shall soon utterly perish from off the land" (Deut. iv. 26). The
term soon uttered by the Lord of the Universe means eight hundred and
fifty-two years.

_Sanhedrin_, fol. 38, col. 1.

There are nine hundred and three sorts of deaths in the world; for the
expression occurs (Ps. lxviii. 20), "Issues of death." The numerical
value of "issues" is nine hundred and three. The hardest of all deaths
is by quinsy, and the easiest is the Divine kiss (of which Moses, Aaron,
and Miriam died). Quinsy is like the forcible extraction of prickly
thorns from wool, or like a thick rope drawn through a small aperture;
the kiss referred to is like the extracting of a hair from milk.

_Berachoth_, fol. 8, col. 1.

When Moses went up on high, the ministering angels asked, "What has one
born of a woman to do among us?" "He has come to receive the law," was
the Divine answer. "What!" they remonstrated again, "that cherished
treasure which has lain with Thee for nine hundred and seventy-four
generations before the world was created, art Thou about to bestow it
upon flesh and blood? What is mortal man that Thou art mindful of him,
and the son of earth that Thou thus visitest him? O Lord! our Lord! is
not Thy name already sufficiently exalted in the earth? Confer Thy glory
upon the heavens" (Ps. viii. 4, 6). The Holy One--blessed be He!--then
called upon Moses to refute the objection of the envious angels. "I
fear," pleaded he, "lest they consume me with the fiery breath of their
mouth." Thereupon, by way of protection, he was bid approach and lay
hold of the throne of God; as it is said (Job xxvi. 9), "He lays hold of
the face of His throne and spreads His cloud over him." Thus encouraged,
Moses went over the Decalogue, and demanded of the angels whether they
had suffered an Egyptian bondage and dwelt among idolatrous nations, so
as to require the first commandment; or were they so hardworked as to
need a day of rest, etc., etc. Then the angels at once confessed that
they were wrong in seeking to withhold the law from Israel, and they
then repeated the words, "O Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the
earth!" (Ps. viii. 9), omitting the words, "Confer Thy glory upon the
heavens." And not only so, but they positively befriended Moses, and
each of them revealed to him some useful secret; as it is said (Ps.
lxviii. 18), "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast captured spoil, thou
hast received gifts; because they have contemptuously called th