Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 6, scan section 26

children shall not be named after them. Rabbina said to one of the scholars Avho arranged for him the Agada: How do we know that the rabbis have said : " The name of the just is blessed " ? He replied: Why rabbis — it is in the Bible, in the Proverbs ? He said : Nay. How is it known from the Pentateuch ? It is known from the following verse [Gen. xviii. 17]: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do ? " And the next verse is: " Abraham shall surely become a 56 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. great nation." And how is it known from the Pentateuch that the name of the wicked shall rot ? Because it is written ^ibid. xiii. 12'-. '"And pitched his tents close to Sodom." And the next: "The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners." R. Elazar said : From the blessings awarded to the righteous, one can infer what curses are bestowed on the wicked ; as it is writ- ten [ibid. x\'iii. 19]: " For I know him, that he will command," etc. And the next verse is: " The Lord said. Because the cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great." And from the carses given to the wicked the blessings re5er\-ed for the righteous can be inferred, as it is written jbid. xiii. 13] : " The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners. ' ' And the next verse says : ' ' And the Lord said unto Abram. Lift up now thy eyes and look," etc R- Elazar says again : Even for one just man is a whole world created. As it is written [Gen. L 4] : " And God saw the light, that it was good." And good is only a just man, since it is written [Is. iii. 10]: "Say to the just, that he is good."* R. Elazar says again : Whoever forgets something of his study, causes exile to his children, as is written [Hosea iv. 6]: " As thou hast forgotten the law of thy God. so will I myself also forget thy children." R. Abahu says: He is degraded from his high station, as it is written [ibid.] : " Because thou hast rejected knowledge, so will I also reject thee from officiating before me. R. Hiya b. Abba said in the name of R. Johanan : A right- eous man does not depart from the world, till another righteous man like him has been created, as it is written "Eccles. i. 5] : ' The sun rises, the sun goes down." Before the sun of Eli had been extinguished, the sun of Samuel of Ramah already shone. The same said again : The Holy One, blessed be He. perceived that righteous men are few: He planted them in every genera- tion, as it is written [i Sam. ii. 8]: " For the Lord's are the pillars of the earth, on which He hath set the world." And the same said once more, on the same authority* : Even when there is only one just man in the world, the world can exist through his merit, as it is written [Prov. x. 25] : " The righteous is the foundation of the world." R. Hij-a saj's, on his own authority, as it is written in a different verse [i Sam. ii. 9] : " He ever guardeth the feet of his pious ones," But they are spoken of in the plural ? Says R. Xa'hman, it is read in the plural, but it is written in the singular. R. Hiya b. Abba says again, in the TRACT YOMAH (DAY OF ATONEMENT). 57 name of R. Johanan : When a man has lived the greatest part of his life without having sinned, he will sin no more, for they will guard him Above, and this he infers from the above passage. The disciples of R, Shila have said : When a man has had occa- sion to commit a sin once and twice, and he escapes committing it, he will be guarded Above from sinning. They infer it from the same verse, Resh Lakish said : It is written [Prov. iii. 34] ; " The mockers He will mock, but to the modest He will give grace." From this we can infer: If one wishes to defile himself (to sin) the door is opened to him ; but he who comes to purify himself, he is assisted. The disciples of R. Ishmael have told a parable in reference to this : When one sells both naphtha and perfumes, when one arrives to buy naphtha, he saith to him : " Measure the quantity you need"; but if one arrives to buy perfumes, he says: " Wait, we will both measure it, and con- tract the odor." The same disciples taught: A sin stops up a man's heart, as it is written [Lev. xi. 43]: " And ye shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby." Do not read Qfli^DCDJI but DDDC0J1 (stop up). The rabbis taught : This verse signifies that when a man de- files himself a little here below, Above he is defiled much ; and if he defiles himself in this world, he is defiled in the world to come. And it is written [ibid. 44]: "Ye shall sanctify your- selves, and be holy." When a man sanctifies himself a little here below, he is sanctified much Above, and when he sanctifies himself in this world, he is sanctified in the world to come. CHAPTER IV. REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE TWO GOATS OF THE DAY OF ATONE- MENT : HOW THEY WERE SLAUGHTERED, SENT AWAY, ETC. MISHNA: He shook the box, and took out two lots. On one is written, "to Jehovah"; on the other is written, "to Azazel." The Segan is at his right, and the head of the family [see above] on his left. If that of Jehovah was taken up by his right hand, the Segan says to him, " My lord the high-priest, raise thy right hand." If that of Jehovah was taken up by his left hand, the head of the family addresses him : " My lord the high-priest, raise thy left hand." He placed them [the lots] on the two he-goats, and uttered: " To Jehovah a sin-offering." R. Ishmael says: It was not necessary for him to say " sin-offer- ing," but " to Jehovah " sufificed. They responded: " Blessed be the name of His kingdom's glory for ever." GEMARA: Why had he to shake the box ? That he should not have intentionally taken that for Jehovah in his right hand (as it was a good omen if he took it up by chance). Rabh said : The box was of wood, and was not sacred, and could contain only the two palms of the hand. Rabbina opposed: It is right that it had only capacity for the two palms, that he might not intentionally take the lot for the Lord ; but if it was profane, he should have sanctified it ? The answer is: If he had sanctified it, it would have been a wooden sacred vessel, and in the Temple wooden sacred vessels were not used. Let them have made it of silver or gold ? Because the Torah wished to spare the wealth of Israel. The Mishna is at variance with the Tana of the fol- lowing Boraitha: R. Jehudah says in the name of R. EHezer: The Segan and the high-priest both placed their hands in the box. When that for Jehovah was picked up by the high-priest, the Segan said to him: " My lord the high-priest, raise thy right hand." But if it was picked up by the Segan, the chief of the family said to him: " Speak thy words." Why not the Segan himself ? The lot came into the hand of the Segan, and