(Fol. 69) We are taught in a Baraitha (Deut. 17, 8) Then shall thou arise and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God will choose. From this it may be inferred that the Temple stood on a higher level than the rest of the land of Israel and that the land of Israel is situated on a higher plain than all the rest of the world. It is readily understood that the Temple is situated on a higher level than all the land of Israel for in the above passage it is written, even matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise and get thee up; but, as to the assertion that the land of Israel is situated on a higher plain than all the rest of the world, whence do we know this? From the following passage (Jer. 23, 7): Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say: 'As the Lord liveth' … but: that brought up and that led,' etc.
(Fol. 70) R. Elazar said: "Ezra did not leave Babylon until he had made [her Jewish] like pure sifted flour; [i.e., established the purity of the families by careful investigation] and then he went to Palestine." It is written (Neh. 7, 61) And these were they that came up from Telmelach, Tel-charsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not tell their fathers' house, nor their descent, whether they were of Israel; i.e., Tel melach means people who resembled because of their acts that of Solom, which was turned into a heap of salt. Tel-charshah, refers to such a case when a child calls one "father" and his mother makes him quiet, But they could not tell their fathers' house, nor their descent, whether they were of Israel. This refers to children that were picked up in the street who knew neither their father nor their mother. Cherub, Addon and Immer. Said A. Abahu: "This means that the Sovereign said, 'I thought Israel will be as beloved as a Cherub, but they made themselves as hated as the leopard.'" According to others, R. Abahu said: "This means that the Sovereign said, 'Although Israel made themselves as hated as a leopard, nevertheless they are worthy in My eyes as a Cherub.'"
Said Raba b. b. Ghana: "Whoever marries a wife who is not fit for him is considered by Scripture as if he plowed the entire world and sowed it with salt; for it is said (Ib., ib., ib) These were they who came up from Tel-melach, Tel-Charsa." Rabba b. R. Adda said in the name of Rab: "Whoever marries a wife because of her wealth will have degenerate children, as it is said ( Hos. 5, 7) Against the Lord have they dealt treacherously; for strange children have they gotten. You will perhaps think that the money for which such a man married will endure. It is therefore said in the same passage, One month shall devour them together with their possessions. And, if thou wilt think that it refers only to his possessions and not to hers, it is therefore said their possessions. And if you will think that this might take a long time, it is therefore said during one month." How is one month to be understood? Said R. Nachman b. Isaac: "This means literally, that during the time when one month will come and one month will go their wealth will be lost." Raba b. R. Adda said further, and according to others R. Salla said it in the name of R. Hanmuna: "Whoever marries a wife that is not suitable for him, Elijah binds him and the Holy One, praised be He, flogs him." We are taught in a Baraitha: On every case above mentioned Elijah writes and the Holy One, praised be He, affixes His signature to the following: "Woe unto him who disqualified his children and who discredited the reputation of his family through marrying a wife who is not fit." And whoever disqualifies others is a disqualified person and he does not speak on the praiseworthy side of the world. Samuel adds: "That in whatever thing he disqualifies others, from the very same thing comes his own disqualification."
There was a certain man who entered a butcher store in Pumpeditha and ordered meat. When they asked him to wait until the servant of R. Juda b. Ezekiel got his first and then they would attend to him; he remarked: "Who is he, Juda b. Jaskil, who is entitled to get meat before me?" Somebody informed R. Juda of this. He felt embarrassed and announced that the man be put under ban. He was then informed that the same man had a habit of calling others "slave." Whereupon R. Juda announced that he himself is a descendent of slaves. That man went and summoned R. Juda to appear before the court of R. Nachman. He [also] brought unto R. Juda a summons to appear. R. Juda went to R. Huna and asked him: "Shall I go or not?" R. Huna replied to him: "By right you need not go, because you are a greater man than R. Nachman; however, out of respect to the prince of the exile [to whom R. Nachman is a son-in-law], you should go and appear." R. Juda thereupon went, and when he came to R. Nachman's house he found him constructing a fence on his roof. "Does not the master hold, as R. Huna b. Idi said, in the name of Samuel, 'As soon as a man is appointed a chief over a conuaunity he must not perform work in the presence of three persons.'" R. Nachman answered: "I am only making a part of a balustrade (fence)." R. Juda said to him: "Why does not the master like to use the word Ma'ake, as it is written in the Torah, or Mechitza, as used by the Rabbis?" "Sit down, sir, on the Carpitta (couch)," R. Nachman bade R. Juda. Whereupon R. Juda said to him: "Why does not the master like to call it Etztaha, as the Rabbis do, or Saphsal, as people call it?" The host again said to the guest: "Let the master eat an Ethrugna (citron)." Whereupon the guest replied to him: "Thus said Samuel: 'Whoever says Ethrugna possesses a third [portion] of haughtiness.' Either say Ethrog as the Rabbis call it, or Ethroga, as the people call it." The host said again to the guest: "Let the master drink Naphga (measure of wine)." Whereupon the guest remarked: "Why does not the master like to call Asparagus, as the Rabbis call it, or Anpak, as people call it." R. Nachman then ordered that Donag, his daughter, should come and wait upon the guest. Whereupon the guest remarked: "One must not be waited upon by a woman." "But she is a small child yet," interrupted R. Nachman. The guest replied: "Samuel said explicity that a woman, whether she is big or little, should not wait upon a man." Let the master exchange a greeting with my wife Yalsa," said R. Nachman. R. Juda again objected, saying: "Samuel said: 'Hearing a woman's voice is indecency,' and is therefore prohibited]." "But you can send it up by a messenger," remarked R. Nachman. Whereupon R. Juda replied: "Thus said Samuel: 'It is not proper to exchange greetings with a strange woman in any form!' " R. Nachman's wife [having been informed of what was taking place in her house, sent word to her husband: "Dispose of his case, so that he should not make you an ignorant man." R. Nachman then said to R. Juda: "What has the master brought over here?" "The summons which the master sent to me," came the response. R. Nachman then said to him: "If I don't understand even the ordinary language of the master, how is it possible that I should send a summons to the master?" Whereupon R. Juda took the order out of his bosom and showed it to R. Nachman, remarking: "Here is the man and here is the summons." "Since the master came here already, let me take a hearing concerning the case, so that the world should not say, 'The Rabbis favor each other.' " He then asked him: "Why has the master put that man under ban?" "Because he troubled a representative of the Rabbis." "Why did not the master rather convict him to stripes; for has not Rab punished one with stripes who troubled a representative of the Rabbis?" "I have done more than that for him." "Why has the master pronounced that man a slave?" "Because he is accustomed to call people slaves, and we are taught in a Baraitha: Whoever columinates others is himself to be columinated; and such a man does not speak concerning the praise of Humanity. And Samuel remarked: 'He columinates others with his own defect.'" But Samuel merely said that we should be aware of such a man," remarked R. Nachman, "but not that it is to be taken for granted that he is such a man?" While they were so discussing, that man [the plaintiff] appeared from Nehardea. He then said to R. Juda: "You have called a slave one who is a descendant of the royal house of King Hasmonean." Whereupon R. Juda replied: "Thus said Samuel, 'Whoever says that he is a descendant of the Hasmonean house is surely a slave.'" R. Nachman then said to him: "Does not the master hold to the opinion of R. Abba, who spoke in the name of R. Huna, who quoted Rab: 'A scholar who decides a legal question and brings a support from someone else, if he give the support before he rendered the decision, then the support is to be accepted; but if after, then it is not to be accepted. [Hence the support that you brought from Samuel is not authoritative, since it was after you had rendered the decision]." "Why, there is R. Mathna, who is not involved in this question, and will quote the same thing," came R. Juda's reeponse. It so happened that although R. Mathna was not seen in Nehardea for thirteen years, on that particular day he appeared there. R. Juda then said to him: "Does the master remember what Samuel said when he was standing with one leg on the bank and one leg on the ferry?" Whereupon he answered: "Whoever says that he is a descendant of the Hasmonean house is a slave, for there remained from the entire house only a single girl, who ascended the roof and announced, 'Who will say that he is a descendant from the house of Hasmoneans is a slave,' and at that moment threw herself down and died." They then announced that the man was a real slave and on that day many marriage agreements were torn in Nehardea, [because of having revealed impure families]. When R. Juda left R. Nachman's house, people went out with the intention of having him stoned, because of his having revealed their family disqualification. He then said to them: "If you will keep silent, then it is all right; but if not, I will go and reveal everything I know about you, for Samuel said: 'There are two kinds of families in Nehardea, one is called Be-yonah (the family of doves), and the other Be-urbetho (the family of ravens], one of which is a disqualified family. And as a sign to remember, you may infer that the one that has the unclean name (raven) is unclean; but the one that has the clean name (dove) is clean." They dropped the stones [which which they had intended to pelt him] out of their hands, and a dam was formed in the River Malka.
R. Juda said in the name of Samuel: "Pashur, the son of Immer the priest [referred in Jer. 20, 1] had four hundred servants and according to others four thousand servants, all of whom were involved in priestly intermarriages, and every insolent priest is the descendent of none else than of the above servants. This differs from the opinion of R. Elazar, who said: "If thou seest an insolent priest, do not think evil of him, for it it said (Hos. 4, 4) Thy people are as they that strive with the priest."
R. Abin b. R. Adda said in the name of Rab: "Whoever marries a wife who is not fit for him the result will be that when the Holy One, praised be He! will cause to rest His Shechina, He will testify to the worthiness of all the tribes but not upon such a man, as it is said (Ps. 122, 4) Fur thither go up the tribes of the Lord, as a testimony for Israel; i.e., when is it a testimony for Israel? At the time when the tribes may be called the tribes of the Lord." R. Chana b. Chanina said: "When the Holy One, praised be He, will cause to rest His Shechina, He will do so only upon the aristocratic families in Israel, as it is said (Jer. 31, 25) At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God for all the families of Israel; i.e., it does not say to all Israel, but to all the families."
Rabba b. Huna said: "There is one great preference between an Israelite and a Proselyte. Concerning the Israelite the passage reads (Ez. 37, 27) And I will be their God, and they shall be My people, but concerning a Proselyte it is written (Jer. 30, 21) For who is this that has pledged his heart to approach unto Me?" R.Chelbo said:"Proselytes are as bad to Israel as a sore on the skin; for it is written (Is. 14, 1) And the stranger shall be joined unto them, and they shall attach (V'niss'pechu) themselves to the house of Jacob. It is written here [in the Text] V'niss'pchu, and it is written [concerning leprosy] the same expression (Lev. 14, 56) And for a swelling and for a rising (Sapachath)." R. Chama b. Chanina said: "At the time when the Holy One, praised be He, (Fol. 71) will purify the tribes He will commence with the tribe of Levi first, as it is said (Mal. 3, 3) And He will sit as a melter and purifier of silver; and He will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." R. Joshua b. Levi said: "Impure families who joined Israel through the influence of their wealth, will be purified, as it is said (Mal. 3, 3) And He will sit as a melter and purifier of silver. What does the passage (Ib.) That they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness, mean? Said R. Isaac: "Righteousness has the Lord done with Israel that every family which was mixed up beyond recognition is considered pure."
R. Juda said in the name of Samuel: "All the other lands are Issah in comparison to the land of Israel; and the land of Israel is an Issah in comparison to Babylonia."
Rabba b. b. Chana said in the name of R. Jochanan: "The sages are permitted to inform their disciples of the Tetragrammaton once in seven years, and according to others twice in seven years." R. Nachman b. Isaac said: "The opinion is more likely to be like those who say once in seven years, for it is written (Ex. 3, 15) This is My name forever (Le'olam); it is written le'alam, which means to be concealed." Raba wanted to lecture [concerning the explanation of God's name] from the pulpit, when a senior scholar warned him against it, saying: "Le'alam (to be concealed) is written." R. Abina raised the following contradiction: "It is written: This is My name Le'alam (to be concealed), and then it is written, This is My memorial, [showing that it should be read without concealing it]; i.e., thus said the Holy One, praised be He: 'Not as My name is written shall it be pronounced. It is written Yud, Hay, but is pronounced Alef, Daleth.'"
Our Rabbis were taught: At first the Divine name which consists of twelve letters was conmunicated to every one, but when the indiscreet persons increased, it was intrusted only to the discreet of the priesthood, and they would pronounce it hastily while the other priests pronounced the priestly Benediction. We are taught in a Baraitha, R. Tarphon says: "Once I went up together with my mother's brother to recite the priestly Benediction, when I listened to the High-priest, and overheard him hurriedly pronouncing this name of twelve letters while the other priests were reciting the priestly Benediction." R. Juda said in the name of Rab: "The Divine name which consists of forty-two letters is revealed only to one who is prudent and humble, who has reached middle age, is not prone to wrath, not given to drink, and not revengeful. Whoever knows that name, and acts circumspectly in regard to it, and retains it sacredly, is beloved in heaven and esteemed here below; his inspiring fear and reverence will prevail upon men, and he will inherit both this world and that which is to come."
(Ib. b) Zeira kept away from the presence of R. Jochanan, because the latter would urge the former to marry his daughter. It happened one day when they were walking on the road and had reached a little stream of water that Zeira took R. Jochanan upon his shoulder and carried him over the stream. The latter then said to the former: "Is my Torah good enough for you but my daughter not good enough for you? What is the reason that you refuse to marry her? Should I say because we are taught in the Mishnah that ten classes of people of Babylon went up to the land of Israel, etc. [Hence you think that these qualified families went to the land of Israel and none were left in Babylon]? Is it then the fact that all the priests, Levites and Israelites went up to the land of Israel? We must therefore say that just as well as these pure families were left in Babylon [and only a part of them went up to the land of Israel], so did remain also some of the impure families in Babylonia." The true fact, however, is that R. Jochanan forgot what R. Elazar said, that Ezra did not go up until he purified the families of Israel [by separating them from the impure].
Ulla happened to visit in Pumpeditha the house of R. Juda, when he noticed that his son R. Isaac, although a grown man, was unmarried. He said to him: "Why does not the master marry his son?" Whereupon R. Juda replied: "How do I know whom to take, here in Babylon?" He then said to him "How do we know from whom we are descendants? Perhaps we are of those concerning whom the passage says (Lam. 5, 11) A woman have they ravished in Zion, virgins in the city of Juda," etc. "Then what shall we do?" asked R. Juda. Whereupon Ulla replied: "Look after a family whose habit is to keep quiet; for in the land of Israel when they used to investigate a family, they would say when two were quarrelling with each other that the one who became silent first is of a more legitimate descent than the other one." Rab said: "The sign of distinguished birth in Babylonia is when one is quiet." Is this so? Did it not happen once when Rab came to the house of Bar Shapi Chala and investigated genealogy? Was it not an investigation through genealogy? No! He did it by investigating whether they kept quiet or not. R. Juda, in the name of Rab, said: "If you see that two men quarrel with each other, some kind of disqualification must be in one of them; and this disqualification prevents them from associating with each other." R. Joshua b. Levi said: "If you see two families quarreling with each other it is some disqualification that exists in them, and this disqualification prevents them from becoming associated with one another."
(Fol. 72) (Dan. 7, 5) And it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, etc. Said R. Jochanan: "This refers to the towns Chalizon, Dayeb and Netzibin, which at some time were ruled by Sancherib; at other times he declared them free from his rule." (Ib., ib., ib.) And behold, there was another, a second beast, like a bear. Concerning which R. Joseph was taught that this refers to the Persians, who eat and drink like a bear and are fleshy like a bear, and let their hair grow like a bear and have no repose like a bear.
When Rabbi was about to die he said: "There is a town, Humania, in Babylon of which the entire population consists of Ammonites; there is another town by the name of Margaria in Babylon of which the entire town consists of impure children; again there is another town in Babylon by the name of Birka, where there dwell two brothers who exchange their wives with each other; there is another town under the same Fort Destaya (Messima) in Babylon, and today they have turned away from the Lord. They had put out nets and went with them to catch fishes on the Sabbath. R. Achi b. Yashi placed them under a ban and they became converts. There is a town in Babylon named Adra of Agma in which Adda b. Ahaba (Ib. b) is sitting today in the bosom of Abraham (is being circumsized). Today R. Juda has been born in Babylon." For the master said elsewhere: "At the death of R. Akiba, Rabbi was born; at the death of Rabbi, R. Juda was born; at the death of R. Juda, Raba was born; and at the death of Raba, R. Ami was born. This is to teach you that a righteous man does not leave the world until another righteous like him is born, for the passage says (Ecc. 1, 5) The sun also ariseth and the sun goeth down; i.e., before the sun of Illai went down the son of Samuel of Ramath arose, as it is said (I Sam. 3, 3) And the lamp of God had not yet gone out, while Samuel was lying down," etc.
(Lam. 1, 17) The Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that they who are round him should be his adversaries. Said R. Juda: "An instance of this may be taken from Humania and Pum-nahara." (Ez. 11, 13) And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benayah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a, loud voice, and said, 'Ah, Lord, eternal God!' Rab and Samuel differ in the meaning of this passage. One explains that it was a bad sign; while the other one said that it was a good sign. The one that takes it for a good sign likens it to the incident that happened to the king of Meshan, the son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar, who sent word to the latter to the effect: "From all the captives which thou hast, thou hast not sent any to serve us!" Nebuchadnezzar was about to send Pelatiah b. Benayahu, when the latter said to him: "We Israelites who are respectful should better wait upon you, while your other servants should go and serve there." The prophet then pleaded [with God in the words above mentioned]: "Such a man who has done a favor to Israel through his advice should die in the midst of his years." The one who explains that it was a bad sign applies from the following passage (Ib., ib. 1) And He brought me unto the east gate of the house of the Lord, etc.
(Fol. 76) MISHNAH: The genealogy of priests should not be investigated beyond the investigation which is made on placing a priest to serve upon the altar; and neither beyond the investigation made upon a priestly Benediction. Neither should one be investigated beyond the investigation which qualified a man to sit in the Sanhedrion; also one whose parents were among executive officers or charity collectors [in Jerusalem] is known to be of distinguished birth, qualifying his children to be married unto priests without any further investigation. R. Jose says: "Even one who has signed himself as a witness in the old court of Sepphoris." R. Chanina b. Antignos says: "Also one who was in the records of the kingiy guards."
(Ib. b) "Neither should one be investigated beyond the investigation which qualified one to the Sanhedrion." What is the reason? R. Joseph was taught that just as the judges ought to be pure in their perfect conduct so also ought they to be pure in the blemish of their family relations. Said M'remar: "What is the passage to prove this? (Songs 4, 7) Thou art altogether beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish on thee." But perhaps this blemish means literally a bodily blemish, but not as to the genealogy? Said R. Acha b. Jacob: "The following passage will explain it (Num. 11, 16) And they shall stand there with thee; i.e.; with thee [just as Moses was perfect in every thing, so also were the seventy who qualified for the Sanhedrion]." But perhaps this is because of the Shechina. Said R. Nachman: "There is another passage (Ex. 18, 22) When they shall bear thee; i.e., in comparison with thee."
R. Chanina b. Antignos said: "Also one who was in the records of the kingly guards." R. Juda said in the name of Samuel: "This refers to the bodyguards of David." R. Joseph said: "What is the passage to prove this? (I Chronicles 7, 40) And being recorded according to their genealogy for the army and for the war." Why were they so investigated before they joined David's army? Said R. Juda in the name of Rab: "So that the merits of their ancestors should help them in the war." But there is also (II Sam. 23, 37) Zelek, the Ammonite. Does this not mean a real Ammonite [hence he was not of a distinguished family]? No, this means that he was living in Ammon. But again it is mentioned (Ib.) Uriah, the Hittie. Does it not mean who was a descendant of the tribe of Heth? No, this means that he was living in Heth. And again there is mentioned Itthai, the Gitthaite; and if you will say that this also means that he was living in Gath, did not R. Nachman say, "Itthai the Gitthai came and destroyed [the idol to which the kings would serve]?" Again R. Juda said in the name of Rab: "David had four hundred young children all of whom were the descendants of women who were taken in the war, whose hair was cut loose upon their forehead and their long flowing curls behind. And they used to ride in chariots of gold at the head of the army, who were called men of power, the mighty men of the house of David." These were merely to bring terror into the world. [However, they did not go into war].
R. Maier was accustomed to scorn people who committed adulterous crimes. One day it happened that Satan posed before him like a woman, on the other side of the river where he was passing. When he saw her he desired to meet her, and not having a ferry to cross to the other side of the river he took hold of a rope [that was fixed for the ferry] and tried to pass the river by it. When he was about the middle of the river Satan exposed his identity, saying to him: "If not for the reason that there was an announcement in Heaven, 'Beware of R. Maier and his Torah,' I would have punished vou." The same thing happened to R. Akiba.
Plemo was accustomed to say every day, "I defy Satan." One Atonement eve it happened that Satan appeared to him in the pose of a poor man. He came at the door and offered him a piece of bread. The poor man said: "On such a day when every man is inside shall I be outside." When he brought him in and gave him the bread to eat, the poor man said again: "On such a day when everybody sits at the table, should I sit alone?" He brought him in at the table. Satan made himself full of pimples and tried to appear miserable in the eyes of Plemo. Whereupon Plemo said to him: "Please sit down gently." Satan then asked for a cup of wine. When Plemo gave it to him he began to spit into it, and upon being rebuked by Plemo he feigned that he was dead. Thereupon a rumor was heard outside that Plemo had killed a man. Plemo then ran away and hid himself in a toilet [outside the city]. Satan ran after him to find out what had happened, and when he saw that he was worried about it he revealed himself. Satan then said to Plemo: "Why shouldst thou say such a thing, 'I defy Satan'?" "What then shall I say?" Whereupon Satan said to him: "Let the master say, "May Heaven rebuke Satan [not to disturb me]."
We are taught: (Num. 30, 13) Her husband hath annulled them; and the Lord will forgive her. R. Akiba, when he would reach the above passage, would cry, saying: "If one only had the intention to eat swine meat, and he actually ate lamb meat, nevertheless the Torah says he needs an atonement and forgivenness; how much more so is it necessary for a man who wanted to eat swine meat and really did eat it!" Similar to this the following passage (Lev. 5, 17) And he know not whether he had incurred guilt, and so bear his iniquity. "If one who actually had intentions to eat fat that is permitted to be eaten, but it turned out that he did eat such fat which is prohibited, nevertheless the Torah says and he know not whether he had incurred guilt, and so bear his iniquity, how much more so is this applied to one who intended to eat prohibited fat and did actually eat it!" Issi b. Juda says: "Upon the above passage, and he know not whether he had incurred guilt, should a man feel sorry his entire life?"
(Fol. 82) MISHNAH: R. Maier says: "Always shall a man teach his child a clean and easy occupation, and he should, at the same time, pray for mercy to whom all the richness and wealthiness belongs; for there is not a single trade in which both the rich and the poor are not to be found, hence neither richness nor poverty are the results of trade, but it depends upon the merits of the man.
Simon b. Elazar says: "Hast thou ever noted the beasts of the field and fowls of the air, how easily their maintenance is provided for them; and yet they were created only to serve me. Now should not I find a livelihood with even less trouble, for I was made to serve my fellow-creatures? But, alas! I sinned against my Creator, therefore am I punished with poverty and obliged to labor." Abba Guryon, the hunter, says: "A man shall not train his son in the following occupations: A driver, a shepherd or storekeeper, for their occupation is involved with robberies." R. Juda says in his name: "The majority of the mule drivers are upright [because they travel through deserts and dangerous places, and have time for meditation and thoughts of God]. The majority of seamen are pious [because their daily peril makes them so]. The best doctors" are deserving of punishment. [Because in their pursuit of knowledge they experiment on their patients, and often with fatal results]. The best butchers deserve to be rated with the Amalekites."
R. Nehorai says: "I will put aside all the worldly occupation and will teach my son only the Torah; for a man enjoys its benefit in this world and the capital remains for the future world. But other occupations are not so, and furthermore, when a person gets sick when he advances in age, or any misfortune should overcome him, on account of which he could not work, then he is exposed to the pangs of hunger. But the Torah is not so, it protects him from all evil things. Concerning his youth what does the passage say? (Is. 40, 31) Yet they that wait upon the Lord shall acquire new strength; and concerning the aged, what does the passage say? (Ps. 92, 15) They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. So also do we find concerning Abraham, our patriarch (Gen. 24, 1) And Abraham was old — and the Lord blessed Abraham in all things.. We infer that Abraham, our patriarch, observed the entire Torah even before it was given [unto Israel], as it is said (Ib. 26, 5) Because that Abraham harkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."
Our Rabbis were taught: Whoever has dealings with women possesses all bad habits [and one should therefore keep away from him]. These are goldsmiths, dyers, pressers and cleaners of women's cloaks, those who clean the hand-mills, peddlers, weavers, barbers, launderers, plebotomists, bathers and tanners. None of these are eligible to be a king or a High-priest. What is the reason for this? Not because they are of a disqualified descent, but because of their low occupation. Our Rabbis were taught: Ten things were said concerning a plebotomist: He walks lazily along; he is proud; he stops a while before seating himself; he has an envious and evil eye; he is a gourmand, but he defecates a little at a time, he is suspected of incontinence, robbery and murder.
We are taught in a Baraitha, Rabbi says: "There is no occupation which is not everlasting, nevertheless happy should be the one who sees that his parents are occupied in a praiseworthy occupation, and woe to the one who sees his parents occupied in an unworthy occupation. The existence of the world is impossible without perfumes and without tanneries, nevertheless happy is he whose occupation is perfumes and woe is he whose occupation is tanneries." R. Maier savs: "Always shall a man teach his child a clean and easy occupation, and he should, at the same time, pray for mercy to whom all the richness and wealthiness belongs. For neither poverty nor riches actually comes from an occupation, but it belongs to Him to whom the richness of the world belongs, as it is said (Hag. 2, 8) 'Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold,' says the Lord of Hosts."
R. Simon b. Elazar says: "Hast thou ever noted, etc." We are taught in a Baraitha, R. Simon b. Elazar says: "Since my early days I have not seen that a deer should dry figs in the field, a lion should carry bundles, or a fox should be a store-keeper, nevertheless they support themselves without any trouble, although they were only created to serve me; I, who was created to serve my Creator, how much more should I be able to support myself without any trouble? But I have caused all this trouble through my evil deeds and therefore my sustenance has been affected, as the passage reads (Jer. 5, 25) Your iniquities have turned away these things," etc.
R. Nehorai says: "I will put aside all the worldly occupations," etc. We are taught in a Baraitha that R. Nehorai says: "I will put aside all the worldly occupations and will teach my son only the Torah; for all other occupations are good for a man only during his youth, but when he becomes old, he is exposed to hunger when unable to perform his duty, while the Torah is not so. She stands with the man when he is young and gives him a good and lasting hope in his old age." "Concerning his youth, what does the passage say? (Is. 40, 31) Yet they that wait upon the Lord shall acqiure new strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. And concerning the aged, what does the passage say? (Ps. 92, 15) They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and richness."
END OF KIDDUSHIN.