said: In three places did the wise men speak hyperbolically: with reference to the collection of the ashes, the vine, and the vail. They said: There was a golden vine at the entrance of the Temple, trailing on crystals (calnos, probably balnos, vaλivos), and whoever offered any fruit, or a cluster of grapes, suspended it upon the vine. It happened once, said Rabbi Elazer ben Rabbi Zadoc, that three hundred priests were told off to clear the vine of the offerings.

The vail, said Rabbon Shimon ben Gamliel, in the name of Rabbi Shimon the Segan (highpriest's substitute), was a hand-breadth thick, woven of seventy-two cords, each consisting of twenty-four threads. It was forty cubits long, and twenty wide. Eighty-two myriads of damsels worked at it, and when defiled, three hundred priests washed it. (In this last number, says Rashi, was the hyperbole; for it stands to reason, adds that commentator, that so many priests were not required). Chulin, fol. 90, col. 2.

T. N. The thickness of the vail to the extent of a handbreadth, is inserted, by Maimonides, among the halachahs, concerning the furniture of the Temple. This confirms Rashi's restriction of the hyperbole.

VERSE 21.

And the Lord smelled a sweet savour.

I. Rabbi Chanena said: Whoever is persuaded under the influence of wine, has in him of the geniality of his Creator; for it is said: "And the Lord smelled a sweet savour." The sense of smell, says Rashi, is akin to that of taste; and it is written: "I will not again curse the ground;" i.e., He was persuaded under its influence. Rabbi Cheyah said: Whoever retains his self-control, under the influence of wine, possesses of the reticence of the seventy elders (the Sanhedrin). Wine is given in seventy, and so is a secret. (The numerical value of either is seventy, "", TID.) When wine goes in, the secret goes out. (One, therefore, who retains his secret, under the influence of wine, is like the Sanhedrin.) Rav Chanin said: Wine was only created to comfort the mourners, and to reward the wicked for any good they may do in this world; as it is said (Pr. xxxi. 6): "Give strong drink unto him, that is ready to perish (in the world to come), and wine unto those, that be of heavy hearts." Eiruvin, fol. 65, col. 1.

For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.

II. The tempter has seven names. The Holy One, blessed be He calls him evil; as it is said: "For the imagination of man's heart is evil." Moses calls him uncircumcised; as it is said (De. x. 16): "Circumcise therefore the uncircumcised of your heart." David calls him unclean; as it is said (Ps. li. 10);

"Create in me a clean heart, O God;" consequently there must be an unclean one. Solomon calls him enemy; as it is said (Pr. xxv. 21, 22): "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee; (i.e., oppose him with the Law, on means also to fight; in the sense of bread, it is metaphorically taken for the Law, Pr. ix. 5. Give him water to drink, means also the Law, Is. lv. 1. Rashi.) "And the Lord shall reward thee." Read not "reward," ", but cause him to make peace with thee, ; not to war against thee. Isaiah calls him stumblingblock; as it is said (Is. lvii. 14): "Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people." Ezekiel calls him stone; as it is said (Eze. xxxvi. 26): "I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." Joel calls him the hidden one; as it is said (Joel ii. 20) : "I will remove far from you the hidden one, ";" i.e., the tempter, who remains hidden in the heart of man. "And I will drive him into a land barren and desolate;" i.e., where the children of men do not usually dwell. "His face towards the former sea;" i.e., he cast his eyes upon the first Temple, and destroyed it, and slew the disciples of the wise that were in it. "And his hinder part towards the latter sea;" i.e., he cast his eyes upon the second Temple, and slew the disciples of the wise that were in Sucah, fol. 52, col. 1.

it.

III. 66 'Believe not the evil one (7 instead of ), put no confidence in (what he says with reference to) the guide." (Mi. vii. 5.) If the tempter bids thee sin, insinuating that the Holy One, blessed be He! will forgive thee, believe him not; for it is said: "Believe not the evil one," etc. "Evil one" means the tempter; as it is said: "For the imagination of man's heart is evil." And "guide" means the Holy One, blessed be He! as it is said (Je. iii. 4): "Thou art the guide of my youth." Chaguigah, fol. 16, col. 1.

CHAPTER IX.

VERSE 4.

But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye

not eat.

That means a limb severed from a living animal. Rabbi Chanena ben Gamliel says: It means also blood of a living animal. Sanhedrin, fol. 59, col. 1.

VERSE 5.

Surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

I. A son of Noah (non-Israelite) is sentenced to death by one judge, and on the testimony of one male, but not on that of a female, witness, even if that witness be his relation, and though he has not been warned before the commission of the capital offence laid to his charge. In the name of Rabbi Ishmael they said, that he is also executed for the murder of a yet unborn infant. And what Scripture ground is there for this enactment? Rav Yehudah replied: God said to the sons of Noah: "Surely your blood of your lives will I require," i.e., even if tried only by one judge; "at the hand of every beast," which cannot be warned, “will I require it; and at the hand of man," singular, i.e., on the testimony of one witness; "man," but not a woman; "brother," i.e., even a relation. And what ground has Rabbi Ishmael for maintaining, that he is also executed for the murder of a yet unborn infant? (Answer) It is written (verse 6): "Whoso sheddeth man's blood in man, D7 078 07, his blood shall be shed." What man is in man? Be in the habit of replying, The yet unborn infant. (See page 194, Note 3.) Sanhedrin, fol. 57, col. 2; Maimonides, Hilchoth Melachim, Sec. 9, Halachah, 4, 14.

II. A man may do injury to himself, though suicide is forbidden; for it is said: "Your blood of your lives will I require;" that is, of your own lives will I require your blood. Bava-kama, fol. 91, col. 1, 2.

VERSE 6.

Whoso sheddeth man's blood for the sake of man, shall his blood be shed.

I. If one pursues his neigbbour with the intention of murdering him, let whoever sees him warn him, and say: Note, that he whom thou pursuest is an Israelite (not a Gentile), and a fellow partaker of the covenant (not an apostate), and the Law "Whoso sheddeth man's blood for the sake of man, says: shall his blood be shed;" that is, save the blood of the pursued, by shedding that of the pursuer. (Mark the different construction put upon the same text, when applied to a Jew.) Sanhedrin, fol. 72, col. 2.

For in the image of God made he man.

II. Man is beloved, for he was created in God's image; but

he is especially beloved, because he is told, that he was created in the image of God. Avoth, chap. iii.

VERSE 7.

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply.

Rav Shimon ben Lakish said: Come let us acknowledge our obligation to our forefathers: for had they not sinned, we should not have come into the world; as it is said (Ps. lxxxii. 6, 7): “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High." But you have corrupted your deeds; therefore, ye shall die like men." This shows, that had they not sinned, they would have begotten no children. But is it not written: "And you, be ye fruitful and multiply ?" That was intended only to continue till the Law was given on Sinai. Avodah-zarah, fol. 5, col. 1.

VERSE 11.

All flesh shall not be cut off any more by the waters of a flood.

Rabbi Elazer (second century) said: "Not" has the force of an oath; "yes" has the force of an oath. That "not" has the force of an oath is clear; for it is written: "All flesh shall not be cut off any more by the waters of a flood" (but no formal oath is mentioned); and yet it is written (Is. liv. 9): "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn, that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth." But how do we know, that "yes" has the force of an oath ? That is self-evident; for if "not" has the force of an oath, "yes" has it likewise. Rava (several centuries afterwards) said: Then only has it the force of an oath, when it is repeated twice; for it is written : "All flesh shall not," etc., "and there shall not any more be a flood;" and so it is with "yes." (Mat. v. 37.) Shevuoth, fol. 36, col. 1.

VERSE 20.

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a

vineyard.

I. Oved the Galilean expounded: There are thirteen vav's in connection with wine (conjunctive particles, in the Syriac vav, ", means woe). They are to be found between the 20th and 24th verses, and are taken by the expounders as so many woes pronounced against wine.

T. N. The following is extracted from Midrash Tanchuma on Section Noah, fol. 14, col. 2: Whilst Noah was preparing the ground for his vineyard, Satan approached him, and inquired about the object of his occupation. I am planting a vineyard, was the reply. And of what use will that be? asked the evil one. Its fruit, answered Noah, whether fresh or dried, will be sweet; and its juice will "make glad the heart of man." (Ps. civ. 15.) Satan then offered to enter into partnership with him, and on the settlement of the agreement, he manured the soil with the blood of a lamb, a lion, a pig, and a monkey. Asked to explain his motive for this singular mode of cultivating the vine, he replied: Before a man drinks of its juice, he is as harmless as a lamb, and "as a sheep before her shearers is dumb." When he has taken a moderate quantity of the liquid, his animal spirits are roused like those of a lion; but when he has indulged in it immoderately, he wallows in the mire like a pig, or performs all sorts of antics like a monkey.

VERSE 21.

And he drank of the wine, and was drunken.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

WINE, AND DRUNKENNESS.

1. "And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man." (Ju. ix. 13.) If it cheereth man, in what way does it cheer God? Hence it follows, that praise is only sung over wine; (i.e., adds Rashi, by the Levites, when the wine is poured upon the altar). Berachoth, fol. 35, col. 1.

2. All sorts of liquids seen in a dream, are a good omen, except wine. Berachoth, fol. 57, col. 1.

3. Wine may not be put into the eye, on the Sabbath (because it is usually done for the purpose of healing); but it may be put upon the eyelid. Shabbath, fol. 108, col. 2.

6. Rabbi Ishmael, the son of Rabbi Yosi, once came on a visit to Rabbi Shimon, the son of Rabbi Yosi, and grandson of Lekunya. On being offered a cup of wine, he took it without any affected hesitation, and emptied it at a draught. Does not the master hold, he was asked, that whoever empties his cup at a draught is a toper? He replied, That does not apply to thy cup, which is small, thy wine which is sweet, and my stomach which is capacious. (See page 243, Note 10.) Psachim, fol. 86, col. 2.

T. N. a. It is said, in Bava-metzia, fol. 84, col. 1, that such were the corpulence and stature of this Rabbi and Rabbi Shimon ben Elazer, that, when they stood near each other, a yoke of oxen could pass between them without touching them. A matron once remarked to them: They who call you father, cannot be your children. They replied, that their wives were still more corpulent. This, said she, only adds force to my assertion. They answered quoting the observation of Zebah and Zalmuna in Ju. viii. 21. Some say, that they replied: 27 8 pm 278. But why did they give her any explanation at all? Is it not written (Pr. xxvi. 4): "Answer not a fool according to his folly"? They did so to save the reputation of their children.