d
sits on the throne of mercy. The third three hours He sits and feeds all
the world, from the horns of the unicorns to the eggs of the vermin. In
the fourth three hours He sits and plays with leviathan, for it is said,
'The leviathan, whom thou hast formed to play therein' " (Ps. civ. 26).
Rabbi Eliezer says, "The night has three watches, and at every watch the
Holy One, blessed be He, sits and roars like a lion; for it is said, 'The
Lord shall roar from on high and utter His voice from His holy habitation;
He shall mightily roar upon His habitation' " (Jer. xxv. 30). Rabbi Isaac,
the son of Samuel, says in the name of Rav, "The night has three watches,
and at every watch the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and roars like a
lion, and says, 'Woe is me, that I have laid desolate my house, and burned
my sanctuary, and sent my children into captivity among the nations of the
world!' " He is described as praying, and wearing phylacteries, and as
having a special place for weeping. "Before the destruction of the Temple
the Holy One played with leviathan, but since the destruction of the
Temple, He plays with it no more. In the hour that the Holy One remembers
His children who are dwelling with suffering among the nations, He lets
two tears fall into the Great Ocean, the noise of which is heard from one
end of the world to the other, and this is an earthquake." It is further
said that He "braided the hair of Eve," and "shaved the head of
Sennacherib." He is represented as keeping school, and teaching the sages.
To this school the devils come, especially Aschmedai, the king of the
devils. In the discussions that take place, God is said to be sometimes
overcome by the wiser Rabbis.

The question of the Messiah is often brought forward. "The tradition of
the school of Elijah is, that the world is to stand six thousand years,
two thousand years confusion, two thousand years the Law, and two thousand
years the days of the Messiah." It is further said that the time for the
coming of the Messiah is expired. "Rav says the appointed times are long
since past." The Jerusalem Talmud relates that "it happened once to a Jew,
who was standing ploughing, that his ox lowed before him. An Arab was
passing, and heard its voice. He said 'O Jew! O Jew! unyoke thine ox, and
loose thy ploughshare, for the Temple is desolate.' It lowed a second
time, and he said, 'O Jew! O Jew! yoke thine ox and bind thy ploughshare,
for King Messiah is born.' The Jew