(1) THE RABBI: According to our view a servant of God is not one who detaches himself from the world, lest he be a burden to it, and it to him; or hates life, which is one of God's bounties granted to him, as it is written: 'The number of thy days I will fulfill'; 'Thou shalt live long' (Exodus 23:26). On the contrary, he loves the world and a long life, because it affords him opportunities of deserving the world to come. The more good he does the greater is his claim to the next world. He even reaches the degree of Enoch, concerning whom it is said: 'And Enoch walked with God' (Genesis 5:24); or the degree of Elijah, freed from worldly matters, and to be admitted to the realm of angels. In this case he feels no loneliness in solitude and seclusion, since they form his associates. He is rather ill at ease in a crowd, because he misses the divine presence which enables him to dispense with eating and drinking. Such persons might perhaps be happier in complete solitude; they might even welcome death, because it leads to the step beyond which there is none higher. Philosophers and scholars also love solitude to refine their thoughts, and to reap the fruits of truth from their researches, in order that all remaining doubts be dispelled by truth. They only desire the society of disciples who stimulate their research and retentiveness, just as he who is bent upon making money would only surround himself with persons with whom he could do lucrative business. Such a degree is that of Socrates and those who are like him. There is no one nowadays who feels tempted to strive for such a degree, but when the Divine Presence was still in the Holy Land among the people capable of prophecy, some few persons lived an ascetic life in deserts and associated with people of the same frame of mind. They did not seclude themselves completely, but they endeavoured to find support in the knowledge of the Law and in holy and pure actions which brought them near to that high rank. These were the disciples of prophets. He, however, who in our time, place, and people, 'whilst no open vision exists' (I Samuel 3:1), the desire for study being small, and persons with a natural talent for it absent, would like to retire into ascetic solitude, only courts distress and sickness for soul and body. The misery of sickness is visibly upon him, but one might regard it as the consequence of humility and contrition. He considers himself in prison as it were, and despairs of life from disgust of his prison and pain, but not because he enjoys his seclusion. How could it be otherwise? He has no intercourse with the divine light, and cannot associate himself with it as the prophets. He lacks the necessary learning to be absorbed in it and to enjoy it, as the philosophers did, all the rest of his life. Suppose he is God-fearing, righteous, desires to meet his God in solitude, standing, humbly and contritely, reciting as many prayers and supplications as he possibly can remember, all this affords him satisfaction for a few days as long as it is new. Words frequently repeated by the tongue lose their influence on the soul, and he cannot give to the latter humbleness or submission. Thus he remains night and day, whilst his soul urges him to employ its innate powers in seeing, hearing, speaking, occupation, eating, cohabitation, gain, managing his house, helping the poor, upholding the law with money in case of need. Must he not regret those things to which he has tied his soul, a regret which tends to remove him from the Divine Influence, which he desired to approach?

(2) 2. Al Khazari: Give me a description of the doings of one of your pious men at the present time.

(3) 3. The Rabbi: A pious man is, so to speak, the guardian of his country, who gives to its inhabitants provisions and all they need. He is so just that he wrongs no one, nor does he grant anyone more than his due. Then, when he requires them, he finds them obedient to his call. He orders, they execute; he forbids, they abstain.

(4) 4. Al Khazari: I asked thee concerning a pious man, not a prince.

(5) 5. The Rabbi: The pious man is nothing but a prince who is obeyed by his senses, and by his mental as well as his physical faculties, which he governs corporeally, as it is written: 'He that ruleth his spirit [is better] than he that taketh a city' (Proverbs 16:32). He is fit to rule, because if he were the prince of a country he would be as just as he is to his body and soul. He subdues his passions, keeping them in bonds, but giving them their share in order to satisfy them as regards food, drink, cleanliness, etc. He further subdues the desire for power, but allows them as much expansion as avails them for the discussion of scientific or mundane views, as well as to warn the evil-minded. He allows the senses their share according as he requires them for the use of hands, feet, and tongue, as necessity or desire arise. The same is the case with hearing, seeing, and the kindred sensations which succeed them; imagination, conception, thought, memory, and will power, which commands all these; but is, in its turn, subservient to the will of intellect. He does not allow any of these limbs or faculties to go beyond their special task, or encroach upon another. If he, then, has satisfied each of them (giving to the vital organs the necessary amount of rest and sleep, and to the physical ones waking, movements, and worldly occupation), he calls upon his community as a respected prince calls his disciplined army, to assist him in reaching the higher or divine degree which is to be found above the degree of the intellect. He arranges his community in the same manner as Moses arranged his people round Mount Sinai. He orders his will power to receive every command issued by him obediently, and to carry it out forthwith. He makes faculties and limbs do his bidding without contradiction, forbids them evil inclinations of mind and fancy, forbids them to listen to, or believe in them, until he has taken counsel with the intellect. If he permits they can obey him, but not otherwise. In this way his will power receives its orders from him, carrying them out accordingly. He directs the organs of thought and imagination, relieving them of all worldly ideas mentioned above, charges his imagination to produce, with the assistance of memory, the most splendid pictures possible, in order to resemble the divine things sought after. Such pictures are the scenes of Sinai, Abraham and Isaac on Moriah, the Tabernacle of Moses, the Temple service, the presence of God in the Temple, and the like. He, then, orders his memory to retain all these, and not to forget them; he warns his fancy and its sinful prompters not to confuse the truth or to trouble it by doubts; he warns his irascibility and greed not to influence or lead astray, nor to take hold of his will, nor subdue it to wrath and lust. As soon as harmony is restored, his will power stimulates all his organs to obey it with alertness, pleasure, and joy. They stand without fatigue when occasion demands, they bow down when he bids them to do so, and sit at the proper moment. The eyes look as a servant looks at his master, the hands drop their play and do not meet, the feet stand straight, and all limbs are as frightened and anxious to obey their master, paying no heed to pain or injury. The tongue agrees with the thought, and does not overstep its bounds, does not speak in prayer in a mere mechanical way as the starling and the parrot, but every word is uttered thoughtfully and attentively. This moment forms the heart and fruit of his time, whilst the other hours represent the way which leads to it. He looks forward to its approach, because while it lasts he resembles the spiritual beings, and is removed from merely animal existence. Those three times of daily prayer are the fruit of his day and night, and the Sabbath is the fruit of the week, because it has been appointed to establish the connexion with the Divine Spirit and to serve God in joy, not in sadness, as has been explained before. All this stands in the same relation to the soul as food to the human body. Prayer is for his soul what nourishment is for his body. The blessing of one prayer lasts till the time of the next, just as the strength derived from the morning meal lasts till supper. The further his soul is removed from the time of prayer, the more it is darkened by coming in contact with worldly matters. The more so, as necessity brings it into the company of youths, women, or wicked people; when one hears unbecoming and soul-darkening words and songs which exercise an attraction for his soul which he is unable to master. During prayer he purges his soul from all that passed over it, and prepares it for the future. According to this arrangement there elapses not a single week in which both his soul and body do not receive preparation. Darkening elements having increased during the week, they cannot be cleansed except by consecrating one day to service and to physical rest. The body repairs on the Sabbath the waste suffered during the six days, and prepares itself for the work to come, whilst the soul remembers its own loss through the body's companionship. He cures himself, so to speak, from a past illness, and provides himself with a remedy to ward off any future sickness. This is almost the same as Job did with his children every week, as it is written: 'It may be that my sons have sinned' (Job 1:5). He, then, provides himself with a monthly cure, which is 'the season of atonement for all that happened during this period,' viz. the duration of the month, and the daily events, as it is written: 'Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth' (Proverbs 27:1) He further attends the Three Festivals and the great Fast Day, on which some of his sins are atoned for, and on which he endeavours to make up for what he may have missed on the days of those weekly and monthly circles. His soul frees itself from the whisperings of imagination, wrath, and lust, and neither in thought or deed gives them any attention. Although his soul is unable to atone for sinful thoughts--the result of songs, tales, etc., heard in youth, and which cling to memory--it cleanses itself from real sins, confesses repentance for the former, and undertakes to allow them no more to escape his tongue, much less to put them into practice, as it is written: 'I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress' (Psalsm 17:3). The fast of this day is such as brings one near to the angels, because it is spent in humility and contrition, standing, kneeling, praising and singing. All his physical faculties are denied their natural requirements, being entirely abandoned to religious service, as if the animal element had disappeared. The fast of a pious man is such that eye, ear, and tongue share in it, that he regards nothing except that which brings him near to God. This also refers to his innermost faculties, such as mind and imagination. To this he adds pious works.

(6) 6. Al Khazari: Dost thou refer to deeds generally known?

(7) 7. The Rabbi: The social and rational laws are those generally known. The divine ones, however, which were added in order that they should exist in the people of the 'Living God' who guides them, were not known until they were explained in detail by Him. Even those social and rational laws are not quite known, and though one might know the gist of them, their scope remains unknown. We know that the giving of comfort and the feeling of gratitude are as incumbent on us as is chastening of the soul by means of fasting and meekness; we also know that deceit, immoderate intercourse with women, and cohabitation with relatives are abominable; that honouring parents is a duty, etc. The limitation of all these things to the amount of general usefulness is God's. Human reason is out of place in matters of divine action, on account of its incapacity to grasp them. Reason must rather obey, just as a sick person must obey the physician in applying his medicines and advice. Consider how little circumcision has to do with philosophy, and how small is its social influence. Yet Abraham, in spite of the hardship the very nature of this command must have seemed at his age, subjected his person and children to it, and it became the sign of the covenant, of the attachment of the Divine Influence to him, as it is written: 'And I will establish My covenant between me and thee and thy seed after them in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee . . .' (Genesis 17:7).

(8) 8. Al Khazari: You accepted this command in a proper manner indeed, and you perform it publicly with the greatest zeal and readiness, praising it and expressing its root and origin in the formula of blessing. Other nations may desire to imitate you, but they only have the pain without the joy which can only be felt by him who remembers the cause for which he bears the pain.

(9) 9. The Rabbi: Even in other instances of imitation no people can equal us at all. Look at the others who appointed a day of rest in the place of Sabbath. Could they contrive anything which resembles it more than statues resemble living human bodies?

(10) 10. Al Khazari: I have often reflected about you and come to the conclusion that God has some secret design in preserving you, and that He appointed the Sabbath and holy days among the strongest means of preserving your strength and lustre. The nations broke you up and made you their servants on account of your intelligence and purity. They would even have made you their warriors were it not for those festive seasons observed by you with so much conscientiousness, because they originate with God, and are based on such causes as 'Remembrance of the Creation,' 'Remembrance of the exodus from Egypt,' and 'Remembrance of the giving of the Law.' These are all divine commands, to observe which you are charged. Had these not been, not one of you would put on a clean garment; you would hold no congregation to remember the law, on account of your everlasting affliction and degradation. Had these not been, you would not enjoy a single day in your lives. Now, however, you are allowed to spend the sixth part of life in rest of body and soul. Even kings are unable to do likewise, as their souls have no respite on their days of rest. If the smallest business calls them on that day to work and stir, they must move and stir, complete rest being denied to them. Had these laws not been, your toil would benefit others, because it would become their prey. Whatever you spend on these days is your profit for this life and the next, because it is spent for the glory of God.

(11) 11. The Rabbi: The observant among us fulfils those divine laws, viz. circumcision, Sabbath, holy days, and the accessories included in the divine law. He refrains from forbidden marriages, using mixtures in plants, clothes and animals, keeps the years of release and jubilee, avoids idolatry and its accessories, viz. discovering secrets only accessible by means of the Urim and the Thummim, or dreams. He does not listen to the soothsayer, or astrologer, or magician, augur or necromancer. He keeps the regulations concerning issue, of eating and touching unclean animals and lepers; abstains from partaking of blood and forbidden fat, because they form part of the 'five offerings of the Lord.' He observes the sacrifices ordained for intentional and unintentional transgressions; the duty of redeeming the first-born of man and beast. He brings the offerings for every child born to him, and whenever he is purged from issue and leprosy; pays the various kinds of tithes, visits the Holy Land three times in the year; observes the rules of the Paschal lamb with all accessories, as it is 'a sacrifice of the Lord' incumbent upon every freeborn Israelite. He observes the laws of the tabernacle, the palm branch and Shofar, and takes care of the holy and pure implements required for the offerings. He observes the sacrifices for his own purification, as also the regulation of the corner, the 'Orlah,' and [the fruits] holy to praise the Lord therewith. In short, he observes as many of the divine commands as to justify him in saying: 'I have not transgressed one of Thy commands, nor forgotten' (Deuteronomy 26:13). There are further to be added vows and free gifts, peace offerings and self-denials. These are the religious laws, most of which are performed in connexion with the priestly service. The social laws are such as the following: 'Thou shalt not murder,' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery, steal, give false testimony against thy neighbour,' 'Honouring thy parents,' 'You shall love the stranger,' 'You shall not speak untruth and not lie'; such as concern the avoidance of usury, the giving of correct weights and measures; the gleanings to be left, such as the forgotten grapes, the corners, etc. The ethical laws are: 'I am the Lord thy God,' 'Thou shalt have no other God,' and 'Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain,' with its corollary that God is all present, and penetrates all the secrets of man, as well as his actions and words, that he requites good and evil, and 'that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro' (2 Chron. xvi. 9), etc. The religious person never acts, speaks or thinks without believing that he is observed by eyes which see and take note, which reward and punish and call to account for everything objectionable in word and deed. In walking or sitting he is like one afraid and timid, who is at times ashamed of his doings; but on the other hand he is glad and rejoices, and his soul exults whenever he has done a good action, as if he had shown some attention to the Lord in enduring hardships in obedience to God. Altogether he believes in and bears in mind the following words: 'Consider three things, and thou wilt commit no sin; understand what is above thee, an all-seeing eye and a hearing ear, and all thine actions are written in a book' (Pirkei Avot 2:1). He further recalls the convincing proof adduced by David: 'He that planted the ear, shall He not hear; He that formed the eye, shall He not see?' (Psalsm 94:9). There is also the Psalm beginning: 'O Lord, Thou hast searched me and knowest me' (Psalms 134). [When reading it,] he remembers that all his limbs are placed with consummate wisdom, in proper order and proportion. He sees how they obey his will, though he know not which part of them should move. If, for example, he wishes to rise, he finds that his limbs have, like obedient helpers, raised his body, although he does not even know [the nature of] these limbs. It is the same when he wishes to sit, walk, or assumes any position. This is expressed in the words: 'Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising . . . Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways' (Psalms 134:2-3). The organs of speech are much finer and more delicate than these. The child, as thou seest, repeats everything he hears, without knowing with which organ, nerve, muscle he must speak. The same is the case with the organs of breathing in singing melodies. People reproduce them quite harmoniously without being aware how it was done; as if their Creator produced them ever anew and placed them in man's service. Such, indeed, is the case; at least it nearly approaches it. One must not consider the work of creation in the light of an artisan's craft. When the latter, e.g. has built a mill, he departs, whilst the mill does the work for which it was constructed. The Creator, however, creates limbs and endows them continually with their faculties. Let us imagine His solicitude and guidance removed only for one instant, and the whole world would suffer. If the religious person remembers this with every movement he first acknowledges the Creator's part in them, for having created and equipped them with the assistance necessary for their permanent perfection. This is as if the Divine Presence were with him continually, and the angels virtually accompanied him. If his piety is consistent, and he abides in places worthy of the Divine Presence, they are with Him in reality, and he sees them with his own eyes occupying a degree just below that of prophecy. Thus the most prominent of the Sages, during the time of the Second Temple, saw a certain apparition and heard a kind of voice [Bath Qōl]. This is the degree of the pious, next to which is that of prophets The pious man derives from his veneration of the Divine Influence, near to him, what the servant derives from his master who created him, loaded him with gifts, and watches him in order to reward or to punish him. Thou wilt not, then, find any exaggeration in the words he utters when retiring into a private chamber: 'With your permission, O honoured ones,' in reference to the Divine Presence! And when he returns he recites the blessing: 'He that has created man in wisdom.' How sublime is this formula of blessing; what deep meaning is in its wording for him who considers it in the right spirit? Beginning with 'wisdom' and concluding with the words: 'Healer of all flesh and doer of wonders,' it furnishes a proof for the miraculousness visible in the creation of living beings, endowed with the faculties of expelling and retaining. The words 'all flesh' encompass all living beings. In this way he connects his mind with the Divine Influence by various means, some of which are prescribed in the written Law, others in tradition. He wears the phylacteries on his head on the seat of the mind and memory, the straps falling down on his hand, where he can see them at leisure. The hand phylactery he wears above the mainspring of his faculties, the heart. He wears the Zīzith lest he be entrapped by worldly thoughts, as it is written: 'That ye may not go astray after your heart and after your eyes' (Numbers 15:39). Inside the phylacteries are written [verses describing His] unity, reward, punishment, and 'the remembrance of the exodus from Egypt,' because they furnish the irrefutable proof that the Divine Influence is attached to mankind, and that Providence watches them and keeps record of their deeds. The pious man, then, examines his sensations, and devotes part of them to God. Tradition teaches that the smallest measure of praise which it is man's duty to offer to God, consists in a hundred blessings daily. First among these are the ordinary ones, then he supplements them in the course of the day by the blessings which accompany the savouring of odours, eatables and things heard and seen. Whatever he does beyond those is a gain, and brings him nearer to God, as David says: 'My mouth shall show forth Thy righteousness, Thy salvation all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof' (Psalms 71:15). He means to say: Thy glory is not comprehended by numbers, but I will devote myself to it all my life and never be free from it. Love and fear no doubt enter the soul by these means, and are measured with the measure of the law, lest the joy felt on Sabbaths and holy days outstep its bounds and develop into extravagance, debauchery and idleness, and neglect of the hours of prayer. Fear, on the other hand, should not go so far as to despair of forgiveness, and make him spend all his life in dread, causing him to transgress the command given him to feel pleasure in all that sustains him, as it is written: 'Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing' (Deuteronomy 26:11). It would also diminish his gratitude for God's bounties; for gratitude is the effect of joy. He, however, will be as one alluded to in the words: 'Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God in joy . . . thou shalt serve thine enemies' (Deuteronomy 28:47, Deuteronomy 28:49; Leviticus 19:17). Zeal in reproving 'thy neighbour,' and in study should not pass into wrath and hatred, disturbing the purity of his soul during prayer. He is deeply convinced of the 'justice of God's judgment.' He finds in it protection and solace from sorrow and the troubles of life if he is convinced of the justice of the Creator of all living creatures; He who sustains and guides them with a wisdom which the human intellect is only capable of grasping in a general way, but not in detail. See how wonderfully conceived is the nature of the creatures; how many marvellous gifts they possess which show forth the intention of an all-wise Creator, and the will of an omniscient all-powerful Being. He has endowed the small and the great with all necessary internal and external senses and limbs. He gave them organs corresponding to their instincts. He gave the hare and stag the means of flight required by their timid nature; endowed the lion with ferocity and the instruments for robbing and tearing. He who considers the formation, use and relation of the limbs to the animal instinct, sees wisdom in them and so perfect an arrangement that no doubt or uncertainty can remain in his soul concerning the justice of the Creator. When an evil thought suggests that there is injustice in the circumstance that the hare falls a prey to the lion or wolf, and the fly to the spider, Reason steps in warning him as follows: How can I charge the all-Wise with injustice when I am convinced of His justice, and that injustice is quite out of the question? If the lion's pursuit of the hare and the spider's of the fly were mere accidents, I should assert the necessity of accident. I see, however, that this wise and just Manager of the world equipped the lion with the means for hunting, with ferocity, strength, teeth and claws; that He furnished the spider with cunning and taught it to weave a net which it constructs without having learnt to do so; how He equipped it with the instruments required, and appointed the fly as its food, just as many fishes serve other fishes for food. Can I say aught but that this is the fruit of a wisdom which I am unable to grasp, and that I must submit to Him who is called: 'The Rock whose doing is perfect' (Deuteronomy 32:4). Whoever reflects on this will do as did Nahum of Gimzō, of whom it is related that no matter what happened to him, he always said: 'This, too, is for the best.' He will, then, always live happily, and all tribulations will fall lightly upon him. He will even welcome them if he is conscious of having transgressed, and will be cleansed through them as one who has paid his debt, and is glad of having eased his mind. He looks joyfully forward to the reward and retribution which await him; nay, he enjoys affording mankind a lesson of patience and submission to God, not less than gaining a good reputation. Thus it is with [his own troubles, and also with] those of mankind at large. If his mind is disturbed by the length of the exile and the diaspora and degradation of his people, he finds comfort first in 'acknowledging the justice of the decree,' as said before; then in being cleansed from his sins; then in the reward and recompense awaiting him in the world to come, and the attachment to the Divine Influence in this world. If an evil thought make him despair of it, saying: 'Can these bones live?' (Ezekiel 37:3)--our traces being thoroughly destroyed and our history decayed, as it is written: they say: 'our bones are dried' (Ezekiel 37:11)--let him think of the manner of the delivery from Egypt and all that is put down in the paragraph: 'For how many favours do we owe gratitude to God?' He will, then, find no difficulty in picturing how we may recover our greatness, though only one of us may have remained. For it is written: 'Worm of Jacob '--what can remain of a man when he has become a worm in his grave?

(12) 12. Al Khazari: In this manner he lives a happy life even in exile; he gathers the fruit of his faith in this world and the next. He, however, who bears the exile unwillingly, loses his first and his last rewards.

(13) 13. The Rabbi: His pleasure is strengthened and enhanced by the duty of saying blessings over everything he enjoys or which happens to him in this world.

(14) 14. Al Khazari: How can that be, are not the blessings an additional burden?

(15) 15. The Rabbi: Is it not beseeming that a perfect man should find more pleasure in that which he partakes than a child or an animal; even as an animal enjoys it more than does a plant though the latter is continually taking nourishment?

(16) 16. Al Khazari: This is so because he is favoured with the consciousness of enjoyment. If a drunken person were given all he desires, whilst being completely intoxicated, he would eat and drink, hear songs, meet his friends, and embrace his beloved. But if told of it when sober, he would regret it and regard it as a loss rather than a gain, since he had all these enjoyments whilst he was incapable of appreciating them.

(17) 17. The Rabbi: Preparing for a pleasure, experiencing it and looking forward to it, double the feeling of enjoyment. This is the advantage of the blessings for him who is used to say them with attention and devotion. They produce in his soul a kind of pleasure and gratitude towards the Giver. He was prepared to give them up; now his pleasure is all the greater, and he says: 'He has kept us alive and preserved us.' He was prepared for death, now he feels gratitude for life, and regards it as gain. Should sickness and death overtake thee, they will be light, because thou hast communed with thyself and seen that thou gainest with thy Lord. According to thy nature thou art well fitted to abjure enjoyment, since thou art dust. Now He has presented thee with life and desire; thou art grateful to Him. If He takes them away, thou sayest: 'The Lord has given, the Lord has taken.' (Job 1:21). Thus thy whole life is one enjoyment. Whoever is unable to pursue such a course, consider not his pleasure a human pleasure, but a brutish one, which he does not perceive, any more than the drunkard alluded to above. The godly person fully grasps the meaning of each blessing, and knows its purpose in every connexion. The blessing, 'He who created the lights,' places before his eye the order of the upper world, the greatness of the heavenly bodies and their usefulness, that in the eyes of their Creator they are no greater than worms, though they appear to us immense on account of the profit we derive from them. The proof that He is their Creator may be found in the circumstance already mentioned, that His wisdom and power observable in the creation of the ant and bee is not less than in that of the sun and its sphere. The traces of this providence and wisdom are finer and more wonderful in the ant and bee, because, in spite of their minuteness, He put faculties and organs into them. This he bears in mind lest the light appear to him too great, and an evil genius lead him to adopt some views of worshippers of spirits, and make him believe that the sun and moon are able to help or injure independently, whilst they can only assist to do so indirectly, like the wind and fire. It is written: 'If I behold the sun when it shines . . . and my heart has been secretly enticed' (Job xxxi. 26, 27). At the blessing beginning: 'with eternal love,' he, in a similar manner, bears in mind the attachment of the Divine Influence to the community which was prepared to receive it, as a smooth mirror receives the light, and that the Law is the outcome of His will in order to establish His sway on earth; as it is in heaven. His wisdom did not demand of Him to create angels on earth, but mortals of flesh and blood, in whom natural gifts and certain characteristics prevail according to favourable or unfavourable influences, as this is explained in the 'Book of Creation.' Whenever some few, or a whole community, are sufficiently pure, the divine light rests on them and guides in an incomprehensible and miraculous manner which is quite outside the ordinary course of the natural world. This is called 'Love and joy." The Divine Influence, however, found next to the stars and spheres none who accepted his commands and who adhered to the course He had dictated, with the exception of a few between Adam and Jacob. When they had become a people, the Divine Influence rested upon them out of love, 'in order to be a God unto them.' In the desert he arranged them in the manner of the sphere in four standards, corresponding to the four quarters of the sphere, and in twelve tribes, corresponding to the twelve signs of the zodiac, the camp of the Levites being in the centre, just as it is stated in the 'Book of Creation.' 'The holy Temple is exactly in the centre, but God carries them all.' All this points to 'love' for the sake of which the blessing is recited. In the reading of the Shema, which then follows, he accepts the obligations of the Law, as in the piece beginning 'True and certain,' which expresses the firm resolution to observe the Tōrāh. This is as if, after having clearly and unmistakably imbibed all that preceded, he binds his soul and testifies that the children should submit to the Law for ever, just as the forefathers had done, according to the words: 'Upon our fathers, and upon us, and our children and our (coming) generations . . . a good word, firmly established, that never passes away.' To this he attaches these articles of creed which complete the Jewish belief, viz. the recognition of God's sovereignty, His eternity, and the providential care which He bestowed on our forefathers; that the Tōrāh emanated from Him, and that the proof for all this is to be found in the delivery from Egypt. This is alluded to in the words: 'It is true that Thou art the Lord our God; truly from everlasting is Thy name . . . the help of our fathers . . . from Egypt didst Thou redeem us.' He who unites all this in pure thought is a true Israelite and worthy of aspiring to the Divine Influence which among all nations was exclusively connected with the children of Israel. He finds no difficulty in standing before the Divine Presence, and he receives an answer as often as he asks. The prayer of the 'Eighteen Benedictions' must follow the blessing 'He has redeemed Israel' immediately and promptly, standing upright for this prayer in the condition described previously, when we discussed the blessings which relate to the whole Israelitish nation. Prayers of more individual character are voluntary and not incumbent, and they have their place in the paragraph ending, 'He who hears the prayer.' In the first paragraph, entitled, 'Fathers,' the worshipper remembers the piety of the Patriarchs, the establishment of the covenant with them on the part of God for all times, which never ceases, as is expressed in the words: 'He brings the Redeemer to their children's children.' The second blessing, known as 'Mighty Deeds,' teaches that God's is the eternal rule of the world, not however, as natural philosophers assert, that this is done by natural and empirical means. The worshipper is further reminded that He revives the dead' whenever He desires, however far this may be removed from the speculation of natural philosophers. Similar ideas prevail in the words: 'He causes the wind to blow, and the rain to descend.' According to His desire He 'delivers those in bondage,' as may be established by instances from the history of Israel. Having read these paragraphs which enlighten him in the belief that God keeps up a connexion with this material world, the worshipper extols and sanctifies Him by the declaration that no corporeal attitude appertains to Him. This is done in the paragraph beginning: 'Thou art holy,' a blessing which inculcates belief in the attributes of sublimity and holiness commented upon by philosophers. This paragraph follows the others in which the absoluteness of God's sovereignty is laid down. They convince us that we have a King and Lawgiver, and without them we had lived in doubt, the theories of philosophers and materialists. The paragraphs of 'Fathers' and 'Mighty Deeds,' must therefore precede that of the 'sanctification of God.' After this the worshipper begins to pray for the wants of the whole of Israel, and it is not permissible to insert other prayers except in the place of voluntary supplications. A prayer, in order to be heard, must be recited for a multitude, or in a multitude or, for an individual who could take the place of a multitude. None such, however, is to be found in our age.

(19) 19. The Rabbi: Common prayer has many advantages. In the first instance a community will never pray for a thing which is hurtful for the individual, whilst the latter sometimes prays for something [to the disadvantage of other individuals, or some of them may pray for something] that is to his disadvantage. One of the conditions of prayer, craving to be heard, is that its object be profitable to the world, but not hurtful in any way. Another is that an individual rarely accomplishes his prayer without slips and errors. It has been laid down, therefore, that the individual recite the prayers of a community, and if possible in a community of not less than ten persons, so that one makes up for the forgetfulness or error of the other. In this way [a complete prayer is gained, read with unalloyed devotion. Its blessing rests on everyone] each receiving his portion. For the Divine Influence is as the rain which waters an area (if deserving of it), and includes some smaller portion which does not deserve it, but shares the general abundance. On the other hand, the rain is withheld from an area which does not deserve it, although some portion is included which did deserve it, but suffers with the majority. This is how God governs the world. He reserves the reward of every individual for the world to come; but in this world He gives him the best compensation, granting salvation in contradiction to His neighbours. There are but few who completely escape the general retribution. A person who prays but for himself is like him who retires alone into his house, refusing to assist his fellow-citizens in the repair of their walls. His expenditure is as great as his risk. He, however, who joins the majority spends little, yet remains in safety, because one replaces the defects of the other. The city is in the best possible condition, all its inhabitants enjoying its prosperity with but little expenditure, which all share alike. In a similar manner, Plato styles that which is expended on behalf of the law, 'the portion of the whole.' If the individual, however, neglects this 'portion of the whole' which is the basis of the welfare of the commonwealth of which he forms a part, in the belief that he does better in spending it on himself, sins against the commonwealth, and more against himself. For the relation of the individual is as the relation of the single limb to the body. Should the arm, in case bleeding is required, refuse its blood, the whole body, the arm included, would suffer. It is, however, the duty of the individual to bear hardships, or even death, for the sake of the welfare of the commonwealth. He must particularly be careful to contribute his 'portion of the whole,' without fail. Since ordinary speculation did not institute this, God prescribed it in tithes, gifts, and offerings, etc., as a 'portion of the whole' of worldly property. Among actions this is represented by Sabbath, holy days, years of release and jubilee and similar institutions; among words it is prayers, blessings and thanksgivings; among abstract things it is love, fear and joy. The first place [of the second group of blessings] is very appropriately given to the prayer for intelligence and enlightenment to obey God. Man prays to be brought near to his Master. He, therefore, says first: 'Thou graciously givest reason to man,' which is immediately followed by 'He who takes delight in repentance.' Thus 'wisdom,' 'knowledge' and 'intelligence' move in the path of the Law and worship in the words: 'Restore us, O our Father, to Thy Law.' Since mortal man cannot help sinning, a prayer is required for forgiveness of transgressions in thought and deed. This is done in the formula ending: 'the Merciful who forgiveth much.' To this paragraph he adds the result and sign of forgiveness, viz. the redemption from our present condition. He begins: 'Behold our misery,' and concludes: 'Redeemer of Israel.' After this he prays for the health of body and soul, and for the bestowal of food to keep up the strength in the blessing of the 'years.' Then he prays for the reunion of the scattered, in the paragraph ending: 'He who gathers together the scattered of His people of the house of Israel.' With this is connected the re-appearance of justice and restoration of the former condition [of the people] in the words: 'Rule over us Thou alone.' He, then, prays against evil and the destruction of the thorns in the paragraph of the 'heretics.' This is followed by the prayer for the preservation of the pure essence in: 'The just.' He, then, prays for the return to Jerusalem which again is to form the seat of the Divine Influence, and with this is connected the prayer concerning the Messiah, the son of David. This concludes all worldly wants. He now prays for the acceptance of his prayer, as well as for the visible revelation of the Shekhinah, just as appeared to the prophets, pious, and those who were delivered from Egypt, in the paragraph ending: 'O Thou who hearest prayer.' Then he prays: 'Let mine eye behold,' and concludes: 'He who restores His Shekhinah to Zion.' He imagines the Shekhinah standing opposite to him and bows down with the words: 'We give thanks,' which contain the acknowledgment and gratitude for God's mercy. The whole concludes with the paragraph: 'He maketh peace,' in order to take leave from the Shekhinah in peace.

(20) 20. Al Khazari: There is nothing to criticise, as I see how settled and circumspect all these arrangements are. There was one point to be mentioned, viz. that your prayers say so little of the world to come. But thou hast already proved to me that he who prays for attachment to the Divine Light, and the faculty of seeing it with his own eyes in this world, and who, nearly approaching the rank of prophets, is thus engaged in prayer--and nothing can bring man nearer to God than this--has without doubt prayed for more than the world to come. He gains it with the other. He whose soul is in contact with the Divine Influence, though still exposed to the accidents and sufferings of the body, it stands to reason that it will gain a more intimate connexion with the former, when it has become free and detached from this unclean vessel.

(21) 21. The Rabbi: I can explain this better to thee by a parable. A man visited the king. The latter accorded him his most intimate friendship, and permitted him to enter his presence whenever he wished. He became so familiar with the king that he invited him to his house and table. The king not only consented, but sent his noblest veziers to him and did to him what he had done to no one else. Whenever he had neglected something, or had done something wrong, and the king kept aloof from him, he only entreated him to return to his former custom, and not to forbid his veziers to come and see him. The other inhabitants of the country only craved the king's protection when they undertook a journey, against robbers, wild beasts, and the terrors of the road. They were confident that the king would assist and take care of them during their journey, although he had never done so as long as they remained at home. Each of them boasted that the king cared for him more than for anybody else, thinking he had honoured the king more than anybody else. The stranger, however, thought little of his departure, nor did he ask for a guard. When the hour arrived he was told that he would perish in the dangers of the journey since he had no one to take care of him. 'Who gave you companions?' asked he. 'The king' said they, 'whom we have petitioned for assistance ever since we have been in this city;' but we have not seen thee do likewise.' 'You fools,' answered he; 'is a person who called on him in the hour of safety not more entitled to expect his assistance in the hour of danger, though he did not open his mouth? Will he refuse his assistance to a man in the time of need after having responded to him during his prosperity? If you boast that he takes care of you because you have shown him honour, has anyone of you done so much in this respect, took so much trouble in the execution of his commands, in keeping aloof from dishonour, in respecting his name and code as I did? Whatever I did, I did at his command and instruction. As to you, you honour him according to your own conception and fancy, yet he fails you not. How can he, now, leave me, if I am in need, during my journey, because, trusting his justice, I did not speak to him of it as you have done.' This parable is only meant for those who depart from the right course, and do not accept the words of the Sages. But apart from this, our prayers are full of allusions of the world to come, and the utterances of the Sages, which are handed down from the Prophets, are studded with descriptions of Paradise and Gehinnōm, as explained before. Now I have sketched out to thee the conduct of a religious person in the present time, and thou canst imagine what it was like in that happy time and that divine place amidst the people whose roots were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They represent the essence of the latter, men and women distinguished by virtue, suffering nothing unbecoming to pass their lips. The godly man moves about among them, but his soul is not polluted by the improper words which he may hear, nor does any impurity adhere to his garment or dress from issue, or vermin, or corpses, or leprosy, etc., because they all live in holiness and purity. This is in a greater measure the case in the land of the Shekhinah, where he only meets people who occupy the degree of holiness, as Priest, Levites, Nazirites, Sages, Prophets, Judges and Overseers. Or he sees 'a multitude that kept holiday with the voice of joy and praise' (Psalms 42:5), on the 'three festivals in the year.' He only hears the 'Song of the Lord,' only sees the 'Work of the Lord,' particularly if he is a priest or Levite who lives on the bread of the Lord and, like Samuel, lives in the 'House of the Lord' from his infancy. He need not seek any livelihood, as his whole life is devoted to the 'Service of the Lord.' How does his work and the purity and excellence of his soul appear to thee?