"'Lo, the blind carried the lame,' and he punished them accordingly.
"So it is with us. The world is the orchard in which The Eternal King has placed us, to keep watch and ward, to till its soil and care for its fruit. But the soul and body are the man; if one violates the precepts, so does the other, and after death the soul may not say, 'It is the fault of the body to which I was tied that I committed sins;' no, God will do as did the owner of the orchard, as it is written:—
"'He shall call from the heaven above, and to the earth to judge his people.'
"He shall call from the 'heaven above,' which is the soul, and to the 'earth below', which is the body, mixing with the dust from whence it sprung."
A heathen said to Rabbi Joshua, "Thou believest that God knows the future?"
"Yes," replied the Rabbi.
"Then," said the questioner, "wherefore is it written, 'The Lord said, I will destroy everything which I have made, because it repenteth me that I have made them'? Did not the Lord foresee that man would become corrupt?"
Then said Rabbi Joshua, "Hast thou children?"
"Yes," was the answer.
"When a child was born, what didst thou?"