Pirke Avot (Sayings of the Fathers)

It is felt to be impossible to define their relation to the course of nature, to which, however, everything, not excepting the miraculous, belongs. They are no part of the normal work of the creation period: at the same time they can only be thought of as preordained ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου. ““1ῦ saith, that these things were created between the suns, for indeed although God, blessed δ4 PIRQE ABOTH. mouth of the earth”; and the mouth of the well’*; and the be He, wrought great signs and wonders contrary to the nature of things, such as the plagues of Egypt, and the miracles at the Red Sea, &c., at all events He did not create anything after the six days of Bereshith, as it saith, And God ended on the seventh day, and rested; and as it saith, There is nothing new under the sun; and therefore, concerning these ten things, which are not mentioned in the account of the work of Bereshith, he saith that they were created then without doubt; and the explanation of their not being mentioned with the rest of the work of Bereshith, is because it was impossible to tell us the time of their creation, for in fact it was at a transition period, between two days which could not fitly be reckoned with either of them” (‘Obadiah Sforno). R. Israel finds a difficulty in the numbering of the rainbow amongst the ten things, ‘in all of which were miracles out of the course of nature, and all of which moreover appeared in time of need, whereas the bow may be seen any day.” As in the case of other groups of ‘*ten things,” it is disputed how the number is to be made up.

According to one reckoning, (1) the writing in the abstract; (2) the writing in the concrete, or the writing-instrument (maktheb); and (3) the tables themselves, are reckoned separately as three of the ten things; but this distinction is not made in the Targum of Jonathan, as cited in note 18. The ram which Abraham sacrificed instead of Isaac is said in Bemidbar Rabbah xvi, to have been created ‘ between the suns.” [Rev. xiii. 18.] 17 « But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, &c.” (Numb. xvi. 30). ‘Said the Holy One, blessed is He, to Moses, What seekest thou? He said before Him, Lord of the world mouth to the earth, well: if not, let the Lord now create her a mouth” (Bemidbar Rabbah xvut.). Compare Sanhedrin 110a; Nedarim 39 b, where the seven things created before the world (p. 12) are specified. 18 Although the expression, ‘‘mouth of the N3,”’ in connexion with the “mouth of the earth” which swallowed up Korah (Numb. xvi. 32), suggests a reference to Ps. Ixix. 15: ‘‘ Neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me,” nevertheless the allusion is, doubtless, as it is generally supposed to be, to some other INI. ‘THE MOUTH OF THE WELL. According to Rashi’s (?) interpretation, it opened its mouth and uttered a song (Numb, xxi. 17).

But some understand the rock which Moses smote, i.e. the WN2 which went about with Israel in the wilderness” (Bar §.). Compare also Bemidbar Rabbah xix. In either case there is some difficulty in accounting for the expression, ‘‘the mouth of the well.” The difficulty may be solved by reading N27 alone, without "5, (1) according to the Targum of Jonathan on Numb, xxii. 28: ‘‘Ten things were created after the finishing of the world, at the coming in of the sabbath, between the suns: The manna; and THE WELL (N1°2'); and the staff of Moses; and the shamir; and the bow; and the clouds of glory; and the mouTH of the earth; and the writing of the tables of the covenant; and the demons; and the speaking mourTH of the ass’’; and (2) according also to Vu: 85 mouth of the ass; and the bow (Gen. 1x. 13); and the manna; and the rod”; and the shamir-worm™”; and the character ; and the writing’’; and the tables. Pesachim 54 a, where the ten things are: ‘‘THE WELL; and the manna; and the bow; and the 272; and the ΙΖ; and the tables; the grave of Moses; and the cave in which Moses and Elijah stood; the opening of the mouth of the ass; and the opening of the mouth of the earth to swallow up the wicked. And some say likewise the rod of Aaron, its almonds, and its buds;

and some say likewise the spirits; and some say likewise the vesture of the primal Adam.” [Gen, R. xx. 12.] 19 The rop which was made ‘ between the suns” was given to Adam, and handed down from generation to generation, till, after the death of Joseph, it passed into the hands of Pharaoh. Moses alone could read the letters upon it—it was inscribed inter alia with Shem ha-mephorash (p. 56) and he was thus designated as the future deliverer of Israel (Pirge R. Eli‘ezer ΧΙ). *0 The SHamir (see Buxtorf, Lex. Chald.) was a small worm which split or cut stones upon which it was placed. Moses used it to engrave the stones of the ephod. First he wrote upon them in ink: then he ‘‘shewed them” the shamir, or passed it over the lines which he had traced, and the stones were cleft, without loss of substance, as a fig is split by the sun, or as a channel is formed by water. The shamir was created "2) Nwwnd MwN 13. Nothing, however hard, can stand against it. Solomon, having got possession of it with the help of Asmodeus, king of the devils, used it to cut the stones for the temple, for it is said (1 Kings vi. 7) that no tool of iron was heard in the house while And some say, the spirits” it was in building (Gittin 68 a; Sotah 48 b). 21 The demons, or O°’, are commonly called ‘‘mazzigin,” or nocentes.

“The Holy One, blessed is He, had created their souls, and was about to create their bodies, when the sabbath set in, and He did not create them” (Bereshith Rabbah vu.). Hence it is that they are invisible to the human eye, being simply 7° W5) (Gen. i. 24) ‘‘If power were given to the eye to see, no creature could exist because of the spirits...Each of us has a thousand at his left hand, and ten thousand at his right hand (Ps. ΧΟ 7). Said Raba, It is from them that comes the crowding in the assemblage, and weakness of knees, and the wearing out of the clothes of students, and colliding with the feet. He who wishes to know about them must take sifted ashes, and sprinkle them by his bed, and in the morning he will see marks as of cocks’ feet. He who wishes to see them must take the caul of a black she-cat, daughter of a black one: a firstborn, the daughter of a firstborn: and burn it in the fire, and pulverise it, and fill his eyes with it, and he will see them. Let him put the rest into an iron tube, and seal it with a signet of iron, that they may not steal it away, and let him seal its mouth that he may not be harmed. Rab Bibi bar Abaye did this. He saw, and was harmed. Our Rabbis prayed for mercy on him, and he was healed” (Berakoth 6a).

The spirits helped Solomon to find the shamir, and to build the temple. They frequent desolate places, and are especially to be feared in the night time. 80 PIRQE ABOTH. also; and the sepulchre of Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 6); and the ram of Abraham our father (Gen. xxii. 13). And some say, tongs also, made with tongs™. 10. Seven things are in a clod, and seven in a wise man. The wise man speaks not before one who is greater than he in wisdom; and does not interrupt the words of his companion ; and is not hasty to reply; he asks according to canon, and answers to the point”; and speaks on the first thing first, and on the last last; of what he has not heard he says, I have not heard; and he acknowledges the truth”. are in the clod. Jochanan ben Zakkai understood the talk of devils (Baba Bathra 134 a). Members of the SANHEDRIN were to be ΒΦ ya, or skilled in magic (Sanhedrin 17 a; Menachoth 65 a), that they might be in a position to give judgment in cases which came before them. endless. The instrument NAY presupposes another, with the help of which it was made, and so on in injinitum. Speculation, failing to reach the ultimate, must rest upon the doctrine that God is the Creator: He made the first. Cf. Pesachim 54 ἃ. The difficulty is presented in another form in Chagigah 12 Ὁ:

“ἢν Jose said, Woe to the creatures, that see, and know not what they see: that stand, and know not on what they stand. On what stands the earth? on the pillars (Job ix. 6): and the pillars upon the waters (Ps. cxxxvi. 6): and the waters upon the mountains (Ps. civ. 6): and the mountains upon the wind (Amos iv. 13): and the wind upon the storm (Ps. cxlviii. 8): and the storm depends upon the arm of the Holy One, for it is said (Deut. xxxiii. 27), Underneath are the everlasting arms.” And their opposites explained by At: ‘‘If he has occasion to ask a question, he asks according to the halakah with which they are occupied; and if any one asks of him, he answers his interrogator according to the matter which he asked him, and does not digress to another matter. And if one has asked him two or three things, he replies in order.” The usual reading (see note 3) signifies, that his inquiries have relation to the subject in hand, and his replies are in accordance with the received canons of interpretation. 2 Ἢ, ‘Obadiah of Sforno illustrates this Mishnah from the book of Jos. 1. The wise man will not speak before his superior in wisdom: so Elihu refrained from speaking when in the presence of his seniors, for ‘‘I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom” (xxxii. 7).

2. He does not interrupt his companion, but is like Elihu, who “ waited till Job had spoken”? (xxxii. 4); unlike his friends, with whom Job had to expostulate: ‘‘Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on” (xxi. 3). 3. He is not hasty to answer before he has properly heard his friend’s opinion, like Bildad, who said; ‘‘Doth God pervert judgment?” (viii. 3), and was rebuked by Ve 0 11; 87 ἘΠ main transgressions”. Seven kinds of punishments come on account of seven When some men tithe, and some do not tithe, dearth from drought comes: some of them are hungry, and some of them are full. When they have not tithed at all, a dearth from tumult” and from drought comes. And when they have not offered the dough-cake, a deadly dearth comes. Job for misapprehending his meaning, for “1 know it is so of a truth, &e.” (ix. 2). 4. He interrogates to the point, unlike Eliphaz (iv. 7); and answers according to halakah, unlike Job’s three friends, to whom God said: ‘Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right” (xlii. 7). 5. He deals with each point in its proper order, like Elihu (xxxiii. 8, &c.). 6. He does not profess to know what he does not know, like Zophar: ‘But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee. And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, &c.” (xi.

5, 16). 7. And he admits the truth, unlike the three friends of Job, against whom Elihu’s wrath was kindled, ‘“‘because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job” (xxxii. 3). 36 The phrase NYY "512, or ‘bodies of transgressions,” denotes (says Bar S.) such as comprise many subdivisions, as the body is divided into many members. On the idiomatic uses of 51) see the lexicons. ‘‘And it saith, For seven bodies of transgressions, to teach that though they are more than seven, nevertheless they are called seven, as being comprised in seven bodies, i.e. kinds or species (Leb Aboth).” The seven punishments are, three degrees of famine; the pestilence ; the sword; the noisome beast; and exile. The seven main transgressions are committed, according to Sforno, in relation to tithing; judgment; profanation of the Name; strange worship; sensuality; bloodshed; and the sabbatical year; but the sins are differently reckoned by other commentators, who endeavour to make them correspond to the seven punishments, each to each. For a series of discussions bearing upon this subject see the Gemara on Shabbath 1. 6; and ef. Lev. xxvi. apportioned as follows. 1. Partial neglect of tithing is punished by partial famine resulting from drought (Jer. xvii. 8). As it is said in Amos iv. 7: “‘And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city.” 2. The universal neglect of tithing is punished by famine “of MD1ND” or of that and drought combined, according to the usual reading.

The former reading is favoured by Aboth R.N. xxxvimt.; which however has ὉΠ, instead of } WYP, in this clause. Famine “οὗ ΠῚ is either (i) a famine of war and tumult, through which the land is untilled (R. Jonah), or the crops are ruined by marauders; or (ii) a famine causing destruction: ‘‘...and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed” (Deut. vii. 23). 3. A famine of entire consumption results from neglect of the ordinance: ‘Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering” (Numb. xv. 20), The rains fail utterly: ‘‘thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under 88 PIRQE ABOTH.

Pestilence comes into the world for the capital crimes mentioned in the Thorah, which are not brought before the tribunal”; and for the seventh year fruits.

The sword comes upon the world for suppression of judgment; and for perversion of judgment; and for explaining Thorah not according to canon.

Noisome beasts come into the world for vain swearing ; and for profanation of the NAME. Captivity comes upon the world for strange worship; and for incest; and for shedding of blood; and for (not) giving release to the land™.

At four seasons” the pestilence waxes: in the fourth thee shall be iron” (Deut. xxviii. 23). “1 will even appoint over you terror” (Lev. xxvi. 16): read not behalah, but bechallah, on account of the challah, or cake (Shabbath 32b). The Divine judgments are ‘“‘measure for measure”’ (Is. xxvii. 8). missioned with respect to precepts whereof the reward is specified. See Mekiltha (Π WIN), on the “Fifth Commandment.” PESTILENCE is sent as a judgment for capital crimes which have not come under the jurisdiction, or cognisance, of the beth din, but are reserved for judgment by the hand of God. But deaths which the tribunal is authorised to inflict are, even then, superseded only by analogous deaths; ’ thus he who deserves to be stoned, falls from a housetop, or is trampled on by a beast: he who deserves burning is stung by a serpent: he who deserves beheading is killed by robbers: he who deserves hanging is drowned, or dies of συνάγχη. See At, €. Pestilence, though resulting naturally from bad water, food, air, and other intelligible causes, is none the less sent by Divine Providence. But know that, for all this, we do not sin in fleeing because of it to some place where there is no pestilence; for he who flees does not deny the omnipresence of God, but bows his uncircumcised heart and bears the yoke of migration as a punishment for his sins, And let him not embolden himself to stand against his King, when he is angry with him, or designs to tempt him (Leb Aboth).

°8 «But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, &e.” (Lev. xxv. 4—6). The seventh year was called, the year of ha-shemittah, the release (Deut. xv. 9; xxxi. 10). 39. At four seasons of the septennial cycle disease is prevalent owing to the appropriation of what should have been devoted to the poor. The neglect of the poor’s tithe in the third and sixth years of the septennium leads to pestilence in the V. 12—16. 89 (year); in the seventh; at the ending of the seventh; and at the ending of the Feast in every year. In the fourth (year), on account of the poor’s tithe in the third; in the seventh, on account of the poor’s tithe in the sixth; and at the ending of the seventh”, on account of the seventh year fruits; and at the ending of the Feast“ in every year, on account of the largesses of the poor.

There are four characters” in men. years immediately following. The ‘JY WY is enjoined in Deut. xiv. 28, 29: “At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee), and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.” The third year is called ‘‘the year of tithing” (Deut. xxvi. 12), In this year, as Rashi remarks, the Levite received his tenth (Numb. xviii. 21), as in other years, but the Second, or Festival, Tithe (Deut. xiv. 23), was devoted to the poor. On these tithes see the Mishnah-Tracts named after them, in Seder Zera‘im. 30 In the ‘‘eighth” year, which is called the ‘‘ goings out of the seventh”’ (At, (7), pestilence prevails owing to neglect of the preceding year of release. ‘‘And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat” (Ex. xxiii. 10, 11). 31 After ‘the Feast” of Tabernacles, or of Ingathering, in each year judgment comes for having deprived the He that saith, poor of the donations due to them, which were ΡΟ.

NNDw’ . OND, that is, spicilegium, oblivio, and angulus. Cf. Levit. xix. 9: ‘‘And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the GLEANINGS of thy harvest;” and Deut. xxiv. 19: ‘‘When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast rorGor a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.” hence, standard, characteristic, quality, virtue, &c. The title of Aristotle’s “Ethics” is rendered NINN BD. The first of the ‘middoth’’ here described is that of the man who neither gives nor takes: is neither self-sacrificing, nor yet grasping, or dependent upon his neighbours. This character is said to be neither good nor bad, but intermediate. Others, however, regard it as a spirit of haughty independence, and indifference to the welfare of others: ‘ Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy”? (Ezek. xvi. 49). The second standard is worldly and utilitarian: 90 PIRQE ABOTH. Mine is mine, and thine is thine, is an indifferent character ; but some say, It is the character of Sodom: (he that saith,) Mine is thine, and thine is mine, is ‘am ha-areg: Mine and thine are thine, pious: Thine and mine are mine, wicked.

There are four characters in dispositions. Easily provoked, and easily pacified, his gain is cancelled by his loss*: hard to provoke and hard to pacify, his loss is cancelled by his gain: hard to provoke, and easily pacified, pious: easily provoked, and hard to pacify, wicked.

There are four characters in scholars. Quick to hear and quick to forget, his gain is cancelled by his loss: slow to hear and slow to forget, his loss is cancelled by his gain: quick to hear, and slow to forget, is wise: slow to hear, and quick to forget, this is an evil lot.

There are four characters in almsgivers®. the man acts with a view to recompense: he lends to those from whom he hopes to receive (Luke vi. 34); οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι οὕτως ποιοῦσιν (Matt. v. 46); “Ηδ is called ‘am ha-areg (here used as a singular, see 11. 6), because he aims at the establishment of the world, desiring to take and give, for thereby love increases between them; and although it is a good middah for the establishment of the world, it does not spring from wisdom, for ‘He that hateth gifts shall live’ (Prov. xv. 27), and the good middah is to give and not to receive” (R. Jonah). He who gives, ‘hoping for nothing again,” is chasid, or pious. The selfish, grasping man, who receives and makes no return, is “wicked.” M3132] It may be remarked on the use of this word, which means intermediate, that the ‘‘via media,” and the ‘kad’ ὑπερβολὴν 656s” of excellence, are regarded as widely divergent. Maimonides, who attempts to reduce the ethics of the Mishnah to the Aristotelian standard, regards the chasid He who is as one who inclines a little to one extreme, and performs works of supererogation which it would be hazardous for ordinary people to attempt. See his Shemonah Peraqim, ὃ 4. DN] The word chasid here denotes the opposite of ‘‘ wicked,” and cannot be shewn to carry any allusion to a particular sect, the Essenes (p.

34), as some have endeavoured to make out. For a less improbable derivation of ᾿Εσσαϊος see note 1. ‘Von T'DM es fortzuleiten ware sprachlich nicht zu rechtfertigen ”’ (Jost, Gesch. a. 207, Note). ‘For although, in spite of all the attempts which have been made to explain it, the meaning of this name is quite uncertain, it certainly cannot be connected with that of the O'°DN”’ (Kuenen). the words loss and gain, and thus reverses the estimates of the first and second tempers. or grudging eye with respect to the things of others. He is unwilling that they should share with him the V. 17—21. 91 willing to give, but not that others should give, his eye is evil towards the things of others: that others should give, and he should not give, his eye is evil towards his own: he who would give and let others give, is pious: he who will not give nor let others give, is wicked.

There are four characters in college-goers®. He that goes and does not practise, the reward of going is in his hand: he that practises and does not go, the reward of practice is in his hand: he that goes and practises is pious: he that goes not and does not practise is wicked. There are four characters in those who sit under the wise; a sponge; a funnel; a strainer; and a bolt-sieve® A credit of liberality: or he is a misanthrope, who is jealous lest his neighbours’ possessions should be blessed by their almsgiving, and lest they should enjoy favour with God and man. The truly liberal, on the contrary, is he who ‘“ counsels” liberal things (Is. xxxii, 8): who is not only liberal himself, but moves others to be so (Abarbanel). and Practice come once more under consideration in this Mishnah. The first character is ἀκροατὴς λόγου, the second ποιητής (James i, 23), the third is both, the last neither. A different turn is given to the ‘reward of going,”’ in Berakoth 6 b, where it is said NOM NPIDT NUN, ‘the profit of the lecture is the running:” the unintelligent majority profit more by their zeal in going to hear it, than by the teaching as such. 36 By 75) is meant a fine sieve ‘of leather or hair,” which was made use of in some way for ‘‘dressing” meal, and separating the seconds from the fine flour.

Cf. Shebi‘ith v. 9; Shabbath vim. 2; Menachoth vi. 7, x. 4; Kelim xxv. 5. Such sieves were used in preparing soleth for the minchah. Thirteen, of different degrees of fineness, were to be used in preparing the ‘omer, according to a ‘‘halakah to Moses from Sinai:”’ twelve, for the two loaves: eleven, for the shewbread; or, according to R. Shime‘on, the number of siftings was not prescribed, but the soleth was re-sifted as many times as was found necessary. See Menachoth 76 Ὁ. It is said by the commentators upon this Mishnah, that the corn was first partially crushed in a bean mill: the husk and powder were then sifted out: and what remained was ground over again, and became soteTH. The word ΠΡ may denote meal in general (111. 26); but it is here (2) identified with the ‘‘dust” of the Menachoth (vin. 2), which was not altogether refuse, but was unfit for soLETH. Compare the following from the Jalqut on Canticles: ‘*Song most bepraised and exalted of Songs: Rabbi Ele‘azar ben ‘Azariah made a comparison of it to a man who brings a measure of wheat to a baker, and says, Produce from it QEMAcH; and after that produce me from it soLETH ; and after that produce me from it a cake. Thus out of all the wisdom of Solomon there is no soLeTH to Israel except Song of Songs. All the 92 PIRQE ABOTH. sponge, which sucks up all; a funnel, which lets in here and lets out there; a strainer, which lets out the wine and keeps back the dregs; a bolt-sieve, which lets out the pollard and keeps back the flour.

All love which depends on some thing®, when the thing ceases, the love ceases; and such as does not depend on anything, ceases not for ever.

What love is that which depends on some thing? the love of Amnon and Thamar*; And that which does not depend on anything? this is the love of David and Jonathan. Songs are holy: Song of Songs is Holy of Holies.”’ The scholar who treasures up only what is most precious is certainly, qua learner, of the highest class; and in this Mishnah he is generally thought to be so regarded. There are, however, some commentators who give precedence to the ‘“‘ strainer’’; regarding him as a teacher, who gives out a still more refined doctrine than he has received ; whilst the strvE typifies the perverted mind which ‘turns light to darkness, and darkness to light, and feeds others with refuse.” See the commentaries Sew) monn and pad 3. The latter urges, in favour of this view, the analogy of the five preceding groups of fours, in all of which the pious, and the wise, are mentioned third in order. But in Aboth R. N. xu. the order here is different. Another view is adopted in NIA ΞΡ where the third scholar is taken to be the man who speculates on theosophic mysteries; and the last is the discriminating traditionalist. The comparison is taken, in the one case from wine which drives a man out of his mind, INYT) DIN Nd: in the other from bread which strengthens man’s heart; but ‘‘the parable of the SIEVE seems to me very difficult ;

for if it were like that which we use now, and which LETS THROUGH the nbyp, it would not be right, &c.” It is not easy to render the clause satisfactorily. The word “sieve” alone is inadequate, since it might be used with as much propriety to symbolize the mind which retains the refuse; and indeed it is prima facie most natural to think of the fine flour as falling through the sieve, whilst the coarser sort is retained. The commentators quoted at the beginning of this note make soLETH mean, not precisely ‘‘ fine flour,” but that which after re-grinding becomes fine flour. The technical words bolter, boltingcloth, BoLT-siEvE, do not embody this idea, but they satisfy the requirements of the case indirectly to a certain extent. A bolter which I have seen sifts the ground corn at once into three sorts. The corn in the bolter descends an incline, passing first over a fine cloth, and then over a coarser cloth: the former lets through the fine flour, which is caught in a receptacle attached to the machine ; the process is repeated at the second cloth: the third quality, coarse bran, passes out at the end of the bolter. 8? The love which is to be lasting must be disinterested, and independent of all extrinsic considerations. It may be remarked that ha-dabar is V. 22—25. 93

Whatsoever gainsaying is for the name of Heaven will in the end be established ; and that which is not for the name of Heaven® will not in the end be established.

What gainsaying is that which is for the name of Heaven? the gainsaying of Shammai and Hillel. sometimes τὸ πρᾶγμα in the idiomatic sense of 1 Thess. iv. 6. 38 «Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her” (2 Sam. xiii. 15), shith Rabbah rv. between controversy which is for the ordering of the world, and that which is for its disordering. “ΤῸ the Name of Heaven, means, for the establishment of the truth of a matter, or to convince of transgression; and not to shew superiority, or to gain a reputation” (At). For the expression cf. εἰς ὄνομα προφήτου... δικαίου... μαθητοῦ (Matt. x. 41, 42), and see Iv. 16. Direct mention of Gop is avoided by the use of OXY, as in iv. 7 and elsewhere. and Hillel, and of their followers, fill a large space in the Talmud. Shammai is self-asserting, and Hillel yielding (p. 23), but the canon is according to Hillel. ‘‘Said R. Abba, Said Shemuel, Three years disputed Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel: these said, The halakah is according to us, and these said, The halakah is according to us. Bath Qol went forth and said, These and those are words of the Living God, and the halakah is according to Beth Hillel. But if these and those were words of the Living God, how did Beth Hillel merit that the halakah should be fixed according to them?

Because they were yielding and lowly, and taught their own And that words and those of their opponents together. Nay, more, they placed the words of Beth Shammai before their own words (see Crit. Note)... Two years and a half disputed Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel: these said, Better for a man not to have been created than to have been created; and these said, Better for a man to have been created than not to have been created. They concluded, Better for a man not to have been created than to have been created: now that he has been created, let him look well to his doings” (‘Erubin 13 b). ‘‘From the time when Bath Qol went forth, the halakah is always according to Beth Hillel, and whosoever transgresses the words of Beth Hillel deserves death...And where did Bath Qol go forth? R. Bibi in the name of R. Jochanan said, At Jabneh went forth Bath Qol” (T. J. Sotah τι. 4). ‘Beth Shammai said, The heavens were created first, and afterwards the earth was created, for it is said, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. i. 1). And Beth Hillel said, The earth was created first, and afterwards the heavens, for it is said, In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens (Gen. ii, 4)...And ‘the wise’ have said, This and that were created together, for it is said (Is. xlviii. 13), Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together’? (Chagigah 12a. See above, pp. 31, 32; and ef. 04 PIRQE ABOTH. which is not for the name of Heaven? this is the gainsaying of Qorach (Jude 11).

Whosoever makes the many“ righteous, sin prevails not over him; and whosoever makes the many to sin®, they grant him not the faculty to repent.

Moses was righteous, and made the many righteous, and the righteousness of the many was laid upon him*, for it is said, He executed the justice of the Lord and His judgments, WITH Israel (Deut. xxxiii. 21). Jerobe‘am* sinned, and caused the many to sin, (and) the sin of the many was laid upon him, for it is said, Because of the sins of Jerobe‘am who sinned, and made Israel to sin (1 Kings xiv. 16, &c.).

In whomsoever are three things, he is a disciple of Abraham ; and three (other) things, a disciple of Bile‘am.

A good eye, and a lowly soul, and a humble spirit (belong to) the disciple of Abraham: an evil eye“, and a Bereshith Rabbah, x11.); that is to say the (left) hand created the earth, and the right hand at the same time created the heavens. The Hillelite theory corresponds to 1 Cor. xv. 46: ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πρῶτον τὸ πνευματικόν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ψυχικόν, ἔπειτα τὸ πνευματικόν. The three views propounded above may be taken as texts for three philosophies, of idealism, evolutionism, and dualism. Matter was in some systems regarded as essentially evil; and its creation, according to a prevalent symbolism, is fitly attributed to the left hand, as yap is taken to mean. leads the many to righteousness, since it would be unseemly that the master should be in Gehinnom whilst his disciples are in Paradise (Joma 87 a). Ha-rabbim, οἱ πολλοί (Rom. v. 19), denotes the public, or ‘“‘the general,”’ and, like cibbur, the congregation, is contrasted with ha-yachid, ὁ εἷς. ** Reshuth ha-rabbim” is equivalent ‘to ‘locus publicus.” See Mishnah Surenhusius, Vol. 1. p. 1. #2 This saying, in the form b5 42 NYDN NONWY ΔΘ. is cited in Sotah 47 a (cf. Sanhedrin 107 b); and it is added that a magnet suspended the Sin [Rashi calves] of Jerobe‘am between heaven and earth. ‘ Three kings have no portion in the world to come...Jerobe‘am, Achab, and Manasseh” (Sanhedrin x1. 2). ‘After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way.

What is, After? Said R. Abba, After the Holy One, blessed is He, had taken him by his raiment, and said, Turn thee! and I, and thou, and the son of Jesse will walk in the Garden of ‘Eden. He said to Him, Who at the head? The son of Jesse at the head! If so, I had rather not.” (Sanhedrin 102 a; 1 Kings xiii. 33.) with Israel] in all their acts of righteousness: ‘‘ consequently the NS? of the many depends upon him.” MNP (iv. 30): the soul, ψυχή, is the seat of MINN, or ‘‘appetite’’: the V. 26—30. 95 swelling soul, and a haughty spirit, to the disciple of Bile‘am. And what difference is between the disciples of Abraham and the disciples of Bile‘am? The disciples of Bile‘am go down to Gehinnom*, for it is said, But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction (Ps. lv. 24); but the disciples of Abraham inherit the Garden of ‘Eden, for it is said, That I may cause those that love me to inherit SUBSTANCE®*; and I will fill their treasures (Prov. viii. 21).

R. Jehudah ben Thema said, Be bold as a leopard, and swift as an eagle, and fleet as a hart, and strong as a lion“, to do the will of thy Father which is in Heaven. spirit, the seat of ambition, and of the desire for 1)25. Compare the threefold classifications in 1 Joh. ii. 16; Aboth um. 15. The three evil qualities in question are ascribed to Bile‘am in ‘‘Midrash R. Thanchuma”’ (cited by At), and in Bemidbar Rabbah xx. He had an evil eye, for it is said: “And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel, &c.” (Numb. xxiv. 2). He had a grasping soul, for it is said: ‘‘If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, &c.” (xxii. 18). He had a haughty spirit, for, instead of confessing to the messengers of Balaq that God had altogether forbidden him to go, and to curse the people, he said to them: ‘Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you” (xxii. 18). ‘‘He said to me, It is not consistent with thy honour to go with these, but with their superiors; for he desired my honour. And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they” (ver. 15). 4 “Four ἰδιωταί have no portion in the world to come.,.Bile‘am, and Doeg, and Achithophel, and Gechazi” (Sanhedrin xt. 2). ‘How many years old was Bile‘am?

It is not expressly written, but from what is written, Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days (Ps. lv. 24), he must have been 33 or 34 (that is less than the half of 70) years old. Well hast thou replied to my question! Bile‘am’s escutcheon appeared to me, and there was written on it, Son of thirty and three years was Bile‘am the lame, when captain Phinechas slew him” (Sanhedrin 106 b). This estimate of the age of Bile‘am controverts a previous statement that he was living at the time of Pharaoh’s edict: ‘‘ Every son that is born, &c.” (Ex. i. 22). He is regarded as a ‘bloody man,” because he occasioned the death of twenty-four thousand Israelites by his advice to Balaq (Numb. xxv. 9; Rev. ii, 14). Susstance is by Gematria 310 (W) sons (Sanhedrin 100 a). nexion with ‘Aqiba’s Dyn Jnaw πῶν “2, in Pesachim 112 a; but “Rashi” refers to the Pereq, \IN3Y Dp (ιν. instead of x.), and 38, citing ‘‘ Rashi,” refers to Zebachim. For another application of the saying, see Bemidbar Rabbah on the sepulchre of Moses, toward the end of Seder Balaq. The Machazor Vitry makes Masseketh MIAN end, very appropriately, at the words, ΟΦ TAN. 96 PIRQE ABOTH.

He used to say, The bold of face to Gehinnom*; and the shamefaced® to the garden of ‘Eden. May it be well-pleasing in thy sight, Lord, our God, and the God of our fathers, that thy city may be built in our days; and give us our portion im thy Thorah. Ben Bag-bag said, Turn it, and again turn it; for the all is therein®, and thy all is therein: and swerve not thereJrom, for thou canst have no greater excellency than this. 47 The saying “2 D5 (ΠΝ) was probably borrowed in the first instance from Masseketh Kallah, together with other matter from which it was afterwards detached. Although now regarded as part of Aboth, it is not found. alters 15 ΞΟ eine in Aboth R. N. xt1.: € has a double reading which confirms the suspicion of its spuriousness; and in Masseketh Kallah there is no evidence that it is quoted from Aboth. 48 ««Bashfulness is a good sign.” It it said that a man who has a sense of shame will not readily sin, A772 xd NOW NWI: “and he who has not D5 Nw, of a surety his ancestors stood not on mount Sinai.” (Nedarim 20a; Jalqut 1. 301; Mekiltha, YIN ὌΠ [Ta‘anith 7b.] For prayers against 0°35 ΤῚΝ) see Excursus v. Thorah: it was the plan according to which the world itself was created (p. 12). ‘In it, without doubt, are history and tale: proverb and enigma:

correction and wisdom: knowledge and discretion: poetry and word-play: conviction and council: dirge, entreaty, prayer, praise, and every kind of supplication; and all this in a Divine way superior to all the prolix benedictions in human books; to say nothing of its containing in its depths the Names of the Holy One, blessed is He, and secrets of being without end”’ (Leb Aboth). Some commentators remark that works on science and philosophy are not needed by the diligent student of Thorah, which contains, not only ‘‘all things necessary to salvation,” but ‘‘all the wisdom of the world.” Study Thorah, ‘and thou wilt not need the books of the philosophers of the nations, and their investigations” (Sforno). Thorah is cheaply purchased by the sacrifice of worldly advantage, ‘‘for the whole world and its fulness was created in six days, but the Thorah was only given after forty days” (Shemoth Rabbah xuvu.; Va-jiqra R. xxx.; Chazitha, Cant. viii. 7). ‘*There is none poor but in knowledge. They say in the West (in Palestine) : ma noma ΝΕ ΝΟ ma xd aN ΣΡ ΠῸ sp XO NT ION AD 2 NT In whom this is, there is all: in whom this is not, what is there? Hath one gotten this, what lacks? hath he not gotten this, what hath he gotten?” (Nedarim 41 a.) The ending M3 ἽΡῚΞῚ of this clause in @ may be illustrated by such expressions as DUNT b> ΠῚ, This is the whole of man (Eccl. xii. 13); ‘She is thy life (Prov. iv. 13), and (Deut. xxx. 20) the length of thy days.’’ Compare also the obscure verse Is, xxxvili. 16. The striking reading of the text (cf. ‘‘totus in illis’’) V. 31—33. 97

Ben He-he™ said, According to the toil is the reward. would account for the occurrence in MSS. of 3M 7}, ‘‘and be in it.” In many good MSS. 457) is pointed as pi‘el. It may accordingly be taken as a frequentative. 60 The names of 33 13 j3 and ‘7 ‘1 J3 are identified by Gematria. Their sayings are apparently ascribed to Hillel in Aboth R. N. [4 x1. p. 55], from whom, however, ‘‘Bar H. H.” is distinguished in Chagigah 9b. According to one explanation, 3,2 )’23 denotes, Son of proselyte parents 1} n°). According to a note in the socalled Machazor Vitry, ‘7 ‘7 12 denotes a proselyte, one who has become a Son of Abraham and Sarah, whose names allude to Ben Bag-bag in Qiddushin and Baba Qamma, and to Ben He-he in ayn 597.” [Qiddush. 10 b, Baba Q. 27b, Chagigah 9b.] The saying of Ben He-he, like 1.14; τ. 7, is in Aramaic, Final ΠῚ is often found for &. Cf. ΠΟῚΣ ins§ 325" Τῇ Aboth R. N. xm. [but see B xxvu.] the saying, besides being attributed to Hillel (with the addition of nnbdy), is immediately afterwards retorted upon Hillel, when he is surprised to find that wheat costs two dinars a measure in one place, and three dinars at a place more remote. It forms an admirable conclusion to the Masseketh, but was doubtless a proverbial saying were changed by the introduction of the letter ‘M.

It is added, that ‘‘They not peculiar to ΑΒΟΤΗ. [1 Cor. iii. 8 ἕκαστος - κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον κόπον. Ae ΠΝ DA. THE AGES OF MAN. He used to say, At five years old, Scripture: at ten years, Mishnah: at thirteen!, the Commandments: at fifteen?, Thalmud: at eighteen, the bridal: at twenty*, pursuits: at thirty, strength: at forty, discernment: at fifty, counsel: at sixty, age: at seventy, hoariness: at eighty‘, power: at ninety, decrepitude: at a hundred, it is as though he were dead, and gone, and had ceased from the world. A metrical paraphrase of the above is given in the commentary Leb A both. The Midrash on Qoheleth 1. 2 reckons seven “vanities,” corresponding to the seven fons of man, The child of a year is like a x1NG, adored by all: at two or three he is like a swrnz, dabbling in filth: at ten he bounds like a xm: at twenty he is like a Horse, neighing and spirited, and desires a wife: when he has married a wife, behold he is like an ass: when children are born to him, he is shameless as a poa in procuring the means of sustenance: when he has grown old he is like an apE—if, at least, he is ‘am ha-are¢; but a son of Thorah, like David, is a king though old (1 Kings i. 1). [Joma 22 Ὁ Saul when made king was like a ben shanah (1 Sam.

xiii. 1).] 08 PIRQE ABOTH. Soton, and Hrerocrates ‘the physician,” in Philo De Mundi Op. (Vol. 1. 25, 26 ed. Mangey), divided the life of man into Ten and Seven hebdomads respectively. [See also Die Lebensalter in der Jiidischen Literatur by Leopold Low, Szegedin 1875.] 1 After THIRTEEN YEARS the boy becomes a bar micvah vids ἐντολῆς, and enters upon the responsibilities of the higher life. Why (asks the Midrash, on Eccl. ix. 14) is the evil yecer personified as a “great” king? Because it is thirteen years older than the good yecer. [See p. 37, Aboth R. N. xvi. p. 62, ib. p. 166, Midr. Ps. ix. (Buber p. 82), Maim, Moreh Nebukhim 111. 22.] 2 It is commonly said that Gemara, in the sense “completion,” properly denotes the series of discussions upon the ‘“‘ Mishnah,” which, with the Mishnah itself, made up the ‘‘ Thalmud.” But it is probable that the root 191 should be taken in the sense ‘‘ learn” by rote, in contrast with AD to speculate: a man should first learn, and afterwards speculate, 77) WJ'N “ΟΣ bpp NID 520" (Shabbath 63a). At remarks that when he has, in the course of five years, learned the settled Mishnah, which is the N19) of the Thannaim, he should then proceed to learn N°2D, that is ‘‘our Thalmud,” which we call N11. Gemara (cf. Gamra), in the dialect of the Amoraim who arose in Babel, means the unexplained text of the Mishnah.

3 At the age of TWENTY, according to one view, he is pursued by ‘precepts and punishments.” So €, rejecting the interpretation that he pursues or labours to obtain the means of sustenance for his family. But since in what follows the man’s intrinsic qualities are described, it seems best to interpret the phrase as meaning that this is the time of life at which man is most eager in the pursuit of his ideal: it is the age of activity and enthusiasm, in contradistinction to the later ages of settled strength, wisdom, and influence. 4 The ocTOGENARIAN must have possessed great natural power and vigour, which is now, however, well-nigh exhausted, 13 73IWY DOW NWNAID ON) (Ps. xe. 10). [Or if he lives longer it is Ὁ) 50 171323 ] thirteen] He is “minorennis” until fourteen, or ‘‘In Ecclesiasticis” until thirteen (Buxt. 1364 on 13). Cf. Shulchan ‘Arukh Orach Chayim 199.10. The V Δ is called WN man, for so was Levi at that age (Gen. xxxiv. 25), and in Is. xliii. 21 “This people have I formed” \} this is by Gematria thirteen (Magen Aboth). Cf. Léw Lebensalter, Machsor Vitry, Niddah 46 a. twenty] There is a saying that the celestial beth din do not punish a man until twenty, see Magen Aboth, Léw Lebensalter, Rashi on Num. xvi. 27, Shabbath 89 b, T. J. Bikkur. τὸ 1 (040) T. J. Sanh. x1. 7 (30 dg) ed. princeps or x1.

5 ed. Zitomir 1865, Gen. Rab. 58. 1, Zohar 11. 98 8. He then “comes of age” for pursuit or prosecution DOWN 2. Abarbanel in Nachalath Aboth gives the interpretation that the ‘3 13 is quick and impulsive "70 pope op Op. Another view is that twenty is the age for military service (Machsor Vitry p. 551, Num. i. 8, Deut. xxiv. 5), cf. in Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man Then a soldier. Heb. Auth. P. B. ed. Singer p. 204 (cf. Low p. 24, Strack on Aboth) ‘‘at twenty for seeking a livelihood. ’

Rappr Meir said, Whosoever is busied in Thorah for its own sake merits many things; and not only so, but he is worth the whole world: he is called friend, beloved: loves God, loves mankind: pleases God, pleases mankind. And it clothes him with meekness and fear, and fits him to become righteous, pious, upright and faithful: and removes him from sin, and brings him toward the side of merit. And they enjoy from him counsel, and sound wisdom, understanding, and strength, for it is said, Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength (Prov. vill. 14). And it gives him kingdom, and dominion, and faculty of judgment. And they reveal to him the secrets of Thorah; and he is made, as it were, a spring that ceases not, and as a river that flows on increasing. And he becomes modest, and long-suffering, and forgiving of insult. And it magnifies him and exalts him over all things.

Said Rabbi Jehoshua‘ ben Levi, Every day Bath Qol goes forth from Mount Choreb, and makes proclamation and says, Woe to the creatures for contempt of Thorah, for who1 This saying is repeated before each of the six Peraqim. 100 PIRQE ABOTH. soever does not occupy himself in Thorah is called “blameworthy’,” for it is said, As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion (Prov. xi. 22). And it saith, And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables (Ex. Xxxii. 16); read not? CHARUTH, graven, but CHERUTH, freedom, for thou wilt find no freeman but him who is occupied in learning of Thorah; and whosoever is occupied in learning of Thorah, behold he exalts himself, for it is said, And from Matthanah to Nachaliel: and from Nachaliel to Bamoth (Numb. xxL 19).

He who learns from his companion one section, or one canon, or one verse*, or one word, (or) even one letter, is bound to do him honour; for thus we find with David king of Israel, who learned not from Achithophel but two things only, that he called him his master, his guide, and his acquaintance, 1 NazvurF serves as a ‘‘not(a)riqgon”’ of FINS any Ory. An example of another species of ἢ) 2 1) occurs in Jalqut 1. 298 (Mekiltha ‘MN wna), where: ‘‘ Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long,” is said to carry with it the alternative, ΠΥΡῚ yyod wxd on). This latter species is overlooked by Buxtorf s. v., and by his modern editor. 2 Compare Joh. viii. 32; James i. 25, ii. 12: and see Aboth m1. 8; ‘Erubin 54 a; ‘Abodah Zarah 5a; Bemidbar Rabbah xv1.; &c. The exegetical device “pn bx, “Ηρα not” so but so, is often used in the Talmud, when it is desired to attach a preconceived idea to a Scriptural expression by way of μνημόσυνον. The "pn bx is not to be taken as evidence that an actual various reading was current. The words to which it is prefixed are confessedly the true reading, with which the darshan makes free for a special purpose. VERSES was employed by the Jews at a very early period (Qiddushin 30 a); but the present division of the Old Testament into chapters and vERsES was introduced later by the Christians, and adopted from them by the Jews.

See the Cambridge University MS. Additional 465, of which the ‘‘ Leaves 245 a—246 a are occupied by a Table of the Christian division of the several books of the Hebrew Bible, drawn up by R. Solomon b. Ishmael...it cannot well be later than the early part of the xivth century, or at least a hundred years before the date of R. Isaac Nathan, whose concordance, begun in 1437, is usually considered the first instance of the Jewish adoption of the Christian chapters for any purpose. The introduction shews that it was here used for the purpose of ready reference in the continually recurring controversies with the Christians ”’ (Schiller-Szinessy’s Caratoaug, Vol. 1. p. 17, on MS. No. 13). VI. 3—6. 101 for it is said, But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance (Ps. lv. 14). And is there not an argument from the greater to the less, that as David king of Israel, who learned not from Achithophel but two words only, called him his master, his guide, and his acquaintance, he who learns from his companion one section, or one canon, or one verse, or one word, or even one letter, is so many times the more bound to do him honour? And honour is nothing but Thorah, for it is said, The wise shall inherit honour (Prov. 111. 35). And the perfect shall inherit good (Prov. xxviii. 10). And good is nothing but Thorah, for it is said, For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my Thorah (Prov. iv. 2).

This is the path of Thorah: A morsel with salt? shalt thou eat; Thou shalt drink also water by measure (Ezek. iv. 11); and shalt sleep upon the ground, and live a life of painfulness, and in Thorah shalt thou labour. If thou doest thus, Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee (Ps. cxxviil. 2): “happy shalt thou be” in this world; “and it shall be well with thee” in the world to come (Iv. 3).

Seek not greatness for thyself, and desire not honour. Practise more than thow learnest. And lust not for the table of kings, for thy table is greater than their table, and thy crown greater than their crown, and faithful is thy task-master who will pay thee the wage of thy work.

Greater is Thorah than the priesthood, and than the kingdom ; for the kingdom is acquired by thirty degrees, and the priesthood by four and twenty, and the Thorah is acquired by forty and eight things. And these are they, by learning, by a listening ear, by ordered speech, by discernment of heart, by dread, by fear, by meekness, by cheerfulness, by pureness, by attendance upon the wise, by discussion with associates, by the argumentation of disciples, by sedateness ; by Scripture, by Mishnah; by little traffic, by little intercourse, by little luxury, by little sleep, by little converse, by little merriment; by long-suffering, by a good heart, by faith in the wise, by acceptance of chastisements; he that knows his place, and that rejoices in his portion, and that makes a fence to his This is a Talmudic phrase for a poor man’s fare (Berakoth 2 b). 102 PIRQE ABOTH. words, and does not claim merit to himself; he is loved, loves God, loves mankind, loves righteousnesses, loves uprightness, loves reproofs; and retires from honour, and puffs not up his heart with his learning, and is not forward in decision; bears the yoke with his associate, and inclines him to the scale of merit, and grounds him upon the truth, and grounds him upon peace (1. 19); and settles his heart to his study; asks and answers, hears and adds thereto; he that learns in order to teach, and that learns in order to practise; that makes his master wiser, and that considers what he has heard, and that tells a thing in the name of him that said it. Lo, thou hast learned that whosoever tells a thing in the name of him that said it, brmgs redemption to the world, for it is said, And Esther told it to the king in the name of Mordekai (Esth. ii. 22).

Great is Thorah, which gives life to those who practise it in this world and in the world to come, for it is said, For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh (Prov. iv. 22); and it saith, It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones (Prov. 111. 8); and it saith, She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her (Prov. iii. 18); and it saith, For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck (Prov. i. 9); and it saith, She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee (Prov. iv. 9); and it saith, For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased (Prov. ix. 11); and it saith, Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour (Prov, 111. 16): and it saith, For length of days, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to thee (Prov. iii. 2).

Rabbi Shime‘on ben Jehudah, in the name of Rabbi Shime‘on ben Jochai, said, Comeliness, and strength, and wealth, and honour, and wisdom, and age, and_hoariness, and sons, are comely to the righteous, and comely to the world, for it is said, The hoary head is a crown of glory; it is found in the way of righteousness (Prov. xvi. 31); and it saith, The glory of young men is their strength: and the VI. 7—10. 103 beauty of old men is the grey head (Prov. xx. 29); and it saith, Sons’ sons are the crown of old men; and the glory of sons are their fathers (Prov. xvil. 6); and it saith, Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously (Is. xxiv. 23). Rabbi Shime‘on ben Manasia said, These (?) seven qualities which the wise have reckoned to the righteous were all of them confirmed in Rabbi and his sons.

Said Rabbi Jose ben Qisma, Once I was walking by the way, and there met me a man, and he gave me “Peace”; and I returned him “Peace.” He said to me, Rabbi, from what place art thou? I said to him, From a great city of wise men, and doctors, am I. He said to me‘, Rabbi, should it be thy pleasure to dwell with us in our place, I will give thee a thousand thousand dinars of gold, and goodly stones, and pearls. I said to him, If thou shouldest give me all the silver, and gold, and goodly stones, and pearls that are in the world, I would not dwell but in a place of Thorah; and thus it is written in the book of Psalms, by the hands of David, king of Israel, The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver (Ps. exix. 72). Moreover in the hour of a man’s decease not silver, nor gold, nor goodly stones, and pearls accompany the man, but Thorah and good works alone, for it is said, When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee (Prov. vi. 22). “When thou goest, it shall lead thee,” in this world: “when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee,” in the grave: “and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee,” in the world to come. And it saith, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts (Hagg. 11. 8).

Five possessions possessed the Holy One, blessed is He, 4 Observe the absence of conjuncthe Talmudic style in this respect. tions: “1 said te him,..said he to 5 The text of @ reads Four posme,” &c. The same peculiarity is sessions, instead of rive. Cf. note x. found in parts of the New Testament. Gen. xiv. 19 is not a good proof that Cf. Joh. iy. xxi., which are quite in Abram was a 12. 104 PIRQE ABOTH. in his world, and these are they: THORAH, one possession ; HEAVEN AND EARTH, one possession; Abraham, one possession ; ISRAEL, one possession; THE SANCTUARY, one possession. Thorah, whence? because it is written, The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old (Prov. vill. 22); Heaven and Earth, whence? because it is written, Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest (Is. lxvi. 1)? and it saith, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy possessions (Ps. civ. 24); Abraham, whence? because it is written, And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth (Gen. xiv. 19); Israel, whence? because it is written, Till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast possessed (Ex.

xv. 16); and it saith, To the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight (Ps. xvi. 3); The Sanctuary, whence? because it is written, The place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established (Ex. xv. 17); and it saith, And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right-hand had possessed (Ps. Ixxvili. 54).

Whatsoever the Holy One, blessed is He, created in his world, he created not but for his glory, for it is said, Every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him (Is. xliii. 7); and it saith, The Lord shall reign for ever and ever (Ex. xv. 18). Rabbi Chanania ben ‘Agashia said', The Holy One, blessed is He, was pleased to give merit to Israel: therefore he multiplied unto them Thorah and precepts, for it is said, The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable (Is. xl. 21). 1 This saying is repeated at the end of each of the six Peragim.

By ten Sayings’ the world was created. And what is learned therefrom? for could it not have been created by one by sayIncs, because in Genesis the acts of creation are introduced ὃν “δὲ WON"), ° “and God sarp.” ‘93 ΠῚ WO NW 59 (Ps. xxxiii. 9). In the Jalqut, which commences with the paragraph Aboth vy. 1, NINE occurrences of ON) are reckoned, and the tenth is said to be implied in NWN 7A, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” since it is said that ‘“ by the word of the Lord (’ “373)” the heavens were created (Ps. xxxiii. 6). [Rosh ha-Shanah 32a.] In Pirge R. El. 111.) TEN va-yomer’s are reckoned (Gen. i. 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 29; ii. 18), the last being that which leads up to the creation of woman. In Bereshith Rabbah xvir., the first ‘‘Saying” is taken as implied in N°WN 12: the second in πὲ my (i. 2): then follow eight of those specified above, from Gen. i. 3 to 1. 26, ending with the creation of man; but it is added that Menachem bar Jose excludes “2 M1), and replaces it by iii. 18. In Chagigah 12 ἃ, it is said in the name of Rab, that by ten ‘‘things,” or D245, the world was created: some of the ten things specified, as chochmah, chesed, geburah, being found also among the ten Sephiroth of the Qabbalists.

The point of view in the text is that the grandeur of Creation is more impressively portrayed as the outcome of repeated acts of power, than as the immediate result of a single fiat of omnipotence. ‘God laboured so much in creating the world by ten sayings” in order to emphasize the guilt of the sinners who mar His work, and the merit of the righteous who preserve it. But elsewhere creation is described as requiring the least conceivable effort on the part of God: read not BN 9373, ‘‘on their being created,” but (as two words) ON12 ‘73 [Gen. Rab. xx. 2], He created them by the letter H; ‘“ by the breath of His mouth.” Various other ways of representing the creative process are found in the Rabbinic writings. THorau, which is identified with Wisdom (Prov. viii. 1), and with ’Apx7 (ver. 22), is introduced as the speaker in Gen. i. 1: ‘‘By me, who am ᾿Αρχή, God created, &c.”— where the first word is read as two, NWN Δ (Jalqut 2). The ideal IsraEx is also said to be the creative agent: “ΒΥ the merit of Israel, who are called REsHITH (Jer. ii. 3), God created the heavens and the earth.” ‘RR. Berekiah said, By the merit of Mosrs the world was created, &c.” ‘‘From each word, 1)35, that proceeded from the mouth of the Holy ΤΟΣ 79 Saying ? But it was that vengeance might be taken on the wicked, who destroy the world that was created by ten Sayings ; and to give a goodly reward to the righteous, who maintain the world that was created by ten Sayings.