POST-BIBLICAL HEBREW LITERATURE
AN ANTHOLOGY
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
BY
B. HALPER, M.A., Ph.D.
_Dropsie College, Philadelphia_
[Illustration]
PHILADELPHIA
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
1921
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE
Although the Hebrew language ceased to be the vernacular of the majority
of the Jewish people during the last years of the second temple, it has,
throughout the various periods, with but few exceptions, persisted as
the medium for the noblest literary productions of the nation.
Irrespective of the language spoken by the people in the countries of
their adoption, the best thoughts of the Jewish writers found expression
in the holy tongue. The Gemara, which is preponderately in Aramaic, can
hardly be regarded as an exception, for it consists, in the main, of
records of oral discussions and arguments, which were naturally carried
on in the vernacular, and as such it is not to be classed among works of
literature in its narrower sense. On the other hand, it is very
significant that the Midrash and some of the midrashic elements in the
Talmud are mostly in Hebrew, and it is just these parts which may claim
to be regarded as literature. Then the prayers, many of which date from
the early centuries of the present era, and the piyyutim are practically
all in Hebrew.
When the centre of Jewish literary activity was transferred to
Arabic-speaking countries, the Hebrew language still continued to be
employed by a good many of the writers. The treatises with a practical
purpose, intended for the edification of the people at large, were, it
is true, written in the vernacular, but the literary productions were
composed in Hebrew. Lexicographical, grammatical, and philosophical
books appealed to the general public, and had therefore to be expressed
in the language spoken by the people. But Hebrew was employed for the
literary compositions, poems, and piyyutim. Sa’adya, Ibn Gebirol, and
Judah ha-Levi wrote their philosophic works, which undoubtedly had a
didactic aim, in Arabic, but their poems and hymns are invariably in
Hebrew. Moreover, the popularity of books written in Arabic was
short-lived. For shortly afterwards the centre of Jewish learning was
shifted to other countries, and the vast Jewish-Arabic literature
inevitably became a sealed book. While the Hebrew translations of
Sa’adya’s _Faiths and Creeds,_ Bahya’s _Duties of the Heart_, Judah
ha-Levi’s _Khazarite,_ and Maimonides’ _Guide of the Perplexed_ have
been repeatedly printed, the Arabic originals of these books had been
moulding in the various libraries until scholars in comparatively recent
years unearthed them and published them for the use of the few
scientific investigators. A similar fate has befallen the grammatical
treatises of the brilliant grammarians of the tenth and eleventh
centuries. The works written in Arabic, in spite of their intrinsic
merit, have almost entirely been forgotten, having been superseded by
Hebrew manuals of an inferior character. In this case the Hebrew
translations did not save them from oblivion to which they have been
condemned for centuries. For the Hebrew writers of the subsequent
periods, who knew Arabic, borrowed from their predecessors, and
presented the material in a manner acceptable to their readers.
The continuity of the Hebrew language as a literary medium is,
accordingly, unbroken, and to illustrate this fact by examples is one of
the aims of this _Anthology_. Incidentally a study of the numerous
extracts incorporated into this volume will establish the truth, which
has too often been ignored, that the Hebrew genius did not become
stagnant with the conclusion of the biblical Canon. It is true that the
literary quality of post-biblical works cannot approach the sublimity
and beauty of the Bible; but this verdict may justly be applied to other
literatures. During the last two thousand years no literature which
could rank with the canonical books of the Bible has been produced.
Apart from the literary criterion, there is another aspect which
differentiates post-biblical Hebrew literature from the Bible: the
former is the product of men, who, with the exception of Ben Sira and
possibly the teachers of the Mishnah, did not speak Hebrew as their
mother-tongue. Their style, as a consequence, bears the marks of
artificiality, and in many cases lacks spontaneity. Hebrew was for them
a dead and foreign tongue, and this circumstance involved numerous
obstacles and disadvantages. Some of the medieval Hebrew poets had to
confine themselves to the vocabulary preserved in the Bible, and rarely
ventured to employ expressions occurring in the Talmud or to coin new
words which were needed for their poetic compositions. They were thus
denied that freedom of expression which is essential to the creative
genius, and were compelled to fit their work to the frame. It is due to
these considerations that some of the hymns appear like strings of
biblical verses or phrases, more or less skilfully put together. The
original and daring spirits among these writers, in order to express
their new ideas and sentiments, were driven to invest the biblical words
and phrases with new significations, and thereby developed a novel
style, which, though interesting in itself and doing credit to the
ingenuity of the authors, could not have been conducive to literary
creativeness. For while in quest of a biblical phrase which should serve
as a vehicle for his newly-conceived thought, the poet could not give
free rein to his fancy. And yet, despite all these disadvantages, we
have before us masterly compositions which cannot fail to arouse our
interest and admiration. On the other hand, the philosophers,
grammarians, lexicographers, historians, and geographers have freely
introduced new words and expressions, and have thereby enriched the
volume of the Hebrew vocabulary. These new coinages, which, to a great
extent, have been sanctioned by the usage of centuries, are of vital
interest to us at present owing to the widespread movement to revive the
Hebrew language. Instead of beginning with a _tabula rasa_, as is done
by some of the leaders of this movement, it would be more advisable, and
certainly more scientific, to explore our old treasures. There is ample
material in post-biblical Hebrew works for the reconstruction of the
language.
This volume of translations is a companion to the Hebrew texts printed
in a separate book, and in the case of some extracts the reason for
their inclusion in this _Anthology_ may not be quite apparent. For, in
preparing the selections, I have been guided by two principles: the
literary merit of the extract and its pedagogic value. The latter
quality would be entirely lost in a translation. A passage whose
literary value is not very high, but which is pedagogically important,
would naturally be welcomed by the student desirous of familiarizing
himself with the style of post-biblical Hebrew. Such a passage, however,
may appear cumbersome in translation. At the same time it is hoped that
the reader will derive æsthetic pleasure from the beauty or quaintness,
as the case may be, of the great variety of passages. In order to give
an idea of the diversity and extensiveness of post-biblical Hebrew
literature, practically all branches have been incorporated into this
_Anthology_, and great care has been taken to select representative
authors. Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, liturgy, poetry, philosophy, ethics,
history, geography, folk-lore, travel, philology, epistles, ethical
wills, and general compositions are represented in this volume. It is to
be regretted that two branches, which have been and are the most potent
factors in shaping Jewish intellectual life, could not be included. I
refer to Halakah and biblical exegesis, which had to be excluded for the
simple reason that the representative passages of these branches
scarcely possess literary value. At the same time I have excerpted
sections from Maimonides’ _Code_, Eleazar of Worms’ _Rokeah_, and
Abravanel’s commentary on the Pentateuch. These extracts, however, do
not represent Halakah or exegesis, though they happen to have been
incorporated into halakic and exegetical works. For a similar reason
Kabbalah is not represented here, although there is a mystical strain in
the extract from the _Rokeah_ and in Nahmanides’ epistle. While in point
of time Ben Sira belongs to the biblical period, it has been deemed
advisable to incorporate passages from his _Wisdom_, because it is
outside the Hebrew Canon. Moreover, in the Hebrew text of the extracts
selected for this _Anthology_ at least two Hebrew verbs, not occurring
in the Bible, have been rescued from oblivion.
The texts are arranged chronologically as far as possible. The method of
arranging extracts according to subjects, which other writers may
prefer, presents numerous difficulties which are now obviated. Some
passages defy classification, while others can be placed in more than
one group. Moreover, the chronological arrangement has the advantage of
presenting a complete picture of the growth and development of the
various branches of Hebrew literature. Although some branches
synchronize, as, for instance, poetry and philosophy, few of them
persist throughout the various periods. In the majority of cases each
age has produced a mode of literary expression peculiar to itself. The
eleventh century may be regarded as the Golden Age of Hebrew poetry. A
few gifted poets have arisen during the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, but we meet with no great talents until we reach the modern
renaissance, the beginnings of which are incorporated here. The
philosophic activity extended over a much longer period, but the best
works have been produced in a limited number of generations.
The translations are obviously based upon the Hebrew volume of this
_Anthology_. A reader comparing my translation with other editions of
the extracts will therefore come across some discrepancies. A few
examples may suffice to illustrate this point. The printed editions of
the Mishnah have a word denoting “silver” which is here rendered by
“golden” (II, 2, l. 7). Of course, my edition has the correct word which
is found in the famous Munich manuscript. In the Pesikta extract there
is an additional sentence not found in any of the editions that have
hitherto appeared: _A messenger came and said unto me: “Thy husband died
in the city across the sea”_ (V, 1, l. 10). My reading, however, is
derived from the Parma manuscript. In Judah ha-Levi’s poem entitled
“Meditations in Mid-Ocean” (XVIII, 2, l. 6 from end) my translation
reads: _The waters and the sky are like brilliant and bright ornaments
on the night._ The word “ornaments” does not occur in any of the printed
editions, and, instead, they all read two words which signify “until the
sea,” which are entirely unsuitable for the context. My rendering is the
result of a slight emendation involving merely the joining of the two
words into one and a change in the vocalization. In the notes to the
Hebrew volume the reader will find ample justification for the rather
numerous variants. In order not to render this volume cumbersome, those
notes have been omitted here.
Wherever possible, I have attempted to retain the flavor of the
original, and the translation is literal as far as the English idiom
would allow. In a number of cases, notably Judah ha-Levi’s letter
(XVIII, 3), a free rendering would, I fear, be meaningless. To my mind,
only a literal translation is capable of doing justice to a literature
of this kind. The King James’ Version of the Bible owes part of its
charm to its literalness. Those translators were fortunate in writing
during the formative period of the English language, before the various
idioms became fixed. But even in more recent times the superiority of
Burton’s _Arabian Nights_ must be partly ascribed to its quaint
literalness. This method has been wisely followed by Chenery and
Steingass in translating Al-Hariri’s _Assemblies_, though they lacked
Burton’s artistic skill. The average reader is probably not aware that
the literal translator imposes upon himself a much severer task than the
writer who merely gives a free rendering. The former, if he is a
conscientious worker, attempts to reproduce everything, while the latter
often allows himself to omit or vary difficult expression which task the
translator’s skill. The unchary reader finds the free translation smooth
and easy, and is liable to condemn the literal one, which is necessarily
rugged.
Some of the extracts had been previously translated in a satisfactory
manner, notably Ben Sira, Kalir, Ibn Gebirol’s _Royal Crown_, Benjamin
of Tudela, Judah ha-Levi’s _Khazarite_ (by H. Hirschfeld), and
Maimonides’ _Guide of the Perplexed_ (by M. Friedländer). But in all
cases I found it necessary to subject the passages to a thorough
revision, partly because my aim was different from that of my
predecessors. This revision was especially necessary in the two
last-named extracts. Hirschfeld and Friedländer translated the Arabic
originals, while I wished to illustrate the style of the Hebrew
translators. This fact will also explain another difficulty which may
puzzle a reader of this volume: Extracts XXIII and XXVI are listed under
Judah b. Saul Ibn Tibbon and Samuel b. Judah Ibn Tibbon, and not under
Judah ha-Levi and Moses b. Maimon, respectively. In an anthology of
philosophy these sections would naturally be credited to their original
authors, but the Hebrew translations must be given under the Ibn
Tibbons. And obviously the arrangement of this volume ought to follow
that of the Hebrew texts.
Doctor Cyrus Adler has kindly read the manuscript and proof-sheets of
this volume, and I am indebted to him for a number of valuable
suggestions, especially in connection with the style. My thanks are also
due to Professor Israel Davidson and Doctor Isaac Husik for going over
the proof-sheets of the poetic and philosophic sections, respectively.
B. HALPER.
DROPSIE COLLEGE, _February, 1920_.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE 5
I. THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA:
1. Wisdom Is a Source of Happiness 19
2. The Usefulness of the Physician 20
3. In Praise of the High Priest Simeon the Son of
Johanan 21
II. THE MISHNAH:
1. The Bringing of the First-Fruits to Jerusalem 24
2. The Libation of Water and the Water-Drawing Feast 26
III. ABOT DE-RABBI NATHAN:
Rabban Johanan the Son of Zaccai’s Pupils Offer
Consolations to Their Master on the Death of His Son 29
IV. THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD:
1. The Martyrdom of Rabbi Akiba 32
2. A Controversy on the Merits of Charity 34
3. Maxims and Admonitions 35
V. THE MIDRASH:
1. The Prophet Jeremiah Meets Mother Zion Mourning for
Her Exiled Children 38
2. The Death of Moses 39
VI. ELEAZAR BE-RABBI KALIR:
1. A Complaint 45
2. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs Intercede on Behalf of
Their Exiled Children 46
VII. ELDAD HA-DANI:
Eldad Leaves His Native Place Beyond the Rivers of Cush 49
VIII. JOSIPPON:
Mattathias Charges His Sons Before His Death, and
Appoints Judah Who Is Called Maccabæus as Leader in
His Stead 55
IX. SA’ADYA GAON B. JOSEPH:
A Prayer Entitled _Magen U-Mehayyeh_ (Shield and
Quickener) 59
X. NATHAN HA-BABLI:
The Installation of an Exilarch 64
XI. JOSEPH B. ISAAC IBN ABITOR:
1. Hymn Based on Psalm 120 69
2. Hymn Based on Psalm 121 70
3. Hymn Based on Psalm 122 72
4. Hymn Based on Psalm 123 73
XII. HAI B. SHERIRA GAON:
Maxims and Admonitions 75
XIII. SAMUEL HA-NAGID:
1. On Leaving Cordova 77
2. On Having Been Saved in Mid-Ocean From a Tunny Fish 78
XIV. SOLOMON B. JUDAH IBN GEBIROL:
1. On Leaving Saragossa 82
2. A Vow to Seek Wisdom 84
3. The Royal Crown 86
XV. BAHYA B. JOSEPH IBN PAKUDA:
Pious Reflections and Admonitions to the Soul 91
XVI. AHIMAAZ B. PALTIEL:
Shephatiah Before His Death on Rosh ha-Shanah Declares
that the Tyrant Basil Is Dead 96
XVII. MOSES B. JACOB IBN EZRA:
1. Dirge on the Death of His Brother 100
2. Poem Addressed to One of His Noblest Friends 101
3. Poem in Honor of the Wedding of Solomon b. Matir 103
XVIII. JUDAH B. SAMUEL HA-LEVI:
1. Ode to Zion 106
2. Meditations in Mid-Ocean 108
3. Letter Addressed to Nathan b. Samuel 110
XIX. ABRAHAM B. MEIR IBN EZRA:
1. Plaintive Song 115
2. Penitential Prayer 116
3. The Epistle of Hai b. Mekiz 117
XX. ABRAHAM IBN DAUD:
The Four Captives 123
XXI. BENJAMIN OF TUDELA:
Description of Jerusalem and Its Surroundings 127
XXII. THE BOOK OF YASHAR:
Moses Having Taken a Besieged City Is Proclaimed King
of Cush 132
XXIII. JUDAH B. SAUL IBN TIBBON:
Why the Jewish Religion Does Not Especially Encourage
Asceticism 137
XXIV. MOSES B. MAIMON:
A Man Should Choose the Golden Mean 143
XXV. JOSEPH B. MEIR IBN ZABARA:
Jacob the Broker and the Necklace 148
XXVI. SAMUEL B. JUDAH IBN TIBBON:
On the Limitations of Man’s Intellect 152
XXVII. JUDAH B. SOLOMON AL-HARIZI:
Seven Young Men Discuss the Merits of the Various
Virtues 156
XXVIII. JUDAH B. SAMUEL HE-HASID OF REGENSBURG:
Certain Forms of Virtue Lead to Sin 162
XXIX. ELEAZAR B. JUDAH B. KALONYMOS OF WORMS:
Moral Admonitions and Precepts 167
XXX. MOSES B. NAHMAN:
Ethical Letter, Praising Humility, Addressed to His Son 171
XXXI. SOLOMON B. ABRAHAM IBN ADRET:
Epistle Prohibiting Anyone Under Twenty-Five Years of
Age to Study Philosophy 176
XXXII. JEDAIAH HA-BEDERSI:
The Nothingness of Man and His Pursuits 183
XXXIII. IMMANUEL B. SOLOMON OF ROME:
The Poet Visits Paradise 188
XXXIV. JUDAH B. ASHER:
Ethical and Moral Admonitions 194
XXXV. KALONYMOS B. KALONYMOS B. MEIR:
Admonitions to His Heart 198
XXXVI. LEVI B. GERSHON:
The Difficulties in Investigating the Problem Whether
the Universe Is Created or Eternal 202
XXXVII. PROFIAT DURAN:
The Definition of the Science of Language and Its
Branches 206
XXXVIII. SIMON B. ZEMAH DURAN:
On the Problem Why the Wicked Prosper and the Righteous
are in Distress 210
XXXIX. JOSEPH ALBO:
The Various Ranks of Prophecy 215
XL. ISAAC B. JUDAH ABRAVANEL:
The Advantages of a Republic Over a Monarchy 221
XLI. SOLOMON IBN VERGA:
A Jew Is Accused of Murdering a Christian, But His
Innocence Is Proved 225
XLII. ABRAHAM B. MORDECAI FERIZOL:
A Jew Who Claims to Belong to the Ten Tribes Visits
Italy 230
XLIII. JOSEPH B. JOSHUA B. MEIR HA-KOHEN:
The Crusaders Massacre the Jews at Meurs 235
XLIV. MENASSEH B. JOSEPH BEN ISRAEL:
The Soul Is Likened to the Moon 240
XLV. MOSES HAYYIM LUZZATTO:
Dialogue Between Understanding and Uprightness 243
XLVI. NAPHTALI HIRZ (HARTWIG) WESSELY:
Moses Prepares the People for the Divine Revelation 247
I. THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA
[This apocryphal book, usually called “Ecclesiasticus,” was composed
about 180 B. C. E. by Jesus, the son of Simon, the son of Eleazar,
the son of Sira. The author was probably a scribe, and was
well-versed in the wisdom literature of his day. The Hebrew original
of this work was still known in the tenth century, but was
subsequently lost sight of. In 1896 a fragment from the Cairo
Genizah was given to Prof. S. Schechter, who immediately identified
it as the Hebrew original of this book. Other discoveries were
afterwards made, and now about two-thirds of the entire work have
been recovered.]
1. Wisdom Is a Source of Happiness[1]
Happy is the man that meditateth in wisdom,
And that hath respect unto understanding;
That setteth his heart upon her ways,
And considereth her paths;
Going out after her in search of her,
And spying all her entries;
That prieth through her window,
And hearkeneth at her doors;
That encampeth about her house,
And fixeth his pegs into her wall,
And he pitcheth his tent by her side,
And dwelleth in a goodly dwelling;
And he buildeth his nest on her bough,
And lodgeth among her branches;
And he sheltereth in her shade from the heat,
And dwelleth in her habitations.
For he that feareth the Lord doeth this,
And he that taketh hold of the Law attaineth unto her.
And she will meet him as a mother,
And receive him as a wife of youth.
And she will feed him with the bread of understanding,
And give him water of knowledge to drink.
And he is stayed upon her, and shall not be moved;
And in her he trusteth, and shall not be confounded.
And she will exalt him above his neighbor,
And in the midst of the congregation will she open
his mouth.
He shall find joy and gladness,
And she will make him inherit an everlasting name.
Men of vanity shall not attain unto her,
And men of arrogance shall not see her.
Far from scorners is she,
And liars remember her not.
2. The Usefulness of the Physician[2]
Honor a physician according to thy need of him—
Him also hath God apportioned.
From God a physician getteth wisdom,
And from a king he receiveth gifts.
The skill of a physician lifteth up his head,
And he may stand before nobles.
God bringeth out medicines from the earth,
And let a prudent man not despise them.
Was not water made sweet by wood,
To make every man know His power?
And He gave men understanding,
That they might glory in His mighty works.
By means of them doth a physician assuage pain,
And likewise the apothecary maketh a confection:
That His work may not cease,
Nor health from the sons of men.
My son, in sickness be not negligent;
Pray unto God, for He healeth.
Flee from iniquity, and from respect of persons,
And from all transgressions cleanse thy heart.
Offer a sweet savor as a memorial,
And prepare a fat offering according to thy substance,
And also to the physician give a place,
And he shall not be removed, for there is need of him likewise.
For there is a time when in his power is good success,
For he, too, maketh supplication to God,
That He should prosper to him the treatment,
And the healing, for the sake of his living.
He that sinneth against his Maker
Behaveth himself proudly before a physician.
3. In Praise of the High Priest Simeon the Son of Johanan[3]
Great among his brethren, and glory of his people,
Was Simeon the son of Johanan, the priest;
In whose generation the house was repaired,
And in whose days the temple was fortified;
In whose generation a cistern was digged,
A pit like the sea in its abundance;
In whose days a wall was built—
Turrets for protection in the temple of the King:
Who took thought for his people against the spoiler,
And fortified the city against the besieger.
How glorious was he when he looked forth from the Tent,
And when he went out from the sanctuary!
As the morning-star from amid thick clouds,
And as the full moon in the days of the solemn feast;
As the sun dawning upon the temple of the King,
And as a rainbow seen in the cloud.
As a bud in the branches in the days of the solemn feast,
And as the lily by the watercourses;
As the flower of Lebanon in the days of summer,
And as the fire of incense upon the meal-offering:
As a gold vessel.…[4]
That is set with precious stones;
As a green olive full of berries,
And as a wild olive-tree with branches full of sap.
When he put on robes of honor,
And clothed himself with robes of glory;
When he ascended the altar of majesty,
And made glorious the court of the sanctuary;
When he received the portions from the hand of his brethren,
While standing by the altar-fires:
Round him the garland of his sons,
Like cedar-plants in Lebanon.
And they compassed him about like willows of the brook—
All the sons of Aaron in their glory;
With the fire-offerings of the Lord in their hand,
Before all the congregation of Israel;
Until he had finished serving the altar,
And arranging the fires of the Most High.
Then sounded the sons of Aaron, the priests,
With trumpets of beaten work;
And they sounded, and made their mighty voice heard,
To bring to remembrance before the Most High.
All flesh hastened together,
And fell down on their faces to the ground;
Worshipping before the Most High,
Before the Holy One of Israel.
And the choir uttered its voice,
And over the multitude they made sweet melody.
And all the people of the land chanted,
In prayer before the Merciful;
Until he had finished serving the altar,
And had brought his customary offerings unto it.
Then he came down, and lifted up his hands
Over all the congregation of Israel;
And the blessing of the Lord was on his lips,
And in the name of the Lord he gloried.
And they bowed down again a second time,
The people, all of them, before Him.
Now bless ye the Lord, the God of Israel,
Who doeth wondrously on earth;
Who bringeth up man from the womb,
And maketh him according to His will.
May He give you wisdom of heart,
And may He be with peace among you.
May He make His mercy stand fast with Simeon,
And may He confirm to him the covenant of Phinehas,
That shall not be cut off from him and from his seed,
As the days of heaven.
II. THE MISHNAH
[A collection of Jewish jurisprudence, dealing with the various
aspects of Jewish life, and classified in the following six orders:
_Zera`im_ (“Seeds”), containing eleven tractates; _Mo`ed_
(“Festivals”), containing twelve tractates; _Nashim_ (“Women”),
containing seven tractates; _Nezikin_ (“Damages”), containing ten
tractates; _Kodashim_ (“Holy Things”), containing eleven tractates;
_Teharot_ (“Purifications”), containing twelve tractates. The
Mishnah is written in terse and simple Hebrew, well adapted to the
various subjects, and has preserved a number of words, which, as may
be seen from the cognate languages, must have been in common use in
biblical times, though they do not occur in the Bible. It also
contains some loan-words from Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. It was
redacted by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi about 200 C. E.]
1. The Bringing of the First-Fruits to Jerusalem[5]
In what manner were the first-fruits brought up? All the inhabitants of
the towns of a district assembled in the principal city of the district;
they spent the night in the market-place of the city, and entered no
house. Early in the morning the appointed officer would proclaim:
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the house of the Lord our God.’
They that lived in the vicinity would bring fresh figs and grapes; they
that came from afar would bring dry figs and raisins. The bull went
before them, its horns overlaid with gold, and a garland of olive-leaves
on its head. The flute played before them, until they drew near
Jerusalem. When they drew near Jerusalem, they sent messengers before
them, and adorned their first-fruits. The governors, deputies, and
treasurers came out to meet them; according to the rank of those that
entered did they come out. All the craftsmen of Jerusalem stood up
before them, and greeted them, saying: ‘Our brethren, ye men of such and
such a place, ye are welcome.’
The flute played before them, until they reached the temple mount. When
they reached the temple mount, each man (even king Agrippa) put his
basket upon his shoulders. Then they went in as far as the temple court.
When they reached the temple court, the Levites recited the song: ‘I
will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast raised me up, and hast not
suffered mine enemies to rejoice over me.’[6]
The pigeons which were fastened to the baskets were offered as
sacrifices, while those which they held in their hands were given to the
priests.
While the basket was still on his shoulder, he recited from _I profess
this day unto the Lord thy God_,[7] till he finished the entire portion.
Rabbi Judah says: Only as far as _A wandering Aramean was my father_.[8]
When he reached the words _A wandering Aramean was my father_, he took
the basket down from his shoulder, held it by its rim (while the priest
put his hand under it, and waved it), and recited from _A wandering
Aramean was my father_, until he finished the entire portion. He then
placed his basket at the side of the altar, prostrated himself, and went
out.
Formerly any one who was able to read would read by himself, while he
who could not read would repeat after the reader. But as many people
refrained from bringing the first-fruits on account of this, it was
instituted that both, those that are able to read and those that are not
able, should repeat after the reader.
The wealthy would bring their first-fruits in baskets of silver or of
gold, while the poor would bring them in wicker baskets made of peeled
willow-twigs. The baskets and the first-fruits were given to the
priests.
2. The Libation of Water and the Water-Drawing Feast[9]
In what manner was the libation of water made? A golden pitcher of the
capacity of three logs was filled with water from the brook of Shiloah.
When they reached the Water Gate, they sounded a plain note, a tremolo,
and a plain note. The priest went up the ascent of the altar, and turned
to his left, where stood two golden basins. Rabbi Judah says: They were
of gypsum, but their appearance was darkish because of the wine. In each
was a hole like a narrow nostril, one of the basins having a big opening
and the other a small one, so that both should become empty at the same
time. The basin toward the west was for water, that toward the east for
wine. But if the water is poured into the basin for wine, or the wine
into the basin for water, it is lawful. Rabbi Judah says: The libation
was performed with one log during all the eight days. Unto him who
poured out the water they said: ‘Raise thy hands;’ because it once
happened that a priest poured the water over his feet, and all the
people pelted him to death with their citrons.
As they did on week-days, so they did on the Sabbath, except that on the
eve of the Sabbath they would fill a golden pitcher, which had not been
consecrated, with water from the brook of Shiloah, and place it in the
chamber. If the water was spilt, or uncovered, they would fill the
pitcher with water from the laver; for wine or water, which was
uncovered, is not fit to be offered on the altar.
He who did not see the rejoicing of the water-drawing never saw real
rejoicing in his life.
At the expiration of the first day of Tabernacles they[10] descended to
the Women’s Court, where they made great preparations. Golden
candlesticks were there, upon whose tops were four golden basins. Four
ladders were placed near each candlestick, and four young priests held
pitchers of oil containing one hundred and twenty logs, which they
poured into basins.
Of the worn-out breeches and girdles of the priest wicks were made,
wherewith to kindle the lamps. There was not a court in Jerusalem which
was not illuminated by the lights kindled at the water-drawing.
Pious and distinguished men danced before them with torches in their
hands, and chanted before them hymns and praises. The Levites with
harps, lutes, cymbals, and trumpets, and musical instruments without
number stood upon the fifteen steps, that led from the Men’s Court to
the Women’s Court, corresponding to the fifteen Songs of Ascent of the
Book of Psalms. Upon these steps the Levites had stood with musical
instruments, and chanted hymns. Two priests with trumpets in their hands
stood at the Upper Gate, which led down from the Men’s Court to the
Women’s Court. When the cock crowed, they sounded a plain note, a
tremolo, and a plain note. When they reached the tenth step, they again
sounded a plain note, a tremolo, and a plain note. When they reached the
Court, they once more sounded a plain note, a tremolo, and a plain note.
They continued to blow the horn, until they reached the gate that led
out to the east. As soon as they reached the gate that led out to the
east, they turned their faces from east to west, and said: ‘Our fathers
who were in this place turned their backs toward the temple and their
faces toward the east, and prostrated themselves eastward to the sun;
but as for us, our eyes are turned to God.’ Rabbi Judah says: They
repeated it,[11] and said: ‘We are God’s and our eyes are turned to
God.’
III. ABOT DE-RABBI NATHAN
[A sort of Tosefta (addition) to _Pirke Abot_ (Saying of the
Fathers). It contains homiletic expositions, based upon the mishnic
text of that tractate, as well as a number of independent maxims and
narratives. It is divided into forty chapters (in some editions
there are forty-one), and is of tannaitic origin. Two recensions are
extant.]
Rabban Johanan the Son of Zaccai’s Pupils Offer Consolations to Their
Master on the Death of His Son[12]
When the son of Rabban Johanan the son of Zaccai died, his pupils came
to console him. Rabbi Eliezer entered, sat down before him, and said
unto him: ‘O master, is it thy will that I should say something to
thee?’ He replied: ‘Speak.’ Rabbi Eliezer then said unto him: ‘Adam had
a son who died, and yet he accepted consolation for him. Whence do we
know that he accepted consolation for him? because it is written: “And
Adam knew his wife again.”[13] Accept thou consolation likewise.’
Whereupon Rabban Johanan said unto him: ‘Is it not enough that I am
grieved, must thou also remind me of Adam’s grief?’ Rabbi Joshua then
entered, and said unto him: ‘Is it thy will that I should say something
to thee?’ He replied: ‘Speak.’ Rabbi Joshua then said unto him: ‘Job had
sons and daughters all of whom died in one day, and yet he accepted
consolation for them. Accept thou consolation likewise. Whence do we
know that Job accepted consolation? because it is written: “The Lord
gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the
Lord.”’[14] Whereupon Rabban Johanan said unto him: ‘Is it not enough
that I am grieved, must thou also remind me of Job’s grief?’ Rabbi Jose
then entered, sat down before him, and said unto him: ‘O master, is it
thy will that I should say something to thee?’ He replied: ‘Speak.’
Rabbi Jose then said unto him: ‘Aaron had two grown-up sons both of whom
died in one day, and yet he accepted consolation, as it is written: “And
Aaron held his peace”;[15] now silence implies consolation. Accept thou
consolation likewise.’ Whereupon Rabban Johanan said unto him: ‘Is it
not enough that I am grieved, must thou also remind me of Aaron’s
grief?’ Rabbi Simon then entered, and said unto him: ‘O master, is it
thy will that I should say something to thee?’ He replied: ‘Speak.’
Rabbi Simon then said unto him: ‘King David had a son who died, and yet
he accepted consolation. Accept thou consolation likewise. Whence do we
know that David accepted consolation? because it is written: “And David
comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her;
and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon.”[16] Accept thou, O
master, consolation likewise.’ Whereupon Rabban Johanan said unto him:
‘Is it not enough that I am grieved, must thou also remind me of king
David’s grief?’ Rabbi Eleazar the son of Arak then entered. As soon as
Rabban Johanan saw him, he said unto his attendant: ‘Take his garments,
and walk after him into the bath-house,[17] for he is a great man, and I
cannot withstand him!’ Rabbi Eleazar entered, sat down before him, and
said unto him: ‘I shall give thee a parable to which this matter is
like: it is like to a man to whom the king committed a trust. Every day
that man would weep, and cry, saying: “When shall I be freed of this
trust in peace?” Such is thy case, O master: thou hadst a son who
studied the Torah, the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings, the Mishnah,
Halakot, and Haggadot, and departed from this world without sin. Thou
shouldst surely accept consolation for him, when thou hast restored thy
trust unimpaired.’ Whereupon Rabbi Johanan said unto him: ‘Eleazar my
son, thou hast comforted me in the manner men should comfort.’
When they went forth from his presence, Rabbi Eleazar said: ‘I shall go
to Dimsith which is a beautiful place with pleasant and delicious
waters.’ But the others said: ‘We shall go to Jamnia, where there are
many scholars who love the Torah.’ He who went to Dimsith which is a
beautiful place with pleasant and delicious waters, his fame as a
scholar waned; but they who went to Jamnia, where there are many
scholars who love the Torah, their fame as scholars became great.
IV. THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD
[Lengthy discussions of the subjects treated of in the Mishnah. It
likewise contains numerous anecdotes and legends. While most of the
discussions relate to the legal and ritual topics, the Talmud may at
the same time be termed a store-house of almost all the sciences
cultivated in those days, as medicine, astronomy, and mathematics.
It is of extreme interest to the student of folk-lore. The noblest
minds of the Jewish race have up till comparatively recent times
been devoted to the study of the volumes of the Talmud, which has
contributed to the shaping of the Jewish character. The language is
for the most part Aramaic, but Hebrew passages occur now and again.
It was redacted about 500 C. E.]
1. The Martyrdom of Rabbi Akiba[18]
Once upon a time the wicked Roman government decreed that the Israelites
should not study the Torah. One day Pappos the son of Judah met Rabbi
Akiba, who publicly called assemblies together, and studied the Torah.
He said: ‘Akiba, fearest thou not the government?’ Rabbi Akiba replied:
‘I shall give thee a parable: A fox walked about by the riverside.
Perceiving fishes that were fleeing in companies from place to place, he
said unto them: “Why do ye flee?” They answered: “On account of the nets
that men bring against us.” He said unto them: “Do ye wish to go up to
the dry land, so that I and ye may live together in the same manner as
my forebears lived with your forebears?” They said unto him: “Art thou
he who is said to be the shrewdest of the animals? Thou art not shrewd,
but foolish. If we are terror-stricken in the place where we live, how
much greater our fear in the place where we are like to die!” This is
our case. If we are in such distress now that we study the Torah,
concerning which it is written: “For it is thy life and the length of
days;”[19] how much more shall we be in distress, if we cease to study
the Torah!’
It is related that before many days passed Rabbi Akiba was seized and
put into prison. Pappos likewise was seized and put next to Rabbi Akiba,
who said unto him: ‘O Pappos, why wast thou brought here?’ He replied:
‘Happy art thou, Akiba, that thou wast seized because of the words of
the Torah; woe unto Pappos who was seized because of vain things.’
Rabbi Akiba was led forth to be put to death at the time for reading the
Shema’. While they tore his flesh with iron combs, he took upon himself
the yoke of the kingdom of heaven. His pupils asked: ‘O master, thus
far?’ He replied: ‘All my life have I been distressed about this verse:
“With all thy soul”[20] (even if He takes away thy soul); I used to say:
When shall I have the opportunity to fulfil it? Shall I not fulfil it
now that the opportunity is come?’ He prolonged the word _One_, so that
his soul departed while he uttered the word _One_. A heavenly voice came
forth, and said: ‘Happy art thou, Rabbi Akiba, because thy soul departed
at the word _One_.’ The ministering angels said unto the Holy One,
blessed be He: ‘Is this the Torah, and this the reward thereof? _Is Thy
hand governed by men, O Lord?_’[21] He replied unto them: ‘_Their
portion is in eternal life._’[22] A heavenly voice came forth, and said:
‘Happy art thou, Rabbi Akiba; thou art ready for the life of the world
to come.’
2. A Controversy on the Merits of Charity[23]
Turnus Rufus[24] asked Rabbi Akiba: ‘If your God loves the poor, why
does he not sustain them?’ He replied: ‘That we may be delivered from
the punishment of Gehenna.’ Turnus Rufus said: ‘That would condemn you
to Gehenna. I shall give thee a parable. A king of flesh and blood is
wroth against his servant, casts him into a dungeon, and decrees that
none shall give him food or drink. A man, however, comes, and gives him
food and drink. When the king hears of it, will he not be angry with
him? Ye are called servants, as it is written: “For unto Me the children
of Israel are servants.”’[25] Rabbi Akiba replied: ‘This is not so; let
me give thee a parable. A king of flesh and blood is wroth against his
son, casts him into a dungeon, and commands that none shall give him
food or drink. A man, however, comes and gives him food and drink. When
the king hears of it, will he not send him gifts? We are called
children, as it is written: “Ye are the children of the Lord your
God.”’[26] But Turnus Rufus said unto him: ‘Ye are called children, and
ye are likewise called servants: when ye do God’s will, ye are called
children; but when ye do not God’s will, ye are called servants. At
present, however, ye are not doing God’s will.’ Rabbi Akiba replied:
‘Nevertheless it is written: “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?”[27] Now to
which time do the words _bring the poor that are cast out to thy house_
apply? Certainly to the present time, and yet it is written: “Is it not
to deal thy bread to the hungry!”’
3. Maxims and Admonitions[28]
Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar says: Keep away from complaining, lest thou
shouldst complain against others, and sin all the more. Love him who
reproves thee, that thou mayest add wisdom to thy wisdom; hate him who
praises thee, that thy wisdom may not be diminished. Love the synagogue,
that thou mayest take thy reward every day; love the house of study,
that thy children may be inspired to study the Torah. Love the poor,
that thy children may not come to that state. Love humility, that thou
mayest complete the years of thy life. Love acts of beneficence, that
thou mayest be delivered from the angel of untimely death. Be careful in
reading the Shema’ and prayers, that thou mayest be delivered from the
punishment of Gehenna. Let thy house be open wide, that thou mayest not
lack sustenance. Take heed that the doors of thy house should not be
locked when thou reclinest at the table to eat and to drink; for the
doors of thy house sometimes lead thee to poverty. Take care of the
honor of thy wife, that she may not be like a barren woman. Be joyful
when thou art afflicted with pain, for this delivers thee from the
punishment of Gehenna. Rejoice in thy table when the hungry derive
pleasure from it; for thereby thou wilt prolong thy days in this world
and in the world to come. Be joyful when thou hast given away aught from
thy house, that the anger of the angel of death may be averted from
thee, as it is written: ‘A gift in secret pacifieth anger; and a present
in the bosom strong wrath.’[29] If thou hast refrained thyself from
doing a good deed, the angel of death will meet thee; but if thou hast
caused thy feet to hurry for the sake of the poor and for the sake of
the commandments, the words _Blessed art thou when thou comest in, and
blessed art thou when thou goest out_[30] apply to thee. If thou keepest
thy mouth from slander, thou wilt be all thy days in peace. If thou hast
been impudent before one who is greater than thou, thou wilt in the end
become leprous. If thou hast refrained thyself from a good deed, and has
occupied thyself with a sinful deed, thy wife will in the end die of a
plague, as it is written: ‘Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the
desire of thine eyes with a plague.’[31] If thou hast run to honor a
sage, thou wilt have sons and daughters who are righteous before Heaven;
and if thou hast run to honor a poor man, thou wilt have sons who study
the Torah and fulfil the commandments in Israel. If thou seest that a
sage has died, turn not away from him until thou hast accompanied him to
the grave; so that when thou diest, thou shalt enter into peace and rest
in thy bed. If thou seest that thy friend is impoverished, and that his
hand has failed, send him not back empty, as it is written: ‘Whoso
keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing.’[32] If thou hast lent
him aught in the hour of his need, the words _Then shalt thou call, and
the Lord will answer_[33] will apply to thee. If thou hast humbled
thyself, the Holy One, blessed be He, will lift thee up; but if thou
hast made thyself haughty before thy friend, the Holy One, blessed be
He, will humble thee. Pursue peace, and people shall tell of thy peace
as of the peace of Phinehas the son of Eleazar. And thus did Rabbi
Eleazar say: Love peace, and hate strife. Great is peace, for even if
the Israelites worship idols, but peace reigns in their midst, the
Shekinah, as it were, can do them no harm, as it is written: ‘Ephraim is
united, though he has idols, let him alone.’[34] But if strife is in
their midst, what is written concerning them? ‘Their heart is divided:
now shall they be destroyed.’[35] How does this apply? A house in which
there is strife will in the end be laid waste. The sages say: A
synagogue in which there is strife will in the end be demolished. If two
scholars dwelling in one city have two courts of justice, and there is
strife in their midst, they will die an untimely death.
Abba Saul says: Strife between courts of justice brings about the
destruction of the world.
V. THE MIDRASH
[The midrashic literature is divided into two main classes: halakic
and haggadic. The former deals with legal matters, while the latter,
which comprises the greater part of midrashic collections, is
exegetic and homiletic. Some of the books are arranged in accordance
with the order of the biblical passages upon which they are based,
while others are groups of homilies delivered on the important
Sabbaths and festivals. The language of this branch of literature is
mostly Hebrew, and is very fluent and sometimes poetic, but Aramaic
passages occur now and then, especially in the older collections.
These works were compiled and redacted at various times, from the
tannaitic period down to the twelfth century, and are mostly of
Palestinian origin.]
1. The Prophet Jeremiah Meets Mother Zion Mourning for Her Exiled
Children[36]
Jeremiah said: While going up to Jerusalem, I lifted up mine eyes, and
saw a woman sitting on the top of a mountain, clad in black garments,
her hair dishevelled; she was crying and asking who would comfort her,
and I was crying and asking who would comfort me. I drew nigh unto her,
and said: ‘If thou art a woman, speak to me; if thou art a ghost, depart
from me.’ She replied: ‘Dost thou not know me? I am she who had seven
children; their father went away to a city across the sea. A messenger
came and said unto me: “Thy husband died in the city across the sea.”
While I went about weeping for him, another messenger came, and said
unto me: “The house fell upon thy seven children, and killed them.” Now
I know not for whom I should weep and for whom I should dishevel my
hair.’ I said: ‘Thou art not better than my mother Zion, and yet she has
become pasture for the beasts of the field.’ She answered and said unto
me: ‘I am thy mother Zion, I am the mother of the seven, for thus it is
written: “She that hath borne seven languisheth.”’[37] Jeremiah then
said unto her: ‘Thy misfortune is like the misfortune of Job: Job’s sons
and daughters were taken away from him, and likewise thy sons and
daughters were taken away from thee; I[38] took away from Job his silver
and gold, and from thee, too, did I take away thy silver and gold; I
cast Job on the dunghill, and likewise thee did I make into a dunghill.
And just as I returned and comforted Job, so shall I return and comfort
thee; I doubled Job’s sons and daughters, and thy sons and daughters
shall I also double; I doubled Job’s silver and gold, and unto thee I
shall do likewise; I shook Job from the dunghill, and likewise
concerning thee it is written: “Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and
sit down, O Jerusalem.”[39] A mortal of flesh and blood built thee, a
mortal of flesh and blood laid thee waste; but in the future I shall
build thee, for thus it is written: “The Lord doth build up Jerusalem,
He gathereth together the dispersed of Israel.”’[40]
2. The Death of Moses[41]
The Holy One said to Gabriel: ‘O Gabriel, Go, and bring Me the soul of
Moses.’ But he replied: ‘Lord of the universe, how can I look upon the
death of him who is equal to the sixty myriads of Israel? How can I
cause anguish to such a man?’ God then said to Michael: ‘Go, and bring
Me the soul of Moses.’ He replied: ‘Lord of the universe, I was his
teacher, and he was my pupil; I cannot look upon his death.’ Whereupon
God said to Sammael the wicked: ‘Go, and bring Me the soul of Moses.’ He
immediately clothed himself with wrath, girded on his sword, wrapped
himself in cruelty, and went to meet Moses. When Sammael perceived that
Moses was sitting and writing the Ineffable Name, that the radiance of
his countenance was like the sun’s, and that he resembled an angel of
the Lord of hosts, he was afraid of him, and said: ‘It is certain that
the angels are not able to take the soul of Moses.’
Before Sammael appeared, Moses knew that Sammael was coming. As soon as
Sammael saw Moses, trembling and pain, as of a woman in travail, took
hold of him. Sammael could not open his mouth, until Moses said to him:
‘There is no peace, saith the Lord concerning the wicked![42] What art
thou doing here?’ He replied: ‘I came to take thy soul.’ ‘Who sent
thee?’ asked Moses. ‘He that created all creatures,’ answered Sammael.
‘Thou shalt not take my soul,’ said Moses. ‘The souls of all that enter
this world are delivered into my hands,’ said Sammael. ‘I am stronger
than all who enter this world,’ asserted Moses. ‘Wherein lies thy
strength?’ asked Sammael. ‘I am Amram’s son, who came forth circumcised
from my mother’s womb, so that there was no need to circumcise me. On
the very day of my birth I was able to talk; I walked about, and spoke
to my father and mother; I did not even drink milk. When I was three
months old, I prophesied and said that I was destined to receive the
Torah from the midst of flames of fire. While walking about in the
streets, I entered the king’s palace, and took off his crown from his
head. When eighty years old I did signs and wonders in Egypt, and
brought forth the sixty myriads of Israel in the sight of all the
Egyptians; I divided the sea into twelve parts, and made the waters of
Marah sweet. I ascended to heaven, where I walked about, and took part
in the controversy of the angels; I received the Torah of fire, dwelt
under the throne of fire, took shelter under a pillar of fire, and spoke
face to face with God. I conquered the dwellers of heaven, and revealed
their secrets to the sons of men. I received the Torah from the right
hand of God, blessed be He, and taught it to Israel. I waged war against
Sihon and Og, the two mightiest men of the Gentiles, who were so tall
that during the flood the waters reached not their ankles. I made the
sun and moon stand still in the height of the universe, and smote these
mighty men with the staff that was in my hand, and slew them. Who is
there among them that enter this world who can do all this? Get thee
hence, O wicked one; thou must not stand here; go, and flee from me. I
will not give thee my soul.’
Sammael forthwith returned, and brought word back to God. But the Holy
One said to Sammael: ‘Go, and bring the soul of Moses.’ He immediately
drew his sword from its sheath, and stood near Moses. Whereupon Moses
grew wroth, seized in his hand the staff, upon which was engraved the
Ineffable Name, and fell upon him with the Ineffable Name, and taking a
ray of splendor from between his eyes, he blinded Sammael’s eyes. Thus
far Moses prevailed.
At the last moment a heavenly voice came forth, and said: ‘The hour of
thy death has come.’ Moses then said to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘O
Lord of the universe, remember the day on which Thou didst reveal
Thyself unto me in the bush, and didst say unto me: “Come, and I will
send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the
children of Israel out of Egypt.”[43] Remember the time when I stood
upon mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights. I implore Thee,
deliver me not unto the hand of the angel of death.’ Whereupon a
heavenly voice came forth, and said unto him: ‘Fear not! I Myself shall
take charge of thee and of thy burial.’
At that moment Moses arose, and sanctified himself, as do the Seraphim.
The Holy One came down from the highest heaven of heavens to take the
soul of Moses, and with Him were three ministering angels, Michael,
Gabriel, and Zagzagel. Michael arranged Moses’ bed, and Gabriel spread a
garment of fine linen at his head; Zagzagel was at his feet. Michael
stood at one side, and Gabriel at the other. The Holy One then said to
Moses: ‘Moses, close thine eyelids, one upon the other; place thy hands
upon thy breast; place thy feet one upon the other.’ Moses did as he was
commanded. At that moment the Holy One summoned the soul from Moses’
body, and said unto her: ‘My daughter, one hundred and twenty years have
I appointed for thee to be in Moses’ body; the time to depart has now
arrived. Come thou forth, tarry not.’ The soul said unto Him: ‘Lord of
the universe, I know that Thou art the God of all spirits, and that all
the souls, the souls of the living and of the dead, are delivered into
Thy hands, and that Thou didst create and fashion me, and put me into
Moses’ body for one hundred and twenty years. Now is there in the world
a body purer than that of Moses, upon which there never was any
pollution, nor worm and maggot? Therefore I love it, and desire not to
depart from it.’ But the Holy One said: ‘O soul, come forth, tarry not.
I shall bring thee up to the highest heaven of heavens, and cause thee
to dwell under My Throne of Glory near the Cherubim, Seraphim, and hosts
of other angels.’ The soul then said: ‘O Lord of the universe, when from
Thy Shekinah in heaven there came down two angels, Uzzah and Azzael,
they coveted the daughters of the earth, and corrupted their way upon
the earth, so that Thou didst suspend them between heaven and earth. But
the son of Amram has not come in unto his wife from the day Thou didst
reveal Thyself unto him in the bush, as it is written: “And Miriam and
Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had
married, for he had married a Cushite woman.”[44] I implore Thee, let me
remain in Moses’ body.’
At that moment the Holy One kissed him, and took away his soul with a
kiss. God wept, and cried, as it were: ‘Who will rise up for Me against
the evil-doers? who will stand up for Me against the workers of
iniquity?’[45] The Holy Spirit said: ‘And there hath not arisen a
prophet since in Israel like unto Moses.’[46] The heavens wept, and
said: ‘And the upright among men is no more.’[47] When Joshua sought his
master and found him not, he wept, and said: ‘Help, O Lord, for the
godly man hath ceased; for faithfulness hath failed from the children of
men.’[48] The ministering angels said: ‘He executed the righteousness of
the Lord.’[49] Israel said: ‘And His ordinances with Israel.’[50] All of
them together said: ‘He entereth into peace, they rest in their beds,
each one that walketh in his uprightness.’[51]
The memory of the righteous is blessed, and his soul shall be in the
life of the world to come.
VI. ELEAZAR BE-RABBI KALIR
[Opinions differ as to the time and birthplace of this liturgic
poet. The latest researches, however, tend to prove that he
flourished in Palestine toward the end of the seventh century. He
was a very prolific poet, about two hundred of his poems being still
extant in the various Mahzorim. His muse is doleful, bewailing the
misfortunes of the Jewish people. His style, though chiefly biblical
in construction, teems with newly-coined words.]
1. A Complaint[52]
‘Why is the glory of kingdoms cast down and still without dominion?’
‘Bel she set up as king, and walked after him, against the law of God.
Over her was then set the mistress of kingdoms,[53] until God’s rule
shines forth.’
She burned my dwelling-place, and crushed my saints, and yet her kingdom
was prolonged. She spreads on all sides, she bends her bow against me,
and extends her yoke. She terrified and crushed the tender people; and
yet she still holds sway. She laid bare and waste my temple’s
foundation; her guile is very deep. She lifted up her head, and took
crafty counsel; her hands are exalted. Her cunning burns in her, she
soars to the sky, and is girt with sovereignty. She rent my curtains,
and destroyed my tent; she harrowed and ploughed my land. She props
herself with dominion, is girt with sovereignty, and me she harasses.
She plans rebellion, and hastes to serve strange gods;—God’s kingdom she
profanes. She tortures the King’s sons, and says before the King: ‘Who
in heaven is king over me?’
She vaunts against the King’s throne: ‘There is no king save me, none
else besides me reigns.’
O highest King, reject Thou her from sovereignty;—restore Thy dominion
to Thyself.
2. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs Intercede on Behalf of Their Exiled
Children[54]
Jeremiah went about by the fathers’ graves, and said: ‘Beloved ones, how
can ye lie at rest, while your children are banished, pierced through
with the sword? Where is then your merit in a land laid waste?’ The
patriarchs all cried with bitter lamentations, because they were bereft
of their children; with an imploring voice they moaned to the Dweller of
the skies: ‘Where is Thy pledge: “But I will for their sakes remember
the covenant of their ancestors”?’[55]
‘They changed My glory for vanity; they had no dread of Me, they feared
Me not; when I hid My face from them, they longed not, and waited not
for Me. How shall I then refrain Me when they say: “He is not our
God”?’[56]
The father of the multitude[57] cried in their behalf, and implored the
Most High God: ‘In vain was I tried ten times for their sake, since I
now behold their destruction. Where is Thy promise: “Fear not,
Abram”?’[58]
‘Ah, they have erred and gone astray from Me, and consecrated themselves
to strange gods; they counselled to hew out cisterns for them—but broken
cisterns are theirs. How shall I refrain Me, when they break the ten
commandments?’
And thus cried Isaac wofully unto the Dweller of the skies: ‘In vain was
I appointed to be slain, since my seed is crushed and ruined. Where is
Thy pledge: “But I will establish My covenant with Isaac”?’[59]
‘They rebelled against the prophet Jeremiah, and defiled mount Moriah; I
am weary of hearing the complaint which rises to Me from the earth. And
how shall I refrain Me since Zechariah is slain?’
And then spoke he who was born for study,[60] like jackals shedding
tears: ‘My little ones whom I reared with care, why did they fly away so
soon? Why was I punished a thousandfold for my blood-guilt?’
Then spoke the faithful shepherd,[61] covered with ashes, wallowing in
dust: ‘The flocks that were entrusted to my care, why were they cut off
before their time? Where is Thy pledge: “They shall not be
widowed”?’[62]
The wailing voice of Leah, tabering upon her breasts, was then heard;
her sister Rachel, too, bemoaned her sons; Zilpah struck her face;
Bilhah lamented, lifting up her hands.
‘Return, O perfect ones, unto your rest; I will fulfil all your desires.
For your sakes was I sent to Babylon;—I will return your children’s
captivity.’
VII. ELDAD HA-DANI.
[A traveller who flourished in the ninth century. According to his
narrative, he was a native of East Africa. He seems to have
travelled in Spain and Babylon.]
Eldad Leaves His Native Place Beyond the Rivers of Cush[63]
And in this manner did I go forth from beyond the rivers of Cush: I and
a Jew of the tribe of Asher boarded a small ship to trade with the
sailors. And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord caused a very
great and strong wind to blow, so that the ship was wrecked. And the
Lord ordained that I should seize hold upon a plank. And when my
companion saw this, he likewise seized hold upon that plank with me. And
we went up and down with it, until the sea cast us forth amidst a people
whose name is Romaranus. They are black Cushites of tall stature,
without clothes and without raiment; for they are like animals, and eat
men.
When we came to their country, they seized hold upon us. Seeing that my
companion was corpulent, plump, and fat, they slew him and devoured him,
while he shouted: ‘Woe is me, that I should know this people, that the
Cushites should eat my flesh.’ But me they cast aside, for I had been
sick on the ship; and they put me in chains, till I should grow fat and
plump. They brought me delicious dishes of forbidden food; but I ate
nothing, and hid the food. When they asked me whether I ate, I replied:
‘Yes, I ate.’
I stayed with them a long time, till God, blessed be He, performed a
miracle for me, and there came upon them a big army from another place,
who took them captive, and plundered them, and slew some of them. And
these took me with them among the captives. Those wicked people were
fire-worshippers; every morning they would build a great fire, to which
they would bow and prostrate themselves. I dwelt with them four years,
until they brought me one day to the city of Azin.
A Jewish merchant of the tribe of Issachar met me, and bought me for
thirty-two pieces of gold, and returned with me to his country. They
inhabit the mountains of the sea-coast, and are under the rule of Media
and Persia. And they fulfil this verse: ‘This book of the Law shall not
depart out of thy mouth.’[64] They have no yoke of the kingdom, but only
the yoke of the Law. They have among them captains of hosts, but they do
not contend with any man except about the Law. They live in prosperity
and ease; there is no adversary, nor evil occurrence. They occupy an
area of ten days’ journey by ten days’ journey, and have abundant cattle
and camels and asses and servants; but they do not rear horses. They
have no weapons, except a knife for killing animals. There is no
extortion, nor robbery among them; even if they find garments or money
on the road, they do not stretch forth their hands to take them. But
there live near them wicked people, fire-worshippers, who take their
mothers and sisters for wives. These, however, neither harm them, nor
benefit them. They have a judge; when I asked about him, they told me
that his name was Nahshon. The four modes of executing criminals are
practised by them. They speak in the holy tongue and in the Persian
tongue.
The children of Zebulun inhabit the mountains of Paran, and are on the
border of Issachar. And they make tents of hairy skins which are brought
to them from Armenia. They reach as far as the river Euphrates, and
engage in commerce. The four modes of executing criminals are practised
by them in a fitting manner.
The tribe of Reuben dwell opposite to them, behind mount Paran. They
live in peace, love, brotherhood, and friendship. They go together to
battle, and attack wayfarers; and they divide the booty among them. They
walk in the way of the kings of Media and Persia, and speak in the holy
tongue and in the Persian tongue. They possess the Bible, Mishnah,
Talmud, and Haggadah. Every Sabbath they expound the reasons for the
commandments in the holy tongue, and the explanations are given in the
Persian tongue.
The tribe of Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh dwell there, in the
mountains of Nejd, the city of Mecca, where is the idolatry of
Ishmaelites. These are of abhorred soul and cruel heart; they possess
horses, and attack wayfarers, and do not spare their enemies. They have
nothing but booty to live upon. They are great warriors; one of them
vanquishes a thousand.
The tribe of Simeon and the other half-tribe of Manasseh dwell in the
land of the Chaldeans, six months’ journey from the temple. They are
more numerous than all the others, and collect tribute from twenty-five
kingdoms; some of the Ishmaelites pay them tribute.
We in our country say that we have a tradition that ye, children of the
exile, are of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, living under the rule of
the adherents of the idolatrous religion, in the unclean land, scattered
among the Romans, who destroyed the house of our God, and among the
Greeks and Ishmaelites. May their sword enter into their own heart, and
may their bows be broken!
We also have a tradition, handed down from man to man, that we are the
children of Dan. At first we were in the land of Israel, dwelling in
tents. And there were not among all the tribes of Israel brave warriors
like us. When Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, and
made two golden calves, rebelled, so that the kingdom of the house of
David was divided, the tribes assembled together, and said: ‘Arise, and
make war against Rehoboam and against Jerusalem.’ But the children of
Dan replied: ‘Why should we fight against our brethren and against the
son of our lord, David, king of Israel and Judah? Far be it, far be it
from us!’ At that time the elders of Israel said: ‘There are no mighty
men among all the tribes of Israel like the tribe of Dan.’ Whereupon
they said to the children of Dan: ‘Arise, and make battle against the
children of Judah.’ But they replied: ‘By the life of the head of Dan
our father, we shall not make war with our brethren, and we shall not
shed their blood.’
Whereupon the children of Dan took their swords and spears and bows, and
prepared themselves to depart from the land of Israel; for we saw that
it was not possible to remain there. They said: ‘Let us go now, and find
a resting-place; for if we wait till the end, they will destroy us.’ We
took counsel, and determined to go to Egypt to lay it waste, and to
destroy all its inhabitants. But our princes said to us: ‘Is it not
written: “Ye shall see them again no more for ever?”[65] How then can ye
prosper?’ Then they said: ‘Let us go against Amalek, or against Edom, or
against Ammon and Moab, to destroy them, that we may dwell in their
place.’ But our princes replied: ‘It is written in the Torah that the
Holy One restrained the Israelites from passing through their
border.’[66]
Finally they took counsel to go to Egypt, but not by the way our fathers
had gone, nor to lay it waste, but in order to pass to the river Pishon,
to the land of Cush.
And it came to pass, when we drew near to Egypt, that trembling seized
hold upon the Egyptians. And they sent word to us: ‘Are ye for war or
for peace?’ We replied: ‘For peace: we shall pass through your land to
the river Pishon, for there we shall find a resting-place.’ And it came
to pass, because they did not believe us, that all the Egyptians stood
on their watch until we had passed through their land and reached the
land of Cush, which we found to be a good and fertile land, having
fields, vineyards, gardens, and parks. The inhabitants of Cush did not
prevent the children of Dan from dwelling with them, for we took the
land by force. And it came to pass, because we wanted to slay all of
them, that they became tributaries, paying taxes to the Israelites. And
we dwelt with them many years, until we were fruitful, and multiplied
exceedingly. And we had great wealth.
VIII. JOSIPPON
[A historical book written in biblical style. Although ascribed to
the famous historian Josephus, it is a production of the ninth
century at the earliest.]
Mattathias Charges His Sons Before His Death, and Appoints Judah Who Is
Called Maccabæus as Leader in His Stead[67]
Now the days of Mattathias drew nigh that he should die; and he called
unto his five sons, and he encouraged them, and he strengthened them
with his words. And he said unto them: ‘My sons, I know that now many
wars will be waged among you, because we arose, and bestirred ourselves
to fight for our people and for our remnant that escaped, and for the
cities of our God. And now, my sons, be jealous for the sake of your God
and for the sake of his sanctuary; and fear not death, for if ye die in
the battle of the Lord, ye will receive your reward, and ye will be in
the land of the living with our fathers. Moreover, ye will also inherit
a portion and an inheritance in the lot of their inheritance; for all
our fathers were jealous for the Lord, and our God gave them grace and
honor. Know ye not that Phinehas our father, because he was jealous for
the God of Israel, when he slew Zimri with the Midianitish woman,
received a covenant of salt for ever? And his priesthood was unto him,
and unto his seed after him, an everlasting covenant; because he was
jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel. And
the Lord our God therefore raised him above all the sons of Aaron, our
first father, and He gave him His covenant of peace. Also unto all our
fathers who were jealous for our God did our God give their reward; and
they found favor in the sight of God. Now, my sons, be strong and of
good courage, fear not, and be not dismayed on account of these unclean
nations; for they trust in their strength that perisheth and in their
might that cometh to an end, but ye trust in the strength of the Lord
our God which perisheth not and in the power of His might which cometh
not to an end. For they trust in the multitude of their troops and in
their army, but ye trust in the Lord with whom are strength and power to
save by many or by few. And the power of the horse is a vain thing for
deliverance, for deliverance is the Lord’s. Assemble yourselves, my
sons, and be like one man and of one heart; and be jealous for the God
of Israel, as your pious fathers were; and the Lord, the God of your
strength, will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon your
enemies.’
And he called unto Simon his eldest son, and charged him, and said unto
him: ‘My son, I know that the Lord has put wisdom and understanding in
thy heart. And now give, in perfect good will, thy counsel unto thyself
and unto the holy people, and withhold not, I pray thee, thyself nor thy
counsel from this people. And thou shalt be a father to thy brethren,
and they will hearken unto thee in every matter; for the Lord our God
has put in thee counsel, and wisdom, and strength.’
And Mattathias said again: ‘Call to me Judah my son.’ And he was called
unto him; and he stood before him. And he said unto him: ‘My son Judah,
whose name is called Maccabee, because of thy strength, hearken to my
counsel, so that withersoever thou turnest, thou mayest have good
success, and mayest be prosperous. I know that thou art a man of war,
and that God has put in thee power and strength, so that thy heart is as
the heart of a lion, which melteth not and feareth not. And now honor
the Lord with thy strength which He has given thee, for everything is
from Him; and go, and fight His battles without slothfulness; and be not
slothful to go to every side, and to every corner, in the east, and in
the west, and in the north, and in the south, in the holy land, to take
vengeance from the nations who defile it. And be thou unto the holy
people captain of the host and war Messiah.’[68]
And Judah answered his father, and said: ‘Behold, my lord my father, I
will do according to all which thou hast commanded me.’
And he commanded, and they brought unto him the vial of oil; and he
poured it upon his head, and he anointed him leader and war Messiah. And
all the people shouted with a great shout, and blew the trumpet, and
they said: ‘Long live the leader,’ and: ‘Long live the anointed.’
And it came to pass, when Mattathias the priest finished charging his
sons, that he expired and died, and was gathered unto his people. And
Judah his son, who was called Maccabee because of his strength, arose in
his stead from among his sons, to be leader and anointed. And his
brethren and all his father’s house and all the congregation of the
pious helped him. And he buried his father with great honor. And after
that Judah put on a coat of mail as a mighty man; and he girded his
armor upon his loins; and he went down to the uncircumcised, who were
encamped round the mountain, which they came to take. And he smote among
them eight thousand and two hundred of their mighty men. And he judged
Israel with his sword; and he purged out the violent from them, and he
destroyed them. And he trod down to the earth the strangers that were in
all the borders of Israel. And the wicked were discomfited through their
dread of him, and the wrong-doers were dismayed through their fear of
him. And it was that, when he shouted, his voice was as the voice of the
roaring of a lion on the day he roars to tear the prey. And all Israel
rejoiced in his deeds, and exulted in his work. And all the world was
terrified because of his fame. Then were kings, greater and mightier
than he, dismayed; and trembling seized hold upon the chiefs of the
earth and the kings thereof. And his name went forth among the nations
to the end of all the earth; and the tales of the wonders of his war and
the terrors of his mighty deeds reached to the end of the earth. And
when he was gathered unto his people, all the seed of Israel praised
him, and honored him. And they spoke, saying: ‘May the spirit of the
Lord cause him to rest, and may he dwell in the secret place of the Most
High, and abide under the shadow of the Almighty, under the tree of
life.’
And he went from city to city, and slew all the wicked of the people of
Judah, who were destroying the people of Israel.
IX. SA’ADYA GAON B. JOSEPH
[This great Gaon was born at Fayyum, Egypt, in 892. He settled in
Babylon, and, though a foreigner, was appointed Gaon of Sura. His
many-sided activities and achievements are astounding in their
magnitude. He discharged his duties as Gaon with stupendous energy,
and found time to write numerous books on grammar, lexicography,
exegesis, philosophy, Halakah, and liturgy. He excelled in almost
all branches, as may be readily seen from his works that are still
extant. His greatest achievement was in the domain of biblical
philology. Most of his works were written in Arabic, but he was also
a master of Hebrew style. He carried on an effective campaign
against the Karaites and other sectarians. He died 942.]
A Prayer Entitled _Magen U-Mehayyeh_ (Shield and Quickener)[69]
He remembers the lovingkindnesses of the fathers, and answers the
children in the time of their distress, because of His name which is
called upon them, and because of the merit of their fathers, as He has
done from the days of old, and wrought for them this work; as it is
written: ‘And the Lord was gracious unto them.…’[70] We therefore ask of
Thee, O Lord our God, these three things: to be gracious unto us, to
have mercy upon us, and to turn unto us. I beseech Thee, O Lord, be
gracious unto us by accepting our prayer; as it is written: ‘Behold, as
the eyes of servants, …’[71]
I beseech Thee, O Lord, be gracious unto us by accepting our repentance,
and by pardoning us; as it is written: ‘Therefore thus saith the Lord
God: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have compassion
upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy
name.’[72] I beseech Thee, O Lord, turn unto us, and fulfil our request
for life; as it is written: ‘And I will have respect unto you, and make
you fruitful.…’[73] For Thy covenant stands fast forever, and Thy
faithfulness is as the days of heaven, and Thy righteousness shall be
forever, and Thy salvation unto all generations. O King that art a
Savior and a Shield: Blessed art thou, O Lord, Shield of Abraham.
Thou art on high for ever, O Lord, mighty from eternity to eternity;
from everlasting to everlasting Thou art God. Thy lovingkindness is in
the heavens, and Thy faithfulness reaches unto the skies. Thou makest
Thy might known to the sons of men, and Thy excellence is over Israel.
From the uttermost part of the earth are Thy songs, and all the ends of
the earth are filled with Thy praise. Thou art the life of all eternal
life, and the life of all the living comes from before Thee. Thou
fashionest them all with the four kinds of life, which Thou establishest
in them to keep them alive.[74] At first with the spirit of light, for
the light of the spirit completes their soul. The foundations of the
world which Thou hast stretched forth may be searched out, but Thy
praise shall not depart; for the mountains may depart, but Thy kingdom
shall not vanish; the hills may be removed, but Thy mercies shall not
fail. Man is too brutish to know Thy creatures; man is put to shame, and
fathoms not the mystery of Thy beings. The wise are too foolish to speak
of Thy might, and as for them who enumerate Thy works, their tongue
stammers. The singers find no strength, and as for the minstrels after
them, there is no speech in their lips. Even the holy Living Creatures
cannot declare all Thy glory, and even the ministering angels cannot
tell all Thy praises. Above all songs and hymns art Thou glorified with
Thy praises, lauded with Thy hymns, exalted for Thy favors, sanctified
in Thy congregations, sung among Thy hosts, glorified for Thy miracles,
crowned for Thy might, declared powerful in Thy books, extolled for Thy
victories, proclaimed King for Thy dominion, beloved for Thy teachings,
honored for Thy attributes, respected for Thy unity, set on high for Thy
purity, prayers are offered to Thee for Thy strength, Thy melodies are
chanted to Thee; Thou art met in Thy meeting-places, declared majestic
for Thy splendor, sought for Thy words, magnified for Thy might, blessed
for Thy blessings, declared strong because of all the things Thou didst
create in Thy universe: Because of the sun when it rises and when it
sets; because of the moon when it stands in the midst of the heaven;
because of the stars when they shoot their arrows on the earth, and when
they grow dark and withdraw their shining; because of the heavens which
are sometimes bright, while at other times they become gloomy and clothe
themselves with darkness; because of the lightnings when they dart
forth; because of the arrows when they go abroad; because of the
whirlwind when it blows; because of the storm when it rages; because of
the clouds when they pour out water, and the skies when they give forth
a sound; because of the rain when it comes down in abundance; because of
the flood of mighty waters that sweeps over the earth; because of the
earth when it puts forth grass; because of the fruit-tree when it brings
forth its fruit; because of life when it is fashioned, brought to the
birth and produced; because of the strength of the young men and the
splendor of the old men; because of the day when it gives us light;
because of the night when it grows dark for us; because of the months
when they are renewed; because of the years when they are changed;
because of the kingdoms of the earth to which Thou givest dominion (Thou
shalt also cause them to pass away, and raise others in their stead);
because of Thy people Israel whom Thou didst chastise in judgment (Thou
shalt also bring them back, and restore their pristine glory to them).
Above all hymns and praises shall Thy name be sanctified, O God, that
art mighty and strong; purified and blessed; exalted and great; Thou art
a distinguished Judge, Thou art declared majestic, and all meditate in
Thee; Thou are eternal and faithful; Thou art pure and sustainest all;
Thou art pious and wise, good and pure; Thou art the only One and art
upright, powerful and perfect; clothing and capturing; O exalted King,
that art strong and trusted, enduring and forgiving, mighty and most
high, redeeming and delivering, watchful and righteous, holy and
jealous, lofty and compassionate, Lord and Keeper, perfect and mighty.
He is mentioned on the earth, and it quakes; on the lightnings, and they
run; on the burning coals, and they are extinguished; on the pestilence,
and it rages; on the mountains, and they are rent; on the child, and it
goes forth; on the tempests, and they subside; on the woman with child,
and she brings forth; on the diseased, and he is healed; on the sea, and
it was divided; on the chain, and it is loosened; on the lion, and he
turns back; on the water, and it stands still; on the river, and it
turns back; on Satan, and he is stupefied; on the world, and it exists;
on the afflicted, and he is cured; on the rock, and it brings forth
water; on the eloquent, and he becomes silent; on the thunder, and it
ceases; on the adamant, and it breaks in pieces; on the depth, and it
overflows. All this is because of the glory of Thy name. For as Thy name
so is Thy praise, and in Thy name do Thy people exult, and for Thy
name’s sake dost Thou defer Thine anger, and givest glory to Thy name.
For whosoever knows Thy name stands in awe of Thy name; and he who keeps
it mentions it with fear, with purity, and with holiness. For according
to Thy glory didst Thou hide it from the multitude of the sons of men,
and it is transmitted only to him who is meek and of lowly spirit; who
fears God, does not get angry, and does not insist upon his ways. Yet in
every generation didst Thou make plain part of the mystery thereof.
X. NATHAN HA-BABLI
[A scholar who flourished in Babylon in the tenth century. His
descriptions of the Babylonian academies are obviously those of an
eye-witness.]
The Installation of an Exilarch[75]
When the community agreed to appoint an exilarch, the two heads of the
academies, with their pupils, the heads of the community, and the elders
assembled in the house of a prominent man in Babylon, one of the great
men of the generation, as, for instance, Netira, or a similar man. That
man in whose house the meeting took place was honored thereby, and it
was regarded as a mark of distinction; his esteem was enhanced, when the
great men and the elders assembled in his house.
On Thursday they assembled in the synagogue, blessed the exilarch, and
placed their hands on him. They blew the horn, that all the people,
small and great, might hear. When the people heard the proclamation,
every member of the community sent him a present, according to his power
and means. All the heads of the community and the wealthy members sent
him magnificent clothes and beautiful ornaments, vessels of silver and
vessels of gold, each man according to his ability. The exilarch
prepared a banquet on Thursday and on Friday, giving all kinds of food,
and all kinds of drinks, and all kinds of dainties, as, for instance,
different kinds of sweetmeats.
When he arose on Sabbath morning to go to the synagogue, many of the
prominent men of the community met him to go with him to the synagogue.
At the synagogue a wooden pulpit had been prepared for him on the
previous day, the length of which was seven cubits, and the breadth of
which was three cubits. They spread over it magnificent coverings of
silk, blue, purple, and scarlet, so that it was entirely covered, and
nothing was seen of it. Under the pulpit there entered distinguished
youths, with melodious and harmonious voices, who were well-versed in
the prayers and all that appertains thereto. The exilarch was concealed
in a certain place together with the heads of the academies, and the
youths stood under the pulpit. No man sat there. The precentor of the
synagogue would begin the prayer _Blessed be He who spoke_, and the
youths, after every sentence of that prayer, would respond: ‘Blessed be
He.’ When he chanted the Psalm of the Sabbath day,[76] they responded
after him: ‘It is good to give thanks unto the Lord.’ All the people
together read the ‘verses of song,’[77] until they finished them. The
precentor then arose, and began the prayer _The breath of all living_,
and the youths responded after him: ‘Shall bless Thy name’; he chanted a
phrase, and they responded after him, until they reached the ‘Kedushah,’
which was said by the congregation with a low voice, and by the youths
with a loud voice. Then the youths remained silent, and the precentor
alone completed the prayer up to _He redeemed Israel_. All the people
then stood up to say the Eighteen Benedictions. When the precentor,
repeating these Benedictions, reached the ‘Kedushah,’ the youths
responded after him with a loud voice: ‘The Holy God.’ When he had
completed the prayer, all the congregation sat down. When all the people
were seated, the exilarch came out from the place where he was
concealed. Seeing him come out, all the people stood up, until he sat
down on the pulpit, which had been made for him. Then the head of the
academy of Sura came out after him, and after exchanging courtesies with
the exilarch, sat down on the pulpit. Then the head of the academy of
Pumbeditha came out, and he, too, made a bow, and sat down at his left.
During all this time the people stood upon their feet, until these three
were properly seated: the exilarch sat in the middle, the head of the
academy of Sura at his right, and the head of the academy of Pumbeditha
at his left, empty places being left between the heads of the academies
and the exilarch. Upon his place, over his head, above the pulpit, they
spread a magnificent covering, fastened with cords of fine linen and
purple. Then the precentor put his head under the exilarch’s canopy in
front of the pulpit, and with blessings that had been prepared for him
on the preceding days he blessed him with a low voice, so that they
should be heard only by those who sat round the pulpit, and by the
youths who were under it. When he blessed him, the youths responded
after him with a loud voice: ‘Amen!’ All the people were silent until he
had finished his blessings.
Then the exilarch would begin to expound matters appertaining to the
biblical portion of that day, or would give permission to the head of
the academy of Sura to deliver the exposition, and the head of the
academy of Sura would give permission to the head of the academy of
Pumbeditha. They would thus show deference to one another, until the
head of the academy of Sura began to expound. The interpreter stood near
him, and repeated his words to the people. He expounded with awe,
closing his eyes, and wrapping himself up with his tallith, so that his
forehead was covered. While he was expounding, there was not in the
congregation one that opened his mouth, or chirped, or uttered a sound.
If he became aware that any one spoke, he would open his eyes, and fear
and terror would fall upon the congregation. When he finished his
exposition, he would begin with a question, saying: ‘Verily, thou
needest to learn.’ And an old man who was wise, understanding, and
experienced would stand up, and make a response on the subject, and sit
down. Then the precentor stood up, and recited the Kaddish. When he
reached the words _during your life and in your days_, he would say:
‘During the life of our prince the exilarch, and during your life, and
during the life of all the house of Israel.’
When he had finished the Kaddish, he would bless the exilarch, and then
the heads of the academies. Having finished the blessing, he would stand
up and say: ‘Such and such a sum was contributed by such and such a city
and its villages;’ and he mentioned all the cities which sent
contributions for the academy, and blessed them. Afterwards he blessed
the men who busied themselves in order that the contributions should
reach the academies. Then he would take out the Book of the Law, and
call up a priest, and a Levite after him. While all the people were
standing, the precentor of the synagogue would bring down the Book of
the Law to the exilarch, who took it in his hands, stood up, and read in
it. The heads of the academies stood up with him, and the head of the
academy of Sura translated it to him. Then he would give back the Book
of the Law to the precentor, who returned it to the ark. When the
precentor reached the ark, he sat down in his place, and then all the
men sat down in their places. After the exilarch the instructors read in
the Book of the Law, and they were followed by the pupils of the heads
of the academies; but the heads of the academies themselves did not read
on that day, because someone else preceded them. When the Maftir read
the last portion, a prominent and wealthy man stood near him, and
translated it. This was a mark of distinction and honor for that man.
When he finished reading, the precentor again blessed the exilarch by
the Book of the Law, and all the readers who were experienced and
well-versed in the prayers stood round the ark, and said: ‘Amen!’
Afterwards he blessed the two heads of the academies, and returned the
Book of the Law to its place. They then prayed the additional prayer,
and left the synagogue.
XI. JOSEPH B. ISAAC IBN ABITOR
[Flourished in Spain during the tenth century. Owing to some
quarrels, he left his native country, and went to Damascus. He was
an eminent talmudic scholar and liturgic poet, and is said to have
translated the entire Talmud into Arabic. Only a small number of his
poems have been preserved, but they tend to show that he was a
skilful poet with intense religious fervor. Some of them are of
ingenious and complicated structure.]
1. Hymn Based on Psalm 120[78]
O God, be gracious unto me on the day I hasten to praise Thee; forgive
my sins, and judge me not according to my deeds; when with a Song of
Ascents I cry to Thee, make clear to me: ‘_In my distress I called unto
the Lord, and He answered me._’
For Thee, O God, my soul has ever pined; through the abundance of my
sins I have no respite; wipe off, I pray Thee, all my sins, the known
and the unknown,—_O Lord, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a
deceitful tongue._
I said unto deceitful Uz[79]: ‘Shalt thou for ever walk upright in thy
wantonness? Gehenna is prepared for thee as thy apportioned lot.—_What
shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee, thou
deceitful tongue?_’
My presumptuous sins are marked before Thee; they are bound up in
bundles, engraved, and sealed. Prepare a feast for them that are benign
to the guileless people;—_sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of
broom_!
Majestic Lord, before Thee are my sorrows; among the multitude of thorns
I am well-nigh destroyed. But a short while I lived in magnificent
dwellings; _woe is me, that I sojourn with Meshech, that I dwell beside
the tents of Kedar_.
All my oppressors smite me with horror; in the presence of my enemies I
feel deeply ashamed; all the backsliders hate me with an everlasting
hate; _my soul hath full long had her dwelling with him that hateth
peace_.
O Most High, console Thy people that is disconsolate; to her that is
unpitied turn Thou, and be merciful. My adversaries say: ‘No comfort
shalt thou ever see.’—_I am all peace; but when I speak, they are for
war._
Whenever it is time for praise, I cry to Thee, my God; as I set forth my
prayers, show Thy kindness unto me. To praise Thee, O Praised One, I
kept awake at night—accept Thou then my prayer with the Song of Ascents.
2. Hymn Based on Psalm 121
When I come, O Creator, to proclaim Thy unity, turn unto me! Forgive my
sins, and heed not my wicked thoughts; with this my Song of Ascents I
cry unto Thee, O my Crown. _I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
from whence shall my help come?_
Woe to the daughter who derides the ancients of the earth; but when I
hear her mockery, I boldly answer thus: ‘My Redeemer lives for ever; He
dwells in the lofty skies—_my help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven
and earth_.’
The persecutor smites the multitudes who extol Thee (behold, they have
no other hope but in Thy words alone); presumptuously he mocks the words
of Thy Psalms: _He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth
thee will not slumber._
When the wanton ones take counsel together, they plan to destroy
the remnant of Ariel; but Israel says: Trust ye in God our
Redeemer;—_behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor
sleep_.
May now the trust of Thy believers be made strong and firm, according to
the psalmist’s words who sings Thy songs of joy: When terror seizes
thee, the Lord shall be thy refuge; _the Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is
thy shade upon thy right hand_.
My trust I put in Thee, O Dweller in the skies above; I stay myself upon
the psalmist’s words who sings jubilantly: In thy Creator put thy trust,
always rely on Him; _the sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon
by night_.
The multitude of Thy saints come before Thee; they loudly sing Thy
praises in Thy holy sanctuaries; the remnant of them that seek Thee say
to one another: ‘_The Lord shall keep thee from all evil; He shall keep
thy soul._’
All Thy beloved ones together raise their voice, and say: ‘With perfect
heart sing ye unto the Living God; He who understands all secrets will
hear your cry; _The Lord shall guard thy going out and thy coming in,
from this time forth and for ever_.’
3. Hymn Based on Psalm 122
When I draw nigh to extol Thee amidst a poor and needy people,
strengthen Thou my remnant scattered in all regions. With this my Song
of Ascents I cry to Thee, O King: _I rejoiced when they said unto me:
‘Let us go unto the house of the Lord_.’
For my perversity I have been given twofold punishment; announce Thou
consolations to the barefoot people.[80] The people, whose feet Thou
makest strong, shall proclaim Thy greatness;—_our feet are standing
within thy gates, O Jerusalem_!
Establish Thou the pillars of Thy desolate temple; the measurements
thereof make wondrous fair, and wide, and long. This miracle shall
strike with confusion him who destroyed the desirable things thereof:
_Jerusalem that was built as a city that is compact together_.
The righteous song regard with favor; may it be Thy will to gladden with
the redeemer’s coming them that trust in Thee. Thy banished children
shall go up to erect Ariel, _whither the tribes went up, even the tribes
of the Lord, as a testimony unto Israel_.
Destroy them that strive with me, and increase their tribulations;
enslave the tyrant;—_for there were set thrones for judgment, the
thrones of the house of David_.
Bring good tidings to them that sanctify Thee and sing Thy words—they
that are led by a fiery wall near Thee; I shall rejoice near Thy shield,
and hear Thy pleasing words: ‘_Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may they
prosper that love thee._’
O city of the Lord, rejoice, and increase thy lays; burst forth with
song, exult, make thy melodies great; I shall fill thy utterances with
joy and exultation; _peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within
thy palaces_.
They that wait for Thy utterance shall lift up their voice together;
they that sanctify Thy unity shall sing new melodies; they that are
satisfied with bliss from Thee shall proclaim peace; _for my brethren
and companions’ sakes I will now say_: ‘_Peace be within thee._’
Increase the glory of the stronghold in Thy border; mayest Thou hear
from Thy habitation the praises which we utter; may the wisdom of Thy
anointed be spoken in Thy temple: _for the sake of the house of the Lord
our God I will seek thy good_.
4. Hymn Based on Psalm 123
When I seek Thee amongst them that proclaim Thy unity twice, that hope
for the day of Thy wonders to be redeemed from their two exiles, I pour
out my heart like water in the Song of Ascents; _unto Thee I lift mine
eyes, O Thou that art enthroned in the heavens_.
O Give ear unto Thy people’s groans and hear their supplications, when
they draw near to Thee to set forth their hymns of praise, and when,
humbly kneeling, they lift their eyes to Thee: _behold, as the eyes of
servants unto the hand of their master_.
Deliver from destruction them that seek Thy face; hasten Thy salvation
in due time to them that pray for it; look on the afflicted people’s
woes, when it renders thanks to Thee: _as the eyes of a maiden unto the
hand of her mistress_.
Remember Thy lovingkindness, O God, our Shield; O pity us, have mercy,
and forgive our sins; O Thou that art pure, we ever seek Thee, answer
us;—_so our eyes look unto the Lord our God, until He be gracious unto
us_.
Despise not the woes of the remnant of the plundered ones, for the tents
of Uz and Buz devoured and destroyed them; Jeush hastes to trample on
us, and Buz[81] speeds to spoil; _be gracious unto us, O Lord, be
gracious unto us; for we are full sated with contempt_.
Tribulations have beset us, and have humbled our heads; we have been
left groaning, entangled in our snares. Through the abundance of our
guilt, with filth and bitterness _our soul is full sated_.
The company of the needy ones, that have escaped and still remain, hope
for Thy righteous acts, O Highest of all high. They that are filled with
tribulations set forth their meditations;—_with the scorning of those
that are at ease and with the contempt of the proud oppressors_.
XII. HAI B. SHERIRA GAON
[The last Gaon of the academy at Pumbeditha. He was an eminent
authority on the Talmud, and numerous responsa written by him are
still extant. He was the author of commentaries on talmudic
treatises and of a dictionary of difficult words occurring in the
Bible, Targum, and Talmud. He also acquired fame as a poet, and was
one of the first to employ the Arabic metre in Hebrew poetry. He
died 1038.]
Maxims and Admonitions[82]
Let thy tongue be imprisoned in thy mouth, and in company be thou like
one that is mute.
Loose not a lion that is bound by thy chain, for if thou settest him
free, he will devour thee.
Cast not thy gaze upon thy neighbor’s wife, and thine own helpmate keep
inside the house; it is glory for women and grace for men that women
should not look upon strange men.
Make no partnership, though thou needest aid; transact no business with
thy kith and kin.
Dwell not too long by the river; turn to the mountain on account of the
rain.
Sow goodness, that thou mayest reap pleasantness, and thy reward from
God shall be complete.
Be perfect and upright with God, and seek not that which is too high.
Keep away from imbeciles, from deaf and dumb, and from women; have no
quarrels with them.
If thou hast not acquired wisdom and understanding, sit near the judges
of the people when they preside.
Be not ashamed to learn and to seek knowledge; be a tail to the wise, so
that thou mayest become a head.
It is wisdom to tread in the ways of faith; to fear God and to depart
from evil is understanding.
Be near the judges of the community, and buy thy things in the proper
manner of transaction. For thy possessions choose good witnesses,—they
will relieve thee from strife.
It is better for thee to visit mourners than to go to the house of
feasting and rejoicing.
Reveal not to an enemy that which is in thy heart; uproot his enmity, if
thou hatest him not.
Inquire about the sick, and visit them with a cure; speak comfortingly
unto embittered men.
Depart from quarrel, and flee from strife, and stand not upon the verge
of a pit and an abyss.
Honor thy parents, and also thy kinsmen and all that seek their peace.
If thou drawest nigh unto the shadow of a king, know that thou standest
near a lion. Then other men shall be exceedingly afraid of thee, but thy
fear shall also be great and awful.
Thou shouldst not hold the horns of a fierce bull, and do not seize the
bridle of a lion.
Grieve not if unto thee a daughter is born; trust in God, exult and
rejoice in thy lot. At times a daughter is better than a son; she is
good and pure to her parents. Take delight in whatsoever comes from God,
and say: ‘This also is for the best!’
It is better that thy daughter should go down to the grave as a maiden
than that she should beseech a man.
Buy thee a dwelling among the upright; depart from the habitation of the
covetous and envious.
XIII. SAMUEL HA-NAGID
[Born at Cordova 993, and died at Granada 1055. He was famous as a
poet, Halakist, and philologist, and was the author of a treatise on
the methodology of the Talmud. Some medieval Jewish critics
considered him the greatest Hebrew poet. This view, however, cannot
be maintained, as he was certainly surpassed by Ibn Gebirol and
Judah ha-Levi. He was for some time vizier at the court of King
Habus. His poems, perhaps more than those of any other poet of that
epoch, resemble the Arabic poems very closely.]
1. On Leaving Cordova[83]
The soul is deprived of that which it desires, and that which it asks is
withheld from it. Although the body is plump, and fed, and fat, the
glorious soul is not yet satisfied. A humble man walks on the earth, and
yet his thoughts reach unto the skies. Of what avail is it to man to
have his body’s pleasures, while his soul is distressed? Some friends
there are who harm and profit not; they have big bodies, but their minds
are small. They think that to increase my riches I depart from my
dwelling-place and roam about—though the locks of my head are
dishevelled and mine eye is painted with night’s stibium. My friends
know not the secrets of my heart; indeed my friends spoke not knowingly.
Their soul knows nought, nor does it understand; it is like the soul of
a cloven-footed beast.
Shall he refrain himself, whose soul is like a moon, and, like the moon,
strives to soar high? And shall he rest until he girds his loins with
her wings, as one girds on a cloth, and till his deeds are heard
throughout the world, and like the ocean is his fame increased?
I swear by God and by His worshippers (assuredly, my like shall keep his
oath) that I will ascend the rocks on foot, and go down to the deepest
pit; The borders of the desert will I join, and cross the ocean in a
boat with sails; I shall roam about until I soar and rise to a height
that forever shall be known. With terrors shall I then inspire my foes,
but my friends shall find salvation in me. The ears of freemen shall I
bore through[84] as slaves’, and mine ear, too, shall be bored through
by my friends.
I have a soul that sustains my friends, but from my adversaries it is
withheld. In it there is for thee a garden filled with friendship,
planted by the brook of love; it is that friendship which is kept from
early youth, like a signet fixed in a ring; it is engraved like the
green gravings in a window cut out in the door of a palace.
May God be with thee as thou lovest, and may thy soul, which He loves,
be redeemed from the hand of foes. May the God of deliverance send thee
salvation, till there be no sun and moon!
2. On Having Been Saved in Mid-Ocean from a Tunny Fish[85]
Shall he that falls and stumbles rise again, and he that roams and
wanders find repose? Shall I be raised yet once more, although my feet
stumbled, and my ankle slipped?
In my soul are all the things that offer help and consolation to the
stricken souls; but confusion reigns in the souls of them that came to
gloat over me in the day of my discomfiture. They think that troublous
times never change, a waste land shall not be inhabited. Yet God does
raise them that He humbled and brought low; and He has mysteries, His
way is hid.
O hear this word, and know that not in vain does God keep me alive upon
the earth; and then shalt thou receive the evil days with cheerful
heart, closed mouth, and bridled thought. Let thine ear be deaf to
dissenters, and thine eye closed from seeing backsliders, who are like
Hofni in Shiloh,[86] or like Zimri with the Midianite woman,[87] or
Onan[88] with his brother’s wife.
O hear this word, exalt God in thy house, and on thy way, whilst thou
sittest or standest.
* * * * *
Her head is as a row boat in size, with a countenance raised very high;
she has eyes like fountains, a nostril like a furnace, and temples like
a wall. Her mouth is deep and wide like a cave; when thirsty, she pours
a stream into it. Her lips resemble two inflated skin-bottles, and
between them is a hole like that of a torn garment. White is her body,
green her back; her neck is like a tower, her belly is like a heap. Her
fins are like a keen-edged sword; her scales look like a red buckler. To
them that watch, her structure is like a rock projecting in mid-ocean.
When she came swimming round about the boat, no one uttered aught, nor
breathed a word. Then she drew nigh unto the sides of the boat, and
stood on her tail which was as a cedar or a vine.
The hearts of all men melted like wax, like water, or a stream that is
swept away. Through grief I stilled me like a lamb that becomes mute on
the day of slaughter. Then I thought of my God, while others at my side
thought of gods like Ashima.[89] I said: ‘It is true, in such or such a
way transgressions ensnare the guilty soul; though Jonah through piety
was vomited from the sea on land, but what am I? My God, stay Thy wrath,
for this calamity awakened me (for I had been slumbering). But if I
deserve this punishment, may it be an atonement for my great guilt.’
She then sank into the water, like the host which God had cast and
thrown into the sea, and came beneath to overthrow the boat; (all hearts
stood still, and every breath was gone). But God rebuked her, so that
she returned in a moment to her abode in the depth of the sea. Thus to
small worms He brought salvation, upon a beam daubed all around with
pitch. The dead restored He from the grave, and with His high and lofty
hand He saved the drowning.
All men who know the ocean marvelled, and said: ‘Wherefore, and how did
these escape? for hitherto no boat has yet been saved from this accursed
monster of the deep.’
I answered them: ‘Thus God’s redemption is majestic and complete to them
that know the glory of His splendor; He works salvation for them that
know Him, and takes vengeance upon them that provoke Him. His are the
sea, the beasts, and the waters of the great deep—all of them He hung on
nought. What is this beast against the Lord, who made her reign supreme,
and gave her strength and might?’
To God I will render the thanks of them that are redeemed—it shall be
set and put in my mouth. I declare that, unlike created things, my Rock
has no beginning and no end; I declare that the dead shall be quickened,
when the end of the mysterious heptad[90] comes; that Moses and the
Torah which is in our hands are true—it is marked with perfection; that
the words of our sages are straight and upright, their Talmud and their
Mishnah are pleasant; that there is a goodly reward for the pure in the
next world, a recompense for them that die for the sake of the
traditional law. God has dominion over land and sea, over heaven, the
Great Bear, and Pleiades. His fear is put upon my countenance, and His
Torah is perfect in my heart.
XIV. SOLOMON B. JUDAH IBN GEBIROL
[Deep thinker and lyric poet. One of the most original and noblest
minds of medieval Jewry. He was born at Malaga about 1021, and died
at Valencia about 1058. In his philosophic works and in his poems
which are still extant one discerns a spirit that strives to soar
high and to attain to the loftiest state of mental development. In
his soul mystic and rational elements are wonderfully blended. He
had great influence upon subsequent writers.]
1. On Leaving Saragossa[91]
My throat became dried from crying, my tongue cleaved unto my palate; my
heart flutters because of my great anguish and pain. Great is my sorrow,
that it no longer allows mine eyes to slumber.
To whom shall I speak and complain? to whom shall I declare my grief?
Would there were one to comfort and to pity me, who would hold my right
hand! I would pour out my heart to him, and would relate some of my
woes. Perchance by uttering my grief the tempest of my heart may subside
a little.
O thou who inquirest about my peace, draw nigh, and hearken! My roaming
is as the sea’s. If thy heart were as adamant, it would melt from my
affliction. How canst thou think I am alive, while thou knowest my
languishment? Alas! I dwell in the midst of a people that thinks my
right hand is my left. I am interred, but not in a desert—my coffin is
within my house. I am motherless and fatherless, distressed and lonely,
young and poor. Alone, without a brother, I have no other friend but my
thoughts. I mix my flowing tears with blood, and then my wine is mixed
with tears. I thirst for a friend, but I shall be consumed ere my thirst
is slaked. The heavens and their host prevent me from attaining my
desire. I am counted like a stranger or sojourner, my dwelling is
amongst ostriches; among the crooked and the fools, who think that they
are very wise: the one gives to drink the venom of asps, the other,
flattering, smooths the head; but he lays an ambush in his heart, though
he says to thee: ‘I pray thee, my lord.’ They are a people whose fathers
I would disdain to set with the dogs of my flock. Their faces never
blush with shame, unless they are dyed with scarlet. Like giants are
they in their sight, in my sight they are like locusts. When I take up
my parable, they chide me, as they would chide a Greek: ‘Speak a tongue
that we understand, for this speech is of an Ashkelonite.’
I shall now crush them as mire, for my tongue is like a sharp spear. If
their ear is deaf to me, of what avail can be my bell? Unworthy are
their necks to be adorned with the gold of my crescents.
Oh that the fools would open their mouth to receive the spring-rain of
my clouds! My perfume would I drop on them, my saffron and my cinnamon.
Woe unto knowledge, woe to me! In the midst of such a people do I dwell!
They count the knowledge of God as witchcraft and as sorcery.
I therefore lament and wail, I lie all night in sackcloth. I am bowed
down as a bulrush, and fast on the second and fifth days of every week.
What shall I hope for, while I live? in what then shall I put my faith?
Mine eye roams about in this world, but it beholds not what I desire. Oh
death is precious in my sight, because I disdain this earth. If my heart
turns to her ways, may my tongue cleave to my palate! My soul rejects
her glory, for her honor is disgrace in mine eyes. I never shall rejoice
in her, my pride shall not exult in her, even if the constellations
would call to me: ‘Turn in, and sit with us, O lord.’ For this earth has
become to me as a yoke upon my neck. What else is left me in this world,
except to endure my blindness?
My soul complains aloud, for it found not as yet my abode. I am weary of
my life, and loathe that my flesh should lord over me. For its rejoicing
is my grief; and when it sorrows, I rejoice. I seek to know, and I shall
find true knowledge when my flesh and vigor are gone. For after grief
comes relief, after leanness comes my nourishment.
All my life I shall search and seek the commands of Solomon my ancestor.
Perchance He who lays bare deep things will reveal wisdom to mine eye;
for this alone is my portion from all my labor and wealth.
2. A Vow to Seek Wisdom[92]
A soul whose raging tempests wildly rise, whither shall she send her
meditations? She rages, and is like a flame of fire, whose smoke
constantly ascends. This time her meditations are like a wheel that
turns around on the earth and the multitudes thereof, or like the seas
wherein the earth’s foundations were fastened: ‘How canst thou be so
strong and filled with courage, that thou disdainest a place upon the
stars? From the path of wisdom turn thou away thy heart; the world shall
then smooth thy path for thee.’
Oh comfort ye my soul for that, my friends, and likewise for her sorrows
comfort her; she thirsts for a man of prudence, but finds not a man to
slake her thirst. Seek ye amongst the men of fame, perchance there may
be one to grant her desires. If this world sins against me, my heart
will regard it disdainfully. If it cannot see my light with its eye, let
the world then be contented with its blindness. But afterwards, if it
appeases me, I shall turn round, and forgive its sins. The earthly
sphere would then be good; the hand of Time would place no yoke upon the
wise.
Oh too much wrong didst thou commit; long have the gourds been as cedars
of the earth. Despise the vile ones of the people, for stones are less
burdensome to me than they. Cut off the tail of them that say to me:
‘Where is then wisdom and her votaries?’ Oh that the world would judge
them aright! oh that it would give food unto her sons! They would then
rest, not toil, and would attain their goal, without knowing worldly
joys. Some took the sun’s daughters, and begot folly, but they were not
its sons-in-law.[93]
Why do ye chide me for my understanding, O ye thorns and briers of the
earth? If wisdom is of light esteem to you, vile and despised are ye in
her sight. Though she is closed, and reaches not your heart, lo, I shall
open her chests. How shall I now abandon wisdom, since God’s spirit made
a covenant between us? or how shall she forsake me, since she is like a
mother to me and I am the child of her old age? or like an ornament
which adorns the soul, or like a necklace on her neck. How can ye say to
me: ‘Take off thy ornaments, and remove the precious chain from her
neck’? In her my heart rejoices, and is glad, because her rivers of
delights are pure. Throughout my life I shall make my soul ascend until
her abode is beyond the clouds. For she adjured me not to rest, until I
find the knowledge of her Master.
3. The Royal Crown[94]
This my prayer may avail a man to learn righteousness and purity;
therein I declared wonders of the living God, briefly, not at length. I
placed this hymn above all my hymns; wherefore I named it ‘Royal Crown.’
Wonderful are Thy works, and that my soul knows right well! Thine, O
Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the eminence,
and the majesty. Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art the One
exalted as head above all; and Thine are riches and glory. Unto Thee do
the creatures from above and beneath testify that they shall perish, but
Thou shalt endure. Thine is that power whose mystery our minds fail to
fathom, for Thou art too mighty for us. Thine is the hiding-place of
might, the mystery and the foundation. Thine is the name which is
concealed from the men of wisdom, and the power which sustains the
universe on nothing, and the ability to bring every hidden thing to
light. Thine is the lovingkindness which is great toward Thy creatures,
and the bliss which is stored up for them that fear Thee. Thine are the
mysteries which no intellect nor mind can contain, and the life over
which decay has no dominion, and the throne which is exalted above all
the highest, and the habitation which is concealed in the height of the
hiding-place. Thine is the existence from the shadow of whose light
every being was created, of which we say: ‘Under its shadow we live.’
Thine are the two worlds between which Thou didst set a boundary: the
first for deeds and the second for recompense. Thine is the recompense
which Thou didst store up and hide for the righteous, for when Thou
didst see that it was good, Thou didst conceal it.
Thou art one, the first of every number, and the foundation of every
structure. Thou art one, and at the mystery of Thy oneness the wise are
perplexed, for they know not what it is. Thou art one, and Thy oneness
can neither increase nor decrease; it can neither be diminished, nor can
aught be added to it. Thou art one, but not such a one as can be
possessed or numbered; for neither increase nor change, neither
qualification nor attribute can be conceived of Thee. Thou art one, but
my imagination fails to set a limit and a bound about Thee; I have
therefore said: ‘I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my
tongue.’ Thou art one, too high and too exalted to be brought low and to
fall, for how can the One fall?
Thou art existent, but the hearing of the ear and the sight of the eye
cannot perceive Thee; nor can the How? the Wherefore? or the Whence? be
applied to Thee. Thou art existent, but by Thyself, and there is none
other with Thee. Thou art existent, and hadst been before time was, and
didst abide without space. Thou art existent, but Thy mystery is hidden,
who can reach it? exceeding deep, who can find it out?
Thou art living, but not from any fixed time, nor from any known period.
Thou art living, but not through a soul and breath, for Thou art the
soul of the soul. Thou art living, but not as the life of man who is
like to vanity, and whose end is moth and vermin. Thou art living, and
he who reaches Thy mystery shall find everlasting delight: he shall eat,
and live for ever.
Thou art great, and compared with Thy greatness all greatness is
humbled, and every excellence is faulty. Thou art too great for any
thought, and too sublime for any composition. Thou art greater than all
greatness, and exalted above all blessing and praise.
Thou art mighty, and among Thy creatures and beings there is none that
can do according to Thy works and according to Thy mighty acts. Thou art
mighty, and Thine is the absolute power which changes not and alters
not. Thou art mighty, and because of the abundance of Thy might Thou
dost pardon even in the time of Thy indignant wrath, and dost defer
Thine angel to sinners. Thou art mighty, yet Thy tender mercies are over
all Thy creatures: these are Thy mighty deeds that were of old.
Thou art light, and the eyes of every pure soul shall behold Thee; but
the clouds of iniquity shall hide Thee from its eyes. Thou art the light
which is hidden in this world, but shall be revealed in the high and
beautiful world; on the mount of the Lord shall it be seen.
Thou art most high, and the eye of the intellect yearns and longs for
Thee; but it can only see the utmost thereof, and cannot see the whole.
Thou art the God of gods, and all Thy creatures are Thy witnesses, and
for the glory of this name every creature is obliged to worship Thee.
Thou art God, and all the beings are Thy servants and Thy worshippers;
yet Thy glory is not diminished because of them that worship aught
beside Thee; for the intention of them all is to attain unto Thee, but
they are as the blind: they set their faces toward the way of the King;
but they wander out of the way: one sinks into the pit of destruction,
and another falls into the abyss; they all think that they have reached
their goal, but they labored in vain. But Thy servants are as the
clear-sighted who walk in the straight path: they turn not from the way
to the right hand or to the left until they come to the court of the
King’s house. Thou art God, supporting the beings with Thy divinity, and
sustaining the creatures with Thy unity. Thou art God, and there is no
distinction between Thy divinity, and Thy unity, and Thy eternity, and
Thy existence; for it is all one mystery: although the names of each one
are different, they all go unto one place.
Thou art wise, and wisdom, which is the fountain of life, emanates from
Thee; compared with Thy wisdom, every man is brutish and without
knowledge. Thou art wise, prior to all first beings, and even wisdom was
Thy nursling. Thou art wise, but Thou didst not learn from another, nor
didst Thou acquire wisdom from any one beside Thee. Thou art wise, and
from Thy wisdom didst Thou set apart the predestined will, as a workman
and an artist, to draw forth the emanation of existence from
non-existence (as the light, issuing from the eye, emanates and draws
from the fountain of light without a bucket), and it made all things
without instruments. It hewed and engraved, cleansed and purified; it
called unto non-existence, and it was cleft in twain; unto existence,
and it was established; unto the universe, and it was stretched out. It
meted out heaven with the span; its hand joined the pavilion of the
spheres, and fastened the curtains over the creatures with the loops of
potentiality. Its power reaches as far as the edge of the curtain, the
outermost creation, which is the extreme end of the coupling.
XV. BAHYA B. JOSEPH IBN PAKUDA
[Philosopher, talmudic scholar, and liturgic poet. Difference of
opinion exists as to the time when he flourished. It is usually
accepted that he lived in the eleventh century. But arguments,
though by no means conclusive, have been brought forth to prove that
he lived a century later. To him is due the credit of having been
the author of the first Jewish system of ethics. His ethical work
_Hobot ha-Lebabot_ (Duties of the Heart), which was written in
Arabic, has always been a great favorite in its Hebrew translation.]
Pious Reflections and Admonitions to the Soul[95]
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy
name.
O my soul, march on with strength, and bless thy Creator. Prepare a
supplication for Him, and pour out thy meditation before Him. Awake from
thy sleep, and consider thy place, whence thou camest, and whither thou
goest.
O my soul, awake from thy slumber, and utter a song to thy Creator; sing
praises unto His name, declare His wonders, and fear Him wherever thou
dwellest.
O my soul, be not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no
understanding; nor shouldst thou be as a drunkard that is fast asleep,
or as a man that is stupefied; for out of the fountain of understanding
wast thou formed, and from the spring of wisdom wast thou taken; from a
holy place wast thou brought forth, and from the city of the mighty,
from heaven, wast thou taken out by God.
O my soul, put on garments of prudence, and gird on a girdle of
understanding, and free thyself from the vanities of thy body, in which
thou dwellest. Let not thy heart beguile thee with the sweetness of its
desires, and let it not allure thee with the visions of its pleasures
which melt away like water that runs apace. Remember that the beginning
of these pleasures is without help or profit, and their end is shame and
also reproach.
O my soul, run to and fro through the streets of thy understanding, and
go about in the chambers of thy wisdom, and come unto the structure of
the building of thy imagery, whose foundation is in dust; is it not a
despised body and a carcass trodden under foot? It is formed out of a
troubled fountain and a corrupted spring, built of a fetid drop; it is
burned with fire, it is cut down. It is an unformed substance resembling
a worm, it is nought but terror. It is kept in a foul womb, closed up in
an impure belly; it is born with pangs and sorrows to see trouble and
vanities. All day long it covets pleasures, and departs from instruction
and from commandments; it comes in the dark, and goes away in the dark;
it is a poor, needy, and destitute wayfarer. It has no knowledge without
thee, and no understanding beside thee. While alive, it is dust; and
when it dies, it is ashes. As long as it lives, worms surround it, and
when its end comes, vermin and clods of dust cover it. It cannot discern
between its right hand and its left hand; its lot is hidden in the
ground. Go thou, therefore, and reign over it, for sovereignty is meet
unto the children of wisdom, and the foolish is a servant to the wise of
heart. Walk not in the stubbornness of thy wicked heart, be not ensnared
by its counsels, and despise the gain of its frauds; trust not in
oppression, and become not vain in robbery; for oppression makes a wise
man foolish, and a bribe destroys the heart.
O my soul, set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou
didst go; for all was made of dust, and indeed unto dust shall all
return. Every thing that was created and fashioned has an end and a goal
to return unto the ground, whence it was taken. Life and death are
brothers that dwell together; they are joined to one another; they cling
together, so that they cannot be sundered. They are joined together by
the two extremes of a frail bridge over which all created beings travel:
life is the entrance, and death is the exit thereof. Life builds, and
death demolishes; life sows, and death reaps; life plants, and death
uproots; life joins together, and death separates; life links together,
and death scatters. Know, I pray thee, and see that also unto thee shall
the cup pass over, and thou shalt soon go out from the lodging-place
which is on the way, when time and chance befall thee, and thou
returnest to thine everlasting home. On that day shalt thou delight in
thy work, and take thy reward in return for thy labor wherein thou hast
toiled in this world, whether it be good or bad. Therefore hearken, I
pray thee, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget thy people and
thy father’s house. Arise, and sing unto thy King all thy day and all
thy night; lift up thy hands toward Him, and bow down unto Him with thy
face to the ground; let thine eyelids gush out with waters, and kneel
thou upon thy knees; the King may perchance desire thy beauty, and lift
up His countenance unto thee, and give thee peace. He will be gracious
unto thee in the days of thy affliction in this world, and also after
thou hast returned to thy rest. For as long as thou didst live He dealt
bountifully with thee.
O my soul, prepare provision in abundance, prepare not little, while
thou art yet alive, and while thy hand has yet strength, because the
journey is too great for thee. And say not: ‘I shall prepare provision
to-morrow’; for the day has declined, and thou knowest not what the next
day may bring forth. Know likewise that yesterday shall never come back,
and that whatever thou hast done therein is weighed, numbered, and
counted. Nor shouldst thou say: ‘I shall do it to-morrow’; for the day
of death is hidden from all the living. Hasten to do thy task every day,
for death may at any time send forth its arrow and lightning. Delay not
to do thy daily task, for as a bird wanders from its nest, so does a man
wander from his place. Think not with thyself that after thou hast gone
forth from the prison of thy body thou wilt turn to correction from thy
perpetual backsliding; for it will not be possible for thee then to do
good or evil; it will not avail thee then to turn away from backsliding
or to repent of wickedness, guilt, and transgression. For that world has
been established to render accounts—the book of the hidden and concealed
deeds which every man commits is sealed—and it has been prepared to
grant a good reward to them that fear the Lord and think upon His name,
and to execute the vengeance of the covenant upon them that forget God,
who say unto God: ‘Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of
Thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? and what
profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?’[96]
O my soul, if thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; and if thou
scoffest, thy error remains with thee. Hear instruction, and be wise,
and refuse it not. Lay continually to thy heart the words of Koheleth
the son of David: ‘The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear
God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole man. For God will
bring every work into judgment concerning every hidden thing, whether it
be good or whether it be evil.’[97] Forget not that He seals up the hand
of every man, that all men whom He has made may know it.[98] Remember
likewise that there is no darkness and no thick darkness wherein the
workers of iniquity may hide themselves.[99] Seek the Lord thy Maker
with all thy might and strength. Seek righteousness, seek meekness; it
may be that thou wilt be hidden in the day of God’s anger, and in the
day of His fierce wrath, and that thou wilt shine as the brightness of
the firmament and as the sun when it goes forth in its might. The sun of
righteousness with healing in its wings shall shine upon thee. Now
arise, go and make supplication unto thy Lord, and take up a melody unto
thy God. Praise thou God, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for
it is pleasant, and praise is comely.
XVI. AHIMAAZ B. PALTIEL
[Liturgic poet and author of a family chronicle. He was born at
Capua, Italy, 1017, and died at Oria about 1060. His Chronicles
(_Sefer Yuhasin_) is an important source for the history of the
early Jewish settlement in Italy.]
Shephatiah Before His Death on Rosh ha-Shanah Declares that the Tyrant
Basil Is Dead[100]
And Rabbi Shephatiah was old and well stricken with age; and God blessed
him with all pleasant qualities. The Dweller of the high heavens gave
him the Torah as a possession, and made him great with riches and
immense wealth. He endowed him with a son who was worthy and perfect;
the father and the son were faultless. With them was Rabbi Hananel who
was great and perfect; they were all steadfast in the fear of God. They
were brothers and friends, and were pleasant in their friendship. They
continually occupied themselves with the Torah and with the commandments
and lovingly fulfilled God’s statutes. They exalted their King with
strength and with glory, and magnified their Maker with honor and
majesty, and made for their Creator a wreath, and a crown, and a diadem
of fine gold. They ascribed strength and power to their Maker, and came
in the evening and in the morning to the assembly of prayers. All the
days that they were upon earth they bewailed with grief the exile and
the destruction, and lamented with bitterness and desolation over the
persecution. They cried and made supplications to Him who turns wise men
backward,[101] by whose knowledge the depths were broken up, and who
established and founded the rivers and seas, that He should make foolish
the knowledge of the enemy, and that He should lay his kingdom waste.
They asked understanding from Him who is full of mercy, that the decree
of persecution should be brought to nought and be abolished. Because of
their cry which they cried to the Highest of all high, the decree did
not pass across from the other side of the seas, and His servants who
were perfect in His laws He delivered from filth, and dirt, and foul
waters: from being made to kneel to the deaf and mute, and from
worshipping the blind and sightless, and from bowing down to idols and
images. He thundered with the voice of thunders upon their enemies, and
was filled with indignation against their persecutors; He delivered His
beloved ones from the hand of them that rise up against them; and spared
their soul from the coals of broom; that they may occupy themselves with
the Torah, and meditate therein, and that they may smell the savor of
the spices and perfumes which are hidden and sealed up in the treasuries
and store-houses, which are closed up in the Eden of the venerable and
ancient fathers. Then Rabbi Shephatiah, the teacher among the wise,
yielded up his soul completely to the Judge of the widows and the Father
of orphans. He tasted the cup of his ancestors, which the father of the
serpents caused all mortals to drink.[102]
On New Year’s day, Rabbi Shephatiah, being the worthiest man in a worthy
congregation, had to blow the horn, for the sake of the glory of God and
His people. That day he was feeble, bent down by illness; but all the
congregation whispered to him persuasively: ‘Our master that art clothed
with light, radiance of our splendor, light of our eyes, blow thou the
horn for us; all the days that our God will keep thee among us no other
man shall blow the horn in our midst.’ And they burdened him with the
blowing of the horn. He stood up, and blew the horn; but he was without
strength and power, and the blowing of the horn did not come out in a
fitting manner. Whereupon the righteous man cried out aloud unto them,
and justified God’s judgment against himself: ‘My children, may this be
a good omen unto you; for on account of my transgressions fortune has
changed against me.’ He left the synagogue of his congregation, went to
his house, and lay down upon his bed. And all the congregation came
after him to his bed-chamber. He then turned his face toward them, and
thus said he unto them: ‘I am going to my eternal rest, to my lot with
the ancient fathers; and I make known unto you, my dear sons, my three
beloved sons, that Basil[103] the oppressor and apostate is dead. He
passes before me now, bound with chains of fire, and is handed over to
the destroying angels. And He whose name is the Lord of hosts sent for
me to go to meet Basil, and to contend against him in judgment, because
of all the evil which he had done unto His people, in order to cut off
his name and the name of his seed, his root, his offspring, and his
plant.’ (And they wrote down the day and the hour. Some days later a
report came that Basil who had done evil died; in accordance with the
words of the righteous man did the letter arrive. For thus the emperors
of Constantinople were wont to do according to their custom; when a king
died, they would send an explicit letter to Bari,[104] and write down
the day and the time, which brought the terrible tidings of the king’s
death.) ‘Blessed be He who alone does wondrous things, who destroyed him
from this world, and cut him off from the world to come. Blessed be His
name, and blessed be the name of His glory. Now I am to be gathered unto
my people, and I shall go to my place. And ye, my children, the children
of my trials, all the congregation of my multitudes, may God be with
you. He kills, and makes alive; He is named I AM THAT I AM, when He
brings to life the righteous of Benjamin and the lion’s whelp.’[105]
XVII. MOSES B. JACOB IBN EZRA
[Poet, philosopher, and philologist. He wrote gracefully in Arabic
and Hebrew. He was born about 1070 at Granada, and died in the first
half of the twelfth century. His best works are still in manuscript,
but even his published books show him to have been a man of great
talent. His poetry was chiefly praised for the beauty and polish of
its diction. Judah ha-Levi addressed several panegyrics to him.]
1. Dirge on the Death of His Brother[106]
Oh mourn, my soul, and with a mourning cloak be clad, and put ropes upon
thy sackcloth; be gathered to go to the right and left, awake to wail
and to strip off thy train. Sell thy joy forever; it shall never be
redeemed, nor shall it have a jubilee. Write a bill of divorce to
rejoicing, take wailing instruments instead of harps. No longer shalt
thou dread the wrath of time, nor fear the burning anger of the world;
for what more can it do to thee? It has harmed thee grievously, and
brought thee dire distress! Now that my brother is fallen, time is
powerless to do me good, or to wound me. It smote, and did not spare; it
broke all thy strength and glory, as a vessel made of clay. It hurled
down thy height with wrath; how canst thou say that thy lot is cast in
pleasantness?
Since my brother is gone my world is no more wide; it is a prison, and
the earth is like shackles. He that upheld the glory of all things, how
is it that his back is now burdened with dust? Because he is gone the
sun is the companion of jackals, the moon is the brother of mourning
since his death.
Now shall all understand that heaven’s host will fade and shrivel as a
withering bud (all this shall vanish as a clod of earth, and yet the
memory of his glory never shall grow old). When my brother went to the
grave, I knew that all creation is but vanity.
2. Poem Addressed to One of His Noblest Friends[107]
A prisoner,[108] whose heart is made to boil like a pot by a burning
flame, and whose eyes are laden with a cloud of tears! He thought to
relieve his illness with his tears, but when he shed them, lo, it was
rain making things to grow: a smoking furnace which, without a hand,
sprinkles soot upon the brightness of his face and forehead. From his
scalding tears the mountains crumble, just as when he roars the raging
seas are calmed. In Edom’s field he wanders without pasture (regarded by
none), like lost sheep which a lion thrust aside.
For him the daughters of the Great Bear moan, for him Orion makes
baldness like an eagle. The hand of time went forth against him for
evil, until with wrath it banished him out of the West.
How long shall he traverse the surface of the earth? how long shall he
not loose his girdle and his belt? His brothers stood at a distance to
gloat over him in his distress, and all his friends broke their
covenant. With willful hand they shed his blood, and how could they have
thought to cover it on a rock? But when God saw his strength was spent,
He appointed thy right hand, O my lord, to shelter and to cover him. In
his misty night thou didst shine as a star, and he beheld the light of
companionship in the gloom of exile. His feet had slipped, but when he
saw thy dwelling-place, they stood up firmly as in strongholds and on
rocks. He came to the midst of the garden, and through thy sweet words
his soul was made secure on fields of ease. Thou art honey to the
palate, sunlight to the eye of him that looks, and myrrh unto the
nostril of him that smells. Thou art the foundation of kindness, glory’s
pillar, and art the plank and bar of the abode of truth. Ere thou hadst
knowledge to cry: ‘My father’, and ‘My mother’, thy Maker caused thee to
delight in the fear of God. Thou hast prudent counsels, wherewith thou
annoyest thine enemies and gladdenest the souls of thy friends. With the
breath of thy mouth thou makest the foolish wise, and with thy pen’s
fluid washest off the blood of time’s ignorance. Thou art like a cedar
that grew high in wisdom’s garden, so that the other shoots set forth
their meditations unto thee. They are like an airy dream, like flying
chaff, but thou renewest thy strength, and buddest by the glorious
waters. Thy hand built for thee dominion with hewn stones, while other
rulers plastered it with vanity. Thou art generous like thy fathers, and
how pleasant it is to eat the second growth with grace, when the first
is gone! Thou turnest thy right hand’s rivers as a honey stream, and
makest them flow into the mouths of them that ask. Thou softenest thy
generous heart toward the needy, but hardenest it like flint[109]
against thy wealth. Thy soul urges thee to make the indigent rich, so
that thou causest the name of poor to be forgotten. The sorrow-stricken
man cheers up, on seeing thee: his wish is granted, when he calls thee
by thy name.
Fain would I speak more of thee, but tempestuous is the sea of exile—who
shall make its waves subside? I long to see the image of thy features in
my dream, if only my pain allowed me to sleep! Thou art a garden of
delights, but closed are its openings, that I should not smell the myrrh
thereof. Time is thy slave, and yet it sends against me, day by day, the
indignation and wrath of men. Hadst thou rebuked it, thou wouldest have
pacified its wrath and its fierce anger, and it would have ceased to vex
me.
My words have reached thee; command thou thy bounty that it should judge
between me and between thy slave.[110] Here is the song, it is perfumed
oil; take it, I pray, O man that art to be anointed with it now! A
necklace! a word of glory on thy golden checker work, a speech on thy
variegated chain.
3. Poem in Honor of the Wedding of Solomon b. Matir[111]
Is it a scent of myrrh, which pervades the air; or a breeze, which
shakes the myrtles? A cloud, or a great mass of spicery? Lightning, or
the sparkling of wine cups? Is it the clouds that pour out perfumes, or
do the drops come from the myrtle tops? Is it the mouthless mountains
that burst forth with joy, or doves and birds on boughs? The clothing of
the earth is inwrought with gold, its coats are made of variegated silk.
Its paths are straight to him that treads on them, and mountain-ridges
have become like plains. The houses jubilantly shout, and the stone from
the wall and the wooden beams respond. The erstwhile gloomy faces are
now clad with joy, and men of grief are merry and exult. The lips of
stammerers now plainly speak, to build the house of mirth that was
destroyed. Indeed the mysterious wonders now appear, that have been
hidden in the heart of time. The tent of glory has now been coupled,
hooks have been placed into the loops of praises. The days have brought
together bone to bone, and separated bodies are now joined together.
Upon the mounts of myrrh have joys been set high, they are assembled on
the hills of frankincense.
On morning’s wings a voice proclaims unto the world (not on swift
runners, nor on horses): ‘Solomon has lovingly betrothed a noble maid,’
as though the moon and sun had been betrothed.
Upon the path of prudence are his steps, his feet walk and tread upon
instruction. From early youth his thoughts were on the skies, his
meditations were borne onto the constellations. He excels all men of his
own age, as sons of men excel all beasts and worms. His deeds are far
more precious than theirs, as rubies are more precious than clay. They
run to reach the dust of his feet—how can a sparrow pursue the hawks?
Oh answer: how can Orion meet Pleiades on earth, while none inquires,
nor takes notice? Is this not so? Are not their radiant wings spread
upon their charming countenances? How did they steal the light of the
stars? Were men ever seen robbing and despoiling heaven’s lights?
O all his friends, make haste to drink to-day the wine of friendship in
the bowls of joy. Be ready to increase your merriment, and open ye the
store-houses of ease. The goblets are like frozen water, and the burning
coals have been dissolved in their midst. Drink now as he appointed in
his house; drink ye at your desire, without being forced.
O youth, rejoice in the lovely hind, and sing ye both in ecstasies of
joy. Delight thou in a figure graceful as a palm-tree and lithe as the
myrtle-twigs. Fear not the sound of her neck’s ornaments, at twilight,
nor the rustling of her veils. And be not terrified by dove-like eyes,
drunk with the wine of passion’s violence. Take courage, when embraced
by arms bedecked with bracelets and with bangles of pure gold. Nor
shouldst thou shun the snake-like locks that fall on a face bathed in
maiden modesty; indeed, they come to thee in peace, though they conceal
and hide the splendor of her face.[112]
And know that time is the slave of thy desire, assembled are its sons to
do thy wish: they hasten to bring near what thou seekest, but drive away
the sorrows of thy heart.
This song is from a friend whose heart rejoices in thee, whose thoughts
fly and hasten to thee; it is a glorious robe which shall never grow
old, till the foundations of the world are demolished. Indeed the water
of his friendship is as pure as snow and is not fouled by feet; if in my
heart it is concealed from thee, it is to be sought in the gardens of
thy mind. For rubies are for men of intellect, while for the vain are
fatlings of lambs; the brave men crave for words of eloquence, but fools
hunger after fattened geese.
O noble scion, live at ease with the daughter of nobles, sheltered under
the shadow of the Almighty!
XVIII JUDAH B. SAMUEL HA-LEVI
[Lucid thinker and melodious singer. Born at Toledo in the last
quarter of the eleventh century, and died in the Orient in the
middle of the twelfth. His philosophic work, written in Arabic, has
always been a household word in Jewish homes in its Hebrew
translation under the title _ha-Kozari_. His poems are the outburst
of a deeply religious soul, and often describe his fervent love for
Zion. Though under the influence of Arabic literature, his poems are
more Jewish than those of the other great poets of that brilliant
epoch.]
1. Ode to Zion[113]
O Zion, wilt thou not inquire about the peace of thy captives, they that
seek thy peace and are the remnant of thy flocks? From west and east,
from north and south, greetings from them that are far and near take
thou on all sides. Greetings also from a slave of yearning, who sheds
his tears like Hermon’s dew, and longs that they fall on thy mounts.
I am like a jackal to bewail thy woe; but when I dream of thy
restoration, I am a harp for thy songs. My heart moans for Bethel, and
Peniel, and for Mahanaim, and all the meeting-places of thy pure ones.
There God’s Presence dwells near thee, and thy Creator opened thy gates
toward the gates of heaven. The glory of the Lord alone was thy light;
the sun, the moon, and stars illumined thee not.
I yearn that my soul be poured forth in the place where God’s spirit was
poured out on thy chosen ones. Thou art a royal house, thou art the
throne of God, how then can bondmen sit upon the thrones of thy princes?
Would that I were roaming about in the places where God appeared unto
thy seers and messengers! Who would make me wings, that I may fly away?
I would cause my broken heart to move amidst thy mounts of Bether! On
thy ground fain would I lie prostrate; I would take pleasure in thy
stones, and would love thy dust! Then standing by the sepulchres of my
fathers, I would gaze with rapture on thy choicest graves in Hebron. I
would pass through thy forest and Carmel, and stand in Gilead, and gaze
with rapture on mount Abarim;—mount Abarim and mount Hor, where are thy
two great luminaries, thy teachers who gave thee light.
Thine air is life for the souls, like myrrh are the grains of thy dust,
and thy streams are like the honeycomb. It would be pleasant for me to
walk naked and barefoot among thy desolate ruins, where once thy temples
stood; where thy ark was hidden, and where thy Cherubim dwelled in thy
innermost shrines.
I will pluck and cast away the beauty of my locks, and curse fate which
denied thy Nazirites in an unclean land. How can it be pleasant unto me
to eat and drink, when I see that the curs drag thy young lions? or how
can the light of the day be sweet to my sight, when I see the flesh of
thine eagles in the mouth of ravens?
O cup of sorrow, gently! desist for a while! for my reins and soul are
already filled with thy bitterness. When I remember Oholah, I drink thy
poison; and when I remember Oholibah, I drain thy dregs.
O Zion, perfect of beauty, thou hast of yore combined love and grace,
and the souls of thy companions are bound up with thee; they that
rejoice in thy bliss, are grieved at thy desolation, and bewail thy
misfortunes. From the pit of captivity they pant toward thee, and
prostrate themselves, each from his place, toward thy gates; the flocks
of thy multitude, that are exiled and scattered over mountain and hill,
yet do not forget thy folds; that cling to thy skirts, and strive to go
up and seize the boughs of thy palm-trees.
Can Shinar and Pathros in their greatness be likened to thee? can they
compare their vanity to thy Truthfulness and Light?[114] Unto whom can
they compare thy anointed and thy seers, unto whom thy Levites and thy
singers? The crown of all vain kingdoms shall change and pass away, but
thy strength is for ever, thy crowns are for all generations.
Thy God desired thee for His dwelling, and happy is the man whom He
chooses and draws near to dwell in thy courts. Happy is he who waits,
and will yet live to see the rising of thy light, when upon him shall
thy dawns break forth, to behold the bliss of thy chosen ones, and to
exult in thy joy, when the pristine glory of thy youth is restored to
thee.
2. Meditations in Mid-Ocean[115]
Wilt thou at fifty still pursue childhood’s folly, while thy days are
ready to fly away? Wilt thou flee from the service of God, but eagerly
serve men? wilt thou seek the multitude, but forsake the presence of the
One who is sought in all affairs? Wilt thou neglect to make provision
for thy journey, and sell thy portion for a pottage of lentils?
Unto thee thy soul has not yet said: ‘Enough!’ but her lust bears new
fruit each month; turn aside from her advice, and seek God’s counsel;
keep away from the five senses. Reconcile thyself to thy Creator in the
remainder of thy days which hurry and hasten. Seek not His good will
with a double heart, and go not toward enchantments. Be strong as a
leopard to do His will, swift as an antelope, and mighty as lions.
Let thy heart not fail in mid-ocean, when thou seest the mountains
totter and move to and fro. Worn out are the hands of sailors, and
skilful workers keep silence; they walk forward cheerfully, but they
turn back, and are ashamed. The ocean is thy only refuge, there is no
way to escape, the snares are all around.
The sails flutter and wave, the planks tremble and shake. The wind
sports with the waters, like them that cast about the sheaves for
threshing; for a while it flattens them like threshing-floors, and then
it heaps them up like stacks. When the waves grow mighty, they are like
lions; but when they subside, they seem like serpents; billow follows
billow, fiercely chasing, like adders that will not be charmed.
The mighty vessel is well-nigh overthrown by a mighty breaker, and the
mast and the riggings are loosened. The chambers of the ark are in
confusion: no one knows which are the lower, the middle, or the upper
ones. They that pull the riggings are in anguish, men and women are
sorely grieved; troubled is the spirit of their captains—the bodies are
weary of the souls. The strength of masts is of no avail, and the
counsel of greybeards no longer pleases. Masts of cedar are counted like
stubble, cypress-trees are turned into reeds. Weights of sand are like
straw on the surface of the ocean, iron and stone are like chaff.
Then each man prays to his holiness, but thou turnest to the holy of the
holies. Thou rememberest the wonders of the Red Sea and the Jordan,
which are engraved on every heart. Thou then praisest Him who stills the
roaring of the ocean, when its waters cast up mire. Thou mentionest to
Him the iniquity of unclean hearts, but He remembers for thee the merit
of the holy fathers. He renews His miracles, when thou renewest before
Him the song of the dancing of the Mahlites and Mushites.[116] He
restores the breath of life unto the bodies, and the dry bones live
again. In a moment the billows are stilled, and seem like flocks
scattered upon the face of the earth.
The night is (when the sun descends on the degrees, and out comes the
heavenly host with its captain) like a Cushite woman whose clothing is
inwrought with gold, wrapt up in a diamond-spangled cloak of blue. The
stars are perplexed in mid-ocean, like strangers driven out from their
dwelling-places; they reflect their light, in their likeness and their
image, in the midst of the sea, like flames and fires. The waters and
the sky are like brilliant and bright ornaments on the night.
The sea is like the heaven in appearance, they are thus two encompassing
seas; and between them is my heart a third sea, when the billows of my
new hymns arise.
3. Letter Addressed to Nathan b. Samuel[117]
To the store-house of understanding and stronghold of faith, the crown
of the scholars and chief of the speakers, the pride of the Torah and
the bowl of the candlestick, our master and teacher Rabbi Nathan the
scholar, son of the glory of the greatness of the holiness of our master
and teacher Rabbi Samuel the scholar, of blessed memory, from one who
bows himself down before him and longs to behold his countenance, Judah
the Levite, son of Rabbi Samuel (may his soul be in paradise!).
Stones of the crown lifted on high, glorying in the crown of our
generation, deriving their genealogy from the Foundation Stone, and
mocking every other precious stone! Thou art the crown that is set upon
the stone of salvation; all thy border is of desirable stones: the chief
stone is above thee, graceful stones are at thy right and at thy left,
and thou hast rays coming forth from thy hand. I shall divide the seas,
and stir up the shades, for I shall arouse myself to sing, when Nathan
the prophet comes to me. The meditations of my heart are in commotion,
and my thoughts impel me to write. Thou didst humble me, yet didst thou
delight me, for thou didst lead me with honor, though with heaviness,
and put upon me the crown and the testimony. Thou didst robe me with thy
raiment, attire me with thy mitres, and strengthen me with thy power.
But who can don thy crowns, and who can put on thy wreaths? Gates of
justice are thy gates, lofty mountains are thy mountains, and twilights
of desire are thy dawns. When thou devisest a law, thou causest the
advice of others to fail; when thou counsellest, thou breakest every
rod; every mouth becomes dumb, even the eloquent feels ashamed, and they
who compose songs have mouths, but speak not: their fountains are
stopped up, and they themselves are still as a stone in the presence of
a fountain whose waters fail not. Thy heavens do not become black, and
thy rains are not withheld. Thy store-houses are filled, and thy spices
send forth their fragrance. The manna descends upon him that hearkens to
thy words. Wonderful are thy words, and thy compositions are
awe-inspiring; they fly to the west and to the south, and speak from on
high. Shall Egypt detain such a man, while Jerusalem, as well as the
land of Merathaim,[118] longs for thee? Thou art a bundle of myrrh held
in the hands and sought betwixt the breasts; thy fame tells concerning
thee and likewise about thy thoughts. The mixtures of thy perfumes
proclaim before thee: ‘Bow the knee’; and thy books reveal thy secrets.
Thy name gave[119] forth thy taste and thy pleasant dainties; the
wonderful sage, the exalted crown; yea, thy name is greater than all;
our master and teacher, Nathan the scholar, the crown of scholars, the
son of the glory of our master and teacher Samuel the scholar, the
righteous, of blessed memory. From one who is a portion of thy lights
and a tributary of thy rivers, Judah the Levite, thy disciple, the
gleaning of thy harvest, and the fallen fruit of thy vintage; who sends
his heart ahead of his writings; who is fearful and faint-hearted to
consider his affairs. Shall I prosper when I come forth with my
ploughshare and coulter to meet the Cherethite and Pelethite, a mighty
nation that arranges battle-lines like Benaiah and Ethan? Who am I, what
is my life, and what is my desire and wish? Worthless dust, crushed and
ill; fearful on account of my iniquity and the sins of my youth and old
age. Yet I ventured to stand upon thy thresholds with my supplications,
though I am but a wayfarer that turns aside to tarry for a night, a
Levite who sojourns there. Wherewith shall I draw nigh, and how shall I
vie with the ruler and potentate? I summoned counsels from afar, took up
my weapons, came in, and went out; but I found nothing better than
silence. I was humiliated, and put to shame, and despaired of an answer;
I lost heart to come out to meet thee; I groped for the wall in the
dark, and felt my way like the blind, and sought hiding-places, until I
met taskmasters, who were urgent, persistent, and pressing; they came
from the wonderful sage, the lord, the exalted nobleman, our master and
teacher Halfon the Levite, who speaks in thy name, and endeavors to take
hold of thee, O my lord and my pride, may he be exalted and lifted up,
and may he be very high. He stands between us to join our hearts with
the exchange of our writings and the purity of our love. He importuned
me, pressed me, urged me, aroused me, and brought me out hastily from
the dungeon of slothfulness. He coaxed me, without restraining himself,
saying: ‘Come now, I will prove thee; finish thy work, and give the best
thereof which is full of understanding; perform at thy old age the deeds
of youth. Know before whom thou art about to render the account, near
whom thou writest, and near whom thou signest.’ Thy enchanters hurried,
and thy magicians did great things, until they annulled my vows, and
made my bonds void. Then my bands dropped off, my youth was renewed, my
songs thronged tumultuously, my lyres were sounded, and forgotten were
my fears and the years of the life of my sojournings. I remembered not
that the day declined toward evening, that the eternal lodging-place was
near by, while there was yet abundant work. I mingled with the throng,
aroused myself with youth, eagerly sought the dawn of life, and
dissembled hoariness, as one dissembles a stolen thing, though my
leanness testified against me. Then I took some of thy words, and with
wrestlings did I wrestle with the lion, and prevailed; I rescued a piece
of an ear, and made merry with myself, for I was likened to the scribes
of the king and to them that have ability to stand in the king’s palace.
My lord, in thy kindness pardon thy servant, and be not too exacting
with me, and weigh not my words; judge me in the scale of merit, and
bring me not into the judgment of thy wisdom. Behold, here is the fruit
of my intellect, the choicest of my musing, and the best of my
meditations, according to the ability of my hand and tongue, until I
come unto my lord to watch at thy doors, to gather thy pearls, and to
sing thy praises. Lo, these are but the outskirts of thy paths, and a
little of the splendor of thy moons. He that makes peace in His high
places shall increase thy peace, shall make thy friends perfect, shall
fight against thine enemies, and establish thy plans, that thou mayest
spend thy days in prosperity. I conclude with peace. Amen.
XIX. ABRAHAM B. MEIR IBN EZRA
[Poet, philologist, and astronomer. He was born in Spain about 1092,
and died in 1167. He acquired great fame as grammarian and biblical
exegete, as poet, and as astronomer. The greater bulk of his poems
are liturgic; but he also has a number of fine secular poems. His
commentaries are based on sound principles of exegesis, and his
poems are replete with deep feeling.]
1. Plaintive Song[120]
Where is thy might, O right hand of the Lord?—I heard of thee by the
hearing of the ear;—but now I have despaired of lifting up my head, as
though I had never known of thee.
The fire of jealousy burns within me for the queen that now languishes
in bonds; she is the derision and scorn of all creatures, bound to a
life-long widowhood. My foes are prosperous and at rest, but I am an
exile, and wander to and fro.
The hand of the polluter rules over me, and he taunts me: ‘I am holier
than thou; how canst thou hope, while generations have passed, and thou
art still in my bondage?’
Enough have I been sitting in the dark, pondering with grief on my
misfortune; how can I hope to find a cure for me, while my God dwells
not in my midst? I weep for my soul, and how shall I give respite to my
heart?
Ask, O city of Ariel, ask if I have ever forgotten thee; tears flow like
rivers from mine eyes, for I left thee without glory.
In visions of appointed seers I meet not the end of my captivity; and I
seek among all the prophets, but I know not the mystery of my
redemption. My trespasses have caused me grief; yet I heard a voice
which gladdened me. Each prophet said to my inheritance: ‘How can I
abandon thee? Because of the affection of the days of youth I bear for
thee an everlasting love.’
2. Penitential Prayer[121]
I prostrate myself with my face to the ground, since nothing lower
exists; I humbly cast myself down before the Most High, who is the
highest of all high.
O, wherewith shall I meet His countenance? if with my spirit, comes it
not from Him? if with my choicest flesh? He gave it life, and man has
nought that is nobler than his soul! There is no end and no beginning to
His greatness—how can my tongue extol Him? Much farther is He than the
heavens of the heavens, yet near to my flesh and bone.
Behold, I come to Thee, my God, because there is none besides Thee that
can benefit. Have not all the hosts of heaven and of earth like me been
created by Thy hand? How shall I then seek help from them? Is not the
help of all created things in vain? A slave can flee to none for refuge,
but unto his master who acquired him.
Why should I expect to know aught, knowing that Thou hast created me for
my good? Thy lovingkindnesses are more than can be told, but my sins
exceed the sand. How shall I lift up mine eye unto Thee, since mine eye
also has grievously transgressed? What more shall my lips utter in
response, since also they have dealt very wickedly? The wantonness of my
heart did unto me that which my adversary could not do. Hot wrath has
overtaken me because of that; woe unto me, for I rebelled! My evil
inclination led me astray, for I desired not to provoke Thee. My evils
harmed only me, but Thou alone wilt show me lovingkindness. Make known
to me a way to profit me, for Thou didst teach me all that I know. I
caused the prayers of my heart to be heard by mine ears; mayest Thou
hear them in heaven!
3. The Epistle of Hai b. Mekiz[122]
Hear, O wise men, my words, and ye that have knowledge, give ear unto
me; consider, O noble men and greybeards, and hearken, ye that are
ignorant and young; for my mouth shall utter truth, and the opening of
my lips shall be right things. I have left my house, forsaken my
inheritance, and abandoned my place, the land of my birth, and my
people, because my mother’s sons were incensed against me, and made me
keeper of a vineyard which is not mine own. I therefore betook myself to
travel and to seek repose, so that my spirit and soul may find rest and
have respite, and my life may be in solitude. With me were companions
who hearkened unto my words. And behold, there was an old man walking in
the field, praising and rendering thanks to God. His likeness was as the
likeness of kings, and his majesty was as the majesty of angels. Time
changed him not, nor did the years alter him. His eyes were as the eyes
of doves, and his temples as a piece of a pomegranate. His stature was
not bent, nor did his strength fail. His eye was not dim, nor his
natural force abated. His oils were as fragrant as the odor of spikenard
plants. His mouth was most sweet, yea, he was altogether lovely. I said
unto him: ‘May peace be multiplied unto thee, and mayst thou never go
astray! Whose son art thou? what is thy name? what is thine occupation?
and which is thy place?’
And he answered me with words set with precious stones and with speeches
arranged as the Thummim and Urim. And he said unto me: ‘May God make thy
name good, and may thy peace be as a river. May He continually be thy
confidence, and keep thy foot from being taken! My name is Hai b. Mekiz,
and the holy city is my place, and my occupation is that in which thou
seest me engaged without being wearied: I run to and fro in every city
and province, in every nook and corner. My father led me in the way of
wisdom, and taught me knowledge and discretion. I was with him a
nursling in Baal-hamon[123]; in his shadow I sat down with great delight
and did not move, for his fruit was sweet to my taste.’
And it came to pass, when we talked, and the speeches were extended
(they were all plain to him that understands, and right to him that
finds knowledge), that he said unto me: ‘The show of thy countenance
tells, and thy face testifies that thine ears are open to hear
instructions, and that thy soul is prepared to acquire wisdom and
understanding. Now this work which I examine and investigate never
fails, nor deceives, for it is like balances to truth, and like eyes to
the seer; he who neglects it shall grope at noonday. But these friends
who have dominion over thee are not friends, but banish thee; they are
not comrades, but do evil unto thee; they are not lovers, but enemies;
they spread and hide snares and nets, and imprison and afflict the
valiant and the mighty. Happy is he who is delivered from them, but the
sinner shall be caught by them; he who is ensnared in their net shall
not be saved, and he who is caught in their snare shall not escape. O my
son, depart from their tents, and turn not unto them, nor hearken unto
their words, because their feet run to evil. The one who walks before
thee[124] multiplies falsehood, and casts truth away. The other at thy
right hand[125] humbles and afflicts thee; he is angry and wroth at all
times, and is indignant and vexatious every day; his swords strike them
that are near him, and his sparks consume all around him; his anger
burns as a fire, and his wrath rages as a flame; he is erring and
foolish in everything, and swerves and deviates from truth; he is like a
lion that longs to tear, and like a young lion that lurks in secret
places to snatch. The one at thy left hand[126] causes thee to stumble,
and consumes thee; he ever waits and hopes, and continually covets and
desires; even if thou shouldst bray him in a mortar, his foolishness
will not depart from him, and even if thou shouldst smite him with a
hammer, his folly will not cease; he loves all food, and cannot have
enough of gifts. Now he who is in their midst does not understand, and
has no wisdom; he speaks falsehood, and utters vanity; he perverts
justice, and corrupts truth; perverseness is in his heart, and he
devises iniquity upon his bed; his eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor
his ear filled with hearing. Yet thou followest them closely, and thy
heart loves and desires them; but thou knowest not that he who walks in
their paths will not be delivered from their destructions. Can a man
take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? or can one walk
upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? so is he that is made to
yield by the flattering of their mouth, and he that is allured by the
sweetness of their words. My son, walk thou not in the way with them,
refrain thy foot from their path; for they have cast down many wounded,
and laid low mighty and valiant men. Their way and their paths are the
ways to Sheol, and the tracks to death are their tracks and highways.
Rule thou over them, and control them; humble the foolish among them
with the aid of the lustful, and the lustful with the aid of the
foolish. Judge them in righteousness, and pervert not justice. As for
him among them who speaks vanity and falsehood, thou shalt not consent
unto him, nor hearken unto him; even when he speaks fair, believe him
not, for seven abominations are in his heart. Do this now, my son, and
deliver thyself, before the day breathes and the shadow flees away: Heed
my words, and forget them not, nor shouldst thou ever forsake them; keep
them continually in thy bosom, and write them upon the tablet of thy
heart; let them be for thyself alone, and not for strangers beside thee.
For they shall be chaplets of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy
neck, so that thy days may be spent in prosperity, and thy years in
pleasantness.’
And it came to pass, when I heard from him these words, which are more
precious than rubies (and I knew that he who departs from his
instructions and changes his sayings, or causes aught of his words to
fall, wrongs and destroys his soul, and harms and kills his spirit,
while he who takes fast hold of them, and lets them not go, shall live
for ever, and shall not be destroyed; for they are life unto those that
find them, and health to all their flesh), that I said: ‘Draw me, I
shall run after thee. I shall rejoice and exult in thee; and shall be
more glad and joyous with thy love than with spiced wine and sweet
juice.’
And he said unto me: ‘Thou art not able to run at my side, nor to fly
with me, for thy wings are broken, and thou hast no pinions.’
Then I said: ‘Oh that I had wings like a dove! then would I fly away,
and be at rest! I pray thee, my lord, look not unto my presumptuousness,
for unto thee have I revealed my cause, and upon thee have I cast my
burden. In thee is my hope and expectation; cure thou my sickness, and
bind up my wound.’
So he led me through a short way to a spacious land, which is divided
into three parts that are deep and distant. The beginning of one is in
the water, and its end is in heaven. As for the remaining two, which are
the chief parts, one ends in the east, and the other begins in the west.
They give each other light, and clothe each other with splendor. These
parts form the chief divisions of the land. None is able to walk in
these lofty places, except a man filled with the spirit of God. At the
end of this land there is a murmuring spring, which makes its voice
heard at a distance. Its streams are rivers, and its waters are mighty
waters; they heal every wound and disease, and produce healing and
medicine. When we approached and stood near it, he stripped me of my
coat, which he cast away, and brought me down naked into the midst of
the spring, and he said unto me: ‘Drink waters out of its fountain, and
running waters out of its well; for through it shall thy wounds be bound
up, and thy pinions shall be healed; and thou shalt have wings to soar
in the heavens.’
Then I drank of the waters of life, which quicken the souls; and my
agonies and plagues and sore and steadfast sicknesses departed from me.
The waters were unto me like balsam to heal my wound and my pinion. I
drank as much as was sufficient for me, and was cured of my sickness.
XX. ABRAHAM IBN DAUD
[Spanish philosopher, historian, and astronomer. He was born at
Toledo about 1110, and died as a martyr in 1180. His best known
books are his philosophic work, written in Arabic and entitled
_al-‘Akidah al-Rafi’ah_ (The Sublime Faith), which has only been
preserved in a Hebrew translation, and his _Book of Tradition_,
which was written in 1161.]
The Four Captives[127]
After Hezekiah, who was head of the academy and exilarch, the academies
and the Geonim ceased to exist. But prior to that it was brought about
by the Holy One, blessed be He, that the income of the academies which
used to come to them from the land of Spain, the land of Maghrib,
Africa, Egypt, and Palestine, should be discontinued. The incident was
brought about in the following manner: There came forth from the city of
Cordova a captain appointed over a fleet, whose name was Ibn Damahin,
and who was sent by the Ishmaelitish king of Spain, whose name was ‘Abd
al-Rahman. This commander of mighty ships went forth to conquer the
ships of Edom and the towns that were close to the sea-shore. They
reached as far as the coast of Palestine, turned around to the Greek
Archipelago and the islands thereof, and met a boat which carried four
great sages travelling from the city of Bari to a city called Safsatin.
These sages were travelling to collect money for the academy. Ibn
Damahin captured the boat, and took the sages captive. One of these
sages was Rabbi Hushiel, father of Rabbenu Hananel; the second was Rabbi
Moses, father of Rabbi Enoch (he was taken captive together with his
wife and Rabbi Enoch his son; Rabbi Enoch was then a young lad); the
third was Rabbi Shemariah the son of Rabbi Elhanan; as for the fourth,
his name is unknown to me. When the captain wanted to force the wife of
Rabbi Moses and to humble her, because she was exceedingly beautiful and
well favored, she cried out to Rabbi Moses her husband in the holy
tongue, and asked him whether they that were drowned in the sea would be
quickened at the time of the resurrection of the dead, or not. He
replied unto her: ‘The Lord said: “I will bring again from Bashan, I
will bring them again from the depths of the sea.”’[128] When she heard
him say that they would be quickened, she threw herself into the sea, so
that she sank and died.
These sages did not say anything about themselves or their wisdom. The
captain sold Rabbi Shemariah in Alexandria of Egypt; the latter went up
to Cairo, where he became head of a school; Rabbi Hushiel was sold on
the coast of Africa, whence he went up to the city of Kairuwan, which in
those days was the mightiest of all Ishmaelitish cities in the land of
Maghrib. There Rabbi Hushiel became head of a school, and there he begot
Rabbi Hananel his son. Then the captain went to Cordova, where he sold
Rabbi Moses and Rabbi Enoch his son. They were redeemed by the men of
Cordova, who were not aware of the great learning of the captives.
There was in Cordova a synagogue that was called the Synagogue of the
House of Study, and there was a judge named Rabbi Nathan, who was
exceedingly pious. The people of Spain, however, were not well-versed in
the words of our teachers of blessed memory. Nevertheless, with the
little knowledge that they possessed, they arranged discussions,
interpretations, and arguments. Once Rabbi Nathan the judge interpreted
the law that an ablution is required for each sprinkling, which occurs
in the tractate Yoma, and they were not able to explain it. Whereupon
Rabbi Moses, who sat in a corner like a beadle, stood up before Rabbi
Nathan, and said to him: ‘My master, there would be too many ablutions.’
When he and his pupils heard his words, they marvelled one with the
other, and asked him to explain the law to them; whereupon he explained
the law in the right manner. They then asked him to explain all their
difficulties, and they set forth their questions, which he answered with
the abundance of his wisdom. There were litigants outside the House of
Study who were not permitted to enter until the pupils had finished
their lesson. On that day Rabbi Nathan the judge came out, and the
litigants went after him. But he said to them: ‘I am no longer judge;
but this man, who is clad in sackcloth and is a stranger, is my teacher
and master, and I am his pupil from to-day and henceforth. Now appoint
ye him judge in the congregation of Cordova.’ And they did so. The
congregation gave him a good allowance, and presented him with costly
garments and a carriage.
The captain then wanted to cancel his sale, but the king would not
permit him, for he rejoiced with great joy when he heard that the Jews
of his kingdom no longer needed the men of Babylon.
When the report thereof was heard in all the land of Spain and the land
Maghrib, all the pupils came to study under Rabbi Moses, and all the
questions that formerly had been addressed to the academies were
directed to him.
This took place in the days of Sherira Gaon, approximately about the
year four thousand seven hundred and fifty.
Rabbi Moses allied himself by marriage with the children of Palyaj, that
family being the most prominent of all the families of the Cordova
community; and he took from among them a wife for Rabbi Enoch his son,
and a daughter of Rabbi Enoch was married to one of the children of
Palyaj. This name is, therefore, still found among the children of
Palyaj until this day.
Rabbi Moses had numerous pupils, one of whom was Rabbi Joseph the son of
Rabbi Isaac Ibn Satnas, known as Ibn Abitor, who explained the entire
Talmud in Arabic to the Ishmaelitish king whose name was al-Hakim.
XXI. BENJAMIN OF TUDELA
[A famous traveller of the twelfth century. He seems to have been a
merchant in Spain. He travelled for about thirteen years
(1160–1173). He very vividly and graphically described everything he
saw, and his book contains interesting details about the various
Jewish communities of the twelfth century.]
Description of Jerusalem and Its Surroundings[129]
From there it is three parasangs to Jerusalem, which is a small city,
fortified by three walls. There are many people in it, and the
Ishmaelites call them Jacobites, Arameans, Greeks, Georgians, Franks,
and peoples of all other tongues. There is a dyeing-house there, which
the Jews rent annually from the king on condition that nobody beside the
Jews should be engaged in dyeing in Jerusalem. There are about two
hundred Jews dwelling under the tower of David, in one corner of the
city. The first structure of the foundation of the wall of the tower of
David, to the extent of ten cubits, is part of the ancient structure
which our ancestors set up, but the remaining portion was built by the
Ishmaelites. There is no structure in the whole city stronger than the
tower of David.
The city contains also two buildings, one being a hospital, from which
four hundred knights issue forth, and where all the sick that come
thither are lodged and receive all their needs in life and in death. The
second building is called the Temple of Solomon; it is the palace which
was built by Solomon king of Israel, peace be upon him. Knights are
quartered there, three hundred of whom issue forth every day for
military exercises, besides the knights that come from the land of the
Franks and from the land of Edom, having taken a vow upon themselves to
serve there a year or two until their vow is fulfilled. In that city is
the great place of worship called the Sepulchre; there is the
burial-place of that man,[130] to which all the misguided repair.
There are four gates in Jerusalem: the gate of Abram, the gate of David,
the gate of Zion, and the gate of Goshafat, which is the gate of
Jehoshaphat, in front of the sanctuary which stood there in ancient
times. There is also the _Templum Domini_, which is on the site of the
temple, upon which ‘Omar the son of al-Khattab’ erected a very large and
magnificent cupola. The Gentiles are not allowed to introduce there any
image or effigy; they only come there to pray. In front of that place is
the Western Wall which is one of the walls of the holy of holies. This
is called the Gate of Mercy, and thither all the Jews repair to pray in
front of the wall of the temple court.
There, in Jerusalem, attached to the house which belonged to Solomon,
are horse-stalls which he built; it is a very strong structure, built of
immense stones; the like of this building was not seen in all the world.
There is still to be seen to-day the pool where the priests used to
slaughter their sacrifices, and the people coming thither from Judah
used to inscribe their names upon the wall. A man going out through the
gate of Jehoshaphat would arrive at the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is
the wilderness of the nations. There is the pillar of Absalom’s
Monument, and the grave of king Uzziah. There is likewise a great
fountain, and the waters of Shiloah flowing into the brook of Kidron.
Over the spring there is a large structure, dating back from the days of
our ancestors. Little water is found there, and most of the people of
Jerusalem drink rainwater, for they have cisterns in their houses.
From the valley of Jehoshaphat one ascends the mount of Olives, as only
this valley intervenes between Jerusalem and the mount of Olives. From
the mount of Olives one can see the Sea of Sodom (it is two parasangs
from the Sea of Sodom to the Pillar of Salt into which Lot’s wife
turned; the sheep lick it, but it afterwards regains its original
shape), and the whole land of the plain and the valley of Shittim as far
as mount Nebo.
In front of Jerusalem is mount Zion; but there is no building on mount
Zion, except a place of worship belonging to the uncircumcised.
About three miles before Jerusalem are the sepulchres of the Israelites,
for they used to bury their dead in caves in those days. Each sepulchre
bears a date; but the children of Edom demolish the sepulchres, and of
the stones thereof they build their houses. These sepulchres reach as
far as the border of Benjamin at Zelzah.
Around Jerusalem there are great mountains, and on mount Zion are the
sepulchres of the house of David, and the sepulchres of the kings who
arose after him. The place, however, is no longer known, on account of
the following incident. Fifteen years ago part of the place of worship,
which is on mount Zion, fell in, and the patriarch said to his overseer:
‘Take the stones from the old walls, and restore the place of worship
with them.’ The latter did so, and hired workmen; twenty men, at fixed
wages, were pulling out the stones from the foundation of the wall of
Zion. Among these men were two very intimate friends. One day one of
them made a banquet for his friend. After the meal they returned to
their work, and their overseer said to them: ‘Wherefore have ye come
late to-day?’ They answered and said: ‘Wherefore dost thou chide us?
When our fellow-workmen go to their meal, we will do our work.’ When
meal-time came, and the other workmen went to their meal, these two
continued to pull out stones. They raised a certain stone, and found the
mouth of a cave beneath it. Thereupon one said to his friend: ‘Let us go
in and see whether there is any money in there.’ Having passed through
the entrance of the cave, they reached a large hall supported by pillars
of marble overlaid with silver and gold. In front was a table of gold
and a sceptre and crown. This was the sepulchre of king David. At the
left thereof was the sepulchre of king Solomon in like fashion, and so
were the sepulchres of the kings of Judah that were buried there. Closed
coffers were also there, and no man knows what they contain. When these
two men wanted to enter the hall, a stormy wind came forth from the
entrance of the cave, and smote them, so that they fell like dead to the
ground. They lay there until evening, when another wind came forth,
crying out as if with a man’s voice: ‘Arise and go forth from this
place!’ The men went out from there in haste and terror, and came to the
patriarch, and related these things to him. The patriarch then sent for
Rabbi Abraham al-Constantini, the pious ascetic, who was one of the
mourners for Jerusalem, and he related all these things to him according
to the narrative of the two men who had come out from there. And Rabbi
Abraham answered, and said to him: ‘These are the sepulchres of the
house of David, that is, of the kings of Judah; and to-morrow I and thou
and these men shall go in and see what is there.’ On the following day
they sent for the two men and found them lying in their beds. Filled
with terror, the men said: ‘We will not enter there, for God desires not
to show it to any man.’ The patriarch then commanded them to close up
that place and to keep it concealed from men unto this day. The
afore-mentioned Rabbi Abraham related these things to me.
XXII. THE BOOK OF YASHAR
[A collection of legends concerning biblical heroes. It is also
known under the titles of _Toledot Adam_ and _Dibre ha-Yamin
ha-Arok_. It had been assumed that this was the Book of Jashar
mentioned in Joshua 10.13, and elsewhere. But this assumption was
long ago given up by all scholars. In all likelihood this book
originated in southern Italy during the twelfth century. The style
is a good imitation of the narrative books of the Bible.]
Moses Having Taken a Besieged City Is Proclaimed King of Cush[131]
So Moses reigned on that day over all the children of Cush instead of
Kikanus king of Cush. In the fifty-fifth year of the reign of Pharaoh
king of Egypt, that is, in the hundred and fifty-seventh year after the
children of Israel went down into Egypt, did Moses reign over Cush.
Twenty-seven years old was Moses when he began to reign over Cush, and
forty years did he reign. And the Lord made Moses find grace and favor
in the sight of the children of Cush, and the children of Cush loved him
exceedingly. And Moses was good with the Lord and with men.
And it came to pass on the seventh day of his reign that all the
children of Cush gathered together. And they all met together, and came
before Moses, and bowed down to him to the ground. And all the children
of Cush together spoke to the king, saying: ‘Give us counsel, that we
may see what is to be done to this city. For it is to-day nine years
that we are besieging this city, and we have not seen our children and
our wives.’
And the king answered them, saying: ‘If ye will hearken to my voice in
all that I shall command you, then the Lord will deliver the city into
our hands, and we shall take it. For if we fight against them as in the
first battle which we fought before king Kikanus died, many of us shall
fall down slain, as before. Now, behold, here is counsel for you in this
matter: if ye will hearken to my voice, the city will be delivered into
our hands.’
And all the armies answered the king, saying: ‘All that which our lord
commands us will thy servants do.’
So Moses said unto them: ‘Pass through, and proclaim in the whole camp,
unto all the people, saying: Thus says the king: Go into the forest, and
bring of the young of the stork, each man a young one in his hand. And
whosoever will transgress the command of the king, and will not bring
his young one, shall be put to death, and the king shall take away all
his belongings. And it shall come to pass that, when ye bring them, they
shall be in your keeping, and ye shall rear them until they grow up, and
ye shall teach them to swoop, in the manner of the young of the hawk.’
And the children of Cush hearkened to the words of Moses, and they
arose, and caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying: ‘Unto
you, all the children of Cush, is the king’s command: Go ye all together
into the forest, and take for you of the young of the stork, each man
his young one in his hand, and ye shall bring them with you. Now
whosoever shall rebel against the command of the king, shall be put to
death, and the king shall take away all his belongings.’
So the people did according to his command; and they went to the forest,
and climbed up the fir-trees, and they took, each man his young one in
his hand, all the young of the stork, and they brought them with them in
the evening. And they reared them according to the command of the king,
and they taught them to swoop like the young of the hawk; according to
all that the king commanded them, so did all the children of Cush.
And it came to pass that, when the young of the stork grew up, the king
commanded to let them hunger for three days. And all the people did so.
And it came to pass on the third day that the king said unto them:
‘Strengthen yourselves and be men of valor; and put on every man his
armor, and gird on every man his sword upon him, and ride every man his
horse, and take every man his young of the stork in his hand. And we
shall rise up, and fight against the city from the place where the
serpents are.’ And all the people did according to the command of the
king, and every man took his young of the stork in his hand, and they
went forth.
And it came to pass, when they reached the place of the serpents, that
the king said unto them: ‘Send forth every man his young stork upon the
serpents.’ So every man sent forth his young stork, according to the
command of the king. And the young storks swooped upon the serpents, and
devoured them all, and destroyed them out of that place. And when the
people and the king saw that all the serpents were destroyed out of that
place, all the people shouted with a great shout. And they drew nigh,
and fought against the city, and they seized upon it and took it; and
they entered the city. And there died on that day of the people of the
city one thousand and a hundred men, all the inhabitants of the city.
But of the people who were besieging not one died. Then all the children
of Cush went every man to his house, and to his wife, and to his
children, and to all that he possessed.
Now when Balaam the soothsayer saw that the city was taken, he opened
the gate, and he and his two sons and eight brothers fled; and they
returned to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt. They are the sorcerers and
magicians mentioned in the Book of the Law, who stood against Moses when
the Lord brought all the plagues upon Egypt.
So Moses took the city by his wisdom, and the children of Cush set him
on the throne of the kingdom, instead of Kikanus king of Cush. And they
set the royal crown on his head, and gave him queen Adonijah the
Cushite, the wife of Kikanus, to wife. But Moses feared the Lord, the
God of his fathers, and he went not in unto her, nor did he turn his
eyes to her. For Moses remembered how Abraham had made Eliezer his
servant swear, saying: ‘Take not a wife for my son Isaac of the
daughters of Canaan’[132]; and also that which Isaac had done, when
Jacob fled from before his brother, how he commanded him, saying: ‘Take
not a wife of the daughters of Canaan, nor shalt thou make marriages
with any of the children of Ham; for the Lord our God gave Ham the son
of Noah and all his seed as servants unto the children of Shem and unto
the children of Japheth, and unto their seed after them for ever.’[133]
Therefore Moses turned not his heart nor his eyes to the wife of Kikanus
all the days that he reigned over Cush.
And Moses feared the Lord, the God of his fathers, all his days. And
Moses walked before the Lord in truth, with all his heart, and with all
his soul; Moses departed not from the good way all the days of his life;
he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from the way in which
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had walked. And Moses strengthened himself in
the kingdom of the children of Cush, and he guided the children of Cush
in justice by his wisdom. And Moses prospered in his kingdom.
XXIII. JUDAH B. SAUL IBN TIBBON
[A famous translator of Arabic books into Hebrew. He was born at
Granada in 1120, and died towards the end of the twelfth century. He
did a great deal for the development of the Hebrew language, having
practically created or at least systematized the philosophic terms.
It is due to his efforts and to those of his fellow-workers, the
best of whom were his descendants, that the philosophic literature
of the Jews has reached the readers for whom it was intended. He
translated the works of Sa’adya, Ibn Janah, Ibn Gebirol, and Judah
ha-Levi.]
Why the Jewish Religion Does Not Especially Encourage Asceticism[134]
Said the Khazarite: Thou hast explained, O Rabbi, and drawn a
comparison; indeed thou wast skilful in thy explanation and comparison.
But we should expect to see more hermits and ascetics among you than
among other nations.
Said the Rabbi: I regret very much that thou hast forgotten the
principles which I previously expounded to thee and the truth of which
thou didst admit. Did we not agree that it is impossible for any man to
draw near to God except by means of deeds commanded by God? Dost thou
think that this drawing near to God is only to be meek and humble, and
the like?
Said the Khazarite: It is so in truth, and so do I think; I also read in
your books as follows: ‘What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but
to fear the Lord thy God?’[135] and another verse says: ‘What doth the
Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy?’[136] and
many other passages.
Said the Rabbi: These and similar things are the rational laws, which
are the preambles and bases of the divine Law, preceding it in character
and time, and without which the administration of any human society is
impossible. Even a band of robbers must adopt a standard of justice
among them, otherwise their confederacy would not last. When the
disobedience of the children of Israel had come to such a pass that they
disregarded the rational and social laws (without which no society can
exist, just as no individual can exist without the natural functions
like eating, drinking, movement, rest, sleeping, and waking), but
nevertheless held fast to ceremonial worship, like sacrifices and other
divine laws that were prescribed to them, He was satisfied with even
less. He said: ‘Would that ye observed those laws which even the meanest
community observes, as the adoption of justice, the right path, and the
acknowledgment of the Creator’s bounty!’ For the divine laws are not
complete until the social and rational laws become perfected, and the
rational laws include the adoption of justice and the acknowledgment of
the Creator’s bounty. Now how can he, who does not cling to these laws,
adhere to sacrifices, Sabbath, circumcision, and other ceremonies, which
reason neither necessitates, nor rejects? But these are the very laws
which were especially given to the children of Israel in addition to the
rational ones, and it is through them that they received the advantage
of the divine influence, though they knew not why these laws were
necessary, just as they knew not how the glory of God descended upon
them, or the fire of God upon their sacrifices; or how they heard the
speech of God; or how all the other things occurred to them. Reason
would not accept these matters, if not for the irrefutable testimony of
by-standers and eye-witnesses. In a similar manner it was said unto
them: ‘What doth the Lord require of thee?’[137], and ‘Add your
burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices’[138], and other verses of a
similar nature. Is it possible that an Israelite, confining himself to
the doing of justice and the loving of kindness, while forsaking
circumcision, Sabbath, and the laws of Passover and other laws, would
prosper?
Said the Khazarite: Not in accordance with that which thou hast said
before; but in the opinion of the philosophers he would be a pious man,
even if he does not care by which religion he draws near to God, whether
by becoming a Jew or a Christian, or by a religion which he devises for
himself. Now we have returned to analogy, reasoning, and dialectics.
Accordingly, every man would endeavor to establish that law to which his
reason would lead him, and this would be absurd.
Said the Rabbi: The divine Law does not impose asceticism upon us. It
rather desires that we should keep to the golden mean, and allot to
every mental and physical faculty its just share, without giving too
much to one faculty and too little to another. One who inclines toward
the faculty of lust, decreases his thinking faculty; and, on the
contrary, he who inclines toward continence decreases some other
faculty. Prolonged fasting is no act of piety for a man whose appetites
are weak, whose faculties are feeble, and whose body is emaciated; he
rather should pamper his body. Nor is the decreasing of wealth an act of
piety, if it happens to have been gained in a lawful way, without
trouble, and the acquisition thereof does not disturb him from occupying
himself with knowledge and good deeds, especially for one who has
dependants and children, and whose desire is to spend money for the sake
of God; he rather should amass wealth. As a general rule, our Torah is
divided into fear, love, and joy, by each of which one may draw near to
God. Thy contrition on fast-days is not nearer to God than thy rejoicing
on Sabbaths and festivals, provided thy rejoicing is with devout
intention and perfect heart. Just as supplications require concentration
of mind and devout intention, so also the rejoicing in His commandment
and His Torah requires concentration of mind and devout intention; thou
shouldst rejoice in the commandment itself, because thou lovest Him who
enjoined it, and shouldst thereby acknowledge the bounty He bestowed
upon thee. For thou art, as it were, enjoying His hospitality, being
invited to His table and bounty, and shouldst thank Him for it inwardly
and outwardly. Now if this rejoicing leads thee to singing and dancing,
thou thereby worshippest God and cleavest unto the divine influence.
These matters were not left by the Torah free to the discretion of man,
but all were strictly regulated, since it is beyond the power of human
beings to apportion to each faculty of the soul and the body its right
measure, or to decide what amount of rest and movement is good for it,
or to determine the quantity that the ground should produce, so that it
may rest in the years of release and jubilee, and that tithes may be
given thereof, and so forth. God commanded to rest on the Sabbath, to
rest during the festivals, and that the earth should rest; all this as a
remembrance of the going forth from Egypt, and as a memorial of the work
of creation. These two things resemble one another, both having been
accomplished by the will of God, not by accident or natural development;
as He, who is blessed, says: ‘For ask now of the days past, which were
before thee.’[139] ‘Did ever a people hear the voice of God.’[140] ‘Or
hath God assayed.’[141] The observance of the Sabbath in itself has thus
become an acknowledgment of the Godhead; nay, as it were, it is an
acknowledgment of the creative utterance. For he who accepts the
ordinance of the Sabbath, because the work of creation was finished on
it, acknowledges the creation itself without doubt; and he who
acknowledges the creation, acknowledges the Creator, the Maker, who is
blessed. He, however, who does not accept it falls into the heresies of
the world’s eternity, and his belief in the world’s Creator is not pure.
Accordingly, the observance of the Sabbath brings one nearer to the
Creator than do asceticism and monastic retirement. See how the divine
influence, which had cleaved to Abraham and then to His chosen
multitude, and to the Holy Land, kept on leading them from degree to
degree, and guarded their posterity, so that none was detached. It put
them in the best place, made them fruitful, and multiplied them in a
miraculous manner, until it removed them, and planted them in a land
worthy of a chosen people. He is therefore called the God of Abraham and
the God of Isaac, just as He is called Dweller above the Cherubim,
Dweller in Zion, and Dweller in Jerusalem, these places being likened to
heaven, as it is written: ‘O Thou that dwellest in the heaven’,[142] for
His light shines in these places, as it shines in heaven, though only
through mediums worthy of receiving that light which He sheds upon them.
This is called His _love_, which was established for us, in which we are
obliged to believe, and for which we have to thank Him in the prayer
_With everlasting love dost Thou love us_; so that we should bear in
mind that it originated with Him, not with us. To give an instance, we
say concerning the creation of a living being that it did not create
itself, but God formed and fashioned it, when He selected the matter fit
for that form. In the same manner it was He, who is blessed, who
initiated our delivery from Egypt, that we should be His own people, and
He should be our King, as He repeatedly says: ‘I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God.’[143] He also
says: ‘Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’[144]
XXIV. MOSES B. MAIMON
[This great philosopher and Halakist, who is usually called
Maimonides, was born at Cordova in 1135, and died at Cairo in 1204.
He was endowed with a very clear and systematic mind, and exercised
the greatest influence as philosopher and authority on the Talmud
and Jewish jurisprudence. He was a very prolific writer, but his
most important works are his _Guide of the Perplexed_, which was
written in Arabic, his _Code_, written in Hebrew and known as the
_Yad ha-Hazakah_ (Mighty Hand), or _Mishneh Torah_ (Repetition of
the Law), and his Arabic commentary on the Mishnah. He was a
physician by profession, and wrote several essays on medicine and
astronomy.]
A Man Should Choose the Golden Mean[145]
Men have various dispositions, which are different from, and
diametrically opposed to, one another. There is one man who is
irascible, and is continually angry; while there is another who is of a
calm disposition and does not get angry at all; and even if he gets
angry, his wrath is mild, and this only happens once in several years.
There is one man who is exceedingly haughty, while there is another who
is exceedingly meek. There is one man who is voluptuous, whose soul can
never be satisfied with indulging in pleasures; while there is another
whose heart is so pure, that he desires not even the bare necessities
which the body requires. There is one man who is exceedingly avaricious,
whose soul cannot be satisfied with all the riches of the world, as it
is written: ‘He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with
silver;’[146] while there is another who is so unambitious, that he is
content with a small thing which is hardly sufficient for him, and does
not strive to obtain all that he needs. There is one man who emaciates
himself by starvation, and saves all his money, and is very grieved when
he has to spend a Perutah for his food; while there is another who
wilfully squanders all his possessions. And in the same manner are all
other dispositions, as for instance, one man is hilarious, while another
is melancholy; one is niggardly, while another is generous; one is
cruel, while another is merciful; one is faint-hearted, while another is
courageous, and so forth.
Between two contrary dispositions which are at the two extremes there
are intermediate dispositions which are likewise different from one
another. There are some dispositions which are inherent in a man from
his very birth, in accordance with the nature of his body; while there
are others to which a man’s nature is so predisposed, that they are
readily adopted by him sooner than any other; and there are still others
which are not inherent in a man from his very birth, but are acquired by
him through imitating other men, or are adopted by him of his own accord
because of an idea that occurred to him, or because, having heard that
this disposition was good for him and worthy of being cultivated, he
regulated his conduct accordingly, until it has become fixed in his
heart.
The two diametrically opposed extremes of all dispositions are not the
good way, and it behooves no man to walk therein, nor to adopt them. If
a man finds that his nature inclines toward one of them, or is
predisposed to adopt it, or that he has already acquired it, and
regulated his conduct accordingly, he should return to that which is
good, and walk in the way of the good ones, which is the right way.
The right way is the intermediate quality of every disposition of man,
and that is the disposition which is equidistant from both extremes,
being neither nearer to the one nor to the other. The ancient sages have
therefore commanded that a man should always put, arrange, and direct
his dispositions in the middle course, so that he may be sound in his
body. In what manner? He should not be irascible, easily provoked to
anger, nor as a dead man that is insensible, but should take the middle
course: he should only get angry on account of an important matter, when
it behooves to show anger in order that a similar offence should not be
again committed. Similarly, a man should only desire those things which
are necessary and indispensable for his body, as it is written: ‘The
righteous eateth to the satisfying of his desire.’[147] In like manner,
he should not exert himself in his business more than to obtain the
necessities of life, as it is written: ‘A little is good for the
righteous.’[148] He should not be too niggardly, nor squander his money,
but should give charity according to his means, and in a fitting manner
lend to him who is in need. He should not be hilarious and mirthful, nor
gloomy and melancholy, but always happy and contented and of cheerful
countenance. In the same manner should all his dispositions be. This way
is the way of the wise; every man whose dispositions are intermediate,
that is to say, in the middle course, is called wise.
A man who is very strict with himself, and removes himself from the
middle course slightly toward one side or another, is called pious. In
what manner? He who removes himself from haughtiness toward the other
extreme, and is very humble, is called pious; and this is the quality of
piety. If, however, he moves only as far as the middle, and is modest,
he is called wise; and this is the quality of wisdom. In the same manner
are all other dispositions. The pious men of ancient times used to turn
their dispositions from the middle course toward the extremes; some
dispositions were made to incline toward the one extreme, while others
toward the other extreme; this is beyond the line required by the law.
We, however, are commanded to walk in middle courses, which are the good
and upright ways, as it is written: ‘And thou shalt walk in His
ways.’[149] In interpreting this commandment, the sages say: ‘As He is
called gracious, so shalt thou be gracious; as He is called merciful, so
shalt thou be merciful; as He is called holy, so shalt thou be
holy.’[150] And for this reason did the prophets call God by all these
attributes: slow to anger, abundant in lovingkindness, righteous,
upright, perfect, mighty, strong, and so forth, in order to let us know
that these are good and upright ways, according to which a man is
obliged to regulate his conduct, so that he may be like unto Him, as far
as lies in his power.
In what manner should a man accustom himself to these dispositions, so
that they should become part of his nature? He should do once, and
twice, and three times the deeds which he is to do according to the
intermediate dispositions, and should always keep on repeating them
until they have become so easy for him that he can do them without the
slightest effort; the dispositions will then become fixed in his soul.
Because the Creator is called by these names, they are according to the
middle course wherein we are obliged to walk, and this way is called the
way of God; it is the one which Abraham taught his children, as it is
written: ‘For I have known him, to the end that he may command.…’[151]
And he who walks in this way brings welfare and blessing to himself, as
it is written: ‘To the end that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that
which He hath spoken of Him.’[152]
XXV. JOSEPH B. MEIR IBN ZABARA
[Poet and physician. He was born in the city of Barcelona about the
middle of the twelfth century. As a writer he is best known by his
_Sefer Sha’ashu’im_ (Book of Delight) which is a store-house of
folk-lore and science. In this book, which is written in rhymed
prose, Ibn Zabara shows himself abreast of the sciences of his day.
His style is fluent and pleasant. He is also the author of liturgic
and secular poems.]
Jacob the Broker and the Necklace[153]
There was a Jew in Cordova whose name was Jacob the broker. That man was
good and faithful, readily obedient to the command of the judge. One day
a necklace of choicest stones and pearls was committed to his care that
he should sell it for five hundred pieces of gold. And it came to pass
that, while he was carrying the necklace in his hand, a lord, one of the
king’s nobles, met him, and said to him: ‘Jacob, what kind of a necklace
is this?’ He replied: ‘My lord, it was handed over to me that I should
sell it.’
‘For how much wouldst thou sell it?’
He replied: ‘For five hundred pieces of gold.’
The nobleman said to him: ‘Wilt thou give it to me for four hundred?’
He replied: ‘I cannot, for its owner warned me not to take for it less
than five hundred pieces of gold.’
Whereupon the nobleman said: ‘Take it to my house, and if it is good in
the sight of the mistress of the house, I will buy it.’
So he walked with him until he reached the gate of his house. The
nobleman then said: ‘Stand here, until I have brought out unto thee the
money or the necklace.’ He entered the house, and closed the door behind
him. The Jew waited until evening, but nobody came forth from the door
of the nobleman’s house.
And it came to pass at the going down of the sun that Jacob went to his
house full of grief, so that death would have been pleasant unto his
soul; care settled in his heart, and wounded it. He came home, and
passed the night lying on the ground. He ate no bread, neither he nor
his wife and children, and put not off his garments. He closed not his
eyes and eyelids, and turned about as clay under the seal. He rose early
in the morning to go to the house of the lord, and behold, he was coming
forth from his house. When Jacob saw him, he ran to meet him, and said
unto him: ‘My lord, dost thou desire to buy the necklace, or wilt thou
return it unto me that I may sell it to another man?’ But he said:
‘Which necklace? Hast thou seen one of the children of Anak?’[154] And
Jacob said unto him: ‘The pearl necklace which thou tookest yesterday
from my hand.’ Whereupon the nobleman said unto him: ‘Madman, lunatic,
as my soul liveth, and as the king’s soul liveth, were it not that I
regard my honor, I would have lifted up thy head from off thee, and
would have covered thee with the blood of thy liver.’
And it came to pass, when Jacob saw his anger and the roughness of his
words, that terrors of death fell upon him. He turned back, and fled
from before him, for he saw that he sharpened his eyes upon him. He went
to the house of the judge his master. The judge looked at him, and
behold, grief bit him with its teeth, so that it changed his likeness
and the appearance of his countenance. And the judge said unto him:
‘What ails thee that thou art so changed? Art thou afflicted in aught?’
He replied unto him: ‘My lord, I am in great distress; but I cannot tell
my trouble unto thee, lest thou shouldst declare me a liar, and make my
speech nothing worth.’ And the judge said unto him: ‘Tell it to me, for
in my sight thou art trustworthy in all thy words, and righteous in
whatsoever thou sayest.’ Whereupon he related to him all that had
happened to him about the necklace, so that his soul chose strangling.
The judge then said unto him: ‘Put away vexation from thy heart, and
remove grief from thee; be not in pain, and cry not in thy pangs, for I
shall restore the necklace unto thee.’
And it came to pass in the morning that the judge sent for the nobles,
elders, sages, and wise men of the city to come to the court; for it was
his custom to send sometimes for the wise men, and to discuss points of
law with them. And they all came to his house to hear the words of his
understanding and his wisdom. Now before they came, he said unto his
servant: ‘When that nobleman comes, take his shoe,[155] and go to his
house, and say unto his wife: “My lord thy husband sent me to thee that
thou shouldst give him the necklace which he bought yesterday or the day
before yesterday; for he desires to show its goodness and beauty;
behold, he gave me his shoe for a testimony and for a sign.”’ When the
woman saw her husband’s shoe, she gave him the necklace. The servant
brought it to his master, and hid it in his bosom until the men went out
from the house of judgment. And it came to pass, when they went out,
that his master said unto him: ‘Hast thou brought the necklace?’ And he
replied: ‘I have brought it;’ and he took it out from his bosom, and
gave it to him. Then he sent and called Jacob the broker, and said unto
him: ‘Be still, and groan not, for I have restored the necklace unto
thee, and have taken out from the house of the nobleman the thing he
gained by oppression.’ When the Jew saw it, he kissed his hands and
blessed him. He carried it to his house, joyful and glad of heart.
XXVI. SAMUEL B. JUDAH IBN TIBBON
[Physician and translator. He was born at Lunel about 1150, and died
at Marseilles 1230. He continued the work of his father, and earned
for himself the gratitude of Hebrew readers by translating
Maimonides’ _Guide of the Perplexed_ into Hebrew. He also compiled a
glossary of the philosophic terms that occur in that book. He was an
enthusiastic follower of Maimonides.]
On the Limitations of Man’s Intellect[156]
Know that there are objects of perception which are within the capacity
and nature of the human intellect to grasp. There are in existence other
things and objects which are not in its nature to perceive in any shape
or form; indeed the gates of perception are closed against it. There are
in existence still other things of which the intellect may grasp one
part, while remaining ignorant of the other. Because the intellect has
the power of grasping, it does not necessarily follow that it can grasp
everything, just as there are objects of perception which the senses can
perceive only at a certain distance, and no other. The same is the case
with all other corporeal faculties. Thus, for instance, although a man
is able to carry two kikkars, he is not able to carry ten. That
individuals of the same species surpass one another in these sensations
and other corporeal faculties is clearly manifest to every man; but
there is a limit to individual superiority, which does not extend to
every distance and degree. The same is the case with the perceptions of
the human intellect. The individuals of the human species greatly
surpass one another in this respect. This, too, is clearly manifest to
the men of wisdom. For while one man can discover a certain thing by
himself through his own speculations, another man is never able to
understand it; even if he is taught by means of all possible expressions
and examples, and during a long period, his intellect can in no way
grasp it, the power of his mind being insufficient to understand it.
This distinction is likewise not unlimited. Indeed, the human intellect
undoubtedly has a boundary where it must stop. There are certain things
which are manifestly inaccessible to the understanding of man, so that
his soul does not even long to know them, being aware of the
impossibility of such knowledge, as there is no opening through which he
may enter to attain to it. For instance, we are ignorant as to the
number of the stars of heaven, whether it is even or odd; nor do we know
the number of the species of animals, minerals, plants, and similar
things. There are, however, other things to comprehend which man
entertains a strong desire, and mental efforts to seek and investigate
the truth thereof are made by every thinking sect of men at all times.
It is with regard to these things that opinions differ, and thinkers
disagree, and confusions constantly arise, because the intellect is bent
on comprehending them, that is to say, on account of the longing
entertained for them: every one thinks that he has discovered a way by
which he may know the truth of the thing, whereas it is not within the
power of the human intellect to produce demonstrative proof on the
matter. (For every proposition, the truth of which can be ascertained by
proof, is not subject to dispute, contradiction, or rejection; none but
the ignorant would join in a controversy which is known as the
‘controversy capable of demonstrative proof.’ Thus one finds that men
disputed concerning the spherical form of the earth, or the circular
revolution of the sphere, and the like. Such matters do not belong to
this treatise). Now as to the subjects in which this confusion prevails,
it is exceedingly frequent in metaphysical speculations, less so in
matters relating to physics, and is entirely absent from the exact
sciences. Alexander Aphrodisius says that there are three causes which
bring about disputes on various subjects: firstly, love of authority and
conquest which prevents a man from attaining to the exact truth;
secondly, the subtlety, depth, and difficulty of the subject which is to
be comprehended; thirdly, the ignorance of the investigator and the
insufficiency of the power of his intellect to comprehend that which may
be comprehended. That is what Alexander states. In our times there is a
fourth cause which Alexander did not mention, because it did not exist
at that time, namely, habit and training. For men naturally love and are
attracted by that to which they have been accustomed. We thus see that
villagers, although they seldom wash their heads and their bodies, and,
missing all pleasures, lead a life of privation, nevertheless dislike
the cities, and do not enjoy their pleasures; they prefer bad things to
which they are accustomed to good things to which they are not
accustomed. They derive no satisfaction from dwelling in palaces, from
being clad in silk, and from indulging in baths, ointments, and
perfumes. The same happens to a man with reference to his opinions to
which he has been accustomed, and in which he has been brought up: he
cherishes them, defends them, and shuns the opposite views. It is
likewise through this cause that a man is prevented from attaining to
truth, and clings to the things to which he has been accustomed. Such,
for instance, is the case with the vulgar notions concerning God’s
corporeality, and many other metaphysical questions, as we shall
explain. This is due to long familiarity with scriptural verses, which,
as a fixed dogma, were respected and believed in, and the literal sense
of which implies corporeality of God and imageries in which there is no
truth; these passages, however, were written as parables and allegories,
for reasons which I shall mention below.
Do not think that that which we have said of the insufficiency of the
power of the human intellect and of the limit where it must stop is an
assertion made only in accordance with the Torah; in truth it is a
matter which the philosophers have likewise asserted, and which they
have comprehended in a true manner, without inclining to any doctrine or
opinion. It is an established fact that can only be doubted by one who
is ignorant of things that have been proved.
XXVII. JUDAH B. SOLOMON AL-HARIZI
[Celebrated poet of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Born in
Spain, he travelled to the Holy Land and Babylon. He possessed a
very vivid imagination and descriptive pen, and in his master-piece
_Tahkemoni_ he embodied the result of his experience during his
travels. In that book, which is modelled after the _Makamat_ of the
famous Arabic poet al-Hariri, he shows himself a keen critic of men
and things. He displayed marvellous skill in translating al-Hariri’s
book under the title _Mahberot Ithiel_. His style is fluent and
melodious. He also translated Maimonides’ _Guide of the Perplexed_
into Hebrew, but in this work was less successful than Ibn Tibbon.]
Seven Young Men Discuss the Merits of the Various Virtues[157]
Heman the Ezrahite[158] saith: I was in the land of Pethor, the city of
Balaam the son of Beor; and while I was walking by the riverside, under
the shadows of plants and thickets of flowers, I perceived seven
pleasant youths of the choicest society. They sat upon the bank of the
river, making their hearts merry with words of rhetoric. One of them
called out, and said: ‘Which is the best quality that is more beloved
than all other qualities and is the worthiest in the sight of God and
man?’
One of them said: I know that all qualities are praiseworthy, but there
is none as sublime as humility; for it conceals all faults, and reveals
all that is beautiful; it causes to forgive transgressions, and makes
its possessor associate with the modest; it increases his lovers and
friends, and causes him to inherit a precious and pleasant name. And he
took up his parable, and said: Amongst man’s good traits there is none
like meekness: it is graceful and sublime to all the wise; it stirs up
love in hearts of enemies, and covers a man’s sins and transgressions.
His companion said unto him: From the right path hast thou gone astray,
and hast fed the wind. Humility or impudence is esteemed as nought when
compared with promptitude; for with it a man conquers souls, and finds
favor and good understanding in the sight of God and men, and inherits
much honor and greatness in this world and in the next; with it he
amasses increasing riches and houses full of all good things. And he
took up his parable, and said: It is true that promptitude has no equal,
and happy is he who walks in its way; all precious qualities are but
handmaids, and promptness is like a queen to them.
His third companion said: Thou has spoken foolishly, for there is no
quality as good and precious as courage and bravery; for with it a man
subdues all his enemies, and does good to his friends; he joins himself
unto the great, and will cry, yea, he will shout, he will prove himself
mighty against his enemies. He will ascend the throne of excellence, so
that they will proclaim before him: ‘Cast up the highway!’ And he took
up his parable, and said: In truth there is no precious trait in man
like courage blended with strength; indeed with it a man subdues his
foes, and brings them down with sorrow to the grave.
The fourth one said: Thou hast wandered out of the way, and hast been
made to serve folly with rigor; for among all the qualities there is no
quality as worthy as faithfulness; for with it a man lifts up his head,
his soul becomes precious, and he is honored in the sight of all flesh
and blood, and finds favor and good understanding in the sight of God
and man. And he took up his parable, and said: Know there is no quality
as worthy in God’s sight as faithfulness; if prophecy assumed a mortal
garb, it would appear like faithfulness in form.
The fifth one said: There is no steadfastness in thy mouth, and thy
speech is without understanding; for the most sublime quality is wisdom:
it lifts up those of its adherents that are low, and raises its banners
upon their heads; and wisdom preserves the life of him that has it; if
not for wisdom, man would not excel an animal. And he took up his
parable and said: In this our world there is no trait so sublime and
glorious to man’s head as wisdom; with it a man ascends the royal
throne, and with it the weary ones will find strength.
The sixth one said: A vain vision hast thou seen, and falsely hast thou
testified; for there is no quality as good to any flesh as culture; for
it is for his culture that a man is honored by those that know him, and
loved by those that hear him; they cover all his transgressions; his
memorial is pleasant to all mouths, and his praise is like a tower built
for an armory; such a man is a delight to the heart, and his praises
endure for ever and ever. And he took up his parable, and said: There is
no quality in man like culture; it is majesty and grace unto all flesh;
for if a man possesses all charms, but has no culture, know that he
lacks honor.
The seventh one said: Thou trustest in vanity, and, following the east
wind, feedest on wind; for among all the qualities there is none as
worthy as a good heart; for through it a man is beloved of all
creatures, and is placed at the head of all guests; he is honored in the
sight of those that hear him and see him, all that look upon him love
him, and even his enemies praise him; men laud him, and the angels of
heaven remember him for good. And he took up his parable, and said: In
truth there is no quality like a good heart; with it a man will flourish
like a watered garden; through it he will be beloved of his Maker, and
will find favor and good repute in His sight.
When the old man heard their words, he said unto them: Ye are all
perplexed, and walk in darkness; the right thing is hidden from you, and
ye know not to choose the truth; for among all the qualities there is no
quality as good as generosity; for all other qualities bow down at its
feet, and it excels them all; through it all sins are forgiven, and
hatred is removed from the heart; with it a man attains desirable things
that are far away, even if they are in heaven; through it he is counted
among the pious, for with it he does righteous and kind deeds; with it
he acquires a good name, and his memorial is like precious oil. But he
who lacks generosity, his righteousness is counted as guilt, his
kindnesses as errors, and his favors as sins. All his companions despise
him, those who know him hate him, his friends remember him for evil, and
they that dwell in his house and his maids count him for a stranger. The
bounteous man, however, lifts up his countenance, for generosity covers
all his sins, and blots out his transgressions; his adversaries love
him, and his enemies praise him; they that are jealous of him laud him,
and they who would curse him bless him. For by his generosity he
conquers their hearts, and attracts their love; through it haughtiness
becomes beautiful, and faults turn into merits; through it the fool is
counted as wise, and the despised one soars up to the heavens. Thus I
have seen wicked men who commit evil deeds, but if they have a generous
heart, it conceals all their wickedness and guilt; their bad qualities
become good, and love covers all transgressions. I have likewise seen
men of faithfulness, prudence, and understanding, possessing all worthy
qualities; but if generosity is not among them, fear of God becomes a
sin, and humility haughtiness, promptitude impudence, prudence folly,
merit a fault, and understanding lack of knowledge. For all other good
qualities bow down at the feet of generosity, and concerning it it is
written: ‘Many daughters have done valiantly, but thou excellest them
all.’[159] And he took up his parable, and said: It is true there are
precious traits in this world, but highest of all is generosity; for
other traits, though they be praiseworthy, stole their excellence from
generosity.
The narrator said: When I heard his discourse and the pleasantness of
his instruction, I desired to investigate whether his wisdom is in
accordance with his rhetoric, and I said unto him: ‘By the life of Him
who endowed thee with eloquent speech and a spirit of counsel and might,
make known to me the branch of thy planting and the habitation where
thou liest down.’
And he answered, and said: I am Heber who compose a pleasant song, and
flash forth flames of fire from my tongue. I strengthen hearts with
witty sayings which are set with stones of eloquence and metaphors; I
cover my friends with a cloak of praise, but clothe my foes with
garments of dread.
When I heard his songs and his powerful words, I knew that he was our
teacher and master Heber the Kenite our scholar. I stayed for a while
with him to enjoy his fragrance and to satiate myself with the sweetness
of his speech. Afterwards I greeted him with peace, and each man of us
turned to his tent.
XXVIII. JUDAH B. SAMUEL HE-HASID OF REGENSBURG
[Ethical writer and mystic of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
He died about 1217. Legend credits him with the performance of
miracles. He founded a talmudic school, and among his pupils were
Eleazar of Worms, author of the _Rokeah_, and Isaac of Vienna,
author of the _Or Zarua‘_. He is said to have had social intercourse
with the bishop of Salzburg and the duke of Regensburg. His
principal work is the _Sefer Hasidim_ (Book of the Pious). He is
also the author of some liturgic poems.]
Certain Forms of Virtue Lead to Sin[160]
There is a kind of humility which inherits Gehenna, and causes the heirs
of the humble to inherit a burning fire in Gehenna. In what manner is
it? If a man sees that his children, relatives, or pupils are of bad
behavior, and it lies within his power to correct them, by reprimanding
or by beating them, but he says to himself: ‘I shall rather be agreeable
to them and not reprimand or beat them,’ he causes them to inherit
Gehenna. For they will corrupt their way, and will even do mischief to
their father and their mother, so that they will despise them, and curse
the day wherein they were born. It is in connection with such a case
that it is written: ‘He that spareth the rod hateth his son.’[161] It is
also said that he who smites his grown-up son transgresses the
injunction: ‘Put not a stumbling-block before the blind.’[162] But a son
that is accustomed to reproofs of instruction, and is beaten while
small, will not resent if his father beats him when he is grown up. It
is also written: ‘Unless I had believed to see the goodness of the
Lord;’[163] there are some dots on the word _Unless_,[164] for David
said: ‘Peradventure I caused my sons to sin, and am not able to make
amends by repenting’; for it is written: ‘And his father had not grieved
him all his life in saying: “Why hast thou done so?”’[165]
There is another kind of humility which likewise brings a man down to
Gehenna. For instance, a man sits in a court of justice, and knows that
the judges are in error; or a private man knows that the court is in
error, but says: ‘How shall I go and put them to shame?’ or a man knows
that the judges are not well-versed in law, while he is well-versed, and
when they say to him: ‘Sit with us that we may not go astray’, he
replies: ‘I shall not take a seat, for ye are well-versed.’ It is
obvious that if they go astray, the sin is to be attached to him.
Another instance is, when a man hears that the congregation speak
falsely, and he says: ‘Who am I that I should speak before them?’
Behold, it is written: ‘And in thy majesty prosper, ride on, in behalf
of truth and humility of righteousness’[166]; from this we infer that
there is a kind of humility which is not righteousness, as the above and
similar cases show. It is also said: ‘An untutored priest should not say
the benedictions in the presence of scholars.’
There is a kind of charity which is pernicious. In what manner is it?
One who gives alms to adulterers or to a glutton or a drunkard. For it
is written: ‘She shall not fall into harlotry,’[167] and thou mayest
read: ‘She shall not cause to fall into harlotry;’ ‘Thou shalt not
commit adultery,’[168] and thou mayest read: ‘Thou shalt not cause to
commit adultery.’ ‘Thou shalt not murder,’[169] and it may be read:
‘Thou shalt not cause to murder.’ He who supplies weapons of destruction
to murderers is regarded as if he himself had committed murder. For it
is written: ‘He hath also prepared for him the weapons of death.’[170]
He who gives food to robbers is like their accomplice. Similarly, he who
gives alms to adulterers is regarded as though he had aided them and
brought them together, for they take the money that is given to them,
and offer it as a hire to harlots. It is also said that a man should
give no alms at all rather than give it publicly.[171] In a similar
sense it is also said that if a man who cannot pay his debts gives alms,
it is obvious that his charity is robbery.
There is a kind of piety which is bad. For instance, a man whose hands
are unclean sees a holy book fall into the fire, and says: ‘It is better
that it should be burned,’ and does not touch the book. Another instance
has also been cited: a man sees a woman drown in the river, and says:
‘It is better that she should drown than that I should touch her.’[172]
There is also false piety. For instance: a man brings out a Scroll of
the Law into the public thoroughfare on the Sabbath on account of a
fire; or when a man says: ‘How shall I save a man’s life and profane the
Sabbath?’ Another instance is: a question about declaring a thing
forbidden or lawful is referred to a man who knows that he is
well-versed in the Law, though there are others like him in the city,
and he says: ‘Address the question to others;’ behold, his meekness may
lead to sin: peradventure if he had given his decision, he would have
forbidden that which others had declared lawful.
There is sometimes a righteous judge that perishes in his righteousness.
For instance: he sees two litigants, one being a swindler, and the other
a simpleton; the swindler knows how to plead, but the simpleton, who
does not know how to plead, is right; concerning him it is written:
‘Open thy mouth for the dumb.’[173] Likewise, if he knows that the
verdict is unjust, one of the litigants having hired false witnesses, he
should not say: ‘Let the sin be attached to the witnesses.’
A favor sometimes turns out to be harmful, and is regarded as an evil
for its author and his offspring. In what manner is it? For instance: a
man causes that sinners and they that lead others astray should dwell in
the city. Now since it is bad for the people of the city, it is evident
that he and his offspring will stumble over them, and they will do
mischief to his offspring. It is in connection with such a case that it
is written: ‘And he did that which is not good among his people.’[174]
(Another explanation: _And he did that which is not good among his
people_ refers to him who disgraces his family; he is punished, because
he sinned by inflicting shame and injury upon his people). Another
instance: he who does a good deed in order to be honored and to praise
himself thereby.
XXIX. ELEAZAR B. JUDAH B. KALONYMOS OF WORMS
[Talmudist and mystic. He was born at Mayence about 1170, and died
at Worms 1238. His teacher Judah he-Hasid initiated him in the
mysteries of Kabbalah. His private life was cruelly tragic. In 1196,
while he was engaged in writing a commentary on Genesis, the
crusaders entered his house, and slew his wife and children. In
spite of that, his writings are filled with spiritual joy, and he
seems to soar above the calamities of the flesh. As a Halakist he
was clear-sighted and logical, yet he was swayed by hallucinations,
and saw angels and demons. He wrote numerous works on ethical,
halakic, and mystical subjects. But the best known of his books is
the _Sefer ha-Rokeah_ (Book of the Perfumer). That book is so
called, the author tells us, because the numerical value of the word
רקח is identical with that of Eleazar.]
Moral Admonitions and Precepts[175]
O man that art born of a woman, consider the benefit and kindness thy
Creator has bestowed upon thee since thou wast a wet, fetid, and white
drop. See that thou art not ungrateful to Him. Thy father and mother
forsook thee, but He took thee up, formed thee, and guarded thee, until
thou camest forth from the womb. In the time of thy rejoicing know Him;
thou shalt cause the fear of Him to come to thy mind, and all thy limbs
shall tremble. Serve ye the Lord with joy, and rejoice with trembling:
in the place of rejoicing, there shall be trembling; for by the sadness
of the countenance the heart becomes glad. Think that the Creator is
near thee: I have set the Lord always before me.[176] When thou prayest,
stand with awe, and think before whom thou art standing, to whom thou
art speaking. If there is care in thy heart, dispel it during thy
prayer; for while standing before the Great King thou shouldst not think
of thy care, but of thy fear of Him and of thy love of Him. For many
there are who sin against their souls: they sit in the synagogue like
mourners, their mouth being closed, and they sing not to the Lord of
hosts; they will be condemned to a fire not kindled by man.
Therefore, for all these reasons, acknowledge Him in all thy ways.
Remove not the fear of the Lord from thy heart. If thy sustenance is
scanty, reflect: ‘I ought to be satisfied with the breath which He
placed in my nostrils, and with the breath of my mouth. He has given me
poverty for my own good, to purify me in the crucible of affliction!’ If
thy face grows pale on account of thy fulfilling the commandments,
consider thy blood which was lost as the blood that is sprinkled upon
the altar. If thou art afflicted with pain, accept it with love and with
joy. Be wise in thy fear of Him, for He is thy Master, and thou art His
servant owned by Him. Render thanks unto Him for every measure. If He
has given thee riches and possessions, let thy heart not be lifted up
above thy poor brother, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth;
ye both came forth naked from the womb, and when thou departest from
this world, thou like him shalt lie down in the dust, in the place of
worm and maggots which shall go out and come in through thy mouth. Even
during thy lifetime thou mayest be like him in need of the help of thy
fellow-creatures. If thou art punished through thy children, it should
be regarded in thy sight as though thou hast killed them with thy sins.
Murmur not against His measures, for the uproar of the tumultuous[177]
is in them that occasion His judgment. Know that the Holy One is in thy
midst; therefore conduct thyself with holiness, with saintliness, and
with purity. When thou makest mention of the honored and awe-inspiring
Name, let all thy limbs tremble. Set thy mind with devotion upon thy
Creator, when thou standest in prayer. Before a word comes forth from
thy mouth think of the interpretation of its meaning. If a worldly
thought comes to thee in the middle of the prayer, keep silent until
thou hast set thy mind upon the fear of the Creator. Be careful in
uttering every word to move thy lips and to be conscious of the sound,
in order that thou shouldst not commit an error; just as when counting
money, thou settest thy mind and attention on the number. When thou
standest up in prayer, say: ‘I am not worthy of giving a crown to the
King of glory and to mention His great name!’ Clothe thyself with
terror, as Abraham said: ‘Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto
the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.’[178] Say to thyself: ‘Do not the
sons of heaven fear and dread Him? for it is very tempestuous round
about Him; how much more I, who am formed of clay, and have not the
understanding of a man! I am despised in my life and despicable in my
death. I shall rend the caul of my heart, and enter His gates with fear
and humility.’ For wherever we find His greatness there we also find His
humility: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a
contrite and humble spirit.[179] Therefore while thy spirit is yet in
its sheath, think of the fear of thy Creator. Commit thy works unto the
Lord, and thy purposes shall be established. The fear of the Lord is a
fountain of life, that one may depart from the snares of death. Keep
away from hastiness and perversion, from haughtiness and slothfulness.
Cling firmly to humility and peace; be not envious of them that work
unrighteousness, but of the fear of the Lord continually. And the
stability of thy times shall be a hoard of salvation, wisdom, and
knowledge, and the fear of the Lord which is His treasure. ‘Can any hide
himself in secret places that I shall not see him?’ saith the Lord.[180]
Are these not the eyes of the Lord which everywhere run to and fro? Know
that beauty, strength, glory, jealousy, wisdom, riches, poverty, and the
prevalence of the evil inclination are transitory. Know likewise that
the observance of the commandments and the fear of the Lord extinguish
the fire of the evil inclination, and that the Torah is a remedy to
remove the evil thought.
XXX. MOSES B. NAHMAN
[Talmudist, mystic, and biblical exegete. He is usually called
Nahmanides, and in Spanish Bonastruc de Portas. He was born at
Gerona about 1195, and died in Palestine about 1270. Subsequent
writers regarded him as a great authority on the Talmud and Halakah,
and his reputation was perhaps second only to that of Maimonides.
His biblical commentaries, too, have been very popular. He was
compelled to have a public disputation with a convert to
Christianity named Pablo Christiano, in 1263, at the court of
Barcelona. He was a physician by profession.]
Ethical Letter, Praising Humility, Addressed to His Son[181]
Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of
thy mother. My son, my beloved, accustom thyself always to speak gently
to every man, at all times and seasons; thereby thou shalt avoid anger
which is a very bad and blameworthy disposition, for it leads to sin, as
our teachers of blessed memory said: ‘If one gets angry, it is regarded
as if he worshipped idols.’[182] And all punishments of Gehenna have
power over him, as it is written: ‘Remove anger from thy heart, and put
away evil from thy flesh.’[183] By the world _evil_ Gehenna is meant, as
it is written: ‘Even the wicked for the day of evil.’[184] When thou
avoidest anger, thou wilt bring to thy mind the quality of humility, and
cleave unto it, for it is the best of all virtues, as it is written:
‘The reward of humility is the fear of the Lord.’[185] The Mishnah
likewise says: ‘Be exceedingly humble of spirit.’[186] Even our teacher
Moses, peace be upon him, was praised by this quality, as it is written:
‘And the man Moses was very meek.’[187] It is also through the merit of
this virtue that the Torah was given at his hand, and that he was called
the teacher of all prophets. He who attains unto this quality is beloved
of Heaven, as it is written: ‘With him also that is of a contrite and
humble spirit.’[188] When thou clingest to the quality of humility, the
quality of the fear of God will come to thy mind; for thou wilt
continually lay to thy heart whence thou camest, and whither thou art
going (thou art worm and maggot in thy life and in thy death), and
before whom thou art destined to render account and reckoning (before
the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, whose glory
fills the earth). It is also written: ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?
saith the Lord.’[189] It is also written: ‘Behold, heaven and the heaven
of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less the hearts of the children
of men!’[190] When thou wilt consider all this, thou wilt fear thy
Creator, and guard thyself against sin. By clinging to these qualities
thou wilt be in a state of perfection and sublimity, and wilt
continually be happy with thy lot; this latter, too, is one of the good
qualities, as the Mishnah says: ‘Who is rich? he who rejoices in his
lot.’[191] If thy conduct is according to the quality of humility and
thou art ashamed before every man, and thou fearest thy Creator, who
gives thee life, so that thou sinnest not, the spirit of the Shekinah
and the splendor of its glory will dwell upon thee, and thou wilt
deserve the life of this world and of the world to come.
My son and my beloved, know assuredly that one who exalts himself above
his fellow-men rebels against the kingdom of heaven, for he makes use of
God’s garment, as it is written: ‘The Lord reigneth, He is clothed with
pride.’[192] And God, who is blessed, says concerning the haughty man:
‘I and he cannot dwell together in this world.’ Accordingly, he who is
haughty will be uprooted from the world.
Consider with thy understanding: Of what should a man be proud? of his
wealth and honor? they surely belong to God, and He, who is blessed,
bestows them upon man, as it is written: ‘Both riches and honour come to
Thee, and Thou rulest over all.’[193] It is also written: ‘The Lord
maketh poor, and maketh rich.’[194] Of his wisdom? Let him remember the
explicit words of Scripture: ‘He removeth the speech of men of trust,
and taketh away the sense of the elders.’[195] It is thus evident that
all comes from Him, blessed be He; in His anger He brings low the
haughty, and in His favor He lifts up the lowly. Therefore, my son, make
thyself humble, and remove thyself from haughtiness, so that the Lord
may raise thee high.
Now, my son, I shall set forth for thee how thou shouldst conduct
thyself according to the quality of humility, to follow it continually.
Let all thy words be spoken with gentleness, with respect, with good
manners, and with love; thy countenance should be pleasant, and thy head
bowed down. Thine eyes should look downwards, and thy heart upwards. Do
not gaze too fixedly upon a man, when thou addressest him. Let every man
be greater than thou in thy sight. If he is rich, thou shalt honor him,
as did our saintly teacher who used to honor the rich. If he is poor and
thou art rich, thou shalt have mercy and compassion on him, and honor
the Lord with thy substance. If thou art wiser than he, thou shouldst
consider that thou art guilty, and he is innocent; for he sins
unwittingly, while thou sinnest wilfully, as the Rabbis of blessed
memory said: ‘The errors of the sages are regarded as wilful sins.’[196]
In all thy thoughts, words, and deeds, at all times and seasons, regard
thyself as though thou stood before the supreme King of kings, the Holy
One, blessed be He, and as if His Shekinah were upon thee; for His glory
fills the whole earth. Thy words should be spoken with terror and fear,
with trembling and awe, as a servant standing before his master. Take
heed to study the Law continually, day and night, for thereby thou shalt
be able to fulfil the commandments thereof; it is thy life and the
length of thy days. When thou hast finished the reading of a book, thou
shouldst retain that which thou hast learned, in order to fulfil that
which is written in it, as far as thou art able to fulfil. Thou shouldst
continually search thy deeds, every day, morning and evening, in order
to depart from evil and to do good. Thus all thy days will be in perfect
repentance.
During the prayer of the Eighteen Benedictions thou shouldst remove all
the affairs of this world from thy heart; think of no other matter
except of fixing thy mind on the prayer with perfect devotion. Prepare
and purify thy heart and mind before God, blessed be He; thereby thy
prayer will be pure, clean, untainted, full of devotion, and acceptable
before the Holy One, blessed be His name, as it is written: ‘Thou wilt
direct their heart, Thou wilt cause Thine ear to attend.’[197] Death and
life are in the power of the tongue, and he that keeps his mouth and
tongue, keeps his soul from troubles. Therefore in every matter think of
thy words before thou givest utterance to them, all the days of thy
life, so that thou mayest not sin; thereby thy thoughts, words, and
deeds will be upright and good.
My son, read this epistle once a week with thy friend, and walk
continually after God, blessed be He, in order that thou mayest prosper
in all thy ways and be worthy of the world to come which is stored up
for the righteous. Whenever thou readest it, thou wilt get an answer
from Heaven to all petitions which thou mayest ask from this time forth
and for evermore.
XXXI. SOLOMON B. ABRAHAM IBN ADRET
[Celebrated authority on Halakah and zealous defender of traditional
Judaism. He was born at Barcelona in 1235, and died in 1310. He was
exceedingly active as Rabbi and author. His numerous responsa have
been recognized as an important source for the internal history of
the Jews in the thirteenth century.]
Epistle Prohibiting Anyone Under Twenty-Five Years of Age to Study
Philosophy[198]
What avails it to refrain oneself, and who can refrain himself from
speaking? Who shall comfort us in the grief of our heart, even though
Ithiel and Ucal[199] stood before us? Shall Calcol, and Darda, and
Heman[199] be able to heal the proud waters and the afflicted of the
time? Unto whom of the holy ones shall we turn, and who is the faithful
of the generation to bring the balsam from Gilead for the tottering foot
and for the wound of long continuance? It is in the place of judgment
and in the place of righteousness that we have seen many cracks, but
there is none to repair the breaches. O land, land, land, where the men
of renown were born, in whose midst was the Law of God, and upon whose
heart was the breastplate of judgment; there thrones for judgment had
been set, attended by the holy seed, the judge and the litigant. And
even up till this day all the congregation, with the exception of a few
men, are holy; they are the elect of the congregation, and because of
their excellence are chiefs over all the people. But their children who
arise after them have created a waster to destroy; and as a band of
prophets, with harp and lute, they go about the city, and pursue vanity.
When they spoke their fearful words, they thought that they were exalted
in Israel; and at the head of every street they said concerning false
gods: ‘These are thy gods, O Israel.’ It is now some time since our
attention has been drawn by people from the land of Provence, the chosen
remnant, who were jealous for the faith of Moses and the Jews, to the
fact that there are men there who falsify the Law, and that he is
regarded wise who sits down to demolish the walls and who destroys the
words of the Law. They hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns,
and they impute unto the words of the Law and the words of the sages
things which are not right. Concerning the two Laws they expound in the
synagogues and in the houses of study words by which none can live. To
provoke the eyes of the Glory of all Israel they break down all the
fences of the Law; and even against our holy fathers they put forth
their tongue, a thing which the worshippers of idols have not done. For
they say that Abraham and Sarah represent matter and form, and that the
twelve tribes of Israel are the twelve constellations. Has a nation ever
heard such an evil thing since the world was divided into territories?
Or has such a thing ever been heard, that men should reduce everything
to chaos? The blasphemers of God further say that the holy vessels which
were sanctified, the Urim and the Thummin, are the instrument known as
astrolabe, which men make for themselves. Have such false children ever
been found before? They in truth bite the people more dangerously than
do the fiery serpents. Without any benefit and without any cause they
commit the sin of slander, and say that the four who fought against the
five[200] are the four elements and the five senses. May the souls of
these men be wholly consumed as offerings! A man who does such things
reduces the entire Bible to useless allegories; indeed they trifle with,
and pervert all the commandments in order to make the yoke of their
burden lighter unto themselves. Their reports terrify us, and all who
arrive here tell us new things. Truth has stumbled in the street, for
some of them say that all that is written from the section of _Bereshit_
as far as the giving of the Law is nothing more than an allegory. May
such men become a proverb and a by-word, and may they have no stay and
no staff. Indeed they show that they have no faith in the plain meaning
of the commandments; they inscribe on their hearts and on the walls of
their altars that they have no portion in the God of Israel, nor in the
Torah which their fathers had received on Sinai. They are more estranged
than the Gentiles; for the latter fulfil some of the commandments in the
proper form, while they (may they have no remnant in the land!) strongly
desire to uproot all. The chief reason of all this is because they are
infatuated with alien sciences, Zidonian and Moabitish, and pay homage
to the Greek books. They mingle with strangers, and bear them children.
The children that are consecrated unto heaven from their birth and from
their mothers’ womb are drawn away from the breasts, and are taught the
books and the language of the Chaldeans, instead of rising early to
study the Jewish faith in the house of their teachers. Now a boy born
upon the knees of natural science, who sees Aristotle’s sevenfold proofs
concerning it, really believes in it, and denies the Chief Cause; if we
refute him, he becomes all the more impious. They only read the Law, but
their heart is not right inwardly, and they pervert it in seven ways.
For thus says one of their sages, who is esteemed as the chief of the
heads of their sects: ‘It is good that the study of the Law should be
combined with secular sciences; it is a good thing, but without the
wisdom of the Greeks a man is called _a wild ass used to the
wilderness_. They that study the Law, what manner of wisdom is in them?
for they themselves are but as beasts.’ They are therefore ashamed when
they speak and lecture; they speak with their mouths, and point with the
fingers that it is impossible to change nature, and they thereby declare
to all that they do not believe in the creation of the universe, nor in
any of the miracles that are recorded in the Torah. Lo, these are but
the outskirts of their ways; were we to relate the rest of their words
and deeds as they actually are, the ink would not suffice. We have thus
explained enough here. They have nearly caused God’s people to forget
His name; they went forth from His land, so that His place (God
forfend!) no longer knows them. They that make a covenant with God, and
surname themselves by the name of Israel, shall not their heart grow hot
at that? Can those heretics put fire into our bosoms, and their flame
not consume our reins? Shall the lovers of the Law respect the person of
their brother or kinsman? Has the divine word completely gone away? Has
instruction failed? Shall it be said unto my children, as these men
actually say in our presence: ‘Let the Law return to Sinai’?
Now when we saw that the fire was kindled, we feared lest the fire
should break out, and catch in thorns, namely, a man whose soul is
empty, who will be smitten through ignorance. God forbid that the earth
should become empty, and void, and waste! When we saw that the
generation had become corrupted and ready to treat religion lightly, we
made a fence, and strengthened the wall round our perfect Torah. Had we
not made a strong hedge round the vineyard of the Lord of hosts, we
would have shared in the blame for their deeds. We have therefore
interdicted in a perfect manner of interdiction, as ye see recorded with
writing of truth in the book of the covenant which we made with our
God,[201] any one to teach or to learn these sciences, until the student
and the teacher are twenty-five years old, and until they have become
full of the delicacies of the Law, so that they will not remove it from
being queen; for he who espouses it in his youth will not turn away from
it even when he grows old. And indeed we shall not have done our duty,
until we have pursued them, and brought them low, and removed the
abominations from between their teeth; the books which they composed
should be burned in the public place in their presence. It is about
three years now since we have endeavored to carry out our wish in
accordance with our aim; we have made many supplications, asking,
requesting, and praying, to restore the crown of the Torah to its
pristine glory, in its place. All this did we, so that the sword should
not be against the dove which is foolish and without understanding, and
that we should not afterwards be reviled by the mouth of the reviler.
Our words, however, did not enter into their ears; they made their
words, which are directed against us, harsher still, because of their
ability to write and to speak. Nevertheless we did not cease to write to
them. But many strict communities of those provinces inscribed their
name to God, and decided to ban and excommunicate them, and they acted
wisely after us, as ye see from the copies of their letters.
Now, ye chiefs of righteousness, is the thing good in your sight? For
the thing which they do is not good, and the report which the people of
the Lord caused to transpire is not good. Far be it from us, lest the
nation should be divided into two, and God forbid that the name of
Heaven should be profaned through them. For it is really the duty of
every Israelite to tell them that. We have trustworthy evidence in that
which the Israelites did, when the children of Gad and the children of
Reuben built an altar on the other side of the Jordan.[202] Did they not
hasten to assemble for war on account of the suspicion of the intention?
How much more have we to do it, since these men destroy the cluster[203]
in the sight of all! Far be it from us that, by hiding our face from the
evil report, we should be included in the prophet’s accusation: ‘There
they stood; no battle was to overtake them in Gibeah.’[204]
Ye mountains of Israel, may ye bear your fruit for ever! ye people of
the God of Abraham, set your eyes upon the palace,[203] lest their folly
should destroy the fence of the Law. Let us be one band, for we are all
the children of one man. With many covenants we and our fathers received
truthful Laws, written and oral, at the hands of the master of the
prophets. How can we deal falsely against our soul and entice our heart
to seek the deceptions of Greek philosophy? They whose eyes go in front
of them, how can they walk with their faces backward and ally themselves
with Arabic philosophy? Arise, ye princes, anoint the shield, and the
Lord shall defend you and your houses; for the Master of your work is
faithful to pay the reward of your labor.
XXXII. JEDAIAH HA-BEDERSI
[Poet, philosopher, and physician. He was born in Béziers about
1270, and died about 1340. As a boy he was very precocious, and
composed a prayer of a thousand words, each word beginning with the
letter מ. Being an eloquent writer, he earned for himself the
title _ha-Meliz_ (the Rhetorician). He was the author of several
treatises in prose and poetry, but his fame rests upon the _Behinat
‘Olam_ (Examination of the World).]
The Nothingness of Man and His Pursuits[205]
The world is a tempestuous sea of immense depth and breadth, and time is
a frail bridge constructed over it, the beginning of which is fastened
with the cords of chaos that preceded existence, while the end thereof
is to behold eternal bliss, and to be enlightened with the light of the
King’s countenance. The width of the bridge is a cubit of a man, and it
lacks borders. And thou, son of man, against thy will art thou living,
and art continually travelling over it, since the day thou hast become a
man. When thou considerest that the path is narrow and that there is no
way to turn either to the right or to the left, shalt thou glory in
position and fame? When thou seest that destruction and death are unto
thee a wall on thy right and on thy left, shall thy heart endure, or
shall thy hands be strong? Even if thou pridest thyself with the
desirable acquisitions and the abundance of possessions which thou hast
amassed and discovered with thine arm, hast sought with thy bow, and
hast gone down to possess with thy net, what wilt thou do against the
tempest of the sea and the roaring thereof, when it rages, overflows,
and passes through, so that even thy dwelling-place is about to be
broken? Glory thou over this immense sea in whose midst thou art; rule
over the horsemen and chariots thereof; go out now, I pray thee, to
fight against it. For even while thou reelest to and fro and staggerest
with the wine of thy rebellious arrogance which deceived thee, and with
the juice of the pomegranates of thy haughtiness which misled thee, thou
wilt soon incline slightly toward one side or another, and wilt perish
in the terrible depths, and none will seek thy blood from them; thou
wilt go from abyss to abyss, perplexed in the depths of the sea, and
none shall say: ‘Restore.’
Shall I trust in falsehood, shall I rely upon the staff of the bruised
reed, to consider a lodging-place of wayfarers like this as a strong
fortress and a king’s sanctuary, the wing of a flea as a point of
diamond, a spider’s web as coral and crystal? When thou seest that the
days are pleasant, that time frisks and dances, that the moment goes on
to give thee repose, and that the hour frolics and rejoices before thee
in the world, thou wilt despise the latter days in thy heart. But it is
in falsehood that thou trustest: thou seest the shadow of a gourd as
though it were a high and lofty mountain. Is it for these things that
thou hast cast the soul behind thy back, and hast turned thy way toward
the pleasures of the flesh which cause grief? Whenever thou seest that
thy soul loves her God, being mindful of her end, and preparing
provisions for her journey with the labor of her hands, thou enragest
her; whenever she goes up to the house of the Lord, thou provokest her.
Shalt thou forsake eternal glory and everlasting delight for the
vanities of imaginary pleasures? And it shall come to pass, when thy
heart will ask thee to-morrow, when the vicissitudes of time will leap
upon thee: ‘Who has begotten me these?’ that thou shalt answer: ‘The
stubbornness of thy heart and its evil counsel.’ If a servant spoils the
work apportioned to him, will the spirit of the ruler not despise him?
If a man walks about with his master without acknowledging him, will he
not hate him?
Wilt thou pride thyself, O mighty man, when thou grazest in the green
pastures after the youths in the presence of the sun, when thy stones
are set in fair colors in midday, with the multitudes of thy companions?
They say to themselves: ‘Eat and drink’, but they have no heart. They
only possess bodies and imaginary height of stature: vainglorious and
corporeal things which have no spirit. Knowest thou not that there is a
record of thy deeds, and that above thee there is an eye that sees and
an ear that hears thine arrogance and raging? And now on whom trustest
thou to break down the fences which the mightiest of the shepherds have
founded? Is there no God above thee to know thy going out and thy coming
in? Are no graves beneath thee wherein to take vengeance on God’s
enemies? How is it then that thou didst not lay it to thy heart that
these vicissitudes which befall thee are the messengers of Providence?
They turn not aside when they go to reward or to punish the individuals
of mankind or the sects thereof. It is out of the mouth of the Most High
that the decree comes to lay the noble low and to set the ignoble on
high. When the base man goes up on the ladder of success, it has been
brought about by the Lord; and when the man of God goes down from his
high place, it is the King who has said: ‘Go down.’
How is it that thou didst not open thine eyes upon these things? Have
presumptuous thoughts and idle meditations deluded thee, and prevailed
over thee? In the day the lustful reins have given thee counsel, and yet
in the night seasons they have chastised thee with whips. With the venom
of asps, mixed with the poison of serpents, did they make the clods of
indolence sweet unto thy palate. With wanton words did they corrupt,
make abominable, and mar for thee every good portion; salvation did they
spoil with the flattery of words that are softer than oil. What meanest
thou, O sleeper? How did they deceive thee by making thee forever the
possessor of the riches of such lands, while thou art merely a sojourner
for an appointed time in the innermost part of thy house? Cursed be
they, for they have driven thee out that thou shouldst not cleave unto
the inheritance of the holy ones, from whose rock thou wast hewn, and
that thou shouldst not mingle in the assembly of the holy beings that
gave thee life (but the lions’ dens became thy dwelling-place). If,
because of the hoards of gold and the treasure of provinces which thou
didst amass, thou hast added haughtiness to thy pride, and hast humbled
the generous spirit before it, see then how thou art beaten with the rod
of folly and the plagues of blindness. Hast thou, because of the
treasures of darkness which thou didst bind up, despised the soul that
is bound in the bundle of life? Hast thou, for the sake of pieces of
silver, crushed and suppressed a truthful longing and a glorious desire?
Verily the glory of wealth lasts not. In a little while an evil spirit
of the Lord shall come forth to scatter thy possessions, and the fifty
thousand pieces of gold, for the sake of acquiring which thou has sold
thy soul, shall be as though they had not been. Time will turn round in
a little moment, and take away grace and glory from thy head. A fire
shall come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty.
Why shall I covet the earth which is like Admah and pleasure which is
like Zeboim?[206] Her wrath is stored up in her company; her conspiracy
is tightly fastened to her covenant; her sweetness and honeycomb are
like chaff before the whirlwind; her end and conclusion are eternal
disgrace and everlasting shame. Moreover, how can my flesh be delighted
when it is announced to me that I shall live long, since there is no
escape from the destruction of death? What avails the age of strength,
since at the end thereof come wrath and the grave? What pleasure is
there in eighty years, since by their side is the shadow of death? What
cheerfulness is there in ninety years, since there is no salvation in
their border? Shall ants that languish and perish, and creeping things
that melt away like water, exalt themselves to reign? Even if they
endure for a day or for two days, will they never be devoured with the
sword? How can the fields of Sodom and the sheaves of Gomorrah prosper?
XXXIII. IMMANUEL B. SOLOMON OF ROME
[Italian scholar and satirical poet. He was born at Rome about 1270,
and died at Fermo in the first half of the fourteenth century. He
excelled as poet, and his style is vivid and fluent. His best known
work is _Mahberot ‘Immanuel_, which is modelled after al-Harizi’s
_Tahkemoni_. He boasts, however, that he surpassed his model, and in
some respects this is not without justification.]
The Poet Visits Paradise[207]
While we walked to and fro through the streets of Eden, and looked upon
the gallery of the men of wisdom, I perceived men full of splendor and
majesty, compared to whose beauty the sun and moon are dark; a place was
given them in the world of angels. Not recognizing any one of them, I
asked the man who talked with me, that I might know concerning them. And
he said unto me: These are the pious of the Gentiles, who prevailed with
their wisdom and intellect, and ascended the degrees of the ladder of
wisdom in accordance with their ability. They were not as their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation; but they investigated with their
intellect as to who is the Maker, and who the Creator that fashioned
them with His lovingkindness, took them out from nothingness to
existence, and brought them to this world; and as to what is the purpose
for which He created them. When they asked their fathers, and considered
their answers, they knew that they were worthless; they despised their
creed, and set their mind to investigate the creed of other nations.
Having investigated all the creeds, and having found that the hands of
each of them are steadfast in strengthening its own foundations and in
disparaging other creeds, they did not say: ‘Let us remain in our creed,
for it has been handed down to us by our fathers,’ but out of all creeds
they chose those doctrines which are true, and concerning which the wise
men did not differ; these doctrines they accepted, and to them they
clung. But to those opinions which all nations disparage they turned
their back, not their face. As regards God, they arrogantly call Him by
a name at which our heart trembles and shudders, for every nation calls
Him by a special name. We, however, say: ‘Let His name be what it may,
we believe in the truly First Existence, that produced life; that was,
is, and will be; that created the universe, when His wisdom so decided;
that is hidden from us through the intensity of His revelation; that
faints not, and is not weary, and of whose understanding there is no
searching; that has mercy upon His creatures, and feeds them, as a
shepherd tends his flock; who will call us unto Him, when our end draws
nigh, and whose glory will gather us together.’
When we ascended the steps of Eden, we saw wonderful things, for there
were set lofty and exalted thrones that appeared to my sight exceedingly
marvellous, so that the eye could not be satisfied with seeing. Among
them was one throne, the radiance of which filled the world with
splendor; it was like the work of bright sapphire, and like the very
heaven for clearness. Its footstool had long edges, and the bright metal
thereof flashed continually; I longed to sit upon it, and I said: ‘I
pray thee, my lord, for whom is this honored and pleasant throne, and
for whom is the footstool of image work?’ And he said unto me: ‘As thou
livest, this throne is prepared for the mightiest of the shepherds, and
for him shall it be; that is Judah, the lion’s whelp, who prevailed
above his brethren. The footstool with its flowers and buds is for the
lawgiver that departeth not from his presence. And thou shalt sit near
him, and shalt be close unto him.’ And it came to pass, when I heard
these words, that I remembered the rank of Daniel[208] my brother, who
had led me in the right way, and directed my path, and who had been near
me when I fled. He is the plate of the holy crown upon my forehead, the
life of my flesh and the breath of my spirit. I thought of the full
account of his greatness, of his generosity and excellence, of his
prudence and understanding, of his humility and righteousness, and of
his renown which fills the ends of the earth. I then said unto the man
who held my right hand: ‘I pray thee, my lord, show me the place of
Daniel and his habitation; what manner of house do ye build for him, and
what place is his rest?’ And he said unto me: ‘Know of a certainty that
his rank is very high, and that the ends of the earth are full of his
renown; even thy rank is too low to reach him. For he bore the sin of
many, and made intercession for the transgressors. But because the
Highest Wisdom knew that without thee he would find no rest and no
repose, it placed thy booth near his booth, though thy worth is less
than his; for the Highest Wisdom knew that he will have delight in thy
company: he would be Moses, and thou wouldst be Joshua unto him; in
order that all may declare, as it is said: ‘Your souls are united, they
cling together, and cannot be sundered. Will two walk together, except
they have agreed?’
There is nothing to marvel at that I was joyful, for I knew that my lot
fell in pleasant places, being aware that I shall have redemption on
account of him. And I said unto the man: ‘As thou livest, show me the
splendor of his throne, where he rests. For I know that its height
mounts up to the heavens, and its head reaches unto the clouds.’ And the
man said unto me: ‘Come with me, and I shall show thee his joy and the
glory of his resting-place.’ So I went after him, led and supported by
him, until he brought me to the tent of Oholiab the son of Ahisamach,
where were also Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur of the tribe of
Judah, and all the princes of the congregation. Angels kept on bringing
material for the work, and were making pleasant and beautiful canopies
that shone like the brightness of the firmament, whose covering was of
every precious stone, and whose structure was of sapphire, and tables,
lamps, thrones, and crowns for the pure souls. We saw there a big ivory
throne overlaid with gold, which gave life to him that finds it, and
health to all his flesh. Crown stones glittered upon it, and garments of
blue and purple and scarlet were spread over it; they sparkled like
burnished brass, the glory of all lands. Upon the top of the throne was
a crown, the weight of which was a kikkar of gold, and a precious stone
that cannot be obtained for fine gold, nor can silver be weighed for the
price thereof. A voice was saying: ‘Proclaim that the merchandise
thereof shall be for them that dwell before the Lord.’ And the man that
talked with me said: ‘Hast thou seen the crown and the lofty throne
whereupon thy brother Daniel rises as a lion, and lifts himself up as a
lioness? This is his resting-place for ever, and here shall he dwell,
because he hearkened to the word of the Lord, and there is no sage or
thinker like him in all the earth.’ Thereupon I rendered praise and
thanks unto my Lord, because He brought him to the rest and to the
inheritance; and I said: ‘Blessed be the Lord who is one, and who has no
second, because He has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth
toward my master.’
When we ascended to the higher steps of Eden, we saw a thing whereat we
marvelled; for there we saw men who during their life were ravenous
beasts, bad to God and bad to men; they died as wicked men the death of
them that are slain; their blood was poured out as water, and their
flesh as dung. When I saw them shine like the brightness of the
firmament, their height mounting up to the heavens, and their head
reaching unto the clouds, I said in my heart: ‘Behold, the Lord has
forgiven the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.’
I then inquired of the man that talked with me, that I might know the
reason why these men deserved this lofty rank. And he said unto me:
‘These men sinned, dealt perversely, and transgressed; for their sin
they perished before their time, and were filled with bitterness; they
were delivered into the hands of cruel people, and fell wounded, having
been pierced through, into the lions’ dens and upon the mountains of the
leopards; they were left together unto the fowl of heaven and unto the
ravenous birds of the mountains. When they approached the bitterness of
death, they recalled the wickedness they had done, and accepted the
bitterness of death with love, knowing that it came to them as a just
retribution. Death was more pleasant unto them than life, because they
considered that they deserved a greater calamity, and that through these
sufferings they were redeemed from a severer punishment than death. When
at the point of dying they showed their joy and delight with their mouth
and heart; and because they had received part of their punishment in the
corrupt world, wrath was averted from their souls. Their death having
been cruel and bitter, it was accounted as a crown of glory and a diadem
of beauty upon the head of their souls. It is, therefore, because of
their death that they deserved this glorious rank.’
XXXIV. JUDAH B. ASHER
[German Talmudist. He was born in Germany in 1270, and died in 1349
at Toledo where he was rabbi. He was a son of the great talmudic
authority Asher b. Jehiel, known as the _Rosh_, and brother of
Jacob, author of the famous code entitled _Turim_.]
Ethical and Moral Admonitions[209]
Take heed that ye belong not to the following four sects which will not
see the Presence of God:
THE SECT OF LIARS. Let no false and deceitful matter be found in you,
but truth and faithfulness shall be the girdle of your loins. There was
a man in our family, named Rabbi Eliakum, who was in the house of the
governor, and was entrusted with everything. The governor boasted to his
own people that this Eliakum never uttered any falsehood, whether he
derived any benefit, or not. It is narrated that there was once a wicked
man who committed all kinds of sins. One day he asked a wise man to
teach him the way of repentance in an easy manner, and the latter said
to him: ‘Refrain from telling lies.’ He went forth joyful and glad of
heart, thinking that the wise man permitted him to walk in the
stubbornness of his heart as heretofore. When he determined to steal, as
had been his custom, he reflected: ‘What am I to do in case somebody
asks me: “Whither art thou going?” If I tell the truth: “To steal,” I
shall be arrested; if I tell a lie, I shall transgress the command of
the wise man.’ In the same manner he reflected on all other sins, and
repented with a perfect repentance.
THE SECT OF SCOFFERS. Be ye not scoffers, lest your bands be made
strong,[210] and lest a fire consume your spirit. Guard yourselves
against mockery and derision, for it is forbidden that a man should fill
his mouth with laughter in this world. Be not merry on account of money,
for this is likewise the way of robbers.
THE SECT OF FLATTERERS. Take heed that ye flatter not any man, and
respect no person in judgment.
THE SECT OF THOSE THAT TALK SCANDAL. Be very much on your guard against
this thing, for it leads to many sins; most men stumble over it. Our
teachers of blessed memory said in tractate Baba Batra: ‘Most men are
prone to robbery, few of them to incest, and all of them to
slander.’[211] The last part is explained as referring to something
which resembles slander. Our teachers of blessed memory also said: ‘Let
no man talk of his friend’s merits, if he may thereby be led to blame
him.’[212] To all such cases refers the saying: ‘I have not found for
the body anything better than silence.’[213] A man should always think
before speaking: if there is any profit in his speech, he should speak,
otherwise he should be silent; how much more should he abstain from
speaking, if there is harm in his speech!
Guard yourselves against pride, for every one that is proud is the
abomination of the Lord. Pride is God’s garment, and he who makes use of
the crown shall perish. A wise man has said: ‘How can a man be proud,
having passed twice through the womb?’ Cling to humility, for it is the
best of all qualities, and it is for this virtue that Moses our teacher,
peace be upon him, was praised, as it is written: ‘And the man Moses was
very meek.’[214] And our teachers of blessed memory said: ‘Be exceeding
humble of spirit.’[215] Our teachers of blessed memory also said: ‘That
which wisdom made a crown for its head did humility make a sandal for
its heel.’[216]
Take care to honor every man, that ye may thereby be honored, as it is
written: ‘For them that honor Me I will honor.’[217] Some people asked a
wise man: ‘How is it that we always see thee honor every man?’ He
replied: ‘I have not seen a man in whom I do not discover an advantage
over me for which I should honor him. If he is old, I say: “This man
performed more good deeds than I.” If he is rich, I say: “This man gave
more alms than I.” If he is young, I say: “I committed more sins than
he.” If he is poor, I say: “This man suffered pain.” If he is wiser than
I, I honor him for his wisdom. If he is not wiser than I, I say: “His
punishment is lighter than mine.”’ Hear this, and know it for
yourselves.
Be also careful to love and respect him who reproves you. We thus read
in the tractate ‘Arakin, in the chapter _There Are Estimations_: Rabbi
Johanan says: ‘I call heaven and earth to testify against me that Akiba
was beaten several times on account of me, because I used to complain
against him to Rabban Gamaliel; and yet he loved me all the more for
that, in order to fulfil that which is written: “Reprove a wise man, and
he will love thee.”[218] A wise man has said: ‘Love him who reproves
thee, and hate him who lauds thee; for he who reproves thee benefits
thee, while he who lauds thee harms thee.’
Consider also that man is a sojourner on earth, his days are counted and
he knows not their number; nor does he know when he will be summoned
before the King of kings to render account and reckoning of all that he
has done. He should therefore perform all the good deeds he can; and let
no commandment be too small in his sight, for there is no limit to its
reward. In the world to come, when the Lord, who is blessed, pays the
righteous their reward, the righteous man will ask: ‘Why do I get such a
reward?’ and it will be said unto him: ‘Because thou performedst such
and such a good deed on such and such a day.’ Whereupon he will sigh,
saying: ‘For such a small thing I get such a great reward! Woe to the
days that I wasted, in which I did not occupy myself with good deeds.’
The wise man should therefore take heed not to waste an hour of his
life, but should occupy himself with good deeds, and continually
meditate in the fear of the Lord and in His service.
XXXV. KALONYMOS B. KALONYMOS B. MEIR
[Satirical writer and philosopher. He was born at Arles in 1286, and
died in the first half of the fourteenth century. He lived for some
time in Rome, and acquired fame as an original writer and
translator. His best known works are _Eben Bohan_ (Stone of
Investigation) and _Masseket Purim_. The former, written in rhymed
prose, and modelled to some extent after Jedaiah ha-Bedersi’s
_Behinat ‘Olam_, is a sharp criticism of the author himself and of
his contemporaries, while the latter is an extremely clever parody
of the Talmud. He also translated scientific books into Hebrew.]
Admonitions To His Heart[219]
O my heart, draw nigh, I pray thee; keep silence, and hearken; consider
my meditation; know and discern the coming out of my words; give ear to
my sayings. Shalt thou never observe the covenant? shalt thou be like an
adamant harder than flint? and shalt thou not take the flint of the
testimony to cut off thy foreskin and to remove thy reproach?[220] If in
the days of delight and in the time of good will thy ways are unstable,
what will happen when the end is come upon thee? The days of evil shall
rise against thee to destroy thee; thou shalt be driven forth from the
midst of men; in solitude shalt thou dwell, deserted and forsaken. What
will become of thy dreams? Thou wilt be grieved for the former days that
were better, and wilt groan at thy latter end.
O my heart, consider, hearken unto this. Knowest thou not that youth
lasts not forever, and that the end of man is to die? A brother cannot
redeem, none has power, and the riches of the gold of Sheba and the
heights of the mountains profit not. Even if I ascend up into the
heaven, and make my bed in Sheol, I shall never be able to redeem my
life from destruction. Behold, a day is coming, a day of vengeance and a
year of recompense, in which He will fill me with bitterness. There is
no escape, for the snares of death will overtake me within the straits.
As for Him who tries the hearts, His eyelids will on that day try the
open and secret deeds of the children of men.
O my heart, turn round, and seek thy God within thee. It is enough for
thee to reveal thyself as one of the vain fellows. Turn behind thee, for
there is still hope now. Thou shalt again dwell in tents as in the days
of the solemn feast, settled in a pleasant place. Fear God, and keep His
commandments which are enjoined upon thee. If thou seekest Him, God will
be gracious unto thee; it is from Him that thy fruit is found, the fruit
which He gives according to thy deeds. Perform good deeds while thy mind
is at ease, thy body fresh, and thy constitution, not lacking the right
proportion, abides under the shadow of good health. It is within thy
power to lift up the curtain, so that the cloud may be consumed. Look
upon thy weapons wherewith thou doest thy work, thy quiver and thy bow;
the strength and the blood of the body are thy rod and thy staff; in
them lies the stability of thy fortune; thou shalt find them when thou
seekest them; none among them is perverse or crooked.
O my heart, be strong and of good courage while the freshness of youth
yet lasts: the tree of knowledge is yet in its greenness, its leaves are
not scattered, and the twin-leaf is not divided; before old age strips
me of the coat of youth, and sets me naked and bare: before ‘the one
that departeth and cometh not back’[221] will be taken away from me;
while the cord that fell unto me in pleasantness is not yet loosed, and
before the golden bowl is broken; before the pure pieces of gold are
changed, and before the wheel which turns about in the world by the
command of the Almighty on high is broken. Then shall follow days of
terror, during which the half-dead and feeble will not die for a month
or for some years. But it shall happen one day that we shall awake and
see that we were like unto them that dream.
O my heart, if not now, when shall I seek rest for me? Shall I do it in
the days of hoary hair, when the strength fails? The branch of all
mortals shall wither; even the tender and delicate shall be dried up and
wither when they grow old; their skin shall shrivel. Will God create a
new thing in me, that I may have youth after I have grown old? Behold, I
was formed out of clay; nature fashioned me small in my dimensions; I
have the face of a man, not the face of an eagle that renews its youth
at the time of old age. Moreover, I am of contrite spirit; to my
disadvantage, I was different from the young men my companions. In my
youth, without old age and without mature years, I almost grew old and
became grey. My strength was enfeebled as that of a woman. My senses
grew weak, my thoughts became deranged, and yet I was not advanced in
years. My face was wrinkled before my time, and my skin was dried up, so
that it became like furrows. My head which, while in its freshness, was
as the most fine gold, and upon which brown hair was grown, has white
branches now, because hoariness, snowing in its midst, is scattered over
it. In the prime of my life, while still in its full strength, my hair
was plucked and torn out, and was moved out of its place. Shall my
stature, which was like a palm-tree, and my back, which was straighter
than a hedge, now be bowed down as a rush, so that none can raise it? My
locks, which were curly and intertwined, fall out and are scattered. The
tresses of my head, which were desirable as gold, and the hair thereof
which was like purple, has become scanty, and through its departure has
left breaches. What shall I do when God arises to seek my iniquity; for
behold, my sins shall surely be found.
XXXVI. LEVI B. GERSHON
[Philosopher, biblical commentator, mathematician, and physician. He
is commonly called Gersonides, and is also known as Leon of Bagnols.
He was born at Bagnols in 1288, and died in 1344. He was exceedingly
versatile, and displayed keen originality in all branches. His best
known works are his commentaries and his philosophic book _Milhamot
ha-Shem_ (Battles of the Lord).]
The Difficulties in Investigating the Problem Whether the Universe Is
Created or Eternal[222]
It behooves us first of all to point out the great difficulty of this
investigation, as this will lead us to some extent to make the
investigation into this problem more complete. For by being aware of the
difficulty of a problem, we are guided to the way which leads us to the
attainment of the truth thereof.
The fact that the philosophers who have hitherto investigated it greatly
differ from one another in their opinions concerning it points to its
difficulty; for this proves that arguments may be derived from the
nature of existing things, wherewith each of the conflicting views can
be either established or refuted. And it is very difficult to
investigate a problem with such a peculiarity.
What undoubtedly points to the great difficulty inherent in this enquiry
is the fact that we have to investigate whether all existing things were
created by God, who is blessed, after a period of non-existence, or were
never created at all. Now it is manifest that if we desire to fathom one
of the attributes of an object, by the way of speculative investigation,
whether that object possesses that attribute or not, it is first of all
necessary that we should know the essence of the object and its
attributes. For it is only through them that we may attain to that which
we seek to know. It is thus evident that one who desires to investigate
this problem thoroughly must first of all know the essence and
attributes of the thing under examination as far as it is possible for
man to perceive. This would necessitate that a man desirous of
thoroughly investigating this subject should know the nature and the
attributes of all existing things, so that he may be able to explain
whether there is among them a thing or an attribute which would lead us
to the conclusion that the universe was not created; or whether there is
among them a thing or an attribute which would lead us to the conclusion
that the universe was created; or whether there is not among them a
thing or an attribute from which it could be concluded either that the
universe was created, or that it was not created. The matter being so, a
man, to whom the knowledge of one of the existing things or of the
attributes thereof, so far as a human being can possibly know, is
inaccessible, is unable to make as thorough an investigation of this
problem as is humanly possible. Now it is evident that to obtain as
thorough a knowledge of all existing things and of their attributes as
is humanly possible is extremely difficult.
What makes this investigation more difficult is the fact that the
investigator must necessarily have some knowledge of the First Cause as
far as it is possible. For this enquiry leads him to investigate whether
God, who is blessed, could possibly have existed at first without this
world, which He afterwards brought into existence and created, or it is
necessary that the world should have always existed with Him. It is,
however, evident from the preceding argument itself that it is necessary
for a man, desirous of making this investigation as perfect as possible,
to know of the essence of God, who is blessed, all that can be attained,
so that he may be able to decide accurately whether God, who is blessed,
can possibly be active at one time, and cease to be active at another
time, or whether this is impossible. This greatly adds to the difficulty
of this investigation, since our knowledge of the essence of the First
Cause is necessarily slight, as has become manifest from the preceding.
Another point which makes this investigation still more difficult is the
circumstance that it is hard to know from which essences or attributes
of existing things it is possible for us to attain to the truth of this
problem. For it is necessary that a man, desirous of making this
investigation perfect, should know this at the very outset, otherwise he
can only attain to the truth thereof by accident.
The statement of the philosopher,[223] as recorded by the author of the
_Guide_, points to the difficulty of this investigation. It is as
follows: ‘As for the things concerning which we have no argument, and
which are too high for us, our statement about them is, according to
this, as difficult as our statement whether the world is eternal or
not.’[224] This shows that this question was considered extremely
difficult by the philosopher, so that he was perplexed and doubtful
about it, despite the numerous arguments he mentioned to prove that the
universe is eternal. The reason for that is undoubtedly because the
philosopher assumed that there were numerous arguments likewise to prove
that the universe was created, and that his own arguments did not in any
way establish the truth in this matter; and this is the very truth, as
will be explained further on. Now if this question was considered
difficult by the philosopher, despite his high rank of wisdom, how much
more difficult would it be to other men who are lower than he on the
ladder of knowledge?
And indeed we find that the opinions of the ancients concerning this
investigation are diametrically opposed to one another. Some maintain
that the universe was created and destroyed an endless number of times.
Others hold that it was created only once; these are divided into two
opinions: some of them think that the universe was created out of
something, as, for instance, Plato and the later philosophers who follow
his doctrine; while others think that the universe was created out of
absolute non-existence, as for instance the early Mutakallimites, like
Yahya the grammarian, according to what Ibn Rushd recorded of him in his
commentary on the _Metaphysics_. In this theory they were followed by
the Mutakallimites. This view was also adopted by the great philosopher,
the author of the _Guide_, and by many of the sages of our religion. But
there are still others who maintain that the universe is eternal. This
is the theory of the philosopher and his followers. It is evident that
the cause of their disagreement concerning these doctrines is the
variety of objects from which they derived their proofs with regards to
the nature of existing things, or because they were compelled by the
Torah, or because of these two causes combined.
XXXVII. PROFIAT DURAN
[Philosopher and grammarian. He is called Maestre Profiat and Efodi,
but his Hebrew name was Isaac b. Moses ha-Levi. He was born in the
second half of the fourteenth century, and lived for some time in
Perpignan. During the persecutions in 1391 he was an ostensible
convert to Christianity. He afterwards wrote an epistle entitled _Al
Tehi ka-Aboteka_ (Be not like thy Fathers) in which he attacked
Christianity in such a manner that the superficial reader may take
it as a eulogy on that religion. His best work is his
philosophic-critical Hebrew grammar entitled _Ma’aseh Efod_. It is
so called because the letters אפד are the initials of דוראן
פריפוט אני.]
The Definition of the Science of Language and Its Branches[225]
The science of language is a science comprising grammar, rhetoric, and
poetry. It is therefore fitting that its definition should be given in a
manner that harmonizes with these three branches, and afterwards each of
them should be differentiated by its specific characteristic. I say that
the science of language is a science which teaches the general methods
that may be employed in a language, in a manner fitting the
conventionalities of that language. By saying: ‘In a manner fitting’ I
wish to convey that the expression must agree with that which is
conceived by the mind, according to the linguistic axioms. I call the
study of language a science, because the term ‘science’ is indeed more
comprehensive than the philosophers think. For they have defined science
as an acquisition which the mind attains by true beginnings and causes;
by ‘true beginnings’ they mean the beginnings which are known either
through the nature of the intellect, as the first principles, or through
sense perception, or through experience. According to this, the study of
language is no science at all, for its beginnings are conventional, and
are not evolved through any of the ways that I have mentioned. In our
opinion, however, the term ‘science’ is more comprehensive, for we call
science anything that is known through investigation, analogy, or proof,
no matter whether the principles and beginnings upon which it is based
are essentially true, or arbitrary and conventional. The teacher[226]
has already called such sciences ‘conventional sciences.’ Accordingly,
the study of language is a science, and the definition of science
rightly applies to it; for by it are known, through investigation and
proof, the results derived from principles and beginnings which have
been laid down in it. The wise man R. Jonah said in the description of
grammar that it signifies investigation and searching. This is merely an
interpretation of the term, which does not give us the definition of
grammar itself.
Now when a speech is merely in conformity with the principles and rules
of the language, without having sweetness, beauty, polish, and
embellishment, in the simple and complex forms, and is not free from
superfluity or excessive brevity compared with the meaning intended to
be conveyed, such a discourse is said to be merely grammatical; the man
who essentially and constantly speaks in that manner is said to be a
grammarian; and the power by which he speaks in that manner is called
grammar. When the speech also has sweetness, beauty, polish, and
embellishment, in the simple and complex forms, it is said to be
rhetorical (it is derived from the expression: ‘How sweet are Thy words
unto my palate!’[227] which signifies: how sweet and pleasant are
they!); the author of such a speech is called a rhetorician, provided
that this manner of speech is essential and constant with him; and the
capacity which he has for such a speech is called rhetoric. If in
addition to all these characteristics, the speech is also metrical, it
is called a poem; its author is called a poet, provided this is
essential and constant with him; and the capacity which he possesses for
that is called poetry. By the word ‘metre’ I mean to say that the
portions of the discourse are equal in the number of their vowels (thou
already knowest about that). This is called a poem, because by means of
the metre it is possible to sing it aloud. The term ‘poem’ has also been
applied to anything that is to be understood allegorically, as, for
instance, the Song of Songs, and others. The rhetorical discourses and
poems of the Jews have a special characteristic which I have not seen or
heard in the discourses and poems of other nations. The Jewish
rhetoricians and poets add sweetness, beauty, and polish to their
sentences by giving their rhetorical discourses and poems the form of
the scriptural verses and of the sayings of the wise and by their
endeavoring that that form should agree with the meaning of their
discourses, either according to the plain meaning of the Bible, or
according to some figurative application which they put into the
discourse. It is the highest degree of elegance and beauty in rhetoric
and rhetoricians when they make their discourses to be in harmony with,
and add to them sweetness from, the divine speech. This is due to the
circumstance that the Hebrew tongue is now deficient, as was explained,
and therefore the rhetoricians, when they wish to render their
discourses sweet and elegant, find it necessary to embellish and
beautify them with the rhetorical expressions that exist. Accordingly,
their loss is cancelled by their gain, and their deficiency turned to
advantage. I have likewise noticed that the Jewish rhetoricians possess
another peculiarity not shared by the rhetoricians of other nations: the
knowledge of grammar comes to them naturally, and their discourses are
always in conformity with the principles and rules of the science of
language, though they do not study the books that were composed on this
science; yet it is only casually, and very rarely, that they commit
mistakes or errors according to the principles of the language. One is
not to condemn or to blame them for that, for even in the works of
nature casual mistakes are sometimes found. This power of theirs with
which they were endowed by nature caused them to neglect and disregard
the study of the books devoted to the science of language, which are
accounted by them as things of nought and confusion.
XXXVIII. SIMON B. ZEMAH DURAN
[Rabbinical authority and philosopher. He was born at the island of
Majorca in 1361, and died in 1444. He lived for some time in
Algiers. His literary activity was devoted to philosophy, Bible, and
Talmud, and his best known work is _Magen Abot_ (Shield of the
Fathers), which is a theological-philosophical treatise.]
On the Problem Why the Wicked Prosper and the Righteous Are in
Distress[228]
Indeed the difficulty about the wicked man who is prosperous seems to be
no difficulty at all. For God, who is blessed, is good, and bestows good
upon all. He does not withhold good from the wicked, just as He does not
withhold from the lions their claws wherewith they tear their prey, for
they are needed for the acquisition of their food. In all this the
philosopher and the theologian concur; there is no difference between
them. The only difference between them is that the philosopher cannot
believe that divine Providence should attach itself to an individual, to
save him from evils for his righteousness, or to withhold bliss from him
for his wickedness; while the theologian believes that Providence
attaches itself to an individual just as it attaches itself to the
entire species which is permanent. For an individual man’s intellect is
as permanent as the species, and hence Providence attaches itself to
him, just as it attaches itself to the species. There is a very subtle
speculation in this. For it is known that the species exist only in the
intellect, and that nothing but individuals actually exist. Aristotle,
however, in his _Metaphysics_ has explained that the matter is quite the
reverse, that the individuals create the species in their intellects,
through repetition.[229] Now since the species have no actual existence,
and Providence can only attach itself to that which has actual
existence, what is the cause of their permanence according to the
philosopher? For he is of the opinion that Providence attaches itself
only to that which has permanence, and the species is the only thing
that has permanence; but the species has no existence, and Providence
cannot attach itself to that which has no existence. He therefore says
that Providence is confined to the spheres, stars, and separate
intelligences, and that the species are preserved through the influence
that emanates from them to this mental existence. But as to individuals,
all their affairs are abandoned to chance, there being no difference
between individuals of the human race and the individuals of animals.
The theologian, however, believes that divine Providence attaches itself
to individuals on account of their intellect, although it has not the
same permanence as the separate intelligences and as the intellect of
the spheres. All that is found in this lower world was created for the
use of man. Accordingly, from Providence that is attached to each
individual man there emanates a Providence to the species of the
animals, so that through their preservation the existence of man should
be preserved. Upon this matter the philosophers are agreed; when they
have investigated the functions of the limbs and the functions of the
animals, vegetables, and minerals, they have found them all to be for
the benefit of man, either for his food, raiment, sustenance, and
dwelling-place, or for curing his diseases. For even in harmful things
there may be found a cure and some benefit for man. If a pious man has
sometimes been cured with the excrement of a devouring lion, or with the
skin of a venomous snake, then that injurious thing was created for the
benefit of man. Similarly, if one planted a vineyard, and made wine
which a pious man has drunk when stung by a viper and has been cured
thereby, then that wine was created for the benefit of that pious man.
In a similar manner our saintly teacher[230] said, when he was cured of
an illness by apple-cider seventy years old that was in the possession
of a Gentile: ‘Blessed be He who handed over His world to custodians.’
It is likewise for this reason that our sages of blessed memory said:
‘The Holy One, blessed be He, has only four cubits of the law in His
world.’[231] They likewise said: ‘The entire world was created to attend
to man.’[232] Ben Zoma said: ‘Blessed be He who created all these to
serve me.’[233] Concerning all this I have already written in a
preceding chapter. Now it is impossible that all this is by mere chance,
and is, therefore, due to divine Providence, as I shall, with the help
of God, explain at full length, when treating of the soul.
A strong argument is urged by the theologian against the philosopher in
this connection. Since man’s intellect is as permanent as the angels,
divine Providence ought to attach itself to the intellect, as it
attaches itself to the angels. Moreover, this fact made itself manifest
to the senses, as Scripture relates of the punishment of the wicked,
that some times hyperphysical and supernatural calamities befall them,
having been forewarned by a man renowned as a prophet; at the same time
the righteous are delivered from these calamities, and prosper against
the laws of nature. This cannot be attributed to chance and accident,
for it occurred very frequently, and the warning had been given by a man
sent by God, who is blessed, whose message could not be doubted. With
all these arguments the theologian establishes his belief that God, who
is blessed, supervises every individual of the human race, giving a
goodly reward to the righteous, and bringing calamities upon the wicked.
To this the philosopher replies and says that, had the affairs of the
world been arranged in this manner, the contention of the theologians
would have been justified. But we also see that supernatural calamities
befall many righteous men, and, on the other hand, many of the wicked
who deserve evil prosper in a manner contrary to natural reason. Had
things been arranged by God, who is blessed, as the theologian
maintains, the righteous man should have been delivered from the
misfortunes which had befallen him, and prosperity should have been
withheld from the wicked.
The theologian says with regard to the misfortunes that have come upon
the righteous that it is a fallacious contention. The fallacy is due to
one of two considerations: either on account of the subject, or on
account of the object. As to the subject, it is possible that this man
who, according to all appearances, is righteous, is not good at all; for
He who understands his secrets knows that he is bad; men are deceived
about him, and decide that he is good, but He who understands his
thoughts knows him to be bad. Or he may have committed a crime for which
he deserves this calamity. As to the object, it is possible that these
occurrences which appear to be bad are not bad at all, but are for the
good of the sufferer.
In this manner the theologian evades the philosopher’s objection with
reference to the righteous upon whom misfortunes have come, and this
ramifies into many details. As to the prosperity of the wicked, the
theologian likewise says that there is a fallacy due to one of two
considerations: either on account of the subject, or on account of the
object. As to the subject, it is possible that this wicked man, although
his deeds committed openly show him to be undoubtedly bad, must have
performed a good deed for which he deserves this prosperity as a
recompense. As to the object, it is possible that this prosperity is for
his own harm. This, too, is a general argument having many ramifications
with which the theologian evades the objection with reference to the
wicked who is prosperous.
XXXIX. JOSEPH ALBO
[Spanish theologian and philosopher. He was born about 1380, and
died about 1444. His philosophic treatise entitled _‘Ikkarim_
(Principles) is one of the great favorites of Hebrew readers. He has
a clear style, and makes himself readily understood. It is no doubt
due to this characteristic that he supplanted his master Hisdai
Crescas, author of _Or ha-Shem_ (Light of the Lord).]
The Various Ranks of Prophecy[234]
Although all the words of the prophets are doubtless true, nevertheless
the degree of the exactitude of a prophet’s words corresponds to his
rank and degree in prophecy. There are many prophets who, because of the
weakness of their perception, do not perceive things with sufficient
clarity. For that which happens to the perceptions of the senses happens
also to the perceptions of the prophets: a man whose senses are healthy
and strong perceives objects in their exact form, while one whose senses
are feeble does not perceive them in their exact form, and perceives
only their species, or their genus, without being able to distinguish
the species. Thus a man with a strong sense of sight recognizes a color,
which he perceives, as it actually is (as, for instance, red or green);
he likewise recognizes the degree of redness or greenness. But one whose
sense of sight is weak recognizes only the genus, that is to say, that
it is a color, and no more; and even if he recognizes the species, that
is to say, that it is red or green, he does not know what degree of
redness or greenness it is. The same is the case with the sense of
hearing and with the other senses. This very thing happens to the
prophets as regards their perception. One whose perception is strong
perceives the thing as it actually is without a metaphor; his words are
explicit, not obscure, and are therefore to be understood as true
according to their plain meaning. But the words of a prophet of a lower
degree are obscure, couched in riddles and parables, and are not
explicit; they are therefore not true according to their plain meaning,
but only according to the idea implied in them; for according to the
literal sense, something else, different from that which is conveyed by
the words, is to be understood. Thou thus findest that Ezekiel, his
prophecies being postexilic, spoke in parables and riddles which were
not true according to their plain meaning, so that he complained of this
to God, who is blessed, and said: ‘They say of me: “Is he not a maker of
parables?”’[235] Zechariah, likewise, having flourished toward the end
of the prophetic period, all his prophecies were in visions which were
not true according to their plain meaning, but only according to that
which was implied in them. When he says that he saw horses, women, and a
golden candlestick with two olive-trees by it, there is no truth in the
matter of the candlestick and olive-trees itself, but only in the idea
implied in them. But all the prophecies of Jeremiah, who lived before
the destruction of the temple, are very clearly explained. God, who is
blessed, has already explained this difference between the prophecy of
Moses and that of another prophet. Concerning the prophecy of Moses He
said: ‘I speak with him mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark
speeches.’[236] From this it is to be inferred that the other prophets
beside Moses speak in riddles which are not explicit, and in visions
which are not real. It is therefore necessary that these visions should
be explained in such a manner that they harmonize with Moses’ words.
Similarly, the words of a prophet of a lower rank should always be
explained in such a manner that they harmonize with the words of a
prophet of a higher rank and do not dissent from him. It is in
accordance with this explanation that we find that Isaiah says: ‘And I
saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,’[237] while
Moses says: ‘For man shall not see Me and live.’[238] Had we not known
the rank of either of these prophets, we might have thought Isaiah’s
words were accurate, and would have said that because of his high rank
he perceived of God that which can possibly be perceived of Him, and he
therefore said: ‘And I saw the Lord;’ but Moses, who did not reach
Isaiah’s rank, and perceived but little of God, said: ‘For man shall not
see Me and live,’ because his perception was weak, and his prophetic
rank low. Knowing, however, that Moses was master of all prophets (as it
is written: ‘And the Lord spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man
speaketh unto his friend,’[239] and it is likewise written: ‘If there be
a prophet among you, I the Lord do make Myself known unto him in a
vision, I do speak with him in a dream; My servant Moses is not so.…
With him do I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark
speeches’[240]), we are assured that Moses’ words are undoubtedly true
according to their plain meaning. On the other hand, the words of
Isaiah, who was lower than he in rank, are not accurate; it is because
of his low rank that he said: ‘And I saw the Lord;’ for he believed that
he saw God, while it was not so in reality: it was through the influence
of the imaginative faculty. Moses, however, because the imaginative
faculty had no influence whatsoever on his prophecy (for his prophecy
was the outcome of the rational faculty that was in him, detached from
the other corporeal faculties), said: ‘For man shall not see Me and
live;’ and this is true. But Isaiah, because in his prophecy he also
made use of the imaginative faculty, which our teachers of blessed
memory call ‘the speculum which is not lucid,’[241] was led to err and
to believe, through the imaginative faculty, that he had seen God. He
himself made it manifest that this perception of his was erroneous,
through the imaginative faculty, and explained that the cause thereof
was that his body was not purified as the body of Moses our teacher; and
that is the meaning of what he said: ‘Because I am a man of unclean
lips.’[242] Nor were his qualities adequate; and that is the meaning of
what he said: ‘And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips.’[243] For through dwelling among people of bad traits, the
qualities of the good man become corrupt. He therefore complained, and
said: ‘Woe is me! for I am undone,’[244] as if he would say: ‘I was
influenced by the imaginative faculty, and my prophecy is not through a
lucid speculum like the prophecy of Moses who heard the voice speaking
to him, without seeing any form before his eyes. But I, because my
prophecy is through a speculum which is not lucid, that is by means of
the imaginative faculty, I am not able to comprehend the speech without
seeing the form that is speaking. This was caused by my being a man of
unclean lips, and by my dwelling in the midst of a people of unclean
lips. I therefore complain, and say: Woe is me! for I am undone. For my
eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, and I know that this is the
result of the imaginative faculty; since there is no doubt that it is
impossible for one who prophesies through the lucid speculum to
attribute any form or likeness to Him, who is blessed, even in a
prophetic vision.’ This is the meaning of what our sages of blessed
memory said: ‘Manasseh slew Isaiah. Whereupon Raba says: He tried him
and slew him. He said unto him: Thy master Moses said: For man shall not
see Me and live, but thou didst say: And I saw the Lord.’[245] They have
also remarked that he could have refuted this argument, but he did not
reply, because he knew that Manasseh would not accept his answer. The
answer that he could have given is that even concerning those that lived
in the time of Moses it is written: ‘And they saw the God of
Israel;’[246] here, too, because their perception was not through the
lucid speculum. From all this it is manifest that it is not possible for
a prophet of a lower rank to dissent from the words of one who is of a
higher rank; but his words must be explained in such a manner that they
are not at variance with the words of the greater prophet. Now, since it
is explicitly stated in the Torah that Moses’ prophecy is of a rank
higher than that of all other prophets, it is not possible for us to
hearken to any prophet who dissents from him, and annuls his words. But
the question whether it is possible for a prophet to explain the words
of Moses, and to say that, although they were written without a
qualification, there is a condition or time connected with them, even if
it was not explicitly stated, will be treated of in the following, with
the help of God.
XL. ISAAC B. JUDAH ABRAVANEL
[Statesman, philosopher, and biblical exegete. He was born at Lisbon
in 1437, and died at Venice in 1508. He was treasurer at the court
of King Alfonso V of Portugal. When the Jews were expelled from
Spain, he left that country and went to Naples. He was a prolific
writer, and in all his works he displayed clear-sightedness and a
thorough mastery of the subjects under discussion, though he lacked
striking originality. His most popular work is his commentary on the
Bible.]
The Advantages of a Republic over a Monarchy[247]
Behold, it behooves us to know whether a monarch is a necessity,
inherently needed for the people, or it is possible to exist without
him. The philosophers adopt the former opinion, and think that the
service rendered by the king to the people in the political organization
is the same as the relation of the heart to the body in animals
possessing a heart, and as the relation of the First Cause to the entire
universe. Now if the investigators think that a kingdom must be based on
three things (firstly, unity and absence of partnership; secondly,
continuity and absence of change; thirdly, absolute power), then their
conclusion as to the need and necessity of a monarch is indeed
fallacious. For it is not impracticable that a people should have many
leaders, united, agreeing, and concurring in one counsel, who should
decide administrative and judicial matters. This militates against the
first principle. Then, why should not their administration be for one
year, or for three years, like the years of a hireling, or less than
that? When the turn of other judges and officers comes, they will arise
in their stead, and investigate whether the first ones have not failed
in their trust, and he whom they condemn shall make good the wrong he
committed. This militates against the second principle. Then again, why
should not their power be limited and regulated according to the laws
and statutes? A common-sense principle tells us that when one man
disagrees with the majority, the law is according to the majority. It is
more likely that one man should trespass, through his folly, or strong
temptations or anger (as it is written: ‘the wrath of a king is as
messengers of death’[248]), than that many men taking counsel should
transgress. For if one of them turns aside from the right path, the
others will protest against him. Moreover, since their administration is
temporary, and they must render account after a short while, the fear of
man will be upon them. But what need is there of producing abstract
arguments, since experience is more forceful than logic? Behold and see
the countries where the administration is in the hands of kings, and you
will observe their abominations and corruptions, every one of them does
that which is right in his own eyes; for the earth is filled with
wickedness through them. On the other hand, we see this day many
countries where the administration is in the hands of judges; temporary
rulers are elected there, and over them is a chief against whom there is
no rising up; they choose that which is right by definite regulations;
they rule over the people, and decide concerning matters appertaining to
war; none can withstand them, whether it be for the rod or for the
land.[249] Dost thou not know? hast thou not heard that there was a
great country that had dominion over all the world? She devoured the
whole earth, trod it down, and broke it in pieces, when her
administration was in the hands of the numerous consuls, who were
faithful, numerous, and held temporary offices. But after an emperor was
made to rule over it, it became tributary. Even to-day Venice rules as a
mistress, great among nations, a princess among the states, and the
state of Florence is the glory of all lands. There are likewise other
states, great and small, which have no king, and are governed by leaders
elected for a fixed time. Now in the elected governments in which there
is nothing crooked or perverse, no man lifts his hand or his foot to
commit any matter of trespass. They conquer countries with wisdom,
understanding, and knowledge. All this proves that the existence of a
monarch is not necessary; nay, it is harmful, and is a great danger. In
a similar manner the author of the _Guide_[250] warned against the great
dangers incurred in travelling on the seas and in serving kings, on
account of the similarity that exists between the two in the possibility
of danger, both being alike, the stormy wind on the ocean and the spirit
of the ruler. It is surprising that the adherents of that erroneous
opinion have compared the unity of a king elected by the authority and
will of men to the unity of the First Cause, who is blessed, the
necessarily eternal. Indeed the wise men have written concerning the
body of an animal that there are three vital members which control it.
Even according to the opinion of the chief of the philosophers that the
heart is the only vital member, this merely refers to the production of
the spirit; but he does not deny the control of the body by the other
faculties, by the psychical, which are from the brain, and the physical
which are from the liver. To conclude, things of nature are inevitably
arrayed in this manner, but those which result from the action of the
will belong to the category of the contingent. The one cannot be
compared to the other.
No objection can be raised from the saying: ‘For the transgression of a
land many are the princes thereof;’[251] for that verse speaks of the
princes, not of the leaders and the judges. How can we ignore
self-evident facts? For if the leaders are good, it is better that they
should be many and not one; if they are bad, one left free to his lusts
is more dangerous than many.
I therefore think that kings were at first set up to rule not by the
people’s elections, but by force: the one that was stronger prevailed;
as it is written: ‘Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and set up a
king in the midst of it.’[252] Even these were only appointed as a
matter of trust, to serve the people; but they made themselves masters,
as if God, who is blessed, gave them the earth and the fulness thereof,
and they leave it as an inheritance to their children after them and to
their children’s children for ever, as if it were a plot of land which
one acquires for money. This cursed plague has spread so much that
sometimes a man arises, and rules alone, and governs according to his
imagination. This, however, is not alike in all kingdoms; for in some of
them the king does not have so much power in the administration. But the
better of the two is the one that does not yet exist.
XLI. SOLOMON IBN VERGA
[Spanish historian and physician who flourished during the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries. He was compelled to flee to Turkey, where
he wrote his _Shebet Yehudah_ (Rod of Judah), which gives an account
of the Jewish persecutions in various countries. This book is
valuable for Jewish folk-lore, though not always trustworthy as a
historical source.]
A Jew Is Accused of Murdering a Christian, But His Innocence Is
Proved[253]
In the time of the righteous king Alfonso the Elder, some men came
before the judges of the country, and related that they had seen a
Christian enter the house of a Jew on the eve of Passover, and
subsequently heard him exclaim, saying: ‘Save me, O Christians!’ The
judges then sent some men, who went to search in the house of the Jew;
but they did not find anything. Whereupon the judges said: ‘A similar
accusation was made last year, but the falsehood thereof became
apparent. Now, ye accusers, why do ye walk after vanity, and why do ye
harass these poor people, although there is no violence in their hands?’
The people arose with an uproarious sound, and said: ‘Shall not the
judge of all the land do right? We shall go to the king, for he will
bring our judgment to light.’
When they came before the king, and related the whole affair to him, the
king said: ‘Bring that Jew before me.’ The Jew was immediately brought
before him, and when questioned by the king, he replied: ‘Far be it from
me! for no Christian entered my house for some time.’ The king then said
to the accusers: ‘Ye deserve death. When ye heard the Christian exclaim,
saying: “Save me!”, and ye recognized his voice, why did ye not break
the doors of the Jew’s house, and enter there to save the oppressed from
the hand of the oppressor?’ They replied that they were afraid of the
judges, lest they should fine them for breaking another man’s door.
Whereupon the Jew remarked: ‘But how is it that ten days ago, when a
slave ran away, and entered my house, where he locked himself up, ye
broke my doors, which have not been repaired yet?’ So they withdrew in
silence, without answering a word. Whereupon the king said to the lords:
‘Have you seen the Jew the Christian-killer? He is very old and
decrepit, has not the strength to kill a fly. It is all on account of
the wickedness of the hearts of these men who deserve to be punished.’
He then turned his face to them, and said: ‘Ye are falsifiers and liars.
Take heed unto yourselves that ye come not again with such a thing
before me.’
On the second day they assembled, and came again to the king, saying
that there were many witnesses and strong evidence. Whereupon the king
said: ‘Since it is so, it is necessary to make an investigation.’ He
commanded that the king’s scribe should come. The latter came, and wrote
down the name of the Jew and the sign of his house. He also inquired of
that Christian’s acquaintances, who claimed to have known him, what his
name was. They said it was Pedro Guzman. He asked about his wife, and
they said that she was Beatrice the attendant of the bishop and that she
lived in such and such a street. The king then asked: ‘What is the
description of the Christian?’, and they replied: ‘A young man of short
stature, ruddy, with parted beard, and blind of one eye.’ The king sent
for the woman, and asked her concerning her husband. She said: ‘He went
to the house of a Jew to collect money which the Jew owed him, but has
not yet returned to my house.’ After that the king asked for the
testimony of the young men, and they said: ‘That Christian, whose
descriptions were such and such, was our acquaintance. We met him at the
door of the Jew, and he told us that he was waiting for the Jew on
account of a debt which the Jew owed him. While we were still talking,
the Jew came, and the Christian entered the house with him. A little
while later we heard the Christian’s voice, crying: “Save me.” Whereupon
we entered the Jew’s house through the window, and searched all over,
but did not find the Christian. We, however, found a large quantity of
blood upon the ground.’ The king then said: ‘According to this evidence
he deserves to be tortured.’ So they beat the Jew, until he confessed
that he had killed the Christian and thrown him into the river at night.
Whereupon he was condemned to be burned.
During the reading of the sentence the archbishop came before the king.
Having listened to the reading of the sentence, the bishop asked: ‘Is
this Pedro de Guzman the husband of Beatrice, or another man?’ They
replied: ‘The husband of Beatrice.’ The bishop then said: ‘I observe
astonishing things here. The sentence says that the Jew killed him on
the first of January, but I met him alive last night in a village near
the city; he will return to-day or to-morrow.’ Whereupon the king said:
‘In this case, either the Jew was mad, or has just lost his senses, for
he has confessed to a crime which he did not commit.’ But the bishop
said: ‘No trust, nor reliance is to be placed in torture or in the acts
of the lords.’ The Jew said: ‘Our lord the king! I am not mad, nor have
I ever been mad; but they made me lose my senses through torture; for
mercy has perished from the Christians, and they executed on me such
judgments as are not executed on those who rebel against the king’s
crown. Seeing that after inflicting many kinds of torture, they kept on
devising new ones, I preferred one death to several deaths.’
The king then sent two of his servants to bring the Christian, and he
also sent a Jew with them, in order that they should not bribe him and
hide him. When the Christian came before the king, the king stood up on
his feet, and said: ‘Praised be He who sheds light upon obscure things!
Praised be He to whom belongeth justice and judgment! Why did He charge
fools like us to sit upon the throne of justice, while we are like the
beasts of the field that know not at what they stumble? Moreover, I
heard that in ancient times it had been the custom of the Greeks to weep
when an infant was born, and to rejoice and laugh when an old man died.
Their reason was because it is fitting to weep for the new-born babe,
since he is come to the valley of weeping; but when he dies, it is
fitting to rejoice, since he has gone to a place of rejoicing and rest.
Now the Jews ought to weep when they are born and when they die, as well
as during the days that intervene; for it is not enough that they suffer
evils inherent in exile, but their enemies seek occasions against them
to overthrow them. I grieve very much for them, not because they are
Jews, but because they are poor and lowly. We have no other kingdom, but
that which the King of the universe gave us; and He said by His prophet:
“But on this man will I look, even on him that is poor and of a contrite
spirit.”[254] Now thou, O bishop, deservest my favor, for thou hast kept
me back from shedding innocent blood. The Lord sent thee, in order that
perverted justice should not go forth from our hand.’
Whereupon the bishop said: ‘There is yet another favor which the King,
the Lord of the universe, has shown thee. For thou hast seen with thine
own eyes that no trust nor reliance is to be placed in that which a man
says while being beaten or tortured; for this poor Jew said that he had
killed that Christian who is here standing alive before our lord.
Praised be He who gives light to upright and righteous rulers like thee.
May He make His face shine upon thee for ever. Amen.’
XLII. ABRAHAM B. MORDECAI FERIZOL
[Scholar and geographer. He was born at Avignon in 1451, and died in
the first half of the sixteenth century. Early in life he settled in
Italy, and is said to have been cantor in a Ferrara synagogue. He is
the first geographical writer in Hebrew. Although he wrote a number
of other treatises, he is best known by his _Iggeret Orehot ‘Olam_
(Treatise on the Paths of the World), which is a cosmographic and
geographic work.]
A Jew Who Claims to Belong to the Ten Tribes Visits Italy[255]
For the sake of the usefulness of this treatise, which I, Abraham
Ferizol, have composed in order to make plain the paths of the world
unto them that know not, I chose to write this chapter, the pivot of
which turns upon the ways of the Jew of the ten tribes (who may possibly
have been of the tribe of Judah), whose name is David the son of
Solomon, a captain of the host of Israel. He came here, and we saw him
in this our province, the province of Italy. I shall relate how he came
from the wilderness of Habor, according to his words. In this narrative
the readers will find repose for their souls, and those who are weary of
desire shall rest here. For in the narrative set forth in my words I
shall not deviate from what I know from the mouth of trustworthy people,
and from what I saw in the writing of truthful men. And God knows the
truth, because He alone is the truth; though I am one of those who put
little faith in vanities.
This is the narrative: In the year 283 of the sixth millennium we heard
tidings from the Land of Glory in a Hebrew letter which came by the way
of the boats from Venice, declaring that a Jew of the ten tribes had
arrived there and announced new things in the midst of the land. There
is no need of these narratives, since he crossed the sea in the year
284, arrived in Venice, and went up to Rome, where he was declared as
truthful by those who knew the manner and conduct of his life. As was
understood from the words which he spoke, this Jew belongs to the sect
of the two tribes. For he said that he was one of those who dwell in
tents in the deserts, like the sons of the Rechabites, and that his
dwelling-place is in the wilderness of Habor which is in Asia Major, and
that lower down, on the other side, are the rest of the ten tribes. They
live close to the deserts which are traversed on the way to Mecca and
Jedda, which are by the Red Sea. They all have kings and princes and
vast populations like the sand which is on the sea-shore. There is the
origin of spices, pepper, and simple medicines, and other good products
which are found in their hands, as I shall describe in its proper place.
Between these two sects of Jews there is indeed a strong and mighty
nation of Ishmaelites who have many kings, and do harm to the sect of
these Jews, by not allowing them to go across and join their
fellow-Jews. For many years they spread forth, and attempted to come
near to each other, but did not succeed. But when the arrival of the
strong and mighty boats of the Christians became known in these regions
many years ago, and they perceived, heard of, and saw the instruments of
war which are in the hands of the Christians (the hollowed metals for
throwing stones by the force of fire, wherewith one can destroy all
habitations and fortifications), the Jews who live in the wilderness of
Habor chose to send this Jew, according to his words, to the great king
of all the Christians. In order that his words may be believed, he had
in his hands credentials which were verified and established by the king
of Portugal who travels by means of a boat across the ocean to these
Hoddian, that is Indian, regions, and knows of the existence of a Jewish
kingdom there. He wrote to the pope, may his glory be exalted, that this
Jew, mentioned above, was faithful, and that his words were trustworthy.
At all events, it matters not whether his words are trustworthy or not,
it is sufficient for us to-day in this our exile, and in our provinces,
that it has been verified by kings and princes and made known in public
and in the streets of Rome that the very numerous tribes of Israel still
exist, and that they have many kings. As for this Jew who came here, it
matters not who he is.
Since it is true that the Jews and their kings still exist, it is
possible to say that this Jew came by the following route in the
following manner: From the wilderness of Habor he went by the caravan
pass, for this is customary, and thus was it written and heard from his
mouth concerning himself. He then crossed the Pole of Arabia Felix, and
came to the Red Sea, whence he came down to Egypt. Afterwards he went up
to the Land of Glory, where he waited for the boats coming from Venice,
that he might cross over to Italy. He then went to Rome, where he stayed
about eight months until there came the reply of the king of Portugal
concerning the truthfulness of his words and his affair.
The narrators and prominent Jews who spoke with him declare that this
Jew really did ask the pope, the king of the Gentiles, for assistance,
that instruments of war (metals for throwing stones) and skilful workers
should be given to him, so that he might take them along with him to
Arabia Felix to destroy their above-mentioned enemies. He would give to
the pope and his office certain concessions for the benefit of the pope,
may his glory be exalted, and a way to rule over some of the places
where there are collectors of wealth, and spices, and simple medicines.
The object of this is that these Jews may be united and gathered
together to go across and take possession of the Land of Glory and
subdue it, for it is an everlasting inheritance unto Israel. All this
have my eyes seen in truthful letters, and my ears heard from prominent
and truthful people. But the Lord God is the absolute truth, He lies
not, and speaks no falsehood; they that take refuge in Him shall not be
put to shame. Truth springs forth of its own accord, and makes its way.
And this day, in the month Marheshvan, in the year 285, we have heard
that Pope Clement, the king of the Gentiles, spoke to him, and agreed to
dismiss him and send him away by way of Portugal with honor and with a
big boat full of instruments of war and of Jewish and Christian skilful
workers. He also arranged with the king of Portugal to supply the Jew’s
needs, and commanded every Christian nation, wherever he passes through,
to honor him, assist him, and fulfil his desire with regard to the
requirements mentioned above. All this shall stand as it is.
Now I merely propose to describe the route by which, in my opinion, he
may go more safely than by any other route, if the narrators are right.
He should be taken to Portugal, and thence he should go down to the
ocean, going round the coast of Fez, and proceed by sea all the way to
the right of the Fortunate Isles which are now called Spain. He should
then continue on dry land by way of Cape Verde, and go round Africa on
dry land to the left, going eastward as far as the big Promontory, which
is called Cape of Good Hope. He should then cross the Gulf of the
Berbers to the outlet of the straits of the Red Sea, and go down on dry
land to the outlet of the wilderness of Habor, wherever it may be, and
go to his place, as I shall explain all the new outlets later on.
According to hearsay, these are the descriptions and manners of this
Jew: He is of short stature, lean-fleshed, and courageous; he prays
frequently, is dark-complexioned, and afflicts himself with fasting.
According to the words of the writers, he could fast for six consecutive
days and nights.
His principal language is the holy tongue, which he speaks almost
unintelligibly, like a stammerer. Sometimes prominent men and cardinals
of Rome came to visit him in his house, but he thrust them aside, and
would not receive them. He rode on a mule in Rome to see the curiosities
of the country, and, while on his mule, entered the great temple of St.
Peter, even as far as the great altar, refusing to dismount his mule.
There were with him about ten Jews running before him, and more than two
hundred Christians.
May the Lord speak good concerning Israel.
XLIII. JOSEPH B. JOSHUA B. MEIR HA-KOHEN
[Historian and physician. He was born at Avignon in 1496, and died
at Genoa in 1575. His best known works are _Dibre ha-Yamin le-Malke
Zarefat we-‘Utman_, which is a sort of history of the world, and
_‘Emek ha-Baka_, which deals with the Jewish persecutions in various
countries and centuries. The latter book was begun in 1558, and
concluded in 1563. He subsequently brought it up to 1575.]
The Crusaders Massacre the Jews at Meurs[256]
And it came to pass in the fourth month on the seventh day, that the
enemies, the men of the army, arose against the poor and humble
population of Meurs, and besieged the city round about. When the
inhabitants of that town lifted up their eyes, they saw a people as the
sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. These people
asked that the Jews should be handed over to them to do unto them
according to their desire, as they had done in all the towns through
which they had passed up till that day. The governor of the town went
out to them, and said to the captains of the army: ‘What profit is it if
we slay our brethren, these Jews, who dwell in our midst in security,
and conceal their blood? Therefore remain ye outside, and I shall speak
in their ears, and whatever answer they will give me, I shall tell you.
These men will perhaps consent to change their religion and to be like
us. We shall then be innocent of bloodshed.’
As these words found favor in the eyes of the besiegers, the governor
returned to the town, and called the Jews together, and proclaimed these
words in the ears of the people, saying: ‘Ye know what I have done unto
you from my youth up till this day, how I have saved you from the hand
of the oppressor and tyrant, as I vowed to you, so that no dog moved his
tongue against any one of you, and not even a shoelace was taken from
you. Ye are my witnesses, up till this day. But now your eyes see that
the children are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring
forth. A day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and
desolation, a day of wrath and punishment is this day, and I am not able
to withstand the tyranny of these firebrands that smoke with kindled
anger, lest they should come and smite me, the mother with the children.
Now choose ye for yourselves: either ye consent to be like us, or ye
will be handed over to them, and they will do unto you as they did in
all the countries through which they passed. Choose ye for yourselves,
that I may be free from sin.’ And all like one man answered, saying: ‘It
is better that we should die in the fear of the Lord than that we should
do this thing, and sin against God. Now, our lord, we are in thy hand,
do with us as it seems good in thine eyes; for evil is determined
against us: on account of us is this great tempest upon you.’
When the governor perceived that he could not prevail upon them, he
acted cunningly, and sent several of the Jews out of the town
accompanied by his servants. Then he commanded that the latter should
return to the town, with their swords stained with the blood of the
beasts of field. And they showed their swords to the Jews saying: ‘See
ye what has been done unto your brethren; in this manner will it be done
unto you, if ye do not consent to-day to be like us.’ But the Jews all
answered like one man, and said: ‘We have no portion in your religion,
and no inheritance in your god; do unto us as it seems good in your
eyes. For the Lord our God is one God; unto Him shall we cleave, Him
shall we serve, and by His name shall we swear all the days. We shall
not turn aside to the right or to the left from the commandments which
Moses the servant of the Lord commanded us.’
Then the governor commanded, and they brought back the Jews whom he had
sent outside, and they put them in prison, separately, so that they
should not lay hands on one another, as some Jews did in other towns.
There were two women in that town, the name of the one was Gentila, and
the name of the other Rebecca. And one of them who was with child bowed
herself and brought forth a son, for her pains came upon her. There was
nobody with them but a young girl of very beautiful appearance. When she
saw that the enemies rose up against them, they took the child, and
wrapped him up in clothes, for their mercies grew warm for him, and they
threw him down to the ground from the tower in which they were
imprisoned. When the enemies saw what they had done, they arose on the
following morning, and seized hold upon them, and led them against their
will to the high place, and did unto them according to their desire, and
there was none to say: ‘Halt!’ Some were slain with the edge of the
sword, others bowed to the idol, after being tortured, on that terrible
day, and they turned away from the Lord.
There was a Jew among them, whose name was Shemariah; and the bishop’s
treasurer said to him: ‘Shemariah, Shemariah, fear not; abide with me,
and I shall save thee from their hand.’ So the man was content to dwell
with him, and gave him the money that was found with him. The bishop’s
treasurer then led away him, his wife, and his three sons, and made them
dwell in the forest until the ninth day of Ab, which is the fifth month.
Then this base fellow forced him to send to his sons in Spires that they
should give him silver pieces or gold pieces. When they sent him some of
the money that was found with them, this base fellow took it away, and
immediately delivered Shemariah and his family to the hand of the enemy.
The inhabitants of the village rejoiced to see him, for they had known
him, and consented that he should not change his religion until the
following day. So on that day they ate no unclean thing, for they said
craftily: ‘Let us do to-day according to our custom, but to-morrow about
this time we shall become one people.’ Whereupon they retired to their
room, for they were dejected and fatigued. They closed the door, and
spent that night there. And it came to pass in the morning watch that
his sleep fled from his eyes, and the man arose before a man could
recognize his fellow, and took the knife and slew his children and his
wife. He also attempted to cut his throat, but did not succeed, for
giddiness took hold of him; he swooned, but did not die.
As soon as the morning was light, the enemies arose against him, and
when they saw what he had done, they were exceedingly astounded at him,
and said unto him: ‘Why hast thou committed such a wicked thing? Thy
blood is upon thine own head, and we are free; evil is determined upon
thee. Now thy sin will thereby be atoned for, by thy becoming like us;
by thy being turned into another man, thy life may be saved. Otherwise
we shall deal worse with thee than with them, and thou shalt be buried
alive with them.’ But he said unto them: ‘Far be it from me to do such a
thing. Do with me as it seems good in your eyes; but I shall not rebel
against the Lord.’ Then they made a grave, whither he walked by himself,
and wherein he was buried. His wife was placed at his right, and his
children at his left. They threw earth over them, and said unto him
every time: ‘Turn to our religion, that thou mayest live and not die.’
But he did not hearken unto their voice, and they removed the earth from
him three times to see whether he would not be persuaded; but he would
not listen to them. So they covered him with earth. His voice was heard
all day; but they mocked him.
Wilt Thou refrain Thyself for these things, O Lord?
XLIV. MENASSEH B. JOSEPH BEN ISRAEL
[Scholar, theologian, and historian. He was born at Rochelle about
1604, and died at Middelburg in 1657. He wrote in Latin, Spanish,
and Hebrew. It was due to his efforts that the English government,
presided over by Cromwell, recognized that there was nothing in the
English law against the readmission of the Jews to England. He was
also a celebrated printer.]
The Soul Is Likened to the Moon[257]
It is known to him who is acquainted with the science of astronomy that
the moon receives its light from the splendor of the sun. Now since the
moon is in the lowest sphere, while the sun is in the fourth sphere
beneath the earth, the light of the moon diminishes on its lower side
the nearer it draws to the sun; for the sun’s light strikes it from
above. When it reaches a position opposite to the sun from below, its
upper half is light, while the other half facing the earth is entirely
dark. All the time that the moon gradually moves away from the sun
toward the east, as it does during the first half of the month, the
light of the moon increases toward us, while it decreases on the half
facing above; it is then in its fulness. Thou also knowest that the
astronomers are agreed that on the day when it reaches the point
directly opposite to the sun, and on the days preceding and following
the true conjunction, that is to say, at the beginning of the month, the
moon is covered up, and does not appear to give light on any side. They
have likewise asserted concerning it that its light does not become
fixed, until seven days have passed since its birth; it is then that a
benediction may be pronounced upon it, according to the law. They have
also said that the moon completes its revolution in twenty-nine days,
twelve hours, and seven-hundred and ninety-three fractions, which is
approximately thirty days.
After these prefatory remarks I will say that the soul is likened to the
moon, and that the sun is God, who is blessed, as it is written: ‘The
Lord God is a sun and a shield.’[258] Now just as the moon, when it
approaches the sun, its light becomes stronger above; even so the divine
soul, when it draws nearer to God, who is blessed, and forsakes
pleasures and worldly affairs, its light becomes fuller, and it attains
bliss; for the way of life is upward to the wise. But when it removes
itself from God, who is blessed, and clings to the affairs of the body,
making God’s service subordinate, it becomes dark on the upper part, and
only sheds its light from its lower part upon bodily and worldly things.
This is the cause of its perdition with regards to spiritual matters
which occasion and bring about its welfare. It is on account of this
circumstance that our teachers of blessed memory tell us that the
preservation and light of the soul depend on its being turned towards
God’s countenance, and that its perdition and death are caused by its
removing itself from Him; as it is written: ‘Lo, they that go far from
Thee shall perish.’[259] They have taken this parable from the moon. It
is for this reason that they have insisted that there should be three
days for weeping, seven days for mourning, and that thirty days should
elapse before one is allowed to put on clean linen or to trim the hair.
This is in accordance with the three phases of the moon which we have
mentioned. And a hint is sufficient for the understanding.
I will say further that God has appointed these fixed times, in order to
requite His mourners with comforts. For it is hereby shown to them that
the Holy One, blessed be He, is gracious and merciful; if His left hand
thrusts them away, His right hand draws them nigh; for He doth not
afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. It therefore behooves
every living being to trust in God, for though He wounded, He will heal;
because he sees that the moon, though it is dead while being directly
opposite the sun, revives when it moves away from it, and though it is
cut down, it renews its strength and returns to the days of its youth.
Even so it behooves the mourner to accept consolation, and not to weep
too much for his dead, for though He cause grief, yet will He have
compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.
XLV. MOSES HAYYIM LUZZATTO
[Italian poet and mystic. He was born at Padua in 1707, and died at
Acre in 1747. He was very versatile, and wrote some poetic
compositions as well as ethical and mystical treatises. As a poet he
chiefly distinguished himself in the allegorical drama which was the
fashion of the day. He had a vivid imagination, and his style is
vigorous and charming. He also wrote on the methodology of the
Talmud. His most popular book is the ethical treatise _Mesillat
Yesharim_ (Path of the Upright).]
Dialogue Between Understanding and Uprightness[260]
_Understanding_: O Uprightness, beloved of my soul, let thy heart take
courage; like a girdle gird on strength! For when assistance seems very
far away, relief comes suddenly to us. When in the blazing heat, in
summer drought, the sky is covered with thick darkness of the clouds,
whose thunder’s roaring makes the earth beneath to quake; when lightning
flashes like an arrow; when the wind rends the mounts, as though they
were earthen pitchers; when at the sound of the abundance of rain, all
ears grow deaf; then the beasts of the forest all together take refuge,
and all the young doves flee unto the clefts of rocks. But in a moment,
with the radiance of its light, the sun shines forth, and breaks
through, and dispels all clouds and darkness, so that the storm is then
as though it had not been. Thus likewise He, who rules the world with
might, causes relief from trouble to spring forth within a moment unto
the contrite.
_Uprightness_: O Understanding, O joy of my heart, thy comforting has
surely enlarged my heart. For now it seems as though from the words of
thy mouth I behold an opening for my hope. But be so kind, if thou hast
good tidings, withhold it not from me.
_Understanding_: Would that I had good tidings! I would not hide it.
Howbeit, I hope to bring it to thee, though not now. For the worker of
righteousness shall not forever fail, nor shall the hope of the perfect
perish forever. Though Arrogance now rises high, reaches to the clouds,
and rides prosperously on the high places of the earth; he is strong and
firmly rooted, waxes mighty in his strength; he abstains not from all
his lusts, and sees no trouble, neither does he know affliction’s cords;
but he will be brought down unto the nether-world, and there shall his
pride of heart be humbled; instead of haughtiness he will clothe himself
with disgrace like a garment; instead of glory, he shall take shame for
ever. But thou, the fruit of thy faithfulness shalt thou find in due
time; the end of all the troubles of thy soul shalt thou behold, and be
for ever satisfied. And when relief comes, thou wilt be thankful for thy
affliction; for sorrows which are past and gone are even as great joys
esteemed on the day of bliss; for the recollection of them increases our
gladness.
_Uprightness_: Fain would I (if I could muster strength) endure bravely
my bitter lot, according to my wish, O Understanding; but it is hard for
me, whenever mine eyes see the two stones of stumbling, Deceit and
Folly, who take counsel together to be as pricks to me and cause me
grief of soul. For noisily Folly shouts on the street; she treads on all
the highest places of the town with impudent countenance; she knows no
fear, and knows no shame; she breaks all covenants, annuls all laws;
there is no faithfulness in her; falsehood is her right hand; her
merchandise is violence, perjury, and treachery. She is a sister to all
evil and a mother to all sin; but all the sons of prudence she oppresses
unto death; she sits and speaks against them, and slanders them amidst
bowls of wine; her inner thoughts are for evil against them; if she were
able, she would devour them as a fish, or would bite them like an ass,
and break their bones. And likewise is Deceit; for with the flattering
of his mouth he hunts for souls as for a bird, and he feeds the dolt and
fool with poison and death covered with honey; he bites when he kisses,
and when his hands pretend to cure he bruises; he does according to all
his desire, and yet succeeds.
_Understanding_: Indeed, it is but the illusion of our eyes, for they
are eyes of flesh, and, therefore, they confound truth with falsehood.
They change darkness into light, and light into darkness. Now, if in
matters that they can perceive, they err at every occasion and chance,
how greatly must they err in matters hidden and concealed from them!
Look at the end of an oar put in the water: Lo, it appears to thee
twisted and crooked, although thou knowest in thy heart that in reality
it is straight. Sheshai and Talmai[261] appear like ants, when reflected
in a concave mirror; but in a convex mirror the effect is reversed.
Consider now our spirit, which is like the sea ceaselessly agitated by
the conflicts with the wind: its billows surge wildly, and are tossed
about from place to place; even so our spirit is never free from grief.
And as our sorrows change the moods of our spirit, so are our senses
changed from time to time: We only see what we desire; our ears only
hear what we long for, or that which our imagination conceives. If we
would have seen this world with clear eyes but once, then could we have
beheld these our enemies together so afflicted, stricken, and
distressed, that we would have said: ‘Enough! we have had our fill of
vengeance!’ Lo, as thine eyes see them all filled with bliss, and
satisfied with ease, so truly are their feet entangled in the net, where
they are held since long, and whence they will not escape; their steps
take hold on the depth of the nether-world; as soon as their feet slip,
they will have no power to rise there again. Now take thou courage, gird
on strength! I shall go now and look about; if there is aught I hear, I
shall return, and tell thee; for the present rest thou still, and direct
the meditations of thy heart and all thy thoughts according to thy
wisdom. Lo, there is no bravery like the bravery of a man who conquers
his strong passions and rules over his spirit; only the heart that keeps
vexation far away rests and reposes.
XLVI. NAPHTALI HIRZ (HARTWIG) WESSELY
[Educationalist and poet. He was born at Hamburg in 1725, and died
in 1805. Although he lacked poetic imagination, his purely biblical
style gained for him a great reputation, and he exerted unusual
influence on his contemporaries and on subsequent writers. In a
certain sense he may be regarded as the father of the modern Hebrew
renaissance. He was also the author of a commentary on some books of
the Bible, and was an enthusiastic follower of Moses Mendelssohn.
His master-piece is the epic poem entitled _Shire Tif’eret_ (Songs
of Glory), describing the exodus.]
Moses Prepares the People for the Divine Revelation[262]
Filled with divine rejoicing and words of pleasantness, Moses came down
from the mountain unto the people that waited for him. He declared to
them the words of their God and said: ‘I heard from God’s mouth more
bliss than ever I hoped for; He will create for you that which has never
been since His hands fashioned the earth, O house of Jacob, hark and
stand aghast! The voice of the living God from heaven shall ye hear
speaking unto you. The laws which ye are to keep shall ye learn now from
God’s mouth, not from an interpreter. Howbeit, that ye may know that He
raised me for His prophet, ye shall behold me bring word between you and
God. And seeing that I am esteemed by Him a faithful prophet, ye shall
believe me, too, when I enjoin you in His name, that I heard all the
commandments from the mouth of God.’
Moses’ words were sweeter unto the congregation than melodious strains
upon a pleasant harp and psaltery. With joyful voice responded they: ‘It
is more than we have hoped! Ears that were wont to hear the oppressor’s
voice, the voice of fear, shall now hear the utterances of the Living
God! No people, since there was a nation until now, has ever heard such
words! Great is this glory. Now, if God performs all these wonders for
the sake of man’s soul, so that it may be saved, shall we not turn away
from evil, and depart from sin, so that we may deliver our souls from
seeing the pit? Our lot is happy if we shall hear these laws from God’s
mouth; if He speaks, who would be rebellious and would not fear Him? O
master, not because there is no faithfulness in us, did we ask thee to
let us hear the voice of God. Far be this thought from us! for thou art
faithful unto us; we shall obey the law of thy mouth, as though we heard
it from God. But thou hast aroused in us the love of God; when thou hast
said that God desired to speak with us, our soul has fainted and longed
to hear His voice. For we love our Lord and His holy words dearly, so
that we may declare to our children that shall be born that from the
mouth of our God we heard the laws. We shall tell them, too, of thy
greatness and the splendor of thy majesty, how thou stoodest between God
and between us, so that all generations shall believe in thee like us.
Having been told by their fathers, by six hundred thousand men, that
thou art truth and that thy words are truth, they shall not hearken unto
prophets that teach lies, and unto strangers.’
These words of the people, too, gladdened Moses’ heart; he went up the
mountain to bring back word to Him who sent him, and told Him all the
words spoken by the people; and he said: ‘Thy people would exult to hear
the majesty of Thy voice; their soul faints and longs to see Thy glory
and Thy might. I pray Thee, honor and cheer them with the light of Thy
countenance; and I, Thy servant, shall make them hear Thy holy words, as
Thou commandest, so that they shall also believe in me.’
To these words of the man of faithful spirit God replied: ‘I shall do
according to thy words: I grant the wishes of the meek. Their ear shall
hear a mighty voice like which no ear has heard, so that they may know
that the voice of God is wonderful. Yea, a benign and graceful spirit
shall I pour upon them, so that they may be strengthened, if their heart
fails through fear. In order that My fear should be before them all
their days, that they should dread My majesty, and tremble through their
fear, this very mountain shall be clothed with terror and with dread; he
who sees it shall fear, his heart shall melt, his hands shall drop; so
that My people see that, though I am a God of plenteous mercy, a
pestilence goes before Me, a fiery bolt is at My feet, and a fire not
kindled by man devours him that condemns My words; so that they may fear
Me always, and never sin. But thou alone shalt know no fear, for great
is thy strength. Thou shalt walk securely between firebrands and flames
of fire, for I set on thee a splendor which no other mortal has. And
therefore if thou seest that mighty men bow themselves, speak
comfortably unto them, and say to them: “Fear not;” I show them but the
lot of the presumptuous and the portion of the wicked; but I love them
that love Me; the perfect shall inherit good: I shall support their lot,
and I alone am their portion; they that honor Me have peace, securely
dwells he who obeys Me. Great shall be that day, there never has been
one like it! They should therefore prepare their hearts, My chosen ones
shall be sanctified. Go to the people, and prepare their hearts with thy
words; teach them to-day My fear, and sanctify them to-morrow; they
shall wash their garments, and bathe their flesh; and they shall be
ready on the third day in the morning. For on the third day (that is the
very day on which I chose to give to them the Law of truth and righteous
ordinances) shall God come down from His throne in heaven upon this
mount, yea, on this mount Sinai in holiness. A glorious appearance which
no eye has yet beheld shall be upon its top, which I shall show to the
people. Although I am a God that hide Myself, no mortal eye sees Me, the
splendor is the sign that I dwell there and that there is the hiding of
My power. And as before the arrival of the day on which I speak to them,
all the people shall for two days sanctify themselves, so likewise shall
the mountain, before I shine forth from it, be prepared and sanctified
for two days: allow not the feet of man or beast to come on it; set
bounds about the mountain, the boundary being all around, so that people
do not cross the bounds which thou hast set. And say to them: “Take heed
that ye ascend not the mount; nor shall ye touch it: he that touches it
shall surely die.” And even they that pursue the transgressor shall not
tread on the mount; from afar shall he be stoned, or arrows shall be
shot at him. All who go up the mountain, whether man or beast, shall
die; this mount with all that is around it shall henceforth be holy
ground to you, for with My glory will I adorn it. But when My glory is
taken off from it, I will give a sign: the trumpet’s voice shall I cause
to be heard from the top of the mount. Not like the voice of the trumpet
which they will hear when I arrive—a terrifying voice, that all wicked
hearts may be humbled and fear God their Creator and observe His law—but
when My glory ascends, departing from the earth, the trumpet shall be
blown in honor and might to My name; and when the trumpet sounds long,
they also shall come up to the mount.’
-----
Footnote 1:
Chapters 14.20–15.8.
Footnote 2:
Chapter 38, 1–15.
Footnote 3: