' The
Holy One--blessed be He!--hath said, 'I must both judge myself and take
upon myself to indemnify the evil of the conflagration I have caused,
for I have kindled a fire in Zion,' as it is written (Lament, iv. 11),
'He hath kindled a fire in Zion, and hath devoured the foundations
thereof.' I must therefore rebuild her with fire, as it is written
(Zech. ii. 5), 'I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will
be the glory in the midst of her.'"
_Bava Kama_, fol. 60, col. 2.
Rabbi Oshaia asked, "What is this that is written, (Zech. xi. 7), 'I
took unto me two staves; the one I called Amiable and the other
Destroyer'?" The staff called Amiable represents the disciples of the
wise in the land of Israel, who were friendly one toward another in
their debates about the law. The staff called Destroyer represents the
disciples of the wise of Babylon, who in the like debates were fierce
tempered and not friendly toward one another. What is the meaning of
Babel or Babylon? Rabbi Yochanan says it means "confused in the Bible,
confused in the Mishna, and confused in the Talmud." "He hath set me in
dark places, as they that be dead of old" (Lam. iii. 6). Rabbi Jeremiah
said by this we are to understand the Babylonian Talmud.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53