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Rabbi Arthur Segal’s love of people, humanity, and Judaism has him sharing with others “The Wisdom of the Ages” that has been passed on to him. His writings for modern Jews offer Spiritual, Ethical, and eco-Judaic lessons in plain English and with relevance to contemporary lifestyles. He is the author of countless articles, editorials, letters, and blog posts, and he has recently published two books:

The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew

and

A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud

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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:ALEXANDAR THE GREAT:TALMUD:HONESTY:ETHICS:JEWISH SPIRITUALITY

 RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:ALEXANDAR THE GREAT:TALMUD:HONESTY:ETHICS:JEWISH SPIRITUALITY
 
Shalom:
 
There are many stories in the Talmud of rabbis going the extra mile so to speak to be scrupulously honest. We all know of the rabbi, Shimon ben Shetah,who buys a mule from a non-Jew, only to find a gem in the saddle bag. He returns the gem, and has the gentile praise the God of the Jews. When his students asked why he did this, Rabbi Shimon said :''Do you think Shimon ben Shetah is a barbarian?" [Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Bava Metzia 8c ]. This story as well as others concerning business and personal ethics have been covered in my essay at : RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:MADOFF:JEWISH ETHICS.
 
''The Chofetz Chaim from the mid 20th century writes : There are many factors which lead a person to the sin of mirmah (deceit), to the point where he deceives people frequently and without any sense of guilt. We shall discuss the primary factors.
 
When gezel and sheker (theft and falsehood) are not viewed as sins and are practiced regularly, it is only natural that mirmah, which combines both these sins, will follow. Therefore, one who seeks to purify himself of the stain of mirmah must always ponder the severity of theft and falsehood. Then he will be saved from them.
 
The need to avoid all forms of theft is a mitzvah which logic dictates; had the Torah not commanded, "You shall not steal," (Vayikra 19:13), we would have deduced on our own that it is wrong. To refrain from theft is counted among the seven mitzvoth regarding which Adam was commanded, known as the  seven Noachide laws.

A Jew's business dealings must be conducted in good faith, so that his hands remain clean of dishonest earnings. Then, he will merit to ascend the mountain of Hashem, as it is written, "Who may ascend the mountain of Hashem and who may stand in the place of His sanctity? One with clean hands and a pure heart..." (Tehillim: 24:3-4). From this verse we see that one whose hands are stained by dishonest earnings is distant from "the mountain of Hashem and the place of His sanctity." Our Sages have taught that whoever is guilty of theft will not be permitted within the confines of Hashem's Presence, as it is written, "No evil dwells with You" (Tehillim 5:5).''

In his discourses, the Manchester Rosh Yeshivah, my great uncle, Rabbi Yehudah Zev Segal z"l, exhorted his talmidim to faithfully adhere to the Torah's requirements regarding honesty in word and in business:

''It is the halachah which determines what constitutes gezel (theft)... If the halachah requires one to pay and he does not, then he is a thief; if the halachah rules in his favor, then he is innocent.

It is clear that without a thorough knowledge of Choshen Mishpat, it is virtually impossible to conduct one's business in full consonance with Torah law.

A shochet (ritual slaughterer) cannot practice without kabbalah, verification that he is skilled and well versed in the relevant laws. It would be proper if similar verification were required of those entering the business world... (Inspiration and Insight, vol. I)''

Rabbi Segal's personal standards in money matters earned him the reverence of all, including gentiles. Once, he found himself unable to concentrate properly on his studies while sitting in the noisy second-class section of a train. He moved to the first-class section with the intention of paying the additional charge when the ticket attendant would make his rounds. By some error, the attendant never appeared, so upon disembarking, Rabbi Segal approached the station attendant, who said to "forget about it." Rabbi Segal, however, went to the station master to pay the fee. The astounded fellow declared that Rabbi Segal was "one in a million."

In my own life, I still have friends look at me with amazement when I am in a theatre, having bought a ticket for one movie, and everyone moves to a second 'room' to see a second movie 'for free,' and I go to the ticket office, and buy a seat for that second movie. Theft is theft, and one sin will lead to another, our sages teach. If I were caught, I would be the "Jew-rabbi" caught stealing, and this would be chillul ha shem.

Again, from the Chofetz Chaim, writing 90 years ago:" To our great misfortune, lying and deception in matters of business have increased lately among some of our people, to the point that they see such behavior as permissible! They lie when negotiating a deal and say, "I paid such-and-such for this item," and sometimes they even swear to that effect. (According to Torah law, an oath in any language is binding.) They consider such shameful behavior mere "shrewdness" and contend that nowadays, anyone who does not engage in such practices will starve [for he will never succeed financially]. This has made us the object of scorn and derision among our neighbors, for they say that Jews are dishonest! Woe to us over this chillul Hashem (desecration of Hashem's Name)!"

One of my adult Talmidim said to me the other day that in desperate time, desperate people will act desperately. Truth be told, Jewish people of God, or any people who are of God, will behave even more ethically during tough times. I cannot tell you how my heart grieves when I watch my fellows behave unethically to others.

When we Jews conducts ourselves according to the Torah's high standards of honesty, we earn the respect and admiration of his gentile neighbors. When we do not, we foster the seeds of anti-Semitism . If we act without Torah's ethics, we may not be the recipient of scorn at the movement, but may cause the Jew who is ''of Torah'', to be the victim. Anti-Semites don't discriminate between the good Jew and the rotten one. Hence when a Jew behaves poorly, he or she harms all of us. This is why the Talmud teaches ''all Jews are responsible for one another.'' Kol Yisrael arevim zeh ba-zeh.[ Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbat 39a]

The late Mashgiach of the Kaminetz Yeshivah in Jerusalem, Rabbi Moshe Aharon Stern, often traveled abroad together with a distinguished acquaintance. Two months after R' Moshe Aharon passed away, his acquaintance found himself at the money-changer's desk at the Amsterdam train station. The clerk, a gentile woman, recognized the man and inquired about the rabbi who always accompanied him. Upon hearing that R' Moshe Aharon had passed away, she burst into tears. "It's thanks to him that I still have my job," she said tearfully. She explained:

Once, as he counted his money after changing some currency at her desk, R' Moshe Aharon realized that he had been given far too large a sum. He returned to the desk and asked the woman to recount the money. Assuming that he was claiming that she had given him too little, the woman snapped that she had already counted the money once and if he wanted to make a claim, he should have counted the money in her presence. "How can you leave the counter and then return to claim that I cheated you — everyone knows that you can't do that!"

After listening to her tirade in silence, R' Moshe Aharon said softly, "I think that you gave me too much money. Please do me a favor and count the money again." She did and was astonished to find that, indeed, he was correct. She told him gratefully, "Had you not returned the money, it would have been deducted from my salary. And since I am new at this job, I may very well have been fired for making such a mistake."

Later, she went to the station manager, related what had happened and told him, "I have never met such an upright person." The manager, equally amazed, announced over the station loudspeaker that a Jew from Israel had returned a large sum of money that had been given to him by mistake, and he praised R' Moshe Aharon's upright conduct (from The Mashgiach of Kaminetz).

This leads us to Alexander the Great of Macedonia in the Talmud.

Alexander of Macedon went to the king of Kasya.  Kasya showed him that he had a great deal of gold and silver.  Alexander said to him:  I don't need your gold and silver.  I came only to see your customs, how you distribute alms
and how you judge cases.  While he was chatting with him, someone came with a case against his fellow. He had bought a piece of a field with its rubbish dump and he had found a trove of money in it.  The one who had bought the property said: I bought a junk pile, not a trove. The one who had sold the property said:  I sold you a junk pile and everything in it.

While they were arguing with one another, the king said to one of them:  Do you have a son?  He said yes.  He asked the other:  Do you have a daughter? He said yes.  He said to them: Let this one marry that one and let the treasure belong to both of them.

Alexander began to laugh.  Kasya said:  Why are you laughing?  Didn't I judge the case properly?  If you judged the case how would you have judged it? Alexander said:  We would have killed them both and kept the treasure for the king.

Kasya said:  Do you love gold all that much?  He made a banquet for him and laid out before him gold loaves and gold chickens. Alexander said to him:  Can I eat the gold? He replied:  You don't eat gold? Why do you love it so much? (Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate  Bava Metsia 2:5)

Please note of the honesty of the two litigants. In the Talmud, with two Jewish litigants, the one who bought the land, would insist the treasure was his,  while the seller would insist the treasure was his. In this case, both wish to give the treasure to the other, and each won't accept because 'a deal is a deal.' The Talmud makes it clear, by the way, that Kasya, is not a Jewish place. He rules and " dwells on the other side of the mountains of darkness.''

Now in the Midrash Genesis Rabbah 33:4 the story ends differently, there is no banquet with gold food.: ''The King of Katsia (Kasya) is reported to have asked Alexander if the rain fell and the sun shone and if there were animals in the land of Alexander. When Alexander answered affirmatively the King of Katsia told him that the sun shone and the rain fell in the merit of the animals, not the people of his land.''  Man and beast you save, O Lord' . 'Man' you save 'on account of the merit accrued by the dumb animals' do you save, O Lord.'" [Ps.36:7.]. This is one of these 'put downs' for which the debaters in the Talmud are known.

One must note that the rabbis in Talmud Yerushalmi are not really discussing Alexander, but the lack of ethics of the Romans, who are ruling Jerusalem at this time, because in everywhere else in the Talmud and the Midrash, Alexander is treated respectfully.

The Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma 69a relates the famous story of the meeting between Alexander the Great, the world-conquering Macedonian Emperor, and Shimon HaTzaddik. At the behest of Jew-haters, Alexander marched on Jerusalem, with intent to destroy it. Shimon the High Priest donned the White Priestly Garments that he wore on Yom Kippur when he would enter the Holy of Holies, and went out to meet Alexander. To the surprise of his entourage, when the Emperor saw Shimon HaTzaddik, he dismounted and prostrated himself before Shimon. Alexander's generals asked him why he was bowing to this Jew, to which he replied that every night before a battle, he would see in a dream the figure of that Jewish High Priest, who would advise him on tactics to use the following day - a service that never failed him.

Shimon HaTzaddik took Alexander the Great on a tour of the Temple. Alexander was very impressed and requested that a marble image of himself be placed in the Temple courtyard. Shimon explained that it was forbidden for the Jews to have images, and certainly not in the Temple, but he suggested an alternative way giving homage to the Emperor: that all male babies born that year would receive the name "Alexander." The Emperor accepted, and that is how "Alexander" became a Jewish name.

In the   Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 91a, we read about a most relevant story that took place in the days of Alexander of Macedonia, aka Alexander the Great (4th century before the common era).

Just after Moshe's death, when Yehoshua was about to enter the Land of Israel together with his People, there were seven tribes hostile to the Jews occupying the Land. Yehoshua offered them peace and security on condition that they would commit themselves to the Seven Commandments of Noach, the basic moral code for all humanity.

In case they would refuse, and as such ,implying that they would not adhere to civilized behavior, Yehoshua informed them that they still had the option to leave peacefully. After this, he led his People into the Land. Since most tribes refused to opt for either suggestion, war broke out. The only tribe which actually left were the Cana'anites. Tradition has it that they settled in Africa (Rambam, Melachim, 6:5).

Hundreds of years later, the Cana'anites came to Alexander's international court with a claim that the Land of Israel should be returned to them. When the court inquired into their reasons, the Cana'anites, also called "B'nai Africa" (inhabitants of Africa), said that they were forced out of the Land by the Israelites in the days of Yehoshua and that this injustice should be rectified. When Alexander asked them for proof of their claim to the Land, they responded that it was the Torah of the Jews that in fact supported it. Did it not say, "The land of Canaan with the coasts thereof"? (Bamidbar/Numbers 34:2) Since Canaan was their forefather, they had a legitimate claim to return to the Land and take possession of it.

Consequently, Alexander (who is known to have been somewhat sympathetic to the Jews) turned to the sages with a request to respond. One Jewish ignoramus by the name of Gebiha (the hunchback) ben Pesisa, known for his great love for his fellow Jews, asked that he defend the Jewish claim to the Land against the Canaanites:

"Authorize me to go and plead against them before Alexander of Macedonia. Should they defeat me, then (you can) say: 'You have defeated an ignoramus from among us,' and if I defeat them, then say: 'The Torah of Moshe has defeated them.'"

After the sages decided to give him their approval, Gebiha ben Pesisa said to the Canaanites, "From where do you have your proof?"

"From the Torah!" they responded.

"I will also bring a proof from the Torah," said Gebiha ben Pesisa, "for it says that at the time that Chem, one of Noach's children, had uncovered his father's nakedness, Noach said, 'Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brothers.'" [Beresheit/Genesis 9:25; Canaan was another name for the children of Chem] Gebiha ben Pesisa continued, arguing that since the Cana'anites, due to this curse, became slaves to the children of Shem [another son of Noach and the forefather of the Semitic Peoples and the Jews], the Jews would, in any case, be the owners of the land: "Whatever a slave acquirers belongs to the master, since the slave is the property of his master. Moreover", he said, "you have not served us for years!"

Then Alexander said to [the Cana'anites], "Answer him."

"Give us three days," they responded. They looked, but found no answer. And they left.

When carefully studying this incident, several matters are difficult to understand. First of all, it is rather obvious that the Cana'anites were guilty of reading the Torah selectively. Had they turned the page, they would no doubt have found that the Land was already promised to Avraham in earlier days, and that the Torah keeps on making the point that God willed it to the Jews.

Even more mysterious is the defense of Gebiha ben Pesisa. Why did he use an argument that was so roundabout? Why did he not use the most obvious argument; i.e., that the Torah makes it abundantly clear that the Land was given to the Jews? He could have quoted tens of verses to back up his claim!

Maharasha, in his commentary, argues that the motivation behind the Cana'anites was much more sophisticated than one might imagine. The Cana'anites had read the Torah very carefully and were well aware of the promise that God had made to the Israelites concerning the Land. They reminded Alexander's court that they, the Cana'anites, had been forced out of the country because of their immoral behavior. The Holy Land had no longer been able to contain them and had consequently spat them out. But, continued the Cana'anites, the Israelites had become just as evil as they, the Cana'anites, had been. They had also become disobedient and had violated the moral code. Even more so, had not the Torah made it abundantly clear that the Jews would only merit the Land when they would be a holy nation as demanded by the Torah? In that case, the Jews no longer had a claim on the Land and they, the Cana'anites, having lived there prior to the Jews, had full right to claim it in return.

Now, when one says to me, ''Why should I study Talmud, or Torah? What relevance does this have to me as a secular Jew today?! I write a check to the Federation to help Israel and eat bagels and lox on Sundays, eat latkas in December, and Matzah in the spring. I am  Jewish enough!!," I can point them to this news story.

Here is a real news story bringing the 2000+ year old Talmud to life:

A lawsuit is being filed against the Jewish people for recovery of property stolen during their exodus from Egypt. The Talmud tells of precisely such a claim lodged over 2000 years ago.

The loud chortling sound you may have heard last week was the collective mirth of countless Talmud-conversant Jews as they read about a lawsuit being prepared by a group of Egyptian expatriates in Switzerland.

The news came in the form of an interview, published in the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, with Dr. Nabil Hilmi, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Al-Zaqaziq. The article was translated and made available by the invaluable Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Dr. Hilmi's lawsuit is ostensibly being filed against "all the Jews of the world" for recovery of property allegedly stolen during the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt approximately 3300 years ago.

Citing the Torah, Dr. Hilmi is demanding, presumably on Egypt's behalf, the return of "gold, jewelry, cooking utensils, silver ornaments, clothing and more," not to mention interest thereon, taken by the ancestors of today's Jews "in the middle of the night" -- a "clear theft of a host country's resources and treasure, something that fits the morals and character of the Jews."

According to Dr. Hilmi's mathematical computations, which include an annual doubling in value of the material in question, 1,125 trillion tons of gold are owed by the Jews for each of the 300 tons he estimates was taken. And that doesn't include interest, which he claims, without explanation, should be calculated for 5758 years.

The merriment that greeted the report was born of the fact that the Talmud tells of precisely such a claim lodged over 2000 years ago in a world court of sorts presided over by none other than Alexander the Great.

The story is recounted in Sanhedrin 91a, where it is recorded that one Geviha ben Pesisa responded on the Jews' behalf. A paraphrase of the excerpt follows:

"What is your source?" Geviha asked the Egyptian representatives.

"The Torah," they replied.

"Very well," said Geviha, "I too will invoke the Torah, which says that the Jews spent 430 years laboring in Egypt. Please compensate us for 600,000 men's work for that period of time."

The Egyptians, the Talmud continues, then asked Alexander for three days during which to formulate a response. The recess was granted but the representatives, finding no counter-argument, never returned.

One supposes that Dr. Hilmi was unfamiliar with that page of Talmud, and perhaps with the underlying Biblical narrative on which it is based.

His gift to us, though, is more than a good laugh. For by sending us to Sanhedrin 91a, he provides us great consolation and hope in these trying times. For the very next account on that page concerns yet another historic lawsuit -- ancient and yet as timely as tomorrow's headlines.

This suit was filed by "the children of Ishmael and Keturah [Abraham's second wife, identified by the Midrash as Hagar]." Ishmael, of course, is claimed by many Arabs as their ancestor.

The plaintiffs in this suit claimed that Canaan, or the Land of Israel, was really theirs, as the Torah identifies their antecedents, no less than Isaac, to be progeny of Abraham.

Once again, Geviha responded on behalf of the Jews. "Your source?" he asked.

"The Torah," they responded.

"If so," he continued, "I too will invoke the Torah, which says that Abraham gave 'all that was his to Isaac; and to the children of his concubines [other wives], he gave [only] gifts, and he sent them away from Isaac his son... eastward'" [Genesis, 25:5,6].

Intriguingly, the Talmud mentions no Ishmaelite or Keturite reaction in Alexander's court -- not even a request for time to formulate a response. It's almost as if those plaintiffs simply refused to acknowledge the unarguable case that had been presented, as if they were utterly unable to countenance the idea that the Holy Land was in fact bequeathed in its entirety by Abraham to Isaac, who in turn bequeathed it to Jacob; and he, to his children after him, the Jewish people.

According to the Jewish religious tradition, though, the entire world, including Ishmael's descendants, will one day come not only to countenance the idea but to fully embrace it. That day has not yet arrived, to be sure, and it will not be military or political actions in the end that will bring it, but rather our merits as a people.

It will arrive, though. As the prophet Jeremiah tells our Rachel, one of the mothers of the Jewish people: "Restrain your voice from crying and tears from your eyes... for there is hope for you in the end ... the children will return to their borders."

Just like the Torah one should not depend on the Talmud as an accurate historical record.

Alexander was the celebrated conqueror of the East, 356-323 B.C. By introducing Hellenic culture into Syria and Egypt, he had probably more influence on the development of Judaism than any one individual  who was not a Jew .. Yet, curiously enough, there are no personal details which connect him with Jewish history, save that after the siege of Tyre, 332 B.C., he marched through Palestine unopposed, except in the case of Gaza, which was razed to the ground. He is mentioned by name only in the Apocryphal I Macc. (i. 1-8, vi. 2). It is supposed that the Book of Daniel alludes to Alexander when it refers to a mighty king that "shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion," whose kingdom shall be destroyed after his death (Dan. xi. 3). The vision of the "fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly," devouring and breaking all in pieces (ibid. vii. 7), may also be an allusion to Alexander. I. 

The only historical event connecting Alexander the Great with the Jews is his visit to Jerusalem, which is recorded by Josephus in a somewhat fantastic manner. According to "Ant." xi. 8, §§ 4-6, Alexander went to Jerusalem after having taken Gaza. Jaddua, the high priest, had a warning from God received in a dream, in which he saw himself vested in a purple robe, with his miter—that had the golden plate on which the name of God was engraved—on his head. Accordingly he went to meet Alexander at Sapha ("View" [of the Temple]). Followed by the priests, all clothed in fine linen, and by a multitude of citizens, Jaddua awaited the coming of the king. When Alexander saw the high priest, he reverenced God (Lev. R. xiii., end), and saluted Jaddua; while the Jews with one voice greeted Alexander. When Parmenio, the general, gave expression to the army's surprise at Alexander's extraordinary act—that one who ought to be adored by all as king should adore the high priest of the Jews—Alexander replied: "I did not adore him, but the God who hath honored him with this high-priesthood; for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at Dios in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea, promising that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion over the Persians." Alexander then gave the high priest his right hand, and went into the Temple and "offered sacrifice to God according to the high priest's direction," treating the whole priesthood magnificently. "And when the Book of Daniel was shown him [see Dan. vii. 6, viii. 5-8, 20-22, xi. 3-4], wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks [] should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that he was the person intended, and rejoiced thereat.

The following day Alexander asked the people what favors he should grant them; and, at the high priest's request, he accorded them the right to livein full enjoyment of the laws of their forefathers. He, furthermore, exempted them from the payment of tribute in the seventh year of release. To the Jews of Babylonia and Media also he granted like privileges; and to the Jews who were willing to enlist in his army he promised the right to live in accordance with their ancestral laws.

Afterward the Samaritans, having learned of the favors granted the Jews by Alexander, asked for similar privileges; but Alexander declined to accede to their request.

But in Jewish legend Alexander abounds:

All the accounts which the Talmud and Midrash give concerning Alexander MuḲdon (the Macedonian) are of a legendary character. Some of them pretend to be historical, as the following Baraita in Yoma, 69a (identical with Megillat Ta'anit, iii.):

"When the Samaritans had obtained permission from Alexander to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem, the high priest Simon the Just, arrayed in his pontifical garments and followed by a number of distinguished Jews, went out to meet the conqueror, and joined him at Antipatris, on the northern frontier. At sight of Simon, Alexander fell prostrate at his feet, and explained to his astonished companions that the image of the Jewish high priest was always with him in battle, fighting for him and leading him to victory. Simon took the opportunity to justify the attitude of his countrymen, declaring that, far from being rebels, they offered prayers in the Temple for the welfare of the king and his dominions. So impressed was Alexander that he delivered up all the Samaritans in his train into the hands of the Jews, who tied them to the tails of horses and dragged them to the mountain of Gerizim; then the Jews plowed the mountain [demolished the Samaritan temple]."

Samaritan Intrigue.

It is evident that this account wrongly assigns to the times of Alexander an event which occurred two centuries later, in the reign of John Hyrcanus I. It must therefore have been written at a late period, when the memory of historical incidents had become confused. The legend presents a striking resemblance to the narrative of Josephus ("Ant." xi. 8, § 1 et seq.). The point of the fable is the honor conferred by Alexander upon the high priest and the cause thereof; and, furthermore, the contrast between his good-will to the Jews and his hostility to the Samaritans. Both the narrative in the Talmud and that of Josephus are derived from an "Apology" of the Jews which aimed at discrediting the members of the Samaritan sect. It is even possible that this apology, as Büchler thinks ("Rev. Ét. Juives," lxxxvi. 1), had its origin in Alexandria, where the attitude of Alexander was of decisive importance in the eyes of the Greek public:

"In Gen. Rabbah. (lxi., end) the Samaritans are accused of playing a rôle equally despicable with that imputed to them in the above legend. When Alexander advanced toward Jerusalem, they informed him that the Jews would forbid his entrance to the Holy of Holies. A Jew, Gebi'ah ben Kosem [identical with Gebia ben Pesisa, a legendary character], asked the king, on the hill of the Temple, to remove his shoes and to put on the slippers ornamented with precious stones that he had brought for him, lest he should slip on the pavement of the Temple. Alexander complied with the request, and thus avoided a violation of the rabbinic law. When they arrived at the Holy of Holies, Gebi'ah said to the king, 'We are not permitted to proceed farther' (neither we nor you). 'When I have left the Temple,' replied the king, 'I will straighten your hump' (Gebi'ah signifies humpback). 'If you do,' answered Gebi'ah, 'you are a great physician, and deserving of high remuneration.'"

This anecdote is one of those naive inventions of which many are found in Midrash Ekah Rabbati, and which aim at exhibiting the ingenuity of the Jews in repartee. Alexander is made to play merely the part of a stage-king.

The same Gebi'ah appears in a narrative of quite a different type. Alexander is here represented as the great conqueror to whom the nations appeal for arbitration of their differences:(Sanh. 91a, Gen. R. l.c.).

"The Arabs accuse the Jews of illegally withholding the heritage of their ancestor Ishmael; the Canaanites complain of having been wrongly deprived of their territory; and the Egyptians claim indemnity for the vessels that the Israelites had taken from them on leaving their country. Gebi'ah meets all these charges with great success: against the Egyptians he proves that it is they that are indebted to the Jews, whom they had exploited without paying them for their work, and Alexander was fully satisfied with the refutation"

These pretended discussions, similar to those reported to have taken place between the Samaritans and the Jews before Ptolemy Philometor (Josephus, "Ant." xii. 1, § 10; xiii. 4, § 4), are the echo of the accusations against the Jews by pagan readers of the Bible at Alexandria. These imputations were taken up later by the Gnostics, who were the pupils of the Alexandrians, and especially by the Marcionites. Tertullian replied to Marcion, who had brought the same reproach against the Bible for the "larceny" committed by the Jews, by repeating the words of Gebi'ah; he even mentions the discussions between the Jews and the Egyptians ("nam et aiunt ita actum per legatos utrinque; Ægyptiorum quidem repetentium vasa; Judeorum vero reposcentium operas suas, et tandem vasis istis renuntiaverunt sibi Ægyptii"; "Adversus Marcionem," ii. 20).

Another group of legends is of a more popular character; they have nothing specifically Jewish, and are connected with the general legendary tales of Alexander. They may be given as follows:

The Ten Questions of Alexander to the Sages of the South (Talmud Bavli Tractate Tamid, 31b ):

This account is written in certain parts in a classical Aramaic, proving that it was borrowed from some written record; it is quite analogous to the conversations which, according to Plutarch ("Life of Alexander"), Alexander was reported to have had with ten gymnosophists who had rebelled against him; there the account continues with ten questions, some of which are identical with those of the Talmud. This episode seems, therefore, to be the fragment of a non-Jewish narrative, parallel with that of the Greek historian.

Alexander's Journey to the Regions of Darkness (Talmud Bavli Tractate Tamid, 32a):

Alexander makes a journey into the region of darkness riding on young Libyan asses. There he stops at a fountain, which reanimates a dead fish that he has dipped into it. The same story is found in Pseudo-Callisthenes, II. chaps. xxxix.-xli. (version B). The legend as reproduced in the Talmud is the popular altered form of a later period.

The Amazons (Tamid, ibid.; PesiḲ. ix. 74. 74a etseq.; Lev. R. xxvii.; Tan., Emor, 6; Ḥibbur Ma'asiot):

Alexander comes to a place which is inhabited only by women. They say to him: "If you kill us, people will accuse you of murdering women. If we kill you, people will say: Behold a king who was overcome by women!" This is the well-known story of the Amazons, but reduced to its simplest expression. In the PesiḲta the town inhabited by the women is called Kartagene, derived by folk-ety-mology from the Aramaic Ḳarta (town) and the Greek gyne (woman).

The Gold Bread 

Alexander asked the Amazons for bread, and they brought him, on a golden table, a loaf of gold bread. "Do you eat gold bread?" the king then said. "Well, if your desire be for ordinary bread, could you not get it in your own country without coming hither?" answered the Amazons. This satire on the ambition of conquerors recurs frequently in Jewish legends. It does not appear in Pseudo-Callisthenes and in the accounts derived from it; but is found in Plutarch's essay on the virtuous deeds of women. Pythes, a rich Greek in the times of Xerxes, who forces his fellow citizens to work for him in a gold-mine, is served by his wife with gold bread to demonstrate the absurdity of his greed. This moral is connected with Alexander also in another form: instead of the Amazons it was the king Kaẓia who gave the lesson to Alexander as we learn above in Talmud Yerushalmi.

King Kaẓia and His Judgment (Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Bava Metzia 8c; Gen. Rabbah.33) 

King Kaẓia (ruler of a country situated behind the "Dark" mountains) invited Alexander to hear a lawsuit. The plaintiff declared that he had bought a piece of land and found in it a treasure; he wanted to return the treasure to the original owner, since, he claimed, he had bought the field only. The defendant replied that he had sold the field with everything that it contained. Then the king inquired of one of them: "Have you a son?"; of the other, "Have you a daughter?" "Marry them, and let the treasure be theirs." Alexander laughed at this judgment. "Is my decision a wrong one?" inquired the king. "No; but in our country we would have put the two parties to death and confiscated the treasure." "Do you have rain in your country?" "Yes." "And have you animals also?" "Yes." "Then it is surely for their sake and not for yours that the rain falls and the sun shines upon you." This satirical account seems to be of Jewish origin, although it is, in part, based on a popular theme—marriage as the solution of a lawsuit (compare a Cambodian tale in "Revue des Traditions Populaires," xv. 133). The Jewish form of the fable was embodied in the "Dicta Philosophorum" of Abu al Wafa Mubashshir ibn FaḲih (1053-54), a work which was translated into Spanish, Latin, English, and French (see Knust, "Mittheilungen aus dem Eskurial," Tübingen, 1879). In other Arabic texts the trial takes place before David and Solomon (Weil, "Biblische Legenden," p. 215). The anecdote seems to have been brought to Europe by a priest in 1083 ("Chronique de l'Abbaye de St. Hubert"; Pertz, "Monumenta Germanica, Scriptores," viii. 599).

Alexander at the Gate of Paradise; the Eye:

The Talmud (Bavli Tractate Tamid, 32b) concludes with this narrative: Alexander arrived at the gate of paradise and asked that it be opened to him. "Only the just can enter here," came the reply. "I am a renowned king; present me with something." A little ball was given to him. He put it in a scale; and it outweighed all the gold and silver in his possession. In his astonishment he turned to the rabbis, who explained to him that it was an eyeball, which could never be satiated; but if covered with a handful of dust (buried) it would weigh nothing. This satire on greed, or the ambition to acquire wealth, seems likewise to be genuinely Jewish. This allegory, as it appears in the Talmud, is reproduced in better shape in "Alexandri Magni Iter ad Paradisum," a little work of the twelfth century, which has even preserved traces of its Jewish origin. In this it is an old Jew, of the name of Papas, who lectures the king. Both forms of the legend are evidently connected with a lost original.

Alexander's Ascent into the Air (Talmud Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah, iii. 42c; Num. Rabbah xiii.):

This appears to be a reminiscence of a narrative in Pseudo-Callisthenes (II. xli.).

Alexander's Descent into the Sea (Ps. R. 103; compare Pseudo-Callisthenes, II. xxxviii.):

In the Middle Ages the Jews confined themselves to translations of the romance of Alexander from the Arabic or the Latin, particularly in the form which it had received in the "Historia de Proeliis." A Hebrew translation of this work, made by an unknown writer after an Arabic version, was edited and published by Israel Lévi under the title "Toledot Alexander" (Life of Alexander), Paris, 1887. Another translation from a Latin text, by Immanuel ben Jacob de Tarascon, exists only in manuscript. A recension, the origin of which has not yet been clearly ascertained, was surreptitiously included in certain manuscripts of the Josippon (perhaps by Judah Mosconi). Another romance of Alexander, quite different from the rest, was written by a Jew in the west of Europe before the thirteenth century; it was published by Israel Lévi in Steinschneider's "Festschrift." Some portions of the legend were known to scholars by the Hebrew translation of "Sod ha-Sodot" (Secret of Secrets) and of "Musare ha-Filosofim" (Dicta of the Philosophers), containing whole chapters touching upon the legendary life of Alexander.

Alexander plays a real life role in the history of Judaism. His conquering of Persia and allowing local religions to continue, allowed Talmudic Judaism to thrive in what is now Iran and Iraq. His dying without  a recognized heir, allowed his kingdom to be split, and eventually caused the Hanukah story. His Syrian territory, which included Judea, was treated cruelly by one of Alexander's successors, war was waged, and the Macabees one. Unfortunately, the Macabees' grandchildren, known as the Hasmoneans, were Hebraists, cruel to Rabbinic Judaism, and invited Rome into Judea to help them rule in 63 BCE. This was the beginning of the end for an independent Judea and the seeds of the Roman galut (exile).

Both ethical Judaism survives. As Jews we must continually go out of our way to be rigorously honest. We cannot survive the stereotypes of the money hungry, rude, loud mouth, pushy, stiff necked people in an age of the  world wide web. Whether we chose to follow ritual or not is our personal choice. Our ethics however especially during tough times is a choice we need to decide to follow.

Many blessings,

Rabbi Arthur Segal

Jewish Spiritual Renewal

Jewish Renewal

Hilton Head Island,SC

Bluffton , SC

Savannah, GA

member; temple oseh shalom

Thanks to the Jewish Encyclopedia , The works of the Chofetz Chaim, and the News Article for Aish's Web Site

A Short Snap Shot of Rabbi Arthur Segal

Rabbi Arthur Segal
United States
I am available for Shabbatons, and can speak on various aspects of Jewish history, (from the ancient past to modern day, and can be area specific, if a group wishes), Spirituality, developing a Personal Relationship with God, on the Jews of India and other 'exotic' communities, and on Talmud, Torah and other great texts. We have visited these exotic Jewish communities first hand. I adhere to the Mishna's edict of not using the Torah as a ''spade'', and do not ask for honorariums for my services. I am post-denominational and renewal and spiritually centered.
 I am available to perform Jewish weddings,  and other life cycle events, ONLY IF, it is  a destination wedding and the local full time pulpit rabbi is unavailable, or if there is no local full time pulpit rabbi,  or it is in my local area and all of the full time pulpit rabbis are unavailable. 
 My post-doc in Psych from Penn helps tremendously when I do Rabbinic counseling. My phone number and address will be made available once I am sure of one's sincerity in working with me. 
Rabbi Segal is the author of three books and many articles on Torah, Talmud and TaNaK and Jewish history. His books are : The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud, and  Spiritual Wisdom of our Talmudic Sages. The first two are published by Amazon through their publishing house, BookSurge.
For information on how to purchase these, please contact RabbiSegal@JewishSpiritualRenewal.net and visit WWW.JewishSpiritualRenewal.Net.  OR CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW. 
 Todah Rabah and Shalom v' Beracoth. Rabbi Arthur Segal ,( Dr. Arthur Segal )RabbiASegal@aol.com
 
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THE HANDBOOK TO JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:
A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew

Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice into a step-by-step process to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality in a concise easy-to-read and easy-to-follow manner.

If you find yourself wishing for the strength to sustain you through the ups and downs of life; if you want to learn how to live life to its fullest without angst, worry, low self-esteem or fear; or if you wish that your relationships with family, friends and co-workers were based on love and service and free of ego, arguments, resentments and feelings of being unloved...this book is for you.

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254 Pages
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A SPIRITUAL AND ETHICAL COMPENDIUM
TO THE TORAH AND TALMUD

Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us. This companion to The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew brings the Torah alive with daily relevance to the Modern Jew.

All of the Torah can be summed up in one word: Chesed. It means kindness. The Talmud teaches that the Torah is about loving our fellow man and that we are to go and study. The rest is commentary. This compendium clarifies the commentary and allows one to study Torah and Talmud to learn the Judaic ideals of love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy and peace. A must read for all Jews and deserves a place in every Jewish home.

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494 Pages
Published by: Amazon's BookSurge

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(001) The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal

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In The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal: A Path of Transformation for the Modern Jew, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Segal distills millennia of sage advice to reclaim your Judaism and your spirituality.

  • Price : $19.99

(002) A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud

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A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud dissects each of the Torah's weekly sections (parashot) using the Talmud and other rabbinic texts to show the true Jewish take on what the Torah is trying to teach us.

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(003) Tzadakkah Bundle

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The Handbook to Jewish Spiritual Renewal and A Spiritual and Ethical Compendium to the Torah and Talmud. Purchase both books as a set, and I will donate a portion of the sales price in your name to the tzadakkah of your choice. -- Rabbi Segal

  • Price : $44.98