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A Greek bought a young Jewish girl as a slave. He brought her up in his house. When she grew up, the Master of Dreams ordered him to send her away,. Threatened with death in case o...
A Min asked the Rabbi whether the Creator of the mountains was also the Creator of the winds (verse in Amos IV. 13). Before the Rabbi could answer the man fell from the roof and di...
After the death of Moses, an emperor — some say it was a Roman ruler centuries later — heard rumors that the greatest prophet who ever lived was buried somewhere on Mount Nebo. He ...
Rabbi Hananya made a statement that puzzled his students: "Some people feed their parents badly and yet inherit Paradise. Others feed their parents well and yet inherit Gehinnom (t...
Two men stand before the heavenly court. Both honored their fathers. Both are judged. One goes to Paradise. The other to Gehinnom (the place of spiritual purification after death)....
A potter refused to bring water any longer to Rish Lakish in Tiberias unless he prayed that the potter should be with him in Paradise. Rish Lakish promised that he would pray for h...
F. 141a. R. Shimeon b. Yohai and son hid in a cavern for 13 years fearing Roman persecution. One da}f •they saw a fowler catching birds, who was successful only after a voice from ...
Simeon ben Rabbi forgot to invite Bar Kappara to dinner. The latter wrote on the door: ‘‘After joy death.” Invited afterwards to another dinner, he kept the guests so amused by his...
Story of R.b. Nahman, who was accused of keeping people away from work for two months, and of detaining them in the village. He fled and was overtaken by the Angel of Death whilst ...
Rabbi Yohanan went to visit Rabbi Elazar, who lay gravely ill in a dark room. The sick sage had been declining for days, his body wasting, his spirit dimming. The room was as dark ...
R. Johanan was one of the last beautiful men of Jerusalem. Rish Lakish, a robber, surprised him in the bath thinking him to be a woman. He was converted to study on the promise of ...
Rabbi Nehemia was a man of simple tastes. He ate plain food, lived modestly, and saw no reason to indulge in luxuries. One day, he invited a well-known gourmand — a man famous for ...
Mar Ukba learned that a certain poor man in his town had once been wealthy — a man accustomed to fine food, comfortable furniture, and the pleasures of an affluent life. Poverty ha...
Rav Huna once sent Rav Sheshet on a mission that neither man took lightly: to consult Anan on a question of law, with the threat of excommunication hanging over Rav Sheshet's head ...
The students of Rabbi Ishmael undertook a task that sounds shocking to modern ears but was, in the ancient world, a contribution to medical and religious knowledge. When a prostitu...
Beruria — the brilliant, sharp-tongued wife of Rabbi Meir — encountered Rabbi Yose HaGelili on the road one day. He asked her a simple question, but he asked it in five words when ...
A father prepared a wedding feast for his son. Guests arrived from distant cities. Music filled the courtyard. Wine flowed. The bride was radiant, the groom joyful, and the father'...
The sages would not allow a girl to do as she wanted or to expose herself before the man, who had become lovesick and very ill in consequence. Licentiousness was not to be encourag...
The death of Rabbi Akiba in a Roman prison was one of the most sacred and terrible events in all of Jewish history. The greatest sage of his generation, the man who had laughed on ...
The Exempla of the Rabbis preserves a sprawling collection of tales about Solomon and the power of the divine Name. In these stories, Solomon commands demons, builds the Temple wit...
Two brothers lived in Cou$y in the year 893(1). Moses was a scholar and poor and Haim very rich. The latter asked his brother to act as his adviser and he would provide for his fam...
A man entrusted a single dinar to a woman for safekeeping. She placed the coin in a jar of flour — a common hiding place in the ancient world — and promptly forgot about it. Days l...
III. 2. A rich man on his death bed, ordered his son never to take an oath. Swindlers came and robbed him of all his property, claiming debts from his father, he refusing to swear....
V. 1. A man on his deathbed commanded his son to cast bread upon the waters. He did it daily and one fish caught it regularly and grew very big and persecuted the other fishes. The...
VII. 2. R. Meir on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem used to lodge with Judah the butcher, whose wife looked after him. She died and Judah married a second time and entreated by him Meir...
2. A merchant whilst travelling, is asked by an innkeeper to be allowed to go with him. Near a town they meet a blind man. The merchant gives him something; the other refuses sayin...
10. Rich man sent his son far away to trade. In his absence, the old man died and left all his property in the hands of a slave. When the son returned, the slave claimed to be the ...
13. Rabbi Meir once left synagogue earlier than usual. Wonder at the reason. He had overheard a snake saying, “I am sent to kill R. Judah the Antoti and his whole family because ha...
A wicked man lay on his deathbed. He had lived selfishly, hoarded his wealth, and never once given charity. The Angel of Death was approaching, and the man's ledger in heaven was c...
18. Story of Ben Sabar, a very charitable man who went to a distant place to marry a young couple. On his return he crossed safely over the back of a dragon stretched across the la...
A wealthy merchant was traveling far from home when he fell gravely ill. He knew he was dying. His only son was back in his homeland, too far away to reach in time. But the merchan...
II. A young man travelling from Tiberias to Betar saw a young woman who fell in love with him and married him. After a year she asked him to return home on a visit. On the way they...
IV. Three young men served King Solomon. After three years' apprenticeship, believing they had learned nothing, they asked leave of departure from Solomon. He offered them each 100...
V. A beautiful woman, persecuted by the governor, put her gold in jars and covered it on the top with honey. She left them with a friend and went away. After the death of the goxer...
VIII. God decreed that Solomon should be punished for transgressing three laws. Ashmedai, after the building of the temple, told Solomon that he would show him some wonderful thing...
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 ...
King David once asked God what good there was in gnats, spiders and fools. One day, fleeing from Saul, he hid in a cave and a spider quickly covered the opening with its web. Saul,...
In time of drought, the people appealed to Honi to pray on their behalf. He drew a circle, stood in the midst of it and prayed saying he would not step out of the circle until rain...
Abraham, the Carpenter in Jerusalem, hac. saved some money through hard work. His neighbour stole it and ran away, but dropped down dead on the road. A young man found him, dug his...
A man who had three sons, and gave them on his death bed, three chests as their inheirtance. One was filled with earth, the second with bones and the thirds with rags. They could n...
A pious man, travelling, saw a cave in the mountains and on entering, found a pool of water and behind it another small dark cavern. He went thither and was on the point of returni...
A pious and rich man had an only son. He was a merchant but for a long time the son showed no wish to trade. Urged by his friends, he one day asked his father to give him 1000 dina...
[Another variant.] A great scholar, who spent his time studying with his pupils, got a son in his old age. He kept him in the house, never allowing him to go out but gave him more ...
A woman was weeping and mourning over the grave of her dead husband for a long time. Close by stood a gallows and a watchman was appointed by the king to see that none of the bodie...
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...
The story of Dama ben Netina's respect for his parents did not end with the famous incident of the precious stone. The Talmud preserves additional details that deepened his reputat...
The story continues as follows:— 184— The frog, which is none other than a child of the demon Lilith teaches Johanan the knowledge of all the languages and before leaving, calls al...
The Roman general Trayanos captured two Jewish brothers — Lulianus and Pappus — in the city of Laodicea and sentenced them to death. Before the execution, Trayanos offered them a t...
