nations except Israel are under the influence of the heavenly bodies. But as this exception would not hold unless they observed the precepts, and thus be under the divine grace, the Lord commanded that the 1st of Tisri (7th month of ecclesiastical year) should be celebrated as a holy-day, and that the (cornet) should be blown thereon, signifying that all should subdue their passions, and subject matter to the empire of reason; every one repenting of his sins, and firmly resolving to sin no more, which is true repentance. For this, the term of ten days is given, being a perfect period; at the end of which, he instituted 15, the day of atonement or expiation, on which those sins are pardoned which they had purified and cleansed themselves of during the preceding days; they then remained free from planetary influence, and became solely and wholly guided by Divine Providence. But those who have not so cleansed themselves of their impurities, and disposed themselves properly for pardon, continue under the baneful influence of the stars. Knowing that the Lord had graciously conceded these ten days, what the ancients say in respect to the conciliation of these verses is very appropriate, for supposing, as Moses says, That the Lord hears at all times those who call upon him, the sentence of Isaiah is also verified, as the Lord is more readily found on those days than on any others. The royal Psalmist conciliates these verses by saying, "The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." 17 He is not content with saying, "all who call upon him," but adds, "that call upon him in truth;" denoting that God is not nigh and propitious to all generally, but only to those who truly call upon him, that is, in just causes; for one man might unknowingly ask for what might be injurious to him, and another for what he does not deserve: such God answers not; but to those who pray only for just and correct things, he will ever be propitious. Conformably to this, Moses saying, God is near in all our calling upon him, is to be understood as David states, that is, when he is sincerely called upon; and what Isaiah says, is the same, for his words of "Seek the Lord while he may be found," is only observing that he should be called upon when he may be found, that is, asking only for proper things, and preceding the prayer by conduct deserving of its being acceptable. QUESTION 172. Deut. 4 19. Lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest thou be moved to worship them and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath partitioned unto all nations under the whole heavens. Psalm 5:5. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness. By this text, all nations of the world must believe in the existence of the First Cause. RECONCILIATION. From the first text it might be inferred that God permitted idolatry to be practised by all the nations under heaven, and that they might bow down to the 17 Psalm 145:18. 66 sun, moon, and stars, as it says, "Ye shall not bow down to them," for they were partitioned "unto all the nations under the whole heaven;" which is contrary to reason; for the Psalmist says, God takes no pleasure in wickedness or iniquity:" besides, it is adduced in the Guemara,1 that all nations are bound to observe the seven precepts, termed nyaw (the seven precepts of the Noachides), and as Maimonides states in his "Yad a Hazaka," Adam, the first man, had six precepts commanded him, which were, 1st. Not to commit idolatry; 2nd. Not to blaspheme the name of God; 3rd. Not to kill; 4th. Not to commit adultery; 5th. Not to steal; and 6th. To appoint judges to enforce these precepts. The same were also given to Noah, with the additional one of not cutting any part off a living animal and eating it, as the text says, "Surely of flesh with its soul, its flesh ye shall not eat.2 These are the seven precepts of Noah, transmitted to us by tradition, and implied by Scripture itself, which states, the Lord punished those nations that did not observe them. Those who received them are termed win a (resident strangers), and might dwell with Israel, and Maimonides remarks elsewhere, that those who observe them, not alone from the dictates of reason, but as having been given in the Law, and from Moses having verbally declared that they had been previously given to the sons of Noah, would have a portion in the other world, as 3 חסידי אומות העולם יש להם חלק לעולם הבא,the ancient sages say, in various places (The pious of the nations of the earth have a share in the next world). Maimonides also collects it from the passage of the Mishna that begins, "Four persons 5 have no portion in the next world, one of whom is Balaam, from being an infidel, in order that such may not be encouraged; but the nations of the earth have a portion in the next world:" he also affirms it in various parts of his "Mishne Torah," and in his Guide," he says, "The Lord leaves no good action unrewarded;" adopting the maxim of the ancient Sages, who say, The blessed God deprives no creature) אין הקדוש ברוך הוא מקפח שכר כל בריה of the reward it merits), as may be observed from what is said in "Shemot Raba," that the Lord ordained that torn meat should be given to dogs, in reward for not disturbing the children of Israel in their departure from Egypt. In the Guemaras it is related, that God favoured the heathen Dema ben Netina by permitting a red heifer to be born in his herd, in order that he might sell it for an extraordinary price, as a reward for the great respect and honour he had shewn to his father; the same is also said9 of the four instances in which Nebuchadnezzar demonstrated his respect to God; from all which 'Sanhedrin, c. 7. 2 Genesis, 9:4. 3 Sanhedrin, c. 7. Sanhedrin, c. 11. 5 The four persons alluded to are Balaam, Doeg, Achitophel, and Gehazi. Balaam they derive from Ps. 9:18. "All the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." The first part they consider applies to the wicked in Israel, and the latter to such as Balaam, who endeavoured to act contrary to the positive injunction of God, and to curse the children of Israel. Doeg, from Ps. 52:7, where David, cursing him for his treachery, says, "God shall likewise destroy thee for ever," &c. and root thee out of the land of the livings. This term in Holy Writ is always understood by the Hebrews (from its being in the plural) to mean both this world and the next. Achitophel, to whom is applied the last verse of Ps. 57, "But thou, O Lord, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and deceitful men shall not live half their days;" which happened to him, for he hung himself at the age of thirty, -the life of man being seventy. Doeg also died about the same age. Gehazi,-see 2 Kings, 5:21, et seq. The Sages hereby wish to impress on mankind that there is no salvation for suicides, murderers, traitors, deceitful men or hypocrites, and those who, having a knowledge of the First Cause, remain pagans, or become atheists.-TRANSLATOR. B. 3. c. 17. 7 C.31. 8 Kidushin, c. 1. 9 9 Sanhedrin, c. 11. R. Judah a Levi 10 affirms, that the Hebrews do not believe good actions go unrewarded, be they performed by one of any nation: the only distinction they make between themselves and the stranger is, that the latter cannot attain the grade of prophecy. In "Zoar" it is said, that kings, governors, and magistrates of the nations that do good to Israel, and take them under their protection, will enjoy certain degrees of bliss reserved for them in Paradise; but, on the contrary, those who injure them, will not fail to receive their punishment hereafter. It being sufficiently proved that avoidance of idolatry was one of the Noachide precepts, it only remains to shew how the words," The Lord thy God hath partitioned them to all nations" are to be understood. The interpreters who translated the Holy Scriptures for Ptolemy Philadel phus felt this difficulty, and as adduced in the Talmud," added another word to avoid the error; and where it says, "The Lord thy God partitioned them," they subjoined, "to enlighten all nations," thereby intimating that the verse signified, that the stars and heavenly bodies had influence over all nations except Israel, who were under the protection of the First Cause alone; and this is what the text says, "Which the Lord thy God hath partitioned to all nations under the whole heaven," and then immediately follows, "But the Lord took you," &c. And as R. Abraham Aben Ezra says, It is proved that every nation, and even every city, is under the dominion of its planet, but the Lord raised Israel to that eminence, that he placed them under his sole government; for which reason Jeremiah 12 told Israel not to be dismayed at the signs of the heavens, which the heathen might fear, but not they. The verses are thus conciliated and the doubt solved; because it does not say that God gave the sun, moon, and stars, to be worshipped by the nations of the earth, but to enlighten them according to their benevolent or malevolent aspect. It also serves to exhort Israel, that seeing the Lord had made that distinction between them and other nations by taking them under his own immediate protection, they should not forsake him, and adopt any other worship. QUESTION 173. Deut. 6:16. Ye shall not tempt the Lord Mal. 3:10. Prove (or try) me now in this, your God. saith the Lord of Hosts. One who tempts or tries another must have experience of his knowledge and power, or his goodness and will; and as it arises either from ignorance or doubt, the Law commands not to tempt God; for to doubt anything relating to his Divine perfection is highly sinful, How then does Malachi say, Try the Lord by bringing the tithes ? RECONCILIATION. R. Hosayah, in the Guemara,1 conciliates this by saying, The verse itself says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and try me now in this, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not oper to you the windows of heaven, and I will pour you out blessings," &c. 10 Cuzari, b. 1, art. 3. Meguila, c. 1. 12 Jer. 10:2. 1 Tahanit, c. 1. The adverb na (in this), excludes trying the Eternal in any thing except tithes the reason is, because he who gives may imagine the more he gives the less he will have; the prophet undeceives him, saying it is the contrary, and that in this only may God be tried: for the property of him who shall bring tithes to the house of the Lord shall be so much increased, that he himself shall say it is sufficient. 66 R. Johanan also collects this from the verse of Deuteronomy that says, Tithing ye shall tithe all the increase of thy seed:"2 which command seems to contain a superfluous word, for it would have been sufficient to have said, "Ye shall tithe," and not "Tithing ye shall tithe," which he interprets, "If you tithe ye shall tithe," that is, He who gives tithes shall always have wherewithal to tithe. So that Moses says, in a general sense, God must not be tempted; and according to Malachi, it may only be done on the subject of tithes. Or it may be said even more appropriately, that in the giving of tithes, there was a necessity from the obligation of the precept, and the advantage to have eaten in the house of the Lord; as such, they did not tempt Him in bringing tithes, for they were bound to do it. Therefore, Malachi saying, "Try me now in this," is not to be understood casually, but consecutively, that is, "Try Try me and see if I open the windows of heaven to you," that is, "Bring the tithes regularly, and by experience you will find the benefits which God will confer on you, and how he will increase your wealth." It may be added, that where it is commanded not to tempt the Lord, it says, Din Ye shall not tempt," which word is always used in an objectionable sense, shewing ignorance of the power, will, goodness, or perfection of God, when He is tempted. Scripture says 'n 10" "and they tempted me,"3 which temptation is always sinful; but Malachi changes the word, and says, "and try me," which may be taken in a different sense. And although Ahaz was reproved, as is said in Isaiah, for saying, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord,"4 in the words, "Hear ye now, O house of David! is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?" that is, because the sign God gave was for the public, as by it He assured them that the siege of the city should be abandoned by the two hostile kings, therefore it was necessary to make that trial of God. Or, as R. David Kimchi says, It was not owing to his faith that Ahaz would not tempt God, but rather from the want of confidence he had in God's promises he said he required no sign, for, with or without, it was all the same. And if Abraham asked a sign "Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it,' he did so by divine inspiration, although some do not excuse the fault; and Gideon shewed but little faith in asking for a sign. What has been said will sufficiently conciliate the verses. RECONCILIATION. The verses appear repugnant, for one says, "Speak not in thine heart (do not imagine) that God banishes these nations from their land for their wickedness," and the other says, they were punished for that conduct; but they are expounded in this way :-What the Lord says is, that Israel should not attribute their inheriting the land of the seven nations to two conjoined causes, namely, their own righteousness and the wickedness of the others, as the first passage alludes to; but the next explains the reason of this prohibition, because there was only one cause, that is, the wickedness of the nations. Rashi thus conciliates the texts, which is actually their literal meaning. These two words have different meanings in Hebrew, for aw signifies being seated, and means standing. There accordingly arises a difficulty, for the first passage says Moses was seated, and the second that he stood up. RECONCILIATION. In Yalcut the Sages conciliate this variation in different ways. Rab says, that during the whole time Moses was in the Mount, he was occupied in learning the secret mysteries and elucidations of the law; therefore it is reasonable to suppose that he stood up with the greatest respect and veneration while listening to the word of God, but afterwards seated himself, in order that his mind might be more at ease, while he reflected on the instruction he had received. Raba says, easy things are more readily learned while standing, but difficult ones require a sitting posture; thus as the greatest attention is requisite in both cases, two different positions are necessary: so the verses agree. R. Johanan gives a yet clearer explanation, which is, that the word a has two significations, one is, to sit, the other, to stay or abide, as wpa iawni, "And ye abode in Kadesh :"2 in this way there is no difficulty; for saying, "he abode in the Mount," is not contradicted by its subsequently saying "he stood." QUESTION 176. Deut. 12:5. But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there. 6. Thither shall ye bring your sacrifices. Deut. 12:14. But in the place which the The Lord commanded as a precept, that when Israel had conquered and |