Avodah Zarah

Happy is the man that feareth the Lord:  Does it mean happy is the 'man' and not the woman? — Said R. Amram in the name of Rab: [It means] Happy is he who repents whilst he is still a 'man'.  R. Joshua b. Levy explained it: Happy is he who over-rules his inclination  like a 'man'. That delighteth greatly in His commandments,  was explained by R. Eleazar thus: 'In His commandments,' but not in the reward of His commandments.  This is just what we have learnt. 'He used to say, Be not like servants who serve the master on the condition of receiving a reward; but be like servants who serve the master without the condition of receiving a reward.' But whose desire is in the law of the Lord.  Said Rabbi: A man can learn [well] only that part of the Torah which is his heart's desire,  for it is said, But whose desire is in the law of the Lord. Levi and R. Simeon the son of Rabbi were once sitting before Rabbi and were expounding a part of Scripture.  When the book was concluded, Levi said: Let the book of Proverbs now be brought in. R. Simeon the son of Rabbi however said: Let the Psalms be brought; and, Levi having been overruled, the Psalms were brought. When they came to this verse, 'But whose desire is in the Law of the Lord', Rabbi offered his comment: One can only learn well that part of the Torah which is his heart's desire. Whereupon Levi remarked: Rabbi, You have given me the right to rise. Said R. Abdimi b. Hama: He who occupies himself with the Torah will have his desires granted by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: He who [is occupied] with the Law of the Lord, his desire [shall be granted]. Raba likewise said: One should always study that part of the Torah which is his heart's desire, as it is said, But whose desire is in the law of the Lord. Raba also said: At the beginning [of this verse] the Torah is assigned to the Holy One, blessed be He, but at the end it is assigned to him [who studies it],  for it is said, Whose desire is in the Law of the Lord and in his [own] Law doth he meditate day and night. Raba also said the following: One should always study the Torah first and meditate in it afterwards,  as it is said, ' … the Law of the Lord', and then, 'and in his [own] law he meditates.'  This, too, did Raba say: Let one by all means learn, even though he is liable to forget, yea, even if he does not fully understand all the words which he studies, as it is said, My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto Thy ordinances at all times.  'Breaketh' is what Scripture says, it does not say 'grindeth'. Raba pointed to the following contradictions:  Scripture says, Upon the highest places,  and then it says. On a seat [in the high places]!  — At the beginning [the student occupies] any place, but ultimately [he will occupy] a seat.  [In another instance] Scripture says, In the top of high places  and then it says by the road!  — Though at first he is in the [solitary] top in [out of the way] high places, yet ultimately [he will sit as judge] by the road. 'Ulla pointed to the following contradiction: Scripture says, Drink waters out of thine own cistern;  and then it says, and running waters out of thine own well!  — At first drink from thy cistern, and latterly, running waters from thine own well. Said Raba in the name of R. Sehorah, who said it in the name of R. Huna:  What is the meaning of the verse, Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathereth little by little shall increase?  — If one takes his studies by heaps at a time, he will benefit but little, but if one gathers [knowledge] little by little he will gain much. Said Raba: The Rabbis know this thing, and yet they disregard it. Said R. Nahman b. Isaac: I have acted up to it and it stood me in good stead. Said R. Shizebi in the name of R. Eleazar b. Azariah: What is the meaning of the verse, The slothful man shall not hunt his prey?  — [It means that] he who is, as it were, a cunning hunter [in matters of learning], will not live or have length of days.  R. Shesheth, however, said: [It means that] the cunning hunter has prey to roast,  When R. Dimi came  he said: This may be likened to one who is hunting birds; if he breaks the wings of each one in turn,  he has made sure that all will remain in his possession, otherwise none will remain with him. And he shall be like a tree transplanted  by streams of water.  — Those of the school of R. Jannai said: 'a tree transplanted,' not 'a tree planted' — [which implies that] whoever learns Torah from one master only will never achieve great success. Said R. Hisda to the Rabbinic students: I have a mind to tell you something, though I fear that you might leave me and go elsewhere: 'Whoever learns Torah from one master only will never achieve great success.'  They did leave him and went [to sit] before Rabbah, who however explained to them that the maxim only applies to lessons in logical deductions,  but as to oral traditions  it is better to learn from one master only, so that