Hebraic Literature 21
Ibid., fol. 78, col. 2.
He who has been flogged and exposes himself again to the same punishment
is to be shut up in a narrow cell, in which he can only stand upright,
and be fed with barley till he burst.
Ibid., fol. 81, col. 2.
If one commits murder, and there is not sufficient legal evidence, he is
to be shut up in a narrow cell and fed with "the bread of adversity and
the water of affliction" (Isa. xxx. 20). They give him this diet till
his bowels shrink, and then he is fed with barley till (as it swells in
his bowels) his intestines burst.
Ibid.
A woman who is doomed, being _enceinte_, to suffer the extreme penalty
of the law, is first beaten, about the womb, lest a mishap occur at the
execution.
_Erachin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
If a woman who has vowed the vow of a Nazarite drink wine or defile
herself by contact with a dead body (see Num. vi. 2-6), she is to
undergo the punishment of forty stripes.
_Nazir_, fol. 23, col. 1.
The Rabbis teach that when the woman has to be flogged, the man has only
to bring a sacrifice; and that if she is not to be flogged, the man is
not required to bring a sacrifice. (This is in reference to Lev. xix.
20, 21.)
_Kerithoth_, fol. 11, col. 1.
Rav Yehudah says, "He that eats a certain aquatic insect, the swallowing
of which while drinking would involve no penalty whatever--Tosefoth,
receives forty stripes save one (the penalty for transgressing the
negative precepts), for it belongs to the class of 'creeping things that
do creep upon the earth' (Lev. xi. 29)." Rav Yehudah once gave a
practical exemplification of this ruling of his.
Abaii says, "He that eats a particular animalcule found in stagnant
water, receives four times forty stripes save one. For eating an ant
this penalty is five times repeated, and for eating a wasp it is
inflicted six times."
_Maccoth_, fol. 16, col. 2.
When one is ordered to construct a booth, or to prepare a palm-branch
for the Feast of Tabernacles, or to make fringes, and does not do so, he
is to be flogged till his soul comes out of him.
_Chullin_, fol. 132, col. 2.
Once on a time, as the Rabbis relate, the wicked Government sent two
officers to the wise men of Israel, saying, "Teach us your law." This
being put into their hands, three times over they perused it; and when
about to leave they returned it, remarking, "We have carefully studied
your law, and find it equitable save in one particular. You say: When
the ox of an Israelite gores to death the ox of an alien, its owner is
not liable to make compensation; but if the ox of an alien gore to death
the ox of an Israelite, its owner must make full amends for the loss of
the animal; whether it be the first or second time that the ox has so
killed another (in which case an Israelite would have to pay to another
Israelite only half the value of the loss), or the third time (when he
would be fined to the full extent of his neighbor's loss). Either
'neighbor' (in Exod. xxi. 35, for such the word signifies in the
original Hebrew, though the Authorized Version has another) is taken
strictly as referring to an Israelite only, and then an alien should be
exempted as well; or if the word 'neighbor' is to be taken in its widest
sense, why should not an Israelite be bound to pay when his ox gores to
death the ox of an alien?" "This legal point," was the answer, "we do
not tell the Government." As Rashi says in reference to the preceding
Halacha, "an alien forfeits the right to his own property in favor of
the Jews."
_Bava Kama_, fol. 38, col. 1.
Ptolemy, the king (of Egypt), assembled seventy-two elders of Israel and
lodged them in seventy-two separate chambers, but did not tell them why
he did so. Then he visited each one in turn and said, "Write out for me
the law of Moses your Rabbi." The Holy One--blessed be He!--went and
counseled the minds of every one of them, so that they all agreed, and
wrote, "God created in the beginning," etc.
_Megillah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
The Talmudic story of the origin of the Septuagint agrees in the
main with the account of Aristeas and Josephus, but Philo gives
the different version. Many of the Christian fathers believed it
to be the work of inspiration.
Abraham was as tall as seventy-four people; what he ate and drank was
enough to satisfy seventy-four ordinary men, and his strength was
proportionate.
_Sophrim_, chap. 21, 9.
The venerable Hillel had eighty disciples, thirty of whom were worthy
that the Shechinah should rest upon them, as it rested upon Moses our
Rabbi; and thirty of them were worthy that the sun should stand still
(for them), as it did for Joshua the son of Nun; and twenty of them
stood midway in worth. The greatest of all of them was Jonathan ben
Uzziel, and the least of all was Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai. It is said
of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai that he did not leave unstudied the Bible,
the Mishna, the Gemara, the constitutions, the legends, the minutiae of
the law, the niceties of the scribes, the arguments _à fortìori_ and
from similar premises, the theory of the change of the moon, the
Gematria, the parable of the unripe grapes and the foxes, the language
of demons, of palm-trees, and of ministering angels.
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 134, col. 1.
A male criminal is to be hanged with his face toward the people, but a
female with her face toward the gibbet. So says Rabbi Eliezer; but the
sages say the man only is hanged, not the woman. Rabbi Eliezer retorted,
"Did not Simeon the son of Shetach hang women in Askelon?" To this they
replied, "He indeed caused eighty women to be hanged, though two
criminals are not to be condemned in one day."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 45, col. 2.
We may here repeat the story of the execution of the eighty
women here alluded to, as that is told by Rashi on the preceding
page of the Talmud. Once a publican, an Israelite but a sinner,
and a great and good man of the same place, having died on the
same day, were about to be buried. While the citizens were
engaged with the funeral of the latter, the relations of the
other crossed their path, bearing the corpse to the sepulchre.
Of a sudden a troop of enemies came upon the scene and caused
them all to take to flight, one faithful disciple alone
remaining by the bier of his Rabbi. After a while the citizens
returned to inter the remains they had so unceremoniously left,
but by some mistake they took the wrong bier and buried the
publican with honor, in spite of the remonstrance of the
disciple, while the relatives of the publican buried the Rabbi
ignominiously. The poor disciple felt inconsolably distressed,
and was anxious to know for what sin the great man had been
buried with contempt, and for what merit the wicked man had been
buried with such honor. His Rabbi then appeared to him in a
dream, and said, "Comfort thou thy heart, and come I will show
thee the honor I hold in Paradise, and I will also show thee
that man in Gehenna, the hinge of the door of which even now
creaks in his ears. (Which were formed into sockets for the
gates of hell to turn in.) But because once on a time I listened
to contemptuous talk about the Rabbis and did not check it, I
have suffered an ignoble burial, while the publican enjoyed the
honor that was intended for me because he once distributed
gratuitously among the poor of the city a banquet he had
prepared for the governor, but of which the governor did not
come to partake." The disciple having asked the Rabbi how long
this publican was to be thus severely treated, he replied,
"Until the death of Simeon the son of Shetach, who is to take
the publican's place in Gehenna." "Why so?" "Because, though he
knows there are several Jewish witches in Askelon, he idly
suffers them to ply their infernal trade and does not take any
steps to extirpate them." On the morrow the disciple reported
this speech to Simeon the son of Shetach, who at once proceeded
to take action against the obnoxious witches. He engaged eighty
stalwart young men, and choosing a rainy day, supplied each with
an extra garment folded up and stowed away in an earthern
vessel. Thus provided, they were each at a given signal to
snatch up one of the eighty witches and carry her away, a task
they would find of easy execution, as, except in contact with
the earth, these creatures were powerless. Then Simeon the son
of Shetach, leaving his men in ambush, entered the rendezvous of
the witches, who, accosting him, asked, "Who art thou?" He
replied, "I am a wizard, and am come to experiment in magic."
"What trick have you to show?" they said. He answered, "Even
though the day is wet, I can produce eighty young men all in dry
clothes." They smiled incredulously and said, "Let us see!" He
went to the door, and at the signal the young men took the dry
clothes out of the jars and put them on, then starting from
their ambush, they rushed into the witches' den, and each
seizing one, lifted her up and carried her off as directed. Thus
overpowered, they were brought before the court, convicted of
malpractices and led forth to execution.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 44, col. 2.
(Exod. xxiii. 35), "And I will take away sickness from the midst of
thee." It is taught that sickness (Machlah) means the bile. But why is
it termed Machlah? Because eighty-three diseases are in it. Machlah by
Gematria equals eighty-three; and all may be avoided by an early
breakfast of bread and salt and a bottle of water.
_Bava Kama_, fol. 92, col. 2.
If in a book of the law the writing is obliterated all but eighty-five
letters--as, for instance, in Num. x. 35, 36, "And it came to pass when
the ark set forward," etc.,--it may be rescued on the Sabbath from a
fire, but not otherwise.
_Shabbath_, fol. 116, col. 1.
Elijah said to Rabbi Judah the brother of Rav Salla the Pious, "The
world will not last less than eighty-five jubilees, and in the last
jubilee the son of David will come."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 97, col 2.
There was not a single individual in Israel who had not ninety Lybian
donkeys laden with the gold and silver of Egypt.
_Bechoroth_, fol. 5, col. 2.
(2 Sam. xix. 35), "Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink?"
From this we learn that in the aged the sense of taste is destroyed....
Rav says, "Barzillai the Gileadite reports falsely, for the cook at the
house of Rabbi (the Holy) was ninety-two years old, and yet could judge
by taste of what was cooking in the pot."
_Shabbath_, fol. 152, col. 1.
Rava said, "Life, children, and competency do not depend on one's merit,
but on luck; for instance, Rabbah and Rav Chasda were both righteous
Rabbis; the one prayed for rain and it came, and the other did so
likewise with the like result; yet Rav Chasda lived ninety-two years and
Rabbah only forty. Rav Chasda, moreover, had sixty weddings in his
family during his lifetime, whereas Rabbah had sixty serious illnesses
in his during the short period of his life. At the house of the former
even the dogs refused to eat bread made of the finest wheat flour,
whereas the family of the latter were content to eat rough bread of
barley and could not always obtain it." Rava also added, "For these
three things I prayed to Heaven, two of which were and one was not
granted unto me. I prayed for the wisdom of Rav Hunna and for the riches
of Rav Chasda, and both these were granted unto me; but the humility and
meekness of Rabbah, the son of Rav Hunna, for which I also prayed, was
not granted."
_Moed Katon_, fol. 28, col. 1.
The judges who issued decrees at Jerusalem received for salary
ninety-nine manahs from the contributions of the chamber.
_Kethuboth_, fol. 105, col. 1.
Ninety-nine die from an evil eye for one who dies in the usual manner.
_Bava Metzia_, fol. 107, col. 2.
The Rabbis have taught us who they are that are to be accounted rich.
"Every one," says Rabbi Meir, "who enjoys his riches." But Rabbi Tarphon
says, "Every one who has a hundred vineyards and a hundred fields, with
a hundred slaves to labor in them." Rabbi Akiva pronounces him well off
who has a wife that is becoming in all her ways.
_Shabbath_, fol. 25, col. 2.
A light for one is a light for a hundred.
Ibid., fol. 122, col. 1.
When a Gentile lights a candle or a lamp on the Sabbath-eve for his own
use, an Israelite is permitted to avail himself of its light, as a light
for one is a light for a hundred; but it is unlawful for an Israelite to
order a Gentile to kindle a light for his use.
A hundred Rav Papas and not one (like) Ravina!
A hundred zouzim employed in commerce will allow the merchant meat and
wine at his table daily, but a hundred zouzim employed in farming will
allow their owner only salt and vegetables.
_Yevamoth_, fol. 63, col. 1.
A hundred women are equal to only one witness (compare Deut. xvii. 6 and
xix. 15).
Ibid., fol. 88, col. 2.
If song should cease, a hundred geese or a hundred measures of wheat
might be offered for one zouz, and even then the buyer would refuse
paying such a sum for them.
_Soteh_, fol. 48, col. 1.
Rav says, "The ear that often listens to song shall be rooted
out." Music, according to the idea here, raises the price of
provisions. Do away with music and provisions will be so
abundant that a goose would be considered dear at a penny.
Theatres and music-halls are abominations to orthodox Jews, and
the Talmud considers the voice of a woman to be immoral.
When Rabbi Zira returned to the land of Israel he fasted a hundred times
in order that he might forget the Babylonian Talmud.
_Bava Metzia_, fol. 85, col. 1.
This passage, as also that on another page, will appear
surprising to many a reader, as we confess it does to ourselves.
We must, however, give the Talmud great credit for recording
such passages, and also the custodians of the Talmud for not
having expunged them from its pages.
"Ye shall hear the small as well as the great" (Deut. i. 17). Resh
Lakish said, "A lawsuit about a prutah (the smallest coin there is)
should be esteemed of as much account as a suit of a hundred manahs."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 8, col. 1.
Rav Yitzchak asks, "Why was Obadiah accounted worthy to be a prophet?"
Because, he answers, he concealed a hundred prophets in a cave; as it is
said (1 Kings xviii. 4), "When Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord,
Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty in a cave." Why by
fifties? Rabbi Eliezer explains, "He copied the plan from Jacob, who
said, 'If Esau come to one company and smite it, then the other company
which is left may escape.'" Rabbi Abuhu says, "It was because the caves
would not hold any more."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 39, col. 2.
"And it came to pass after these things that God did test Abraham" (Gen.
xxii. 1). After what things? Rabbi Yochanan, in the name of Rabbi Yossi
ben Zimra, replies, "After the words of Satan, who said, 'Lord of the
Universe! Thou didst bestow a son upon that old man when he was a
hundred years of age, and yet he spared not a single dove from the
festival to sacrifice to Thee.' God replied, 'Did he not make this
festival for the sake of his son? and yet I know he would not refuse to
sacrifice that son at my command.' To prove this, God did put Abraham to
the test, saying unto him, 'Take now thy son;' just as an earthly king
might say to a veteran warrior who had conquered in many a hard-fought
battle, 'Fight, I pray thee, this severest battle of all, lest it should
be said that thy previous encounters were mere haphazard skirmishes.'
Thus did the Holy One--blessed be He!--address Abraham, 'I have tried
thee in various ways, and not in vain either; stand this test also, for
fear it should be insinuated that the former trials were trivial and
therefore easily overcome. Take thy son.' Abraham replied, 'I have two
sons.' 'Take thine only son.' Abraham answered, 'Each is the only son of
his mother.' 'Take him whom thou lovest.' 'I love both of them,' said
Abraham. 'Take Isaac.' Thus Abraham's mind was gradually prepared for
this trial. While on the way to carry out this Divine command Satan met
him, and (parodying Job iv. 2-5) said, 'Why ought grievous trials to be
inflicted upon thee? Behold thou hast instructed many, and thou hast
strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have supported him that was
falling, and now this sore burden is laid upon thee.' Abraham answered
(anticipating Ps. xxvi. 11), 'I will walk in my integrity.' Then said
Satan (see Job iv. 6), 'Is not the fear (of God) thy folly? Remember, I
pray thee, who ever perished being innocent?' Then finding that he could
not persuade him, he said (perverting Job iv. 12), 'Now a word came to
me by stealth. I overheard it behind the veil (in the Holy of Holies
above). A lamb will be the sacrifice, and not Isaac.' Abraham said, 'It
is the just desert of a liar not to be believed even when he speaks the
truth.'"
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 89, col. 2.
It is better to have ten inches to stand upon than a hundred yards to
fall.
_Avoth d' Rab. Nathan_, chap. 1.
When Israel went up to Jerusalem to worship their Father who is in
heaven, they sat so close together that no one could insert a finger
between them, yet when they had to kneel and to prostrate themselves
there was room enough for them all to do so. The greatest wonder of all
was that even when a hundred prostrated themselves at the same time
there was no need for the governor of the synagogue to request one to
make room for another.
Ibid., chap. 35.
A man is bound to repeat a hundred blessings every day.
_Menachoth_, fol. 43, col. 2.
This duty, as Rashi tells us, is based upon Deut. x. 12,
altering the word what into a hundred, by the addition of a
letter.
This is what the so-called Pagan Goethe, intent on self-culture
as the first if not the final duty of man, makes Serlo in his
"Meister" lay down as a rule which one should observe daily.
"One," he says, "ought every day to hear a little song, read a
good poem, see a fine picture, and, if possible, speak a few
reasonable words." The contrast between this advice and that of
the Talmud here and elsewhere is suggestive of reflections.
He who possesses one manah may buy, in addition to his bread, a litra of
vegetables; the owner of ten manahs may add to his bread a litra of
fish; he that has fifty manahs may add a litra of meat; while the
possessor of a hundred may have pottage every day.
_Chullin_, fol. 84, col. 1.
Ben Hey-Hey said to Hillel, "What does this mean that is written in Mal.
iii. 18, 'Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and
the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not'?
Does the righteous here mean him that serveth God, and the wicked him
that serveth Him not? Why this repetition?" To this Hillel replied, "The
__EXPRESSION__s, 'he that serveth God, and he that serveth Him not,' are
both to be understood as denoting 'perfectly righteous,' but he who
repeats his lesson a hundred times is not to be compared with one who
repeats it a hundred and one times." Then said Ben Hey-Hey, "What!
because he has repeated what he has learned only one time less than the
other, is he to be considered as 'one who serveth Him not'?" "Yes!" was
the reply; "go and learn a lesson from the published tariff of the
donkey-drivers--ten miles for one zouz, eleven for two."
_Chaggigah_, fol. 9, col. 2.
Hillel was great and good and clever, but his exposition of
scripture, as we see from the above, is not always to be
depended upon. If, indeed, he was the teacher of Jesus, as some
suppose him to have been, then Jesus must, even from a
Rabbinical stand-point, be regarded as greater than Hillel the
Great, for He never handled the scriptures with such
irreverence.
One hundred and three chapters (or psalms) were uttered by David, and he
did not pronounce the word Hallelujah until he came to contemplate the
downfall of the wicked; as it is written (Ps. civ. 35), "Let the sinners
be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the
Lord, O my soul, Hallelujah!" Instead of one hundred and three we ought
to say a hundred and four, but we infer from this that "Blessed is the
man," etc., and "Why do the heathen rage?" etc., are but one psalm.
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