Pirke Avot (Sayings of the Fathers)

Moses received the Thorah from Sinai, and he delivered it to Jehoshua‘, and Jehoshua‘ to the elders (Josh. xxiv. 31; Jud. ii. 7), and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets delivered it to the men of the Great Synagogue. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment; and raise up many disciples ; and make a fence! to the Thorah. as to keep at a safe distance from forbidden ground : ΚΦ ΓΝ ΓΦ) (Lev. xvili. 30), make a mishmereth to my mishmereth” (Jebamoth 21 a). “To what is the matter like? Toa man watching agarden. If he watches it from without, it is all watched ; if he watches it from within, the part in front of him is watched; and the part behind him is not watched.” The ID (τ. 20; vr. 6) lies at the root of the Rabbinic system. Its application to holy days gives rise to the principle wip Sy Sinn pari (R. ha-Shan. 9a), in connexion with which compare Rashi on Gen. ii. 2, where it is said that whereas man must sanctify the Sabbath in advance, not knowing the instant of its commencement, the Creator ‘“‘enters upon it to a hair’s breadth,” and even seems to finish ‘‘on the seventh day” itself. For other examples see Aboth de R. Nathan 1., 11., where it is said inter alia that Adam misapplied the principle of the 3'%D, and gave occasion to the Tempter, by superadding the prohibition, Neither shall ye touch it, and representing this to Eve as part of God’s command, which was only, Thou shalt not eat of it (Gen. ii. 17; iii. 3). (Gen. ii. 2 Sept. ἕκτῃ sizth, to exclude work on the seventh.] 12 PIRQE ABOTH.

Shime‘on ha-Caddiq’ was of the remnants of the Great Synagogue. He used to say, On three things the world is stayed*®; on the Thorah‘, and on the Worship’ (Rom. ix. 4), and on the bestowal of Kindnesses°. round the name of Simon Justus. “Seine Persdnlichkeit tritt im Andenken der spitern MRabbinen ins Dunkel der Fabel zuriick” (Jost, Geschichte des Judenthums und seiner Secten, A. 110). He is said in Joma 9a, 39a, 69a, to have served as high-priest for forty years, and to have gone out in procession to meet ‘* Alexander of Macedon,” as Jaddua‘ is related (Jos. Ant. x1. 8. 5) to have done. Various miracles were wrought during his priesthood. In Menachoth 109 Ὁ he predicts his own death; and there follows an account of the building of a temple in ‘“ Alexandria of Egypt” (Is. xix, 19) by his son Onias, or ΝΠ) (A in Menach, xu. 10). But see Jos. Ant. xu. 3. 8. Simon has been made contemporary with pidppi (? Gaius Caligula. Cf. Jost, A. 359), who attempted to set up his statue in the temple at Jerusalem. See Megillath Tha‘anith x1. ; T. J. Sotah 1x. 13; Babli 33 a; Jos. Ant. xvii. 8; and Jos. ben Gorion 1. 6, where this tale likewise is told of Alexander. See also 3 Macc. i. ii. The eulogy in Ecclus. 1. has been applied by some to Simon I., son of Onias, called Simon Justus in Jos. Ant, x11. 2.5; and by others to Simon II., also son of Onias. The latter Simon is identified in Bar Hebr. Chronicon Eccles, (col. 22, ed. Abbeloos et Lamy) with the Συμεών of Luke ii. 25, who is characterised as δίκαιος. Herzfeld concludes that the allusion in the text is to Simon II., and that the date of his high-priesthood was 226—198 B.c. Zunz (Die Gottesdienstlichen Vortrige d. Juden, p. 36) gives the date 221—202 B.c.

These three things are regarded as bases or pillars of the world. Cf. Pe; lxxy. 4; Proviix, land(2) 4 pum. iii, 15. [Chagigah 12 b.] 4 See Nedar. 32a. The world, it is said, was only created for the sake of the Thorah and its learners. The notion of design in creation is brought out in a striking way at the beginning of Bereshith Rabbah. Thorah, or Wisdom (Prov. viii. 1), was God’s agent or instrument (cf. Aboth 111. 23), and plan. Asa human king does not build a palace of himself without an artificer ; nor he of himself without drawings and plans; so God looked into the Thorah and created the world, N19) MINA OD MT Aap ja ndiyn ΓΝ. Seven things were created before the world, or existed as concepts in the mind of the Creator ; Thorah, Gehenna, the Garden of Eden, the Throne of Glory, the Sanctuary, Repentance, and the Name of Messiah. Thorah counselled God to create the world. ‘‘Hence the wise have said, A kingdom without counsellors is no kingdom at all’? (Pirge R. Eli‘ezer 111.). See also Nedarim 39 Ὁ. > This in the mouth of a high-priest means the service and sacrifices of the temple which was then standing. Cf. Megillah 31 b, Tha‘anith 27 b. In Pirg. R. Eliez. xvz. it is proved from Prov. xv. 8, by identifying prayer with ‘abodah ; since what other service (Dan. vi. 16) could there be in Babel?

But the primary meaning is more appropriate here; and the fact 1.2: 5 13 3. Antigonus of’ Soko received from Shime‘on ha-Caddiq. He used to say, Be not as slaves that minister to the lord with a view to receive recompense; but be as slaves that minister to the lord without a view to receive® recompense ; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you. that prayer, which is not enjoined in the Pentateuch, AWN IT'S AS|N (T. J. Berakoth 1. 5), is not mentioned and brought into prominence in the sayings of this Pereq may perhaps be taken as one sign of their superior antiquity. [Aboth R. N. 4 τν., B v.] 6 This is connected in Aboth R. N. rv. with 133° JOM Dory (Ps. Ixxxix. 3). It was declared in the beginning more acceptable (Hos. vi. 6) than the sacrifices which Israel were destined to offer (Pirg. R. Eliez. xv1.). It is not to be restricted to the requital of benefits, but is as far reaching, and at the same time as undefinable (Peah 1. 1), as a man’s ‘‘ duty to his neighbour.” While its fruits are enjoyed in this world, the principal remains for the world to come (ef. 1 Tim. iv. 8). With gedagah —a treasure laid up not on earth but in heaven, over which the hand (of the spoiler) has no power—it counterpoises all the precepts of the Thorah. But it is greater than cedaqah, as having to do alike with person and property, rich and poor, dead and living.

It includes the duties of sympathy (χαίpew μετὰ χαιρόντων, κλαίειν μετὰ κλαιόντων, Rom, xii. 15)—of attending the wedding and the funeral. It is more beloved even than the study of Thorah. (T. J. Peah 1. 1; Sukkah 49 b.) The Thorah itself begins and ends with it (Sotah 14 a) ; for God clothed Adam and Eve (Gen. iii. 21), and ‘‘he buried him (Moses) in a valley” (Deut. xxxiv. 6). He who occupies himself in Thorah and gemiluth chasadim, and buries his children, is forgiven all his iniquities (Berakoth 5 b). 7 The title 131D pyre is said (A; bar 8.) to imply that Antigonus was vir magnus in his city. Cf. Sew) DN (Jud, vii. 14). For other examples of this usage in the Mishnah, see Aboth τ 4,53; mr. 9, 10; 1v. 7, 28; Challah tv. 10; ‘Orlah 1. 5, 12; Gittin v1. 7; ‘Edioth vr. 2; Middoth 1. 2. 8 Serve God from pure motives, with a view which is not that of receiving recompense, Serve, however, from a sense of duty, and be not like voluntary workers who sometimes will, and sometimes will not, labour. So bar S. on the last clause, with the suggestion that it did not belong to the original saying, but was added later to prevent future generations from drawing extreme negative inferences like ‘‘(adoq and Baithus.” € omits the clause, but be, dc., probably through homeeoteleuton ; but it is possible that the original saying consisted of one clause only:

Be not, dc. Antigonus inculeates disinterested service without expressly enunciating any doctrine positive or negative concerning a future state of retribution. He does not add: ‘‘in order that your reward may be double in the world to come” (Aboth R.N. v.); with which compare the principle: xad 39297 41D) ΠΤ 9 “Learn out of love, and honour will come eventually ” (Nedarim 62 a). The question is raised in Sotah νυ. 5: ‘‘Did Job serve out of love?’’ and it is worthy of remark that the discussion in the Gemara turns upon the double reading Smee (0d ap) xd (Job xiii, 15), which 14 PIRQE ABOTH. 4, Jose ben Jo‘ezer of Ceredah and Jose ben Jochanan of Jerusalem® received from them. Jose ben Jo‘ezer of Ceredah” said, Let thy house be a meeting-house for the wise ; and powder thyself in the dust of their feet™; and drink their words with thirstiness. is illustrated by WY (Ὁ sp) Nd (Is. lxiii, 9). 9 The D'NIN from § 4 to § 13 are named two and two as σύνζυγοι. In Peah π. 6 the chain of tradition is given compendiously: the “pairs ” received from the prophets, and they from Moses. In Chagigah nm. 2 each pair is represented as divided on one and the same question. It is added that the first mentioned in each pair held the office of nasi, or president of the Sanhedrin, and the second that of ab beth din, or vice-president.

Their chronology cannot be precisely determined. Herzfeld (Gesch, τι. 140) gives their dates Β. Ὁ. as follows: (a) The two Josephs, 170; (8) Jehoshua‘ and Matthai, 140—110; (y) Jehudah, 100; Shime‘on, 90; (6) Shema‘iah and Abtalion, 65—35 ; (ε) Hillel, 30. The last date (=100 years before the destruction of the temple) is given in Shabbath 15 ἃ. Zunz (Gottesd. Vortriige, 37, note c), assuming a hiatus after Antigonus (190 B.c.), dates the pairs as follows: (a) 140—130 ; (8)** ; (γ) 90—80 ; (δ) 60 —50; (ε) 2. Zeit des Herodes. 10 Joseph ben Jo‘ezer was a priest of pre-eminent piety (Chagigah m. 7). ‘From the time when the two Josephs died the clusters (Mic. vii. 1) ceased” (Sotah 47 a). The word eshkol is explained in Themurah 15 b, by yn Saw wR. By some it is identified with σχολή. It is said (Them. 15 a) that at the death of J. ben Jo‘ezer the eshkoloth ceased to learn Thorah like Moses. Up to that time, but no longer, they were free from reproach. The sayings of ben Jo‘ezer indicate that he used his best endeavours to revive the respect for traditional teaching, and to establish “schools” of the wise. The sayings attributed to particular teachers are not, according to the pseudo-Rasut, to be regarded as necessarily originating with them. It is only meant that they were commonplaces in their mouths (Berakoth 17 a). Cf, Aboth tv. 26.

ΟΕ Duke x. 30: Acts xxil-. 3: Although entertaining scholars in thy house assume not a position of superiority, but sit at their feet as a learner. Cf. also the metaphorical expression, yon nw> pax (Baba Bathra 165 a). That the hearer, especially in the case of a large audience, should be placed at a lower level than the teacher was a matter of obvious convenience; but J. ben Jo‘ezer recommends it as a sign of humility. The posture of a teacher and his scholars is discussed from a different point of view in Megillah 21 a: ‘* Whence is it that a Rab must not sit on a couch and teach his disciples on the fioor?—but both he and they must sit on the couch, or both stand (Rashi). It is because it is said (Deut. v. 31), Stand thou here witH ME. From the days of Moses to Rabban Gamliel, they always learned Thorah standing. After his death sickness came down to the world, and they learned Thorah sitting. It is said that Moses sat (Deut. ix. 9), and also that he stood (Deut. x. 10): in the one case, said I. 4—6. 15 5. Jose ben Jochanan of Jerusalem said, Let thy house be opened wide ; and let the needy be thy household; and prolong not converse with woman” (τῇ γυναικί).

(His own wife, they meant, much less his neighbour's Rab, to receive the law, and in the other to announce it. According to R. Chaninah, he neither sat nor stood, but crouched. R. Jochanan says, WN} in the former passage only meant that he stayed...Hasy things are learned standing, and hard things sitting.” That it was customary in the time of Gamaliel II. for the scholars in the beth ha-midrash to sit not on the ground but on subsellia, appears from the statement (Berakoth 28 a) that after his deposition 400 or 700 additional pap were required, The NIN also sat, whilst an NDN, or “dragoman” (}919N), who stood before him, repeated his words, with or without comment, for the benefit of those who sat at a distance. In certain cases it might be convenient for teacher or taught to stand (Acts xiii. 16; Matt. xiii. 2); but the evidence of the New Testament and of the Talmud shews that it was more usual to sit. The word 73‘, sessio, is even used of students (11. 8). The public reader of the book Esther might either stand or sit (Megillah Iv. 1), On the mutual respect of Ras and TuHatmip see Aboth tv. 17. man’s wife in particular (as in § 6), or to woman in general, καὶ ἐθαύμαζον ὅτι μετὰ γυναικὸς ἐλάλει (Joh. iv. 27). Cf. Eccl. vii. 28. Man takes precedence of woman in various ways, though ‘‘ The man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man, nor both of them without the Shekinah” (Bereshith Rabbah vurtr.

Cf. 1 Cor. xi. 11). The Thorah in its entirety is for the man; whereas the woman is exempt from those positive precepts which are to be fulfilled at stated times (Qiddushin 1. 7). She is not to learn Thorah—much less to teach (1 Tim. ii. 12)—not being included in such passages as Deut. xi. 19: ‘*And ye shall teach them your sons.” How then shall woman make out her title to salvation? Σωθήσεται «οὐδιὰ THs Texvoyovias (1 Tim. ii. 15; v. 14). Her work is to send her children to be taught in the synagogue : to attend to domestic concerns, and leave her husband free to study in the schools: to keep house for him till he returns. Cf. Berakoth 17 a, 939 192 MYAPND 7ST °NOD DY p37 Ξ AMAL MINNA NNW Ppa "2 unset oy waa pw Women, slaves and children are mentioned together in Berakoth 111. 3 ; Sheqalim 1.5. Anotherremarkable grouping is found in the Jews’ Morning Prayer, where the men in three consecutive Benedictions bless God ‘‘ who hath not made me ἃ GENTILE...a SLAVE...a woman.” This affords an illustration (the more striking on account of its indirectness) of a characteristic saying of St Paul: οὐκ ἔνι ᾿Ιουδαῖος οὐδὲ Ἕλλην, οὐκ ἔνι δοῦλος οὐδὲ ἐλεύθερος, οὐκ ἔνι ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ, πάντες γὰρ ὑμεῖς εἷς ἐστε ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ (Gal. iii, 28). Women could not in general be witnesses (QTY); but they had their rights of property.

In the case of inheritance, if the property is small ‘‘filie aluntur, et filii mendicabunt ” (Kethuboth x11. 3 ; Baba Bathra rx. 1). (Chagigah Τ. B. 3a ἃ T. J. 75d.] 10 PIRQE ABOTH. wife.) Hence the wise have said, Each time that the man prolongs converse with the woman he causes evil to himself, and desists from words of Thorah, and in the end he inherits Gehinnom™®.

Jehoshua‘ ben Perachia and Matthai™ the Arbelite received from them. Jehoshua‘ ben Perachiah said”, Make unto thyself a master; and possess thyself of an associate ; and judge every man in the scale of merit”.

Matthai the Arbelite said, Withdraw from an evil neighbour; and associate not with the wicked”; and grow not thoughtless* of retribution. 13 Cf. vidv γεέννης (Matt. xxiii, 15). 14 On the reading, see Crit. Note. Little of importance is known of this ‘pair,’ except that (Jost, Gesch. a. 233) ‘aus ihren Lehrsiitzen, die man von Mund zu Mund weiter iiberlieferte, ist zu erkennen dass sie dahin strebten dem miindlichen Gesetz gegen die hervorgetretene sadduciiische Ansicht mehr Eingang zu verschaffen.” 1 Jehoshua‘ counsels a man to place himself under the direction of a traditional teacher, and to associate himself with a worthy companion. There was a proverbial saying, ‘‘ Companionship or death” (Tha‘anith 23 a), companionship even with such friends as those of Job (Baba Bathra 16 b). ‘Two are better than one” (Keel. iv. 9), in Thorah as in other matters, since when two study together their words are ‘‘ written in the book of remembrances” (Berakoth 6a). Cf. Prov. xxvii.17. Nay, more, yyy onan bx ann (Jer. 1. 36), which is turned: ‘a sword is against the solitary, and they are stultified”’ (see p. 44). The word chaber, a companion, came to be used especially of men of learning. It is sometimes equivalent to ‘‘colleague,” in an official sense ; or to “ fellow,” or ‘‘ associate,” of a learned society; and it is contrasted with PONT DY, which denotes the vulgar herd (Taharoth vi. 4). An interpretation of pseudo-Rashi is:

“Make to thyself a Rab, to learn orally; and buy thyself DISD 73n,” buy books and make them a chaber. he may be, the benefit of the doubt. Let the scale in which he is weighed have a bias towards the side of merit or acquittal. He who thus judges others will thus himself be judged, yard NIN PIT ΠΊΣῚ ADD IN [ἼΠ. See Shabb. 127 b, where the saying follows upon an enumeration of the things which profit in both worlds. The saying in Shabbath might give rise to the doubt, ‘‘ who is my chaber ?” but the words of the text apply to all men. It may serve as a μνημόσυνον to remark that the zodiacal Libra (Bemidbar R. xv1.) corresponds to the month of Judgment, Thishri ; as nop (Pirq. R. Eliez. vir.) to 123). 17 Woe to the wicked! woe to his neighbour! (Nega‘im x1. 6). The dry wood sets fire to the green (Sanhedrin 93a). [See Wetstein’s note on St Luke xxiii. 31.] 18 Cf. Prov. xxviii. 14. The word usually means to despair, give up I. 7—9. 17

Jehudah ben Tabai and Shime‘on ben Shatach™® received from them. Jehudah ben Tabai said, Make not thyself as them that predispose the judges”; and while the litigants stand before thee, let them be in thine eyes as guilty; and when dismissed from before thee let them be in thine eyes as righteous, because that they have received the doom upon them. hope of a thing; but the caution is not to presume upon immunity. Even here, however, some commentators endeavour to retain the usual meaning, “despair not of good,” if evil come upon thee. @ wrongly repeats the clause at the end of § 11. Bar S. aptly quotes Eccl. viii. 11 ; adding the remark that pithgam does not mean dabar, but ‘onesh, “for Qoheleth did not speak NNN.” reason to suspect of inaccuracy, it is said that in the time of Sh. ben Shatach one 917 WS DIN introduced the practice of eating 7"" 2 ypdipn, or quasi-passovers, at Rome; and that Shime‘on wrote to him: “Wert thou not Theodos I would pass judgment of "2 upon thee,” &c. (Berakoth 19 a). Bar S. relates that this pair escaped to Alexandria from Jannai the king; and that then arose (?) the sect of the Qaraites, who learned the written Law, the oral Law having been forgotten. Atlength Jehudah was recalled, and made nasi. See T. J. Sanhedrin vi. 9. The Machazor Vitry gives also the alternative view that his colleague was nasi, referring to Sanhedrin yi.

4, where, in the course of a discussion whether women who have been stoned should be hanged, Shime‘on ben Shatach is said to have hanged eighty women at once in Ashqalon, although even two persons should not be condemned in one day; whereupon the Gemara (46 b) remarks that, when occasion requires, punishments beyond those in the Thorah may be inflicted, as a “fence” to the Thorah. Jehudah did not always practise the judicial impartiality which he recommends. Having once (Makkoth 5 b), out of opposition to the Sadducees, put a false witness to death before the condemned had been executed, he appealed to his colleague, who charged him with having shed innocent blood, and added that neither of two false witnesses was to be punished unless they had both been convicted. Thereupon Jehudah vowed never again to pronounce a decision except in the presence of Shime‘on. be one of impartiality. Be not therefore as partisans who plead the cause of one of the litigants, and thus prejudice the case before it comes into court. While the suit is being tried the judge should not look upon either party with favour, but should examine both sides thoroughly and _ suspiciously. When it is over he should regard both as innocent; whether as having been proved to be in the right, or as having paid the penalty of wrong-doing. The difficult phrase ὮΝ) D7, ‘‘disposers or arrangers of the judges,” occurs in Kethuboth 52 b, 86 a (ef. pseudo-Rashi on Aboth), and is explained in the commentary as above ; it occurs also in Shabbath 139 a, where it is explained of those who teach the 18 PIRQE ABOTH.

Shime‘on ben Shatach said, Make full examination of the witnesses; but be guarded in thy words, perchance from them they may learn to lie.

Shema‘iah and Abtalion™ received from them. and hate lordship”; and make not ma‘iah said, Love work” ; Shethyself known to the government™. litigants to deceive. A slight change of reading would give the meaning, ‘« disposers of suits (}93°T7),” or special pleaders ; but the explanation adopted above gives a more natural sequence. There is another reading (with N for }), which gives the sense “85 arch-judge, or arch-judges.” Jost (Gesch. a. 241) renders : ‘*Als Richter sei nicht Sachwalter der Parteien, den andern Richtern gegeniiber.” 21 Shema‘iah and Abtalion, who were said to be descendants of Sancherib or of Haman (Gittin 57b; Sanhedrin 96 b), have been identified with the Sameas and Pollio of Josephus, who writes (Ant. xv.1. 1): ‘But Pollio the Pharisee and Sameas a disciple of his were honoured by (Herod) above all the rest ; for when Jerusalem was besieged they advised the citizens to receive Herod; for which advice they were well requited. But this Pollio (or Samnas, xiv. 9. 4) at the time when Herod was once upon his trial of life and death foretold in a way of reproach to Hyrcanus and the other judges, how this Herod whom they suffered now to escape would afterwards inflict punishment on them all.” In the account of the trial in Sanhedrin 19a, Jost (Gesch. a. 252) would read: “ SHema‘1an (for Shime‘on ben Shatach) said to him, Herod (for King Jannat), stand on thy feet, &c.”;

and he adds the following important remarks on the court of the Sanhedrin, and on the status of the pairs (note 9) in relation to it: ‘Die Schilderung dieses Gerichtes ist in mehrfacher Hinsicht merkwiirdig. Erstens berufen sich die Ankliiger auf das Recht der Juden, dass selbst anerkannte Verbrecher nicht eher gestraft werden diirfen als ein Synedrion den Spruch erlassen habe. Ein Beweis dass die SynedrialEinrichtung allerdings schon wurzelte. Zweitens wird von dem Synedrion (also dem bestimmten, offenbar dem einzigen) in Jerusalem gesprochen, vor dessen Schranken Hyrkan den Herodes lud. Drittens fiihrte Hyrkan, nicht aber die beiden Schulhiiupter, wie man erwarten sollte, den Vorsitz ; wie denn Sameas auch nur als einer der Richter bezeichnet wird, welcher den Muth hatte den Fiirsten und die erschrockenen Mitglieder an ihre Pflicht zu erinnern.” a business, or ‘‘ work,” teaches him robbery (Qiddushin 29 a). ‘O κλέπτων μηκέτι κλεπτέτω μᾶλλον δὲ κοπιάτω κ.τ.λ. (Eph. iv.28). R. ‘Aqiba said: ‘‘Make thy sabbath weekday, and be not dependent upon the creatures” (Shabbath118a; Pesachim 112a,113a. Cf. Ecclus. xl. 28, 9). A man should hire himself out to ‘ABODAH ZARAH, rather than become dependent upon his fellows. Not literal idolatry, it is added, but service which is strange to him. Flay a carcase in the street and receive pay; and say not, I am Cahana (or priest), and a great and learned man (Pesachim 118 ἃ ; Baba Bathra 110 a). Cf. Aboth R. N. x1. The Shekinah was not to dwell with Israel till they I. 10—12. 19

Abtalion said, Ye wise, be guarded in your words; perchance ye may incur the debt of exile, and be exiled to the place of evil waters; and the disciples that come after you may drink and die”, and the Name of Heaven be profaned. had made a sanctuary (Ex. xxv. 8). ** Six days must (not mayest) thou labour, and do all thy work”: labour if poor, but find “work” to do even if rich. A wife is relieved from household work in proportion to the number of maidservants she brings her husband. If she brings him four ‘‘she sits in a chair.” R. Eli‘ezer says, If she brings him a hundred she must still work in wool, since idleness occasions lewdness. R. Sh. ben Gamaliel says, that he who has exempted her by a vow from all work may as well divorce her (Kethuboth v. 5). Great teachers, as Hillel, acted up to the precept, ‘‘ Hate not laborious work” (Ecclus. vii. 15). St Paul engaged in manual labour (Acts xviii. 3; 1 Cor. iv. 12). Contrast : “ The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise. How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough?... they shall not sit on the judges’ seat, nor understand the sentence of judgment : they cannot declare justice and judgment ; and they shall not be found where parables are spoken.

But they will maintain the state of the world, and (all) their desire is in the work of their craft” (Ecclus. xxxviii. 24—34. Cf. xxvi. 29). “ (5. Rabbi-Wesen ” (Matt. xxiii. 8). But it should perhaps be understood of social or political dignity. The Machazor Vitry explains it by malkuth. Be like Saul who “ hid himself among the stuff” (1 Sam. x. 22) to avoid being made king. Lordship brings to an early grave, so that Joseph dies before all his brethren, and one prophet outlasts several kings (Ex. i. 6; Isaiah i. 1; Pesachim 87b). R. Jonah connects this clause with the preceding by means of Prov. xii. 9. Dr Michael Cahn aptly recites from Plato, Repub. 347 D : ἐπεὶ κινδυνεύει, πόλις ἀνδρῶν ἀγαθῶν εἰ γένοιτο, περιμάχητον ἂν εἶναι τὸ μὴ ἄρχειν ὥσπερ νυνὶ τὸ ἄρχειν. A man should not crown himself. ‘Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth” (Prov, xxvii. 2). When the first man rose to his feet, 77) DTN NOI ἽΝ, the creatures were for worshipping him as _ their Creator ; but Adam said, ‘‘ Let us go, I and you, and make Him, who created us, king ; for the people appoint the king, and no king appoints himself independently of the people” (Pirge R. El. x1.). *4 Avoid growing great, and coming under the notice of the “rashuth ” (-Ξ ἐξουσία, concretely), in such a way as to excite jealousy or suspicion.

Or: ‘‘ne nimium familiaris fias principibus ”—such associations being thought corrupting as well as dangerous, Cf. 11. 3; 111. 8; James ii. 6. * The name Abtalion is sometimes explained Aramaically by ‘“‘ pater adolescentium,” in allusion to the “ disciples”? mentioned below. His sayings are transcendental, with historical reference. Scholars must take heed to their doctrine, lest they pass over into the realm of heresy, and inoculate their disciples with deadly error. The 20 PIRQE ΑΒΟΤΗ.

Hillel’ and Shammai received from them. said, Be of the disciples of Aharon” ; penalty of untruth is untruth, to imbibe which is death. Historically regarded, the Israelite’s captivity amongst worshippers of strange gods was the judgment upon him for irreligiousness. Abarbanel here credits Abtalion with a prescience that the second Temple was to be destroyed. Since it is contemplated that the wise themselves may be enthralled, the caution is not to be thought of as directed merely against loose or insufficiently explained expressions, nor against the opposite extreme (cf. Chagigah 11. 1) of the too free unveiling—reading ian) as pi‘el, and comparing ΤΣ with ἂν» (cf. Abarbanel) —of ANN MND, which Moses delivered by word of mouth without comment. As regards the figures employed, (1) waTERs may stand for doctrine (§ 4), or for peoples (Is. xl. 15). Streams while they flow upon YN7 (an expression used especially of the Holy Land), are good, and blessed, and sweet, and of profit to the world ; but when mingled with the sea they become accursed and bitter...So Israel, when they swerve to heathen customs, become accursed and evil; and as the rivers are food for the sea, so are they for the fire of hell (Pirge R. El. 1x.) : (2) Dearu is thought of as in Rom. vii. 9—11, where there is a reference to Gen. ii. 17; iii. 5. Contrast Proy. ili. 18, and cf. Aboth1. 14; 11 10 11.07, lv.

Ὁ; Baruch ΗΝ ἡ 14: ‘*hear now the prayers of the pEap Israelites”; Jalqut 762 (on Numb. xix. 14) : ‘‘ Words of Thorah are established only when aman kills himself on their behalf.” [Shabbath 83 b.] *6 Hillel was called, ha-Gadol, or ha-Zagen, or ha-Babli (Berakoth 4b ; Sukkah 28a; Pesachim 66a). The Hillel loving peace, and purname is in Jud. xii. 18. He studied Thorah while yet in Babylon, and at length, for its more exclusive study, separated from his trading brother Shebna ; whereupon there came forth Bath Qol and said, ‘‘If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, &c.’’ (Cant. viii. 7). If a man excuses himself from Thorahstudy on the ground of poverty, it will be said to him, ‘ Wast thou poorer than Hillel?”’ Of his small daily earnings a moiety went to the gatekeeper at theschools. Once he had earned nothing, and was shut out. He climbed up and sat at the window to hear the words of the living God from Shema‘iah and Abtalion. It was sabbath eve in Tebeth, and the snow covered him three cubits deep. Said Shema‘iah to Abtalion in the morning, Why is the house so dark to-day? it must be cloudy. They spied Hillel: they brought him in: and attended to his wants, saying, He is worthy that the sabbath should be profaned for him (Joma 35b). The tale of his appointment as ‘nasi’ is told in T.

J. Pesachim yi. 1, and more briefly in Babli 66a. The principle that Passover sets aside Sabbath when they clash had escaped the elders, or sons, of Betheira (?Sadducees). Hillel, being interrogated, said that it followed a fortiori from the fact that more than 200 minor ‘‘ Passovers ” (=sacrifices) in the year set aside the Sabbath ; and he argued his point from every side, but in vain, since Thorah without traditional authority is no Thorah, [RY ANN Da mn AN aN ΓΔ nd. Αὐ length he said, It occurs to me that thus I heard from Shema‘iah and Abtalion; and they arose and appointed him suing peace ; loving mankind”, and bringing them nigh (Deut. xxx, 14; Eph. ii. 17)” to the Thorah. ‘‘nasi.” He was in fact the head and founder of a school, called after him, “ Beth Hillel,” the opponents in controversy of ‘‘ Beth Shammai,” to whom however they frequently made concessions. With the appointment of Hillel, “ ein ganz neues, bis dahin als untergeordnet betrachtetes Princip der Lehrweise zur Geltung kam, niimlich die bestiindige Unterstiitzung der Ueberlieferung durch logisches Verfahren, so oft man sich nicht auf unmittelbare Behauptungen angesehener Lehrer berufen konnte”’ (Jost, Gesch. a. 257). Hillel had 80 disciples, of whom 30 were worthy, as Moses, that the Shekinah should rest upon them : 30, that the sun should stand still for them, as for Joshua: and 20 were of medium capacity.

The least was Jochanan ben Zakkai: the greatest, Jonathan ben ‘Uzziel, whose fire in the study of Thorah burnt up the birds that flew over him (Sukkah 28 a). Hillel, Shime‘on, Gamliel and Shime‘on held office in the period 30 B.c.—70 a.p.; and the pair Jose, Jose (§ 4) much earlier (Shabbath 15a). At the end of Bereshith Rabbah, the age of Moses is divided into three periods of 40 years (Acts vii. 23 ; Ex. vii. 7); and amongst ‘six pairs” whose lives were equal are included (besides Moses) HiLien HA-ZAQEN, R. Jochanan ben Zakkai, and R. ‘Aqiba. [Sifré, ed. Fr. 150 a.] it abroad (Bemidbar Rabbah x1x.). The words of Mal. ii. 5, 6: ‘‘ My covenant was with him (Levi) of life and peace... and (he) did turn many away from iniquity,” came to be applied especially to Aaron [Aboth R. N. xu.]. He was one of seven fathers who made covenants. Of‘ Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron,” it is said: ‘Behold I give unto him my covenant of peace ”’ (Numb. xxv. 12); and to him also Mal. ii. 5, 6 is applied. Aaron was so beloved that he was bewailed by Sw pha b> (Numb. xx. 29), men and women ; but Moses, by the sons of Israel alone (Deut. xxxiy. 8). Peace-making like gemiluth chasadim profits in both worlds (Peah1. 1). The Day of Atonement clears from transgressions against God, but not from those against one’s neighbour, till he has been reconciled (Joma, end).

He used to say, A name made great® is a name destroyed; he who increases not decreases”; and he who will (? said) with respect to the districts of the sea what was not done with respect to the generation of the Flood: Ho! dwellers on the sea-coast, nation of Kerethim (Zeph. ii, 5), nation deserying of excision. And by what merit do they stand? By the merit of onr PROSELYTE : by the merit of one fearer of Heaven, whom they raise up in every year. R. Levi explained it in a good sense, of a heathen who has made (cf. Neh. ix. 8) a covenant.” The parallel passage in Midrash Chazitha varies in detail from the above, and runs as follows: .. . WON) NIN WN nia) nD ayy 3... ἼΩΝ) Now snk Ὁ ΝῸ ΠΣ Sy oD ἡ ἢ mow mw Soa ΝΟΣ that there was a custom of making one representative proselyte annually, to typify the salvability of the Gentiles. The final cause of Israel’s captivities was that that they might make proselytes (Pesach. 87 b. Cf. Rom. xi. 11); but it does not clearly appear that the scribes were actuated by a missionary spirit, or that they were overhasty in receiving such proselytes as presented themselves (Jebamoth 47b; Jost, Gesch. A. 448). The Jew was bound to attract men to the Thorah by his good example, but not in the ordinary sense of the word to proselytise (Joma 96 a).

The universality of the Thorah is expressed by the saying that it was originally given in all the languages of the world. ‘‘ Every word that went forth from the mouth of the Holy One was divided into seventy tongues,” "BID NYW WAT NIN 9D mows oyawd pony n”apn (Shabbath 88b. Cf. Berakoth 13a, Thosaph. on nw $93)—which seventy tongues had their representatives in the ship that carried Jonah (Pirge R. El. x.). ‘“‘The whole Thorah was spoken in every tongue” (Sotah 33a). In like manner the expressions -WYW1D . Ὁ WAP NIAIW AND Wd (Deut. xxxiil. 2) are interpreted in Sifre of a fourfold revelation in Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, and Aramaic. It is added that God revealed himself from the four winds; and ‘not upon Israel only was He revealed, but upon all the nations. First he went to the sons of Esau and said, Will ye receive the Thorah?” On their refusal it was offered to others, and at last to Israel. 30 Some commentators have 88sumed from the dialect of this Mishnah (cf. 11.7; v. 33) that it dates from the time when Hillel was in Babel. The word 33) in Aramaic means to draw, or extend. It stands for N03 or ἽΦ in Targ. Gen, xxxix. 21; Ps. xxxvi.11; but cf. the Biblical 1.3). The saying is illustrated by Is. ii. 17; Prov. xxix. 23; Matt. xxiii.5—12. The Holy One exalts him who humbles himself, and humbles him who exalts himself.

Greatness flees from him who follows after it, and follows after him who flees from it. A man should not ‘* force the hour,” but bide his time (‘Erubin 13 b, cf. 54a; Nedarim 55 a). The saying is otherwise explained, as ps-Rashi remarks, of one who continually draws the Name of the Holy One into all his occupations ; or of one who poy δον voy min by ποθ Iwo mows 72 (C). and adds not to his words, not having intelligence to go beyond what he has I. 14—16. 23 not learn (or teach) deserves slaughter; and he who serves himself with the tiara perishes.

He used to say, If I am not for myself® who is for me 7 and being for my own self what am I ? If not now when ?

Shammai said®, Make thy Thorah an ordinance”; say been expressly taught, will come to an end, ‘his mother will bury him”; or will bring to an end and lose what he has learned by rote. Cf. Matt. xxv. 29. He who refuses to impart his knowledge (or “ who will not learn at all’’), commits a deadly sin. So too does he who utilises the crown of the Thorah, or of the Holy Name, by teaching (or studying) for his own profit and glorification. Cf, rv. 9, 19. must not live for himself (Rom. xiv. 7). According to another interpretation: ΚΙ must work out my own salvation, yet how weak are my unaided efforts” (Phil. ii, 12, 13). ἰδοὺ νῦν καιρὸς εὐπρόσδεκτος (2 Cor. vi. 2). cessor of Hillel’s colleague Menachem (Chagigah ττ. 2), generally has the first word in controversy (v. 28); but tradition does not credit him with the same readiness as Hillel to give every man a patient hearing. “A man should be gentle like Hillel, and not irritable like Shamai” (Shabbath 30 b). The Talmud goes on to relate how a man undertook for a wager to exhaust Hillel’s patience, but failed. One day a foreigner came to Shamai to be proselytised, on condition of accepting the Written and dispensing with the Oral Thorah. Shamai dismissed him with a rebuke. He appealed to Hillel, who on the first day taught him the letters of the alphabet (in the usual order), and on the morrow gave them in reverse order.

But, said the would-be-proselyte, did you not tell me so and so yesterday? If you relied on me for that, retorted Hillel, rely upon me likewise for the Oral Law. Another came to Shamai to be converted provided that he could be taught the whole Thorah whilst he stood on one foot. Shamai beat him away, and he went to Hillel, who said: ‘What is hateful to thyself do not to thy fellow; this is the whole Thorah, and the rest is commentary; go, study.” Cf. ὃ μισεῖς μηδενὶ ποιήσῃς (Tobit iv. 15), and the converse, Matt. vii. 12. A third overhearing the description of the highpriest’s vestments which was_ being read in a synagogue, came to Shamai to be made a proselyte in order that he might become high-priest. Shamai beat him away. He went to Hillel, who said, Do they appoint as king one who knows not the ordinances of the kingdom? Go, learn them. He read as far as Numb, i. 51: ‘And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” He said to him, This scripture, of whom is it spoken? He said to him, Even of David, King of Israel. A fortiori of me, argued the stranger; for if of Israel, God’s son and first-born (Ex. iv. 22), such a thing is written, much more of a worthless proselyte who has come with his staff and with his wallet... After a time the three met together. They said, The irritability of Shamai sought to drive us from the world: the gentleness of Hillel srovcnr us NIGH under the wings of the Shekinah. Ἢ Contrast 1.17. Make thy study 24, PIRQE ABOTH. little and do much” ; and receive every man with a pleasant expression of countenance (III. 18).

Rabban Gamliel® said, Make to thyself a master, and be quit of doubt; and tithe not much by estimation™.

Shime‘on” his son said, All my days I have grown up of Thorah a fixture: a thing to be engaged in daily at stated times, and to which secular engagements must give way. ‘Obadiah ben Jacob of Sforno takes the words of Shamai as addressed to his predecessor: ‘‘ Though thou hast gone forth, O Menachem, to the service of the king, it is fitting that thou shouldest fix times for Thorah.” Ps-Rashi is not content with stated times, but demands the whole day for Thorah. mised ἃ MORSEL OF BREAD, but ‘fetcht & CALF TENDER AND GOOD” (Gen. xviii. Dyk): The next link in the chain of tradition is given in 11. 9. In the interval there is a digression to the descendants of Hillel, who himself reappears in τι. 5. The first Gamliel (or, in the Greek form, Γαμαλιήλ), son of Shime‘on, and grandson of Hillel, is called Rabban; but the title may have been permanently connected with his name only by a later generation, for (1) like Hillel, who was not called Rabban, he is distinguished as Ha-ZaQgEN; and (2) he is called simply Gamatiex both in Acts v. 34, xxii. 8 (under circumstances which make it improbable that a customary title of respect should have been omitted), and likewise in Shabbath 15 a: ‘Hillel, and Shime‘on, GAMALIEL, and Shime‘on held the office of nasi, while the temple was standing, for 100 years.” For his opinion in what cases the Sabbath strictness might be relaxed, see ‘Erubin 45a.

Cf. Becah 1. 6. The high esteem in which he was held is shewn by the saying, that ‘from when R. G. ha-Zaqen died the glory of the (τ. 20) died” (Sotah τσ. 15). His death is placed eighteen years before the destruction of the temple. From Acts v. 39 a tradition arose that he died a Christian. He was not the author of the ‘‘heretic-benediction.” °6 In the case of a thing whereof the value and dimensions are not precisely laid down it becomes necessary to form a special estimate or measurement. Hence the root amad gives the sense ‘‘conjecture.” In Sanhedrin Iv. 5, WON (A WAY) is used of ‘‘circumstantial” evidence in a capital charge, in parallelism with hearsay. Let duties be defined as far as may be by rule: let doubts be resolved by authority: leave as little scope as possible for personal bias and the temptations of self-interest. Gamaliel I. against the aspersions of Josephus (Life § 38), see Jost, Gesch. A. 443. Rabbinic commentators suggest that he is not here called Rabban because his sayings date from the time of his pupilage, when Jochanan ben Zakai (11. 9) was AD) WN. But see note 35, and 11.1. Simon was one of the peace-party in the closing years of the Jewish state, and he suffered ‘‘den Martyrertod...kurz vor oder bei der Einnahme Jerusalems.” For his saying on proselytism in Va-jiqra Rabbah 11. see Jost, a. 447. I. 17—19. 25 amongst the wise, and have not found aught good for a man but silence®; not learning but doing is the groundwork ; and whoso multiplies words occasions sin.

Rabban Shime‘on® ben Gamliel said, On three things the world stands; on Judgment, and on Truth, and on Peace“. 38 Qoheleth Rabbah, v. 5, cites as a saying of R. Jehoshua‘: ‘Speech for a sheqel—silence for two; (it is) like a precious stone’’; and adds (referring to this Mishnah) a saying of Rabbi, δ ΡΠ Ν ΠΡΟ ΟἽ NOD, Silence is the cure of a thing. But both Talmuds have ΝΟΣ NDD, a panacea (T. J. Berakoth rx. 1; T. B. Megillah 18 a). The caution against undue loquacity is applied to sacred things. KR. Jochanan and Jonathan found a provincial chazan extemporising in his synagogue, and they silenced him, on the ground that he had no right to add to the Benedictions which were already fixed by authority. The Babli here refers the ndpn to the Great Synagogue. He who talks overmuch even in praise of the Holy One is ‘swallowed up,”’ or rooted out of the world, for it is said (Job xxxvii. 20), pba a...95 spon. Οἱ. Matt. vi. 7; Kecl. v. 2; Ecclus. vii. 14; Berakoth 61a. ΞΊΠΕΝΟΕ is His praise (Ps. Ixv. 2). 39 The R. Sh. Ὁ. G. here spoken of was the son of Gamaliel II., who was the grandson of Gamaliel I. The second Gamaliel (80—115 a.p.) was a man of liberal views, but self-willed and overbearing. It is related that he justified his conduct in frequenting a bath in ‘Akko which contained a statue of Aphrodite on the ground that the statue was made as an ornament for the bath, and not the bath as an ornament for the statue (‘Abodah Zarah 11.

4). His treatment of the venerable R. Jehoshua‘, who ventured to differ from him on more than one occasion (ἢ. ha-Shanah wm. 9; Berakoth 27 b), at length aroused the popular indignation to such an extent that he was deposed from his presidency, and succeeded by the youthful Ele‘azar ben‘ Azariah,on the memorable day frequently alluded to in the Talmud in the phrase DA 132 (cf. “that same year,” in Joh. xi. 49; xviii. 13); but after a time a compromise was effected, and the two presided alternately. His son Shime‘on at length succeeded him, and became the teacher of many illustrious men, To this age (remarks Jost) belong the sayings of Meir, Jehudah, Jose, and Simon b. Gamliel in the Mishnah. ‘Sein Todesjahr ist nicht niher bestimmt, doch fallt es in die Zeit der parthischen Kriege in den ersten Jahren des Marcus Aurelius (um 164). Seine Bestrebungen gediehen zum Abschluss durch seinen beriihmten Sohn JeHupau.” 40 Justice, truth, and peace (8 13) are collectively the σύνδεσμος of society, a threefold cord which is not quickly broken (Eccl. iv. 12). They are a system of internal forces by which the world is held together, though the pillars of the former αἰών (§ 2) have been shaken, and the Temple itself has fallen. So the heavenly bodies are said to be kept in their orbits by the attractions of ADM and ΠΝ, which draw them to FAN. Peace plays an important part in the New Testament.

In connexion with αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν (Eph. ii. 14; Mic. v. 4), and 6 Oeds ΤῊΣ 20 PIRQE ΑΒΟΤΗ. εἰρήνης (Rom. xvi. 20), observe that Peace is a Talmudic Name of God. The etymological affinity in Hebrew, of peace and perfectness, now bon ὉΔΌΣ, “everything is PERFECTED BY PEACE,” gives a clue to the genesis of some Pauline expressions. Compare ἐν ἀγαπῇ...ἐν τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης (Eph. iv. 3), with τὴν ἀγάπην 6 ἐστιν σύνδεσμος THs τελειότητος (Col. iii. 14), which may be explained by supposing ἀγάπη to have replaced εἰρήνη, peaceableness, in Εἰρήνη... σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος. In Col. iii. 15 occurs the paradox, ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ βραβενέτω, which may have been suggested by the expression DDD) oiby of Zech. viii. 16, a verse which is cited at the end of this Pereq in many copies. The Qabbalists state the general theorem that all the attributes of God are in unison; and they work out the idea in their own peculiar way by so manipulating the Divine Names as to identify them all by alphabetical permutations. Thus PEacr, Love, Micut or JupGMEnt, and Frar are made severally equivalent to the TETRAGRAMMATON, and therefore to one another (Berith Menuchah, ed. Amsterdam, 1648, fol. 3 a). [Jud. vi. 24; Shabbath 10 b; Pereq ha-Shalom.] p.11. Moses] At the beginning of the Mekhilta, with the emendation ΤΥ Δ 5 for ΠΥ Δ ΟἿΣ proposed by Dr Israel Lewy in Ein Wort itiber die Mechilta des R.

Simon (Breslau 1889) and again by Mr Schechter, we read that ‘‘As Moses was a vessel for λόγια so Aaron was a vessel for λόγια," cf. 1v. Ezra iv. 11 quomodo poterit uas tuum capere altissimi wiam?, Acts ix. 15 σκεῦος...τοῦ βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομά μου, 2 Cor. iv. 7 ‘‘We have this treasure in earthen vessels,” Nedarim 50b ‘“‘Fair Torah in foul vessel.” Ὁ 11. Thorah] Without ny (Ta‘an. 27 b) or MIN (Nedar. 32 a) heaven and earth would not stand. p11. delivered] Mekhilta NWN ‘3 (Fr. 103 b, 104 a), ‘“‘ The sabbath was delivered to you and ye were not delivered to the sabbath,” illustrates St Mark ii. 27. p. 11, n.1] Gen. ii. 2 is one of the ‘*ten”? passages altered by the LXX for king Ptolemy. See Megillah T. B. 9a&T. J. 1.9 (71 d), Mekhilta 82 (15 Ὁ), Tanchuma Nid (Buber 11. 6a), Mas. Soferim 1. (Miiller pp. τι. & 14). p. 15, n. 12] With reference to this note Prof. Mayor, in a paper read to the Cambridge Philological Society (Nov. 8, 1883), writes as follows: ‘‘It seems highly probable that St Paul had distinctly in his mind a saying current in the Greek schools, variously ascribed to Thales or Socrates (D. L. 1. 33) or Plato (Plut. Marius 46. 8 1). Lactantius gives it thus (m1. 19. ὃ 17), non dissimile Platonis illud est, quod aiebat se gratias agere naturae, primum quod homo natus esset potius quam mutum animal; deinde quod mas potius quam femina; quod Graecus quam barbarus; postremo quod Atheniensis et quod temporibus Socratis.” p. 22, n. 29] See M. Joel Blicke in die Religionsgeschichte τι. 50, ἢ. 1 (Breslau 1883); Bernays Gesammelte Abhandlungen 11. 71 sq. (Berl. 1885) on “ Die Gottesfiirchtigen bei Juvenal.”’

Rabbi? said, Which is the right course that a man should choose for himself ? Whatsoever is a pride to him that pursues 105, (and) brings him honour (Phil. iv. 8) from men. And 1 Rabbi, which is equivalent to ‘‘my lord,” or διδάσκαλε (Joh. i. 39), is properly a vocative, but came to be used as a title also, the possessive affix being disregarded. As a title it is superior to Rab (which is applied especially to Babylonian doctors, whereas Rabbi is applied to those of Palestine), but inferior to Rabban (a title given to seven or eight descendants of Hillel and to Jochanan ben Zakai). It is said [Kohut 4. C. 1. 7a] that Rabbi is greater than Rab, and Rabban than Rabbi, yet GREATER THAN RaBBAN IS HIs Name, YOY IW SVT, ie. the greatest glory is to need no title at all, but to be sufficiently distinguished by one’s name alone, like Hillel, Ezra, and the prophets. Another form, 113, occurs in Targum and Gemara as a Divine title, and is also used with the affix ‘‘my” in much the same way as Rabbi. Cf. Mark x. 51; Joh. xx. 16, ῥαββουνί, ὃ λέγεται διδάσκαλε. This form *)2° occurs once in the Mishnah (Tha‘anith m1. 8) according to the manuscript A, instead of by a9 obi, ‘Lord of the world,’ which is found in other copies. The title of ΒΑΒΒΙῚ κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν was given to Jehudah ben Simon III., who was also called Jehudah ha-Nasi (§ 2), and Rabbenu ha-Qadosh, or the holy.

To him is attributed the compilation of the ΜΙΒΉΝΔΗ ; but the Misunan as we have it is a later recension, as may be inferred from the way in which ‘‘Rabbi” himself is introduced (cf. Menachoth v1. 3; vir. 6, &¢.). He is thought to have been born about 140 A.D., Shortly after the execution of R. ‘Aqiba, and to have died at Sepphoris, after 17 years of ill health, at the age of 80, in 219 or 220 a.p, (Jost, Gesch. B. 118); but by some he is placed earlier. It is remarked that ‘*from the days of Moses to Rabbi we have not found Thorah and greatness in one place” (Gittin 59 a); for there was not his like in Israel for greatness in Thorah and wealth. ‘From when Rabbi died, meekness and the fear of sin ceased’’ (Sotah 1x. 15). Little is known of the details of his literary and administrative work.

The interpretation of this somewhat doubtful clause varies according to the reading, and also according to the meaning assigned to AWIY. The rendering given above involves a departure from the text of A, and is adapted to the usual reading ΠΝ ΘΠ). 28 PIRQE ABOTH. be attentive to a light precept as to a grave, for thou knowest not the assigned reward of precepts*; and reckon the loss for a duty against its gain, and the gain by a transgression against its loss. And consider three things, and thou wilt not fall into the hands of transgression (111.1): know what? is above thee—a seeing eye, and a hearing ear (1 Pet. iii. 12), and all thy deeds written in a book (Dan. vu. 10). 2. Rabban Gamliel, son of R. Jehudah ha-Nasi5, said, Jostrenders ‘*‘welcherihm in seinen eigenen Augen und in denen der Menschen zum Ruhme gereicht.” Taking the former ΠΝ ΒΓ as subjective compare sxpnnd 51) mw (Is. Ix. 21). The second ΠΝ ΒΓ is illustrated by Jud. iv. 9: ‘‘notwithstanding the JouRNEY that thou takest shall not be for THINE Honour.” RK, ‘Obadiah of Sforno— cf. Baba Bathra 16 b—remarks that a man should choose a business to which he can devote himself con amore, for, “‘ happy is he whose business is perfumery, and woe to him whose business is tanning.” Bar S. objects to the usual interpretation that NINSN cannot be taken subjectively, and that Mwy does not apply well to 777 (but cf.

Jud. xvii. 8); and he proposes the interpretation: ‘‘Whatsoever is done for the honour of a man’s Maker ἀπ») will bring the man honour from his fellows.’? Cf. Matt. vi. 33; Aboth 1v. 10. A third interpretation, which presupposes the usual reading, is: ‘‘Whatsoever is to the glory of God, ΑΝΡ also has the approval of men.” Cf. Prov. iii. 4 (cited by R. Elijah of Wilna): ‘So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” [Nedarim 22 Ὁ; Tamid 28 a.] 3 Cf. Neparim 39 Ὁ. It is remarked that a reward (length of days) is specified in the case of two extreme precepts, the gravest of the grave: ‘‘ Honour thy father and thy mother,” and the lightest of the light: ‘‘Thou shalt not take the dam with the young. But thou shalt in any wise LET THE pam (DNi) co, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.” It is inferred in Sifre (Deut. xxii. 7), that if this light precept is singled out for such a reward, a fortiori will the fulfilment of other precepts be rewarded. 3% remarks that negative precepts do not come under consideration here, since there is no 3 for them. 4 Or, omitting 7: ‘Know (that) above thee is a seeing eye, &c.” This concise reading is found in €. 5 Ἢ, Jehudah is said (Kethuboth 103 b) to have nominated his (elder) son Gamaliel to succeed him as Nasi.

The first part of this Gamaliel’s saying relates to individuals as such, and counsels them to combine secular occupation with Thorah study. The expression derek erec, or via terre, may denote the conduct of worldly business, or an acquaintance with, and conformity to, the usages of society, ‘‘ goodmanners,” &c, The phrase occurs not only in Rabbinic, but (with a variation) in the Bible, in senses readily determined by the context. Cf. Gen. xix. 831; Josh. xxiii. 14; 1 Kings ii. 2. The second part of the saying recommends individuals, regarded as members of the congregation of Israel, to act εἰς δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ (Rom. xv. 7), reII. 2—5. 29 Excellent is Thorah study together with worldly business, for the practice of them both puts iniquity out of remembrance ; and all Thorah without work must fail at length, and occasion iniquity®. And let all who are employed with the congregation act with them in the name of Heaven, for the merit of their fathers sustains them, and their righteousness stands for ever. ‘And ye yourselves shall have reward reckoned unto you’ as if ye had wrought.

Be cautious with (those in) authority, for they let not a man approach them but for their own purposes; and they appear like friends when it is to their advantage, and stand not by a man in the hour of his need.

He used to say, Do His will as if it were thy will’, that He may do thy will as if it were His will. Annul thy will before His will, that He may annul the will of others before thy will®,

Hillel said, Separate not thyself from the congregation, and trust not in thyself until the day of thy death"; and judge lying upon the merit of the patriarchs. Cf. ἀγαπητοὶ διὰ τοὺς πατέρας (Rom. xi. 28). With the conclusion of the saying compare Rom. iv. 4, τῷ δὲ ἐργαζομένῳ ὁ μισθὸς οὐ λογίζεται κατὰ χάριν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ὀφείλημα. 6 The usual reading, simplest. A (but see Crit. Note), ‘‘rHey reckon unto you.” The indefinite rHry, which occurs so frequently in Rabbinic, is interpreted of the by (Or ao) NODE πον, the ‘‘upper” or celestial ““ἴδmilia” (or tribunal). Cf. Eph. iii. 15. The Holy One, blessed is He, does nothing without consulting the familia superna, for it is said (Dan. iv. 17), “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones” (Sanhedrin 38b). Cf. Dan. iv. 25, 32; ‘‘And THEY shall drive thee from men.”’ The same construction is found in the New Testament. nw), is Cf. δώσουσιν εἰς τὸν κόλπον ὑμῶν (Luke vi. 38). 8 Ἐάν τις θέλῃ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ χοίεῖν x.7.d. (Joh, vii. 17). Cf. Ps, xl. Ὁ; ‘“‘Tt is revealed and known before Thee that our willis to do Thy will. And who hindereth? The leaven in the dough, and servitude to the kingdoms,” &c. (Berakoth 17 a). 9 “At the time when Israel do the will of God their work is done by the hand of others, for it is said, And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers (Is.

lxi. 5); and at the time when Israel do not the will of God their work is done by their own hand, for it is said (but cf. the context), And thou shalt gather in thy corn, &c. (Deut. xi. 14). Nay more, the work of others is done by their hand, for it is said (Deut. xxviil. 48), And thou shalt serve thine enemies” (Berakoth 35 b). 10 BrerakotH 29 a illustrates this saying by the case of one Jochanan 30 PIRQE ABOTH. not thy friend until thou comest into his place; and say not of a word which may be heard" that in the end _ it shall be heard; and say not, When I have leisure I will study; perchance thou mayest not have leisure.

He used to say, No boor” is a sinfearer; nor is the vulgar™ pious; nor is the shamefast apt to learn, nor the paswho after ministering as high-priest for 80 years became a Caduqi. Rabbinic writers do not countenance the opinion that the priestly party were to a great extent, or normally, Sadducaic. Cf. Excursus m1. The Machazor Vitry (see Crit. Note) remarks that the title “R.” should not be read, as in @, before the name of Himueu. He is identified with Hillel ha-Zagen by comparing Sukkah 53a, ‘where the saying about the ‘‘skull” (δ 7)—omitting the word ΠῚ (ed. Lemberg)—is attributed to him: ‘They said of Hillel ha-Zaqen that when he was sharing in the festivity of the NANIwW—sc. at the feast of Tabernacles [Kohut 4.6. 11. 85; Delitzsch Iris, p. 198, Edinb. 1889]—he said, If I am here, all are here; and if I am not here, who is here? He used to say thus, Whatsoever place I take pleasure in, thither My feet lead me. If thou wilt come to My house, I will come to thy house: if thou wilt not come to My house, I will not come to thy house (Exod. xx. 24). Moreover he saw a skull that floated on the surface of the water, and he said to it, Because thou drownedst they drowned thee, AND they that drowned thee shall be drowned.” chazor Vitry in accordance with the context. If a word of Thorah may BE HEARD—if a man has leisure to attend to the call of duty at once, let him do so, and not make the excuse that it may be attended to at some future time, that ITS END IS TO BE HEARD;

and even if he is pressed with business, let him find time for it, and not say that when he has leisure he will attend to his Thorah, for that more convenient season may never come. According to the more usual negative reading and interpretation the saying is a caution against propounding farfetched, paradoxical, not-to-be-heard-of doctrines, even though they may in the end perhaps be susceptible of a rational interpretation. Speak not words which prima facie cannot be heard, though ultimately they may be heard: words which require elaborate explanation before they can be accepted; ‘‘Alles was du vortrigst musz mit Klarheit...geschehen”’ (Paulus Ewald). Cf. Maimonides, who is followed by very many of the moderns. The negative reading and interpretation, in some form, is usually adopted; but that of the Machazor Vitry has strong claims to acceptance. For the various reading WEN (°S) in the Mishnah see also Parah νι. 1; vir. 5; Makshirin τι. 5—7; Sotah ν, 3; ‘EHrakin vii. 7; Themurah y. 4. 12 The word “2, of which Boor may be employed as a transliteration, is used of ‘‘incultus, sylvestris ager.” In Prov. xii. 1: “but he that hateth reproof is BrutisH,” the Targum has N13, for Heb. ya. 13 The expression ‘am ha-are¢ is used in Rabbinic to denote the vulgar herd, ὁ ὄχλος οὗτος ὁ μὴ γινώσκων τὸν νόμον (Joh, vii. 49). Cf. Ezek. vii. 27... II. 6—8. 31 sionate to teach™; nor is every one that has much traffic wise. And in a place where there are no men endeavour to be a man”,

Moreover he saw a skull (Matt. xxvii. 33) which floated on the face of the water, and he said to it, Because thou drownedst they drowned thee, and in the end they that drowned thee shall be drowned.

He used to say, More flesh, more worms: more treasures, more care: more maidservants, more lewdness: more menservants, more theft: more women”, more witchcrafts (Nah. iii. kal ai χεῖρες τοῦ λαοῦ τῆς γῆς wapaλυθήσονται. In this Mishnah, and passim, it is used as a singular to denote ONE of the ὄχλος. So ‘NJ, the singular of O°)3, ἔθνη, is used to denote an individual heathen. M An ἐπίσκοπος should be διδακτικός, and not ὀργίλος (1 Tim. iii. 2; 2 Tim. ii. 24; Tit. i. 7). fully when left to his own resources (cf. τ. 15). It is added in Berakoth 63a: ‘‘In a place where there is a man, there be not a man”: refrain from undue self-assertion. must have been a wrong-doer; and they that have done the man violence will themselves come to an untimely end. Cf. πάντες yap of λαβόντες μάχαιραν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀπολοῦνται (Matth. xxvi. ὅ2). The above saying of Hillel —which, like some others attributed to him (ef. 1. 14), is in Aramaic—is one of the many ways of expressing the great principle of retribution: ‘‘as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee” (Obadiah 15). It is a common saying in the Talmud that ‘‘with what measure ἃ Man measures, THEY (cf. note 7) measure to him”: Samson, who followed after the desire of his eyes, was blinded by the Philistines: Absalom, who prided himself upon his hair, was hanged up by his hair (Sotah 1.

7, 8). The bribed judge will live to grow blind (Peah, end), ‘for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise” (Deut. xvi, 19). On the other hand, when the member that sinned has suffered, the curse is removed. Thus, sentence of slavery is pronounced, because ‘‘Ham the father of Canaan ...SAW,..and ToLD” (Gen. ix. 22)— thereby sinning with eyes and teeth: and contrariwise the slave is set at liberty (Ex. xxi. 26, 7) when he has suffered the loss of eye or tooth (Bereshith Rabbah xxxv1.). te Ole Xe Xxul. 18. (WOMAN: -18 regarded as a medium of temptation. Man is to woman as 53¥ to ἽΓ - 85 νοῦς to ὕλη, or αἴσθησις : as upper to lower: as right to left: as the Divine to the human. Philo writes (de Mundi Opificio, Vol. 1. pp. 39, 40, ed. Mangey): τὰς δὲ γοητείας καὶ ἀπάτας αὑτῆς ἡ ἡδονὴ τῷ μὲν ἀνδρὶ οὐ τολμᾷ προσφέρειν, τῇ δὲ γυναικί, καὶ διὰ ταύτης ἐκείνῳ πάνυ προσφυῶς καὶ εὐθυβόλως. Ἔν ἡμῖν γὰρ ἀνδρὸς μὲν ἔχει λόγον ὁ νοῦς, γυναικὸς δ᾽ αἴσθησις, κ.τ.λ. It is disputed whether σαρκός, in Joh. i. 13, where it is contrasted with ἀνδρός, refers especially to the female. The contrast “right” and ‘‘left” (Zohar on Gen. i. 2, col. 14) is explained by the doctrine that the (left) hand of God created earth, and the right hand heaven, according to an 32 PIRQE ABOTH. 4): more Thorah, more life (Prov. 111. 1, 2): more wisdom, more scholars: more righteousness, more peace. a good name has gotten it for himself". He who has gotten He who has gotten to himself words of Thorah, has gotten to himself the life of the world to come.

Rabban Jochanan ben Zakai” received from Hillel and interpretation (given also in Pirge Ree Wis αν), (Ol 15: Ὑ ΣΙΝ: 19 Ὁ NNDD 2) PIN MTD? ΤΉΝ. The man is εἰκὼν καὶ δόξα θεοῦ" ἡ δὲ γυνὴ δόξα ἀνδρός ἐστιν (1 Cor. xi. 7). The congregation of Israel is personified as a γυνή, in relation to God. wisdom will increase his consessus of scholars (R. Jonah). Bar 8. cites Maimonides as favouring this reading. The usual reading: Viel Schule, viel Weisheit (P. Ewald), may mean either (1) that wisdom increases with study, or (2) that it increases with the consessus of scholars, who sharpen not only one another (Prov. xxvii. 17), but also their Rab, by their discussions. So €, bar S. &c., citing the well-known saying: ‘I have learned much from my teachers: more from my associates: but from my disciples most of all.” Cf. 1v. 1. 19 Φρόντισον περὶ ὀνόματος, αὐτὸ γάρ σοι διαμένει ἢ χίλιοι μεγάλοι θησαυροὶ χρυσίου (Keclus, xli. 12). (Zaxxaios), was the ‘least” of the disciples of Hillel (cf. Pereq 1. note 26). His learning is described in Baba Bathra 134 a: at his death ‘*splendor sapientiz’’ ceased (Sotah ix. 15). ‘Durch ihn ward Jamnia zum Sitz der gesetzgebenden Versammlungen, zu einem neuen Jerusalem; wahrend er seine Lehrschule an einem kleinen Orte in der Nahe hielt” (Jost, Gesch. B. 17). He was distinguished as a scrupulous adherent to the old paths, rather than as a theoretical reformer.

The strictness of his moral code is intimated by the remark attributed to him in Chagig. 5 a (on Mal. iii. 5), that levia are reckoned as gravia. (It is added, on δ 49), that he who perverts the cause of the stranger, is as if he perverted that of Heaven, NO 5 (πον Sw iat mv ado a Sw we In Chagigah l. c. Jochanan remarks further, on the last verse of Ecclesiastes, that sins of inadvertence and of wilfulness are put on a par. In Chagigah 13 a, he urges the futility of speculating, with our finite capacities, upon the secrets of the universe: ‘‘What answer gave bath gol to that wicked one who said (Is. xiv. 14), I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High?... The years of man are only seventy, whereas from earth tothe firmamentisa journey of 500 years, and the thickness of the firmament is a journey of 500 years, and the interval between each firmament and the next is a journey of 500 years.”’ His view of the religious status of the heathen is brought out in Baba Bathra 10 b, where he infers from Prov. xiv. 34, that moral goodness may atone for them, as the sinoffering (NNN) for Israel. They said of R. Jochanan ben Zakai that he was always beforehand in saluting even a heathen in the street (Berakoth 17a. Cf. Aboth rv.

22). When he was at the point of death some of his disciples came to visit him. He wept. They said, Why dost thou, the light of Israel...weep? He said il. 9, 10: 33 from Shammai. He used to say, If thou hast practised Thorah” much, claim not merit to thyself, for thereunto wast thou created (Luke xvii. 10; 1 Cor. ix. 16).

Five disciples” were there to Rabban Jochanan ben Zakai, and these were they: R. Li‘ezer® ben Hyrqanos, and R. Jehoshua‘ ben Chananiah, and R. Jose the Priest, and (Berakoth 28 b), Were they bringing me before an earthly king, whose wrath is transient: who, should he put me to death, the death would not be eternal: whom, moreover, I might hope to persuade or bribe... even then I should weep; How then can I but weep, when they are bringing me before...Him whose wrath is ‘eternal’: who, if He puts me to death, the death is ‘eternal’: and whom I cannot hope to move with words or bribes? They say to him, Bless us; and accordingly he prays paradoxically that the fear of Heaven may be upon them as the fear of flesh and blood: the transgressor has a real fear of detection by his fellows: would that he could equally realise the truth that he is seen by God. There was a belief that dying saints were sometimes visited in their last moments by the spirits of the departed. In accordance with this belief, R. Jochanan is represented as directing his assembled disciples to prepare a seat for Hezekiah who was coming. ‘Es ist sehr zu beklagen, dass weder die Dauer seiner Wirksamkeit nach der Zerstirung des Tempels, noch sein Todesjahr, welches vermuthlich in Domitians Regierungszeit fallt, angemerkt worden.” “Tf thou hast learned (note x) much Thorah.” The better attested ΠΝ may include both acquisition and practice.

The MSS. favour the reading: ‘‘If thou hast wrought much at THY ΤΉΟΒΑΗ," Bar §, illustrates the saying as follows: ‘‘Why was the book Ezra not called by the name of Nehemiah? Because he insisted upon his merits, as it is said, Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds” (Neh. xiii. 14). But see Sanhedrin 93 Ὁ. to comfort R. Jochanan on the death of his son (Aboth R.N. xiv.), and Ele‘azar again bears off the palm. After the death of his master he withdrew to Emmaus, but failed to draw disciples after him. According to Shabbath 147b, he yielded to the enervating influences of the place, and his learning deserted him: then they prayed for him and it returned. His case is adduced in illustration of the principle that a man should betake himself to a place of Thorah (rv. 20), and not presume upon his own power to raise up a school for himself in a place where Thorah is not already studied. 3 La‘zar (Λάζαρος), and Li‘ezer (cf. Crit. Note) are colloquial abbreviations. R. Eli‘ezer—who was a preceptor of R. ‘Aqiba—is described as a faithful preserver of traditions received: Ele- ‘azar, as a teacher of original power and inexhaustible fertility of invention, ‘“‘who adds to what he has heard (cf. 1. 14), and draws inferences; whereas El. b. Hyrqanos, as we find in Sukkah, never spoke a word that he had not heard from his Rab”’ (A*).

For the metaphor of the spring, ef. John iv. 14, πηγὴ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου els ζωὴν αἰώνιον. [Psalm xxxvi. 10.] 34 PIRQE ABOTH. R. Shime‘on ben Nathanael, and R. Ele‘azar ben ‘Arak. He used to recount their praise: Eli‘ezer ben Hyrqanos is a plastered cistern, which loseth not a drop; Jehoshua‘ ben Chananiah —happy is she that bare him; Jose the Priest is pious”; Shim‘eon ben Nathanael is a sinfearer; Ele‘azar ben ‘Arak is a welling spring.

He used to say, If all the wise of Israel were in a scale of the balance, and Eli‘ezer ben Hyrqanos” in the other scale, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name, If all the wise of Israel were in a scale of the balance, and Eli‘ezer ben Hyrqanos with them, and Ele‘azar ben ‘Arak in the other scale, he would outweigh them all. lence than the caddigq (δίκαιος). Cf. the gradation: ‘‘ Three things are said of nail-parings, He who burns them is t°DOM; He who buries them is pS; He who throws them away is yw” (Niddah 17 a). The term chasid is used in the text in connexion with the designation ‘‘the Priest.” So Jose ben Jo‘ezer (1. 4) is ealled MINDIW WON (Chagigah τι. 7). There is a certain halo of antiquity about the word in the phrase Dw ODN (Berakoth v. 1). One of the conjectures about the name Essene, or "Eocaios, identifies it with DM (regardless of the 4). But the Essenes were opposed to sacrifice, and the chasid might be a priest. 2° The typical traditionalist Eli‘ezer is balanced against the man of genius. In favour of tradition @ quotes, sy Ὁ DMA Wy) 3°D, when the choice lies between ‘‘Sinai” and an ‘‘uprooter of mountains,” the preference is given to Sinai. See the discussions in Berakoth 64 a and Horaioth 14a, where R. Joseph is described as 9D, and Rabah as D7 WDiy.

Cf. also R. ‘Obadiah of Sforno, in the Bologna Machazor, who adds that the ‘‘uprooter of mountains” has the advantage in criticism, as ‘‘a pungent grain of pepper is better than a basketful of gourds.”’ [Megillah 7a; Chagigah 10a. Cf. Matt. xvii. 20.] R. Eli‘ezer incurred excommunication through his opposition to the opinion of the majority. Cf. rv. 12. Shortly afterwards he retired from Lydda to Ceesarea, On his death-bed he apostrophised his arms: ‘‘ Alas! my two arms, which are like two books of Thorah rolled up.” He added, that he had learned and taught much Thorah, but had not by learning lessened his teachers’ store by so much as a dog laps from the sea; nor had his own disciples taken away from him, mrpawa Sinsp> NON. He had laid down the law (said he) times innumerable, when his decisions had been received without a question (Sanhedrin 68 a); and indeed notwithstanding the ban under which he lay, the Mishnah has preserved more than 330 of his sayings—‘‘ mehr als von irgend einem seiner Gefiihrten” (Jost, Gesch. B. 35). His respect for authority is further shewn by his counsel (§ 14) to warm oneself by, and yet keep at a respectful distance from, the fire of the wise. After him is named the work, Pirge Rabbi Eli‘ezer ben Hyrqanos, II. 11—13. 35

He said to them, Go and see which is the good way that a man should cleave to. Rabbi Li‘ezer said, A good eye”: R. Jehoshua‘ said, A good friend”: and R. Jose said, A good neighbour: and R. Shime‘on said, He that foresees what is to be®: R. La‘zar said, A good heart. He said to them, I approve the words of Ele‘azar ben ‘Arak rather than your words, for his words include your words.

He said to them, Go and see which is the evil way that a man should shun. R. Li‘ezer said, An evil eye®: and R. Jehoshua‘ said, An evil companion: and R. Jose said, An evil neighbour: and R. Shime‘on said, He that borroweth and repayeth not*—he that borrows from man is the same as if he borrowed from God (blessed is He)—for it is said, The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again, but the righteous is merciful and giveth (Ps. xxxvii. 21): R. La‘zar said, An evil heart. He said to them, I approve the words of Ele‘azar ben ‘Arak 26 «He that hath a bountiful eye (ΟΝ 21) shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor” (Prov. xxii. 9). On ad aw (Prov. xv. 15) see Sanhedrin 100b. [Aboth R. N. xiv. MID aw 3d) ow aw 3d.) league, or associate: SHAKEN, simply a neighbour. Cf. 1. 7, 8; Luke xv, 6, καλεῖ τοὺς φίλους καὶ τοὺς γείτονας. 38. Cf, 91) D> (Ps. xxii. 82). The saying is explained in A* as denoting a man of insight, who considers the consequences of things beforehand, and thereby regulates his actions, balancing the sacrifice for a duty against its reward (§ 1). 29 “αὖ thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye (}'P Y)...Hat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee” (Prov. xxiii. 6, 7). ‘‘He that hasteth to be rich is PY PI WN” (Prov.

xxviii. 22). The evil eye denotes especially niggardliness, envy, or jealousy. Cf, Aboth v. 19; Matt. xx. 15. Compare also § 15, where the ‘‘evil eye” perhaps corresponds to ANIPTA (Aboth rv. 30). R. Jonah brings out the connexion between this saying of R. Shime‘on and the former by remarking that the borrower should consider whether he is able to repay, for the day of reckoning will surely come, 30 ** He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord” (Prov. xix. 17). ἐφ᾽ ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε (Matt. xxv. 40). The character here condemned is that of a man wanting in insight, who incurs responsibilities which he is not able to meet and who views things from an external standpoint, not seeing the significance of commonplace actions, whereas ὁ ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ ἄδικος καὶ ἐν πολλῷ ἄδικός ἐστιν (Luke xvi. 10). Another explanation (bar 83.) is that all wealth belongs to God (Haggai ii. 8), and men are His stewards. Hence the borrower borrows from God, 36 PIRQE ABOTH. rather than your words, for your words are included in his words*!, 14, And they said (each) three things. R. Li‘ezer® said, Let the honour of thy friend be dear unto thee as thine own; and be not easily provoked; and repent® one day before thy death. And warm thyself before the fire of the wise, but beware of their embers, perchance thou mayest be singed, for their bite is the bite of a fox*,and their sting the sting of a scorpion, and their hiss the hiss of a fiery-serpent, and all their words are as coals of fire (Jer.

v. 14). 31 Ἔσωθεν yap ἐκ τῆς καρδίας.. .ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός κιτ.λ. (Mark vil. 21, 22). The ‘‘heart” has not now quite the same significance as formerly. Cf. ‘“‘Kphraim also is like a silly dove without HEART” (Hosea vii. 11); and notice the remarkable expression, τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας (Eph. i. 18; Clem. ad Cor. 1. 36, 59). 32 The three sayings of R. Li‘ezer are variously reckoned. Rambam regards: ‘And warm thyself, éc.” as an extraneous addition, and takes the caution against anger as the second; whereas ‘‘ Rashbam” and others make it part of the first, since irritability tends to discourtesy. According to the latter reckoning the sayings are, (1) ‘‘Let the honour, &c.”; (2) ‘‘Repent, &c.”; (3) ‘‘Warm thyself, &c.” The connexion between anger and the dishonouring of a man’s neighbour might be illustrated by Matt. v. 22, πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει...ὃς δ᾽ ἂν εἴπῃ, Μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. ‘*Whosoever is angry, punishments of Gehinnom come upon him, for it is said (Eccl. xi. 10), Remove DYD from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh. And ‘evil’ is Gehinnom, for it is said (Prov. xvi. 4),...the wicked for the day of evil” (bar 8.) By three things a man is tested, 2122 YDY531 1D335, by his cup, and his purse, and his temper. [This saying is in ‘Erubin 65 b.] 83 R. ‘Obadiah establishes a connexion between this clause and the preceding by remarking that if anger has got the better of a man he should repent at once.

The saying is quoted in Shabbath 153 a, and explained as meaning that a man should repent today because he may die to-morrow: ‘Let thy garments be always white” (Eccl. ix. 8), A parable of Jochanan ben Zakkai is added: A king invited his servants to a banquet without specifying the time: the wise (}'Np°5) dressed themselves and sat at the gate: the foolish went to their work: suddenly the guests were summoned: the king was pleased with the wise, and angry with the foolish: he said, They that dressed themselves for the banquet shall sit and eat, and they that did not shall stand and look on. The son-in-law of R. Meir said that all shall sit, but the wise shall eat. and drink, and the foolish shall be hungry and thirsty (Is. lxv. 18). 34 Bar S. mentions a reading Wn), which perhaps crept in from a commentary in which it was used below to explain ἢ). DEC ΤΊ 15: 37

RB. Jehoshua‘ said, An evil eye*, and the evil nature*, 38 The expression YF Ὁ) might be rendered, oculus mali, since 1) is usually feminine; but see Crit. Note. It occurs in many other places. Observe that the saying on ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός in § 13 is attributed to Eli‘ezer, not Jehoshua‘. Jehoshua‘ frequently appears in controversy with ‘Aqiba, Gamliel (p. 25), Eli‘ezer, &c. ‘‘Wir haben von ihm in der Mischnah gegen 130 Ausspriiche,..Er war zur Zeit des Tempels schon erwachsen, und Schiiler des Jochanan b. Zachai. Als Levit gehorte er zu den Saéngern des Tempels, kurz vor dessen Zerstérung er seinem Lehrer ins Lager der Romer folgte” (Jost, Gesch. B. 11). When, in sorrow for the destruction of the Temple, many Pharisees refused to eat flesh and drink wine, which were no longer offered on the altar, he shewed them that logically they must abstain likewise from bread, and fruit, and water, and admonished them to desist from excessive demonstrations of grief on the ground that no burden should be put upon the congregation which the majority could not bear (Baba B. 60b), now Taya by FTV PITA PNY ma syd 7.212" meh sce haa He had the reputation of being a faithful observer of the Law, but an opponent of extravagant developments. ‘‘Die Juden liebten ihn sehr, und sein Wort bewirkte Beruhigung der Gemiither in der Zeit furchtbarer Aufregung unter Trajan’s Regierung.” 78° may be abundantly illustrated from Rabbinic.

Cf. DIIWNIWT ODN (Berakoth vy. 1), &c. The omission is also Biblical (Gen. i. 31). The word 1¥° denotes (1) formation, or a thing formed (Ps, ciii. 14; Is, xxix. 16), and (2) διανοία, especially in connexion with 2, Cf. Gen. vi. 5; viii. 21, yD yD OINA ad sy. The 9 ὝΝ is the evil nature or disposition in or of a man: the 33% Ἢν" his good nature or disposition. These —cf., the παλαιὸς and καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (Eph. iv. 22, 23)—are frequently personified. The dualism of man’s nature is evolved from Gen. ii. 7, where it is said, ‘13 78%) (with two yods), He formed man with two O¥', the one, 21 “, and the other, 7 “) (Berakoth 61 a). A curious ‘‘parable”’ is given in connexion with the murder of Abel: A thief effected a robbery in the night, escaping the vigilance of the gatekeeper, who however caught him on the morrow and began to reproach him for his dishonesty. The retort was, I am a thief, and thou art the watchman: I have not neglected my business, but thou hast neglected thine. So Cain said to God, Thou didst create in me ὉΠ ν᾽, and in consequence I slew Abel: why didst Thou, that art the keeper of all, let me slay him? It is Thou that hast slain him, Thou that art called ‘IN (see Excursus on Shema‘), for hadst Thou accepted my offering like his, I should not have been jealous of him (Tanchuma on Gen.

iv. 9). The Targum and Midr. Rab. on Eecl. ix. 14, 15 make the little city the heart of man: the great king that comes against it, the yr 78): and the poor wise man that delivers the city, the 1198. This reminds us of the ἰσχυρός, spoiled by the ἰσχυρότερος, and at the same time of the indwelling ἀκάθαρτον πνεῦμα (Luke xi. 21—26). The evil Ἵν" (Eccl. x. 1, Targ.) lies at the door of the heart like a 82135, ‘‘instar musce” (Berakoth 61a); in 38 PIRQE ABOTH. and hatred of the creatures put a man out of the world” (αἰών).

R. Jose said, Let the property (Luke xvi. 11,12) of thy friend be precious unto thee as thine own; set thyself to learn Thorah, for it is not an heirloom unto thee®*; and let all thy actions be to the name of Heaven™.

R. Shime‘on said, Be careful in reading the Shema‘”, and in Prayer ; and when thou prayest“, make not thy prayer connexion with which compare Geiger’s Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibel, ες. p. 538, where BEELZEBUB is explained as meaning ENEMY, not ‘‘flygod”: ‘Die agyptisch-griechischen Uebersetzer setzen daher fiir diesen Eigennamen der Philistiéer ganz allgemein ‘Fremdstammige’ (ἀλλόφυλοι). Ihre Nationalgottheit Baal-Sebub (2 Kon. 1, 2. 8. 16) wird daher spiater mit aramiischer Aussprache als Beelzebub (o.—bul), als feindliche Gottheit iiberhaupt, als Gegengott, Satanas, Haupt der Dimonen schlechtweg gebraucht (Matth. 10, 25. 12, 24 u. 27, vel. 9, 34. Mare. 3, 22. Lucas 11, 15 u. 19). Ja dieser Sprachgebrauch ist so geliufig geworden, dass dieses Wort in etwas abweichender aramiischer Form, niimlich als Beel-Debab (8227 dyn), wie die syr. hexapl. Uebersetzung bereits fiir Baal-Sebub setzt, in simmtlichen aramiischen Dialekten ganz einfach einen ‘Feind’ bedeutet, und daraus mit Wegwerfung des Beel ein neuer Stamm 147 sich bildet fiir: hassen, anfeinden.” 87 Cf. πᾶς ὁ μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ...00K ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐν αὐτῷ μένουσαν (1 Joh. iii. 15), The term ‘‘creatures” (1.13) was in common use in the sense MANKIND. 38 Contrast Deut. xxxiii. 4. The knowledge of Thorah is not inherited, but must be purchased at the cost of a man’s own labour. A* remarks that the clause is dotted above, to shew that it should be omitted. 9.0 1 Coriexs alata WC. Teter to the blessing of Jael, in illustration of the principle that even evil done from a good motive is better than good done from an evil motive.

40 The portion of Thorah thus called, from its initial word you (Deut. vi. 4), is appointed to be read or recited morning and evening by every Jew. The first tract of the Mishnah commences with a question about the time for reading the YD, or ‘‘audi,” in the evening (Berak. 1. 1). It was regarded as including the Decalogue. See Excursus 1v.; and cf. Mark xii. 29, where the ἐντολὴ πρώτη is said to be, Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ. Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστί. καὶ ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου, κιτιλ. For him who reads the aupr with scrupulous precision as regards its several letters ‘“‘They cool Gehinnom,” for it is said (Ps. lxviii. 15), ‘When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow on Zalmon;’’ where take WD in the sense, separate, or make distinct, and read mindy, shadow of death, for ἡρὸν (Berakoth 15 b). at set times and as a duty, but is to be the expression of a heartfelt desire: ‘‘He who makes his prayer 22}, his prayer is not D3\INN, δέησις" (Berakoth tv. 4). ‘There is no set time (YAP) for the evening prayer” 11 106 17] 99 an ordinance, but an entreaty before God*, blessed is He, for it ts said, For God is compassionate and easily-entreated, (Berakoth 26a). If it is doubtful whether a man has read the aupr he is required to read it, but not so with prayer.

R. Jochanan said, Oh! that a man would pray all the day long (Berakoth 21 ἃ; Pesachim 54 b). A man when he prays should not stand in a high place but in a low place, for it is said (Ps. cxxx. 1), Out of the depths, ἄορ. (Berakoth, 10b). Although prayer is not directly commanded in the Pentateuch (Pereq 1, note 5), the duty of praying three times in the day (Ps. lv. 18; Dan. vi. 11) is made to rest upon the authority of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham established the morning prayer (Gen. xix. 27), since standing is to be identified with the/illah (Ps. evi. 30). Two other times of prayer, under the names AMY, and mya, are referred to Isaac and Jacob (Gen. xxiv. 63; xxvili. 11). See Bereshith Rabbah txvu1. On the ‘‘ten”’ names of prayer, and on O°3)3NN, οἵ, Deut. Rab. τι. On yovpn, meaning φυλακτήρια, see Buxtorf, s.v. 08. 42 The word magom, from οὔὐμ, to stand, denotes that in which things exist, i.e. place or space. It is constantly used in Rabbinic writings as a name of God, who is regarded as the ἐν ᾧ or locus of existence (Acts xvii. 28), and as filling all space: ‘* All the earth is full of His glory” (Is. vi. 3). Both of these meanings of the name are mentioned in Jalqut 117 (on Dipl yap), Gen. xxviii. 11), where it is said that God is so called, pry doy Sw imopo xiny Ὁ 1p odiyn, because He is the pLacr of the world, and not the world His place—so 38, commenting upon § 12— according to the Scriptures, Ex.

xxxiii. 21, "NS Dip 737; Deut. xxxiii. 27; Ps. xe. 1, ‘‘ Lord, thou hast been our dwellingplace” (})99, καταφυγή). The words Dip!) and ΠῚ") are also equated by a species of Gematria (111. 28), the letters of the former amounting to 186, and the sum of the squares of those of the latter (10? + 5? + 67+ 5?) being likewise 186. See Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. col. 2001. Bar S. cites this from R. Israel. In accordance with the above uses, God the Father is spoken of in the New Testament both as containing and as filling all. The like is also said of the Son—ecf. the Pauline ἐν Χριστῷ on the one hand, and ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα (Eph. iv. 10) on the other. Since space and its complement are correlatives, the use of mMagom, τόπος, naturally suggests a doctrine of a πλήρωμα. Moreover, since Magom is an ordinary Hebrew Name of God, it is not necessary to assume that its correlative πλήρωμα was originally a product of Gnosticism. ΑΒ testimony (1) to the antiquity of this remarkable use of τόπος, (2) to the natural affinity of the expression to πλήρωμα, and (3) to the applicability of the conception to the Λόγος, compare the following from Philo, De Somniis Lib. I. (Vol. 1. p630, ed. Mangey): Τριχῶς δὲ émνοεῖται τόπος ἅπαξ μὲν χώρα ὑπὸ σώματος ἐκπεπληρωμένη" κατὰ δεύτερον δὲ τρόπον ὁ θεῖος λόγος, ὃν ἐκπεπλήρωκεν ὅλον δι᾿ ὅλων ἀσωμάτοις δυνάμεσιν αὐτὸς ὁ θεός...

R. La‘zar said, Be diligent to learn Thorah, wherewith thou mayest make answer (1 Pet. iii. 15) to Epicurus®; and know before whom thou toilest“: work. and who is the Master of thy

R. Tarphon®” said, The day is short, and the task is τῶν ὄντων ὁμοίως" Td γὰρ περιεχόμενον διαφέρει τοῦ περιέχοντος, τὸ δὲ θεῖον, ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς περιεχόμενον, ἀναγκαίως ἐστὶν αὐτὸ τόπος ἑαυτοῦ. a later addition. @ apparently mixes up Joel ii. 13 and Ps. Ixxxvi. 15. 44 [Cf. Ecclus. vii. 16 μὴ προσλογίζου σεαυτὸν ἐν πλήθει ἁμαρτωλῶν, Qiddushin 4 " ἃ Tosefta, Joma 2 Ὁ WO¥Y 353, by itself.] to denote a heretic or unbeliever, whether Jewish or foreign. On this word, and on 12, heretic, see Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. The latter is supposed by some to be from ‘38%, Manes, and to denote primarily a Manichee; early Jewish writers used it especially for Christian, but in later times, owing to the tendency to expunge antichristianisms, it was frequently crossed out, or replaced by some other word, as Caduqi or Kuthi; and to such an extent has this been done that wherever there has been a suspicion of an allusion to Christianity the text can seldom be entirely depended upon. The reading of the text implies that the Thorah itself, if diligently studied, will supply the required answer to the ‘‘ Epicurean,” who must therefore be regarded as a Jew-heretic. The reading of bar 8S. is susceptible of the same interpretation: ‘‘ Study Thorah, that thow mayest know what answer to make to an Epicurus;” or it may mean, if Y7) be taken disjunctively : ‘*Study Thorah, and also know how to answer Epicurus.”” The latter is the interpretation of R.

Israel, who says that the student should first be well-grounded in Thorah and Talmud, and then learn scientias exterorum, that he may be able to refute those who go astray from the truth; and he remarks upon the saying (Berakoth 28 b), ‘‘Be careful of the honour of your associates, and restrain your sons from meditation (}193171), and set them between the knees of a scholar; and when ye pray, know before whom ye stand; and so shall ye be counted worthy of the life of the world to come ”’—that a man is not required to restrain himself from speculation, but only his sons who have not come to maturity. In the same way he understands the injunction not to teach one’s son ‘‘ Greek science” (Sotah 49 b); and he holds that there is no Divine command not to teach one’s son Thorah in Greek. 46 R. ‘Obadiah writes on this clause that a man should work strenuously for the glory of God. The final clause, especially with the longer readings (note 7), introduces the idea of reward. Thus the required number of three sayings (§ 14) is made up. This may also be done by dividing the first saying, and joining “2 5) to what precedes. 47 Ἢ, Tarphon, Trypho, or ‘ Teraphon,” a contemporary of the abovementioned five, was one of those pre11 18 10 41 great, and the workmen are sluggish*, and the reward is much, and the Master of the house is urgent.

He said, It is not for thee to finish the work*, nor art thou free to desist therefrom ; if: thou hast learned much Thorah, they give thee much reward ;, and faithful is the Master of thy work, who will pay thee the reward of thy work, and know that the recompence of the reward of the righteous is for the time to come”. sent at the death of R. J. ben Zakkai. tact with the Parable of the Vineyard in Matt. xx., where the οἰκοδεσπότης says to the labourers whom he finds unemployed, Τί ὧδε ἑστήκατε ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἀργοί; Bar S. remarks that since man is a microcosm containing all the affairs of the world in miniature, the affairs of the αἰών are here likened to those of the individual. 49 Although ‘‘ars longa vita brevis,” aman must neither despair nor yield to idleness, for he is not called upon to finish the work singlehanded, and yet is bound to contribute to the best of his ability; and in proportion to his work he will be rewarded, if not at once, in the time to come. 50 This expression, like ὁ αἰὼν ὁ μέλλων, has its ambiguity. It may refer, as here, to the future life; or, as in ‘Erubin 1x. 3, to the future in this life. [Heb. x. 35 μισθαποδοσία. p. 29,§ 4] In ‘Abodah Zarah 19 a, in connexion with the saying of Antigonus in Aboth 1.

3, there is a discussion of Psalm i. 2, ‘But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” At first the law (71N) is called God’s; but afterwards DW by NN pI, it is called by his (the man’s own) name. He has made the law of God his law. p. 31, n. 17) Cf. Clem. Hom. 11. 16 ἐν ἀρχῇ ὁ Θεὸς εἷς ὦν, ὥσπερ δεξιὰ Kal ἀριστερά, πρῶτον ἐποίησε τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶτα τὴν γῆν καὶ οὕτως ἑξῆς πάσας τὰς συζυγίας. Ρ. 33, n. 28] Codex Bezae reads ‘‘Tazar amicus noster mortuus est” in St John xi. 14. The Old Latin Cod. a likewise has the form Lazar, as Mr Rendel Harris points out in A Study of Codex Bezae p. 183 (Camb. Texts and Studies 11. no. 1). The form Adfap oceurs in chap. 2 of Acta Pilati literally retranslated into Greek from an Armenian manuscript by Mr Conybeare (Oxf. Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica tv. 61, 85). p. 35, § 13] To be APIM P73 (T. J. Joma, end) is to be in an evil way, ‘‘far from God.” The phrase in its literal sense is found in Num. ix. 9 (cf. Sifré 1. § 69). p. 36, n. 81] The heart has eyes, as itis said in Midrash Alpha Betha deR. ‘Aqiba, 255 AS Oy bw DIS ory iS w (Jelinek Bet-ha-M, m1. p. 34). The heart sees, for it is said mann ΠΕΡῚ 135) (Eccl. Rab. i. 16). Maimonides writes in Hilkoth Yesodé ha-Torah tv. 7, ‘‘ Forms without matter are not visible to the eye, but they are known by the eye of the heart.”

‘Aqabiah ben Mahalaleel’ said, Consider three things’, and thou wilt not come into the hands of transgression (II. 1). Know whence thou camest; and whither thou art going; and before whom thou art about to give account and reckoning®. ‘Aqabiah ben Mahalaleel testified concerning four things: they said, Retract, and we will make thee Ab Beth Din to Israel: he said, It were better for me to be called fool all my days than to be made wicked before HamAQgom for one hour, so that they may not say that for the sake of office he retracted. He persisted in his views, and was excommunicated. When at the point of death he counselled his son to retract the four things, saying that he himself had received them by tradition from the many, but his son, who received them from him alone, must yield to the majority of his contemporaries (‘Edioth v. 6, 7), for the halakah is according to the many as against the one (Berakoth 9 a, 37 a). This principle is ‘‘ propped,” not very securely, upon the words, 0°29 NN mond (Ex. xxiil. 2), which are rendered by Ongelos, pow WD Wa NIT, give judgment according to the majority. The verse from which they are taken is usually rendered: “Ὁ Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment.” are matters of observation or revelation.

Contrast the warning against speculation: ‘‘ Whosoever considers four things, What is above, below, before, behind, it were better for him that he had not come into the world”’ (Chagigah τι. 1). tah um. 2; Va-jiqra Rabbah xvutt.; Qoheleth Rabbah, on Eccl. xii. 1. R. ‘Aqiba expounded the clause, 13?) NVI NX NI, so as to include the three things mentioned above, thus: ‘Remember .JINI. 12 - FSI, thy source, thy grave, thy Creator.” It may be remarked here that Rabbinic citations of Scripture are not intended always as absolute proofs of the doctrines and ideas in connexion with which they are adduced. A citation is often a mere μνημόσυνον, and as such may even be the more effective in proportion to the non-naturalness of its application. That citations cannot have been always intended as proofs may be gathered from an examination of a number of instances. But over and above this we have an express statement in the Mishnah in relation to a certain question: ‘‘Quamvis rei ° III. 1—3. 43 Know whence thou camest: from a fetid drop; and whither thou art going: to worm and maggot* (Job xxv. 6); and before whom thou art about to give account and reckoning: before the King of the kings of kings, blessed is He.

KR. Chananiah, prefect of the priests’, said, Pray for the peace of the kingdom® (1 Tim. 11. 1, 2), since but for fear thereof we had swallowed up each his neighbour alive.

R. Chananiah ben Thradyon said, Two that sit together without words-of Thorah are a session of scorners, for it is said, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful’ (Ps. 1. 1); but two that sit together and are occupied in words of Thorah have the Shekinah® among them, for it is said, Then they that feared the Lord® spake often one to another, &c. (Mal. ii. 16). nulla demonstratio, indicium tamen rei est, &c. (Ps. cix. 19),” δ ἢ ΘΝ “5 δ ΠῚ ov 9295 TT aan SI (Shabbath rx. 4). Cf. also Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. s.v. SN3DD&. So long as the traditional teaching was preserved without the aid of writing, it was necessary to assist and cultivate the memory in every available way. ‘Thorah is only acquired by 0°3!9'D,” as it is said in ‘Erubin 54b. (Cf. Shabbath 104 a.) 4 Va-jiqra Rabbah xviir. (p. 13, Warsaw, 1874) inserts IBY (Gen. iii. 19) in citing this Mishnah; but reads lower down, ΠΡ ΠῚ AD wt ΤῊΣ, thus supporting the brief reading of @. Commentators remark that man is here described as in the act of ‘‘ going,” &e. and not merely as about to go. 5 This title ‘‘sacan &c.” is found in Targ. Jer. xxix. 26, andelsewhere. The sagan was a kind of suffragan to the highpriest, whom it was (?) his duty to replace if incapacitated from officiating on the day of Atonement. For more on his functions see Buxtorf s.v.

This sagan is mentioned several times in the Mishnah, sometimes in connexion with R. ‘Aqiba, who quotes his words in Zebachim x11. 4, οἵ, rx. 3; ‘Edioth ir. 1, 2; Sheqalim vi. 1; Menachoth x.1; Parah mz. 1. 6 «And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace” (Jer. xxix. 7). 7 «But his delight is in the law of the Lord, ἄο.᾽ (Ps. i. 2). noun derived from the Biblical shakan, to dwell. The Bible speaks of Gop as dwelling with men: the Targumists prefer to use a periphrasis, and say ‘**habitatio ejus habitat,” or the like, lest they should seem to materialise the conception of the Divine by bringing it into direct contact with the terrestrial. The following are examples of its use. In Gen. ix. 27 it is said, “(ὦ shall enlarge Japhet, }3W% ow “Sasa” ; where Ongqelos renders OWT πο ΠΤ Mw, and He shall cause His Shekinah to rest in the tabernacle of Shem. In Ex. xxy. 8, Ongelos has: ‘‘ And they shall make a sanctuary before me, and I will cause my Shekinah to rest among them.” Cf. Ex. xvii. 7; xxix. 45, 6, ἄορ. A further development is Ὁ"

One that sits and studies, the Scripture imputes to him as if he fulfilled the whole Thorah, for it is said, He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne” tt wpon him (Lam. iii, 28), ΓΤ, the glory of His Shekinah (Gen. iii. 24, Targ. Jerus.)—which ‘‘glory” manifests itself in flaming fire on Sinai (Ex. xix. 18)—or Np “Φ (Ps. Ixviii. 19). We find δ ΡΨ in Targ. Jonathan on Numb. v. 3, &c. The Shekinah is especially connected with the tabernacle (mishkan), and the sanctuary, but it is not to be restricted to a visible and local symbol of the Divine Presence. This is only one of the applications of the word, which is used with much greater latitude. It is said by R. Ishmael and others (Baba Bathra 25a) that ΓΦ) is in every place, although in the course of the discussion other opinions are advanced. The Thosaphoth, in connexion with the view that the Shekinah was especially in the west, remark that its face was eastward, or in the direction in which Israel worshipped, and that hence the points of the compass N. 5. Εἰ. W. are called left, right, before, behind. It may be noticed here (cf. p. 31) that the left side is connected with evil. So the north, for (Jer. i. 14) NNDN pips ry ΤΊ. The text (cf. § 9) speaks of an invisible Shekinah which may be present anywhere, and it affords an illustration of Matt.

xviii. 20, οὗ γάρ εἰσι δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς TO ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν. The Shekinah may even rest upon an individual (pp. 21, 48). The righteous in the world to come sit with crowns on their heads, AYIWA WD DIA (Berakoth 17 a). SHEKINAH is sometimes practically equivalent to Mremra, λόγος (v. 1), but we may distinguish between them by regarding the one as the medium of a passive, the other of an active, manifestation: the one as creative, the other as ‘‘ overshadowing” or indwelling. The two are brought together by St John, in whose theology the conceptions assume a new definiteness, and the medium becomes a Mediator : ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν (Joh. i. 14). The word σκηνή and its derivatives are chosen on account of their assonance with the Hebrew to express the Shekinah and its dwelling with men—compare especially Rey. xxi. 3: ᾿Ιδοὺ ἡ σκηνὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ σκηνώσει μετ᾽ avrwv—and indeed so closely does Shekinah resemble σκηνή, that the former has even been thought of as a transliteration of the latter. The word is rare in the Mishnah, but occurs frequently in Midrash and Gemara. 9 The MS. @ expresses 717° by " followed by a vertical stroke or flourish wholly above the line. In some MSS. a 1 is inserted in order to make up the numerical value of ΠῚ", viz. 26.

The shorter Name 7° is identified by Gematria (§ 28) with the longer Name by writing out the names of its letters, NT, ‘11, which are thus made to amount to 10+6+4,and 5+1. The saying, ‘‘two that sit, &.” is repeated in § 9. 10 The word natal is used of ‘ bearing off” a reward. The whole saying is probably an interpolation. There is a saying of an opposite tendency which may be noticed here: ‘‘The Thorah is acquired only ANANA, by association” (Berakoth 63b). “Α sword is against the solitary, &c.” (p. 16). A man’s wits are sharpened by his friend III. 4—8. 45 "» ὅ. R. Shime‘on said, Three that have eaten at one table, and have not said over it words of Thorah, are as if they had eaten of sacrifices of (the) dead", for it is said, For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness without MAQOM® (Is. xxviii. 8).

But three that have eaten at one table, and have said over it words of Thorah, are as if they had eaten of the table of MAQOM, blessed is He, for it is said, And he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord (Ezek. xli. 22),

Chananyiah ben Chakinai said, He who awakes by night, and he who is walking alone by the way, and” turns aside his heart to idleness, is “guilty of death.”

R. Nechonyiah ben ha-Qanah said, Whoso receives upon (Prov. xxvii. 17). The Thorah is like fire: fire does not burn alone, with nothing to feed it: so words of Thorah, YPM POMpPNid jr. A great scholar profits from association with the meanest, as ‘‘the small wood is used to set on fire the large”: a disciple may even be his master’s best teacher (Tha‘anith 7a; Makkoth 10a). See p. 63. 1 Idols are ‘‘dead” (Is. viii. 19), and powerless, in contrast with God THE LIVING ONE; and as ‘‘corpses” they also defile by contact. Cf. Ps. evi. 28. 12 The expression naturally means, ‘‘without place,” with no spot clear from defilement; but the use of ὁ τόπος as a name of God (p. 39) suggests a secondary meaning: ‘‘ without mention of the Name of God.” The idea of §§ 5, 6 is illustrated by 1 Tim. iv. 4: ὅτι πᾶν κτίσμα Θεοῦ καλόν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἀπόβλητον, μετὰ εὐχαριστίας λαμβανόμενον᾽ ἁγιάζεται γὰρ διὰ λόγου Θεοῦ καὶ ἐντεύξεως. Compare Εἴτε οὖν ἐσθίετε, εἴτε πίνετε, εἴτε τι ποιεῖτε, πάντα εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ποιεῖτε (1 Cor. x. 81). 18. He who is sleepless at night should think on words of Thorah (Ps, lxiii. 7): if even at such a time he turns his mind to idleness and idle thoughts, he incurs guilt. So with the solitary traveller. Compare...iva εἴτε γρηγορῶμεν, εἴτε καθεύδωμεν, ἅμα σὺν αὐτῷ ζήσωμεν (1 Thess. v.10). The Mishnah thus interpreted forms an apposite sequel to §§ 5, 6.

According to another reading (135!97)) and interpretation the meaning is, that (1) he who is wakeful at night, (2) he who frequents solitary places, and (3) he who indulges in idle thoughts, deserve condemnation; in explanation of which ‘“‘Rashbam” is quoted as remarking that at night time, and in desert places, and in unguarded moments, a man is especially liable to assaults of the Pp, or evil spirits, This notion might indeed be illustrated from the Talmud, but the first interpretation better suits the context. Thorah study is incumbent upon a man at all available times...‘‘when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deut. vi. 7: xi. 19). ‘‘At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee...” (Ps. exix. 62). A man should ‘increase’ his time of study by making inroads upon the night (Crit. Note 1. 14). When he walks by the way he must let nothing interrupt his ‘‘ mishnah” (8 11). 46 PIRQE ABOTH. him the yoke™ of Thorah, they remove from him the yoke of royalty and the yoke of worldly care; and whoso breaks from him the yoke of Thorah, they lay upon him the yoke ot royalty and the yoke of worldly care.

R. Chalaftha of Kaphar-Chananiah said, When ten sit and are occupied in words of Thorah the Shekinah is among them, for it is said, God standeth in the CONGREGATION” of the M4 "Apare τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς, καὶ μάθετε am’ ἐμοῦ...ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου xpnστός, καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν (Matt. xi. 29, 80). The yoke of malkuth stands for the burdens, as of taxation, put upon a man by the government under which he lives, or the oppression which he may suffer at the hands of the great. The yoke of derek ere¢ is the anxiety which a man suffers in the struggle for existence: the cares of labour, poverty, or discontent with his condition. Every man (writes bar S.) is by nature continually restless and changeable, saying in winter, would that it were summer, and in summer, would that it were winter: he longs for children if he has none, and if his family increases he is impatient of the care of rearing them, &c. From over anxiety on all such matters an absorbing devotion to Thorah frees a man. The Tables of the Law are a charter of freedom (v1.2). For a paraphrase of this Mishnah see Aboth R. INE Σχ. The word Sy may be used absolutely, asin T. J. Peahi.1. It likewise enters into several Rabbinic expressions analogous to those in the text. Thus we read of a yoke of malkuth shamayim, and of micvah (Berakoth 13 a):

a yoke of flesh and blood (Aboth R. N. xx.): a yoke of N”’Apn. tutes a congregation (NY), since it is said (Numb. xiv. 27), How long shall I bear with this evil congregation? From the twelve spies take away Joshua and Caleb, and there remain ten, which is therefore the number of an ‘edah. A ‘‘oreat” city is one that contains ten batlanim, or men of leisure, to make a congregation (Megillah 1. 3). A place containing less than ten is a kaphar. Omitting from the text the words in italics as probably interpolated, we pass on to the number THREE, which is connected with ATIUN, fasciculus. Compare Baba Meci‘a 1. 8, where an MTN of documents is explained to mean three or more tied together, while the corresponding word 7)93N, involucrum, means three or more rolled together. In like manner A* connects MIN with the number three, referring inter alia to Ex. xii. 22, where Rashi interprets JN NATWAN as a bundle of three stalks. The number five is not mentioned in the similar passages of Berakoth 6a; Mekiltha, Jethro x1.; Jalqut 1. 305, where the series of sayings springs naturally out of a context. From the verse Ex. xx, 24, sey ΠΝ Wont ἼΦΝ Dipon 523 ‘3, the question arises under what circumstances is the Shekinah present with men? ‘‘In every place... where I am revealed to thee, N'33 mynan, in the chosen house (or Temple). Hence they have said, The incommunicable Nas [111.

ἢ. 35] must not be uttered in the provinces. Hillel (cf. p. 30) said, If thou wilt come to My house, I will come to thy house, and if thou wilt not come to My house, ΠῚ’ 9; 47 mighty (Ps. Ixxxii. 1). even three ? in the earth (Amos 1x. 6). I will not come to thy house, To the place that my heart loves thither my feet lead me. Hence they have said, Every ten men that are assembled in the synagogue, the Shekinah is with them, for it is said, God standeth in the ‘edah, &c. And whence even three that gsupGE, because it is said, He judges among gods, &c.” Here an entirely new case, suggested by the second hemistich of the same verse, is brought under consideration. It is granted that the Shekinah is with an ἐκκλησία, a congregation assembled for the discharge of religious duties: but is the Shekinah present likewise at secular functions? Yes! where three are gathered to administer justice, the Shekinah is in the midst. From the public meeting of a beth din (=three), we pass next to the private meeting of two friends to study and discuss Thorah,—this transition is most clearly marked in Berakoth—and thence to the case of the individual. Berakoth then takes the numbers in reverse order. If the Shekinah is with one, why make separate mention of two? Because the words of two are written in the book of remembrances :

discussion is required to make a lasting impression, But why should three be mentioned? -To show that supGMENT is THoraH, a sacred and not merely a secular function. Lastly, why mention ten? If } is ANN, what advantage has the ‘edah over the beth din? It is that the Shekinah comes to the three only when they are seated, but comes beforehand to the place of the ‘edah: the ‘‘congregation” intend ab initio to perform a sacred function, but }'7 is And whence (is it proved of ) even five'’? Because it is said, He judgeth among gods. And whence Because it is said,...and hath founded his TROOP And whence even two ? Because it only ex post facto T7\N. It may be remarked that Jonathan targumises Ex, xx. 24: ‘‘In whatsoever place I cause my Shekinah to rest, and thou worshippest before mr, there I will send upon thee my blessing and will bless thee.” As some have found a difficulty in ‘OW NX ΣΤ, and wish to read 3tN, observe that R. Josiah in Jalqut calls the verse DTD, and reads in inverse order, In what place soever I come unto thee, there will I cause my Name to be mentioned, the number five, but some connect it with judgment—making up the number by adding two litigants to three judges; while others connect it with the fasciculus, which is assumed to be that which can be grasped with the five fingers of a hand.

The simplest hypothesis (suggested by 65) is that the parallels from Berakoth, Mekiltha, and Jalqut (see note 15) give the original reading, and that the number five should be expunged. The clause ‘3 17P2 is the second hemistich of the verse already quoted for the ‘edah, and would therefore probably be quoted, if at all, in the second place. The mention of judgment could then scarcely fail to suggest the number three (see Crit. Note), The ‘‘mishnah” in question is an adaptation of a series of sayings on Thorah and other matters to the case of Thorah alone. Accordingly the scripture proof for the number three is struck out, since it brings in the inappropriate notion of judgment, and a new proof for the same number, viz. from the aguddah, is inserted, 48 PIRQE ΑΒΟΤΗ. is said, Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another (δ 3). And whence even one? Because it is said, In all places where I record my name I will come unto THEE, and I will bless thee (Ex. xx. 24).

R. La‘zar ben Jehudah of Barthotha said, Give Him of what is His, for thou and thine are His’’; and thus he saith in David®, For all things come of Thee, and of thine own have we given thee (1 Chron. xxix. 14).

R. Jacob said, He who is walking by the way and studying, and breaks off his study” (Mishnah) and says, How fine is this tree! how fine is that tree! and how fine is this fallow! they account it to him as if he were “ guilty of death.”