If two parties deposit money with a third, one a single manah and the other two hundred, and both afterward appear and claim the larger sum, the depositary should give each depositor one manah only, and leave the rest undivided till the coming of Elijah.

Bava Metzia, fol. 37, col. 2.

"Till Elijah comes" is a phrase which is in use among the Jews to express postponement forever, like ad Kalendas Græcas. It is applied to questions that would take Elijah to settle, which, it is believed, he will not appear to do till doomsday.

"And I will make thy windows of agates" (Isa. liv. 12). Two of the angels in heaven, Gabriel and Michael, once disputed about this: one maintained that the stone should be an onyx, and the other asserted it should be a jasper; but the Holy One—blessed be He!—said unto them, "Let it be as both say, which, in Hebrew, abbreviated, is an agate."

Bava Bathra, fol. 75, col. 1.

"The horseleech has two daughters, crying, Give! give!" (Prov. xxx. 15.) Mar Ukva says, "This has reference to the voice of two daughters crying out from torture in hell, because their voice is heard in this world crying, 'Give! give!'—namely—heresy and officialism."

Avodah Zarah, fol. 17, col. 1.

Rashi says heresy here refers to the "heresy of James," or, in other words, Christianity.

Two cemeteries were provided by the judicial authorities, one for beheaded and strangled criminals, and the other for those that were stoned or burned. When the flesh of these was consumed, they collected the bones and buried them in their own place, after which the relations came and saluted the judge and the witnesses, and said, "We owe you no grudge, for you passed a just judgment."

Sanhedrin, fol. 46, col. 1.

Alas! for the loss which the world has sustained in the degradation of the helpful serpent. If the serpent had not been degraded, every Israelite would have been attended by two of kindly disposition, one of which might have been sent to the north, and the other to the south, to bring for its owner precious corals and costly stones and pearls.

Sanhedrin, fol. 59, col. 2.

Here are two or three other sayings from the Talmud relative to the serpent.

Benjamin the son of Jacob, Amram the father of Moses, and Jesse the father of David all died, not because of their own sin (for they had none, says Rashi), but because of the (original) sin committed under the serpent's temptation.

Shabbath, fol. 55, col. 2.

No man was ever injured by a serpent or scorpion in Jerusalem.

Yoma, fol. 21, col. 1.

"And dust is the serpent's food" (Isa. lxv. 25). Rav Ammi says, "To the serpent no delicacy in the world has any other flavor than that of dust;" and Rav Assi says, "No delicacy in the world satisfies him like dust."

Ibid., fol. 75, col. 1.

Two negatives or two affirmatives are as good as an oath.

Shevuoth, fol. 36, col. 1.

Like two pearls were the two drops of holy oil that were suspended from the two corners of the beard of Aaron.

Horayoth, fol. 12, col. 1.

For two to sit together and have no discourse about the law, is to sit in the seat of the scornful; as it is said (Ps. i. I), "And sitteth not in the seat of the scornful."

Avoth, chap. iii.

When two are seated together at table, the younger shall not partake before the elder, otherwise the younger shall be justly accounted a glutton.

Derech Eretz, chap. vii.

Philemo once asked Rabbi (the Holy), "If a man has two heads, on which is he to put the phylactery?" To which Rabbi replied, "Either get up and be off, or take an anathema; for thou art making fun of me."

Menachoth, fol. 37, col. 1.

It is thus Rav Yoseph taught what is meant when it is written in Isaiah xii. I, "I will praise Thee, O Lord, because Thou wast angry with me: Thine anger will depart and Thou wilt comfort me." "The text applies," he says, "to two men who were going abroad on a mercantile enterprise, one of whom, having had a thorn run into his foot, had to forego his intended journey, and began in consequence to utter reproaches and blaspheme. Having afterward learned that the ship in which his companion had sailed had sunk to the bottom of the sea, he confessed his shortsightedness and praised God for His mercy."

Niddah, fol. 31, col. 1.

The night is divided into three watches, and at each watch the Holy One—blessed be He!—sits and roars like a lion; as it is written (Jer. xxv. 30), "The Lord will roar from on high, … roaring, He will roar over his habitation." The marks by which this division of the night is recognized are these:—In the first watch the ass brays; in the second the dog barks; and in the third the babe is at the breast and the wife converses with her husband.

Berachoth, fol. 3, col. 1.

The Rabbis have taught that there are three reasons why a person should not enter a ruin:—1. Because he may be suspected of evil intent; 2. Because the walls might tumble upon him; 3. And because of evil spirits that frequent such places.

Ibid., fol. 3, col. 1.

He who three times a day repeats David's psalm of praise (Ps. cxlv.) may be sure of an inheritance in the world to come.

Ibid., fol. 4, col. 2.

Three precious gifts were given to Israel, but none of them without a special affliction: these three gifts were the law, the land of Israel, and the world to come.

Ibid., fol. 5, col. 1.

These are also from the Talmud anent Israel and the Israelites.

All Israelites are princes.

Shabbath, fol. 57, col. 1.

All Israelites are holy.

Ibid., fol. 86, col. 1.

Happy are ye, O Israel! for every one of you, from the least to the greatest, is a great philosopher. (Eiruvin, fol. 53, col. 1.) The Machzor for Pentecost says, Israelites are as "full of meritorious works as a pomegranate is full of pips."

See also Chaggigah, fol. 27, col, 1.

As it is impossible for the world to be without air, so also is it impossible for the world to be without Israel.

Taanith, fol. 3, col. 2.

If the ox of an Israelite bruise the ox of a Gentile, the Israelite is exempt from paying damages; but should the ox of a Gentile bruise the ox of an Israelite, the Gentile is bound to recompense him in full.

Bava Kama, fol. 38, col. 1.

When an Israelite and a Gentile have a lawsuit before thee, if thou canst, acquit the former according to the laws of Israel, and tell the latter such is our law; if thou canst get him off in accordance with Gentile law, do so, and say to the plaintiff such is your law; but if he cannot be acquitted according to either law, then bring forward adroit pretexts and secure his acquittal. These are the words of the Rabbi Ishmael. Rabbi Akiva says, "No false pretext should be brought forward, because, if found out, the name of God would be blasphemed; but if there be no fear of that, then it may be adduced."

Ibid., fol. 113, col. 1.

If one find lost property in a locality where the majority are Israelites, he is bound to proclaim it; but he is not bound to do so if the majority be Gentiles.

Bava Metzia, fol. 24, col. 1.

(Prov. xiv. 34), "Almsgiving exalteth a nation, but benevolence is a sin to nations." "Almsgiving exalteth a nation," that is to say, the nation of Israel; as it is written (2 Sam. vii. 23), "And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel?" but "benevolence" is a sin to nations, that is to say, for the Gentiles to exercise charity and benevolence is sin.

Bava Bathra, fol. 10, col. 2.

If a Gentile smite an Israelite, he is guilty of death; as it is written (Exod. ii. 12), "And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw there was no man, he slew the Egyptian."

Sanhedrin, fol. 58, col. 2.

All Israelites have a portion in the world to come; as it is written (Isa. lx. 21), "And thy people are all righteous: they shall inherit the land."

Ibid., fol. 90, col. 1.

"And they shall fall one on account of another" (Lev. xxvi. 37),—one on account of the sins of another. This teaches us that all Israel are surety for one another.

Shevuoth, fol. 39, col. 1.

If one find a foundling in a locality where the majority are Gentiles, then the child is (to be reckoned) a Gentile; if the majority be Israelites, it is to be considered as an Israelite; and so also it is to be, providing the numbers are equal.

Machsheerin, chap. 2, Mish. 7.

"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth forever" (Eccl. i. 4). One empire cometh and another passeth away, but Israel abideth forever.

Perek Hashalom.

The world was created only for Israel: none are called the children of God but Israel; none are beloved before God but Israel.

Gerim, chap. 1.

The Jew that has no wife abideth without joy, without a blessing, and without any good. Without joy, as it is written (Deut. xiv. 26), "And thou shalt reject, thou and thy household;" without blessing, as it is written (Ezek. xliv. 30), "That He may cause a blessing to rest on thy household;" without any good, for it is written (Gen. ii. 8), "It is not good that man should be alone."

Yevamoth, fol. 62, col. 2.

The Jew that has no wife is not a man; for it is written (Gen. v. 2), "Male and female created He them and called their name man." To which Rabbi Eleazar adds, "So every one who has no landed property is no man; for it is written (Ps. cxv. 16), 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's, but the earth (the land, that is), hath He given to the children of man.'"

Yevamoth, fol. 63, col. 1.

Three things did Moses ask of God:—1. He asked that the Shechinah might rest upon Israel; 2. That the Shechinah might rest upon none but Israel; and 3. That God's ways might be made known unto him; and all these requests were granted.

Berachoth, fol. 7, col. 1.

What was the Shechinah? Was it the presence of a Divine person or only of a Divine power? The following quotations will show what is the teaching of the Talmud on the matter, and will be read with interest by the theologian, whether Jew or Christian.

Where do we learn that when ten persons pray together the Shechinah is with them? In Ps. lxxxii. 1, where it is written, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty." And where do we learn that when two sit together and study the law the Shechinah is with them? In Mal. iii. 16, where it is written, "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it." (Berachoth, fol. 6, col. 1.)

Where do we learn that the Shechinah does strengthen the sick? In Ps. xli. 3, where it is written, "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing." (Shabbath, fol. 12, col. 2.)

He who goes from the Synagogue to the lecture-room, and from the lecture-room back to the Synagogue, will become worthy to receive the presence of the Shechinah; as it is written (Ps. lxxxiv. 1), "They go from strength to strength; every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." (Moed Katan, fol. 29, col. 1.)

Rabbi Yossi says, "The Shechinah never came down here below, nor did Moses and Elijah ever ascend on high, because it is written (Ps. cxv. 16), 'The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's, but the earth hath he given to the children of men.'" (Succah, fol. 5, col. 1.)

Esther "stood in the inner court of the King's house" (Esth. v, 1). Rabbi Levi says, "When she reached the house of the images the Shechinah departed from her. Then she exclaimed, 'My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?'" (Meggillah, fol. 15, col. 2.)

"But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day" (Deut. iv. 4). Is it possible to cleave to the Shechinah? Is it not written (ibid., verse 24), "For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire"? The reply is:—He that bestows his daughter in marriage on a disciple of the wise (that is, a Rabbi), or does business on behalf of the disciples of the wise, or maintains them from his property, Scripture accounts it as if he did cleave to the Shechinah. (Kethuboth, fol. 111, col. 25.)

He who is angry has no regard even for the Shechinah; as it is written (Ps. x. 4), "The wicked, when his anger rises, does not inquire after God; God is not in all his thoughts." (Nedarim, fol. 22, col. 2.)

He who visits the sick should not sit upon the bed, nor even upon a stool or a chair beside it, but he should wrap his mantle round him and sit upon the floor, because of the Shechinah which rests at the head of the bed of the invalid; as it is written (Ps. xli. 3), "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing." (Ibid., fol. 40, col. 1.)

When Israel went up out of the Red Sea, both the babe on its mother's lap and the suckling at the breast saw the Shechinah, and said, "This is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation;" as it is written (Ps. viii. 2), "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength." (Soteh, fol. 30, col. 2.)

Where do we read that the Shechinah is present everywhere? In Zech. ii. 3, where it is written, "And behold the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him." It is not said went out after him, but "went out to meet him." From this we know that the Shechinah is present everywhere. (Bava Bathra fol. 25, col. 1.)

Rabbi Akiva says, "For three things I admire the Medes:—1. When they carve meat, they do it on the table; 2. When they kiss, they only do so upon the hand; 3. And when they consult, they do so only in the field."

Berachoth, fol. 8, col. 2.

The stone which Og, king of Bashan, meant to throw upon Israel is the subject of a tradition delivered on Sinai. "The camp of Israel I see," he said, "extends three miles; I shall therefore go and root up a mountain three miles in extent and throw it upon them." So off he went, and finding such a mountain, raised it on his head, but the Holy One—blessed be He!—sent an army of ants against him, which so bored the mountain over his head that it slipped down upon his shoulders, from which he could not lift it, because his teeth, protruding, had riveted it upon him. This explains that which is written (Ps. iii. 7), "Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly;" where read not "Thou hast broken," but "Thou hast ramified," that is, "Thou hast caused to branch out." Moses being ten ells in height, seized an axe ten ells long, and springing up ten ells, struck a blow on Og's ankle and killed him.

Ibid., fol. 54, col. 2.

This same story is given with more than Talmudic exaggeration in the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, while the author of the Book of Jasher (chap. lxv., verses 23, 24) makes the camp and the mountain forty miles in extent. The giant here figures in antediluvian tradition. He is said to have been saved at the Flood by laying hold of the ark, and being fed day by day through a hole in the side of the ark by Noah himself. A tradition which says the soles of his feet were forty miles long at once explains all the extraordinary feats ascribed to him.

Rav Yehudah used to say, "Three things shorten a man's days and years:—1. Neglecting to read the law when it is given to him for that purpose; seeing it is written (Deut. xxx. 20), 'For He (who gave it) is thy life and the length of thy days.' 2. Omitting to repeat the customary benediction over a cup of blessing; for it is written (Gen. xii. 3), 'And I will bless them that bless thee.' 3. And the assumption of a Rabbinical air; for Rabbi Chama bar Chanena says, 'Joseph died before any of his brethren, because he domineered over them.'"

Berachoth, fol. 55, col. 1.

The first of these refers to the reading of the law in public worship, the second to a practice after meals when more than two adult Jews were present, and the third to the dictatorial air often assumed by the Rabbis.

Three things proceed by pre-eminence from God Himself:—Famine, plenty, and a wise ruler. Famine (2 Kings viii. 2): "The Lord hath called for a famine;" plenty (Ezek. xxxvi. 29): "I will call for corn and increase it;" a wise ruler; for it is written (Exod. xxxi. 2), "I have called by name Bezaleel." Rabbi Yitzchak says, "A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community be first consulted. God first consulted Moses, then Moses consulted the nation concerning the appointment of Bezaleel."

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 1.

Three dreams come to pass:—That which is dreamed in the morning; that which is also dreamed by one's neighbor; and a dream which is interpreted within a dream; to which some add, one that is dreamed by the same person twice; as it is written (Gen. xli. 32), "And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice."

Ibid., fol. 55, col. 2.

Three things tranquilize the mind of man:—Melody, scenery, and sweet odor. Three things develop the mind of man:—A fine house, a handsome wife, and elegant furniture.

Ibid., fol. 57, col. 2.

The Rabbis have taught that there are three sorts of dropsy:—Thick, resulting from sin; bloated, in consequence of insufficient food; and thin, due to sorcery.

Shabbath, fol. 33, col. 1.

These three grow stronger as they grow older:—The fish, the serpent, and the pig.

Ibid., fol. 77, col. 2.

It were better to cut the hands off than to touch the eye, or the nose, or the mouth, or the ear, etc., with them without having first washed them. Unwashed hands may cause blindness, deafness, foulness of breath, or a polypus. It is taught that Rabbi Nathan has said, "The evil spirit Bath Chorin, which rests upon the hands at night, is very strict; he will not depart till water is poured upon the hands three times over."