Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/651

599 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

599 loviii!;

kindness and go beyond that of

tici'! "

(Her.

worketli not the righteousness of God " (James, i. 19. very similar expres.sion occurs in Ab. v. II [Kiishch lik-'os): "There are four dispositions (1) lie who is ea.sily provoked and easily ])acitied his gain is cancelled "liy his loss; (2) He who is hard to provoke and hard to pacify his loss is canceled by his gain; (i) The one who is hard to provoke (VlK'p

strict jus-

'ill).

"pliilosophcr" (D1ED17S) asked R. Gamaliel: "Since your God is 'a consuinini.' tire.' why does he take vengeance upon the idolaters and not ujjdu the idols themselves?" And he answered. "Suppose a kiiijr has a disrespectful son, who jrave his dojj the

and swore by

of his father

—

—

name, shall

that

D1J?37) and easily pacified is a Hasid (4) lie who is easily provoked and hard to pacify is wicked." One of the especial virtues practised by the Ilasi dim Essenes) was to rest rain anger and to show a mild temper (.see Josephus, "B. J." ii. 8, t; 6; Philo, "On

vent his anger upon the dog or upon his irreverent son?" It is the idolater, nf)t the irres[)onsil)le idol, that excites God's anger (Ab. Zarali, tli<'

fatlicr

(

54/').

-Maimonidcs, in "Moreh,"i. 36, declares that wherever Anger is applied to God in the Bible, it has reference to idolatrous practises, the idolater being the liater of the Lord. (As to the inaccuracy of this statement, see the commentaries; but as to its gen" Love all eral meaning, compare Al). R. N. xvi. fellow creatures, but hate those that are haters of

God":

also Pes.

Anger

USk)

Man:

in

If this be the outburst of a

indigruition at the sight of

wrong done,

it

holy

Zeal

is

and coiulueive to godliness (.see Num. xxv. Kings, xix. 10. 14: P's. Ixix. 9). Anger kindled into jiassion, however, is conducive to strife (Prov. XXX. 3U). • lie that is slow to wrath is of great understanding, but he that is hasty of temper [A. V. "spirit"] exalteth folly" (Prov. xiv. '29; compare Prov. xii. If), xiv. 17; Job, v. 2; Ecclus. xxvii. 30). "A wrathful man stirretli up strife: he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife" (Prov. xv. IS). "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty" (Prov. xvi. 3'2). "He not hasty in thy spirit tobe angry; for anger resteth in tjie liosom of fools" (F>cl. vii. 9). Jacob already condemned Anger in liis sons Simon and Levi, although it was the outflow of righteous indignation: "Cursed lie their anger, for it was tierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel " (Gen. xlix. T). Anger is condeiuned in stronger tenns in apocry{kiiiiih). 11!;

I

I>hal

A

'2(1).

A

naiiii'

and rabbinical literature (Ecclus. i. 2'2): "A furious man can not be justified;

In Apocryphal

for the sway of his fury shall be his destruction." In the Testaments of the and Rab- Patriarchsalmost the whole Testament of Dun (chaps, i.-vi.) dwells on anger binical Literature, (l).in having been one of those reported to his father by Joseph as having eaten forbidden meat see Geiger,""J»d. Zeit." vii. 131):

An^er

the Virtuous Being Free," xii.). ThusEliezerb. Ilyr canus taught. Ab. ii. 14: "Be not easily provoked (compare Ilillel's saying. "The irritable man can not teach." Ab. ii. 4). Likewise, the moral teachings at the end of Paul's epistles: " Now ye also put off these: anger, wr.ith, malice." etc. (Col. iii. S; Gal. v. 26, Eph. vi. 4). Especially significant is Ejih. iv. 2: " Be j'caugry and sin not; let not the sun go down on voiir wrath " a teaching shown by Resell ("Agraplia." pp. 110, 210), to be taken from some "Scripture" liased upon Ps. iv. 4 (compare Ber. 19(0: "If one of the wise have committed a sin at night, be sure that he has repented (upon his all

compare

—

bed) and bear him no grudge the following day " (Baraita cle R. Ishmael; comjiare Ber. 19iO. "God loves him who never gets angry " (Pes. 1134). "The mysterious name of Forty -two is entrusted only to him who is retiringly chaste (JflJSI and who never gets angry" (Kid. 71<"/). To H. Judah. brother of Selathe Hasid. Elijah the prophet said; "Do not get angry and you will not .siu " (Ber. '294). A man who gets angry, if he be one of the wise, his wisdom departs from him for Moses iu his anger forgot the law and Eleazar. his iiejihew. had to declare it (Num. xxxi. 21). If he be a prophet, the spirit of )irophecy forsiikes him; for Elisha in his anger had to invoke the musician's aid to call back the spirit that had left him (II Kings, iii. 14. ir>). Nay. if heaven assigned a high rank to him, it will be taken away; for of Eliab. the brother of D.'ivid. God said." I have refused him " (I Sam. xvi. 7) the rea.son for which is afterward given in I Sam. xvii. 28: "Eliab's auger was kindled against David " (Pes. 6(54). "A man who gets angry will be overcome by the powers of (Jehenna. anil his body by ailments of the '

'





—

according to Ecd.

xi. 10. and Dent, xxviii. the Shekinah as it is written: The wicked in the height of his wrath will not seek God; God is not in his thoughts (I's. x. 4. 7/(4.) "He forgets his learning and grows foolish; nay, his sins will lie more numerous than his meritorious acts" (Ned. 2'2((. 4). "He wlio in his wrath teai-s his goods or garments is like a worshiper of idols, for it is written: There shall no strange god be in thee (Ps. Ixxxi. 10 |A. V. 9]): this is the evil spirit that enters man through anger" (Sliab. 10.V. "In three things a man is tested: in his cup (4,X<w. his purse {luk-isn). luid his luiger (/«A(i'(/.«" (Kr. «.V. The verse. "All the days of thi' atllicted are evil " (Prov. xv. 15), refers to the (|uicktempered

lielly,"

"He

<")).

despi.s<'th

'

" One iif the spirits of nellal wroiistit with me, saylni; Tiike this Hwonl unit with It sIhv J<«w'p)i. . This Is the spirit of uiigvx that I'ltiiii.seltHl me that even as a leopanl reiHleth u kht. so should I n-nd J«iseph, There Is hllmlness In tuiifer. my elilldren, and no wmttiful man n*irantelh any person with trnlti, for tliouirh It Is- a father or n mother, he treats thirii us enemies; thoiiKh lie iH' a hnither, lie knoueth him not ihoij);h he Im> a pn>phet. he dIsolH'yeih him: Ihouch a rli'hteons man, he n-Kunleth lilm licit n friemi lie iloth not arknowledk'e. For the Miilrit of aiii^er eni-oriipiLss4'tli lilm with the nets ipf deei'll, ami Ihniiitfh lyliik' darkeneih tils mind and viveth lilm a vision tif his own maklni;: li alTisieth his eve with lialnsl of the heart and irlveih him another lieait ai;alnst Ills hmther. Mvrhlldnn, nilsi'hlevons Is anirer: It ihanxilh IhelwHly of the anirrv man Into another, iiml over his soul It ReUetii the miLstiTV. He who Is « nitlifnl. It he !»• a inlKlily man, hath a tnhle |>ower In his antfei: vea. even though he lie weak, yet hath he two. fotil of tliat wlilrli Is hlshynutun': for wnitii aldeth mneli In nilM-hlef. 'rtierefon* when anv man H|M-aki-th atnilnst you. be not moved tnilo uniftT. Detmn from wrath. Ciusi

.

.

.

.

.





.

.

.

.

.

.

away wnith and

lyUiK,

"Re not prone ili'r;

.

.

.

.

to anger, for

nor a zealcd

.

.

ami love truth and lonusullerlnc."

anger leadeth

to

mur

nor contetilious. nor for murder also is the outcome of (,";/''

ijrr/f).

i|uiek tempereil these (Didaclie, iii. 2); compare "Whosoever is angry with his lirother without a cause shall be in

"

ilangerof the judjinient to

wrath

(

i(«jii;c 'ic

"

(Matt.

o/';';>),

"Ik' slow wrath of man

v. 22).

for the

'

'

'

(B. B. 14.V<).

"His

life is

no life" (Pes. 1134);

••

his

the only profit he has" (Kid. 41((. Eccl. R. to vii. 9). "By what virtue didst thou merit a long life'?" was the i|Uestion put to Zeini or to Adila b. Aliabah; ami the answer was: "I never excited luiger

anger

is

mv hotiseliolil " (Ta'anit. 204); "everv irritable man a fool" (Koh. R. to xi. 10). Still then- is also a righteous Anger. The verso, "Better is anger than laughter" (Eecl. vii. 3). is explained in Koh. R. ml Iih-.-. bettiT would have been the Anger which David should have displaved to ward Amuou and Adonijah than the laugliler of in is