"I will answer ye with a parable. There was once a king who had a son to
whom he gave a certain yearly allowance, paying the entire sum for his
year's support on one appointed day. It soon happened that this day on
which the allowance was due, was the only day in the year when the
father saw his son. So the king changed his plan, and gave his son each
day his maintenance for that day only, and then the son visited his
father with the return of each day's sun.
"So was it with Israel; each father of a family, dependent upon the
manna provided each day by God's bounty, for his support and the support
of his family, naturally had his mind devoted to the Great Giver and
Sustainer of life."
When Rabbi Eleazer was sick his scholars visited him, and said, "Rabbi,
teach us the way of life, that we may inherit eternity."
The Rabbi answered, "Give honor to your comrades. Know to whom you pray.
Restrain your children from frivolous conversation, and place them among
the learned men, in order that they may acquire wisdom. So may you merit
life in the future world."
When Rabbi Jochanan was sick his scholars also called upon him. When he
beheld them he burst into tears.
"Rabbi!" they exclaimed, "Light of Israel! The chief pillar! Why weep?"
The Rabbi answered, "Were I to be brought before a king of flesh and
blood, who is here to-day and to-morrow in the grave; who may be angry
with me, but not forever; who may imprison me, but not forever; who may
kill me, but only for this world; whom I may sometimes bribe; even then
I would fear. But now, I am to appear before the King of kings, the Most
Holy One, blessed be He, who lives through all eternity. If He is wroth,
it is forever. If He imprisons me, it is forever; if He slays me, it is
for the future world; and I can bribe Him neither with words nor money.
Not only this, two paths are before me, one leading to punishment, the
other to reward, and I know not which one I must travel. Should I not
weep?"
The scholars of Rabbi Johanan, the son of Zakai, asked of their teacher
this question:--
"Wherefore is it, that according to the law, the punishment of a
highwayman is not as severe as the punishment of a sneak thief?
According to the Mosaic law, if a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills
it or sells it, he is required to restore five oxen for the one ox, and
four sheep for the one sheep; but for the highwayman we find, 'When he
hath sinned and is conscious of his guilt, he shall restore that he hath
taken violently away; he shall restore it and its principal, and the
fifth part thereof he shall add thereto.' Therefore, he who commits a
highway robbery pays as punishment one-fifth of the same, while a sneak
thief is obliged to return five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one
sheep. Wherefore is this?"
"Because," replied the teacher, "the highway robber treats the servant
as the master. He takes away violently in the presence of the servant,
the despoiled man, and the master--God. But the sneak thief imagines
that God's eye is not upon him. He acts secretly, thinking, as the
Psalmist says, 'The Lord doth not see, neither will the God of Jacob
regard it.' Listen to a parable. Two men made a feast. One invited all
the inhabitants of the city, and omitted inviting the king. The other
invited neither the king nor his subjects. Which one deserves
condemnation? Certainly the one who invited the subjects and not the
king. The people of the earth are God's subjects. The sneak thief fears
their eyes, yet he does not honor the eye of the king, the eye of God,
which watches all his actions."
Rabbi Meir says, "This law teaches us how God regards industry. If a
person steals an ox he must return five in its place, because while the
animal was in his unlawful possession it could not work for its rightful
owner. A lamb, however, does no labor, and is not profitable that way;
therefore he is only obliged to replace it fourfold."
Rabbi Nachman dined with his teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak, and upon departing
after the meal, he said, "Teacher, bless me!"
"Listen," replied Rabbi Yitzchak. "A traveler was once journeying
through the desert, and when weary, hungry, and thirsty, he happened
upon an oasis, where grew a fruitful tree, wide-branched, and at the
foot of which there gushed a spring of clear, cool water.
"The stranger ate of the luscious fruit, enjoying and resting in the
grateful shade, and quenching his thirst in the sparkling water which
bubbled merrily at his feet.
"When about to resume his journey, he addressed the tree and spoke as
follows:--
"'Oh, gracious tree, with what words can I bless thee, and what good can
I wish thee? I cannot wish thee good fruit, for it is already thine; the
blessing of water is also thine; and the gracious shade thrown by thy
beauteous branches the Eternal has already granted thee, for my good and
the good of those who travel by this way. Let me pray to God, then, that
all thy offspring may be goodly as thyself.'
"So it is with thee, my pupil. How shall I bless thee? Thou art perfect
in the law, eminent in the land, respected, and blessed with means. May
God grant that all thy offspring may prove goodly as thyself."
A wise man, say the Rabbis, was Gebiah ben Pesisah. When the children of
Canaan accused the Israelites of stealing their land, saying, "The land
of Canaan is ours, as it is written, 'The land of Canaan and its
boundaries belong to the Canaanites,'" and demanded restitution, Gebiah
offered to argue the case before the ruler.
Said Gebiah to the Africans, "Ye bring your proof from the Pentateuch,
and by the Pentateuch will I refute it. 'Cursed be Canaan; a servant of
servants shall he be unto his brethren.' To whom does the property of a
slave belong? To his master. Even though the land belonged to ye,
through your servitude it became Israel's."
"Answer him," said the ruler.
The accusers asked for three days' time to prepare their reply, but at
the end of the three days they had vanished.
Then came the Egyptians, saying, "'God gave the Israelites favor in the
eyes of the Egyptians, and they lent them gold and silver.' Now return
us the gold and silver which our ancestors lent ye."
Again Gebiah appeared for the sages of Israel.
"Four hundred and thirty years," said he, "did the children of Israel
dwell in Egypt. Come, now, pay us the wages of six hundred thousand men
who worked for ye for naught, and we will return the gold and silver."
Then came the children of Ishmael and Ketura, before Alexander of
Mukdon, saying, "The land of Canaan is ours, as it is written, 'These
are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham;' even as it is
written, 'These are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham.' One
son is equal to the other; come, give us our share."
Again Gebiah appeared as counsel for the sages.
"From the Pentateuch, which is your proof, will I confound ye" said he.
"Is it not written 'Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, but unto the
sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts?' The man
who gives his children their inheritance during his life does not design
to give it to them again after his death. To Isaac Abraham left all that
he had; to his other children he gave gifts, and sent them away."