Gittin 67b (סז:) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

One who was seized

by

kordyakos

the name of a female demon that controls a person when he drinks a great deal of grape juice, causing him to suffer a type of illness that confuses his mind for a certain period,

and said

while the kordyakos had seized him, “

Write a bill of divorce for my wife!” —

he has said nothing, since his mind is not settled at that time.

Even after he recovers, one does not write the bill of divorce on the basis of these words, since there is no substance to his words.

And if it was written, its status is that of a bill of divorce written without the husband’s authorization, and it is void.

And if he

said: Write

and give

a bill of divorce to my wife

when his mind was clear,

and

afterward

the kordyakos seized him, and

while the kordyakos had seized him he

again said, “Do not write it,” his final words

that he said while the kordyakos had seized him,

have no effect.

After his mind has become settled, they write the bill of divorce on the basis of his first words and give it to his wife, and they do not need to ask him again about it.

One who

became mute,

that is, became unable to speak,

and two people said to him,

Do you want us to

write a bill of divorce for your wife? And he nodded

his head

as a sign of consent —

they examine him three times,

on three different matters, to ascertain whether his mind is sound and settled.

If

they saw that his mind was clear, that when they examined him he

said “No” in response to a negative statement,

nodding his head as people do as a sign of “no,”

and in response to an affirmative statement

he inclined his head in the manner of an inclination expressing

“yes,”

three times for each of them, this is a sign that his mind is clear.

And since he nodded his head regarding the bill of divorce,

these people shall write it and give it .

Gemara:

What is

what does

“kordyakos” mean?

Shmuel said: One whom new wine from the winepress has bitten

that is, one whom new wine — meaning grape juice that has not yet fermented, taken from the winepress where the grapes are trodden — has “bitten.” In other words, he drank from it and felt that a spirit had entered him.

And we raise a difficulty:

But let

the tanna in our Mishna explicitly

teach: “One whom new wine has bitten!”

And we answer:

This teaches us

this is what the tanna came to teach us:

that the spirit

the demon that seizes him through this,

is called “kordyakos.”

What practical difference

does the name of the demon make?

For an amulet,

since in order to drive out the spirit, one must adjure it in the amulet by its name.

What is its remedy

what is the treatment for the sick person whom kordyakos has seized?

He should eat

lean red meat roasted over coals

and

he

should drink

diluted wine

wine mixed with a great deal of water.

Abaye said: My mother told me

The remedy

for a one-day fever

for a fever of one day is that the patient should drink

a jug of water

a pitcher of water.

And for a fever

of two days

that has lasted two days —

he should be bled

by means of a horn.

And for a fever

of three

three

days —

he should eat

lean red meat roasted over coals

and

he

should drink

diluted wine

wine mixed with a great deal of water.

For an old fever

for a longstanding fever that persists for a long time —

let him bring a black hen

he should take a black hen,

and cut it lengthwise and crosswise

cutting it along its length and width,

and shave the middle of his head and place it upon him

the patient should shave the middle of his head and place the hen upon it.

And let him leave it upon him until it becomes attached

he should leave the hen there until its blood adheres to him.

And let him descend and stand in water up to his neck until the world becomes weak over him

he should descend and stand in water up to his neck, until he is close to fainting from weakness.

And let him swim, ascend, and sit

then he should swim in the water, emerge from it, and sit down to rest.

And if

if

he cannot

perform all this,

let him eat leeks

a vegetable called leeks,

and let him descend and stand in water up to his neck until the world becomes weak over him

he should descend and stand in water up to his neck, until he is close to fainting from weakness,

and let him swim, ascend, and sit

then he should swim in the water, emerge from it, and sit down to rest.

For a fever

for a fever, the remedy is that he should eat

lean red meat roasted over coals

and

he

should drink

diluted wine

wine mixed with a great deal of water.

For snow

for an illness that seized him because of cold, the remedy is that he should eat

fatty meat roasted over coals

and

he

should drink

undiluted wine

unmixed wine, with no water added.

And the Gemara relates an incident involving

Rav Amram the Pious, when they caused him distress in the house of the Exilarch

when the servants of the Exilarch’s household caused him distress. Since he was pious and ascetic, he was stringent with them regarding prohibitions,

they would lay him down on snow

they would put him to sleep on snow, until he became ill.

The next day they said to him

the servants:

What would be pleasing to the Master, that they should bring him

what would my master like them to bring him to eat?

He said

Rav Amram the Pious said to himself:

These

servants want to distress me, and

whatever I say to them, they will do the opposite.

Therefore

he said to them:

I want

lean red meat roasted over coals and diluted wine

lean red meat roasted over coals and wine mixed with a great deal of water.

And it happened as he had thought:

They brought him

they themselves brought him

fatty meat roasted over coals and undiluted wine

fatty meat roasted over coals and undiluted wine. As stated, this was the remedy for the cold illness from which he was suffering.

Yalta heard

the wife of Rav Naḥman — who was the daughter of the Nasi and the wife of the head of the court, and was an important woman — what had happened to Rav Amram the Pious,

and she brought him

to the bathhouse

she sent messengers to take him up to the bathhouse,

and they stood him in the water of the bathhouse until the water of the bathhouse turned and became blood,

they stood him in the water of the bathhouse until the water became red like blood, because of the red sweat that emerged from him from the fatty meat he had eaten and the undiluted wine he had drunk,

and his flesh stood out in spots, each spot extending

his flesh became covered with round blotches.

Rav Yosef,

when he suffered from cold,

would engage in grinding with a millstone

he would work at grinding with millstones so that he would become warm and perspire.

Rav Sheshet,

when he suffered from cold,

would engage in carrying beams

he would carry beams and burdens,

saying: Great is work, for it warms those who perform it.

The Exilarch said to Rav Sheshet: Why does my master not dine with us

what is the reason that my master does not eat at our home?

He said to him:

Because

they are not good

they are not good,

my servants

the household servants,

as they are suspected

they are suspected

of eating a limb from a living animal.

He said to him: Who says so,

who can say and prove that they are suspected of this?

He said to him: Now I will show

I will now show

you.

Rav Sheshet said

Rav Sheshet said

to his attendant

to his servant:

Go steal and bring me one leg from the animal!

Go “steal” and bring me one leg from the animal that the Exilarch’s servants slaughtered for the meal.

His attendant went and

brought it to him

and brought it to him.

He said to them

Rav Sheshet said to the servants of the Exilarch’s household:

Arrange the parts of the animal before me

lay out the portions of the animal before me!

They brought three legs and placed them before him

they brought three legs and placed them before him.

He said to them

Rav Sheshet said:

Is this

this animal

a three-legged animal

was it?

The servants heard this,

cut off one leg from another animal while it was alive and placed it before him

they cut off one leg from another animal while it was alive — an organ from a living animal — and brought it before him.

He said to him

Rav Sheshet said

to his attendant

to his servant:

Place this one of yours here as well

place before me also the leg that you have.

He placed it

the attendant placed it.

He said to them

Rav Sheshet said to the servants of the Exilarch’s household:

Is this

this animal —

a five-legged animal

was it?

He said to him

the Exilarch said to Rav Sheshet, after being convinced of Rav Sheshet’s righteousness:

If so,

if that is the case,

let them prepare it before

the attendant

of my master and let him eat

let them prepare the meat before my master’s attendant, so that he will see that everything is done properly, and then my master can eat without concern.

He said to him: Certainly

all right.

They brought a table before them

they brought a table before them,

and brought meat before him

and brought meat before him,

and the servants placed before him, inside the meat, a small bone that could choke him

they placed before him, inside the meat, a small bone from the thigh that could choke him. Rav Sheshet was blind, and they thought he would not see it, eat it, and choke.

He felt it

he felt the meat and sensed that bone.

And he took it

he took the entire piece of meat, and

wrapped it in his garment.

After he ate

after they had eaten, they saw that Rav Sheshet had wrapped something in his garment, and wanted to ascertain what it was.

They said to him

the servants: Page 68a