To this point we have taken for granted the disciple’s knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic. We assumed the problem of approaching the Talmud out of an alien language framework found definition in recognizing the inclusion of familiar languages of the text and explaining the rules governing their appearance. But the vast majority of disciples of Talmud study bring to the Talmud knowledge of Yiddish or English or French or Spanish or modern Hebrew but not Middle Hebrew and Aramaic. So they encounter the document in languages other than the original. We turn to the requirements of translation from an unfamiliar language to our own. And that calls attention to the visual representation of the text,
The visual version of the document that the disciple encounters dictates the outcome of study: what the disciple derives from the encounter. No Hebrew-language reprinting of the Talmud has ever made possible any sort of large-scale analytical work at all. The classical texts do not signal the program of sentences and paragraphs, the coherence of large bodies of verbiage. Scripture is given sentence and chapter markings, Gen. 1:1 = the first sentence of the first paragraph of the book of Genesis. Giving page and line references hardly suffices, since these supply no signals, let alone visual evidence, on what is before us. Not only so, but—perhaps it was deemed more “authentic” because “traditional”—every current translation into various European languages except for mine omits even the most minimal sigla, e.g., indications of the smallest whole units of thought, sentences, paragraphs, completed expositions of a single idea, components of larger presentations of propositions, and the like—nothing, except page and line references (if that). No wonder the Bavli (among all writings) is commonly (mis)represented as utterly confused, a hodgepodge of this and that. In fact, the Bavli is an orderly and well-disciplined construction. Accordingly, the whole of rabbinic literature has had to be retranslated in such a way as to indicate the individual components of a composition, e.g., sentences, paragraphs, chapters or completed whole presentations of propositions. I have accomplished most of that task, out of an interest in not philology, let alone text-criticism, but history of religion.
Why take an interest in the differentiation of sentences and paragraphs? Only if the reader first meets an undifferentiated text, merely translated fairly literally, but in no way re-presented within the extant technology by which we organize information in a purpose manner, will the necessity of a differentiated text become self-evident. That is why, in what follows, I first present, without comment, a sizable abstract, marking each sentence off from the others only for the purpose of allowing the reader some sort of minimal access to what is said. I do not differentiate between Hebrew and Aramaic, and 1 do not include any signals on how a given sentence relates to what has gone before or to what is to follow. So I omit the signals that I have devised to ease the reader’s progress through the document, that is, not highlighting what the intended audience automatically will have grasped from shifts in language and other signals, articulated or implicit, in the flow of language. To facilitate some minimal intelligibility, to be sure, I do include quotation-marks; many of the “modern, scientific” translations do not give even that mark.
Then, immediately afterward, I re-present the entire passage, this time showing it as a differentiated set of citations and quotations from various sources (now, the passages of the Mishnah and Tosefta will be in bold face type). By giving Hebrew in plain type and Aramaic in italics, further, I differentiate the two languages and so drawing upon the signals that language-choice delivers.
We come to the most radical innovation of the formal presentation of the Bavli, the recognition of subordinated compositions and composites. I display in indentation—further and further to the right hand column, as an item glosses a gloss, or provides an appendix to a gloss, or footnotes a footnote—what I conceive to be the secondary or subordinated discussions. As to the body of the materials, I differentiate what I conceive to be the smallest whole units of thought (“sentences”)) paragraph by paragraph, marking each with a letter for ready reference. I then identify what I conceive to be complete propositional formulations (“paragraphs”) by marking a set of lettered “sentences” with Arabic numerals. Finally, I mark what I maintain are fully and exhaustively presented composites of propositions (“chapters”) by a Roman number.
Working from the whole to the parts, I move from a complete statement through the components of that statement to the smallest whole units of thought of which that statement is comprised.1 A variety of issues are at stake in providing such an analytical reference system, inclusive of the signification of secondary and tertiary discourses by progressive indentation. In the present context, my discussion will then show how in presenting a vast corpus of material, and in fully providing the apparatus of information, not only the main points of proposition, evidence, and argument, the framers have followed a few simple rules, which a sensitive reader will have grasped after only minimal study.
Presenting the opening Mishnah-paragraph and following Talmud of Babylonian Talmud tractate Abodah Zarah, pp. 2A-3B, I first offer the whole, differentiated only by periods, sentence by sentence. All translations of all documents of rabbinic literature except for mine, wherever and whenever made, will follow this format (a glance at the fine translation published by Soncino Press, London, will validate my claim on how translations represent the original of these pages):
Mishnah: Before the festivals of gentiles for three days it is forbidden to do business with them to lend anything to them or to borrow anything from them to lend money to them or to borrow money from them to repay them or to be repaid by them R Judah says They accept repayment from them because it is distressing to him They said to him Even though it is distressing to him now he will be happy about it later Gemara: Before the festivals of gentiles for three days it is forbidden to do business with them to lend anything to them or to borrow anything from them to lend money to them or to borrow money from them to repay them or to be repaid by them R Judah says They accept repayment from them because it is distressing to him They said to him Even though it is distressing to him now he will be happy about it later Rab and Samuel [in dealing with the reading of the key-word of the Mishnah translated festival the letters of which are aleph daled rather than ayin daled which means calamity]: one repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as their festivals And the other repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as their calamities The one who repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as their festivals made no mistake and the one who repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as their calamities made no mistake For it is written For the day of their calamity is at hand (Dt 32:15) The one who repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as their festivals made no mistake for it is written Let them bring their testimonies that they may be justified (Is 43:9) And as to the position of him who repeats the formulation of the Mishnah as their festivals on what account does he not repeat the formulation of the Mishnah to yield their calamities He will say to you Calamity is preferable [as the word choice when speaking of idolatry] And as to the position of whim who repeats the formulation of the Mishnah as their calamities on what account does he not repeat the formulation of the Mishnah to yield their festivals He will say to you What causes the calamity that befalls them if not their testimony so testimony is preferable! And as to the verse Let them bring their testimonies that they may be justified (Is 43:9) is this written with reference to gentiles Lo it is written in regard to Israel For said R Joshua b Levi All of the religious duties that Israelites carry out in this world come and give testimony in their behalf in the world to come: Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified (Is 43:9) that is Israel; and let them hear and say It is truth (Is 43:9)—this refers to gentiles Rather said R Huna b R Joshua He who formulates the Mishnah to refer to their calamities derives the reading from this verse: They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity and their delectable things shall not profit and their own witnesses see not nor know (Is 44:9) As to the exposition [of the verse They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity and their delectable things shall not profit and their own witnesses see not nor know (Is 44:9)]: In the age to come the Holy One blessed be he will bring a scroll of the Torah and hold it in his bosom and say Let him who has kept himself busy with it come and take his reward Then all the gentiles will crowd together: All of the nations are gathered together (Is 43:9) The Holy One blessed be he will say to them Do not crowd together before me in a mob But let each nation enter together with [2B] its scribes and let the peoples be gathered together (Is 43:9) and the word people means kingdom: and one kingdom shall be stronger than the other (Gen 25:23) But can there be a mob-scene before the Holy One blessed be he Rather it is so that from their perspective they not form a mob so that they will be able to hear what he says to them The kingdom of Rome comes in first How come Because they are the most important How do we know on the basis of Scripture they are the most important Because it is written And he shall devour the whole earth and shall tread it down and break it into pieces (Gen 25:23) and said R Yohanan This Rome is answerable for its definition [of matters] has gone forth to the entire world [Mishcon: this refers to Rome whose power is known to the whole world] And how do we know that the one who is most important comes in first It is in accord with that which R Hisda said For said R Hisda When the king and the community [await judgment] the king enters in first for judgment: That he maintain the case of his servant [Solomon] and [then] the cause of his people Israel (1 Kgs 8:59) And how come If you wish I shall say it is not appropriate to keep the king sitting outside And if you wish I shall say that [the king is allowed to plea his case] before the anger of the Holy One is aroused The Holy One blessed be he will say to them How have defined your chief occupation They will say before him Lord of the world a vast number of marketplaces have we set up a vast number of bath houses we have made a vast among to silver and gold have we accumulated And all of these things we have done only in behalf of Israel so that they may define as their chief occupation the study of the Torah The Holy One blessed be he will say to them You complete idiots! Whatever you have done has been for your own convenience You have set up a vast number of marketplaces to be sure but that was so as to set up whore-houses in them The bath-houses were for your own pleasure Silver and gold belong to me anyhow: Mine is the silver and mine is the gold says the Lord of hosts (Hag 2:8) Are there any among you who have been telling of this and this is only the Torah: And this is the Torah that Moses set before the children of Israel (Dt 4:44) So they will make their exit humiliated When the kingdom of Rome has made its exit the kingdom of Persia enters afterward How come Because they are second in importance And how do we know it on the basis of Scripture Because it is written And behold another beast a second like a bear (Dan 7:5) and in this connection R Joseph repeated as a Tannaite formulation This refers to the Persians who eat and drink like a bear are obese like a bear are shaggy like a bear and are restless like a bear The Holy One blessed be he will say to them How have defined your chief occupation hey will say before him Lord of the world We have thrown up a vast number of bridges we have conquered a vast number of towns we have made a vast number of wars and all of them we did only for Israel so that they may define as their chief occupation the study of the Torah The Holy One blessed be he will say to them Whatever you have done has been for your own convenience You have thrown up a vast number of bridges to collect tolls you have conquered a vast number of towns to collect the corvée and as to making a vast number of wars I am the one who makes wars: The Lord is a man of war (Ex 19:17) Are there any among you who have been telling of this and this is only the Torah: And this is the Torah that Moses set before the children of Israel (Dt 4:44) So they will make their exit humiliated But if the kingdom of Persia has seen that such a claim issued by the kingdom of Rome did no good whatsoever how come they go in at all They will say to themselves These are the ones who destroyed the house of the sanctuary but we are the ones who built it And so it will go with each and every nation But if each one of them has seen that such a claim issued by the others did no good whatsoever how come they go in at all They will say to themselves Those two subjugated Israel but we never subjugated Israel And how come the two conquering nations are singled out as important and the others are not It is because the rule of these will continue until the Messiah comes They will say to him Lord of the world in point of fact did you actually give it to us and we did not accept it But how can they present such an argument since it is written The Lord came from Sinai and rose from Seir to them he shined forth from Mount Paran (Dt 33:2) and further God comes from Teman (Hab 3:3) Now what in the world did he want in Seir and what was he looking for in Paran Said R Yohanan This teaches that the Holy One blessed be he made the rounds of each and every nation and language and none accepted it until he came to Israel and they accepted it Rather this is what they say Did we accept it but then not carry it out But to this the rejoinder must be Why did you not accept it anyhow! Rather this is what they say before him Lord of the world Did you hold a mountain over us like a cask and then we refused to accept it as you did to Israel as it is written And they stood beneath the mountain (Ex 19:17) And [in connection with the verse And they stood beneath the mountain (Ex 19:17)] said R Dimi bar Hama This teaches that the Holy One blessed be he held the mountain over Israel like a cask and said to them If you accept the Torah well and good and if not then there is where your grave will be Then the Holy One blessed be he will say to them Let us make known what happened first: Let them announce to us former things (Is 43:9) As to the seven religious duties that you did accept where have you actually carried them out And how do we know on the basis of Scripture that they did not carry them out R Joseph formulated as a Tannaite statement He stands and shakes the earth he sees and makes the nations tremble (Hab 3:6): what did he see He saw the seven religious duties that the children of Noah accepted upon themselves as obligations but never actually carried them out Since they did not carry out those obligations he went and remitted their obligation But then they benefited—so it pays to sin! Said Mar b Rabina [3A] What this really proves is that even they carry out those religious duties they get no reward on that account And they don t don t they But has it not been taught on Tannaite authority: R Meir would say How on the basis of Scripture do we know that even if it is a gentile if he goes and takes up the study of the Torah as his occupation he is equivalent to the high priest Scripture states You shall therefore keep my statues and my ordinances which if a human being does them one shall gain life through them (Lev 18:5) What is written is not priests or Levites or Israelites but rather a human being So you have learned the fact that even if it is a gentile if he goes and takes up the study of the Torah as his occupation he is equivalent to the high priest Rather what you learn from this is that they will not receive that reward that is coming to those who are commanded to do them and who carry them out but rather the reward that they receive will be like that coming to the one who is not commanded to do them and who carries them out anyhow For said R Hanina Greater is the one who is commanded and who carries out the religious obligations than the one who is not commanded but nonetheless carries out religious obligations this is what the gentiles say before him Lord of the world Israel who accepted it—where in the world have they actually carried it out The Holy One blessed be he will say to them I shall bear witness concerning them that they have carried out the whole of the Torah! They will say before him Lord of the world is there a father who is permitted to give testimony concerning his son For it is written Israel is my son my firstborn (Ex 4:22) The Holy One blessed be he will say to them The heaven and the earth will give testimony in their behalf that they have carried out the entirety of the Torah They will say before him Lord of the world The heaven and earth have a selfish interest in the testimony that they give: If not for my covenant with day and with night I should not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth (Jer 33:25) For said R Simeon b Laqish What is the meaning of the verse of Scripture And there was evening and there was morning the sixth day (Gen 1:31) This teaches that the Holy One blessed be he made a stipulation with all of the works of creation saying to them If Israel accepts my Torah well and good but if not I shall return you to chaos and void That is in line with what is written: You did cause sentence to be heard from heaven the earth trembled and was still (Ps 76:9) If trembling then where is the stillness and if stillness then where is the trembling Rather to begin with trembling but at the end stillness The Holy One blessed be he will say to them Some of them may well come and give testimony concerning Israel that they have observed the entirety of the Torah Let Nimrod come and give testimony in behalf of Abraham that he never worshipped idols Let Laban come and give testimony in behalf of Jacob that he never was suspect of thievery Let the wife of Potiphar come and give testimony in behalf of Joseph that he was never suspect of sin Let Nebuchadnezzar come and give testimony in behalf of Hananiah Mishael and Azariah that they never bowed down to the idol Let Darius come and give testimony in behalf of Daniel that he did not neglect even the optional prayers Let Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite and Eliphaz the Temanite and Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite come and testify in behalf of Israel that they have observed the entirety of the Torah: Let the nations bring their own witnesses that they may be justified (Is 43:9) They will say to him Then give it to us to begin with and let us carry it out The Holy One blessed be he will say to them World-class idiots! He who took the trouble to prepare on the eve of the Sabbath [Friday] will eat on the Sabbath but he who took no trouble on the even of the Sabbath—what in the world is he going to eat on the Sabbath! Still [I l give you another chance] I have a rather simple religious duty which is called the tabernacle Go and do that one But can you say any such thing Lo R Joshua b Levi has said What is the meaning of the verse of Scripture The ordinances that I command you this day to do them (Dt 7:11) Today is the day to do them but not tomorrow; they are not to be done tomorrow; today is the day to do them but not the day on which to receive a reward for doing them Rather it is that the Holy One blessed be he does not exercise tyranny over his creatures And why does he refer to it as a simple religious duty Because it does not involve enormous expense [to carry out that religious duty] Forthwith every one of them will take up the task and go and make a tabernacle on his roof But then the Holy One blessed be he will come and make the sun blaze over them as at the summer solstice and every one of them will knock down his tabernacle and go his way: Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us (Ps 23:3) But lo you have just said it is that the Holy One blessed be he does not exercise tyranny over his creatures ! It is because the Israelites too—sometimes [3B] the summer solstice goes on to the Festival of Tabernacles and therefore they are bothered by the heat! But has not Raba stated One who is bothered [by the heat] is exempt from the obligation of dwelling in the tabernacle Granting that one may be exempt from the duty is he going to go and tear the thing down Then the Holy One blessed be he goes into session and laughs at them: He who sits in heaven laughs (Ps 2:4) Said R Isaac Laughter before the Holy One blessed be he takes place only on that day alone There are those who repeat as a Tannaite version this statement of R Isaac in respect to that which has been taught on Tannaite authority: R Yosé says In the coming age gentiles will come and convert But will they be accepted Has it not been taught on Tannaite authority: Converts will not be accepted in the days of the Messiah just as they did not accept proselytes either in the time of David or in the time of Solomon Rather they will make themselves converts and they will put on phylacteries on their heads and arms and fringes on their garments and a mezuzah on their doors But when they witness the war of Gog and Magog he will say to them How come you have come They will say Against the Lord and against his Messiah For so it is said Why are the nations in an uproar and why do the peoples mutter in vain (Ps 2:1) Then each one of them will rid himself of his religious duty and go his way: Let us break their bands asunder (Ps 2:3) Then the Holy One blessed be he goes into session and laughs at them: He who sits in heaven laughs (Ps 2:4) Said R Isaac Laughter before the Holy One blessed be he takes place only on that day alone But is this really so And has not R Judah said Rab said The day is made up of twelve hours In the first three the Holy One blessed be he goes into session and engages in study of the Torah; in the second he goes into session and judges the entire world When he realizes that the world is liable to annihilation he arises from the throne of justice and takes up a seat on the throne of mercy In the third period he goes into session and nourishes the whole world from the horned buffalo to the brood of vermin During the fourth quarter he laughs [and plays] with leviathan: There is leviathan whom you have formed to play with (Ps 104:26) [This proves that God does laugh more than on that one day alone] Said R Nahman bar Isaac With his creatures he laughs [everyday] but at his creatures he laughs only on that day alone
That is what the page, without commas, periods and quotation marks yields. It replicates the way in which the manuscripts and printed editions present the Talmud in the original languages and in translation. To be sure, I compromised by preserving capital letters where modern languages require them. There were no such signals in the classical manuscripts.. A proper reference-system displays the cogency and well-crafted character of this piece of writing. But, at this point, anyone with the patience to have read the entire passage will by now have found utterly implausible my allegation that that page is at all coherent. And even were I to paragraph the column of words as the Soncino translation does, it would make little difference to that judgment. Long columns of undifferentiated words simply cannot be analyzed in any manner at all; the absence of a reference system renders the translation gibberish: we understand the sentences, but the composition that they form.
Without further ado, we reconsider the entire passage, now differentiating the composites by Roman numerals, the compositions that form the components of the composites by Arabic numerals, the constitutive parts of the compositions by letters; the sources—Mishnah, Tosefta from everything else—by different type faces; the two languages, Hebrew and Aramaic, by regular type and italics, respectively; and the text—the principal discourse—from footnotes and appendices by indenting and double and triple indenting the latter. In this way—through a simple and visually easily understood reference-system—we see precisely what is in play in the page; my comments then will explain what our authors have done to give us everything they thought we had to know. We see that they followed a few simple rules, which we can discern and which guide us in reading their writing.
BAVLI ABODAH ZARAH 1:1
A. [2A] Before the festivals of gentiles for three days it is forbidden to do business with them.
B. (1) to lend anything to them or to borrow anything from them.
C. (2) to lend money to them or to borrow money from them.
D. (3) to repay them or to be repaid by them.
E. R. Judah says, “They accept repayment from them, because it is distressing to him.”
F. They said to him, “Even though it is distressing to him now, he will be happy about it later.”
MISHNAH 1:1.1.
1 A. [2A] Rab and Samuel [in dealing with the reading of the key-word of the Mishnah, translated festival, the letters of which are ‘aleph daled, rather than’ ayin daled, which means, calamity]:
B. one repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as, “their festivals.”
C. And the other repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as “their calamities.”
D. The one who repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as “their festivals” made no mistake, and the one who repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as “their calamities” made no mistake.
E. For it is written, “For the day of their calamity is at hand” (Dt. 32:15).
F. The one who repeated the formulation of the Mishnah as “their festivals” made no mistake, for it is written, “Let them bring their testimonies that they may be justified” (Is. 43:9).
G. And as to the position of him who repeats the formulation of the Mishnah as “their festivals,” on what account does he not repeat the formulation of the Mishnah to yield, “their calamities”?
H. He will say to you, “ ‘Calamity’ is preferable [as the word choice when speaking of idolatry].”
I. And as to the position of whim who repeats the formulation of the Mishnah as “their calamities,” on what account does he not repeat the formulation of the Mishnah to yield “their festivals”?
J. He will say to you, “What causes the calamity that befalls them if not their testimony, so testimony is preferable!”
K. And as to the verse, “Let them bring their testimonies that they may be justified” (Is. 43:9), is this written with reference to gentiles? Lo, it is written in regard to Israel.
L. For said R. Joshua b. Levi, “All of the religious duties that Israelites carry out in this world come and give testimony in their behalf in the world to come: ‘Let them bring their witnesses that they may be justified’ (Is. 43:9), that is, Israel; ‘and let them hear and say, It is truth’ (Is. 43:9)—this refers to gentiles.”
M. Rather, said R. Huna b. R. Joshua, “He who formulates the Mishnah to refer to their calamities derives the reading from this verse: ‘They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things shall not profit, and their own witnesses see not nor know’ (Is. 44:9).”
The foregoing, we see clearly, presents a beautifully balanced dispute-form, and the form is used to provide a medium for presenting Mishnah-text criticism: how are we to read the text of the paragraph before us. That classification presents no problems. We must now enter a much more difficult question because I maintain that, along with the classification of I.1, everything that is attached to I.1 in a continuous and ongoing manner goes along as a single composite, the whole put together in its own terms, but then utilized by the framer of the Talmud before us—folios 2A-5B—as a continuous (if in our perspective rather run-on) statement. It is obviously a composite. But I classify the entire composite all together and all at once, because it is more than a composite: it also is a composition. And the reason I see it as a coherent and cogent composition is that every item fits together with its predecessor and leads us without interruption to its successor, from the starting lines of I.1 to the concluding ones of I.32.
No. 1 has referred us to gentile idolatry and Israelite loyalty to the religious duties assigned to them by God. We now have a long exposition of the theme of gentile idolatry and perfidy. Everything that follows in I.2 serves as a play on the theme of I.1.L-M! The unity of the whole of I.2 will be readily apparent because of the insets of gloss and expansion, and the further insets of the appendices to the gloss and expansion. We shall now see, through the device of indentations, how much in the expansion of the foregoing in fact serves as gloss, footnote, and appendix; recognizing that fact we see a rather well-crafted and cogent composite, made up of a principal composition—extending to the far left-hand margin—and a variety of subordinated compositions, moving off to the right in progressive indentations. And what we can see, visually, any well-endowed disciple of the document will readily have understood through his thoughtful reading of the document: this is primary, that is secondary and subordinate. In ages past the disciples will not have called what I indent “footnotes” or even “appendices.” But they also will not have found confusing the glosses and supplements that, all together, give a full and rich account of any subject introduced in the primary discussion.
True, this is not how Plato and Aristotle set out their ideas; but the great philosophers also did not choose as the medium for writing down their ideas a commentary on a received text, in constant dialogue with yet another received text (the Mishnah, Scripture), with persistent attention to a variety of other received data, all to be provided in a complete and purposeful argument on a point of fundamental importance. They simply set forth a complete and purposeful argument in behalf of a proposition; the evidence and argument were recast by the philosophers into the language required for the proposition they wished to argue, whether in dialogue or in dialectical form. The character of the Judaic sages’ system—the inheritance of revelation with which they proposed to enter dialogue—called forth a form that, in itself, expressed the character of the nurturing culture beyond.
I.2 A. R. Hanina bar Pappa, and some say, R. Simlai, gave the following exposition [of the verse, “They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things shall not profit, and their own witnesses see not nor know” (Is. 44:9)]: “In the age to come the Holy One, blessed be he, will bring a scroll of the Torah and hold it in his bosom and say, ‘Let him who has kept himself busy with it come and take his reward.’ Then all the gentiles will crowd together: ‘All of the nations are gathered together’ (Is. 43:9). The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘Do not crowd together before me in a mob. But let each nation enter together with [2B] its scribes, ‘and let the peoples be gathered together’ (Is. 43:9), and the word ‘people’ means ‘kingdom:’ ‘and one kingdom shall be stronger than the other’ (Gen. 25:23).”
Now the indentation to mark off glosses and footnotes and subordinated notes and topical appenies begins to make its mark on the presentation.
B. But can there be a mob-scene before the Holy One, blessed be he? Rather, it is so that from their perspective they not form a mob, so that they will be able to hear what he says to them.
C. [Resuming the narrative of A:] “The kingdom of Rome comes in first.”
D. How come? Because they are the most important. How do we know on the basis of Scripture they are the most important? Because it is written, “And he shall devour the whole earth and shall tread it down and break it into pieces” (Gen. 25:23), and said R. Yohanan, “This Rome is answerable, for its definition [of matters] has gone forth to the entire world [Mishcon: ‘this refers to Rome, whose power is known to the whole world’].”
E. And how do we know that the one who is most important comes in first? It is in accord with that which R. Hisda said.
F. For said R. Hisda, “When the king and the community [await judgment], the king enters in first for judgment: ’That he maintain the case of his servant [Solomon] and [then] the cause of his people Israel’ (1 Kgs. 8:59).”
G. And how come? If you wish, I shall say it is not appropriate to keep the king sitting outside. And if you wish, I shall say that [the king is allowed to plea his case] before the anger of the Holy One is aroused.”
H. [Resurning the narrative of C:] “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘How have defined your chief occupation?’
I. “They will say before him, ‘Lord of the world, a vast number of marketplaces have we set up, a vast number of bath houses we have made, a vast among to silver and gold have we accumulated. And all of these things we have done only in behalf of Israel, so that they may define as their chief occupation the study of the Torah.’
J. “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘You complete idiots! Whatever you have done has been for your own convenience. You have set up a vast number of marketplaces to be sure, but that was so as to set up whore-houses in them. The bath-houses were for your own pleasure. Silver and gold belong to me anyhow: “Mine is the silver and mine is the gold, says the Lord of hosts” (Hag. 2:8). Are there any among you who have been telling of “this,” and “this” is only the Torah: “And this is the Torah that Moses set before the children of Israel’ (Dt. 4:44).” So they will make their exit, humiliated.
K. “When the kingdom of Rome has made its exit, the kingdom of Persia enters afterward.”
L. How come? Because they are second in importance. And how do we know it on the basis of Scripture? Because it is written, “And behold, another beast, a second, like a bear” (Dan. 7:5), and in this connection R. Joseph repeated as a Tannaite formulation, “This refers to the Persians, who eat and drink like a bear, are obese like a bear, are shaggy like a bear, and are restless like a bear.”
M. “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘How have defined your chief occupation?’
N. “They will say before him, ‘Lord of the world, We have thrown up a vast number of bridges, we have conquered a vast number of towns, we have made a vast number of wars, and all of them we did only for Israel, so that they may define as their chief occupation the study of the Torah.’
O. “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘Whatever you have done has been for your own convenience. You have thrown up a vast number of bridges, to collect tolls, you have conquered a vast number of towns, to collect the corvée, and, as to making a vast number of wars, I am the one who makes wars: “The Lord is a man of war” (Ex. 19:17). Are there any among you who have been telling of “this,” and “this” is only the Torah: “And this is the Torah that Moses set before the children of Israel” (Dt. 4:44).’ So they will make their exit, humiliated.
P. But if the kingdom of Persia has seen that such a claim issued by the kingdom of Rome did no good whatsoever, how come they go in at all?
Q. They will say to themselves, “These are the ones who destroyed the house of the sanctuary, but we are the ones who built it.”
R. “And so it will go with each and every nation.”
S. But if each one of them has seen that such a claim issued by the others did no good whatsoever, how come they go in at all?
T. They will say to themselves, “Those two subjugated Israel, but we never subjugated Israel.”
U. And how come the two conquering nations are singled out as important and the others are not?
V. It is because the rule of these will continue until the Messiah comes.
W. “They will say to him, ‘Lord of the world, in point of fact, did you actually give it to us and we did not accept it?’ ”
X. But how can they present such an argument, since it is written, “The Lord came from Sinai and rose from Seir to them, he shined forth from Mount Paran” (Dt. 33:2), and further, “God comes from Teman” (Hab. 3:3). Now what in the world did he want in Seir, and what was he looking for in Paran? Said R. Yohanan, “This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be he, made the rounds of each and every nation and language and none accepted it, until he came to Israel, and they accepted it.”
Y. Rather, this is what they say, “Did we accept it but then not carry it out?”
Z. But to this the rejoinder must be, “Why did you not accept it anyhow!”
AA. Rather, “this is what they say before him, ‘Lord of the world, Did you hold a mountain over us like a cask and then we refused to accept it as you did to Israel, as it is written, “And they stood beneath the mountain” (Ex. 19:17).’ ”
BB. And [in connection with the verse, “And they stood beneath the mountain” (Ex. 19:17),] said R. Dimi bar Hama, “This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be he, held the mountain over Israel like a cask and said to them, ‘If you accept the Torah, well and good, and if not, then there is where your grave will be.’ ”
CC. “Then the Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘Let us make known what happened first: “Let them announce to us former things” (Is. 43:9). As to the seven religious duties that you did accept, where have you actually carried them out?’ ”
DD. And how do we know on the basis of Scripture that they did not carry them out? R. Joseph formulated as a Tannaite statement, “ ‘He stands and shakes the earth, he sees and makes the nations tremble’ (Hab. 3:6): what did he see? He saw the seven religious duties that the children of Noah accepted upon themselves as obligations but never actually carried them out. Since they did not carry out those obligations, he went and remitted their obligation.”
EE. But then they benefited — so it pays to sin!
FF. Said Mar b. Rabina, [3A] “What this really proves is that even they carry out those religious duties, they get no reward on that account.”
GG. And they don’t, don’t they? But has it not been taught on Tannaite authority: R. Meir would say, “How on the basis of Scripture do we know that, even if it is a gentile, if he goes and takes up the study of the Torah as his occupation, he is equivalent to the high priest? Scripture states, ‘You shall therefore keep my statues and my ordinances, which, if a human being does them, one shall gain life through them’ (Lev. 18:5). What is written is not ‘priests’ or ‘Levites’ or ‘Israelites,’ but rather, ‘a human being.’ So you have learned the fact that, even if it is a gentile, if he goes and takes up the study of the Torah as his occupation, he is equivalent to the high priest.”
HH. Rather, what you learn from this [DD] is that they will not receive that reward that is coming to those who are commanded to do them and who carry them out, but rather, the reward that they receive will be like that coming to the one who is not commanded to do them and who carries them out anyhow.
II. For said R. Hanina, “Greater is the one who is commanded and who carries out the religious obligations than the one who is not commanded but nonetheless carries out religious obligations.”
JJ. [Reverting to AA:] “this is what the gentiles say before him, ‘Lord of the world, Israel, who accepted it—where in the world have they actually carried it out?’
KK. “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘I shall bear witness concerning them, that they have carried out the whole of the Torah!’
LL. “They will say before him, ‘Lord of the world, is there a father who is permitted to give testimony concerning his son? For it is written, “Israel is my son, my firstborn” (Ex. 4:22).’
MM. “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘The heaven and the earth will give testimony in their behalf that they have carried out the entirety of the Torah.’
NN. “They will say before him, ‘Lord of the world, The heaven and earth have a selfish interest in the testimony that they give: ‘If not for my covenant with day and with night, I should not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth’ (Jer. 33:25).’ ”
OO. For said R. Simeon b. Laqish, “What is the meaning of the verse of Scripture, ‘And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day’ (Gen. 1:31)? This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be he, made a stipulation with all of the works of creation, saying to them, ‘If Israel accepts my Torah, well and good, but if not, I shall return you to chaos and void.’ That is in line with what is written: ‘You did cause sentence to be heard from heaven, the earth trembled and was still’ (Ps. 76:9). If ‘trembling’ then where is the stillness, and if stillness, then where is the trembling? Rather, to begin with, trembling, but at the end, stillness.”
PP. [Reverting to MM-NN:] “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘Some of them may well come and give testimony concerning Israel that they have observed the entirety of the Torah. Let Nimrod come and give testimony in behalf of Abraham that he never worshipped idols. Let Laban come and give testimony in behalf of Jacob, that he never was suspect of thievery. Let the wife of Potiphar come and give testimony in behalf of Joseph, that he was never suspect of ‘sin.’ Let Nebuchadnezzar come and give testimony in behalf of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, that they never bowed down to the idol. Let Darius come and give testimony in behalf of Daniel, that he did not neglect even the optional prayers. Let Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite and Eliphaz the Temanite and Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite come and testify in behalf of Israel that they have observed the entirety of the Torah: “Let the nations bring their own witnesses, that they may be justified” (Is. 43:9).’
PP. “They will say before him, ‘Lord of the world, Give it to us to begin with, and let us carry it out.’
QQ. “The Holy One, blessed be he, will say to them, ‘World-class idiots! He who took the trouble to prepare on the eve of the Sabbath [Friday] will eat on the Sabbath, but he who took no trouble on the even of the Sabbath—what in the world is he going to eat on the Sabbath! Still, [I’ll give you another chance.] I have a rather simple religious duty, which is called “the tabernacle.” Go and do that one.’ ”
RR. But can you say any such thing? Lo, R. Joshua b. Levi has said, “What is the meaning of the verse of Scripture, ‘The ordinances that I command you this day to do them’ (Dt. 7:11)? Today is the day to do them, but not tomorrow; they are not to be done tomorrow; today is the day to do them, but not the day on which to receive a reward for doing them.”
SS. Rather, it is that the Holy One, blessed be he, does not exercise tyranny over his creatures.
TT. And why does he refer to it as a simple religious duty? Because it does not involve enormous expense [to carry out that religious duty].
UU. “Forthwith every one of them will take up the task and go and make a tabernacle on his roof. But then the Holy, One, blessed be he, will come and make the sun blaze over them as at the summer solstice, and every one of them will knock down his tabernacle and go his way: ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us’ (Ps. 23:3).”
VV. But lo, you have just said, “it is that the Holy One, blessed be he, does not exercise tyranny over his creatures”!
WW. It is because the Israelites too—sometimes [3B] the summer solstice goes on to the Festival of Tabernacles, and therefore they are bothered by the heat!
XX. But has not Raba stated, “One who is bothered [by the heat] is exempt from the obligation of dwelling in the tabernacle”?
YY. Granting that one may be exempt from the duty, is he going to go and tear the thing down?
ZZ. [Continuing from UU:] “Then the Holy One, blessed be he, goes into session and laughs at them: ‘He who sits in heaven laughs’ (Ps. 2:4).”
AAA. Said R. Isaac, “Laughter before the Holy One, blessed be he, takes place only on that day alone.”
BBB. There are those who repeat as a Tannaite version this statement of R. Isaac in respect to that which has been taught on Tannaite authority:
CCC. R. Yosé says, “In the coming age gentiles will come and convert.”
DDD. But will they be accepted? Has it not been taught on Tannaite authority: Converts will not be accepted in the days of the Messiah, just as they did not accept proselytes either in the time of David or in the time of Solomon?
EEE. Rather, “they will make themselves converts, and they will put on phylacteries on their heads and arms and fringes on their garments and a mezuzah on their doors. But when they witness the war of Gog and Magog, he will say to them, ‘How come you have come?’ They will say, “ ‘Against the Lord and against his Messiah.’ ” For so it is said, ‘Why are the nations in an uproar and why do the peoples mutter in vain’ (Ps. 2:1). Then each one of them will rid himself of his religious duty and go his way: ‘Let us break their bands asunder’ (Ps. 2:3). Then the Holy One, blessed be he, goes into session and laughs at them: ‘He who sits in heaven laughs’ (Ps. 2:4).”
FFF. Said R. Isaac, “Laughter before the Holy One, blessed be he, takes place only on that day alone.”
GGG. But is this really so? And has not R. Judah said Rab said, “The day is made up of twelve hours. In the first three the Holy One, blessed be he, goes into session and engages in study of the Torah; in the second he goes into session and judges the entire world. When he realizes that the world is liable to annihilation, he arises from the throne of justice and takes up a seat on the throne of mercy. In the third period he goes into session and nourishes the whole world from the horned buffalo to the brood of vermin. During the fourth quarter he laughs [and plays] with leviathan: ‘There is leviathan, whom you have formed to play with’ (Ps. 104:26).” [This proves that God does laugh more than on that one day alone.]
HHH. Said R. Nahman bar Isaac, “With his creatures he laughs [everyday], but at his creatures he laughs only on that day alone.”
The shift from language to language signals the presence of a sotto voce observation, a gloss, or a footnote. The movement from the main point to an indented composition does not obliterate the character of the whole as a well-crafted composite—a unity from start to finish.
That the whole of the foregoing constitutes a single essay is readily apparent. When the continuing discussion set forth by Hanina bar Pappa or Simlai is interrupted with a gloss, that is readily apparent. To show how that glossing process in our terms would form a footnote, I indent what I conceive to be footnotes. The interesting point comes at BBB, where we have an appendix to AAA. That is to say, the footnote, AAA, completes the foregoing statement, ZZ. Then the additional information is added not to the basic text but to the gloss; it is not filler, the information is valued. But the insertion clearly adds nothing to the basic text—hence it is relegated to an appendix, which, in our technical age, we should simply place at the end of a book. But then GGG forms a footnote to an appendix, therefore is indented still further.
The two pages of the Talmud of Babylonia presented here therefore are seen, through a proper reference system, to form a coherent and well-crafted essay, text and notes, in which a clear and present proposition governs from beginning to end.2 My translations of the canonical documents provide for each of them a highly differentiated account, so that we are able to discern the units of discourse, simple and complex, the insertions of glosses, the changes in the subject and the changes of subject, not to mention complete paragraphs and conglomerates. The Bavli is no longer a mishmash of undifferentiated prose. We can always discern where we stand and whither we proceed,
We are now prepared to encounter the text of the Bavli in American form-analytical translation. The main problem in analyzing a sample of the Talmud of Babylonia is presented by the run-on character of the writing. Visually, what we see are long columns of undifferentiated words, the sole division between a set of sentences drawn from the Mishnah and (ordinarily) much longer and more elaborate discussion of those sentences. Substantively, what we quickly perceive is that a passage of the Bavli moves far beyond the limits of Mishnah-commentary, and that movement twists and turns, so that a vast amount of information will be introduced that is only tangentially relevant to the starting-point in the Mishnah.
1I invented this reference system originally for my translation of the Mishnah, explaining its terms and categories in, which, to my knowledge, received not a single review. A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities. Leiden, 1977: Brill. XXI. The Redaction and Formulation of the Order of Purities in the Mishnah and Tosefta.
2I do not claim mine is the best of all possible reference-systems, but I have yet to find any alternative one at all—let alone one that provides as much information about the original for analytical purposes as does mine.