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Section 3 of 17 - Table of Contents
The anecdote that follows is from Sanhedrin, fol. 97, col
1:--"In reference to the remark of Ravina, who said, 'I used to
think that there was no truth in the world,' one of the Rabbis,
Toviah (or Tavyoomah, as some say), would protest and say, 'If
all the riches of the world were offered me, I would not tell a
falsehood.' And he used to clench his protestation with the
following apologue: 'I once went to a place called Kushta, where
the people never swerve from the truth, and where (as a reward
for their integrity) they do not die until old age; and there I
married and settled down, and had two sons born unto me. One day
as my wife was sitting and combing her hair, a woman who dwelt
close by came to the door and asked to see her. Thinking that it
was a breach of etiquette (that any one should see her at her
toilet), I said she was not in. Soon after this my two children
died, and the people came to inquire into the cause of their
premature decease. When I told them of my evasive reply to the
woman, they asked me to leave the town, lest by my misconduct I
might involve the whole community in a like calamity, and death
might be enticed to their place."
Food remains for three days in the stomach of the dog, because God knew
that his food would be scanty.
_Shabbath_, fol. 155, col. 1.
He who is born on the third day of the week will be rich and amorous.
Ibid., fol. 156, col. 1.
Rabbi Abba, in the name of Shemuel, says, "The schools of Shammai and
Hillel were at variance three years, the one party contending and
saying, 'The Halacha is according to us;' and the other, 'The Halacha is
according to us.' Then came a voice from the Lord and said, 'Both these
and those are the words of the living God, but yet the Halacha is
according to the school of Hillel.' What was the merit of the school of
Hillel that the Halacha should be pronounced to be according to it? Its
disciples were gentle and forbearing, for while they stood by their own
decisions, they also stated those maintained by the school of Shammai,
and often even mentioned the tenets of the school of Shammai first and
their own afterward. This teaches us that him who humbles himself, God
will exalt; and him who exalts himself, God will abase. Whoso pursueth
greatness, greatness will flee from him; and whoso fleeth from
greatness, greatness will pursue him."
_Eiruvin_, fol. 13, col. 2.
There are three entrances to hell:--One in the desert, one in the sea,
and one in Jerusalem.
Ibid., fol. 19, col. i.
These three will never see hell:--He who is purified by poverty; he who
is purged by a painful flux; and he who is harassed by importunate
creditors; and some say, he also who is plagued with a termagant wife.
_Eiruvin_, fol. 41, col. 2.
Three effects are ascribed to Babylonian broth (which was made of moldy
bread, sour milk, and salt):--It retards the action of the heart, it
affects the eyesight, and emaciates the body.
_P'sachim_, fol. 42, col 1.
These three are not permitted to come between two men, nor is a man
allowed to pass between any two of these three:--A dog, a palm tree, or
a woman; to which some add the pig, and others the serpent as well.
Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.
One part of this regulation is rather hard and should surely be
abolished; that, viz, which ordains a woman shall not come
between two men or a man pass between two women. The compiler of
this Miscellany was once witness to a case which illustrates its
inconvenience: it occurred at Tiberias. A pious young Jew who
had to traverse a narrow road to pass from the lake to the town
was kept standing for a very considerable time under a broiling
sun, simply because two young women, to tease him, guarded the
entrance, and dared him to pass between them. Of course he dared
not accept the challenge, otherwise he would have incurred the
penalty of death, according to the judgment of the Talmud; for
"Whosoever transgresses any of the words of the Scribes is
guilty of death." (_Eiruvin_, fol. 21, col. 2.)
These three will inherit the world to come:--He who dwells in the land
of Israel; he who brings up his sons to the study of the law; and he who
repeats the ritual blessing over the appointed cup of wine at the close
of the Sabbath.
_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 1.
There are three whom the Holy One--blessed be He!--Himself proclaims
virtuous:--The unmarried man who lives in a city and does not sin; the
poor man who restores a lost thing which he has found to its owner; and
the rich man who pays the tithes of his increase unostentatiously. Rav
Saphra was a bachelor, and he dwelt in a large city. A disciple of the
wise once descanted upon the merits of a celibate life in the presence
of Rava and this Rav Saphra, and the face of the latter beamed with
delight. Remarking which, Rava said to him, "This does not refer to such
a bachelor as thou art, but to such as Rabbi Chanena and Rabbi Oshaia."
They were single men, who followed the trade of shoemakers, and dwelt in
a street mostly occupied by _meretrices_, for whom they made shoes; but
when they fitted these on, they never raised their eyes to look at their
faces. For this the women conceived such a respect for them, that when
they swore, they swore by the life of the holy Rabbis of the land of
Israel.
_Psachim_, fol. 113, cols, 1, 2.
There are three whom the Holy One--blessed be He!--abhorreth: He who
says one thing but thinks another; he who might bear witness in favor of
his neighbor but refrains from doing so; and he who, having seen his
neighbor act disgracefully, goes and appears singly as a witness against
him (thus only condemning, but not convicting, him, as the law requires
two witnesses). As, for example, when Toviah transgressed and Zigud
appeared against him singly before Rav Pappa, and Rav Pappa ordered this
witness to receive forty stripes save one in return. "What!" said he,
"Toviah has sinned, and should Zigud be flogged?" "Yes," replied the
Rabbi, "for by testifying singly against him thou bringest him only into
bad repute." (See Deut. xix. 15.)
_P'sachim_ fol. 113, col. 2.
"Toviah has sinned and Zigud is flogged," has long been a
proverb among Jews.
There are three whose life is no life:--The sympathetic, the irascible,
and the melancholy.
_P'sachim_, fol. 113, col. 2.
There are three which despise their fellows:--Dogs, cocks, and
sorcerers. Some say strange women also, and some the disciples of the
Babylonian Rabbis.
Ibid.
These three love their fellows:--Proselytes, slaves, and ravens.
Ibid.
These three are apt to strut:--Israel among the nations, the dog among
animals, the cock among birds. Some say also the goat among small
cattle, and some the caper shrub among trees.
Ibid., fol. 25, col. 2.
There are three whose life is no life:--He who lives at another's table;
he whose wife domineers over him; and he who suffers bodily affliction.
Some say also he who has only a single shirt in his wardrobe.
Ibid., fol. 32, col. 2.
Three things are said respecting the finger-nails:--He who trims his
nails and buries the parings is a pious man; he who burns these is a
righteous man; but he who throws them away is a wicked man, for
mischance might follow, should a female step over them.
_Moed Katan_, fol. 18, col. 1.
The orthodox Jews in Poland are to this day careful to bury away
or burn their nail parings.
Three classes appear on the day of judgment:--The perfectly righteous,
who are at once written and sealed for eternal life; the thoroughly bad,
who are at once written and sealed for hell; as it is written (Dan. xii.
2), "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt;"
and those in the intermediate state, who go down into hell, where they
cry and howl for a time, whence they ascend again; as it is written
(Zech. xiii. 9), "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and
will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is
tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them." It is of them
Hannah said (1 Sam. ii. 6), "The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He
bringeth down to hell and bringeth up."
_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 16, col. 2.
Our Rabbis have taught that there are three voices which can be heard
from one end of the world to the other:--The sound emitted from the
sphere of the sun; the hum and din of the city of Rome; and the voice of
anguish uttered by the soul as it quits the body; ... but our Rabbis
prayed that the soul might be spared this torture, and therefore the
voice of its terrors has not since been heard.
_Yoma_, fol. 20, col. 2.
In three particulars is benevolence superior to almsgiving:--Almsgiving
is only the bestowment of money, but benevolence can be exercised by
personal service as well. Alms can be given only to the poor, but
benevolence can be shown no less to the rich. Alms are confined to the
living, but benevolence may extend to both the dead and the living.
_Succah_, fol. 49, col. 2.
Three marks characterize the nation of Israel:--They are compassionate,
they are modest, and they are benevolent. Compassionate, as it is
written (Deut. xiii. 18), "And show thee mercy, and have compassion upon
thee, and multiply thee." Modest, as it is written (Exod. xx. 20), "That
his fear may be before your faces." Benevolent, as it is written (Gen.
xviii. 19), "For I know him," etc.
_Yevamoth_, fol. 79, col. 1.
Dates are good after meals in the morning and in the evening, but
hurtful in the afternoon; on the other hand, at noon they are most
excellent, and an antidote to these three maladies:--Evil thought,
constipation, and hemorrhoids.
_Kethuboth_, fol. 10, col. 2.
Beware of these three things:--Do not sit too much, for it brings on
hemorrhoids; do not stand too much, for it is bad for the heart; do not
walk too much, for it is hurtful to the eyes. But sit a third, stand a
third, and walk a third.
Ibid., fol. 111, col. 1.
He who holds his household in terror tempts to the commission of three
sins:--Fornication, murder, and Sabbath breaking.
_Gittin_, fol. 6, col. 2.
Three things weaken the strength of man:--Fear, travel, and sin. Fear,
as it is written (Ps. xxxviii. 10), "My heart palpitates, my strength
faileth me." Travel, as it is written (Ps. cii. 23), "He hath weakened
my strength in the way." ... Sin, as it is written (Ps. xxxi. 10), "My
strength faileth me, because of my iniquity."
Ibid., fol. 70, col 2.
Abraham was three years old when he first learned to know his Creator;
as it is said (Gen. xxvi. 5), "Because Abraham obeyed my voice."
_Nedarim_, fol. 32, col. 1.
The conclusion arrived at here is founded on interpreting the
Hebrew letters of the word rendered "because" numerically, in
which the value of the letters gives a total of one hundred and
seventy-two; so that the sense of the text is, "Abraham obeyed
my voice" one hundred and seventy-two years. Now Abraham died
when he was a hundred and seventy-five, therefore he must have
been only three when he began to serve the Lord.
As Abraham plays so important a part both in the history and the
imagination of the Jewish race, we may quote here a score or so
of the Talmudic traditions regarding him. The traditions, as is
like, contributed quite as much, if not more, to give character
to his descendants as his actual personality and that spirit of
faith which was the central fact in his history. Races and
nations often draw more inspiration from what they fancy about
their ancestry and early history than from what they know; their
fables therefore are often more illuminative than the facts.
Abraham was Ethan the Ezrahite, who is mentioned in Ps. lxxxvii. 1.
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 15, col. 1.
Abraham's mother was Amathlai, the daughter of Karnebo.
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 91, col. 1.
Abraham was the head of a seminary for youth, and kept both laws, the
written and the oral.
_Yoma_, fol. 28, col. 2.
Abraham observed the whole ceremonial law, even before it was given on
Sinai.
_Kiddushin_, fol. 82, col. 1.
From the day Abraham was compelled to leave the idolatrous
worship and country of his fathers, it is reasonable to suppose
that his tent would become a rendezvous for his neighbors who
shrunk like himself from the abominations around them. There,
from his character, by which he recommended himself as the
friend of God, he might very naturally be looked upon as a
religious teacher, and men might gather together to learn from
his lips or profit by his example. Hence, making due allowance
for Eastern hyperbole, the statement of the Book of Jasher
(chap. xxvi. verse 36) is not undeserving of credit, where it is
said that "Abraham brought all the children of the land to the
service of God, and he taught them the ways of the Lord." The
same remark applies to what is said in Targ. Yerushalmi (Gen.
xxi.), that Abraham's guests went not away until "he had made
them proselytes, and had taught them the way everlasting." His
son Isaac, says the Targ. of Ben Uzziel, went to school at the
"Beth Medrasha de Shem Rabba."
Though Abraham kept all the commandments, he was not perfect till he was
circumcised.
_Nedarim_, fol. 31, col. 2.
In whatever sense this may have been written, and whatever the
interpretation that may be put upon it, there is one sense in
which it is absolutely and eternally true, and that is, that, in
order to be perfect, a man's life must be as pronounced on the
negative side as the positive, in its denials as in its
affirmations, and that it is futile to attempt to obey God
unless one at the same time renounce all co-partnery with the
devil. Circumcision is the symbol of this renunciation, and it
is only as such it has any radical spiritual significance. Till
he was circumcised, it is said, God did not speak to Abraham in
Hebrew. Not till then is sacredness of speech, any more than
sacredness of life, possible. Doubtless among the Jews
circumcision was the symbol of their separation from the ethnic
religions; and hence the jealousy with which their prophets
looked upon any compromise with idolatry. Hatred of that, utter
and intense, was the one essential negative pole of genuine
Judaism, and circumcision was its sign and seal.
Abraham was the first of the proselytes.
_Succah_, fol. 49, col. 2.
Abraham it was that ordained the form of prayer for morning worship,
which is extant to this very day.
_Berachoth_, fol. 26, col. 2.
As he himself was pious, so were his very camels, for they would not
enter into a place where there were idols; as it is written (Gen. xxiv.
31), "I have prepared," i.e., removed the idols from, "the house and
room for the camels."
_Avoth d' Rabbi Nathan_, chap. 8.
Abraham had a daughter, and her name was Bakol.
Ibid., fol. 16, col. 2.
Abraham was free from evil passion.
_Bava Bathra_ fol. 17, col. 1.
He was also free from the Angel of Death.
Ibid., fol. 17, col. 1.
He delivered to the children he had by Keturah a secret name, with which
they learned to practice witchcraft and do the works of the devil.
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 91, col. 1.
Though great, he personally waited on his guests, who had the appearance
of Arabs and not of angels.
_Kiddushin_, fol. 32, col. 2.
Rabbi Yehudah says Abraham planted an ornamental garden with all kinds
of choice fruits in it, and Rabbi Nehemiah says he erected an inn for
travelers in order to make known the name of God to all who sojourned in
it.
_Soteh_, fol. 10, col. 1.
Both the Targum of Ben Uzziel and the Yerushalmi say that
Abraham planted a paradise at Beersheba for the entertainment
and delectation of his guests; and in Jasher (chap, xxvii. verse
37) it is said that "Abraham formed a grove and planted a
vineyard there, and had always ready in his tent meat and drink
for those that passed through the land, so that they might
satisfy themselves in his house."
He ranked as one of the seven shepherds of Israel (Micah v. 5). In this
group David was the central figure, with Adam, Seth, and Methusaleh on
his right hand, and Abraham, Jacob, and Moses on his left.
_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 2.
The coin of Jerusalem had the impress of David and Solomon on the one
side, and the holy city of Jerusalem on the other. But the impress on
the coin of our father Abraham was an old man and an old woman on one
side, and a young man and a damsel on the other.
_Bava Kama_, fol. 37, col. 2.
This, it is to be presumed, must be taken in some symbolical
sense, for coins cannot be traced back to a date so early as
this; and when Abraham purchased the cave to bury Sarah in from
the sons of Heth, we read that he weighed to Ephron the silver.
Abraham pleaded with God on the behalf of Israel and said, "While there
is a Temple they will get their sins atoned for, but when there shall be
no Temple, what will become of them?" God, in answer to his prayer,
assured him that He had prepared a prayer for them, by which, as often
as they read it, He would be propitiated and would pardon all their
sins.
_Meggillah_, fol. 31, col. 2.
He was punished by his posterity being compelled to serve the Egyptians
two hundred and ten years, because he had pressed the Rabbis under his
tuition into military service in the expedition he had undertaken to
recover Lot from those who had carried him off captive; for it is
written (Gen. xiv. 14), "He armed his instructed." Samuel says Abraham
was punished because he perversely distrusted the assurance of God; as
it is written (Gen. xv. 8), "Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit
it?"
_Nedarim_, fol. 31, col. 2.
Abraham was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod, and God would not
permit Gabriel to rescue him, but did so Himself; because God is One and
Abraham was one, therefore it behooved the One to rescue the one.
_P'sachim_, fol. 118, col. 1.
The fire from which Abraham is here said to be delivered may
simply refer to his deliverance by the hand of God from Ur of
the Chaldees; Ur meaning "fire," and being the name of a place
celebrated for fire worship. The Midrash (p. 20) says, "When the
wicked Nimrod cast Abraham into the furnace, Gabriel said, 'Lord
of the universe! permit me to deliver this holy one from the
fire!' But the Lord made answer, 'I am the One Supreme in my
world, and he is supreme in his; it is fitting therefore that
the Supreme should rescue the supreme.'"
Abraham was a giant of giants; his height was as that of seventy-four
men put together. His food, his drink, and his strength were in the
proportion of seventy-four men's to one man's. He built an iron city for
the abode of his seventeen children by Keturah, the walls of which were
so lofty that the sun never penetrated them: he gave them a bowl full of
precious stones, the brilliancy of which supplied them with light in the
absence of the sun.
_Sophrim_, chap. 21.
Abraham our father had a precious stone suspended from his neck, and
every sick person that gazed upon it was immediately healed of his
disease. But when Abraham died, God hung up the stone on the sphere of
the sun.
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 16, col. 2.
Till Abraham's time there was no such thing as a beard; but as many
mistook Abraham for Isaac, and Isaac for Abraham, they looked so exactly
alike, Abraham prayed to God for a beard to enable people to distinguish
him from his son, Isaac, and it was granted him; as it is written (Gen.
xxiv. 1), "And to Abraham a beard came when he was well stricken in
age."
_Sanhedrin_, fol. 107, col. 2.
Here the word which the translators of the English version
render "was old," is taken in another of its cognate meanings as
a beard. The Midrash is a trifle more modest in this legendary
assertion. There we read, "Before Abraham there was no special
mark of old age," and that for distinction's sake "the beard was
made to turn gray."
When he died, all the chiefs of the nations of the world stood in a line
and exclaimed, "Alas for the world that has lost its leader! Alas for
the ship that has lost its helmsman!"
_Bava Bathra_, fol. 91, col. 2.
As Rabbi Banna went about to measure and to mark off the outward and
inward dimensions of the different caves, when he came to the cave of
Machpelah he found Eliezar, Abraham's servant, at the entrance, and
asked him, "What is Abraham doing?" The answer he received was, "He is
asleep in the arms of Sarah."
Ibid., fol. 58, col. 1.
Abraham being greater than Moses, for while the latter is only
called by God "My Servant" (Mal. iv. 4), the former is called
"My Friend" (Isa. xli. 8), we devote a little more space for a
few more extracts from other Jewish sources than the Talmud, in
order to make the picture they supply of Abraham's character a
little more complete.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says:--"The Holy One--blessed be He!--took Shem
and separated him to be a priest to Himself, that he might serve before
Him. He also caused His Shechinah to rest with him, and called his name
Melchizedek, priest of the Most High and king of Salem. His brother
Japheth even studied the law in his school, until Abraham came and also
learned the law in the school of Shem, where God Himself instructed
Abraham, so that all else he had learned from the lips of man was
forgotten. Then came Abraham and prayed to God that His Shechinah might
ever rest in the house of Shem, which also was promised to him; as it is
said (Ps. ex. 4), 'Thou art a priest forever after the order of
Melchizedek.'"
_Avodath Hakkodesh_, part 3, chap. 20.
Wherever Jacob resided he studied the law as his fathers did. How is
this, seeing the law had not yet been given, it is nevertheless written
of Abraham (Gen. xxvi. 5), "And he kept my charge"? Whence then did
Abraham learn the law? Rabbi Shimon says his reins (literally kidneys)
were made like two water-jars, from which the law flowed forth. Where do
we learn that it was so? From what is said in Ps. xvi. 7, "My reins also
instruct me in the night season."
_Bereshith Rabba_, chap. 95.
The masters of the Kabbalah, of blessed memory, say that Abraham's
Rabbi, i.e., teacher, was the angel Zadkiel.
_Rabbi Menachem's comment on the Pent._, Exod. iii. 5.
Adam's book, which contained celestial mysteries and holy wisdom, came
down as an heirloom into the hands of Abraham, and he by means of it was
able to see the glory of his Lord.
_Zohar Parashah Bereshith._
Abraham was the author of a treatise on the subject of different kinds
of witchcraft and its unholy workings and fruits, as also of the Book of
Creation, through holy names (by means of which, namely, anything could
be created).
_Nishmath Chayim_, chap. 29.
The whole world once believed that the souls of men were perishable, and
that man had no pre-eminence above a beast, till Abraham came and
preached the doctrine of immortality and transmigration.
Ibid., fol. 171, col. 1.
A good son delivers his father from the punishment of hell, for thus we
find that Abraham our father delivered Terah, as it is said in Gen. xv.
15, "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace." This implies that God
had communicated to him the tidings that his father had a portion in the
world to come and was now "in peace" there.
_Pesikta Zotarta_, fol. 3, col. 2.
Before Abraham was circumcised God spake to him in the Chaldee language,
that the angels should not understand it. (This is proved from Gen. xv.
1.)
_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 117.
Rabbi Levi said Abraham sits at the gate of hell and does not permit any
circumcised Israelite to enter. But if any appear who happen to have
sinned unduly, these he (by an indescribable contrivance) causes to
become uncircumcised and lets pass without scruple into the region of
torment; and this is what is said in Ps. lv. 20, "He hath put forth his
hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his
covenant."
_Yalkut Shimoni_, fol. 33, col. 2, sec. 18.
Abraham was circumcised on the Day of Atonement, and God looks that day
annually on the blood of the covenant of our father Abraham's
circumcision as atoning for all our iniquities, as it is said in Lev.
xvi. 30, "For on that day shall he make an atonement for you, to cleanse
you from all your sins."
_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 121, col. 1, sec. 3.
"And it came to pass that when Abram was come into Egypt" (Gen. xii.
14). And where was Sarah? He confined her in a chest, into which he
locked her, lest any one should gaze on her beauty. When he came to the
receipt of custom, he was summoned to open the chest, but declined, and
offered payment of the duty. The officers said, "Thou carriest
garments;" and he offered duty for garments. "Nay, it is gold thou
carriest;" and he offered the impost laid on gold. Then they said, "It
is costly silks, belike pearls, thou concealest;" and he offered the
custom on such articles. At length the Egyptian officers insisted, and
he opened the box. And when he did so, all the land of Egypt was
illumined by her beauty.
_Bereshith Rabba_, chap. 40.
The question may naturally be asked why Abraham hid his wife from the
gaze of others first then and not before. The reply is to be deduced
from the following double rendering of Gen. xii. 11:--"Behold now I know
that thou art a fair woman." As if to say, "Usually people lose their
good looks on a long journey, but thou art as beautiful as ever." The
second explanation is this:--Abraham was so piously modest that in all
his life he never once looked a female in the face, his own wife not
excepted. As he approached Egypt and was crossing some water, he saw in
it the reflection of her face, and it was then that he exclaimed,
"Behold now I know that thou art a fair woman." As the Egyptians are
swarthy, Abraham at once perceived the magnitude of the danger, and
hence his precaution to hide her beauty in a chest.
_Zeenah Ureenah_ (1877 in Russia), fol. 28, col. 1.
When Abraham came to the cave of Machpelah to bury Sarah, Adam and Eve
rose from their grave and protested against his committing her to the
dust in that receptacle. "For," said they, "we are ever ashamed in the
presence of the Holy One--blessed be He!--on account of the sin which we
committed, and now comest thou to add to our shame by the contrast
therewith of the good works which ye two have done." On Abraham's
assurance that he would intercede with God on their behalf that they
should not bear the shame any longer, Adam immediately retired to his
sepulchre, but Eve being still unwilling to do so, Abraham took her by
the hand and led her back to the side of Adam; and then he buried Sarah.
_Yalkut Chadash_, fol. 14, col. 3, sec. 68.
Abraham's father, Terah, was both an idolater, a manufacturer of idols,
and a dealer in them. Once when Terah had some engagement elsewhere he
left his son Abraham to attend to his business. When a customer came to
purchase an idol, Abraham asked him, "How old art thou?" "Lo! so many
years," was the ready reply. "What," exclaimed Abraham, "is it possible
that a man of so many years should desire to worship a thing only a day
old?" The customer, being ashamed of himself, went his way; and so did
all other customers, who underwent a similar inquisition. Once an old
woman brought a measure of fine flour and wished to present it as an
offering to the gods. This so enraged Abraham that he took a staff and
broke all the images, excepting the largest, into whose hands he fixed
the staff. When his father came and questioned him about the destruction
of the gods, he replied, "An old woman placed an offering of flour
before them, which immediately set them all by the ears, for every one
was hungrier than another, but the biggest god killed all the rest with
this staff which thou now seest he still holds in his hands."
Superstition, especially when combined with mercenary motives, knows
neither reason nor human affection, therefore the father handed over his
son Abraham to the inquisition of Nimrod, who threw him into the fiery
furnace, as recorded elsewhere in this Miscellany. This is an historical
fact, to the truth of which the whole orthodox Jewish world will bear
testimony, and is solemnly recorded in _Shalsheleth Hakkabalah_ fol. 2,
col 1.
There are three graces:--The grace of a place in the eyes of its
inhabitants; the grace of a woman in the eyes of her husband; the grace
of a purchase in the eyes of the buyer.
_Soteh_, fol. 47, col. 1.
A man should divide his capital into three parts, and invest one-third
in land, employ one-third in merchandise, and reserve one-third in ready
money.
_Bava Metzia_, fol. 42, col. 1.
All who go down to hell shall come up again, except these three:--He who
commits adultery; he who shames another in public; and he who gives
another a bad name.
Ibid., fol. 58, col. 2.
These three complain, but no one sympathizes with them:--He who lends
money without witnesses; he who buys to himself a master; and he who is
lorded over by his wife.
Ibid., fol. 75, col. 2.
There are three things on which the world stands:--The law, the temple
service, and benevolence.
_Avoth_, chap. 1.
If three eat at one table and do not converse together on the law of the
Lord, it is as if they ate from the sacrifices for the dead; but they,
on the contrary, are as if they partook from a table of the Lord's own
furnishing who, while they sit down to meat, season their talk with its
holy precepts.
_Avoth_, chap. 3.
There are three crowns:--The crown of the law, the crown of the
priesthood, and the crown of royalty; but the crown of a good name
surpasses them all.
Ibid., chap. 4.
He who possesses these three virtues is a disciple of Abraham our
father, and he who possesses the three contrary vices is a son of Balaam
the wicked. The disciples of our father Abraham have a kindly eye, a
loyal spirit, and a lowly mind. The disciples of Balaam the wicked have
an evil eye, a proud spirit, and a grasping soul.
Ibid., chap. 5.
Three things are said respecting the children of men:--He who gives alms
brings a blessing on himself; he who lends does better; he who gives
away half of what he hath to spare does best of all.
_Avoth d'Rab. Nathan_, chap. 41.
There are three classes of disciples, and among them three grades of
worth:--He ranks first who asks and answers when asked; he who asks but
does not answer ranks next; but he who neither asks nor answers ranks
lowest of all.
Ibid.
Over these three does God weep every day:--Over him who is able to study
the law but neglects it; over him who studies it amid difficulties hard
to overcome; and over the ruler who behaves arrogantly toward the
community he should protect.
_Chaggigah_, fol. 5, col. 2.
Rabbi Yochanan says there are three keys in the hands of the Holy
One!--blessed be He!--which He never intrusts to the disposal of a
messenger, and they are these:--(1.) The key of rain, (2.) the key of
life, and (3.) the key of reviving the dead. The key of rain, for it is
written (Deut. xxviii. 12), "The Lord shall open unto thee His good
treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in season;" the key
of life, as it is written (Gen. xxx. 22), "God hearkened unto her, and
opened her womb;" the key of reviving the dead, for it is written (Ezek.
xxxvii. 13), "When I have opened your graves, and brought you up out of
your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live," etc.
_Taanith_, fol. 2, cols, 1, 2.
A disciple of the wise who makes light of the washing of hands is
contemptible; but more contemptible is he who begins to eat before his
guest; more contemptible is that guest who invites another guest; and
still more contemptible is he who begins to eat before a disciple of the
wise; but contemptible before all these three put together is that guest
which troubles another guest.
_Derech Eretz Zuta_, chap. viii.
A roll of the law which has two mistakes to a column should be
corrected; but if there be three, it should be stowed away altogether.
_Menachoth_, fol. 29, col. 2.
The wolf, the lion, the bear, the leopard, the panther, the elephant,
and the sea-cat, each bear three years.
Ibid.
Rav Yehudah says, in the name of Rav, "The butcher is bound to have
three knives; one to slaughter with, one for cutting up the carcass, and
one to cut away the suet. Suet being as unlawful for food as pork."
_Chullin_, fol. 8, col. 2.
Three classes of ministering angels raise a song of praise every day.
One class says, Holy! the second responds, Holy! and the third
continues, Holy is the Lord of hosts! But in the presence of the Holy
One--blessed be He!--Israel is more beloved than the ministering angels;
for Israel reiterates the song every hour, while the ministering angels
repeat it only once a day, some say once a week, others once a month,
others once a year, others once in seven years, others once in a
jubilee, and others only once in eternity. Again, Israel mentions The
Name after two words, as it is said (Deut. vi. 4), "Hear Israel,
Yehovah," but the ministering angels do not mention The Name till after
three, as it is written (Isa. vi. 3), "Holy! holy! holy! Yehovah
Zebaoth." Moreover, the ministering angels do not take up the song above
till Israel has started it below; for it is said (Job xxxviii. 7), "When
the morning stars sang together, then all the sons of God shouted for
joy."
_Chullin_, fol. 91, col. 2.
The Rabbis have taught, a man should not sell to his neighbor shoes made
from the hide of a beast that has died of disease, as if of a beast that
had been slaughtered in the shambles, for two reasons: first, because he
imposes on him (for the skin of a beast that dies of itself is not so
durable as the hide of a slaughtered animal); second, because there is
danger (for the beast that died of itself might have been stung by a
serpent, and the poison remaining in the leather might prove fatal to
the wearer of shoes made of that leather). A man should not send his
neighbor a barrel of wine with oil floating upon its surface; for it
happened once that a man did so, and the recipient went and invited his
friends to a feast, in the preparation of which oil was to form a chief
ingredient; but when the guests assembled, it was found out that the
cask contained wine, and not oil; and because the host had nothing else
in preparation for a worthy feast, he went and committed suicide.
Neither should guests give anything from what is set before them to the
son or daughter of their host, unless the host himself give them leave
to do so; for it once happened during a time of scarcity that a man
invited three of his friends to dine, and he had nothing but three eggs
to place before them. Meanwhile, as the guests were seated at the board,
the son of the host came into the room, and first one of the guests gave
him his share, and then the other two followed his example. Shortly
afterward the host himself came in, and seeing the child with his mouth
full and both hands, he knocked him down to the ground, so that he died
on the instant. The mother, seeing this, went and threw herself
headlong, from the housetop, and the father followed her example. Thus
Rabbi Eliezar ben Yacob said, "There perished in this affair three souls
of Israel."
Ibid., fol. 94, col. 1.
Once the Roman Government issued a decree that the Israelites should
neither observe the Sabbath nor circumcise their sons. Thereupon Reuben
the son of Istrubli trimmed his hair as a Gentile, and went among the
Roman senators and plied them with wise remonstrance. "If one," said he,
"has an enemy, does he wish him to be poor or rich?" "To be poor," was
the reply. "Then," he argued, "won't he be poorer if you prohibit him
from working on the Sabbath?" "It is well said," observed the senators;
and they at once abolished their decree respecting the Sabbath. Again he
asked, "If one has an enemy, does he wish him to be weak or strong?"
"Why, weak, to be sure," was the inevitable answer. "Then," said he,
"let the Jews circumcise their children, then will they be weakened."
"The argument is good," said they, and the decree against circumcision
was rescinded. Again he asked, "If one has an enemy, does he wish him to
increase or decrease?" "To decrease, of course," said they. In response
to his argument the decree against catamenia was accordingly abolished.
When, however, they found out that he was a Jew, they at once re-enacted
the decrees they had canceled. Upon this the question arose who should
go to Rome and appeal against these enactments. It was resolved that
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, who was reputed experienced in miracles, should
go, accompanied by Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Yossi.... As they
journeyed along, the question was proposed to them, "Whence is it proved
that the blood of a reptile is unclean?" Rabbi Elazar replied with a
curl of the lip, and quoted Lev. ii. 29. "And these shall be unclean
unto you." Rabbi Shimon said unto him, "By the curl of thy lip art thou
recognizable as a disciple of the wise! May the son never return to his
father!" for he was annoyed that he should presume to teach a Halachah
in his presence, and then and there he condemned him to death. (See
_Berachoth_, fol. 31, col. 2.) Thereupon Ben Temalion (an evil sprite or
imp) came, and greeting him, said, "Do ye wish me to accompany you?"
Rabbi Shimon wept and said, "Alas! a maid-servant of my ancestor
(Abraham) was assisted by three angels, and I have not one to attend me!
However, let a miracle be worked for us anyhow." Then the evil spirit
entered into the Emperor's daughter, and when the Rabbi was called in to
cure the princess, he exorcised the spirit by saying, "Depart, Ben
Temalion! Ben Temalion, depart!" and the evil spirit left her. By way of
reward the Rabbis were bidden to ask whatsoever they pleased, and
admitted into the imperial treasury that they might choose what seemed
good to them. Espying there the edict against Israel, they chose it, and
tore it to pieces.
_Meyilah_, fol. 17, col. 1, 2.
At the time when the high priest enters to worship, three acolytes take
hold of him, one by the right hand and another by the left, while the
third lifts the gems attached to the train of his pontifical vestment.
_Tamid_, chap. 7; _Mishna_, 1.
"I once, when a grave-digger," says Abba Shaul, as the Rabbis relate,
"chased a roe which had entered the shinbone of a dead man; and though I
ran three miles after it, I could not overtake it, nor reach the end of
the bone. When I returned, I was told that it was a bone of Og, king of
Bashan."
_Niddah_, fol. 24, col. 2.
The Rabbis have taught that during the first three months (of pregnancy)
the child lies in the lower part (of the uterus); during the next three
it occupies the middle part; and during the last three it is in the
upper part; and that when the time of parturition comes, it turns over
first, and this causes the birth-pains. We are also taught that the
pains caused by a female child are greater than those caused by a male.
Rabbi Elazar said, "What Scripture is there for this? 'When I was made
in secret and curiously wrought, in the lowest parts of the earth' (Ps.
cxxxix. 15). It is not said, 'I abode,' but, 'I was curiously wrought.'
Why the difference? Why are the pains caused by a girl greater than
those caused by a boy?"
Ibid., fol. 31, col. 1.
The Rabbis teach there are three that have a share in a man; God, and
his father and mother. The father's part consists of all that is white
in him--the bones, the veins, the nails, the brain, and the white of the
eye. The mother's part consists of all that is red in him--the skin, the
flesh, the hair, and the black part of the eye. God's part consists of
the breath, the soul, the physiognomy, sight and hearing, speech, motive
power, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. And when the time comes
that the man should depart from the world, God takes away His part, and
leaves those which belong to the father and mother. Rav Pappa says,
"This is the meaning of the proverb, 'Shake off the salt and throw the
flesh to the dogs.'"
_Niddah_, fol. 31. col. 1.
Rashi's explanatory note is this: "Shake off the salt from the
flesh and it becomes fit only for dogs. The soul is the salt
which preserves the body; when it departs, the body putrefies."
Four things require fortitude in the observance:--The law, good works,
prayer, and social duties. Respecting the law and good works it is
written (Josh. i. 7), "Be thou strong and firm, that thou mayest observe
to do all the law;" in which the word "strong" refers to the law, and
the word "firm" to good works. Of prayer it is written, "Wait on the
Lord; be strong, and He shall make thine heart firm; wait, I say, upon
the Lord" (Ps. xxvii. 14). In respect to social duties it is written (2
Sam. x. 2), "Be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves for our people,
and for the cities of our God."
_Berachoth_, fol. 32, col. 2.
There are four signs which tell tales:--Dropsy is a sign of sin;
jaundice is a sign of hatred without a cause; poverty is a sign of
pride; and quinsy is a sign of slander.
_Shabbath_, fol. 33, col. 1.
"Unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah," i.e., four (Gen. xxxv. 27). Rabbi
Isaac calls it the city of four couples, i.e., Adam and Eve, Abraham and
Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. These four couples being
buried in Mamre, it was therefore called "the city of four."
_Eiruvin_, fol. 53, col. 1.
The sun makes four quarterly circuits. In April, May, and June, i.e.,
Nisan, Iyar, and Sivan, his circuit is between the mountains, in order
to dissolve the snow; in July, August, and September, i.e., Tamuz, Ab,
and Ellul, his circuit is over the habitable parts of the earth, in
order to ripen the fruits; in October, November, and December, i.e.,
Tishri, Marcheshvan, and Kislev, his circuit is over the seas, to
evaporate the waters; in January, February, and March, i.e., Tebeth,
Shebat, and Adar, his circuit is over the deserts, in order to protect
the seed sown from being scorched.
_Psachim_, fol. 94, col. 2.
Four persons are intolerable:--A poor man who is proud, a rich man who
is a liar, an old man who is incontinent, and a warden who behaves
haughtily to a community for whom he has done nothing. To these some add
him who has divorced his wife once or twice and married her again.
Ibid., fol. 113, col. 2.
Four things cancel the decrees of Heaven:--Alms, prayer, change of name,
and reformation of conduct. Alms, as it is written (Prov. x. 2), "But
alms (more correctly, righteousness) delivereth from death." Prayer as
it is written (Ps. cvii. 6). "Then they cried unto the Lord in their
trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses." Change of name,
as it is said (Gen. xvii. 15, 16), "As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt
not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name." And after this
change of name it is written, "And I will bless her, and give thee a son
of her." Reformation of conduct, as it is written (Jonah iii. 10), "And
God saw their works," and "God repented of the evil," etc. Some say also
change of residence has the effect of turning back the decree of Heaven
(Gen. xii. 1), "And the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country;" and then it is said, "I will make of thee a great nation."
_Rosh Hashanah_, fol. 16, col. 2.
Four things cause an eclipse of the sun:--When a chief magistrate dies
and is not mourned over with the due lamentation; when a betrothed
damsel calls for help and no one comes to the rescue; when the people
commit the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah; and when brother murders brother.
_Succah_, fol. 29, col. 1.
Four things cause an eclipse among the luminaries of heaven: The writing
of false documents; the bearing false witness; the breeding of small
cattle, such as sheep and goats, in the land of Israel; and the cutting
down of fruit-trees.
Ibid., fol. 29, col. 1.
There are four things God repents of having created:--The Captivity, the
Chaldeans, the Ishmaelites, and the evil passion in man. The Captivity,
as it is written (Isa. lii. 5), "What have I here, saith the Lord, that
my people are taken away for nought?" etc. The Chaldeans, as it is
written (Isa. xxiii. 13), "Behold the land of the Chaldeans: this people
was not." The Ishmaelites, as it is written (Job xii. 6), "The tents of
robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand
God bringeth abundance." The evil passion, as it is written (Micah iv.
6), "And whom I have caused to be evil."
_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 2.
There have been four beautiful women in the world:--Sarah, Abigail,
Rahab, and Esther.
_Meggillah_, fol. 15, col. 1.
Tosephoth asks, "Why was not Eve numbered among these beauties,
since even Sarah, in comparison with Eve, was an ape compared to
a man?" The reply is, "Only those born of woman are here
enumerated."
In fol. 13, col. i, of the same treatise from which the above is
quoted, we are informed by Ben Azai that Esther was like the
myrtle-tree, neither tall nor short statured, but middle-sized.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha states that Esther's complexion was of
a yellow or gold color.
One cup of wine is good for a woman, two are disgraceful, three
demoralizing, and four brutalizing.
_Kethuboth_, fol. 65, col. 1.
He who traverses so much as four ells in the land of Israel is sure of
everlasting life.
Ibid., fol. III, col. 1.
To walk even four ells without bowing the head is an offense to Heaven;
for it is written (Isa. vi. 3), "The whole earth is full of His glory."
_Kiddushin_, fol. 31, col. 1.
There are four who are accounted as dead:--The pauper, the leper, the
blind man, and he who has no male children.
_Nedarin_, fol. 64, col. 2.
Four things mark the characters of men:--He who says what is mine is
mine, and what is thine is thine, is, according to some, a moderate man,
but, according to others, a child of Sodom; he who says what is mine is
thine, and what is thine is mine, is an ignorant man; he who says what
is mine is thine and what is thy own is also thine, is a pious man; he
who says mine and thine are both my own, is a wicked man.
_Avoth_, chap. 5, sec. 16.
There are four kinds of men, according to their degrees of
passionateness:--He who is easily provoked and as readily pacified, and
who loses more than he gains; he whom it is difficult to rouse and as
difficult to appease, and who gains more than he loses; he who is not
readily provoked, but easily pacified, who is a pious man; he who is
easily provoked and with difficulty appeased, who is a wicked man.
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