SYNOPSIS OF SUBJECTS. xvii

etc., meaning to include the heathen, who are warned against blasphemy. Ten commandments were given to Israel at Marah; seven of them are those which were accepted by the descendants of Noah. The Noahide Laws: seven moral imperatives binding on all humanity. For the transgression of these commandments, a descendant of Noah is put to death, namely: adultery, bloodshed, and blasphemy. A descendant of Noah may be put to death by the decision of one judge, by the testimony of one witness, etc. Every relationship for which the punishment in the courts of Israel is death, a descendant of Noah is also warned against; but all other relationships, for which the punishment is not death, are permissible to them. He who raises his hand against his neighbor, although he has not yet struck him, is called wicked. "Flesh in which its life is, which is its blood, shall you not eat" [Genesis 9:4] means any member of an animal while it is still alive. We do not find any case where what is forbidden to the descendants of Noah is allowed to the Israelites. An unclean thing never came from heaven. There is no difference if one hears the blasphemy from the blasphemer himself or from a witness who heard it from the blasphemer—he must rend his garments A traditional Jewish sign of mourning or grief.. . . 164–187

MISHNAS VIII. TO XII. One is considered an idolater who worships an idol with its proper worship; even if he only sacrifices, burns incense, or pours wine, etc. Why not say that from bowing down, "all kinds of worship" is to be inferred? In our Mishna it is stated: "He who worships idols." There is another Mishna further on which states: He who says, "I will worship," is always considered an idolater. If one worships an idol because he loves it or because he fears it, etc. The Sabbath is more rigorous than all the other commandments in one respect, and all other commandments are more rigorous in another respect. There is a tradition: He who joins the name of Heaven with something else is to be destroyed. It happened to a heathen female who was very sick and vowed that if she recovered, she would worship all the idols that could be found. If one gives one of his children to Molech, he is not guilty unless he has transferred him to the servants, etc. One is not guilty unless he let him pass in the usual manner. What was that? A row of bricks were placed for passing. Baal ob (mentioned in the Scripture) is the spirit that makes the dead speak from his armpit, and Yidoñi means one that makes the dead speak from his mouth. Is not the one who queries an "ob" the same as one who inquires of the dead? Nay! An observer of times is, according to Rabbi Aqiba, he who calculates times and hours, saying: This day is good for traveling, etc. He who curses his father or mother is not punished with a capital punishment unless he curses them by the proper name of God. . . 187–194

MISHNAS XIII. TO XIV. He who sins with a betrothed damsel is not guilty to be stoned unless she was a maiden betrothed and still in her father's house. A seducer means one who is himself a commoner—for example, he says: There is an idol in such-and-such a place that eats, etc. Concerning all who are liable to capital punishment biblically, it is not allowed to hide witnesses except in this case. A conjurer is liable to be stoned only when he performs an act, not if he merely dazzled the eyes. The rules of witchcraft are similar to the rules of the Sabbath. There are some to which stoning applies. I have seen a rider of a camel who took his sword, cut off the head of the camel, and thereafter rang a bell, and the camel stood up. It was only a dazzling of the eyes. The legend of Rabbi Eliezer with his disciple: "You shall not learn to do" means: You must not learn to do, but you may learn it to understand it for the purposes of deciding cases. . . 194–200