Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 2, scan section 63

should inject wine into the nostrils of the corpse and anoint the eyelids with a little oil, and then pull the big toes of the feet, when the eyelids will close of themselves." We have learned in another Boraitha: " One should violate the Sabbath even for a child of one day, if it still have life ; but for a corpse, even be it that of David, King of Israel, the Sab- bath must not be violated." The reason for this is: For a child of even one day, the Sabbath should be violated, saith the Thorah, in order that it may keep many Sabbaths in the future ; but David, King of Israel, when dead, can keep no more com- mandments. This is in accord with the saying of R. Johanan ; viz. : It is written [Psalms Ixxxviii. 6] : " Free among the dead," etc. ; which means, that when a man is dead, he is free from keeping any commandments. We have also learned in a Boraitha : R. Simeon ben Elazar said : A child of a day need not be guarded from the attacks of cats and dogs, but even when Og the King of Bashan is dead he 354 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. must be guarded, as it is written [Genesis ix. 2] : " And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth," etc. Hence, as long as a man lives, the beasts are in dread of him ; but as soon as he is dead, the fear is destroyed. We have learned in another Boraitha: R. Simeon ben Elazar said: As long as thou canst, practise charity: as long as thou hast the opportunity and as long as it is in thy hands. For Sol- omon said in his wisdom [Ecclesiastes xii. i] : " But remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youthful vigor, while the evil days (meaning old age) are not yet come, nor those years draw nigh of which thou wilt say, I have no pleasure in them." By that is meant, the days of the Messiah, because at that time there will be neither rich nor poor : all will be rich (and no op- portunity for charity will present itself). This differs with the teaching of Samuel, who says, that there is no difference between the present time and the days of Messiah, only that one is sub- ject to the government at the present time, while then it will not be so, as it is written [Deut. xv. 11] : " For the needy will not cease out of the land." We have learned in a Boraitha: R. Elazar Hakappar said: A man should always pray for deliverance from poverty, although if he himself will not eventually come to poverty, his children or his grandchildren will, as it is written [Deut. xv. 11]: " For the needy will not cease out of the land, therefore do I com- mand thee," etc. (The Hebrew term for "therefore" is " Biglal," and the school of Ishmael taught that Biglal is the equivalent of Galgal, meaning a " wheel," thus inferring, from that word, that poverty is like a wheel, always turning from one to the other.) R. Joseph said: " There is a tradition extant, that a diligent young scholar will never become poor." But we see that he sometimes does become poor ? Still, we have never seen one so poor that he had to beg his bread from house to house. Said R. Hyya to his wife: " If thou seest a man about to beg bread from thee, hasten to give it to him, that he might at some other time do likewise for thy children. " Said she to him: " Art thou cursing thy children ?" " Nay; I am simply quoting the verse above, as interpreted by the school of Ishmael, that poverty is a wheel continually turning." We have learned in a Boraitha : Rabbon Gamaliel the Great * * This means Gamaliel the Second, who was the Nassi in Jamnia, and he is entitled " the Great " in many places. TRACT SABBATH. 355 said thus: "It is written [Deut. xvii. r8]: "And grant thee mercy and have mercy upon thee, and multiply thee," etc. This means to say, that one who hath mercy upon creatures will be granted mercy from above, but one who hath not mercy upon other creatures will not be granted mercy from above. It is written [Ecclesiastes xii. 2] : " While the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars are not yet darkened." The sun and the light are compared to the brow and the nose, the moon to the soul, the stars to the cheeks; and further, the verse reads: " And the clouds return not again after the rain," which means, that after weeping the eyes become dim. (The entire verse is, according to this interpretation, not applicable to the end of the world but to a human life.) Samuel said: " Up to forty years of age, the eyes of a man which have become dim through tears may yet be restored by different remedies, but beyond that age there is no remedy for them "; and R. Na'hman said: "The dye used for the eyes makes them brighter until a man is forty years of age ; after that age, however, it may preserve the eyes, but does not help them, even if the eyes are filled with dye." What are we given to understand by this statement ? We are told that, the larger the brush used for applying the dye to the eye, the better it is for the eyes. One of R. Hanina's daughters died, and he did not weep over her death. Said his wife to him : " Was a hen carried out of thy house?" "Is it not sufificient that our child died; wouldst thou have me lose my eyes through weeping ? " replied R. Hanina; and he is of the opinion of R. Johanan, who said in the name of R. Jose ben Katzartha: " There are six kinds of tears in the eyes, three of which are good for the eyes and three bad. Tears generated by smoke, weeping, or disorder of the bowels are bad for the eyes ; but those that are caused through laughing, acrid fruits (such as mustard), and medicaments which are applied to produce tears, are good for the eyes." It is written [Ecclesiastes xii. 3]: "On the day when the watchmen of the house will tremble ": this refers to the bowels and the sides which protect the bowels; " the men of might will bend themselves," meaning the legs of the man; " and those be darkened that look through the windows," refers to the eyes. Caesar asked of R. Jehoshua ben Hananiah : "Why didst thou not come to the debating rooms?" and he answered: " The mountain is covered with snow " (meaning his head was 356 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. gray), " the surrounding paths are icy '* (meaning his beard was gray), " the dogs do not bark any more " (meaning his voice was inaudible), " and the millstones grind no more" (meaning his teeth were decayed). The school of Rabh would say of an old man: " He hath lost nothing and is constantly seeking " (meaning that he was always bowed down). We have learned in a Boraitha : R. Jose bar Kisma said : " Two are better than three" (referring to two legs, instead of two legs and a stick). " Woe is to the one who goeth away and doth not return," so said he. What does he mean by it ? Said R. Hisda: "Youth."