Part 7 (2/2)

(46) Cf. chapter I, 15.

17. R. Akiba (47) said, ”Jesting and levity lead a man on to lewdness.

The _Ma.s.sorah_ (48) is a rampart around the _Torah_; t.i.thes are a safeguard to riches (49); good resolves are a fence to abstinence (50); a hedge around wisdom is silence” (51). 18. He used to say, ”Beloved is man, for he was created in the image (of G.o.d); but it was by a special love that it was made known to him that he was created in the image of G.o.d, as it is said, 'For in the image of G.o.d made he man'

(52). Beloved are Israel, or they were called children of the All-present, but it was by a special love that it was made known to them that they were called children of the All-present, as it is said, 'Ye are children unto the Lord your G.o.d' (53). Beloved are Israel, for unto them was given the desirable instrument (54); but it was by a special love that it was made known to them that that desirable instrument was theirs, through which the world was created, as it is said, 'For I give you good doctrine; forsake ye not my _Torah_' (55).

19. Everything is foreseen, yet free will is given (56); and the world is judged by grace, yet all is according to the amount of the work”

(57). 20. He used to say, ”Everything is given on pledge (58), and a net is spread for all living (59); the shop is open (60); the dealer gives credit; the ledger lies open; the hand writes; and whosoever wishes to borrow may come and borrow; but the collectors regularly make their daily round, and exact payment from man whether he be content or not (61); and they have that whereon they can rely in their demand; and the judgment is a judgment of truth (62); and everything is prepared for the feast” (63).

(47) Akiba ben Joseph (born about 50 C.E., died about 132) was the greatest of the _Tannaim_ (teachers mentioned in the _Mishnah_). He was a ”proselyte of righteousness” (_ger tzedek_). Until middle age, he remained illiterate and averse to study, but was spurred on to become learned in the _Torah_ by the daughter of the rich Kalba Shabua, whom he subsequently married. He was the pupil of R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanos, R.

Jochanan ben Chanania, and Nahum of Gimzo. He espoused the cause of Bar Kochba, acknowledging him as the Messiah, and is said to have travelled throughout the land stirring up opposition to Rome. At the fall of Betar, he was captured by the Romans, and most cruelly put to death, expiring with the _Shema_ upon his lips. R. Akiba definitely fixed the canon of the Old Testament. He compiled and systematized the traditional law, in this respect being the forerunner of R.

Judah ha-Nasi (see chapter II, n. 1), whose _Mishnah_ may be considered as being derived from that of the school of Akiba.

His importance may be gauged by the following statement from the _Talmud_, ”Our _Mishnah_ comes directly from R. Meir (a disciple of Akiba), the _Tosefta_ from R. Nehemiah, the _Sifra_ from R. Judah, and the _Sifre_ from R. Simon; but they all took Akiba for a model in their works and followed him”

(_Sanhedrin_, 86a). Akiba introduced a new method of interpreting Scripture, in which not a word, syllable, or letter was considered superfluous, finding thereby a basis for many oral laws. His hermeneutical and exegetical activities were remarkable. Many interesting legends have cl.u.s.tered around his name. See Bacher, _ibid._, 271-348; Meilziner, _Introduction to the Talmud_, pp. 29, 125-126; Isaacs, _Stories from the Rabbis_, p. 61 _et seq.;_ Danziger, _ibid._, pp. 152-184; the _Jewish Encyclopedia_, arts. _Akiba ben Joseph_ and _Akiba ben Joseph in Legend;_ Myers, _Story of the Jewish People_, pp. 171-188; and Geiger, _Judaism and its History_, p. 226 _et seq._, 230 _et seq._

(48) _Ma.s.sorah_, from root _masar_, ”to deliver,” ”hand over,”

”transmit,” means a ”chain of tradition.” It is used to designate tradition in general, and is thus correlative with _kabbalah_. The _Ma.s.sorah_ contains information for the correct transcription of the Scripture. As used here, it means the traditional interpretation of the _Torah_. Cf.

chapter I, 1, ”Moses received the _Torah_ on Sinai, and handed it down (_umsarah_) to Joshua,” and ”make a fence around the _Torah_.” Consult Driver, _Notes on Samuel_, _Intro._, p. 37 _et seq._; Schurer, _ibid._, II, i, 328; Taylor, _Sayings_, p.

55, n. 33; Friedlander _ibid._, p. 55, 203, 266; _Jewish Encyclopedia s.v.;_ and _The Companion Bible_ (London, Oxford University Press), Pt. I, _Appendix_, 30.

(49) On t.i.thes, see chapter I, n. 37. Cf. _Shabbat_, 119a, and _Taanit_, 9a (play on [ayin-s.h.i.+n-resh tof-ayin-s.h.i.+n resh], Deut. XXIV, 22),* [ayin-sh-resh bet-s.h.i.+n-bet-yud-lamed s.h.i.+n-tof-tof-ayin-s.h.i.+n-resh] ”give t.i.thes in order that thou mayest become rich.”

[* transcriber's note: this text does not appear to be Deuteronomy XXIV, 22.]

(50) Lit., ”separation,” _i.e._ from defilement, hence ”sanct.i.ty” (Taylor).

(51) Cf. chapter I, 17.

(52) Gen. IX, 6.

(53) Deut. XIV, 1.

(54) _I.e._, the _Torah_.

(55) Prov. IV, 2.

(56) The omniscience and prescience of G.o.d do not deprive men of free will. Maimonides explains this in the last chapter of the _Shemonah Perakim_ (ed. Gorfinkle, p. 85 _et seq._).

(57) Maimonides interprets the last phrase as meaning to do many small deeds of charity rather than one great deed of goodness. For instance, it is better to distribute one hundred coins among one hundred people than to give them all to one person.

(58) The world is compared to the office of a merchant.

(59) Ecc. IX, 12: ”for man also knoweth not his time, like the fishes that are caught in an evil net.”

(60) The shop stands for the world and its enjoyments.

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