stay away another twelve years, and add to his knowledge. Akiva acted upon her advice without seeing her; and at the expiration of the second period he came home, accompanied by a double number of enthusiastic and admiring disciples. The whole city was in commotion, and every one went forth to meet the great Rabbi. Rachael, too, hastened to meet him. He will not spurn me, said she, iu his greatness; for "the righteous man regards the life of his beast." The disciples, however, would not admit her into his presence. Let her alone, cried Akiva, I and you are indebted to her for our learning. Meanwhile, her father, touched by his daughter's misery, had been longing for some great Rabbi to release him from his rash vow, and he now applied to the renowned visitor for that boon. Akiva asked him whether he would have vowed all his property to the Lord if he had known that his son-in-law was a learned Rabbi. No, no, said the relenting father, I should not have done so if I had known that he could only read. Well, said Akiva, I am thy son-in-law. Mindful of his promise, the first thing Akiva did was to present his wife with a golden Jerusalem, which excited the envy of the wife of Rabbon Gamliel, the patriarch. Rachael has a right to it, said the patriarch to his discontented spouse; for she had once sold her hair to maintain her husband. Nedarim, fol. 50, col. 1; Avoth of Rabbi Nathan, chap. 6; Shabbath, fol. 59, col. 2; Ditto Jerushalmi, fol. 86; and other places from which the above has been collated.

3. There is none so poor as a dog, and none so rich as a hog. (The one is, and the other is not, particular about its food). Shabbath, fol. 155, col. 2.

4. It is due to astrological influences that one is wise, or rich; and to these even Israelites are subject. But Rabbi Chanena holds that Israelites are not subject to them. Shabbath, fol. 156, col. 1.

5. A man once appeared before Rabbi, when the latter exclaimed: Make room for one who possesses a hundred pieces of silver! Soon after another man came in, and he exclaimed: Make room for one who possesses two hundred pieces of silver! Rabbi Ishmael ben Rabbi Yosi then whispered to Rabbi that the first visitor's father possessed a thousand ships on the sea, and as many villages on land. Tell him then, said Rabbi, when thou seest him, not to send his son in such shabby apparel to me. Rabbi (says the compiler) used to be respectful to the rich, and so was Rabbi Akiva. (See Ja. ii. 2–4. The epistle is addressed to Jews.) Eiruvin, fol. 86, col. 1.

6. A disciple of the wise may not partake of a banquet which is not in conformity with (Rabbinical) enactments (Maimonides, Hilchoth Daioth, Sec. 5, Halachah 2); such, for instance, explains Rabbi Yochanan, that is made on the occasion of a wedding between the daughter of a priest and a common Israelite, or the daughter of a disciple of the wise and an amhaaretz. For the same Rabbi had said: The marriage of a daughter of a priest with a common Israelite does not prove happy. How so? asked Rav Chisda. She will be left a widow was the reply, or be divorced, or have no children. In the West (Palestine) it is said: Either she buries him, or he buries her, or she reduces him to poverty. But had not Rabbi Yochanan said on another occasion: Whoever wishes to become rich, let him join himself matrimonially to the seed of Aaron, and to such seed especially, in which both the Law and the priesthood will conduce to make him rich? There is no contradiction (is the reply); Rabbi Yochanan there refers to a disciple of the wise; but here he has in view an amhaaretz. Psachim, fol. 49, col. 1.

8. "Praise the Lord, for He is good." (Ps. cxxxvi. 1.) Praise Him, who exacts man's sacrificial duty according to the goodness He has conferred upon him: an ox from a rich man, a lamb from a poor man, an egg from an orphan, a hen from a widow. Psachim, fol. 118, col. 1.

10. At first the rich used to present edibles, at houses of mourning, in baskets (calathus) of silver and gold; whilst the poor did so in baskets of peeled willow twigs. But as this distinction shamed the latter, the use of willow baskets was enjoined upon all. At first the rich mourners were made to drink in white glasses, and the poor in coloured glasses; but as this distinction shamed the latter, the use of coloured glasses was enjoined upon all. At first the rich had their faces uncovered, and the poor had them covered, because they looked black on account of famine, and they were ashamed; it was therefore ordained, out of regard for the poor, that all mourners should cover their faces, without distinction. Moed-katon, fol. 27, col. 1.

15. A man of knowledge will become rich in the end. Sanhedrin, fol. 92, col. 1.

16. There should be no poverty where there is riches (i.e., one should not be sparing when he ought to be liberal). Menachoth, fol. 89, col. 1.

17. What shall a man do in order to become rich? Rabbi Cheyah replied: Let him trade extensively, and deal honestly. His disciples remarked: Many have done so unsuccessfully. Well, said he, let him pray to Him to whom riches belong; as it is said (Hag. ii. 8): "Silver is mine, and gold is mine." But what is Rabbi Cheyah's real opinion with reference to this question? It is that neither singly will secure riches; but both combined. Niddah, fol. 70, col. 2.

19. A poor man, wandering from place to place, is entitled to a charitable food allowance of no less than a pundion (dupondius, three halfpence) loaf, when the price of flour is at the rate of four measures for a selah. If he remains over night, he is to be provided with a bed; if over the Sabbath, he is to be provided with the three Sabbath meals. Shabbath, fol. 118, col. 1.

Note. To the orthodox Jew the eating of the three Sabbath meals, and especially the third and last meal, is of high importance. The Sabbath is the poetical "Bride," and "the Queen" of the Jewish nation; to fast on that day is a sin, but to feast on it is an honour to it. Whosoever eats the three meals on the Sabbath, will be delivered from the three calamities attending the advent of the Messiah, the judgment of hell, and the war of Gog and Magog. Rabbi Yossi, who, according to Rashi, deserves the title of Rabbi the Holy, said, " May my portion be (in the world to come) among those who eat the three meals on the Sabbath." Shabbath, fol. 118, cols. 1, 2.

20. Three may compel a man to transgress against his own will no less than that of his Creator, viz.: Idolaters; an evil spirit (madness); and pinching poverty. Eiruvin, fol. 41, col. 2.

23. "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty." (Is. xlviii. 10.) The Holy One, blessed be He! searched for the best quality to bestow upon Israel, and He found none so becoming as poverty. Hence men

say Poverty becomes a Jew, as a red saddle becomes a white horse. Chaguigah, fol. 9, col. 2.

24. A mourner must abstain from work, during the first three days, even if he be so poor as to depend on charity. Henceforward, the man may work, and the woman may spin in retirement, at home. Moed-katon, fol. 21, col. 2.

25. Not all the winds in the world could divert, from its straight perpendicular course, the smoke that ascended from the altar. But is not that contradicted by Rav Yitzchak bar Avdimi? For he said: On the eve of the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, all gazed at the smoke of the altar. If it inclined towards the north, the poor were glad, and the householders were sorry; for it indicated over abundance of rain for the coming year, which would induce the latter to sell their produce at any price, rather than let it rot in the fields. If it inclined towards the south, the poor were sorry, and the householders were glad for rain would fall below the average, and consequently dearth would ensue. If it inclined towards the east, all rejoiced; if towards the west, all felt depressed. (Answer) There is no contradiction; the smoke may have waved like a tree, but it was never altogether diverted from its straight upward direction. Yoma, fol. 21, col. 2.

28. It is related of Nicodemon ben Guryon, that whenever he went from his house to the debating room, costly garments made of wool, produced in the island of Milath (Malta), used to be spread under his feet, and after he had passed over them, the poor came and took them away. (See Mat. xxi. 8. Nicodemon was a contemporary of our Lord, and one of the three, who are said to have provisioned Jerusalem, during the siege, at their own expense.) Kethuboth, fol. 67, col. 1.

29. It is related of Hillel the Elder, that he once bought for a poor man of a good family, a horse to ride upon, and a slave to run before him. On one occasion he could not procure a slave, and he ran himself three miles (mil, a thousand paces). Kethuboth, fol, 67, col. 2.

31. Even a poor man, who lives himself on charity. Guittin, fol. 7, col. 2.

charity, must give

32. The Post-Mishnic Rabbis have taught: Gentile poor are maintained together with the poor of Israel; Gentile sick are visited together with the sick of Israel; Gentile dead are buried at the same time, when the dead of Israel are buried, for the sake of the ways of peace. Guittin, fol. 61, col. 1; Maimonides, Hilchoth MatanothAneeyim, Sec. 6, Halachah, 6; and in other places.

T. N. This law has been cited by the advocates of the Talmud, to prove the cosmopolitanism of the Rabbis, and the opponents of that system have been charged with adducing isolated passages, designedly torn away from their context, in order to represent their meaning in a sinister light; a proceeding, of which no one has been more guilty than the late Mr. Deutsch, who has strung together a large number of Talmudical sentences, without stating even, where they might be found. Acting, therefore, on the principle of letting the Talmud speak for itself, we will, by way of illustrating the above law, add two others, which are equally embodied in the Digest

of Maimonides, as indisputable halachahs: In Avodah-zarah, fol. 20, col. 1, the command (De. vii. 2) is rendered: "Thou shalt make no free gifts to them" (the Gentiles), from D; and then discussing the text in De. xiv. 21, “Thou shalt give it unto the proselyte, that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien," Rabbi Yehudah says: The words must be taken as they are written; to the proselyte it is to be given, and to the alien it must be sold. Maimonides, Hilchoth Accum, Sec. 10, Halachah 4. Again in the same treatise, fol. 26, col. 1, Amsterdam edition, it is said: Gentiles, and those who rear small cattle in the land of Israel, may not be assisted out of a deep pit, into which they have fallen, and where they must inevitably die, but neither may they be pushed into it. Maimonides, Hilchoth Accum, Sec. 9. Tosephoth on Avodah-zarah, fol. 20, col. 1, explains the apparent discrepancy of these laws, by saying, that to maintain Gentile poor, for the sake of the ways of peace, is not tantamount to giving them a free gift, when peace is not threatened. As to the prohibition to save their lives, adds the same authority, the Gentile poor would not die, if not maintained by Jews, and, therefore, feeding them together with Jewish poor, bears no analogy to rescuing them from a deep pit, where their lives are endangered, and where no assistance may be rendered to them. See more about the law respecting rescuing from the pit in chap. 28, ver. 12, Note 4.

36. He that possesses two hundred zouzes may not take the poor tithes, "gleanings," ears of corn overlooked by the reapers, and those to be left in the corners. (Le. xxiii. 22; De. xxvi. 12). But if he possesses two hundred zouzes less one, he may take the gleanings, etc., even if a thousand farmers offer them to him at once. (See page 201, Note 35.) Soteh, fol. 21, col. 2; Maimonides, Hilchoth Matanoth-aneeyim, Sec. 9. Halachah 13.

37. This is the general rule (in awarding compensation for insult): It is all according to the dignity of the person insulted. But Rabbi Akiva holds, that even the poor in Israel are considered as sons of the nobility, who have lost their estates; for they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Bava-kama, fol. 90, col. 2.

38. A grey-headed slave once dyed the hair of his head and beard, and presenting himself before Rava, asked him to buy him. The Rabbi, detecting the imposture, replied in the language of a Mishnah (see infra, Note 46) Let the poor Jews be the members of thy household (i.e., rather maintain the Jewish poor for their service, than buy useless heathen slaves). He then made the same proposal to Rav Pappa bar Shemuel, who bought him. Once when his master asked for a drink of water, he went and washed the dye off his hair, and said to him: Thou seest I am older than thy father. Rav Pappa then applied the text to himself (Pr. xi. 8): "The righteous (Rava) is delivered out of trouble, and another (designedly substituted for "the wicked") cometh in his stead." Bava-metzia, fol. 60, col. 2.

39. A poor man, begging from door to door, once came to Rav Pappa for relief out of the public treasury, and was refused. Rav Sama bar Rav Yaiva then remarked: If the master refuses to relieve him, nobody else will do so; is he then to die? But, replied the other, is it not the law, that a poor man, begging from door to door, has no claim upon public charity? Not largely, answered Rav Sama, but he ought to receive some relief. Bava-bathra, fol. 9, col. 1 ; Maimonides, Hilchoth Matanoth Aneeyim, Halachah 7.

40. Whoever gives a prutah (pretio, the smallest coin is so called)

to a poor man, has six blessings conferred upon him; and he that speaks a kind word to him, has eleven blessings conferred upon him. (Is. lviii. 7-12.) Bava-bathra, fol. 9, col. 2.

43. Poverty in the house of a man, is harder to bear than fifty plagues, like those inflicted upon Egypt. Bava-bathra, fol. 116,

col. 1. 44. col. 2.

Poverty pursues the poor man.

Bava-bathra, fol. 174,

46. Let thy house be wide open, and let the poor be the inmates of thy house. Avoth, chap. i.

47. Grain found in ant-holes, before they are reached by the reapers, belongs to the owner of the field; but if discovered after the reapers had passed them, the upper part of the grain belongs to the poor, and the lower to the owner. Rabbi Meir says: It belongs all to the poor; for they have the benefit of the doubt, whether it was dropped by the reapers, or collected by ants. (See Le. xviii. 22.) Chulin, fol. 134, col. 1.

48. He that pretends to be blind, to suffer from dropsy, to be lame, or (in some other way) receives charity without needing it, will not die, before he is actually reduced to such a state of suffering and poverty. Kethuboth, fol. 68, col. 1.

VERSE 24.

Save only what the young men have eaten.

Rabbi Abba said: Stolen food that has been consumed, has this additional disadvantage, that even the perfectly righteous cannot restore it. Chulin, fol. 89, col. 1.

CHAPTER XV.

VERSE 1.

Thy reward is very great.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

לולא,the word

REWARD AND PUNISHMENT.

1. It is taught in the name of Rabbi Yosi (first century): Why is "unless" dotted? (Ps. xxvii. 13. There is a dot on each letter of the Hebrew word.) David had said before the Holy One, blessed be He! I am confident, that in the Messianic future, Thou wilt confer a good reward upon the righteous; but I do not