Four kinds of capital punishment were decreed by the court of
justice:--Stoning, burning, beheading, and strangling; or as Rabbi
Shimon arranges them--Burning, stoning, strangling, and beheading. As
soon as the sentence of death is pronounced, the criminal is led out to
be stoned, the stoning-place being at a distance from the court of
justice; for it is said (Lev. xxiv. 14), "Bring forth him that hath
cursed without the camp." Then one official stands at the door of the
court of justice with a flag in his hand, and another is stationed on
horseback at such a distance as to be able to see the former. If,
meanwhile, one comes and declares before the court, "I have something
further to urge in defense of the prisoner," the man at the door waves
his flag, and the mounted official rides forward and stops the
procession. Even if the criminal himself says, "I have yet something to
plead in my defense," he is to be brought back, even four or five times
over, provided there is something of importance in his deposition. If
the evidence is exculpatory, he is discharged; if not, he is led out to
be stoned. As he proceeds to the place of execution, a public crier goes
before him and proclaims, "So-and-so, the son of So-and-so, goes out to
be stoned because he has committed such-and-such a crime, and So-and-so
and So-and-so are the witnesses. Let him who knows of anything that
pleads in his defense come forward and state it." When about ten yards
from the stoning-place, the condemned is called upon to confess his
guilt. (All about to be executed were urged to confess, as by making
confession every criminal made good a portion in the world to come; for
so we find it in the case of Achan, when Joshua said unto him (Josh.
vii. 19), "My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel,
and make confession unto him," etc. "And Achan answered Joshua and said,
Indeed I have sinned." But where are we taught that his confession was
his atonement? Where it is said (Ibid., v. 25), "And Joshua said, Why
hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day;" as if to
say, "This day thou shalt be troubled, but in the world to come thou
shalt not be troubled.") About four yards from the stoning-place they
stripped off the criminal's clothes, covering a male in front, but a
female both before and behind. These are the words of Rabbi Yehudah; but
the sages say a man was stoned naked, but not a female.
The stoning-place was twice the height of a man, and this the criminal
ascended. One of the witnesses then pushed him from behind, and he
tumbled down upon his chest. He was then turned over upon his back: if
he was killed, the execution was complete; but if not quite dead, the
second witness took a heavy stone and cast it upon his chest; and if
this did not prove effectual, then the stoning was completed by all
present joining in the act; as it is said (Deut. xvii. 7), "The hands of
the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward
the hands of all the people."
"Criminals who were stoned dead were afterward hanged." These are the
words of Rabbi Eliezer; but the sages say none were hanged but the
blasphemer and the idolater. "They hanged a man with his face toward the
people, but a woman with her face toward the gallows." These are the
words of Rabbi Eliezer; but the sages say a man is hanged, but no woman
is hanged.... How then did they hang the man? A post was firmly fixed
into the ground, from which an arm of wood projected, and they tied the
hands of the corpse together and so suspended it. Rabbi Yossi says, "The
beam simply leaned against a wall, and so they hung up the body as
butchers do an ox or a sheep, and it was soon afterward taken down
again, for if it remained over night a prohibition of the law would have
been thereby transgressed." For it is said (Deut. xxi. 23), "His body
shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise
bury him that day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God," etc. That
is to say, people would ask why this one was hanged; and as the reply
would needs be, "Because he blasphemed God," this would lead to the use
of God's name under circumstances in which it would be blasphemed.
The sentence of burning was carried out thus:--They fixed the criminal
up to his knees in manure, and a hard cloth wrapped in a softer material
was passed round his neck. One of the witnesses, taking hold of this,
pulled it one way, and another the other, until the criminal was forced
to open his mouth; then a wick of lead was lighted and thrust into his
mouth, the molten lead running down into his bowels and burning them.
Rabbi Yehudah asks, "If the criminal should die in their hands, how
would that fulfill the commandment respecting burning?" But they
forcibly open his mouth with a pair of tongues and the lighted wire (the
molten lead) is thrust into his mouth, so that it goes down into his
bowels and burns his inside.
The sentence of beheading was executed thus:--They sometimes cut off the
criminal's head with a sword, as is done among the Romans. But Rabbi
Yehudah says this was degrading, and in some cases they placed the
culprit's head upon the block and struck it off with an ax. Some one
remarked to him that such a death is more degrading still.
The sentence of strangling was carried out thus:--They fixed the
criminal up to his knees in manure, and having twined a hard cloth
within a soft one round his neck, one witness pulled one way and the
other pulled in an opposite direction till life was extinct.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 42, col. 2; fol. 49, col. 2; fol. 52, cols. 1, 2.
The above, which has been translated almost literally from the
Talmud, may serve to remove many misconceptions now current as
to the modes of capital punishment that obtained in Jewry.
In further illustration of this topic, we will append some of
the legal decisions that are recorded in the Talmud,
authenticating each by reference to folio and column. Examples
might be multiplied by the score, but a sufficient number will
be quoted to give a fair idea of Rabbinic jurisprudence.
If one who intends to kill a beast (accidentally) kill a man; or if,
purposing to kill a Gentile, he slay an Israelite; or if he destroy a
foetus in mistake for an embryo, he shall be free; i.e., not guilty.
Ibid., fol. 78, col. 2.
He who has been flogged and exposes himself again to the same punishment
is to be shut up in a narrow cell, in which he can only stand upright,
and be fed with barley till he burst.
Ibid., fol. 81, col. 2.
If one commits murder, and there is not sufficient legal evidence, he is
to be shut up in a narrow cell and fed with "the bread of adversity and
the water of affliction" (Isa. xxx. 20). They give him this diet till
his bowels shrink, and then he is fed with barley till (as it swells in
his bowels) his intestines burst.
Ibid.
A woman who is doomed, being _enceinte_, to suffer the extreme penalty
of the law, is first beaten, about the womb, lest a mishap occur at the
execution.
_Erachin_, fol. 7, col. 1.
If a woman who has vowed the vow of a Nazarite drink wine or defile
herself by contact with a dead body (see Num. vi. 2-6), she is to
undergo the punishment of forty stripes.
_Nazir_, fol. 23, col. 1.
The Rabbis teach that when the woman has to be flogged, the man has only
to bring a sacrifice; and that if she is not to be flogged, the man is
not required to bring a sacrifice. (This is in reference to Lev. xix.
20, 21.)
_Kerithoth_, fol. 11, col. 1.
Rav Yehudah says, "He that eats a certain aquatic insect, the swallowing
of which while drinking would involve no penalty whatever--Tosefoth,
receives forty stripes save one (the penalty for transgressing the
negative precepts), for it belongs to the class of 'creeping things that
do creep upon the earth' (Lev. xi. 29)." Rav Yehudah once gave a
practical exemplification of this ruling of his.
Abaii says, "He that eats a particular animalcule found in stagnant
water, receives four times forty stripes save one. For eating an ant
this penalty is five times repeated, and for eating a wasp it is
inflicted six times."
_Maccoth_, fol. 16, col. 2.
When one is ordered to construct a booth, or to prepare a palm-branch
for the Feast of Tabernacles, or to make fringes, and does not do so, he
is to be flogged till his soul comes out of him.
_Chullin_, fol. 132, col. 2.
Once on a time, as the Rabbis relate, the wicked Government sent two
officers to the wise men of Israel, saying, "Teach us your law." This
being put into their hands, three times over they perused it; and when
about to leave they returned it, remarking, "We have carefully studied
your law, and find it equitable save in one particular. You say: When
the ox of an Israelite gores to death the ox of an alien, its owner is
not liable to make compensation; but if the ox of an alien gore to death
the ox of an Israelite, its owner must make full amends for the loss of
the animal; whether it be the first or second time that the ox has so
killed another (in which case an Israelite would have to pay to another
Israelite only half the value of the loss), or the third time (when he
would be fined to the full extent of his neighbor's loss). Either
'neighbor' (in Exod. xxi. 35, for such the word signifies in the
original Hebrew, though the Authorized Version has another) is taken
strictly as referring to an Israelite only, and then an alien should be
exempted as well; or if the word 'neighbor' is to be taken in its widest
sense, why should not an Israelite be bound to pay when his ox gores to
death the ox of an alien?" "This legal point," was the answer, "we do
not tell the Government." As Rashi says in reference to the preceding
Halacha, "an alien forfeits the right to his own property in favor of
the Jews."
_Bava Kama_, fol. 38, col. 1.
Ptolemy, the king (of Egypt), assembled seventy-two elders of Israel and
lodged them in seventy-two separate chambers, but did not tell them why
he did so. Then he visited each one in turn and said, "Write out for me
the law of Moses your Rabbi." The Holy One--blessed be He!--went and
counseled the minds of every one of them, so that they all agreed, and
wrote, "God created in the beginning," etc.
_Megillah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
The Talmudic story of the origin of the Septuagint agrees in the
main with the account of Aristeas and Josephus, but Philo gives
the different version. Many of the Christian fathers believed it
to be the work of inspiration.
Abraham was as tall as seventy-four people; what he ate and drank was
enough to satisfy seventy-four ordinary men, and his strength was
proportionate.
_Sophrim_, chap. 21, 9.
The venerable Hillel had eighty disciples, thirty of whom were worthy
that the Shechinah should rest upon them, as it rested upon Moses our
Rabbi; and thirty of them were worthy that the sun should stand still
(for them), as it did for Joshua the son of Nun; and twenty of them
stood midway in worth. The greatest of all of them was Jonathan ben
Uzziel, and the least of all was Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai. It is said
of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zacchai that he did not leave unstudied the Bible,
the Mishna, the Gemara, the constitutions, the legends, the minutiae of
the law, the niceties of the scribes, the arguments _à fortìori_ and
from similar premises, the theory of the change of the moon, the
Gematria, the parable of the unripe grapes and the foxes, the language
of demons, of palm-trees, and of ministering angels.
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 134, col. 1.
A male criminal is to be hanged with his face toward the people, but a
female with her face toward the gibbet. So says Rabbi Eliezer; but the
sages say the man only is hanged, not the woman. Rabbi Eliezer retorted,
"Did not Simeon the son of Shetach hang women in Askelon?" To this they
replied, "He indeed caused eighty women to be hanged, though two
criminals are not to be condemned in one day."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 45, col. 2.
We may here repeat the story of the execution of the eighty
women here alluded to, as that is told by Rashi on the preceding
page of the Talmud. Once a publican, an Israelite but a sinner,
and a great and good man of the same place, having died on the
same day, were about to be buried. While the citizens were
engaged with the funeral of the latter, the relations of the
other crossed their path, bearing the corpse to the sepulchre.
Of a sudden a troop of enemies came upon the scene and caused
them all to take to flight, one faithful disciple alone
remaining by the bier of his Rabbi. After a while the citizens
returned to inter the remains they had so unceremoniously left,
but by some mistake they took the wrong bier and buried the
publican with honor, in spite of the remonstrance of the
disciple, while the relatives of the publican buried the Rabbi
ignominiously. The poor disciple felt inconsolably distressed,
and was anxious to know for what sin the great man had been
buried with contempt, and for what merit the wicked man had been
buried with such honor. His Rabbi then appeared to him in a
dream, and said, "Comfort thou thy heart, and come I will show
thee the honor I hold in Paradise, and I will also show thee
that man in Gehenna, the hinge of the door of which even now
creaks in his ears. (Which were formed into sockets for the
gates of hell to turn in.) But because once on a time I listened
to contemptuous talk about the Rabbis and did not check it, I
have suffered an ignoble burial, while the publican enjoyed the
honor that was intended for me because he once distributed
gratuitously among the poor of the city a banquet he had
prepared for the governor, but of which the governor did not
come to partake." The disciple having asked the Rabbi how long
this publican was to be thus severely treated, he replied,
"Until the death of Simeon the son of Shetach, who is to take
the publican's place in Gehenna." "Why so?" "Because, though he
knows there are several Jewish witches in Askelon, he idly
suffers them to ply their infernal trade and does not take any
steps to extirpate them." On the morrow the disciple reported
this speech to Simeon the son of Shetach, who at once proceeded
to take action against the obnoxious witches. He engaged eighty
stalwart young men, and choosing a rainy day, supplied each with
an extra garment folded up and stowed away in an earthern
vessel. Thus provided, they were each at a given signal to
snatch up one of the eighty witches and carry her away, a task
they would find of easy execution, as, except in contact with
the earth, these creatures were powerless. Then Simeon the son
of Shetach, leaving his men in ambush, entered the rendezvous of
the witches, who, accosting him, asked, "Who art thou?" He
replied, "I am a wizard, and am come to experiment in magic."
"What trick have you to show?" they said. He answered, "Even
though the day is wet, I can produce eighty young men all in dry
clothes." They smiled incredulously and said, "Let us see!" He
went to the door, and at the signal the young men took the dry
clothes out of the jars and put them on, then starting from
their ambush, they rushed into the witches' den, and each
seizing one, lifted her up and carried her off as directed. Thus
overpowered, they were brought before the court, convicted of
malpractices and led forth to execution.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 44, col. 2.
(Exod. xxiii. 35), "And I will take away sickness from the midst of
thee." It is taught that sickness (Machlah) means the bile. But why is
it termed Machlah? Because eighty-three diseases are in it. Machlah by
Gematria equals eighty-three; and all may be avoided by an early
breakfast of bread and salt and a bottle of water.
_Bava Kama_, fol. 92, col. 2.
If in a book of the law the writing is obliterated all but eighty-five
letters--as, for instance, in Num. x. 35, 36, "And it came to pass when
the ark set forward," etc.,--it may be rescued on the Sabbath from a
fire, but not otherwise.
_Shabbath_, fol. 116, col. 1.
Elijah said to Rabbi Judah the brother of Rav Salla the Pious, "The
world will not last less than eighty-five jubilees, and in the last
jubilee the son of David will come."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 97, col 2.
There was not a single individual in Israel who had not ninety Lybian
donkeys laden with the gold and silver of Egypt.
_Bechoroth_, fol. 5, col. 2.
(2 Sam. xix. 35), "Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink?"
From this we learn that in the aged the sense of taste is destroyed....
Rav says, "Barzillai the Gileadite reports falsely, for the cook at the
house of Rabbi (the Holy) was ninety-two years old, and yet could judge
by taste of what was cooking in the pot."
_Shabbath_, fol. 152, col. 1.
Rava said, "Life, children, and competency do not depend on one's merit,
but on luck; for instance, Rabbah and Rav Chasda were both righteous
Rabbis; the one prayed for rain and it came, and the other did so
likewise with the like result; yet Rav Chasda lived ninety-two years and
Rabbah only forty. Rav Chasda, moreover, had sixty weddings in his
family during his lifetime, whereas Rabbah had sixty serious illnesses
in his during the short period of his life. At the house of the former
even the dogs refused to eat bread made of the finest wheat flour,
whereas the family of the latter were content to eat rough bread of
barley and could not always obtain it." Rava also added, "For these
three things I prayed to Heaven, two of which were and one was not
granted unto me. I prayed for the wisdom of Rav Hunna and for the riches
of Rav Chasda, and both these were granted unto me; but the humility and
meekness of Rabbah, the son of Rav Hunna, for which I also prayed, was
not granted."
_Moed Katon_, fol. 28, col. 1.
The judges who issued decrees at Jerusalem received for salary
ninety-nine manahs from the contributions of the chamber.
_Kethuboth_, fol. 105, col. 1.
Ninety-nine die from an evil eye for one who dies in the usual manner.
_Bava Metzia_, fol. 107, col. 2.
The Rabbis have taught us who they are that are to be accounted rich.
"Every one," says Rabbi Meir, "who enjoys his riches." But Rabbi Tarphon
says, "Every one who has a hundred vineyards and a hundred fields, with
a hundred slaves to labor in them." Rabbi Akiva pronounces him well off
who has a wife that is becoming in all her ways.
_Shabbath_, fol. 25, col. 2.
A light for one is a light for a hundred.
Ibid., fol. 122, col. 1.
When a Gentile lights a candle or a lamp on the Sabbath-eve for his own
use, an Israelite is permitted to avail himself of its light, as a light
for one is a light for a hundred; but it is unlawful for an Israelite to
order a Gentile to kindle a light for his use.
A hundred Rav Papas and not one (like) Ravina!
A hundred zouzim employed in commerce will allow the merchant meat and
wine at his table daily, but a hundred zouzim employed in farming will
allow their owner only salt and vegetables.
_Yevamoth_, fol. 63, col. 1.
A hundred women are equal to only one witness (compare Deut. xvii. 6 and
xix. 15).
Ibid., fol. 88, col. 2.
If song should cease, a hundred geese or a hundred measures of wheat
might be offered for one zouz, and even then the buyer would refuse
paying such a sum for them.
_Soteh_, fol. 48, col. 1.
Rav says, "The ear that often listens to song shall be rooted
out." Music, according to the idea here, raises the price of
provisions. Do away with music and provisions will be so
abundant that a goose would be considered dear at a penny.
Theatres and music-halls are abominations to orthodox Jews, and
the Talmud considers the voice of a woman to be immoral.
When Rabbi Zira returned to the land of Israel he fasted a hundred times
in order that he might forget the Babylonian Talmud.
_Bava Metzia_, fol. 85, col. 1.
This passage, as also that on another page, will appear
surprising to many a reader, as we confess it does to ourselves.
We must, however, give the Talmud great credit for recording
such passages, and also the custodians of the Talmud for not
having expunged them from its pages.
"Ye shall hear the small as well as the great" (Deut. i. 17). Resh
Lakish said, "A lawsuit about a prutah (the smallest coin there is)
should be esteemed of as much account as a suit of a hundred manahs."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 8, col. 1.
Rav Yitzchak asks, "Why was Obadiah accounted worthy to be a prophet?"
Because, he answers, he concealed a hundred prophets in a cave; as it is
said (1 Kings xviii. 4), "When Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord,
Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty in a cave." Why by
fifties? Rabbi Eliezer explains, "He copied the plan from Jacob, who
said, 'If Esau come to one company and smite it, then the other company
which is left may escape.'" Rabbi Abuhu says, "It was because the caves
would not hold any more."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 39, col. 2.
"And it came to pass after these things that God did test Abraham" (Gen.
xxii. 1). After what things? Rabbi Yochanan, in the name of Rabbi Yossi
ben Zimra, replies, "After the words of Satan, who said, 'Lord of the
Universe! Thou didst bestow a son upon that old man when he was a
hundred years of age, and yet he spared not a single dove from the
festival to sacrifice to Thee.' God replied, 'Did he not make this
festival for the sake of his son? and yet I know he would not refuse to
sacrifice that son at my command.' To prove this, God did put Abraham to
the test, saying unto him, 'Take now thy son;' just as an earthly king
might say to a veteran warrior who had conquered in many a hard-fought
battle, 'Fight, I pray thee, this severest battle of all, lest it should
be said that thy previous encounters were mere haphazard skirmishes.'
Thus did the Holy One--blessed be He!--address Abraham, 'I have tried
thee in various ways, and not in vain either; stand this test also, for
fear it should be insinuated that the former trials were trivial and
therefore easily overcome. Take thy son.' Abraham replied, 'I have two
sons.' 'Take thine only son.' Abraham answered, 'Each is the only son of
his mother.' 'Take him whom thou lovest.' 'I love both of them,' said
Abraham. 'Take Isaac.' Thus Abraham's mind was gradually prepared for
this trial. While on the way to carry out this Divine command Satan met
him, and (parodying Job iv. 2-5) said, 'Why ought grievous trials to be
inflicted upon thee? Behold thou hast instructed many, and thou hast
strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have supported him that was
falling, and now this sore burden is laid upon thee.' Abraham answered
(anticipating Ps. xxvi. 11), 'I will walk in my integrity.' Then said
Satan (see Job iv. 6), 'Is not the fear (of God) thy folly? Remember, I
pray thee, who ever perished being innocent?' Then finding that he could
not persuade him, he said (perverting Job iv. 12), 'Now a word came to
me by stealth. I overheard it behind the veil (in the Holy of Holies
above). A lamb will be the sacrifice, and not Isaac.' Abraham said, 'It
is the just desert of a liar not to be believed even when he speaks the
truth.'"
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 89, col. 2.
It is better to have ten inches to stand upon than a hundred yards to
fall.
_Avoth d' Rab. Nathan_, chap. 1.
When Israel went up to Jerusalem to worship their Father who is in
heaven, they sat so close together that no one could insert a finger
between them, yet when they had to kneel and to prostrate themselves
there was room enough for them all to do so. The greatest wonder of all
was that even when a hundred prostrated themselves at the same time
there was no need for the governor of the synagogue to request one to
make room for another.
Ibid., chap. 35.
A man is bound to repeat a hundred blessings every day.
_Menachoth_, fol. 43, col. 2.
This duty, as Rashi tells us, is based upon Deut. x. 12,
altering the word what into a hundred, by the addition of a
letter.
This is what the so-called Pagan Goethe, intent on self-culture
as the first if not the final duty of man, makes Serlo in his
"Meister" lay down as a rule which one should observe daily.
"One," he says, "ought every day to hear a little song, read a
good poem, see a fine picture, and, if possible, speak a few
reasonable words." The contrast between this advice and that of
the Talmud here and elsewhere is suggestive of reflections.
He who possesses one manah may buy, in addition to his bread, a litra of
vegetables; the owner of ten manahs may add to his bread a litra of
fish; he that has fifty manahs may add a litra of meat; while the
possessor of a hundred may have pottage every day.
_Chullin_, fol. 84, col. 1.
Ben Hey-Hey said to Hillel, "What does this mean that is written in Mal.
iii. 18, 'Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and
the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not'?
Does the righteous here mean him that serveth God, and the wicked him
that serveth Him not? Why this repetition?" To this Hillel replied, "The
expressions, 'he that serveth God, and he that serveth Him not,' are
both to be understood as denoting 'perfectly righteous,' but he who
repeats his lesson a hundred times is not to be compared with one who
repeats it a hundred and one times." Then said Ben Hey-Hey, "What!
because he has repeated what he has learned only one time less than the
other, is he to be considered as 'one who serveth Him not'?" "Yes!" was
the reply; "go and learn a lesson from the published tariff of the
donkey-drivers--ten miles for one zouz, eleven for two."
_Chaggigah_, fol. 9, col. 2.
Hillel was great and good and clever, but his exposition of
Scripture, as we see from the above, is not always to be
depended upon. If, indeed, he was the teacher of Jesus, as some
suppose him to have been, then Jesus must, even from a
Rabbinical stand-point, be regarded as greater than Hillel the
Great, for He never handled the Scriptures with such
irreverence.
One hundred and three chapters (or psalms) were uttered by David, and he
did not pronounce the word Hallelujah until he came to contemplate the
downfall of the wicked; as it is written (Ps. civ. 35), "Let the sinners
be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the
Lord, O my soul, Hallelujah!" Instead of one hundred and three we ought
to say a hundred and four, but we infer from this that "Blessed is the
man," etc., and "Why do the heathen rage?" etc., are but one psalm.
_Berachoth_, fol. 9, col. 2.
One of the most charming women that we find figuring in the
Talmud was the wife of Rabbi Meir, Beruriah by name; and as we
meet with her in the immediate context of the above quotation,
it may be well to introduce her here to the attention of the
reader. The context speaks of a set of ignorant fellows
(probably Greeks) who sorely vexed the soul of Rabbi Meir, her
husband, and he ardently prayed God to take them away. Then
Beruriah reasoned with her husband thus:--"Is it, pray, because
it is written (Ps. civ. 35), 'Let the sinners be consumed'? It
is not written 'sinners,' but 'sins.' Besides, a little farther
on in the text it is said, 'And the wicked will be no more;'
that is to say, 'Let sins cease, and the wicked will cease too.'
Pray, therefore, on their behalf that they may be led to
repentance, and these wicked will be no more." This he therefore
did, and they repented and ceased to vex him. Of this excellent
and humane woman it may well be said, "She openeth her mouth
with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness" (Prov.
xxxi. 26). Her end was tragic. She was entrapped by a disciple
of her husband, and out of shame she committed suicide. See
particulars by Rashi in Avodah Zarah, fol. 18, col. 2.
The Hasmoneans ruled over Israel during the time of the second Temple a
hundred and three years; and for a hundred and three the government was
in the hands of the family of Herod.
_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
Rabbi Yochanan the son of Zacchai lived a hundred and twenty years;
forty he devoted to commerce, forty to study, and forty to teaching.
_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 30, col. 2.
One hundred and twenty elders, and among them several prophets, bore a
part in composing the Eighteen Blessings (the Shemonah Esreh).
_Meggillah_, fol. 17, col. 2.
A similar tradition was current among the early Christians, with
reference to the composition of the Creed. Its different
sentences were ascribed to different apostles. However fitly
this tradition may represent the community of faith with which
the prophets on the one hand and the apostles on the other were
inspired, it is not recommended by the critic as a proceeding
calculated to ensure unity in a work of art.
Rabbi Shemuel says advantage may be taken of the mistakes of a Gentile.
He once bought a gold plate as a copper one of a Gentile for four
zouzim, and then cheated him out of one zouz into the bargain. Rav
Cahana purchased a hundred and twenty vessels of wine from a Gentile for
a hundred zouzim, and swindled him in the payment out of one of the
hundred, and that while the Gentile assured him that he confidently
trusted to his honesty. Rava once went shares with a Gentile and bought
a tree, which was cut up into logs. This done, he bade his servant go to
pick him out the largest logs, but to be sure to take no more than the
proper number, because the Gentile knew how many there were. As Rav Ashi
was walking abroad one day he saw some grapes growing in a roadside
vineyard, and sent his servant to see whom they belonged to. "If they
belong to a Gentile," he said, "bring some here to me; but if they
belong to an Israelite, do not meddle with them." The owner, who
happened to be in the vineyard, overheard the Rabbi's order and called
out, "What! is it lawful to rob a Gentile?" "Oh, no," said the Rabbi
evasively; "a Gentile might sell, but an Israelite would not."
_Bava Kama_, fol. 113, col. 2.
This is given simply as a sample of the teaching of the Talmud
on the subject both by precept and example. There is no
intention to cast a slight on general Jewish integrity, or
suggest distrust in regard to their ethical creed.
Rabbon Gamliel, Rabbi Eliezer ben Azaryah, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi
Akiva once went on a journey to Rome, and at Puteoli they already heard
the noisy din of the city, though at a distance of a hundred and twenty
miles. At the sound all shed tears except Akiva, who began to laugh.
"Why laughest thou?" they asked. "Why do you cry?" he retorted. They
answered, "These Romans, who worship idols of wood and stone and offer
incense to stars and planets, abide in peace and quietness, while our
Temple, which was the footstool of our God, is consumed by fire; how can
we help weeping?" "That is just the very reason," said he, "why I
rejoice; for if such be the lot of those who transgress His laws, what
shall the lot of those be who observe and do them?"
_Maccoth_, fol. 24, col. 2.
When Adam observed that his sin was the cause of the decree which made
death universal he fasted one hundred and thirty years, abstained all
that space from intercourse with his wife, and wore girdles of
fig-leaves round his loins. All these years he lived under divine
displeasure, and begat devils, demons, and spectres; as it is said (Gen.
v. 3), "And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat in his own
likeness, after his image," which implies that, until the close of those
years, his offspring were not after his own image.
_Eiruvin_, fol. 18, col. 2.
There is a tradition that there was once a disciple in Yabneh who gave a
hundred and fifty reasons to prove a reptile to be clean (which the
Scripture regards as unclean.--Compare Lev. xi. 29).
Ibid., fol 13, col 2.
The ablutionary tank made by Solomon was as large as a hundred and fifty
lavatories.
Ibid., fol. 14, col. 1.
A hundred and eighty years before the destruction of the Temple, the
empire of idolatry (Rome) began the conquest of Israel.
_Shabbath_, fol. 15, col. 1.
The empire of Rome was, some think, so designated, because it
strove with all its might to drag down the worship of God to the
worship of man, and resolve the cause of God into the cause of
the Empire.
During the time of the second Temple Persia domineered over Israel for
thirty-four years and the Greeks held sway a hundred and eighty.
_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 1.
Foolish saints, crafty villains, sanctimonious women, and
self-afflicting Pharisees are the destroyers of the world. What is it to
be a foolish saint? To see a woman drowning in the river and refrain
from trying to save her because of the look of the thing. Who is to be
regarded as a crafty villain? Rabbi Yochanan says, "He who prejudices
the magistrates by prepossessing them in favor of his cause before his
opponent has had time to make his appearance." Rabbi Abhu says, "He who
gives a denarius to a poor man to make up for him the sum total of two
hundred zouzim; for it is enacted that he who possesses two hundred
zouzim is not entitled to receive any gleanings, neither what is
forgotten in the field, nor what is left in the corner of it (see Lev.
xxiii. 22), nor poor relief either. But if he is only one short of the
two hundred zouzim, and a thousand people give anything to him, he is
still entitled to the poor man's perquisites."
_Soteh_, fol. 21, col. 2.
The cup of David in the world to come will contain two hundred and
twenty-one logs; as it is said (Ps. xxiii. 5), "My cup runneth over,"
the numerical value of the Hebrew word, "runneth over," being two
hundred and twenty-one.
_Yoma_, fol. 76, col. 2.
In the world to come the Holy One will make a grand banquet for
the righteous from the flesh of the leviathan. _Bava Bathra_,
fol. 75, col. 1. (See the Morning Service for the middle days of
the Feast of Tabernacles.) God will make a banquet for the
righteous on the day when He shows His mercy to the posterity of
Isaac. After the meal the cup of blessing will be handed to
Abraham, in order that he may pronounce the blessing, but he
will plead excuse because he begat Ishmael. Then Isaac will be
told to take the cup and speak the benediction of grace, but he
also will plead his unworthiness because he begat Esau. Next
Jacob also will refuse because he married two sisters. Then
Moses, on the ground that he was unworthy to enter the land of
promise, or even to be buried in it; and finally Joshua will
plead unworthiness because he had no son. David will then be
called upon to take the cup and bless, and he will respond,
"Yea, I will bless, for I am worthy to bless, as it is said (Ps.
cxvi. 13), 'I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the
name of the Lord.'" P'sachim, fol. 119, col. 2. This cup, as we
are told above, will contain two hundred and twenty-one logs
(which the Rabbis tell us, is the twenty-fourth part of a seah,
therefore this cup will hold rather more than one-third of a
hogshead of wine).
Beruriah once found a certain disciple who studied in silence. As soon
as she saw him she spurned him and said, "Is it not thus written (2 Sam.
xxiii. 5), 'Ordered in all and sure'? If ordered with all the two
hundred and forty-eight members of thy body, it will be sure; if not, it
will not be sure." It is recorded that Rabbi Eliezer had a disciple who
also studied in silence, but that after three years he forgot all that
he had learned.
_Eiruvin_, fol. 53, col. 2, and fol. 54, col. 1.
In continuation of the above we read that Shemuel said to Rav
Yehudah, "Shrewd fellow, open thy mouth when thou readest, etc.,
so that thy reading may remain and thy life may be lengthened;
as it is written in Prov. iv. 22, 'For they are life unto those
that find them;' read not, 'that find them,' but read, 'that
bring them forth by the mouth,' i.e., that read them aloud." It
was and is still a common custom in the East to study aloud.
As an anathema enters all the two hundred and forty-eight members of the
body, so does it issue from them all. Of the entering-in of the anathema
it is written (Josh. vi. 17), "And the city shall be accursed;" by
Gematria amounting to two hundred and forty-eight. Of the coming-out of
the anathema it is written (Hab. iii. 2), "In wrath remember mercy;" a
transposition of the letters of the word for accursed, also amounting by
Gematria to two hundred and forty-eight. Rabbi Joseph says, "Hang an
anathema on the tail of a dog and he will still go on doing mischief."
_Moed Katon_, fol. 17, col. 1.
The human body has two hundred and forty-eight members:--Thirty in the
foot--that is, six in each toe--ten in the ankle, two in the thigh, five
in the knee, one in the hip, three in the hip-ball, eleven ribs, thirty
in the hand--that is, six in each finger--two in the fore-arm, two in
the elbow, one in the upper arm, four in the shoulder. Thus we have one
hundred and one on each side; to this add eighteen vertebrae in the
spine, nine in the head, eight in the neck, six in the chest, and five
in the loins.
_Oholoth_, chap. I, mish. 8.
See also Eiruvin, fol. 53, col. 2, and the Musaph for the second
day of Pentecost. In the Musaph for the New Year there is a
prayer that runs thus, "Oh, deign to hear the voice of those who
glorify Thee with all their members, according to the number of
the two hundred and forty-eight affirmative precepts. In this
month they blow thirty sounds, according to the thirty members
of the soles of their feet; the additional offerings of the day
are ten, according to the ten in their ankles; they approach the
altar twice, according to their two legs; five are called to the
law, according to the five joints in their knees; they observe
the appointed time to sound the cornet on the first day of the
month, according to the one in their thigh; they sound the horn
thrice, according to the three in their hips; lo! with the
additional offering of the new moon they are eleven, according
to their eleven ribs; they pour out the supplication with nine
blessings, according to the muscles in their arms, and which
contain thirty verses, according to the thirty in the palms of
their hands; they daily repeat the prayer of eighteen blessings,
according to the eighteen vertebrae in the spine; at the
offering of the continual sacrifice they sound nine times,
according to the nine muscles in their head," etc., etc.
It is related of Rabbi Ishmael's disciples that they dissected a low
woman who had been condemned by the Government to be burned, and upon
examination they found that her body contained two hundred and fifty-two
members.
_Bechoroth_, fol. 45, col. 1.
The regular period of gestation is either two hundred and seventy-one,
two hundred and seventy-two, or two hundred and seventy-three days.
_Niddah_, fol. 38, col. 1.
Revere the memory of Chananiah ben Chiskiyah, for had it not been for
him the Book of Ezekiel would have been suppressed, because of the
contradictions it offers to the words of the law. By the help of three
hundred bottles of oil, which were brought up into an upper chamber, he
prolonged his lucubrations, till he succeeded in reconciling all the
discrepancies.
_Shabbath_, fol. 13, col. 2.
It is related of Johanan, the son of Narbai, that he used to eat three
hundred calves, and to drink three hundred bottles of wine, and to
consume forty measures of young pigeons by way of dessert. (Rashi says
this was because he had to train many priests in his house.)
_P'sachim_, fol. 57, col. 1.
The keys of the treasury of Korah were so many that it required three
hundred white mules to carry them. These, with the locks, were said to
be made of white leather.
Ibid., fol. 119, col. 1.
The Midrash repeats the same story, and adds, "His wealth was
his ruin." "He is as rich as Korah" is now a Jewish proverb.
Rav Chiya, the son of Adda, was tutor to the children of Resh Lakish,
and once absented himself from his duties for three days. On his return
he was questioned as to the reason of his conduct, and he gave the
following reply: "My father bequeathed to me a vine, trained on high
trellis-work as a bower, from which I gathered the first day three
hundred bunches, each of which yielded a gerav of wine (a gerav is a
measure containing as much as 288 egg-shells would contain). On the
second day I again gathered three hundred bunches of smaller size, two
only producing one gerav (one bunch yielding the quantity of wine 144
egg-shells would contain). The third day I also gathered three hundred
bunches, but only three bunches to the gerav, and have yet left more
than half of the grapes free for any one to gather them." Thereupon Resh
Lakish observed to him, "If thou hadst not been so negligent (losing
time in the instruction of my children), it would have yielded still
more."
_Kethuboth_, fol. 111, col. 2.
There were three hundred species of male demons in Sichin, but what the
female demon herself was like is known to no one.
_Gittin_, fol. 68, col. 1.
"Now, when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon
him, they came each from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildah the
Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment
together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him" (Job ii. 11).
What is meant when it is said, "They had made an appointment together"?
Rab. Yehudah says in the name of Rav, "This is to teach that they all
came in by one gate." But there is a tradition that each lived three
hundred miles away from the other. How then came they to know of Job's
sad condition? Some say they had wreaths, others say trees (each
representing an absent friend), and when any friend was in distress the
one representing him straightway began to wither. Rava said, "Hence the
proverb, 'Either a friend as the friends of Job, or death.'"
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 16, col. 2.
Rashi tenders this explanation, that Job and his friends had
each wreaths with their names engraved on them, and if
affliction befell any one his name upon the wreath would change
color.
Rabbi Yochanan says that Rabbi Meir knew three hundred fables about
foxes, but we have only three of them, viz, "The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Ezek. xviii. 2);
"Just balances and just weights" (Lev. xix. 36); "The righteous is
delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead" (Prov. xi.
8).
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 38, col. 2, and fol. 39, col. 1.
Quite apropos to this we glean the following from Rashi:--A fox
once induced a wolf to enter a Jewish dwelling to help the
inmates to get ready the Sabbath meal. No sooner did he enter
than the whole household set upon him, and so belabored him with
cudgels that he was obliged to flee for his life. For this trick
the wolf was indignant at the fox, and sought to kill him, but
he pacified him with the remark, "They would not have beaten
thee if thy father had not on a former occasion belied
confidence, and eaten up the choicest pieces that were set aside
for the meal." "What!" rejoined the wolf, "the fathers have
eaten sour grapes, and shall the children's teeth be set on
edge?" "Well," interrupted the fox, "come with me now and I will
show thee a place where thou mayest eat and be satisfied." He
thereupon took him to a well, across the top of which rested a
transverse axle with a rope coiled round it, to each extremity
of which a bucket was attached. The fox, entering the bucket,
which happened to be at the top, soon descended by his own
weight to the bottom of the well, and thereby raised the other
bucket to the top. On the wolf inquiring at the fox why he had
gone down there, he replied, because he knew there was meat and
cheese to eat and be satisfied, in proof of which he pointed to
a cheese, which happened to be the reflection of the moon on the
water. Upon which the wolf inquired, "And how am I to get down
beside you?" The fox replied, "By getting into the bucket at the
top." He did as directed, and as he descended the bucket with
the fox rose to the top. The wolf in this plight again appealed
to the fox. "But how am I to get out?" The reply was, "The
righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in
his stead;" and is it not written, "Just balances just weights?"
When Rabbi Eliezer, on his deathbed, taught Rabbi Akiva three hundred
particulars to be observed in regard to the white spot covered with hair
which was the sign of leprosy, the former lifted up his arms and placed
them on his chest and exclaimed, "Woe is me, because of these my two
arms, these two scrolls of the law, that are about to depart from this
world; for if all the seas were ink, and all the reeds were quills, and
all the men were scribes, they could not record all I have learned and
all I have taught, and how much I have heard at the lips of sages in the
schools. And what is more, I also taught three hundred laws based on the
text, 'A witch shall not live.'"
_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 25.
This truly Oriental exaggeration, which Rabbi Eliezer ben
Azariah so complacently applies to himself, was spoken also of
Rabbi Yochanan before him (Bereshith Rabba); an acrostic poem in
the Morning Service for Pentecost adopts the same hyperbole
almost word for word, and turns it to very pious account. It is
interesting to note how contemporary sacred literature abounds
in similar hyperbolic expressions. In John xxi 25 it is said,
"There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if
they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world
itself could not contain the books that should be written."
Cicero, too, speaks of a glory of such a weight that even heaven
itself is scarcely able to contain it; and Livy, on one
occasion, describes the power of Rome as with difficulty
restrained within the limits of the world.
Here it may not be out of place if we introduce a few of the
many passages in the Talmud that treat of enchantment and
witchcraft, as well as magic, charms, and omens. The list of
quotations might be extended to a hundred, but we must confine
ourselves to a score or so.
The daughters of Israel burn incense for (purposes of) sorcery.
_Berachoth_, fol. 53, col. 1.
Ben Azai (son of impudence), says, "... he who seats himself and then
feels ... (which must not be explained), the effects of witchcraft, even
when practiced in Spain, will come upon him. What is the remedy when one
forgets and first sits down and then feels?.... When he rises let him
say, 'Not these and not of these; not the witchcraft of sorcerers and
not the sorcery of witches.'"
_Berachoth_, fol. 62, col. 1.
The daughters of Israel in later generations lapsed into the practice of
witchcraft.
_Eiruvin_ fol. 64, col. 2.
Ameimar says, "The superior of the witches told me that when a person
meets any of them he should mutter thus, 'May a potsherd of boiling dung
be stuffed into your mouths, you ugly witches! may the hair with which
you perform your sorcery be torn from your heads, so that ye become
bald. May the wind scatter the crumbs wherewith ye do your divinations.
May your spices be scattered and may the wind blow away the saffron you
hold in your hands for the practicing of sorcery.'"
_P'sachim_, fol. 110, cols, 1, 2.
Yohanna, the daughter of Ratibi, was a widow, who bewitched women in
their confinement. See Rashi on _Soteh_, fol. 22, col. 1.
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua, says, "Since
the destruction of the Temple a day has not passed without a curse; the
dew does not come down with a blessing, and the fruits have lost their
proper taste." Rabbi Yossi adds, "Also the lusciousness of the fruit is
gone." Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says, "With the decay of purity the taste
and aroma (of the fruit) has disappeared, and with the tithes and
richness of the corn." The sages say, "Lewdness and witchcraft ruin
everything."
_Soteh_, fol. 48, col. 1.
A certain magician used to strip the dead of their shrouds. Once when he
came to the tomb of Rav Tovi bar Mathna he was seized and held fast by
the beard, but Abaii having interceded on behalf of his friend, the grip
was let go and he was set at liberty. Next year he came again on the
same errand, and again he was seized by the beard. This time Abaii's
intercession was of no avail, and he was not liberated until they
brought a pair of scissors and cut off his beard.
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 58, col. 1
None were allowed to sit in the Sanhedrin unless they had a knowledge of
magic.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 17, col. 1.
Rabbi Shimon said, "An enchanter is one who passeth the exudation of
seven different sorts of male creatures over the eye." The sages say he
is one who practices and palms off optical illusions. Rabbi Akiva says,
"He is one who calculates times and hours, and says To-day is good to
start on a journey, To-morrow will be a lucky day for selling, The year
before the Sabbatical year is generally good for growing wheat, The
pulling up of pease will preserve them from being spoiled." According to
the Rabbis, "An enchanter is he who augurs ill when his bread drops from
his mouth, or if he drops the stick that supports him from his hand, or
if his son calls after him, or a crow caws in his hearing, or a deer
crosses his path, or he sees a serpent at his right hand or a fox on his
left, or if he says to the tax-gatherer, 'Do not begin with me the first
in the morning'; or, 'It is the first of the month'; or, 'It is the exit
of the Sabbath,' i.e., the commencement of a new week."
Ibid., fol. 65, col. 2.
"By the term witch," the Rabbis say, "we are to understand either male
or female." "If so," it is asked, "why the term 'witch,' in Exod. xxii.
18, in the Hebrew verse 17, is in the feminine gender?" "Because," it is
answered, "most women are witches."
Ibid., fol. 67, col. 1.
If the proud (in Israel) were to cease, the magicians would also cease;
as it is written (Isa. i. 25), "I will purge away thy dross and take
away all thy tin."
Ibid., fol. 98, col. 1.
Among those who have no portion in the world to come is he who reads the
books of the strangers, foreign books, books of outsiders. See also
Sanhedrin, fol. 90, col. 1. Now Rav Yoseph says, "It is unlawful to read
the Book of the Son of Sirach, ... because it is written therein
(Ecclesiasticus xlii. 9, etc., as quoted, or rather misquoted, in the
Talmud), 'A daughter is a false treasure to her father: because of
anxiety for her he cannot sleep at night; when she is young, for fear
she should be seduced; in her virginity lest she play the harlot; in her
marriageable age, lest she should not get married; and when married,
lest she should be childless; and when grown old, lest she practice
witchcraft.'"
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 100, col. 2.
He who multiplieth wives multiplieth witchcraft.
_Avoth_, chap. 2.
Most donkey-drivers are wicked, but most sailors are pious. The best
physicians are destined for hell, the most upright butcher is a partner
of Amalek. Bastards are mostly cunning, and servants mostly handsome.
Those who are well-descended are bashful, and children mostly resemble
their mother's brother. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai bids us "kill the best
of Gentiles" (modern editions qualify this by adding, in time of war),
"and smash the head of the best of serpents." "The best among women," he
says, "is a witch." Blessed is he who does the will of God!
_Sophrim_, chap. 15, hal. 10.
On the Sabbath one may carry a grasshopper's egg as a charm against
earache, the tooth of a living fox to promote sleep, the tooth of a dead
fox to prevent sleep, and the nail of one crucified (as a remedy) for
inflammation or swelling. For cutaneous disorders he is to repeat Baz
Baziah, Mass Massiah, Cass Cassiah, Sharlaii, and Amarlaii (names of
angels), etc.... As the mules do not increase and multiply, so may the
skin disease not increase and spread upon the body of N., the son of the
woman N., etc.
_Shabbath_, fol. 67, col. 1.
"For night-blindness, let a man take a hair-rope and bind one end of it
to his own leg and the other to a dog's, then let children clatter a
potsherd after him, and call out, 'Old man! dog! fool! cock!' Let him
now collect seven pieces of meat from seven (different) houses; let him
set them on the cross-bar of the threshold, then let him eat them on the
town middens; and after that let him undo the hair-rope, then let him
say thus: 'Blindness of So-and-so, son of Mrs. So-and-so, leave
So-and-so, son of Mrs. So-and-so, and be brushed into the pupil of the
eye of the dog.'" (Quoted from "The Fragment," by Rev. W.H. Lowe of
Cambridge.)
_Gittin_, fol. 69, col. 1.
According to the Rabbis, a man should not drink water by night, for thus
he exposes himself to the power of Shavriri, the demon of blindness.
What then should he do if he is thirsty? If there be another man with
him, let him rouse him up and say, "I am thirsty;" but if he be alone,
let him tap upon the lid of the jug (to make the demon fancy there's
some one with him), and addressing himself by his own name and the name
of his mother, let him say, "Thy mother has bid thee beware of Shavriri,
vriri, riri, iri, ri," in a white cup. Rashi says by this incantation
the demon gradually contracts and vanishes as the sounds of the word
Shavriri decrease.
_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 12, col. 2.
A python is a familiar spirit who speaks from his armpits; a wizard is
one who speaks with the mouth. As the Rabbis have taught, a familiar
spirit is one who speaks from his joints and his wrists; a wizard is one
who, putting a certain bone into his mouth, causes it to speak.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 65, cols, 1, 2.
He who says to a raven "Croak," and to a hen raven, "Droop thy tail and
turn it this way as a lucky sign," is an imitator of the ways of the
Amorites (Lev. xviii. 3).
_Shabbath_, fol. 67, col. 2.
Women going out on the Sabbath-day are allowed, as the Rabbis teach, to
carry with them a certain stone believed to counteract abortion.
Abaii interrupts his exposition of this Halachah in order to enumerate
certain antidotes to chronic fever which, he says, he had learned from
his mother. Take a new zouz and then procure its weight in sea-salt;
hang this round the neck, suspended by a papyrus fibre, so that it may
rest just in the hollow in front. If this does not answer, go where two
or more roads meet and watch for the first big ant that is going home
loaded; lay hold of it and place it in a brass tube; stop up the end of
the tube with lead, putting as many seals upon it as possible; then
shake it, saying the while, "My load be upon thee, and thine upon me."
To this Rav Acha, the son of Rav Hunna, objected to Rav Ashi, and asked,
"Might not the ant have been already laden with another man's fever?"
"True," observed the other; "nevertheless let him say, 'My load be upon
thee as well as thine own.'" If this be not effective, then take a new
earthenware pot, and going to the nearest stream, say, "Stream, stream,
lend me a pot full of water for one who is on a visit to me." Wave it
seven times round thy head and then throw the water back again, saying,
"Stream, stream, take back thy borrowed water for my guest came and went
the same day."
Rav Hunna then adds a prescription for a tertian fever, and Rabbi
Yochanan gives the following as effective against a burning fever:--Take
an iron knife, and having fastened a papyrus fibre to the nearest
bramble, cut off a piece and say, "And the Angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a flame of fire," etc., as in Exod. iii. 2. On the morrow cut off
another piece and say, "The Lord saw that he (the fever) turned aside;"
then upon the third day say, "Draw not hither," and stooping down, pray,
"Bush, bush! the Holy One--blessed be He!--caused His Shechinah to lodge
upon thee, not because thou art the loftiest, for thou art the lowest of
all trees; and as when thou didst see the fire of Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, thou didst flee therefrom, so see the fire (fever) of this
sufferer and flee from it."
_Shabbath_, fol. 66, col. 2, etc.
Rabba once created a man (out of dust) and sent him to Rabbi Zira, who
having addressed the figure and received no answer, said, "Thou art
(made) by witchcraft; return to thy native dust." Rav Chaneanah and Rav
Oshayah sat together every Sabbath-eve studying the book Yetzirah (i.e.,
the book of Creation), until they were able to create for themselves a
calf (as large as a) three-year old, and they did eat thereof.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 65, col, 2.
Yannai once turned in to a certain inn, and asked for water to drink,
when they gave him (Shethitha, i.e., water mixed with flour). He noticed
that the lips of the woman who brought it moved (and so suspecting that
something was wrong), he poured out a little of it and it became
scorpions. He then said, "I have drunk of thine, now thou shalt drink of
mine." The woman drank and was transformed into an ass, which he mounted
and rode to the market-place. One of her companions having come up,
broke the spell, and the ass he had ridden was on the spot transformed
back again into a woman. In reference to the above, Rashi naïvely
remarks that "we are not to suppose that Yannai was a Rabbi, for he was
not held in esteem, because he practiced witchcraft." But Rashi is
mistaken; see Sophrim, chap. 16, hal. 6.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 67, col. 2.
Ten measures of witchcraft came into the world; Egypt received nine
measures, and the rest of the world one.
_Kiddushin_, fol. 49, col. 2.
The Rabbis say that on the Sabbath serpents and scorpions may be tamed
by charming; that a metal ring, such as may be carried on the Sabbath,
may be applied as a remedy to a sore eye; but that demons may not be
consulted on that day about lost property. Rabbi Yossi has said, "This
ought not to be done even on week-days." Rav Hunna says, "The Halachah
does not enjoin as Rabbi Yossi says, and even he prohibits it only
because of the risk there is in consulting demons. For instance, Rav
Yitzchak bar Yoseph was once desperately delivered from the attacks of a
vicious demon by a cedar-tree opening of its own accord and enclosing
him in its trunk."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 101, col. 1.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zachai acquired a knowledge of the language of angels
and demons for purposes of incantation.
_Bava Bathira_, fol. 134, col. 1.
"Neither shall ye use enchantments" ... (Lev. xix. 26). Such, for
instance, as those practiced with cats, fowls, and fishes.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 66, col. 1.
Rav Ketina happened once, in his travels, to hear the noise of an
earthquake just as he came opposite to the abode of one who was wont to
conjure with human bones. Happening to mutter aloud to himself as he
passed, "Does the conjurer really know what that noise is?" a voice
answered, "Ketina, Ketina, why shouldn't I know? When the Holy
One--blessed be He!--thinks of His children who dwell in sorrowful
circumstances among the nations of the earth, He lets fall two tears
into the great sea, and His voice is heard from one end of the world to
the other, and that is the rumbling noise we hear." Upon which Rav
Ketina protested, "The conjurer is a liar, his words are not true; they
might have been true, had there been two rumbling noises." The fact was,
two such noises were heard, but Rav Ketina would not acknowledge it,
lest, by so doing, he should increase the popularity of the conjurer.
Rav Ketina is of the opinion that the rumbling noise is caused by God
clapping His hands together, as it is said (Ezek. xxi, 22; A.V., ver.
17), "I will also smite My hands together, and I will cause My fury to
rest."
_Berachoth_, fol. 59, col. 1.
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah proclaimed this anathema with the blast of
three hundred trumpets:--"Whoever shall take drink from the hand of a
bride, no matter whether she be the daughter of a disciple of the wise
or the daughter of an Amhaaretz, it is all one as if he drunk it from
the hand of a harlot." Again, it is said, "He who receives a cup from
the hands of a bride and drinks it therefrom, has no portion whatever in
the world to come."
_Tract Calah._
There was a place for collecting the ashes in the middle of the altar,
and there were at times in it nearly as much as three hundred cors
(equal to about 2830 bushels) of ashes. On Rava remarking that this must
be an exaggeration, Rav Ammi said the law, the prophets, and the sages
are wont to use hyperbolical language. Thus the law speaks of "Cities
great and walled up to heaven" (Deut. i. 28); the prophets speak of "the
earth rent with the sound of them" (1 Kings i. 40); the sages speak as
above and also as follows. There was a golden vine at the entrance of
the Temple, trailing on crystals, on which devotees who could used to
suspend offerings of fruit and grape clusters. "It happened once," said
Rabbi Elazer ben Rabbi Zadoc, "that three hundred priests were counted
off to clear the vine of the offerings."
_Chullin_, fol. 90, col. 2.
Three hundred priests were told off to draw the veil (of the Temple)
aside; for it is taught that Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel declared in the
name of Rabbi Shimon the Sagan (or high priest's substitute), that the
thickness of the veil was a handbreadth. It was woven of seventy-two
cords, and each cord consisted of twenty-four strands. It was forty
cubits long and twenty wide. Eighty-two myriads of damsels worked at it,
and two such veils were made every year. When it became soiled, it took
three hundred priests to immerse and cleanse it.
_Chullin._
When Moses was about to enter Paradise he turned to Joshua and said, "If
any doubtful matters remain, ask me now and I will explain them." To
this Joshua replied, "Have I ever left thy side for an hour and gone
away to any other? Hast thou not thyself written concerning me (Exod.
xxxiii. 11), 'His servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed
not out of the Tabernacle?'" As a punishment for this pert reply, which
must have distressed and confounded his master, Joshua's power of brain
was immediately weakened, so that he forgot three hundred Halachahs, and
seven hundred doubts sprang up to perplex him. All Israel then rose up
to murder him, but the Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto him, "To
teach thee the Halachahs and their explanation is impossible, but go and
trouble them with work; as it is said (Josh. i. 1), 'Now after the death
of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake
unto Joshua,'" etc.
_Temurah_, fol. 16, col. 1.
In the future God will assign to each righteous man three hundred and
ten worlds as an inheritance; for it is said (Prov. viii. 21), "That I
may cause those that love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their
treasures." By Gematria equals three hundred and ten.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 100, col. 1, and _Okitzin_, chap. 3, mish. 12.
An old woman once complained before Rav Nachman that the Head of the
Captivity and certain Rabbis with him were enjoying themselves in her
booth, which they had surreptitiously taken possession of and would not
surrender, but Rav Nachman gave no heed to her remonstrance. Then she
raised her voice and cried aloud, "A woman whose father had three
hundred and eighteen slaves is now pleading before you, and you paying
no heed to her!" Upon which Rav Nachman turned to his associates and
said, "She is a bawling woman, but she has no right to claim the booth,
only the value of its timber."
_Succah_, fol. 31, col. 1.
Elijah the Tishbite once said to Rav Yehudah, the brother of Rav Salla
the Holy, "You ask why the Messiah does not come, even though it is just
now the Day of Atonement." "And what," asked the Rabbi, "does the Holy
One--blessed be He!--say to that?" "He says, 'Sin lieth at the door'"
(Gen. iv. 7). "And what has Satan to say?" "He has no permission to
accuse any one on the Day of Atonement." "How do we know this?" Ramma
bar Chamma replied, "Satan by Gematria equals three hundred and
sixty-four, therefore on that number of days only has he permission to
accuse; but on the Day of Atonement (i.e., the 365th day) he cannot
accuse."
_Yoma_, fol. 20, col. 1.
Rav Yitzchak said, "What is the meaning of that which is written (Ps.
cxl. 8), 'Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; further not his
wicked device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah?'" It is the prayer of
Jacob to the Lord of the universe that He would not grant to Esau, "the
wicked, the desires of his heart." "Further not his wicked device," this
refers to Germamia of Edom (i.e., Rome), for if they (the Romans) were
suffered to go forward they would destroy the whole world! Rav Chama bar
Chanena said, "There are three hundred crowned heads in Germamia of
Edom, and there are three hundred and sixty-five dukes in Babylon. These
encounter each other daily, and one of them commits murder, and they
strive to set up a king."
_Meggillah_, fol. 6, col. 2.
In the great city (of Rome) there were three hundred and sixty-five
streets, and in each street there were three hundred and sixty-five
palaces, and in every one of these there were three hundred and
sixty-five steps, each of which palaces contained sufficient store to
maintain the whole world.
_P'sachim_, fol. 118, col. 2.
There are three hundred and sixty-five negative precepts.
There were three hundred and ninety-four courts of law in Jerusalem, and
as many synagogues; also the same number of high schools, colleges, and
academies, and as many offices for public notaries.
_Kethuboth_, fol. 105, col. 1.
Rav Hunna had four hundred casks of wine which had turned into vinegar.
On hearing of his misfortune, Rav Yehudah, the brother of Rav Salla the
Holy, or, as some say, Rav Adda bar Ahavah, came and visited him,
accompanied by the Rabbis. "Let the master," said they, "examine himself
carefully." "What!" said he, "do you suppose me to have been guilty of
wrong-doing?" "Shall we then," said they, "suspect the Holy One--blessed
be He!--of executing judgment without justice?" "Well," said Rav Hunna,
"if you have heard anything against me, don't conceal it." "It has been
reported to us," said they, "that the master has withheld the gardener's
share of the prunings." "What else, pray, did he leave me?" retorted Rav
Hunna; "he has stolen all the produce of my vineyard." They replied,
"There is a saying that whoever steals from a thief smells of theft."
"Then," said he, "I hereby promise to give him his share." Thereupon,
according to some, the vinegar turned to wine again; and, according to
others, the price of vinegar rose to the price of wine.
_Berachoth_, fol. 5, col. 2.
Rav Adda bar Ahavah once saw a Gentile woman in the market-place wearing
a red head-dress, and supposing that she was a daughter of Israel, he
impatiently tore it off her head. For this outrage he was fined a fine
of four hundred zouzim. He asked the woman what her name was, and she
replied, "My name is Mathan." "Methun, Methun," he wittily rejoined, "is
worth four hundred zouzim."
Ibid., fol. 20, col. 1.
Methun means patience and Mathan two hundred. The point lies
either in the application of the term Methun, which means
patience, as if to say, had he been so patient as to have first
ascertained what the woman was, he would have saved his four
hundred zouzim; or in the identity of the sound Mathan, i.e.,
two hundred, which doubled, equals four hundred. This has long
since passed into a proverb, and expresses the value of
patience.
From the foregoing extract it would seem that it was not the
fashion among Jewish females to wear head-dresses of a red
color, as it was presumed to indicate a certain lightness on the
part of the wearer; so Rav Adda in his pious zeal thought he was
doing a good work in tearing it off from the head of the
supposed Jewess. "Patience, patience is worth four hundred
zouzim."
Custom among the Jews had then, as now, the force of religion.
The Talmud says, "A man should never deviate from a settled
custom. Moses ascended on high and did not eat bread (for there
it is not the custom); angels came down to earth and did eat
bread (for here it is the custom so to do)." Bava Metzia, fol.
86, col. 2.