garment returned in the evening. Shimon's name was widely identified with this halakhic principle of interpretation, and his teacher Akiva approved of it; therefore his contemporaries often applied to him when they wished to know the reason for certain halakhot. Shimon also divided the oral law into numbered groups, of which 15 are preserved in the Talmud. He especially favored the system of giving general rules, of which there are a great number. All this shows that he was systematic, and that he had the power of expressing himself clearly. He was dogmatic in his halakhic decisions, but where there was a doubt as to which of two courses should be followed, and the Rabbis adopted a compromise, he admitted the legality of either course. He differed from Akiva in that he did not think that particles like "et," "gam," and others contain in themselves indications of halakhot; but in many instances he showed that he was opposed to Ishmael's opinion that the Torah speaks as men do and that seemingly pleonastic words can never serve as the basis for deducing new laws. Aggadah Shimon is very prominent also in aggadah, and his utterances are numerous in both Talmuds. Many of his sayings bear on Torah study, which he believed should be the main object of man's life. Despite the stress he laid on the importance of prayer, and particularly on the reading of the "Shema'," he declared that one must not, for the sake of either, interrupt the study of the Torah. He considers the Torah one of the three good gifts which God gave to Israel and which can not be preserved without suffering. But recognizing the difficulty of occupying oneself with Torah study and of providing a livelihood at the same time, Shimon said that the Torah was given only for those who ate the manna or the priestly meals. He declared that had he been on Mount Sinai when God delivered the Torah to Israel, he would have requested two mouths for man, one to be used exclusively as a means for repeating and thus learning the Torah. But then he added, "How great also would be the evil done by delators ["moserim"] with two mouths!" Among Shimon's many other utterances may be mentioned those with regard to repentance, and some of his ethical sayings. "So great is the power of repentance that a man who