Exempla of the Rabbis, Tale 190

Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 190

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·March 24, 2026

190. R. Tarfon placed his hands under the feet of his mother so that she should walk on them on the Sabbath.

Themes

Wisdom Adam Eve Commandments Women Kings

Continue Reading

Legends of the JewsSolomon's UnderstandingSolomon's wisdom appears here through riddles that look playful until they start opening the structure of the world. The first one goes like this: "Seven there Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelThe Torah Was Aware of the Logical Extension and Deliberately Refused"You shall not cook a goat in its mother's milk", the Mekhilta derives from this verse that the cooking prohibition applies specifically to meat and milk, and n Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)Respect for FatherThe Talmud (Kiddushin 31a-b) collects multiple stories about the extraordinary respect Dama ben Netina showed his father, but it also records stories of Jewish Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)Marriage of ChildrenThe sages of the Talmud debated a question that still echoes through the ages: at what age may a child be considered ready for marriage? The discussion in Tract Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)Exempla of the Rabbis, Tale 372A king once raised a boy in total isolation, keeping him locked away from birth so that he would never see a woman. According to a tale preserved in the Exempla Esther Rabbah, Vashti the Queen] Made a Women's Banquet“[Also [gam], Vashti the queen] made a women’s banquet,” she fed them kinds of soup [gema’in]. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: She fed them kinds of sweets. “In the royal p