Whoever prolongs his prayer and calculates on it will eventually come to pain of heart; as it is said, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick" (Prov. xiii. 12). And R. Isaac said: Three things cause the sins of a man to be remembered ; viz. [passing under] a wall threatening to fall, calculating on prayer and surrendering one's case against a man to Heaven ! There is no contradiction ; the latter refers to where one calculates [on the prolongation of his prayer], the other to where he does not calculate upon it. So how should one act ? He makes many supplications. "He who prolongs his stay at table" — perhaps a poor man will come and he will give him [some food] ; for it is written, "The altar of wood three cubits high... and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord" (Ezek. xli. 22). He opens with "altar" and concludes with "table"! R. Johanan and R. Eleazar both say : So long as the Temple was in existence, the altar used to atone for Israel, but now a man's table atones for him. "He who prolongs his stay in the privy" — is that a virtue? Lo, there is a teaching : Ten things cause a man piles : Eating the leaves of reeds, the leaves of the vine, the sprouts of the vine, the palate of an animal, the backbone of a fish, salted fish which has not been sufficiently cooked, to drink the lees of wine, to wipe oneself [after evacuation] with lime, potters' clay, or pebbles with which another has wiped himself ; and some add : Also unduly to strain oneself in the privy ! There is no contradiction ; the latter refers to one who stays and strains, the other to one who stays long but does not strain. It is like the incident where a certain matron said to R. Judah b. R. El'ai, "Thy face is like that of pig-rearers and usurers." He replied, "On my faith ! Both [occupations] are forbidden me ; but there are twenty-four privies from my lodging-place to the House of Study, and whenever I go there I test myself in all of them." Rab Judah also said : Three things shorten a man's days and years : To be given a Scroll of the Torah from which to read [a portion in the Synagogue] and decline to read ; to be handed the cup of benediction to say Grace and decline ; and to give oneself an air of superiority. "To be given a Scroll of the Torah from which to read and decline to read" — for it is written, "For that is thy life and the length of thy days" (Deut. xxx. 20). "To be handed the cup of benediction to say Grace and decline" — for it is written, "I will bless them that bless thee" (Gen. xii. 3). "To give oneself an air of superiority" — for R. Hamma b. R. Hannina said : Why did Joseph die before his brothers? Because he gave himself superior airs. Rab Judah also said in the name of Rab : For three things it is necessary to offer supplication : A good king, a good year, and a good dream. "A good king" — for it is written, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the water-courses" (Prov. xxi. 1). "A good year" — for it is written, "The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year" (Deut. xi. 12). "A good dream" — for it is written, "Wherefore cause Thou me to dream and make me to live" (Is. xxxviii. 16). R. Johanan said : There are three things which the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself proclaims, viz. : famine, plenty and a good leader. "Famine" — for it is written, "The Lord hath called for a famine" (II Kings viii. 1). "Plenty" — for it is written, "I will call for the corn and will increase it" (Ezek. xxxvi. 29). "A good leader" — for it is written, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, See I have called by name Besalel, the son of Uri" etc. (Exod. xxxi. 1 f.). R. Isaac said : "We must not appoint a leader over the Community without first consulting them ; as it is said, "See, the Lord hath called by name Besalel, the son of Uri" (ibid. xxxv. 30). The Holy One, blessed be He, asked Moses, "Is Besalel acceptable to thee?" He replied, "Lord of the universe, if he is acceptable to Thee, how much more so to me!" He said to him, "Nevertheless, go and tell the people." He went and asked Israel, "Is Besalel acceptable to you?" They answered, "If he is acceptable to the Holy One, blessed be He, and to thee, how much more so to us ! " R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan : He was called Basalel because of his wisdom : for at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, "Go, tell Besalel, 'Make for Me a tabernacle, an ark and vessels'," Moses went and inverted the order, saying to him, "Make an ark and vessels and a tabernacle." He replied, "Moses, our teacher, it is the way of the world for a man to build a house and afterwards furnish it ; but thou sayest, 'Make for Me an ark, vessels and a tabernacle'! Where shall I place the vessels which I make? Perhaps thus spake the Holy One, blessed be He, unto thee, 'Make a tabernacle, an ark and vessels'." Moses replied, "Perhaps thou wert in the shadow of God and thou knowest this." Rab Judah said in the name of Rab : Besalel knew how to combine the letters with which the heavens and earth had been created ; for it is written here, "And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom and in understanding and in knowledge" (Exod. xxxv. 31), and it is written elsewhere, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth ; by understanding He established the heavens" (Prov. iii. 19) and "By His knowledge the depths were broken up" (ibid. V. 20). R. Johanan said : The Holy One, blessed be He, only gives wisdom to him who has wisdom ; as it is said, "He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding" (Dan. ii. 21 ). Rab Tahlifa the Palestinian heard this and repeated it in the presence of R. Abbahu. He said to him : You learn it from there ; but I learn it from the following, for it is written, "In the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom" (Exod. xxxi. 6). Rab Hisda said : [There is no reality in] any dream without a fast. Rab Hisda also said : An uninterpreted dream is like an unread letter. Rab Hisda also said : Neither a good nor a bad dream is fulfilled in every detail. Rab Hisda also said : A bad dream is preferable to a good dream. Rab Hisda also said : When a dream is bad, the pain it causes is sufficient [to prevent its fulfilment], and when the dream is good, the joy it brings is sufficient. Rab Joseph said : As for a good dream, even in my own case, its cheerfulness frustrates it [so that it is not realised]. Rab Hisda also said : A bad dream is worse than scourging ; as it is said, "God hath so made it that men should fear before Him" (Eccles. iii. 14), and Rabbah b. Bar Hannah said in the name of R. Johanan : This refers to a bad dream. "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; and he that hath My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What hath the straw to do with the wheat ? saith the Lord" (Jer. xxiii. 28). What connection has "straw and wheat" with a dream ? But said R. Johanan in the name of R. Simeon b. Johai : Just as one cannot have wheat without straw, similarly it is impossible for a dream to be without something that is vain. R. Berekiah said : A dream, though it be fulfilled in part, is never completely realised. Whence is this learnt? From Joseph; for it is written, "And behold the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me" (Gen. xxxvii. 9);
