Taanit

, Thou shalt surely tithe?1 Give tithes that you may be enriched.2 R. Johanan met the young son3 of Resh Lakish and said to him, ‘Recite to me the Bible verse [you have learnt to-day]. The latter replied, ‘Thou shalt surely tithe’, at the same time asking, ‘What may be the meaning of these words?’ R. Johanan answered, ‘Give tithes that you may be enriched’ . The boy then asked, ‘Whence do you adduce this?’ R. Johanan replied: ‘Go test it [for yourself]’. The boy thereupon asked: Is it permissible to try the Holy One, blessed be He, seeing that it is written, Ye shall not try the Lord?4 -R. Johanan replied: Thus said R. Oshaia: The case of tithe-giving is excepted [from the prohibition], as it is said, Bring ye the whole tithe unto the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than sufficiency.5 (What is the meaning [of the words], ‘That there shall be more than sufficiency?’ — R. Rami b. Hama said in the name of Rab: Until your lips grow weary from saying, ‘It is enough’.) The boy thereupon exclaimed, Had I reached this verse [in my Bible studies] I should need neither you nor R. Oshaia, your teacher. On another occasion R. Johanan met the young son of Resh Lakish sitting and reciting the verse, The foolishness of man perverteth his way; and his heart fretteth against the Lord.6 R. Johanan thereupon7 exclaimed in amazement: Is there anything written in the Hagiographa to which allusion cannot be found in the Torah? The boy replied: Is then this verse not alluded to in the Torah, seeing that it is written, And their heart failed them, and they turned trembling one to another, saying: ‘What is this that God hath done unto us?’8 R. Johanan lifted up his eyes and stared at him, whereupon the boy's mother came and took him away, Saying to him, ‘Go away from him, lest he do unto you as he did unto your father’.9 R. Johanan further said: Rain may fall even for the sake of an individual but sustenance [is granted] only for the sake of the many. [That] rain [may fall] for the sake of even one man may be learnt from the verse where it is written, The Lord will open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain of thy land;10 sustenance for the sake of the many, as it is written, Behold I will cause to rain bread for you.11 An objection was raised: R. Jose the son of R. Judah says: Three good leaders had arisen for Israel, namely. Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and for their sake three good things were conferred [upon Israel], namely, the Well,12 the Pillar of Cloud and the Manna; the Well, for the merit of Miriam; the Pillar of Cloud for the merit of Aaron; the Manna for the merit of Moses. When Miriam died the well disappeared, as it is said, And Miriam died there,13 and immediately follows [the verse], And there was no water for the congregation; and it returned for the merit of the [latter] two. When Aaron died the clouds of glory disappeared, as it is written, And the Canaanite, the king of Arad heard.14 What news did he hear? He heard that Aaron had died, and that the clouds of glory had disappeared; he thought that he was free to make war on Israel. Therefore it is written, And all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead.15 With reference to which R. Abahu said: Do not read, ‘they saw’ [wayir-u] but ‘they were seen’ [wayyero-u].16 This is also in accordance with the view of Resh Lakish who said: [The word] ki may be used in four different senses, namely, ‘if’ ‘perhaps’. ‘but’, ‘because’.17 The two [the Well and the Cloud] returned because of the merit of Moses, but when Moses died all of them disappeared, as it is said, And I cut off the three shepherds in one month.18 Did they then all [three] die in one month? Did not Miriam die in Nisan, Aaron in Ab and Moses in Adar? This therefore is meant to teach you that the three good gifts which were given because of their merit were nullified and they all disappeared in one month. Thus we find that sustenance19 may be granted for the sake of one individual! — The case of Moses is exceptional; as he prayed on behalf of the many, he himself is regarded as a multitude. R. Hunah b. Manoah and R. Samuel b. Idi and R. Hiyya of Wastanya20 were wont to attend the discourses of Raba. When Raba died they came to those of R. Papa and whenever he expounded to them a law which did not appeal to them they winked at one another, and thus hurt him greatly.