One hundred and three chapters (or psalms) were uttered by David, and he
did not pronounce the word Hallelujah until he came to contemplate the
downfall of the wicked; as it is written (Ps. civ. 35), "Let the sinners
be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the
Lord, O my soul, Hallelujah!" Instead of one hundred and three we ought
to say a hundred and four, but we infer from this that "Blessed is the
man," etc., and "Why do the heathen rage?" etc., are but one psalm.
_Berachoth_, fol. 9, col. 2.
One of the most charming women that we find figuring in the
Talmud was the wife of Rabbi Meir, Beruriah by name; and as we
meet with her in the immediate context of the above quotation,
it may be well to introduce her here to the attention of the
reader. The context speaks of a set of ignorant fellows
(probably Greeks) who sorely vexed the soul of Rabbi Meir, her
husband, and he ardently prayed God to take them away. Then
Beruriah reasoned with her husband thus:--"Is it, pray, because
it is written (Ps. civ. 35), 'Let the sinners be consumed'? It
is not written 'sinners,' but 'sins.' Besides, a little farther
on in the text it is said, 'And the wicked will be no more;'
that is to say, 'Let sins cease, and the wicked will cease too.
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