"Tremble of His word" means the scholars who study Gemara!!!!

TRACT BABA METZIA (MIDDLE GATE).

CHAPTER II.

LAWS RELATING TO FOUND ARTICLES, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE KEPT WITHOUT PROCLAMATION, AND HOW FOUND ARTICLES SHALL BE CARED FOR, ETC.

P. 79

R. Jehudah b. Ilayi lectured as follows: "It is written [Isaiah, xvi. 5]: 'Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble of his word. Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for the sake of my name, said, Let the Lord be glorified, but he will appear to your joy, and they shall be made ashamed.'" "Tremble of his word" means the scholars who study Gemara; "your brethren" means those who study the Scripture; "that hated you" means the students of the Mishnayoth (the students of the Mishnayoth, says Rashi, hated the students of the Gemara, because the latter had decided that the students of the Mishnayoth, without Gemara, are the destroyers of the world, because they act according to the Mishnayoth without knowledge of their sources and bases, and very often the Halakha does not prevail according to their decisions); "that cast you out" means the common people. But lest one say their hope has ceased, therefore it is written: "He will appear to your joy"; and may one say that Israel will be ashamed, therefore it is written: "And they (the idolaters) shall be ashamed, and Israel will rejoice." 1

Footnotes

79:1 This remarkable statement is interpreted by Rashi thus: When the disciples of Shamai and Hillel increased to a great number (about three generations before Rabbi), differing and quarrelling so, that it looked as if there were two Torahs. In addition to this, persecution by the government was increased daily, and new disagreeable decisions were renewed day by day, so that they could not give the proper attention to revise the point of their differences, until the days of Rabbi. When the Almighty gave him grace in the eyes of Antoninus Cæsar of Rome, who abolished all the disagreeable decisions, and Rabbi had the opportunity to compile the Mishnayoth, which was oral until his time. He assembled all the disciples of Palestine, and each of them had to report a Halakha which he had heard from a great man, which was written down in the name of each author, and only then the sections of the Mishnayoth were classified; i. e., the Halakhas which belong to damages, women, festivals, etc., were selected, separated in sections.

Rabbi, however, omitted from some Mishnayoth the name of their author for the purpose of establishing the Halakha accordingly, which probably could not be done if it were taught in the name of individuals, and when this was done, the Mishna mentioned in the text was said, i.e., "there is not a better custom than to study the Gemara," which means, to understand the sources and reasons of the decisions of the Mishnayoth. But when Rabbi saw that all had occupied themselves with the study of Gemara, without repeating the Mishnayoth itself, he was afraid that the name of the sages and the obligation would be changed, so he lectured again:

"Occupy thyself with Mishnayoth." See our brief general introduction, Section Festivals, Vol. I., p. xv, in which we give the history of the Mishnayoth differently, the basis of our opinion being the majority, who differ with Rashi, and say that the Mishnayoth was written down many generations before the time of Rabbi. In our periodical "Hakol," Vol. VI., No. 2, we published an article pointing out all the names of them who agree with Rashi and all those who are contrary, also the opinion of the late famous Dr. Gellenik. See also "Dour Dour Vedourshow,"

by I. H. Wise. All details of this matter for the English reader will be found in our forthcoming history of the Talmud.