Page:Hebrew tales; selected and translated from the writings of the ancient Hebrew sages (1917).djvu/66

62 practically teaching, that a tender connection once formed, though afterward dissolved, is never wholly forgotten by a good man; and that past misconduct is not to be recollected by us against the unhappy in the hour of their affliction.

Genesis Rabba, § XVII; Leviticus Rabba, § XXXIV; abbreviated in Yerushalmi Peah, XII, 1.

The Legacy of Rabbi Johanan to his Disciples

Rabbi Johanan, the son of Zakkai, a man no less celebrated for his great learning than his piety, was taken ill, his disciples went to visit him. They found their venerable master in his dying moments; his eyes bedewed with tears. Having often heard him descant on the vanity of this world, the immortality of the soul, and the great rewards reserved for the good and virtuous in the next world, they were very much surprised to see him in tears, as if regretting to leave this world; and therefore ventured to ask him for an explanation. "Thou light of Israel, chief pillar of the nation, and strength of the law," said they, "why dost thou weep?"—"Suppose," answered their pious instructor, "suppose I were to be conducted before the tribunal of some great king, who after all is but