AND I BESOUGHT THE LORD AT THAT TIME SAYING, O LORD GOD, THOU HAST BEGUN TO SHOW THY SERVANT, ETC. R. Jose adduced here the verse: “And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord” (Isa. 38, 2). ‘How great’, he said, ‘is the power of the Torah, and how it is exalted above all, since he who occupies himself with the Torah fears no adversaries either above or below, nor any evil haps of the world, because he is attached to the Tree of Life and eats therefrom every day.
For the Torah teaches man how to walk in the right way, it gives him counsel how to return to his Master, so that even if sentence of death has been passed on him it is annulled and removed from him and impends not over him. Therefore he should occupy himself with the Torah day and night and never depart from it: for if he banishes the Torah from him or departs from it, it is as though he parted from life.
Now it is a good counsel for a man that when he goes to his bed at night he should take upon himself the yoke of the heavenly kingdom with a perfect heart and hasten to entrust to God his soul. The reason, as we have explained, is that all the world then has a foretaste of death, as the tree of death is then present in the world, and all the spirits of men then leave them and ascend and are delivered to Him, but because they are given in trust they afterwards return to their places.
(דברים ג׳:כ״ג-כ״ד) וָאֶתְחַנַּן אֶל יְיָ' בָּעֵת הַהִיא לֵאמֹר. אֲדֹנָ"י ידִֹוִ"ד אַתָּה הַחִלּוֹתָ לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַבְדְּךָ וְגוֹ'. רִבִּי (בראשית י"א) יוֹסֵי פָּתַח, (ישעיהו ל״ח:ב׳) וַיַּסֵּב חִזְקִיָּהוּ פָּנָיו אֶל הַקִּיר וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל אֶל יְיָ'. תָּא חֲזֵי, כַּמָּה הוּא חֵילָא תַּקִּיפָא דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, וְכַמָּה הוּא עִלָּאָה עַל כֹּלָּא. דְּכָל מַאן דְּאִשְׁתְּדַּל בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, לָא דָּחִיל מֵעִלָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי. וְלָא דָּחִיל מֵעִרְעוּרִין בִּישִׁין דְּעָלְמָא. בְּגִין דְּאִיהוּ אָחִיד בְּאִילָנָא דְּחַיֵּי, וְאָכִיל מִנֵּיהּ בְּכָל יוֹמָא.
AND I BESOUGHT THE LORD AT THAT TIME SAYING, O LORD GOD, THOU HAST BEGUN TO SHOW THY SERVANT, ETC. R. Jose adduced here the verse: “And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord” (Isa. 38, 2). ‘How great’, he said, ‘is the power of the Torah, and how it is exalted above all, since he who occupies himself with the Torah fears no adversaries either above or below, nor any evil haps of the world, because he is attached to the Tree of Life and eats therefrom every day.
דְּהָא אוֹרַיְיתָא אוֹלִיף לֵיהּ לְבַּר נָשׁ, לְמֵיהַךְ בְּאֹרַח קְשׁוֹט. אוֹלִיף לֵיהּ עֵיטָא הֵיךְ יְתוּב קַמֵּי מָארֵיהּ (לבטלה לההיא גזרה). וַאֲפִילּוּ יִתְגְּזָר עָלֵיהּ מוֹתָא, כֹּלָּא יִתְבָּטַּל וְיִסְתְּלַּק מִנֵּיהּ, וְלָא שַׁרְיָא עֲלוֹי. (עיטא דבר נש בהאי עלמא) וְעַל דָּא בָּעֵי לְאִשְׁתַּדְּלָא בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא יְמָמָא וְלֵילֵי, וְלָא יִתְעֲדֵי מִנַהּ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, (יהושע א׳:ח׳) וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה. וְאִי אַעְדֵי מִינֵּיהּ אוֹרַיְיתָא, אוֹ אִתְפְּרַשׁ מִנַּהּ, כְּאִלּוּ אִתְפְּרַשׁ מִן חַיֵּי.
For the Torah teaches man how to walk in the right way, it gives him counsel how to return to his Master, so that even if sentence of death has been passed on him it is annulled and removed from him and impends not over him. Therefore he should occupy himself with the Torah day and night and never depart from it: for if he banishes the Torah from him or departs from it, it is as though he parted from life.
תָּא חֲזֵי, עֵיטָא דְּבַּר נָשׁ כַּד אִיהוּ סָלִיק בְּלֵילְיָא עַל עַרְסֵיהּ, בָּעֵי לְקַבְּלָא עָלֵיהּ עוֹל מַלְכוּתָא דִּלְעֵילָּא, בְּלִבָּא שְׁלִים. וּלְאַקְדְמֵי לְמִימְסַר גַּבֵּיהּ פִּקְדּוֹנָא דְּנַפְשֵׁיהּ. וְהָא אוּקְמוּהָ, בְּגִין דְּכָל עָלְמָא טַעֲמִין טַעֲמָא דְּמוֹתָא, דְּהָא אִילָנָא דְּמוֹתָא שַׁרְיָא בְּעָלְמָא, וְכָל רוּחֵי דִּבְנֵי נָשָׁא נָפְקִין, וְסַלְּקִין וְאִתְטַמְּרָן (ס"א ואתמסרו) גַּבֵּיהּ. וּבְגִין דְּאִינּוּן בְּפִקְדּוֹנָא, כֻּלְּהוּ תַּיְיבִין לְאַתְרַיְיהוּ.
Now it is a good counsel for a man that when he goes to his bed at night he should take upon himself the yoke of the heavenly kingdom with a perfect heart and hasten to entrust to God his soul. The reason, as we have explained, is that all the world then has a foretaste of death, as the tree of death is then present in the world, and all the spirits of men then leave them and ascend and are delivered to Him, but because they are given in trust they afterwards return to their places.