Berakhot

but he does defile himself for a meth mizwah. But why should this be? Let us apply the rule, 'There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord?  — The case is different there, because it is written, 'And for his sister'. Let us then derive a ruling from this [for mixed kinds]? — Where it is a case of 'sit still and do nothing', it is different. Said R. Papa to Abaye: How is it that for the former generations miracles were performed and for us miracles are not performed? It cannot be because of their [superiority in] study, because in the years of Rab Judah the whole of their studies was confined to Nezikin, and we study all six Orders, and when Rab Judah came in [the tractate] 'Ukzin [to the law], 'If a woman presses vegetables in a pot'  (or, according to others, 'olives pressed with their leaves are clean'),  he used to say, I see all the difficulties of Rab and Samuel here.  and we have thirteen versions of Ukzin.  And yet when Rab Judah drew off one shoe,  rain used to come, whereas we torment ourselves and cry loudly, and no notice is taken of us!  He replied: The former generations used to be ready to sacrifice their lives for the sanctity of [God's] name; we do not sacrifice our lives for the sanctity of [God's] name. There was the case of R. Adda b. Ahaba who saw a heathen woman wearing a red head-dress  in the street, and thinking that she was an Israelite woman, he rose and tore it from her. It turned out that she was a heathen woman, and they fined him four hundred zuz. He said to her: What is your name. She replied: Mathun. Mathun, he said to her: that makes four hundred zuz. R. Giddal was accustomed to go and sit at the gates of the bathing-place.  He used to say to the women [who came to bathe]: Bathe thus, or bathe thus. The Rabbis said to him: Is not the Master afraid lest his passion get the better of him? — He replied: They look to me like so many white geese. R. Johanan was accustomed to go and sit at the gates of the bathing place. He said: When the daughters of Israel come up from bathing they look at me and they have children as handsome as I am.  Said the Rabbis to him: Is not the Master afraid of the evil eye? — He replied: I come from the seed of Joseph, over whom the evil eye has no power, as it is written, Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine above the eye,  and R. Abbahu said with regard to this, do not read 'ale 'ayin, but 'ole 'ayin'.  R. Judah son of R. Hanina derived it from this text: And let them multiply like fishes [we-yidgu] in the midst of the earth.  Just as the fishes [dagim] in the sea are covered by water and the evil eye has no power over them, so the evil eye has no power over the seed of Joseph. Or, if you prefer I can say: The evil eye has no power over the eye which refused to feed itself on what did not belong to it. MISHNAH. WOMEN, SLAVES AND MINORS ARE EXEMPT FROM RECITING THE SHEMA'