(15) How is the obligation of this meal? That one eat meat and prepare as pleasing a meal as his hand can [afford]. And he should drink wine until he becomes intoxicated and falls asleep from his intoxication.

(20) When one eats and drinks on a festival, he should not be drawn after wine or joking or light-headedness, and say that the more one can increase this, the more enhances the commandment of joy. For drunkenness, much joking and ligh-headedness are not joy, but rather wildness and foolishness. And we were not commanded about wildness and foolishness, but rather about joy that has service to the Maker of everything. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 28:47), "because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and with a good heart, from abundance of all." Thus you have learned that the service is to be with joy. But it is impossible to serve God, neither from joking, nor from lightheadedness nor from drunkenness.

(15) The joy which a person derives from doing good deeds and from loving God, who has commanded us to practise them, is a supreme form of divine worship. Anyone who refrains from experiencing this joy deserves punishment, as it is written: "Because you have not served the Lord your God with joy and with a glad heart" (Deuteronomy 28:47). Anyone who is arrogant and insists on self-glory on such occasions is both a sinner and a fool. King Solomon had this in mind when he said: "Do not glorify yourself in the presence of the King" (Proverbs 25:6). On the other hand, anyone who humbles himself on such occasions is indeed great and honored, for he serves the Lord out of love. David, King of Israel, expressed this thought when he said: "I will make myself even more contemptible than this, humbling myself in my own eyes" (II Samuel 6:22). True greatness and honor are attained only by rejoicing before the Lord, as it is written: "King David was leaping and dancing before the Lord" (II Samuel 6:16).

Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, why is it called drawing festivity? For from there one was drawing the holy spirit, following you shall draw water in rejoycing from the fountains of salvation. An illustration. Rebbi Levi and Jehudah bar Naḥman were taking two tetradrachmas to assemble the congregation before Rebbi Joḥanan. Rebbi Levi went and preached, Jonah ben Amittai was from the tribe of Asher, for it is written, Asher did not disinherit the inhabitants of Acco and the inhabitants of Sidon. And it is written, arise and go to Sarepta which belongs to Sidon. Rebbi Joḥanan came and preached, Jonah ben Amittai was from the tribe of Zevulun, as it is witten, the third lot fell to the sons of Sevulun according to their families, and it is written, from there it turned eastward to Gat Ḥepher and Et Qaṣin. And it is written, following the word of the Eternal, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant, Jonah ben Amittai the prophet from Gat Ḥepher. On the next Sabbath Rebbi Levi said to Jehudah bar Naḥman: you take the two tetradrachmas and go assemble the congregation before Rebbi Joḥanan. He went and said before them, Rebbi Joḥanan did teach us well, his mother from Asher and his father from Zevulun. And his hip from Sidon, the hip from which he came was from Sidon. And it is written, he descended to Yafo, when it should have been “he descended to Acco”! Rebbi Jonah said, Jonah ben Amittai belonged to the pilgrims, came to the water-drawing festivity and the holy spirit rested on him, to teach you that the holy spirit only rests on a happy heart. What is the reason? It was when the musical instrument played, God’s spirit was on him. Rebbi Benjamin bar Levi said, it is not written here “it was when he played on the musical instrument”, but it was when the musical instrument played, God’s spirit was on him.

(4) All the prophets do not prophesy every time they may desire, but they must prepare their minds, rest in a state of exultation and hearty contentment, and in undisturbed solitude; for, prophecy does not rest upon any prophet either when he is in a state of melancholy or in a state of indolence, but when he is in a state of delightfulness. Therefore, the disciples of the prophets had before them the harp, the timbrel, the flute and the violin when they were seeking the spirit of prophecy, whereof it is said: "And they strove to prophecy" (I Sam. 10.5), meaning, they followed the path of prophecy until they did prophesy, as one says: "Yonder is one aspiring to become great."

Prophets are of various degrees. Even as there is in wisdom, one wise man greater than his fellow, so it is in prophecy, one prophet is greater than another prophet. But all of them do not see the vision of prophecy save in a dream, in a vision by night, or during the day when a deep slumber falls upon them, as it is said: "I become known to him in vision; I speak to him in a dream" (Num. 12.6). And they all, when they prophesy, tremble in all their limbs, the strength of their bodies gives way, their thinking power becomes unbalanced, the sense of understanding alone remains open to grasp what it will see, as it is said of Abraham: "And behold, a great trembling and darkness befell upon him" (Gen. 15.12); and as it is said of Daniel: "For my comeliness was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength" (Dan. 10.8).

"Come to my Garden", Rabbi Menachem the son in law of rabbi Eliezer Bar Avunah said in the name rabbi Shimon the son of Yosenah, " It doesnt say 'to a garden,' rather to my garden , my original Garden, the place that I mainly dwelled originally.

(11) When we have acquired a true knowledge of God, and rejoice in that knowledge in such a manner, that whilst speaking with others, or attending to our bodily wants, our mind is all that time with God; when we are with our heart constantly near God, even whilst our body is in the society of men; when we are in that state which the Song on the relation between God and man poetically describes in the following words: "I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh" (Song 5:2):--then we have attained not only the height of ordinary prophets, but of Moses, our Teacher, of whom Scripture relates: "And Moses alone shall come near before the Lord" (ibid. 34:28); "But as for thee, stand thou here by me" (Deut. 5:28). The meaning of these verses has been explained by us. The Patriarchs likewise attained this degree of perfection; they approached God in such a manner that with them the name of God became known in the world. Thus we read in Scripture: "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. . . . This is My name for ever" (Exod. 3:15). Their mind was so identified with the knowledge of God, that He made a lasting covenant with each of them: "Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob," etc. (Lev. 26:42). For it is known from statements made in Scripture that these four, viz., the Patriarchs and Moses, had their minds exclusively filled with the name of God, that is, with His knowledge and love; and that in the same measure was Divine Providence attached to them and their descendants. When we therefore find them also, engaged in ruling others, in increasing their property, and endeavouring to obtain possession of wealth and honour, we see in this fact a proof that when they were occupied in these things, only their bodily limbs were at work, whilst their heart and mind never moved away from the name of God. I think these four reached that high degree of perfection in their relation to God, and enjoyed the continual presence of Divine Providence, even in their endeavours to increase their property, feeding the flock, toiling in the field, or managing the house, only because in all these things their end and aim was to approach God as much as possible. It was the chief aim of their whole life to create a people that should know and worship God. Comp. "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him" (Gen. 18:19). The object of all their labours was to publish the Unity of God in the world, and to induce people to love Him; and it was on this account that they succeeded in reaching that high degree; for even those [worldly] affairs were for them a perfect worship of God. But a person Eke myself must not imagine that he is able to lead men up to this degree of perfection It is only the next degree to it that can be attained by means of the above-mentioned training. And let us pray to God and beseech Him that He clear and remove from our way everything that forms an obstruction and a partition between us and Him, although most of these obstacles are our own creation, as has several times been shown in this treatise. Comp. "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God" (Isa. 59:2).

(5) My son, so long as you are engaged in studying the Mathematical Sciences and Logic, you belong to those who go round about the palace in search of the gate. Thus our Sages figuratively use the phrase: "Ben-zoma is still outside." When you understand Physics, you have entered the hall; and when, after completing the study of Natural Philosophy, you master Metaphysics, you have entered the innermost court, and are with the king in the same palace. You have attained the degree of the wise men, who include men of different grades of perfection. There are some who direct all their mind toward the attainment of perfection in Metaphysics, devote themselves entirely to God, exclude from their thought every other thing, and employ all their intellectual faculties in the study of the Universe, in order to derive therefrom a proof for the existence of God, and to learn in every possible way how God rules all things; they form the class of those who have entered the palace, namely, the class of prophets.

(11) “All the king’s courtiers and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any person, man or woman, enters the king’s presence in the inner court without having been summoned, there is but one law for him—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the golden scepter to him may he live. Now I have not been summoned to visit the king for the last thirty days.”

(18) All Prophetic Books and the Sacred Writings will cease [to be recited in public] during the messianic era except the Book of Esther. It will continue to exist just as the Five Books of the Torah and the laws of the Oral Torah that will never cease. Although ancient troubles will be remembered no longer, as it is written: "The troubles of the past are forgotten and hidden from my eyes" (Isaiah 65:16), the days of Purim will not be abolished, as it is written: "These days of Purim shall never be repealed among the Jews, and the memory of them shall never cease from their descendants" (Esther 9:28).