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 Then having said these things straightway the Young Man went [up into] the heavens, and the heavens were opened, and the air shone so brightly that it is impossible for us to describe with human words the splendour of that light. And when Rabbâ had marvelled at the things which he had heard, straightway they beat [the board to summon] the brethren to the service of the night.

OW when the brethren had come to the congregation of the night, and the service for the night also was ended, they sat down to hearken unto his words; and he opened his mouth, and said unto them, “O my brethren, so long as ye have breath in your bodies strive for your redemption; and before there cometh the hour wherein we shall have to weep for our souls let us cultivate spiritual excellence with a ready mind. And I say unto you that, if ye knew what good things were in heaven, and the glory which is laid up for the saints, and how those who have fallen are punished by God, and the tortures which are laid up for those who have been neglectful, and especially for those who having known the truth have not, as was right, guided themselves thereby, instead of inheriting the blessedness which is reserved for the saints, [ye would do so]. Flee ye then from the punishments which are in [these] tortures! And consider the graves, and consider the resurrection of the children of men, who are nothing! Why then doth man, who is dust, vaunt himself with vainglory? Why then doth he, who is altogether stinkingness, exalt himself? Let us weep for ourselves whilst we still have the time, so that when our departure cometh nigh we may not be found asking God for more time wherein to repent. A wretched thing is that soul, and greatly to be blamed, which hath left the world, but which had not dedicated itself to God, and which had not lived worthily of its promise. Let us not then, O my brethren, allow this world, which is a small and a contemptible thing, and which resembleth a fleeting shadow, to steal away from us blessed and immortal life.

Verily I fear lest your fathers in the flesh, who lived in the world, and who were carried away by the anxious cares and afflictions of the world, and who imagined about you that ye were nigh unto the Lord, whereby ye received a pledge that ye would enter into a life of blessedness, will be more worthy than ye are of assistance in the world which is to come. And