Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala. Various

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СКАЧАТЬ the end a Sadducee." (Berachoth, fol. 29, col. 1.) In Derech Eretz Zuta, chap. i., a caution is given which might well provoke attention—"Learn or inquire nothing of the Sadducees, lest thou be drawn into hell."

      Rabbi Yehudah tells us that Rav says a man should never absent himself from the lecture hall, not even for one hour; for the above Mishnah had been taught at college for many years, but the reason of it had never been made plain till the hour when Rabbi Chanina ben Akavia came and explained it.

      Shabbath, fol. 83, col. 2.

      The Mishnah alluded to is short and simple, viz, Where is it taught that a ship is clean to the touch? From Prov. xxx. 19, "The way of a ship in the midst of the sea." (i.e., as the sea is clean to the touch, therefore a ship must also be clean to the touch).

      It is indiscreet for one to sleep in a house as the sole occupant, for Lilith will seize hold of him.

      Ibid., fol. 151, col. 2.

      Lilith (the night-visiting one) is the name of a night spectre, said to have been Adam's first wife, but who, for her refractory conduct, was transformed into a demon endowed with power to injure and even destroy infants unprotected by the necessary amulet or charm.

      "Thou hast acknowledged the Lord this day to be thy God; and the Lord hath acknowledged thee this day to be His peculiar people" (Deut. xxvi. 17, 18). The Holy One—blessed be He!—said unto Israel, "Ye have made Me a name in the world, as it is written (Deut. vi. 4), 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;' and so I will make you a name in the world, as it is said (1 Chron. xvii. 21), 'And what one nation in the earth is like Thy people Israel?'"

      Chaggigah, fol. 3, col. 1.

      Why are the words of the Law compared to fire? (Jer. xxiii. 29.) Because, as fire does not burn when there is but one piece of wood, so do the words of the Law not maintain the fire of life when meditated on by one alone (see, in confirmation, Matt, xviii. 20).

      Taanith, fol. 7, col. i.

      "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo" (Deut. xxxiv, i). Tradition says there were twelve stairs, but that Moses surmounted them all in one step.

      Soteh, fol. 13, col. 2.

      Pieces of money given in charity should not be counted over by twos, but one by one.

      Bava Bathra, fol. 8, col. 2.

      "Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?" (Job xxxix. 1.) The wild goat is cruel to her offspring. As soon as they are brought forth, she climbs with them to the steep cliffs, that they may fall headlong and die. But, said God to Job, to prevent this I provide an eagle to catch the kid upon its wings, and then carry and lay it before its cruel mother. Now, if that eagle should be too soon or too late by one second only, instant death to the kid could not be averted; but with Me one second is never changed for another. Shall Job be now changed by Me, therefore, into an enemy. (Comp. Job ix. 17, and xxxiv. 35.)

      Bava Bathra, fol. 16, cols. 1, 2.

      A generation can have one leader only, and not two.

      Sanhedrin, fol. 8, col. 1.

      "Like the hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces" (Jer. xxiii. 29). As a hammer divideth fire into many sparks, so one verse of Scripture has many meanings and many explanations.

      Ibid., fol. 34, col. 1.

      In the Machser for Pentecost (p. 69) God is said to have "explained the law to His people, face to face, and on every point ninety-eight explanations are given."

      Adam was created one without Eve. Why? That the Sadducees might not assert the plurality of powers in heaven.

      Ibid., fol. 37, col. i.

      As the Sadducees did not believe in a plurality of powers in heaven, but only the Christians, in the regard of the Jews, did so (by their profession of the doctrine of the Trinity), it is obvious that here, as well as often elsewhere, the latter and not the former are intended.

      "And the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt" (Exod. viii. i; A. V. viii. 6). "There was but one frog," said Rabbi Elazar, "and she so multiplied as to fill the whole land of Egypt." "Yes, indeed," said Rabbi Akiva. "there was, as you say, but one frog, but she herself was so large as to fill all the land of Egypt." Whereupon Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said unto him, "Akiva, what business hast thou with Haggadah? Be off with thy legends, and get thee to the laws thou art familiar with about plagues and tents. Though thou sayest right in this matter, for there was only one frog, but she croaked so loud that the frogs came from everywhere else to her croaking."

      Sanhedrin, fol. 67, col. 2.

      Rabba, the grandson of Channa, said that he himself once saw a frog larger than any seen now, though not so large as the frog in Egypt. It was as large as Acra, a village of some sixty houses (Bava Bathra, fol. 73, col. 2.)

      Apropos to the part the frog was conceived to play or symbolize in the Jewish conception of the mode and ministry of Divine judgment, we quote the following:—"We are told that Samuel once saw a frog carrying a scorpion on its back across a river, upon the opposite bank of which a man stood waiting ready to be stung. The sting proving fatal, so that the man died; upon which Samuel exclaimed, 'Lord, they wait for Thy judgments this day: for all are Thy servants.' (Ps. cxix. 91.)" (Nedarim, fol. 41, col. 1.)

      "According to the days of one king" (Isa. xxiii. 15). What king is this that is singled out as one? Thou must say this is the King Messiah, and no other.

      Sanhedrin, fol. 99, col. 1.

      Rabbi Levi contends that Manasseh has no portion in the world to come, while Rabbi Yehudah maintains that he has; and each supports his conclusion in contradiction of the other, from one and the same Scripture text.

      Ibid., fol. 102, col. 2.

      The words, "Remember the Sabbath day," in Exod. xx. 8, and "Keep the Sabbath day," in Deut. v. 12, were uttered in one breath, as no man's mouth could utter them, and no man's ear could hear.

      Shevuoth, fol. 20, col. 2.

      The officer who inflicts flagellation on a criminal must smite with one hand only, but yet with all his force.

      Maccoth, fol. 22, col. 2.

      I would rather be called a fool all my days than sin one hour before God.

      Edioth, chap. 5, mish. 6.

      He who observes but one precept secures for himself an advocate, and he who commits one single sin procures for himself an accuser.

      Avoth, chap. 4, mish. 15.

      He who learns from another one chapter, one halachah, one verse, or one word or even a single letter, is bound to respect him.

      Ibid., chap. 6, mish. 3.

      The above is one evidence, among many, of the high esteem in which learning and the office of a teacher are held among the Jews. Education is one of the virtues—of which the following, extracted from the Talmud, is a list—the interest of which СКАЧАТЬ