Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 9, scan section 32

we do and obey," nevertheless they soon afterward exclaimed: ** These are thy gods, O Israel " [Ex. xxxii. 4]. Still others say that the above passage refers to the spies who brought and spread an evil report about the land, and caused that carcasses of Israelites fell in the desert, as it is written [Numb. xiv. 29] : " In this wilderness shall your carcasses fall." " They appointed me to be keeper of the vineyards " [Song of Songs, i. 6]. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: Who has caused me to shower kindness upon the heathens, but Israel himself ? For when the heathens live in prosperity they are pushed, cursed, and persecuted. Others say that the above passage refers to the Israelite who were exiled in Babylon, and the prophets who were then among them told them to observe the laws of offerings and tithes. They, however, answered: "We were exiled because we refused to observe those laws, and you wish us to obserre them now ? ' ' MiSHNA C. R. Simeon said : '' Three that have eaten at our table, and have not blessed the Lord for His kind- ness, are as if they have eaten of the sacrifices of the dead, as it is written [Is. xxviii. 8] : ' For all tables are full of TRACT ABOTH. 75 vomit of filthiness, there is no place (clean).* But three that have blessed the Lord when eating at our table, are as if they had eaten of the table of the Omnipotent, as it is written [Ezek. xli. 22] : 'And he spoke unto me: This is the table that is before the Lord.' " MiSHNA D. R. Hanina b. 'Hakhinai used to say : *' He who awakens by night, and he who is walking alone on the road and turns aside his heart to idleness, it is his own fault if he incurs trouble for himself." MisHNA E, R. Nehunia b. Haqanah said : " Whoso receives upon him the yoke of the Law {i.e., one who devotes himself wholly to study), the community removes from him the yoke of the government and the yoke of worldly cares ; but a student who breaks from him the yoke of the Law, the community lays upon him the yoke of the government and the yoke of worldly cares." MiSHNA F, R. 'Halaphtha of the village of Hananiah said : '' When ten sit and are occupied in words of Law the Shekhina is among them, as it is written [Ps. Ixxxii. i] : 'God standeth in the Congregation of God.' And whence is it proved of even five ? It is written [Amos, ix. 6] : ' And hath founded his bundle * on the earth ' (and a bundle is at least of five). And whence even three ? It is written [Ps. Ixxxii. i] : 'In the midst of judges doth he judge ' (and the number of judges is generally threel And whence even two ? It is written [Mai. iii. 16] : * Then they that favored the Lord spake often one to another.' (The least number of persons who can speak to each other is two.) And whence even one ? It is written [Ex. xx. 24 (21) ] : ' In every place where I shall permit my name to be mentioned, I will come unto thee and will bless thee! " MiSHNA G. R. Eliezer of Bartota said : " Render unto God what belongs to Him, for thou and all thou hast are His, as David said [I Chron. xxix. 14] : ' For all things come from thee, and of thine own have we given thee.'" * Leeser translates it " vault," but the Talmud translates it literally. 76 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. MiSHNA H. R. Jacob said : " One who walks by the way and learns, and breaks off his study and says, * How beautiful is this tree ! ' and, ' How fine is this furrow field ! ' is endangering his own life." MiSHNA / R. Dosithai b. R. Janai said in the name of R. Meir: "When a scholar of the sages sits and studies, and subsequently forgets what he studied, Scripture likens him to one who endangers his own life, as it is written [Deut. iv. 9] : * Only take heed to thyself, and guard thy soul diligently, that thou do not forget the things which thy eyes have seen and that they depart not from thy heart all the days of thy life,' etc. It might be thought that he is culpable of forgetting even when his study had grown hard to him, therefore it is written [Deut. iv. 19] : 'And they depart not from thy heart all the days of thy life,' from which it is to be inferred that he is not guilty unless he intentionally leads such a life as to forget them. Tosephtha—Aboth of R. Nathan, * R. Hanina b. Dosa said: Whomsoever fear of sin precedes, his wisdom prevails, as it is written [Ps. cxi. 10]: " The begin- ning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord." " He also used to say : * Whosesoever deeds exceed,' " etc., as it is written [Ex. xxiv.] : " We will do and obey." It was asked of R. Johanan b. Zakkai : " What praise is to be applied to one who is wise and sin-fearing?" He answered: "A mechanic who has his tools with him." " And what praise is to be ap- plied to the one who is only wise, but not sin-fearing ?" And he answered: " He is a mechanic who has no tools." He was asked again as to what praise is to be applied to the one who is sin-fearing but lacks wisdom, and he answered: " No mechanic but has tools." ** R. Elazar b. Azariah said: 'If there is 710 Law,' " etc. He used to say: One who is possessed of good deeds and who has studied much law, to what is he to be compared ? unto a tree that is planted by waters, whose branches are few but whose roots are many, and which can withstand the severest storm, as * Chapter XXIL of the original. TRACT ABOTH. 77 it is written [Ps. i. 3]: " And he shall be like a tree planted by rivulets of water," etc. One who lacks good deeds but who has studied law, to what is he to be compared ? to a tree planted in the desert whose branches are many and his roots few, which is easily uprooted by any wind, as it is written [Jer. xvii. 6] : " He shall be like a lonely tree in the desert." " R. Gamaliel said: ^ Set a teacher y' '' etc. A teacher for wisdom and a companion to study with, and be quit of doubt and do not tithe much by estimation. Simeon his son used to say : All my days I spent among the sages, and I found silence to be the most advisable thing, and that not discussion but practice is the principal thing; and if silence is advisable for intelligent persons, so much the more for fools. Wisdom does not bring to much talk, nor does much talk bring to wisdom ; the main thing is practice. Whosoever talks much causes sin, as it is written [Prov. x. 19] : " In a mul- titude of words transgression cannot be avoided " ; and it is also written [ibid. xvii. 28] : " Even a fool, when he keepeth silence, is counted wise." R. Simeon b. Eliezer said: " He who studies the law and is sin-fearing is like a physician who is consulted about a wound and who has his instruments and drugs with him ; but one who studies the Law and is not sin-fearing is like a physician who, when consulted about a wound, has the instru-