Rebuke not the wicked lest you make an enemy.
Having thus spent all his money he went to another
town. There a man asked a scribe to write a petition, offer-
ding a small coin. The scribe refused. The poor man remembering the maxim wrote the petition. The king greatly
surprised and pleased with the beautiful writing appointed\
him scribe at Court. One day, going out of town with the
King, he remembered that he had left his pen and ink at
the palace. Returning to fetch it he found a Knight with
the Queen. Remembering the other maxim he said nothing.
The Queen, however, frightened tore her clothes and accused
the scribe to the King of having abused her. The King
sent him with a letter, as he said, to get a thousand Dinars
from a certain lord to whom he had previously sent word
to kill the first man that would come to him from the
palace. On the way the scribe was invited to break his fast
with a friend before going on his errand; remembering the
other maxim he stayed there. Meanwhile, the wicked knight,
knowing the order of the king went to the place, hoping
to find that man killed, but being the first to come he was
killed instead. When the scribe came he learned what had
happened and returned to the King, who wondered at it
until the man told all that had passed.
(cf. 320 and 345.)
12*
180—
447 [Id. f. 14a]. Two men were travelling in the desert,
each one carrying his own provisions. At the request of one,
they first ate together the provisions of one man, after
which the second refused to share and ran away. The man
went up a mountain and tried to feed on herbs and fearing
wild animals, went up to the top of a tree. In the night
two demons came, brought the other man, slaughtered
him and cooked him. Whilst they were eating they said
to one another, “The leaves of this tree are a remedy for
all kinds of illness/’ The other said, “The daughter of the
king of Alexandria is insane, but the blood of a slaughtered
spotted dog and tiger will heal her.” They departed and the
man gathered a large quantity of the leaves and went
along healing the sick. He became very rich. Then he cured
the princess, acquired great wealth and married her.
448 [Ibid. f. 21 b]. When Moses went up to Heaven to
receive the Law, an Angel refused him entrance, saying
that this was not his place. He told him that once upon a
time a star, curious to see the ways of the earth, came
down from Heaven and spent some time upon the earth.
After a while he went up to Heaven. But the stars refused
him admission as he had lost his position. He however pleaded
to be re-admitted. His case was brought before the highest
Angels, and they decided that he should be re-admitted
as his proper place was in the Heavens. Not so Moses
who was earth-born. But Moses pushed him aside and entered the Heavens.
449 [Cod. G. 246 f. 35 b]. A pious man used to give alms
to the poor until the people of his town decreed that
whoever gave charity should either be cast into the sea or
killed. The man grieved over the decree and then cast a
loaf daily into the sea, interpreting the verse, “Cast thy bread
upon the waters for in the length of days thou shalt
find it” to mean “in the heart of the seas thou shalt find
it.” On the eve of the Day of Atonement all the people
went to the seashore to wash their clothes and to bathe
in the sea, and the pious man did likewise. Suddenly a
181 -
storm arose which blew the man into the sea. Seeing it,
the people jeered, saying, "This is the man of pious actions.
Now he has been drowned in that very sea of his." But
when the man fell into the sea, all the fishes gathered round
him and one said, "This is the man who fed us every day
with a loaf of bread. What do you intend to do with him ?"
The other fishes left him and that fish took the man down
into the depths of the sea and showed him treasures of
silver and gold and jewels and pearls. Then the fish said,
"Choose either the silver and gold or the jewels and pearls,
or I will teach you the seventy languages." The pious man
replied, "Teach me the seventy languages," and the fish
did so and them cast him up on to land. The man went
his way and then lay down to sleep under a tree. Presently
two crows appeared and one said to his companion, "Let
us pick out the eyes of that man." But the other replied,
"Do not do so, for he may only be asleep and then will
catch you". But the first said, "It does not matter, for he
will go on his way and presently come to a place where
three roads meet. If he take the one to the right, wild
beasts will meet him and he will let me go; if he take the
middle one, he will come to rich treasures of gold and silver
and then he will let me go, and if he take the one to the
left, robbers will meet him and he will let me go." The
man understood their language and everything happened
as the bird had said. He took the middle road, found the
treasure, let the bird free and returned to his town. The
people were much surprised to see him, but he told them
nothing, for the fish had only taught him the secret of the
languages on condition that he related his adventures to
no one; on the day he told anyone, he would die. Soon
afterwards he married a woman who was very bad tempered and inquisitive and tried to force his secret from
him. He told her why he could not reveal it but she did
not care so long as she knew. Then he called his son and
told him to prepare a meal for him as he was about to die.
The lad went to the ox who said, "Peace be upon thee
i82—
my master and teacher/' But the lad replied, “I cannot
give thee the greeting of peace, for I am come to kill thee
and give my father to eat of thy flesh". "And is there no
one else to be found but me since all creatures are fed from
the tread of my foot ? As it is said, ‘A multitude of produce
from the strength of an ox’,” said the ox. Then the lad
felt ashamed and went to the sheep who also gave him the
greeting of peace. But the lad said, "I cannot give thee
the greeting of peace, for I am come to kill thee and give
my father to eat of thy flesh”. And the sheep said, "Have
you found no one else but me, since Israel is likened unto
me, as it is said, ‘Scattered sheep is Israel’!” Then the lad
felt ashamed and went to the cock who gave him the greeting
of peace. But the lad replied, "I cannot give thee the greeting of peace, for I am come to kill thee to give my father
to eat of thy flesh before he dies.” Then the cock replied,
"Why should you kill me ? I rule over many women and
is your father to die because he has only one wife ? Let
him divorce her, and if her dowry be ioo zuzim, then let
him give her 200 and get rid of her, as it is said, ‘Drive
away the mocker and strife shall cease’.” Then the son
told his father what the cock had said, and the father
acted upon the advice given, drove away his wife and lived
in peace.
(Cf. 381.)
450 [Cod. G. 246 f. 109; 257 f. 4]. Akiba had a pious
wife. She fed 500 pupils. Before death she asked her daughter
to continue her work. Akiba married a bad woman. Jealous
of her step-daughter, she paid the the washer-man to take the
girl away and kill her and told the daughter to follow him
with the clothes. At her request he saved her life but cut
off her hands and feet. She dragged herself along to a solitary spot. A merchant passed by. Being the eve of Sabbath,
he settled down, erected his tent and said his prayers. She
answered "Amen” from behind the tent. Discovered by
him, he took her home and married her, not knowing whose
daughter she was. He made her hands of gold and feet of
- 183 -
silver. A son was born and she urged him to go to R. Akiba
to study. There the step-mother learned what had happened.
She forged a letter in the name of the husband which she
sent to his family, to take away her hands and feet of gold,
to tie the baby on her back and to cast her out, being of
low origin. They did so. Coming to a river, the baby wanted
to drink. She was frightened lest it would slip into the
water and wept. The prophet Elijah came, told her to
put her stumps into the water and new hands grew. He
told her to go to the next town, where she would find a
treasure, and to buy a palace with it. She built an inn
close by for all the travellers. The husband came and
learning what had happened, went in search of his wife.
He came to that place, was served with the others by his
son, now a lad of nine years. He refused to eat and drink
and asked the reason, told the story, was recognised by
the wife and remained there, bringing his parents with
him, where they lived in peace.
ADDITIONS & CORRECTIONS.
Nos. 145 (144) 177 and 187 have been inadvertently
omitted and No. 316 too briefly told and is here amplified.
145 (144). Advancing age prevented R. Shimeon b. Ha-
lafta from continuing his regular visits to Rabbi. When
asked the reason he replied:—“The distant has become
near and the near has become distant and two turned
into three.” By this he meant: his sight had weakened
so that he could no longer see far, his hearing had
weakened so that he could only hear things near, while
he had to use a stick to help his legs.
3. Rebuke not the wicked lest you make an enemy.
Having thus spent all his money he went to another
town. There a man asked a scribe to write a petition, offer-
ding a small coin. The scribe refused. The poor man remembering the maxim wrote the petition. The king greatly
surprised and pleased with the beautiful writing appointed\
him scribe at Court. One day, going out of town with the
King, he remembered that he had left his pen and ink at
the palace. Returning to fetch it he found a Knight with
the Queen. Remembering the other maxim he said nothing.
The Queen, however, frightened tore her clothes and accused
the scribe to the King of having abused her. The King
sent him with a letter, as he said, to get a thousand Dinars
from a certain lord to whom he had previously sent word
to kill the first man that would come to him from the
palace. On the way the scribe was invited to break his fast
with a friend before going on his errand; remembering the
other maxim he stayed there. Meanwhile, the wicked knight,
knowing the order of the king went to the place, hoping
to find that man killed, but being the first to come he was
killed instead. When the scribe came he learned what had
happened and returned to the King, who wondered at it
until the man told all that had passed.
(cf. 320 and 345.)
12*
180 —
447 [Id. f. 14a]. Two men were travelling in the desert,
each one carrying his own provisions. At the request of one,
they first ate together the provisions of one man, after
which the second refused to share and ran away. The man
went up a mountain and tried to feed on herbs and fearing
wild animals, went up to the top of a tree. In the night
two demons came, brought the other man, slaughtered
him and cooked him. Whilst they were eating they said
to one another, “The leaves of this tree are a remedy for
all kinds of illness/’ The other said, “The daughter of the
king of Alexandria is insane, but the blood of a slaughtered
spotted dog and tiger will heal her.” They departed and the
man gathered a large quantity of the leaves and went
along healing the sick. He became very rich. Then he cured
the princess, acquired great wealth and married her.
448 [Ibid. f. 21 b]. When Moses went up to Heaven to
receive the Law, an Angel refused him entrance, saying
that this was not his place. He told him that once upon a
time a star, curious to see the ways of the earth, came
down from Heaven and spent some time upon the earth.
After a while he went up to Heaven. But the stars refused
him admission as he had lost his position. He however pleaded
to be re-admitted. His case was brought before the highest
Angels, and they decided that he should be re-admitted
as his proper place was in the Heavens. Not so Moses
who was earth-born. But Moses pushed him aside and entered the Heavens.
449 [Cod. G. 246 f. 35 b]. A pious man used to give alms
to the poor until the people of his town decreed that
whoever gave charity should either be cast into the sea or
killed. The man grieved over the decree and then cast a
loaf daily into the sea, interpreting the verse, “Cast thy bread
upon the waters for in the length of days thou shalt
find it” to mean “in the heart of the seas thou shalt find
it.” On the eve of the Day of Atonement all the people
went to the seashore to wash their clothes and to bathe
in the sea, and the pious man did likewise. Suddenly a
181 -
storm arose which blew the man into the sea. Seeing it,
the people jeered, saying, "This is the man of pious actions.
Now he has been drowned in that very sea of his." But
when the man fell into the sea, all the fishes gathered round
him and one said, "This is the man who fed us every day
with a loaf of bread. What do you intend to do with him ?"
The other fishes left him and that fish took the man down
into the depths of the sea and showed him treasures of
silver and gold and jewels and pearls. Then the fish said,
"Choose either the silver and gold or the jewels and pearls,
or I will teach you the seventy languages." The pious man
replied, "Teach me the seventy languages," and the fish
did so and them cast him up on to land. The man went
his way and then lay down to sleep under a tree. Presently
two crows appeared and one said to his companion, "Let
us pick out the eyes of that man." But the other replied,
"Do not do so, for he may only be asleep and then will
catch you". But the first said, "It does not matter, for he
will go on his way and presently come to a place where
three roads meet. If he take the one to the right, wild
beasts will meet him and he will let me go; if he take the
middle one, he will come to rich treasures of gold and silver
and then he will let me go, and if he take the one to the
left, robbers will meet him and he will let me go." The
man understood their language and everything happened
as the bird had said. He took the middle road, found the
treasure, let the bird free and returned to his town. The
people were much surprised to see him, but he told them
nothing, for the fish had only taught him the secret of the
languages on condition that he related his adventures to
no one; on the day he told anyone, he would die. Soon
afterwards he married a woman who was very bad tempered and inquisitive and tried to force his secret from
him. He told her why he could not reveal it but she did
not care so long as she knew. Then he called his son and
told him to prepare a meal for him as he was about to die.
The lad went to the ox who said, "Peace be upon thee
— i82 —
my master and teacher/' But the lad replied, “I cannot
give thee the greeting of peace, for I am come to kill thee
and give my father to eat of thy flesh". "And is there no
one else to be found but me since all creatures are fed from
the tread of my foot ? As it is said, ‘A multitude of produce
from the strength of an ox’,” said the ox. Then the lad
felt ashamed and went to the sheep who also gave him the
greeting of peace. But the lad said, "I cannot give thee
the greeting of peace, for I am come to kill thee and give
my father to eat of thy flesh”. And the sheep said, "Have
you found no one else but me, since Israel is likened unto
me, as it is said, ‘Scattered sheep is Israel’!” Then the lad
felt ashamed and went to the cock who gave him the greeting
of peace. But the lad replied, "I cannot give thee the greeting of peace, for I am come to kill thee to give my father
to eat of thy flesh before he dies.” Then the cock replied,
"Why should you kill me ? I rule over many women and
is your father to die because he has only one wife ? Let
him divorce her, and if her dowry be ioo zuzim, then let
him give her 200 and get rid of her, as it is said, ‘Drive
away the mocker and strife shall cease’.” Then the son
told his father what the cock had said, and the father
acted upon the advice given, drove away his wife and lived
in peace.
(Cf. 381.)
450 [Cod. G. 246 f. 109; 257 f. 4]. Akiba had a pious
wife. She fed 500 pupils. Before death she asked her daughter
to continue her work. Akiba married a bad woman. Jealous
of her step-daughter, she paid the the washer-man to take the
girl away and kill her and told the daughter to follow him
with the clothes. At her request he saved her life but cut
off her hands and feet. She dragged herself along to a solitary spot. A merchant passed by. Being the eve of Sabbath,
he settled down, erected his tent and said his prayers. She
answered "Amen” from behind the tent. Discovered by
him, he took her home and married her, not knowing whose
daughter she was. He made her hands of gold and feet of
- 183 -
silver. A son was born and she urged him to go to R. Akiba
to study. There the step-mother learned what had happened.
She forged a letter in the name of the husband which she
sent to his family, to take away her hands and feet of gold,
to tie the baby on her back and to cast her out, being of
low origin. They did so. Coming to a river, the baby wanted
to drink. She was frightened lest it would slip into the
water and wept. The prophet Elijah came, told her to
put her stumps into the water and new hands grew. He
told her to go to the next town, where she would find a
treasure, and to buy a palace with it. She built an inn
close by for all the travellers. The husband came and
learning what had happened, went in search of his wife.
He came to that place, was served with the others by his
son, now a lad of nine years. He refused to eat and drink
and asked the reason, told the story, was recognised by
the wife and remained there, bringing his parents with
him, where they lived in peace.
ADDITIONS & CORRECTIONS.
Nos. 145 (144) 177 and 187 have been inadvertently
omitted and No. 316 too briefly told and is here amplified.
145 (144). Advancing age prevented R. Shimeon b. Ha-
lafta from continuing his regular visits to Rabbi. When
asked the reason he replied: — “The distant has become
near and the near has become distant and two turned
into three.” By this he meant: his sight had weakened
so that he could no longer see far, his hearing had
weakened so that he could only hear things near, while
he had to use a stick to help his legs.
