Kiddushin

I would have said to Satan, An arrow in your eye.1 Raba said to R. Nathan b. Ammi: Whilst your hand is yet upon your son's neck,2 [marry him], viz., between sixteen and twenty-two. Others state, Between eighteen and twenty-four. This is disputed by Tannaim. Train up a youth in the way he should go:3 R. Judah and R. Nehemiah [differ thereon]. One maintains, [‘Youth’ means] between sixteen and twenty-two; the other affirms, Between eighteen and twenty-four. To what extent is a man obliged to teach his son Torah? — Said Rab Judah in Samuel's name: E.g., Zebulun, the son of Dan, whom his grandfather taught Mikra [Scripture], Mishnah, Talmud,4 halachoth and aggadoth.5 An objection is raised: If he [his father] taught him Mikra, he need not teach him Mishnah; whereon Raba said: Mikra means Torah?6 — Like Zebulun b. Dan, yet not altogether so. Like Zebulun b. Dan, whom his grandfather taught: yet not altogether so, for whereas there [he was taught] Mikra, Mishnah, Talmud, halachoth and aggadoth, here [i.e., as a general rule] Mikra alone [suffices]. Now, is the grandfather under this obligation? Surely it was taught: And ye shall teach them your sons,7 but not your sonsð sons. How then do I interpret8 [the verse], and thou shalt make them known unto thy sons, and thy sons’ sons?9 As shewing that to him who teaches his son Torah, the Writ ascribes merit as though he had taught him, his son and his son's son until the end of all time!10 — He agrees with the following Tanna. For it was taught: ‘And ye shall teach them your sons’: hence I only know, your sons. How do I know your sons sons? From the verse: ‘and thou shalt make them known unto thy sons and thy sons’ sons’. If so, why state, ‘thy sons’? — To teach: ‘thy sons, but not thy daughters. R. Joshua b. Levi said: He who teaches his grandson Torah, the Writ regards him as though he had received it [direct] from Mount Sinai, for it is said; ‘and thou shalt make them known unto your sons and your sons’ sons’, which is followed by, that is the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb.11 R. Hiyya b. Abba found R. Joshua b. Levi wearing a plain cloth upon his head12 and taking a child to the synagogue [for study].13 ‘What is the meaning of all this?’ he demanded.14 ‘Is it then a small thing,’ he replied: ‘that it is written: ‘and thou shalt make them known to your sons and your sons’ sons’; which is followed by, that is the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb’? From then onwards R. Hiyya b. Abba did not taste meat15 before revising [the previous day's lesson] with the child and adding [another verse]. Rabbah son of R. Huna did not taste meat until he took the child to school. R. Safra said on the authority of R. Joshua b. Hanania: What is meant by, and thou shalt teach them diligently [we-shinnantem] unto thy children?16 Read not we-shinnantem, but we-shillashtem: [you shall divide into three]: one should always divide his years into three: [devoting] a third to Mikra, a third to Mishnah, and a third to Talmud. Does one then know how long he will live? — This refers only to days.17 The early [scholars] were called soferim18 because they used to count all the letters of the Torah.19 Thus, they said, the waw in gahon20 marks half the letters of the Torah; darosh darash,21 half the words; we-hithggalah,22 half the verses. The boar out of the wood [mi-ya'ar] doth ravage it:23 the ‘ayin of ya'ar24 marks half of the Psalms.25 But he, being full of compassion, forgiveth their iniquity,26 half of the verses. R. Joseph propounded: Does the waw of gahon belong to the first half or the second? Said they [the scholars] to him, Let a Scroll of the Torah be brought and we will count them! Did not Rabbah b. Bar Hanah say,27 They did not stir from there until a Scroll of the Torah was brought and they counted them? — They were thoroughly versed in the defective and full readings, 28 but we are not. R. Joseph propounded: Does wehithgalah belong to the first half or the second? Said Abaye to him, For the verses, at least, we can bring [a Scroll] and count them! — In the verses too we are not certain. For when R. Aha b. Adda came,29 he said: In the West [Palestine] the following verse is divided into three: And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud [etc.]. 30 Our Rabbis taught: There are five thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight verses in the Torah;31 the Psalms exceed this by eight;32 while Chronicles33 are less by eight. Our Rabbis taught: And thou shalt teach them diligently34 [means] that the words of the Torah shall be clear-cut in your mouth, so that if anyone asks you something, you should not shew doubt and then answer him, but [be able to] answer him immediately, for it is said, (v. I Kings V, 18; I Sam. XXIX, 4; Ps. CIX, 4), and at first he is not regarded as a distinct being. In Job, however, he does appear so, viz., as the celestial prosecutor; but even then, he cannot act independently, but requires God's permission. It is only later that he appears as an independent agent (I Chron. XXI, 2). The early portions of the Talmud mention him very rarely. but gradually belief in him spread. the popular concepts possibly forcing their way upwards from the lower classes. V. J.E. art. Satan. and the latter to the other Books of the Bible (v. J.E., ‘Bible, Canon’, III, 142); here they are identified. should be divided into three. — Actually, scholars have always confined themselves to Talmud: but as the Babylonian Talmud is an amalgam of the three, this dictum is held to be fulfilled; v. Sanh. 24a. Furthermore, the early part of the morning liturgy contains passages from all three. applied to the band of Scholars from the Babylonian exile, who propagated the knowledge of the Torah and interpreted it. as the middle verse.] the first half exceeds the second by nearly 2,000; hence the reference is to letters, and there is such a reading too. sometimes they are omitted; then it is called defective. verses than the Babylonian. v. Ned. (Sonc. ed.) p. 118. n. 7. and Graetz MGWJ XXXIV. pp. 97ff.] [The M.T. has 2,527, and the difference could be accounted as in the case of the Pentateuch. The difficulty however remains in regard to Chronicles where M.T. has only 1,765.]