Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 9, scan section 7

the (first) red-cow, with the ashes of which the unclean were purified in later generations. Said R. Eliezer: " The oil of anointment was of such importance that it remained even for the later generations, for Aaron and his sons were consecrated with the oil of anointment, as it is written [Ex. xxx. 30] : ' And Aaron and his sons shalt thou anoint, and consecrate them to be priests.' " (Hence we see that although Aaron was a high-priest, his sons, nevertheless, stood in need of anointment.) Joshua received it (the Law) from Moses, as it is written TRACT ABOTH. 3 [Numb, xxvii. 20] : ** And thou shalt put some of thy greatness upon him, in order that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient." The elders (who lived after Moses) received it from Joshua, as it is written [Judges ii. 7]: "And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that lived many days after Joshua, who had seen all the great deeds of the Lord, which he had done for Israel." The judges received it from the elders, as it is written [Ruth, i. i] : " And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged."* The prophets received it from the judges (begin- ning with Samuel the prophet, who was also a judge), as it is written [Jerem. vii. 25]: " And I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, sending them daily in the morning early." Hag- gai, Zechariah, and Malachi received it from the prophets. The men of the Great Assembly received it from Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, and they said the following three things mentioned in the Mishna : ''Be deliberate in judgment.'' How so? It means a man shall be slow in his judgment, for he who is slow is deliberate, as it is written [Prov. xxv. i] : " Also these are the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah the king of Judah have collected." They have not collected them, but they were de- liberating upon them before (making them public). Abba Saul, however, said: " Not only were they deliberating over them, but they also explained them." Formerly it was said : The books of Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes were hidden, because they are only parables, and do not belong to the Hagiographa; the men of the Great Assembly, however, came and explained them, as it is written [Prov. vii. 7-20] : " And I beheld among the simple ones, I dis- cerned among the youths, a lad void of sense, etc. ; and, be- hold, a woman came to meet him with the attire of a harlot and obdurate of heart; she is noisy and ungovernable; in her house her feet never rest ; at one time she is in the street, at another in the open places, and near every corner doth she lurk, and she caught hold of him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face she said to him, * I had bound myself to bring peace-offerings; this day have I paid my vows; therefore I am come forth to meet thee, to seek thy presence diligently, and I have found * The Talmud infers this from the two words shephot hashophtim, which literally mean that the judges were judged. Hence, who have judged the judges? The elders. 4 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. thee. With tapestry coverings have I decked my bed, with em- broidered coverlids of the fine linen of Egypt. I have sprinkled my couch with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us in- dulge in love until the morning: let us delight ourselves with dalliances. For the man is not in his house, he is gone on a journey a great way off; the bag of money hath he taken with him; by the day of the new-moon festival only will he come home.' " And it is written also in Song of Songs [vii. 12, 13]: " Come, my friend, let us go into the field; let us spend the night in the villages; let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the wine have blossomed, whether the young grape have opened (to the view), whether the pomegranate have budded : there will I give my caresses unto thee." And it is written again in Ecclesiastes [xi. 9]: ** Rejoice, O young man, in thy childhood ; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth- ful vigor, and walk firmly in the ways of thy heart, and in (the direction which) thy eyes see ; but know thou, that concerning all these things God will bring thee into judgment." And again in Song of Songs [vii. 10]: "I am my friend's, and toward me is his desire." So we see that the last-mentioned passage of the Song of Songs explains all that was mentioned above; under the term " my friend's " the Lord is understood. Hence (it is sure) that they were not only deliberating, but also explaining them. According to others the statement *' Be deliberate in judg- ment " means to teach that one shall be careful with his words, and also not to have an irascible manner against those who have received his words, for one who is easily provoked by those who have received his words often forgets his (original) words ; for so we find with Moses, our master, who had forgotten his (origi- nal) words. (See Pesachim, p. 129: " Resh Lakish said," etc.) And where do we find that Moses was irascible with his hearers? It is written [Numb. xxxi. 14]: "And Moses was wroth. . . . Have you allowed all the females to live?" And it is written [ibid., ibid. 16]: " Behold . . . through the counsel of Bil'am." How so ? Infer from this that this was the advice of Bil'am given to Balak: " These people, your ene- mies, are hungry for food and are thirsty for drink, as they have nothing but manna. Go and put up tents for them, place in them food and drink, and seat in them beautiful women, daugh- ters of nobles, so that the people may turn to Baal Peor." (This will be given in Sanhedrin in detail.) Now from this we may draw an a fortiori conclusion. If TRACT ABOTH. 5 Moses our master, the wisest of the wise and the father of the prophets, at the time he became angry at his listeners forgot his original words, so much the more would we commoners. From this we should learn how necessary it is to be careful and not irascible. Ben Azai says : Be careful in thy words, that thy hearers shall not err through them. " And erect safeguards for the Law.** That means that one shall make a safeguard to his words as the Holy One, blessed be He, has done. Adam the First made one to his; the Torah made one to its words; Moses and Job likewise made safeguards to their words, and so also the Prophets and Hagiographers have all made safeguards to their words. The safeguard that the Holy One, blessed be He, made is this [Deut. xxix. 23]: " Even all the nations will say, wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land ? " Infer from this that it was known beforehand to Him, by whose one word the uni- verse was created, that the future generations will ask this; therefore he said to Moses: Write the answer for the future