Pesachim 111b (קיא:) — the Talmud in English

One who relieves himself

while attending to his needs

on a severed palm trunk

on a cut-off palm tree—

a half-spirit takes hold of him,

enters him

a spirit of palga [

that is stricken by a flow of blood, according to Rashi, based on the Targum].

And one who bends his head,

lowers his head

on a severed palm trunk—

a spirit of tzarda takes hold of him,

a pain affecting half the head.

One who steps on a palm trunk

steps on the palm tree—

if it is cut down,

if the tree is cut down,

he is killed,

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

If it is uprooted,

if the tree is uprooted—

he is uprooted

the man

and dies.

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

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

But if he placed his foot upon it—

there is no concern.

There are five shadows [

shadows]

that exist.

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

a.

The shadow of a solitary palm tree,

of a lone palm tree, with no other palm tree nearby.

b.

The shadow of a kanda [

the name of a tree].

c.

The shadow of a perha,

the 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 is: Any tree whose branches are numerous,

whose branches are abundant—

its shadow is harsh,

its shade is harsh, meaning that an evil spirit dwells in its shadow.

And any tree whose wood is hard,

a tree whose wood is hard—

its shadow is harsh.

Except

apart from

the kharu masha [

the name of a tree],

which, although its wood is hard,—

its shadow is not harsh.

And similarly,

as a demoness said to her son

her son:

“Take care of yourself

beware

of the kharu masha, for it is the one that killed your father,

for it killed your father,

and it will kill you as well”

and may also kill you.

Thus, the kharu masha does not harm people; on the contrary, it harms demons.

Rav Ashi said: I saw Rav Kahana avoid all the shadows

the shadows of all the trees.

The demons beneath the perha

those demons commonly found beneath the caper tree are called

“ruḥei.”

Those beneath the zardata

those commonly found beneath the zardata tree are called

“shedai.”

Those on roofs

those commonly found on rooftops are called

“rei shafei.”

What is the practical difference

between their names?

For an amulet,

so that if someone is harmed, for example, beneath a caper tree, one writes an amulet for him using the name “Ruḥei.”

Those demons

beneath the perha

are

a creature that has no eyes.

What is the practical difference?

To flee from it,

for one can escape from it, since it has no eyes and does not pursue him.

Once

one time,

a Torah scholar was going to relieve himself

to attend to his needs

near the perha,

beneath the caper tree.

He heard it coming toward him,

that the demoness was coming toward him, and

he fled from it,

he escaped from it.

As it went

when it followed him,

it embraced the palm tree

it embraced the palm tree [Rashi’s version reads: “it emerged onto the palm tree,” meaning that it stumbled and fell upon the palm tree],

the palm tree cried out,

the palm tree withered,

and it burst,

the demoness died.

Perha [

the Vilna Gaon deletes this word].

We have now learned: The demons

beneath the zardata—

their name is

shedei.

And we say:

Now, a zardata that is near a city

that is adjacent to a city—

has no fewer than sixty shedai,

it contains at least sixty demons.

What is the practical difference?

To write an amulet for it,

so that one writes an amulet corresponding to at least sixty demons.

The city watchman

the guardian of the city

went and stood

stood

by a zardata that was near the city. Sixty demons entered it,

entered him

and he became endangered.

He came

the watchman

to a certain Torah scholar, who did not know that the zardata contained sixty demons,

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

Therefore

he wrote an amulet for him

only

for a single demon.

The Torah scholar heard

that Torah scholar

that they were laughing at him,

that the demons were mocking him,

and they were singing as follows,

and this is what they sang:

“His garment,”

judging by his master’s garment, it appears

that

he is

a Torah scholar.

However,

“We examined this master,”

we tested him,

and he did not know

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

“Blessed

are You, Who crowns Israel with glory.”

Then that Torah scholar, who knew that the zardata contained sixty demons, came and wrote an amulet for sixty demons.

He heard them saying

the demons to one another:

“Clear out your belongings from here!”

Take your belongings out of here; that is, withdraw from this man.

The demon called

Ketav Meriri—

there were two types of Ketav.

There are two types of it.

One before noon

before midday,

and one after noon

after midday.

The one before noon: Its name is “Ketav Meriri,” and it appears among the jars of kutah

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

and then moves about in the hashah

and stirs with the spoon in the pot.

The one after noon: Its name is “Ketav Yeshud Tzohorayim,” and it appears among the horns of goats

it is found between the goats’ horns.

And then it moves there like a sieve

it moves and rattles there like a sieve.

Abaye was walking along

he was traveling on the road.

And Rav Pappa was walking on his right,

Rav Pappa was walking to his right,

and Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, on his left.

He saw

Abaye saw that

a Ketav Meriri was coming toward the person on his left

that it was coming toward him from his left.

He moved Rav Pappa to his left,

he told Rav Pappa to walk on his left,

and Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua,

he told him to walk

on his right

so that he would not be facing the demon.

Rav Pappa said to him

to Abaye:

“As for me, why did he not take me into account?”

Why are you not concerned that I might be facing the demon?

He said to him

Abaye said to him:

“You—

you have your hour with you!”

You are wealthy and fortunate, 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 prevalent,

the Ketav Meriri.

From then onward—

it is uncertain whether they are prevalent or not prevalent.

And they are found

they are present

in the shadows of the ḥatzava

in the shade of a plant called ḥatzava [with which Joshua marked the boundaries between the tribes in the Land of Israel],

when it has not grown a cubit,

when it has not yet grown a cubit.

And in the shadows of the morning and evening

in the shade of the morning and evening

when it is not a cubit

whose length is less than a cubit.

And primarily

it is found

in the shadows of a lavatory.

Rav Yosef said: These three things bring blindness

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 a barrel.

c.

And one who puts on shoes

while wearing his shoes

when his feet are still damp,

while his feet are still wet from washing.

One who hangs bread in the house

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

it is difficult for poverty,

it causes poverty.

As people say: One who hangs a basket

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

he has hung up his sustenance,

he has hung up his livelihood!

And we said this only

when the basket contains

bread,

bread.

But

if it contains

meat and fish

meat and fish—

there is no concern,

for

that is its usual practice

to hang this basket.

Bran

bran

in the house—

is difficult for poverty.

Crumbs

crumbs cast onto the ground

in the house—

are difficult for poverty.

On Friday nights and on the nights of Wednesday, damaging spirits hover over them

over the crumbs.

The angel appointed over sustenance

the angel appointed to provide sustenance is called

“Nakid,”

a term denoting cleanliness; therefore, he does not want crumbs to be trampled underfoot, and one who does so is not provided with sustenance.

The angel appointed over poverty

the angel appointed over poverty is called

“Naval,”

a term denoting filth; and he enters a house in which cleanliness is not observed with regard to bread.

A bowl placed over the mouth of a jug

a bowl resting on the mouth of the jug—

is difficult for poverty.

One who drinks water from a bowl,

from a dish—

it is difficult for broketi,

for the destruction of the eyes.

One who

eats taḥalei

shachalim [a type of pungent vegetable]

and does not wash his hands

and does not wash his hands afterward—

is frightened

he remains afraid

for thirty days

without knowing why.