a scholar d ies , h is col lege c lo ses .When a ch ie f o fa court d ies , al l the col leges in the c ity in whichhe resided close

,and those who come to the prayer - hou se to

p ray change thei r u sual s eat s , so that those who have seat s o nthe north benches take seat s on the sou th benches

,and vice

versa . B u t when a Nasi d ies,al l th e co l leges c lose and the

members o fthe congregat ion assemble in the p raye r - hou se,and

only seven read i n the Law , and leave . R . Joshua b . Kar ’hasaid : That do es not mean that they shal l walk arou nd in thestreets b u t that they must remain i n thei r hou ses and keepsi len t . And no o rdinance o r Agada shou ld be declared in themou rne r ’ s house . I t was said

,however

,o f R . Hanan iah b .

Gamal ie l that he had declared o rd inances and Agada i n thehouse o fa mourner.The rabbi s taught : And the fo l lowing rent garments may

not be mended : garment s ren t over the death o f parents ; overthe death o f one ’ s in st ructor in Law ; over a Nasi , ch ie f o f thecou rt ; over i l l - t id ings ; over blasphemy ; the Ho ly Scrol l s wh ichwere bu rned by fi re ; the c i t i es o f J ehudah ; the Temple ; andover J eru salem . And one may rend over the destruct ion o ftheTemple and add another rent (at the same place) ove r J e ru sal em .

” 3 R . Helba in the name o f U la O f B i rah , qu ot ing R .

1A ll th is i s adduced from bibl ical passage s wh ich we de em un im po rtan t to quo te


Elazar, said : On e who beholds the c it i es o f Jehudah in thei rd esolate state

,says [ I sa . lx iv. Thy holy c i t ies are become a

wi lderness,

’ and rends h i s garmen t ; when he beholds J eru salemi n her deso lat e state

,he says [i b id .

,Zion i s become a

wi lderness,J eru salem a deso lat e place ,

’ and rends ; when hebeholds the Temple in it s desolate stat e

,he says [ ib id . Ou r

holy and ou r beau t i fu l hou se where ou r fathers p raised Thee i sbu rned up with fi re ; and al l ou r cost ly th ings are become ru ins ,

’

and re a ds .

”

4 The B o ra itha stated : On e may rend over the Templeand add another ren t ,

” etc . There i s a contrad i ct ion fromthe fol lowing B o ra itha : B oth the one who heard it and theo n e who saw it , as soon as they reach Zophim they rend thei rgarments , and they do so sepa r a tely over the Temple andover J eru salem ? This presents no difl‘icu lty : The fi rst B ora itha rel at es t o a case where he beheld the Temple fi rst ; thesecond , where he beheld J eru salem fi rst (Rash i explain s thefi rst case that h e was u nder such ci rcumstances that he cou ldnot see J eru salem fi rst

,as for instance i f he were in a closed

carr iage) .The rabb is taught : And al l (rents) may be sl ightly sewed

together,hemmed , gathered (a sort o fst i tch) , and stai r- st i tched ,

but not regularly mended . Said R . H isda : Mending i s n o tallowed only when i t i s don e in the fash ion o f Alexandria (fo ri t then looks as i f n ever rent) .The rabbis taught : The original re a ding i s a span long ; the

add it ional , three fingers . Such is the d ictum o f R . Meir ;R . J ehudah

,however

,said : “ The original rending i s three

fingers,and the add it ional a t rifle . Said U la : The Halakha

prevai ls accord ing to R . Meir as regard s the original rend ingand accord ing to R . J ehudah as regards the add it ional one .

We have learn ed the same also in a B o ra itha i n the name o fR . J ose .

5 Rend ing which is not done i n the moment Of exci tement( immed iately afte r the o ccu rrence Ofthe death) i s not consideredrend ing at al l . Was i t then not stated that Samuel ren t al l thetwelve d ifferen t garment s he had on when he was in formed o f thedeath OfRabh , saying : The man whom I always feared (for hisSharpn ess) has passed away And was i t not also stated o f R .

Johanan that he rent th i rteen wool len garments when he was

C .

1

Gem a ra from Mo ed Katan .

1

Gem a ra from M oed Katan .



al l the others ; for an addit ional rent shou ld not be added to theo n e over his parents . ” What is the reason Said R . Na ’hmanbar I tz ’ hak : B ecau se the law o f add it ion al rend ing does notapply to the case o f parents . Said Samuel The Halakhaprevai l s acco rd ing to R . J ehudah b . B athyra . Cou ld Samuelsay so ? D id not Samuel dec ide that the Halakha prevai ls , i nregard to mou rn ing

,accord ing to the o n e who i s len ien t

Mou rning i s o n e th ing and rend ing i s another .1 How far down must o n e rend As far as h i s navel . Accord

ing to othe rs,as far as the breast . And although there i s no

d i rect suppo rt for that from the Sc r iptu re,there i s nevertheless

a h int fo r that i n [Joe] , i i . And rend you r beu r t,and not

you r garments .The rabb is taught : I f a s ick person has a case o f death in h i s

fam i ly he must n o t be in formed of the fact , fo r it may cau se h imdi st ress ; and no rend ing is done i n h is presence , and the womenare s i lenced (to keep any knowledge from him) ; and a minor

’ sgarments are rent for the pu rpose o fmoving others to p ity him ;and rending i s done over the parents o f one ’ s wi fe o u t o f respectto the latter R . Papa said : We have learned in Tract GreatMou rn in g B u t o n e (mou rner) may not p lace a babe in h i slap

,fo r i t may cau se h im to smi le and thu s be d isl iked by

others . ’

Tb c funer a l m ea l is n ot to be taken except on a couck sta nd

ing up pr oper ly. The rabbis taught On e who comes to themourne r ’ s hou se

,i f he was int imate with the mourner , he takes

the funeral meal on a lowered couch ; i f he were not , o n a couchstand ing up properly .

” Rabha had a death in h i s fam i ly,and

Abba bar Martha,who was also known as Abba bar M a n ium i

,

came to console h im . Rabha put up the couch , Abba barMartha lowe red i t

,and Rabha remarked : How l i tt le sen se

th is young scholar has"The rabbis taught : A mou rner who t ravels from one place

to another,i f i t i s conven ien t to h im to lessen hi s attendance to

h i s bus iness he shal l do so~ i f not

,he shal l attend at least i n

company with other t raders .The rabbis taught : From what t ime on must the couch be

lowered ? F rom the t ime the deceased i s removed from thehou se Such i s the d ictum o fR . Elazar. R . Joshua , howeve r ,said : From the t ime the top - stone i s placed o n the grave .

”

D .

1

Gem a r a fro m M o ed Katan .


’

HOTH . 4 3

When R . Gamali e l the Elder d ied , 2 as soon as he was removedfrom the hou se R . Elazar to ld the mou rn ers to lower thecouches ; when the top - stone was p laced o n the grave

,R .

J oshua told them to do so, and they answered : We have

a l ready done so by the d irect ion o f the elder t eacher .The rabbi s taught : From what hou r on may the couches

be put in proper cond it ion o n Friday ? F rom the hou r O f theM in ’ha p rayer on .

” Said Rabba bar Huna : On e must not,

however,sit down o n them unt i l su nset , and on Satu rday even

ing he must agai n lower them , although he has but o n e moreday to mou rn .

The rabbi s taught : On e must lower not only h i s own couch,

bu t al l the couches in the hou se , even i f they numbered ten andw ere placed in d ifferent p laces ; and even i f fou r brothers mournover the death o f a fi fth brother, they al l must lower thei rcouches . I f there i s

,however , on e couch u sed exclu s ive ly for

p lac ing o n i t u ten si ls , that o n e need not be l owered .

The rabbi s taught : On e (a mou rner) who sl eeps on a stool ,a large mortar o r on the floor has not fu lfi l led h is d u ty . SaidR . J ohanan : For he has not perfo rmed the duty Oflower ingthe couch .

E . I f o n e bought a garment wh ich was ren t fo r a death,he

must not sew i t together, un less he knows that the ren t i s suchthat i t may be sewed together. I f one sel l s su ch a garment

,he

i s obl iged to acquain t the buyer what k ind o f a ren t i t i s . Al lgarments o f wh ich thei r rent s must n o t be sewed togethe r

,must

n o t be sold t o Gent i l es ; neither can they be tu rned downwardand sewed together. Such i s the dec ree o fR . S imeon b . Elazar .The sages perm i t i t . I f o n e comes to a dying person in a rentgarmen t , he is robb ing the dead .

1 I t i s a greater s in to rob thedead than the l iv ing

,becau se o n e can always appease the latter

1 I t seem s to us that it sho u ld read Gam al ie l of Jam n iah,as R . Gam al ie l the

Elde r was h i s grandfather, and El ie zer a nd Jo shua were co l league s of the fo rm er .He ilprin in h i s “ Sede r Hado ro th

” brough t A braham Z acu tta’

s op in io n that R.

El ie zer and R . Jo shua were pre se n t a t the death of bo th Gam al ie l the Elder a ndh is grandson ofJam n iah withou t any rem arks , which se em s to us im po ss ible . M o reo ver , if R . El iezer and R . Jo shua ex isted in the tim e of the El der, they cou l d havebeen l ittle ch i ldren o n ly .

E .

1The Ta lm ud e l sewhere says that he robs the l i v ing a nd the

dead , because the peop le who see the ren t in his garm ents m ay th inkthat he rent i t then

,and to impose upon the peop le is considered a

robbery.


and make fe st itu tio n , which he cannot do to the dead . Thesame may be said o f h im who honors h is parents after they aredead : i t i s more praiseworthy than when he honors them whenthey are al ive , as in that case i t may be said that he does sobecause he fears them , o r becau se he expect s to inheri t fromthem ; but when he hono rs them after they are dead , i t i s onlyfor the sake o f heaven .

The rabbis taught : On e who wears in the presence o f adeceased person a garment which has been rent over anotherdeceased

,i s imposing on both the deceased and the l iving . R .

S imeon b . Gamali el said : On e who borrows a garment O fanother for the pu rpose o fvi si t ing h i s s ick father

,and in fo rming

the borrower o f the purpose for which the garment is to beu sed

,does vi s i t h i s father bu t finds him dead

,he must rend

,but

may mend it and retu rn it to the owner,paying h im the d iffer

ence in valu e caused by the rending. B u t i f he has not in fo rm edthe owner o f the pu rpose , he may not rend .

F . I f o n e has ren t for one dead,and he be resu sc i tated

,i f he

d ies immediate ly after, th i s rent i s suffi ci ent ; but i f he l ive somet ime

,o n e must rend again .

G. On e who saves the garment wh ich was upon the dead i srobbing the dead : th i s i s on ly with the garments which are withh im in the coffin , but not those which are with h im in bed ;nevertheless , the heirs must be to ld

.

not to save even the garment s wh ich were with h im in the bed .

1 On e who adds garments to a corp se more than necessary

,he transgresses the p re

cept,Thou shalt not destroy ”

[D eu t . xx . SO i s thedecree o f R . Meir. R . El i ezer b . Zadok said : H e makes theco rpse homely .

3 Rabban Gamal i el said : Also , they add vermin .

H . Said R . Nathan : The garments i n which the corpse i sbu r i ed wi l l be renewed with h im in resu rrect ion

,as it i s wri tten

[Job , xxx vi i i . I 4] : She i s changed as the seal ing- clay,and (al l

th ings) stand as though newly clad .

G.

1 It seem s to us from Sanhedr in , 48a , that the Ta lm ud adv i sesthat a l l the garm ents wh ich were w ith the dead in bed shall be usedfor the purpose of honoring the dead

,as the ir custom wa s to pour

w ine before the dead .

1A ll th i ngs wh ich were fit for use for hum an

beings, or for the i r benefi t , the Talm ud do es not al low to destroywithout a purpose, a nd ca l l s the o n e who does so a transgressorof the negative com m andm ent c i ted in this passage .

1 It m eans,

b ecause when theyare rotten it adds to the hom e l iness of the corpse .



a nd he heard the horn announc ing the occu rrence o f a death .

When he subsequently not iced certain person s doing some work ,he said to them : Let these persons be under the ban

,for i s

there not a death - case in town They an swered h im : Thereare spec ial soc iet i es for bu rying the dead .

” And he thereuponsaid to them : I f such i s the case

,you are absolved .

” R .

J ehudah i n the name o f Rabh said again : On e wh o lamentsexcess ively over a deceased may be su re to have to do so overanother d eceased .

” There l ived a woman in the n eighbo rhoodO f R . Huna who had seven sons . Once one o f them died , andshe was weeping very much . R . Huna sent her a message notto do so

,but she paid no attent ion to i t

,and R . Huna sent her

the fol lowing message : I f you listen to what I say,wel l and

good ; i f not , you may as wel l p repare a shroud fo r another O fyou r sons . ” Subsequently another son d ied

,and one by one

al l o f them d ied . He then said to her : Now prepare a shroudfo r yo u rsel f . And she also d ied .

C. The corpse must not be carri ed ou t when near the timeo f read ing Shema : i t must be done an hou r sooner or later .When the bearers o f the hearse go out , those in front o f i t , asthei r service s are requ i red

,are exempt from read ing Shema

,but

are prohib i ted to wear the i r sho es ; those who are beh ind i t ,howeve r

,as thei r se rvices are not requ i red

,are obl iged to read

Shema and are al lowed to wear the ir shoes . B oth are exemptfrom p rayer and phylacteri es . I f o n the i r retu rn from the bu r i althere i s yet t ime to begin and fin ish Shema befo re stand ing inl in e

,they fi rst read

,and stand in l i ne afterward ; otherwise they

stand in l ine fi rst,and read and pray afterward . The inside row

which sees the mou rne r is exempt from it ; the outs ide , however

,i s not . R . Jehudah said : Even i f there i s bu t o n e row ,

i f.

they stand for the sake o f the mourner,they are exempt ; bu t i f

they stand for the sake o f the ir own honor, they are not . Thepeople who come to conso le

,i f they see the mou rner they are

ex empt,othe rwise they are not .

D . R . Simeon b . Elazar said : Rabban Gamal iel had a prepared sepu lch re at J amn ia

,wherein they u sed to deposit the

corpse and lock the doo r . After that they came to stand in l in earound the mou rner and conso led him ; through thi s they exempted the publ ic from doing these dut i es

,and subsequently

the co rpse was brought up to J eru salem .

The rabbi s taught : At fi rst in the hou ses o f the rich

(mourners) , s i lver and gold basket s and white glass were u sed ;

EBEL RA B B ATH I, OR SEM A

’

HOTH .

and in those O f the poor,willow baskets and colored glass were

u sed,and the poor felt ashamed ; and i t was enacted that on ly

wi l low baskets and colored glass should be used by al l . At fi rstthey u sed to l eave the face o f the deceased uncovered and usedto carry him on an expens ive b ier i f he belonged to the richclass ; but they u sed to cover hi s face (for the i r faces grew d imfrom hunger) and carry h im o n a common bier i f he belongedto the poor class

,and the poor people fel t ashamed . So i t was

enacted that al l shou ld be covered and be carri ed o n a commonbier . At fi rst they u sed to carry the rich in braided beds

,and

the poor in common ones,and the poor felt ashamed

,and i t was

enacted that al l shou ld be born e in a common bed . At fi rstsp ice s u sed to be p laced at the side o f those who d ied frombowel - t roubles

,and those who suffered from that d i sease whil e

st i l l l iving u sed to feel ashamed ; and it was enacted that sp icesshou ld be placed at the side O f every deceased person out o f

respect to those who were suffering from that d isease whi le st i l ll iving . At fi rst the expenses accompanying the bu rial o f a deceased person were more bu rdensome and pain fu l to hi s relat ive s than the death itsel f, and they u sed to leave the corpseand run away

,unt i l Rabban Gamaliel , the Nasi , d irect ed that

he be bu r i ed in flaxen garments ; and i t became customary withthe people to bu ry the dead in flaxen garments . Said R . Papa :And at present

,even in a flaxen garment o f the valu e o f one

Zuz .

”

When the grave i s c losed,the mou rner wraps up h i s head : 1

when ready fo r the l ine,he bares i t and exempts the others from

doing i t ; i f he steps outs ide the l in e , he covers i t again ; whenhe comes home and others come to vi s i t h im

,he bares i t again

and exempts the others from doing it .

2

E. When a death occu rs in the fam ily o f a sage or a d isc ip leo fa sage , they may come and d iscu ss about the laws o f mou rning before h im . I f they e rr

,he may set them right hal f- heart

edly ; but h imsel f must not propound a quest ion . He mayspeak h imsel f, i f h e so des i res , or he may permi t another to

D .

1 See above, p . 2 7 .

1The lite ra l trans lat io n o f the text i s to

cover a nd to bare the head,a nd i t m ay be that the custom wa s

a l ready in vo gue , to honor those present in bar ing the head , as P au lrequ i red to bare the head in the hou se of prayer . We

,however

,

t ran s lated wra p up, in a ccordan ce w i th the text, page c i ted , and

in accordan ce w i th other comm entators .

4 8 THE BA BYLONIAN TALMUD .

speak for h im . I t happened that the son o f R . J ehudah d ied ,and the latter perm itted another to speak for h im ; so also d idR . Jose the Gali l ean when h is son di ed . I t happened to R .

Aqiba that h is son d ied,and he sat and lectu red al l day ; so also

d id Rabbi when h is son d ied . I f i t i s necessary to d iscu ss abou tsomething

,they must begin concern ing the laws o f mou rn ing

,

and then branch Off to other matters , and fin i sh again in regardto mou rn ing . I n J udah

,o n the Sabbath they greet the mou rner

o n entering and leav ing the college , to show that n o mourn ingexist s on the Sabbath .

CHAPTER XI .

A . When two deaths occu r i n town , the one that d ied fi rsti s bu ri ed fi rst ; and i f the fi rst has to be left over n ight

,the sec

ond i s buried . And although i t i s said : Whoever leaves hi sdead over n ight t ran sgresses a negat ive commandment , 1 st i l l , i fi t i s done for the purpose o f d igging a grave

,to prepare shrouds

,

o r to enable h i s ou ts ide relat ives t o attend to h is fu neral, i t doesn o t matter . I f a master and a pupi l d i e on the same day

,the

master i s bu ried fi rst ; a pup i l and a common man the pup i l i sbu ri ed fi rst . I f both are masters

,or pupi l s

,or common men

,

the one that d ied fi rst i s bu ri ed fi rst . A man and a woman,the

woman i s bu ried fi rst,becau se the latter i s more l iable to become

d isgu st ing.

B . These are the d i fferences between a man and a woman

CHA PTER XI .

A .

1The n egative com m andm ent i s Deut . xxi . 23 , a l though it

is spo ken o n ly o f o n e hanged by jud ic ia l dec ree . It seem s to us,

h owever,that it o n ly m ean s that the corpse m ust be taken away

from the ho use in wh ich it died,and n o t that it m ust be bur ied o n

the sam e day ; and th i s we do fo r two reason s : fi rst,b ecause it

wou ld be a con tradict ion to What i s sa id above that they depo s itedthe c orpse in a prepared g rave , and a l so that they exam ine the deedthe fi rst three days ; a nd sec o nd

,if it m eant that it m ust be b u r ied

the sam e day,the Ta lm ud wou ld say that he t ran sgresses a po s i t i ve

c om m a ndm en t a l so,as fu rther o n the verse says

,B u t thou sha l t

su re ly bury him o n that day .

”H owever

,the e xpress ion negat ive

com m andm en t i s taken fro m the corrections of E l ias Wi lna , whotoo k it fro m the Ta lm ud e l sewhere .



ing them : The performance supersedes study . I f one Of theparents -

o i a married couple d ie , the woman must not paintnor adorn hersel f, and her hu sband mu st not protest against i t .Sweeping, wash ing glasses , and making of the beds is n o t conside red as labor to a mourner .The rabbi s taught : The mou rner ’ s hou se may be swept

and besp r i nkled,and the d ishes , glasses , flasks

,and j ugs may

be rinsed,bu t no gum to be put on coal

,o r sp i ces

,may be

brought to the mou rne r ’ s hou se .

” Must i t not? B u t has notB a r Qappa ra taught : N O bened ict ion i s p ronou nced over gums

(t o be pu t on coal) or sp i ces in the mou rner’ s house ” ; from

which i t i s in ferred that on ly the bened ict ion is not p ronounced,

but they may be brought there ? These present no d iffi cu ltythe fi rst statement relates to the p lace where the m our ner i s s i tt ing ; the statement Of B a r Qappara , to the place where theconsoler s are si t t ing .

F . I f o n e leaves five sons , who were at h is table , but eacho n e slept at h is own house , each one must lower his couch in h isown house , otherwise the perfo rmance is made on ly in the hou sewhich is u sed for sleep ing . I f, however, there were five rooms

,

and all were u sed , i t must be do ne in al l . On e lodging in another’s

hou se,i f he is int imate with h is host , he must lower his couch ,

otherwise he need not . On e who is o n a j ou rney and hears of

the death of o n e of h is near relat ives, i f he can lower his couchwithou t any difficu lty , he may do so . On e may tu rn over hiscouch on two benches, or o n fou r stones , n o matter i f there wereeven five mattresses on top O f i t , and was four spans above theground

,p rovided the legs O f the couch are in the air . This , how

ever,i s after the bu rial ; but when the corpse i s in the house, he

may not sleep even on an uptu rned couch .

G. The performance O f lowering the couch is somet imes fo rs ix days

,and somet imes fo r five, fou r, and three days , no more ,

no less . How so ? I f the death occu rred on a week- day,i t i s

fo r six days ; i f in the afternoon Of the eve of Sabbath , i t i s forfive days ; i f a fest ival succeeds th is Sabbath , for fou r days ; andi f the two days of New Year succeed this Sabbath , i t i s for threedays . 1

G.

1The M i shna wa s taught b efo re the ex i st ing ca lendar was

m ade,a s s in ce then N ew Year c annot fa l l on Sunday.

EBEL RA BB ATH I, OR SEM A

'

HOTH . 1

CHAPTER XI I .

A . Rent ing o n a death , the mou rn ing o f seven and thi rtydays , begin from the day o f bu r ial , o r from the day he wasin formed

,i f he was not present . Fo r whom one i s obl iged to

rend at the t ime O f death , he is also obl iged when gather ing h isbones from o n e grave to be p ut into another. Also the law o f

sewing together the rent appl ies to that fo r gathering bones ; themou rn ing

,however, i s on ly fo r o n e day , and the n ight belonging

to that day does not belong to the day o f mourning .

The rabbi s taught : A recent in format ion makes customaryboth the seven and the th i rty days ; a remote in format ion , however , makes customary only o n e day ’ s mourn ing . What i s arecent

,and what a remote in fo rmat ion ? A recent— if with in

th irty days ; a remote— if after th i rty days . Such i s the d ictumo fR . Aqiba . The sages

,however , hold either case makes cu s

tom a ry both the seven and the th i rty days . Said Rabba barbar Hana in the name o f R . J ohanan : Whenever it i s foundthat the maj ority i s rigorou s and the ind ividual i s l en ient

,the

Halakha prevai l s accord ing to the majority,wi th the except ion

o f th i s case here , i n which , although the m aj or i ty i s rigo rou s ,st i l l the Halakha prevail s accord ing to the ind ividual (R .

Aqiba) . As Samuel stated : I n the case O f mou rn ing theHalakha prevai ls accord ing to the o n e who i s len ien t . R .

Hanina rece ived in format ion o fthe death o f h is father from thec i ty o fHu sai , and he consul ted R . H isda . The latter said toh im : A remote in format ion cau ses mou rn in g for o n e dayon ly . R . Nathan bar Am i rece ived in format ion O f the deathOf h is mother from the same place , and he consu lted Rabha ,who said to h im : Are you not aware o f what wa s sa id inregard to a remote in format ion ?” And the former obj ected :Have we not learned that th i s i s so on ly in regard to the fivecases o f relat ives whom o n e i s bound to bu ry (son , daughte r ,brother

,s i ster

,and wi fe) ; bu t as regards fathe r and mother , the

seven and th irty days m ust al so be observed ? And hean swered h im : The Tana o f the B o ra itha i s an ind iv idual

( i n h is Op in ion) , and we do n o t concu r with h im .

”A s we

have learned in the following : I t happened that the father o fR .

Zadok d ied in the c ity o f Gin sak , and he wa s in formed afte rthree years , and he went and asked El isha b . A b ajah and th eElders who were with h im , and they told him he sha ll keep seven


and thirty . The same occurred when the so n ofR . A ’

b iya d iedin exi le

,and h is father has performed for h im the mourn ings o f

seven and thirty (hence the above B o ra itha i s in accordance withthe ind ividual , and not accord ing to R . Aqiba . And from thefol lowing we can see also that the Halakha does not prevai l a ccord ing to El isha b . A bajah ,

namely,) Rabh was the son of the

brother O f R . Hyya on h is father’ s side , and also the so n of his

sister on his mother ’s side . And when Rabh came to Palest ine ,R . Hyya asked him : I s thy father al ive ? And he answered Mymother i s al ive . Then R . Hyya asked again : I s you r motherreal ly al ive yet ? And he answered : My father i s alive .

1 ThenR . Hyya told his servant : Take Off my shoes ; bu t a l itt le later

yo u shal l take my garments in the wash - house . From this wehave learned three th ings : F i rst , that a mourner must not wearshoes ; second , that a remote - i n format ion mourn ing Is customaryfor only one day ; and , third , that a part o fthe day is consideredas a whole day .

1

B . There were d ifferent soc iet i es in J erusalem , and each o fthem had to attend to d ifferent th ings . On e was to attendmourners ; one to attend marriages ; one to attend c ircumcisiono r redeeming of a first -born male ch i ld , and one fo r removing thebones from o n e grave to another . The attendance to a bride ’shouse precedes a mou rne r ’s house ; c i rcumcision o r the redeeming o fa first - born male ch i ld precedes the removal o f bones . Theancient piou s , however, preferred to go to a hou se ofmourn inginstead of the hou se o fa brid e , as it i s written [Eccl . vi i . 2] I t i sbetter to go to the house o fmourn ing than to go to the house offeast ing ; inasmuch as that i s the end o f al l men , and let the l iving lay it to h is heart ,

” as whoever fol lows the bier, knows thatthis wil l happen also to him .

1We have learned in a B o ra itha : R . Meir u sed to say : I t i swritten [Eccl . vi i . 2]

“ I t i s bette r to go to the house of mourn

CHAPTER XI I .

A .

1 In the ancient tim es o n e wa s very careful not to bring a b adm essage ; and even when asked, as the Ta lm ud proh ib i ts it , he wou ldgive

'

evasive rep l ies .1 Th i s is in ferred from what R . Hyya to ld his

servant—to bring his garm ents into the wash- house,that , after he

had mourned a part o f the day,o n the rem aining part he m ight do

a ll he l iked .

B .




was done for Zedekiah the king o f J udah , who performed on lyone meritoriou s thing in that he ordered to bring up J eremiahfrom the p it fi l led with mire , so much the more so over the sonso fR . I shmael . Finally

,R . Aqiba began : I t is wr itten [Zech .

xii . I I ] : On that day will the lamentat ions be great in J erusalem like the lamentat ion at Hadadrimmon in the valley ofMegiddo n .

’

[And R . Joseph said : I f not the t ranslat ion o f

Jonathan o fth is passage,namely On that day wil l the lamenta

t ions be great in J erusalem,l ike the lamentat ion fo r A ’hab bar

Omri , who was kil l ed by Hadadrimmon bar Tabrim m o n ,and l ike

the lamentat ions for Josiah bar Amon,who was kil led by Pharaoh

the Lame in the val ley o f Megiddon , I wou ld not know its meaning .] I f so much over A

’hab the king of I srael , who has doneonly o n e good thing

,a s

“ i t i s wr i tt en [I Kings , xx . 35] And theking wa s stayed up in h is chariot against the Syr ians ’ (to preven tthe defeat o f I srael), so much the more fo r the sons of R . I sh

mael . ” Rabha said to Rabba bar Mar i : Zedekiah was promisedthat he wou ld d ie in peace

,and st i ll it i s wr itt en [J e rem . xxxix . 7]

And the eyes O f Zedekiah d id b e bl ind ? (How was thepromise to die in peace fu lfi l led ?) He answered him : SO saidR . Johanan : (I t was fu lfi l led) that N eb u chadn e z a r d ied in h ist ime .

” Rabha fu rther said to Rabba bar Mari : Josiah wasp romised [I I Kings, xxi i . Therefore

,behold

,I wi l l gather

thee unto thy fathers,and thou shalt be gathered unto thy grave

in peace .

” And st i l l it is wr i tten [I I Chron . xxxv . 23] And thearchers shot the king Josiah ? And he answered him SO saidR . Johanan : (The p romise was fu lfi l led in that) the Temple wasnot dest royed du ring his l i fe- t ime .

”

3 R . Johanan said : “ The consolers are not permitted to speakconsolat ion before the mourner engages in conversat ion

,as it i s

written [Jo b , i i . 1 3] “ B u t no o n e spoke a word u nto him ,

” etc . ;[ib id . i i i . I ] After this t ime Job opened '

h is mouth ,” etc . ; and

only [ibid . iv .

“ Then answered El iphaz ,” etc . (These quota

t ions are accord ing to N a’

hm a n idu s .) R . A bb uhu said : Whencedo we know that the mou rner takes h is seat at the head o ftheconsolers ? I t is w ri tten [i bid . xxix . 2 5]

“ I chose their way fo rthem , and sa t as chief

,

” etc . ,as the mou rners being comfort ed

(read Mar Z u tra sa id : From the following passage

[Amos, vi .‘ And the noisy banquet of those who were

B .

1Gem a ra from M oed Katan .


’

HOTH . 5 5

stretched o u t shall pass away ?’ 1 R . Hama bar Han ina saidWhence do we know that a bridegroom takes h is seat at thehead O f the guests ? I t is wri t ten “ A s a bridegroom decketh h imsel f with elegant att i re .

’

(The Hebrew reading : K e

’

ha tha n ye cha ehn pecar, Ha tha n” mean ing a br ide

groom,and “

ye cha ehn” having the same letters as “ cohen

,a

priest), as a priest sits at the head , so also does a br idegroom .

R . Han ina said : The separat ion o fthe sou l from the body is asd iffi cu lt as the removal O f a knotty rope from the mast . R .

J ohanan said : I t is as d ifficu lt as the removal ofa knotty ropehold ing the masts o ftwo ships together .”

The bones and the veins must n o t be taken apart whengathering them ; i t must n o t be feared , however, that th is wi l lhappen while gathering them . All bones o n e may hand le whi legathering

,except that o fh is parents , which must be handled by

others . Such is the decree o fRabbi J ohanan b . Nu ri ; R . Aqiba ,however

,said : As the bones are n o t al lowed to be gathered t i l l

the flesh is al l destroyed , and the form is n o t recogn ized anylonger

,i t does not matter even i f they are h is parents ’ .

C. The bones O f two corpses may be gathered together, buthe shal l keep them separate in a casket ; he shal l pu t one

’ s i n o n ecorner

,and the other ’s in another . SO i s the dec ree o fR . Aqiba .

R . Johanan b . Nu r i , however, said : There is not any need fo rkeep ing the bones separated , as the basket i n which they wil l bebu r ied will finally be rotten , and the bones wil l be mixed again ;i f,however

,he desires that they shal l be separate

,he shal l bu ry

them in caskets o fcedar . 1

The Hebrew text reads Y e so r m irsah seru ’

h im . The le tter Sam ech has thesam e sound as the left-po inted Sh in ,

and therefo re veso r has the sam e m ean ing asifwritten wi th a left-po in ted Sh in ,

viz . , a ch ief." M irsah is given the sam em ean ing of M irseah

1 1

[Je r . xvi . a m o urne r the m o urn er becam e ch iefofthe seru

’

him , tho se wh o were stretched o u t (the comfo rters) , by tak ing h is seat a t thehead .

C .

1 There i s diffi cu l ty in understanding the mean ing o f R . Jo

han an b . Nur i,as there are m any errors in the text

,wh ich were co r

rec ted by different com m entato rs . What we understand i s,that in

the i r t im e they had different baskets o r c offin - l ike boxes,Aplzika rsin ,

in wh ich bones were gathered and bu ried with them ; and R . Aq ibam a inta in s that a l though it i s a l lowed to pu t together the bones o ftwo bod ies in one basket

,they m ust neverthe less n o t be m ixed

together ; and R . Johanan b . Nur i m a in ta i n s that it i s n o use separat i ng them ,

a nd advises what o n e sha l l do when he w i shes them to

be kept separate .

5 6 THE BABYLONIA N TALM UD .

D . The bones may be spr inkled with wine or o il,according

to R . Aqiba ; with Oil and not wine , because wine destroys them ,

accord ing to Simeon b . Nanes ; the sages , however, maintain thatthey may not be sprinkled with any of these

,but cover with dust .

E . Said R . El i ezer b . Zadok : SO my father commanded meWhen I will d ie , you shal l fi rst bu ry me in a valley , then gathermy bones, and put them in a cedar casket ; but you sha ll nothandle them you rsel f, and so I d id . Johanan entered the graveand gathered (the bones) and spread over them a chest protector,and then I entered , rent my garments over them ,

and coveredthem with a sheet . I d id to my father as he has done to h is . I ti s not allowed for a man to wrap and t ie up the corpse of awoman ; a woman , however, may do so to a man .

1 The same isthe case when a woman suffers in her intest ines

,a man must not

examine nor attend her ; a woman , however, i s allowed to do soto a man .

F . Abba Sau l b . B o tn ith said in h is wil l to h is sons : B u ry meat the feet of my father, and take Off the Tz itz ith 1 from my palium .

1 G. Wi th al l relat ives o n e i s allowed to bathe, except with h isfather, father- ih - law , his stepfather, the husband of his s ister, andthe instructor from whom he rece ived his wisdom . R . J ehudah ,however, said : I f h is father was o ld or sick he may enter thebath - house and bathe him , for it i s in h is honor .A hearse is not u sed unless the head and the greater part O f

the corpse are there . R . Jehudah said : The backbone and theSku l l are considered as the greater part Ofthe body .

H . I t happened with the son of R . Hanina b . Te radio n , whoassoc iated with bad company and became a robber and was execu ted, when , after three days, he was found al l swollen , his re

mains were put in a cage and that in a hearse , and was brought

E .

1B ecause a m a n i s m o re exc i tab le than a wo m an .

F .

1 Tz i tz i th— the fr inges (see Num b . xv . 38 )— a nd P a lium in ourt im es i s ca l led Ta l l ith

,in wh ich the show- fri nges are pu t in , and are

worn dur ing prayer .G.

1 Speak ing above o f m en who m ust not see the body of awom an , the M i shna te l l s a l so that it i s not custom ary for a son tosee h i s father or his father - ia - law, whom he m ust respect, naked .

As to the husband o f his s i ster , however, there m ust be anotherreason— l est he see som e deform ity in his body, and in form his

S i ster o f it .



D . On e finding a corpse in a grave must n o t move it , unlesshe is certain that the p lace was only borrowed for him . One

finding bones o n marshy ground,must put them in a grave .

Such is the decree of R . Aqiba . The sages , however, say : He

must not move them . On e who finds bones in a grotto or acavity must not move them . A corpse o r his bones must not bemoved from one place to another

,even i f they are equal in

esteem , much less i f the o ther place is lower ; he may , however,do so from a lower to a h igher place . Howeve r, i f he movesthem to a place on h is estate

,he is allowed to do so , even i f the

former place i s more est eemed .

1

Two corpses must not be bu ried in one grave,n o r a co rpse with

bones,and vice versa . R . J ehudah , however , said I f they used

to sleep together when al ive,they may be bu r ied together .

E . A bu ild ing over a grave which was vacated , no benefi tmay be derived from it i f

,however, i t was excavated in a rock ,

and also the grave itsel f,when it was vacated a benefi t may be

der ived from it ; nevertheless, i t must not be u sed fo r low pu rposes , such as a cow- house

,straw- barn

,etc . A grave which was

dug fo r a person who was yet al ive may be sold but i f for onewho was already dead

,i t may not . The same is the case with

monumental stones .N o benefi t may be der ived from a vacated coffin . I f i t is

made o f stone o r c lay”, i t must be broken , and i f o f woodbu rned . B oards o f the cemetery must n o t be moved from the i rp lace .

CHAPTER XIV .

A . A cemetery must not be considered vilely ; e .g . , no aqueduct may be drawn through it , nor a path made no catt le mustfeed there

,nor may o n e u se i t as a compendia r ia s , n o r pick wood

o r grass therefrom . I f he has p icked he must der ive n o benefi tfrom it

,and i f he picked them only to clean the grave , he must

burn them on the same place .B . Though inheritances are movable from place to place and

changed from one family to another, with graves , however, i t i sd ifferent ; they are not movable or changeable from o n e fam ily toanother. A new grave may be measured , d ivided , and sold , but

D .

1 It m eans to say that the estate be longed to the deceased , asit is agreeab le to one to b e bur ied o n his own grounds .

EBEL RA B BA THI, OR SEM A

’

HOTH .~

9

n o t an Old one ; there is , however , a new o n e which must be c o nside red as o ld,

and vice ver sa ,namely : When there were in an

Old grave even ten co rpses,but were bu ried withou t the pe rmis

sion O f the owner, i t must be considered a s a new grave and maybe measu red

,d ivided , and sold i f, however, i t was with h is per

mission,even i f i t was a m iscarr iage

,i t must be considered a n old

o n e ,and nothing may be done with i t .C. N O occupancy must be considered with the graves o f the

ex i les ; e .g . ,i n t ime o f a pest o r war , the graves are n o t secured

to the co rpses by occupancy .

1 R . Simeon b . Gamaliel said M iscarriages do not acqu ire the ir graves , the same is the case withal l who are bu ried withou t the permission o f the owner . Awoman who has inherited a grave , she and her offspring are to bebu ri ed in it . Such is the decree o fR . Meir ; R . J ehudah , however,said : She, but not her Offspr ing ; however, he owns that all heroffspring who existed during her l i fe , may be buried with her . I fher father requ ires she shou ld be buried in h is grave

,and her hu s

band says in his,the father has the pre ference ; i f she has chi l

d ren,then the husband has the p reference ; i f her wi l l states that

she shal l be bu ried with her chi ld ren , i t shou ld be done so . I fthe father says she shou ld be buried with her hu sband , or viceversa , she i s bu ri ed with her hu sband , because i t i s hi s du ty tofeed

,redeem

,and bury her

,and he must provide all the n e ce s

sarles,such as a hearse , flutes , and mou rners, and where an o ra

t ion is held , he must provide also that . I f he decl ines to do al lthat

,i t is done by the cou rt on his account against h is wil l .

D . There are th ree kinds o f graves : On e that is found ,1 o n e

that is known , and one which inj u res the publ ic .

' The fi rst isperm iss ible to vacate , and i f i t was vacated , the place is c lean ,a nd a benefit may be derived from it ; the second is n o t permiss ible to vacate ; i f i t was vacated , the place i s u nc lean ,2 and no

CHAPTER XIV .

C .

1The Hebrew term fo r occupancy i s Ha zaka/z

,wh ich m eans

a surety—that i s,i f the property i s in the possess io n o f o n e a long

t im e it i s sure to be h i s,even i f he has no docum ents for it .

D .

1 It m eans that i f it wa s found that there wa s a corpse bu r iedw i thout the perm i ssion o f the Owner

,the p lace , after it i s vacated,

i s con s idered c lean,because n o prec au t ionary m easu res were taken

fo r such a o ne .1 A precaut ion ary m easure wa s taken to co n s ider a ll

g raves u n c lean , even after the ir vacat ion , l est o n e use the groundwhen they are n o t yet vacated .

60 THE BABYL ON IAN TALMUD .

benefi t may be derived from i t ; and the third is permiss ible tovacate ; the place i s c lean ,3 but no benefi t may be derived from it .E . A cemetery which surrounds the c ity o n three sides

,must

be vacated ; i f o n two s ides , i f they were Opposite they can re

main ; ii they were jo ined , they must be removed .

1 All gravesmay be removed for the necessity of the commun ity . R .

Aqiba , however, said : With the except ion of those o f a kingand a p rophet , as there was the grave o f the prophetess Hu ldah ,in J erusalem , and it was neve r touched . H is contemporaries re

j o ined : That is no proof,as there was a cavern from the grave to

the brook Kidron,which d rew offthe unc leanness .2

F . On e who sel ls the graves o fhis family , (it i s considered asi f) he d id nothing . The same is the case i f he sold the p lace oflament ing . The rabbis taught : On e who sold his grave , 1 theway to i t , or stand ing-place

,and the house o f lament ing, his fam

i ly may come and reclaim them against h is wi ll , becau se it i s ad isgrace to the family that they shou ld be sold to someone else .

G. The rabbis taught : 1 There must be n o t less than sevenstand ings and sitt ings after the bu r ial

,

2 to sign i fy the seven t imes“ van ity ”

is mentioned in Ecc lesiastes [i.“ Van ity of van i

t ies, saith Koheleth , van ity o f vanit ies : all i s van ity . Said R .

A ’ha the son o f Rabha to R . Ashi : Explain me how they usedto do ,3 and he rej o ined : As we have lea rned in the fo llowingB o ra itha : R . J ehudah said : Formerly in J ehudah they have

D .

1Fo r the sake of the pub l ic , no precautionary m easure is to

b e taken fo r this .E .

1 Taken from Tract Naz ir,P alest in ian Talm ud

,as the M i shna

here i s very com p l icated , after a ll the d ifferen t corrections o f thecom m entaries . 1 There i s a law concern ing defilem en t , that a ho l eo f o n e span wh ich reaches the a ir draws Off the uncleanness . Th i sw i l l b e expla ined in Tract Teha ro th .

F .

1I t wa s the custom then that each fam i ly had cares fo r the

purpo se Ofbury ing there the m em bers of the fam i ly . The stand ingp lace m ean s where the co n so lers stood o r sat after the bur ia l , and itwa s n ear the grave , and there wa s a l so a p lace where the lam en terssto od .

G .

1 Tran sferred from B aba B a thra,

I o o b .

1The custom wa s

that when they returned from the bu r ia l they used to wa lk a fewsteps a nd then s i t down a nd con so le the m ourn ers or weep for thedead , a nd then r i se a nd go o n ; a nd to repeat th i s seven tim es , sothat they shou ld rem em b er the l ife Of a hum an being is but van i tyo fvan it ies . 1

A s in ou r p lac e it is no t custom ary.



and o n e i n memory of Rabban Gamaliel (who was the first tocommand to be bu ried in l inen garments , as said above) . Whenthe sages have seen that they became drunk, they have restoredthe original number .On e who p ronounces the meal bened ict ion in the house o f a

mou rner,what shal l he say in the fou rth bless ing? The good

On e who does good to all . R . Aqiba, however, said : “ Thetruth fu l J udge , the Ru ler of His creatures . O give thanks untothe Lord , for He i s good ; because unto et ern ity endu reth H iskindness .” 1

H .

1 This passage i s brought here a t the conc lus io n o f this tract,

as it i s usual to conclude each tract with a good expression .

EN D OF TRA CT EBEL RA B BA THI (GREA T M OU RNING) A N D THE

WHOL E SECTION OF FESTIVA L S .

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