Sanhedrin

Our Rabbis taught: A Ba'al ob is one who speaks from between the joints of his body and his elbow joints. A yidde'oni is one who places the bone of a yidoa'7   in his mouth and it speaks of itself. An objection is raised: And thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground:  surely that means that it speaks naturally?  — No. It ascends and seats itself between his joints and speaks. Come and hear: And the woman said unto Saul, I saw a god-like form ascending out of the earth: [And Samuel said to Saul …]  surely that means that it spoke naturally? — No. It settled itself between her joints and spoke. Our Rabbis taught: Ba'al ob denotes both him who conjures up the dead by means of soothsaying11  and one who consults a skull. What is the difference between them? — The dead conjured up by soothsaying does not ascend naturally [but feet first], nor on the Sabbath; whilst if consulted by its skull it ascends naturally and on the Sabbath too. [You say,] it ascends: but whither — does not the skull lie before him? — But say thus: It answers naturally,  and on the Sabbath too. And this question was asked by Turnusrufus  of R. Akiba: 'Wherein does this day [the Sabbath] differ from any other?' — He replied: Wherein does one man differ from another?'  — 'Because my Lord [the Emperor] wishes it.' 'The Sabbath too,' R. Akiba rejoined, 'then, is distinguished because the Lord wishes so.' He replied: 'I ask this: Who tells you that this day is the Sabbath?' — He answered: 'Let the river Sabbation R. Hanina and R. Oshaia spent every Sabbath eve in studying the 'Book of Creation',24  by means of which they created a third-grown calf  and ate it. Our Rabbis taught: A Menahesh29  is one who says: So and so's bread has fallen out of his hand; his staff has fallen out of his hand; his son called after him; a raven screamed after him, a deer has crossed his path; a serpent came at his right hand or a fox at his left;30