Pesachim

He who lets blood without washing his hands will be afraid seven days. He who trims his hair and does not wash his hands will be afraid three days. He who pares his nails and does not wash his hands will be afraid one day without knowing what affrights him. [Putting] one's hand to one's nostrils is a step to fear; [putting] one's hand to one's forehead is a step to sleep. It was taught: If food and drink [are kept] under the bed, even if they are covered in iron vessels, an evil spirit rests upon them. Our Rabbis taught: A man must not drink water either on the nights of the fourth days [Wednesdays] or on the nights of Sabbath,1 and if he does drink, his blood is on his own head, because of the danger. What is the danger? An evil spirit. Yet if he is thirsty what is his remedy? Let him recite the seven ‘voices’ which David uttered over the water and then drink, as it is said: The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thundereth, even the Lord is upon many water. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh in pieces the cedars of the Lebanon ... The voice of the Lord heweth out flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and strippeth the forests bare; and in His temple all say: ‘Glory.’2 But if [he does] not [say this], let him say thus: ‘Lul shafan anigron anirdafin,3 I dwell among the stars, I walk among lean and fat people.’ But if [he does] not [say this], if there is a man with him he should rouse him and say to him, ‘So-and-so the son of So-and-so, I am thirsty for water,’ and then he can drink. But if not, he knocks the lid against the pitcher, and then he can drink. But if not, let him throw something into it and then drink. Our Rabbis taught: A man should not drink water from rivers or pools at night, and if he drinks, his blood is on his own head, because of the danger. What is the danger? The danger of blindness.4 But if he is thirsty, what is his remedy? If a man is with him he should say to him, ‘So-and-so the son of So-and-so, I am thirsty for water.’ But if not, let him say to himself, ‘O So-and-so,5 my mother told me, "Beware of shabrire" : Shabrire, berire, rire, ire re, 6 I am thirsty for water in a white glass.’ AND EVEN [IF HE RECEIVES RELIEF] FROM THE CHARITY PLATE ETC. That is obvious? — It is necessary only even according to R. Akiba who said: Treat your Sabbath like a weekday7 rather than be dependent on man; yet here, in order to advertise the miracle, he agrees. 8 Tanna debe Eliyahu [taught]:9 Though R. Akiba said, ‘Treat your Sabbath like a weekday rather than be dependent on men,’ yet one must prepare something trifling at home.10 What is it? Said R. Papa: Fish hash. As we learned, R. Judah b. Tema said: Be strong as the leopard and swift as the eagle, fleet as the deer and valiant as a lion to do the will of thy Father in heaven. 11 Our Rabbis taught: Seven things did R. Akiba charge his son R. Joshua: My son, do not sit and study at the highest point of the town;12 do not dwell in a town whose leaders are scholars;13 do not enter your own house suddenly, and a the more your neighbour's house; and do not withhold shoes from your feet.14 Arise early and eat, in summer on account of the sun [i.e., heat] and in winter on account of the cold; treat your Sabbath like a weekday rather than be dependent on man , and strive to be on good terms with the man upon whom the hour smiles. R. Papa observed: [That does] not [mean] to buy from or to sell to him, but to enter into partnership with him. But now that R. Samuel b. Isaac said: What is meant by the verse, Thou hast blessed the work of his hands?15 Whoever took a farthing [perutah] from Job was blessed; even to buy from and to sell to him is advisable. Five things did R. Akiba charge R. Simeon b. Yohai when he was immured in prison.16 He [the latter] said to him, ‘Master, teach me Torah.’ ‘I will not teach you,’ he replied.17 ‘If thou wilt not teach me, ‘ said he, ‘I will tell my father Yohai and he will deliver thee to the state.’ ‘My son,’ answered he, ‘more than the calf wishes to suck does the cow desire to suckle.’ Said he to him, ‘Yet who is in danger: surely the calf is in danger!’18 Said he to him: ‘If you wish to be strangled, be hanged on a large tree,19 and when you teach your son, teach him from a corrected scroll.’ (What is that? Said Raba, — others state, R. Mesharsheya: A new one, for once an error has entered, it remains.)20 ‘Do not cook in a pot in which your neighbour has cooked.’ (What does that mean? [Do not marry] a divorced woman during her husband's lifetime. For a Master said: When a divorced man marries a divorced woman, there are four minds in the bed. Alternatively, [it refers] even to a widow, for reduced by one letter]. teaching Judaism, Ber. 61b; v. J.E. I, 3051.