27 (3) and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this Tora, when thou art passed over, that thou mayst go in to the land which the Lord thy God gives thee, a land flowing with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers has promised thee.

(4) And it shall be when you have gone over the Yarden, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you this day in mount ῾Eval, and thou shalt cover them with plaster.

(5) And there shalt thou build an altar to the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

(6) Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings upon it to the Lord thy God:

(7) and thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God.

60 (22) The least one shall become a thousand, and the smallest one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in its time.

61 (1) The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to announce good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

(2) to proclaim an acceptable year of the Lord, and a day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

(3) to appoint to those who mourn in Żiyyon, to give to them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heav­iness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

(4) And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall renew the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

109 (14) May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

(15) Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

(16) Because he remembered not to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy man, and the brokenhearted to their death.

(17) For he loved cursing, and it came to him: and he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.

(18) And he clothed himself with cursing like his garment, and it came into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.

1. One cannot be charged for a valuation less than a sela, nor can one be charged more than fifty sela. How so? If one gave one sela and became wealthy, he is not required to give anything more, as he has fulfilled his obligation. If he gave less than a sela and became wealthy, he is required to give fifty sela, as he has not fulfilled his obligation. If there were five sela in the possession of the destitute person, and the valuation he undertook is more than five sela, how much should he pay? Rabbi Meir says: He gives only one sela and thereby fulfills his obligation. And the Rabbis say: He gives all five. One cannot be charged for a valuation less than a sela; nor can one be charged more than fifty sela. If a woman experienced a discharge of blood and is unsure whether it was during her days of menstruation or during the eleven days that would render her a zava, the alleviation of her state of uncertainty does not occur in fewer than seven clean days, nor in more than seventeen clean days, depending on the number of days that she experiences the discharge. There are symptoms of leprosy that a priest will immediately confirm to be ritually pure or ritually impure, and there are others for which the priest quarantines the leper in order to determine his status. With regard to leprous marks, there is no quarantine that is less than one week and none greater than three weeks.

2. No fewer than four full thirty-day months may be established during the course of a year, and it did not seem appropriate to establish more than eight. The two loaves that are brought to the Temple on Shavuot are eaten by the priests not before the second and not after the third day from when they were baked. The shewbread is eaten not before the ninth day from when it was baked, which is the situation in a regular week when the bread is baked on Friday and eaten on the following Shabbat; and not after the eleventh day, when the two Festival days of Rosh HaShana occur on Thursday and Friday, as the shewbread is baked on Wednesday and not eaten until the following Shabbat. A minor boy is not circumcised before the eighth day after his birth and not after the twelfth day. Normally a newborn is circumcised on his eighth day. If he was born during twilight, which an uncertain period of day or night, he is circumcised on what would be the eighth day of his birth if he is was born at night, which is the ninth day if he was born during the day. If he was born during twilight on Shabbat eve, the circumcision cannot be performed on Friday, as he might have been born on Shabbat and therefore Friday is only the seventh day. And the circumcision cannot be on Shabbat, as perhaps he was born on Friday and only circumcision performed on the eighth day overrides Shabbat. Therefore, it is postponed until after Shabbat. If two days of Rosh HaShana occur on Sunday and Monday, the circumcision is postponed until Tuesday, the twelfth day after birth.

3. No fewer than twenty-one trumpet blasts are sounded daily in the Temple, as each day three blasts were sounded for the opening of the gates in the morning, nine for the daily morning offering, and nine for the daily afternoon offering, totaling twenty-one. And no more than forty-eight are ever sounded on a single day. This would occur on the Friday of Sukkot, when they would sound an additional twelve blasts during the ritual of drawing the water for the water libation; nine for the additional offerings; three to signal the population to cease their work before Shabbat; and three more to mark the beginning of Shabbat. When accompanying their song with instruments, the Levites do not use fewer than two lyres and do not use more than six. When flutes are played, they do not use fewer than two flutes and do not use more than twelve. And there are twelve days during the year when the flute plays before the altar: At the time of the slaughter of the first Paschal offering, on the fourteenth of Nisan; and at the time of the slaughter of the second Paschal offering, on the fourteenth of Iyyar; and on the first festival day of Passover; and on the festival of Shavuot; and on all eight days of the festival of Sukkot. And one would not play with a copper flute; rather, one would play with a flute of reed, because its sound is more pleasant. And one would conclude the music only with a single flute, because it concludes the music nicely.

4. The Temple musicians were slaves of priests; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yosei says: The musicians were not slaves, but Israelites from the family of the house of Pegarim and the family of the house of Tzippara from the city of Emaum, and their lineage was sufficiently pure that they would marry their daughters to members of the priesthood. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Antigonus says: They were Levites.

5. One maintains no fewer than six lambs that have been inspected for blemishes in the Chamber of the Lambs, which are sufficient for the offerings of Shabbat and for the two Festival days of Rosh HaShana that may occur adjacent to it. And one may add inspected lambs up to an infinite number. One plays no fewer than two trumpets and no fewer than nine harps in the Temple, and one may add up to an infinite number. And the cymbal was played alone, and none may be added to it.

6. In the Temple, there are no fewer than twelve Levites standing on the platform adjacent to the altar and singing, and one may add Levites on the platform up to an infinite number. A minor Levite may enter the Temple courtyard for service only at a time when the Levites are engaging in song, so that he may accompany them. And minors would not engage in playing a lyre and in playing a harp; rather, they would engage in singing with the mouth, in order to provide flavor to the music with their pure, high voices. Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: Minors are not tallied in the minimum total of twelve Levites, and they do not ascend to the platform; rather, they would stand on the ground and their heads would reach to between the legs of the Levites, and they were called cadets [tzoarei] of the Levites.

The Sages taught in a baraita: There was a flute in the Temple; it was smooth and it was thin, i.e., its sides were thin; it was made from reed, and it was in existence from the days of Moses. The king issued a command and they plated the flute with gold, but then its sound was not as pleasant as it was previously. They therefore removed its plating and its sound was then as pleasant as it was before. Similarly, there was a cymbal in the Temple; it was made from copper and its sound was pleasant. It became damaged and the Sages sent for and brought artisans from Alexandria in Egypt and they repaired it, but its sound was not as pleasant as before. They removed the materials with which the cymbal had been repaired and its sound was then as pleasant as it had been before the repair.

There was a mortar in the Temple; it was made of copper and it was from the days of Moses, and it was used to compound the spices for the incense. It became damaged and they brought artisans from Alexandria in Egypt and they repaired it, but it did not compound the spices as well as it had before. They removed the materials with which the mortar had been repaired and it then compounded the spices as it had before it was repaired.

The baraita concludes: These two copper vessels, the cymbal and the mortar, were remnants from the First Temple and they were damaged and they could not be repaired in an effective manner. And it was with regard to the copper vessels constructed for the First Temple that David said: “All these vessels, which Hiram made for King Solomon, in the House of the Lord, were of burnished brass” (I Kings 7:45), and, in a parallel verse, “bright brass” (II Chronicles 4:16). And with regard to these two items it states in the verse describing the vessels that Ezra brought to Jerusalem: “And vessels of fine golden brass, two, precious as gold” (Ezra 8:27).

Rav and Shmuel disagree as to the meaning of the phrase: Two, precious as gold. One said: Each and every one of these brass vessels was as valuable as two vessels made from gold. And the other one said: The two of them together were as valuable as one vessel made from gold. Similarly, Rav Yosef teaches the following explanation found in a baraita: The two of them together were as valuable as one vessel made from gold.

The Gemara cites another explanation of the verse in Ezra. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Natan says: The cymbals and mortars were pairs, i.e., there were two cymbals and two mortars, as it is stated in the aforementioned verse “two”; do not read it as two [shenayim], but as pairs [sheniyyim].

§ Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel teaches in a baraita: The Siloam pool used to spurt forth water through an opening with a diameter like that of an issar coin.The king issued a command and they widened the opening so that its waters would increase, but the waters actually decreased. And they subsequently decreased the size of the opening again and it once again spurted forth water as it had before. All this serves to uphold that which is stated in the verse: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might” (Jeremiah 9:22), i.e., man should not think that he can accomplish anything he wishes.

And likewise Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel would say, with regard to the musical instruments in the Temple: There was no hirdolim in the Temple. The Gemara asks: What is a hirdolim? Abaye said: It is a hydraulic organ. It was not used in the Temple because its sound is pleasant but it disrupts the melody.

All are under the obligation of reciting the introductory benedictory formula, just as they are under an obligation to say Grace after meals. This applies also to priests partaking of holiest food in the Courtyard of the Temple. On the same principle also, when priests and ordinary Israelites are eating in company, the former partaking of the heave-offerings, the latter of unconsecrated food, they are all under the obligation of reciting the Introductory Benedictory formula before Grace.

Women, slaves and minors are not eligible for the quorum required for the introductory formula. But they recite it when they are by themselves. However, to prevent licentiousness, women, slaves and minors should not be formed into a joint company for Grace. But women may form a quorum for themselves, and so may slaves. In either case they do not use the name of God in the introductory formula. An androgyne recites the introductory formula if the entire company is of his class, but not if the other members are normal men and women. One whose sex cannot be determined never says the introductory formula. A minor if he is only seven or eight years of age, provided he understands Who it is that is addressed in benediction, may be counted in the quorum, whether it consists of three or ten persons. A non-Israelite is not to be counted.

The second section: The one who mocks people because he disdains them in his heart for their lack of reaching virtues or temporal successes regarding honor or power; or he disdains them for their poverty or indigence. And it is pride that brought him to this trait; or much tranquility and pampering, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 123:4), “Long enough have we endured the scorn of the complacent, the contempt of the haughty.” And sometimes the scoffer will mock holy ones and prophets, like the matter that is stated (Jeremiah 20:7), “everyone jeers at me.” And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 14:21), “He who disdains his fellow is a sinner.” It was also stated (Proverbs 11:12), “He who disdains his fellowman is devoid of sense.” And it was stated (Proverbs 17:5), “He who mocks the poor affronts his Maker; and he who rejoices over another’s misfortune will not go unpunished.” One who mocks the poor shows about himself that he imagines that successes are in the hands of people to surely achieve them with their wisdom - like the matter that is stated (Deuteronomy 8:17), “My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.” And it is stated (Isaiah 10:13), “For he thought, ‘By the might of my hand have I wrought it, by my skill.’” And because of this, he mocks the poor; for he says in his heart that he did not reach wealth from lack of intellect and from the lowliness of his [work]. And behold he affronts the One who makes the poor and the rich, because it is all from God, may He be blessed - like the matter that is stated (Proverbs 22:2) “Rich man and poor man meet; the Lord made them both.” And about “he who rejoices over another’s misfortune,” he said, ‘He will not go unpunished” - for even though he did not injure with an action or with speech, “he will not go unpunished.” However the evil of the one that rejoices is not as great as the evil of the one who mocks. And because scoffing is caused by pride - which is the opposite of humility - King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 3:34), “If at scoffers, He scoffs; but to the lowly He shows grace.” Its explanation: “If at scoffers” - truly, God mocks scoffers who mock people, like the matter that is stated (Psalms 2:4), “He who is enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord mocks at them.” And the expression, “if,” is to confirm the matter. And so [is such a usage found] (in Numbers 24:22) “Yet if Kain be consumed”; (Proverbs 23:18) “For if you will have a future.”