ught what is meant when it is written in Isaiah
xii. I, "I will praise Thee, O Lord, because Thou wast angry with me:
Thine anger will depart and Thou wilt comfort me." "The text applies,"
he says, "to two men who were going abroad on a mercantile enterprise,
one of whom, having had a thorn run into his foot, had to forego his
intended journey, and began in consequence to utter reproaches and
blaspheme. Having afterward learned that the ship in which his companion
had sailed had sunk to the bottom of the sea, he confessed his
shortsightedness and praised God for His mercy."
_Niddah_, fol. 31, col. 1.
The night is divided into three watches, and at each watch the Holy
One--blessed be He!--sits and roars like a lion; as it is written (Jer.
xxv. 30), "The Lord will roar from on high, ... roaring, He will roar
over his habitation." The marks by which this division of the night is
recognized are these:--In the first watch the ass brays; in the second
the dog barks; and in the third the babe is at the breast and the wife
converses with her husband.
_Berachoth_, fol. 3, col. 1.
The Rabbis have taught that there are three reasons why a person should
not enter a ruin:--1. Because he may be suspected of evil intent; 2.
Because the walls might tumble upon him; 3. And because of evil spirits
that frequent such places.
Ibid., fol. 3, col. 1.
He who three times a day repeats David's psalm of praise (Ps. cxlv.) may
be sure of an inheritance in the world to come.
Ibid., fol. 4, col. 2.
Three precious gifts were given to Israel, but none of them without a
special affliction: these three gifts were the law, the land of Israel,
and the world to come.
Ibid., fol. 5, col. 1.
These are also from the Talmud anent Israel and the Israelites.
All Israelites are princes.
_Shabbath_, fol. 57, col. 1.
All Israelites are holy.
Ibid., fol. 86, col. 1.
Happy are ye, O Israel! for every one of you, from the least to the
greatest, is a great philosopher. (_Eiruvin_, fol. 53, col. 1.) The
Machzor for Pentecost says, Israelites are as "full of meritorious works
as a pomegranate is full of pips."
See also _Chaggigah_, fol. 27, col, 1.
As it is impossible for the world to be without air, so also is it
impossible for the world to be without Israel.
_Taanith_, fol. 3, col. 2.
If the ox of an Israelite bruise the ox of a Gentile, the Israelite is
exempt from paying damages; but should the ox of a Gentile bruise
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