Adrianus asks R

Midrash Aggadah Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 14

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 22, 2025

Adrianus asks R. Joshua why God’s name is not mentioned in the five last commandments, which appears to apply to all nations. Joshua takes him over the town and shows him his statue everywhere excepting in some privy places and he asks him why his statue is not there also. The Emperor says “Art thou a wise man among the Jews and ask me why my statue is not to be found in these dirty places ?” Then Joshua replies: “Why should the name of God be associated with robbery, thievery and immorality?” The Rabbi explains to his pupils that the Law was offered first to the various nations and they refused to accept it; for the children of Esau lived by the sword, the Ammonites are the descendants of immorality and Ishmael lived by theft and therefore they would not accept the Law.

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Wisdom Kings Torah

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