He! tampered with truth; for Sarah had said ironically: "My lord being old also; " but God reported to Abraham, that she had said (verse 13): "And I am old." Yevamoth, fol. 65, col. 2.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

LAUGHTER, PLAY.

1. Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochae: It is not allowed to any man to fill his mouth with laughter in this world; for it is said (Ps. cxxvi. 2): "Then will our mouth be filled with laughter" (the verb is future), when they shall say among the Gentiles, The Lord hath done great things for them." (Ibid, 2.) Berachoth, fol. 31, col. 1; Tur Orach Chayim, Sec. 560, Par. 5.

5. Women may not play with nuts on the Sabbath. What is the reason? Is it because rolling nuts produce sound, and that nothing may be done on that day that produces sound? No; it may be, because by rolling them, inequalities of the ground are made even. Eiruvin, fol. 104, col. 1; Maimonides, Hilchoth Shabbath, Sec. 21, Halachah 3.

6. A woman who talks with all men (says the preceding Mishnah) is divorced with the loss of her prescribed marriage portion. Rav Yehudah recorded, that Shemuel had said: That means one, who amuses herself in the company of young men. Ravah bar bar Chanah related: I was walking once behind Rav Ukva, when I noticed an Arabian woman, who was spinning, and let the thread fall behind her, (which is considered a great indelicacy). On seeing me, she dropped the spindle, and called out to me, Lad, hand me the spindle. Upon this Rav Ukva said something to her. Ravina says he called her: Spinner in public; and the Rabbis say, he called her: Talker with all men. Kethuboth, fol. 72, col. 2.

T. N. This dispute has reference to Rav Ukva's view of the meaning of the Mishnic phrase: A woman who talks with all men.

12. When Rabbi Eliezer was sick (see page 151, Note 15) his disciples came to visit him. There is fierce wrath in the world, exclaimed the patient (meaning his burning fever). Upon this all the visitors began to weep, whilst Rabbi Akiva laughed. They asked him: Why dost thou laugh? He replied: And why do you weep? Is it possible, was the answer, the Book of the Law (the patient) is in such pain and we should not weep? That is just the reason, replied Rabbi Akiva, why I laugh. As long as I saw Rabbi's wine did not turn sour, that his flax was not blighted, and that his oil and honey did not deteriorate, I feared lest, God forbid, he was receiving his reward in this world (and reserved for punishment in the next); but now that he is in such pain, I rejoice. Akiva! exclaimed the patient, is there anything in the whole Law, which I have failed to fulfil! (why then should I be reserved for punishment?) Rabbi, replied Akiva,

thou hast taught me (Ecc. vii. 20): "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." Sanhedrin, fol. 101, col. 1.

13. Rabbon Gamliel, and Rabbis Elazer ben Azaryah, Yehoshua, and Akiva, were on a journey; and when they heard the din and noise of Rome, at a distance of a hundred and twenty mills, they all began to weep, with the exception of Rabbi Akiva, who laughed. Why dost thou laugh? asked they. And why do you weep? he retorted. These Romans, they replied, who worship sorry idols, and offer incense to the stars and planets, dwell in safety and tranquillity; whilst we have the house, the footstool, of our God, consumed with fire, and shall we not weep? He replied: That is just the reason, why I laugh; if such be the case with those, who transgress His will, how much more will it be so with those who do it.

Again, they were once going up to Jerusalem; and on reaching the Mount of the Guards, they rent their clothes. Approaching the Temple Mount, and observing a fox issuing from where the Holy of Holies was, they began to weep, and Rabbi Akiva to laugh. Why do you weep? he asked. They replied: Here are foxes prowling in the very place, concerning which it is said (Nu. i. 51): "The stranger that comes nigh, shall be put to death;" and shall we not weep? He said: That is just the reason why I laugh; for it is written (Is. viii. 2): "And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." What connection is there between Uriah, who flourished during the first Temple, and Zechariah (the son of Berechiah, not Jeberechiah), who lived during the second Temple? But Scripture attaches the prediction of the latter to that of the former. In Uriah it is written (Mi. iii. 12, the commentators in loco are puzzled by the ascription of the prophecy to Uriah): "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field ;" and in Zechariah it is written (Zec. viii. 4): "There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem." So long as the prediction of Uriah remained unfulfilled, I was afraid, lest that of Zechariah should not be fulfilled either; but now, that the former is accomplished, there can be no doubt as to the accomplishment of the latter. Akiva! they all exclaimed, thou hast indeed comforted us. Maccoth, fol. 24, col. 2. 14. Laughter and levity habituate a man to lewdness. Aboth, chap. 3.

VERSE 15.

And Sarah denied.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

NEGATION, FALSEHOOD, AND LYING.

2. The Rabbis said to Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: There are children (dardiki, didactici, the Hebrew letters and are easily

mistaken one for the other) here in the house of study, who say things which could not have been said even in the days of Joshua, the son of Nun. , (they say) are the initial letters of, the acquisition of understanding. 7, stand for D, the benefactor of the poor. Why is the foot of the Guimel (benefactor) extended in the direction of the Dalith (poor)? Because it is the way of the benevolent man to run after the poor. And why is the foot of the Dalith on the side of the (preceding) Guimel (and not on that of the following Hay)? Because the poor should be near the benevolent (and spare them excessive trouble in finding them). And why is the face of the Dalith turned away from the Guimel? To teach the benevolent discretion in giving their charity, so as not to shame the poor. 1, form (part of) the name of the Holy One, blessed be He! (mm). 5. ɔ, ɔ, D. n. 1. If thou shalt do so, the Holy One, blessed be He! will feed, t, thee, be gracious, ¡n, unto thee, do thee good, 21, will give thee an inheritance, in, and a crown,, in the world to come, Nan abs. (Each of these words commences with one of the above letters.) Open Mem, D, and closed (final) Mem, D, refer to open and closed communications. Why is the face of the Resh turned away from the Quooph,, p? Because the Holy One, p, blessed be He! cannot look at the face of a wicked man, yo. Why is the tittle on the top of the Quooph on the side of the Resh? Because the Holy One, blessed be He! says: If thou repentest, I will put a crown upon thy head, such as mine. (, head, and n, tittle, which means also a crown.) And why is the foot of the p detached from the rest of the letter? To indicate, that the door is always open for the reception of the penitent. But why two openings? Because special assistance is rendered to those desirous to mend. stands for p, falsehood, n for лs, truth. Why are the letters of p, falsehood, found in juxtaposition in the alphabet, whereas the letters N, truth, occur at the commencement, middle, and end of the alphabet? Because falsehood is common, and truth uncommon. Shabbath, fol. 104, col. 1.

.הכנסת עטרה is העראה that

4. When Rav Demi came, he said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, But has not Ravah bar bar Chanah said otherwise in his name? He replied: Either he is untruthful, or I am. Yevamoth, fol. 55, col. 2.

T. N. The subject under discussion, which occupies a whole column, relates to the question: How far a certain act falls under a given category of incompleteness? It has been affirmed, that such minute descriptions as are here given, are the unavoidable results of legal definitions; but, in truth, they are altogether beyond the cognisance of the Law. Maimonides takes up the point in his Digest, Hilchoth Issure Beah (Forbidden Marriages), Sec. 3, Halachah 10.

6. When Ravin came (to Babylon), he recorded in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: Yanai (Jannænus) the king had sixty myriads of cities, situated on the Royal Mount, each of which had a population equal to that, which followed Moses out of Egypt, except three, where the populations were respectively twice that number; viz.: the City of Evil, socalled, because they had no house for the reception of strangers (ospizi); the City of Cresses, the staple trade of the place; and the City of Males,

so-called, because the women had males first, and females afterwards, and then ceased childbearing altogether. Ula observed, that he had seen the place, and it would not contain sixty myriads of reeds. A Sadducee then remarked to Rabbi Chanena: You do indeed tell falsehoods. The Rabbi replied: It is written (Je. iii. 19): inheritance of a stag." (See original) The land, like the stag, shrinks after its separation from its inhabitants. 57, col. 1.

66

'An

skin of the Guittin, fol.

8. What is it that is written (Ho. vii. 13): “I would have redeemed them, but they spoke lies against me"? I thought, I would accept their mammon as a ransom in this world, that they might be entitled to the world to come; but they spoke lies against Lu. xvi. 9. Arodah-zarah, fol. 4, col. 1.

me.

9. Flagellation (forty stripes save one) is inflicted for a vain oath as well as for a false oath. Shevuoth, fol. 20, col. 2; Maimonides, Hilchoth Shevuoth, Sec. 1, Halachah 3.

12. Three are loved by the Holy One, blessed be He: he that restrains his anger; he that avoids intoxication; and he that is not vindictive. Three are hated by Him: he whose words and thoughts are not identical; he who can testify for his neighbour, and refuses to do so; and he that testifies singly to a disgraceful act committed by his neighbour (in which case, he is only disgraced, but not convicted, the Law requiring two witnesses.) As, for instance, Tovyah incurred flagellation, and Zigud testified singly against him before Rav Pappa, for which the latter ordered Zigud to receive the flagellation. exclaimed the witness, Tovyah has sinned, and Zigud is to be punished! Yes, replied the Rabbi; for it is written (De. xix. 15); "One witness shall not rise up against a man." (A Jew. See page 227, Verse 6. Flagellation is inflicted for the transgression of negative precepts, of which the witness was guilty.) Psachim, fol. 113, col. 2.

What!

13. Rabbi Yochanan, who suffered from scurvy, applied to a Gentile matron for a remedy, which she prepared for him, on Thursday and Friday. And what shall I do to-morrow, asked he, when the Sabbath will not permit me to walk such a distance? She replied: Thou wilt not need it any more. And if I do? said he. Swear to me, said she, that thou wilt not disclose it, and I will tell thee what the remedy is. He took the oath in the following words: By the God of Israel (n, which may also be rendered, To the God) I swear, that I will not disclose it. He then left her, and divulged the secret in the course of his public lecture. But (asks the compiler) was that not a profanation of the name of God? No. He told her afterwards, that what he meant was, that he would not disclose it to the God of Israel. And what was the remedy? Yeast, water, olive oil, and salt. (Mat. xxiii. 23. See page 217, Note 3.) Yoma, fol. 84, col. 1.

14. It happened once, that a woman of great beauty was beset by many suitors, and the reply she gave them was, that she was already engaged (i.e., married, though not yet actually united to her spouse, as in the case of Joseph and Mary). At last she engaged herself to one of them. The wise men demanded an explanation. She replied: I only pretended to have been engaged, because the applicants for my

hand did not suit me.

A case involving a similar question was propounded by Rav Acha, the overseer of the palace, before the wise men at Usha, and they replied: If she assigns a plausible reason for her conduct, she is believed. Kethuboth, fol. 22, col. 1.

VERSE 19.

For I know him, that he will command his children, etc. Oh! our brethren, dispensers of kindness, the children of dispensers of kindness, who hold fast to the covenant of Abraham our father; as it is said: "For I know, that he will command his children," etc. Oh! our brethren, may the Dispenser of rewards recompense you. Blessed art Thou, Dispenser of rewards. Kethuboth, fol. 8, col. 2.

T. N. This is one of a number of impromptu compositions made by a Rabbi.

VERSE 20.

And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is

great.

This refers to that girl (7, "great," which in the Talmudic dialect, means a girl), who hid a slice of bread in her pitcher, in order to give it to a poor man. When her conduct came to light, they smeared her body all over with honey, and exposed her on the wall, where she was stung to death by the bees. Sanhedrin, fol. 109, col. 2.

VERSE 25.

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked.

But why not? Is it not written (Eze. xxi. 4): "I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked?" (Answer) This means only the imperfectly righteous. But is it not written (Eze. ix. 6): "And begin at my sanctuary," where Rav Yoseph said: Read not

from my sanctified ,וממקודשי and from my sanctuary, but ,וממקדשי

ones; i.e., those who have fulfilled the Law from Aleph to Thav? (Rev. i. 8.) (Answer) These also failed to check the wickedness around them, and were, therefore, imperfectly righteous. Avodahzarah, fol. 4, col. 1.

VERSE 26.

Then will I spare the place for their (the righteous men's) sake. Apikoros (Epicurean); who are designated by that name? Those who say: Of what use are the Rabbis to us? Their study