8. After what manner was the paragraph of the king? After the close of the first Festival-day of the Feast [of Tabernacles], in the eighth year, after the going forth of the Seventh Year, they used to prepare for him in the Temple Court a wooden platform on which he sat, for it is written. At the end of every seven years in the set time...' 1 The minister of the synagogue used to take a scroll of the Law and give it to the chief of the synagogue, and the chief of the synagogue gave it to the Prefect, and the Prefect gave it to the High Priest, and the High Priest gave it to the king, and the king received it standing and read it sitting. King Agrippa received it standing and read it standing, and for this the Sages praised him. And when he reached Thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee which is not thy brother,11 his eyes flowed with tears; but they called to him, ‘Our brother art thou! our brother art thou! our brother art thou!’ He read from the beginning of Deuteronomy to Hear, [O Israel];u and the paragraphs Hear, [ O Israel]...and And it shall come to pass if ye shall hearken.. A* and Thou shall surely tithe...l5 and When thou hast made an end of tithing.. A6 and the paragraph of the king,17 and the Blessings and the Cursings,18 until the end. With the same blessings with which the High Priest blesses them the king blesses them, save that he pronounces the blessing for the Feasts instead of the blessing for the forgiveness of sin.
8. 1. Wben the Anointed for Battle speaks unto the people he speaks in 1 Deut. 27*. 1 The people responding ‘Amen’ to each of the three verses, Num. 6M_*.
' 1 Deut. 3iw. 11 Deut. 17“. Agrippa was of Edomite descent. r 1 Deut. 64.
302 THIRD DIVISION: NASHIM the Holy Language, for it is written,' And it shall be when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach (this is the priest anointed for the battle) and shall speak unto the people (in the Holy Language), and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh unto battle this day against your enemies — and not against your brethren, not Judah against Simeon, and not Simeon against Benjamin, for if ye fall into their hands they will have mercy upon you, for it is written, And the men which have been expressed by name rose up and took the captives and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them and shod them and gave them to eat and to drink and anointed them and carried all the feeble of them upon asses and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.1 Against your enemies do ye go, therefore if ye fall into their hands they will not have mercy upon you. Let not your heart be faint, fear not nor tremble, neither be ye affrighted...Let not your heart be faint at the neighing of the horses and the flashing of the swords; fear not at the clashing of shields and the rushing of the tramping shoes; nor tremble at the sound of the trumpets, neither be ye affrighted at the sound of the shouting; for the Lord your God is he that goeth imth you. They come in the strength of flesh and blood, but ye come in the strength of the Almighty. The Philistines came in the strength of Goliath.3 What was his end? In the end he fell by the sword and they fell with him. The children of Ammon came in the strength of Shobach.4 What was his end? In the end he fell by the sword and they fell with him. But not so are ye, /or the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you...This is the Camp of the Ark.
2. And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying. What man is there that hath built a new house and hath not dedicated it, let him go and return to his house...It is all one whether he builds a house for straw, a house for cattle, a house for wood, or a house for stores; it is all one whether he builds or buys or inherits [a house] or whether it is given him as a gift. And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard and hath not used the fruit thereof...It is all one whether he plants a vineyard or plants five fruit-trees, even if they are of five kinds. It is all one whether he plants vines or sinks them into the ground or grafts them; it is all one whether he buys a vineyard or inherits it or whether it is given him as a gift. And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife...It is all one whether he betrothes a virgin or a widow, or even one that awaits levirate marriage, or whether he hears that his brother has died in battle — let him return home. These all hearken to the words of the priest concerning the ordinances of battle; and they return home and provide water and food and repair the roads.
3. And these are they that may not return: he that builds a gate-house or portico or gallery, or plants but four fruit-trees, or five trees that do not bear fruit; or he that takes back his divorced wife; or5 a High Priest that marries a widow, or a common priest that marries a woman that was divorced or that performed halitzahf or an Israelite that marries a bastard or a Nethinah,7 or a bastard or a Nothin7 that marries the daughter of an Israelite — these may not return. R. Judah says: He also that rebuilds his ’ Deut. 20*®. The chapter is a Midrash (App. I. 27) on these verses of Deuteronomy.
house as it was before may not return. R. Eliezer says: He also that builds a house of bricks in Sharon1 may not return.
4. And these are they that stir not from their place: he that built a house and dedicated it, he that planted a vineyard and used the fruits thereof, he that married his betrothed wife, or he that consummated his union with his deceased brother’s wife, for it is written, He shall be free for his house one year: for his house 2 — this applies to his house; he shall be — this is [to include also] his vineyard; and shall cheer his wife — this applies to his own wife; whom he hath taken — this is to include also his deceased brother’s wife. These do not provide water and food and do not repair the roads.
5. And the officers shall speak further unto the people [and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted?] R. Akiba says: Fearful and fainthearted is meant literally— he cannot endure the armies joined in battle or bear to see a drawn sword. R. Jose the Galilean says: The fearful and fainthearted is he that is afraid for the transgressions that he has com¬ mitted; wherefore the Law has held his punishment in suspense [and included him] together with these others, so that he may return because of his transgressions. R. Jose says: If a widow is married to a High Priest, or a woman that was divorced or that had performed halitzah is married to a common priest, or a bastard or a Nethinah to an Israelite, or the daughter of an Israelite to a bastard or a Nathjn — such a one it is that is fearful and fainthearted.
6. And it shall be when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people that they shall appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people, and at the rearward of the people; they stationed warriors in front of them and others behind them with axes of iron in their hands, and if any sought to turn back the warrior was empowered to break his legs, for with a beginning in flight comes defeat, as it is written, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people,3 And there again it is written, And the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down slain...* 7. What has been said applies to a battle waged of free choice; but in a battle waged in a religious cause all go forth, even the bridegroom out of his chamber and the bride out of her bridechamber. R. Judah said: What has been said applies to a battle waged in a religious cause; but in a battle waged in duty bound all go forth, even the bridegroom out of his chamber and the bride out of her bridechamber.
9. 1. The rite of the heifer whose neck is to be broken is performed in the Holy Language, as it is written, If one be found slain in the land [lying in the field]...then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth. 5 Three6 used to come forth from the great court in Jerusalem.7 R. Judah says: Five, for it is written, Thy elders, [that is, not less than] two; and thy judges [that is, not less than] two; the court must not be divisible equally, so they add to them yet one more.
2. If he is found hidden in a heap or hung on a tree or floating on the water, they do not break the heifer’s neck, for it is written in the land, and not hidden in a heap; and lying, and not hung on a tree; and in the field, and not floating on the water. If it is found near to a frontier, or to a city * Where the bricks were unsubstantial and not suited for building houses.
304 THIRD DIVISION: NASHIM wherein the greater part are gentiles, or to a city wherein is no court, they do not break the heifer’s neck. They make measurement only from a city wherein is a court. If it is found at a like distance from both towns, they each bring a heifer, two in all. So R. Eliezer. Jerusalem does not bring the heifer whose neck is to be broken.1 3. If the head of the slain is found in one place and his body in another, they bring the head to the body. So R. Eliezer. R. Akiba says: They bring the body to the head.
4. Whence did they measure? R. Eliezer says: From his navel. R. Akiba says: From his nose. R. Eliezer b. Jacob says: From the place in which he was wounded — from the neck.
5. When- the elders of Jerusalem had departed and gone away the elders of that citv brought a heifer from the herd which had not been wrought with and which had not drawn in the yoke1 (a blemish does not disqualify it), and they brought it down unto a rugged (etan)3 valley (and etan is meant literally, ‘rough’; but even if it is not ‘rough’ it is valid). And they brake its neck with a hatchet from behind it. And that place is forbidden for sowing and tillage, but it is permitted to comb out flax there and to quarry stones there.
6. The elders of that city washed their hands in -water at the place where the heifer’s neck was broken, saying, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.* But could it have come up into our minds that the elders of the court were shedders of blood? — but [they mean]. It is not so that he came into our hands and we sent him away5 without food,6 nor did we see him7 [journeying] and leave him with none to accompany him. And the priests® say, Forgive, O Lord, thy people Israel, whom them hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood in the midst of thy people Israel. They needed not to say, And the blood shall be forgiven them. But the Holy Spirit proclaims to them, ‘Whensoever ye do thus the blood shall be forgiven them.’
7. If9 the slayer was found before the heifer’s neck was broken, it may go forth and pasture among the flock; but if after the heifer’s neck was broken, it must be buried in the selfsame place; for in the beginning it was brought in a matter of doubt, it made atonement for what was in doubt, and so its purpose is fulfilled. If the heifer’s neck was broken and the slayer was afterward found, then he shall be slain.
8. If one witness said, ‘I saw the slayer’, and another said, ‘Thou didst not see him’; if a woman said, ‘I saw him’, and another said, ‘Thou didst not see him’, they must break the heifer’s neck. If one said, ‘I saw him’, and two said, ‘Thou didst not see him’, they must break the heifer’s neck. But if two said, ‘We saw him’, and one said to them, ‘Ye did not see him’, they did not need to break the heifer's neck.10 9. When murderers became many the rite of breaking the heifer’s neck 1 Gem. 45b: Because it is written 'Which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it’; i.e. it applies only to land divided among the tribes, thereby excluding Jerusalem.
J R.V. ‘with running water’; and it is so interpreted by Maim. Gem. 46a (end) supports the meaning ‘rugged’ from Num. 24”, where etan (R.V. ‘strong’) has ‘rock’ in the parallel clause; and from Mic. 6* (R.V. ‘enduring’) where it is parallel to ‘mountains’; while from Jer. 5“ (cf. R.V. mg.) it bears the sense of ‘old’ or ‘continuing’. 4 Deut. 21’.
s And he was reduced to attempt robbery and therefore killed (Rashi).
6 Some texts omit ‘without food’.
1 Some texts omit the rest of the sentence.
ceased. When Eleazar b. Dinai1 came (and he was also called Tehinah b. Parishah) they changed his name to Son of the Murderer. When adulterers became many [the rite of] the bitter water ceased; and R. Johanan b. Zakkai brought it to an end, for it is written, I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, for they themselves [go apart with whores...]2 When Jose b. Joezer of Zeredah and Jose b. Johanan3 of Jerusalem died, the ‘grape- clusters’4 ceased, as it is written, There is no cluster to eat, my soul desireth the first-ripe fig* 10. Johanan6 the High Priest did away with the Avowal concerning the (Second] Tithe. He made an end also of the ‘Awakeners’ and the ‘Stunners’. Until his days the hammer used to smite in Jerusalem; and in his days none needed to inquire concerning demai-p roduce.
11. When the Sanhedrin ceased, singing ceased at the wedding feasts, as it is written, They shall not drink wine with a song...7 12. W'hen the First Prophets® died, Urim and Thummim6 ceased. When the Temple was destroyed the Shamir-worm10 ceased and the honey of Zofim;11 and faithful men came to an end, as it is written, Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth...u Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel says in the name of R. Joshua: Since the day that the Temple was destroyed there has been no day without its curse; and the dew has not fallen in blessing and the fruits have lost their savour. R. Jose says: The fruits have also lost their fatness.
13. R. Simeon b. Eleazar says: [When] purity [ceased in Israel it] took away the flavour and the fragrance; [when] the Tithes [ceased they] took away the fatness of the corn; and, the Sages say,13 fornication and sorceries have made an end of them altogether.
14. During the war of Vespasian14 they forbade the crowns of the bride¬ grooms and the [wedding] drum. During the war of Titus1 s they forbade the crowns of the brides and that a man should teach his son Greek. In the last war16 they forbade the bride to go forth in a litter inside the city; but our Rabbis permitted the bride to go forth in a litter inside the city.
15. When R. Meir died there were no more makers of parables. When Ben Azzai died there were no more diligent students. When Ben Zoma died there were no more expounders. When R. Joshua died goodness departed from the world. When Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel died the locust came and troubles grew many. When R. Eleazar b. Azariah died wealth departed from the Sages. When R. Akiba died the glory of the Law 1 See Josephus, Ant. xx. vi. 1; cf. Kel. 51*.
* Hos. 4m; Gem. 47b: 'If ye yourselves are above reproach the water will put your wive* to the proof; otherwise it will not put them to the proor. 3 Cf. Ab. i*.
4 Metaphor for those of outstanding merit. An early midrashic explanation of the word (eihkol) is ish-the-ha-kol-bo, *a man in whom is everything’. s Mic. 7*.
4 M-Sh. su repeats the paragraph. See notes there (p. 82). 7 Is. 24*.
* Cf. Yom. 5*; Taan. 4*; Yad. 4*. Here, according to Gem. 48b. all the Prophets except Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are meant.
,J Ex. 28". They ceased to have power to indicate God’s will.
10 See Ab. s‘. It was created at twilight on the last of the six days of creation. It was of great hardness, a barleycorn in size; Solomon used it to cut the stones for the Temple ana it was used to engrave the names of the tribes on the two stones for the shoulders of the Ephod (Ex. 28*®). 11 Cf. p. 765, n. 1; 1 Sam. il.
** Ps. i2*. 13 Some text* omit 'and, the Sages say’.
1 * Son of Vespasian and the destroyer of Jerusalem. The Cambridge text reads ‘Quietus’, who was governor of Judea in a.d. 1 17.
306 THIRD DIVISION: NASHIM ceased. When R. Hanina b. Dosa died the men of good deeds' ceased. When R. Jose Katnutha2 died there were no more saintly ones. And why was his name called Katnutha? Because he was of the ‘small’ remnants of the saintly ones.3 When Rabban Johanan b. Zakkai died the splendour of wisdom ceased. When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, the glory of the Law ceased and purity and abstinence died. When R. Ishmael b. Piabi4 died the splendour of the priesthood ceased. When Rabbi died, humility and the shunning of sin ceased.
R. Phineas b. Jairs says: When the Temple was destroyed the Associates6 and the freemen were put to shame and walked with covered head, and the men of good works waxed feeble; and men of violence and men of loud tongue prevailed. And [now] there is none that expoundeth [to Israel] and none that seeketh [compassion for them], and none that inquireth [after his fellow’s welfare]. On whom can we stay ourselves? — on our Father in heaven.
R. Eliezer the Great7 says: Since the day that the Temple was destroyed the Sages8 began to be like school-teachers, and the school-teachers like synagogue-servants, and the synagogue-servants like the people of the land; and the people of the land waxed feeble, and there was none to seek [compassion for them]. On whom can we stay ourselves? — on our Father in heaven.
With the footprints of the Messiah’presumption shall increase and dearth reach its height;10 the vine shall yield its fruit but the wine shall be costly; and the empire shall fall into heresy and there shall be none to utter reproof. The council-chamber shall be given to fornication. Galilee shall be laid waste and Gablan" shall be made desolate; and the people of the frontier12 shall go about from city to city with none to show pity on them. The wisdom of the Scribes shall become insipid and they that shun sin shall be deemed contemptible, and truth shall now'here be found. Children shall shame the elders, and the elders shall rise up before the children, for the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: a man’s enemies are the men of his oton house.'* The face of this generation is as the face of a dog, and the son will not be put to shame by his father. On whom can we stay our¬ selves? — on our Father in heaven.
R. Phineas b. Jair says: Heedfulness leads to cleanliness, and cleanliness leads to purity, and purity leads to abstinence,14 and abstinence leads to holiness, and holiness leads to humility, and humility leads to the shunning of sin, and the shunning of sin leads to saintliness, and saintliness leads to [the gift of] the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit leads to the resurrection 1 Cf. Sukk. 5*. The sense may be ‘men of might’ or ‘workers of miracles’. Cf. Ber. 51.
3 Play on words. The root katon means ‘small’.
4 Variant ‘Fabi’. He was made High Priest in a.d. 59. Cf. Par. 3l.
s Cambridge text reads ‘R. Liezer’ (Eliezer). The rest of the chapter does not belong to the Mishnah. Neither Maim, nor Bert, includes it in his commentary. It is included in the Mishnahs prefixed to the two Talmuds, though certain editions omit the final paragraph.
7 Ben Hyrcanus, usually referred to simply as R. Eliezer. The Camoridge text reads 'R. Joshua’.
* The rest of the sentence is given in Aramaic.
4 The signs which herald the coming of the Messiah at the end of the time of exile.
10 This sentence is in Aramaic.
11 Perhaps the province Gabalena, south-east of Palestine. See Neub., p. 6sf.
11 Or, ‘the people of Gebul' (Ps. 83*). *3 Mic. 7*. 14 Heb. perishuth, separatism.
of the dead. And the resurrection of the dead shall come through Elijah of blessed memory. Amen.
GITTIN (‘BILLS OF DIVORCE’) 1. 1. If a man brought a bill of divorce' from beyond the sea* he must say, ‘It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence’. Rabban Gamaliel says: Or even if he brought it from Rekem or Hagar.3 R. Eliezer says: Or even from Kefar Ludim4 to Lydda.5 But the Sages say: He need say, ‘It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence’, only if he brings it from beyond the sea. If he bore it and brought it [in a country] beyond the sea from one province to another he must say, ‘It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence’. Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel says: Or even [if he bore it] from one jurisdiction to another [within the same town], 2. R. Judah says: Rekem and the country east of Rekem count as the east [and outside the Land of Israel]; Ashkelon and the country south of Ashkelon count as the south; and Acre and the country north of Acre count as the north. R. Meir says: Acre counts as within the Land of Israel in what concerns bills of divorce.
3. If a man brought a bill of divorce [from one place to another] within the Land of Israel he need not say, ‘It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence’. If any dispute it, let it be confirmed by them that signed it. If a man brought a bill of divorce from beyond the sea and he cannot say, ‘It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence’, but there are witnesses to it, let it be confirmed by them that signed it.
4. In what concerns him that bears or brings them, writs of divorce and writs of emancipation are alike.6 And this is one matter in which writs of divorce and writs of emancipation are alike.
5. No writ is valid which has a Samaritan as witness excepting a writ of divorce or a writ of emancipation. They once brought a bill of divorce before Rabban Gamaliel at Kefar Othnai,7 and its witnesses were Samari¬ tans; and he pronounced it valid. Any writ is valid that is drawn up in the registries of the gentiles, even if they that signed it were gentiles, excepting a writ of divorce or a writ of emancipation. R. Simeon says: These, too, are valid; they are mentioned [as invalid] only if they were prepared by such as were not [authorized] judges.
6. If a man said, ‘Deliver this bill of divorce to my wife’, or ‘this writ of emancipation to my slave’, and he wished in either case to retract, he may retract. So R. Meir. But the Sages say: [He may retract] if it was a bill of divorce but not if it was a writ of emancipation, since they may act to another’s advantage in his absence8 but not to his disadvantage save in his presence; for if a man is minded not to provide for his slave, this is his 1 Heb. get, lit. 'writ' (of separation), pi. gittin.
1 Sent by a husband living outside the Land of Israel to be delivered to his wife who is living within the Land of Israel. ‘Beyond the sea’ denotes all countries outside the Land excepting Babylon.
J The Targum of Onkelos (Gen. i6u) identifies these two places with Kadesh and Bered. Josephus (Ant. iv. vii. t) identifies ‘Arekem’ with Petra.
4 Although three sides of this were in the Land of Israel, and the people of Lydda were constantly found there (Tif. Yis.). 5 Shebi. <?’; M.Sh, 5s; R.Sh. i‘.
4 Both must declare that they were written and signed in their presence.
7 On the borders of Galilee and Samaria. Cf. below, 7’. But see Neub., p. 56 f.
308 THIRD DIVISION: NASHIM right; but if he is minded not to provide for his wife, this is not his right. R. Meir said to them: Does he not thereby disqualify his slave from eating Heave-offering1 just as he disqualifies his wife? They answered: [He has the right to do so to his slave] because he is his chattel. If a man said, ‘Deliver this bill of divorce to my wife’, or ‘this writ of emancipation to my slave’, and he died, they may not deliver it after his death. [But if he had said,] ‘Give a mina to such a man’, and he died, they must give it even after his death.
2. i. If a man brought a bill of divorce from beyond the sea and said, ‘It was written in my presence but it was not signed in my presence’, or ‘It was signed in my presence but it was not written in my presence’, or ‘The w’hole of it was written in mv presence and a half was signed in my presence’, or ‘A half was written in my presence and the whole was signed in my presence', it is not valid. If one said, ‘It w'as w ritten in my presence’, and another said, ‘It was signed in my presence’, it is not valid. If two said, ‘It was written in our presence’, and another said, ‘It was signed in my presence’, it is not valid. But R. Judah pronounces it valid. If one said, ‘It was written in my presence’, and two said, ‘It was signed in our presence’, it is valid.
2. If it was written by day and signed by day, [or written] by night and signed by night, [or written] by night and signed by day, it is valid. [If it was written] by day and signed by night it is invalid. R. Simeon pronounces it valid; for R. Simeon used to say: No writ written by day and signed by night is valid excepting a bill of divorce.
3. It may be written with anything — ink, caustic, red dye, gum, copperas,2 or with whatsoever is lasting; but it may not be written with liquids or fruit-juice or with whatsoever is not lasting. It may be written on anything — on an olive-leaf or on a cow’s horn (and he must give her the cow)3 or on the hand of a slave (and he must give her the slave). R. Jose the Galilean says: It may be written on naught that is living or a food-stuff.
4. It may not be written on what is fixed to the ground; but if a man had written on what is fixed to the ground and he then severed it and signed it and gave it to her, it is valid. R. Judah pronounces it invalid unless it is both written and signed after it has been severed. R. Judah b. Bathyra says: It may not be written on papyrus from which other writing has been erased or on unprepared skin, since such can [easily] be falsified. But the Sages pronounce these valid.