More from the Good Emperor

It looks like we still have a couple more loose ends to tie up from the Chevron/B'er Sheva mystery, but as I'm deeply embroiled in studying for a very intense exam, we'll have to catch up on that stuff later. Here's a little breather, just another quote from Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (part of our ongoing saga to trace the Jewish roots of Antoninus' wisdom):

"All things are implicated with one another, and the bond between them is holy... For things have been co-ordinated, and they combine to form the same universe [order]. For there is one universe made up of all things, and one god who pervades all things, and one substance, and one law, one common reason in all intelligent animals (i.e. humans), and one truth..." (Meditations VII, 9)

Now I ask you, does this sound like the product of a pagan Roman society, or the result of the tutelage of one of the sages of Israel?

Location! Location! Location!

SUMMARY: In an earlier post we began an investigation of the following problem in Scripture (If you have been following the investigation, you may skip the summary.):

In B'reshith (Genesis) 23:2, Scripture records that Sarah (wife of Avraham/Abraham) died in Chevron (Hebron). This implies that Avraham and Sarah were living in Chevron at this time. Furthermore, it is an accepted Jewish tradition, although not explicit in Scripture, that Sarah died at the time of the Akeydah (the "binding") of Yitzchok (Isaac) described in 22:1-19. If so, why does Avraham's journey to perform the Akeydah at Mt. Moriyah, synonymous with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, take 3 days (22:4)? Chevron and Jerusalem are not so far apart! Furthermore, verse 19 there states that Avraham went to B'er Sheva after the Akeydah. Why did Avraham not go home to Chevron? And if he lived in B'er Sheva, why was Sarah in Chevron?

We explained in the last post that according to Rashi, Avraham and Sarah most definitely were living in Chevron at the time of the Akeydah, leaving us with 2 questions:

1. Why did Avraham's journey from Chevron to Mt. Moriyah take 3 days?
2. Why did Avraham go to B'er Sheva after the Akeydah and not back home to Chevron?

For the answer to the first question, see this post.

As for the 2nd question, we left off with the Ramban's suggestion that Avraham went to B'er Sheva to give thanks to G-d for the miracle of the Akeydah. But we asked why it was necessary for Avraham to travel three days in the opposite direction for this purpose when he was already on the Temple Mount itself! What was so special about B'er Sheva?

END OF SUMMARY

(And now, the exciting continuation . . .)

Let us explore the answer. Perhaps we can garner a clue from the fact that the Ramban mentions that Avraham went "to B'er Sheva, the place of his eshel, to give thanks for his miracle," whereas the Ramban could have as easily said that Avraham went "to B'er Sheva to give thanks for his miracle." The Ramban specifically mentions the eshel, as though to give us a clue as to the reason the place was special.

And indeed this makes perfect sense when we understand what the eshel was and who Avraham was. Let us examine 21:33 and Rashi's comments there:

"[Avraham] planted an eshel in B'er Sheva. There he called in the name of HaShem, G-d of the World."

Rashi:

"Eshel" - Rav and Sh'mu'el (ed. -- two Talmudic figures) [disputed the identity of the eshel.] One said [it was] an orchard, from which to bring fruits to [his] guests during the meal, and one said [it was] an inn for lodging containing all types of fruit.

"There he called . . ." - By way of this eshel, the name of the Holy One Blessed is He was called Deity of All the World. After they would eat and drink, [Avraham] would say to them, "Give blessing to the One from Whom you ate! You think you ate of mine? You ate of the One Who spoke and [thereby] the world came to be!"

Avraham exemplified the attribute of chesed, or loving kindness, as is demonstrated by his actions in many places (e.g. his hospitality to the wayfarers in 18:2-8, his prayers on behalf of the wicked men of S'dom/Sodom in 18:23-32). It was via this personal strength of his that Avraham directed his service to G-d. (And that is precisely why the Akeydah was his greatest test -- for the one who personifies loving-kindness on earth to be commanded by G-d Himself to sacrifice the only son of his union with his beloved Sarah, born to them in their old age! But I digress.)

Avraham's chief career of kindness, and simultaneously, his chief service to G-d, it seems, was during his extended sojourn in B'er Sheva, where he lived "many days." He was not merely living there, he was running a business of bringing the world to the recognition of G-d through his acts of loving-kindness and giving. Through Avraham, G-d was revealed, recognized as the true giver, the true provider, the true Creator, Ruler and Sustainer. B'er Sheva, therefore, the place of the eshel, became Avraham's unique place of service and connection to G-d. It is reasonable, then, to suggest that even though Avraham and Sarah did ultimately return to Chevron, Avraham maintained a special emotional and spiritual connection to B'er Sheva as a place of his personal connection with G-d. As such, it follows that at the time of his greatest test, and his greatest success, when he had the greatest level of gratitude to G-d, the place he would choose to channel that outpouring to G-d would be that place where his connection with G-d was deepest and most pronounced -- B'er Sheva.

Indeed, we find the concept of setting a particular spot for communion with G-d expressed in a Jew's daily living. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 90:19) rules:

One should set a place for one's prayer that one should not change without necessity. And it is not enough that one set for oneself a synagogue in which to pray, rather, even in the synagogue in which one [prays] regularly, one must have a set place.

When I looked up the source for this halachah (law) in the Talmud (B'rachoth 6B), I was astonished to find the following:

Rabbi Chelbo said: Rav Huna said: Anyone who sets a place for his prayer -- the G-d of Avraham is at his assistance, and when he dies they say to him . . ., "[You are] of the disciples of Avraham our father!"

From where [is it known] to us that [Avraham] set a place?

As it is written: "Avraham [went] early in the morning to the place where he had stood [before HaShem (G-d)]" (B'reshith 19:27). (ed. -- i.e. We find that Avraham returned to the same place where he had previously communed with G-d.)

Amazing! Avraham is in fact considered to be the archetype for the concept of setting a place for prayer! This is entirely consistent with our characterization of Avraham above, and thus is explained his detour to B'er Sheva after the Akeydah.

Case closed? I leave it to you to decide.

The Plot Thickens

In my last post, we began an investigation of the following question:

In B'reshith (Genesis) 23:2, Scripture records that Sarah (wife of Avraham/Abraham) died in Chevron (Hebron). This implies that Avraham and Sarah were living in Chevron at this time. Furthermore, it is an accepted Jewish tradition, although not explicit in Scripture, that Sarah died at the time of the Akeydah (the "binding") of Yitzchok (Isaac) described in 22:1-19. If so, why does Avraham's journey to perform the Akeydah at Mt. Moriyah, synonymous with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, take 3 days (22:4)? Chevron and Jerusalem are not so far apart! Furthermore, verse 19 there states that Avraham went to B'er Sheva after the Akeydah. Why did Avraham not go home to Chevron? And if he lived in B'er Sheva, why was Sarah in Chevron?

We presented an excerpt from Sepher haYasher suggesting that they lived in B'er Sheva but that Sarah had reached Chevron and died there on her search for Avraham and Yitzchak.

In a comment to that post, Andrew challenged this answer with a citation from Rashi's classic commentary on the Torah, as follows:

22:19
Avraham returned to his attendants, and they rose and went together to Beer Sheva. Avraham dwelt in Beer Sheva.

Rashi
"Avraham dwelt in Beer Sheva."

his does not refer to a permanent dwelling for he lived in Chevron. Twelve years before Yitzchok's akeidah he left Beer Sheva and moved to Chevron, as it is said: "Avraham lived in the land of the Philistines for many days," more than the first years in Chevron which totaled 26 years as we explained above.


Now... I'm not sure exactly what math Rashi is doing at the end of that but he seems to disagree with you. Avraham was living in Hebron, not Beer Sheva, at the time of the akeidah.

So the question still remains. Why did he go to Beer Sheva afterwards?

First off, good snoop work, Andrew!

As for the math Rashi does at the end, Rashi is referring back to his comments on 21:24:

"Avraham lived in the land of the P'lishtim (Phillistines) many days."

B'er Sheva is understood by Rashi to be within the land of P'lishtim, and therefore we understand that the verse refers to his sojourn there. Rashi on this verse, based on Seder Olam (an ancient Jewish chronology), calculates, according to the Scriptural narrative, how Avraham spent 25 years in Chevron, 26 years in B'er Sheva, and then another 12 years in Chevron until the death of Sarah, as follows (this is complicated; if you don't care about the calculation, skip the next paragraph):

The phrase "many days" in this verse implies that Avraham lived there longer than anywhere else until that point. Avraham left Charan (Haran) for the land of K'na'an (Canaan) at the age of 75. At that age he arrived and settled in the Plains of Mamre that are in Chevron (13:18). At the age of 99 he was circumcised, and on the 3rd day after his circumcision he was visited by angels predicting the birth of Yitzchak one year later and proceeding to overturn S'dom (Sodom). Avraham was still living in the Plains of Mamre at this time (18:1). Immediately after the destruction of S'dom, (20:1) in Avraham's 99th year, Avraham relocates to G'rar, in the land of P'lishtim, where the incident with Avimelech, king of P'lishtim, occurs (see there), after which Avimelech tells Avraham (20:15), "Behold, my land is before you; dwell wherever it is good in your eyes." Scripture is not explicit at this point about where in the land of P'lishtim Avraham chooses to dwell, although it is implicit later on, as when Avraham sends Hagar and Yishma'el (Ishmael) away (21:14) the verse tells us: "She went and wandered in the wilderness of B'er Sheva," and when Avraham meets Avimelech again (21:22-34) Scripture tells us that the place was named B'er Sheva after the oath (sh'vu'ah) taken between Avraham and Avimelech there. So Avraham was in Chevron from the age of 75 until 99, which, including the 75th year, totals 25 years in Chevron. Now, if he dwelt in B'er Sheva from the age of 99, and lived there more years than in Chevron, as implied by 21:34, he must have lived there for at least 26 years. If Avraham would have lived in B'er Sheva more than one year longer than in Chevron, Scripture would have been explicit about it, therefore we can assume that Avraham's years in B'er Sheva totalled no more than 26. That would make Avraham 125 when he left B'er Sheva. Accordingly, Sarah would have been 115 at the time. Since Sarah died in Chevron at the age of 127, this implies that Chevron was their destination after leaving B'er Sheva. So, Sarah's last 12 years were lived in Chevron. Since she died at the time of the Akeydah, they were certainly living in Chevron at this time. Thus is Rashi's calculation. And thus we fall right back into our initial questions:

Why did Avraham's journey from Chevron to Mt. Moriyah take 3 days?
Why did Avraham go to B'er Sheva after the Akeydah and not back home to Chevron?

As for the first question, Rashi, in his comments to 22:4, explains, according to the Midrash Tanchuma (VaYera 22), that G-d did not show Avraham the place right away, because if Avraham would have carried out G-d's directive to slaughter his son immediately, it would appear that Avraham lost his mind, abducted his son and killed him. However, since the journey took a number of days, it would have been enough time for a crazed Avraham to come to his senses. This delay, then, made it clear that Avraham acted with sound mind and body under the influence of nothing other than a divine directive.

As for the second question, the Ramban, in his comments to 23:2, suggests that Avraham went back to the place of his eshel, the orchard/inn he had established in B'er Sheva in 21:33, in order to give thanks to G-d for the miracle of the Akeydah. The Ramban does not, however, elaborate as to why it was necessary for Avraham to go all the way to B'er Sheva to do so.

In the meantime, then, this detail remains shrouded in mystery and subject to speculation. I invite the reader to submit his/her own thoughts as to the mystical B'er Sheva connection. For my part, I do intend to dig deeper and hope to requite the readership in due time with my conclusions.

Get to work, gumshoes!

Elementary, My Dear Satan

A question was posed to the author of this blog regarding an interesting puzzle in the Biblical narrative:

In B'reshith (Genesis) 23:2, Scripture records that Sarah (wife of Avraham/Abraham) died in Chevron (Hebron). This implies that Avraham and Sarah were living in Chevron at this time. Furthermore, it is an accepted Jewish tradition, although not explicit in Scripture, that Sarah died at the time of the Akeydah (the "binding") of Yitzchok (Isaac) described in 22:1-19. If so, why does Avraham's journey to perform the Akeydah at Mt. Moriyah, synonymous with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, take 3 days (22:4)? Chevron and Jerusalem are not so far apart! Furthermore, verse 19 there states that Avraham went to B'er Sheva after the Akeydah. Why did Avraham not go home to Chevron? And if he lived in B'er Sheva, why was Sarah in Chevron?

After a bit of searching, I found a piece from the Sepher haYashar that seems to clarify the issue:

The Satan came to Sarah and appeared to her as an old man, very lowly and humble. He said to her, "Did you not know all the things that Avraham did to Yitzchak your son today? For he took Yitzchak and built an altar and slaughtered him and offered him on the altar! Yitzchak was screaming and crying before his father but [Avraham] did not regard [him] nor did he have mercy upon him!" Such did he speak to her a number of times.

Sarah thought he was an old man, a human being, who had been near her son and told her. Sarah raised her voice and cried and screamed greatly and bitterly. She cast herself to the ground and threw dirt upon her head and said, "My son Yitzchok! If only I could die in your place! I am pained over you! I raised you, I cared for you, and my jubilation over you has been turned into mourning! Yet I am comforted over you for you have performed the commandment of HaShem, for who can transgress the word of our G-d? Righteous are You HaShem, for all Your deeds are good and upright, for I too have rejoiced in Your words. Indeed, my eye cries bitterly, but my heart rejoices."

Sarah placed her head into the bosom of one of her maids and was still as a rock. Afterwards, she arose and went searching until Chevron, and she asked all the travellers she encountered on the way what happened to her son. She and her servants and maids reached Kiryath Arba which is Chevron. She sent [them] out from there to discover where Avraham and Yitzchok went. They went to the house of Shem and Ever but did not find them, and they searched in all the land. And behold, the Satan came to Sarah in the form of a man and said to her, "I lied to you, for [Yitzchok] was not slaughtered and is not dead." When she heard this thing she rejoiced greatly over her son and her soul departed in her joy and she died.

And Avraham, when he completed his service [to G-d on Mt. Moriah], returned with Yitzchak to his servants and they went to B'er Sheva to their home. [Avraham] asked, "Where is Sarah?" They said, "She went to Chevron to search for you, for such-and-such they told her." Avraham and Yitzchok went to her to Chevron and found that she had died. Yitzchok fell upon the face of Sarah his mother and cried. He said, "Mother, Mother! How have you left me, going here and there? How have you left me?" and he cried exceedingly.

According to the Sepher haYaShar, then, Avraham and Sarah lived in B'er Sheva, not Chevron. Sarah died in Chevron only on account of having arrived there on her search for her son. This fits very well with the Biblical narrative since B'er Sheva is the last city named where Avraham was before the Akeydah (21:33). Furthermore, it explains why the journey to Mt. Moriah took three days, as B'er Sheva is much more distant from Jerusalem than Chevron. In addition, it explains why Avraham returned to B'er Sheva after the Akeydah, as well as why Sarah died in Chevron despite the fact that Avraham and Sarah did not live there.

So . . . mystery solved, right? Or is it? Stay tuned for (G-d willing) more installments into the investigation of Avraham and Sarah's home town.

The Voice is the Voice of Ya'akov

As mentioned in a previous post, I have been perusing a volume of philosphy called Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and I found much of it strikingly similar to a biblical work, Koheleth (aka Ecclesiastes) by Sh'lomo haMelech (King Solomon). Here is an example:

"There is only one fruit of this terrene (earthly) life, a pious disposition and social acts."
-Meditations, ch. VI pp. 30

"The sum of the matter, when all has been considered: Fear G-d and keep his commandments, for that is man's whole duty."
-Koheleth 12:13

There are many more examples like this, and it certainly lends support to our Talmudic sources that Rabbi Y'hudah haNasi was indeed a tutor of Antoninus. I hope to be able to demonstrate this with more examples as I encounter them. But I seriously recommend anyone interested to read through the two volumes (neither one intimidatingly large) and make a comparison of their own.

Nothing New Under the Sun

The following is an excerpt from Josephus, Antiqities, Book XV Ch. 5 pp. 3. Here, Herod, king of the Jews, delivers a speech to a downtrodden army during a war with the Arabians to rally their spirits once more after a series of unfortunate events (a sneak attack followed by an earthquake) gave the Arabians the upper hand. I chose a section of the speech that I found to be quite remarkable. Of course Herod himself was a thoroughly wicked individual, but his words ring true to this very day! (Keep in mind that Herod lived over 2000 years ago!) Of course, if any Jewish leader (or layman) would utter these words today, he would be arrested by the Israeli government for incitement and sedition. But that is another matter. Here is the quote:

"You are not ignorant certainly of the wickedness of the Arabians, which is to that degree as to appear incredible to all other men, and to include somewhat that shows the grossest barbarity and ignorance of God. The chief things wherein they have affronted us have arisen from covetousness and envy; and they have attacked us in an insidious manner, and on the sudden…. nor is it fit that they… should injure us, and deprive us of what is our due, and this while we have been still not their enemies, but their friends… And whereas observation of covenants takes place among the bitterest enemies, but among friends is absolutely necessary, this is not observed among these men, who think gain to be the best of all things, let it be by any means whatsoever, and that injustice is no harm…

Is it therefore a question with you, whether the unjust are to be punished or not? when God himself hath declared his mind that so it ought to be, and hath commanded that we ever should hate injuries and injustice, which is not only just, but necessary, in wars between several nations; for these Arabians have done what both the Greeks and barbarians own to be an instance of the grossest wickedness, with regard to our ambassadors, which they have beheaded, while the Greeks declare that such ambassadors are sacred and inviolable…

[B]ut perhaps some will say, that what is holy, and what is righteous, is indeed on our side, but that the Arabians are either more courageous or more numerous than we are. Now, as to this, in the first place, it is not fit for us to say so, for with whom is what is righteous, with them is God himself; now where God is, there is both multitude and courage. But to examine our own circumstances a little, we were conquerors in the first battle; and when we fought again, they were not able to oppose us, but ran away, and could not endure our attacks or our courage…

Why are we therefore of less courage, on account of that which ought to inspire us with stronger hopes? and why are we terrified at these, who, when they fight upon the level, are continually beaten, and when they seem to be conquerors, they gain it by wickedness? … Consider these things, and, what is more than all the rest, that you have God at all times for your Protector; and prosecute these men with a just bravery, who, in point of friendship, are unjust, in their battles perfidious, towards ambassadors impious, and always inferior to you in valor."

Caviat: The speech worked, and the Jews whooped the Arabians.

There is Hope for Us All

Just for fun, here is an interesting midrash from the prologue to Tanchuma haKadum (a midrashic work), about G-d's power to unite soulmates:

King Sh'lomoh (Solomon) had an extremely beautiful daughter; none was like her in all the Land of Israel. He looked into the constellations [to see] who was her soulmate and who would marry her and he saw that [her soulmate] was a poor person and there was none in Israel as poor as he. What did [Sh'lomoh] do? He built a tall tower in [the middle of] the sea... He took his daughter and placed her in this tall tower, and he placed with her seventy officers from [among] the elders of Israel, and in this tower he made no opening so that no man could enter, and he placed in it an abundance of provisions. He said, "I shall see the acts of HaShem and His deeds."

Some time later, that poor man who was her soulmate had gone out upon the road and was naked, barefoot, hungry and thirsty and had nowhere to sleep. He saw the carcass of an ox cast in the field. He entered into it between the ribs of the carcass to ease the cold. While he was sleeping, a great bird came and picked up the carcass and carried it up to the roof of the tower above the maiden's chamber and there the bird was eating the flesh of the carcass and sitting on the roof.

Upon the morning light, the maiden left her chamber to walk upon the roof as was her daily custom and she saw this young man. She said to him, "Who are you and who brought you here?" He said to her, "I am a Jew, I am from Ako, however, a bird brought me here." What did she do? She took him and brought him to her chamber and dressed him and washed him and annointed him and he became very handsome until there was none like him in all the borders of Israel and the maiden loved him with her heart and soul and her soul was bound to his soul and the young man was sharp and sophistic and shrewd and scholarly.

One day she said to him, "Do you want to betroth me?" He said to her, "Were it possible!" What did he do? He drew [his own] blood and wrote for her a k'thubah (marriage document) and a dowry with his blood and betrothed her and said, "G-d is witness today, and [the angels] Micha'el and Gavri'el are witnesses." He consumated the relationship and she became pregnant from him.

When the elders saw that she was pregnant they said to her, "It seems to us that you are pregnant." She said to them, "Indeed." They said to her, "And from whom have you become pregnant?" She said to them, "Why do you need to know?" The faces of the elders fell, for they feared the king Sh'lomoh, lest he place a libel upon them, so they sent to him to speak with them. Sh'lomoh embarked upon a boat and came to them and they said to him, "Our lord the king, this is what happened, and please, may our lord not place iniquity upon his servants." When he heard, he called to his daughter and asked her about the matter. She said to him, "The Holy One, Blessed is He, brought me a certain young man, handsome and learned and scholarly, and he betrothed me." She called to the young man and he came before the king and he showed him the k'thubah he had made for his daughter. The king asked him about his father and mother and his family and from which city he came and [the king] understood from his words that [this man] was the one whom he had seen in the constellations and [the king] greatly rejoiced and said: "Blessed is the Omnipresent One, for he gives a woman to a man."

Sins, Not Sinners

"Zecher tzadik livrachah, v'shem r'sha'im yirkav -- The mention of the righteous is for a blessing, but the name of the wicked shall rot."
-Mishley (Proverbs) 10:7

The traditional understanding of this verse is that upon mention of a righteous person, one should immediately append a term of blessing to his/her name, and upon the mention of the name of a wicked person or persons, one should append a term of derision. Practically speaking, people say when mentioning the name of a deceased tzadik (saintly individual), "Rabbi So-and-So, zecher tzadik livrachah (the memory of the righteous is for a blessing)," i.e. a direct quote from this verse is used as the blessing appended to the tzadik's name. Upon mention of a wicked person, however, the common practice is to say, "Mr. So-and-So, y'mach sh'mo (may his name be erased)."

The source for this practice is explained in the Talmud, Yoma 38B:

Ravina said to one of the sages that was arranging agadata before him: "What is the source for this matter that the sages said: 'The mention of the righteous is for a blessing' (Mishley 10:7)?" (I.e. What is the source for the practice of blessing a righteous person upon mention of his name?)

He answered: "It is written: 'The mention of the righteous is for a blessing (ibid.)'!"

Ravina: "What it its source in the Torah?"

Sage: "As it is written, 'Shall I conceal from Avraham (Abraham) that which I am doing?' (B'reshith/Genesis 18:17) and it is written, 'And Avraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation' (ibid. 18:18)."

Ravina: "What is the source for this matter that the sages said: 'and the name of the wicked should rot' (Mishley 10:7)?" (I.e. What is the source for the practice of insulting a wicked person upon mention of his name?)

The sage responded: "It is written: 'and the name of the wicked should rot' (ibid.)!"

Ravina: "What it its source in the Torah?"

Sage: “As it is written, 'He pitched his tent until S'dom (Sodom)' (B'reshith 13:12), and it is written, 'And the people of S'dom were evil-doers and sinners toward HaShem (G-d) exceedingly' (ibid. 13:13).”

In other words, we find in the Torah that right after Avraham's name was mentioned, the next verse speaks his praises, and upon mention of the wicked city of S'dom, the following verse speaks of its wickedness. Here we find an application in the Torah of the principle derived from the verse in Mishley.

I would like to share with the readership the beautiful comments of the Maharsha on this passage of the Talmud:

"It says regarding the righteous one that mention of him should be for a blessing but does not say regarding the wicked, 'His mention should be for a curse,” since when one praises the righteous, one should bless them, but when deriding the wicked, one should not curse them, rather one should look forward for them to do t'shuvah (return to the proper path), as it says in the first chapter of [Tractate] B'rachoth (10A), it is not written, 'May the sinners be destroyed,' rather, 'May the sins be destroyed' (T'hilim/Psalms 104:35), meaning that the [sinners] should return... This is the meaning of [the verse]: 'and the name of the wicked should rot,' [i.e. it should rot] off of them so that they are no longer called wicked, [that is,] when they do t'shuvah."

(Paranthetically, I think it is worthwhile to quote in full the passage from the Talmud in B'rachoth that the Maharsha cites:)

There were certain vagabonds living in Rabbi Me'ir's neighborhood who would distress him greatly. He prayed for mercy that they should die.

B'ruryah, his wife, said to him: "What are you thinking? Because it is written, 'The chata'im should be destroyed' (T'hilim 104:35)? (The word, "chata'im" in Hebrew can mean either "sins" or "sinners.") Is it written, 'chot'im'? ("Chot'im" can only mean "sinners" in Hebrew.) It is written, 'Chata'im'! (Therefore, read the verse as, "The sins should be destroyed.") Furthermore, look below at the end of the verse: 'Ursha'im od eynam.' (This can either be translated, "and the wicked shall no longer be," i.e. no longer exist, or "and they shall no longer be wicked.") For since 'the sins shall be destroyed,' [then] 'they shall no longer be wicked.' Rather, pray for mercy upon them that they should return in t'shuvah (repentance), 'and they shall no longer be wicked.'"

He prayed for mercy upon them and they returned in t'shuvah.

Quite a wife, eh?

"I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first four hundred people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University."

-William F. Buckley

Lend Me Your Ears

The Roman emperor known to history as Marcus Aurelius is synonymous with that Roman emperor known as Antoninus in the Talmudic literature. This Antoninus was a close friend and student of Rabbi Y'hudah HaNasi (aka "Rebbi"), the temporal and spiritual leader of the Jewish people in the land of Israel at the end of the 2nd century C.E. This relationship between the leaders of these two peoples is unknown to secular historians, as Antoninus had to keep this relationship secret due to the enmity the Romans had for the Jews at this time. In any event, he is considered by Jewish tradition to have been a great, wise and pious man.

I was fascinated, therefore, when I noticed on the bookshelf in a secular bookstore on a recent visit to the United States a book of philosophy entitled Meditations authored by none other than Marcus Aurelius himself! Curious to discover the wisdom of Antoninus and always on the lookout for good bathroom reading, I purchased the volume. What follows, and what I expect will be a regular occurance of posts, are quotes I found to be significant, not only for their inherent wisdom, but also because of their close reflection to ideas found in the Jewish tradition.

"Thou art a little soul bearing about a corpse."

-Meditations, Ch. IV, pp. 41

"Just as we must understand when it is said, That Aesculapius prescribed to this man horse-exercise, or bathing in cold water, or going without shoes, so we must understand it when it is said, That the nature of the universe prescribed to this man disease or mutilation or loss or anything else of the kind… Let us then receive these things, as well as those which Aesculapius prescribes."

-Meditations, Ch. V, pp. 8

"Nothing happens to a man which he is not formed by nature to bear."

-Meditations, Ch. V, pp. 18

"We should be thankful to our heads, for they know to bow when we reach 'Modim.'"

-Y'rushalmi B'rachoth 2:4

"Since it is already understood to be true to any wise person the necessity of perfection of service [of G-d] and the obligation of its purification and cleansing (for without these it is certainly not desired at all, rather it is disgusting and abominable, for G-d searches out every heart and discerns the formation of every thought), what will we answer on the Day of Reckoning if we slackened in this analysis and put aside a matter which is so incumbent upon us, that is the essence of what HaShem our G-d asks of us? Is it imaginable that our minds should exert themselves and toil in investigations in which we were not obligated, in dialectic from which we gain nothing, and laws that do not apply to us, and that which we have a great obligation to our Creator we should abandon to habit and leave to rote?"

-R' Mosheh Hayim Luzato (RaMHaL, M'silath Y'sharim, Introduction)