Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 20, scan section 29

make their observance possible in all their particulars, w^hich is not the case with the teaching of the Evangelist. Finally, we beg to quote the beginning of the first chapter of the above-mentioned book: — Abyye used to say: "One should be always keen in the fear of God; use meek talk, prevent wrath, bestow thy greeting upon every one in the market, even if he be a stranger. This will cause you to be loved by Heaven and liked by thy fellow-men." It was said about R. Yohanan b. Zakkai, that it never happened that he should have been greeted first (for he was it who greeted every one first, as soon as he perceived him).* CHAPTER II. Let us now try to give a few outlines of the ethical teachings of the Talmud. In the first place, concerning Man as a Moral Being. In accordance with the teaching of the Bible, the rabbis duly emphasize man's dignity as a being created in the like- * This paragraph is said by Abyye in pure Bible-Hebrew, which was not the language used by him in every-day talk. We infer from this and also from the expression " he used to say" that he only quoted a traditional proverb which was established ever since the oral law had been started* ETHICS. 85 ness of God. By this likeness of God they understand the spiritual being within us, that is endowed with intellectual and moral capacities. The higher desires and inspirations which spring from this spiritual being in man, are called Yetzer tob, the good inclination ; but the lower appetites and desires which rise from our physical nature and which we share with the animal creation, are termed Yetzer ha-ra, the inclination to evil. Not that these sensuous desires are absolutely evil ; for they, too, have been implanted in man for good purposes. Without them man could not exist, he would not cultivate and populate this earth, or, as a Talmudical legend runs: Once, some over-pious people wanted to pray to God that they might be able to destroy the Yetzer ha-ra, but a warning voice was heard, saying: "Beware, lest you destroy this world!" Evil are those lower desires only in that they, if unrestrained, easily mislead man to live contrary to the demands and aspirations of his divine nature. Hence the constant struggle in man be- tween the two inclinations. He who submits his evil inclina- tion to the control of his higher aims and desires is virtuous and righteous. " The righteous are governed by the Yetzer tob, but the wicked by the Yetzer ha-ra. The righteous have their desires in their power, but the wicked are in the power of their desires." Free-will. Man's free-will is emphasized in the following sentences: "Everything is ordained by God's providence, but freedom of choice is given to man." "Everything is foreordained by heaven, except the fear of heaven," or, as another sage puts it : Whether man be strong or weak, rich or poor, wise or fool- ish depends mostly on circumstances that surround him from the time of his birth, but whether man be good or bad, right- eous or wicked, depends upon his own free-will. God's Will, the Ground of Man's Duties. The groimd of our duties, as presented to us by the Tal- mudical as well as the biblical teachings, is that it is the will of God. His will is the supreme rule of our being. " Do His will as thy own will, submit thy will to His will." " Be bold as a 86 THE HISTORY OF THE TALMUD. leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a roe, and strong as a lion, to do the will of thy Father, who is in heaven." Man Accountable to God for his Conduct. Of man's responsibility for the conduct of his life, we are forcibly reminded by numerous sentences, as : " Consider three things, and thou wilt never fall into sin ; remember that there is above thee an all-seeing eye, an all-hearing ear, and a record of all thy actions." And again, "Consider three things, and thou wilt never sin; remember whence thou comest, whither thou goest, and before whom thou wilt have to render account for thy doings." Higher Motives in Performing our Duties. Although happiness here and hereafter is promised as re- ward for fulfilment, and punishment threatened for neglect of duty, still we are reminded not to be guided by the consid- eration of reward and punishment, but rather by love and obedience to God, and by love to that which is good and noble. " Be not like servants, who serve their master for the sake of reward." "Whatever thou doest, let it be done in the name of heaven" (that is, for its own sake). Duty of Self-Preservation and Self-Cultivation. As a leading rule of the duties of self-preservation and self- cultivation, and, at the same time, as a warning against selfish- ness, we have Hillel's sentence: "If I do not care for my- self, who will do it for me ? and if I care only for myself, what am I?" The duty of acquiring knowledge, especially knowledge of the Divine Law (Torah), which gives us a clearer insight in God's will to man, is most emphatically enjoined in numerous sentences: "Without knowledge there is no true morality and piety." " Be eager to acquire knowledge, it does not come to thee by inheritance." "The more knowledge, the more spirit- ual life." " If thou hast acquired knowledge, what dost thou lack? but if thou lackest knowledge, what hast thou acquired? " ETHICS. 87 But we are also reminded that even the highest knowledge is of no value, as long as it does not influence our moral life. ' ' The ultimate end of all knowledge and wisdom is man's inner puri- fication and the performance of good and noble deeds." " He whose knowledge is great without influencing his moral life is compared to a tree that has many branches, but few and weak roots; a storm cometh and overtumeth it." Labor. Next to the duty of acquiring knowledge, that of industrious labor and useful activity is strongly enjoined. It is well known that among the ancient nations in general manual labor was regarded as degrading the free citizen. Even the greatest philos- ophers of antiquity, Plato and Aristotle, could not free them- selves of this deprecating view of labor. How different was the view of the Talmudic sages in this respect! They say: "Love labor, and hate to be a lord. " " Great is the dignity of labor ; it honors man." "Beautiful is the intellectual occupation, if combined with some practical work." "He who does not teach his son a handicraft trade, neglects his parental duty." " He who lives on the toil of his hands is greater than he who indulges in idle piety." In accordance with these teachings, some of the most prominent sages of the Talmud are known to have made their living by various kinds of handicraft and trade. Cardinal Duties in Relation to Fellow-men. Regarding man's relation to fellow-men, the rabbis con- sider justice, truthfulness, peaceableness and charity as cardinal