## Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta Chapter 10

###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:1
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:1)

רבי שמעון בן יוחי אומר שבוע שבן דוד בא שנה ראשונה מתקיימת והמטרתי על עיר אחת וגו׳ (עמוס ד׳:ז׳). שניה חצי רעב משתלחין. שלישית רעב גדול ומתים בו אנשים ונשים וטף וחסידים ואנשי מעשה מתמעטים ותורה משתכחת מלומדיה. רביעית שובע ואינו שובע. חמישית שובע גדול אוכלים ושותים ושמחים . בששית קולות. בשביעית מלחמות. במוצאי שביעית בן דוד בא: רבן גמליאל אומר דור שבן דוד בא בית הועד יהיה לזנות. הגליל יחרב. ואנשי הגליל יסובבו מעיר לעיר ולא יחוננו. וחכמת סופרים תסרח. ויראי חטא ימאסו פני הדור כפני הכלב והאמת נעדרת וסר מרע משתולל: רבי נהוראי אומר דור שבן דוד בא. נערים ילבינו זקנים זקנים יעמדו לפני נערים. בת קמה באמה. כלה בחמותה. ואין הבן מתבייש מאמו: ר׳ נחמיה אומר דור שבן דוד בא עזות תרבה והיוקר יעוות. והגפן (לא) תתן פריה. והיין יהיה ביוקר. והמלכות תהפך למינות. ואין תוכחת

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
R. Simeon b. Joḥai said: As for the seven-year cycle in which the son of David will come, in the first year will be fulfilled *And I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city;*¹ in the second, the arrows of hunger will be sent forth;² in the third there will be a severe famine in the course of which men, women and children will die, pious men and miracle workers become scarce, and the Torah will be forgotten by its students;³ in the fourth, there will be partial plenty;⁴ in the fifth, great plenty when men will eat, drink and rejoice and the Torah will be restored to its disciples;⁵ in the sixth [there will be heard heavenly] sounds;⁶ cf. Isa. 27, 13. in the seventh, wars [will be waged]; and at the expiration of the septennate the son of David will come.⁷
Rabban Gamaliel said: In the generation when the son of David comes, the house of assembly⁸ will be a brothel, Galilee will be in ruins, and the inhabitants of Gablan⁹, ‘Galilee’, as in Sanh., *loc. cit.* (Sonc. ed., p. 655, n. 4). will wander about [begging] from city to city without experiencing pity; the wisdom of scribes will be in disfavour and God-fearing men despised, the leaders of the people¹⁰ will be dog-faced;¹¹ truth will be lacking, and he that departs from evil will be regarded as demented.
R. Nehorai said: In the generation when the son of David comes, young men will insult the old, the aged will stand up before youth,¹² a daughter will rise up against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,¹³ and a son will not be abashed in his father’s¹⁴ presence.
R. Nehemiah said: In the generation when the son of David comes, impudence will increase, esteem will be perverted,¹⁵ the vine will yield its fruit yet wine will be dear,¹⁶ and the government will be converted to heresy¹⁷ By ‘the kingdom’ the Roman Empire is meant, and the statement is a remarkable forecast by R. Nehemiah (100 C.E.) of the conversion of Rome to Christianity under Constantine the Great in 313 C.E. Cf. however, Herford, *Christianity in Talmud and Midrash*, pp. 207ff., Sanh., *loc. cit.* (Sonc. ed., p. 656, n. 4). with none to reprove.

footnotes:
¹ Amos 4, 7. There will be famine in one place and plenty in another.
² i.e. not actual famine, but the first signs of it, nobody being completely satisfied.
³ Through lack of food.
⁴ lit. ‘plenty and no plenty’.
⁵ ‘And the Torah’, etc., is added by GRA.
⁶ Either heavenly voices announcing the advent of the Messiah or the blasts of the great shofar;
⁷ Cf. Sanh. 97a (Sonc. ed., pp. 654f.) for this and the following passages; also Midrash to Song of Songs 2, 13 (Sonc. ed., p. 126).
⁸ Where scholars gather.
⁹ The Jews living along the borders of the Land of Israel. Gablan is to be read for Galil
¹⁰ lit. ‘the face of the generation’.
¹¹ Shameless.
¹² To do them honour.
¹³ Cf. Micah 7, 6.
¹⁴ So GRA and H. V has ‘mother’s’.
¹⁵ No one will esteem another. Or, even the nobility and most honoured will degenerate.
¹⁶ Drunkenness will increase so that in spite of the abundant yield there will be a scarcity.
¹⁷ Heb. minuth.


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:2
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:2)

א״ר יוסי טבא תלת ווי לחדא דאזלא ולא אתיא.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
R. Jose said: Two are better than three,¹⁸ and alas for the one thing¹⁹ which goes and does not return.

footnotes:
¹⁸ So GRA. The two legs in youth are better than the three, i.e. the addition of a stick in old age for walking.
¹⁹ Youth.


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:3
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:3)

הוא היה אומר הגרע והבורסקי והבנאי אין מעמידין מהם פרנס על הצבור. ואין מעמידין מהם אפוטרופוס.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
He used to say: We do not appoint as leader of the community one who is a blood-letter,²⁰ a tanner or a builder;²¹ nor do we appoint any of them as an administrator.²²

footnotes:
²⁰ lit. ‘a scraper’, one who makes incisions in the skin to draw off blood.
²¹ Because their occupation is mean; cf. Ḳid. 82a (Sonc. ed., p. 424).
²² ibid.


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:4
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:4)

הוא היה אומר יושבי כפרים והולכי מדבריות חייהם אינן חיים. וממונם אינן שלהם. ובניהם אינן שלהם.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
He used to say: They who dwell in villages and they who travel in the wilderness lead a miserable life,²³ their money is not secure,²⁴ and their children are not their own.²⁵

footnotes:
²³ lit. ‘their life is no life’.
²⁴ lit. ‘not their money’; they can easily be robbed.
²⁵ Their wives are not safe from attack; cf. ‘Erub. 55b (Sonc. ed., p. 391).


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:5
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:5)

ארבע פרוטות אין בהם סימן ברכה . ואלו הם שכר כותבין. שכר מתורגמינן. ושכר הבא ממדינת הים. והנושא אשה לשום כתובה שאין מורישין לבניהם ולבני בניהם.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
Four *peruṭoth*²⁶ are without a sign of blessing.²⁷ They are: the wages of scribes,²⁸ and *mezuzoth;* if they become wealthy they would no longer write them. the wages of interpreters,²⁹ money that came from overseas,³⁰. and he who marries for the sake of a dowry.³¹ These will not be able to bequeath anything to their children or grandchildren.

footnotes:
²⁶ i.e. the monies earned from the four occupations enumerated.
²⁷ It is therefore not advisable to engage in them.
²⁸ Cf. Pes. 50b (Sonc. ed., p. 246) where the reference is to writers of Torah-scrolls, tefillin
²⁹ Officials who delivered the Sabbath lectures of the Rabbi to the congregation. The Rabbi whispered his statement to the interpreter, who elaborated it to the people. It includes the translators of the weekly lections of the Torah on the Sabbath in the Synagogue. The reason given in Pes. is that it appears like wages for Sabbath work.
³⁰ Danger attended the transport of freights by sea and one might suffer loss
³¹ Pes. has instead ‘the profit of orphans’, i.e. derived by trading with trust money.


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:6
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:6)

יש נושא אשה לשום זנות. ויש נושא אשה לשום ממון ויש נושא אשה לשום גדולה. יש נושא אשה לשם שמים: הנושא אשה לשום זנות עליו הכתוב אומר (הושע ה׳:ז׳) בה׳ בגדו בי בנים זרים ילדו עתה יאכלם חדש את חלקיהם. חדש נכנס וחדש יוצא וממונן כלה. והנושא אשה לשום גדולה. לסוף שמורידין אותו מגדולתו. והנושא אשה לשם שמים סוף שיוצאין ממנו בנים שמושיעין את ישראל.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
There are some who marry for sexual indulgence, and there are some who marry for money. There are some who marry for social advancement³² and there are some who marry with sincere intention.³³ Of him who marries for sexual indulgence Scripture declares, *They have dealt treacherously against the Lord, for they have begotten strange children*.³⁴ meaning ‘strange from the ways of decency’. Of him who marries for money Scripture declares, *Now shall the new moon devour them with their portions*,³⁵ [implying] a month comes and a month goes and their money is gone. He who marries for social advancement will ultimately be deposed from his high position; but he who marries with sincere intention will ultimately have children who will be saviours of Israel.

footnotes:
³² lit. ‘greatness’.
³³ lit. ‘for the sake of heaven’, to fulfil the command to procreate.
³⁴ Hos. 5, 7. In Ḳid. 70a (Sonc.ed., p.354) the verse is applied to one who marries for money and it states that ‘he will have unworthy children’, the word strange
³⁵ ibid.


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:7
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:7)

הדר אלהים בני אדם. הדר בני אדם כסותן. הדר תורה (הדר) חכמה. הדר זקנה שיבה. הדר בחורים יראת חטא. הדר עם הארץ מארה.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
The adornment of God is mankind; the adornment of mankind is the Torah;³⁶ the adornment of the Torah is wisdom; the adornment of old age is grey hair; the adornment of youth is the fear of sin; the adornment of an *‘am ha-’areẓ* is a curse.³⁷

footnotes:
³⁶ So GRA. V has ‘their garments’; cf. Shab. 113b (Sonc. ed., p. 556).
³⁷ The opposite of ‘blessing’ which he deserves for the neglect of the Torah. The meaning is obscure. Two possibilities suggest themselves. 1) That he deserves nothing more than a curse (and this reflects the reciprocal hostility we find elsewhere between the ע״ה and the scholar. 2) That a curse comes most readily to the lips of an ע״ה.


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:8
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:8)

קרא ולא שנה הרי [זה] בור. שנה ולא קרא עם הארץ. קרא ושנה ולא פירש חכם. קרא ושנה ופירש נבון. לא קרא ולא שנה נוח לו שלא נברא.

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
He who learnt Scripture but not Mishnah is a boor; he who learnt Mishnah and not Scripture is an *‘am ha-’areẓ;*³⁸. he who learnt Scripture and Mishnah but has not expounded them is a scholar; he who learnt Scripture and Mishnah and expounded them is an intelligent man; and as for him who learnt neither Scripture nor Mishnah, better for him if he had not been born.

footnotes:
³⁸ The reading in Ber. 47b (Sonc. ed., p. 287) and Soṭah 22a (Sonc. ed., p. 110) is: ‘Even if he learnt Scripture and Mishnah but did not attend upon Rabbinical scholars, he is an ‘am ha-’areẓ’


###### Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:9
[Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta 10:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Derekh%20Eretz%20Zuta/r/10:9)

חכמה ואין יראה בזויה. אין חכמה ואין יראה רשע גמור. חכמה ויראה צדיק גמור:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
One who has wisdom but no fear [of God] is contemptible;³⁹ [one who has] fear [of God] but no wisdom is poor;⁴⁰ [one who has] neither wisdom nor fear [of God] is thoroughly wicked; [one who has] wisdom and fear [of God] is thoroughly righteous.

footnotes:
³⁹ Or his knowledge is contemptible, because he does not use it for a good purpose.
⁴⁰ The clause is added by GRA. He lacks what is essential; or, his fear of God is of poor quality.