sun, moon, and stars, as it says, "Ye shall not bow down to them," for they חסידי אומות העולם יש להם חלק לעולם הבא,the ancient sages say, in various places 4 (The pious of the nations of the earth have a share in the next world). Maimonides also collects it from the passage of the Mishna that begins, "Four persons 5 have no portion in the next world, one of whom is Balaam, from being an infidel, in order that such may not be encouraged; but the nations of the earth have a portion in the next world:" he also affirms it in various parts of his "Mishne Torah," and in his Guide," he says, "The Lord leaves no good action unrewarded;" adopting the maxim of the ancient Sages, who say, The blessed God deprives no creature) אין הקדוש ברוך הוא מקפח שכר כל בריה of the reward it merits), as may be observed from what is said in "Shemot Raba," that the Lord ordained that torn meat should be given to dogs, in reward for not disturbing the children of Israel in their departure from Egypt. In the Guemaras it is related, that God favoured the heathen Dema ben Netina by permitting a red heifer to be born in his herd, in order that he might sell it for an extraordinary price, as a reward for the great respect and honour he had shewn to his father; the same is also said of the four instances in which Nebuchadnezzar demonstrated his respect to God; from all which 2 Genesis, 9:4. 3 Sanhedrin, c. 7. 1 Sanhedrin, c. 7. 4 Sanhedrin, c. 11. 5 The four persons alluded to are Balaam, Doeg, Achitophel, and Gehazi. Balaam they derive from Ps. 9:18. "All the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." The first part they consider applies to the wicked in Israel, and the latter to such as Balaam, who endeavoured to act contrary to the positive injunction of God, and to curse the children of Israel. Doeg, from Ps. 52:7, where David, cursing him for his treachery, says, "God shall likewise destroy thee for ever," &c. and root thee out of the land of the livings. This term in Holy Writ is always understood by the Hebrews (from its being in the plural) to mean both this world and the next. Achitophel, to whom is applied the last verse of Ps. 57, "But thou, O Lord, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and deceitful men shall not live half their days;" which happened to him, for he hung himself at the age of thirty, the life of man being seventy. Doeg also died about the same age. Gehazi,-see 2 Kings, 5:21, et seq. The Sages hereby wish to impress on mankind that there is no salvation for suicides, murderers, traitors, deceitful men or hypocrites, and those who, having a knowledge of the First Cause, remain pagans, or become atheists.-TRANSLATOR. 6 B. 3. c. 17. 7 C.31. 8 Kidushin, c. 1. 9 Sanhedrin, c. 11. R. Judah a Levi 10 affirms, that the Hebrews do not believe good actions go unrewarded, be they performed by one of any nation: the only distinction they make between themselves and the stranger is, that the latter cannot attain the grade of prophecy. In "Zoar" it is said, that kings, governors, and magistrates of the nations that do good to Israel, and take them under their protection, will enjoy certain degrees of bliss reserved for them in Paradise; but, on the contrary, those who injure them, will not fail to receive their punishment hereafter. It being sufficiently proved that avoidance of idolatry was one of the Noachide precepts, it only remains to shew how the words, "The Lord thy God hath partitioned them to all nations" are to be understood. The interpreters who translated the Holy Scriptures for Ptolemy Philadelphus felt this difficulty, and as adduced in the Talmud,11 added another word to avoid the error; and where it says, "The Lord thy God partitioned them," they subjoined, "to enlighten all nations," thereby intimating that the verse signified, that the stars and heavenly bodies had influence over all nations except Israel, who were under the protection of the First Cause alone; and this is what the text says, "Which the Lord thy God hath partitioned to all nations under the whole heaven," and then immediately follows, "But the Lord took you," &c. And as R. Abraham Aben Ezra says, It is proved that every nation, and even every city, is under the dominion of its planet, but the Lord raised Israel to that eminence, that he placed them under his sole government; for which reason Jeremiah 12 told Israel not to be dismayed at the signs of the heavens, which the heathen might fear, but not they. The verses are thus conciliated and the doubt solved; because it does not say that God gave the sun, moon, and stars, to be worshipped by the nations of the earth, but to enlighten them according to their benevolent or malevolent aspect. It also serves to exhort Israel, that seeing the Lord had made that distinction between them and other nations by taking them under his own immediate protection, they should not forsake him, and adopt any other worship. QUESTION 173. Deut. 6:16. Ye shall not tempt the Lord Mal. 3:10. Prove (or try) me now in this, your God. saith the Lord of Hosts. One who tempts or tries another must have experience of his knowledge and power, or his goodness and will; and as it arises either from ignorance or doubt, the Law commands not to tempt God; for to doubt anything relating to his Divine perfection is highly sinful, How then does Malachi say, Try the Lord by bringing the tithes ? RECONCILIATION. R. Hosayah, in the Guemara,1 conciliates this by saying, The verse itself says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open to you the windows of heaven, and I will pour you out blessings," &c. 10 Cuzari, b. 1, art. 3. 11 Meguila, c. 1. 12 Jer. 10:2. 1 Tahanit, c. 1. The adverb na (in this), excludes trying the Eternal in any thing except tithes the reason is, because he who gives may imagine the more he gives the less he will have; the prophet undeceives him, saying it is the contrary, and that in this only may God be tried: for the property of him who shall bring tithes to the house of the Lord shall be so much increased, that he himself shall say it is sufficient. R. Johanan also collects this from the verse of Deuteronomy that says, Tithing ye shall tithe all the increase of thy seed:"2 which command seems to contain a superfluous word, for it would have been sufficient to have said, "Ye shall tithe," and not "Tithing ye shall tithe," which he interprets, "If you tithe ye shall tithe," that is, He who gives tithes shall always have wherewithal to tithe. So that Moses says, in a general sense, God must not be tempted; and according to Malachi, it may only be done on the subject of tithes. Or it may be said even more appropriately, that in the giving of tithes, there was a necessity from the obligation of the precept, and the advantage to have eaten in the house of the Lord; as such, they did not tempt Him in bringing tithes, for they were bound to do it. Therefore, Malachi saying, "Try me now in this," is not to be understood casually, but consecutively, that is, "Try me and see if I open the windows of heaven to you," that is, "Bring the tithes regularly, and by experience you will find the benefits which God will confer on you, and how he will increase your wealth." It may be added, that where it is commanded not to tempt the Lord, it says, “Ye shall not tempt," which word is always used in an objectionable sense, shewing ignorance of the power, will, goodness, or perfection of God, when He is tempted. Scripture says 'n 10 "and they tempted me,"3 which temptation is always sinful; but Malachi changes the word, and says, "and try me," which may be taken in a different sense. ובחנוני And although Ahaz was reproved, as is said in Isaiah, for saying, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord,"4 in the words, "Hear ye now, O house of David! is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?"5 that is, because the sign God gave was for the public, as by it He assured them that the siege of the city should be abandoned by the two hostile kings, therefore it was necessary to make that trial of God. Or, as R. David Kimchi says, It was not owing to his faith that Ahaz would not tempt God, but rather from the want of confidence he had in God's promises he said he required no sign, for, with or without, it was all the same. And if Abraham asked a sign " Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it," he did so by divine inspiration, although some do not excuse the fault; and Gideon shewed but little faith in asking for a sign.7 What has been said will sufficiently conciliate the verses. RECONCILIATION. The verses appear repugnant, for one says, "Speak not in thine heart (do not imagine) that God banishes these nations from their land for their wickedness,” and the other says, they were punished for that conduct; but they are expounded in this way :-What the Lord says is, that Israel should not attribute their inheriting the land of the seven nations to two conjoined causes, namely, their own righteousness and the wickedness of the others, as the first passage alludes to; but the next explains the reason of this prohibition, because there was only one cause, that is, the wickedness of the nations. Rashi thus conciliates the texts, which is actually their literal meaning. QUESTION 175. Deut. 9:9. I abode in the Mount. Deut. 10:10. I stayed (or stood up) in the These two words have different meanings in Hebrew, for a signifies being seated, and means standing. There accordingly arises a difficulty, for the first passage says Moses was seated, and the second that he stood up. RECONCILIATION. In Yalcut the Sages conciliate this variation in different ways. Rab says, that during the whole time Moses was in the Mount, he was occupied in learning the secret mysteries and elucidations of the law; therefore it is reasonable to suppose that he stood up with the greatest respect and veneration while listening to the word of God, but afterwards seated himself, in order that his mind might be more at ease, while he reflected on the instruction he had received. Raba says, easy things are more readily learned while standing, but difficult ones require a sitting posture; thus as the greatest attention is requisite in both cases, two different positions are necessary: so the verses agree. R. Johanan gives a yet clearer explanation, which is, that the word ' has two significations, one is, to sit, the other, to stay or abide, as wipa iawn, "And ye abode in Kadesh :"2 in this way there is no difficulty; for saying, "he abode in the Mount," is not contradicted by its subsequently saying "he stood." QUESTION 176. Deut. 12:5. But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there. 6. Thither shall ye bring your sacrifices. Deut. 12:14. But in the place which the The Lord commanded as a precept, that when Israel had conquered and divided the Holy Land, and were established therein, that they should not sacrifice any where as they had previously done, but only in the place he should select from all the tribes, which was Mount Moriah; this being the case, how does it say in the second passage, "But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of your tribes." If the city to be selected was to be in all the tribes, it could not be from one alone, and if from one, it was not from all. How is this contradiction to be reconciled. RECONCILIATION. R. Judah,1 who is followed by Rashi, conciliates these verses thus: he says, that the place alluded to, or the holy city of Jerusalem, belonged only to one tribe, as it fell to the lot or share of Benjamin, but the site whereon the temple was built belonged to all; for, that all might partake of its ownership, it was bought with the money of the whole community. This author infers it from another contradiction, which occurs between 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles: in the last chapter of the former it says that David bought that site of Araunah the Jebusite, for fifty shekels of silver,2 but in Chronicles 3 it says, he bought it for six hundred shekels of gold, a remarkable difference, which he conciliates by saying, that David bought this site on behalf of all, to be a general place of sacrifice, and that it cost six hundred shekels of gold, by which each tribe had to pay fifty. The tribe of Judah that was in Jerusalem, and of whom David was chief, then paid their fifty, and this sum is what is stated in Samuel as having been paid by David immediately, and the remainder was afterwards. collected to complete the six hundred, which were paid on behalf of the whole, according to Chronicles; and with respect to its being said in Samuel, "of silver," when it should have said, "of gold," is because that payment was made in silver coin; so that the site of Mount Moriah was purchased with the money of all the tribes: by this the verses conciliate, for the place God chose was in one of the tribes, as it was in the portion of Benjamin, although it belonged to all; from the site of the Holy Temple having been purchased with the money of the tribes collectively, In "Siphré" they conciliate these texts by this distinction, that the city of Jerusalem was not specially apportioned in the division of the land among the tribes, as some maintain, but all had a share in it, and it is therefore held, that the verse which says, "In the place the Lord shall choose out of all your tribes," alludes to Shiloh, because when Israel commenced their journey in the wilderness, each offered his sacrifices in his own house, and under his own roof, on private altars, which was prohibited after the tabernacle was constructed, as stated in Leviticus,4 “ What man soever of the house of Israel that killeth an ox, &c. in the camp or out of the camp, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord, &c. that man shall be cut off from among his people." When Israel afterwards arrived at Gilgal, the tabernacle of the wilderness was set up there, nevertheless altars were permitted elsewhere; but when they came to Shiloh, where a house was built, as it is stated, Samuel brought "To the house of the Lord at Shiloh "5 they were prohibited. Shiloh being destroyed, the tabernacle was again set up at Nob, and private altars were allowed: after Nob was destroyed, Gibeon was the place selected for public worship: in these two places the tabernacle re 1 Yalcut, b. 1. art. 879. 2 2 Sam. 24:24. 4 Lev. 17:3. 5 1 Sam. 1:24. 31 Chron. 21:25. |