Chapter 8

it down (_umsarah_) to Joshua," and "make a fence around the _Torah_." Consult Driver, _Notes on Samuel_, _Intro._, p. 37 _et seq._; Schurer, _ibid._, II, i, 328; Taylor, _Sayings_, p. 55, n. 33; Friedlander _ibid._, p. 55, 203, 266; _Jewish Encyclopedia s.v.;_ and _The Companion Bible_ (London, Oxford University Press), Pt. I, _Appendix_, 30.

(49) On tithes, see chapter I, n. 37. Cf. _Shabbat_, 119a, and _Taanit_, 9a (play on [ayin-shin-resh tof-ayin-shin resh], Deut. XXIV, 22),* [ayin-sh-resh bet-shin-bet-yud-lamed shin-tof-tof-ayin-shin-resh] "give tithes in order that thou mayest become rich."

[* transcriber's note: this text does not appear to be Deuteronomy XXIV, 22.]

(50) Lit., "separation," _i.e._ from defilement, hence "sanctity" (Taylor).

(51) Cf. chapter I, 17.

(52) Gen. IX, 6.

(53) Deut. XIV, 1.

(54) _I.e._, the _Torah_.

(55) Prov. IV, 2.

(56) The omniscience and prescience of God do not deprive men of free will. Maimonides explains this in the last chapter of the _Shemonah Perakim_ (ed. Gorfinkle, p. 85 _et seq._).

(57) Maimonides interprets the last phrase as meaning to do many small deeds of charity rather than one great deed of goodness. For instance, it is better to distribute one hundred coins among one hundred people than to give them all to one person.

(58) The world is compared to the office of a merchant.

(59) Ecc. IX, 12: "for man also knoweth not his time, like the fishes that are caught in an evil net."

(60) The shop stands for the world and its enjoyments.

(61) Man has free will, and is therefore responsible for all his acts.

(62) For everything is recorded.

(63) This world is merely a preparation for the next. The enjoyment of the world to come is likened by the Rabbis to a banquet, which is shared in by the good and the bad, after they have paid off their moral debts.

21. R. Eleazar, the son of Azariah (64), said, "Where there is no _Torah_, there are no manners; where there are no manners, there is no _Torah_: where there is no wisdom, there is no fear of God; where there is no fear of God, there is no wisdom: where there is no knowledge, there no understanding; where there is no understanding, there is no knowledge (65): where there is no meal, there is no _Torah;_ where there is no _Torah_, there is no meal" (66). 22. He used to say, "He whose wisdom exceeds his works, to what is he like? To a tree whose branches are many, but whose roots are few; and the wind comes and plucks it up, and overturns it upon its face, as it is said, 'And he shall be like a lonely juniper tree in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited' (67). But he whose works exceed his wisdom, to what is he like? To a tree whose branches are few, but whose roots are many, so that though all the winds in the world come and blow upon it, they cannot stir it from its place, as it is said, 'And he shall be as a tree planted by the waters; and that spreadeth out its roots by the river and shall not perceive when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; and shall not be troubled in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit'" (68).

(64) R. Eleazar ben Azariah, a Mishnaic scholar of the first century, was of a rich and influential family, and was a descendent of Ezra the Scribe. At seventeen or eighteen, upon the deposition of Gamaliel II, Eleazar, because of his popularity and erudition, was chosen to fill the position of the president of the academy at Jabneh. Upon Gamaliel's restoration, he was made vice-president (_Ab bet din_). See Bacher, _ibid._, 219-240.

(65) Cf. Prov. IX, 10: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

(66) Where there is a want of the means of sustenance there is no studying of _Torah_, and without spiritual nourishment, physical nourishment has no value.

(67) Jer. XVII, 6.

(68) Jer. XVII, 8. Cf. verse 12, above.

23. R. Eleazar Chisma (69) said, "The laws concerning the sacrifices of birds and the purification of women are essential ordinances (70); astronomy and geometry are the after-courses of wisdom" (71).

Rabbi Chanania, the son of Akashia, said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, was pleased to make Israel worthy; wherefore He gave them a copious _Torah_ and many commandments, as it is said, 'It pleased the Lord, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the _Torah_ and make it honorable'".

(69) A contemporary of AKiba.

(70) _Kinnim_, "nests," is the name of a tract in _Seder Kodashim_ of the _Mishnah_, and tells of the young birds, which men and women were at times required to offer as sacrifice. _Niddah_ is a tract of _Seder Teharot_ of the _Mishnah_, and relates of the uncleannesses of woman.

(71) _I.e._, the mathematical sciences, in which R. Eleazar was very proficient, are only to be considered as helps to the study of the essentials of _Torah_.