thence to a certain man's field. He found the proprietor digging round his olive trees, and asked him, whether he could supply him with a hundred myriads' worth of oil. Wait, was the reply, till I have finished my work. The messenger, observing his workman-like proceeding in throwing his clothes backwards, and picking up the stones, said incredulously: What! hast thou indeed a hundred myriads' worth of oil to sell? It seems the Jews have played a joke with me. He, however, accompanied him to his house, and on arriving there, a slave girl produced a vessel of hot water for him to wash his hands and feet, and a golden bowl full of oil, in which to dip his hands and feet, in literal accomplishment of De. xxxiii. 24. After they had finished their meal, he measured him out a hundred myriads' worth of oil, and then asked him, whether he did not require more. Yes, said the messenger, but I have no money with me. No matter, said the oil seller, buy it, and I will accompany thee to thy residence for the money. And he measured out eighteen myriads' worth more. It is said, that man left no horse, mule, camel, and ass unhired in the land of Israel, for carrying his oil. On arriving near his city, the people went out to receive him, and heaped praises upon him. Praise not me, said the messenger, but my companion, whom I owe eighteen myriads. This, says the narrator, illustrates what is said (Pr. xiii. 7): "There is that maketh himself (appears to be) rich, yet hath nothing; there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." Minachoth, fol. 85, col. 2.

18. A cow giving birth to something resembling an ass, and an ass giving birth to something resembling a horse, are not subject to the law respecting firstlings. Bechoroth, fol. 6, col. 1.

20. If a camel laden with flax, passes along the thoroughfare, and the flax penetrating a shop, is ignited by the flame of the lamp inside, and sets the town on fire, the proprietor of the camel is bound to make good the damage. But if the shopman has left his lamp outside, and it has thus become the cause of the conflagration, the shopman is bound to make good the damage. Shabbath, fol. 21, col. 2; Maimonides, Hilch. Nizkey Mammon, Sec. 14, Halachah 13.

21. He that erects his booth (for the feast of Tabernacles) on the top of a cart, or on board a ship, that booth is legal, and may be entered during the feast. But if he erects it on the top of a tree, or on the back of a camel, it is legal, but it may not be entered during the feast, lest in mounting to it, the man break either a branch of the tree, or a rope attached to the camel's back. If, however, he once got into it, he has satisfied the law respecting dwelling in booths. Sucah, fol. 22, col. 2; Maimonides, Hilch. Sucah, Sec. 4, Halachah 5.

22. Moses and Aaron were followed by Nadab and Ahihu, when one of the latter remarked: When will these old men die, and we be the leaders of the generation! The Holy One, blessed be He! replied: We shall see who will bury whom. Hence people say: Many an old camel carries on its back the hides of young ones. Sanhedrin, fol. 52, col. 1.

23. Balaam was among the slain of Midian. How came he there? Rabbi Yochanan said: He came to receive the reward for the twentyfour thousand, that had fallen in consequence of his advice, tendered

to Balak. (See Nu. xxiv. 14, where read, "advise" instead of "advertise.") Hence people say: The camel went to ask for horns, and they cut off his ears also. Sanhedrin, fol. 106, col. 1.

24. Which is a vain oath? If one affirms impossibilities; as, for instance, that a camel was seen flying in the air. Shevuoth, fol. 29, col. 1.

25. Ten things are injurious to students: passing underneath the reins (apsar, aliov) of a camel, and much more underneath the camel itself; passing between two camels; passing between two women; a woman passing between two men; passing through the air infected by a dead carcase; passing under a bridge, where there had been no water for forty days; eating insufficiently baked bread; eating with a spoon used in cooking; drinking of water, which runs through a burial ground; and looking at the face of a dead man. Some add also, reading epitaphs. Horayoth, fol. 13, col. 2.

26. Habitual camel riders (not drivers) are invariably wicked people. Mariners are invariably virtuous (rendered so by their exposure to danger). Donkey riders are some wicked and some virtuous (according as they use saddles or not. Rashi and Tosephoth). Niddah, fol. 14, col. 1.

VERSE 20.

And Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, etc.

Rabbi Meir used to say: Compel people to accompany guests some part of their journey (St. Paul speaks of being "brought on my way thitherward by you," Ro. xv. 24); as the reward for such an hospitable act has no limit. For it is said (Ju. i. 24-26): "And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.' And it is written: "And he shewed them the entrance into the city." And what mercy did they show him? Whilst they smote the whole city with the edge of the sword, they let go the man and all his family. And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day. And wherever it is said, "Unto this day," it means an interminable period. (Yoma, fol. 54, col. 1.) Tradition records: It is the same Luz, where they dye purple; the same where Sennacherib passed, without having exchanged the population for another; where Nebuchadnezzar passed, without involving it in the common destruction. Even the angel of death has no permission to pass through it; and old people, when weary of life, go outside the city wall and die. Here, then, is an inference á fortiori. If this Canaanite, who neither spoke with his mouth, nor walked with his feet (he only "shewed" the entrance into the city), was the cause of deliverance to himself and his descendants, to the end of all generations, how much more must this be the case with those, who accompany guests

with their feet part of their journey. But how did he show them? Chiskiyah said: He distorted his mouth to them. Rabbi Yochanan said: He pointed out the entrance with his finger.

. . Rabbi Yehoshua ben Laive said: Because Pharaoh accompanied Abraham four steps, therefore his descendants were enslaved in Egypt four hundred years. (See page 6, Note VIII.) Soteh, fol. 46, col. 2.

CHAPTER XIII.

VERSE 3.

...

And he went on his journeys. . . . unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning.

How long shall a man refrain from changing his inn? (achsania, Cevos.) Rav says: Until he is driven from it by blows. Shemuel says: Until his luggage is thrown out. There is no divergence of opinion (says the compiler), as to changing the inn, when the traveller himself is beaten, or when his luggage is thrown out. They only differ when the traveller's wife is beaten. Shemuel says: What does it matter to him whether his wife is beaten, so long as he himself is not molested? But Rav holds: It will cause quarrels between him and his wife, if he is indifferent to her maltreatment. . . . But how is it proved from the Law, that a man may not change his inn ? It is written: "Unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning." Eirechin, fol. 16, col. 2.

VERSE 5.

And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

Rava asked Ravah bar Mari: What is the origin of the proverb: Streams of wealth are left behind by men of substance? He replied: The text: "And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents." Bava-kama, fol. 93, col. 1.

VERSE 8.

And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee.

2.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

CONTENTION AND STRIFE.

Wherever thou findest two Rabbis contending, and a third adopting a middle way, the halachah is according to the third. Shabbath, fol. 39, col. 2.

3. For three years did the schools of Hillel and Shamai contend, each maintaining, that the halachah was on its side. At the end of that period, an echo of a voice was heard to exclaim: Both speak the words of the living God; but the halachah is on the side of the school of Hillel. But (asks the compiler) if both spoke the words. of the living God, why is the halachah on the side of the school of Hillel? (Answer) Because the latter were meek and quiet under hard treatment, they studied the objections of their opponents, and always mentioned their assertions first. . . . It teaches thee, that whoever abases himself, is exalted by the Holy One, blessed be He! and whoever exalts himself, is abased by the Holy One, blessed be He! Whoever aspires after greatness, greatness flees from him; and whoever flees from greatness, is pursued by it. Whoever presses time, is pressed by it; and whoever yields to it, is favoured by it. Eiruvin, fol. 13, col. 2.

4. A disciple of the wise, who prolongs his meals on every occasion, at last ruins his house, widows his wife, orphans his children, forgets his learning, causes great contention respecting halachahs, his words are not listened to, he profanes the name of Heaven, of his Rabbi, and of his father, and brings ill repute upon himself, and his children, and his children's children, to the end of all generations. Psachim, fol. 49, col. 1.

5. They asked Rabbi Yehoshua: May a man marry the wife of his brother, who died childless, but whose second widow is his own daughter? He replied: That is a subject of contention between the schools of Hillel and Shamai. And on whose side is the halachah? Why, said Rabbi Yehoshua, do you wish to insert my head between two great mountains, between the two great contending parties, the schools of Shamai and Hillel? I fear lest they crush my head. Yevamoth, fol. 15, col. 2.

6. Is it not a fact, that in the synagogue at Tiberias, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yosi contended about the legality of using on the Sabbath a bolt with a knob (which was negatived by the former, but affirmed by the latter, because it might also be lawfully used for mashing garlic), and that in their rage they tore the roll of the Law? Tore it! Is it possible? No; say: It was torn whilst each was pulling it passionately. Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma happened to be there, and said: I shall be surprised, if this synagogue be not turned into an idolatrous place of worship; and so it was. (Rashi. See Ecc. ix. 17.) Yevamoth, fol. 96, col. 2.

8. With the increase of inattentive disciples, contentions abounded in Israel. Soteh, fol. 47, col. 2.

10. Since the number of the disciples of Shamai and Hillel, who did not sufficiently wait upon their teachers, multiplied, contention abounded in Israel; and the Law became, as it were, two Laws. Sanhedrin, fol. 88, col. 2.

11. He that contends against his against the Shechinah; for it is said against Moses and against Aaron . Lord." Sanhedrin, fol. 110, col. 1; torah, Sec. 5, Halachah 1.

Rabbi, contends, as it were, (Nu. xxvi. 9): "Who strove when they strove against the Maimonides, Hilchoth Talmud

12. Rabbi Yehoshua said: I am the next link in the chain of tradition to Rabbon Yochanon ben Zachai, who had it from his Rabbi, and the latter from his Rabbi, and so on, that Elijah will not come to determine finally, who is clean and who is unclean (who is, and who is not, of pure Jewish descent); or to expel some from the congregation of Israel, and to bring in others; but to bring in those, who have been expelled, and to expel those, who have been brought in, with a high hand. Rabbi Yehudah said: He will only bring in, but not expel, Rabbi Shimon said, He will compound contentions between the Rabbis. Eidoyoth, chap. viii. Mishnah 7.

13. All contention, carried on in the name of Heaven, will abide to the end; such as that between the schools of Hillel and Shamai. But if not carried on in the name of Heaven, it will not abide to the end; such as that of Corah and his following. Avoth, chap. v.

VERSE 10.

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, etc.

I. Rabbi Yochanan said: The whole text intimates the wicked object of Lot. He "lifted up his eyes," in the same way as "his master's wife lifted up her eyes upon Joseph." (Ge. xxxix. 7.) “His eyes,' "His eyes," as Samson said (Ju. xiv. 3): "She is right in my eyes." "And saw," in the same way as "Shechem the son of Hamor saw Dinah." (Ge. xxxiv. 2.) "All the plain,

, of Jordan;" as it is said: "For by means of a whorish woman, a man is brought to a piece, 73, of bread." (Pr. vi. 26.) "That it was well watered," as "I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water." (Ho. ii. 5.) Nazir, fol. 23, col. 1.

As the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.

II. The Post-Mishnic Rabbis have taught: During a blessed year in the land of Israel, a place sown with a measure of seed, produces five myriad cors (a cor is equal to 30 measures). In the cultivated parts of Zoan, a place sown with a measure of seed, produces seventy cors; for tradition records, that Rabbi Meir had said: I have seen in the valley of Beth-shean (which is not Palestine, says Rashi), a place sown with a measure of seed, which produced seventy cors. And there is no better land anywhere than the land of Egypt; for it is said: "As the garden of the Lord, like the land. of Egypt." And there is no better land in the whole of Egypt than Zoan, where many kings resided; for it is written (Is. xxx. 4): "His princes were in Zoan." And there is no more uncongenial soil, in the whole land of Israel, than Hebron; for it was a place of burial. And yet Hebron was seven times more productive than