Legend and Fable inMediæval Hebrew Literature
“If thy desire is to understand Him, whose word brought the world into being, study Haggadah.” - [Sifri, Deut. 49.
1. The Sand and the Seas.
The waters rose so high that they reached the seat of God, and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, “Let the waters be gathered together.” When the earth heard this she brought forth mountains and valleys, and the waters came down and filled the valleys. Then they rose again, and in their pride they said, “In the whole creation there is none stronger than we; let us spread over the whole earth, this place is too narrow for us.” But God rebuked them, saying, “Do not boast of your strength, I will commission the sand to set a boundary to you which you shall not pass.” But when the waters saw the grains of sand, and behold they were so small and minute, they despised them, saying, “What can these do unto us? Let but the smallest of our waves pass over them and they will be swept away.” When the largest of the sand grains saw that his comrades were frightened, he called unto them and said, “My brethren, do not fear. It is true, we are very small, and each one of us by himself is as naught. The softest wind can blow one of us away to the ends of the earth. But let all of us gather together, and unite and live in peace, then will
the haughty waters see our strength and our power, and will not despise us.” And the sand grains heard these words and came flying from the four corners of the earth, and they united and encamped on the shores of the seas, heaps upon heaps, groups upon groups, and set a boundary to the waters. Then the waters looked at the sand, and behold, it was numerous and mighty, and they trembled and stepped back. And the “Prince of the Sea” said to the waters: “From the way of the sand you can see that even the very weak may become great and mighty in power if they combine and unite into one.”—Midrash Psalms.
2. The Dream of Jacob.
And Jacob dreamt, and behold, a ladder eight thousand miles wide was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven. And four angels in the guise of men began to scale the ladder. And Jacob contemplated them, and behold, on the forehead of one was written, “Prince of Babylon,” and on the forehead of the remaining three “Prince of Media,” “Prince of Greece,” and “Prince of Edom.” And Jacob looked after them, and behold, the first scaled seventy steps, the second fifty, and the third one