Hebraic Literature (1901) Reader

He is to meditate on the initials of the four divine epithets which form < Jacob, ' for the moon, which is called ( the lesser light,) is his emblem or symbol, and he is also called ( little (see Amos vii. 2). This he is to repeat three times. He is to skip three times while repeating thrice the following sentence, and after repeating three times forward and backward: thus (forward) — ( Fear and dread shall fall upon them by the greatness of Thine arm; they shall be as still as a stone; > thus (backward) — ( Still as a stone may they be; by the greatness of Thine arm may fear and dread fall on them; > he then is to say to his neighbor three times, < Peace be unto you,* and the neighbor is to respond three times, ( Unto you be peace.

Then he is to say three times (very loudly), ( David, the king of Israel, liveth and existeth!> and finally, he is to say three times —

Rabbi Judah answered, " Let me relate to thee a parable. A king had an orchard of fine figs, which he prized most highly. That the fruit might not be stolen or abused, he placed two watchers in the orchard, and that they themselves might not be tempted to partake of the fruit, he chose one of them a blind man, and the other one lame. But lo, when they were in the orchard, the lame man said to his companion, (I see very fine figs; they are luscious and tempting; carry me to the tree, that we may both partake of them.*

Unhappy is he who mistakes the branch for the tree, the shadow for the substance. Thy yesterday is thy past; thy to-day thy future; thy to-morrow is a secret. The best preacher is the heart; the best teacher is time; the best book is the world; the best friend is God. Life is but a loan to man; death is the creditor who will one day claim it.

Understand a man by his own deeds and words. The impressions of others lead to false judgment. He through whose agency another has been falsely punished stands outside of heaven's gates. The sins of the bad-tempered are greater than his merits.

The man who sins is foolish as well as wicked. The good actions which we perform in this world take form and meet us in the world to come. Better to bear a false accusation in silence, than by speaking to bring the guilty to public shame. He who can feel ashamed will not readily do wrong.

There is a great difference between one who can feel ashamed before his own soul and one who is only ashamed before his fellow-man. God's covenant with us included work; for the command, "Six days shalt thou work and the seventh shalt thou rest," made the " rest " conditional upon the "work.". God first told Adam to dress the Garden of Eden, and to keep it, and then permitted him to eat of the fruit of his labor.

God did not dwell in the midst of Israel till they had worked to deserve His presence, for he commanded, "They shall make me a sanctuary, and then I will dwell in the midst of them.".

frame, in front of which the heart lies; this signifies that we should serve God with our entire body. The branches of the myrtle resemble a human eye, with which man recognizes the deeds of his fellows, and with which he may obtain a knowledge of the law. The leaves of the willow represent the lips, with which man may serve the Eternal and thank Him. The myrtle is mentioned in the Bible before the willow, because we are able to see and know a thing before we can call its name with our lips; man is able to look into the Bible before he can study the same. Therefore, with these four principal parts of the human frame should we praise the Creator, as David said, " All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like unto Thee?"

Every man as he goes on the eve of the Sabbath from the synagogue to his house is escorted by two angels, one of which is a good angel and the other an evil. When the man comes home and finds the lamps lit, the table spread, and the bed in order, the good angel says, " May the coming Sabbath be even as the present; to which the evil angel (though with reluctance) is obliged to say, "Amen." But if all be in disorder, then the bad angel says, " May the coming Sabbath be even as the present, and the good angel is (with equal reluctance, obliged to say "Amen" to it.

" But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day" (Deut. iv. 4). Is it possible to cleave to the Shechinah? Is it not written {ibid., verse 24), " For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire,)? The reply is: — He that bestows his daughter in marriage on a disciple of the wise (that is, a Rabbi), or does business on behalf of the disciples of the wise, or maintains them from his property, Scripture accounts it as if he did cleave to the Shechinah. {Kethuboth, fol. Ill, col. 25.)

From the day Abraham was compelled to leave the idolatrous worship and country of his fathers, it is reasonable to suppose that his tent would become a rendezvous for his neighbors who shrunk like himseif from the abominations around them. There, from his character, by which he recommended himself as the friend of God, he might very naturally be looked upon as a religious teacher, and men might gather together to learn from his lips or profit by his example.

Hence, making due allowance for Eastern hyperbole, the statement of the Book of Jasher (chap. xxvi. verse 36) is not undeserving of credit, where it is said that • Abraham brought all the children of the land to the service of God, and he taught them the ways of the Lord." The same remark applies to what is said in Targ. Yerushalmi (Gen. xxi.), that Abraham' guests went not away until " he had made them proselytes, and had taught them the way everlasting. His son Isaac, says the Targ. of Ben Uzziel, went to school at the "Beth Medrasha de Shem Rabba."

Rashi explains this by saying these men went up to heaven; but Maimonides much more rationally teaches that the Paradise or garden here is merely the retreat of profound philosophic meditation. These five intuitions were; — (1.) To know that there is a God; (2.) to ignore every other beside Him; (3.) to feel His unity; (4.) to love His person; and (5.) to stand in awe of His Majesty (see Yad Hachaz, chap. 4, sec. 19). Deep thought in these matters was spoken of by the Rabbis as promenading in the garden.

not keep repeating the same things over and over again; therefore what does he mean? They therefore inquired of Benaiah, " Does the king ask thee into his presence? He replied, No! " They then sent to see whether the king visited the hareem. And the answer to this was, "Yes, he comes."

Then the Rabbis sent word back that they should look at his feet, for the devil's feet are like those of a cock. The reply was, "He comes to us in stockings. Upon this information the Rabbis escorted Solomon back to the palace, and restored to him the chain and the ring, on both of which the name of God was engraven. Arrayed with these, Solomon advanced straightway into the presence-chamber.

Ashmedai sat at that moment on the throne, but as soon as he saw Solomon enter, he took fright and raising his wings, flew away, shrieking back into invisibilitv. In spite of this, Solomon continued in great fear of him; and this explains that which is written (Song of Songs, iii. 7, 8), " Behold the bed which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel; they all hold swords, being expert in war; every man has his sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the night. (See Gittin, fol. 68, cols. 1, 2.)

world had only one. Ten measures of riches came down to the world; Rome laid hold of nine and left the rest of the world but one for a portion. Ten measures of povertycame down to the world; nine fell to the lot of Babylon and one to the rest of the world. Ten measures of pride came down to the world; Elam appropriated nine and to the rest of the world but one remained over.

Ten measures of bravery came to the world; Persia took nine, leaving but one for the rest of the world. Ten measures of vermin came to the world; nine fell to the Medes and one to the rest of the world. Ten measures of sorcery came down to the world; Egypt received nine and one was shared by the rest of the world. Ten measures of plagues came into the world; nine measures were alloted to the swine and the rest of the world had the other.

Ten measures of fornication came into the world; nine of these belong to the Arabs and to the rest of the world the other. Ten measures of impudence found its way into the world; Mishan appropriated nine, leaving one to the rest of the world. Ten measures of talk came into the world; women claimed nine, leaving the tenth to the rest of the world. Ten measures of early rising came into the world; they of Ethiopia received nine and the rest of the world one only. Ten measures of sleep came to the world; the servants took nine of them, leaving one measure to the rest of the world.

See Bereshith Rabba, fol. 4, with reference to what is here said about Turnus Rufus and his father's grave. The proof from the necromancer lies in the allegation that his art was unsuccessful if practiced on the Sabbath-day. The Sambatyon, Rashi says, is a pebbly river which rushes along all the days of the week except the Sabbath, on which it is perfectly still and quiet. In the Machsor for Pentecost (D. Levi's ed. p. 81), it is styled "the incomprehensible river, and a footnote thereto informs us that "This refers to the river said to rest on the Sabbath from throwing up stones, etc., which it does not cease to do all the rest of the week.* (See Sanhedrin, fol. 65, col. 2; Yalkut on Isaiah, fol. 3, 1; Pesikta Tanchuma. See also Shalsheleth Hakabbala and Yuchsin.)

In order to understand aright the grounds on which Rabbi Abhu would fain excuse Rav Saphra for not caring at all about the Scriptures, certain passages from both Talmuds should be read, which, in the usual metaphorical style of the Rabbis, set forth the respective merits of Scripture and Tradition. The three times three in Sophrim (chap. 15), in which the Scripture is compared to water, the Mishna to wine, and the Gemara to mulled wine, and that in which the Scripture is likened to salt, the Mishna to pepper, and the Gemara to spice, and so on, are too well known to need more than passing mention; but far less familiar and much more explicit is the exposition of Zech. viii. 10, as given in T. B. Chaggigah, fol. 10, col. 1, where, commenting on the Scripture text, " Neither, was there any peace to him that went out or came in,* Rav expressly says, " He who leaves a matter of Halachah for a matter of Scripture shall never more have peace; to which Shemuel adds, " Aye, and he also who leaves the Talmud for the Mishna; Rabbi Yochanan chiming in with " even from Talmud to Talmud; as if to say, " And he who turns from the Babli to the Yerushalrni, even he shall have no peace.* If we refer to the Mishna (chap. 1, hal. 7) of Berachoth in the last-named Talmud, we read there that Rabbi Tarphon, bent, while on a journey, on reading the Shema according to the school of Shammai, ran the risk of falling into the hands of certain banditti whom he had not noticed near him. " It would have served you right,* remarked one, " because you did not follow the rule of Hillel.* In the Gemara to this passage Rabbi Yochanan says, "The words of the scribes are more highly valued than the words of the law, for, as Rabbi Yuda remarks, <If Rabbi Tarphon had not read the Shema at all he would only have broken a positive command,' but since he transgressed the rule of Hillel he was guilty of death, for it is written, (He who breaks down a hedge (the Rabbinic hedge to the law, of course), a serpent shall bite him > (Eccles. x. 8).

Then Rabbi Chanina, the son of Rabbi Ana, in the name of Rabbi Tanchum, the son of Rabbi Cheyah, says, "The words of the elders are more important than the words of the prophets.* A prophet and an elder, whom do they resemble? They are like two ambassadors sent by a king to a province. About the one he sends word saying, "If he does not present credentials with my signature and seal, trust him not; whereas the other is accredited without any such token; for in regard to the prophet it is written (Deut. xiii. 2), " He giveth thee a sign or token; while in reference to the elders it is written (Deut. xvii. 11), " According to the decision which they may say unto thee shalt thou do; thou shalt

in his hand.8 He accordingly left, and at the expiration of thirty days returned to him. The Rabbi then asked to be shown his place in Paradise, and the Angel of Death consented to show him while life was still in him. Then said the Rabbi, " Lend me thy sword, lest thou surprise me on the road and cheat me of my expectation. To this the Angel of Death said, " Dost thou mean to serve me as thy friend Rabbi Yoshua did?" and he declined to intrust the sword to the Rabbi.

Yehudah and Chiskiyah, the sons of Rabbi Cheyah, once sat down to a meal before Rabbi (the Holy) without speaking a word. "Give the boys some wine,8 said Rabbi, • that they may have boldness to speak. When they had partaken of the wine, they said, " The son of David will not come until the two patriarchal houses of Israel are no more," that is, the head of the Captivity in Babylon and the Prince in the land of Israel; for it is written (Isa. viii. 14), "And he shall be for a sanctuary, and for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel.

"Why, children, B said Rabbi (who was patriarch of Tiberias), "you are thrusting thorns into my eyes.* Rabbi Cheyah said, " Do not be offended at them. Wine is given with seventy, and so is a secret (the numerical value of each of these words is seventy); when wine enters the secret oozes out.w

Rabbon Gamliel, Rabbi Eliezer ben Azaryah, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva once went on a journey to Rome, and at Puteoli they already heard the noisy din of the city, though at a distance of a hundred and twenty miles. At the sound all shed tears except Akiva, who began to laugh. c< Why laughest thou? they asked. " Why do you cry? he retorted. They answered, " These Romans, who worship idols of wood and stone and offer incense to stars and planets, abide in peace and quietness, while our Temple, which was the footstool of our God, is consumed by fire; how can we help weeping? " That is just the very reason," said he, "why I rejoice; for if such be the lot of those who transgress His laws, what shall the lot of those be who observe and do them?

There was a place for collecting the ashes in the middle of the altar, and there were at times in it nearly as much as three hundred cors (equal to about 2830 bushels) of ashes. On Rava remarking that this must be an exaggeration, Rav Ammi said the law, the prophets, and the sages are wont to use hyperbolical language. Thus the law speaks of " Cities great and walled up to heaven 8 (Deut. i. 28); the prophets speak of " the earth rent with the sound of them" (1 Kings i. 40); the sages speak as above and also as follows.

There was a golden vine at the entrance of the Temple, trailing on crystals, on which devotees who could used to suspend offerings of fruit and grape clusters. " It happened once," said Rabbi Elazer ben Rabbi Zadoc, " that three hundred priests were counted off to clear the vine of the offerings."

Rabbi Samlai explains that six hundred and thirteen commandments were communicated to Moses; three hundred and sixty-five negative, according to the number of days in the year, and two hundred and forty-eight positive, according to the number of members in the human body. Rav Hamnunah asked what was the Scripture proof for this. The reply was (Deut. xxxiii. 4), " Moses commanded us a law" (Torah), which by Gematria answers to six hundred and eleven. " I am,8 and "Thou shalt have no other," which we heard from the Almighty Himself, together make up six hundred and thirteen.

A certain disciple prayed before Rabbi Chanina, and said, " O God! who art great, mighty, formidable, magnificent, strong, terrible, valiant, powerful, real and honored! He waited until lie had finished, and then said to him, " Hast thou ended all the praises of thy God? Need we enumerate so many? As for us, even the three terms of praise which we usually repeat, we should not dare to utter had not Moses, our master, pronounced them in the law (Deut. x. 17), and had not the men of the Great Synagogue ordained them for prayer; and yet thou hast repeated so many and still seemest inclined to go on. It is as if one were to compliment a king because of his silver, who is master of a thousand thousands of gold denarii. Wouldst thou think that becoming?

When Joseph's brethren recognized him, and were about to kill him, an angel came down and dispersed them to the four corners of the house. Then Judah screamed with such a loud voice that all the walls of Egypt were leveled with the dust, all the beasts were smitten to the ground, and Joseph and Pharaoh, their teeth having fallen out, were cast down from their thrones; while all the men that stood before Joseph had their heads twisted round with their faces toward their backs, and so they remained till the day of their death; as it is said (Job iv. 10), "The roaring of the lion (Judah), and the voice of the fierce lion," etc.

When Solomon brought the ark into the Temple and said, "Lift up 3'our heads, O ye gates! and the King of glory shall come in," the gates were ready to fall upon him and crush his head, and they would have done so if he had not said at once, " The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory" (Ps. xxiv. 9, 10). The Holy One — blessed be He! — ■ then said to the gates, " Since ye have thus honored Me, by your lives! when I destroy My Temple, no man shall have dominion over you! " This was to inform us that while all the vessels of the Temple were carried into captivity, the gates of the Temple were stored away on the very spot where they were erected; for it is said (Lam. ii. 9), " Her gates are sunk into the ground."

Thus we have the rule: No one is perfect unless he has thoroughly observed all the 613 precepts. If this be so, who is he and where is he that has observed all the 613 precepts? For even the lord of the prophets, Moses our Rabbi — peace be on him! — had not observed them all; for there are four obstacles which hinder one from observing all: (1.) There is the case of complete prevention, such as the law of the priesthood, the precepts of which only priests can observe, and yet these precepts are included in the 613.

Besides, there are among the number precepts appertaining to the Levites which concern neither priests nor Israelites, and also others which are binding on Israelites with which priests and Levites have nothing whatever to do. (2.) Then there are impossible cases, as, for instance, when one cannot observe the precept which enforces circumcision, because he has not a son to circumcise. (3 and 4.) There are also conditional and exceptional cases, as in the case of precepts having reference to the Temple and to the land of Israel.

IT was said of Rabbi Tarphon, that though a very wealthy man, he was not charitable according to his means. One time Rabbi Akiba said to him, " Shall I invest some money for thee in real estate, in a manner which will be very profitable? " Rabbi Tarphon answered in the affirmative, and brought to Rabbi Akiba four thousand denars in gold, to be so applied. Rabbi Akiba immediately distributed the same among the poor. Some time after this Rabbi Tarphon met Rabbi Akiba, and asked him where the real estate which he had bought for him was situated. Akiba led his friend to the college, and showed him a little boy, who recited for them the 112th psalm. When he reached the ninth verse, " He distributeth, he giveth to the needy, his righteousness endureth forever:

Rabbi Joshua, of Saknin, said in the name of Rabbi Levi, "The Lord considered from what part of the man he should form woman; not from the head, lest she should be proud; not from the eyes, lest she should wish to see everything; not from the mouth, lest she might be talkative; nor from the ear, lest she should wish to hear everything; nor from the heart, lest she should be jealous; nor from the hand, lest she should wish to find out everything; nor from the feet in order that she might not be a wanderer; only from the most hidden place, that is covered even when a man is naked — namely, the rib."

Raba says, " He will obtain the blessing of Joseph. ". Rabbi Eleazer said: —. " That house where the law is not studied by night should be destroyed. * The wealthy man who aids not the scholar desirous of studying God's law will not prosper. " He who changes his word, saying one thing and doing another, is even as he who serveth idols.". Rabbi Chamah, the son of Pappa, said: —. " He who eats or drinks and blesses not the Lord, is even as he who stealeth, for it is said, 'The heavens are the. heavens of the Lord, and the earth hath He given to the children of men. '. Rabbi Simon, the son of Lakish, said: —.

Then said the officers of the captors, " These men are men of death; they refuse to obey the order of the king; let them die.". But forth stepped Pelatya, the son of Yehoyadah, and thus he addressed Nebuchadnezzar: —. 2,62 PROVERBIAL SAYINGS. " Behold, if a flock is delivered into the hands of a shepherd, and a wolf steals a lamb from the flock, tell me, who is responsible to the owner of the lost animal. "Surely the shepherd, replied Nebuchadnezzar. "Then listen to thine own words, replied Pelatya. God has given Israel into thy hands; to Him art thou responsible for those who are slain. ". The king ordered the chains to be removed from the captives, and they were not put to death. Through Kamtzah and Bar Kamtzah was Jerusalem destroyed; and thus it happened.

The Temple in Jerusalem was provided with a gallery for the women, which was called the apartment of the women, and the men sat below, as is still the custom of the synagogue. Thither all repaired. The young priests filled the lamps of the large chandeliers with oil, and lighted them all, even that the place was so bright that its reflection lighted the streets of the city. Hymns and praises were chanted by the pious ones, and the Levites praised the Lord with harps, cornets, trumpets, flutes, and other instruments of harmony.

They stood upon fifteen broad steps, reaching from the lower floor to the gallery, the court of the women. And they sang fifteen psalms as they ascended, beginning with " A song of Degrees,* and the large choir joined voices with them. The ancient Hillel was accustomed to address the assemblages on these occasions.

The Rabbis have a curious Haggada respecting the origin of the culture of the vine. Once while Noah was hard at work breaking up the fallow ground for a vineyard, Satan drew near and inquired what he was doing. On ascertaining that the patriarch was about to cultivate the grape, which he valued both for its fruit and its juice, he at once volunteered to assist him at his task, and began to manure the soil with the blood of a lamb, a lion, a pig, and a monkey. ''Now," said he, when his work was done, "of those who taste the juice of the grape, some will become meek and gentle as the lamb, some bold and fearless as the lion, some foul and beastly as the pig, and others frolicsome and lively as the monkey.

This quaint story may be found more fully detailed in the Midrash Tanchuma (see Noah) and the Yalkut on Genesis. The Mohammedan legend is somewhat similar. It relates how Satan on the like occasion used the blood of a peacock, of an ape, of a lion, and of a pig, and it deduces from the abuse of the vine the curse that fell on the children of Ham, and ascribes the color of the purple grape to the dark hue which thenceforth tinctured all the fruit of their land as well as their own complexions.

The Sanhedrin consisted of seventy-one members. It is recorded that Rabbi Yossi said, " Seldom was there contention in Israel, but the judicial court of seventy-one sat in the Lishkath-hagazith, i. <?., Paved Hall, and two (ordinary) courts of justice consisting of twenty-three, one of which sat at the entrance of the Temple-Mount, and the other at the entrance of the ante-court; and also (provincial) courts of justice, also comprising twenty-three members, which held their sessions in all the cities of Israel.

When an Israelite had a question to propose, he asked it first of the court in his own city. If they understood the case, they settled the matter; but if not, they applied to the court of the next city. If the neighboring justices could not decide, they went together and laid the case in debate before the court which held its session at the entrance of the Temple-Mount. If these courts, in turn, failed to solve the problem, they appealed to the court that sat in the entrance of the ante-court, where a discussion was entered into upon the moot points of the case; if no decision could be arrived at, they all referred to the (supreme) court of seventy-one, where the matter was finally decided by the majority of votes. })

The tradition of a legend in our possession says that Judah killed Esau. When? When Isaac died, Jacob and (the chiefs of) the twelve clans went to bury him; as it is written (Gen. xxxv. 29), " And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. In the Midrash it is, " And Esau and Jacob and his sons buried him," which fits the legend better. Arrived at the cave, they entered it, and they stood and wept. The (heads of the) tribes, out of respect to Jacob, left the cave, that Jacob might not be put to shame in their presence. Judah re-entered it, and finding

Rabbi Akiva once met on a journey a remarkably ugly man toiling along under a great load of wood. Rabbi Akiva said unto him, " I adjure thee to tell me whether thou art a man or a demon." " Rabbi," said he, a I was once a man, and it is now some time since I left the world. Day after day I have to carry a load like this, under which I am obliged to bow down, and submit three times a day to be burned," Then Rabbi Akiva asked him, " What was the reason of this punishment? " and the reply was, " I committed an immorality on the Day of Atonement."

The Rabbi asked him if he knew of anything by which he might obtain for him a remission of his punishment. "I do," was the answer. "When a son whom I have left behind me is called up to the (public) reading of the law, and shall say, ( Blessed be the blessed Lord,* I shall be drawn out of hell and taken into Paradise." The Rabbi noted down the name of the man and his dwelling-place, whither he afterward went and made inquiries about him.

The people of the place only replied, "The name of the wicked shall rot (Prov. x. 7). Notwithstanding this, the Rabbi insisted, and said, "Bring his son to me.8 When they brought him, he taught the lad to repeat the blessing, which he did on the ensuing Sabbath at the public reading of the law; upon which his father was immediately removed from hell to Paradise. On the self-same night the father repaired direct to Rabbi Akiva, and gratefully expressed his hope that the Rabbi's mind might be as much at rest as his own was. Midrash Assereth Hadibroht.

neutralize the whole law. In Deuteronomy 22: 17, we read, " Neither shall he take to himself many wives, that his heart may turn away." Solomon transgressed this precept, and it is said by Rabbi Simon that the angels took note of his ill-doing and addressed the Deity: " Sovereign of the world, Solomon has made Thy law even as a law liable to change and diminution. Three precepts he has disregarded, namely, ( He shall not acquire for himself many horses'; ( neither shall he take to himself many wives '; ( nor shall he acquire to himself too much silver and gold.' Then the Lord replied, " Solomon will perish from the earth; aye, and a hundred Solomons after him, and yet the smallest letter of the law shall not be dispensed with."

PROVERBIAL SAYINGS AND TRADITIONS. DO not to others what you would not have others do to you. The ass complains of the cold even in July (Tamuz.). First learn and then teach.

Few are they who see their own faults. A single light answers as well for a hundred men as for one. Victuals prepared by many cooks will be neither hot nor cold. Truth lasts forever, but falsehood must vanish.

This is the punishment of the liar, that when he tells the truth nobody believes him. Use thy best vase to-day, for to-morrow it may, perchance, be broken. When Satan cannot come himself he sends wine as a messenger. Woe to the children banished from their father's table.

A handful of food will not satisfy the lion, neither can a pit be filled again with its own dust. Pray to God for mercy until the last shovelful of earth is cast upon thy grave. Cease not to pray even when the knife is laid upon thy neck.

The Emperor Adrian, passing through the streets of Tiberias, noticed a very old man planting a fig tree, and pausing, said to him: —. " Wherefore plant that tree? If thou didst labor in thy youth, thou shouldst now have a store for thy old age, and surely of the fruit of this tree thou canst not hope to eat.*. The old man answered: —. " In my youth I worked, and I still work. With God's good pleasure I may e'en partake of the fruit of this tree I plant.

I am in His hands.". "Tell me thy age," said the emperor. "I have lived for a hundred years.". "A hundred years old, and still expect to eat from the fruit of this tree? ".

"If such be God's pleasure," replied the old man; "if not, I will leave it for my son, as my father left the fruit of his labor for me.". "Well," said the emperor, "if thou dost live until the figs from this tree are ripe, I pray thee let me know of it.".

The Most Holy One has frequently wrought wonders in behalf of his children in their hour of need, and thereby displayed His supreme power to the nations of the world. These should prevent man from growing infidel and ascribing all happiness to the course of nature. The God who created the world from naught, may change at His will the nature which He established. When the Hashmoneans gained, with the aid of God, their great victory, and restored peace and harmony to their land, their first act was to cleanse and dedicate the Temple, which had been defiled, and on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, in obedience to the teachings of the Rabbis, we inaugurate the " Dedication Feast by lighting the lamps or candles prepared expressly for this occasion.

The first night we light one, and then an additional one each succeeding night of its continuance. We also celebrate it by hymns of thanksgiving and hallelujahs.

The context of the above states a tradition current among the Jews in reference to Titus, the destroyer of Jerusalem. It is said that when, after taking the city, he had shamefully violated and profaned the Temple, he took the sacred vessels of the sanctuary, wrapped them in the veil of the holy place, and sailed with them to Rome. At sea a storm arose and threatened to sink the ship; upon which he was heard reflecting, '<It seems the God of these Jews has no power anywhere but at sea.

Pharaoh He drowned, and Sisera He drowned, and now He is about to drown me also. If He be mighty, let Him go ashore and contend with me there.* Then came a voice from heaven and said, wO thou wicked one, son of a wicked man and grandson of Esau the wicked, go ashore. I have a creature — an insignificant one in my world — go and fight with it.*

This same story is given with more than Talmudic exaggeration in the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, while the author of the Book of Jasher (chap, lxv., verses 23, 24) makes the camp and the mountain forty miles in extent. The giant here figures in antediluvian tradition. He is said to have been saved at the Flood by laying hold of the ark, and being fed day by day through a hole in the side of the ark by Noah himself. A tradition which says the soles of his feet were forty miles long at once explains all the extraordinary feats ascribed to him.

He was punished by his posterity being compelled to serve the Egyptians two hundred and ten years, because he had pressed the Rabbis under his tuition into military service in the expedition he had undertaken to recover Lot from those who had carried him off captive; for it is written (Gen. xiv. 14), " He armed his instructed." Samuel says Abraham was punished because he perversely distrusted the assurance of God; as it is written (Gen. xv. 8), "Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? ■

Moses uttered four judgments upon Israel, but four prophets revoked them: — (1.) First Moses said (Deut. xxxiii. 28), "Israel then shall dwell in safety alone;8 then came Amos and set it aside (Amos vii. 5), "Cease, I beseech thee,8 etc.; and then it is written (verse 6), "This shall not be, saith the Lord.8 (2.) First Moses said (Deut. xxviii. 65), "Among these nations thou shalt find no ease; 8 then came Jeremiah and set this saying aside (Jer. xxxi. 2), " Even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.8 (3.)

First Moses said (Exod. xxxiv. 7), " Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children; then came Ezekiel and set this aside (Ezek. xviii. 4), "The soul that sinneth, it shall die.8 (4.) First Moses said (Lev. xxvi. 38), "And ye shall perish among the heathen; 8 then came Isaiah and reversed this (Isa. xxvii. 13), "And it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish.8

The hiding of the Book of Remedies, harsh and inhuman as it might seem, was dictated by high moral considerations. It seemed right that the trangressor should feel the weight of his sin in the suffering that followed, and that the edge of judgment should not be dulled by a too easy access to anodyne applications. The reason for stopping the aqueduct of Gihon is given in 2 Chron. xxxii. 3, 4. The inhabitants of Jerusalem did the very same thing when the Crusaders besieged the city, a. d. 1099. Rashi tries to explain why this stratagem was not commended; the reason he gives is that Hezekiah ought to have trusted God, who had said (2 Kings xix. 34), " I will defend the city.w