B) Two men again are pointed out to R. Beroka as
worthy of Paradise. On enquiring he learned that wherever
people were in grief and sorrow, those two used to go and
cheer them and make them feel happy.
407 [f. 4a]. A king asked R. Joshua ben Hananyah
whether God were just since he had created some blind and
lame. R. Joshua replied, “These are marked men, because
they are wicked,” and he proved it. He gave 1000 dinars
to a blind man in the presence of two witnesses of the king.
He asked the man to take care of the money, for the king
had ordered him to be killed and he could therefore keep
it, but should he by any chance be saved he would ask
for it back. After a time he came again to the blind man
who denied that he had ever received anything. He was
brought before the king; the two witnesses testified but he
still denied it. The king ordered him to be hanged. On the way
to the gallows a man came and whispered into his ear that
he had seen the condemned man's wife diverting herself with
a young man and telling him to wait until her husband had
been hanged, when they would marry and spend the 1000
dinars. When he heard it, he confessed to have taken the
dinars and returned them to R. Joshua. The king acknowledged the truth of the latter's statement.
408 [f. nb]. Pupils ask R. Zakkai why he was granted
long life. He answered, “Because I never neglected to
sanctify the Sabbath with the blessing over wine.” Once
being too poor to buy any his mother sold her cap and
bought the wine. When she died she was able to leave
many casks of wine.
409 [f. 12 a]. R. Hanina ben Dosa was very poor. His wife
urged him to ask for some of his reward. A golden leg from
his table in Paradise was given to him, but the wife fearing
that his table might become unsteady in Paradise, urged
him to pray that it be taken back, which happened.
410 [f. 12 b]. R. Eliezer and R. Joshua [ben Ilem] were
going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem when they saw an angel
carrying a luminous shirt. They asked for which of them
- 158
it was destined and he replied that it was for Joseph the
Gardener in Askalon. After the festival, they went to that
town, told him about the luminous shirt and mentioned
that the seam was not complete. He told them that he had
been rich, had spent his father’s money and now lived on
the produce of his garden which he divided with the poor.
The wife, having heard the conversation, asked him to sell
her as a slave, promising to keep faithful and she told him
to give away the money he received in alms so as to complete
the shirt. He did so but she refused to obey the will of
her master, who handed her over to his shepherd who ill-
treated her. After a time her husband came and tried to
tempt her. She indignantly refused, then he made himself
known, having found her faithful, and a voice was heard
from heaven saying, “Thy shirt is complete, but a more
beautiful one is awaiting thy wife. Go to a certain place
and there you will find a treasure which thy father has
hidden away.” He did so, ransomed his wife and they continued to give alms to the poor.
411 [f. 15 a]. The wife of Rab always prepared the reverse
of what her husband asked, for instance, beans instead of
lentils, etc. Her son, R. Hiya, growing up, noticed her
disposition and told her the reverse of his father’s wishes.
She then prepared exactly what her husband wished. Rab
was greatly surprised at the change; his son explained the
reason and the father asked his son to discontinue lest he
accustomed himself to tell untruths.
412 [f. 16 a]. A woman, pretending to be very pious, was,
however, a witch who prevented women from giving birth.
She used to come to the women in travail and say she
would pray for them. Then she would go home and remove
the spell and the women were easily delivered. One day
she left a boy in the house, who heard a noise from a
cask in the corner. He lifted the top and he found the spells
which were thus broken. The people thus discovered her
witchcraft and drove her from the town.
159 -
413 a [f. 20 aj. A pious man was told in a dream that
Nanas the butcher would be his companion in Paradise.
Grieved and surprised he went to find out the merits of
that butcher. He was told that Nanas gave away half his
property in charity. This did not satisfy the pious man
and at last Nanas said that a long time ago, he had ransomed
a young girl who had been carried away captive. She grew
up in the house and he betrothed her to his son. Among
the guests was a young man who was weeping all the time.
He asked him the cause and learned that he was betrothed
to that young girl who was now going to marry his son.
When Nanas heard that he renounced the marriage and
married the young man to the girl who was really his bride,
gave them rich gifts and sent them home. The pious man
was happy to have him as his companion in Paradise.
413b [f. 21 b]. Abbaye grieved on being told that his
neighbour in Paradise would be the barber living nearby.
He asked the reason and was told from Heaven that the
barber had performed many good actions in secret; he had
protected the modesty of women when venesecting, had a
separate room for them and a mantle covering the whole
body. Moreover, he had a box outside for customers to put
in the money so that those who were unable to pay need
not feel ashamed. In the evening he would open the box,
feed his household and the distribute the surplus among
the poor. Abbaye then rejoiced greatly.
414 [f. 23 b]. A rich man, tired of his wealth, refuses to
distribute it among the poor. Goes out of town, finds a poor
man sitting in the dust, clad in rags, and offers his money
because he believes him to have given up every hope of
this world. The poor man hearing the reason refuses to
take it. God is merciful, forsakes no one; only the dead
have no hope. Rich man decides to bury his wealth with
the dead. After a time he gets poor, remembers the money
in the cemetery and goes to dig it up. He is caught by the
guardians and brought before the governor, who is no one
else but that poor man. He was of noble family and had
i6o—
been elected to that post. He recognises the rich man,
who is accused of stripping the dead, who however, does
not recognise the governor. The prisoner tells his story;
the governor makes himself known, lets him recover his
wealth and teaches him the lesson: No one should despair.
415 [f. 24a]. A poor man, urged by his wife and starving
children, went to market to see what he could get. So he
prayed, and prophet Elijah was sent by God, who told the
man to sell him as a slave. The man was frightened, but
Elijah re-assured him; he told him of the money received to
give him one coin. The man sold him for 80 dinars, gave a
coin to the prophet who returned it to him and told him,
henceforth he would be very rich. Elijah was brought as a
slave to the king and was asked what he could do. Prophet
said he was a builder. The king just then had bought slaves
and all the material for building a new palace and promised
the prophet freedom if he could finish the palace in six
months or any time before. In the night prophet built the
palace and disappeared. He met the man who had sold him
and told him that the king had profited a thousand times
more from him than he had paid for him. He then told the
man to thank God for the mercy shown to him.
416 [f. 27b]. A rich man, possessing 1000 dinars, took
an oath to leave 100 dinars to each one of his ten sons.
He lost fifty dinars. Before dying, he gave 900 to the nine
sons. The youngest asked him what he would leave him
and the father replied, “I must keep my oath. To you I
leave 20 dinars out of the fifty, for 30 are required for burial/'
I leave you ten friends worth more than 1000 dinars.” The
nine took their money, went away and the youngest invited
the ten friends, who were pleased with his attention, thus
continuing the friendship of the father. Each one gave him
a cow and money and he soon became much richer than
his father had been, proving the truth of his father's statement.
417 [f. 34b]. R. Yudan was very rich and very charitable.
He used to run after the collectors of charity. He became
161—
poor at last and had only a small piece of land and a cow. The
Rabbis Eliezer, Joshua and Akiba were one day collecting
alms. Yudan was greatly ashamed at having nothing to
give, but upon the advice of his wife, he sold half of his
field and gave to the collection. While ploughing the field,
the cow fell into a hole and broke its leg. He found in the
hole a great treasure and was thus rewarded for his charity.
Here follows the list mentioned above:
f. 3b. Burial of Taxgatherer: No. 332.
f. 4b. R. Joshua ben Levi and the Prophet Elijah: Nos.
301 and 393.
f. 8a—b. Nahum ish Ganzo: Nos. 25 and 102.
f. 9a. R. Elazar b. Shimeon: No. 95.
f. 10 a. Joseph Mokir Shabba: No. [118 and] 380.
f. 10 b. Pupil and Hetaera: No. 35.
f. 10 b. Story of Kamhith: No. 39.
f. 11 b—12a. Four stories of Hanina b. Dosa: No. 163.
f. 16 b. R. Akiba and his Wife: No. 148 (147).
f. 17a. Hillel’s poverty: No. 91.
f. 18b. Hillel and Irrelevant Questions: No. 84.
f. 19b. Nakdimon and Wells: No. 85.
f. 21 b. Child and Book of Genesis: No. 38.
f. 22a. The two boys, death: No. (147) 146.
f. 22b. Judith Legend: No. 251.
f. 25a. Money Recovered by Trick: No. 123.
f. 26a. Neglect of Washing Hands: No. 159.
f. 26a. R. Meir and Kidor: No. 315.
f. 26b. Neglect of Washing Hands: No. 158.
f. 26b. Antoninus and Rabbi: No. (149) 148.
f. 27b. Corn left with Pinehas b. Yair sown, reaped and
returned: No. 331.
f. 28a. R. Meir and Butcher's Wife: v. No. 384.
f. 29a. R. Akiba in Prison: No. 160.
f. 29b—30b. Natan de Susita and Hannah: Nos. [310
and] 333.
1 1
162—
f. 34a. King cured by Citrons: No. 368.
f. 36b. Seven Good Years when Young: No. 317.
f. 37b. R. Akiba and the Dead: No. 134.
f. 38a. Solomon and the Thief: Nos. in—112.
f. 38b. Joshua ben Levi and the Angel of Death. No. 138.
R.-DIVERSE SOURCES.
406. b) Two men again are pointed out to R. Beroka as
worthy of Paradise. On enquiring he learned that wherever
people were in grief and sorrow, those two used to go and
cheer them and make them feel happy.
407 [f. 4a]. A king asked R. Joshua ben Hananyah
whether God were just since he had created some blind and
lame. R. Joshua replied, “These are marked men, because
they are wicked,” and he proved it. He gave 1000 dinars
to a blind man in the presence of two witnesses of the king.
He asked the man to take care of the money, for the king
had ordered him to be killed and he could therefore keep
it, but should he by any chance be saved he would ask
for it back. After a time he came again to the blind man
who denied that he had ever received anything. He was
brought before the king; the two witnesses testified but he
still denied it. The king ordered him to be hanged. On the way
to the gallows a man came and whispered into his ear that
he had seen the condemned man's wife diverting herself with
a young man and telling him to wait until her husband had
been hanged, when they would marry and spend the 1000
dinars. When he heard it, he confessed to have taken the
dinars and returned them to R. Joshua. The king acknowledged the truth of the latter's statement.
408 [f. nb]. Pupils ask R. Zakkai why he was granted
long life. He answered, “Because I never neglected to
sanctify the Sabbath with the blessing over wine.” Once
being too poor to buy any his mother sold her cap and
bought the wine. When she died she was able to leave
many casks of wine.
409 [f. 12 a]. R. Hanina ben Dosa was very poor. His wife
urged him to ask for some of his reward. A golden leg from
his table in Paradise was given to him, but the wife fearing
that his table might become unsteady in Paradise, urged
him to pray that it be taken back, which happened.
410 [f. 12 b]. R. Eliezer and R. Joshua [ben Ilem] were
going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem when they saw an angel
carrying a luminous shirt. They asked for which of them
- 158
it was destined and he replied that it was for Joseph the
Gardener in Askalon. After the festival, they went to that
town, told him about the luminous shirt and mentioned
that the seam was not complete. He told them that he had
been rich, had spent his father’s money and now lived on
the produce of his garden which he divided with the poor.
The wife, having heard the conversation, asked him to sell
her as a slave, promising to keep faithful and she told him
to give away the money he received in alms so as to complete
the shirt. He did so but she refused to obey the will of
her master, who handed her over to his shepherd who ill-
treated her. After a time her husband came and tried to
tempt her. She indignantly refused, then he made himself
known, having found her faithful, and a voice was heard
from heaven saying, “Thy shirt is complete, but a more
beautiful one is awaiting thy wife. Go to a certain place
and there you will find a treasure which thy father has
hidden away.” He did so, ransomed his wife and they continued to give alms to the poor.
411 [f. 15 a]. The wife of Rab always prepared the reverse
of what her husband asked, for instance, beans instead of
lentils, etc. Her son, R. Hiya, growing up, noticed her
disposition and told her the reverse of his father’s wishes.
She then prepared exactly what her husband wished. Rab
was greatly surprised at the change; his son explained the
reason and the father asked his son to discontinue lest he
accustomed himself to tell untruths.
412 [f. 16 a]. A woman, pretending to be very pious, was,
however, a witch who prevented women from giving birth.
She used to come to the women in travail and say she
would pray for them. Then she would go home and remove
the spell and the women were easily delivered. One day
she left a boy in the house, who heard a noise from a
cask in the corner. He lifted the top and he found the spells
which were thus broken. The people thus discovered her
witchcraft and drove her from the town.
159 -
413 a [f. 20 aj. A pious man was told in a dream that
Nanas the butcher would be his companion in Paradise.
Grieved and surprised he went to find out the merits of
that butcher. He was told that Nanas gave away half his
property in charity. This did not satisfy the pious man
and at last Nanas said that a long time ago, he had ransomed
a young girl who had been carried away captive. She grew
up in the house and he betrothed her to his son. Among
the guests was a young man who was weeping all the time.
He asked him the cause and learned that he was betrothed
to that young girl who was now going to marry his son.
When Nanas heard that he renounced the marriage and
married the young man to the girl who was really his bride,
gave them rich gifts and sent them home. The pious man
was happy to have him as his companion in Paradise.
413b [f. 21 b]. Abbaye grieved on being told that his
neighbour in Paradise would be the barber living nearby.
He asked the reason and was told from Heaven that the
barber had performed many good actions in secret; he had
protected the modesty of women when venesecting, had a
separate room for them and a mantle covering the whole
body. Moreover, he had a box outside for customers to put
in the money so that those who were unable to pay need
not feel ashamed. In the evening he would open the box,
feed his household and the distribute the surplus among
the poor. Abbaye then rejoiced greatly.
414 [f. 23 b]. A rich man, tired of his wealth, refuses to
distribute it among the poor. Goes out of town, finds a poor
man sitting in the dust, clad in rags, and offers his money
because he believes him to have given up every hope of
this world. The poor man hearing the reason refuses to
take it. God is merciful, forsakes no one; only the dead
have no hope. Rich man decides to bury his wealth with
the dead. After a time he gets poor, remembers the money
in the cemetery and goes to dig it up. He is caught by the
guardians and brought before the governor, who is no one
else but that poor man. He was of noble family and had
— i6o —
been elected to that post. He recognises the rich man,
who is accused of stripping the dead, who however, does
not recognise the governor. The prisoner tells his story;
the governor makes himself known, lets him recover his
wealth and teaches him the lesson: No one should despair.
415 [f. 24a]. A poor man, urged by his wife and starving
children, went to market to see what he could get. So he
prayed, and prophet Elijah was sent by God, who told the
man to sell him as a slave. The man was frightened, but
Elijah re-assured him; he told him of the money received to
give him one coin. The man sold him for 80 dinars, gave a
coin to the prophet who returned it to him and told him,
henceforth he would be very rich. Elijah was brought as a
slave to the king and was asked what he could do. Prophet
said he was a builder. The king just then had bought slaves
and all the material for building a new palace and promised
the prophet freedom if he could finish the palace in six
months or any time before. In the night prophet built the
palace and disappeared. He met the man who had sold him
and told him that the king had profited a thousand times
more from him than he had paid for him. He then told the
man to thank God for the mercy shown to him.
416 [f. 27b]. A rich man, possessing 1000 dinars, took
an oath to leave 100 dinars to each one of his ten sons.
He lost fifty dinars. Before dying, he gave 900 to the nine
sons. The youngest asked him what he would leave him
and the father replied, “I must keep my oath. To you I
leave 20 dinars out of the fifty, for 30 are required for burial/'
I leave you ten friends worth more than 1000 dinars.” The
nine took their money, went away and the youngest invited
the ten friends, who were pleased with his attention, thus
continuing the friendship of the father. Each one gave him
a cow and money and he soon became much richer than
his father had been, proving the truth of his father's statement.
417 [f. 34b]. R. Yudan was very rich and very charitable.
He used to run after the collectors of charity. He became
— 161 —
poor at last and had only a small piece of land and a cow. The
Rabbis Eliezer, Joshua and Akiba were one day collecting
alms. Yudan was greatly ashamed at having nothing to
give, but upon the advice of his wife, he sold half of his
field and gave to the collection. While ploughing the field,
the cow fell into a hole and broke its leg. He found in the
hole a great treasure and was thus rewarded for his charity.
Here follows the list mentioned above:
f. 3b. Burial of Taxgatherer: No. 332.
f. 4b. R. Joshua ben Levi and the Prophet Elijah: Nos.
301 and 393.
f. 8a— b. Nahum ish Ganzo: Nos. 25 and 102.
f. 9a. R. Elazar b. Shimeon: No. 95.
f. 10 a. Joseph Mokir Shabba: No. [118 and] 380.
f. 10 b. Pupil and Hetaera: No. 35.
f. 10 b. Story of Kamhith: No. 39.
f. 11 b— 12a. Four stories of Hanina b. Dosa: No. 163.
f. 16 b. R. Akiba and his Wife: No. 148 (147).
f. 17a. Hillel’s poverty: No. 91.
f. 18b. Hillel and Irrelevant Questions: No. 84.
f. 19b. Nakdimon and Wells: No. 85.
f. 21 b. Child and Book of Genesis: No. 38.
f. 22a. The two boys, death: No. (147) 146.
f. 22b. Judith Legend: No. 251.
f. 25a. Money Recovered by Trick: No. 123.
f. 26a. Neglect of Washing Hands: No. 159.
f. 26a. R. Meir and Kidor: No. 315.
f. 26b. Neglect of Washing Hands: No. 158.
f. 26b. Antoninus and Rabbi: No. (149) 148.
f. 27b. Corn left with Pinehas b. Yair sown, reaped and
returned: No. 331.
f. 28a. R. Meir and Butcher's Wife: v. No. 384.
f. 29a. R. Akiba in Prison: No. 160.
f. 29b— 30b. Natan de Susita and Hannah: Nos. [310
and] 333.
1 1
— 162 —
f. 34a. King cured by Citrons: No. 368.
f. 36b. Seven Good Years when Young: No. 317.
f. 37b. R. Akiba and the Dead: No. 134.
f. 38a. Solomon and the Thief: Nos. in — 112.
f. 38b. Joshua ben Levi and the Angel of Death. No. 138.
K.-DIVERSE SOURCES.
