Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 1, scan section 46

as many as twelve thousand calves ? We have learned (in a Boraitha): The cow in question was not his, but a neighboring woman's. It is only ascribed to him because he did not protest against it. Rabh, R. Hanina, R. Jonathan, and R. Habiba [in the whole Section of Festivals, where the four names stand together, R. Jonathan must be read instead of R. Johanan] all said: He who has the power to protest against wrong in his house and does not do so, is responsible for (the transgressions of) every one in his house. In the city (where his protest would be rec- ognized), he is responsible for the transgressions of every one of the inhabitants of the city; and if he is such a great man that his word would be respected in the whole world, he is punished for (transgressions of all) mankind. Said R. Papa: "And the Exilarchs are punished for the sins of all Israel." As R. Hanina TRACT SABBATH. 99 said: It is written : " The Eternal will enter into judgment with the elders of his people and with the princes thereof" [Isaiah, iii. 14]. If the princes sinned, what have the elders to do with it ? The intent is to say : Because the elders did not protest against the princes. R. Jehudah sat before Samuel, when a woman came in com- plaining, and Samuel paid no attention to her. Said R. Jehu- dah to him: " Is Master unaware of the passage: Whosoever stops his ears at cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself and not be heard " ? [Prov. xxi. 13]. Samuel retorted: " Ingenious scholar! Your head-master (meaning himself) is on safe ground, but our Chief is responsible," Mar Uqba, being at that time Chief of the Judges (it was his affair), for it is written [Jerem. xxi. 12]: " O House of David! Thus hath said the Lord: Ex- ercise justice on (every) morning, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." Said R. Zera to R. Simon: " Let Master reprove the Exi- larch's retainers." He answered: "They care not for me." Rejoined R. Zera: Even if they do not care, reprove them anyhow; for R. Aha b. Hanina said: The Holy One, blessed be He, never issued a benevolent decree, which He subse- quently reversed into malevolence, except in this sole instance, which is written [Ezekiel, ix. 41]: "And the Lord said unto him. Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and inscribe a mark upon the foreheads," etc. Thus said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Gabriel: " Go and set the mark (the Hebrew letter Tabh) in ink upon the foreheads of the righteous, that the angels of destruction have no power over them ; and the same mark in blood upon the foreheads of the wicked, that the angels of destruction may have power over them." The Party of Prosecution pleaded before Him in these terms: " Lord of the Universe, what is the difference between the two?" He answered: "Those are perfectly righteous and these completely wicked." Again the Party of Prosecution pleaded: " Lord of the Universe! It was in their power to protest (against wickedness), and they did not." And the Lord answered: "It is known to me that, had they protested, their protest would have been of no avail." But they pleaded once more: " Lord of the Universe! It is known to Thee; but was it known to them ? " And thus it is written : " Slay utterly loo THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. old and young, both maids, little children, and women, and at my sanctuary shall ye begin," Then they began with the old men who were before the house" [Ezek. ix. 6]. And R. Joseph taught: " Do not read ' my sanctuary,' but * my sancti- fied,' which means the men who have performed all the laws prescribed in the Torah, which begins with all the letters of the alphabet. And it is also written [ibid., ibid. 2]: "And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate .... beside the copper altar." Was, then, the copper altar at that time ? Was it not hidden already in the time of Solomon ? It means that the Holy One, blessed be He, told them they shall begin from that place where they used to sing hymns before Him. And who are the six men (messengers) ? Said R. Hisda: " Anger, wrath, rage, destruction, devastation, and ruin." Why just the letter Tabh ? Said R. Simeon b. Lakish: " The Tabh is the last letter on the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He; for R. Hanina said (the inscription on) the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, is Emeth (truth) (and the last letter of the Hebrew word Emeth is a Tabh). It being evident from the verse [Ezek. ix. 2] that Zechuth Aboth * no longer existed, at what time shall we assume that it ceased ? Said Rabh: From the time of the prophet Hosea b. Beeri, as it is written [Hosea, ii. 12]: " And no man will deliver her out of my hand," meaning that even the righteousness of the ancestors will be of no avail. Samuel said: From the time of the King Chazael of Syria, as it is written [II Kings, xiii. 23]: "And the Lord became gracious unto them, and had mercy on them, and turned his regard unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, and he cast them not off from his presence until now." Thus, He will remember his covenant only " until now," but not after that. R. Jehoshua b. Levi said: From the time of Elijah the prophet, as it is written [I Kings, xviii. 16:" Elijah the prophet came near and said, O Lord, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, this day let it be known that thou art God in Israel," * Zechuth Aboth is a term implying the benefits bestowed upon men in consid- eration of the virtues and righteousness of their ancestors, and is based upon the pas- sage in the Bible : " Keeping kindness unto the thousandth generation," etc. [Ex. xxxiv. 7] ; and also upon the verse Ex. xxxii. 13. TRACT SABBATH. loi etc., and means to infer that only" this day" the Lord will remember Zechuth Aboth, and not after this day. R. Joharian says: From the time of Hezekiah the King, as it is written [Isaiah, ix. 6J : "To establish it and to support it through justice and righteousness, from henceforth and unto eternity: the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this," implying that after that the favors of the Lord will not be bestowed by virtue of Zechuth Aboth, but through His zeal. R. Ami said : Death is the result of sin, and afifliction the result of transgression: death the result of sin, for it is written [Ezekiel, xviii. 20]: "The soul that sins, it shall die," etc.; afifliction the result of transgression: for it is written [Psalms, Ixxxix. 33]: " And I will visit their transgressions with a lash and their iniquity with stripes." An objection was raised: One of the teachers said: The