Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala Part 50

_Beres.h.i.th Midrash Rabbah._

"Sing and rejoice" (Zech. ii. 10). The Holy One--blessed be He!--will in the future bring all the proselytes that were proselytized in this world, and judge all the nations of the world in their presence. He will say to them, "Why have ye left Me and served idols, which are nothing?"

They will reply and say, "Had we applied at Thy door, Thou wouldst not have received us." Then will He say to them, "Let the proselytes that were made from among you come forward and testify against you."

_P'sikta._

These are the pious female proselytes--Hagar, Osenath, Zipporah, Shiphrah, Puah, the daughter of Pharaoh (Bathia), Rahab, Ruth, and Jael.

_Yalkut Yehoshua_, 9.

"The Lord keepeth the proselytes" (Ps. cxlvi. 9). "I esteem it a great compliment on the part of the proselyte to leave his family and his father's house and come to Me. Therefore I on My part will command respecting him (Deut. x. 19), 'Love ye therefore the proselyted.'"

_Midrash Shochar Tov_, 146.

"I am a G.o.d near at hand" (Jer. xxiii. 23). "I am He who drew Jethro near, and did not keep him at a distance"; therefore thou also when a man comes to be proselytized in the name of Heaven, draw him near, do not repulse him or keep him at a distance. From this thou art to learn that while one repulses with the left hand he is to draw with the right, and not as Elisha did. (He repulsed Gehazi with both hands.)

_Yalkut Jeremiah._

Showers of rain are greater than the giving of the Law, for the giving of the Law was a gladsome event to Israel only, but rain is a cause of joy to the wide world, including cattle, beasts, and fowls.

_Midrash Shochar Tov_, 117.

David was a shepherd of Israel, and the Shepherd of David was the Holy One--blessed be He!--as it is said (Ps. xxiii. 1), "The Lord is my Shepherd."

_Midrash Rabbah_, chap. 59.

Rav Pinchas says, "David in the Psalms calls five times upon the Holy One--blessed be He!--to arise. (1.) 'Arise, O Lord; save me, O my G.o.d!'

(Ps. iii. 7). (2.) 'Arise, O Lord, in Thine anger!' (Ps. vii. 6). (3.) 'Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail!' (Ps. ix. 19). (4.) 'Arise, O Lord; O G.o.d, lift up Thine hand: forget not the humble!' (Ps. x. 12). (5.) 'Arise, O Lord; disappoint him!' But the Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto David, 'My son, though thou call upon Me many a time to arise, I will not arise. But when do I arise? When thou seest the poor oppressed and the needy sighing, then will I arise.'" This explains what is written (Ps. xii. 5), "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord."

_Bamidbar Rabbah_, chap. 75.

"And Solomon's wisdom excelled" (1 Kings iv. 30). Thou findest that when Solomon desired to build the Temple he sent to Pharaoh Necho a request to send him artisans on hire. Pharaoh a.s.sembled his astrologers, who pointed out to him such artisans as were destined to die in the course of that year, and these he despatched to Solomon; but he, through the Holy Ghost, seeing the fate that impended, provided each of them with a shroud and sent them back to Pharaoh with the message, "Hast thou no shrouds in which to bury thine own dead? Behold here I have provided them with them!" "For he was wiser than all men" (1 Kings iv. 31); "than all men," even than the first man, Adam.

_Yalkut Eliezer_, fol. 65, col. 2, n. 36.

"Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am G.o.d" (Isa. xliii. 12).

Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai expounds these words thus, "If ye are My witnesses, then I am G.o.d; but if ye are not My witnesses, then I am not G.o.d."

_Yalkut Jethro_, n. 271.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter" (Eccles. xii. 13). Thou shalt ever hear the Law, even when thou dost not understand it. "Fear G.o.d," and give thy heart to Him. "And keep His commandments," for on account of the Law the whole world was created, that the world should study it.

_Koheleth, as given in Tse-enah Ure-enah._

THE KABBALA

"The words of the wise and their dark sayings" (Prov. i. 6).

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The Hebrew word Kabbal means "to receive," and its derivative, Kabbalah, signifies, "a thing received," viz, "Tradition," which, together with the written law, Moses received on Mount Sinai, and we are told in the Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, fol. 19, col. 1, i.e., "The words of the Kabbalah are just the same as the words of the law." In another part of this work we have seen that the Rabbis declare the Kabbalah to be above the law.

The Kabbalah is divided into two parts, viz, the symbolical and the real.

THE SYMBOLICAL KABBALAH

This teaches the secret of mystic sense of Scripture, and the thirteen rules by which the observance of the law is, not logically, but Kabbalistically expounded; viz, the rules of "Gematria," of "Notricon,"

of "Temurah," etc. To give some idea of this kind of exposition, we will explain each of these three rules in a manner which, though in the style of the Rabbis, will easily be understood by the Gentile reader.

1. "Gematria." This rule depends on the numerical value of each letter in the alphabet. The application of this rule in the solution of a disputed point is often such as to show quite as much absurdity as ingenuity. To make the subject still more clear, let us a.s.sume that a standard numerical value is attached to each letter in the English alphabet. _A_ has the value of 1, _B_ 2, _C_ 3, _D_ 4, _E_ 5, _F_ 6, _G_ 7, _H_ 8, _I_ 9, _J_ 10, _K_ 20, _L_ 30, _M_ 40, _N_ 50, _O_ 60, _P_ 70, _Q_ 80, _R_ 90, _S_ 100, _T_ 200, _U_ 300, _V_ 400, _W_ 500, _X_ 1000, _Y_ 10,000, _Z_ 100,000. And let us now a.s.sume a point in dispute in order to ill.u.s.trate how it is solved by Gematria. Suppose that the subject of discussion is the comparative superiority of the Hebrew and English languages, and Hugo and Baruch are the disputants. The former, being a Hebrew, holds that the Hebrew is superior to the English, "because," says he, "the numerical value of the letters that form the word _Hebrew_ is 610; whereas the numerical value of _English_ is only 209." The latter, being an Englishman, holds, of course, exactly the contrary opinion, and argues as follows: "All the learned world must admit that the English is a living language, but not so the Hebrew; and as it is written (Eccles. ix. 4) that 'A living dog is better than a dead lion,' I therefore maintain that the English is superior to the Hebrew." The dispute was referred to an Oxford authority for decision, and a certain learned doctor decided it by--

2. "Notricon." This consists in forming a decisive sentence composed of words whose initial letters are in a given word; for instance, _Hebrew_:--"_H_ugo's _e_xcels _B_aruch's _r_easoning _e_very _w_ay."

_English_:--"_E_nglish _n_o _g_ood _l_anguage, _i_s _s_carcely _h_armonious;" but _Hebrew_:--"_H_oly, _e_legant, _b_rilliant, _r_esonant, _e_liciting _w_onder!" This is a fair specimen of how to get at the secret sense of a word by the rule of "Notricon," and now we will proceed to explain--

3. "Temurah." This means permutation, or a change of the letters of the alphabet after a regularly adopted system. We know only five such permuted alphabets, but there may be more. The technical names of these five alphabets are: "Atbash," "Atbach," "Albam," "Aiakbechar," and "Tashrak." We will try to explain the first permuted alphabet only, as a mere specimen, for the general reader is not quite prepared to comprehend the rest, and a hint for the scholar is sufficient.

Here let the reader observe that as the letters of the English alphabet are more numerous and differently designated and arranged than those of the Hebrew, the "Atbash" of the Hebrew must necessarily become "Azby" in English. If now we write on one line and in regular order the first half of the alphabet, and the other half on the second line, but in reversed order, thus:--

a b c d e f g h i j k l m z y x w v u t s r q p o n

we get thirteen couples of letters which exchange one with the other, viz, _a_ and _z_, _b_ and _y_, _c_ and _x_, etc. These letters, when exchanged, give rise to a permuted alphabet, and this permuted alphabet takes its technical name from the first two couples of letters, _a_ and _z_, _b_ and _y_, or "Azby." Now if we wish to write, "Meddle not with them that are given to change," you have to change the letters of the couples and the following will be the result: "Nvwwov mlg drgs gsvn gszg ziv trem gl xszmtv." This is a specimen of the mysterious Temurah, and the "Azby" is the key to it. The other four permuted alphabets are of a similar nature and character, and are so highly esteemed among the sages and bards of Israel, that they often use them in their literary and poetical compositions. The Machzorim, or the Jewish Liturgies for the festivals, are full of compositions where the first letters of the sentences follow the order of either the "Atbash" or "Tashrak." The latter is simply a reversed order of the alphabet.

THE REAL KABBALAH

The "Real Kabbalah" consists of theoretical and practical mysteries.

1. The theoretical mysteries treat about the ten spheres, the four worlds, the essence and various names of G.o.d and of angels, also of the celestial hierarchy and its influences and effects on this lower world, of the mysteries of creation, of the mystical chariot described by the Prophet Ezekiel, of the different orders and offices of angels and demons, also of a great many other deep subjects, too deep for comprehension.

2. The practical Kabbalah is a branch of the theoretical, and treats of the practical use of the mysterious names of G.o.d and of angels. By uttering properly the Shem-ham-mephorash, i.e., the ineffable name of Jehovah, or the names or certain angels, or by the mere repet.i.tion of certain Scripture texts, miracles and wonders were and still are performed in the Jewish world.

THE KABBALA