Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 16, scan section 38

R. Jose lectured the same in Ciporias, And the nig'ht after that three hundred burglaries were committed through the smell of balsam, the town-men troubled him, saying: "You have shown a way to the thief." And he answered them : How could I know that all of you are thieves? The following was enacted in Sodom. He who possessed one ox had to pasture all the cattle of the city one day, but he who possessed none at all had to pasture them two days. There * The translation does not correspond. ■f Here is also referred to some passages from the Scripture, but which har* no direct bearing, and are therefore omitted. 358 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. was an orphan, the son of a widow, to whom they gave their oxen to pasture, and he killed them, saying: Who has one ox shall take one skin, and he who has none at all shall take two skins. And to the question: What is this? he said to them: The final trial must be at the beginning of it. You enacted that he who has one ox shall pasture them one day, and he who has none at all shall pasture them two days. The same is the case with the skins. He who passed the river on a boat had to pay one zuz. And he who passed the river on foot had to pay two. If one had a row of bricks, every one of them came and took one, say- ing: I am not causing you any damage by taking one. The same they used to do when one scattered garlic or onions to dry. There were four judges in Sodom. Every one of them had a name which meant false, lie, etc. If it happened that one struck a woman and she miscarried, they used to decide that the woman should be given to the striker, and he shall return her when she will be pregnant again. If it happened that one cut ofif the ear of his neighbor's ass, they used to decide that the ass should be delivered to the striker, till it shall be cured. If one wounds his neighbor, they decided that the striker shall be paid for bleeding him. He who passed the river on a bridge had to pay four zuz. And he who passed it with one foot had to pay eight zuz. It happened once that a washer came there and they required of him four zuz. And to his claim that he had passed the water on foot, they required eight. And because he didn't pay they wounded him, and when he came to the judge, he decided that he shall pay for bleeding and eight zuz for passing the water. Eliezar, the servant of Abraham, happened to be there, and was wounded, and when he came to the judge to complain he said : "You must pay for bleeding." And he took a stone and wounded the judge, saying: The payment for bleeding which you owe to me pay them, and my money shall remain with me. They made a condition that he who invites one to a wedding shall be stripped of his garments. There was a wedding at the same time Eliezar happened to be in the city, and none of them wanted to sell him any bread for a meal. He then went to the wedding and took a place at the very end of the table. And when he was asked who had invited him, he said to him who was sitting near by, Thou hast invited me. And for fear that they will believe that he has invited him and that he will be TRACT SANHEDRIN (SUPREME COUNCIL). 359 stripped of his garment, he hurried to take his mantle and run away. And so he did to the remainder, and they all ran away, and he ate the whole meal. They had a bed for strangers. If he was too long for this bed they made him shorter, and if too short they stretched him. When Eliezar was there they told him to sleep in the bed, to which he answered: Since my mother is dead I vowed not to sleep in a bed. When a poor man happened to be there every one used to give him a dinar, on which his name was engraved, but they did not sell him any bread until he died. And then each one took his dinar back. There was a girl who used to supply a poor man with bread, which she used to hide in a pitcher while going for water. And when this was found out they smeared her body with honey, put her on the roof of the surrounding wall, and bees came and killed her, and this is what it reads [Gen. xviii.. 20] : " Because the sin against Sodom and Gomorrah is great," etc. " Spies . . . and the congregation of Korah," etc. The rabbis taught: The congregation of Korah has no share in the world to come, as it reads : "And the earth covered them" — in this world, and " they disappeared from the midst of the congregation " — in the world to come. So R. Aqiba. R. Jehudah b. BatTiyra said: They are as a lost thing for which the loser inquires, as it reads [Ps. cxix. 176] : " I have gone erringly astray, like a lost sheep; seek thy servant, for thy commandments have I not forgotten." It reads [Num. xvi. i]: "And Korah took (vayikah)." Said Resh Lakish: He purchased for himself a very bad undertaking. " Korah " means, he has made Israel bald-headed. " Ben Yizhar," he who made the world hot as in the middle of the day. " Ben Kehath," he who made blunt the teeth of his parents. " Ben Levi," he who became a companion to the Gehenna. But why is not also written " ben Jacob "? Said R. Samuel b. Itz'hak: Jacob prayed [Gen. xHx. 6] : " Unto their secret shall my soul not come," means the spies. " Unto their assembly my glory shall not be united," means the congregation of Korah. Rabh said : "The wife of On ben Peleth" saved him from being among the congregation of Korah. She said to him : What is the dif- ference to you? If Moses will be master, you are only a dis- ciple, and the same will be for you if Korah will be the master. And to his answer: What shall I do, I was with them in con- sultation, and swore to take part with them? she said: I know that the whole congregation is holy, as it reads [Num. xvi. 3] : 36o THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. " For the whole of the congregation are all of them holy ; " re- main in your house and I will save you. She made him drink wine to intoxication, and she made him sleepy in the house, and she herself sat outside at the entrance of the house, un- covered her head and dishevelled her hair. And every one coming to his house, to call upon On, when he saw the un- covered head of the woman, he returned. She, however, con- tinued to sit there, till the congregation was swallowed. On the other hand, the wife of Korah said to him: See what Moses did. He proclaimed himself as a king, his brother he made high-priest, the sons of his brother for adjuncts of the high- priests. Heave-oflfering he commanded to give to the priests, and even from tithes, which are for the Levites, he commands to give again one-tenth to the priest. And not only this, he made of you fools by commanding all the Levites to shave off all their hair. And to his answer : He himself also did so, she said : As all