Chullin

Behold he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing floor.1 R. Abbahu said, [You can derive it] from the verse: And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass.2 The Rabbis say, [You can derive it] from the verse: Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock.3 Rab says, [You can derive it] from the verse: And the sun rose upon him.4 R. Akiba said: I once asked R. Gamaliel and R. Joshua in the meatmarket of Emmaus where they had gone to buy a beast for the wedding feast of R. Gamaliel's son: It is written: And the sun rose upon him. Did the sun rise upon him only? Did it not rise upon the whole world? R. Isaac said: It means that the sun which had set for his sake now rose for him. For it is written: And Jacob went out from Beer-Sheba, and went toward Haran.5 And it is further written: And he lighted upon the place.6 When he reached Haran he said [to himself], ‘Shall I have passed through the place where my fathers prayed and not have prayed too?’ He immediately resolved to return, but no sooner had he thought of this than the earth contracted and he immediately lighted upon the place. After he prayed he wished to return [to where he was], but the Holy One, blessed be He said: ‘This righteous man has come to my habitation; shall he depart without a night's rest?’ Thereupon the sun set. It is written: And he took of the stones of the place;6 but it is also written: And he took the stone!7 — R. Isaac said: This tells us that all the stones gathered themselves together into one place and each one said: ‘Upon me shall this righteous man rest his head’. Thereupon all [the stones], a Tanna taught, were merged into one. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth.8 A Tanna taught: What was the width of the ladder? Eight thousand parasangs. For it is written: And behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.8 At least two were ascending and two descending, and when they met each other [on the ladder] there were four; and of an angel it is written: His body was like the Tarshish,9 and we have a tradition that the Tarshish is two thousand parasangs long.10 A Tanna taught: They ascended to look at the image above11 and descended to look at the image below. They wished to hurt him, when Behold, the Lord stood beside him.12 R. Simeon b. Lakish said: Were it not expressly stated in the Scripture, we would not dare to say it. [God is made to appear] like a man who is fanning his son.13 The land whereon thou liest, [to thee will I give it, and to thy seed].12 What is the greatness of this?14 — Said R. Isaac: This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, rolled up the whole of the land of Israel and put it under our father Jacob, [to indicate to him] that it would be very easily conquered by his descendants.15 And he said: Let me go, for the day breaketh.16 [Jacob] said to him, ‘Are you a thief or a rogue17 that you are afraid of the morning?’ He replied: ‘I am an angel, and from the day that I was created my time to sing praises [to the Lord] had not come until now’. This18 supports the statement of R. Hananel in the name of Rab. For R. Hananel said in the name of Rab: Three divisions of ministering angels sing praises [to the Lord] daily; one proclaims: Holy, the other proclaims: Holy, and the third proclaims: Holy is the Lord of hosts.19 An objection was raised: Israel are dearer to the Holy One, blessed be He, than the ministering angels, for Israel sing praises to the Lord every hour, whereas the ministering angels sing praises but once a day. (Others say: Once a week; and others say: Once a month; and others say: Once a year; and others say: Once in seven years; and others say: Once in a jubilee; and others say: Once in eternity.) And whereas Israel mention the name of God after two words, as it is said: Hear, Israel, the Lord20 etc., the ministering angels only mention the name of God after three words, as it is written: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts.19 Moreover, the ministering angels do not begin to sing praises in heaven until Israel have sung below on earth, for it is said: When the morning stars sang together, then all the sons of God shouted for joy!21 — It must be this: One [division of angels] says: Holy; the other says: Holy, holy; and the third says: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts. But is there not the praise of ‘Blessed’? 22 into the night he would not go out alone at night on his homeward journey. men. the name of a sea which extends for two thousand parasangs (Persian miles). V. Jonah I, 3. Rashi (on Dan. ibid.) identifies it with the sea of Africa; probably the Mediterranean Sea. parasangs wide. man, and according to Rabbinic tradition the likeness of man was the image of Jacob. objection therefore is: How then can it be said above that a division of ministering angels sing: Holy (is) the Lord of hosts, thus mentioning the name of God after one word? after two words.