Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and - Kabbala by Various
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drained at one draught. "Sir," said his host, "dost thou not know the
proverb, that he who drinks off a cup of wine at a draught is a greedy one?" "Ah!" was the answer, "that fits not this case; for thy cup is small, thy wine is sweet, and my stomach is capacious." _P'sachim_, fol. 86, col. 2. At the time when Nimrod the wicked had cast our Father Abraham into the fiery furnace, Gabriel stood forth in the presence of the Holy One--blessed be He!--and said, "Lord of the universe, let me, I pray thee, go down and cool the furnace, and deliver that righteous one from it." Then the Holy One--blessed be He!--said unto him, "I am One in my world and he is one in his world; it is more becoming that He who is one should deliver him who is one." But as God does not withhold His reward from any creature, He said to Gabriel, "For this thy good intention, be thine the honor of rescuing three of his descendants." At the time when Nebuchadnezzar the wicked cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, Yourkami, the prince of hail, arose before God and said, "Lord of the universe, let me, I pray thee, go down and cool the fiery furnace, and rescue these righteous men from its fury." Whereupon Gabriel interposed, and said, "God's power is not to be demonstrated thus, for thou art the prince of hail, and everybody knows that water quenches fire; but I, the prince of fire, will go down and cool the flame within and intensify it without (so as to consume the executioners), and thus will I perform a miracle within a miracle." Then the Holy One--blessed be He!--said to him, "Go down." Upon which Gabriel exclaimed, "Verily the truth of the Lord endureth forever!" (Ps. cxvii. 2.) _P'sachim_, fol. 118, col. 1. |
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