Gittin 68b — the Talmud in English

Went out the widow,

and pleaded with him

She pleaded with him

not to rub himself against the hut and knock it down.

He bent his stature away from it

to another side, and distanced himself from the house by the width of his shoulders.

A bone broke in him

a bone of Ashmedai was broken.

He said

Ashmedai:

This is what is written: “And a soft tongue breaks a bone”

Proverbs 25:15,

because through the soft tongue with which she pleaded with him and gave a gentle reply, my bone was broken.

for through a soft tongue, with which she entreated him with a soft answer, my bone was broken.

He saw a blind man who was straying on the road, and he set him on his road

Ashmedai saw a blind man who was straying on the road and set him on the correct road.

He saw a drunk man who was straying on the road, and he set him on his road

Ashmedai saw a drunk man who was straying on the road and set him on the correct road.

He saw a wedding celebration over which they were rejoicing

Ashmedai saw a wedding celebration in which they were rejoicing,

he wept.

He heard a certain man who was saying to a shoemaker: Make me shoes for seven years

he heard a certain man saying to a shoemaker: Make me shoes that will be good for seven years,

he laughed

.

He saw a certain sorcerer who was performing sorcery

he saw a certain sorcerer performing sorcery,

he laughed

.

When he reached there, they did not bring him in to Solomon until three days

when they reached Jerusalem, they did not bring him in before King Solomon until after three days.

On the first day

the first day,

he said to them: Why does the king not want me to come before him

why does the king not want me to come to him?

They said to him: He is prevented by drinking

he was unable to see you because of the drinking, for he had drunk more than necessary.

He took a brick and placed it upon its fellow

Ashmedai took a brick and placed it on top of another brick.

They came

they came

and told Solomon

what Ashmedai had done.

He said to them

King Solomon,

This is what he hinted to you

this is what he hinted to you:

Go back and give him drink

go back and give the king drink.

On the next day he said to them

Ashmedai:

And why does the king not want me to come before him

and why does the king not want me to come to him?

They said to him: He is prevented by food,

for he ate more than necessary.

He took the brick from upon its fellow and placed it on the ground

Ashmedai took a brick that had been lying on top of another brick and brought it down to the ground.

They came

they came

and told Solomon

what Ashmedai had done.

He said to them

King Solomon:

This is what he hinted to you

this is what he hinted to you:

Distance his food from him

distance his food from him.

At the end of three days

three days

he brought him before him

they brought Ashmedai before the king.

He took a reed, measured four cubits with it, and threw it before him

Ashmedai took a reed, measured four cubits with it, and threw it before him.

He said to him

to King Solomon:

Since, when that man dies, he has nothing in this world but four cubits

for when a person dies, he has nothing in the world but four cubits of the grave,

now you have conquered the whole world, and you were not satisfied until you also conquered me

now you have already conquered the entire world, and you were not satisfied until you also conquered me!?

He said to him

King Solomon:

I do not want anything from you

I do not want anything from you;

I want to build the Temple, and I require

the shamir

I only want to build the Temple, and I require the shamir worm.

He said to him

Ashmedai:

It is not entrusted to me

the shamir is not entrusted to me personally, but

it is entrusted to the minister of the sea

the shamir is entrusted to the minister of the sea,

and he gives it only to the wild rooster, for he trusts him concerning his oath

and he gives the shamir only to the wild rooster, for he trusts him by his oath, when he swore to him to return it to him.

And what does he do with it

what does the wild rooster do with it?

He brings it to mountains in which there is no

he brings it to mountains in which there is no

settlement

settlement of seeds and trees from which to make a livelihood there.

And he places it on the mountain’s tooth, and the mountain splits

he places the shamir on the peak of the mountain, and the mountain splits, slightly, in the form of a fissure,

And he gathers and brings seeds from trees, and casts them there, and there is settlement

and he takes and brings seeds from trees and throws them into the fissure, and trees grow there from which to make a livelihood.

And this is what we translate

and this is what we translate: “

Dukifat” —

mountain-cutter

one who cuts mountains [Leviticus 11:19].

They investigated

Solomon’s agents investigated until they knew where there was a nest of a dukifat, which is the wild rooster, and they found

a nest of a wild rooster that had young

that had chicks,

and they covered its nest with clear glass

and covered the nest with transparent glass.

When it came, it wanted to enter, but it could not

when the rooster came, it wanted to enter its nest but could not.

It went, brought the shamir, and placed it upon it

it went and brought the shamir and placed it upon the glass so that it would split.

He raised his voice against it

Solomon’s agent raised his voice against the rooster, and the rooster was frightened and

threw it

dropped the shamir.

He took it

the agent took the shamir.

The rooster went

the rooster went, when it saw that they had taken the shamir,

and strangled itself because of its oath

it strangled itself because it had not fulfilled its oath to return the shamir to the minister of the sea.

Benayahu said to him

to Ashmedai:

For what reason, when you saw that blind man who was straying on the road, did you set him on his road

why, when you saw that blind man straying on the road, did you set him on the correct road?

He said to him:

because

they proclaim concerning him in Heaven

they proclaim concerning him in Heaven

that he is completely righteous, and whoever pleases him merits the World to Come

that he is completely righteous, and whoever does something pleasing for him merits life in the World to Come.

And they further asked him:

And for what reason, when you saw that drunk man who was straying on the road, did you set him on his road

and why, when you saw that drunk man straying on the road, did you set him on the correct road?

He said to him:

because

they proclaim concerning him in Heaven

they proclaim concerning him in Heaven

that he is completely wicked, and I did something pleasing for him so that he would consume the World to Come

that he is completely wicked, and I did something pleasing for him so that he would consume his reward of the World to Come in this world.

For what reason, when you saw that wedding celebration, did you weep

why, when you saw the wedding celebration, did you weep?

He said to him:

because

the man is destined to die within thirty days

I knew that the groom was destined to die within thirty days,

and she will have to wait for a minor levir for thirteen years

and the woman would have to wait thirteen years, until her husband’s younger brother, the minor levir, grew up and reached the age of thirteen, so that he could perform halitza for her and permit her to marry.

For what reason, when you heard that man say to the shoemaker, “Make me shoes for seven years,” did you laugh

why, when you heard that man say to the shoemaker, “Make me shoes for seven years,” did you laugh?

He said to him:

because

That man does not have seven days, and he wants shoes for seven years

that man does not even have seven days to live, and he wants shoes for seven years.

For what reason, when you saw that sorcerer who was performing sorcery, did you laugh

why, when you saw that sorcerer who was performing sorcery, did you laugh?

He said to him:

because

he was sitting upon the king’s treasury

he was sitting upon the king’s treasury, and much gold and silver was hidden there,

to perform sorcery to discover what is beneath him

to perform sorcery to discover what was beneath him, but he did not do so.

He kept him with him until he had built

King Solomon detained Ashmedai with him until he finished building

the Temple.

One day he was standing alone

one day King Solomon was standing alone with Ashmedai.

He said to him

to Ashmedai:

It is written: “

He brought him out from Egypt

as the heights of the wild ox are his”

Numbers 24:8, that the Holy One, blessed is He, has the heights of wild oxen for His mission, and to exact punishment through His mission.

And we say: “As the heights” —

these are the ministering angels; “wild ox” —

these are the demons.,

What is your greatness over ours

what is your greatness greater than ours, that the Holy One, blessed is He, praised Himself through you?

He said to him

Ashmedai:

Remove the chain from me, and give me your ring, and I will show you my greatness

remove the chain from me, give me your ring, and I will show you my power.

He removed the chain from him and gave him his ring

King Solomon removed the chain from him and gave him his ring.

He swallowed it

Ashmedai swallowed the ring,

placed one of his wings in Heaven and one of his wings on earth

he placed one of his wings in Heaven and one of his wings on earth.

He flung him

he threw King Solomon from there a distance of

four hundred parasangs.

At that time

at that time

Solomon said

the king said in Ecclesiastes:

“What profit has a person in all his toil with which he toils beneath the sun”

Ecclesiastes 1:3,

“And this was my portion from all my toil”

Ecclesiastes 2:10.

What is “and this”

was my portion?

Rav and Shmuel

disagreed about this matter.

One said: “

This,”

his staff

which remained in his hand.

And one said: his garment

his clothing.

King Solomon was

King Solomon

going around at the doors. Wherever he reached, he said

wherever he arrived, he would say:

“I, Ecclesiastes, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.”

Ecclesiastes 1:12.

When he reached them

when he reached the

Sanhedrin, the Sages said: Since a madman does not cling to one statement

for a madman does not persist in saying the same foolish thing all the time. Therefore,

what is this

what is the meaning of this, that this man keeps saying “I was king” and says no other foolish thing? Perhaps there is substance to his words.

They said to him

the Sanhedrin said to Benayahu:

Does the king want you to come before him

did the king ask for you to come to him?

He said to them: No.

They sent to the queens

to the king’s wives:

Is the king coming to you

is the king coming to you?

They sent to them: Yes, he is coming

yes, he is coming.

They sent

the Sanhedrin

to them

to them:

Examine his feet

his legs: whether they are like the legs of a human being, or whether his legs are those of a demon, since the legs of a demon resemble the legs of chickens.

They sent to them:

he does not come barefoot, but

he comes in socks

he comes in felt slippers (cloth shoes, socks),

and he demands them in their menstruation

and he demands that they have relations with him during their menstruation,

and he also demands Bat-Sheva, his mother

and he also demands Bat-Sheva, his mother.

Since this was so, they understood that this was not King Solomon but Ashmedai, king of the demons,

they brought Solomon, and gave him a ring and a chain on which was engraved

they brought King Solomon and gave him a ring and a chain on which was engraved

the Name

the explicit Name.

When he entered, he saw him, and fled

when King Solomon entered, Ashmedai saw him and fled.

Even so

even though Ashmedai had fled from before him,

he had

King Solomon

fear of him

he was afraid of him.

And this is what is written: “Behold, Solomon’s bed, sixty mighty men around it, of the mighty men of Israel; all of them holding swords, trained in war; each man with his sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the nights”

Song of Songs 3:7–8.

Rav and Shmuel

disagreed as to whether King Solomon returned to reign afterward.

One said: He reigned and

afterward became

a commoner,

and he did not return to reign.

And one said: He reigned and

became

a commoner and

afterward again

reigned.

The Gemara returns to discuss various remedies and cures:

For the blood of the head

for blood in the head, a headache that comes because of blood,

its remedy:

let him bring

let him take

a cedar

a cedar,

and a willow

and a willow,

and fresh myrtle

and fresh myrtle,

and an olive

and an olive,

and a poplar

and a poplar,

and sea willows

and sea willows,

and yivla —

a type of grass,

and let him boil them together

and boil them together,

and let him take three hundred cups on this side of the head and three hundred cups on that side of the head

and pour three hundred cups of this brew over this side of the head, and three hundred cups over that side of the head.

And if not

if he cannot do so,

let him bring a white rose that stands in one row

let him take a pale rose whose leaves grow only on one side, one above the other,

and let him boil it

and boil it,

and let him take sixty cups on this side of the head and sixty cups on that side of the head

and pour sixty cups over this side of the head, and sixty cups over that side of the head.

For a splitting

for pain of half the head, its remedy:

let him bring a wild rooster

let him take the wild rooster,

and slaughter it with a white zuz

and slaughter it with a pure silver dinar, and let the blood from the place of slaughter flow

on that side where it hurts him

on his head, on the side that hurts him.

And let him beware of its blood, lest he blind his eyes with it

and beware of the blood, lest it enter his eyes and blind him,

and let him hang it on the hinge of the door

and hang the slaughtered rooster on the doorposts,

for when he enters, he rubs against it, and when he exits, he rubs against it

for when he enters, he rubs against it, and when he exits, he rubs against it.