Pesachim 111b — the Talmud in English

One who turns aside to relieve himself,

who performs his needs

on a cut-off palm trunk

on a chopped palm tree—

a half-spirit seizes him,

it enters him

a ruaḥ pelaga [

which is stricken with a flow of blood, according to Rashi, following the translator].

And one who bends his head,

he inclines his head

on a cut-off palm trunk—

a ruaḥ tzarda seizes him,

a pain of half the head.

One who steps on a palm tree

who treads on the palm tree—

if it is cut down,

if the tree is chopped down,

he is killed,

the man who stepped on it and chopped it down is killed.

If it is uprooted,

if the tree is uprooted—

he is uprooted

the man

and dies.

And this applies when he does not place his foot upon it,

that he did not also place his foot on the palm tree.

But if he places his foot upon it—

we have no concern.

There are five shadows [

shadows]

that exist.

They are five things in whose shadows an evil spirit dwells.

a.

The shadow of a solitary palm tree,

of a single palm tree, where there is no other palm tree near it.

b.

The shadow of a kandda [

the name of a tree].

c.

The shadow of a perḥa,

a caper tree.

d.

The shadow of a zardata [

the name of a tree].

e.

And the shadow of an aravta

a willow tree.

The general principle of the matter: anything whose branches are numerous,

whose branches are many—

its shadow is difficult,

its shadow is difficult, that is, an evil spirit dwells in its shadow.

And anything whose wood is hard,

a tree whose wood is hard—

its shadow is difficult.

Except

outside

for the karu massa [

the name of a tree],

which, although its wood is hard—

its shadow is not difficult.

And similarly

a demoness said to her son

to her son:

“Take care of yourself

beware

of the ‘karu massa,’ for it is the one who killed your father,

for it killed your father,

and it will kill him

and it may also kill you.

It follows that the “karu massa” does not harm people; on the contrary, it harms demons.

Rav Ashi said: I saw Rav Kahana withdraw from all the shadows

of all the trees.

The demons of the caper tree

those demons that are commonly found beneath the caper tree are called

“Ruaḥi.”

Those of the zardata,

those commonly found beneath the zardata tree are called

“Shidai.”

Those of the roofs,

those commonly found on the roofs are called

“Rishfei.”

What is the practical difference

in their names?

For an amulet,

for if he is harmed, for example, beneath the caper tree, one writes an amulet for him in the name “Ruaḥi.”

Those demons

of the caper tree

are

a creature that has no eyes.

What is the practical difference?

To cut away from it,

for he can flee from it, since it has no eyes and does not pursue him.

Once

one time

a Torah scholar was going to relieve himself

to perform his needs

near the caper tree,

beneath the caper tree.

He heard that it was coming upon him,

that the demoness was coming toward him,

and he fled from it,

he fled from it.

When it went

when it followed him

it embraced the palm tree,

it embraced the palm tree [in Rashi the reading is “it emerged onto the palm tree,” meaning that it stumbled and fell onto the palm tree],

the palm tree cried out,

the palm tree dried up,

and it burst,

the demoness died.

Caper tree [

the Vilna Gaon deletes this].

We have now learned: the demons

of the zardata—

their name is

“Shidei.”

And we say:

This zardata that is near a town

that is adjacent to a city—

it has no fewer than sixty demons,

there are at least sixty demons in it.

What is the practical difference?

To write an amulet for it,

so that one writes an amulet against at least sixty demons.

He was the city guard

the guardian of the city

who went and stood

stood

beside a zardata that was near the city. They entered it

they entered him

sixty demons, and he became endangered.

He came

the guard

to a certain one of the Sages, who did not know that the zardata was one of sixty demons,

that he had been harmed by the city’s zardata, which contained sixty demons.

And therefore

he wrote an amulet for it

only

for one demon.

He heard

that certain Sage

that they were mocking him,

that the demons were laughing at him,

and they were singing thus,

and this is how they sang:

“The garment of the Master,”

from his garment, Master, it appears

that

he is

a Torah scholar.

However,

“We tested the Master,”

we tested him

that he did not know

that every morning he must recite a blessing upon putting on the cloth with which he wraps his head:

“Blessed

is He Who crowns Israel with splendor.”

A certain Sage who knew that the zardata contained sixty demons came. He wrote an amulet for sixty demons.

He heard that they were saying

the demons to one another:

“Clear your belongings from here!”

take out your things from here. That is, withdraw from this man.

The demon called

Katav Meriri—

there were two Katavs.

There are two types of it.

One before midday

before noon,

and one after midday

after noon.

The one before midday: its name is “Katav Meriri,” and it appears among the jars of kutḥa

it is found among the jars of kutḥa [a type of food],

and then stirs there

and stirs with the spoon of the pot.

The one after midday: its name is “Katav Yeshod Tzohorayim,” and it appears among the horns of a goat

it is found between the horns of goats.

And then it moves there like a sieve

it moves and knocks there like a sieve.

Abaye was walking along

he was traveling on the road.

And Rav Pappa was walking to his right,

Rav Pappa was walking on his right,

and Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua on his left.

He saw it

Abaye saw that

the Katav Meriri was coming toward the one on his left

that it was coming toward him from his left.

He moved Rav Pappa to his left,

he told Rav Pappa to go to his left,

and to Rav Huna son of Rav Yehoshua

he said that he should go

to his right

so that he would not be opposite the demon.

Rav Pappa said to him

to Abaye:

“As for me, what is different, that you did not take care for me?”

why are you not concerned that I should be opposite the demon?

He said to him

Abaye:

“You—

your hour stands for you!”

you are wealthy, and you have good fortune, and you will not be harmed.

From the first of Tammuz

from the first day of the month of Tammuz

until the sixteenth of it

the sixteenth of Tammuz—

they are certainly common

the Katav Meriri are certainly prevalent.

From here onward—

it is uncertain whether they are common, uncertain whether they are not common.

And they are found

they are present

in the shadows of the ḥatzva

in the shadow of a grass called ḥatzva [with it Joshua marked the boundaries between tribe and tribe in the Land of Israel],

which has not grown a cubit,

which has not yet grown a cubit.

And in the shadows of morning and afternoon

in the shadow of morning and evening

that are not a cubit

whose length is less than a cubit.

And principally

it is found—

in the shadows of the privy.

Rav Yosef said: These three things give blindness to the demon of light

they cause blindness.

a.

One who combs his head while it is dry,

who combs his head when it is dry.

b.

And one who drinks drip by drip,

wine dripping from the barrel.

c.

And one who puts on shoes

who puts on his shoes

while his feet are still wet,

while his feet are wet from the washing water.

One who hangs bread in the house

who hangs his bread in the air, inside a basket—

it is difficult for poverty,

he causes poverty.

As people say: “One who hangs a basket”

who hangs his basket with his bread inside it—as though

he hangs his sustenance

he has hung his food!

And we said this only

when there is in the basket

bread,

bread.

But

if there is in it

meat and fish

meat and fish—

we have no concern,

for

it is its customary manner

to hang this basket.

Bran

bran

in the house—

it is difficult for poverty.

Crumbs

crumbs that are thrown onto the ground

in the house—

it is difficult for poverty.

On the nights of Shabbat and on the nights of Wednesday, destructive spirits hover over them

over the crumbs.

The angel of sustenance,

the angel appointed to provide sustenance,

“Nakid” is her name,

a term of cleanliness; therefore she does not wish crumbs to be trampled underfoot, and one who does so is not provided with sustenance.

The angel of poverty,

the angel appointed over poverty,

“Naval” is his name,

a term of filth, and he enters a house in which they do not conduct themselves with cleanliness concerning bread.

A bowl at the mouth of a pitcher,

a bowl placed on the mouth of the pitcher—

it is difficult for poverty.

One who drinks water from a bowl,

from a bowl—

it is difficult for blindness,

for loss of eyesight.

One who

eats taḥlei

schalẓim [a type of sharp vegetable]

and does not wash his hands

and does not wash his hands afterward—

he is frightened

he is afraid

for thirty days

and does not know why.