Everyone who secretly slanders his fellows has no remedy, as it is said, “Whoso privily slandereth his neighboiir, him will I destroy : him that hath an high look and a proud heart will I not suffer” (Ps. ci. 5), Another Seripture text says, “Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour in secret” (Deut. xxvii. 24). Know that it is so. Come and see from the (narrative of) the serpent which uttered slander concerning the Holy One, blessed be He, to Adam and his helpmate. The Holy One, blessed be He, cursed it, so that its food became the dust, as it is said, “And dust shalt thou eat all the davs of thy life” (Gen. iii. 14).
Rabban Gamahel said : Israel also slandered " the Holy One, blessed be He, (by) saying : Wilt thou say that He has power to feed us in the wilderness ? as it is said, " Yea, they spake against God ; they said. Can God prepare a table in the wilderness ? Behold, he smote the rock, that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed " (Ps. Ixxviii. 19, 20). The Holy One, blessed be He, heard that they slandered His Glory, and from His Glory, which is a consuming fire, He sent against them a fire which consumed them round about, as it is said, " And the people were as murmurers . . . and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp " (Num. xi. 1), The Israelites betook themselves to our teacher Moses, and they said to him : Moses, ovir lord ! Let these be given like sheep to the slaughter, but not to the fire which is consuming fire. Moses saw the plight of Israel, and he arose to pray on their behalf, and He was entreated of him, as it is said, " And the people cried unto Moses " (ibid. 2).'
Rabbi Judah said : That fire which descended from heaven settled on the earth, and did not again return to its (former) place in heaven, but it entered the Tabernacle. That fire came forth and devoured all the offerings which they " brought in the wilderness,! as it is said. "And there descended fire from heaven " is not written here, but " And there came forth fire from before the Lord " (Lev. ix. 24). This was the fire which came forth and consumed the sons of Aaron, as it is said, " And there came forth fire from before the Lord " (ibid.). That fire came forth and consumed the company of Korah, as it is said, " And fire came forth from the Lord " (Num. xvi. 35).
No man departs from this world until some of that fire, which rested among the sons of man, passes over him, as it is said, “And the fire rested” (ibid. xi. 2). II
“ And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married” (ibid. xii. 1). Was she then a Cushite woman ? Was she not Zipporah? But just as this Cushite is different as regards his body from all other people,' so was Zipporah different from all other women by her words and by her good deeds ; therefore was she called a Cushite, as it is said, “For he had married a Cushite woman” (ibid.).
Rabbi Tachanah said : The Israelites also are called Cushites, as it is said, “Are ye not as the cliildren of the Cushites unto me,i O children of Israel ?” (Amos ix. 7). Just as the body of this Cushite is different from all creatures, so do the Israelites differ from all the nations of the world in their ways and by their good deeds ; therefore are they called Cushites. One Scripture saith, “And Ebedmelech, the Cushite, said” (Jer. xxxviii. 12). Was it Ebed ? Was he not Baruch, son of Neriah? But just as this Cushite is different in his body from all other people, so was Baruch, son of Neriah, different in his deeds and good ways from the rest of the sons of men. Therefore was he called a Cushite.
One Scripture text says, “Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the kingwhat thou hast seen” (2 Sam. xviii. 21). Was he a Cushite? Was he not a Benjamite? But just as this Cushite is different from all creatures, so was the Benjamite different by his ways and his good deeds ; therefore was his name called “Cushite.”
Rabbi EUezer said : Come and see the integrity and perfection of that man, for he said to Joab, Even if thou wouldst give me gold and silver ' I would not transgress the king's commands which he commanded thee, as it is said, “And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand (pieces of) silver in mine hand” (ibid. 12). Joab said to him : I beseech thee, show me the place where Absalom is hanging. But he did not consent. Joab began to bend the knee, and to prostrate himself before him, as it is said, “Then said Joab, Shall I not entreat thee in this wise ?” (ibid. 14). Then he took (Joab) by his arm, and showed him the place where Absalom was hanging. Everyone who transgresses the commandment “Honour thy father” is accounted as though he had transgressed the Decalogue. Therefore was (Absalom) pierced by ten spears, as it is said, “And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom ; and slew him” (ibid. 15).
Six people were similar to the first man, and they were all slain. They were : Samson with his might, and he was slain ; Saul with his stature, and he was slain ; Asahel with his swiftness, and he was slain ; Josiah with his nostrils,' and he was slain through his nostrils ; Zedekiah with his eyes, and he was slain through his eyes ; Absalom with his hair, and he was killed through his hair. Absalom was a mighty hero in battle, and his sword was bound upon his loins. Why did he not draw his sword and cut the hair of his head, and get down ? But he saw that Gehinnom was open beneath him, and he said : It is better for me to hang by my hair i" and not to descend into the fire ; therefore he was hanginsr, as it is said, " Behold, I saw Absalom - hanging in an oak " (ibid. 10).
Rabbi Jose said : There are seven doors to Gehinnom. Absalom entered as far as the fifth door, nd David heard (thereof), and began to weep, to lament, and to mourn, and he called Absalom ! My son ! five times,i My son, my son, my son ! " And the king was much moved, and he went up to the chamber over the gate,i and wept : and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son ! " (ibid, xviii. 33). And they brought him back from the five doors of Gehinnom, and he began to praise and laud and to glorify his Creator, saying : " Shew me a token for good ; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed : because thou, Lord, hast helped me, and comforted me " (Ps. Ixxxvi. 17). " Thou hast helped me " out of the war of Absalom, and " thou hast comforted me " in my mourning for him."
The eighth descent was when He descended into the Tabernacle, as it is said, " And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud,' and stood at the door of the Tent, and called Aaron and Miriam ; and they both came forth " (Num. xii. 5). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them : Whosoever speaketh slander against his fellow in secret, hath no cure ; if he slander his brother, the son of his father or the son of his mother, i" how much more so is this the case ? The Holy One, blessed be He, was angry with them, and He departed from the Tent, as it is said,- " And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them ; and he departed " (ibid. 9). II " And the cloud removed from over the Tent " (ibid. 10). Forthwith Miriam became leprous. The Holy One, blessed be He, said : If Aaron also be leprous, thc High Priest, who is afflicted vith a blemish, will not be able to bring an offering upon My altar ; but he shall look upon his sister and become astonished,' as it is said, " And Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous" (ibid.).-" Aaron went to Moses, and said to him : O our lord, Moses ! Brethren do not suffer themselves to be separated one from the other except through death, as it is said, " Though he be fruitful among his brethren " (Hos. xiii. 15). Our sister, while still among the living, is separated from us,' as it is said, " Let her not, I pray, be as one dead " (Num. xii. 12). Not only this, but now all Israel will hear and say that the sister of Moses and Aaron is leprous. Half of this infamous report concerns thee. Moses was appeased by the words, and he arose and prayed for her, and He was entreated of him, as it is said, " And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying," Heal her, O God, I beseech thee " (ibid. 13).
Rabbi Levitas, a man of Jamnia, said : Unless the father of a leprous person spit in his face, he will not be healed,' as it is said, “And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be ashamed seven days ?” (ibid. 14). Hence (the sages) say : A male afflicted with unclean issue (needs) seven (days for his purification -) ; a woman with an issue (requires) seven (days' separation) ; a menstruant (needs) seven (days of purification) ; one made unclean through a corpse (needs) seven (days of purification); a mourner (mourns for) seven (days); the wedding feast (lasts) seven (days) ; and a leprous person (requires) seven (days' separation). (Whence do we know that ) a male with an unclean issue (requires) seven days (for his purification) ? (Because it is said,) “And when he that hath an issue is cleansed ' of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing” (Lev. xv. 13). Whence do we know that a woman with an issue (requires) seven (days of purification) ? Because it is said, “But if she be cleansed of her issue,' then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean” (ibid. 28). Whence do we know that a menstruant (requires) seven (days of separation) ? Because it is said, “She shall be in her separation seven days” (ibid. 19). “Her separation” (or impurity) thou dost not read, but “in her impurity” ; he took him aside from the multitude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue.“See also Mark viii. 23 :”When he had spit on his eyes.“See Preuss, Medizin des Talmuds : Speichel als Heil-Mittel, pp. 321 f. because Rabbi Ze'cra said : The daughters of Israel have made the Law exceptionally stringent for themselves, so that if they see a blood stain of the size of a mustard seed they observe on its account seven days, after that they are cleansed (of their issue of blood ). Whence do we know that one made unclean through a corpse (needs) seven (days of purification)? Because it is said,”And whosoever in the open field toucheth one that is slain with a sword, or a dead bod)' . . . shall be unclean seven days “(Num. xix. 16). Whence do we know that the moiu-ncr (mourns for) seven (days) ? Because it is said,” And he made a mourning for his father seven days “(Gen. 1. 10). Whence” do we know that the (bridal) banquet (lasts) seven days ? Because it is said, “Fulfil the week of this one. . . . And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week” (ibid. xxix. 27, 28). Whence do we know that a leper (keeps) seven (days of purification) ? From Miriam, as it is said, “And Miriam was shut up without the camp seven days” (Num. xii. 15).
Rabbi said : They slandered God again and said, We were dwelling in the land of Egypt in ease and contentment, but the Holy One, blessed be He, and Moses have brought us forth from Egypt to die in the wilderness, as it is said, " And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness ? " (ibid. xxi. 5). What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do unto them ? He sent against them fiery serpents which bit and killed them, as it is said, " And the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, and they bit the people ; and much people of Israel died " (ibid. 6). Moses beheld the misfortune of Israel, and he arose and prayed on their behalf. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him : Moses ! Make thee a serpent of copper like that serpent " which spoke slander betwixt Adam and his helpmate, and place it on a high place. Let every man who has been bitten direct his heart to his Father who is in heaven, and let him gaze at that serpent, and he will be healed. Moses made a serpent of copper and set it up in a high place, and every man who had been bitten turned his heart to his Father who is in heaven, and gazed at that serpent, forthwith he became restored to health, as it is said, " And it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten - any man, when he looked at the serpent of copper, he lived " (ibid. 9) ; and it also says, " If the serpent bite without enchantment, then is there no advantage in the master of the tongue " (Eccles. x. 11).
Rabbi Meir said : If a doctor visit one whom a serpent has bitten, and cure him, verily will goodness be shown to this one.
Rabbi Jose said : If a man hire a workman who is zealous, and (when) he discharges him should he give him his wages in full ; what favour does he give him ? But if he hire a workman who is lazy, (when) he discharges him should he give him his wages in full, verily he is giving him a real favour.' Likewise spake Solomon before the Holy One, blessed be He ' : Sovereign of all the worlds ! Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were zealous workmen. Thou gavest to them wages in full, of their own (earnings) Thou didst give them. But we are lazy workmen, and when Thou wilt give us our wages in full, and wilt heal us ; verily, every one will praise Thee and bless (Thee).
It is finished. Praise be to God !