Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/312

266 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Asrriculture

century the sugiir iiidiislry was monopolized by the with tlieir expulsion from Brazil it was ninsplautcil to tlie West Indies, where, in ICGIi, David de Mercato's invention of new sugar-mills benclited The Jews in Georgia, the .sugar-trade in IJarbados, chief amou^ them Abraham de Lyon, transplanted vine and silk cidturo from Portugal to America (•• Publ. Am. Jew. Hist. 8oc." i. 1(1). But while De Lyon cherished great expectations in that direction, "the Jews of Georgia in gciicnil found the pro.lews, "aiul t

PtOWIXG (.fter Beoziuger,

I.

found

its

advocates

rice,

among

K.

thcin.

money, the while lie has no land of his own, what enjoyment hath he from all his travail?" (Ix'V. R. xxii.). "Although trading gives greater prolits.these after

may all be

lost in a

moment



therefore, never hesitate

buy land." "Sow. but do not buy grain, even though grain be cheap and thy land be ])oor" (Yeb. C:i'/). " A man may not sell his lield and put the money in his purse, or buy a beast, or furniture, or a house, to

except he be a poor man a man sold a licId out of

" (Sifra,

his

Behar,

,')).

"

When

patrimony, his relatives

PALKSTIXt:.

" Hebrtbche

corn, tobacco, and cotton more profitable (rtiW. p. 12). In fact, the cotton-plantations iu many parts of the South were whoUj' in the hands of the Jews, and as a consequence slavery

duction of uidigo,

266

Archl'-'I'^n'

-

would bring barrels filled with cabbage-stiUUs and nut-shells and break them before him; the children would gat her up the Cfintentsandshout.'N.X. has cut and when he took himself off from his inheritance! '



back again they did the same, shouting, N. N. has got back his patrimony " (Yer. Ket. ii. 26ff). "He that hath a little garden of his own, and fertilizes it, digs it, and enjoys its produce, is far better off than he that works a large garden upon shares" (Lev. R. " Hast thou a field ? work it with all thy might: iii.). if a man make himself a slave unto his field, lie will be satisfied with bread" (Sanh. 58/-). "He that inspects his field every day will find a stutter [Greek coin] in it" (Hul. 105«/). In Eccl. R. ii. 20, a story is told of a very old man who labored early and late at jilanting trees, though, as the emperor Hadrian taunted him, he could notexpecttoenjoythcirfruit: the moral of the interesting narrative being that every man is bound to till the ground, even though he may not expect to reap the fruit of his labor; for when he came into the world, he found that other men had subdued and cultivated it for him: therefore shall he not allow his jiortion to run wild or lie '

it

'

The following pithy sentences, culled from rabbinserve to show the estimation in

ical literature, will

which Agriculture was held in the latter days of .Jewish national life: "In time to come all Iiandicraftsmen will turn to the working of the soil for the soil is the surest source of sustenance to those that work

and such occupation brings with it. moreover, health of body and ease of mind " (Yeb. 63'/). "He that owns no land is no man " (,>//.). "The verse. Dent, xxviii. 66. is to be thus expounded Thy life shall liang in doubt before thee ': this refers to him that buys his food-supplies from year In Rabbin- to year; 'thou shalt fear day and ical nigiit': this refers to him that buys Literature. them from -week to week thou shalt have none assurance of thy life ': this refers to him that depends upon the store-keeper" (Men. 103J; Yer. Shab. viii. 11«; Yer. Shek.viii. Uln; Esther R., introduction). "He that toils and stinves it;

'



'



barren



for there are others that shall

come after him. F. DE S. M.