Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala. Various

Amos and set it aside (Amos vii. 5), "Cease, I beseech thee," etc.; and then it is written (verse 6), "This shall not be, saith the Lord." (2.) First Moses said (Deut. xxviii. 65), "Among these nations thou shalt find no ease;" then came Jeremiah and set this saying aside (Jer. xxxi. 2), "Even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest." (3.) First Moses said (Exod. xxxiv. 7), "Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children;" then came Ezekiel and set this aside (Ezek. xviii. 4), "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (4.) First Moses said (Lev. xxvi. 38), "And ye shall perish among the heathen;" then came Isaiah and reversed this (Isa. xxvii. 13), "And it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish."

      Maccoth, fol. 24, col. 1.

      When Akavyah ben Mahalalel appeared to four halachahs contradicting the judgment of the wise on a certain important point of law, "Retract," they said, "and we will promote thee to be president of the tribunal." To which he replied, "I would rather be called a fool all the days of my life than be judged wicked for one hour before Him who is omnipresent."

      Edioth, chap. 5, mish. 6.

      Let thy house be open wide toward the south, the east, the west, and the north, just as Job, who made four entrances to his house, in order that the poor might find entrance without trouble from whatever quarter they might come.

      Avoth d'Rav. Nathan, chap. 7,

      Rabbah once saw a sea-monster on the day it was brought forth, and it was as large as Mount Tabor. And how large is Mount Tabor? Its neck was three miles long, and where it laid its head a mile and a half. Its dung choked up the Jordan, till, as Rashi says, its waters washed it away.

      Bava Bathra, fol. 73, col. 2.

      Shemuel said, "We know remedies for all maladies except three:—That induced by unripe dates on an empty stomach; that induced by wearing a damp linen rope round one's loins; and that induced by falling asleep after meals without having first walked a distance of at least four cubits."

      Bava Metzia, fol. 113, col. 2.

      The five times repeated "Bless the Lord, O my soul" (Ps. ciii. civ.), were said by David with reference both to God and the soul. As God fills the whole world, so does the soul fill the whole body; as God sees and is not seen, so the soul sees and is not seen; as God nourishes the whole world, so does the soul nourish the whole body; as God is pure, so also is the soul pure; as God dwelleth in secret, so does the soul dwell in secret. Therefore let him who possesses these five properties praise Him to whom these five attributes belong.

      Berachoth, fol. 10, col. 1.

      Five things have in them a sixtieth part of five other things:—Fire, honey, the Sabbath, sleep, and dreams. Fire is a sixtieth of hell, honey a sixtieth of manna, the Sabbath a sixtieth of the rest in the world to come, sleep the sixtieth of death, and a dream the sixtieth of prophecy.

      Berachoth, fol. 57, col. 2.

      There are five weak things that are a source of terror to the strong:—The mosquito is a terror to the lion, the gnat is a terror to the elephant, the ichneumon-fly is a terror to the scorpion, the flycatcher is a terror to the eagle, and the stickleback is a terror to the leviathan.

      Shabbath, fol. 77, col. 2.

      These five should be killed even on the Sabbath:—The fly of Egypt, the wasp of Nineveh, the scorpion of Hadabia, the serpent of the land of Israel, and the mad dog anywhere and everywhere.

      Ibid., fol. 121, col. 2.

      Five things did Canaan teach his children:—To love one another, to perpetrate robbery, to practice wantonness, to hate their masters, and not to speak the truth.

      P'sachim, fol. 113, col. 2.

      Five things were in the first Temple which were not in the second:—The ark and its cover, with the cherubim; the fire; the Shechinah; the Holy Spirit; and the Urim and Thummim.

      Yoma, fol. 21, col. 2.

      Five things are said respecting the mad dog:—Its mouth gapes wide, it drops its saliva, its ears hang down, its tail is curled between its legs, and it slinks along the side of the road. Rav says that a dog's madness is caused by witches sporting with it. Samuel says it is because an evil spirit rests upon it.

      Ibid., fol. 83, col. 2.

      When a man has betrothed one of five women, and does not remember which of the five it is, while each of them claims the right of betrothment, then he is duty bound to give to each a bill of divorcement, and to distribute the dowry due to one among them all. This decision is according to Rabbi Tarphon, but Rabbi Akiva holds that he must not only divorce each, but give to each the legal dowry, otherwise he fails in his duty.

      Yevamoth, fol. 118, col. 2.

      When a person having robbed one of five does not remember which of the five it was he had robbed, and each claims to have been the victim of the robbery, then he is to part the stolen property (or the value of it) among them all, and go his way. So says Rabbi Tarphon, but Rabbi Akiva argues that the defaulter does not in this way fully exonerate himself; he must restore to each and all the full value of the plunder.

      Yevamoth, fol. 118, col. 2.

      These things are said concerning garlic:—It nourishes, it glows inwardly, it brightens the complexion, and increases virility. Some say that it is a philtre for love, and that it exterminates jealousy.

      Bava Kama, fol. 82, col. 1.

      Five things cause forgetfulness:—Partaking of what has been gnawed by a mouse or a cat, eating bullock's heart, habitual use of olives, drinking water that has been washed in, and placing the feet one upon the other while bathing.

      Horayoth, fol. 13, col. 2.

      Five things restore the memory again:—Bread baked upon coals, soft-boiled eggs without salt, habitual use of olive oil, mulled wine, and plenty of salt.

      Ibid.

      He who does not cheer the bridegroom whose wedding breakfast he has enjoyed transgresses against the five voices (mentioned in Jer. xxxiii. II):—"The voice of joy, the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say 'Praise ye the Lord of Hosts.'"

      Berachoth, fol. 6, col. 2.

      Mount Sinai had five names:—(1.) Wilderness of Zin, because on it the Israelites were commanded to observe the law; (2.) Wilderness of Kadesh, because on it the Israelites were consecrated to receive the law; (3.) Wilderness of Kedemoth, because precedence was there given to Israel over all other nations; (4.) Wilderness of Paran, because there the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied; (5.) Wilderness of Sinai, because from it enmity came to be cherished to the Gentiles. It was denominated Horeb according to Rabbi Abhu, because from it came down destruction to the Gentiles.

      Shabbath, fol. 89, cols, 1, 2.

      Mar (the master) has said, "From dawn to the appearance of the sun is five miles." How is this proved? It is written (Gen. xix. 15), "When the dawn arose the angels hurried Lot;" and it is added (verse 25), "The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar." And Rabbi Chanena said, "I myself have seen that place, and the distance is five miles."

      P'sachim, fol. 93, col. 2.

      He that cooks in milk the ischiadic sinew on an annual festival is to be scourged five times forty stripes save one:—For cooking the sinew, for eating the sinew, for cooking flesh in milk, for eating flesh cooked in milk, and for lighting the fire.

      Baitza, fol. 12, col. 1.

      To this very day this sinew is extracted from the hind quarters of all animals before it is allowable for a Jew to eat them. This operation, in popular parlance, is termed porging.

      The mysteries of the law are not to be communicated except to those who possess the faculties of these five in combination:—"The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the