The Babylonian Talmud (abridged)

THE Sadducees, the common informers, the wicked, the hypocrites, the heretics, of them the Scripture says [Job, xiii. 16]: "For a hypocrite cannot come before him"; the terrifying, the overbearing, the haughty, the barefaced, those who develop only their muscular strength, of them the Scripture says [Psalms, xxxvii. 17]: "For the ovens of the wicked shall be broken; but the upholder of the righteous is the Lord." Evil-thinkers, story-tellers, talebearers, smooth-tongued persons, of them the Scripture says [ibid. xxxv. 5]: "May their way be dark and slippery, and may the angel of the Lord pursue them." Those who assault their neighbor in private and those who insult him in public, those who trifle with majorities, and those who cause quarrels, they will become as Korah and his society, of whom the Scripture says [Numb. xvi. 33]: "And the earth closed over them, and they disappeared from the midst of the congregation." Those who forestall fruit, those who raise the prices, those who diminish the measure, those who accept payment in large-sized shekels, and those who live on usury, of them the Scripture says [Amos, viii. 7]: "Sworn hath the Lord by the excellency of Jacob. Surely I will not forget to eternity all their works."

The following leave no inheritance to their children, and if they do leave to their children, nothing of it comes to their grandchildren: viz., those who play at dice, and those who raise tender cattle (in Palestine); those who do business with the money obtained from the fruit of the Sabbatical year, and those who pay with coins (of doubtful genuineness) coming from the sea-countries, and a priest and a Levite who obtained advances on their shares (of heave-offering and tithes), and those who disgrace the Holy Name, of them the Scripture says [Ps. ix. 18]: "The wicked shall return into hell, all the nations that are forgetful of God." And of them it is also written [Eccles. i. 15]: "What is crooked cannot be made straight." Those who motion with their hands, stamp their feet, walk on their toes (to show pride), of them the Scripture says [Ps. xxxvi. 12]: "Let not come against me the foot of pride, and let not the hand of the wicked chase me off." The conceited, the slanderers, those who indulge in obscene language, those who are wise in their own eyes, of them the Scripture says [Mal. iii. 19]: "For, behold, the day is coming which shall burn as an oven," etc,

One who lets his young son marry an older woman, and one who marries off his daughter to an old man, and one who bestows favors upon those who are unworthy, concerning such Scripture says [Deut. xxix. 19]: "The Lord will not pardon him." The collectors, the war-instigators, the publicans, of them Scripture says [Ezek. xxvii. 27]: "Thy wealth and thy warehouses, thy commerce, thy mariners and thy pilots, thy caulkers and the conductors of thy commerce, and all thy men of war that were in thee, and in all thy assemblage which was in the midst of thee, fell into the heart of the seas on the day of thy downfall." One who betrays his partner, one who does not return a thing found to its rightful owner, one who loans money to another in order to get possession of his house or fields in case of non-payment, and one who lives immorally with his wife, and one who maliciously slanders his wife in order to divorce her, of them the Scripture says [Jer. xvii. 10]: "I the Lord search the heart, probe the veins."

Those who are wronged and do not wrong, etc. [see Yomah, p. 33, l. 9]; those who consider themselves contemptible and despicable, those who overcome their passion, and are altogether modest, of them the Scripture says [Is. xlix. 8]: "Thus hath said the Lord, In the time of favor have I answered thee, and on the day of salvation have I helped thee, and I will preserve thee, and I will appoint thee as a people of my covenant to raise up the land, to divide out desolate heritages." Trustworthy men, those who keep other people's secrets, those who gladly return articles intrusted to their care, and found things to their rightful owners, of them Scripture says [Ps. ci. 6]: "My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may abide with me." One who loves his wife as himself, who honors her more than himself, and one who leads his children on the right path, and one who marries off his son in due time to prevent him from sin, of them it is written [Job, v. 24]: "And thou shalt know that there is peace in thy tent; and thou wilt look over thy habitation, and shalt miss nothing. And thou shalt know that thy seed is numerous, and thy offspring as the herbage of the earth."

One who loves his neighbors and is friendly to his relatives, and one who marries off his sister's daughter, and one who loans even a small amount to a poor man in his need, of them the Scripture says [Is. lviii. 9]: "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer."

One who executes his trust rightfully, those who truthfully repent, and those who receive the repentant into their midst and instruct them so that they shall not return to their former sins, of them it is written [ibid. 8] Then shall break forth as the morning-dawn thy light.

Those who judge rightfully, those who reprove truthfully, those who propagate purity, and those who are pure of heart, of them it is written [Ps. lxxiii. 1]: "Truly, God is good to Israel, to such as are pure of heart." Those who sigh, weep, and in their lamentations are hopeful of the redemption of Jerusalem, of them it is written [Is. lxi. 3]: "To grant unto the mourners of Zion, to give unto them ornament in the place of ashes." Those who are merciful, feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the thirsty, clothe the naked, and distribute charity, of them the Scripture says [ibid. iii. 10]: "Say ye to the righteous that he hath done well." The poor, the bashful, and those who are humble in spirit, and those who are submissive to youth, and those who carry out their promises, of them the Scripture says [Job, xxii. 23]: "And if thou decree a thing, it will be fulfilled unto thee, and upon thy ways the light will shine." Those who exert themselves in the study of the Law, and study it for the purpose of observing it, and those who search for the opportunity to do good, and those who frequent the temples, of them the Scripture says [Prov. viii. 24]: "Happy is the man that hearkeneth unto me, watching day by day at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors." Those who pursue righteousness, and seek peace for their nation, and those who participate in the affliction of the community, and those who stand by the community in case of distress, of them the Scripture says [Nahum, i. 7]: "The Lord is good, a stronghold on the day of distress."

On account of the following four things an eclipse of the sun occurs (see Succah, p. 40): When the head of a college (Ab Beth Din) died and was not properly lamented; when a betrothed damsel cried for help (Deut. xxii. 23-28) in town and no one offered help; male sodomy; and the shedding of the blood of two brothers at one and the same time (there is no explanation of this in any of the commentaries, and it seems to us that there happened something like that in the author's time which is unknown to us).

On account of the following four things the eclipse of both the sun and the moon occurs: Those who write defamatory reports about others, giving false testimony, raising tender cattle, and destroying fruit-bearing trees. On account of the following four things the personal property of citizens is seized by the government: For keeping paid notes (with the intention to demand another payment), for the practice of usury, for not exercising one's power to prevent sin when he could do so, for subscribing publicly to charity and not paying the subscription.

On account of the following four things the estates of the citizen are destroyed: For robbing or withholding the wages of a wage-earner [Lev. xix. 13]; for removing the yoke from one's own neck and placing it upon the neck of another, and for haughtiness above all.

R. Dusthai b. R. Jehudah said: Do provoke the wicked (see Megilla, p. 13), as it is written [Prov. xxviii. 41: "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as observe the law contend with them"; but lest one say, is it not written [Ps. xxxvii. 1]: "Do not fret thyself because of the evil-doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity"? say to him that this is the answer of him whose heart-beating prevents him from doing so (because of this passage), but the true interpretation of this passage is thus: "Do not fret thyself to be equal to the evil-doers, neither be thou envious to be like them of the workers of iniquity."

There is no sitting above (in heaven), neither is there eating, drinking, sleep, multiplication, animosity, hatred, provocation, envy, nor stubbornness, weariness nor delay, and that is what David the King of Israel said [ibid. xviii. 12]: "He made darkness his hiding-place" (i.e., it is dark and hidden to all mortals). To what end did David say this? To none other than to praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, who is "Yah," rules on high, whose unity is one, whose name is one, and who rests in three hundred and ninety heavens, and on each His name and mode of pronunciation are marked; and in each of them there are servants, seraphim, ophanim (wheels, Ezek. I.), cherubim, galgalim, and a throne of glory; and there is no wonder at that, for even as a mortal king has many palaces for the seasons of the year, so much the more the Everlasting, since all is His. And when Israel are doing His will, He rests in the seventh heaven, named Araboth, and does not keep distant from His world, as it is written [Numb. vii. 89]: "From between the two cherubim: and thus he spake unto him." When offended He ascends to the highest heaven, and all cries and weeping are not listened to, and fasts are ordered, and they roll themselves in ashes, cover themselves with sacks, and shed tears (and all in vain, until He has mercy upon them).

BEN AZAI said: One who bears in mind the following four things, and never loses sight of them, will never sin namely, whence he came, and whither he goes, who is his judge, and what will become of him. Whence he came?,--from a place of darkness; and whither he goes?--to darkness. Whence he came?--from a dirty place; whither he goes?--to make unclean every one who will touch him. Whence he came?--from a fetid secretion, and from a place which is invisible to a human being; whither he goes?---to sheol and Gehenna, to be, burned in fire. And who is his Judge? Remember that his Judge is not of flesh and blood, but the Lord of all the creation, blessed be He, before whom there is no, iniquity, no oblivion, no consideration of person, no, bribery. And what will become of him?--worms and maggot, as it is written [Job, xxv. 6]: "How much less the mortal, the mere worm? and the son of earth, the mere maggot?" R. Simeon said: A human being has worms in his body when alive--i.e., lice, and he is converted into a maggot after his death.

R. Eliezer b. Jacob said: Think of a big palace in the centre of which the vat of a tanner is placed: so is a handsome and respected man who lets an unbecoming word pass his lips. If a human being would issue from his body perfume (instead of excrement), how would he pride himself against all other creatures? (So, if this man allows his lips to pass only respectable words, he can pride himself.) When R. Eliezer was about to depart, his disciples paid him a visit and requested him to teach them only one more thing. And he said unto them: Go, and be careful, each of you, in honoring your neighbor; and when you are praying, remember before whom you stand and pray, and for the observation of these you will have a share in the world to come.

BE always pleasant at your entering and at your leaving. Lessen your worldly business in order to study the law. It happened with R. Simeon b. Elazar, etc. (See Taanith, pp. 52 and 53, for the whole legend repeated here.) How shall one honor his master? (See Yomah, p. 52.) And so also we find with the three angels Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, who came to Abraham our father. Gabriel's errand was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah; Raphael's was to heal Abraham; and Michael's, to inform Sarah. And when Abraham saw the angels, the Shekhina came and stood above him, and he addressed the angels, saying: "My masters, wait awhile, until I take leave of the Shekhina, for you also must respect her," as it is written [Gen. xviii. 3]: "And he said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy eyes, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant." And after Abraham took leave of the Shekhina he returned, and bowed to them and brought them under the tree, as it is written [ibid. 4]: "Let a little water, etc., be fetched, and wash, etc."; And then he said [ibid., ibid.]: "I will fetch a morsel of bread." Lot, however, said [ibid. xix. 2]: "And tarry all night, and (then) wash your feet?" Some of the anonymous teachers observe that in this very point Lot showed his prudence. He reasoned: If the Sodomites will see them after they have washed their faces, hands, and feet (i.e., I give them shelter overnight), they will kill me, my wife, and my daughters; but let the Sodomites see them with the dust on their feet, they will then think that they have just arrived.

He who accompanies his master ought not to depart from him without permission. When two disciples go or sit together (they need not ask for permission from each other), they are both equal.

It is customary that when entering, the master of the house enters first and the guest after him, and when leaving the house the guest leaves first and the master after him. And he who departs from his comrade, whether his comrade is greater than he or he is greater than his,,, comrade, he must inform him of his leaving. And every one may learn this from the Lord, who said to Abraham, "I leave you," as it is written [Gen. xviii. 33]: "And the Lord went away when he had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned unto his place" (from the wording, "and the Lord went away," it is inferred that He informed him).

NEVER shall a man enter the house of his neighbor without permission, and this conduct may be learned, from the Holy One, blessed be He, who stood at the gate of the garden, and called to Adam [Gen. iii. 9]: "And the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?" It happened with the four elders Rabban Gamaliel, R. Jehoshua, R. Elazar b. Azariah, and R. Aqiba, who went to the interior cities of Rome, in one of which there lived a friend of theirs, a philosopher--R. Jehoshua asked Rabban Gamaliel if he would like to go and see their friend the philosopher, and he answered he would not. On the next morning, however, he asked him again, and he said he would. They then went, and R. Jehoshua knocked at the door of the philosopher, and at once the philosopher concluded that this must be the manner of a wise man. When he knocked again, the philosopher arose and washed his face, hands, and feet. When he knocked the third time, the philosopher opened the door, and saw that the sages of Israel were coming from both sides of the street; namely, Rabban Gamaliel being in. the centre, R. Jehoshua and R. Elazar b. Azariah to his right, and R. Aqiba to his left, and the philosopher was somewhat puzzled as to the manner of saluting them. He said within himself: "Whom of the sages shall I greet first? If I should greet R. Gamaliel first, I might thereby offend the other sages; and if I should address my greeting to all of them (without naming the head of them), I will offend R. Gamaliel." He therefore concluded to address them thus: "Peace to you, sages of Israel, and to R. Gamaliel first."

Always consider strangers as burglars, and at the same time honor them as if each of them were R. Gamaliel himself. It happened to R. Jehoshua that a man called at his house, and he gave him to eat and drink, and took him up to the roof to sleep there, and then removed the step-ladder leading to the roof. The man was a thief, and arose by night, and took things of value that Rabbi Jehoshua had on the roof and packed them up in his garment, and in the attempt to descend and carry off the booty he fell down and almost broke his neck. When R. Jehoshua came in the morning and found him in that condition, he said to him: "You ignoramus, is this the way people like you do?" He answered: "Rabbi, I did not suspect that persons of your station would remove the ladder." And he rejoined: "Did you not notice yesterday that I was cautious about you?" From that time on R. Jehoshua proclaimed that always should strangers be considered as burglars, and still one should honor them as he would R. Gamaliel.

ONE who enters his neighbor's house shall do what he is told by the host (provided it is legitimate). And it happened that guests came to the house of Simeon b. Antiptaris, and he invited them to eat and drink, and they vowed by the Torah that they would not do so. Nevertheless, they afterwards ate and drank; but when they were about to depart, he punished them with stripes. When this came to the ears of R. Johanan b. Zakkai and the sages, they became angry, and said, "Who will go and inform him of our displeasure?" Said R. Jehoshua: "I will go and investigate." When he came there he found him on the threshold of his house, and he greeted him, saying: "Peace to you, master"; and he answered, "Peace to you, my master and teacher." Then Rabbi Jehoshua said: "I need shelter." And he answered: "Take it here in peace." They then occupied themselves with the study of the Law until evening. In the morning he told him: "Rabbi, I would like to take a bath." And he rejoined: "Do as you please." R. Jehoshua, however, was afraid that he would beat him. When he returned from the bath, they ate and drank. When he desired to leave, he said: "Who will accompany me?" And the host said: "I will." R. Jehoshua then thought to himself: "What information can I give to the sages who sent me here?" He then looked backward, and when he asked him: "Rabbi, what are you looking for?" he answered: "I would like to question you about one thing. Why did you beat others who came to your house with stripes, and you did not do so to me?" He rejoined: "You are my master. You are a great sage, and of course your manners are refined. The other men, however, that came to me, I told to eat and drink, and they vowed by the Torah that they would not, and afterwards they disregarded their vow; and I have heard from the sages that one who vows by the Torah and disregards his vows is to be punished with forty stripes." He then answered: "Be thou blessed by Heaven, that thou hast done so. I swear by thy life that he who thus conducts himself deserves that thou give him forty stripes in thy name, and another forty in the name of the sages who sent me to investigate thy method." R. Jehoshua then came back and informed the sages of what he had discovered in Simeon Antiptaris.

A man shall never be angry at his meals. It happened with Hillel the First that he invited a man to a meal. In the meantime a poor man came and stood at his door, and said to his wife: "I am to marry to-day, and I have nothing in my house." His wife then took the meal she had prepared for the house, and gave it to him. She then kneaded a new dough, and cooked other dishes, and served them before her husband and the guest. Hillel said then to her: "My child, what is the reason of the delay?" And she related to him what happened. He then remarked: "My daughter, I have also judged you from the favorable side, because it is known to me that all that you do is for the sake of Heaven."

Corner-tithe for the poor is not set aside in the cooking-pot, but in the dish. It happened with R. Jehoshua, etc. (See Erubin, pp. 120, 121, for the whole legend repeated here.)

Always shall a man try to agree with the majority of the people (this is explained in Khethuboth, p. 16b, and will be translated there). For the first meal-benediction, the hard part and not the soft part of the bread is to be used. Never shall a man hold a slice of bread of the size of an egg and bite from it, and one who does so is called a glutton; and one shall not drain his cup of wine at a draught (see Pesachim, p. 171), and if he does so he is considered a glutton. But how shall he do? If he does it in two draughts, it is respectable; if in three. it is considered putting on airs.

One shall not begin to eat the heads, but the leaves of garlic or onions. If he does so, he also is called a glutton. One shall not drink two cups of wine before the after-meal benediction (and subsequently pronounce the benediction without a goblet, but he shall leave one goblet for the benediction. The commentaries explained this otherwise, the reason being that there should be no "pairs"--see Betzah, p. 49--but we cannot agree with them); if he do so, he can be taken for a glutton.

WHEN two are sitting at the table, the elder one commences to eat first and the younger one after him; and if the younger commences first, he is a glutton. It happened that R. Aqiba prepared a meal for his disciples consisting of two dishes of meat, one half-roasted and the other one well cooked. The half-roasted was served first; the most sensible of them took the whole piece into his one hand and with his other hand he tried to break off some part of it, but could not, and he placed it back and ate bread alone. One of them, who was less sensible, took the whole piece and bit off a piece. Said R. Aqiba to him: "Not so, my son. Put thy foot on it in the dish, and then you will probably succeed better." Finally, the well-cooked meat was served, and they ate and were satisfied. Then said R. Aqiba to them: "My children, I did all that to see whether you had refined manners."

One shall not eat before the fourth hour, neither shall he take a bath prior to that hour. Hot water in large quantities is injurious to one's body, but in small ones is beneficial. The same is the case with wine. Three things are equal one to the other: wisdom, fear of God, and modesty. One shall not rejoice among those who are weeping, neither shall he weep among those who rejoice; he shall not be awake among those who are asleep, nor shall he sleep among those who are awake; he shall not be standing among those who are seated, nor shall he be seated among those who are standing. This is the rule: One shall not have different manners from those of his friends and of people in general among whom he is.

ONE who enters a house shall not ask for food, but shall wait until invited. When the goblet is filled, he shall drink it slowly. What is meant by slowly? If it is a cold beverage--in four draughts; if a warm beverage--in three. Said R. Jehudah: This applies to the goblets of Galilee, but as regards the goblets of Judah, which were larger, he may drink it as slow as he pleases. One must not say to his friend: "Come and eat with me, as I did with you," for it gives the impression that he wants to repay with interest. In Jerusalem, however, they invited each other in turn. One shall not send to his friend a barrel of wine with oil on the top thereof, because a serious accident may result from it. It actually happened that one invited his friends to his son's wedding, and when going down to his cellar to get wine, he noticed that the barrel had oil (on the top, and thinking that it was all filled with oil) he hanged himself for shame, and died. Hence the above warning is given.

One should not say to his neighbor, "Take oil from that jug and anoint thyself," knowing that it is empty (even when knowing that the man has no habit of anointing himself), because he puts the man under obligation to him for nothing. The same holds good of food: one should not ask his neighbor to take a meal with him when he knows that he would not do so. One should also not offer presents to his neighbor, knowing that he would not accept them, for the same reason. One should not serve his neighbor with new wine, telling him that it is old wine, because it is equivalent to robbery (if he takes money from him, and even if he does not take money from him he deceives him). For the same reason, when one serves wine to ass-drivers, he shall not say: "Take it away from this one (whom he does not like), and give it to the other one." When one is in the grain-market and has no intention of buying, he should not ask for the prices, for he misleads the sellers.

ONE should not use a slice of bread to cover therewith a dish. One should not wipe the dish with a piece of bread and lay it on the table, for he disturbs the mind of his neighbor. For the same reason, one shall not bite off a piece of bread and place the remainder in the dish intended for another person. One should also not drink from a goblet and give the balance to another one to drink, for it may cause danger to life. It happened that R. Aqiba stopped at the inn of a certain person, who offered him a goblet, first tasting its contents, and R. Aqiba told him to drink the whole of it. He offered him another one, first having tasted it. R. Aqiba told him to drink it all, until Ben Azai said to him: "How long wilt thou continue doing so?" It again happened that R. Aqiba was lodging with a certain person, and he placed a piece of bread underneath the dish to support it, and R. Aqiba took hold of it and swallowed it. Said the man to R. Aqiba: "Rabbi, had you no other bread to eat than that piece with which I supported the dish?" And he answered: "First, I thought that you could burn yourself with lukewarm water (i.e., you will understand a slight hint). Now I see that you cannot burn yourself even with boiling water." One shall also not empty his cup and then place it on the table, but he shall keep it in his hand until taken away by the waiter.

Five things said Rabbi in regard to bread, namely: Raw meat must not be placed on bread, nor shall a cup or dish be placed on bread, nor shall bread be used to support a dish, nor shall it be thrown from place to place; nor shall one sit at the table when others are eating, for he disturbs their appetite. One who comes to the table to take his meal shall not take his portion and give it to the waiter, for the reason that some unforeseen thing may happen during the meal (and his portion may be needed); but he shall place it in front of him until the end of the meal, and then give it to him. Guests must not give anything to the son of the host, nor to his servant or messenger, without the permission of the host. It happened once with a man who invited three guests in years of famine, that he served them three eggs. The son of the host then came and stood in front of them, and the first guest took his portion and gave it to him, and so did the second and third. When the host returned, and found his son holding one in his mouth and one in each hand, he raised him full height and struck him to the ground, and he died. The mother, hearing of what happened when standing on the roof, was so shocked that she fell down dead. When the father heard this, he also threw himself from the roof, and died. Then R. Elazar said: "Three human beings were killed on account of this."

ONE who enters the bath-house may say: "Let it be thy will, God my Lord, that thou cause me to come in and go out in peace, that thou cause me to return to my place in peace, and save me from this and from similar peril in the world to come."

How should one conduct himself before bathing? Thus: He shall first remove his shoes, take off his hat, remove his overcoat, take off his girdle, then take off his shirt, and after all the drawers. After bathing, when a towel is brought to him, he first wipes his head and then the other parts of his body. When the oil is brought to him, he shall first anoint his head and then other members of his body, and then he shall put on first his drawers, then his shirt, the girdle, then he shall wrap himself in his mantle, and then he shall put on his hat, and then his shoes. And if he has his son, his slave, or bondsman, they shall do it for him. Always shall the right shoe be put on first, and then the left one; and when taking off the shoes, the left one shall be taken off first. One who enters a bath-house must not fatigue himself, nor excite himself, but let him be in every respect careful. Said R. Simeon b. Gamaliel: "One who is not careful is an ass's equal; one who eats in the market is a dog's equal"; and according to others, he is ineligible to be a witness. In the toilet-room the one who enters must not hurry the one who is sitting there, and the same is in a bath-house. One shall not bring oil into a bath-house in a glass vessel (for it may break and cause injury). One must not spit in the presence of his neighbor, even in a bath-house. The law relating to a bathhouse and toilet may be discussed in the respective places, but other things must not be discussed, not alone in the bathing-room but in the dressing-room, and even when the majority of the persons were dressed as well, because when even a few are undressed all are considered undressed. One shall not greet his neighbor when he is washing himself; and if he does so, the other may answer him that it is a bath-house. According to others, he may answer the greeting, and there is nothing in it. One should not put his foot in a bath-tub when another one is sitting in it, for it is a disgrace for the one bathing.

HE who walks the road, etc. (See the whole Boraitha in Yomah, pages 27, 28, paragraph: "We have learned according to R. Shila"). One who, soon after returning from the road, takes a bath, gets intoxicated, sleeps on the bare floor, and indulges in congressu feminæ, his blood is on his head (it is equivalent to suicide). He who sells his books, or his daughter, etc. (See Megilla, p. 73.) R. Itzhak says: "A common informer is considered a murderer, as it is written [Lev. xix. 16]: 'Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people.'" R. Eliezer said: "He who hates his neighbor without cause is also considered such, as it is written [Deut. xix. ii]: 'But if any man be an enemy to his neighbor,' etc. (i.e., if he is so, he is capable of doing what is further written in the verse)." Ben Azai says: "He who hates his wife is also considered such, as it is written [ibid. xxii. 13 and 14] (i.e., if he hates her he will finally lay an accusation against her, etc., and he will hire witnesses to accuse her with a view to take her life)." R. Jose says: "One who sets a definite time for the redemption of Israel through Messiah will have no share in the world to come. And the same applies to one who hates the scholars and their disciples. The same applies to a false prophet and a slanderer." R. Meir says: "One who has a house of learning in his town, and is able to go there but does not do so, is not worthy of living, as it is written [Numb. xv. 31]: 'Because the word of the Lord hath he despised;' etc." Haughtiness is equivalent to idolatry, as it is written [Deut. vii. 26]: "And thou shalt not bring an abomination with thy house;" and it is also written [Prov. xvi. 5]: "An abomination of the Lord is every one that is proud of heart." Since the abomination mentioned in Deuteronomy is idolatry, and the same expression is used in Proverbs, hence we learn that haughtiness is equivalent to idolatry.