Preface of the legends of the Jews volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Scott Sheriff's Atlanta, Georgia USA the legends of the Jews volume 1 by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg translated from the German manuscript by Henrietta Solld volume 1 Bible times and characters from the creation to Jacob to my brother Asher Preface The term rabbinic was applied to the Jewish literature of post biblical times By those who conceived the Judaism of the later epic to be something different from the Judaism of the Bible Something actually opposed to it such observers held that the Jewish nation sees to exist with the moment when its political independence was destroyed For them the Judaism of the later epic has been a Judaism of the synagogue the spokesman of which have been the scholars the rabbis and What this phase of Judaism brought forth has been considered by them to be the product of the schools rather than the product of practical pulsating life poetic phantasmagoria Frequently the vaporings of morbid visionaries is the material out of which these scholars construct the theologic system of the rabbis and Fairy tales the spontaneous creations of the people which take the form of sacred legend in Jewish literature are Denominated the scriptural exegesis of the rabbis and condemned incontinently as new guy Rabbinorum as the name of a man clings to him So men cling to names for the primitive savage The name is part of the essence of a person or thing and even in the more advanced stages of culture Judgments are not always formed in agreement with facts as they are but rather according to the name by which they are called The current estimate of rabbinic literature is a case in point with the label rabbinic later ages inherited from former ages a Certain distorted view of the literature so designated to this day and even among scholars that approach its Investigation with unprejudiced minds the opinion prevails that it is purely a learned product And yet the truth is that the most prominent feature of rabbinic literature is its popular character The school and the home are not mutually opposed to each other in the conception of the Jews They study in their homes, and they live in their schools Likewise, there is no distinct class of scholars among them a class that withdraws itself from participation in the affairs of practical life Even in the domain of the halakhah the rabbis were not so much occupied with theoretic principles of law as with the concrete phenomena of daily existence These they sought to grasp and shape and what is true of the halakhah is true with greater emphasis of the Haggadah Which is popular in the double sense of appealing to the people and being produced in the main by the people To speak of the Haggadah and the Tanaim and the Amor aim is as far from fact as to speak of the legends of Shakespeare and Scott The ancient authors and their modern brethren of the guild alike elaborate legendary material, which they found at hand It has been held by some that the Haggadah contains no popular legends that it is wholly a factitious academic product a Cursory glance at the pseudo pick graphic literature of the Jews which is older than the Haggadah literature by several centuries Shows how untenable this view is that the one literature should have drawn from the other is precluded by historical facts At a very early time the synagogue disavowed the pseudo pick graphic literature Which was the favorite reading matter of the sectaries and the Christians? Nevertheless the interrelation between them is of the closest kind The only essential difference is that the midrashic form prevails in the Haggadah and the Paranetic or apocalyptic form in this pseudopagrapha The common element must therefore depart from the midrash on the one hand and from Paranesis on the other Folklore fairy tales legends and all forms of storytelling akin to these are Comprehended in the terminology of the post biblical literature of the Jews under the inclusive description Haggadah a name that can be explained by a circumlocation, but cannot be translated Whatever it is applied to is thereby characterized first as being derived from the holy scriptures And then as being of the nature of a story and in point of fact this dualism sums up the distinguishing features of Jewish legend More than 18 centuries ago the Jewish historian Josephus Observed that though we be deprived of our wealth of our cities or of the other advantages We have our law continues immortal The word he meant to use was not law, but Torah only he could not find an equivalent for it in Greek a Singer of the synagogue a thousand years after Josephus who expressed his sentiments in Hebrew uttered the same thought The holy city and all her daughter cities are violated They lie in ruins to spoiled of their ornaments their splendor darkened from sight Not as left to us to save one eternal treasure alone the holy Torah The sadder the life of the Jewish people the more it felt the need of taking refuge in its past The scripture or to use the Jewish term the Torah was the only remnant of its former national independence And the Torah was the magic means of making a sordid actuality received before glorious memory To the scripture was assigned the task of supplying nourishment to the mind as well as the soul to the intellect as well as the Imagination and the result is the halacha and the Haggadah The fancy of the people did not die out in the post biblical time, but the bent of its activity was determined by the past Men craved entertainment in later times as well as in the earlier only instead of resorting for a subject matter to what happened under Their eyes they drew from the fountain head of the past The events in the ancient history of Israel, which was not only studied but lived over again daily Stimulated the desire to criticize it the religious reflections upon nature laid down in the myths of the people the fairy tales Which have the sole object of pleasing and the legends which are the people's verdict upon history all these were welded into one product The fancy of the Jewish people was engaged by the past reflected in the Bible and all its creations were a biblical hue for this reason This explains the peculiar form of the Haggadah But what is spontaneously brought forth by the people is often preserved only in the form impressed upon it by the feeling and The thought of the poet or by the speculations of the learned Also Jewish legends have rarely been transmitted in their original shape They have been perpetuated in the form of Midrash. That is scriptural exegesis the teachers of the Haggadah called Rabbanan de Agadah in the Talmud were no folklorists from whom a faithful reproduction of legendary material may be expected Primarily they were homilists who used legends for didactic purposes and their main object was to establish a close Connection between the scripture and the creations of the popular fancy to give the latter a firm basis and secure a long term of life for them One of the most important tasks of the modern investigation of the Haggadah is to make a clean separation between the original elements and the later learned additions Hardly a beginning has been made in this direction But as long as the task of distinguishing them has not been accomplished It is impossible to write out the biblical legends of the Jews without including the supplemental work of scholars and the products of the popular fancy In the present work the legends of the Jews I have made the first attempt to gather from the original sources all Jewish legends in so far as they refer to biblical Personages and events and reproduce them with the greatest attainable completeness and accuracy I use the expression Jewish rather than rabbinic because the sources from which I have levied Contributions are not limited to the rabbinic literature as I expect to take occasion elsewhere to enter into a description of the sources in detail The following data must suffice for the present The works of the Talmudic midrashic literature are of the first importance Covering the period from the second to the 14th century. They contain the major part of the Jewish legendary material akin to this in content if not always in form is that derived from the Targumim of which the oldest versions were produced not earlier than the 4th century and the most recent not later than the 10th The midrashic literature has been preserved only in fragmentary form Many Haggadot not found in our existing collections are quoted by the authors of the Middle Ages Accordingly a not inconsiderable number of the legends here printed are taken from medieval Bible commentators and homilists I was fortunate in being able to avail myself also of fragments of midrashim of which only manuscript copies are extant The works of the older Kabbalah are likewise Treasuries of quotations from lost midrashim and it was among the Kabbalists and later among the Hasireem that new legends arose The literature is produced in these two circles are therefore of great importance for the present purpose Furthermore Jewish legends can be called not from the writings of the synagogue alone. They appear also in those of the church Certain Jewish works repudiated by the synagogue were accepted and mothered by the church This is the literature usually denominated apocryphal suit epigraphic from the point of view of legends The apocryphal books are of subordinate importance while the suit epigraph are of fundamental value Even quantitatively the latter are an imposing mass besides the Greek writings of the Hellenist Jews They contain Latin, Syrian, Ethiopic, Aramean, Arabic, Persian and Old Slavic products Translated directly or indirectly from Jewish works of Palestinian or Hellenistic origin The use of these suit epigraph requires great caution Nearly all of them are embellished with Christian Interpolations and in some cases the inserted portions have choked the original form so completely that it is impossible to determine at first sight Whether a Jewish or a Christian legend is under examination. I Believe however that the suit epigraphic material made use of by me is Jewish beyond the cavill of a doubt and therefore it could Not have been left out of account in a work like the present However in the appreciation of Jewish legends It is the rabbinic writers that should form the point of departure and not the suit epigraph The former represent the mainstream of Jewish thought and feeling the latter are only an undercurrent If the synagogue cast out the suit epigrapha and the church adopted them with a great show of favor These respective attitudes were not determined arbitrarily or by chance The suit epigraph originated in circles at Harvard on the germs from which Christianity developed later on The church could thus appropriate them as her own with just reason In the use of some of the apocryphal and suit epigraphic writings I found it expedient to quote the English translations of them made by others in So far as they could be brought into accord with the general style of the book for which purpose I permitted myself the liberty of slight verbal changes in Particulars I was guided naturally by my own conception of the subject which the notes justify in detail Besides the suit epigrapha there are other Jewish sources in Christian garb and the rich literature of the church fathers Many a Jewish legend lies and bombed which one would seek in vain in Jewish books It was therefore my special concern to use the writings of the fathers to the utmost The luxuriant abundance of the material to be presented made it impossible to give a verbal rendition of each legend This would have required more than three times the space at my disposal I can therefore claim completeness for my work only as to content in form It had to suffer curtailment when several conflicting versions of the same legend existed I gave only one in the text reserving the other one or the several others for the notes or when practicable They were fused into one typical legend the component parts of which are analyzed in the notes In other instances I resorted to the expedient of citing one version in one place and the others in other Appropriate places in furtherance with my aim to give a smooth presentation of the matter with as few interruptions to the course Of the narrative as possible For this reason I avoided some transitional phases as some say it has been maintained Etc that my method sometimes separates things that belong together cannot be considered a grave disadvantage as The index at the end of the work will present a logical rearrangement of the material for the benefit of the interested student I also did not hesitate to treat of the same personage in different chapters as for instance Many of the legends bearing upon Jacob those connected with the latter years of the patriarch do not appear in the chapter bearing His name, but will be found in the sections devoted to Joseph for the reason that once the Sun steps upon the scene He becomes the central figure to which the life and deeds of the father are subordinated Again in consideration of lack of space the biblical narratives underlying the legends had to be omitted Surely not a serious omission in a subject with which widespread acquaintance may be presupposed as a matter of course As a third consequence of the amplitude of the material It was thought advisable to divide it into several volumes the references the explanations of the sources used and the interpretations given and especially numerous Immendations of text of the midrashim and the pseudepigrapha which determined my conception of the passages so amended Will be found in the last volume the fourth which will contain also an introduction to the history of Jewish legends a number of excursions and the index as The first three volumes are in the hands of the printer almost in their entirety I ventured to express the hope that the whole work will appear within measurable time the parts following each other at short intervals Louis Ginsburg, New York, March 24th, 1909 end of preface Chapter one creation of the world part one of the legends of the Jews volume one This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer Please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Scott Sheriff's Atlanta, Georgia USA The legends of the Jews volume one by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg The first things created In the beginning 2000 years before the heaven and the earth Seven things were created the Torah written with black fire on white fire and lying in the lap of God The divine throne erected in the heaven which later was over the heads of the Hayot Paradise on the right side of God hell on the left side The celestial sanctuary directly in front of God having a jewel on its altar graven with the name of the Messiah and a voice that cries Allowed return you children of men When God resolved upon the creation of the world he took counsel with a Torah Her advice was this oh Lord a king without an army and without courtiers and attendants Hardly deserves the name of king for none is nigh to express the homage due to him The answer pleased God exceedingly Thus did he teach all earthly kings by his divine example to undertake not without first consulting advisors The advice of the Torah was given with some reservations She was skeptical about the value of an earthly world on account of the sinfulness of men who would be sure to disregard her precepts But God dispelled her doubts He told her that repentance had been created long before and sinners would have the opportunity of mending their ways Besides the temple service would be invested with a toning power and paradise and hell were intended to do duty as reward and punishment Finally the Messiah was appointed to bring salvation which would put an end to all sinfulness Nor is this world inhabited by man the first of things earthly created by God He made several worlds before ours But he destroyed them all because he was pleased with none until he created ours But even this last world would have had no permanence if guide had executed his original plan of ruling it according to the principle of strict justice It was only when he saw that justice by itself would undermine the world that he associated mercy with justice and made them to rule jointly Thus from the beginning of all things prevailed divine goodness without which nothing could have continued to exist if Not for it the myriads of evil spirits had soon put an end to the generations of men But the goodness of God has ordained that in every Nissan at the time of the spring equinox The Seraphim shall approach the world of spirits and intimidate them so that they fear to do harm to men Again if God and his goodness had not given protection to the weak the tame animals would have been Extirpated long ago by the wild animals in tamoos at the height of the summer solstice when the strength of behemoth is at its height He roars so loud that all the animals hear it and for a whole year They are a frightened and timid and their acts become less ferocious than their nature is Again in Tishri at the time of the autumnal equinox the great bird z's Flaps his wings and utters his cry so that the birds of prey the eagles and the vultures Blench and they fear to swoop down upon the others and annihilate them in their greed and Again were it not for the goodness of God the vast number of big fish had quickly put an end to the little ones But at the time of the winter solstice in the month of Tibet the sea grows restless for then Leviathan Spouts up water and the big fish become uneasy they restrain their appetite and the little ones escape their rapacity Finally the goodness of God manifests itself in the preservation of his people Israel It could not have survived the enmity of the Gentiles if God had not appointed protectors for it the archangels Michael and Gabriel Whenever Israel disobeys God and is accused of misdemeanors by the angels of the other nations He is defended by his designated guardians with such good result that the other angels can see fear of them Once the angels of the other nations are terrified the nations themselves venture not to carry out their wicked designs against Israel That the goodness of God may rule on earth as in heaven the angels of destruction are assigned a place at the far end of the heavens From which they may never stir while the angels of mercy encircle the throne of God at his behest The legends of the Jews volume one by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg the alphabet When God was about to create the world by his word the 22 letters of the alphabet Descended from the terrible and august crown of God Whereon they were engraved with a pen of flaming fire They stood round about God and one after the other spake and then treated create the world through me The first to step forward was a letter toh. It said oh Lord of the world May it be thy will to create thy world through me Seeing that it is through me that thou wilt give the Torah to Israel by the hand of Moses as it is written Moses commanded us the Torah the holy one blessed be he made reply and said no Taw asked why not and God answered because in days to come I shall place thee as a sign of death upon the foreheads of men as Soon as Taw heard these words issue from the mouth of the holy one blessed be he it retired from his presence disappointed The shin then stepped forward and pleaded oh Lord of the world create thy world through me Seeing that thine old name Shaddai begins with me Unfortunately, it is also the first letter of Shah Lie and of Shekher falsehood and that incapacitated it Rish had no better luck It was pointed out that it was the initial letter of raw wicked and Russia Evil and after that the distinction it enjoys of being the first letter in the name of God Rahum the merciful Counted for not the cuff was rejected because Kallala curse outweighs the advantage of being the first in Kadoosh the holy one in Vein did Saudi call attention to Tzadik the righteous one There was Sarod the misfortunes of Israel to testify against it pay had poder redeemer to its credit, but Pasha Transgression reflected dishonor upon it Ain was declared unfit because though it begins and a war humility it performs the same service for Erwah immortality Samaq said oh Lord may it be thy will to begin the creation with me for thou art called Samaq after me the Upholder of all that fall But God said thou art needed in the place in which thou art thou must continue to uphold all that fall Nun introduces nair the lamp of the Lord, which is the spirit of men But it also introduces nair the lamp of the wicked which will be put out by God Mem starts melec king one of the titles of God as it is the first letter of Mahuma Confusion as well it had no chance of accomplishing its desire The claim of Lamed bore its refutation within itself It advanced the argument that it was the first letter of Luhot the celestial tables for the Ten Commandments It forgot that the tables were shivered in place by Moses Kaaf was sure of victory Kisei the throne of God Kabod his honor and Keter his crown all begin with it God had to remind it that he would smite together his hands Kaaf in despair over the misfortunes of Israel Yud at first sight seemed the appropriate letter for the beginning of creation on account of its association with Yah God if only Yezer Harah the evil inclination had not happened to begin with it, too Tet is identified with Tov the good. However, the truly good is not in this world. It belongs to the world to come Chet is the first letter of Hanun the gracious one But this advantage is offset by its place in the word for sin Chetat Zion suggests a core remembrance, but it is itself the word for weapon the doer of mischief Vav and he composed the ineffable name of God They are therefore too exalted to be pressed into the service of the mundane world If Dalat wad stood only for Dabbar the divine word it would have been used But it stands also for din justice and under the rule of law without love the world would have fallen to ruin Finally in spite of reminding one of God all great Gimmel would not do because Gamal retribution starts with it After the claims of all these letters had been disposed of bet stepped before the holy one blessed be he and pleaded before him Oh Lord of the world may it be thy will to create thy world through me seeing that all the dwellers in the world give praise Daily unto thee and through me as it is said Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen The holy one blessed be he at once granted the petition of bet He said blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord and he created his world through bet as it is said Baray sheets God created the heaven and the earth the only letter that had refrained from urging its claims was the modest Aleph and God rewarded it later for its humility by giving it the first place in the decalogue The legends of the Jews volume one by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg the first day on The first day of creation God produced ten things the heavens and the earth Tohu and bohu light and darkness Wind and water the duration of the day and the duration of the night Though the heavens and the earth consist of entirely different elements They were yet created as a unit like the pot and its cover The heavens were fashioned from the light of God's garment and the earth from the snow under the divine throne Tohu is a green band which encompasses the whole world and dispenses darkness and Bohu consists of stones in the abyss the producers of the waters The light created at the very beginning is not the same as the light emitted by the Sun the moon and the stars Which appeared only on the fourth day The light of the first day was of a sort that would have enabled man to see the world at a glance from one end to the other Anticipating the weakness of the sinful generations of the deluge and the Tower of Babel who were Unworthy to enjoy the blessing of such light God concealed it but in the world to come it will appear to the pious in all its pristine glory Several heavens were created Seven in fact each to serve a purpose of its own the first the one visible to man has no function Except that of covering up the light during the nighttime Therefore it disappears every morning the planets are fastened to the second of the heavens in the third The mana is made for the pious and the hereafter the fourth contains the celestial Jerusalem together with the temple in which Michael ministers as high priest and offers the souls of the pious as sacrifices in The fifth heaven the angel hosts reside and sing the praise of God though only during the night For by day it is the task of Israel on earth to give glory to God on high The sixth heaven is an uncanny spot There originate most of the trials and visitations ordained for the earth and its inhabitants Snow lies heaped up there and hail there are lofts full of noxious do Magazines stocked with storms and cellars holding reserves of smoke Doors of fire separate those celestial chambers which are under the supervision of the archangel metatron Their pernicious contents defile the heavens until David's time the pious king prayed God to purge his Exalted dwelling of whatever was pregnant with evil. It was not becoming that such things should exist near the merciful one Only then they were removed to the earth The seventh heaven on the other hand contains not but what is good and beautiful Right justice and mercy the storehouses of life peace and blessing the souls of the pious the souls and spirits of Unborn generations the do with which God will revive the dead on the resurrection day and above all the divine throne Surrounded by the Seraphim the Ophanim the Holy Hyatt and the ministering angels Corresponding to the seven heavens God created seven earths each separated from the next by five layers Over the lowest earth the seventh called Erez Lion's accession the abyss the Tohu the bohu a sea and waters Then the sixth earth is reached the Adama the scene of the magnificence of God In the same way the Adama is separated from the fifth earth the archa which contains Gehene and Shaarei Mawet and Shaarei Zal Mawet and beer Shahat and Titha Yawen and Abaddon and Shaol and there the souls of the wicked are guarded by the angels of destruction in the same way Arka is followed by Haraba the dry the place of Brooks and streams in spite of its name as the next called Yabashah the mainland contains the rivers and the springs Tebel the second earth is the first mainland inhabited by living creatures 365 species all essentially different from those of our own earth Some have human heads set on the body of a lion or a serpent or an ox Others have human bodies topped by the head of one of these animals Besides Tebel is inhabited by human beings with two heads and four heads and feet In fact with all their organs doubled accepting only the trunk It happens with sometimes that the parts of these double persons quarrel with each other Especially while eating and drinking when each claims the best and largest portions for himself This species of mankind is distinguished for great piety Another difference between it and the inhabitants of our earth Our own earth is called Heled and like the others it is separated from the Tebel by an abyss the Tohu the Bohu a sea and waters Thus one earth rises above the other from the first to the seventh and over the seventh earth The heavens are vaulted from the first to the seventh the last of them attached to the arm of God the seven heavens Form a unity the seven kinds of earth form a unity and the heavens and the earth together also form a unity When God made our present heavens and our present earth the new heavens and the new earth were also brought forth Yeah, and the hundred ninety six thousand worlds which God created unto his own glory It takes five hundred years to walk from the earth to the heavens and from one end of a heaven to the other and Also from one heaven to the next and it takes the same length of time to travel from the east to the west or from the south to The north of all this vast world only one third is inhabited the other two-thirds being equally divided between water and waste desert land Beyond the inhabited parts to the east is paradise with its seven divisions each assigned to the pious of a certain degree The ocean is situated to the west and it is dotted with islands upon islands inhabited by many different peoples Beyond it in turn are the boundless steps full of serpents and scorpions and Destitute of every sort of vegetation whether herbs or trees To the north are the supplies of hellfire of snow hail Smoke ice darkness and windstorms and in that vicinity sojourn all sorts of devils demons and blind spirits Their dwelling place is a great stretch of land. It would take five hundred years to traverse it Beyond lies hell to the south is the chamber containing reserves of fire the cave of smoke and the forge of blasts and hurricanes Thus it comes that the wind blowing from the south brings heat and sultriness to the earth Where it not for the angel Ben Nez the winged who keeps the south wind back with his pinions the world would be consumed Besides the fury of its blast is tempered by the north wind which always appears as moderator Whatever other wind may be blowing In the east the west and the south heaven and earth touch each other But the north God left unfinished that any man who announced himself as a God might be set the task of supplying the deficiency And stand convicted as a pretender The construction of the earth was begun at the center with the foundation stone of the temple the ebb and shatia For the holy land is at the central point of the surface of the earth Jerusalem is at the central point of Palestine and the temple is situated at the center of the holy city in the Sanctuary itself the heckal is the center and the holy ark occupies the center of the heckal Built on the foundation stone which thus is at the center of the earth Thence issued the first ray of light piercing to the holy land and from there illuminating the whole earth The creation of the world however could not take place until God had banished the ruler of the dark Retire God said to him for I desire to create the world by means of light Only after the light had been fashioned Darkness arose the light ruling in the sky the darkness on the earth the power of God displayed itself Not only in the creation of the world of things but equally in the limitations which he imposed upon each The heavens and the earth stretched themselves out in length and breadth as though they aspired to infinitude And it required the word of God to call a halt to their encroachments end of chapter 1 part 1 Chapter 1 part 2 of the legends of the Jews volume 1 This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Kirsten Ferrari The legends of the Jews volume 1 by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg the second day on The second day God brought forth for creations the firmament hell fire and the angels The firmament is not the same as the heavens of the first day It is the crystal stretched forth over the heads of the hyote from which the heavens derive their light as the earth Derives its light from the Sun This firmament saves the earth from being engulfed by the waters of the heavens It forms the partition between the waters above and the waters below It was made to crystallize into the solid it is by the heavenly fire which broke its bounds and Condensed the surface of the firmament Thus fire made a division between the celestial and the terrestrial at the time of creation as it did at the Relation on Mount Sinai The firmament is not more than three fingers thick Nevertheless it divides to such heavy bodies as the waters below which are the foundations for the netherworld and the waters above Which are the foundations for the seven heavens the divine throne and the abode of the angels The separation of the waters into upper and lower waters was the only act of the sort done by God in connection with the work of creation All other acts were unifying it therefore caused some difficulties When God commanded let the waters be gathered together unto one place and let dry land appear Certain of parts refused to obey they embraced each other all the more closely in his wrath of the waters God determined to let the whole of creation resolve itself into chaos again He summoned the angel of the face and ordered him to destroy the world the angel opened his eyes wide and Scorching fires and thick clouds rolled forth from them while he cried out he who divides the Red Sea in Sunder and the rebellious waters stood The all however was still in danger of destruction then began the singer of God's praises oh Lord of the world in days to come thy creatures will sing praises without end to thee They will bless thee boundlessly and they will glorify thee without measure That wilt sell Avraham apart from all mankind as I know one of his sons That wilt call my firstborn and his descendants will take the yoke of thy kingdom upon themselves in holiness and purity That will bestow thy Torah upon them with the words. I am the Lord your God Whereon to they will make answer all that God has spoken we will do and now I beseech thee have pity upon my world Destroy it not for if thou destroy us did who will fulfill? I will God was pacified he withdrew the command ordaining the destruction of the world But the waters he put under the mountains to remain there forever The objection of the lower waters to division and separation was not their only reason for rebelling The waters had been the first to give praise to God and when their separation into upper and lower was decreed the waters above rejoiced saying Blessed are we who are privileged to abide near our Creator and near his holy throne Jubilating thus they flew up and uttered song and praise to the Creator of the world Sadness fell upon the waters below they lamented woe unto us We have not been found were to dwell in the presence of God and praise him together with our companions Therefore they attempted to rise upward until God repulsed them and pressed them under here Yet were not left unrewarded for their loyalty whenever the waters above desired to give praise to God They must first seek permission from the waters below The second day of creation was an untoward day in more than one respect and that an introduced a breach where before there had Be nothing but unity for it was the day that also saw the creation of hell Therefore God could not say of this day as of others that he saw that it was good a division may be necessary But it cannot be called good and hell surely does not deserve the attribute of good Hell has seven divisions one beneath the other. They are called Sh'ol, Abaddon, Bir Shahat, Teetha-Yawen, Sha'ar-e-Mawit, Sha'ar-e-Zal-Mawit, and Gehena It requires 300 years to traverse the height or the width or the depth of each division and it would take 6,300 years to go over attractive and equal in extent to the seven divisions Each of the seven divisions in turn has seven subdivisions and in each compartment There are seven rivers of fire and seven of hail. The width of each one is 1,000 L's It's depth 1,000 and its length 300 and they flow one from the other and are supervised by 90,000 angels of destruction There are besides in every compartment 7,000 caves in every cave There are 7,000 crevices in every crevice 7,000 scorpions Every scorpion has 300 rings and in every ring 7,000 pouches of venom from which flow seven rivers of deadly poison If a man handles it he immediately bursts every limb is torn from his body His bowel are cleft asunder and he falls upon his face There are also five different kinds of fire in Hell One devours and absorbs another devours and does not absorb while the third absorbs and does not devour and There is still another fire which neither devours nor absorbs and furthermore a fire which devours fire There are coals big as mountains and coals big as hills and coals as large as the Dead Sea and Coals like huge stones and there are rivers of pitch and sulfur flowing and seething like live coals The third creation of the second day was the angel hosts both the ministering angels and the angels of praise The reason they had not been called into being on the first day was Lest men believe that angels assisted God in the creation of the heavens and the earth The angels that are fashioned from fire have forms of fire But only so long as they remain in heaven when they descend to earth to do the bidding of God here below Either they are changed into wind or they assume the guise of men There are ten ranks and degrees among the angels The most exalted in rank are those surrounding the divine throne on all sides to the right to the left in front and behind Under the leadership of the archangels Mikhail Gabrielle Uriel and Rafael All the celestial beings praise God with the words holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts men take precedence of angels herein They may not begin their song of praise until the earthly beings have brought their homage to God Especially Israel is preferred to the angels when they encircle the divine throne in the form of fiery mountains and flaming hills and Attempt to raise their voices in adoration of the Creator God silences them with the words Keep quiet until I have heard the songs praises prayers and sweet melodies of Israel Accordingly the ministering angels and all the other celestial hosts wait until the last tones of Israel's Doxologies rising aloft from earth have died away, and then they proclaim in a loud voice Holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts When the hour for the glorification of God by the angels draws nigh the August divine herald the angel Shamiel Steps to the windows of the lowest heaven to harken to the songs prayers and praises that ascend from the synagogues and the houses of Learning and when they are finished he announces and to the angels in all the heavens The ministering angels those who come in contact with the subliminary world now repair to their chambers to tear purification bath They dive into a stream of fire and flames seven times and 365 times they examine themselves carefully to make sure that no taint clings to their bodies Only then they will village to mount the fiery ladder and to join the angels of the seventh heaven and Surround the throne of God with Hashem all and all the holy Hayot Adorned with millions of fiery crowns Arrayed in fiery garments all the angels in unison in the same words and with the same melody in tone songs of praise to God The legends of the Jews volume one by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg the third day Up to this time the earth was a plane and holy covered with water Scarcely had the words of God let the waters be gathered together made themselves heard when mountains appeared all over and hills and The water collected in the deep lying basins But the water was recalcitrant it resisted the order to occupy the lowly spots and threatened to overflow the earth until God forced it back Into the sea and encircled the sea with sand Now whenever the water is tempted to transgress its bounds it beholds the sand and recoils The waters did but imitate their chief Rahav the angel of the sea who rebelled at the creation of the world God had commanded Rahav to take in the water, but he refused saying I have enough the punishment for his disobedience was death His body rests in the depths of the sea the water dispelling the foul odor that emanates from it The main creation of the third day was the realm of plants the terrestrial plants as well as the plants of paradise First of all the cedars of Lebanon and the other great trees were made in their pride at having been put first They shot up high in the air. They considered themselves favored among plants then God spake I hate arrogance and pride for I alone am exalted and none beside and he created the iron on the same day The substance with which trees are felled down the trees began to weep and when God asked the reason of their tears They said we cry because thou hast created the iron to uproot us their width all the while We had thought ourselves the highest of the earth and now the iron our destroyer has been called into existence God replied you yourselves will furnish the axe with a handle without your assistance. The iron will not be able to do ought against you The command to bear seed after their kind was given to the trees alone But the various sorts of grass reasoned that if God had not desired divisions according to classes He would not have instructed trees to bear fruit after their kind with the seed thereof in it Especially as trees are inclined at their own accord to divide themselves into species The grasses therefore reproduced themselves also after their kinds This prompted the exclamation of the prince of the world. Let the glory of the Lord endure forever Let the Lord rejoice in his works The most important work done on the third day was the creation of paradise Two gates of carbuncle form the entrance to paradise and 60 myriads of ministering angels keep watch over them Each of these angels shines with the luster of the heavens when the just man appears before the gates the clothes in which He was buried are taken off him and the angels array him in seven garments of clouds of glory and place upon his head two crowns One of precious stones and pearls the other of gold of parvain and they put eight myrtles in his hand And they utter praises before him and say to him go thy way and eat thy bread with joy And they lead him to a place full of rivers surrounded by 800 kinds of roses and myrtles Each one has a canopy according to his merits and under it flow four rivers one of milk the other of balsam The third of wine and the fourth of honey Every canopy is overgrown by a vine of gold and 30 pearls hang from it each of them shining like Venus under each canopy there is a table of precious stones and pearls and 60 angels stand at the head of every just man saying unto him Go and eat with joy of the honey for thou hast busied thyself with the Torah And she is sweeter than honey and drink up the wine preserved in the grape since the six days of creation For thou hast busied thyself with the Torah and she is compared to wine The least fair of the just is beautiful as Yosef and Rabbi Yohanan and as the grains of a silver pomegranate upon which Fall the rays of the Sun There is no light for the light of the righteous is the shining light and they undergo four Transformations every day passing through four states in the first the righteous has changed into a child He enters the division for children and tastes the joys of childhood Then he has changed into a youth and enters the division for the youth with whom he enjoys the delights of youth Next he becomes an adult in the prime of life and he enters the division of men and enjoys the pleasures of manhood Finally he has changed into an old man. He enters the division for the old and enjoys the pleasures of age There are 80 myriads of trees in every corner of paradise the meanest among them choice are than all spice trees in Every corner there are 60 myriads of angels singing with sweet voices and the tree of life stands in the middle and shades the whole of paradise It has 15,000 tastes each different from the other and the perfumes there are very likewise Over it hang seven clouds of glory and winds blow upon it from all four sides So that its odor is wafted from one end of the world to the other Underneath sit the scholars and explain the Torah Over each of them two canopies are spread one of stars the other of Sun and Moon and a curtain of clouds and glory separates the one canopy from the other Beyond paradise begins Eden Containing three hundred and ten worlds and seven compartments for seven different classes of the pious in The first are the martyr victims of the government like Rabbi Akiba and his colleagues in the second Those who were drowned in the third Rabbi Yohannin Ben-Zakai and his disciples in the fourth Those who are carried off in the crowd of glory in the fifth the penitents who occupy a place Which even a perfectly pious man cannot obtain in the sixth are the youths who have not tasted of sin in their lives in The seventh are the poor who studied Bible and Mishnah and led a life of self-respecting decency and God sits in the midst of them and expounds the Torah to them as For the seven divisions of paradise each of them is 12 myriads of miles in width and 12 myriads of miles in length In the first division to all the proselytes who embrace Judaism of their own free will not from compulsion The walls are of glass and the one skinning is of cedar The prophet Obadiah himself a proselyte is the overseer of this first division The second division is built of silver and the ones getting there of his cedar here do all those who have repented and Manasseh the penitent son of Hezekiah presides over them The third division is built of silver and gold here Dwell Avraham Yitzhak and Yaakov and all the Israelites who came out of Egypt and the whole generation that lived in the desert Also David is there together with all his sons except Absalom one of them he lay up still alive and All the kings of Judah are there with the exception of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah who provides in the second division over the penitence Moshe and Aaron preside over the third division Here are precious vessels of silver and gold and jewels and canopies and beds and thrones and lamps of gold of precious stones And of pearls the best of everything there is in heaven The fourth division is built of beautiful rubies and it's one skidding is of olive wood Here dwell the perfect and steadfast in faith and their one skidding is of olive wood because their lives were bitter as olives to them The fifth division is built of silver and gold and refined gold and the finest of gold and glass and bdellium and Through the midst of it flows the river Gihon The one skidding is of silver and gold and a perfume breathes through it more exquisite than the perfume of Lebanon The coverings of the silver and gold beds are made of purple and blue woven by Eve and of scarlet and the hair of goats Woven by angels Here dwells the messiah on a palanquin made of the wood of Lebanon the pillars thereof of silver the bottom of gold The seat of it purple with him is Elijah He takes the head of messiah and places it in his bosom and says to him be quiet for the end draweth nigh On every Monday and Thursday and on Sabbaths and holidays The patriarchs come to him and the 12 sons of Yaakov and Moshe Aron David Shlomon and all the kings of Israel and of Judah And they weep with him and comfort him and say under him be quiet and put trust in thy creator for the end draweth nigh Also Quran his company and a thon a biram an absalom come to him on every Wednesday and ask him How long before the end comes full of wonders when will thought bring us life again and from the abysses of the earth lift us The messiah answers them go to your fathers and ask them and when they hear this they are ashamed and do not ask their fathers In the sixth division dwell those who died in performing a pious act and in the seventh division Those who died from illness inflicted as an expiation for the sins of Israel End of chapter 1 part 2 Chapter 1 part 3 of the legends of the Jews volume 1 This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org The legends of the Jews volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg the fourth day The fourth day of creation produced the sun the moon and the stars These heavenly spheres were not actually fashioned on this day They were created on the first day and merely were assigned their places in the heaven on the fourth At first the sun and the moon enjoyed equal powers and prerogatives The moon spoke to God and said oh Lord, why didst thou create the world with the letter bait? God replied that it might be made known into my creatures that there are two worlds the moon Oh Lord, which of the two worlds is the larger this world or the world to come? God The world to come is the larger the moon Oh Lord, thou didst create two worlds a greater and a lesser world Thou didst create the heaven and the earth the heaven exceeding the earth Thou didst create fire and water the water stronger than the fire because it can quench the fire and Now thou hast created the sun and the moon and it is becoming that one of them should be greater than the other Then spake God to the moon I know well Thou wouldst have me make thee greater than the sun As a punishment. I decree that thou mayest keep but one sixtieth of thy light The moon leads application. Shall I be punished so severely for having spoken a single word? God relented In the future world, I will restore thy light So that thy light may again be as the light of the sun The moon was not yet satisfied Oh Lord, she said and the light of the sun. How great will it be in that day? Then the wrath of God was once more incandled What thou still plot us against the sun? As thou livest in the world to come his light shall be sevenfold the light he now sheds The sun runs his course like a bridegroom. He sits upon a throne with a garland on his head Ninety-six angels accompany him on his daily journey in relays of eight every hour Two to the left of him and two to the right two before him and two behind Strong as he is he could complete his course from south to north in a single instant But 365 angels restrain him by means of as many grappling irons Every day one loses his hold and the sun must thus spend 365 days on his course The progress of the sun in his circuit is an uninterrupted song of praise to God And this song alone makes his motion possible Therefore when joshua wanted to bid the sun stand still he had to command him to be silent His song of praise hushed the sun stood still The sun is double faced one face of fire is directed toward the earth And one of hail toward heaven to cool off the prodigious heat that streams from the other face Else the earth would catch a fire In winter the sun turns his fiery face upward and thus the cold is produced When the sun descends in the west in the evening he dips down into the ocean and takes a bath His fire is extinguished and therefore he dispenses neither light nor warmth during the night But as soon as he reaches the east in the morning He laves himself in a stream of flame which imparts warmth and light to him and these he sheds over the earth In the same way the moon and the stars take a bath in a stream of hail before they enter upon their surface for the night When the sun and the moon are ready to start upon their round of duties They appear before God and beseech him to relieve them of their task So that they may be spared the sight of sinning mankind Only upon compulsion they proceed with their daily course Coming from the presence of God They are blinded by the radiance in the heavens and they cannot find their way God therefore shoots off arrows by the glittering light of which they are guided It is on account of the sinfulness of man which the sun is forced to contemplate on its rounds That he grows weaker as the time of his going down approaches for sins of a defiling and enfeebling effect And he drops from the horizon a sphere of blood for blood is the sign of corruption As the sun sets forth on his course in the morning His wings touch the leaves on the trees of paradise And their vibration is communicated to the angels and the holy chaiot To the other plants and also to the trees and plants on earth And to all the beings on earth and in heaven It is the signal for them all to cast their eyes upward As soon as they see the ineffable name which is engraved in the sun They raise their voices in songs of praise to God At the same moment a heavenly voice is heard to say Woe to the sons of men that consider not the honor of God like unto these creatures whose voices now rise aloft in adoration These words naturally are not heard by men As little as they perceive the grating of the sun against the wheel to which all the celestial bodies are attached Although the noise it makes is extraordinarily loud This friction of the sun and the wheel Produces the moats dancing around in the sunbeams They are the carriers of healing to the sick the only health-giving creations of the fourth day On the whole an unfortunate day, especially for children Afflicting them with disease When God punished the envious moon by diminishing her light and splendor So that she ceased to be the equal of the sun as she had originally been She fell and tiny threads were loosed from her body These are the stars The legends of the jews volume one by rabbi lewis ginsburg the fifth day On the fifth day of creation god took fire and water and out of these two elements he made fishes of the sea The animals in the water are much more numerous than those on land For every species on land accepting only the weasel There is a corresponding species in the water and besides there are many found only in the water The ruler over the sea animals is leviathan With all the other fishes he was made on the fifth day Originally he was created male and female like all the other animals But when it appeared that a pair of these monsters might annihilate the whole earth with their united strength god killed the female So enormous is leviathan that to quench his thirst he needs all the water that flows from the jordan into the sea His food consists of the fish which go between his jaws of their own accord When he is hungry a hot breath blows from his nostrils and it makes the waters of the great sea seething hot Formidable though behemoth the other monster is He feels insecure until he is certain that leviathan has satisfied his thirst The only thing that can keep him in check is the stickleback A little fish which was created for the purpose and of which he stands in great awe But leviathan is more than merely large and strong. He's wonderfully made besides His fins radiate brilliant light The very sun is obscured by it and also his eyes shed such splendor that frequently the sea is illuminated by it No wonder that this marvelous beast is the plaything of god in whom he takes his pastime There has been one thing that makes leviathan repulsive His foul smell which is so strong that if it penetrated thither it would render paradise itself an impossible abode The real purpose of leviathan is to be served up as a dainty to the pious in the world to come The female was put into brine as soon as she was killed to be preserved against the time when her flesh will be needed The male is destined to offer a delectable sight to all the holders before he is consumed When his last hour arrives God will summon the angels to enter into combat with the monster But no sooner will the leviathan cast his glance at them than they will flee and fear and dismay from the field of battle They will return to the charge with swords, but in vain for his scales can turn back steel like straw They will be equally unsuccessful when they attempt to kill him by throwing darts and slinging stones Such missiles will rebound without leaving the least impression on his body Disheartened the angels will give up the combat and god will command leviathan and behemoth to enter into a duel with each other The issue will be that both will drop dead behemoth slaughtered by a blow of leviathan's fins And leviathan killed by a lash of behemoth's tail From the skin of leviathan god will construct tents to shelter companies of the pious while they enjoy the dishes made of his flesh The amount assigned to each of the pious will be in proportion to his desserts and none will envy or begrudge the other his better share What is left of leviathan's skin will be stretched out over jerusalem as a canopy and the light streaming from it will illumine the whole world And what is left of his flesh after the pious have appeased their appetite Will be distributed among the rest of men to carry on traffic therewith On the same day with the fishes the birds were created for these two kinds of animals are closely related to each other Fish are fashioned out of water and birds out of marshy ground saturated with water As leviathan is the king of the fishes so is the zees appointed to rule over the birds His name comes from the variety of tastes his flesh has it tastes like this ze and like that ze The zees is as monstrous of size as leviathan himself His ankles rest on the earth and his head reaches to the very sky It once happened the travelers on a vessel noticed a bird As he stood in the water it merely covered his feet and his head knocked against the sky The onlookers thought the water could not have any depth at that point and they prepared to take a bath there A heavenly voice warned them a light not there Once a carpenter's axe slipped from his hand at this spot and it took it seven years to touch bottom The bird the travelers saw was none other than the zees His wings are so huge that unfurled they darken the sun They protect the earth against the storms of the south Without their aid the earth would not be able to resist the winds blowing vents Once an egg of the zees fell to the ground and broke The fluid from it flooded 60 cities and the shock crushed 300 cedars Fortunately such accidents do not occur frequently as rule the bird lets her eggs slide gently into her nest This one mishap was due to the fact that the egg was rotten and the bird casted away carelessly The zees has another name renanin because he is the celestial singer On account of his relation to the heavenly regions. He is also called sequie the seer And besides he is called son of the nest because his fledgling birds break away from the shell Without being hatched by the mother bird. They spring directly from the nest as it were Like leviathan So zees is a delicacy to be served to the pious at the end of time To compensate them for the privations which abstaining from the unclean fowls imposed upon them End of chapter one part three Chapter one part four of the legends of the jews volume one This is a libravox recording all libravox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit libravox.org The legends of the jews volume one by rabbi lewis ginsburg the sixth day As the fish were formed out of water and the birds out of boggy earth well mixed with water So the mammals were formed of solid earth And as leviathan is the most notable representative of the fish kind and zees of the bird kind So behemoth is the most notable representative of the mammal kind Behemoth matches leviathan in strength and he had to be prevented like leviathan For multiplying and increasing else the world could not have continued to exist After god had created him male and female He had once deprived him of the desire to propagate his kind He is so monstrous that he requires the produce of a thousand mountains for his daily food All the water that flows through the bed of the jordan in a year suffices him for exactly one gulp If therefore was necessary to give him one stream entirely for his own use A stream flowing forth from paradise called yubal Behemoth too is destined to be served to the pious as an appetizing dainty But before they enjoy his flesh, they will be permitted to view the mortal combat between leviathan and behemoth As a reward for having denied themselves the pleasures of the circus and its gladiatorial contests Leviathan zees and behemoth are not the only monsters There are many others and marvelous ones like the ream A giant animal of which only one couple male and female is in existence Had there been more the world could hardly have maintained itself against them The act of copulation occurs but once in 70 years between them For god has so ordered it that the male and female ream are at the opposite ends of the earth The one in the east the other in the west The act of copulation results in the death of the male He is bitten by the female and dies of the bite The female becomes pregnant and remains in this state for no less than 12 years At the end of this long period. She gives birth to twins a male and a female The year preceding her delivery. She is not able to move She would die of hunger were it not that her own spittle flowing copiously from her mouth Waters and fructifies the earth near her and causes it to bring forth enough for her maintenance For a whole year the animal can but roll from side to side until her belly finally bursts And the twins issue forth Their appearance is thus the signal for the death of the mother ream She makes room for the new generation which in turn is destined to suffer the same fate as the generation that went before Immediately after birth the one goes eastward and the other westward To meet only after the lapse of 70 years propagate themselves and perish A traveler who once saw a ream one day old Described its height to be four parasigns and the length of its head one parasign and a half Its horns measure 100 ls and their height is a great deal more One of the most remarkable creatures is the man of the mountain Adnessa Day or briefly Adam His form is exactly that of a human being but he is fastened to the ground By means of a navel string upon which his life depends The cord once snapped he dies This animal keeps himself alive with what is produced by the soil around him as far as his tether permits him to crawl No creature may venture to approach within the radius of his cord for he seizes and demolishes Whatever comes in his reach To kill him one may not go near to him the navel string must be severed from a distance by means of a dart Then he dies amid groans and moans Once upon a time a traveler happened in the region where this animal is found He overheard his host consult his wife as to what to do to honor their guest and resolve to serve our man as he said Thinking he had fallen among cannibals The stranger ran as fast as his feet could carry him from his entertainer Who sought vainly to restrain him? Afterward he found out that there had been no intention of regaling him with human flesh But only with the flesh of the strange animal called man As the man of the mountain is fixed to the ground by his navel string So the barnacle goose is grown to a tree by its bill It is hard to say whether it is an animal and must be slaughtered to be fit for food Or whether it is a plant and no ritual ceremony is necessary before eating it Among the birds the phoenix is the most wonderful When eve gave all the animals some of the fruit of the tree of knowledge The phoenix was the only bird that refused to eat thereof and he was rewarded with eternal life When he has lived a thousand years his body shrinks and the feathers drop from it Until he is as small as an egg This is the nucleus of the new bird The phoenix is also called the guardian of the terrestrial sphere He runs with the sun on his circuit and he spreads out his wings and catches up the fiery rays of the sun If he were not to intercept them neither man nor any other animate being would keep alive On his right wing the following words are inscribed in huge letters about four thousand stadia high Neither the earth produces me nor the heavens but only the wings of fire His food consists of the manna of heaven and the dew of the earth His excrement Enoch who saw the phoenix birds when he was translated Describes them as flying creatures wonderful and strange in appearance With the feet and tails of lions and the heads of crocodiles Their appearance is of a purple color like the rainbow Their size 900 measures Their wings are like those of angels each having 12 and they attend the chariot of the sun and go with him Bring ye heat and dew as they are ordered by god In the morning when the sun starts on his daily course the phoenixes and the chakidri sing And every bird flaps its wings rejoicing the giver of light and they sing a song at the command of the lord Among reptiles the salamander and the shamir are their most marvelous The salamander originates from a fire of myrtlewood which has been kept burning for seven years steadily by means of magic arts Not bigger than a mouse. It is yet invested with peculiar properties One who smears himself with its blood is invulnerable and the web woven by it is a talisman against fire The people who lived at the deluge boasted that were a fire flood to come They would protect themselves with the blood of the salamander King Hezekiah owes his life to the salamander his wicked father king Ahaz had delivered him to the fires of molach And he would have been burnt had his mother not painted him with the blood of the salamander so that the fire could do him no harm The shamir was made at twilight on the sixth day of creation together with other extraordinary things It is about as large as a barley corn and it possesses the remarkable property of cutting the hardest of diamonds For this reason it was used for the stones in the breastplate worn by the high priest First the names of the 12 tribes were traced with ink on the stones to be set into the breastplate Then the shamir was passed over the lines and thus they were graven The wonderful circumstance was that the friction wore no particles from the stones The shamir was also used for healing into shape the stones from which the temple was built Because the law prohibited iron tools to be used for the work in the temple The shamir may not be put in an iron vessel for safekeeping nor in any metal vessel It would burst such a receptacle asunder It is kept wrapped in a woolen cloth and this in turn is placed in a lead basket filled with barley bran The shamir was guarded in paradise until Solomon needed it He sent the eagle fither to fetch the worm With the destruction of the temple the shamir vanished A similar fate overtook the tahash which had been created only that his skin might be used for the tabernacle Once the tabernacle was completed the tahash disappeared It had a horn on its forehead was gaily colored like the turkey cock and belonged to the glass of clean animals Among the fishes. There are also wonderful creatures the sea goats and the dolphins not to mention Leviathan A seafaring man once saw a sea goat on whose horns the words were inscribed I am a little sea animal yet. I traversed 300 parasites to offer myself as food to the Leviathan The dolphins are half man and half fish. They even have sexual intercourse with human beings Therefore they are also called sons of the sea For in a sense they represent the humankind in the waters Though every species in the animal world was created during the last two days of the six of creation Yet many characteristics of certain animals appeared later Cats and mice foes now were friends originally Their later enmity had a distinct cause On one occasion the mouse appeared before god and spoke I and the cat are partners, but now we have nothing to eat The lord answered thou art intriguing against thy companion only that thou mayest devour her As a punishment she shall devour thee There upon the mouse, oh lord of the world, wherein have I done wrong? God replied, oh thou unclean reptile Thou shouldst have been warned by the example of the moon who lost a part of her light Because she spake ill of the sun and what she lost was given to her opponent The evil intentions thou didst harbour against thy companion shall be punished in the same way Instead of thy devouring her she shall devour thee The mouse, oh lord of the world shall my whole kind be destroyed? God, I will take care that a remnant of thee is spared In her rage the mouse bit the cat and the cat and turned through herself upon the mouse Hacked into her with her teeth until she lay dead Since that moment the mouse stands in such awe of the cat That she does not even attempt to defend herself against her enemy's attacks And always keeps herself in hiding Similarly dogs and cats maintained a friendly relation to each other And only later on became enemies A dog and a cat were partners and they shared with each other whatever they had It once happened that neither could find anything to eat for three days There upon the dog proposed that they dissolve their partnership The cat should go to Adam in whose house there would surely be enough for her to eat While the dog should seek his fortune elsewhere Before they separated they took an oath never to go to the same master The cat took up her abode with Adam and she found sufficient mice in his house to satisfy her appetite Seeing how useful she was in driving away an extirpating mice Adam treated her most kindly The dog on the other hand saw bad times The first night after their separation he spent in the cave of the wolf Who had granted him a nice lodging At night the dog caught the sound of steps And he reported it to his host who bade him repulse the intruders They were wild animals Little lacked and the dog would have lost his life Dismayed the dog fled from the house of the wolf and took refuge with the monkey But he would not grant him even a single night's lodging And the fugitive was forced to appeal to the hospitality of the sheep Again the dog heard steps in the middle of the night Obeying the bidding of his host he arose to chase away the marauders who turned out to be wolves The barking of the dog apprised the wolves of the presence of sheep So that the dog innocently caused the sheep's death Now he had lost his last friend Night after night he begged for shelter without ever finding a home Finally he decided to repair to the house of Adam Who also granted him refuge for one night When wild animals approached the house under cover of darkness The dog began to bark Adam awoke and with his bow and arrow he drove him away Recognizing the dog's usefulness he bade him remain with him always But as soon as the cat aspired the dog in Adam's house She began to quarrel with him and reproach him with having broken his oath to her Adam did his best to pacify the cat He told her he had invited the dog himself to make his home there And he assured her that she would know wise be the loser by the dog's presence He wanted both to stay with him But it was impossible to appease the cat The dog promised her not to touch anything intended for her She insisted that she could not live in one in the same house with a thief like the dog Bickering between the dog and the cat became the order of the day Finally the dog could stand at no longer and he left Adam's house And betook himself to Seth's By Seth he was welcomed kindly And from Seth's house he continued to make efforts at reconciliation with the cat In vain Yes the enmity between the first dog and the first cat was transmitted to all their descendants until this very day Even the physical peculiarities of certain animals were not original features with them But owed their existence to something that had occurred subsequent to the days of creation The mouse at first had quite a different mouth from its present mouth In Noah's Ark in which all animals to ensure the preservation of every kind Live together peaceably the pair of mice were once sitting next to the cat Suddenly the latter remembered that her father was in the habit of devouring mice And thinking there was no harm in following his example She jumped at the mouse who vainly looked for a hole into which to slip out of sight Then a miracle happened a hole appeared where none had been before And the mouse sought refuge in it The cat pursued the mouse and though she could not follow her into the hole She could insert her paw and try to pull the mouse out of her covert Quickly the mouse opened her mouth in the hope that the paw would go into it And the cat would be prevented from fastening her claws in her flesh But as the cavity of the mouth was not big enough The cat succeeded in clawing the cheeks of the mouse Not that this helped her much it merely widened the mouth of the mouse And her prey after all escaped the cat After her happy escape the mouse betook herself to Noah and said to him Oh pious man be good enough to sew up my cheek where my enemy the cat has torn a rent in it Noah bade her fetch a hair out of the tail of the swine and with this he repaired the damage Thence the little seemed like line next to the mouth of every mouse to this very day The raven is another animal that changed its appearance during its sojourn in the ark When Noah desired to send him forth to find out about the state of the waters He hid under the wings of the eagle Noah found him however and said to him Go and see whether the waters have diminished The raven pleaded Hast thou none other among all the birds to send on this errand? Noah My power extends no further than over thee and the dove But the raven was not satisfied He said to Noah with great insolence Thou sendest me forth only that I may meet my death And thou wishest my death that my wife may be at thy service Thereupon Noah cursed the raven thus May thy mouth which has spoken evil against me be accursed And thy intercourse with thy wife be only through it All the animals in the ark said amen And this is the reason why a massive spittle runs from the mouth of the male raven Into the mouth of a female during the act of copulation And only thus is the female impregnated Altogether the raven is an unattractive animal He is unkind toward his own young so long as their bodies are not covered with black feathers Though as a rule ravens love one another God therefore takes the young ravens under his special protection From their own excrement maggots come forth Which serve as their food during the three days that elapse after their birth Until their white feathers turn black And their parents recognize them as their offspring and care for them The raven has himself to blame also for the awkward hop in his gait He observed the graceful step of the dove and envious of her tried to emulate it The outcome was that he almost broke his bones without in the least succeeding in making himself resemble the dove Not to mention that he brought the scorn of the other animals down upon himself His failure excited their ridicule Then he decided to return to his own original gait But in the interval he had unlearned it And he could walk neither the one way nor the other properly His step had become a hop betwixt in between Thus we see how true it is that he who is dissatisfied with his small portion Loses the little he has in striving for more and better things The steer is also one of the animals that have suffered a change in the course of time Originally his face was entirely overgrown with hair But now there is none on his nose And that is because Joshua kissed him on the nose during the siege of Jericho Joshua was an exceedingly heavy man Horses donkeys and mules none could bear him and they all broke down under his weight What they could not do the steer accomplished On his back Joshua rode to the siege of Jericho and in gratitude he bestowed a kiss upon his nose The serpent too is other than it was at first Before the fall of man it was the cleverest of all animals created And in form it resembled man closely It stood upright and was of extraordinary size Afterward it lost the mental advantages it had possessed as compared with other animals And degenerated physically too It was deprived of its feet so that it could not pursue other animals and kill them The mole and the frog had to be made harmless in similar ways The former has no eyes else it would be irresistible And the frog has no teeth else no animal in the water were sure of his life While the cunning of the serpent wrought its own undoing The cunning of the fox stood him in good stead in many an embarrassing situation After Adam had committed the sin of disobedience God delivered the whole of the animal world into the power of the angel of death And he ordered him to cast one pair of each kind into the water He and Leviathan together thus have dominion over all that has life When the angel of death was in the act of executing the divine command upon the fox He began to weep bitterly The angel of death asked him the reason of his tears And the fox replied that he was mourning the sad fate of his friend At the same time he pointed to the figure of a fox in the sea which was nothing but his own reflection The angel of death Persuaded that a representative of the fox family had been cast into the water Let him go free The fox told his trick to the cat and she in turn played it on the angel of death So it happened that neither cats nor foxes are represented in the water While all the other animals are When Leviathan passed the animals in review and missing the fox Was informed of the sly way in which he had alluded his authority He dispatched great and powerful fish on the errand of enticing the druid into the water The fox walking along the shore aspired the large number of fish and he explained How happy he who may always satisfy his hunger with the flesh of such as these The fish told him if he would but follow them his appetite could easily be appeased At the same time they informed him that a great honor awaited him Leviathan they said was a death's door and he had commissioned them to install the fox as his successor They were ready to carry him on their backs so that he had no need to fear the water And thus they would convey him to the throne which stood upon a huge rock The fox yielded to these persuasions and descended into the water Presently an uncomfortable feeling took possession of him He began to suspect that the tables were turned. He was being made game of instead of making game of others as usual He urged the fish to tell him the truth And they admitted that they had been sent out to secure his person for Leviathan who wanted his heart That he might become as knowing as the fox whose wisdom he had heard many extoll The fox said reproachfully Why did you not tell me the truth at once? Then I could have brought my heart along with me for king Leviathan who would have showered honors upon me As it is you will surely suffer punishment for bringing me without my heart The foxes you see he continued do not carry their hearts around with them They keep them in a safe place and when they have need of them they fetch them thence The fish quickly swam to shore and landed the fox so that he might go for his heart No sooner did he feel dry land under his feet than he began to jump and shout And when they urged him to go in search of his heart and follow them he said oh ye fools Could I have followed you into the water if I had not had my heart with me Or exists there a creature able to go abroad without his heart? The fish replied come come thou art fooling us Whereupon the fox oh ye fools if I could play a trick on the angel of death How much easier was it to make game of you? So they had to return They're errand undone and Leviathan could not but confirm the taunting judgment of the fox In very truth the foxes wise of heart and ye are fools End of chapter one part four chapter one part five of the legends of the jews volume one This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org The legends of the jews volume one by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg all things praise the lord Whatever god created has value Even the animals and the insects that seem useless and noxious at first sight Have a vocation to fulfill The snail trailing a moist streak after it as it crawls and so using up its vitality Serves as a remedy for boils The sting of a hornet is healed by the housefly crushed and applied to the wound The gnat feeble creature Taking in a food but never secreting it is a specific against the poison of a viper And this venomous reptile itself cures eruptions while the lizard is the antidote to the scorpion Not only do all creatures serve man and contribute to his comfort But also god teaches us through the beasts of the earth and maketh us wise through the fowls of heaven He endowed many animals with admirable moral qualities as a pattern for man If the Torah had not been revealed to us We might have learned regard for the decencies of life from the cat who covers her excrement with earth regard for the property of others from the ants who never encroach upon one another's stores And regard for decorous conduct from the cock who when he desires to unite with the hen Promises to buy her a cloak long enough to reach the ground And when the hen reminds him of his promise he shakes his comb and says May I be deprived of my comb if I do not buy it when I have the means The grasshopper also has a lesson to teach to man All the summer through it sings until its belly bursts and death claims it Though it knows the fate that awaits it yet it sings on So man should do his duty toward god no matter what the consequences The stork should be taken as a model in two respects He guards the purity of his family life zealously and towards his fellows. He is compassionate and merciful Even the frog can be the teacher of man By the side of the water there lives a species of animals which subsist off aquatic creatures alone When the frog notices that one of them is hungry He goes to it of his own accord and offers himself as food thus fulfilling the injunction If thine enemy be hungry give him bread to eat and if he be thirsty give him water to drink The whole of creation was called into existence by god unto his glory and each creature has its own him of praise Wherewith to extol the creator heaven and earth Paradise and hell desert and field rivers and seas all have their own way of paying homage to god The hymn of the earth is from the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs glory to the righteous The sea exclaims Above the voices of many waters the mighty breakers of the sea the lord on high is mighty Also the celestial bodies and the elements proclaim the praise of their creator The sun moon and stars the clouds and the winds lightning and dew The sun says the sun and moon stood still in their habitation at the light of vine arrows As they went at the shining of thy glittering sphere And the stars sing Thou art the lord even thou alone Thou hast made heaven the heaven of heavens with all their host the earth and all things that are there on The seas and all that is in them and thou preserved them all And the host of heaven worshipeth thee Every plant for the more has a song of praise The fruitful tree sings Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy Before the lord for he is cometh for he cometh to judge the earth And the ears of grain on the field sing The pastures are covered with flocks the valleys are also covered over with corn They shout for joy. They also sing Great among singers of praise are the birds And greatest among them is the cock When god at midnight goes to the pious in paradise All the trees therein break out into adoration And their songs awaken the cock who begins in turn to praise god Seven times he crows each time reciting a verse The first verse is Lift up your heads o ye gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in Who is the king of glory The lord strong and mighty the lord mighty in battle The second verse Lift up your heads o ye gates Ye lift them up ye everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in Who is this king of glory the lord of hosts he is the king of glory The third Arise ye righteous and occupy yourselves with the Torah that your reward may be abundant in the world hereafter The fourth I have waited for thy salvation. Oh lord The fifth How long wilt thou sleep o sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? The sixth Love not sleep lest thou come to poverty Open thine eyes and thou shalt be satisfied with bread And the seventh verse sung by the cock runs It is time to work for the lord for they have made void thy law The song of the vulture is I will hiss for them and gather them for I have redeemed them and they shall increase as they have increased The same verse with which the bird will in time come to announce the advent of the messiah The only difference being that when he heralds the messiah he will sit upon the ground and sing his verse While at all other times he is seated elsewhere when he sings it Nor do the other animals praise God less than the birds Even the beasts of pray give forth adoration The lion says the lord shall go forth as a mighty man He shall stir up jealousy like a man at war. He shall cry. Yay. He shall shout aloud He shall do mightily against his enemies and the fox exhorts unto justice with the words Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice That useeth his neighbor's service without wages and giveth him not his hire Yay, the dumb fishes know how to proclaim the praise of their lord The voice of the lord is upon the waters they say The god of glory thundereth even the lord upon many waters While the frog exclaims blessed be the name Of the glory of his kingdom forever and ever Contemptable though they are even the reptiles give praise unto their creator The mouse extols god with the words how be it thou art just in all that has come upon me For thou hast dealt truly but I have done wickedly And the cat sings let everything that hath breath praise the lord praise ye the lord End of chapter one Adam Man and the world With ten sayings god created the world although a single saying would have sufficed God desired to make known how severe the punishment to be meted out to the wicked Who destroy a world created with as many as ten sayings And how goodly the reward destined for the righteous Who preserve a world created with as many as ten sayings The world was made for man though he was the last comer among its creatures This was design he was to find all things ready for him God was the host to prepare dainty dishes set the table and then led his guests to his seat At the same time man's late appearance on earth is to convey an admonition to humility Let him beware of being proud lest he invite the retort that the nat is older than he The superiority of man to the other creatures is apparent in the very manner of his creation Although different from theirs He is the only one who was created by the hand of god The rest sprang from the word of god The body of man is a microcosm the whole world in miniature And the world in turn is a reflex of man The hair upon his head corresponds to the woods of the earth His tears to a river his mouth to the ocean Also the world resembles the ball of his eye The ocean that encircles the earth is like unto the white of the eye The dry land is the iris jerusalem the pupil and the temple the image mirrored in the pupil of the eye But man is more than a mere image of this world He unites both heavenly and earthly qualities within himself In four he resembles the angels in four the beasts His power of speech his discriminating intellect his upright walk the glance of his eye They all make an angel of him But on the other hand he eats and drinks Secrets the waste matter in his body propagates his kind and dies like the beast of the field Therefore god said before the creation of man The celestials are not propagated, but they are immortal The beings on earth are propagated, but they die I will create man to be the union of the two So that when he sins when he behaves like a beast death shall overtake him But if he refrains from sin he shall live forever God now bade all beings in heaven and on earth contribute to the creation of man And he himself took part in it Thus they will all love man and if he should sin they will be interested in his preservation The whole world naturally was created for the pious the god-fearing man Whom israel produces with the helpful guidance of the law of god revealed to him It was therefore israel who was taken into special consideration at the time man was made All other creatures were instructed to change their nature if israel should ever need their help in the course of his history The sea was ordered to divide before moses and the heavens to give ear to the words of the leader The sun and moon were bitten to stand still before joshua The ravens defeat elisha the fire to spare the three youths in the furnace And the lion to do no harm to daniel the fish to spew forth jona and the heavens to open before ezekiel In his modesty god took counsel with the angels before the creation of the world regarding his intention of making man He said for the sake of israel. I will create the world As I shall make a division between light and darkness So I will in time to come do for israel in egypt Thick darkness shall be over the land and the children of israel shall have light in their dwellings As I shall make a separation between the waters under the firmament and the waters above the firmament So I will do for israel. I will divide the waters for him when he crosses the red sea As on the third day I shall create plants. So I will do for israel I will bring forth mana for him in the wilderness As I shall create luminaries to divide day from night So I will do for israel I will go before him by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire As I shall create the fowl of the air and the fishes of the sea So I will do for israel.  I will give the Torah unto him the tree of life The angels marveled that so much love should be lavished upon this people of israel And god told them On the first day of creation I shall make the heavens and stretch them out So will israel raise up the tabernacle as the dwelling place of my glory On the second day I shall put a division between the terrestrial waters and the heavenly waters So will he hang up a veil in the tabernacle to divide the holy place and the most holy On the third day I shall make the earth put forth grass and herb So will he in obedience to my commands eat herbs on the first night of the Passover And prepare showbread for me On the fourth day I shall make the luminaries. So will he make a golden candlestick for me On the fifth day I shall create the birds So will he fashion the cherubim with outstretched wings On the sixth day I shall create man So will israel set aside a man of the sons of erin as high priest for my service Accordingly the whole of creation was conditional God said to the things he made on the first six days If israel accepts the Torah you will continue and endure Otherwise I shall turn everything back into chaos again The whole world was thus kept in suspense and dread Until the day of the revelation on Sinai When israel received and accepted the Torah And so fulfilled the condition made by God at the time when he created the universe The legends of the Jews volume one by rabbi lewis ginsburg The angels in the creation of man God in his wisdom having resolved to create man He asked counsel of all around him before he proceeded to execute his purpose An example to man be he never so great and distinguished not to scorn the advice of the humble and lonely First God called upon heaven and earth Then upon all other things he had created and last upon the angels The angels were not all of one opinion The angel of love favored the creation of man Because he would be affectionate and loving But the angel of truth opposed it because he would be full of lies And while the angel of justice favored it because he would practice justice The angel of peace opposed it because he would be quarrelsome To invalidate his protest God cast the angel of truth down from heaven to earth And when the others cried out against such contemptuous treatment of their companion He said truth will spring back out of the earth The objections of the angels would have been much stronger had they known the whole truth about man God had told them only about the pious And had concealed from them that there would be reprobates among mankind too And yet though they knew but half the truth the angels were nevertheless prompted to cry out What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him God replied the fowl of the air and the fish at the sea what were they created for Of what avail a larder full of appetizing dainties and no guests to enjoy them And the angels could not but exclaim oh lord our lord how excellent is thy name and all the earth Do as is pleasing in thy sight For not a few of the angels their opposition bore fatal consequences When God summoned the band under the archangel michael and asked their opinion on the creation of man They answered scornfully What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him God thereupon stretched forth his little finger and all were consumed by fire except their chief michael And the same fate befell the band under the leadership of the archangel gabriel He alone of all was saved from destruction The third band consulted was commanded by the archangel labial Taught by the horrible fate of his predecessors. He warned his troop You have seen what misfortune overtook the angels who said what is man that thou art mindful of him Let us have a care not to do likewise lest we suffer the same dire punishment For God will not refrain from doing in the end what he has planned Therefore it is advisable for us to yield to his wishes Thus warned the angels spoke Lord the world it is well that thou has thought of creating man Do thou create him according to thy will? And as for us we will be his attendants and his ministers and reveal unto him all our secrets Thereupon god changed labial's name to rafael the rescuer because his host of angels had been rescued by his sage advice He was appointed the angel of healing who has in his safekeeping all the celestial remedies the types of the medical remedies used on earth The legends of the jews volume one by rabbi louis skinsburg the creation of adam When it lasts the ascent of the angels to the creation of man was given god said to gabriel Go and fetch me dust from the four corners of the earth and i will create man therewith Gabriel went forth to do the bidding of the lord But the earth drove him away and refused to let him gather up dust from it Gabriel remonstrated Why oh earth does thou not hearken unto the voice of the lord who founded thee upon the waters without props or pillars The earth replied and said i am destined to become a curse and to be cursed through man And if god himself does not take the dust from me no one else shall ever do it When god heard this he stretched out his hand took of the dust of the ground and created the first man therewith Of said purpose the dust was taken from all four corners of the earth So that if a man from the east should happen to die in the west or a man from the west in the east The earth should not dare refuse to receive the dead and tell him to go whence he was taken When a man chances to die and wheresoever he is buried there he will return to the earth from which he sprang Also the dust was of various colors red black white and green Red for the blood black for the bowels white for the bones and veins and green for the pale skin At this early moment the Torah interfered she addressed herself to god Oh lord of the world the world is thine Thou can'ts do with it as seemeth good in thine eyes But the man thou art now creating will be few of days and full of trouble and sin If it be not thy purpose to have forbearance and patience with him it were better not to call him into being God replied is it for naught i am called long suffering and merciful The grace and loving kindness of god revealed themselves particularly in his taking one spoon full of dust from this spot Where in time to come the altar would stand saying i shall take man from the place of atonement that he may endure The legends of the jews volume one by rabbi lewis ginsberg The soul of man The care which god exercised in fashioning every detail of the body of man Is as not in comparison with his solicitude for the human soul The soul of man was created on the first day for it is the spirit of god moving upon the face of the waters Thus instead of being the last man is really the first work of creation This spirit or to call it by its usual name the soul of man possesses five different powers By means of one of them she escapes from the body every night Rises up to heaven and fetches new life thence for man With the soul of adam the souls of all the generations of men were created They are stored up in a promptuary in the seventh of the heavens Wins they are drawn as they are needed for human body after human body The soul and body of man are united in this way When a woman has conceived the angel of the night leila carries the sperm before god And god decrees what manner of human being shall become of it Whether it shall be male or female strong or weak rich or poor beautiful or ugly long or short Fat or thin and what all its other qualities shall be Piety and wickedness alone are left to the determination of man himself Then god makes a sign to the angel appointed over the souls Saying bring me the soul so and so which is hidden in paradise whose name is so and so and whose form is so and so The angel brings the designated soul and she bows down when she appears in the presence of god and prostrates herself before him At that moment god issues the command enter this sperm The soul opens her mouth and pleads. Oh lord of the world I am well pleased with the world in which i have been living since the day on which thou didst call me into being Why does thou now desire to have me enter this impure sperm? I who am holy and pure in a part of thy glory God consoles her The world which I shall cause thee to enter is better than the world in which thou has lived hitherto And when I created thee it was only for this purpose The soul is then forced into the sperm against her will and the angel carries her back to the womb of the mother Two angels are detailed to watch that she shall not leave it nor drop out of it And a light is set above her whereby the soul can see from one end of the world to the other In the morning an angel carries her to paradise and shows her the righteous who sit there in their glory with crowns upon their heads The angel then says to the soul Does thou know who these are? She replies in the negative and the angel goes on These whom now beholdest here were formed like unto thee in the womb of their mother When they came into the world they observed god's torah and his commandments Therefore they became the partakers of this bliss which thou seeest them enjoy No also thou wilt one day depart from the world below And if thou wilt observe god's torah Then wilt thou be found worthy of sitting with these pious ones But if not thou wilt be doomed to the other place In the evening the angel takes the soul to hell And there points out the sinners whom the angels of destruction are smiting with fiery scourges The sinners all the while crying out woe woe, but no mercy is shown unto them The angel then questions the soul as before Does thou know who these are? And as before the reply is negative The angel continues These who are consumed with fire were created like unto thee When they were put into the world they did not observe god's torah and his commandments Therefore have they come to this disgrace which thou seeest them suffer No thy destiny is also to depart from the world Be just therefore and not wicked that thou mayest gain the future world Between morning and evening the angel carries the soul around And shows her where she will live and where she will die And the place where she will be buried And he takes her through the whole world and points out the just in the sinners and all things In the evening he replaces her in the womb with the mother And there she remains for nine months When the time arrives for her to emerge from the womb into the open world The same angel addresses the soul The time has come for thee to go abroad into the open world The soul demers Why dost thou want to make me go forth into the open world? The angel replies Know that as thou wert formed against thy will So now thou wilt be born against thy will And against thy will thou shalt die And against thy will thou shalt give account to thyself before the king of kings The holy one Blessed be he But the soul is reluctant to leave her place Then the angel Phillips the baby on the nose Extinguishes the light at his head and brings him forth into the world against his will Immediately the child forgets all his soul has seen and learnt And he comes into the world crying for he loses a place of shelter and security and rest When the time arrives for man to quit this world the same angel appears and asks him Dost thou recognize me?