Tamid 32a (לב.) — 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

east to the

edge of the

west far

greater ?

They said to him:

The sun

from east to west

is farther away than the distance from heaven to earth!

You can know

that this is so,

for

when

the sun is in the east, everyone looks at it

and they are 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. From here there is proof that the distance from the eastern edge to the western edge is greater than the distance between heaven and earth. When the sun is in the east or west, it is very far away, and therefore its light is not abundant. But when it is high in the firmament, it is not as far away, and therefore its light is abundant.

And

if

the Sages say: Both this and that—

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

are equal

they are!

As it is stated: “As high as heaven is above the earth, so has His kindness prevailed over those who fear Him.” And it is written: “As far as the east is from the west, so has He 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 him write

only

that

measure

which is greater

by far!

But if so,

this matter of

the sun being in the middle of the firmament—

why does not everyone look at it?

It is not because it is closer. Rather,

because it is standing

there, the sun

completely exposed [

openly]

with nothing covering it, and therefore its light is abundant. This is not so when it stands in the east or west, where mountains and hills that intervene between it and us weaken its light.

And further,

he

said to them,

Alexander said to the elders: Is

heaven created first, or earth

created first ?

They said

to him:

Heaven was created first.

Because

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

Heaven is therefore 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 challenge this:

Let the elders say to him

the following:

Darkness was created first, for

this

it is written: “And the earth was formless and void, 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: Yes, indeed, this is so. But they did not wish to give him an answer, because

they thought: 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 inside

beyond the boundary of the world, toward the east,

and what is behind

beyond the boundary of the world, toward the west? Therefore they told him that they had no solution, and as a result he would refrain from asking them further about the account of Creation.

And we challenge this again:

If so,

also concerning his question,

“Was heaven

created first, or earth,”

they should likewise not have given him

an answer, because

perhaps he would come to ask: What is above, what is below, what is inside, and what is behind?

Why, then, did they answer him in this case?

And we answer:

At first they thought

that

he was asking merely by chance.

Therefore they answered him. But

once they saw that he kept returning

and

asking, they thought: Let us not give him

an answer.

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

Further, he

said

and asked

them: Which one [

which is]

is called wise?

They said to him: Who is a wise person—

one who sees what is born!

One who understands intuitively what is destined to happen and takes precautions against it.

He said to them: Who is called mighty?

They said to him: Who is mighty—

one who conquers his inclination!

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

He said to them: Who is called wealthy?

They said to him: Who is wealthy—

one who is happy with his portion!

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

He said to them: What should a person do, and thereby

through this

live?

They said to him:

If he wishes to live,

let him cause himself to die!

That is, let him humble himself, and people will take pity on him. As a result, he will live for many years .

He said to them: What should a person do, and thereby

through this

die?

They said to him: If he wishes to die,

let him bring himself to life!

That is, let him elevate and exalt himself. As a result, people will envy him and cast an evil eye upon him, and he will die as a result.

He said to them: What should a person do, and thereby

through this

be accepted by people [

be accepted by others]?

They said

to him:

Let him hate [

hate] and distance himself from

kings [

kings]

and

from

the authorities [

the government], and as a result people will love him and accept his words. But people envy a person who is accustomed to speaking with kings and ministers, and they hate him and his deeds.

Alexander said to them:

My wisdom

is better than

the wisdom

of yours.

I can give a person better advice on how to be accepted by people.

And what is that?

Let him love [

love]

the kings and

his

the authorities,

and draw close to them.

And let him do good for people,

by speaking with the king so that he will not burden them with his rule. As a result, people will honor and love him.

Further,

he said to them:

Where is it preferable to live? Is it

at sea [

in the sea]

preferable to live, or is it preferable to live on the mainland?

They said to him: It is preferable to live on the mainland!

The proof is

that all seafarers [

sailors]

do not settle their minds [

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 answered you with one solution,

and all of us agreed to that solution.

He said to them: What is the reason that you resist me?

Why is it that you Jews stand up and defy us and do not accept our religion? “You resist” is an expression related to a shield and protection. We are more numerous than you, and you are subjugated beneath us. This proves that our religion is the true religion.

They said to him:

That is no proof. For we see every day

that Satan [

a satan]

prevails!

And he misleads human beings. Therefore, it is no wonder that we are under your rule.

He said to them:

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

I can kill you by decree of kings!

I am a king, after all, and I can 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 hands of the king,

and you have the power to do with us as you wish. But you promised us that you would not harm us.

And it is not fitting for a king

to speak

falsehood

and violate his promise.

Immediately Alexander dressed

the elders

in [

the elders]

purple garments [

purple],

and placed a golden necklace [

a golden chain]

around their necks.

He said to them: I wish to go [

I want to go]

to the country of Africa.

They said to him: You cannot go

there, because

there are

mountains blocking the way,

mountains of darkness

in which there is darkness day and night, and no person can pass through them.

He said to them: It is impossible for me not to go [

I cannot refrain from going] there, because I have already resolved to go.

For this reason [

and therefore]

I am asking you: What should I do

so that I can pass through there?

They said to him: Bring Libyan donkeys that can travel in darkness [

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

And bring coils of rope [

balls of rope. Rashi, Avoda Zara 17b].

And

when you cross 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. Walk until you reach the other side of the mountains, and tie it there. This will help you

when you come

on your way back,

to take hold of them [

hold on to the ropes],

and

follow them until

you come

again

to your place [

your location].

Alexander did

this,

and went

there. When he reached the country of Africa,

he arrived at a certain province, all of whose inhabitants were women [

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

Alexander wanted

to

wage war [

war]

against them

and conquer that city.

Those women said to him:

In any event, you have no reason to fight us.

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

And this will not add to your honor, since it is not an act of valor.

And

if

we

kill you, they will say:

How despicable is this king, who

was killed by women

he is!

He said to them: Bring me bread! They brought him bread of gold, on a table of gold [

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