His Insights
Even the few sentences of Ben Zoma that have come down to us show the depth of his thoughts; as, for instance, his reflections on seeing large crowds of people (Tosef., Ber. vii. 2; Ber. 58a):
Ben Zoma, seeing the crowds on the Temple mount, said, "Blessed be He who created all these to attend to my needs. How much had Adam to weary himself with! Not a mouthful could he taste before he plowed and sowed, and cut and bound sheaves, and threshed and winnowed and sifted the grain, and ground and sifted the flour, and kneaded and baked, and then he ate; but I get up in the morning and find all this ready before me. How much had Adam to weary himself with! Not a shirt could he put on before he sheared and washed the wool, and hatcheled and dyed and spun and wove and sewed, and then he clothed himself; but I rise in the morning and find all this ready before me. How many trades are anxiously busy early in the morning; and I rise and find all these things before me!"
Also his reflections on man as the guest of God in this world (ib.):
A grateful guest says, "That host be remembered for good! How many wines he brought up before me; how many portions he placed before me; how many cakes he offered me! All that he did, he did for my sake." But the ill-willed guest says, "What did I eat of his? A piece of bread, a bite of meat. What did I drink? A cup of wine. Whatever he did, he did for the sake of his wife and his children." Thus the Scripture says, "Remember that thou magnify His work, whereof men have sung."
Again, take his fourfold motto (Ab. iv. 1) on the truly wise, the truly rich, the truly powerful, and the truly esteemed. In the closing words of Ecclesiastes, "for this is the whole man," he finds the thought expressed, that the pious man is the crown and end of mankind; the whole race ("the whole world") was created only to be of service to him who fears God and respects His commandments (Ber. 6b; Shab. 30b; see Aruk, s.v., 5). Ben Zoma is also the originator of the beautiful sentence, "Hast thou, in repentance, been ashamed in this world, thou wilt not need to be ashamed before God in the next" (Ex. R. xxx. 19).
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