8 (11) and Aharon shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Yisra᾽el, that they may execute the service of the Lord.

(12) And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.

(13) And thou shalt set the Levites before Aharon, and before his sons, and offer them for a wave offering to the Lord.

(14) Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Yisra᾽el: and the Levites shall be mine.

(15) And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.

3 (7) Thus says the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, and thou wilt also judge my house, and wilt also guard my courts, then I will give thee access among these who stand by.

(8) Hear now, O Yehoshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows who sit before thee: for they are men of good omen: for, behold, I will bring my servant Żemaĥ.

(9) For behold the stone that I have laid before Yehoshua; upon one stone are seven facets: behold, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

(10) On that day, says the Lord of hosts, everyone of you shall invite his neighbour to come under his vine and under his fig tree.

4 (1) And the angel that talked with me came back, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,

73 (1) A Psalm of Asaf. Truly God is good to Yisra᾽el, to such as are of a clean heart.

(2) But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

(3) For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

(4) For there are no pangs at their death; their body is firm.

(5) They are not in trouble as other men; nor are they plagued like other men.

1. Any bill of divorce that was not written for the sake of a specific woman is invalid. How so? In a case of a man who was passing through the marketplace and heard the sound of scribes who write bills of divorce dictating the text to their students: The man so-and-so divorces so-and-so from the place of such and such; and the man said: This is my name and that is the name of my wife, and he wishes to use this bill for his divorce, this bill is unfit for him to divorce his wife with it, as it was not written for the sake of any woman. Moreover, if one wrote a bill of divorce with which to divorce his wife but later reconsidered, and a resident of his town found him and said to him: My name is the same as your name, and my wife’s name is the same as your wife’s name, and we reside in the same town; give me the bill of divorce and I will use it; the bill of divorce is unfit for the second man to divorce his wife with it. Moreover, if one had two wives and their names were identical, and he wrote a bill of divorce to divorce the older one and then reconsidered, he may not divorce the younger one with it. Moreover, if he said to the scribe: Write a bill of divorce for whichever one of them that I will want and I will divorce her with it, this bill of divorce is unfit for him to divorce either wife with it.

2. With regard to a scribe who writes the standard part [tofes] of bills of divorce in advance, so that when one requests a bill of divorce, he will need to add only the details unique to this case, he must leave empty the place in the bill of divorce for the name of the man, and the place for the name of the woman, and the place for the date. If a scribe writes the standard part of loan documents, he must leave empty the place of the name of the lender, the place of the name of the borrower, the place of the amount of the money being loaned, and the place of the date. If the scribe writes the standard part of documents of sale of land, he must leave empty the place for the name of the purchaser, and the place for the name of the seller, the place for the amount of the money for which the land is being purchased, the place for the description of the field that is being purchased, and the place of the date when the sale occurs. This is necessary due to the ordinance, as the Gemara will explain. Rabbi Yehuda invalidates all of these documents if their standard parts were written in advance. Rabbi Elazar deems all of them valid except for bills of divorce, as it is stated in the Torah: “And he writes for her” (Deuteronomy 24:1), indicating that he must write the bill of divorce for her sake. Therefore, one may not write even the standard part of the bill of divorce in advance, as that would not qualify as writing the bill of divorce for her sake.

3. With regard to an agent who brings a bill of divorce and it was lost from him, if he finds it immediately then the bill of divorce is valid. But if not, then it is invalid, as it is possible that the bill of divorce that he found is not the same one that he lost, and this second bill of divorce belongs to someone else whose name and wife’s name are identical to the names of the husband and wife in the lost bill of divorce. However, if he found it in a ḥafisa or in a deluskema that he knows is his, or if he recognizes the actual bill of divorce, then it is valid. In the case of an agent who brings a bill of divorce to a woman, and when he had left the husband was elderly or sick, the agent gives her the bill of divorce based on the presumption that the husband is still alive, and there is no concern that in the meantime he has died, thereby canceling the bill of divorce. Similarly, with regard to an Israelite woman who is married to a priest and may therefore partake of teruma, and her husband went to a country overseas, she may continue to partake of teruma based on the presumption that her husband is still alive. Similarly, in the case of one who sends his sin-offering from a country overseas, the priests may offer it on the altar based on the presumption that the one who sent it is still alive.

4. Rabbi Elazar ben Perata said three statements before the Sages as testimony from previous generations, and they upheld his statements: He spoke concerning the residents of a town that was surrounded by a camp of besiegers [karkom]; and concerning the travelers in a ship that is cast about in the sea; and concerning one who is going out to be judged in a capital case; that they are all presumed to be alive. However, concerning the residents of a town that was conquered by a camp of besiegers; and the travelers on a ship that was lost at sea; and one who is going out to be executed after receiving his verdict; in these cases one applies to them the stringencies of the living and the stringencies of the dead. How so? An Israelite woman married to a priest in one of these situations or a daughter of a priest married to an Israelite in one of these situations may not partake of teruma. The first woman may not do so because she may partake of teruma only while her husband is alive, and the second may not do so because she may partake of teruma only if he has died.

5. With regard to an agent who brings a bill of divorce in Eretz Yisrael, where his only responsibility is to transmit the bill of divorce to the wife, and the agent became sick, this agent may send it in the possession of another agent. But if the husband said to the agent: When you transmit the bill of divorce to my wife, take for me such and such an item from her that I left with her as a deposit, then he may not send it in the possession of another agent. This is because it is assumed that it is not the desire of the husband that his deposit be in the possession of another person whom he did not appoint as his agent.

6. With regard to an agent who is bringing a bill of divorce from a country overseas, who must attest to the fact that he witnessed the writing and signing of the bill of divorce, and he became sick and cannot complete his agency, he appoints another agent in court and sends him. And the first agent says before the court: It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence, and on the basis of this the court deems the bill of divorce to be valid. And the final agent does not need to say: It was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence. Rather, it is sufficient that he says: I am an agent of the court.

7. The mishna continues the discussion of the presumption that a person remains alive. With regard to one who lends money to a priest, or to a Levite, or to a poor person, with the understanding that he will separate their portion of the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money, i.e., he will subtract from the debt owed by the priest or Levite the value of the teruma and tithes separated from the produce, he may separate the teruma and tithes from his produce on the basis of that money with the presumption that they are still alive, and he need not be concerned that perhaps the priest or the Levite died in the interim, or that the poor person became rich and is no longer eligible to be given the poor man’s tithe. The priest or Levite benefits from this arrangement, as he receives his gifts up front in the form of a loan. The Israelite benefits in that he does not need to seek out a priest or Levite each time he has produce from which he must separate teruma and tithes. If in fact they died, then he must obtain permission from the heirs in order to continue the arrangement. However, if he lent money to the deceased, and he stipulated in the presence of the court that the debt would be repaid in this manner, then he does not need to obtain permission from the heirs.

8. With regard to one who sets aside produce with the understanding that he will separate terumot and tithes with it, so that when he has untithed produce he can render it fit by declaring that the teruma and tithes that must be separated will be from the produce that he had set aside for this purpose, or one who sets aside money with the understanding that he will separate and to redeem second tithe with it, then he may later separate the teruma or tithe with them, based on the presumption that the produce or the money are extant. He need not be concerned that perhaps the produce or money was lost in the meantime. If he discovers that they were lost, then he must be concerned that the produce or money that he set aside was lost, from the time until the same time, as will be explained in the Gemara, and he must separate teruma and tithes from the produce a second time; this is the statement of Rabbi Elazar. Rabbi Yehuda says: One checks the wine that is set aside to be used for separating terumot and tithes for other wine to see if it has turned to vinegar, which would render it unfit for this purpose, at three times during the year: When the east wind blows at the conclusion of the festival of Sukkot, and when the blossoms fall and the grape buds emerge and appear as small clusters, and at the time when water enters and fills the unripe grape. Since there is a change in the weather at these times, one should check to ensure that the wine has not turned to vinegar.

§ The mishna teaches that Rabbi Yehuda says: One checks the wine at three times during the year. One of these times is when the east wind blows at the conclusion of the festival of Sukkot. A Sage taught: It is checked when the east wind blows at the conclusion of the festival of Sukkot in the season of Tishrei, i.e., autumn. However, if the summer continues until the festival of Sukkot, then in the event of this unusual occurrence one does not check the wine.

It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yehuda says that at three times during the year one sells the grain: Before the time of the sowing, and during the time of the sowing, and before the festival of Passover. And at three times of the year one sells the wine: Before the festival of Passover, and before the festival of Shavuot, and before the festival of Sukkot. And oil is sold from the festival of Shavuot and onward. The Gemara asks: With regard to what halakha was this stated? One may sell these products whenever he so desires. Rava said, and some say that it was Rav Pappa who said: This halakha was stated with regard to partners, as one partner may sell these products without the permission of the other only at these times of the year. At other times, he must first receive permission from his partner. From this point forward, i.e., after the latest of the three times has passed, what is the halakha? Rava said: Every day is its time to be sold.

§ Having mentioned the east wind, the Gemara quotes a related verse: “And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement [ḥarishit] east wind” (Jonah 4:8). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the word “ḥarishit”? Rav Yehuda says: It means a wind that plows [ḥoreshet], as at the time that the wind blows, it forms many furrows in the sea, as though it were plowing the sea.

Rabba said to him: If that is so, then that which is written in the continuation of the verse: “And the sun beat upon the head of Jonah and he fainted” (Jonah 4:8), is difficult; it seems from the continuation of the verse that the wind was not extremely hot, not strong. Rather, Rabba says: At the time that it blows, it silences all the winds before it. Therefore, it is called ḥarishit, because all other winds are silent [maḥarishot] before it. Since only this wind was blowing, it became very hot. And this is as it is written: “You whose garments are hot, when the earth is still by reason of the south wind” (Job 37:17). Rabbi Taḥalifa bar Rav Ḥisda says that Rav Ḥisda says in explanation of this verse: When are your garments hot, i.e., when is there the greatest heat? It is when the earth is still by reason of the south wind, as at the time that the southern wind blows, it silences all the winds before it.

The Gemara relates that Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda were sitting, and Geneiva passed by them. One said to the other: Let us stand before him, as he is a son of the Torah. The other said to him: Shall we stand before a quarrelsome person? In the meantime, Geneiva came to them and said to them: With what were you dealing when you were sitting together? They said to him: We were dealing with winds.

He said to them: This is what Rav Ḥanan bar Rava says that Rav says: Four winds blow on each day, and the north wind blows together with each of the other three; as, if this were not so and the northern wind did not blow, then the world would not survive for even one hour. And the south wind is harsher than all of them, and were it not for the angel called Ben Netz, who stops it from blowing even harder, then it would destroy the entire world before it, as it is stated: “Does the hawk [netz] soar by your wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?” (Job 39:26).

The Gemara also relates that Rava and Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak were sitting, and Rav Naḥman bar Ya’akov was passing by them while sitting on a gilt carriage [goharka] and with a green cloak [sarbela] spread over him. Rava went to him, but Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak did not go to him. He said: Perhaps they are members of the house of the Exilarch. Rava needs them, but I do not need them.

When he saw that it was Rav Naḥman bar Ya’akov, he also went to him. Rav Naḥman bar Ya’akov uncovered his arm due to the heat and said: The wind called Shadya is blowing. Rava says that this is what Rav says about this wind: A woman miscarries in its wake. And Shmuel says: Even a pearl [margalit] that is in the sea decomposes in its wake. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Even the semen that is in a woman’s womb putrefies in its wake.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak, who was present, said about their statements: And the three of them derived their statements from one verse, as it is stated: “For though he be fruitful among the reed-plants, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up; he shall spoil the treasure of all precious vessels” (Hosea 13:15). The statement that a woman miscarries in its wake is based on the phrase “His spring shall become dry,” as this is referring to a woman’s womb. With regard to the phrase “And his fountain shall be dried up,” this is referring to the semen that is in a woman’s womb. And with regard to the phrase “He shall spoil the treasure of all precious vessels,” this is referring to a pearl in the sea.

Rava says: This Sage is from Sura, as they are precise with verses. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of: “Though he be fruitful [yafri] among the reed-plants”? Rava said: Even

the handle in the hole [kofina] of the hoe [mara] becomes loose [rafya], as he understands the word yafri to refer to separating connected items. Similarly, Rav Yosef said: Even the peg hammered into the wall becomes loose. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Even the reed woven into the basket becomes loose.

How is public worship conducted? One person recites the prayers aloud, and all the rest listen. This is not done, if there are less than ten adult men present, the Reader being counted in the number. Even if some of them have already said their prayers and thus discharged their obligation, they help to complete the quorum of ten, provided that the majority have not yet said their prayers. So too, the Kedushah^*Isaiah 6:3; Ezekiel 3:12; Psalms 146:10. is not recited, nor is the Torah recited with the blessing before and after the reading, nor the lesson from the prophets read [with its blessings], unless a quorum of ten is present.

Thus too, one individual is not to recite the blessings before the Shema while all listen and respond Amen, unless a quorum of ten is present. This is termed Poress al Shema (Cp. Targum to I Samuel 9:13). Nor is Kaddish recited, unless ten are present. Nor do the priests solemnly raise their hands (to recite the priestly benediction) unless ten are present, the priests being counted in the number. For every group of ten in Israel is called a Congregation, as it is said, "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation" (Numbers 14:27). Those alluded to here were ten, (the Spies)—Joshua and Caleb being excluded.

The first path is [that] when a man encounters troubles, he will consult his heart and say [that] it is only his ways and his plots that have caused this to him, and that his sins have caused [the pain] to his soul. So he repents to God; and He has mercy upon him, like the matter that is stated (Deuteronomy 31:17), "and many evils and troubles shall befall them; and they shall say on that day, 'Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us.'" But note that the custom among men is [that] if one sins to someone, and [later] at a time of trouble for him regrets it and submits to him because he needs him; such regret will be inferior in the eyes of his fellow - like the matter that Jephthah said (Judges 11:7), "How can you come to me now when you are in trouble?" However it is one of the kindnesses of God, may He be blessed, that He accepts repentance [motivated by] trouble and it is desirable in front of Him. And He will generously love the sinner when he returns to Him on the day of his rebuke and from amidst trouble, as it is stated (Hosea 14:2-5), "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have fallen because of your sin. Take words with you, etc. I will heal their affliction, generously will I take them back in love." And it is stated (Proverbs 3:12), "For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes, as a father the son whom he favors." But if the man does not repent from his evil on the day of evil, and the rebuked does not repent to the Rebuker, his iniquity grows and his punishment will be doubled. Do you not see that if a king rebukes someone who has sinned to him and he has not become chastised, [the king] will make his punishment harsher and be very hard on him. And it is written (Leviticus 26:18), "And if, for all that, you do not obey Me, I will go on to discipline you." And it is [also] stated (Job 36:13), "But the impious in heart become enraged; they do not cry for help when He afflicts them." And if he does not know and does not contemplate that the events have found him because of sins, but rather says like the Philistines (I Samuel 6:9), "it was not His hand that struck us; it just happened to us by chance" - there will be fury in front of Him for this, and his iniquity will grow. And the iniquity of this group will be greater than the sin of the first group. Therefore it is written about the first group (Leviticus 26:18), "I will go on to discipline you." And it is written afterwards about the other group [we] mentioned (Leviticus 26:21), "And if you remain hostile toward Me and refuse to obey Me, etc." For every group that is later in the section is more problematic than the one [above it]. So it is written afterwards (Leviticus 26:23-24), "And if these things fail to discipline you for Me, and you remain hostile to Me, I too will remain hostile to you." And afterwards, it is written (Leviticus 26:27-28), "But if, despite this, you disobey Me and remain hostile to Me, I will act against you in wrathful hostility." Its explanation is "you remain hostile to Me," because you will say, "It was just chance that [it] happened to us." But when a man does not recognize his deeds and does not know that he has the iniquity in his hands from his sinning, he must examine his actions and search his ways, as the matter is stated (Lamentations 3:40), "Let us search and examine our ways." But if he surely ignores his eyes and his ideas become foolish and deluded (from the expression in Scripture [Isaiah 19:13], "The nobles of Tanis have been foolish, the nobles of Memphis deluded"), and he does not investigate his ways and does not know the acts of his hands and that which his fingers have done and says, "I have not sinned" - his sin is very weighty, as it is stated (Jeremiah 2:35), "lo, I will bring you to judgment for saying, 'I have not sinned.'" And it is stated (Isaiah 42:25), "it blazed upon them all about, but they heeded not; it burned among them, but they gave it no thought." And it is stated (Proverbs 19:3), "A man’s folly subverts his way, and his heart rages against the Lord."