Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 16, scan section 24

All the days of a poor are bad. Ben Sirra said : Also the nights, as his roof is lower than others, the rain from these falls on his. And his vineyard is usually on the top of the mountain, and the manure which he brings up for it is blown ofif to the other vineyards which are lower. (Here is repeated from Last Gate, p. 328, paragraph commencing with R, Zera in the name of Rabh said, till Mishna VL See there also footnote.) The rabbis taught: If one reads a verse of the Songs of Solomon in a different manner than it is written, and makes a song of it; or any other verse in the drinking-places not in its proper time, causes evil to the world, because the Torah, dressed in a sack, stands before the Holy One, blessed be He, and says: Lord of the Universe, thy children have made of me a fiddle on which frivolous persons play. And He said to her: My daughter, with what else, then, shall they occupy themselves while they are eating and drinking? And she said before Him: Lord of the Universe, if they are masters in the Scriptures, they may occupy themselves with the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Hagiographa; if they understand Mishnayoth, they may study Mishna, Halakha, and Haggadah, and if they are Talmudists they may study Halakhas in time of Passover on Pesach. Of Pentecost at that time. And the Halakhas of Feast of Tabernacle at that time. R. Simeon b. Elazar in the name of R. Simeon b. Hanania testified : If one reads a verse in its proper time, he benefits the world, as it reads [Prov. xv. 23] : " And a word spoken at the proper time, how good is it." " He who mumbles over a wound," etc. Said R. Johanan : Provided he also spits, as the name of Heaven must not be mentioned by spitting. It was taught : Rabh said : Even a verse which does not contain the name of Heaven — e.g., a plague, if it will be on a man. And R. Hanina said: Even the words: And He has called to Moses. The rabbis taught : One may ask the fortune tellers who tell fortunes by certain oils or eggs. But it is not advisable to do so, because they often lie. They usually mumble over the oil in a utensil, but not over that Which is in the hand, and therefore one may use the oil from the hand, but not that in a utensil. R. Itz'hak b. Samuel b. Marta happened to be in a certain inn. They brought him oil in a utensil, and he anointed himself with it, and blisters came out on his face. When he went to the market a certain woman saw him, and said: I see TRACT SANHEDRIN (SUPREME COUNCIL). 321 on your face a si(5kness caused by witdhcraft. And she did something for him and he was cured. Abba said to Rabba b. Mari: It reads [Ex. xv. 26] : " I will put none of those diseases upon thee . . . as I the Lord will heal thee." Now if he did not put any, why the cure? Said R. Johanan : This verse explains itself. " If thou wilt dili- gently hearken," etc., I will not put disease upon thee, but if thou wilt not hearken, I will. However, at any rate, I will heal thee. Rabba b. b. Hana said : When R. Eliezar became sick his disciples came to make him a sick call, and he said to them, I have high fever, and they began to weep. R. Aqiba, however, smiled. And to the question: Why are you smiling? he re- turned the question: Why are you weeping? And they an- swered : Is it possible not to weep when we see the Holy Scrolls are in such a distress? Rejoined he: And therefore I smile, for so long as I have seen our master's wine does not become sour, his flocks undamaged, his oil unspoiled, and his honey unfer- mented, I was afraid that perhaps he received all his reward in this world, now as I see him in trouble, I rejoice. Said he to him : Aqiba, have I failed to perform or transgressed any- thing of that what is written in the whole Torah? And he an- swered: You, master, yourself taught us [Ecc. vii. 20] : " For no man is so righteous upon earth, that he should do always good and never sin." The rabbis taught : When R. Eliezar became sick four elders entered to make him a sick call — R. Tarphun, R. Jehoshua, R. Elazar b. Asaryah, and R. Aqiba. Exclaimed R. Tarphun: You are better to Israel than drops of rain, as the latter are only in thi's world, w'hile you are in both, in this and in the v\^orld to come. Exclaimed R. Jehoshua: You are better to Israel than the planet of the sun, which is only in this world, while you are in both. And R. Elazar b. Asaryali exclaimed : You are better to Israel than a father and mother, who are only in this world, etc. R. Aqiba, however, exclaimed : Pleased are chastisements. And R. Eliezar answered : Support me, and I will hear the statement of Aqiba, my disciple, who says: "Pleased are chastisements." And he said: Aqiba, whence is this known to you? And he answered : From the following : It reads [II Kings, xxi. i and 2] : " Twelve years old was Menasseh when he became king, and fifty and five years did he reign in Jerusalem . . . and he did what is evil in the eyes of the Lord." It reads also [Prov. xxv. i] : " Also these 382 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. are the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, have collected." Could it be possible that Hiskia taught tlie law to the whole world, but not to his son Menasseh ? It must then be said that of all the troubles which Hiskia has troubled himself to bring him, and from all his toil to correct him nothing was done, and only until chastisement had turned him over to the better side, as it reads [II Chron. xxxiii. 10-14] : '' And the Lord spoke to Menasseh, and to his people; but they listened not. Wherefore the Lord brought over them captains of the army belonging to the king of As- syria; and they took Menasseh prisoner with chains, and bound him with fetters, and led him ofif to Babylon. And when he was in distress he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And he prayed unto Him, and He permitted Himself to be entreated by him, and heard his supplication and brought him back to Jerusalem unto his kingdom. Then did Menasseh feel conscious that the Lord is indeed the (true) God." Learn from this that chas- tisements are pleased. The rabbis taught : Three men (biblical personages) came with indirectness (instead of praying in a straightforward man- ner), and they were Cain, Esau, and Menasseh. Cain who says [Gen. iv. 13] : " My sin is greater than I can bear." He said before Him : Lord of the Universe, is then my sin greater than that of the six hundred thousand Israelites who will sin before Thee in the future, and Thou wilt forgive them? Esau said [Ex. xxvii. 38] : " Hast thou then but one blessing, my father? " And Menasseh, who at the beginning called to many gods, and only finally called to the God of his parents.