Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 9, scan section 45

. . . because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it." Once at the pillar of cloud, as it is written [Numb. xi. 25] : " And the Lord came down in a cloud." And once when it will come down in the days of Gog and Magog, as it is written [Zech. xiv. 4] : ** And his feet will stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives." Ten degrees the Shekhina removed itself from one place to another : From the cover to the cherub, as it is written [II Sam- uel, xxii. 11]: " And he rode upon a cherub, and flew along"; from the cherub to the threshold, as it is written [Ezek, ix. 3]: " And the glory of the God of Israel ascended up from the cherub, whereupon it had been, to the threshold of the house " ; from the threshold to the two cherubim, as it is written [ibid. x. 18]: " And the glory of the Lord went forth from ofT the thresh- old of the house, and halted over the cherubim"; from the cherubim to the roof, as it is written [Prov. xxi. 9]: " It is bet- ter to dwell in a corner of a roof " ; from the roof to the wall of the outer court, as it is written [Amos, vii. 7] : " And, behold, the Lord was standing upon a wall (made) by a plumbline ' ' ; from the wall of the outer court to the altar, as it is written [ibid. ix. i]: "I saw the Lord standing upon the altar"; from the altar to the city, as it is written [Micah, vi. 9]: ** The voice of the Lord calleth unto the city " : from the city to the mount, as it is written [Ezek. xi. 23]: " And the glory of the Lord ascended from the midst of the city, and halted upon the mount," etc.; from the mount to the desert, as it is written [Prov. xxi. 19]: "It is better to dwell in a desert land"; and once when it ascended on high, as it is written [Hosea, v. 15]: "I will go (hence, and) return to my place." A prophet is called by ten different names. They are as TRACT ABOTH. 115 follows: Ambassador, faithful, servant, messenger, seer, watch- man, man of scrutiny, dreamer, prophet, man of God. There are ten names for the Holy Spirit, namely: Proverb, metaphor, riddle, word, saying, calling, commandment, proph- ecy, sacred speech, and vision. Joy has ten different expressions: Gladness, joy, rejoicing, joyfulness, pleasure, relish, satisfaction, complacency, delight, cheer. Ten are called " living" : The Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written [Jer. x. 10]: " But the Lord God is the truth: h^ is the living God"; the Torah, as it is written [Prov. iii. 18]: " A tree of life is she to those that lay hold on her: and every one that firmly graspeth her will be made happy " ; Israel, as it is written [Deut. iv. 4]: " But ye that cleave unto the Lord your God are alive, everyone of you, this day"; good deeds, as it is written [Prov. xi. 30]: ** The fruit of the righteous is of the tree of life " ; the Garden of Eden, as it is written [Ps. cxvi. 9]: "I will walk before the Lord in the lands of life " ; the tree, as it is written [Gen. ii. 9] : " And the tree of life in the midst of the garden " ; Palestine, as it is written [Ezek. xxvi. 20]: " But I will bestow glory in the land of life " ; charitable deeds, as it is written [Prov. xii. 28]: " On the path of righteousness there is life " ; the wise, as it is written [ibid. xiii. 14]: " The instruc- tion of the wise is a source of life " ; light, as it is written [Job, xxxiii. 30]: ** In the light of life." MiSHNA E, Ten miracles were wrought for our fath- ers in Egypt, and ten by the sea. MiSHNA G, Ten miracles were wrought in the Sanc- tuary : No woman miscarried from the scent of the holy meat, and the holy meat never stank ; and a fly was not seen in the slaughter-house ; and an uncleanness befell not the high-priest on the Day of Atonement ; and a defect was not found in the sheep, nor in the two loaves, nor in the shew-bread ; and rains did not extinguish the fire of the fuel heaped upon the altar, and wind prevailed not against the pillar of smoke ; they stood serried, and bowed down at ease ; and serpent and scorpion harmed not in Jerusalem, and a man never said to his fellow, •' The place is too strait for me to lodge in Jerusalem." ii6 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. MisHNA H. Ten things were created at twilight of the eve of Sabbath : the mouth of the earth and the mouth of the well, and the mouth of the ass, and the bow, and the manna, and the rod, and the Shomir worm, and the character and the writing, and the tables. And some say the evil spirits also ; and the sepulchre of Moses, and the ram of Abraham our father ; and some say the first tongs with which subsequently other tongs were made. Tosephtha — A both of R. Nathan. *Ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in Jeru- salem: The holy meat was never spoiled; no woman miscarried from the scent of the holy meat; no one was ever injured; no accident ever happened to any one; no one ever stumbled; no conflagration ever occurred ; no rain was ever there ; no man ever said: " I could find no oven wherein to roast the paschal lamb**; no man ever said: '* I could find no bed wherein to sleep"; no man ever said to another: " I could find no quar- ters in which to pass the night." Jerusalem never was defiled by leprosy, nor condemned as a misled city; no ledges, galleries, or channels could be built on the public streets, because they would form a tent for unclean- ness; a corpse could not be left there over night, nor human bones be carried through the streets, and no stranger was per- mitted to settle within its walls. No graves could be maintained there except those of the house of David and the prophetess Huldah, which existed since the days of the early prophets. It was said that there was a grotto which caused the uncleanness to run into the brook Kidron. No plants must be planted there, and no gardens or parks might be laid out there, except gardens of roses, which existed there since the days of the early prophets. No geese nor hens might be bred there, much less swine; no dung might remain there, because of defilement. A stubborn and rebellious son is not judged there, such is the decree of R. Nathan, for it is written [Deut. xxi. 19]: " Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place " ; but as they are not his city and place, he cannot be judged. Houses can- * Chapter XXXV. of the original. TRACT ABOTH, "7 not be sold there together with the ground on which they stand. No house can remain as a permanent possession after a twelve- month. No rent may be taken for houses, but it may be for beds and mattresses. Said R. Jehudah: ** It is not allowed to take rent even for that." What did they do with the skins of the holocaust ? They were given to the lodging-house keepers.