NITTAI1In V. this chapter begins with the name of Joshua b. Peraḥiah followed by that of Nittai the Arbelite. This is an obvious error since the former’s aphorism was the theme of the preceding chapter. THE ARBELITE SAID: KEEP FAR FROM A BAD NEIGHBOUR, ASSOCIATE NOT WITH THE WICKED, AND ABANDON NOT BELIEF IN RETRIBUTION.KEEP FAR FROM A BAD NEIGHBOUR. It is all one whether the neighbour is within or without your house or in a [nearby] field; for leprosy affects only the house of the wicked, as it is stated, His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked.2Prov. 5, 22. It teaches that leprosy is caused only through the iniquity of the wicked. Indeed, the sins of the wicked cause the righteous man’s wall to be pulled down. For instance, where there is a party-wall between the house of the wicked and the righteous, and a plague-spot appears in the party-wall on the side of the wicked man’s house [so that the wall must be demolished], the result is that the righteous man’s wall is pulled down through the iniquity of the wicked. R. Ishmael, the son of R. Joḥanan b. Beroḳah, said: Woe to the wicked and woe to his neighbour, since the sins of the wicked cause the righteous man’s wall to be pulled down.
With ten trials did our fathers try the Holy One, blessed be He, yet they were only punished because of their evil tongue,3The reference is to the evil report spread by the spies; cf. Num. 13, 32. which was but one of them. They are as follows:4Cf. the variant list in ‘Arak. 15a (Sonc. ed., pp. 85f) and below XXXIV, 1, p. 162. once at the Red Sea,5Cf. Ps. 106, 7, But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea. once when the manna first fell6The Israelites were commanded not to leave of the manna until the morning but some disobeyed (Ex. 16, 19f). and again later on,7When they were charged not to go out and gather it on the Sabbath (ibid. 26f.). once at the [first] appearance of the quails8ibid. 12f. and again later on,9Cf. Num. 11, 31-33. once at Marah,10Cf. Ex. 15, 23. once at Rephidim,11ibid. XVII, 1ff. once at Horeb,12Another name for Sinai. The temptation at Horeb is usually taken to refer to the making of the golden calf, but as this incident follows immediately in the list, the inclusion of Horeb is redundant. GRA and other commentators substitute ‘Taberah’ (cf. Num. 11, 1-3). once at the episode of the golden calf,13Cf. Ex. 32, 1ff., and once in connection with the spies.14Num. 13, 1ff. The incident of the spies was the gravest of them all, as it is stated, Ye have put Me to proof these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice.15ibid. XIV, 22. And it is similarly [stated], Even those men that did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before the Lord.16ibid. 37. Now is there not an inference from the less to the greater? If [for making disparaging remarks about] the Land, which can neither speak, nor blush, nor feel shame, the Holy One, blessed be He, exacted punishment from the spies for its humiliation, how much more will He exact punishment for a man’s humiliation from his fellow who speaks [evil] words against him and puts him to shame!R. Simeon said: Upon those who utter slander does the plague of leprosy fall. We find it so with Aaron and Miriam who slandered Moses and were visited with punishment, as it is stated, And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.17ibid. XII, 1. Why does Scripture mention Miriam’s name first before Aaron’s? It teaches that Zipporah18The wife of Moses. went and spoke of it to Miriam; Miriam went and spoke of it to Aaron, and both of them arose and spoke ill of that righteous man [Moses]. Because the two of them stood speaking ill of that righteous man, Divine punishment came upon them, as it is stated, And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and departed.19ibid. 9, E.V., and He departed. What is the significance of the expression and departed? It suggests that [the leprosy] departed from Aaron20Cf. Shab. 97a (Sonc. ed., p. 464). and attached itself to Miriam, because Aaron did not enter into the details of the matter whereas Miriam did; therefore she was immediately punished with greater severity. Miriam said, ‘To me came the Word yet I did not separate myself from my husband’. Aaron said, ‘To me came the Word yet I did not separate myself from my wife. The Word also came to our fathers of old and they did not separate themselves from their wives. But [Moses], in his arrogance, has separated from his wife!’ They did not criticize him to his face21To avoid shaming him to his face. but only behind his back, and their criticism was not stated as a fact but only as a surmise; since it was a matter of doubt whether he had acted so from arrogance or not. Now is there not here an inference from the less to the greater? If Miriam, who spoke only against her brother, spoke only in [22a] secret22The words ‘and spoke only in secret’ are not found in many texts and appear to be redundant. The clause is apparently a doublet of the preceding one. and spoke only behind Moses’ back, was punished, how much greater will be the punishment of an ordinary man who speaks ill to the face of his fellow and puts him to shame!At that time Aaron said to Moses, ‘Moses, my brother, do you think that this leprosy affects only Miriam? It touches also the person of our father Amram. Let me illustrate this to you. To what can the matter be compared? To a man who had taken a glowing coal in his hand; no matter how much he shifts it about from place to place his flesh is still scorched. For so it is stated, Let her not, I pray, be as one dead’.23Num. 12, 12. Thereupon Aaron began to conciliate Moses, saying, ‘ Moses, my brother, have we ever done evil to any person in the world?’ He answered, ‘You have not’. ‘Well then,’ he said, ‘if we have never hurt anyone in the world, how could we hurt you, our brother? What can I do now? It was a misunderstanding between us; we have broken24Adopting the variant as given in the margin of V. the covenant between us and you, as it is stated, And remembered not the brotherly covenant.25Amos 1, 9. Are we to lose our sister because the covenant which was made between us is broken?’ Immediately Moses drew a small circle, stood within it and prayed for mercy on her behalf, saying, ‘I shall not stir from here until my sister Miriam is healed’, as it is stated, Heal her now, O God, I beseech Thee.26Num. 12, 13. Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, ‘If a king had rebuked her, or if her father had rebuked her, would it not be proper that she hide in shame for seven days? Surely, if I, the King of kings, rebuke her, how much more should she hide in shame for fourteen days [at the least]! Yet for your sake I pardon her’. As it is stated, And the Lord said unto Moses: If her father had but spit in her face,27ibid. 14. etc.Now the man Moses was very meek.28ibid. 3. It is possible [to think] he was meek but not handsome and imposing;29lit. ‘worthy of praise’. therefore Scripture states, And he spread the tent over the tabernacle:30Ex. 40, 19. as the tabernacle was ten cubits in height, so Moses must have been ten cubits tall. It is possible [to think] that he was as meek as the ministering angels; therefore Scripture continues, [Moses was very meek] above all the men: above all men, it is said, but not above the ministering angels. It is possible [to think] that he was as meek as those of the former generations;31i.e. the patriarchs. therefore Scripture continues, Upon the face of the earth, implying above those of his own generation, but not above those of the former generations.Three types of leprous condition were created in the world: the moist, the dry and the polypus;32Here a type of skin disease; strictly a morbid growth in the nose. Persons so afflicted must feel very lowly. but the soul of Moses was lowlier than them all.
R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: Also upon those who utter calumny33GRA reads ‘who utter lies’. does the plague [of leprosy] fall. We find it so in the case of Gehazi; because he uttered calumny against his master leprosy clung to him until his dying day, as it is stated, The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave unto thee…. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.342 Kings 5, 27.He further said: Also upon those who are arrogant does the plague [of leprosy] fall. We find it so in the case of Uzziah, as it is stated, But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up so that he did corruptly, and he trespassed against the Lord his God; for he went unto the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men; and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him: It pertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron that are consecrated it pertaineth to burn incense; go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thy honour from the Lord God. Then Uzziah was wrath, and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy broke forth in his forehead.352 Chron. 26, 16-19. At that moment the sanctuary was split from end to end,36By a violent earthquake, alluded to in Zech. 14, 5. and [the chasm covered an area of] twelve square miles. The priests fled in alarm. The king also made haste to go out because the Lord had smitten him. And he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a house set apart, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord; and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.372 Chron. 26, 20f.
ASSOCIATE NOT WITH THE WICKED. This teaches that a man should not associate himself either with an evil man or a wicked man. We find it so in the case of Jehoshaphat; because he associated with Ahab and went up with him to Ramoth Gilead, the wrath of the Lord came upon him, as it is stated, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate the Lord? For this thing wrath is upon thee from the Lord.38ibid. XIX, 2. The Biblical text is omitted in V but is found in MS. E. and inserted by GRA. And also later when he associated with Ahaziah, and they made themselves ships in Ezion Geber, the Lord wrecked his enterprise, as it is stated, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath made a breach in thy works. And the ships were broken.39ibid. XX, 37. So, too, we find with Amnon who associated with Jonadab and received from him bad advice, as it is stated, But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very subtle man;402 Sam. 13, 3. he was subtle to do evil.41This unusual connotation of ḥakam, translated subtle, is quoted from Sanh. 21a (Sonc. ed., p. 114).Another interpretation of ASSOCIATE NOT WITH THE WICKED: even to [bring him near to] the Torah.42Although the purpose is laudable, there is always the danger of oneself becoming corrupt by the association. Cf., however, Finkelstein, op. cit., pp. 19-22.
AND ABANDON NOT BELIEF IN RETRIBUTION. What does this mean? It teaches that a man’s heart should be daily in fear of retribution43The text therefore means: Do not consider yourself exempt from chastisement under the illusion of self-righteousness. and he should say, ‘Woe is me, perhaps reckoning will overtake me to-day or to-morrow’. As a consequence he is fearful every day, as it is stated of Job, For I feared a fear.44Job 3, 25. So ilt., E.V., For the thing which I did fear.
Another interpretation of AND ABANDON NOT BELIEF IN RETRIBUTION. What does this mean? When a man sees that he is successful in whatever he undertakes, let him not say, ‘Because I am meritorious the All-present has provided me with food and drink in this world, while the capital [of my reward] is laid up for me in the world to come’. Rather should he say, ‘Woe is me, perhaps I have only one meritorious deed to my credit before Him, and as a reward for that He has granted me food and drink in this world, so as to cut me off utterly in the world to come’.