Tamid 32a — the Talmud in English

He said to them:

What is the greater distance? Is the distance

from heaven to earth far

greater,

or

the distance

from

the end of the

east to

the end of the

west far

greater ?

They said to him:

The sun

from east to west

is farther than the distance from heaven to earth!

Know

that this is so,

for

when

the sun is in the east, everyone looks at it

and is not dazzled, because its light is not so strong. And likewise when

the sun is in the west, everyone looks at it.

But when

the sun is in the middle of the firmament, not everyone looks at it,

because its light is strong and harms the eyes. And from here there is proof that the distance from the end of the east to the west is farther than the distance between heaven and earth. For when the sun is in the east and in the west, it is very far away, and therefore its light is not abundant. But when it is at the height of the firmament, it is not so far away, and therefore its light is abundant.

And

if

the Sages say: both this and this—

the distance from east to west and the distance from heaven to earth—

are equal

they are!

As it is stated: “As the height of heaven above the earth, His kindness has prevailed over those who fear Him.” And it is written: “As far as east is from west, He has distanced our transgressions from us.” And if one of them,

heaven from earth or east from west,

is greater

than the other,

why do I need both

measures?

Let us write

only

that

measure

which is greater

by far!

But rather,

this

sun in the middle of the firmament—

why does not everyone look at it?

It is not because it is nearer. Rather,

because it stands

there, the sun,

plainly

in exposure,

and nothing covers it,

and therefore its light is abundant. Whereas when it stands in the east and in the west, mountains and hills that intervene between it and us weaken its light.

And further

he said to them,

Alexander to the elders: Is

heaven created first or the earth

created first ?

They said

to him:

Heaven was created first.

For

it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Thus, heaven is written first .

Further,

he said to them: was light created first, or darkness

created first?

They said to him: this matter—

has no solution

[solution]!

And we raise an objection:

Let the elders say to him

to Alexander:

Darkness was created first, for

this

is written: “And the earth was tohu and bohu, and darkness

was upon the face of the deep,”

and afterward

it is written

“And God said: Let there be light, and there was light.”

Thus, darkness is written first in the verse.

And we answer: Indeed, this is so; this is how it was. But they did not wish to answer him anything, because

they reasoned: perhaps he will come to ask

them:

What is above

the firmament above the heads of the living creatures,

and what is below them? What is before

outside the partition of the world, toward the east,

and what is behind

outside the partition of the world, toward the west? And therefore they said to him that they had no solution, and through this he would refrain from asking them further about the work of creation.

And we raise another objection:

If so,

also concerning his question,

“Was heaven

created first or the earth,”

they should likewise not have told him

an answer, because

perhaps he will come to ask: what is above, what is below, what is before, and what is behind?

And why, in this matter, did they answer him?

And we answer:

At first they thought

that he was asking

merely by chance.

And therefore they answered him. But

once they saw that he was returning

and

asking, they reasoned: let us not tell him

an answer.

Perhaps he will come to ask: what is above, what is below, what is before, and what is behind .

Further

he said

and asked

them: which one

[which is]

is called wise?

They said to him: which is a wise person—

one who sees what will be born!

Who understands from his heart what is destined to occur and guards himself from it.

He said to them: which is called mighty?

They said to him: which is a mighty person—

one who conquers his inclination!

When he comes into a transgression, he escapes from it.

He said to them: which is called wealthy?

They said to him: which is a wealthy person—

one who rejoices in his portion!

In what the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him .

He said to them: what should a person do, and

through this

live?

They said to him:

If he wishes to live,

let him make himself dead!

That is, let him humble himself. And people will take pity on him. And through this he will live many years .

He said to them: what should a person do, and

through this

die?

They said to him: if he wishes to die,

let him make himself alive!

That is, let him raise and exalt himself. And through this people will envy him and cast an evil eye upon him. And through this he will die.

He said to them: what should a person do, and

through this

be accepted by people

[be accepted by people]?

They said

to him:

Let him hate

[hate] and distance himself

from kings

[kings]

and

from

authority

[authority], and through this people will love him, and his words will be accepted by them. But a person who is accustomed to speaking with kings and ministers is envied by people, and they hate him and his deeds.

He said to them Alexander:

My wisdom

is better than

the wisdom

of yours.

For I give a person better advice for being accepted by people.

And what is it?—

Let him love

[love]

his kings and

his

authorities,

and draw close to them.

And let him do good with human beings,

by speaking with the king so that he will not burden them with his yoke. And through this people will honor him and love him.

Further

he said to them:

Where is it preferable to dwell? Is it

at sea

[in the sea]

good to dwell, or on the mainland is it good to dwell?

They said to him: on the mainland it is good to dwell!

And the proof is

that all seafarers

[those who go down to sea]

do not find peace of mind

[their minds do not settle]

until they go up onto the mainland.

He said to them: which one of you

[who among you]

is wiser

than the others?

They said to him: all of us are equal as one

in our wisdom!

For every matter that you said

and asked

us, with

one mind

we solved for you,

and all of us agreed to that solution.

He said to them: what is this, that you have stood up against me?

What is this, that you Jews stand and defy us, and do not accept our religion? “You have stood up against me”—an expression of a shield and defense. We are more numerous than you, and you are subjugated beneath us. And from this there is proof that our religion is the true religion.

They said to him:

This is not proof. For we see every day

that the satan

[Satan]

conquers!

And he misleads human beings. Therefore, there is no wonder that we are beneath you.

He said to them:

You are fools for holding to your religion. For if I wish,

I shall kill you by decree of kings!

For I am a king, and I have the power to ask the other kings, who are my friends, to give me permission to kill you.

They said to him:

It is true that

authority is in the hand of the king,

and in your hand it is to do with us whatever you wish. But you did promise us that you would not do us harm.

And it is not fitting for a king

to speak

falsehood,

and to break his promise.

Immediately he clothed

Alexander

them

[the elders]

in purple garments

[purple],

and placed a golden necklace

[a gold chain]

upon their necks.

He said to them: I desire to go

[I wish to go]

to the land of Africa.

They said to him: you cannot go

there, because

there are interrupted

in the middle of the way

mountains of darkness,

which have darkness by day and by night, and no person can pass through them.

He said to them: it is impossible that I not go

[it is impossible for me not to go] there, because I have already resolved to go.

For this reason

[and because of this]

I am asking you: rather, what shall I do

so that I will be able to pass there?

They said to him: bring Nubian donkeys that walk in darkness

[bring large Egyptian donkeys that know how to walk in darkness].

And bring balls of thread

[bundles of ropes. Rashi, Avodah Zarah 17b].

And

when you pass the mountains of darkness,

tie

[tie] the end of the rope

on this side

of the mountains, where there is light, and hold the other end of the rope in your hand, and walk until you reach the other side of the mountains, and tie it there. And it will help you

when you come

on your way back,

grasp the ropes

[hold onto the ropes],

and

walk along them until

you come

again

to your place

[your place].

Alexander did

Alexander

this, and went

there. And when he reached the land of Africa,

he arrived at a certain district, which was entirely women

[women], and there were no men at all in that city.

Alexander wished

Alexander

to make war

[war]

with them,

those women, and to conquer that city.

They said to him,

those women: in any event, it is not worthwhile for you to fight us.

If you kill us, they will say: he killed women!

And the matter will not add honor to you, because this is not bravery.

And

if

we

kill you, they will say:

How bad is this king, that

women killed the king

he is!

He said to them: bring me bread! They brought him golden bread on a golden table

[they brought him bread of gold, placed on a golden table].