Musar for Sanhedrin 181:17

אמר ליה אנטונינוס לרבי גוף ונשמה יכולין לפטור עצמן מן הדין כיצד גוף אומר נשמה חטאת שמיום שפירשה ממני הריני מוטל כאבן דומם בקבר ונשמה אומרת גוף חטא שמיום שפירשתי ממנו הריני פורחת באויר כצפור אמר ליה אמשול לך משל למה הדבר דומה למלך בשר ודם שהיה לו פרדס נאה והיה בו

came to plead against the Jews before Alexander of Macedon, they said, 'Canaan belongs to us, as it is written, The land of Canaan with the coasts thereof;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. XXXIV, 2. ');">¹⁵</span> and Canaan was the ancestor of these people [i.e., ourselves].' Thereupon Gebiha b. Pesisa<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [A legendary character traditionally contemporary with Alexander the Great.] ');">¹⁶</span> said to the Sages, 'Authorise me to go and plead against them before Alexander of Macedon: should they defeat me, then say, "ye have defeated but an ignorant man of us;" whilst if I defeat them, then say to them thus: "The Law of Moses has defeated you." 'So they authorised him, and he went and pleaded against them. 'Whence do ye adduce your proof?' asked he. 'From the Torah,' they replied. 'I too,' said he, 'will bring you proof only from the Torah, for it is written, And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. IX, 25. ');">¹⁷</span> Now if a slave acquires property, to whom does he belong, and whose is the property?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Obviously to his owner. Therefore, even if the land was given to the Canaanites, it belongs to their masters, the Jews, descendants of Shem. ');">¹⁸</span> Moreover, it is now many years that ye have not served us.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that you owe us your toil too for all that time. ');">¹⁹</span> Then Alexander said to them, 'Answer him!' 'Give us three days' time,' they pleaded. So he gave them a respite; they sought but found no answer. Immediately thereon they fled, leaving behind their sown fields and their planted vineyards. And that year was a Sabbatical year. On another occasion the Egyptians came in a lawsuit against the Jews before Alexander of Macedon. They pleaded thus: 'Is it not written, <i>And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and they lent them [gold and precious stones</i>, etc.]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. XII, 36. ');">²⁰</span> Then return us the gold and silver which ye took!' Thereupon Gebiha b. Pesisa said to the Sages, 'Give me permission to go and plead against them before Alexander of Macedon: should they defeat me, then say, "Ye have merely defeated an ignorant man amongst us;" whilst if I defeat them then say, "The Law of Moses has defeated you."' So they gave him permission, and he went and pleaded against them. 'Whence do ye adduce your proof?' asked he, 'From the Torah,' they replied. 'Then I too,' said he, 'will bring you proof only from the Torah, for it is written, <i>Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years</i>.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 40. ');">²¹</span> Pay us for the toil of six hundred thousand men whom ye enslaved for four hundred thirty years.' Then King Alexander said to them, 'Answer him!' 'Give us three days' time,' they begged. So he gave them a respite; they sought but found no answer. Straightway they fled, leaving behind their sown fields and planted vineyards. And that year was a Sabbatical year.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [On the dispute between the Egyptians and Jews, v. Levi, REJ. LXIII, 211ff.l ');">²²</span> On another occasion the Ishmaelites and the Ketureans<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' V. Gen. XXV, 1-4. ');">²³</span> came for a lawsuit against the Jews before Alexander of Macedon. They pleaded thus: 'Canaan belongs jointly to all of us, for it is written, <i>Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son</i>;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 12. ');">²⁴</span> and it is [further] written, <i>And these are the generations of Isaac,' Abraham's son</i>.'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 19. Hence, both being sons of Abraham, they had equal claims upon the land. For the same reason the Ketureans too made a claim. ');">²⁵</span> Thereupon Gebiha b. Pesisa said to the Sages: 'Give me permission to go and plead against them before Alexander of Macedon. Should they defeat me then say, "Ye have defeated one of our ignorant men;" whilst if I defeat them, say, "The Law of Moses has defeated you."' So they gave him permission, and he went and pleaded against them. 'Whence do ye adduce your proof?' asked he. 'From the Torah,' they replied. 'Then I too,' said he, 'will bring you proof only from the Torah, for it is written, And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 5f. ');">²⁶</span> if a father made a bequest to his children in his lifetime and sent them away from each other, has one any claim upon the other? [Obviously not.]' What gifts [did he give them]? — R. Jeremiah b. Abba said: This teaches that he imparted to them [the secrets of] the unhallowed arts.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the knowledge of sorcery, demons, etc. ');">²⁷</span> Antoninus<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Antoninus has been variously identified: with Marcus Aurelius (Rapport); Severus (Graetz, who, however, assumes that it was the second R. Judah the Prince who was the friend of Antoninus); Caracalla (Jast. and N. Krochmal), and others; v. 'A. Z. 10a, and J. E. I, 656. ');">²⁸</span> said to Rabbi: 'The body and the soul can both free themselves from judgment. Thus, the body can plead: The soul has sinned, [the proof being] that from the day it left me I lie like a dumb stone in the grave [powerless to do aught]. Whilst the soul can say: The body has sinned, [the proof being] that from the day I departed from it I fly about in the air like a bird [and commit no sin].' He replied, 'I will tell thee a parable. To what may this be compared? To a human king who owned a beautiful orchard which contained

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