Book: Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and

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All Israelites are holy.

Ibid., fol. 86, col. 1.

Happy are ye, O Israel! for every one of you, from the least to the
greatest, is a great philosopher. (_Eiruvin_, fol. 53, col. 1.) The
Machzor for Pentecost says, Israelites are as "full of meritorious works
as a pomegranate is full of pips."

See also _Chaggigah_, fol. 27, col, 1.

As it is impossible for the world to be without air, so also is it
impossible for the world to be without Israel.

_Taanith_, fol. 3, col. 2.

If the ox of an Israelite bruise the ox of a Gentile, the Israelite is
exempt from paying damages; but should the ox of a Gentile bruise the ox
of an Israelite, the Gentile is bound to recompense him in full.

_Bava Kama_, fol. 38, col. 1.

When an Israelite and a Gentile have a lawsuit before thee, if thou
canst, acquit the former according to the laws of Israel, and tell the
latter such is our law; if thou canst get him off in accordance with
Gentile law, do so, and say to the plaintiff such is your law; but if he
cannot be acquitted according to either law, then bring forward adroit
pretexts and secure his acquittal. These are the words of the Rabbi
Ishmael. Rabbi Akiva says, "No false pretext should be brought forward,
because, if found out, the name of God would be blasphemed; but if there
be no fear of that, then it may be adduced."

Ibid., fol. 113, col. 1.

If one find lost property in a locality where the majority are
Israelites, he is bound to proclaim it; but he is not bound to do so if
the majority be Gentiles.

_Bava Metzia_, fol. 24, col. 1.

(Prov. xiv. 34), "Almsgiving exalteth a nation, but benevolence is a sin
to nations." "Almsgiving exalteth a nation," that is to say, the nation
of Israel; as it is written (2 Sam. vii. 23), "And what one nation in
the earth is like thy people, even like Israel?" but "benevolence" is a
sin to nations, that is to say, for the Gentiles to exercise charity and
benevolence is sin.

_Bava Bathra_, fol. 10, col. 2.

If a Gentile smite an Israelite, he is guilty of death; as it is written
(Exod. ii. 12), "And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw
there was no man, he slew the Egyptian."

_Sanhedrin_, fol. 58, col. 2.

All Israelites have a portion in the world to come; as it is written
(Isa. lx. 21), "And thy people are all righteous: they shall inherit the
land."

Ibid., fol. 90, col. 1.

"And they shall fall one on account of another" (Lev. xxvi. 37),--one on
account of the sins of another. This teaches us that all Israel are
surety for one another.

_Shevuoth_, fol. 39, col. 1.

If one find a foundling in a locality where the majority are Gentiles,
then the child is (to be reckoned) a Gentile; if the majority be
Israelites, it is to be considered as an Israelite; and so also it is to
be, providing the numbers are equal.

_Machsheerin_, chap. 2, Mish. 7.

"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the
earth abideth forever" (Eccl. i. 4). One empire cometh and another
passeth away, but Israel abideth forever.

_Perek Hashalom._

The world was created only for Israel: none are called the children of
God but Israel; none are beloved before God but Israel.

_Gerim_, chap. 1.

The Jew that has no wife abideth without joy, without a blessing, and
without any good. Without joy, as it is written (Deut. xiv. 26), "And
thou shalt reject, thou and thy household;" without blessing, as it is
written (Ezek. xliv. 30), "That He may cause a blessing to rest on thy
household;" without any good, for it is written (Gen. ii. 8), "It is not
good that man should be alone."

_Yevamoth_, fol. 62, col. 2.

The Jew that has no wife is not a man; for it is written (Gen. v. 2),
"Male and female created He them and called their name man." To which
Rabbi Eleazar adds, "So every one who has no landed property is no man;
for it is written (Ps. cxv. 16), 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the
Lord's, but the earth (the land, that is), hath He given to the children
of man.'"

_Yevamoth_, fol. 63, col. 1.

Three things did Moses ask of God:--1. He asked that the Shechinah might
rest upon Israel; 2. That the Shechinah might rest upon none but Israel;
and 3. That God's ways might be made known unto him; and all these
requests were granted.

_Berachoth_, fol. 7, col. 1.

What was the Shechinah? Was it the presence of a Divine person
or only of a Divine power? The following quotations will show
what is the teaching of the Talmud on the matter, and will be
read with interest by the theologian, whether Jew or Christian.

Where do we learn that when ten persons pray together the
Shechinah is with them? In Ps. lxxxii. 1, where it is written,
"God standeth in the congregation of the mighty." And where do
we learn that when two sit together and study the law the
Shechinah is with them? In Mal. iii. 16, where it is written,
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and
the Lord hearkened and heard it." (_Berachoth_, fol. 6, col. 1.)

Where do we learn that the Shechinah does strengthen the sick?
In Ps. xli. 3, where it is written, "The Lord will strengthen
him upon the bed of languishing." (_Shabbath_, fol. 12, col. 2.)

He who goes from the Synagogue to the lecture-room, and from the
lecture-room back to the Synagogue, will become worthy to
receive the presence of the Shechinah; as it is written (Ps.
lxxxiv. 1), "They go from strength to strength; every one of
them in Zion appeareth before God." (_Moed Katan_, fol. 29, col.
1.)

Rabbi Yossi says, "The Shechinah never came down here below, nor
did Moses and Elijah ever ascend on high, because it is written
(Ps. cxv. 16), 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's,
but the earth hath he given to the children of men.'" (_Succah_,
fol. 5, col. 1.)

Esther "stood in the inner court of the King's house" (Esth. v,
1). Rabbi Levi says, "When she reached the house of the images
the Shechinah departed from her. Then she exclaimed, 'My God! my
God! why hast thou forsaken me?'" (_Meggillah_, fol. 15, col. 2.)

"But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every
one of you this day" (Deut. iv. 4). Is it possible to cleave to
the Shechinah? Is it not written (_ibid._, verse 24), "For the
Lord thy God is a consuming fire"? The reply is:--He that
bestows his daughter in marriage on a disciple of the wise (that
is, a Rabbi), or does business on behalf of the disciples of the
wise, or maintains them from his property, Scripture accounts it
as if he did cleave to the Shechinah. (_Kethuboth_, fol. iii,
col. 25.)

He who is angry has no regard even for the Shechinah; as it is
written (Ps. x. 4), "The wicked, when his anger rises, does not
inquire after God; God is not in all his thoughts." (_Nedarim_,
fol. 22, col. 2.)

He who visits the sick should not sit upon the bed, nor even
upon a stool or a chair beside it, but he should wrap his mantle
round him and sit upon the floor, because of the Shechinah which
rests at the head of the bed of the invalid; as it is written
(Ps. xli. 3), "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of
languishing." (Ibid., fol. 40, col. 1.)

When Israel went up out of the Red Sea, both the babe on its
mother's lap and the suckling at the breast saw the Shechinah,
and said, "This is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation;"
as it is written (Ps. viii. 2), "Out of the mouths of babes and
sucklings thou hast ordained strength." (_Soteh_, fol. 30, col.
2.)

Where do we read that the Shechinah is present everywhere? In
Zech. ii. 3, where it is written, "And behold the angel that
talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet
him." It is not said went out after him, but "went out to meet
him." From this we know that the Shechinah is present
everywhere. (_Bava Bathra_ fol. 25, col. 1.)

Rabbi Akiva says, "For three things I admire the Medes:--1. When they
carve meat, they do it on the table; 2. When they kiss, they only do so
upon the hand; 3. And when they consult, they do so only in the field."

_Berachoth_, fol. 8, col. 2.

The stone which Og, king of Bashan, meant to throw upon Israel is the
subject of a tradition delivered on Sinai. "The camp of Israel I see,"
he said, "extends three miles; I shall therefore go and root up a
mountain three miles in extent and throw it upon them." So off he went,
and finding such a mountain, raised it on his head, but the Holy
One--blessed be He!--sent an army of ants against him, which so bored
the mountain over his head that it slipped down upon his shoulders, from
which he could not lift it, because his teeth, protruding, had riveted
it upon him. This explains that which is written (Ps. iii. 7), "Thou
hast broken the teeth of the ungodly;" where read not "Thou hast
broken," but "Thou hast ramified," that is, "Thou hast caused to branch
out." Moses being ten ells in height, seized an axe ten ells long, and
springing up ten ells, struck a blow on Og's ankle and killed him.

Ibid., fol. 54, col. 2.

This same story is given with more than Talmudic exaggeration in
the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, while the author of the Book
of Jasher (chap. lxv., verses 23, 24) makes the camp and the
mountain forty miles in extent. The giant here figures in
antediluvian tradition. He is said to have been saved at the
Flood by laying hold of the ark, and being fed day by day
through a hole in the side of the ark by Noah himself. A
tradition which says the soles of his feet were forty miles long
at once explains all the extraordinary feats ascribed to him.

Rav Yehudah used to say, "Three things shorten a man's days and
years:--1. Neglecting to read the law when it is given to him for that
purpose; seeing it is written (Deut. xxx. 20), 'For He (who gave it) is
thy life and the length of thy days.' 2. Omitting to repeat the
customary benediction over a cup of blessing; for it is written (Gen.
xii. 3), 'And I will bless them that bless thee.' 3. And the assumption
of a Rabbinical air; for Rabbi Chama bar Chanena says, 'Joseph died
before any of his brethren, because he domineered over them.'"

_Berachoth_, fol. 55, col. 1.

The first of these refers to the reading of the law in public
worship, the second to a practice after meals when more than two
adult Jews were present, and the third to the dictatorial air
often assumed by the Rabbis.

Three things proceed by pre-eminence from God Himself:--Famine, plenty,
and a wise ruler. Famine (2 Kings viii. 2): "The Lord hath called for a
famine;" plenty (Ezek. xxxvi. 29): "I will call for corn and increase
it;" a wise ruler; for it is written (Exod. xxxi. 2), "I have called by
name Bezaleel." Rabbi Yitzchak says, "A ruler is not to be appointed
unless the community be first consulted. God first consulted Moses, then
Moses consulted the nation concerning the appointment of Bezaleel."

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 1.

Three dreams come to pass:--That which is dreamed in the morning; that
which is also dreamed by one's neighbor; and a dream which is
interpreted within a dream; to which some add, one that is dreamed by
the same person twice; as it is written (Gen. xli. 32), "And for that
the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice."

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.

Three things tranquilize the mind of man:--Melody, scenery, and sweet
odor. Three things develop the mind of man:--A fine house, a handsome
wife, and elegant furniture.

Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that there are three sorts of dropsy:--Thick,
resulting from sin; bloated, in consequence of insufficient food; and
thin, due to sorcery.

_Shabbath_, fol. 33, col. 1.

These three grow stronger as they grow older:--The fish, the serpent,
and the pig.

Ibid., fol. 77, col. 2.

It were better to cut the hands off than to touch the eye, or the nose,
or the mouth, or the ear, etc., with them without having first washed
them. Unwashed hands may cause blindness, deafness, foulness of breath,
or a polypus. It is taught that Rabbi Nathan has said, "The evil spirit
Bath Chorin, which rests upon the hands at night, is very strict; he
will not depart till water is poured upon the hands three times over."

Ibid. fol. 109, col. 1.

The great importance of this ceremonial washing of the hands
will appear from the following anecdote, which we quote
_verbatim_ from another part of the Talmud:--"It happened once,
as the Rabbis teach, that Rabbi Akiva was immured in a prison,
and Yehoshua Hagarsi was his attendant. One day the gaoler said
to the latter as he entered, 'What a lot of water thou hast
brought to-day! Dost thou need it to sap the walls of the
prison?' So saying, he seized the vessel and poured out half of
the water. When Yehoshua brought in what was left of the water
to Rabbi Akiva, the latter, who was weary of waiting, for he was
faint and thirsty, reproachfully said to him, 'Yehoshua, dost
thou forget that I am old, and my very life depends upon thee?'
When the servant related what had happened, the Rabbi asked for
the water to wash his hands, 'Why, master,' said Yehoshua,
'there's not enough for thee to drink, much less to cleanse thy
hands with.' To which the Rabbi replied, 'What am I to do? They
who neglect to wash their hands are judged worthy of death; 'tis
better that I should die by my own act from thirst than act
against the rules of my associates.' And accordingly it is
related that he abstained from tasting anything till they
brought him water to wash his hands." (_Eiruvin_, fol. 21, col.
2. See also _Maimonides, Hilc. Berach._, vi. 19.)

From the context of the passage just quoted we cull the
following, which proves that the Talmud itself bases the precept
concerning the washing of hands on oral tradition and not on the
written law:--"Rav Yehudah ascribes this saying to Shemuel, that
when Solomon gave to the traditional rules that regulated the
washing of hands and other ceremonial rites the form and
sanction of law, a Bath Kol came forth and said (Prov. xxiii.
15), 'My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even
mine;' and again it said (Prov. xxvii, 11), 'My son, be wise,
and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth
me.'" (See Prov. xxx. 5, 6.)

There is a great deal in the Talmud about washing the hands, in
addition to what is said in the treatise Yadaim, which is
entirely devoted to the subject. But this topic is subordinate
to another, namely, the alleged inferiority of the precepts of
the Bible to the prescriptions of the Rabbis, of which the
punctilious rules regulative of hand washing form only a small
fraction. This is illustrated by an anecdote from the Talmudic
leaflet entitled Callah, respecting Rabbi Akiva, whose fame
extends from one end of the world to the other. (See _Yevamoth_,
fol. 16, col. 2).

Once upon a time, as the Elders were sitting together, two lads
passed by them, one with his head covered and the other
bareheaded. Of the latter boy as he passed Rabbi Elazar said,
"He is a Mamzer," and Rabbi Yehoshua, "He is a Ben Haniddah,"
but Rabbi Akiva contended, "He is both a Mamzer and a Ben
Haniddah." Upon which the Elders said to Rabbi Akiva, "How
darest thou be so bold as dispute the assertion of thy masters?"
"Because I can substantiate what I say," was his answer. He then
went to the mother of the lad, and found her selling pease in
the market place. "Daughter," said he to her, "if thou wilt
answer all that I ask of thee, I will ensure thee a portion in
the life to come." She replied, "Let me have thy oath and I will
do so." Then taking the oath with his lips but nullifying it in
his heart, he asked her, "What sort of a son is thy lad?" She
replied, "When I entered my bridal chamber I was a Niddah, and
consequently my husband kept away from me." Thus it was found
out that the boy was a Mamzer and a Ben Haniddah; upon which the
sages exclaimed, "Great is Rabbi Akiva, for he has overcome his
masters;" and as they congratulated him they said, "Blessed be
the Lord God of Israel, who hath revealed His secret unto Akiva
the son of Joseph." Thus did the Rabbi forswear himself, and
thus did his companions compliment him on the success of his
perjury; yet the Bible says, "Thou shalt not take the name of
the Lord thy God in vain" (Exod. xx. 7), and "Keep thou far from
a falsehood" (Exod. xxiii. 7).

Here is a companion picture from Yoma, fol. 84, col. 1.--"Rabbi
Yochanan was suffering from scurvy, and he applied to a Gentile
woman, who prepared a remedy for the fifth and then the sixth
day of the week. 'But what shall I do to-morrow?' said he; 'I
must not walk so far on the Sabbath.' 'Thou wilt not require any
more,' she answered. 'But suppose I do,' he replied. 'Take an
oath,' she answered, 'that thou wilt not reveal it, and I will
tell thee how to compound the remedy.' This he did in the
following words: 'By the God of Israel, I swear I will not
divulge it.' Nevertheless, when he learned the secret, he went
and revealed it. 'But was not that profaning the name of God?'
asks one. 'No,' pleads another Rabbi, 'for, as he told her
afterward, that what he meant was that he would not tell it to
the God of Israel.' The remedy was yeast, water, oil, and salt."

The anecdote that follows is from Sanhedrin, fol. 97, col
1:--"In reference to the remark of Ravina, who said, 'I used to
think that there was no truth in the world,' one of the Rabbis,
Toviah (or Tavyoomah, as some say), would protest and say, 'If
all the riches of the world were offered me, I would not tell a
falsehood.' And he used to clench his protestation with the
following apologue: 'I once went to a place called Kushta, where
the people never swerve from the truth, and where (as a reward
for their integrity) they do not die until old age; and there I
married and settled down, and had two sons born unto me. One day
as my wife was sitting and combing her hair, a woman who dwelt
close by came to the door and asked to see her. Thinking that it
was a breach of etiquette (that any one should see her at her
toilet), I said she was not in. Soon after this my two children
died, and the people came to inquire into the cause of their
premature decease. When I told them of my evasive reply to the
woman, they asked me to leave the town, lest by my misconduct I
might involve the whole community in a like calamity, and death
might be enticed to their place."

Food remains for three days in the stomach of the dog, because God knew
that his food would be scanty.

_Shabbath_, fol. 155, col. 1.

He who is born on the third day of the week will be rich and amorous.

Ibid., fol. 156, col. 1.

Rabbi Abba, in the name of Shemuel, says, "The schools of Shammai and
Hillel were at variance three years, the one party contending and
saying, 'The Halacha is according to us;' and the other, 'The Halacha is
according to us.' Then came a voice from the Lord and said, 'Both these
and those are the words of the living God, but yet the Halacha is
according to the school of Hillel.' What was the merit of the school of
Hillel that the Halacha should be pronounced to be according to it? Its
disciples were gentle and forbearing, for while they stood by their own
decisions, they also stated those maintained by the school of Shammai,
and often even mentioned the tenets of the school of Shammai first and
their own afterward. This teaches us that him who humbles himself, God
will exalt; and him who exalts himself, God will abase. Whoso pursueth
greatness, greatness will flee from him; and whoso fleeth from
greatness, greatness will pursue him."

_Eiruvin_, fol. 13, col. 2.

There are three entrances to hell:--One in the desert, one in the sea,
and one in Jerusalem.

Ibid., fol. 19, col. i.

These three will never see hell:--He who is purified by poverty; he who
is purged by a painful flux; and he who is harassed by importunate
creditors; and some say, he also who is plagued with a termagant wife.

_Eiruvin_, fol. 41, col. 2.

Three effects are ascribed to Babylonian broth (which was made of moldy
bread, sour milk, and salt):--It retards the action of the heart, it
affects the eyesight, and emaciates the body.

_P'sachim_, fol. 42, col 1.

These three are not permitted to come between two men, nor is a man
allowed to pass between any two of these three:--A dog, a palm tree, or
a woman; to which some add the pig, and others the serpent as well.

Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.

One part of this regulation is rather hard and should surely be
abolished; that, viz, which ordains a woman shall not come
between two men or a man pass between two women. The compiler of
this Miscellany was once witness to a case which illustrates its
inconvenience: it occurred at Tiberias. A pious young Jew who
had to traverse a narrow road to pass from the lake to the town
was kept standing for a very considerable time under a broiling
sun, simply because two young women, to tease him, guarded the
entrance, and dared him to pass between them. Of course he dared
not accept the challenge, otherwise he would have incurred the
penalty of death, according to the judgment of the Talmud; for
"Whosoever transgresses any of the words of the Scribes is
guilty of death." (_Eiruvin_, fol. 21, col. 2.)

These three will inherit the world to come:--He who dwells in the land
of Israel; he who brings up his sons to the study of the law; and he who
repeats the ritual blessing over the appointed cup of wine at the close
of the Sabbath.

_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 1.

There are three whom the Holy One--blessed be He!--Himself proclaims
virtuous:--The unmarried man who lives in a city and does not sin; the
poor man who restores a lost thing which he has found to its owner; and
the rich man who pays the tithes of his increase unostentatiously. Rav
Saphra was a bachelor, and he dwelt in a large city. A disciple of the
wise once descanted upon the merits of a celibate life in the presence
of Rava and this Rav Saphra, and the face of the latter beamed with
delight. Remarking which, Rava said to him, "This does not refer to such
a bachelor as thou art, but to such as Rabbi Chanena and Rabbi Oshaia."
They were single men, who followed the trade of shoemakers, and dwelt in
a street mostly occupied by _meretrices_, for whom they made shoes; but
when they fitted these on, they never raised their eyes to look at their
faces. For this the women conceived such a respect for them, that when
they swore, they swore by the life of the holy Rabbis of the land of
Israel.

_Psachim_, fol. 113, cols, 1, 2.

There are three whom the Holy One--blessed be He!--abhorreth: He who
says one thing but thinks another; he who might bear witness in favor of
his neighbor but refrains from doing so; and he who, having seen his
neighbor act disgracefully, goes and appears singly as a witness against
him (thus only condemning, but not convicting, him, as the law requires
two witnesses). As, for example, when Toviah transgressed and Zigud
appeared against him singly before Rav Pappa, and Rav Pappa ordered this
witness to receive forty stripes save one in return. "What!" said he,
"Toviah has sinned, and should Zigud be flogged?" "Yes," replied the
Rabbi, "for by testifying singly against him thou bringest him only into
bad repute." (See Deut. xix. 15.)

_P'sachim_ fol. 113, col. 2.

"Toviah has sinned and Zigud is flogged," has long been a
proverb among Jews.

There are three whose life is no life:--The sympathetic, the irascible,
and the melancholy.

_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 2.

There are three which despise their fellows:--Dogs, cocks, and
sorcerers. Some say strange women also, and some the disciples of the
Babylonian Rabbis.

Ibid.

These three love their fellows:--Proselytes, slaves, and ravens.

Ibid.

These three are apt to strut:--Israel among the nations, the dog among
animals, the cock among birds. Some say also the goat among small
cattle, and some the caper shrub among trees.

Ibid., fol. 25, col. 2.

There are three whose life is no life:--He who lives at another's table;
he whose wife domineers over him; and he who suffers bodily affliction.
Some say also he who has only a single shirt in his wardrobe.

Ibid., fol. 32, col. 2.

Three things are said respecting the finger-nails:--He who trims his
nails and buries the parings is a pious man; he who burns these is a
righteous man; but he who throws them away is a wicked man, for
mischance might follow, should a female step over them.

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