Hebraic Literature 31

Hebraic Literature 31

Ibid., fol. 153, cols. 1, 2.

 

One who sins with a married woman is, after undergoing the penalty of

wandering about as a fugitive and vagabond, transmigrated, together with

his accomplice, into the millstone of a water-mill, according to the

mystery of (Job xxxi. 10), "Let my wife grind unto another."

 

_Emeh Hamelech_, fol. 153, cols. 1, 2.

 

A butcher who kills an animal with a defective knife will die of the

plague, and his soul will pass into a dog, whom he thus deprives of what

belongs to him; for it is said (Exod. xxii. 31), "Ye shall cast it to

the dogs."

 

_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 17, col. 2.

 

An animal slaughtered with an improper knife is considered as if

it had been "torn of beasts in the field," and the flesh of it,

according to the law, belongs to the dogs. A careless butcher,

selling the meat as food for man, deprives the dog of his due.

 

The sages of truth have written, "He who does not wash his hands before

eating, as the Rabbis of blessed memory have ordained, will be

transmigrated into a cataract, where he will have no rest, even as a

murderer, who is also transmigrated into water."

 

Ibid., fol. 21, col. 2.

 

After washing his hands before a meal, he is to stretch out his fingers

and turn the palms of his hands upward, as if in the act of receiving

something from a friend, and then repeat (Ps. cxxxiv. 2), "Lift ye up

your holy hands, and bless ye the Lord!"

 

Ibid.

 

The following are the usual blessings, "Blessed art Thou, O

Lord, our God! King of the universe! who has sanctified us with

His commandments, and has commanded us to wash the hands!"

"Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God! King of the universe! who

bringeth forth bread from the earth!"

 

By means of combining the letters of the ineffable names, as recorded in

"Book of Creation," Rava once created a man and sent him to Rav Zera.

The man being unable to reply when spoken to, the Rabbi said to him,

"Thou art a creation of the company (initiated in the mysteries of

necromancy); return to thy dust."

 

_Sanhedrin_, fol. 65, col. 2.

 

In the Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin, chap. 7, we read that, by

the means above mentioned, a Rabbi created pumpkins, melons, and

real deer and roes.

 

There is a living creature in heaven which by day has "Truth" upon its

forehead, by which the angels know it is day; but in the evening it has

"Faith" on its forehead, whereby the angels know that night is near.

Each time the living creature says, "Bless ye the blessed Lord," all the

hosts above respond, "Blessed be the blessed Lord forever."

 

_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 42. col. 2.

 

Truth and faith are the essentials of religion, which are thirteen in

number:--

 

1. God exists, and there is no period to His existence. The philosophers

call it absolute existence, but the majority of Kabbalists term it

"endless," which, by Gematria, is "light"; and again, by Gematria, is

"Lord of the Universe." He is the cause of causes and the causing of

causings, and from or by His existence all beings, spiritual and

material, derive their existence.

 

2. He is one, and there is no unity like His, etc.

 

3. He has no bodily likeness, and is not corporeal.

 

4. He is first of everything, absolute beginning; as it is said, "I am

the First and I am the Last" (Isa. xliv 6), and there is no beginning to

His beginning.

 

5. None but Himself is to be worshiped and prayed to.

 

6. The gift of prophecy He has given to men esteemed and glorified by

Him.

 

7. None arose like unto Moses, etc.

 

8. A law of truth He gave; this is the law from heaven, "In the

beginning" unto "in the sight of all Israel." Also its comment received

orally is likewise "a law (given) unto Moses from Sinai."

 

9. God will not change or alter His law forever. He will never change

the law of Moses our Rabbi--peace be unto him! The law will suffer no

addition or diminution (but it will abide even), as the prophet Malachi

sealed it with the seal of the prophets in ending his words (Mal. iv.

4), "Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him

in Horeb for all Israel." Formerly the law was in a garment of light,

but in consequence of sin, the law became materialized in a garment of

skin, in the same proportion as man became materialized in a body of

flesh. In the future, after the redemption, however, the law will have

the garment of light restored, and the Messiah will preach the law in

terrible mysteries, such as no ear has ever heard, and it will appear to

us as a new law. But the law will not be altered, or made new, as the

nations of the world say. Jer. xxxi. 30-33.

 

10. He observeth and knoweth all our secrets, etc.

 

11. There are rewards and punishments in the future, etc.

 

12. He will send at the end of days our Messiah from the seed of David

to redeem His people Israel from among the nations, and restore to them

the kingdom.

 

13. There will be a revival of the dead, etc.

 

_Kitzur Sh'th_, fol. 7, col. 2.

 

Let a man believe that whatever occurs to him is from the Blessed One!

For instance, when a wicked man meets him and abuses him, and puts him

to shame, let him receive it with love, and say, "The Lord told him to

curse, and he is the messenger of God on account of my sin."

 

Ibid., fol. 8, col. 1.

 

In every deed or transaction a man performs by his own free will, be it

a matter of precept or of option, let the name of God be ready in his

mouth. If, for instance, he erects a building, or buys a vessel, or

makes a new garment, let him say with his mouth and utter with his lips,

"This thing I do, for (the honor of) the union of the Shechinah with the

Holy One--blessed be He!"

 

Ibid.

 

Bismillahi Arrahmani Arraheemi, "In the name of God, most

merciful and compassionate," is the motto of every work

undertaken by a Mohammedan.

 

A man should always desire that his neighbor may profit by him, and let

him not strive to profit by his neighbor. Let his words be pleasant with

the children of men if they shame him, and let him not shame them in

return. If they deceive him, let him not deceive them in return, and let

him take the yoke of the public upon his shoulders, and not impose it

heavily on them in return.

 

Ibid.

 

If--which God forbid!--thy neighbor has done thee an evil, pardon him at

once; for thou shouldst love him as thyself. If one hand is accidentally

hurt by the other, should the wounded hand revenge its injury on the

other? And, as urged before, thou shouldst rather say in thine heart,

"It is from the Lord that it came to thee; it came as a messenger from

the Holy One--blessed be He!--as a punishment for some sin."

 

_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 9. col. 2.

 

A sage who was very sorrowful was once comforted thus: "If thy sorrow

relates to this world, may God decrease it; but if it relates to the

world to come, may God increase it and add sorrow to sorrow." (See 2

Cor. vii. 10.)

 

Ibid., fol. 10, col. 1.

 

A man should not wade through water or traverse any dangerous place in

company with an apostate, or even a wicked Jew, lest he be overtaken (in

the same ruin) with him. (Comp. Eph. v. 7, 8; Rev. xviii. 4.)

 

Ibid., fol. 10, col. 2.

 

The influence of the son is relatively greater and more blessed than

that of the father, for the merits of the father do not profit the son

except in matters relating to this world (as by bequeathing him worldly

inheritance); whereas the merits of the son do more than benefit the

father in this world; they benefit him also in the world to come (by

saying "Kadish"), which is enough to deliver his soul from purgatory.

 

Ibid., fol. 11, col. 2.

 

A common proverb says, "One father willingly maintains ten sons, but ten

sons are not willing to support one father."

 

Ibid., fol. 12, col. 2.

 

The proper use of money is that thou learn the art of dealing honestly,

so that thy No be no and thy Yes, yes; and as far as possible be

benevolent with the money. "And the liberal by liberal things shall

stand" (Isa. xxxii. 8).

 

Ibid.

 

The sage says, "The eye of a needle is not narrow enough for two

friends, but the world in not wide enough for two enemies."

 

Ibid., fol. 14, col. 1.

 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me"

(Ps. li. 10). Know thou that the heart is the source of life, and is

placed in the centre of the body as the Holy of holies, as stated in the

Book Zohar, is the central part of the world. Therefore one must have

his heart cleansed from evil and all evil thoughts, otherwise he

introduces an idol into the innermost part of the Temple, which ought to

be a dwelling-place for the Shechinah. (See 1 Cor. iii, 16, 17, and vi.

19.)

 

_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 14, col. 2.

 

He who gazes even on the little finger of a woman is as if he looked on

her to lust after her. He should not give ear to a woman's voice, for

the voice of a woman is lewdness. This sin is much discussed in the

Zohar; it causes the husband to come to poverty, and deprives him and

her sons of all respect.

 

Ibid., fol. 17, col. 1.

 

The sages of the Kabbalah were not singular in this view. The

Talmud Yerush, Callah, fol. 58, col. 3, says, "He that looks

upon a woman's heel is guilty of an act of lewdness."

 

Eating meat after cheese or cheese after meat is a very serious sin; and

it is stated in the Zohar, section Mishpatim, that upon him who is

without scruple in this regard, an evil spirit will rest for forty days,

his soul will be from the spirit which has no holiness.

 

Ibid., fol. 18, col. 2.

 

The sages of the Kabbalah have written that it becomes him who has in

him the fear of Heaven to have a vessel of water near his bed, in order

that (on waking in the morning) he may not need to walk four ells

without washing his hands, for he who walks four ells without washing

his hands has forfeited his life as a divine punishment.

 

Ibid., fol. 43, col. 2.

 

When a man is dressing, he should first put on the right shoe and leave

it unfastened till he has put on and fastened the left; then he should

fasten the right, as it is explained in the Shulchan Aruch.

 

Ibid., fol. 44, col. 2.

 

The following are some of the many laws relating to the Shemonah-esreh,

or the eighteen blessings which form the most devotional part of daily

worship, and which are repeated three times on (ordinary) week-days, and

four times on Sabbaths, new moons, and on appointed feasts:--

 

Before commencing the Shemonah-esreh one should step back three paces,

in order to be able to advance three steps. The reason of this is that

Moses our Rabbi--peace be on him!--advanced before his prayer into the

three divisions, "darkness, clouds, and thick darkness" (Deut. iv. 11).

And this is also the reason why after finishing the Shemonah-esreh three

steps backward are to be made, returning through these three parts or

divisions.

 

This prayer is to be performed standing, and the feet so joined together

that they should seem as it were one foot only, in order to be like the

angels, of whom it is written (Ezek. i. 7), "And their feet were (so in

the original) a straight foot," that is to say, their feet appeared as

one foot.

 

This attitude is a sign that the power of locomotion is gone; he cannot

pursue and attain any other object than God. The Gentiles place their

hands together, intending to signify thereby that their hands are as it

were bound; but we, by placing our feet together, intend to signify that

they are as it were entirely bound, which is indicative of greater

humility; for with the hands bound one could still run away in search of

his own pleasure, which he cannot do when the feet are bound.

 

_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 48, col. 2, and fol. 49, col. 1.

 

It is lawful for him who rides upon an animal to pray the eighteen

benedictions, and when he comes to the point when he should retrace

three steps, he is to back the animal he is mounted on three steps. And

so also it is lawful to pray the eighteen blessings when sitting and

traveling in a wagon.

 

Ibid., fol. 49, col. 1.

 

It is necessary to pay attention to the feet when the worshiper repeats

"Holy! holy! holy!" and he is to lift up his eyes toward heaven. At the

instant the Kiddushah is repeated he needs only lift up his heels, and

thereby his body from the earth toward heaven.... According to Tanchuma

it is necessary to lift up the feet from the earth altogether, after the

example of the angels, of whom it is written (Isa. vi. 2), "And with two

he did fly." It is from this text that the sages have ordained that a

man should fly up (as it were) when he repeats "Holy! holy! holy!" And

let the chooser choose, i.e. it is optional either to lift up the heels

only or to jump.

 

Ibid.

 

Any one who visits a synagogue may notice the observance of this

practice. In the synagogues of the Chassidim, jumping is

preferred to lifting up the heels.

 

It is written (Ps. cii. 17), "He will regard the prayer of the

destitute," and it is not written, "He will hear." What else can the

term "regard" mean than that there is a distinction between the prayer

of an individual and the prayer of a community? For when a community

prays, their prayer enters before the Holy One--blessed be He!--and He

is not particular to regard and criticise their works and their

intentions and thoughts, but receives their prayers immediately. But

when an individual prays, the Holy One--blessed be He!--regards and

scrutinizes his heart, whether it be devout and whether he be a

righteous man. Therefore, one should always pray with the community, and

this is why the text (Ps. cvii. 17) ends with the words, "And not

despise their prayer." Although there are some of the community whose

prayers, on account of their evil deeds, deserve to be despised, He,

nevertheless, does not despise their prayer.

 

_Kitzur Sh'lk_, fol. 51, col. 1.

 

A man should study less on Friday, that he may occupy himself with the

preparation for the Sabbath. And accordingly we find in the Gemara that

some of the great and esteemed sages occupied themselves on that day in

preparing what was needed for the Sabbath. Therefore, though one may

have many servants to wait upon him, it is a great merit personally to

prepare for the wants of the Sabbath in order thus to honor it; and let

him not think it derogatory to his own honor to honor the Sabbath thus,

for it is his honor to honor the Sabbath. It is written of H'A'ree of

blessed memory, that he was in the habit of sweeping away the cobwebs in

his house (in honor of the Sabbath), and it is well known to the

initiated what a wonderful mystery it is to abolish the unclean spirits

from the house, "And this is enough for him that understands."

 

Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.

 

One should trim his finger-nails every Friday, never on Thursday,

otherwise the nails will commence growing on the following Sabbath. He

should pare the nails of the left hand first, beginning at the fourth

finger and ending with the thumb; and then he should pare the nails of

the right hand, beginning with the thumb and ending with the fourth

finger; he should not vary the following order: 4th, 2d, 5th, 3d, 1st of

the left hand; then the 1st, 3d, 5th, 2d, 4th of the right hand. Never

pare two (contiguous) fingers one after the other, for it is dangerous,

and it also impairs the memory. The reason and mystery about the order

for paring the nails are well known to the expert.

 

_Kitzur Sh'lh._

 

In the Zohar it is explained that the benefit of immersion on Friday

amounts to the restoration of the soul to her proper place, for he who

is bodily unclean has no soul.

 

Ibid., fol. 61, col. 2.

 

Before entering the plunging-bath, he is to repeat (Gen. i. 10), "And

God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters

called He seas." When he stands in the water he is to repeat seven times

(Ps. li. 10), "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right

spirit within me," for the initials of "Create in me a clean heart,"

form the word "to dip," i.e., to immerse. For it is through immersion

that the unclean spirits and the "other side," are separated from him,

and he becomes a new creature by examining and confessing his (evil)

deeds, and forsaking them, and by engaging himself in repentance, and

immersing himself, and meditating on elevating subjects, and especially

so if he has immersed himself fourteen times.

 

Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.

 

When standing in the water he is to stoop four times, so that the water

may reach his neck, answering to the four modes of legal execution.

After that he is to repeat the form of confession, and while the water

reaches up to his throat he is to repeat these three texts--Micah vii.

18-20, Jer. x. 24, and Ps. cxviii. 5, and then say, "As I cleanse my

body here below, which is formed of clay, so may the ministering angels

cleanse my soul, spirit, and ghost above in the river Dinor; and as I

sanctify my body here below, so may the angels of the Most High, the

ministering angels, sanctify my spirit, soul, and ghost in the river

Dinor above! In the name of Jehovah, He is the God and in the name of

Adonai, the Rock of all Ages. Blessed be the name of the glory of His

kingdom forevermore!"

 

_Kitzur Sh'lh_, fol. 62, col. 1.

 

According to the Kabbalah, the thoroughgoing orthodox Jew has

his hands full on Erev Shabbath, i.e., Friday. We cannot here go

over the entire proceeding prescribed, but we will briefly touch

upon its salient features in the order as we find them.

 

After having prepared himself for immersion, as above described,

he is to turn his face and bow first toward the west and then

toward the east, repeating a certain formula, and then dip

himself under the water. This over, he is to turn again east and

west and repeat a different formula, and while meditating on

certain given letters of certain mystical divine names and other

known words, and their respective numerical values, he is to dip

a second time under the water. Then turning and bowing again

west and east, repeating the while a different formula, he

proceeds to meditate on different letters of the divine names,

and dips for the third and last time. As dipping fourteen times

is the exception and not the rule, no farther directions are

given about the matter, except a few additional formulae and meditations.