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THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF THE TALMUD.
Jenn 4744
syoonn norm vp

THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF
THE TALMUD,

WITH

a

A SKETCH OF THE TALMUDICAL TREATISE
‘faba Rama.’

BY THE

REV. B. SPIERS (Dayan),

LIBRARIAN TO THE BETH HAMEDRASH,
AUTHOR OF ‘THE THREEFOLD CORD, ETC.’

LONDON :
ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, EC.

1898.
¢
Ar 132934
PREFACE.

+2

HE first edition of the ‘School System of
the Talmud’ was published in 1882, and
was very favourably received by the general
public, and also by the press, as may be seen by
the opinions quoted at the end of the volume.
That edition, however, being now entirely ex-
hausted, I have been asked by many interested in
the education of the young to prepare a second.
This task I have willingly undertaken, and have
thoroughly revised the work and added some
new matter and an introduction. I take the
opportunity of expressing my best thanks to
Mr. A. Feldman, B.A., and to my son, Mr. F. 8.
Spiers, B.Sc., for having kindly assisted me in
revising and correcting the proof sheets.

B. SPIERS.
En loving HMemory
oF

MY DAUGHTER

THERESA LIZZIE.
INTRODUCTION.

— +e

T > DUCATION has at all times and in all
countries occupied a prominent. place in
the list of the most sacred obligations
that our fathers were anxious to perform. Especi-
ally was that the case with regard to religious
training. And in this age, full as it is of scepticism
and unbelief, it is'even more indispensable that
the cultivation of the mind, from its very youth,
should. form one of our chief responsibilities.
Certainly no true Jew can do better service to his
God, to himself and to his children, than by giving
them, not only a secular, but also a thorough
religious education. This alone can prove whether.
the intentions of a Jew towards his heavenly.
Father are true and earnest, and whether God’s
Law is more highly esteemed by him than are
the passing delusions of the world.

_A Jew may to all appearances be very strict, he
may walk in the footsteps of his pious fathers, yet
this may be but outward piety, and is no evidence

 

Lu
x Introduction

 

of his sincerity and earnestness. He may, perhaps,
only be religious either because it does not suit
him at his time of life to follow the customs or
adopt the manners of the present ‘ advanced’ and
‘enlightened’ age, or because his position and
circumstances may compel him to live in accord-
ance with the rites and laws of orthodox Judaism ;
but the attention and care manifested by him in
the religious education of his children—this, and
this only, will be a clear proof of his attachment
to the ancient faith of his ancestors.

We read in the Midrash the following beautiful
illustration :

‘Such are the ways of God. He gives to man
riches; wherefore? That he should be kind and
charitable to the poor, and so be enabled to keep
the precepts of the Law. If he fulfils not the
Divine intention, but only increases in pride
through his riches, then they will tend to his mis-
fortune, as it is said, “ Riches kept to the hurt of
the owner thereof” (Eccles. v. 13). God gives to
man children; wherefore? That he should teach
them righteousness and virtue, as it is said of
Abraham, ‘ I know him, that he will command his
children and his household after him, and they
shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and
righteousness.’

If a man does not fulfil the intentions of God,
but boasts of his children, he is punished through
them. Again, the purpose of our toil and labour,
of our anxiety and striving, is that we may live to
Introduction xi

 

delight in our children, that they may be to us in
our old age and helplessness a support and a
comfort. But from what children can we best
hope for such grateful recompense for exertions
in their behalf? Surely from none other than
those who have been religiously trained. Those
who have not learnt the Word of God can with
difficulty, if they can at all, know what filial duties
really mean; nor can they know how far they
extend; nor is their heart sufficiently ennobled to
fulfil such sacred obligations:

Secular education alone can never have that
influence over the human heart which is exercised
by religion—the tender mother of man. Religion
alone has the power to purify the heart, to elevate
the mind, to sanctify the soul. The religious
education of sons and daughters not only gives to

-parents great happiness and comfort here on
earth, but will also be the means of securing their
eternal bliss and salvation hereafter.

Our sages assert: ‘ Whoever leaves a son after
him studying the Torah is considered as if he had
never died’ (Midrash Rabba).

“We find,’ observes R. Abba, ‘that the Holy
One—blessed be He !—shows mercy to the fathers
on account of their children, as it is said: “ And
Noah found favour in the sight of God.’ By
what merits? By the merits of his descendants.’

But what is this religious education? It is to
teach our children the Holy Scriptures with the
oral interpretation thereof, handed down to us;
Xil Introduction

 

to instruct them in the principles of Judaism, to
shelter them from all forms of unbelief, and to
guard against all irreligious tendencies. The
example of the parental virtues and godly life will
certainly assist and benefit the young, but they
must also be made practically conversant with
the ceremonies and observances of religion in
all their forms, for it is only thus that children
can be made blessed, and happy, and steadfast
in faith, both in prosperity and adversity. Only
this can lead them back into the way of truth
should they diverge therefrom, and support them
in despondency, and comfort them in sorrow.
This is the principal matter. In addition to this,
it is certainly wise to give children a sound
secular education, to instruct them in science and
art, in ancient and modern languages, in the
history of other nations, and, above all, in the
history of our own people and in our ancient
tongue.

The Talmud teaches: ‘It is commendable to
unite the study of the Law with business occupa-
.tions, since their joint influence causes sin to be
forgotten.’ The higher faculties, the noble germs
of loftier aims, must not vanish amidst the
cravings and desires for worldly advantages.
Ignorance of the Torah, the Word of God, is the
real cause of that unbelief, scepticism, and indif-
ference so prevalent in our day. The want of
proper religious instruction is the true reason of
impiety, discontent, and unhappiness.

B. SPIERS.
THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OF THE TALMUD

 

CHAPTER I.

HE sages of the Talmud held the school
and the process of instruction in the
highest estimation.

To them the school was the very essence of
life; the calling of a teacher, the highest and
holiest of all pursuits. Indeed, even after the
closest,and most careful investigation, we cannot
find a single passage, either in ancient or in
modern literature, which so admirably sets before
us the school, in its true aspect—that of the
-most important and the highest object on earth—
as the statement of R. Jehuda Hannasi, ‘ The
world exists only by the breath of school-children.”

The Talmud emphatically asserts the education
of children to be a work of especial merit, and
the importance of school and instruction cannot
be too highly estimated.

1 Sabbath, 1198.
2 The School System of the Talmud

 

The whole stability of the world, inasmuch as
it is intended to support sensible, thinking beings,
is linked with the stability of the school, just as
every effect is linked with its cause. ‘A town
which has no school and no school-children should
be demolished.”!

It is further affirmed that ‘Jerusalem was
destroyed because schools and school children
ceased to be there.”

Taken at their true worth, therefore, teachers
and schools are the supporters, guardians, and
defenders of a town, and are justly so called. For,
wherever a comprehensive mind prevails in the
midst of a people or State, where intellect pene-
trates all objects and all circles of life, there the
work of moral development is unceasingly main-
tained by all, individually and collectively.

There, too, the teachers of the young occupy
an honourable position in society, stepping for-
ward with their knowledge among the ranks of
the people, training, educating, refining, and
ennobling them.

‘A certain rabbi,’ the Midrash relates, ‘ once
sent several learned men from Palestine to
establish schools and promote instruction wher-
ever needful. They came to a town in which
they found no trace nor sign of tuition whatever.
With indignation they exclaimed to the citizens:
*‘ Bring before us the protectors of the town!’
But only the magistrates and other persons

1 Sabbath, T19B. 2 Ibid. 3 RNP MDD
The School System of the Talmud 3

 

entrusted with the civil functions of the place
made their appearance. ‘‘ These are not the
protectors of the town,’ the wise men cried.
“Who are, then ?” inquired the citizens with
astonishment. ‘‘ The protectors of the town are
the teachers,”’ was the reply.”! ,

The Rabbis compare teachers to delightful
gardens by a stream, and bright stars in the
sky, for faithful teachers nurse, foster, and watch
the tender plants, and cause benign light to
beam into the yet dark world of the growing
youth.?

‘The teacher and the school-children,’ observes
the Midrash, ‘form the most beautiful ornament
of mankind; and like a costly coronet of pearls
intended for the adornment of queens and prin-
cesses, they are worthy of occupying the highest
and foremost place in society.”

Nay more, the sages even compare the pupils
to the anointed of God, and the teachers to the
prophets, whose prayers are at all times answered
by God. But this high esteem sprang from a
natural feeling of love which they entertained for

1 Pesichta, Midrash Echa, 2, also Midrash Tehillim, 127.
2 Vide Midrash Jalkut on Balak. wo Im) %y M3219
andor down ney nay man jadp presvew mipin “bp
D3939 DIA \Pyo) DOwAaY omax px miwyd pnw
Dia7 pytyD waa mapiwn vind tbs Ge Ser, wr adw!
(731 JID MN poo papdaw pn
3 Midrash Rabba, the ‘Song of Songs,’ chap. 1., Io.
4 Sabbath, 119.
4 The School System of the Talmud

 

the cause itself. Every sage considered teaching
the noblest task of his life.

The Talmud relates of R. Jochanan ben Zaccai,
that he spent the third part of his life in instruct-
ing others.!. It is further said that R. Akiba,
when in prison, sorrowfully addressed these words
to his disciple, R. Simeon, who, in order to learn,
had followed him even thither. ‘My son, more
than the calf wishes to suck, the cow wishes to
suckle.”?

Rab, the Talmud informs us, once met the
elementary schoolmaster, R. Samuel bar Shilath,
whilst the latter was in deep meditation and re-
flection. ‘ How,’ exclaimed the former, ‘ art thou
thinking so much of thy vocation? Hast thou
leisure to turn thy thoughts from thy calling, or
hast thou entirely given it up?’ ‘No!’ replied
the other, ‘I have not been in my garden for
twelve years ; and even now, whilst I am making
reflections on the growth of some tender plants
here, I think of school, and meditate on the
spiritual thriving of the pupils under my charge.”®

The life of the teacher was closely connected
with that of the pupil: master and scholar were,
in fact, inseparable. If the teacher had to flee
to one of the cities of refuge, on account of
accidental homicide, his pupils accompanied him;
likewise the teacher followed the pupils if such a
misfortune happened to them.* The unselfish-

1 Rosh Hashanah, 318, ad fin. 2 Pesachim, 112A.
3 Baba Bathra, 8B. * Makkoth, toa.
The School System of the Talmud 5

 

ness with which they pursued their calling still
more particularly characterised their love for the
cause itself.

The only reward promised to them—the only
reward desired by them—was to learn first, and
afterwards to teach. ‘He who learneth that he
may be able to teach others, will have the merit
of being enabled to learn and to teach.? ‘He
who studied the Law in his youth will also study
it in his old age; he who had pupils in his youth
will also have such in his old age. ‘He who
studies and teaches others possesses treasures and
riches.’*

Not less, however, was the father penetrated
with the love and importance of the instruction
of his child, and the knowledge of the following
maxim may have increased his zeal for it: ‘ He
who teaches the Sacred Law to his children
is as meritorious as if he himself had received
it on Mount Horeb.* ‘A sage,’ the Talmud
relates, ‘met his friend who, with a cloth care-
lessly tied round his head, was hastily taking
his son to school. ‘‘ Why such haste ?” inquired
he. ‘‘ Because,” replied the father, ‘ the.duty of
taking the child to study is prior to everything.” *
‘Another sage tasted no food in the morning
until he had taken his son to school. Another,
again, would not breakfast before making his son

1 Aboth, iv. 5. 2 Jebamoth, 628. 3 Ketuboth, 50a.

# Berachoth, 21B, and Kiddushim, 30.
5 Kiddushim, 304 ; véde Rashi, zédd.
6 The School System of the Talmud

 

repeat the lesson of the previous day and giving
him fresh instruction.”

The high estimation in which the office of
instructor was held induced the teacher to look
upon instruction as much his duty as it was the
father’s.

Respecting the teacher, the Talmud thus ex-
presses itself: ‘He who studies but does not
teach others is like a myrtle in the desert.”
Again, ‘He who withholds instruction from the
scholar robs him of it.’ ‘He who has learned
and does not impart his knowledge unto others
has disregarded the Word of God.’

The learned are in duty bound to spread the
knowledge and learning they themselves have
acquired by intellectual striving. They are not
to keep back from others their discovered truth;
they must not make it a secret for their own
selfish ends. Above all, the father must, accord-
ing to the Talmud, himself teach his children,
or have them instructed whilst they are yet in
childhood.®

‘It is incumbent on the father,’ the Talmud
asserts, ‘to instruct his son.’® Josephus was
therefore enabled more than eighteen hundred
years ago to say, ‘Our principal care of all is

1 Kiddushim, 304; vdde Rashi, zdzd.

2 Rosh Hashana, 23. 3 Sanhedrin, 918.

4 Ibid, 998; vide also Maimonides, Hilchoth Talmud
Torah, I.

5 Kiddushin, 29. 6 [bid.
The School System of the Talmud 7

 

this, to educate our children well.1 He says
further, ‘ Nay, indeed, the law does not permit
us to make festivals at the births of our children,
and thereby afford occasion of drinking to excess ;
but it ordains that the very beginning of our
education should be immediately directed to
sobriety. It also commands us to bring these
children up in learning, and to exercise them in
the laws and make them acquainted with the acts
of their predecessors.”

‘It is not permitted to live in a place where
there is neither master nor school.”

‘Who is an PONT BY—an ignorant boor? He
who has sons and does not educate them.’
High regard for the law, love and duty to its
study both united, will at last urge on the mind
to diligence and perseverance. ‘Therefore pro-
cure thyself an instructor, and thou: shalt be free
from doubt.’ ‘Procure thyself an instructor,
provide thyself with an associate.® ‘It is not
the same whether a man studies by himself or
learns from a teacher.” ‘Be assiduous in study,
for knowledge cannot be acquired by inherit-
ance.’® ‘Say not, ‘‘When I shall have leisure
I will study,’ lest thou shouldst never have
leisure.® ‘In proportion to the trouble which

1 Book I., ‘ Against Apion,’ par. 12.

2 Jbid., Book II., par. 26. 8 Sanhedrin, 178.
4 Sotah, 224. See Rashi, zd/d. 5 Aboth, 1., xvi.
-6 [bid 6. 7 Kethuboth, rrr.

8 Aboth, 2, xii. 9 Tbide, 4.
8 The School System of the Talmud

 

thou hast in studying shall be the reward.” ‘If
a man say to thee, “I have taken pains and
acquired nothing,” do not believe him. ‘I have
acquired knowledge without taking pains,” do
not believe him either.. “I have taken pains
i\ and acquired knowledge,” this believe.”

Although the organization of public schools for
the female portion of the community is nowhere
manifestly stated in the Talmud to have been
in existence, it is nevertheless evident, from
various allusions therein, that much attention
Mas paid to the private instruction of girls.
‘True, the Rabbins did not enjoin advanced
Hebrew education for females; but, while the
higher branches of Hebrew literature were not
taught them, yet, on the other hand, they recom-
mended, besides a thorough domestic training,
a sound religious instruction, and, what is more
peculiar, the acquirement of a foreign language,
specially the Greek tongue.’ ;

According to them, girls were not required to
be brought up as great scholars or professors ;
but were rather to be trained as educated and
accomplished housewives. A woman should take
an active interest in the management of her
household, and devote herself to the moral and
religious training of her children, by which alone
she can prove herself a true mother in Israel.

The noblest acknowledgment which an educa-

1 Aboth, 5, xxiii. 2 Megilla, 6B.
3 Talmud Jerushalmi, Peah, 2B, nd prwon MAwY IED
The School System of the Talmud 9

 

tionalist ever received. for his high merit in
educating the young was the praise accorded by
Rab to Joshua, son of Gamla: ‘ Verily may the
memory of Joshua ben Gamla be blessed; for.
were it not for him, knowledge would have been |
entirely forgotten in Israel.’! Nor was this |
eulogium undeserved, for, had he not nineteen
hundred years ago taken in hand the condition
of schools, attending to and taking care of them;
had he not taken steps to found schools in
every town, were it ever so small; had he not
by these efforts sowed the seed of a national
and intellectual development, the fruits of which
continue to ripen even at the present day, the
spiritual stronghold of Israel would have been
sapped, knowledge would have slipped away, and
the people would have been slain by the first
blows with which their enemies struck them in
the time of exile.

‘Formerly,’ the Talmud remarks, ‘ the father
was the teacher of his own children. But this «
was open to the objection that the fatherless
child received no instruction.”

‘As a remedial measure, schools for children_,
were established in Jerusalem. Still, instruction
was in method as incomplete as it had been
before; for those children only, who were under
the immediate care of their fathers, were brought
to school, whilst orphans, left to their own re-
sources, seldom went thither of their own accord.’

1 Baba Bathra, 21a. 2 Ibid.
10 The School System of the Talmud

 

A school was therefore set up in every district,
to which, however, boys only of sixteen or seven-
teen years were sent. These could not reconcile
themselves to school discipline, and consequently
left the institution whenever they pleased. Upon
this Joshua ben Gamla stepped forward, and
arranged that in every town and village schools
should be established, and children from the age
of six or seven should be compelled to attend
them.

A further evidence that school instruction had
become about this period a matter of national
interest is furnished by the rule subsequently laid
down, that the inhabitants of every town must
establish a school in their own district. ‘Since
the regulations and ordinances of R. Joshua,
inhabitants of every place were bound to main-
tain schools and teachers.’

The work of R. Joshua was not ephemeral,
but produced lasting effects. The extension of
schools was at this period carried out on the
largest possible scale. They sprang up every-
where, and were thronged with the children
brought thither by willing parents. The Talmud
states that ‘in the town of Bither there were four
hundred schools for children.’ In each of those
schools there were four hundred teachers, each of
whom had four hundred children under his charge.”

Rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel said: ‘A thousand
school children were in my father’s house, and

| Vide Baba Bathra, 214. 2 Gittin, 58a.
The School System of the Talmud 11

 

all were instructed in the law and in the Greek
language.”!

‘And although these figures need not be taken
literally, it is nevertheless certain that the num-
bers of schools, masters, and pupils must have
been enormously great in every important, town.
There was a practice in the beginning of the
Talmudical period to teach the children in the
field and in the open air, whenever there was any
lack of space’in the schoolroom. And we may
infer from this that the doctors of the Talmud
were already mindful of the necessity of sanitary
arrangements, as they were thus careful to avoid
overcrowding in their schools. (See Chapter VII.)
This open-air instruction seems to have continued
to be the custom until the time of R. Jehuda
Hannasi.2 This great Rabbi was the first who|
determined that the instruction should take place |
under cover,? and it may safely be assumed that;
the schoolrooms were then sufficiently spacious,
so as not to interfere with hygienic laws.

Many such schools existed in different places’
under various names. But at first the names
non NA or KMWID 'a were also applied to
schools for children, who were seated either on
the ground, on stools, on cushions, or on forms.*
Benches, stools and cushions did not, however,

1 Baba Kama, 834. 2 Sabbath, 127A.
3 Compare Moed Katan, 16a.
* Baba Bathra, 21, and other places in the Talmud.
12 The School System of the Talmud

 

come into use at the same time as the fixing of
the school localities, but were of later origin.*

Maimonides gives us a faithful picture of the
schools, their condition, and the instruction given
therein? ‘The master sat at the uppermost
place surrounded by his pupils, like a crown on
the head, in order that every pupil might see
and hear him. The master did not sit on a stool
and the pupils on the ground, but all sat either
on stools or on the ground. Formerly it was
the custom for the master to sit, and the pupils
to stand, but shortly before the destruction of
Jerusalem it was arranged for both pupils and
teachers to sit.’

The sitting of the children in front of the
teacher was considered expedient for the instruc-
tion.

Rabba said of himself, that he would have more
thoroughly apprehended the instruction he re-
ceived in the school, if his place had not been
behind R. Meir, his instructor.

R. Mesharshia said, ‘ have a general idea of the
subject before entering the lecture-room, and in
selecting your seat try to be facing the lecturer.’

soprye wma pom saa werd Syd inva wy
“ip inva 3) pon “ep wow TIM NMnD
(6a. PMN) pT wr yn pon

1 Berachoth, 28a.

2 Yad Hachasaka, Hilchoth Talmud Torah, chap. iv.
8 Tbid. 4 Erubin, 13B.
The School System of the Talmud 13

 

On moral grounds, no unmarried man or
woman was allowed to undertake the duties of
teacher.! But even from those otherwise qualified,
who sought to undertake that function, a certain
selection was made.

Significant, in this respect, are the words
spoken by R. Akiba: ‘If thou wishest to hang
thyself, select a lofty tree;’ which is justly per-
ceived by Rashi to mean, ‘Learn always from a
great and competent teacher.”

The older and more experienced teacher was
held as the more qualified, and had also at the
election unconditional preference.

‘Instruction by young teachers,’ it is said in
the Mishna, ‘is like sour grapes and new wine;
instruction by older teachers, however, is like
ripe grapes and old wine.’ But if a less.com-
petent man had been engaged, he was not dis-
missed on account of some other more efficient
one for practical reasons, * perhaps the other might
become sluggish and boast that no one was equal
to him, and that, therefore, he had no reason to
fear that he would be discharged.”

Various opinions are recorded in the Talmud
respecting the election of teachers whose method
of instruction varied. Rabba prefers a teacher
who gives the pupils much matter, though with-
out too great minuteness, to one who adopts the
opposite method ; ‘ because the inaccuracies will

1 Kiddushin, 824. ? Pesachim, 112A. Rashi, zd7d.
3 Aboth, iv. 20. 4 Baba Bathra, 214; vide Rashi.
14 The School System of the Talmud

 

ultimately be corrected.’! R. Dimi, however,
would select a teacher who, while giving his
pupils a small range of subjects, insists on
thoroughness, affirming that ‘mistakes once
having taken root in the pupil’s mind cannot so
easily be eradicated.’? Preference was therefore
given to a system of thorough grounding as the
best for furthering a sound education.

There is, moreover, another reason; for, next
to intellect, the Talmud lays great stress upon
the cultivation of the memory, which, as will be
shown further on, is a necessary factor in a
thorough education.

Calmness and tranquillity, which forbid all
exercise of temper; patience, resigning itself
entirely to the child so as to cause the teacher to
place himself in the child’s manner of thinking,
these must form the principal qualifications of
the instructor. Wherefore Hillel laid down the
maxim: ‘ The passionate or hasty man cannot be
a teacher.” The pupil should not, according to
the Talmud, pester the teacher with too many
questions. The teacher must repeat the same
thing over and over again, in order that his pupils
should not remain deficient in understanding the
subject which they are taught. ‘ Unweariedly,’
says R. Akiba, ‘ must the teacher explain a matter
until the pupil thoroughly understands it.’ Rabba

1 oid, prerxonn xnway
2 Baba Bathra, 21a, dy Syy ja Nnway
3 Aboth, ii. 5. 4 Erubin, 548.
The School System of the Talmud 15

 

says: ‘If you see a student whose study is as
hard as iron to him, the fault lies with his
teacher, for he has not explained the matter
sufficiently clearly. snbn MST ON TSX Xa
exw rao Sawa Sinas yoy nwp snsbny
(4a. meaym) cove > qeapp
Truthfulness and conscientiousness were also
regarded as indispensable qualifications of a
teacher. Deeply impressed with a conviction of
the sanctity of the schoolmaster’s calling, whose
object is nothing less than that of harmonizing
the entire world, the sages called school instruc-
tion ‘ Divine work.’1 They speak of the sluggish
teacher in the severe words of the prophet
(Jer. xlviii.),? thus paraphrased by Maimonides:
‘The teacher who neglects his pupils, who goes
out and leaves them to themselves, or who, in
the midst of instruction, occupies himself with
some other work, is of those of whom it is said,
“Cursed be he who doeth the work of the Lord
deceitfully.”’ 8
Finally, piety and accomplishments are, accord-
ing to Maimonides, conditions essential to the
teacher, in order that he may render his work
successful. The teacher, therefore, must be truly
religious, and not only able and fluent in the
reading of the Sacred Books, but also well versed
in the correct interpretation thereof.

177 noxdy 2 myn 7A noxdy nwiy dN
* Yad Hachazakah, Hilchoth Talmud Torah, ii. 3.
16 The School System of the Talmud

 

From the dignity and high esteem in which
instruction was held by the Rabbins on the one
hand, and from the severe penalties which a
teacher would draw upon himself through negli-
gence and idleness on the other hand, there
followed, in consequence, a veneration for the
teacher carried to such a degree that he was
regarded as a representative of the truth and as
the pillar of civilization, as well as the promoter
of the welfare of the human race. This venera-
tion was considered by the ancient Rabbis as
being equally important as that for God: ‘The
fear of thy instructor should be as the fear of
heaven,”? and upon the words, ‘ Thou shalt fear
the Lord,’ the Talmud remarks, ‘ This includes
the learned teachers also.”

It will be understood from this comparison
that any disrespect towards the learned or to-
wards teachers must have been considered very
culpable, and deserving of severe punishment.
‘He who disregards the learned, his wounds are
incurable.’ ‘Jerusalem was destroyed because
the instructors were not respected.’ Reverence
for the teacher precedes that for the father. ‘If
both the father and the teacher are threatened
with any material loss, the latter should be pro-
tected first.’ ‘If you find two things which have
been lost, one by the father and the other by the

1 Aboth, iv. 12.
2 Bechoroth, 6; Baba Kama, 41B; Pesachim, 228.
3 Sabbath, I19B. 4 Lbid.
The School System of the Talmud 17

 

teacher, that of the teacher should be restored
first." ‘Are both panting under the yoke of some
heavy burden, the teacher must be relieved first,
and then the father; should both be imprisoned,
even then should the teacher be redeemed first,
because the father has given the son temporal life
only, whilst the teacher is the cause of his gaining
eternal life.”

Not only was respect demanded for the teacher,
but it was likewise enjoined that respect should be
paid to every one from whom anything was learnt.

“He who learneth of an associate one chapter,
sentence, verse, or word, should behave towards
him with the greatest respect.”

Some examples of this habit of veneration,
although they chiefly bear reference to the
scholars of the high colleges, are yet sufficiently
characteristic to be mentioned here.

‘The student must not give his decision on any
point of law in the presence of his instructor.”
* He who walks before or on the right-hand side of
his teacher is a boor. 4The teacher should not on
any account be called by name.” ‘A pupil should
not occupy his teacher’s seat; he should not
pray either before his face or at his back; he
should not go with him into a bathing-house ; he
should never refute his words in his presence.”

1 Horajoth, 134. 2 Baba Metsia, 334.
3 Ethics, vi. 3. 4 Erubin, 634.
5 Joma, 37A. 6 Sanhedrin, 100A,

7 Berachoth, 274, ad fin.,; and Pesachim, 514.
2
18 The School System of the Talmud

 

‘ All kinds of work which a servant does for his
master a pupil must do for his instructor, except-
ing the taking off or putting on his shoes.”!

The sages, having a clear perception that the
direct instruction of a child under his sixth year
would injure his bodily development, and wishing
to train a sound mind in a sound frame, fixed the
sixth year as the proper time for the commence-
/;ment of his attendance at school. ‘Do not
‘receive a boy into school before his sixth year,’
said Rab to the elementary schoolmaster.”

‘ Whoever sends his child to school before he
has attained the sixth year is as one running after
him but who does not overtake him ;% ‘ that is
to say,’ Rashi explains, ‘he will endeavour to
strengthen him, but without obtaining the desired
effect, because the boy’s life will be endangered
on account of his feeble constitution being over-
taxed by premature instruction.”

But although the boy was not systematically
taught before the sixth year of his age, he was,
however, at an early period initiated in the
elements of his religion. For in the Talmud? we
read: ‘As soon as the child begins to speak, the
father should teach him to say in Hebrew, ‘‘ The
Law which Moses commanded us is the heritage
of the congregation of Jacob,” and also the first
verse of the Shemang, ‘‘ Hear, O Israel, the Eternal
our God is one God.”’

1 Ketuboth, 964; also Yad Hachasaka H. T. Torah, 5,
where it is stated PNA 1373 2 Ketuboth, 50a.
8 bid. 4 Rashi, ad loc. 5 Succah, 424.
CHAPTER II.

| “HEB economy af the subject bai due mgard

Q_existing circumstances; and that it
combined choice and distinction is proved
by the fact that in the schools for children estab-
lished among the ancient Israelites a fixed but
modifiable subject was allotted, having reference
to age and extending over a period of five years.
Just as the Rabbis were anxious about the
strength of the pupils on their first entering
school, so likewise were they mindful of their
mental capacity. They did not needlessly hasten
with the study of the different subjects, but went
on step by step, according to the intellectual
grasp of the pupils, in order to ensure their pro-
gress. The instruction was therefore arranged so
as to suit the age of the pupil. .
From the sixth to the tenth year he was in-
structed in the Bible only, so that he became
thoroughly versed in the Scriptures. From the

 

tenth to the fifteenth he was instructed in the)

Mishna, and from that age upwards in the
Gemarah.! This method of successive instruc-:
l Aboth, v. 21, and Ketuboth, 50a.

2—2

wf

{
\

in
|
\
20 The School System of the Talmud

 

tion seems to have been specially applied in the
elementary classes, because young children are
incapable of concentrating their attention on
several subjects at once, and follows the well-
known maxim affirmed in various places in the
Talmud: ‘If you attempt to grasp too much at
once, you grasp nothing at all.”1 Thus the pupil
advanced gradually from subject to subject, ac-
cording to his growth and the unfolding of his
faculties. But although regard should be paid to
the early age of the child at the beginning of his
studies, because ‘what is learned as a child re-
mains in his memory as ink written on new
paper,” nevertheless, as the faculties of the pupils
do not always expand with their advancing age,
the Talmud advises in the case of a boy who does
not make progress in his studies, to exercise for-
bearance towards him up to his twelfth year, but
that thenceforth he should be dealt with more
severely, because experience proves that children
do not begin to show much mental capacity, as
a rule, until their twelfth year. Further, it is
recommended to the teacher to have pauses and
periods in each subject. ‘The Almighty Himself,
it is said, ‘did not impart the Law to Moses all
at once, but in different divisions and pauses, so
as to make it more intelligible. How much

1 Kiddushin, 17a. nwan xd nan nwan
° Ethics, iv. 20, vide Midrash Shemuel’s commentary, 2d.
3 Ketuboth, 50a, and Rashi, ad Joc.
The School System of the Talmud 21

 

more, then, ought not this to be done by a human
teacher ?”!

Brevity in imparting was likewise held indis-
pensable. The teacher should be as concise as
possible. Far-fetched digressions and seemingly
skilled ramblings are to be avoided, and that
which could be told the pupil in one word should
not be imparted in three.

‘One should instruct the pupils in the shortest
manner possible.”

By adopting this method all superficiality was
avoided, while, by the thorough training of the
memory, not only was that faculty strengthened,
but the knowledge already acquired became
thoroughly rooted in the mind.

The fidelity with which this system was pur-
sued in its application to religious training is
evidenced by the following passage of the Tal-
mud: ‘They searched from Dan to Beersheba,
but found not an illiterate person ; from Gabath
unto Antiphorus, and could discover neither male
nor feniale who was not well acquainted with the
laws of the ritual and ceremonial observance.”

The power of comprehension, as well as the
inclination to acquire knowledge and the ability
to retain it, is, according to the Talmud, mani-
fested by the pupils at different periods sooner or
later.

There are some scholars who not only

| Sifro, i. 3. 2 Pesachim, 3B, and Chullin, 63B.

3 Sanhedrin, 948.
22 The School System of the Talmud

 

thoroughly understand their lesson, with its in-
ferences and deductions, but who likewise long
retain it in their memory.

Others, again, although they comprehend the
instruction, nevertheless lack capacity for reten-
tion. With some there remain only the examples
and the more striking features of the explanations,
while the real subject itself remains unlearnt.
Others, again, derive no benefit whatever from
instruction, for as they fail to apprehend any-
thing, so of course they reproduce nothing.

These four categories are thus described in the
Mishna: ‘Four characteristics are found among
those who sit for instruction before the wise;
they correspond respectively to a sponge, a funnel,
a strainer, and a sieve. The sponge imbibes all,
the funnel receives at one end and discharges at
the other, the strainer suffers the wine to pass
through but retains the dregs, and the sieve re-
moves the bran but retains the fine flour.’4

These reflections of the Talmud give not only
an explanation of the different psychological
phenomena as they disclose themselves, but also
a hint. respecting the handling of the subjects of
instruction in all cases, so that the schoolmaster
may apply to the different categories different
methods of instruction.

For the pupils of the first and last class the
instruction can be more extended, and may even
comprise within its province the treatment of

1 Aboth, v. 18.
The School System of the Talmud 23

 

kindred subjects; whilst for those of the second
class, instruction is of the simplest kind only, and
strictly confined to the bare elements of the sub-
ject imparted. A similar guide is given to the
teacher in reference to the various degrees of
memory exhibited by the pupils.

‘Four characteristics are found among the
disciples. The first quickly comprehends and
quickly forgets ; such an one loses more than he
gains. The second with difficulty comprehends,
but does not readily forget; he gains more than
he loses. He who comprehends quickly, but does
not easily forget, has a good portion. He who
slowly comprehends and forgets quickly has an
evil portion.’+

Through diverse methods the schoolmaster can
succeed in overcoming the difficulties and incon-
veniences which may present themselves to him
in these various degrees, and he will be able,
through the disclosure of these difficulties, to
devise some ways and means whereby they may
be remedied.

The ancient sages had a clear perception that
learning, in its more rigid sense, rests upon the
capacity of the memory, in respect to which the
other mental powers are but dependent. They
accordingly attached great weight to its cultiva-
tion, and laid down the maxim that, as knowledge
can only be acquired by the help of memory, it is
therefore indispensable that this mental faculty

1 Aboth, v. 15.
24 The School System of the Talmud

 

should be assiduously cultivated and constantly
exercised.

But this power can only be attained by much
application, that is, the continual practice of
learning by rote. Such practice will not only
improve the memory, but likewise insure progress
in the various branches of study.

Clear and articulate enunciation and frequent
repetition were some of the means by which this
end was attained.

‘To speak aloud the sentence which is being
learned fixes it in the memory.’ ‘Open thy
mouth in order that thou mayest retain the
subject of thy study, and that it may remain alive
within thee.” ‘Bruria, wifé of Rabbi Meir, on
meeting a certain student who was reading his
lessons in a low tone, rebuked him, saying that
it was not the right way to learn.? .‘ Rabbi
Eliezer had a pupil who studied without articu-
lating the words of his lessons, and in consequence
thereof he forgot everything in three years.’4
PIoT praise jnvuns sqpb min wd oe
VIDS AAAS WI NW" AMY “Dp? boyy
aeons 9p Soy) pao yaad paw ymenp

(8a. TIN)

With regard to the system of repetition, Rabbi

Akiba says: ‘ The teacher should strive to make

* Erubin, 544.

2 Erubin, 544. (35° POID OND. 9p TDI OND Now
Sm pam pa aypnns van

3 Tbid., 53. 4 Tbid., 544.
The School System of the Talmud 25

 

the lesson agreeable to the pupils by clear
reasons, as well as by frequent repetitions, until they
thoroughly understand the matter, and are enabled
to recite it with great fluency.’ ‘Rabbi Prida,’ it
is further stated, ‘had a certain disciple with
whom he repeated the subject four hundred
times, until he became a thorough master of it.”

There was, however, a special system for the
cultivation of the memory, the use of which was
advocated by the writers of the Talmud. This
was the art of mnemonics, which was at firs
cultivated principally in respect to associations 0}
place, but subsequently extended so as to treat of
associations of number.

The sages of the Talmud made use of catch-
words, consisting of similarly-sounding letters,
such as would remind them of the contents of the
sentences or subdivisions; or they would use
some familiar Biblical passages, or proverbs of
the Scripture or the Mishna, or popular sayings,
as well as names renowned of persons, local situa-
tions, and chronological events.2. Rabbi Chisda
said : ‘ No man can acquire a proper knowledge of
the Law unless he endeavours to fix the same in
his memory by certain marks and signs.”

1 Erubin, 548.

2 Taanith, 14a; and Joma, 21B, Mishna Shekalim, v.,
and other places.

3 Erubin, 548, and see Rashi, z颢d. And it may justly
be assumed that in many instances the 81PN 5é so fre-

quently met with in the Talmud was to serve the purpose of
a memoria technica.
26 The School System of the Talmud

 

The sages of the Talmud had much regard for
the aspect and behaviour of the pupils, but they
did not consider outward appearance alone the
chief qualification.

Rabbi Gamaliel caused an announcement to be
made that ‘every scholar whose inward disposi-
tion does not correspond with his outward deport-
ment shall not enter the college. This rule was,
to a certain extent, of good effect, even in the
lower schools of children.

Although, in the case of children, the hidden
germs had not developed themselves, nevertheless
regard was paid to the above rule, and admittance
was consequently refused to those who appeared
unworthy, and likely to exercise a corrupting in-
fluence upon their school-fellows. ‘One should
not teach an unworthy pupil.” ‘He who gives
instruction to an unworthy pupil will suffer for the
evil consequences thereof.’

‘Let the honour of the pupil be as dear to thee
as thine own.’* This the Mishna enjoins upon
the teacher, relative to the training and develop-
ment of the sense of honour in the child—a
matter of the greatest importance, inasmuch as
while the child is yet of tender years a foundation
will be laid for the qualities of courtesy, gentle-
ness, and proper regard for good fame and repu-
tation.

There is in every child a certain sense of

1 Berachoth, 28a. 2 Maccoth, 10a.
3 Chullin, 133A. * Aboth, iv. 12.
The School System of the Talmud _27

 

honour which is the dearest and most inalienable
blessing it possesses. This sense manifests itself
at school in different ways, either in the desire of
being the foremost among its school-mates, or in
the endeavour to become the most attentive and
industrious in the school.

Now, it is most essential that this feeling should
be fostered, and, above all, that this moral sense
of honour should be preserved, for its violation
on the part of the teacher may be productive of
the greatest evil to the pupil. It is in this sense,
therefore, that, according to the Talmud, the
honour of the pupil should be esteemed by the
teacher as his own.
CHAPTER III.

Bible, Mishna, and Gemarah, gave the

principal material for teaching in the
schools of the ancient Israelites. As soon as a
child was able to read the Scriptures, the master
commenced to teach it Mikra, and preference was
given to the third book of the Pentateuch.
‘Why,’ says the Midrash Rabba, ‘should the first
Biblical instruction to children begin with the
laws concerning the offerings? Because the
children are innocent and pure, and the sacrifices
likewise are a symbol of purity, since they are
ordained to restore innocence and purity to man.
So let the pure ones study the laws of purification
through the sacrifice.”

After the course of Bible instruction followed
that of the Mishna, and subsequently that of the
Gemarah. The latter, however, was not a task
for children in the elementary schools, but be-
longed to the higher colleges.

At one time it was a universal custom to

1 Vayyikra Rabba, 7.

) | ATIONAL literature, or religious writings,
The School System of the Talmud 29

 

interpret the portions read from the Bible into
the language of the country.

That the Jews in the time of the Talmud were
well acquainted with foreign languages is proved
by the fact that the Talmud discusses the ques-
tion whether the Law or Megilla (Book of Esther)
may be read in the different languages of the
various surrounding nations.

The Coptic, the Persian, the Greek, etc., are
mentioned as such.! The importance which the
ancients generally attached to languages is shown
by the fact that all languages, even those of the
peoples who opposed Israel, were deemed worthy
of careful investigation, and drew forth thoughtful
and judicious criticisms.

‘God Himself said,’ observe the sages, ‘I begin
the Ten Commandments with the Egyptian word
s959x and not with the Hebrew word ‘9x

‘The Aramaic language,’ says Rabbi Samuel
Bar Nachman, ‘should not be regarded with in-
difference by you, for, behold, even God held it
suitable and worthy of being mentioned in the
Law and in the Sacred Writings.”

The Greek language, however, was esteemed LS
more highly than_all the others, and next “to
~ Hebrew was considered the most beautiful of all.
‘The Torah may be translated only into Greek,
because only by this language can it be faithfully
rendered.’*

1 Megilla, 18a.

2 Jalkut Jethro and Pesikta in section ween wins

3 Midrash Rabba, 74. 4 Jerushalmi Megillah, i. 8.
30 The School System of the Talmud

 

It is further said, ‘The Greek language may in
every respect be used.”

The Jews were always quick to observe every-
thing that was noble and exalted. The soft forms
of the Greek language, the agreeable sound of its
words, its ingenious perfection, all these attracted
them to it. The sages say of the tongue of Hellas
that the words, ‘there is no blemish in her,”? may
be applied to it; for it distinguishes itself by a
keen sense of that which is perfectly noble.?

_ The Greek language is also considered the most
suitable for the art of poetry.

There are four languages,’ observes Rabbi
Nathan, ‘which are distinguished by superior and
special qualities. The Greek sounds best in
poetry on account of its rhythm; the Roman in
war, on account of its sonorous, masculine power ;
the Syriac in mournful songs, on account of its
numerous dull, hollow vowel sounds; the Hebrew
in speech, on account of its clear and articulate
utterance.”

The vessels of the Temple were marked with
Greek letters.5

Instruction in Greek seems thus to have been
general, and a knowledge of this language formed
an essential part of a good education.

1 Megillah, 184. 2 Numbers xix.1. % Jalkut Chukath.

* Midrash Megillath Esther, 3; and vzde commentary
of Matnoth Cehunah, zézd.; also Talmud Jerushalmi
Megillah, 1, 8.

5 Mishna Shekalim, iii. 2.
The School System of the Talmud 31

 

Rabbi '39 says, ‘ What need has one in Pales-
tine to learn Syriac? One should learn either
Hebrew or Greek. Although Rabbi Ishmael
expressed the maxim ‘that one should learn Greek
at a time when it is neither night nor day,” yet
this maxim is not intended to prohibit the use
and study of the Greek language, but was meant
as a warning not to make Greek the principal
feature of education, and the consequent putting
of Hebrew, with its sublime and sacred literature,
in the background, as is unfortunately done at the
present day, and the practical infringement of the
command, ‘ Thou shalt meditate therein day and
night.”

- The words of the Rabbi, moreover, are founded
upon the fear of slander and treachery which was
then prevalent.t Hence the severe sentence,
‘Cursed be the man who teaches his son MIN
may,’ had reference merely to a type of Greek
rhetoric and logic, which, according to Maimon-
ides, delighted in fallacious reasoning and false
deductions, and was delivered in a corrupt kind of
dialect, and not in the pure Greek tongue itself.®
This Greek sophistry seems once to have been in
great repute with the Jews, which is evidently
proved by the fact that families closely connected
with the royal house were allowed to study this

1 Sota, 49a. 2 Menachot, 99B.

3 Joshua, i. 8 * Baba Kama, 82B.

5 Sota, 498. See also Rambam’s commentary on the
Mishna to Sota, zzd.
32 The School System of the Talmud

 

Mai) MIM. ‘In the house of Rabbi Gamaliel
this corrupt Greek dialect was taught and spoken.
Five hundred children were there instructed in
the Grecian wisdom.”?

That the Jews were well versed in the Greek
language is shown by the Septuagint translation
made in the reign of King Ptolemy VI., Philo-
metor.®

Their great admiration for the Greek tongue
did not, however, in the least diminish their
interest in other branches of education, and they
studied the various languages, the arts and
sciences of their times. The more Judaism -
gathered strength in the course of successive
ages, the more did it penetrate into the heart and
mind of the people, and the more did they evince
a desire for the knowledge of foreign tongues, in
order to disseminate far and wide the treasures
and gems of their religion.

As in Palestine during the Second Temple the
Israelites were acquainted with the Syriac idiom,
which was then the dialect of the neighbouring
people, and as in Alexandria they wrote and ~
spoke Greek, so also we see them in Rome, about
the time of the destruction of the Temple, rise up
as Latin poets and critics. Without aversion and
without prejudice they went to work, relying upon
the wise teachers of the Talmud. ‘Every word

| that came from the mouth of God divided itself

 

1 Sota, 49B. 2 Tbid.
3 Sofrim, i. 7 and 8, and Megillah, 9a.
The School System of the Talmud 33

 

into seventy languages,’ that is to say, into all
existing languages’

They hereby showed that every dialect springs
from the Divine Spirit, and continues consecrated
as long as it preserves and expresses that which is
just and true.

1 Sabbath, 88B ; vdéde also Mehorsha, zd7d.
CHAPTER IV.

S the whole life of the Rabbins, in the time

pa of the Talmud, was essentially devoted to
f religion, so they endeavoured to acquire
_ an extensive knowledge of the sciences, not only
for purposes of mental culture, but also specially
for the furtherance of religion. Those sciences,
moreover, were considered as a means of acquiring
a knowledge of the law at once accurate and pro-
found. Rabbi Eliezer ben Chisma said, ‘ The
calculation of the course of the stars and geometry
are the periphery of wisdom’! That these
sciences were especially cultivated during the
rabbinical period is evident from several passages
in the Talmud. ‘Rabban Gamaliel had in his
room, hanging on the walls, various tablets show-
ing the different shapes and figures of the moon.”
‘R. Samuel said he was as perfectly acquainted
with the roads of the skies as he was with the

Aboth, iii. 18.

2 Mishna Rosh Hashanah, ii. 8. It is also probable that
Rabban Gamaliel was already acquainted with some sort of

instrument resembling our telescope ; vzde Mishna Erubin,
ch. iv. 2, and Bartenura, zdzd.
The School System of the Talmud 35

 

streets of Nehardea ;” and the treatises, ‘ Kilaim,’
‘Erubin,’ ‘Succa,’? and ‘ Mickwaoth,’ exhibit an
extensive knowledge of geometry.

Again, in examining the entire treatise of
‘Zeraim,’ we find a large number of different
species of plants and seeds mentioned, a proof of
the extent to which botanical classification had
been carried. The third chapter of the treatise
‘ Chullin’ deals largely with the science of animal
anatomy. Although it is doubtful whether these
subjects were at that time systematically taught.
in the schools for little children, it is, however
so far certain that, whilst the deeper study of
those sciences was reserved for those more ripened
in years, yet, nevertheless, something more than
the mere elements was imparted to the younger
pupils, since they had to undergo a thorough
course of instruction from their tenth to their
fifteenth year.

Already, in the earlier ages, gymnastics had
been deemed essential for military service. The
importance of this fact will be understood when
it is recollected that every Israelite was bound to
serve in the army from his twentieth to his fiftieth
year, as mentioned in the Pentateuch. That they
were in the time of David well exercised in
weapon-practice, and in many a gymnastical feat
of skill, is likewise evident from the Bible.?

1 Berachoth, 588. NVTINIT AWS sow “Saw %S pony
2 Compare 1 Sam. xvii. where it is stated that David
killed Goliath with a sling and a stone.’
3-72
36 The School System of the Talmud

 

But the practice also flourished in the Tal-
mudical period. The exercise of the body served
partly for personal usefulness, and partly for
religious purposes. ‘It is the duty of every father
to have his son taught swimming.’?

It is related of R. Simeon ben Gamaliel that
when he was amusing himself at the (rejoicing of)
MANiwnr Mma nm, he took eight burning torches
in one hand, which he threw upwards in such
a manner that he tossed up one and caught the
other without letting the torches touch each other
in the least; he then stuck his two thumbs into
the ground, and bowed down in such a manner
that he could kiss the marble floor, and in the
same manner he rose up again: a feat which
no one could imitate. This fact incidentally gives
us evidence of the particular kind of gymnastic
exercise practised by the Jews of that day. In
the time of Antiochus Epiphanes we find that the

~Greek gymnasia were renowned in Palestine, and
that, at the request of a company, an institution
of that kind was established in Jerusalem.’ Later
on, about the year 133, at the time of the Roman
rule over Judea, there were even to be found in
Palestine Roman circuses, which R. Meir, who
lived through the Hadrian persecution, forbade
the Jews entering on account of the obscenities of
the Roman idolatry which were practised therein.+
1 Kiddushin, 294. 2 Talmud Succa, 534.

3 Vide 1 Maccab. ;
4 Aboda Zara, 188. MIN*DP IP) MN
CHAPTER V.

N order to excite in the pupils, at the very com-

] mencement of their studies, a lively interest
in their work, thé Talmud considered it
necessary that there should exist a certain friend-
liness and mutual_affection between master er and
upil, and that this should be effected by the
ieacher entering into the feelings of youth, adapt-
ing himself to its cheerfulness, and taking this
as the basis of intercourse maintained by them
during instruction. They recommended that
teachers should cultivate a spirit of cheerfulness,
which should by degrees pass into a seriousness
of behaviour befitting the importance of the
subjects in which they might be engaged.
‘Rabba,’ the Talmud tells us, ‘awoke the in-
terest of his pupils, even in the higher schools,
by relating to them at the beginning of the lesson
humorous anecdotes; he would then enter upon
the subject of his discourse, and both teachers
and pupils observed the strictest seriousness.”
Such cheerful seriousness should prevail through-

1 Tal. Pesachim, 117A.
38 The School System of the Talmud

 

out the entire intercourse between master and
pupil. For it is only when the teacher encourages
the pupils by kindness of manner and cheerful-
ness that the latter will, on their part, be induced
to lay aside the shyness and false shame which
keeps them back from inquiring, and through
which they are apt to become prejudiced against
instruction. The Talmud advises that the teacher
should first make his pupils learn the particular
lesson before them; and not until this is
thoroughly mastered should he proceed to ex-
plain the subject, or cause the pupils to know
and understand the task given them. ‘Learn
first, and then understand.’!

For this reason, it is strictly prohibited to give
the pupils any opportunity for the display of
useless subtilty. ‘Withdraw your children from
purposeless disputation.”? But this rule was also
observed by the more advanced scholars. Rabba
bar Choma and Rami, disciples of R. Chisda,
first endeavoured to acquire great fluency in the
Gemarah, and then they began the deeper study
thereof. It was not sufficient merely to know
the subject, but it was also required thoroughly
to understand it, so as to enable the student to
give prompt and accurate answers to all ques-
tions. Moreover, means are suggested to the

1 Sabbath, 634. 720% 79m wae ord4

? Or useless talking. Berachoth, 288, })'397 9 05°33 Ww

where one explanation of Rashi is ond nw
3 Succa, 29A.
The School System of the Talmud 39

 

teacher whereby he may awaken energy in
mental exercise, and excite a keener and more
concentrated attention. He was specially recom-
mended to put quaint and clever cross-questions,
which, startling them by the contrast of subjects
presented, would first arouse their intelligence,
and then rivet their attention. It is said of
R. Akiba and Rabba that they put such queries
even to the more advanced students, with a
similar aim.1 Furthermore, the teachers under-
took discussions in the presence of the pupils,
in order to stir them up to questions. ‘ Rabba
took such a course in the study of anatomy
with his pupil Abaja, as spurred him on to ask
questions.”

For such a system a cheerful teacher would
indeed be most competent in applying its
maxims, while its effect on the pupil must have
been to develop self-reliance as opposed to
shyness.

Well, then, do our sages say, ‘One who is
choleric cannot be a teacher, and one who is
bashful cannot become learned.”

) Erubia, 134, ONSnA na tind xdy warps AON NP
and Berachoth, 338, 'Y27 Nin "aNd THVIND 1D TAN
2 Chullin, 438. 3 Ethics, 2, 5.
CHAPTER VI.

S our sages strongly inculcated the prin-
A ciple that study should be engaged in not
merely for the thing itself, but also as a
pious undertaking; so likewise they considered
every theoretical doctrine in the course of instruc-
tion merely as a preliminary and foundation for
the actions of practical life. The adage, ‘ Not
the theory, but the practice, is the chief thing,”!
proves that with them the school was not the
end, but the means and preparation for practical
life; and they thus impressed upon the minds of
their disciples the doctrine, ‘The study of the
Law is very important because it leads to good
actions; ‘He who has had the theory only,
and no practice, is uncultivated ;’* ‘He whose
good actions exceed his wisdom, his wisdom shall
endure.’*

Much knowledge, however, could be acquired
by intercourse with the learned, which is thus
important in itself, for even ‘the ordinary con-
versation of the wise is instructive.”

1 Aboth, i. 17. 2 Kiddushin, gon. 3 Sota, 22a.
* Aboth, iii, 12. 5 Succa, 21B.
The School System of the Talmud 41

 

In consideration of their several positions in
life, the Rabbins of the Talmud enjoined that,
combined with study, some trade or profession
should be learned. ‘Just as a man is bound to
have his son instructed in the Law, so also
should he have his son taught some handicraft
or profession.”1 By disregarding this ordinance,
the father exposes the son to the just indignation
and displeasure of society, because his social
existence in general would be imperilled. It is
further stated, ee
son a handicraft, teaches him to be a thief ;* ‘H
who occupies himself only with the study of the
Law, and nothing else, is like one who has no God.”®
For the reason just mentioned, and because they
disliked mere sciolism, and perhaps also on
physiological grounds, some of the greatest
Rabbins of the Talmud were handicraftsmen:
for example, Rabbi Yitschak was a blacksmith,
Rabbi Jochanan a shoemaker, Rabbi Shemuel
a tailor, and so on. Rabbi Gamaliel, the son
of Rabbi Judah Hannasi, said: ‘It is com-
mendable to unite the study of the Law with
worldly employment; since the occupation of
both causes sin to be forgotten, and all study of
the Law unaccompanied by any trade will become
of none effect, and lead to sin.’

The sages of the Talmud did not merely regard
the intellectual accomplishments which are derived

1 Kiddushin, 308. 2 Ibid.
3 Aboda Zara, I7B. * Aboth, ii. 2.

 
42 The School System of the Talmud

 

from education; but they also, nay chiefly, looked
upon the moral advantages and well-regulated
disposition which it should produce. Their
efforts in this respect were directed, not only to
tmpart knowledge to the young, but also to
imbue them with love and reverence for God, as
well as to develop in them a good disposition and
sound moral principles. Honest thoughts and
honest deeds should be the result of a study of
knowledge and wisdom. Abaji said: ‘It is
written, Thou shalt love the Eternal thy God,
that the name of God should through thee be
loved and glorified. Thou shalt study and have
intercourse with the learned; but have a care
also that thy dealings be honest and just, and
thy words gentle and pleasing, in order that
people may say, “Happy the man who has
studied the Law, happy the father who had him
taught, happy the teacher who instructed him;
woe to those who have not studied; behold this
man who has learned, how just are his ways,
how pleasing his deeds!” Of him it is said,
“Thou art my servant Israel, in whom I glory.”
But if thou hast learned and had intercourse
with the wise, and thy conduct is nevertheless
unbecoming, then shall people say: ‘‘ Woe to
him that has learned! woe to the father who
had him taught! woe to the teacher that in-
structed him! Behold this man who has studied
the Law, how base are his actions, and how
wicked are his ways!” Of him it is said:
The School System of the Talmud 43

 

‘“‘They say of them, true, it is the people of
the Lord, but they through their wickedness
have departed from His Law.”’! According to
the Talmud, the child should at an early age
be made to shun every mark of pride and selfish-
ness; for only by evincing humility towards his
teacher would he be enabled to give that amount
of earnestness and attention necessary to his
success in study. And this deference was due
to all who were his superiors in knowledge. And,
indeed, true knowledge can find a foundation
only within him. whose heart is free from all
feelings of pride, and who considers himself as
naught.?

The verse in the Bible, ‘The Law is not in
heaven, that thou shouldest say, who will go
up for us to heaven? neither is it beyond the
sea,’ etc., is thus illustrated by the Rabbins:
‘Thou canst neither find it in him who haughtily
lifts up his head towards heaven, nor in him who
considers his understanding as extensive as the
sea.’3

‘Why,’ says Rabbi Chanina, ‘is the Law com-
pared to water, as it is said, ‘‘ Ho, everyone that
thirsteth, come ye to the water?’* Because, as
water leaves a high place and runs down into
a lower one, so the Law can be retained only by
the meek and humble.’

‘ Rabbi Joshua asks: ‘Why is the Law to be

1 Joma, 86a. 2 Sota, 21B. 3 Erubin, 554.
* Isaiah lv. 1. 5 Taanith, 7A.
44 The School System of the Talmud

 

compared unto water, wine and milk? Because,
as these three liquids can be kept sweet only in
the commonest vessel, so also the words of the
Torah can be found only in those of a humble
spirit. This is illustrated by the following anec-
dote. The daughter of a Roman Emperor said
to Rabbi Joshua ben Chananja: ‘‘ How is it that
thou, being such an ugly man, dost possess so
much knowledge?” upon which he immediately
replied by asking her in what vessels her father’s
wine was kept. ‘‘In earthen vessels,” she replied.
‘*T am surprised,” rejoined the Rabbi; ‘“‘ wine for
the imperial table ought surely to be kept in
golden or silver vessels!’ She then went to her
father, and informed him of the wise man’s idea,
with which the Emperor fully agreed, and there-
upon ordered golden and _ silver vessels to be
made for the purpose. But the wine turned
sour. When the Emperor remonstrated with
the Rabbi for his-bad advice, he responded that
his words to his daughter were merely an answer
to her question, how it was that wisdom and
learning should be found in a person so ugly in
appearance. The humility which is requisite
for the study of the Law should show itself in
the ordinary affairs of life. In point of fact, the
humblest style of living was enjoined as befitting
those who betake themselves to the study of
the Law.

‘A morsel of bread with salt thou must eat,

1 Taanith, 7A.
The School System of the Talmud 45

 

and water by measure thou must drink; thou
must sleep upon the ground, and live a life
of trouble while thou toilest in the Torah.’

om Soxn mbps np oon Sy ast sn Jp
man wy ym yen poss Spy anwn mwas
Spy mins paint

The less riches and affluence men possess, the
more they will possess meekness and humility,
and the more will they feel the need of know-
ledge.

We read in the Talmud: ‘ Have regard for
the sons of the poor; that is to say, thou shouldst
instruct the poor, for from them proceed know-
ledge and learning.”

1 Aboth, vi. 4. 2 Nedarim, 814.
CHAPTER VII.

HE perfection of school organization con-
sists, first of all, in dividing the pupils
into different classes, according to their

mental development and requisite capacities, and,
next, in providing each division with the fitting
course of instruction. Such divisions had existed
already in the Talmudical period, as we have
already mentioned in the second chapter. The
Bible, Mishna, and Gemarah courses of instruc-
tion, fixed for a period of five years respectively,
had to be subdivided into short exercises, ranging
according to the degree of proficiency exhibited
by the pupils, for whom special teachers were
appointed. This is evident from the Talmud,
where it is stated, ‘we should remove the child
from one school to another. Probably such
teachers were appointed as had been trained for
special instruction, according to the grade of the
respective classes; for there were teachers who
devoted themselves specially to either the study
of the Bible, or Mishna, or Gemarah.?
1 Baba Bathra, 214. 2 Baba Bathra, 1458.
The School System of the Talmud 47

 

In order to sharpen the understanding of the
child, it was of great importance to change the
school if the change were likely to prove advan-
tageous to the pupil through the adoption of
a new method of instruction, or perhaps by the
greater thoroughness of the new teacher. We
read: ‘The child should be removed from one
school to another, if it can learn more from the
other teacher possessing superior qualifications
in the mode of reciting and explaining the sub-
jects of the lessons.”! ‘ Whoever learns continually
under but one instructor, and hears the inter-
pretations of the Law from but one point of
view, seldom attains to marked success in his
studies.2 ‘A student who finds his studies too
hard for him should visit various academies.”* In
order that the more advanced pupils may acquire
a certain acuteness and sagacity, it is further
recommended by the Talmud that two or more
should study together, irrespective of their rela-
tive degrees of capacity. ‘Just as a small piece
of wood by friction sets fire to a larger one, so do
the younger and less clever pupils awaken and
stir up the older and more able ones.”4

“Tron sharpens iron, the Talmud continues;
‘as one piece of iron sharpens another piece, so
does one student sharpen the other,’> because the
discussions that arise between them contribute

1 Yad Hachazaka, H. T. Torah, ii. 6. 3

2 Aboda Zara, IgA. 3 Taanith, 8a, also Rashi, zdzd.
* Taanith, 7A. 5 Ibid.
48 The School System of the Talmud

 

mostly to their thorough understanding of the
subject in which they are occupied. The sages
of the Talmud have therefore laid down the
maxim that one of the forty-eight things by which
knowledge is acquired is the disputation of the
disciples.

; Rabbi Chanina said: ‘I have learned much
/from my teachers, more from my school-fellows,
but most of all from my pupils.’

It has not yet been determined, even by modern
educators, whether sixty children can without
disadvantage be put into one class, since each
pupil should be asked at least one question in one
hour’s instruction. The Talmud, however, has
specified the exact number. Rabba says: ‘ Each
‘instructor should have only twenty-five pupils;
for fifty, two teachers should be appointed ; but if
there be forty, then an assistant must be given to
him, and the expenses for the same should be
paid by the community.”

The Rabbins of the Talmud have likewise laid
down strict regulations respecting the sanitary
arrangements of the schools, viz., that there
should not be an overcrowded class-room, lest the
atmosphere might become polluted, and conse-
quently the health of the children be impaired,
and the proper work of the teacher be thereby
hindered.

We have seen that where the class became

1 Aboth, vi. 7. ovtDdNA dybps 2 Taanith, 7A.
3 Baba Bathra, 214.
The School System of the Talmud 49

 

large, a pupil teacher had to be engaged. Such a
pupil teacher is referred to in the Talmud by the
name of NJ3I7 Y' ‘The head of the school
form. This ‘Resh Duchna’ had to join the other
pupils, and then repeat the lessons with the back-
ward boys, so that they had the advantage of having
the subject twice repeated.!_ We thus see that the
system of employing pupil teachers, which is .in
general use in our own excellent Jews’ Free
School in London, had been established and
carried out by the Rabbins of the Talmudical
period. Punctuality and regularity of attendance
was considered a source of the greatest advantage
to the pupil. Rabba said: ‘Fix a time for in-
struction ; that is, appoint a precise time for your
pupils that they should know when to come
and go.”

And it is further evident from the Talmud?
that the favourite time was early in the morning
and late in the evening, for we read there that
students living in the villages must attend to their
studies by walking to town, even at their incon-
venience, early in the morning and late in the
evening. According to Maimonides,‘ school-work
should be continued, and instruction should be
given during the whole day and part of the night,
with the exception of the dinner-hour. Sabbaths

1 Vide Rashi, Baba Bathra, 214.

2 Erubin, 548, and Rashi, zdzd.

3 Pesachim, 8a.

* Yad Hachzakah, Hilchoth Talmud Torah, 2.

4
’

50 The School System of the Talmud

 

and festivals were the only days on which there
was no school-instruction. The intermission of
study on other days was strictly prohibited; not

even the hi nt_matters

were allowed to encroach_on the time devoted to

_education, because all other occ i ere
-held_of less significance. Indeed, the Talmud

enjoins, ‘that the instruction of children should
not be interrupted even for the purpose of build-
ing the Holy Temple.”

1 Sabbath, 1198.
CHAPTER VIII.

ITH a view to maintaining order and
\) \) regularity among the pupils of the
school, the following rules are laid
down in the Talmud: 1. The pupil must attend
the school regularly. 2. No pupil is allowed
during lessons to leave his seat for any purpose
without permission of the master.? 3. No pupil
must ask questions which have no reference to
the subject taught.2 4. Two pupils must not ask
a question at the same time.* 5. No pupil should
ask any question at the moment when the master
enters the school. 6. Pupils must prepare and
learn the lessons and exercises given them for
each day thoroughly.®
The teacher should not force his pupils to study
by continual threats and corporal punishment.
Rather, whilst a certain degree of intimacy should

1 Erubin, 548 ; vzde Rashi.

2 See Rashi, Sabbath, 13a to jmp }27 NONI
3 Sabbath, 3B.

4 Maimonides, Hilchoth Talmud Torah, iv. 6,
5 bid. 6 Kiddushin, 304.

4—2
52 The School System of the Talmud

 

be maintained betwixt master and pupil, yet a
certain degree of reverence for the master should
keep the pupil at a distance. The Talmud says,
‘Throw gall among the pupils, that is to say,
Show thyself often severe towards them without
letting them always feel thy severity.1 ‘ Push
them away with the left hand, but draw them
nigh with the right hand, and act not like the
prophet Elisha, who rejected his disciple Gechazi
with both hands: in consequence of which he
afterwards became a sinner, and led some of his
people astray.”

This mild discipline of the Rabbins was the
more likely to prove effective, inasmuch as it
appealed to the pupil’s sense of honour and
self-respect. As regards the younger children, in
whom the sense of honour is not as yet developed,
and on whom this means of chastisement would
not produce any beneficial effect, the Talmud
_advises, ‘that although indulgence should at first
be shown to the child, yet further on, if it should
prove stubborn and inattentive, a slight corporal
punishment and some restrictions may be im-
posed.’®

The elder pupils, however, should not undergo
corporal punishment for two reasons: first, lest
it might wound their sense of honour; and
secondly, lest it might arouse resistance. The

1 Kethuboth, 103B, and Rashi, zézd.
2 Sota, 474.
3 Kethuboth, 50A, and Rashi, zdd.
The School System of the Talmud 53

 

Rabbins say: ‘A man who strikes his grown-up
son should be earnestly reprimanded, because he
transgresses the commandment, “ Thou shalt not
put a stumbling-block before the blind,” which
is thus explained by Rashi: Because being grown
up he might rebel against his father, who would
thus be a stumbling-block to his child.?

Again, if it should be found necessary to apply
corporal punishment, it must be inflicted very
mildly, as the master is not allowed to use a cane,
but a light strap.

In reference to this, we read in the Talmud:
‘Rab said to the teacher Rabbi Samuel bar
Shilath, “ If thou art compelled to punish a pupil,
do it only with gentleness; encourage those who
make progress, and let him who does not still
remain in the class with his school-fellows, for he
will ultimately become attentive and vie with
them.” 8

R. Samuel Edels, in his Commentary on the

Agadoth,* writes: ‘Only those pupils should be
punished in whom the master sees that there are
good capacities for learning,) and who are inatten-
tive; but if they are dull and cannot learn, they
should not be punished.’ / Just as punishment
formed a part of school discipline, so also did
reward. For we are told in the Talmud that
Rabba-had in his school some dainties, of which

1 Moed Katon, 174.

2 swan ime md sim paNa pyan Now sin Syma p95
3 Baba Bathra, 21A. 4 Succah, 294.
54 The School System of the Talmud

he. would occasionally make a present to his
young pupils.?

It was also a principal part of the discipline of
the school that all children, whether rich or poor,
should be treated alike.2 Nay, the Talmud even
enjoins that great care should be taken of the
poorer children, because they devote themselves
with greater energy to study. A non-Jewish
writer—a German—dealing with the history of
education amongst Jews, writes thus :

‘Training and education among the Jews lasted
as long as a child remained in a dependent posi-
tion ;\\ but it rested chiefly with the father to
inspire reverence for religion in the mind of the
child, and to impress upon it the commandments
of God. .

‘Prayers, and participation in all religious
festivals, still further strengthened the spiritual
life and the inward faith in the God of Israel.

‘Instruction in reading, and especially reading
in the Holy Scriptures, rested with the father.
As is shown by the songs in the Pentateuch, and
by the Psalms of David, music must have been
valued as a part of education among the Jews
of old.

‘The education of girls was entirely domestic,
and confined to the duties of the future house-
wife. Spinning, weaving, dyeing and baking

1 Taanith, 244. See Rashi, zdid. 2 Taanith, 24a.

3 AVN NSN ONow oy 9232 AIM Nedarim, 814, and
vide Rashi, zdzd.
The School System of the Talmud 55

 

filled up the time, and even princesses were not
exempted from these duties.

‘Careful and strict training, coupled with the
example of the teacher, and instruction in all
right modes of conduct, especially in the domestic
virtues, were insisted on.

‘In the thirty-first chapter of the Proverbs of |
Solomon we have a pleasing picture of noble |
womanhood—a virtuous housewife—and also the |
ideal of female education. :

‘ Medicine also was considered an essential and
useful branch of study.

‘The schools of the prophets may here be
noticed. They were conducted by the prophets,
such as Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha. The scholars
called their teachers ‘father,’ and were them-
selves styled “‘ sons of the prophets.”

“Yet we are not to suppose that these schools
specially had in view the training of new members
of the prophetic order. The substantial aim of
these institutions was to give a theological train-
ing, and an exact knowledge of religious cere-
monies, and also included music and singing.’

From the foregoing sketch it is evident that
the subject of education occupied, since the
earliest times, a high place in the Jewish national
life. And surely it was well that such should be
the case. The progress of a people must ever

1 Kellner’s ‘Geschichte der Erziehung und des Unter-
richts.’
56 The School System of the Talmud

 

largely depend upon the spiritual and intellectual
training of its youth. Our children after us will
inherit the accumulated wisdom of the past, and
in their turn hand down that wisdom to genera-
tions yet unborn. As they have been trained, so
will they train their offspring.

High though the place may be that England
holds among the nations, it is but recently that
she has learned the lesson which for many cen-
turies has been familiar to the Jewish people.
The School Boards now established throughout
this country are only the practical recognition of
the correct principles of education, both universal
and compulsory, which were enunciated among
ourselves by Rabbi Joshua ben Gamala nineteen
centuries ago—principles which kept alight the
lamp of knowledge in Israel’s darkest days, which
aided its national development, and formed the
very groundwork of its national life.
NDP S23

THE CIVIL LAWS OF THE TALMUDICAL
TREATISE BABA KAMA.

~~
10+ -

HE treatise Baba Kama is divided into ten
chapters, comprising all the laws with
reference to claims for all kinds of in-

juries done by one man to another. The whole
treatise, however, may be divided into four heads.

Under the first head laws are laid down with
reference to injuries to any person or to his cattle
caused by animals, a pit, or a well, belonging to
another person, or by a fire kindled by the latter.
These are explained in the first six chapters.

Under the second head, laws are laid down
with reference to claims for theft, M234, made by
one person upon another. These are enlarged
upon in the seventh chapter.

Under the third head we have laws respect-
ing claims for compensation for bodily injuries.
These are to be found in the eighth chapter.
58 The Civil Laws of

 

Under the fourth heading all laws are dealt
with relating to various kinds of robbery, nor.
These are commented on in detail in the ninth
and tenth chapters.

I.

The first chapter commences with the words
Pp MAN MAYAN. There are four principal
kinds of injuries, WYIAA) AYIpA) Wan Nw.
(1) Damages caused by the foot of an ox, the
ox being the typical quadruped of the Bible.
(2) By means of an open pit in a public thorough-
fare. (3) By an ox, in having eaten up anything
in a field belonging to another person. (4) Any
damage done by fire caused through neglect on
the part of the person who kindled it.

The Talmud, however, enumerates some more
kinds of damages, also called Ppt MIAN, which
must be left to the student, Me cannot be put
down in detail in a sketch of this kind. There
are other injuries, which are called nytbon, de-
rivatives, because they spring from the above-
mentioned MIAN. I will give a few instances
stated in this chapter.

If an ox gore another, the owner thereof has,
on the first or second occasion (or, according to
another opinion, on the third also) to pay only
half the damage, pr ‘NM, but the third time, or
the fourth, he must pay the whole, poy prs. If
the ox has done any damage by his tooth or foot,
the owner must pay the whole of the damage,
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 59

 

even the first time. This applies only in the
event of the damage having been done on the
premises of the person whose property has been
damaged, but not, however, if the damage was
done in a public thoroughfare, for the simple
reason that the sufferer of the damage had no
right to put his things there.

If a fire by neglect has spread over the field
of another and scorched the ground, or has
damaged stones, etc., the person upon whose
premises the fire originated must pay the damage
done thereby.

_ If a man place stones, knives, or any other
article upon the roof of his house, and they are
blown down by an ordinary wind, “*¥ MY3, he
becomes liable for the damage caused by their fall.

If he put a stone in a public thoroughfare, and
the foot of man or beast rolls it to another place,
where it causes damage, this is considered similar
to the damage caused by means of an open pit,
and he is thus held responsible for the same.

During the summer-time no one is allowed to
throw any refuse, dirt, or water into the public
thoroughfare, as during that period the streets
are as arule clean and in proper condition. Inthe
winter, however, this might be permissible, because
the streets are then not soclean. Nevertheless,
if any damage be caused by such refuse, dirt, or
water thrown into the streets during the winter
season, the person who has done it is responsible.

If a wall or tree cause injury by falling into
60 The Civil Laws of

 

a public thoroughfare, the owner thereof is not
liable, unless he had been warned by the muni-
cipal authorities to repair the wall or to cut down
the tree within a certain time, and he neglected
to do it.

If anyone has caused damage to another person,
and is unable to pay the damage in money, but
pays by giving a piece of land corresponding in
value to the damage done, the law is laid down
that the defendant in the case must give up the
best and most fertile part of his land to the
plaintiff, AT. The reason given in the Talmud
for this law is, that it may serve as a warning
to every individual to avoid causing injury or
damage to his fellow-man, for thus he might lose
the most valuable part of his land.

As regards a debtor who is unable to pay in
money, and assigns a piece of land in payment of
his debt, the creditor has a claim only on the
land which is moderately productive, F'3)3°3; that
is to say, if the debtor possesses three kinds of
land, of which one kind is very fertile, M'T'Y, one
moderately so, 113)3'3, and one poor, A)3"}, then
the claim lies only upon the moderate kind.

The reason for this is, that a man might desire
to obtain a fertile field, and would say to himself,
‘I will try to get that man, the possessor of the
field, to accept a loan, in order that, if he cannot
pay, the land may ultimately become mine.’

Incidentally, the Talmud refers to the case in
which a man is in possession of houses, fields, or
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 61

 

vineyards, and is much in want of money to
provide his daily sustenance, but cannot realize
any of his belongings for want of a purchaser: he
-is considered as one temporarily destitute, and is
consequently entitled to be maintained by the
tithes assigned for the poor, ‘JY WY), to the half
of the value of his property, presuming that in
the meantime he may be able to effect a sale that
will not be under the actual value of the property.

In the case of a woman claiming payment in
-accordance with the matrimonial contract, M3\N3,
if that payment be exacted from land belonging
to her husband, such a claim can only be enforced
upon the least productive part of his land, M712".
The reason given is, because this would not
keep a woman from marrying, it being generally
considered that a woman does not like to remain
single all her life, and is more anxious to~be
married than a man. AY BONAY AD ANY

swind ay nee xed

If anyone has to meet three claims, one for a
debt, one for injuries, and one for a matrimonial
contract, then if the land he possesses be all of °
the very best, all these claims must be paid with
that best; if the land be only medium, the claims
are paid with that medium; and if the worst,
they are all paid with that kind.

If he possess best and medium, the damages
are paid with the best, and the creditor and the
MANS are paid with the medium.

If he has medium and indifferent land, the
62 The Civil Laws of

 

injuries and debt are paid with the medium, and
the Chethuba with the indifferent.

If he has only best and indifferent, the debt and
the marriage contract, M2IM3, are paid with the
worse, and the damages with the better.

But it must be borne in mind that none of the
foregoing claimants lose anything of what is due
to them; for whoever receives the inferior land
gets in proportion more land, so that the value of
the claim may be made up thereby. The differ-
ence is thus only in quality and in quantity, but
not in value.

If the person referred to as having against him
three claims has sold his land, the purchaser is
dealt with in every way as the seller himself; that
is to say, the claimant for injuries takes payment
with the best, the creditor takes with the medium,
and the Chethuba is paid with the indifferent land,
as the defendant had no right to sell his property,
knowing as he did that he had to pay the above-
mentioned claims. The purchaser, however, has
his remedy against the seller in the court of
justice, or Beth Din.

If anyone sold his fields to another person, and
this person sold the medium kind thereof to some-
one else, and a creditor of the former seller comes
forward, he can claim his due payment of the
medium either from the first or second purchaser.

If anyone sold a field to someone else without
taking any responsibility upon himself, and a
creditor of the seller comes forward and takes
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 63

 

away the land from the purchaser, the seller
can summon the said creditor before the court to
prove that the debt had not yet been paid. The
creditor cannot prevent it, because if the seller
were not allowed to do this the purchaser would
reproach him for having deceived him by not
undertaking any responsibility, NNN, at the
time he bought the field.

If a man sold a piece of land to another, and
there is afterwards a rumour that this piece of
land was not really his own, and the purchaser
thereof wishes to cancel the transaction, the
Talmud decides that, if the purchaser has already
taken possession of the land in accordance with
the laws and regulations by means of which his
ownership has been determined, he cannot cancel
the transaction; but if such is not the case, he
has a right to set aside the transaction.

This law is also applied even in a case in which
the seller has taken upon himself all liabilities,
NV ORN, with regard to any claim that may after-
wards be made upon this land.

If two brothers divided between themselves the
inheritance left them by their father, consisting of
money and land, one taking the land and the
other the money, and a creditor came forward
and took away the land, the brother who took the
money must share it with the other.

In passing, it is here stated: If a man is about
to buy a scroll of the law, M71N TBD, or any other
article necessary for the performance of a religious
64 The Civil Laws of

 

observance, and finds that there are different
qualities of these, the one better than the other,
it is his duty to add a third of the amount of its
value in order that he may obtain the one which
is the handsomer and the better: MI¥D ATTA

myer by sy

The Talmud continues: A man is responsible
for anything of which he has taken charge, and
even if damage is only partially caused by him, he

“is yet responsible for the whole. I will just quote
three instances:

i. If one man dig a pit in a public place to the
depth of nine Tephachim (a Tephach is a hand-
breadth, and supposed to be about four inches),
and a second person finish it to ten Tephachim
(the depth stated by the law as sufficient to cause
death to an animal), the latter is liable for any
damage caused by the pit.

2. If a man make a fire near his neighbour’s
property, but not such as would cause damage,
and a second person increase the fire, and conse-
quently brings it near enough to do damage, this
second person must pay for all the damage done.

3. A number of persons sit upon a form or
bench, and do not break it ; another person comes,
and also sits upon it, in consequence of which it
is broken; the damage done must be paid for by
the last person.

If a man has stolen a beast or any article, and
its value has been diminished while in his posses-
sion, he cannot restore the animal or article in
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 65

 

this damaged condition and pay the difference in
value, but he must restore an animal or article
of precisely the same value as that which he

stole (vide Rashi, p. 11). xd) ab yb pow xb
br

If a man take anything into his charge, and
give it over to another one, he, the first one, is
liable, not only in a case where the first, WOW, was
paid, 1DW “Whew, and he gave it to one whom he did
not pay DIM iW, and thus lessened the liability
of the second person, but even if the first were
not paid and he gave it to a person who was paid,
and consequently increased the liability, yet the
first, IY’, remains liable for all loss or damage,
because the man who gave the thing into his
charge, TPAD, can say: ‘I trusted you, but not
any other person, and you had thus no right to
give it in charge to anyone else. “DOW WD

en spy

If an ox stray into the yard of a stranger, and
is injured by an ox belonging to the owner of the
yard, the latter need not pay, for the simple
reason that he can say: ‘ Your ox has no right to

be on my premises.” *8D *NIW72 TN mb NT
Ya

The following four rules are laid down with
reference to damage done by one ox to another:
If the place in which injury was done to the
animal belongs exclusively to the person suffering
the injury, prin “SM, the owner of the ox causing

5
66 The Civil Laws of

 

the injury must pay, no matter in what way the
damage was done.

But if the place belongs exclusively to the
owner of the ox that did the injury, pren SM,

he is not liable for anything. Should, however,

the place belong to both of them, pas Sw syn,
the owner of the ox that did the damage need not
pay if the injury was done by means of the tooth
or foot of the ox, but if by means of the horn or
other parts of the body—if the ox be a DN, viz.,
not wont to do injury—he pays half the damage
done; but if he be a Ty¥—wont to do damage—
he must pay the whole. The reason of this last
rule is, because the place belongs to both, each
has an equal right to bring in either edible things,
vessels, or animals, so that no responsibility is in-
curred if injury takes place by the tooth or foot,
as it is a natural thing that an animal should eat
up or break anything that is in its way, but not
so if the damage is done by the horn, etc.

If the place belongs to neither of them,

pro xd) pris xd, the owner of the animal
that did the damage must in all cases pay for a
Tam, ON, half the damage, and for a Moed, “Wb,
the whole damage.

Women are likewise liable for any damage
done, either by themselves or by their animals,
because women are also bound to observe all
the negative commandments of the Law, as is dis-
tinctly written in Numbers v. 6: ‘When a man
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 67

 

or a woman commits any sin, that person shall
be guilty.’

This the Talmud proves by quoting several
other passages of the Pentateuch to the effect
that men and women are alike in a transgression
of any negative commandment of the Law.

The Talmud strictly prohibits a man rearing a
savage dog in his house, ¥4 abs DIN boy xd
wea pn, or having on his premises a shaky and
unsafe ladder, YY" odin, for it is said in Deuter-
onomy xxii. 8, N92 DT ON NOY «That
thou bring not blood upon thine house.’

The Talmud here incidentally comments on the
words in the second Book of Chronicles, xxxii. 33,
where it is said, in reference to the death of King

Hezekiah, ‘341 AM 55 ima tb wy n>)
poy, ‘And all Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem did him honour at his death,’ by which
is meant that they put the scroll of the Law upon
his coffin, and said: ‘ He kept all that is written
in the Law.” Ata 2INDw A AT op

The Doctors of the Talmud attach great im-
portance to the study of the Torah. WH‘ ben
myye p> Nap Sm min Ifa man is
ignorant of the Law, he does not know what is
right and what is wrong, what to do and what to
avoid. Rabbi Jochanan says: ‘ He who occupies
himself with the study of the Torah and with bene-
volent deeds shall become worthy of great reward.’

5—2
68 The Civil Laws of

 

Il.

The second chapter begins with explaining the
means or ways by which an animal is considered

a “WWD, or a OM.

A beast is accustomed to eat fruit or green-
stuffs; and if these belong to someone else, the
owner of the beast must pay the whole value of
the quantity eaten; but if it has eaten up a
garment or other things, only half need be paid,
NT IW (this being an unnatural thing for an
animal to do, therefore it is only considered to be
a Dn). This only applies if the beast has eaten
the things on the premises of another person;
but if the things eaten were in a public thorough-
fare, the owner of the animal is not liable.

The following instances are stated here: A
donkey has eaten bread out of a basket, and
has consumed some of the basket. Rabbi Judah
decided that the owner of the donkey must
pay the full value of the bread eaten, because it
has eaten a thing which is usually consumed

by such animals, XO bow ome }.3, and
half of the damage done to the basket, it being an
unusual thing to consume a basket, N'T AWS.

This is only if the donkey has first eaten the
bread and then destroyed the basket; but if the
basket was destroyed at the same time that the
bread was eaten, then the whole damage done to
the basket must be paid; and the reason given is
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 69

 

that it is only natural for an animal to damage
the receptacle while consuming the contents:

vv “oy xp spibad tpi MIN. See Rashi, ibid.
A goat saw some vegetables on the top of an
earthen vessel. It laid hold of the vegetables
and consumed them, and at the same time broke
the vessel. Raba made the owner of the goat
pay the whole damage, both that of the vege-
tables eaten and the vessel broken, because this
is quite a natural thing, for an animal to break
the vessel when it eats up vegetables contained
therein (p. 20): “ma NN Soh “maT 13
ponds soy> ‘D3

Rabbi Ilpha says: ‘If an animal, being in a
public place, stretches out its neck, and eats any
food carried on the back of another animal, the
owner must pay or make good the loss, because
anything carried on the back of an animal is
considered the same as being on the premises of
the animal’s owner : ‘$7 pran AWAD ANIA *a.
If a dog or kid jump from a roof and break any
vessels on the premises of another person, the
owner must pay the full value of the damage
done, because such animals are wont to act in
that manner, so care should be taken not to leave

them at large: J*TY1D JNW ‘15D.

If a dog run off with a cake baking on burning
coals, and go with it into a stack of corn, con-
sume the cake, and through the burning coals
set fire to the corn and destroy it, the owner of
70 The Civil Laws of

 

the dog must pay the whole value of the cake
and half of the damage done to the corn; because,
as regards the food, it was ‘M8, the natural in-
stinct, but the burning of the corn was MDWd,
an unusual occurrence.

If a man incite a dog or a serpent to attack
anyone, the man who did so need not pay for
any injury caused by it; but the owner of the
dog or serpent must pay, because the man who
incited the animals was simply an indirect agent,
and the owner had no right to leave them at
large.

The Talmud decides that a man is responsible
for any injury or damage done by him, whether
inadvertently or wilfully, whether awake or asleep,

and so forth; for the rule is, poy “Wi DAN,
‘A man is sihivans a IW, or liable.’

If a man throw down any vessel from a roof or
a high place, below which were soft articles, such
as cushions or pillows, and while the former are
falling another person removes the soft things
below, the man who threw the vessels down need
not pay, because the things below would have
prevented the vessels being broken, and the
person who removed these articles is not liable,
because the damage caused by him was indirect :
WWwsb }pr33 D1. Other Rabbis, however, are of

opinion that the one who removed the soft things
from below must pay. Vide ?5\ph a4 D poD4
BY *D DYER win) pMDI
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama ay

 

If anyone throw down a vessel from a high
place, and another person break it with a stick
before it reaches the ground, he need not pay,
because he can plead that it would surely have
been broken had it fallen to the ground: NID

an Svan

III.

52 smh If anyone put a vessel in
a public thoroughfare, and another person knock

against it and break it, he need not pay; and if
this person were injured by it, the owner of the
vessel must pay for the injury done. The reason
is obvious: no man has aright to put things in
a public thoroughfare, and a person is not obliged
to look about and see if anything is in his way.

psoas ynannd on a Se post paw eb

The following incident is mentioned in this
chapter. Two persons were partners in a well,
and each had a day fixed on which he was to
draw water. One of them came and drew water
on the day set apart for the other, and this latter
struck him a blow with the handle of a spade.
This man, the Talmud decided, could not be
made to pay for the blow, as the other was in
the wrong in coming on the day not his own.
Although in other cases, the Talmud continues,
aman must not take the law in his own hands,
even in a case where he is quite sure that it is
72 The Civil Laws of

 

in his favour; in this case, however, if he had
gone to the court to prevent the other party
drawing water, he would have incurred a loss, as
the man would have continued drawing during
his absence; he was therefore compelled to stop
this man’s unjust action.

If a man let fall a jug with water or another
liquid in a public thoroughfare, and, the jug
being broken, the liquid is spilt, and another
person passing slips down in consequence, and is
injured by the broken pieces, the matter is
decided in the following way: If the owner of
the above-named vessel intends to take up the
broken pieces and the liquid therewith, he is still
considered the owner thereof, and is thus liable
for the injury caused; but if this is not the case,

he is not liable, 715 PV PAN’ 3.

The Talmud here states that pious men in
olden times, being very anxious not’ to cause any
damage or injury to any person or animal,
never threw anything that might cause injury to
_pedestrians into a public place, but buried such
.things three hand-breadths deep in their fields,
this depth being chosen to avoid interference
with the ploughshare.

One Rabbi used to throw such things into the
fire, another threw them into the river Hiddekel.

Rabbi Juda says: NTDNM ymnd yon IND ONT
ports oo pp), ‘Whosoever wishes to be
truly pious should endeavour strictly to observe
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 73

 

all laws which prohibit causing damage or injury
to anyone.

Another Rabbi says that, to be truly pious,
a man must also be very careful to say all the
blessings before and after partaking of any food
or drink.

Rabba says that a truly pious man should
follow the teachings of the Ethics of the Fathers,

mast Sp

We read further: ‘If a man remove straw into
a public place for the purpose of using it after-
wards as manure, if anyone be injured by it, the
person who put it there must pay for the injury
done; and if anyone likes to remove the straw
and make use of it, he has a right to do so.

If two potters are laden with their wares, one
walking behind the other, and the first falls down,
and the second also falls in consequence of the
first having given him no warning to stop, the
first is liable for the injury caused.

If one person is walking along a_ public
thoroughfare with an earthen vessel, and another
behind with a thick piece of timber, and the
vessel was broken by the timber, the carrier of
the timber is not liable for the damage, because
everyone has a right to walk in a public place
and carry whatever he likes. But if the one in
front carried the wood and stopped suddenly,
without giving notice to the one behind him, if
the vessel was broken by it, the owner of the
timber must pay the damage.
74 The Civil Laws of

 

Incidentally it is here stated that Rabbi
Chaninah used to say just before the Sabbath

began the following words: ANTPO N¥21 INI

xnabp nbs, ‘Let us go and receive the Sabbath,
bride and queen.’
Rabbi Jana used to dress himself in his Sabbath

garments, and exclaimed: mb Wil nb ‘N12,
‘Come, O bride—come, O bride!’ This shows
with how much joy and gladness our ancient
Rabbis received the Sabbath, although they them-
selves were workmen or artisans, not as it is too
often unfortunately received by many in the
present day, who look upon it as a burden and
weariness, instead of a day of delight and rejoic-
ing. They think that by keeping the Sabbath
strictly and abstaining from business they suffer
loss, forgetting that their success depends entirely
upon the Almighty’s dispensation.

The Talmud now proceeds to discuss various
laws in reference to injuries done by one animal
to another. I will just quote one instance:

One ox pursues another, and the latter is
injured. A dispute arises between the two owners.
The owner of the injured ox says that his ox
was injured by the other that pursued it, while
the owner of the other ox contends that the ox
was injured by knocking against stones. The
Law is decided that the one who wishes to obtain
money from the other must bring forward proper
evidence to prove that the injury was caused by
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 75

 

the ox, and not by stones; for the rule is laid

down: “NM YOu WIND NID, ‘The onus
probandi lies in the claimant.’ In other words,
‘ Possession is nine points of the law.’

IV.

The fourth chapter commences with the follow-
ing law:

An ox, valued, for example, at 200 zuz,} gored
to death another ox of the same value, and
the carcass is worth nothing. The owner of the
ox killed is entitled to receive half, that is to say,
too zuz. If, however, the ox gored another also
of the same value, then the latter takes half the
value of his ox (100 zuz), and the owner of the
former ox gored takes a fourth part of the value
of his ox, viz., 50 Zuz.

If a third ox also of the same value was gored,
then the last gets 100 zuz, the preceding one takes
50 zuz, and the remaining 50 zuz is divided between
the owner of the first ox that was gored, and the
original owner of the ox which has done the
injury.

This law, the Talmud explains, can only be ©
applied when each person whose ox was gored
has taken possession of the ox that gored, in con-
sequence of which he becomes equally responsible
with the owner of the ox, and, as a matter of

1 A zuz is a certain ancient coin often mentioned in the
Talmud.
76 The Civil Laws of

 

course, it is also understood that the ox has not
yet been declared to be a TY by the Beth Din,
for otherwise the owner would have to pay the
whole damage to the last injured one.

The following incidents are here related:

A person struck another. The accused was
brought before Rabbi Huna, who fined him half
a zuz. The accused offered the plaintiff a zuz,
which was much worn, and could not be easily
changed, in order to give him back half a zuz
change, so the accused struck the plaintiff another
blow, and gave him the zuz.

Rab Shemuel Bar Juda had lost a daughter,
so the Rabbis said to Ula, ‘ Let us go and con-
sole him.’ Upon which Ula replied: ‘ What
have I to do with the Babylonians ? who, when
condoling, use the following terms: WSN ‘ND

say Taveb swe xn sav, « what can we
do against the will of the Almighty ?” ’—meaning
if they could do anything they would. Such
words are not in accordance with perfect pious
resignation and submission to God’s will.

Rabbi Nathan says: ‘If one man owes money
to another, and this one is debtor to a third, the
Beth Din has the power to take the debt from the
first and pay to the third, and the second has no
right to interfere at all’ (p. 40): WARD AYIA

m YIN) I Psy ana ani 3p

An ox that killed a human being, and, after
being condemned to death by the Beth Din, is
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 77

 

slaughtered by the owner, not only must the flesh
of the ox not be eaten, but no use whatever is
allowed to be made of the same.

Casually it is here stated that Rabbi Simeon,
*‘IDOYN Pow “34—some say it was Nehemiah
‘DSA “9M 3I—used to expound the meanings of
the word FN wherever it is written in the Torah,
but when he came to the words, ‘Thou shalt
revere the Lord,’ N1'N rb “3 TS, he could not
find any explanation of the word NN, thinking
that he could not find anyone to be equally
revered with God.

Rabbi Akiba, however, explained that this MN
denotes the wise and learned in the Law of God.
They, too, should be revered by us. nad ns

pon spn

If an ox was rubbing itself against a wall, and
the wall fell upon a human being and killed him,
or if the ox, endeavouring to kill another ox, killed
a human being, the ox is not condemned to
death.

Vv.

The beginning of the fifth chapter is almost a
continuation of the foregoing chapter, and further-
more lays down the following laws :

If anyone sold an ox, and the buyer. found out
that the ox was accustomed to gore, it is decided
that the seller can say: ‘I sold it for the purpose
78 The Civil Laws of

 

of slaughtering.’ And the purchaser has thus no
power to cancel the transaction unless he can
prove by proper evidence that he bought the ox
for other purposes.

If a person claims any sum of money from a
debtor, and the latter says to the creditor, ‘You
have something of mine in your possession ;
return me that first, and then we shall see about
the debt,’ the Talmud decides that it is the duty
of the Beth Din first to make the debtor pay the
debt, and then to hear the statement of the
counterclaim.

Sometimes, however, the Beth Din has to
listen first to the case of the man who has the
counterclaim, and that is when the debtor would
be compelled to sell his property below its value
in consequence of paying the debt.

If a potter brought his earthenware into a
courtyard belonging to another person without
his permission, if any of the vessels were broken
by the beasts of the owner of the yard, the latter
need not pay for the damage done, and if the
beasts are injured in consequence, the potter
must pay for the injury done to the animals.

The same law also applies to anyone bringing
in edibles to the courtyard of another without per-
mission, and the cattle eating them up: the owner
of the beasts need not pay, and if the beasts were
injured in any way by the edibles, the owner
thereof must pay for the damage.

If, however, it be found that the animal died
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 79

 

in consequence of having overeaten itself, the
owner of the edibles is not responsible.

If anyone brought an ox into a courtyard of
another person without permission, and the ox
made deep holes in the yard with his hoofs, the
owner of the ox must pay for the damage done
to the yard, and the owner of the yard is in future
responsible for any injury done through these
pits or holes, if he made the yard free and
open to the public without filling up the holes or
pits, just the same as if he himself had digged
them.

If an ox attempted to injure another ox, and
in so doing struck a woman with child, and
caused the child to be stillborn, the owner of the
ox is not responsible for the injury done; but if
a man intended to injure another and struck a
woman, and caused the same result, he must pay
damages to the husband; this law the Talmud
proves from a verse in Exodus xxi. Vide p. 49.

If a man went into the courtyard of another
without permission, and the owner was injured
by him, the man who came in must pay for the
injury done; but if the proprietor injured the
man who entered the place, he need not pay for
the injury.

This, the Talmud explains, only holds good if
the owner did not know that the man was there,
and consequently the injury was inadvertently
done; but if he knew it, and wilfully injured him,
‘he must pay, because the man can say to the
80 The Civil Laws of

 

proprietor, ‘ You had a right to turn me out, but
no right to injure me.’

The Talmud relates the following incident of
mw IBIN NMI, Nehemiah, who used to dig
pits to provide water for pilgrims who went up to
Jerusalem for the three festivals. His daughter
accidentally fell into a deep well. People went
and told Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa of it. The
first hour he said, ‘She is not dead’; the second
hour he said the same. The third hour he said,
‘ She is out of the well; being sore, she would not
die in the well.” The people asked the Rabbi,
‘Art thou a prophet, that thou couldst say she
would safely get out of the well?’ To which he
replied: ‘ Neither am I a prophet nor the son of
a prophet; but I was positive that, in a case
where a righteous man had taken so much trouble
to find water for others, the Lord would not allow
his children to die by this means.’

Rabbi Chanina said: ‘If a man says that the
Lord is a JN}, forgiving all the iniquities of men,
even without true repentance, such a man will
ultimately become addicted to continual trans-

gressions, and endanger his life’ 49) }95 bs
PRN Sw pans mapn Vide Rashi, p. 50.

The Talmud forbids throwing stones from
one’s private place into a public thoroughfare,
path mead imei pw Spot xb, and notices

the following incident. A certain man was clear-
ing stones out of his own ground and throwing
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 81

 

them into the public street. A pious man, who
was passing at the time, said to him, ‘Thou
art a fool, for thou clearest the stones from a
place which is not thine into a place which is
thine.’

The man laughed at these words. Some time
afterwards this man was obliged to sell his pro-
perty, and when he was walking through the same
public thoroughfare he fell over those very stones
which he had thrown there. Upon this he said:
‘ The pious man was perfectly right in saying to
me, ‘‘ Thou shouldst not cast stones from a place
which is not thine own into a place which is.”’’
What the pious man meant in his rebuke is quite
obvious. No man can be sure that the property
he possesses will always be his; for there may
come a time when he will be compelled to sell
it, whilst the public thoroughfare will always be
open to him.

The Talmud then states the case of a well in
an open place, belonging to two persons, one of
whom draws water and does not cover the well.
Then the second comes and draws water, and
does not cover the well either, and the decision
is given that the latter only becomes responsible
for any damage caused by the open well, as he
was still using the well when the first left it.

The following remarkable passage calls for
some comment:

yep wax Ta gem 4) Say po sann’s Sew
6
82 The Civil Laws of

 

AIITD 21) O73 WN ND DWNT NII AD
nMnaxY WW mm PX J ON2 AGNI DYNAN
pra tbs ox oxy dye ona ts nb rdsw

43) 210 DAD OND ON YT NY wd BS 21

Rabbi Chaninah asked R. Chiya: ‘ Why is it
that the word 3), ‘good,’ is not mentioned in
the first or original Ten Commandments, in
Exod. v., whilst we find it mentioned in the
commandments repeated by Moses in Deut. tii. ?’
To which R. Chiya replied: ‘ Until you asked me
this question, I was not aware that the expression
3% was mentioned in the second Command-
ments.’ Now, this reply of R. Chiya seems very
strange; for can it be supposed that a learned
Rabbi like R. Chiya was ignorant of the exact
words of a simple passage of the Pentateuch?
Various explanations have been given of this
strange reply of R. Chiya (see ‘DIN, Baba Bathra,
113), to which I would add my humble opinion.
The Rabbi’s reply was, I venture to think, in-
tended to be humorous, SAMI WW, because
R. Chaninah made use of the word AY9, which, as
a matter of fact, is not mentioned in the second

Decalogue. The actual phrase is 7 aa" web.

He thus justly replied that he was not aware that
AY was written in the second Commandments.
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 83

 

VI.

The sixth chapter commences with the follow-
ing laws:

If a man has taken sheep or any other animal
into a fold, the door of which he fastened properly,
and the animals escaped and caused damage, he
is not liable; but if the door was not properly
fastened, he is responsible for any damage done.

If he, however, left the beasts in the burning
sun without cover, although the door of the fold
was properly fastened, yet, if the animals got out
and did damage, he must pay, as he had no right
to leave them where they would suffer through
the heat, which would naturally force them to
break through.

This law applies also if he left the animals in
charge of a deaf person, an imbecile, or a child:

PEP) Abe wan

The Talmud asserts that, although a man can-
not be punished by the law for causing loss or
damage to his fellow-man by an indirect action,
he is nevertheless considered guilty in the sight
of God.

The Talmud advises that we should always go
out and return home by daylight, in order to
avoid accident or injury as far as possible:

31 ‘33 N¥) AW %33 BIN DID" obi

If there be a pestilence in the place, we should

keep within doors; but if there be famine, we
6—2
84 The Civil Laws of

 

should travel about, and apply all our energies

in order to procure food: yon DID VyAa 737

(P. 60.) PO By. awh

We meet here with the following interesting
incident: Rabbi Arna and Rabbi Assa were
sitting in the presence of Rabbi Izchak Nafcha.
One of the two former said to Rabbi Izchak,

‘Tell us some point of law,’ NMAYDY WD XD,
and the other said, ‘Tell us some exegesis,’
NMS WD xp, each of the two refusing to
listen to what was interesting to the other. Upon
this Rabbi Izchak Nafcha said to them: ‘ Your
opposite wishes may be compared to the case of
a man who had two wives; one was old, and the
other young. The old wife plucked out his black
hairs, and the young one his gray hairs, so that
at last he became entirely bald. Thus are you
two, one wants Halacha, the other Agada; so
by rights I ought not to tell you anything.
Nevertheless, I will speak to you upon a subject
combining the two, Halacha and Agada.’ And
so he explained to them the verse YN N¥N *D
D's} N¥D), Exod. xxii. (P. 608.)

If a man gave in charge to another person
a gold coin, and said, ‘Take great care of this
silver coin,’ and this person wilfully destroyed it,
payment must be made to the value of the gold
coin; although he said it was silver, nevertheless
he had no right to destroy it. If, however, it was
not destroyed wilfully, but was lost through care-
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 85

 

lessness, payment need only be made to the value
of a silver coin, although it was a gold one,
because the person who had it in charge can
plead and say, ‘I took only the responsibility of
a silver coin, and not of a gold one.’

If a spark fly from the hammer of a black-
smith, and do damage, he is liable for it.

If a camel loaded with flax pass through a
public street, and, going too close to a shop
where there is a light, causes the flax to take
fire, and thus brings about the destruction of the
building, the owner of the camel must pay all the
damage, as the driver had no right to go so near
to the shop. But if the shopman had the light
outside the shop near the road, the shopman
must then pay for the flax burnt.

VII.

If a man has stolen and sold, or slaughtered, an
ox or a sheep, the thief must pay a fine of five
oxen for an ox, and four’sheep for a sheep. The
reason why he pays five oxen for one ox, and four
sheep for one sheep, is because the ox walks of its
own accord, whilst the sheep has to be carried,
and some allowance is made on that account.
Another reason is that it might be considered
menial’ or degrading to the thief to carry the
sheep, and his feelings, therefore, are consideréd.

Rabbi Meir points out that we may infer from
this law the importance and value of industry.
86 The Civil Laws of

 

An ox is used for ploughing or other field-work,
and the thief thus prevents the owner from carry-
ing on his occupation. He therefore has to pay
five oxen for one ox. A lamb or sheep, on the
other hand, is of no use for work, so he pays only
four for one.

If he sold the animal, and retained some part of
it, or if he slaughtered it not in accordance with
the laws of Shechita, he only pays double, and
not four and five respectively, because the Torah
says 93/31, meaning if the whole of the animal
was sold, and also }M20', meaning if it was
slaughtered in a manner fit to be eaten.

It is here stated that R. Jochanan Ben Zaccai
was asked by his disciples why the Law deals more
severely with the thief, 333, who commits the theft
secretly, and does not pay bps, double, than with
the robber, ]?11, who commits his crime publicly
with violence, and has to pay bpo; to which he
teplied: ‘The robber puts the fear of God on a
level with that of man. His crime is an open
one, as he fears neither God nor man, whilst the
thief fears man, but not God, thinking if he sinned
secretly the All-seeing eye would not behold him.’

‘There are in this chapter stringent laws laid
down respecting sheep and goats when put out to
graze. Care should be taken by the -owners
thereof that the animals should not stray upon
land where they have no right.

These laws were especially in force with regard
to the Holy Land. The rearing of sheep and
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 87

 

goats, NPT N12, was forbidden there except in
forests or in the wilderness, for fear they might
stray upon land belonging to other people.

It is said that a certain pious man was suffering
from pain and weakness in the heart, which made
breathing difficult for him. The physicians told
him that there was no other remedy than to take
goat’s milk, as it comes hot from the goat, every
morning.

He followed their advice, and had a goat kept
in his room for that purpose. His associates one
day came to inquire after his health, and finding
_ the goat in his room, immediately retired, giving
as their reason that he was acting contrary to the
law, which forbade goats to be kept except as
stated before. Upon which the xpys4t com-
ments that, although he did it for a remedy, yet,
as there was no immediate danger of life, he
should not have transgressed the laws and regula-
tions laid down by the sages. Besides, he could
have kept the goat in one of the forests of Pales-
tine which was near his place. (See ww, ibid.)

By this incident is shown how severe the
doctors of the Talmud were as regards honesty
and straightforwardness in all cases, in order to
avoid any injury or loss to a fellow-creature.

The Talmud mentions here certain other laws
"and regulations which were laid down by Joshua
at the division of the Holy Land among the
tribes, which they had to observe, so as not to
interfere with each other’s possessions.
88 The Civil Laws of

 

It is also here stated that one should read the
Torah in public during the morning service on
Monday and Thursday, and on Saturday during
the afternoon service, and that the Beth Din
should meet every Monday and Thursday to settle
disputes between man and man, and for other
religious matters.

The Rabbins here again refer to the prohibition
of keeping a savage dog unless he be fastened by
a chain, and relate the following: A woman went
toa neighbour’s house to bake her bread. The
neighbour had a savage dog at large, and his
barking at the woman frightened her so much
that it produced a miscarriage. The master of
the house said to her: ‘ You need not be afraid,
the dog has no teeth’; to which she replied:
‘Your goodness is thrown among the thorns’—

“NAN NT) nw NSpw (meaning, his
kind words were then of no use) ; ‘ the injury has
already been done.’

VII.

This. chapter deals with the laws in reference
to any bodily injuries caused by one man to
another. Ifa man inflict a wound upon another,
he has to pay for five things, 2"M Y9'2M2 S37

Naw N53 WY Pts B37 AWN DwD yoy
mevya\, namely, (x) for the injury he actually in-
flicted, pra; (2) for the pain caused thereby, "Y¥
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 89

 

(3) the doctor’s charges for healing, D1; (4) for
the loss of time through the illness, MAY; (5) for
any personal shame or disgrace caused to the
injured person, MYWi2. All these points must
accordingly be adjusted by the Beth Din.

The Talmud here explains that the passage
in the Torah, Exod. xxi., ‘ Eye for eye, tooth for
tooth,’ and so forth, is not to be taken literally,
but the meaning is that. compensation in money
is to be given for any injury done in this way.

It is thus argued: If a blind man causes
another to lose an eye, we cannot possibly apply
the text ‘eye for eye,’ and, again, if we were to
take these words literally, death might in some
cases be the result. Andsothe Talmud continues
to argue, and to prove that only suitable pecuniary
compensation is meant in the text referred to.,

This proves the great importance of the oral
Law, “BYIY MON, without which we could not
possibly keep any commandment of the written
Law, 3nI3Y 17M.

As regards the healing, “iD, of the injury
caused, if the offender should say, ‘I will get
a doctor who will do it for nothing for my sake,’
the other one can refuse, saying, }./9 [17 N'DN
NY, ‘A doctor for nothing is worth nothing.’

Incidentally, a very interesting passage occurs
here. Rabbi Joseph, being blind, used to say: ‘ If
anyone would tell me that the Law is decided
according to the opinion of Rabbi Juda, that a
blind man is free from keeping the command-
go The Civil Laws of

 

ments of the Torah; I would make a feast for all
the Rabbis, because I am not commanded, and
yet I conform to all the ordinances of the Torah.
But I have since heard that Rabbi Chaninah

says: MWA FAY NY Upp Aw YI ASN by
“That the man who is commanded to keep the
Law, and does so, has a greater reward than he
who is not commanded, and does it.” Therefore,
whoever tells me that the Law is not decided as
Rabbi Juda says, namely, that a blind man is
exempt from keeping the commandments, I will
make a feast for all the Rabbis, because if I
am commanded, and do it, my reward shall be
greater.’

Now, it seems somewhat difficult to understand
why the reward of a man who does what he is
commanded to do should be greater than that of
the man who is not commanded, and yet does it.
It appears at first sight quite the reverse, for one
would think that if a man fulfilled the Law with-
out being commanded, his reward should be
greater. A little reflection, however, makes the
matter clear and obvious.

Human nature inclines us to have almost an
aversion to doing anything that we are com-
manded, “"¥'TN AINA, consequently if a man
endeavours to overcome and control those inclina-
tions, he deserves great reward, NIN N WY pip,
whilst the other, who is not commanded to do a
thing, has naturally no feeling against it, so that
there is no actual merit on his part if he does
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama g1

 

perform it, for his natural inclinations are not
brought into play.

The Talmud here forbids a man living with his
wife for any time, however short, without a
Chethuba, marriage contract; this would prevent
a man easily divorcing his wife for any unreason-
able cause.

The Talmud now proceeds to deal with un-
lawful acts committed by one man against
another, such as giving anyone a blow with the
fist, or a box on the ear, or pulling the ear, or
tearing out any of the hair, or spitting upon one.
It also treats of the offence of uncovering the
head of a woman ina public street.

There are certain sums of money specified
which are to be paid as fines for the above-
mentioned offences. An interesting account is
here given of a man having publicly removed a
woman’s head-covering in the street. She caused
him to be brought before Rabbi Akiba, and
charged him with the offence. Upon this the
Rabbi fined him a sum of money, namely 400
zuz. The accused begged for time to pay the
fine, and, this being granted, he one day watched
the woman at her house door, and then broke
a phial of sweet oil in her presence. The woman
at once uncovered her head, and took up some of
the oil and put it on her hair.

Upon this the man, having two witnesses who
saw the occurrence, went to Rabbi Akiba, and
said: ‘Rabbi, ought I to pay a fine of 400 zuz
92 The Civil Laws of

 

to a woman of that character?’ To which the
Rabbi replied: ‘That is no plea at all; for if
a man wounds himself, though by law he may
not be allowed to do so, yet he has no fine to
pay; if another wounds him, the offender must
pay. Likewise, if a man cuts down his own
plants and destroys them, though he ought not
to do so, yet he has nothing to pay; but if others
cut his plants, they must pay. The same is
applicable to this woman, and sc you must ‘pay
her the fine.’

If a man caused a fright to another, although
by the law of men he cannot be punished with any
fine, yet he is guilty in the eyes of God: M'VASNM
DSY 9392 AYA DIN 395 WD TAN AN. If
a man take hold of another, and, blowing into his
ears, makes him deaf, he must pay damages for the

injury done: 3M WN) ND YPN MN.

The Talmud forbids any man destroying or
damaging his garments or any other article
wilfully ; nor is he allowed to do any injury to his
body. All these laws are based on Gen. ix. 5 and
Deut. xx. 19. It is here stated that Rabbi Chisda
was once walking between thorns and thistles.
He lifted up his garments, and said: ‘If any
injury be done by the thorns to my body, it will
heal again; but if my garments be torn, they
cannot be made whole again.’

It is also here stated that a man is not allowed
to deprive himself of any of the necessaries of
life, either of food or drink; for even a Nazarite
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 93

 

was considered a sinner for depriving himself of
wine, much more so if a man deprives himself of
other necessaries, so long as they are lawful.
The Talmud here refers to the Biblical (Deut.
Xx. Ig) prohibition of cutting down any tree that
bears fruit, and points out that if the value of the
tree for building purposes would be greater than
if it were kept for fruit, it is allowed to cut it
down.

In reference to the compensation to be paid for
injuries done by one man to another, the Talmud
declares that, however much money the defendant
pays, yet the sin of having caused pain and shame
to a fellow-creature cannot be forgiven unless he
asks pardon of the injured person.

We now meet with some very salutary instruc-
tion. If anyone has a complaint against his
fellow, he should not pray for God’s judgment
upon him, but should bring him before a court
of justice, for otherwise the punishment he calls.
to God to send upon his fellow-man will recoil
upon himself.

A man should be careful not to regard too
lightly the execration of his fellow-man, be he

ever so low and humble. "IN nobp mn by
spova mbp

A man should rather suffer persecution than
persecute others. D'579I7 jf DIN NM phivs

BAT jd xi. An ingenious instance of this
is given. There are no birds so much attacked
94 The Civil Laws of

 

as turtle doves and young pigeons, and these are
the only birds that were to be brought as offerings
to God.

IX.

This chapter begins by laying down the rule:
mown nye pode orn 59. all robbers

pay for all things robbed according to their value
at the time they were taken.

For instance, if a man has robbed another of
some wood, and made utensils thereof, or wool,
and made garments, he need not restore the
things as they are now, but must pay what they
were worth when in their original state.

The reason for this law is the following :

A certain man was about to publicly profess
repentance for robberies he had committed, and
proposed to restore all goods belonging to other
people. Upon this his wife reproached him as
follows: ‘Thou art a fool if thou thus repent ;
all thou possessest will be taken from thee, even
to the girdle thou wearest, and thou wilt then be
destitute.’ The result of this reproach was that
he abstained from confessing his guilt, and most
likely continued this sinful course of life.

In consequence of this incident, our sages
decided that, if a robber or usurer comes forward
to confess his guilt, and to restore what he had
illegally taken, we receive him as a penitent, but
do not take back from him the things he has
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 95

 

unlawfully acquired, because such a course would
prevent others inclined to make confession of
their sins from coming forward and avowing their
repentance, fearing as they would that such an
act would result in their being deprived of all
they possess. The Talmud, however, decides
that this law refers to the payment of money
only; but if the offender has still in his possession
the things robbed, he must restore them.

If anyone has robbed many people, and comes
forward to confess and make restitution, but does
not know the owners of the stolen property, he
should apply the money to some public purpose,
such as wells of water, drinking fountains, and
the like, so that the people who were robbed
may share in the benefit.

The Talmud here describes some of the ancient
coins. The coins of our patriarch Abraham had
on one side written the words, ‘A young man
and a young maiden,’ referring to Isaac and
Rebecca, and on the other side the words, ‘ An
old man and an old woman,’ meaning Abraham
and Sarah. The coins current in Jerusalem had
on one side engraved the words, ‘David and
Solomon,’ and on the other side the words,
‘Jerusalem, the holy city.’ (See DIN.)

We now come to the laws relating to any
mishap in the execution of orders given by one
man to another.

Thus, if a man has given materials to an artisan
to make up into certain goods or articles, and
96 The Civil Laws of

 

they are damaged, the latter must pay for the
damage done. This applies also to the case of
a builder engaged to pull down a wall, should he
break the bricks or cause any other damage.

Laws are laid down as to what amount is to be
paid in case of the wrong execution of orders, or
any mistakes in the same.

For instance, if anyone has given wool to a
dyer, and he spoils it, the latter must pay the full
value of it; or if he has given wood to a joiner
to make him a chair, and he makes a stool of it,
or vice versé, he must pay for the wood.

If a man robbed his fellow-creature to the value
of a perutah only (obolus, 13d. English), and
denied it on oath, but afterwards confessed his
guilt, he is bound to carry the same to the injured
person, whoever he may be, even to the remotest
place; in addition to this, he must give to the
person he has robbed a fifth part more. Further,
he must not pay it to anyone but to the man
himself, not even to his son, nor send it by a
messenger, except it be the messenger of the
Beth Din.

If the injured person is dead, the stolen thing
must be restored to his heirs. If there are no
heirs, it must be given to charity.
 

the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 97

X.

This chapter begins as follows: rose) bran
powSp prep ond mean ya nN

If a man has robbed another, and maintained
therewith his children, or left the things robbed
to them, and the children consumed the things
after his death not knowing they were robbed,
they need not pay, unless the father left them
some landed property. If the father at the time
of his death had in his possession any animal,
which had been lent to him by someone for a
certain time, and that time had not then elapsed,
his children may continue the use of the animal
until the time expires.

Should an accident cause the death of the
animal during the time for which it was borrowed,
the children need not pay, as they did not take
any responsibility upon themselves.

Should they have believed that the animal
was their father’s property, and consequently
slaughtered the animal and consumed it, they
must pay the value of the meat, but only at a low
rate. Sw swat pow. And Rashi ex-
plains that they pay two-thirds only of the value
of the meat because, had they known that the
animal did not belong to their father, and that
they would have to pay for it, they would certainly
not have consumed it. But they must return the
hide to the owner of the animal. If, however,

7
98 The Civil Laws of

 

the father left them landed property, they must
pay the full value.

The Talmud here states that if two men have
to bring any case before the Beth Din, and the
defendant be ill, the evidence of the witnesses
may be taken in his absence; and if the witnesses
themselves are ill, or are about to go abroad, their
evidence may also be taken, even if the defendant
in the case be opposed to it. Evidence may like-
wise be taken before the Beth Din in the absence
of the defendant, on his refusal to appear before
the court after due notice had been served upon
him.

If a man be summoned by the Beth Din, and
he does not appear, the Beth Din has the power
to excommunicate him.

Three days, however, are fixed, namely, Mon-
day, Thursday, and the following Monday, on
which he is summoned to appear, and if he
allows these days to pass without appearing
before the Beth Din, then the excommunication
takes place.

It is here related that Rab Assa happened to
visit Rab Chana. During his visit a woman was
summoned before the Beth Din. She refused to
appear on that day. Next morning Rab Chana
issued an excommunication, upon which Rab
Assa said: ‘Do you not hold with the law, that
we do not issue the excommunication until after
notice has been given to appear before the Beth
Din on one of the three days, viz., Monday,
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 9g

 

Thursday, and the following Monday?’ To
which the other replied: ‘ This law is only applic-
able to a man who is often out of town, occupied
in his business. But a woman, who is supposed
always to be at home to look after her household,
should appear at the first summons.’

The Talmud decides that no one should be
summoned before the Beth Din in the months of
Nissan and Tishri, these being the months during
which people are occupied in agricultural pursuits.
Neither should anyone be summoned on the days
preceding Sabbaths or festivals, as they would be
occupied with preparations for the sacred days.

Stringent laws. are laid down which prohibit

smuggling in any shape or form, mand sips
DODN AN, because, NIM NMDOHT NIN, the

laws and regulations of any country in which we
live must be obeyed. The Talmud forcibly proves
from the Bible that we must not rob or deceive
any human being, without distinction of creed or
nationality (vide p. 113). ¥px yoy Sry

It is also stated in this chapter that the follow-
ing are the conditions which Joshua made with
Israel when he divided between them the Holy
Land:

A man is allowed to enter the field of his neigh-
bour, and cut off any branch of a tree on which a
swarm of his bees had settled.

If accidentally a neighbour’s cask with honey
should be broken, and a person having a cask

7—2
100 The Civil Laws of

 

with wine near should pour out his wine and save
the honey, which is of much more value than the
wine, the owner of the honey must pay for the
whole value of the wine.

If a person has an ass laden with wood, and
another person has one laden with flax, and the
ass carrying the flax dies, the other should unload
the wood from his ass and put on it the flax of’
his neighbour, and then claim the whole value
of his wood from the owner of the flax, flax being
more expensive than wood.

The following incident is here related :

A man stole a book, and sold it to another
person for 8 zuz; this person sold it to someone
else for 120 zuz. At last the thief was found.
The Rabbis decided that the owner of the book
may, if he wishes, take back the book, but must
then return the 120 zuz to the person who bought
it for that price. He then is to claim 40 zuz
from the person who bought it for 8 zuz, and 80
zuz from the thief.

The reason why the first buyer has to pay 40
zuz is because the rate at which he bought it from
the thief showed him at once that it was stolen
property, and he should not have bought it.

A ship is at sea with cargo, and in danger of
sinking. In consequence of this the crew throw
overboard some of the cargo in order to lighten
the vessel.

This loss, the Talmud decides, is to be reckoned
according to the weight of the goods, and not
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama ror

 

according to the value thereof. Thus, if one man
throws out a hundredweight of gold, and another a
hundredweight of iron, they are considered equal.
It is not necessary for him to throw out so much
iron as to be equal in value to the gold, so long
as it is equal in weight.

If a caravan crossing a desert were attacked by
a band of armed men, who took away the things
carried by the caravan, and one of the persons
forming the caravan rescued the things from the
assailants, the rescuer has no right to keep all the
things to himself, but every member of the caravan
takes his own property.

But if the rescuer distinctly said beforehand
that he meant to secure all the things for himself
if they did not assist, and the people took no
active part, they have no claim upon the rescuer.

In a case where the assailants agreed to take a
certain sum of money instead of the goods, the
money is reckoned according to the number of
the people in the caravan.

If the members of the caravan have hired a
guide at a certain rate of payment, the money is
paid according to the number of persons; that is
to say, everyone must give an equal sum towards
the payment, because each person is in equal
danger.

The Talmud relates the following case that
came before Raba:

A man gave in charge to another a silver cup.
Thieves broke in, and he gave them the cup
102 The Civil Laws of

 

which had been entrusted to him. Raba decided
thus: ‘If this man is rich, no doubt the thieves
came to rob him, and he had no right to give
away the cup, and he must therefore pay for it;
but if he is a poor man, no doubt the thieves
came for the cup, and he need not pay, because
people who take anything in charge for another
without being paid, DIM WD’, do not take upon
themselves the responsibility of securing it against
theft.’

A man had a sum of money deposited with
him which was to be for the purpose of re-
deeming certain captives, DIY fb. Thieves
broke in, so he took the money and gave it to
them.

The case was brought before Raba, and he
decided that the man need not pay the money
back, as he himself may be reckoned as one of

the captives, and he had to save himself. a ps
mrp dyna pay pp

If a man has robbed another of anything, or
borrowed money of him, or anything has been
given to him to take charge of, he must not
restore those things to the owner in the wilder-
ness or in any unsafe place, if the things were
taken in an inhabited or in a safe place, unless the
owner asks him to do so, or unless the loan or
other things were taken upon the stipulation to
give them back in the wilderness.

If one man says to another, ‘I have robbed
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 103

 

you of a certain thing,’ or he says to him, ‘ You
have lent me some money,’ or says, ‘ You have
given me something in charge, but I do not know
whether I have restored it to you,’ he must pay.
Although, according to law, he need not pay,
because the other one does not claim anything of
him, yet, as he himself confesses that he has
taken something of his fellow-man, he must pay
if he wants to remain clear and guiltless in the

sight of heaven: DYDY "T mN¥S NOD. Vide
Rashi, p. 118.

But if he says to him, ‘I de not know whether
I have stolen or borrowed or taken in charge
anything from you; and I do not know whether
I have restored the same,’ he need not pay, even
if he wishes to remain guiltless in the sight of
heaven.

If one man says to another, ‘ You have a certain
sum of mine in your possession,’ and the other
replies, ‘I do not know it,’ as he does not posi-
tively deny the claim, he should pay, if he wishes
to discharge his duty towards heaven.

If a man has stolen a sheep out of the fold, but
restored it afterwards, and it died, or was stolen
by someone else, he is bound to pay for it,
because, as soon as he has stolen it, he becomes
the responsible party thereof, and his restoring it
to the fold is not considered a complete repara-
tion unless he informs the owner that he has
done so. But if after the restoration of it the
104. The Civil Laws of

 

owner numbered the sheep, and found. their
number correct, then, if anything happened to
the sheep subsequently, the thief is no longer
responsible.

The Talmud strictly prohibits buying from
a shepherd any wool, milk, lambs or kids, nor
should one buy any fruit of a person who is in
charge of a fruit-garden, because such people
allow themselves sometimes to take some of the
things in their charge without the knowledge of
the owners. Neither should one purchase any-
thing from a person where there is the least
suspicion that the thing does not belong to the
seller.

We are, however, allowed to buy of those in
charge of the fruit in a garden at the door or
entrance of the same; for, as they sell where
people are continually going in and out, it is
evident that permission has been given them
to sell.

Rabbi Jochanan says that whoever robs his
fellow-man of even the smallest value, such as the
value of a MO5 (a small coin supposed to be the
value of an obolus), is as culpable as if he had
robbed him of a fortune, or even as if he had
taken his life; for it is said (Prov. i. 19): ‘So
are the ways of everyone who is greedy of gain,
which taketh away the lives of the owners
thereof.’

It is further stated that no one should buy of
a married woman any article of value, nor should
the Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama 105

 

the treasurer of any charity, ApPIEST ‘NDI, take
large sums of her without the knowledge of her
husband. He is, however, allowed to take a
small sum, on account of his being an almoner.

Rabina, who was a ApS S83), a treasurer of
a charity, came to a place called Mechuza. The
women of the place appeared before the Rabbi,
and put before him golden chains and bracelets
as gifts towards the charities, and he accepted
them. Upon this Rabba Jaspha said to Rabina,
‘Have we not learnt that we are allowed to take
only a trifle from married women without the
knowledge of their husbands, but not such valu-
ables as these?’ to which Rabina replied: ‘To
the people of Mechuza these things are only trifles,
because they are very rich.’

We have here, in this chapter, the following
laws and regulations laid down:

The wool which the cleaner removes from
woollen cloth he may keep for himself. It is
not theft, because, as the value thereof is so
small, the owner has no objection. But with the
wool-comber the case is different. He must give
back to the owner all the wool that comes out of
the cloth by means of the comb.

With respect to weavers, tanners, tailors,
joiners, cabinet-makers, and so forth, who have
materials given out to them for making up into
goods, if any of the materials should be over and
above what is required for the articles to be
made, there are laws defining what should be
106 The Talmudical Treatise Baba Kama

 

returned to the owner and what they may keep
for themselves.

In conclusion, it is thus clearly evident, from
the treatise NDP N35, of which I have ventured to

give but a superficial sketch, that our fathers, at
all times and in all countries, occupied themselves
with agriculture, with the rearing of cattle and
sheep, and with all kinds of trades and handi-
crafts, and such pursuits were very much
encouraged by the Rabbis of the Talmud.

It is further shown that our conduct towards,
and our dealings with, our fellow-men should be
characterized by strict honesty, fidelity, and
integrity.

A man’s good name depends entirely upon his
good actions and deeds. These alone testify on
his behalf upon earth, and will obtain for him
eternal bliss hereafter.
PROVERBS AND SAYINGS.

Tue following are some of the proverbs or say-
ings to be met with in this treatise, which I here
translate and explain :

I

(P. 92.) 89 NDS ryt. ant ST ON

‘If thou wilt carry the burden with me, I too
will carry it; and, if not, I likewise will not carry
it.” No man likes to undertake by himself any-
thing in which there is fear of loss. Vide
Rashi, zbid., p. 92.

2.

(P. 85.) YY JAD JIT NDS
‘A physician for nothing is worth nothing.’

2.
(P.92.) 49 pb Nein

‘ By the destruction of the thorn the cabbage is
destroyed.’ The innocent often suffer with the

guilty.
108 Proverbs and Sayings

 

4.
92) bp sa wn xd oD rene NR
‘Throw no-stones into a well of which thou
drinkest water.’ Do not be ungrateful to thy
benefactor.
5.
(P92) axnvoy Ndi xy ona
“Poverty always follows the poor.’ On every
opportunity the poor man is reminded of his
poverty.

6.

(P. 93+) “TWD I *DII “ha:

‘ By following behind the landowner, thou wilt
gather wood.’ Around the rich man there is
abundance; or, Abundance is found around the
path of the wealthy.

7s
46) prose 95 Say sara eS at
“He who suffers pain should go to the
physician.’ If a man find himself in difficulties,
he should employ the best means to get out of
them. .
8.

(P.92.) wip qa NEN NIN yp yan
‘If thy neighbour call thee ass, put a saddle on
thy back.’ Public opinion is generally correct.
Proverbs and Sayings 109

 

Q.
P92.) .xipwd smano ssisb soon
‘The wine belongs to its owner, and thanks
are given to the butler.’ It often happens that
a man does a good deed, and the credit thereof
is taken by someone else.

Io.

(P. 52.) -NIVYED xd say xy Sy sys en 4
‘When a shepherd is angry with his sheep, he
‘makes the leading sheep blind.’ Which Rashi
explains thus: ‘If the Lord wants to punish
Israel, He appoints over them unworthy leaders.’

II.

pa NILE T xnwn max “Di yin "3
(P. 92.)
‘When we were young, we were regarded as

men ; now, as we are old, we are looked upon as
school-children.’ See Rashi.

12.

(P92) yarn 553 apa wads
‘In his hunger a dog will even swallow stones.’
To a man in want everything is sweet. The
Talmud bases this saying on the following verse
in Proverbs xxvii. 7: ‘ The full soul loatheth an
honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter
thing is sweet.’ This may also be compared to

the English saying, ‘ Hunger is the best sauce.’
IIo Proverbs and Sayings

 

13.
sept yo xd) peti yo oo sn pdyw

(P. 93.)
‘Rather be among the persecuted than among

the persecutors.’

14.
sony Bm Nx toy See et ton pind x5
(P. 92.) 43%
‘The crow goes to the raven because it is of
its kind.’ Cp. the English, ‘ Birds of a feather
flock together.’

15.
(P92) Ssh ap na sera Ndprt Sever Sona
‘A worthless palm usually grows up close to

fruitless trees... The moral of this may be best
shown by the English saying, ‘ Like to like.’

16.

(P.92.) NN Dp TI ANT ANDI ANd
“Every man should himself acknowledge any
fault or blemish he possesses.’ We should never
hide our position, be it ever so humble, so that
others think us not higher than we are.

2H.
(P. 46.) -YOBS ANS Tw “pp

‘From your debtor take even bran as payment.’
Proverbs and Sayings III

 

18.

(P. 60.) JRI9 MAP) IRI AMP
‘Bald here and bald there. This saying is
based upon the fable mentioned above in the
sixth chapter. See p. 84.

Ig.
Ya NI eA yy xb) yan mp
(Vide Rashi, p. 92.)

‘If thou callest thy fellow to rebuke him, and he
takes no heed, let a wall fall upon him.’ That is
to say, as he would not accept warning, let him
suffer through his own folly.

20.
xdi yaw van bon woo pp son pnw
(P. 92.) DDN
‘The teeth of a fasting person feel pain sixty-
fold when he hears his neighbour eat, and he has
nothing” From this we may draw the lesson
that a man should not eat in the presence of the
hungry without sharing his meal with him.

THE END.

Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, London.
Opinions of the Press

ON THE

‘SCHOOL SYSTEM OF THE TALMUD.’

$$ ee

‘We are glad to observe that the Rev. B. Spiers, the
Dayan, has republished in book form his address on “ The
School System of the Talmud.” ... The pages of this
learned little volume are filled with maxims which testify to
the high estimation in which learning and education were
held by the Tamaim and Amoraim.... These examples
will serve to whet the reader’s appetite for Mr. Spiers’s book,
which is full of such beauties culled from the Talmud.’—
JSewtsh Chronicle; March 17, 1882.

‘ The interesting sketch which the Rev. B. Spiers has just
published is of special interest at the present moment when
Judaism all over the world may be said to be upon its trial.

It is the work of a scholar conceived in the dispas-
sionate spirit, and characterized by the calm and serenity of
the study. The authenticity of the vast array of facts which
are adduced is guaranteed by the well-known erudition of
their compiler, and they have only to be carefully digested
by the reader in order to suggest thoughts which cannot but
exalt the estimate in which Jews and their faith are generally
held. ... Mr. Spiers traces with considerable minuteness
the whole School System imposed by the Talmud upon Jews,
and at the same time, in his opening chapter, shows, by
means of copious quotations, how much more important
than any other consideration education was held by the
Rabbins. . . ’—/ewish World, March 22, 1882.

‘We have just read a curious and interesting work, a
veritable transference of a part of the mind of the past into
the present. It is the production, we should think, of one
who either has a lively and full memory or a well-stored
notebook to dig from as a quarry.... We recommend
the book to all who wish to gain some understanding of the
Jew of our day, and of the position he occupies in the
world’— Unitarian Herald, April 7, 1882.
[2]

*“The School System of the Talmud” is a very interest-
ing account of the system of education which prevailed
among the Jews in the time of the Talmud. Though but a
brief sketch, it is clear and precise, and leaves on the
reader’s mind a very distinct idea of the character required
of the instructors of youth, of the relations that exist between
the teacher and the pupil, the methods and the subjects of
instruction, and even of such details of school management
as the age of admission, the advancement of one grade to
another, and corporal punishment. The account seems to
justify the author’s statement that the subject of education
occupied since the earliest times a high place in Jewish
national life, and in some measure supports his view that
the correct principles of education were enunciated among
the Jews by Rabbi Joshua ben Gamla, eighteen hundred
years ago... . .—Leeds Mercury, April 12, 1882.

‘Out of that wonderful repertory of Jewish legal and
traditional lore, the Talmud, the Rev. B. Spiers, a well-known
Hebrew scholar, has in the compass of a single thin volume,
not larger than a pamphlet, gathered together the evidences
of, and reconstructed for us, the educational system in use
among his people before they were expatriated from their
own land and dispersed among the nations. ...: And so
we might go on by the column almost, illustrating this old-
world system of education from the rich store of materials
contained in the little book before us. But we must leave
the reader some pleasure to come in the perusal of the
volume itself. It is our function to whet the appetite—not
to satisfy it’—Lzverpool Mercury, April 17, 1882.

‘This essay, which originally appeared in the /Jewzsh
Chronicle, has been reprinted separately, and we venture to
think that the republication will be acceptable to all in-
terested in educational effort.... The Rev. B. Spiers, to
whom we are indebted for the very lucid exposition of the
Jewish school system here epitomized, is Dayan and
Librarian to the Beth Hamedrash. The exposition, though
specially interesting to the children of Israel, cannot fail to
furnish much that is suggestive to English educationalists.’
—Newcastle Daily Chronicle, April 8, 1882.

‘They who are interested in education—and who is not ?—
will be glad to have their attention directed to a pamphlet
in cloth on “ The School System of the Talmud,” by the
Rev. B. Spiers. In few things have the Jews, especially
those of former days, been more successful than in the work
[3 ]

of the education of the young, and the rules and maxims
which have been collected from the Talmud by the writer, a
learned Rabbi, give to these chapters an enduring value.’—
John Bull, May 13, 1882.

‘“The School System of the Talmud,” by the Rev. B.
Spiers, is an essay which is an interesting summary of the
whole educational question as it appeared to the Rabbis,
when the very preservation of Hebrew nationality seemed
to depend on careful instruction of the young, and when,
accordingly, far more pains were taken for that end than in
any Christian country. Indeed, it is scarcely going too far
to say that, even now, those amongst us who are practically
interested in education might gather some useful hints from
the ancient Rabbis, whose shrewd and keen intellects struck
out methods which we are apt to regard as the last word of
the nineteenth century, and have hardly reduced into practice
up to the present.—Church Times, May 19, 1882.

‘The Rev. B. Spiers, occupying an important position
amongst the Jews in this country, has reprinted from the
Jewish Chronicle an important essay on “The School System
of the Talmud.” ... We have indicated the nature of this
interesting essay, and for further information concerning the
ancient school system of the Jewish people, we must refer
our readers to the essay itself. It may help to modify some
proud feelings which now and then creep into most of our
minds, when we compare the present with the past.’—
Literary World, June 2, 1882. :

‘Mr. Spiers has brought together from various Talmudic
sources and from the Midrashim a number of Rabbinical
sayings upon the subject of education. ... The book will
interest teachers on account of the shrewdness and good
sense, obviously the fruit of experience, which characterize
many of its maxims. ... Mr. Spiers is perhaps a little too
anxious to prove that the ancient sages of his race forestalled
all the latest ideas of modern educational reformers ; but he
certainly has ground for his concluding assertion that “the
school-boards now established throughout this country are
only the practical recognition of the correct principles of
education, both universal and compulsory, which were
enunciated among ourselves by Rabbi Joshua ben Gamla
eighteen centuries ago.” ’—Academy, July 22, 1882.

‘The high character of the ethical teaching of the Talmud
is well known, but not much has been said or heard hitherto
[4]

of its specific doctrines on the subject of the education of
the young. That is the subject with which Mr. Spiers has
undertaken to deal in the excellent little treatise under
notice, and he has dealt with it in a very interesting and
practical way... . The work is not so much an exposition
of a school system as an exhibition of the leading ideas by
which the educational system of the Rabbins was regulated.
: Obviously there are words of wisdom and wholesale
practical lessons in Mr. Spiers’s abstract of the teachings of
the Talmud on education, which modern schoolmasters and
modern parents would do well to lay to heart.’.—Scotsman,
October 11, 1882.

‘We have long been accustomed to hear that many of our
most recent sanitary arrangements and precautions were
anticipated by Moses, but we now have to learn that not a
few of our most advanced ideas in education have been both
held and practised by the Jews from a time that carries us
far back towards the beginning of the Christian era, to say
nothing of the germs of those ideas in the sacred Scriptures.
A little volume recently published by the Rev. B. Spiers
should be read by all who are practically or theoretically
interested in teaching.—Bedfordshire Times and Indepen-
dent, November 11, 1882.

‘The School System of the Talmud,” by the Rev. B.
Spiers (Triibner and Co., Ludgate Hill), is a little volume
containing a collection of articles originally published in the
Jewish Chronicle, and now reprinted in a handy and useful
form. Its interest is deepest for Hebrew readers, though,
as the sons of Israel may be called the earliest educators
of the human race, it is well worth the attention of everyone
who is concerned in the well-being of the rising generation.’
—Ladys Pictorial, February 3, 1883.

*“ School System of the Talmud.”—This is the title of a
work (Triibner and Co.) by the Rev. B. Spiers, Dayan,
Librarian to the Beth Hamedrash. The writer dwells at
length upon the necessity for great care to be taken in the
education of the poorer children, because they often devote
themselves with greater energy to study. The progress
of a people, the author says, must largely depend upon the
spiritual and intellectual training of its youth. The work is
well written, and will be found very interesting to others than
those of the Hebrew persuasion.’— Wolverhampton Evening
Express, Jaly 25, 1882.
Lad

‘A charming little book entitled ‘‘ The School System of
the Talmud” has been sent to me by Rev. B. Spiers, to
which I should like to call the attention of teachers. It is
short and pleasantly written, and it introduces the reader
to such a quaint old world that it might be taken up for
refreshment, like an amusing book of travels. Yet every
page is full of instruction. The keynote of the book is its
concluding sentence, in which it is stated that the principles
of compulsory education were recognised by the Jews
eighteen centuries ago— principles that kept alight the
lamp of knowledge in Israel's darkest days, and which have
aided their national development, and formed the very
ground-work of their national life.” This sentence alone
suggests many reflections, the truth of which is illustrated
by the facts told in the body of the work.’ —Journal of
Education, April 1, 1885.

‘Desire for secular knowledge is an essential feature in
Jewish religion, as Mr. Spiers’s book makes abundantly
evident.... The extracts from the Talmud quoted by
Mr. Spiers give the reader a glimpse as into a soft, easy
nest, skilfully prepared for the young brain to develop.’—
Journal of Education, September 1, 1885.

‘T read your paper through with much interest as soon
as I received it. —MATTHEW ARNOLD, July 21, 1884.

‘I had gathered from the writings and conversation of
the late Emmanuel Deutsch that an excellent system of
education intimately affecting the national life was in existence
amongst the Jews from the time of the Captivity, and was
eloquently enforced in the Talmudical writings; but I had
no idea that it was so minutely laid down, so well organized,
and so completely abreast of the best systems of modern
times as your treatise has proved it to be. Your little work
will be treasured by me as one of the most valuable and
instructive of my educational collection.—The Rt. Hon. A.
J. MUNDELLA, May 31, 1884.
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