Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 9, scan section 12

Lord," as in other cases Moses acted according to the command of God. [R. Aqiba infers it from the following passage: " And I took hold of the two tables." What can a man take hold of ? Only what he can destroy {i.e.y if he had not been commanded to do so he could not have been able to destroy a thing given by God). R. Meir infers it from the following passage: " Which thou hast broken " ; it really means, " which thou didst break rightfully " (see Sabbath, p. 165).] Also Hezekiah, King of Judah, did four things of his own voli- tion which were in accordance with the will of the Lord (see Pesachim, p. 99 in the Mishna) : " And Hezekiah prospered in all his works " [II Chron. xxxii. 30]. What is the safeguard that Job made to his words ? (Let us see), it is written [Job i. i] : "And this man was perfect and up- right, and fearing God, and eschewing evil." We learn there- from that Job kept aloof from anything that led to sin, from abomination and from what is equal to it. It may be asked [if it is so, are not the terms" perfect " and " upright " superfluous? (the words " fearing God " and " eschewing evil," are they not sufficient) ? Infer from this that the term " perfect " means that he was born circumcised. Adam the first man also came forth circumcised, as it is written [Gen. i. 27]: "And God created man in his image." Also Seth was so born, as it is written [ibid. V. 3]: "And begat a son in his likeness, after his im- age." Noah, too, was born circumcised, as [ibid. vi. 9] the term " perfect " was used in reference to Noah. Shem was also so born, as it is written [ibid. xiv. 18]: " And Malkizedek, king of Salem." * Jacob the patriarch was also so born, as the appel- lation " perfect " was also applied to him [ibid. xxv. 27]. And Joseph was also so born, as it is written [ibid, xxxvii. 2] : " These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph." It ought to be the generation of Jacob : Reuben (as he was the first-born). * There is a tradition in the Talmud that Malkizedek is identical with Shem. Salem in Hebrew means also " perfect." Hence the analogy. TRACT ABOTH. 17 Why is it Joseph ? Infer from this, that as Jacob was born cir- cumcised, so also was Joseph. And Moses was born circum- cised, as it is written [Ex. ii. 2] : " And when she saw him, that he was a goodly child." What good could his mother see in him ? Was he then more beautiful than all mankind ? Say, then, he was born circumcised. Also Balaam the wicked was born circumcised, as it is written [Numb. xxiv. 4] : " Thus saith he who heareth the sayings of God." (According to the tradi- tion of the Talmudists, one who is not circumcised could not hear the words of God, and as Balaam was a Gentile, and not circumcised by his parents, and yet he heard the words of God, consequently he must have been born circumcised.) Samuel was also born so, as he is also graced with the appellation good [I Sam. ii. 26]. David was also born so, traditionally, as (the support from Ps. xvi. i does not imply anything). Also Jere- miah was born circumcised, as it is written [Jer. i. 5]: "Be- fore yet I had formed thee in thy mother's body I knew thee, and before thou wast yet come forth out of the womb I sancti- fied th^^.'' Also Zerubabel was born so, as it is written [Hag- gai, ii. 23]: " On that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubabel, the son of Shealtiel, my servant.''^ And he (Job) said [Job xxxi. i] : "A covenant have I made with my eyes: how then should I fix my looks on a virgin?" Infer from this that Job was so scrupulous with himself that he did not even look at a virgin. This is to be made an a fortiori con- clusion— namely, if a virgin whom he could marry himself, or to his son, brother, or relatives was not looked upon by him because he was so rigorous with himself, so much the more did he refrain from looking at a married woman. But what was the reason that Job was so rigorous with himself as regards looking at a virgin ? Because he thought, if I look at her to-day (and like her) and to-morrow she marries some one else, I will have looked on (and liked) a married woman. What safeguard have the prophets made to their words ? It is written [Is. xlii. 13]: ** The Lord — as a mighty one will he go forth, like a man of war will he arouse his vengeance : he will shout, yea, raise the war-cry." Is then the Lord as one mighty one ? Is He not stronger than all the mighty ones of the world put together ? The same is in Amos [iii. 8]: " The lion hath roared, who will not fear ? the Lord Eternal hath spoken, who will not prophesy ? " Is then the voice of the Lord equal to one lion — is it not as of all the lions of the whole world put i8 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. together ? The same meaning is conveyed by the following pas- sage [Ezek. xliii. 2]: " Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east ; and his voice was like a noise of many waters; and the earth gave light from his glory." (Now let us see. We know from a tradition that the words) " like a noise of many waters" mean the angel Gabriel; and by " the earth gave light, "etc., is meant the appearance of the Shekhina. Is not here an a fortiori conclusion to be drawn ? Gabriel, who is only one of the thousands of millions of servants who minister before the Lord, if his voice reached from one end of the world to the other, so much the more would that of the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who has created the universe, who has created the higher and the lower; but the reason why the prophets spake so is, that only such things are mentioned that the eye of a human being can see, and only such things are writ- ten that the ear of a human being can hear. What was the safeguard that the Hagiographers made to their words ? It is written [Prov. v. 8]: " Remove far from her thy way and come not nigh to the door of her house." " Re- move far from her thy way " means heresy against which one is warned. Lest one say, I have confidence in myself and I am sure that it would not influence me, therefore it is written [Ps. ii. 19]: " All that come unto her return not again, and they will not reach the paths of life." [It is written [ibid. ix. 2]: " She hath killed her cattle, she hath mingled her wine ; she hath also set in order her table." This refers to the wicked. When one goes away with them, they give him food and drink, they clothe and cover him, and give him plenty of money; but as soon as he becomes one of them, each one recognizes what belonged to him and takes it away from him. Concerning them it is written [ibid. vii. 23]: " Till an arrow cleaveth through his liver, as a bird hasleneth into the snare, and knoweth not that it is done