The [subject of] forbidden relations may not be expounded in the presence of three, nor the work of creation in the presence of two, nor [the work of] the chariot in the presence of one, unless he is a Sage and understands of his own knowledge. Whosoever speculates upon four things, a pity for him! He is as though he had not come into the world, [to wit], what is above, what is beneath, what before, what after. And whosoever takes no thought for the honour of his maker, it were a mercy if he had not come into the world.
t.Hag.2.1
A. They do not expound upon the laws of prohibited relationships [Lev.18] before three persons,
B. but they do expound them before two;
C. or about the Works of Creation before two,
D. but they do expound them before one;
E. or about the Chariot [Ez.1] before one, unless he was a sage [and] understands of his own knowledge [M.Hag.2.1A- B].
F. M`SH B: Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai [T1] was riding on an ass, and R, Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arakh was driving the ass from behind.
G. He [Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]] said to him, ``Rabbi, repeat for me a chapter of the works of the Chariot.``
H. He said to him, ``Have I not ruled for you to begin with that they do not repeat [the tradition] concerning the Chariot for an individual, unless he was a sage [and] understands of his own knowledge?``
I. He said to him, ``Now may I lay matters out before you?``
J. He said to him, ``Say on.``
K. R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arakh commenced and expounded concerning the works of the Chariot.
L. Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai [T1] got off his ass, wrapped himself in his cloak, and the two of them sat down on a rock under an olive tree, and [Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]] laid matters out before him.
M. [Yohanan [PA2]] got up and kissed him on his head and said to him, ``Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, who gave to Abraham, our father, a son who knows how to understand and expound upon the glory of his father who is in heaven.
N. ``Some preach nicely but do not practice nicely, or practice nicely but do not preach nicely.
O. ``Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arakh preaches nicely and practices nicely.
P. ``Happy are you, O Abraham, our father, for Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arakh has gone forth from your loins,
Q. ``who knows how to understand and expound upon the glory of his Father who is in heaven.``
MISHNAH: m.Hag.2.1The [subject of] forbidden relations may not be expounded in the presence of three, nor the work of creation in the presence of two, nor [the work of] the chariot in the presence of one, unless he is a Sage and understands of his own knowledge. Whosoever speculates upon four things, a pity for him! He is as though he had not come into the world, [to wit], what is above, what is beneath, what before, what after. And whosoever takes no thought for the honour of his maker, it were a mercy if he had not come into the world.
GEMARA: You say at first: nor [the work of] the chariot in the presence of one; and then you say: unless he is a Sage and understands of his own knowledge! This is the meaning: the forbidden relations may not be expounded to three, nor the work of creation to two, nor [the work of] the chariot to one, unless he is a Sage and understands of his own knowledge. The forbidden relations may not be expounded in the presence of three. What is the reason? Shall one say, because it is written: Whosoever to any that is near of kin to him? `Whosoever` [implies] two, `near of kin to him` [implies] one; and the Divine Law said: Ye shall not approach to uncover their nakedness. But then since it is written: Whosoever curseth his God, Whosoever giveth of his seed unto Molech, are these [passages] also [to be interpreted] thus! These, therefore, must be required to make Gentiles subject to the prohibition concerning blasphemy and idolatry like the Israelites; then this [verse] is also required to make Gentiles subject to the prohibition concerning the forbidden relations like the Israelites! It must be inferred, therefore, from the verse: Therefore shall ye keep my charge. `Ye shall keep` [implies] two, `My charge` [implies] one; and the Divine Law said: That ye do not any of these abominable customs. But then since it is written: Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore, And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, And ye shall keep the charge of the holy things, are these [passages] also [to be interpreted] thus! Therefore, said R. Ashi [BA6], the forbidden relations may not be expounded in the presence of three must mean: the secrets of the forbidden relations may not be expounded to three. What is the reason? It is a logical conclusion: when two sit before their Master, one engages in discussion with his Master and the other inclines his ear to the instruction; but [when there are] three, one engages in discussion with his Master, and the other two engage in discussion with one another and do not know what their Master is saying, and may come to permit that which is prohibited in the matter of the forbidden relations. If so, [the rule should apply to] the whole Torah also! The [subject of] forbidden relations is different, for the master said: Robbery and the forbidden relations, a man`s soul covets and lusts for them. If so, [the rule should apply to] robbery also! [In the case of] the forbidden relations, whether [the opportunity] be before him or not before him, a man`s inclination is strong; [in the case of] robbery, if [the opportunity] is before him, his inclination is strong, but if it is not before him, his inclination is not strong. Nor the work of creation in the presence of two. Whence [do we infer] this? For the Rabbis taught: For ask thou now of the days past; one may inquire, but two may not inquire. One might have thought that one may inquire concerning the pre-creation period, therefore Scripture teaches: Since the day that God created man upon the earth. One might have thought that one may [also] not inquire concerning the six days of creation, therefore Scripture teaches: The days past which were before thee. One might have thought one may [also] inquire concerning what is above and what is below, what before and what after, therefore the text teaches: And from one end of heaven unto the other. [Concerning the things that are] from one end of heaven unto the other thou mayest inquire, but thou mayest not inquire what is above, what is below, what before, what after. b.Hag.12a But now that this is inferred from [the expression] ` From one end of heaven unto the other`, wherefore do I need [the expression], `Since the day that God created man upon the earth`? To intimate that which R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] taught. For R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] said: The first man [extended] from the earth to the firmament, as it is said: Since the day that God created man upon the earth; but as soon as he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, placed His hand upon him and diminished him, for it is said: Thou hast fashioned me after and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.
Rab Judah [BA2] said that Rab [BA1] said: The first man [extended] from one end of the world to the other, for it is said: `Since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of heaven to the other`; as soon as he sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, placed His hand upon him and diminished him, for it is said: `And laid Thine hand upon me`. If so, the verses contradict one another! They both [have] the same dimensions. Rab Judah [BA2] further said that Rab [BA1] said: Ten things were created the first day, and they are as follows: heaven and earth, Tohu [chaos], Bohu [desolation], light and darkness, wind and water, the measure of day and the measure of night. Heaven and earth, for it is written: In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Tohu and Bohu, for it is written: And the earth was Tohu and Bohu. Light and darkness: darkness, for it is written: And darkness was upon the face of the deep; light, for it is written: And God said, Let there be light. Wind and water, for it is written: And the wind of God hovered over the face of the waters. The measure of day and the measure of night, for it is written: And there was evening and there was morning, one day. It is taught: Tohu is a green line that encompasses the whole world, out of which darkness proceeds, for it is said: He made darkness His hiding-place round about Him. Bohu, this means the slimy stones that are sunk in the deep, out of which the waters proceed, for it is said: And he shall stretch over it the line of confusion [Tohu] and the plummet of emptiness [Bohu]. But was the light created on the first day? For, behold, it is written: And God set them in the firmament of the heaven, and it is [further] written: And there was evening and there was morning a fourth day This is [to be explained] according to R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]. For R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] said: The light which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, one could see thereby from one end of the world to the other; but as soon as the Holy One, blessed be He, beheld the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion, and saw that their actions were corrupt, He arose and hid it from them, for it is said: But from the wicked their light is withholden. And for whom did he reserve it? For the righteous in the time to come, for it is said: And God saw the light, that it was good; and `good` means only the righteous, for it is said: Say ye of the righteous that he is good. As soon as he saw the light that he had reserved for the righteous, He rejoiced, for it is said: He rejoiceth at the light of the righteous. Now Tannaim [differ on the point]: The light which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day one could see and look thereby from one end of the world to the other; this is the view of R. Jacob [T4]. But the Sages say: It is identical with the luminaries; for they were created on the first day, but they were not hung up [in the firmament] till the fourth day. R. Zulra b. Tobiah said that Rab [BA1] said: by ten things was the world created: By wisdom and by understanding, and by reason, and by strength, and by rebuke, and by might, by righteousness and by judgment, by lovingkindness and by compassion. By wisdom and understanding, for it is written: The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; and by understanding established the heavens. By reason, for it is written: By His reason the depths were broken up. By strength and might, for it is written: Who by His strength setteth fast the mountains, Who is girded about with might. By rebuke, for it is written: The pillars of heaven were trembling, but they became astonished at His, rebuke. By righteousness and judgment, for it is written: Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of Thy throne. By lovingkindness and compassion, for it is written: Remember, O Lord, Thy compassions and Thy mercies; for they have been from of old. Rab Judah [BA2] further said: At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, it went on expanding like two clues of warp, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and brought it to a standstill, for it is said: `The pillars of heaven were trembling, but they became astonished at His rebuke`. And that, too, is what Resh Lakish [PA2] said: What is the meaning of the verse, I am God Almighty? [It means], I am he that said to the world: Enough! Resh Lakish [PA2] said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the sea, it went on expanding, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and caused it to dry up, for it is said: He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers.
Our Rabbis taught: Beth Shammai [CE1] say: Heaven was created first and afterwards the earth was created, for it is said: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Beth Hillel [CE1] say: Earth was created first and afterwards heaven, for it is said: In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. Beth Hillel [CE1] said to Beth Shammai [CE1]: According to your view, a man builds the upper storey [first] and afterwards builds the house! For it is said: It is he that buildeth His upper chambers in the heaven, and hath founded His vault upon the earth. Said Beth Shammai [CE1] to Beth Hillel [CE1]: According to your view, a man makes the footstool [first], and afterwards he makes the throne! For it is said: Thus saith the Lord, The Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. But the Sages say: Both were created at the same time. For it is said: Yea, Mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: When I call unto them they stand up together. And the others? What is the meaning of `together`? [It means] that they cannot be loosened from one another. However, the verses contradict one another! Resh Lakish [PA2] answered: When they were created, He created heaven [first], and afterwards he created the earth; but when he stretched them forth he stretched forth the earth [first], and afterwards he stretched forth heaven.
What does `heaven` [Shamayim] mean? R. Jose b. Hanina [PA2] said: It means, `There is water`. In a Baraitha it is taught: [It means], `fire and water ; ` this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them and mixed them one with the other and made from them the firmament. R. Ishmael [T3] questioned R. Akiba [T3] when they were going on a journey together, saying to him: Thou who hast waited twenty-two years upon Nahum [BA3] of Gimzo, who used to explain the [particle] Eth throughout the Torah, [tell me] what exposition did he give of [Eth] the heaven and [Eth] the earth? Said [R. Akiba [T3]] to him: If it had said, `heaven and earth`, I could have said that Heaven and Earth were names of the Holy One, blessed be He. But now that it says: `[Eth] the heaven and [Eth] the earth`, heaven [means] the actual heaven, and earth [means] the actual earth. b.Hag.12b But why do we have `[Eth] the earth`? To put heaven before earth. `And the earth was unformed and void`. Consider: [Scripture] began at first with heaven, why then does it proceed to relate [first] the work of the earth? The School of R. Ishmael [T3] taught: It is like a human king who said to his servants: Come early to my door. He rose early and found women and men. Whom does he praise? The ones who are not accustomed to rise early but yet did rise early.
It is taught: R. Jose [T4] says: Alas for people that they see but know not what they see, they stand but know not on what they stand. What does the earth rest on? On the pillars, for it is said: Who shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. The pillars upon the waters, for it is said: To Him that spread forth the earth above the waters. The waters upon the mountains, for it is said: The waters stood above the mountains. The mountains on the wind, for it is said: For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind. The wind upon the storm, for it is said: The wind, the storm maketh its substance. Storm is suspended on the arm of the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is said: And underneath are the everlasting arms. But the Sages say: [The world] rests on twelve pillars, for it is said: He set the borders to the peoples according to the number [of the tribes] of the children of Israel. And some say seven pillars, for it is said: She hath hewn out her seven piliars. R. Eleazar b. Shammua [T4]` says: [It rests] on one pillar, and its name is `Righteous`, for it is said: But `Righteous` is the foundation of the world. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] said: There are two firmaments, for it is said: 24 Behold, unto the Lord thy God belongeth heaven, and the heaven of heavens. Resh Lakish [PA2] said: [There are] seven, namely, Wilon, Rakia`, Shehakim, Zebul, Ma`on, Makon, `Araboth. Wilon serves no purpose except that it enters in the morning and goes forth in the evening and renews every day the work of creation, for it is said: That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. Rakia` is that in which sun and moon, stars and constellations are set, for it is said: And God set them in the firmament [Rakia`] of the heaven. Shehakim is that in which millstones stand and grind manna for the righteous for it is said: And he commanded the skies [Shehakim] above, and opened the doors of heaven; and he caused manna to rain upon them for food etc. Zebul is that in which [the heavenly] Jerusalem and the Temple and the Altar are built, and Michael, the great Prince, stands and offers up thereon an offering, for it is said: I have surely built Thee a house of habitation [Zebul], a place for Thee to dwell in for ever. And whence do we derive that it is called heaven? For it is written: Look down from heaven, and see, even from Thy holy and glorious habitation. Ma`on is that in which there are companies of Ministering Angels, who utter [divine] song by night, and are silent by day for the sake of Israel`s glory, for it is said: By day the Lord doth command His lovingkindness, and in the night His song is with me.
Resh Lakish [PA2] said: Whoever occupies himself with [the study of] the Torah by night, the Holy One, blessed be He, draws over him a chord of lovingkindness by day, for it is said: `By day the Lord doth command His lovingkindness`? Because `by night His song is with me`. And there are some who say: Resh Lakish [PA2] said: Whoever occupies himself with the study of the Torah in this world, which is like the night, the Holy One, blessed be He, draws over him a chord of lovingkindness in the world to come, which is like the day, for it is said: `By day the Lord doth command His lovingkindness, for by night His song is with me`.
R. Levi [T6 or PA3] said: Whoever leaves off the study of the Torah and occupies himself with idle talk, he is made to eat coals of broom, for it is said: They pluck salt-wort through idle talk, and the roots of the broom are their food. And whence do we derive that it is called heaven? For it is said: Look forth from Thy holy habitation [ma`on], from heaven. Makon is that in which there are the stores of snow and stores of hail, and the loft of harmful dews and the loft of raindrops, the chamber of the whirlwind and storm, and the cave of vapour, and their doors are of fire, for it is said: The Lord will open unto thee His good treasure, But are these to be found in the firmament? Surely, they are to be found on the earth, for it is written: Praise the Lord from the earth, ye sea-monsters, and all deeps; fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy wind, fulfilling his word! Rab Judah [BA2] said in the name of Rab: David entreated concerning them, and caused them to come down to the earth. He said before Him: Lord of the universe, Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness; let not evil sojourn with Thee; righteous art Thou, O Lord, let not evil sojourn in Thy abode. And whence do we derive that it is called heaven? For it is written: Then hear Thou in heaven, Thy dwelling place [Makon]. `Araboth is that in which there are Right and Judgment and Righteousness, the treasures of life and the treasures of peace and the treasures of blessing, the souls of the righteous and the spirits and the souls which are yet to be born, and dew wherewith the Holy One, blessed be He, will hereafter revive the dead. Right and Judgment, for it is written: Right and judgment are the foundations of Thy throne. Righteousness, for it is written: And he put on righteousness as a coat of mail. The treasures of life, for it is written: For with Thee is the fountain of life. And the treasures of peace, for it is written: And called it, `The Lord is peace`. And the treasures of blessing, for it is written: he shall receive a blessing from the Lord. The souls of the righteous, for it is written: Yet the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God. The spirits and the souls which are yet to be born, for it is written: For the spirit that enwrappeth itself is from Me, and the souls which I have made. And the dew wherewith the Holy One, blessed be He, will hereafter revive the dead, for it is written: A bounteous rain didst Thou pour down, O God; when Thine inheritance was weary, Thou didst confirm it. There [too] are the Ofanim and the Seraphim, and the Holy Living Creatures, and the Ministering Angels, and the Throne of God; and the King, the Living God, high and exalted, dwells over them in `Araboth, for it is said: Extol Him that rideth upon Araboth whose name is the Lord. And whence do we derive that it is called heaven? From the word `riding`, which occurs in two Biblical passages. Here it is written: `Extol Him that rideth upon Araboth`. And elsewhere it is written: Who rideth upon the heaven as thy help. And darkness and cloud and thick darkness surround Him, for it is said: He made darkness His hiding-place, His pavilion round about Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of skies. But is there any darkness before Heaven? For behold it is written: He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth, what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him. There is no contradiction: the one [verse] b.Hag.13a refers to the inner chambers, the other to the outer chambers. And R. Aha b. Jacob [BA4] said: There is still another Heaven above the heads of the living creatures, for it is written: And over the heads of the living creatures there was a likeness of a firmament, like the colour of the terrible ice, stretched forth over their heads above. Thus far you have permission to speak, thenceforward you have not permission to speak, for so it is written in the Book of Ben Sira: Seek not things that are too hard for thee, and search not things that are hidden from thee. The things that have been permitted thee, think thereupon; thou hast no business with the things that are secret.
It is taught: R. Johanan b. Zakkai [T1] said: What answer did the Bath Kol give to that wicked one, when he said: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High? A Bath Kol went forth and said to him: O wicked man, son of a wicked man, grandson of Nimrod, the wicked, who stirred the whole world to rebellion against me by his rule. How many are the years of man? Seventy, for it is said: The days of our years are threescore years and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore years. But the distance from the earth to the firmament is a journey of five hundred years, and the thickness of the firmament is a journey of five hundred years, and likewise [the distance] between one firmament and the other. Above them are the holy living creatures: the feet of the living creatures are equal to all of them [together]; the ankles of the living creatures are equal to all of them; the legs of the living creatures are equal to all of them; the knees of the living creatures are equal to all of them; the thighs of the living creatures are equal to all of them; the bodies of the living creatures are equal to all of them; the necks of the living creatures are equal to all of them; the heads of the living creatures are equal to all of them; the horns of the living creatures are equal to all of them. Above them is the throne of glory; the feet of the throne of glory are equal to all of them; the throne of glory is equal to all of them. The King, the Living and Eternal God, High and Exalted, dwelleth above them. Yet thou didst say, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High! Nay, thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world, to the uttermost parts of the pit. Nor [the work of] the chariot in the presence of one. R. Hiyya taught: But the headings of chapters may be transmitted to him. R. Zera [PA3] said: The headings of chapters may be transmitted only to the head of a court and to one whose heart is anxious within him. Others say: Only if his heart is anxious within him. R. Amimi said: The mysteries of the Torah may be transmitted only to one who possesses five attributes, [namely], The captain of fifty, and the man of rank, and the counsellor, and the cunning charmer, and the skillful enchanter. R. Ammi [PA3] further said: The teachings of the Torah are not to be transmitted to an idolater, for it is said: He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for His ordinances, they have not known them. R. Johanan [PA2] said to R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]: Come, I will instruct you in the `Work of the Chariot`. He replied: I am not old enough. When he was old enough, R. Johanan [PA2] died. R. Assi [BA1 or PA3] [then] said to him: Come, I will instruct you in the `Work of the Chariot`. He replied: Had I been worthy, I should have been instructed by R. Johanan [PA2], your Master. R. Joseph [BA3] was studying the `Work of the Chariot`; the elders of Pumbeditha were studying the `Work of Creation. The latter said to the former: Let the Master teach us the `Work of the Chariot`. He replied: Teach me the `Work of Creation`. After they had taught him, they said to him: Let the Master instruct us in the `Work of the Chariot`. He replied: We have learnt concerning it: Honey and milk are under thy tongue. The things that are sweeter than honey and milk should be under thy tongue. R. Abbahu [PA3] said: [It is inferred] from this verse: The lambs [Ke-basim] will be for thy clothing. The things which are the mystery [Kibshono] of the world should be under thy clothing. They [then] said to him: We have already studied therein as far as, And he said unto me: `Son of man`. He replied: This is the very [portion of the] `Work of the Chariot`. An objection was raised: How far does [the portion of] the `Work of the Chariot` extend? Rabbi [T5] said: As far as the second And I saw. R. Isaac [T5 or PA3] said: As far as Hashmal as far as `I saw` may be taught; thenceforward, [only] the heads of chapters may be transmitted. Some, however, say: As far as `I saw`, the heads of chapters may be transmitted; thenceforward, if he is a Sage able to speculate by himself, Yes; if not, No. But may one expound [the mysteries of] Hashmal? For behold there was once a child who expounded [the mysteries of] Hashmal, and a fire went forth and consumed him! [The case of] the child is different, for he had not reached the [fitting] age. Rab Judah [BA2] said: That man be remembered for blessing, namely, Hananiah b. Hezekiah: but for him, the Book of Ezekiel would have been withdrawn, for its words contradict the words of the Torah. What did he do? Three hundred garab of oil were brought up to him, and he sat in an upper chamber and expounded it.
The Rabbis taught: There was once a child who was reading at his teacher`s house the Book of Ezekiel, and he apprehended what Hashmal was, whereupon a fire went forth from Hashmal and consumed him. So they sought to suppress the Book of Ezekiel, but Hananiah b. Hezekiah said to them: If he was a Sage, all are Sages! What does [the word] Hashmal mean?-Rab Judah [BA2] said: b.Hag.13b Living creatures speaking fire. In a Baraitha it is taught: [Hashmal means], At times they are silent, at times they speak. When the utterance goes forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they are silent, and when the utterance goes not forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, they speak.
And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. What is the meaning of `ran and returned`? Rab Judah [BA2] said: Like the flame that goes forth from the mouth of a furnace. What is the meaning of `as the appearance of a flash of lightning`? R. Jose b. Hanina [PA2] said: Like the flame that goes forth from between the potsherds. And I looked, and, behold a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud with a fire flashing up, so that a brightness was round about it; and out of the midst thereof as the colour of electrum [Hashmal], out of the midst of the fire. Whither did it go? Rab Judah [BA2] said that Rab [BA1] said: It went to subdue the whole world under the wicked Nebuchadnezzar. And wherefore all this? That the peoples of the world might not say: Into the hand of a low people the Holy One, blessed be he, delivered His children, The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Who caused me to be a servant to idol-worshippers? The iniquities of Israel, they caused Me.
Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel at the bottom hard by the living creatures. R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] said: [It means] a certain angel, who stands on the earth and his head reaches unto the living creatures. In a Baraitha it is taught: His name is Sandalfon; he is higher than his fellows by a [distance of] five hundred years` journey, and he stands behind the Chariot and wreathes crowns for his Maker. But is it so? Behold it is written: Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place,` accordingly, no one knows His place! He pronounces the [Divine] Name over the crown, and it goes and rests on His head. Raba [BA4] said: All that Ezekiel saw Isaiah saw. What does Ezekiel resemble? A villager who saw the king. And what does Isaiah resemble? A townsman who saw the king. Resh Lakish [PA2] said: What is the meaning of the verse: I will sing unto the Lord, for he is highly exalted? [It means] a song to him who is exalted over the exalted ones. For a Master said: The king of the wild animals is the lion; the king of the cattle is the ox; the king of the birds is the eagle; and man is exalted over them; and the Holy One, blessed be He, is exalted over all of then, and over the whole world.
One verse says: As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side,` and they four had the face of an ox on the left side etc. And [elsewhere] it is written: And everyone had four, faces; the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle; but the ox is not mentioned! Resh Lakish [PA2] said: Ezekiel entreated concerning it and changed it into a cherub. He said before Him: Lord of the universe, shall an accuser become an advocate! What is the meaning of cherub? R. Abbahu [PA3] said: Like a child [Rabia]; for so in Babylonia a child is called Rabia. R. Papa [BA5] said to Abaye [BA4]: But according to this, [what is the meaning of] the verse, `The first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle`: are not the face of the cherub and the face of a man the same! [The one is] a big face, and [the other is] a small face.
One verse says: Each one had six wings; and another verse says: And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings! There is no contradiction: the one refers to the time when the Temple was no longer standing, [when] as it were, the wings of the living creatures were diminished. Which of them were taken away? R. Hananel said that Rab [BA1] said: Those with which they utter song. [For] here it is written: And with twain he did fly. And one called unto another and said; and [elsewhere] it is written: Wilt thou set thine eyes upon it? It is gone. But our Rabbis said: Those with which they cover their feet, for it is said: And their feet were straight feet, and if [these wings] had not been taken away, whence could he have known! Perhaps, [the feet] were exposed and he saw them. For if you do not say so, [then from the words], As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of man, [one might infer] likewise that [the wings covering them] were taken away! They must therefore have been exposed, and he saw them; similarly here, they were exposed, and he saw them. But how can they be compared? Granted that it is customary to expose one`s face before one`s master, but it is not customary to expose one`s feet before one`s master! One verse says: Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; and another verse says: Is there any number of His armies? There is no contradiction: the one refers to a time when the Temple was standing, and the other refers to a time when the Temple was no longer standing; [when] as it were, the heavenly household was diminished.
It is taught: Rabbi [T5] said in the name of R. Abba [BA3 & PA3] Jose b. Dosai: `Thousand thousands ministered unto `Him`, this is the number of one troop; but of His troops there is no number. But Jeremiah b. Aba said: `Thousand thousand ministered unto Him` at the fiery stream, for it is said: A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him; thousand thousands ministered unto Him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. Whence does it come forth? From the sweat of the `living creatures`, And whither does it pour forth? R. Zutra b. Tobiah said that Rab [BA1] said: Upon the head of the wicked in Gehinnom, for it is said: Behold, a storm of the Lord is gone forth in fury, yea, a whirling storm; it shall whirl upon the head of the wicked. But R. Aha b. Jacob [BA4] said: Upon those who pressed forward, for it is said: Who pressed forward before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream. It is taught: R. Simeon [T4] the Pious said: These are the nine hundred and seventy four generations who pressed themselves forward to be created b.Hag.14a before the world was created, but were not created: the Holy One, blessed be He, arose and planted them in every generation, and it is they who are the insolent of each generation. But R. Nahman b. Isaac said: The words, Asher Kummetu, indicate blessing: these are the scholars who wrinkle themselves over the words of the Torah in this world, [wherefore] the Holy One, blessed be He, shall reveal a secret to them in the world to come, for it is said: `To whom a secret is poured out as a stream`. Samuel [BA1] said to R. Hiyya b. Rab: O son of a great man, come, I will tell thee something from those excellent things which thy father has said. Every day ministering angels are created from the fiery stream, and utter song, and cease to be, for it is said: They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. Now he differs from R. Samuel b. Nahmani [PA3], for R. Samuel b. Nahmani [PA3] said that R. Jonathan [T4] said: From every utterance that goes forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, an angel is created, for it is said: By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. One verse says: His raiment was as white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; and [elsewhere] it is written: His locks are curled and black as a raven! There is no contradiction: one verse [refers to God] in session, and the other in war. For a Master said: In session none is more fitting than an old man, and in war none is more fitting than a young man.
One passage says: His throne was fiery flames; and another Passage says: Till thrones were places, and One that was ancient of days did sit! There is no contradiction: one [throne] for Him, and one for David; this is the view of R. Akiba [T3]. Said R. Jose the Galilean [T3] to him: Akiba [T3], how long wilt thou treat the Divine Presence as profane! Rather, [it must mean], one for justice and one for grace. Did he accept [this explanation from him, or did he not accept it? Come and hear: One for justice and one for grace; this is the view of R. Akiba [T3]. Said R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Azariah to him: Akiba [T3], what hast thou to do with Aggadah? Cease thy talk, and turn to [the laws concerning defilement through] leprosy-signs and tent-covering! Rather, [it must mean] one for a throne and one for a stool; the throne to sit upon, the stool for a footrest, for it is said: The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot-rest. When R. Dimi [BA5] came, he said: Eighteen curses did Isaiah pronounce upon Israel, yet he was not pacified until he pronounced upon them this verse: The child shall behave insolently against the aged, and the base against the honourable. Which are the eighteen curses? It is written: For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff every stay of bread, and every stay of water,` the mighty man, and the man of war; the judge and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder; the captain of fifty; and the man of rank, and the counsellor, and the wise charmer, and the skillful enchanter. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. `Stay` this means the masters of the Bible. `Staff` this means the masters of the Mishnah, like R. Judah b. Tema [T5] and his colleagues. R. Papa [BA5] and our Rabbis dispute therein: one says that there were six hundred orders of the Mishnah, and the other that there were seven hundred orders of the Mishnah. `Every stay of bread` this means the masters of Talmud, for it is said: Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. `And every stay of water` this means the masters of Aggadah, who draw the heart of man like water by means of the Aggadah. `The `mighty man` this means the masters of traditions. `And the man of war` this means one who knows how to dispute in the warfare of the Torah. `The judge this means a judge who passes judgment in strictest accord with truth `The prophet` according to the literal meaning of the word. `The diviner` this means the King, for it is said: A divine sentence is in the lips of the King. `The elder` this means one who is worthy to sit in session. `The captain of fifty`: do not read `the captain of fifty` but `the captain of the Pentateuch`; it means one who knows how to argue in the five books of the Torah. Another explanation: `the captain of fifty` as R. Abbahu [PA3] [taught]. For R. Abbahu [PA3] said. From here [we learn] that a Methurgeman may not be appointed over a congregation, who is less than fifty years of age. `And a man of rank` this means one for whose sake favour is shown to his [entire] generation, like R. Hanina b. Dosa [T2], for instance, on high; [or] below, like R. Abbahu [PA3] at the court of Caesar. `The counsellor` [this means] one who knows how to determine the intercalation of years and the fixation of months. `And the wise [man]` -this means a disciple who makes his teachers wise. `Charmer` at the moment that he begins a Torah discourse, all become dumb. `And the skillful [`man]` this means one who understands one thing from another. `Enchanter` this means one who is worthy to have imparted to him the words of the Torah, which was given in a whisper. `And I will give children to be their princes`: what is the meaning of [the words], `I will give children to be their princes`? R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] said: It means persons who are empty of good deeds. `And babes shall rule over them`. R. Aha b. Jacob [BA4] said: [It means] foxes sons of foxes. `But he was not pacified until he said to them: The child shall behave insolently against the aged`: those persons who are empty of good deeds shall behave insolently against such as are filled with good deeds as a pomegranate [with seeds]. `And the base against the honourable`: those to whom weighty [precepts] appear as light ones will come and behave insolently against those to whom light [precepts] appear as weighty ones. R. Kattina said: Even at the time of Jerusalem`s downfall honest men did not cease from among them, for it is said: For a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father: `Thou hast a mantle, be thou our ruler`! Matters on account of which men hide themselves as in a garment thou hast `under thy hand`. And this ruin: what is the meaning of [the expression] `and this ruin`? Matters which people do not grasp unless they stumble over them are under thy hand`. In that day shall he take [an oath], saying: I am not a healer, for in my house is neither bread nor a mantle; ye shall not make me ruler of a people. Shall he take, `Take` expresses an oath, for it is said: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God [in vain]. I am not a healer:` I was not of those who are bound to the Schoolhouse. For in my house is neither bread not a mantle, for I possess no knowledge of Bible or Mishnah or Gemara, But perhaps that case is different; for had he said to them, I have knowledge, they would have said to him, Tell us then! He could have answered that he had learnt but had forgotten; why then does it say: `I am not a healer`? [It must mean], I am not a healer at all. But is it so? Behold Raba [BA4] said: Jerusalem was not destroyed until honest men ceased therefrom, for it is said: Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon him. There is no contradiction: b.Hag.14b the one [verse] refers to religious matters, the other to business. In regard to religious matters, there were [honest men left]; in regard to business, there were no [honest men left].
Our Rabbis taught: Once R. Johanan b. Zakkai [T1] was riding on an ass when going on a journey, and R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arak was driving the ass from behind. [R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]] said to him: Master, teach me a chapter of the `Work of the Chariot`. He answered: Have I not taught you thus: `Nor [the work of] the chariot in the presence of one, unless he is a Sage and understands of his own knowledge`? [R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]] them said to him: Master, permit me to say before thee something which thou hast taught me. He answered, Say on! Forthwith R. Johanan b. Zakkai [T1] dismounted from the ass, and wrapped himself up, and sat upon a stone beneath an olive tree. Said [R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]] to him: Master, wherefore didst thou dismount from the ass? He answered: Is it proper that whilst thou art expounding the `Work of the Chariot`, and the Divine Presence is with us, and the ministering angels accompany us, I should ride on the ass! Forthwith, R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arak began his exposition of the `work of the Chariot`, and fire came down from heaven and encompassed all the trees in the field; [thereupon] they all began to utter [divine] song. What was the song they uttered? Praise the Lord from the earth, ye sea-monsters, and all deeps... fruitful trees and all cedars... Hallelujah. An angel [then] answered from the fire and said: This is the very `Work of the Chariot`. [Thereupon] R. Johanan b. Zakkai [T1] rose and kissed him on his head and said: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, Who hath given a son to Abraham our father, who knoweth to speculate upon, and to investigate, and to expound the `Work of the Chariot` There are some who preach well but do not act well, others act well but do not preach well, but thou dost preach well and act well. Happy art thou, O Abraham our father, that R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arak hath come forth from thy loins. Now when these things were told R. Joshua [T2], he and R. Jose [T4] the priest were going on a journey. They said: Let us also expound the `Work of the Chariot`; so R. Joshua [T2] began an exposition. Now that day was the summer solstice; [nevertheless] the heavens became overcast with clouds and a kind of rainbow appeared in the cloud, and the ministering angels assembled and came to listen like people who assemble and come to watch the entertainments of a bridegroom and bride. [Thereupon] R. Jose [T4] the priest went and related what happened before R. Johanan b. Zakkai [T1]; and [the latter] said: Happy are ye, and happy is she that bore you; happy are my eyes that have seen thus. Moreover, in my dream, I and ye were reclining on Mount Sinai, when a Bath Kol was sent to us, [saying]: Ascend hither, ascend hither! [Here are] great banqueting chambers, and fine dining couches prepared for you; you and your disciples and your disciples` disciples are designated for the third class. But is this so? For behold it is taught: R. Jose b. R. Judah [T5] said: There were three discourses: R. Joshua [T2] discoursed before R. Johanan b. Zakkai [T1], R. Akiba [T3] discoursed before R. Joshua [T2], Hanania b. Hakinai [T3] discoursed before R. Akiba [T3]; whereas R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. `Arak he does not count! One who discoursed [himself], and others discoursed before him, he counts; one who discoursed [himself], but others did not discourse before him, he does not count. But behold there is Hanania b. Hakinai [T3] before whom others did not discourse, yet he counts him! He at least discoursed before one who discoursed [before others]. Our Rabbis taught: Four men entered the `Garden`, namely, Ben `Azzai and Ben Zoma [T3], Aher, and R. Akiba [T3]. R. Akiba [T3] said to them: When ye arrive at the stones of pure marble, say not, water, water! For it is said: He that speaketh falsehood shall not be established before mine eyes. Ben `Azzai cast a look and died. Of him Scripture says: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Ben Zoma [T3] looked and became demented. Of him Scripture says: Hast thou found honey? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. Aher mutilated the shoots. R. Akiba [T3] departed unhurt.
Ben Zoma [T3] was asked: Is it permitted to castrate a dog? He replied: Neither shall ye do this in your land, [this means], to none that is in your land shall ye do thus. Ben Zoma [T3] was [further] asked: May a high priest marry a maiden who has become pregnant? Do we [in such a case] take into consideration Samuel`s [BA1] statement, for Samuel [BA1] said, b.Hag.15a I can have repeated sexual connections without [causing] bleeding; or is perhaps the case of Samuel [BA1] rare? He replied: the case of Samuel [BA1] is rare, but we do consider [the possibility] that she may have conceived in a bath. But behold Samuel [BA1] said: A spermatic emission that does not shoot forth like an arrow cannot fructify! In the first instance, it had also shot forth like an arrow.
Our Rabbis taught: Once R. Joshua b. Hanania was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and Ben Zoma [T3] saw him and did not stand up before him. So [R. Joshua [T2]] said to him: Whence and whither, Ben Zoma [T3]? He replied: I was gazing between the upper and the lower waters, and there is only a bare three fingers` [breadth] between them, for it is said: And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters like a dove which hovers over her young without touching [them]. Thereupon R. Joshua [T2] said to his disciples: Ben Zoma [T3] is still outside. See now, when was it that `the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water? On the first day [of Creation]; but the division took place on the second day, for it is written: And let it divide the waters from the waters!` And how big [is the interval]? R. Aha b. Jacob [BA4] said, As a hair`s breadth; and the Rabbis said: As [between] the boards of a landing bridge. Mar Zutra [BA6], or according to others R. Assi [BA1 or PA3], said: As [between] two cloaks spread one over the other; and others say, as [between] two cups tilted one over the other.
Aher mutilated the shoots. Of him Scripture says: Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt. What does it refer to? He saw that permission was granted to Metatron to sit and write down the merits of Israel. Said he: It is taught as a tradition that on high there is no sitting and no emulation, and no back, and no weariness. Perhaps, God forfend! there are two divinities! [Thereupon] they led Metatron forth, and punished him with sixty fiery lashes, saying to him: Why didst thou not rise before him when thou didst see him? Permission was [then] given to him to strike out the merits of Aher. A Bath Kol went forth and said: Return, ye backsliding children except Aher. [Thereupon] he said: Since I have been driven forth from yonder world, let me go forth and enjoy this world. So Aher went forth into evil courses. He went forth, found a harlot and demanded her. She said to him: Art thou not Elisha b. Abuyah [T3]? [But] when he tore a radish out of its bed on the Sabbath and gave it to her, she said: It is another [Aher]. After his apostasy, Aher asked R. Meir [T4] [a question], saying to him: What is the meaning of the verse: God hath made even the one as well as the other? He replied: It means that for everything that God created he created [also] its counterpart. He created mountains, and created hills; He created seas, and created rivers. Said [Aher] to him: R. Akiba [T3], thy Master, did not explain it thus, but [as follows]: He created righteous, and created wicked; He created the Garden of Eden, and created Gehinnom. Everyone has two portions, one in the Garden of Eden and one in Gehinnom. The righteous man, being meritorious, takes his own portions and his fellow`s portion in the Garden of Eden. The wicked man, being guilty, takes his own portion and his fellow`s portion in Gehinnom. R. Mesharsheya said: What is the Biblical proof for this? In the case of the righteous, it is written: Therefore in their land they shall possess double. In the case of the wicked it is written: And destroy them with double destruction.
After his apostasy, Aher asked R. Meir [T4]: What is the meaning of the verse: Gold and glass cannot equal it; neither shall the exchange thereof be vessels of fine gold? He answered: These are the words of the Torah, which are hard to acquire like vessels of fine gold, but are easily destroyed like vessels of glass. Said [Aher] to him: R. Akiba [T3], thy Master, did not explain thus, but [as follows]: Just as vessels of gold and vessels of glass, though they be broken, have a remedy, even so a scholar, though he has sinned, has a remedy. [Thereupon, R. Meir [T4]] said to him: Then, thou, too, repent! He replied: I have already heard from behind the Veil: Return ye backsliding children except Aher. Our Rabbis taught: Once Aher was riding on a horse on the Sabbath, and R. Meir [T4] was walking behind him to learn Torah at his mouth. Said [Aher] to him: Meir [T4], turn back, for I have already measured by the paces of my horse that thus far extends the Sabbath limit. He replied: Thou, too, go back! [Aher] answered: Have I not already told thee that I have already heard from behind the Veil: `Return ye backsliding children` except Aher. [R. Meir [T4]] prevailed upon him and took him, to a schoolhouse. [Aher] said to a child: Recite for me thy verse! [The child] answered: There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. He then took him to another schoolhouse. [Aher] said to a child: Recite for me thy verse! He answered: For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God. He took him to yet another schoolhouse, and [Aher] said b.Hag.15b to a child: Recite for me thy verse! He answered: And thou, that art spoiled, what doest thou, that thou clothest thyself with scarlet, that thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, that thou enlargest thine eyes with paint? In vain dost thou make thyself fair etc. He took him to yet another schoolhouse until he took him to thirteen schools: all of them quoted in similar vein. When he said to the last one, Recite for my thy verse, he answered: But unto the wicked God saith: `What hast thou to do to declare my statutes etc.? That child was a stutterer, so it sounded as though he answered: `But to Elisha God saith`. Some say that [Aher] had a knife with him, and he cut him up and sent him to the thirteen schools: and some say that he said: Had I a knife in my hand I would have cut him up. When Aher died, they said: Let him not be judged, nor let him enter the world to come. Let him not be judged, because he engaged in the study of the Torah; nor let him enter the world to come, because he sinned. R. Meir [T4] said: It were better that he should be judged and that he should enter the world to come. When I die I shall cause smoke to rise from his grave. When R. Meir [T4] died, smoke rose up from Aher`s grave. R. Johanan [PA2] said: [What] a mighty deed to burn his Master! There was one amongst us, and we cannot save him; if I were to take him by the hand, who would snatch him from me! [But] said he: When I die, I shall extinguish the smoke from his grave. When R. Johanan [PA2] died, the smoke ceased from Aher`s grave. The public mourner began [his oration] concerning him thus: Even the janitor could not stand before thee, O master!
Aher`s daughter [once] came before Rabbi [T5] and said to him: O master, support me! He asked her: `Whose daughter art thou?` She replied: I am Aher`s daughter. Said he: Are any of his children left in the world? Behold it is written: He shall have neither son nor son`s son among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. She answered: Remember his Torah and not his deeds. Forthwith, a fire came down and enveloped Rabbi`s bench. [Thereupon] Rabbi [T5] wept and said: If it be so on account of those who dishonour her, how much more so on account of those who honour her!
But how did R. Meir [T4] learn Torah at the mouth of Aher? Behold Rabbah b. Bar Hana said that R. Johanan [PA2] said: What is the meaning of the verse, For the priest`s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the Law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts? [This means that] if the teacher is like an angel of the Lord of hosts, they should seek the Law at his mouth, but if not, they should not seek the Law at his mouth! Resh Lakish [PA2] answered: R. Meir [T4] found a verse and expounded it [as follows]: Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thy heart unto my knowledge. It does not say, `unto their knowledge`, but `unto my knowledge`. R. Hanina [PA1, PA3 or PA5] said, [he decided it] from here: Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father`s house etc. The verses contradict one another! There is no contradiction: in the one case Scripture refers to an adult, in the other to a child. When R. Dimi [BA5] came [to Babylon] he said: In the West, they say: R. Meir [T4] ate the date and threw the kernel away.
Raba [BA4] expounded: What is the meaning of the verse: I went down to the garden of nuts, to look at the green plants of the valley etc.? Why are the scholars likened to the nut? To tell you that just as [in the case of] the nut, though it be spoiled with mud and filth, yet are its contents not contemned, so [in the case of] a scholar, although he may have sinned, yet is his Torah not contemned.
Rabbah b. Shila [once] met Elijah. He said to him: What is the Holy One, blessed be He, doing? He answered: He utters traditions in the name of all the Rabbis, but in the name of R. Meir [T4] he does not utter. Rabbah [BA3] asked him, Why? Because he learnt traditions at the mouth of Aher. Said [Rabbah] to him: But why? R. Meir [T4] found a pomegranate; he ate [the fruit] within it, and the peel he threw away! He answered: Now he says: Meir [T4] my son says: When a man suffers, to what expression does the Shechinah give utterance? `My head is heavy, my arm is heavy`. If the Holy One, blessed be He, is thus grieved over the blood of the wicked, how much more so over the blood of the righteous that is shed. Samuel [BA1] found Rab Judah [BA2] leaning on the door-bolt weeping. So he said to him: O, keen scholar, wherefore dost thou weep? He replied: Is it a small thing that is written concerning the Rabbis? Where is he that counted, where is he that weighed? Where is he that counted the towers? `Where is he that counted?` for they counted all the letters in the Torah. `Where is he that weighed?` for they weighed the light and the heavy in the Torah. `Where is he that counted the towers?` for they taught three hundred halachoth concerning a `tower which flies in the air`. And R. Ammi [PA3] said: Three hundred questions did Doeg and Ahitophel raise concerning a `tower which flies in the air`. Yet we have learnt: Three kings and four commoners have no share in the world to come. What then shall become of us? Said [Samuel [BA1]] to him. O, keen scholar, there was impurity in their hearts. But what of Aher? Greek song did not cease from his mouth. It is told of Aher that when he used to rise [to go] from the schoolhouse, many heretical books used to fall from his lap.
Nimos the weaver asked R. Meir [T4]: Does all wool that goes down into the [dyeing] kettle come up [properly dyed]? He replied: All that was clean on its mother comes up [properly dyed], all that was not clean on its mother does not come up [properly dyed]. R. Akiba [T3] went up unhurt and went down unhurt; and of him Scripture says: Draw me, we will run after thee. And R. Akiba [T3] too the ministering angels sought to thrust away; [but] the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Let this elder be, for he is worthy to avail himself of my glory. b.Hag.16a By what Biblical exposition was he able to learn this? Rabbah b. Bar Hanah [BA3] said that R. Johanan [PA2] said: And he came from the myriads holy he is the Sign among His myriad. And R. Abbahu [PA3] said: He is preeminent above ten thousand he is the Example among His myriad. And Resh Lakish [PA2] said: The Lord of hosts is His names he is the Lord among His host. And R. Hiyya b. Abba said that R. Johanan [PA2] said: But the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was `not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. And behold, the Lord passed by.
Our Rabbis taught: Six things are said concerning demons: in regard to three, they are like the ministering angels; and in regard to three, like human beings. `In regard to three they are like the ministering angels`: they have wings like the ministering angels; and they fly from one end of the world to the other like the ministering angels; and they know what will happen like the ministering angels. [You say], `They know` you cannot mean that! Rather, they hear from behind the Veil like the ministering angels. `And in regard to three, they are like human beings`: they eat and drink like human beings; they propagate like human beings; and they die like human beings. Six things are said of human beings: in regard to three, they are like the ministering angels, and in regard to three, they are like beasts. `In regard to three, they are like the ministering angels`: they have understanding like the ministering angels; and they walk erect like the ministering angels; and they can talk in the holy tongue like the ministering angels. `In regard to three, they are like beasts`: they eat and drink like beasts; and they propagate like beasts, and they relieve themselves like beasts. whosoever speculates upon four things, it were a mercy if he had not come into the world etc. Granted as regards what is above, what is beneath, what [will be] after, that is well. But as regards what was before what happened, happened! Both R. Johanan [PA2] and Resh Lakish [PA2] say: It is like a human king who said to his servants: Build for me a great palace upon the dunghill. They went and built it for him. It is not the king`s wish [thenceforth] to have the name of the dunghill mentioned. Whosoever takes no thought for the honour of his maker, it were a mercy if he had not come into the world. What does this mean? R. R. Abba [BA3 & PA3] said: It refers to one who looks at the rainbow. R. Joseph [BA3] said: It refers to one who commits transgression in secret. `One who looks at a rainbow`, for it is written: As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. R. Joseph [BA3] said: `It refers to one who commits a transgression in secret`, in accordance with R. Isaac`s [T5 or PA3] teaching. For R. Isaac [T5 or PA3] said: When anyone commits a transgression in secret, it is as though he thrust aside the feet of the Divine Presence, for it is said: Thus saith the Lord: The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. But is this so? For behold R. Elai the elder said: If a man sees that his [evil] inclination is prevailing upon him, let him go to a place where he is not known, and put on black garments, and wrap himself up in black garments, and let him do what his heart desires; but let him not profane the Name of Heaven publicly! There is no contradiction. The one case speaks of one who is able to overcome his [evil] inclination; the other case of one who is not able to overcome his [evil] inclination. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] b. R. Nahmani [PA3], the speaker of Resh Lakish [PA2] expounded: Anyone who looks at three things, his eyes become dim; at the rainbow, and at the Prince, and at the priests. At the rainbow, because it is written: As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain... This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. At the Prince, for it is written: And thou shalt put of thy honour upon him. One who looks at the priests at the time when the Temple existed, when they stood upon their platform and blessed Israel with the Distinguished Name [of God]. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y] son of R. Nahmani [PA3], the speaker of Resh Lakish [PA2] expounded: What is the meaning of the verse: Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a familiar friend. If the evil inclination say to thee: Sin and the Holy One, blessed be He, will pardon, believe it not, for it is said: `Trust ye not in a friend`, and `friend` [Rea`] means none other than one`s evil inclination, for it is said: For the inclination of man`s heart is evil [Ra`]. And `familiar friend` means none other than the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is said: Thou art the familiar friend of my youth. Perhaps thou wilt say: Who testifies against me? The stones of a man`s home and the beams of his house testify against him, for it is said: For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. But the Sages say: A man`s soul testifies against him, for it is said: Keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. What is it that lies in a man`s bosom? You must say, it is the soul. R. Zerika said: Two ministering angels that accompany him testify against him, for it is said: For he will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. But the Sages say: A man`s limbs testify against him, for it is said: Therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and I am God.
[A] [77a] They do not expound upon the laws of prohibited relationships [Lev.18] before three persons, the Works of Creation [Gen. l] before two, or the Chariot [Ezek. l] before one,
[B] unless he was a sage and understands of his own knowledge.
[C] Whoever reflects upon four things would have been better off had he not been born:
[D] what is above, what is below, what is before, and what is beyond.
[E] And whoever has no concern for the glory of his maker would have been better off had he not been born. y.Hag.2.1 I
[A] The forbidden degrees are not expounded to three.R. [Ab]ba [said] in the name of R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y], ``This [halakhah] comes from R. Aqiba`` [in whose view one participating actively and passively in a prohibited sexual encounter violates one prohibition, based on his exposition of a particular verse].
[B] But [not] according to R. Ishmael [T3], who taught, ``Explicit warnings [must be given] about the matter [before the transgressor becomes liable to punishment],`` based on his exposition of the verses; the subtle distinction may easily be lost by the inattention stemming from by-play [between two of the three students].
[C] Is this the law?
[D] R. Ammi [PA3] sat teaching, ``[One gives a warning to] both the active partner and to the passive one``
[E] This tells [us] that the law is according to R. Ishmael [T3]. y.Hag.2.1 II
[A] Nor the Work of Creation to two. R. [Ab]ba in the name of R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y]: ``This [halakhah] comes from R. Aqiba.``
[B] But they expound [the Work of Creation before two], as R. Ishmael [T3] holds.
[C] One deduces that the law is according to R. Ishmael [T3] from the following:
[D] R. Judah bar Pazzi sat teaching, ``In the beginning the world consisted of water upon water.``
[E] R. Judah bar Pazzi expounded, ``In the beginning the world consisted of water [heaped] on water.`` That indicates that the law accords with the view of R. Ishmael [T3].
[F] What is the proof? ``And the Spirit/Wind of God moved over the face of the waters`` (Gen.1.2).
[G] Then he made the snow - ``He casts forth his ice like morsels`` (Ps.147.17).
[H] Then he made the earth - ``For to the snow he says, `Become earth``` (Job 37.6).
[I] And the earth stands on the waters: ``To him who spread out the earth on the waters`` (Ps.136.6).
[J] And the waters stand on the mountains: ``The waters stood over the mountains`` (Ps.104.6).
[K] And the mountains stand on the wind: ``For behold, he forms the mountains and creates the wind`` (Amos 4.13).
[L] And the air depends on the storm-wind: ``The storm-wind fulfills his command`` (Ps.148.8).
[M] The Holy One, blessed be he, made the storm-wind like a sort of amulet suspended from his arm, as it is said, ``And underneath are the arms of the world`` (Deut.33.27).
[N] ``For behold, he forms the mountains`` - this is one of the six biblical passages over which Rabbi wept while reading them: ``Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth`` (Zeph.2.3), ``Hate evil, and love good`` (Amos 5.15), ``Let him put his mouth in the dust`` (Lam.3.29), ``For God will bring every evil deed into judgment`` (Eccl.12.14), ``And Samuel [BA1] said to Saul, `Why have you provoked me?``` (1 Sam.28.15).
[O] [As to the last of these, the relevance of which is shown in a moment,] Samuel [BA1] said to him, ``You have succeeded only in provoking your creator against me. You have made me your idol. Do you not know that just as they punish him who serves [an idol], so they punish him who is worshipped? But even more, I thought that it was the Day of Judgment, and I was afraid.``
[P] Are not the words an argument a minori ad maius: just as Samuel [BA1], the chief of the prophets, about whom it is written, ``And all Israel from Beersheba to Dan knew`` (1 Sam.3.20), was afraid of the Day of Judgment, how much more should we fear it!
[Q] The argument is supported by [the following verse: ``He forms the hills and creates the wind`` (Amos 4.13). Even matters that are not sinful are inscribed against a man upon his [heavenly] tablet.
[R] And who tells man? The breath from his mouth.
[S] R. Haggai [PA4] in the name of R. Yabes: ```He forms the hills and creates the wind/breath``` (Amos 4.13)
[T] R. Haggai [PA4] also in the name of R. Yabes: ``These men of Sepphoris [say that the word tohu] means `darkness` and `a gloomy place.```
[U] R. Judah bar Pazzi in the name of R. Yose b. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y]: ``Hadrian asked the proselyte Aqila, `Is it true that you [Jews] say that the world is suspended on air?` `Yes,` said Aqila.
[V] ``Hadrian said to him, `How will you prove it to me?`
[W] ``Aqila said to him, `Bring me young camels.` He brought him young camels. He loaded and raised them up. He made them sink down, took them and strangled them.
[X] ``He said to Hadrian, `See your camels, raise them up!`
[Y] ``Hadrian said, `After you have strangled them!`
[Z] ``He said to him, `What do they lack except the air that has gone out of them?``` y.Hag.2.1 III
[A] Nor the Chariot before one: Is this also according to R. Aqiba?
[B] [No!] It is the opinion of all [the sages], in order that a man might know that he should have consideration for the glory of his Creator.
[C] Has not Rab [BA1] said, ``A man is not permitted to speak on [this] subject in the presence of his master unless he has approved or unless he has served [his apprenticeship]``?
[D] How does one proceed?
[E] First his master summarizes for him the chief points of the chapters, then he approves [to the disciple expounding the rest].
[F] R. Hiyya in the name of R. Yohanan [PA2]: ``Rabbi had a distinguished disciple, and he expounded one chapter in the Work of the Chariot without Rabbi`s permission. He was smitten by a skin disease.``
[G] This teaching is like two paths, one of fire and one of snow. If one inclines to this side, one dies by fire; to that side, and one dies by snow. What should one do? Walk in the middle. y.Hag.2.1 III:2
[A] Once Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai [T1] was going on the road, riding on an ass, and R. Eleazar ben Arak [T2]h was walking behind him. [Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]] said to Yohanan [PA2], ``Master, teach me a chapter in the Work of the Chariot.``
[B] [R. Yohanan [PA2]] said to him, ``Have not the sages taught thus: Nor the Chariot unless he is a sage and understands of his own knowledge?``
[C] [R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3]] said to him, ``Master, give me permission to speak about the subject in your presence.`` He said to him, ``Speak!``
[D] As soon as R. Eleazar ben Arak [T2]h opened [his discourse] on the Work of the Chariot, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai [T1] got off the ass, saying, ``It is not right that I should be hearing about the glory of my Creator while still seated on an ass!`` They went and sat down under a tree.
[E] Then fire fell from heaven and surrounded them, and the ministering angels skipped before them like wedding guests rejoicing before the bridegroom. An angel answered from the midst of the fire and said, ``According to your words, Eleazar ben Arak [T2]h, is the Work of the Chariot.``
[F] Immediately all the trees opened their mouths and sang, ``Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy`` (Ps.96.12).
[G] When R. Eleazar ben Arak [T2]h finished [expounding] the Work of the Chariot, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai [T1] stood up and kissed him upon his head and said, ``Blessed be the Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has given to Abraham our father a wise son who knows how to expound on the glory of our father who is in heaven. Some expound well, but do not fulfill well; some fulfill well, but do not expound well. Eleazar ben Arak [T2]h expounds well and fulfills well. Happy are you, Abraham our father, that Eleazar ben Arak [T2]h has come forth from your loins.``
[H] When R. Yose the Priest and R. Simeon ben Nathanel heard [about it], they also began [a discourse] on the Work of the Chariot. They said: it was a day in the summer season, and the earth shook and a rainbow appeared in the cloud. And a [heavenly] echo came forth and said to them, ``Behold, the place is vacant for you and the dining couches laid out for you. You and your disciples are destined for the third stage of heaven.``
[I] This corresponds to that which is said: ``In your presence there is fulness of joy`` (Ps.16.11). There are seven classes of righteous in the time to come. y.Hag.2.1 III:3
[A] Another time, R. Joshua [T2] was walking on a road and Ben Zoma [T3] came up opposite him. Joshua greeted him, but he did not reply to him. He said to him, ``Whence and where, Ben Zoma [T3]?``
[B] Ben Zoma [T3] said to him, ``I have been speculating on the Work of [77b] Creation. Between the upper and the lower waters there is nothing but a hand`s breadth. It is said here, `hovering,` and it is said there: `As an eagle stirs up its nest [and] hovers over its young` (Deut.32.11). Just as the `hovering` which is spoken of there [implies] almost touching but not quite, so the `hovering` spoken of here is `almost touching but not quite.```
[C] R. Joshua [T2] said to his disciples, ``See, Ben Zoma [T3] is outside.``
[D] It was only a few days before Ben Zoma [T3] died. y.Hag.2.1 III:4
[A] R. Judah bar Pazzi in the name of R. Yose b. R. Judah [T4; PA4 or PA5 in Y]: ``Three put forward their teaching [on this subject] before their master, R. Joshua [T2] before Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai [T1], Rabbi Aqiba before R. Joshua [T2], Hananiah ben Hakinai [T3] before R. Aqiba. After that time their knowledge becomes unclear [i.e., the oral tradition of the Merkabah is no longer reliable].`` y.Hag.2.1 III:5
[A] Four entered the Garden [or Paradise]. One cast a look and died. One cast a look and was stricken [or went mad]. One cast a look and cut among the shoots. One entered safely and departed safely.
[B] Ben Azzai [T3] cast a look and was stricken. Of him Scripture says:``If you have found honey, eat only enough for you`` (Prov.25.16).
[C] Ben Zoma [T3] cast a look and died. Of him Scripture says: ``Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints`` (Ps.116.15).
[D] Aher cast a look and cut among the shoots. y.Hag.2.1 III:6
[A] Who is Aher? Elisha ben Abbuyah, who slew the young scholars of the Torah.
[B] They say: He used to kill every disciple he saw mastering the Torah. Moreover, he used to enter the schoolhouse, and when he saw the pupils in the presence of the teacher he would say, ``What are these doing here? This one should be a mason; this one should be a carpenter; this one should be a fisherman; this one should be a tailor.``
[C] When they heard this they would leave [the teacher] and go [and become workmen].
[D] Of him Scripture says: ``Let not your mouth lead you into sin`` (Eccl.5.5).
[E] For he ruined his own [good] deeds. Also at the time of the persecution they [the Romans] made [the Jews] carry burdens [on the Sabbath], and the Jews arranged it so that two people should share one load, because of the rule that two people doing one piece of work [are not liable in regard to a Sabbath violation].
[G] Elisha said, ``Make them carry the loads by themselves.``
[H] They went and made them carry them by themselves, but they arranged to unload in a karmelit [an area that cannot be classified either as private ground or as public ground], so that they might not bring them out from private to public ground [which is forbidden].
[I] Elisha said, ``Make them carry bottles`` [which would get broken if left lying].
[J] R. Aqiba entered safely, and departed safely. Of him Scripture says: ``Draw me after you, let us run`` (Song 1.4). y.Hag.2.1 III:7
[A] Rabbi Meir [T4] was sitting teaching in the schoolhouse of Tiberias. Elisha, his master, passed by, riding on a horse on the Sabbath day. They came and said to him, ``Look, your master is outside.`` He stopped his teaching and went out to him.
[B] He said to him, ``What were you expounding today?``
[C] [Meir [T4]] said to him, ``And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning`` (Job 42.12).
[D] Elisha said to him, ``With what [verse] did you begin to expound it?``
[E] He said to him, ``And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before`` (Job 42.10), for he doubled for him all his wealth.
[F] Elisha said, ``Alas for the things that are lost and not found [masters of Torah]. Aqiba, your master, did not explain it thus, but, `And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job from [i.e., because of] his beginning` on account of the merit of the commandments and good deeds that he possessed in his former state.``
[G] [Elisha] said to him, ``And what else have you been expounding?``
[H] He said to him, ``Better is the end of a thing than its beginning`` (Eccl.7.8).
[I] He said to him, ``How did you begin to expound it?``
[J] He said to him, ``[By comparing it] with a man who begot children in his youth and they died, then in his old age he started again. The end of the matter was better than its beginning. [Also by comparing it] with a man who did business in his youth and lost money, while in his old age he made a profit. The end of the matter was better than its beginning. [Also by comparing it] with a man who learned Torah in his youth and forgot it, while in his old age he learned and remembered it [lit., kept it alive] . The end of the matter was better than its beginning.``
[K] [Elisha] said, ``Alas for the things that are lost and not found! Aqiba, your master, did not explain it thus, but, `The end of a thing is better than its beginning` so long as it is good from its beginning.
[L] ``And so it happened to me. My father, Abbuyah, was one of the important people in Jerusalem. When the day of my circumcision came, he invited all the important people of Jerusalem and sat them down in one room, with R. Eliezer [T2 or T5] and R. Joshua [T2] in another room.
[M] ``When they had eaten and drunk they began stamping their feet and dancing.
[N] ``R. Eliezer [T2 or T5] said to R. Joshua [T2], ``While they are occupying themselves in their way we will occupy ourselves in our way.` So they sat down and engaged in the study of the Torah, from the Pentateuch to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Writings. And fire fell from heaven and surrounded them.
[O] ``Abbuyah said to them, `My masters, have you come to burn my house down around me?`
[P] ``They said, `God forbid! But we were sitting searching around in the words of the Torah from the Pentateuch to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Writings, and the words were as alive as when they were given from Mt. Sinai. And the fire shone around us as it shone from Mt. Sinai.`
[Q] ``And the essential attribute of their being handed over at Sinai? They were given only by fire: `And the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven` (Deut.4.11).
[R] ``Abbuyah, my father, said to them, `My masters, if this is the power of the Torah, if this son of mine lives I will dedicate this son of mine to Torah.` Because his [original] intention was not pure [lit., for the sake of heaven], therefore it was not realized in the case of this man [Elisha, speaking of himself in the third person].``
[S] He said to him, ``And what else have you been expounding?``
[T] He said to him, ``Gold and glass cannot equal it`` (Job 28.17).
[U] He said to him, ``How did you begin to expound it?``
[V] He said to him, ``The words of Torah are hard to acquire like vessels of gold but easy to lose like vessels of glass. Just as vessels of gold and glass, when they are broken, can be repaired and become as they [originally] were, so a scholar who forgets his learning can go and learn it [again] as at the beginning.``
[W] He said to him, ``[You have gone] far enough, Meir [T4]. Here is the Sabbath limit.``
[X] He said to him, ``How do you know it?``
[Y] He said to him, ``From the steps [lit., hooves] of my horse which I am counting; he has gone two thousand cubits.``
[Z] He said to him, ``You have all this wisdom, yet you do not repent!``
[AA] ``I cannot,`` he said.
[BB] ``Why not?`` R. Meir [T4] said to him.
[CC] Elisha said, ``Once I was passing before the Holy of Holies riding upon my horse on the Day of Atonement which happened to fall upon a Sabbath, and I heard an echo coming out of the Holy of Holies saying, `Repent, children, except for Elisha ben Abbuyah, for he knew my power yet rebelled against me!``` [allusion to Jer.3.22].
[DD] Why did all this happen to him?
[EE] Once Elisha was sitting and studying in the plain of Gennesaret, and he saw a man climb to the top of a palm tree, take a mother bird with her young, and descend safely. The following day he saw another man climbing to the top of the palm tree; he took the young birds but released the mother. When he descended a snake bit him and he died.
[FF] Elisha thought, ``It is written, `[If you chance to come upon a bird`s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young;] you shall let the mother go, but the young shall you take to yourself; that it may go well with you, and that you may live long` (Deut.22.6f.). Where is the welfare of this man, and where his length of days?``
[GG] He did not know that R. Jacob [T4] had explained it before him: ``That it may go well with you`` in the World to Come which is wholly good, ``And that you may live long,`` in the time which is wholly long.
[FHH Some say [he defected] because he saw the tongue of Rabbi Judah [T5] the Baker, dripping blood, in the mouth of a dog. He said, ``This is the Torah, and this its reward! This is the tongue that was bringing forth the words of the Torah as befits them. This is the tongue that labored in the Torah all its days. This is the Torah, and this its reward! It seems as though there is no reward [for righteousness] and no resurrection of the dead.``
[II] But some say that when his mother was pregnant with him, she passed by some heathen temples and smelled their particular kind of incense. And that odor pierced her body like the poison of a snake. y.Hag.2.1 III:8
[A] Sometime later Elisha fell sick. They came and told R. Meir [T4], ``Behold, your master is ill.`` He went, intending to visit him, and he found him ill. [77c] He said to him, ``Will you not repent?``
[B] He said, ``If sinners repent, are they accepted?``
[C] [Meir [T4]] replied, ``Is it not written thus: `You cause a man to repent up to the point when he becomes dust` (Ps.90.3)? Up to the time when life is crushed are repentant sinners received.``
[D] At that moment, Elisha wept, then he departed [this life] and died. And R. Meir [T4] rejoiced in his heart, thinking, ``My master died in repentance.``
[E] When they buried him, fire came down from heaven and consumed his grave. They came and told R. Meir [T4], ``Behold, your master`s grave has been set on fire.``
[F] He went, intending to visit it, and found it burning.
[G] What did he do? He took his long prayer cloak and spread it over the corpse saying, ```Pass the night,` (Ruth 3.13). Stay in this world which is like the night. `And it shall be in the morning` (Ruth 3.13). This is the world to come which is all morning. `If he will redeem you, well and good; let him redeem you` (Ruth 3.13) - this is the Holy One, blessed be he, of whom it is written: `The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made` (Ps.145.9). `And if it does not please him to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you``` (Ruth 3.13).
[H] Then the fire was extinguished.
[I] They said to R. Meir [T4], ``If they ask you in that world [to come, after death], `Whom do you intend to visit [first], your father or your master` [what will you do]?``
[J] He said to them, ``I will visit my master first, and after that, my father.``
[K] They said to him, ``Will they hearken to your plea [for Elisha]?``
[L] He said to them, ``Have we not been taught thus:They may save the casing of the scroll together with the scroll [and] the casing of the phylacteries together with the phylacteries [m.Shab.16.1]? Elisha Aher will be saved through the merit of his [study of the] Torah.`` y.Hag.2.1 III:9
[A] Some time later, Elisha`s daughters went to receive alms from Rabbi. Rabbi decreed saying, ```Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children``` (Ps.109.12).
[B] They said to him, ``Rabbi, do not look upon his deeds but on his Torah.``
[C] At that moment Rabbi wept and decreed that they should be provided for. He said, ``If these are [the children] raised by this man who labored in the Torah for the wrong motives, how much more would be achieved by one who labors in it for the right motives [lit., for the sake of heaven]!``
y.Hag.2.1 III:10
[A] R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] said in the name of Ben Sirah, ```Why attempt to find out what is hidden from you? Why search out what is deeper than Sheol? Reflect [only] on what is permitted to you. Hidden things are no concern of yours``` (Eccl.3.20-21).
[B] Rab [BA1] said, ```Let the lying lips be dumb` (Ps.31.19). Let them be confounded, crushed, silenced. Let them be confounded - as you say:`And the Lord said to him, ``Who has made man`s mouth? Who makes him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?``` (Exod.4.11). Let them be crushed, as you say: `Behold we were binding sheaves` (Gen.37.7). Let them be silenced, according to the literal meaning: `Which speak arrogantly against the righteous` (Ps.31.19), who speak concerning the Righteous One of the World words that he has withheld from his creatures.
[C] ```In pride and contempt` (Ps.31.19) - this refers to the one who boasts, saying, `I will expound the Work of Creation,` thinking that he is like one who exalts [his Creator], while in reality he is only like one who despises him.`` y.Hag.2.1 III:11
[A] R. Yose ben Hanina said, ``He who exalts himself at the cost of his fellow`s humiliation has no share in the World to Come. How much more he who exalts himself against the Life of the Worlds! What is written after it? `How abundant is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you` (Ps.31.20). Let him have no [share] in your abundant goodness.`` y.Hag.2.1 III:12
[A] R. Levi [T6 or PA3] said, ```It is the glory of God to conceal a thing` (Prov.25.2). It is the glory of God to conceal a thing before the world was created. `It is the glory of kings to search a thing out` (Prov.25.2) - after the world was created.``
[B] R. Levi [T6 or PA3] said, ```Do you know this from of old?` [i.e., before creation,] but you [can have knowledge] `since man was placed on the earth``` (Job 20.4). y.Hag.2.1 III:13
[A] R. Jonah [PA5] said in the name of R. R. Abba [BA3 & PA3], ``It is written, `For ask now about the former days which were before you` (Deut.4.32). One might conclude that [one may inquire what happened] before the Work of Creation. [But] Scripture says: `Since the day when God created man upon the earth` (Deut.4.32).
[B] ``May one suppose that this means from the sixth day [of Creation] onward?
[C] ``Scripture says, `First.` After Scripture includes [by referring to ``former days``] it excludes [by referring to ``the day``]. So we learn [that one may inquire] from the sixth day. Just as the sixth day is specially designated, being one of the six days of creation - so you may include [in your exposition] only that which like the sixth day [is specially designated, i.e., the Six Days of Creation]
[D] ``May one [seek] to know what is above the heaven or below the abyss?
[E] ``Scripture says, `And from one end of the heaven to the other` (Deut.4.32). If you are investigating [what happened] before the world was created, keep it to yourself [lit., your heart contemplates]. If you go on [to investigate what happened] after the world was created, then your voice may go from one end of the world to the other.``
[F] Bar Qappara [T6] taught [that one may investigate] from the [First] Day [of Creation onward].
[G] R. Judah bar Pazzi agrees with Bar Qappara [T6].
[H] R. Hiyya agrees with R. [Ab]ba. y.Hag.2.1 III:14
[A] R. Jonah [PA5] said in the name of R. Levi [T6 or PA3], ``The world was created by the letter B.`` As B [in Hebrew] is closed on all sides except one, so you have no right to investigate what is above, what below, what went before or shall happen afterward, only what has happened since the world [and its inhabitants were created].
[B] ``If the letter B was asked, `Who created you?` it would point with its upper stroke and say, `He above.`
[C] ``[If asked,] `What is his name?` it would point with its lower projection to the right [toward the letter aleph] and say, `YHWH is his name, ADON is his name.```
[D] Another interpretation: Why [was the world created] by the letter B? Because it is in the word ``blessing.``
[E] [And why] not by the letter A? Because it is in the word ``cursing.`` The Holy One, blessed be he, said, ``I created my world only by the letter B lest its inhabitants say, `How can a world created by the word ``cursing`` endure?` But, behold, I create it by the letter B in the word `blessing,` and perhaps it will endure.``
[F] R. Abbahu [PA3] in the name of R. Yohanan [PA2]: ``By two letters were the two worlds [this world and the world to come] created. One [was created] by H and the other by Y. What is the reason? `Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock` (Isa.26.4). [`Rock` (sur) is here read as sar, `to fashion.`] We do not know which was created by H and which by Y, except from that which is written: `These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, [in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens]` (Gen.2.4).
[G] ``By H he created them. This world was created by H and the next by Y. As H is open beneath, this indicates that all the inhabitants of the world shall go down to Sheol. As H has an upward projection, after they have gone down [to Sheol] they shall go up [to heaven]. As H is open on every side, so a door is open to all who repent. As Y is bent, so all the inhabitants of the world shall be bent: `[Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?] Why has every face turned pale?` (Jer.30.6)`` [referring to the Day of Judgment].
[H] ``When David realized [lit., saw] this, he began to praise with the two letters: `Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord``` (Ps.113.1).
[I] R. Yudan [PA4] Nesia asked R. Samuel bar Nahman, ``Why is it written, `By means of his name [YAH] lift up a song to him who rides on the clouds, and exult before him` (Ps.68.4)?``
[J] He said to him, ``There is no place that has not an officer [supervising] its entrance. And who is the officer [supervising] the entry of all? The Holy One, blessed be he; for YAH is his name.``
[K] He said to him, ``R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3], your master, did not interpret it thus, but [he compared it] to a king who built a palace in a place of pipes, dunghills, and garbage heaps. Whoever comes and says, `This palace is in a place of pipes, dunghills, and garbage heaps,` does he not make it seem contemptible? So whoever says, `In the beginning the world was water upon water,` makes it seem contemptible. [He also compared it] to a king`s garden with an upper room built over it. One may look at it, but not touch it.`` y.Hag.2.1 III:15
[A] The House of Shammai [BCE1] say, ``Heaven was created first, the earth afterward.``
[B] The House of Hillel [BCE1] say, ``The earth was created first, and heaven afterward.``
[C] They both adduce supporting reasons for their opinions.
[D] What is the reasoning of the House of Shammai [BCE1]?
[E] ``In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.`` [This is to be compared] to a king who made a throne; after he had made it, he made its footstool: ``Heaven is my throne and earth my footstool`` (Isa.66.1).
[F] What is the reasoning of the House of Hillel [BCE1]?
[G] ``In the day when God made the earth and the heaven`` (Gen.2.4). [This is to be compared] to a king who built a palace. After he had built the lower stories he built the upper stories.
[H] ``My hand established the earth and [77d] my right hand spread out the heaven`` (Isa.48.13].
[I] R. Judah bar Pazzi says, ``This supports the House of Hillel [BCE1], `Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heaven is the work of your hands``` (Ps.102.26).
[J] R. Hanina [PA1, PA3 or PA5] said, ``From the [very] place from which the House of Shammai [BCE1] adduce support for their opinion, the House of Hillel [BCE1] refute [lit., remove] them. What is the support for the House of Shammai [BCE1]? `In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.` From there the House of Hillel [BCE1] refute them: `And the earth was` (Gen.1.2) - already was [i.e., Gen.1.2 refers to the state of the earth before creation].``
[K] R. Yohanan [PA2] [said] in the name of the sages, ``As regards creation, heaven was first; as regards completion, earth was first. As regards creation, heaven was first: `In the beginning God created.` As regards completion, earth was first: `In the day when God made the earth and the heaven.```
[L] According to the House of Shammai [BCE1] he made heaven on the first [day]. There was an interval of three days, then it produced offspring - first, second, third. On the fourth, ``Let there be lights.``
[M] According to the House of Shammai [BCE1] he made the sea on the second [day]. There was an interval of three days, then it produced offspring - second, third, fourth; on the fifth, ``Let the seas swarm.``
[N] According to the House of Shammai [BCE1] he made the earth on the third [day]. There was an interval of three days, then it produced offspring - third, fourth, fifth; on the sixth, ``Let the earth bring forth`` (Gen.1.24).
[O] According to the House of Hillel [BCE1] he made the earth on the first [day]. There was an interval of two days, then it produced offspring - first, second; on the third, ``Let the earth put forth vegetation`` (Gen.1.11).
[P] According to the House of Hillel [BCE1] he made heaven on the second [day]. There was an interval of two days, then it produced offspring - second, third; on the fourth, ``Let there be lights.``
[Q] According to the House of Hillel [BCE1] he made the sea on the third [day]. There was an interval of two days, then it produced offspring - third, fourth; on the fifth, ``Let the seas swarm.``
[R] R. Simeon ben Yohai said, ``I am amazed that the Fathers of the World were split on the question of the creation of the world, for I say, heaven and earth were created only like this pot and its lid [viz., in one act].``
[S] What is the support [for this view]? ``My hand established the earth and my right hand spread out the heavens`` (Isa.48.13).
[T] R. Eleazar [T4 in M or PA3] b. R. Simeon [T4] said, ``According to this opinion of my father, sometimes heaven precedes earth, sometimes earth precedes heaven. But [the verses] teach [us] that they are both equal.``