former doings;" or to mention the same in his .literally: that are like them הדומין להן 1 Ye "this 2 In Lev. xxv. 14. it is said: 8 na w`s in shall not oppress one another; which the Rabbins apply to oppression or fraud in pecuniary matters, as Rabbi Solomon Jarchi observes in his Commentary: [refers to] oppression (or fraud) in money matters," and which is also evident from the context, as this verse begins with the words: And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, &c. But in the verse quoted here by our Author it is said again: -Ye shall not there ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ויראת מאלהיך כאן הזהיר על אונאת דברים :Solomon Jarchi says fore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God; and this the Rabbins apply to oppressive or fraudulent words, as Rabbi "Here [the law] warns against oppressive or fraudulent words;” observing at the same time, that whenever a moral commandment is enjoined by the law, respecting things not connected with any positive act, but such as rest with the heart alone, and which none but He can know who searches the heart of man, (as is the case with oppressive and fraudulent words), the commandment is always accompanied by the awful precept: But thou shalt fear thy God. PRECEPTS RELATING TO REPENTANCE. CHAPTER VIII. THE good which is laid up for the righteous, consists in the life of the world that is to come; a life, free from deaths; and a good, free from evil. This is that which is written in the law: That it may be well with thee, and [that] thou mayest prolong [thy] days, (Deut. xxii. 7). By tradition they (the sages) taught [thus]: 5 That it may be well with thee 3 5 .literally with which there is no death שאין מות עמהן .literally with which there is no evil שאין עמה רעה 4 רבי יעקב אומר אין לך כל מצוה ומצוה שכתובה בתורה שמתן שכרה בצידה שאין תחיית המתים תלויה בה בכבוד אב ואם כתיב למען יאריכון ימיך ולמען ייטב לך בשילוח הקן כתיב למען ייטב לך והארכת ימים הרי שאמר לו אביו עלה לבירה והבא לי גוזלות ועלה לבירה ושלח את האם ונטל את הבנים בחזרתו נפל ומת היכן טובות ימיו של זה והיכן אריכות ימיו של זה אלא למען ייטב לך לעולם שכולו טוב למען יאריכון ימיך לעולם שכולו ארוך "Rabbi Jacob says: There is no commandment written in the law, the reward of which, being mentioned along with it, does -in that world which is altogether good; and [that] thou mayest prolong [thy] days-in that world which [is to endure] very long, (i. e. which is to last for ever); meaning, the world that is to come. II. Now the reward of the righteous, consists in this, [namely], that they are to attain unto that bliss', and that they are to exist in that good (happiness); again the retribution [which awaits] the wicked, consists in this, [namely], that they are not to attain unto that life, but that they are to be cut off and die. Moreover he who does not attain unto that life, does not allude to the resurrection of the dead. On [the subject of] honouring [our] fathers and mothers it is written: That thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, (Deut. v. 16). Again on [the subject of] letting the dam go from its nest, it is also written: That it may be well with thee, and [that] thou mayest prolong [thy] days, (Deut. xxii. 7). Now behold! [suppose] one, to whom his father were to say: Ascend that tower, and fetch down some pigeons for me; actually ascends the tower, lets the dam go, and takes the young, (and consequently in thus obeying his father's command, and at the same time letting the dam go, fulfils two commandments, to each of which, the promised reward of happiness and longevity is attached); yet on his descending [from the tower], he falls down and dies-where then are this man's happy days? Or where is this man's prolongation of days?-But [the fact is that the true meaning of the text is this]: that it may go well with thee-in that world which is altogether good; that thy days may be prolonged— in that world which is [to endure] very long. Bab. Talmud, Treatise Kidushin, Section 1. 1 Dy literally to that sweet or delight. is [said to be] a dead man, who is never to live again, seeing that he is to be cut off, in consequence of his wickedness, and perish like a beast. Now this is the [nature of the] cutting off recorded in the law, when it says: That soul shall UTTERLY הכרת תכרת הנפש ההיא הכרת be cut off, (Numb. xv. 31.); (literally: that soul SHALL BE CUT OFF TO BE CUT OFF). By tradition they (the sages) taught [thus]: 2 To BE CUT OFF, [implies] from this world; n THOU SHALT BE CUT OFF, [implies], from the world that is to come; by which it was meant, that the soul, after parting with the body in this world, is not to attain unto the life of the world that is to come, but is to be cut off even from the world that is to come. III. With regard to the world that is to come, in it there is neither body nor frame, but the souls only of the righteous [exist in it] without the body, just the same as the ministering angels. Now since in it there are no frames (bodies), neither can there be in it either eating or drinking, nor any other of those things which the bodies of men stand in need of in הכרת תכרת הכרת בעולם הזה תכרת לעולם 2 That soul shall be cut of to be cut] הבא דברי רבי עקיבא off, (shall utterly be cut off)-[here] to be cut off, [implies] from this world; shall be cut off, [implies] from the world that is to come; these are the words of Rabbi Ekivah.-Bab. Talmud, Treatise Sanhedrin, Section 11. 3 See page 118, Note 1. this world; nor can there belong to it any one of the things belonging to bodies in this world, as, for instance, sitting, standing, sleep, death, melancholy, laughter, or the like. Thus the sages of old said: 'In the world that is to come there is neither eating, nor drinking, nor sexual intercourse; but [there] the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads, delighting in the shining [glory] of the Shechinah. IV. Behold! this clearly proves, that there can be no corporeal existence there, seeing that 1 מרגלא בפומיה דרב לא כעולם הזה עולם הבא עולם הבא אין בו לא אכילה ולא שתיה ולא פריה ורביה לא משא ומתן ולא קנאה ולא שנאה ולא תחרית אלא צדיקים יושבים ועטרותיהם בראשיהם ונהנים מזיו השכינה שנאמר ויחזו את האלהים ויאכלו וישתו "Rav used frequently to say: The world that is to come is not like this world, [seeing that] in the world that is to come there is neither eating, nor drinking, nor sexual intercourse, nor trade, nor jealousy, nor hatred, nor contention; but [there] the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads, delighting in the shining [glory] of the Shechinah, as it is said: Also they saw God, and did eat and drink*, (Exod. xxiv. 11).-Bab. Talmud, Treatise Berachoth, Section 2. 2 thee. literally: behold! it was made clear to * That is, they were as satisfied with seeing God as if they had eaten and drunk. It is in this sense that this text must have been understood by the Rabbi who quotes it here in support of his saying. Onkelos too renders this verse by: וחזו ית יקרא דיי' והוו חדן בקורבניהון דאתקבלו ברעוא כאילו אכלין ושתן "And they saw the glory of the Lord, and were glad within themselves, in consequence of their having been accepted with favour, as if they had eaten and drunk.” |